as Boo Boo says...

"I don't LIIIIKE it"!  The 9ers.  Not sure what happened last night but 3 out of 4 wins in pre-season isn't so bad...if only now the 9ers can carry that momentum in to the REAL season!  Hopefully, JT doesn't get hurt in game one and they have to go with Smith for a few painful games, then decide Shaun Hill isn't really 3rd string material, but rather, they should have yanked Smith a long time ago?!

As we were watching the end of the game last night on tv, I was thinking: that would be one of my dream jobs...the female sports broadcaster from the sidelines :)  The only thing is, would I really have to be THAT perky ALL the time???  or scream to make myself seem THAT excited about not only the game itself but something as innocuous as the new dungeness crab foccacia thingy they are offering at Candlestick this season?  and then have the booth guys upstairs drawing "playbook action" while I eat the thing???  hmmmm... 

Well, "Daddy no work for 3 days!" so we're happy :)  Happy Labor Day! although I woke up at 5:30 and have already started laundry this morning??! weird...

Fall...and Sports!

We aren't exactly a "Sports crazed" kind of family, but when it's Fall, we can't help it :)  GO NINERS!!!  oh, and sometimes, GO BRONCOS! (if they aren't playing the 9ers) And with the Olympics this year, we almost forgot the US Open started...

I grew up in a family of 3 boys and 3 girls, and well, I wasn't exactly the one to be picked first in sports, but I did beat out Lynn ;P  The boys are certainly into sports and Quyen somehow just knows all about every sport it seems, even the most trivial facts about random players and sports...I think I got some of my facts from her as well as my love for football and tennis? But I'm definitely more of a 90s sports fan.  I LOVE Petey! (PETE SAMPRAS!) and Steve Young ;)  I tend to follow individuals vs teams, except the 9ers hence the season tickets. No, I do not like Alex Smith (waste of money and draft pick!)  We watch other sports occasionally, like Tiger Woods when it's a major and it's down to the final day of the tournament, volleyball because I actually know what "side out" means from my days of shuttling the boys around in high school for their games...and soccer if my brother in law is around. Oh, I used to watch basketball and the Bulls with Jordan.

Anyways, here are some of our favorite teams...

SF 49ers 

Denver Broncos (ELWAY!!!)

Chicago Bears (with the Fridge :P)

...and because I went to a college that only had 1 year of real football long before I ever even heard of it (my biology teacher in high school played football the 1 year), I follow other college teams:

Notre Dame (GO IRISH!! too bad Rick Mirer didn't do better in pro football)

UCLA/USC (depending on who they are playing...)

Stanford/Cal

Yes, we are fair weather fans too!  I don't think we religiously follow any team but when we're given team A and team B and if A or B happens to be one of the teams above...we side accordingly.

Can't believe it's another season and Football is here! FINALLY...I don't like baseball ;)  Tonight is another pre-season game for the 9ers vs Chargers (Brian and Steven's favorite...and the Trieus of course)...GO NINERS and JT O'sullivan :))) who knew UC Davis can produce someone who trumps a first round draft pick from Utah State?  and I think Alex Smith was a product of Helix High, which was a part of our HS district...

Why we call him BOO BOO

Mark came home and told us a story he heard on his drive home: Overprotective parenting and childhood memories.  

The gist of the story was how today, as parents, we over protect our children from a "childhood" for fear of having them fall, scrape their knees or worse.  When a study was done and people were asked what their fondest memories of childhood was, many answered climbing trees, playing "ball", hide and seek,  just hanging out with neighborhood kids until dust or dinner time outdoors.  I remember lots of days outside with my siblings (there was after all SIX of us!) and esp the summers spent running rampant around my Grandparent's neighborhood when there was probably more grandkids than would be "legal" today for 2 elderly people to have to put up with :)  And Mark certainly had his fair share of hanging around town (town consisted of lots of farms!) and just PLAYING... his parents wouldn't want to probably know EVERYTHING he did...

Anyhow, I guess it made me think how overly protective I get, between Purell being with me at all times, and the baths the kids get every time they spend more than 5 minutes playing outdoors...BUT I have to say I've become more "relaxed" with Adam than with Maddie (firstborns.  As the eldest sister, Lynn can attest to having to deal with more strict rules than we did as younger children...) And with our new backyard, the money spent seems all worth it.  I certainly would like to think my kids will look back on their childhoods with fond memories of playing and having FUN vs being locked indoors in front of the TV and DVD player...and WII...but that's another story!  Hey, sometimes I just need 5 minutes to shower and if Wow Wow Wubszy or Franklin or Max and Ruby helps keep the kids preoccupied...  Oh, WE LOVE cable TV, only if for NOGGIN and SPROUT for kids! heheheee

I digress.  What I'm trying to say is our society today is not exactly like it was 50 years ago but I certainly see lots of aspects of parenting returning to the days when we weren't so freaked out about a "stranger" (aka neighbor) walking up and saying Hi to our kids...not to mention there are more "real neighborhoods" being created these days and parents are thinking "ROOTS" vs moving every couple of years just because.  I think it's also a lot easier for parents these days to make choices for our families that our parents may not necessarily have had?

But the real reason I cringe and "freak out"...

See that goose egg on "Boo Boo's" Noggin?  yeah.."Sissy threw a rock and I looked up and there it was was...OWEY!"

OOps, the pics of the kids...

                             

For those of you who aren't familiar with our family...that's "Pickles" the pony (Santa brought it for them last Christmas) and let's see: Adam has Lambie and Maddie has Baby Butterfly (because she has Butterflies on her clothes ;p).  They are in the BABY caring phase...we have Baby Genta, Dolly, Dolly's friends, and of course Baby Brother.  You will see many of these "babies" in their pictures.  Oh, and you'd have lots of  "Tea Parties" at our house too :P

Pics of Kids

So my kids are a little lazy...probably something with the DNA/genetics?  Anyways, we actually had a lunch date again, and this one wasn't with Daddy where we can be "a little bit" late so even with the kids waking up at 9:30 and 10 am, we made it out the door by 10:50 to pick up Yoriko AND manage to meet Auntie Ange in Mountain View ON TIME!  Too bad the restaurant we planned on having lunch at closed and has been replaced... we ended up at Pasta which actually wasn't too bad.  Portions were reasonable and the kids menu was right along the lines of what Maddie and Adam LOVE...PASTA WITH NOTHING on it...no questions asked :)  We don't get to Castro in Mountain View very often, and it has changed so much!  Maybe we'll have to check it out more often.

Oh, and Ange looked great at 33 weeks!  We are very excited since she's having the 2nd Boy out of the AGGers!  (not to mention she's the overachiever who will have a boy as her firstborn whereas the rest of us all had girls...GO JAY! hehehe)  I'd post a picture of her, but I better check with her first...

Anyways, here's a picture of me and the brats after ordering various cakes at our favorite Cosentino's this afternoon...they were singing/chanting "achoo. choo choo" throughout our exit and Yoriko captured this "train" as we were getting into the car.  A man who worked there commented how cute the kids were dressed and how they should have their pictures taken?!

Yeah, well, 103 degrees today...so we'll be spending lots of time in the pool this weekend!  NO COOKING...and no laundry during the day...SPARE THE AIR! ;)

Two very different kids...

We thought we would share this photo to show how different our two little angels are :) Even though it was probably hovering at 90 degrees, Maddie in her "onesie" is not an uncommon sight at our house and on the flip side, even if it were in the 60's, Adam not completely clothed is well, sadly common as well...  I know, "you gotta just do it" but as long as they are safe and indoors (and sometimes outdoors) I'd rather fight a different battle vs "What to wear or NOT to wear" for the occasion.  Yes, same boy who wore Crocs to Thomas and Yas' wedding. oops.

Did you notice the chopstick with noodles on a plate vs the fork with noodles in a bowl?!  I guess this is why they are "of multi-national descent?"

Kaitlyn's book club

Here are a couple of books to add to your reading list:

The Present by Spencer Johnson

The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

I am NOT one to read too many self help books and such but The Present was an easy and thin book so I decided to give it a try.  It actually was a GREAT book!  I think because it doesn't apply to work or anything specific, it was a good book just about "life" in general.  I HIGHLY recommend it...

and the Hugo Cabret Book?  It may look daunting with its 500+ pages but it is one of the best books I've ever read.  I believe it's Brian Selznick's first book, but again, it's GREAT!  It reminded me that childrens' literature can be just as entertaining and interesting as adults, along the lines of Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume :)  There's also a very neat part to the book: 280+ pages are drawings by the author as well.  I can't imagine this book NOT becoming a great movie one day.

Kaitlyn was enrolled in a summer tutorial course and although she was not an avid reader, they made her read, A LOT!  She inspired me to read more as well, so along with her "list" of must reads from school like The Westing Game and Where the Red Fern Grows, I've been trying to branch out and read more too.  I find that it's something relaxing and useful for the mind and it's kinda funny how different these books are to me now that I'm reading them at 35 vs at 10 yrs old and/or FOR SCHOOL!  I had to convince my husband to get me a night light (ended up with a 2 pack of "book lights" you can clip on your book, computer, whatever so I don't disturb the boys) so I can read in bed.  When Kaitlyn was reading a new book every 2 days, I felt I could motivate her to keep up the good work and myself to keep reading, even if I miss out on an extra hour of sleep :)  And now we decided to keep up the reading by agreeing to pick out a book from recommendations by her teacher(s) and we'll each check it out from the library and read it "together"...eventhough we're 500 miles apart.

If anyone has suggestions for must reads, LET US KNOW! (just remember Kaitlyn is only 10, going on 11 :P)