being sick

being sick is not fun. i am bored of laying around and sleeping and resting but i know i need it. good news, even though i was sick and ughy the baby is fine. he/she moved alllllllll day long. we have the ultrasound on thursday. . . .will we find out??? i dont know. a small tiny part of me wants to know but a huge part doesnt.....hmmmm....oh and now we dont know about the move b/c i have no way to travel after february. sooo should we travel in jan? i guess i will need a doctors note. we need to be able to check out various places. this is kind of frusturating b/c we both want to move to a larger house/yard and yet we dont want to leave our friends. oh well. i am firm believer in whats meant to be will happen. no worries. . . ok, i am getting up off the couch and going to make the beds. i cannot stand having the beds unmade!!!!!!!!!!! plus i need to move a little or else i wont sleep tonight.

88 degrees

Yes, it is 88 degrees out here! It is 13 degrees above normal. I need a new winter coat that will cover me and the baby but I am TOOOOO hot to even think of snow. On Friday we went to the beach for cooler temps. It was solid cloud cover about 2 blocks from the beach but the rest of so cal was solid sun. Crazy eh? Even with the cloud it was still about 72 degrees or so. We all had a blast!!!

Musical Munchkins

Once a week, Makena and I go to her music class for 45 minutes. It is amazing. I have posted about it before so I won't go into detail. Here are some pictures from her last class:

uhhh this is little overwhelming

Last night we had a realtor come over with her husband to give us some advice on preping our house to be sold in the spring. When the doorbell rang, I slowly walked to the front door and opened it to a sweet smiling couple. We introduced ourselves and they walked into my house. Immediatly they both commented on Makena's 2 year old picture sitting on top of the entertainment center. Then they moved to the pictures on top of the mantel. They commented on each one before gazing around the room. The realtor comments began at that moment: is all the light in this room. . . hmmmm. . . we can change that; i think this yellow is too light absorbing. . . i'll have to see it when it is not so dreay outside; we'll get my son out here to arrange the furniture; let's head to the backyead and . . . you need to trim these plants. . . anything that looks dead needs to go. . .throw it away because you do not need to move the (beautiful) palms; you know my gardener once painted my grass green; now ryan needs to paint this and this and this and this. . . . . . . . . . .(here's me:AHHHHHHHHHHH!) Back to the inside of the house:
oh, we need to add light; have you considered painting the bathroom white (this is the one we JUST painted a light tan which she LOVED in the other bathroom); oh, i think this blue will work; yes, this green to too light absorbing but we can just add some lamps. . . . .(it went on and on and on and on.)
So while I was prepared for these comments b/c I had been warned by my sis, Ryan was a bit taken back. When they finally left, after two hours, we were both exhausted with the list of things to do. Now here's the ironic thing: we had another realtor who sells the majority of homes in our community come and look at our house. She said our house was great and to just change the tub fixtures. She did not mention light, paint, plants, etc. . . So there you have it. Two people in the same profession both working for Century ** and yet with two different opinions. I fell asleep last night trying not be to overwhelmed.

WHY

Why is it that when I am not pregnant all of the maternity clothes look so cute and stylish yet when I am pregnant they look frumpy??????? I have searched three stores today and got three pairs of pants. But I need some shirts!!!!!! I think I may venture out and order online. . .

hopes and dreams

As a college student I took a class where I had to spend the semester observing, documenting, and writing a case study on a four year old child. One of the requirements was to interview the child's parent(s) to gain a deeper understanding of the child. I sat in an immaculately clean house in the upper economical area surrounding my college chatting with this parent one afternoon. I had asked numerous questions and she politely answered each one when I came to one that sort of shocked me. I asked her where she saw her child headed in the future. Without even pausing to think about it, she firmly stated that he would graduate from a strong university, go on to get his masters degree, and then attend law school. She looked at me and said, "We believe in higher education." As a college student I "rationally" thought that this parent was obviously overbearing and the poor kid couldn't even make a decision for himself. Flashforward to the present.. . Ryan and I were discussing our kids the other day and what we wanted for them. We both firmly agreed that they would attend college, get a degree in 5 years, get a job, and then a MA. (Sounds a little like that lady, eh???) After thinking and more discussing, we decided that it would be ok if they went to a vocational route as long as they had training and were not just barely getting through life. Maybe that lady wasn't so consuming after all. I mean, we all have hopes and dreams for our kids. We want them to succeed in life and to have fun. We want them to find a passion and love for others or something. I think that we as parents feel responsible for the success or failure of our children. Reality is that kids are going to have ups and downs, be great in something and not so great in others. It is up to us to love them through all of these things, guide, direct, and teach them. Anyway, that was just my thought for the night as I headed back in my LONG car ride. The picture below is at CarMax where we sold my Focus. . . alas, my first car that I purchased on my own is now gone. (It was about to bite the dust anyway.) Instead of the lemon car that I did love at times, we now have a gas guzzling, bad for the environment, huge beast of a SUV. . .an expedition!!!! Ta-da!!! I am now ready for the double stoller and second carseat. . . which will turn into a third carseat in a few more years. . . and then who knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Nov08_001

This is an MMS message.

2006 Sprint Nextel. All rights reserved

Trck or Treat

Happy Halloween! Makena went trick or treating around the neighborhood with us. She was a princess ballerina and simply precious! She actually wore her costume to four events so she got a lot out of it!!! Her costume made me want to put her in dance. . .plus she likes to dance.

More!!

Pumpkin Carving with Grandad!



Grandad and Nana came to visit and took lots of pictures with their camera! These are just a few I took of them carving a pumpkin. Makena was interested for about 3 minutes and then John had to do the rest by himself!! (Thanks John!!!!)

I am alive!!

Our trip to Oak Glen. . .we picked apples and pressed our own cider!! It was delicious!



It has been a long time since I have written. October was a very busy month for me b/c I had parent teacher conferences for a week and to prep for them takes about a week. Plus I had to work a TON! Currently I am full-time teacher and I am POOPED! I had to work for two weeks to make up days for my contract with my partner. . . alas she is wonder and is going to work all four weeks in June so I do not have to return with a tiny newborn!! Anyway, I will post lots of pictures and some captions! I promise that once the next week is over I will keep blog update!!!

whoosh whoosh

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, whoosh, whoosh" That is the sound that we heard today at the doctor's office. . . it is the sound of our new baby's heartbeat!!!! Yes, we are having another baby! It was amazing to hear the sound of the baby's heartbeat because it is so tiny at this stage. Ryan and I are very excited to add to our family. These past weeks have been pretty tricky on me bceause I have been sick. ugh!!! But the good news is that I think I am getting better!!! SO, here is the story of the picture above:

While in Kauai we knew that we would find out if we were going to have another baby. So early one morning, while the rest of the house was asleep, I awoke and took a test. When it came back postive, I was overjoyed. Later that morning, we all went to the beach. I wrote this message in the sand and called Ryan over to read it. He was so excited!!!! Our little baby is due the end of April and as of right now we are not going to find out what it is. (I am not sure if we will last that long but we will try!!) I will keep you updated!

Neighborly Conduct

I have some neighbors who are very nice and kind. They always get Makena little gifts and say hello. However, they are very unmotivated. There is a patch of dirt, about 4 by5 ft area, between our homes that belongs to them. It has been a patch of dirt for 18 1/2 months. Now, our homeoweners association tends to be a tad obnoxious so why haven't they done anything? This piece of dirt bugs me immensly. Infact, last weekend, our neighbor said that he was just going to lay mulch there. Well, as we know them very well, we both do not think that it is going to happen. They tend to be "all talk." Ok, so here is another issue. They have strips painted on the side of their house to check out paint colors. (Yes folks, it has been there since June.) They do not even know when they are going to paint their house b/c their air went out. So while I feel for them and thier lack of motivation, I am still annoyed. Should I contact the homeowners and mention something or not???? Well, I am not going to say anything b/c I am too nice and they are too nice. Plus we are currently painting our front door red. . . w/o permission . . . so we do not want to draw any attention. It looks really good but it will take Ryan awhile b/c of the drying time. So now that my gripe session is over, I feel better! Thanks for listening!

TORNADO

I have a two year old tornado running through my house!!!!!!!!!!! I tried to clean up after her only to have her tear it up again!!! I couldn't even pre-clean so that I could clean!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I need a calm front!

all is quiet

We dropped my mom off at the airport about an hour ago and I put Dubs down for a late nap. After fussing for a little she is quiet. . . sleeping?? We'll see! I had so much fun with my mom. She taught me how to make homemade chicken rice soup and roast. (I am not good at those things!) She planted fall flowers in my yard. She just has the magic touch with gardening. This morning (uh-oh!! I hear her making noise?? ) I went to Muscial Munchkins with Makena and I chatted with my friend Katherine about going Apple Picking next weekend. Yummmmmmm I can almost taste the delicious cider and apples. I am craving a donut!! (And she has come out of her room. . . nomore sleepies for her.) Well I need to go spend time with Makena before small group tonight!

My Vacation

Time has flown by and my vacation is slowly coming to an end!! I have had a wonderful vacation! My mom came to visit and I went to Disney three times. My work partner Lisa and I took our kids to the beach for a fun day! She is total CA girl and went in the water with the kids. I was a wimp and freezing! :) But it was great to hang out with her! I had a run -in with a weirdo in the park and of course, being a Helmer, I "got into it" with this guy. That is another story which I do not feel like getting into. Today I went to this wonderful park in Yorba Linda with Kena and my mom. They have great playground equipment there and lots of huge trees. When we were there, we walked over to the "lakes" and saw lots of ducks and geese. The geese were very aggressive and I had to use my stroller as a shield!!! It was funny! Well, as I head back to work I will write more later.

what a week!

Hi! It is me. . . Makena Bee! I have had a very busy past 7 days because my Mimi (Grammi) is visiting from Michigan. She flew in last Tuesday and leaves tomorrow. I have loved having her here because she adores me, spoils me, and sings to me all the time. On Thursday, I spent the day at Disney with Mimi, Auntie, and Mama. My favorite ride is It's a Small World and I know most of the words to the song. I decided to be brave and rode my first rollercoaster with my Auntie. (ok, I actually shouldn't have ridden it but the lady let me on the ride even though I was short.) It was too scary for me but I kept up a brave face. I saw lots of characters: Sleeping Beauty, Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and more. It was a blast! Pirates of the Carribean wasn't scary for me, infact, I fell asleep for a short nap in Mommy's arms. Well, I am going to have Mommy post some pictures of my fun time with Mimi. Hugs to you all!

Ta-Da!!!

Well she has done wonderfully sleeping in her bed! Infact the only difference is that she only took an hour and 45 minute nap verses 2 1/2 hours. We'll work on that today! I talked to a friend last night who was giving me the news on his 5 week old baby boy. (mike to all of my MI friends) He told me how little Owen was a great baby and sleeping well and how his wife had been 2 lbs under her prepregnacy weight 2 weeks after he was born. (Are you serious?? That is great for her but so unfair for people like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to wait until I was done nursing to get back to my weight and that was over 16 months!!!!!!!!!!!) Ok, back to makena. . .well that is actually all for now!

sleepytime

Tonight is the night!!! We packed up part of the crib and turned it into a toddler bed. After reading books, we placed her in her bed and closed the door. She has come out once and it scared me!! :) I put her back into bed. Hopefully she will stay there. I will let you know! oh, and I gave up on potty training. I guess I wasn't up to the task and so I will try again in four weeks or in January. Hey, it is all about trying right??? (Ok, as I write this , I am straining to hear the pitter patter of little feet.. .nothing yet!) Yea, I need to get over my ickies before focusing on potty training. :)

Sep16_001

This is an MMS message. Please click here to view the message.

My first slurpee!

She's a chef!

My friend LB sent Makena this adorable apron to go with her kitchen. It is so cute and she loves to put it on!