They. Are. With. Me. All. The. Time.

Ok, so my stay-at-home, or work-from-home mommy friends will have no sympathy, but these summer vacations aren't what I expected. Don't get me wrong, I love the extra time with the girls, but I can't pay bills, take out the trash, or wipe my own ass without them underfoot. "Mommy, whatcha doin'?" "Where are you?" "Come here." "I need you." God forbid I want to indulge in a little treat... a candy bar for breakfast, an extra cookie after lunch... I'm standing in the kitchen sneaking it like a kid, eating so fast I don't enjoy it. Not that I can buy a candy bar anymore, they are with me at EVERY store. "I want one, too!"
And what's more, I'll get no reprieve once the school year starts. Used to be, I'd wake before the family and be out the door to work before anyone woke. Foolish me used to miss the kids in the a.m.! And I'd have a little time, even just a half hour, when I got home from work before I'd go pick them up from school. Even a half hour makes a difference! I'd use the time to do dishes, or check email... whatever. When school starts this September, however, It'll be me getting them both up, dressed and driven to school. Boo will go to school at CCS with me, and TT at a preschool on the way. It'll be me that picks them both up on the way home. There goes my mornings and my 1/2 hour in the afternoons.
I used to have a little reprieve in the evenings, too, as Craig would handle bath time. Granted, it wasn't much, but it was a few minutes sans kids. With school starting earlier in the day, we've decided bedtime needs to be earlier as well. Meaning, if I want us all to sit down to the table together for dinner every night (and to me, that's imperative), then bath has to happen before dinner... before Craig gets home. Who does bath now? Me, of course.
This is what I have to look forward to once school starts: Wake up with TT at 6. Wake up Boo at 7. Two cups of warm milk (each) with a little TV in the morning while I get dressed. Breakfast. I dress TT while Boo dresses and feeds the animals... me nagging her all the way to do it faster. Out the door by 8. Drop off TT. Take Boo to class and teach a room of 25 6-7 year olds all day. Get Boo from class. Pick up TT. Home for a snack, and two cups of warm milk (each). Entertain the kids until bath. Bath. Pack lunches for the next day. Dinner. Bedtime. Girls are down by 8:30, I hope. Dishes, lesson planning, falling asleep on the couch at 10 while Craig watches TV, etc.
So, I know it's not as dreary as all that... but right now, at this juncture, it's how I see it. I don't see "me" time in there ANYWHERE!

Boo's Tap Recital

Can you tell which one is Boo? (second from left)They tapped to Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." One of these days, I'll get around to uploading the digital video file, until then, these pics tell a pretty good story.

Boo's 5th birthday!!!

I can't believe she's 5!!!!! We had a Rock and Roll party this year, and it was a blast. We started "backstage" in the house, and glammed up our rockstars. They could get tattoos, funky colored hair, crazy nailpolish, and of course, lots of bling (sunglasses, bracelets, necklaces, bandanas). Then we introduced them "on stage" outside. They posed for the paparazzi and took turns rocking out on the karaoke machine... Boo managed to hog the mic most of the time. She's not shy, let's leave it at that.

Picture Time for TT!

This is my NEW favorite picture of TT...

Here are some more yummy pics of T...

My best Disneyland Day EVER!

I just got back from taking Boo to Disneyland again. This time, it was just me and her. And did we have a fantastic day! Our news is that she's finally tall enough to ride the "big rides."

We went on Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Matterhorn and Star Tours. The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were few, and I got some quality time alone with my oldest child.

3 going on 13!

My daughter's room looks like Tiger Beat magazine threw up all over it! She is High School Musical CRAZY!! What other 3 year old obsesses over Troy??? Granted, she mainly likes it for the singing and dancing, but still... she insisted on having Troy's pic right next to her bed.

Boy, are we in trouble when she's a real teen!!!

I don't mean to brag...

...this is the monkey Boo drew. SHE'S ONLY 3!!! My talented little girl! I'm always amazed by her. We're doing little mini lessons on phonics, since she already knows all her letters, and our first lesson was M. We did some crafts and heard some stories. My friends say you can tell I'm a teacher! But I'm not pushing her into anything. We're just having fun and stressing the love of books and reading.

Nien Nunb

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Took me a while to find out his name (thanks, sHeM!), but TT is a spitting image of this Star Wars character! Check out those cheeks!! By the way, TT can now roll from her back to her side and is teething a bit!

Family Photos

My friend, Emily (http://www.emifoto.com/) took these pics of our family for us. We got alot of great ones, but here are a few. Love to hear your thoughts! :-)

Enchanted - Update

We took the cousins to see Enchanted, and Boo was a bit scared so we walked the lobby a few times, but in all I didn't end up scarring her for life by taking her to a PG movie. She LOVED the princess meet-n-greet afterwords, here we are with Giselle and all our girl cousins & aunts after the show. My sis is holding TT (My back got a much-needed break from hauling my 16 lb. baby). Boo is in blue, holding Giselle's hand. I enjoyed the movie, too. Very cute, and lots of fun references to Disney Princesses of the past.

Enchanted

I'm off to take Boo to see Enchanted at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. They do a whole princess meet & greet at the end of it, and we're going with all the girl cousins. I'm a bit nervous, because it's rated PG, and she tends to be sensitive to "scary" parts... but we're taking the risk. I'm feeling guilty, because it's something I want to do, and I'm afraid I'm pushing her to far into something that will frighten her. We shall soon see!

Holiday Photos

Disneyland Trip

Yesterday, TT went to Disneyland for the second time, and she's only 2 months old. I've lost count of how many trips this is for Boo.

Here's a pic of us, along with friends.

I love Christmas time at Disneyland!

Through an infant's eyes

Not sure who they really make these for, the babies or the parents...

All TT ever sees is giraffe butt, elephant butt, tiger butt, lion butt, oh, and monkey butt.

Blog intro

So, here I am. A 33 year old mother of 2. "Boo" is my 3 1/2 year old daughter. She is very bright and VERY emotional. She loves to dance and is currently obsessed with a little movie called High School Musical. "TT" is my 2 month old daughter. Boo says she doesn't do much yet except "cry, poop, eat & sleep." But now she smiles, which is golden! She's a bruiser, weighing in at just under 14 lbs, and wearing 6 month clothing already.

My husband, C, works as a senior animator in the video game business and I'm a first grade teacher. We joke that I mold kids and he corrupts them!

We live in a 900 sq. ft. house near Glendale, CA. with our two cats, Monty and Mabel, and our 90 lb. Golden Retriever, Chuck. Monty is 25 lbs in his own right. He has a habit of peeing on the floor of the baby's room (which is soon going to get him kicked outside) and screaming at you the moment the clock strikes 11pm if he doesn't have food in his bowl. Mabel is the skittish one, still not quite sure of what to make of TT. Both cats have been with me for over a decade. Chuck is a lovable beast. A little out of control, a little hyper (I just read Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Milan so I hope to change that). His claim to fame is the "Chuck Wagon." It's a wagon that he hitches to and pulls with the girls inside. He's on leash, of course, but one day I fully expect Boo to be at the reigns yelling "Mush!"