I love staying in Bellevue over the holidays because of how festive their downtown area is.
Monday, November 28, 2011
My view
The view from my "home" away from home for the next few days... I'm up in Redmond for another leadership conference. It's pretty cold out but the air is crisp and the skies are blue. :)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Loganism of the day
(while discussing what Logan wants for Christmas, and what Santa is going to get him....)
So what does Santa get a bad boy for Christmas?
A bicycle.
So what does Santa get a bad boy for Christmas?
A bicycle.
Lights? Check!
The neighbors were teasing Jon to get our lights done since we were the only ones left on the block who still hadn't done ours yet. Jon surprised them by saying Oh no, that was all me, not him.
But seriously, we would be the house without any holiday cheer if it weren't for me! (Next weekend, when I get back from Redmond, I'll tackle the Christmas trees - yeah!)
But seriously, we would be the house without any holiday cheer if it weren't for me! (Next weekend, when I get back from Redmond, I'll tackle the Christmas trees - yeah!)
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Peanut Butter Apple Bars
My parents recently became vegans so this is my first attempt at a vegan dessert. Hopefully it'll be a hit! :)
Loganism of last night
Mommy, monsters won't eat us because we're spicy!
Hope all of you are as lucky (and spicy) as we are. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope all of you are as lucky (and spicy) as we are. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Space Darth Vader
That's what Logan is calling himself here.
I guess it also means we need to turn up the heat, since he said he was cold. ;-)
I guess it also means we need to turn up the heat, since he said he was cold. ;-)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Loganism of the day
Okay Mommy, listen, this is your chance. Do you want me to play, to dance, or to be quiet and lay down next to you?
Hmmmm, such a tough choice....
Hmmmm, such a tough choice....
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Missing Daddy
I think this trip is probably the longest Jon and I have been apart and while I've stayed busy enough to get through the majority of it, it finally hit me driving home today, how much I really miss him (probably last night too, as I kept waking up and had a really restless night).
I think the boys miss him as well - Callum was extra needy tonight and Logan was a pain in the butt at school today (so bad that, it sounds like he may not be allowed back to soccer!).
Sadly, Jon's work is taking longer than expected and his trip home is delayed a day (so he'll be home Saturday evening instead of tomorrow). We're going to touch base tomorrow but hopefully he finishes up everything he needs to, so that he isn't delayed any further! We sure do miss our Daddy (and I am pretty damn exhausted!).
I think the boys miss him as well - Callum was extra needy tonight and Logan was a pain in the butt at school today (so bad that, it sounds like he may not be allowed back to soccer!).
Sadly, Jon's work is taking longer than expected and his trip home is delayed a day (so he'll be home Saturday evening instead of tomorrow). We're going to touch base tomorrow but hopefully he finishes up everything he needs to, so that he isn't delayed any further! We sure do miss our Daddy (and I am pretty damn exhausted!).
Monday, November 14, 2011
Guess who I found hiding under a bed?!
Pic doesn't nearly show how cute they were, playing together. :)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Cross-eyed
Logan has discovered how to cross his eyes and no matter how many times I've asked him not to, he still slips it in every now and then. When I asked him why he does it, he says it's to get all the energy out. *shrug*
Nekkid!
This is the Internet "safe" pic. I have a funnier version I'll be texting to his dad to remind him of what he's missing at home. ;-)
Friday, November 11, 2011
The last 30 days
Here's a quick glimpse at our last 30 days. What will the next 30 days bring us? ;-)
1) Mama needed a day off with the girls and tried out Stand Up Paddling (SUP) - LOVED IT. The pics aren't very flattering, but I had a terrific time and, if it weren't for the fact that my back is killing me right now (but not due to SUP!), I'd sign up for another class (or ten!) in a hot minute. Thanks to Kim for organizing it!
2) I flew up to Redmond for a few days to attend our Women's Global Leadership Conference because, in some circles of the world, I'm a leader! Weird, right? (the Conference was tons of fun and very enlightening, educational, informative, yada yada)
3) We celebrated Molly's 4th Birthday party while Daddy worked his fanny off up in the city (his company decided to schedule an entire building move PLUS one of their biggest hosted gaming events yet, all in the same weekend. And they don't think they need a project manager. Ha!).
Unfortunately, no pics to share from the party since I was busy chasing down two hyper bouncing maniac boys by myself! ;-)
4) I took the boys up to Arata's Pumpkin Farm in Half Moon Bay (met the Jodoins for part of it) and had a blast playing, running through a very confusing (and unsolvable by 4 kids and 3 adults) hay maze, riding on a train and picking out mini-pumpkins to adorn our front porch in an effort to dress up our home and look semi-festive this year. We had a really great time and the boys enjoyed themselves immensely (sadly, Daddy had to miss all the fun since he had to work again).
After the pumpkin patch, we met up with my parents and grandmother, who was in town for a short visit. So great to see Nana and I can't wait to see her (and Clock) again in December!
(the full album of the Arata's Pumpkin Farm visit is online)
5) Callum turns 18 months old - woot woot! Both boys get their flu shots. Boo hoo! ;-)
6) We four travel out to Texas to celebrate Jon's sister (Kate)'s marriage to our now fun and funny new brother-in-law Blake. The wedding was small, simple and elegant - family only - and loads of fun.
We enjoyed seeing....
Jon's parents as always,
Daphne (Logan's god-mother, if puppies could be such a thing),
several of his brothers and other extended family members,
being adults for an evening, without chasing after our kiddos,
and of course, a lot of fun and exhausting playtime with the cousins.
(the full album of our Texas trip is online)
7) Once we got back home, we managed to squeeze in time for the boys' school Harvest Festival Party (aka Halloween party) where Callum won the cutest costume award, took the boys out to the movies that weekend to see Puss in Boots (Callum's first time at the movie theatres; he didn't do too bad but was pretty damn antsy and done with it by about the last 30 minutes I'd say), dressed up again (this time Callum wore a Yoda costume to match Logan's Darth Vader) for my work's Kid's Halloween Parade, and then Trick and Treated our hearts out on Halloween night.
8) This past weekend, we drove down to Southern California for a VERY quick visit with Jon's family (I think we spent more time traveling than we did actually visiting!). Unfortunately, both Jon and I ended up working most of the day on Friday before hitting the road - and I ended up forgetting a few things (like my iPad which had Logan's movies all loaded up and ready to play for the ride down south) when packing the truck. Thankfully, Logan was AWESOME and Callum wasn't too bad either. They were both content to laugh and giggle and make faces at each other for most of the ride. And, when Callum was napping, Logan would just look out the window and/or talk to Jon and I and tell us stories.
It was a VERY long drive however, and unfortunately, I threw out my back in the process. Running after the kids all day Saturday during Jon's Grandfather's 80th Surprise Birthday Party didn't help - nor did the head cold that got 10 times worse over night! So, Jon booked a ticket for me to fly home so I could rest and recover (but not before we took the kids to ride/see Thomas the Train!). I took Callum with me so that Jon wouldn't have the long drive alone with both kids, and he spent some extra time at his brother Curtis's after dropping me off at the airport, so that Logan could play with Luke and Stella before hitting the road again.
But back to the Party! Grandpa Negrete was totally surprised (which we were shocked at, given no one in Jon's family is very good at keeping secrets for long) ;-) and it was a lot of fun celebrating his long life and memories with his kids, grand kids and great-grand kids.
(the full album of our SoCal visit is online)
My father likes to give a beautiful (short but sweet) toast at our own family gatherings, which I thought would be an appropriate blessing to include in Grandpa Negrete's birthday card:
Le mandamos con cariño, salud, dinero y amor, y el tiempo para gastarlos.
And we mean every word of it! Love to all... let the holidays begin!
1) Mama needed a day off with the girls and tried out Stand Up Paddling (SUP) - LOVED IT. The pics aren't very flattering, but I had a terrific time and, if it weren't for the fact that my back is killing me right now (but not due to SUP!), I'd sign up for another class (or ten!) in a hot minute. Thanks to Kim for organizing it!
2) I flew up to Redmond for a few days to attend our Women's Global Leadership Conference because, in some circles of the world, I'm a leader! Weird, right? (the Conference was tons of fun and very enlightening, educational, informative, yada yada)
3) We celebrated Molly's 4th Birthday party while Daddy worked his fanny off up in the city (his company decided to schedule an entire building move PLUS one of their biggest hosted gaming events yet, all in the same weekend. And they don't think they need a project manager. Ha!).
Unfortunately, no pics to share from the party since I was busy chasing down two hyper bouncing maniac boys by myself! ;-)
4) I took the boys up to Arata's Pumpkin Farm in Half Moon Bay (met the Jodoins for part of it) and had a blast playing, running through a very confusing (and unsolvable by 4 kids and 3 adults) hay maze, riding on a train and picking out mini-pumpkins to adorn our front porch in an effort to dress up our home and look semi-festive this year. We had a really great time and the boys enjoyed themselves immensely (sadly, Daddy had to miss all the fun since he had to work again).
After the pumpkin patch, we met up with my parents and grandmother, who was in town for a short visit. So great to see Nana and I can't wait to see her (and Clock) again in December!
(the full album of the Arata's Pumpkin Farm visit is online)
5) Callum turns 18 months old - woot woot! Both boys get their flu shots. Boo hoo! ;-)
6) We four travel out to Texas to celebrate Jon's sister (Kate)'s marriage to our now fun and funny new brother-in-law Blake. The wedding was small, simple and elegant - family only - and loads of fun.
We enjoyed seeing....
Jon's parents as always,
Daphne (Logan's god-mother, if puppies could be such a thing),
several of his brothers and other extended family members,
being adults for an evening, without chasing after our kiddos,
 |
| Hey! We clean up pretty well, don't we? |
and of course, a lot of fun and exhausting playtime with the cousins.
 |
| Logan caught taking a whiz in his grandparent's backyard! |
(the full album of our Texas trip is online)
7) Once we got back home, we managed to squeeze in time for the boys' school Harvest Festival Party (aka Halloween party) where Callum won the cutest costume award, took the boys out to the movies that weekend to see Puss in Boots (Callum's first time at the movie theatres; he didn't do too bad but was pretty damn antsy and done with it by about the last 30 minutes I'd say), dressed up again (this time Callum wore a Yoda costume to match Logan's Darth Vader) for my work's Kid's Halloween Parade, and then Trick and Treated our hearts out on Halloween night.
8) This past weekend, we drove down to Southern California for a VERY quick visit with Jon's family (I think we spent more time traveling than we did actually visiting!). Unfortunately, both Jon and I ended up working most of the day on Friday before hitting the road - and I ended up forgetting a few things (like my iPad which had Logan's movies all loaded up and ready to play for the ride down south) when packing the truck. Thankfully, Logan was AWESOME and Callum wasn't too bad either. They were both content to laugh and giggle and make faces at each other for most of the ride. And, when Callum was napping, Logan would just look out the window and/or talk to Jon and I and tell us stories.
It was a VERY long drive however, and unfortunately, I threw out my back in the process. Running after the kids all day Saturday during Jon's Grandfather's 80th Surprise Birthday Party didn't help - nor did the head cold that got 10 times worse over night! So, Jon booked a ticket for me to fly home so I could rest and recover (but not before we took the kids to ride/see Thomas the Train!). I took Callum with me so that Jon wouldn't have the long drive alone with both kids, and he spent some extra time at his brother Curtis's after dropping me off at the airport, so that Logan could play with Luke and Stella before hitting the road again.
But back to the Party! Grandpa Negrete was totally surprised (which we were shocked at, given no one in Jon's family is very good at keeping secrets for long) ;-) and it was a lot of fun celebrating his long life and memories with his kids, grand kids and great-grand kids.
 |
| Surprise! |
(the full album of our SoCal visit is online)
My father likes to give a beautiful (short but sweet) toast at our own family gatherings, which I thought would be an appropriate blessing to include in Grandpa Negrete's birthday card:
Le mandamos con cariño, salud, dinero y amor, y el tiempo para gastarlos.
And we mean every word of it! Love to all... let the holidays begin!
Loganism of (yester)day
I forgot to post this yesterday but it's amusing and shouldn't be forgotten. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I like my soccer coach because he's funny.
How is he funny?
Because he talks in Spanish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jon left early Wednesday morning for another trip to Europe. My head cold seems to be getting better, but my back is still pretty bad. I tried going into the office on Wednesday after Jon left, but was unable to sit down for a few minutes and ended up participating in a few meetings standing up. After a couple of hours of that, I decided it was silly to stick around in pain and went back home to continue lying down on ice and working, laptop on lap, from the couch.
I've had a few bad episodes in the evening, where my back pain twinges worse than usual, and is accompanied with nausea, woozy shakes and lightheadedness. Unfortunately, it was so bad yesterday evening that I didn't feel stable enough to drive to the boys' school to pick them up at the end of the day. THANKFULLY, I have a fantastic network of friends and Kim came to the rescue, once again!
Other than fighting the same head cold, the boys haven't caused me too many problems so far, so at least that is good.
It's going to be a very long 10 days without Jon here to help out, but we'll survive, one way or another! Wish us luck. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I like my soccer coach because he's funny.
How is he funny?
Because he talks in Spanish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jon left early Wednesday morning for another trip to Europe. My head cold seems to be getting better, but my back is still pretty bad. I tried going into the office on Wednesday after Jon left, but was unable to sit down for a few minutes and ended up participating in a few meetings standing up. After a couple of hours of that, I decided it was silly to stick around in pain and went back home to continue lying down on ice and working, laptop on lap, from the couch.
I've had a few bad episodes in the evening, where my back pain twinges worse than usual, and is accompanied with nausea, woozy shakes and lightheadedness. Unfortunately, it was so bad yesterday evening that I didn't feel stable enough to drive to the boys' school to pick them up at the end of the day. THANKFULLY, I have a fantastic network of friends and Kim came to the rescue, once again!
Other than fighting the same head cold, the boys haven't caused me too many problems so far, so at least that is good.
It's going to be a very long 10 days without Jon here to help out, but we'll survive, one way or another! Wish us luck. :)
Monday, November 7, 2011
18 months old
Right when I thought we couldn't be any busier than this summer, Fall rolls around and I have every weekend (and most week days) booked up! So, I'm going to try and plow through a few updates that I'm terribly behind on, while laid out at home, sick with a cold and icing my back. Good times!
Did you notice Callum turned 18 months old last month? Yeah, I barely noticed myself. The only reminder, frankly, was his 18 month check up we took care of right before heading off to Texas for a few days!
Callum continues to be a rough and tumbling little kid. He's constantly following his big brother and quickly picking up his (bad) habits, throwing toys on the floor or climbing and getting into things he's not supposed to. :) He could care less about the toys lounging around the house that are age-appropriate for an 18 month old, he wants to play with the big kid 4 year old toys!
Physically, he's continuing to show signs that yep, he's a boy. His climbing has definitely improved as he quickly scales walls and tables with a blink of an eye. He cannot get enough of slides, slides, slides! He now loves balls - chasing and THROWING them EVERYWHERE with delight. He also enjoys grabbing one of the dump truck toys we have in the house (it's actually Logan's but I think Callum has claimed dibs) and races it around the house, sometimes filled with toys that he then dumps god knows where elsewhere in the house, always bashing into walls and dogs and your legs along the way.
LOOK OUT.
His conversation skills have also exploded this last month. I can't always make out the words he's trying to say - but he's constantly babbling (whether you're listening or not) and practicing his vocal abilities. He's very demanding, but in a polite way ("up please" and "more, thank you") which is pretty hilarious. Every time we give him something or he points out something nearby that he's interested in, we practice saying the word together and it's just amazing how much he can immediately mimic and say the word back! I had forgotten how fun (and frustrating) this stage of learning to talk and processing language in general, can be. Still, very exciting as we get to know Callum and his cute little quirks more and more! :)
Did you notice Callum turned 18 months old last month? Yeah, I barely noticed myself. The only reminder, frankly, was his 18 month check up we took care of right before heading off to Texas for a few days!
Callum continues to be a rough and tumbling little kid. He's constantly following his big brother and quickly picking up his (bad) habits, throwing toys on the floor or climbing and getting into things he's not supposed to. :) He could care less about the toys lounging around the house that are age-appropriate for an 18 month old, he wants to play with the big kid 4 year old toys!
Physically, he's continuing to show signs that yep, he's a boy. His climbing has definitely improved as he quickly scales walls and tables with a blink of an eye. He cannot get enough of slides, slides, slides! He now loves balls - chasing and THROWING them EVERYWHERE with delight. He also enjoys grabbing one of the dump truck toys we have in the house (it's actually Logan's but I think Callum has claimed dibs) and races it around the house, sometimes filled with toys that he then dumps god knows where elsewhere in the house, always bashing into walls and dogs and your legs along the way.
LOOK OUT.
His conversation skills have also exploded this last month. I can't always make out the words he's trying to say - but he's constantly babbling (whether you're listening or not) and practicing his vocal abilities. He's very demanding, but in a polite way ("up please" and "more, thank you") which is pretty hilarious. Every time we give him something or he points out something nearby that he's interested in, we practice saying the word together and it's just amazing how much he can immediately mimic and say the word back! I had forgotten how fun (and frustrating) this stage of learning to talk and processing language in general, can be. Still, very exciting as we get to know Callum and his cute little quirks more and more! :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Last minute flight
Callum and I are headed home via air today since the drive down on Friday did a horrible number on my back. :( Jon and Logan are spending a bit longer hanging out with the cousins then will see us at home tonight.
A day with Thomas
We bought tix to ride Thomas the Train this morning, since he was "visiting" a nearby town where we were staying. We had a great time riding a few different train rides (and spending money at the Thomas store - ouch!) before it started to rain. We needed to get back on the road to start heading home anyway so it was a good excuse. ;-)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Feliz Cumpleanos Abuelito!
We're down in SoCal celebrating Jon's grandfather's 80th birthday, complete with a festive pinata and catered taco "truck". These grilled jalapenos were a delicious and nice extra touch. ;-)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Entertaining
Most of the drive I'm turned around looking at this dude, making funny faces to keep him entertained.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
I've been henna'd!
They say the darker the stain from your henna tattoo, the more your husband loves you, so we'll see! ;-)
Logan also was very interested in the tattoos tonight. He said he wants to get bigger so he can go to work and get the same tattoo. :)
Logan also was very interested in the tattoos tonight. He said he wants to get bigger so he can go to work and get the same tattoo. :)
Diwali Celebration
We had a fantastic Diwali celebration at work today. Tons of delicious home cooked food, gorgeous decorations and fun company. :)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Time for some elbow grease
Callum got into Logan's crayons last night and decided to have a field day on the floor. This is why we don't keep nice things in our house! ;-)
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