Grandpa Survived The Zoo

(Cue dramatic music)

It took weeks of training...

Hours on the

treadmill...

Mental preparation...

And Mike Bull finally.....(DUN DUN DUN)

WENT TO THE ZOO!!!!

That's right. My dad, AKA Grandpa, went with us to the LA Zoo. After surviving a heart attack, and fixing problems with his foot, he made it it through a couple of hours at the zoo without complaint. He conquered the long walk with it's steep hills and 90 degree heat, to prove to the world that he would literally climb mountains for his granddaughter. She may not appreciate it just yet, but I'm sure he'll recount the story to her a million times when she's older. Way to go Gramps!

AGAIN! AGAIN!

There are certain songs, movies, and books that I can enjoy over and over, without getting bored. It seems as if Taylor has her own favorites as well. Lately, she's been screaming "AGAIN!" for the following:

"The Popcorn Song"- You know?..."Popcorn popping on the apricot tree...". It makes car rides feel pretty long when you have to listen to it over and over again. When we finally reach our destination, I'm dragging Tay out of the car as she's screaming "PA CORN, PA CORN!"

"Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Little Bug Who Went Ka-Choo"- Taylor can now say, "I am Sam." I have these books memorized. I don't know if she wants me to read them repeatedly to put off bed time, or if she just really likes them.

"Elmo's Potty Time" and "What Makes You Happy?"- Elmo has taught Taylor to say Poo Poo when she needs to go, so I guess I should just be thankful.

I guess I'm a creature of habit too. Here's my list of "AGAINs":

Movies:

"When Harry Met Sally"

"You've Got Mail"

"Three Amigos"

Books:

All Harry Potter books

"Eat,Pray,Love"

Any book written by Anna Maxted, a cheeky English author.

Music:

Sara McLauchlin's album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"

Tori Amos album "Little Earthquakes"

Counting Crows album "August and Everything After"/"Recovering the Satellites"

Wicked Soundtrack

Sheryl Crow album "Tuesday Night Music Club"

Violet Femme's self titled album

Patty Griffin- "Living With Ghosts"

A Blog About Me (Gasp)

This one's not about Taylor, (sorry family). My beautiful cousin Melissa "tagged" me, so here goes.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? -

I was 18, living at home in Simi, enrolled in Moorpark College where I dropped every class I signed up for.

I was a lost soul at that point. If my memory is right, I still had cystic acne and looked like a freak of nature. I don't think I left my room much. Thank God for Accutane.

2.Five things on your to do list today-

Go to work (I work Mon. and Wed.), Take Tay to the park to fly our kite, go to the gym and run a mile under 10 min., update my blog, and take a bath. I've done all but the last one so far.

3.Snacks I enjoy-

Chocolate covered pretzels, chips of any kind, rice krispie treats, and dry cereal

4.What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?

I totally agree with Melissa on this one. We'd give everyone in our family a portion. We'd also buy a huge house that our parents or any member of the family could move into if they ever needed to. I'm sure we'd plan a super nice vacation or two. And you better believe I'd go shopping on the top floor of Macy's instead of the cheap-o Jr.'s department! Taylor would be enrolled in a nice private school eventually, and I would finish my BA WITHOUT TAKING OUT A LOAN!! A girl can dream..... Wes would probably by courtside season tickets for the Lakers.

5. 3 bad habbits- Biting nails, cursing (I'm working on it.), and drinking too much soda.

6. 5 places that I have lived: Simi Valley, Provo UT, "The Valley" CA, Valencia CA, and Saugus CA

7. 5 jobs I have had: I worked at Tempo Record Store in Simi, and was almost always late and hated counting inventory. I had a super awesome job as assistant director of a children's theater program in Thousand Oaks, CA where I choreographed and directed children's performances, and performed with their adult Ensemble. It paid $25/hr and was awesome for an 18 yr old. I also worked at a portrait studio in Encino, where I had to deal with a bunch of snobby soccer moms. I was a dance teacher for a few years. I've been a sign language interpreter now for almost 5 years. But the best job is being a mom, by far. I'm SO overworked and underpaid, but it's worth it.

8.5 things people don't know about me.

1.)I hate math. I get anxiety just thinking of the Algebra class I have to take in order to transfer to CSUN. It's like a foreign language to me. I think I may be retarded in that area of my brain.

2.)I know the lyrics to almost every song written since I was born. Wes has been impressed with how many songs I know. Obscure ones, that were only played on the radio briefly, and songs that I don't even like, but still know the words to.

3.) My family may know this, but not my friends. I've been in a million plays and musicals, and have always had super dooper roles. I haven't done it once since we got married, and I miss it.

4.) I HATE personalized license plates. No offense to anyone out there who has one, but please. Do I really need to know that you're a NMB1MOM, or that you drive a LVEBUG.

5.) I almost always assume that people don't like me. This can be a problem. It keeps me from making friends and getting to know people. I don't go out of my way to talk to people, because I figure they won't like me anyway, so what's the use.

Now I tag all of my blog buddies.

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Happy B-day

Jen!

My sister is 26 today, and my mom and I had a blast redecorating her room yesterday. It's now mature and romantic. We ran around town, trying to find the perfect bed spread and decorations. It was like "Trading Spaces," only we made her room look better instead of worse. Taylor helped by swimming naked in Nana's spa so Mommy could arrange furniture. And poor Grandpa Bruce with his bum knee, even helped me lift the heavy stuff. Hope you like it Jen!

Brag About Dad/Tay Hates Nursery but Loves Stories and Songs

Wes got an A on his mid-term. I, of course, am not surprised. We've hung it on the refrigerator for all to see.He's also a super dooper fort builder. Yay for Daddy! His knee is doing much better, and he's getting up and around almost like normal. He's just having a hard time sleeping.

Taylor is 18 mths. today, and she went to our nursery at church for the first time ever on Sunday. I teach music now for the primary, so I was looking forward to the break. But Taylor cried most of the time, as most kids will their first time. I hope she gets more comfortable with it the more we go. She's only been babysat by family members, and has never been in a class with other kids, except for Gymboree. If you have any advice, feel free to give it. In other Taylor news, she's taking over my mom's business (see above pic), and has been memorizing stories and songs, (see below).

A Busy Week

Monkey Business
If you know me, you know that I can't stand staying at home for more than a day. I get bored easily. So I tend to plan "field trips" and activities for me and Tay. This week was super busy, and started with my nephew's birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Pollard's house. Grandpa Pollard built the grandkids a super cool play house that Tay just loves, and they also have 3 goats and two dogs for Taylor to feed and play with. She had a blast, and was happy to help everyone eat their birthday cake, saying "Bite," as she walked up to us with her mouth wide open like a duck.


We also made use of our season pass to the LA Zoo yesterday, where the funniest thing happened. We were visiting the chimp exhibit, when out of nowhere a chimp comes right up to where Tay was, and starts hitting the window. She thought it was hilarious, and put her hand out to touch it, and the chimp did the same. It was following her as she walked, and trying to touch her through the glass. It was so wierd, and people actually came over and started watching. Tay got a kick out of it, and I was lucky enough to have my camera out.


Today we ventured out to Simi where we went to lunch and a farm with Grandma, Aunt Ashley, and cousin Logan. Taylor had her first pony ride, and neither loved nor hated it. But she did get a kick out of their wooden bus and train.


Tomorrow she's off to the children's museum with Nana, while Mommy takes Daddy to his doctor's appointments. There's never a dull day in the life of Taylor.



Our Favorite Places to Visit:


Central Park, Saugus


Todd Longshore Park, Saugus


Kid Space Children's Museum kidspacemuseum.org


Pet Adventure Pet Store, Canyon Country


Under The Sea undertheseaindoorplayground.com


LA Zoo


Travel Town/Griffith Park


Underwood Farms, Moorpark underwoodfarmmarket.com

Ventura Harbor

Owees

Wes is recovering well after his ACL surgery last Wednesday. By "well," I mean he's making the best of being stuck on the couch by playing X-Box with his brothers, and watching more ESPN than he's ever wanted to. He's managed to get up the stairs a couple of times, and even went to his English class on Tuesday for mid-terms. He's growing more bored by the day, but he starts physical therapy next week, giving him something to look forward to. Tay checks up on him periodically, pointing to his knee and saying "owee," or "crutches." And she's pretty upset that he can't push her around in her car anymore. Mommy just doesn't push as fast or as dangerously as Daddy normally pushes her. Tay and I are both sick at the moment, adding insult to injury. Hopefully we'll all just get through this week, and feel better soon.

. Making a permanent dent on that part of the couch

Swollen leg and foot