Browse Category: projects

Gross.

IMG_6173This afternoon started out our normal way.  I got off work at 4:30, picked up KK from school, and drove home.  Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there.  We were a minute away from home when KK had a waterfall of puke come out of her mouth and onto her chest and lap in the carseat.  She started to cry and I wanted to cry too.  Once we parked the car, I did what I could to get most of the puke off her and then we rushed upstairs for a bath.  After the bath, we had to go back down to the parking garage to clean up the mess.  It was so gross.  There was puke in all the buckles, all over the straps, and I couldn’t figure out how to unlatch the carseat from the backseat!  Being in the garage, I didn’t have much light and I also had a 3-year-old that I had to keep from getting run over by the cars that were entering the garage every 2 minutes.  She was also constantly asking me, “what’s wrong?” and “what are you doing?”  Super stressful.

So, I decided to clean it all up using the paper towels and wipes that I had in the trunk just for this purpose.  The worst of it all was the smell and my lower back was getting sore from all the crouching I had to do with my gigantic belly weighing me down.  I did my best to get all the puke out of the seat and all the cracks but the seat would have to stay in the car until the weekend when Jes returns.  The last time we had to wash the carseat, it took longer than overnight for the fabric to dry completely.  So, we’re just going to have to suck it up for the rest of the week and hope that the car doesn’t become permanently stinky.

IMG_6174Once that was all done, we went back upstairs to regroup.  As I was resting on the sofa, KK comes out of the bedroom and says “Jack jumped out of the fish tank.”  I asked her again and she said “he’s on the table”.  I went over to check and sure enough, he was on the dresser and dead.  Look how far he got from the cube tank he was living in!!  This fish has been trying to commit suicide all week!  I had just rescued him on Sunday afternoon when I found him stuck between the tank glass and the heater.  So, I picked him up with a wad of toilet paper (eew) and Jack joined Jill in the toilet this evening.

I’m glad nothing else happened this evening.  Time to go to bed.  I’m sensory overloaded for the day.

Grenoble, France

IMG_6163 After checking into the hotel, Jes headed to the office.  On this trip, there isn’t any snow on the mountains.  Too bad.IMG_6157Squirt got to relax while everyone was hard at work.

IMG_6154Jes got one of his favorite things for breakfast this morning – a soft-boiled egg.  Yum.

IMG_6164Dinner looked pretty fancy this evening as well.

DC to Geneva

IMG_6108Jes sent photos from his second leg of the flight this morning.

IMG_6110That’s quite a breakfast!  He arrived in the early morning and then had to drive from Geneva to Grenoble.

IMG_6109I’m glad they arrived safely.

Off to France

IMG_6059Jesse left the house at 5am today to catch a cab to SFO.  He’s headed to Grenoble, France for work and will be away for a whole week.  Just like last time, he had a stowaway but this time it was Squirt.  He sent us pictures all day long and KK was very amused.

IMG_6057They flew Business Class and living the good life up in the air.IMG_6090 IMG_6081There was a layover in Washington D.C. so he got to hang out in the United lounge.IMG_6082Look who’s also on this business trip!IMG_6080That looks like a good snack.  Next leg is from DC to Geneva.  They should arrive tomorrow morning (7am their time).

plants and snails

IMG_4987Here’s the latest of the fish tanks at home.  Jes joined a Bay Area fish group and scored some free snails from a guy that lives in San Francisco.  He left them in a bucket on his front porch for us to pick up one Saturday on our way home from the zoo.  Jes also got a shipment of free plants from another guy nearby.  So, now in our original 2.5-gallon tank, he’s growing a bunch of snails and baby shrimp.  Some of the pond snails laid eggs that hatched a couple weeks ago.  The baby snails are really fun to watch because they crawl really fast on the glass and also float up to the top to crawl along the underside of the water’s surface.  Those white specks on the surface of the water are the baby snails.

IMG_4990In the 12-gallon tank, there’s a lot of activity since the baby platys have grown into a pretty good size (there are two left) and there are 8 corys that are really active. There are also snails and shrimp living in this one.

IMG_4989In 5-gallon tank, there is one dwarf puffer (KK named him “Bloat”) just hanging out with some fish that eat algae.  He’s that speck in the middle of the tank hovering over the big rock. Jes is growing some grass along the floor.  That rock in the middle is where he places 1-2 snails from the other tank.  The puffer waits for the snail to come out of its shell and then sucks it out!

IMG_4988This is the 7.5-gallon cube tank that has a really strong light for growing plants.  In here, Jack still remains.  Jill died a couple weeks ago and KK says “she’s in the toilet now”.  This tank will eventually house the puffer.

Nemo Party for KK

IMG_4655My Baby Girl turned 3 on Monday and we celebrated on Sunday morning with all her buddies.

IMG_4610IMG_4608We held the party at the Children’s Creativity Museum where the kids got to run free and play all they wanted before the food arrived.

IMG_4667We rented the birthday room upstairs and her cupcakes and balloons had a Nemo theme.  DSC_1196It’s funny that her first birthday cake at a Nemo theme as well but this time around it actually meant something to her.

DSC_6216I think most of the grown-ups had almost as much fun at the museum and I actually got to sit and just watch KK play with her friends without having to do much.

DSC00041KK blew out her candles with no problems this year.  When she turned one, she was clueless and I had to blow out her candle.  When she turned two, she got gun shy and just straight up refused.  This year, she totally gets it and blew them out like a champ.  What was funny was how she had such a confused look on her face when she saw the smoke go up after she blew them out.

IMG_1524Watching all the kids eat the cake and bright blue frosting was pretty entertaining.  I got photos of as many of them as I could.

DSC_6246

SadieDSC_6243

TheoDSC_6244HenryDSC_6242VivianDSC_6236SophieDSC_6240Isla

IMG_4623After we cleared out of the birthday room (we only had it for 2 hours), everyone rode the carousel twice.  KK wanted to ride the dragon chair on the first round.

IMG_4629Then she sat on a horse next to her friends on the second go-around.IMG_4665We also managed to get a group photo of the kids.  I love how Vivian held Henry’s hand for the picture to keep them both from wandering off.

IMG_4652Unfortunately, this was the only family photo we got at the party.  I never seem to get enough photos taken when I’m hosting my own party.

Here are a couple thoughts I had on planning this party:

  1. Amazon.com is great for finding party favors.  Nemo stuff is not sold at party stores anymore but there were plenty of things to choose from online.  Everything came to my door and I was ready for the party.
  2. Safeway really saved me money and time with the cupcakes and balloons.  The logistics of having a party on a Sunday morning are pretty tough.  Most cupcake places are not open on Sundays and Party City doesn’t open until 10.  SO, I ordered the cupcakes from Safeway, picked them up at 9:30 am,  and they were only 50 cents each compared to $3.50 each at a fancy store.  They were also able to blow up the balloons I had bought online in just minutes.
  3. Our food was ordered from a place that didn’t open until 11 but Jes managed to get there at 10:30 and knocked on the window to get the food as early as possible from the cooks in the back.  It helps to have a persistent husband who just doesn’t give a flying fish who he pisses off – all for the sake of his little girl, of course!
  4. Kid parties don’t need to last very long.  The party started at 10:30 and two hours in the birthday room was plenty of time to eat and have cake.  Also, most kids were overdue for their naps after the carousel ride so the timing was just about right.  KK also passed out as soon as I put her in the stroller and started walking home from the museum.
  5. I’m glad I waited until she turned 3 to throw a party.  We celebrated Year 1 mostly for sentimental reasons and we did something really small for Year 2 (dinner with family).  This year, she was genuinely excited for the party and had enough friends who could enjoy the activities.  She also loves the “Happy Birthday” song and opening presents was fun for her this year.