I'm 33!

I just turned 33 almost a week ago. I just haven't had time to post about it because my birthday actually fell on the Eve of the Lunar New Year. So my family came into town and they've been keeping us busy (more on those events later).

I had a great 33rd birthday weekend.

We were lucky enough to have J spend the weekend with us, so she could watch the kids while we went out and partied like rock stars. When I say "partied," I mean we went to dinner and a movie. Well, actually there was more to it than that since I had the whole weekend.

First, we got to watch 2 movies--which is unheard of when you have young kids. On Friday night, B and I went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" at the Alamo Drafthouse. This place is similar to the McMenamins theaters in Portland. You can eat dinner while you watch a movie. Nothing fancy, but it's nice to knock out both at the same time when you're short on time. Then we saw "Gran Torino" on Saturday. Both movies were great. They're both simple stories with no real "wow factors," like special effects, but they were so good. I loved the way "Slumdog" was told and I loved the Indian music. And "Gran Torino" was dark, but surprisingly funny. Clint Eastwood is seriously the man.

Then B and I got semt-dressed up and went out to Silo for dinner. This is a fancy (aka expensive) New American restaurant that is kind of a local staple. The food was DELICIOUS. And even though it was fancy, the portions were humongous. We were greedy and indecisive, so we actually ordered 2 appetizers--seared ahi tuna and pan toasted mussels. For those of you who don't know, B doesn't really like seafood unless it's deep fried (but I must admit that he has gotten a lot more adventurous in the past few years). So it was really nice of B to agree to 2 seafood appetizers. He even tried the mussels and thought they were ok. Not too bad, right? For entrees, B got the lamb tenderloin and I got the "surf and turf" with a petite beef tenderloin and chicken fried oysters. You know me, I LOVE fried oysters (Acenar anyone?)! The food was yummy. Sadly, because of the two appetizers, I couldn't finish my steak so B helped me out. Of course we still ordered dessert (because everyone knows that dessert fits into a different stomach) and got the vanilla bean creme brulee (as recommended by the waiter). It was delicious because it didn't taste heavy at all. This place was pricey, but we may come back because the food and portions were great.

The other thing I got to do for my birthday was spend a morning all by myself. First, I went shopping for almost 2 hours without kids. Everyone knows that I'm not a big shopper. I'm very business-like when it comes to shopping. I have a list, I go into a store, grab what I need, and leave. Many of you might think it's just because I have kids. Part of it is because of the kids, but honestly, I've always been like that. I just can't go shopping for hours on end. My mom is a professional shopper. She can wander around in a store for 2 hours and buy absolutely nothing. It drives me nuts! I guess I just need to see some sort of accomplishment. But when it comes to kids stuff, I can definitely spend a lot of money. So, of course, that morning I bought some things for the kids, but then I actually bought 3 tops (all on sale) for myself! I was so proud. I know that sounds weird, but I was seriously worried I wouldn't be able to come home with anything but kid clothes and baby toys. Just to give you a hint as to what kind of shopper I am, during my 2 hours of shopping, I managed to hit 5 different stores. Pretty impressive, right?

The other 2 nice things I got to do was get a deep tissue massage (nice!) and go to brunch with the kids, B, and J. We tried a new place and it was pretty tasty!

So do I feel differently now that I'm 33? Well, I definitely feel more tired and less skinny. My life is simple: wake up, take care of the kids, put them to bed, have a few hours with B (watching TV or doing projects), then head to bed. It's pretty routine, but I always wish for more sleep, more hours in a day, and more organization in my life. Even though I wish for these things, I still wouldn't wish for a different life. How could I trade more sleep for the times when Eli rests his head on my shoulder and pats my back? How could I trade an organized Elfa bedroom closet for the times when Elina runs up to me and kisses my cheek for no particular reason? For now, this is what I do. This is the stage I'm at in my life right now--taking care of my young kids. One day it will end and I'm sure I'll be sad then, but for now I'll enjoy all the hugs and kisses I can get.

I think it's pretty great to be 33 and me.

Elina and the Big Wide World

Elina absolutely loves the show "Peep and the Big Wide World." It's a cute show on TLC and Discovery Kids about a chicken named Peep, a robin named Chirp, and a duck named Quack. They explore the big wide world around them and inadvertently learn about science. We all love this show (even B and I) because the characters are funny (especially Quack), the animation is simple, and the educational concepts aren't "pounded" into kids' heads.

Elina could literally watch Peep all day. She just loves all the characters. Of course since Elina loves to draw, she has drawn some of the characters from the show.

Here is Elina's version of Chirp (notice how she even drew in Chirp's "hair" on top):










And here is her version of Quack (this one is a little harder to see because she did it with chalk on the driveway, but you can see the duck bill and the big feet..you can even see a little bit of the hat):



Pretty good drawings, right? I know I'm biased because she's my daughter, but c'mon now...you all can see the similarities, right?

Our Little Typist

It's funny how kids view adults.

Apparently, Elina thinks that we type quickly on the computer...and make silly faces at the same time. I love Elina's imitation of us using the mouse pad. She's a pro!

A Foodie Learns a New Trick

Since Eli is a foodie, he has pretty much mastered the art of eating with utensils now. He doesn't like us to feed him his food anymore. He'll just shake his hand in front of his body to tell us "no" when we try to put food into his mouth. Initially, we thought he was telling us no because he was full. But then he kept staring at our utensils, so we just handed him one and he went at it! We still have to help him with spoon scooping and fork stabbing, but he gets it. I guess he'll always quickly master any skills that involve food.

Hat Day

Everyone knows that Hat Day is the 3rd Friday of January, right? Since I taught preschool last week, I figured we should celebrate Hat Day by having the girls bring in a fun hat to show and tell.

We had 2 pink cowgirl hats, a pirate hat, a winter hood, and a witch hat. Each girl got up in front of the group and told us about her hat. Most of the girls needed prompting, so I just asked them a series of questions. How does the hat feel? What color is it? Who wears your hat and why? Then the girls all took turns trying on each other's hats. The girls were really cute and seemed to enjoy standing in front of their friends to talk. I knew Elina would be nervous, so I had her practice the night before. Of course she spoke quietly, but she was prepared and had fun.

Growing Up Big and Strong

Elina is a picky eater. Everyone knows this. She's a huge fan of fruit, but veggies are another story. That's why at every meal I make her eat lots of fruit afterwards. Lately, she's been anti-chicken as well. It's gotten to the point where I have to sneak veggies into her normal food so I can feel better about what she eats. I've been using the Sneaky Chef recipes to hide spinach in eggs, carrots and yams in pasta sauce, or cauliflower and zucchini in mac 'n cheese. It sounds sad, but it's actually been working out pretty well.

Besides this, we've also been talking to Elina about healthy foods. She knows that you need healthy food in order to grow big and strong. She also knows that she needs to try to eat something healthy at each meal.

This morning she said something funny at breakfast though. She told me, "Mommy, you need to eat healthy food so you can get big...like...a...giant." She said it so seriously that I couldn't help but laugh. To her, that's the biggest thing out there.

A Visit About Food

This past weekend S, one of my best friends from college, came for a visit. S is a lawyer living in NYC, so she needed a break from her work and from the cold weather. Luckily, we helped her out with some nice weather and some relaxing activities.
When I say "relaxing activities," I mean activities that consist of a lot of eating. S is just like us--all about eating good food. We got food from 3 places that she ate at (and loved) during her last visit 2 years ago: Chacho's, Acenar, and Rudy's BBQ. These are pretty much staples for people who come visit us because it entails cheap Mexican food, fancy Mexican food, and BBQ. I also like to take guests to Magnolia Pancake Haus for breakfast because they have the lightest, fluffiest pancakes ever. I took S the last time she came, so this time I decided to change things up and take her to The Guenther House instead. See, my good friend, K, and I have this on-going debate about the best breakfast place to take guests to. I always take guests to Magnolia and she always does Guenther House. The Guenther House is part of a flour mill, so their breakfast menu is small compared to Magnolia because they mainly serve flour-based breakfast foods--waffles, biscuits, and pancakes. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for more, ya know? Well, a few weeks ago, B and I took the kids to Guenther House and discovered that it's actually quite yummy. B got the chicken quesadillas (which are absolutely delicious) and I shared waffles and potatoes with the kids. Everything was great. The other thing I discovered was how charming the location and the house were. It's an old house from 1860 that's located right on the San Antonio River, so it definitely has more appeal than the strip mall that Magnolia is located in. To top things off, they have the cutest gift shop on the 3rd floor. They sell so many unique cookie cutters and pancake molds. Now I can see why K takes her guests to Guenther House. I think I may be changing my tune as well. Needless to say, S loved the Guenther House, too.

Besides eating food, we also found time to run a few errands (how fun), visit the zoo, do a little shopping, eat Amy's Ice Cream (again with the eating!), watch "great" movies (e.g. "Step Up 2"), play Seinfeld Scene It, play in the backyard, and bake cookies (more food). S requested that we make lots of cookies during her visit, so we tried out my new America's Test Kitchen family cookbook and made some chocolate chip cookies and THE BEST snickerdoodles. Yum! (Why is it that we can never veer away from food??)

It was a nice, relaxing weekend and everyone had fun. The kids really enjoyed having Auntie S around. The first morning S was here, Elina literally showed her every single toy that she owned. Elina was showing her things that she doesn't even play with anymore. Wow. I had a great time catching up with S about life, friends, and family. We love that all of our college friends are rather low-maintenance. We might not talk on the phone or write an email for months, but when we see each other, we just pick up right where we left off. There are never any hard feelings because we all know we have busy lives. S knows that if I don't call or email, it doesn't mean that I don't think about her. It just means that Eli is probably dipping his hand into the toilet bowl and Elina is trying to negotiate more television time. Life.

A Walk on the Beach

While we were visiting my parents in Brownsville, we took a trip to South Padre Island. Elina loves the beach and the weather was beautiful, so we figured we should go. Elina has always loved the water and sand. The last time we went , Eli didn't really enjoy it, so we wanted to give him another chance. Eli thought the sand was strange. He would rub his hands on it, look at his fingers, and make this fakey-fake sad face. He seemed to enjoy walking on the sand more.



Crawling on the sand was ok for Eli, but he got easily distracted by the shells and little rocks in the sand.



Elina, on the other hand, absolutely LOVED her time at the beach. She kept digging in the sand like a dog. Then she would pick up the sand she dug up, run to the water, throw it in, and run away screaming from the incoming water. It was so cute. She kept this up for a really long time.

Peekaboo, I See Your Belly

Eli's loves to play peekaboo now. He usually grabs something, like a toy, and uses it to shield his eyes to play. This time we were out eating and since there was no toy to grab, he lifted up his shirt and used that. It was SO cute because he would lift his shirt really high.

We're Going on a Safari

My parents visited us for Christmas for almost a week. During that time, I was trying to figure out some fun things to do with Elina and for my parents to do with Elina. We went to Dine with Shamu, to the zoo, to Windcrest (to see the lights again), and also to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. I've been wanting to take Elina to the Wildlife Ranch for some time now, but I wanted to do it when it wasn't scorching hot out. See, you drive your car through this "safari." The animals come up to your car and you can feed them (with the feed they provide at the ticket booths). The safari was pretty fun.

We only had 2 complaints. First, some cars were really greedy. Greedy in the sense that they hogged up all the time with animals if the animals came up to their vehicle. I mean, there's a whole line of cars waiting to see the animals. Sometimes there would be enough of the same animal out, so everyone could get close, but at other times this wasn't the case. For example, a few zebras came out and this one car pretty much parked there and leisurely fed the zebras. By the time they decided to move on, the zebras went back into the brush. So only this one car got to see them up close. That was a real bummer because the zebras were only in this one small section.

That leads to my second complaint--there wasn't quite enough variety in the animals. There were SO many animals that looked like antelopes--springboks, gemsboks, whatever-boks. They all started to look the same. Even Elina was getting a little tired of looking at them.

But we still got to get up close and personal with a some cool animals, such as the bison and the ostrich. Here's a funny video of J feeding the bison. Notice how calm she is.

Here is video of my dad feeding the ostrich. I was so scared of the ostrich because it looked like it was pecking so hard. J took the video footage and she wanted me to make the ostrich stay, but I refused to put my hand out there. So you can hear me being a scaredy cat.
After the safari part we walked around the grounds and they had a few animals behind fences--peacocks, giraffes, and even a baby goat. It was adorable. We all had a great time and I definitely want to go back some day. Next time I'd like to go early enough to go through the safari part more than once.

There's a Whale By My Food!

My friend, K, asked us to do Dine with Shamu at Sea World with her and her family. Her daughter, M, is very good friends with Elina, so we thought it would be fun for them to go together. Normally, we wouldn't go to something like Dine with Shamu, but K said her friends told her it was a lot of fun. Plus, K is not renewing her Sea World pass for next year, so she wanted to get the most out of the rest of the season (they closed on 12/31).

The experience itself was pricey and short, but definitely fun. First we ate a lunch buffet, which was supposed to be better than what it was. The best part was eating the hotdogs. I mean, we each ate 2! Then we got to see Shamu up close. They had killer whales come up and do a few things. We were so close! Elina loved it--and so did we! The part where we actually got to see Shamu was short, but it was worth it. You're basically paying for the great pictures you can get. Overall, we had a great time with Shamu and our friends!

Eli's First Haircut

Unfortunately, Eli's hair has gotten so long that it's starting to irritate his eyes a bit. We've been in denial for a few weeks now because we didn't want to cut his hair. But we finally had to bite the bullet. We considered taking him to a real place to get a haircut, but I didn't want his whole head of hair cut. I really just wanted his bangs trimmed. Normally, we would ask my mom to cut Eli's hair, but Elina's first haircut with my mom resulted in a bowl cut. We did not want a bowl cut. My mom is allowed to do the other haircuts, but not the first haircut anymore.

B and I decided to take matters into our own hands. After all, how hard could it be? Yikes.

First, it took us a while to figure out a good place/way to cut Eli's hair. We started in the bathroom but he was too squirmy. Then we thought that the TV in the living room would be a better distraction for him. We are very professional and always use an upside-down trash bag as a cover over the kids' clothing. But after moving to the living room, we realized we should just cut his hair with him naked. The sound of the plastic bag was too hard for Eli to resist.

So we decided to strip Eli down to his diaper and give him his haircut.


Of course, we are definitely not professionals and ended up giving Eli a bowl cut anyway. How sad, right? We discovered that we could just use a little hair product to make it look like Eli doesn't have a bowl cut. So for now, the disaster has been averted. Without the hair product Eli looks exactly like Elina did after my mom cut her hair. But with the hair product, Eli can still be considered somewhat cool.