Day 365: Three Hundred and Sixty Five

Well folks, we made it. A full year of blogging. And while I may have dropped the ball and not actually uploaded a blog post every 24 hours, there is a single blog post for each day on the calendar for the past year. 

This was a lot harder than the last time a did a year blog challenge. I mean, near impossible. 

Last time I did it (Feb 2012 - Feb 2013), life was a lot simpler. I had two toddlers at home. 100% of my days were wrapped around caring for, keeping alive and especially entertaining little kids. I was buried under piles of Pinterest crafts and simple "adventures" to the fish department at Petsmart. It was so easy to blog because every day we were doing something, even if it was just exploring a pile of mud in the back yard or watching baby Cam learn to walk. 

This time, life is a whirlwind. The kids are both in school, and by the time they get home, we are shoving forkfuls of yesterday's leftovers into our mouths while changing clothes and running across town to the next baseball practice or basketball practice or whatever practice. The kids are no longer toddling over to me with a handful of blocks asking to play, they are upstairs building Lego masterpieces together, or at the playground with their friends. Occasionally they ask me to play, but it is few and far between. Oh, they're still little and we have so much fun together in the few moments we have sitting still. But by the time I've settled down to write the blog in the evening, I'm so tired I don't even remember what the hell we did that day. Let alone anything worth mentioning. 

So, I dropped the ball a lot. I'd post 3 days worth of blogs at a time because I blinked and Monday turned into Thursday without me even noticing. But I did it, and it's quite an accomplishment. I cherish my last year-long blog, my own personal diary of what life was like with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. I know someday when my kids are too old to be called "kids", I will cherish this year stretch as well. I will try to keep up with it once a week or so, but no promises, people. 

As for today, we took a page out of the old book. Brad was feeling pretty sick today so the kids and I went out on an excursion to "The Hot Dog Store" (also known as Costco, named by Calen at age 2). 

This used to be our favorite family outing when they were very small in New Jersey. We would wait until Brad came home from work, drive an hour up north to the nearest Costco, and have a hot dog dinner (Calen the hot dog, Cam the bun) as a family, and then do some leisurely shopping at the very quiet (and basically abandoned) store.

So tonight we sat down and had Costco dinner together (pizza, this time) and went around shopping. The kids still find profound enthusiasm in picking out their own bath towels and sneaking seconds at the food demo trays, and climbing all over the mountains of toilet paper while I'm not looking. We had a strangely fun time at Costco together. 

The boys and I came home and turned on the Rescuers (very loudly, I might add, to drown out any barfing noises coming from upstairs), and had a great evening together. 

Here's to another year down of blogging. I really hope I find the time and the energy to keep up with it from time to time. 

And thanks to the like, twelve people that read it. 

Day 364: Movie With The Muggles

Today was the second Monday in a row that the kids had a holiday off from school.

Who makes up all these holidays? Do they have kids? Did they think about all the extra work us parents have to do on said holidays to keep their kids busy? Especially if you're a parent during the rainy season in Northern California? Stop it with the holidays!

So it rained, again, and we were stuck inside, again. 

I fully intended on raiding my Pinterest board of "random shit to do with the boys on rainy days" (not actually called that) to find a project to do, but instead I slept in, let the kids eat cold leftover pancakes, and tooled around on my iPad in the morning instead while the kids argued over a single Lego car. 

"Hey guys, you know that big huge bin of Lego instructions in the middle of your room?"

"What bin? The blue one? Yeah, what about it?"

"Why don't you pull out a set of instructions and build something. Like a second car. You know, that's what that bin of instructions is for."

"Oh, it IS?! COOL!"

.....

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one around here that is actually aware of the purpose of my surroundings. 

And while we were upstairs, I decided it was time to teach Cam how to make his bed. This is very much a do as I say and not as I do life lesson, because the kids are required to have their beds made, but I probably make my own bed maybe once a month. 

What can I say, I have shit to do. 

We did salvage the afternoon. Over the course of the the last year, Brad has slowly been reading Harry Potter (full unabridged, illustrated copies) to the boys each night. They finished Sorcerer's Stone a couple months ago and are about halfway through the Chamber of Secrets. So, today we rented the first Harry Potter movie (Sorcerer's Stone) on Amazon Prime and watched it as a family with a bowl of popcorn. 

I'm going to admit: I've never seen a single Harry Potter movie before. In fact, I only just started reading the books a few months ago. I'm currently on the 3rd book (Prisoner of Azkaban) and am loving the series. Better to be late on the train than to never get on.

At dinner, we had a fun conversation over the movie versus the book (Calen noticed a lot of parts from the book were cut out) and how we are a Muggle family and we all came to the agreement that there are definitely wizards living at Disney World to explain all the magic that happens there. 

Not a bad day with us muggles. 

Day 363: Blanket Forts and Board Games

The rainy season straggles on, and we're stuck inside another day. There's only so many movies you can watch before you just start going stir crazy. 

Today, we rearranged some furniture and took an old fitted sheet and made a blanket fort in the living room. We flipped the ever-present cardboard space ship (see yesterday's post) over to make a little table in the middle of the fort, and then the 4 of us proceeded to spend the entire morning playing board games inside the fort. We played Monopoly Junior (the half-hour abridged version of Monopoly), Operation and a Lego City game where you play cops vs robbers and try to arrest the robbers/steal the loot by rolling dice and strategically planning your moves. 

In spite of a potentially boring rainy day, we made at least the morning and family fun (indoor) day. 

Day 362: Fire The Thrusters

The saying "who needs toys when you have a cardboard box" doesn't change, no matter how old your kids get. 

I ordered new dog food containers on Amazon, which of course came in the largest box in the history of boxes, much to my kids delight. For the last two days, this box has taken over my living room and has been completely refurbished (using markers and Lego accessories) into a rocket ship. They've fired their thrusters to outrun alien ships, shot down vicious foes using plasma cannons and have both died in heroic battles numerous times. 

I hope they never grow up. 

"Quick! Fire the thrusters! Shoot the enemy while we get ready for hyperdrive!"

Day 361: The Things You Say

"Mom when I turn six I'm going to leave Kindergarten to be a first grader. I won't be little anymore."

"That's not really how it works, Cam."

"Yes it is! You're just on the Dark Side."

I mean, what do I say?

P.S. Can we not talk about six? It's two months away and I'm not ready for it. Thanks.

Day 360: Nothing Says Love Like...

I had to miss dinner with my family tonight, and attend a board meeting for the boys' baseball league instead. I don't mind going to the meetings, but I always feel bad when I miss out on family dinner. 

Brad sent me a text saying that Camden had left me a surprise when I came back home. 

Nothing says love like your five year old drawing you a heart that says "I love you Mommy" and tucking it onto your pillow on your bed.

Go ahead, find the tissues.

Day 359: It's Tough Being A Pup

Sonic had a busy day, jumping over our fence, running through a swamp (while trying to escape me catching her), killing a stuffed animal and annoying her older sister Juno. She's pooped.

It's tough being a pup.

Day 358: Love and Mushy Stuff

So it's Valentine's Day, and all that good stuff. You know hearts, love, mushy mushy hugs and kisses. 

The boys of course think Valentine's Day is absolutely outrageous and stupid and full of cooties. 

They didn't actually say the word "cooties". Does anyone use the word cooties anymore?

Luckily, the kids are still young enough that I still managed to convince them that Valentines' is almost cool. They picked out their Valentines' to their classmates and built little mailboxes and wore Valentine's shirts to school (or kind of Valentine's shirts). We even played with an app in the car in the school parking lot that made them look like they had lipstick kisses all over them.

Camden's class had a little party at school that I went to and helped out. Any excuse for a party in Kindergarten is exciting and and overload of cuteness.

Kindergarten cuteness!

Sonic also got a little stuffy from Calen, and as you can see she loved it. 

Brad and I don't exchange gifts or anything on Valentine's Day, mainly because we find our anniversary (2 months earlier) more important. A few little notes to each other throughout the day, and that's all we need. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 357: Spring Training

Spring ball is here! Calen had his first practice today with his new team, the Red Sox (single-A division, 7-9 year olds). His coach this season is tough, precise and has practice schedules down to the minute. 

I like it. Calen has a hard time focusing on anything on the planet, and a stern (but positive) coach is exactly what he needs. 

Bring on baseball!

Day 356: The Bull In The China Shop

This past week, we took a lot of time doing activities surrounding the Chinese New Year. Today was the grand finale of the week, by going to Chinatown in San Francisco. 

Actually, we were supposed to go yesterday, when there was a big Chinese New Year street fair going on. But due to unforeseen circumstances (I had to work), we had to skip the street fair and go today instead. 

Before we actually went to Chinatown, we visited a Japanese Tea Garden inside Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It is a beautiful, peaceful place with immaculately trimmed trees and shrubs, large Koi swimming in ponds that you cross via stone steps, and beautiful pagodas built in the early 1900s. I loved this garden, and it was probably my favorite part of the day trip. 

Outside of the garden, we stumbled upon a fountain featuring a panther fighting a serpent. With a seagull on top. 

After an hour or so at the tea garden, we packed up back in the car and drove the 6 miles across the city (and 35 minutes later...holy downtown traffic batman), parked, and walked to the Dragon Gate: the entrance to Chinatown.

Chinatown is like entering a completely different city, even though it's in the heart of San Francisco. The roads narrow, the building architecture is vastly different. Colors of red and yellow dominate the signs, the street lamps, the stone and bronze statues, the paper lanterns strewn all over the sky. Everything is written in Chinese, and most of the spoken language you hear is Chinese as well. Most of the shops are touristy knick-knack shops, but there are some more traditional markets and medicinal shops as well.  We spent the majority of our time here wandering up and down the main street, poking into a couple of stores here and there, but mostly just people and building watching outside.

We told the boys upon entering Chinatown that they'd each get a small amount of money ($5-$10) to pick out something towards the end of the day. Keep this in mind because there's a story. 

Of course, with my kids, there's always a story. 

The first store we actually decided to walk into, we played the usual game of telling the kids to "put their hands behind their backs" to ensure that they don't touch anything. Especially since a lot of these little shops had glass and porcelain figures. Naturally, this is a "do as I say and not as I do" rule, because I'm an adult and dammit I can touch something if I want to. 

Just as I was reminding the kids to "not touch anything", Calen shoots his arm out from behind his back and snatches this porcelain owl thing. And of course, he drops it. It doesn't break, but the ear of the owl chips off. 

Since we had just learned about the Zodiac and discovered that Calen is an Ox, he is now, officially and accurately, a Bull in a China Shop. 

Tough lesson for him, but he had to use his fun money to pay for that stupid porcelain owl with the chipped ear. Many tears ensued, out of embarrassment and disappointment that he didn't actually get to pick what he bought today, but maybe next time he'll listen when we say "don't touch". Especially since he's a Bull. 

My little bull with his Ox. Gotta love him. 

The coveted ridiculous bobblehead owl that ended up coming home with us unintentionally

That catastrophe aside, we went to lunch at a Dim Sum restaurant that I had researched the night before called Great Eastern (it's actually really hard to get GOOD Chinese food in Chinatown). It is not your Americanized orange chicken with a side of white rice Chinese restaurant. This place is about as authentic as it gets. We were seated in the center of the room, and upon a quick glance around the crowded place, we stuck out as the only English speaking white people there (in my book, a good sign) that had to special order forks for the kids. Camden kept complaining that they spoke Spanish. I corrected him, and then he'd say "They keep speaking China!!"

We ordered pork buns and shrimp with cilantro buns and authentic spring rolls (not your pan fried in oil kind). It's a very unique way of ordering, you fill out a menu with what you want and how many helpings, then a waitress comes downstairs with stacks of dim sum baskets and serves them to you without speaking a word. Then as you eat, they sneak by and take away empty baskets. 

The food, in my opinion, was delicious. The textures were incredibly different from anything I had ever had, which was fun and exciting to me. The kids devoured the savory pork buns and Calen ate the entire plate of a type of spring roll (that even Brad and I didn't like as much as he did). 

Story time number two. 

Before we left the restaurant, Camden went into the bathroom (visible from our table). After a while he hadn't come out yet, so Brad went to check. 

Cam had decided to poop. In order to poop, he had removed his sweatshirt, thrown it on the bathroom floor, and then proceeded to take off his shoes. 

Did I mention we're still at the restaurant and not inside our private home??

Luckily, I didn't have to take any part of that nonsense since it happened in the men's bathroom. Thanks Brad. 

Once Cam redressed, we left the restaurant and Google Mapped (thank goodness, or we would have never found it) the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie company. This place is a literal hole in the wall in a side alley. It's a one room factory where fortune cookies are hand made by two Chinese women, and "tours" (aka step inside and watch the women) are free. It's fascinating to see a real working factory and watch the batter being poured and fried, the women bending the cookie around a fortune and just dropping it into a 5 gallon bucket. We paid 50 cents to take a picture (seriously), and bought a small bag of fortune cookies on our way out. 

The alley walking to the fortune cookie factory

Making fortune cookies by hand!

We were done with Chinatown but Camden hadn't picked his little souvenir yet (Calen still had his owl). He went inside a couple stores and couldn't decide but as we were leaving one store he shouted "WAIT!! I want the shiny hen!!!!" 

A shiny hen?!

He snatched my hand and pulled me back into a store, where there was a small, plush rooster decorated in shiny fabric for Chinese New Year. It is, after all, the year of the rooster. 

So Cam bought his "shiny hen" and we called it a day, drove out of the city and came home in time to watch Big Hero 6 (because, San Fransokyo, obviously) before Calen's first baseball practice of the spring season. 

Chinatown is definitely a "one and done" kind of place to visit (the Japanese tea garden is definitely repeat worthy), but I would like to go again next year and try to make the New Year festival next time. 






 

Day 355: Helen Putnam Park

Today was supposed to be a bigger adventure, but I found out I had to work (working part time at the exchange on base) so that snubbed that idea. Instead, we had an impromptu family outing earlier in the morning at a local park called Helen Putnam. It's maybe 10 minutes away from the house, deep in the middle of the rolling green hills. There's a few miles worth of walking trails that go up and down the hills, creating spectacular views of Sonoma County. We hiked most of the trails and climbed a few trees and even took Sonic on our adventure.

Pictures are worth a thousand words!

Cam refusing to budge at a fork in the path until we agreed to go "his way"

Day 354: Suited Up

Saturday, for the month of February anyways, means basketball. Because there are only 3 teams in the camp/league, each team plays a double header each Saturday. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. We pack a little lunch and a backpack full of toys for Cam (who wasn't interested in playing) and just hang out and watch them play. Since it's all on base, we don't even have to travel anywhere. 

Easiest sports season ever. 

Calen got his new jersey today (double sided, so depending on who they're playing, they're either blue or white) and sports #2. Even I'll admit that his little basketball getup is adorable. In you know a "cute but too old to tell him he's cute sort of way".

His first game, Calen scored 8 points and played excellent. In his second game, he scored 12 points and improved so much in such a short time! Basketball is truly his game, dare I say even more than baseball. 

Great job, buddy.

Day 353: Moms Night In

It's been a busy week, and another mom friend and I needed to get out. 

But, we're in our 30s. We don't want to go "out". We want to put on sweatpants and not talk to people. So, what to do?

We sent Brad and my kids over to my friends' house, where her husband and kid were hanging out, and she came over here. We wore our sweats, ate snacks, and watched Bad Moms on DVD (and then Encino Man on Netflix) while coloring in extremely inappropriate swear word adult coloring books. 

And really, that's all you need to party when you're a mom. Sweats. Snacks. Netflix. Bitchy coloring books. 

Who shit in YOUR oatmeal??

Endnote: I totally tore out this sheet and taped it to the inside door of a higher kitchen cupboard (that the kids don't ever open - and thus can't read). I hope that whenever it is we move out, we might "accidentally" leave it there for the next tennant.