Mother’s Day 2015

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This year, Mother’s Day started with a face full of GG and a smiling KK.IMG_5312I had a sweet morning of just lying around in the tent with my baby girl.

IMG_9884After the kids had their breakfast, the boys sent the moms out for a nice brunch.  We went into town and had a couple hours of peace and quiet.  If only I was able to have some Mommy juice of my own.  Instead, I just had orange juice.  Wuh Wah…

When we got back, we found the boys taking the kids for a hike that the moms probably wouldn’t have approved of but they all got back alive and uninjured.

IMG_5326We got home by the afternoon and I had just enough time to get the laundry started while Jes made me one of my favorite meals – spaghetti!!!  I had a very simple but very nice Mother’s Day this year.  I’m so lucky to have such a healthy, happy little girl to call me Mama.

Butano State Park

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We went on our sort-of annual camping trip this weekend at Butano State Park.  It was conveniently located only an hour from our house and in a redwood forest near Half Moon Bay.  It was cold so I was all covered up and there were no mosquitoes to bother me.  That was a nice change.

DSC_6347The campground was nice and they had running water in the bathrooms closeby.  Thank goodness!  We actually had flushing toilets and running water in the sinks.  I came prepared with a step stool and toilet seat for KK to use so she could go to the bathroom without my help.

IMG_5234We also borrowed MaryAnn’s tent, which was really easy to set-up and we were able to fit Jason and Jia’s full-sized air mattress and all three of us slept comfortably inside.

DSC_6401On Saturday morning, we took the kids to a nearby goat far.  They had some cute billy goats in the front.

IMG_5315There was plenty of space for the kids to run around and KK played with Rowan quite a bit.

DSC_6362They chased each other around and looked for banana slugs together.

DSC_6364I had seen a banana slug at the aquarium but never in nature.  They look a little gross at first but are actually pretty cool.

IMG_5284A lot of our time was spent around the fire burning stuff – including marshmallows.  IMG_9874This picture of KK and her flaming marshmallow makes me chuckle.

IMG_5313All the kids had a great time and camping with KK was much easier this time around compared to her first trip when she was 3 months old.

IMG_9888Here is this year’s group photo on our last day.  It was nice having just the 6 of us again (plus the kids of course).  As chaotic as it seems sometimes, it’s still fun to go camping with these animals.  Hopefully we’ll be able to pull it off again next year with Peanut in tow.

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Here we are on our last trip without kids or anyone with a bun in the oven.  We drove all the way to Yellowstone in a minivan in 2006 with barely enough room for our feet.  I’d say this was still my favorite trip so far.  I can’t wait to take KK and Peanut there to see the bison and stinky springs.

JoshuaTree2003I also found a photo of our first camping trip.  It was the four of us at Joshua Tree NP and it was SOOOOO HOT.  It’s hard to believe this was 12 years ago!  Good times…

2nd Trimester

IMG_5075Well, I just reached 27 weeks of my pregnancy and have officially entered the 3rd trimester.  Here is my bump today and it’s nice and round but the belly button hasn’t popped out yet.

So far, things are going smoothly.  I feel Peanut kicking around the same time everyday and he gets pretty jabby.  I can feel bony parts punching out – is it an elbow? a knee? a foot?  I have no idea but it’s fun to feel it from the outside.  Our 2nd trimester genetic screen was negative and I passed my glucose test.  What a relief.

My sinuses have cleared up a bit and I have some better nights of sleep.  My energy level waxes and wanes each day but I’m pretty tuckered by the end of the work day.  Walking is still comfortable for me but I’ve been told that I’m starting to waddle a bit.  I’m tempted to go outside for a run but I haven’t.  Instead, I take the stairs at work as much as possible and I can still run up a flight of stairs without difficulty.  A couple weeks ago on our way to my 25-week prenatal appointment, KK had to walk up two flights of stairs from the Muni station while I followed her up with the stroller.  I guess I’ve still got some strength left in these legs of mine.

IMG_5061 I’ve got only 2 more months of work left before maternity leave starts.  Let’s hope the 3rd trimester is uneventful and that Peanut gets to cook all 40 weeks.

Mini Me

IMG_5054Friends have told me that KK is starting to look more and more like me but I haven’t really seen it. That was, until today when my dad sent me this photo of me on my 3rd birthday next to KK’s 3rd birthday picture.

IMG_5055Then he sent this picture of Brother and Alice next to each other. We’ve always said that they look alike but this really shows the resemblance.

I still miss him.

IMG_5091My Koa Bear would have turned 11 years old today.  I woke up this morning at 1 am and realized it was his birthday and had a hard time falling back asleep.  I guess I still miss this doggie as if he passed away just a week ago.

DSC_1874aOh, I miss his funny habits like sleeping in the laundry basket and eating his kibble late at night.  I still anticipate hearing him trot over each time I crack an egg too.  I don’t necessarily miss walking him in the rain but the early morning walks on Sundays were nice.

DSC_8108We would love to get another shiba but it might not be the best time right now since we’ll be adding another human to our family this summer.

DSC_5393Happy Birthday, Koa.  We miss you.

plants and snails

IMG_4987Here’s the latest of the fish tanks at home.  Jes joined a Bay Area fish group and scored some free snails from a guy that lives in San Francisco.  He left them in a bucket on his front porch for us to pick up one Saturday on our way home from the zoo.  Jes also got a shipment of free plants from another guy nearby.  So, now in our original 2.5-gallon tank, he’s growing a bunch of snails and baby shrimp.  Some of the pond snails laid eggs that hatched a couple weeks ago.  The baby snails are really fun to watch because they crawl really fast on the glass and also float up to the top to crawl along the underside of the water’s surface.  Those white specks on the surface of the water are the baby snails.

IMG_4990In the 12-gallon tank, there’s a lot of activity since the baby platys have grown into a pretty good size (there are two left) and there are 8 corys that are really active. There are also snails and shrimp living in this one.

IMG_4989In 5-gallon tank, there is one dwarf puffer (KK named him “Bloat”) just hanging out with some fish that eat algae.  He’s that speck in the middle of the tank hovering over the big rock. Jes is growing some grass along the floor.  That rock in the middle is where he places 1-2 snails from the other tank.  The puffer waits for the snail to come out of its shell and then sucks it out!

IMG_4988This is the 7.5-gallon cube tank that has a really strong light for growing plants.  In here, Jack still remains.  Jill died a couple weeks ago and KK says “she’s in the toilet now”.  This tank will eventually house the puffer.