Weekend Recap June 4, 2013

We are going through a period of transition over here. Currently living at my parents' lovely home, and in escrow #6 on our townhouse... life has been feeling a bit scattered. On Saturday, Little J had a 5 year old birthday party. Daddy had to work, so it was me and the boys.

The party was at one of Little J's preschool classmates' home. The kids had lots of fun climbing all over the swingset, until...

Darth Vader showed up! He's' in the middle of all the kids, look closer. First, Luke Skywalker came out to the swingset and asked one of the girls, "Do you know who I am?" She said, "No." He said, "I'm Luke." "No, you're not," she told him, "this is LUKE'S birthday party, and I know who Luke is." Gotta love girls! And then Darth Vader came into the yard, and all the kids backed up very slowly to their moms. Very cute party, and all the kids went home with lightsabers of course! 

Then, Sunday we had our weekly swim class and then we had an hour to kill before we went to look at a few houses. So, Daddy decided that we should bowl? It was Mayhem's first time, and it was interesting. The ball did stop mid-lane, but only once! 

Just chillin' at the bowling alley...

Little J was professional. Giving Daddy all kids of ideas about a 'family bowling team' in the future...I could be down, do we get matching shirts? Hey, if my kids WANT to hang out with me while doing that? I guess I'll have to get my own pair of bowling shoes.  

What did you do this weekend?

While I Was Away... A Report Card for My Husband

This past week, I spent Tuesday through Friday in Atlanta- across the country from my boys. The good news is that everyone survived. The bad news is, I'm giving my husband an overall grade of "C" for performance while I was gone. Here's the rundown-

Diaper Duty. F. Mayhem had zero diapers when I got home. ZERO. And the worst part, Jake didn't even know it. Sigh.

Keeping the House in Order. C. The backyard was littered with dog waste and toys, but the inside was alright.

Bathtime. D. The kids had dirty nails, and our sitter reported that Mayhem was still wearing the same outfit from the day prior one day when he woke up... so changing him into pajamas, too much?

Doggy Duty. B. Nothing appeared to be ruined, stained, or chewed up. I believe they were fed, and they had water in their bowls.

Airport Pickup. A. My flight landed early, and he was there- enthusiastic and WITH the boys. :) And we went out to dinner. Well done, Daddy.

Exemplary Effort. A. He got the dent in my minivan taken care of while I was gone. It's been there since January. YES!

So, overall, everyone survived. There was no food in the house, no diapers, and the kids were dirty. But... we went to dinner together on Friday night, Mayhem wore a pair of Little J's Pull-Ups, and we're all OK.

Have you left your husband with the kids before? How did it go?

We're moving! I think...

We have lived in Ladera Ranch since 2007. We bought our townhouse at the peak of the market, which basically means that we overpaid. We have been waiting for the 'right time' to sell our home, when we could make all of our investment back- and it seemed that it may never come. Well, for whatever reason, January 2013 the Orange County housing market exploded. The prices have skyrocketed, and the supply is very low- so people are paying a lot for homes. That meant that we could put our home on the market, and see what happened. Well, April 17th we listed our home- and within 30 minutes someone had called to request a showing. The following week was very CHAOTIC, and I was trying to schedule showings around my children and my dogs. It was difficult, and 'clean' was difficult to maintain in our home.

From Honolulu to Home: a DIY Honey and Yogurt Face Mask

After I posted about our family trip to Maui, I was contacted by Kendra Thornton, former Director of Communications for Orbitz. I am honored to present the following guest post!

Spring.

Something about the arrival of thaw and promise of warmer weather just seems to put us back in touch with nature and makes us want to relax. As a mom, I know I could use a nice little treat after dealing with kiddos with cabin fever all winter! However, I've recently found myself asking why we only let ourselves relax and refresh a few times a year. Being a mom is a full-time job; why not take a break a little more often?

Spring Break in Maui - Part 1

When we decided to take a trip to Maui for Spring Break 2013, I must admit that I had mixed feelings about it. I wanted to go, of course! But I wasn't sure how the trip would go with our two youngest travelers, ages 2 and 4. Yes, we had travelled together before. We visit the family in New Jersey each year, but we do not stay in a hotel. We stay at my parents' house. All of us, in one hotel room, well that hasn't historically gone very well. Usually, Mayhem keeps us up. The last time we all slept in one room was MLK Day, this year. And I was up. all. night. So here is a summary of our family vacation, and hopefully some useful tips.

One of those days...

Yesterday was one of those days... One of those days where I found out, after being at work all day- that I still had the tag on my new blouse. One of those days where I had so much to do that I couldn't get out of work on time. One of those days where when I got home, the work was just beginning. One of those days where Little J cried over everything, and I wanted to. Here's to today, and hoping it's one of those days that's a little better than yesterday.

Klout Perk - Earth's Best

I recently received an Earth's Best Klout Perk- and Mayhem immediately sucked down the Organic Fruit Yogurt Smoothie. Thank you very much. :) If you haven't checked out Klout.com, it is a website that provides free 'perks' depending on how much 'klout' you have. If you check in periodically, you can find fun freebies like this one!

The Mixed Berry smoothie had Grover's face on it, and the Klout perk was themed for Elmo's birthday.

Earth's Best also provided a coupon for a free jar of baby food, which I will be sharing with a friend. Thank you, Earth's Best and Klout!