The Ceej and his cars

The Ceej-ling has a new obsession. Its this thing he has about arranging things. I have no idea where he gets it from cuz neither myself of his daddy is even remotely organized in any way. I find it interesting how kids learn so quickly then figure out to do things even better as time goes on.

First he did this.

Then he did this.

I am such a proud mother!

My son, the artist!

This week, our Ceej started "school". It was a big step for me to do this because I felt that he was okay to be home with me all day. But something was missing...you know, the interaction with children, the group experience, and spending time with other people besides me. All these things I can't teach him at home. Our neighbor down the street has graciously been able to take him in 2 times a week temporarily to see how he'll do. He's the youngest amongst all the other kids and they do curriculum there daily so he's not just playing all day. I want him to learn! I want him to be a genius by the ripe age of 2.

Other kids at "school" were trying to teach him how to color with crayons. So I tested him at home to see how well he would do.
So, what do you think? Future graphic designer? Painter? Art teacher? I'm dreaming too early... he's only 18 months old.

It's been a while

Yes, I know. The last time I've posted up anything on this blog was at the end of summer. Its been busy! I'll get back into it soon...

Just need to:
Get better sleep
Cook some healthier foods
Fix our front and back yard. The flowers are dying and need to be replaced.

Smiles!

Oh tomatoes!

Its been a really really busy summer for me. So busy that many of my eco living ways were thrown out the door (temporarily, I hope). It's really not that convenient trying to be green. I have recently eaten many packaged foods (more fast food than normal too) and I haven't cloth diapered in close to 2 months. Plus my hopes in starting a compost pile has dwindled, perhaps next year I'll get around to it. But somehow I found a little time to try to grow something...

As some of you have seen in one of my past post (see here), you would prob remember that I recently took a stab at gardening. Oh boy, I'm so embarrassed to admit that I'm absolutely terrible at it! Its my second season of attempting it too. Last year was a horrible year where I tried to grow some zucchini. I didn't know this but zucchini can over take your yard in an instant. The leaves which shade the fruit are really huge and in a matter of weeks can block other plants if its not situated in a good spot.

Anyways, my mom and father in law convinced me to try again. This time with tomatoes. Everyone told me that "oh its easy!" or "all you have to do is water it". Um, well...let's just say that what happened last year had repeated itself. While other people I know growing tomatoes have already harvested large amounts, mine just started to turn from green to a pale pink. I'd say I have to wait at least a couple more weeks for my harvest to ripen. Apart from growing tomatoes, there's green beans somewhere in the mix. Its just a mess out there. The plants hit my legs while I'm trying to water them every morning.



On a brighter note, the Ceej has started walking. Within a matter of weeks, he looked from being a baby into a full on toddler. Actually, he looks like a total kid now.

Also, yesterday I saw Julie & Julia. The best movie of the summer, fo sho!

It's hotter in Arizona

Yeah, that's so obvious. I went from it being in the 90's last week here in San Jo and went into a oven in Arizona as it was 110 degrees there. Man, good thing there's lots of AC everywhere I go. It was a fun trip, just a little short. Thomas was on missions and I had a few days to do nothing so I took this opportunity to visit my very good friend, Erin Li/Dayala.

Sorry about the bad picture quality of these pictures. It was taken by my terrible Red Easy Share Kodak Camera.

Ready to fly! He did great! No crying or fussing, just a lot of curiosity.

Had to hit up Chik-fi-la. Love this place! They had free breaky the whole entire week, featuring something different everyday. Ofcourse I felt bad just getting the free items so we ordered some other things. When I ordered coffee, they had 3 different roast for me to choose from. Beat that, Mc D's! Anyways another thing I noticed is that Chik-fi-la is very "Christian". They close on Sundays and they play Christian music over the loud speakers. So I guess you somewhat get indoctrinated while eating your chicken sandwich.

We also headed to the Pheonix Children's Museum. I remember taking this picture and saying/thinking something like "hurry hurry, its freakin' hot!". Poor Ceej, his legs are burning up. Anyways, fun place and better than the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum. A lot of hands on fun and great kids art displays mixed into the building's design.

Lots of stroller parking everywhere. Its needed...

This is Ceej's favorite! Its all these swimming noodles tied up on the ceiling that cover part of the top floor. Kids just run in and out of it and laugh with glee.

Ceej "butting" into other kids and mommy reading time. He likes to butt into everything nowadays.

This was prob my most fave thing in Pheonix. Erin and I were looking around for something local, special and different. We found the Urban Cookie. The owner (as seen here) is describing to us everything that he makes and the ingredients, etc. Nice guy, makes me jealous a little because he seems like he really enjoys what he does. We bought a bunch of cookies and found my favorite which was a pineapple coconut cookie. Good stuff!

Erin nicely posing next to the vanilla lemon cupcake. The frosting is nice and light, not heavy like Sprinkles cupcakes.

Night times consisted of sitting inside, cooling off, and swimming.
Last but not least, Erin and her hubs, Ryan celebrated three years of marriage. I totally forgot that it was that same week we visited! Oops... bad on me. I should've known! I was in their wedding too. Anyways, Erin got three pairs of jordan's to represent each year together. Inside joke. Har.

A Tent for Toddler

Yeah, I don't really know what I was thinking when I purchased this at Ikea the other day. It didn't look THIS big at the store! Why in the world does a toddler need a tent anyways??? Our living room has been officially taken over....

A Semi-Casual Father's Day

I couldn't resist not making this for father's day! Thomas loved it! In a time of recession, this does fit the bill. It only cost me about $3.50 and an hour of labor. Thanks for being a great daddy to the Ceej-ling! Love you!