We stayed up until past 1am last Friday for dinner and games with Melissa’s family. The adults played a new (very complicated) game while the kids had a “sleepover.” (In quotes because they were actually dragged up and taken home at 1am). It took every ounce of discipline to pull myself out of bed at 7am for a 10k run with my coworkers. And between dance, and a later soccer game, James and I prepped for our Halloween party. Speaking of soccer … did you know that baseball cleats and soccer cleats are different? We didn’t. I thought I got a great deal at Walmart ($7.50!) for soccer shoes beginning of this season. The referee noticed and disqualified Zach from the game. (James had to run home and bring back sneakers.) With only a few games left this season, instead of buying new shoes, we just sawed off the front cleat.

On the school front, I had to have a talk with Zach about classwork. He aces all the exams, but struggles with getting his classwork done. We talked about how on a multi-step project, it was better to get 90% (even 80%) on all the steps instead of over-perfecting a few sections but not having enough time to even start on some other sections. I also asked him for ways to calculate whether he was on track to finish an assignment on time.  Then I added that it was good to get assignments done early instead of waiting until the last minute, in case a new assignment (or some fun activity) came up midweek. I compared kids playing before doing school work to adults buying toys before paying utility and mortgage bills. And I reminded him that he belonged in a family with strong discipline – when James and I don’t ‘finish’ our work, we log in at night when the kids are in bed. The next morning, I woke up at 7am and did not hear any Wii games (he plays Saturday and Sunday mornings until everyone else gets up … the modern day version of Saturday morning cartoons, I suppose) I went to Zach’s room and he was doing the classwork he didn’t finish the previous week. He said he was up since 5:58am, and he only had 1 more page left.  I have no idea how long this will last, but I’m hopeful.

Saturday evening was our annual Halloween party. We had some crafts put out: fuzzy Halloween bookmarks and magnets to color. But mostly the kids played soccer and on the play structure outside. The weather was ideal. When it got dark, we played a balloon popping game I made up (but was a hit!) There were 30 balloons all over the yard and 5 of them had dollar bills inside. The kids ran around running popping balloons and screaming! (I wonder what the neighbors thought?)

I tried to make the food options a bit more healthy this year …  changes included using whole wheat pasta, nothing with icing, and veggie chips. That was a mistake, as a lot of the food was leftover (vs. running out last year!) Fortunately Chigme brought a huge platter of sushi, and my cheese platter (love that triple cream brie!) was a crowd pleaser. Winners of the People’s Choice Costume Contest were the Clue Family (best overall), Spidergirl (cutest), and sleepover zombie (scariest.) Thanks to everyone who came and contributed to the Halloween *spirit*! 

Sunday, I woke up with a sore throat, which quickly turned into a cold. We had a low key day. I took the kids to swim class. Calie now willingly jumps in and glides with her head underwater … this is a big deal because for the longest time, she despised getting her face wet. She did complain that her eyes got  “soggy” afterwards though. Zach worked on his book report poster a little more, and then I took the kids to a Harvest festival at a local outdoor mall.

The kids made ceramic handprints and decorated pumpkins, but we opted out of face painting, balloon animals, and the hay ride due to long lines. I convinced them that playing in the Whole Foods kids’ area would be more fun.

In the evening, we went to Sellend’s for dinner. I love The Kitchen and Ella, from the same chain of restaurants. The ambiance was great … I liked the casual, artisan market feel. And my tuna sandwich was pretty tasty. But the kids gave their mac cheese and cupcake a thumbs down, and James found the turkey sandwich bland.  Zach did a Haunted House walk-through, that my friend Bev’s sons helped put together. The tickets were $7 and went to a local charity. He said it was pretty scary!

This Friday, both Zachary and Calista’s schools held Harvest Festivals. Bounce houses, carnival games, face painting (yuck), cake walks, dancing and singing, and just general running around in costumes with friends.

After the school event, we went to the city’s celebration. The streets were lined with jack-o-lanterns, and stores along the road handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. We had dinner at Chicago Fire (it seems to be a tradition) before heading back home close to 10pm. When we got to the garage, there were only a few cars left, ours being one of them. And the passenger door was wide open! And guess what? James’ briefcase with work laptop was untouched. Whew. And wow, either we live in a really safe city or no one wants laptops anymore.  

Between the school and city event, the kids brought home lots of trinkets and candy. Way too much for kids to consume, and I’m anti chewy/sticky candies which are terrible for teeth. Overhead Calie complain to Zach,”I don’t know why we even go trick-or-treating because mom just takes away our candy!” That’s exactly what siblings are for. Commiserating with. Who else could truly understand what it’s like to live with such an evil mom.

This morning, I took Calie to her dance class. She was able to invite a friend, so she picked Abigail … who might be signing up and joining her in future classes … yay! While I was out, Zach finished his book report poster, and I think it looks pretty good!

Then I took both kids to a local outdoor mall for a safety fair. The kids won 3 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches playing a plinko game, built/painted Home Depot helicopters, jumped in bounce houses, and played with rubber-band guns. (Whether guns are really ‘safety’ items is debatable.)

I also got in a quick cardio workout (2.7 mile jog) and an hour of core strengthening/stretching (vinyasa flow yoga) today … so I’m as ready as I can be for my 3-person half marathon relay tomorrow! My leg of the race is the last 5 mile uphill climb, so wish me luck!

Ending this post with deep thoughts from Calista. While folding laundry/clothes: “Some cookies also have tags. But they are on the inside. And they don’t tell you what size they are.”

But wait! Before a fun-filled family weekend, I went out to Heat Shabu with my girlfriends. Highly recommended! We picked the all-you-can-eat option, and given how much we ate … it was a financially savvy choice. The lamb was my favorite, and the sauces were SO good. After a long work week, a night of talking, laughing, and eating was just what I needed!

Saturday morning was a typical exercise in schedule coordination. I ran a 10k with my coworkers, while James got the kids ready for the day. He took Calie to dance class as soon as I returned. Right after dance class, he took Zach to his soccer game (won 2-0) while I took Calista to Hannah and Hayden’s bounce house birthday party. Happy 4^th Birthday Hannah and Hayden!

 In the evening, I took Zach to the exact same venue for a Laser Tag party. Happy 8^th Birthday Vikranth!

Sunday … the annual Intel 5k. Both kids ran the kids’ fun run. Calie ran the ¼ mile 0-5 yrs heat, lost her sneaker right at the beginning, and almost got trampled trying to reclaim her shoe. Zach ran the ½ mile 6-10 yrs  heat and came in 4^th place. James, Zach, my running group (Erjia, Jaybal, Bev, Sam, James C.), and I ran the 5k. Thanks Melissa for walking it with Calie so that both James and I could run! I ran it in 31:45 which is my post-kids PR (sadly, pre-kids, I was able to run 5ks in ~26min). Zach finished in 24:22, his all-time PR. Sam won 1^st place in his age group (40-49) with a time of ~21 minutes! Way to go, Sam! Before the race, the kids decorated pumpkins and trick-or-treat bags.

After the run, Melissa and my family drove to Bishop’s Farm. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it. Luckily, our kids didn’t care to partake in the train ride, ‘Coyote Mountain’ slides, and marble panning … which had huge lines, and quite frankly are boring to me too. They just did the play structures (tag is always fun, right?), sunflower labyrinth, the corn maze (much harder than I remembered it was … maybe my spatial skills are declining as I age…), and hayride to pick out pumpkins. Calie also went on a pony ride. The line was not too bad, as some parents may have been deterred by the $6 ticket price.

To end the day, we had grilled burgers and salad at Melissa’s house, with shoo-fly pie and ice cream for dessert. Thank goodness for the morning run!

Tuesday evening, Zach played hooky from soccer practice so that we could attend Stephanie’s good-bye party. After spending a few months (sabbatical from work) travelling and staying with John, she was flying back home to Australia. A yummy barbecue, and a great reason to get friends together! Safe travels Stephanie!

Ending the post with a few more pictures of Calista … opening a birthday present from Larisa (James’ sister.) It was a super glittery butterfly costume, and we opened it in the morning. I literally dazzled them at work that day.  (I crack myself up! )

And here are the pictures from my Grace Hopper conference trip to Baltimore:

Sophia and I representing our company at the career fair. And lunch at Phillips with my sister, roommate Kathy, and coworkers Galina and Aafreen. Maryland blue crabs + Old Bay Seasoning = yum. Better than the big Dungeness crabs we get in the west coast, but 10x harder to pick out the crab meat.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not “odditorium” … totally worth the $27 admission. The 4-D movie was very fun (although you may not like it if you’re prone to motion sickness), and my favorite was the hall of mirrors maze. Good entertainment for ~an  hour, maybe longer if you have curious kids (there was a room of hands on experiments/activities)

Friday evening, there was a celebration at the Baltimore Science Museum (great place to take kids), and then my parents picked Sophie and I up to go home. We visited my cousin Greg and his wife Haiying in Virginia, and met their kids Jesse and Effie for the first time. I was impressed how much Mandarin Jesse knew. I think if I had to do it over again, I would have hired a Chinese speaking nanny for my kids, like they did. Plus their nanny cooks for them, so when they come home from work, they can fully engage in family time vs. wrestling with getting dinner on the table. Smart!

We went out for dim sum afterwards, and then visited Dutch Country Farmer’s Market, which is owned/run by the Amish. A lot of the baked goods were made right in the store. The pretzel sticks were terrific … so much better than the mall Pretzel places. Their chicken is famously good, but we were way too full to eat any. Of course, I had to pick up a freshly baked shoo-fly pie for my friends Melissa and Kathy. A trip home would not be complete without my mom’s home cooking, and this was no exception.

And while I was out? Zachary won an life skills award at school, which was announced at the school assembly. He’s usually (one of) the last kids to get it during the school year, which translates to most poorly behaved. So it was a surprise that he was selected so early in the school year. I wonder if the teachers are encouraging the kids who struggle the most by using positive reinforcement and a heavy dose of wishful thinking.  Zachary also went to Jackson’s video-game-bus + sleepover birthday party, and Alex’s Minute-to-Win-it birthday party. Happy 9^th birthday Jackson and Happy 8^th birthday Alex!

So James was in Vegas for 4 days immediately followed by my 5 day east coast trip. Looking forward to this weekend, where we actually get to do things as an intact family!

Greetings from Baltimore! The time difference is giving me some time to update my blog. Of course, I’ll be paying for it dearly tomorrow when I get up for a 7am (4am Pacific time) meeting.

About 2 weeks ago, James and I went on a double date with Bev and Mike at Tapa the World. Lots of tapas and seafood paella … capped the night off watching some belly dancing at the hookah bar next door.

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

  

 

  

 

  

While James was out of town, I had the kids watch some shows while I cooked. Zach would always chose a BBC documentary, much to Calie’s dismay. She knows more about the artic and coral sea than most 4-year-olds, and it’s not by choice! Calie selected a Charlie Brown cartoon. I walked by at one point, and Calie said, wrinking her nose in disgust: “She (Lucy) is mean. And why are they (other characters) all laughing?” I laughed, and she continued with,”Why are you laughing, Mommy? It is not funny.” She is so anti-bullying. I could have really used a friend like her in middle/high school. I never taught her about how bad bullying is … so maybe it came naturally or maybe she learned it from school. I’m pretty sure it was at least reinforced at school. So my wise friend Sandy was very right, when she said “It takes a village”. I’m glad my daughter had good teachers, and regular exposure to positive role models outside of just her parents. Ultimately, I’m proud of her for recognizing that something is wrong, and having the confidence to speak up. I’ve had 2 families at school come thank me for her actions the past few months: The mom of a classmate with autism that Calie sticks up for, and the parents of a new boy that she actively seeks to include in group games. She pretty much rocks. (Her brother is pretty neat too, but I’ll save further bragging for another post. I don’t want to annoy and lose my readership )