Browse Category: life

Summer in San Francisco

IMG_7639By the time Kumquat is old enough to appreciate it, we will likely be living somewhere outside of San Francisco.  I’ve always said that going to the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Plaza on Saturday morning is my favorite thing to do in the city but now it’s even more fun with my little girl.  I hope that we’ll still be able to do this once in a while when she’s older.

IMG_7638But until then, I will enjoy all the good weather and beautiful views while we’re still living just a short walk away.

IMG_7636Also, now that she’s walking, it’s fun to see her explore the walkway.  I always thought the anti-skateboarding animals were cute and Kumquat agreed.  She even tried to give one of the turtles a kiss.

IMG_3870It’s also summer and fruit is abundant.  We go through so much produce every week and I’m loving all the pluots, peaches, nectarines, plums, blueberries, and grapes.  Take a look at these pluots!  They’re so pretty and oh so yummy too.  Kumquat likes snacking on all the samples too.  By the time we leave the stalls, she’s covered in stickiness from the juice all over her hands and face.

IMG_3877This morning, I also picked up an open-faced lox sandwich for lunch.  It was the perfect treat and Kumquat enjoyed the pickled onions and fresh tomato too.

Too early…

I’ve had a really eerie couple days.  Two lives were taken away from us way too soon.

P1090022DSC_6703On Wednesday night, Smush passed away from a really unfortunate incident involving a neighbor’s dog in the hallway.  I’m still in shock about the whole thing and I can’t imagine what Susie’s going through right now.  Have a good time in Doggie Heaven, Smush.  Say “hi” to Pepsi, Doogie, and Cookie for me.

DSC_6782On Thursday night, my hula instructor and friend, Pua, lost his battle with cancer.  I knew that he was getting treatment but he was always in such good spirits.  It’s so surreal since I just bumped into him a couple weeks ago at Safeway.  Rest in peace, Pua.  You will be missed.

Days like these make me realize how every day is so precious.  Hug your loved ones a little tighter today.

Discount!

nanny shareA couple weeks ago, Mirian told me that her aunt will be going back to El Salvador so she asked if she could bring Karla to our house everyday.  Well, that would be considered a nanny share so we made some negotiations and we struck a deal that works for both families!  So starting on Monday (7/1), Karla started coming over with Mirian and Kumquat has a new pal!  They are so cute together and being only 2 weeks younger, Karla makes the perfect share care buddy.  What makes things even better is now we get to pay less for childcare!  Woot!

Day off

I love having random days off.  I took one today since I had worked so hard all month.  IMG_3368The day started in Orinda with Ranee and Sophie.   Stephanie also stopped by since she’s still waiting for baby to arrive. IMG_3366 We met up at Peet’s and walked over to Republic of Cakes for a free story and music time.

IMG_3420The girls had fun and the grown-ups got to do some catching up.

IMG_3387Afterward, we stopped at Teresa’s house to drop off her birthday present.  She had the day off too because of her birthday so it was perfect.  Kumquat got to play with their dog Bailey and hung out with Aaron too.

IMG_3397 For lunch, we got home a little late and Kumquat was sleeping.  I was hungry and it was a gorgeous day outside so I wheeled her over to MoMo’s and I had a nice lunch out on the patio.  Aaah…

IMG_3410For dinner, we went to Paragon for an outdoor dinner.  All in all it was a fantastic day off and great way to kick off summer and my long weekend.

IMG_3411I other news, Koa has been having a great time with Jia this week.  She sent me photos of him at Half Moon Bay.  He even got to run off-leash near the water too.  Lucky dog.

Single Parent Day 2

Today was less exciting than yesterday and I think I prefer it that way.  I had to walk Koa this morning so Kumquat took her morning bottle in the stroller.  That seemed to work out well.  Mirian came at 8:45 and I managed to walk in the door at work by 9:15.  Sweet.

After work, we made a trip to Safeway to buy some groceries and then it was dinner, a bath for Kumquat, FaceTime with the grandparents, and then off to bed.  I even managed to find time to do a load of laundry and tidy up the kitchen.

Once Kumquat was asleep, I made some zucchini, carrot, and egg tarts.  We’re now way past the puree stage and it was time to make some freezable meals for the monster.  This is what I did:

  1. IMG_6962I used the food processor to shred zucchini and carrots.  It took only a couple minutes.  Amazing.  The best part is that I don’t have to stress out about not scraping my hand on a grater.
  2. IMG_6970Then I combined the zucchini and carrots with some seasoned bread crumbs I found in the pantry, leftover shredded cheese from the fridge, minced garlic, and two eggs.
  3. IMG_6971I wanted a bit more iron and protein so I added one more egg.
  4. IMG_6973They went into a muffin tin and baked at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.

IMG_6975DING!  They came out perfectly and the one I tasted was delicious!

IMG_6979Here they are in the freezer bag ready for storage.  Easy, right?!

Single Parent Day 1

IMG_2835Jes took off for a conference in Colorado this morning and it was just me and the kid for the day.  It almost felt like being on maternity leave again.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it was because we had the whole day to ourselves like before and the weather was really nice too.  One year ago, Kumquat was just 6 weeks old and my mom had gone back to Southern CA.  Today we did similar things: Target, walked the dog, went to the mall, and played at home.

I had a good time hanging out with my little girl today but she did scare me a bit this afternoon.  I took her to the playground (the one she goes to EVERY afternoon) and she was having a really fun time playing with a car she found.  Then it was time to go home and she threw the biggest fit she’s ever had with me.  IMG_2852At one point she cried so hard that she was practically holding her breath, her face turned dusky, and she started to doze off.  I happened to be taking a photo at the time and caught this very disturbing photo of her.

IMG_2853I immediately shook her and she took a huge gasp and started to cry again.  What the heck, baby?!  That was NOT cool!!

IMG_2862And so that was my Sunday.  Hope the rest of my week goes better.  Luckily, I got permission to go into work late for the next 3 days since Jes isn’t going to be around to pad the 7:30-8:45 time before Mirian arrives. Thank goodness for such an understanding manager.