Thank You, Easter Bunny!

This year, Easter served as the grand finale for our spring break. Uncle Al was with us for the week, and Grandfather, Grandma, and Uncle Travis joined us for the holiday weekend. I knew to expect a full house because everyone in our family always looks forward to Easter. Actually, we all look forward to our highly competitive family Easter egg hunt!

Prior to the hunt, we all fueled up on Grandma's famous sausage and broccoli quiche. I spent Easter morning channeling my inner Martha Stewart while baking this cake as a special dessert, but really it was just a distraction as we waited on the Easter Bunny to arrive.I don't know what he does for your household, but since we were little, the Easter Bunny has always littered our yard with candy and money eggs. Yes, he's very generous! Over the years, the number of participants has definitely grown and so has the competitive nature of the event. While the extra money is nice and always appreciated, what everyone really wants are the bragging rights earned by finding the gold and/or silver eggs.

(Lined up waiting for the hunt to begin. Baylor didn't like my plan to accessorize him with bunny ears.)This year's golden egg contained $100 and the silver egg had $50. The Easter Bunny really takes his time when hiding these two eggs which makes the hunt fun, but also quite challenging. Additionally, the Easter Bunny scatters another hundred or so eggs filled with candy and smaller amounts of money.

Essentially, there are 2 strategies that one can apply towards victory. One, go for quantity and run like crazy trying to gather the most eggs so you will hopefully wind up with the most money. Or, two, focus on quality and spend your time diligently hunting for the high dollar eggs.

Personally, I don't like to leave anything to chance. I go for quantity because I know that in the end I should at least have a basket of yummy candy and a few bucks. Jax takes after me. He was running around like a mad man. He was still going at full speed when us older participants were winded from our initial sprint.

I guess we were quite the sight because this was Baylor's expression for most of the event. I guess the secret is out...we're all crazy!In the end, Uncle Al was the big winner! He spotted the golden egg that was hidden on the roof of the house, yet visible from the yard in accordance with the rules established prior to the hunt. Aunt Nguyen came in second place after both Anh and I walked right by the silver egg hidden in the base of Jax's basketball goal. I guess it pays to be thorough!

Uncle Al was denied his moment of glory, however. Jax insisted on posing with the gold egg for the "official" results photo. This will no doubt cause some confusion in the future when we reflect on the past!Since his age put him at a bit of a disadvantage, we held a seperate egg hunt especially for Baylor. Luckily, he had a bit of practice during our hunt. Ironically, Baylor actually came out ahead of Anh in the main event. He found three $5 eggs bringing his grand total to $15 while Anh only managed to grab seven $1 eggs. Plus, Baylor watched Jax hunt eggs at school and at a birthday party last week. So, he kind of knew the routine.

Initially, Baylor was distracted by the flock of sheep that had magically appeared in the yard.

Clearly, Baylor is already an animal rights' activist. He made it his mission to free the sheep! After convincing Baylor that the sheep were quite comfortable in their pen, he was able to focus on the task at hand.Since he has zero interest in money at this point, Baylor's big prize was a little baseball mitt. Now, he'll be able to play along with his dad and brother in the yard. He's officially part of the team now!

Thank you for everything, Easter Bunny! We're already counting down the days until next year!

Follow-Up

Before heading to Orlando, we made a pit stop at the pediatrician's office for a follow-up visit. Dr. N wanted to check both of the boys' ears to verify that the ear infections were gone. Plus, she wanted an update on Jax's weight and to discuss our cardiology appointment.

It looks like the nutritional shakes are working because Jax has packed on 2.8 lbs since our last visit, 3 weeks ago. He now weighs 35 lbs which puts him in the 25th percentile. Progress! Dr. N asked Jax to flex his "muscles" to show off the power of his special milkshakes, and he was happy to oblige. Then, Dr. N went on to check his ears. One ear received a perfect score, and the 2nd is getting better but still has a little way to go. No more antibiotics should be necessary though.

Dr. N showed me a report sent to her by Jaxon's cardiologist, and reiterated that Dr. E saw nothing that would indicate a problem. Once again, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Dr. N reminded me that she only referred me to the cardiologist as a precaution. She said that lots of children have innocent heart murmurs that come and go, but eventually resolve by themselves by age 8.

Then, the focus shifted to Baylor. He is still off the charts weighing in at 26.2 lbs. Good Lord! No wonder my arms hurt when carrying him around. Dr. N even joked that there would be no nutritional shakes in Baylor's future. His ears checked out too. Both were in perfect shape.

The visit did end on a sour note. The nurse popped into the exam room to give Jax the chicken pox vaccination. The office had omitted it during our last visit, but Jax wasn't as lucky this time around. He took it like a champ though.

And with that, we were off. We'll head back in May for Baylor's 1 year visit, but Jax won't see Dr. N "officially" until he turns 5. Well, that's assuming that we're lucky when it comes to colds, viruses, injuries, etc. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Orlando

Orlando was fun, but it's good to be home! We actually had a nice relaxing visit. We stayed with our good friends, Francis and Anne, who moved into their new house last month, and we got VIP treatment. Anne made us what seemed like a 7-course dinner! It was so nice to be able to have all of the conveniences of home, especially with the boys. The only disappointment was that we couldn't enjoy their pool. It was just too cold which is shocking when you consider that it's April and Orlando. What the heck?!

Yesterday, Anne made the trip back with us, and we returned the hospitality. We took both of our guests, Anne and Uncle Al, out on the town in the historic district. We had dinner and did a little bit of bar hopping before calling it an early evening. We had big plans to stay out late, but our old age got the better of us. Even Uncle Al, the youngster, was yawning by 10pm. So sad! I blame the lack of excitement downtown though. I thought there would be more mid-week action considering that it's spring break. Nope!

Back on the topic of Orlando, our visit did have an unexpected side effect. Seeing Anne and Francis' house actually got us sort of excited about our own search. Anh and I have been somewhat dreading the search. Understandable, I assume, given our past luck and experiences with the Florida real estate market. We've decided next weekend we will finally venture out to see some the houses that we found on the internet over the past few months. The good news is that we have a decent sized list of about 15 homes to look at, and some have even recently dropped their listing price which means the owners are probably willing to deal. So, we are cautiously optimistic.

If we find any houses that are real contenders, I plan to share details and pictures, but don't expect anything as grand as last time. We've dialed back our budget considerably. Given the uncertainty of the economy, we just aren't as eager to plop down such a huge down payment. I think the only person disappointed by our decision was our realtor, but she's just thrilled to have a client willing to buy in these uncertain times. Little does she know, we're still REALLY gun shy and far from committed to the idea of purchasing.

We'll wade cautiously into the pool though and see what happens!

Spring Break

Uncle Al is here for spring break, and we are off to Orlando to have some fun. Originally, the plan was to go to Sea World, but Mother Nature is not being cooperative. A freak April cold snap has foiled those plans. I imagine we'll find something to do though. It is Orlando, after all!

Our plans to spend a few days on the beach this week are also looking questionable thanks to the temperatures. I thought we might actually be able to dust off the beach gear and have some fun in the sun, but at this point, it's looking like we'll only be able to stroll on the sand, rather than actually take a dip in the waves. We aren't like the crazy Northerners that will get in the water at any time of the year.

The good news is that the forecast does look sunny and warm for Easter. At least, we can put away the jackets for the Easter egg hunt...maybe!

The Secret is Out

Parents, listen up! I just discovered that birthday parties don't have to be stressful. You don't have to sacrifice your entire weekend to prepare for, host, and then clean up after the chaos. That is unless you're like me, and you just enjoy inflicting that sort of pain upon yourself.

Yesterday, Jax attended a party at The Little Gym, and let me tell you that you couldn't stress if you tried. They handle absolutely everything! Well, actually, our friends did supply the food, drinks, cake, and treat bags, but the staff retrieved it all from their car and took care of every single detail from that moment forward.

All our friends had to do was watch their birthday girl enjoy her special day and take pictures for the scrapbook. The parents were actually able to socialize along with all of the other parents while the kids were entertained with high energy activities like dancing, tumbling, gymnastics, etc. That said, the best thing was that the kids had an absolute blast!

When the party was over, the staff neatly packed up all of the leftovers, delivered them to our friends' car, and with the swipe of a credit card, the parental duties were over. Amazing! I didn't know such a wonderful experience could be accomplished so easily.

I haven't yet hosted a large party for either of the boys, just little family get-togethers. I'm going to give it a shot on my own at least once, but I like knowing that with the power of Visa I can make all the stress go away, but not lose any of the fun.

Party People

I think we're officially in party mode. It started Thursday with Jax's Easter egg hunt at school. The whole family attended because no one wanted to miss out on the spectacle. Running a little bit late, we arrived right in the middle of snack time. By they way, I've always found it strange that the kids have snack time first thing in the morning. Didn't they just have breakfast? Do they really need a snack already? I guess so because every time I've volunteered in the classroom, the kids gobble up their morning treat.Since it was a party, the snack that morning was cake. There's a great snack for 9:30am! No wonder Jax tries to convince me occasionally that cookies are an appropriate option for breakfast. Snack time also intrigued Baylor. He did his best to swipe cake and juice from Jax's unsuspecting classmates.

Actually, Baylor seemed eager to participate in just about everything. He has always been fascinated by the whirlwind of activity at the school, but this time, he was ready to join in the fun, rather than simply observe from the safety of Mommy's or Daddy's arms.

You can tell Ms. Susan, Jax's teacher, has years of experience with preschoolers because her timing is perfect. Just as the cake fueled sugar rush was starting to kick in, she announced that it was time to hunt eggs. I slipped outside to position myself for pictures, and moments later the frenzied pack of preschoolers came barreling out the classroom door.

Most of the kids just grabbed wildly for any egg that they saw, but some, like Jax, were more strategic in their selection. I noticed that some of the kids were only going after a specific color. One little girl screamed and threw a tantrum when a little boy beat her to a pink egg. She seemed to believe the pink eggs were only for her.

Jax's strategy involved shaking the eggs. He would pick up the eggs and shake them to verify that something was inside. If he didn't hear or feel something rattling around, he would throw it down and move on. I guess he didn't trust that Ms. Susan stuffed them all or he just wasn't taking any chances.

Once all of the eggs were collected, Ms. Susan announced that we'd be going back into the classroom to divvy up the eggs evenly. Well, we don't support Socialism, and that was our cue to exit. Just kidding! Sort of...we really don't believe in Socialism, but that's not why we left. We simply had to get to work, and given that all of the kids' baskets seemed to be overflowing, it didn't look like anyone was going home empty handed.

Then, last night, we once again had an excuse to party. Our neighborhood hosted a street party to celebrate the start of spring break. The streets around our clubhouse were closed to traffic so vendors could set up booths, and at each end of the main street there were stages set up for performers. At one end, you could watch live bands and at the other you could watch as local dance groups performed. For the kids, there was face-painting and bounce houses. The Easter Bunny even made an appearance! I'd say that the organizers did a great job.

And finally, today, we've got yet another party on the agenda. This afternoon, Jax is going to a birthday party at The Little Gym which undoubtedly result in a good time. Hopefully, pictures will follow.

It Wasn't All Sunshine & Rainbows

So...I've been pondering how I was going to approach this news or whether to share it at all. I mean, this blog is primarily a tool I use to share updates and news about the kids, myself, or Anh. I try to keep it positive, occasionally I'm unsuccessful. Rarely, if ever, do I share another's news because I don't really consider my place or business to do so.

However, I really don't think this can go unmentioned. While my trip to California was packed with many wonderful moments that will no doubt resulted in so many treasured memories, there was one extremely sad period.

It was Monday afternoon, and I was strolling down Main Street in St. Helena. I called Anh to check in on life at home and that's when I learned that I, along with the rest of the world, had lost a truly incredible person. My dear friend that was battling cancer had passed away. She went peacefully surrounded by family, and really, it was such a relief to know that she was finally at peace.

I found it extremely poignant that she passed while I was in Napa. She was with me during my first trip to wine country. In fact, I only went because I was already in San Francisco, and it was a chance to meet up with her. Our time there was absolute perfection: good food, good wine, and good friends. It was the perfect combination.

My only regret is that the timing of her passing made it completely impractical to attend her funeral, but funerals are for those left behind and honestly, I wasn't really close with most of her friends and family. When we spent time together it was usually just us or we'd invite her to join in on our family activities because that's what we considered her, family.

Ultimately, I know that I was there for her while she was alive, and somehow I think that's what matters most. Anyway, I just didn't think something this important could go unmentioned. The blog revolves around us and the things in life that affect us, and well...this definitely affected us.