Still Sick...

In my feverish state, I forgot these video gems...



This song is embedded in our brains. I think Emi-chan has a crush on one of the puppets.



Emi-chan loves this video. The funny thing is Emi-chan still can't speak more than 1 1/2 words at a time, but she can quote this video verbatim. Scary...

Sick...

Emi-chan was sick most of last week, and now Rick and I are down with the flu. Until we're up and running again, please enjoy these videos:



Currently, this is Emi-chan's favorite video. The poor folks who had to sing and dance in this kids' video. It's about a dolphin (iruka) and a squid (ika) and how their names are similar, but they're different species.




This is Rick's favorite video. So cute. So simple.





This is my favorite video. The words mean absolutely nothing. The beat and the blocks are mesmerizing. I love it.

Mother's Day

I hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was a little weird. It's been 2 months since my mom passed away, and it was the 16th anniversary since my dad died. He died on Mother's Day. On the flip side, I loved the fact that this day was really for me.

Rick asked if I wanted anything special. Jewelry? Books? Flowers? I said I wanted pancakes for breakfast. So the dear guy made some for me. The first time he's ever made pancakes.


He did alright :)

He's also a mind reader. I wanted a pizza for dinner, but didn't say anything. He went out and got me a pizza. What a guy.

Outside!

Emi-chan's favorite place in the world is, "Outside!" As long as it isn't inside, it doesn't matter where she is, or what she's doing. Unfortunately, mama isn't an outdoorsy-type, so it's a constant battle between the wills. I'm more of the lets stay inside where the bad pollen and ultra-violet rays can't get us.

Recently, Emi-chan has had her wish come true many times over. The weather has been warm and sunny. I've been convicted that I need to get my rear end in gear and enjoy the outdoors, even when my allergies threaten my life. Plus, when we're inside, all Emi-chan wants to do is watch Elmo DVD's. Although I love the furry, red guy, I can't watch him hour after hour after hour after hour...

Two weeks ago, the Parent-And-Me class Emi-chan and I attend went on a field trip to the Emma Prusch Farm in San Jose. It's a cute little farm/park. There were bold chicken running around the place, little duck pond, and a pretty rose garden. In a barn, there were cows, pigs, and sheep. Although I didn't see any, people said that there are peacocks on the grounds. There was also a neat play area and lots of grassy area to run around on. Emi-chan loved it, and despite myself, I really enjoyed the park. Emi-chan especially loved chasing after the chicken. She thought they were great. She also loved the barn. She kept trying to climb into the pen where the sheep were kept.

All I kept thinking was, "Oh Lord, I'm so glad you didn't make me a farm girl." All that poop. I'm such a wimp.

"We own the joint!"

Emi-chan did get into a little trouble. She got into a shoving-pulling match with another little girl over who was going to sit on a tractor, and I got mad at her when I caught her trying to get into some of the landscaper's tools. Other than that, it was a busy and fun morning.

Ahh, that hits the spot!

Last week, Rick invited me and Emi-chan to a going-away picnic for a co-worker. The picnic was at the Ed Levin County Park. The park is on a two-way road, with no real cross-streets. We kept getting lost. Actually, we kept passing it up because the map directions we got off the internet was a little wonky, and we kept driving up and down the road, until one of us (I forget who) decided, "Hey, lets check out the park we keep passing up." And there we where. It's a nice area to hike and picnic at. Lots of shade, a nice and easy walking path, and a little pond. There were some bold little ducks, much to Emi-chan's delight. She spent most of her time running after them. A few times, she tried to get into the pond to get closer to the ducks.

One of the ducks trying to get away
from Emi-chan by retreating to the pond

It was a nice afternoon eating and getting to know some of Rick's co-workers better. There was a lot of good food. My favorite was the grilled mini-bell peppers. They were so sweet and juicy! Emi-chan forgot she was on a strike against strawberries and gorged herself on them. And like a good Japanese American girl, she ate 2 slices of Spam musubi.

Yummm!

I guess I'm getting used to being outside. I enjoy it, most of the time now. Now that I'm spending more time outdoors and bonding with my little girl, I'm going to have to invest in some good sunscreen and shorts (Egads! The horror!).

After a long, tiring day running around
outside, it's nice to come
home and relax with a book and
sit in your box.