Ayie
Hubs is trying to beat deadlines and doing much overtime. Whenever he needs to do overtime on weekends we try to keep him company. He wouldn't go to the office if there's no grave need, but this time he really needs to exert extra effort to keep up with the submission on Monday. We gave him a visit last Friday night and brought some dinner as well so he could go on and not starve himself. He was able to finish what he intended to accomplish but needs extra time over weekend.
Here we are right in daddy's office now again, it's Sunday and we all want to be together even if that means having to wait for him. Brought in toys, activity book, foods and gadgets to keep me and J busy. Cool that I get to blog even a bit and J occupied playing.
Ayie
It is important for an individual, a couple or a family to have their own quality time alone. This is very hard when you are surrounded by many people but there will always be a window period when you can have that little quality time. Regardless how it will be spent, what matters most is doing it for yourself, together with your dear partner or a fun time with your family.
I remember how me and hubs spent our 5th wedding anniversary last 2012 with our little boy. We booked for an overnight stay in a hotel not too far from our place just to be able to spend some quality time as a family in a more intimate manner. That was actually a brilliant idea because we had much fun even for that short one night escapade. We don't mind having our boy around because we're enjoying every second of the time we can with him, time flies and he's growing up so fast.
We're simple people, we don't need much activities to enjoy a family day. Baby had fun playing with his trains alone for a while in the room, we all had fun swimming that same afternoon and then a nice quiet evening for me and hubs watching TV while baby J in deep sleep being tired from afternoon swim. The next morning me and baby explored through the hotel and took some nice photos while daddy's still sleeping. A nice breakfast for all of us to finish off our mini escapade. Very simple indeed but we all had our quality time.
I know most couples would say it's hard to find time alone once you have kids. It's true but there will always be time. Some friends or relatives for instance might offer a babysitting for a little time so you can go out for a date. As shy as you may be, don't always throw away the offer. Find the perfect time to take the offer and enjoy some time alone. It may be as simple as just a lunch out or a movie, what's important is the fact that you don't need to watch after your kid while enjoying a meal together even for a wee time. Have a drink or two, do something you haven't done for a while.
Perhaps not all couples will agree to our kind of quality time alone, this is just our simple way of doing things. It won't be surprising if for some, a hotel booking in
Executive Fantasy Hotels without the kid would have been more desirable. Nothing wrong with that it's completely acceptable, enjoying a
suite of their own even for just a night would be their ultimate quality time.
Ayie
Whenever I think of Japanese foods I think of cute stuff. Won't you agree on that? Bento for instance, arranged and served in a lunch box with much presentation. Definitely kawaii! The photo above is a small snack for kids given by our Japanese friend. It's a cheese flavored sea creature crackers, very simple snack but so cute.
There you can see a squid, starfish, jellyfish, whale, crab, turtle, and other fishes plus an anchor. The snack is hollow inside, so it gives you that crackling sound as you bite through. Imagine the joy of a little kid munching on cute sea creatures as a tasty treat.
Another cute Japanese food thingy is the egg molds. My little loves his hard boiled eggs molded into shapes. So far we only have star and heart shapes, it would be nice to add some cool car shapes too. Using this is easy, simply boil the eggs as usual then right when it's done and still hot you must peel it and put in the mold. Don't make a mistake of putting it there after cooling it down, it will just mess the egg and you'll end up having a mess. The trick is to run the newly boiled egg in cold water just enough for you to handle and peel it.
Ayie
Every year we go to San Francisco to do our taxes. It's quite a drive to go there but we have our trusted Tax Preparer there who's been handling our taxes for the longest time. We take our tax day as a reason to go somewhere special around the bay area. This year we went to Pacifica, located just 12 miles south
of San Francisco along the scenic coast of the Pacific Ocean. Known for
its natural beauty, Pacifica is filled with numerous hiking trails
through rolling hills that overlook the ocean surf and forested canyons.
"Pacifica means "peaceful" in Spanish.
However, the City of Pacifica did not receive its name from its Spanish
foreparents. Pacifica's name was the product of a contest held in 1957
to find a name for the newly incorporated coastal city. The winning name
was based on an 80-foot statue by sculptor Ralph Stackpole, created as
the theme lady for the Golden Gate International Exposition. The
Exposition was held on Treasure Island in 1939-40. The statue was
destroyed after the fair was over but two of the sculptor's working
models have been saved. One is over the front stairs at City Hall; the
other sits in the City Council Chambers."
So there, we went to Pacifica to spend some quality family time with our little boy. We knew he'd enjoy the beach with the sand and the water. I told hubs I prefer to stay under the tree to shield us from the scorching sun but to our surprise it was a hazy day. Sun was completely shielded therefore it was freezing cold, chilly like winter! Hubs was actually laughing at me teasing me about the tree shade I was asking for, it was so chilly even under faint sun. Luckily we had all our snow clothes in the car trunk and managed to keep ourselves warm adding some layers.
See our happy boy gathering wet sand for his sand castle and few sticks? It was too cold that we didn't want to stay near the shore. Getting some "building materials" for little J's sand castle needed much effort walking to the shore and back. Pobresito carrying a bucket full of wet sand, quite heavy for a little boy so he made mommy do the carrying for him after few rounds.
We have a little Architect in the making, he was being so crafty and creative trying to etch and put doors and windows on the sand castle. I was even telling him not to be that detailed because I was afraid it would collapse and I didn't want to deal with crying and all. Can you see the proud and happy daddy behind all bundled up as well? It turned out to be a simple but special outing for us. Having a picnic lunch at the beach and just kicking back some time. We did more fun stuff later on but this is it for now.
Ayie
My boy and I would often go for a walk around the neighborhood, carrying along our camera we would take photos of beautiful flowers along the way. It's very nice to walk around with him because we get to be out and do a little exercise together. I get to teach him road safety during our walks. He's doing really good when it comes to stopping before nearing the crosswalks and staying on the sidewalk. He was so terrible with that when he was younger, would often run off here and there.
Back to the lovely tulips, we took this photo near the library by the Ainsley Museum. Every Spring the whole garden is planted with lovely flowers, I love this photo because the tulips stand out with its vibrant colors against the green background. Of course it's not photo perfect given our "playtime" camera but I love it. J gave me a hand taking this photo or should I say I gave him a hand as he's starting to be intrigued holding the camera and taking the shots himself.
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