Just In Time!

October 28, 2009 – 10:12 pm
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror HalloweenTime

Bwahaha!!

At the beginning of October (I know!) I was lucky enough to get invited to Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party at California Adventure. Although I am sure that Ryder would have LOVED to attend, but seeing as how the party started at 7:30 PM, he had to sit this one out. Maybe next year, Buddy! Although I do have to say that I was shocked by the number of little kids that were there. I mean little. Tiny. Miniscule.

So I gathered three of my Besties and we were on our way! The employees were handing out empty bags at the front, but for some reason, no one bothered to grab one. I had a nice little Mickey treat bucket, courtesy of Disney! Our first plan was to get over to the Tower of Terror and get ourselves a Fast Pass. When we got there, the Fast Pass wasn’t open and we were sad. Until…we looked over and saw that the wait time was 13 minutes. 13 MINUTES!! We practically skipped through the line! It was at that point that we looked around and realized that the average guest was about 4 feet high and not interested in “scary” rides. Sweet!

Throughout the park there were Trick or Treat “stations”. Basically giant carts full of candy that was being handed out. My friends held out their hands while I quickly filled my Mickey head with crunchy, sweet goodies! It was just the rush we needed to scoot over to the roller coaster! While the big rides were quick, we did get stuck in one long line: The Toy Story Ride. Apparently every kid wanted to ride on that one, because it took forever. But it was worth it! The premise of the ride is to shoot targets and score points. It was awesome! And I must say that I am quite the shot (take note, Hubby)!

I know that at this point is probably too late for you to make this event (due to my lack of blogging time), but hopefully you can make a note to try and attend next year. Even if you go without the kids.

Coming Soon: Ryder’s Birthday Trip!

By mommega | Posted in fall, holidays | Tags: , , , | Comments (2)

HMPH!

October 21, 2009 – 2:01 pm

Dear Lord, will I EVER have the time to blog again??? I hope so. I have so many topics to discuss, including, but not limited to, Zhu Zhu Pets (and the ZZP Party), Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party, Ry’s 2nd Birthday and his Disneyland trip. Phew! That’s a lot. I’ll get there. But not now. Now I have to catch up on my saved Ghost Whisperer episodes. What? We all have our dirty little secrets. JLH is mine…

By mommega | Posted in Blogging | Leave a Comment

Duh, Mom!

September 12, 2009 – 2:54 pm

I’m standing in the kitchen, listening to Ryder talk to his toys. His voice is sounding a little muffled, like he has something stuffed in his cheek.

Me: “Ryder, what do you have in your mouth?”

Ryder (opening his mouth wide for me to see): “Teeth”

Ummm…okay. Did I just get schooled by my not-quite-two-year-old?

By mommega | Posted in motherhood | Tags: , | Comments (1)

What The???

September 4, 2009 – 8:06 pm

Ryder’s 2nd Birthday invitations arrived today. Yeah, you heard me. 2nd. Birthday. How did this happen? Where did this crazy, energetic, sassy little boy come from? He used to sleep in my left arm and now I can barely get him to sit on my lap for more than 2 minutes!

I am loving the person he is becoming, though. He rocks. He sings and dances all day long. He climbs everything. Everything. He describes everything that he sees. He makes me sing Frosty and Rudolph to him ALL day long.  He says “Goodbye, Friend” when leaving the park. What a funny guy.

This year’s birthday was an easy theme to settle on: trains. Ryder loves nothing more than a good train ride (preferably with his Papa and Nan, but Mommy will do). So in addition to the day-to-day housework and my new job (more on that later), I’ve been busy planning a train party! I hope all my baby boy’s train-filled dreams come true that day!

By mommega | Posted in milestones | Tags: , | Leave a Comment

Only My Kid…

August 15, 2009 – 7:33 am

Ryder and I went to Irvine Regional Park this week to ride the train and have a picnic with some friends. Unbeknown to me, they also have pony rides. Now, we go to the Santa Ana Zoo about once a week, where they have a very nice Endangered Species Carousel. Of which Ryder wants no part of. Unless we are in the bird’s nest, which spins while the carousel is spinning. Which, no.

So, knowing his history with anything wearing a saddle, I was very surprised when he appeared to want to ride the pony. When I bought his ticket, I made sure that I could get my $4 back, should my fickle kid decide that he wasn’t game. So you can imagine my surprise when he not only gladly hopped into the saddle, but was talking to and petting the horse as well!

The (stable?) girl led the pony out the gate and we were off to walk our three laps! There were three other parents out there with their kids on ponies. All the kids were looking for butterflies and rainbows, talking about the trees, admiring the ponies and horses. And my kid? My kid was obsessed with the poo-poo. I mean OBSESSED. As in yelling out to me (though I was right next to him), pointing at the ground: “Moooooommyyyyyy! Hoo-hoo (horsie) poo-poo!! Hoo-hoo poo-poo! Poo-poo, Mommy!”

I sheepishly grinned at the other parents and wished I wasn’t holding the leash to the pony, so that I didn’t have to claim the kid as mine. Or that a giant sinkhole would appear and swallow me. Whichever. Does this mean he’s closer to being potty trained?

By mommega | Posted in Activities, Ryder's Entertainment, Summer, motherhood | Tags: , , | Comments (1)

Mission: Chocolate Chip Cookie

August 4, 2009 – 3:03 pm

As you know, I am OBSESSED with cupcakes. OB.SESSED.  But lately, something else has been brewing in my head. When I was younger, my mom and I would play hooky for a day and make chocolate chip cookies. They were The Best. We followed a recipe from Sunset Magazine from like 1982 or something. Needless to say, the last time that I went to find the recipe and make the cookies, I only found half the magazine. Poop.

So, my mission now is two-fold. The first part of the mission, is to master the chocolate chip cookie. I picked the CCC, because the ingredients are (somewhat) basic and I can usually whip up a batch during nap time. With an average CCC recipe, there is not much elbow grease involved. Now begins the search for The Perfect recipe (or a slight variation of).

This is where you come in, oh Faithful Readers (all 4 of you). If you have a recipe that you love, or one that you would love to try, please pass it on. I promise to give credit where credit is due. In the meantime, I will be searching and trying every recipe in every book on every shelf in my house (including the one from Joy of Cooking that calls for milk and no baking soda—WTH?).

I did try my first recipe today. It was from Martha Stewarts Comfort Food recipe book. Sounded like a logical place to start, right? Eh. Not so much. They are slightly overcooked (my oven runs so dang hot), but they are flat. And kind of crunchy. Not exactly the two qualities that I look for in a perfect CCC. However, I did put two sheets in at the same time, so one sheet came out slightly crispier than the other. The search continues.

The second part of my mission (or the Mini-Mission, if you prefer) is the search for the recipe from the darn Sunset Magazine! I know, it may be impossible to find, but I must look. Of course it would help if I knew the month or the year, but….well I just don’t. So if your great-aunt Minnie in Jersey happens to have every issue of Sunset Magazine from 1980 – 1990, could ya give her a call for me? I’d appreciate it.

By mommega | Posted in Heaven, food | Tags: , , | Comments (7)

A Baby is a Baby…

August 3, 2009 – 7:59 pm

Over the past couple of weeks, a little birdie couple have decided to make themselves a home right above our porch. We greet them and say bye-bye when we leave, we have enjoyed having them live there.

A couple of days ago, I was sitting in the living room (with the window open) and I heard a loud thud and a bit of a ruckus, followed by the sound of a bird flying off. I didn’t really think anything of it, just figured that one of the birds went out for a little fly. A few hours later, my friend came to pick me up and asked if I knew I had birds. I told her of course and asked how she knew. She pointed and I looked. There on the sidewalk was a piece of the nest and a couple of broken eggs.

I can not explain to you just how sad I felt. To make matters worse, I looked up and one of the birds was on the ledge, just staring down at the broken eggs. It seriously made me cry. Even though it was a bird, it was still a mama bird. A mama bird who didn’t get a chance to be a mama. I would’ve hugged that sad mama bird if I could.

In the last couple of days, I haven’t heard or seen the birds at all. I guess they’ve moved on and I don’t blame them.

By mommega | Posted in motherhood | Tags: , , | Comments (3)

There May be Bugs on Some of You Mugs…

July 13, 2009 – 1:18 pm

Fleas. We are totally infested! We first started seeing them on Cash about a month and a half ago. We gave him his Frontline and neither of us thought much about it. Until we started seeing bites all over Rydie! The fleas leave Robert and I alone (they must not like the taste of beer or wine), but they are eating my poor baby up!

Two weeks ago we had Orkin come out (for those that know me, this will not be a shock, as I call Orkin on a bi-weekly basis to remove all bugs from my sight) and treat the inside and outside for fleas. That same day Cash got a mean flea bath. Everything seemed okay for a couple of days. But now? Now Rydie is getting all bitten up. AGAIN. So Orkin will be out again tomorrow, Cash will get another flea bath and another Frontline treatment at the end of the week.

When we called the vet they informed us that this is one of the worst flea seasons and that alot of their patients are having problems. They informed us that we are doing all that we can. Really? Then why is my poor kid covered in red bumps? Why do I feel that I am failing him, not keeping him safe? Is anyone else having flea problems? What are you doing about it?

By mommega | Posted in Cash, Horror Stories | Tags: , , | Comments (3)

Everybody Loves a Parade

July 6, 2009 – 2:16 pm

Anyone who is familiar with Huntington Beach knows that the 4th of July is the BIGGEST holiday in the city. The parade is supposed to be the biggest 4th of July parade on this side of the Mississippi! Last year was Ryder’s first experience with the parade. He was into it more than we expected, but we were really looking forward to his reaction this year.

He did not disappoint. There were so many trucks and floats and marching bands! It was enough to make an almost-two-year-old lose his mind! Ryder clapped, danced and bopped his head during the whole 6 hour parade. Okay, it may not have been 6 hours, but it sure felt like it. Either way, Ryder thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Robert and I enjoyed it as well, although for different reasons. There were so many friends and family there, we barely had to watch it!

Parade watching makes you HUNGRY!

Parade watching makes you HUNGRY!

After the parade, Ry got to run around his Papa’s unfinished house while various family members chased after him. Finally at about 2:00, he went home to take a nap. He lasted well into the evening, much to my surprise, and even got to see some of the fireworks. Although he thought they were bubbles.

All in all, we had a very fun, happy, hot, blissful 4th of July. Hope you did as well!

By mommega | Posted in holidays | Tags: , | Comments (1)

Needs vs. Wants

July 3, 2009 – 7:26 am

I want to start blogging again. It’s true. At least three times a day, I compose a blog post in my head. But actually getting that post onto the computer? Yeah, that takes some effort. I don’t know why. Maybe in the past few months, I’ve lost my discipline? Maybe.

Now, it is more than just a want, though. Now I need to blog. I find that my mind is going crazy. There are way too many thoughts and ideas in here, just bouncing around like ping-pong balls. Must. Get. Out. And so they shall.

By mommega | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)