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We had a fun Valentine’s Day (more like a week +) Celebration this year.

We started with a Valentine’s Day party at Jennifer’s, organized by Lina. We made, well, I made, some cards for the kids with Keegan’s assistance. Since getting him to write or even sign anything is a huge chore, I got him to sign one card, then I took a photo of him holding it with one hand, while holding a lollipop in the other. Then I made the photo into cards, adding a real lollipop. I think it turned out really cute.

At the party, there were 5 kids in all, but they sounded like many more. A nice potluck buffet and cards exchange kicked off the celebration. Then is was off to the dance floor for the kids, to burn off some energy. The biggest hit was of course GunGun Style by Psy, the insanely infectious, crazy runaway hit. The kids got crazy, jumping around everywhere.

Then it was time to settle down, and the kids played a fun game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. The modern version of this old favorite really made it easy to play: it included self-adhesive tails, mask and board.

And after a few rounds, the kids were off to make up their own games. It all worked out well: no major fights or whining. We even got them to pose for a photo.

For Keegan’s school party I had the brilliant idea to bake cookies for his friends’ goodie bags…which meant Matt had to help out since I am totally inept at it. Sorry for volunteering you! Keegan helped too, rolling the dough and decorating our creations with frosting and sugar, and they turned out great. In fact we kept a few for us.

The following day, Matt surprised me with a wonderful display on the kitchen table: amazing orange and yellow callas, a nice card and two small packages. What a nice way to start the day. Keegan got dressed in his new Valentine’s Day shirt… a little cheesy, I know, but he does like Star Wars lately, especially because his friends are really into it.

my little hearth breaker

We grabbed his goodies bags, and off her went to school. He had a great time: each kid had decorated a cereal’s box and they filled it with cards from their classmates…all rigorously anonymous of course.Modern Valentines today: bring enough for all the kids and teacher, sign them, but not address them…

Then they had a Valentine’s day lunch, with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pink fruits salad, etc. so Keegan barely ate anything at all. But he definitely made up the calories in sweets.

Since Valentine’s Day happened on a Thursday, we had a quite celebration at home. When Matt got home, we exchanged the gifts and cards, while snacking on a heart shaped Caprese mini salad.

Keegan got some books and little toys. He was excited.

Our real, adult Valentine’s celebration was the next day. Keegan was at the Parents’ Night Out at the pool and we had an early dinner at a great Spanish restaurant in Pacific Beach, right behind Matt’s old apartment. So, beside great food and conversation, we also took a walk down memory lane…I am so fortunate to have found my Valentine!

Even if not strictly related to Valentine’s Day, a few days before, Keegan had his 100 Days party: a party to celebrate the 100th day since the beginning of the school year. All the kids and the teacher wore their pajama to school, and they had lots of 100-themed games. He came home with a cute 100 Days crown, adorned by, of course, 100 colorful cheerios.

What a clever and fun way to get kids interested in Math and counting. And Keegan has been definitely all about numbers in the past few months: he counts everything, tries to add and subtract numbers and the pre-math activities were the one that caught his attention the most when we visited the Montessori school…I am keeping my finger crossed this interest will last.

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The year started up in high gear. After the official end of the holidays, and my oral surgery behind me, we started our regular routine. It had been pretty cold, and quite rainy, so we tried to take advantage of any sunny weekend. On one of these chilly, but sunny weekends, we took Keegan to the Safari Park (the old Wild Animal Park). It had been a while since we last came, and this time we took the tram tour, to see some of the African Animals. We were lucky to drive by during feeding time, so we saw giraffes right outside our tram.

After the tour, we had lunch on a bench overlooking a canyon, with a lion and two lionesses lounging around. What a view!

Keegan wanted to go to the petting zoo to play with the goats, and spent a lot of time spinning the world (fountain) around.

January also brings around my birthday, and while I don’t enjoy the thought of getting one year older, it is always nice to be celebrated. And my boys surely spoiled me! This year, it landed on a Thursday, and so we still had to go to work and school. Matt, however, set up the table with presents, cards, flowers and a balloon, so it was a wonderful surprise for me when I got up. Keegan, however, was not happy (and this is an understatement) when I told him I would not open the presents till evening, but surely calmed down when I read the card he “wrote” with dad. It was very sweet. I had a mellow day: it was the first day of a new class, so it was pretty easy. As an added bonus, it was the first day the temperature hovered above 70 since December 11! Nice, this is the San Diego I love. At night time, when Matt arrived, we had the long awaited celebration.

Matt got me a beautiful garnet and silver necklace, and books, and I even received some beautiful flowers from my parents (to complement the gifts they sent at Christmas). Between all the good wishes from family and friends, virtual and not, the gifts, and the overall pampering, I felt very special.

The celebrations continued: the following day, I had lunch with my colleagues, and at night, Keegan went to the Parents’ Night Out at the pool again. So, he had a blast for three hours, and Matt and I had our mini date, eating appetizers at our favorite Argentinian restaurant. We also had a proper dinner date the following week, and we tried an Italian Restaurant right behind Keegan’s school. The food was all right, but we still had a fabulous time, and no talk about Keegan or work was allowed. At the end of the meal I ordered a Limoncello, the lemon liquor usually served in a small shot glass…well, I had to take a picture of this particular restaurant’s version. Italian restaurant or not, this is still America, and every portion is super-sized. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad to get my money’s worth, still, I found it hilarious.

My final present was my day off for Martin Luther King, when Matt went to work, and Keegan was at school, at least for one more year. I thoroughly enjoyed it: even if  I mainly caught up on things,  but I also got the chance to have a nice conversation with a friend I have not talked to in ages. So, a perfect day indeed.

Martin Luther King’s Day was also the day for the Public Inauguration’s Ceremony for Barack Obama, and I took the chance to take a picture of Keegan during the swearing in, to compare it with Obama’s first inauguration photo…WOW, things have changed. Different tv, different entertainment center (but still IKEA)…oh yeah, and Keegan is a LOT BIGGER too. It is almost incredible to think that at that time he would not really talk yet, and now we can’t stop him from gabbing. (-:

Talking about 5 years old Keegan, he still loves going to school. His new teacher, Ms. Jill is great and he loves her (and so do we). She is loving, fun, affectionate, but also firm. The kids are learning a lot. One of the programs she started is the Mystery Guest: every month, one parents come in and reads to the kids. His/her identity is kept secret till his/her arrival. I went in December and Keegan was very excited. In January, Rozelin’s mom, Ms. Yadira, came to read. She is also a teacher at the school, in the infants’ room, and she used to be Keegan’s teacher as well. She really likes him. The kids had a great time, and especially enjoyed the special treats she prepared.

January also means the start of the birthday season. For some reason, we have a glut of birthdays between January and March. It all starts with Kenzie’s birthday. Even if she is not going to school with Keegan anymore, and she moved to Ramona, she remains close to him and the other kids…and they still want to get married one day. We are now at 7 kids, 5 horses, 1 cat and 1 dog. And according to Kenzie, they will be all living in their old Clairemont 3 bedroom house, with all their kids, animals and Kenzie’s sister and husband. Good thing Kenzie wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Anyway, the party was at Mission Bay, on a beautiful, warm sunny day. The kids had fun running around, chasing each other and playing with kites.

They all had a picnic on the grass while the adults talked and enjoyed the day.

There was cake and cupcakes. It was nice to see them all.

We had been also very busy with our re-financing. I know it hard to believe we were willing to go through it again, after how badly it went last time, but the rates were so low we could not miss our chance. So we spent most of the month just gathering papers, signing, and especially getting the house in the best shape it could be for the appraisal, which went really badly last time around. I know that in theory it does not matter, but a clean house looks better maintained and in better shape than a messy one. It was lots of hard work, and the house never looked better. I guess that was the side benefit: it forced us to get organized. Well, at least it all paid off: the appraisal price was higher than expected, so we got the rate we wanted and some cash back.

Check out the living room. Never been so tidy! I should be doing staging…

So January started 2013 with a bang, and we are looking forward to a great February.

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