December GBOMB

It's that time again to hit publish on the only reliable post every month. It's the Good, the Bad, and what's been On My Brain for the month of December.

G O O D
+Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! Not just Christmas day, but the entire month of celebrating. We watched so many holiday movies, read every Christmas book we could find, and had way too many treats (justified because it's Christmas). Kids really amplify the season and I love it so much.
+I turned 27 this month and Andrew took my birthday off from work. We spent a full day in Disney and managed to accomplish a lot even while fighting the holiday crowds.
+Olive turned two which I still can't believe. She was very excited to get the bubbles that Taylor gifted her and she wouldn't put down the stuffed panda Andrew and I gave her. Olive loved her birthday and was the happiest kid all day (two year olds are so easy to please).
+Andrew's company shuts down around Christmas so we had a lot of time to see our family in Arizona. We got to see everyone except for the M's in Seattle (but who we will luckily be seeing in January). The kids had a blast being with their cousins and seeing all their grandparents and aunts and uncles. Taylor and Olive are a pretty lucky bunch when it comes to relatives.
+We bought a minivan! And I love it with every fiber of my being. Before kids, I swore that I would never drive a minivan. After having kids, I started seeing the appeal. Now that I own one, I will never go back to life before owning a minivan.
+Of course Christmas has to be included in the good category. What's better than watching a kid's excitement as they open presents? I'm planning on writing a post on our entire Christmas vacation. We'll see if that ever comes to fruition though.

B A D
+Taylor had some sort of stomach bug a few days after Christmas. He had a fever and threw up a few times, but after two days he was on the mend. We watched a lot of TV to assist in his recovery. Unfortunately for me, I also caught this mysterious illness. I think I slept about 34 hours over a two day period. I managed to avoid throwing up (probably because I slept instead of eating). Now I'm crossing my fingers that this is the only sickness we experience for the next little bit.
+My goal was to have Taylor potty trained by Christmas, but we're still not 100% on that goal. With long drives in the car and the few days of illness, sometimes diapers were the easier choice and that put us back a few steps. I guess our new goal is to be completely potty trained by the time baby #3 gets here.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+This baby is nestled snugly into my bladder. The last month or two are always difficult when it comes to peeing every 5 minutes, but this baby has made every step a painful reminder to my bladder that a baby will be here soon. I still think I'm slightly in denial because I haven't been hit with any sense of urgency to get things ready. When is the nesting suppose to kick in for your third?
+Organization. All the new Christmas gifts tend to get me thinking about deep cleaning, purging, and organizing what we have. It's something I enjoy so I'm excited to get after it once we get home.

November GBOMB

G O O D
+We are in the midst of potty training and I think I can safely say that Taylor has the hang of it. I still put him in diapers when he sleeps, and when we're out of the house (mainly because I don't really want to deal with public restrooms yet). When we first started this round of potty training, I thought it might be the end of my sanity, but after a few days, things got a lot better. My goal is for Taylor to be completely out of diapers by Christmas.
+On Thanksgiving, we went and watched Ralph Breaks The Internet. It was fun to have two kids sit through a movie without any worries. They both loved it and now they're begging to go back to "the big movies" to watch The Grinch.
+We are in full blown Christmas mode at our house. We watch a new holiday movie everyday, listen to Christmas music all day long, the kids look forward to getting their daily chocolate from the advent calendar, and I threaten to call Santa anytime the kids are naughty. Christmas is so much fun with kids. I'm already a little sad to think that Christmas will be over in a few weeks.
+I took the kids by myself to Disneyland twice, and we managed to go as a family to see the holiday fireworks after Andrew got off work one day. One of the times I took the kids by myself, we got to see Santa. Taylor asked him for a train and Olive asked for presents (she's not picky). There's still a few holiday specific activities I want to do in Disneyland before the festivities are all over, but Christmastime is crazy busy so we're being very strategic of when we go. That's the best part of having an annual pass and living so close is we can go just for an afternoon to do one or two things without feeling jipped.
+November and December are always my biggest months for my Etsy shop. It's been fun making new prints, having Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, and seeing traffic increase for the holidays.

B A D
+We didn't want to deal with L.A. traffic during Thanksgiving so we had an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner by ourselves for the first time. Our Thanksgiving was actually a really nice day, but it was sad not being with any other family.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+I'm almost 32 weeks pregnant and starting to see my OB every two weeks which makes baby time seem so soon. This pregnancy has flown by (especially now that I'm not nauseous 24/7) because I have two kids as distractions. I'm starting to get into the final, uncomfortable stage of pregnancy though where you can't bend over, or get off the floor, or breath normally so hopefully these last 8 weeks don't drag by. I'm honestly a little in denial of how soon this baby will be here. I feel like I should be preparing more or something?
+Olive is turning two in December! I can't believe I will soon have an almost 4 year old, a two year old, and soon a newborn. How did this happen?! I mean I know how it technically happened, but it just seems insane to have growing children and so many children.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Two weekends ago, we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a fun few hours with relatively cheap admission. I think the highlight was seeing the sea lions and seals, and watching Taylor bravely pet the sting rays and jelly fish in the touch pools.

After we finished with the aquarium, we walked Pine Avenue Pier and let the kids play some games at an arcade we walked by. You would have thought Taylor and Olive won the lottery with how excited they were with the prizes they got to pick out with their tickets.

I just wanted to make sure to post these fun pictures from our day so I wouldn't forget.

October GBOMB

G O O D
+We went to Santa Barbara for a quick weekend trip. Our friends Brad and Haley flew down from Seattle to go with us and were kind enough to watch our kids one of the nights we were there so Andrew and I could go to watch a Jim Gaffigan show. More on that trip here.
+I can finally say that my all day nausea is finally gone! It only took until 24 weeks, but I no longer have to take my Zofran everyday. It is glorious.
+The Steeds were able to stop by our house on their way to and from another visit. The kids were so glad to see their cousins even if it was just a quick trip.
+I managed two trips with the kids to Disneyland this month. It's really hard to go in October because it is so packed with people who come in for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Even though our first trip was really crowded, we still had a fun time and managed to get on quite a few rides. Our second trip the week of Halloween was surprisingly empty so the kids and I lucked out with short wait times.
+We went as a family to the Aquarium of the Pacific. We've had tickets forever and finally used them. I don't think there's a better family activity than going to an aquarium.
+The whole month of October has been fun with the kids because of Halloween. They have loved watching Halloween specials and pretending to Trick-Or-Treat. Andrew took them to a fun Halloween festival in Marina Del Ray and then we had a fun Halloween activity at our church. The kids looked so cute in their costumes.
+I did a 10 day social media fast and in that time I read seven books. It's great that I read so much, but a little sad how much extra time I had when I wasn't wasting it scrolling Instagram.

B A D
+I had more dental work done. I guess this could go in the good category because it's almost all done. Only one more visit. On top of that, I had to go to an oral surgeon and have a weird blood blister removed from my tongue. I didn't expect the recovery from that to be so intense, but man, it was not fun and I'm still feeling the after effects of it. Luckily the stitches have finally dissolved so it just feels like a big cranker sore on my tongue now.
+Olive has been really grumpy this month. Anytime something doesn't go quite her way, she screams at the top of her lungs to voice her displeasure. It hasn't been fun dealing with her.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+The upcoming election. I already sent in my early ballot and I'm interested to see how it all turns out. Make sure to exercise your right to vote on November 6th!
+I think I'm going to start potty training with Taylor again. I can't get him interested at all, but he hates having his diaper changed so it's time. I just have to buckle down and be consistent with him.

Now onto the most wonderful time of the year. We've already gotten the Christmas books and movies out. I don't think it will be too much longer before our Christmas decoration goes up. I know some people argue for a clear definition between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Christmas is just so much fun with kids and I plan on squeezing every drop of happiness out of the season (which means we will start celebrating every year on November 1st for the foreseeable future despite the naysayers).

Santa Barbara Weekend

As a (very) early birthday present, Andrew got me tickets to see Jim Gaffigan in Santa Barbara. If you haven't heard of Jim Gaffigan, he's a clean comedian who is hilarious and talks a lot about food. He has a few specials on Netflix which I recommend checking out.

As we started planning our weekend trip to Santa Barbara, we invited our friends Brad and Haley, not really expecting for them to be able to come, but they were totally down. Technically Brad is my sister-in-law's lifelong friend so Andrew has always known Brad and I've known him since I married into the family. He was also the sole male on our girls trip to London/Paris. He recently got married to Haley who we love. They were in California a few months back and the kids and I helped them get into the Disneyland parking garage with our annual passes. We hung out with them the next day as well at the beach and at our house. The kids love them and it was fun to hang out with them as married couple friends (finding married couple friends is hard). So inviting to them to join us in Santa Barbara seemed like a great idea.

They flew in from Seattle and then we drove to our Airbnb in Santa Barbara. The Airbnb was way nicer than we expected and had a huge backyard for the kids to play in. That first night there we walked to the nearby beach. It was quite a longer trek than I expected and the beach wasn't the best, but there was no one else on it and Taylor still had fun digging in the sand. After spending the evening at the beach, we went out to eat at a delicious Mexican restaurant.

The next day we went to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. I always love natural museums and so do the kids. You can't go wrong with lots of animals. Our admission even included a butterfly exhibit which I was not expecting.

Once we finished at the museum, we headed to downtown Santa Barbara for lunch and a little wandering.

That night was the Jim Gaffigan show. Brad and Haley were kind enough to watch the kids for us at the Airbnb so we could go. The show was hilarious and it was in a really neat outside venue. This is what we came home to:

The next day, we watched the first session of Sunday General Conference than packed up and headed home. Brad and Haley hung out with us until it was time for their flight, and honestly, it was not enough time - I wish they were able to stay with us longer. Thanks Brad and Haley for joining us on our quick, weekend trip!

September GBOMB

Another short monthly summary, but here is the Good, the Bad, and what's been On My Brain for the month of September.

G O O D
+We found out that we're having a girl! I was honestly convinced that we were having a boy, but both Taylor and Olive said they wanted a little sister. I guess they won this round. We are so excited to have another baby girl. May she have as much fire and stubbornness as her sister before her.
+My mom and her husband came to see us. The kids loved having them here and we made a beach visit and went to a new park.
+I finally made it to Disneyland with the kids by myself. I used to take them about once a week when we first moved to California, but since I've been pregnant and nauseas, I haven't managed to make it solo with the kids. We also went together as a family once this month and stayed late enough for the light parade. People might think we're crazy for going so often, but it has been such a fun thing to do as a family. And this will probably be the only year we have annual passes so we're trying to make the most of them.
+I am s l o w l y working towards a degree (when I say slowly, I mean I only take one class a semester and will probably have a Bachelors in about 5-10 years). I was looking at some of the degrees offered and noticed that I had enough credits for a Web Media certificate. Can I do anything with a Web Media certificate? Not really. But it feels good to have something physical after attending school for so long.

B A D
+I went to the dentist and found out I needed a crown put in and a lot of fillings. Most of my life I've had great teeth, but the past few years that has changed and it is not fun. I got a temporary crown put in this month and have to go in a few days to get my permanent crown in as well as get a few fillings. I'll most likely have another visit on top of this one too.
+I spoke too soon when I talked about Olive potty training herself. She now refuses to go on the toilet. I'm hoping when this baby comes I won't still have three in diapers - two is plenty. So hopefully either Taylor or Olive (or both) decide to go along with this potty training thing soon.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+I'm sure there were some reoccurring thoughts or concerns this month, but right now, I can't remember any of them. I guess this month's "On My Brain" section is going to be empty.

August GBOMB

I almost skipped this month's GBOMB because it's more of the same. Our lives have been boring as of late and the kids and I don't leave the house much. I also wrote this post up once already and it didn't save when I came back to it. But I decided to still go ahead with an August GBOMB for prosperity's sake.

G O O D
+We had a great day at Disneyland as a family. Before this pregnancy, I used to take the kids at least once a week, but it's just not possible to take them by myself currently. I'm glad we were able to get a fun and full day in at Disneyland at least once this month.
+I had a few good days when it came to pregnancy nausea. I'm crossing my fingers that means I may be nearing the end when it comes to this almost constant sickness.
+Taylor and Olive have been playing so well together and I love watching them come up with fun games. It doesn't always last long because Olive gets tired of being bossed around by Taylor, but while it is going, it's rather cute.
+We ended the month with the best surprise ever when the Steeds decided to come stay with us for a few days. We got two beach days in and the kids couldn't get enough of their cousins. Olive also decided that Stephanie is her favorite person ever and almost went home with them.
+Olive has decided to potty train herself. She poops on the potty twice a day now. At least one of my kids will be potty trained in the near future I guess.

B A D
+Sick. Sick. Sick. All I do is lay on the couch and try to think of food I can eat.
+My mental health has taken a dip. I'm sure that has to do with doing nothing most days and being cooped up inside. The kids and I hardly run errands or even go outside so that can't be helpful to my state of mind. Hopefully the nausea will ease up so we can do more than lay around and watch movies most days.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+I haven't really put much thought into what gender this baby is going to be, but the last two weeks I've been shopping a few online sales and found some great deals on baby clothes. That's got me wondering a bit more if we'll be adding a little brother or sister to our mix. We find out next week so I'm starting to get excited for that.
+When will this pregnancy nausea cease? I'm getting tired of hearing myself talk about it so I can't imagine how everyone else feels.

July GBOMB

Welcome to the good, the bad, and what's been on my brain for the month of July.

G O O D
+I announced my pregnancy! It's always such a relief to let everyone know and not have to try so hard to hide my ever present nausea. Haha. But also, more importantly, to share in the excitement with all of our friends and loved ones. We are so lucky to have so many supportive people in our lives. We can't wait to have this baby join us the end of January!
+We went to Disneyland twice as a family this month and had so much fun. On our last trip, Taylor was finally tall enough to ride Radiator's Springs Racer in Cars Land. The not so good part was Taylor was terrified. I really thought he would love it. Regardless, the rest of our day was fun.
+Andrew's parents were in the area for a conference so they got to come over to see us every night. We just wish they could have been here longer.
+Andrew turned 32. A few days before his birthday I surprised him with dinner at the Blue Bayou (the restaurant that overlooks the Pirates of the Caribbean ride). Andrew has always wanted to eat there and it was extremely delicious.

B A D
+We attempted potty training. We made it about two days before I gave up. Taylor just has no interest. I might try again soon. Someone convince me that we can do it.
+I've been on Zofran for nausea which doesn't completely take away all the sickness that comes with pregnancy, but it definitely takes the edge off. There was about a week where I was without Zofran and it was completely miserable. It definitely made me appreciate my Zofran even more.
+Pregnancy is just a lot of lying around and letting the kids watch movies all day. I feel pretty unproductive and each day melts into the next until the whole month has gone by in a blur.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+When will I feel like a normal person again? With Taylor and Olive, I had nausea until about 20 weeks. So I guess only like 6 weeks until it subsides? Hopefully? I'm just tired of being a boring mom that lays on the couch all day while the kids watch far too much TV. I'm also tired of being tired, but pretty sure that's not going away for the remainder of my life.
+Are Taylor and Olive getting a little brother or little sister? I'm so curious. I'm pretty convinced that it's a boy, but that probably makes it even more likely that it's a girl.

A Teeny Tiny Announcement

Oh. Hey there. Just wanted to pop in with some exciting news. If you haven't seen on Instagram or Facebook yet, I'm pregnant! I'm nearing 14 weeks and this baby is set to arrive around January 30th. We're so excited to add another Snow Baby to our circus.