I Don't Know How This Boy Does It...

I can send Isaiah to school in a brand-spankin'-new pair of jeans and he will, UNDOUBTEDLY, come home with a rip in his knees. And because he is a nervous wreck just like his mom, he picks and pulls at the rip until it becomes a full-blown hole. It drives me crazy! So, here I am, constantly buying new jeans, and there Shawn is, pissed off at every new charge he sees from the Gap and Old Navy.

One day, Shawn suggested the most absurd and ridiculous-sounding idea I had ever heard in my life: sew a patch on it. WHAT? Sew a patch? They still make those? This is one of the problems, or maybe perks, of being married to someone 10 years older than me. He constantly comes up with these ideas and solutions that just sound so 'old-school' to me and it just cracks me up.

After about 10 pairs of ripped new jeans later, I entertained the idea of a patch more and more. Browsing through Etsy, lo and behold, I found the perfect solution! A patch with a skull and crossbones on it. Cutest things ever, no? cough cough...I meant, coolest...because Isaiah wouldn't be caught dead in anything cute.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35583196

I can't wait 'til they arrive and I can get them sewn onto Isaiah's jeans. He's so stoked about them, I'm afraid he'll go out and purposely rip holes into his jeans just so he can get one of these cool things sewn onto them.

Oh.My.Goodness. We Are Approaching Double Digits....

Today is the birthday of the first grandbaby in our family, Jalen. He is turning 9, and I just cannot believe it. Then, I look at Isaiah who is turning 6, and realize that it's true! The boys are getting older...which means we are....having to buy bigger clothes! C'mon...did you really think I would dare say we were all getting older? I believe we are all getting WISER.

The kiddos got together at Chuck E Cheese and had lots of fun! Here's Jalen, Isaiah, Mikey and Belle.

The crazy cousins.

Me n my baby girl, Siliana.

Cutie Pie, Brandon Mataio

Sunday Dinner Conversation

Just thought I'd share a sampling of the engaging dinner conversation that takes place over here at the Adams household....

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Droid

Liam's First Big Owwieee.....

He was truckin along,  tripped and hit his head on the train table.  :(

He's still all smiles,  though! What a trooper!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!!!

In the cold, foggy morning of Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year, we packed the boys up bright and early and headed toward San Francisco's Chinatown, where we met up with Uncle Mike, Auntie Tracey and Josh for a dim sum brunch.

The boys enjoyed receiving their little red envelopes from their Auntie and Uncle, wishing them a prosperous new year!!The stroll through Chinatown was also very exciting with the fireworks, different foods, and fun little toys at each storefront. Though, I didn't enjoy the little snap poppers being thrown at my feet at each step by my naughty little boys!
After the boys got their fill of Chinatown, we headed over to the Children's Playground at Golden Gate Park for some jumping, running and climbing to get their sillies out...all that Shawn and I hoped for was a peaceful and quiet long drive home to Tracy! :)
It was super fun day and every one of us had a great time exploring the concrete jungle.

My Funny Valentine

My hubby is not the most romantic person on earth, actually, I could safely say he is the complete opposite. If he does anything that could potentially be described as 'romantic', I have to put my hand to his forehead and make sure he's not feverish.So, this year, he completely surprised me with a shower of prezzies. I was definitely one surprised, and happy, valentine. :)
We were able to sneak away on Saturday evening (thanks to the help of Grandma who came and stayed the night with the boys) to San Francisco, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Roy's, a Hawaiian fusion restaurant. After dinner, we headed over to the Metreon where we caught the film, The Book of Eli. Before hopping on BART to head back home, we stopped for take-out at the King of Thai. It was a fun, relaxing, verrry romantical, and absolutely delicious evening!!!
It was a wonderful, and much needed, change of pace for us to just get out together, ALONE, and celebrate...well...US! :)

A Weekend in Monterey

Last weekend, Isaiah participated in his second jiu jitsu competition, Rumble in the Redwoods. The competition was held at Aptos High School, which is a somewhat lengthy drive from home, so we decided to make a mini-vacay out of it. I will have a whole new love for these competitions once we start travelling to different, far away places for Isaiah to compete in them! :)

We were fortunate to be joined by Grandma Lovey, Auntie Tracey and Uncle Mike, also known as Isaiah's travelling cheer squad (sans Auntie Jessie). We had a great time at the competition, where Isaiah did a great job, winning one of his two matches.
After the competition (and given a few hours of resting my voice from the screaming and shrieking at the competition), we ventured off to explore the Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. Here, the boys enjoyed a sample of 'THE BEST' clam chowder (claimed by every restaurant) at every five steps until the end of the pier.The boys love ocean life (learning and eating) so they were in awe of the giant squid laying lifeless on the table. Little did they know, the miniature version of that ginormous thing is what the buffalo calamari, which they devoured shortly after at Abalonetti's, was made of. We spent the next day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where the boys were able to further satisfy their curiousity in ocean life. Mikey was able to see a HUGE, life-sized version of his favorite living animal, the humpdat whale (oops, I meant humpBACK). I had to specify living because his favorite animal THAT EVER LIVED is a Tyrannasaurus Rex. lol

Isaiah, and Mikey, had a great time hanging out at the touch pool.

Even Little Liam had a blast at the aquarium!

My little pearls. :)

(Gawd, I never knew I was capable of saying such cheesy things, until I started blogging. lol)
We had a super fun, exciting and educational (we try to throw that last one in there every once in a while, too. LOL) weekend. It's always fun to explore the beautiful places that are so close to home.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Lovey!

Happy, happy birthday to the best Grandma (and Mom) around. Words cannot express how grateful we are to have you there for us in every way, shape and form. We hope you know how much you are loved!

"What I Loved Most Of All Was A Boy On My Lap..."

A friend shared this video today and I couldn't watch it and not share it, as well. It had me in uncontrollable tears, as her words completely captured how I have been feeling about my boys lately. Isaiah is in school and coming home every day a little bit more mature than he did the last. Mikey goes on and on about rainforests and volcanoes and all the other wonderful things that he is enamored with. And Little Liam, finally walking around, makes me so sad to know that with him will be the last time we will ever experience the sounds of a little baby's slapping hands as they crawl across the kitchen floor....

I knew my babies were going to grow up, I just never truly realized how fast. And now, time is flying by and I wish it would just slow down. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I haven't thanked my husband for everything he does, so that I may enjoy and cherish everything and every moment that I share with our boys on our perfectly ordinary days...

It's Just A Friendly Gift..

Isaiah came home from school today with a gift from one of his friends from school. It's a small charm of a skull and the word, 'love', above it. If you know my son, you'd know that this is totally his style. He loves skulls and crossbones, so it was quite fitting and even more adorable. His friend also drew him a little picture of a flower amidst the grass with a sun shining above it. Cute. Something I would probably draw...even at my age right now! lol

I don't know whether I should be heartbroken that my son is receiving little gifts like these from friends...did I point out that his friend is a girl? The most adorable little girl that you ever would meet. But, I will continue to chant in my head that 'it's just a friendly gift...it's just a friendly gift'. :)