Walkin Birthday Love

PR Family is sending mass amounts of birthday aloha to our Navy man Walkin!

Enjoy your day in paradise. We love you and miss you sooo much.

Pink Rain Boots

The Phi found these boots in a box of toys. They are some hand-me-down rain boots from her cousins. And now she wears them everywhere. She has worn them to the mall, to the drive-in, to work and even to the library. She loves them. She sleeps in them, and if they happen to have fallen off during a nap or nights sleep, when she wakes up, they are the first thing she puts on.

"I love my boots, my boots and me.

They help me swing from tree to tree.

I feel so happy when they're on my feet.

We're best friends yea my boots and me.

I love my boots, yea my boots and me. "

Cause I said I would

Tia Uh-laine had fun at the tea party too!

More and more like her Dad-O

So I am afraid that The Phi has also inherited her fathers sense of humor. The other day I was bathing her, I told her to stand up so I could wash her butt. She looked at me with a very PR Dad kind of smirk on her face and she stood up. As soon as my hand got near her butt, she farted on it and started cracking up saying "I farted". She has also taught her self to make fart noises by squishing her wet hands together. She can do this for hours, laughing with each fart. Today she was sitting on my desk putting "eyeshadow" on me (Thanks Day-day, she is obsessed with make-up now). So I had my eyes closed and she was using a little makeup brush to brush over my eyelids and then she stuck it in my nose. She started cracking up and goes "Mommy I got you".

We Almost Bought A Barbie

So our first week of menu planned meals is done and it went very well, thanks for asking! And yesterday was time for another grocery shopping trip for this weeks menu. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate grocery shopping. Well now that The Phi has hit that age grocery shopping trips can be worse than ever. So as I was putting The Phi in the car I talked to her. I told her where we were going. I told her that she needed to be good and sit in the cart until we were done. I told her that she could take Curious George in with here (cute story about her George later). I told her that I would have snacks in case she got hungry. And then I bribed her. I told her that if she was good the whole time I would buy her a new hotwheels car when we were done. So we get to the store and I pull her and George out of the car and started to put her in the cart and she immediately started to whine and resist me. I simply said, "remember what I told you before we left" and I repeated everything to her. She got into the cart with no whining. She was an angel (believe no one could be more shocked than I was!) the entire time we shopped. She sang, and talked to me, and played with George and before I knew it, I was done shopping and she had not whined or cried once the entire time. So we went to wander the toys aisles to find The Phi a nice toy before the halo around her head went away. We walked through the aisles and I noticed a Barbie. PR Dad and I were talking just the other day that she would really like a Barbie doll to play with. So I stuck with my no blond Barbie rule and found a brown haired and brown eyed Barbie doll and before I put it in the cart I walked around the toy section again. So as my ice cream melted I contemplated buying my little girl a Barbie. This seemed like such a big deal to me. Her first Barbie. Like some sort of strange coming-of-age American cultural ritual. But the semi-feminist part of me had me questioning this decision. What would the long term effects of a Barbie, with the unrealistic body type and make-up have on my little girl? I seriously reached for my phone to call someone for advice on the matter, then realized that anyone that I called would think I was crazy. So I thought, you know what, my kid is smart and knows what she wants so I will ask her. We made our way back to the Barbie aisle and I picked up the Barbie box, handed it to The Phi and asked if she wanted it. She looked it over, looked at me and said, "no Mommy, I want car". All that and she didn't even want to doll, my little girl wanted a new hotwheels car. And her halo doubled in size and shined brightly as we picked out a new red car.


So now the cute Curious George story. See The Phi has many George dolls, but there is one that she has had the longest. She loved it even before all the movie hoop-la. It is an old school doll from the 80's (I think). It was my ex-husbands and with the dividing of the assets I ended up with it and The Phi fell in love. Well currently she is potty training George. She carries around this small pink pillow (his potty). She will sometimes say "Oh George, you have to go potty?" and then she will sit him on his potty, hold his hand, pat his head and tell him, " It's okay George." And when he is done she tells him "Good Job George!" then gives him a high five.

Tea for Two

Today was Cousin Angelica's Birthday Tea Party and The Phi was excited and ready to g-o.

So I walk into Olivia's Tea House and had to shield my eyes. It was crazy over the top. Like a Grannys house x100. Perfect for a little girls tea party.

Each of the girls got to pick out any dress, shoes, and feather boas. As much as we tried The Phi would not put on a dress.

But we did manage to get her in a hat and heels.

Here is the birthday Queen, getting her hair done.

As soon as Angelica's hair was done, The Phi climbed up onto the seat for her turn.

Pink eyeshadow and all.

The BFF Diva's.

The full outfit.

Tea is served.

It was a really great place for a girls tea parties fantasies to be fulfilled. I was the worried that The Phi wouldn't really understand or even like it, but she had a blast. She embraced her inner princess and we hope to go to another tea party soon. Thanks Cousin Angelica for inviting us.

Vegas Style

Now my cousin Rosie, who I would not call crazy and spontaneous, did something very crazy and spontaneous. See that beautiful picture of Rosie and Geo Storm. Well this ladies and gentlemen is their wedding picture! Yes that's right. These 2 were engaged on Saturday and married on Monday and none of us knew until we got the email on Tuesday. Her email made such a stir my email was beeping constantly that morning with emails from family members all in the same shock I was in. It was crazy and I am sure very romantic. We are all so happy to have Geo Storm as an official member of the family and the PR Family wish them a life together forever filled with laughter and lots and lots of kids!!

Woman + Geo Storm = Por Vida

Chonie Birthday Love

The PR Family wants to send birthday love to a very very special person in our life.

Angelica turns 8 years old today and we are celebrating with high tea!

We love you so much Angeligeligelica!!

P R Simpsons

PR Mom



PR Dad



The Phi

Party at the Library!

So today was the big Reading Program Party at the library. This morning as we got ready for the day I got The Phi dressed for the party. I mean how dirty can she get in 6 hours?

Yogurt stained skirt

Jelly stained shirt. And don't get me started on her hair!

A quick trip home to change and clean up and we were ready to go.

They has a pirate juggler there for the kids. The Phi wasn't too interested so to keep her entertained I let her take pictures of the guy. (check flickr for all the pics!) Then the Cat in the Hat showed up with balloons and the snacks were passed out and The Phi was in heaven. It was a fun little party!

P.S. I got a new haircut. What do you think?

Twinkie Birthday Love

"The Adventure"

I wanna have the same last dream again,

the one where I wake up and I'm alive.

Just as the four walls close me within,

my eyes are opened up with pure sunlight.

I'm the first to know,

my dearest friends,

even if your hope has burned with time,

anything that's dead shall be re-grown,

and your vicious pain,

your warning sign,

you will be fine.

Hey, oh, here I am,

and here we go,

life's waiting to begin.

Any type of love - it will be shown,

like every single tree reach for the sky.

If you're gonna fall,I'll let you know,

that I will pick you up like you for I,

I felt this thing,I can't replace.

Where everyone was working for this goal.

Where all the children left without a trace,

only to come back, as pure as gold,

To recite this all.

Hey, oh, here I am,

and here we go,

life's waiting to begin.

I cannot live, I can't breathe unless you do this with me

Today Lili and Felix turn 1 year old. A year ago today I was packing The Phi in the jeep and we were zooming toward the ocean. This song must have played about 5 times on the way down and as I listened to the lyrics I cried with joy because it was so fitting. As we were running into the hospital, my niece and nephew were entering the world. Starting a whole new adventure for all of us. And an adventure it has been. It only a year we cannot picture what our worlds would be like without these two in it. I can't wait to see what kind of real adventures Lili and Felix take this family on. I remember when I was pregnant and I was afraid I wouldn't love my own kid as much as I loved my niece Chone. And then I couldn't imagine loving a new niece and nephew as much as I loved Chone and The Phi. But with each new member of the family my heart grows in size and I am capable of loving even more than imaginable. This morning as I turned the ignition in the car a song began to play over the speakers. It was "The Adventure", how perfect because today Lili and Felix turn 1 year old.

New

Check Out The Phi's New Obsession.

www.moneymovies.blogspot.com

Our own language

I just got off the phone with my BFF and we talked about her pregnancy, our jobs, our husbands and our toddlers. When we were in junior high we used code and slang that we had our own language that no one else ever understood. Over the years I have added a few BFF's to my roster. And since Jess and I did not go to high school together and then she moved up north to go to Stanford and never came back. We always kept in touch, but it wasn't until after our babies were born a few years ago that we really got back in close touch. None of my other BFF's have babies (yet!) and as we talked about maternity clothes and day-care I realized that we now have our own language again.

$3 and Menus

So we were at Target in Moorpark before the party and after we picked up the few things we needed I was getting in line and a Target Team Member handed me a coupon. It said that they were apologizing for any inconvenience that I experienced while in their store. And to accept this $3.00 coupon. We had not experienced any kind of inconvenience. So my $10.00 purchase was only $7.00. Is it strange that I was totally stoked by this. And still cannot stop talking about it.


We had not been grocery shopping since we had been back from vacation. We had been living off spaghetti. In an attempt to eat better, and eat out less, and have more productive grocery shopping trips, I wrote out a week menu and made a grocery list. So now on the fridge we have a menu for all three meals for next seven days. The plan is to have about 10 different menus with corresponding shopping lists. The idea is that it will make us eat better, and shop more often, but buy less and less junk. So today we did the shopping for week 1 and we will see how well it goes. I am really hoping this works out.

Birthday Party!!

The twins celebrated their first birthday with the families on Saturday. It was a nice hot day in Moorpark, and most of the family came out to celebrate.

PR Dad and the birthday PR God-Daughter

Lili-bear loves cake.

No hands needed for Felix

And I got to clean this up after.

The Phi found this box and spent a lot of time in it. Weird-O.

The Phi spent some quality time with her Nina, by making a Dr. Nina Burrito.

The exhausted parents!

Who Does #2 Work For?

It started when I found out that our friends Eric and Kimberli were pregnant with their second baby. Its another girl. Kimberli and I were pregnant at the same time with our first babies. Little Dylan (ADORABLE!!) was born about a month after The Phi. And now they are very happy to be expecting another little girl. And then a couple who's blogs I read everyday who have a little girl about The Phi's age just announced that they are expecting their second baby. But the last one really hit home. It a very non-chalant kind of way, in an "and oh by the way" kind of way by BFF informed me that she is also expecting her second baby in late Feb/early March. I am sooo excited for her. Her little boy will be 3 in October and is the cutest little thing around. Beautiful blue eyes and smart little kid. This pregnancy has been different for her than her first one so she is thinking it may be a girl. And well she is craving the Taco Bell, so I am convinced that its a girl. (I craved bean and cheese burritos when I was pregnant with The Phi). All this baby news has me really thinking about #2. There are times when I think that we could be happy with just the 3 of us. Pr Dad, Me and The Phi. The car seat fits so well and safely in the middle of the back seat. Those single strollers are much smaller and easier to drive around than those double ones. And how could I love another one as much as I love The Phi. Would the next kid even compare to the coolness of The Phi? But then there are times when I see newborns, or even ultra sounds and think that one more would be nice. As I write this a very pregnant and happy lady is walking by my office window. It made me smile. And then there is The Phi, who would benefit so much from a sibling. Yesterday she was talking with her Little Mermaid doll and then I overheard her playing with Roo "Come on Roo, Do you want to see Mommy? Lets go!" She would love someone else to talk to. Someone who might understand her Phi-anese. There is no doubt that PR Dad wants another one. Hell he would like a lot more. He is crazy like that. The time for another one is soon and I like the idea of being pregnant again, but not carrying around The Phi while pregnant. Luckily she doesn't want Mom to carry her as often as she wants Dad to carry her. But now that my BFF is pregnant again, it has made the urge for #2 stronger.

Happy 4th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my Dres!

Patty and Jovan have been married for 4 years today!

I vivdly remember thier wedding day as one of the best days in our familias life.

Congrats guys! We love you so much.

When are you having babies?

(sorry your Mom would be mad if I didn't ask!)

Murder at the Tea Party

So The Phi had a tea party today. She only invited a very few select people. Me, Sock Monkey, and Hippo. We were very honored to be invited to such an exclusive event. The event was held at about 6 pm and was in The Phi's room. Our tea and treats were served on vintage China. I mean this stuff was so old, it was mine as a kid.

Here are our honored guests

Here is the hostest with the mostest. Everyone is happy and having a very lovely time.
Until disaster struck and Sock Monkey let out a loud moan and keeled over dead.

After a CSI Miami like investigation the killer ended up being Roo. He was jealous he was not invited to the Tea Party.

Ventura County Fair

Summer time means time for the county fairs. This year since we had just got back from vacation and were still in Ventura County we headed to the last day of the VC Fair. We took the Park and Ride since the fairground lots were full. The Phi had her first school bus experience.

The Phi's on the bus go up and down.

Right before the melt-down

My cousin Arnie and his lamb Billy. Billy went to auction and I will spare you the details of Billy's fate.

Dang look at those arms on The Phi.

The place was really crowded because it was the last day. And PR Dad bought me a caramel apple instead of a candy apple, and The Phi had a melt-down but it was still fun. I mean how can you not have fun at a fair. After we ended our family vacation with a dinner at Crabby Bobs!

Losing Her Shit

The Phi has started this new thing where she completely loses her shit. It had happened before, once at the house, but over vacation it happened 3 times. The first was in the middle of the night. About 4 am.

She would not calm down and we had to take her to the car so not to keep everyone up. She finally calmed down after about 45 minutes. Then she flipped out at the VC Fair on Sunday. She wanted to push her stroller, but it was too crowded and she had no control over the stroller so we didn't let her. She freaked. PR Dad put her back in the stroller and she screamed. A lot and very loudly. She finally calmed down when she went to look at the farm animals. These are what all the books call temper tantrums and according to everything I have read they are emotional outbursts that toddlers go through when they cannot deal with their own emotions. The books say that they are worse for the child than for the parents (that's hard to believe). Then yesterday at my sisters house she wanted to play with this baby stroller but we were getting ready to leave and she flipped out again. (Hmmm maybe we should just stay far far away from strollers) The books and articles say that you have to just ride these tantrums out. To basically ignore it until the kid calms down on their own. So much easier said than done. You are not suppose to yell or even acknowledge it. Never in my life have I had such a deep desire to yell at someone, so during these tantrums I have to bite my tongue, and I mean bite my tongue. I am waiting for it the bleed from all he biting. PR Dad has a much harder time ignoring her. He tries to talk to her and calm her down, but she is not hearing it. If I even look at her she yells louder. We need to figure out not only how to deal with these, but to avoid them all together without turning her into a spoiled brat who gets everything she wants because her parents are afraid of a tantrum. This new behavior comes at a bad time because baby #2 has been on my mind. More on that next post.

Bass Lake Part Deux

The ones with the kids took our kids out to the local Children's Museum. It was a small, but a great hands-on kind of place. Even the twins had some fun. I think the kids appreciated the time for them.

The Phi rocking out Something Corporate Style

On Wednesday Tommy Ma showed up and we all ate thrasher shark and went bowling! Check out Ouies super awesome bowling outfit.

On Thursday we rented a boat and all cruised around the lake.

The Phi and PR Dad on her first boat trip.

When we first got to the lake I was worried that The Phi was not going to like the water. By Friday she was walking right in and jumping around. She loved it!

So we left on Saturday, a little tired and a lot browner!

Until next year.