ABC's of Me

I was tagged by one of my favorite blogs No Cheese Please!!

A. Attached or Single? Attached
B. Best Friend? Letty
C. Cake or pie? Cake - Chocolate Cake
D. Day of choice? Friday's
E. Essential item? Water
F. Favorite color? Blue
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears
H. Home town? Oakland/Hayward
I. Favorite indulgence? Mint Mocha Frapachinno from Starbucks.
J. January or July? July
K. Kids? 2 and DONE!
L. Life isn’t complete without? God
M. Marriage date? September 2, 2000
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 3 half sisters, 1 step sister.
O. Oranges or Apples? Oranges
P. Phobias? Getting into a car accident. I have been in way too many.
Q. Quotes? "Worry about nothing, Pray about everything!"
R. Reasons to smile? My kids make me smile, especially when they are getting along.
S. Season of choice? Summer!
T. Tag 5 people: Jeneca, Stacy, Roxy and that's it, lol. I dont know too many bloggers! Dolores get on the blogging train!!
U. Unknown fact about me? I iron everything I wear except underwear and socks. I even iron the girls clothes. I have ironing issues.
V. Vegetable? Green beans.
W. Worst habit? Procrastinating
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasounds
Y. Your favorite food? Mexican
Z. Zodiac sign? Gemini.
Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? Monkeys

We Rock We Rock ON!

Here is Gabby singing her favortie Camp Rock song! After she sings We Rock We Rock ON she tries to pretend that she knows the rest of the words it's super cute! As you can see her big sister has a influence on her music. So does church... all day today she was singing We Rock ON and Halleluja, lol... not really something that goes together but it works for her!

On another note I guess I will have to use Brian's work laptop to upload video. Our home computer always gives me errors while I try to load them on blogger. So I probably won't upload as much video as I would like.

I am officially a soccer Mom!!

We had our first meeting with Alyssa's soccer coach today! Practice starts next Monday. They are going to practice every Monday and Wednesday. Alyssa is so excited to play!! Stacy and I put her and Amber on the same team this year so hopefully the girls won't be so shy while playing.
After the meeting Brian and I were heading to Costco when we realized that Sports Authority was right next to Costco so we went in to get Alyssa some gear. The lady was really nice there and helped us try on shoes and shin guards. When we got home Alyssa and Brian played some soccer outside. I think she will do well. She loves her new cleats... she refuses to take them off. I think she may even sleep with them on, lol! Here she is a few minutes ago playing her leapster in her cleats:

Her first game is on September 6th and of course out of all days I will be in Santa Cruz at a women's retreat for church. I am so bummed!!

Num Nums!!

Gabby has always had a healthy appetite but lately she has been wanting to eat EVERY HOUR!
Saturday night I put Gabby down for bed and she started talking as usual then she started crying but the crying didn’t stop. So finally I went to check on her to make sure her foot wasn’t stuck in the crib or she didn’t have a poopy diaper. So she gets up all red faced and hair all over the place pushes her hair back and asks “Num, Nums??” I was like girl you just ate an hour ago!!! So we go down stairs so she can eat a snack. I put her back to bed when she was done and she went right to sleep.
Today at lunch I picked her up 45 dollars worth of Num Num’s at Trader Joes. I have been looking for things with a lot of fiber and without enriched flour to keep her fuller longer. Trader Joe’s has great snacks for the kids. I just hope this satisfies her voracious appetite. This girl is going to eat us out of the house!!

Please Pray...

For Brian's brother Daniel. He is having brain surgery at 8 am tomorrow. Daniel has had issues with his brain ever since November of 2002. I was really pregnant and due any day with Alyssa when we learned about it for the first time. This is his third surgery.
He called Brian today and said that his head was hurting. The hospital did some MRI's and CAT scans and determined he needed surgery. Brian and his Dad went to Redding right away. Brian called awhile ago and they are hanging out in Daniel's room watching UFC fights. Alyssa is sad that Daddy is away and is sleeping with me tonight.
So please pray for Daniel. I am praying that his head starts to feel better after this surgery and that all goes well.
Edited to say: Sugery went well! Daniel was talking right after and may even be released tomorrow! Brian sent me pictures and he looked well. He was even flexing his muscle for his 4 year old daughter Makaylah. I just am glad that everything went so smoothly.
Mom I just got your message I will call you tomorrow.

Six Flags

We have been doing so much this summer I am getting burnt out! Thursday I took my sisters and Alyssa to see Kit Kitridge (cute movie BTW). Then yesterday we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom with my step mom and two sisters.. I hate the name Six Flags Discovery Kingdom I will just call it Marine World like it used to be.
We left my step Mom's house at 10 then got stuck in traffic on 880 for over an HOUR!! Ugh! I hate the Bay Area sometimes. They were doing emergency road work right after the Oracle Arena and closed a lane. Hello people don't you know closing a lane on a weekday leads to chaos!! So we waited and waited. I watched a guy get so frustrated he was banging his fists on his steering wheel, lol. We finally arrived at Marine World at noon. We wanted to be there by 10:30!!
So we ate as soon as we got there and caught the dolphin show. Gabby was afraid because the music was so loud. But she ended up liking the show by the end and clapped along. After that the kids rode some rides. I bought Erika and Alyssa some Super Girl capes. They were so cute in them. There was an elephant ride sort of like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland and Alyssa's cape was flying in the air like she was actually Super Girl. The girls played in the water park. Gabby hated it and wanted nothing to do with the water. It was nap time by then. We went to the Shouka the killer whale show and by then she was passed out. She slept through most of it. After that Gabby went on a Safari Jeep ride, her first ride ever! Then she went on a Thomas the train ride. We also saw more animals. We saw a giraffe, lions, tigers and sharks.
We ended up leaving at closing time which was at 8! I thought it would stay open later but I guess not on weeknights. The girls were super tired and all of our legs were killing us.
This is pretty much the last big thing we are doing until school starts. I think Alyssa is going to the San Mateo county fair with my step mom in August... but this Mommy needs a break!

Here are some pictures!!


The girls looking cool in their shades:

Erika, Alyssa and Bugs:
The girls and a random tiger:
Gabby not to sure about the dolphin show:

Check out the flip!
Our family at Six Flags:
Gabby looking tough at the Six Flags playground:

The girls on a ride. The girl in the green kept screaming her head off, lol:

The girls and their new dogs and Tweety:

Gabby did not want to go NEAR Tweety!!

The Shouka show! They also had his best friend which is a dolphin do tricks with him.

Gabby on her first ride!!

Super Girls on the Safari ride!

Gabby not so sure about that giraffe!

Super Girls and a big lion:

The girls looking at sharks:

Gabby on the Thomas Train:

Super girls on the train:

Here they are with the conductor:

They decided they really liked him and gave him a hug:

Alyssa's first Slumber Party

A few months ago I promised Alyssa that she could have a slumber party. So she finally got her wish to have a slumber party. Her cousins Talore & Coleson, her Aunts (my sisters) Melinda & Erika and her best friend (not her boyfriend anymore!) Paulie and his sister Lexi spent the night. Alyssa's neighbor friend also came by but did not spend the night.
I spent Thursday night baking Lemonade cupcakes (NEVER make these, they were gross but looked good on paper) and brownies. Friday we made Big Fat Chocolate Chip cookies. I am pretty tired but I will break the night down with pictures:

Here is the party girl waiting for her guests!

We played Scavenger Hunt. My niece Talore and I wrote down clues of things that we hid and the kids had to find them. I gave out Dollar Store prizes... Hannah Montana lip gloss, Cars pens, Tinkerbell pens, etc.
The kids reading their clues:
Gabby helping look for clues with the big kids:

Then we had a talent show. I went on You Tube and the kids sang the songs from the computer. It was so cute. The kids waved their hands like they were at a concert. Here is my sister singing Alicia Keys "No One"

Here is my nephew Coleson singing Foghat's "Slow Ride"

Here is my princess singing "Fabulous" by Ashley Tisdale.

After that we went outside and played pass the marshmallow game with toothpicks. I think they were a little young for the game.

They started cheating and using their hands:

After that they had a wagon/bike race. I was all for it hoping that would burn off some of their energy. Of course that never happened.


After that everyone came inside to play High School Musical "Sing it" on the Wii. Which is like a karaoke game for the Wii.

Then some of the kids played the Wii Fit. There was a time when ALL of the kids ran together. I have it on video. I will try to upload it. I love this game... kids working out... FOR FUN!

While some kids played the Wii Fit the others played M&M relay. My nephew Coleson started the game. The object is to say how many M&M's you think you can eat while running from point A to point B. In the meantime someone is trying to knock over a plastic cup with a football. If they knock the cup down before you eat the M&M's you think you were going to eat you lost. They had fun even though my downstairs is only 600 square feet!!

Then of course we did MAKEOVERS!!

Gabby wanted one too:

This picture really scares me... I can just see a teenager on my hands and I don't like it.

This is when the kids started hijacking my camera. Don't they look cute in their makeup?

All of the girls!
The boys hiding out. Once we started the makeovers they ran to Alyssa's room and barricaded themselves in.
My poor husband. I think he started to clean after this so he could get away from the girls, lol. They totally hijacked the computer from him to make star dolls.

Time for bed... or not!


From what I heard one of the girls was up until 4. My sister went to bed at 1 which is very rare. The latest she has ever stayed up was 10:30. They played a game where whoever fell asleep first was going to have makeup all over their face. My niece Talore lost so they put makeup all over her face and took a picture which my niece deleted. Then they terrorized the boys by putting wet marshmallows on their hands and tickled their faces so they would slap the marshmallow on their face. They took video of that too... it was pretty funny.

The next morning I woke up at 8:30 to make pancakes and kids were everywhere. Talore and Lexi slept in Alyssa's bed and their brothers slept on the floor. Alyssa, Melinda and Erika were on the Aero bed downstairs. Brian and I made them pancakes, bacon and potatoes. They hardly ate! Next time I am just giving them cereal. I woke the kids that were in Alyssa's room up they were sooo tired. Then we all ate. A few of them watched Camp Rock until their parents picked them up while a few of them played in Alyssa's room and outside.

It was fun for the kids but very tiring. Brian and I spent all day Saturday cleaning the house. We had way too much coffee because Brian started cleaning the cabinets and walls. Then we cleaned out our closet which we have been wanting to do for awhile. I am still tired today. Alyssa just took a two hour nap. I think we will do another one next year. Although it's tiring it's memories for the kids.

Mean Girls

Today I let Alyssa and Gabby play outside in the water table when we got home since it was so hot. Gabby decides to come in and eat. So I feed her and start eating myself letting Alyssa eat later when the sun goes down. During this time two girls knock on the back door and ask Alyssa if they can see her backyard. So she lets them in (not okay!) and Brian comes home from Home Depot a minute later and says there are two girls outside with Alyssa. I say okay thinking it's the neighbor sisters from across from us so I go and look and it wasn't. It's two girls (ages 8 and 9) that the Mom's let roam around the town homes and do pretty much whatever they want.
So I go out to supervise and they decided to put water down the slide. I ask them not to and they did it anyway and slid down and one girl hurt herself. So I tell them to not do that again or they can leave. So they decide to have a water fight. I ask them to watch out for Gabby... they don't and smack her in the face with water on accident... but still...While they have a water fight they decide to gang up on Alyssa too. So I tell them Alyssa has to eat dinner and they have to go.
They leave and I tell Alyssa I am sorry you can not play with those girls. They are too big for you and they don't listen to me. Of course she gets upset. I tell her that she can play with the sisters across the way. I have talked to their Mom a lot and we are friendly with each other. The girls are well behaved and respectful.
So I tell Alyssa lets go say hi to your friend really quick. We go over there and her friend is at her Grandma's for the week. I tell the Mom (who is actually a teacher to where the kids here in the neighborhood go to)what happened and she told me she doesn't let her 6 year old play with the girls either because after her daughter played with the girls 5 minutes on her own she came home and told her Mom that she was the princess and a baby was going to come out of her tummy! ACK! So this is how Alyssa gained and lost two friends in the span of a half hour.
It was really cute though I was telling Alyssa how I didn't want her to play with the girls and Alyssa asked if I was mad?? I said no I am just concerned the girls were too big for her. She said "Mom, I know your mad because of your eyes!" Then she told me "Mom I prayed to Jesus that you wouldn't be mad anymore!" I tell you that girl HATES to be in trouble. Which isn't a bad thing...

Our day at the Alameda County Fair

Today after church we went to the Alameda County fair. My bestest friend Lety hooked us up with free parking and half off tickets so how could we not go?? We took my sister Melinda that way Alyssa would have someone to ride the rides with and Brian didn't have to go on everything with her.
It ended up being 93 in Pleasanton and we were super hot. The girls got wristbands so they could ride anything they wanted. The stupid wrist bands went up EIGHT BUCKS from the the last time we went in 2006. I always hate going to the fair because you can go to Six Flags for the same price. Anyway I digress... we got to the fair at around 2 and started riding the rides. Alyssa started getting super cranky because of the sun and we went and ate and got lots of water.
After that we walked around the fair and saw the animals. Brian saw the rabbits and wanted to bring one home. I did not want to clean up rabbit poop as well as Gabby's poop but Brian promised he would take care of it. Well the rabbits ranged from 25-50 bucks and the cages were 69-100 dollars. So I think he reconsidered after that. Alyssa heard that he might buy one and whined for a little bit that she wanted one. Maybe next year... I just don't know how a rabbit and Gabby would get along. She is a little rough. Plus I could think of better things to spend over 100 bucks on. I did have a rabbit once (remember Mom??). He died shortly after I got him. I don't remember from what. It was pretty sad though and I still remember it. All I need is a dead rabbit with a heat wave coming up.
Anyway we ended up eating a LOT! I wasn't too hungry but we all had ice cream and shaved ice and of course I couldn't leave without a huge bag of kettle corn.
We are beat and Brian is still bummed about the rabbit. Although I told him it was his choice and did not say no. Just to let that be on the record!
I am not looking forward to this work week. I saw Livermore is supposed to be 104 freaking degrees and it will be in the 90's at home with no AC. I really should have the guys at work install us an AC system. It will be soo busy this week which is good for business but I will not have a chance to pee. I better get some good sleep tonight.
Here are some pictures from our fun day... I dont know if we will go back next year. Maybe we will make this an every two year event.

Daddy and Alyssa on the swing ride:

Gabby is really ticked she can't get on!

The girls all smiles after eating:

Alyssa and Melinda on the roller coaster. You can sort of see Alyssa's look of fear in her face!

Guys... I am hot in here!
Me and Melinda on the roller coaster:

The girls on the Super Slide:
This is when Brian got the rabbit idea: