My Little Martians

I thought I'd share Max's Father's Day gift which we just finished assembling together. We make it a habit of giving each other simple gifts for holidays. The truth is we always insist to one another, no gift, no gift, but seem to always end up with something sweet and simple. It's a frame of our 3 little martians for Max's office. Max took various photos and these are the ones we selected together to put in this frame. Although the background looks white (there's cardboard behind it) this is one of those frames where the photos appear to be floating in glass. I just love the way it came out and I'm happy that Max is pleased with it too.

World Cup Fun

We wanted to beat the heat today so we went to one of our favorite parks, Dreamland where it was about 10 degrees cooler from our home because of the bay breezes. After a bit of playing we decided to go have lunch at Pyramid Ale House. Turned out to be lots of fun, there was a bit of a crowd because of the World Cup. So there was lots of hooting and hollering as Brazil played USA. The kids got a kick out of this and they were able to hoot and holler all they wanted without anyone caring. Although Max and I aren't big sports fans, we had a good time watching the game and enjoying lunch with the boys. Liam was mesmerized by the soccer game on the big screen, I have a feeling he's going to be our sporty one. He already dribbles a soccer ball down a field and just loves it.

Triple Goodness

I've been wanting to buy the boys some yard toys especially a play house. Several of our friends have them and when we go over, they have a great time playing with it. So I scored a play house, slide, and teeter totter on craigslist for a fraction of the cost if I had bought them new. What I love most about this deal is...

1. We are ReUse-ing some great toys that have lots of life in them still. By buying used, we keep these gems out of our landfills, that's one more step we take to contributing to saving our mother earth. (remember Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse)

2. I get to see my kids just thrilled with their new yard toys. They don't care that they're used, nor do I think they actually realize that they are used. All they know is that it's so much fun to have them.

3. The play house alone would run you a couple of hundred dollars and I was able to buy all 3 for $80. What a great way to economize while still providing my kids with things they enjoy!

So that's what I call triple goodness!

Nap Time

These days Miles and Liam have been refusing to take naps. Despite all sorts of attempts to get them to go down for a nap it just doesn't happen. At times despite all their protesting, naps get the best of them and I find them like this, Liam passed out in a sitting position with a toy in hand.

Satisfied

Last night after dinner we went for a neighborhood stroll then came back for dessert. I made brownies and they were still warm, yummm. Everyone got a small brownie. After we were all done, Max asked Aidan "Are you satisfied?" Aidan responded, "I'm not sad, but I'm fine." Max and I just laughed and laughed about this.

1st Family Camping Trip

We had our first annual Father's day camping trip this weekend. I'm calling it our first annual trip because Max announced during the trip that we should do this as a tradition, every father's day have a family camping trip. I think it's a great idea. So this weekend we went camping at Chabot Lake, with 2 other families, twin mom friends, the Nunes and the Longs, there were 6 adults and 8 kids (ages 4 1/2 - 2 1/2). Sounds scary right? That many young kids....surprisingly it went well. The kids really entertain each other, we took them for several walks and one afternoon drove over to Cull Canyon for some swimming. The most difficult part of the trip was putting the kids to sleep the first night, they didn't go down til close to 11pm, you know all the excitment of sleeping in a tent was just too much to handle. By the second night though, they were sufficiently tired so they went to bed a bit earlier, more like 9 - 9:30. The best part of the camping trip was camping with friends. I really think it would be much more difficult and less fun if we went at it alone. Looking forward to more camping trips.

Name That Tune

Aidan has a real ear for music, it sometimes amazes me. This morning he wanted to listen to Bob Marley on the way to preschool. So we did, and on our way he told me all about which songs he likes best and what track number they are on the cd. After dropping him off I continued to listen to the cd for a bit, then when I picked him up in the afternoon the cd resumed where I left off. He got in the van and no exaggeration at all, the cd just started (when I say just started I mean maybe 2-3sec) and Aidan was able to name the tune and what track number it was on the cd. I was shocked and he does this with all sorts of music, reggae, jazz etc. He just has an ear for it. He's even able to name tunes on the radio. There was a time, he must have been maybe 3 when Norah Jones came out with a new cd. We hadn't heard it yet but the radio started playing one of her new songs. Just as the song began, Aidan said "that's Norah Jones" Max and I weren't sure if it was until the announcer came on and of course, Aidan was right. Is "Name That Tune" still on TV?, cause if it is I really should think about getting Aidan on it!

Wrap and Tag Fun

If you read my last post, then you know we recently attended several parties (birthdays and graduation). So with that said, I'm sure you can guess, I had to wrap several gifts. Oh how I hate doing that (just kidding)! I love wrapping gifts and making tags for them. So I had 3 birthday boys and my brother-in-law's graduation. Fun, fun, fun but I realize it's time to restock on ribbon.

My brother-in-law has been working hard on his MBA and now that he's finished I thought it was "Time 2 Relax" with a gift basket (nice bottle of wine, stainless steel bottle stopper, godiva chocolates, and a wooden tangram set.

Bowen had a "Firetruck" themed party hence the gift tag with a fire hose and flame. I have to say his mama did a fabulous job with the party...a trip to the fire house, cute party favors, a teaching game that taught "stop, drop, and roll" etc.etc..kids had a great time

Owen and Isaac's birthday gifts were Melissa and Doug puzzle sets that were vehicle themed so I decided to carry that theme over to the tags.

Busy, Busy, Busy June

Wow it's been a whirlwind of activity over here. We've had out of town guests who stayed with us at the beginning of their trip and end of their trip for a total of 4 nights and 5 days. During this time we had 5 kids in a bedroom and as you can imagine, getting the kids to bed was challenging. We also had 2 birthday parties, and a graduation party all in one weekend as well as the annual Twins By The Bay garage sale of which I worked at 2 nights...all this was followed by my own birthday, add a bit of sleep deprivation to this flurry of activity and you get one exhausted mommy who is now a year older. Can I rest now? Of course not, it's time to get ready for a camping trip as well as father's day. June sure is proving to be a very busy month.

Day Two

Day Two of the Mason's visit, homemade buttermilk pancakes with berries for breakfast, followed by a trip to Tilden Park. At Tilden Park we rode the steam engines and the carousal, had a picnic in gorgeous weather, played with the stomp rocket, ended Tilden Park visit with feeding the animals at the Little Farm. Came home for some rest, down time, then back out we went for a stroll in Alameda and dinner at La Pinata. Delicious food, pitcher of top shelf margaritas, entertaining conversation and lots of laughs, great way to end a day of fun.

Long Anticipated Arrival

BFF's and hubbies ready for a night out.

Anna showing off her birthday jammie.

We have been waiting weeks for the arrival of my BFF Karen and her family. Today that long anticipated arrival is here. I picked them up at the SF airport and we came home to a delicious lunch that Max prepared. The kids hit it off pretty instantly. Anna opened her birthday presents. Later I took Karen and Derrek for a run around Lake Merritt while Max supervised the kids at home. Our generous neighbors agreed to babysit all 5 kids while we went out for a nice dinner at B Restaurant. It was our first time there and we all loved it! So far it's a great start to their visit.

Growing Up

Today was Aidan's preschool graduation. The preschoolers entered the ceremony to "Pomp and Circumstance March" in their small cap and gowns. It was the sweetest sight, it brought tears to my eyes. They sang songs, and did a sound off, played harmonicas, and past off their batons to the incoming Giraffe class. They were handed a diploma, with a gift (photo album with photos of them throughout the year, and a kindergarten storybook), presented the teachers with their gifts (the memory books) and ended with a cake celebration. It was all so formal and adult like, I was pleasantly surprised. Aidan was happy to have not only us there, but his Grandma & Grandpa and little brothers too. I over heard him telling his friend " my little brothers are here, and my Grandma and Grandpa too!"



Aidan was showered with gifts, Rheneas (Thomas Train character), new bridge for his train table, Thomas shirt, red crocs and dinner at one of his favorite places, Elephant Bar. I'm sure he thought it was a great day. And for me it was bitter sweet, a reminder of just how fast my baby boy is growing up. I often have to remind myself that he's not a toddler anymore, he truly is a little boy now. So hard to believe that in just a few month he will be starting kindergarten.

Grieving

Today is a sad day. Today I took our kitty cat Naomi to the SF SPCA for re-homing. We searched long and hard for a new home for her amongst our friends with no avail. So, today I returned her to the place we adopted her from 7 yrs ago. She's a lovely kitty, she just doesn't like kids. Prior to having kids, she loved to cuddle and sit on my lap, she played with Jeremy(our other kitty), and hunted flies and spiders in the house and just seemed overall pleased. After the kids arrived, especially the twins, she just became a different kitty, she retreated to spending most of her day sitting under the dining room table, stopped playing and hunting, lost weight, and began to redirect her distress(in the middle of the night) on just about everything she could scratch (rug, coffee table, furniture). She hissed and swatted at the kids when they came near her and a few time even scratched. It just became a very unpleasant situation that didn't seem fair to anyone. It was clear, she would be much happier in an adult only household.

Even though I think it was the right thing to do, I'm sad to have surrendered her and even more sad to see Jeremy looking for her. Naomi was Jeremy's companion and now she's gone and he knows it. It already feels different without her presence. I think we'll all be grieving for a while.

Kids Do The Strangest Things

I took Liam to the ophthalmologist this morning (he's got a bit of a lazy eye mostly when he's tired, nothing to worry about according to the Dr.) and on his way out, he picked out this orange beaded necklace from the prize box. It's one of those MardiGras type of necklaces. So he's worn it around his ears the entire rest of the day. I showed him how to wear it as a necklace, or bracelet, but no, he insisted on the ear wear. We went through Target that way, to my doctor's appointment, and through dinner. He just looked so strange....who knows maybe he'll start a new trend (wink)!

Boys Will be Boys

I'm constantly on the boys..."don't jump on the couch, no running in the house, careful with the coffee table, don't throw the toys etc. etc. etc." It doesn't matter they still seem to get hurt. Aidan was running and diving on the couch despite me telling him to stop this. I'm not sure how he managed this but on that last dive he managed to chomp down on his lip. First the scream, then the mess. As mommy, I came to the rescue with my first aid, including big hugs while he was crying but what I really wanted to do was scold him with an " I told you, you were going to get hurt" But I knew, at that moment he needed his mommy to comfort him not scold him. The hardest part for me is not being able to protect them at all times, as hard as we try, someone always gets hurt. Boys will be boys.

By the a way, the scratch down the face was today's battle wound from school. Still not quite sure how it happened.