Shenanigans

My hubby has a lot of good stories from the O.R. which are too good to keep to myself. Sometimes, the surgery can be long and tedious so H. need to keep himself amused. For instance, one man had really bad blackheads on his nose and face, so H. took some tape and used them like Biore' strips all over this man's face. After recovery, H. ran into the patient's wife and she said,"I need to find out what anesthesia you used because it cleared up hy husband's face great!" Woot! Go to surgery and get a facial & extraction.

Many times, a certain drug will make the patient very talkactive but they don't remember anything they say. A woman who came in with a dislocated hip and claimed she was laying in bed , watching the news, rolled over & dislocated it. During surgery, it was discovered that she was participating in a threesome and somehow 'in the act' injured herself.

One time, H. was called in one night for a 'foreign body' which doesn't sound too urgent but he went in. The next day I found out that the foreign body happened to be a huge dildo lodged in some guy's butt. The funny thing is that it has happened before to this guy who was sky high on who knows what. The nurse recognized the man who admitted he had been in the hospital before with the same condition. Yikes! You'd think the guy would have learned from the first time.

California Adventure

Friday, we decided to visit California Adventure (alternate universe to Disneyland). This is where I can let my guard down a notch with the kids while walking. I don't worry about Joshua getting lost among crowds of people or really huge long lines at rides. And the best part is the Electric Light Parade! This is my ultimate favorite parade (and I'm not a parade person). There is something special about it that just makes me feel like a kid; infectious music and pretty colorful lights never fail to delight the kids (me too).

Anyways, the kids had a good time. They rode the ocean themed carousel with adorable seahorses, seals, whales and fish. Both Josh and Ty played the fishing game (in the midway area) where everyone wins a prize. Tyler won a seahorse while Josh managed to win a large fish. Tyler and I rode the ferris wheel in the non-swinging gondolas. As usual, we got another souvenir bucket of the butteriest (is this a word?) popcorn. Every kernel of popcorn was bright yellow and greasy but boy was it GOOD. The guy held the bucket directly under the popper as the popcorn was coming out instead of letting it mix with the rest of the batch. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

I have the itch to travel again. I know we just had a vacation in April but it was a relaxing family vacation. Our trip to Japan was in November and all of us truly had a wonderful time. We learned about another country and culture which made us appreciate Japan & their contributions but also appreciate our home. We subscribe to a magazine Budget Travel that lists 40 great deals to places all over the world. We booked our Japan trip from that list and now I'm scoping out some new places. At first I was thinking Peru with the Inca ruins but after a little research, it was too adventurous for 2 young children. I'd worry about treacherous mountain hikes , altitude sickness and insects.

Now I have focused on Singapore and Bali. I saw a great deal for $899, 2 nights in Singapore & 5 nights in Bali. I still have to do more research but I know for sure that Singapore is VERY clean and has lots of fun for everyone in my family. As for Bali, I have one friend who went there about 12 years ago but she doesn't keep in touch with me. Long story but our friendship is stalled on her end. Ah well, there is always next year for an exotic trip. I'll keep you posted.

By the way, I blame The Amazing Race for exposing all these wonderful places. I never would have considered any of these places before but having seen a glimpse of the world, gives me the urge to explore and let my children experience other places too.

Procrastination

Important things get done for the most part on time but somethings just do not get done. For instance, on the wall by my computer, I still have Christmas cards & pictures taped up. It is almost June and there only about 15 cards which would take me less than a minute to take them down but still they stay. I think about taking them down but that's as far as it goes. Sigh. The above pic is a party decoration from Tyler's birthday party in September and it is still hanging in our patio. I don't think I'm the only person like this but at least I'm not anal. I already have a mother and friend like that so being a bit of a procrastinator can't be that bad.

For some reason, both Josh and Tyler like it their pictures taken as close as possible. Because of this, I shrunk their pics down so no one will be startled when drinking their coffee and spewall over the computer. Sound familiar?? Hector??

I'm still tired ever since I saw Madonna...I stay up past midnight and get up at 7:30am to get the kids ready. I need 8 hours of sleep to function & be nice. Before we had kids, Hector used to joke that I was grumpy if I didn't get my 23 hours of sleep. But back to Madonna, if you ever have the chance to see her, do it. You will not be disappointed! She put on a spectacular show at the Forum that kept everyone on their feet for most of the time. No encore though which was kind of strange but she performed for 2 hours of non-stop entertainment. This rates as one of the best concerts I've been to.

We had some unusual rain Sunday until yesterday morning. Joshua and I got caught in a downpour after dropping Tyler off at school and by the time we reached the car, we were soaked. Here is Josh with the wet, plastered down hair look. By afternoon, the rain was gone and now we are enjoying beautiful weather in the 70's. Okay, I'm tired. Maybe Joshua will take a nap with me now.

Disneyland

Lately Hector has been working long hours or overnight call so I decided to take the kids to Disneyland Friday night. We all have annual passes so it is a nice diversion for the kids. Kat and her friend Fran were there too specifically to see the fireworks show. The boys and I arrived around 5:30pm so I fed them their picnic dinner on Main street and we decided that we might as well wait for the Parade of Dreams. The kids seemed to enjoy it and I thought it was just okay. I took the kids to fantasyland while Kat and Fran set off to find a good place to see the fireworks. I managed to squeeze in 2 rides (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the carousel) then it was time for popcorn and the fireworks. Popcorn is the BEST thing at Disneyland to the boys (Joshua literally dances around the line) .

While we wait for the show, Tyler is talking non-stop to Fran about all topics under the sun and Josh is busy eating popcorn. Fran was wearing a sweatshirt that had MICKEY on the front of it and Joshua began pointing & reciting the letters. Soon, Tyler gets into the action by placing his hand on Fran's chest over the letter that Joshua says. Both boys are touching Fran's chest while she looks kind of bewildered. It was all innocent and very amusing but I don't think she has ever been manhandled by 2 guys in public before!!

Silly Boy

I was going through old pictures and came across this one of Hector & Joshua at Mammoth. Joshua must have been around 1year old at this time and this is at a sled park. He was chubby back then while Tyler got skinny. Now it is the opposite, Josh is lean while Tyler is packing on the pounds.

Around the same time, we got a Chihuahua puppy for my mother-in-law. She has always liked dogs and she adopted a couple of dogs which were too big and rambunctious for her little place. So we found Corn Nut later renamed to Icarus. We had him for 2 days before taking to his new home but he really bonded with me. Now everytime we visit that dog goes crazy around me. He is still small, hyper and when he relaxes, his tongue pokes out. Mayeb in a couple of years, we'll get our own dog (French bulldog).

Too Much Gravity

One night I opened Tyler's lunch box and the entire inside white plastic lining was stained orange. You know the way Tupperware looks after spaghetti/tomato sauce has been there a while? I recalled packing pizza bagels, applesauce and a juice box. (I don't always close the bag fully so they won't get soggy since they're warm when bagged.) I look at Tyler and ask, "What happened to the inside of this lunch box?" Tyler says, quite serious, "Someone was swinging their lunch box, so I did too and and and oh, there was TOO MUCH GRAVITY!" And then he holds both hands out like the situation was just beyond his control. It took all my willpower not to burst out laughing. I think I may have to keep a closer eye on this guy.

June Gloom in May

Lately the mornings are gray until afternoon when it may clear up but not always. We call it June Gloom here and it's already arrived. I even saw a 5 day forecast of the weather and it showed rain on Sunday. Yikes. I hope not. Kat and I get to see Madonna kick off her concert tour. Yippee! It should be loads of fun. I wonder if there will be wannabees still dressing up like Madonna from the 80's. The tickets say no cameras but it would be great to sneak one in. We are both too chicken to try this time although we have done it before.

Yesterday, Joshua fell asleep on the floor in our family room so I decided to try cutting his hair. He didn't wake up from the scissors sound so I just cut away. It looks okay not great but hey it was easier than dealing with a screaming, squirming child who has the strength of 10 men if one attempted to cut his hair while awake.Trust me on this one.

The above pic is of Alex and Joshua at the park. They are good buddies and get along great. I managed to get this shot when they stopped for a breather.

I tried out my camera today at the park and these are some of my results.

You Be the Judge

I promised to tell you a story. It begins with a girl I've known, let's call her Pammy, for about 10 years. I met Pammy when she was barely out of high school and watched her struggle through her college years and finally pharmacy school. She had ups and downs like anybody else and we became friends. So when Pammy finally finished pharmacy school last year, it was a big deal. There was a graduation party so my sister-in-law & I decided to buy an ipod mini for Pammy. The first thing was that Pammy didn't open her gifts at the party. She opened them the next day for whatever reason and her husband said that Pammy really was excited about the ipod mini. Fast forward one year to the present. The ipod is still in the original box sitting in some room in their house. Her husband offered to load the ipod for Pammy but she refused the offer. She keeps saying that she will do this herself when she has time. I even offered to help her along. No thanks, she says. Hmmpf. Needless to say, my sister-in-law & I are miffed at this. We thought that this would be a nice gift that practically everyone else in the world would have ripped open and used right away. But not Pammy. That girl is WACK!

Debut

Ok, I finally installed all the software that came with my new Rebel XT so to commemorate the occasion, here is the latest pic of Tyler and Joshua. Tyler has his deer in the headlight look while Josh is relaxed & goofy. School will be winding down for Tyler soon so I've been planning some day camps for him in July. We will be hitting Disneyland, Legoland and Soak City this summer so watch out! Tyler will also be starting T-ball with some kids from his school so we have been practicing batting and catching the ball. At this point we are trying to keep it fun and lighthearted plus it gets us all moving & active.

I also took a picture of the flowers we gave my mom for Mother's Day. I'm still learning the camera and will be for a long time so have some patience with all my nonsense.

More later tomorrow when I rant about a certain someone who still hasn't opened/used her ipod that my sister-in-law & I gave last May! Ooooh, it still irks me!

My Portrait

This is a portrait that Tyler made for me. He did a good job although it is not an exact picture of me. I do like the necklace he drew with the pretty jewels. He did get my eyelashes right since I have short fine eyelashes. I blame bad genes for that oversight. Sigh! Joshua decorated a soda can cooler with lots of cute foam stickers. Very special since this is Josh's first handmade gift to me.

Happy Mother's Day

On Thursday, Tyler's class had a special Mother's day program. The boys wore shirts with collars (no T-shirts) and the girls wore either skirts or dresses. Each child escorted their mom to a seat and brought refreshments to her. Then they had a 30-45 minute program of songs, poems and choreography which was so adorable I cried a bit. Tyler made a special plate and card for me. The children obviously worked very hard on everything and it was wonderful.

So today (Sunday),we had a nice day. Hector brought us breakfast from McDonalds and then we all went to church. We usually don't out to eat on this day because of the crowds. I just don't find waiting to eat all that enjoyable when I can be home with my family.We went to see my mom this afternoon and brought her a bouquet and a gift card from Whole Foods. Hector had my present kept at my mom's and he got me a Canon EOS Rebel XT. It wasn't really a big surprise since I have been dropping BIG hints to Hector but he is a very cool guy when it comes to presents.

Shut Out

The Mighty Ducks vs. Avalanche game was great last night. The Ducks won 5-0 and we saw 4 out of 5 goals scored since they occured on our side of the rink. We had nosebleed seats which still had good views of the rink. The freebie were little towels that we waved around when we scored so we waved them a lot. Arrowhead Pond is nice but I felt a little cramped in there compared to Staples Center. So Hector and I began discussing our LA Kings seats for next year and I think we will splurge on a half season pair so that will be lots of fun.

On the way home, we drove close to Disneyland and the fireworks were going on and these are my attempts at taking pictures while in the car. I just like the squiggly lights and think they look kinda cool.

I need to get going and make some chile verde with pork ribs. Yum...I can't wait to eat!

Another Day

This week has been really busy (in a good way) but I am glad for the weekend. It is Teacher Appreciation week and we tried to have to children make cards for Mrs. Kajikawa to show their appreciation. She is a very sweet lady and has lots of patience. She always sees the positive side even when the kids are atrocious. Thanks for your dedication, Mrs. Kajikawa!

I managed to buy tickets yesterday for the Mighty Ducks round 2 playoff game #1. So hopefully, Hector will get off work at a decent time so we can head to Anaheim tonight for the 7pm game. We are LA Kings fans but we are pleased that the Ducks are in the playoffs so good luck to them.

Last night, one of the hospital employee's asked Hector if he was going to the game tonight...Hector asks, "What game?" DOH! Oh yes, the Lakers and Clippers are in playoff games too. Hector works in Laker territory (Inglewood)where practically all of the people live and breathe Lakers. Can you tell Hector doesn't follow basketball?

Now all Los Angeles need is a pro football team and make millions of people happy including my best bud Kat. In the meantime, she is a die-hard Angels fan so she'll be busy until fall. Wow, how did this post become about sports? Ok, well this Saturday is the Kentucky Derby which I've always loved just because I was a horse-crazy girl until about I was 13 years old. Now, I love seeing the beautiful horses; the race is over in a few minutes but the tradition and history is pretty cool. Plus there is always the question of potential Triple Crown winner.

Enough of sports...have a great weekend!

I'm pretty sure that I posted this pic before but oh well, they are just too cute. I was relieved to find out that Tyler's progress report was positive and he is at above level in all areas except social development (can't win them all). Joshua is coming along in his speech and he is identifying colors and body parts. I am working along with his teacher to potty-train Josh which I hope he is ready for.