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!!  

Memorial Day Weekend

Ok, this is my third post writing about what we did on this Memorial Day weekend.  We had an excellent three day weekend, fun and super productive.  A long weekend can be a challenge sometimes because someone gets bored (mostly Mike or Sean) and cranky.  I implemented a system this weekend to see if it works to avoid the "I-don't-know-what-to do-with myself" syndrome. 

At night, I sent Mike a schedule I created for the next day.  Below is the actual email I sent to Mike last night.

8:45 am Noah and possibly other kids leave for Noah's Therapy
9:50 am Noah Ends Therapy. If I take all kids I will take them to the park or Y afterwards.
10:30 am Mike leaves with Jan to Tukwila. Moor Furniture or Ikea. There is Futon Only as well.
12:30 pm Kids and I eat lunch at home. Mike and Jan eat lunch at Tukwila. There is a cafe at Ikea if you are already there.
2:30 pm Mike and Jan come back.
3:00 pm Mike takes training wheels off Sean's Bike and teach Sean how to ride in the driveway.
4:30 pm everyone comes home and wash hands and Kimi makes dinner.
5:30 pm dinner
6:30 pm Sean bath
7:30 pm kids sleep

I did a similar thing on Saturday night as well and things got done and we were all happy.  Amazing a little thing can do in life. 

What we accomplished weekend, we had a guy to clean up the weeds in the backyard, vacuumed upstairs and downstairs, had a two-hour-date with Mike thanks to Jan, Mike took Jan to buy bookcases and she finally bought them (yay!), had a nice girl time with my girl friends, Sean took his training wheels off, shopped at Trader Joe's and bought the necessities, did Home Depot and finally bought the veggie plants, Mike took his bike to Gerk's to get his bike chain fixed and tuned-up, Mike also was able to have a couple of hours of me time shopping at REI, and I fixed a nice Memorial Day dinner and celebrated with Jan. 
Phew, I would say that was a very good weekend. 

Oh and I almost forgot, someone moved out from Mommy's room last night.  My little Saya's crib sat empty in my room as she snoozed in Alyson's bed in Sean's room.  She did fine last night and didn't wake up until 7:00 am.  I was squirmy in my bed as I tried to settle in for the night.  It wasn't the same without the baby snoring away next to me.  I was happy to finally have a chance to sleep through the night, the first time ever since she was born three years ago.  However, Noah woke up at 4:00 am and was banging on the wall.  Also, Sean woke me up at 5:30 am as he burst into my room smiling "I didn't wake up Saya!"  We told him not to wake her up if he ever wakes up earlier than her.  I guess I may not get the rest I need unless I go to bed at 9:30 pm everyday!  It's already 10:30 pm and I guess I should stop babbling about how I am deprived of sleep...

Mommy Friends' Potluck Part II

We had a potluck party at my hilarious friend, Hanae's house today with my very funny friends.  It was our second time gathering and we all felt a little more relaxed and the conversation flew like white rapids, in a fun way of course!  I am thankful for all my friends because they are my support system here.  Living overseas for a long time, I forget how much fun it is to chat with girl friends in Japanese.  We had a lot of fun and I feel less tension on my chest!  Thanks, Hanae-chan for hosting!

Sean Says Good Bye to Traning Wheels!

On this Memorial Day, Sean rode his bike first time without the training wheels.  It took him only about 40 minutes to master the art of riding a bike like a big boy.  He was so excited and rode his bike until dinner (about two and half hours straight).  He says he is going to ride his bike to school with Dad tomorrow.  We are so proud of him for learning to ride so quickly.  He only had one big fall and he cried, but he got right up and kept on riding.  His knees are almost touching the handles and he may be ready for the next size up.  He sure is growing up fast.  It reminded me of how my Dad taught me to ride when I was about his age.  I don't remember it being fun, but he had lots of smiles on his face today.  I wonder how he is going to remember this one important day in his childhood memory.  

Big Brother, Little Sister

Sean, play with me!!  Sean was helping me make dinner and Saya wanted his attentio!

Saya, I am cooking!

The eldest and the youngest hadn't been much of playmates to each other when Aly was here.  Sean used to think of Saya as a trouble maker since she knocks down his lego creations or wouldn't buy his ideas.  Saya used to think of Sean as a scary big brother and she used to close her eyes and clinge when Sean casually approached her.  But now that the family dynamic has changed, I see them interact and play together positively.  The cutest thing they do is that they hold hands while walking back from school.  Saya sometimes squeezes Sean's hand too hard and he asks her to be more gentle.  He walks slowly so that Saya is not rushed and I am seeing more of his gentle side coming out.  He would suggest a play at home that Saya might enjoy, he would forgive her by saying "that's ok Saya, I am not mad," when she accidentally disturbs something of his.  Sean is a great kid when he is regulated and seeing Saya in brotherly eye is helping him push his impulsive, deregulated self aside.  Saya now loves to play with her big brother and follows him around.