Peg’s Journal

“Busy” and “Tired” are words I commonly use to describe my days as of late. I would love to post more…but my days are busy, and by the end of the night, I’m too tired. These days, I barely call my mom, and my dear sisters and friends back home never hear from me. This blog is the only forum for them to see what we’re up to….and even then, I’m lucky to crank out something once a week.

With all the time that passes with little or no communication between my loved ones back home, I fear that we might drift apart. I’m saddened by that thought. Last night I drempt of my girlfriends. It was almost a collage of memories we shared of years past. In my dream, my girlfriends and I were preparing to throw a party. I was not married nor did I have children…but a part of me knew it was a dream. Just like in the movies, where you’re aware that you’ve been given a chance to go back in time, I asorbed being surrounded by those I love and miss…Bett – laughing and draping her arm over my shoulder. Ivy – sampling something yummy she made and talking with her mouth full. Wil – clapping and doing some silly dance with her crazy long arms. Sarah – sitting in a chair and giggling along. I felt utterly happy. After I woke up, I laid in bed still thinking about the dream…as my tears rolled onto my pillow. *sigh*

last week

Last week, I spent a lot of time at school (aside from work). Helped out with the Arts Masters program, visited the Book Fair (twice), and had Ashlyn’s class decorate the birdhouse for the Fall Fundraiser. Summer was home sick both Thursday and Friday with fever and cold. I had to drag my poor baby to work with me (since we’re so desperately short-staffed). Despite her discomfort, Summer was such an angel. She never complained, whined, or fussed….not once during the time she spent with me at work or at home. Of course, once her sister got home from school, it was a whole different story.

By Saturday, Summer was well enough to attend a birthday party with Ashlyn.

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Saturday night, Aric and the fellas took the kiddies to dinner and a showing of “A Bee Movie” while I enjoyed a much needed evening out with the ladies celebrating Patti’s birthday. We went to Honda-Ya for dinner, The Melting Pot for dessert, and swung by a friend’s “Playboy” party before calling it a night. The party was held at some mansion in the Orange Hills area with limo shuttle service. We didn’t stay too long….just long enough for a shot, a tour around the mansion, and some dancing.

Sunday, we spent the day at my in-laws’. We ate at a yummy Malaysian restaurant in Arcadia for dinner before catching a showing of “The Game Plan”. I loved the movie and I found myself falling hard for Dina‘s man. hehehe

No school on Monday due to Veteran’s Day. The kiddies and I met with Grace (and kids) for lunch, frozen yogurt, and some shopping. My little one is still coughing and sniffly, so we didn’t stay out too long.

Today we resumed normal school schedule. Summer, having not gone to school for 5 days, kinda dragged her feet getting ready this morning. Today was a brutal day of homework for Ashlyn….I sat with her for 3 hours doing her homework packet. Then Aric sat with her for 2 hours completing her homework packet and reading/answering questions for the Jr. Great Books program. It normally takes her a couple of hours to finish her homework packet (for the week), but I don’t know what was taking her so long today. It didn’t help that her friends kept ringing our doorbell asking if she could play. I told Ashlyn that she didn’t have to finish it today, but she prefers to get it all done in one sitting. That way, she could read, review, and play at her leisure for the remainder of the week. Ashlyn totally reminds me of Wil that way. I, on the other hand, would wait to do my homework at the very last minute. HAHAHA!

My sinuses are acting up today… …I hope I’m not coming down with what Summer had.

Tags: birthday party, dreams, girlfriends, kiddies, movies, pictures, weekend

I had started writing a post on our weekend, but then stopped after the fires struck. With the fires continuing to rage, I didn’t want to sound insensitive by going on like everything’s back to normal just because we were spared. But frankly, I’m a bit tired of and depressed by the fires. All day long, I watch it on the news and read about it on the web, I don’t know about you, but I need a break from all the fire coverage. So I’ve decided to finish my post and offer something light.

With all our kids in school now, our circle of friends don’t get a chance to get together as often as we used to. We still try to get together once a week….so last Friday, we gathered at Grace and James’ for dinner. Grace served us Chirashi bowl (and udon and shrimp tempura for the kids)….and it was AMAZING! Midway through the meal, I turned and gave her a big hug. She just laughed at me. Seriously though, I believe one way to my heart is through my stomach…and that is why I looooove Grace so. HAHAHA! Grace is a great cook. I’m always in awe of her (and trying to learn from her). I’m not much of a cook. I can make basic dishes, but for the most part, preparing meals is like a big production for me…and I’m always missing an ingredient or two. Grace, on the other hand, on any given day, can always whip up something fresh and yummy and nutritious….and does it so effortlessly. She always seem to have everything on hand, and has enough to fed up to 20 people. Wow. Pictures here (see how much all the kids have grown).

These days, our weekends are filled with one birthday celebration after another. This past weekend, Ashlyn and Summer had three parties to attend.

Saturday, the kiddies went to Evelyn’s party at Little Gym in Huntington Beach. In our haste to get there on time, I had left my camera at home. It was unfortunate, because I missed out on a lot of great photo ops. Ashlyn and Summer had a blast with their friends.

Shelby’s HSM party

Aside from a quick stop at home (to drop off food for my sick hubby), we went from Evelyn’s party to Shelby’s party. Shelby, one of Ashlyn’s best friends, had the most awesomest High School Musical party. The kids played fun games, ate pizza and cake, took turns beating on an impressively large pinata, then settled into the inflatable chair theater for a screening of “High School Musical”. It was so cute watching all the kids sing along during each musical number. Ashlyn and Summer came home with bags of popcorn, licorice, and the inflatable chair they sat in. They both loved it! Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the evening.

Sunday, Aric was feeling better, and together we went to Michael’s party at Partyopolis. Partyopolis, though similar, was a nice change from Pump it Up. We just chilled the rest of the evening. It wasn’t until Aric was giving the girls a bath and I was changing the girls’ bed linens did I notice the eerie orange glow peeking over the nearby hills. And you know what happened after that.

Again, I am so thankful that my family and my neighborhood is safe, but I continue to worry for so many others. Thoughts and prayers goes out to those who are still in danger.

Tags: birthday party, friends, weekend, yummy food

Happy Friday! *whew!* I’m so glad this week is finally over….it was an incredibly busy one for me. Aside from volunteering at Ashlyn’s school everyday, it was also parent/teacher conference week (which meant minimum days). I spent most of the week shuttling between school, appointments, playdates, and lots of errands.

Last year I was not as involved with Ashlyn’s school because I still had Summer at home. This year I signed on to be Ashlyn’s room-mom in class and help out during noon duty at school….which resulted in an offer for a permanent position at her school. I wasn’t really looking to get a job, but now I’m going to get paid for something I’d do for free. SWEET! Of course, the employment process for the school district was lengthier than what I’m usually used to (live scan fingerprinting, TB test/physical, and lots of paperwork). Everything should be finalized after my orientation next Monday. I’m so excited!

Noon duty isn’t as easy as it sounds. Supervising two lunch shifts (first – consisting of about 240 lower graders and second – about 160 upper graders) gets kinda noisy and chaotic. I also broke up a fight on the playground yesterday between two girls. I’m still not sure (nor confident) about what I can and can’t say to kids nowadays. I’ve been helping out with noon duty everyday for the last 3 weeks…and in the beginning, nobody really listened to me. I’d blow my whistle and they’d look my way, then continue about their business. Now when I blow my whistle, they’ll actually stop what they’re doing and wait for my instructions. I went from “Hey, Noon Duty….” to “MRS. Noon Lady…”. HAHAHA! I really enjoy it.
…and I get to spy on see Ashlyn at school everyday. *Muahahaha*

Here are a couple of pics from last weekend:

the kiddies at Samantha’s Pump it Up party

new BFFs – Bubble (my in-laws’ dog) and Cookie

The kiddies have a lot of birthday parties to attend this weekend. We’ll be going to Pump it Up again (third weekend in a row). They never seem to get sick of it, and I’m getting some exercise in the proccess.

Have a great weekend!

Tags: birthday party, Cookie, kiddies, pictures, school, weekend, work

Ashlyn celebrated her 6th birthday over the weekend with a bash at Pump It Up. Party planning/prepping kept me busy most of last week, and it was a bit more stressful this year due to the amount of people she wanted to invite. Girlfriend had a guestlist that was like a mile long! She wanted to invite her whole first grade class, everyone from kindergarten and preschool, and of course, the group we always hang with. If we had a money tree, it wouldn’t have been a problem…but since we don’t, I made her cut the list down to about 60 guests. I was totally nervous about hosting so many different groups of people…luckily for me, everyone intermingled and looked like they all had a good time. *whew*

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and playing with all Ashlyn’s new toys I can breath easy for the next 6 months until Summer’s birthday. With Summer, it’s less stressful…she has very little expectations and not nearly as many friends (sad, huh?). hehehe

Also, over the weekend, I discovered some very exciting news: one of my dearest friends is expecting and another gave birth! WOO-HOO!

Tags: Ashlyn, birthday party

Today was Ashlyn’s first day back to school. While she was on winter vacation, I took a break from my webpage….mainly because we kept busy everyday, and by evening, well….I was just too tired. Although I’m sad her break is over, it’s good to get back to the old routine.

The last two and a half weeks were filled with holiday festivities, joyous celebrations, and LOTS of pictures (10 albums below)!

Christmas up in NorCal trip was a total blast. We spent a lot of quality time with my family and got to see some friends. Our annual Christmas Eve celebration at home was a lot of fun (although we missed Sis, Chris, and Amanda dearly). We had a huge buffet spread across my parents’ kitchen island, caught up with relatives, ate and drank merrily, laughed, hugged, kissed, and opened an insane load of presents. We were all spoiled with soooo many gifts…especially the kiddies.

We rang in the New Year with our close friends (5 other families) at James and Grace’s. We had our traditional prime rib dinner with all the fixings, enjoyed a chocolate fountain and fruit crepes for dessert, played Wii, sang karaoke, exchanged gifts, and had a grand time. The whole evening flew by so quickly.

Somewhere in between Christmas, New Years Eve, and this past weekend, we:
- spent the day with Grace for her birthday.
Imagine lunch at Claim Jumpers…3 adults + 10 kids = crazymessyloud. HAHAHA!
- Wing and Em’s visit
- Nancy and Steve’s wedding
You know Aric’s co-worker thinks you’re old when you get seated at the table with the bosses. HAHAHA!
- playing Wii
Aric’s Christmas gift from himself me. I am sooooooo sore all over from bowling, tennis, baseball, and boxing, but it’s soooooooo much fun!
- Disneyland with Patti, Karis, and Joshua
- Lauren’s birthday party at SkateZone

Okay, so you’re all caught up now.

Tags: birthday party, Disneyland, family, friends, kiddies, NorCal, pictures, Weddings, yummy food