Little Whine, Lots of Wine...Lots of Whine, LOTS of Wine

There are two instances in which wine are necessary in the evening after the kids go to bed. The first is when so much seems to have gone wrong, I wonder if I'm doing anything right, and I just need a break. The other instance, like today, is when most everything seems to fall into place, or at least I can see fruits of my labor, and it calls for celebration. Luckily we have more of those days like today, especially this week and last week. So, after the kids were in bed, I poured myself a Riesling, and remembered the happy moments.

The weather was gorgeous today, so all of us spent a lot of time outside. I didn't even wear a jacket! Usually if it's pretty cold, I'll just send the boys out and I'll stay with Mei inside watching from the window. She was thrilled to be outside and was especially excited to finally get her hands on the lawnmower she always sees her brothers play. He also seemed like she was intentionally kicking a ball around, but I dunno. 

Another great moment was that at lunch my boys actually ate rice. Bo made a curry dish with chicken, eggplant, and bamboo shoots. The boys ate it, but weren't thrilled about it. But they ate RICE! Being 1/4 Chinese, it's kind of an embarrassment that they don't usually eat it. Well, the funny part was that Tey then made himself a spinach salad with cheese and cranberries because he didn't want to finish his lunch and I told him I wasn't making anything else until after I had fed Mei-Mei. I tell you, he's my little chef!  

As it was getting closer to dinner time, both boys were getting hungry. I heated them up a bowl of peas to share (just before then they were squabbling upstairs, so this was my plan to encourage them to get along). Sneaky Mommy! They had fun. Here's a pic, but I can't get the video to load for now. :( Wouldn't you know, Tey then made himself another spinach salad after this pea extravaganza!

After dinner we went on a night hike as a whole family. The weather was perfect and it was quite an adventure finding a spot to see the full moon rise over the eastern horizon. The kids were so excited when we finally reached a good viewing sight and right there before us was a big orange moon. No joke, it was like Christmas and the kids were thrilled. I was thrilled!

There's the moon, right over Mei's stroller, looking like a street lamp.

Our camera doesn't do it justice. It was just stunning. We also identified several constellations and are learning more and more each day. I'm glad we squeezed this night walk in today because a cold front is on it's way in. It might be months before we see another full moon as crisp as this.

I now raise a glass to myself for a job well done today. And to my hubby who is putting the kids to bed. Tey is whining about something. Ok, screaming about something. Good thing I'm off duty :)