Mommy & Ella Date: Park-hopping & Picnic

I just couldn’t waste this past weekend’s weather and vowed to do something special outdoors with the mini-me. Instead of just going to one park, I decided to make it an adventure and take her to three of the big, newer parks in our community. She surprised me with her agility and imagination as she climbed up the tricky ladders, rock walls and slid down the “big kid” slides. I had a few heart-racing moments as she climbed what seemed like Mount Everest in playground world but Mommy was close by. We ended our date with a picnic in the last of the parks. Our conversation went something like this:

M: Are you tired?
E: No.
M: You look tired.
E: This is just my sun face. (Translation: The sun was in her face and that’s why she looked tired.)

Borrowed from Good Housekeeping Magazine

The best part of being married is…having your best friend and biggest supporter in your life for life, and that no matter what you’ll be accepted and loved for who you are.

The worst part of being married is…sharing a closet and a bathroom. Hahaha!

The most romantic thing my Hubby and I have done recently is…sit in the open trunk of our SUV in a random parking lot, sipping on our Starbucks, and just talking.

On a typical Saturday night, we…have dinner with our kids and break away for a coffee date!

And on Sunday morning we…try to sleep in. We almost always cook a big heart breakfast for the family.

The most used appliance in our house is…does the stove count? If not, it would have to be our coffee maker.

The least used appliance in our house is…our fancy schmancy Kitchen Aid. Surprisingly.

When it comes to housekeeping, I…don’t mind doing the dishes and laundry. Funny though, I do not like putting away the dishes or the clean folded laundry!

Around the house I’m the…boss-lady! :)

Snapshots of My Weekend

Okay…I’m only doing this because sometimes I can’t believe how long…and random…and sometimes ridiculous…my weekend must-do/want-to-do list gets. So in addition to cleaning the house, grocery shopping, and laundry (that is just Friday after work by the way), Ella and I enjoyed a nice breakfast out with my folks, I went shopping with the mini-me and Hubby, exercised with the Kinect, took a neighborhood stroll with mini-me, went on a date with Hubby, more late-night shopping with the Hubby, cooked breakfast Sunday, made a strawberry pie, made Ella a tu-tu, made chicken adobo with the crock pot, Hubby finally hung the boy’s Senior photo, I gave El a trim, took advantage of the summer hours and went to the zoo, and had a late-night dinner at Eddie’s…whew!

 

Even Brighter Than The Moon, Moon, Moon…

This year, we enjoyed an easy, relaxing Fourth of July. The folks had a little BBQ at their house and my brother and sis-in-law were so sweet to get the Hubby a birthday cake. One of my favorite memories of the day was seeing my parents sitting in the patio with their feet up and just listening to them tell me their childhood food memories.

We watched fireworks from a shopping mall parking lot and it was packed with people from the nearby neighborhoods. I love seeing how our community comes together.

Beach Day!

“It’s such a perfect day…can we go to the beach?” asked the 10 year old.

Typically, a request like this would be declined due to lack of planning. It’s quite a production for our family to go anywhere, let alone the beach. But the Hubby and I looked at each other and said “Why not? Get your swimsuits on!” I quickly packed sandwiches and grabbed some water bottles, while the Hubby packed our car with chairs, mats, our beach umbrella and boombox. Me being “Miss Planner”, going to the beach on a second’s notice is unheard of! But I’m sure I was too exhausted to pose the argument of not being fully prepared for this sort of outing, and plus…how can we decline when we can see the pure joy and excitement in our kids’ faces?

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the beach. I played in the sand and splashed around in the water with our girls, and just relaxed…something I do not do enough of. The best part was hearing Ella say over and over “This is the best beach ever!”

It was pretty awesome, and I can’t wait to go back! :)

Group Date Night: Hangover 2 Style

This past weekend, we hosted a co-ed dinner party with 3 of my oldest, dearest girlfriends and their Hubbies. The plan was to have dinner at our house and drive over to the nearby theater to watch The Hangover 2. Can you guess what the theme of our party was? That’s right – The Hangover! We ordered Thai food in honor of the setting of the movie and I made cigar and water bottle labels with the Hubby’s favorite character in the movie – Alan.

We ordered four different dishes – Panang Curry Chicken, Rama Beef, Beef Pad Seeyew and Pad Thai Chicken. My girlfriend brought the sticky rice with mango for our first dessert. After the movie, we headed back to our house to have birthday cake and coffee. Hubby requested a flan cake for his birthday cake. It was another funfilled night with wonderful friends!

Lunch with the Birthday Boy

I took my favorite guy (the Hubby, of course) to Phil’s BBQ. It was our first visit there. He had the Broham (pulled pork sandwich), I had the pork ribs and we shared a whoopie pie! Overall, it was a good experience – I think I’ll try something new next we go. But you can’t beat sitting on their outdoor patio on a perfect sunny San Diego day! Happy birthday, My Love.