Week in the Life 2012: Sunday

Grandma Sunday, the day we all look forward to each and every week. Now that Mason and Sophia alternate weeks, each gets one-on-one time with Grandma and Fred and I get to have an afternoon with only one child. On days when Sophia is at Grandma's, Mason complains about how much he misses his sister until she returns. To help ease his pain and boredom, the boys usually disappear into the basement for video games, or learning some GPS stuff. Mason can already solder wires together and identify parts such as the resistor. However, this week was Mason's turn for Grandma Sunday and it went a little bit like this.

Breakfast. Chex and Strawberries.

Grandma arrives to pick up Mason, Sophia thinks she is going too. We talk for a bit before they head out, and I distract Sophia with her TV shows.

I get Sophia's birthday invitations in their envelopes, labeled, and ready to be mailed.

A mirror, a camera, and a Sunday afternoon. We had way too much fun.

This is my favorite. A little game of peek-a-boo.

Our usual Sunday lunch is Potbelly. I think their Strawberry shakes are the best. It finally warmed up. A nice change to only need a light jacket, if one at all. Sophia watched My Little Pony on my iPhone while we waited in line, and asked to go over the bumps on the way home.

Grandma drops Mason off at home. After hearing about their latest adventures in WOW (World of Warcraft) and the many other things they accomplished today, it's time for Grandma to leave. But, not before they both rush outside to say good-bye.

Talking to my sister, wishing her a happy birthday.

Getting rid of the white flies that have inhabited our tomato plants.

They rolled down the hill giggling and smiling for like 30 min. Oh, to be a child again. I'm pretty sure if I tried rolling down hills these days I'd get so dizzy I'd puke.

In the Spring and Summer we can usually be found in the backyard throwing or kicking the ball around before it's bedtime. I like these evenings the most.

Our bedtime routine goes something like this. Around 8pm we race up the stairs. Sometimes we carry the children on our shoulders. It is always a lot of fun to see which of us makes it to the top first. The kids always seem to win. :) Then they both sit on the potty. Right now, Sophie sits on the small Baby Bjorn potty while Mason uses the big potty. Then they wash their hand and brush their teeth. Sophie does pretty good with this all on her own. I count to 12 for each side, bottoms and tops, and fronts. Then we floss. Mason should be putting on a fluoride treatment for his two front teeth, but most nights we forget. Then it's time for pajamas, thought Mason would much prefer to wrestle with Daddy in the hallway. While Fred struggles to get Mason to listen, I am putting the eczema lotion on Sophia before she puts on a pull-up for bed (we aren't at the point where she can wake up in time to not pee her bed) and her pajamas. Sometimes Mason will request that I put him to bed, but most nights Fred puts him to bed while I put Sophie to bed. (Maybe we should create a schedule that we switch off every other night).

Mason reads to Fred, either a Dr. Seuss book or another early reader. Yes, I did say read. Mason has some pretty good reading skills at this age, we have been super impressed with his progress. In the meantime, I read Sophia 2-3 books of her choice. Lately, that has either been one of her Strawberry Shortcake books, the Lift and Look Lunchbox, or Ten Little Ladybugs. Then it's light out, hop into bed and sing. I sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Pat-a-Cake, and ABCs. Sometimes Sophie does the movements along with me, and if its an especially good night I'm lucky enough to have her sing along. Lastly, its big hugs and kisses before saying good-night and closing the door. Then I walk into Mason room, make him snug as a bug in a rug, before big hugs and kisses and saying our good-nights.

And there you have it. Week in the life 2012. I hope anyone reading this has gotten some enjoyment out of it. As I've said before, I really enjoy this project as it gives a peak into our daily lives year after year. Not only do I get an immediate response of seeing just how blessed we are in this life, but can you just imagine us going back and reading these 10 years from now, when the kids are teenagers and Fred and I are in our forties? I can't wait!

Week in the Life 2012: Saturday

Weekends are my days to sleep in, and as much as I enjoy the extra time in bed, I think I get the short end of the stick. 5 days up with the kids by 7:30am and only 2 days sleeping in, isn't enough to rejuvenate my energy. But it is what it is, and I usually try to take advantage of my two days.

This particular Saturday I am up by 9:30am. The kids and Fred come in and jump on the bed. This is their usual, not so subtle, way of letting me know it's time to get out of bed. When Fred has hit his limit of being alone with the kids and the kids start to ask for Mommy. While I get dressed, the three of them lay on the bed and watch mud trucks on Fred's iPhone. Then it's eggs, bacon, orange juice and strawberries for breakfast. Later, I empty the dishwasher while Fred fixes our disposal. We spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning up around the house and finding things to fill the day untill my mom and aunt come over to get some negotiation advice and tips from Fred. Mom plays with the kids while my Aunt talks with Fred. Around 5pm they leave. Our neighbor comes over asking if we'd be willing to take care of their cat while they are away. The kids are thrilled, they adore Pebbles, and Mason really loves to show he can be responsible. (In fact when he takes care of Cleo, while my sister is out of town, he gets paid. Mostly in Matchbox cars or a DVD, but none the less, he is showing great responsibility at a young age.) At this point, it's dinner time and we have no plans, yet again, so we get a pre made chicken from Giant and throw some corn in the microwave. Saturdays are usually nights we allow the kids to watch a movie with dinner and enjoy some popcorn with m&ms. Once they are in bed, we retreat to the basement where we usually catch up on shows we DVR'd and work on our computers. Sometimes we'll pop in a DVD we haven't watched in awhile. We are usually in bed around midnight. So yeah, Saturdays are pretty boring around here, unless there is a cool event happening, or we have plans with family.

Below are a few of my favorite captured moments throughout the day.

Week in the Life 2012: Friday

Fridays are a laid back day. It's the day we go to my parents house to visit with Pop-Pop. I don't know if I have talked about this on here before, but my father had a stroke 4 years ago, just before Mason turned a year old. Starting last year, he used to come to our house every Friday to spend time with the kids, we'd play board games (Mason always seemed to win despite our best efforts), watch movies, and share pictures and stories about our week. Slowly, Sophie began to stop taking naps on Fridays, not wanting to miss her time with Pop-Pop. It became known as Pop-Pop Friday. I loved watching the kids get excited when my Dad showed up and so sad to see him leave, running to his car to give him hugs and saying, "Pop-Pop don't leave!" It was another day of the week we'd all look forward to. When things took a turn for the worse over the winter holidays, we found our Pop-Pop Fridays in jeopardy. Knowing that it is extremely important my kids have a relationship with their Grandfather, we decided to bring Pop-Pop Fridays to him. So, now every Friday we pack up some toys and head to my parents for the afternoon.

Here's a look into how this particular Friday went.

Breakfast.

Playtime.

Carpool.

Pick up and an early nap.

Then its off to Costco to print out the invitations I made for Sophie's birthday. I picked up a few essential items along the way. Passing through the clothes section, Sophie sees a princess dress and tries it on. If you could have seen her twirling and dancing through the aisles announcing, "I a princess!" you would have bought the dress too. Mason found an outfit in the athletic attire just like daddys. He immediately loved how soft it felt, but what really delighted him were the pockets. In the cart it goes.

A quick bite to eat (you can't beat a cheaper lunch than $1.50 for a hot dog and soda) before heading home to drop off our purchases. As soon as the kids opened the door they grabbed their new clothes and screamed, "Daddy, look my beautiful dress! It's beautiful and cute!" and "Daddy, look my outfit is just like yours! And it has pockets."

Toys in back packs and seat belts on, we are on our way to my parents house around 2:00-2:30pm. The kids always crave a snack and tend to raid the juice boxes and Pringles my parents have stashed for Grandma Sundays. Knowing this, I made a quick stop at 7-Eleven to pick up some munchies. After a snack, and Mason singing his B-B-B-Bats song from Spring Sing to Pop-Pop, I attempt to put Sophie down for a nap. Even though she looked tired and willing crawled into bed, I was sure she wouldn't stay down long, if at all. While she kind of slept upstairs, Pop-Pop and Mason watched the news video of Fred during his trip to Padre Island.

Sophie ends up peeing her pants for the second time, and I am out of a clean change of clothes. This cuts our visit short and she has to ride home in pee soaked pants, which don't seem to bother her at all. Argh! Potty training is such a power struggle with this one.

Once home, we order Moby Dicks for dinner. One of our favorite places to order take out. Fridays are the only day I spend sitting in rush hour traffic, as we tend to not leave my Dads until around 4:30pm-5:00pm. Usually it's too late to start cooking dinner so we either just pick something up on our way home, or order out. Tonight we all enjoyed our Mobys usual of kubideh with rice. We order two and share with the kids. Sophie really likes the cucumber sauce and I find myself having to cut her off.

After dinner and some TV, its time for bed. Part of our nightly routine has been to lather Sophie up with either Cetaphil or Aquaphor. Neither has worked very well to clear up her eczema. Most recently I decided to try a new product, Neosporin Eczema Essentials. It's a bit expensive ($11 a bottle) but after two weeks it has seemed to clear up her eczema better than anything we've tried, and I'd much prefer to use this on a daily basis than the steroid prescription. This is, if we can keep her from scratching. On nights that she is particularly itchy I place band-aids over her ankles and then put socks on her. Usually this does the trick.

Then it's books, hug and kisses, and lights out.

Week in the Life 2012: Thursday

It's this never ending cycle. I have the intention to get things done, like blogging, and then other things get in the way. I feel like I never have time for the things I really want to get done. That said, our Thursday went a little something like this.

On the way to school Mason inquired about the toy Sophie had, was it a remote or a phone?Sophie was saying it was a phone and I think Mason was arguing that point. I give it a once over and determine it's a remote. "How can you tell?" "Well buddy, it has buttons to change the change the channel and control the volume." Moments later I am glancing in the mommy mirror I have place on the passenger side visor and see Sophie pointing the remote at the TV saying, "it doesn't work."

Sophie asked to use my camera. Reminding myself that Mason used my camera from time to time at the age of 3, I stepped out of my comfort zone and handed it over. No, I did not give her my SLR. My poor Canon power shot, which has been lovingly abused over the years, was her victim. After a few minutes of leaving her alone, I was anxious to see the results. I think she needs some more instruction, but not bad for her first try. Very artistic. I do believe I had numerous shots that looked similar when I received my very first camera (and at a much older age than 3 years).

Our commute is the same, day in and day out, Monday through Friday. Yet somehow it never gets boring. There are always new things to see, on any given day, down this two lane road. A firetruck getting a wash down, bikers and runners crossing the trail, and neighborhoods being built. Sophie counts school buses, sometimes jams with me to the music, and the conversation is unlike any other. "Hey, Bunny (me)." "Yes, Sally (Sophia)." "Where's Sonic (Mason)?" "Sonic is at school." ..."Hey, Bunny..." *If you don't know, these are characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog tv show the kids watch on Netflix.

1. My view in the car through the mommy mirror.

2. I made pizza calzones for lunch. The kids had a cheesy (Mason), a banana, and chips (Sophia).

4. Fred comes to the dark side. Purchased an iPhone (3Gs) for $.99 to replace the phone he drowned in the Ocean.

5. This house sits dangerously close to the road. They recently did some work fixing up the siding and windows, and I am convinced one day I will dry by and see a car right in the middle of the structure.

I forget I even have a tattoo, until the kids point it out, and ask "what's that?" Funny how it seemed like such a big deal 12 years ago. How I thought this decision would have such an impact on my life, back then and in the future, when today it doesn't even cross my mind. I bet 80% of the people I know right now, don't know that I even have a tattoo.

Mason's Lego creations have really come into their own. He is creating and building like never before. What used to be a toy he constantly needed help with, is now a design all his own. It is becoming the norm to see piles of Legos in his room, his latest creations scattered throughout the house and me trying hard not to trip over them.

The following photos are from our evening spent at Fred's Grandparents. Family from South Dakota were in town and we were invited to dinner. Jeff and Kristy own Black Hills Ammunition in Rapid City. The nicest couple. Fred told me stories about trips out to South Dakota since we were dating, so it was great to finally meet the people behind those stories. As I was getting ready for the evening, Mason told me, "I want to eat at Grandma Vedas everyday."

As soon as we walked in the door, the kids threw off their shoes and made a beeline for the stairs. Sophie taking Grandma by the arm saying, "Grandma Veda, come on. Let's play ball."

The upstairs of their house has a huge room that is a dedicated play area for the grandkids, and mine love to play up there, especially when Grandma Veda comes up to play. Since dinner was cooking, and she couldn't play just yet, balloons were the entertainment. It's funny how you spend loads of money on all these technological toys when sometimes all it takes is a $.50 cent balloon, and some air, and they are fully entertained.

The kids pose with Grandma Veda just before saying good-bye. Dinner was delicious as always. We had her famous chicken chalupas, served with peaches and the kids devoured their staple of mac n cheese. Dessert was angel food cake with strawberry ice cream. Always a good time at Grandma and Grandad Briggs' house.

I really love that we have lots of family living close by.