March 22, 2011
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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!
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