November 9, 2010
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We had a fun Halloween weekend. On Friday, I volunteered in Zach’s classroom for a Halloween party. I helped kids make the finger puppets that Melissa donated! The next morning, I ran a 5k with my coworker Jaybal. Finished with a time of 33:44. It was trail running with some hills, and I definitely felt it the next few days! Afterwards, despite the drizzle, I took the kids to Folsom FallFest in their Halloween costumes. I did not buy any costumes this year. Zachary was a devil … same costume as his “red bat” last year. Calie was a “butterfly” … same costume as Zachary’s dragonfly a few years back. We walked around to the various vendors and partook in a coloring activity and costume parade/contest. There were some pretty impressive costumes … one family had a fisherman, a mermaid, and a chef carrying a lobster baby in a stock pot! Another mom had twins each in their own bathtub buggy. I guess not all parents buy their costumes online between meetings!
In the afternoon, Zachary played soccer … their 3rd loss in league 2. After the game, the team went to Mountain Mikes for pizza. A few mom were talking about how their sons hid candy from them in their bedrooms. I was surprised, and even said, “I don’t think Zach would do that.” Less than a few minutes later, I found him by the candy machines with a mouthful of Skittles! I didn’t give him any money, but apparently, some of his teammates had quarters for video games, and shared with Zach. If I ever say,”I don’t think Zach would do drugs/smoke/sleep around” … please remind me of this story.
Sunday, the kids had swim lessons .. . and in the afternoon, Zach’s friend Quinn came over for a playdate. I made slow cooker pot roast and pesto pasta for dinner, the boys played with Legos, and then it was trick-or-treating time. James stayed back to hand out candy, while Quinn’s parents and I took the kids around the neighborhood. After a few homes, it was obvious that the boys were too excited to wait for a 2-year-old, so we let them go with Quinn’s parents while I kept a slower pace behind with Calie.
It was the first time Zachary went trick-or-treating without me. It actually felt okay, like it was the right time for this next step. It was Calie’s first real trick-or-treating experience and for days after, every time we’d go get the mail, she’d want to go to our neighbor’s house. Looks like we have a future beggar on our hands!
Thursday, Zach went on his first playdate by himself. I dropped him off after school and picked him up 2 hours later. He and Quinn made Martians out of a mold, quizzed each other on shark and solar system facts over dinner, and made an obstacle course in the garage. Zach thought Quinn’s mom was super cool for letting them “kick a ball in the house!” (It was really a finished garage) No photos because … well, I wasn’t there.
Friday night was date night. James and I dropped the kids off with Sam/Melissa and went to Bistro33 for dinner. We had tacos, ahi tuna, Caesar salad, beer, coffee, and dessert … and to our surprise, our half used gift card covered it all with ~$10 left! We believe there must have been a snafu in our favor. The kids had fun playing with Alex and Nicole; the girls played dress up and the boys played a game called ‘Break the Safe.’
Saturday morning, I took Zachary to a trial martial arts class. It was a disaster – he was especially antsy during orientation and refused to stay seated. The instructor said, “We take all kinds of kids, and we even handle kids on the autism spectrum.” How discouraging! I was beyond furious at Zachary. When we got home, I had him sit still for 5 minutes, and of course, he did it without any issues. Frustrating! In the afternoon, Zach had a soccer game – and they won their first (out of 4) league 2 game!In the evening, we went to Vish and Bhavana’s annual Diwali party. The kids played basketball outside until it got dark, and then moved into the garage to decorate goody bags and make Diwali cards. The sparklers and the piñata were a huge hit (no pun intended). I loved seeing all the women’s extravagant saris and jewelry – so beautiful. They served Indian food, and much to Zachary’s relief, also cheese pizza. Why anyone would eat pizza when there’s Indian food is something Calie and I will never understand. Happy Diwali!
Sunday, the kids had swim lessons, and then I took Zachary to Vaibhav and Gaurav’s birthday party at SkyHigh. He had a fun (and sweaty) time! Since it was raining and more crowded than usual, the toddler trampolines were opened. Zachary opted not to move over, but play dodge ball with the older boys instead. I was glad because I was more worried that he would knock over a toddler than an older kid would knock over him. When did that happen?! We had just enough time to scarf down a cupcake before heading to Quinn’s LazerTag party. Zachary had never played before, so I described it to him as “similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride… but people are the targets.” All that practice in Disneyland must have paid off because Zach got the top score out of 10 kids on his first try – he was totally surprised and beaming (and would not stop bragging … hmmm, need to work on that.) On the 2nd and 3rd game, he was 4th place out of ~14 kids. It was great fun, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to ask to play again in the future! We had pizza and ice cream cake before heading home. Happy 7th Birthday to Vaibhav, Gaurav, and Quinn!
As for Calie milestones, she is no longer a baby. She talks in paragraphs and tells us about her school day – from new songs to who poo’d their pants that day. She dresses herself, spits after brushing her teeth (we’re moving her off baby toothpaste), and even gets her own water from our refrigerator. She’s pretty much out of diapers at night, and we just placed an order for her new bedroom set. Seems like in the last few months, right after turning 2-years-old, she’s become a little girl. My kids are growing up! And I mean that in a good way … it feels like we really lived and enjoyed babyhood to the fullest, and it’s the right time to become parents of little kids. I thought I would be more wistful, but perhaps because we did so much with them or because they are spaced over 4-years apart, I really don’t miss having babies. And that is a good feeling!
