Another Picnic Another Fun

 

I discovered on Tuesday morning that Noah no longer has summer preschool for the remainder of the week.  That meant I will have three squirmy children bouncing around the house from Wednesday on because it is impossible to take all three of them out by myself.  I've tried it numerous times recently and I regretted it every time.  Mr. Noah is the problem (his nickname is now Nora the Explora since he wonders off often and his hair is so long it looks like Dora's).  He is a stroller terrolizer because whenever he sees a stroller, he runs and tries to grab the baby's toys or sippy cup.  I have to always be prepared to sprint to stop such an act and it terrifies the poor baby's mother.  They would shout "watch out!!" and it's really embarrassing.  I would apologize and have a talk with Noah, who looks unfazed.  I am always exhausted afterwards and swear myself I would not do this again any time soon.

So, I took Sean and Saya to the park for a picnic one last time before the summer break ends on Tuesday.  We enjoyed eating on the picnic mats grandma sent us and talked about lots of things.  Saya does not eat well when we are at the park since she is so eager to get moving, but Sean finishes everything without a fuss even the apples he usually fights to eat at home.  We went to the Grass Lawn park in Redmond.  The play equipments are very unique and the slide structure which children must climb on tall nets to get on was a big hit with Sean.  Saya wanted to try it, too, but it was too high for her.  I will miss the sun, nice cool shade of leafy trees, and watching my children running around with complete contentment on their little faces.  I guess I like summer.  Maybe the out of schedule nonsense is worth it after all...

In the quiet of the morning...

Sean said to me tonight as I read him a book about a little mice that worries all the time, "why is she worried in the morning?  I am not worried in the morning."  Mike and I noticed that Sean is very calm and agreeable for the first ten minutes after waking up.  If we are in the right mood (if we have gotten enough sleep that is), we promptly have Sean use the bathroom and get changed in that short window of opportunity.  That is the time when we ask him a question, we get an appropriate answer.  Not the usual "No, NEVER!!" or "No, you are BAD!!"   Maybe he is not fully awake yet or his motor needs a little warm up.  The energetic usual self returns right about the time for breakfast and that's when we shift gears as well and get ready for the exciting day ahead.   We love that boy! 

Campbell Kids of Summer 2012

Our little friend Shota had his third birthday party at a popular park.  He was so cute!

All lined up!

Saya at a farm in Redmond.  We had a picnic with friends.

Sean is a master civic engineer as well.  His LEGO creations are amazing. 

We went to the Larson Lake for a walk.

Saya having fun with a stick.

Saya walks slow and Sean walks fast, so I am in the middle point keeping an eye on both of them!

Saya with her scooter. 

Sean is pretty good at gliding now.

I love this picture of Noah and Daddy.  His arms are getting stronger. I mean, Noah, by the way :-)

My eyes are spinning by the time we leave.  One kid slides down and the other climbs.  It's hard to keep track of where they are in an open space!

I am still alive!

Mike's birthday in June.  Wow, I am really behind!

Last day of school!  Mrs. Fotheringham in the background.

Sean and his classmates with their teacher.

Noah made an amazing progress at his summer preschool!  So proud of him!

Sean went to his first sleep over at Parker's house.  He did well.

The boys - they both had a blue airplane PJ's, how cute!

I ran out of craft ideas so we started paintin rocks in our yard!

In case I still have visitors to my blog, yes I am still alive and have not murdered any of my children (or the husband).  It has been a while since I blogged and I cannot believe I missed the entire July!  That is the very first time since I started this blog four years ago.  It shows how miserable I was during July and I am finally starting to come out of the fog as we prepare to start the school year.  How ironic!

Not everything was bad, for example, Mike and Sean had an opportunity to visit Osaka and see Alyson and my parents.  They did a lot of things like take a trip to Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan and visit Universal Studio Japan.  Alyson was happy to have her Daddy and loud brother with her.  Sean spoke to her in English and she spoke to him in Japanese.  The interesting duo played together and enjoyed each other's company.   It was Sean's first time meeting his cousins (my cousins' children) and aunts and uncles.  He usually takes time to warm up to new people, however knowing they are his family, he let his guard down and were throwing rocks to the river together in no time.  It was nice to hear those stories at the end of the hard day over Facetime. 

So, the bad.  We definitely started our summer on the wrong side of the bed.   Grace had picked up fleas from somewhere in early July and by the end of the battle, I had gotten a total of seventy bites!  Just thinking about them makes my whole body itch.  It is quite horrible.  I became a neurotic compulsive cleaner and I vacuumed the entire house everyday much of July.  I cleaned the entire surface, behind and under the couch, washed everything washable at least three times, and became a white long socks only person.  That meant, I had no downtime until 1 am every night and no summer shorts or even capri although the rest of the world was wearing one with a cute pair of sandals .  With severe bite marks on my legs, looks like I won't be able to wear anything but long pants this year.  We are free of the pest now thanks to Ben, the sprayer, and my obsessive cleaning.  I toned down in frequency but decided the vacuuming and wiping surfaces are very calming to me.  So, I am using them as my stress reliever, as strange as it may sound!  Besides, my kids stay away from me while I have the noisy weapon of mass destruction is on!

The other challenge has been managing Sean's behavior.  He did well in the regular kindergarten class and Mike and I were thrilled.  His teacher was very accommodating to his learning style and we are very thankful for her big picture approach.  The Japan trip was an eye opener for him and he came back with tons of new knowledge and experiences.  Maybe he is still adjusting back to slower pace of things in Bellevue compared to bustling urban life in Osaka (he took n a subway almost every day, for example).   He has been throwing giant tantrums every day and has been extremely oppositional.  We try to be patient with him, but it's not easy.  He would do things like put his foot in the unflushed toilet with a big grin on his face or push Saya while looking at me smiling.  It is really strange and complex.  It's as if he cannot help doing naughty things even though he knows he should not.  The stressful summer is now officially survival summer for us.  I feel tired and out of tricks to keep the fun summer spirit. 

Oh and the power vac sessions I had in July, it caused me to have severe inflammation on my shoulders and I nearly dislocated one.  While the new Chiropractor fix me every other day now, I am trying to collect myself and start fresh again.  I need to take care of myself with regular exercise and more rest.  The summer is fun but stressful every year.  I need to keep myself top notch to care for the little demanding peppers.  I have one more week to go and so much to do.  I will try my best to make a positive memory, at least for the end.  It's not too late!!??

More to come from summer.  Thanks for reading~

Trip to Portland with Jen

I have been extremely busy for the past few weeks, but I finally have time to update my blog.  Where do I begin? I must write about the awesome day trip I went with my friend, Jen, on June 9. It was my first time going somewhere other than restaurants or stores I went without any kids. I felt like I sneaked out of the house as we set off early morning, feeling a little strange to have all these responsibilities off my shoulders for the first time. I am sure Jen felt the same way. We talked and laughed a lot and the drive was pleasant, unlike the nightmares of car rides with grumpy husband and screaming kids!

Unleashed - would be the theme of our visit in Portland. We parked the car by their version of chinatown for $6 (had to ask the attendant if that is really an all day fee) and walked all day long, our busy mouth moving all the time. There was a big parade in downtown Portland with high school marching bands, FHA queens on horses, and wrinkled veterans on open cars. It definitely had a small town charm, which was very fresh coming from a high tech suberb. We decided to try food carts for lunch. We asked one of many police officers out there at the parade where and which food carts are good. He unenthusiastically mumbled, "I don't know, I don't eat there" with a smirk, so I asked him why. He said he doesn't trust them since they might tamper the food since he is a police officer. "It's a different world with the line of business I am in." he said. We laughed about it as we walked, still wanting to try them. My iPhone was more helpful. The food cart lot had at least 25 food carts parked on the parameters of a block sized parking lot in downtown. They had a wide variety and it took us some time to decide what to get. We picked Cuban and sat on the curb and ate as we watched the cheerful marchers. It was delicious!

After lunch, we decided to go to Alphabet Street, where there are cafes and unique stores lined up. We looked at the map and decided to walk since we didn't have a stroller to push or kids to tag along. We were so mobile, it was so liberating. A small thing Moms can get excited about... We walked and looked at shops, had tea at Starbucks and chatted. We once used to people watch and that is something we don't do that often anymore. We talked about people walking by, what they might be doing, analyzed the store displays across the street, wondered what our husbands are doing etc... It was fun! We walked some more and bought some souvenirs for the kids and tried a scoop of pear and blue cheese ice cream from a famous store that was just out of this world!! It was so good we kept talking about how good it was the entire time while eating.

We decided to head back to downtown and again, we decided to walk. We didn't feel tired at all even though we had heavy bags to carry. We felt pretty light and energetic and now realizing how the right combination of moods and circumstances can falsify the actual fatigue level. We visited some shops in Pearl District and even went inside the Powell book store which was the biggest book store I have ever seen. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We picked the Japanese place I went when I visited the city with friends 15 years ago from Idaho. The chirashi with salmon eggs and salmon slices were very good! The sunlight was drawing longer shadows as we walked back to chinatown to Jen's black SUV. We still had three hours to drive home, but we were still in the mood to talk and laugh together! The drive was fun and very quick, just like the morning. I really had a good time and I hope to do it again soon, but with less walking next time. Jen and I were useless the next day. I was so tired with achy back and calf muscles, all I could was just lounge around the house. Mike was an excellent husband for taking care of kids on both Saturday and Sunday! Thank you, Mike for letting me have fun and rest up the next day! I really have the best husband in the world!

Little Things Here and There

Sean was drawing using the pictures from the books as a guide.

June is going by fast.  The look and feel of things are changing, warmer sun, the light feel of t-shirts, more children playing out in the neighborhood...  Long rainy days of the Pacific Northwest is almost over and we waited all autumn, winter and spring for our glorious summer.

The Campbell household usually goes through a tough time about this time of the year.  The changes such as the end of school year, summer vacation, and what's to come after summer is terrifying for Sean.  The things we usually look foward to can seem like a growing dark shadow to a child like him.  When he is anxious, our stress level tenfolds since he is more prone to throw a Godzilla sized tantrum for a tiny conflict.  We are battling this challenge by staying cool and consistent, but it isn't easy.  He is a keen observer and quick learner though, so I hope he finds a soothing way to calm his anxiety.  He is getting better every day now, so I am sure he is on his way!

June is a busy month with big events like Mike's birthday, Father's Day, and graduation from kindergarten.  I will sure to write about those topics later, but I wanted to take a note about my early summer pleasure, Copper River Salmon!  love salmon in general, but ever since Jen introduced me to the very special fish last year, I had been looking forward to eating it and thinking of ways to cook it up perfectly.  I got a sockeye the other day from Costco and pan fried it with olive oil and lemon juice after salting it for half an hour.  The fish itself has great flavor, so you don't need to add a lot of seasoning.  The voted best recipe for Copper River, according to Seattle Times, is to pair it with a cranberry rhubarb wine reduction, but I personally like it simple.  I am looking forward to getting the king salmon next.  That is the crown jewel of Copper River.  They are the kings!

Apart from the salmon, Mike had a mini triathlon on the first weekend of June.  He felt great and placed decently.  He had hoped he swam better, but he kicked butts in bicycle.  Above all, he had fun  competing and I am happy he is getting out there and staying physically fit.  Being off the radar from racing and exercising myself, I have a lot of respect for him for keeping a strict work out schedule even though he is tired from work and family responsibilities. 

I had an exciting outing with Jen last weekend to Portland, but it is getting late and I will write about it next time!

Package from Alyson and Grandma

My mother admits, ever since Alyson went to live with her, the number of packages from her has decreased significantly.  We have only gotten a few packages from Japan since April and even the kids commented how the boxes from grandma are no longer at the door. 

That is why all of us were very excited when we found a well bundled (my Mom literally bandages boxes with a packaging tape well and beyond) familiar looking box appeared at our door in early June.  We always open it right by the door.  The kids cannot wait to open it, so I bring my kitchen scissors to the entrance hall and cut it open while the kids stoop over it eagerly waiting to find out what is inside. 

This time, Saya got a hat which she wore it rest of the day, a few snacks, two sticker sheets for all three kids and beads.  Sean was jealous of Saya's new hat, but he liked the beads and made himself a blue and green bracelet.  Saya felt like she has gotten the best deal of all and quite pleased with herself.  The best thing in the package though was the message Alyson wrote to us.  She wrote a birthday message to Daddy and he took it to work to put it on his desk.  On a message to Saya, she used Japanese stickers to write "I love you, Saya.  from Alyson." and it's on our fridge.  Saya was very happy!

Thanks, Alyson and grandma!  You made our day!!