Spring is here!

So April was a little crazy here for me at least. I ended up going to the ER four times and it was stressful. It turns out I had a hormone imbalance and that was causing me to feel like I had mono. I was exhausted and bone tired even after sleeping for 10 hours. I was dizzy and light headed, feeling like I was barely present in my own skin. Good news is I am slowly getting back to normal but it has been a slow crawl back. Everyone in the family was very supportive and pitched in to help out. I have a few more doctor visits next month and this should be all squared away.


We had a great Easter here at the house. I will see about getting the pictures from Leng (our resident shutter bug) and get them to Flickr so you all can take a look. We decorated eggs with the kids and they had a blast doing them. They had even more fun finding them after brunch on Easter Sunday. Our brunch was well received and it was great to see the grandparents (Grandad Don, Papa Micheal, and Grandma Graham) there. 


The older kids Tre and Nani have been off for the whole month on spring break. They have been doing "school" with me for 30 mins a day, Monday through Friday. I went to Lakeshore and filled up a box with supplies (markers, dry erase books, games and art supplies) for school. I seat down with them and talked about how to set up their classroom. They gave great suggestions like a chart for stickers for when they finish assignments. I went to Target and put together a prize bucket for them to draw out at the end of each week. We have done some "field trips" to museums, parks and some lunches out. Overall I think it went well and still kept them plugged into their routine for school so when the start back up in May it will be less of a struggle to transition. Hopefully it will work.


I turned 40 this month and it was wonderful. I went to dinner with my dad to Lotus Thai along with the husbands and Monica. The food was delicious as always and I got a print of one of my dad's photos (I am one of his biggest fans of his photography) from a trip he recently went on and Monica got me a heritage DNA test from National Geographic. I am extremely excited about it - my family history is sketchy at best and frankly suspect what I have been told. This test and the database it's tied to traces your ancestry back to a continent of origin. I will post the results in the blog when I get them back.  I also went to see the new Cirque Du Soleil troupe touring through the country.


Totem was incredible! Our seats were great - we were about 4 rows back from the stage itself. It was the usual dynamic and energetic show - incredible costumes and complex music. We ate a great dinner out at Bully's just before the show. It was the dads, moms and Monica. A big part of thrill was having an all adult out night. We had great conversations and it was great to really catch up with everyone. We hit the gift shop before the show and scored some great swag. A cool scarf with pockets , finger monarch butterflies for the kids, the CD & program plus some art prints as a gift for my dad and Micheal for baby-sitting the kids so we could attend the show in the first place. 


Grandma Graham took the older kids to a matinee show of Totem the day before and they had a wonderful time. It was a great dry run to see if we could take the older kids to future shows of the Cirque. They were so excited to talk with us about the show and they were tickled pink that they saw the show before the adults. The morning after our show they talked and talked about the show with us and we pulled out the program so they could show us things and ask questions. So the next time we go we might be taking them as well.


Degen is really shaping up. They have begun the garage conversion in earnest. The sun porch is finished and just needs to be painted. They have almost completed the kitchen upgrades and the rest of the house is painted. They have done about 1/2 of the stairwell as well. We are meeting with the contractor and designer tomorrow to go over the flooring and a few more items left for the house. We are still looking at moving in to the house in June and we're checking out some solar panels for the new house and our current house - it looks promising. Apparently the technology has come a long way and is looking very affordable. I'll see if I can get Bill to take some pictures of the improvements and get them posted up for viewing.


We're still looking for a school for the kids. We are investigating the local schools near our new house. We're still in the early stages so I'll keep you posted. I think the biggest challenge is going to be overcoming the traditional attitudes of the area - we're going to be pioneers again with LGBT visibility. The question is going to be how bad it could get or how much resistance we're going to face. Wish us luck but if it is looking too grim we'll be looking at private school options .


The family is doing very well overall. We're all looking forward to the move and having more space to live and be. The idea of having a guest room is also intoxicating - we could have extended stays with friends and family (hint hint after the move come visit y'all). 


Love and kisses to everyone out there. 

March Madness (Kind Of)

March is here and almost gone. The time has been flying here at the 54th Street Zoo. The work on Degen continues apace. The back patio is now enclosed and we have an all-weather room for entertaining and just giving us more space to breathe and be. The plans have been summated, returned and modified as per the city so we should begin the largest part of the remodel shortly - the garage into a downstairs master suite and the modifications to Monica's room. Here's hoping it goes quickly and smoothly.

The kids are doing great and we just met the other day with Tre's teacher Mrs. Curtis. He is doing wonderfully in her class. He has moved from proficient to advanced in almost every area and has a great connection to her. He really responds to her and she understands him. She has worked with him and has given us great tools to help Tre make this progress this year. He made the Honor Roll (yes they have an Honor Roll for 1st Graders) and received an award for great citizenship but we have little worries about him socially - he makes friends effortlessly.

Nani has her conference tomorrow and I'll make sure to report on her progress in the next blog for April. She is really I think getting her stride at school. While she still seems less than challenged academically but she does seem to be making progress in making and maintaining relationships with her peers. She has been very keen on spending more time with all of us together as a family which I think bodes well for the move to the new house. I think all the kids are going to enjoy (on average) living together - we see some standard sibling friction but nothing that gives us pause or undue concern.

Nani had her birthday this month and it was a great hit. Grandma Graham let us use the community pool and recreation area of her housing community. Lisa had the fabulous idea to set up a drink and juice bar so people could order their own fruit concoctions in fancy plastic ware with little umbrellas and the kids loved it as well as a few parents. There was swimming though not as much since the water was freezing but everyone made ample use of the hot tub. The Dads rented a jumpie with a built in slide and we had a piñata as well. Top it off with great party favors and colorful decorations - that was the fete we hosted. Grammy Jo was still in town on her visit, along with all the parents, helping to make the party a roaring success.

Siddha is on the track to having a bedtime routine that mirrors the older kids. We have been altering her routine slowly like phasing out the bottle and reading more books before bedtime. Larry has started laying her down in bed rather than rocking her in the rocker in the nursery and that seems to be working as well. The hope is to have her on a routine that she can join in with the older kids. Reading a book, calming down and settling into bed then sleep. Wish us luck.

I meet tomorrow with the Upstaged Design team to finalize the last few details of the remodel. Paint colors, wood stains and fixtures. We have gotten all the things rolling that didn't require a permit and it's nice to see the end of it in sight. They built an awesome cubby for the second refrigerator in the kitchen, the enclosed patio, the fence to section off the pool and a list of small changes to the house. I have been very happy with their work and really look forward to be done and moved in.

Next month is my birthday and all the adults in the household are going to see the newest Cirque du Soliel tour Totem. My dad has offered to babysit the kids while we all go out for dinner followed by the show. It should be a wonderful night of hopefully good food, great conversation and a spectacular performance. It will be one of the rare times all the adults in the family get to socialize without the kids since usually one set of parents is watching the kids so the other set can go out.

That's all from us this month - like I put in the title it was sort of busy but nothing too crazy overall. I hope to report a move in date in the next month's post so keep your fingers crossed. As always we welcome any and all guests to come over and visit.

Love to you all!

Leaping Into February!

The work has begun at Degen Drive. They have put up the fence in the back to secure the pool area since we have children. It looks great - a dark wood and bamboo that really sets well with the garden in the back. They have made the cubby for the second refrigerator in the kitchen and they were able to set it up with water so we should have plenty of ice for the many parties we plan on throwing at the new house. They are beginning the work to enclose the back porch to create another space for family and friends to gather. We have the plans for the conversion of the garage into master suite for downstairs and are in the process of submitting them to the city of Bonita then we can start that part.

We go over several times a week to check the mail, feed the koi and to let the kids run around and get used to the new space. They all seem very excited about having a bedroom together and a playroom along with their own bathroom. The downstairs will also have a family room with a set up for them to do arts and crafts. I think the whole big extended family is looking forward to having space to live and entertain. I know I am looking forward to having an all adult bedroom again with Siddha's nursery going away and her moving into the kids bedroom.

Well it turns out that the church children's choir didn't work out as well as I would have liked. Issues came to a head for us and we had a great conversation with Phyllis or as most know her now Grandma Graham. She listened about our concerns, talked back and forth about what was going all for all involved. I think it was handled very diplomatically and the kids are still getting to spend the afternoons with her - we just took out the evening portion with the choir. We felt like it was important to have the time with her be conflict free so everyone could enjoy it completely.

Siddha is talking in sentences and sentence fragments now. Even more cool to see and watch is her forming her own thoughts into sentences. She is moving out of the parrot phase and has been putting together her own sentences.

"Siddha go that way."

"Daddy where are you?"

"Siddha want my jacket please."

Some examples of this new skill. She is getting to be very communicative which is awesome and greatly reduces parental stress since she is child that know what she wants and now can tell us what she wants. Our new policy around toys and sharing seems to be working. There have been significantly fewer blow outs around them and people fighting over possession. We still welcome any advice anyone has so please share away.

We have Grammie Jo down for a visit right now for 10 days. She timed her visit so she would be here for Nani's 6th birthday which was awesome. As I mentioned before she is coming out near each child's birthday this year so they are all very excited about it. She is staying at the Mom's house for half the trip and then at our place for the 2nd half so all the kids get some morning and night time with her. We're doing more baking and cooking while she's here and I look forward to the delicious food. Since she's going to be here a little longer we're going to set up some adult time with her - dinner out and a movie. We're also going to take all the kids out to see The Lorax while she's here.

Lisa and I were able to sneak away for a long weekend up in Portland with Dan and Megan. We flew up on a Thursday morning and came back home on Sunday afternoon. We had a fantastic time!! The weather was a pleasant change from down here in San Diego. We got to eat at several great places (Cuban eatery, dim sum, food trucks, and Thai) and it was Lisa's first trip without a kid since Nani was born so it was a special treat for her. We watched movies, shopped Powell's books and had got to see their new place which is quite the leisure pad. Sorry to everyone we didn't get a chance to see but the focus of the trip was Dan and Megan. We extended the offer to fly them down for all the major holidays so they can keep in touch with the kids and we all get the chance to see them more often. Portland is definitely the place for them to live - it is a city of Dan and Megans! They also introduced me to Portlandia while I was there and now having watched the show and walked a good part of the city - it is spot on!

Our search for a new school for the older kids continues. Sadly both of the charter schools we applied for we ended up wait listed. Birney won't have their auditorium and cafeteria rebuilt till the next school year in addition to needing to raise 25k to fund Art, Spanish and the library next year. They had a fire that gutted both buildings and the structure was so out dated that it had no fire suppression system so the damage was extensive. Things are looking grim for public schools here in San Diego. We may have a good school in our new area though we need to check out the LGBT and diversity angle still. The school is called Sunnyside and its scores are high for education and rated highly by parents with children enrolled. Another school (Valley Vista) scored slightly lower and is our home school though we can apply for a zone transfer to go to Sunnyside. We are actually meeting up tonight with all the parents to talk more about school and the kids. Wish us luck!

That's about it for now from us for now. The beginning of the year tends to be a slow time for us with events and outings so not much else to report. As always please feel free to set up a visit or drop a line. We love you all and miss you (especially those far flung friends and family)!

New Year, New Post

Hello all!

Time has slipped away again here at the 54th Street Zoo with the holidays, vacations and parties. Let me first throw out there that Seminole is no more. We tried everything we could think of and then a few more things but it never gelled. We have officially left escrow with the property and YWCA. The decision was met with mixed feelings here - some sad, other angry and even some relief. The property is just too unique for us to get financing as a residential property. I can honestly say we did everything we could to try and make it work so it was not from a lack of effort.

The good news is we are scheduled to close escrow on Saturday January 7th on Degen Drive. Once it became clear we had finally run out of options with Seminole we talked with our incredible real estate agent Recheal Stewart-Brown (we highly recommend her - she is aggressive, very well informed and has been our champion in every quest to find a new home) and asked for a listing of all the houses that met our needs and starting looking again. Degen Drive was the result and we are happy as can be. Some of the family had some grieving to do around Seminole but everyone agrees the house is more than adueqate for our needs. There's rooms a plenty, five in total with us converting the garage into a downstairs master suite for the dads. Three bathrooms with another being added to the master suite and a pool. A beautiful garden space, front and back yard with space to build granny flats for parents to retire to. The sellers are a wonderful couple who built the house from the ground up to raise their own family in. If we can swing the improvements we want before we move in, we'll even have a guest room for people to use when they visit.

The kids are doing well and had a busy time the last few months. The older kids (Nani & Tre) joined the children's choir at Grandma Graham's church where she is the director. They have been really enjoying the time spent with her and the opportunity to perform for the church for their Christmas programs. The religious element has caused a stir and some tension with the parents and some of the grandparents but I think we've worked it out. We are balancing them spending time with their family and keeping the matter of religious education firmly in the hands of the parents. I was surprised to find I had the least anxiety and stress over all of this. I think I have my father to thank for that (yet another thing). I feel very comfortable discussing the matter with the kids and drawing firm boundaries about the issue. Wish us luck.

Siddha is continuing to talk up a storm here and we've been encouraging her to grow her sentence length when talking with us. She is steadily warming up to Auntie Monica which has been awesome to watch. She is still having some difficulty playing cooperatively with her older siblings. We've started a new set of rules/guidelines that will hopefully help with that. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to pass them along. We have an aggressive toddler and two older siblings who don't always share well when playing together. At least part of it is Siddha's limited vocabulary which will keep growing. Please send any and all ideas my way.

They all went to the Botanical Gardens again this year and walked through the lit wonderland. We also got to go to Legoland with Uncle Stephen, his fiancé (congratulations again) and their children. It was a grand old time with lots of chatting, laughing and fun for the kids. Grammy Jo was here at the same time and got to join us as well. Tre and Nani went with Nia and Auntie Katie to see Santa Claus and have dinner with him. They also got to go to Camp Cahito again for a week over Christmas break so as you can see it was a busy time for the kids.

Speaking of Grammie Jo - she was down again for another week stay and once again filled the house with delicious baked treats. She did cookies with the grandkids, hung out with the adults and was as always a pleasure to be around. We once again made our pitch for her to live with us when she felt the time was right. We can a chance to spend some adult time with her as well which is always nice. She is planning on upping her trips to San Diego from three times a year to four which is awesome. The current plan is her to come down near each child's birthday then one more between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The adults were busy as well with Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Graham's. It was strange not hosting or cooking up a storm for the dinner but we enjoyed it none the less. Grandma Graham set a wonderful table and it was lovely to share the day with more extended family then usual. The kids got to run around and spend time with more of Lisa's family. I have to admit it was nice to have less clean up and work to be done after the meal was over. We just packed up our left overs and went home.

We followed that up with our Tree Decorating Party. The tree was put up, decorated and lit with good cheer. Tre got to put up his little blue and silver tree in his room then all the kids helped decorate sugar cookies. It was an added bonus that Grammy Jo was still in town. We snacked on food throughout the night and had great conversation with the other guests. We're all looking forward to hosting this event in the new house this year with the added space.

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner here with my the whole family. This year we did lamb and ham as the main entrees and came out fantastic. For the last several years Bill's sister Carol sends us a GC for Whole Foods which we use to buy the ingredients for the meal. Almost everyone made a great side dish to bring or pitched in with the prep and clean up. We had an added bonus of Megan flying down last minute to the spend the Christmas weekend with us. We ate and ate then opened gifts with the folks we wouldn't see the following day for Christmas. The kids got us up bright and early the next morning to see what Santa brought. Tre's beyblade collection has grown considerably and Nani has gotten more make believe wear along with Alien Invasion Legos.

An awesome thing to point out from the morning gift opening was Siddha. While this is indeed her second Christmas it was the first one where she could really participate in the process. She opened each gift and then spent 20 to 30 minutes playing with and examining the gift. It was awesome! She was so mindful of the gift and spent time really developing a relationship with the item in question. It was wonderful to see and I hope she keeps that habit for the foreseeable future.

As with every year we went to my father's for Christmas Day dinner with his friends and a few of our own. My dad and Micheal have really made their home welcoming to the adults and the children. They had recorded the old claymation Christmas specials for them to watch while the dinner was being prepared and then we all sat around talking and eating. In the theme of friends and family coming at the last minute - Micheal Mosher joined us for dinner and it was great to see him. He and my father hadn't seen each other in over a decade - they spent time catching up and chatting. It was comfortable and familiar - everything I associate with being at my father's home.

After all the meals and out of town guests we went straight into preparing for our kid friendly New Year's Eve party at the house. We lay out a spread buffet style and made room for kids to run and play. We watch the ball drop live from New York at 9 pm ensuring the kids get to bed at a reasonable hour. We had eight kids total and it was wonderful to see them playing while getting another chance to catch up with friends. Once again we're looking forward to hosting this event in the new house this year with more space and more amenities for throwing big parties.

That catches us up to now with it being January. We have two birthdays this month Bill's and Leng's. I am woefully behind on getting pictures uploaded to Flickr which I will try to do in the next few weeks here before the move. As always we welcome any visitors to the region and I hope everyone had a happy and wonderful holiday and a great start to the new year.

New Year, New Post

Hello all!

Time has slipped away again here at the 54th Street Zoo with the holidays, vacations and parties. Let me first throw out there that Seminole is no more. We tried everything we could think of and then a few more things but it never gelled. We have officially left escrow with the property and YWCA. The decision was met with mixed feelings here - some sad, other angry and even some relief. The property is just too unique for us to get financing as a residential property. I can honestly say we did everything we could to try and make it work so it was not from a lack of effort.

The good news is we are scheduled to close escrow on Saturday January 7th on Degen Drive. Once it became clear we had finally run out of options with Seminole we talked with our incredible real estate agent Recheal Stewart-Brown (we highly recommend her - she is aggressive, very well informed and has been our champion in every quest to find a new home) and asked for a listing of all the houses that met our needs and starting looking again. Degen Drive was the result and we are happy as can be. Some of the family had some grieving to do around Seminole but everyone agrees the house is more than adueqate for our needs. There's rooms a plenty, five in total with us converting the garage into a downstairs master suite for the dads. Three bathrooms with another being added to the master suite and a pool. A beautiful garden space, front and back yard with space to build granny flats for parents to retire to. The sellers are a wonderful couple who built the house from the ground up to raise their own family in. If we can swing the improvements we want before we move in, we'll even have a guest room for people to use when they visit.

The kids are doing well and had a busy time the last few months. The older kids (Nani & Tre) joined the children's choir at Grandma Graham's church where she is the director. They have been really enjoying the time spent with her and the opportunity to perform for the church for their Christmas programs. The religious element has caused a stir and some tension with the parents and some of the grandparents but I think we've worked it out. We are balancing them spending time with their family and keeping the matter of religious education firmly in the hands of the parents. I was surprised to find I had the least anxiety and stress over all of this. I think I have my father to thank for that (yet another thing). I feel very comfortable discussing the matter with the kids and drawing firm boundaries about the issue. Wish us luck.

Siddha is continuing to talk up a storm here and we've been encouraging her to grow her sentence length when talking with us. She is steadily warming up to Auntie Monica which has been awesome to watch. She is still having some difficulty playing cooperatively with her older siblings. We've started a new set of rules/guidelines that will hopefully help with that. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to pass them along. We have an aggressive toddler and two older siblings who don't always share well when playing together. At least part of it is Siddha's limited vocabulary which will keep growing. Please send any and all ideas my way.

They all went to the Botanical Gardens again this year and walked through the lit wonderland. We also got to go to Legoland with Uncle Stephen, his fiancé (congratulations again) and their children. It was a grand old time with lots of chatting, laughing and fun for the kids. Grammy Jo was here at the same time and got to join us as well. Tre and Nani went with Nia and Auntie Katie to see Santa Claus and have dinner with him. They also got to go to Camp Cahito again for a week over Christmas break so as you can see it was a busy time for the kids.

Speaking of Grammy JO - she was down again for another week stay and once again filled the house with delicious baked treats. She did cookies with the grandkids, hung out with the adults and was as always a pleasure to be around. We once again made our pitch for her to live with us when she felt the time was right. We can a chance to spend some adult time with her as well which is always nice. She is planning on upping her trips to San Diego from three times a year to four which is awesome. The current plan is her to come down near each child's birthday then one more between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The adults were busy as well with Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Graham's. It was strange not hosting or cooking up a storm for the dinner but we enjoyed it none the less. Grandma Graham set a wonderful table and it was lovely to share the day with more extended family then usual. The kids got to run around and spend time with more of Lisa's family. I have to admit it was nice to have less clean up and work to be done after the meal was over. We just packed up our left overs and went home.

We followed that up with our Tree Decorating Party. The tree was put up, decorated and lit with good cheer. Tre got to put up his little blue and silver tree in his room then all the kids helped decorate sugar cookies. It was an added bonus that Grammy Jo was still in town. We snacked on food throughout the night and had great conversation with the other guests. We're all looking forward to hosting this event in the new house this year with the added space.

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner here with my the whole family. This year we did lamb and ham as the main entrees and cam out fantastic. Almost everyone made a great side dish to bring or pitched in with the prep and clean up. We had an added bonus of Megan flying down last minute to the spend the Christmas weekend with us. We ate and ate then opened gifts with the folks we wouldn't see the following day for Christmas. The kids got us up bright and early the next morning to see what Santa brought. Tre's beyblade collection has grown considerably and Nani has gotten more make believe wear.

An awesome thing to point out from the morning gift opening was Siddha. While this is indeed her second Christmas it was the first one where she could really participate in the process. She opened each gift and then spent 20 to 30 minutes playing with and examining the gift. It was awesome!

Two Months, One Post Redux

Howdy all!

Once again the time has whizzed past me and I find myself scrabbling to get something posted. Please do not take my lack of monthly posts as disinterest in keeping everyone informed about the happenings here in San Diego. I see the blog as an important way to keep the many scattered people of our tribe in the know and make sure you don't miss out on any key events. I just find myself losing track of the time and a month slips past me.

The first order of business is we're still in escrow on the Seminole Drive property. Yes it has been over 5 months and yes we're feeling the strain of that. If this property was not absolutely perfect for our big Queer Village we wouldn't still be here waiting to see what happens. The seller is now trying their last ditch efforts to get financing for the sale. The property itself is fairly unique and that's what keeps getting us rejected. If anyone has any real estate mojo please send it our way, we need every little bit of good intentions you can spare to push this through.

We had a black out here in San Diego which you may or may not of heard of in the news. It started with a few panicked folks in the family but quickly turned into an impromptu dinner by candle light with us sitting in the cool night air and star gazing. We pulled out our crank radio to listen to the hysteria fueled reporting that stressed to us that "this was NOT a terrorist attack" and to "remain calm". The kids ran around with flashlights and we shifted ice from the freezer outside to the fridge to keep our perishables from perishing. We snacked and played with the kids till bedtime and then the adults sat in the front yard and chatted the hours away. It was decided to have a sleep over with the families so we all bunkered down for the night. All in all it was a wonderful experience that the kids loved and the adults cherished.

The kids started school - Tre in the 1st grade, Nani in Kinder and Sidhha moved to the Otters room at the SDSU Children's Center. Tre's new teacher - Mrs. Curtis - is wonderful. We are relieved and grateful that we got a better match than we did in Kinder. She seems very competent and has a steady presence in the classroom. She knows how to handle energetic boys and we haven't gotten a trace of any prejudice towards him or his family. Nani was overjoyed to be placed in Mrs. Webb's class since she was Tre's teacher last year but the parents not so much. Though she will thrive I think with Mrs. Webb since Nani fits the model of what a student should be for her class, the girls are less than excited about her lack of enthusiasm and inability to handle a way range of kids. We are all grateful this is her last year of teaching and that Siddha will have no chance of being placed with her. Speaking of the Bean, she moved with Mr. David and the rest of her classmates to the toddler room and seems to be making a smooth transition. The classroom is very different from the infant cottage rooms. There are interactive elements all over the place - a light board, various sensory tables, books, toys and art centers. The outdoor area is equally stimulant laden. Overall everyone is off to a good start with the school year.

The dads went on a fabulous trip to Las Vegas! We were in town to see some friend visiting from the Midwest and the East Coast who were in town for a podcasting event so we decided to pop out and say hello. It synced up with Vegas Gay Pride so it was a double word score for us. The hotel, the Paris, was wonderful and charming with a great buffet to boot. We saw Zumanity, a local troupe of the Cirque de Soliel and a great female impersonator show called Divas. We went to the Pride Parade and then dancing afterwards with a great drag show and incredible go-go dancers. We stayed up late, ate great food and slept till noon. We talked and talked as well which was a huge treat for us. We struggle to find significant amounts of time to talk to each other about our happenings and what's going on in our heads. Thanks to the girls for watching the kids and making the weekend away possible.

I passed three kidney stones and if you were around for the last time it was much the same. Unrelenting pain, drugs, and nausea. Rinse and repeat - that was a week of my life. Back to the doctor's to see what we need to do to stop this from happening - not looking to make it a part of my yearly planner.

Halloween and October is a busy time for us. We do the Family Matters Halloween Carnival, the Boo Parade and it's festival, trick or treating and decorating the girl's pass for passing out candy plus no fewer than 5 family birthdays. This year Nani was a fairy princess, Siddha was a dragon and a fairy while Tre was Pocoyo and Dan (a character from Bakukan). The dads wore Mardi Gras masks for one dress up event and wings to be fairy daddies for another. Lisa did a great gypsy mystic and Monica was a radical fairy with a great dress. I will try to get the pictures up from the events up on Flickr in the next week or so for your viewing pleasure.

We had a great dinner out with my dad for his birthday at City Deli in Hillcrest. He was tickled pink to get his birthday cards as a Grandad. He seems to have taken to the new role of Grandparent and it's great to see him light up when he sees the kids. We got him a balloon bundle as large as him and had a lovely dinner chatting and laughing. Tre got to pick music off a juke box and Siddha got to eat pickles which made the night a roaring success for her.

Lisa had a great dinner at Dumpling Inn, a feast of dumplings and other dishes. The place is tiny and we took over 1/4 of the joint with our celebration of her birth. Siddha spent the night sitting on my lap - feeding herself and me throughout the meal. My shorts were soaked through with soup from being spoon fed by her. Tre was an incredibly brave eater, a real risk taker for him. He tried everything at the table and even asked for more of most of it. Nani was her usual happy self and happily ate dumplings while chatting with the family.

Larry had his birthday at the beginning of October and we went to Kous Kous, a local Moroccan restaurant that's in the basement of an office building in Hillcrest. The decor is rich and colorful, fabric everywhere and dark woods. We had a large table and enjoyed great food, service and company. The kids had a great time as well which was a surprise. The place isn't exactly child friendly but they all enjoyed it. Tre was open to the new food, Nani was ok with sharing her moms with the other guests and Siddha was very patient as the food was brought out. We sipped tea, nibbled on delicacies, and had a lively conversation throughout. A wonderful evening to celebrate a wonderful man.

Lisa, Monica and I went to the Bead & Gem Faire up in Del Mar. It's great to have others who share my passion and love of the event. We drove up and wandered for hours amongst the booths and vendors. I found several great bargains and the items I needed to complete several projects - a number of which were Christmas gifts. Lisa and Monica experienced equal measures of success on their shipping forays. We all drove back sharing our bargains and acquisitions . I look forward to the next time it's in town.

That's it for now from us. We still wait to see what will happen with Seminole. We are gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas here. We host several large gatherings at the end of the year so please let us know if you can make any of them. Thanksgiving dinner, the Tree Decorating Party, Christmas Cookie Bake Off, Christmas Eve Dinner or Christmas Day Dinner and of course, the New Year's Eve Party. Come one and come all - we love to host you and see you.

Hopefully I will post before next year. Keep your fingers crossed. :)

Two Months, One Post

Sorry for missing last month's blog entry. I got swept along in all the happenings here at the house and with our family that I lost track of the time.

First, we still don't have the house at Seminole Drive yet but we are throwing everything we got at it right now. Sadly, the options have been whittled down and we're only left with a few more things left to try and then it's done and over with. Though honestly we can say that we tried our hardest to secure the place for our families and can walk away feeling emotionally in the clear about it. We are beginning to compile a new list of houses to start looking at next week so we can keep the momentum going on finding a place for the tribe to settle in the near future.

We took a trip to Gearhart, Oregon this month and had a freaking fantastic time with the Calohs. We arrived in Portland and stayed a night with Carol, Bill's sister and got a chance to see their new old house (long story) while she and Jay got a chance to spend time with the rest of the family especially the kids. Our dinner was at a group of gourmet food trucks which are popular in the city or so we have been told. The next morning we ate blueberry pancakes while visiting with Lydia, Carol's daughter who dropped by for breakfast. After that we headed out to OMSI for the morning.

The kids had a fabulous time wandering there for most of the day. They checked a bunch of exhibits out - an submarine that was parked in the river nearby, a Narnia exhibit with armor and costumes, and a huge hall dedicated to video games and their history. We grabbed some lunch there and Grammie Jo joined us in Portland as well as meeting up with some local friends. After lunch we hung out a little while longer then packed everyone up to head up the coast to Gearhart.

We stayed at Gearhart by the Sea for a week. Bill, Larry and I had stayed there before for two different family reunions and really enjoyed our time. In particular, staying in the Pacific Terrace section. If you look on the facilities tab then click View Facility Map - we were in number 401 so right out our back door was some grass then the beach. It was an incredible view of the sky and just open space. Everyone got to just relax and enjoy the company. The week itself passed slowly so you really could feel the time spent there and it was marvelous.

While we were there we did some berry picking (Lisa is a crazed were-bear about berries), bonfire and home made caramel corn (thanks Grammie Joe) on the beach, kite flying, jam and syrup making (thanks to Lisa), some outlet shopping, excursions to the beach itself, rode a 6 person bike around Seaside, swimming, and great home cooked dinners in the evenings. Napping and catching up on lost sleep was also an activity pursued with some vigor. All in all it was an auspicious first Big Family vacation. The kids watched a bunch of Hayao Miyazaki animated films we bought just for the trip. Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, and My Neighbor Totoro to name a few.

We also had Pride since last I posted. We marched with the Center again this year as part of the Family Matters contingent. The kids rode bikes or in wagons while adults supervised. This year was the 1st time military personnel marched openly as their own group and while I am not a big fan of the armed forces it was uplifting to see my queer people proud and acknowledged. There were veterans and the currently enlisted, running the whole spectrum of age as well as the transgendered. It was a gift to be there for that moment and to be able to say I was there and share with others who were not.

We camped in the Children's Garden at the festival after the parade, grabbing some food from the incredible selection of vendors then watched the kids play. play and play some more. Our group got very musical this year with dancing and karaoke at a small dance floor they have set up. Hula hoops were employed to maximum effect and face painting was enjoyed. As always it was gratifying to see other families and their children in the queer space and meet up with all the other parents we know raising queerspawn in the San Diego area. Granddad Don and Pappi Michael came by and visited as well as others. It was a long and enjoyable day.

My sister was also out for a visit for about a week with her family including the newest member AJ. They stayed with us so the cousins got plenty of time to reconnect and foster their relationships to each other. My sister cooked the dinners while she was here and we all ate like gods. The woman can cook and we can eat! Her kids are sooooooo much bigger now and really coming into their own personalties and identities. We also got the chance to meet Hugo, AJ's dad since he came along for the visit. It was great to finally meet him as well. AJ was cute in that way that only a baby can be. I was happy they made the drive out from Texas to see us.

Tre was promoted to 1st grade at Birney where his class did a musical number. He got great marks all around with an advanced mark in Reading (thanks Sylvan Learning Center) and immediately following the promotion there was an outdoor picnic with food and games. He was excited to be a 1st grader and of course it also meant he was going to go to camp. Both he and Nani went to Camp Cahito this summer vacation in Balboa Park. They did archery, cooking, and survival skills while there. They come home caked in mud and dirt so they seem to be having the times of their lives. Several of their friends also attended: Nia, Nathaniel, and Gabriel were a few that were there as well.

Siddha moved to the Otters classroom at the SDSU Children's Center and made a relatively smooth transition. The room is definitely more toddler geared - the things to interact with boggles the mind. It feels like a brain growing room with adults in it. It's great to see her make friends and continue to develop her language skills. She is throwing out words left and right along with what we think our sentences but we haven't quite grasped all her vocabulary.

This summer also had swim lessons for Tre (I told you we were busy) at the Murray Callan swim school in Pacific Beach. He was there with Emma, Nathaniel and Nia. He only took one lesson to remember everything he had learned last summer and then he was off picking up new stuff like diving and different methods of swimming. It was great to hang out with the adults as well in one of those rare moments where someone else was watching our children. I think next year the Bean will be joining the swim crowd for lessons and maybe a way to get some daddy time in for her.

The last bit is the departure of Dan and Megan for their move to Portland, Oregon. We had a good bye dinner last night at Hash House with the whole family to wish them well on their new home and city. Dan got this very sweet and touching tattoo of the silhouettes of everyone in the family in chronological order that Megan drew. He unveiled it at dinner and it was beautiful. It has been awesome having them here while the kids were young and having them be a part of family traditions. I feel so confident now that the children will know and feel connected to two people I respect and admire so much. If you're in Portland let us know and we'll make introductions.

That's everything and I have learned not to skip a month because my fingers hurt. :) I have pictures from all the events mentioned above and will do my best to get them loaded up to Flickr in the near future as well as some older photos that we got scanned and preserved. Shots of us as kids and our pre-child lives. I hope everyone is well and as usual we welcome visitors!