Making it

I am not winning. Definitely not. But we are all alive. We are (relatively) happy. And we made it through another week. And that is success for right now.

The kids are mostly better. I've been fighting off whatever it is they had. I think I may have won. But the official answer isn't in yet. Work is really overwhelming - still. I keep waiting for the break, and it just never comes. I'm not sure what we do about that. It also has been ridiculously hot here (in the 90s, even into the 100s), and that just always makes me grumpy!

Last Friday we went to the Angels game with my office. Jayden had a great time. Dakota did okay, but activities where she is supposed to sit still for a long time really aren't her thing right now. 

We were sitting in the "Trout Farm" so we all got hats with trout heads sticking out of them, and fish sticks, which are those yellow inflatable sticks that you can bang together. For those of you who don't know, one of the Angels players' last names is Trout, hence the "Trout Farm." 

Dakota sitting on the dog, because why not?

On Saturday, Carmen had to work, so I invited Maxwell and his family over to swim. The kids had a great time. And so did the grown ups. :)

Grant and Dakota were super cute together. Grant is really self-sufficient. And Dakota just sort of hangs out next to him. So cute.

Dakota loves her doggie. 

Maxwell and Jayden swam for probably two hours. It was insane. They had a great time, though. It was pretty much a perfect summer afternoon.

AND I was introduced to a fantastic Mexican restaurant, which also made my day. Love new food places!

More jumping. Maxwell and Jayden are really just great friends. Even when they'd complain about each other, they'd complain and then get back to playing. Very sweet.

National Ice Cream Day - because obviously! This is frozen yogurt, but Jayden says it's the same, and who am I to argue?!? Even Dakota got to have a little. When it's this hot outside, ice cream is a necessity.

I had 30 minutes at home Monday morning so I made Dakota's room a little more about Dakota and less about a place to pile things! I also put up some more of her pictures, and a few other things to make a collage wall. I can't wait to get more photos of her to add to the wall! 

Because it has been in the 90s and 100s this week, the kids have been playing outside a LOT in the mornings (not as much in the afternoons, when it's just too hot to do anything). One of the days this week, I picked Jayden up in this outfit. He wanted to put his socks on because the concrete was hot, so he was wearing his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle underwear and purple socks. He's amazing.

This was building week at school. They made a variety of forts with cardboard boxes. But, with Teacher Dane, they also built a train out of wood. The basic structure is what you see in the picture. Today when I picked Jayden up, they'd bent a piece of cardboard over the front, had added a smoke stack made out of cardboard and added a bench and a bell. Pretty awesome. I can't wait to see what they do with it next week. I'll try to take another picture of the finished product.

The cool thing is that the kids helped decide what to build and how to build it. Dane basically figured out how much wood he had and then let the kids direct him. They initially wanted to build a house, and Dane figured he didn't have quite enough wood to make a house. 

One of Jayden's "treasures" from preschool: a cup full of dead bees. Awesome. He asks "Mom, can I bring them home?!?" I can't say no, so now they are on the table where we eat the majority of our meals.

I had to go to Riverside today to meet with a California Assembly Member. It was 108 degrees in Riverside. It was 102 when I picked the kids up from daycare, so it's not like it was cool here. But the car got as high as 109 while I was out there. So grateful I don't live out there. It's oppressive.

The beautiful/kind of spooky evening sky tonight. It almost looked like a thunderstorm was coming. I wonder if some of it is due to the variety of wildfires that are burning in SoCal. None of them are near us, so that doesn't totally makes sense, but maybe the smoke is traveling?

And now we're back to the weekend again. I'd like to say it will be relaxing, but between the two kids it's just balancing. And tiring. And fun. But exhausting again.

I hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend!

And now we're recovering

And not actually doing a good job of it. Carmen is gone this entire week - just in L.A., but he doesn't come home at night so it's just me and the kids. As is usual, the minute that happens, one or both kids get sick. Dakota had a fever Saturday and Sunday, so I kept her home on Monday. Today Jayden had a fever. Both kids were in bed and asleep by 7:30, which is pretty much unheard of in our house. Dakota was actually asleep by 6:45 or something crazy. Hopefully it works. I am about 10 days behind at work, and I really really really need to be in the office tomorrow. We'll see what the morning brings.

In any case, even with the illnesses and general trouble sleeping (Saturday and Sunday nights I was up every few hours with Dakota, and then Jayden decided he'd get up every 30 minutes, starting at 4:00 am this morning - oof!), we've had some fun in the past few days.

Dakota is quite the climber. I left this box in our front hallway and turned around for a minute. I turn back around and she's sitting on top. Of course.

Jayden has decided that he often doesn't want to eat with me and Dakota. He told me he doesn't like us. Then he told me Dakota is too loud and he can't eat. So he ate dinner by himself in the dining room. Then he ate breakfast yesterday morning outside in the backyard. It's an interesting phase.

And then he does this: last night at dinner, Dakota dropped something on the floor. I dove and quickly grabbed it before Jasmine did. Jayden said "nice reaction mom!" I said "thanks." He said "I really loved how you got to the food before Jasmine did." I was a little surprised, but smiled at him, and he said "Actually mom, I really love you too." And then obviously I just hugged him. He's so sweet.

And THEN, he's so creepy, too! We were watching Australian drag racing today (it's a long story, involving the aforementioned sick kids, mama's exhaustion and fear of temper tantrums and no basketball on TV) and they interviewed one of the winning drivers. Jayden looks at me and says "that used to be dad." I was like "what???" He said "yeah, that used to be my daddy. We had a silly name for him, do you want to know what it was?" Well, obviously I did want to know. "We called him Jayden-yo!" And the second winner used to be his uncle. And the third winner used to be his Grampa. Funny thing was that these were all Australian white guys. And the third guy was definitely the youngest of the three - so totally makes sense that he'd be the Grampa. I seriously love four year olds. At the same time that they completely drive me crazy. I actually told parents I met for the first time on Sunday not to let their child turn four or five. I sometimes have no filter when it comes to parenting...

But really?!? Saturday Carmen went out with Alex for the afternoon, so Jayden, Dakota and I had a low-key evening in. This little cutie just kills me.

Then we had dinner in the backyard and Jayden got a hold of my camera, which meant we took a gazillion pictures in cartoon and black and white cartoon mode. The second one has a real name, but I have no idea what it is - maybe mystic or something?

More fun.

Silliness.

Hugs.

Dakota is the sweetest little girl. I don't remember Jayden coming up to me and hugging me all the time. But Dakota does. She'll be playing and then just stop and crawl over to me and lay her head on me. It's the sweetest thing.

And THEN Jayden spotted a rainbow! I have no idea where it came from - it was just this little mini rainbow, and no rain anywhere. But it was so beautiful.

And of course there was swimming. Dakota really loves the water. I have to be careful with her because she gets cold oh so quickly - but then she fights you if you try to keep her out of the water. Such conflicts!

Jayden decided he wanted to take the training wheels off his bike this weekend.  This was not a good idea. Because he did not realize how wobbly it would be, and it was quite scary for him. At one point when we were practicing and I very slightly took my hand off the bike he looked at me and yelled "Do NOT take your hand off the bike!!!" I listened and followed instructions. The problem is that we tried to put the training wheels back on, and now they're loose and he had a crash as a result. Which has thrown off my ability to take the dog for walks in the morning. That's my second job for the night - to fix the training wheels. Wish me luck!

Jayden's friend Maxwell's brother Grant turned two recently, and they had a party for him on Sunday. Since we don't have soccer anymore, we were able to go, which was awesome. Jenn (Maxwell and Grant's mom) had these adorable cookies made. The party was based on the Mr. Tiger book, which is just adorable. Jenn is one of the more creative people I know, and puts together the cutest (and most delicious) parties!

And then the fateful Monday. I had to go to work in the morning so Dakota came with me. Shortly after I let her loose in my office, she found a box of files and climbed right in. And then tore up some papers in the box - luckily not client papers, just random notes I'd left in there.

Also, more Old Navy goodness  - her pants are SO cute! They're little harem pants, but knit and so cute. And I adore the color. Totally sporty girly again. Since the only shoes she'll wear are her hand-me-down Nikes, this sporty girly clothing fits perfectly.  :)

And now it's Wednesday. Two more days. I just have to make it two more days. And maybe one day I'll get more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night. I really need at least 8 to survive, but I've got 13+ months of sleep deprivation to catch up on, and I can feel it starting to affect me. I'm trying so so hard to not lose my temper, and I'm mostly succeeding. But there are times I can just feel it boiling up inside of me and it's all I can do not to just scream for ten minutes straight. The light I saw at the end of the tunnel a few weeks ago has shrunk. It's there, but it's a whole lot smaller than it was. I'm trying to just wait it out - I'm hoping hoping hoping that things start to ease up. We'll see.

In any case, that's my update for now. I'm sure I'm missing a whole bunch of stories and events, but at least you have a pretty good idea of our last few weeks. I hope everyone else is enjoying the summer and staying cool!

Seattle in July

Really, we had amazing weather for the whole trip.  It was overcast and rainy the day we left Seattle, which of course made me sad.  Rainy and overcast days in the summer are some of my favorites! They usually only last a day, and it gives you that reprieve from constant sunshine. You can tell I'm a Northwest girl born and raised when I'm complaining about constant sunshine!!! These SoCal people think I'm crazy, but I know better.

Somebody loves the diving board!

Someone else is not a huge fan of the floaty thing. But it lasted for 3-1/2 minutes before she started screaming.

He's seriously looking right at me as I take the picture, and he sticks his tongue out!  C'mon!

Auntie and Jayden balancing on a log in in the Grand Forest on Bainbridge Island.  So beautiful.

Jayden was good for the first twenty minutes or so.  After that, Auntie definitely got her workout in as she lugged around 45 pounds of 4 year old.

Because, obviously.

Selfie time! Dakota keeps sleeping through our hikes, but at least she's getting her rest, I guess.

Look, this mossy covered stump looks kind of like a dog! So cool.

We're on a boat!

We saw a sea lion! This was pretty exciting.

I got MY workout on the boat ride, where I sat in a seat with two kids on my lap. I spent part of the ride leaning back, supporting me and the kids primarily with my abs. It was not so easy. But since we saw the sea lion, it was allllll worth it. 

Post-boat ride, all smiles from Jayden. A "get me out of this straight jacket thing" face from Dakota.

Jayden and Gramma looooved the pool.

Seriously, Sunday was the best vacation day ever: a hike in the Grand Forest, a boat ride with Grampa and swimming with Gramma and Auntie. And then Thai food from Sawatdy (our local Thai restaurant that really can't be beat) for dinner?!?  Seriously doesn't get better than that.

Totally accidental that my foot ended up featured in this photo, but at least I recently had a pedicure?!? And also important to note that, as I was falling backwards, I managed to keep the phone out of the water. Close call.

Dakota loved being up in the air! She loves the water, but mostly she loves splashing. 

Seriously, she needs no bath toys. Just put her in while the bathtub is filling up and that's all the entertainment she needs.

Monday was Fourth of July, and as we have done since the beginning of time, we went down to the Island's "Grand Ol' Fourth" celebration and parade.

This slide was so fun. Luckily we got there early and all of us got to ride it with Jayden before the lines got long.

It was a really fast slide! Jayden kept laying down, but wanting to hold Gramma and Auntie's hands. It made for an interesting ride and an interesting finish. But all of it was fun.

Snacking. I adore this hat (Old Navy, like so many of my favorite outfits - sporty and cute is definitely my baby girl style -shocking, I know!). She'd keep it on for about 22 seconds before she'd rip it off her head.  So, she's mid-bite, but at least she has the hat on.

Jayden made another boat - so awesome. Every year the Bainbridge Sailing Club does a fundraiser at the Fourth where kids can make these wooden boats for $10. Jayden made one two years ago, and this year he glued all kinds of animals on it. It was pretty cool!

Watching the parade.

I doubt anyone caught it, but my kids are totally patriotic, even if it's not obvious. Dakota has stars tights and Jayden has striped socks - they're my stars and stripes! I know, it's lame. But I love it.

Jayden spent a lot of time trying to blow up this balloon. This is the point where he said "look mommy, I did it!" It was pretty awesome.

And the aftermath - two passed out kiddos.

Sparklers! Jayden got to light about 15 sparklers because people kept giving him theirs in order to get on his good side. It onl sort of worked, but people felt pretty proud of themselves. :)

One of my favorite pictures of all time. Auntie and friends put on a pretty spectacular fireworks show!

The city. So beautiful.

And that was our visit to Seattle in pictures. There are a few things I didn't capture: we saw Finding Dory on Friday afternoon. Jayden, Carmen and I had been reading the book (Disney makes these awesome "junior novels" of some or all of their movies), so Jayden knew the story. Turns out, that is the best way for us to see movies going forward. It means Jayden knows what to expect, knows the outcome and doesn't get nervous in any part of the movie. We still aren't going to let him see Star Wars or anything that's just too old for him, but I think we might be able to see some other cartoon movies that we might not have otherwise seen. Pretty cool! Also, lesson learned: Dakota is WAY too young for a movie. I spent the first half crawling on the floor of the movie theater (ewww!) and Gramma spent the second half in the bathroom playing with the sink water. Oh well.

We had lots of good food, some pretty good wine, some amazing views and just general relaxation. I could have used some extra sleep, but that's probably not really happening for a few more years. Oh well. All in all, it was a good trip. It was long, but it was good timing and it was really a cool vacation for Jayden and for the rest of us as far as doing awesome outdoor activities.

Oh! And I forgot a few pictures my sister had sent me from the Tetons:

On the wildlife tour. The view behind me was just incredible.

Horseback riding!

Me and my Peanut.

My new hat. Guarantee it looks 176 times cuter on Dakota than it does on me. And it doesn't even look that bad on me - it's just so ridiculously cute on the baby!