Z Sisters

IE LI

Last Week:

• I can't really remember much about last week, except that Ie Ling started coming to help me regularly last Thursday.  She'll be coming four days a week from now until she leaves DC in April.  It's kind of amazing.  I keep thinking that I'm going to accomplish so much more with her help, but for now I'm just enjoying that my burdens are lighter and that I have one of my favorite people in the world to talk to for about seven hours each day, Monday-Thursday.
• Went out with Steve on Saturday night.  We dined at our favorite Thai restaurant and then headed over to the adult stake dance.  There was an 18-piece brass band that was actually quite amazing.  Three of the musicians were from our own ward.  We were instructed on how to do certain dances, and we did our best to follow, but we were quite awkward.  About half of the adults stood by the dessert table in the back, not dancing.  However, when the band played three slow songs in a row, everyone was up and dancing with their love.  We saw older couples dancing with their eyes closed, heads together.  It was very sweet.
• Finished up the homemade Valentines for Mei Li and Stephen's class.  Stephen knows how to write his name, but why oh why didn't we give him a shorter name?  After three Valentines, we decided that he could just write "S.Z."  
• On Friday, we made chocolate chip cookie lava cakes for Ie Ling's birthday.  They were good, but they were not anything special.  They basically just taste like chocolate chip cookies in cupcake form.  I should have guessed that from the ingredients list.  No need to try it out for yourselves.
• Finished Cutting For Stone.  It was excellent.  Thanks for the recommendation, Annee.  I learned so much.

This Week:

• So far this week, I caught a cold and received a speeding ticket.  Steve thinks I'm innocent and that should contest it.  I was a blubbering mess for the rest of the day.  That policeman scared me so much and he was so unkind.  I don't know why he had to be so unkind when I already felt so awful about my mistake.
• On Valentine's Day, I helped out with Mei Li's Valentine's Day party.  Steve bought me flowers, chocolates, and Indian takeout.  It was great and low-key and just what I wanted.
• Rearrange the books on our living room bookcases.
• Meet up with Annee and her girls at the American Girl doll store?  If that's what's happening, Annee, you can count on us being there.  It would be Mei Li's dream come true to be there with Jane and Ruby.  Let us know the details.
• Test paint colors for Stephen and Mei Li's bedroom.
• Dinner with the east coast Z family members?  Annee, will it just be you and the girls or is everyone coming?

ANNEE

LAST WEEK:

-Discovered I was NOT worth a million bucks.  I gave myself two days to try to get loads and loads of laundry done.  It didn't happen.  That was too bad.  The laundry impeded us all week long.  I stayed home all day yesterday to try to rectify the situation.  Laundry in a big family is no joke.  What a joke!
-Only subbed two half days.  It was kind of perfect.
-Finished my quilt!  That was the funnest part of my week.  I really love it.  It's now on the couch and brightens my February spirits every time I walk past.  It's backed in a super soft orangy flannel.  I love that about it.
-Attended a surprise birthday party for a friend on Thursday.
-Attended the Global Leadership Training broadcast at the church on Saturday morning.
-Attended another birthday brunch Saturday mid-morning.
-Attended two basketball games Saturday afternoon.  Henry's was so intense I nearly thought I would have a heart attack.  His team rallied in the last four minutes of the game to come back from being behind by 12 points, and tied the game up.  We didn't even think it was possible.  Then a crazy 3 pointer from one of our guys, with FOUR seconds to spare, put us ahead by ONE POINT.  But when the other team got possession of the ball with those 4 seconds, the kids who got the ball went to shoot it from about half-court, and one of our players FOULED him!!  He got to have THREE shots from the line, and he had had a perfect free-throw record up to that point in the game.  You guys, I was going nuts.  Can you believe he missed every single one of his three shots?!  It's was so incredibly insane (and really sad for him.  These are just kids after all!).  I needed a nap afterwards to recover from it all.  This is only 6th grade basketball.  I do not know how I am going to survive being a basketball mom in high school, etc.  This is rough.
-Finally arranged our double date with some friends to go out to dinner and to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  It's a great movie adaptation of the book.  I think I still like the book better.  But that is a really hard book to turn into a movie, and they did a great job, I thought.  Some in our group thought the movie was actually better than the book.

THIS WEEK:

-I helped Ruby make her Valentine's this year.  She went with the rainbow heart crayon.  We did it all in an afternoon.  She was amazed with how much we did in a single afternoon!  She doesn't even know that that is just the way I operate my life.  Who makes Valentine's ahead of time?!  Actually, I do have an answer to that.  Jane made hers all by herself, about a week ago.  I decided to just let it be.  I wouldn't have done it the way she did it, but she did them completely by herself, without a single bit of my help.  I know that meant a lot to her.  I honor her for that choice.  Besides, I think I can only handle one set of super intensive hand-crafted Valentine's per year!
-With my quilt done, there is a bit of a void in my life.  I think I'm going to give the seat cushion project back to my neighbor with apologies that I just can't handle it right now.  I don't care if that is wimpy of me.  I really don't get any pleasure at all out of sewing for business.  I decided to be more honest with myself, than worry about what my random neighbor might think of me.  I think in the end, this is going to promote a happier, healthier life.  Sometimes we just need to learn when and how to say "no".
-Looks like the American Girl Birthday trip is getting moved up!  Rachel is going to Utah next weekend, which was when the trip was originally planned for.  I think we're coming this weekend!  We'll drive up after our piano recital on Friday night, arriving probably around 2am!  Then we'll drive back super late on Sunday night.  I hope I can set up some sort of something at the American Girl store for Saturday.  I'll try to send out more communication, but the girls are really hoping Mei Li and Ie Li, Rachel and Christine will all be joining us too!  Are you free on Saturday?!
-Piano recital on Friday!  Working vigilantly to not let a single day pass without trapping all four kids into a piano practicing session.  I'm really trying here!
-Darin and I have a late reservation for  a Valentine's Day dinner.  It's a new restaurant we haven't tried yet.  I'm starving right now, so it makes me excited to think about a yummy dinner in about twelve hours :)
-Wicked tickets went on sale yesterday.  I'm going!!  I'm making Darin come with me.  It's been THE musical of the last decade, and I still haven't seen it.  I've been waiting for it to come here to the Durham Performing Arts Center, and low and behold, it will be here in May!  I told Darin for all the Wilco concerts I've gone to with him, this is the equivalent of what he can do for me!  I seriously hope the tickets didn't sell out in a day!  I need to go make the big purchase as soon as I send this off!  I'm so excited!!!  Happy Valentine's Day to me!!

RACHEL

Last Week:

• Went to Crossfit 3 times this week.  Pretty good and this week can be better.  Really want to make the 7am class work.
• Was asked to come out to PwC Ski day in Utah on Feb 25th.  A perfect way to use up our expiring companion pass!  
• Sat on a medicine ball at work all day on Friday.  We're starting a busy season fitness challenge thing where we earn points and in the end could win the cash prize.  I think my little neighborhood has a good chance of winning!  It'll be fun.
• Lunch with Steve and Christine on Friday.  CZ was finally back in the office!  Glad we were able to get together.  
• Finished Little Women.  I can't get on board with Amy and Laurie.  
• Had to work through enrichment on Thursday.  Darn.  Wonder if the person leading the flower arranging demonstration was any good. 
• Ken splurged on a pack of crepes at Costco last week.  Turns out they're so good!!  And the perfect size for a little treat at the end of a day.  
• Caught up with my friend Kristen who is working for Disney in Paris.  We're trying to rendez vous this spring.  
• Saturday after Crossfit Ken went to an info session for the Real Estate master's program at GMU.  It sounds very interesting and he met a few people who are working at JLL right now.  So those are good contacts.  
• Saturday I spent one entire hour on pinterest.  It's been a while since I've allowed myself that indulgence and it was so enjoyable.  I've created a new flower shop board.  I wonder if I'll ever put it to use!  
• We picked and installed a new kitchen sink this weekend.  The old one was really breaking down.  It was not a very hard project, aside from making a choice

This Week:

• Early out on Monday.  Crossfit and volleyball.
• Tuesday night Valentine's date at Coco Sala downtown.  So excited!  What do I have to wear...
• Work a lot.  This year I'm doing more reviewing than preparing so that is quite an interesting shift.  
• This weekend - American Girl party with Jane and Ruby!  I'm sorry the scheduling has gotten complicated, but I'm still so excited about the weekend!  
• Sunday dinner at Steve's this upcoming Sunday?  
• File our taxes.  Somehow my estimate was off and we're due much more of a refund than I thought.  So that's good.  We want to save part of the refund for an ipad.  The rest for a vacation.  
• Plan and make some kind of special birthday something for Jane and Ruby.  
• Is this week seriously the season finale of Downton Abbey??  Lame.
• Take my new plant to the office.  

SARAH

Last Week:

• Had a Rooftop Concert Series planning meeting. Not sure we really accomplished much but it was fun to get together with those guys again.
• The checker at the grocery store asked me if I was due "any day". I couldn't help myself but laugh, but probably I should have just responded "yes" to spare her the embarrassment. 3 1/2 months to go. 
• Finished watching season 2 of Downton Abbey including the Christmas Special. So great and such a let-down to be done now. At the end they advertised a series written/created by the same people called "Titanic" - anyone heard of it or watched it?
• Finished Oliver's report on the Pawnee Indians.
• Traded in my broken phone for a new one using the Best Buy protection plan we signed up for. This is the second shattered phone I've replaced in the year since I got my iPhone 4, so that certainly makes the $15/month protection plan worth it, but dealing with Best Buy is such a nightmare I won't ever do it again. But anyway what a relief to have it back. Sad how much it affected me to be without it for 4 days.
• Hosted a birthday party for Oliver at Laser Assault - remember that place? It's still there! The 16 9-year-old boys thought it was great and it was the easiest birthday party I've ever done (priciest too - maybe there's some relationship there)
• Birthday shopping for Oliver - I think we actually managed to do a good job this year of getting nice things but not too over the top.
• Special birthday breakfast on Sunday morning (we got Scott to skip out on some of his meetings) - Oliver's choice aebleskivers filled with bacon and sausage. 
  
  

This Week:

• Today (Monday) is Oliver's "real" birthday. He requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and opened all his presents before school. I need to go pick up krispy kreme donuts for his class at 2pm. Tonight we'll go out for a special birthday dinner - he will probably either choose CPK, Slab, or Brick Oven again (notice a pizza theme here?)
• Tomorrow is Valentine's day. Need to finish June and Oliver's. Brenden is opting out. 
• Scott and I are going to spend the night up at Sundance Tuesday night, including dinner at the Tree Room and breakfast at the Foundry Grill. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa! I'm really looking forward to the quick getaway.
• Brenden has a big medieval times project due on Wednesday which I think he hasn't even started yet. Guess we'd better work on that today.
• Wednesday afternoon I'm going out to Mountain View for work. I'll stay overnight and all day Thursday and come home Thursday night. Thanks again to Mom for helping out. Scott will be here too, although will have to work some of the time. I really hate to leave everyone (such a burden on the family for me to be gone) but Intuit is so good to me and really asks so little of me so we will make it work.
• I need to get some work done before I go. I haven't told anyone at work I'm pregnant yet, and Scott assures me they will notice whether I tell them or not, so I feel like I really need to prove my worth. I'm not sure any of them have ever even met anyone who has 5 kids.
• My birthday's on Sunday. I'd be happy to skip it this year. Hopefully we can at least have dinner with Mom & Dad - they are leaving so soon and we haven't had Sunday dinner with them in a couple weeks.

(Christine and Ana are out this week.  Although, Christine should have a pretty good update next week on Rachel's blog.  Stay tuned....)