The BIG City

We just returned from a wonderful "extended weekend" in Anchorage with Grandma!

We went to the Mall...ok, many Malls and MUCH shopping!, the Anchorage Zoo, the Alaska State Fair, Boat ride to the Portage Glacier, the H2Oasis Indoor Water Park, the Anchorage Harley Davidson, Portage Wildlife Conservation Park, Wasilla, and ate at many of the SoCal-local restaurants that I miss so much after being on an island!

We had an amazing visit. Emily remembered grandma at first sight and went running to her with BIG HUGS!

For five days the kids were spoiled by their loving grandmother. (Their mother, "ME," was spoiled as well...thanks mom!) They got lots of toys, gummies, got to stay up late...and had a GREAT TIME!! I got a ton of work clothes (which are much-needed)!

It was a quick trip, but we had a blast! Thanks mom for everything and we look forward to seeing you again in November! LOVE YOU!!

Here are some pictures of our trip:

Locked Inside

This afternoon Ethan was fussing, and Emily was bored. Its raining outside and we were all stuck inside today. So, I decided to take the kids outside on the covered patio deck for a bit just to get out of the house. Emily was going to grab her Mickey & Pluto stuffed animals, and I grabbed Ethan. We were just going to sit out on the patio furniture for a few minutes until Ethan settled down.

Ethan and I started walking toward the door, and Emily began to flip out because she thought we were leaving without her, and she had yet to get her stuffed animals. I paused to wait for her, but she was now too upset to regroup. So, I went outside without her.

While still crying, she quickly got Mickey & Pluto and stood in the doorway looking out at me & Ethan as we sat outside waiting for her in a patio chair. Well, Emily got so upset that we had gone outside without her that she started to scream and cry, and then she slammed the patio door shut...and locked it!

I couldn't believe she was so upset! I sat there, with Ethan, for a few seconds and then got up to attempt to open the patio door. When I tried the handle, it was locked! SHIT! I couldn't help but laugh...you've got to be kidding me! Now what the hell do I do?!!? My two-year old just locked me out of the house, and locked herself inside!

I spent another 5 or 10 minutes trying to get Emily to unlock the door, but all her attempts failed. And her "silly" crying and screaming from earlier has now turned into this frantic screaming! From the other side of the glass I tried to calm her down and walk her though 'How to Unlock the Door.' She was scared and frantic, and couldn't re-group. She made several attempts, but we have a difficult lock and she couldn't twist it far enough to unlatch it.

I walked toward the front door, but that was locked as well. I could hear her screaming from inside the house as she ran from the patio door to the front door. I tried to instruct her how to unlock the front door, but she didn't understand and gave up...screaming the entire time..."MOMMY!!!...MOMMY!!!...MOMMY!!!"

I checked all the windows, but no luck there either. "What am I going to do!" Chris wasn't going to be home for at least 4 more hours and it was beginning to get colder and rain harder outside. I thought more and more about going to a neighbor's house to call a locksmith...however, I wasn't "looking my best," so I was hesitant.

I was wearing Chris' flannel Santa & Reindeer PJ pants, which are too big for me, and an extremely clashing purple hooded sweatshirt with a florescent paint-splatter design; I hadn't done my hair, so it was all frizzy and I had no make-up on. I also wasn't wearing any shoes, but I found a pair of Chris' brown fishing boots outside and put those on...those were about 4 sizes too big for me. Ya, I looked a mess! But, I'd have no choice and have to suck it up and ask a neighbor for help.

I was on my way to the neighbor's house when I decided to check one more place to see if I could get inside. Luck!! I was able to push it open and weasel may way inside the house! I couldn't believe it! (I'm going to be vague on the specific details, for obvious reasons.)

I walked toward the locked patio door where Emily was kneeling and crying in panic waiting for me to return on the outside. I approached her from inside and gave her a big hug to calm her down. Then I unlocked the patio door and went outside to get Ethan. (The entire time I was trying to figure out how to get back in, Ethan was sitting outside under the covered patio...just chillin'.)

This whole ordeal was only about 30-45 minutes...thank God! But, what a mess! I need to have a better way to get back inside the house in case something like this happens again!

Day-to-Day

So, what do we do all day...?

I've been waiting for something to blog...anything, but we're just doing the same ol' day-to-day. Nothing really exciting is happening and we're just living the everyday life.

Our day usually starts off around 6:35am, when Chris rushes out of bed worried that he'll be late for work. He then nudges me and tells me to get up to get the kids ready while he showers. Most of the time, I stumble downstairs and wander into Emily's room but some days Chris gets the kids ready to go all by himself because I am too tired and lazy to get out of bed and help. This really stresses Chris out and I love doing it to him. Hahahaha. (Chris wrote this part...lol.)

I loudly open the door and turn on the light and say "Good Morning Emily." Lately I've been greeted with a grunt, and then she pulls the covers over her head and says: "I not ready to get up yet." But, after a few minutes of my rustling about and getting her clothes out, she then gets up with a big smile.

She always refuses to go potty when she wakes up, but then...she refuses to do just about anything. Its the "No Stage" -- she always will say "no" and then a few seconds later she'll think about it and change her mind. After she goes to the bathroom she then comes in to get dressed, and of course, no matter what I pick out the response I get from her is "I don't like that..." No matter what it is; and then a few seconds later she gets dressed in the original planned outfit.

Next we're on to Ethan. I walk in, turn on the lights, and say "Good Morning Ethan" - Emily is usually right by my side to help. She's always excited to wake her brother, and needs to give him "Good Morning Kisses" every morning. She helps with the diaper and picking out what Ethan will wear for the day.

Next...the morning's happiness turns...then it turns to a fight for Emily to get her shoes & her jacket on. The mood changes and she, all-of-a-sudden, becomes difficult. But, after a stern "1...2..." she is back on track. Then it's a quick run to the kitchen to bring the clean bottles to school for Ethan; and with a kiss goodbye, the morning rush is over.

...I can continue with our exciting day-to-day story later...stay tuned...

In the meantime, here's a video of Ethan: