YOOOOO Gabba Gabba!

We spent Thanksgiving at home just the four of us...it was not really a Holiday..just another day of the week since we sit down at the table for dinner almost every single night. So...we tried to make up for it the rest of the weekend.

San Diego did NOT disappoint the tourists this weekend! It was chilly...actually REALLY chilly, but the sun was shining and it was gorgeous! We have woken up to frosty white grass every morning, but by 10am, the weather is close to 70 degrees!

Here's a little rundown of the rest of our weekend...

Mexican food picnic at Torrey Pines Beach on Friday




James was golfing so I was alone with the kids all day Saturday...thought I'd brave the crowds and take the kids to see the "Surfing Santa" at Seaport Village. The crowds won...I drove around the parking lot with all of the other parents looking for a spot that did not exist and finally gave up. Cool mom mode kicked in and I said "Hey kids...You want to go to Sea World?" I won the cool mom prize that day! We have passes so going for a few hours does not hurt the wallet!

This is now my FAVORITE thing at Sea World. It's kind of hidden, but it's the underwater viewing area at the "Dine with Shamu" tank. It's awesome to be so close to such a large animal! I have so much respect for the trainers. It really sucks that they don't get in the water with them at the shows anymore, but hopefully someday we will see that again. The interaction between the trainers and the whales is amazing. (I always dreamed of being a Shamu trainer when I was young...can you tell?)

This Dolphin was SO friendly! It wasn't feeding time and they normally don't come up to the sides unless you have a $6 tray of fish in your hands...but this guy was different! He just wanted to be splashed! We splashed and splashed and he was "eating" the water! The people next to us were petting him. I couldn't get Chasey close enough and keep a hold of Cash too. But...he was right there and we had such a great time watching him entertain us!

and my last picture from Sea World....look how cute my kids are! They were being so well behaved for me! They fight a ton these days so it was really great to get out of the house and not have any issues for the afternoon!


Then...something we've been waiting for since May! YO GABBA GABBA LIVE! at the Sports Arena! I bought tickets the DAY that they went on sale back in May and we never told the kids we were going. Chasey wasn't too thrilled when we first got there...she's a little too "cool" for Gabba...or so she thinks! About 20 minutes into it, she was up dancing and singing and yelling YOOOO GABBA GABBA!!! Such a fun (expensive) night with the kids! At least the tickets were paid for months ago...when I sitll had a job! ha Cash had a blast! Well...he sat on James lap the entire time clutching the balloon that came down from the ceiling...but...his eyes were fixed on the stage and we woke up this morning to Cash singing "There's a party in my tummy...so yummy" in his bed!

Late lunch at Phil's BBQ before the show...SO good!


DJ "Cash"




Whew...that was a long one....If you made it this far...Have a great night! Time for bed...

ps-I'm now writing for www.babyrazzi.com too! Nothing posted yet, but I'm their new product review mom! I love this!

Table for Four!

(photo from flickr)
Can you believe something this small has caused such a NIGHTMARE in our house?? Do you have any idea what this thing is? It's head lice...well this is a louse because it is just one, but LICE came home from school with Chasey and it's been an absolute nightmare! (Six other cases at her school that we know of...so were almost certain that is where it came from) I wasn't going to say a word about these damn things because the stigma associated it with them is not good. But..I want to come out and say that these things can happen to ANYONE? Clean, dirty, rich, poor...it doesn't matter! It just happens! If your kid is around other kids...you have a very high chance that you will have to deal with them at some point in your life.

And the WORST part about this....Chasey crawls in bed with me almost every night...so the only reason I even knew we had lice was because my head started itching! Once my head was itching I just knew! I had a nurse look at me at a baby shower that I was at and she confirmed that she saw a few eggs. At that moment, I left the shower, bought RID and treated us both immediately! Well...that was over a week and half ago! The next day I saw eggs in Chasey's hair againso we did a home remedy. 2 hours of Listerine on our hair, 2 hours of vinegar....helped...but still eggs....did another round of RID on my hair....still eggs. Spent THREE straight hours picking eggs out of Chasey's hair and was hoping I got rid of every last one....My aunt came over and did the same to mine.

2 days later...eggs! James even found a live one in my hair! UCK! This is after 3 chemical treatments and hours of handpicking the eggs out!

Bought an "electric bug zapper" comb! Don't know if this works or not, but the comb sure feels good on my head. Our heads are have tons of little scabs on them so we itch even when the bugs are gone! Lice feed off your blood....they bite you 2-3 times per day to live. They also lay 6 eggs per day...that is why they multiply so fast! The eggs DO NOT wash out...they are super sticky and have to be pulled out...you grab a hold of it with your fingernail and pull it all the way to the bottom of the hair strand. That literally is the only way!

2 nights ago...(10 days into this process) I SLEPT with my head covered in Vinegar. Vinegar is supposed to loosen the glue on the eggs. I woke up and washed my hair and knock on wood....Haven't seen any since. It's harder on me because I can't check my own head. I diligently look in Chasey's hair so she is good. If I happen to see anything, I pull it out immediately and I think were good on her hair!

All the stuffed animals, dress-up clothes...even the couch cushions are bagged up in the garage in "Quarantine!" I have spent so many hours fighting these damn bugs! My power bill is going to be through the roof with all the laundry that I've washed in "hot"! My hair is breaking from all of the crap I've put on it and we had to cancel our Thanksgiving plans....I would not wish this on my worst enemy!

Table for Four please? A little lonely, but at least we had each other!



Took the kids to the duck pond before we ate so they could run off some energy!



Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for...even if these bugs are trying to kill me! haha

Don't look Grandma's!

I know the Grandma's are reading this now...I kept it private for a very long time...well..private as in not letting anyone in my family read my blog! The cat's out of the bag now...I pissed people off...but I can't please everyone. I was hurt. bad. and sometimes those feelings still come out. I probably shouldn't share everything with the world...but I would tell a stranger my life story. That's just me. It's how I've always been...it's how I'll always be. My life is an open book. What do you want to know?

The title of this..."Don't look Grandma's" is because the kids and I have been working on Christmas presents. Chasey is SO artistic. She would do "art stuff" all day long if I let her! She loves it so much and she's very creative and can draw way better than me! She gets the drawing skills from her dad...that's for sure!

We had half days at school all week so we've actually had a couple extra hours each day to get some projects done! We painted some Christmas balls. They are so cute. The kids did them almost completely by themselves. I did some of the detail, but for the most part, Chasey and/or Cash painted them!

check out the concentration on their faces!...and that's paint in Chasey's hair! She had it everywhere!



You like my creative "ball holder" Some unsharpened pencils, chopsticks from sushi take-out and a box...and I have a drying rack!

We walk...but wish we didn't need to!

I walked in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 5k on Sunday. I walked for people that are close to me, I walked for people that I don't even know. I wish more than anything in the world that I didn't feel the need to walk, but I have to do something. I have to do something for this cancer that is affecting my 34 year old friend and mother to 2 little girls. I have to walk for my best friends mom who is one of the most amazing Grandma's ever. I walk for my grandma, for my half brother's and sister's mom, I walk for so many people young and old who are affected by this terrible disease.

There were lots of people with signs...the one that got to me and made me cry was held by a girl about my age. The sign had a picture of another girl...about my age...it said "Last year Breast Cancer took her hair"..."This year...it took her life!" It was a picture of her, her husband and their 3 little kids.

I walked with 10 other girls and 2 babies while our friend lays in bed nauseous from chemo. She would be here for any one of us so it's the least we can do to bring attention to this disease and help find a cure! We all kept saying "I wonder how much money actually goes into cancer research" We all figured it all goes to advertising, administrative costs, etc....but to my surprise, I found out that 75% off all proceeds go directly into Breast Cancer Research and foundations right here in San Diego. At least that's what the Susan G Komen rep said on the news and I usually believe everything I hear! haha...but really I'm gullible!

I didn't do much...but at least I did something!


and then...we went out to lunch in Old Town!


and this...
this is just a random picture from junior high that someone tagged me in on Facebook....Yes...that is me...on the right...the one with the chicken legs! HOLY COW! I was skinny! Sheesh! And SWEEEEET parted down the middle feathered hair!

577 Measly Votes!!

So...we lost...The entire family is in shock! Thought for sure he had it in the bag! As we can see from the voting results of the entire country there is a huge shift toward Republican. About 80% of the Republican candidates on the ballot in Marion County, IL won.
I was online for hours last night...hitting "refresh" "refresh" "refresh"....just waiting for more precincts to log in their votes! At first it was 50% reporting and the votes were EXACTLY 50/50!!! I almost died when I saw that....Then...61% reporting...STILL 50/50!! It was nuts....Then at 71% reporting, the other guy pulled ahead to 52.6% and my dad at 47.4%....then at 100% it was 52% and 48%! SOOO SOOO close! Everyone involved with his campaign worked so hard and put so much time and effort into it. I'm super sad! But then...I think about the ballot....I guess someone has to lose! More people lose than win so it's not like we are the only family that is a little bummed today.

Lots of love and hugs to the world's best Grandpa!

Vote For Veltman! and a whole bunch of other stuff!

So....today is a HUGE day for my family! My dad is running for judge in Marion County, Illinois!! He won the democratic vote in the February primary election and is now the sole democratic candidate for the position on the ballet today! He's up against another local lawyer who is Republican. Although I live a couple of thousand miles away, I am there in spirit! I wish more than anything that I was with my family tonight! My parents split when I was little, but they still get along and my mom and step-dad are there, my step-mom, all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, brother, grandma's, grandpa's...my ENTIRE family...except for the few of us here....are all there supporting him today!

They are all getting together and the votes start coming in at 5:30 my time (Pacific). I have the page bookmarked and I will be hitting "refresh" "refresh" "refresh!" just like I did in February! It's so nerve wracking!! Everyone says he has it in the bag, but...you just never know! A bunch of republicans can rush the polls today...who knows?!

The few of us here in Southern California got together last night to send our love...via Facebook!...


and...since I missed Halloween posts...here are a few pics!

My boyfriend..."The Biebs"

40 year old Biebs...and 36 year old Hannah Montana!"




Chasey was a kitty...but for some reason she refused to wear her ears or tail to school!


Hopefully I'm back with good news tonight!! :)
Vote for Veltman!! Go Dad!