Martian Mom

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T13:05:00.001-08:00

Today the boys will be handing out handmade Valentines. They each did something different....Miles wanted to hand out lollipops, Liam heart shaped stones and Aidan these fun cell phones we made ( a sweet idea out of a Family Fun book). All in all, I helped make 88 Valentines. Phew! Glad that's over. The kids loved them, so that makes it all worth it.
Hoping you're all having a Happy Valentine's Day!
XOXO,
Kika

Student Council -The Beginning of His Political Career

2012-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

You are looking at our future president. Aidan's class elected him for student council, Aidan is pretty excited about this and we're proud parents, even if it is only elementary school. Aidan has often said he either wants to be president or a video game designer. Although, I think both are fine ideas, of course I'd prefer him to be president. So, as far as I'm concerned, student council is the beginning of his political career (insert big grin here)!

Anatomy Of An Orca

2012-02-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

Aidan's latest school project was marine mammals. All the 2nd graders were assigned a marine mammal, to sculpt, draw, write, paint etc. etc. whatever medium chosen. The projects would be presented in a Marine Mammal exhibition for the families viewing. Aidan was assigned Orcas. After some discussion we agreed to do a cut paper project and agreed that we also wanted to make the project informative so this is what we ended up with, 3 cut paper pictures describing 3 distinctive attributes of an Orca (killer whale). I cut the pictures out with some help from Aidan and we assembled it together using a shadow box to complete it. Clearly this 2nd graders project had much parental assistance. Aidan was really proud of it, as was I. During the exhibit there were lots of friendly commentary from parents about Aidan's project mixed with some sarcasm about how talented my 2nd grader is. Although it was amusing and all done in good humor, I have to say the big lesson to mom was let your kids do their own projects and assist only when necessary.

Walking School Bus

2012-02-06T09:58:00.001-08:00

Aidan's school launched a monthly walk and roll day that will be held every first Friday of the month. Although we don't live walking distance to school we decided to have Aidan participate, with the incentive that the first 100 students to walk in got a free pedometer. I located the most convenient drop off spot for Aidan to pick up the walking school bus. This turned out to be about a mile away from the school. I thought it seemed a bit far for him as a first time walk, but what the heck, everyone else is doing it, he'll be fine. Well he made it. He got his free pedometer, ha! it's those little things that make it all worth it , right?! The kids all filled out a form that was hung at the entrance. The form stated their name and how they felt about their walk. As i was looking them over, they all said they felt happy, or good. Then, I came across Aidan's, which said "I felt exhausted!" and yes, he added the exclamation point. I had to laugh, wish I'd taken a photo of it...clearly the boy needs exercise. Thank goodness little league season is about to begin.

Derby Time

2012-02-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

This was our first year participating in the cub scouts derby car races and boy was there lots of excitement about it. Miles and Liam got to participate in the siblings race (cub scouts are really good about including the entire family in their events).
They thought this was pretty special and were also given certificates after the races. The number one lesson we took away from this event is, the weight of your car really matters. There is a 5oz. limit that your car can not exceed. But the more your car weighs the faster it goes so trying to get as close to the limit as possible is important. An important lesson for next year.

Gong Hay Fat Choi

2012-01-23T17:42:00.001-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year.. Wishing you all good health, prosperity and much happiness this year of the dragon.
Today is the first day of the Year of the Dragon. The boys and I had fun with some dragon crafts including this one made with each of their hand prints.

Who Says The Dentist Has To Be A Scary Place?

2012-01-20T16:53:00.000-08:00

My boys sure don't think the dentist office is a scary place. As a matter of fact, Aidan's comment to his brothers dentist visit was "Awe man, they're lucky. They got to go to the dentist and play with a GameBoy." But it's not just about the video games, they get a kick out of wearing "cool" sunglasses during the exam, they giggle with delight about the child height sinks with the fun timers that make sure they brush long enough, and of course, the giant treasure box and rolls of stickers they get to choose from when all is said and done. I've taken the boys to this pediatric dentist from the very beginning so they absolutely enjoy going. When I hear stories about parents struggling to get their kids to cooperate with dentist visits, I'm so grateful to have found the perfect dentist for us.

What's Your Last Name?

2012-01-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

A conversation between Liam(5 yrs old) and Aidan (7 yrs old) at the dinner table last night was amusing but left me questioning

Liam : Do you know what they call me at school ( he's in preschool)? They call me Liam R-

Aidan: Yeah R- is your last name.

Liam: Yeah, Aidan what's your last name?

Aidan: My name is R- too, this whole family's last name is R-

Liam (somewhat surprised): Oh yeah, your last name is R- too.

Ummm, hello, knock, knock, anyone upstairs there. How is it that he doesn't know our family's last name is R- ? So we had a discussion about how we all had a different first and middle name but how we all had the same last name. Lets hope he gets it now.

Are You Smarter Than a Preschooler

2012-01-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

Last night's bedtime stories included this book , Looking Closely Through The Forest. We were having fun reading it. When I got to the page about Aspen Trees being deciduous trees, Miles interrupts me saying " I know what deciduous means" I smiled, mostly to myself thinking, let see what cute idea Miles comes up with as the definition for deciduous. To my shock, he says" It means when the leaves fall off trees like in the winter, that is a deciduous tree" My jaw dropped. How on earth does Miles know this. He goes on to tell me "I learned that in preschool a long time ago."

Miles is 5 and still in preschool and clearly his mind is taking it all in like a sponge. He often amazes me with statements like these. When you think your kids are not listening, they really are.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T21:02:00.001-08:00

Leading up to New Years Eve has been exhausting yet fun! As a school fundraiser, I helped host a New Year's party, "Go Gaga for New Year's" Everyone had to come dressed as a pop star. It was fun to see everyone get so creative with their costumes as well as fall into character.....more and more as the night went on and the jello shots were consumed. We dance the night away with Katy Perry, a couple of Ozzy's, Cindy Lauper, Elvis Costello, Amy Winehouse and the list goes on.... Max and I rang in the New Year as LMFAO and Lady Gaga in her meat dress. Hope this is the beginning of a fun new year! Here's to hoping you enjoy your new year as well! Happy 2012

Sad

2011-12-27T22:09:00.000-08:00

I just love the imagery Aidan used to describe sad. My 7 yr old never ceases to amaze me.

Halloween thru the Decorating of our Christmas Tree and all in between....a recap

2011-12-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Suddenly it came and went...that's how I feel about Halloween. There was this huge build up to it, the sewing of the costumes, decorating the house,
carving of pumpkins, baking of cupcakes. Then came the school parties, ,

Halloween parades,

trick or treating and it was all over, just like that.

Soon after Halloween, was Aidan's Feast, at school.

It was a reenactment of the first Thanksgiving feast with the Pilgrims and the Wanpanogs. An amazing event, where all the 2nd graders and parents were dressed and reenacted the whole event, speeches and all, at a nearby redwoods park. Aidan was Squanto and gave a speech of how he came to be part of the feast. The kids with the help of parents, prepared a feast that included, duck, lobster, clam chowder, rabbit stew and johnny cakes with gingerbread for dessert. The kids participated in time appropriate activities and games. It was an unforgettable event that took so much coordination and effort making it hard to believe it was a school event.

There's also been several cub scout events, from food collection for a local food bank, to hikes, and ice skating, and several den meetings in between. Initially, we had some reservations about joining the scouts but it's turned out to be enjoyable as well as educational for us all, despite the busy schedule.

Thanksgiving, another blurr (this was the peak of me feeling ill, anemia) which for some reason we have absolutely no photos. I feel sad about this, not sure how it happened, it's as if it never happened. But, the truth is we did have a nice Thanksgiving at my brother's followed with a belated Thanksgiving celebration at our good friends Jimmy and Conny's. You'll just have to take my word for it, we all enjoyed it.

The first weekend of December we got our Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the picking of the tree was not the "Norman Rockwell" moment I would have liked it to be. It turned out to be stressful chaos amongst a crowd of people. But, the end product was lots of fun, with the boys help, we had our selves a pretty little tree.

Stay tuned for more Christmas time fun. I know it's late, still playing catch up here.

Passing Me By

2011-12-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

Life's been passing me by for the past couple of months. I've just felt exhausted, barely able to keep up with my day to day tasks with very little energy to do anything extra. As you've noticed, no energy for a little blogging. I'm almost always in the middle of a good book, reading before bedtime, but lately I've just not had the energy for that either. It took 5 weeks of feeling this way before I decided I needed to see the doctor ( that and I noticed i was shedding much more hair than I was comfortable with). It turns out I'm severely anemic. A trip to Pharmaca and now I'm taking a horse dose of iron in hopes to take care of this without IV infusion. Two weeks into it, can't say I'm feeling much better but I'm hopeful. In the meantime I'm just trying to keep up with the holidays. I'll be posting a recap of all that's been happening here, just trying to catch up.

Ghosts Are Ready For a Party

2011-10-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

Made these fun ghost cupcakes for Aidan's classroom Halloween party. I got this idea from this months Food Network Magazine. Super cute and super easy... Chocolate cupcake with a lollipop and a circle of white fondant draped over it, dab on a couple of eyes and your done! Hope the kids love them tomorrow.

Superhero Cakes for my Super Heroes

2011-10-29T21:08:00.001-07:00

Miles and Liam asked for Spiderman and Batman cakes for their 5th birthday party. This is what I made. That Wilton ball cake pan sure has come in handy...no I haven't made a soccer ball or basketball but I've made an angry bird and now Spiderman. As for Batman can you see where I got my inspiration from? Yup! Liam's shirt. They sure were thrilled!

Angry Birds Face Paint

2011-10-27T23:37:00.001-07:00

Since we've been on the topic of angry birds for awhile (surprised this phase or shall I say craze has stuck around for sometime now) I thought I'd share this photo. We went to a birthday party awhile back that had a face painter and of course Miles asked for an angry bird. He was just thrilled with it. I'm surprised he let us wash it off. I have to admit it was pretty cute and simple.

Angry Bird Hell

2011-10-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in angry bird hell! If I had only ordered those costumes back in September, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now....that is making angry bird costumes. Thankfully a kind friend (who was smart thinking and ordered in September) had an extra green piggy to pass on to us, that means I only have to make two. Here's one down, the green bird. We're having some technical difficulties with it, specifically a droopy beak and droopy feather top. We used a bit of fishing line to hold it in place, let's just hope this holds up. Oh and it is a bit big for Aidan but we'll just have to make do. Now I'm on to bird two, a black bird. Will let you know when it's finished, let's hope before Halloween or Liam just might end up being Batman.

Mr. Sparkles

2011-10-23T00:09:00.000-07:00

Every year we add a new item to the Halloween decor. In the past I've let the kids pick it out but this year was different. In late September the boys and I were taking a walk past a newly decorated store window, all ready for the Halloween season, when Liam gasped and had to show us all the cool skeleton in the window. He especially liked how it sparkled. That's my boy, if it sparkles and shimmers or thumps to the beat of club music he so loves it. So we all stopped and admired it, everyone agreed it was really "cool" (Aidan's latest attempt at using slang). We continued on to our destination ( which was donut holes at the donut shop, shhhh!) and all was forgotten. I went back later that day to buy this beloved skeleton, brought him home and safely hid him. When it was time to decorate our home for Halloween, I pulled out that skeleton and Liam once again gasped, announcing "Sparkles!" So this years addition is now, "Mr. Sparkles"....so hauntingly adorable.

They Play Well

2011-10-21T21:29:00.001-07:00

I never thought the day would come when my 3 boys would play well together, a time when they could play a good hour and a half without me needing to step in to referee some form of disagreement. But, it's true, my boys do play well together now. They can spend time building, all in agreement with what they want their ( yes I said their meaning all 1,2,3 of them) final outcome to be. Its so nice to hear them work out their plans, resolve a disagreement, and to finally agree together. And when they do that, little forts of army men like this are built. If only it could be like this all the time.

I Think I've Managed to Overcome our Homework Struggle

2011-10-20T20:56:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted I've been trying to figure out how to manage school and the homework struggle. We've been in school for a couple of months now and I think I've finally found the answer to this trick....thank goodness! By week 2 of school I felt like I was walking a tightrope when it came time for homework. If I didn't get it balanced out soon, I was doomed for misery the rest of the school year. I just didn't know what the best way to manage it was. Aidan now in 2nd grade has a significant amount of homework. Despite the fact that it's really extremely easy, more a test of patience for Aidan since he's been doing this stuff since he was 4 yrs old, he still has difficulty getting it done because of the mere fact that it's totally boring. I tried to explain to him how he could get it done in 5 minutes if he would just focus. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to matter to him. The added struggle has been his brothers' distraction. Trying to send them to their room until Aidan is done with his homework proved unsuccessful. Boys get rowdy and Aidan wants to know what they're doing. So, I've started assigning homework (preschool worksheets and art projects) to Miles and Liam so they are doing homework along side Aidan. In the beginning there were a few objections from Liam " Homework, why do I have to do homework!?" Most recently, they've fallen into the groove and know the drill now. They sit together and do their homework. Aidan gets to focus and get his work done, with a little bit of struggle, giggling and joking, as well as correcting his brothers homework (have to remind him that's not his responsibility). With a bit of redirecting homework gets done, not as quickly as I would hope but it's coming along. The only problem now, is homework for three just means I'm getting pulled in 3 directions at once "Mommy how do you this? Mommy Is this right? Mom why do I have to do this?". Which clearly I know this is what my future holds once they're all in school but I'm just not ready for it now. Or maybe I will never be, so I need to figure out how to balance this out so I can make it across that tightrope in one piece, with my sanity.

Aidan's Angry Birds Bash

2011-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

For Aidan's 7th birthday party I was originally thinking, pirate party with a treasure hunt at the park, but Aidan made it clear that wasn't what he wanted. He of course wanted his latest obsession, an Angry Birds party. So we had an Angry Birds Bash that included a real hands on angry birds game.

It took me several weeks but managed to pull it together, with lots of paper mache, cardboard, paint, and glue. We had 3 paper mache green pigs that were filled with candy, pinata style, a golden egg, a working structure, and small angry birds(paper mache balls) to knock it down. The kids had a blast, and we kept changing the structure to represent different levels. The kids played until the green piggies broke and in came the mob for the candy( lesson learned, not enough candy leaves an unhappy mob).

Cake time was two angry birds, one vanilla one chocolate and some green piggy cupcakes. I uses this great Wilton sports ball cake pan and lots of fondant to make these red birds.

Party favors were some fruit rope tied up with an angry bird. Although, I was worried initially when Aidan asked for an Angry Birds party, I have to say, I think this was by far the best birthday party we've thrown so far. I bet Aidan would say the same. The gorgeous day and great location helped too! It was our first time reserving a picnic site at this park and I'm positive it wont be our last.

Bopping With Bones

2011-08-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

As the boys get older, it's really fun getting to know them more as they form more opinions, likes, dislikes, and interests. Liam has always been the most flexible, of the bunch. I just discovered a couple more tidbits about Liam that surprised me. Liam is a club music loving, bones player

My peanut has never been a big game board player. He'll join in when we're all playing but he'll usually fizzle out halfway through. Fizzle out doesn't mean he just fades away to do something else. Most often, he'll try to out an out end the game, either with disruption or coercion, in attempts to gain his brothers interest in something else. It never works, it usually ends with moaning and groaning about something being boring before he moves on. I love games, so you can imagine how disappointed I was to think soon Liam wouldn't be joining us at all for family game night ( I look forward to the days when we're playing scrabble or pictionary instead of zingo and sorry).

To my surprise while cleaning out some of Aidan's old things, we came across a Diego Dominoes set that Liam showed interest in. He wanted to know how to play then proceeded to play for a full half an hour (he would have played longer) before we had to quit to start dinner. Yay, we found a game he likes. We'll definitely have to add dominoes to the family game night repertoire. Liam likes to play him some bones!

He also loves him some club music. He's all about the pop rock with catchy lyrics. Put on some Katy Perry and you'll see a head bopping smile on his face. So there should be no surprise (but I was) when he asked for some music in the car and the only station I could find was some classic rock playing ACDC's TNT, that he asked "Why's that man yelling on the radio? I want to listen to some music." I explained to him this was music and he adamantly with pure confidence said "No it's not". Yes Liam, it might not be your club bopping tunes but others would call this music.

I'm envisioning our next game night now, us playing dominoes while bopping away to the beat of some Bieber or Gaga. Wonderful!

"Cuddle Talk"

2011-08-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

I love my cat, Jeremy. He's one of the family. So when he's sick (upper respiratory infection, for which we just started antibiotics) of course I'm going to give him lots of loving, as I would any one of my kids. So this morning when I was chatting with Jeremy and giving him a pep talk about feeling better soon, I hear Aidan (7 yrs old) say to his brothers (4 yrs old),

"There she goes again with that cuddle talk with Jeremy"

It was the tone that got me the most. If I could see him, I probably would have seen him rolling his eyes. It was that tone you had when you were a teenager and your parents behavior embarrassed you. Yup, you know the one. We've all been there, just not at age 7.

Are Your Kids Angry Bird Obsessed?

2011-08-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

My kids are obsessed with Angry Birds. Actually obsession doesn't quite describe what's going on in my household right now, aberration comes to mind. There's a constant conversation about red birds, golden eggs, green piggies, and the like. If that's not going on, then there's the constant badgering of mom for the iphone. Realizing something needs to change before I lose my mind, I decided it was time to redirect this angry bird fixation into other activities...angry bird related of course. Convincing them of angry bird art work was not difficult by any means. Certainly this did not curtail the perpetual discussion of colored varmint that frankly is making me angry now, but it did halt the jockeying for iphone time.....for a moment.

More Summer Fun

2011-08-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

The summer fun continues here.

Miles and Liam finished up their summer soccer. Miles was really into it from the beginning while Liam took some time to warm up to it and seemed to finally start playing as the summer soccer season ended. I'm going to have to look into the Fall soccer season now.

We took another trip to Tahoe,

Auntie Sandra joined us on this trip. It was nice having another adult with us to help manage the mob. We stayed in Squaw Valley Village and took several day trips from there. We went to Sand Harbor Beach, about an hour from where we were staying, well worth the drive, Water was amazingly clear and not exactly warm however, tolerable (by my standards that's pretty good). We were lucky that it was a gorgeous day too, low 80's. I most loved the fact that there was a snack bar nearby that was serving yummy soft freeze and shakes equivalent to Dairy Queen, Yummmm! Aidan was fascinated that we had to cross a state line to Nevada to go to this beach. He's now very ecstatic that he can say he's been to Nevada like his friend Parker.

We also enjoyed a little excursion to Truckee where we attended an art street festival and got to enjoy homemade chocolate stuffed marshmallows (yes there was lots of eating on this trip). As well as, spent some time at Tahoe City's beach and playground followed by another delicious meal at Evergreen, one of my favorite restaurants in Tahoe. I'm just glad Max didn't order the quail this time. I just have a hard time seeing that little bird on his plate without thinking "barbaric", just not my thing I guess.

We of course enjoyed lots of swimming at the lodge pool, miniature golf in the village and a scooter excursion on the nearby bike/walk trails adjacent to the Truckee river. Tahoe's definitely a fun place to take your kids with lots of outdoor activities. I'm sure we'll be doing it again in the future.

Since we've been back, we've spent time re-couping at home for a couple of days. Still unpacking and doing laundry, seeming never ending. The amount of laundry a family of 5 creates still is unfathomable to me. In between those chores, we've manage to play some games. Our new favorite right now is

Left Center Right card game. So easy that we can all enjoy, amazing as lately I've found it difficult to find games that my 4 yr olds can play/enjoy while keeping my soon to be 7 yr old entertained as well (no grumbling"this is for babies").

After some re energizing , we finally made it out and spent the day playing miniature golf at Golfland. Aidan's pal Parker joined us. You might be thinking, OMG 4 young kids in tow....however, what I've realized, it's actually much more pleasant to have a friend Aidan's age join us, it keeps him entertained and reduces the bickering amongst brothers. We ended the day with some play time in the arcade. It's amazing to see the effects those flashing lights have on the boys, they're mesmerized by it all. And although there were many failed attempts to win a plush angry bird with the claw ( I'm convinced it's impossible, the plush toy probably weighs more than the claw is able to hold) we still ended the day with lots of hoots and hollers "That was a fun day, Mom" what I'd like to call a success.

Still a bit of summer to go, I'm hoping we have more summertime adventures to update you on. Hoping you're all enjoying your summer too!

(more summer photos to come, been technically challenged with the mac and photos still all these photos are from my iphone, I know, don't roll your eyes)

Summer Camp In The Woods

2011-08-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

Aidan's last day at camp with his pal Parker. He had a great time at camp and is already making plans for next year. We are very fortunate to live near gorgeous redwoods where the boys spent their days, hiking, swimming and enjoying outdoors science projects. There's nothing more satisfying than to see my child truly enjoying himself.

Happy Anniversary

2011-07-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

8 years ago today we tied the knot. Like all couples we have our ups and downs, more ups than downs, what makes us work is that we know each other well, we know each other's needs and know how to work it out... we LOVE each other, so here we are still going strong! Happy anniversary dear hubby.

A Dazzling Summer Thus Far!

2011-07-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind of a summer with 5 more weeks to go. Hard to believe so much time has passed already. We've been having a fun-filled time thus far.

We took a trip to Tahoe, which was amazing. It was my first time spending a summer vacation surrounded by snow.

We went bike riding, swimming , and had lots of outdoor fun. Don't let the snow fool ya, it was actually really hot out.

There was also time for a round of miniature golf.

The county fair, something I just never thought of going to but a friends told me she was going so we decided to tag along. I'm sure glad we did, the boys had a great time. They rode rides galore, played a few games and got to see the 4H animals. Oh and let's not forget the fair food, snow cones, cotton candy, corn dogs and lemonade, what a super treat! Although, it was a scorching day, this didn't spoil their time.

We made sure to be patriotic as we celebrated the 4th of July along the Marina. We were entertained by magicians, clowns, and music.

And who can resist a picnic with friends during summertime? Not us, what a perfect way to spend time with friends and get some outdoor play during these dazzling sunny days.

We'll be enjoying the rest of the summer with lots more outdoor activities, soaking up fabulous weather. I hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are.

"Ka-Chow" Screamed the Fans

2011-06-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

My boys were keeping track, with help from the oldest of course. They new that the premiere of Cars 2 was June 24th and they weren't going to miss it (as far as they could help it at least). For weeks we've been building up to this moment.....And today it finally happened. We went to the first showing of Cars 2 at a local theatre. Made sure to get there 45 minutes early to get good seats, of which we did.

It was thrilling for all of us, great sound, great animation and a fun story line with an underlying message about friendship that we all enjoyed! Ka-chow!!

Ninja Cake

2011-06-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

What's a boy's birthday party without a ninja cake??

I took Aidan to a birthday party today, his friend Cameron turned 7 yrs old. The boy energy at this party was just bursting. And just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier, this clever cake was served, sending all the boys into a frenzy. The cake was the hit of the party!

Serendipity at LHS

2011-06-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

A rainy afternoon, cancelled ball game, boys getting restless, the thing to do was go to Lawrence Hall of Science with friends. A fantastic dinosaur exhibit that shouldn't be missed. Sure it was a little scary for the 4 yr olds but still an educational experience.

A climb on the whale,

a visit with a t-rex,

the handling of a hissing cockroach,

and the serendipity run in with my mom's group while being creatively challenged in the ingenuity laboratory building dinosaurs from cardboard, all made for a fun afternoon (a little tiring for the mom's, yet fun).

Coffee Addict

2011-06-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm addicted to coffee. It's one of my all time favorite things. I just have to have my coffee before my day can start, mid-day to keep the day going, and in the pm's if we're having company over and having a special dessert. It especially helped me get through the sleep deprivation of early motherhood.

Even though I've had to switch to decaf for health reasons, it's not stopped my need for coffee. I'm addicted to the whole ritual of having a cup a coffee, as much as, if not more as I was to the caffeine. Because, although I've been able to cut the caffeine (that wasn't easy!) I haven't been able to give up the ritual and let's face it I love the taste of a good cup of coffee too! I'm all about the bold flavor of a nice french roast.

I love my Peet's. Give me a choice of coffee shops and I usually always hold my loyalty to Peet's. That is unless, Blue Bottle Coffee is part of the equation. Of course it's impossible to pass up a fine brew of Blue Bottle organic coffee...a coffee connoisseur's ecstasy. However, when Peet's served me this mocha with a sweet little flower on top it made me feel special! It's those little touches that make the whole ritual of having coffee that much more memorable and keeps me coming for more. I sure love my coffee!

Doctor?? Dr. Seuss

2011-05-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today while in the car Miles had a thought provoking moment out of the blue,

Miles: "You know Mom, Dr. Seuss was not a doctor."

Me: "Yeah Miles you're right about that."

Miles: "Well why did they call him doctor instead of Mr. Seuss?"

Me awkwardly: " That's a good question Miles but unfortunately I don't know."

Miles matter of fact: "Well you should find out."

That's just great, one more thing to add to the "to do list"

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

There really is nothing more special than handmade gifts from your kids on Mother's Day. My boys beamed with pride as I opened my gifts and "ohhed and ahhed" over them. Seeing how proud they are to give their "Mom" a gift is pretty special too. Today, I celebrate them. Without them I wouldn't be the proud Mama I am today. Happy Mother's Day!

Mourning Teeth

2011-05-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

So sad to think that I will never see this sweet baby tooth smile again. My baby boy no longer has front teeth. I know he's not a baby anymore but he will always be my baby. And I guess what I'm really mourning is not the loss of his teeth but what it represents, he's growing up. Before kids, I always heard mother's say "it goes by so fast" I never understood what they meant by this. Until most recently, it's hit me I no longer have babies and my oldest is no longer a toddler but really a young boy. When I sit back to think about the time that has gone by and how they're growing up, it all seems so surreal, a feeling of "where did the time go" and now I fully understand what it means when you hear a mom say "they grow up so fast". Yes, I'm mourning the loss of my babies as well as the loss of Aidan's baby teeth. His teeth is just one more indicator of how he's growing up.

Let me add that they didn't fall out naturally. While I know this would have happened naturally at some point the fact that they had to pull them made it that much more difficult. Aidan had 3 adult front teeth coming in, one smack in the middle. The dentist as well as the oral surgeon agreed that the extra needed to be removed so it wouldn't interfere with his others coming in. What that meant was oral surgery. As I was worried sick about it, all Aidan could think about was how great it's going to be to finally be on the tooth board in class and just think what the tooth fairy is going to bring him. In his words, "Not just 1 tooth but 3!"

Although no mother wants to see there child agonizing over discomfort or pain it was a reminder to me that my boys will always be my babies. Even though they are growing up, being a mom means being there to comfort your child and reassure them that everything is going to be ok.

Make It Your Own

2011-05-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

We spent sometime this afternoon decorating these new toothbrushes the Easter Bunny brought the boys. It was perfect timing as I've been trying to teach the kids about making things their own, being their own person with their own style. If you didn't know, you might be thinking I have some tweens in the home right? Sounds crazy that I'm having to have these conversations with my 4 yr old twins and 6 yr old, oh excuse me 6 3/4 yr old, right? The truth is I am. The struggle in my house right now is my boys concerns about what their friends might or might not think is cool. Statements like this can be heard every morning in my house, " I don't want to wear that shirt, my friends won't like it.", "I don't want those shoes, [so and so]says those aren't cool." These statements are from my 4 yr olds. I find it frightening that this has begun at such an early age. My 6 yr old is all about, " I want my picture (when he's drawing) to look like [so and so's].", "[So and so] made a cool airplane, I want mine to look the same." Coming from Aidan, this has really surprised me because he's always marched to the beat of his own drum.

I just keep reminding them, that they should wear what they like. It doesn't matter what someone else thinks of it and they shoud wear it proudly. As for their artwork what's most important is their imagination how they would like something to look. The best thing is having your own style and not being a slave to what others think.

So when it came time to decorate their toothbrushes, I kept reinforcing this. The kit came with 141 stickers so you got to choose which ones to use. I pointed out the differences between their toothbrushes and yet they were all cool. They all agreed with me. I tried to tie this back to how great it feels to be your own person. They all nodded in agreement. I really do hope they're getting the message. Only time will tell.

First A's Game for Aidan

2011-04-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

Aidan is at his first A's game today with his Dad and pals from his little league team. Of course I had to buy him an A's hat to wear for the occasion. I gave it to him this afternoon before he left, he was so pleased about it. I just love those Mom moments when you know you've thrilled your child with a thoughtful gift or action. It's hard not to feel great when you see your child really happy. I got to have one of those moments today as they left for the game.

They left early to attend a tailgate party, barbecue and drinks. This was going to be a day of firsts for him, first game, first tailgate party, and apparently his first Coke too. OK, so these are the kind of things that happen when Mom isn't around. Dad indulges the kid with a coke. I'm sure I'll be hearing more about how this happened when they get home. Dad reported via text that Aidan took a few sips and handed it back, saying "It burns Dad". This is good news, sounds like I won't be having any future struggles with Aidan asking for the contraband Phew!

The other first that's happening tonight that I've neglected to mention is, he's staying out late with friends. This is a really late night for him as he's usually in bed for the most part by 8pm, no later than 8:30 and we usually call that a late night. For those kind of late nights he's home and we've let him stay up a bit later to finish reading a book he's engrossed in. A late night out at a game with friends has me a bit concerned about what I might have to look forward to in the morning. I'll be praying for a smooth morning with no meltdowns or drama. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

2011-04-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" to my boys. A friend had recommended this read and I'm always interested in introducing Chinese folklore to my kids. So, although its recommended for kids a bit older than mine I decided to take the plunge and read it to them. It was fine for my boys, nothing too scary or provocative. This is a story of fantasy and adventure that does and excellent job of interweaving folklore throughout the tale.

My kids were thoroughly engrossed in the stories, constantly asking questions. As boys, they were most interested in the dragon. However, I love how this tale's main character is a girl, Minli, and has such a positive girl message. Something I don't often think about since I have three boys however, realize it's not only important for our daughters to receive these messages, it's important for our sons as well. Especially, since my boys are going through that "Ewwww girls!" phase. My youngest even had to ask several times, "Minli is a girl?" As if in disbelief, how is it that this cool heroine is a girl...how is that possible. Silly boys!

Not only is this a story of adventure it is a story with a message about the bonds of family, and the perilous nature of envy, jealousy, and want. Grace Lin weaves a tale that substantiates how our role as a parent and our every action influences our children's view of themselves in the world. Definitely a sweet read about the truth of happiness that I'm sure I will be reading to my boys again and will definitely be exploring other books by Grace Lin.

In common

2011-04-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Surgery, construction, new Mac, I say. What do they have in common you ask? Well these are what have kept me from blogging the past few weeks. After recovering from yet another procedure on my bladder, it was time for the jack hammers to start. No not on my bladder, but our home...and because the racket has been more than we could bear, we've been spending the days away from home, coming home on time to make a quick dinner and then begin the bedtime routine.

We also got a new Mac and I've been finding the need to make the transition from PC to Mac daunting. Every night I've been telling myself "tonight I'll sit down to figure this out (you know downloading pics, etc)". I just end up shying away from it, telling myself, I'll do it tomorrow. Suddenly, weeks have gone by and my poor blog has gone neglected.

Soon our Spring break will be over, the construction should be finished in a couple more weeks, I'll have had plenty of time to get comfortable with my new friend Mac, and my blog will be happy to see me again. I'll have lots to share with you. Until then, I hope you're all doing well.

Walk-A-Thon

2011-03-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today was Aidan's school walk-a-thon, which went on rain or shine. Aidan really had his heart set on going so, despite the pouring rain this morning we roughed it and went. We arrived to a pretty big crowd, lots of wet folks. Upon arriving, I could see it in the parents faces that we would all rather be in the comfort of warm and dry homes but the kids, no complaints at all, they were enjoying themselves. So as good parents, and supporters of our local public school, we braved the weather and cheered on our kids.

Aidan like many of the others was intent on earning his t-shirt for walking 10k. Many of the conversations I overheard went like this "But mom , I just need one more lap for my t-shirt", "We can't go yet, I haven't earned my t-shirt" Our conversation with Aidan was no different. We were ready to go when he was at lap 5 (each lap a 1k) but he was in no way going to let us go. The good thing was he earned 2 free laps, one for an extra credit project and 1 freebie for showing up early when the rain was at its worst. Aidan finished his 8k or 5 miles. Hooray to him!

A Battle Lesson

2011-03-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

My boys have been playing battle quite a bit these days. So this morning they were at it again, with their foam swords, hats, masks and what ever other costumes they have concocted as battle gear. Their battle conversation went like this

Liam (4yrs) to Aidan (6yrs): You stole from the golden monkey. I have come to catch you because you steal!

Miles(4yrs) says: Yeah you steal!

Aidan's comeback: Well, You judge people by their color!

Although we teach the kids often about diversity and not judging others by their color, I was surprised to hear this as Aidan's insult...accusation of a crime come out of his mouth during battle. It's sort of a weird proud parent moment to know my kid gets it, we are all equal.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

2011-03-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

It was a fun day here, this St Patrick's Day, and the day began with lots of laughs. We aren't Irish, despite the fact that I get asked often if we are (hmm, maybe names like, Aidan, Liam and Miles might give this impression) we decided to celebrate like we are. We wore our green today. I cooked my first corned beef brisket with cabbage. Unfortunately, the boys weren't wild about it. For some added fun, I treated the boys to mint chocolate ice cream cones, you know green ice cream on St. Patrick's day, right! The boys were thrilled. This just might have to be a new tradition for us. Hoping you all had a Happy St. Patrick's Day as well!

Opening Ceremony: Entering the World of Little League

2011-03-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we attended the opening ceremony for Aidan's Little League. The boys have taken different sporting classes but this is our first real organized team sport. We're all pretty excited about it, especially Aidan. He's thrilled to be on a team and just loves wearing his uniform. If it ended at that then I'd be OK but, truth be told I'm a bit concerned about the time commitment this entails, weekly practice sometimes even 2 times a week, games every Sunday. Practice is late enough in the day that I'll need to drag his brothers with us and will inevitably end up having to entertain them while we're there. I'm afraid it just might end up being more than I bargained for. Well, got to set those concerns asides, slap a smile on my face and be that supportive mom out there. Here's to hoping for a fabulous season for those Red Sox!

A Murder at the Souk

2011-02-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend in the presence of 48, including royalty, sultans, merchants, genies, shoppers, a crazy beggar and many other interesting characters, there was a murder near the Oasis Bar and Baba's Banquet right smack in the middle of the souk, ahem..actually smack in the middle of Jenny's living room, the home I helped transform into a magical Arabian marketplace.

Six mom's including myself hosted an Arabian nights murder mystery party as part of a fundraiser for Aidan's school. With weeks of preparation, and yards and yards of fabric, a zillion stings of lights, and lots of gold and glitter we were able to create an amazing setting, transforming a home into a full oasis of Arabian fun. It was almost painful taking it down after the party, considering how much work went into it.

We served a feast fit for a Sultan, grilled meats, curries, kapsa, couscous, cucumber yogurt, falafels, a variety of rice dishes plus much, much more and ended with exquisite desserts, turkish delights, stuffed dates, cardamom rice pudding, semolina cake...all of which we the hosts made. It was my first time cooking Arab cuisine, not only was the food exotic but it was delicious too! We had belly dancers perform during dinner. We sent our guests home with a CD of the magical music played that evening and some incense so they could recreate the atmosphere at home.
Needless to say, our extraordinary efforts we put forth to create a magical Arabian evening was all well worth it. We had so much fun, with everyone dressing up and role playing through the murderous plot. Definitely a fundraising event worth repeating.

Fun Family Night With Grease and Froggy Boogie

2011-02-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

It was a fun evening here. The boys had specifically requested cheeseburgers for dinner. So, Dad picked up burgers from Sparky's, something we hadn't had in awhile. If you're into burger joints, Sparky's is just the place. Although, Aidan made sure to remind us that this was a special greasy treat that we shouldn't always have. This made me happy to know that he is aware of what's a healthy meal versus a not so healthy meal. Despite the fact he refuses to eat all vegetables, at least he gets the concept of what he's suppose to be eating and hopefully sometime down the road he'll jump right into those veggies.

After our yummy and yes greasy meal of burgers, fries and onion rings, we jumped right into a new game, Froggy Boogie. This was a fun game of memory that we all enjoyed. We play lots of games and have lots of fun, but it's especially fun when the whole family plays...and this was a game the whole family enjoyed.

Poetic Miles - Flowers Are Rainbows

2011-02-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

"Look at the flowers.
Flowers are pretty colors.
I can see the world.
I can see flowers in the world.
Flowers are rainbows."

It's been awhile since we've heard something from poetic Miles. Today while walking by a freshly planted bed of flowers Miles was inspired and I so loved hearing him.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

This is coming to you late in the day, so here's to hoping you all had a wonderful Valentines day.

We here enjoyed our day. The boys were excited to hand out their Valentines. We made Valentines this year that included a pencil as cupids arrow. Aidan was pretty proud of them. Wish I could say they were all my idea, but they weren't. Truthfully I can't recall where I saw them, it may have been over at Make and Takes, or The Crafty Crow, as I love both of those crafty blog sites.

At home we enjoyed a nice dinner followed by some yummy cupcakes from one of our favorite cupcake bakeries. I made sure to get all their favorites, Aidan loves the coconut cupcake, Miles loves the raspberry vanilla, and of course Liam loves the fudge on fudge. We had fun and the boys were thrilled to show Mom and Dad all their valentines they received. All in all, a pretty good day.

Scrabble Master

2011-02-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

Aidan, 6 yrs old, is getting pretty good at scrabble. I love scrabble, so I'm excited about having another scrabble player in the house since Daddy isn't much of a board game player. At this rate, I imagine Aidan's going to be a real challenge for me in just a few years.

Loving The Dragon

2011-02-03T22:40:00.000-08:00

For Chinese New Year, the boys made these paper dragons a printable I got from this great kids crafts site. Miles absolutely loved his and took it to preschool for share day. Fun to see the kids enjoy creative projects.

Gung Hay Fat Choy - Let this be the year of no deception

2011-02-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year

We had a pleasant Chinese New Year's Eve celebration, enjoying a delicious and abundant dinner with our friends the Lee's.

The kids worked on a fun craft project, Chinese dragons, before dinner.

followed with fireworks for the kids

and yummy dessert.

I only wish our New Year's day was as pleasant. Unfortunately, evil reared it's head in the form of gossip, lies, and disturbing conflict. There has been so much deception in our corner of the world here and regrettably I've been so gullible to fall prey to it. The only good that has come of this is some clarity about where true feelings lie.

Here's wishing everyone much happiness, good health and prosperity in the year of the hare. ...And let this be the year of no deception.

Drinking and Driving

2011-01-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, after school Aidan and I went to Peets coffee and Safeway before heading home. I picked up my much needed afternoon coffee, then we went into Safeway to pick up a few things for dinner. During this time I still had my coffee in hand. We were at the checkout stand, when Aidan started this conversation with me.

Aidan: "There's no drinking and driving. Mom you're always drinking and driving (he's referring to my perpetual coffee drink in hand especially while driving), and you're not suppose to. They say you aren't suppose to drink and drive."

Me totally embarrassed as I look around and notice there's quite a few people in earshot of our conversation.: "Aidan, you mean my coffee?"

Aidan: "Yeah"

Me, looking around again hoping everyone heard that: " When they say, no drinking and driving, they're talking about alcohol not coffee" I proceed to explain to him that alcohol is beer and wine. Then have to explain that alcohol sometimes make adults sleepy, or dizzy so it's dangerous to drive. I was glad that we managed to get that all cleared up while still standing at the checkout stand, so anyone questioning what my dear son was confessing about me, now knew it was all about my terrible coffee addiction.

As to where Aidan got the no drinking and driving message, I'm still not sure. I can only imagine he read it somewhere. This is what happens when you have a 6 year old who is a proficient reader but not proficient in worldly matters.

Homework

2011-01-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

I'm amazed at the amount of homework that is assigned to my 1st grader...and sometimes I'm also a bit resentful because it cuts into family time. Even though it's all pretty easy for Aidan, he insists that I be there right with him while he does it. Somehow I'm going to have to cut him loose and have him work on it maybe at the kitchen counter as I complete some of my own tasks.

I usually try to get Aidan to do his homework before we pick up his brothers in attempts to reduce the distractions. We aren't always successful with this so the next best option is to have Miles and Liam do homework too. Miles especially really enjoys this, as a matter of fact, he often requests to do homework. I'm glad he sees it as a game an has fun with it. I sure do hope he feels the same about it when he's in elementary school and has real homework that needs to be turned in.

Getting Rid of Fatness

2011-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

So I've been working out at home using some Denise Austin DVDs since the hubby and I couldn't agree on a gym. Today I was working out in the living room as Aidan was doing his homework and he (my 6 yr old) says to me, "Is that to get rid of some of your fatness."

Me after major blow to self-esteem, "Yes Aidan, that's what I'm trying to do"

He follows with " You're doing a good job."

Me while huffing and puffing "Thanks"

This was all followed with a discussion comparing my workout to his PE class at school. Just trying to reinforce that exercise is important for everyone, not just because I'm trying to lose some weight. Have no idea where he picked up the word "fatness" but certainly don't want him to start having any judgements about it.

Word Play

2011-01-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

I love word games, whether it's crossword puzzles, word search, or a game of scrabble, if it's a puzzle of some sort, I'm into it. Even more fun, is that Aidan really enjoys them too. And now that he's older and smarter we're actually able to enjoy them together. Lately we've been doing word searches together and turning on a timer to see how long it takes us. Not only is it so much fun but it's good cognitive exercise, especially for me whose memory seems to be challenged these days.

Now I've got to learn to do Sudoku since Aidan likes number play too. We're learning this one together.

A gorgeous day!

2011-01-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

After so many gray cold days, we were surprised at what a gorgeous day it was today. So we took a spontaneous trip to the park. Something we hadn't planned on but we were happy we did. Being out in the sun playing and going for a short walk was just what we all needed.

The Forty Fifteen

2011-01-09T19:20:00.000-08:00

Remember those days when you went off to college and everyone warned you about the "freshman fifteen", you know the 15 pounds you gained eating that high carb dorm food and all those late night sessions of overindulging on hops and barley. I clearly remember those warnings.

What I don't remember is anyone warning me about the "forty fifteen". You know the fifteen pounds you gain the same year you turn 40. I'm not sure where I was during that memo but I sure wish I had been present. 2010 was the year both Daddy and I turned 40 as well as the year we both gained approximately 15 pounds give or take a few. OK let's be honest, take a few from me and give a few to Daddy (even though he's in strong denial).

And so, 2010 and the holidays for that matter, are long over and we're left to still deal with our Santa-shapes....or maybe Daddy is dealing with his Santa-shape and I'm more of a full bottomed snowman. Whichever the case, it's not a good look and it's time to deal with it. For those of you who haven't known us long, Daddy and I have always been the long lean body type who never really had weight issues, not even during the freshman fifteen days, so this now is quite the eye-opener.

Now that we've come to terms that yes indeed the horse power in our metabolism has petered out, is it's now time to change our habits and join the throng of people in search of fitness. However, our current dilemma is deciding on a gym. While Daddy would like to get more bang for his buck, I would prefer something with more of a family vibe. You know the kind, a gym disguised in a country club, something that's child friendly, has a swimming pool and maybe even a snack bar. Daddy's just not buying this idea so at the moment I guess I'll rely on power walking and work out videos and hope to lose this forty fifteen before the summer.

As for all of you who are about to turn forty, let this be a warning to you...beware of the "forty fifteen".

A Family With "Real" Games

2011-01-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

I had no idea and neither did Aidan for that matter, that it was no longer cool to play Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders once you reached 1st grade. It was only brought to our attention when Aidan had a play date with one of his classmates, EJ, and Aidan suggested playing a board game. EJ asked what game and Aidan suggested one of the above. To our surprise, EJ informed us in a tone that suggested major taboo, that those were "baby" games. A quick scan of the boxes, identifying the games as "Classic Preschool Games" and games for ages 3+ should have been a clue that yes indeed, a 7 yr old 1st grader might describe them as "baby" or at least "preschooler" games. What was I thinking?? I guess we'd had so much fun playing these games that it never occurred to me that it was time to move forward to what EJ, our enlightened guest, informed us were "real games".

Were we the only ones in the dark about this? Or did you know "real games?", games were games such as Sorry, Trouble, Monopoly and Battleship. Well after this major faux pas, we made sure to let Santa know that it was time we have some "real games" I'm sure you can guess, what Santa brought the boys this Christmas: Sorry, Trouble, and HedBanz. We've been playing them non-stop and everyone is having so much fun.

Aidan was really excited to introduce Sorry to one of his best buddies yesterday during a play date. They had lots of fun playing and it was obvious that Aidan now felt he was a "pillar of society". Needless to say, we are now a family that plays "real games"

Calendar Pride

2011-01-04T22:11:00.001-08:00

Inside this package was a sweet gift for Mommy and Daddy (or should I say Mom and Dad, that's another post) that Aidan was so very proud of.

Aidan made this "Seasons" calendar in his computer lab. He did the illustrations depicting each season and with the assistance of parent volunteers, his teacher assembled the calendars. Each student decorated an envelope in which the calendar was wrapped in. This was such a thoughtful and practical gift that we just loved. Receiving a handmade gift from a child is just one of the sweetest gifts you could receive.

Not Resolutions, Maybe " To Do"

2011-01-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

I have a huge mind block when it comes to resolutions. Even just hearing the word is anxiety producing for me. So, until I find a way to overcome this mind block, I'm going to call this list a "To Do" list for 2011, not resolutions. Then, just maybe I'll succeed.

1. Grow my hair out, once and for all. I've had my hair short for years now but recently the boys have asked on several occasions "Why do you have boy hair?" and have made statements to the effect that I look like a boy. I always respond with, "I like my hair short". But, now they've got me wondering...so I'd like to grow it out and it just might take me all of 2011 since my hair grows so slow.

2. Declutter and get organized. This seems to be on the list every year, just goes to show you how deep that mental block runs. The truth is I'm a bit of a hoarder, I just have a hard time parting with stuff. You know, you just might need it later. Gotta learn to let go.

3. Embrace "green" living. We do plenty around here to live green but I don't feel like we've fully embraced it. I'm positive there's a lot more we can do to decrease our carbon footprint and reduce our consumption.

4. Keep up with date nights. Daddy and I have been so absorbed with parenting and just keeping up with the day to day living that we've been guilty of not setting time aside for us and honestly just not having the "get up and go" that we use to have. With the boys getting older and being a bit more self reliant we've got a bit more energy now. Most recently we've established some regular baby sitters so there's no excuse not to have more date nights.

2011, I'm not asking for much. So show me what you've got and please be kind to me.

Boogied on into the New Year

2011-01-01T23:17:00.000-08:00

We boogied on down, gettin' into the groove at a 70's celebration this new years eve. Yes that's me in a 70's bridesmaid dress, what a find at our local thrift store. We sure had lots of fun ringing in the new year, here's hoping to lots more fun in 2011. Hope you all enjoyed ringing in the New Year as well.

Christmas Overview

2010-12-30T23:00:00.001-08:00

Oh my, how the holidays have kept me busy, so much so, that I haven't had a chance to visit. I'm certain that all of you with young children must understand and feel my exhaustion, with school performances, class parties, holiday shopping, the constant entertaining, and lets not forget the 8+ birthday celebrations of friends and family, the "to do list" for Mom was never ending. I'll share with you an overview of my December including some of my favorite things.

Let's start with the advent calendar. The last time I spoke with you, I was in a race to make an advent calendar (geez! that was in Nov.). I did make that calendar and manage to fill it with goodies and notes with fun activities. I'm glad I pulled my act together and made it because this brought us together every evening after dinner for some holiday fun, something the boys really enjoyed.

I always look forward to getting a Christmas tree but this year's search for a tree was a bit stressful (yes I'll share the good and the bad with you). We bickered over which tree to get, finally settled on a tree when suddenly it began to rain on us. Dad was a trooper and strapped it on our van but the ride home was stressful to say the least. Our tree began to slip and slide as we made our way home on the freeway, I held my breath hoping we wouldn't lose it.

Despite the ill beginning to our Christmas tree adventure, we sure had fun decorating it.

I love pulling out all the Christmas treasures and this year, the boys made some really sweet ornaments that I'm sure to treasure for years to come.

This year I was in charge of the craft activity for Aidan's classroom holiday party. I wanted to include a lesson on "recycle, repurpose, reuse," so I chose this project. The class had fun with it and I really loved the end product but the prep work for a class of 19 students was a bit gruelling...note to self for next year, remember during December every second counts, choose much simpler project.

It's been our tradition to buy the boys an new ornament every year, you know so when they finally set up their own tree they'll be able to start with 18 ornaments of their own, that is assuming they move out at 18. Oh, and really mom, 18 year old boys just love setting up their own tree...so maybe not 18 but sometime later in life they'll have some of their own keepsakes (or their wives at will at least). This year in sticking with the "Repurpose" theme, we bought them these great upcycle ornaments made from old bike parts. I just love them!

We also decorated our yearly gingerbread house. This year I bought a kit that had the structure already assembled and all you had to do was decorate it. This was so much easier and we got to go directly to the fun part, I'll be doing this every year from now on.

We enjoyed some fun Christmas decorations including a new lamp that I filled with vintage baubles, some collage work I made for our bathroom wall and our Christmas card holder that was topped with a fun wreath Aidan made.

We enjoyed hosting several holiday dinners with friends, including Christmas Eve, having hot pot with good friends. Hot pot crab, mmm one of my favorite things of the season.

Christmas morning brought lots of surprises for the kids, including this letter from Santa. Yes, with all the fun we had Christmas Eve, we forgot to leave Santa cookies and milk. Santa was still good enough to leave lots of special treats. After a morning of opening presents we went to Auntie Sandra's house and had a fun filled day with family.

Oh and let's not forget, during all this holiday fun we also celebrated lots of birthdays including Daddy's big "40"

December was busy but good to all of us. We sure enjoyed our Christmas this 2010. Hope you all enjoyed your holidays as well.

Race For An Advent Calendar

2010-11-28T22:15:00.001-08:00

With December 1st just around the corner, I'm determined to have an advent calendar for the boys. I found this one I just love but am a little sticker shy. Now really $99, just think of the goodies I could buy to fill it up for that much. So I've decided with the surplus of fabrics I have, I'm going to make my own with this design in mind. The only problem, I only have a few days to make it, so I'm in a race to finish it and fill it for Dec. 1st. Wish me luck!

Baby Chick Happiness

2010-11-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

We spent some time visiting our new neighbors, 1 week old baby chicks at Robin's house (across the street). The boys had lots of fun watching the chicks, exploring our neighbors vast backyard that includes a large grassy patch, 2 chicken coops, 2 bee hives, several fruit trees and a huge vegetable garden. Liam especially had lots of questions for Robin regarding the chicks and where they live and what they eat. They got to feed the chickens, I enjoyed watching them explore while soaking in the sun on this gorgeous Sunday morning.

A Good Rainy Day

2010-11-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

We filled today with fun indoor activities, and a bit of fun outdoor puddle stomping too, keeping everyone happy all day. The day started off with a trip to the Academy of Sciences followed by a yummy lunch at Park Chow, a favorite restaurant in our old stomping grounds and ended the day with some watercolor fun. The boys have been enjoying this art kit from Uncle Steve and Uncle Tom, thank you. It was just the perfect thing for a rainy day. I love days like this, when everything goes smoothly and everyone has a good time, especially on wet days like today. It was a good rainy day.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.
{ ralph waldo emerson }

I am thankful for family, friends, and all life has to offer me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aidan Enlightened

2010-11-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

In the past week there must have been some new synapse connection in Aidan's brain that has enlightened him. He's been taking in his surroundings and thinking ....really thinking about it all. With that being said these are some of his most recent enlightened statements:

1. Me serving rotisserie chicken for dinner. Aidan tapping me on the shoulder and whispering in my ear " Mom, that chicken gave it's life for us" I was taken by surprise by this, then reassured him, yes it did and that's why we should make a point of not wasting it. It would be disrespectful to the chicken if we did. He solemnly nodded.

2. While driving down the freeway. Aidan asks " Mom, what's a kilometer?" I explained to him it was another method of measurement used to measure distance. Aidan responded " Yeah, math is all around us. Math is everywhere you look and everything you do." Me stunned again, responded with a mere " Yes, Aidan that's true"

3. Then there was the discussion about graffiti - while we were driving to an appointment Aidan asked " Mom why are some signs and walls marked up" I informed him that some people mark things to show they've been there, mark territory, etc. but that it was not OK and actually against the law. His response to this was " I get it (to why it's illegal), I like our home to look nice too"

This all coming from a 6 yr old just amazes me.

Marble Run Fun

2010-11-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

Another birthday gift the boys got that they have really enjoyed is this marble run. Although Mom has had to do most of the building, they love running those marbles. Soon I'm sure, they'll be able to build on their own.

Castle Fun

2010-11-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

Miles and Liam loved this birthday gift they got from friends. We set it up on the front porch and they were entertained with some crafty make believe fun for quite awhile. They discussed what colors things should be and went at it. They loved getting inside it and playing, first they were knights, then they were wizards. This was just cardboard with a picture on it and markers. I love how some of the simplest things are so much fun.

Happy Birthday Boys

2010-11-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

4 yrs ago today these two cuties joined us in this crazy world. I adore them, most of the time that is. Lately, they have really just become all boy. It's all about race cars, baseball, and robots...and neither one of them thinks pink is cool anymore. Is this what happens when boys turn 4? I don't remember Aidan going through any of this.

Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos

2010-11-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

We celebrated as a family, Dia De Los Muertos today. We all colored skulls, including Daddy. We put together an altar in honor of my dear Madre and Daddy's PohPoh (grandma). We explained to the boys all that we added on the altar, flowers, sweets, food, photos, our skulls, and lit candles to celebrate our loved ones who have passed on. We had each of the boys pick 3 candies out of their Halloween stash to share with the altar. This was their contribution in honoring grandma (abuelita) and great-grandma. I think Aidan understood the significance of this celebration, and Miles and Liam well maybe next year.

Oh My! It's Catch Up Time Again, Halloween, Birthday's, Memphis

2010-11-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

So sorry dear blog, life has been so busy. Lots of fun stuff including a trip to Memphis to visit my dear BFF, prepping for Aidan's school Halloween parade/party, and Miles and Liam's Birthday - Halloween party. I'll give you the quick cliff note version once again:

Starting with my trip to Memphis. My dear BFF, Karen, and I try to see each other at least once a year. So I made a trip to visit her, 4 days of girl time fun. We a great time catching up, mani/pedis, dinners out, and unfortunately with all the fun being had I kept forgetting to pull out the camera. Does that ever happen to you, so caught in the moment you forget about the camera? Ahh, next time.

Then it was Aidan's school party. I was amazed at the amount of parent involvement and all the really amazing costumes that you know parents knocked themselves out making for their kids. True Halloween spirit...but in the name of privacy I'll just share a photo of the treats I put together some Halloween worksheets, a pencil and a lollipop.

We had some pumpkin carving fun, up until the boys thought the pumpkins smelled icky and they ran off to let mom and dad finish the job.

We had Miles and Liam's Halloween themed birthday party which we celebrated indoors due to the wet weather. Despite the chaos of 18 kids and 15 adults in our small home we still had a great time. Games, chili & hot dogs and cake to be had by everyone. Aidan said "This was the best party ever!"

And of course, Halloween. We went with a group of friends, 6 boys total, to a nearby neighborhood that really does it up! Not only were there treats for the kids but adults too. One house was handing out Merlot to go, another had a projector with the world series game on for everyone to watch, and lots of fun and scary houses to enjoy. My astronauts and Sir Aidan Knight had a great time. Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween as well.

Dear Blog...let's catch up

2010-10-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Dear blog, it's been nearly a month since I've visited and posted about the going ons here in martian land and I've missed you. So, I thought now would be a good time to update you on all that's happened, it's been a busy time, mostly fun. So I thought I would give you a quick cliff note version with lots of photos to catch up:

Mid September, we went to Miranda and Elizabeth's fun birthday party.

For this party I made these cupcake shaped gift tags

When we returned from the birthday party, that evening we had a be-lated birthday celebration with grandma. Grandma stayed with us for a bit in Sept while grandpa was out of town. The boys really enjoyed having Grandma over.

We instituted a new reward system in the house in order to curb some not so fun behavior. I think it actually might be working. The kids are working hard to earn their prize, each wants a pillow pet. (yeah don't ask.)

We survived a heat wave with the help of many Popsicles.

We had friends over for dinner and I made my first attempt this Fall at some candy apples. They weren't the prettiest, but they sure were yummy.

We've made lots of Halloween crafts, including these fun bats.

We watched the Blue Angles perform while fishing and crabbing with friends on the pier.

We enjoyed a fun pumpkin patch picnic with friends that included pony rides, panning for gems and a train ride.

And we continue to enjoy Lego time as much as possible.

So, dear blog, your up to speed now on the most news worthy going ons here. I'll do my best to keep you posted. xoxo.

Gone With the Tonsils & Adenoids

2010-09-19T20:56:00.001-07:00

Well after a long wait, Miles finally had his tonsils and adenoids removed. It was a quick procedure and when the surgeon came out to let me know that all had gone fine he also commented on how large those tonsils and adenoids were and said "he'll finally get some good sleep now" That's what we're hoping for, good sleep, less colds, and no more ear infections. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Recovery was a bit challenging. We were home by the afternoon then began the Popsicles on demand for 7 long days and sleepless nights. If he hadn't had a cold on top of it all this probably would have been much briefer period with much less misery. But, the poor guy had a terrible cough that made me cringe every time I saw him convulse in pain. On the morning of the 7th day post surgery, he had a huge melt down, holding his throat and ears, crying "it hurts, it hurts" Feeling helpless and wanting to soothe him, I quickly gave him another dose of pain meds. He soon after fell asleep for 3 hours, the most he'd gotten in awhile, and just when I thought I couldn't take another day of this, he seemed to turn the corner. He woke up, much more present, and relaxed than he'd been in days and said "I feel better mommy". My eyes welled up with tears of relief and I let him know how happy I was for him. Needless to say the Tylenol with Codeine that I didn't think we'd be using much became our best friend during those trying days.

During Miles drug induced haze, I entertained him with lots of art projects, paper airplane constructing, puzzles and board games. Oh, and lots of cuddle time too!

Not Halloween Yet

2010-09-16T23:01:00.001-07:00

No not Halloween yet, even though this little pirate might make you think so. Today was Aidan's school spaghetti feed and first PTA mtg. We went as a family, enjoyed a fun meal (and sangria too!) with classmates and families. Childcare was provided and had activities, games and face painting for the kids while the parents attended the PTA meeting. Everybody enjoyed themselves and we're so pleased to be part of such a dedicated community..."every child, everyday"

Lego Contraband

2010-09-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

If you ask my boys "what are Legos good for?", one of their responses might be "for making guns". The contraband continues to make it's way in our home. Despite the fact that I've made it a point not to buy them toy guns, it still seems to edge it's way in, in all forms....a finger, a stick, even a grilled cheese sandwich, the latest is the Lego gun. Liam has become the pro at this and even makes one for his brother Miles who hasn't quite gotten the hang of how to make one. I guess all I can say is, I sure am proud of his innovative creativity.

A Star Wars Celebration

2010-09-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

I took Aidan to a Star Wars birthday party today and I have to say, despite the fact that I'm not a Star Wars fan (never even seen any of the movies) it was one of the best kids party I've been to (and I've been to lots). Mom had every detail covered, great craft activities, a variety of games, a home made pinata a "death star", the birthday boy's family wore costumes of which she had made half, sweet personalized party favors , but the real "ohhh awww moment" was when you laid your eyes on the most amazing R2D2 cake that of course she made herself. This cake was 12 layers of 3different flavors and legs made of rice krispy treats. I'm so glad Aidan's party was before and not after this one because it sure is a hard act to follow.

The best thing about this party though was that Aidan got to spend some time with a few of his new class/school mates and I got to meet some of the parents....a nice ice breaker to help both of us ease our way into his new school.

Artful Thursday - A Big Mouthed Thank You

2010-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Fun times are spending some creative time with your 6 yr old....Aidan and I had a little creative time after school this Artful Thursday. We finally got around to making Thank you cards for all those who celebrated his birthday with him. I picked up this fun big-mouthed stamp. I thought this character could be shouting out anything including "Thank You!". So I gathered up some cardstock, ink, paste and a pen, then let Aidan lead the way on this project.

He decided that I should stamp and tear cardstock, and he would cut and paste. This is what we came up with.

Fun little cards to thank all his friends and family for all the love they sent his way on his special day.

1st Grade

2010-08-31T00:31:00.000-07:00

Yay! We got through the first day of 1st grade without a hitch. Aidan who usually needs to be nudged for 15 minutes to get out of bed was up and ready at 6:40am this morning he was so excited to start 1st grade at his new school. I'm hoping everyday will be like today and that this is the beginning of a fabulous school year...way to go Aidan, we're so proud of you!

End With A Bang

2010-08-29T23:02:00.001-07:00

We sure ended the summer with a bang! We packed up the boys and drove to San Diego for a week of fun. The weather was perfect, except for one exceptionally hot day, the kids were on fabulous behavior, and we were all just as happy as can be.

Spent 2 days at LegoLand, first day enjoying the rides and the second day at the water park. Lots of great rides, shows, and sites to be enjoyed by everyone.

We spent a day at the San Diego Zoo which is an amazing place. Unfortunately, we had to cut our visit short as a result of the extreme heat to be had that day. Most the animals were hiding, taking cover from the blazing heat, and my little beasts wanted the same. We took the bus tour, the sky ride, visited a few animals including this sweet panda and then called it quits. We went back to our hotel and enjoyed the fabulous pool that had some fun seahorse fountains, and just beautiful view of the harbor. That night we took the boys to their first fancy dining experience.

We went to this trendy restaurant in historic gas lamp quarters, called Red Pearl Kitchen. It was dark, the music was going (like being in a nightclub), there were candles on the tables, we enjoyed a delectable Asian fusion dinner, including the boys,surprisingly. The boys were completely riveted by the experience and Daddy and I were so grateful to enjoy a nice meal out with not meltdowns.

Our final day was spent at the USS Midway Museum. We got the grand tour of this amazing battleship including a variety of planes and helicopters. Of course the boys "ohhed and ahhed" over the whole thing. We ended this visit with a ride in the "Desert Storm Simulator", definitely an experience to be had.

One of the sweetest things every evening during this trip was there were fireworks to be watched from our hotel room. I'm not sure what the events were, stadium? concert? who knows? but the boys loved watching them and I pretended they were especially for us so we could end our summer with a fabulous bang!

Family Counts, 6 Counts

2010-08-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

We had a nice weekend, especially Aidan who considered it his birthday weekend celebration. The weekend started with a nice family gathering with Auntie Lisa and her girls visiting from New Jersey. Uncle Raymond and Auntie Evelyn hosted this gathering, all the cousins, aunties, uncles and grandparents, enjoyed a huge jumpy house and delicious BBQ lunch. The funny part was that Aidan believed this gathering was to celebrate his last day of being 5. Evelyn was so sweet to confirm this belief with Aidan by handing out party favors and congratulating him on his last day of 5. Aidan was so pleased.

Evelyn and I got to commiserate about the challenges of raising twins plus an older one. We are both fortunate enough to be stay at home moms, so we had so much to talk about and had fun comparing notes. I truly enjoyed this time with her and how genuine and kind she is, I only wish we lived closer.

As for Sunday, the big day, Aidan's day, we had fun celebrating 6. We of course did this at Pump It Up. Aidan had been requesting a party there for months. I tried to sway him into other ideas but he held steady on this request. We indulged him and he sure enjoyed it with his brothers and 11 of his closest buddies. It was so much fun to see him so happy.

In Training

2010-08-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

A funny conversation while on our way home from dinner:

Aidan(6 yrs old): "Mommy and Daddy are the boss, right?"

Me: "Well we're in charge."

Miles (3 yrs old): "What about me? What about me?"

Daddy: "You're the children."

Me: "You follow the rules."

Aidan: "We're in training"

Daddy and I: *Laugh*

Aidan: "We're in training to be adults."

Aidan Rides

2010-08-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pics...

Aidan learned to ride his bike today, thanks to our dear friend Rachel. She took off his training wheels and got him going after 3 tries. Unfortunately, I missed the moment as I was at an appointment with Aidan's brothers but, I did get to see him riding later that afternoon. He took a few spills that made me anxious, anxious, anxious. Though, I remained enthusiastic, trying to be supportive mom, reinforcing how great he was doing while in my mind I was thanking heaven no major road rash, no broken bones. He was so excited about it and I was so excited for him.

Conversation went like this:

Aidan: "Mom I can ride my bike, no training wheels. Are you proud of me?"

Me: "Yes Aidan I am so proud of you. That's great. You must be so proud too."

Aidan: (Beaming with pride) "Yeah, I'm proud...does that mean I get a reward when we get home because I can ride my bike now with no training wheels."

Me: (Rolling my eyes now because Aidan takes any chance to ask for a treat) "We'll see Aidan, learning how to ride your bike is pretty cool."

Aidan: "Yeah, I think I should get a reward."

So we all had popsicles after dinner to congratulate Aidan's newest accomplishment. Still in my mind I'm dreading the many more spills. I know it's inevitable and I'm just going to have to let it go. I won't always be able to protect him but I have to take comfort in knowing that I can make sure I'm there to come to his aid when he's hurt. Another lesson in watching your children grow up.

Meet The Monsters

2010-08-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Meet the "Dark Blue Grrrster", "Milesbot 3000", and Z'Sun'z. These monsters enjoyed themselves searching for moon rocks, flying spaceships and just having silly fun.

I'd forgotten about this Hallmark Make-A-Mask kit that included sticker activity. I found this unopened kit at a thrift store quite some time ago for .30 cents. I came across it again today while digging around in my craft stash for some fun for the kids. This was lots of creative fun making the masks as well as, making up silly monster, robot, alien stories. Masks are fun and easy to make even without a kit and sure makes for good make believe play. As for this kit, it sure was .30 cents well spent.

What We Like Wednesdays: Go Away Monster:

2010-08-11T22:19:00.001-07:00

We had fun playing "Go Away Monster". This game is much more age appropriate for Miles and Liam who are 3 but Aidan (soon to be 6) joined in the fun too. This game not only has educational value with it's tactile exploration, shape recognition and need to take turns but it's also lots of fun yelling "Go Away Monster!"

Yosemite Time

2010-08-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

More summer good times to be enjoyed with the family... We enjoyed a weekend in Yosemite with Grandma and Grandpa.

Thanks to Grandpa and his travel expertise, we stayed at the Yosemite View Lodge right outside of Yosemite National Park. A really great place that we truly enjoyed. So if you miss making your year in advance booking for the Yosemite Lodge you might just want to give this place a try. This place had 3 outdoor swimming pools, 1 indoor pool, 2 restaurants, one of which was a delicious pizza place (we had a fabulous seafood pizza that had shrimp and crab with a white sauce that Liam just couldn't get enough of) but best of all was, that it was right outside of the park entrance...maybe a 10 minute drive if that.

It's been about 13 yrs since I last visited Yosemite so I'd forgotten the awesomeness of it all. It was Daddy and the boys first time there so it was like we were all experiencing it together for the first time with our skilled tour guides Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa did a great job establishing a daily itinerary for us. I was initially a bit sceptical about a schedule but soon realized that Grandpa was definitely in the know. So thanks to Grandpa we had a great time enjoying the sights.

A short jaunt to Glacier Point to take in the spectacular views of Half Dome and the surrounding landscape,

a trip to Bridal Veil Falls which the boys were thoroughly amazed at water crashing down as well as the flowing river, a short walk through the valley, lots of swimming at our hotel,

fun picnics,

and a final swim at beachy area in the valley.

This was truly a fun trip, the makings of wonderful family memories. It sure is turning out to be a really nice summer.

Good Times

2010-08-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Summer has been full of good times here. I'm not sure why I had fantasized summer being full of lazy days, sipping cool drinks and being crafty with the kids. Although we have had a few of those days, summer with 3 young kids really has been busy busy busy, be it with good times but still busy. It takes time for Mommy (me)to prepare for those good times which really doesn't translate to lazy days.

I thought I'd share some of our good times...

Daddy and I out for a date night, enjoying a spectacular dinner at Pican celebrating our wedding anniversary.

A trip to Masse's Pastries for a sweet stroll down memory lane, a bite of their yummy tiramisu that we served as our wedding cake.

Enjoying family hiking trips, this one was at Redwood Trail.

A fabulous weekend camping with friends, enjoying spectacular views of wine country,

bike riding and

mini golf for the older boys,

a camp fire in preparation for.....

...yummy smores and

fun meals for all,

let's not forget the long awaited and all deserved hot tub time for the mommies. (I borrowed this photo from my friend Rachel's blog but I'm sure she won't mind)

Fun park outing and strolls with good friends.

Dreams of pure contentment..a sure sign that there's been lots of summertime fun to be had.

Needless to say I'm giving myself a break til the end of summer, with What We like Wednesdays, Artful Thursdays, and Friday Food. I'll post those when I can but if I miss it, it's because I'm off enjoying another summer day with the family. I do hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.

Happy Anniversary - 7 Years of Wedded Bliss

2010-07-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

Apache Blessing
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years,
May happiness be your companion and
your days together be good and long upon the earth...

Happily married and so very grateful for my dear hubby.
I love you.

The Lorax - A Drama Camp Production

2010-07-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Aidan has been having a fabulous time at summer camp. This past two weeks was drama camp that ended with a Variety Show and a play, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, performed for family and friends.

Aidan has always been a shy soul so I thought drama camp might be just the bit of medicine he needs to help bring him out of his shell. I was a little worried that this line of thought might actually backfire and work against us but, boy did he pleasantly surprise us.

He was part of the fashion show, where he strutted his stuff in baseball attire without any timid reservation. Following the Variety Show was their performance of The Lorax (a great story with an environmental message that's so fitting for the times, if you're not familiar with it you might want to give it a read). Aidan was part of the factory and once again enjoyed being in the spotlight without any signs of stage fright. Quite the opposite he was animated and obviously happy.

We had so much fun watching Aidan perform with all his summer camp friends. After several days of foggy cold weather, the skies cleared giving us a gift of gorgeous weather for the special day. Yay, to drama camp and a successful event!

Artful Thursday: Dinner Time Survival Guide

2010-07-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

It's the "Dinner Time Survival Guide" once again. I've made these before for my mom's group and now I've made one for a girlfriend I share recipes with often.

This is a simple altered composition book that's embellished with scrapbook paper, stickers and stamps.

Inside I just used double tape to adhere a little message and one of my favorite go to recipes. All pretty simple but you could make this as elaborate as you want. Really you could make it what ever you want, summer camp survival guide, workout survival guide etc...whatever kind of journal you want would be perfect. It being summer time with all those back to school sales starting, what's best about this project is that the composition books are on sale at Target, right now for .25 cents. Yes! that's right, I said .25 cents. Pretty unbelievable since there's not much else you can buy for a quarter right now.

What We Like Wednesdays: UNO

2010-07-21T21:14:00.001-07:00

Aidan loves games of all kinds, board games, card games, made up games, you name it...he loves it. He's got a very competitive spirit that we're working on teaching him how to be a good winner and a good loser. This is still work in progress.

His most recent favorite right now is UNO. It's a fun card game, simple enough that he learned how to play quickly (he still needs some work on strategy). Although his brothers aren't old enough to play this yet, I can see how this game is going to be a real family hit in the near future. The game says it's for 7+ years but I think it's simple enough for a 5 yr old. What's best about this game is it's so portable, take it camping, play indoors, outdoors, etc.. you can play this just about anywhere.

Rules of the Wrap

2010-07-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

I know I've said it many times but I really enjoy wrapping presents...there's just so many possibilities that makes it so much fun. But there's a few rules I like to follow when I wrap a kids gift. Especially, when you're wrapping a toddlers to let's say 4 yrs old, young kids just love bright colors. So, I try to wrap with fun brightly colored patterns and if there's more than one item I wrap them separately in coordinating wrap. Why wrap it all up in one box when visually you can make it feel so much more grand for them. If you're thinking for green reasons, there's so many possibilities that are still earth friendly. Repurposed papers such as Sunday comics, old maps and children's art work, gift wrap made from recycled paper or even fabrics that can be reused/repurposed. Be creative, if their birthday is in the summer you could use a bright colored beach towel...you get the idea. Same goes for the ribbon. Some of my favorites are raffia (comes in so many colors), grosgrain and satin ribbon that can always be reused for something else. I try to stay away form the plastics, curling ribbons and bows that end up in our land fills and harming birds. Why just slap a bow on it when you can embellish it with so many other fun items whether it's pretty ribbon, or another fun little toy.

This age is also around the time when kids start to recognize their name in print and get so excited when they see it. For this reason, I love to make sure I tag the gift with their name in large print. What's more exciting for a little kid than receiving a fun colored package that has there name on it? Well I guess maybe opening it! Yippee! I usually just use a shipping tag that I embellish with stickers, stamps, or markers. When you make your own tags, it's so much more personal, made for that specific individual, you can't get more personal than that.

So those are just a few of the things I keep in mind when wrapping a gift. Most importantly, have fun with it, you can't wrong when it's your own creation.

HK Reunion For Max

2010-07-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Goodness time has passed me as we've been recooping here from a cold. Can't seem to shake it and it's really hard to accept the fact that we're down and illin' in the middle of July?? Thankfully I'm at the tail end now and I managed to pull it together for a dinner party we hosted. Max's friend is visiting from Hong Kong with his family so we had them over for dinner with a couple of other old HK friends and their families. We sure had a nice time, lots of good food and good company. The true marker of a successful event is when the kids have a good time too with no major meltdowns, yay!

Did I mention we had good food!? We started with appetizers,

Tuna Tare Tare on Wonton Squares and Shrimp Cocktail then moved on to

Tandoori Style Shrimp with Mint Chutney,

Yummy Ribs and a Prime Rib Roast,

Summer Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing

and not photographed but still yummy was the Roasted Asparagus n' Peppers, and Wisconsin Mac and Cheese for the kids.....and as if that wasn't enough, for dessert Cheesecake and Strawberries in a Brandy Chocolate Sauce. It's true there's a few foodies in the friendship circle so of course there must be a feast.

All photos were courtesy of Oscar, thank you Oscar.

What We Like Wednesdays: Summer Reading, Big Green Monster

2010-07-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

We've always done a great deal of reading but now with summer here and longer days, we find ourselves reading quite a bit more. To add more fun to the reading, we joined our public library's summer reading program. The boys are having lots of fun with this, after every 15 minutes of reading they get a sticker in a reading log, when they collect 4 hours worth of stickers they get to go to the library and collect a prize, and after 8 hours worth of stickers they get a free book of choice plus a bundle of coupons including some free ice cream cone coupons...talk about incentives. The boys are excited about this. After joining this reading program, Aidan has really gotten into his chapter book reading which amazes us all as to how much his reading has progressed since we made the change from children's picture/story books. As for the twins, they aren't quite reading on their own, so they collect their stickers after being read to for the assigned amount of time.

Miles favorite book right now "Go Away Big Green Monster" by Ed Emberley has been a favorite since this past Halloween. All the boys really love this fun read but Miles by far enjoys it the most. Every time we go to the library he searches the shelves for this one and is so pleased if he finds it. Since it's been a favorite for awhile now I just might have to get our own copy.

So if you're looking for some more summer time activity, drop by your local library and see what fun summer programs they might have going on. You can never go wrong with reading.

The New World of Sleep Overs

2010-07-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

A sign that my baby ( I know he's going to be 6) is growing up... he has entered the world of sleep overs. He's only just begun since school has let out in late June, but since then he has slept over 3 different friends houses and his uncle's house. Yes, we have yet to have someone sleep over here but I'm sure that is in the near future.

He's become the well seasoned sleep over guest. He knows the drill now...pack lovey (yes he still has a lovey a flannel baby quilt I made for him which, I fear will fall apart anytime soon), toothbrush, pj's, and a change of clothes in his personalized rolling suitcase and he's set to go. Although I admire his independence, it also makes me little sad, the realization that he'll be needing less and less of me as time goes on.

Banana Split Boys

2010-07-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

The boys had a fun-filled day today visiting Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Conny. The amusement started with some poolside play, then a yummy Korean dinner, and ended with a banana split. Uncle Jimmy can really turn on the silly in them.

As for the banana split that sure was a super special treat. Boys are already asking when we're going to visit again. I just love that the boys have delightful adults (besides their mommy and daddy 'wink') in their lives that play such positive roles, couldn't ask for better friends.

Friday Food: Pushing That Comfort Zone

2010-07-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

After a long week, and the monotony of the easy go to meals that I can almost prepare with my eyes closed, I thought it would be nice to end the week with something different. With that thought in mind, I decided on scallops something I haven't cooked in a while. I'll have to admit, it always stresses me out to cook them because there is such a small window of time between cooked just right and overcooked. If you miss it, you end up with rubber which is always disappointing. Messing up a meal is one of those things that leaves me feeling pretty bummed out. Today I was feeling adventurous and decided to take the risk. I made coriander crusted seared scallops and a Thai spiced new york strip steak served with a salad. I kept a watchful eye on those scallops and the steak for that matter because we sure do love a medium rare steak. It was all perfect, making for a very satisfying Friday night dinner.

So if you're in that cooking rut, try something new. Be adventurous and push your comfort zone a bit. You just might surprise yourself with how much fun you have doing it and the sense of contentment that comes with seeing your family enjoy a new meal you prepared is always a big plus too.

Artful Thursday: With Gratitude

2010-07-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

It's with gratitude that I made thank you cards today. I had several dear friends give me birthday gifts. Inturn, I wanted to let them know how much I appreciate them. So, this Artful Thursday was all about saying "thank you".

I gathered my supplies which included, a vintage world atlas, blank ivory cards, patterned paper, rubber stamps, pearl embellishments, a 2" scalloped circle punch , wool twine and my favorite item of the bunch, these sweet mini doilies by Martha Stewart.

With a little tearing, inking, stamping, gluing I managed to finish my cards. This calls for a trip to the post office tomorrow.

What We Like Wednesdays: In Full Bloom

2010-07-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Everything is in full bloom here. This precious gift from mother nature brings a smile to my face.

Freedom To Have Fun

2010-07-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

It was a nice long holiday weekend, with lots of fun to be had. We had a BBQ with good friends to celebrate 4th of July and a belated birthday celebration for myself.

Lots of yummy food and drinks, Max sure was the drink master that day, with fresh watermelon agua fresca, watermelon-cucumber-gin coolers and the yummiest margaritas of which I may have had one too many (smirk). Everyone seemed to have a good time even the 13 kids that were there. Yes, 13 kids ages 7 and under. They were great, running around playing together with only a few small mishaps and tears which is to be expected when you have that many kids in one place.

Max was very sweet to bring out the desserts with candles for me and everyone sang "happy birthday" And even though it was well passed my actual birthday, I hadn't had a chance to celebrate with friends so this truly was a sweet moment. Something I really did not expect but really enjoyed. I feel so fortunate to have such nice friends, family, and neighbors. It's moments like these that remind me how blessed we are to have the freedom we do. The freedom to consume what we want, wear what we want, have as many kids as we want, the freedom to have as much fun as we want!

I do hope you all enjoyed Independence Day as much as I did.

Ahoy Matey! Arrrrrrrr Fun Times!

2010-06-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Aidan started summer camp this past Monday and this weeks theme is pirate week. Aidan has fully adopted his pirate persona and is thoroughly enjoying camp. It helps that he's there with his buddies, Parker, Zaidan and Ezra. Camp is a bit of a schlep away, lots of driving for us moms, but the boys get to enjoy gorgeous nature area with hiking trails, grassy meadows, farm animals and weekly swimming in the lake. Some fun times!