i'm a starfish:

How do you sleep?  I always take these with a grain of salt, but they're interesting.  I know two "freefallers," and none of that is true about either of them.

Edited to add:  When it's cold, I sleep in the fetal position.  Manny is a fetus, Naomi is a log, and Lucas is a yearner.

chrome:

Angie mentioned switching to Google Chrome, and I decided to do a trial run.  So far, it's way better than IE, which isn't saying much, but it's also surprisingly more reliable for me than Firefox.  It's now my default browser.  I like that I can search in the same bar where I enter the URL, since I often Google sites when I'm too lazy to type out the URL.  The bookmarks took me a minute to figure out, but I put the bookmark bar on permanent display, so now it's all there.  Good stuff.  I've heard that Google tracks users heavily, but I hope I can figure out how to change those settings.  Naomi said she doesn't want to switch because all of her "Favorites" are on "E" (what she calls IE) and that's why she also doesn't like "Fox."  I tried importing them, but they didn't all transfer.

prayer updates:

Re:   My friend who had the baby at 25 weeks.  The baby is growing, but probably will be in the hospital for another 4 weeks.

Re:  My family.  They seem to be doing okay, but things are very unpredictable and tension is high.

naomi's artwork and writing:

Naomi begins her thank-you cards.  She can spell out these words without any help now.  She picked specific colors (and stickers for the envelopes) according to the recipient.

A book Naomi made in Sunday School.  She wrote the "Hi!" and "Hello" in the bubbles and the teacher wrote what she dictated.  Cover:  Naomi and Sally.  Page 1:  I can help Sally get out of the mud.  Page 2:  I can obey God by helping Sally.  The illustrations are obviously her own as well.

Naomi drew this picture of herself and Uncle Chris. 

naomi's 5th birthday party:

DIY parties--so many advantages, and so much fun, but it can be a lot of work.  I was so glad to get rid of a box full of party stuff I accumulated from Naomi's parties, too.  We didn't have to purchase much apart from food and the pinata this year.  The best part of all is really having all Naomi's friends and our friends gather and celebrate with us, and I'm not just saying that because I'm cheesy. The weather was great.

Edited:  I forgot to put out a couple things (like the cheese, ice cream, butterfly tattoos, etc.), but by the time the party starts, you just go with the flow and hope no one will notice.  :) I also forgot to thank Grandma and Grandpa for the Veggie Tales personalized CD they got Naomi.  It was great for the party.  And thanks to everyone who helped watch the kids and clean-up, especially Chris and L.  Thanks!  We couldn't do the butterfly garden release--we let the last butterfly go the week before--they arrived and metamorphosed a little ahead of schedule.

The fajita/taco/burrito/whatever you want table.  Rice, ground beef, fajita pepper mix, flank steak, grilled chicken strips, beans, and all the usual toppings.  We also had corn and flour tortillas.  Worth the $ for us to get the pretty tortilla warmers (not pictured).

He's nacho man!  He's my man!  har har

Naomi and M, a friend from her classes.  My mom bought Naomi the pretty flower dress, and she had it on before I even got out of bed.

L did a great job with the streamers.  <3  I had no time to put on any make-up or do my hair!  I'll have to remember to account for that next time!

The kids decorating their cookies.  We were supposed to let them dry, but they just ate them.

The kids ready to pull the strings to open the pinata.  Manny and L held it up with a broomstick.

Clamouring for candy and toys.  We also did pin the tail on the donkey, hot potato, cookie decorating, and coffee filter flowers.  The kids were pretty occupied with a Disney Princess castle set I got for Naomi from ebay.  I had bingo as a back-up, but we didn't need it.

Naomi ready for cake. 

We had cupcakes with flower picks, too.  Naomi and J go way back.  :)

Naomi opening presents.  She got a lot of Hello Kitty and art stuff.  I think it's okay to tell people what she likes?  But she also really liked the other presents as well.  She got this video game she's been wanting for a while from Uncle Chris.

When the younger kids left, the older ones got to play hot potato and make coffee filter flowers.

Naomi wearing the cap J knitted for her.  "A" had to miss her party for a baseball game, but she got to play with her for the rest of the afternoon.  Kids...where do they get all that energy?

And the grossest part of birthday parties--blowing out the candles on the cake (partly why I offer cupcakes, too). Sorry about the alignment--I don't know how to fix it.

crazy party prep:

DIY parties--they're fun, but the prep is the reason I think I'll only do this every other year.  I enjoyed finally crossing off items on my five-page to-do list for Naomi's party.  I cooked/baked for 13 hours (inc. meals for the day) on Friday, and then 2 1/2 hours the next morning for the final stuff for the fajita/taco/burrito bar and fruit rainbow salad.  Manny heated the tortillas and the nacho sauce.  I made everything else, but that was fine with me.  Manny kept saying there wasn't enough food, but there was soooo much!  I guess he's used to his huge family parties.  I was "only" feeding maybe 30 adults and children.  I wanted to make more of these flower balloons, but only had time make a couple, and used four petals instead of five.  They're not that hard, but they took up too much time. 

It was pretty crazy, managing cooking and the kids.  So, some things had to be skipped.  Then L arrived at 6 pm and helped watch the kids.  Manny arrived at 8:30 p.m. due to work.  L, Chris, and A came the next morning before the party and helped, too.  Thank you all! 

White chocolate cream cheese frosting.  No time to melt the white chocolate chips, so I just threw them in!

Flower- and butterfly-shaped sugar cookie pops ready for the kids to decorate!

Gumdrop flowers and leaves.  Naomi in the peanut gallery told me only one of the flowers was perfectly round.

However, she also made me this picture "because you're working so hard on my party."  It has hearts, xoxo, and "Go! Momom! [sic]" written on it.  Yeah, what more could I ask for?

Favor bags all done.  They had seeds, pots, candy, flower or butterfly lollipop, rings, spiders for the boys, and butterfly bubbles for the girls.

Chopping, shredding, and slicing till my wrists were sore--strawberries, pineapple, bell peppers, red onions, lemons, limes, lettuce, and tomatoes.  The next day, I had three flank steaks to slice and avocados for the guacamole.  Glad I decided to purchase pre-packaged mango slices and cantaloupe pieces.

Naomi's garden cake.  I bought the fence and butterflies and floral wire from a craft store.  Dirt on top was crushed Oreo cookies, grass was shredded coconut (it looks yellow in the photo, but it was light green).  Gumdrop flowers, and I skipped writing her name on it.

For the fajitas.  It's made with teriyaki sauce, cumin, chili powder, and lemon juice.  I broiled three flank steaks with a dry rub.  I also cooked up ground beef with cumin, tomato sauce, salt, and chili powder.  I used Foster Farms grilled chicken strips (microwaveable--yes!  So last-minute!)  Skipped the shrimp altogether, because I bought it raw (what was I thinking?).

Morning of (actually the part had already started)--Naomi's rainbow fruit salad she wanted, pretty much piled together in a hurry. 

Black beans and rice (my in-laws' sopa, but not as good as theirs).  I got some organic guacamole and threw 3 avocados in.  Yep, had to take shortcuts.  Yay for store-bought salsa!

white chocolate cream cheese frosting:

From allrecipes, except I omitted the orange extract because several reviews said it was overpowering.  These are for Naomi's carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that she wanted for her party tomorrow.  She will also have a separate garden cake I'm making just for her--she wanted lemon with chocolate frosting for that one.

2 ounces white chocolate
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
 
1.  In small saucepan, melt white chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature.

2.  In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Mix in heavy cream.

lucas, 21 months old:

Our little hams just decided they wanted a photo.  This was on a hill at a park. 

We ducked into a mall to wait out the pouring rain.  Lucas didn't want my hand, just Naomi's.

Lucas loves his walks.

He loves his vehicles, too.  He actually had all the cars lined up before this, but he had to give them to the new boy.  :)  This was in the nursery tent at the farm.

This past month came and went so quickly.  Lucas didn't grow much physically, but he's speaking more clearly (when he actually does) and is doing pretty well with sharing and listening when I tell him "no."  He demonstrates a lot of understanding and is pretty social, so that's good.  Once in a while, though, if you accidentally bump or step on his perfectly aligned cars, he gets mad and starts throwing things.  That, we have to work on! 

Lately he's been into pouting and lowering his head like he's sad.  Then I ask what's the matter and I see that him trying to hide a smile.  What a character.  When his feelings are hurt, like when I tell him not to touch or throw something, he runs off to another room with his head lowered and hides in a corner, sometimes in a prone position.  It's hard not to smile or laugh.

I'm not used to how rough Lucas is.  He's not too challenging, but he's not too gentle either and definitely not empathetic.  Naomi and I are sporting a number of bruises at the moment.  I'm thankful for the Magic Eraser, because he likes to scribble, scratch, and hammer the walls with whatever objects he can find.  He still pushes that doll stroller of Naomi's, but he makes it more masculine by taking his toy hammer or his cars around instead of her doll. 

His interests haven't changed really, only intensified.  More vehicles, more music, more walking, more scribbling, more studying of objects, more treats, more putting on Naomi's clothes and shoes, more dogs and birds. 

He's eating pretty well, but still not much milk, butter, or cheese.  He likes finger foods that I don't have to cut, like blueberries, grapes, and olives, and he does not like me to cut larger food into smaller pieces in front of him.  I just try to remember to do it before I put it in front of him.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so busy, just so I could take in more of his cuteness.  We're all so happy to have him in our little family.  And we can tell he's happy to be here, too.

lost post--the last recruit:

Again, please don't read if you haven't watched it yet!

Season 2 did the Jin/Sun reunion better:


What was going on with the writing and camera angles this episode? Only on LOST does the pace pick up, people are on the move, but not a lot happens.  That's okay--something big's being set up, and people have formed their alliances.  Jack goes rogue (sounds like 24).  Did anyone else think the Kwons were going to be electrocuted by the pylons?  I think I'm paranoid of those things.

So Claire confirms Smokey did appear as Christian, as we suspected. However, he probably wasn't the "Christian" that appeared on the freighter to Michael (well, maybe) and off the island to Jack, if it's true he can't get off the island.

I highly doubt island Desmond is dead.  Maybe Sayid's coming around and there is redemption for zombies after all.  Sayid confirms Smokey brought him back to life.  Is that the infection/sickness?  So, did Claire really die?  I still remember it was Miles that asked, "Are you sure?" when she said she was okay after the explosion at Othersville.  And Miles knows when people have just died. 

On the other hand, why does Smokey say Jack is with him now?  Double meaning?  Is Jack dead/dying?

In the alt-u, creepy Desmond is creepy, though I get he's trying to help.  A lot of uniting happens in the alt.  Of note is Sun's recognition and complete fear of Locke, Sawyer and Miles arresting Sayid (garden hose was funny to me), Jack finding out Claire's his sister, some Sawyer-Kate talk that I just glossed over, and Jack about to operate on Locke.

Now that they've revealed her name as Ilana Verdansky, I can say that the actress that plays her said in an interview that her last name was Radzinsky--wouldn't that have been interesting?  Maybe not with only four episodes left. 

So Widmore was planning to take Smokey out with bombs?  Would that even hurt a smoke monster?  Or is he trying to destroy Smokey's army in general?

Kate is fickle, but I guess a person's allowed to change her mind.  She goes with Sawyer willingly, then won't leave without Claire.  Unless she did that so Claire wouldn't shoot everyone.

A few repeat phrases like, "The island isn't done with [us/you/him] yet" and "Get off my boat."  (Or am I just imagining someone said that second one before?

Trivial stuff:
Elizabeth, the sailboat named after Libby that she gave Desmond, is the sailboat they use to reach the Hydra island.
A lot of folks on floor 15.

Hiatus:  No new episode next week but supposedly a repeat of Ab Aeterno.  Boo.  But when it resumes, we'll finally learn about Jacob and MiB.

[Edited to add:  Re: Sawyer and Kate's conversation, they made a point of Sawyer saying it would never work--they may flirt and "fate" may keep their paths crossing, but I don't think they're soulmates like the rest.  Also, island Kate was very upset and kept blaming Sawyer for Jack's leaving.  Also, like we theorized, Sawyer didn't turn Kate in so as not to reveal that he had gone to Australia.]

on the farm & in our neighborhood:

On Sunday afternoon, we went to an Earth Day festival at a local organic farm and then some neighbors' kids came over.  Actually, another neighborhood kid was a volunteer at the festival and came by to pick up one of his friends.  Small world. 

The admission was free, but you had to buy tickets for several of the activities.  A woman walking past us just handed us $10 worth of tickets on her way out.  Wow!  We did the petting zoo, planted some watermelon seeds, made a seed picture and a flower bookmark, and did an obstacle course.  Well, Naomi did all that.  We saw goats, a llama, a piglet, bunnies, a turtle, chickens, and ducks.  Lucas was mesmerized.  Naomi was concerned for the animals.  We shared a yummy turkey ham and cheese crepe for lunch.  It became very hot, and I took Lucas into a baby tent to cool down while Manny and Naomi went to do some art projects.  They had all kinds of cars inside the tent, so he was very pleased.  I was impressed that they had cold water available for free at several stations.  Thank you!

Naomi loves the bunnies.

Lucas was following that chicken around when a bunny just jumped into this photo.

Lucas and the goat.

Naomi wanted to pretend to eat that giant cabbage.

Lucas and Naomi, in the striped shirt, with A and K (yeah, it's an ethnic rainbow around here).  Their older siblings came this time as well.

I love it when we go out for a walk. The weather had been very nice the last few days, up till the rain returned again. I know some really enjoy the rain, though. Manny and I like it, too--as long as we're indoors.

P.S.  Thanks again, Grandma and Auntie for the clothes!

chinese food with russians/fish recipe:

We had a belated lunch with T & Y on Saturday.  I made some beef chow fun (fried rice noodles), hong shao yu (braised fish), and aspargus in oyster sauce.  They brought a fruit custard pie.  We had a good time.  The kids were all over Y, the wife.  We're just too boring for our kids.

Hong Shao Yu is often a hit, and it's pretty easy, especially now that the Chinese market will scale, gut, and even fry the fish for you (but you have to re-fry and make the sauce, of course).  I had to do all of it myself in college, and someone who watched me do it said that's why she'd never cook fish.

I cook it the way my mom did, so I don't know if there's another recipe out there that people are more used to.  I'll have to do the chow fun recipe another time; that one would take a while to type up.

Here's my recipe:
1 large tilapia
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup black vinegar (I used rice vinegar this time; you can also use wine instead of vinegar but I don't)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup water to taste, depending on how saucy you want it
julienned ginger  (peel ginger with knife, slice, and then slice again into sticks)
minced scallion (omitted for Manny)
A plate of cornstarch, if frying yourself.

1.  After cleaning the fish, make two deep, angled cuts on both sides.  Dredge in cornstarch. 
2.  Fry the fish in some good oil, maybe 2-3 Tbs, until golden.  (If you brought pre-fried fish, then lower the heat and cook till heated through).
3.  Remove fish. 
4.  Fry up the ginger and scallions in the oil quickly, just a few seconds.
5.  Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar together and pour it on top. 
6.  Add the water and bring to a boil. 
7.  If you fried the fish yourself, put it in, lower the heat, cover, and simmer in the sauce for several minutes till cooked through.  Remove the fish.  Boil up the liquid again to a thickened sauce, about 10 minutes. 
8.  If you didn't fry the fish yourself, just boil the sauce for 10 minutes then pour it over the fish on a platter. 

Lucas was busy chowing down on the noodles, so we left him alone.

naomi is five!/new quotes:

Happy 5th birthday to our little Naomi! She's growing up too fast for me! I happened upon this Japanese music video. It makes me cry, especially the first part.  I can really relate. The song is in Japanese, and the lyrics don't really have much to do with the video, but it's an emotional video.  Even if you don't have kids, it'll make you appreciate your parents/guardians.

Video from YT was removed.  Here's another link to the video.

Naomi is really a big girl now. She's very independent, talkative, perceptive, self-aware, loving, and empathetic. She likes to lead, but still lets others go first. She's been incredibly patient and forgiving with Lucas, who has left her with lots of bite marks and bruises. She's been patient with us, too.  She is also still very energetic but uses more caution and self-control. She's still a free spirit in many ways, but likes to have and know boundaries and rules. She makes friends wherever she goes, and some kids become quite attached to her.

She's still oversensitive to a lot of stimuli--things are too loud, smell too strong, are too bright, etc. I've heard that never leaves a lot of post-colic children. She is so tough, however, when it comes to physical pain. It only really bothers her on an emotional level if someone hurts her and there's no compassion or remorse shown.  She's getting a little better, though, about telling me when she has a boo-boo.

Her favorite colors are red, pink, and green. She likes Hello Kitty and a few other Sanrio characters. Her favorite animals are dogs, cats, and bunnies.  Her favorite shows are Kipper, DragonTales, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Hello Kitty.  She really enjoys her Awana and Sunday School classes, too.  She is pretty bored of ballet now, but loves gymnastics and soccer.  I told her to persevere and stick out ballet to the end of this session, and to leave having done her best.  She's not really a tomboy, as she loves frilly dresses and pretty flowers, but she's not that girly either. 

She is imaginative but pretty logical. She likes doing the same things as before--creative expression, taking pictures, going out, making friends, books, science, and playing computer games. She is an audio learner, meaning she seems to learn better through just listening than hands-on activities, illustrations, or repetition. She remembers so much of what she hears (unfortunately--she remembers a lot of the hurtful things), but not so much when it's set to music, which is unusual. She also learns well through experimentation or trial-and-error, but I can't always let her do that. :) She's a great little helper and a doting big sister.  She's also quite an actress.  She could do skits/plays all day.

Her quotes display her level of understanding pretty well, but I lose track of a lot of them these days.

Me:  Did you bring a jacket?
Manny (joking):  I don't need a jacket.  I'm a man!
N:  What, all men want to be cold?

N:  Papi, what do you think Lucas will be when he grows up?
Manny:  I don't know.  What do you think?
N:  Well, I think he will be a doctor, because he likes to look at things and make sure they're okay.

N:  Papi, when Mami comes downstairs, tell her that you love her and thank her for working so hard to clean the house.  And that even when the house is not clean you still love her.

Me:  I'm sorry, Naomi.  I'll work on being nicer.
N:  Mami, I think if you just believe in yourself more, you'll be nicer to us.

Me:  That needs my approval.
N:  You mean like your x-ray vision?  I mean, super-vision?  Why do they call it supervision if you're not a superhero?  [I'm not?  I guess I'm not.  :)]

Her party is this coming Saturday.  This year there were no declines, so we're stuffing 25 adults and 17 children in our clubhouse, and that's just friends.  Due to Manny's lack of vacation time, we won't be able to do a family party at Grandma's this year.  Maybe we might make it down for Lucas, I don't know.  We don't plan on throwing him a party this year.

For some reason, Lucas loves to look at this picture of her, so here it is.  She says she doesn't put her hands on her hips to be mean, but like a superhero.  :)  But I know it's really because I do it a lot.  :(

happy hollow:

I decided on a whim to take the kids to this recently remodeled park and zoo.  It's not a major zoo with giraffes and elephants, but it's just right for the little ones.  I've been pretty tired lately (no, not pregnant), and it was spring break, but it was a good time for us to get away and enjoy the nice weather.  The kids had such a blast.  I was alone with them and short on time, Naomi had to forego the petting zoo and kiddie rides.  She had a great attitude about it, and we have a lot to look forward to next time with Manny. 

The kids wanted to take this photo and climbed on themselves. 

 

Naomi and the lemur.

One of the monkeys.  We also saw a jaguar, meerkats, tortoise, and macaus.

Naomi made a friend, who took her across the little pond. 

We walked through these rope tunnels in the Redwood Lookout, a huge play structure.

On the Danny the Dragon train ride, which we waited almost an hour in line for (not easy with two small children)--it didn't help that people kept cutting in line.  Lucas did not want to be on my lap.  He's a big boy now! 

 Wizard of Oz display along the train ride.  They upgraded the tunnel, too.  The kids had so much fun, it (almost) made the long wait worth it.

Naomi's favorite part was the Three Little Pigs puppet show.  There weren't seats available for us, and Naomi just went right down to the front and center and sat by herself.  Not shy at all.  I took this one from nearby trees where Lucas and I sat.  He was scared when the big bad wolf growled and blew.

prayer:

My parents and brother are having a sort of crisis/emergency at the moment.  Please pray.  You can email me if you want any more details.  Thank you.

chinese market / nonbelieving friends:

Naomi has spring break from her classes this week, so I took the kids out to 99 Ranch Market, which I still call Ranch 99, because that's what everyone around me used to call it.  The prices are half or even less what Asian items go for at the local supermarket. I just sometimes opt for convenience.  The kids and I had the cheap-o dim sum for lunch.  Naomi really likes it, although I've never made her try things like chicken feet.  On a side note, they're used to eating their vegetables Asian style (they fight over asparagus in oyster sauce), so I don't have to think that much about it--it's still the dairy and bread consumption where Lucas falls very short.  Naomi came around more after she turned four.  I had a coupon for $1.00 off anything at the bakery, and I got Naomi the egg tart she wanted and definitely earned.  This is weird, but according to my mental data, which could easily be flawed, when I don't wear make-up, they know I'm Chinese and not Korean.  Haha.  Anyway, I wish the kids knew more Chinese or Spanish, but I guess there's still time (being realistic here, though). 

Later the neighbors came by again.  This time the older brother wasn't out with his friends, so their dad made him come over, too.  The siblings fight, or at least the older brother does, and Naomi really comes to the little girl's defense (Manny and I are like that, I guess).  Naomi went inside for a minute or two because she couldn't take the fighting, but then she came out and was telling the older brother about peace, which I don't think he liked.  I was farther out with Lucas and a couple other toddlers, so I didn't intervene but heard everything.  I told Naomi later that I think she did the right thing speaking up, but because they aren't Christian, they probably won't heed what the bible says unless they follow Jesus first.  Not that they think it's right to fight, or that we never fight ourselves, but more that their motivation to not fight is probably not the same as ours.  I don't know how their parents feel about our influence, but we just try to be beyond reproach and treat them with love and respect.

Naomi having you tiao, which is like an unsweetened (and overly greasy) Chinese donut/churro. 

Lucas snacking on Shrimp chips as well.

lasagna:

Naomi didn't have Awana last night, so we had M over for lasagna, Caesar salad, and garlic bread.  I made the hearty meat lasagna from The New Best Recipe cookbook, which is an ultimate cookbook (except I have to ignore all the Asian recipes--haha).  It's a very good recipe.  I added a couple teaspoons of brown cane sugar and had to omit the onion.  Sometimes I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, depending on what's on sale.  Just for our family's tastes, I would probably replace the diced tomatoes with crushed ones next time, replace the fresh basil with fresh oregano, and also soak the lasagna noodles in hot water for a little bit. 

lost post--everybody loves hugo:

Have someone coming over tonight, so this is going to be pretty choppy.

Someone pointed out that Dr. Chang, whom we knew worked at the Natural History Museum from Sawyer's ep, should've looked a lot older.  Truth be told, I know quite a few Asians around 70 who don't look it at all, closer to 50, really.  So who knows if this was intentional or if it's just that yellow don't mellow.  [Edit:  His hair does appear to have gray, although it might be the lighting]  We see Hurley's mom; no Cheech, though.

In the alternate timeline, at the mental hospital, I think I saw the "numbers" guy--would've been cool if he mentioned the numbers again--playing Connect Four again?  [Edit:  Someone confirmed that the numbers guy, was in fact not there in this scene--maybe why Hurley is not "unlucky" in the alt]  We see the island photo in the doctor's office, and he's the same (Hurley's?) doctor from before, and the wall hangings inside are mostly the same.

The young boy is the same actor as the one who played the little blond boy, but now he's a brunette and looking older--Desmond sees him, and Sawyer saw him (or the other one) last time, but not Richard.  Why?  Are they Jacob reborn and growing fast, or are the Jacob and MiB as kids, or just some other kids in charge?

The whispers were revealed to be voices of the dead who are stuck like ghosts due to what they've done.  I didn't like the explanation, but I guess it's one way of doing it.  Would've been cool if Michael, Eko, and others showed up that second time and not just Michael, but I guess Hurley only talks to one at a time.

Ilana blowing up was a semi-surprise, but I was hoping she would've died more heroically, maybe while actually protecting the candidates.  All the time they invested in her feels a bit wasted to me, not to mention how she trained her whole life for it, and now she's just another pawn.  Bye-bye, Ilana.  You got Arzted.

Desmond told Ben in the alt-u very readily that his son's name is Charlie.  Premonition?  Just from hanging out with a Charlie and working for a Charles?  New awareness?  And btw, I was glad to see a teacher looking out for the kids.  Creepy Desmond.

Why did he run over Locke?  I don't think it was to give him a near-death experience, but maybe.  I thought he wanted to get rid of Locke--maybe he never knows that Smokey on the island is not really Locke.  There are others like Daniel or Libby who don't have to face death to see their love.

Ben, Miles, and Richard separate from the pack because they have different ideas about what they should do.  Sun, Lapidus, Jack, and Hurley go see Locke.  Now Locke has all the candidates together, or does he?  Depends on if it's Jin or Sun.

The new Jack is more likeable or respectable--he comes to terms with reality and takes responsibility for his actions and his decisions as a leader.  He shows Hurley that he trusts him, similar to how Hurley followed him way back when (but regretted it later).

Hurley appears to take Jacob's ashes from Ilana's things.  Ilana has a book by Fiodor Dostoyevsky called Zapiski iz podpolya (Записки из подполья); English translation: Notes from Underground.  Interesting quote from Wiki:

"War is described as people's rebellion against the assumption that everything needs to happen for a purpose, because humans do things without purpose, and this is what determines human history."

Numbers:  Connect Four, 42 is Desmond's order number

I do not recall Hurley looking at his reflection like our other candidates. 

Libby's back. And the actress originally declined, so good for her. But I do feel like they've spent so much time on these alternate realities, and I wish the direction had been to just go back and reveal things to us. I know the producers said she was in the mental hospital originally because her husband passed, but there's so much more they could have done with all the actors returning to reveal backstories. I don't know. I get it, but I wish, for example, the whispers were revealed as something more complex, and we could've seen the backstory there.  Or why/how Hurley sees the ghosts or that pterodactyl/Hurley bird.  They've answered things, but many of them with just a quick blurt rather than a full reveal.  I guess they've just been focusing on the last few episodes.  But at least things are moving along.  But, Desmond, don't run over any more people in wheelchairs!

cec:

We went to CEC today with A and son TJ.  It's fun now with Lucas and TJ being toddlers and able to ride rides.  TJ could go on the kiddie carousel all day, and Lucas likes the car rides the best.  :)  Naomi of course made new friends and had a blast. 

Naomi and Lucas playing air hockey.  Lucas was alright for his first time, and Naomi's really good at it.

Naomi in the hamster wheel thing.  She got up to 107 rpm.

The kids on the truck ride.

Lucas' favorite ride--it played "Wheels on the Bus."