All last week, James was in Costa Rica for work, giving presentations. While he was hiking in cloud forests, bathing in waterfalls, and posing with toucans, I managed the first week of school (including back-to-school night) and soccer practices at home with the kids. Having 2 drop offs and pickups when both kids are still in carseats is a bit inconvenient, but otherwise it wasn’t as difficult as I envisioned. 

Friday evening, I hired a 14-year-old to watch the kids while I went to Vegas Night at work with my hot date Kathy. (First public school, now a 14-year old babysitter … I’m really throwing caution to the wind now, eh? The reality is that the 14-year-old lives a few houses down and her parents will help if there are any unlikely emergencies. Plus I was less than 2 miles away. So I’m still neurotic. Dammit.) Despite being located at work, Vegas night was quite fun – possibly because I had great company.

Karen, Paul, Rachel, Jeff, Kathy, and I shamelessly feasted on Moroccan mint lamb chops, seafood cakes with lemon aioli, and jumbo shrimp. And that was before hitting the big dessert display table, where I had 3 mini cupcakes. Definitely a good call on wearing a stretchy dress. We took some crazy photo booth pictures (headshots only – whew!) and then grabbed a blackjack table. We opted to forgo the magic shows for additional gambling time and played until we lost everything.

The next morning, 6 coworkers and I ran a charity race. I ran a 5k in 34:36 – I’m pretty sure that’s my PW (personal worst.) A few of my teammates placed in their age group, and Meenakshi finished her first 5k! Go team!  After my run, James and I took the kids to Soccer Opening Day festivities.

The bounce houses were probably more fun/age-appropriate for Calie, but Zach had a good time too – especially after he ran into Christian from his soccer team. We had sandwiches and frozen yogurt for lunch at Goodies before heading over to a free kids’ tennis clinic at Broadstone Racquet Club.

That evening, James put the kids to bed while I went to Veronica’s house for a party. Lovely catered dinner from Dominick’s plus a live band AZUAR … I had fun dancing and singing to 80s music (and some Lady Gaga mixed in) Thanks Veronica for inviting me!

Sunday morning, Calie and I joined Melissa and Sandy’s family for dimsum at Asia Pearl. I love dimsum – it’s always such a treat to go. Thank you Sandy for organizing and picking up the tab! We enjoyed some downtime during the day and then went to Mikunis for my birthday dinner. (This is the last I saw of my pint glass … I accidently left it on the table. My other freebie however, the lava cake, sits securely on my hips) 

Friday evening, James’ parents came over to watch the kids so that James and I could celebrate my birthday at The Kitchen. My favorite dishes were the deconstructed ‘Banh Mi’ and lamb rack with lobster. The salmon was so fresh it was caught that morning and flown in only a few hours ago. Alas, my 7th time was not the charm, as there were no raw oysters … and in fact, the whole sashimi spread was a bit disappointing. But that just meant more room for 2nds of dessert. They make the best peach ice cream (after Sam of course.)

Saturday was pretty much dedicated to Zachary’s soccer seeding tournament. Zach is playing a lot better than he did last year. He has good stamina for running across the field, so he is often able to get to the ball faster, and he had some pretty impressive kicks. However, his team lost all 3 games which means they’ll probably start off in division 3. I’m hoping this means he’ll have a chance at making a goal this year.

After the last game, his team had pizza for lunch on the sidelines. Zach was invited to an impromptu playdate at Christian’s house, so I dropped him off for 1.5 hours of swimming.

In the evening, we went to a Wild About the Zoo benefit. There weren’t very many vendor stands this year and the activities were the same as the previous year’s, so we didn’t stay long. After the kids went to bed, James and I went to see a late movie (Crazy, Stupid, Love) using our stash of movie gift cards we collect from work. Thanks to James’ parents for babysitting!

Sunday morning, I did a 3.5 mile loop in El Dorado Hills with my jogging group. As soon as I got back, it was time to head to the park with Calie to meet up with her friend Cassie. And after an hour or so of playing at the park … it was off to the Sac State Aquatic Center with Zachary to meet up with a few of his soccer team buddies: John, Aidan, and Christian. The boys kayaked, canoed, played in the water (jumped off docks), and had a picnic lunch.

In the late afternoon, James and Zachary went rollerskating while Calie and I went out for an early dinner at Blue Nami (sushi) followed by Pinkberry frozen yogurt.

Definitely felt a bit over extended that day with both kids’ activities. I’m starting to realize the logistical challenges of managing 2 kids with very different interests/activities and circle of friends!

(Zach’s soccer banner above. Not my favorite team name, but we have the best banner – thanks Alice for designing it!)

James found out his friend Bill from New York was stranded on the west coast on a business trip to to Hurricane Irene. He was staying with his parents, who lived only a few miles from our home. So Monday evening, we met up with Bill and his parents for dinner at  Pollo De Oro, a local Mexican restaurant we’ve never tried before. Thanks Bill for treating us to both a delicious meal and entertaining magic tricks!

Two weeks ago, we decided to take a mini-vacation to the Bay Area. James and I took Thursday-Friday off work.  First stop? The Academy of Science in San Francisco.

Last time we went, we didn’t get a chance to go into the rainforest globe. There was also a new snakes and lizard exhibit that we haven’t seen before. 

Since I took Zach to the planetarium show last time (2 years ago), James took him this time. We had originally planned to go to the Monterey Aquarium as well this weekend, but there was such a big aquarium at the Academy of Science, we decided to move that trip to a future weekend.

We stayed until almost closing time and then headed to Sophie’s house, our free hotel for the next 3 nights.  Zachary LOVED playing Kinect … which I admit is pretty amazing (although I am easily impressed as my favorite game growing up was Keystone Kapers). Sophie made Calie an ice cream cake and a glittery pink, rhinestoned birthday crown. We also got to meet Taylor for the first time – what a friendly and cute baby!

Friday, we went to the San Jose Children’s Museum. I love that place … there are so many fun, interesting hands-on exhibits for kids. I envision myself getting a membership and taking the kids there all the time if I only lived closer. We stayed until closing (haha, so typical.)

Dinner was at ‘Sweet Tomatoes.’ I recalled when it first opened, and I was an intern at Siemen’s ROLM. It’s very possible that my standards have gone up since those college days. It was so crowded, and people were aggressively shoving for food in the buffet line. Kids had their hands in the food as they were scooping. Hurrah for not getting food poisoning, a real concern I had during dinner.

Next day … Santa Cruz! I purchased the unlimited rides wristbands and activity pack at Costco. It was downright cold when we first got there (~10am). There were no lines at all for the rides so we ‘got our money’s worth’ very quickly.  

The hang glider ride ruined it for the grownups who were too motion sick to go on any more rides afterwards. So we had lunch. (Logical, right? When nauseated, then eat?) Since Calie fell asleep after lunch, it was off to play 18 holes of mini-golf while she napped. It was quite a good pirate-themed course!

Because it was colder (low 80s), we did not bring swimsuits. But by late afternoon, it warmed up enough to hit the beach. Plus, the Boardwalk was getting very crowded and lines for rides were long. It was definitely a good call to do rides in the morning and the beach in the afternoon. 

Note: Kids have very high tolerances for cold water. If it’s fun, they don’t really care if it’s freezing. Zach chased waves, fell in waves, and ended up in wet sandy jeans. We totally should have brought swimsuits! We left with a bunch of activity tokens still unused; Santa Cruz can easily be a 2-day trip, as my coworker advised me, especially if you/your kids love the beach. For dinner, we tried a Thai restaurant that Sophie recommended. Yummy.  And Sunday, we had dimsum before heading home – thank you Sophie and Eddie for letting us stay in your home!

This weekend, we went to Karen and Paul’s backyard camping playdate. We swam first (for a long, long time) and then had pizza on beach towels.

When it got darker, the kids watched a movie. Karen borrowed a projector from work and used a shower curtain as the screen. Guess the movie? Yep. How to Train Your Dragon. Since I’ve seen it twice already, I hung out on the other side of the patio (with most of the other adults) for funny conversation and s’mores made with a mini blow torch.

Karen and Rachels’ family decided to pitch tents and sleep out overnight, but the rest of us chickened out. Maybe next year! Thank you Karen for being such a creative host – we had a great time.

Sunday morning, the kids amazed me by being incredibly cooperative. We went to swim lessons, followed by grocery shopping at The Nugget. Then they played at home (didn’t want to go out, which was fine by me … it’s too hot!) and cleaned up the whole house! All the little game, puzzle, and toy pieces were grouped together and put away. I was even able to wipe down the train table; it’s been awhile since I’ve seen that surface!

Since they were so well behaved, I took both kids out for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. I had 2 free kids meal coupons, and they let me use both! Zach ordered spinach tortellini when there was mac/cheese on the menu, and when we got home, Calie went to bed without putting up a fight. Who are these kids?!

The next morning was Zach’s first day of school. Second grade in public school; The after school program was expanded and he finally got in. Somehow a small private school felt like an extension of daycare/preschool … perhaps since Calie was at the same campus, in a building next door. Going to a 700+ student elementary school suddenly made me feel he was growing up. *GULP!* I was relieved to see his Kindergarten classmate Claire and his soccer coach’s son Brian in the same classroom. I hope he does well and likes his new school.

Drive by post … outside our routine (my morning jogs, Calie’s dance lesson, both kids’ swim lessons), last weekend we went to Folsom Lake for a potluck picnic/barbecue and jetskiing.

After playing in the sun most of the day, we went to Mikuni’s for dinner, where Calie spun the birthday wheel for free mochi ice cream! Her big present this year was a dollhouse – it’s so big she can’t even reach the top floor yet. James and I bought it by pooling together our Kudos (gift cards from work.)

Sunday, we went to the State Fair, where the kids got 2 free rides each for reading books (well, Calie just had to verbally summarize 2 books we’ve read to her.) We hit all the major attractions, including a bug exhibit, livestock arena, midway, and an Australia tent with albino wallaby, kangaroo, hedgehog, emu, parrots, and porcupine.

After we got home from the State Fair, Calie said she felt sick. She skipped dinner, and went to bed with a 101 fever. The next day, James took her to the doctors, where she was diagnosed with strep throat! So for her birthday, she got amoxicillan.  Fortunately, the antibiotics did the trick, and she recovered quickly (yes, we will be continuing the medication for the full 10 days.) It was definitely a good call to celebrate her birthday early!

So there we have it. I now I have a 3-year-old! Often times I hear people say “It goes by so fast” or “Where has the time gone?” … but I feel like she was 2-years-old for years. Maybe it’s because my kids are spaced so far apart that I’m parenting a little more slowly. I’m usually not torn between both kids wanting my attention at the same time. Or maybe it’s because we’re slacker parents who don’t sign our kids up for many activities … our weekends might seem busy, but there’s a lot of downtime on weekdays. I think the biggest reason though is major milestones. When every week is similar to the previous, it all blurs into one for me. Within the last year, I’ve gone through a re-org at work, traveled to Guadalahara for business, celebrated my friend Karen’s 40th and my sister’s 30th in Vegas, released a major project, spent an extended weekend in Tahoe with friends, and went on 2 very successful family vacations …a week in Anaheim and a 7-day Alaskan cruise. So yes. My recommendation for slowing time down and enjoying this fleeting time as the parent of a small child … do less and take more vacations.  I certainly plan to continue taking my own advice!

 HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY CALISTA!

I’ll end this post with some Calie milestones. She is now tracing her name (I had no idea, but I saw it on the bulletin board at preschool dated 7/22), but not 100% with all her letters and sounds. She can recognize numbers and count to 10 very consistently, but will still make some mistakes between 10 and 20. She is definitely more assertive than her brother, and the two of them bicker all. the. time. She is less mischievous, but more manipulative. When I ignore her unreasonable demands, she will say,”Look, I’m crying. So sad!” While much more clear than her brother at the same age, she still has some mispronunciations: “Yay-gurt” (yogurt), “hippo-thomas” (hippopotamus), and my favorite “Holla-doctor” (helicopter).