St. Patrick's Day

With Sean being more aware of holidays, we decided to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year.  He has been learning about leprechauns at school and he had mixed feeling about a short man in green suits.  All he knew was that he comes out when people aren't watching and make a big mess looking for gold coins.  He told me that a leprechaun named Lucky came to Mrs. Fotheringham's class and knocked some items down.  A typical kid might not be bothered by a cute story like that, but this sort of things that are unknown and unprovable makes him uneasy.  But he is learning to play along and join in the fun.  We made a leprechaun trap to take to school, which he brought home with several gold coins in it.  Since the trap he made with me was in a rush (Mom got the memo late, again), Daddy decided to help Sean with making a big, proper trap surely to lure Lucky in.

They went to Michaels and bought some green soft forms and several decorations to ornate the trap.  They used the Costco diaper wipe box, so it was nice and sturdy.  They spent a long time making it and Sean put the final touches very much like a seasoned artist.  He put a sticker on and walked away to look at it from the distance and repeated it until he was satisfied with the composition and balance.  He stacked up several shamrocks on top of each other at the top and he was quite proud of them.  He was quite frustrated though since they kept falling down.   The children would probably want to build one each year.  It's all fine with me.  It gave an opportunity for Mike to spend one on one time with Sean.   

On Saturday, the actual St. Patrick's Day, I made a traditional Irish meal - corned beef, colcannon potatoes, creamed spinach, and Irish soda bread.  They were delicious!  Unfortunately, the pictures from dinner got corrupted.  Nana brought Guinness beer and we had a good time feasting on traditional Irish meal.  Every holiday is a good excuse to spend a nice family time together.  We really enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day this year!

Sean's School Concert

The kindergarten class and 1st grader at Spiritridge had a concert in mid March (I know it's been a while).  I am not good at keeping track of school events and this event was no exception.  As I said good-bye to Mrs. Fotherringham after school, she asked me if I am coming to the concert that night.  I immediately said "oh yes, definitely!" but my head was full of question marks bouncing around.  I needed to get more information - really fast.  So, I spoke to a Mom from other kindergarten class and she gave me the details.  Wow, I need to get my act together, I thought.  I called Nana and she agreed to come and watch the other kids while Sean and I attend the concert.  It was pouring outside that evening and it was one of those moments I felt I am barely above the water.

But Sean was quite happy and he was beaming on stage.  His green shirt made him stand out in the crowd itself, but he was also bobbing along with the rhythm of the song.  His body language told me that he really enjoys performing.  I don't remember which songs they sang, but the children were so cute.  Sean never sang the songs before at home, but he knew all the lyrics.  I was pretty happy to see him having a good time with his classmates.  Only three years ago, I was pleasantly surprised that Sean sang in front of his preschool class.  He has achieved so much so far and I am so proud of him!

I never wish to juggle the last minute oopsy schedule fix again, but it is bound to happen.  Minds well get used to it but I will read the classroom newsletter from now on...

New Baby Therapy

I was able to meet my friend's Mom, too, as she is here helping her daughter out with the new baby.  A great family!

Last Saturday, I got to hold my friend's new baby boy!  He is only three weeks old and you just don't get a chance like that unless you are the baby's family.  He fit right into my left arm (that is my side way baby carrying arm) and I just almost melted.  The memories of holding my babies came back so alive, my estrogen level must have risen above my head.  He was adorable.  He was squirmy at first, but with the gentle rocking and "shhhhh", the baby fell asleep in my arms.   I was doing that without realizing.  My body knew exactly what to do.  I did raise four babies!  The lightness of him really lifted my mood up and I call it a new baby therapy.  If you have an access to hold a new baby, I highly recommend it!  All your stress melts away, guaranteed!

Baking Hat

I've decided to pull out my dusty bread machine and start baking again.  My friend, Yukie, is an excellent baker and cook and she inspired me to give bread machine another try.  I baked my first loaf of bread in two years and it turned out great.  It tasted so much better than the bread we buy at the store.  I also made a chili to go with the bread and Mike gobbled them up like a college kid.  It's always a good sign when he doesn't talk much while eating.  Sean was amazed at how a bread came out of this big square machine.  He kept saying "mmmmm, it smells so yummy" as it was baking.  I found a recipe for gluten and milk free bread, so I have to try it.  So, the machine moved in to the kitchen again instead of being put away in the storage.  I hope I stick with it this time!

A Warm Day on the Deck

Sean and Aly ejoyed riding their bikes together.

The smile tells it all! It's fun to play on the deck!

Noah was so excited to play!

Miss Saya with her favorite Tinker Bell jacket.

The trees are gorgeous, but they do make a mess and clog up the gutter...

I am behind in posts again and the current heavy rain spell almost convinced me that this March is the most miserable of all, however the pictures I took last week reminded me of a warm day we had.  During winter time our deck literally becomes the dumping ground to fallen leaves and branches from the big trees we have in our yard.  It's wet, messy and slippery, so I avoid even looking at it and surprisingly you kind of forget its existence over time. 

We had a dry warm day in upper 50s one day, so we decided to venture out the forgotten investment we made for the kids.  Jason had just cleaned the deck the day before, so it was debris free.  I had to wipe clean all their riding toys and bikes since it's been a while since we used them.  The kids, especially, Noah was so excited to be on the deck.  He was like a new fawn jumping around the deck enjoying being outside.  The kids in Seattle do suffer for lack of freely playing outside during the rainy season.  I hope this wet weather goes away soon so that we can all enjoy our big deck more often.  I really miss those warm days.

Saya goes potty

Saya was almost potty trained when she turned two and I allowed her to regress since I was too busy to manage the accidents.  I now hope I had stuck with it since she is almost three and still in diapers.   Alyson pretty much trained herself and Sean only did it when he decided to do it.  I am encouraging her, but not pushing her too hard (I have enough stress in my life).   She is showing some signs she is ready to ditch the diaper.  She tells me when she is peeing, about to poop and occasionally tells me she needs to sit on the toilet.  The other night, she even pooped which scared her a bit.  She was so cute perched up on the toilet seat like a big girl, occasionally whining since pooping in the toilet was a new territory.  I forget, a lot of things are still new to her.  She's never ridden a bus or a train, for example.  There are so much to explore and learn.  But first, I hope she takes an interest in wearing underwear and explore the rest later!

Perfect Saturday

A rare shot of Saya holding hands with Daddy!

I love the winter colors.  Soon, the gold will be replaced by bright green!

Aly was running around, having fun.

Saya was starting to get a little tired.

Scooped up by Daddy.

These children are not for sale.

Noah just had the best time playing peek-a-boo with Daddy.

Every weekend, I feel a certain pressure - a pressure to not waste any time when I have more access to Mike.  I am not sure why I do, but I know that sometimes this feeling ruins my chance of having a pleasurable weekend.  I am happy to say that I was quite satisfied with how we spent our weekend, not too busy and not too boring. 

After Sean's speech on Saturday, all of us including Nana met up at Crossroads Mall to have lunch together.  We were able to relax since it's just a food court and the kids were behaving well anyway.  Sean always eats hot dog and fries, and Saya and Alyson normally eat grilled cheese sandwich and fries.  Noah eats whatever he is willing to eat, sometimes a bowl of plain rice or a sandwich brought from home. 

We parted with Nana since she had to wait for a carpet installer at home and we decided to go to Marymoor Park for a family walk.  It was a very windy day, but sunny and warm in 50s.  The park was packed with bikers and people enjoying the sun.   Mike suggested walking on the path at the end of the park since there are less bicyclists.  The wind from Lake Sammaish was rather cold even on a warm day, but it was a beautiful walk.  We spotted some ducks on the creek and kids had fun being out and walking with the entire family.  Saya got tired towards the end, so Daddy carried her.  It was sweet because she was resting her head on his shoulder. 

After our nice walk, we headed out to Redmond Town Center to have ice cream at the kids' favorite ice cream place.  Sean and Aly always order pink lemonade sorbet and Saya the mint ice cream since it's light green.  Surprisingly, Noah even ate the pink lemonade this time.  He always preferred to skip the cold treat.  As the kids were seated and eating their sweets, many passerby looked and smiled at us.  I noticed why they were smiling when I went outside myself to see.  The kids were all lined up facing towards the window and they looked darn cute!  Something about a family with four young children close in age.  I think we resemble Mommy and Daddy ducks with four ducklings. 

We went to the little enclosed play area in the shopping center afterwards and the children had a good time playing.  Mike and I pretended that we are crocodiles and the kids were squealing not to be eaten by us.  Noah loved to be chased and tickled when he was caught.  They rarely get Mommy and Daddy's full attention at the same time, so I am sure they enjoyed it a lot.

A beautiful day, indeed. 

p.s. Ended the day with fresh Mac & Jack's African Amber!