A long time

A glass of wine,  a bit of time. It has been too long.

The last couple of months have flown by. School has taken a front seat and is practically driving this car I call my life. It has been tough, not only the reading but the retaining and using of information but just getting into a new routine. The younger two seem to be getting in the groove but it has been harder for Max. It is not easy to go from having a mom who is there for every pick up and to make sure your homework gets done to being in school an hour longer with Dad picking you up. I am glad that he talks openly to me about his feelings and that he lets me know that he wants to have time with me. I know that the older he gets the challenge will be to get him to actually want to spend time with me.

Maggie seems to be okay but then she gets to have me on Fridays when she is not in school. So she seems to be adjusting okay to 4 full days of school.

Harry doesn't seem to like his siblings going to school except that he likes to be at school and watch all the kids. He really enjoys dropping them off and hanging out for a few minutes on the playground with them. He is such a happy, smiley little guy. He really is good for me. He will pull me off the couch while I am studying or reading to play with him. Can't really deny him and he gives me much needed breaks and keeps life in perspective.

And really Thank goodness I have such a supportive husband because I really couldn't do this without him literally. He switched his schedule and he cooks dinner most days of the week. I just get to swoop in and give kisses and read books at bedtime when I get home from school.

hmm maybe that glass or two of wine is hitting me in a sappy way. lol

Anyway life is pretty good and I just wanted to share.

This weekend and THE midterm from heck

This past weekend was AMAZING. It is hard to describe how fantastic it is to be with such a wide variety of women from all over the country and really just have a great time non stop. We had liberals, conservatives, religious, and not so and yet not one argument. There was truly nothing to argue about. It was just about enjoying and discovering a lot about each other.
I was excited to listen and get to know everyone better and was grateful for the opportunities to enjoy their company. I am hoping this becomes an annual event.

At the same time, I was with all these amazing ladies, I needed to study for a midterm I had yesterday evening. It is in my killer make or break class. I believe I did okay. It was definitely a relief just to be done and have it off my shoulders. Now it is on to the next assignment.

I got my test back from my intro class today. Ugh. I have got to get over my confidence. I thought that I had done pretty darn well.  But I walked away with a b. And I know it is not so bad but I still feel disappointed. It has been a tough semester of relearning how to learn.

I need to learn that tv is not my friend.

And tonight I taped my project. I am hoping that I got it all and that I don't need to redo it. And I am hoping that Thursday will provide more satisfaction on the test front.

Great Grandparents

So the whole time I was in the Philippines, I thought about this blog and about what I would write and how I would like to upload pictures. I still hope to at some point and I want to upload video but I am jumping ahead of myself.

Growing up, I had the pleasure of knowing and loving my great grandparents. My great grandmother died when I was young but I still remember her soft hugs and wonderful food. My great grandfather was an interesting character. I believe I was 15 when he passed so I have pretty good memories of him. And some interesting stories. He helped repair the steeple on a church. He built the two houses, one that he lived in and one that my grand parents lived in.

He used to shoot squirrels from the window of his house. Yep, they would get in the bird feed and eat it, chasing the birds away. My great used to get out his handgun and shoot them, that is until the local police came and asked him to stop shooting his gun within city limits. I think at that point, he had shot about 84 squirrels only missing one. Of course, I don't have rose colored glasses. He was bigoted in a big way. He wouldn't have approved of my marriage or kids but then he was born around the turn of the century. I don't subscribe to his world view but I could still love him none the less and learn from him.

My mom's dad was, also, an interesting character. He was a successful business man. He was a good cook. He gave me the gift of the love of travel. He and my grandmother had been all over the world. He had great stories and an independent spirit. I moved from Iowa City to Tucson in 2006. He picked me up while he was on his normal summer travel from Phoenix to the east coast through the midwest and back again to Phoenix. We traveled in his car stopping in New Mexico. At the motel, he brought out his flask so that we could share a sip. He was a drink before dinner kind of guy. He always seemed worldly and welcoming. Every birthday, he would send a letter with a poem that he composed as well as articles and cartoons he had found interesting or funny that he wanted to share.  He was really into the stock market and gold. He was early on gold by about 10 years. He died while I was pregnant with Max.

Krismon's grandfather reminds me of my grandfather. He doesn't speak english, he is shorter than my grandfather was but there is something indescribable. He still works and he is almost 90. I found out that he started working when he was 15. He was adopted. He inspires his family with his hard work. This visit was for him, to celebrate his birthday and to bring all his children together with him. And for me, it was to give my kids time with their great grandfather. The kids loved giving him kisses, Harry liked bumping foreheads with him.

Okay this is the only picture I found this time so far with the older kids and their great grandfather, Tikong (spelling? chinese for great grandfather). The picture includes their uncle joel and Mercy. She bought the cake for him, she's been cooking for the family for over 20 years. She's an awesome cook and super nice woman.

School glorious school

So instead of reading and reading and reading some more. I am here. I feel like some awful girlfriend who hasn't called in ages.

Harry and I got back over a week ago so that I could start only one week late for school. I wish I could have started on time. I am still playing catch up. School has changed since I went for my undergraduate degree. There were things that the teachers use that would have been helpful to know about ahead of time. They have this online program that is used as a means to communicate and it cuts down on paper usage by the school. I didn't learn about it until my first day of class but I think some of the stuff was already up for a whole. I could have done the readings while I was gone. But I digress. I got to my first class only to find out that there was already a project due a week from that following Wednesday. huh? No way. Yup. And they gave us a mock quiz but didn't tell us til after that that was what it was. Yeah I felt good about my starting grad school. uh huh....

Outside of that first class, the other classes have gone fairly well. Some of the reading is dry but that's going to happen no matter what. What do I enjoy? Speaking with adults! Getting out. Learning, learning and learning some more. I am hoping also that I can show my kids how important studying is and reading. I have a feeling Harry isn't going to get as many kids books read to him as he will counseling books... lol

Here we are

It is pretty great to surprise an almost 90 yr old man by coming to visit. It was a long flight and a seemingly even longer wait for our luggage but more than worth it to see the happy face of Krismon's grandfather. He said a few times how he just didn't even know that we were coming. The kids greeted him happily. Harry will hopefully warm up to him quickly. Despite our ability to speak easily to each other, you can just feel his happiness.
The kids are in heaven being with all their aunties, uncles and grand aunties and uncles. They are getting to eat candy and pretty much anything else their hearts could desire.
I love getting to catch up with his family as well. There are new babies, new married couples. Friends, we haven't seen in so long. And in a few days, a beach, sandy kids, giggles and snuggles.
Then next week, more surprises when more family arrives from the states and Canada.

Oh and do my kids know how to sweat or what? Picture will have to come later.

Sunday= fun day

The kids, their auntie Beverly and I went to see wicked today. It was awesome! And I do not use the word lightly. Max was a little frightened at points but Maggie was enthralled. They both loved that they knew some of the music already. Thank you glee cast radio on pandora! I loved seeing the songs brought to life thru the story. I highly recommend this musical. It suggests 8 and older but my kids did pretty darn well. Maggie was disappointed that she didn't get to meet the cast afterwards.

Then it was off to dinner and now we wait to board our plane...

SF Zoo

So the month of August is free for kids with good reason, not as many areas are open but we still managed to spend 4 hours wandering around as well as buying and eating lunch. We have decided from now on, we will not be doing this. I think we have spent so much more at these places for their lunches that we could have packed much better lunches with treats for the kids. Live and learn.

So as we drove, we took a different way to get to the zoo. Yes, we drove into a wall of white. Did I mention that I was driving? It has been a long time since I drove in a white out. It was nerve wracking and fun all at the same time. When we got ocean side it was gone, thankfully so we could gaze at the water before getting to the zoo. Our friends pulled in at the same time, talk about perfect timing. The kids enjoyed most of it. We loved the gorillas especially and then the children's zoo specifically. We could put Harry on the ground and let him walk around and touch the African goats. They were so gentle and he got to touch a tortoise and a chicken. It's fun to see his reactions as such a little guy. It was nice to catch up with my friend.

I think in all of this the only part that troubles me is Max's attitude. I feel like he is taking fore granted all these activities that we have gotten to do over the last two weeks.  I guess it is hard to convey to him how lucky he is do so many things that I didn't do as a kid especially in such a short stretch of time.

gazpacho

There is a massive abundance of tomatoes in my in laws garden. It's heaven really. My brother in law and sister in law planted a ton of variety. Yesterday, we had a bbq and I was planning on just grilling some other garden veges and making a salad. One of my sisters in law suggested gazpacho and I thought that sounded like a fabulous idea so I looked up a recipe but wanted to twist it as well so we grilled garlic and onion and finished it with grilled corn.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/gazpacho-recipe/index.html


I used that recipe but instead of white wine vinegar we used red and I should have used some fresh garlic as well. I also took the skin off the tomatoes and the cucumber. It was refreshing and overall the meal really highlighted their garden bounty and wonderful grilled chicken.  Now I wish that I had taken pictures of it all. I must confess that I don't often make too much for the family meals because my mother in law and my 4 sisters in law are such good cooks that it can be a little intimidating. But yesterday was fun and Maggie helped and therefore ate so much more of the soup and salad. It was great.

thrilled by heights

By thrilled, I mean kind of scared but yet exhilarated. We headed out to the county fair after getting Harry up from his nap. Mm yeah it was free to park, free to get in the fair but then THEY TAKE CREDIT CARDS for tickets. And to ride a ride was either 3 or 4 tickets. Yeah they didn't go on to many given those prices. Harry couldn't go on any rides today.
Now the Ferris Wheel was the one ride I was willing to go on. And it was amazing, thrilling and scary all at the same time. I feared for my iphone even though I wanted to take photos with it. Maggie loved it and Max wished he had gone with us when we went. Maggie has a bit of the dare devil in her which I want to keep exploring so that she can keep doing fun things. Max enjoyed the super slide and did that one twice. Then they got to have funnel cake for only the second time in their lives. Well the first in Harry's life. They all enjoyed it.

Then we checked out the animals. The pigs were lounging and napping. A young lady had her cow out, the professor. The kids all got to pet him and we took a family picture which I will hopefully get on here sometime. We saw goats being milked and sheep that had already been sheared. It was fun to see the animals and kind of made me a bit homesick for Iowa.

Afterwards, we ended with some fish tacos at Rubios and some frozen yogurt. Ah it was nice.

I took the kids up to see my old office. A few minutes in and then out and on our way. Harry was pooped after that. He cried all the way home and went down for his nap quickly. The kids are enjoying disney on vhs. lol First the rescuers and now the great mouse detective. Good times.

Now is the time

Ah yes. I am enjoying my iphone and my time here. With Krismon's parents back, I can take the kids places one  on one. Not that we have gone anyplace special at this point but I did enjoy just having some time and heck it is so much easier going places with just one. Maggie and I headed off to get a dog bed for Juno, some groceries and a barefoot coffee with some art. I posted the pictures on facebook. It's so much fun being with the kids individually. They are so much easier to get along with too.
Later I took Max to Diaso ( I probably spelled it all wrong) It is a great cheap japanese store. And then we got frozen yogurt. It is nice to just sit and chat and check in with both kids. Maggie has a wild imagination and Max just has an interesting take on the world.  Harry and I went for a short walk together. And I made him walk, we only got half a block but whatever. He seemed to enjoy looking around and experiencing something new and different.
Another morning, I grabbed Max and Harry (he refused to nap.) and we ran some more errands and stopped for another cup of latte art. The boys shared a blueberry muffin and Harry who has been feeling better decided to explore a little more. He went around and tried to engage but none of the adults would have anything to do with him. I think I am grateful for this because I believe he might have come scurrying back to me if someone actually smiled at him.

So free summer concerts, I just don't have the desire to go to the ones in Vegas. Yeah, I know. You are probably wondering why. Ok so you aren't. Sunnyvale has them and we didn't go the first Wednesday we were here so we went this last time leaving Harry at home with the Grands. No worries, he got to thoroughly enjoy a chocolate brownie cookie.  We had a great time at this street concert. Oh my.... It was salsa night. SALSA NIGHT! Max went wild, that latin beat moved his hips. We met Krismon's best friend and his family. The kids were excited to see L and I. I  was glad to see Connie, Aaron's wife. We have kind of grown up at the same time in marriage and now in kids too. Both L and Max wanted to dance with Maggie. It was a crack up. Everyone around was either amused or just really tolerant of their wilder moves. I think  Max might need some Salsa lessons. He really seemed to enjoy himself so much. It was just fun to watch him.

Today, we went to Happy Hollow in San Jose. It's a great park for smaller kids. They had rides and playgrounds and a zoo. We met Connie and her kids. It went well until the roller coaster. The line took forever and that upset the balance. After that, Harry kind of lost his cool. He rallied for quite a while but he was getting done in as were the other two. He actually got to ride on two rides, One was a little car ride that went around. He sat with Maggie and they enjoyed themselves a lot. And then at the end, we rode the carousel on the way out. He was a bit frightened but did seem to like it. We were tired and ready for home but ah was it a good time.

Tomorrow's agenda calls for a trip to the Santa Clara County Fair.

mmm and yeah I have really missed the past two weeks of Krismon being gone and really am looking forward to seeing him Saturday morning. That's all

Ah Bay Area

Thankfully Harry is doing better. I know his teeth are bugging him something fierce but his demeanor has gotten better. He is happy to have his Grandparents back from Canada and this brings me some relief. He is such a funny kid. He is a guys guy. He is much more willing to go to men then to women which is kind of shocking to me since the other two weren't like that as much. And he is a bit shyer then the other two. It's cool to really see him grow into a personality.

Saturday, we went up to San Francisco to see my sister in laws new place. We had awesome food in the mission and then went to the Exploritorium. I have never been and my sister in law used to work there years ago. Max was so overwhelmed that he went from thing to thing to thing never completely focussed. Maggie had a few things she really enjoyed. Harry was stuck in the stroller but I think he enjoyed what he could before nodding off for his afternoon nap. It is definitely some place that we could go on a fairly regular basis that the kids would enjoy more and more and more.
After the museum, it was ice cream for dinner. Ohhhhh sooooo good. Or I should say we reversed dinner and stared with dessert first.   Mitchells ice cream is sooo good so if you are visiting San Francisco you must go. The cantelope is terrific.

Sunday, my in laws got back and we went to a fresh dumpling place. I mean we could see them making them. How awesome is that?

California Fever

We drove here a week ago Saturday. We got in a good Sunday and Monday. Krismon flew back to Vegas to work. For the next 3 days, Harry had a fever which reduced our ability to do much. Poor kid was not happy and the only person he wanted was me. He still seems to be shy around his Aunts which is wearing me down something awful. And right at this moment, he is refusing to nap. Oy. I guess I will have to write another post later. bye

Been married 11 years today

We are on the last leg of our 9 hour odyssey from vegas to Sunnyvale. The kids and are there for quite some time while Krismon goes back to work. I am looking forward to a break from the heat so the kids can play outside like they should in the summer. Seeing friends and family that we don't get to see often enough. Travel on our anniversary? Sure! Our commitment is to each other but also to our family. This is a great present to ourselves and our kids. Let's just hope my on laws think so too.

Another milestone

My lazy days are over. So I used to be able to let him go into the living room on his own. He likes our 'library' as Maggie calls our book case. He likes to pull out the books and look at them and if they are paper, of course, try to rip them. But now, now.... hmmm he can climb on the low couches in the room. ugh and our coffee table is marble. So maybe I should just move the table.... but where?

He was so pleased with himself when he got up on the couch and then when he went over the arm of the couch and was even more pleased. This means that I am going to have reposition pictures and move more stuff out of reach.

Secretly. I am glad for him. It's so nice to capture these moments and have this blog as my memory keeper.

Same story different Kid

So when I weaned Maggie 3 years ago, she started getting these diaper rashes. They were pretty bad. We even used nystatin to try and get rid of them. Nothing until we determined that she had an intolerance to citrus and strawberries. And unfortunately, her little bum still isn't too happy with those fruits.

Fast forward to last week, Maggie's first recital was Wednesday. Harry fell asleep in my arms at the auditorium and that was that. No more breastfeeding since that day. Yes to some degree I am happy for the freedom and I know I explored this in another post. I guess I was hoping that we wouldn't be where we are right now. His little bum is on fire. He has woken up the past 3 or more days with a dirty diaper and just crying pitifully. And if his diaper isn't dirty, his leg will be stuck. It is tough to push the slats apart so I can get his leg out.

So that is two things I need to solve. I feel terrible that his diaper rash has gotten so bad since we stopped breastfeeding so now I have to solve that and most likely figure out what food is causing that problem.  I may just start the whole potty learning thing so we can try and ward off some of the rash. And then it will be finding something to bumper the crib so his legs won't get stuck.

Wish me luck.

Maggie's first Dance Recital

Yes that is 3 costume changes. And she did awesome both nights. They did 'The Little Mermaid' story and then Seasons of the Year. And yes it was wayyyyy toooo loooong, like one hour tooo long. The show was 3 hours and Maggie had to be there an hour earlier than that. Oy! She did fantastic though. And she had great fun with her dance friends. It was fun to see her so excited and have such a great time.

Tired oh so tired

Yesterday was a long day. Oh boy. Maggie's first dance recital is tonight and tomorrow night. Last night was the dress rehearsal, 4 hours long! Yes that's right. She was there for at least 4 hours.  I took her, stayed an hour, drove to the store, shopped, drove home. Then 20 minutes later, I took my mom there. Got home at 6:30. I had hoped that the men people could feed themselves from the stuff I bought but no. We finished dinner, were cleaning up when my Lia Sophia person came for the party. Got house mostly picked up and then Harry down for the night. Friends showed up, we had a great time. The kids had fun with their friends but were up wayyyyyy tooo late. Oy.

Maggie napping, I was hoping Max would nap but I think that is a no go. And tonight we get to see the fun of Maggie recital. And then I am going straight to bed because it is past my bed time.

Polar Exhibit

Friday the kids and I went to the mall for an exhibit housed in an unused store.  Max was pretty independent while Maggie had lots of questions that she wanted answered. Harry just got to sit in the stroller and come along for the ride.

Maggie's hand in the Polar Bear foot print. And yes she suckered me into painting her nails.

Max's hand in the other foot print.

The two of the them together learning. Or at least I hope that is what I was capturing. :)

Max as a penguin.

Maggie as a penguin. And yes my camera just didn't want to capture the whole slide.

The kids getting weighed like a polar bear would in the wild.

Max didn't want to leave but I knew the other two were pretty well done. We braved the mall a little longer and went to Chevys for lunch. I sometimes can't believe that I am actually willing to take 3 kids to a restaurant by myself. Harry enjoyed the tableside guac. That was pretty much his lunch besides having a little of my rice and beans and a few bites of chicken. Does anyone else think it is weird that a mexican restaurant, okay, americanized mexican restaurant serves fries with the kids meals?

A Hard Day

In my head, I am envisioning Signing Times where some little boy says that in the back ground and then they show signs for emotions like sad and crying. It was a tough day.  Krismon ended up having to work a lot of it, luckily from home but still hard. The kids were up at their usual 6am. Because Krismon ended up working, I slept in til 7. And yes if I had the coffee maker in my room, I would have stayed in there longer and hid out.  This was one of those seen but not heard days so most of the day was spent trying to keep the noise level down for work purposes and nap times.  It was my tough day. We didn't leave the house and I was tired of the effect that tv has on the kids so we kept it off most of the afternoon. Now that is a good thing and a bad thing. It means the kids do other things than just sit and watch. But it's important to find them things that aren't destructive. We tried games but Maggie is still learning to play and how to play nicely. I swear Max didn't truly learn how to play board games until this year. I am hoping that by the end of Summer that will be mastered so that we can keep the tv off more.

Krismon has decided to take a hand in Maggie's word learning which will help me out. That girl likes to pretend she won't know a word that she said without even looking at it barely  two pages before. OMmmmmmm Namaste. Yes that is what I need to do more of drink wine and meditate.

Chicken said Cluck!

I can officially say that is Maggie's first book. It took over an hour to read with lots of hair pulling (me pulling mine that is, it's a wonder that I have any left) before she read the whole book. I wore her down and decided to be more stubborn than her. Yes it was possible. This is one time where I would like to shake my fist at phonics. Yes, it does help for sounding out words but then it becomes a crutch or a way to pretend that she needs to continuously sound out words. ARGH me mateys!

At least she did like the word Grasshopper....

Annoyed and sad this morning

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We had our middle of the night visitor AGAIN. Maggie has been fighting a cold and it seems to be causing her to wake up the last few nights. Last night I couldn't even open my eyes when she came in. And then she had the audacity to wake up at 5:40 and try to get us up as well. And then when that didn't happen she went into her room to wake Max up. UGH!

I was just not on my game this morning. I am hoping to get my game back at some point. I decided that we would go to a polar exhibit. It's at the mall so who knows maybe I will find myself something. lol.

SAD..... We have been slowly weaning for a month now. I had decided yesterday to move down to just one feeding a day. I really thought about which feeding to drop. I decided to drop the morning feeding. Well last night we had a little bbq with friends. Harry didn't get down until almost 7:30. He didn't want to nurse. I knew the time was coming and I know I could keep it going but I want the freedom too. It's such a mixed feeling. He is our last baby and that relationship is so special.  I am sure I will have a good cry and then a good smile. I am ready for some alone time with Krismon without worrying about Harry. And that time is drawing near. That's the smile.

Grad school

So life has to move on and on and I am happy to report that my parents seem to be accepting everything a little better today. It's not like it is new so the shock wears off a little quicker even if it doesn't mean everything is truly better.

Maggie had goopy eyes yesterday but that seems to be gone today. Today, her ear hurts. I will probably take her in tomorrow if she continues to complain but here is hoping the tylenol helps soon.

Yesterday was spent proving to school that I live and have lived in Nevada at least a year.  Today I got to take the kids with me and get shots. Good times!

UNLV requires current shots of Tetnus/Diptheria and MMR. The MMR is two doses. So the kids got to be there and see my face. Maggie held my hand when I got the first shot. I don't think the doctor was really that thrilled that I brought the kids but oh well. It took just moments and then he gave us all a little chocolate. Ahhhh he became the kids favorite person.

4th of July

I hope everyone had a great day and weekend. It was a long weekend of fun with the kids. This year seems so different from last year. Yes Harry is a year older and can walk and my boobs aren't going to fall off but that isn't it. The older two are well older. They can do so much more and appreciate so much more. They are had their normal Saturday activities, dance and violin. Sunday, we were lucky to have good plans. Our friend, John, had a cd release party/bbq.

Okay so this was supposed to be a good post about the fun of the weekend and the joyful times with the kids.

Unfortunately, this afternoon a phone call took the wind out of my sails. My Dad called. They found cancer in my Mom again. It's been again and again and again and again. She has fought breast cancer and ovarian cancer. She got rid of her breasts avoiding chemo and radiation. She was diagnosed like 10 years later with ovarian cancer. She went through chemo as well as surgery. And then she was gone through neuro endrocrine cancer. The last time nearly killed her, the surgery and recovery were so bad. And now, and now, and now. Now they found more cancer behind her stomach. There is no such thing as simple surgery for her anymore when it comes to her belly so she is unwilling to go through what she went through last time. She wants to get radiation. It seemed like if it was going to rain that it would pour. The kids kept hurting themselves. Maggie's eyes are all goopy. So I think at one point most of us were crying for various reasons.

It's just how, how, how. I mean really. And it sucks for me but for her and for my dad. It just leaves me speechless.

I survived 3 days

I am still somewhat scared about the next month but.... so far so good. The kids are, of course, fighting somewhat but I think Harry helps kind of alleviate certain problems. He does a good job of crawling all over them and getting them to giggle. I will need to capture it at some point.  But it is nice to hear them so happy. 

Today the kids watched The Lion King while Harry napped. Afterwards, we watched a show on the travel channel called secret something. It was a pretty cool show. The one we watched was about Cambodia. It was really cool how the guy really showed history. Max was fascinated by it. Maggie liked it but was a little bored off and on. 

There was a show on NBC two summers ago, I believe. It was a competition of families and it was a treasure hunter show. It was really cool because it taught US history during the course of the show while giving a real picture of our history through the travel. It was fun to watch and I remember feeling sad that Max wasn't old enough to be able to really watch or appreciate. It hasn't been done again, unfortunately. 

We did watch the Lisa Kudrow show that showed stars genealogy. That was pretty cool too. I really love these type of shows that bring history to life. History detectives is another show that we have enjoyed watching in the past.

I am almost weirdly and oh so nerdily looking forward to Summer Vacations where we can travel and see and experience places with them. I want to do an East Coast trip. They want to go to Germany to see their Aunts. We want to go to China. And who knows where else? 

Seeing The Lion King with them and kind of through their eyes just brings so much joy. I can still feel it several days later. 

Wanderlust and an appreciation for our World would be the best present that I feel like I could give them.

Summer rules

So with the kids all home for the Summer meaning the next month or so, I worried about the behavior I saw last summer with Max. We let Max and Maggie stay up a half or so later last Summer to disastrous effects. Maggie not so much but Max had some wild kid moments. He lashed out when we tried to get him off the computer kicking and hitting. I didn't realize until a month later that it was probably because he needed to be in bed sooner. This Summer, so far, their bedtime hasn't changed, instead we are just being a little more flexible on a day by day basis.  Also, I feel like this Summer Max needs a break from school.  He worked hard this year.

Hmm I guess I should get to the rule. If the kids want to watch tv or play on the computer, they have to do something to earn it. They are still taking violin lessons so practice time is earning time. It's easy for Max to practice and he is enjoying it now. Maggie not so much. But Max was the same way at her age. I figure once she gets a few songs under her belt she will feel better about the violin.

If not violin, then Max has books to read this Summer.  And Maggie gets to practice her letters and numbers and words.  This is all exciting for me because then it means I get to watch tv. Shhhh so it is my reward too.

And guess what? Harry can now stand up on his own without pulling up on something. AMAZING! I saw him do it this morning so I mark this day Harry Stand Up Day! Yay!

First day of Summer AND The Lion King

Yesterday both kids were out of school. I have been looking forward to and dreading this at the same time. The kids had their second set of swim lessons.  They enjoyed them. We came home, they played, they fought. They played, they fought. And so on and so forth. I tried to get them to rest for the big night.

Oh and we decided that the kids need to earn their tv time at this point. So they both practiced violin buying an hour. Ahhh a glorious hour of quiet.

We didn't tell the kids what we were doing. We had Allison come and watch Harry. We took the kids to Mandalay Bay. We got a cookie and some ice cream. We kept them guessing the whole time. It wasn't until we had walked up to the theater doors that they figured it out! It was so fantastic to keep it a secret. And thank you locals appreciation deals! Okay so one thing. If you have kids my age and my height don't get the first row in the balcony. They couldn't completely see over the low wall that wasn't quite low enough. That meant they sat in my and Krismon's lap for pretty much the entire performance. While it got a bit old and heavy holding them, it was still great to get the hugs and kisses throughout the performance. And I know it won't last. I will keep those moments in my heart. To hear those gasps because they were right next to my ear. During the break, Maggie was a chatter box to anyone and everyone within hearing. She was so happy to be surprised and wanted everyone to know. They helped dish out more smiles.

The performance itself. FAN FREAKING TASTIC! It was so much fun to see. The music was awesome, the dancing was sooooooooooo good. And I hope Maggie really took something away from it and understands that what she is doing in ballet is connected to what they did on stage.  I just can't say enough. I loved that it was the kids first musical and that we had not seen it either. Great experience.

And we all looked pretty darn dapper. I am just sorry that I didn't take pictures of us.

Promotion Days

Maggie and another girl opening the ceremony with a prayer.

Yes that is a dress on me

Max dressed for his promotion day performance.

Max with his diploma and certificates for Best Mathematician and Overall Achievement. And yes I wore another dress with a necklace that he picked out at Kohls for me to buy for myself.

Okay so I could keep this wordless out side of the captions but I won't.  So for the life of me, I can't remember ever ever having these sort of days at my schools growing up. I don't remember parents coming for these type of performances. Don't get me wrong, I think the performances that the kids did were great.  Both performances included the star spangled banner. And the little kids sang songs that I didn't know and they had an awesome performance done by one little girl who is half japanese. She was dressed traditionally and everything. I would show the picture but don't feel really confident about doing that. 

The lower and upper elementary did an around the world type of performance. The did all the continents and about 4 kids at a time talked about different things.  If you haven't already guessed, Max talked about China and counted to ten in Mandarin (his grandma taught him.) Then they sang 'We are the World'. And Max sang it with feeling and emotion. It was a great performance and fun to listen to and learn from. But still not sure about the promotion day certificates. It seems like it is expected now that kids need these things to determine their self worth. That and the goody bags kill me. I still shake my head at those.

Off my rant, regardless I am proud of both kids because they made huge strides this year. Maggie came home everyday telling me that she had different friends depending on who she played with. She was constructing 4 letter words by the end and learning how to write lowercase letters. She is stubborn so we are still faced with the dilemma of not knowing how much she can do or knows until she busts out with something. I am pretty sure she is good at addition.  Max had a fantastic year. He learned so much this year and I think it really wetted his appetite to learn even more. I will miss his teacher who is returning to CA after being here for two years. She was great. She didn't put up with nonsense and she really knew how to direct him and bring him down a notch or two when needed. Hopefully next year will go just as well. 

I climbed back on the horse

Well actually the treadmill. I am not a big fan and I am going to have to figure out how to the treadmill better situated in my room so I can watch tv and run.

What do you all do? Do you listen to the tv or watch it and listen to music or just listen to music? I am thinking that I would like to do the close captioning but listen to music. I need to figure something out. Because even though I got on, it still felt like torture.  And I am totally behind on getting to 500 by the end of the year so I need to do a lot of catching up.

My exercise mojo

I have lost it :( I set my alarm on my phone. I got out clothes to wear this morning to boot camp. And then...
I started tossing probably around 5. Krismon  heard the pool 'burping' (meaning we need to fill it up some more) and then I got up too around 5:30 but just couldn't do it. I just didn't want to go.

Let's be honest I have found it harder and harder to want to exercise since the weather started getting warmer. The 5k at the beginning of May, I made it into an ending instead of a beginning. And then Germany disrupted as well. I walked a ton there just didn't record it. And then there was a groupon coupon for a boot camp. I signed up and went once and ended up getting surgery the next day. It wasn't related to the boot camp but it set me back from doing boot camp. And then Krismon was gone for a week as well the next week. I had no desire to try and get the kids out the door early to walk the dog.

I need help getting my mojo back.

Shark Reef

The kids didn't have violin yesterday so after the US lost in soccer, we headed out to Mandalay Bay. It is the first time we have gone. It was pretty cool and it is not a huge facility which was good with Harry. He was in the stroller so he couldn't see everything as easily. Makes me feel like I should have put him in the beco so he could be up high. Max and Maggie enjoyed it all. Max really enjoyed listening to the wand with its explanation of each fish and area there. There is a shipwreck area where you can see below and above. The sharks were huge here and scared Max a bit. Maggie really liked it all. The touching of the stingrays was pretty cool. And this just wets my desire to get back  to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with the kids. But I would really like Harry to be even just a year older.
It was a great introduction though to sea life. And it wasn't too big and my parents enjoyed it as well. It was a win win since there was a locals discount. YAY!
Afterwards we decided to head over to town square. We hit the kids play area but I swear it was 10 degrees warmer because of the rubber surface and we didn't bring extra clothes so they couldn't play on the splash pad. So we ducked out of there quickly. We had an early dinner at the yardhouse. I really like that restaurant.  By the way, Sam Adams summer ale... good.  Harry ate plenty of bread, asparagus, some edamame, mashed potatoes.  Then we got some yogurtland frozen yogurt and he shared mine with me. It was fun afternoon. It was nice to get out despite the heat.

And even nicer to have Krismon home with us.

I miss Krismon

The kids miss Krismon. We all miss Krismon.

Well maybe you don't, but we do.

I survived today

Krismon left yesterday for a conference in San Jose. Harry got a fever yesterday which woke him up around 2am. Poor kid, we hung out for about a half hour so the medicine could start working and then I nursed him and put him back to bed. (side note, we are starting the weaning process and the thought of not having the boobies to help with middle of the night things kind of scares me even though I am looking forward to losing a few cup sizes.). The kids were up at their normal time before 6 and so was Harry, unfortunately.

We made it through the morning. Thanks mythbusters, today you saved me from problems. And thanks leftover spring rolls, you made Max's lunch. And thanks Costco trip on Saturday for supplying cheese for his lunch. And blueberries that fed him lunch and the rest of us for breakfast. The morning just went well. We set ground rules and I was mellow so I made breakfast and lunch for the kids. They got to skype with Krismon and their grandma which was nice. And then it was off to school and naptime. whew. I took Harry to his pediatrician to get checked out. No I don't usually go when the fever is barely 12 hours old but my parents are coming tomorrow and my mom is imunocompromised. If he had an infection I wanted to get him on medicine 24 hours in advance. It's probably a virus but they wrote me a script just in case.

Then Harry and I had some time to kill before getting Maggie from school. We stopped in at Starbucks. I initiated Harry into the goodness called lemon loaf. He, thoroughly, enjoyed his experience. And then we were off to school. Maggie ate lunch and decided today was a nap day. Ah.... though as much as I wanted her to sleep and sleep and sleep I tried to keep it under 2 hours. She was wanting to continue sleeping, darn girl. lol. We got Max from school and boogied home. After eating and eating and eating and eating goldfish crackers. Ah yes I think at one point they were all double fisting it. And then Max decided to head outside to draw with chalk.

We all ended up outside and then all three kids ended up wet. They enjoyed it. At some point, Max decided that he needed another dose of mythbusters. I grabbed Harry and just put him in a clothie while the other two decided they wanted to remain toga style with their towels.

Krismon, thankfully, made chicken leg adobo a few days ago.That, some rice and veges with dip and cantaloupe made for an easy dinner. Bed time went pretty well.

So we have been reading a chapter every night of Pippi Longstocking,. The kids are enjoying it.  I remember enjoying it as a child. She is definitely a larger than life character. And there are only a few pictures. It's great to get Maggie engaged in using her imagination to play out the story instead of having pictures act as a guide.

I almost feel like I should go to sleep now just in case........

Greek Yogurt

I love love love it. It is so creamy and yummy. And if I am eating it and Harry sees me eating it, he hunts me down and hounds me until I feed it to him too. Yes that would be my 1 yo who gets this amazing grin on his face as soon as I stick the spoon in his mouth. He likes his yogurt but he loves my yogurt. The only problem is that mine has 0 fat and his is the full fat variety. I want him to have the biggest brains around and my yogurt won't cut it. lol

I am just saying if you haven't tried it yet, you must. Max, also, loves it. I was able to find some low fat variety. Maggie hasn't asked for any... yet.

My friend suggested using it to make dip. Ah yes that sounds like a good plan. The kids are getting good about eating their veges and dip so this would be a better way for them to eat dip then the store brand.

And yogurt with graham crackers.... just a little bit of heaven.

Swimming a HAAAA

So the kids are in swimming lessons and they looooovvveee it! As soon as we get home, they want to go straight to the back yard and jump in our pool.  It is absolutely thrilling to be able to have them be in the water and enjoy it.

I am hoping by the end of summer, they will be true swimmers. I will probably need to sign them up for more lessons but then hopefully I can take some with Harry at the same time.

Thank You Pandora

I can not say enough of how much I love love Pandora Radio and the Glee Channel right now.  This morning instead of asking for the tv to be turned on, Maggie brought me the remote and the vudu remote so that I would turn on the music!

Okay so I started this Friday but it is really great to have the kids on board with listening to music and dancing and enjoying. I get to hear from Max how singing is one of his favorite things to do. And listening to the music just makes me want to open up the world for them. I want them to see all the great musicals whether on tv or live. shh we are going to take them to see 'The Lion King' in a few weeks. Thank you locals appreciation discount! Krismon and I haven't seen it and we can't wait to experience it with the kids. I, kind of, wish that we could watch the movie a head of time so they can know the story somewhat.  I am so excited to see what they think. We haven't done a huge amount of these type of shows but I think now with the kids getting older (and yes I know that Harry is getting the shaft at this point.) I want to get out more with them.

 And I am just itching to show the kids 'Rent'. Though I think I may have to watch it first to see if it will be okay. I just love the music and the kids are already starting to sing the music.

Okay I am getting side tracked yet again so I will end this and tell you that by the end of summer, Journey is going to be more than a favorite for my kids and Queen! lol

Chafing

huh?

Summer for my kids doesn't start until the 30th of June but I know if I don't want a repeat of some of the 'tude from last year that I probably should come up with some sort of schedule.  That is what I chafe at. I like to schedule going places and I kind of live by a schedule but I can't imagine making more of one in the house. And the funny thing is that I feel like I am a habit type of person. So even though I pretty much do the same things every day I still don't want to make a schedule. I don't I don't I don't I don't you can't make me.

Yay I guess I just need to make myself.  The kids will probably have an easier time of it if I do. See well you can't but I switched away from this page because even the idea of writing it down, makes me crazy.

I have this feeling that we need to have exercise time. an art period,  a board game time,. reading time, swimming pool time, cooking dinner time (did I mention that I have told the kids that I want them to help me cook more this summer from our cook books.)  I know that we will have playgroup and playdates but I am still scared. I tell you I wonder how did my mom did that when I was a kid. Except that I could go outside and not die of the heat like here.

Any other ideas?

I am here really

Life here has been hectic. My mother in law and sister in law left Friday morning. And somehow I don't think a lot has happened but none of us has been sleeping well and we have sickies in the hizouse. Well, anyway I have not felt like writing or I keep meaning to put up pictures and that hasn't happened.

We are going through the summer has hit and my kids don't want to go to sleep or stay asleep in their bed and want to get up at the buttcrack of dawn which means not much time alone with the man and a desire to sleep and be listless. Couple that with the desire to do stuff but feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand. That seems to be my outlook right now. I know it is tiredness talking but wow. I need a good night's sleep.

So while I was gone I read a sample of the happiness project and decided I wanted to read the whole book.  I don't know if I mentioned it on here already but I am enjoying it. And I want to put her ideas into play.   So my plan is to start purging purging purging and deciding what to do with things that I think I want to have but can't figure out what to do with it or them. I am feeling in a brutal mood. I know we aren't hoarders but our house feels pretty pack ratty at the moment. Now I am sure if I had lots of built ins or dressers or say a basement, it wouldn't seem like we have so much because it could be packed away more neatly and probably easier to get to. But we have fallen into the convenience of bins, bins and more bins. I guess I should just be thankful that we don't have a storage unit.

Well since I didn't post this last night. I am going to cut it off there and post it. Yeah I have been bad about not being totally coherent in my posts. Sorry. Hoping to rectify that soon with enough sleep and exercise.

He can walk... Ahhhhhhh. And the choir sings

So we got back Sunday night. And I suggest reading the signs in the international terminal baggage claim and not turn your cell phone on. Oops. Good thing I didn't get hauled off. But I did feel duly chastised.
Harry slept for about 6 hours on the plane after having to finally put him in the carrier and bouncing him back and forth. He just didn't want to settle down. And then I got 3-4 hours sleep which was needed. It was a 10 hr flight. He woke up once we had landed. We got Jules to the other terminal. And then it was home. HOME SWEET HOME!  We got to eat some dinner and then off to bed.

The next day, Harry decided that he could walk! It was great that he waited. I wanted Krismon to see it and experience his walking. And Krismon's cousin and husband were in town. They got to see it which was nice as well. After his nap though, he woke up with a fever. That was my greatest fear while we were gone that he would get sick more than just a cold. I was glad he waited til we got here especially since Krismon's sister is a nurse. We will hopefully get through the jetlag soon.  And he doesn't have the fever anymore! Yay!

And today is his Birthday! He is a big 1 year old. And my last so I do feel a sniffly about it.

Harry,

 You are a happy kid who loves his siblings.  You enjoy playing with them. And you are a great eater. We all enjoy your company. You have this crazy natural mohawk going. I love you little man. lots and lots and lots!

Mom

Germany Photos

And they aren't mine. I still need to upload mine.

This is across from our apartment.

A used book store. We love the sculpture

This is outside the Jewish Museum.

So I am falling asleep so I will have to post more later.

The day before the wedding and day of

So yesterday, we had a chance to meet for breakfast with Nadja, her parents, brother and two of her friends. It was fantastic for a few reasons. They had a high chair for Harry. This was a major relief because most places do not. Ahhh to be able to feed him at the table while he sat independently. Second, it was so so wonderful to see Nadja's parents. I haven't seen Holgar since before Max and I have seen Theresia since before Maggie. She and I both cried which was unexpected. But as Nadja is my German sister, she is my German mom. She is a wonderful lady. Breakfast was super enjoyable. Afterwards we walked to a department store. I love that about here. You walk everywhere or catch the subway or bike. Nadja uses a car sharing program as well.  This place doesn't necessarily rely on cars. It's fantastic.

I found a pair of shoes..... And yes there are ones that I can't get at Zappos. They are Germany and were on sale. And they are comfortable for walking and they have a heel. Does it get much better?  Well yes, yes it does.

Today Friday wedding Day.. Man I am just going to start crying again if I think about it. Early afternoon was the civil ceremony at a little restaurant close to wear the evening ceremony and reception were going to be. There was just a close few. And I felt honored to be there among everyone. The ceremony was in German and there was a lot of humor involved. And then afterwards the brides began making the rounds with hugs. As soon as Nadja hugged me, I cried and cried. It was so wonderful to see her so happy with her life and with the person in her life. Olga is wonderful woman. And then when I hugged Olga, of course, I cried again. Who knew I was such a cry baby at such wonderfully happy events. Thankfully we could let Harry roam around. He was eternally grateful and set about trying to tip over candles, grab champagne glasses and what not. He charmed the whole lot in the room with his smiles. It was wonderful. And then we came back to the apartment and he took a nap. Jules went to the Turkish market and got salads for us and more coffee.  Then she took a nap and I wandered the market.  It is amazing because not only do they sell jewelry, bread, fish, cheese, vegetables and fruit but also bags, beads, bolts of cloth (beautiful cloth) clothes, shoes, all sorts of stuffs. It was fun to wander through and find things.

The evenings festivities began around 7pm on the boat. The ceremony was so meaningful and sweet. There best friends stood up and spoke before they did. They exchanged a ring and a pocket watch. Olga is not the ring type of girl so Nadja's ring has two parts to it for her. Again I cried as they spoke their vows. I think to me, it reaffirmed my own commitment in my marriage. It made me miss Krismon more and wish he was there to see them married. Heck I wish the other two kids could have been there as well. They really loved meeting their Aunties.  It was just fantastic.

And dinner. Can I say that Harry is a monster eater? He ate at least half of what was on my plate. He has enjoyed the food here tremendously. Makes me think I need to rethink the whole breakfast plan and start doing German breakfast at least once a week or something. I think we have both been spoiled a little. 

Traveling with a baby= not easy

I was going to write hard but I don't think that is completely true. Harry is a good kid especially when he gets a morning nap and an afternoon nap. Unfortunately, he has been taking his afternoon naps on the go and they have been more catnaps than good naps. (umm if my grammar is bad, I am making my way through a glass of wine) Harry has been a good traveler. He is getting better about staying in the stroller but just like any other kid once he hits the wall it is pretty well hit and there will only be brief periods of respite. He is not a fan of museums. But keep him walking then he is happy. Give him some people to amuse him and that helps from time to time. But does he want to nurse? nope too much to see and do. It gets in the way for him. Even here where seeing a boob is not out of the ordinary. There were no gasps when I went to feed him. In fact, I don't think anyone was surprised or even trying to catch a glimpse. It is such a non issue.  I digress, again it is the wine.

Today I had high hopes of finding clothes that I could buy and bring home. That just didn't really happen. I found one dress that I really liked that I hope can be worn at home. The weather here is so vastly different. They don't have the sweat filled days that I get to look forward to. People here are just barely starting to pulling out shorts paired with a jacket. It's beautiful and I am envious. But what I want are a pair of Nadja's pants that I had to borrow the first day here because our luggage had not arrived. Did I already write about that. Our luggage did not make it until the next day..... But I got a good job in at Heathrow.  Her pants were fantastic and I wanted to find a pair. I got close but they were just not right. darn. I found a dress. I like it and once I am not nursing or if I want to wear it for date it it is pretty cool. And outside my norm. Maggie will like it, it's purple. I am kind of hoping to convince Nadja to let me buy hers. I told her so she is considering it.

Poor Harry. We did not get home early enough and he is way over tired and refusing to go to sleep. I have a feeling I will be in bed very soon. Just so that he hopefully settles down. I tried being in there and just looking at a magazine but it's getting dark. And leaving just upset him more. argh....

Oh and yesterday we did over 4 miles just for the afternoon walk.

So no photos this week

The photos will have to wait until I get home since I seem to have forgotten any way to upload them to my computer. I can only describe what goes on.

I wish I could say we are on the go from morning to night but with a baby that isn't really feasible or fair.

Luckily enough today. Right outside our door was a Turkish market that will be back on Friday as well! Yay. They had lots of fruit and vege stands and some other fast food stands as well as cheese stands and even a meat stand. They sell cloth by the meter. And then they had some cool jewelry and other items that I picked up for various family members. I am hoping that I find more cool things to bring back as well as clothes. Did I tell you about accidentally not packing enough clothes? It's true, darn so now I need to get some more.....

We, also, decided to explore more yesterday and Harry was good enough to fall asleep. Unfortunately, once we made our decision to visit the Jewish museum.... dun dun dun he woke up. Needless to say,  I ended up hurrying my best friend, Julie, through there. Having taken a class about Jews in Germany and actually learning more about Jews throughout Europe a lot was unsurprising but interesting. There was a lot of info and some interactive areas. The whole building itself is interesting and unsettling. The architecture is cool. The unsettling part is that there are angles. There is a room that is a void. I did not take Harry in there because I heard an older couple say that they did not like the feeling of being in there. No need to scare a baby. I could appreciate what the museum was trying to help patrons to understand just by the feeling of being there regardless of the information given.

We are hoping to go back and see the rest and the special expo that is all about comic books and their heroes. Olga, one of the brides, wants to go so here is hoping she can squeeze some time in for it.

Today.. since I didn't get this posted on Tuesday. The plan is go shopping. I think we are hoping to see some of the touristy things as well today. I feel a lot of walking in our future. Oh and I think I better calculate how much walking we did do yesterday at least on our main jaunt since I didn't wear my nikes.

And this evening, Nadja's, my German sister and the other bride's, parents are getting in. I can not wait to see Theresia and Holgar. They haven't met Harry yet. Actually I don't believe Holgar has gotten to meet any of the kids. And Theresia has only met Max. They are a wonderful people so I am so excited. It has been at least 4 years if not longer since I saw them.

That is today's preview, we will see what comes to pass.

Berlin

No pictures to post yet. We made it. We kind of slept on the plane, barely made our second plane. I got sick right after we got to Berlin. Our luggage was still in London. Thank goodness we were staying at my German sister's place for the night. We now have our little apartment and our luggage. Ahhhh And we did a bit of exploring today.

Things I have learned so far. Harry is a pretty good traveler, though he likes to try and flash my boob. I need to take air sickness medicine. Sprinting through Heathrow is not so fun but the people there were helpful in getting us through security quickly.  And Vietnamese soup and tea really helps settle an upset tummy and make sleep possible.

And I am still getting used to the time difference so I am up late at the moment. So off to bed I must go.

And I am off

Tonight my friend, Harry and I are off on an adventure to Berlin Germany. Maggie is having a hard time dealing with it. She keeps saying that she is going with us. I guess it helps that when we get dropped off, she will still be strapped into her carseat so that she can't run out after us.

The apartment where we are staying has wiifii so hopefully I will get to blog while there and upload pictures. I am super excited. Wish me luck...

Dear Maggie

You are 4! Four, four, four, 4. But yet in your humor, you kept changing your mind and deciding that you would be other ages. I just want to have you be 4 for the next 365 days. It will give me time to get used to you being that age.

You have this great imagination. In the car, you brought up monsters again. I am still trying to convince you that they flew north for the summer. You decided you need to sleep on the bottom bunk, I think it is the cocoon effect. You feel safer nestled in there.

:Last week you were my walking partner. You needed your granola bars to do them but you did it.

You would wear dresses every single one of those days if I let you.  You flip your hair back with your hand. It's kind of funny and oh so girlie to watch. You skip and hop and giggle. You dream about being a mommy. You tell me that I will always be your mommy. I ask that when you are a teenager that you still give me hugs and kisses and cuddles. You say you will... I really hope you will.

You say you want to be a dentist when you grow up and work with kids. You want to help keep their mouths clean and healthy.

Right now you love Curious George. I think it is because you are like curious just like him. You want to try and try and try some more.

You like dance right now because you feel like the teacher depends on you to be a good example for the other kids.  You like violin but you really want to play your own stuff instead of what they ask you to play.

I lose my patience because it takes you longer to memorize. For this I am sorry. I am not sure what to do to help you remember faster. But sometimes it is hard to tell if you know and are just messing with us or if you are struggling with something.

Tonight was nice to read to you. A flower for Maggie.... I love you lots, lots, lots and lots.

Mom

Last Friday In door picnic

Abort abort abort now. Indoor picnic gone awry he is off the blanket. Oh well it was fun to try.

Tired

I swear Mondays are really like my weekends because it is then that I can relax. What a weekend!

We had the usual busy Saturday morning which included getting my eyebrows done so I look like I have some. Trying to get the last minute things ready for Maggie's Birthday Party on Sunday. Max and I went to Michaels and founds some nifty journals and pens or pencils to give out. As we pulled up, we saw that his friend had come for his first ever sleepover. The kids started playing right away running all over the place. Harry was just excited by all the action.

We went the easy route for dinner and got pizza! Then we got Karate Kid! Oh my goodness both Krismon and I got sucked into with the kids. Krismon made popcorn and they enjoyed themselves. Getting them to bed and asleep was a whole other ballgame. It was crazy. They went to sleep around 9:30 after coming in and out of the room half a dozen times. And then we went to sleep a half hour later tired. Or at least I did.  Krismon started the smoking meat process during the movie and then at some point it all went in the oven to roast over night.

Maggie was up at her normal time and then woke the boys up! Ugh. They really needed some sleep. It made the day a little tougher than needed. The bounce house got delivered around 9. I took the dog for a short run but it was so hot hot hot already that I came home before doing more than that.

They would bounce, fight, play wii, bounce, fight, eat, play wii, watch some movie, bounce, fight, bounce, play a board game, fight, bounce.

Harry did not enjoy the bounce house.

I think I was thinking. Please let 4 happen soon so there are more kids for them to play with..... I don't know what I was thinking. It ended up being our biggest party yet. We had playgroup kids, school kids, our friends, and co workers of Krismon's and their kids. It was a huge affair with kids all over the place. It was a bit overwhelming but shhh don't tell anyone. We had one pregnant friend who kept saying she was fine because we seemed so fine. lol I kept wanting to say appearances can be deceiving. I was glad to have enough food. And Maggie's cake was fabulous.

Maggie all of a sudden got shy when they sang to her so she curled into me. It was a sweet moment for me.

A cool birdhouse that she gets to paint.

Pretty much everyone was gone by 6:30 except for our oldest and closest of friends (and the ones who don't have kids or their kids didn't need to go to bed.) The older kids (meaning the single guys) played with the kids in the bounce house until the bounce house guys came at 7. Then Maggie opened her presents.  Harry went to bed late, the older two went around 8. They were fighting it and super duper exhausted. It was an excellent day and generally speaking the party went well and wasn't too hard to clean up after.

A Tinker Bell doll. Oh yes she was happy!

Harry and Maggie fighting over her princess and the frog tea set. lol

hmmm

Today was good. I mean we did a small walk with out playgroup that was different and interesting. Then we sat and chatted while the kids ran all around. It was fun to see the kids play and play and play and at one time these were the little kids. And now they are bigger kids. And they were interacting and giggling and lifting rocks to look underneath. And the babies giggled and smiled and we had a good time.

I wanted to run errands afterwards but that was not to be. Harry started getting down right grouchy in the car on the way home so I chose the path of least resistance knowing he wanted some milk and regular food. Thankfully both kids napped. Then we had to hurry to get Max from school.

Max gave me a moment today that reminded me of childhood. I was watching Oprah and he came in and watched with me. This reminded me of when I used to watch Phil Donahue with my mom as I was growing up. I still have fond memories of Phil in the pregnant lady suit with things shoved in odd places so he would get the effect of having a foot or elbow or something pushing into your bladder and what not. Good times!

Dinner was nice. Krismon brought home lobster tails a few days ago, that were frozen and prepared them with some garlic and butter for everyone. We did a little primavera to some fresh veggies and away we went. I enjoyed it, Max enjoyed it, Krismon enjoyed it. Maggie... not so much. Ah well 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

The kids got to go outside and ride their bikes around for a while. They enjoyed themselves and saw some other kids in a house that backs onto our neighborhood. Of course, there were the usual assortment of feral cats and then 2 rabbits (pet ones) that have freedom to roam our neighborhood now as well.  I keep thinking that I would love to catch one of the rabbits as a pet. They are pretty. But I think Juno would terrorize the rabbit.

And that's all she wrote.

My walking week

My week started with the hike at Red Rocks. It ended with a bit of disappointment for the kids, Maggie especially. She really wanted to see the waterfall.  Okay so I got lost in that moment and went off and searched for the hike again.

I believe I got a run in this week, though maybe not. I took Monday off and was going to go running Tuesday. I announced that I was going and Maggie wanted to go. How could I say no? I couldn't. I grabbed a granola bar and some water and we walked over 2 miles. Yesterday, I asked if she wanted to go again. Yes, but a shorter walk was the answer. I asked again today and she wanted to go longer and have the better granola bar (go lean crunch bar vs honey and oats granola bar). We walked another 2 miles. She did pretty well. I just need to work on Juno walking better on leash and Maggie keeping up with the pace. And I got to say I don't think we walk very fast so I am not sure how to get her to go better. And she did get a blister from her shoe. Only one pair of shoes seem to work well for walking. Her pink maryjane keens. lol

We'll see what happens tomorrow or if I will get to run 3 miles.

Solution or Mixture Science Experiment

Max learned about solutions and mixtures at school today. He needed to come home and do an experiment or two of course that turned into many but what fun!

Maggie stirring the food color and water solution

Max stirring the red food coloring solution.

I think one is salt or sugar, then milk, and oil. There was also the seeds from some plant outside and dirt.

And obligatory cute Maggie photo..... Can you tell that pink is her favorite color?

Max was so excited to come home and conduct this experiment. Maggie was so excited to help her older brother. Then they wanted to play with the water table that degenerated into them throwing water on each other. Good times. I think their clothes are still outside. But before they got completely wet, they did the float or sink experiment with a few things. No pictures of that though.

I do love this time when science is so fun and exciting and tactile. I like that this was something that they could do all on their own.

Mother's Day Recap

My children let me sleep until 7am. Then they gave me flowers that they had made themselves while I was still in bed. My lovely husband made french toast. Max started my coffee and got it on the table. They poured me a bowl of cereal because all that lovely french toast was surely not enough. lol. It was really nice. Really nice.
I decided because the weather was nice that I wanted to go hiking. We haven't hiked at this park since Max was a baby. It is just on the other side of town so it is kind of sad that it has been so long. Hopefully we can get a few more hikes in before it gets toooo hot. We were trying to go see a waterfall. Not sure if we just didn't go far enough or what. Maggie wore the wrong shoes and Harry fell asleep with his head sticking out the back pack. It was kind of a comedy of errors. Not enough food to keep them going or water and Maggie doesn't know how to cop a squat. I get to teach her that this week.... (Max thinks I say funny things sometimes.)

This is the start of the walk up towards the red rocks.

Still smiling at this point.

The kids enjoying a little rock climb

Max looking all outdoorsy and model like. 

Kids enjoying some granola bar. This was a turn around point.

The fun part of the hike came when we were walking back to the car. We passed people going up and down during the hike but one of the last groups had two dogs. One dog on a leash the other not. Yeah, a chow. I had Maggie and Juno with me. The chow came up to us and then started growling. Luckily with no Harry, I could do the Dog Whisperer thing and show that I was the one in charge. Which meant that I went into I will get you away from me and mine. The family apologized after we had walked past.  Krismon told me that the Dad yelled at the others for not having the dog on the leash.  And I was glad I was holding Juno's leash at the time. We let Juno walk for quite a bit of it off leash and saw a bunch of other dogs that way. And he was dead tired by the time we were done.
After we got back to the car, we called our friend Nick. He lives kind of in between us and where we were. We dropped off Juno at his house, grabbed him and went to a diner. It's called "Cheeburger Cheeburger". After such a good workout, I did not worry about stuffing my face. It was cheeseburger, a shared basket of fries and onion rings and a shared oreo cheesecake shake (I didn't taste the cheesecake part.) It was Harry's first time having ice cream and he really enjoyed that shake. I think he out ate everyone, grilled cheese, french fries, apple sauce. It was a good time.
After that we were all pretty toasted. Maggie, Harry and Krismon napped. Max did his thing. I went and got a pedicure. AHHH she took pity on my poor feet and rubbed them for quite a while. I could have sat there with her rubbing them all afternoon. The rest of the day was that the rest of the day. The kids did well and it was just a good day overall.

Happy Mothers Day to all you fabulous ladies out there.

PS I did take the dog for a walk later and had weird crazy drunk person we had to cross the street to get away from and then scary truck that yelled at me sounding like Howard Dean's yell from a few years ago....