The Sweetest

Max had a writing assignment at school today.   He had to provide an answer for something he considers "sweet." He wrote "lollipop."  For something sweeter, he wrote "donut."  For the sweetest, he wrote "me."

You can't make this up.  But Max certainly does come up with this stuff. 

He's a Maniac

The kids were playing and Simone asked Max, "What kind of maniac are you?!"

Max: "A handsome maniac!"

The Nightmare Before Christmas

I told Michael that I wanted to go to Daisy's and he asked what it was.

I said, "Think Anthropologie's home section, but moderately affordable."

He couldn't picture it so Simone said, "Think of it as a man's worst nightmare." 🤣

How Did You Sleep?

Michael asked Simone, "How did you sleep last night?"

"I layed down in my bed."

Michael then explained the possible answers are usually, "Well, poorly, bad, so-so," not a technical description of a sleep study.

I Remember

Max saw this photo on my desktop and commented.

I remember that day!
I remember those exact clothes!
And I remember those people!

Except for that handsome devil in the middle!

Beauty and the Beast review

Max and Simone are eating breakfast and Simone has chosen Beauty and the Beast  to watch on the TV.

Max finds it incredulous and gives support for his disdain of the live-action retelling of a timeless tale.

"[In the real world] No one sings when they're fighting!"

School Supplies

The kids and I were excited to buy school supplies,  but just found out that their school hands out the supplies (parents are urged to donate to PTA who are the ones who get the supplies).

Luckily they had the pleasure of buying one notebook each.  Can you guess who bought which notebook?

Like a MAX!

During a water break at Jiu Jitsu, Max reported how his lesson was going.  "I took Chloe down ... Like a BOSS!!"

Here he is sparring with Chloe as she exacts her revenge.

Omm

The kids were playing in the hallway while  I fixed the kitchen and I overhead Simone say,  "Namaste day, brother, namaste day."

Sibling for Daddy

The kids and I were talking about how many cousins they and I have respectively - which is A LOT. 

Simone was lamenting though that she doesn't have many first cousins.  She said, "I wish Daddy had a sister."

Max chimed in, "He would regret it."

Simone was not pleased at his implication.

Heaven Imagined

When I was young, I imagined heaven would be a Grecian palace in the clouds.  Simone says hers is similar, except for the architecture. She thinks of God as a ginormous head of Jesus in front of a building similar to the Lincoln Memorial.

Max has an interesting vision.  "I imagine a town floating in a white espresso cup."

These kids' imaginations blow mine away.

Lot in life

I was teaching Max how to prepare his room for vacuuming.   I then taught him how to use the vacuum machine.  After he swooshed the appliance around,  I taught him how to wind up the cord to put it away.  

As he finished with the cord,  he said, "Man you have it BAD!"

I asked him what he meant by that and he said,  "Because you have to do this (all the time)!"

Trying

Simone was bugging me one afternoon.   Everything seemed like such an ordeal to her and she would grumble to show her dissatisfaction at the situation.   I turned to her and asked,  "Why do you keep bugging me?"

With a dead pan look on her face she scoffed,  "I wasn't even trying.   Do you want me to?"

I couldn't help but laugh. She is as devtiant as I was with my mom.  

Winners and losers

Last night at dinner, Max wanted to see who could eat their food the quickest. Or rather, he wanted to beat everyone at the game.  He started the competition by declaring,

"Last one to eat their food is a British tourist!!"

Dressing as a Robber

The kids were contemplating their wardrobe should they adopt a life of thievery.

Max started first and said, "I would wear jeans and a jean jacket."

Simone decided on jeans, a leather jacket and put her hair in a ponytail to make it look like a cap.

Max concluded, "I'm glad I'm not a robber."

Pre Mothers Day Planning

I mentioned to the kids that Mothers Day is this Sunday.  I usually take the whole day off and Michael takes care of the kids, but with Michael still in DC, I'll postpone my tradition. 

Max was concerned. "How will I get you a present?  Daddy's not here to help?"

It's interesting that a particular parent day is considered a both parent affair.

My Little Rascals

When Grace and I were kids, we were not immune to waking up bright and early on weekends.  My parents were and would lock their bedroom door so as to steal another hour of sleep.  Grace and I were left alone to fend for ourselves so naturally we turned to our babysitter, the TV.

The only kid show on that early in the morning (this was before cable TV that showcased hundreds of channels) was "The Little Rascals."  And we loved their crazy antics!  At the time we didn't value them as much as we did the Superfriends or G.I. Joe, but now it's those black-and-white clips that still hold a special place in my heart.

For this morning's breakfast, we feasted on bacon and toast and chose "The Little Rascals."  It was a laugh a minute and I wonder now why more kids do not watch these shows.  Why don't parents show it to their kids.  Am I just a reincarnated Flapper?  


I almost called this post "A Perfect Saturday Morning" because, as I type, the kids are playing Crossy Roads, a game that resembles the 80s hit Frogger.  As soon as I finish this post, we're having a round of practice games among the three of us and then onward to a video game tournament!

When people talk about enjoying your moments with your kids, I will look back at this morning and think, "Yeah ... I'm glad I had my own little rascals."

Hooligans!

When Max comes across kids that are unruly or excessively active.  He calls them "hooligans!"

My Kids Are Embarrassed ...

Of ME!

I'm starting to hear rebuke from my children that I am treating them like little children.  Sometimes, I will put my arm around Simone's shoulder and, if she is in disagreement with me about whatever topic, she contorts her body to evade my touch.  One might think she is dancing, but nay ... she is rejecting my affection.

Max has now prohibited me from kissing the back of his hand.  It used to be my way of saying I love you as we walked hand in hand down the street.  But now he finds it humiliating.

I guess it's time that this dismissal of my maternal endearment surface.  My nephew Brandon was 8-years-old when he told his grandfather that he did not want a hug goodbye at the school drop-off zone.

When the kids were younger and more attached to me, other parents would warn me to cherish those times of bonding before they got much older.  At the time, it felt more like bondage.

It might be that I'm stubborn and proud, but I don't feel that much of a loss.  Be free, wild children!  Spread your wings and fly the coop!

Return to the City

For the past 3 years, we have been living in a bus in different campgrounds in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Although living in a small space has its challenges, the benefits of living in a semi-rural setting abound.

Alameda is not a bustling city, but it is a different from what we have experience the past three years.  When we arrived in Oakland, CA, after a day of traveling from Baltimore, MD,  I immediately felt the differences between settings.

• The roads in Northern California are narrow compared to those in Florida, DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV).  What astounds me is that lane-splitting is allowed in this skinny environment.
• Vehicles are shorter in NorCal.  But that's because less people buy trucks and SUVs.  I don't know which came first, the narrow roads or the repulsion of large vehicles.
• Even small towns are too noisy.  But this might be because we had gotten used to the silence of campgrounds.  Vehicular traffic is scarce and is also slow paced.  There is not much rumbling in the evening nor in the day.  The air is punctuated more by frogs, cicadas, and birds.  After 3-1/2 weeks however, I have acclimated to the hum of passing cars and barely notice it.  
• The high density is almost claustrophobic.  I had forgotten how imposing 3'-0" wide setbacks felt.  Although I prefer the architecture on the West Coast, the proximity to neighbors is disconcerting.  
• The change in temperature during the day is drastic.  Even though the winters in the DMV could dip to bitter lows, you could dress for the day in one outfit and be prepared for the weather until sundown.  Here in NorCal, the must of layered clothing is no joke.  A T-shirt and shorts kind of morning can turn into a furry-hooded jacket and long johns kind of afternoon.

This last difference has nothing to do with environment, but it is a markedly stark difference between East and West Coast.  The music is of much higher quality in Northern California.  In the DMV, DJs just play one song after another.  In all of California, DJs must exercise their expertise in transitioning to the next song.  They do not just announce the title and singer of the upcoming title.  They must blend the tempo!  I love it!

The Circle of Perspective

We left Alameda, CA,  in May of 2012.  The kids and I have returned almost 5 years later in April 2017.  My feelings towards the San Francisco Bay Area are completely different than they were when we left.

2012:  I was so sick of this little island of Alameda.  I was tired of liberalism.  I had been exposed to it and believed in it for nearly two decades.  I had lived in California all my life.  Political Correctedness was all I knew.  California folk were all I knew and I was bored.  I wanted to explore the other parts of the country.

Although I lived in metropolitan cities most of my life, I felt like a naive country bumpkin.  I didn't know diversity in that everyone in Northern California had the same ideals.  I remember in 2008, walking through a street festival, two old white ladies sat at a humble table with a banner that promoted the Republican Party.  I thought to myself, "The balls on these two!"  For them to quietly, but overtly show their conservative support amazed me.  I felt like the pussy, never venturing out of a comfort zone.

Michael got orders to go to a new duty station in Tampa, Florida, and I was so excited to leave the West Coast.  I was finally going to see conservatives on their turf and see what it was like to be a true minority.  Yes, I'm a Pacific Islander and considered a minority in America.  A Filipino in California, however, is in the majority.  I couldn't wait to see rednecks and observe how they act.  I was braving uncharted-to-me territories.  I was really traveling.

2014: I was sick of Florida.  What I had not accounted for in seeing Conservative lands is the lack of excitement for new things.  The selection of organic produce and products is scarce.  Their museums did not have controversial exhibits nor were they interactive enough for children.

The Latin cuisine was uneventful.  I had heard about Cuban sandwiches and loved the Cuban restaurant Versailles in Los Angeles.  Their specialty was a roasted garlic chicken.  I thought that being closer to Cuban culture would wow me and give me the thrill of experiencing exotic cultures.  It felt anything but exotic.  A Cuban sandwich feels like any other toasted deli meat-filled sandwich.  One exciting discovery, however, was their version of empanadas.  With a thinner and fried crust, it surpasses the baked, doughful ones from the Filipino American bakeries.

I also was sick of being bitten by mosquitos and no-see-ums.

The allure of observing Republicans in the wild lost its lustre in the first half-year.  You pretty much get the idea when they open their mouths and spew thoughts.  They're not dumb; just different but not complexly so.  And the same could be said of liberals - they're not complexly different than the conservatives.

Michael now got orders to Washington, D.C.  and the promise of quality museums sat on the horizon.  There was bound to be more diversity and maybe a different kind of conservative to observe.  There might even be pockets of liberals that I could identify with.

2017:  I finally came to terms with the fact that I'm a Hippie at Heart.  There's no denying it.  I love organic products, recycling, podcasts, and unplugged children.  I also do not appreciate frigid temperatures.  Virginia, Maryland, and DC, have the terrible combination of cold winters and humid summers with mosquitoes.  April and September are the only two months in which the weather is perfect.  The other ten months are as miserable as being sick with a fever during a 3-hour architectural history final in an air-conditioned auditorium.

The museums were alright.  The only one that we frequented regularly was the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum.  The American Indian Museum was cool also, but its highlight was their cafeteria.  There were living history museums / farms, but the kids were not interested in visiting every one because they were so similar to one another.  Places and parks were also faaaar away from one another.  When I think of DC, I think of lots of driving.  Poor Michael thinks of lots of driving in traffic.

Michael's recent orders sent us back to Alameda.  And I am basking in the temperate weather and the plethora of things to do and learn here.  It has only been 3-1/2 weeks since we arrived and we may be bathing in the honeymoon phase.  We see how long our enthusiasm lasts.  I have a feeling it might last a while.

s

We Have A Nerdy Mother

Yesterday Max said ...

"You're a nerd, Mommy.  You're smart and you're not even embarrassed about it"

I take that as a compliment!

Valentine's Day 2017

Chocolate dipped strawberries, take 2! This year we got the chocolate at the right consistency for dipping. 

The secret was reading the directions!  I was so inattentive last year.  This year had been an improvement.

And deliciously so!!

I Changed My Mind

I prepared oatmeal for the kids this morning.  Simone ate some of hers and offered the rest to Michael and me.  I refused because, based on the time that had lapsed, I didn't think she had eaten a lot and there was most likely a lot in the bowl.  Michael also refused for his own reasons and Simone took the bowl away.

Max then gave the same offering, but this time showed his bowl to me.  It was a small enough amount that I felt like finishing it off would not make me feel fat. 

It was delicious! 

I asked Simone for her bowl, but she met my request with a scowl. 

S: "You said you didn't want any!"
M: "I changed my mind."
S: 😤
M: "So can you give me your oatmeal?"
.
.
.
S: "I changed my mind."

Tsk Tsk, Middle America

Shame on you, Wyoming, North Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Mississippi!!

Wimpy Winter

We thankfully are having a mild winter this year!  This has been the most wintery the landscape has been.  We hope this is the coldest winter we'll have in our lives.

Happy Birthday Max!

Our boy is 7!

Game Night

Weird Warm Winter Weather

It's the middle of Winter and the high today was 70°F!! We took advantage of the fact that we didn't have to wear layers to go outside and we washed the bus.