Easter Bunny photos through the years

We used to make a big deal out of Easter when the kids were small. Every year, we would attend multiple egg hunts -- community egg hunts, egg hunts at friends' homes, egg hunts at our home.  At some of the bigger events, they would get to see the Easter Bunny, and they would treat him like a big celebrity.  But for some reason, I never made a big deal out of Easter Bunny photos. The Easter Bunny was not a big part of my childhood and I've always found him a bit creepy (as you can tell from the photo below, Baby Pea agrees with me).

My Family Creed: Our Ten Commandments for living

Most companies and organizations have a mission statement. Not only does a clear, shared mission help define the values of a company and its employees, it also helps guide the behaviour of all employees. So why don't families have something similar?

Parenting Advice for parents of grade school kids, from a 5th grade graduating parent

In less than three months, my oldest will be graduating from middle school, and my youngest will be graduating from grade school.  It's the end of an era.  My kids are growing up.

Even scarier is the speed at which everything happened. Those nine years seem to have gone by so quickly, and the four years I have left till The Pea graduates high school will pass even more quickly. It will go by in the blink of an eye, and I'm actually starting to panic.

A Mother's Day poem

You are the best mom in the world,

So you are the queen.

If I did not have you as a mom,

I don't know what I could have been!

You are so awesome, you have two jobs,

One job you give us toys and the other makes little kids not sob!

Every day you walk me to school,

All of this is why your (sic) so cool!

Happy Mother's Day!

                                                  -- a poem by Jammy

It doesn't get any better than this.  Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

How to fail at Valentine's Day class valentines

Last year, I scored big points with 3Po and Jammy by making awesome homemade Valentine's Day cards for their classmates.  They received lots of compliments on their Rocky Road Valentines and Yoda Valentines, and I quietly smugly added another notch to my Awesome Mom Cap.  I even took the time to take pretty photos and post instructions and downloadable printables (adding another notch to my Awesome Blogger Cap).

Choco Story Museum in Bruges, Belgium

No blog would be complete without a Valentine's Day post this week.  No Valentine's Day post would be complete without mentioning the food of love: chocolate.  And no post about chocolate would be complete without mentioning the best chocolate in the world: Belgian chocolate.

Before you chime in defending Swiss chocolate or Dutch chocolate or all the up-and-coming artisanal chocolate boutiques in the US, let me cut you off right there: Belgian chocolate is the best in the world.  No arguments.  Full stop.

How to Cure Affluenza

There's no denying the difficulties of raising a child in a privileged environment without giving him a, well, sense of privilege. Money can buy many things, including knowledge and confidence and a sense that everything will work out for you, because it almost always does.

Painting the town RED for Marriage Equality

Today was one of those rare IRL -- In Real Life -- days.  I spent the entire morning on a field trip, chaperoning The Pea's 6th grade class around Chinatown.  I spent lunchtime watching old episodes of Modern Family (after months of being on the library's waiting list for the Season 3 DVD, my turn had finally come up!).  I drove the boys to soccer practice, and while they were at the field I took The Pea to Home Depot to choose paint colors for her room.   I checked my email, Twitter and Instagram feeds throughout the day, but for some reason didn't get around to checking Facebook until almost 6PM.  So I was totally unprepared for the sea of red that covered Facebook today.

Lunchtime love

Cream cheese sandwich, cherry tomatoes, strawberries

Last week just flew by!  What with coordinating Valentine's Day parties, crafting Valentines, supervising the arduous process of thank-you-note writing for the boys' birthday presents, helping The Pea choose her electives for next year, signing the kids up for summer camp, getting two root canals and catching a cold, I totally forgot to put up my weekly lunch post.   I really enjoyed putting together the kids' Valentine's Day lunches -- I did the whole cutesy red hearts theme -- and I just had to show the photo off today.  Not that any of my other lunches are packed with any less love!

Valentine's Day Printables: Yoda One For Me

In a recent Silicon Valley Mamas article, my friend Robyn writes of a recent DIY Valentine backlash.  I'll admit, I've noticed it too -- which makes it even weirder that I'm going in completely the opposite direction.  Since The Pea was in kindergarten, I've been content to buy cheapo $3-for-24 Valentine cards from Target or Walgreens, but this year I just couldn't resist trying a few of the DIY ideas I've seen on Pinterest.  Yesterday I made some You Rock Valentines with some leftover candy from 3Po's party, and today I made some Yoda Valentines.

Valentine's Day Printables: You Rock!

Valentine's Day is not a crafty holiday for me.  I have never been a fan of handcrafting dozens of valentines for my kids' classmates. It just seems like too much effort (times 3 kids!) for something that just gets thrown away.  My idea of crafty valentines is buying a $3 pack of Hershey's kisses, a pack of $3 drugstore valentine cards, and taping the kisses to the envelopes.

But the adorable images of artsy, craftsy Valentines on Pinterest have been calling to me -- and since I had about a dozen leftover Rocky Road miniature bars from 3Po's birthday party (he had a rock climbing birthday party -- get it, Rocky Road?), I decided to give them away as valentines rather than gobble it all myself.

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours

To family and friends

Far and near

We wish you could be with us here!

Wherever you may be

May you have Good Times and Good Cheer

Throughout the Holidays

and the New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

All about mothers, according to 8 year-olds

No one knows mothers like their children, and no one can articulate just what makes moms great, quite like an eight year-old can.  For Mother's Day, Jammy's teacher asked everyone in class a set of questions about their moms, and compiled the best answers.  Their responses are some of the most candid, witty and touching I've ever had the privilege of reading, and I had to share them with everyone.  Don't be surprised if you see yourself in their answers below -- yes, you are allowed to smile!

A Valentine's greeting from the heart

Say what you will about overcommercialized holidays, materialistic, displays of affection and shallow trinkets that wilt/fade/melt/rot along with the giver's own feelings ..... love, especially one as genuine and sincere and heartfelt as this, deserves a celebration.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Spread the peanut butter, spread the love -- for Mikey

Earlier this week, I found out that a fellow Yahoo! Motherboard member, Jennifer Perillo, lost her husband Mikey in a sudden and unexpected way. The blogging community responded immediately; Twitter was flooded with messages of condolence and love, and there's talk of a scholarship fund for her children.

Yesterday was Mikey's memorial service, and to commemorate his live and the love they shared, Jennifer asked that people bake Mikey's favorite peanut butter pie and share it with their loved ones. No flowers, no donations, just pie.

A Bittersweet Mother's Day

I found out five minutes ago that a friend lost her battle with cancer. She was a single parent with three children, ages 15, 13 and 7. Her youngest was Jammy's classmate. She passed away last night, the day after Mother's Day.

I will always remember her as one of the most cheerful people I've met, always smiling and always ready to greet me with a hug. Health issues aside, she was one of those women you would look at and marvel, I don't know how she does it. Looking back, I'm thinking I know how she did it -- her kids gave her the strength. I think she hung on for as long as she could, for them. Her two older children were so mature and well-behaved, keeping their apartment immaculately tidy and politely thanking us whenever we dropped off a dinner for them. Her youngest always greets me with a smile when I pass her in the hallways, just like her mother. She raised them well.

A month ago I felt the pain of a mother who had lost her child. Today my heart is aching for three children who have lost their mother. I'm so glad they got to spend Mother's Day with her.

:(

My Treasures

I've never been sappy about homemade gifts and cards, but this year's Mother's Day loot reduced me to a watery puddle. The kids really made a huge effort in making their Mother's Day presents, and everything they wrote on their cards rang with sincerity. Even though I know I'm not the best mom ever, I'm grateful they think I am (at least some of the time).

For Mother's Day, The Pea wrote me this poem:

A life well lived, a life well loved

On March 31, 2011 a cousin of mine passed away. It was a great shock to his whole extended family; he was just 26. He is the first relative of my generation to go. The wake and funeral was held in the Philippines. I was asked to say something on the last day of the nine-day vigil; since I could not be there, I wrote something and asked my sister to read it. I've been crying off and on since he died, so I've decided to publish what I wrote, as kind of tribute to him, and closure for me.

Ten Years of Memories

Wow. The Pea's age is in the double digits now. She has lived a decade. And I've been a mother for a decade.

Ten years is a long time. It's long enough so that we remember events, but not the details.

Love, from the mouths of babes

Two Valentine's Days ago I wrote a post featuring some thoughts about love from the experts, a.k.a. my kids. Hey, it's true: children love unconditionally, and there's no love more selfless and boundless than a love of a parent for his child. For Valentine's Day this year, I asked them the same questions and they responded with answers that were completely different (3Po was a lot more cooperative this time than he was when he was five), but no less sweet. Here's the lowdown on love, from three people who know how to love and be loved: