Summer recap

Some may say I've been slacking, I'd like to refer to it as just enjoying the summer.  For those of you that have been curious as to what my Zany family has been up to over the past few months, enjoy this long summer recap!

Our summer has been jammed pack full of several fun play dates with friends.  On one play date, at a fire station, I somehow got suckered into putting on fireman's gear-oxygen tank included-in the 100 degree heat.  It did give me an all new respect for firemen.

The kids were in several camps throughout the summer, which made me feel like a full time taxi driver.  In addition to an eight week Mega Sports Camp, the kids also participated in:

Swim Lessons:  Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky both took swim lessons.  Unfortunately for Wacky Zacky he had to miss the last few lessons due to an ear infection.  He also missed the last day where after waiting two whole weeks the kids got to conquer the water slides!  Zany Janie made sure to rub it in-just a little.

Wacky Zacky participated in a British Soccer Camp.  In addition to playing several fun games and building on his soccer skills, he got to learn a few new words/sayings such as "Loo" and "Don't be a donut".

Wacky Zacky and I continued training in karate.  Papa Z had to take a break from it for the summer, not after breaking his finger from chopping through a board, but from slamming his finger in a door.

Princess Zany Janie danced among other princesses at a Princess Ballet Workshop.  She learned four new dances and got to perform a little recital for the parents at the dance studio.  She was upset when she found out the recital was at the studio and not on "The big stage"-I see a diva in the making!  It has taken six weeks, but I think the song "Friend like me" from Aladdin is FINALLY out of my head-Wait I take that back-Auuuggghhh!

We went camping at San Onofre State Beach with some good friends.  After getting over our camp site being practically a parking lot conveniently located next to the busy interstate with a weight station for trucks directly in front of us, it was a good time!  A good time until we realized we would be awaken every 20 minutes throughout the night with Amtrak barreling through! 

 Despite the facilities, we did have a great weekend.  It was fun because our friends have kids the same age as our kids and they all had a fun time playing together.

While camping, we hiked the beach everyday.  I may have gained a few more grey hairs watching my kids attempt to boogie board.  I was sure they were going to be swept away with the waves and my adrenaline raced the whole time we were at the beach.

I think Zany Janie won dirtiest camper of the whole campground-hands down!  She was covered head to toe in sand and dirt the whole time.  It didn't help they only had outdoor freezing showers, but I'm guessing the 50 buckets of dirt she poured over her head on a daily basis pushed her into the winning circle.

The final biggest event of the summer was our two week trip to Indiana to see family and friends.  We had not been there in over two years and it was good to go back.  For some family, it was the first time they got to meet Miss Silly Jilly. 

While in Indiana we got to experience not only the humidity of the summer, but we were fortunate to be there to experience record high temps and humidity!  Yay for us!  It was quite an adjustment to go from dry heat to 100% humidity.  It's quite refreshing to always feel like you've just stepped out of the shower.

To keep cool the kids got to learn how to play on a slip-and-slide.  They have been deprived of the experience because our backyard isn't big enough for one-unless they want to smash head first into the fence.

On what I believe was the hottest day of the year, we went to the 4-H fair.  The kids say they loved seeing the animals, but as you can see Wacky Zacky wouldn't be within a few feet of 'ol Tom the Turkey and if you look really closely you will realize Zany Janie is cowering behind her brother using him as a shield, just in case 'ol Tom tries any funny business.

We drove past one of Indiana's little "hidden gems" numerous times-The Pink Elephant!  If you are ever in Indiana it's a must see!  It's located directly in front of a liquor store.

Because nothing says "Come buy your booze here" like a pink elephant wearing glasses and holding a martini glass!

We went to Mounds State Park where you can see the biggest hills in Indiana:

Well, maybe not the biggest hills, but I'm guessing it's fairly close! 

Silly Jilly had a first while on our trip.  She got to feed herself Spaghetti without any help.  I'm sure Olive Garden appreciated being a part of the experience!

The highlight of the trip for the kids was being on a farm and feeding the animals.  Grandpa had three little helpers every morning and night to help him.  I'm not sure how he manages without them.

While in Indiana Wacky Zacky found a new passion.  At the young age of five, he has decided what he wants to be when he grows up:  A cowboy!  And not just any cowboy, he wants to be a bull rider.  Since his proclamation he started wearing a teal bandanna with animals-just like a real cowboy!

You can imagine his excitement when we flew into the Orange County airport and he saw the biggest cowboy of all time-John Wayne! 

I'm guessing living in Southern California may set up some obstacles on his dream, but if that's what he wants to do then I say shoot for the stars! And Scooter (our dog), you'd better watch out because there's a little cowboy that needs a practicin' pony to ride and you may just turn into that pony!

So that's our action packed summer in a nutshell.  I'm hoping things slow down just a tad as fall approaches us!

If a tree falls in the forest...

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"  If I was the philosophical type, that may have been what I asked myself right after Papa Z announced we were going to go hiking in Forest Falls.  But alas I am not and I think my immediate thought was, "What?!  It's 10ish we will need food!  We will need to eat!  Will there be food?!  I need food in my belly if we are going on mountain roads!  You know how I get car sick on mountain roads!  Hmmm....What do I feel like puking up in the car today?"-or something to that effect.  I am happy to announce the mountain roads were not as curvy as I had  imagined and I got through the trip with minimal dizziness. 

Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Forest Falls.  Papa Z was drawn to it because he wanted to take the family on a hike and the web page for Forest Falls proclaimed  that "Many refer to Forest Falls as "little Yosemite".  Really?  That's a big proclamation!  We shall see!

So we packed some snacks, food, and drinks and began our journey.  But not without a stop to KFC for some finger lickin' goodness. 

Forest Falls has a beautiful area with day camping sites.  We enjoyed our pre-hike meal under enormous trees while listening to rushing water. 

Feeling energized from our energy packed meal of KFC, Cheetos, and watermelon, we began our hike.  I assumed since we were taking three young children-two of whom were hoofing it and one which was tethered to Papa Z's chest-it was going to be an easy hike.  It wasn't too bad at the beginning, it was a dirt/sand path.  Then the path became sprinkled with boulders you had to climb over or go around.  This wasn't even too bad as long as you kept the thought of rattlesnakes out of your mind.  I didn't become concerned until I saw the log we had to cross to get over to the other side. For those of you that don't know, I am probably considered an anxious mom.  I'll admit it, I can look at a situation and immediately gauge all the things that could possibly go wrong.  So you can imagine the scenarios going through my mind as I watched this little scene: 

Wacky Zacky being pulled across while Silly Jilly dangled helplessly from Papa Z's chest. It did get my adrenaline flowing and raised my anxiety level.  I will admit I did have the camera ready to capture any missteps causing one or all three of them to take a swim in the creek. 

Then we came upon a beautiful area with a small waterfall.  This was just a bonus one because the "Little Yosemite" fall was further up the hill!

After a very terrifying hike (for me) we made it to the look out point for the bigger falls.  The hike consisted of me attempting to keep Zany Janie from falling off the cliff just inches off the path.  I don't know why she turns into Mr. Peepers at the most inopportune times!  While the falls were not exactly like Yosemite, it was beautiful and worth the hike.

The kids were not impressed with the waterfalls, but couldn't keep their hands out of the water and would have spent the whole day there playing.

Overall, I would recommend this hike to anyone who plans to be in the near vicinity of Forest Falls. 

Zany thought of the day:  So back to the original question-If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Hmmm....That's a tough one, oh wait!  What's that shiny thing?

Good Vibrations

Over the weekend my sweet little Zany Janie turned four.  I am not unlike every other parent out there that sits in shock on their kid's birthday shaking their head and asking themselves, "Where on earth did the time go?"  My only answer is I have no idea, it's just one big four year blur. 

To celebrate Zany Janie's big day, the Zany family went to the San Diego Zoo.  We still drove to the zoo through scattered showers and knowing San Diego had a 40 mph wind advisory.  Despite the forecast it turned out to be a great day at the zoo.  We even took a guided bus tour throughout the zoo seeing most of the animals without having to hoof it up and down all the hills.

It was an exciting day for the birthday girl.  There were so many highlights of the trip.  That's why you can imagine my shock when Zany Janie told me her favorite part of the zoo. 

It wasn't seeing a Polar Bear play with a ball.

Or an enormous Brown Bear pacing back and forth.

Nor seeing the Panda Bear that she insisted on seeing despite having to wait in a 30 minute line just to catch a glimpse of the persnickety little beast.

It wasn't even riding on the Skyfari Aerial Tram, however this did come in a close second.

My sweet little Zany Janie's favorite part of the day was sitting on a vibrating chair while Papa Z and I finished our lunch.  You know the chairs they have at malls and apparently zoos where you feed it quarters and it vibrates to help relax your body.  I didn't know it would be such a significant part of her day so I didn't even take a picture of it.  Go figure!

One zany free for all!

It was a wild weekend at our house!  I wish I could say it was from a crazy, fun and wild party, but unfortunately that is just not the case.  Papa Z was lucky enough to escape town and miss all the fun, he was camping in Yosemite throughout the weekend.  There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary until Friday night when I had a hard time staying asleep.  I rarely have problems falling or staying asleep, but for some reason I kept waking up feeling "a little funny".  I attempted several times to chalk it up to Papa Z being gone and would roll over to go back to sleep until yet again I found myself awake.  Then I began to feel that odd little lump in the back of my throat.  You know the one you can barely feel and are unsure if you are imagining it even being there, that is until you begin tasting that odd metallic taste dripping in the back of your throat.  I found myself playing the "if I just stay in bed and don't move it will all go away" game pretending like I have any control over the situation.  Waiting until the last possible second, holding onto all hope that it won't actually happen, I had to run to the bathroom and get sick.  I will spare you the details, but will say I had a long night of tummy problems that unfortunately did not end at 6:00 AM when the kids came sauntering into my room ready for an action packed day.

I'm sure they were speaking at a normal level, but at the time it seemed like both Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky were talking into megaphones at the highest possible volume.  Each shrill tone pounded into my head and made my stomach lurch.  Thankfully the remote control was within reach and I knew the number of the one channel which could possibly make this all stop....Ahhh....Sweet silence....That is until Silly Jilly woke up and began crying. 

I hobble down the hall to get her, open her door, and am permeated with the rancid smell of vomit.  Guess who else is sick?  Really?  It's not enough that I'm barely able to function with three little ones in my care, but now one of them is sick too?

I'd love to tell you about my day, I'm sure it was a riot to watch safely from the outside looking in, but it's just a blur of trips to the bathroom and views from the couch.  While Silly Jilly and I cuddled on the couch, Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie had free reign of the house and they took full advantage!  Those two little turkeys would sit at the bathroom door making heaving and retching noises as I got sick, giggling and cackling about how they hoped I'd never get better!  They also got to have their fill of candy and were somehow able to reach it from shelves we thought were "unreachable" to them. 

Thankfully the next day I was feeling a bit better and was able to take back the little control I had to begin with!  I definitely don't recommend getting sick when your hubby is out of town!

Zany thought of the day:  Is it just me or do you not fully appreciate a clean toilet until you are praying to the porcelain gods?

Happy Easter!

May your eggs be filled with jelly beans and your Chocolate Bunnies be hollow!

Please say "I Do"!

Yesterday was quite the day in our house.  A typical day in our house can be quite chaotic with three kids under the age of 6 running about, but for some reason yesterday I felt like I was refereeing a featherweight MMA (mixed martial arts) match.  It was mainly Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie in on the action with Silly Jilly cheering them on.  There seemed to be armbars, anaconda choke holds, guillotine choke holds, and headlocks galore going on throughout the day!  Unfortunately they both refused to tap out so I had to be the referee to make sure no bones were broken or blood was seen.

So what could possibly cause such barbaric behavior in these little angels?  The answer is simple!  Ken would not marry any Barbie dolls unless they had blond hair! 

Yes, you read it right, your eyes did not deceive you.  There were MULTIPLE, not just a few, blow-ups in our house because Wacky Zacky would not allow the Ken doll to marry all of Zany Janie's Barbies.  He would only allow the holy matrimony to take place with the blond dolls.  By the end of the day and after what seemed like the 20th blow-up, I was ready to scream, "For Heaven's sake Ken!  Just say I DO!"

Zany thought of the day:  Is it just me or has the Ken doll gotten more and more flamboyant over the years?

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

“Look at me!
Look at me!

Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun

But you have

to know how.”

~The Cat in the Hat

Dr. Seuss

We are big fans of Dr. Seuss.  When I was younger I collected Dr. Seuss books and now enjoy sharing them with my kids.  In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday we went to the Public Library where they had a Birthday Bash honoring Dr. Seuss.  Zany Janie and Silly Jilly dressed up in these adorable dresses from Aunt Ju Ju:

At the party they got to make hats and go fishing:

Play pin the green egg on the ham and make fun creations:

And of course read and have fun with Dr. Seuss books:

All the fun inspired me to make some new things for my baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras.  Currently my shop has six fun new Dr. Seuss Hot/Cold OUCHY BAGS for when you have a monster owie:

I also made six sets of ZANY MUCUS WIPES for runny noses or drooly pools of goo:

Zany thought of the day:  What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Snow in Sunny Southern California?

You can imagine my surprise as I log onto Facebook and start reading posts about how it's snowing in our city!  We live in sunny Southern California.  How could we possibly have snow?  I moved from Indiana to California to get out of that yucky stuff.  So I ran outside to see the snow and all I saw was cold wet rain plopping down from the sky.  The next day I logged onto Facebook and again was shocked to see pictures of snow from friends who live only a few miles from me.  I quickly peeked outside and just saw wet pavement...Feeling left out of the excitement of snow we decided to scrounge up as much "snow clothes" as possible and head for Oak Glen.  It was Zany Janie and Silly Jilly's first time in the snow and Wacky Zacky's first time in the snow since he was under the age of 2.  On the way to Oak Glen Wacky Zacky was a little worried about melting if he touched the snow and asked a few times what would happen to him if the snow touched him.  He is sweet as sugar, but come on!  Once we got there we realized we weren't the only ones with the idea to drive to the snow, but the whole family was excited!

Well, I guess I shouldn't say the WHOLE family was excited...At least four of the five members were excited.  This was the one exception:

She basically tolerated the snow.  I can't be certain if she didn't really care for the snow or if she was completely and utterly embarrassed of her outfit.

The whole family had fun having a snowball fight and surprisingly no one cried when they were hit in the face or when snow went down their coat-including Silly Jilly who took one to the face and a few which went down her back!

                                                    

Zany Janie, the master manipulator, even got Papa Z to make a snowball for her and once she got it in her little hands, she threw it at him as hard as she could!

Zany Janie had fun making her first snow Angel:

And Silly Jilly and Zany Janie made their first snowman:

Minus the eyes, nose, mouth, arms, hat, and scarf.

As much fun as it was to play in the snow, it was a lot of fun to drive away and leave it behind!  I sure don't miss dealing with snow and ice all winter long!