Black Friday

For years I remember saying “people that go out on Black Friday at any time are plain stupid” I hated crowds, I hated stores being thrashed, I just hated the thought of it all!!! I remember about 4 or 5 years ago Yosh and I going into Best Buy on Black Friday at like 5pm and the place was turned upside down! 2 years ago my friends from Ireland were here…we dropped them off on Black Friday at the Ontario Mills Mall and they stayed there for 10 hours shopping!!! They came back saying it wasn’t too bad and bought loads of stuff!! But I just couldn’t understand the thrill of it all UNTIL I had a child of my own and know how good it feels to get a deal! haha

Last year Taryn and I decided we wanted to go out and see what all the hype was about BUT we didn’t want to miss our turkey dinner & time with family to stand in line. So we headed to Toys R Us at 2am last year. We ended up missing most of the deals, buying things that were NOT on sale (and probably marked UP for the night) BUT we had a blast doing it! 
Here are some pics I found from 2010 Black Friday Fun!

So this year it was still on….even though Taryn is 13 weeks pregnant (yaaay!), her hubby has the stomach flu (booo!) AND I have out of town guests…we still made it happen! My sister-in-law from New York was going to come out with us (but she fell asleep) And Bernie, my mother who is a black friday virgin, decided she wanted to check out the scene this year as well!! So the plan was to up the departure time a few hours, in hopes of actually get some deals! We were out the door at midnight. 
And lets just say we got some deals…

After Toys R Us we headed to Kohls (like we did last year)…and that folks was our mistake! We just wandered around…not “NEEDING” to buy anything but we found things to buy and then stood in line for 1.5 hours for unnecessary items haha! Yeah we got outta Kohls at 3:45am…it was crazy! Standing for that long made us loose all our momentum and motivation….so after Kohls we did a McDonalds french fry run and home!  It was funny eating fries at that time of the morning SOBER…doesn’t happen often! haha

NEXT year we’ll have to either skip Kohl’s are go there last! I’m thinking we’ll need to add Target into the mix OR maybe even brave Ontario Mills Mall?!? Shall we dare?

Thanksgiving 2011

I haven’t always been a Turkey day lover but ever since I didn’t get to really enjoy it in 2009, the year I was going through chemo, I have found a new appreciation for the day of eating and giving thanks. I know it sounds kinda cliché but its so true. In 2009 I had  dear friend here from Ireland but was pretty sick Thanksgiving day. Back then eating just wasn’t “fun” haha. So last year (which you can read about here) I was PUMPED to grub down an awesome turkey dinner BUT my mom ended up with the flu…and when Bernie is down I just don’t enjoy my day as much.

This year was EXTRA special…we were all present, healthy AND even had some extra guests. Yosh’s sister Missy, husband Chris and kids Bailey & Peyton came from New York this year for the holidays. It was their first Thanksgiving in California in over 9 years!! Usually they come out in summer time and we get to do family river trips, amusement parkts, etc. But this year they flew out on Tuesday and we have had lots of time to just relax and spend time together…no rushing around, no stress.  On top of the VanSoests being here…Chris’ mom, Vicki joined us for our turkey dinner as well as, Yosh’s grandmother Marie (Owen’s great grandma!)  It was awesome!!!

Souza Family Thanksgiving Picture 2011

Little bit from the past…to see the transformations since we became a family of three…

 

 

 

And before our Owen…November 2008….so excited to meet that lil person growing in my belly.  I tried looking for pictures of past Thanksgivings…but it seems that I can not locate them. I wish I was a better digital picture organizer back then…I wish I could easily access them!!

 

 

 

 

This year we had 13.5 dinner eaters and 2 additional people (Sister Teresa and Sister Margaret) showed up for dessert. It was enough to have 2 full tables in our front room…oh so exciting! 
(psssst…you like my new curtains??? I was so excited to put those bad-boys up!)

I even went all out and made name place-settings for everyone!! I HATE the awkward moment when everyone is trying to figure out where to sit. So I just eliminated that uneasy few moments by giving people assigned seats (I know..control freak…go ahead and say it! haha)

(name place settings inspired by pinterest haha) 

The day was fun…while Bernie tried cooking the perfect turkey (only setting the oven bag on fire once haha we love you Mother) we hung out, boys drank and watched lots of football, kids played…it was simply awesome!

My AMAZING husband and WONDERFUL brother-in-law Chris did the dishes too…yesss talk about making a woman happy!!! No really Uncle Mike…Chris and Yosh don’t need your help! hahaha

My favorite pictures of the day are those that represent FAMILY…SOUZA FAMILY!

COUSINS!

MOTHER & SON!
(Owen’s Great Grandma Marie & Papa Al)

SIBLINGS!

THE OLDEST & YOUNGEST MEET for the 1st TIME!

I’m very thankful we can all be together…as one family! Days like this make me miss having a big family, make me miss my brother Paul!!  With only have MY Mom and Dad I’m thankful that the Souza family has taken me in as one of their own over the years!!!

Now…its Black Friday…still have some shopping to do!

Intro to Potty Training

Owen is 2 years and 7 months old now…and as expected the subject of potty training seems to be coming up more and more.  The VERY first time I put him on the little potty he peed (that was 6 months ago)…I totally thought I was going to be THAT lucky lady who has a child that potty trains easily! haha NOW I have to say, I’m not “Potty Training” him just yet…but I’m trying to do little things to get him introduced to the idea! I’m planning on waiting to potty train until he seems interested…don’t want to fight an unnecessary battle just yet!

So after going out and buying a Lightening McQueen kiddie toilet seat (which Owen was so excited to use!) THIS is my son on the potty this week…

Yeah…he didn’t like it all that much. $18 wasted! haha

And while I was spending WAY to much money at Kohls I thought it would be a good idea to get some big boy undies…maybe he’d love them!?!?!

Nope…he didn’t like these either!!!! haha Well actually I’m not sure if he didn’t like the undies or the fact that I was taking picture of him!?!? I told him if he stood nice and smiled I take them off….

He smiled nicely…but I think the undies on his peepee didn’t feel nice. Ü heehee He’ll get used to that in due time…right?!? Or will he be THAT typical boy touching his weiner…even when I have the camera out! hahaha When do kids start liking underwear??? My son just IS NOT ready to use the potty…and that’s ok for now! But Oh boy…this isn’t going to be fun!

So this is the “introduction to potty training” ….didn’t go so well in my book. I guess we’ll put it all away until maybe spring break or something?!?

Owen’s first trip to the Dentist

I started asking myself and other mommy friends…when are you suppose to start bringing your kids to the dentist?? All the baby books say that once the child has teeth, technically they are suppose to be going to the dentist for check-ups and cleanings!! I just don’t see the purpose of bringing a 1 year old (since they technically have teeth) to the dentist. BUT Owen is two and a half years old…

Thankfully we go to AWESOME dentist, who is also a dear friend to us Dr. Matt Cilderman (You can read ALL about his practice here) who told me that we can start bringing him in whenever we want.

So I started noticing build up on one of Owen’s teeth…even with me brushing his teeth every night I noticed I just wasn’t doing a good job. So I asked my friend Heather (who is Matt’s wife) and is a dental hygienist at a different office in Irvine about teeth cleaning at Owen’s age and everything. Heather and Matt also have a 2 year old son whom they were thinking about trying to clean his teeth as well…so we decided to try and get both boys in the office and do it at the same time. Maybe Owen and Ryland could be moral support for eachother…..yeah THAT didn’t happen.

So I HATE the dentist…like REALLY hate it!! When I was a kid I had to be drugged, given some calming pills to get me to go in the office. I vividly remember having to drink fruit punch with a crushed anxiety pill in it while waiting for my named to be called. I’d cry when my mom said we were going to the dentist!! I brushed my teeth as a kid but seemed to ALWAYS have cavities! So of course I hated him! Matt has made MOST of my fears go away. He is seriously the most informative, calming dentist ever!! And I’m not just saying that b/c he’s my friend…but seriously my visit to his office was WONDERFUL! I would refer him to anyone and everyone!!!!

But Owen had a bit of anxiety when we walked into the office. It was weird b/c the office wasn’t even open…no one was there except us and the Cilderman’s, whom Owen knows and loves. So the little boys negotiated who would go first…haha Both started crying when you tried to get them to sit down in the chair…But finally Ryland, sat on Matt’s lap while Heather cleaned his teeth (no polishing).

Isn’t that cool…Ryland looks like a pro!!!! Nice and relaxed sitting on his Daddy, playing with the air-blower/water thingy. And Owen watched Ryland get his teeth done, while playing the ipad…everything seemed like it was going to work out great!

 

So I envisioned Owen being the same way…I’d have all these cute pictures of Owen sitting on Daddy’s lap while Heather worked away…yeah…THAT didn’t happen…

So we switched it up…maybe Mommy would be able to get him to calm down?

NOPE!! Owen just wasn’t happy!  You can see my face…I was asking Heather “should we maybe try another time?” haha I’m such a wussie mom…I can’t stand to see Owen so upset! But I was strong…for once!!!   I know it looks like he’s still crying, but he actually wasn’t. We opted to stay sitting up in the chair, and Heather was telling Owen a story about a little boy going to the dentist. It seemed to really calm him down! So Heather talked, and cleaned away…he ended up doing a REALLY good job! And he DID have some plaque build up on one tooth…so Mommy has to brush with half the brush on the gums/half on the tooth to prevent that from now on!

Heather did such an amazing job working on these little boys…seriously Thank You!!! Heather was nervous that Owen would hate her after that! But when I asked him he said “NO I LIKE Header, and Matt and Baby Sister” haha

 

 

In Dr. Matt’s office, kids get to pick a toy from the bin after their visit. Owen was pretty happy to be able to get a free toy!!!

 

 

 

 

 

So after a toy…they also got to pick their very own brand new tooth brush!! Owen was so excited to have a Buzz Lightyear toothbrush!!

 

 

 

So another “first” in Owen’s baby book done! Hopefully his next trip to see Dr. Matt and Heather is a little more pleasant…