May 11, 2011
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The last Friday evening in April, Zachary and I walked to his school for a Mother/Son Barbecue BINGO event. We ate veggie dogs (seemed less yucky that hotdogs) and dessert, then played a few rounds of BINGO. Neither Zach or I won, which means we actually did win because we didn’t have to take home any plastic toys. (Who me? Sore loser?
) Saturday morning, the kids took a makeup swim class. Then it was off to Kids Day at Hagan park.
We got there a few minutes before the event started, which is intentional. We use our ability to get out the door quickly to avoid crowds. I’m not sure why we seem to be able to get out the door faster than most families with small children. Unfortunately, it may be due to our weekday morning fire drills to get to work on time! Anyway, the park was pretty empty when we got there … the kids got to climb on recycling, fire, garbage trucks. With no lines, Zach and Calie played in bounce houses and partook in lots of carnival games and art/craft activities.
We picked up numerous freebie activity books, fruits, cookies (from a cake walk), and even 2 nightlights! How fortuitous, as Zach’s nightlight just broke a few days ago. Lunch was pizza and kettle corn, while watching a magic show. We walked over to the petting zoo barn for a quick look and then spent some time at the park play structure. By late afternoon, the park was crowded and the lines were insane, so we left.
In the evening, we invited Sam and Alex/Nicole over for dinner. It’s so easy having them over because their kids are well behaved and play well with ours. I made roasted lamb for the first time. Marinated with lemon zest, Dijon mustard, rosemary from my herb garden, local honey, minced garlic, salt, pepper … roasted for 2 hrs and served with red wine reduction au jus. Yum! After dinner, we took a 5.5 mile walk to Pinkberry for frozen yogurt. Totally earned that dessert! Kids got to bed 2 hours after their normal bedtime – oops.
Sunday, after swim lessons, we went to Sam’s for brunch … yummy smoked salmon spread, chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fruit. The kids played a few games, including Apples to Apples and a Dr. Seuss variation of Twister. Later, James and Zachary opted out, but the rest of us went to see “Rio”. I was prepared to leave if Calie got fussy, but she did great! Her first real movie theater experience, complete with popcorn! I thought it was a very fun movie, great for families. There were a few chasing scenes Calie deemed ‘scary’ but it was just a passing comment (I.e. she wasn’t terrified, no nightmares, never mentioned it again after the movie). End of the day, we went out for a family dinner at Cafeteria 15L. They had great mac cheese but neither kids cared for it. I can’t figure them out – it’s MUCH better than Red Robin mac cheese but I guarantee both my kids would argue against that!
There were numerous kids’ activities on the Friday before Mother’s Day. In the morning, James went to Zach’s school assembly where once again, Zach was one of the last kids to get citizen of the month. They said “He made improvements from where he started at the beginning of the year”, which is hardly a compliment! Anyway. At 11am, Zach had a math bowl competition, where he represented 1st grade for his school. He placed 3rd (out of 14 kids, 7 schools.) At the 1st grade level, it was basic arithmetic and patterns, and for the top kids, it was a matter of who could buzz in fastest. Since we are slacker parents who never used flashcards or practiced for the competition, we figure his advantage was due to video game reflexes. I was actually more pleased that he didn’t cry or accuse other kids of cheating than the fact he received a medal. And call me a bad mom, but I like that a girl beat him; his ex-classmate Claire placed 2nd. That said, he was very happy about getting a medal and wanted to go back to school (instead of having lunch with his parents) so that he could show his classmates.
After lunch at Freshii with James, I went to Zachary’s Mother Day Tea at his school. The kids sang a bunch of songs, then each child gave their mom gifts, followed by dessert and iced tea/lemonade out on the patio. Zachary drew a picture of me which he claimed, “Looks a little better than you really are.” He also wrote a paragraph about me, which commended me for playing games with him, making pesto pasta, hugs, kisses, making money at work, and taking him on vacations.
Then it was off to Calie’s Mother’s Day event. It really wasn’t an event, as much as eating snack (which included a cookie) with the kids. Calie gave me a hand painted blue jewelry box – I had planned to opening it Mother’s Day but she was too anxious for me to see what it was. What a Friday – thank goodness for flexible work hours! In the evening, James took the kids to Sam’s for a barbecue playdate while I hit the mall and then had dinner at Crush 29 with Dana. Can’t beat good conversation while dining on ahi tuna!
Saturday morning we hit Home Depot and Lowes for their kids’ building events – the kids made a tulip planter that held a potted plant and a vase with a red chalkboard heart. Then we went to Sutter Street revitalization celebration in Old Folsom. There was a classic cars display as well as live music and dancing, but not much else. My personal opinion? To really revitalize, they need to limit the number of antique stores. We stayed for lunch at Chicago Fire as we love their deep dish pizzas!
(Perhaps 2nd-rate characters are more approachable because while Calie didn’t want anything to do with most of the characters at Disneyland, she ran towards the Berenstain Bears, gave them hugs, and posed for photos.)
Later that evening, we invited Sam and Alex/Nicole for dinner at our house, as Melissa was still stuck in transit from Israel. I made fresh shrimp and pork spring rolls. The kids played volleyball outside and ended the playdate making Mother’s Day posters. Unfortunately, my allergies,which have been worse this year than any other I remember, turned into laryngitis … and by Saturday night also a sore throat and cough! Ugh.
Sunday, for Mother’s Day, Zach and I went on a 5k run. It wasn’t chip timed (smaller turn out), and I suspect the 2nd mile was shorter than it should have been, but it was still great to get some exercise. Despite not running in weeks due to allergies, I ran the whole way with a time of slightly over 30 min. Zachary won 1st place for his division (under 11 boys) with a time of ~27 minutes. James and Calie came to cheer us on, and my coworkers Jaybal and Er-Jia ran the 10k!
In the afternoon, James took the kids on a picnic lunch and swim class, while I ran errands … which included shopping for myself! (Plain Ts and $15 shorts from Old Navy … I’m quite stylish.) Later that afternoon, I took Calie to Color Me Mine, where mothers received free studio time and a heart frame. Calie painted a cupcake plate. It was fun to have some quality mother-daughter time, but I question the aesthetics of both our pieces. I wonder how many reminder phone calls we’ll get if we “forget” to pick them up.
For dinner, the family went to Blue Nami … free appetizer and dessert in honor of Mother’s Day. They also had 50% rolls. Eh. I still prefer Mikunis and Jinju. The Blue Nami rolls had way too much rice for my taste. And while I shouldn’t complain about a free dessert, it was a bunch of cut up melons with whipped cream, Fruity Pebble sprinkles, a Saltine cracker, and 2 Pocky sticks! I should have taken a photo, it was so bizarre. Just because it’s Mother’s Day doesn’t mean the dessert has to look/taste like little kids made it!
Now … off packing for a 3-day sisters only trip to Vegas to celebrate Sophia’s 30th birthday.
