End of September has been fun, with the highlight being my parents’ 1 week visit.

Calie had her 2-year-old appointment this month. She did so much better than I expected! She followed directions and responded to all the doctor’s questions. She even showed her sassiness when she was asked to open her mouth – stuck out her tongue and made a silly face! The most amazing thing was that she actually peed in the specimen cup. I remember Zach’s doctor asking me to collect a sample at his 3-year appointment, and I knew there was no way he’d pee on command. Very different kids! She also finally received her MMR shot … not that we purposely delay vaccinations, but because we’re slacker parents and never got around to scheduling her appointment until the office called to remind us. As for stats … very average. 34.5″ tall (50%) and 28.8lbs (50-75%). You know you take your kids to amusement parks too much when they tiptoe during the height measurement.

Zachary also had a doctor’s appointment that week. Less routine though. He’s always had a sensitive digestive system, but in the past year, it seemed to be getting worse. He is now on medication … not ideal, but better than the constipation-diarrhea-acid reflux cycle he was in. We are still fine tuning the dosage.

Last weekend, I ran a 5k with my running partners Erjia and Jaybal. My time was 34 minutes and 6 seconds. Not fast, but I did run the whole way … including the uphill trail at the end. That same morning, James took Calie to another trial class at Tricks (I had to call into a work meeting) … and I took her to their open house later that afternoon. Ugh. Too crowded. I still didn’t see a huge difference between what she would get from the class vs daycare, but I decided to sign her up for a month anyway. Heck, free membership and $15 for a month plus free t-shirt. Can’t beat that.

James took Zach to his second soccer game … Calie and I met up with them at the park only 10 minutes before the end of the game due to inaccurate directions from my iPhone. Warriors won … whoo-hoo!

That evening, we went to Satya and Lalita’s baby shower at Naan India Grill. Congratulations Satya and Lalita! The kids loved playing with the balloons, and dinner was awesome. They purposely stayed away from typical Indian buffet food, and had some unique dishes I had never tried before. Calie and I wore matching qipaos that James bought 8 years ago, before we were even married. I was so happy to have a daughter to wear it with … and also pleased that I could fit it again!

The next day, after the kids’ swim lessons and another work meeting, I drove down to the Bay Area to pick up my parents, who had just flown in from a trip to China! That week, we kept Calie home from daycare since we knew she would benefit from some 1:1 time with her grandparents. My mom is the ultimate homemaker – we ate so well, and the house was in better shape despite having a 2 year old running around in it all day. She even did laundry while I was at work – wow!

On Thursday, we invited my friend Melissa and her family over for dinner. They are foodies, and I knew they would appreciate homemade Chinese food. Friday, we took my parents out to Scott’s Seafood, where we maximized their buy-1-get-1-free deal using 2 Vault cards. (Unbelievably, I stayed at 135lbs for the final weigh-in at work … whew!)

On Saturday, I took Calie to her first paid (and 3rd total ) gymnastics class. She really enjoyed it, especially the long trampoline. The circle times, she already gets from daycare, but perhaps it’s special to her that I’m there with her.  At the same time, James took Zach to Lowes to build a firetruck with Alex. At 2pm, my parents joined us to cheer on Zachary’s soccer team. They won again - Go Warriors Go! Zachary had a few assists but no goals yet this season. They say that playing a sport teaches useful life skills, and I would have to agree. Zachary isn’t the strongest player, but he surrounds himself with good team members. I’ve made a career out of this skill.

That afternoon, my sisters drove up to take my parents back to the Bay Area. We had dinner at Yummy Kitchen, and despite apprehension about “Folsom Chinese food”, my sisters and parents enjoyed it. Since Zachary was good all week about eating Chinese food (potstickers, tofu, fish … hmm, still all beige foods), when my parents/sisters departed, we treated the kids to chocolate frozen yogurt topped with gummy bears. After the kids went to bed, James went to JP’s house party – Happy Birthday John!

Today, I had to work again (this really has to stop) while James took the kids to swim class. In the afternoon, Zach and I went to Alex’s birthday party at the local sports complex. He had a GREAT time! Happy 6th Birthday Alex! It was a soccer themed party, and I even burned a few calories running around. It’s surprising how fast 6-year-olds can be! Zachary assessed me as a strong kicker but slow runner. Blargh. We had pizza and cake for lunch. Melissa told Zachary he had to eat a fruit or vegetable, so he ate 8 carrot sticks. (AND, for dinner we went to Red Robin, where he ate a bowl of apple slices. I know, sad that I am pleased that he ate carrots and apples … normal things a 6-year-old child or horse would eat!)

Despite no real parent involvement*, Calie has basically potty trained herself. Her longest no-daytime-accident streak was 9 days … and she’s more often dry than not overnight. We’ve actually started taking her out in underwear, although we still use pull-ups when we go to people’s (carpeted) homes. As long as we can avoid a regression, we’ll have 3 big boxes of diapers to donate! <cross fingers>

*I gave her 2 Silly Bandz (well, knock-offs) as an incentive one week, but I don’t think she made the connection.

Bonus pictures: James and his friend Rad took a vacation day and hiked Feather Falls this month … and a recent family photo we have from Picture People.

My first business trip away from home went well! But what a rude awakening … I had envisioned a break, where I’d get more time to exercise, shop, or even hit the spa. But nope, I spent the evenings in the hotel room catching up on email. Ironically, one email I received the first night informed me that the class I was taking was now scheduled in Folsom. The silver lining to my trip (which made it totally worth it) was that I got to see my sisters, brother-in-law, cousin, and parents!  They just happened to stop by the Bay Area on their way to China.

It warmed my heart to hear that Calie knew I was working (“mama work!”), as I was concerned that she might think I left permanently! Hats off to those who travel for work – it was a lot harder than I expected … and I was only a short company shuttle away for 3 days.

I got back Thursday night, and that coming weekend we headed up to South Lake Tahoe for Labor Day weekend.

Day1: We met up with Melissa and family at Zephyr’s Cove. We had a picnic lunch, and the kids played in the sand for a few hours. Dinner was barbecued burgers and sausages (charcoal is a lot harder than gas!) with sides of grilled corn and salad. We ended the day with card/board games.

Day2: The next morning, we went on a family hike to Vikingsholm (~2 miles roundtrip). The view was great and the kids did pretty well, with the exception of Calie who insisted on being carried the whole way. Hint to future hikers: Get there early, as parking is hard to find!

In the afternoon, Melissa and I went to Reflections (Harrah’s spa) for their steam room, jacuzzi, and massages. It was exactly what I needed! Then it was off to 19 Kitchen~Bar for dinner. We had a great corner table over looking Lake Tahoe. It was a good thing I resisted the fresh bread (only had 1-2 slices instead of the whole basket) because my entree had 2 thick ahi tuna steaks! They also gave us a bowl of cotton candy at the end of our meal – which we took back to our kids. Thank you Melissa for a great birthday dinner (and all the work advice too … gosh, am I a great conversationalist or what?!) We got home in time to watch fireworks with the rest of the family from our balcony. After we put the kids to bed, we played Mahjong … it was pretty fun, although the scoring was very complicated. I had no strategy except to end each round as fast as I could to prevent the better players from getting higher scores. I definitely need practice!

And as for the bunkbeds that the kids were so excited about the first night? Melissa and I slept in them – impromptu sleepover! With the windows open for cold fresh air, I had the best night of sleep I’ve had in a long while.

Day3: We all had breakfast together (followed by cushion fort building), and then Melissa’s family left to beat the traffic. We headed to Round Hills Pine beach. It was actually the nicest of all the Tahoe beaches I’ve been. It wasn’t crowded, the sand was smooth (no pine needles like at Camp Richardson), and the water was fairly shallow for a ways out. The kids had fun, but it wasn’t really the same without Alex and Nicole there.

We headed home after lunch. Traffic out of Tahoe was pretty bad. Calie napped most of the way, and Zachary played iPhone games. It took us almost 4 hours!

Hooray for a 4-day work week! Thursday, Kathy invited a few girls over for a clothing swap. With so many of my friends losing weight and dropping sizes, I made out like a bandit! I just need to keep staying ~10lbs behind (or is it ahead?) of them.  We had wine and chocolate cake for dinner, followed by stories of Karen’s recent China trip. I didn’t get home until close to midnight – being awake at work is overrated.

This weekend was pretty fun. Friday night, Intel held a Vegas themed fund raiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters. The food was surprisingly good, given that it was catered by the onsite cafe: seafood ceviche, prime rib, and 5-spice duck were my favorites. We didn’t win any of the raffle prizes, but at least the donation went to a good cause! (Note: The below blue dress is from Kathy – thank you!)

On Saturday and Sunday morning the kids went to their swim lessons. They are making progress and seem to have a good time in class, so I signed them up for another 8 weeks. On Saturday, Zachary had his first soccer game … and they lost 0-3. They played hard, and I could tell Zachary was holding back tears. It’s hard for his team with so many new players, but overall it was a good game and the kids didn’t seem discouraged. In the evening, we went to Sam and Melissa’s house for a dinner. They used a grilled pork chop recipe from Mustards, but I think their version was better – unlimited sauce! Of course, I could not pass on the homemade apple pie … good thing I went on a morning run!

Today (Sunday), we went to the mall to get Calie’s 2-year-old photos taken. We also bought a package of family pictures since it’s so rare we have everyone in one photo. The kids were well behaved, so afterwards, we went to Dave & Busters for lunch and games.

Oh and last but not least, this past Friday, I got to send in my goal weight … 135lbs! By no means skinny, but I am a much healthier weight than I was before I started on the program. I’ve lost 16lbs and can fit into my pre-baby clothes easily – too bad they are hopelessly out of style by now!  I hope I can maintain or even lose a few more pounds before the final weigh-in (2 weeks from now.)