since so many of you are calling me up/texting me up like “where da blog at?”, i’m back!
just kidding about “so many of you”... it was just my mom and sister buggin me, my 2 readers 😂
anyway, the rest of sacramento was awesome. we hit up the zoo, fairytale land, and, my personal fave, the jelly belly factory. the kids loved fairtytale land—it was lots of slides, playgrounds and structures to climb on and lots of running around. the zoo was small, but they had a carousel, so presley loved it.
now let’s talk jelly belly factory, or the mothership, as i affectionately call it. it was awesome. you get to see how they’re made, packaged, etc. and then there is a whole store with every flavor and free samples! i asked presley as we were leaving “did you have so much fun?!” and she (as a matter-of-fact-ly) said, “no. i asked brother and he said no. you’re the only one.” well, ok then. i’ll just go by myself next time 😂😂
my sister and my sweet niece bryleigh came to visit the day after we got home and were here for approximately 5 seconds before leaving me again 😩... ok, it was actually 4 days, but i had it in my mind they were staying 5, and so my heart broke when it wasn’t. ugh. i need to pay better attention.
but having them here was the best! bryleigh is, by far, presleys favorite person on earth. like, way above me, even. she’s obsessed and follows her around like a puppy dog and mirrors every single thing she says or does. i’m lucky that bryleigh is such a sweet angel, otherwise i’d be in trouble.
while they were here we took easter bunny pics—i’ll share those once everyone gets their copy in the mail... don’t want to spoil it. it’s a framer! HA. we also took a quick trip to tehachapi. i’m obsessed. we didn’t stay too long because it was frigid. and windy. so we just had lunch, visited THE cutest toy store ever (shout-out to darlene’s real swell toys!), and took in the GORGEOUS scenery. seriously. the mountains. ugh. God is awesome. we also hit up the outlets about 30 miles away. we’ve been wanting to visit, and i knew sister would be so down. it was nice, but the fact that there are mountains surrounding it makes it the coolest outlets i’ve ever been to. these mountains, man. can’t get enough of them. i wonder if i’ll ever get tired of them... but i’m guessing no.
and, no. i don’t climb mountains. that sounds flat out terrible. i don’t particularly love heights and/or physical activity. why would you ruin their beauty by getting so close? you know?
i just like to look at their majesty from afar. or by car. is being “indoorsy” a thing? yeah, just put me in that category.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Sunday, March 18, 2018
day 2 in sacramento is coming to an end... but i’ll start by telling you how the rest of last night went.
our next door neighbors just happened to be like 6-8 seven-ish year olds that had to have been unsupervised. they were screaming and squealing and jumping on the beds until after midnight.
presley finally fell asleep after randy turned the tv off (coogs lost 😕). she was all over the place last night. she would lay her head across my neck. somehow she’d pin my arms in weird positions and they’d completely go numb. i got up at 2 to make sure eli was doing ok (not having a baby monitor makes me paranoid), and also i turned the AC all the way down because of the smothering 3 year old. when i got back in bed she opened her eyes and smiled at me. it was so sweet and also i was terrified that she was awake for good. but she wasn’t. she just cuddled closer.
between sleeping with presley and the bratty kids next door, i got a terrible nights sleep. and i’m pretty sure they should use that combination as a torture device in the CIA or wherever.
when we all got up this morning we went downstairs to hotel breakfast. it left much to be desired, but it was free, so 🤷🏼♀️. it was also packed. and pretty overwhelming. after breakfast we came back to the room and eli napped... and the rest of us rested.
after nap, we got up and headed out to “old sacramento”. first, late lunch at joe’s crab shack. i know what you’re thinking, and yes, it was just as mediocre as it was 15 years ago. but, slim pickins.
so after lunch we went walking around the cute streets and loaded up on sugar.
first, my man bought me some.... DOLE WHIP. ahhhh!! what an unexpected surprise. it was perfect.
then we went to a few candy shops, toy stores... and then my man bought me... ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE FACTORY. chocolate apples are pretty much my favorite treat of all time. i saved it to eat later. then we found the cutest mini donut shop. they were SO DELICIOUS and i think that was presleys favorite part of the whole day. eli loved them, too! old sacramento is such a cute little area, and i’m really glad we went.
when we got back to the hotel it was late and eli looked like he was about to fall asleep in the stroller. so we came back to the room, gave the kids a bath, and put eli down.
i just ate my apple for dinner, and randy had candy 😂 being an adult isn’t so bad.
our next door neighbors just happened to be like 6-8 seven-ish year olds that had to have been unsupervised. they were screaming and squealing and jumping on the beds until after midnight.
presley finally fell asleep after randy turned the tv off (coogs lost 😕). she was all over the place last night. she would lay her head across my neck. somehow she’d pin my arms in weird positions and they’d completely go numb. i got up at 2 to make sure eli was doing ok (not having a baby monitor makes me paranoid), and also i turned the AC all the way down because of the smothering 3 year old. when i got back in bed she opened her eyes and smiled at me. it was so sweet and also i was terrified that she was awake for good. but she wasn’t. she just cuddled closer.
between sleeping with presley and the bratty kids next door, i got a terrible nights sleep. and i’m pretty sure they should use that combination as a torture device in the CIA or wherever.
when we all got up this morning we went downstairs to hotel breakfast. it left much to be desired, but it was free, so 🤷🏼♀️. it was also packed. and pretty overwhelming. after breakfast we came back to the room and eli napped... and the rest of us rested.
after nap, we got up and headed out to “old sacramento”. first, late lunch at joe’s crab shack. i know what you’re thinking, and yes, it was just as mediocre as it was 15 years ago. but, slim pickins.
so after lunch we went walking around the cute streets and loaded up on sugar.
first, my man bought me some.... DOLE WHIP. ahhhh!! what an unexpected surprise. it was perfect.
then we went to a few candy shops, toy stores... and then my man bought me... ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE FACTORY. chocolate apples are pretty much my favorite treat of all time. i saved it to eat later. then we found the cutest mini donut shop. they were SO DELICIOUS and i think that was presleys favorite part of the whole day. eli loved them, too! old sacramento is such a cute little area, and i’m really glad we went.
when we got back to the hotel it was late and eli looked like he was about to fall asleep in the stroller. so we came back to the room, gave the kids a bath, and put eli down.
i just ate my apple for dinner, and randy had candy 😂 being an adult isn’t so bad.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
coming to you live from the capitol of california... sacramento!
honestly, my favorite thing about this trip is the way presley says sacramento. it’s pretty cute.
it’s actually our first ever family road trip... just us 4. and honestly i didn’t really think this through, but that’s pretty much par for the course with my life these days. we are here because randy has a work thing monday night-wednesday afternoon.
the 4 hour road trip was, surprisingly, not at all bad. presley watched/played with her ipad, and eli cat-napped and said “dada” the rest of the time. i’m not at all bitter that he’s a complete daddy’s boy. 😐
so, currently, i am laying in bed with the world’s wiggliest 3 1/2 year old. it’s past her bedtime, but randy is watching UH play basketball on tv. we are staying in a suite, so eli is sleeping peacefully in the “living room” and i’m sharing a double bed with this monster while randy stretches out in his own double bed... alone 🙄
she just said “do you have a belly button?” i said, “yes.”
she said “i loooove belly buttons.” 😂
she’s nuts.
and i just realized i have to do this again tomorrow night. and the next two nights after that, except those nights we will be in a different hotel that IS NOT a suite so eli will be right up in this mix, too.
see what i mean when i say i didn’t think this through?
also, tuesday, randy will be gone literally the whole day. i will be alone. in a sacramento hotel. with two children. 😐 also? the weather is supposed to be bad.
but i’ll try my best to enjoy these next few days and not worry about how overwhelming this is. i doubt presley will remember this trip, but if she does, i want her to remember good times.
tomorrow, despite it being rainy and chilly, we are going to venture over to “old town sacramento”. apparently they have some shops and stuff to explore. fingers crossed we get some good rest tonight. ha.
oh, and go coogs!
honestly, my favorite thing about this trip is the way presley says sacramento. it’s pretty cute.
it’s actually our first ever family road trip... just us 4. and honestly i didn’t really think this through, but that’s pretty much par for the course with my life these days. we are here because randy has a work thing monday night-wednesday afternoon.
the 4 hour road trip was, surprisingly, not at all bad. presley watched/played with her ipad, and eli cat-napped and said “dada” the rest of the time. i’m not at all bitter that he’s a complete daddy’s boy. 😐
so, currently, i am laying in bed with the world’s wiggliest 3 1/2 year old. it’s past her bedtime, but randy is watching UH play basketball on tv. we are staying in a suite, so eli is sleeping peacefully in the “living room” and i’m sharing a double bed with this monster while randy stretches out in his own double bed... alone 🙄
she just said “do you have a belly button?” i said, “yes.”
she said “i loooove belly buttons.” 😂
she’s nuts.
and i just realized i have to do this again tomorrow night. and the next two nights after that, except those nights we will be in a different hotel that IS NOT a suite so eli will be right up in this mix, too.
see what i mean when i say i didn’t think this through?
also, tuesday, randy will be gone literally the whole day. i will be alone. in a sacramento hotel. with two children. 😐 also? the weather is supposed to be bad.
but i’ll try my best to enjoy these next few days and not worry about how overwhelming this is. i doubt presley will remember this trip, but if she does, i want her to remember good times.
tomorrow, despite it being rainy and chilly, we are going to venture over to “old town sacramento”. apparently they have some shops and stuff to explore. fingers crossed we get some good rest tonight. ha.
oh, and go coogs!
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
it’s 1:22pm and i’m laying in bed with a terrible headache, but appreciating the quiet because BOTH OF MY KIDS ARE NAPPING. at the same time. again. that’s twice in as many weeks. i’m pretty sure it’s only because i wore us all out this morning, but i’ll take what i can get.
and guess what? it’s RAINING. again. and you may or may not know this about me, but i LOVE the rain. i don’t love to be out of my house when it’s raining, but i love the darkness and the sound and it’s just all very soothing. i do NOT like major storms or flooding, or hurricanes. or hail. or tornadoes. tornadoes are one of my top fears. but rain, i love.
so i’m laying in bed trying to get rid of this headache. i would watch last nights “this is us”, but i don’t want to cry and make my headache worse. so here i am. but i’ve got some “presleyisms” to share so this won’t be very boring.
so this morning we had to go get the rest of eli’s shots from his 15 month checkup. the kids have been sleeping in until 8:30 or 9 since we “sprang forward” on sunday, and i’m not even mad about it. but his appointment was at 9:30, so i got us all up and dressed and we went straight to the dr. i promised presley we could go get pancakes afterwards if she promised to make good choices while we were at the dr. so after the dr, we went to ihop. there was a long wait but presley entertained us (myself, eli, and the rest of the patrons) by dancing to shania twain that was playing in the restaurant.
a group of three men came in, and they were all wearing blue jeans and t shirts and work boots. presley turns to me and says “those guys are probably hungry from building a house all day. they are probably going to rest and eat because they are really tired and really hungry from building a house. right?.” 😂 sure, sister.
panic struck me when presley gulped down her entire apple juice in 2 minutes. the thought of taking BOTH kids into the bathroom at ihop at the same time, while holding eli and making sure he didn’t touch anything and helping presley get on the potty and not fall in, was a total nightmare. whyyyy had i not thought of this very probable situation before i decided to take both kids to a restaurant alone????!!! i hated myself in that moment. but, our waitress was so terrible that none of us got refills, so presley never even had the urge to potty. PRAISE GOD. 🙌🏼 but why (WHY?😩) are kids apple juices $2.75? i should have gotten 8 refills for that price. have mercy.
annnnyway. when we got back in the car i was strapping eli in and presley asked what the mirror in the backseat was for. it was actually not a legit question for me, because she immediately answered herself and said “it’s just for making funny faces!”. spoiler alert, it’s actually so i can see eli from the front seat, but since it’s presleys world and we all just live in it, it hasn’t actually served it’s purpose because she thinks it belongs to her and i put it there specifically for her to make funny faces. so it’s never in the right position for me to see him. sorry brother bear.
after a quick trip to walmart, we came home and i told presley to go potty and get in bed. i changed eli and was putting him down when i heard her flushing the toilet handle over and over and over.
i told her to stop and she started fussing “it won’t go down!”. i told her i’d deal with it later, she had just put too much TP in there. she immediately corrected me and said “NO, mom. i think it just needs new batteries”. well alright.
and guess what? it’s RAINING. again. and you may or may not know this about me, but i LOVE the rain. i don’t love to be out of my house when it’s raining, but i love the darkness and the sound and it’s just all very soothing. i do NOT like major storms or flooding, or hurricanes. or hail. or tornadoes. tornadoes are one of my top fears. but rain, i love.
so i’m laying in bed trying to get rid of this headache. i would watch last nights “this is us”, but i don’t want to cry and make my headache worse. so here i am. but i’ve got some “presleyisms” to share so this won’t be very boring.
so this morning we had to go get the rest of eli’s shots from his 15 month checkup. the kids have been sleeping in until 8:30 or 9 since we “sprang forward” on sunday, and i’m not even mad about it. but his appointment was at 9:30, so i got us all up and dressed and we went straight to the dr. i promised presley we could go get pancakes afterwards if she promised to make good choices while we were at the dr. so after the dr, we went to ihop. there was a long wait but presley entertained us (myself, eli, and the rest of the patrons) by dancing to shania twain that was playing in the restaurant.
a group of three men came in, and they were all wearing blue jeans and t shirts and work boots. presley turns to me and says “those guys are probably hungry from building a house all day. they are probably going to rest and eat because they are really tired and really hungry from building a house. right?.” 😂 sure, sister.
panic struck me when presley gulped down her entire apple juice in 2 minutes. the thought of taking BOTH kids into the bathroom at ihop at the same time, while holding eli and making sure he didn’t touch anything and helping presley get on the potty and not fall in, was a total nightmare. whyyyy had i not thought of this very probable situation before i decided to take both kids to a restaurant alone????!!! i hated myself in that moment. but, our waitress was so terrible that none of us got refills, so presley never even had the urge to potty. PRAISE GOD. 🙌🏼 but why (WHY?😩) are kids apple juices $2.75? i should have gotten 8 refills for that price. have mercy.
annnnyway. when we got back in the car i was strapping eli in and presley asked what the mirror in the backseat was for. it was actually not a legit question for me, because she immediately answered herself and said “it’s just for making funny faces!”. spoiler alert, it’s actually so i can see eli from the front seat, but since it’s presleys world and we all just live in it, it hasn’t actually served it’s purpose because she thinks it belongs to her and i put it there specifically for her to make funny faces. so it’s never in the right position for me to see him. sorry brother bear.
after a quick trip to walmart, we came home and i told presley to go potty and get in bed. i changed eli and was putting him down when i heard her flushing the toilet handle over and over and over.
i told her to stop and she started fussing “it won’t go down!”. i told her i’d deal with it later, she had just put too much TP in there. she immediately corrected me and said “NO, mom. i think it just needs new batteries”. well alright.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
randy said earrings are for girls, but presley quickly corrected him and said earrings are for girls AND boys. so this is for all the girls and boys, i suppose!
have you ever caught the “magicbax” infomercial? if not, your tv is probably not permanently tuned to hallmark like mine 🤷🏼♀️ but if you have caught it, were you as intrigued as i? i immediately went to the website and put some in my cart — buy one pair, get one free! except one pair was $19.95 PLUS shipping. uhhh. no. you marketed to the wrong girl, magicbax. i rarely spend $20 on any ONE thing, let alone a dang earring back that no one will even notice how magical it is besides me.
so i did what i always do in a situation like this... a situation i find myself in often... finding something frivolous i want for myself or the kids, but not willing to pay the price.
i went on ebay and found the exact same product in china/hongkong/wherever for a whopping $3.18 with FREE SHIPPING. sure, it took 84 days (or 3 weeks, but it felt like a lifetime as it always does), but they came in (2 pair! a silver and gold) and they are indeed magical. my droopy little ear holes have been redeemed and every pair of post earrings will forever look fresh in place from now on. boom.
another thing i’ve been quite impressed with is the new soft pretzel twists from sonic.
it’s a perfect companion for my beloved “large coke zero with extra ice”. honestly i was still reeling from the whole “no gravy” sitch, but this pretzel may have made it a tad better.
and from the (self-appointed) “official president of the fake nacho cheese fan club”... DO NOT EAT THE CHEESE SAUCE THAT COMES WITH PRETZEL. you’re welcome. but maybe try it with marinara instead 🤔
i realize these two bits of info have zero to do with living in california, but i do not even care. goodbye.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
i’ve been meaning to get over here and update my little space about recent happenings, but i just haven’t had a chance... much too busy. 😂 jk. i just forgot.
i think we have found a church home here in bakersfield! we have tried a few different churches, and this one just felt right. it’s on the smaller side, so the kids go to the same place and presley is quick to tell us how eli behaves... “he only cried for a little bit.” 😂😂 randy and i really like the pastor, and the people are nice. they also just redid the sanctuary and the whole front wall is covered in wood and it smells amaaaazing. so there’s that. ha.
i have also found my “grocery store home”. i know, i know. huge news. you’ll never guess where i chose... so i’ll go ahead and tell you. it’s albertsons. i really like the old fashioned check out lanes with turntables instead of conveyer belts. and also, there’s a lot of old people shopping there and i just really like old people, so that’s a win.
y’all will also be really proud to know that i’ve been bringing my reusable bags everywhere i go and i feel like i’m really fitting in now. if you saw me on the streets of bakersfield you probably would never even know i wasn’t from here. except all we ever wear are houston shirts and hats and hoodies... oh and also my car still has texas plates. and i still have a texas drivers license... but other than those tiny details, i’m totally fitting in.
did you know that we bought a house without a single fan?
did you know that i didn’t realize that until AFTER we bought it?
so today, randy and i fixed 1/4 of that situation and installed a ceiling fan in our bedroom.
it was... arduous. do you know how tricky it is to install something of this variety without LIGHT?
did you know that it never rains in bakersfield? it’s literally the desert. but guess what? it rained today. the natural light that usually POURS through our bedroom windows was straight overcast because of it. also, the ac wasn’t blowing because we had to turn of the breaker. so i was really sweaty. and the kids were grabbing parts and running. and randy was asking too many questions. and second guessing things. and he told me, straight up, word for word, “i have very low expectations that this is gonna work.” 😑
BUT. good news—it worked. right away. and it isn’t even wobbly or anything!💁🏼♀️
and bad news—we still have 3 more to install another day.
also, presley told me after we were done, “mommy i’m so proud of you!” and “it looks so
precious to me!” 😂😂 that girl knows how to give a compliment!
i think we have found a church home here in bakersfield! we have tried a few different churches, and this one just felt right. it’s on the smaller side, so the kids go to the same place and presley is quick to tell us how eli behaves... “he only cried for a little bit.” 😂😂 randy and i really like the pastor, and the people are nice. they also just redid the sanctuary and the whole front wall is covered in wood and it smells amaaaazing. so there’s that. ha.
i have also found my “grocery store home”. i know, i know. huge news. you’ll never guess where i chose... so i’ll go ahead and tell you. it’s albertsons. i really like the old fashioned check out lanes with turntables instead of conveyer belts. and also, there’s a lot of old people shopping there and i just really like old people, so that’s a win.
y’all will also be really proud to know that i’ve been bringing my reusable bags everywhere i go and i feel like i’m really fitting in now. if you saw me on the streets of bakersfield you probably would never even know i wasn’t from here. except all we ever wear are houston shirts and hats and hoodies... oh and also my car still has texas plates. and i still have a texas drivers license... but other than those tiny details, i’m totally fitting in.
did you know that we bought a house without a single fan?
did you know that i didn’t realize that until AFTER we bought it?
so today, randy and i fixed 1/4 of that situation and installed a ceiling fan in our bedroom.
it was... arduous. do you know how tricky it is to install something of this variety without LIGHT?
did you know that it never rains in bakersfield? it’s literally the desert. but guess what? it rained today. the natural light that usually POURS through our bedroom windows was straight overcast because of it. also, the ac wasn’t blowing because we had to turn of the breaker. so i was really sweaty. and the kids were grabbing parts and running. and randy was asking too many questions. and second guessing things. and he told me, straight up, word for word, “i have very low expectations that this is gonna work.” 😑
BUT. good news—it worked. right away. and it isn’t even wobbly or anything!💁🏼♀️
and bad news—we still have 3 more to install another day.
also, presley told me after we were done, “mommy i’m so proud of you!” and “it looks so
precious to me!” 😂😂 that girl knows how to give a compliment!
Friday, March 2, 2018
y’all, something miraculous is happening as i’m typing this.
it’s huge. and, quite frankly, unbelievable.
it’s every mother’s dream. (no, i’m not at target, alone. or getting a massage, alone. or a pedicure, alone. or using the restroom, alone.).... i am ALONE.
because..... MY KIDS ARE NAPPING AT THE SAME TIME. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
i can’t remember the last time this has happened under my watch (it probably happened all the time when grammy had them 🙄). but i’m taking full advantage of this situation bycleaning every surface of my house and doing all the laundry and getting dinner started and meal planning for next week laying in bed, drinking a coke zero, and enjoying the silence. i’m feeling kinda guilty about it, but i am TIRED. we hit up krispy kreme, costco, exxon, and albertsons all before noon and that’s equivalent to circling the earth twice when you have two kids with you. bless all you parents that have more kids... y’all are the real heroes.
we are all still a smidge under the weather. glad the worst is over, but still ready to not have kleenex all over the house.
it’s huge. and, quite frankly, unbelievable.
it’s every mother’s dream. (no, i’m not at target, alone. or getting a massage, alone. or a pedicure, alone. or using the restroom, alone.).... i am ALONE.
because..... MY KIDS ARE NAPPING AT THE SAME TIME. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
i can’t remember the last time this has happened under my watch (it probably happened all the time when grammy had them 🙄). but i’m taking full advantage of this situation by
we are all still a smidge under the weather. glad the worst is over, but still ready to not have kleenex all over the house.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
i'm so saaaaaad.
my parents have come and gone in what was the shortest 6 days of my life.
they came in last thursday, and we took them to our fave sushi/asian restaurant that night. the babies were SO happy to see them, and Eli quickly went back to being "grammy's boy."
friday we had breakfast at 24th street cafe, which was on DDD! it was THE best breakfast, and Guy Fieri really knows what's up. we will definitely be taking all our of out of town guests here, so if that doesn't make you want to come visit, then just stay home. 💁🏼♀️ that night, we went to Buck Owen's Crystal Palace. we've been wanting to go check this place out since we found out we were moving here, and this was the perfect time. it is such a neat place, with tons and tons of memorobilia that will take several visits to see it all. we didn't stay for the live music, which just happened to be Buck's son, because, kids. but the food was decent, the atmosphere was incredible, and we will be taking all of our out of town guests here. 😂
the weather was such a bummer, it was COLD. and also, WE ALL HAVE COLDS. but even so, we had the best time with grammy and papal. there were lots of special memories made, and we couldn't miss them more. papal took presley riding her bike up and down the street a couple times, and grammy got to do bath time a few times.
we went to one more DDD restaurant, Moo Creamery, on monday night. randy and i had been before, for breakfast, but had been looking forward to dinner. i am going to go on record saying that i ate the best hamburger in my entire life there, and we will be taking all our out of town guests here. 😂
i actually cried when they left yesterday. but i waited until after they walked out the door, because my mom had just told me that she was "proud of how strong i was". #blewit 🙈
after they left, my kids both had doctor's appointments. they were just well visits (even with colds) because it was our first time seeing someone here in bakersfield. they both had to have finger pricks. presley didn't really understand what was happening until it happened and she had the most epic meltdown that i kinda wish i could have got on camera, but i felt like the doctor probably would have judged me, and wrote it up in her chart. you would have thought they cut her whole finger tip off by the sounds of the wails coming from her mouth. bless her heart. eli didn't even flinch. not a blink. not a tear. meanwhile, presley was still crying for about 20 minutes following the prick. everytime they squeezed her finger to get more blood out, she turned it up another notch. randy and i were laughing like the great parents we are. the nurse offered her a lollipop and she cut the tears and plain as day said, "green" and went back to wailing. back to reality!
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