Enduring the fake holiday

Valentines Day. Sigh.  I'm pretty anti- most holidays besides Christmas, but I really detest "celebrating" Valentine's Day. I still recall making a whole bunch of handmade Valentines for (I think) my fifth grade class, and forgetting them at home. What a waste that was (maybe my V-day trauma/apathy stems from this?)!  Kelvin at least is lucky to be "off the hook" as no flowers or jewelry are ever wanted here (usually he gets me a diet coke, which is what he gave me for our first "V-day" together in the Philippines, but he is always met empty-handed. I just can't be bothered to care about *stuff* [while I'm all for showing love, any day of the year. Just not with flowers, chocolates, or gifts]).

Lego bouquets (actually a Christmas gift)-- something I can get behind!

I did love this Valentine from Niall:

I did actually attend a "Gal-entines" party at my friend and colleague Jo's house for the "Ladies of NPS" prenatal crew this weekend, with lovely conversation and desserts! The whole "V-day" occasion was definitely secondary but did provide a theme for desserts and decor.

The kids' schools "suggest" giving out Valentines for their classmates. I knew neither of them were down for hand-making Valentines.  I saw some really nice, themed Valentines advertised on Minted and almost purchased some for our kids...but then, when I saw the cost (something like $1 per Valentine), I. JUST. COULDN'T.

I want to be a mom who participates in school activities, especially the *suggested* ones (or the ones which seem strongly recommended, if not mandatory). I just can't really get on board with investing a lot of time and energy on forcing kids to write on tiny pieces of paper and activities which aren't meaningful (and seem downright FAKE) to me.

That being said, Niall had a very good time writing his name and all of his classmates' names on inexpensive Superhero Valentines from the grocery store. He also did a few handmade cards for his very best friends (and wrote "POOP NO" on a card for a classmate he doesn't really enjoy. Needless to say, that one isn't getting passed out).  

Iver wasn't interested at all in making or signing Valentine's Day cards (and I was okay with that); however after an e-mail from his teacher, I felt seriously guilty and told him that he actually couldn't go to school empty-handed (maybe there's a chance I'll get bolder and just refuse next year?). 

So we settled on these: (digital print from Etsy)

And in other "holiday" news, now the kids celebrate the 100th day at school-- which was definitely not a thing when I was growing up! It was on Thursday for Niall and Friday for Iver.

We borrowed this from the library!

Sigh. "Happy" Valentine's Day/fake holiday(s). At least it's over. Until next year.

For my L&D friends:

Superbowl Smiles

 

I missed most of this year's Superbowl due to managing two laboring patients, who delivered within thirty minutes of one another, although I watched a few minutes of the second half and part of the halftime show from the doctors' lounge in the hospital.  I didn't have anything hugely invested in the outcome, but I did prefer KC to win since the Eagles took our our 49ers in an abysmal quarterback-less game a couple of weeks ago (and, as the above graphic shows, I am just glad Tom Brady was nowhere to be found).  It seems like I missed a pretty exciting second half but even Kelvin didn't catch it all (he took the kids and some air-fried shrimp and wings to a party but reported that he "didn't get to watch very much of the game because people kept talking to me!"). Maybe there's something to (for avid football-lovers) to watching the game uninterrupted at home, or from a hospital call room :)  

At long last: Meet Leafy!

 

Iver, our amphibian lover, has been pining after (and praying nightly for) a pet frog for months now. Dana, his after-care teacher, after learning of his love of the creatures, had brought him a pair from him from her yard late last year, but it was before he had a tank for them (so we had to release them back to the wild at that time).  She also showed up with another one for Iver’s birthday in December; however, he was sick and missed the rest of that week, which flowed into an extended winter break.  Since that time, no more frogs have resurfaced (although he's repeatedly asked her); however, he has acquired and set up a large tank, and accessorized it with various (artificial) plants and decorations (it's really his full-time hobby!) which he purchased with his birthday money (we are also now exploring an allowance). We made many a trip to the pet store and had purchased mealworms, which (along with live crickets) expired since they just sat in a jar. We asked him to hold off on purchasing more things until a froggie was actually here. But Iver has done a lot of reading and learning about how to care for his hypothetical pet! 

The frogs come out more when it rains, but despite the torrential January storms and apparently a yard that rains frogs, Dana hadn't delivered on any more creatures. We told Iver that, after our February out-of-town trip, if no frogs had appeared, he could purchase one from the pet store. But, this Sunday, when we had a rainy afternoon, he and Kelvin went frog-hunting at Hiller park and he came back with a small Pacific tree frog he found under a rock who he named "Leafy” (We don't know if it's a male or female. Apparently males learn to chirp as they grow, so we'll see. There are probably other identifiers that I don't know about). (I have mixed feelings about disturbing/"taking" animals from the wild but I can relent to one. Many kids, boys especially, seem to want to make outdoor creatures into pets).

He set up Leafy's tank with soil, a water bowl (not too deep because apparently even amphibious creatures can drown-- it's just for it to "drink" through its skin) and various things to hop/climb on (we had to oven-sterilize the bark which helps get rid of any harmful parasites).

Leafy likes to hang out near the top lid/screen...

... and burrow, like at his former-rock home.

Iver is totally in charge of feeding the frog (a few small live crickets per week, to be adjusted PRN, purchased from a local pet store), spray misting the tank daily and changing the spring water, and ensuring that his room's blinds get opened daily to allow the frog something of a circadian rhythm (“most tree frogs are nocturnal," Iver informed me). He’ll have to make plans for “frog sitting” when we go out of town. We've discouraged holding it as I do not want any other amphibians getting loose in our house.  However, he loves just watching and discovering its hiding places, rushing home from school and waking up to check on it, and is sooo excited to finally have his pet frog. Apparently they can live for upwards of six years, and we are all hoping for a healthy, long-ish life for "Leafy." 

"Shaag"

For some reason, during dinner this weekend, Kelvin brought up the topic of an "outside house.” I honestly cannot recall the context but the conversation got completely derailed by this exchange:

Kelvin: You know. I'm talking about a Shag.

Me: What?! Did you just say a "Shag"?!

Kelvin: You know, that small wooden outdoor house thing. 

Me: You mean a shed?   

Kelvin:  Um. No, not a shed.

Me: A hut?

Kelvin:  No, not a hut. 

Niall: A CASITA?!

Me: OHHH, you mean a Shack?!  But did you just pronounce it "Shag"?

Kelvin: Yeah, a Shag! 

Me: "Shack!" As in, rhymes with "hack" or like the basketball player Shaq! 

Kelvin: Shaag. 

Me: (the language policeperson)!! The word ends with C-K, not G. A "Kuh" sound, not "Guh."

Kelvin: It's a difficult sound in English. Remember that English is not my first language!

Iver: Papa! Say "Shack!," not "Shaag." It's a C-K!  Like the F-word. It's not pronounced "FUUG!" 

Iver's Ski Debut (Boys hit the slopes)!

We didn't take Iver skiing on either of the recent trips to the snow (to Sunriver over NY and to Mt. Shasta area over MLK weekend), as he didn't express any interest in learning.   However, when he learned that Hudson/Gavin and their dad Brian (as well as Miles and his son Earl)  were headed to the snow this weekend to ski and they invited Iver along, he was all for it!  Kelvin/Iver rode in Miles' truck and carpooled to Mt. Shasta on Friday night for a boys' 24-hour trip and his first time on skis!  Niall stayed home with me and it was a peaceful time of playing, reading, and snuggling for us, the less energetic/intense members of this family!

Iver started by getting rental gear and a couple of hours in "ski school," which he didn't love (he said he didn't need it since Hudson already told him how to "pizza," and "french fry"!), but which taught him the basics. I was so proud of him for trying out this new sport as he, perfectionistic and cautious about new experiences, sometimes can refuse to get involved in something unless he knows he can be sure to be "good at it."

Earl is also a fairly new skier but had been before. 

The "Magic Carpet" (moving walkway on an incline) brought the kids up to the top of the bunny slope.

In the afternoon, Brian took Iver to the "real" slopes-- first time on a ski lift!  

(He said he did fall getting off but was ok and shook it off!).

Hudson is a good little skier!

Kelvin got to snowboard with "big kid" Gavin.

Brian got a few short video clips of some of Iver's runs and sent them to us but, alas, they were not consistently uploading here. 

The boys had a great day, and Iver is already asking for more time on the mountain ("When can we go back?!").

Thoroughly spent! 

"Pandemic is Over" (?) Playdate

We haven't been modifying our behavior for the last year + despite "the pandemic" which now may be officially (?) "over" (per Congress with its "Pandemic is Over Act" and even the state of CA as well as the Democratic president). We're vaccinated, boosted, healthy, young, and came to the conclusion a while ago that COVID would become endemic, like the flu, and that there were many risks (emotional, social, etc.) that outweighed the specific risk of illness to us and our family to staying isolated. That being said, we have had very few "playdates" at our house in the last several years, both because we and our kids like to get out and about (after being trapped in our house for so long in 2020-2021!) and because sometimes we feel our house isn't as "cool" as others' (in addition, I actually enjoy calmness and peace at home :)). 

Niall has been wanting to have a playdate for a long time with his best bud Dylan, who attends PreK with him.   He wrote him a note and everything!

We coordinated with Dylan's parents and on Friday (after they'd been at school all day together!), Dylan came over after school for a light dinner (he mostly eats cucumbers!), play time, and, of course, ice cream. Niall was soooo excited to share his toys and space with him.

Unfortunately, we just learned that Dylan will be moving with his family to Redding this spring. He will surely be missed and I feel a bit sad that these little kids have missed out on so many normal kiddie things/playdates due to the pandemic. However, Niall does, at least, seem fairly well-adjusted and when I asked him if he'd feel sad when Dylan departed, he said "Yes. But I still have Grant!"    

(Dylan sandwich, Grant on the right. No physical distancing here.)

The past is the past. We are moving forward.  Great attitude.  

Puss in Boots

During my last call weekend, Kelvin took the boys to the movies to see the latest "Puss in Boots" film. 

It was a hit and we've been listening to many of its songs since that time.

Niall, who is very much into dress-up with various Superhero outfits and more, created his own "Puss in Boots" costume from various items in our homes-- bogs boots he loves, hats that were a Christmas gift from Inara, a belt of Kelvin's, shoelace "tail," bubble wand sword, and a hand-made yellow feather. He also now wants a pet cat.

 

FEAR ME, IF YOU DARE!