Another free Saturday calls for another trip to Happy Hollow.
This girl wasn't happy she didn't get to sit on the meerkat
Perfected the cheeseball smile
"Guys, say cheese to Mommy" (and this is what happens)
All this is a glimpse of our summer future. I predict HH at least once a week. My mind is definitely on summer mode since all I'm thinking about is things to do over the summer and what mini family trips we can squeeze in before school starts again in August.
Lately, Char's been initiating wrestling matches with Lucas (and actually pinning him down with a headlock). When the kids are good, they're good... but there's always those moments when Char purposely takes something from Lucas's hands, puts it behind her back, smirks, and runs off, leaving Lucas in tears. Yes, sometimes I'm a bit confused as to who the older sibling is...
Peacefully playing with magnets... till Char decides to run off with some, leaving Lucas in tears
Playing peacefully with puzzles... till Char decides to be mean and mess up Lucas's puzzles, leaving Lucas in tears
(Note: pictures of Lucas in tears were not snapped to preserve his manhood)
Teacher's Appreciation Week AND Mother's Day weekend fell together on the same week! This might've happened before in the past, but this is the very first time I've experienced being both a teacher and mother simultaneously. And yes, I do think this is pretty awesome. I stuffed myself with chocolate and other fatty delights this entire week at work and continued to stuff myself this weekend. Good thing I'm married... with kids, so there's really no one to impress. Hah. Let me just say, I am very happy with my Target gift cards, Curry jersey (and come on Warriors, get it together!!!!), and being showered for being a mother.
Thing #1
Thing #2
See the family resemblance?
Imitating their wonderful role model
We can also look normal (but that's not that fun)
They drive me insane sometimes, but I sure love my Thing 1 and Thing 2! I think one of the best decisions I made nearly a week ago was deciding to not work during the summer and pull the kids out of school so we can spend summer together. I turned off my alarm Monday morning and decided that summer is for having fun and spending quality time with my rascals. I also have a number of side "projects" to take care of and wanted to devote my summer to doing all this as well. So, I told the principal that I decided to not work this summer and was going to pull both kids out of summer school so we can enjoy family time. It's only fair, right? They've been at school for nearly 8 hours each day for nine months this past year! Plus, Thing 1 made it pretty clear that he wanted to have fun over the summer and not go to school. For an almost 4 year old, Thing 1 is pretty persuasive young man. Although I still have three weeks of school left (two academic weeks), my mind is already on outings to the beach, checking out the coolest parks in the South Bay, mini trips, Happy Hollow (not my idea), and whatever fun we can think up. Sorry, but this mother/teacher has been hit with summeritis!
In the words of Lucas, "we did a lot of things this weekend!". You're right, son, we did.
Friday family movie night in Mommy & Daddy's bed
Working on making Mother's Day cards
Checking out a new park
... with an awesome slide!
Having ChikFilA with some friends
Eating with cousins
... and celebrating Mother's Day with family!
Then ending the night with a wrestling match
All that was just Saturday. I'm tired just thinking about all the places we've traveled to in one day. One of these weekends, we'll have a quiet weekend at home. So far, it's happened maybe once or twice this year. After church, we went to Billy's Boston Chowder House in downtown Los Gatos and had dessert at Icing on the Cake. Yum and yum!
Celebrating our family Mother's Day
My loves
He loves me too!
When I was doing my hair this morning, Lucas walked by and said my hair was cute. Later on, he said he liked me shirt. I told him I liked his clothes too (probably because I buy all his clothes). I don't know where he learned all this from, but I like it!
I had to count (starting to lose track), but this is my third Mother's Day. My FB feed has sorta been flooded with these "Mother's Day isn't for everyone" articles. Although I don't like to be a Debbie Downer, I can relate to one part of it - not being able to celebrate Mother's Day with your mother because she's not here. It's very unfortunate that I never had a chance to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom since becoming a Mom. Every time I look at my rascals and see how much they've grown, how articulate they've become, and how their personalities are so different, I'm saddened that my Mom is not here to witness this with me. Although she has never admitted it, we all know that my brother was her favorite. Now I kind of see why, there is something special about a mother/son relationship - I am totally smitten with Lucas and to me, he's perfect. But at the same time, I love the girl time and snuggles I have with Char (she's perfect in her own way, too). Anyway, it just sucks. As time goes by, I don't think about it as much and have just accepted it as a way of life now.
It's Sunday night. I have two more Mondays of waking up at 6:30 and then I'm donezo! I can't wait till summer's here!
The countdown begins! When my alarm clock went off this morning, I was very happy to know that I only had to get through 2 more early Monday mornings before summer comes!
This Tuesday, we had a boys' night and girls' night. The boys went to a (free) SJ Giants game and spent a lot of money grubbin'.
Lucky guy got a baseball to take home too
He started practicing his swing at home and has gotten much better
Getting spoiled by Dad
While the boys had their little outing, I just took Char to eat some good sushi. After, we just went home and she got to play around in the backyard. I know, a bit lame, but I was tired!
After what seemed like forever, I finally remembered to bring the kids to a Home Depot event. All the parents were helping their kids paint their picket photo frames nicely. I decided to not do it and let them paint it their own unique way. I'm currently deciding whether I should let them put their mismatched photo frames inside the house. Well, at least they're proud of their work!
Working hard
Stylish lady also working hard
Don't they look so cute in their HD aprons?
Enjoying the awesome ride while I look for more plants
We went to a Hello Kitty/Melody party. Hours playing in the sun definitely leads to family nap time when we go home.
Look at that huge Hello Kitty!
Bubbles galore
We all did this when we went home
My mini me - cleaning up before church
Sunday OOTD
On the way to church, we had an interesting conversation in the car.
D: Do you want another brother or sister?
L: Sister. But we can't, how do we fit another car seat in the car?
M: Oh, good point. Can we get rid of Lucas?
L: No!
M: Can we get rid of your sister?
L: No... wait, yes!
Our two fish are tiny compared to these koi fishes
Read some books while Char was zonked out in the car
I think I have summeritis. There's still five weeks left till summer, but it's really just four weeks since the last week of school is really not that academic.
Lucas out of the woods - no longer sick!
Trying out Blaze pizza
Big, Medium, and Small mesmerized by Vitamix guy
Lucas loves the weekend! His routine is to go to the bathroom and get an iPad. Currently, he's into Scout (Leap Frog) and told me he wants a Scout party. I'm kinda hesitant with this and I'm hoping he changes his mind when I ask him again in two weeks.
Can you tell he loves Cars?!
Since we didn't have any parties to go to this morning, we took a trip to HH. Right when we turned on to Senter, we realized that we BOTH forgot our wallets (aka: don't have membership cards). That was seven minutes wasted right there! What are the chances that we BOTH forget our wallets?
Happy carousel riders
Char trying to feed Lucas and Lucas rejecting it
Cutest firefighter lady I've met
Handsome fireman
Our after HH tradition has always been to eat at Chik-Fil-A. The kids know that after they eat their chicken strips, they can eat some fries and drink lemonade. And after that, they can play in the play area. Unfortunately, the play area got loud really quickly and the kids wanted to leave.
Her "boo boo" bandaid
Picnicking in the living room
Sundays are the same. They're usually slow days with going to church, lunch, and just lounging around at home. This Sunday, we stayed out a bit too late having a church dinner. At least the kids had tons of fun before they passed out.
Ever since Pops put new batteries in Scout and changed the name "Lucas" to "Charlotte", Char's been pretty obsessed with him. This Leap Frog product has great value! Both kids enjoy singing songs with Scout. I heard them singing (very loudly) Twinkle Twinkle in Lucas's room. Around five minutes later, I noticed the singing stopped and it became really quiet. When it's quiet, it usually means they're up to no good. I quietly walked into Lucas's room, waiting to yell at them with whatever bad thing they're up to. And... I catch both of them reading a Bible! Char understand what I've been reading too, which makes me want to read to her more since she's clearly showing that she understands quite a bit. Yup, that was a humbling mother moment for me right there. Sometimes when it's quiet, my kids are up to good!
Diligent Bible readers
And a minute later, the "good kids" turn back into their normal selves
Have been sitting on these steps after church to eat their snacks for ages
Look at this precious face!
Pops and poplings
Been craving some authentic Cantonese food
No, not kidnapping her - changing her diaper
Zonked out!
Haven't held her like this in ages... wannabe-NB-who's-actually-2
