We make it through another spring break

Sunday marks the second-to-last day of Xander's week-long spring break from preschool. He was off all last week, and will be off on Monday. Micah and I couldn't take six days off work, so we asked Clelia to watch Xander for three days, Micah watched the boys one day, and I am watched the boys two days.  Micah and I love spending time with the boys, but parenting both of them alone is H-A-R-D. Messes are made, toys are grabbed, books are ripped, tears are shed, heads are bonked.

Yet, we've made it through another spring break. And today, we had my friend Clare and her 19-month old cutie, B, over for Easter dinner. We lined the kids up on the porch for a holiday picture. This is the best serious shot:

X tries to hold Kai on steps while B looks on

 This is the best shot we got after giving up on any attempts at serious photos:

The three musketeers: Goofy, squirmy, and sleepy

Easter morning we hunted eggs at the local pocket park with 60 plus kids under age eight. It's organized by neighbors, and is quite a scene.

Wow, I do sound sort of helicopter-mom in that clip, don't I?
It was actually kind of overwhelming by the end...

Perfect image of my sweet, thoughtful,
four-and-a-half year old boy.

We've both enjoyed spending the time with X and K this past week. I'd really love to live a life where one of us didn't need to work full-time. It's possible, but would require significant (and scary) changes. Tradeoffs, really. We're so busy with the treadmill of work, household management, and kids, that we don't get a chance to slow down and make these hard decisions. At the same time, I am conscious that the kids are growing up quickly, and our window of opportunity before they become sullen teenagers is closing.

Finally Recovered from Daylight Savings

We turned our clocks forward two weeks ago. The kids did not adjust well. The first week, we were looking at bedtimes of 8 pm for Kai and 10 pm for Xander; both boys slept in until nearly 8 am, wreaking havoc on our morning routine.

Kai slowly adjusted back to a 7 pm bedtime. Xander, however, fought it, resulting in a very, very tired and cranky four-year-old. Last Monday, he came home from school and had a 20-minute crying fit about whether he could watch Chuggington on YouTube before or after dinner.  He finally agreed he was tired, and went to his room to lie down--at 6 pm--and slept for 14 hours. He's been back on schedule since.

I mentioned in the Saint Patrick's Day post that Xander absentmindedly sings when he plays. I captured some video of it:

Now that Kai has mastered walking, he's advancing quickly with communication skills. He understands English and Spanish very well, and babbles in a gurgly mix of both languages. Words he can say include: agua, adios, hola, gracias, one two three, uno dos tres, zapatos, Xander, mama, daddy, gato, milk. He understands a lot more than he can say. He knows where things should go (like shoes on feet, or my glasses to me), and follows simple directions (like "sit down"). Yesterday, as I was outside on the front porch, he walked to the open front door with two (mismatched) shoes in his hands, and held them up. It was clear he wanted to go outside, and he knew he needed shoes to do it.

Here he is after climbing up on the footstool to reach the bathroom sink. It's a long video with not much happening, but there is babbling. And please don't be concerned, he is wearing pants in this video--they are just white, and he's diaper-free.

In moving news, I finally had to hire someone through TaskRabbit to do preschool research for us. Micah and I have no spare time during the work day to do this research/calling. By Monday, I will have a list of schools with all info I need to start making decisions. I'm paying someone $50 to do this--a mom who lives in Texas. Check out the website if you're not familiar with it--you post a job you need someone to do, they bid, you review their qualifications and reviews, and you choose. I've had a great experience so far.

Once we get preschool and daycare covered, we will know our target moving date, and then everything else should fall into place.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Two Wednesday's ago, was one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants days. Tuesday afternoon, our nanny found out she had a mid-day event on Wednesday she had to attend So, Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, I scrambled to find last-minute child care for Kai, but it didn't come through. Since Micah just started his job and is an hour (minimum) commute away, he has very little flexibility  I ended up shifting my work schedule so I could watch Kai from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Be it kids getting sick or Xander's school vacation/inservice/holidays, we end up needing emergency care several times a month. I use a service that pre-screens sitters and books them for you, and I can often flex my hours to take care of the kids. However, I really wish we had nearby family who could watch the kids in a pinch.

Boys playing together nicely--no whining, no crying.

Colby Park. This park is a little oval island, encircled by a narrow street.
Really nice Craftsman homes all around.  It's home to occasional evening movie events,
and the annual neighborhood  Easter Egg Hunt.

One benefit of watching Kai last week: I got to spend some much needed quality time with him. He's beginning to communicate--verbally and with body language. He waves "adios" and when prompted, will blow a kiss. I can't remember how communicative Xander was at this age (15 months), but I feel like I'm anxiously awaiting Kai's ability to talk. 

Xander's thought process and communication skills are rapidly expanding. Just recently, he started singing songs. He'll play legos or trains and absentmindedly sing a song, or act goofy as he sings a tune with madeup words. He brings home a new mannerism almost every week from school.

Oh, in case you're wondering, we did have corned beef and cabbage last week, and everyone, even Kai, ate some.

Spring has Sprung

Seasons in the Bay Area are subtle, particularly in comparison to New England seasons. As a child, I recall standing outside barefoot on the patio in shorts and a t-shirt, thinking how incredible it was that in six months, it would be 20 degrees with a foot of snow. Here in Oakland, we have an average low of 51 degrees and an average high of 65 degrees. Sounds great, right? Most of the time, it is. I love being able to barbecue for New Years Day, but hate having to wear a parka to watch fireworks. And there's no fall color, no fireflies, and no thunderstorms.

But, around Micah's birthday in March, spring starts full swing. Here are some photos of our side yard, with bulbs we planted last fall.

Our neighbor's quince

Light pink quince. Blue skies that will we see until fog starts in June.

Quince, tropical-like plant I don't know the name of.

Daffodils on the side walk, with Xander's truck.

More of the side yard. Our landlady's kids live in the back cottage.
You can see our emergency earthquake kit to the right of the path.

 And here's some pictures of our Saturday morning breakfast. Pancakes (recipie courtesy Tassajara Bread Book), strawberries, bananas, sausage, and tea.

Do I look tired? I am tired. Kids are not letting us sleep these days.

Yum! Nom-nom-nom.

Mommy, I won't squeeze the box. (He squeezes the box.)

Let me do it myself, mom.