happy kids day:

We went to the Kids Day celebration at the park again this year.  It's mainly a Taiwanese thing, but they celebrate a mix of local cultures, including having a Mexican ballet group perform.  Once I see the crowds and hear people speaking Chinese, I slip into Chinese mode again.  This was none more apparent than when I was in the Whole Foods booth line.  They only had a few tote bags left, and we were next in line to receive one.  However, the people (older Chinese ladies) in the back started asking the attendant to pass the clipboard and bag back to them.  Chinese are notorious for clamoring and stepping over each other for free stuff.  Just go to a Costco or seafood buffet and see.  Anyway, even though we are unfortunately the type to let people cut in front of us, we felt a sense of justice as bag after bag was being taken.  I stretched out my hand and stopped the rep from handing the bag to those behind us.  I know it's just a bag (a nice one), but it's the principle.  After so many years of seeing other kids cut in front of my kids or push them down, I've started teaching them to speak up when it is appropriate.  It happened to us again at the bungee line.  The attendant took our tickets, and then a few people decided to form their own line, and two people went ahead of us before we spoke up to the attendant.  I definitely don't mind letting other people go first, but when they cheat or feel entitled, then I don't think it's right to reward that.

The day was mostly for Naomi and me, since Lucas didn't really want to do anything, and Isaac couldn't.  I originally proposed taking Naomi alone, but Manny felt it better if we all stuck together as a family.  But he'd been up a lot with Lucas and has been working late nights again, so I felt like we were just dragging the boys everywhere.  Sometimes I don't understand why we all have to stick together when we can have a more productive or enjoyable time apart.  I guess I wasn't raised that way, and my friends weren't like that, so I didn't give it much thought before.  However, I have learned over time the value in being a family unit staying together when we can.  There's a place for one-on-one time with the kids, but being all together is an expression of love and solidarity.  It's always good to remember that the rulebook you grew up with isn't going to be the same rulebook you use now.  The players have changed, the times have changed, and you have a new book to write together.

The highlight of the day was Naomi getting to do the bungee sling jump.  She was willing to pay for it with her own money, and Manny said yes.  So she jumped to her heart's content and did some flips (see vid below--I know vertical videos are a no-no, but it made sense in this case).  Good times!

Naomi won a Garfield pin by hitting it with this chopstick gun.

Naomi won a bag of school supplies at the WF wheel.

Isaac coloring a tile.  At first I gave him a useless pen just to avoid the permanent markers, but I decided to let him have his fun.

He loves to draw!

Naomi's tile.

Once-in-a-lifetime bungee experience.

So much fun!

Naomi doing flips.  I also updated the swimming video in the last post.

summer's almost over (misc megapost):

Naomi said this was such a good summer.  I think so, too.  Even though water play was limited due to the severe drought, we didn't miss it too much.  Pools were still open.  I'm glad the kids had so many positive memories and experiences, even though summer became far busier than I'd planned or expected.  I didn't even get my usual break from teaching the kids, but I think it paid off for Lucas in particular.  Both our residential and ISP school districts started classes on Monday.  We actually started our new year of homeschool on Monday as well, and I think it was our best school week ever.  

Before that, we had two weeks of swim lessons at a local swim club.  It was Lucas' (Lucas's?) first year with the club and Naomi's second.  She's doing pretty well.  They assessed her at a higher level than I did.  Lucas is still a novice, but much more confident in the water now, so they graduated him to the next level for next year.  It was hard the first two days when Isaac wanted to swim.  We're not actual members of the club, so Isaac couldn't go in the kiddie pool.  But by the third day he got the message and held out his hand in a "stop" gesture at the pool, which means "no touching" for us.  The day after we were done with lessons, our friend A. invited us back to swim at her complex pool, so Isaac was so thrilled.  We got to meet another family from her church.  Their church is actually led by my old college friend and bible study leader.  Small world.

VBS came to a fun close with a water play day (what about the drought?).  Naomi's swimsuit faded.  Not sure if something was in that water?  She really enjoyed VBS and made a new friend each week and helped welcome new people or helped her friends memorize their verses.  She also won a pair of sunglasses at the raffle.  Still winning, that one!  

The kids also started helping me a lot more with dinner this summer.  I'm allowing them to use more kitchen appliances and utensils (still no heavy things, raw eggs, or sharp knives).  One night I was just exhausted from the day, and the kids just asked to help.  With Lucas grating all the cheese and Naomi baking banana muffins, I felt like a new person.  The littlest help can be a big relief for me.  A friend of mine even changed Isaac's diaper for me after I bemoaned the handling of human excrement as the hardest part of the early years for me.  Just one diaper, and I am forever grateful.  It's even harder for Manny, who really will not touch a diaper unless he absolutely has to, and even then not all the time.  Haha.  I'm getting more used to the diaper thing after three kids and working often in the church nursery, but potty training is still my least favorite thing (until it's over, then woo-hoo!).

Lucas has to go to reading class twice a week for half an hour in the evenings.  It's not enough time for me to do errands with the other two, and too much time to sit in the car.  At first it was hard because Isaac would cry the whole time.  But this week I decided to turn Isaac's seat around and let him walk (with a harness), and he seems to be out of his misery, or at least he enjoys the novelty.

We tried a last summer jaunt to G.reat America last weekend, and I guess that was a bad idea.  The traffic was so bad, and we just decided to turn back.  You probably had a traffic trifecta:  the weekend before school starts, the weekend of the first Niners home game, and all those folks looking for something to do the day before.  So, we decided to swim at our complex pool.  Bad idea, too.  I won't get into what happened, but the day went downhill from there.  What can you do but put your hope in God and move on?

The next day we took a friend out to lunch for his birthday after church.  He picked Chili's, so we got the wait staff to sing to him.  Manny and I aren't the type who like to be serenaded, but he enjoyed it.  He doesn't eat sweets much, though, so Naomi got a free ice cream out of it.  :)  

ETA:  I forgot momentarily because I have no photos, but Naomi got her yellow/white belt in aikido.  Good job!  More importantly, she's learned a few good self-defense techniques.

Naomi doing laps.

Last day at VBS--they pulled out the big guns (slides).

The kids helping me grate cheese, ball melons, and bake muffins.

Naomi's banana mini-muffins were perfect.

Lucas was so proud of his contribution to our chicken enchiladas.

Lucas watching breadmakers at lunch.

Naomi and Lucas' respective groups at swim class.

Isaac is a determined walker like his brother and quite an explorer like his sister.

Having fun at our friend A's pool.

Took the kids out to eat by myself (almost never happens).

Happy birthday, B!  Good times.

go fly a kite...by the lake:

After our nice canoe ride, Manny told the kids we could go to another lake (Shoreline) for a walk and some kite-flying.  He also played catch with Lucas, who receive a baseball mitt for his birthday (but his hands didn't quite fit it yet).  I wasn't ecstatic about chasing Isaac around in the heat, but otherwise it was a really nice afternoon.

Crossing the bridge.  Oops, fingers in the way.  It was really bright, and I couldn't see what I was photographing.

In front of historic Rengstorff House.

Having lunch at the Lakeside Cafe.

Lakeshore stroll.

There was a free concert going on behind her.

The boys in blue crossing the bridge.

Naomi finally gets to fly her Hello Kitty kite!  Sky's (or string's) the limit!

Hard to make him out, but at the center is a guy who attached a sail-type kite to himself and rode around on a cart.  What would you call that?  Kitesurfing?  Kitedriving?

Up, up, and away!

Manny and Lucas playing catch with Isaac looking on.  Didn't feel like walking over for a closer shot.

global and local communties:

We had a big Saturday a couple of weekends ago.  It would have been even bigger and better if we'd been able to visit our friend at his Jazz Fest booth, but we weren't aware we needed tickets.  I attended a benefit luncheon/concert to help fund a documentary to help the plight of orphans in Mexico.  It will deal with issues from hunger to child trafficking.  The filmmaker is our church's media arts director.  He returned from a trip there with a conviction to help the orphans.  I hadn't planned on going until I heard from them directly.  If you'd be interested in helping fund it, the indiegogo page has more info.  I wish Manny could have been there, but it wasn't really an event for the little ones, so he volunteered to stay home.  I did have a good time, though.  

After I got back, Isaac took a nap (so much revolves around preserving that afternoon nap right now--you parents understand).  I made dinner and then we went to a community group for dessert and a presentation regarding our community center.  It may be surprising that our church of about 200-300, many of whom are not well-off at all, has this facility with hundreds of people from the neighborhood coming and going each week.  We have several partnerships with community organizations through it as well.  We have to trust that the money will come in to pay off the bonds and sustain it.  Some individuals and families have moved away just due to the cost of living in our area.  

The hosts removed the dining table and set up a play area for the kids in their mobile home, whereby Naomi decided to create a fort with different rooms for different purposes.  The younger kids enjoyed that.  Isaac always thinks he's in on it, which is cute until he finds out he's not.  I was very thankful the kids hung in there.  Isaac ate his weight in champagne grapes--they were still talking about that this weekend!  After two hours, though, the kids started coming into our area to play hide-the-ball-and-seek and spin-the-chair, so I think that was our cue to end it.  But I'm really glad we went to hear more about just how we're connecting with our surrounding area.  October is also our missions-focus month, and I'm thankful that our church is so dedicated to supporting missionaries around the world.

On a related note, we just launched the planning phase of our bookshelf project with a local elementary school.  The elementary school has a large number of students with language, financial, or other educational barriers.  I was once one of those kids, and so this outreach is near-and-dear to my heart.  It's still out of my comfort zone, though.  I think we had about a hundred kids last year.  The program is a partnership with a non-profit organization with whom we also partner for our community center programs.  The staff are Christian, but for various reasons it's not called "faith-based."  The school and participants know our church co-sponsors the event, and we put out some flyers, but our goal is really to just love these families and connect with them.  I don't remember any churches connecting with my schools until college.

Hopefully it'll be easier this year with experience and some help.  I found someone who attends the other service to be a co-coordinator.  Last year, I'd just had a baby who needed round-the-clock care, and I had never participated in the event before.  I was also told I was just going to make a few sign-up sheets and connect some people, and it was way more involved than that!  Some of that was by my own doing--I did the work based on some of my corporate experience, and their expectations weren't nearly as high.  Haha.  It's challenging having to bring all three kids to the meetings and trying to find time to plan, but at the same time, it stretches and grows my faith, allows me to use some skills and gifts, and sets an example for the kids of rolling up our sleeves and getting involved.  This month we don't have Naomi's piano class, and next month we're taking a month off Lucas' reading class.  This is a project that requires me to focus my time and energy for a couple of months, and with school just starting and other things, I have to be careful not to overdo it, as a friend reminded me.  

Benefit luncheon set-up.

Great concert by our worship pastor, especially enjoyed his rendition of "I Can See Clearly Now" and "Listen to Our Hearts."

We had chips and guac/salsa, melon slices, bean and tostadas, roasted chicken, nopales, rice, and grilled veggies.  

At the community group.  Spin the baby and big brother.

first canoe ride:

Many of our children's memories have been made possible by the thoughtfulness and kindness of others.  I often feel an unworthy recipient, because I cannot return the favor.  I'm not really even that great of a friend or relative.  Maybe that speaks volumes about their love for us.  When a friend invited us to go canoeing at an exclusive lake (for city residents and residents' guests only), I felt touched and honored.

I love ocean waves, but there is also just something about the serenity of the still waters of a lake.  The occasional calls of waterfowl and the gentle winds brushing tall grasses remind me of some happy moments from my childhood.  Our mobile home was near the woods, and I'd run around back there and feel peace and excitement all at once.  I'm thankful we live in an area with easy access to nature, although nowadays I would never let my young kids explore the wilderness alone.  

Our children have never been in a canoe.  The family that invited us was gracious with our first-timers, but I'm sure it was a little tiring for their kids to do most of the paddling and steering.  But everyone enjoyed it, especially Lucas.  He was hoping we'd get to canoe longer.  He only went out twice and didn't get to go out to the small island like the other kids (I didn't want him to go out too far, or for the other boys to have to paddle so much).  We arrived an hour after they did, so we had about an hour before getting ready for lunch at the picnic area and meadow.  

At the meadow, Isaac was free to roam around.  I was a little nervous as he showed no signs of stopping, but Manny said to just let him go for a while.  He walked so far and for so long he actually had a blister on his foot.  Lucas was with him, trying unsuccessfully to get him to turn around.  When they reached the edge, Manny went to go get them.  Naomi enjoyed playing in the shade with our friend's children, especially the daughter.  I was most thrilled to see Lucas playing ball with the boys and their dad.  He went over and joined on his own, which is a big step for him socially.  

Over lunch, Manny and I chatted with the girls' grandmother, whom we've known since before we were married.  Much has changed, but it's good that we've kept in touch.  While having a conversation, I couldn't whip out my phone to take a photo of the boys walking or playing ball.  But I have the memories.  I don't like to have my phone out when in a serious conversation unless I'm getting urgent calls or texts.  I can multitask, but it can wait.  I love my tech gadgets as much as the next person, but we don't need it when we're enjoying nature.  It's time away from the noise that comes with technology, and we need that where we live.

The drive home was terrible.  We went on a windy path, and I think everyone got a little carsick.  I got so sick I threw up.  Isaac was crying a lot.  The next morning he was throwing up as well.  I thought he might still be carsick, but then he had a stomach bug for the next few days and lost visible weight (and he's skinny to begin with).  He's doing much better now and appears to have gained some weight back.  I also caught some stomach bug, perhaps from Isaac, and had to cancel a few things, but I'm better now as well.

C and Naomi watching

Manny with the boys. staying cool in the shade.

I. taking Lucas out for a ride.

Off they go!

Naomi and C. have a turn together.

Lucas and N. heading out for one last ride.

free swim:

Another summer day, another swim date.  This time at J's house.  Everyone had someone his or her age to play with, even me.  I could not swim, though, and thankfully only women were there that day so they could understand why.  In total, five families came, not including the hostess.

Lucas jumps right in.

Isaac in the kiddie pool.

Naomi enjoying the inner tube.

Isaac loved this floater so much.

Naomi taking Isaac for a ride.

Fun swim date.

free fun:

After Lucas' party, Manny and I got to go on a short-but-sweet date.  We went window shopping together at the mall like old times.  We didn't see anything we wanted to buy, except some chocolates for my in-laws and some iced chai tea for me.  It was good to have a chance to reconnect without distraction.  I was probably more excited about it than Manny.  It's like getting a breath of fresh air and recharging, or perhaps more like coming up for air in my case.  I would like to do basic things like use the bathroom when I need to, without interruption or having to have Isaac nearby.  This was highlighted by a stomach bug I had last week (apologies for the details).  But that time will come, and I'll laugh about and miss these days.  I'm very thankful for the days when Manny takes the kids so I can do something on my own.  Some friends recommend a babysitter, but we don't do that while the kids are very young, unless it's an emergency.  It's just the choice with which we're most comfortable, even though I do wish we had family nearby sometimes just so I could get a break from the routine.

Anyway, moving on--Manny's coworker gave us a pass for a local playcenter, good for four sessions.  Each session is one hour.  After dropping Naomi off at VBS, I took the boys there, which meant an hour on the road, which meant an hour of listening to Isaac scream.  The boys were happy once we got there.  I didn't invite anyone since I wasn't sure when we'd go.  We were among the first to arrive, so we had the place almost to ourselves for 15 or 20 minutes.  Then the crowds arrived.  Isaac got knocked down twice, and he wasn't too happy after that.  After our hour, we went home and had lunch and did some school before heading back out to pick Naomi up.  We returned to the playcenter to use up the pass.  I wanted to get through the pass in one day, because I was busy and fatigued that week.  We had something going on every day already, and the VBS day seemed best.  We still had to get out again that evening for Lucas' class.  

It was nice having Naomi there the second time.  She took Lucas to areas he hadn't explored.  Isaac fell asleep on the drive, and I was able to have some peace before the noise woke him up.  That is one advantage of having a small toddler--he still fits in the infant carrier and can sleep in it.  Then he had a bad diaper, so I was really glad Naomi could stay with Lucas while I went to change him.  The place isn't that big, and it was crowded, so one or two hours was plenty.  It takes a lot of effort to go out and have fun with a baby or toddler.  Lots to pack and carry, smelly liquids to clean and change, looks from others when he's tired and/or fussy, little understanding of safety or social rules, etc.  But when you have three, there's usually at least one sibling who will get the short end of the stick for the sake of the others.  I could have just not gone, but I really appreciated the gift.  

Speaking of gifts, we got all kinds of freebies from Manny's bring-you-kids-to-work day.  We're already using the school supplies, and I won't have to buy much for the fall.  They also came home with candy, kettle corn, and huge tote bags.  Also, Manny's coworker actually went to the World Cup and brought back some delicious Brazilian coconut chocolate candies.  That's one regret I had from our vacation--little to no time to look for souvenirs.  

Toddler area for Isaac.  They need a real slide--you can't really slide down this one without a lot of friction.

Round two--now with big sis leading the way.

She's old enough to take care of her brothers, but not too old to partake of the fun!

One of my few glimpses of the World Cup.  Isaac actually turned the TV on and changed it to this channel somehow.  He was interested in the ball!

From Brazil with love.