Tree Trimming

I adopted a tradition from a friend a long time ago - picking out Christmas ornaments wherever I traveled. Through the years Jamie and I have gotten ornaments from different countries and places we've visited and of course to commemorate special occasions. Also back in 2007 we hosted a tree trimming party. We were really touched when we opened up some of the ornaments because friends really put some thought into picking out special ones. I had just announced my first pregnancy and so a friend of mine gave me a pregnant couple one. Another friend gave a felt shaped black cat because of Raider. And another friend had given an LA Laker ornament.

So now every year when Jamie and I decorate our Christmas tree it really takes us down memory lane and I absolutely love this tradition.

Caleb's First Christmas

Lucas foot at 3 weeks old

an ornament I made in FIRST grade! Does that make it vintage?

Pregnant with Caleb

Jamie's favorite

Happy Christmas - bought in London

Our newest ornament - Mickey!

Peru - 2003

Our first home

Star of David tree topper - gotta love Etsy

Palm Springs Thanksgiving

We were invited to Jamie's aunt's house in Palm Springs for Thanksgiving. The trip started on the busiest travel day of the year. We flew to LA in the morning and then drove to Palm Springs. We hit traffic so it took about an hour longer to get there than it should have. By the time we got there we didn't want to do anything else but relax in the hotel and we even ordered room service.

We spent Thanksgiving morning at the Living Desert in Palm Desert, a zoo. We got there when it opened at 9:00am. It was a fun time seeing some animals and Jamie and Lucas even got to feed a giraffe! They sure have long tongues! There also was a 3.5 week old baby giraffe. So cute! There also was an elaborate train display. It rocked Caleb's world. It was the first thing we saw when we entered the zoo and he didn't want to leave.

Train town

Giraffe

After the zoo and a nap, we headed to Jamie's aunt's house. Jamie's uncle is really into collecting life size statues. It was impressive and some of it was a little intimidating. We had a yummy dinner with all the traditional Thanksgiving food and then some. Lucas especially loved the potato/leek soup and Caleb loved the pretzel rolls.

On Black Friday Jamie golfed with his dad, aunt, and uncle. I met up with a friend who has 3 girls one of which is the same age as Caleb. We went to the Civic Center Park. I think it was awesome (and probably necessary) to have a tent over the playground.

After the park we cooled off at the wading pool. If it wasn't for the 1 foot deep wading pool I wouldn't have gone near the pool with the boys by myself. Lucas now knows how to jump and he enjoyed jumping into the pool. I need to get swimming lessons for him ASAP.

On Saturday we took the boys to the Children's Museum of the Desert. They love to run around and see all the exhibits and touch everything. There was this cool magnet wall where you could throw metal objects and see it stick to the wall.

On Sunday Jamie and his dad golfed while I hung out at the hotel and then at the mall with the boys. I picked Jamie up at noon and we headed back to LA and then flew home. It was another exhausting travel day.

Very thankful

It's Thanksgiving. We're in Palm Springs celebrating with Jamie's family. We're staying in a lovely hotel. Baby Lucas cried and wouldn't let go of me when I tried to put him in the crib for his nap. When Caleb came in to take his nap he asked to snuggle too. I am so very blessed and have lots to be thankful for.

Thankful

Today during Caleb's Parent Observation class, the teacher asked what the kids were thankful for. She had a felt turkey and different colored feathers. The kids would raise their hand and when called on, would go up take a feather, tell everyone what they were thankful for, and put the feather on the turkey. The first kid who went up said "lunch" (it was during snack time) Another kid said a color. I think he thought the teacher asked him what color feather did he want. Caleb was maybe the 4th or 5th kid who went up. By then the teacher would ask what color feather he wanted (green) and then ask what he was thankful for. What was Caleb's response? "Mommy".

San Luis Obispo

Every so often I would see a Facebook status or picture of someone who was in the San Luis Obispo area. It would always bring back fond memories of my college years. I told Jamie that I wanted to make a trip down there again and before I knew it Jamie booked a hotel and our getaway was on the calendar.

One of the fun things to do in SLO is go to the Farmer's Market on Thursday nights. We got into town around 4pm and relaxed for a bit at the hotel before heading to downtown SLO. It's just as I remembered it. Lots of outdoor grills serving up tri-tip sandwiches and fresh produce and assorted college clubs and organizations promoting their causes.

On Friday we headed to Cal Poly to just look around. I wanted to go to the bookstore and get a new Alumni sweatshirt and just walk around a little. It was Veteran's Day and didn't know that the campus would be closed. It was deserted. It was just nice to be back on campus for a little bit. It has changed a lot. In fact, they closed one of the streets and made it a pedestrian walkway and I had no idea had to drive around so we had to backtrack to get to the other side.

After touring the campus for a short while we headed to the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum. It was P.A.C.K.E.D. probably because it was a holiday or maybe because it was small. By then, my father in law got into town. Caleb enjoyed the farmer's market play area and insisted on collecting all the strawberries into his basket. He also enjoyed the doctor's office and this poor mom was pretending to be a patient and Caleb kept giving her shots. Lucas liked riding on this big wooden horse. There were lots of kids so I was afraid he was going to get trampled so he was carried a lot of the time.

We then headed to Splash Cafe for clam chowder. yum yum! And as we left it started to rain and squelched the idea of taking a walk on the beach. It was naptime anytime so we headed back to the hotel.

For dinner we decided to go to the Cracked Crab. It's gimmick is basically a bucket of shellfish dumped on your table and you go at it like vultures. It was yummy and a fun experience. 

On Saturday we went to breakfast at the Custom House and then headed to Port San Luis. We walked down the pier. At the very end were seals. Now I've seen the seals at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco so I thought it was no big deal. But here they were hanging out just underneath the pier and there was a staircase (not locked) that you could walk down and literally get within 5 feet of them. Jamie went down a few steps and got real close. It was quite a spectacle. He told me later that at one point when one of the seals looked over he thought the seal was going to go after him. Instead he barked and went after another seal. After that we drove to Pismo Beach's Monarch Butterfly Grove. It was quite amazing to look through a telescope and see the THOUSANDS of butterflies hanging out in trees. Without the telescope the butterflies look like leaves on a branch. After that we took the boys to a playground and headed back to the hotel for a nap.

Once the boys were up from their nap we headed back to downtown San Luis Obispo to walk around and do some window shopping. I was able to get a new alumni sweatshirt at the Cal Poly Downtown store before heading to Firestone Grill for dinner. The Stanford vs. Oregon game was on and so Jamie caught a glimpse of that. After dinner we got some yogurt and headed back to the hotel to relax and watch tv.

On Sunday we went to the Apple Farm for brunch. Jamie really wanted to take Highway 1 on the way to San Luis Obispo and I nixed that idea. But I agreed to do it on the way home. It took forever. I got a bit crabby on the way because I can get a little carsick on windy roads. It was a beautiful drive. We stopped in Big Sur for a snack and a break. The boys slept some parts of it but did get antsy (as did I) towards the end.

It was a great relaxing weekend and we'll likely do it again!

Dolphin Bay Resort - walk along the coastal path

Tri-tip!

My old dorm - Tenaya room 101!

SLO Children's Museum

SLO Children's Museum

Splash cafe - a must stop while in Pismo Beach

"Bucker for two" but enough for 3 adults

Cousin Ally

Ally is 8 months older than Caleb. They play with each other really well. So far they have never gotten really mad at each other or fought over a toy to the extent that they don't want to play with each other anymore.

I hope this bond continues as they get older.

The Switch Witch

On a friend's blog she mentioned the idea of the Switch Witch. I kind of forgot about it until we started trick or treating and the bag was getting full of candy for both kids. There's no way I was going to let either kid have all that candy. And I didn't want Caleb wondering what happened to all his candy since both Jamie and I wouldn't be able to resist having some.We could've stopped trick or treating earlier but Caleb was having fun ringing the doorbells on the houses.

So we told Caleb that he can pick out 5 pieces of candy and the rest he can leave for the Switch Witch who will give him a toy in exchange for all his candy. I asked him what kind of toy he wanted and he emphatically said a train and wanted two Chuggington trains. I do have to mention that it took a LOONG time for Caleb to pick out 5 pieces. His pickiness about food extends to candy as well. For example, I asked him if he wanted the gummy candy. He asked, "What's that?" I would try to describe it by saying it was chewy and it sometimes sticks to your teeth. He didn't like that idea. He also was considerate too. He picked out a piece of Hershey's chocolate and when I said why not have 2 he said no, the Switch Witch would like two pieces. And somehow he knew that the Switch Witch also likes Kit Kats and Twix. (hhmmm maybe he's onto me?)

For right now it's a win win situation... Caleb gets a new toy and Jamie gets all the candy. I also picked Lucas up a new little musical toy since he won't get to eat any of his candy.

Matzo Ball soup

Once a long time ago I made Jamie matzo ball soup with his mom's recipe (he was sick). He said it turned out pretty good. A few weeks ago Caleb wasn't feeling well so Jamie suggested I make him matzo ball soup. I did but tried to use a shortcut by using chicken broth. And for some reason the matzo balls were really hard and not fluffy "like my mom's". So that batch of matzo ball soup bombed big time. One of the last times that Jamie talked to his mom, he actually mentioned my attempt to make the soup and how it was NOT good. He told her that she had to sit down with me and show me how to make it step by step.

Unfortunately that cooking lesson will not be, but I am lucky that I do have the recipe, I had one successful attempt, and I've had her matzo ball soup at least a dozen times. Over the weekend I caught a cold and felt crappy. Of course Jamie suggested I try making the soup. He didn't realize that I had her recipe written down. He got the ingredients and we actually made it together. Fully homemade chicken soup and fluffy matzo balls - just like Jamie's mom makes it. It was yummy and as I ate it I couldn't help think she would've been proud that her recipe has been passed down.