Mommy Brain

Well.. it was a long weekend.. but it was a good weekend… Daddy had both Thursday and Friday off… so we filled them up with lots of fun things to do.

Thursday was pretty much sleeping in, hanging out around the house, and eating… I didn’t cook this year.. I left the big job up to Bel Air… I’m saving myself for New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t bad at all.. the food was well worth the money.. not to mention the stress of cooking, then cleaning up after every dish that I would have used to cook. It was a quiet evening. Grandma T. came over for dinner. We had a good evening. The girls ate turkey like there was no tomorrow, but didn’t really like the mashed potatoes or stuffing… Oh well… can’t win them all

The next morning, we got up early, ran to Starbucks and got coffee, and some muffins for the girls. I got the gingerbread mocha, and Oh. My. Goodness… I’m addicted now. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but this stuff has got me hooked. Anyway, we got our breakfast, and went on to Old Sacramento. We were going to get in line for the Santa Train. We had hoped that being Black Friday, most people would be busy shopping rather than waiting for the train. We were there early enough to be number one in line. It was pretty cool. The girls ate their muffin and drank their water while I and daddy enjoyed our coffee. The box office opened at 1020, I got our tickets.. which were free because we were members… and we got in the boarding line… We decided to check out the dining car this time, rather than the passenger car.. It was actually very nice! There was a lot of room for us to move about.

Not even 5 mins after the train started on the track, Santa came into our car and started visiting with all of the children. We were curious to see what the girls would do.. and soon enough, we found out. It was hilarious. Alexandra was sitting next to me, and Victoria next to Daddy. I got up to let Santa sit next to Alexandra and get a picture of them… as soon as he sat down, Alexandra scrambled across the table to Daddy and Victoria. I was just laughing… Poor Santa.. He probably expected it though. So many little kids on the train.. I wonder how many he actually was able to talk to about what they wanted for Christmas. We had a good time, and the girls absolutely loved the train ride.

After the train, we took off to The Children’s Place to look for the girls’ Christmas Dresses. We found some really cute skirts, but couldn’t find one sweater that we really liked… That started a whole new battle. Once we got out of there, we came home, fed the girls some lunch and put them down for a nap.

Saturday, we went to visit with Daddy’s grandpa, and uncle. It was their first time seeing the girls, and it was a lot of fun! Sunday was just a quiet day at home. Of course, Daddy wasn’t all too excited about having to go back to work on Monday. He had 4 straight days at home with the girls, and now it was time to get ready to return to the normal schedule. It was a great weekend though… and soon we’ll have the Christmas & New Year Holiday.

I’ve posted before about Kristen, author of Motherhood Uncensored, and her awesome way of looking at the day to day events associated with being a mom. One of her earlier posts just had me laughing. She wrote about her daughter playing video games at 3 years of age. Her daughter was just captivated by a game she got in the mail for her hand held game system. I laugh because I can totally relate to her situation. 

A & V have started to show extreme interest in a few electronic gadgets. They love playing SSX Tricky on the XBox. I can’t even figure that game out… and they can score thousands of points on that thing. I’ve written before about them being able to totally work the iPhone by themselves. They know how to get to their bookmarked videos on YouTube, and can find their Dora, WonderPets and Little Einsteins movies I purchased from iTunes. They’ve also started popping  virtual “bubble wrap” on the laptop. Oh, and they love to instant message with Daddy too..

What’s great is, when they do these things, I can get some time to work on cleaning something, or cooking, or just sit and watch them. I totally understand what she was talking about!

You know what else I think? I also think that no matter what anyone else says, these kids are geniuses. I don’t care who says video games are bad for kids. It’s not like I let them play Doom, or something… They’re learning hand-eye coordination. They’re also learning how to think ahead, and they’re building their memory skills! I’ll take any help I can get there!

It was a bright sun shiny day… or so I thought… I woke up on Monday, November 19th, 2007. The sun was shining outside, but the weather person on Good Day Sacramento was telling me that the clouds and rain were going to be here some where around 9am. Great… Just what I need. I’m going to be in line at that time…. with the girls… who will hopefully be GOOD for me and SIT in their STROLLER…. oh, did I mention this line was for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA TICKETS???? Yes, The Phantom of the Opera is coming to Sacramento!!! Tickets went on sale bright and “early” at 10am. I had been planning

Tickets for the Phantom of the Opera, Sacramento show went on sale on the 19th of November at 10am. We were in line at 9am. It was cool, windy, and getting cloudier by the minute. The girls were actually sitting in their jogging stroller, wearing their little hats and scarves that I crocheted for them, bundled up in their Disney Princess blankets. Of course, their little boxes of animal graham crackers didn’t hurt the situation much either… Once they gobbled those up, I was at the ready with some fruit strips from Trader Joe’s.

We were 7th in line. Not too bad considering we were there an hour before the box office opened up. I was ready to go, with my print outs of the seating chart, dates and times we were wanting to go, ordered by preference, and the list of how many tickets were still available. I was not going to show up unprepared. Oh, and speaking of prepared, we also had about 3 books each, 2 stuffed animals, and loads of snacks and water… The girls were very happy.. and happy girls= happy mommy.

10 o’clock rang in with the bells from the Cathedral’s tower, and we opened the doors to the box office. They had 4 windows open. I was just praying the line over at the Convention Center Box office, or all the people on the phone, or online wouldn’t scoop up all the good seats! By the time it was my turn, the girls were ready to go home. I was able to get them to stay calm while I bought my tickets, but once we were out of there… all bets were off. They were all ready to go home! I really didn’t blame them. I was totally amazed that they lasted that long. Needless to say, they got a special treat on the way home. We went to Jamba Juice. MMMmmmm Jamba Juice!

So, my hubby finally taught me about the wonderful world of podcasts. I never had an iPod, so I’m still learning how these things work. Once I got my iPhone, and got the hang of searching iTunes, I was iHooked. I couldn’t put down the iMouse and walk away from my iTunes. Ok ,Ok enough of the iStuff… anyway…

I subscribed to a bunch of Photoshop Podcasts, and a couple of parenting ones. The one that has me absolutely hooked is Motherhood Uncensored. It’s hosted by a mom named Kristen Chase, and it’s a no nonsense podcast about what it’s really like being a woman, wife, and mom! She holds nothing back, and I absolutely love it. She doesn’t just talk about the wine and roses parts of being a mom, and I really think that’s how it should be. She often has very informative guests on her show, and I’ve actually gotten a lot of great ideas from them!

I’ve started listening to her podcast while I’m at the gym. It’s so much more enjoyable than listening to the same 30 songs over and over again. I never know what to expect, and I never regret listening. Listening to the podcast actually passes the time faster for me than my music, which I think is funny. Kirsten took a break for a couple of weeks, and I was worried something had happened to her. I found out this morning that she had been sick, and had really thought about keeping her podcast going. Thankfully, she is continuing with it. It’s been shortened to 30 minutes rather than 60 minutes, but it’s still just as much fun. If you’d like to catch it LIVE… check out her Blog or go to BlogTalkRadio for the podcast from 9-9:30pm Wednesdays!

Kirsten also has a few other blogs, one of which is a lot of fun, called Mominatrix, and another that is full of great information about the must haves for mom and baby, called Cool Mom Picks. I know there’s a few more but, these are the ones I can remember right now… the ones I like to follow most closely… I’ll probably be mentioning more and more about them here now, as things come up… You should definitely check them out!! I guarantee you’ll get hooked too!

We took our annual trip up to Apple Hill on Saturday! It was such a blast! We have a great time every year, but this year we actually got to drive around and watch the girls explore too. We planned on going to a couple of places because of the events they had marked on the calender… The first one was the Mother Lode Orchards. It was marked as their Family Fun weekend, with cider tasting, kids crafts, and more. We got there, and they really didn’t have anything going on. It was a really small place, and they didn’t have much out in way of samples. It was a little disappointing. We noticed a lot of people that arrived at the same time as us also left at the same time.

From there we drove around and stopped at some of the smaller orchards and wineries. We did stop at Bolster’s Hilltop Ranch & Winery. We liked that place last year. They had quite a few wines and other items to taste. They have a pretty neat craft section. Lots of good things for sale there. We Checked out Boa Vista Orchards as well. They were one of the larger orchards that we stopped at. They had lots of good food, and a lot of vendors there that day! You could get anything from Christmas ornaments to back support items, to sterling silver jewelry! The food seemed to be very popular! They had tri tip sandwiches, corn dogs, and a grille where we got a grilled cheese sandwich and fries for the girls. It was a pretty hoppin’ place!

One thing we haven’t ever really done was check out the major wineries in the area. This year, we had the opportunity to check out Stone’s Throw Winery. There was a group of people there when we arrived, and they were walking away with bottles! We walked up to the counter, and they had all of their champagnes & wines lined up on the counter. Meemaw, Peepaw, and I tried just about all of them. They were all so good. It was so difficult to decide which one to buy. I love love love White Zinfandel, and theirs was so good, but I can buy White Zin at the store any time. Their Merlot was really good too… First thing we thought was “Prime Rib”. LOL… But that’s another one we can get any time. Their Raspberry Champagne was very good, and that was one of the prime candidates. We ended up buying their Apple Wine! It was so good! It had a crisp apple flavor that wasn’t too sweet, and wasn’t too tart. It was very good, and seasonal! It’s not something I can just happen across at the grocery store… so I had to pick that one! I figure it’ll go perfect with the baby back ribs Daddy’s going to cook for my birthday this year!!! Their prices were very reasonable! I’m so glad we stopped there this time. I think we’re going to make it one of the must see’s for next time we’re up there! If you’re looking for a great winery to stop at, look for this sign!

We went back around to High Hill Ranch. It’s the one place we always must stop. This year was no different. We made this our final stop. This year they had a whole bunch of craft vendors there! It was so neat seeing all the things for sale… We actually ended up buying the girls their Christmas Ornaments there this year… A new vendor this year.. They have their names on them too!!! I’m so excited! We also bought a neat little sushi maker. I’m more than positive it will be used A LOT! It’s so easy to use.. I can’t wait to use it! I’m pretty sure we’ll have a sushi party on New Year’s!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. The girls had fun, we had fun, and we ate apple pie and drank apple cider. I can’t wait to go again next year!!!

Update: I received an email from the Adams Family today!

Hi Monica,

Thanks for the kind words about our winery. We are glad to hear you enjoyed your visit. We try to make it as family friendly as we can. Hope to see you next year. We hope to have a couple of new releases by then.

Cheers,
The Adams Family

PS:
The woman you talked to is Lynn, she is our tasting room manager and I will give her your positive feedback.

Thanks for checking my site out!!! We will definitely be back!!!

I was going through some pictures and found a few from Halloween morning. As with every morning, we were up watching CW 31’s Good Day Sacramento, and they mentioned that Mark S. Allen was out at the IKEA in West Sacramento handing out candy to children in costume. Well, the girls wanted to go get some candy.. We had to get to the gym before it was too late so we got ready and took off really fast. The girls looked so cute in their costumes… I called my parents since they only live about 5 mins away from there. They were at Walmart, and dad just happened to have his camera! WOOT!

We showed up and there was a decent line… Lots of kids in costume just waiting for their 5 seconds of fame on the TV. We missed most of the TV spots, but Cody Stark was there giving away candy while we all waited. He’s a very nice guy. The girls weren’t too sure about his Elvis Wig… but once he gave them some candy, they loved him.

Later on, Nick Toma came out to say “Hi” to everyone. He came by to talk to us, and we were lucky enough to get a picture with him too. He’s also a very sweet guy. He thought the girls were very cute…. and gave them some more candy… The girls loved him too.. LOL..

It was a lot of fun.. and the girls did eventually get their 5 seconds of fame. More like 3 seconds, but it was all worth it! They left with their pumpkins half full of candy!

Photos by Ana Maria Photo

This morning, daddy went to the donut shop before the girls woke up. He thought it would be kinda fun to get donuts for breakfast today. The girls were a little surprised when they saw it. They somehow knew exactly what they were, even though they had never had them before… It was so funny.

Daddy got them chocolate donuts, and glazed donute, and they absolutely loved them both. The chocolate seemed to be their favorite though… I’m not sure if it was them yelling “Choc-o-laaaaate” or them licking their fingers saying “Chocolate monster” that gave it away… LOL…

I’m glad they got to try it out, but it definitely won’t be something we do all the time…

Halloween started early for us… We took the girls to Fairy Tale Town on Sunday to trick or treat there. They had a blast. It was their first real experience with Trick or Treating. They were a little scared at first, seeing all of the different costumes, and kids all over the place. Once we got them inside and explained how it all worked… The first time they got their candy in their pumpkin, they knew they loved it. It was so funny!

We walked them through about 16 candy stations watching them giggle, say “trick or treat”, “thank you, and then look at their loot before walking off to the next stop. It was too cute. They did take one break to sit down and color the “tin man’s heart” from the Wizard of Oz. They wore that for a little bit and then decided it would be better in their pumpkin. They weren’t interested in any of the other activities that they had going on… just getting the candy.. oh and chasing “Humpty Dumpty” around the park too. They just loved running up to him and giving him hugs. Alexandra actually would just yell “HI!” from wherever she was when she saw him… it was so funny.

Fast Forward to Halloween night. Daddy was able to get off of work early that day. He came home, and we rushed off to the Sacramento zoo for their “Boo at the Zoo” event. We got there a little early, and waited in the loooong line. Once they opened, it went quickly. We got inside, and they handed out little trick or treat bags in case you forgot yours. The girls, of course, had their little pumpkins. We walked all around the zoo collecting candy. They got a pretty good collection too… more for mommy and daddy later!

After the zoo, we went to Meemaw & Peepaw’s house to say hi, and visit with them for a little bit.. We also walked down the street a little bit to visit a family friend, who actually saw me and my little sister grow up. Every year for Halloween, they’d give us special candy! They’d have the usual candy to give out to all the neighborhood kids, but my sister and I would always get the KING SIZE Hershey bars. Sure enough… they had them ready for me…errr… ummm.. the girls too! *teehee*. From there, we came back up to our neighborhood and visited my sister’s Godparents. We hadn’t seen them in a little while, so it was very nice to see them. They really enjoyed seeing the girls too.

By the time we left their house, it was nearly 9pm, and we realized, we still hadn’t had dinner. We did the easy thing, and  went through the Wendy’s drive thru. Now before anyone gets all crazy about fast food… we rarely do this.. in fact, I do believe this was only the 6th time we’ve really done that in the 2.5 years they’ve been alive.. LOL..

Anyway… we grabbed our food, and ran home for the girls to eat their chicken tenders. We got them in a quick bath and put them to bed. I think they finally fell asleep around 10pm. *phew*  Off to check out their loot LOL…