Orange & Black
The World Series has returned to my backyard and it’s quite a party out there. For the past two days, we’ve had lots of people dressed in orange and black. Fortunately, the Giants have won both games so everyone is in a good mood in the ‘hood. On Thursday, I took Kumquat and Koa for a walk around the stadium to check out all the activity. It was a gorgeous evening and it was fun to watch the people partying in McCovey Cove and there was a blue grass band performing, which made it feel like we were in New Orleans or something. The Giants are away for the next 3 games and they only need to win 2 more. We’ll see how it goes!
That same day, I got a warning light on the dashboard saying that I had low tire pressure and this was on top of the service light that we had on for the past month. So, this morning I had to leave my sick baby and sick car at home and take BART into work. It’s usually not so bad but I was running late and I HATE being late to work.
As if the day couldn’t get any worse, I got a text and photo from our nanny about a water leak coming from our kitchen lights in the ceiling. What the heck?! So I texted Jes and he called the building engineer who took care of it.
On Saturday we took Koa to Fort Funston. It was nice and sunny so it was the perfect day to go. Koa hadn’t been there in a while and he looked so happy to be running free.
Every evening, I take the dog and baby for a walk. Koa usually needs to poop and Kumquat needs to be distracted from her rumbly tumbly between 6 and 7. Today we walked along the water and met up with Jes after work. It was a good evening with my two dependents.
This weekend we met up at Sly Park Recreational Area for our annual camping trip. Jes had already set-up the campsite on Friday with the boys and then everyone else arrived later that day. I left the house around 8:30 am on Saturday with the dog and baby in the car along with a trunk filled with camping gear. It’s just outside of South Tahoe and it took me only about 2.5 hours to get to the campsite. It was a balmy 90 degrees by noon but the mosquitoes were under control with the help of two citronella lamps. Kumquat and the dog did great on the drive up and Kumquat was in a really good mood the whole afternoon.
We spent the early afternoon hanging out in the shade and Kumquat seemed to enjoy her new surroundings. We then walked over to the “beach” area to check out the “lake”. The reason for all the quotations marks is that it was actually a dried up wetland covered in goose poop and a muddy reservoir. Jack and Tessa seemed to enjoy the water but we chose to hang out under the canopy to enjoy the breeze and mosquito-free area.
Kumquat even managed to take a nap while we were out there.
I didn’t sleep very well since I was overtired from my first week of work with a baby who wasn’t sleeping through the night. We managed to get all three of us in the tent rather comfortably considering it was a tiny two-man tent barely big enough for the two of us and a duffel. Kumquat slept in our portable bassinet for most of the night but at 2 am she woke up crying and her hands were freezing. I moved her into my sleeping bag and she slept so peacefully for the rest of the night.
After breakfast, we hung out and it was fun watching the kids play. We left the campsite around 11:30 am and stopped at In N Out on our way home. Despite Kumquat’s great mood throughout the past 24 hours, she was super grouchy once we got home and needed a lot of attention to help calm her down for the night.
Here is this year’s group photo, which shows that the number of children is catching up with the number of adults. Camping is never going to be the same as it used to with our carefree days and late nights. We probably won’t be burning as much stuff and the boys probably won’t be taking the same ridiculous number of shotgun beers. It’s a little sad but pretty cool to see our families growing too.
Today Kumquat turned 3 months old and I’m still amazed by this little human that we have living in our home. I’m at a point now where it’s hard to imagine life without her. Yes, life without a baby was a lot easier and more carefree but it’s been fun having her around. She has really put more meaning to even the little things in my daily life too. I have a new appreciation for the extra time I have to take a shower or eat a meal and it’s such a treat nowadays when I have a spare moment to go for a run. I also function in small increments of time and sometimes it takes me a whole day to finish one load of laundry since I get distracted every 10-15 minutes.
Navigating SF with a stroller has been an adventure that I’ve turned into somewhat of a video game in my head and it’s fun to catalog all the places that are accessible (i.e. ramps and elevators) and have a decent place to change a baby. For example, it’s easier to enter Macy’s from Geary since there are no steps and the elevator is right at the entrance and Nordstrom has a pretty nice women’s lounge that also has a separate “mother’s room” with changing tables and a chair for nursing. 
Taking her to dinner and Happy Hour has been manageable and most places have been nice about finding us a table that can accommodate a stroller. I’ve also changed her in the bathroom of several nice restaurants using a chair, the floor, and even a window ledge.
Walking the dog is also a different experience now. I usually take the baby in the front carrier so that the dog has more freedom to sniff and pee where he pleases. However, when I do take the stroller, I’ve found that I can clip his leash to the stroller sometimes so I can steer a little easier and if we’re in an ideal situation (like on Embarcadero), he helps me pull the stroller too. Heh heh.
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