Playdate

Isabella has a new friend who's name is Angelina and lives a few houses away from us. Talmadge is a very family influenced area so there are many kids every where. On our block alone lives 4 families with kids. We ran into Angelina while out biking and she tagged along on a bike ride. Afterward the girls were not ready to say goodbye so she came home with us and they played all over; in the pool, sandbox, on the bouncy and then they had lunch. Angelina is one year older then Bella but is so patient with her and Bella is so good and sharing everything, even her brand new favorite dress.

The sandbox provided some fun for awhile

Angelina was amazed by Bella's Mimi and in return loved every stroke and pet

TurboTax Girl... The Secret to Why TurboTax is Doing so Well in 2010

Well... its tax season. We always seem to have fewer blog postings between January and April every year... busy time!

At work (near Christmas), we had our team's holiday white elephant gift exchange. The gift I 'stole' away from someone else (when my gift was stolen from me) was a TurboTax sweater which seemed the perfect size for Isabella.

I had no idea until after the gift exchange was over that there was a special history to this sweater. Some years ago, Bob Meighan, then general manager for TurboTax made these up. Over the years, it has been gifted several times... as I understand it from Bob to Monica M then to Jessica B and most recently to me. Kind of fun!

Here are a few pictures since Christmas... its become one of Isabella's favorite sweaters. She's been advertising TurboTax all over :-)

Earth Hour 2010 here we go!!!!

Tomorrow on March 27Th at 8:30pm local time it's earth hour all over the world for one hour. Read here what you can do to help bring awareness to our ailing planet. We'll be having mys pys (cuddle time) in the dark with candles and board games. We encourage everyone to turn of the light for one hour at 8:30 pm your time where ever you happen to be. It the least we can do for our planet. Feel free to post here or email us what you did and that your observed in your neighborhood. Yeahhhh for Earth Hour 2010!!!!!!!

More pictures from Palm Springs

We might have been home for a week now but our hearts are still in Palm Springs. Bella keeps telling us she wants to go back...soon. Here are a couple of more pictures. See you all next year, same time and same place!!

Bella might not be keen on the ocean but she sure loves the pool

All dead out cold after a full day of fun

One happy girl who could spend the whole day in the pool

We got her a floatation west and she loved it

We sure love out cuddle time while on vacation

Afternoon was happy hour and David the bartender who made some amazing margaritas

Say cheese!!!!

No better place to be when it's hot then the pool

Bella loved running fast on the grass and as you can see, she leaped through the air

Family reunion in Palm Springs

We're enjoying a warm and sunny Palm Springs for our annual family gathering. We absolutely love Palm Springs, specially in the spring. We love getting up in the morning, seeing those snow covered mountain tops and hear the wind in the palm trees. This morning we went out of a a 3,5 mile hike and then went to a local farmers market and took a couple of dips in the pool. Tonight we'll all having a family dinner together and I think we'll be leaving tomorrow lunch.

This is what we wake up to see every morning

Desert Isle is all you need, pool, great condos, nice staff and close to down town!

Bella all warped up like a enchilada after a dip in the pool

Bella got her first taste of commercial ice cream. It was Hawaiian Lappart Ice cream, how can you resits?

Bella in all her glory:)

Recycling dresses and discipline

We have been having problem with Bella at during meal times and bed times for a while but when we heard she was staring at daycare too and making things not so fun for the other kids at meal time then we knew we really had to do something. It was not easy because you do feel like the strictest and meanest parent in the world but it needed to be done. We started during the weekend and boy did we have a lot of crying (Bella mostley). When we're eating if she was not we encourage her to do so but if she was not done by the time we were AND was not showing signs of eating we left and she had to stay by her self. Boy was she unhappy but after 2 times of us leaving she is now eating much better, but not perfect.

At bed time we had the problem that she would not go to sleep but get out of bed over and over again, This would result in her being very sleepy and cranky the next day. So we started telling her that we would remove her music which she listens to at night time if she got out and if she still got up we would close the door. Two nights it took of us taking these things away and her crying and screaming but now she goes to bed very easy and sleeps about 9-10 hours a night a again. Phew!!! Our question is; when does it get easier?

On a lighter note, Bella loves her dresses and she found a dress she wore last year for our friend Susan's wedding and now loves playing around in that and her fancy shoes she got for her birthday.

These boots was meant to walking....

Bella absolutely loves high heel shoes and always encourage me to wear them. If I don't, she will. The other day she found my black high heel winter boots and got them on and did a strut for us. I'm very impressed how well she can walk in them. America's Next Top Model? Over our dead bodies!!!!

Cooking, Yoga and Getting Healthy

Well, it has been quite a week... last Sunday Isabella got sick (stomach bug)... passed it to Fredrica on Tuesday and finally to me on Thursday. First time a bug has made the rounds through all three of us so successfully.

We are now all on the mend... daddy coming along a bit slower, but doing well. All should be back to normal by the end of the weekend.

But it hasn't been all misery and spending time in bed... we've had some fun over the past few days. Tonight, Fredrica was cooking and baking and as always Isabella was watching and 'helping'. It occurred to us, why not move Isabella's kitchen into THE kitchen so she can mimic mom.

Yep... check out Fredrica's cooking blog soon for an amazing chocolate cake recipe that you will have to make to believe... it was so yummy.

Ah... insight! Everyone is happy, mom is cooking efficiently, Bella is working in her kitchen... even Mimi is drinking happily :-)

Bella's hair had gotten quite long, so it was time for a cut... Sierra mom's new hairstylist did a great job. Bella loved playing with egg timer that looked like a strawberry ice cream code :-)

Checkout my new doo!

On Wednesday, Mom needed to leave to teach yoga. Bella didn't want to say goodbye to mom. So Dad and Bella came along. We got there early so Bella got to have some fun before any of the students arrived

Mom warmed up as Bella checked out her standing bow

Bella got to work the front desk to sign the students in... after the class started, Daddy and Bella walked down to the La Jolla Cove and checked out the sea lions, kicked a ball around the lawn and then daddy got a 45 min walk in while mom finished her class.

My favorite time of the day....

It's in the evening when the fire is burning in the living room, I have a hot cup of chamomile tea and watching Project Runway on TV. Bella is sound a sleep after first day back to daycare and an evening of cuddle time with me. James is resting comfortably I hope so he will soon recover from the stomach bug that's been haunting us all.

The Syren family down for the count

We're not blogging because we all have been battling a stomach bug. It started on Sunday when Bella vomited at Sea world and then at home 4 more times. On Tuesday I joined her misery and today James is sick. Happily, Bella is back to normal and and pretty good. On a good note, we have been able to enjoy looking into the garden from our bed where our Jasmine bush is in full bloom and is looking so beautiful.