Spring Spring Spring

I like Spring. I don't love it, just like it. Spring brings on my allergies which seem to be worse when I'm pregnant. However, this year spring has been pretty good to the Brownstein's (so far).

We took a trip a couple weeks ago to Disneyland with my sister and nephew. I love the So. Cal season passes that make going for 4 hrs not a waste. Max did take a tumble and got a nasty bump on his head and scratch on his knee on the way in, but it was nothing a lolly pop couldn't fix.

Grandma Gail (GG) came to visit last week and we visited the Long Beach Aquarium for the first time. Max is pretty happy to wander anywhere but I think what little he did pay attention to, he enjoyed. It's a pretty cool aquarium with indoor and outdoor exhibits.

Yesterday we kicked off our goal of getting the yard spruced up, putting rocks by the front gate for Mike to park his car on and starting a garden. We had to buy a wheel barrow which Max loved to ride back in after each load of rocks. He also thought he was hot stuff working along side Grandpa Holmes and his Dad with his own "shovel" (a garden trowel) & generally just getting dirty. He spent the entire day outside & was filthy! Luckily he likes bath time as much as he is enjoying spring :)

Santa Monica or bust!

Yesterday was a fab day. I finally decided to just say "screw" it to nap time (mine and Max's) to hang out with friends. Why not an excursion to Santa Monica?

We had to load Max, Nat & Fallon, Sachia & Sienna + 2 strollers in the Volvo.While waiting for Sachia & Sienna to come down we saw a pretty random sight. Either this float is very early for next year, or seriously late.

(Actually, I think it was on its way to the warehouses to be torn down).

The guys driving it gave us their best Miss America waves as they went by. It was pretty funny. I was amazed we all fit in the car and glad Sachia is flexible enough to climb into the 3rd row seat! Thankfully she has a cute rear, thanks for the tooshie views Sachia!

Finally off to Santa Monica around 11:30 . 1st we hit the Babystyle store going out of business. Always cute stuff & pretty good deals. Nothing like the deals Nat, Laura D, & I got a year or so ago when the one in Glendale closed. You can't beat Pj's, t's & pants for $2.99! Skipping his nap, losing his pacifier and being strapped to his stroller made for an unhappy Max. I apologize again ladies for the serious meltdown that lasted abnormally long.

I'm pregnant & always hungry, but thankfully everyone was ready to try the milkshake place Nat's sis-in-law told her about. There were $1 taco deals next door so we thought why not grab one of those 1st? 1 turned into 2, which turned into 3 each. (Max Melt down #2 occured here, sorry again). At least the tacos were yummy with the best green sauce on them.

And then the pièce de résistance, the milkshake. I'm not kidding you, these things are phenomenal. you can get them with ice cream, yogurt or soy and pretty much in any fruit or candy combo you can think of. We all opted for yogurt blends which did not disappoint. AND they don't use imitation candy. They use the real deals and unwrap them right in front of you. They have a few combos named after celebs you can order, or make up your own. I got the "Lyndsay" which was blueberries, raspberries and blackberries topped w/whip & a cadbury wafer. Nat got the "Beckham" which was nutella, bananas and chocolate topped with the cadbury wafer. Sachia got a delicious strawberry, malt and coconut blend. Sadly our children drank most of our shakes, we clearly should have ordered larger sizes. Millions of Milkshakes on Santa Monica in LA. was well worth the trip!

Pregnancy Cravings

I think about them so much that now I need to blog about them. Mostly I'm excited that food is staying where it's supposed to a lot more lately. It's possible that I'll gain more than the 50 lbs. I gained with Max once this uckiness finally passes for good. I'll narrow it down to my current top 10 fav crav's.

10- fish-n-chips (thanks to the FoodNetwork and Bobby Flay's "Throwdown")
9- water (only the 2nd thing good for me on this list)
8- rainbow sherbert icecream (I never eat this stuff)
7- whatever happens to be on the FoodNetwork (note to self, stop watching FoodNetwork)
6- frozen waffles (TJ brand or Eggos will do)
5- plums (at least there is something healthy on here)
4- McDonalds French fries (which I'm eating as I blog)
3- Trader Joe's cheese puffs (thanks to Dorris for introducing me to these last year!)
2- salami (I never eat this stuff either, thanks to my sister Kim for telling me it was one of the things she craved which put it on my mind)
1- Kettle brand sea salt & vinegar chips

Since we stopped at McD's for my fries I thought I'd get some chicken nuggets for Max. He has taken to snacking like I do, so getting full meals into him has been tough. He seemed to enjoy the nuggets. There's at least some real chicken in there right?

He's a Gabber

Max takes after his GG Brownstein. He likes to talk. He Jibber Jabbers quite a bit and today I caught video evidence when GG called. You'll need to excuse the diaster area my son turns our family room into every morning :)

Another video for the Grandparents and my sis who says she doesn't see Max enough. It's another new Max favorite- sidewalk chalk.

Can you guess our secret?

And if those were not enough, here's an easy one :)

Germ Wars

My mom visited this week, so my sister and her 2 kids came to stay for a couple nights. They came straight from Disneyland on Tuesday night which is where I believe this war began.

Wednesday my nephew wasn't feeling so great- cough and runny nose. I'm sure the germs from disney didn't help. Major germ share #1 when they all want to play with the same toy. The kids all played in the bathtub Wednesday night. Cute, but major germ share #2.


Thursday Carson was feeling better so we spent the morning at the LA Zoo. They all got a lolly pop as a treat and the drool fest began- germ share #3.

I lost the war. Max was fussy at the zoo, clingy on Friday and sick by Saturday. Grandma stayed home from church with him on Sunday. Sunday night he was so stuffed up & crying. This is how he woke up Monday. :( Swollen red eyes and dried crusty gucky stuff all over his face. Bath time still cheered him up :) So for now we're just working on getting lots of fluids in him and keeping him happy. He pretty much gets his paci all day now. Here's hoping this skips all your families!

Marlboro Max

We started up our Monday night Potluck dinners again. We discovered a park way up in Altadena that has lights on the picnic area and park until 10pm. It was nice to get out and catch up with friends, let the kids wander & eat. However, Max seems to have picked up a bad habit...cigarettes. Mike was chatting, I was chatting & when Max walked over to me to beg for more food, what was dangling from his mouth? A cigarette butt. YUCK! He clearly had been chewing on it for a while cuz' I had to wipe the butt off his chin and Mike swiped his finger through Max's mouth to clean out the tobacco. Max must have liked his new habit since he promptly bit Mike which he's never done. They make a patch for toddlers right?

Saturday we joined Natalie and Fallon at Jefferson park to watch our hubbies play softball. It was a seriously hot day, Max should not have worn jeans and a black t-shirt, I kept giving him gatorade & he was pretty happy wandering around with Grandpa and playing with Fallon. Next time I think we'll go to the game a bit later & not for the whole 2 hrs :)