Tot Basketball

Another day with one kiddo under the weather. Bummer. But, his fever's gone, and I certainly couldn't stay in the house with them all day - especially not Tyler.

Let's just briefly talk about Tyler. He is totally a 2.5 year old these days. Kind of a terror. I truly can remember Vincent at this age, and he was pretty ferocious then, too. The difference now is that we don't have a 6 month old baby, and Tyler's not potty training. These were the days with Vincent when I'd say, "Where is his 'OFF' button!!" Tyler is nonstop. Super inquisitive, super opinionated, super...well, two years old! And, on top of it all, he's more fearless than Vincent ever was. Remember that broken leg back in the spring?

And, so, that is why I must get out of the house with these guys. If they don't kill each other, they may kill me.

I remembered that there's a tot basketball class that takes place around 11am on Fridays. We got there 30 minutes late, but they have a special right now where we can drop in and try the class out for $2/child. Tyler's actually too young for the class, but I paid for him anyway, since I can't stop him from playing. Unfortunately, once inside, he didn't really want to play. Vincent was into it, but then he bonked his nose (which was already hurt from yesterday at Kids Quest) with the ball, and was done. Watching them made me realize two things.

#1 - My kids don't really know the first thing about basketball. Vincent sort of knows that you need to get the ball through the basket, but this was his first introduction to dribbling. Wha?! Yeah, that's pretty much the look he had on his face.

#2 - Tyler's kind of like a wild animal. A caveman (sorry Geico Caveman Dude). Slightly barbaric.

We lasted about 20 minutes. Vincent did say that he wants to try again next week, but was just done for today. Hmmmm. Karate starts Tuesday. Let's all pray that it goes better than today.

But, here are a couple of pictures!

That's pretty much as far/high as the ball got for Tyler.

Vincent had better luck. He made a couple of baskets!

AND, if you are wondering about me and work, tonight, I did an event with Lark for the Capitol Hill Housing Authority called Omnivorous. It was really fun. I got to chat with several chefs I haven't seen in some time, including Eric Bahn of Monsoon, and Scott Staples of Restaurant Zoe and Quinn's. This is one of those events that makes this business seem glamorous, even though it was pretty casual. At least, to a sort of outsider, looking in. Yeah, really, I'm still kind of an outsider. Which is totally fine with me. I feel thankful to be where I am at. I love it, actually. It gets me excited about food, again, to be around others who are so passionate about it. Okay, okay, I never stopped being excited about food. But, this is a nice boost.



Sick Day

Vincent had a fever last night after we watched "Pirates of the Carribean." It was low, so we figured we'd see how he was doing this morning. He woke in the middle of the night, really warm. We gave him some Tylenol, and let him sleep on the floor of our room. We made him a nice soft spot next to our bed. When he woke up this morning, he was happy, and his fever was gone. There's a 24 hour no fever policy at his school, so we kept him home.

Now, what am I gonna do with the kids?? I have to cancel the gym for Tyler and I as well.

I took the boys to KidsQuest Children's Museum. We had a Living Social deal. They loved it there. It's tempting to want to get a membership there, but I don't think we'd use it enough. I don't know. I don't use our science center one nearly as much as we could. I'm glad they had fun, though. They spent a good amount of time at the giant train table, and then a the water tables. Tyler was pretty soaked. Luckily, I brought a change of clothes for him. Vincent was wet, too, but I only had new pants for him that we just got at Osh Kosh.

After KidsQuest, we went to look at shoes at Payless. OMG, I haven't been in that store for probably 20 years. I found a pair of light up shoes that look like they'd be decently good on Vincent's feet. He wanted these Lightning McQueen shoes, but they were so-so looking in support. I got him Champion, and hope that they'll last and not make his feet hurt. He was super thrilled and especially happy to wear the shoes out of the store.

We had lunch at Genki Sushi, went to Target to look at Lego toys, and then headed back to KidsQuest. They kids were given 30 minutes more of playtime, but didn't last that long. Vincent bonked his nose and was really upset and wanted to go home. I was quite sympathetic towards him due to him being a little under the weather. He said, "I was having such a good day, and now it's ruined!" Luckily, I was able to calm, and convince him that his day was not ruined. The flashy shoes. Those were my ally. Who knew.

By the afternoon, Vincent's fever was back. And, he was in a terrible mood. He did his best to stay positive, but he was in pretty bad shape. He fell right to sleep quickly at bedtime.

Pirates of the Carribean

Like yesterday, we had a typical Wednesday morning. Again, we dropped Vincent off at school, Tyler and I went to the gym, he clung to me, I got a decent workout...Once again, I was hungry. Yes, I could've taken him home for lunch, but I needed to go to the bank.

Unlike yesterday, I actually accomplished the task I set out to do. Next, lunch. I still had some money left on my Starbucks gift card from my birthday (thank you Jack and Alice), so that's where we went. Tyler actually finished a cup of steamed soy milk with his meal. He just had a bagel with cream cheese and some of my sweet potato chips. There was a small table with barely enough tracks to cover half the table, and a few trains. That's all he needed to stay entertained. We ate our little meal, then headed to the playground.

We picked up Vincent, as usual, and came home for rest time, as usual.

Today, I sort of fell alseep while Vincent played with the iPad. I could kind of hear myself snoring. Pathetic. But, it must've meant I was super tired. And, it didn't seem to bother anyone. I woke suddenly, realizing we needed to get going to meet friends at the playground.

We met with Jen and her boys, and Brianna and her kids at Madrona. Along with them, there were several other friends we knew. Busy day at the playground. And, they finally refilled the sandbox with tons of fresh sand! The boys rode their wheelies a little, but pretty much just played. All the boys actually did really well playing together. Minus Tyler. He enjoyed playing on his own, and having me push him on the swing.

Dinner tonight, I made a mash-up for different things we had in the fridge that turned into a delicious pasta. Whole wheat spaghetti (cooked tonight), plus leftover spaghetti with mizithra cheese from Old Spaghetti Factory, cut up cooked breakfast sausage, fresh tomato from our garden, and leftover Swiss chard with tapenade. Yeah, sounds really weird, but it turned out nicely. We did a little special dinner: we ate it in the T.V. room while watching "Pirates of the Carribean - Curse of the Black Pearl." Yes, the boys, too. When we found out that one of Vincent's female friends has seen the first 3 of those movies, we realized that maybe he's ready to see the first one. Tyler's a bit young, but he quite liked the ride at Disney, so why not?

Local 360 With Tyler

Just our typical Tuesday morning. Vincent went to school, Tyler and I went to the gym, Tyler clung on to me and wouldn't let go...Eventually, I managed to get out of the daycare and had myself a decent workout.

Afterwards, I was famished. Yes, I could have taken Tyler home for lunch, but I had it in my head that I would also go to The Rack and see if I could find Vincent a new pair of sneakers. But, I needed to eat first. Where, though? My original plan was Le Pichet, but then I remembered Local 360. Yum! Tyler had a kid-sized macaroni and cheese, and I had a burger. I was trying to get him to have something else, but as soon as the server said the name, he was sold. The funny thing is that he barely ate it. He mostly ate my fries, and a few bites of my burger. That kid.

Me and My Vincent

I had my first break from any children for an extended amount of time today. Ahhhhhh. I tried to squeeze in a bunch of stuff, but didn't do a ton.

This was also my afternoon with Vincent. We met with friends, Relaine and Charlotte, at Crossroads. I bought him a new raincoat. I also bought some "prizes" for the boys to use with their star/sticker charts. We ate popcorn chicken and had sweet drinks from the boba place, then Vincent rode a 25cent ride. He almost didn't because he lost his priviledge, but gained it back with good behavior. Sheesh.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. At one point, all of us were down in the basement, tinkering with something on our own. It makes me want to finish the basement and move all the toys and my desk down there.

Our 6 Year Wedding Anniversary

Hard to believe how the time has flown by, yet I feel like I've been with David all my life.

We had a really wonderful day. Of course, it was no corner-suite-at-the-Liberty-Hotel-in-Boston kind of day, but I also won't wake up tomorrow with a massive, massive hangover.

This morning, we had eggs and sausage for breakfast. Then, we got ready and headed to David's office to pick up a couple of things. David had to wrap my present and take something down to the car, so the boys and I played XBOX in the game room. That room's too small to play Kinect. Poor Vincent.

We were originally going to go to Whole Foods and pick up picnic items to take to  eat at Colman Park, where we got married, but it was raining! Thank the Lord we didn't actually get married today! Six years ago, it was a glorious day!! I suggested we go to Tutta Bella for pizza, but Vincent chimed in, "Let's go to the Old Spaghetti Factory!!" Well, okay. It's cheap, Vincent eats well when we go there, we sit in a trolly, usually with no other guests, and inevitably, a train will pass by some time during the meal. Tyler's a little more so-so on eating there. It's weird, because he loves noodles. Granted, it's not the best around, but the kids eats microwaveable mac 'n' cheese like it's the best thing on Earth. That's embarrassing. I shouldn't admit any of this stuff.

Anyway, lunch went well. We went home and Tyler napped while the rest of us took it easy. At 3:30pm, we woke Tyler up and headed right out the door to Tessa's birthday party at Arena Sports...bouncy houses!

Neither boys knew any other kids except the birthday girl. She was busy entertaining all her guests. So, they played together. They were so cute when it came time for pizza and cake, sitting next to each other.

After the party, we came straight home. David lined up a sitter for us so we could go to dinner. Abby is her name, and she has been with the boys before. She's pretty great. She's a mother of 4, and totally plays with the boys. She's from the sitter service, and some of the other gals are nice, but don't interact as much. And, she's not afraid to discipline, as needed, and gently.

As for David and I, we went to La Bete, one of my new favorite restaurants. We were one of 3 couples celebrating our wedding anniversary tonight. It was a delicious meal. I think my highlight was the gnocchi special and the chocolate caramel tart. Everything else was still fabulous. And, we got to see our friend, Tyler, and another familiar face we hadn't seen since I was pregnant with Vincent, Brandon. Both were cooking tonight.



Lark

I took Vincent to Chinese school this morning while David and Tyler hung out in Seattle. While I was at the school, I attended a long, but very informative, PTA meeting. David started to walk Tyler up to 15th Ave, but ran into a neighbor who suggested to they go Miller Community Center, now open Saturday mornings for tot time. Sweet. The 4 guys rode the bus up.

When I asked Vincent after class what he wanted to do for lunch, he said, "Let's go home and eat with Daddy and Tyler." Okay, then! I thought we'd get caught in UW football traffic, but made it back in good time. We even beat them home. I made us all ground beef nachos, and then rushed out the door to Lark.

Tonight, was my first night back in Lark's kitchen! I'm working one night a week as an "extra". It's a good way to get back into work. I'm so fortunate that I have the opportunity to do this. It's hard to hire anybody for pretty much any job just one day a week.

The shift went really well. I mostly helped the other stations prep for the first few hours. Then, I helped on the garde manger station. By the end of the evening, I think I was able to make all the dishes from that station. I probably couldn't run the station on my own, but being able to put together dishes, again, was a good feeling. I'd say it's sort like riding a bike, but I'm not very good at riding a bike. The best way I was able to describe the feeling to David was, "kind of like when we watched The Office the other night..." We haven't watched that show since the end of Season 6. We missed all of Season 7, and have not been able to catch up. But, this week, we watched the premiere for Season 8. Somethings were different, like Michael Scott's not there, but much is the same. It quickly feels familiar, again. That's sort of how I felt tonight.

At 10pm, I checked my bus schedule and realized I needed to catch the bus further than I had gotten off earlier today. I guess the buses don't run as frequently later in the evening. I had to go 3 extra blocks up the hill, and in 20 minutes! It was already kind of a walk from Lark, and now further! I booked it out of there and walked so super fast. The adrenaline from working must've helped propel my feet. Next week, I'll rethink my strategy for getting to work and back. Probably just drive.



Bad Chicken

We are back to a family of four. I didn't plan anything for the boys and I to do this morning, since I originally thought I'd still have Eva until this morning, and wasn't sure exactly when she'd be going home with her mom. Whenever I do this, I get a little overwhelmed with all the choices for things for us to do. I end up asking Vincent, and he gets overwhelmed, too. We're weird.

The top two choices were go to QFC and put the kids in the daycare while I shop, or go to KidsQuest children's museum in Factoria. QFC would allow me a little alone time, but I didn't really have a good shopping list. We went back and forth on this, and finally settled on QFC...that was Vincent's first choice. The boys loved it. When I picked them up, they didn't notice me right away, and I spied them concentrating very hard on something. Hungry, hungry hippo. It was so cute.

When we got home, I had to put the laundry in to wash. Tyler was excited to watch it wash.

After naptime, I convinced the boys to go to the farmers' market. We've hardly gone all season, and it was nice out today. Hot, in fact. There are only 2 Fridays left, too. When we got there, we did a round checking out what we'd like to get. We settled on an olive fougasse twisty bread, and ice cream bars. One each. I know better, and ate mine quickly. The boys took their time, and made a mess of themselves. Vincent, who doesn't like getting dirty, actually found it really funny as he was dripping ice cream all over the asphalt.

Dinner tonight, I made braised chicken thighs in marsala wine and chicken stock with mushrooms and green beans. It was pretty simple, but rich and tasty. Unfortunately, my chicken legs were bad! Ugh!! I hate that. They were stinky, and not even expired. Double Ugh! I got them from Amazon Fresh...something I haven't done in ages. This is why I stopped using them, but did this week because we were busy with 3 kids. So annoying. At least, what I could use turned out a lovely meal.

After dinner, we had a movie night with the boys. My Neighbor Totoro. They were so excited to have popcorn! Yes, they did just eat dinner. Never stops them from enjoying popcorn. Vincent shared his bowl with David and I.





Eva's Last Day With Us

After last night's bedtime crazies, the kids all slept in a tiny bit longer. Eva was still upset when she woke this morning. It's expected. She has done really well up to this point.

We headed out to the gym, again. David went with us to drop Vincent off, and then we dropped him off near his work. When we got to the gym, Eva seemed to perk up. Tyler clung on to me, though. I was feeling pretty bad for Eva, and kept thinking about her during my short workout. I decided that I was going to make some phone calls, doing some texting, and maybe even a little emailing, and figure out if we could have Eva go home tonight, rather than tomorrow morning. Her parents were actually arriving late this evening and planned on picking her up tomorrow. I just thought that she may like to sleep in her own bed and wake up seeing her parents.

I was able to get a hold of everyone, and all were on board with the plan.

Eva actually ended up having a pretty good day, as did Tyler. We met up with my friend, Robin and her son, for lunch at a Thai restaurant. That was a little chaotic. Eva didn't like anything I gave her, even though there was broccoli, which she has been eating. Tyler was so so on his stuff, but kept flopping around on the seat. It was a very short lunch, to say the least.

But, once home, the kids were great. I had Tyler nap separately from Eva. Tyler was in our bed, and was very disturbed over this. I had to go back into the room a few times to comfort him. I think he was afraid I was going to be gone when he woke up, which is what happened yesterday when we had Samantha here. I assured him I would still be here.

Samantha came at 3pm to take Eva to preschool. I met them back at Eva's house so that I could feed her dinner and get her to bed. When we go there, their dog was there, but also had a companion, Edgar. Edgar got out the door of their house, and took off up the street. I tried to catch him, but he kept bolting as soon as I got close to him. They live on a pretty big hill. I gave up and headed back. Edgar eventually came back, as his little game was over.

I hung out with Eva, fed her, bathed her, and put her to bed. Her parents arrived home just before 11pm. They're happy to be back, and to see Eva.

Nice Morning Out With the Tots

I am apparently out of storage space for pictures on this Blogger account. WHA??!! I think I mentioned this a couple weeks ago. After doing a little poking around, it seems that this issue should not have happened. I don't know why it is, though. So, I'm gonna try to a few things to get photos posted to you all, again, FREE. Seriously, $5 a year is no big deal, but it's one more thing I have to remember to do in my life. Anyway, on to my post...

Tyler, Eva and I had a nice little morning. First, I took them to Pro Club. Man, I was sore from yesterday's workout. I took it a little easier, but still did well. Tyler's been having a tough time letting me go when he's at the daycare. Nicole, the caregiver who has been there longest, has not been this week. I think she brings him comfort.

After the gym, we went to Madrona to meet up with friends from our Seattle Central class. They were no longer at the park, but we found them at Pritty Boys pizza. They have a small play area that is blocked off, and our friends were sitting right next to it. Sweet. I ordered the kids and I a couple of slices, but they weren't too interested in eating. They played and played. That allowed me to get lunch in. Once I was done, I had them sit and eat. I was really impressed with Eva. She mowed down her half slice of pizza super fast. She even beat Tyler. Soon as they were done, they went right back to playing.

When I finally got the kids out of Pritty Boys (our friends were long gone), we walked over to Verite to get a dessert. Tyler remembered that Molly Moon's sells popsicles on that street we were on and asked to go there, but those things are big and spendy. These kiddos don't need that much sweets. We all had ourselves a baby cake each.

We then picked up Vincent and headed home for naps.

At home, all three kids napped really well. At 4pm, Samantha came over to babysit all of them for us, so David and I could have a date. We went to The Pink Door and sat on their patio, looking out to Elliot Bay. Our dinner was quite yummy, to our surprise.

When we got back, Samantha was having trouble getting the kids to calm down and fall alseep. It was expected. They also heard the garage door when we pulled up and got super excited. David and I did manage to get them all to settle down, but around 10pm, all hell broke loose.

Tyler got up because he peed in the potty. He, of course, had to go dump the contents into the toilet. He can't get the door opened, so Vincent has to help him. Eva hadn't fallen asleep yet, so when we went upstairs, she was also up. She said, "Time to wake up!" No way, Sister. BUT, her "binky" was missing. This is one of her 3 comfort objects. We looked high and low for it, but didn't find it. She was super sad, and started crying for her mommy and daddy.

I was trying to help calm down Eva, and David was downstairs looking for "binky". All the while, our boys keep getting up and down. Eventually, Tyler ended up in Vincent's bed, which made David pretty upset, but I sent David downstairs to cool off, ignoring both boys from that moment on. They knew they were being naughty. Yes, Eva's still crying at this point. I finally took her downstairs to our room, gave her an extra pacifier (though different from her "binky") and just tried to keep her calm. I rocked her and sang, hoping she'd fall asleep. After about 10 minutes, maybe less, though it felt like an eternity, she asked to go back to bed. So, I took her up, and she did fall asleep.

Whew! 

Day 5 of Family of 5

This very moment, I'm listening to Eva on the monitor. I assume that she is trying to fall asleep and this is her way wind down. Tyler does that every so often. I just want them all to fall asleep soon so I can watch the premiere of "New Girl."

Today, it felt like we were on more of a regular schedule. Vincent was dropped off at preschool. I guess after yesterday, Eva feels comfortable with Secret Garden, already. We got there, and she went right in and started playing. Cute. Then, I took the tots to Discovery Bay at the gym. When we got there, Tyler was super clingy. Nicole, whom he loves, was not there with her daughter today. Since he had a tough time separating from David yesterday, I tried to be extra loving with him today. He held on to me for a long time. Eva went right in and started asking for a snack. I'm glad she's so easygoing.

My workout was pretty good. It was nice to get my body moving. I'm so stiff, even my butt cheeks were aching when I was done. Sheesh!

Right after the gym, we came home for lunch. Then, I tried to quickly get the kids down for a nap. Eva napped shorter than Tyler today, but he was able to fall back to sleep after I went to get her. She's teething, so it's messin' with her naps. She's been chewing on stuff and her fingers a lot the past couple of days. Plus, I see a tiny little bit of while coming out of her gums.

Samantha came to pick her up at 3pm to go to preschool. Tyler got up around the same time, which was good, since we needed to pick up Vincent. Ty and I picked up Vincent and we went to the playground to meet up with friends.

When we got home, I threw together a mediocre dinner. Eva arrived back at home about 5 minutes after we sat down to eat. After dinner, the kids played a little. Vincent got sent to his room, and then the littles took a bath. 

Now, I'm late for the start of my new show. Gotta go!

David, The Chauffeur

I had a dentist appointment first thing this morning. David drove me there, dropped me off, then took Vincent to school. He lugged all three kids in to drop him off, then lugged Ty and Eva back into the car, and drove them to Tyler's daycare. Tyler screamed bloody murder when David handed him off to Su, the caregiver. He then drove back to Capitol Hill with Eva and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and snack with her while they waited for me to be done. Then, Eva and I dropped him off at work. Whew! This is what life is like with three kids, eh? Busy. But, David and I make a good tag team, for sure. And, the kids, aside from Tyler at drop off, all seemed to do well.

Eva and I spent the rest of the morning together at home. She played while I called my mom to chat, and make us lunch. She's so sweet. We played together for a while, then went to fetch Vincent.

Back at home, Eva went down for nap. Vincent and I spent about an hour working on Legos together. He's getting pretty good at following the instructions. He still needs some help figuring out which way some parts go, but he's improved so much in the past 6 months. I collected the parts for him and he would look at the picture and piece them together. Eva took a shorter nap than the other days. So, we called up a friend for some playground time.

We met up with Jen, Julian and Max at Madrona park. Before leaving the house, Vincent asked if he could bring his new bag of trinkets from yesterday's party. I said he could pick one thing. He then informed me that he was going to bring 2 little army guys to share one with Julian. And, he said, "Julian can keep it, too!" That was so sweet and generous of him. I love that. Julian was really happy to have gotten it, and the boys played really well together. Jen says that Julian would like Vincent to have at sleepover at their house soon. Fun! We didn't stay at the playground long. We had to pick up Tyler.

Tylie was so happy when we arrived. His face was covered in purple, which was from blackberries he was eating from their yard. Of course. He's coo-coo for berries, that boy. All kids had themselves a fruit leather on the ride home. I did, too!

We had Panacea's dinner waiting for us on our porch when we arrived home. Pork pibil tacos. Yaoza! So good. Eva wasn't so into this dinner, even though I adapted it to fit the kids. She did eat her portion of pinto beans, which I felt pretty proud of her for doing. My kids did pretty well. Tyler loves meat.

After dinner, David put on "My Neighbor Totoro" for the kids to watch. We were out of cat food, so David then asked Eva if she wanted to go get cat food with him. She did, as did Tyler. So, Vincent and I watched Totoro together. I love that movie. I didn't love the new voice overs, though. I don't know why. I saw the movie in high school when it was in the theaters, and then rented it several times before Disney and and Studio Ghibli merged. For some reason, I just liked the original voices better. Anyway, that's just a sidebar, sorry.

By the time David and the toddlers came home, it was 8pm - bedtime. There wasn't time for a bath tonight, but it didn't seem to bother any of them. Oh boy, those kiddos were a little crazy tonight. The were having a hard time pulling themselves together when it came time to pick out books. There was this or that needed. Eva was good. She sat in the little chair, ready and waiting. But, my boys were little boogers. Eventually, I decided that they were all going to bed without books. I felt bad doing that to Eva, but she seemed fine with it. Man, she's easygoing. Tyler was very upset and cried. Vincent knew he was causing trouble and didn't argue. They ended up going to bed pretty well, with me having to go back up just once.

Quick Note

Day 3 with little Miss Eva. This morning, Tyler and I got up and grabbed donuts at QFC. They now have Top Pot there, which is closer than going to the actual donut shop. Tyler picked out two chocolate sprinkle cake donuts for him and Eva. We got Vincent a chocolate bar, and David and I split a maple bar and a sugar donut. Later on, I learned that this may have been Eva's first donut. Doh! I felt bad for giving her such an indulgent treat, but she did love it!

After breakfast, we went to U Village for a quick playtime. We came back home for lunch, and then David took Vincent to a birthday party. Eva and Ty napped. The party was for Vincent's buddy, Henry - Star Wars themed. When he came home, he spent a little quiet time with me, doing some alphabet activities. I learned that Vincent can read the word "apple." Cool.

The remainder of the day, we spent at home, all trying not to get too annoyed with each other.



Day 2 With Eva & My First Day Back At Work

Kind of a whirl wind of a day.

David took Vincent to Chinese school this morning, while Tyler, Eva and I stayed in Seattle. I accidentally left the small stroller in the car, along with the Ergo baby carrier. I was planning on taking the kids on the bus to downtown, but the lack of helpful baby gear poses a challenge.

Then, I remembered that I have a sling. So, I packed us up a snack, checked the bus schedule, changed a poopy diaper, made the other go potty, scrambled here and there, and we were out the door.

The kids loved the bus ride, of course. And, really, they were both great and cooperated with me in keeping them safe. We went to Barnes & Noble to play at the train table. Unfortunately, they don't have many trains, even though the table itself is great. The kids lost interest quickly, and wanted to snack. So we did that. Then, we went to the toy store upstairs. Totally should have gone there first.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back home. Okay, who am I kidding, really? I was ready to head back. The kids weren't bad, just busy. And, since I didn't have a stroller, I was carrying quite the load.

We had to wait about 10 minutes for a bus. That's kind of a long time when you have two toddlers, especially when you have one you are putting a death grip on to keep safe. And, on the ride home, they were a bit more antsy. Needless to say, I was glad to arrive home safely, and let them run around freely inside the house.

We had lunch, then it was naptime! That included a nap for me.

I woke around 3pm. I had a whole chicken that I marinated yesterday for David to roast. I also had some pizza dough made that I pulled out for him to roll out, top and bake. By 3:45pm, I kissed David and Vincent good-bye (Ty and Eva were still asleep) and headed to Lark.

I met John at Lark by 4:15pm, where we loaded up the back of his car with food for an event at the Chihuly Boathouse. Oh, yeah. This is where I would talk about how I'm going to try going back to work, very part-time. I'm so fortunate that my old boss was open to having me help him out a little to get my feet wet, again. We're sort of seeing how things work out, and will work in more shifts as needed, or if I have more time. Right now, I'm there one night a week. It's exciting for me, and a good change of pace for our family. It'll be challenging at first, I'm sure, but I think it'll be a positve move for us.

As I said, the event was fun. It was a wine, food and auction for SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival). Super neat space. I got to see some awesome glass blowing, taste delicious food and wine, and have a spectacular view of Lake Union. Not to mention checking out some of Dale Chihuly's neat collector's items, like a convertible car that looks like Sir Topham Hatt's little blue car. Okay, it's much nicer than Mr. Hatt's.

When I got home, David had just gotten all three kids to bed, but they were still a little fired up. I went in to say "good-night". On Eva's first night, she was the excited one. Tonight, it seems like Tyler's the one. Again, they eventually all fell asleep, and tonight was faster than last night.

Temporarily Party of Five

At about 10am this morning, our guest for the week, Eva, arrived. The boys were over the moon to see her. I tried to contain their excitement, but they couldn't. Samantha, who dropped Eva off, hung out for about an hour so that I can get everything set up. The kids were just sitting down for a snack when Samantha left. They had a quick bite, then I took them all on a walk.

Oh. My. Gosh. It took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get them out the door. It was actually comical. I had intended to take them to the community center, but remembered at the last minute that there's a tiny playground just outside of the arboretum. Vincent walked by my side, while the tots rode in the stroller. It was just the perfect outing for us. It was warm, the kids got some fresh air, played, and Vincent got a little energy out from the walk.

We didn't spend much time at the playground, as lunch was still to be had. Lunch was mac 'n' cheese with cut up mini hot dogs and broccoli. They kids ate it all up! Total kid-friendly meal.

After lunch, I tried out our sleeping situation. All the kids beds were lined up against one wall in the boys' room. Vincent would rest downstairs, but Tyler and Eva would nap together. It's a good thing both kids were tired and ready for some sleep. I had to go in once to tell them to be quiet, but that was it. They napped for over 2 hours together!

After naptime, the kids just played and played together. There was a moment when Vincent and Eva ran back and forth between the living room, dining room and kichen for about 10 minutes, screaming. Tyler sort of hung back, complaining to them to stop. They all mostly played with the trains on the train table. Eva's at the age where she loves trains...as is Tyler.

I didn't make dinner tonight. David came home a little early because he did a volunteer event on Bainbridge Island today. He rode his bike there and back. So proud of him. We walked the kids over to the ale house. They all did really well.

On the way back, we popped in at the Greek festival that was waking place near our house. WOW! Yeah, that's one we'll look forward to for years to come.

Bedtime took a while, but they all eventually fell asleep. Eventually.



Slow Day

I guess that's the best way to describe today...kinda slow. I even to Vincent to school a few minutes late this morning. I guess it was nice not to rush around.

I had plans to take Tyler to the library for a bilingual playgroup/storytime at 10am. We got there early, but the library wasn't open yet. There was a playground nearby that we haven't been to, so we checked it out. It was pretty cool, and I look forward to showing David and Vincent.

The playgroup was alright. Tyler enjoyed the toys they had. He and I also played a game of Memory, but it was more like matching. I was bummed out about the circle/storytime, though. I thought it would be bilingual, but it was in English. The facilitator is Chinese, but she only spoke in English. Maybe this isn't the norm, but her English wasn't great, either. It was free, and there's no commitment, so it's a nice option for us to have, but I don't plan to go regularly.

We left a few minutes early and headed home. We had 2 hours before we had to pick up Vincent. We read books, made & ate lunch, then did a puzzle. Time just seemed to drag on. I'm sure it won't be like this all the time. Tyler was tired. He fell asleep in the car after we pick up Vincent.

Back at home, the kids rested/napped. I had some "office" time, i.e., piddling around online & checking email. Then, I made dinner while the kids watched Ni Hao Kai Lan.

Dinner was tasty. Steak and potatoes. I pan roasted flat iron steak and served it with roasted potatoes and roasted delicata squash. It was a comforting, fall meal, to go with our much cooler weather.

Much Needed Exercise

Tyler and I were back to the gym today. So nice to go. He was happy to be there, too. He did try to get "one more kiss" from me about 3 times. He would have kept going if I hadn't cut him off.

I did a total of 3.25 miles in about 40 minutes. I had it in my head that I would just take it easy today, but once I got in there, my body just wanted to run. So, I ran at a pretty fast pace (for me) the first mile, then walked on an incline the second mile, and ran the last 1.25 miles, ending with 6.5MPH pace. Not a track star, but for me this was pushing it a little. It felt good to get my legs moving, again.

After the gym, we headed to QFC. This past week, they advertised a whole free-range chicken for $1.69 each. I knew this must've been a typo, but I figured I'd see if I could get a super great deal anyway. They wouldn't honor the ad because they supposedly caught it really early on and posted signs all over the store. Oh well. It was still a good deal per pound.

Yesterday, Vincent asked a lot about Tyler off and on. Today, Tyler asked about Vincent. Those boys spent a lot of time together this summer. I'm sure it's a little weird to be the only child for a few hours. It's sweet of them to think of each other. I had let Tyler pick out a bag of Pirate brand snacks. He picked Smart Puffs, and kept talking about sharing with Vincent. Ahhhh, so cute.

Vincent's First Day At Pre-K Part 2

It turns out, Vincent did have a great day at school. On the way home, I asked him if he had a Spanish teacher. This was our conversation:

Vincent: "Yeah, but I don't know her name."

Me: "What did she say to you guys?"

Vincent: "I don't know."

Me: "You don't remember, or you didn't understand her?"

Vincent: "I didn't understand her."

Doh! Well, hopefully, by the end of the year, he'll at least know how to say, "Hello, how are you?"

Nonetheless, he had a good day. When we got home, he played on his own for a while so I could vacuum a little. Once I finished, I asked him to clean up. I didn't notice until after dinner what a nice job he did cleaning up. I made sure to tell him how well he did. Better late, than never? Before we picked up Tyler, we spent about an hour outside in the yard. I did some sweeping, and he dug a hole to plant a few tulip bulbs. I had to explain to him that we won't see those come up for several months, but he didn't seem to mind.

Vincent's First Day At Pre-K

Vincent was up bright and early this morning. The rest of us were still very sleepy. I think David stayed in bed another 10 minutes after Vincent came to wake us up, then I got up a few minutes later, and then Tyler. It's a good thing, as we had to get Vincent to school by 9am.

We were actually early! Second ones there, and the door wasn't even unlocked, yet. Vincent was eager to get into school, and before I knew it, he was already downstairs playing. Tyler and I went hunting for him to say our "good-byes". He barely stopped what he was doing (exploring) to give us a couple of hugs. The boys were quite cute, actually.

Then, we were off for Tyler's daycare. Along the way, I told him he could be sad when I drop him off, but to try not to cry. Poor baby, had such a hard time letting me go, and in the end, there was loud crying. He did try very hard to hold back the tears, but he was definitely sad.

Once the kids were all dropped off, I met my friend, Stephanie, at Mioposto for some coffee. That was nice. I haven't had one-on-one time with her in a while. In fact, it might be the first time we've chatted alone since she started dating her boyfriend, a year ago tomorrow. Happy anniversary, Stephanie and David.

After coffee, I came home to make Stella an appointment at the vet. She must've gotten in a fight recently, as one side of her face has been swollen the past couple of days. I noticed it two days ago, but thought her hair was just pooffy. Last night, when I saw her face, her left eye was almost shut, and there was definitely swelling on her cheek. I looked her over, and there were also some scratches around her face. More like scabs. Uh, I dislike that word. It sounds so, so, unpleasant. This morning, I found dops of blood on our bedroom floor. We went to check Stella out, again, and it looks like she must've scratched at the wound, taking off much of the hair around her cheek. Fortunately, her eye seems to be opening better, and some of the swelling may have come down. Nonetheless, I made her an appointment for Wednesday. I'm hopeful that she'll be better by then and that I can cancel, but we'll see.

AND, Tyler woke up with a little bit of a limp this morning. He was actually limping a bit yesterday morning, but today, he said his leg hurt a little. Weird.

I have a few minutes before I need to go pick up Vincent from school. I hope he had a great day.

Out of Space & The Return of Football

After 2.5 years of this blog, I have run out of storage space on Picassa for my photos. What? I thought it would be unlimited. Unfortunately, 1G is all I get. If I want more, I have to pay for it. So, I guess this means all the lovely photos you've been getting to see will not be so frequent, if at all, from here on out. Unless, of course, I pay for more storage space, which I'm not sure what I'll do. It's inexpensive, but whatcha think? Doesn't everyone just look at those photos on Facebook anyway? To be continued...

So, as I mentioned earlier this week, NFL football is back in season. I don't really care about football. But, my husband's a big fan, and apparently, now so is Vincent. I even bought him two football shirts at Macy's the other day. He was super excited about them, too. It's kind of weird to me, cuz he has no idea what's happening.

Nonetheless, he's into it, and this morning, he accompanied David, Jon and Eva over to the eastside to watch the Browns play at Bob's house. They were there all morning, until after lunchtime.

While they were gone, Tyler and I went to Fun Zone at Arena Sports. One of the nice things you get for going to a birthday party there is a coupon for a free pass to Fun Zone. I don't care about the rest of the swag in those goody bags, but that coupon is like cash. Well, sort of. Fun Zone is bouncy house central. They have open play on the weekends in the mornings. This morning, it was empty. There were a total of 4 kids and 3 adults for the 3 hours it was open. Lucky us! It was so nice to just let him run around without worrying about bigger kids knocking him down. When we were done there, we went to the playground outside to eat our lunch. It was hot, hot. He was such a sweetie, sitting there eating with me. And, when it was time to leave, he didn't make a fuss. He fell asleep on the ride home, and took a nice long nap at home.

David and Vincent arrived home about an hour later. Vincent napped, too. Then we gave them these Chinese lantern things my mom sent them over a year ago. I guess you use them during Chinese New Year, but I thought they were for Harvest Moon, and had talked them up a bunch already, so I had to let them see them. Oh man, these things are loud and obnoxious. But, they had such a fun time playing with them.

For dinner, we had our friends, Stephanie and David, and his two kids, over for pizza and backyard playtime. They kids had a blast. Tyler ate about his normal pizza amount, but then when everyone left, he asked for more pizza. He ended up eating two slices. The second piece, he even ate the crust. Shocking. Vincent ate more, too.

Tomorrow is Vincent's first day back at preschool. Woop woop!

Chinese School Is Back In Session

We tried to get up early to make it to Bellevue in time for Vincent' Chinese school, but didn't quite get there by 9am. Buster kept me up half the night meowing. That cat is so dumb! He meows because he wants to go outside, but he knows we have a cat door, and he's been in and out of it. What's wrong with him? And, the boys slept in. We weren't too late, though.

When we got there, we all accompanied Vincent to class, but he went right in, took a seat, and let us leave. He was A-OK, which was super impressive and surprising. I took Tyler over to the P1 class to see if he could take the class, even though he's not old enough. The answer is NO. He sat there for a while on my lap, but soon lost in interest in the teacher and just climbed all over me, asking me questions and such. So, David and I took him to the nearby mall and we got coffee. He actually rode on some of the coin operated rides today. He normally so scared of them. Before we left, we sat with Vincent during his snack time. Again, he did great. He ate his snack quietly, and seemed happy. When he was done, he went right back into class and didn't even need us to take him in.

We were supposed to go to a birthday party for one of Vincent's friends this afternoon, but I had such a bad headache from lack of sleep, and we had another event afterwards, so we skipped. We all rested a bit, and headed out to Fremont Brewing Company for Jon's birthday celebration. The boys were crazy. But, they had fun, and we were able to hang out with friends, somewhat. Crazy, I tell you. Actually, aside from his naptime, Tyler's been crazy all day. There was this old playground ride-on thing that all the kids enjoyed.

There wasn't too much food there (you bring your own, and Andrea brought some snacks for the party), so we stopped for dinner on our way home. Ivar's Salmon House. Actually, we ate outside at the seafood bar, which is just this walk up window serving various fried food. It was nice to sit out on the patio - thank you, Seattle, for this lovely, drawn-out summer. Interesting people watching to be had.

Vincent's Pre-K Open House

This morning, Tyler and I accompanied Vincent to his preschool's open house. Vincent just got right in there and started playing. Tyler clung on to me at first, but then enjoyed exploring around as well. We're super excited for this upcoming preschool year for Vincent. One of his teachers from last year, Emily, will teach this year's class, along with the school Director, Laurie. Vincent's class is called the Volcanos.

 

After the open house, I took the boys to Costco, where we spent a really long time. We sampled a bunch of food, developed some good old fashioned film, and stocked up on snacks for Vincent to pack for school. Well, Tyler will need them, too. We also got gas.

 

At home, both boys took naps. When I woke Vincent, he was still super tired. He tried his hardest to rally, but ended up pretty cranky. I give him credit, though. He tried to be chipper, but just couldn't do it.

 

After dinner, the boys had a movie night, and I went to Macy's for their One-Day Sale Preview. Huh? Isn't that a two day sale, then? Whatever, I got good deals. Unfortunately, Vincent's so thin, the pants I got him don't fit quite right. Size 4 is still a little large, but folding it down on the waist would make them too short. Size 5 is even larger, though I could fold them. I even thought these pants look slim, but apparently not slim enough. Maybe they'll shrink.

Tire Swing, Dentist, and Tomi Goes Home

I took the boys to Miller playground this morning. We have not been there in ages. With such nice weather, there's no need for an indoor playground, so we played outside. The boys loved the tire swing. They were so cute on it together.

After the playground, they had dentist appointments. Vincent's took much longer than Tyler's. He had his teeth brushed, x-ray'd, and treated with flouride. Tyler just had his teeth looked at and was given a flouride treatment as well. Vincent got to watch T.V. the whole time, so he was pretty patient. He did ask a few times if he was almost done. It last about an hour, so I think he did really well.

Vincent getting his teeth cleaned.

Poor kid, sat with this iron bib on for about 30 minutes. He's smiling at the TV, not at me.

We rushed home for some lunch, then Tyler had to get a quick nap in before taking A-gong to the airport.

Yup, it's good-bye to A-gong today. I'm sad to see him go. So are the boys. He was super helpful to us, but also wonderful company to have around. I loved chatting with him about life and food, and hearing stories about our family. I feel like we had good bonding time. The kids didn't get as much Mandarin as I had hoped, but I think Vincent started to pick up some of the Taiwanese Ba and I were saying to each other. He seemed to understand a little. I spoke to Ba about an hour ago, and he landed safely in Long Beach.

Recently, Vincent's been asking about watching football. Can he feel it in the air? He asked again tonight about the Packers. Lucky for him, they played tonight. We walked over to the ale house to watch a little of the game, let the boys play in the pit, and we each had a beer (not the kids, of course). There were other families there...younger families. We suddenly felt old. Yeah, yeah, it's bound to happen, but we're only in our mid-30s!

Oh yeah, and I got this pic of Vincent launching a paper airplane off the back deck. He was trying to teach Tyler how to fly them, and was really trying to hold it together as Tyler ignored him, fought him for the planes, and just down right gave Vincent a hard time. Vincent was pretty patient, by preschooler standards, and started to lose it a little, but pulled himself together, again. After I got dinner to a stopping point, I went outside to play with them, but Vincent announced, "Let's clean up and go inside to play with the Geotrax, Tyler!" Suddenly, I was outside by myself.

Larsen Lake Blueberries

With all this sunshine, we had to take A-gong out to pick some blueberries. And, just like all the rest of his work, he did an awesome job picking berries. We walked out of there with over 5 pounds of blueberries! And, the boys (Tomi included) all ate about a pound worth while picking. Tyler was in heaven. Vincent finally stopped at one point, exclaiming, "Oh, my tummy hurts." I packed us a picnic lunch, and we ate it on the farm. Such a nice outing.

Tonight, David and I had a meeting for Vincent's preschool. A-gong and the boys watched a movie while we were gone. When we got home, Tyler wanted to watch more, and threw a fit. Actually, he just sobbed loudly. Sheesh.

After the boys went to bed, David, Ba and I sat and chatted for a long time. Ba told us some family history, and we talked about the house where he grew up and I lived in for the first 4.5 years of my life. I love hearing this kind of stuff from him. Some I've heard before, but each time I learn something new. For example, I thought that my grandpa, my mom's dad, owned a blanket factory. That was actually my grandma's work, and what Grandpa did own was a thread factory. News to me.

Little Ninja & Dinner Guest

Vincent was invited to a ninja birthday party/playdate for this afternoon. This morning, we went to Izilla Toys to get Henry a gift. After much contemplation, Vincent settled on 4, 3-inch sized plastic figurines. They were of pirates. He wanted Henry to be able to set up a battle with these figures. Yes, they were of pirates and not ninjas, but Vincent and I decided that it would still be fun.

The playdate was for just a few friends. They were all given a ninja costume to dress up in, and blow-up swords. I dropped him off, so I'm not entirely sure what all happened. I know they had a story read to them, did ninja training, at cake, and went for a nature walk to the arboretum. Henry's dad told me all this, since I knew Vincent wouldn't.

Tonight, we had Peter, his girlfriend Sharon, and her family all over for dinner. It was so good in so many way. We ate on the back porch. David set up with table so beautifully. My food turned out really tasty. Tyler ate like a champ. Vincent complimented my cooking. And, we enjoyed our guests' company. I'd say, Anny's Kitchen is open for business.  Ha ha!



Bumbershoot 2011 & Lumberjack Anny

It's been 5 years since David and I have been to Bumbershoot. The last time we went, I was pregnant with Vincent, and we stood in a line for a comedy show, to see David Cross, for about 2 hours. That wasn't going to fly for this year. Not with our kiddos in two. We had waited until we felt that it would be worth the money to take the boys with us. Lucky for us, in that 5 years, they have developed a section called "Youngershoot". I believe it's the second year they've done it. I was rather pleased with how well it was received by our kids. There were craft tables, including button making, musical instuments for them to play, Legos, ride-on cars, music, and this veggie garden exhibit that's part of the Seattle Children's Museum. It was nice because they had food vendors around there and picnic tables, but it wasn't a super crowded area.

We did eventually venture into the main area and watched a couple of performances. One included a rap artist named, Kendrick Lamar. We thought it would be fun for the boys to go to the mainstage at the Key Arena, especially since it wasn't super crowded and a little cooler. Unfortunately, we didn't know Mr. Lamar is a rapper, and one who rapped with such, um, strong language. We had to tell Vincent, "Those are grown up words, and he's a grown up. You should not use words like that." We would've just gotten up and left, but he was quite into the music and wanted to stay.

We all rode on a "rejuiced bike" similar to this one.

 Tyler with the very large tomatoes.

 Some drumming.

Though we didn't get to see the main headliner for today, Hall And Oates, nor did we get to see most of the performances of the day (who am I kidding, we saw just parts of two), we feel like we still got our money's worth. Everyone had a good time, I got lots of swag, a couple of free reusable bags, and we walked off with these two photos, FREE!

Lastly, we took out our backyard "tree tunnel" this afternoon. After a short discussion, Ba and I were determined. It was a group effort, which included me and Sawz-all.

BBQ at Carkeek

Gabe and Sarah hosted a bbq lunch at Carkeek Park today. They supplied the meats, and we all brought a dish to share. It was a gorgeous day, but I just couldn't muster the energy to pull my camera out of my bag to take pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it when I say that it was so lovely, and we had a good time. Vincent and I played a game of I Spy with some clay sea animals in the playground. They were imbedded into these rocks to look like a tidepool. We took turns spying different things while the other tried to find it.

When we got home, the kids rested while David helped Ba do some digging out back. Right now, Ba is working on helping us with our drainage issues. We'll doing a little test to see if our theory is correct. If so, then we can spend more money in the future to permanently remedy the leak in the basement. I guess well see over the course of the next year as rainy season starts back up soon. I went to Whole Foods to buy some groceries. I picked up a whole roasted chicken. Yikes! Those birds are spendy. I mean, I'm sure they're of better quality than QFC's, but I got used to the lower prices. It was tasty, though. I served it with an orzo salad with goat cheese, olives and basil. 

David and the Boys

Today, I got to have a little time to myself, now that David is home. He took the boys to get milk and donuts down the road for breakfast. Yummy. Then, I took a shower and went to get a pedicure, while he took them on a nature walk.

Most of the day after that was pretty low key and uneventful. Except for when I butchered my first whole salmon in about 5 years. The guys who went fishing the other day sent me home with this beauty.

I filletet it and cut it up into 6 pieces. We ate two of the larger pieces for dinner tonight.

After dinner, we took the boys to get frozen custard. Yummy, again.

Queen of Seattle

Peter and Sharon are in town! They arrived on Wednesday and have been staying up north with Sharon's family. It's so great to meet Peter's girlfriend, and to see him. The plan has been for us to go for a cruise on the Queen of Seattle, a paddlewheel boat. And, it was such a beautiful day for a cruise on the lake.

As we were waiting for the ship to sail, flights from Kenmore Air's seaplanes were taking off. We stood there and watched about 5 planes fly out of the water. Tyler was so excited.

Our cruise and tour of Lake Union and the ship canal to the Ballard Locks was so pleasant, and interesting. I love hearing historical facts, especially about where I live. Like this one: Capitol Hill is named such because back in the day, it was in the running to be the state capitol, losing to Olympia.

This evening, David returned from San Francisco, and Salesforce.com's big annual conference, Dreamforce. But, first, I got to go with with some friends at Eastlake Bar and Grill. Gabe and Sarah are also visiting from L.A. this week, as is Matt McCormick from Chicago. We dined on the outdoor deck, then headed to Zoo Tavern, where David had his cab drop him off. And, when I was parking our car there, our group of friends were across the street and saw me parallel parking, and thought that I wouldn't get into the tight spot. They were very impressed when I did. 

Ba watched the boys for me so that I could go out. It was his first time watching both of them for a couple of hours, and putting them to bed. Sounds like they did well.





Visit to Federal Way with Tomi

It's been since our wedding that Stanley and Halina have seen my dad. I told Halina a few weeks ago that I'd bring him down while he's here. So, today was the day. We went down to the Dash Point beach for the boys to play in the little playground, while we enjoyed the view. There were tons of people fishing on the pier for Pink Salmon. I think Ba enjoyed watching them. At one point, there was all sorts of commotion, and many fish were being pulled out of the water (on different poles) at the same time.

I made lunch for everyone while Halina and Ba took the boys to the garden to pick strawberries and veggies. The boys were on their best behavior at lunch, which was such a surprise and a relief. Both ate like champs. The completely deserved their ice cream Drumsticks after. Halina always has ice cream ready for them as dessert when we go over.

On our way back to Seattle, I had to stop and get gas. We were wayyyyy low. The gas station next the freeway had all their pumps closed, so I needed to go elsewhere. I thought I'd just hope on the I-5 and head south one exit to Costco. Not as I planned. I got confused with the exit signs and ended up driving 4 extra miles, in bumper to bumper traffic, to the next exit. Thank goodness there were gas stations at that exit! We made it home safely, with a stop at Lowes for some supplies on the way. And, the boys got a nap in during the drive. They had no idea of my gas stress.

Tonight, we went to Paul and Gabi's for a last minute get together. Gabe, Matt, and Tom caught 11 pink salmon earlier in the day. We brought over some of Halina's chili and a cucumber salad. We tired the boys out...or maybe the two minor trampoline accidents did. Yes, yes, they are okay.