Weekend Recap...

We had a really nice weekend...except it was so HOT! Here in Southern California it averages about 70-75 degrees most days. August is our hottest month and averages 80-85 degrees. This weekend it averaged 95-100 degrees. We don't have central air. We got a portable air conditioner a couple of months ago and have used it a couple of times. We set it up in Lil'D's room all day on Saturday so he could play and nap in comfort. The rest of the house was 94 degrees INSIDE. I thought I was going to die. It was just miserable.

Jeremy started brainstorming...then I saw him out in the storage room in the backyard, he moved the couch in the dining room over opened up the 4 foot tall sliding window, put the window air conditioner in, set it on an old table outside, cut out some cardboard, taped the edges...AND WE HAD AIR CONDITIONING!! Woo-hoo! He also brought in the portable AC unit from Lil'D's room (this was after his nap at about 4pm) and put it in the living room. As far as I was concerned we were living in luxury with our temporary air conditioning.

Jeremy and I went to an evening picnic at the beach with our church small group. The evening cooled off significantly. Lil'D spent the evening with Auntie E and Uncle R. They went to church and Lil'D moved up into the 3 year old Sunday school class!! It just so happens that his cousin Z was a helper in that room. Z said that he was really interactive and answered all kinds of questions that the teacher asked!! I'm a proud momma! It's the little things you know.

This morning we started the air conditioners at 8am. It was just divine. I was so happy and I even took a 2 1/2 hour nap. If you know me you know that is so not me. I guess I needed it. We made a grocery store run and relaxed the rest of the day. At about 4:30 we turned the AC off and opened all the doors because it was the same temp outside as it was inside. (about 80degrees) The wind actually started blowing. We are a little nervous as to how high our electric bill is going to be after a weekend like this. We will just have to wait and see.

Fix It Friday...

I visit Through Jenny's Lens everyday and today I came across something that I just couldn't resist playing along with:

Fix It Friday at I ♥ faces

Here is the original photo:

Here is what I did to it:

Ya'll know how much I L-O-V-E pink. So I started fooling around and turned those bricks in the background pink. I also like the way her dress is glowing!!

Here is step by step what I did:

• Filter
• Filter Gallery
• Distort
• Diffuse Glow
• Graininess 2
• Glow Amount 7
• Clean Amount 20
• Image
• Adjustments
• Selective Color
• Cyan -100%
• Magenta 100%
• Yellow -100%
• Darken the edges:
• Set background color to white
• Make duplicate background copy
• Control + Backspace
• Photo should be covered in white
• Double click on duplicate layer
• Put check mark in Inner Shadow
• Opacity 100%
• Distance 0 px
• Size 247
• Click on blending options
• Opacity 100%
• Fill Opacity 0%

I in no way shape or form claim to know what I am doing. I have Photoshop 3. I like to experiment with different things and use step back a lot. I really love how the bricks turned hot pink and the glow effect I accidentally achieved.

Hope you enjoyed this! I know I did!! Go try if you haven't!!

Lil'Ds book choices this week...

Look and Find Thomas & Friends...Lil'D really likes this book. He is really good at finding everything. There are a couple of items he found before me.

Ten Little Dinosaurs, by Jim Harris...
The Dog That Dug, by Jonathan Long...this book has a train and dinosaur bones in it. Lil'D is obsessed with anything that has trains or dinosaurs in them.
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss...A train! A train! A train! A train! Could you, would you, on a train? Go, Dog. Go!, by P.D Eastman...there are no trains or dinosaurs in this one. Just dogs.

Disneyland...

We went to Disneyland yesterday. We have had Southern California Annual Passports since February this year. We have been there about 7 or 8 times since then. The best part about the Southern California passport is the price! We paid full price for the tickets the first visit, then we pay $20.34/month for Jeremy and I. We just got Lil'D's passport yesterday because he turned 3 in June. We pay a total of $30.41/month and here is what we get:

• Admission to Disneyland® Park
• Admission to Disney's California Adventure® Park
• Special rates at Disneyland® Resort hotels
• Select discounts on food
• Special Passholder-only events
• Subscription to Backstage Pass, a collectible Passholder-only publication
• Up-to-the-minute Extra e-mail updates
• Access to the exclusive Annual Passport website
• Special offers at select Downtown Disney® District location
• 10% off at Build-A-Bear Downtown Disney®

Here are the restrictions:

• All Saturdays are blocked out. (So we go on Sundays)
• All Holidays are blocked out. (it's too crowded on those days anyway)
• All of July and half of August is blocked out.
• The entire week of Christmas and New Years is blocked out.
• Otherwise we can go on the rest of the Sundays throughout the year and of course all the weekdays.

This was our itinerary yesterday:

Arrive at 8:30am and ride:

1. Dumbo the Flying Elephant
2. King Arthur Carousel
3. Storybook Land Canal Boats
4. Casey Jr. Circus Train

We got all four done in about an hour!! We then got fastpasses for Autopia, hit the potty and then had lunch at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante. It's our favorite right now. I get enchiladas, rice & beans and Jeremy gets enchiladas and carne asada with rice & beans. I get an extra plate and fill it with our rice and beans and Lil'D is super happy. We also get a 10% discount with our passport. It is the only meal we get because let's face it the food is expensive.

After lunch we rode:

5. Autopia

6. Disneyland Railroad (all the way around the park!)

We then head over to Disney's California Adventure and ride:

7. Heimlich's Chew Chew Train

8. Tuck and Roll's Drive'Em Buddies

9. Francis's Ladybug Boogie

10. Flik's Flyers

We took a break and bought an apple and a banana.

We watched the rollercoaster go a couple of times and decided we were tired and ready to go home. It was about 2pm. We passed Build-A-Bear on our way to the parking lot and asked Lil'D if he wanted to stuff a bear. We looked at all the choices and he picked the $10 Dark Brown Cub. We put 2 hearts in (one for Dash and one for momma) He really like the "bathing" station where you push the pedal and air blows out of a shower head. We asked Lil'D what he wanted to name him and he said "Blue Bull." (You know from The B Book, Dr. Seuss: Big Brown Bear, Blue Bull, Beautiful Baboon, Blowing Bubbles, Biking Backwards...) So Jeremy put in all the info for the birth certificate. The only accessory that Lil'D picked out was a brush. (the same brush that you used at the "bathing" station.) We paid a whopping $12.72 with our Annual Passport discount!!

Here they are:

We left Anaheim at about 3:30 and got home at about 5pm. Lil'D slept all the way home. I did everything I could not to fall asleep. I read my Real Simple Magazine, but fell asleep for about 10 minutes. So I facebooked on my phone and that kept me awake.

That was pretty much our day. We relaxed the rest of the evening and went to bed at around 9:45. (Lil'D at 8pm)

Until our next Disney Adventure...

Just a relaxing Saturday...

My little helper was doing laundry again this morning. We just have to make sure he doesn't throw them behind the washer!

Jeremy started his garden at the beginning of the summer and it really flourished. But when we went on vacation it was completely abandoned. Jeremy is planning on pulling everything up and starting over fresh. Look what he found all alone out in the sad little garden.
Little cherry tomatoes!! They are so cute and look so happy. I can't wait for him to plant another and have more!!

Lil'D and I were playing trains in his room. Lil'D was laying on the floor I asked him if I could take his picture and he said yes. I told him not to move and ran and got my camera. I got some really great shots! Here are my two favorites:
So serious and dramatic for a three year old.
We also had his favorite sweet treat...marshmellows.

My little helper...

Somebody is my super little helper! All I have to do is ask and he is right there ready to help!! I have been paying him with marshmellows. Boy does this kid love marshmellows.

He is also potty trained now and looks so cute in his little underwears!!

All aboard!!

sIt's been all about trains the past few weeks at our house! I have been going back and forth trying to figure out what I was going to use as a headboard for Lil'D's new full bed in his new room. Since I don't want anything hanging on the wall (this is earthquake country after all) I decided to paint something. And what is Lil'D most passionate about?...TRAINS!!

I just used a projector, traced the lines and painted the lines white and filled it in. I want to add some red or maybe blue, but I am not making that decision until I get bedding and curtains figured out.
Jeremy steam cleaned our carpets this weekend which meant all of Lil'D's train tracks had to come up. I put together a new track design and I am just so proud. It's a lot like designing in AutoCAD, so I really like the challenge!!
In case you didn't know this is James, he is crossing one of many bridges that I added to the design.We have a ton of trackmaster track and a lot of the engines. All of the engines run on batteries. Lil'D is very particular about how his trains run. Lil'D's trains run by hand...pushing them down the track. He loves having the control himself. He also loves to lay on the floor eye level with the wheels and watch them turn ever so slowly!! The photo below is how you see Lil'D playing with the trains most of the time.

Lil'D absolutely loves playing trains! So do I!

Photos from this weekend...

Birthday girl:
Birthday boy:
Blowing their candles out together:
Lil'D shots:

Letters to Lil'D...

My Sweetest Lil'D,

You and I spent the day at a birthday party near the bay. We had a fantastic time together. You were an outstanding listener all day and didn't once have an accident. You have done so well going potty. You are finally asking to go potty and I am so pleased.

I saw such independence in you today. There were about four or five play areas and you just bounced from place to place on your own, not needing me at all. I, of course, kept a very close watchful eye on you. You made friends young and old at each stop. You even ended up at someone else's party and joined in on a group of boys playing football. They were very nice to you and passed the ball to you a couple of times. You even cut in on a badminton game. You just have a wonderful way about you and people really like you. It doesn't hurt that your really cute and, oh, those blue eyes. Watching you socialize today made me very happy and oh so proud.

We are working on nigh time potty training. It's been 5 nights and we have had no success yet, but I know we will when you are ready. You have woken me up a couple of nights at 4am and that has made me a little extra tired this week. But this too shall pass.

Your favorite shows right now are:

• Imagination Movers, specifically No noise is Good Noise, A Bee Story, and Have A Ball.
• The Backyardigans, Into the Deep
• Little Einsteins, Music Monsters

We have watched these episodes at least 10 times each. You have also been watching The Letter Factory a lot. "Excuse me, is this the E room? Ehh?"

I look so forward to each day with you and watching you grow. I just wish that I could slow it all down just a little bit.

Love,

Momma