how is it possible that the last post was on musubi's bday and we've had so much to celebrate. i can't believe that. i just went back to check to see if there were drafts that were saved that were unpublished. how can it be? I have to be better about this. I need to better about this. I will be better about this.
life is just zooming by. so many milestone birthday's. Brian had his big 4-0, dudley had his big 7-0, evan had his big 0-1, and i just celebrate my big 3-?. europe and france was great. i'm very grateful that we have had chances to travel with our family. the house rental was great - pricey, and super generous that brian's parents footed the bill. dylan was a fan of escargot, and apparently not a fan of foie gras. i love that he has a pretty adventurous and has broad culinary palette. snuggabees was super snuggy and just a little doll. both boys were good but traveling back was tough routing through NYC. Flights requiring transfers really make travelling that much more difficult. highlights of the trip: the house, dylan playing ping-pong with his uncles, the wine tasting, the little hill-towns, the chocolate croissants, the special bday cake, family game night, the fancy bday lunch, the car-ride with clara to st tropez, my black dress and fun blazer from vanessa bruno (also discovering comptoir de contonniers). the funny low-lights, not having house-cleaning included in our rental, the treacherous stairs, needing to pick up juice and his friend on our way back from st tropez, only having a few hours shopping in cannes, and dylan sleeping through most of monte carlo and the grand prix. b's catered japanese bday dinner at our house was a big hit. i was probably the thinnest at this time, and have since gained about 3-4 pounds that i haven't been able to lose. it was a great time, and guests stayed until past 1 am.
dylan's day was spent with grandparents on both sides and belin's family at gilroy gardens. he too was happy that puo-puo and gong-gong came up to celebrate with him. the following weekend we went to martha's vineyard, which was another great family vacation. it was really special that we were able to go to the boathouse and the old bowling alley since alan and emma also came back. the house we rented was great, also had treacherous stairs, and was pretty centrally located. it was so nice to go to a place and have other people be so familiar with it. they knew where to get cheap lobster, what beaches were baby-friendly, took us clamming, where to get ice cream, where to go bike-riding, etc. the pie from morning glory was ridiculously good, and the fresh pasta with clam sauce couldn't be any fresher and the lobster rolls were absolutely delish. i'm salivating thinking about it now. dylan had such a great time with all the kids and often talks about going back. we kept dylan's bday small, since the big party of the year was going to be evan's first bday party. it was nice that everyone came over for dinner and i did get the big ice cream pie cake from tin cup.
for evan's party - i thought that our guest list would be smaller, since we didn't so many NY relatives in town, but it ended up being about the same, of not even more people. Aaron still catered the event, but instead of the bbq, we ordered take out from phil's treasure pot in menlo park. I still ordered the princess cake from Schuberts, zach brought the ginger cupcakes from miette, and i ordered the red velvet cupcakes from sprinkles. it was a different color scheme and we had banner flags and fun paper spirals instead of lanterns. he slept through his happy bday song and the cake cutting, but was a trooper. it was again very special that dr katz made it down to celebrate with us. some of his party decorations are still up...but i do think it will be time to dismantle those decorations and replace them with christmas ones.
i took evan's actual birthday off and we had such a nice day! i took him to san carlos library which had a little crafts/event for babies/toddlers and he had a great time playing with the gears and crawling around. we met brian for lunch at a michelin star japanese restaurant, since evan loves udon and noodles. afterwards we came home and and i worked on his baby book. he's such a joy. love the dimples and him blowing raspberries on my stomach, arm and his giggles. it was a day in which i wish time stood still.
evan started walking a little earlier than dylan. at 14 months he's running and doing the cutest squats trying to jump, but hasn't quite figured it out yet. he's losing his baby fat, and at his 1 year appointment, he was only in like the 15%tile for weight. how is that possible? he's starting to say a few words now and his animal sounds are coming along. he knows that dogs say "ooohh, oohh" - he doesn't quite do the "w" for the "whoa-whoa" and does a high pitched sound for cats. he's starting the "baba baobao" and i think his first legitimate word is "ball" more so in english than chinese. i think his language comprehension has also come a long way. he knows commands in chinese like "open" and "close", if you tell him to give something to you, or to someone else, like dylan, or to brian he can. i'm pretty sure he also knows if you tell him to put it back, to put it back. he pushes his fingers together for "buggy, buggy fly" in chinese and likes to play "pull the carrot". puo-puo was here for over a week, and he knows part of the chinese ugly duckling son. he's so cute! his poops are disgusting, but other than that, he's such a good eater and a pretty good sleeper. thank goodness both boys are good sleepers.
dylan figured out how to ride a bike after we got back from martha's vineyard and i was a proud mama last week going to his first pre-school parent teacher conference. the teacher's love him - say that he's the sweetest student, very complimentary. highlights of the conversation was that he's very motivated, has great attention to detail, is the only person in class how can figure out the craft activities without help, and is extremely verbal. he was described as being "lovely." the only thing the teacher could think of is that sometimes he blurts out the answer and doesn't let other children participate. i love that he's doing well in school, and it cracks me up that he's been the teacher's pet at both schools so far. his chinese is excelling and tonight we took a bath and asked me why i have hair on my "pee-pee" in chinese, with the exception of "pee-pee".
i didn't do a weigh in for this bday. after a caloric extravaganza of a weekend, complete with fried chicken, champagne, oysters, eggs benny, a healthy tastings of red wine - i think i should avoid the scale for at least 10 days. i really do love wine country and had a great time. it was my bday this weekend and my favorite part was the boys singing me happy birthday - dylan stopping and evan filling in in the sounds with backup vocals. love it!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
happy birthday musubi
it's another year, and i don't think i'll ever be on the other side of grief. brian sent me the link to that feature on yahoo homepage about photographers donating their talents to families such as ours. the organization is called asilaymedowntosleep.org. i still don't think that i could share the same attitude as the father who was featured. he was just so positive and happy about the outcome. i don't think i'll ever get there. or as dylan would say "absolutely not."
i didn't get musubi anything this year, and we didn't get to take our family retreat, but i did take the day off, ran some life errands, had a personal training session, had lunch with b at john bentley's, had a spa appt, picked up d from preschool and met b and d at burgess for his soccer class. i wanted to have family weekend this past weekend, but b was ill. i do have this odd relationship with my body. i wouldn't call it a love/hate relationship, more like a dislike/hate relationship. i was staring at myself in the mirror today, looking at this vessel that has brought forth 2 amazing little boys, and let down 1 amazing, precious angel. i still don't know if i could ever forgive my body...although i know that path leads to no where positive.
evan is scooting around on his back and big belly. his skin is still really sensitive, and poor thing has a bump near his bunghole. we need to soak his bum in epsom salt and apply fungal cream to it 3Xs a day. i hope it gets better soon. he's not really taking to solid foods very well. so far he's turned down carrots, and is not a fan of avocados. he can somewhat dissolve a mum mum in his mouth, but is also effectively spitting out his oatmeal. not sure how we're going to transition him to more solids. he can still light up a room with his smile and his laugh.
both boys are going to music together now. dylan loves it and i believe evan is quite musical as well. he loves his maracas. dylan loves to listen to the radio and his 2 favorites are timber by keisha and pitbull and the song by pompeii, first discovered at mark liu's house. i think i'm also trying to influence his musical taste by introducing him to the justin timberlake song i'm loving right now: Not a bad thing.
loving all my boys and missing my musubi so much it hurts.
i didn't get musubi anything this year, and we didn't get to take our family retreat, but i did take the day off, ran some life errands, had a personal training session, had lunch with b at john bentley's, had a spa appt, picked up d from preschool and met b and d at burgess for his soccer class. i wanted to have family weekend this past weekend, but b was ill. i do have this odd relationship with my body. i wouldn't call it a love/hate relationship, more like a dislike/hate relationship. i was staring at myself in the mirror today, looking at this vessel that has brought forth 2 amazing little boys, and let down 1 amazing, precious angel. i still don't know if i could ever forgive my body...although i know that path leads to no where positive.
evan is scooting around on his back and big belly. his skin is still really sensitive, and poor thing has a bump near his bunghole. we need to soak his bum in epsom salt and apply fungal cream to it 3Xs a day. i hope it gets better soon. he's not really taking to solid foods very well. so far he's turned down carrots, and is not a fan of avocados. he can somewhat dissolve a mum mum in his mouth, but is also effectively spitting out his oatmeal. not sure how we're going to transition him to more solids. he can still light up a room with his smile and his laugh.
both boys are going to music together now. dylan loves it and i believe evan is quite musical as well. he loves his maracas. dylan loves to listen to the radio and his 2 favorites are timber by keisha and pitbull and the song by pompeii, first discovered at mark liu's house. i think i'm also trying to influence his musical taste by introducing him to the justin timberlake song i'm loving right now: Not a bad thing.
loving all my boys and missing my musubi so much it hurts.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
catch up
i still like staying up late, with my boys sleeping near by. it makes me feel like i'm still on maternity leave. evan is still sleeping in our bed...and dylan is still in his crib. not sure when we're going to start making the transition to other options. i still have our europe trip as a goal to transition evan into the crib, but dylan needs to be out first. who knows.
i didn't get a chance to write about the trip down to socal before work. it was probably the longest trip for me to LA in a very long time. i'm always torn when i go back. it's great to see friends whenever possible, but it makes me sad to see our house so run down and old. the bedrooms are drafty, the bathrooms need to be updated, i mean dad has clear duct tape holding the paint together in the downstairs bathroom. it makes me sad. but it's so nice for the boys to spend time with puo-puo and gong-gong, and i'm sure they like to be in their own element. dylan was a little bit sick prior to the trip, and successfully contaminated the entire family. evan was sick (his case was pretty mild), i became sick, but my parents (mom who was sick earlier from dylan) had it the worse, along with brian. dad had a high fever and went to the doctor, a few days in, but had a lingering cough for weeks. Brian seemed sick for almost a month as well, finally going to kaiser to get some meds near the the end of Feb. we stayed in san diego for an extra night to let my parent's recover.
highlights:
-wandering through target with kathy and christine, after meeting for dinner and picking up some coffee
-visiting with Cindy at her home in seal beach
-experiencing legoland with the boys
-model train museum
low-lights:
-everyone becoming sick
-dylan not into the zoo that much, and getting fixated with the train outside the park
-dylan melting down at the scripps aquarium (at lunch, and then not wanting to wash his hands afterwards)
-the westin at the gaslamp district (a bit too urban for my taste, with the concierge eyeing vagrants coming into the hotel to watch the superbowl)
everyone was sick and low-energy the last few days of my leave. it was all pretty mellow and low key, which was i guess ok. i focused on getting rest and working out. losing this weight is a full time job, which of course is interrupted with my full time job. and that will be another post.
i didn't get a chance to write about the trip down to socal before work. it was probably the longest trip for me to LA in a very long time. i'm always torn when i go back. it's great to see friends whenever possible, but it makes me sad to see our house so run down and old. the bedrooms are drafty, the bathrooms need to be updated, i mean dad has clear duct tape holding the paint together in the downstairs bathroom. it makes me sad. but it's so nice for the boys to spend time with puo-puo and gong-gong, and i'm sure they like to be in their own element. dylan was a little bit sick prior to the trip, and successfully contaminated the entire family. evan was sick (his case was pretty mild), i became sick, but my parents (mom who was sick earlier from dylan) had it the worse, along with brian. dad had a high fever and went to the doctor, a few days in, but had a lingering cough for weeks. Brian seemed sick for almost a month as well, finally going to kaiser to get some meds near the the end of Feb. we stayed in san diego for an extra night to let my parent's recover.
highlights:
-wandering through target with kathy and christine, after meeting for dinner and picking up some coffee
-visiting with Cindy at her home in seal beach
-experiencing legoland with the boys
-model train museum
low-lights:
-everyone becoming sick
-dylan not into the zoo that much, and getting fixated with the train outside the park
-dylan melting down at the scripps aquarium (at lunch, and then not wanting to wash his hands afterwards)
-the westin at the gaslamp district (a bit too urban for my taste, with the concierge eyeing vagrants coming into the hotel to watch the superbowl)
everyone was sick and low-energy the last few days of my leave. it was all pretty mellow and low key, which was i guess ok. i focused on getting rest and working out. losing this weight is a full time job, which of course is interrupted with my full time job. and that will be another post.
6 months
hard to believe that evs had his 6 months check up this week. he was 17 lbs 10 oz (50 %tile) and 90%tile height, but i don't think brian brought back his print out home after the appt. i had to leave the appt before it was over to get back to the office by 930ish for a meeting. sad.
evan is still a bundle of joy - a little giggling rolly polly. his top right tooth is coming in, and we're just about to start solids. we have the rice cereal, but i haven't picked out a good outfit for him to be on camera/video to record the moment.
dr kleary is leaving menlo clinic to work for a boutique practice that offers 24/7 care so that she can be more present for her boys. i am happy for her, but a little sad for the rest of us. it was again a reminder of how she's in an occupation that lends itself to more work/life balance. i need to keep in mind my ability to work on a marketable/transferable skill set for possible consulting work down the road. bridget is having such a hard time back-filling cathy on maternity leave, that having a backfill gig for bridget would be nice...if i knew my fertile future.
i still stare at evan and wonder if he's going to be it. i'm still not sure...and the more difficult it is to loose this post-partum weight, the more daunting becoming pregnant again seems. i'm about 132 now, still about 5-10 lbs from where i want to me. i feel like it's been about 5-10 lbs for the last few months. getting below 130 will be a good milestone, although my body composition is so different these days. my gut is so protrusive and im pretty sure my butt is flattening away, making the stomach distortion even worse. good to know my body dysmophia is still in full effect. i have to say the i've become less enthralled with dailey method, and prefer personal training and soul cycle instead. now 1 hour workouts seem way too long and not as effective.
dylan is as active and as inquisitive as ever. constantly saying "Watchu talk'n 'bout baba". he's pretty good about wearing underwear, and letting us know when he needs to go to the bathroom. today he asked to go to the bathroom at cooking papa, and told b that he was going "big boy style". he's now forward facing in the car, and quite the little music connoisseur, liking Justin Timberlake and one direction. it's pretty funny that he'll ask me what song is on the radio, and then he'll tell brian in the car. he's been bitten a few times in preschool now, which is unnerving, and i'm a little nervous about his preschool trial playdate this week at cornerstone. i hope we both like the place.
last week we went to spring training. in spite of the apparent food poisoning, the spa day was quite nice, capped off with a nice meal at don and charlie's. poor brian got sick when we got home, and now mumford it sick too. i think b was pretty stressed during the trip, trying to manage the logistics. i hope he had fun. it was good to see juice and go out with friends (terry, noel, and anson) for a night. no shopping for me (the rack was a bomb)...no time and not quite satisfied with my body composition. strangely enough i only went to 1 game, and felt like i could have gone to 1 more.
evan is still a bundle of joy - a little giggling rolly polly. his top right tooth is coming in, and we're just about to start solids. we have the rice cereal, but i haven't picked out a good outfit for him to be on camera/video to record the moment.
dr kleary is leaving menlo clinic to work for a boutique practice that offers 24/7 care so that she can be more present for her boys. i am happy for her, but a little sad for the rest of us. it was again a reminder of how she's in an occupation that lends itself to more work/life balance. i need to keep in mind my ability to work on a marketable/transferable skill set for possible consulting work down the road. bridget is having such a hard time back-filling cathy on maternity leave, that having a backfill gig for bridget would be nice...if i knew my fertile future.
i still stare at evan and wonder if he's going to be it. i'm still not sure...and the more difficult it is to loose this post-partum weight, the more daunting becoming pregnant again seems. i'm about 132 now, still about 5-10 lbs from where i want to me. i feel like it's been about 5-10 lbs for the last few months. getting below 130 will be a good milestone, although my body composition is so different these days. my gut is so protrusive and im pretty sure my butt is flattening away, making the stomach distortion even worse. good to know my body dysmophia is still in full effect. i have to say the i've become less enthralled with dailey method, and prefer personal training and soul cycle instead. now 1 hour workouts seem way too long and not as effective.
dylan is as active and as inquisitive as ever. constantly saying "Watchu talk'n 'bout baba". he's pretty good about wearing underwear, and letting us know when he needs to go to the bathroom. today he asked to go to the bathroom at cooking papa, and told b that he was going "big boy style". he's now forward facing in the car, and quite the little music connoisseur, liking Justin Timberlake and one direction. it's pretty funny that he'll ask me what song is on the radio, and then he'll tell brian in the car. he's been bitten a few times in preschool now, which is unnerving, and i'm a little nervous about his preschool trial playdate this week at cornerstone. i hope we both like the place.
last week we went to spring training. in spite of the apparent food poisoning, the spa day was quite nice, capped off with a nice meal at don and charlie's. poor brian got sick when we got home, and now mumford it sick too. i think b was pretty stressed during the trip, trying to manage the logistics. i hope he had fun. it was good to see juice and go out with friends (terry, noel, and anson) for a night. no shopping for me (the rack was a bomb)...no time and not quite satisfied with my body composition. strangely enough i only went to 1 game, and felt like i could have gone to 1 more.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
so sick and not pregnant
it's strange to be throwing up and have it not be associated with a pregnancy. well this is me, sitting in my underwear in the dark with the curtains drawer, with a sore stomach and a wrecked GI tract. we're in scottsdale now, for spring training, and i'm pretty disappointed that i had to skip out on the game. did not want to risk getting sick, from either end at the ballpark. evs is with me tossing and turning, and look, he just rolled over!
the official roll over date was about March 4, but he has progressively become rollier as the week went on by! he is so cute! ok, must attend to the snuggle bunkers now.
the official roll over date was about March 4, but he has progressively become rollier as the week went on by! he is so cute! ok, must attend to the snuggle bunkers now.
Monday, February 17, 2014
snuggle bunkers
he sort of sat up for a little bit (he does have a cute stable base) before he tipped over. he was smiling the entire time. he is SOOOO cute!
dylan received a ribbon from his swim class this weekend. he was so excited, but he was even more excited for his new cars beach towel from costco. he wanted to watch the dryer as he waited for his towel to dry.
dylan received a ribbon from his swim class this weekend. he was so excited, but he was even more excited for his new cars beach towel from costco. he wanted to watch the dryer as he waited for his towel to dry.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
the list
so it's my last day of maternity - another run for the "best days of my life". it was pretty amazing. brian said he was proud of me for what I accomplished. thought i would lay out my initial list.
completed:
get peanut's art framed:
hang evan's picture in the nursery
clean/organize office
buy twin mattress, furniture, and sheets
go to carmel and take the boys to the aquarium
read 5 books: the heart of a woman; where the heart is; parenting without borders; unconditional parentings; simplicity parenting *i think i finished this
lose 20+ lbs.
sign dylan and evan for classes
LA/Oregon/NY/Hawaii trip
fix the tv/av issue
train annie
go to the dentist
berkeley day
juice photography session
portola valley storytime
dream drawer organization
kids clothing organization
CD/DVD organization
touch up paint
update trust/will
still TBD:
hang peanut's art piece in the bathroom, as well as his bootie photograph
set up dylan's room
complete dylan's baby book
evan's baby book
plan 40/70/40 bday trip
complete 2 art projects
grocery/meal planning
childproof the house
stanford events/classes
livermore outlet
gilroy gardens
shoe closet organization
What i'm most proud of is i feel like just within the last week of so, my relationship with dylan has improved. we can have lengthly conversations in mandarin, and the other day he pretended that the banana was a cell phone, said his name was dylan and that he's bilingual. that is what is one of more heart-breaking aspects about going back to work tomorrow.
yesterday was a special day with dylan, as i took him to music class (very underwhelming at the menlo community center), went to keplers to read a book, and then took the train to meet brian for lunch. he was so excited about taking the train. he still talks about it, about how we rode the train 2 times, about how the train i take the work has stripes, and how the train we took yesterday didn't have stripes. i will remember this day for the rest of my life.
and then there is evan - my snuggle bum, full of love and light. i've been feeding him skin to skin recently and i make sure to give him his full body massage after this baths. i just can't believe that i won't be able to snuggle with him whenever I want to. my last today was pretty productive: dailey method, went to target to return bedsheets and xmas gifts, bought D some cars plates/cups/utencils for Vday, took a soul class, got my juicery, went to sign the trust documents, bought D some Vday candy, went to dragers, packed away my maternity clothes, taught annie how to make the salmon, went for my final walk with evan in the neighborhood. every day this week has been rather emotional. maybe psychologically i'm trying to brace myself for the worst, so that my future reality won't be that bad. Or maybe I'm just completely obsessed with spending time with my boys.
i need to sign off for my last snugs/feed with evan. tearing up already.
Note: need to write about my trip to socal
completed:
get peanut's art framed:
hang evan's picture in the nursery
clean/organize office
buy twin mattress, furniture, and sheets
go to carmel and take the boys to the aquarium
read 5 books: the heart of a woman; where the heart is; parenting without borders; unconditional parentings; simplicity parenting *i think i finished this
lose 20+ lbs.
sign dylan and evan for classes
LA/Oregon/NY/Hawaii trip
fix the tv/av issue
train annie
go to the dentist
berkeley day
juice photography session
portola valley storytime
dream drawer organization
kids clothing organization
CD/DVD organization
touch up paint
update trust/will
still TBD:
hang peanut's art piece in the bathroom, as well as his bootie photograph
set up dylan's room
complete dylan's baby book
evan's baby book
plan 40/70/40 bday trip
complete 2 art projects
grocery/meal planning
childproof the house
stanford events/classes
livermore outlet
gilroy gardens
shoe closet organization
What i'm most proud of is i feel like just within the last week of so, my relationship with dylan has improved. we can have lengthly conversations in mandarin, and the other day he pretended that the banana was a cell phone, said his name was dylan and that he's bilingual. that is what is one of more heart-breaking aspects about going back to work tomorrow.
yesterday was a special day with dylan, as i took him to music class (very underwhelming at the menlo community center), went to keplers to read a book, and then took the train to meet brian for lunch. he was so excited about taking the train. he still talks about it, about how we rode the train 2 times, about how the train i take the work has stripes, and how the train we took yesterday didn't have stripes. i will remember this day for the rest of my life.
and then there is evan - my snuggle bum, full of love and light. i've been feeding him skin to skin recently and i make sure to give him his full body massage after this baths. i just can't believe that i won't be able to snuggle with him whenever I want to. my last today was pretty productive: dailey method, went to target to return bedsheets and xmas gifts, bought D some cars plates/cups/utencils for Vday, took a soul class, got my juicery, went to sign the trust documents, bought D some Vday candy, went to dragers, packed away my maternity clothes, taught annie how to make the salmon, went for my final walk with evan in the neighborhood. every day this week has been rather emotional. maybe psychologically i'm trying to brace myself for the worst, so that my future reality won't be that bad. Or maybe I'm just completely obsessed with spending time with my boys.
i need to sign off for my last snugs/feed with evan. tearing up already.
Note: need to write about my trip to socal
Thursday, January 30, 2014
N.E.T - N.E.V. part II
not even enough time in the previous posts to write about the 2 other vacations I'm planning. the big 40/70/40 trip, and also our trip to Martha's Vineyard in August. Excited that we have these trips to look forward to. i have to say, one of the key reasons of going back to work is to fund our fun fund.
keeping it real in the near term, we still have to finalize san diego this weekend. I hope procrastination isn't genetic.
keeping it real in the near term, we still have to finalize san diego this weekend. I hope procrastination isn't genetic.
never enough time, never enough vacations
so we were able to take evan to carmel, which was his first trip, just like we did with d, he is currently experiencing his second trip to seal beach,, and we even made it to hawaii. i had wanted to take the boys to the snow, but there is no snow in tahoe and it doesn't make sense to do a destination snow trip when dylan can't fully take advantage of the various snow activities. so we headed west to our favorite island destination.
it was different traveling with 2, vs traveling with just 1. of course packing took all night and fortunately both boys were good on both flights to and from. evan went through 6 diapers and we were treading dangerously with one 1 left by the time we reached oahu. instead of staying at a place with the nicest spa or great restaurants, we picked the place with the best kiddie pool. our room was underwhelming, particularly with the welcome cigarette and beer can left on our balcony, but at least we had an oceanfront room. it was priceless to see dylan sitting out there, sipping his "special" drink (a yakult equivalent) and saying "it's beautiful".
we rented out car, went to teinkaippin, which was still solid, but a little strange that we were the only patrons there, checked in, and made it in time for d to play in the pool and for us to watch the sunset. we had dinner at the hotel for convenience sakes and called it a night. everyone was up early the next day, and we had to get our vintage island coffee fix. it is as good as we remembered. and for the record, i didn't like the mocha drink as much. we had breakfast at the hotel and went to the dole pineapple plantation to ride the train. it was cute, and i swear the dole pineapple whips taste better at the source than anywhere else. on our way back, we tried nico's fish market which was pretty good, and had nice live music.
i can't believe that i'm losing my train of thought here. i can't remember where we had breakfast the next day. i know for dinners we went to the udon place. to jimbos, and at at the hotel. for lunches, we had hotel food, including shrimp and chicken tenders, ramen, nicos, and for breakfast we ate at the hotel and a new place called goofy's with the taro root biscuits for eggs bennies that were deelish, but i'm blanking on 1 our of breakfasts. we also hit up the starwood lounge, which was nothing to rave about with the carrot sticks, celery sticks, cheezes and steamed buns, and strage currey mussels, frostcity (lychee is ooh-so-good) and bubbies for the mochi ice creams where was a great find! WHERE DID WE EAT BREAKFAST?
random thoughts since i'm so annoyed that i can't remember all our meals:
-i thought the free bag of goodies we got to pick at the small store in the lobby was a fun touch
-was shocked that 12 diapers cost $13
-was disappointed that we didn't get to go to sasabune
-surprised that we didn't get to try standup paddleboarding or surf on this trip
-surprised at how comfortable dylan is in the water
-had a great time playing with dylan in the ocean, and riding the waves in his floaty tube
-keeping track of my island vintage coffee expenditures with my rewards card
-sad for brian that the 49ers lost
-hard rock has great restrooms
-still like shopping for bikinis, even though my body isn't bikini ready yet
-surprised that the international market was mostly closed (byt they do sell dole pineapple whips at the peets stand outside our hotel)
-still did not find a pair of tod's moccasins worth trying on
-no sunglasses this time at chrome hearts
-surprised we didn't make it to izakaya gaku
-didn't see many fishes but did see a few turtles outside out hotel room
-shocked that i couldn't find any cute boardshorts for peanut
-didn't make it to the aquarium, hanauma bay, or ride the trolley (which he really wanted to do)
AHHH - i remember. We went to boots and kimos! whew - although I am concerned that my pregnancy brain will never fully recover.
much aloha love for hawaii. i'm sure we'll be back - the question will be aluani, trump's hotel or back to the sheraton?
it was different traveling with 2, vs traveling with just 1. of course packing took all night and fortunately both boys were good on both flights to and from. evan went through 6 diapers and we were treading dangerously with one 1 left by the time we reached oahu. instead of staying at a place with the nicest spa or great restaurants, we picked the place with the best kiddie pool. our room was underwhelming, particularly with the welcome cigarette and beer can left on our balcony, but at least we had an oceanfront room. it was priceless to see dylan sitting out there, sipping his "special" drink (a yakult equivalent) and saying "it's beautiful".
we rented out car, went to teinkaippin, which was still solid, but a little strange that we were the only patrons there, checked in, and made it in time for d to play in the pool and for us to watch the sunset. we had dinner at the hotel for convenience sakes and called it a night. everyone was up early the next day, and we had to get our vintage island coffee fix. it is as good as we remembered. and for the record, i didn't like the mocha drink as much. we had breakfast at the hotel and went to the dole pineapple plantation to ride the train. it was cute, and i swear the dole pineapple whips taste better at the source than anywhere else. on our way back, we tried nico's fish market which was pretty good, and had nice live music.
i can't believe that i'm losing my train of thought here. i can't remember where we had breakfast the next day. i know for dinners we went to the udon place. to jimbos, and at at the hotel. for lunches, we had hotel food, including shrimp and chicken tenders, ramen, nicos, and for breakfast we ate at the hotel and a new place called goofy's with the taro root biscuits for eggs bennies that were deelish, but i'm blanking on 1 our of breakfasts. we also hit up the starwood lounge, which was nothing to rave about with the carrot sticks, celery sticks, cheezes and steamed buns, and strage currey mussels, frostcity (lychee is ooh-so-good) and bubbies for the mochi ice creams where was a great find! WHERE DID WE EAT BREAKFAST?
random thoughts since i'm so annoyed that i can't remember all our meals:
-i thought the free bag of goodies we got to pick at the small store in the lobby was a fun touch
-was shocked that 12 diapers cost $13
-was disappointed that we didn't get to go to sasabune
-surprised that we didn't get to try standup paddleboarding or surf on this trip
-surprised at how comfortable dylan is in the water
-had a great time playing with dylan in the ocean, and riding the waves in his floaty tube
-keeping track of my island vintage coffee expenditures with my rewards card
-sad for brian that the 49ers lost
-hard rock has great restrooms
-still like shopping for bikinis, even though my body isn't bikini ready yet
-surprised that the international market was mostly closed (byt they do sell dole pineapple whips at the peets stand outside our hotel)
-still did not find a pair of tod's moccasins worth trying on
-no sunglasses this time at chrome hearts
-surprised we didn't make it to izakaya gaku
-didn't see many fishes but did see a few turtles outside out hotel room
-shocked that i couldn't find any cute boardshorts for peanut
-didn't make it to the aquarium, hanauma bay, or ride the trolley (which he really wanted to do)
AHHH - i remember. We went to boots and kimos! whew - although I am concerned that my pregnancy brain will never fully recover.
much aloha love for hawaii. i'm sure we'll be back - the question will be aluani, trump's hotel or back to the sheraton?
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
more?
i think i've mentioned it before, but since my memory is shot, i'll mention it again. going back to work this time feels different than the last. after dylan, i knew i needed my benefits, i knew we were going to try to get pregnant soon, and i knew that i was going to have another "best time of my life" again. with evan, things are a little open.... am i going back to work in perpetuity again, are we going to have another baby? when he outgrows something, it is going away forever? i'm not good with that much finality with my life changes. i feel like with with first baby, you have no idea what you're doing, the second one is more like practice, and the third should be easy....
as far as having our 4th...i need to deeply consider the following:
1) is it because i want to go on maternity leave again?
2) is it because i love babies and once they stop listening to me, i want to have another newborn that won't actively defy me?
3) is it because i still have something to prove with the universe, for taking away musubi?
but i do LOVE babies, my babies...
as far as having our 4th...i need to deeply consider the following:
1) is it because i want to go on maternity leave again?
2) is it because i love babies and once they stop listening to me, i want to have another newborn that won't actively defy me?
3) is it because i still have something to prove with the universe, for taking away musubi?
but i do LOVE babies, my babies...
popcorn ceiling
dylan was sleeping in puo-puo and gong-gong's bed and at first he said the ceiling looked like stars, and then he changed his mind and said that the the ceiling looked hairy (mao-mao). such an observant son.
so i've brought the boys home to seal beach to spend some quality time with the grandparents because it will be difficult to find the time when i go back to work. i can't seem to shake that sentiment of not being ale to find time to do things important to me when i go back. my to do list is getting shorter, but i'm not confident that i'll be getting a A for excellence for its completion by the time i return to work. there are some key moments of realization i've had on this maternity leave:
1) what i want does not correlate with reality. ex. i want to be able finish packing in 90 min, but in reality it will take 3 hours. ex. I want to loose all of my baby weight in less than 6 months, but in reality it will take probably more like 9-12 months.
2) i really need to focus on the present moment. too much of my focus is spent reflecting/lamenting about the past, of which i cannot change, and or concerned/pensive about the future. like the book says, you need to be in the moment to the extent of almost having an out of body experience, as if you were dying in that moment.
3) i need to be more grateful and express more gratitude everyday.
4) i need to be more useful and productive as it relates to our family household.
these are a few...and i'm sure there's more.
so i've brought the boys home to seal beach to spend some quality time with the grandparents because it will be difficult to find the time when i go back to work. i can't seem to shake that sentiment of not being ale to find time to do things important to me when i go back. my to do list is getting shorter, but i'm not confident that i'll be getting a A for excellence for its completion by the time i return to work. there are some key moments of realization i've had on this maternity leave:
1) what i want does not correlate with reality. ex. i want to be able finish packing in 90 min, but in reality it will take 3 hours. ex. I want to loose all of my baby weight in less than 6 months, but in reality it will take probably more like 9-12 months.
2) i really need to focus on the present moment. too much of my focus is spent reflecting/lamenting about the past, of which i cannot change, and or concerned/pensive about the future. like the book says, you need to be in the moment to the extent of almost having an out of body experience, as if you were dying in that moment.
3) i need to be more grateful and express more gratitude everyday.
4) i need to be more useful and productive as it relates to our family household.
these are a few...and i'm sure there's more.
2013 leftovers
- our first flight with both boys was to socal in december. We took dylan to disneyland and california adventures and he loved it! we left evan with puo-puo and gong-gong, but they met us for dinner and spent the night at the disneyland hotel. we had such a great time, even though we only made it on 3 rides at disneyland and 2 rides are CA adventures: we did finding nemo, cars, and it's a small world at disney and flying tires and i think bumper chugs at CA adventures, but at least we were able to see the water show. it was so nice to have a nice night cap of coffee and milkshakes on our walk back to the hotel. it was worth it to see dylan drag puo-puo onto the dance floor at downtown disney, and how excited dylan was making lightening mcqueen the next day at the build a car store.
-we also took dylan to the long beach aquarium - which was a first for all of us. it has such a great outdoor play area and we'll definitely be back.
-brazilian blow out
-swimming lessons
-evan's first trip to carmel
-berkeley day
-fire station tour
-NYE was surprisingly fun. we went from having no plans to being invited over to the Hans. we thought it was just for drinks, and we had shucked oysters, frisse salad with caviar and a perfectly poached egg, lobster rolls, nothing bundt cake, and brian's banana bread for dessert. tuffle cheese??? it was all so delish! it was such a nice way to end 2013 and start out 2014.
-we also took dylan to the long beach aquarium - which was a first for all of us. it has such a great outdoor play area and we'll definitely be back.
-brazilian blow out
-swimming lessons
-evan's first trip to carmel
-berkeley day
-fire station tour
-NYE was surprisingly fun. we went from having no plans to being invited over to the Hans. we thought it was just for drinks, and we had shucked oysters, frisse salad with caviar and a perfectly poached egg, lobster rolls, nothing bundt cake, and brian's banana bread for dessert. tuffle cheese??? it was all so delish! it was such a nice way to end 2013 and start out 2014.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
gingerbread baby and big brother
a lot of milestones for 2014 for evan - our gingerbread baby, plucky as can be, i'll be friends with you, if you'll be friends with me. he loves it when baba sings that song. when i sing it and i'm tired, it comes out as gingerbread monkey. not sure why. he had his first cold this past weekend. he was feverish and has a runny/congested nose. we tried to give him some tylenol last night and he had two severe bouts of projectile vomiting. it was so sad, and this was after an hour long feed.
i wish i had an adequate way to describe the sound of evan's giggling, or the squeals of glee from dylan as he scooters down our hallway, balancing on one leg. but i don't. i imagine in like the bells of heaven, and i'm not even religious.
evan sleeps in our bed now, because he's outgrown the bassinet and all of his stuff is in the pack and play. dylan is still in "his" room and i'm still working on his new room/ aka our office. just like his big brother, he's sucking the same 2 fingers on his right hand. we think he said "baba" tonight. he likes it when i blow raspberries on his stomach, or just blow raspberries in the air. he just giggles, and giggles, and it's just bliss.
evan starting cooing earlier this year. it's so sweet. his skin is so sensitive with eczema and he has crazy, cradle cap, and when i look into his big brown eyes, i just melt.
i think i hear a mouse in this room, oh and my thighs are burning from my first soul cycle class.
i wish i had an adequate way to describe the sound of evan's giggling, or the squeals of glee from dylan as he scooters down our hallway, balancing on one leg. but i don't. i imagine in like the bells of heaven, and i'm not even religious.
evan sleeps in our bed now, because he's outgrown the bassinet and all of his stuff is in the pack and play. dylan is still in "his" room and i'm still working on his new room/ aka our office. just like his big brother, he's sucking the same 2 fingers on his right hand. we think he said "baba" tonight. he likes it when i blow raspberries on his stomach, or just blow raspberries in the air. he just giggles, and giggles, and it's just bliss.
evan starting cooing earlier this year. it's so sweet. his skin is so sensitive with eczema and he has crazy, cradle cap, and when i look into his big brown eyes, i just melt.
i think i hear a mouse in this room, oh and my thighs are burning from my first soul cycle class.
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