Peg’s Journal

WHAT?! January is over?! Where was I during the last half of the month?! Oh yeah…I was sick. It wasn’t your ordinary cold either….no….it was the “shivering with fever for four days, headaches, cold sweats & body aches, sleepless or delirious dream filled nights, hacking coughs, labored breathing, congested sinuses & runny nose (at the same time), bedridden and cry for your mommy” kind.

I caught the “walking pneumonia” virus that I heard has been running rampant lately. Though there was nothing I could take for it, I’ve been popping fever reducers, mucous relief tablets, sinus tablets, vitamins, and squirting nasal spray up my nose all day long for days. In the last 12 days, I’ve gone through 4 boxes of tissue!!!

It’s been nearly two weeks, and I’m just beginning to feel better….much better actually…although you couldn’t tell by talking to me. I still sound horrible. On the bright side, I’ve lost some weight and my skin looks better with the amount of sleep I’ve been getting and the extra water intake.

Just thought I’d share…in case you were wondering. Sadly, I think after my hiatus last year, I’ve lost all my readers. *sigh*

Yeah, this ROCKS!

Travis Barker in action

Tags: Videoclip

Last week, when checking on Ashlyn playing outside, I saw her on a neighbor’s bike….riding….without training wheels…ALL ON HER OWN! OMG!

I know, it’s not a big deal for a 6 year old to be riding a bike. But Ashlyn had not touched her bike in almost a year (after a bad tumble that included damage to her helmet and bike, bloody knuckles, elbows, and knees, and a massive asphalt burn to her face and forehead). And up until then, she’s always rode with training wheels. So imagine how shocked I was to see that she taught herself how to ride a two-wheeler in the span of 10 minutes! I couldn’t believe it. I had to run in and grab my camera.

I’m kinda bummed that I didn’t get to teach her…you know, help her balance and run alongside. At the same time, I’m a bit relieved to not have to go through seeing her struggle or fall. I was traumatized by her last accident.
Aric was also surprised seeing the clip on my camera that night. He removed the training wheels off her bike over the weekend, and you can see the utter joy and pride all over her face as she pedalled her little heart out.

I know she has been envying the neighbor kids as they zip around on their bikes (as she kept up on her scooter). She would often times say, “[so-and-so] can ride a bike, and he’s three! I don’t know how to ride a bike.” In which Aric and I would reassure her that everyone learns at different paces, and not to feel discouraged by the age thing. I even told her that I didn’t learn until I was like 9 or 10.
Ashlyn impresses me. She has shown me that when she’s really determined, she can accomplish anything…and in a quickness. It’s sooooo different from the norm (walks slow, talks slow, eats slow, gets ready slow, cleans up slow, does her homework super slow…slow, slow, slow). hehehe I’ve been praising her a lot in hopes that this will empower and encourage her to accomplish more, and at a faster pace.

Tags: Ashlyn, Videoclip

Another fun weekend came to an end. We got to hang out with lots of friends, accomplished errands and laundry, ate lots of yummy food, hung out with the in-laws, and relaxed at home with the kiddies:

Friday night we had dinner with Kimi, Aaron, and the boys at Go Roma (my new favorite eatery - kid friendly, fast and delicious food at great prices) at The District. Our friends lived over on the next street in our community, but moved to NorCal over the summer for Aaron’s work. They kept the house here and come back often, but we have not had the chance to meet up with them in almost a years time. It was great catching up. Kimi misses SoCal as much as I miss NorCal….how wonderful it would be if we could switch places. After dinner, we walked around and grabbed some sweet treats at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Saturday night I went out with friends to celebrate Grace’s belated birthday. We went to Zov’s Bistro in Tustin, and had an amazing meal. It was an evening of leisure and abundant dining, wine and cocktails, shared stories, lots of laughs, and good times.

After leaving Zov’s, and unable to find a place to go for coffee/tea (aside from Denny’s or IHOP), we found ourselves at Honda-Ya for Round Two. HAHAHAHA! We were not quite ready to call it a night and just wanted a place to sit and have some hot tea….but we ended up ordering seafood salad, spicy tuna rolls, and yakitori skewers (shitake, beef, spicy wing, bacon wrapped okra, and meatball).
We finally went home around midnight. Yeah, it was pretty awesome!

Sunday was relaxing. We slept in, had a late lunch, went grocery shopping, hit up Home Depot, hung out with the in-laws, watched TV, had dinner, and geeked out in front of the laptop, and watched more TV. hehehe

Tags: birthday party, friends, weekend, yummy food

The holidays are over and we’re back to school. Our winter-break, surprisingly, felt longer than it was. We had spent the first four days of our break with my family in NorCal (driving back on Christmas night)….four gloriously fun, relaxing, and gluttonous days that went by much too quickly. Had we stayed longer, I’m sure the remainder of our winter-break would have flown by.

The last two weeks have been filled with time with my family, my in-laws, relatives, friends, lots of food, and tons of gifts!!! Needless to say, my kiddies were spoiled with an over-abundance of clothing and toys this Christmas. Ashlyn must have told everyone in the world that she wanted a guitar, because she got 4! hahaha Summer, who rarely asks for anything, got so much stuff that she’ll never have to ask for anything ever again.

I wonder if I’m the only one who does this, but I only let my kids open up and play with some of the toys they got. The rest, I’ll store away to open up at a later date. They lack excitement, desire, and appreciation when they get to open up everything. I remember after Ashlyn opened up ALL her gifts at her 2nd birthday, she had that look of: “that’s it?…what else can I open?” So now after they unwrap all their gifts, I let them select some and put the rest away. With the amount they both get at Christmases and birthdays, my storage space is turning into one huge toy store and I’m quickly running out of room. I’m not even kidding.
I’m trying my hardest not to raise spoiled children, but the truth is…they are spoiled. Aric and I give them what we never had as children, and our parents give them what they couldn’t give us as children. *sigh*

Anyhow, Ashlyn is lovin’ her guitars, Hannah Montana Concert Stage, her MP3 player, and Jonas Brothers CD. Summer’s having a blast with her Fisher Price digital camera, Gymnastics Divas Barbies, Disney Princess Dollhouse, and Crayola Color Explosion Board. Spoiled, I tell ya!

Click here for more holiday pictures.

As much as I love the holidays, I’m relieved it’s over. We rang in the New Year with our usual group at James and Grace’s. My poor hubby was sick (possible food poisoning from Taco Hell from lunch) that night and spent the whole evening sleeping it off on the couch. New Years Day was spent taking down our tree and decorations, cleaning up, and hanging out with my niece and her bf.

Aric and I have been watching movies lately - “I am Legend” and “No country for old men”, and “The Water Horse” with the kiddies. I love it!

The kiddies are getting back into the swing of things at school…as am I.

Tags: Aric, Ashlyn, family, friends, NorCal, pictures, Summer