The End of Spring Break

Okay. It's official. This is it. It's Sunday afternoon and I am seriously dreading going to sleep tonight. It's going to be hard to wake up at 6:30, be at school by 7:30, and start teaching around 8:30. I've been creeping out of bed around 8 this whole week. This is going to be tough! 

Anyway, to end Spring break, I hosted a baby sprinkle for a good friend. This was the first time I've hosted an adult only party in a long, long time. It was nice and refreshing not having to worry about chidren for a good two hours.

 Brunch spread

My little princess didn't really have a boo-boo. I put a band-aid on forehead and she refuses to take it off. Today she wanted to go to church with this on and I had to tell everyone who inquired that it wasn't a real boo-boo, simply a fashion statement from a two year old.

 Jammies in the afternoon FTW

 Selfies

After the baby sprinkle, we had friends over at night. Char was surprisingly very, very good with a baby and did her best to entertain him. Lucas did not give babies the time of day. I think he was actually a bit scared of babies. He shared some toys with baby, but always stood behind me. It turns out Lucas isn't afraid of feeding goats, but he's afraid of monster babies. Go figure!

 Good-with-baby Charlotte

 On the way to church

 Yogurtland after church

By the way, Daddy thinks both kids look like him and claims I'm in denial. I am NOT in denial. Charlotte is too beautiful to look like him!

Planting my garden

In my previous post, I mentioned that I wanted to start a garden. And look who's doing all the work for me. And no thanks to this ridiculous California drought, my grass is turning yellow again! 

And that is the end of a wonderfully tiring week! Bring it, work!

Spring Break 2015 Pt 2

I can't believe this is the last day of Spring break! I had all these things I wanted to do and I accomplished absolutely nothing! I do feel sorta productive though. With both kids not napping today, I was still able to work on some stuff for a friend's baby sprinkle tomorrow. If that's not productive, I don't know what is!

Part 1 of this post is dedicated to all the weird stuff that happens at home. 

 Princess acting like a tomboy

 No words...

 Sissy poo copying big bro

 "Lucas, kings don't smile."

I started off strong at the beginning of the week by bringing them to HH and Rockin' Jump. Things started to simmer down towards the end of the week (hence no naps for the most part). 

One hobby I really wanted to get started on was gardening. The idea of it sounds cool, the kids had a blast picking out (on sale) veggies at OSH. Now the hard part is getting to work on this. When we lived in Mountain View, I had convinced Dan that we should have a little garden in our backyard. After it was done, I found out I was pregnant (with Lucas) and completely forgot all about it. This time around, I'm older (and wiser) and we don't plan to move at all in the near future so I will learn to have a green thumb!

 Happy Lucas

 Silly Lucas

 Flying Lucas

The kids love going to the playground. I need to check out SV Toddler's page for cool playgrounds around the area. Once they are out of the car, they know that it's okay to run towards the playground. This free activity also helps them get tired so they nap.

 Fake surprised Char

We went to visit Apple Daddy before our Spring break ended. I can't believe how big the kids have gotten. They are capable of feeding themselves now and can communicate what they want. Over break, I noticed how much Char is trying to talk. She would ramble on and on about something and the most I can do is respond "yes" since I still don't understand 75% of what she's trying to say. Homegirl's trying though...

 Happy Charlie

Happy Lu Bear

... I can't believe it's the weekend and Spring break is over. Next milestone: END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!

Spring Break 2015 Pt 1

It takes a lot of energy (from my part) to take care of these rascals. I don't know what takes more energy... teaching second grade or taking care of these rascals. Going in to this Spring break, I already knew there wouldn't be much rest. Luckily, I strategically planned my days with them so that they will take nice, long naps. On Monday, we went to Happy Hollow and I had to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" all the way home so Char wouldn't fall asleep. Today we went to Rockin' Jump and we jumped to our hearts desire. Both days the kids took a nice, long nap. I took a power nap. 

Naps for Char != sleeping in her bed

Good thing I swiffered the floors last night!

Mommy and kid spring break selfie

Everyone and their moms were at HH on Monday. Luckily, it wasn't that crowded.

 Char was a bit disappointed her giraffe did not go up and down

 Surprisingly, homeboy is not scared of goats!

 They were scared of the jaguar charging towards them

 Hello!

 Future rock climbers?

I think it was the giant play structure which wore them out. It's so nice to just sit there and watch them from afar as they play to their heart's desire.

 Had to take a break: Mickey Mouse Road Rally!

If you're looking for a place to take two very active toddlers, Rockin' Jump is the place to be! Within 1.5 hours, they will be begging for you to take them home so they can nap. Both kids napped around three hour today. I also took a mini nap in that time span as well.

 Dirty Styrofoam ball pit

 Bounce all day, bounce all night

 The only still pic I had of them the entire time

 Char didn't get the "close your eyes" memo

 Of course she still stands out

It's Spring break AND it's wet outside. I decided to have a foolproof baking session with the kids. Both had a blast helping me mix the batter!

 Mix, mix, mix!

He inherited his Father's smile...

And that sums up part 1 of Spring break!

Easter Weekend

Before this weekend began, I was stoked to be on Spring break! Since it was Spring break, I was stoked to be hosting back-to-back Easter celebrations at our place since our house rarely gets any action on a normal school night. Right now, after cleaning our house twice after each celebration, I am ready to call it quits and hit the sack. The only thing keeping me up is 1) I need to shower an 2) my current addiction... Parenthood! Anyway, it looks like this Spring break will be anything but restful for me, but at least I'll get to create memories with my little monsters.

These two are ready for eggs!

Easter egg hunt at park with cousins

Kids looking through their loot

Shinn kids looking through their loot

Happy Char with her chocolate egg

Lucas trying real hard not to look happy

All that happened Saturday morning. We were hosting a family get together for dinner. I don't know why I always forget how much damage six children can do to your house...

The calm before the storm

Still semi calm and contained

Only part of the damage done to the house

When the kids are older (perhaps next year), I'll do a better attempt at explaining to them why we really celebrate Easter. I currently have a whole year to plan out my amazing toddler friendly Easter story! (Hah! That's some wishful thinking right there.)

The best Easter Sunday picture I got of them

Can you spot the Shinn kids?

 Happy Charlie and her pink frog

 Lu in action

It turns out that Charlotte is much more into collecting eggs than Lucas. Homegirl would not stop till all the eggs were gone. She may be tiny but she's a fast one. I have a feeling she's going to be the more athletic one out of the two. Lucas will probably be the brains of the family. 

I was so beat this (Sunday) afternoon that I passed out in Lucas's bed. Homeboy decided he didn't need a nap today. Usually when it's just me at home and I pass out, the kids play quietly and make a minimal mess. When I woke up today, I found dry erase marker marks on the wall, stuffing pulled out of the giant dog in Char's room, and eggs and toys everywhere. Did I do a lot of yelling? YES I DID! After some loud yelling at the both of them, these kids cleaned up their entire mess till the house was spotless again before I allowed them to play. Through this experience, I learned that 1) they take advantage of their father and 2) they are fully capable of cleaning their ENTIRE mess up. Let me repeat... I was MAD!

Calm after the storm

That's Char quietly having a picnic with herself AFTER the entire mess was cleaned up. Okay, now I'm ready to pass out. We'll see what adventures await us tomorrow. Oh I feel like a SAHM again, but with no SAHM friends.

Good Friday

Two weeks ago, I was stoked about having Good Friday off. I realized that Char's spring break coincided with mine so that meant I didn't really have a spring break. Two days before Friday, I randomly asked Lu's teacher if they had school on Friday and she said no. And that was the moment I realized my Spring break would consistent of kids non-stop. 

Since Charlotte had school on Friday, I told Lucas that we'll have some special time together. He's been saying "I never go to Happy Hollow" (meaning: we haven't gone in a while). So... guess where we went?

 Pre-outing selfie

 Stoked he got his beloved zebra

 Oh happy day

 Hello goat!

Lucas asked me if he could feed the goat. I asked him if he was being serious and he said yes. When he was 9 months old, he got bitten by a goat at HH. Luckily it didn't scar him for life because he didn't even remember it! I told him to cup his hand and let the goat come to him. I guess I'll have to bring more quarters with me next time. He had a blast!

 "I want to ride in the fire truck!"

Lucas happily ran around HH without a care in the world! He got to ride on all the rides he wanted to and you could tell that he was having such a great time! Towards the end, he did seem a little bored without Char there. Since these kids are so close in age, I don't think Lucas remembers what life was like without his little sister. I'll take that as a good thing!

 Gobbled down his entire lunch!

... and he still had room for ice cream!

I've always been skeptical about Lucas and the lunches I pack for him at school. He always claims he finishes everything. Now after seeing how much he can eat when he's super active, I believe him. My kids are eaters... the teenage years are going to be fun...