What a busy, busy day.

We started out at a birthday party at the New Children's Museum for one of Daniel's classmates. It was my first time at the museum and what a great museum for kids. They had all kinds of crafts, activities and interactive stations. The kids had a blast crawling, jumping, climbing, exploring and creating. I will have to take the boys back and spend some more time there.

From the Children's Museum we headed straight over to Balboa Park for a BBQ and picnic for one of Dan and my friend's birthday. Lots of running, Frisbee throwing (which I am terrible at) and ball kicking. It was a perfectly perfect day to spend at the park with good food and friends.

After the party we dropped the boys off at Nana's house (you are the best Nana!) and got to relax for a couple of hours before heading off to Saturday night church. One of the pastors at the church was a friend from college, so it was nice catching up with his family. And it was a really nice service.

I must be getting old because I am pooped and ready to crash. A very full and fun filled day.

Clean Bill of Health

I am happy to say Sammy passed the inspection. No 'ukus this time. Thank you, thank you!

We've got a full day ahead of us tomorrow. Two birthday parties in the am and then a special outing for Dan and I in the evening.

Oh, and I just noticed that this is our 200th post on this blog!

'Ukus

1. 'uku : Hawaiian for head lice.
As in 'Whoa guy, you have 'ukus. I can see um crawling."

Q) What do you call one 'uku on one bald head?
A) Homeless.

The ukus strike again. What is up with all the head lice this year? A couple of months ago about 4 girls in Daniels class got head lice. My Mom said that my old school where she is currently working had an infestation of head lice in the fall.

Well, today one of the Moms at school warned me that her daughter, who is in Sammy's class, has lice. This is much more concerning because Sammy's class has hats and dress-up stuff the kids love to put on. Now I am paranoid. I so, so, so don't want to have to deal with lice. It is a royal pain in the patootie. I have been like a mother monkey all day searching Sammy's head for any crawling rice (I guess that's what they look like). And just the thought of it sets my scalp a itching.

Sammy's classmate also has an older brother who is in Daniel's class so potentially it could be in Daniel's class too. Tomorrow all the kids will get checked. Please no. Please, please no.

The Fine Art of Swordsmanship

A little while back I posted a video of Sammy showing off his swordsmanship. Well, Daniel also gave me a sword performance.

Yes, he is chopping off body parts, if you were wondering. There's talent there. There is definitely talent.

A Different Day

I had almost the whole day to myself today. It was nice.

Nana took Sammy this morning and they spent the day together at Balboa Park. She then picked up Daniel from school and took both of them to her house for dinner and dropped them off right before bedtime. So nice.

I had a relaxing day. No where to hurry off to. Nothing that absolutely had to get done. So, so nice.

It was strange having an empty house to myself for so long. And strange having Dan come home from work to just me and eating dinner just the two of us. I could almost remember what life was like before kids. Like a word on the tip of your tongue. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Not for a hundred million dollars.

One Last Time

I have been taking the boys to Sea World for class field trips since Daniel was two years old. That's five years of annual Sea World treks with many small children in tow. Today was probably my last time, as Sammy will be in Kindergarten next year. It is a bittersweet feeling for me. Bitter because I will miss these moments. Sweet because trying to keep 17 preschoolers from getting lost is quite stressful.

We had a fun time today. Luckily the weather was good to us and we didn't get rained on at all. Last year we got stuck in a downpour right as we sat down for lunch and it was a very cold and wet day. Today the sun came out for us and there was almost no crowds.

Of course Sammy enjoyed himself. He especially liked touching the stingrays as they glided by little reaching hands, picking up colorful starfish and screaming and running around the polar bear caves. My favorite; standing just inches away as the enormous Shamu glides by.

One of Daniel's classmates had an ice skating birthday party today. It was Daniel's first time on ice and it has probably been about 15 years since I last ice skated. I was actually looking forward to it quite a bit. I loved ice skating as a kid and have many fond memories of it. I wasn't too sure what Daniel would think of if since it takes a while to get comfortable on ice. I have to say he did quite well, considering how out of control you feel the first time on skates. He was slipping and sliding and falling all over the place. There were some tears but Daniel was determined to get back up and keep going. Now that he realizes practice makes perfect (or a least a lot better) he is motivated to keep trying. He wanted to skate and keep skating so he could get better. And by the end he was doing pretty well. I was exhausted by the end. Trying to keep Daniel (and sometimes his other friends) from eating it on the ice took all my arm strength and tremendous balance (to keep from going over with them). Daniel took me down one time and let me tell you it did not feel good. Falling on ice hurts!

I was really surprised at how crowded the rink was. The place was packed. On a Sunday even. I didn't know ice skating was so popular. Who knew?

I think I will bring Sammy someday and see what he thinks of the whole experience. Too bad Dan won't touch an ice rink with a three foot pole because Tuesday nights are adult nights at the San Diego Ice Arena. How fun would that be? A date night skate night? Very romantic I think.

The Cubanapolis

After the experience of preparing for the Cubanapolis yesterday I am sure that you can understand my trepidation as the morning dawned. How could all of our efforts prove worthwhile? Is there any way that the event would meet the expectations established by the blood, sweat, tears and bacon of the day before?

Well, the expectations were met and we survived, no, rather, we Conquered the Cubanapolis today. The boys in our den exhibited the highest levels of courage, valor and sportsmanship. It has been said before that a picture is worth a thousand words, so, in lieu of another essay, I give you the following ten thousand words (with a little commentary thrown in by me along the way).



Here is my son, the proud owner of his very own Batmobile. The original design specifications for the Batmobile were more complex, however, those plans were sacrificed to the altar of the almighty bacon yesterday.



During the opening parade of vehicles, the best and brightest were chosen to lead.



The event consisted of a total of three races per driver. As you can tell by the missing tail fin on Daniel's Batmobile, the races were brutal contests of sheer will and desire. More a matter of survival than victory. Just live to race again.



Each individual race consisted of three laps around an arduous course. Pit stops were required just to wipe the blood from the racer's faces as they toiled under the brutal conditions.



Fine mechanical adjustments were required for the final lap: shoe removal, sock reversal, and shoe re-attachment. Daniel here can be seen checking the high tech internal readouts of the Batmobile, to ensure proper maintenance is provided by the crack crew.



The main crew chief needed some assistance from the rest of the pit crew team, and that team stepped up to the plate. The crew chief may not hold his position long if the youngster continues to perform at such a high level.



With such a high end vehicle, a crack pit crew and the desire to succeed, was the race ever really in doubt? No, the joy on the face of the driver here shows that there really is no nectar so sweet as Victory.



Here we see evidence of the dominance of Den 1. They don't call this team of winners the Aces for nothing. Great job, boys.



Such a good time was had by all that even some of the moms had to jump in and try things out. While Suzy is in second here, please rest assured that in the end, she left those other ladies in the dust. The Batmobile could not be denied today (you might notice that all of the wings of the Batmobile were gone by now, it was a rough day).



That's right, baby, Cubanapolis Raceway Winner!



[Edit: I can't believe that I forgot my favorite part of the day! During his third and final race Daniel had his arms inside the car for most of the race. When he finished he came up to me and said, 'That was hard, I spent a lot of time keeping my pants up!' It seems that he might have needed a belt, and since he was missing one he was giving quite a show to the folks in the viewing area. Glad those SpongeBob underwear were clean, boy! Oh, and the bacon? It was delicious..../Edit]

The Baconopolis

I have been making an effort at taking notes this year, copious notes, during Daniel's cub scout meetings. Due to the fact that the other parents are tougher than me (not joking, ask me about it sometime) I was coerced into being the Tiger Cub Den Leader for Pack 15. The notes that I have been taking are about the funny things those little boys say and do. Someday I will write a book about the experiences we have had together. One of the chapters will be, The Baconopolis.

'What', you ask, 'in the world, is the Baconopolis?'

Thank you all for that wonderful question. The Baconopolis, or as it is more commonly known, the Cubanapolis, is an annual cub scout event during which the boys run around a course in cardboard boxes pretending to be race cars. The boys/parents decorate their cars before hand and a good time is had by all. Or at least that is what I have been told, as I have never yet participated in the aforementioned event. Our big day is tomorrow.

'So why are you blogging about this tonight?'

Another astute question, you all are on a role tonight! During the parent meeting that took place early this month, I was disgusted by the lack of people volunteering to help, so I said that I will take care of the 'hot' aspect of breakfast. Yikes.

'How many people show up to this thing?'

Now you all are just showing off with these poignant and probing questions. 80 to 90.

Ermmm. What? I have to cook breakfast for 85 people? Eggs, potatoes, and ... you guessed it, BACON! This afternoon I cooked twelve packages of Costco bacon, each of which contained fourteen slices of premium pig. So, taking into account the pieces that I 'tested' early in the process, and the ones the boys ate for dinner, I am bringing approximately 159 strips of bacon. My house smells like bacon. My clothes smell like bacon. My wife smells like bacon. The funny thing about it, I am not sick of bacon. Right now I am tempted to wander downstairs and down a few slices.

Now for the potatoes! Actually Suzy came through for me big time, and cooked all the potatoes for me. It was a family bonding experience. I was baking bacon, she was frying taters.

Ok, now for the eggs. Again, thankfully one of the other den families stepped up to the plate big time and volunteered to take the eggs off my plate (pun intended). I just talked with them an hour ago and they survived the ordeal. I owe them, big time. I don't want to think about what our kitchen would have been like tonight if we also would have had to cook ten dozen eggs.

So I am pooped. I want nothing more than to take a shower to hopefully get the bacon smell off of my body. Wish me luck. Oh, and wish Daniel luck tomorrow as he competes in his Batmobile. He may not be the fastest on the track, but his car will certainly win the prize for smelling the most like a popular breakfast meat.

Feeling much better today. My stomach still doesn't feel quite right though. I've been eating rice all day (cuz that's all I've got in the house for the brats diet) and am ready to be feeling back to normal.

I had to drop some books off at the library today and Sammy wanted to take a stroll around the grounds and explore. We looked at rocks and holes and flowers. Sammy pointed out how beautiful it was. And it was a beautiful morning. With wispy clouds and rays of sunshine peeking through. I love how Sammy takes everything in and just enjoys the moment. He makes me slow down and open my eyes to the wonders surrounding us. Life is one big adventure and you've got to stop and savor it. Thank you Sammy for reminding me of that.

Slammed!

What happened? I was going along at full speed, celebrating Daniel's birthday, a visit with Tutu and Papa, an ice cream social at school, when BAM! I was hit right in the face with a bug that had me in bed the past 24 hours. I think I crawled into bed around 7 o'clock last night going from chills to fever with aches and nausea mixed in. Not pleasant, not pleasant at all. Thankfully my fever broke last night and I was able to get sleep. After taking a shower and changing out of my pjs I am finally feeling better, although my stomach feels like it did when I was pregnant (no I'm not pregnant!).

Thankfully my wonderful husband took over all my motherly duties for me. Making lunches and getting the boys to and from school. He is totally the BEST! Thanks babes. And Sammy and Daniel were so sweet praying over me to get better.

I really don't like lying around all day, so I am anxious to start feeling back to normal. Hopefully tomorrow will be a much better day.

Catching Our Breath

Daniel has survived his blitz of birthday fun, and today returned to school. Phew, from Sammy's birthday in late October until Daniel's birthday it is just a whirlwind of celebrations, holidays and general frivolity. Two and a half months of parties, gift giving, and for me, general gluttony.

Now it is time to pay the price, though. After seeing Sammy scramble up the rock walls I have renewed my vow of getting back to a lean mean daddy machine. I have to be able to keep up with my five year old as he scales mountains (or at least the very safe environment that is the indoor climbing facility). So, no more desserts, gonna start running again, moderate portions at dinner.

Of course, today is the day that Suzy brought home a tub of ice cream from the ice cream social at school. Well, maybe just a little dessert.

Lots of Legos

This morning we headed out to Legoland for a day of Lego fun. For the past three years we (Nana, Tutu, Papa, Dan, Sammy and I) have been taking Daniel to Legoland for his birthday. It has always been a really fun day, and today was no different. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and not too crowded.

Daniel had a map all drawn out of where we would be going and doing. First stop was the Coast Cruise, a boat ride around Lego City. After a walk around Lego City, Nana and Sammy decided to brave the teacup like ride.Next up was a roller coaster that Daniel wanted to try and Sammy decided to opt out of. It was quite fun.Check out Daniel's face on this closeup. He said it was fun.Sammy concentrating on his driving.Another roller coaster. Just the boys.The day flew by much too quickly.But before going home Daniel got to pick out any Lego set from the Lego Store (they have every Lego set in production) for his present from Tutu and Papa. What a treat! And what a perfect day!