Looks Like Rain.

So the past 5 days have been gloomy for us Bunn's.  You know what they say: "When it rains it pours" and who better to prove that theory than the Bunn family?!  Some families play board games, we try to see how many things can go wrong in one week.  So far it seems like a lot. Here are a few of the highlights or maybe lowlights would be more accurate.

On Saturday we went to the playground as a family and since I had gotten a nap and was feeling energized I decided to play with Brisa instead of sitting with Carson like I usually do.  The first thing Brisa wanted to do was climb up the slide then slide back down.  I helped her up the waited for her to slide down.  She was feeling silly and decided to slide down on her belly, so she went down feet first and when she got to the bottom her feet hit the ground and somehow jolted her forward so she hit her mouth on the slide and started screaming.  I scooped her up and then she started bleeding everywhere.  We came home and washed her up and fed her lots of otter pops. She bruised her gums and upper lip and it still hurts.  I have to cut up all her food super small so that she doesn't have to bite in to things because that hurts her.  Smoothies have been her main source of food for 5 days now.  Chad blames me for making her accident prone, I think it could have happened to anyone.

On Sunday we woke up early and miraculously got in the car to go to church 5 minutes early!  Unfortunately the aforementioned car didn't start.  So we walked.  Uphill.  In church shoes.  Lovely.  While at church I remembered that on Friday Brisa had turned on the light over her car seat while we were putting our groceries in the car and wouldn't let me turn it off so I thought that the battery had probably died and so we were feeling hopeful!  We got home and our neighbor was kind enough to jump it for us.  It started!  Crisis averted!  We were able to go to Meghan and Carlyle's house for dinner as planned and were so happy we made it because it was the most delicious food I've had in a long time.  We came home were waiting in front of our house for the garage door to open, got halfway in the garage and the car died.  It was bedtime so we just tried to start it a few times and finally it turned on and we got it inside, closed the garage and went up to bed.

On Monday Chad had to go to work bright and early, so we just prayed he would make it to the mechanic by his office.  It started up fine and everything seemed like it was going to work, but then it died at a red light a few miles from his destination.  He coasted into the suicide lane and waited.  He didn't get out of the car because literally EVERYDAY since we moved here there has been pedestrians hit by motorists on Chads commute.  After ten minutes one of Chads co-workers came by and they were able to jump it to get it started and then his coworker drove away and Chad continued on his way.  For a block.  Miraculously another co-worker stopped and tried to jump the car again, but she was dead.  There was a church across the street so they pushed the car there and Chad waited for a tow truck.  They towed it to the shop and Chad hung out until they could drive him to his office.  Then we waited to hear what was wrong, they said it could have been one of two things.

At around this time I was reading books with Brisa.  Out of the corner of my eye I see a crazy baby climbing on his sisters craft table and teetering on the edge about to fall.  Being the hero that I am I spring into action and run on my knees to grab him before he falls.  BAM!  Puzzle piece to the knee.  Not just any puzzle piece a puzzle piece with one of those little red pegs that make it oh so easy for little hands to hold on to them.  It made my whole leg get that funny bone feeling then I cried.  I texted Chad once I could sit up so he could feel sorry for me and maybe send a sympathy pizza. He told me he wouldn't pay for my medical bills and to suck it up.  My husband, ladies and gentlemen.  I didn't ask about the pizza.  So now I can't walk up and down the stairs, I just scoot up and down on my butt like a baby.

Chad finally got the call and of course it is both things!  I say things because I have no idea what is wrong, if I had to guess it would be a gasket, or a plug or belt or something else car-y, I'm a mom, not a mechanic. What I do know is we are out $1000.  They had to drive to another shop to get a part, it turns out it was the wrong part and so they have to keep our dear sweet Santa Fe over night.  Sweet dreams Santa, and remember you can always call home if you get scared.

On Tuesday we got word that while poking around in the engine they discovered our timing belt needed to be replaced!  Ok fine, here's another $270 dollars and why don't you keep her another day, its not like I want to leave my house anyway!

Today we got word that they made all the repairs, but there is still a "hiccup" that they are trying to figure out.  Turns out the timing belt had likely bumped something and it was now dented and had to be replaced.  They ordered the part and it will take a couple days to get in and since its labor day weekend they wont be able to work on it until Tuesday.  Don't ask me how I plan on getting groceries this weekend because I don't know.  I'd walk, but I was recently crippled by a puzzle piece.

Fortunately we have just as many things to be thankful for as we do to be bitter about.
On Saturday we got to spend the whole day together as a family without having to run any errands.
On Sunday we made it home before the car died and weren't stranded on the side of the road in the dark with our two kids.
On Monday Chad was blessed with not one, but two co-workers to help him get the car to safe place to wait for a tow truck, and our insurance offers free towing.
On Tuesday The shop offered 10% off our bill because it was taking so long, and Carson took his first step.
And today the shop told us they would cover all costs for the last repair since they couldn't determine if it was dented before it came in =, or while they were replacing the timing belt, saving us $1000.
*BONUS*  We still don't have it as bad as Job.  ;)

Mommy's Little Darling.

It is no secret that my sweet little girl has a big personality (to put it mildly) and she is saying and doing so many new things all the time that I feel like I never really have much to say about Carson and that is such a shame because he is a stud and deserves some attention.  So tonight on the eve of his 9 month birthday I am going to tell you all about me little angel.

Now first off I would just like to acknowledge the fact that I am completely biased and prone to exaggerations.  But I don't think that I am wrong in saying that my son is quite possibly the cutest baby this world has ever seen.  He is just so perfect and just has the prettiest eyes that this mama can't help but get lost in.  I mean look at this kid.  I mean even with graham crackers smeared o his face he is a stud.  He's going to get away with murder as he gets older, I've accepted it.

Now my little baby boy is not all good looks.  He us also a baby genius.  This kid was rolling from tummy to back consistently since he was  days old.  I am convinced he is headed to the X Games some day.  Since that day he has only pushed him self to achieve greatness.  This boy can climb on and off the couches, go up and down the stairs and climb into all the cabinets.  

Clearly the easiest way to get up there.

He learned how to undo the baby gate and let himself upstairs.

He was pretty proud of himself.  

Now to the mushy stuff.  Carson is just my little buddy.  When Brisa was a baby she didn't really care for me that much, Carson on the other hand is all about his mommy,  Whenever I look at him and talk to him he lights up.  The other night before bedtime Brisa was putting on her nightly concert where she sings and we clap and she bows saying "thank you, thank you!" Well this particular night I was called on stage to perform and as I was singing Carson was dancing and clapping and yelling and waving and holding his arms out to me.  He is my biggest fan and I couldn't be happier.  It is an amazing feeling to be so loved by my baby.  Just knowing that I am so important to him makes me feel like I am doing a good job with my kids.  

Carson not only looks perfect, but he also acts perfect.  He rarely cries and can entertain himself until he gets tired, then he crawls on m lap and fusses at me until I put him in his crib.  He is a great sleeper and quite possibly an angel.  As long as I leave the toy box open he is a happy camper.  He is seriously the EASIEST baby there is.  Hes just a chill little dude.  I seriously can;t believe I get to be his mom, it is one of the greatest blessings in my life.  Needless to say I love my son.  Now here are some more pictures, You're welcome.

This face!  I mean come on!!

He LOVES giving "loves" as we call them.  He has such a sweet spirit.

He loves spending time with his sister!

Even when his sister is sitting on him, covering him with band aids, or putting 

bowls on his head.

And he never lets her bad mood get him down!

The kid even eats cute!!  (He is sharing and trying to get kisses in the first 2)

He loves to get in trouble.  If I get "mad" he is so happy!

But for the most part he is just one chill dude.  He can't see if he is sitting the right way 

in the cart, so he takes it upon himself to twist around to get a better view.  He looks cooler 

sitting like that anyway.  :)

She LOVES to see the temple...

On Sunday morning on the way to church Brisa started singing "I Love To See The Temple" It was so cute, and surprising because we didn't even know she knew that song.  We asked her if she wanted to go see the temple and she did her classic "ya ya ya ya" while jumping up and down. So we decided we would go after dinner when it was a little cooler, and by the time that rolled around Brisa was so excited she was basically pushing us out the door.  So we drove to the temple and she was so excited when she saw it!  When I got her out of the car she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front gate (she's not allowed to walk in parking lots without holding someones hand and she knows it).
So because it was Sunday the gate was locked...

After that things started to go downhill...

We tried to comfort her by telling her that she would be old enough to go inside (in 10 years) and that she could even get married in there like Mommy and Daddy if she wanted.  It wasn't as comforting as we thought it would be.

Eventually she snapped out of it and was excited all over again to be at the temple and demanded we take a million pictures of her as she walked around and posed by different things,  She is kind f a diva, but it was so cute!

Just marveling at its beauty.

She needed a picture of herself walking by the bushes.

A classic stand and smile.

I really don't know how she came up with these poses,

She was getting pretty creative.

This was obviously the perfect place to sit for a picture.

Whenever she found the perfect place for a shot she would jump and land on her butt, we were able to get an action shot of it.  

Nailed it.

Carson was also there, he just wasn't as loud about it.

He couldn't take any pictures alone though, he doesn't have her natural gift.

 All in all it was the perfect Sunday outing.  I still don't know where she learned about temples, it must have been in nursery.  I just hope she stays as excited about going there someday as she is right now.  :)

I've created a monster, but I couldn't be prouder!

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that I love to shop.  I love buying new clothes and love the look on my husbands face when I tell him I have nothing to wear when I just spent unspeakable amounts of money at Old Navy the week before.  As it turns out my disease is contagious and I now have a little mini shopaholic.  Since before Brisa could talk I would take her shopping with me and I would hold up clothes for her and whatever she would grab at I would get her.  Now that she can talk it has become even more fun.  Whenever I tell her we are going to the store she gets super excited and asks what we are going to buy, i thought it was out of curiosity, but this weekend I realized she is an addict.  Here are a few stories that bring a smile to my face, but worry poor Chad (I meant poor in a sympathetic way, but there is also a good chance it will apply financially as Brisa grows).

The kids needed new clothes because Carson is too big for size 3 months sleepers and too small for 6 months sleepers and we need the elusive 3-6 months size.  Brisa also needed some short sleeve shirts because while she still fits size 18mos clothes her shirts are too short and her belly button shows. So I was holding things up and she picked out 2 dresses that she liked and we were off to a good start.  Then we moved on to shirts.  She hated them, all of them.  Finally I told her that she needed clothes and put a plain pink shirt in the cart.  she yelled "NO!  I don't lika it!" and grabbed it out of the cart and threw it!  I was shocked.  Normally I wouldn't let her act like that, but it was so funny I giggled.  I put the shirt back on the shelf and decided it would be easier for everyone if I just let her walk around and pick out some things herself.  Eventually she found a shirt that didn't offend her and put it in the cart saying "I need to wear this to the pool" and as I was informed this morning she can ONLY wear it to the pool.  Fantastic.  I realize this story makes her sound like a brat, but I have always said I want her to be a free spirit.  She can be a little hard to handle sometimes, but she is slowly learning how to behave appropriately and shes only 2.5 (today!) so I think she is on the right track.  I have lots of opinions, so its only natural that she does too.

Later on in the shopping trip I decided I needed some shorts, I was trying them on and couldn't decide between two pairs.  I held them up to ask Chad which ones he preferred and he did his classic, "I don't know, I like them both" usually when he says that I buy them both to show him that not having an opinion has consequences, but before I could throw them in the cart Brisa pointed to the blue pair and said "that one Mom!" so that was that.  It was so precious!  And now I know that I should leave the boys at home and just bring my stylist with me when I go out.  Also I always ask her about my outfits before we go out and usually she says "So, so so cute!  I love it!" but every once in a while she will tell me that I should wear my "mom jeans" instead of yoga pants, and I appreciate her honest input!  Also just hearing her say "mom jeans" is worth the hassle of changing.  Haha.

This morning both kids got up at 5:30.  One of them accidentally wet the bed and had an emotional melt down, and the other just likes to prove he is in charge.  I think he has a napoleon complex, though I can't be sure.  I tried to close my eyes and pretend it wasn't happening, but my kids quickly reminded me that I was a mom and when they are up, I am forced to be up also.  So I tried my hardest to be cheerful, but I needed a boost so I turned to online shopping!  I was looking at hair bows for Brisa because she is in love with them lately, but her hair is so curly and thick that only a certain kind will stay in her hair, and they are near impossible to find. As I was searching a certain little princess peeked over my shoulder and saw a sparkly bow, she immediately decided she needed it.  I told her I was just looking and wasn't going to buy anything, but she saw more things she liked and added them to her list of demands.  Eventually she had picked out too many to remember and turned to me with her serious face, head tilted to the side and said "I need them all mama"  I smiled said okay and closed the tab because online shopping was becoming dangerous.  Unfortunately she has watched me online shop enough to know that you have to click on the cart to check out so she said "maybe later?" I told her I wasn't buying any bows and she accepted it, but keeps mentioning how cute the sparkly bow was, I think she is trying to wear me down, luckily I know for a fact it wont stay in her hair so I wont be tempted to give in.  I did however order stuff to make her hair bows, so I guess I am a pushover.  Oh well.

Also I feel I should add that I did not create this problem alone.  Chad will also buy her things when we go out just to see her smile.  After the clothes were all picked out her daddy also bought her a toy Pegasus and an elephant that goes over the bath faucet and shoots water out of its trunk.  I guess what I'm trying to say is its just as much his fault as it is mine, if not more so.

New Home

Chad and I finally got around to making a video of our house yesterday!  We tried to upload it last night, but it was late and I decided to sleep instead.  So without further ado...

My not so little man.

My favorite little guy turned 6 months old today.  I wanted to capture every moment of the day like I did with Brisa's 6 month birthday, but that just didn't happen, so instead I am just going to detail what we did today and write about all the fun stuff that Carson is doing at 6 months so that I can look back on this in a couple years and remember how cute he was.

Our Day: I woke up to a reminder on my phone telling me that Carson was 6 months old.  I put a timer to remind me how old he was every month so that I would never miss one, because having two kids has somehow made me forget things.  Not any of the 20+ rap songs I have memorized, that would be too great of a loss.  Just what day of the week it is and if I changed the kids diapers when they got dressed this morning, you know, the silly stuff.  Back to my point I was excited to start the day!  That excitement soon faded when I realized Carson was all stuffy and was going to be a grump all day.  I decided to press on anyway and started out strong with the documenting, but then gave up when I decided I didn't want to remember any of those particular moments.  At one point Brisa and Carson were screaming in unison for a full hour.  I know, I was staring at the clock waiting for Chad to get home.  Kind of a let down of a day, but that's life.

Carson:
-Carson is the CUTEST baby.  He is always full of smiles and loves to scream for joy when you talk to him.
-He is super ticklish!! Sometimes when I am nursing him I absentmindedly caress his face and he bursts into giggles.  I'm not even sure how its possible to be so ticklish, but somehow he does it.
-Carson follows his sister around everywhere.  He always has to be right next to her and if she happens to sit or lay on the ground he immediately climbs on top of her.  Her nap time is the fussiest time of the day because he gets so bored!  I wish he could just nap when she naps, but for some reason they only nap in unison when Chad is home, I think he drugs them.
-Carson is an expert crawler and pulls himself up on anything he can, unfortunately he doesn't know how to get back down after he does that so he just cries until I come let him down safely or he falls over and cries.
-Carson isn't a big snuggler which breaks my heart a little.  I think Brisa being so snugly and always sitting on me hogging my lap and snuggles has made him not even want to try.
-Carson loves food and gets extra talkative when he sees someone eating, and if you make the mistake of eating on the ground he will attack you.
-Carson loves to pull hair and has pulled chunks of mine and Brisa's out on multiple painful occasions.
-Carson is also a pincher, I always have bruises from him.  Now that I think about it I'm glad he doesn't let me snuggle him.
-Carson still eats every 1.5 to 2 hours, all the time, 24/7, I'm one tired mama and he's lucky he's cute. -Carson puts everything in his mouth.  I know most babies do, but Brisa didn't really so I find it weird and kinda gross.
-Carson loves when people sing to him.  Even if you are just singing normal words he smiles and kicks his feet and gets very excited.  And If Brisa is the one singing to him he loves that even more.

All in all he is the best and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

The monthly picture.

Just being adorable in his walker.

Chewing on a key chain he found.

Crashing the selfie Brisa and I were taking.

Now trying to steal the phone.

Now distracted by the carpet.

Has Anyone Seen My Marbles? I'm Looking at You Curly!

I recently had an experience that has changed my life forever.  I used to be the kind of mom that would just go for it.  Keep the kids up late so we can spend time with our friends?  Sure. Skip nap time to go to the beach?  No problem!  Fly to Utah with the kids by myself?  What could possibly go wrong?  Well this is my story..

Chad and I decided that the best course of action for our move to Utah from California would be for him to drive a moving truck out while I flew with the kids.  I mean nothing could possibly be worse than driving to squirmy kids 12 hours in a car to Utah.  Well I found something that comes pretty darn close.  It all started at the Santa Barbara airport, it was raining, which I now know was an omen of how the day would unfold.  Brisa was asleep for the drive and was woken up when the car stopped at the airport.  When Brisa wakes up from a nap she like to be snuggled for about 30 minutes, something that is impossible to do while holding a baby, a backpack and two car seats.  So there was a lot of tears and a lot of "Mommy, I need to hold you!" while I printed my boarding passes.  But eventually I was able to check the car seats and head to security with my littles.  We got to go up an escalator and to Brisa that was just about the most exciting part of the day.  She was so excited that she didn't realize at first that we had kissed Nana goodbye and we were going on the airplane without her.  She noticed the second we got to security that Nana was gone and she was beside herself with grief, in other words she was screaming and trying to run away.  So there I was with my two kids trying to get my ID out of my wallet without losing my two year old that can run right under those little ropes without even having to duck.  Finally I got it all taken care of and got ready to put our stuff through the scanner thingy.  I told her that she would have to take off her Frozen backpack so we could put it through the machine and she stomped her foot and screamed her classic "No, I don't!"  I sized up the TSA agent, she was bigger than me, then decided that yes she did have to take off her backpack.  As  I was wrestling the backpack I could feel eyes on me, I looked around to see an older man watching this whole scene unfolding, presumably thanking his lucky stars he wasn't me.  I smiled and continued smiling while basically dislocating Brisa's arm to get her backpack off of her.  I was pushing Brisa through the metal detector and I was almost in the clear until the TSA woman reminded me I was still wearing my shoes, how did she know I was planning on smuggling 4oz of liquid on board in the sole of my shoe?  It was at this point that a second TSA agent took pity on me and lured Brisa through the detector with stickers.  It worked like a charm, he's an angel and Brisa is happy with her Jr. TSA agent sticky badge for 3 minutes.  

We got to our gate without a hitch, then Brisa realized she was still holding her trash that she peeled off from the back of her sticker.  Now under normal circumstances she would throw it on the ground and refuses to throw it away and she would have time out and then still refuse and I would bribe her and she would still refuse then I would tell her she would't be able to watch Curious George after nap and she would reluctantly throw it away and I would breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't have to follow through on that threat because it is more of a punishment for me than it is for her.  But of course since I had just sat down and started nursing Carson she urgently had to find a trash can.  So I scanned the area and there was one pretty close, so I thought I would just point to it and she could do it herself, but upon further inspection the trash can had the separate bags for plastic, paper, and trash (really California?), so I would have to go with her to ensure she found the right place to dispose of her tiny piece of paper that could NOT  be shoved in the backpack.  So I grabbed Carson and left our things on the chair and walked 5 feet to the trash can. 

We successfully threw away our trash and were on our way back to our seat, when Brisa decided it was time for a run.  She sprinted of giggling and I took off after her.  Its not unusual for Brisa to take off, I just usually send Chad after her or tell her if she doesn't stay by me we have to go home and then she comes back and mopes by me.  This time I couldn't use either of my tried and true tactics and she knew she had me beat.  I finally cornered her in a gift shop and thought I had won, then she went boneless.  A sit in!  Brilliant!  I couldn't pick her up because I was already had one squirmy baby in my arms, and I couldn't wait it out because I had left all of my things unattended and that voice over the intercom kept instilling a distrust of all unattended baggage in my fellow travelers so I was left with no choice but to slide her along the shiny tile floor all the way back to our seat.  She was screaming and begging me to let her go, and I was comforted knowing that if anyone ever tried to kidnap this particular toddler they would give up because even I was wishing I could stop and walk away.  

We finally got on the plane and Brisa walked right to her seat and put her seat belt on and waited looking out the window.  No, really she did! then she got fidgety, then she realized the button with a picture of a person on it made a dinging sound when she pushed it, yay!  Then we were told to get our seat belts on a started taxiing to the runway then we stopped.  Someone was screaming and jumping up and down on their seat preventing the plane from taking off.  Yep, it was my daughter.  The flight attendant rushed over to tell me that she had to be buckled before we could take off.  I told him I was aware of the rule and I was trying and he walked away, I tried everything, but was unable to wrangle her with just one arm and she was doing her ear piercing scream and everyone was watching, it was great.  The flight attendant reappeared and asked if there was anything he could do to help, and I handed him my baby without uttering a word.  I got Brisa in her seat and clipped her in and she giggled, I lost a little more of my sanity) and grabbed Carson back and we took off.  when we got in the air the pilot announced that we were a little behind schedule (I get it, I'm a bad mom, move on sir) but he was sure we could make up the time.  The flight went great, Brisa was happy the whole time, it was fantastic until she had to put her seat belt on to land.  Luckily the lady sitting next to me offered to hold Carson for the landing so that I could hold Brisa.  She must have been on a tight schedule.  Luckily everyone around me was SO nice, everyone told me that I didn't have to apologize, and kids act up sometimes and I shouldn't worry about it.  I really hope I will have the opportunity to be as kind as all the people on that flight someday.  

And then we were in San Francisco. we had about an hour so I let Brisa wander around and get some wiggles out.  Carson was starting to fuss so I was trying to get him his pacifier while he squirmed around in the ergo carrier and finally got it in his mouth and looked up to see Brisa sprinting off into a restricted area.  Perfect, there goes that last pesky thread of sanity.  I couldn't follow her under the rope because I'm not 2 and so I was standing there begging her to come back.  Then I saw a tiny little security guard walking towards her.  She informed me that it was a restricted area (no kidding) and that Brisa wasn't allowed back there because the wasn't authorized.  I told her I realize that and called Brisa over to me, it didn't work. There was a giant window and a plane taking off and big bouncy chairs, she's only human.  Then the security guard turned to Brisa and told her to go back to her mom, Brisa laughed in her face.  The lady told me a 2nd time that Brisa wasn't authorized to be back there and that there were stairs and it wasn't safe.  I said I know, but she's two and I don't control her every move.  Finally she moved the rope and said "Go get your child." I pictured myself pushing her down the "unsafe" stairs.  I may not have been able to take that TSA agent, but this chick I could drop kick.  I walked away and then we got on our plane and that flight went off without a hitch and one lady even called me a "rock star"  The couple sitting behind me just happened to have been on my first flight too.  Some people just have bad luck, that's life I guess.  Anyway he heard the rock star comment and chuckled, pipe down you, I'm a rock star.  Then we got off the plane, reunited with Chad, he cried, we drove home, laughing the whole way about our little monster.  

I learned 2 things from all of this:

1)  I need Chad a whole heck of a lot more than he needs me.

2) Leaving the house alone with my two kids should be avoided at all costs.