Five on Fridays: Birthday Recap

Mike's birthday this year was a hoot. You know what they say.... when the cat's away, the mice will play...

1. All-you-can-eat SUSHI! We did what we do best when it comes to dinner.

Roro's birthday is only 2 days from Mike's, so we've always tried to celebrate their birthdays together every year.








2. Golf by the beach. Yes, that's how much I love Mike. I bought me a set of Lady Cougar clubs at a yard sale for $5 (scoooore!) and finally went golfing with Mike -- Roro and Sissy in tow -- for 9 holes by the beach.

It was actually pretty fun!







3. The Happiest Place on Earth would be happier without the lines. Went to Dland on Sunday with Jojo and Jacob on Sunday. Now, Disneyland without Ethan is little bittersweet. On one hand, we could ride the rollercoasters and all the rides Ethan wouldn't be caught dead in, but on the other hand, he would've loved the World of Color water show. Too bad our passes are blocked for the rest of the summer!









4. A nice upgrade. Mike's birthday present probably tops it all. I say if you spend that much money on a bike, it better pedal itself to 1st place. But Mike says it's still up to him to pedal fast, although having a much lighter bike would help him be that much faster.







5. Of course, Ethan missed all the celebration this year because he's having way more fun in Ohio with Grandma and Poppi. We've just (reluctantly) approved a petition to extend his 2-week vacation by a couple of extra days. Gah!

Envy of the Office (Again)

I don't understand why some women get embarassed when they get flowers at work..... I absolutely love it! Mike has sporadically sent me flowers since I started here, and every time, I enjoy hearing everybody coo about how great of a husband he is for being thoughtful.

I used to get mad about it. These suckers are not cheap! But it's the thought that really gets me, every time. Cliche? Who cares.

I spend 8 hours a day (some days, more) at work. That's more hours awake than I do at home during the week. I don't mind a constant reminder that someone is thinking of me, and I certainly don't care that people look at me with their jealous eyes.

Happy Valentines!

Happy 2010!

[Click for larger image]

Fun-filled Weekend: Part 3

Sunday afternoons are my alone-time with Ethan (while daddy goes to school for a few hours). I don’t get to spend a lot of time with him during the week, so I always look forward to being with him on the weekends.

It amazes me how little it takes for him to make me laugh and vice versa. On Sunday, we spent an hour taking turns laying on the grass while the other jumps over, pulling the wagon back and forth, and then the next 2 hours blowing and catching bubbles in the yard until sunset.

It’s always sad when we run out of daylight… since it always means we have to start winding down and getting ready for bed. But we still have a blast, and I’ve learned to appreciate every minute I could get.

Treasure Hunting

It’s true. Ethan knows the word “yardsaling”.

Like me, he’s not keen on getting up earlier than you have to… UNLESS it’s a Saturday… then all bets are off. You don’t even have to fix yourself, who cares if you have raccoon eyes from the night before. It’s a different state of mind when you get ready for a morning of yard sale rounds. You just go. Cash in hand. Ready for a hunt. Eye boogers and all. You know what they say, early birds get the worm.

I’ve even taught him to look out for neon signs with directional arrows. It’s seriously how he learned how to distinguish left from right.

He even helps me "scope out" a sale - that's when you do a slow drive by and determind whether their junk is worth your time to get out of the car. A few times, he's told me to keep going because "they don't have any toys".

That’s not the best part.

The best part is giving him a dollar and giving him the freedom to decide on what to spend it on. Seeing his eyes light up when he sees colorful toys laid out on the driveway for his pickings. Never mind that he just got hundreds of dollars worth of new toys for Christmas and his 3rd birthday… He likes the adventure of finding that treasure… that unwanted toy that’s probably been sitting in the garage for months, worth no more than a fraction of what it was bought for, then suddenly becomes his proud new possession. What’s even funnier to watch is seeing him negotiate with the chum change he has in his pocket and get freebies while he’s at it.

This is his latest find – “gun water”, as he calls it.

I asked him how much he paid for it, and he said “Only 1 dollar, mommy”.

That’s my boy…

Engagement Shoot: Emily and Dean

I’ve known Emily since I first moved to California when I was 12, and our parents have been friends for even longer than that. We’ve both seen ours shares of boys that came and went, so when she called me a month ago and told me she was getting married, I was ecstatic for her. She asked me if I would shoot her wedding, but since I’ve been overdue for some equipment maintenance and upgrades, I regrettably had to decline. I did tell her I would love to take their engagement photos…

They picked the spot at Balboa Beach by the pier. The intent was to do an early shoot, but they didn’t quite get there until the sun was too harsh so we were forced to shoot entirely under the pier.

Dean, like every other guy I do engagement photos of, was a little timid at first but loosened up after a few lame jokes from behind the lens. Emily glowed like people-in-love glow. :)

We had a lot of fun… Mike came along, so we hung out at the beach for a few hours… chasing dolphins and sharing a Ruby’s strawberry shake.

Ethan's Christmas Program

Ethan had his Christmas program at his preschool on Thursday. His class sang "Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer", "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". He did so well singing his songs and doing his hand gestures.... We WERE SO PROUD.

We actually got there an hour early, but to much of our disappointment, the front rows were already taken. Ethan is the youngest in his class (and probably shortest) so he was at the bottom where we couldn't really see unless we stood up (and annoyed people behind us). So I had to literally squeeze my way back out to the back and stand on their counters so I could get a decent shot of Ethan.

I'll post the video soon!

I'm Thankful for... love

Having someone I love to grow old with.

I'm Thankful for... gifts

Thanksgiving is coming up. I'm disappointed that the one thing missing from making our family whole again still won't be home. Hard times are hard. But even on the worst, if I really try, I can find some reason to feel grateful, some small miracle to help me make it through. And for this Thanksgiving, there are plenty to be thankful for. I'm thankful for...

Being blessed with the gift of motherhood.

Breakfast of Champs

Ethan LOVES cereal. He'd eat it all day every day, if you let him. Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Kix, Reeses Puffs, Fruit Loops... if it comes in form of a cereal box, he'll eat it.

C is for Concentration

Ethan gets pretty serious when he's playing with his new alphabet toy...

The look

The gymnast