Memories

Today was an unbelievably hard day. I can take most things Jack throws at me, but when he's mean to me I just want to roll up in a ball and give up. Today was one of those days. I know he is just testing boundaries, but the kid spent most of the day in time outs, one after another, after another. I know it is largely because his life is getting turned upside down. Adda and Poppi are gone, we are in the process of moving, and Zack is working in San Diego a few days a week. Heck, it's a lot for me to handle and I have over a quarter of a century on this kid. I kept thinking about something I read the other day about not just surviving our children. I try so hard to be in the moment, but today I'm afraid all I did was survive Jack. We had one moment today where I worked through my "I'm off of caffeine again" headache, and we sat and talked about change and how he felt inside. He told me he felt real bad inside and didn't want to move and leave his friends. All I could do was hug him, reassure him that I love him always, and that we would make new friends and always remember our old ones. Such a big lesson for such a small fry.

On a side note, Jack told me today that if he went into the street without holding one of our hands he would be hit by a car and his head would fall off. I was so shocked. I have no idea where he came up with such a gruesome idea! I asked him, and he blamed Zack. Zack however vehemently denies ever saying such a thing to Jack. I told him his head wouldn't fall off, but he kept insisting it would. Finally, I just let him go on believing it. Maybe it will help him not go in the road alone, or maybe 20 years from now I will get to hear him tell the story of how I told him his head would fall off if he went in the street on his own. Hopefully this entry will serve as a record that he came up with that one all on his own.

Jack is also convinced that his teeth will turn green if he doesn't brush them. "Like the Hulk". This one Adda is responsible for. They saw a picture of the Hulk on a trash can during beach week and in response to Jack's questioning why his teeth were green, Adda told him it was because he didn't brush them. Good thinking. Except now he insists on brushing his teeth, and crys in his crib at nap time if he remembers he didn't brush them. I have tried also to be honest with him and tell him chances are his teeth won't be green if he misses one day, but he doesn't believe me. Like I said. Twenty years from now, that one's on Adda's tab. My tab is full...enough believe me. :)

Jack & Zoe Hugs

Zoe is pretty much Jack's best friend right now. I am always amazed at how well the two of them play together. They help each other up when they fall and just overall get a kick out of one another. Of course there are meltdowns. Jack is going to miss sweet Zoe and Maryanne when we move. This video is after their swim lessons one day. And yes, I did edit out the next frame when Jack pushed her. No need to remember that...

Jack's Swimming Lesson #2

Teacher Brittany is AWESOME. This is a video from Jack's second 30 minute lesson with her. He is now on lesson 6 and can swim half the length of a pool, lifts his head to get a new breath, can swim to the stairs, can jump into the pool, turn around and then pull himself up out on the side of the pool. Seriously, the kid is now a fish.

Our new Home

We spent the last week down (See Zack I'm trying) in San Diego on a home finding tour. We had a wonderful hotel in La Jolla that was pretty much bigger then our apartment which we made our home base. Intuit provided us with an awesome Realtor, Lauren, who spent all day Tuesday with us. The day started at 8:30 and Jack, who we had just that morning admitted that our new home was not going to next door to Dani and Sean, was none to pleased. We must have seen 15-17 places that first day, and the first 10 or so Jack loudly announced that he did not like them and did not want to live there. Finally, we found a wonderful little community. As soon as we drove down the street I knew it was where I wanted to live. It is lined with cute little trees, has basketball courts, a swimming pool, tons of grassy fields and two little parks and playgrounds in the immediate community.

We found two houses that we were considering. One that had a great back yard with an outdoor fireplace, waterfall, fish pond with lily pads and real live grass. This was almost our home, until we found out that the owners were moving their kids to Switzerland for 2 years and wanted their home to be left exactly the way they had it so that it would be the same for when their kids came home. That meant, all the walls had to stay painted the colors they choose (which were all nice colors for the most part except for a seriously awful magenta bathroom) and the bamboo that lined the bottom half of one room could not be removed. We quickly realized, that although it was our favorite place thus far because it felt like a home, it in the end wasn't our home and we didn't want to live in someone elses' home.

So we settled on a three bedroom house one block over. It does not have a yard, which is sad, but it does have a large patio area (perfect for Jack's basketball hoop, large beetle, table and chairs, bike, beep-beep and homeless man shopping cart), hard wood floors downstairs, and enough room for Jack to grow more then 3 feet tall. :)

Here are some pictures...









The only sad part is that the kitchen counters are not a very pretty color as the picture shows. If you want to see more, you'll have to come visit us...

I am most happy about not having to walk up three flights of stairs. More accurately, I am most excited about not having to drag Jack up three flights of stairs. Although visitors will have to park on the street and climb a few stairs, our garage is in the back of the house. Hurray!

Come visit us. Please?


**While we were in the area, we drove up to meet Tai and Baba for lunch in Irvine, and then drove a bit further to visit with Rachel in Newport.




**On a sad personal note. I remembered how San Diego's proximity to the beach and my hair don't mix on this trip. Hopefully they will find a way to coexist.

Home Sweet Home

We found a new home. More info and pictures to come as soon as we come up for air...

Brown Shorts Month

Jack has been wearing this pair of brown shorts every day for like two weeks. I got tired of the rolling around on the ground tantrums at the idea that, heaven forbid he put on a different pair that morning, and decided to pick my battles and let it officially be brown shorts month. Finally, a few days ago, I asked Jack why he loved his brown shorts so much? He told me that brown was Poppi's (Sean's) favorite color. Needless to say, my heart was softened towards those brown shorts.

In-n-Out and Aunt Sarah

We had a fun, but quick visit with Aunt Sarah when she came down to Mountain View last week for an interview. What could be better then hanging out with family, eating burgers, fries and milkshakes, and getting a super cool hat to wear!

Out of Town

We are headed down to San Diego tomorrow for the week in hopes that we will find our new home.
Wish us luck!!

Happy 6 Year Anniversary

Today is our 6 year anniversary. It have gone by so quickly, but at the same time, we have loved one another since we were 16 and truly feel like we have grown up together. This weekend, we took a drive up to Monterey (sans Jack) and stayed at the Tickle Pink Inn. Our room was seriously bigger then our apartment and one side lined with floor to ceiling windows of an beautiful ocean view. It was our first night away from Jack (thank you to Dani and Sean who did an awesome job taking care of Jack, and didn't hang up on me when I repeatedly reminded them not to lose him).

Zack and I had an amazing dinner at the Pacific Edge restaurant and managed to spend over $200 before tip on our meal. It was all delicious! This morning we woke up on our own, and had an hour long couples Swedish massage in our room. After a quick stop off at the outlets, we made our way home to a very happy, not lost Jack.

Happy happy anniversary Zack! You have made my life.

Here are a few pictures from our celebration!
Picture from our balcony



Dinner at the Pacific Edge

The end of an era

Hi friends, it's Zack. I'm posting about a sad occasion in my life, I no longer have a monopoly on licking the beaters and spatulas in the house. Jack has discovered these sweet delights.

on the bright side, at least we share this common interest!

Cool Guy PJS

I love buying Jack pjs. It is perhaps the clothes item I get the most joy out of buying since boy clothes are a bit boring most of the time. That being said, Jack has at least 15 pair of pjs in his drawer. However, since we got the "cool guy pjs" from Oliver and Brenden, Jack will not wear anything else to bed. Occasionally I put my foot down and insist they get washed and he is forced to wear something else to bed for one night, but most often this is the desired night time look:



The boxers have to be pulled way up high and folded over so they don't drag. So, thank you to the Wiley's, without who this look day in and day out would not be possible, and Jack would definitely not think he was as cool as he does now!

Blogging Break

Zack asked me to either "blog responsibly" or take a break from blogging about his work situation until negotiations were finished. I didn't know if I could be trusted to "blog responsibly" so I opted to remain silent on the matter. I am HAPPY (see it just took a few days) to confirm that Zack has accepted a fantastic offer and will be working in the San Diego office. He technically starts his new job on Monday, but will be working from Mountain View until we move, which will probably be mid September. Along with his new job came a great moving package which includes professional packers and movers. It feels weird to not be stressing about packing up, but I am using the time to sort through things and throw things out while Zack is at work thanks to Annee's helpful suggestions.

We are breaking the news to Jack slowly. He was very concerned when the idea of getting a new home first was broached. His main concern was what was going to happen to all of his toys. Once we reassured him that his toys were coming too, he agreed to the move. I think I am most excited about the limited time remaining that I have to coerce, persuade, demand, and carry Jack up 3 flights of stairs with no elevator. So Yeah for Zack! Yeah for our family! Yeah for San Diego! Yeah for a larger place (hopefully)! And triple Yeahs for a better job for Zack (or for that matter any job for Zack!!)

**On a side note, I just today realized that slide.com was putting music on our blog. My volume is usually turned off, so I had no idea. I'm not sure that I like that...

Quirky things about Jack I want to remember

He insists on kissing my toes before he goes to bed. Eww, and I have no idea where that one cam from.

Today Adda told him he was like a sponge. Jack corrected her and told her no, he was a wash cloth.

Jack wants to brush his teeth so they won't be green like the Hulks.

Jack begs us not to eat Cherrios each morning because "it will smell like Cherrios." He asks me to eat them a few steps away from him. Weird.

Jack told us today that everyone has an Adda. Oh, how I wish everyone had an Adda. The world would be a happier, more wonderful place.

Gilroy Gardens

Last week after my kickboxing class, we decided to be spontaneous, skip naptime and drive down to Gilroy Gardens to check it out. I had heard good things from some friends and it did not disappoint. The whole place is geared to kids Jack's age (well all but two rides). He LOVED it! He got to ride on the carousel, fire truck ride, race car ride, balloon ride (that went soooo fast and he wasn't scared at all), run through the waterfalls and fountains, ride the train, drive the cool car, and eat a churro. There were a few lines, but Jack handled them like a pro. He didn't complain once in line, maybe because it was such a new experience, or maybe because he was so jazzed that he got to go on all the "big kid" rides.

One moment I want to remember is when we put Jack on the carousel we were told no parents were allowed. It was Jack's first time on a ride without one of us, so I was clapping and dancing about (I know...just picture the spectacle) and cheering for my big boy before the ride started to try to boost his confidence. At which point I swear Jack looked so embarrassed and looked away! Oh, could it be starting this early????

San Jose Children's Discovery Museum

Despite the fact that the new job and upcoming move to San Diego appear to be occupying us fully, we are still managing to enjoy our days with good friends and family. Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Discovery Museum last week. We used to have an annual pass here, but the excessive amounts of kids not well monitored on field trips pushing my one year old out of their way totally turned me off. I was pleasantly surprised to find the museum nearly field trip free!! We had a blast!

I've always said, if he interviews he'll get it...

I have been psyching myself out, totally convinced Zack didn't get the job and feeling sorry for him. The job is his (YEAH for Zack!!) and now I'm feeling sorry for myself. Well not really sorry, just scared. If he didn't get the job it would have felt like we were spending the next year just treading water. It feels like a great opportunity for Zack's career, and honestly for our life. So, I guess, San Diego here we come! Ugh.

Hearing Good Things

So, Zack's interviews went really really well. He will hear for sure on Tuesday, but the recruiter emailed him today to tell him that she has been hearing really good things about him around the office but they will tell him officially Tuesday. Ugh. He is really excited about the job...in fact as far as jobs go, it's pretty much perfect for him. It's all about being an idea guy. He will be working to come up with new business ideas for Intuit. It's cheaper to live in San Diego. Ugh. It's nicer then up here. Ugh. We only wanted to be here for another year anyways. Ugh. It's not Korea :). We will have to leave Dani, the home we brought Jack home to, the place that has been home for half of our marriage (longer then anywhere else), the friends that we have made, the three parks all within walking distance, my trusted friend the alarm system, oh and did I mention Dani? Ugh. Not fun. If only I could say it didn't feel right. Ugh. Ugh. And did I mention Ugh.

August 25 is right around the corner

I'm not sure who is keeping track of the fact that August 25th (Zack's official layoff date) is just around the corner. First off, Zack has received a promotion !! YEAH !! which deserves to be celebrated despite being laid off. So Saturday night I am taking him to Scott's Seafood up in Palo Alto which he has been hinting ever so casually about wanting to try out. Secondly, Zack has 3 solid job offers, all as a Marketing Manager in the Mountain View office. All three are waiting on his decision in the next few weeks to come. Thirdly, Zack is now on a plane to San Diego to interview for another job he is interested in...dare I admit it's his first choice, which is super scary for those of us who don't like change even if it's good change. We will keep everyone in the loop as the deadline gets even closer...

Moments continued

I can pretty much get Jack to help with anything by telling him it's going to make Zack happy. Last night he helped me get dinner ready and kept saying over and over with such sweet enthusiasm, "Momma, Papa is going to be so happy!"

Last Saturday Zack gave me the day off for some me time. When I got home to my boys, Zack told me that at one point in the day Jack looked over at him and said, "Papa, how come Momma doesn't make messes when she does this?" Yes, how come indeed. To his credit, all the messes were cleaned up before I got home.

Zack has brought out his two remote control cars that he built when he was a teenager. If Jack didn't think he had the coolest Papa in the world already, this solidified it. Most nights you can find us at the school racing the cars. Zack has explained all about how cars work, and now Jack is obsessed with "bustion engines" (combustion engines).

Kiddie Pool

Jack and I were invited over to a friend's pool today. It's a great set up because there is a pool, a hot tub and a kiddie pool. I was telling Jack how much fun we were going to have at the kiddie pool yesterday. A few hours later he came to me and said,
"Momma, I don't want to go to the doggie pool"
It took a few seconds, but turns out he was hearing "kitty pool" which quickly translated to "doggie pool" in his head. :)