For some reasons, both boys woke up very early this morning, like 5 something.  They stayed in the rooms and hung out with each other, so we let them be.  With the rain, we just wanted to be lazy at home for the day.  The only thing we needed to do was to pick up basketball shoes for Logan as the practice will start next week.  While we were at the sport store, the boys were excited to pick up a couple of Warriors’ clothing too.  Maxim’s mom had invited the boys to go play at their house in the afternoon.  Since Connor is still recovering from the strep throat, we decided that Logan would go on his own and Connor did not object.  After lunch and dropping off Logan, Connor played a video game with Stuart while I took a quick nap.  When it was time for a break for Connor, I suggested him to join me for a nap as he was up so early. but he declined.  Instead he brought a book to join me in bed.  Within two minutes, he was out and he ended up sleeping for an hour and a half.  I really enjoyed this rare snuggle with the sleeping Connor, so I stayed in bed to read and sent Stuart to pick Logan up.  In the late afternoon, we stepped outside the house to get some fresh air.  The boys had fun trying to clean the walkway for a long time by pushing around the rainwater.  That was their exercise for the day.

    Stuart probably feels like a single parent lately.  It is an exaggeration, but he is spending more time with the kids alone the past few days.  He spent the day with Connor when he could not go to school on Thursday.  Since Connor was actually feeling fine, Stuart just entertained him at times and Connor played on his own too.  Connor enjoyed staying home with Daddy.  He built a Lego village that he proudly showed Logan and I when we came home at the end of the day.  Friday was a minimum day at school to allow some parent-teacher conferences, therefore the boys only had half a day of school.  Stuart picked up Connor before lunch; they had lunch together at home, then they returned back to school to pick up Logan.  The boys had to preoccupy themselves and Stuart played some games with them periodically.  I had a very busy day at work and ended up working late.  So it was many hours of them together before I came home to see them.  On Saturday I had plan to have dinner with the girls; we went out for a delicious Vietnamese meal.  The boys were totally fine for me to go out as they always enjoy a pizza dinner when I am away.  I came home just in time to give them a goodnight hug before the boys turned in for the night.

     Connor has complained about a sore throat for a few days, but other than that, he has been feeling well with no fever, no runny nose, no cough and no earache.  His appetite is excellent as usual; he has been asking to eat cheerio, muffin and donut for breakfast.  Therefore I did not think much of his sore throat.  Connor complained a lot more by Tuesday, and Stuart was worried, so I finally emailed the doctor.  She mentioned that we could consider bringing him for a throat swab.  So after work on Wednesday, Stuart picked up the boys and met me at the Family Health Center at my new hospital.  The whole process went quickly and we went home afterward.  As soon as I woke up on Thursday, I checked online and learned that the strep test was indeed positive.  I felt bad that I had taken Connor’s complaints so lightly.  I quickly called the Advice Nurse to get the ball rolling.  Connor had to stay home with Stuart as a result.  After I dropped Logan off at school, I drove to work and soon picked up the amoxicillin at the pharmacy for Connor.  Stuart and Connor came over to pick up the medication from me, and Connor reluctantly took the first dose.  The liquid smelled yucky and we could understand why Connor did not want it.  Afterward, I took them to walk by my office space quickly as requested by Connor.  The next day, Connor was able to return to school since he had received 24 hours of antibiotic.  We now hope that his throat will get better soon.

    It was a very wet Saturday.  Logan’s tennis class got cancelled, so we took it easy in the morning.  We played video game and ping pong, and we ended up staying home the rest of the afternoon as it was so wet outside.  For the evening, I had decided to join Revital and Vrinda to have a dinner in the city.  The boys were quite happy as they made plans with daddy to have pizza and a movie night at home while I was out.  Saturday was probably not the best night to go to the city as it was wet for the drive and the walk to the restaurant, but the three of us had a good time anyway.  This restaurant by Union Square was cozy and nicely decorated, and the Spanish/French meal was yummy.  After a full meal with delicious cocktails, we walked in the rain back to our car and drove all the way home.  It was a very late night by the time I came home, but Stuart was still up waiting for me.  According to Stuart, the boys had a good time watching “Honey, I shrunk the kids” while eating popcorn, but Stuart was preoccupied looking into a couple of house repairs we needed. 

     It was Marcus’s birthday party on Sunday.  The boys were excited to go play at Mckayla and Marcus’s house.  We arrived on time; the boys immediately found one of Marcus’s toy guns and were off running around the house.  Once the person from Mad Science got set up, all the kids were gathered to sit on the patio for the show.  The “scientist” did well capturing the kids’ attention and showed them several tricks.  Then the kids had an opportunity to do a hands-on experiment making some goo.  Everyone did well and no one made a mess.  The show was then concluded and the pizza lunch began.  Logan and Connor quickly finished eating, so they could run off to play.  Later everyone was gathered again to sing happy birthday to Marcus and to enjoy an ice cream cake.  Afterward, the big party slowly came to an end, and we became the last family standing.  Logan and Connor were still happily playing with Mckayla and Marcus, so Stuart and I continued to chat with Michelle and Ted.  Ted offered us coffee and later Michelle brought out wine and snacks.  Logan was playing Lego with Mckayla and periodically brought over his creations to show Stuart.  Connor was busy with Marcus and barely came say hello at all.  Later all of them played with Hot Wheels and had a blast.  By then, we realized that we had been at their house for close to 7 hours, so we finally wrapped up to go home.  What a fun party and day!

   Logan had his follow up eye appointment on Tuesday.  I took a little time off from work while Stuart picked up the kids earlier from school, and we made a family trip to Santa Clara Medical Center.  Logan has been complaining not seeing as well with his pair of bifocal, so we figured we would need to replace his eyeglasses.  Therefore we took along with us all three pairs, the bifocal, the single vision and the sport goggles.  After we were checked in, the eye doctor allowed all of us be in the exam room with Logan and Connor promised to be quiet which he did a good job.  During the exam, Logan did well answering all the questions.  The doctor gave Logan a new prescription; she informed us that the change or increase was actually not bad and so there is nothing we need to be worried about.  Afterward, we all headed over to the Optical Department to replace two of Logan’s eyeglasses.  While we waited, we checked out the new frames and Connor wanted to try on some frames too.  In between waiting for the technician, Logan finished up his homework there.  Finally we were done with the purchase and eyeglasses adjustment, we grabbed a quick dinner before going home.  This outing turned out be close to 4 hours.  We quickly showered up and ended the night.

     The two moms and I had our 4th Art Vistas lesson with Connor’s class today.  After I dropped off the boys, I went to prepare for the class.  After recess, the teacher led the class to the cafeteria to join us.  One of the moms began by reviewing what they had learned in previous lessons: the different lines, primary and secondary colors. Then she talked about the neutral colors, i.e. black, white and brown.  Next she and the other mom shared two famous paintings and used them to lead a discussion to review the concepts. The children were eager and answered questions well.  Connor wanted to sit near me and held my hand while listening to the presenters.  Then it was my turn to talk with the kids.  I had the kids imagine where they would love to live and how their dream houses might look like.  The children got excited imagining a house on water, or made of ice or made of candies.  I demonstrated by drawing a cactus house, then it was the children’s turn to express their creativity on paper using oil pastels.  We saw many colorful and beautiful castles, tree houses, and other inventive creations.  There were a shark house and houses with many lookouts or with security.  This was one of the easiest and stress-free lessons, and the kids really seemed engaged drawing a cool house.  Connor drew a nice castle that he was very proud of it.