hello from (still) sunny and wayyyy too hot for october, california!

seriously, i'm getting heat stroke just thinking about going outside.
we are taking family pictures on sunday...in long sleeves. and it's going to be like 88 degrees. so basically we are going to melt. help me.

so a few weeks ago, when randy was out of town and my mom was in town, i was taking some trash and recycling out into the garage and I SAW A MOUSE. it was alive. and it was running.
WHAT IN THE WHAT.
i don't do bugs, snakes, or rodents. nope nope nope. i was this close to setting the house on fire and starting over.... but instead i bought bait stations. because RANDY told me to buy bait stations.
"but won't they die in our garage?"
"no, the eat the bait and get dehydrated and then go outside to look for water, they won't die in our garage."
but, SPOILER ALERT. i have FOUND TWO DEAD MICE IN MY GARAGE since then. and there are probably more that i haven't seen, you know, dead. behind boxes... like my christmas decorations that will be coming into the house in a few days....RANDY.

speaking of christmas decorations. jk. i don't really have anything to say about christmas decorations. just a gentle reminder that HALLMARK CHRISTMAS MOVIES START THIS WEEKEND.
and if you are on my level of excitement, then you already know the first new movie is called, "christmas at pemberley manor." PEMBERLEY MANOR. what?! do you know that i live on PEMBERLEY passage avenue? so basically, i have renamed my house "pemberley manor" because i can, and shall be calling it that henceforth and forevermore.

i have a really hard time thinking of gifts i might want for christmas... or my birthday that falls 5 days before christmas. usually because i don't want extravagant things, and for the small things i want, i usually just pick up at walmart on one of my multiple trips a week.
BUT, the other day i saw a commercial for a roomba vacuum that not only vacuums your house, but EMPTIES IT'S OWN CANNISTER. so basically when it docks, the dock just sucks up the cannister and you don't have to worry about a full cannister all the time. first of all, i have dreamed of having a robot vacuum for a LONG time. but honestly i really wanted to wait until they were at the top of their game, and wouldn't get stuck in the rug under the kitchen table or lost under the couch. and folks, i think we are THERE. so i got excited, thinking this might be THE birthday/christmas present i could actually ask for this year. and then all my hopes and dreams were murdered... by the $1k price tag. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. for a vacuum. can i just say, that really...sucks. get it? because a vacuum...sucks. ok so thanks, but no thanks roomba. hard pass on the thousand dollar robot vacuum. call me when it'll do my dishes. i'd pay $1k for that.

anyway. that's about all i've got today.
signing off, from pemberley manor.

not too much new to report here! it's still blazing in bakersfield. ugh. i checked the forecast yesterday morning and saw there was a rain cloud NEXT TUESDAY!! the last time there was a rain cloud on the forecast was when my mom was in town, and it NEVER HAPPENED. so i was trying not to get my hopes up... and then i checked again yesterday afternoon and the rain cloud was already gone. WHAT?! how does that even happen? my little rain cloud turned into a sun, and that is the saddest thing ever. 

sunday after church we went to lunch with our small group to celebrate someone's birthday. we ended up sitting across the table from some friends, and presley started talking about holly. "she's my sister and she's two..." our friend looked at randy really confused, like what am i missing here? is there another child? randy had to let him know that holly wasn't REAL. he kept asking presley questions about holly, and she answered them with zero hesitation. 

does holly like waffles?- "no she likes pancakes. with no syrup."

does holly like strawberries?- "no. she likes apples."

where is holly from?- "like, all the places."

i learn something new about holly everyday, it seems. the other day when we were driving to school, i asked where holly was, and presley let me know she was sitting on my lap while i was driving. uhhh, ok. should i be worried that holly is into breaking laws? 

i've been working on starting to plan eli's birthday party for when we are in houston. it's car/truck/tractor theme, surprise surprise. we cannot even walk into a parking lot without eli pointing out every single car he sees. "car! truck! car! car! car! truck!". he tries to say excavator, but it sounds like rootbeer. idk. we went to the park a couple days ago and they were clearing some land nearby to build more homes, so there was some equipment parked in the lots. he spent half the time we were at the park pointing and shouting "tractor!" over and over and over. safe to say we are going to be visiting pawpaw's office to see all the big toys when we get to houston.

eli is really starting to get chatty. a lady working the nursery at work told me his vocabulary is really good, and that he was talking to her in sentences. i feel like presley was putting words together at like 6 weeks old (ok, maybe not that early, ha!), but i really try not to compare them. he told me a couple days ago while he was eating, "this is good mommy!" he is also picking up songs from the radio, and i'd say he's definitely a toby mac fan (or maybe he doesn't have a choice!).

well it still doesn't feel like fall, but i've decorated outside anyway. i just want to stop seeing 85+ degree days on my forecast. pleeeease.🙏🏼

i don't decorate the inside of my house for fall, because as soon as i put it up, i'd be taking it down. christmas decorations start going up as soon as hallmark christmas movies start which is OCTOBER 26!!! so the outside might be looking like fall, but inside will be christmastown in t-minus 15 days!!!!

i can't believe i haven't posted about presley starting dance! she started at the beginning of september, and she is absolutely the cutest ballerina i have EVER seen. 😍

speaking of presley, i've got a couple presley-isms to brighten your week.

"since i'm four, can i call you BB now? or how about beeb? i call my teachers 'teach'!"
she def doesn't call her teachers "teach", in case you were wondering. 🙄

"in california it's presley's world. everyone is in presley's world, right? say right."
i guess she's heard me mutter "i guess it's presleys world and we all just live in it" under my breath a few times. 😂

eli doesn't really have any "eli-isms" yet, per say. but here's what he's been spouting off lately...
"BOP!" - stop. he tells me this 800 times a day, usually when i'm wiping his face or trying to change his diaper.
"ENOUGH!" - goes hand-in-hand with "bop".
he is very very VERY into cars, trucks, tractors, dump trucks....basically anything with wheels, and is never without a car in one hand. even at the dinner table.

i've got one more "ism" for you... and it's brought to you by my dad.
 "WHY SHOULD CATS HAVE MORE RIGHTS THAN A TAXPAYER?!" - bryan wise
if you're curious, you can ask him about it... unless you're the harris county commissioner of precinct 1-rodney ellis , then you've already gotten the message(s) and you know why he's so mad.😂😂

i figured i'd hop on and give a little recap of the last 3 weeks of our crazy life.

i actually turned on my computer so i could google how to get a 4 year old to stop saying the word poop every 3.5 seconds. yes, real life. a pretty little girl should not be talking about poop as much as this particular little one who happens to live in my house. ugh. is that normal? i'd expect a 4 year old eli to think poop was funny.... but my prissy girly girl? not cute.

my parents graciously came to bakersfield 3 weeks ago to watch the babies so that randy and i could go to a work thing he had in napa. we loved every minute of our trip (side note-we haven't had alone time in MONTHS.... to say this mommy/daddy only trip was MUCH NEEDED would be a tremendous understatement). we also spent some time in san francisco, so fun! 

when we got back from our trip, my parents took a few days and went to napa and san francisco as well. when they got back my dad had to go back to houston (he needed to mow, haha!), and randy had to fly off to north carolina for a different work thing for a WEEK. so my mom stayed with me and the kids, and it was basically the best week ever. she got some special time with the babies and i got some special time with her. i will never NOT need my parents... idk what they ever did to make me so obsessed with them, but i hope my kids love me this much one day. 

mom left last saturday morning and a few hours later, my sister and her kids arrived just about the same time randy got home! it was a GOOD day! 

we had so much fun with them the past few days... going back to the farm, just hanging out on the couch, and, of course, a full day of hair cuts (me, pres, and eli!) and color (for me!). her kids are just growing up so fast, so the fact that they still want to play with my babies and love on ME just makes me so happy.

anyway, i'm gonna go cry for a day or two.... i'm sure you're all used to this by now.

happy friday!

typically i'd be in my post disneyland funk at this point, but honestly i have so much to do, there is no funk. just terribly overwhelmed.

disneyland was a blast, as usual. but i'm not gonna lie, i definitely need a vacation from our vacation. 

i guess with eli being older and wanting to be in the stroller less and less... momma is more and more tired. 

we headed out after sunday school, and had an easy trip in to anaheim. traffic wasn't terrible, which was nice! the kids didn't nap in the car, but they were both pretty well behaved anyway. thanks, ipads!

we had dinner at our hotel (the grand californian! amazing.), and made it an early night.

monday we got up bright and early and went straight to california adventure. the hotel we were staying at has its own entrance into the park, so that made it so easy to get in and out!

we rode lots of rides, saw all the sights, went back to the hotel for a quick rest (presley napped?! it was miraculous!), and finished the night watching the paint the night parade (probably my favorite thing everrrrr.) presley got to meet vampirina (ooooh whooa-ooo!), and eli wouldn't even get close to her... "noooo! no! no!". we also hit up the disney junior dance party, our favorite from last time. it was just as good this time around!

eli is officially a mess. they have this little gaurdians of the galaxy dance show in front of the ride where star lord and gamora get the crowd to dance to all his oldies songs, and eli kept trying to get on the little stage to dance with them. i kept having to pull him off which in the end resulted in an EPIC meltdown. also, at night, before the parade they clear the streets and everyone lines the curbs to make sure they have a spot to watch the show. the parade started at 8, but we got our spot around 7ish and ate some dinner.... and eli earned himself an audience. he was running around and dancing in the middle of the empty streets. i guess he thought it was his personal stage. at one point he got a napkin and started cleaning the street. ha. the lady next to me was like, "does he do this at home?!" uhh, no. exactly the opposite. he was so funny... the kid wont get within 5ft of a princess, or character, but put him in the middle of a crowd and he's right at home! he also clotheslined himself at least 239 times on chains. you know when you're waiting in line and they have chains to guide the lines? yeah, well eli would just take off running and SMACK right in the forehead.

tuesday we went straight to disneyland park, and the fun continued. since presley is exactly 40in now, she could ride LOTS of new rides... including space mountain! she and i started off the day with that one, and she was NOT a fan. she didn't cry or anything, but when i asked her if she wanted to ride it again with her daddy, she said "NO!". ha! we also had dole whip, of course! after we had done it all at disneyland, we went to downtown disney for dinner, and then we went back over to california adventure. we went to meet anna and elsa, and eli found himself a girlfriend... and it wasn't anna or elsa...because he wouldn't even look at them, much less touch them. no, it was the girl working the anna and elsa meet and greet. when she called us back, eli just ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug. randy and i were dying. the sweet girl said, "i've never gotten hugs like this before! i love it!", and eli just kept going back and hugging her again and again like he knew her. i was like, "this is not typical, so you should feel really special!" she said she did :) 

it was a fun, but exhausting, trip! i love love love how magical it is for my babies, presley is just in awe of everything, and meeting the princesses and characters, watching the shows, it's just so real to her! and eli isn't quite at that age yet, but he still has the time of his life! most of all, i love our time together, and feel super blessed and grateful for it, and that randy is able to take a few days off work and take us on such fun trips! 

so that's all for now! i have so much to do before wednesday when we leave for napa/san fran! and my parents get here tuesday and i just can't wait! 

nothing much new to report over here, but i thought i'd check in.
i'm currently in bed, with laptop, watching double dare on tv. i didn't even realize this show made a comeback. i'm about 2 minutes in and i'm kinda disappointed.... where is marc summers? where is the giant ear with ear wax? i miss the early 90's. ***revisiting to say, "THERE'S MARC! ok, this isn't as bad as i thought."

presley starts "ultra" at church this wednesday evening! it's a fun thing at our church is doing for the kids (ages 3+), they will learn bible lessons and do fun activities. they had a kickoff event last wednesday night with a HUGE bounce house obstacle course, cotton candy, popcorn, sno cones, face painting....
presley was in heaven. she got some cotton candy, and after she ate that, we didn't see her for an hour. she went through the bounce house over and over and over. eli ate a whole bag of popcorn. i didn't even realize he liked popcorn. ha. it was a really fun night. i love watching my babies have fun.

i mostly opened this blog to give you some more presley-isms. they're piling up over here.

at her school, there is a ramp you walk down to go inside. it's a pretty long ramp, and there is an iron fence on one side with a handrail. every day, and i mean EVERY DAY, she touches the hand rail and says, "this is for grandma's, so they don't fall."

one thing i really love about her school is that they provide breakfast, lunch, and snack. at home she eats like 4 things, so i really love that she is trying new things (vegetables!). last week they had lasagna for lunch one day. i asked her if she liked it and she told me she LOVED LASAGNA and asked if i would make it for her. so guess what i made for dinner tonight? while she was eating it she pulled out a noodle and said, "i don't like this. this wasn't in my school lasagna." i told her that there were definitely noodles in her lasagna at school, but that she couldn't have any bread until she ate all her lasagna. then she said, "i'm frustrated...i'm really disappointed." randy and i were really trying to keep straight faces, but then she said, "mommy, i'm just jealous." HAHA WHAT?!? randy was like, "ok, now you're just saying words, you don't even know what you're talking about." and i was like, "i love lamp?'

this one is from awhile back, but there is a commercial that comes on during the day about wrinkle cream. i wasn't paying attention to it, but she sure was. "mommy you need that for your frinkles." frinkles, huh? well, ok. thanks, girl. but she made it up to me by telling me that she loved my "memaws". let me translate that from presley to english... moles. memaw=mole.

lastly, she's been 4 for a week. literally, 8 days. and every day. every single day. yall, every day, she asks "when am i gonna be a teenager?" someone send help. am i gonna survive?

and as for my sweet second child... he's just as silly and sweet as ever.
always dirty, always eating, always one shoe off, and, of course, always copies every single thing big sister does... really, am i gonna survive?

happy birthday, presley!

my baby girl is 4 today. i can't really put my emotions into words, but i am gonna try.

presley is my sweet, sassy, stubborn, strong-willed, smart, funny, silly, loving, and BEAUTIFUL girl.
she makes the best faces, so full of emotion... from fighting mad to smiling and "sparkling". she sings songs, and prances around constantly. she praises Jesus. she throws tantrums, and toys... but she also gives out the biggest puckered up kisses you've ever seen. she is momma's girl, no doubt, but she needs her daddy just as much. she is her brother's keeper...and also his boss. she is actually the boss of this whole house, and i have a feeling it'll be that way until the day she moves out.

these past 4 years have been some of the HARDEST, and most stressful years of my entire life. but man, they sure have been fun. and rewarding. and so.full.of.love. my heart just bursts at the seams for this sweet child of mine.

we had a fun day celebrating sweet presley.
the day started with ballons and cinnamon rolls. we also measured her to see how much she's grown in the last six months (about 2in)!

after church we thought she might take a nap... but she wasn't having it. she was definitely tired, but when i told her to go get in bed she started crying and wailing "but i'm in a good mood!" with tears gushing out. yeahhh... that's not working sister. so instead she flopped around in her bed for an hour. when we asked what she wanted to eat for her special birthday lunch she said, "HOTDOGS!". i asked her if she wanted me to make hotdogs, or if she wanted to go out to eat. she said, "hotdogs at a restaurant! and then they will sing to me." i told her they don't sing at the hotdog restaurant (five guys!), and asked if she would rather go eat pancakes (her favorite) instead. NOPE. she said we could just sing to her when we got home instead.

*side note: how is she my child? when i was a kid, i had a LEGIT PHOBIA of being sang to in public on my birthday. introvert since birth, i guess! but for real, my parents knew not to tell them it was my birthday when we went out to eat. if we heard them start singing in the restaurant, my dad would nudge me and say "here they come!", even though it was for someone else, and i would nearly cry. i also got panicky when having my birthday party at the skating rink and they called out for the birthday kids to come to the center of the rink... nope, not going. sorry.

after lunch we came home and sang happy birthday and let her blow out candles one more time. then she opened a few more presents and spent the rest of the evening playing with her new toys.