Swimming Lessons...

did not go as planned. BigZabba has been talking about them for weeks. This morning she was so excited that today was the big day. Ever since she was old enough to start doing "lessons" like this (dance, swim, even VBS) she has had a very hard time doing what the teacher tells her to do. I like to call it, polite defiance. The teacher will tell her to do something and she will respond, "No thanks, I will wait over here." or "I would like to do it this way" - totally opposite of what the teacher told her to do. So I was a little hesitant to pay money for swim lessons knowing that this was her track record. You kinda have to do what the teacher says in the pool or you either have to get out or drown..neither is a good option. But she was on a mission to obey the teacher, so off we went. Well friends, not 3 minutes in the pool and it was over. She swallowed a little water and that was it. The crying started and it didn't stop. She wouldn't listen to a word the teacher said and ended up sitting on the side of the pool wailing while everyone else had their lesson. I was not a happy Mom. What do you do? Take her home? Throw her in the pool? After about 10 minutes I took her home. It wasn't fun for anyone to listen to the crying and I certainly wasn't have a good time. Maybe it was the pressure, or the "newness"...we will try again tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

9 Years

This post is a little late, but oh well. This last week DaddyZabba and I celebrated 9 years of marriage. How could it be that it has been that long? I can still remember when I didn't want to date him at all, (in high school..it is a long story), when we were just friends, the day we became "boyfriend/girlfriend", nearly every detail of getting engaged...now 9 years has flown by and we are parents! How is that possible? Our anniversary consisted of taking the kids to see Dad play in a work volleyball game, followed by putting the kids to bed, then working on emails (both work related and fun), then realizing that it is 9:30pm and we haven't eaten, so DaddyZabba went to my favorite Italian place and got dinner. It might not have been all planned out and organized, but it was a perfect night. Here's to another 9+ Baby!

Friends

Today BigZabba says to me,
"Mommy, I am so glad God made us friends."
That warms the cockles of my heart.

The Happenings...

It has been a busy week here. The kiddos are all better, but now DaddyZabba has it! Bummer. On to happier and more exciting things..
Yesterday we went to a friend's house, who will be named WonderZabba. She can do everything! She taught me how to can peaches and make strawberry jam. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but it was still some work. I am now the proud owner of 12 jars of peaches, and 9 half-pints of strawberry jam.
BigZabba had her first friend spend the night. They had a blast...even got to sleep in the same room! Tonight while I was reading them a story about dinosaurs I asked them if they knew what each one was named. I said, "Do you know the name of this dinosaur?" BigZabba said cautiously, "Um, longneckosaurus?" She is clever!
And now, the big news...AllyZabba now has an embroidery machine! It is going to take a lot of work to figure it out. It is one major piece of machinery..at least for me it is. The store offers classes on the machine, so I think I will be going to those! It is fun though. Soon I will be embroidering our names on everything..towels, shirts, underwear...watch out world!

Truxton's

This evening we decided to go to Truxton's for dinner, a brand new restaurant just down the street from our house. We got there and there was a big sign in the window that said "Opening Soon". That seemed odd since I had driven past earlier and they looked open, it even looked like they were serving customers. We decided to try anyway. When we got to the door there was a sign that said "private party". Bummer. DaddyZabba, being the bold one that he is, decided to go ask if we could eat anyway. Well, did we hit the jackpot. They weren't open for regular business. They were still training and were mock serving customers who were there by special invitation. They happened to have an extra table so they let us come in. So, we got to eat for free since they were still in the training process. We were allowed to order drinks, a starter, and an entree for each person. They even gave LittleZabba a menu...we were tempted to order her a meal and then take it home...but we didn't. The food was great, they remodled the restaurant very nice and the people were super friendly. We will definitely be back!

The Daily Stroll

Yesterday AllyZabba was featured in an editorial on The Daily Stroll. It was a great day for us. We made many new contacts, had a lot of visitors, and even had a few sales. We now have over 100 people signed up for our newsletter. These are exciting times for AllyZabba. Thank you so much Lizabeth!

We're Still Sick

It has been one week since the germs entered Zabbaland and they are still here. After a visit to the doctor today we now know it is just a nasty virus. After BigZabba had a stomach ache, a fever and a rash all within one week, & LittleZabba had a runny nose, occasional cough, fever and an even worse rash, I thought it was time we sought out some professional help. There is nothing to be done, just wait it out. Bummer. When will we get to leave the house again?

Two Bumps?

We have some friends spending the night tonight. The wife is pregnant with twins. We told BigZabba that there was a very special thing about the Mommy, she had two babies in her belly. She said excitedly, "Does that mean she will have two bumps?"

In other news...

Here is an update on many things -

Running - Since the Saddleback 1/2 Marathon I have only strapped on the running shoes once. What a shame. Not that I was really all that great at running, but I was getting ok at 10 miles, but now, it is like starting over at mile 1. I have a million reasons (excuses) why I am not getting out there and doing it, and all the while any hope for actually doing another half marathon is fading away.

AllyZabba - Things are going well. We will be reviewed by The Daily Stroll on Thursday, so we are excited to see what that brings.

The Zabbas - They are sick, again! BigZabba has a weird stomach ache and a fever, LittleZabba has/is fighting a cold. After I took BigZabba's temperature, and it read 103, I told her, "You have a fever." She threw herself on the floor, threw her head back and said with, "Not again!" It is summer, who gets sick in the summer!?

Luna Lou - Our wonderful blanket came in the mail today. It is indeed as scrumptious as I had hoped. BigZabba even napped with it today.

The Prayer

"Jesus Food, thank you for my fun day I had tonight. Thanks for my sister. Help her to not cry ever again and wake me up. Please help me get a butterfly net and God please send butterflies. Jesus Food Amen."

Luna Lou

While reading yet another product review site, I was introduced to Luna Lou. Do I really need another blanket? Should the lady that makes blankets actually buy one? The answer is no, but I just had to...they are too cute! She has a cupcake collection and an owl collection. Those who know me should be able to guess which one I got...the cupcakes! It even comes with a free tote..and I am a sucker for a free bag.

Got Tagged..

I've been tagged by Karen. Away we go..

5 Things in my refrigerator:
1. milk
2. soy sauce
3. leftover chicken
4. crazy ripe apricots
5. slimy lettuce

5 things in my closet:
1. shoes
2. purses
3. hats
4. dust
5. a lot of clothes that don't fit

5 things in my car:
1. stroller
2. extra diapers
3. water bottle
4. Libby Baby Baby Sling
5. a bag of toys

5 secret addictions (some not so secret):
1. any kind of chapstick - currently Burts Bees
2. Mint Chip Ice Cream
3. Alias - any and all episodes
4. bags!
5. reading blogs & product review sites

5 people to tag: (Here's 3, I am not sure they will even know they have been "tagged" but ok)
1. Brenda
2. Suzie
3. Emily

She Sits!

Both my girls are growing up, way too fast I might add. LittleZabba can now sit unassisted. Granted I am not too far away in case she should topple, but she can do it all on her own. Balance is a wonderful thing.

Saving Grace

Tonight I realized that even though "lellow" is gone, BigZabba still says "calapiller". So I guess she isn't all grown up yet.

Goodbye Sweet "Lellow"

It is a sad day here in Zabbaland. BigZabba has abandoned her last baby word..."lellow" is now "yellow". She is so grown up now.

The Coupon Queen

This is dedicated to my sister, The Coupon Queen...

My sister is the Queen,
She is a coupon machine.
Her savings are obscene.
Let me explain what I mean.

46 bags of candy
Just may come in handy.
Especially when they are free,
Wouldn't you agree?

She never pays full price,
Which is quite nice.
So next time you buy spanish rice,
Remember the Queen & think twice!

(She found a coupon for $1 off M&M's. They were on sale for $1, so with the coupon they were free! She got 46 bags! I just had to see how many I could get, so armed with my coupons I went and bought out the store too...I only got 11 bags. M&M's anyone?)

Our New Toy

This weekend was project central at the Zabba home. We wanted to help out patio furniture look a little "fresher" so we decided to use some teak wood oil help it out some. To make a very long story short we realized after 2 hours of cleaning that washing it by hand just would not do...so out came the pressure washer...ah...it was pure joy! (and a little gross..I had no idea how filthy it was!) I highly recommend using one on everything! Now I just want to figure out how to use it inside the house! Now after the washing and the teak wood oil, the patio furniture looks new and beautiful.

Wedding Bells?

Is this the future Mr. & Mrs. BigZabba?

Too cute!

The Goat

In the car today, out of nowhere BigZabba says, "Mommy, I don't see a single goat."

This started a game of naming all the things we did not see...
I don't see a single hippo, I don't see a single purple elephant, I don't see a single butterfly...on and on it went.

Ah what fun.