First Week Of The Year

It was a busy week, getting us all back in the swing of things. I think I got about 2 hours of actual "Anny" time all week. Wednesday afternoon, I got some quiet time while the boys rested, but I was busy filling up our calendar with this appointment and that appointment. I quickly remembered that it doesn't really slow down for us after the holidays are over. Plus, this year, Chinese New Year is a bit on the early side, in January, instead of February. We aren't hardcore on celebrating the holiday, but I do like to do something, and having less time to plan sort of stressed me out. Oh well.

But, the one major good thing about this week is that things are (slowly) settling down for us. I think once I actually put stuff down on the calendar, it doesn't feel so overwhelming. And, Vincent has enjoyed being back on a routine. He seems so happy to be back at school, and mostly, just being a home. 

Tyler's happy, too. He's so verbal these days, and getting a bit bossy. But, definitely happy. Since we've been back, his new thing is making breakfast. He's super into it. I'd even say he's obsessed. He'll announce loudly, "It's time for me to make breakfast! What do you guys want?" After he gets Vincent's order, he'll tell him to go sit down at his seat at the table, and he'll start to work on preparing Vincent's meal. He also helps make ours. It's great! It's also a little dangerous, as he's pretty confident in doing some stuff that we'd rather have him get our help for, such as pouring the scalding hot water into the oatmeal. David caught him in time one morning to help. It's busy enough for us getting everyone fed, dressed, and out the door in the mornings, and now we need to slow down a bit to help Tyler be involved. School can wait an extra 5 minutes, right? Hopefully, he'll get this down by the time Vincent goes to kindergarten and we need to be more on time.

Wednesday, Tyler and I had a really nice morning together. We dropped off Vincent, then went to gymnastics. We actually got there early, not late! He had a great time, and as soon as class was over, he said, "Snack time!" So cute. He loves snack time. We then came home and made chocolate covered Ritz crackers with a touch of sea salt and caramelized sugar bits sprinkled on top. Ooh la la. And, we made lunch: sushi rolls. Tyler just loves helping out in the kitchen.


Here's a picture of him on our way to pick up Vincent.

Friday night David and I had a date. We went to our friend, Joey Veltcamp's, birthday party. So fun. He had it at a cool event space in Capitol Hill called, Sole Repair. I loved how it was simple, yet, elegant. What a nice use of real estate. He had bowls of fun snacks, such as Swedish Fish, around the room, along with a tall rainbow cake, and brightly colored mini cupcakes, and popcorn and pretzels. There were collages of him, through the years, posted up as well. We got to hang out with some of our hippest friends in Seattle, which is always a treat!

Saturday, Vincent's Chinese school started up again. We are SO bad at getting him there on time! I think his teacher is always a little annoyed when she sees us walk in late. While there, I volunteered my time to help put together this Chinese New Year paper dragon. It's huge! And, it's the sort of disorganized chaos that makes my head spin. The woman in charge had the "deer-in-headlights" look as she tried her best to keep order. I think her stress made it seem busier and more hectic than it needed to be. Oh well. I just did what I could to help, at a pace that I felt comfortable with, so to get the job done correctly. When it was time to pick up Vincent, he said to me, "Mommy, I had a bad day in school today." I tried to figure out what all happened, but came to the sad realization that maybe this isn't working out for him. **Sigh**

In the evening, I went to work for the first time in a month. It was BUSY. Okay, maybe not super busy at service, but the prep cooked is sick, then the dishwasher called out. I had a constant stream of prep. The other guy who came in to help prep jumped on to the dish pit to wash. And, then at one point, I think the dishwasher got clogged. Oh boy. At the end of the day, stuff got done, guests were fed, and we went home.

At home, David and I were chatting about our night apart when he spotted a raccoon outside the back door. Wait, it's two. No, three!