Museum of Tolerance 02/26/12

Today I took Jenny, Katie, Lucy, and Lenay out to the museum of tolerance. Emma stayed home with Karen. This is my 3rd time visiting the museum and it seems there is something new each time that I hadn't noticed before. This is definitely not a "fun" day, considering the subject matter, but I think it is important that everyone comes here at least once in their life and I wanted to make sure to get all my girls here before my membership ran out in April. I think they learned a lot and they all thanked me for bringing them and being sharing this history with them. Even considering the relatively somber tone, we still enjoyed spending the day together and the drive there and back. I sure love my girls! Can't believe how old they are all getting. On a side note, I found it hilarious that Katie & Lucy made Lenay sit in the middle of the backseat, both ways, because she is now the shortest in the group! :)

Baseballs & Bows!

I love, love, LOVE the person Emma is becoming and the fact that she enjoys participating in such varied activities. There is no pigeon-holing this child. She loves all things girly and feminine but can get down and play rough in the dirt with the best of the little boys. On this particular day, she had a TBall practice in the morning with TJ and a mini-makeover at Kith in the afternoon with Hayden. To be fair, she was coming down with a litttle bug by the end of the day (hence the sullen look at the bottom) but she fully enjoyed both playing ball and getting her hair and nails done. It was a good Saturday. :)

Unicorn Poop!!!

There is a silly little story currently making the rounds on the internet that speaks to the magical fantasy of unicorns. Being such fanciful creatures, it would only make sense that EVERY aspect of their lives are magical. Including, ... um...., excretion?!?! Well, believe it or not, it's true. Apparently, unicorns poop rainbows! And, living with 2 4-year-olds (who find all things bathroom related hilarious), you can only imagine how "funny" this is. As luck would have it, Karen bought some brightly colored, ready made cookie dough from a fundraiser and the kids were very excited to swirl it together to make and eat "poop cookies!" *sigh*... Yes, this is my life now....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Emma was very excited about Valentine's Day this year. I did a heart hair-do for her and it turned out really cute. I also gave her a heart tee shirt and a new set of hair bows with hearts and Olivia on them. We got Fun-dip candies for her to pass out at school and she came home with so many goodies. Unfortunately, Emma's asthma was also acting up so I got a call from school to pick her up early. But, once she got home and had a breathing treatment, she felt much better. For dinner, I made a plum glazed pork roast that cooked in the crock pot all day and then I finished it up with pink mashed potatoes, red grapes, green beans, and a special Valentine's Day Punch in fancy glasses. Emma & TJ helped me dip strawberries and mandarin orange segments in white chocolate for dessert. Yummy.

Good-bye, Kaia... :(

One of Emma's little friends, Kaia, moved away this week. We were sad to see her go, but we had one last playdate at the park so Kaia could say good-bye to all her friends. There was lots of playing and hugging all around. Emma wanted to get a present for Kaia and we talked about the fact that her family was moving somewhere were it was colder, so Emma asked if we could get her a blanket. I suggested that we make one instead. So Emma & I spent one evening last week making our first fleece tie blanket. It turned out really cute and I think Kaia liked it. We got enough material too so that we could make a matching one for Emma to keep and she thought that was a great plan. Emma asked if we will ever see Kaia again, and I told her maybe. They moved up to the Bay area, so maybe a road trip will be in order one day soon...

The sweetest valentine ever...

Emma made me an early Valentine this morning. She cut it out and wrote it all herself. I love the beginning phonetic spelling she is already starting to do... "I-LF-U-MOM"... ==> "I love you Mom." Amazing... Hallmark has nothing on this kid.

Happy 4th Birthday Baron!!!

Baron had his birthday party today and it was so much fun! It was out in Rancho at Jumping Jacks and he invited not just Emma, but TJ too, which was very nice of Baron and his Mommy. These kids had a blast jumping themselves silly for 2 hours and gobbling up snacks and birthday cake. And not only was it Baron's birthday, but her other friend from preschool, Mason, was there too. Emma was in 7th heaven. She would have had fun at a place like this with just TJ but to add BOTH of her "BOYFRIENDS" (as she calls them) to the mix? She was happy as could be. Emma, Baron, & Mason have been in daycare together since they were each just a couple months old and she loves these boys so much. I love that she has BFFs of both genders and can hang tough with these little guys. They are so rough and tumble, but she is right in there with them. No whining or sissy stuff, she just keeps up and plays hard and I think that is AWESOME!!!

Western Science Center

I had a random vacation day on Friday (thanks, school district budget cuts!) so I decided to find something fun for Emma & I to go do. I found out about a place called the Western Science Center out in Hemet and we decided to check it out. Grandma came with us too. This place was very small, but nice. There were a few fossils and some Indian artifacts (arrowheads and such) that had been excavated from the area. They also had a "Be the Dino" exhibit where you got to play a video game and try to keep your dinosaur alive. You will all be pleased to know that Triceratops Angela successfully survived the Cretaceous period! Lol. Everything there was very hands-on, which was nice. Emma spent quite a bit of time doing crayon rubbings of the plaques at each of the animal fossil exhibits and she even got to make a plaster cast of a sabre-toothed-cat fang, after getting to touch a real one. We finished up the morning with some Italian food for lunch at a nice little restaurant called That's Amore. I think Emma liked her tomato rose garnish the best.

Whale Watching, Take 2

We ventured out again this weekend in search of that elusive marine animal life. This was the very last day the original voucher were good so Mom & Al came with us and Karen, the kids, and I used our return vouchers. This time, we had more luck. We saw one grey whale and lots of dolphins. Plus some pelicans, seals, and sea gulls. We also saw a dude who was paddle/ surfing/ something out in the middle of the ocean! That crazy guy was father away from shore than our boat was! The kids had a great time. Emma kept shouting out, "I see it! I see it!" and "Look Mama! It's Shamu!" She was just tickled pink. Then we headed back to the boardwalk for a ride on the ferris wheel and we checked out the mini displays for the new Explorocean museum that is being built. It looks awesome! We made a whole day of it with a trip to the beach to play in the waves and a nice dinner out. It was a wonderful family day.

Raiderette

In honor of Superbowl, Friday was "Wear your favorite team gear" day at preschool. Emma & I don't really follow football too much, so we borrowed Uncle Tim's favorite team. It also helped that we had a hand-me-down sweatshirt from him too! So Emma was decked out in her Raider hoodie and her Raider bow and I don't think I have ever seen a cuter Raiderette!

Smartie Pants!

Emma's sole "homework" assignment in preschool is to complete a monthly reading log, which she turns in on the first of each month. If the kids turn it in on time, they get a prize. I'm really beginning to think that very few kids actually complete this, because the prizes are getting better each month. This month she got a great big 45 piece floor puzzle. Emma was so darn proud of herself. I hope this love of learning continues for her...