Stormy Weekend!

We spent pretty much the whole day outside today in the sun. We laid out in the backyard and soaked it up, and then headed to the beach. I took a ton of pictures, which I will post later. DWTS still has my camera (I can't wait to see what they're shooting with it!)- so I have been carrying around my point and shoot to catch the action.

Friday, Paprika had her piano lesson. It is really enjoyable for her. And I'm glad. Because it's not so enjoyable for me! ;-) Ha! All the rooms at the studio are sound proof, which is great. But for the 45 minute lesson, Ginger runs everywhere...and if a door opens, she will run right in and interrupt whatever is going on.

So, basically, I spend the entire 45 minutes chasing after Ginger and getting a lot of dirty looks from people because, oh, did I mention...she is loud?! Adorable, but yes, no volume control yet. When she gets excited, she just has to let people know!



Paprika is really excelling at piano, and we will probably start private lessons for her in the Fall when she turns 5. Right now it's a class with three students. Hopefully the teacher in the Fall will make housecalls! Haha.



Over the weekend, it rained soooooo very much. Crazy, insane amounts of rain. Our storage unit flooded and we were collecting rain water from the ceiling in our living room. I didn't feel so bad, though, because our neighbor just built a huge, gorgeous new home about two years ago on their lot (after tearing down the original house)...and their leaks were worse than ours! I think everyone was just trying to stay dry.

That made time for indoor projects. One of which was excavating this triceratops skeleton and putting it together. I got the triceratops skeleton because that is Paprika's favorite dinosaur (by far). When I gave her the box and she saw what it was, she said it was the best present she ever gotten and kissed the box over and over while jumping up and down. Success! :-)



Saturday night we went to a dance production of The Jungle Book at a private school in Bel Air. It was awesome- lots of pyrotechnics and acrobatics in the show...oh yes, and dancing, too! Paprika loved it, and Ginger did great until the last 5 minutes. It was a two hour show with a 15 minute intermission...so I thought that was really good for her!

Sunday, Mr. Mustard and I had a date. We were originally going to walk on the beach and have dinner downtown, but the weather was so crazy we knew that wasn't happening. So, we went to see The Lincoln Lawyer, which ended up being awesome. I love movies about Los Angeles, and Matthew McConaughey is always fun to watch. Of course, I always feel a little silly paying a babysitter so we can go watch a movie. When you add it all up, it adds up! ;-) But, going to movies is one of those things Mr. Mustard and I love to do together, always did before we had kids, and so it's really special for us. And it makes it even better when it's a fun movie...so it was a great date!

That is pretty much the weekend wrap up. It's sunny here now, and I hope it lasts! :-)

5 Years!

Five years ago I started this blog. I was 17 weeks pregnant with Paprika and all I kept thinking was how I wish I'd started writing a blog sooner because I was soooo far along with her. Ha!

Here's my little trip down Memory Lane:



March 2006 - I was pregnant for the first time, and in my last semester of law school. Being pregnant in law school was tough. I threw up the whole pregnancy and often had to leave class halfway through to throw up.

Paprika's Ultrasound, about 22 weeks along:




May 2006 - Graduated from Berkeley Law 6 months pregnant. That summer I studied for the California Bar on my own (no prep class, which everyone thought was nuts).



July 2006- Took the Bar Exam 9 months pregnant, during the hottest week of the year, and the air conditioning was broken in our exam room all three days. It was about 110 degrees in our room. Survived the exam without going into labor, although I did strip down to almost my underwear during the exam because the room was so darn hot. To be fair, just about everyone in the exam room was taking off their clothes because of the heat- they just weren't 9 months pregnant! :-)

August 2006- Paprika was born! Mr. Mustard won his second Emmy for The Amazing Race when she was just 2 days old. Talk about whirlwind.

Paprika, One Hour Old:



November 2006- Bar Exam Results are released. I find out that I passed and got a model answer (it's an honor). Guess I didn't need that prep course after all. ;-)

Paprika makes the announcement on my blog:




March 2007- We moved out of our tiny one bedroom apartment in Beverlywood and back into our townhouse in Pasadena (we had been renting it out for two years). We hold a yard sale at our old apartment the weekend before move-out day. We sleep through our alarm clock and experience a hoard of angry early-birds knocking down at our front door! We set up on the front lawn of our complex while buyers pick through our stuff. Ha!



Summer of 2007- Lots of trips to Chicago while Mr. Mustard works on Oprah's Big Give. We live at the Omni on Michigan Avenue and I think, "I could get used to this!" ;-)

Eating at Gino's Pizza East in Chicago, summer of 2007:



January 2008- I get pregnant for the second time but miscarry soon afterwards.

February 2008- Pregnant again. This time it's identical twins. Huge Surprise!



I spend the first half of 2008 throwing up, gaining weight, and loving every second of being pregnant with twin daughters.



July 2008- Vivian and Annemarie are stillborn after 18 hours of labor due to Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Worst day of my life...without question.



September 2008- To alleviate my depression and grief, I get season passes to Disneyland and start taking Paprika almost weekly. It ends up being a tradition we love!

First trip to Disneyland:



Seeing Mickey walk down Main Street:



Vivian and Annemarie's brick- right outside the entrance to Disneyland:




October 2008- I become pregnant with Ginger. The world begins to get a whole lot brighter for us.




June 2009- Ginger enters the world at 8 pounds 11 ounces. One of the happiest days of my life- right up there with my wedding day, Paprika's birth, and the day we found out we were having twins.





February 2010- We decide to put our townhouse on the market. I stage it and we get an offer the first day! After our buyer backs out (after stringing us along for three months), we end up not selling and decide instead to rent it out.



March 2010- We move to the beach! Both girls have their own room and we have a big backyard. After living in Los Angeles for over 10 years, I start to feel like this is home.





Summer 2010- We get settled in our new neighborhood. Paprika starts preschool, we make friends, and Ginger has her first birthday! We visit Indiana and Maine on vacation in between Mr. Mustard working on seasons of Dancing With The Stars and The Amazing Race.

Ginger's First Birthday Party:



Hiking in Maine:



Fall 2010- My family experiences some hard times, as my stepdad's cancer returns, my 21 year old cousin Steven tragically dies in a car accident, and my grandpa passes away from a recently diagnosed, very aggressive cancer.

Steven:



We go back to Indiana for Steven's funeral, and then two months later for my grandpa's.

Me & My Grandpa:



They are both greatly missed.



December 2010- We decide to stop trying to conceive another baby after about a year of trying. We decide it's too stressful and I worry that I am missing my life by being focused on something I can't control. We decide to be content with the family we have.



January 2011- I decide to get back on the fitness wagon, and over the course of the next two months I lose 15 pounds by cutting out soda, chocolate, and working out on my ellpitical. Life is good!



And as for the next 5 years? Time will tell! I am excited to see where life takes us!

Day of Green!

So, the leprechaun business has really taken on a life of its own. Had I known that St. Patrick's Day was such a magical holiday for children, I would have planned accordingly.

Paprika spent the afternoon telling me all the tricky and naughty things the leprechaun did at her school...and that she was determined to find him. At school, he only left behind green footprints, his gold hat, and his shadow. Oh, and the gold coins of chocolate.



Somehow or other she got it into her head that he must be hiding in our backyard. Had I been prepared, I would have left little hints and clues around for her to find...or almost find...that leprechaun!



Paprika decided she wanted to lure the leprechaun out of hiding, so we cut up some green celery for him (because obviously he only likes to eat green things). After that didn't work, she insisted that the leprechaun had a castle over by our rose bushes, and we had to stealthfully infiltrate it.



I am really hoping the magic of St. Patrick's Day lasts a few more years for her. I have lots of plans for next year, including green hair for us all. Paprika definitely won't eat anything green, and Ginger is 50/50 on that...so I am going to have to get creative. Ideas are appreciated.



Even after searching high and low for the little leprechaun, we really could not find him anywhere. Go figure! But it was fun looking for him.



Ginger, of course, was the best sport. I don't think she knew exactly what was going on with the leprechaun business, but she did a pretty convincing job searching for him.



She thinks everything is just about the funniest thing ever. She has such a big sense of humor and reminds me to laugh at the little things every day.



Her smile is catching- and it's hard not to have fun when she is around!



It's almost the weekend! I am so excited to see Mr. Mustard and just enjoy having him around a bit! Yay! Hope your weekend is great!

Oh, and tomorrow is my Five Year Anniversary of this blog- my 5 year blogoversary! When I think back at all the things that have happened since I started this blog, it blows me away. So much it makes my head spin! Life is incredible, isn't it? More thoughts on that later. :-)

That Tricky Leprechaun!

Today they had a big St. Patrick's Day party at Paprika's preschool. Taking Paprika to school is one of Ginger's favorite times of the day. She loves playing on the playgroud, chasing around the big kids, and pretending she's one of them. They have a little tractor there she loves to ride, and a bunch of bikes, too.

Today was the first day she's let me put a bow in her hair (and kept it in for more than 5 minutes). I knew she had to wear green, but the only outfit we had was green shorts...so I put some leggings underneath and it worked out okay. She has on a green shirt, too, but you can't really tell because of her white sweater.



Paprika was excited to wear green. She wasn't as excited to pose for a picture! ;-)

The teacher staged a "leprechaun break-in" at the school. The leprechaun changed the locks, and when we figured out how to get into the classroom, we found that he had turned the whole room upside down. It was a mess!

The kids cleaned up the room in about 5 minutes, and we parents were joking that we wish it were that easy at home! They really didn't like their classroom being a mess!

Paprika had a great time and has been talking non-stop about the leprechaun and wondering where he is hiding (could he be in our backyard?) He left them gold coins and chocolate at school. The chocolate was a big hit with Paprika (of course!)



Hope you are enjoying your St. Patty's Day! :-)

Dino-Land!

Paprika is really on a dinosaur kick. Ever since they had Dinosaur Week at preschool (or was it Dinosaur Three Weeks?), she has been all about the dinosaurs.

Of course, this has spilled over onto the rest of us and now we are all dinophiles in our house (I am not really sure if dinophile is a word, but I'm going with it).



After Paprika got home from school yesterday, we had a Dino-party in the backyard. I have had this T-Rex puppet for...oh, about 4 years now. When Paprika was a baby, I went through a puppet stage where I thought she would just love puppets. Turns out she was terrified of this puppet, so it has been hidden away...until now!



Ginger thinks the puppet is real. She was very hesitant of him at first. But, of course, being the caretaker that she is...she had to make sure he was fed! And what better to feed him than heaps of purple flowers?



I was missing my "big" camera (Canon 7D). Mr. Mustard had to take it to DWTS for some reason or other, and I had my little point and shoot. I really missed my big ole' camera. It is amazing how much I take it for granted...it is so fast. When I was trying to take pictures with my point and shoot (Lumix), I kept missing the shot. Even though my big camera is a beast (with the big lens), it is so worth it...I try to take it wherever I can. Well, except the beach. I just won't risk that because of the sand!



Paprika had a baby Diplodocus that she had hidden away in a clay egg. We cracked the egg open to let the baby Diplodocus hatch. In case you're wondering, it wasn't a real baby Diplodocus. It was a purple plastic one. Ha!



Then she made a mommy Diplodocus out of paper, and I spent the greater part of the afternoon wearing the T-Rex puppet, chasing her and Ginger down...trying to eat the Diplodocus baby and mommy. Survival of the fittest.



Needless to say, it was a lot of fun.



Then Ginger had to play on the swingset until sundown.



I am loving the time change right now (I know I'm in the minority on that). It's staying light longer, so the girls can play outside until 7pm! They go to bed at 10:30 now (which is earlier than they were!), so it only gives me three and a half hours to corral them indoors before bedtime.



I'm slowly working their bedtimes back earlier and earlier. I don't think we'll ever be one of those families whose kids go to bed at 7pm...but 9 would be nice! :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Wear Green! :-)