Remote blogging

I am sitting under a maple tree at an elementary playground in Mission Viejo, CA. We left a day early from the Flagstaff KOA because I got my dates mixed up and so we had an extra day that we decided to spend with our friend Ryan in the OC.

Because this is already a kind of boring story I'll do bullet points of pros and cons:

-pros-
--Ryan has a guest bedroom with it's own bathroom. And even though he was at a wedding last night he made it so that we could get in. I am SO thankful.
--The kids were so tired last night that they fell asleep concurrently in their sleeping bags on the floor. (never happened ever ever before!)
--We went to the mall today and did build a bear for the first time while Kevin and Ryan watched ESPN in peace.
--We are now at a playground that just happen to have a kindergarten fundraiser with a cover band called "the grateful dads" and an ice cream truck called Screamin Ice Cream and pizza and a classic car show. Lucky us! I love CA.
--it also came stocked with pine cones and dirt that Kid R has been tossing around for about 10 min straight.

-cons
--kids didn't sleep til 10:30 pm. And Kid R woke up at 5:30am. (why?!)
--Kid R has been Grumptastic Tantrum Boy. I've lost count of how many freak-outs he's had today. No one has been spared, babies, toddlers, me, strangers- all felt the wrath of R.
--wow, build a bear is expensive
--Both kids are wearing their sticky ice cream, it resisted even the diaper wipes and who knows when we'll get home tonight.

But it's been a good day overall. Really. Even with the cons. Good ending to our first real "family vacation."...oh there it is getting boring again-- I should end it here!

instead of a college fund, I'm going to make a "bail bond" fund

Baby R has a serious hitting problem. It drives me crazy. More crazy than the fact that he still poops in his diaper and lies about it.

He can't even hug without hitting.
He's like a puppy that is so cute and wants to play but still bites the hell out of your fingers and ankles.

I've tried spanking back, but that doesn't work. He just wants to hit me back harder.
I've even tried spraying him with water from a spray bottle, like how you train a dog. But that just makes him want to hit harder too.
If only handcuffs weren't frowned upon, they really would be a good solution.