This and That Lately

Things have been pretty busy over here--the kids' school schedules and extracurricular activities as well as work have all bee keeping me on my toes. Here are just a few recent photos. More can be found on my Instagram feed.

1. Cactus centerpiece from Banchan Workshop #4 I shot this weekend (more pics to come).
2. Soccer Saturdays.
3. More Soccer Saturdays. Go Coyotes!
4. What little brothers do while big brothers play soccer on Saturdays.
5. Enjoying my short one on one time with Lucas at school pick ups before getting Theo.
6. And then this happens when we pick up Theo.
7. Frozen yogurt date with Lucas.
8. I love that Theo is my little helper in the kitchen. He's my little foodie in his mini apron!
9. A really good sushi restaurant close to our home. Lucas' favorite food is salmon sashimi.
10. Play date at the Rose Garden. Love that Lucas has made so many new friends in just a month.
11. Theo's hat is back! Fall must be here!
12. I styled a Halloween photo shoot for 100 Layer Cakelet and Whole Foods. Photo by the talented Michelle Drewes.
13. Made this granola again. So good.
14. My baby Pixel would have been 14 this month. I miss him so much and think about him every day.
15. Podcast interview for Jennifer Snyder's Creating Your Own Path series. Photo by Jennifer Snyder.

+ Photos taken with my iPhone 5
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper)
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First Day of Kindergarten for Lucas

So Lucas started kindergarten this week. How can my little Lucas be in kindergarten already? Didn't he just turn 3? I seriously can't believe how quickly he has grown up -- my high energy, creative, sweet and thoughtful boy was ready for the next step. We absolutely love our preschool (if anyone needs a recommendation in the Berkeley area, let me know!) and I cried my eyes out when he graduated. But when I asked Lucas how he felt about going to kindergarten, he said, "I'm ready!"

On day one of kindergarten, emotions went from super excited to shy to so ready. The transition went smoothly and no tears were shed from either Lucas or us (surprisingly). Maybe they will come later, maybe not. But I'm just so proud of my little guy! And I'm so grateful to our preschool/teachers who really prepared him in every way for this next big step.

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Family Trip to Maui

Last week we went on our first family vacation to Maui since Lucas was nine months old and still crawling. We went with our good friends Brad and Nancy and their son Ben which made it extra fun. We even got to celebrate our 10-year anniversary with a nice dinner out just the two of us. I will say that that it was more of a trip rather than a vacation with the kids around. There were plenty of awesome moments -- the beautiful beaches and the pool with water slide, the delicious food (love the ahi poke!), hanging out in our condo, the Hawaiian shave ice, but I could have done without the whining about every little thing. :)

Here are some photos I took with my phone. This picture perfect beach was Napili Beach. It was gorgeous, but the waves and undertow were deceptively strong that day so we had to keep an extra eye out for the kiddos. I even had to "save" Lucas one time from a giant wave by grabbing the hook on his life jacket while holding Theo in my arm!

Scroll to the end to read about a few of my favorite spots.

Hawaiian shave ice and fish tacos! Yum!

We got to celebrate our 10-year anniversary with a nice dinner sans kids at the beautiful Merriman's. We look so tired but are so happy! We traded babysitting nights with Brad and Nancy :)

Happy Theo!

Mad Theo! Tantrums are no fun even in Maui! ;)

When in Hawaii, we had to do spam masubi and shave ice!

It rained on our last full day in Maui but we went out to the beach behind the condo when there was a break in the rain.

We had a bit of a nightmare flight home. After flying nearly two hours toward home, the pilot announces a problem with the hydraulic pump in the center of the plane and that we would have to fly back to the Honolulu airport where we hung out for an additional six hours. After a plane, crew, and pilot change, we were ready to board. We landed around 12:45 a.m. and with two half asleep kids, luggage and car seats, it was a challenge. Also, we had taken BART which closes at 12:30 a.m. so we took a cab back to the BART station. One more car seat change and we were finally headed back home and all in bed by 2:30 a.m. Phew!

Some of my favorite spots (thanks to our friend Tina and our friend John for the recommendations!):

Stayed at Honua Kai Resort and Spa in Maui - We made breakfast each day and lunch most days to save money and the hassle of getting the kids in and out of the car to go eat somewhere.

Ululanis for the best shave ice ever!

Star Noodle for delicious house made noodles and Asian food. We got take out there several times -- make sure to book a reservation if you want to eat at the restaurant.

Napili Beach - Really beautiful white sand beach that's family friendly though the day we went the waves were a bit bigger than usual. 

Kahekili Beach - We had the best time at this calmer beach located just behind the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas.

The Fish Market Maui - Delicious poke, fish tacos, crab cakes, and fresh fish

Merriman's - a beautiful beachside dining experience for a fancy night out

+ Family photo taken by Nancy Cho. All others taken by me with my iPhone 5.
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Theo and the Temescal Alley Barbershop

A few weeks ago I took Theo to the Temescal Alley Barber Shop in Oakland to get his first real haircut -- aka not a bowl cut from Grandma. Remember when Lucas was a total champ getting his first barbershop haircut? Theo was still using a paci!

When we first arrived Theo seemed totally stoked on getting a haircut -- we talked about it in the car on the way there and he was excited. But when it was his turn, he started crying screaming that he did not want a haircut and refused to sit in the chair. The barber was so nice and tried everything but nothing worked. I stayed calm and told him we would take a break, get some donut holes (because they cure everything, right?) from Pizzaiolo next door and try again after that.

Miraculously, that little break (and maybe the donut holes too) did the trick and Theo was ready to get back in the chair, this time with a big smile.

Bowl cut be gone! Though I must say I secretly kind of miss it -- made him still look like my baby guy.

Look! It says Theo!

And then this happened -- Theo move a tiny bit and the clipper's buzzing sound got super loud for 2 seconds and scared him. Poor guy!

Signature Theo rocker face on the right.

He looks so grown up with his new haircut!

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Happy Weekend: Kids Camp Out

We had our big annual preschool camp out a few weekends ago. It's something we look forward to every year, but I was a bit sad this year knowing Lucas would be an alumni at next year's camp out. But for the next couple of years Nick will be the main camp out leader/organizer. It's a lot of work and we don't really get to hang out too much as a family during the actual camp out, but he's an outdoorsy dude who loves doing it. So many families help out, but I think Lucas and Theo think it's extra cool that their daddy is the leader. My favorite thing about camping is watching the kids run around, having fun and finding inspiration in nature. I also love everything about camp food, sitting around a fire, coffee in the morning, and I even don't mind sleeping in a tent. :)

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From Splinter to Surgery -- A Crazy Weekend

This past weekend was so much fun and so stressful at the same time. Lucas played his last T-ball game of the season against his good friend Judah's team followed by a sweet celebration party where each kid got some mad props by the coaches along with a pint-sized trophy. The best part of the game was when Lucas ran to home plate and hugged the catcher, his friend Judah! Total sportsmanship! We also had a fun play date at our house with homemade waffles. On Sunday we went to the swimming pool with some friends and had a fun day in the sun.

And then it happened. Lucas was walking on a wooden retaining wall barefoot (ice cream in hand!) and got a splinter. It bled right away and he was in a lot of pain. At first glance it seemed like a normal splinter, but when when we took a closer look, it was a cut with what looked like a small pebble embedded underneath the skin. Ouch.

We first tried to get the splinter out after soaking his foot in warm water. I ended up texting our friend/neighbor who is an ER doctor and he offered to take a look at it. Two and a half hours later and well past Lucas' bedtime, the nerve block he injected didn't seem to work and Lucas wouldn't keep still. We went home and I called to make an appointment with our pediatrician the next morning.

Before our appointment, we stopped at Blue Bottle Coffee in Oakland’s historic W.C. Morse building. I figured we would have a nice mama and me breakfast date before heading to the doctor's office to do all the not-so-fun stuff. I was in awe of this building -- the high ceilings, the flood of natural light, the mix of old and new and those waffles. With chocolate ganache drizzled on top.

Our next stop was the pediatrician's office. After one look at the wound, he immediately referred us to a podiatrist. They took x-rays of both feet which came out clean -- but didn't rule out that there might still be something deeply embedded. I didn't realize x-rays don't catch wood, just shadows. The podiatrist recommended surgery which was scheduled the next day.

On our way home, we got some delicious lunch at one of my favorite spots, Summer Kitchen. And then some yummy ice cream right next door at Ici -- vanilla creme brulee for Lucas and Earl Grey for me. I figured since he wouldn't be able to eat for the next 12 hours in preparation for surgery, we would at least stuff ourselves silly with his favorite foods.

The next day Lucas got prepped for surgery and was SO brave and sweet the entire time. He got to watch shows on tv and received lots of attention from the amazing staff. We arrived promptly at 10 a.m. as surgery was scheduled for noon. How cute and sad is he with that hospital gown? I kept a strong exterior for Lucas but was so nervous and scared inside.

And then the waiting began.... for the next 7 hours we waited patiently to get into the operating room (apparently the surgery before his took a lot longer than expected). The staff wheeled the gurney around to different areas throughout the day. By the time Lucas got in, he hadn't eaten or drank a thing for 23 hours. Poor guy! What a trooper!

The actual surgery lasted about 15 minutes and we were SO relieved when it was all over. Turns out there was a toothpick-like piece of wood the punctured the bottom of his foot -- went straight in versus sideways like a splinter). Ouch. The first thing Lucas said when he woke up was, "Hi Mama, can I have my popsicle now?" Oh, my brave boy -- I love him so much.

+ Photos taken with my iPhone 5
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Steep Ravine Cabins at Stinson Beach

Right before Memorial Day weekend, Nick took Lucas on a "big boys" trip to the Steep Ravine Cabins, just south of Stinson Beach.  Each bare-bones cabin dates back to the 1940s, and features a wood-burning stove, a dining table, sleeping platforms (apparently very hard so bring a tent mattress) and an outdoor barbeque. Perched high up on the side of a cliff, the expansive ocean views are to die for. I had never heard of these cabins before, but apparently you need to book them months in advance, and be quick -- reservations are available on the first day of the month at 8 a.m. PST, and the entire month books up in minutes. Seriously? Well, we were lucky that my friend Lisa did all the hard work for us and booked it quick style. Her plans fell through, she sent out an email to friends offering up her spot, I forwarded it to Nick thinking it might be a fun Daddy-and-Lucas trip (not realizing it was a hot commodity, duh!), and of course Nick jumped on it. Score!

We do a lot as a family, but I am a huge fan of one-on-one trips with the kids. Remember my Spring Break Trip to Legoland with Lucas? It's fun, easier than traveling with both kids (why did I ever complain when there was just one?), and best of all, Nick and I both get much-needed bonding time with each of the boys. The kids crave it and everyone is in a great mood when we reunite.

Crazy amazing views overlooking the ocean!

This trip coincided with a fun project Lucas' preschool class will be doing throughout the year and beyond:  a small stuffed tiger, named Ella, goes home with each child along with a journal. During her week-long visit with us, we jotted down our adventures in the journal and included photos or drawings of our activities. It was the perfect opportunity to take Ella to the Steep Ravine Cabins! Tucked into the side pocket of Lucas' backpack, Ella got to see the breathtaking views from the cabin, collect driftwood, learn how to eat a hot dog correctly (according to Lucas), sleep in a sleeping bag, and take a dip in the ocean at Stinson Beach.

+ Photos taken by Nick with iPhone 4
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Birthday Thank You Postcards

Remember Lucas' 5th birthday party extravaganza a few weeks ago? It was super fun and wild and I'm so happy it's over! Lucas is a lucky kid -- he received so much love and so many gifts from friends and family. For Lucas' 3rd birthday, I made the mistake of letting him go to town with opening his presents. He ripped through each one and tossed them to the side only to make room to grab the next one. I was appalled -- but really, what did I expect?

Since then, I've learned my lesson and now Lucas gets to open two presents a day, starting with the card. After thoroughly enjoying and appreciating each gift, we write a thank you note. I write and Lucas signs it in his signature block lettering.

I designed these double sided double thick thank you postcards to show our appreciation -- similar to the ones from last year's Superhero 4th Birthday Party. The front of the postcard has a collage of photos from the party and the back has the animal print pattern from the invitations I designed. I personally love postcards rather than cards when writing thank you notes for parties because they're more casual, as well as save money on postage and envelopes.

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Lucas' 5th Birthday Party

For the last two years, I've been asking Lucas what kind of birthday party he would like to have. He didn't have much of a say for his 1st or 2nd birthdays, but starting with his Superhero 4th birthday last year, he's been very clear about what he wants. Of course, he gets the modernized version of it because that's how I roll.

This year Lucas turned five (can't believe I have a 5-year old!) and without hesitation, he said he wanted a "Wild Kratts" party. If you haven't seen this show, it's worth checking out. It's an educational animated series on PBS, created by and starring brothers Chris and Martin Kratt.  The show is full of fun facts about animals, ranging from polar bears to geckos, and each episode features a particular critter's unique "creature power". Lucas gets really excited learning about animal powers and defenses, and I love when he enlightens me with new animal facts! This year we decided to throw a joint animal-themed birthday party with Judah, Lucas' good friend from school, who turned five the day before.

This year I partnered up with Whole Foods Market, which provided the amazing appetizers, entrees, beverages and desserts for our party. The super-talented catering teams from the two Berkeley locations created a delicious picnic style meal that included fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, deviled eggs, strawberry/spinach salad, a yummy cabbage crunch salad, "turtle sandwiches" and cupcakes in two flavors. In addition to the lunch menu, they created some amazing food sculptures to go along with our animal theme.  Mice out of lemons? Porcupines out of watermelons? Chickens out of eggs? Crazy cool and fun, right? And as a special added touch, the team at the Gilman store location were kind enough to make us custom paletas in three flavors -- blueberry cream, apple/pineapple and fresh strawberry.

To modernize Lucas' vision of a "Wild Kratts" party, I decided to go for a more generalized animal theme, with "Go Wild" as a primary graphic element. Starting with the invitation design, I painted abstract animal patterns using simple black watercolor paint, and hand wrote "Go Wild" which would later become a logo for the party. I took a cute photo of Lucas and Judah and used it as a custom envelope liner. The envelopes were finished with matching wraparound address labels. The invitations, liner and envelopes were made with recycled paper.

For dessert, I baked a yummy red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, decorated with rainbow sprinkles and five wild animals on top.

If you've seen our other birthday parties, you know that donut holes are a Jackson family  tradition. This year's donut cones were made with the animal printed recycled paper.

Judah's parents got each birthday boy a Wild Kratts "creature power" suit as a gift. Lucas started off as "Chris" (green), but by the end of the party had traded with Judah to be "Martin" (blue).

I love this photo of Lucas testing out the t-shirt favors.  He wasn't crazy about having his photo taken, hence the pouty face. I couldn't resist. 

For the party favors, I made a giant rubber stamp of the "Go Wild" logo, and hand stamped white t-shirts in various sizes that I ordered online. Each friend got a t-shirt to wear at the party and take home. (The shirts were also handy as a change of clothes for several kids who got grubby or cake-covered during the party). 

We originally scheduled the party for Saturday, and had all the invitations printed up. We later changed it to Sunday due to Little League conflicts. I didn't want to waste the old invitations, so I cut off the old RSVP information, and used the top half to make "creature power" trading cards that accompanied each t-shirt. Each trading card had fun facts about different animals. Cute AND educational! The bottom of the invitations were used to create name tags. Big thanks to Jocelyn, Judah's mom, for ironing and packaging each shirt with a custom hand written tag!

Jeremiah (Judah's little bro) and Theo!

We also set out a bunch of animal masks which the kids loved!

Partnering up with Whole Foods Market to provide all the food and desserts was a dream! The catering team was fabulous to work with.

How cute are these "turtle sandwiches" made of turkey, cheese, cucumbers and fresh bread baked especially for us by Whole Foods Market Gilman?

As the party's main event, we had Lick Your Eyeballs present a fun, informative and hands-on animal show. They were amazing! From geckos and frogs, to a kingsnake and caiman lizard, the kids were very brave and gentle with the animals.

Elsa holds a jar of gecko egg shells.

One of my favorite ideas for the party was to make "polar bear ice," aka popsicles. There's a Wild Kratts episode called "Polar Bears Don't Dance," and I wanted the "polar bear ice" to tie into that.

The team at Whole Foods Market Gilman made custom paletas in three fruity flavors (blueberry cream, apple/pineapple and fresh strawberry). All were a huge hit on the warm day.

I designed some packaging for the pops using wax food bags, snipped at the bottom and  sealed on top with a hand lettered label. The package kept the pops from sticking together in the cooler, and also doubled as a place for the melty drips to fall. But as you can see, the package was ripped right off. Devoured in seconds!

Birthday boys waiting patiently to blow candles.

I had no idea Whole Foods Market catered kids' parties, but now I'm spreading the word because the food was spectacular, and the catering team was open to my ideas, accommodating, easy to work with, and even delivered onsite (including compostable plates, utensils, napkins and adorable cups and straws from Susty Party). Special thanks to Lizzie at Whole Foods Market Berkeley for collaborating with me, to Jocelyn and Aaron (Judah's parents), and to my husband Nick, all of whom helped make Lucas' 5th birthday party a smash! For more information about Whole Foods Market catering you can contact the team here.

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Spring Break Trip to Legoland

The kids were on spring break last week and I decided to take Lucas on a mama and me trip to LEGOLAND. The last mama and me trip was last summer when I took Lucas to la to visit our friends Joy, Bonnie and Christine. We had a blast. We are incredibly lucky and thankful for my mom who took care of Theo while we went on our trip and nick worked.

Lucas has been obsessed with LEGOS for the past year and a half so I thought LEGOLAND would be a perfect mini trip. A quick 1.5 hour flight (the length of The Incredibles movie on the Kindle Fire) to San Diego, and we were practically there. I thought about staying at the LEGOLAND Hotel but it was too pricey and I didn't think it would be worth it. Instead we stayed at the Grand Pacific Palisades Hotel and Resort across the street from LEGOLAND. It was awesome! They had a pool, a restaurant on the premises and comfortable clean rooms with a cozy king bed (all that room yet Lucas wanted to sleep right up against me --- I suppose that was sweet and all but admittedly I was looking forward to sprawling out!). We were also able to walk to LEGOLAND in 10 minutes via a pedestrian path.

LEGOLAND was pretty awesome -- well laid out and had lots of benches and other shady spots for resting. The weather was a perfect 70 with a light breeze. Our first stop was Build & Test in the Imagination Zone where where Lucas spent some time building his own race car and then racing it against other kids' creations. Super fun!

I was especially impressed by the Miniland USA section which included mini versions of cities like San Francisco and New York complete with moving vehicles and sound effects. We also loved the new Star Wars Area with tiny versions of scenes from various episodes. So much detail and precision went into building these models.

After lunch Lucas went on a little horsey ride at Castletown and then climbed a burning building at Fun Town. We didn't go on a lot of rides because Lucas would look at a line and say it was too long. I was secretly happy not to have to wait in any long lines but was a little surprised at the same time that Lucas wasn't that disappointed about it.

Our favorite thing in Fun Town was the Lego Clubhouse where Lucas built and customized three Lego minis for $9.99. What a deal! He got to choose a head, a body, a set of legs and then choose a free accessory for each one. Lucas loves these little guys and to be able to create his own was even more special. Highly recommended!

It's funny because Lucas didn't seem as amazed as I expected he would be. He was perfectly happy playing on benches and shady rest spots with his little guys. He absolutely loved the dinosaur sand pit in the Explorer Island section. He spent over an hour and a half digging and again playing with his little guys.

We also saw Emmett from the LEGO movie and toured the movie set which was super cool.

We spent our last night in the hotel on our king sized bed building an Iron Man vs Ultron Lego set.

Two things that saved me on this trip were my fanny pack (yes, I sported one the whole time and I'm not ashamed one bit!) and the Kindle Fire/headphones.

Here's a money-saving tip: Head over to Target. You could buy a mini LEGO Chima figure at the checkout for $5. On the back of the package there's a coupon for buy one adult ticket get a child ticket free to LEGOLAND. That's a $79 savings!

All in all we had a great time. Of course there were moody moments and a few fits thrown in to keep me on my toes, but when I asked Lucas what his favorite part about LEGOLAND was, he said, "You. Hanging out with you, Mama." That made my day. 

+ All photos taken with iPhone 5
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