The Shrimp Festival at Red Lobster

All You Can Eat Shrimp at Red Lobster! Oli doesn't like meat. I'm not quite sure if it's the fact that he was hungry or not, but he saw the breaded shrimp on my plate and just couldn't help but grab it! He ate quite a few and even had some shrimp scampi! His first shrimp experience! Oh I hope he loves seafood as much as I do! Mmmmm.... Oh yes!!! Yummy Mummy! Mmmm!!!!! ...

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Why I Will Never Choose to Fly on American Airlines

When my husband told me we were going to be flying to Ohio, I remember the excitement. When he said we were going to fly with American Airlines, I knew there would be trouble. Owen booked our flight about 2 months prior. He knew he was going to have to go to Dallas for a business trip and scheduled our flight so that we could all fly together (at least up to Dallas). There are no direct flights from Orange County to Dayton, Ohio. So the best choice was American Airlines at 7:30 in the morning. A week before our flight, American Airlines changed...

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Mommy's Got the Bug

Oh my goodness! I could only imagine how my little baby felt. How Owen felt. This is the most horrible flu I think I've had. I can't even begin to explain it at all. The discomfort, the achy feeling, the uneasy stomach, augh! It's horrible! Sorry, can't write much except that this is absolutely terrible. I had thought that maybe it was Weetabix or even the biscuits that Owen's mom sent us from England as they were the only 2 that Owen and Oli had eaten that I didn't really eat. Then now I've got them! Today was absolute misery. Right now, I...

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Daddy's Got the Bug

I think I just saw my life in forward mode. Owen came home early as he said he was feeling a bit ill. As soon as he came into the house, he said "hello," took off his clothes, and jumped straight into bed. "Are you ok?" I asked. "Yeah, my stomach is not feeling too good right now. I think I'm really sick." He went right to sleep and after about an hour, I heard some horrible noise coming from our bathroom. I thought he had been exaggerating his vomit noise a bit or even trying to be funny, but I thought I'd just check anyway. I held Oli in...

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Toddler Has the Stomach Flu

Oli's stomach flu seems to have gotten a lot better. Well, he's got some runny diarrhea, but I think it's part of the process. At least that's what nurse Lydia said yesterday. He seems to be much better as he had been playing, running around, and eating a bit. Yes, he seemed so hungry. He ate a small bowl of rice and an egg. Owen insists that I shouldn't really feed him anything but I just feel like he's starving. He keeps pointing to the cabinet where his snacks are and I just can't be giving him junk. So egg and rice I think are quite good. It's...

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A Vomiting Toddler

It's really sad when your baby is sick. I feel like my mind runs a thousand miles an hour. How did he get sick? I just replay the events of the day over and over and can't understand. Oli woke up from his nap, crying. I usually just let him cry for a while after his nap to let him wind down. After about 5 minutes, I went into the room to peek inside. His crib was filled with vomit! Oh! It was so sad! He had it all over his hands, his arms, his face, and it looked like everything he ate for the last 2 days! It was so awful! My poor baby. I just...

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A Funeral, A Reunion, and Time with Mom and Dad

Today felt like it was two days in one. I can't believe the amount of events that took place today. After a long drive, well, actually it was for Owen, because I slept most of the way, we arrived at my parents' house at 2 am from Beverly Hills. I was sooooo drunk that I felt like I was seeing everything crossed eyed. Yes, I'm a bit of a light weight given that rarely ever drink, because I'm so tired most of the time. Alcohol, I know would just really...

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An Evening at the Beverly Hills Hotel

Owen and I went to visit his former colleague, Carol, from England. We met her and her boyfriend and her parents at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where we also spent about 4 hours drinking, having dinner, and just having a great time. Carol, spends a lot of time around the Beverly Hills area and also the beach cities around Los Angeles. She really loves the sun and wanted to share it with her parents, who are now in their 80s. So she decided to take them on a vacation for about 2 weeks. Frank, Carol's dad said, "of the 80 odd years I've lived, this...

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My Struggle with Weight

When I was younger, I was quite skinny. My mom, on the other hand, seemed to always be just a little heavy. I always heard people say, "daughters always end up looking like their moms when they get older." I used to always think "nope, that's not gonna happen to me." Here I am! On my way there! At 131 lbs 5'1" I KNOW I need to stop feeding the pooch that's just hangin out! For the past 4 years, I've struggled with my weight. Well, I struggle, because I absolutely love rice. I can eat it with just about anything. In fact, sometimes when I have...

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Toddlers Love to Hide Things

Apparently, Oli isn't alone. Some of my mommy blogger friends have admitted that their toddlers love hiding things as well. Oli's really good at it too. A few months ago, Owen and I found a stash of sandals, books, and other small things behind one of our book shelves. We have this box of fire logs that we can't seem to get rid of because we're afraid Oli would freak out. He's always putting toys and things in it. Oh, and he absolutely loves to...

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An Evening with Some Friends

It's always nice to meet with our friends, Rick and Alicia. Alicia just had her brand new little baby, Sydney, who's only 3 weeks old. Here I am holding her: Of course, it's also great that Oli and Skylar get to play and have fun together. Here is a great moment of them watching Yo Gabba Gabba. Like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen! Skylar gets bored, leaves, and Oli continues to watch: Then of course, you can't go through...

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Take Care of Your Own Kid!

When he can't get what he wants, Oli loves to throw a tantrum know matter where he is. I was removing his belt buckle on his car seat when he suddenly wanted me to give him his truck so that he can carry it around the store. I would have let him do it if it was small enough that he could just carry it easily. But I knew what was going to happen. He was going to either play with it in the middle of the store or have me carry it around. So I ignored him. He screamed and screamed in front of the car and in front of the store. I started to show...

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What a Toddler Does When He Has No Place to Go

Here's an average day when we have no place to go but home. So we make the most of it. Oli starts with a morning session of milk and Yo Gabba Gabba: Then goes around and plays pretend: ...

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A Day in Balboa Island

Cat was leaving today. I am going to drop her off at the airport for her 11:15 PM flight. So we did our best to make most of the day. Balboa is a pretty little island next to Newport Beach. Some of the homes are really fun to look at as they are very close to each other, but are all very beautiful. They obviously all look like just vacation homes. Of course, it's also got tourist shops and fun little coffee and ice cream parlors. Here is a picture...

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An Exhausting Sunday

We drove Cat to see my brother today. Where? Well... here's an honest story that my parents don't like to tell. When my brother was a teenager, he got mixed up with the wrong crowd, who did a lot of crazy things,  including of course drugs. To make a long story short, he ended up in prison for the next 11 years. He's been there 6 years now and he's got just a little over 4 years left. So Cat, his girlfriend, whom he's known for about 12 years,...

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A Nice Day with Family

It was such a surprise that my dad and brother decided to spend the entire day at my house in Laguna Beach. Wow! It's like a cat and mouse learning how to be friends. Just something that doesn't usually happen. Sadly though, my brother is not really the type to go see and do things. He pretty much stayed in the house and watched TV all day. The kids did have a lot of fun though. We setup the portable, inflatable pool that I'd gotten for Alexis on...

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A Visit at Grandma's House

My parents live in the same house as my brother, his wife, and two kids. Their house is about an hour drive from ours. So we don't visit them as often as we'd like. Or well... maybe as they'd like. To be honest, I don't like to take Oli there too much. I think it's my own sadness or insecurity about how much my dad really cares about him. Sadly, my parents are the only grandparents Oli has here, but since they've got two others that they see every...

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Can Heat Equal Cranky Toddler?

It's been a few days since I've written. My aunt came back to visit us on Thursday (8/2/12) and I dropped her off at her friend's party in Moreno Valley, which is probably about an hour away. It was really far. Anyway, Friday was a real treat because she went into town with Jun (her son), Ann (my cousin), and Oli. They were gone about 3 hours. It was great because I love knowing that my son is out having fun. It's not like I'm just pawning him off...

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Two Cute Toddler Videos

Thought I'd share some cute videos. Here's Oli with his cousin Frankie: Oli loves to kiss: ...

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An Off Day

9:53 AM  We are on our way to the doctor. We got an appointment with Dr. Santos at the Laguna Hills Seaview Pediatrics.  His poor little face is so sad looking. Looks like the bites got bigger.      10:09 AM Stopped by CVS across the street from the TAJ Mahal Medical Center in Laguna Hills to drop off the prescription the doctor gave us yesterday. This way we don't have to wait for them to fill it after...

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A Parent's Greatest Fear

There's a popular local restaurant in Laguna Beach called the "Penguin." The owner is a woman who's maybe in her late 30s or early 40s. Her very young son (I think about 11 years old) has brain stem glioma. Doctor says he has about 6 weeks to live and the operation, which they hoped was going to help him is not going to do any good. They are starting radiation anyway to see if it can miraculously do anything at all. My heart breaks at the thought...

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Toddler Head Bitten By Bugs

Ahhh... another early Sunday! Oli jumps around and cries for someone to wake him up at 6:15 am today. Couldn't seem to get myself up, especially since I went to bed at past midnight. Tried to get to bed earlier but just couldn't happen for some reason. When I get to sitting down in front of my computer I get so lost and forget what time it is. After his bottle, he lays down with me for a little bit but of course doesn't really lay down. He laughs...

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