Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

I just finished reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and I really liked it.  While it took me a while to get into the book, I loved the sweet love story between Henry, a young Chinese boy and Keiko, a young Japanese girl.  It took place during WWII.  Keiko and her family we taken to a Japanese Internment Camp while Henry was left at home with his parents (who were against the Japanese).  I found this especially interesting as History was my minor in college.  I actually wrote one of my papers on Japanese Internment Camps in America.  Overall, I thought it was well written.  I loved the love story and thought it accurately described what happened during that period of time in American History.

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend hanging out as a family and doing stuff with the kids.  Friday, I was able to scratch the first thing off of my summer "to do" list.  The local farmers market opened so after gymnastics, we headed to the beach. 

1.        Fly a kite

2.       Go on a nature walk/scavenger hunt

3.       Have a picnic on the beach

4.       Build a sandcastle

5.       Go on a wagon ride

6.       Set up the slip and slide

7.       Play Frisbee

8.       Sidewalk Chalk

9.       Ocean City

10.   Catch Fireflies

11.   Visit the local farmers market

12.   Make Popsicles

We walked around looking at the old cars, I did a little wine tasting, and then we got ice cream.

Mia saw her friend Elizabeth from school so we hung out with Elizabeth and her mom and sister for a bit.  It was fun to get to know her family a little. 

Paxton had fun running on the boardwalk.

 

The kids had a great time and we are so happy it's open again!

Saturday, was Cinco de Mayo and we celebrated by having lunch at the local Mexican restaurant.

This may have been the strongest margarita ever.  Shew....

Meanwhile....

Paxton decided that sitting in the high chair was not cool, therefore, he ran around the restaurant (yes, I took him outside until they finally gave him a balloon to keep him occupied).  I never learn my lesson-taking kids out to eat just sucks.  I need to remember that when I get the bright idea to go out to eat. 

Saturday afternoon, the kids painted.  I tried to make the picture cool but sticking tape on the paper to spell out their names and use circle sticker for polka dots.  Note--masking tape does not work.  Mom Fail #5465421987984

Sunday, we went to church and Sunday school and back to the beach to walk around for a bit.  Mia was exhausted by the time we got home and decided to nap on the floor.

After that, we headed to Chris's softball game.  They lost, but we had fun watching.  Great end to a great weekend. 
I hope everyone else had a great weekend as well.

High Five Friday

Today I'm linking up with From My Grey Desk for High Five Friday.  So, here are my favorite 5 things from the past week:

1. My little man seems to be feeling a little better.

2.  This is my Friday off work so I actually have time to run errands.  Yay!!

3.  Today is the start of the Farmers Market, which means....wine tastings, fresh produce, and an old car show.

4.  I found some great party favors for Paxton's birthday party in the $1 section at Target (buckets and shovels, kites, and beach balls). 

5.  Today is the Make a Wish party for my favorite little girl who will be going to Disney World next week.  I can't wait to see her face when I bring her the itenerary, cake, and balloons today.  Seeing her smile will definitely be the highlight of my week. 

Link up with Lauren and tell us what you are saying high five to this week. 

Another Ear Infection

Tuesday night, Paxton was up crying, fever of 103.4 so yesterday we took him straight to the Dr.  Poor little man has another ear infection.  I thought the tubes had fixed this problem, but apparently one is starting to come out.  This was him yesterday:

Breaks my heart.  He seems to be feeling better today.  He slept all night last night, minus a few coughing fits.  Hoping for a better day today for my sweet little man. 

What I wore Wednesday

I LOVE fashion and I love a great deal so I've been dying to link up with the Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday. 

Today I am hope with my sick little man, but this is what I wore yesterday to work. 

Dress:  Shabby Apple, Summer 2010

Shoes:  Macy's:  Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Spring 2012

Necklace:  Gift



So What Wednesday

I'm linking up with Shannon again over at Life After I Dew for So What Wednesday...

This week's edition is about Mom fails:
1.  So what if I yet again totally destroyed my cookie bowls.  I'm convinced that this pan does not work.
This is what it is supposed to look like:

This is how mine came out.  Take note, this is my second attempt:

2.  So what if my daughter told her entire preschool that she had never been to the library.  I felt like a complete and total failure so I promptly rushed the kids out last weekend to get library cards and to check out books, even though we have a TON of books here.  Yes, I guess I do care that much what people think. 

3.  Lastly, So what if I let my kids play in Mia's room for 5 minutes and this is what I walked in to:



Yup...that's her "pajama" drawer and that is all of her jammies on the floor. 


What are you saying so what to this week?

March for Babies

Saturday, April 28 was our 4th walk for the March of Dimes, March for Babies. This is an emotional day for us, but a day of celebration.  It is a day we show our children (the ones with us and the ones who are not) how much we love them.  It is a day to raise money so that other families can have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. 
We made flags for the kids to wave.  They said "Rolling for my Twin Brother" on Mia's and "Rolling for my Big Brother" on Paxton's".  Chris's mom came this year to walk with us.  It was an amazing day and we are thankful for the nice weather. 

They had lots of activities including:

face (or hand painting)

Chris, his mom, and Paxton danced

We made a butterfly for our angel, Parker (ignore my less than stellar artistic skills)



I made a preemie t-shirt for Mia as she was a preemie.

Lastly, my mother in law made us a quilt square for Team Nahas.

We had an amazing day.  We are grateful for the opportunity to raise money for such a great cause and show all of our children how much they are loved and how happy we are to have/ have had them in our lives.