children's ministry and conference:

Last Sunday was pretty full.  I taught the preschool class again at church, which I enjoy more than being in the nursery.  We had visitors both weeks I was there.  It's busier now, but we actually have fewer steady volunteers than ever.  I depend on my youth helpers since there aren't enough adult volunteers, but youth group will switch to second service soon, and we will no longer have the junior helpers.  Years ago, a few families who ran several of the big children's programs left, as we exchanged programs like AWANA for more community outreach and partnerships like after-school tutoring or sports programs at our community building.  I'm all for that, but the number of people working with the kids has not increased with the needs, and we're hoping and praying that will change.  Still, it's amazing that just a few volunteers run things like the summer camp for hundreds of local children and do so with excellence.  And I'm truly thankful for those who have worked with our kids so that I could serve or listen to a sermon without normal distractions.

I will be helping coordinate the local elementary school literacy project again this year.  I didn't want to do so without some changes that many volunteers and I wanted to see, and the leaders agreed on those changes, so now I can't say no!  But seriously, I do believe I'm called to do this, even though it's challenging.  I just want and need to make sure it doesn't take over our family like it has in previous years.  I explained that to the director of our partner organization, and she has already helped take some things off my plate.

I am looking more at the bigger picture of having a Christian presence on secular campuses, especially now with Naomi in school.  I remember the impact of the little Bible school van that came around our neighborhood and picked me up, where I first heard the gospel.  I remember being in the Christian club in high school for a while because I was curious and they were welcoming, even though I often identified with being anti-organized religion.  I still am in a way, maybe more anti-religiosity but pro-relational.  I don't think kids have to attend a public, private, charter, or homeschool specifically.  I do believe what the Bible says, that we are to be in the world but not of it, however that works out for different people.

That bigger picture was reaffirmed at the conference I went to after lunch.  I was a little late because we had a family lunch and then had to swing by Naomi's school, but that was symbolic of my trying to put my family first.  I still was able to make half the main session and my two workshop sessions (Impact of Bible Clubs and Partnering with Schools to Improve Academic Learning).  They helped me in putting numbers and results to visions.  There was a principal and teachers in attendance who could confirm that many schools end up with donated backpacks from churches, but what they really need is long-term help for the students, such as the after-school clubs.  The clubs can legally teach from the Bible, and they've seen students and parents from all different religions come to faith in Christ.  But like they said, it's not about an ulterior motive but an ultimate motive.  We're there and available, and no one is being pressured or indoctrinated.  The kids are having fun and learning, and the demand is getting so high, but not enough churches are available and willing to sponsor the programs.  At one school, there was a shooting nearby, and the principal, who is not a Christian, called on the members of the Christian club to come and help the kids.  I think that's a wonderful example of churches entering these schools with humility and respect and seeing the fruit of that.

When I got home, Isaac said he'd been crying for me the whole time, but Manny said he hadn't cried even once.  I guess he figured if he told the truth, I'd be prone to leave him again.  He played with Naomi and our neighbor and apparently had a few mini-popsicles, so I think he was just fine.  This was surprising, because he usually cries a lot when someone has to leave, whether it's me or anyone else.  Very thankful for that.

At lunch, Isaac said he needed a hug from Naomi because it was cold (not from Mommy, though--he climbed right over me).

Main session at conference.  Definitely worth the time.

farewell party:

My friend's daughter, who has become my friend in adulthood, is moving her family out to Chicago to pursue a law and business degree.  She mentioned this was met with some criticism and surprise, but I think it's fantastic if that is her calling.  She's wanted to be a lawyer as long as I've known her, and I'd just assumed when she started homeschooling that she would just do the occasional summer catering jobs.  She did have stints in out-of-town catering and then another stint in an office job while her kids went to school for a year, but I think ultimately this was what she wanted to do.  I will certainly miss her, and it was appropriate that she host her own going-away party with a "taste" of special finger foods from her local favorite eateries.  I've always admired her sensibility, even as a teen.

I took the kids alone and was surprised they did so well for so long.  Isaac was ready for a nap when we left.  Lucas didn't know he was allowed to sit down so his legs and feet were hurting.  Naomi could have stayed all day.  I went home and made some Asian pork and rice noodles, fed the kids, and then got the text from a friend whose family wanted to go out to dinner with ours.  So we had to take a rain check.  

I had a chance to get some wisdom from my friend, an older and wiser lady who always has good advice for me.  She helped me with ways that I could communicate more clearly and lovingly with Manny, and to communicate with him in a more objective way, especially with him being engineer-minded (so is her husband).  I go back and forth between engineer and logophile, and that inconsistency gets me in trouble.  

Naomi got along well with the children there, one of whom has an appearance strikingly similar to hers.  They didn't know until I mentioned it that many years ago, they used to play together on occasion.  I didn't mention how Naomi ripped out my friend's daughter's hair when she was a toddler (C. is about five months younger than Naomi), but that's what I think of whenever I see them getting along so swimmingly.  They will all be missed!

Delicious fruits, vegetables, and various dips from local shops.

Beverages, including root beer from a tap.

Naomi with her friends, including two of our friend's children.  She will miss them a lot.

Isaac and Lucas playing a kiddie version of Kan Jam.   Isaac would do a 360 to power up.

simple summer cooking:

During the summer, it's too hot and busy to use the oven or put a lot of time into cooking, but I still tried to make simple, nutritious meals.  So here are some things I whipped up that were easy and nutritious that the kids could eat.  It wasn't so great for Manny, though, as he needs a lot of lean protein in his diet, and my summer food tends to be filled with noodle and rice dishes.  Sometimes I made more meat, and other times I didn't.  He's currently eating a lot of eggs and yogurt at dinner, and I'm trying to make more meat when I can.  Below are some of the foods we made so you can see how simple I cook and eat these days.  My goal next summer is to get to barbecuing.  Right now I'm hesitant to do it while Isaac's running around getting into trouble.

Easy Taiwanese ground beef (soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic) and rice noodles with shredded carrots and cucumbers.  Gluten free!

Tofu stir fry with snap peas, water chestnuts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, and red peppers.

Chicken sausage and baby bok choy over rice.

Back to American:  pork chops and mixed veggies.

Back to Asian:  Chinese shrimp noodles with tomatoes.

Easy chia pudding for my breakfast (1/2 cup chia seeds, 2 cups almond milk, 1 Tbs honey, leave overnight). 

Japanese udon with fish cake and bok choy.

Japanese miso ramen soup with tofu, eggs, and baby bok choy.

Steak sandwich and bagged Asian salad.

Thai sesame peanut noodles with chicken (I used a premade Thai peanut sauce and added peanut butter and sesame seeds).

This is what happens when I'm super short on time--leftover rice becomes fried rice, and I just fry up chicken sausage in olive oil and cook some broccolini in oyster sauce.

Naomi and I made this ham, olive, and tomato pizza from scratch with premade but fresh pizza dough.

Spaghetti squash is back at the stores.

Lemon pepper chicken.  The kids could really taste the lemon, but Manny didn't notice at all.

Brussels sprouts with pancetta.  The older two really like Brussels sprouts, but Manny and Isaac won't touch them.

Naomi and I made homemade granola bars for the start of school (rolled oats, wheat germ, flour, raisins, honey, brown sugar, butter, egg, and cinnamon baked in the oven).

first day of school:

We have now had our first child make the transition from home education to public school.  She of course has attended many public school classes and events over the years through the public school's ISP, but this was her first week as an official full-time student.  I was surprised I didn't cry when I dropped her off, as she walked off to go play at the playground by herself before school started.  Isaac wasn't too happy about it and repeatedly asked me to go get her from the school.  One time he thought he saw someone that looked like Manny on the street and said that I left him behind, so he wailed and screamed for me to turn the car around and get Papi.  I ended up calling Manny at work to convince him that Papi was okay and I didn't abandon him.  He probably missed Naomi a ton but also was worried I'd forgotten her.  Lucas also had homeschool, tutoring, and music that day, plus I had to cook and do a minimum of chores, so it felt like a very full day for me.  I had leftover curry but decided to get the older two a footlong since we had to park by Subway (the lot by Lucas' class was full), and it was a special day.  Manny wasn't too thrilled that I bought them a sandwich just because I felt like it, so I guess I won't be doing that anymore.  

Naomi was able to make friends and didn't have to eat lunch alone (the story of my entire childhood).  It helped that the teacher assigned a buddy to her since she was new.  At lunch, Naomi lost her buddy, but a couple of other girls invited Naomi to sit with them, which was really nice.  Then her buddy found her again, and they all ate together.  I appreciate all you parents and teachers who have taught your children to be welcoming to new faces.  

Our area has a large population of Indians and East Asians, and there's a local Russian community, so that was reflected in her class demographic.  She said the students took their work seriously.  Some kids flew through their math drill.  There wasn't any bullying or disruption in class.  I can remember my 5th grade class, and it was nothing like this.  I went to school on the border of Long Beach and Compton (yes, that Compton), and it was so hard to focus.  My school was eventually torn down.  Everyone made fun of you if you were "smart."  I was often at the library just learning on my own.  She did say today that the teacher gave a refresher about nouns, so the students may not be as strong in grammar as math.  Naomi had no grammar or spelling mistakes on her assignments so far and aced the math quiz today.  This is a 10/10 API school, largely due to test results, but I was happy to hear that they were respectful students as well.  We actually use an app to keep up with our children's performance in class, and I have to sign off on her homework each night.

Naomi's teacher is pretty strict, and I actually witnessed her being mean to one of the new students when I dropped Naomi off.  He politely asked how recess goes since he's new to the school, and she got in his face, exaggerated her speech, almost yelling.  "You don't know what recess is?!"  But Naomi is understanding, and instead of criticizing, said it must be stressful for teachers.  That's the side of me I'm glad she has, despite all my daily failings and bad examples.

So her day sort of went like this:

-We got to the school at about 7:50.  I walked her into school and introduced her to a lady from our church who is a teacher at the school.

-We said goodbye, and she went to the playground and played by herself until the bell rang.

-When the bell rang, everyone stopped what they were doing, dropped down, and sat on the ground wherever they were.  Then the bell would ring again and they'd get in line.  Interesting rule.

-Naomi found her desk and was assigned a buddy.  All the other new students present were boys.

-They made labels, did a multiplication drill, had a math pre-test, received first-day information, got their homework assignment, etc.

-Recess

-More classwork

-Recess before lunch.  She bumped into our neighbor, who was doing lunch duty there.  Our other neighbor is a crossing guard.

-Lunch.  Naomi lost her buddy for a bit but was invited to eat with a couple of other girls.  She likes sitting outside, and she wants to bring lunch every day instead of eating the cafeteria food.  I left her a little note.

-P.E. (Mondays and Thursdays)

-More classwork.  They met the new principal and the vice principal.  Naomi said they seemed very nice.

-Pick-up, which is much hairier than drop-off.  The school is physically small, but there are 700 students with only a little curb space.  If your child is not there, you're supposed to keep going around the block until they show up.  Some parents just parked at the curb for a long time and hogged the space, but thankfully I was able to squeeze in and pick her up.  The street and neighboring street were completely packed with parked cars.

-After school snack.

-Homework (it's 50-80 minutes of homework per night for her grade level), more paperwork for me to fill out, technical stuff while Isaac napped.

-Woke Isaac up to take Lucas to his class.  Naomi did her reading there.

-Subway for dinner.

First day of school!  I also have one by the school sign, but can't post that one publicly.

water play:

Summer is shorter now than when I was young.  Instead of September through May, school goes from August to June (Naomi actually started school today!).  I've been teaching my kids year round, but we lighten the workload during the summer so we can have a little fun.

Last Saturday we went to Great America for the last time this summer.  It was the last weekend before school for many and also the middle of a heatwave, so the park was pretty crowded.  We were in the water late morning till lunch.  The older two really enjoyed the wave pool.  They also threw out some inner tubes for free, and Naomi raced some boys for one and caught it.  She gave it to Lucas, loving girl that she is.

After lunch, we went to the kids area, which was pretty empty.  I think everyone was at the water park due to the heat.  Lucas wanted to do the slide area at the water park, but didn't clearly communicate that, so we got changed again and went back.  Isaac really wanted to stay at the water park longer, but we had to go.  Plus it was his naptime, and he was more tired than he realized.  He screamed and screamed most of the way back to the car.  Even though it's hard for me, I make an effort for us to stick together.  The hardest part is that there is usually some tension between me and Manny, where Manny is mad at me about something I did or didn't do that isn't up to his standard, and I can't really get my mind around it or just feel hurt in general.  I really don't want the kids to see that, but we get weak in our flesh.  You all see these happy photos, and we are happy in that moment, but sometimes I just want to be by myself.

Late Sunday afternoon, we went to our complex pool to beat the heat.  It actually felt really cold in the pool, but it was much better than melting at home.  Manny flipped Lucas in the air upside-down, and I spun Isaac around in his floater.  Naomi also went diving for toys as Isaac threw them into the pool.  The neighbors thought he was really cute, even though he almost hit them a few times.  I didn't bring the phone since I got in as well, but that would have been a good day for some photos.

Manny and Naomi going down the big water slide.  Lucas wants to get on, but he doesn't like how high up you have to climb on the stairs.

Isaac having fun with the waterspouts while Manny and the other two wait for the waves at the wave pool.

Naomi comes by to play with her baby brother.

Free donuts (not the edible ones, unfortunately).  It got really crowded, but Lucas is on his inner tube in the center left of the photo.

Squeezing in a few rides.  Lucas loved this same ride at Knott's, but ever since he got on Everest with Manny, he's been too scared to get on most rides.

He's never too scared of this water slide, but he was a little nervous around the crowd.  One kid kept climbing back up the slide from the bottom and stealing turns.

swimming with friends:

Last Friday we went to A's townhouse complex to have our annual summer swim date.  It had been postponed due to illness previously, and this was the last time we could squeeze it in.  Usually another family joins us, but they were unable to make it at the last minute.  We really missed them.  Their pool is huge, and they have a kiddie pool that even Isaac can stand in.  I was happy that Isaac got in the water.  Lucas also had a great time and actually played with the others.  Of course, he was also happy when all the other kids took a break and played in the rec room for a while.  Even Isaac went.  A's daughter S. made a contraption with the pool sticks and balls for the little kids, and they named the numbers.  She might make a great teacher someday!  We had squirters, balls, tubes, a noodle, a floater, and diving toys.  We also packed lunches.  Lots of fun for four hours!

Isaac getting his feet wet in the kiddie pool.  Naomi and Lucas are next to his head in the photo.

He's in!

Girls hanging out by the pool after their swim.

naomi painting class:

We had another visit last week with our friend J. and her kids while Lucas was in his tutoring session at their house.  Lucas' tutoring is going really well.  I didn't want to impose, so I left with the boys, while Naomi stayed with them for lunch and went with J.'s daughter to an art class.  Last time they painted these wonderful dolphins, but this time, they painted a dog, and it seemed a little bit off.  Naomi said only she and her friend were in the class, so it became a private session.  Sounded good, but she said the instructor ended up painting over their paintings, and in ways she did not really like.  Even not knowing what the teacher had done, I asked Naomi why the body was so high, and Naomi said she had painted it lower and larger, but the instructor changed the color and painted it very high.  When Naomi asked about that, the instructor said that's the way she liked it.  So odd for an art class!  In the other class held at the same Michael's, Naomi had much more freedom, and I thought that painting came out much better.  After the class, the girls played together.  I made lunch, did some homeschool with Lucas, and put Isaac down for a nap while waiting to pick Naomi up from our friend's place.  She and J's daughter get along very well.  In some ways, the girls are very similar--they were the toddlers who so strong-willed and feisty, who were so different from the other kids in their circles, but who now have matured into lovely little girls and are such a delight in our lives.  They are also starting public school on the same day, her daughter 3rd grade and Naomi 5th.  It'll be neat to compare notes.  :)

Lucas "commissioned" Naomi to paint something for him and chose an Angry Bird.  She delivered, and he was very happy with it.

This is the dog in question.  It looks cute, but I can see why Naomi didn't care for what the instructor did with the body and legs--it does look out of place from the rest of the painting to me.  Still, it's a painting, and I'm saving it.  :)

nothing but the tooth:

My rambling post this month is about what I learned from my kids' teeth.  The simple answer is humility; the complicated answer is pride.

Growing up, my family did not or could not go to the dentist, and we're all paying for it now.  My parents and brother are missing several teeth between them without replacements.  They still cannot afford to do more than an extraction.  I earned enough in college to pay for insurance, and apart from what I gave my family, I used up all my savings to get a root canal and crown.  It was sorely needed, pun intended.  When I graduated and entered the working world, the first thing I did was get my teeth fixed as much as possible.  Now, with Manny having insurance from work (though it seems to keep downgrading), I am able to see a dentist.  I now have had three root canals/crowns, all my mercury fillings have been replaced with resin composites, and three wisdom teeth have been pulled.  No one's rushing to get that fourth one out.  I've never had braces, and my crooked teeth constantly bite the wrong way or the wrong places.  Ironically, I appear to have fairly white teeth and a straight smile.  I posted about this before, how that's a metaphor for life, how what's out of sight can be nothing like what one sees superficially.

My teeth have been such an annoyance that I never wanted that for my kids.  If I had to sacrifice other things, dental care would have to be a priority.  However, as is usually the case, trials come where I want or expect it least but perhaps need it most.

Let's start with Naomi.  She threw up for the first two and a half years of her life, often in projectile fashion, often around the clock.  She was very sick, and the enamel on her teeth had worn away.  You can see it in some older photos before they (finally!) fell out.  I hardly ever let her have sugar, but there wasn't much I could do about the decay, although I did everything I could to prevent it from getting worse.  We got her front teeth filled and refilled, but the fillings often fell out of her tiny teeth, revealing big holes.  And sometimes someone would look at her closely enough, they panicked, and because they panicked, I figured they were judging me as a parent for it.  I hated this.  I either would distract them by talking about something else or just jump in and explain why her teeth were so disgusting.  I wish I hadn't cared.  I regret that I gave her fluoride drops, because I do not believe ingesting fluoride is a good idea, even in small quantities.  I don't have a problem with fluoride toothpaste, just with any fluoride being swallowed.  But I just felt desperate about the situation for a while before finally coming to terms with it.  Then she stopped vomiting all the time, her teeth fell out, and I felt a huge sense of relief.  At least I'd be able to prove myself with Lucas, right?

Wrong.  Up until I had Isaac, Lucas did not have a single cavity or anything close.  He always had great teeth, great reports at the dentist office.  I was so proud of how I carefully brushed and flossed his teeth.  Even after nursing him at night till he was two, he had no signs of decay.  I actually wiped his teeth after feeding him.  If I could love teeth, I loved his.  I may have been on crutches, lost a lot of sleep because of his issues with sleep, and had terrible morning sickness with Isaac, but I did not stop taking care of his teeth.  Then when I had Isaac, I just couldn't keep up anymore.  I think in my mind, I just thought someone else would take over for me, but it didn't happen.  The last report before I had Isaac, Lucas still had never had cavities, but six months later at the next check-up, he had cavities.  Really bad cavities.  I can guess that he was eating more junk and had hardly had his teeth brushed in the months after Isaac was born.  I guess I didn't communicate the need for brushing to Manny very clearly.  So, Lucas ended up needing to be put under for two root canals and stainless steel caps, costing us an arm and a leg (anesthesia was not covered by insurance).  I cannot convey the amount of stress rage I felt over this.  Manny was completely embarrassed by my snapping at the sweet receptionist about the procedures and billing (I actually have a great rapport with the receptionist usually, and we have some great conversations).  Yes, I was sleep-deprived with a newborn, but I was also so very sad to see all my efforts going down the drain, and that I would probably be judged once again for something I could not control.  Now he has these hideous caps, and for a boy who loves to laugh so much, it's hard to miss his shiny caps.  Some people have asked about his teeth, but most probably just judge in silence.  But the difference this second time around is I was quicker to accept it and move on.  Lucas hasn't had another cavity since I took over again.  :)

And then there were three.  Isaac eats sugar, way more sugar than I ever let the other two have combined.  But it wasn't always this way.  Maybe some will recall that up until he got pneumonia, he had an appetite for all kinds of food.  I'd started him on vegetables first, ate a variety while pregnant and nursing, and thought I'd have a third child who was great about eating nutritious foods.  I'm not sure if it had to do with the severe illness, but after that, he hardly ate anything at all.  Desperate for him to gain weight, I gave him lots of Pediasure, and he seemed to like the sweetest one, Strawberry.  He would only eat fruits and starches, and that's still mostly the case.  The dentist didn't like me giving him Pediasure, so when I stopped, he pretty much stopped eating and fell off the charts again.  So I put him back on it and let him have his fruits and starches.  He honestly tries whatever I make him, but he gags or spits it out.  He simply doesn't like protein and vegetables.

He had cavities on his front teeth, and I accepted the fact that I had not given him a proper diet to help with that.  However, they weren't necessarily a huge nuisance and weren't as visible as Naomi's decay from her vomiting.  I did my best to avoid any further decay, and the dentist said I'd done a good job with that.  I'd caught a little boy who'd fallen off a bar at a school playground just as I heard a clunk and wailing from Isaac not three feet away.  I rushed over to find a mouth full of blood.  Naomi said he'd fallen face forward right into the metal stairs.  I washed it away with water, but the gums of his front teeth kept bleeding.  Then it stopped, he was back to his happy self and saying it didn't hurt, and I thought it was just a minor injury.  However, after he did not sleep more than a couple hours at a time for the entire month of October, I decided I needed to get him to a dentist.  The teeth were definitely still loose.  They decided they'd put him under to try and fix it.  That was hard enough to see the tubes and IV and worry that he would have the adverse reactions to anesthesia that I do, but then I had the shock and sadness of finding out from the x-ray that his teeth had broken at the roots and needed to be pulled.  My poor Isaac!  And with the other two teeth being too small for fillings, the dentist recommended extracting those as well.  At least with the teeth pulled, he'd have some relief.  So we went ahead and did it, knowing there might be consequences of speech issues (again), eating issues (again), and the judgment of those who wonder why he's missing teeth.  He's the most smiley and talkative but the most picky of our toddlers.  It was like a triple whammy--everything that was great wouldn't be so great now, and the worst thing would get worse.  I again jumped in at times to answer the question about his teeth before people could ask, but I think I've finally learned my lesson.  Responsibility isn't about having control over everything.  Discipline isn't defined by the end results.  I've gotten so worked up about living up to other people's standards that I've forgotten my blessings, my gifts, and the bigger picture.

So, yesterday all three kids went to the dentist.  No new cavities, and Isaac didn't cry for too long, though I still had to hold him.  The old dentist who was a little condescending is gone, and we all like the new one.  We also like the return of our original dentist, whom we really like (two dentists usually see all three of our kids at once).  To me, teeth are just as valuable in our earthly life as our senses and organs.  I would never want the kids to go through what I have all these years with bad teeth.  But now that's become the focus again, and not others' misguided opinions.  I just have to be careful not to become too jaded or resent people expressing what they believe are valid concerns.

lemonade stand:

Lemonade stands seem like a rite of passage for a lot of little girls.  I didn't really know about them as a kid, being raised in a traditional Chinese home where we drank asparagus juice, grass jelly, chrysanthemum tea, and green mung bean soup instead of Country Time.  We did have homemade lemonade sometimes, but that was more like lemon water than what Americans normally drink.  However, when I was a little younger than Naomi, I had to join my parents selling plastic jewelry by the roadside when we had no money.  We almost never had customers, and in the Texas heat, it was a hard living.  I know what it's like to sit there for hours doing nothing and not selling anything, so I prepped Naomi for that, although in my family's case, we weren't doing it just for fun.

Of course by now I know about lemonade stands.  Naomi had been wanting to do one for years.  I decided this was the year, so I asked our HOA about whether we needed a permit.  Our neighbor, who is always in the know, suggested we do it during the citywide garage sale event and sell some baked goods as well as the lemonade.  He wanted us to go all out with baking from scratch like we did for Naomi's "love our neighbors" party, but due to time constraints, we went with brownies and sugar cookies from a mix instead.  The lemonade was also from a mix, but I added Meyer lemons which gave it a nice citrus flavor. Naomi decided to sell everything for a quarter.  Lucas says when he does it, he's going to up it to fifty cents.  :)

Naomi invited her neighbor friend to sell with her, but she was out of town at her grandparents'.  So, she invited a couple of other friends.  One of them was able to make it despite a very full day.  They had a great time selling lemonade together and chatting it up in between.  Before her friend came, we only had four customers in the first hour--one father, his two children, and Lucas.  :)  After her friend came, business seemed to pick up.  The girls ended up with around $20 in sales and donations.  They split some of the earnings between themselves and saved the rest to give to church.  Naomi told some of the customers she was planning to do that.

Naomi made the menu sign and the main sign with a nice picture of lemons and a glass of lemonade.  The pictures were nice, but from a distance, one could hardly make anything out.  She was insistent on doing it alone, and it was pretty obvious it was a lemonade stand anyway, so I let it be.  Plus, I'm often too critical of her anyway.  She pays a lot of attention to little details without looking at the overall aesthetic and big picture.  I know she gets that from me, so what can I say?  She will have to figure that out on her own.  One woman came by and was a little critical of the menu and sign, and I felt pretty defensive (I didn't say anything, but I wanted to).  Then I realized I sound like that myself with her.  We had a chalkboard menu, laid a colorful tablecloth, set out a bowl of lemons, and had the girls wear aprons, so I think that was professional enough.  

Lucas was so excited with each sale.  When the first customers came, he totally jumped for joy.  Isaac required a lot of attention, which made the four hours go by slowly.  He got along very well with Naomi's friend, but when Lucas was nearby, they'd be having conflicts.  Manny watched Isaac for a little bit, but he was busy, so I watched them all.  Thankfully it wasn't as hot last weekend as this weekend.  The weather was actually perfect for lemonade.  The stand was a success, she learned some business terminology and concepts from Manny and me, and best of all, she loved sharing the experience, proceeds, and a nice cup of lemonade with a friend.  

Setting up.

Open for business!

A sweet albeit short-lived moment with all the kids waiting together for customers.

Sales tally, including four donations,

e's birthday party:

E.'s Minnie Mouse 4th birthday party at the park was a blast, both fun and relaxing.  They held it the Friday after the camp.  Naomi and her friend got to see each other all week.  Their family had come to Lucas' birthday; then Naomi went to the church where their dad is the current interim pastor (small world) after her sleepover; then Naomi and she were in camp together all week; then this party; then the girls did a lemonade stand together; then they were back at our church the next day.  Most of the week had been hi-bye for me, but at the party I finally had a chance to have some meaningful conversation with the mom and dad and meet a number of people.  We also ran into an old friend there, which is always nice (or maybe it depends on the friend).  Lucas was not particularly thrilled about going to the party, even though he really likes this park, but he warmed up after a while.  Isaac had all the attention of their second oldest daughter.  He cried for her whenever she left, and it was pretty hard to get him to leave the park.  

Precocious little girls.

Minnie Mouse jello and cupcakes.

Isaac's buddy.

Some water play at one of the few parks with the water still on.

Swinging in the hammock.  Lucas is too big, but I have to take him to the toddler playgrounds sometimes for Isaac.

Lucas' favorite--spinning.

t's birthday party, n at summer camp:

Another Saturday night, another party/sleepover for Naomi.  :)  After Lucas' party, I dropped Naomi off at her friends' 12th birthday party and sleepover.  Naomi went to church with them the next morning and had lunch there before I went to pick her up.   I haven't seen any photos from the party, but I heard it was phone-themed (birthday girl received her first phone, for emergencies only), so they had a phone pinata.  They served Jelly Belly snow cones and a homemade blackberry cake at the party.  Her mom made french toast for breakfast, and I think the dad barbecued for lunch.  There were just two girls who stayed the night, including Naomi.  These are night-owl friends, so the party went till almost midnight.  Our other friends have a solid "lights out, all done by 9 pm" rule.  Naomi adjusts well, so she's fine either way, but I probably would have wanted her to go to bed earlier for church the next morning.

The following week, or Monday through Thursday, Naomi went to summer camp at our church.  There were camps for various sports, art, food and fitness, and kindergarten readiness.  Naomi was in Food & Fitness and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  They did Bible-themed lessons and skits, and exercised, and cooked.  Unfortunately, there may have been some contamination as my friend messaged me that several kids at the camp came down with frequent vomiting.  Naomi was spared, but I felt awful for the kids, especially those who had to miss Youth Camp the following week due to the bug.  On a brighter note, she had a great time.  She made healthful and delicious granola bars, trail mix, and cookies.  She did plenty of cardio exercise, including dancing and running outdoors.  And best of all, she and the other attendees watched puppet shows, demonstrations, and lessons about the Bible.  Over half of the 115 attendees in the camp were not churchgoers.

I didn't put Lucas in any camps this year.  He wasn't interested in any particular camp, and I didn't want to force him up earlier to go.  But more importantly, he still needs some extra guidance to process and follow instructions, and I didn't want to put any of the leaders through that.  Perhaps next year, he'll be better.  Isaac usually gets up late, but he was in the car with us every morning at 8 so that he could go with me and Naomi.  The first day, he cried a lot, and cried all the way home that I"d left Naomi behind.  But soon he understood she would just be gone for a few hours and we'd pick her up.

I don't need a break from Naomi, and she's the one who helps me most, so with the early drop-off and her absence, and my mind constantly processing things about our marriage, the whole week seemed much longer than usual.  She's a peacemaker between the boys as well, so they had more conflict, too.  We had classes in the afternoons and evenings, but soon a couple of them will switch to earlier time slots.  Naomi's hopefully done with her summer social calendar, and Lucas has officially started the first grade, so I am working hard to get a little more order around here.  Manny always tells me no excuses.  The odd thing is that I've always been very much a no-excuses person, a survivor, but my problem was more that I made everything a priority instead of really understanding what my priorities were.  Try to please everyone and end up pleasing no one.

Isaac milking the attention from everyone at church camp.

Basketball Camp collides with Food & Fitness.

Cooking in the kitchen.

lucas' minecraft birthday party:

(I used a different computer to upload the photos while I wait for this Windows 10 bug fix)

For months, Lucas went back and forth on the party theme he wanted.  The list included a Lego party, a dinosaur party (Lego Jurassic World), a volcano party, and a Hawaiian party.  He finally settled on Minecraft.  That was at the two-month mark, so he wasn't allowed to change his mind after that (he started asking for a Plants vs. Zombies party, but I really did not want to do that).  We searched many cake photos for a Minecraft cake he liked.  I started getting all the cakes mixed up.  When we found one we liked most, I forwarded the photo to Grandma.  I made the cake, but she did the hard work with the frosting, and I was so happy with the final product.  I definitely could not have done it without her, and I even gave her the wrong instructions for the sides, but she figured it out.  The cake is a huge deal to Lucas.  Whereas Naomi really enjoys thinking through all the decorations and favors and color schemes, like many of us women do, Lucas just cares about how the cake looks.  Not even how it tastes, since he doesn't really like cake that much.  He likes less sugary cakes like carrot and light Asian cakes, but chocolate was the easiest to work with and looked the most like the video game.  Grandma gave us some Hawaiian stuff from the reunion luau, so we're going to do some kind of Hawaiian next year.

We did serve Hawaiian food, though.  We had Hawaiian barbecue from a place down the street.  It was really good, but it was too much food.  Better too much than too little, I guess.  We had three families not show, but even if they came, I think we still would have had a lot of leftovers.  We had 13 adults and 10 children present in all.  If I wasn't so busy (Naomi had a birthday party/sleepover right after) and tired, I would have taken some to friends.  We also baked cheese pizzas.  One of Lucas' friends has autism and doesn't eat anything else.  It wasn't a huge deal to us to have that out for them.  There was also a Muslim family whom we invited, but they could not come at the last minute.  Their only restriction would be no pork.

I couldn't find a lot of Minecraft-themed party supplies.  Thankfully a simple color scheme works fine for this theme, and free fonts and printables can always be found online.  I ordered the piñata online and chose a cube of TNT since Lucas likes to use those in the game.  It was solidly constructed!  The family joked that a Mexican must have made it (because the real ones are hard to break and not flimsy like the ones from party stores).  After many tries and retries, we barely put a dent in it.  Manny had to tear it a bit, but we finally got it open.  The trickiest part was where to do it.  There's a tree by our townhouse, but I didn't want the kids to have to walk all the way over there while they were wet.  We also had to have HOA approval for the location.  One of the board members was outside and suggested we just hang it at the pool gate.  We had already considered that, but it was a good idea to have his input.  Manny kept the rope up from the other end, and we were good to go.

Last year, Lucas had an 11-year-old friend who helped him in the water, letting him ride on his back through the water.  He went on to middle school, and we didn't keep in touch.  This year, Lucas is much more confident in the water, so he played well with others.  He and a little girl did all kinds of games together, even Marco Polo.  The little girl's sister told Naomi that she (the little girl) said that she wanted to marry Lucas someday.  :)  Uncle Gerard also stayed in the pool with all the kids and tossed Lucas and his cousin T. into the air dozens of times.  I feel bad that he hurt his shoulder.  I decided to stay out of the pool to tend to the party, and because Isaac didn't want to go in.  He just wanted to squirt water in the air and sometimes in people's faces.  Naomi is friends with the older sisters of Lucas' peers, so she had a great time herself.  

It was late before Lucas opened the presents, so some guests had gone home.  He was so excited about the money he received.  He really wanted this gumball machine, and I knew Grandma would get it.  The grandparents always shower the kids on their birthdays. This year, in addition to the gumball machine, the grandparents got Lucas a baseball set (including a stand!), pick-up sticks, Chinese checkers, twisty crayons, and some candy.  Isaac tried to claim it all for himself, and that made Lucas upset.  So when people asked, the only thing I could think of that he really wanted was dollar bills.  He likes to save and count dollar bills.  He was so happy with the money, and it's something Isaac won't try to take (yet).

Lucas still says that it was the best party, and that he loved it.  He did miss his aunt, though.  

I don't think I would have thrown this party had my in-laws not been able to make it.  Their presence is a highlight for Lucas, if not a necessity, and they help me so much without complaint.  It feels so freeing, actually, and I am very thankful for that.

Minecraft cake expertly frosted by Grandma.  Naomi and Lucas placed the blocks and characters around it.

Creeper favor bags for the kids.

Grandma and Naomi helping set up the clubhouse.

Found this sign on the internet and just put Lucas' name in it.

Inflatable cold buffet from his last birthday.  Very useful for us, especially since I accidentally broke our cooler.

Gold bars with a Hi-Chew inside and TNT Twizzlers to go with the theme.

Time to eat!

Family eating outside by the pool.  Sorry for the candid shot.

Some friends hung out in the clubhouse, while others ate outside.

The spread included superfood salad, macaroni salad, Kalua pork, pineapples, short ribs, chicken, steak, pizza, rice, and spicy Hawaiian barbecue chips.

The cake was too far from the edge, and Lucas couldn't blow out the candles, so Papi was ready to assist.

Lucas and C. jumping in together.  They played so well all afternoon.

Lucas wanted to jump in with the girls.  I don't know why I didn't put it in rapid mode to catch the entry.

Isaac giving it a tap.

Lucas got a few good whacks in.

It looks like Naomi broke it.  Finally!

All this money fell out of the card!  Lucas was quite pleased with his pre$ents.