Browse Category: outings

Just Mamas Mother’s Day Celebration

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This year, Ranee and I decided to plan our own day of fun. We made arrangements to have the husbands watch the kids and invited Ishya too. The three of us met up at Rockridge BART Station and headed out for a morning and early afternoon of girl time. We called it our First Annual Just Mamas Mother’s Day Celebration. First stop was Bourbon and Beef where we bought a Groupon that gave us $40 worth of food and drinks for only $16!!! Ranee’s superpower is finding the best deals on booze (and food)!

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I already had breakfast in the morning so I had two glasses of prosecco and so did Ranee. Cousin had a massive french toast.

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Look at this bill! It was $40 even!! Totally unplanned but worked out perfectly!

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The next stop was Southie for lunch. We shared a carafe of wine and I had a tasty pork belly sandwich packed with a jalapeno slaw.

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It was so nice to walk into a tiny restaurant and not have to ask for a highchair or worry about what to order for the kids. I also didn’t have to share any of my food today. The best part was having an uninterrupted conversation with my girls.

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Next stop was Philz Coffee for Ishya and Safeway for something tasty to drink for Ranee and I.

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We took our roadies to the nail spa across the street and had a great time.

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This bubbly pear and apple drink was perfect for the occasion.

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There were plenty of giggles between the three of us.

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We had so much fun that we were already making plans for our next outing together.

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What a fun Mother’s Day Eve outing! Thanks to Jes, Jamie, and Billy’s parents for giving us these precious 4 hours of fun!!

Family Fun Weekend

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This past weekend, the family came up from Cerritos to celebrate KK’s birthday. They flew in just in time for the party on Saturday.

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On Sunday, we met up for lunch at Hog Island Oyster Co. and had quite a feast. I love this photo of Peanut photobombing Brother withe the oysters.

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No trip would be complete without a stop at Humphry’s Slocombe too.

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It was a warm day and perfect for going to the playground to burn off the sugar.KK and Alice had a good time playing together.

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For dinner, we met at Little Sheep Hot Pot, which was super close to their hotel.

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The rest of the evening was spent in their rooms. The girls played Octonauts in the bedside table that had a fake drawer and enough head room for both of them to fit inside.

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Meanwhile, the grown ups ordered dessert and watched Game of Thrones.

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Luckily, Mom and Dad were just in the next room over and Peanut was able to go to sleep at his usual time.

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The next day, I had the day off and took the kids on the bus to meet the family for breakfast.

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We had pancakes and all the other usual breakfast foods at Sears Fine Foods.

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What a fun weekend! Times like these always make me miss them more and wish we still lived in Southern California.

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She’s FOUR already!

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Today is KK’s 4th birthday and it’s hard to believe that so much time has already passed. Our first-born is quickly becoming a little lady. Jes was having a hard time with this milestone since it was the age in which he had his first memories as a kid. It was a big deal to him. I’m sentimental about everything so I usually take her birthday off to spend time with her and also reflect on my life as a mom. This year was no different. I took the day off so that I could be at her school to celebrate her big day with her friends. Jes and I also parlayed that into a day in which we could spend some time together without the kids. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to just hang out alone and we made it worth our while with a walking food and drink crawl along The Embarcadero.

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The morning started with Mirian coming to watch Peanut while Jes was on a work call and I took KK to school. The birthday girl had a little extra hop to her step this morning as we walked hand-in-hand. Then, on my way home, I stopped at Safeway to pick up her birthday cupcakes.

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Jes finished up his calls and then we headed out to drop off the cupcakes at school on our way to lunch.

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Our first stop was La Mar. My first drink was sweet and refreshing.

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Lunch consisted of cebiche, causa, and empanadas.

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We then made a stop at Hillstone for a quick drink at the bar. Jes had a martini and I have a nice cold glass of white wine.

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Coqueta is a restaurant that I’ve always wanted to try but was too expensive and not very kid-friendly so it was perfect for a day like today.

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We sat down by the open window for a cocktail and some pricey skewers.

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Before heading back to KK’s school for her cake party, we stopped at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant. It’s a 21-and-over kind of place so we just HAD to go there today.

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This was the meat platter that we ordered with the wine.

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By then, we were pretty relaxed and happy. Heh heh.

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After KK’s school party, she asked to leave school with us. So we took her across the street to Waterbar for their $1 oysters. We scored a table on the patio with a view of the Bay Bridge and she scored a dozen oysters.

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It was so nice to have a day to spend with my best friend and co-pilot on this crazy ride called parenthood. This relaxing day as just the two of us was long overdue and sorely needed.

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Happy 4th Birthday to our Kumquat. We hope you have a fun-filled year as a 4-year-old.  And please, don’t grow up too quickly.

HH for Me

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We had a Happy Hour this evening after work and Jes agreed to watch both kids.  Woohoo! It was my first outing without the kids in a very long time. I’m so glad I went because I got to catch up with my girls and we celebrated Mai’s 40th as well. Good times…

Super Bowl 2016

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Super Bowl 50 arrived in SF and luckily we weren’t too inconvenienced by it.

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Last weekend, we checked out Super Bowl City located across from the Ferry Plaza. There was a security screening at each entrance and we got there early enough to have a very short wait.

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We stopped at the City Stage where a youth group performed their dance routines for everyone.

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On the Friday of Super Bowl Weekend, we went to the Ferry Plaza to check out Puppy Bowl, which was set-up in the Gott’s Roadside patio.

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All the puppies were so cute and were all up for adoption starting on the Monday following the big game.  Too bad we’re not in the market for a new doggie. I wanted to take them all home.

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We also hung out across from Super Bowl City where it was at capacity as people packed themselves in to watch One Republic. It was still another hour before they would go on stage so there was a DJ spinning and it sounded and looked like one big club out there. It was a mild evening and the excitement and buzz around that area was pretty cool.  The funny part of it all was that at least half of the people out there had kids and strollers with them.  We were certainly not out of place there with our two kids each in a stroller that night.

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On Super Bowl Sunday, we stayed home to watch the game since our antenna picks up CBS. Hooray for free live TV!

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Jes even made buffalo wings and even Peanut got to enjoy his own celery stick.

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Disneyland

IMG_5127We went to Disneyland again this month since it’s our family tradition and it was the end of my family’s annual passes.  This year, we only went to Disneyland (and not CA Adventure), which was plenty for us.

IMG_5025We were smart to borrow Jason and Jia’s double stroller for this visit.  It was a real back saver.

IMG_5013We ventured up to Toon Town, which we hadn’t gone to in a very long time.  When we went to visit Mickey, memories of working there suddenly flooded my head (both good and bad).

IMG_5115The kids took their annual photo with Santa and Peanut was loving his comfy lap.  KK was still a little weary of the man in red but sat next to him and told him she wanted “Octonauts” for Christmas.

IMG_5125One of the best treats I’ve had there was this apple pie funnel cake that all 9 of us shared.

IMG_5054It was so much fun being there with the whole family and it never seems to get old – especially now that we have our own kids to relive the magic and fun.

IMG_0256What’s also nice about having the whole family there is that I actually get to ride some of the faster rides while the grandparents watch the kids.  They were like “mini dates” for us.  This is a photo of me and Jes waiting to board Star Tours.  Jes, the rebel, put his 3D glasses on before we were allowed to.IMG_5066We also rode Hyperspace Mountain with Brother and Joy.  Fun fun fun!

IMG_5110I also love the Christmas decorations all around the park.  Makes Disneyland even more special.

IMG_5095Looked like Peanut enjoyed all the lights and colors too.

IMG_5079Since it was Disneyland’s Diamond Celebration, they had these funny backdrops for us to take photos.  IMG_5289Too bad KK was sleeping because only Peanut made it into these pictures.  Pretty funny stuff.

IMG_5152After dinner, the rest of the family went home and we stayed until closing time.  It was fun taking KK on Dumbo and the rocket ships at night.

IMG_5153We also stayed for the fireworks and watched Fantasmic one last time before they closed it for the building of Star Wars Land.

IMG_5164We may or may not visit Disneyland next year if it’s not worth it.  I’m glad we went one more time this year.