With MJ traveling, the boys and I spent the first Sunday of the month visiting a flea market in town, where I found a Disney’s Pinocchio picture vinyl – the same one my family had when I was a kid!

We then went over to The Chabot theater for an afternoon showing of the new live-action Lilo & Stitch. This is only the second time our boys had been to a movie theater, and the first time we went to one that wasn’t a special event. They did great! The movie was cute and the boys had a good time, but the live-action remakes aren’t really my thing.

I took Monday and Thursday off from work to do other summer things with Gaby (our au pair) and the boys. Monday it was a visit back to the Cull Canyon swimming lagoon for swimming! Unfortunately the weather was on the cooler side, so there weren’t a lot of people there and we were a bit chilly. We still had fun though, got to swim a bit, have some PB&J sandwiches, and try out the beach tent and wagon we bought after our first visit.

We picked up the wagon at Costco, and it collapses really nicely. The beach tent came from REI, and it’s not one of the easy pop-up ones, but setting it up is easily done with a single person and a few minutes of focus. It was actually good chilly and our visit to short to use the tent, but I could see it really coming in handy during longer visits on warmer days.

On my Thursday off I took everyone up to Fairyland in Oakland. It’s been on our list for a while, and I realized that at 4 and 6, Adam at least would age out of it in a couple years. Now was the perfect time to go! Gaby and I packed up a bunch of snacks and drove up. Parking was easy and it wasn’t busy when we arrived. The park is also celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, so at ticketing we got our Fairyland keys that were decorated with sparkles for the anniversary. So cute!

As one of the first theme parks, it inspired many others over the years, notably among them being Disneyland. I suspect it’s seen better days with fresher coats of paint, but these aren’t things that kids notice, and to Adam and Aaron it was one of their favorite days out in a while. There are lots of places to run and climb, there was a little train that we rode a couple times, and the carousel and Ferris wheel were kids-only, which they thought was pretty fun(ny). There was a giant (kids-only) dragon slide that they went down about a half dozen times, and they both thought it was hilarious to hide inside various little houses inspired by fairy tales.

We saw a puppet show at 11AM, during which we followed the lead of a bunch of other families in using the opportunity to have the kids enjoy their PB&J sandwiches. The Pinocchio puppet show was cute, but Aaron and I were quite distracted by a squirrel who understood it was lunch time and got very close to us in his efforts to take Aaron’s sandwich.

It was also great that they allow outside food, and even the in-park food didn’t seem wildly priced, maybe we’ll check it out next time. I think going on a Thursday morning was a good choice too, even if it required a day off from work, it meant there were virtually no lines and even the school groups that were there didn’t make the park feel full. In all, the place was pretty low-stress and enjoyable for all of us, as soon as we left the boys were asking when we could go again.

MJ returned from his work trip late on Thursday night, just in time for us to enjoy Father’s Day weekend! Saturday was spent at the annual Castro Valley Car Show. One of the reasons we delayed our trip to Philadelphia was to avoid missing local summer events like this, so it was nice that we got to go this year. Adam even found a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, famously the same car that KITT is in Knight Rider, though this one was white and I think it was from 1983 (the one in the show is a 1982).

Sunday featured a trip out to the Hiller Aviation Museum for Father’s Day! They had some activities for the kids, but they didn’t seem too interested in them, so we skipped them in favor of the standing exhibits, including a 747 that we went in twice, and a large gallery of various other aircraft.

We also took the recommendation of a woman in the gift shop who said we should check out Sky Kitchen just across the runway at the San Carlos Airport for a kid-friendly lunch, which definitely hit the spot. Afterwards, it was easy to come back and check out a few things we didn’t get to before lunch, and to spend a little time in the gift shop. We also ended up getting a membership because we all really enjoyed it and there was more we wanted to see.

And then it was the countdown to our trip to Philadelphia! The boys and I finished a jigsaw puzzle that we’d been working on for a few weeks and I wanted to finish before we left.

I also took a long lunch one day and went bowling with Gaby and the boys to make sure we had our fun with the Kids Bowl Free pass once more before we left (though we will have some time in August to use it too). Leaving for six weeks is always a bit nerve-wracking for me as we prep the house, make sure we don’t forget anything, and get our house sitter all set up, but I paced myself as much as I could and made extensive use of lists, and it wasn’t as chaotic as it usually is. I’m definitely glad we didn’t leave right after school ended, it was really nice to do California summer for a little while before Philly summer began.

When we moved to Castro Valley in 2018 I had to swiftly adjust my habits. We live in the village part of the town, so I can walk to get a coffee or pick up lunch, but I do a lot more driving these days. But we bought a Hyundai Santa Fe when I was pregnant with our first, so I didn’t really drive the Alero until one night when I took myself out to a nearby resort to spend a full 24 hours decompressing. It was great. And I found that I bonded with the car in that time.

I also quickly tired of FM radio, so I got a cassette to AUX adapter, which I added an AUX to USB-C adapter to so I could listen to music from my phone on the car speakers. Since then, I’d take it out a couple times a month to go grocery shopping or something else local to keep it running, but ultimately it wasn’t reliable enough to be a daily driver anymore, so MJ wasn’t using it to commute to work. As a coupe, it also wasn’t practical to use with the kids.

A few months ago we had another instance of the poor car sitting in the driveway for a few weeks because I hadn’t taken it out and it fully losing battery charge. That’s when MJ and I had a chat about it. The fact is, it simply didn’t have a place in our current life. As one of MJ’s first cars we had somewhat held on to the hope of fixing it up some day, but ultimately we had to admit we wouldn’t have the time for that, especially with how much work was needed both interior and exterior. In the meantime we’d be paying registration, insurance, and whatever fix-ups along the way. We had to think about letting it go.

The next morning I felt a little sad about saying we should get rid of it. So, in no rush to retire it, I took it for a car wash. After paying for the wash, I went to put the window up and I heard a “clunk” in the door, and the window failed to rise. A component of the window motor had broken and the window was now stuck in the door. I got a refund for the car wash and took it over to our mechanic who gave us a quote with parts and labor to fix it of over $500. It was a perfectly reasonable estimate, but too much to put into a car that we had just effectively decided we weren’t keeping long term. I cleared out enough space in the garage where we had to store it for a few weeks, and ultimately donated it to a local organization that would give proceeds to a non-profit of our choice. MJ took it for a last drive, and then we said goodbye.

We are all pretty sad about it. I wouldn’t say I’ve gotten attached to every car I’ve owned, but MJ has had this car as long as I’ve known him and we all had a special fondness for this one.

But it was immediately clear that a real benefit about having that car was that it was useful was when the Hyundai was in the shop. This way, I’d still have a car I could drive in the meantime. We’d thought about getting a minivan for a while, and this seemed like the right time to finally pull the trigger on it. MJ did a bit of research to confirm we still wanted to go with the Kia Carnival that we had test driven a couple years earlier, and then we decided to buy one for California and one to replace the SUV we keep in Philadelphia. The timing worked out to buy the one for Philly first, so we used a car buying service that would find and manage the purchase of the exact model and specifications we wanted, and also ship in to Pennsylvania. All I had to do was show up at their office to sign the paperwork, and the car joined us a week later during our spring visit to Philly, hooray!

Next up was the one for California, which we went to a dealership ourselves to buy since we didn’t need the added complexity of cross-country shipping. The interior color differs from the one we have in Philly, but otherwise the vans are identical. Fortunately, we like them! It’s already been really useful to be able to pick up furniture or other big things without a full reconfiguration of our Hyundai SUV, including removal of the car seats.

Buying two cars at once felt incredibly decadent, but so is having a vacation home where we keep a car. And these are the family cars we expect to have for the next 8-10 years, so it’s not like we’re over here doing a luxury car refresh every couple of years (indeed, two Kias are the price of one luxury car, hah!). Before coming out to Philly for our summer trip, MJ and I made our way over to AAA to do a bunch of swapping of license plates between cars so we’d be ready to remove the expired temporary plates when we got into town.

The biggest question for me that I’d been mulling over is where my “pleia2” plate would end up. I first got it when I had the Maserati Ghibli a few years back, and it was glorious. Going from that to a minivan? It was emotionally jarring in a way I struggled to come to terms with. I’m 100% in with being a mother, and while I don’t love the cultural implications of moving to the suburbs and buying a minivan, it is a truth about our life now, and there’s no use pretending it’s not.

Someday I’ll put it back on a Maserati.

Adam’s graduation from Kindergarten was a week later and we were all able to attend that, and conclude the day with a graduation cake for both of them and dinner at Fogo de Chão!

And then it was time for a few weeks of California summer! Last year we left for summer in Philadelphia directly after Adam concluded school, which meant we couldn’t do anything in California before we left, and I was pretty disappointed about that. California is gorgeous, and in spite of nice weather year around, there still are seasons for things like swimming and boating and it was a shame to miss that. This year, we didn’t!

When I returned from Boston, we went to Ardenwood Historic Farm for their annual Rail Fair. The last time we were at Ardenwood the train wasn’t running, so our first stop was getting to ride on that.

From there, we met with folks from the Western Pacific Railway Museum where we learned about their Run-A-Locomotive program where an instructor teaches you how to run a diesel locomotive and then you get to run one on their grounds! We are 100% going to do that. They were also really kind to the boys, both of whom asked a lot of questions and they were happy to indulge.

Several areas were also set up with model trains, which is always a lot of fun. Perhaps the most fun was the Live Steam group from the Bay Area Garden Railway Society whose model trains ran on actual steam. Some use little pieces of coal for the boiler, others some type of gas or alcohol solution. Very involved, but also very cool.

We spent the following weekend with a lot of water. First up, was our first visit to Cull Canyon Swim Complex! Gaby had gone a couple weeks earlier and reported that there wasn’t a lot of sand, which was important for one of our very sand-adverse kiddos. We went on a rather warm day, so it was already crowded by the time we got there, in spite of getting there rather early. Still, we had fun! And promptly made plans to buy some additional supplies from Costco and REI for our next visit so we could enjoy our time there for longer. On our list: Beach tent, beach chairs, and a collapsible wagon.

The next day it was over to Lake Chabot for paddle boats! We had considered going to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to enjoy the paddle boats there, but the boys didn’t want the long drive, and we were slightly concerned about crowds. None of those problems at the Lake 10 minutes from home!

We quickly learned that paddle boats are quite tiring, hah! Adam and MJ started the journey, but Adam and I very carefully swapped places on the boat halfway through so I could take over for him and MJ and I could get us back to to the wharf. It was fun, but we all agreed that next time we’ll take out one of the motor boats so we can focus more on the scenery and less on paddling.

For some indoor summertime fun, we enrolled the boys in the Kids Bowl Free program that our local bowling alley participates in. It’s funny though, in over seven years of living here all of our au pairs have taken the boys bowling, but MJ and I had never been! So the other morning I took them over to get them checked in and watch them wildly throw a few balls down the lanes. I should participate next time.

It’s been fun, and we have more to do! I took a couple days off this week so we could enjoy a few more fun things and avoid the weekend summer crowds. Plus, after the whirlwind that was April and May at work, I could use a break.

I also took the opportunity of being up in the city to go over to the San Francisco Modern Art Museum (SFMOMA). I hadn’t been in years, and I was looking for something nearby to where I was to spend a peaceful afternoon. I’m not a fan of abstract art, so modern art museums are sometimes a bit tricky for me, but if I stick to the more real stuff, I tend to enjoy it. One of the things I quite enjoyed was seeing the Daisy with Rider collotype by Eadweard Muybridge, but not because he was a good person, quite the opposite. I had recently started listening to the History on Trial podcast, and back in 2024 she did an episode called The Motion Picture Murder that I had listened to just a few days before, and it was about Muybridge. What timing!

I spent the night in a hotel in the city, which was a bit of a last minute decision because we happened to have a free night to use and I was attending the RSA Conference expo hall the next day. It worked out nicely, I got up early and went to the pool, which was a glorious way to relax before a busy day. I popped over to Moscone Center just after opening time for the expo hall. There, I met up with some open source folks I had planned to see, incidentally saw a few others, dropped by the IBM booth to get a lead on some AI stuff I’d been looking into, and had a lovely lunch with a friend who was in town.

On the weekend of May the 4th we had a somewhat Star Wars and Lego themed weekend. On that Saturday we went to Brick by Brick, our local used Lego store to pick up some Star Wars mini-figs that were on sale. While we were there we discovered a new used video game shop in the same small shopping plaza, genius location! We got a couple Nintendo DS games for Adam, along with another Lego game for the PlayStation. They buy old consoles as well, and seemed very interested in my R2-D2 Xbox 360. I’ll have to think about it, but it’s doing no good sitting in a box in the closet. On our way home, MJ dropped Aaron and I off at our local comic book store for Free Comic Book Day and we had a lovely walk home together from there. On Sunday we went over to the mall to the Lego store for their Star Wars releases, since Adam was quite eager to pick up Lego Chopper since I showed it to him a few weeks ago. I think that might be our next build once we finish my big R2-D2.

Mother’s Day began with swim class! I had thought about an adventure out to a museum or something, but work has been incredibly intense lately and I was honestly just feeling tired and wanted to have a chill day. We had lunch at our usual cafe and then dinner out at a local brewery, which is a great Mother’s Day spot since they don’t tend to be very busy that day, and I love beer!

With spring here, the boys are spending a lot of time outside (and so am I!). Aaron recently went from riding his bike like a balance bike to getting the pedals on. He’s really excited to be riding on two wheels like his brother, and we’re really proud of him for catching on and doing it all without training wheels. With how well both the boys did, I’m now a firm believer in balance first bicycle training.

Our town has an annual rodeo parade, which was cancelled last year due to some organizational restructuring and returned this year with a small festival attached. The festival was a great addition, there were tents out with various local businesses, along with food vendors and music. The parade itself was cute, though I wish it wasn’t so spaced out and that the horses were scattered throughout instead of being mostly at the end, since that’s what everyone seemed to enjoy the most. Still, it was a lovely way for us to spend the afternoon.

The end of the school year is creeping up, and with that the elementary school had an open house. So the evening before I flew out for a work trip to Boston, the boys and I went over to the school to visit Adam’s current classroom and say hello to the teacher he’ll have when August rolls around and the new school year begins.

Then I was off to Boston!

First up was a trip down to Ardenwood Historic Farm. I’ve been wanting to go for a long time because they have a vintage train there you can ride, but what brought us down this time was their annual sheep shearing event. I wasn’t sure how the boys would feel about it, but they definitely had an interest. Aside from some timing issues and a much more crowded event than I expected, it was a good time. We got to wander around the farm and see lots of old farming equipment and animals, and then made our way over to the sheep shearing area where Aaron got to pet some sheep.

If we go again, it seems like going after noon is best for avoiding the crowds. And the train has been put away for maintenance, so hopefully next time we’ll have an opportunity to ride on that too.

Last weekend we made our way over to a book sale by our local library book organization and plant sale put on by our local garden club. The book sale is always a hit, though I didn’t come out with as many treasures as I had hoped. The plant sale was a lot of fun though. We aren’t the best at keeping plants alive, but the boys love gardening, so I’ve been setting plant watering reminders and trying to come up with strategies to be more thoughtful about plant care. We’ll see how it goes, we picked up five plants: rainbow cherry tomato, raspberry, Celosia Flamingo Feather, spider plant, and a geranium. I think most of them will do OK, but I am worried about the fragile little tomato plant.

We observed Passover recently with a Seder at home. It’s been an interesting time marker and opportunity to see how much the boys have matured, as we’ve never really managed to make our way through the Haggadah since we had kids. Last year Adam loved the search for the afikomen, but ignored most other things. This time I wouldn’t say they were fully engaged, but they did go through several of the seder activities with us and mostly stayed at the table during a seder that hit the important points. I’m really proud of them, and glad we can share this with them now. They still didn’t enjoy the brisket meal, but Aaron seems to love matzoh ball soup, even if he hasn’t quite figured out eating soup without wearing a good amount of it.

This spring has brought a several days of gloomy weather as well as new found sunshine and warmth. On one gloomy evening, we already had plans to take the boys to see their first movie in a theater. A Minecraft Movie was playing at our local one-screen, historic theater, and the elementary school booked a showing, and we figured it was a good opportunity in case the boys weren’t as quiet or settled as is appropriate for that setting. It was wild. Before it began there were kids literally climbing the walks, hopping on the stage, running around, and even during the movie it wasn’t exactly quiet in there. Aaron did talk a little during the movie to ask questions, but overall I was really happy with how it went. The movie was fun for all of us too.

Another rainy weekend was spent changing light bulbs. It wasn’t planned like that exactly, we had a few things on our house list and light bulbs were an afterthought, but when we discovered that the recessed lighting were canned lights, it basically derailed everything. What’s a canned light? You have to replace the whole thing? The ones we had are nearly 20 years old and not made anymore?! Thankfully, the holes in the ceiling are standard size for canned lights, so it wasn’t hard to order a half dozen and do a big replacement project the next day. We also scoured the house for a bunch of others to replace, including the one in the bathroom the kids use. In that one, I also took down the entire lovely, art deco glass feature and cleaned it, which I’ve never done (we’ve lived here for 7 years, hah!). In the end, our house has much better lighting and Adam told us he never wants to change light bulbs again. I guess it wasn’t exactly an exciting weekend for him.

In between all this, April brought two vague illnesses through the house during which the boys had mild fevers and sore throats. I’m grateful that no one else got sick, but it did cause some missed school and swim classes, which is always a bummer. The recovery isn’t fun for anyone either, since they both want to go on grand adventures, but I know they need rest to recover, even if they refuse to accept that. This weekend is more of the same, probably no light bulbs this time but we do have some projects on our list and a kid recovering from the latest ailment.

We got in on a Friday night, and the next day the Churchville Nature Center happened to be having a day of activities for members. It was a nice, local thing to do with all of us feeling a bit tired. They had animal caretakers out with some of their snakes, reptiles, and turtles, and several activities for the kids to engage with. The boys got to touch a turtle shell and a snake skin, and they both were quite fond of the bearded dragon.

Over the week we lucked out with great weather, so the boys spent a lot of time outside with their au pair, but also enjoyed indoor activities and toys they hadn’t played with in a few months. I’m glad they were occupied, as I was in the midst of a very busy time at work with a major product launch on the horizon and two major projects I’m working on barreling in on their concluding phases. I wish I could have spent more time with family, but I was simply inundated. MJ had his best friend come into town, and even her I didn’t see much as I was sequestered in my office, and then working a couple late evenings while she spent time with MJ.

The next weekend we were fortunate enough to be in town for cousin Sammy’s birthday. Amusingly, it was at another nature center, so the boys definitely got their fill of local critters on this trip! Aaron got to pet a snake, hold a friendly cockroach, and feed a tortoise. Everyone got to enjoy beautiful cake made by Aunt Yilia.

Throughout our stay it was nice to have their grandfather stop by a few times to play with the boys, and go out with Irina and Sammy a couple times. One day we went to the library, where I worked from for a couple hours. Libraries continue to be a reading lifeline for me, as I was able to continue reading a large book I started on the west coast without having to haul it across the country, a quick search showed which nearby branch I could pick it up at without even having to do a transfer. And yes, I realize ebooks exist, I have a Nook and a Kindle! But it’s not my preferred experience.

On our last full weekend there I was clued into the Himalayan blue poppy blooming at Longwood Gardens, and we decided to make a day of it. Our kids love gardens and flowers, and I’m a big fan of the sprawling Longwood Gardens, having formed many pleasant memories there. It was about an hour long drive, but Adam and I hunted for colorful cars to complete a rainbow and Aaron took an unapproved nap. Disappointingly, it was too early in the season for any of the fountains to be on, but we did get to enjoy the tree houses and all the springtime blooms starting to come up.

And then there were the blue poppies. I’m not actually one to chase flowers, but these ones are breathtaking and difficult to grow, so I was really happy to get to see them.

It was my first time being in the area for children, because the last time we were at Longwood Gardens was nearly 7 years prior, when I was pregnant with Adam! They also redid the bonsai tree area since I last went there, so that was nice to visit. It was a tiring day for everyone with a lot of walking, but I think we all enjoyed it.

MJ and I got out on a rare date night while we were in town. The final Tuesday we drove down to Philadelphia to eat at Buddakan, one of our favorites. I made my way through a sake sampler and a cocktail as we enjoyed various dim sum dishes and a small steak. I’m glad we went and we enjoyed it, but I think when we visit over the summer we’re going to expand our options some beyond just our usual places. Surely some new, exciting places have opened that we have yet to experience!

On this trip I also discovered that my favorite bagel place in the world has a location just 20 minutes from our townhouse! Yum Yum Bake Shops was my go-to when I worked in Lansdale and wanted to ruin all the work I’d just done at the gym. Their bagels are chewy and perfect, and I haven’t managed to find that level of perfection since, especially not on the west coast. So, one morning I braved traffic down Street Road and made the pilgrimage. I also got a giant donut for the boys because I accurately predicted that they’d get a kick out of it.

Finally, this trip was notable because we had a new car. Well, a minivan. I’ll write about it soon, but we purchased it right before we left and then had it shipped across the country, since it needs to be registered in California (long story). This meant that for this trip, and over the summer, we’ll have two cars! It’s quite the indulgence, but it was good to have overlap. The Acura MDX has been a great car there, but with it hitting the 8th model year it’s going to need a California smog check unless we can get an exemption, and we can’t get that done in Pennsylvania. Two cars did mean that I had to spend some time cleaning out the garage, and then we had to squeeze both cars into the garage upon our departure. But they did fit! Even if it was very tight.

We took a Saturday afternoon flight home at the conclusion of our two weeks. It was a solid trip, and I’m grateful that we finally made it a visit without anyone getting sick or any other major calamities. It’s also starting to get a bit easier to travel with the boys, partially due to them getting unlimited screen time on flights and them actually starting to really love that perk. With each trip they’re also doing a better job of carrying their own backpacks and suitcases through the airport, which is a load off from us. Plus, diaper-free travel is a game-changer! I never want to change a diaper in a busy airport restroom again.

1. To make me feel better about our home, rather than “argh, it’s always a mess!”
2. To make it easier for me to complete tasks, less “where is that form for school?” and “where is that 9 inch baking pan?”

And with the overarching goal of bringing back a bit of control to my life and feel less overwhelmed, which I’ve been struggling with lately.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been largely successful so far. I came up with a system for the kids so their school stuff isn’t just all over the place, and it’s easy to stay disciplined about putting away their papers and returning things on time. I also did some under counter organization, which has been incredibly useful so far, and we’ve kept it up for a few weeks!

I joked that it’s funny that I’m “so old” that under counter organization excites me, but honestly, I’ve always been like this.

In other house news, the TV in our au pair’s room died recently. MJ was feeling industrious, so he bought a set of boards for that model online and did a project with Adam to replace them. Success! I feel a little bad that my first inclination was to buy a new TV because they’re so inexpensive, but replacing the board in them was even less expensive in terms of cash, they had fun doing it, and it kept one more TV out of a landfill.

As life continues to chug along, it’s noteworthy that eggs are very expensive right now. Bird flu has decimated chicken flocks for months and no end in sight. With federal efforts that would help that come to a conclusion being dismantled by a fiercely pro-business, anti-health federal government I’m concerned it won’t get better any time soon. Our local grocery store got to $15.99 for 18 eggs before I finally decided to haul myself over to Costco one morning (before they sell out for the day) to grab two dozen for $8.99. It’s still on the expensive side (California always is) but even for here the situation was getting a bit out of hand.

I’ve continued taking Tuesday evenings for myself. In early January I went to San Francisco to see Nosferatu at the AMC Metreon. I pre-gamed by watching the original Nosferatu from 1922, and I’m very glad I did. It is the same story, but the new one has some really great nods to the original and some beautiful scene recreations. The movie was beautiful and well-acted, and I didn’t find it too gory. It also doesn’t have the cheap jump-scares that are so popular in horror now, and which I don’t like. I want my horror to be beautiful and nightmare inducing, but I don’t want to feel anxious about it while I’m sitting there watching it. This movie really hit the mark. I also saw Flow at our local theater, and finally saw Wicked! Another Tuesday evening I decided to go swimming at nearby Hayward Plunge, which has a $5 drop-in rate. That was a lot of fun, I love to swim and I’ve been looking for an outlet. Other evening activities for myself have included going to the library and reading, which satisfies my desire to have a calm evening to recharge. I have some San Francisco dinners with friends queued up after our spring break trip to Philly, which I’m looking forward to as well.

We observed Purim recently, which sadly got interrupted by Aaron having a cold that came with a side order of fever. That meant we had to avoid the event at the synagogue we’ve been hoping to go to more, but we did make Hamantashen! It was a smaller batch than previous years and we only did cherry filling, but everyone seemed happy with it and the boys had fun making it.

Since we were home for the sick kiddo weekend, we spent some time finally putting some more paintings up around the house. It’s nice seeing things come together, and finally starting to free up some space in the garage.

And then I promptly put a car in the garage. It wasn’t planned, but MJ’s 2000 Alero hasn’t been doing great lately. We had to recondition the battery recently after I neglected to take it out for a drive for a few weeks (oops). Once the battery was healthy again, I took it out for a jaunt to the car wash and grocery store, and didn’t make it past the entrance to the car wash. I put down the window to pay for the car wash, and heard a clunk. The window had fallen into the door. Unfortunately, it’s a relatively expensive fix, and with the overall condition of the car and usefulness to us, we made the sad decision that it was time to say goodbye. It’ll be a few weeks until we can actually part ways, so it’s basically taking up all the free space in the garage until then. It’s been amusingly weird having a car in the garage.

The following weekend everyone was feeling much better just in time for Monster Jam in Oakland. I’ve never had any interest in monster trucks, but Aaron really likes them and I thought it might be a fun thing to do with the boys. We weren’t sure how they’d react to how loud it was, but we came prepared with noise dampening headphones. And indeed they did have fun! I could have passed on it honestly, which is funny because so far my own interests have been quite aligned with the boys, and this was definitely a departure. It was nice to be able to take BART there though and not have to worry about parking.

Tomorrow we’re off to Philadelphia for spring break. Our house sitter gets to try her hand at keeping our new house tree alive while we’re gone, but I think she’s up to the task. In fact, given my track record with house plants, it may even be healthier once we return.

Our big house thing was replacement of the garage door opener. It broke just before we left for Philadelphia for the summer, and then MJ had his shoulder injury shortly upon our return. This month he was finally feeling better enough to tackle it! It took several weekends, and there are a few final things to complete, but the door now works beautifully, and Adam really enjoyed helping us fix it.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with the old one, which includes a very long track that’s far too big to be put in our trash can. I’m not sure it’ll fit in the car either.

MJ and I went out for Valentine’s Day, on one of the rare weeks when no one was sick lately. We ended up on a very slow BART train that got us into San Francisco a little late for our reservation at The Cavalier, but fortunately it was raining so we didn’t have much competition for tables. The unfortunate part about the rain is we didn’t fully prepare for it, so when the sky opened up during our walk from the station to the restaurant, we both got rather drenched. My coat helped me a lot, MJ’s didn’t.

Sogginess aside, the food was excellent. It had been years since I’ve had caviar, and the scallops I got were delicious. The company was top-notch too, and we mostly avoided talking about the kids. It was a lovely evening.

Last week Adam was off from school, so I took a half day on Friday and we all went out to the Meta campus for a tour. The boys were very excited to finally see where dad works, and it’s a really beautiful campus, complete with outdoor activities, lots of good food, and a tram that takes you to the other campus that features a stunning garden on the roof. The boys also enjoyed the gift shop, and so did I!

In keeping with our chill weekends, we ran errands, went to hardware stores, and one day while the boys were getting tired of Dad’s visits to the hardware stores, I took them to a nearby mall where I picked up my Build-A-Bear Mothman. I kept missing the releases, so they sold out at least twice before I finally got one. I picked it up at the store unstuffed so the boys could help me with it, which they had a lot of fun with. The only problem now is that Aaron fell in love with Mothman and has been sleeping with it every night every since, hah! He has even gone as far as getting mad when I say that it’s actually mine, and will likely now go to his grave saying it’s his. That’s OK though, our house has enough stuffies for everyone to do a bit of sharing.

Last weekend we also did some bike riding in the BART parking lot. Ever since learning how to ride his bike, Adam has been asking to actually go somewhere on his bike, instead of just riding up and down our cul-de-sac. I finally granted his request by taking them to the farmer’s market, and on our way back we went over to the mostly empty permit parking area and spent about 20 minutes just riding around. Aaron is still practicing without pedals, but he’s making progress! I’m hopeful that he’ll be pedaling with two wheels in the next few weeks.

Looking to March, I’m hopeful. I’ve been addressing the causes of my sluggishness, and I am hoping that some organizational improvements around the house that I’ve been working on will reduce my day to day stress as well. I’m also hoping that my household helper can return in the coming weeks, as I’ve really missed having her help with day to day tasks.

The boys and I then took the MUNI Metro and then a street car to get to The Exploratorium. I mention the transit methods, because the journey was half the fun for the boys. We have a membership at the museum so it was a nice opportunity to spend 90 or so minutes there just seeing a few exhibits. Still, the boys wanted to stay longer and were quite grumpy when I explained we had to go home. It’s also tricky for one parent to take both boys there, as they tend to get excited and want to try everything, and so they run off in opposite directions.

The following weekend we went over to our local library to enjoy a Lion Dance for the Lunar New Year. It’s a nice event, and thankfully quite short, so the boys get some excitement but don’t end up getting too fidgety. Afterwards we explored the library, did some themed coloring, and met a nice family who were in town visiting.

On Sunday we went over to a local park that has a few rides because Adam wanted to ride the train there. Wish granted! MJ and Adam then ran off to the playground while Aaron and I went on the carousel, which was fun, and the tea cup ride, which was not fun. Aaron likes to make himself dizzy so he spun us a bunch, and I learned long ago that the spinning tea cups rides are not for me. Fortunately, the ride wasn’t long and it was a cool day, so I could just pause and sit through the nausea once we disembarked. No more tea cups!

MJ had to go out of town for work, so the following Sunday I had the boys solo, and with my continued bronchitis recovery I didn’t want to overdo it, but also knew being cooped up indoors in the rain wouldn’t be good for any of us. So we drove over to the McDonald’s in town for lunch and that’s when we all discovered the new McDonald’s Play Place. They’re really impressive. It was a two-story indoor playground with slides and climbing areas and bouncing areas. I realize it’s kind of funny that I didn’t know this, but I am not a big McDonald’s person and I lived in the city for years, where they don’t have the Play Places. The boys spent close to an hour there, and it was a bit of a challenge to get them to leave!

From there I wanted to check out a local toy store, Brick by Brick Toys, that specializes in new and used Lego. I suspected I’d like it and that the boys would enjoy some free-building in some of their Lego bins, but I didn’t expect that I’d love it as much as I did. We spent a full 90 minutes building Lego at the giant mixed bins, each of the boys came away with their own Lego car creations, and for $25 we added them to a big ziplock bag filled with other assorted Lego, instantly doubling our free-play Lego collection in one stop. It turns out that it’s in the same shopping plaza as Harbor Freight, so I let the boys go there too and pick out some new flashlights.

The rainy weather has continued, and hasn’t done any favors for my mood, and I’m definitely struggling. I’m grateful for the support I have though, and right now most of the challenges that life is throwing at us are pretty typical things. Bills need to be paid, a kiddo suddenly needs glasses, a half dozen things going wrong during a minor home improvement project. We’re just keeping going and doing our best.

Adam, on the other hand, wanted to see a baseball game for his birthday. Unfortunately, his birthday is in January, and that’s about as far as you can get from anything baseball. How about a hockey game? Yes! We penciled one in for January and got to planning.

But first we had to go see Aaron’s cave. Both of these events landed in January, since I was in no shape to go to a cave right after my surgery in December. Our cave day began with a trip to the farmer’s market in town, then the boys and I took a bus to our favorite cafe in town where we met MJ for breakfast (why did we take a bus and MJ take the car? Because the boys love buses, of course). After breakfast we drove directly to San Francisco, and encountered the usual amount of traffic along the way which reminded us why going to the beach side of San Francisco is such a time investment these days.

There was a lot of parking at the park that houses the Sutro Baths ruins, which was a relief.

To get to the cave, you first walk down some trails and past the baths, the cave is pretty easy to spot, and it’s actually more like a tunnel. It was enough for Aaron though! They got their shoes all coated in sand and ran through the cave, and tried to jump in puddles. The cave has little openings here and there where you could see the waves crashing in, which was pretty cool. Reading about it, the cave is actually a rock quarry, and they used the rock to build the now ruined Sutro Baths.

I’m glad Aaron was satisfied, but I think the rest of us preferred the rest of our adventure, traipsing through the national park that’s there, seeing windswept trees and taking in the magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean. It’s such a beautiful place. The very California gift shop was nice too.

Afterwards, we made our way down to the Beach Chalet. MJ and I went there regularly when we lived in the city, so it was nice to be back, even if the boys were finicky about their food. After lunch, we took a little walk in the western-most part of Golden Gate park to see Queen Wilhelmina’s windmill and the gardens surrounding it.

It was a good day.

Adam’s birthday adventure was on the following weekend, a San Jose Sharks game! During his party, we made plans with his current and former au pairs, so all eight of us ended up going together.

I definitely had my apprehensions, there wasn’t a daytime game until March, so going in January meant we were taking them to a 7PM game, and their bedtime is usually 7:30. They were definitely a little tired, but Adam eventually got into the excitement of the game and really enjoyed spending time with his au pairs. I bought Aaron a Shark hand puppet to keep him entertained, and the boys kept eating my food.

I forgot how much I like SAP Center, even if it’s a driving journey to get there from the east bay (no useful trains like on the peninsula). It’s bright and clean and there are TONS of screens, so when I left my seat to grab some more food I was still able to see the game, and didn’t have to deal with the between-period crowds.

And a success for Adam’s birthday? Yep! I think hockey is nice because of how fast-based it is and even between periods they have entertainment to keep the crowds happy. We were lucky enough to attend on the evening they were observing the Lunar New Year, so we were entranced by lions and dragons, which was quite a lot of fun.

As for me, it was a bit of a stressful evening. I’m still bringing a diaper bag and snacks, and I do have to entertain them, so it’s not a lazy night at a game like it used to be, but it is starting to get a bit less stressful. The boys listen a bit more, run off less, and with careful planning I can make sure no one ends up too hungry/thirsty/bored. And it was worth it, I did still have pockets of fun, and I always enjoy having new experiences with the boys.