instant pot:

This Instant Pot (currently on sale for $80) was my birthday/anniversary present, and of course the trip was a celebration of sorts as well.  It has been a gamechanger for me for weeknight dinners.  There are many things I want to make for myself, especially Chinese food, because it's so good for shortening a long cooking process like braising to a fraction of the time.  Bone broth is a cinch as well.  My family doesn't love braised meats and roasts as much as I do, so I mix it up for them.  Another advantage is how quickly it cooks potatoes.  It saves me a lot of time, effort, and electricity (our oven along with everything else runs on electricity).  Even if I want a baked potato, I can put it in the pressure cooker and then just throw it in the oven for a few minutes instead of two hours.  I am pretty much ready to get rid of the slow cooker.  The Instant Pot has a slow cooker setting.  Everything I've made so far has turned out well, except my congee is not as soupy as I would like it (someone online said that if you freeze the rice, it will be less sticky), and my sausage and sweet potato minestrone.  The sweet potato fell apart too much after just minutes on the soup setting after I added it in raw.  Lucas said the soup tasted better this way, and even Isaac had some (with only the celery and carrots, though--he won't eat the sausage, tomatoes, or beans), but it looked kind of gross to me.   

I am going to attempt sinigang this week (a Filipino dish my friend's mom used to make for us).    We'll see how it goes!

First thing I made--ground turkey and congee.

All ribs have fallen right off the bone.

The roast was very tender.

Potatoes after just 10 minutes--I probably should have cooked them for only 5 minutes instead of doubting they'd cook so quickly!  Then I transferred them to this cast iron skillet to brown them.

Chicken adobo--chicken was super juicy, and I cooked it from scratch in 15 minutes with frozen drumsticks!

valentine's day and presidents' day:

We enjoyed our second and last complimentary breakfast on Sunday before heading back.  I let Isaac sleep in a bit, but at least he got up in time for us to all eat together before heading back.  I was the last in the omelet line before they closed up shop.  I had made a lot of effort the night before to pack everything up and be ready to make it back in time for church, but we only made it to the end of service.  There are certain things I used to pride myself in that pretty much went out the window when I became a mom.  To be humbled is a good thing; it just doesn't feel so great at the time.  You do your best, but it never seems good enough, and you have to take the blame for things out of your control.  But God gave my family to me, and even if I'm not the best mom or wife, I will persevere for Him.

Lucas was very excited about crossing the Golden Gate Bridge again.  He had his mesh shade covering his window, probably to make him feel safe.  Naomi, not knowing this, lowered the shade to help him see Alcatraz, which she knows is one of his historical interests.  He panicked about the shade, which made her feel bad, and then Isaac was trying to drown them out, so that made for a distracted drive across the bridge.  After Manny did his office duties at church, he decided to take us to Chuck E. Cheese to continue our vacation.  I was pretty tired from our weekend, and I just wanted to go home rather than run around trying to curb or calm Isaac.  I was happy to run into a friend at church, but we couldn't chat for long.  I enjoyed the break from our routine, not having to cook, and seeing the sights, but I didn't enjoy our selfish moments, and we all had them.  It's a lot of work to travel with kids, but worth it, too.

Manny's back was really bothering him on Presidents' Day.  He might have exacerbated a previous injury during the trip, so he was mostly off his feet.  Naomi and Lucas were doing their own thing, and I was cooking, cleaning, and watching and entertaining Isaac, or he was entertaining me, really :)  I know it was a recovery day, but not having anyone to talk to, and feeling like the family was missing out on Isaac's cuteness, it just felt lonely after our weekend together.  But we all need peace and rest, especially Manny having the injury and then returning to a demanding job.

Heading down for breakfast.

Goodbye, Embassy Suites.

Lucas still makes faces, but I don't care that much anymore.

Loves his fruit salads.

Lucas insisted on taking Naomi's luggage down.

Goodbye, Golden Gate.

As magnificent as it is, I always feel a little sad crossing the bridge.  A lot of people have chosen to end their lives here.

A quick stop at CEC.

My valentines for the family this year, probably my last time buying from See's until they go organic/fair trade.

marin county day 2--snoopy museum and sausalito:

On the morning of the second day, Manny took the older two down for the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and when they returned, I went down to the restaurant with Naomi to have a quick bite myself and some Mommy-and-me time.  I didn't sleep well, but I was pumped to go see the Schulz Museum.  We'd last gone after our honeymoon sixteen years ago.  We also went a couple of years later to see Snoopy on Ice (I think we only hung out in the lobby that time).  The museum has been completely revamped.  There's a theater and an art room and also an outdoor area.  I have been a huge Peanuts fan since I was very young.  I could have stayed there all day, but the rest of the family was pretty much done after a couple of hours, so we went to lunch at the ice rink across the way.  There was a hockey game going on that day, so we couldn't skate, but we got to see the Peanut-themed zamboni.  

We then headed back south to Sausalito and the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  Many of the interactive exhibits were outdoors.  They had a special China exhibit.  I wish that could have been the day of their Chinese New Year Festival (it was two days later), but it was a neat museum to see.  I think Isaac probably had the most fun of the three--it seemed more geared toward the younger set.  Sometimes the older kids had to sit and wait for him; other times he had to wait for them.  After the museum, we went to downtown Sausalito.  We haven't been there since we went with my in-laws before we had kids.  Lucas would have been happy to stay at the hotel and just play games or swim all day.  He was nervous and tired around the large, bustling crowds in Sausalito, but he was happy we finally had our jaunt to the candy store.  Naomi, on the other hand, lit up once we got there.  She's more extroverted and she likes to browse.  She bought two pairs of socks, one with tacos and one with donuts.  That's our Naomi.  We got back to the hotel in time for the free happy hour again.  Naomi enjoyed her Shirley Temple and Roy Rogers (and not having to choose between them).  Lucas had the popcorn, and Isaac had carrots and maraschino cherries.  Isaac and I left the pool early so he could take a bath and warm up.  He also ate a lot of his leftover mac and cheese from the night before.  Naomi made a good suggestion of ordering pizza for dinner.  That seemed to be the easiest option for us that night.  We called Grandma and Grandpa from the hotel before going to bed.  Well, everyone else went to bed, but Isaac had a short nap in the stroller while we were in Sausalito, so he and I stayed up till midnight.  We continued the vacation the next day after checking out of the hotel.  Lucas was most looking forward to crossing the Golden Gate again.

Even though traveling, even within state, can be tiring and full of obstacles, I like the fact that the kids learn to adapt and find commonality when they travel.  I'm not the best model of that behavior, so I practice exercising flexibility and preference of others as well.    

So thankful she wanted to come down with me and keep me company.

Lucas photobombing my photo with Chuck.

Naomi took a photo of me in the new entryway.  You can't see it, but the boys are fighting over one of those penny souvenir machines.

Photo from 2002.  Same wall art.  I'm still a kid at heart,

No one else in the family wanted to take the Red Baron photo with me, so Woodstock was my buddy.  I took very few photos, but Manny has more I'll post later.

Coloring a Peanuts picture made me happy.  Isaac liked playing with the giant Peanuts activity blocks. 

Manny and Isaac under Lucy's Baseball Cap with a neat holographic fountain.

The infamous kite-eating tree.  You can Google it to find a prettier, non-winter photo.

Snoopy Valentine's flags up at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena.  There were hearts everywhere, which Isaac enjoyed spotting.

But first, a quick trip to the gift shop.

Woodstock mosaic sculpture.

Snoopy stained glass window in the gift shop.

Isaac was the only one who got something, the last box of chocolates in the shop.  I left empty-handed.  I love looking at things, but not buying them.

Lunch by the fireplace.  It was a pretty warm day, though.

Isaac and me at the Warm Puppy Cafe.

At the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  One thing all the kids can agree is fun--climbing.

The older two went up the wood stump stairs.

Isaac climbed on this rope web.

Then Isaac and I "hiked" up to the top to get a view of the Golden Gate (behind the tree).

He really liked "hiking."

This is a replica of the bamboo slide pandas use for play.

Isaac's favorite thing.

A replica of a fishing boat that rocked back and forth.

Undersea tunnels to run through.

I think the best part of the Museum was seeing the bridge behind us.

Unseasonably warm weather that day.

We love these photos by the bridge.

At the fountain in Sausalito.

14 years ago, same fountain.

Got her t-shirt, taco and donut socks, and some candy.

Happy hour at the hotel.

Lucas so happy to be back in the water again.

Goofy boy.

Kids enjoying pizza after their baths.