to a party we will go!

We are attending a birthday party this weekend. One half of a Fil-Am couple will be celebrating his birthday and we were invited about a week ago. The husband has said yes and I am hoping he will not change his mind. We will be seeing friends we have not seen for a year because we have stopped going to gatherings for health reasons. The husband is crazy over being very protective with the kids, he refuses to go anywhere when he hears or reads about people being sick for one reason or another. So we stayed home. When we got the invitation last week, he said we will go. I am really hoping we can go. There will be good food at the party and some singing as well. True, the hosts do not have an excellent mic preamp but they have what we need to sing our hearts out. Plus we will have (a few) good friends to chat with. I am already excited!

basketball

The little man found his basketball today and asked his father to air it for him. He then proceeded to practice dribbling on the walkway in the front yard. He was not happy at first because he thought that it was going to be easy but found out it wasn't. He screamed and yelled every time the ball bounces away from him. He even blamed the noise he heard because he said it made him lose his concentration. He is so silly. I had to explain to him that he should lead the ball and not let the ball lead him. It is a toy, after all. When he understood that he actually has control over what he was doing, he started doing good. He can dribble nonstop for a long time. I told him he can walk while dribbling but it was too much for him since today was the first time he did it. Maybe he can practice on that trick tomorrow. Then we can practice shooting basketball on a ring because he does not know how to do that yet. This could be something he will enjoy doing. It will make his Filipino grandparents proud if he ever gets good at basketball. Those two are basketball fans.

keeping some things out of kids' reach

When I was cleaning the kitchen cabinets, I found a lighter that does not work. I informed the husband about it because I wanted him to dispose of the lighter. When he saw what was in my hand, he said it was a butane torch lighter and that he wants to keep it. I don't see the point because it did not work when I tried but he said he will keep it anyway. Since he is adamant about keeping the lighter, I told him to put it somewhere out of reach of the kids to avoid any incidents. The lighter must have some kind of value to him for him to decide to keep it. At least he did hide it so I do not have to worry about the kids accidentally finding and playing with it.

a toy for the little man

I came out of Goodwill the other day grinning from ear to ear, which made the husband wonder what I found in the store that was so valuable. It is not valuable but it is a toy that I know the little man will be fascinated with. He loves games like this one on the photo. It says Stats Arcade. This is the first time I have actually seen a toy like this but I have seen this type being played by the little man when he is in the computer. It did not hurt that the toy is only $1.50. It is not a toy or game for me, that's for sure, because I have almost zero tolerance for losing, but the little man enjoys a challenge that is why I bought it for him. We have had arguments over scores because he wanted to beat my score which I must tell you I got from cheating (I tilted the board over so the little round things will go where I wanted them to go). He did good with the game after just a few days but he seems to be bored with it anymore. He did have a few days of trying to figure out how to get a high score so I guess it was worth buying after all.

a good plan

Whenever we go on road trips, the husband always talks about flying. He said things would be better if we fly because then he does not have to drive which means he will not be tired when we get to our destination. It also means more places we can visit because he does not have to spend the next day or two recuperating. We would if we could, you know, fly. Trips will be shorter and it means a lot when you have kids both under the age of seven. I raised the issue of transportation when we get to our destination and he said we can just go to a place the likes of thrifty rent a car and choose what vehicle we want to rent so we will have one to use while on vacation. We then will have the means to go to restaurants, visit attractions or theme parks, or just cruise around the place to sight-see. He even said that if financially feasible, he will hire a driver/chauffeur to give him more chance to enjoy the trip and really have a vacation. Of course these are all what-ifs because we both know we cannot afford to fly every time we want to go on vacation nor hire a driver on a rented car but it might just happen one day. We never know, lol. I know that he will do all these things when he is ready and that I am looking forward to it, just to see how everybody will react to something out of the ordinary. For now, we will just have to stick to road trips and using our own vehicles and the husband driving when we go because, clearly, there is no other choice.

twinkle, twinkle little star

The little man played his portable piano last night. He did Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I asked him where he learned it from because we do not have a music sheet or book with that song and he said it was all in his head. For real! I did not know what to think. I am happy that he is touching the piano again after leaving it alone for a long time. I do not know how he learned that little piece he played but I am proud that he did. I am hoping he will continue to mess with the piano. I think the little girl wanting to play with the piano prompted him to use it again. It is nice to have a little competition sometimes :)

in need of tlc

Our old couch and love seat is in need of a good TLC. We have had both for about five years now so the foams are worn out. It is not just from regular wear and tear though, I am afraid the kids facilitated the event by doing everything to the poor pillows and cushions. The little man scatters the pillows on the floor on a daily basis then jumps on them. If he isn't jumping on the poor pillows he is lying on top of them or making a "fortress" of pillows. I told him not to do it but he seems to enjoy the activities and daddy said he is just being a boy. The little girl does it too. You can only imagine how beat-up the poor things are. The husband said we can have the couch and love seat upholstered instead of buying a new set because we both know how it is going to end up like. That is probably what we will do if we can find a store that does custom foam cushions at affordable price. If it is cheaper than buying a new set, I am all for it. The husband said we can probably do it on our own, buy some cheap foam then stuff the couch and love seat with it. I told him we will pay somebody to do it for us, when the need arise. For now, we will let the kids beat the furniture some more until they get tired of doing it. Seriously, I think the love seat and couch still has a couple of years in them. By that time, the kids should have mellowed down a bit and hopefully will leave them alone.

karate and more

The husband and I have talked about enrolling the little man to a karate class this year. It is for self-defense and for discipline as well. There is a school in town that he can go to, if he gets accepted. It will be something for him to do, to use up that bundle of energy he carries around all the time. I am hoping he will do good and that we can afford the fees. I also want him to learn how to play baseball but it will probably happen in the future. So is swimming, music lesson, maybe even soccer. We will have to do things one at a time so as not to overwhelm the kid and our wallets, lol. I just hope the husband will follow through. He can be very protective of the kids that sometimes I want to shake him. One might think he does not have two grown up kids. Anyway, I am already excited for the little man.