Final Summer BBQ

I know it's technically fall...but we are still having +90 degree weather so it still feels like summer.  Yesterday we decided to officially break up with Summer and hopefully she will go away quietly and not hang around any longer than necessary. 

Any excuse for a get together is great in my book!  It's been about a month since Kali had seen the Woods family and she was definitely itching for a visit.  Kalissa is so funny, she kept saying that she wants to be Peyton's mom and she was completely hands-on with wanting to help Brooklyn care for her. I can't blame her though, Peyton is way too cute to not want to be her mommy! 

Kalissa had a great time playing with all the kids and just running around being 3.  She's such a sweet girl...and I'm not just saying that because she's my baby either!   On our way to the store yesterday we had this conversation:
Kali: Mommy, how is your day?
Me:  My day is going great! 
Kali: What was your favorite part of the day? (a question we ask her every day when she comes home from school)
Me:  My favorite part was spending time with you. What was your favorite part of the day?
Kali: My favorite part was loving you.

Awwwwwwwww!!!!!!  We are doing something right, lemme tell ya!  As if that weren't enough, while we were in the store she out of the blue stated, "Mommy...you're soooooo gorgeous!"  Everyone within earshot melted.  I live for those moments....but then there's the flip side to that too.  Case and point, while she was eating her dinner last night she kept interrupting my conversation with Pamela so finally I asked her what she wanted.  The room was completely silent as everyone waited for her to talk.  You know what she said?  "Mommy....your armpicks stink."   *ROTFL*!!!!!  I really didn't have b.o.  Daddy teases her and says that to her all the time so I guess she thought it was appropriate to try it out on me.  *lol*  She can't say armpits and always says armpicks. Gotta love this girl!  And we definitely do.

You Got the Look

*singing* "You got the look I want to know better...you got the look, that's all together.  Working....playing....day or night...Jordache has the look that's riiiight!"  *lol* I've had that jingle in my head for the past few days.  Ever since I popped in to Walmart to get a few things and just happened to stroll over to the kids' section to see if I could find anything cute for fall.  I usually end up buying leggings there because they're so inexpensive and Walmart brands are really stepping up their game these days.  On this trip,  I found some CUTE animal print jeggings for Kalissa (animal print is going to be all the rage this season) by Garanimals...yes, Garanimals! and at $4.88 each, they were a steal.  I thought I was done but as I was leaving that section, some glitterry skinny jeans caught my eye.  I got closer and saw the brand was Jordache!  I had no idea that Jordache was even still in business.  Seeing the brand immediately brought on a nostalgia and took me back to when I was in the 4th grade and everyone had Jordache jeans...well, everyone except for me.  I wanted a pair so badly and put them on my Christmas list.  That year, my mom periodically added presents to the tree and when I saw a package that felt soft like it could have been some sort of clothing, I couldn't resist and opened the package ever so carefully thinking my mom wouldn't know.  In the package were my Jordache jeans with the horse on the back pocket and I was thrilled!!!!  But of course, my mom could tell that I opened the present and after getting wore out, she took them back to the store!  At some point she did buy them again for me, but not for Christmas.  When I finally did get the jeans, I think I wore them at least 3 times a week and then the kids teased me for wearing the same pants over and over!!  *lol* kids are mean!  But I digress...

Anyway, these skinny jeans were so cute and I couldn't pass them up at 8.88 a pair!  I knew Kalissa would love them (she loves all things with sparkle) and when I showed them to her, she yelled out, "Mommy!  It looks like outer space!!!"  *lol* Funny thing is, I saw similar glitter jeans at Macy's and made by Levis but they were like $30!  I am not spending 30 bux on a toddler pair of jeans no matter how cute...it just ain't happening.

I can't wait for the weather to turn cool so that she can wear them.  I have a feeling she's going to want to sport them several times each week too!
                      

Movie Madness

Yesterday we took Kalissa to her very first experience at a movie theater.  Her attention span has been getting longer so we felt she was ready to sit through a 2 hour show with minimal issues. I am not a 'movie person'.  And I don't especially like watching movies in a theater.  If I'm going to watch a movie, I'd rather it be at home where I can pause it, stretch out on my couch, or just turn it off when I've had enough.  The last movie that Daddy and I saw together in a theater was "Notorious" and I was about 8 months pregnant with Kali.  Now, he just goes alone.  But this week, San Diego is getting beat down with unexpected heat!  Friday was 106 degrees and yesterday was only a tad bit cooler.  In these temperatures, going to the beach wouldn't help so we decided to take in a movie. 

We purchased our tickets and come to find out, Kalissa was free!  *score*  Okay, but why did the man still say "That'll be $36.00, please."  When did movie tickets cost $16????  We had to pay a $4 surcharge for Kali's 3D glasses since we were seeing "Finding Nemo 3D".  I was in complete shock at the cost.  Another reason for me NOT to like going to the movie theater. 

No "1st Movie Experience" is complete without a trip to the concessions stand so we purchased one SMALL drink and one SMALL popcorn.  Another 11 bux gone.  We got our 3D glasses and headed into the theater.  Kalissa's first response was, "Mommy...it's too dark in there!"  We explained that the theater is dark so everyone could see the movie better.  The theater was pretty empty so we had our pick of seats and we settled in with no problem.  Once the previews started though, we hit a rough patch .  The previews were way too loud and her little ears did not appreciate the Dolby sound system!  She said that she wanted to leave and I was almost tempted to oblige but figured the sound would be better once the actual movie started and her ears got used to the noise level.  So I covered her ears with the beach towel we had with us (in case she got cold) and within 15 minutes of the movie starting, I was able to slowly take it away without her really noticing.

The movie was great.  The 3D effects gave a whole new experience to the same old story but Kalissa wouldn't know that because she quit wearing her glasses after about 30 minutes in.  *sigh*  We watched the whole movie without her needed to go potty and pretty much no interruptions.  At one point she did launch into a diatribe on how that's a humpback whale and she doesn't like humpback whales...only dolphins because dolphins don't bite. And she wasn't quiet about it either.  *lol*

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience but unless we have free passes, I don't see me rushing her back to the theater!  I could have done some damage to somebody's clearance rack for $50!!! : )

Children's Place Model Search

Childrens Place is holding their annual model search and this year, I entered Kali's pictures. Of course I did!! *lol* There are some bee-u-ti-ful kids entered but I'm hopeful that at the end of the contest, we'll get a call saying that she's a winner. Of course I am! :) You too can vote for Kalissa by clicking HERE, then click on "Vote/Gallery" and enter her name in the search box.  If the link doesn't work, just go to www.childrensplace.com

She's got 2 pictures posted so be sure to vote for both, please. You have up to 5 votes per day but you can only vote for each photo once per day. Remember to go back and vote for her again if you have time....I'd say daily, but that's a bit much. I'll handle the daily voting. *lol* Even if she doesn't win, it's fun to watch her rankings. Her photos just went up yesterday and out of 309 pages of pictures (30 pictures per page) her photos are on pages 7 & 8! So that means out of over 9,000 pictures in her category (baby girl), she ranks somewhere around 200th place right now. And there's a whole month of voting left so anything could happen! 

Doesn't her face belong in that place? 

Balboa Park

Today, we took a trip over to the beautiful Balboa Park.  The weather was perfect, it wasn't too crowded and Kalissa had a ball with every person (and animal) she encountered.  A picture is worth a thousand words so I'll be quiet now....

Love seeing her so happy!!

Camping Out

What could be better than camping out with the gang?  Camping out with the gang....PLUS Candy and Qiana!  And that's exactly how we spent our Labor Day weekend.  Kalissa was so excited when I told her that her sisters were coming down on Thursday that she stayed up until after 10:00 waiting for them to arrive!  And as soon as they walked in, she kept laughing and saying, "my sisters! my sisters!"  She definitely didn't want to go to sleep but the Sandman got the best of her.

Friday morning rolled around and our plan was to be on the road by 10:00 am.....and of course, we missed that target by almost 4 hours.  Daddy was not a happy camper but hey, he should expect that when travelling with 4 women.  I didn't see the point of rushing to desert anyway!

This was Candy & Qiana's first camping excursion with us and they didn't really know what to expect.  I can't really blame them...when you think "camping" you think of the woods but that's not where we camp.  We're pretty much smack in the middle of the desert on the side of a mountain!  There's a man made lake and a few trees but other than that, you're in the elements.  The good thing is that it does have decent bathroom facilities and showers.  But since this was a holiday weekend, the bathrooms got pretty gross by day two and we were happy to leave them!

Along with the entire Woods family and our family, there was also Nicole and her two kids, the Pollards and their son and Teddy and his son.  So there was no shortage of people for Kalissa to play with.  She also made friends with the two little girls who were on the campsite next to ours. 

After our two days were up, we headed back to civilization and unfortunately, that meant saying bye to Candy and Qiana which wasn't easy at all.  With Candy now in college and away from home, getting everyone together is going to take a little more effort but we hope to do so again very soon!

Model Behavior

Now that Kalissa is 3, I think she’s ready to take some sort of dance class.  We still have her enrolled in tumbling but the poor girl couldn’t buy rhythm if they were giving it away for free!!  So I want to help develop her in that department and she really does enjoy dancing around the house and mimicking what she sees on “So You Think You Can Dance”. Additionally, the word on the curb is I'm pretty mean on the dance floor (and so is Daddy) so I know she's got some natural talent waaaaay down deep in there!!

So yesterday, I was thumbing through the Salvation Army Community Center’s catalog to see what classes they are offering for 3 year olds.   Kali’s Preschool is a part of the community center so it will be nice and convenient to go from school to dance class once a week.  As I was flipping through, I saw a familiar face….

Is that...?  Heyyyy...that's my baby!  OMG!  I had no idea that they were using her pictures!  Had I not wanted to enroll her in a class I would have completely missed her first picture in print!  I have no idea why they used such a funny looking picture of her though *lol*.  So then, I started looking through all the other Fall catalogs and found this…

That one has to be an old picture.  She looks really young and almost unrecognizable without her signature curly hair but I knew that was my baby at first glance!  *lol*  Of course I sent Daddy down to the Center’s lobby to grab a handful of catalogs but they were out and only had photocopied versions.  I want the professionally printed slicks for her scrapbook so I will be stalking them!  *lol* 

As for the dance class, Daddy and I settled on a tap/hip hop class that meets once per week.  The first 30 minutes will be tap and the 2nd half hour will be basic hip hop moves.  If that doesn't stir her inner rhythm, I don't know what will!