malia's new friend

 

i made the mistake of bringing the kids with me to the store to look for a birthday present. of course, they will find something they want. but malia has been wanting this panda since she saw it at costco last year. and how could i say no when she was buying it with her own money, and it was 50% off. it was a steal at $18. so there she is sleeping with him, kinda. then she took a selfie with it. and i'm glad she's sharing him with micah, cuz we are not getting another one. the panda is huge!

honor roll time

 

i'm always shocked when honor roll time comes around and m&m bring me slips that they are getting an award. malia's backpack is full of papers that are folded at least 2 times. i don't know how she finds things in there. i have to tell her to clean out her backpack every week. even at parent-teacher conference, her teacher asked her if she cleaned out her desk. micah leaves his homework at school sometimes or forgets to turn it in. his folder is clearly marked, one side english and the other spanish. all he has to do is turn it in.

but despite their disorganization, they are doing well, so i'm glad. i guess i can't complain. my room was very messy growing up, and i turned out alright, i think =).

annual physical on st patrick's day

 

annual physical time! funny how their hearing is perfectly fine yet they don't hear me call their names most of the time. malia finally weighs more than micah again, but she's still small. dr garcia always tells her she's fat and needs to exercise. my micah boy is just right he said. flu shots came and it was a miracle that the girl didn't cry. she squeezed me really tight though. 

popsicle boy

 

this boy gave up candy for Lent, but was quick to tell me,"popsicles don't count mom," as we passed the popsicle line at school. he always wants to buy popsicles at school. somehow they aren't the same as buying them from the store. he knows he has to earn them by being good in class. at least the money is going back to the school.

fat tuesday

 

fat tuesday just so happened to fall on the same day as national pancake day at IHOP. so we met up for dinner with the cousins. as always, ninang jos is prepared with something to celebrate. beads and masks all around. yay for free pancakes and full tummies.

career day

it was career day today. no surprise that micah dressed as a soldier. his rain boys from last year still fit so he was all set to go.

i was surprised by malia's choice though. she's been liking a lot of different things lately, but she wanted to dress up as a Disney artist. i loved her choice of course. she made a name tag. i gave her a lanyard, which you can't really see, but it has Disney pins on it. and roel took these photos at lunch time, so she didn't have her big sketch book with her in which she made a few Mickey drawings.

i'd be on cloud 9 if malia became an artist. i'd be an absolute wreck if micah became a soldier. still proud though.

baptism birthday outing

 

happy baptism birthday to lia! and since it was also our anniversary, we went to eat out at olive garden. i had a kids eat free coupon and we had a gift card. i'm a cheap date. malia has a love for alfredo. my picky boy didn't like the breadsticks this time around and neither did i. or maybe we are just used to the one at o's american kitchen. it was a good lunch though.

president's day

 

what are we doing for president's day? that's all they kept asking. we don't always have to do something is what i tell them. i'm happy just laying on the floor all day hahaha. so we took them to golden spoon. malia and roel always get the cake batter flavor. micah and i have a new love for the salted caramel flavor.

my 5 minute valentine decor

because our garage is still full of stuff, i don't exactly feel like decorating much. and whatever decorations i have are probably in the garage somewhere hidden anyway.

the answer is simple, clean the garage, and be finished moving in. 

easier said than done people.

the zoo

yay for the zoo! we pretty much go to the zoo once every year or every other year. roel is not fond of the zoo and i don't want to see monkeys so that probably explains it. my kids are wild monkeys so i don't need to go to the zoo to see them. but the kids love to go, so that's why we'll go.

even better to go in a big group! these kids saw a rhino pee for what seemed like 2 minutes straight, right in front of them. they saw snakes, insects, desert tortoises and rode on the tour bus. m&m got to see their beloved pandas.

they had tons of fun. here's my lion king girl on the lion. and micah begged to buy these binoculars, with his own money of course. at least he put them to good use on the tour bus.

 

see you next year or the year after that zoo!