10 Pounds Down, Housewives, Painted Piggies and King Cake

Hello, bloggies! Hope yall had a good weekend. I spent most of mine in bed sick. Such is the fabulous life of having 2 kids in Preschool. We're in the yuck phase. Random mild fevers, runny noses and the like. If this mimics our experience with Carter, we should be good in about 12 months. Lord, give me strength.

Speaking of strength, I've been beach walking like mad and it's paying off. 10 pounds baby! Feeling great.



This week's focus is expert advice. Who do I go to? I've enjoyed Jillian Michaels's videos, but don't know a thing about her show. I guess I don't have any healthy living idols. Maybe one day.

Next up? Housewives.

I don't typically watch it on time, but since Bravo airs the episodes nearly night and day, I can typically catch up. And, I have a few questions.

What in the gawdy Steinmart hell are these women wearing? This was an afternoon party. What happened to a cute sundress or even a simple white linen shirt and khaki skirt?


And, these two. Lawd have mercy. Is Lynne's husband on horse tranquilizers? How do they make it through the day? I'm shocked they haven't burned their own house down by now. Or misplaced a car. Or kid. Is she on the show this year? I wonder if she got lost during the shoot.




Moving on.

Got these cute pieces for our dining room. The black part is actually a chalk board, but I'm way too uptight to write on them. I do want a chalkboard somewhere, though. Working on a creative solution.

We're living at the beach right now. Walking, eating, playing, reading, etc. We do it all.

Matching pedicures. We're "sisters", remember?!



Fat Tuesday is in a couple of days. Holly + fam came over last week to have dinner and make our King Cake.

Love her.

Love her daughter, too. Doesn't it look like Ainsley is wearing spanx?! :)

The finished product. It was so tasty!

Lainey hid the tiny plastic baby somewhere in her room upon opening the box, so we improvised with one of Carter's latest obsessions, the Squishie. Jack got it! Look at our happy boy.

Ainsley! Quit drooling over the beer. All in good time, bebe.


We're going to enjoy a quiet week prepping for our upcoming visitors.

On the agenda:

*Finish garage re-do. Blake did most of it today. The house no longer looks like a used car parking lot. Our 3rd car is finally inside. Yay! Now, it's my turn to gather all of our summer gear and put it in one place. Rearrange shelves. Etc, etc.

*Work on a few bebe gifts.

*Clean out my closet.

*Sign Lainey up for Toddler Hoarders.

*Pick up Caroline at the aeropuerto!

Back to the Housewives. Did anyone hear Alexis throw out "What would Jesus do" when talking about mothering her kids? Then, something about two nannies.

Awesome.

California Beach Review - Carlsbad State Beaches

Carlsbad is one of my favorite San Diego suburbs and likely where we'll buy a house eventually. It has everything........great schools, a darling seaside community, fabulous shopping, Legoland, and more.

Since moving here, we've been rather fond of one beach in particular in Oceanside. Breakwater Beach is in between the harbor and the pier.......so both are in reach and it's super close to where we live. Recently, I've forced myself to research more and see what else is nearby.

We ventured out to the Carlsbad state beaches after school one day. So easy to do......pick up kids with picnic packed and head west 'til you hit water. Minutes away.


Carlsbad is unique in that it has a seawall. My only experience with such is in Galveston, TX. It was nice to take advantage of the 4 mile walk. Clean and easy to navigate with plenty to see.



Lots of pretty brush and several critters for us to spy on.

We walked and walked and walked.......until we found this inlet. Reminded me of snorkeling with Carter in the Yal Kul Lagoon in Akumal.......we started inland and ended up swimming into the ocean. Much calmer waters than what you see here, of course.



Pushing approximately 80 pounds of kid on the sand was a fantastic workout. We walked the length back on the beach.

Once we were back closer to the Carlsbad Village, we settled in for a dinner picnic. The kids found this "movie theater" carved out in the sand. Do you see it?

Cute little punks helping each other out. Sometimes, when they're not pinching, hitting or yelling......they can be quite sweet to each other.

Carter was on the blanket with me and we noticed an unusual amount of seagulls stalking the area. We're used to this.......they can see the Starnes family pull up in the parking lot and know they're going to find plenty of scraps once we're eventually gone. However, the dozens you can't see overhead in this shot below concerned us.

Seconds later, Jack comes over screaming, "Mom! Da bird took Wainey's sandwich!"

Of course it did.

Not sure if it was a direct hit while in her hands or if she put it down to work on the "movie theater". But, the sandwich was gone.

Yes, Jack is eating waffles. Plain. Yall know he's our weird one. Don't act surprised.



Smart ass Carter smiling for the picture.



See those little birds skimming the water? They're not so little. They're actually massive pelicans looking for dinner. Should have been here earlier.


Overall, it was a great beach. We took Blake back a few days later and he liked it, too. It was chilly, though.

Next up is Del Mar.......which had an entirely different view (and parking fee!).

Back soon, peeps. Holly is coming over soon for PW's Chicken Spaghetti and we're going to tackle the King Cake. We know how to party, yall.

Later!

Carlsbad on Dwellable

Scoop

Hello, friends.

Thanks for the help with entertaining ideas! Can't wait to see everyone. 11 days until Caroline arrives. Not sure who is most excited......me, Blake, kids or Batman?

We're planning on two days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Caroline loves the parks as much as I do. Might stay overnight in Santa Monica and explore more of Orange County and L.A. Lots to do!

A week or so ago, I took the punks to meet Jack's girlfriend, Rylee + family at Disneyland.

Wonder if it's time to buy Jack the big boy hat since he's still wearing his "baby" Mickey ears we bought in 2006?

Jelly Cat adorned Carter's ears. He was on Space Mountain (fast, indoor coaster), so we stayed entertained outside taking pictures and hanging out.

Then, she got a piggy back ride. Jelly Cat has replaced Meow Meow. Don't tell her.

Carter is a collector. Bakugan, pressed pennies, Star Wars figures, etc. His latest obsession is the Vinylmations. Each is created by a famous artist and tells a story. You buy them in the park (or online) and then you can trade at Disney shops within the grounds. Pretty cool.

We're not buying him that big one. The little ones cost $12 each! Not even going to ask the price. He'll probably ask Pa for it the next time he's here.

Punks.

Look alikes.



Cruella de Vil was fantastic. One of our best character experiences yet.

She teased Lainey about making Jelly Cat into a hat. Cute. And, a little disturbing. Like Disney.

My sweet friend, Allison and her bebe, Cailyn.

For Caroline........one of our favorites.....Jungle Cruise!

Alisha gave Lainey this darling necklace........she wears it each time we go!

The happy couple......Jack and Rylee.

Punkin Cailyn.

And......that's a wrap. Got rained out, so we headed home. Such a nice perk of having passes......no need to stay!


Back up to Carter's fabulous field trip. Here was his departure. Hugging the punks. Then, he set out for San Juan Capistrano where they visited a Mission and then stayed overnight in a cabin at the Lazy W Ranch. Learned about how the original California settlers lived. Awesome.

My biggest boy. Today, I'll register my middle child for Kindergarten. Not sure how we all got here.......seems like Blake and I were just married not long ago! 11 years in May.


Jack-a-roo at the beach........so happy.

We went pre-storm. Beautiful.

Kids are learning about all things oceanic.

Jack seems most interested.

A friendly game of football.......Daddy + kids while I read. Lovely.

Can you imagine what lunatics we'll be here over the summer if we spend so much time on the beach now?! I can't wait.


Jelly Cat has a new friend. Meet Sally. My mom made Lainey this monkey when she was born. She just rediscovered it.


It hailed here a few weeks ago. Californians were out taking pictures and stood fascinated with the ice. Our cold weather babies loved it, too.

Massive, isn't it? No judgment........we were the same way prior to living in Colorado and Kansas City.


That's all I got, folks. Time to wrangle some kids.

Now, go over to Lindsay's blog and enter her giveaway. Super cute pillows!