duran duran:

I went to a Duran Duran concert on a ladies' night out with a couple gals.  It was fun and a welcome break from the norm.  They are a great live band, and their latest album is pretty good, but it hardly gets any airplay.  Plus, people download illegally while putting money towards artists who are just products of good marketing rather than great talent...but enough about that.  Now I wouldn't say there's much glory to God in their music, but it's like watching a movie.  It was certainly short enough, as the city has a curfew and will pull the plug on a concert, so the performers have to keep it within a certain timeframe.  I enjoyed our chats--it's fun to talk with people without kids sometimes so that we're not only discussing parenting (although we did that, too, since they were gracious enough to care about my everyday life).

With M and R before the concert.

Nice venue in the canyon.

Me and M.

The band opening with "Before the Rain."  The setlist was a good mix of old and new.

We headed out early to beat the traffic, could still hear the encore, and got this nice view.

car show, greek food:

We went to a free car show on Saturday and then enjoyed lunch at a Greek restaurant I used to frequent with my coworkers.  I hadn't been to it since I quit my old job.  Nice surprise from Manny.  The kids loved the place, too.  

The first car we saw was a real beauty, and the owner/driver left when we did, so we got to see it in motion.

Old school engine in a GTO.

The kids in one of the police cars.

The other police car.

Lucas pretending to drive the police car.  It had the D.A.R.E. logo on the seats.  I still remember that from the Reagan era.

I believe this is a Ford Model A, over 80 years old.

Enjoying fresh pita bread in the outdoor patio at the Greek cafe.  It was a nice day before the rain.

snaps from the week:

It was a fairly busy week, but we had a lot of fun!  On Friday in particular, we had to do school in the morning and try to finish in time to visit V & K for lunch, then we went out for yogurt, headed home for a potty break, and were out again for a playdate.  Wasn't enough for Naomi, so she blew up the wading pool and filled it with water, put out some chairs and a ball, and threw herself a beach party.  She also beat a video game on the easy level.  

All bundled up, even though it was 96° outside!

Lucas finding acorns on our little nature walk while Naomi was in class.  We met a lady at the park.

Naomi chose this bento lunch this week.  I think it's supposed to be a bear!

At K's new house for a playdate and lunch.  Such a pleasant family!

Lucas enjoying his hummus.

Naomi and M, little sister of her friend from ice skating class.

alignment:

In the sermon Sunday, our pastor preached on Acts and talked about how Christians go about this mission God has given us.  It's tricky finding the balance between His part and ours.  I hadn't given much thought before to how Paul tried to go to Rome many times, but was only finally brought there when he was arrested.  So he brought the gospel under house arrest and guard.  There have been a number of changes I've made to my schedule in the past couple months, and I think I "feel" more than ever aligned with what God wants of my life rather than just getting through my (or others') to-do lists.  I've left certain things to make myself more available.  This week I've had two opportunities to meet women and share my life and good news with them, and they seemed like random meetings.  But nothing is random with the Lord, and everything is so timely.  Wherever you are, it is the place that God wants you to be, to be a light for Him.  As a homeschooling stay-at-home mom, I think I actually have more socialization than I did in the working world.  You just can't know what to expect, only that God will be faithful to His promises.

speech pathology test:

We went to Lucas's speech evaluation appointment at 8:30 this morning.  Lucas wouldn't say anything for the first few minutes, but Naomi warmed him up to it.  He couldn't identify a photo of a corded phone or a watch, since he hasn't really ever seen either, but he was able to repeat the word if the instructor said it.  We won't get the final results until the next meeting with a third party (not sure what that means, but she said it was regulation).  However, the instructor/pathologist said that he was still within range for normal development.  His language is fine, as he speaks in sentences regularly, but his articulation off.  However, because he can still make the correct sounds, just sometimes in the wrong words or at the wrong places in the word, her initial conclusion is that he does not have a physical issue or disorder.  Sometimes he'd answer the wrong question, and I don't know how she evaluated that.  Like she showed him five stars and asked how many there were, and he said, "A lot!"  He can count to five now, but he answered what he thought.  Same with her asking, "What is the boy wearing?"  He replied, "green," but she was looking for "coat" or "jacket."  It was a green coat, and I don't think she gave any credit for it.  Likewise with his answering "clock" for the watches because that's what he knows.  It was an interesting test.  The other conclusion she drew was that he should go to preschool.  I'm looking into it.  A co-op like the one Naomi attended would be best, but I'm not sure how they'd address her presence.

piano and more:

Naomi began her group piano/keyboard class this week through the city.  She's one of the smallest in the class, but I thought she'd have fun just getting an introduction to music.  She enjoyed the first class and the group setting.  As usual, I ran around at a neighboring park with Lucas for almost an hour while she was in class.  Naomi also was back in the ISP classes, more than ready to go.  Even though the three girls in her grade level from last year moved away or into school, a couple new girls joined, so she's pretty happy about that.  I made her a bento lunch, and the teacher had everyone come see it.  I felt a little self-conscious about that, but Naomi said she never bragged or anything about it, and the kids were nice to her, so that was good to hear.  Naomi said something less than kind to another boy who was doing a presentation about himself, and I was disappointed in her but glad she confessed to me, especially because I might not have found out otherwise.

Naomi's first keyboarding class.

Climbing up and down these steps with him for half an hour was quite a workout.

Little keikis from one of the cookbooks a friend gave me.

Naomi off to school, holding her lunchbox flat so as not to scatter her bento contents (her idea).

Papel cortado (from papel picado, which is Mexican but supposedly has Chinese origins).  September is our Mexican/Chinese heritage celebration month.

naomi on ice:

Naomi had her very first ice skating lesson this week.  She was very brave out there, maybe too brave.  She didn't mind falling, and she cracked up every time she did.  I minded, though.  She managed to keep her head up and never hit the ice, but I still think we're bringing a helmet next time.  I didn't know that you're supposed to get skates a size smaller than your regular shoe size, and she seemed to do a little better after we changed skates.  She had half an hour of class and half an hour of free skate.  During the free skate, they turned on the disco lights.  It was so dark, and the kids fell continuously.  Overall, she had a lot of fun, and Lucas and I had fun watching her.

Ready to go!

Learning to get up.

Off she goes!

Making friends.

part 4 of 4--family time and t's birthday party:

The last time Lucas saw his grandparents, he wasn't saying much at all.  This time, we couldn't get him to stop.  When Grandpa wanted to play with him, he jokingly said, "I'm watching something!"  Another time, Grandma was drawing a card for Naomi, and Lucas said, "What's that say, Grandma?"  Grandma replied that it said she loved Naomi.  He said, "What about me?"  So she added his name and he was happy.  

We stayed an extra day to go to T's sixth birthday party at My Gym.  When the guests first arrived, Lucas hid in the corner.  Then I told him I'd take him in, and he said, "Mommy, I'm happy!"  So he played in the ball pit.  A lot.  The party was loads of fun, and at some point the kids were throwing balls at each other, so Lucas came out of the ball pit to join in.  :)  It's definitely a step up.

Lucas loves to build and stack now.  Here he is playing Jenga the Lucas way.

Picking mangos at Great-Aunt Quinka's.

With Quinka.

The boys hopping into Dolly's lap.  Lucas is very affectionate with her.

Lucas in the ball pit at My Gym.

Naomi trying the monkey bars.

The kids with the instructor on the mat.  She was really good.

Naomi and the birthday boy snoring loudly.

Pizza time!

Cheese!

Naomi's first time on a zipline.

part 3--l.a. county fair:

We went to the L.A. Fair last Thursday with Manny's parents.  It was in the mid-90's for the first four hours (opened at noon), but we managed.  We went through most of the exhibits and then went to the kids' section once it cooled off a little.  Remember that song from Charlotte's Web (the animated movie) that goes, "A fair is a veritable smorgasbord..."?  It kept running through my head as I watched Naomi down a Pink's hot dog, popcorn, lemonade, red velvet cupcake, frozen banana, shave ice, dippin dots, pulled pork sandwich, fries, candy apple, and Icee.  The grandparents love to see her enjoy her food.  She did not throw up, surprisingly.  Also surprising was Lucas happily getting on a few rides.  His favorite was the new monster truck ride.  Another ride was throwing him around too much, so we had to stop it.  Naomi continued on, but she turned her head during a hard drop and ended up with a bloody tooth.  Didn't stop her from eating that candy apple, though.  There wasn't much of a crowd, and thus not much of a wait.  Manny did most of the rides with the kids this time, and it was a tight squeeze.  Naomi had to share the tickets with Lucas this time, and we had to say no to her most of the day for things she'd wanted to buy, but she got a blow-up pink unicorn at the end of the night, which made her very happy.  Lucas and Naomi also won stuffed dolphins in a fishing game.  Lucas fell asleep during the last leg, through the dinosaur exhibit, home show, and Mexican band.  We got to see some fireworks from the parking lot as we left.  Thanks to my mother and father in-law for the fun day!

Naomi learning about corn grinding on the farm.

Lucas with his mini M&M cupcake.

Rainbow shave ice.  Lucas said he'd only share his with Grandpa and Grandma.

Lucas and Grandpa.

Naomi and Grandpa.

Lucas and me on the carousel.  He got enough confidence to want to ride the horse the second time, but we decided to conserve the tickets.

Lucas on his first go on the monster trucks.

Naomi spinning around and around on the hot air balloon ride.

Lucas and Naomi driving the train.

Lucas driving in the front on the second drive.

Another failed attempt at a photo of me with the kids.

A quarter well spent.  :).

Lucas is out!  He doesn't actually have all those boo-boos.  He just got licked or bumped by the dogs and wanted band-aids.