kids say/do the darndest things

day by day, i am amazed by the the sponge of a brain el has. her sentence length and pronunciation of words continues to improve. she seems to have inherited her verboseness from mama and her quick humor from her dad. here are a few things she has said/done recently that have made us "lol:"

1. me: "look! daddy cooked you potstickers!" (holding a fork full to her mouth) el: "ooh, pot sticker!"(holds up her hand to receive a "sticker," as she does after every ballet class from her dance teacher)
2. while snacking on bugles, "it's like 'happy birthday!'" el puts the cone-shaped chip on top of her head like a birthday hat.
3. "shake your butt butt!" wiggles her bottom.
4. after receiving applause from practicing her ballet dance in front of our friends and having their full attention, she sticks her pointer finger into my breast and says "that's mommy's boobs!"
5. anytime she sees a scene in a photo or show she likes, she cries "i wanna go there!!!!!"
6. after seeing my mom wear a pair of pants similar to mine, she screams "that's my mommy's pants!!! take it off!!!!"
7. while carrying her, she passes gas. "(giggle) i poot-poot ("farted") in mommy's hand!"
8. el, to daddy: "i wanna draw daddy's ugly face." (translation: "i wanna draw you making a funny/ugly face") (brings him paper and markers) hubby: "what about mommy? does mommy have an ugly face?" el: "no, mommy's pretty."
9. whenever the car stops during a car ride, "red means stop! green means go!"
10. el, pointing to dad's shirt (see below): "what's that daddy?" hubby: "that's a pinata." el: "oh, i wanna hit that!"
    

hubby's fave shirt

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• hubby's maintenance of my car which i always half-jokingly say is "boy's job" (horrible, i know!)
  
• catching up with friends
• getting such great use out of the ucla bruin cheer outfit el was gifted for her 2nd birthday which she has/will used for: tailgating at stanford; trip to the pumpkin patch; halloween dance performance; noe's 1st birthday party; halloween; jus' 2nd birthday party =)
• comfy sweat pants and shirts
• applebee's every night happy hour at 9pm
  
• a day off of work with my comp time and being able to sleep in
  
• beautiful fall weather
• our home
  
• upcoming halloween festivities
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends


• my good friend and colleague, r, for the wonderful microdermabrasion treatments i've received the last couple of weeks


• patience


• the counseling training i received from st. mary's college, which comes in handy so often in all my interactions, particularly one today


• 69 cent tacos at chicken express. yum!


• crunchy clean cloth diaper detergent


• being able to fold, stuff, and label envelopes in between my presentations at work today


• the microsoft office mail merge function


• el's love for ballet and how she so often pulls on my hands to dance with her, anywhere and everywhere


• planning a southern california trip this winter break to attend our annual holiday party with our college friends

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• angelina ballerina, peppa pig, and letter factory - el's fave shows to watch lately
• a husband who adores me on my most adorable days and most unadorable (yup, i made up a new word!)
• sweater weather
• free family friendly community events
• roller ball pens
• finding some very important files which were packed and protected as they needed to be during our move
• music, especially that which sings to your heart
• taking turns with parenting duties
  
• finding an awesome daily deal for my fave massage place on "got daily deals"
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• a great day yesterday at the 1st annual sacramento aloha festival followed by a trip to the pumpkin patch for a photo session and bbq
  
• watching our friends' kids and el grow up together. so amazing!
• lots of cuddles with el, after she had spent the last 3 nights with lola and grandma
  
• getting the big table at starbucks today
• el's assertiveness
• closure
  
• caffeine
• friends' connections
• this weekend's gorgeous weather
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• el having the opportunity to spend the day with her "cousins" during a "parent play date" that hubby organized, complete with storytime at the public library, lunch, and naptime
• a gorgeous sunrise this morning
• a record-setting turnout for our first college application workshop that our department organized this afternoon!
• an afternoon walk with the hubby, which i hope we make a daily habit
• being able to have a real phone conversation with el
• the efficiency of being able to share info through facebook
• music and art
• a tag team effort in getting laundry done
• the sing off
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• a great weekend at a local halloween event, my goddaughter's 5th birthday dinner, clients-turned-good-friends' housewarming, and cheap and yummy indian food with friends from out-of-town
  
• learning new functions on word and excel
• iced soy mochas with half the mocha syrup
• el's excitement for ballet class today, only to fall asleep in the car
• comfy clothes and shoes
• the abc network app for streaming full episodes of grey's anatomy and modern family
• solid foundations
• rear facing carseats
• no line at kaiser's flu shot clinic. it took me longer to walk from my car to the building then it took to get the vaccine!
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• a feisty toddler, who expresses her needs loud and clear!!! (positive reframing =)
• yummy smelling cologne
• hearing friends' great news
• house of curries' free unlimited chai
• people who are true to their word
• el's jailbroken ipad
  
• zip up hoodies
• front cup holders in hubby's car
  
• tears of joy
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• learning about 4 universities i didn't know much about this morning at the hs counselors' breakfast at the sir francis drake. fancy schmancy!
  
• taking myself out on a "date" this afternoon in beautiful sf
• finding clothes that fit me well and buying them in multiple colors
• taking the bart by myself today and not getting lost walking through downtown sf (thanks google map app!)
  
• automatic iphone synching with my laptop
• el falling asleep so easily last night and sleeping through the entire night, making for an easy morning for me to slip out to work
• ouchless hairbands
• gorgeous sunrises
• tiny fuel-efficient vehicles
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• colleagues who know how to pick up the slack wherever and whenever it's needed... they are AMAZING!!!
• value, recognition, and sympathy
• successfully organizing and testing 400 students for the PSAT today. it's finally over!!!
  
• my god daughter chey turning 5 today!
• QT with the hubster, even amidst high wedding season
  
• our good friends' invitation to a delicious steak dinner complete with fancy fixins and wine last night plus a great play date for our kiddos. thanks 3 j's!!!
  
• therapists who know their ish
• discovering that an asian soul food place will be opening up in town. hooray!
• el finally following along for the majority of this week's dance class and seeing her practice on her own at home =)
  

seattle trip gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• my parents for watching el while hubby and i are on our trip to seattle/bremerton
• fabulous iced coffee drinks in the city that started the country's espresso revolution
  
• gorgeous washington weather
• california king sized beds
• having a chance to catch up with college buddies, a & b, and spend time with their fun family
• a beautiful wedding yesterday of our clients, j & g, and being witness to their love and commitment
• our first car ferry ride
• seattle eats. YUM!
  
• hubby =)

working with the hubby @ uptown espresso, seattle

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• tripit.com, making for easy travel arrangements. this free app automatically sorts and organizes any confirmation emails you receive for travel/accommodations per trip. so dope!
• online flight check-in
• the smell of freshly washed laundry
• the hubby finding his cell phone after having lost it for a day
• dvr'd episodes of my fave shows
• productivity at work
• excel spreadsheets
• leftovers
• our welcoming home
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends


• el's increasing vocabulary and sentence length


• invitation to hs counselor events, especially those at swanky venues and/or include yummy meals


• pandora


• my dad using fb like nobody's business! he learned so fast and it's a trip to get comments and messages from him


• planning holiday events & evite invitations


• the "copy and paste" function


• chatting with old friends online


• emdr


• seattle with the hubby in 2 days

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• the baby "dance party" that ended up happening at our neighbor's house; gotta love how all of our kids are around the same age
• yesterday's tailgate with my dear bruin fam
• honest and candid heartfelt conversations
• el's fave, leapfrog "letter factory" dvd
• yummy bbq
• bffs who always know what to say and when to say it
• gorgeous skies
• comfy couches
  
• seattle with the hubby in 4 days
  

gratitude

today, i feel grateful for:

• awesome family & friends
• date night last night with the hubby
• movie theater popcorn, layered with kettle corn, covered in butter (phatty mcfatster status! thanks, i, for the tip!)
• marriage
• timely responses
• plans to get together with friends
• the return of "college hooded sweatshirt" weather
• the ucla 8-clap and being able to teach this to el today at our annual tailgate with my college buddies
• jokes that make you laugh out loud
• seattle in 5 days...