Our First Home

It's been official since 7/10 - we're homeowners! Besides bragging rights of saying we own a home, home ownership is hard work! We already found tons of fixer uppers and things to take care of. However, it is nice to finally unpack. I only have two more boxes of toys to empty out at the new house. And boy are the kids happy! They've been so deprived of their toys the past week that I've just resorted to letting them play with the iPad most of the time. 

Group selfie

The kids actually don't mind having all this screen time (surprise surprise). As for me, I need to remind myself to not let that be my resort 24/7. Due to all the Daniel Tiger, Angry Birds Star Wars, and Elmo screen time, they finally gave me genuine smiles during our selfie session on the couch.

Next week is our official BIG move! It'll be really nice to get out of this empty, sad-looking non-family-looking of a house now and start decorating my permanent place.  I've been Pinterest crazy on my unknown first home for nearly two years now. It's nice to actually go back on my boards and actually try to make some of my pins a reality.

As of now, life is all about cleaning, dusting, unpacking, trips to Home Depot/Lowe's, and making sure the kids are under control while we take turns running these errands.

 What happens when they're under Daddy's watch

 ... luckily I vacuumed the night before.

Lu's new room and "belated" birthday present(s)

Every night when the kids are down, I've sneaked out to work on their rooms. Our (my) goal is to set up both their rooms and play room before Wednesday (big move) so they'll get out of the movers way. Or, I can just let them roam free in the backyard... 

As for now, we are in a very busy/stressful (I'm breaking out like I'm 18 again!)/happy time in our lives. I think things should calm down in roughly three weeks... hopefully. I can't wait to finally host parties and let Lucas invite his "real" (don't really know who his fake) friends to his new house.

The 4th

We had a chance to see fireworks, enjoy some music, and just be outdoors during the 4th of July, but we did things a bit differently this year. Next year we'll get back into the grove of things and do something a bit more patriotic and fun (ie: maybe host a BBQ, go to the park, etc.). This long weekend, we were consumed with furniture shopping and just spending some low-key family time together. Things have been pretty hectic lately, so being low-key was just what we needed this weekend.

 Lucas requested to go to the bookstore

Char wanted to go to Petsmart to see wo-wos

 Five Guys: our All-American lunch

 Boston Market: our All-American dinner

 Jamba Juice: our All-American treat after dinner

 Picking "strawberries" (like Daniel Tiger)

 Meet iPad: our free babysitter

 Randomly went inside a fun event at the Disney store

Cute moment before getting in the car

And now it's Monday...

Happy Birb-bay, Lucas! (pt 2)

Last night, we specifically went to an Italian place cause Lucas said he wanted pizza for dinner (and his parents were not in the mood for pizza). But when I went down his list of options for dinner, he decided that he wanted to get a cheeseburger instead. Oh Lucas, you're just like your mother. Oh well, the whole family's a fan of Italian, so no biggie.

After, the real fun began. We went to the Chuck E Cheese in Cupertino and... (wait for it)... THERE. WAS. A. CARS. ARCADE. RIDE. So guess what homeboy wanted to do the entire time?

 Heaven for the birb-bay boy

 Sissy poo wanted to go on all the car rides

We had to force him to leave

Cake for breakfast? Happy birb-bay indeed!

Now we only have to wait another year to your next birb-bay, buddy!

Happy Birb-bay, Lucas! (pt 1)

 

 World's most interesting boy

Dear Lucas,

Three years ago, you made me a mother. I thought you were pretty fun your first year (but come on, I had nothing to really compare it to). I thought you were even more fun your second year (your personality started to come out and you could talk a little). Now that you're three, you're quite awesome! You've become quite the character. Everyone that meets you notices your beautiful smile and your contagious (hyena) laugh/giggle. You are able to carry a conversation quite well, sometimes too well since you're quite the opinionated one. We can talk about things, be silly, and yet you still have a sweet side to you. Remember how earnestly you looked for Mommy's headache and tried to get rid of it for me with a kiss? Some of your most memorable quotes are "I remember yesterday...", "Mommy, go outside!", "Oh my goodness", and "Char, it's okay". You're actually a surprisingly good brother to sissy poo, and that makes Mommy's heart melt when I see all the nice things you do for her.

I might be biased when I say this, but you're the smartest three year old I know. You seriously teach yourself everything and make Mommy look good by being so smart. You have a crazy memory and remember the smallest little details from the past. And you're the funniest guy in the  whole wide world; such a trickster, too. Oh, and you're also a little too cray cray.

Happy 3rd birthday, my handsome little beeseewhydoh of a man!

Love, 

Mommy 

Just a normal morning routine

Your contagious laugh

Definitely gonna get the girls with these dance moves

Since it was Lucas's birb-bay today, I wanted to do something more "special" instead of our usual "let's go to the mall" morning. Although I'm not a fan of the sun, I thought the kids would have a blast at HHZ. And boy was I right! They also zonked out pretty quickly after lunch too! Today was a good day, there were barely any kids when the park opened so they got to ride on their favorite rides multiple times.

 Rode on this 3x (very adamant about getting this specific zebra)

 Danny the Dragon (rode 2x)

 Yo home to Bel-Air!

Can't help it, isn't she so cute?!

How sissy poo wishes big bro a happy birb-bay

After nap time, we'll continue Lucas Day with a nice dinner for the birb-bay boy followed by Chuck E. Cheese!

Lucas's Birthday Party

To make Lucas's birthday party extra special (for him) this year, he got to hand pick his own guests. This dude must be super popular because everyone he invited was able to come! He was so happy seeing everybody he liked there. I've never seen him greet people so enthusiastically and give such big bear hugs! This is probably the simplest and most low-key party I've had for any of the kids, but it seems to be the most enjoyable. All Lucas wanted was pizza, cake (with strawberries inside), his friends and cousins, and presents (surprise surprise).

So happy

Bromance hug, bros since 2011

 Fighting over the lone girl?

 Church friends

 Let's blow our fake candles (thank you breeze)

Happy 3rd Birthday!

 Blow blow blow

 Nom nom nom

 Pushing match with Uncle San?

So that was the weekend. Kids, they're content with the simple things in life. Since our normal play date got cancelled and it was super hot outside, we (Lucas) decided to spend our morning at Almaden Plaza. You can't go wrong with Petsmart, TJ Maxx, Yo Pop, and Barnes & Noble.

 Cutest siblings ever!

 Morning froyo

What kind of mother gives their kids froyo at 10:30 in the morning? This mother! Char has that face because she was surprised how cold the froyo was. Lu was just plain happy. So it continues, Lucas's birthday week! But honestly, I don't think homeboy even knows it's his birthday week. So why are we doing this?!

Crazy Week With Crazy Kids

This week has just been crazy for various reasons. Amidst the craziness, the kids have managed to enjoy summer and have fun. Char definitely had tons of fun this week. Her highlight of the week had to be playing with a wo-wo (dog) as well as wearing her bead necklaces.

 Char's faves: wo-wo, necklace, and homegirl H

Maybe we'll get a wo-wo when the kids are older...

 "Baby" Lucas

Char suddenly loves babies

Crazy group of toddlers

I foresee many ER trips in the future

Besties

I had a better picture with both of them smiling, but it turned out blurry. Curses!

Weekend Shinnanigans

First things first, Lucas is potty trained! The three-day method worked for our almost three year old boy! I'm so proud of him! He is capable of pooping (daily) on the potty, peeing at restaurants, and going to the potty without me asking anymore. 

Just listen to the dialogue...

This weekend consisted of berry picking, Ikea, and just hanging out.

 Shinn boys hard at work

 Looking for berries, berries for jam

 Char picking some berries

 $11 for 3 pounds of berries (INSANE!)

I can buy so much more at Sprouts for $11. Plus my shoes, shirt, and car won't get dirty. Oh well, it was for the kids. They had a fun time. Next up - Ikea! Ikea is a great place for kids to play. However, if you're in a time crunch and looking for specific things (or looking to get work done there), bringing kids with you might not be a good idea.

 Taking care of sissy poo @ Ikea

 I spy a Char dog

 Good night Lucas

Stylin' with Mommy's old sunglasses

A buncha crazies

... and now it's Monday, and I'm (still) beat!