kimbalina.com

sometimes a girl just needs some hot chocolate

2009-10-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

It is pouring rain outside and the wind is gusting. Perfect weather for rain boots and hot chocolate. So I went to the kitchen at work this morning to get some hot chocolate but it was all on the top shelf and I couldn't reach it. I thought about waiting and coming back later when the kitchen would be hustling and bustling and a person not as vertically challenged could help me, but the sudden need for hot chocolate came over me. It is cold and rainy...and I need it. It was still early so nobody came to my rescue to help with this sudden urge I had to consume large quantities of piping hot chocolate.

I reeeeached with no luck. I tried jumping and slowly hitting the box towards me with each jump. The other part of this plan (the rain boots) prevented me from having my usual hops. I found a plastic knife on the counter and tried using that to somehow push the box towards me. When finally...with a combination of all of these things and some mad stretching skills on my part, I got my hot chocolate. Woohoo!

Back at my desk, I happily sipped on my well earned cup of hot chocolate while I told Bertrand about my adventures in acquiring it.

That was when my wonderful hubby asked me why I didn't just pull up a chair to get it.

Oh.

stuff that makes me smile

2009-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

I found an old email I sent myself back in 05' titled, "stuff that makes me smile". Reading through this list brought back a huge rush of memories, smiles, and a little pang realizing how fast time has flown by.

I can't remember half of the stuff I wrote down here, but they obviously meant a lot to me at the time, that of all moments, I chose to write them down.

If you were a part of my life during this time...you probably recognize a few of these.

Frappuchino Head
Ghetto dance videos (Denise, Joie, me)
Dan - "I'm too sexy"
The 'feet' smell at Tine's desk
Breaking out singing the Gummi Bears theme song during a meeting
"Bing Bing"
Bread
The bathroom 'incident' in Hollywood
Bertrand jumping at landmarks in LA
Surprise party
heart necklace from Bertrand
Human foosball
CW's Brittney phone ring, and dancing in our seats (me, cw, tine)
Goldman's kids
Groping our way through the pitch black theatre to find a seat for Anchorman
Elbowing Steve in the face
Jason's dirty dance
Tine's booger flicking
Decepting
Silly moose
Bus dance
Tine's sesame pimple
Getting stuck in the elevator
Revo cable
Cord on the ear during meeting
da proof of da pudding is in da eatin
Not matching
Gr8 Sax
Funny bone - hairy palm
He's a normal person Kimmy, he just likes to do math
HOT jumpsuit
Pummelos on the freeway
Free is free

It was so nice to find this list and actually made my Monday morning a little bit better.

I'm going to reinstate my "stuff that makes me smile" list for a rainy day. It's always good to add a smile to your day.

just being a boy

2009-10-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

My little man loves to crawl in tiny impossible spaces. He can freely roam throughout his large play area and crawl around with his sister and explore the many toys strewn about, yet he always prefers to take the smaller more difficult route. He loves to go "offroading" and doesn't really care too much about how he gets there...as long as he does. So whatever is in his way, he will crawl over, under, or through it. My little princess on the other hand is a dainty little perfectionist and has to do what she does the "right" way otherwise, she would rather wait. If they want to reach a toy and I am in the way, Kylie will crawl around me. Brendan will either crawl over me, or push me over, so that he can get where he needs to go. One time, my dad was visiting and laying on the floor on his side with the kids, resting his head in his hand. Brendan crawled through that hole between my Dad's head and the ground.

His adventurous attitude and affinity for small spaces is usually quite entertaining and fun to watch him just be a boy. It does sometimes get him in trouble though...

Sometimes I wish my life was a musical

2009-09-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

Think of the possibilities. How great would that be?

If you're sad, you just let out some heart wrenching ballad. When you're happy, you and whatever friends or strangers around, join in with you in a song and dance.

There is also something incredibly beautiful and moving when a bunch of people, especially complete strangers, can come together in unity and do something so beautiful and fun. Forget about all our worries and whatever disagreements or beliefs...and just sing and dance together.

This is why I am obsessed with flash mobs and Glee. This is why although I will admit, a little pathetic, seeing the flash mob on Oprah, the T-mobile commercial, or Matt dance around the world can bring a tear to my eye.

Can't we just all dance and sing together? =)

mommy moments

2009-09-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

The other day after getting my babies down for a nap after a morning of eating, playing, and cuddling I went to take a shower and as I took off my shirt, two cheerios fell out.

Later that day, while out running errands and heading back to my car, I reached into my purse to grab my keys...and grabbed these keys instead.

Little moments in life are most often the most precious. I love being a mommy.

Look Ma! No hands!

2009-08-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Every day, my babies learn something new. Every day is a new adventure or a funny moment. This weekend I was teaching them how to play with stacking cups. My little man crawled over to me and laid on his back looking up at me. I told him..."don't move" and then doing a near impossible task for an 8-month old, my little man stayed very very still. I then stacked three cups on his head as he balanced it while we both giggled (and he still kept them balanced!). Finally, I was laughing too hard and he caught the case of mommy's giggles that the little tower tumbled over...and he crawled away to a new adventure.

Next...Mommy will teach me to juggle.

abibas

2009-08-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

I left a pair of flip-fops at work in case of emergency. You know, a foot emergency. When your feet just can't handle being in those cute pair of heels anymore. Since they flip-flops were only for "emergencies", I didn't want to leave a cute pair. What if I wanted to wear the cute pair but they were stuck at work? So I left a pair of my knock-off flip-flops I bought off a street vendor in Vietnam for 50 cents. They say "abibas". My abibas shoes are awesome and are the ultimate ghetto footwear. Perfect in case of emergency since I won't miss them or be wearing them on a daily basis as cute foot attire.

Little did I know...or really think through...that a foot emergency happens just about every other day. So these special abibas shoes make a constant appearance at work. So much so, that I've just gotten used to them and their comfort and slip them on when I get to work. I was blinded by comfort.

Then, one day I happened to mention my emergency shoes to my friend who decided that after my fur-lined crocs...this was strike two and that I am on my way to a shoe intervention from my girlfriends. (When did I become that girl?)

The other week I was wearing abibas around the office when one of my guy friends looks down at my feet and says, "what are you wearing?"

Man...I guess it's time for some new emergency shoes.

famous among random kids...at costco

2009-08-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

The other week, I walked by the school near my house where a kid runs up to the gate and shouts out, "Hey! I know you. Remember I saw you at Costco?"

I am now, "that Costco lady".

get a map already, dude

2009-08-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

I met up with my good ole' pal and buddy Tine for lunch today over at Google...you know, where I worked and practically lived for 5 years. After chatting on the phone, we agreed to meet in front of Building 46, "in front of that dude". I told her I was a minute away and she said she was heading out of the building.

So I got there....parked in front of the robot "dude" and sat waiting for my friend to make her quick exit to my car. 10 minutes later....where is Tine? I thought she was on her way out? So I looked around and thought maybe she had to stop at the bathroom on the way down or got caught by someone in the hall. Finally...15 minutes after saying we'd meet "in a minute", she calls me and says "I'm on the corner of Charleston and Huff". That means nothing to me. "Umm...I am in front of 46...I don't see you" Then she looks around and says, "Where?? I don't see you. I'll go find you."

"Oh, I'm right by the robot dude."

"That's Building 44!"

Dude. We are dorks.

Word to the wise. Do not give directions to others using the word "dude".

Probably not a good sign

2009-08-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

It's probably not a good sign if your babies laugh when you say "No". =)

a decade ago...

2009-07-29T13:58:00.001-07:00

I went to my 10 year high school reunion this past weekend. 10 years?! Really? Why does it feel like just the other day and at the same time...much longer than 10 years ago?

For awhile...I wasn't sure if I wanted to go, but I am so glad I did. I had a blast! So much fun. It was also so very weird being in such a crowded space and yet everywhere you turned...there was a familiar face and yet...not quite so familiar. There were far too many funny moments, old stories and memories discussed, and just overall good times.

I'm looking forward to the 20 year!

oblivious

2009-06-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was sitting at my desk deep in thought when one of my coworkers comes running in and asks me, "Did you shut the fire doors???"

Um. what?

"Did you hear the fire doors shut? They would make a huge bang."

Um. I don't know...

And then, her and another guy start racing around the office looking for the fire.

FIRE!! And I am just sitting here typing away on my computer.

Later on...I told her that before 7 in the morning...I am so unaware and oblivious, that if there ever is a fire, one of the two other early birds needs to run in here and save me.

"Okay Kimmy, we will come save you."

Thank you.

Almost...but not quite

2009-06-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Little girl: Are the babies identical twins?
Me: No, they are fraternal. One is a boy and one is a girl.

A few minutes later...

Little girl (to her friend): Look! They are twins. They're nocturnal.

dazed

2009-06-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

You know you're tired when you wash your face with conditioner and your hair with face wash.

Not like I would know...just sayin'

spamburger

2009-06-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

I went to a Hawaiian BBQ place today for lunch. I ordered a Spam and Eggs Burger and was stoked to try one for the first time. Spam = good, Eggs = good, Burger = good. Combination of all of the above? Excited! So excited, I took a picture of it before I dug in.

Weird. I don't SEE any Spam. Maybe they ground it all up and made it into a patty instead.

I took a big ole bite. It was just a regular old cheeseburger. They screwed up my order and I was too hungry to go fix it.

Spamburger fail.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Mom: So our church is having a picnic on Memorial Day weekend.
Me: Oh yeah? When is Memorial Day?
Mom: Well, it's a day where we stop and remember those who fought for us.
Me: Oh. When...not what. hehe.

I definitely know what Memorial Day is.

Thank you soldiers.

firsts

2009-05-12T14:41:00.001-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been full of firsts.

We went on our first family vacation...the babies got to see the ocean and the beach for the first time...they got their first colds, and on Sunday, I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day.

I love firsts.

isn't it obvious?

2009-05-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

My twin babies weren't born with very much hair. They've both got just enough to cover their heads but it will probably take awhile before any flowing locks of hair are blowing in the wind.

When we go out in public, I try to dress them up in the "typical" girl/boy outfits and colors just so it is obvious which is the boy and which is the girl. I put my little lady all in pink, with a little bow on her head, and occasionally a dress and my little man all in blue. And yet...it never ceases to fail, that at some point, somebody will stop us and ask...

"Twins!! Two boys? Two girls?"

"A boy and a girl."

"Oh! How perfect! Which one is the boy and which one is the girl?"

"Um. The one in the pink dress with the bow is the girl. The one in blue is the boy."

"trimmed"

2009-05-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

The other week while I was out in our backyard, I pointed out some overgrown bushes we have in our yard to Bertrand and asked him if he could trim them down. They are beautiful miniature rose bushes, but the thorns are deadly and I am constantly being stabbed by them when I walk past that area of the yard. I told him that eventually, we'd have to do something about those bushes since I was afraid of what they would do to the twins once they started walking around. Bertrand asked me how low I wanted them trimmed and I used my hand and kind of showed him how high I wanted them to come, then went inside the house to tend to the babies. A little bit later, I looked out the window to see what my newly trimmed rose bushes looked like...

Wait...WHERE are my rose bushes?

Where three of the bushes used to be, stood little bundles of...twigs.

Oh my goodness.

"Hun! What happened to the bushes?"

"I thought you wanted them trimmed down?"

"Trimmed...not chopped"

What a thoughtful husband I have. Now I will definitely not be stabbed by the thorns on those darn bushes...at least for awhile.

In the loop

2009-05-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Our babies are getting a little older and are learning to sleep longer through the nights. This is big news.

Just the other day, I was sleeping peacefully when my husband woke me up... to tell me that our babies were still sleeping.

Thanks for keeping me in the loop! Next time...just leave me a note. ;)

filter

2009-04-18T16:30:00.001-07:00

Ever since I've joined the ranks of parenthood, I feel like I have lost any filter on my speech or thoughts. Actually...it probably started when I was pregnant, but has gone completely out the window now. Now, talking about bodily functions...their frequency, smell, texture, and anything else gross is such a normal part of my every day conversation that I completely forget when I am in public...that this is not normal. What? Not everyone has to change their shirts a couple of times a day because of spit up or not everyone gets the occasional pee in the face?

Too much information? What's that again?

I was warned this would happen.

creepy crawly

2009-03-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have this irrational fear of tiny bugs. Well, tiny bugs that are creepy crawly and come in large groups, ie. ants. Well tiny bugs and anything that has a lot of little holes...because they remind me of tiny little bugs and then I get itchy all over. It's not like I'm afraid they're going to eat me alive or that I don't realize I could just squish them and it's all over with. It's that there are so many of them and I feel like they will all crawl all over me and give me the eeby-jeebeez and I hate that feeling. Hate.

So given that it was raining off and on the past month, all the ants outside decided to come inside my house. Our house became a war zone with random screams when I encountered the little guys. Then there would be screaming, eeking, and laughing as I tried to clean them up and kill them.

As soon as I see ants, I get itchy all over and feel like they are all crawling on me. Whoever would happen to be in my company would get scared out of their socks when I let out a scream and then start slapping myself in hopes of killing whatever ant would be crawling on me. I would make whoever happened to be in my presence including random strangers check for me, "is there an ant on me?" The other day when I suddenly screamed then kicked off my shoe and pulled off my sock to kill an "ant" that I swear crawled into my shoe and through my sock JUST to tickle me...Bertrand told me, "You know...it doesn't really mean there is ant on you every time you itch or feel a tickle."

Oh.

Fine. So everyone thinks I'm crazy.

This morning when I was up at 6am rocking one of the babies in the rocking chair I felt a little tickle on my face. I ignored it at first remembering what my wise husband had told me. But then the itch was out of control and I scratched...and guess what? There was a freaking ant on my face.

See? They ARE crawling all over me. Irrational fear my butt.

can i have my hour back?

2009-03-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

I'm going to lose an hour of sleep tonight because of Daylight Savings.

Not much sleep - one hour = ouchie

Actually, I think I'm getting used to the sleep deprivation so losing one hour may not be so noticeable. Just give me some chocolate and I'll be good to go.

mommyhood

2009-03-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

mommyhood rocks.

I never could have imagined being more in love with two little human beings than I am with my little K and little B. Having twins has kept me on my toes and I have never cherished sleep (what's that again?) so much in my life. I have learned to soothe, feed, hold, and change two babies at the same time. We have mastered the "twin shuffle"...because you know as soon as you put one baby down, the other one wakes up and cries. I could not have asked for a more caring, patient or loving husband and father for my children, to share this journey with. Sitting down to eat, take a nap, watch tv, check email, or you know...breathe, is a luxury now, but one little smile from these little munchkin faces, and it is all worth it!

The day has finally come

2009-02-12T16:19:00.002-08:00

...I am back in my pre-pregnancy jeans!!!

6 weeks later...I am back in my pre-pregnancy jeans (without having to wiggle and lay down on a bed to button up...hehe). Yay!

And now that I'm mostly recovered from delivering the babies...I'm looking forward to heading back to the gym. You know, whenever I manage to get some sleep.