Before I forget

Before I forget all the funny things I was thinking about I should write them down. Well, I probably won't remember too many funny things - but I may remember one or two.

And after that - I'll mention Celia's graduation by request of Gina ok?

Well, tonight it was really late when we were hitting the bed, and had just come back from my moms, and neither kid was asleep on the way home cuz they were taking turns listening to their favorite disney songs, from an old disney cassette tape; so this is how it was:

"My turn! My turn next! I want to hear Mr. Piano Man (an Annette song) and Ducktales!"
Then Effie would say

"Mie Toorn! DIsneywand Song Furst!" (so she'd hear tiki room, then small world, then we'd hear Ducktales over and over, then we'd skip the Tale Spin song, cuz they for some reason don't like it as much, and because of this no one was asleep, but they had peed and brushed, I grabbed the gummi vitamins and told them to march right into bed, and they did so - so I turned off the light, and was able to skip the reading books part of the night by telling them I had a surprise.

So the lights were off, we were in the bed, Celia sleeps on my stomach, Effie, under my right arm always, and Celia says:

"What's the surpize! What's the surprise!???"
"Well". I say... "I wanted to tell you how happy I was that you were in my life, and I'm so happy I had you guys cuz you are the most wonderful children. That was my surprise."

There was a bit of a long pause..... and I thought Celia might say "Aww mom, thank you so much!"

But she said:

"Hmm... I was hoping that the surprise was going to be glow in the dark".

Then as the night time bed time stories progressed she begged for stories of the wuzzles. Do you know who the Wuzzles are? Well, it was an 80's Disney cartoon about split personality animals, anyway, Celia and Effie are in love with it, and beg to watch youtube episodes, and Right when Celia was almost asleep she says:

"I'm so excited to have the Wuzzles Collection DVD".

I don't know where she's gonna get it. It's only in the UK.
Anyhow, about 2 minutes later she says " I have to pee"
And Effie says "Poo Poo"

So I take em both to the potty. They go, they wipe, they flush.

Then back in bed, I say I'll tell you one more story then you gotta go to bed.
Celia says:

"What kinda story are you gonna tell us?!"

I"ll tell you a story about your mom and dad and how we met.

"Mom, I don't want a story about you and Dad in the human world. I want a real STORY about when you and Dad traveled to the land of Wuz."

So I told them that story, which I won't recount, and they fell asleep, and so did I, but Alex woke me up and here I am.

And so Celia's graduation:

Effie and I -my folks, in-laws, and Becky and Louie were among the select few to watch this elaborate ceremony, and I really may actually try to post the video - but ... I was expecting a small thing, pass out a paper, have a paper hat on, say good bye and eat some chips.

Nope. It was the real deal.

Special seating.
Balloons.
Pomp and circumstance.
Microphones.
a PA system.
DIplomas.
Ceremony.
Entertainment.
Speeches.

This was the real deal. I felt bad that I hadn't invited everyone I knew. But I had no idea.

Anyhow, all the kids walked out to "Pomp and Circumstance", which I thought was cute, and even cuter when every kid was walking in a straight line, except fancy Celia who was strutting and gliding across the floor waving and bowing, and blowing kisses as if she were in a Disneyland parade. It was too funny.

And when all the kids were in their seats, that didn't stop my fancy child from waving, turning her head like a coy Snow White who's shying away from the prince, and holding her dress so properly. It was very hard not to laugh the entire time.

And they did a show, and sang some songs, and everyone's favorite was the "hi. my name is bill song."

Then all the kids went up to say what they wanna be when they grow up, and Celia said she wanted to be "An artist cuz I like to draw", which was rather boring in comparison to "I wanna be an Ice Cream maker cuz I like to give people Ice Cream", or "I wanna be a wrestler because I like to hit", Or "i wanna be a prince so I can slay dragons".

Ha. I guess the boys were a bit more inventive on that one. But Celia did great. Effie was so proud as well and excited for her sister, and I'm sure she'll do the same one day.

Well, that was the jist of it. Things have been quite busy and insane lately, and I'll try to keep keeping up. But hope everyone is good in the hood.. cuz I am. Good night.

Coffee in the System

It's 12:24 am.
Lots to do.
Places to go.
People to see.

Did I ever mention we went camping?
Well, that was fun.
Remind me to always take water guns whenever we go camping. The girls liked that.

Did I mention we went to Disneyland?
Well, we do that here and there now, and taking Brownie there is much more fun than taking a car with Leather Interior for some reason. And Effie almost knocked over Minnie Mouse again cuz she was SO excited to see her. Well, considering that EVERY single thing that Effie wears, eats, or touches is called "Pink Minnie _____" it's not a surprise.

Did I mention we are going to San Luis Obispo?
Well, Lucena - I'm so excited! Wedding on Saturday which means I don't have to go to my Saturday Job for the first time in almost 2 months! Yeeehaww!! (Isn't it funny that I only really work once a week and I think it's too much??) Hmmm. I'm a questionable person.

Did I mention that I am so very much loving my children?
I mean.... there is no doubt in my mind that my 2 kids are probably in the top 2% of all time amazing people created on the face of this earth, so I feel rather proud.

And this is just a catch up blog, cuz if I ever figure out how to pack for a weekend trip, we'll be leaving till Sunday. You are welcome to come over and water my lawn, any of you if you'd like. And my vegetables, but DON'T steal any. I'm eating them. Well, then again, if you do come to water the lawn I will allow you to take no more than ONE zucchini and ONE small handful of Basil. Ok? But the cilantro is MINE!

And My dad left me and spent time in Alabama...... Why Alabama?? Well, if you marry a trucker you just may end up in alabama. No. My Dad didn't marry a trucker, but someone he knows once did, and blah blah blah. I'm just waiting for my chance to explore the strange south.

And... uhh... Celia graduates from Preschool next week. If you wanna go let me know. And the girls have a 15 minute Dance recital in a very tiny room this week. Let me know if you wanna go. And... It's almost summer... which means, lots of time at the carousel, the zoo, the library, the house, the neighbors' swimming pools, in the sprinklers, and trying to organize my life and find a way to survive and find things to sell to afford a trip to Mexico. I wish. Hmm.. I think I can handle it. (maybe not the trip but everything else)

And... well, hope all you peeps are ok, cuz I'm ok, and all is good. Let's hope it stays that way. One day I promise to get back on the blog train and post portraits and write every week. Oh yeah, that'll happen when I get a laptop... so probably not anytime soon.

Oh - one funny story tonight. But it's a little Rated R, but it was funny. I was trying on a dress for the wedding and I told Celia that the one I was wearing didn't look good, cuz I needed boobs like Miss Yvonne to look better in it, and she said to me :

"But Mom! Humans don't have boobs like Ms. Yvonne! She's only on TV!"... hahahahah.. little does she know...

And... our new thing after we do all those goodnight checks is: Celia and Effie beg me to tell them a Ghost Story. Then they take turns telling stories. They tell the stories into a microphone that lights up. So tonight, Effie''s story went something like this:

"Pink... Minnie.. Hello.. hello... Dere was a gost. Da gost was a big doo doo. Dee end"

Depressing!

F.Y.I - I'll go back to portraits soon, as soon as I can - but for now, and for a change - here's a pic -


I know i know I know I know.... I haven't written in ages.. it's a shame. It's really bad. I didn't mean to let this happen.. but with those two children I conceived and gave birth two, anything I get to do by myself is somewhat miraculous right?

So this morning - I knew I'd have to blog cuz it was an extra extraordinary morning.
You see... I woke up pretty late. 8am on the nose to be exact - and if I wanna get anything done before Effie gets up and asks for "chocat mewk", I should be up around 6:30. An alarm of some sorts went off at 7:32 and I managed to sleep a bit longer to finish a dream about being on the freeway and dead-ending into a large mattress that covered the freeway floor near a wall with 5 identical 60's model Pontiacs.

So I got up - and Alex. Yes Alex Quintanar, said to me (for the 4th day in a row), "let's do the dishes together before Effie wakes up". I'm still having a hard time believing this one. Pinch me please. So we attack the mound of dishes I left the night before and get em done in NO time at all, cuz DISHES that TOTALLY suck can actually be manageable and not so HORRIFYING when someone helps you move those suckers out back into their chambers. SO, if that wasn't wonderful enough - Effie didn't wake up until we were done with the dishes, cleaning the counters! Wow! Yes!

If that isn't wonderful enough! Get this! Effie and Celia walk into the kitchen hand in hand, say good morning - and then say - well, Celia says:

"Mom! Effie woke me up, and we were in a good mood! I asked her if she wanted to play toys with me so we're gonna go in my room now ok? Is it ok if we play with toys before breakfast?"

Well. I was a bit flabbergasted and baffled, and Alex and I thought we were dreaming cuz normally, there is some screaming from the bed asking us to be there with them, and then complaining about something, or begging for milk, or begging to watch a "DVDB" (say's Effie), and getting out of the bed takes anywhere between 10 and 44 minutes. Anyway, their attitude was welcoming.

Then... to make things even BETTER than that - they played like sweet little blessed children and came right to the table and ate all their pancakes and fruit and Alex made them chocolate covered strawberries, and they brushed, got dressed and outta the house without a problem. I call it too good to be true. I'm so glad the morning was good cuz tonight was the first night in a long time that it took both of them an hour to get to bed, cuz Effie asked to poop about 6 different times, never went, ended up grabbing leftover chicken in the kitchen and eating a big slab of fried chicken and about 7 cherries then finally went to bed, so considering that was a bit of a headache, at least I have the memories of the morning.

And that younger offspring is way too funny. She thinks I'm Donald. Calls Alex Goofy, and Celia is Daisy, of course she's "Minnie", but only when she's not "baby Minnie" or "Mama Minnie". Sometimes I am "Mama Minnie", and yes she becomes "baby Minnie", and Celia is "Big girl Minnie", and Alex is "Dada Minnie", then we have "Minnie" parties, and Alex then becomes "Mickey", and I stay "Donald", and she gathers matching bags for everyone so they can bring the party accessories and treats, and we all have to wear matching "Minnie" hats, and talk like "Minnie" and invite the "Minnie" dolls, but we have to make sure everything there is "Pink".

She is obsessed with the color pink. So much so that at the library yesterday she wanted to make sure that the "DVDB" (DVD) she picked out was pink, and good thing the Donald Cartoon Collection had a "Pink" sticker on it, cuz then she wanted it. She checked out about 6 Barbie books the other day cuz they were the only Pink books she found, and they didn't even have pictures. They are chapter books, and she insists on reading the "Pink" things. Yuck.

And don't let me get into Celia's new obsession with the Crucifixion, cuz it's kind of weird and maybe I shouldn't go there, but I had to remove her Bible Stories for kids book cuz I keep finding her sneaking a peek at the Crucifixion page being very sad for Jesus.. ok I'll stop there....

And today while we were walking - which we do every night, and has become more torture than fun or exercise, cuz Effie always wants to be carried, or Celia needs to take her own stroller for her own baby, or they are freaking out about something, or they insist we play dogs the entire way, or they want to chew gum that I don't have or something so lame, and ridiculous, and tiring, when all I want to do is stop the insanity and put them to bed, but Alex insists that we get out just to be tortured into a very odd walk that may also include chasing and falling, and running, and waiting long numbers of minutes for Effie to get off the sidewalk cuz she feels like sitting down, or Celia to get off of someone's lawn while she pretends she's in some magical garden and needs to smell every single rose she can find.. Ugg...

But in the end I have to admit - it's fun, (yeah, I'm not lying), cuz they are just too funny, and tonight while I was holding Effie cuz she didn't want to sit in the stroller, I was holding her and thinking how cute she was in her pink pants, pink shirt, and little tap shoes, her pink lipstick, and of course a minnie mouse hat, and she was cracking up cuz I'd blow bubbles with her pink gum and smash the bubbles on her face and make her scream and it made me think of how sad it is that she won't be this cute forever, and who cares if I have to carry her, cuz I'd carry her for miles if it meant I could just keep her a little funny pink minnie loving child just a bit longer.

And I better go, cuz it's late as usual. But don't forget I miss you guys, I love you guys, and if you haven't seen my kids in awhile, you're really missing out cuz they are the funniest people in the entire world.

Better Check In

Just in case you thought I've forgotten to write - well, you're wrong.
I don't have time really though- for anything besides the domestic duties, and aside from trying to figure out one kid's educational future, cooking, a new job, another little new job, and playing with the kids night and day, cooking, eating, seeing friends, making music, taking walks, carrying Effie on those walks, and all the other stuff, well that leaves little time to sit here and write.

But the only thing that matters at this moment is I'm here. And I'm so super excited as you can tell cuz there's no portrait on the blog today. Well, there is one, of "Brownie", our new car, and after about a year of checking Criagslist everyday for a Toyota Corolla Wagon pre-1984, we finally found our dream car. Yeah, it's not the color of choice, but at least the brown has those little metallic sparkles when you look up close. I'm so excited, but a little sad to not have to resort to using Logan, my sister's bug. But the bug may have a temporary home still in my driveway, so at least for now, we are a 3 car family. I'm living up to my early expectations of having various cars to choose from. What a life.

And as for life - it's good. It's crazy - and I'm on about day 4 of staying up until 1:30 am to just make the next day's meals, wash the stinking dishes, fold clothes, do lesson plans (cuz I'm teaching 3 classes every Saturday morning - baby music/adult group piano/kid group piano), and I became a cook as well. Well, besides cooking for the fam I'm getting paid to add another mouth to feed which is just fine and dandy with me, and I'm trying to keep the vegetable garden alive (so far so good), and I'm trying to keep my kids and husband happy and healthy, and Yadda Yadda Yadda.

As for the offspring - they are fine. The older one is herself, being fancy, sincere, and as smart as can be - and the younger one is talking up a storm, being the little sweetheart and most lovable little creature in the world. I'm so proud of those tiny things, and I can't wait for you guys to see them. (Those of you reading) Cuz I'm sure you miss them and they miss you.

Can you remind me to write next time about the librarian story, the human world story, and the Effie tapping story if you can? Cuz I really gotta go. It's only 11:22, but tomorrow's a busy day with lots to do, and Disneyland as well, so laters. Oh, and yeah, Brownie is so cute. I can't wait for you guys to meet him too. He is really my dream car, and I finally got him. All is too good. I better not jinx it and open my mouth and say it out loud.

Success

Wow. The day is done, and I'm half awake. Surprise? Well, I did have my share of coffee today. Armenian coffee whole beans from Jons cost $3.69 per pound, and does the trick.
We haven't been doing the coffee thing much lately, but that and cat naps for me can really make the difference from being a nice friendly mom, or a maniac freakazoid ready to stomp on all the toys that get in my way like a crazy Godzilla mommy.

And with that said, today was fine. I mean real fine. I handled two mini-tantrums like a pro. Some onlookers may have said I'm not tough enough, but in my old age I've found that with my kids, yelling, being mean, and trying to show my power doesn't work as well as telling my kids that their feelings are valid, that I understand, that I too freak out, and that I love them. I also try to put myself in their situation and say things like .... "Oh, you mean, I should cry when your Dad wears a black shirt when I want him to wear a white one? Would that make things better?" Then Celia says, "No." "But I NEED Effie to wear a Pink Ballet Outfit!" But this conversation carries on until she realizes after some consoling that yeah, her crying is a little silly, and then she'll say "Oh, it's just that I really WANTED to wear the green skirt and that's why I was mad at Effie", and even though this makes no sense we carry on.

Anyhow. The day had many triumphs for me.
Including:

I woke up at 6:30am.
The kids woke up at 8:30am.
We made it to Effie's speech class on time driving Cathie's bug (which usually chugs up the 2 freeway, so I left early to take the streets)
Celia met a real handsome fireman who let her sit in the driver seat. (Lucky) Celia later said he looked like a husband and a prince - and I definitely agreed whole-heartedly. hehehehe.
The girls missed a proper breakfast but ate a proper lunch.
They had about 4 servings of fruit.
I avoided giving Effie excessive sugar. She's going through withdrawls right now, so if you see her, please only offer her grapes. Do not give her lollipops or frosting.
I made a proper lunch for my husband.
Cathie vacuumed Celia's room for me. (tankz)
Cathie let me nap for 10 minutes. (tanks)
90% of laundry done.
Did 3/9 things on my list of things to do.
Made a proper dinner - which the girls helped me make and they ate it all after eating lots of oranges and grapes. I rewarded their successful dinner habits at the table with 2 peanut butter cookies.
While I washed dishes, Celia took Effie to the bathroom, wiped her butt for her, changed her chonies for her, put her pajamas on her, and let Effie help her do the same. Ha ha. They were too cute.
They actually put their shoes away.
We got to take a walk.
We ended up walking in the rain, and it was still fun.
Voted.
Got free brownies at the polls. (So much for brushing the kids' teeth)
Made it back.
Only had to read 9 books.
Kids asleep in 7 minutes after lights out.

Now, I didn't get to draw, paint, play music, make a quilt, read a book, make any money, or do sit ups and push ups, but I'd say so far so good. And you know what??? IT'S ONLY 9:18 PM!! WOO HOO!

I didn't even mention, Alex went with us to their first day of tap class, and if you ever wanna go - it's at 5pm on Tuesdays and it's really the cutest thing you've ever seen. Effie tap dancing is seriously THE FUNNIEST and CUTEST and MOST IMPRESSIVE thing YOU'LL EVER see IN YOUR LIFE! You HAVE to go! My God! I mean... I'm such a sucker for cute babies, and she takes the CAKE!

Ok - and tonight when we got back from the walk in the rain - we changed their pjs, and Celia had her magnifying glass and little Waldo Anthology and said she needed to "Brush up on my detective skills, because being a detective is SOOOO in...gredient".

I think she may have wanted to say "In...credible", but whatever, "Ingredient" is a good long word that starts with "In" and had four syllables right?

See ya guys soon. Time to finish the last 10% of the laundry.

Jiffy

there's no time for play
there's no time for fun
there's no time for blogging
there's work to be done.

there's so much to do I can't even stand it sometimes. There's outings, birthday parties, jobs, no jobs, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, cooking, walking, shopping, jumping out of the car while alex entertains the children, no tv, too much tv, cleaning, planning, organizing, uncluttering, cluttering, messing up, library-ing, thinking, not thinking, winking, eating, sleeping, (yes- I do sleep), getting bags under my eyes, brushing my hair sometimes, playing music, playing tea, playing put stickers everywhere, playing water the lawn, water the garden, water effie, then trying to make a mess, stay awake, sleep, aggravate people, keep my patience, be kind, think straight, think crooked. I don't know. I think right now I'm not thinking straight.

Probably not, cuz I don't have time to blog. In fact, I have to go. I know. I know. It's been way too long, but I'm here to say, hang tight. I'll be back in a couple days. Then I can catch up or start over. It's late and I have to check on the babies that I can't hear at the moment, and I have a husband who I haven't spoken to for more than 3 minutes for about a week and a half. Yes. We spend every day together but we have these 2 tiny munchkins constantly screaming and laughing and crying and yelling and talking and blabbing and whining and loving for us to give them every waking second of our attention. And you know what. We usually give it to them. So I have to go. But I miss you!

Walks

If you know me - or us - you know we like to take walks. We usually take the same route, down Kenneth, keep going, turn around just in time before a tantrum may ensue. Sometimes we don't walk. Sometimes we consider the LA zoo the walk. Sometimes we get babysitters so we can walk. Sometimes the kids use strollers. Sometimes they don't.

I like when the kids are sitting quietly in a stroller. But that rarely happens. This is what usually happens:

I put the girls in the stroller. I go back inside for that last princess toy that needs to be in a princess bag of course with some extra accessories. I come outside and the girls are out of the stroller, and Alex says : Let them walk.

My first instinct has recently been: No way Jose. No way. Take the stroller. If they wanna walk, they can walk, but if they don't want to they can sit down. I don't want to carry anyone. I don't want anyone on my shoulders, and I especially do not want to carry two of them who don't want to be carried by the husband. But lately my fears have just been that - fears, cuz the walks without the strollers ain't so bad. Alex ends up carrying Effie who seems to like her Dad a bit more these days, and Celia just walks. Miles sometimes, all by herself.

And so, the other day we wanted to take a walk. But the big boss Celia - who insists Effie is the boss - said she didn't want to walk to see Ryan (the guy at the liquor store), or run, or sit in the stroller, nothing. But my hippy husband, and I say hippy cuz he was wearing tie dye that day, said "Take your instruments and we'll march"

"Ok! But I (stress the I) will be the leader." (said Celia)

We took off, Celia with a yellow recorder in the front.
Effie behind her with a brown recorder and a fat orange maraca in the other hand.
Me with a recorder and Alex with a blue melodica - (for those of you who don't know what it is, it's mini-teeny piano with a long tube you blow through.

I think it was the fastest mile and a half we ever walked. We definitely woke up the neighborhood. It was quite embarassing (but not as embarrassing as walking to the grocery store yesterday next to Alex who was wearing a woman's wig that Celia asked him to wear. Now THAT was embarrassing, and I will not write on that subject any further cuz it offends my nature).

But I digress. The marching band thing was pretty fun, but whenever we passed anyone, I was too scared of not blowing like a dork into the recorder out of the fear that Celia may not want to continue walking if I were to cease my screeching sounds, and I never made eye contact with the passers-by. I just kept tooting that little pseudo-instrument and stopping whenever the leader would shout "HOOOO!" It was so funny cuz Effie would always slam into her when she'd abruptly stop. Then of course commands were given to continue the march and this continued well on into a business sector of the neighborhood, then back into residential, and finally back home.

I felt like we looked like some messed up 60's wierdo family scampering the sidewalks cuz of the tie-dye thing, and nothing like the Partridge family (which would be a step up) cuz the sounds we were making were quite awful and ear piercing.

In the end we made it home, and as soon as we walked in the door, Celia collapsed on the service porch (a.k.a laundry room floor) moaning in fatigue. But she sure was a good leader.

I'm proud of the kid for walking so much. Effie made it half way and spent the rest blowing the melodica tube on Alex's shoulders.

And since it's been awhile, again, I'll just say to you all that I miss you, hope you're well, and that we can see eachother soon.
Oh, I just remembered a funny thing Celia told me the other day. The same night we did the marching walk, she and Effie Rosey cakes did one of the "let's do something crazy before bed to prolong the agony for mom things" and carefully emptied the 4 pairs of high heels I own and took turns with them all walking around the house like "fawncy ladies" (say it like an old English woman) then Celia said to me :

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Turn out the lights!!! Turn out the lights!"
"What for? So you guys can fall on your faces in the dark with those high heels?"
"No - I need you to turn off the light so that the dark matches my high heels." (she was wearing black ones)

Well, it was funny to me. And even better, cuz no one fell on their face.