Under Construction

Our master bathroom has basically been demolished, and I'm waiting for a new one to rise from the ashes.

Before

During

The following phrases run through my mind at different intervals during the day: it's about time, our old bathroom was nasty, I'm so glad we've finally started the project, I'm lucky my hubby's good at this remodeling stuff, it's about time...



I need the affirmations because man, it is tough to be under construction. I'm deathly afraid my kids will become allergic to the sawdust flying around, everything has been displaced to a degree that's not quite unlivable but close, and the cost seems to mount with each passing day.

Before

During

The silver lining is that I already see a glimpse of what this bathroom will be once it's done. I wish I lived in one of those design shows on HGTV, where entire houses are razed and rebuilt in 60 minutes. But until then (deep breath): it's about time, our old bathroom was nasty, I'm so glad...

Before

During

Year 4

I guess every kid has to have a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party at least once in their lives. Gone are the dirty, scary-dark Chuck E. Cheese venues with musty, pedophile-friendly corners I remember from my childhoood: thank God they renovated! The one near our house isn't so bad; it's clean with big windows to let in light and it has pretty good food.

Chameans celebrated Year 4 with a grand kiddie-birthday party for 15 of her closest cousins and school friends. I loved it, since all I had to do was show up! Their birthday package included mostly everything: decorations, cake, pizza & drinks, lots of tokens, and a couple of birthday goodies for the special kid. All Egger & I brought were favors, balloons, and the ice cream.

Pizza!

Tee loves his Auntie Gigi

Cham & Isabella

Cham with Niko & Zack

It's also fantastic in that the program's tailored for the short-attention span: there was just enough time to eat pizza, then off the munchkins ran to play games and spend their tokens. When they were ready for something else, out came Chucky (yikes!) and the cake (yum!). Then it was time to go home, and I didn't even have to clean up (YAY!). It all felt positively decadent. The only downside I could think of is you have to share the space with the 5 other kids who have birthday parties, and it could feel a bit assembly-line-ish when you hear "Happy Birthday" sung 5 different times. But to a 4-year-old, that's really a minor detail. All Cham cared about was that everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her and that she got a gold medal from a big, scary mouse.

"Happy birthday to YOU!"

The grandparents & cousins came over afterwards for a chill afternoon of BBQ and so Egger could put his new patio set to good use. Lee Lai & Cham ripped open presents and played until the sun came down.

Setting up their favorite toy, the Tea Cart set

The Jam

Nonna & Tee

More conversation and more food: carne asada, Nonna's tinola, leftover cake & ice cream-- as Melon put it that evening, "Ahhh, this was a good day."

Enjoying the outdoors

Shevitz & Egger: together forever

Special shout-out to Tia Bina: THANK YOU for taking all the fabulous pictures!

SUUUMMMMERRRRRRR!!!

Woo-hoo!!! I made it till the end!
Now I can lay around the house and take silly pictures like these:





I LOVE SUMMER! :-D

Priceless

Yellow flower girl dress: $45

Fake mini-daffodils from Michael's: $6

Balsa-wood basket: $ 3.99

Sponge curlers: $9.99 on debit card

Ribbon Roses (in yellow and coral) sewn on by Nonna: $2.99 per pack

Beige tights & fancy shoes: $15

Bribe gift(s): $

My favorite flower girl making it down the aisle with a smile: PRICELESS

Congratulations, Mark & Christa!

the Buntis (and recently un-buntis) Crew

flower girl & ring bearer BFFs

"Mommy, I'm getting tired."

I Love Mornings

sleepyheads

say "aahhh"

If it weren't for these two, I'd never wake up!

5 Days Left

... then back to work I go. Wah! I've been thoroughly enjoying my time at home with Tee. I can't believe he's 10 weeks old already! The good news is it's only 4 more weeks until I'm off again for the summer. Can't wait. Here are some of our recent shenanigans:

A boy and his dog

Pony rides at the Earth Day Festival

We had a "Big Sisters' Tea" with Lee Lai & Tia Melon

All sugared out! "It's raining wind..."

Car seat babies

Lee Lai catches a fish

So many teeth!

The three stooges; togetha' foreva'

Aloha

The kids and I went to Mini-Peaves' birthday luau a couple of Saturdays ago, so I thought I'd share a few photos of the good time we had. It was a beautiful day to have a picnic! Mini-Peaves' parents pulled out all the stops; they even had a fire-eater for goodness' sake. (I was a little scared, hence no pictures of the fire-eater.) Tiago did a great job his first time hanging out with the (extended) fam! He seemed to enjoy the sun & fun, even though Nonna wouldn't let anyone else carry him but her. :-)

Happy first birthday, Mini-Peaves!

Nonna & Tee

Cham loves her Tia Tina

The happy family