This past Friday, there was a work celebration at the DoubleTree hotel in Sacramento. The theme of the party was Hollywood/red carpet. Dinner was a feast … carving station with prime rib, turkey, salmon … 2 tables of desserts including both a dark and white chocolate fountains … made to order pasta bar … spread of salads and appetizers … and my favorite, a long table of Indian food with 2 curry sauce fountains. There was also a bar made entirely of ice, so of course I had to order a drink. Plus, I couldn’t let 2 drink tickets go to waste! Fortunately, I bought my dress online, and it was a bit tight … otherwise I would have had another plate (on top of the 2… or was it 3? … I already had.)

There was a dance floor and DJ in the downstairs ballroom. Upstairs, there were numerous casino tables and a green screen, where people could dance and show up on projected screens in front of random backgrounds.

It was a fun night to celebrate both James and my work accomplishments. As a bonus, James’ parents came up to babysit, and the kids got to spend quality time with their grandparents. So basically a free date night … I was about to say minus the gas it took to get there, but I won a $50 Chevron gift card that more than covered it!

Saturday evening, we hosted Zachary’s 7th birthday party at Monster Golf. It was a few weeks early (his actual birthday isn’t until April 6th), but we wanted to avoid potential spring break vacation conflicts. I bought the most awesome cake ever from my admin’s friend (http://littledelightscupcakes.blogspot.com/) … homemade chocolate cake with an Angry Birds scene. For fun, I used trick candles … but they don’t make them like they used to. A few puffs and all 7 candles were extinguished. Boo-hiss!

We kept food very simple – pizza, vegetable tray, strawberries, cheddar puffs, and goldfish crackers. (20 bananas were too green to serve … I see banana bread in our future ) For dessert, we had mini cupcakes, vanilla ice cream, and obviously birthday cake. After dinner/dessert, the kids headed out for 18-holes of Monster mini golf. They had fun playing what seemed like a cross between golf and field hockey!

At the end of the course, we handed out favors … 2 glow bracelets, a snack, and 50 tickets redeemable for junk, I mean prizes, at the arcade store. We had a bigger than expected turn out due to baseball being rained out … but aside from being a bit crowded in the party room, I enjoyed having so many of his/my friends over to celebrate. And thank goodness it wasn’t at my house since we had over 50 guests! The only downside was that since it was Monster themed and dark, it wasn’t appropriate for toddlers – we’ll have to catch our friends with younger kids at Calie’s party later this summer!

Zach made out like a bandit, as our friends are overly generous … Happy 7th Birthday Zachary!

(Grandparents got him Mindstorms … brings back memories of working at MIT’s media lab. Am I a total geek to say I am looking forward to teaching my kids how to program?)

The next day, after swim lessons, James’ cousin Chrissie and her family came over. The kids played basketball, soccer, and climbed all over the swingset. Since it stopped raining, we grilled ribeye steaks and peppers for lunch. I love it when extended family comes to visit. Last but not least, congratulations to Chrissie and Justin on baby #4!

Two weekends ago, after work, we went out for a family dinner at Bistro 33 (thanks Lisa for the gift card!) followed by cupcakes at Rockin Cupcake Cafe. The kids sang karoke for a free mini cupcake: “Down by the Bay” (numerous verses) by Zachary and “ABCs” by Calie.

On Saturday, we celebrated Nicole’s birthday at Bounce U. After rain all week with no end in sight, it was a great opportunity for the kids to run, jump, and bounce off some cooped up energy. Happy 4th Birthday Nicole!

After Nicole’s party, Calie napped while I took Zachary to his basketball game. He made his first basket ever! He’s not naturally athletic, but he loves the sport and never gave up all season (this was game 9).  He ran across the court, looking at me with a huge smile as if to say “Did you see that?!” I yelled back “I saw it Zach! Good job!” I know there are kids that score a gazillion baskets a game, but Zach isn’t one of those kids. He had to work hard and practice every weekend – and that basket meant a lot to him (and me!)

Sunday was Jack’s birthday. Unfortunately, Zach woke up complaining of a headache so we opted to keep him home. Too bad, as he missed out on a very fun magic show. A magician came to the house to entertain the kids, and Jack was the perfect assistant. I was so impressed by how animated he was ‘on stage’ – what great smiles! Happy 4th birthday Jack!

It was good we kept Zach home, because his headache was followed by vomiting and a high fever. He ended up missing 2 days of school. Fortunately, no one else in the family got it <knock on wood> , which is very surprising given that 9 out of 17 classmates were out sick that week. Seems like a very contagious virus.

The following work week was pretty brutal … 3 days of all-day meetings, and I had to present at 2 of them.  I have to say though, I put some focused effort on my presentations and they’re much improved compared to the last quarterly review. My staff is also more experienced in putting together content for me.

(Macaroni Grill dinner team builder … great to see coworkers from Poland, Mexico, and India again – and Thanks to Arturo for the personalized shirt!)

Friday, late at night, I went to play Mahjongg with Sam, Melissa, and Karen. I won a few hands! So here’s the problem … we play progressive (great idea), which means every time you win a hand, you need one more point to go out. For example, after winning 3 hands, you need a minimum of 3 points to go out, and after 4 wins, you need at least 4 points. Having never won more than 1 hand, I was pretty confused on how to score and stalled the game numerous times. I’m going to have to play more to increase my pace!

Saturday, we celebrated Maya’s birthday at her home with 4 different kinds of pancakes, fresh fruit, and of course birthday cake. It was a pajamas party – perfect for a cold drizzly day.  Happy 1st Birthday Maya!

(Reunited with ex-teammates from HP: Fernando, Jenny, Chia, and Eli!)

In the afternoon, Zachary had his last basketball game of the season. James and Calie came too this time, and he scored another basket! YEA! All the boys received personalized water bottles as end-of-season gifts. After dinner, we went back to Rockin Cupake Cafe. Meh. Last time, we had the whole place to ourselves, but this time there was a birthday party and seating was extremely limited. Since the cafe was small, I don’t think they can comfortably handle a birthday and additional customers. One of the previous cashiers said kids could bring report cards for a mini cupcake, but the owner informed us they decided not to do that promotion – she still gave out the mini cupcakes, but it was a bit awkward. Oh well. 

Yesterday, I took the kids to swim class in the morning, and in the afternoon, Zachary went to celebrate Rohan’s birthday at a local sports complex – Happy 7th Birthday Rohan!

Ending the weekend, my girlfriends and I indulged at ‘The Kitchen’ for Rachel’s 40th birthday (oops, did I say that out loud? I meant 28th.) It was one of the best menus out of the 6 times I’ve been. For starters, if you can believe it, I had raw oysters for the first time in my life. Very fresh tasting …and in Sandy’s words “like the ocean!”

My favorite dish was a Thai inspired bisque, but I also thoroughly enjoyed a fried poached egg, and a steak in cabernet sauce … heck, might as well add a link to their entire menu! Of course, the best part was that after weeks on end of work and kids’ activities, I got to enjoy excellent food with some great gals. Happy Birthday Rachel! 

Last Saturday, I took Zachary to his basketball game while James took Calie to dance. Afterwards, Zach and I went to Lowes to make a pullback race car.

Then it was off to Jenny and Danny’s baby shower … it was originally a family event, but Calie fell asleep right before we were supposed to go. And since James was staying home, Zachary couldn’t pass on an opportunity to play card games with daddy.  Jenny looked great, especially for being due to April – although she admitted she couldn’t wait to start disability leave next week (I totally remember that feeling!)

The food was delicious and included fried egg rolls, rice noodles, shrimp spring rolls, and beef kebabs. We played bingo, estimated the number of lollipops in a jar, and guessed Jenny’s waist size. Sadly, I was within half an inch, using my own waist size. I hadn’t talked to Uyen and Jackie for a long time, and they filled me in on their recent African safari trip. What an amazing experience – living in tents and seeing wild animals in the vast savannah. And while there is nothing better than seeing your kids’ faces light up at Disney or a relaxing family trip to Maui … I also look forward to the day we can go on more adventurous vacations like that! No rush, but it’s definitely on my to-do list. Fun baby shower and good opportunity to catch up with old friends – Congratulations to Jenny, Danny, and big sister Megan!

On Sunday, after swim lessons, we drove down to Napa to meet my parents and sisters. My parents were visiting from the east coast to bury my Grandmother’s ashes in San Francisco, with my Grandfather. They were staying with my youngest sister, who is in between jobs. (Congratulations to Sophie on her new position at Facebook!) Our first stop was V. Sattui, where we had a picnic lunch of freshly baked bread and artisan cheeses.

Saturday morning, James dealt with a walk-through at our rental property, while I occupied the kids at Home Depot, making race cars. Since we were in the area already, we drove to Eco Station, a nonprofit environmental education and exotic wildlife rescue center. The main entrance area had a wall of insects and also numerous pens with turtles.

There was a children’s play restaurant to keep the kids entertained while waiting for the hourly tours. The tour guide took us through a reptile room (complete with 2 Burmese Pythons!), an extremely noisy parrot room, and a model storm drain to the aquatic room. Both kids got to pet an Egyptian cobra and Calie held a hermit crab. They also had some kids participate in feeding the animals.

On the way back, I remembered that Lakeshore had craft activities for kids on Saturdays, so we stopped in to make Mardi Gras masks. We got back in time for Zach’s late basketball game.

Sunday was swim, playing at home (it was raining pretty hard), Monster Mini-Golf, and dinner at Piatti’s with Melissa and Karen’s families.

This Tuesday evening, my girlfriends and I went out for dinner (40% at Jinju Sushi!) and a $5 movie (Adjustment Bureau). Yummy food, entertaining movie, and a much needed break during the work week!

From a milestone standpoint, Calie is 2.5 going on 13. She uses phrases like “Come on”,  “Too bad, so sad”, “That’s cool,” and “I’m not talking to you.” It might be because I am 36 going on 13. When you tell her a joke, she’ll want you to tell it again (and again and again) so that she can answer the punch line. She’s made it clear that she prefers that I wear dangling earrings and that studs are “yucky.” One afternoon, I was playing a game with her, and Zachary asked to join us. Calie looked up and said,”No. This is a game for 2 friends. Not 1. Not 3. <holds up 2 fingers> Two friends only.” We were pretty disappointed in her exclusive, cliquish behavior. In an attempt help her see the other side, James started playing a game with Zachary. And when Calie asked if she could play, James replied with her exact response. She started bawling and collapsed in tears! Empathy lessons are hard for 2-year-olds. On a more positive note, she can draw a basic happy face and rainbow … and at preschool, she is starting to write/trace letters and numbers.

(They do SO much art at school … my recycle bin is getting full! )

Zachary’s first new permanent tooth (bottom left molar) is about halfway in. Also, Sunday evening, at dinner, he commented that his front tooth felt funny. His first loose tooth! I wonder if it’ll hang on until he’s 7, about a month away. And you know the family should talk more often when you find out your son is representing his school at the local Math Bowl competition through the school newsletter. There were evaluation rounds in class, and Zach secured the 2^nd seat. Knowing his fascination with numbers, my first reaction was to ask,“How come you didn’t get the 1^st seat?” Hm. I may be more of a “tiger mom” than I care to admit … ROAR!