Baking and Making

October is a busy month for me with 2 birthdays. There are birthday cakes and birthday treats for classes to make. Then, you add Halloween on top of it. It's a crazy baking and making month for me! My husband just said to me, as if to just remind me again, "You are a crazy woman, and I've known that for years." (he said that yesterday during his lunch time looking at me just starting to make J's Halloween costume, yes, on the day before Halloween.) But I LOVE watching kids' smile and "Wow!" reactions. I thrive for it. That's why I bake and make things, just to see those happy faces!

Birthday cupcakes for M's class - chocolate cupcake and chocolate frosting with black food coloring. I don't know if the teachers liked the idea of messy black food colored frosting, but M loved it.

 

 

 

J's birthday cake. It's, of course, a tank. I tried fondant for the first time. I was not so happy, but he love it. And my husband actually finished it up for me because I was so frustrated.

 

M's birthday cake. It is supposed to be a fire truck. Why a 6-year-old girl want a fire truck cake for her birthday? "6-year-olds suppose to have fire truck cakes. That's what J had when he turned 6!" is M's response. Actually, looking back, I think J had something else on his 6th birthday...but we won't tell her that. She enjoyed decorating her truck with all the candies. Very festive.

Gingerbread mummies

They were birthday treats for J's class and it was a hit!

CTR sugar cookies for J's baptism

More sugar cookies for J's baptism

Mummy pigs-in-blanket. I made them for a party with "a pool of blood (a.k.a. ketchup)"

My favorite breakfast these days - home made granola (recipe adjusted from this) and frozen blueberries we picked this summer on top of vanilla yogurt.

A birthday gift for my mother-in-law - I just couldn't find what I hoped to find, so I decided to make it. Mothers' family tree broach/pendant top. She has 7 children. I was very pleased with the final product. Unfortunately, I was home sick when they celebrated her birthday, but I hope she liked it.

This was something for me. I wanted Halloween earrings, then one day the flat circle bead inspired me to make one. My husband thinks I should add some red dots to make them look like Black Widow....hmmm.

Last, but not least, here is the costume I started around lunch time yesterday (jacket, vest, and banner thingy). J was so excited and had a huge smile on his face!

 

 

Let the Summer begin!

Officially, Summer has began. 

Day 1: we played with play dough.

 J's blue Jay and her eggs.

 

M's Robin and her eggs.

J said her Robin looks like Angry Bird - M was not so happy about that....

 

And the fun with play dough ended by 9 am. 

Yes, 9 AM!  

(Phineas and Ferb, please don't tell me there is 104 days of summer vacation...)

 *sigh*

We decided to go to a spray park in the early afternoon before K's nap (no photo).

Kids had fun. They splashed, took breaks, went sliding, while I sat in the shade reading a book.

It was a nice afternoon.

Then, K got splashed (yes, we were at Spray Park where you should be sprayed by water) on his face, M fell from a slide on wood chips and scraped her knee, and their friend hit her head with one water feature. 

It was time for us to go home. 

A couple of more girls joined us in the backyard and played in the sandbox, with water. A lot of water. (again, no photo, due to my policy of not showing kids' face much on public...)

After 7 wet/sandy/muddy kids later, I had a little quiet time....

No, oh no, we are not done yet. 

 

Because my husband took older 2 monkeys to Summer Festival!

 

 They got to ride

 

and ride

 

and ride.

By the way, this was the gift for my son J's teacher Mrs. R. She was a wonderful teacher.  J asked what her favorite color was one day - it was red. So I made a pair of red themed earrings (no photo). The package and card were scraps of my paper supplies, but I thought it turned out cuter than I thought! Thank you, Mrs. R!

 

Today, on Day 2, we are taking easy. J and M are at their friends' house for a play date (Thank you, M!). K is napping. And me is trying to keep record of this precious moments. 

Happy Summer!

My little artists

My house is getting filled with kids' drawings, a lot of it. I love to see their progress - evolution of scribbles to circles, then the faces...eventually legs start coming out of head...

But, I didn't want those nice drawings to be just taped up on my newly painted wall. So, here is the solution: frames and fabric covered cork board. I tried to keep both kids happy with fairness. Showcase! I really like M's family portraits. Well, actually, I really like all of them.

M's latest favorite princess movie "Tangled" inspired drawing. She was very clear, although she also has really really long hair (never had haircut in her life of almost 5 years), that Rapunzel has "yellow hair" and M has "black hair", and Rapunzel's hair is really really long and M's hair is just long.

Thank you, teachers!

It's been officially over a week now since J finished kindergarten, but this is what we made for his teachers as thank-you gifts. The notes read, "ThNK [Thank] YOU FOR TETEN [teaching] Me MRS ..." The teachers were so proud of J being a confident writer (i.e. not being scared of making mistakes). J told teachers that he designed the earrings and his mommy made them according to his design (not really, but I thought that was cute).

Take me out to the ball game!

My hubby and J are out watching Fireworks tonight at a park right now (too late for the younger kids). Just Daddy and J.
Last week, they went to a ball game, again just Daddy and J. They are like best friends. Love it.
I wish he could take me out to the ball game....it's one of my wish items for this summer - watching a ball game with family. That would be fun.

Bad idea

Q. Whose idea was to give a 18 months-old a graham cracker with chocolate frosting on top?
A. Me, supposedly a responsible adult in this household and a registered dietitian, or something like that. Instead of wiping the face, I grabbed my camera. Oh, it was messy. It went to his forehead and to his hair to down the neck. I like this motion picture the best though. He was moving his head so fast to lick the chocolate.

One silly monkey jumping on the bed (a.k.a. crib)

I read one of those "Eight silly monkeys jumping on the bed" books the other night to baby K. He liked it so much that he requested for more with sign. Then, he decided to try on his own. I heard him holding onto the rail and jumping in his crib. At 3:39 am!! He was laughing, giggling, bouncing and just having a blast! This silly monkey, however, didn't fall off or bump his head, so mama didn't have to call the doctor. And it was cute to hear him having fun. But please, baby, not in the middle of the night. So, I did what a good mom would do - put ear plugs in and went back to sleep.

K at his favorite spot in the house

His favorite past time is to line up all the cars on the window sill, looking out the window, and to play with his big brother's cars on the coffee table there.

From there, he has fallen off multiple times AND bumped his head multiple times including one occasion when he got a bruise on his cheek. But he just keeps going back there...I don't think the line "No more monkey jumping on the..." means anything to this little silly monkey.

Santa House

We finally went to see Santa last night. We thought Monday night won't be that bad. Wrong! The line was so long and we waited more than an hour to see him. But it was well worth it. J and M each wrote a letter with printed pictures of toy they want for Christmas. Baby K was just in awe of the sight of all kind of lights and toys inside the Santa House. Best of all, we did the trip with cousins and had pizzas afterward. The only problem (forget the 20 degree weather and the hour-long waiting line and the 23 lb. baby on my hip wanting to move) that my sister-in-law's camera didn't have the memory stick and I ran out of battery for our camera! Luckily, thank goodness to technology and those smart phones, her husband's phone had a memory stick which can hold 2 pictures and my hubby took videos with his cell phone. Lesson learned? Check batteries (including back-up ones) and memory stick for your camera before you leave for a special trip, like, say, Santa House. For now, I just hope kids' little hearts will do better job than memory sticks.

Birthday Bash

We celebrated J and M's birthdays this weekend. It was a grand 5-day event!

We went to a zoo on Friday,
(kids being Rino - isn't that cute?)

and went to a children's museum on Saturday.

Then we had a family birthday party.
Here is J's cake - he requested a skate board.

Of course, M's request was a princess Barbie cake.
What 4-year-old girl doesn't want a princess cake?

And opening gifts, lots of gifts.

I think I took a break on Monday....I don't remember.

Then, of course, the cupcakes for J to share with his 20 some classmates on his birthday.

My husband picked up J from school at lunch time and they went for a special Daddy-and-son lunch. We had J's favorite dinner, home-made hamburger, in picnic style in our front yard enjoying cool fall air and colored leaves flowing by. And to complete, we received a box full of goodies and birthday gifts from Japan. What an event!

J's first day of school

My first child started kindergarten today.
(J waiting in line somewhat nervously)

I expected J to be up early and ready to go, but it was not the case. After 3 nights of sleep over at cousins over Labor Day weekend, I guess he was tired and comfortably snoozing in his bed. So here I went to wake him up.
Me: "Hey, J."
I gently touch his head.
J: "What?"
His eyes still closed.
Me: "Do you want to go to school?"
He gestured with his index finger pointing up. He rolled and sat up. Within 10 seconds, he was awake and smiling.
J: "Are we going to school tomorrow?"
Me: "No. You are going to school today."
J: "Today? Really?"
Big grin.
Me: "Yes. Today. Come on out!"
He hopped out of bed.
Wow. I wish I could be that quick.

He was able to eat only half bowl of cereal this morning. He must have been a bit nervous.
I was able to force myself to eat only a banana. Yes, I was pretty nervous.

My husband took a morning off to be with the younger two, while I took J to school.
Today is a special day. He carried his new backpack. I took pictures. He fiddled with the backpack straps. I took more pictures. We lined up as bell rang. J holding onto my hand, not too tight, but just to make sure I'm still there. After his teacher took attendance, we proceeded to the class - his own locker, his name tag with assigned seat, and so many new kids. I gave him a kiss, and he gave me a hug. We said our good-byes. I took more pictures.

I went home. And I cried. I couldn't help worrying about him.
I was very sure that he would do fine. But I was not so sure if I would do fine.

A few hour later, J came home in a bus, all smiling, holding his water bottle. Wait. He forgot his backpack already on the first day?? There was no one sitting next to him in the bus, so his backpack was "sitting" next to him, J told me. From there, he couldn't stop talking about what he did at school and how much he loved it. He inhaled 2 sandwiches and a glass of milk, while he talked. I found myself smiling while listening to him. Love it.

Then he asked me, "Can I go to school again tomorrow?"

Before J was born, I promised myself that I would raise my child in Japanese, and, if all possible, that I would never place him in a daycare. And I did. Here he is all ready to start his new life. I have no regret at this point of my life. That's a good thing.

Best baby-sitter in town!

I had my friend's girl as a baby-sitter this afternoon while I was at work. I have never hired a baby-sitter with a theme! A theme!! The theme was "fishing". She brought: a movie "Ponyo" as an entertainment; stuff to make jellyfish (paper plates and tissue papers - genius!) for the craft time; and "fishing theme snack" - long pretzel rods with spoonful of peanut butter to "fish" the fish-shaped cheese crackers! When I showed up at the door, they were playing "Go Fishin' " game. Wow!! I was just amazed. Kids LOVED it. They had such a fun time! Thanks, MJ!

Mini Me

I guess, M has always been a "Mommy's girl", but she has been wanting to be doing whatever I do lately - doing dishes, laundry, sweeping, and even nursing. I sit on my glider to nurse baby K; M sits on her little rocking chair across the room to "nurse" her baby (tuck her baby doll under her shirt). I change side, so does she. I rock the baby and pat on the back, so does she. I put a burp clothes under his chin and pat his back to have him burp, well, so does she. After it's all done, she'd check her diaper to make sure it's clean (I sure hope it is!), put her baby in her little bed, tuck her in under a blanket, and tell her "Nite, nite". Then she tells me "Shhhh. Baby is sleep." It's pretty sweet.

A conversation of 5-year-olds

Here is a conversation between my son and his, also a 5-year-old, cousin A.

J: I'm going to Kindergarten next year.
A: Me, too!
J: But I'm going to Kindergarten that people are speaking Japanese. (He meant his Japanese friends who speak Japanese are going to the same school.)
A: Oh.
*Silence*
A: I'm going to just regular Kindergarten. You know, people speak regular.
J: Regular?
A: Yeah. Like, you know? We say "Hi" and stuff.
J: Oh.

I didn't know two 5-year-olds could carry such a conversation - actually listen to the other person and think through responses. It was so cute to see two of them being excited to go kindergarten next year and talking about it.

Theme "Creation" update

Creation of the day - A memory.
J was drawing some pictures this morning. I was very happy to see arms and legs coming out of his little doodle guy. I sent the picture to my hubby at work for him to enjoy. He thought it would be nice to have some drawings of J's posted in his office. So, we decided to take some drawings to his office and have a lunch with him. I packed a loaf of banana bread, sandwiches, and chicken noodle soup for our lunch, and we headed out to Daddy's work. It was a beautiful sunny day for a drive. I believe it is important for kids to see how and where their Daddy works. And it's good to have a memory that they had a special lunch with Daddy at his work place.

Doodle Dude

It's funny to see the differences between my 2 kids - a boy and a girl. M would just sit and happily colors with crayons for quite a while. On the other hand, J is all about actions - car crash game with riding toys, ghost hunting with his PVC pipe marshmallow gun, rock 'n' rolling with his pillow, etc. So I don't think he's got much of drawing practice per se. But his doodle guy has now have eye brows and eye balls! This guy below is a "Pirate Ghost" with "skeleton" body.

This is what it was like till only a couple of weeks ago

Yay!

Sleeping beauty and the beast

Lately, kids have been sleeping together. At first, of course we heard them playing and giggling for a long time. But nowadays, we hear one of them quietly shouts to the other "Shhhhh! Nite Nite!" Sometimes Mari in crib, Josh in bed. Sometimes both in bed. Sometimes both in crib.
We sometimes hear a big bang or two.This is what we saw after one of those. Both of them in deep sleep despite the fall...
I have to say, my husband and I love to peek in to see how and where they are sleeping, so that we can tuck them in nicely for the night.
Nite nite.

Oh, by the way, this is one of the best books I have read (Thanks to my sister-in-law). Our kids sleep well, and they are healthy and happy. And sleeping kids let mommy sleep, which creates happy mommy!

Our new poppy

No, we didn't get another dog. Lately, our 2-year-old daughter loves playing being a poppy. She never barks, just like our dog never does. Or she never bites. She is a very friendly dog. She might lick your face, if she is really happy. She listens to commands for "sit" "shake" and "roll over." (Our dog doesn't roll over, so I don't know where she learned that trick.) She'll take a treat out of your hand, and drink water with her tongue. When she wants something, she sits and makes "a happy doggy face" - too bad she doesn't have a tail because I could see it wiggling. Did I mention her piggy tails? She is a cute poppy. Yeah, we'll keep this poppy.