Bedtime stories with Dr. Seuss

Me to my kids: "Bye, I'm going to my tennis lesson. You better be asleep before I'm back!"

later...

(I've been back for 20 minutes already. Kids are still awake)

Me: "Was it hard to get the kids to bed tonight?"

Warren: "I picked the wrong book. It was too long. It was a bedtime book by Dr. Seuss. The problem is- he writes too well. It's too interesting. I actually want to read the whole thing."

Thanks a lot Dr. Seuss. Did you ever hear of trying to keep your kids bedtime routine to an hour?
;)

A quick visit to LA

Rebecca has been begging me ever since we moved to take her back to her old kindergarten class. I felt like she needed this closure, so yesterday we made the trek out to LA and visited her old friends. I was totally unprepared for what happened. Her kindergarten friends were having their lunch recess time. When we stepped on to the playground they ran over to her and mobbed her with a huge group hug. Everyone was shouting her name and trying to get in on the hug. It was one of those moments I regretted deciding to leave my camera in the car. She was completely overwhelmed and looked shocked. I have to admit, it made me cry a little bit to see how happy they were to see her. She was like some sort of celebrity and they wouldn't let go of her. The TA had to tell them to give her some space, but even after that they jealously guarder her. Changing schools is never easy, especially in the middle of the year, and although we are totally happy at our new school, I was surprised at how emotional it made me to be back at the place my first child first started school. I tried hard to learn all the kids names and they were surprised I still remembered their names!
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing at our favorite old haunt, Mar Vista park with a few of Rebecca's little rascals gang. It felt just like old times and felt completely normal to be there, yet at the same time I knew this wasn't my life anymore. It's hard to explain. I cherish those times and but I'm also glad we have made our move. We miss our friends but luckily we're not too far away!

Thanks for the good times, Ladies!

Easter Sunday

 

What a wonderful Easter Sunday.  We had a bunch of dear friends over for Easter dinner.  Everyone brought something and the meal was absolutely delicious if I may say so myself.  We even managed to get 9 adults and 5 kids around the table with the three little girls on a little table on their own.  We had another fun Easter egg hunt, good conversation and good company.  It was fun to host something in my own home for people I care about so much.  What a wonderful day.  

Easter Saturday with friends

We had an Easter party with a couple of my high school friends and their kids. We had a fantastic Easter egg hunt with a golden egg for everyone. The Easterbunny even left paw prints all over the backyard! A hummingbird had made her nest on top of a windchime. There were two little eggs nestled inside-so sweet-the size of jelly beans. The kids dyed eggs and ate cupcakes in honor of Joseph's birthday last week. It was a great afternoon.

Aquarium of the Pacific

For our family spring break "vacation" we spent an afternoon in Long Beach and visited the Aquarium of the Pacific. We enjoyed getting to know some of the amazing creatures that share this planet with us. Rebecca even had the courage to touch starfish, sting rays, sharks and sea urchins. Her other favorite thing were the Lorikeet birds. I enjoyed everything, but especially just getting out with my family.

Discovery Science Center

As part of our spring break activities we met up with one of Rebecca's West LA friends and went to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. We watched an awesome Bubble Show and got to try our hand at making big bubbles ourselves. We had a great afternoon.

Time warp

I was at Target in the movie section and the young saleswoman asked me if I was finding everything alright. I said: "Actually, I was wondering if you had Ben Hur?"

After seeing the look of bewilderment on her face I said, "You know, Ben Hur..., it's an old movie."

Target girl: "Oh, you mean like from the 80s and 90s?"

Me: "No, I mean REALLY old, like from the 50s!" (It was 1959 to be precise.)

Target girl (with an even greater bewildered look that anyone would watch anything from the 50s...did they even have movies back then?): "Oh, you'll find those kinds of movies in the corner on the back wall."

Sure enough, I went to the backwall to look for those REALLY old movies. I found them. "A River Runs Through It" (1992-yeah, that's really old), "Sense and Sensibility" (1995-another old movie...), and on and on....

If those are old movies, then I'm REALLY old and my parents must be ancient.