a silly string of unfortunate events

The past couple of months have been slightly frustrating for me. You know the feeling when  you are trying to take care of things, be an adult and tend to your responsibilities and everything just goes horribly wrong? Seriously, everything. No? Just Me? Well anyway, these past couple of months have been like a comedy of errors in the not-so-funniest way. I don't want my blog to be a series of complaints because my life is really good. Really, really good. But it also wouldn't be honest if I didn't also share the harder parts. The frustrating parts. Some of these things I've mentioned before, but now there's more...

- With Justin being a graduate student and instructor, the school covers his healthcare, but not mine or the kids'. Crazy, I know- thanks UC Berkeley! So because we make so little money, the kids are covered through the state (children under 18 are guaranteed medical coverage in the state of California - thanks Hilary Clinton!) But have you ever applied for any social service? It is impossible! Every year they send you a packet to fill out to make sure you still qualify, so when Leo turned one they sent it to us, I filled it out and mailed it in. Well, supposedly they never received it and I got a letter saying that Leo no longer has medical insurance. Also, Belle was covered through a program called Healthy Families so we pay a monthly fee for her healthcare but apparently Healthy Families is no longer a program - California budget cuts - so apparently they sent her information to medi-cal so she could get coverage like Leo's... but they never received her paperwork either. All of this to say that a couple of weeks ago Justin had to take a day off of working/writing so that I could drive to Oakland to social services, sit around for three hours to fill out a piece of paper to get the kids the healthcare coverage that they already had. Then I get 4 letters in the mail telling me that they do/don't qualify for different programs. I call my case worker (one that I can actually get on the phone!) and she clarifies everything and then asks for me to mail Justin's proof of income - to prove that we really don't make a lot of money. A week later I get a letter saying they didn't get the proof of income that I mailed to them. I call to clarify that it actually was received - and it was. Finally! Something went right in this process. Then the case worker asks if the pay stub that I sent from Justin's job is a weekly paycheck or a monthly paycheck... Sadly I laughed and said that indeed, that's the amount of money he makes monthly. And now we wait for further instructions... 

- Our car registration expires in May. Typically we get a notice in January to pay it, however, possibly because we moved, we never received our notice. But being as proactive and on top of things as I am, I looked up our registration on the DMV website and paid our registration. In March. I also updated our new address. Well, halfway through May our registration stickers were still not in our mailbox. I looked up our registration information on the website again and it says that they mail the stickers within five days and at this point it had been two months! So I call the DMV - the part of the website that gives instructions for lost stickers apparently doesn't work, go figure! - finally get someone on the phone and they tell me that I need to come into the DMV - to do what I already did online. Luckily I was able to make an appointment so I didn't have to wait in those horrid DMV lines, but the only DMV that had an appointment within a week was one in West Oakland. I live in North Berkeley, so not close. So Justin graciously took another day off of working/writing so that I could drive a half hour down to the Oakland DMV to get the stickers that I already paid for. 

- You probably remember in this post about the traffic ticket that I paid for in December was accidentally used to pay someone else's ticket and I had to spend another entire day driving down to Fremont (an hour away), standing in line for two and a half hours to get it all sorted out. Sidenote: there seems to be a theme of me needing to take entire days to sort things out that I've already taken care of, it's like the universe is telling me "you don't have enough to do, let's make things harder". Anyway, another day was wasted and the ticket was finally paid correctly and fortunately I was eligible for traffic school to keep it from showing up on my record. So for the past two weeks I've been doing traffic school online a little bit every day, usually while kids are crying at me or needing me to help with something. So you know, I've been able to really concentrate and take it all in. And knowing my luck with such things, I ended up paying extra money for copies of my certificate of completion and confirmation that the traffic court received and approved my traffic school completion. I did the eight hour course and at the end you take a test and need at least a 70% to pass. After two grueling weeks of the most boring course I've ever taken in my entire life and not being able to concentrate on it for more than five minutes at a time, I passed with a 76%. And now I question my intelligence. 

- In that same post I mentioned how I took on the job of summer school administrator for Belle's school. It has turned out to be somewhat of a nightmare. You see, at Belle's school each family is responsible for participating one day a week so that on any given day, between parents and teachers, there are about seven adults for a class of 26 kids. It's a great system and it keeps the parents involved in the school and really fosters a sense of community. Except when it comes to summer. Long story short, the school also offers aftercare and naturally parents sign up their kids for aftercare on days that they are not participating. No one told me that there's a maximum number of kids that can do aftercare on any given day, so when I found out, I had to contact the last families to sign up to tell them that there was no spot for them in aftercare for those days and naturally it affected their participation days. I guess if you don't know how the school is run, it's probably very confusing, but anyway, summer school starts in five weeks and people are still trying to change their aftercare/participation requests and some families are trying to pull out of summer school altogether because they cannot get the days they need. This means the staffing and the budget for summer school is now all screwy and it's up to me to fix it. 

- And it keeps getting better! I went to check our bank account on Monday so that I could update our monthly budget and I found almost $300 worth of small purchases over the weekend from Walmart, 7-11, McDonald's, Jack in the Box and Rite Aid! First of all, I have never been to a Walmart in my entire life. I have also not been to a 7-11 since high school (12 years ago!) and have not eaten fast food in more than six months. I also do not live anywhere near a Rite Aid. Looking at the purchases, they were all made in Fairfield. I have never been to Fairfield. So I guess my debit card that expired that I cut in half and threw in the trash was found, taped together and used! Multiple times! I immediately called the bank, had the card cancelled and had to file a report claiming that my card was stolen and used without my consent. To the tune of almost $300. Luckily the bank is really good about this stuff and issued us a temporary credit for the amount pending an investigation. Provided they cannot find proof that I authorized the purchases (which they most certainly can't because I most certainly did not!), then they'll refund all the money permanently. They also said that because the purchases were all made in the same places that it's likely that they'll find the person and would I be willing to press charges? Um, yes! 

- We are also slowly getting news that five different friends and family members are in the process of coming back to the Bay Area all within the next year! This is really exciting to me because I love having everyone be close, but it really makes me sad to think that a year from now we could be moving away and leaving even more people behind. We've really come to love all of our friends and family that live near us and I am really excited for that circle to grow, but in the long run we'll have to do what is right for Justin's career, and hey, we'll always be able to come back and visit and it'll be awesome to have everyone in one place. 

So that's what I've been dealing with the past couple of months, every day something new. When the bank account thing happened, I though "of course!" Because everything else is finally sorted out, why wouldn't this happen? I really just have to laugh because at the end of the day, I have my family and we are all healthy and happy. We have food in our bellies and a place to call home and really that's all that matters. I just take each crisis one day at a time and luckily I do not stress out very easily. 

But in better news, I am really looking forward to our three day weekend! This weekend we have a lot going on (as usual)...

- On Saturday we are going up to Napa (for the second of three Napa weekends in a row - woohoo!) to eat lunch at our favorite chicken and waffle place and to celebrate the third birthday of one of my favorite boys in the whole world, Marco Amadeus! I can't wait. 

- On Sunday morning, Belle's school is having a music fest - if you live in the East Bay, email me and I can give you the info if you'd like to come! And in the evening we are going to Justin's adviser/friends' home for some drinks (with the kids).

- On Monday we are going to a Memorial day barbecue and pool party at my in-law's house for the day. 

I can't wait! And only 40 more days until Hawaii - 47 days until I turn 30!!!

The Happiest Mother's Day

Every day at some point I stop and think about what a miracle it is that my strong body was able to create, grow and birth two perfect and healthy human beings. I did that. With a little help from Justin of course. I look at our children (children!) and think, we created that, those people are little pieces of us. They are a combination of love and genetics that cannot be matched. I know people have been having children for millions of years and babies are born every day, but my body was able to do it twice (and hopefully will again in the future) and because of that, I am in awe. In awe of myself and in awe of all the mothers I know that have done it too. It's an elite (although large) club we belong to. We know the feeling of little kicks coming from below our ribs, we know the overwhelming love we feel when we first touch those soft cheeks that have just been born from us. We know what it is to have love for someone that we have never been capable of feeling before. To take care of and watch these little people grow into miniature versions of ourselves. Being a mother is an awesome thing and there's not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for the gifts my body has given me to be able to have these children. 
Although it was far from my first Mother's Day, Justin and the kids had a few tricks up their sleeves to make my weekend special. We knew that on Sunday we'd be visiting our own mothers, so Justin made sure that Saturday was a day that was all about me. Typically Justin and I trade off sleeping in on weekends, I usually get Saturdays and he gets Sundays, but because it was Mother's Day weekend, I got to sleep in on both days (heaven!). Justin also knows that my favorite breakfast is pancakes from Bette's Diner so he got up early on Saturday and took the kids to get me some flowers and pancakes. I told Justin that all I needed for Mothers Day were the two "f"s - flowers and food. And he delivered on both. Saturday morning I took Belle and her friend Abby to swim lessons, which Justin offered to do "Do you want me to take the girls and you can stay home with Leo?" "NO!" I'm with Leo all day every day and I'm pretty sure the boy has some teeth coming in because he has been whiny! Swim lessons sounded so much better. After swim, I dropped Belle off at home and enjoyed an afternoon having lunch and shopping by myself. Maybe I'm strange, but I love my kids more than anything, but I'm with them all the time and sometimes I really want to go somewhere without them. I rarely get to go to the bathroom by myself. So for Mother's Day all I wanted was a little time to go do something without dragging the kids along with me. So that's what I did. After that I came home to change and then went to a sculpting class and was home an hour before the kids went to bed. I spent that last hour with them, dancing, playing games and soaking them in. And take it from a mom who is with kids all day long, children are much more tolerable and enjoyable when you've been away from them all day! After tucking them both in to bed Justin and I ordered our favorite takeout (Picante) and relaxed.  The other thing I really wanted for Mother's Day was an apple sauce cake from Virginia Bakery. It was the smash cake for Leo's first birthday (that he ate exactly none of) and the caramel frosting on it was so delicious that I still have dreams about it. So Justin made sure I had one to snack on for the week. Because calories don't count the week after Mother's Day. Or so I hear? Belle also wrote me a big sign that said "HERZ DAY HAPPY MOT" because letters don't need to go in any particular order. She also drew a picture of her and I holding hands dancing and I may have shed a tear or two. Especially when she kept telling me that I was the best mommy and she wanted to be with me all day.
On Sunday we headed down to San Jose to have brunch with my mom, then to Justin's parents' house for dinner. We got home last night in time to put the kids to bed and watch the Survivor finale. It was the perfect weekend and I wish I could repeat it at the end of every week. 

The world's most boring fashion post

Complete with horrible quality cell phone pictures!

Being at home with kids all the time gives me little reason to get dressed every day. But I do. In  hopes that my fellow day time Target customers, moms at Gymboree or people walking by me on the street appreciate the small amount of effort I put in to matching my clothes for the day. Because these are the only people (outside of my family) that really see me. Until now! Because I know you are dying to know what I wear every day while I'm making sandwiches, doing laundry and vacuuming, don't worry, this post is all about solving that mystery. Enjoy.

1. similar Destructed Always Skinny Jean (GAP), similar Luxe Jersey Boatneck Tee (GAP) 2. similar Always Skinny Jean (GAP), Threadless Key Tee (GAP) 3. similar Legging Skimmer Jean (GAP), Mossimo Women's Pullover Sweater (Target)
4. Mossimo Supply Co. Junior Knit Skirt (Target), Mossimo Women's Microrib Tank (Target), Mossimo Women's Ultra Soft Cocoon Cardigan (Target).  5. Legging Skimmer Jean (GAP), similar Mossimo Juniors Graphic Tank (Target) 6. Women's Everyday 3.5" Khaki Shorts (Old Navy), Women's Lightweight Racerback Tank (Old Navy)

7. Clean Front Eyelet Shorts in Navy (GAP), similar Women's Print Sleeveless Blouse (Old Navy) 8. similar Always Skinny Jean (GAP), similar Mossimo Junior Scoopneck Tank (Target) 9. similar Always Skinny Jeans (GAP), similar Xhilaration High Low Top (Target)

A few notes:
1. Anything that says "similar" is because I bought that item so long ago that it's no longer available online. I know it will be very heartbreaking for those of you hoping to emulate my original fashion choices.

2. None of these pictures show my head because they are usually taken right after I've showered so my hair is probably wet or pulled back sloppily and I have zero makeup on, which after a year of not having a good night's sleep - Thanks Leo! - isn't so pretty. Except #4 - that was date night so I was obligated to do something with my hair.

3. I am not wearing shoes* for two reasons - 1. If I don't have to wear shoes I will not. I prefer to be barefoot in all situations. In fact I only put on shoes when I leave the house. and 2. We don't wear shoes in the house because street gunk on the bottom of your shoes is not welcome on our pristinely clean and frequently eaten off of - again, Thanks Leo! - floors.

4. Yes, all of my clothes do come from GAP, Old Navy and Target! All of my shopping is either done online or at the place I go to buy groceries once a week.

5. If you click on the links and think, man she frequently pays $70 for a bunch of GAP jeans that look the same! Fear not, I shop there so frequently that I usually have 30% off that I use only on sale items. I've never paid more than $40 for a pair of jeans from GAP. I know how to work the system.

* I am wearing shoes in #4 and #6 and if you're wondering what they are, they are Michael Kors Plate Thongs that I bought in 2006!


Inspired by  Emily at Jones Design Company and her posts on her adorable mommy-style.

Goodbye April!

I started writing this post last week and never finished it, so although we are a week into May, here's my update from last month...

April was my month of getting things done.

* I finally finished reading The Corrections after a year of off and on reading spurts. I love me some Franzen, but he is tough to get through! Now I have a long reading list I'm trying to get through this summer - see picture below.

* I did my 100th workout of the year! My goal is to do 300 workouts in 2013 in  hopes of being in great shape, well, just because! I've still been doing sculpting classes three days a week, a couple of regular hot yoga classes and a spin class or some other sort of cardio one day a week. A couple weeks ago I stared doing two Insanity workouts a week, two scultping classes and 2 yoga classes just to up my game a little. The Insanity really helps with my endurance in a way that yoga really can't but the hot yoga keeps my muscles loose. So far I've lost 15 pounds but haven't lost anything in the past month which is why I started doing some Insanity. I'm hoping I can lose 5 more pounds to get to my goal weight and from there it'll just be maintaining that weight. I'm so close!

* We finally bought our family pass to Fairyland (thanks to Living Social it was 50% off) and have already been there twice. I see a lot of Fairyland trips in our future.

* I blogged once or twice.

* I took on the role of Summer School Administrator at Belle's preschool and let me tell you, it's been like having a part time job! Every morning when Leo is napping I put on cartoons for William and spend a couple hours answering emails only to have a new batch to respond to during afternoon nap time.

* And I must be a masochist because I also agreed to be co-chair of the board at her school for the next school year.

* I'll tell you what I haven't done yet and that's my court ordered traffic school. I have one month left, I better get on it.

* Although I haven't come to terms with it, I did celebrate my little boy turning one! And of course ordered some adorable invitations. Every year I say it, but I think this year I picked the cutest invites for both kids' parties than I have before.

And now I'm off to tackle May!

Liebster Award

My friend Adrian over at Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls awarded me the Liebster Award (thanks Adrian!) What is a Liebster Blog Award? 
"The Liebster Award is for blogs with under 200 followers and the rules of the award is that the nominee must link back to whoever nominated them, write 11 random facts about themselves, answer 11 questions from the award giver, and then nominate another 11 bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."

Here are Adrian's 11 questions for me:

1. Share something that always makes you laugh!
My son! He is such a ham. Belle is pretty funny too, but mostly in a sassy way.
2. What impresses you most, or makes you want to follow another blog?
Simple designs, fashion posts, moms with kids around my kids' ages. 
3. What is your perfect day?
Sleeping in! Having no real plans. Maybe some shopping, going out to dinner with the kids and relaxing at home with Justin watching movies after the kids go to bed.
4. What would your dream home would be like?
The perfect size for our family how ever big it might be. Nothing too spacious but not too cramped either. Right now our little 3 bedroom apartment is perfect for us. I'd love a home that's older and has been renovated or to do renovations ourselves. Something near a big city, preferably on a coast.
5. What makeup products can't you live without?
Mac Stuido Finish concealer (in the second lightest shade they make), Benefit Posietint, Benefit They're Real mascara, and Sugar Lip Treatment in Rose. Those are the only things I use. Most of the time it's just concealer and Posietint.
6. What is your hair routine like?
Ha! Routine? I wash it after I work out because I sweat a lot and usually I just let it airdry. It's a big fluffy mess naturally but if I put enough Curl Conscious Calming Creme in it it will wave nicely. I only blowdry and straighten it if I'm going somewhere.
7. Have you had any embarrassing hair "incidents" or experiments?
A million of them! Like trying to blowdry my hair straight as a kid (before straighteners were invented) which just made it puffy. That Mariah Carey spiral perm my mom let me get when I was 12. Sporting blonde/dark brown skunk stripes back in the 90's when it was cool (but was it ever cool?)
8. If you have a significant other, how did you meet?
He got my AIM screen name (remember AIM?) from my best friend's boyfriend because he saw me and thought I was cute. We chatted online for a while before I figured out who he was and once I did I knew I was definitely interested. Eleven and a half years and two kids later, I still think he's pretty cute.
9. Share a link to your favorite recipe!
Recipe? As if I cook. I don't. Justin is an excellent cook though but his recipes are more ad-lib.
10. What is your current favorite song, artist, or album? 
I'm still pretty obsessed with Locked out of Heaven by Bruno Mars. Man can that guy write a catchy song! I also am loving Heart Skipped a Beat by The xx, Feel So Close by Calvin Harris, Carry On by Fun., Can't Hold Us by Macklemore, Take a Walk by Passion Pit, Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men, Girlfriend by Phoenix, Stay by Rihanna and Get Free by Major Lazer.
11. Do you have a fitness routine? Share it!
Oh boy. I've been going to CorePower Yoga studio for about four months now, six days a week. I do their sculpt class (hot yoga with weights and cardio in a 96 degree room) three days a week, then I do two days of level 2 or 3 hot yoga (100 degrees) and an extra day of either a spin class or a Hot Power Fusion (a lot like Bikram yoga). I go six days a week and my routine varies depending on what I have time for. With Justin working a lot at home and Belle in school and me nannying full time, our schedules change all the time so every Sunday I make a plan for the week of what classes I'm going to and we work around that. I try to go in the late afternoon when I can but sometimes I go to night classes when the kids are in bed.

And that's it! 

I'm not sure who to nominate, but if anyone is looking for a blog post idea, answer the same questions I did and link back in the comments section. 

My Spring and Summer wishlist...

  Ray-Ban 'Original Aviators' with blue mirror lenses
  Steve Madden 'Buddies'
AG Adriano Goldschmied 'Henley Tank Dress'
Steven by Steve Madden 'Antigua' Shopper
C.Luce 'Lace Romper'
Report 'Jude'
Pink Martini 'The Grommet Dress'

Kate Spade 'Grove Court - Maise' satchel

What's been going on...

I really should retitle this blog, AOG Monthly because that's all I seem to have time for lately. No one tells you that when your kid starts school and you add a baby to the family how much extra work it is. It's crazy how little free time I've had lately and I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my life. I feel like every blog post is just explaining how busy we are, but I think of this blog as an online journal where I like to document what our life looks like right now. And right now I am dreaming of the days when our kids our teenagers and are out of the house all the time and sleeping until noon on the weekends and Justin and I can go out to dinner and movies whenever we want and not have to trade turns sleeping in on the weekends. Man, that sounds like heaven. But I know when that day comes I'll be wishing the kids were babies still that wanted to snuggle and play with us. So I'm trying to enjoy the stage we are in now, as crazy and tiring as it is because I don't want to blink and miss it.

Anyway, here's what's been happening...

The big picture, the bad news:

- I am spending a crazy amount of money on private health insurance because two years ago I didn't qualify for Medi-Cal. Now Justin has taken a big pay cut and we are living partially off of grants he's received and mostly off of the money I make babysitting. Long story short, I now qualify for Medi-Cal but have spent months, I mean, since December trying to get ahold of someone in our local Medi-Cal office to check on my application and have had zero luck reaching anyone. They are only open on weekdays and are twenty minutes away in downtown Oakland so finding a day that Justin can take off from working so I can drive down there has proven difficult.

- Speaking of Justin's work, he has spent months working on an article he is hoping to get published. As well as writing his dissertation, applying for conferences, etc. On top of being a superstar dad and husband helping out around the house and taking Belle to and from school everyday. I won't get into details but he's been hitting road block after road block lately and the bad news keeps coming for him. It's so discouraging especially because he'll be going on the job market this Fall and getting bad news now is not making us optimistic about the future. I'm hoping we are just getting all the bad stuff out of the way now so that good news will come our way later this year.

- Justin got the wheels of his bike stolen. The bike that is locked up right outside of our front door. He bought the bike used off Craigslist a while ago and at this point it's cheaper to just buy a new bike than to replace the wheels.

- I got a speeding ticket in December and paid it online right away. A couple weeks ago I got a letter in the mail saying my deadline to pay it had passed and if I didn't pay it within 5 days a warrant would be issued for my arrest and the bail amount would increase. I also got the ticket in Fremont which is almost an hour away from where we live. So I spent an entire morning driving to Fremont, standing in the traffic court line for 2.5 hours to sort the whole thing out. Turns out I paid someone else's ticket (I don't even know how that's possible), and they had to transfer the money I paid to my ticket. I also barely made it back to Berkeley to pick Belle up from school that afternoon, I was gone for almost four hours total. And Justin had to take the morning off from working to stay home with the boys for this useless event to happen.

- I got suckered into being the summer school administrator at Belle's school. Which means I run summer school. It is way more work and a much bigger headache than I anticipated, but I am enjoying it. It's taking up a lot of my free time.

- Leo keeps getting sick, like every other day. He got really sick again right after Belle's birthday and was back on his inhaler. This poor kid can't catch a break! He's been healthy for almost three weeks now but has recently developed a hacking cough that is resulting in some vomiting and lack of appetite. So that's fun.

- He's also still waking up every night at 4 AM for a feeding. He's 11 months old. This should not be happening.

- Belle fell at school yesterday and scraped her face up. Then later fell in the street on the way to gymnastics and scraped her knee up pretty bad. She kind of looks like she's been hit by a freight train, poor clumsy little thing.

The big picture, the good news:

- This summer we were planning to buy a family pass to Fairyland in Oakland. Belle loves it there and it's great for kids ages 1-10 and a family pass for 5 people is only $99/year. Living Social has a deal right now that an annual family pass is only $49! So we bought it and I'm excited to take the kids there this summer since I'll have Belle, Leo and William most of the time by myself. Plus, it's close to Uncle Bryant's house, so we may have to visit him more.

- I've still been working out six days a week! I've been doing three sculpting classes and three yoga classes and it's really starting to pay off. I'm not sure if my body shape is just curvy or because I've had two kids, my body is slow to respond, but after three months I've only lost 10 pounds and have gone down 2 sizes. I'm still happy with what my body is doing though, I definitely have more muscle definition in my arms and legs and my baby bubble on my stomach that is the hardest thing in the world to get rid of is almost gone. I'll always have a little tummy pouch though, the difference between being 9 months pregnant with Belle (the most I have ever weighed in my life) and where I am now is a difference of 60 pounds, so I'm  not sure my abs will ever be tight and I'm ok with that.

- Belle has been amazing lately. No tantrums or arguments, she is behaving so well and is so in to having mommy around. She wants me all the time and I am loving it. She is so sweet and playful.

- Leo is cruising around everywhere and is such a little joy. We're working on feeding him more solid foods but he's pretty picky. If he sees us eating something he wants it, but put it on his high chair tray? No thanks!

- I did our taxes this week and our tax return is going to be awesome! I am excited because our savings account has been slowly dwindling this past year (with Belle's tuition, the extra expense of another baby and our rent increase) so this will give us the little boost we need.

- Losing weight and working out means new clothes (in smaller sizes!) and buying cute workout outfits (Lululemon and GapFit are really doing well thanks to me!).

Day to day life has been ridiculously hectic. Here's what a day for me looks like...
7:00 AM - alarm starts going off, Belle comes into our room to snuggle.
7:30 AM - get Belle dressed, make her breakfast
8:00 AM - get Leo up, change him, feed him, pack Belle's lunch for school
8:45 AM - get Belle out the door, clean the kitchen (was dishes, put food away), etc.
9:15 AM - tidy the back of the house, make beds, gather laundry, put things away
9:30 AM - put Leo down for his nap, set William up with milk and cartoons
10:00 AM - start laundry, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast
11:00 AM - Leo wakes up, switch laundry, fold laundry, keep boys entertained
12:00 PM - make lunch for Leo, William and sometimes Justin, feed Leo
12:30 PM - clean up kitchen, wash dishes, etc.
1:00 PM - Belle comes home, set her up to finish lunch, talk to Justin about plans for the rest of the day
1:30 PM - start getting everyone ready for nap, diaper changes, story time, milk, etc.
2:00 PM - clean up toys in the living room, eat lunch, check email. If Justin is home I'll run errands otherwise I work on summer school stuff, pay bills, make phone calls, etc.
*4:00 PM - everyone is up from their nap, I get dressed for yoga, get everyone snacks, etc.
4:30 PM - I leave for yoga
5:30 PM - Justin feeds the kids dinner
6:00 PM - come home, take kids back to the bedrooms to play so Justin can workout
6:30 PM - bathe whatever kid needs bathing, I try to do one kid each day, switching off
7:00 PM - put Leo to bed
7:30 PM - get Belle ready for bed, read stories, snuggle, etc.
8:00 PM - take a shower
8:30 PM - finally eat dinner with Justin
9:15 PM - clean up toys, wash dishes, tidy, etc.
10:00 PM - finally sit down, watch tv
11:30 PM - get in bed and read
12:00 AM - lights out
4:00 AM - Leo's up, feed him
4:30 AM - back to bed

* most days I go to a 7 PM yoga class so our afternoons look like this:

4:00 PM - everyone is up from their nap, I get dressed for yoga, get everyone snacks, etc.
4:30 PM - run errands with the kids or if there isn't time we'll just start putting dinner together
5:30 PM - we all eat dinner together
6:15 PM - bathe whatever kid needs bathing while Justin washes the dishes
6:45 PM - off to yoga
... Justin does the bedtime routine while I'm at yoga then does his workout at home...
8:30 PM - home from yoga, take a shower
9:30 PM - Justin finishes his workout, we finally get to sit down and watch tv together
11:30 PM get in bed and read
... and the rest of the night is the same

On top of all that I have started taking Leo and William to Gymboree on Thursday mornings and Belle and Abby are taking gymnastics on Thursday afternoons.

And our weekends are not any less hectic. 

- Last weekend Belle and I had hair appointments first thing Saturday morning and we got back around lunch time. We fed the kids and put them down for their naps while Justin's parents came up to babysit for us. After their naps Justin and I got ready, fed the kids dinner and went on a date to Mission Chinese, then for some dessert at Yogurt Park and then to his professor's house for late night drinks with some other academic types. We got home close to midnight but we had a really fun day! The next morning I went to an early yoga class, then took Belle on a playdate at a park with one of her friends from school. We spent most of the day there, even eating lunch at the park. I had a great time chatting with her friend's mom and they had a great time playing. We came home for nap time and then after naps we had some friends over for dinner. They stayed until 10:30, so by the time they left we were ready to clean up and go to bed!

- This weekend we have an open house at Belle's school on Saturday and I'm planning on going to a lunch time yoga class. Then our friends from Napa are stopping by for a visit. On Sunday we are having a mid-day playdate at a family friend's house for brunch and will likely have some laundry and grocery shopping to do.

And that's what's been going on with us. I am going to make a sincere effort to do a blog post every Friday with updates, but we'll see if I can keep it up. Right now my goal is just to get a good night's sleep at some point!

Valentine's Day, etc.

I hope everyone is having a happy Valentine's Day!
Please check out my guest post at my friend La Tache's blog today HERE.

I managed to surprise my three loves with a little treat this morning (see picture below) and a pancake breakfast. Even Leo got his hands on some pancakes. I think everyone was satisfied.

We have an unintentional tradition of going to P.F. Chang's every year for Valentine's Day. We accidentally went two years in a row so we decided to just make it a "thing". Tonight is busy for us though so we're doing our annual  PFC's dinner tomorrow. Tonight we are both trying to get the kids to bed early so we can pick up some salads from Barney's and have a relaxing evening catching up on some TiVo. 

Wondering where I've been? No? Well, here's an update anyway...
Belle and I had a great time earlier this week making Valentines for her classmates.
Justin has said this shirt looks like a Victoria's Secret bag. Although I think he's right, it's still the perfect Valentine's Day shirt. 
My hair is no longer bleach blonde. You know, in case you were out on the street and didn't recognize me.
I've been eating my vegetables and working out six days a week to drop those baby pounds. I've still got almost 12 pounds to go, it's coming off slow but I'm definitely building muscle and dropping sizes. Justin has become quite the expert salad maker. Our meals are mostly chicken, veggies, salad, etc. I'm definitely looking forward to having P.F. Chang's twice this weekend though.  Here's my workout calendar I made. I only write in my workout after I've done it. The one in front is January. I only took four days off in January (about 1 day a week). I've been mixing up the classes I take at Core Power Yoga and alternating between Sculpt (hot yoga with weights and cardio), Hot Power Fusion (hot yoga, slow opening poses), CP2 (hot level 2 yoga) and CP3 (hot level 3 yoga). All of their classes are done in 80-100 degree heat. I like sculpt class the best because it's really really tough no matter what your skill level. There are some pretty in shape people in these classes that can't get through the whole thing. I do sculpt 3 days a week and do 3 days of different yoga classes. It's been hard work, but I can definitely see a difference in my body after 8 weeks.  
I've been wearing some pretty bright colored jeans. You can't tell in this picture, but these are almost neon.
I've been cleaning up after this kid. We call him The Destructor.
On top of the fun stuff, my days are filled with breakfast making, lunch packing, dish washing, laundry doing, grocery shopping, organizing, exercising, kid bathing, toy put-awaying (?), baby feeding, baby food making fun. I usually get to sit down for a total of 45 minutes a day, usually when the boys take their morning nap I eat breakfast and I eat lunch during their afternoon nap, otherwise there's always something to be done! I even tried doing all the big chores (vacuuming, dusting, bathroom cleaning, 4 loads of laundry) yesterday so I could have today to relax. Not so. There's always more to do. I did manage to get some pictures uploaded though, hence the blog post. 
I'm also giving up soda for lent. Last year I transitioned back from diet soda to regular soda after reading article after article about how artificial sugar (found in diet soda) will give you brain tumors and kill you slowly, but the extra sugar and sodium in regular soda isn't helping the bloat monster from eating me whole, so bye-bye soda for 40 days. I'm also staying strong on the no chips, fast food, donuts and ice cream for all of 2013. They say when you give things up you stop craving them after a while. I'm still waiting for that to kick in. I've contemplated doing the whole Paleo thing, but I love bread, pasta and dessert way too much for that. I've heard it's changed people's lives though. I like my life with just a little bit of fat and salt. Haha!
I'll end this post with a little video to brighten your day because who can resist a baby belly laugh?

Friday Randoms

This has becoming a regular routine with me... no time to blog so I just thought-dribble all over this thing. Oh well, better little things than no-thing.

- This weekend is going to be crazy. I have sorority commitments tonight and all day tomorrow, Justin is meeting with colleagues as soon as I get back from my thing tomorrow and on Sunday we are going to Napa to visit the Dicksons. Oh and I plan on going to some sort of yoga class all three days.

- And today is mine and Justin's 11 year anniversary! We have such romantic plans (see above). Not. So we'll celebrate another day. Maybe. We are pretty much booked every single weekend until March. The second weekend in March.

- My baby boy is feeling much better. We got flu shots and a checkup on Wednesday and all is good. He has six teeth, is starting to pull up to standing and is starting to say "mama"! See babygomers.com

- Belle has been so sweet lately, she keeps saying she wants her mommy and is showering me with hugs and kisses and affection. I love it.

- Baby GAP is killing me with all of their new Spring/Summer stuff. I may or may not have already bought these and these for Leo. And maybe this, this and this for Belle. And am also wanting to buy this, this, this, this and this. It's a sickness really.

- I've been working out six days a week at Core Power Yoga taking a mix of different classes. I'm going on five weeks straight of this and have lost only four pounds. I seem to be hitting a wall a little too quickly. Hopefully things pick up soon because I'm not sure what else I can do except give up tacos and I'm really not willing to do that. But I can feel my body changing and I am eating a lot less and a little better. My goal is to get back to where I was pre-Leo (about 15 more pounds) and then cut back to four days a week but at this rate it's going to take me a while. Maybe less tacos.

- I haven't picked up a book in weeks. But I am caught up on my Google Reader and am now only five weeks behind on US Weekly. Progress people, progress.

- I don't watch Jimmy Kimmel, but THIS is hilarious.

- Now that the holidays are over, we have a cluster of birthdays to plan for. In our own house we have Belle (Feb. 27), Justin (Mar. 30) and Leo (Apr. 19). Not to mention my father in law (Jan. 16), brother in law (Feb. 18) and my brother (May 5). Phew. Belle's birthday is in the early stages of being planned but we already have a date and location. I can't even think about Leo's first birthday party because, well, I plan on him just staying a baby forever.

I think that's it for now. Slow news week I guess. Until next time...

In my head

So many things I want to blog about, not enough time to flesh out ideas. So here's some thought dribble for your day...

• Today is my 29.5 birthday! This oddly makes me happy. For years I've been terrified to turn 30 and have turned 25 for the past, um, few years or so. This year I'll be 30 and I'm actually pumped about it! I've got two perfect kids, a happy marriage and have never felt happier, stronger or healthier. I've earned these 30 years and I feel very wise and mature, hence 30. I hear that your 30s is when you lose your immature insecurities and really become confident in yourself and I can definitely feel that happening. 
• Speaking of age and wisdom, having grown and birthed two children with my body I feel sort of like a warrior. That might sound really stupid when I re-read this months from now, but I really feel like there's nothing in life that I can't handle and nothing is as big of a deal as it may have been five years ago. 
• My little baby boy is sick. Like really sick. He has bronchiolitis and is miserable and in pain and it kills me. We were so lucky that Belle never even had a sniffle until she was almost two, so it's really hard to see him so tiny and helpless.
• And while we're on the kid topic, I finally stopped breast feeding/pumping between the holidays. I'm really sad and feel horribly guilty about it but am trying to be proud of the job I did. I was able to go twice as long as I did for Belle so I feel good about that. My goal is to feed the next kid for a whole year. 
• Starting on December 26, I worked out 12 days in a row. I took one day off and was back at it yesterday. I'm really trying this whole exercise and eating well thing and so far I feel good! I can definitely feel the difference, I feel stronger and am starting to feel leaner. I've lost 3 pounds so far, 17 more to go! 
• Justin is also working out but isn't into classes and gyms, so he's doing Insanity, which is definitely the most appropriate thing it can be called. Just watching it makes me sore and tired. I don't see how people aren't just dropping dead all over the country attempting this thing. 
• I have a new Kate Spade addiction. So far in the past six months I've accumulated two Kate Spade purses (this one in forrest green, this one in last summer's teal), a Kate Spade wallet (this one in tan with yellow & polka dot lining) and a Kate Spade necklace (this one in navy blue). I think my collection may expand this year, I hear there's a Kate Spade outlet not too far from here that I'm dying to explore. 
• I totally re-organized and semi-decorated Belle's room over the holiday weekend. I'm so excited about it I may do a blog post about it over on babygomers.com
• I'm really excited for this year - so many people having babies, and none of them me (yay!). I love babies and seeing pictures of babies but have less than zero desire to spend any more time in a hospital this year. But more than that I'm excited about: our big Hawaii trip this summer for my birthday with the kids and the whole ever-expanding Gomer clan. Good time will be had by all I am sure. Also I will be leaving Mr. L (Leo) overnight for the first time to travel to Washington D.C. with Justin this fall (yay alone time! sleeping in! heaven), and we will be taking the kids to Disneyland for the first time with the Dicksons, also this fall. I'm not a huge Disneyland person but I think it's time, especially because we will likely only be living in California for another year or so because... 
• This year Justin will finally go on the job market! That means applying for professor jobs all over the country and hopefully traveling to some to see if it's where we want to lay down roots. Hopefully this time next year some big decisions will have to be made. It's so funny to me that Justin will be a 29 year old college professor in less than two years when it feels like he's been working towards this forever! I couldn't be more excited or proud of him.