100%

On Saturday, Vincent took a "midterm" test for Chinese school. I was home recovering from my fall that morning. When David and the boys came home to pick me up for our afternoon plans, I asked Vincent about his test. He told me that it went well, and that he thought he got 100% on it. I was skeptical, but went along with it, saying things like, "Wow, you feel like you knew all the answers..."

Fast forward to this afternoon, which checking to see how much Chinese homework he will need to do this week, I came upon his test. Why, yes, indeed, he had gotten 100%! I was so excited, I blurted out, "For doing so well on your test, what if Mommy and Daddy help cover you for the rest of your Golden Ninja?" 

Vincent asked, "Do you mean dragon?" 

"Yes, yes, dragon, that's what I meant," I said.

His eyes widened, then we discussed how much money he has saved so far, and I told him that since he worked so hard studying for his test and did so well, we'll go ahead and spot him the rest of the money. This golden dragon is a Lego Ninjago set that costs $30, and he's been saving up for it for several months. He's short about $5. I also gave him the option to pick out something else, and he could keep saving up, but he chose to take the dragon. When he realized that I was serious about this, and his dad agreed, he gave me a big hug, and told me I'm the best Mommy ever. Admittedly, I'm not, but it sure is great to hear your kid tell you that.

And, then I snuck in, "See? Learning Chinese is getting easier and so fun!"

36 Weeks & Taking A Beating

No, I didn't get jumped. Instead, I took a bit of a tumble this morning. That's my beating. 

I was standing on the sidewalk in front of our house waiting for a friend, when I noticed one of my anemone flowers was in bloom. It made me so happy, as I've been thinking lately that our spring so far is so grey and cold, I might forget to stop and notice the flowers coming back to life. This also inspired me to pull some of the dead stuff out of the ground while waiting for my friend. I pulled on one, and it didn't budge, so I went to get my pruning shears from the garage. As I was walking down the driveway, I tripped on a crack, and launched myself forward. It was almost in slow-motion, as several thoughts flashed through my mind. The baby. That was the main thought. My right hand, then my right knee, landed first, followed by the rest of my body. I don't remember landing directly on my belly, though, that ended up on the ground, too. I remember trying to hold my head up, but feeling that slowly touch down, too. No bonk there.

I sat up right away, and examined the damage. I had my purse on me, and decided to call David. I didn't want to scare him, but I was so shaken up, it seemed like the only thing I could do. Within a minute, Alicia and Sonia, my friend and her daughter, arrived. I figured I'd just have Alicia help me into the house, but she did so much more.

Alicia sprung right into action. She's had emergency response experience! And, she was totally calm. I couldn't have asked for a better aide at that moment. She cleaned me up, patched me up with what little first aid materials we have on hand, and even helped me send a text message to another friend I was supposed to meet in an hour. 

David made it home quickly, and was able to take over. We called my doctor, and I was asked to go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. They warned me that it is at least a 4-hour monitoring, and I could be kept for up to 24 hours.

Needless to say, I'm home. All seemed to check out fine. Baby is moving lots, heartbeat looks good, no regular contractions, and no leaking of amniotic fluid. We even ran into my doctor when we got off the elevator. She was able to help me get immediate attention, and helped me clean up one of my wounds. The nurse helping me was wonderful. I was able to order a meal, and even got in a quick nap. 

David had to leave me to pick up the boys, but thank goodness he could do all that to help out!

Once again, even with the ups, downs, and little challenges, I consider myself a very lucky woman. 

And, yes, today marks week 36!

Cooking Camp and Teeth

This morning, as Tyler and I were driving to his gymnastics class, he made a comment about this picture of him from cooking camp last summer. Something to the extent of how the picture reminds him of when he went to the camp. A couple weeks ago, we asked if he wanted to go back to cooking camp this summer. He said, "no." In fact, he doesn't really want to do any camps this summer. Just go to his preschool (which is a good thing, since it's year round). 

Anyway, I followed his comment this morning with asking him, again, if he'd like to go to cooking camp this summer. And, again, his answer was, "no." But, here's his actual answer: "No, because I already know how to cook. I learn cooking from you." 

So, I asked, "Oh, I can teach you cooking?"

"Yes, because you are a better cook," said Tyler. 

OH YEAH!!!! 

In Vincent news, he has been wondering why he hasn't lost any teeth, yet. I asked about it last week. Today, just as karate class was starting, one of his classmates told Mr. Ness that he lost a second tooth last week, or something. Other boys chimed in about their teeth, too. Vincent blurted out, "I haven't lost any of my teeth!" His teacher was so surprised, and even looked over to me for confirmation.

Yup, it's true. Even after knocking his two front teeth several time, including once when it actually came a bit loose, he has yet to lose a single baby tooth. In fact, from his x-rays at the dentist, they don't seem to be coming out too soon. It's been a while since we've had this checked, though. Our dentist, of course, is not worried, and neither are we. I think Vincent may sort of feel like he's behind, physically, though. Like, he makes comments sometimes about how kids are stronger than him, or taller, etc. We just remind him that everyone grows at different rates, and that he's probably faster at running than most of his friends. That usually perks him up.

Kickin' Friday

It just dawned on me that I'm going to have to find to spend quality time with each boy soon. I mean, I already have to do that now, but I'm really gonna need to kick it up a notch (or three). At least, I have my Mondays and Fridays with Tyler. I'll also get more Vincent time this summer, but he'll have to share with the baby, too.

Anyway, we started the day off with both boys getting magazine holders. I bought these a couple months ago at Ikea, and forgot I had them. When Vincent spread out a bunch of Lego magazines and catalogs, I remembered I had them, and gave each boy one to use and decorate. Genius.

This morning, Tyler and I had our date. We went to the gym, then to Cost Plus, and then lunch. He's getting to know Cost Plus pretty well now. For being so patient while I shopped for curtains, I let Tyler pick out something. He chose a Hulk toy/candy. We got a Spider-man one for Vincent, too.

For lunch, Ty picked Genki Sushi. It was the busiest I've seen it at this location. This was a good thing because there were many items to choose from and everything was just made, rather than going around the belt several times before our arrival. Hot items were hot, which taste so much better.

This afternoon, Tyler had his very first karate class. It was actually a little orientation lesson, and he doesn't officially start until Monday. Still, he was super excited, got a new uniform, and even had to earn his white belt. I thought he did a super job listening, even if he was a touch squirmy.

And, since karate was at 5pm, I saved my "Go Out To Dinner" card for tonight. We had a coupon for Tutta Bella, so Tutta Bella we went. David met us there. Yum, it was tasty. We let the boys pick out a dessert at Whole Foods afterwards, and brought them home to eat.

A Little Warmth...

Truly does go a long way. There was sunshine this afternoon. When Tyler and I picked up Vincent from school, I did not wear a coat! Imagine that. We had to stop at the little market by the freeway for cheese, so I let the boys pick out ice cream for later tonight. The little bit of warmer weather put me in such a good mood, I even let the boys have part of their dessert on the back porch when we got home. They both picked out "Dibs," which are little nuggs of ice cream dipped in chocolate. Oh, and the boys even played on the playground at the school yard after Vincent got out. Oh sunshine, please stay for a while.

Oh, and here's a cute one of Tyler with his new pirate headband.

Budding Artists

I put up a long piece of paper across one of our kitchen walls this weekend. It was to protect the wall from icing while kids decorated cookies at Tyler's birthday party. After I moved the table back downstairs, I thought about taking the paper down, but it seems like such a waste. So, I drew a sun, and started a tree. I meant to draw leaves on the tree, but the kids found it before I could finish, and they immediately went to work on it. Well, they were polite enough to ask what it was, and if they could draw on it, too. I was so delighted with their enthusiasm to create.

 

 Vincent drew a ninja hiding in the tree, saying, "Ki-ai!" Tyler drew a bird, then needed to extend a branch for the bird to perch on. He then drew some leaves.

 See the ninja, bird, and leaves?

 Oh, need another leaf here...

 Tyler wanted to draw his own tree. Vincent was creating some sort of crazy ninja scene.

 Final product (for now):

To the left of the tree, it is night time. There is a moon, stars, and black clouds. To the right of the tree, is another tree, and a small golden dragon (can't see it) on the bottom right. I believe there's a snake, too. Tyler had me draw 3 snowflakes as well.

Tyler's 4th Birthday Party

I started to say that this was Tyler's first real birthday party, but that's not true. His 1st and 2nd birthdays were definitely real birthday parties. Even his 3rd. But, all three were done with family, and a couple of close friends. This is the first birthday party for Tyler that we've had in our house, and invited his friends. We allowed him to choose 4 families. Boy, oh boy, was he happy!

I made a couple of decorations ("Tyler" sign and "4" crown).

 Ty's cake.

  

Snacks: apples, Veggie Booty, pretzel logs, carrot sticks, and olives.

 Cookie decorating with Lexie.

 I was amazed with Vincent's cookie decorating skills! After he did the first one, he sat back to admire his work. He went on to decorate about 3 or 4 more.

 

 We ordered Domino's Pizza for lunch. All the kids finished up and left the table, but Tyler sat there happily on his own.

Okay, everyone's back, and ready for cake!

 Blowing out the candle.

 Ah, a favorite part: licking the frosting off the candle.

Final activity of the day: the choo choo pinata!!

Each kid went home with their decorated cookies, along with a train book and another iced cookie that I decorated. Doh! I forgot to take a picture of my decorated cookies. I was so proud. Iced cookies are a lot of work to make!

What a wonderful little gathering. We are so lucky to have good friends to celebrate a special day for our special 4 year old.

Montlake School Auction

The last school auction we were planning to go to, we never made it, since Tyler was born early that morning. I was crossing my fingers that the same thing would not happen tonight with our next baby. I mean, it would have been a delight to meet Baby, but he'd be too early, and that's scary. But, we made it to the auction!!

We had a really nice time, but didn't get any of the items we bid for. Nonetheless, we still contributed money towards the school PTA, and had fun socializing. The highest bid we tried for was a one week stay in Palm Dessert in a 3 bedroom condo. We would have had to double what we tried bidding to have gotten it. Oh well. This was our first year, so we're just getting used to it. Plus, it's only the 2nd live auction we've ever attended. Pretty amazing the amounts some families were able to contribute. I feel so blessed to have our kids in such a supportive, involved community.

Late Night, Great Night

Our good friend, Joseph, is in town! He had a gathering at the house he's staying at, which included a bunch of old friends we haven't seen in a while. Several of us have children how, which was great fun. The kids all did a pretty nice job hanging out, and there were no major tears. Nobody got hurt, at least! Our boys were a little excitable at first, but seemed to settle down a bit. The television did get put on, which helped.

I have a nice warm, fuzzy feeling from tonight's gathering.