Masquerade Ball

Saturday was Emma and her Duckers special night! And they both have never looked so good!

The theme this year was a Phantom of the Opera masquerade ball.

To get ready, Emma an I went an had our nails and toes done. Then I opened up the salon in my bathroom. Emma even let me curl her hair. Her hairstyle had to include the sparkle Mickey clips from the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique.

Emma searched high and low on the Internet for the perfect dark purple dress. She found it, I paid for it and Voila! She even found a purse to match.

They were encouraged to wear masks and of course Emma was purple.

Dave for some reason thought his was more Gene Simmons. Not so sure about that!

She packed her purse with all the essentials. Ariel gloves, tissues, Hello Kitty lip gloss and Pretty sparkle pet shop.

Dave said they danced the night away and got chosen for the game where Emma had to dress Dave up like a princess with 5 rings, 2 necklaces, a sash, a crown, earrings and 3 rolls of TP to make a dress. It was timed and they were not the winner, but she had fun being dress maker!

Emma did tell me that she danced to her favorite song, "Selena Gomus, I love you like a love song baby". Gomus???? She meant Gomez but who could correct that sweet face.

Can't wait until next year!

The V.I.P

This past week Emma was chosen to be the V.I.P for her class. George, the class monkey, had a week with us and we had a lot of fun.

It first started with going to Zachary's birthday party at bounce town.

It was then a trip down to Old Sacramento to shop for her Masquerade ball mask. This was a special time with her father and George. The three of them really enjoy shopping in trinket shops where it gives me heartburn as I walk through and see the two of them eyeing every small plastic piece of you know what ever made.

They were successful in getting a mask and a new Angry Birds game.

Monday Emma was off of school and she attended Ellison music class. I am not sure who had a better time!

Her class is learning about trains and the noises they make. Which translates into every 20 minutes we hear a "WHOO WHOO"! It was around the same age that Emma started liking Thomas.. Good thing I have not given away the train set!

George also made a trip to Emma's piano lesson!

Being the V.I.P means putting together a poster about yourself. So we worked hard on ours and I was told there was no need for any tags for the pictures because Emma will use the pointer to point o each one and describe her family and favorite things to do! Wish I could have been there for that!

Tuesday was Miss Kiara's Birthday! Emma put together a tea party for her with ideas straight out of her Fancy Nancy Tea Party book. It was Fantabulous ( that is fancy for AWESOME!)

Tuesday also was the day that the Foreclosure notice made an appearance on our front door. I think someone was just waiting for me to take Emma to school. When I left no notice. When I got back there it was! Life Lessons! I am about over them for a while.

Wednesday George made a trip to dance class and got to see Dan Dan!

Thursday I was the special guest at school. I had 21 5 and 6 year old's attention for about 10 minutes as I talked about rattlesnakes. I think I was more nervous about the questions I might get from them than from any hospital I visit.

Emma also wanted me to make mac-n-cheese for the class and chocolate covered strawberries. It was her special snack for her special week.

She was only the class V.I.P for the week but she is ours everyday!

I can not forget to say something about Ellison! She decided to give her rain boots a test run!

One funny note. Dave and I were trying to get the girls ready to go out for something and asked Emma to locate her shoes to put on. Her response, " I am not a phone!" . We said, " A phone?". She said, "Yes, I do not have a map app!"

WOW- Apple really has changed the world and the way kids think!

Only in California!

So this past week has turned out to be interesting.

We at started it out with a visit to a an attorney, seeking legal advice on what our rights as renters are in a foreclosure property. Good news is that because of the poor housing market, there was a feral law passed that gives renters 90 days to vacate the property after notice has been served that the property had indeed been foreclosed upon. Which for us means possibly not having to move twice.

Now as far as the law on landlords receiving rent for a home they are no longer paying a mortgage on... In California it is not considered rent scamming if the owner paid their mortgage for an entire year and then stopped paying. So by law, our landlord is not doing anything wrong and we are still obligated to pay her rent until she is foreclosed on. For now, we just wait for the notice to be taped to our door.

In the meantime, we had an offer out on a foreclosed house and got a call on Monday that the bank countered. We countered back. Not by much. (I am learning to play hardball) And then we get a call on Monday night that another offer came in. Now we are in a multiple offer situation, so they say "Bring your biggest and your Best". We did not change our offer and by Wednesday we were awarded the contract! YEAH!!!!!! This is the 3rd house we have offered on and so step one is under our belt.

With this good news, I was able to focus on having the President of our company with me on Thursday and enjoy a glass of wine in the city Wednesday night! Cheers!

Buying a foreclosed property means the bank wants it off their books as soon as possible, which in turn means, we need to have our act in gear!

We had our inspection on Friday. It lasted 5 1/2 hours. The guy was very thorough and I discovered that I was a pretty good detective as well.

Now California has made me a little less naive and has made me toughen up. That is why I figured out the mystery electrical system before anyone else.

In the third car garage, there was an electrical panel installed without a permit. There is also a water line coming in. Not unusual because some people like to put a utility sink in the garage. What was a little strange was you could see where the previous owner had placed something over the window and around the garage door opening. There was no garage door opener installed and a ton of staple gun marks in the wall. There was also some open holes that had been patched in the ceiling.

Dave and our realtor came to the conclusion that the garage was used as sound round for recording. They came up with this idea because right off the garage is a small room that has a stage built in and some electrical wires coming out for a guitar hook up.

That did not settle right with me. We are in California and I am convinced that the previous owner was growing pot! It is legal to grow up to 99 plants for medicinal purposes.

My suspicions were confirmed when the inspector went into the attic above the garage and saw the ventilation system that was installed. Now, no one can for sure state that is what was going on, but good deductive reasoning leads us to believe that is what was happening.

The good news is that there was no evidence of mold and there are no other room or structures over the garage. This type of activity ,through our inspector, is limited to the garage space alone and he feels there are no health concerns or risks associated with living in the house.

The rest of the inspection went great. So if everything else goes okay, we will close on the 16th of February.

I have to continue to laugh at the situations we find ourselves in and think, "are we the only normal people here?". My father says, Yes!

Even with all this commotion, we managed to put together Cupcake Sparkle, Our family Snowman! He will be displayed at the Open house in a few weeks. If only there was some snow so we could make a real one....

The happiest ending of the week came at 2:50 PM when Emma was picked as the VIP for the week! She has been waiting for so long and now it is her turn. Can't wait to see what fun adventures George will go on.

Happy New Year!

Well, I know that we are already 9 days into the New Year... but better late than never!

We started the New Year off right. The Edwards invited us over for some crab legs and fun to celebrate ringing in 2012. Emma even made it up to midnight to watch the ball drop.

Emma and Ava barely making it!

It was then put the decorations away and get ready for a fresh start to the year. Ellison has had a harder time letting go of Santa, Frosty and the tree, though. Dave and I will find her standing or sitting by where the tree was with the saddest face saying " I sad...Christmas tree...Santa... Ho,Ho,Ho.... Sad". I guess she loves Christmas as much as I do. I keep telling her he will be back next year, but she still walks over to the steps and sulks. Poor Thing!

It was back to school on Tuesday for Emma and then she had Nika's party at Wacky Tacky on Sunday. Lucky for her, her future husband was there too! ( the love affair of Danny and Emma is something fro another post)

We even made a family trip to the park to play a game of tag! Watch out for Crazy Legs Losin (Emma) ,she is getting pretty quick as she grows. Emma also debut her new super team powers! Gooooo Purple Unicorn Pegasus Girl!!!

Gretta having a day at the park too!

This has to be our year for settling down! I am convinced of it or else I am going to go crazy. We have been living in limbo for about 3 years now and I am just so anxious to start making a home again.

I am confident that this will come some time in the near future, the question is just which house and when.

We began the home search in November and things are definitely different in California, to the least. But with lots of prayers and a ton of faith we will find the right one. We have to because we got the bomb dropped on us that our rental home is being foreclosed on 2/11/2012 .

So keep your fingers crossed.

Ellison at 18 Months

What a difference 3 months can make. I suppose that is why you have to go to the pediatrician every three months up to this point!

We have enjoyed just about every minute of her first 18 months of life. She brings such joy ad peace to our family.

Honestly, If it was not for the fact that Dave is adamant against any more children, I would have a dozen more if I knew they would be like her.

But then the reality of time, money and focus sets in and I thank God everyday for the blessings he has shared with us.

Still though......

I digress.

Here are her stats:

Height: 2 Feet 8 inches (59th percentile)

Weight: 21 lbs 5.1 oz (9th percentile)

Head Circumference: 46 cm ( 33rd percentile)

She is still a petite thing but with a huge personality. So here is what she is up to:

She has a Gym class on Tuesdays where she loves to do forward rolls and jump on the trampoline.

She has a music class on Wednesday where she loves to dance and sing. This has spilled over to all car rides and any commercial with music. She must dance! Her favorite Michael Jackson!

She still loves her Nelda but her new favorite is cow baby or just "BABY"

Her favorite movie is Bambi.

She loves all shoes, purses and jewelry.

She loves to gather things up in her purses and carry them from room to room and then place them all out again and gather them up. Hours of Entertainment!

She is still a Mommy's girl but is wanting her Daddy more and more each day!

She knows her colors and shapes and attempts to say them.

She absolutely loves pumpkins and dogs.... they both sound like "puppies" when she says them! We only know the difference because with a dog she will stick her tongue out and start breathing heavy. She must have learned that from Gretta or Dave! Just Kidding!

She does not want to miss out on anything. So I have learned that even though she is smaller than all the big kids she can hold her own!

Dave and I have already said, she is going to be the one we have to keep our eye on. Emma will tell you anything and everything but Ellison has perfected the keep quiet when I have done something wrong and smile because I look really cute!

Halloween 2011

Finally....I can report that we Trick-or-treated for the very first time, For REAL!

Up to this year Emma has made it to about 8 houses total in 4 years. She just never really got into the whole House to House trick-or treating. She more enjoyed giving the candy and hanging out. Not this year though!

We were lucky enough to have the Garden's join us for some Halloween fun! Which any event with Danny is better in Emma's book!

The kids had some mummy hot dogs and spider punch and then we hit the hood. I was super excited because the neighborhood we are renting a house in is perfect for trick-or-treating. The houses are close together, there are sidewalks throughout and a million kiddos.

So we set off ....

Just a note. Emma chose her Medusa costume last year in the costume catalog and did not change her mind. Ellison got to be the Peacock!

So my expectations were high for this Halloween in regards to Emma, but with Ellison I was planning on hitting just our close neighbors and then heading back to the house where she and I could give out candy.

Boy was I wrong.

We made it to the first house, second house, third house ..... and then I had to run home and get the wagon. That girl did not miss a beat!

She went to every house her sister and Danny went to. When she saw them go up to the front door, she would begin to stand up in her wagon and say "Twick Tweat!"

Dave or I would put on her head piece and she would say "Thank you" and away she would go. I might add that she was super polite. She would only take one piece of candy and said thank you each time. Thata girl!

I did make the mistake of trying to hold her candy ghost bag. She was having none of that.

I bravely left our candy basket on the front porch and we came home to about 10 pieces out of 300 left. More than I thought would be there!

The front walkway decorations are compliments of Emma's Designs. She insisted on Purple lights and a ghost!

It was a great night and I can not wait for next year! Emma has already called it, she wants to be a Unicorn!

Catch Up

Catch Up!

To say I am a little behind on the blog is an understatement. I fell off the wagon!

That is not because the Losins have not had any adventures lately, quite the opposite, I just have been a little crazy with work.

Enough of the excuses…. Let’s get to the good stuff.

Working backwards.

Halloween Starter!

The girls got to put on their Halloween costumes this past Monday and went to a Halloween party.

Before that Emma and I participated in her School’s Family Fund Run!

A big Thank you to Mimi, Gramps, Nana and Pop Pop who helped us raise some money!

Emma completed 11 laps ( 3 on my back)

Prior to that we had a weekend in San Fran. I was working a conference and Dave and the girls joined me for one night.

We managed to make it over to the Exploratorium. A must on the list of to dos when traveling with kiddos in San Fran.

It is unlike any science center I had visited. Every where we turned the girls, especially Emma had thier hands on something new or learning about some scientific theory.

Emma and I also went on her school field trip to Apple Hill! It was our second visit, our first one was with Mimi and Gramps ( more on their visit in another post), and we got see the entire apple orchard. From picking to selling we saw it all.

So a side note… Apple Hill is an area about 25 miles north of us on Highway 50 that is full of apple and pear orchards. This time of year everyone heads up there for the pumpkin patches, apple pie, Carmel apples and lots and lots of fun. We are told to get there right after Thanksgiving so you can cut down your own Christmas tree as well.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this Ellison turned 18 moths. Our appointment is on Monday, so stay tuned for some stats!