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.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
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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