Dog Days of Summer!

It's already Thursday and I am just now getting around to talking about last weekend and the end of Robbie's visit with us. Whew - that's summer for ya!

Last weekend we had a full house. We had a doggie slumber party for Daisy (translation: we watched our friend's dog overnight). The dogs had soooo much fun together. They were both smiling their dog smiles the whole visit. The other dog was a boy and wasn't fixed (Daisy IS fixed...thank goodness!) The boy doggie spent most of the time trying to mount Daisy, but she was just so happy to have a friend to play with she didn't seem to mind. They had their run of the backyard and played non-stop for about 8 hours the first day. Then, they slept hard inside overnight. The next morning, they got up early and wanted to go out and play again - they were both so happy. It almost made me want to get Daisy a permanent playmate - but hey, I'm not that crazy! A new baby and a puppy all in one year was enough for me for a long time. Haha.

Friday night we ordered in Thai food from our favorite place - it was Robbie's first time having it, and I think he liked it! I know I liked it! :-)

On Saturday, we had plans to go to The Grove to the American Girl doll store for Ginger's birthday present. She had been talking about wanting a little doll like Paprika's (a Bitty Twin). I had promised her we could take her on Saturday and get Ginger her very own doll. But when Saturday rolled around, neither Paprika nor Ginger wanted to go to the dollie store! What?! I wasn't going to talk them into a trip to go buy an overpriced doll...that just seemed kinda silly.

So, we decided last minute on a Plan B. We are members at the Aquarium of The Pacific, so we decided to all go there. Robbie had never been and he was excited to go. I forgot how crowded it is on the weekends (I seem to forget this about once every year!) - so we hopped in the car and went.



The Aquarium was packed with people. It was overwhelming, especially with small kids, so we decided to split up. Mr. M took Ginger. I took Paprika and baby Violet. And Robbie explored on his own. I think we all went into survival mode. Haha.

Even a packed day at the Aquarim is fun, though. Paprika was having the best time playing with the sea lion. He was following her everywhere she went. It was so cute!



After about 20 minutes, I opted to take Paprika and Violet OUT of the Aquarium. The Aquarium is right on the Long Beach Harbor, so we just went outside and looked at boats and Paprika played on the rocks on the shore. It was so much more peaceful and enjoyable.



The rest of the weekend involved several trips to the park - one trip to the big park near us and a few more to our little neighborhood park.

Paprika and Ginger both made some friends on one visit, and we might be doing playdates in the future with those kids.




The girls' favorite game is still hide and go seek. Robbie played that A LOT with them. He is a good sport. Here is a fort they made using a towel over the picnic table. It was a fun hiding spot for them:



Ginger counting with her eyes covered up:



And the girls discovering Robbie in his hiding spot. They thought this one was sooo funny:



Mr. M and I also got to go on a quick date Saturday and Sunday night- we popped in a movie for the big girls while Robbie babysat...and we took Violet with us. We took Violet down to the beach and had a little walk with her at sunset. They were perfect mini-dates (just like an hour or so) - and that was super refreshing.

And...that was the weekend! Now of course, it's almost Friday! Now that Mr. M is home on the weekends (not working), I look forward to them so much. I am glad that tomorrow is the start of a new one! It has been such a busy week - I am ready!

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Sea Lions, Birds, and Fish...Oh My!

Mr. M hasn't had a day off work in eons. He's been working up in Santa Barbara on his "weekends" and then when DWTS ended, he went right up there to finish up the movie to get it ready for festivals. The one exception was last Thursday. Paprika had Open House night at school, so he moved Heaven and Earth to be home that whole day. It was awesome. :-)

Paprika's school was only in the morning that day (usually she is PM kindergarten) - so we had the whole day to go have fun together. Yipee!




The first thing we did was go have lunch at Rubio's. I brought lots of paper and crayons for the big girls, and they just sat there and drew the whole time we were eating. Baby Violet hung out in her little carseat (she is almost too big for it - sob!) She was happy as she could be sitting between our two tables, just hanging out. I always get a little nervous when we go out to eat, but this time it just worked! Ahhhhhh...relief!



I was craving salmon, so I ordered the salmon chile lime burrito. Yum! The thing is - since December, I have pretty much only been eating vegan. I used to be a vegetarian, but then Violet has a milk intolerance (so I can't have milk, since I am nursing her). So, back in December, I just started eating vegan most of the time. I have cut back about 98% on eating meat, but sometimes when I go out to eat and I am really craving something, I will eat it.

In addition, I started reading a lot of books and watching a lot of movies/documentaries about being vegan - and that just kind of cemented in my mind why I have been eating this way. I will not bore you with the details (and I am definitely NOT trying to convert anyone) - just needless to say, it's been working for me. :-)



So, yea...after not eating meat in forever, I had my salmon burrito. And half an hour later, we were at the Aquarium of the Pacific to spend the day!

The very first exhibit I saw was a tank full of SALMON! I swear one of the fish looked me straight in my eye and that look went straight to my heart. Oh, the guilt. I felt awful and just about broke down right there at the aquarium. Here I was looking at this living, beautiful fish and then thinking about how I had just contributed to the killing of one its comrades. Blargh. Lesson learned. If I am going to eat fish, don't visit the Aquarium right afterwards. ;-)

But that little detail aside, we had a great day at the Aquarium. Here is a video we took of the girls over by the sea lion exhibit. It is really cute (in my humble opinion) and worth watching! :-)



Ginger (age 2) is so funny. She picks out all her own clothes. After wearing only pajamas (and preferring to wear nothing at all) - she put together this pretty ensemble. Could she look any more girly?! She was like a little pink princess trotting around the aquarium.



The girls had fun playing hide and go seek out in the little water splash play area:



And of course, we had to go visit the birds. The girls loved feeding the birds. Even Baby Violet found them fascinating.



Ginger got a little help from Mr. M:



Paprika wanted to stay and visit with the birds forever. She called this one her best friend:



So, a good day was had by all. Except for the fish in my burrito. I still feel bad for that little guy. ;-)

This little cutie had the best time just hanging out. After a full day at the Aquarium, we hit the school's Open House, which was a ZOO! I'll have to post about that later because all the pictures from that are on my other camera. :-)




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Life's Little Adventures!

We have been so busy lately!

Thankfully, a lot of Paprika's activities are winding down for the year. She finished her swimming lessons last week. She had been going 4-5 times/week since May...so it's been a big change for us. Her ceramics class ended last Tuesday. So, now besides school, she is extra-curricular activity free. Whew! I know she will miss her activities, but I am thankful for the break.

We have been busy doing lots of outings. We've been to the Aquarium. To the park. Flying kites on the beach. A trip to Candycane Lane to gaze at Christmas lights. Mr. M has been taking the girls on some trips solo while I stay home with the baby. Some activities we have all been doing together.

I've been leaving the camera home a little more, and then even when I do take pictures, I've been less quick to transfer them over to the computer. It seems like there are just fewer hours in the day now (I wonder why!) - life with three little ones is an adjustment, and I know we'll get our bearings, but right now it is all just a little overwhelming. Good, but overwhelming! ;-)



Last week Mr. M took the big girls to the Aquarium. I stayed home with the baby, and I know it was the right decision. It is still hard for me to walk. I knew the baby needed to nap, and she naps best when she's being held by me. So, I stayed home and held her for her nap...which means that I can't do much else besides stare at her while she's sleeping. :-) I know these days are short and soon enough she'll be crawling around after her sisters, so I am enjoying these fleeting moments while they are here.



The girls had a blast at the Aquarium, as I knew they would. I know I set my expectations high (sometimes impossibly so) and feel guilty if I am not providing every possible wonderful experience for them. Having a new baby has meant that I have had to let go of some of my expectations I set for myself, even if just temporarily, and just let things be. If Paprika goes to school in mismatched clothes, so be it. If Ginger goes without a nap for two weeks straight, then it's not the end of the world. I know I don't have to be everything for my kids...even though for some reason, I expect that of myself all too often.



I have a ton of pictures of all our adventures and I know I'll get around to posting them sooner or later. But for now, I will leave you with these from the Aquarium. I have three little girls (and a puppy!) who need my attention at the moment and so other things have to wait!

Oh yes, and I still have all my Christmas shopping to do, too! Thank goodness for shopping online. Now if I can just manage to do it one-handed while holding a nursing baby...that will be a trick! ;-)

Can't Keep A Good Girl Down!

Thursday was a "minimum day" at Paprika's school. Basically, that means that all the PM and the AM kindergarten kids go at the same time because it's a half-day. So, that means roughly 40 kids in one classroom with no extra teachers. Because the AM kinder class is all boys, and Paprika's class is almost all boys, that meant there were going to be 36 boys and 4 girls in her teeny tiny classroom on Thursday, and we had to be there at 8am instead of our usual 11:30.

For my quiet Paprika who does not like crowds or noise, I knew that would be very very hard on her. Plus, the change in routine and the early start time would add to the disaster.

So, we decided to stay home for the day. But, by noon-time, we were all bouncing off the walls and needed to get out of the house. Ginger is thankfully doing a lot better now (knock on wood) and I am, too.

So, the girls and I decided a trip to the big Aquarium was in order. We're members, so it's low stakes. If we got there and decided to turn around and come home, it would be no biggie.



We arrived at the Aquarium and discovered that we were just about the only people there. There were no school groups, and it was so quiet you could almost hear an echo when you said something. Seriously cool!



They just opened some great new exhibits. They had a lot of California Jellyfish, and they are always so cool to see in person. Like living lava lamps!



The girls had the touch tanks to themselves. Ginger wanted so badly to touch all the sea critters by herself, and so her calves got a great workout from standing on tiptoe for much of the afternoon, peering into the tanks, and feeling the squishy sea cucumbers and prickly sea stars.



Paprika did a great job looking after Ginger while I lingered behind. At one point, Ginger ran off and hid from us, and that was a bit scary. After that, I put Ginger back in the stroller and told her she had lost walking privileges for the day! Luckily, that was towards the end of the day, so I think she was probably ready to sit down anyway! Ha!



We were all fascinated by the sea dragons. They are like seahorses, but oh, about a million times cooler:



The girls made friends with the sea lions. We even got to sit front row for the sea lion show (but I didn't get pictures). Of all the times I've taken the girls to the Aquarium, this was our first time catching the sea lion show, if you can believe it. It was neat watching the "sea dogs" do their tricks!



The sea lions are definitely my favorite part of the Aquarium. I just want to jump in there with them! I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one! ;-)



We stayed until about 5 o'clock, then headed home because we were getting ready for a special guest to arrive...my mom flew in from Indiana! She is staying for two weeks, and it's been great having her here.

She watched the girls today (Friday) while I went to my OB visit (I will update about the appointment in another post). Dr. K even prescribed me some meds so hopefully I can get over being sick already! Yay!

I have to say, going to the Aquarium was just what I needed on Thursday. No crowds, a little sunshine, and a lot of fun. That is my chicken soup for the soul. ;-)

The Big Requarium!

We took a little trip to the Big Requarium (as Paprika calls it) last week. Our family time has been limited because of the DWTS schedule. I can't believe there are just two and a half weeks left until the season finale. Woo-hoo!

That means just two and a half weeks until hiatus! Mr. Mustard is taking the whole month of June and half of July off work. I am so excited! We have barely seen him the past few months, and so I am really looking forward to having him around some more! And taking more trips to the Requarium, most likely! ;-)



We visited my favorites...the jellyfish!



I had to take two pictures!



Paprika just had to stick her hand in the shark tank. Don't worry, they don't bite. But, they are a little slimy! ;-)



The girls were mesmerized by the big tanks, as usual!



Our favorite spot is always feeding the Lorikeets!



This one really liked me! ;-)



Ginger was a little iffy on this bird- mostly because he kept trying to bite her! I guess her fingers looked like cute little snacks! Ha!

Happy Weekend!