As mentioned in an earlier post, James assimilated himself quite quickly into my family, creating one huge mega-love family. When I told my folks about the birthday plan, they loved it… and also thought I was crazy.  Trying to plan forty days of gifts and activities with a job and young family was quite a task.  I am stubborn, especially when I have an idea that I’m obsessed with, and they were all in to help and participate.

With small children, any meal where we are all together, are not quite altogether.  Someone has to pee, another needs more milk, a third now wants their chicken cut into squares instead of triangles. As the mom, I usually do not get to sit down for at least five or so minutes,  or whatever time my food needs to no longer be hot. When my parents suggested a nice dinner OUT (OUT meaning without children,) I was the first to say yes, not even inquiring on the location.

They picked a restaurant we all LOVE, Taps Fishouse.  We were introduced to this restaurant and brewery by my sister-in-law who had a friend that worked there.  They make their own beer, have a great seafood selection, and this ridiculously good fresh piping hot bread that is brought to the table while you are ordering. It also comes with this balsamic/olive oil/garlic/spice blend dipping sauce.  James has tried many times to replicate the dipping sauce at home.  Close, but not quite the same. James loves the bread and sauce so much, it is not unlike him to eat so much that when his entree arrives, he can only eat a few bites, and then boxes up the rest to take home…. with an extra loaf of bread.

We had a great relaxing night, enjoying good food and memories.  I was proud of James, he did not overload on bread, and ate his entree. To top it off, my parents surprised him with his favorite rum cake!  A decadent evening, followed by early wake up calls of work and children. The only downside of going out on a “school night.” It was totally worth it.

 

The Chive

Sometimes there are good habits, sometimes there are bad habits.  And every once in a while, they are one in the same.  James’ brother and his wife introduced us to a humor website a few years back.  I declared, “no more sites,” I already had a few sites that I looked at daily, and did not want to add another one.  I succumbed because this site was hysterical, The Chive habit/addiction was born.

Is it mostly for guys, yes.  Lots of girls in bikins, yes, but there’s more.  A humor blog that posted frequently throughout the day with funny and touching material. Their fan base has also morphed into a charity that encourages random acts of kindness. A perfect mixture of humor and giving back to your community. They also started to sell merchandise so that fans could show off their pride in being a part of their “misfit” community.  The Chive has done a great job, their line of merch is astounding, and James wants almost every single item.

James is a huge Chive fan, a “chiver.” We’ve met the brothers that started the blog, visited their old and new offices, and visit the site daily.  James loves that its a place to mentally get a way for bit, but that the fan base has changed their own communities without guidance. James also LOVES t-shirts (bad habit,) especially theirs because they are soft, and usually funny or look cool. I sometimes get frustrated to see another Chive bag/box show up on the porch. 

I knew I wanted to get him something from The Chive for the 40 days, but nothing had come up. Until they FINALLY decided to release a long-sleeved shirt. I paused…another shirt? another chive shirt? But… James does not have anything long-sleeved, and the timing was right. Purchased, and the birthday boy is pleased.  #KCCO #ChiveOn

Sidenote: James had seen the shirt, went to the website, and added it to a cart. Then hesitated, because he has so many shirts. He’s pretty excited I got him one.

 

The “Super-bowl” of Cereal

James loves breakfast, all kinds of breakfast. (Pop tarts already made an appearance in these 40 days.) Pancakes, french toast, bacon… and cereal. When I first started to date James, I found out that he ate cereal for dinner at least two nights a week. I rarely eat cereal, so this baffled me. Cereal? For dinner? And, he has a special bowl, that can hold about half a box of sugar-coated breakfast goodness. This endeavor also requires a large spoon, tons of milk, and standing in the kitchen during consumption.

Standard dinner has now replaced these evenings, but his love for cereal remains strong. He always wants to try the newest flavors, and will have a bowl, slightly smaller, as dessert sometimes. I started to do some research on cereal to find inspiration for a gift. Did you know that all Lucky Charms marshmallows are the same flavor? Then… I hit the motherload. There is a company that will sell you JUST the marshmallows from Lucky Charms. No cereal, just the marshmallows, in a large two pound bag. I hope that this gift does not give him diabetes. 

 

BBQ, Poker, Cigars and Scotch

Before all our group of friends started to have kids, the guys would get together EVERY Thursday night.  Each week would rotate to a different house. Sometimes the guys would see a movie, hit the batting cages… but usually they would grill, drink and play poker.  Unfortunately… we all had to grow a little bit more. Some friends moved away, and then we started having kids, and guy’s night faded out.

James misses the weekly guy’s nights, so I reached out the guys.  Thankfully, his friends rallied and put together a fun night of good food, Scotch (shocker, I know), trash talking, and poker around the fire pit. A big thank you to Jeff for hosting and being the point person.

Put together a bunch of dudes with food and booze, and they did not take a SINGLE picture. Ugh, guys… right ladies? I’m trying to craft a beautiful blog here documenting all of the great experiences…and no photo for this day. Sad face. Could also be the very long day James had today.  Opening day of the boy’s baseball league.  He was at the fields from 7:30 am until after 5pm.  James is also getting a little sick. He’s not used to going out so many night a week. This birthday deal might be killing him slowly, I will keep everyone updated.

Ride of a Lifetime

One of James’ fondest memories of childhood was attending L.A. Kings games with his dad at The Forum. His dad had season tickets, and introduced him to a sport that he grew to love (slash obsess over) through life. When I met him, he was happy that our team preferences lined up pretty well. We both rooted for the Kings, the Lakers, and UCLA. 

We try to go to as many Kings games as possible, and want to share the same experience and love for the game with our boys.  But trying to take very small kids downtown to the Staples Center is a daunting task (I applaud all of you that have done it,) and the costs add up. Here comes the hockey talk….Last year The Kings invested into a part ownership of an affiliate team in the AHL, the Manchester Monarchs which became the Ontario Reign. Essentially, the AHL is the minor league of the NHL.  

James bought a ticket package so we could go see up and coming hockey players, take the kiddos, and not break the bank.  RIGHT after buying the package, I came up with an idea.  Obviously James loves hockey, and I HAD to have something hockey in the forty days.  I began to gently email the sales guy who sold us the package about an idea I had.  At first, shot down, but I persisted.  We made plans with James’ brother and his wife to attend the game together.  The stars aligned…our sales guy wrote me back (possibly after another desperate email.) James was going to ride the Zamboni between the second and third periods. He has always wanted to ride the Zamboni, and it happened. My phone took better videos, but here’s a shot of James’ ride. Also… big thanks to The Ontario Reign for being awesome. 

 

 

Yeehaw!

Day 12 is an experience that have been planning since last summer.  A late date night at a Country Western bar.

Depending where in his life you met James, you may or may not know that he is a very musical person. He grew up playing the saxophone, and can play all three types. (I did not even know there were three types until we met.) He can also play a little bit on a few other instruments and read music.  I am not a musical person at all, so these skills he possesses impress me everyday. Not only can he enjoy lyrics, but composition, melodies and harmonies that I did not know existed. Always hopeful, he tries to point them out, but forgets that I am as tone deaf as drunk Korean businessman.

Due to this background, he loves almost every type of music.  Among his favorites, is country music. Last year, I was at a work event at The Ranch Saloon on a Thursday night.  If you have not been, go, it is gorgeous. Randomly on top of an office building in the middle of Anaheim, it is worth the trip.  That night, the bar was packed, the dancefloor bustling, and PRIME people watching. I thought that this would be perfect.  Tonight, we raced home from work, set the kids up, and headed over for after dinner drink. 

I got lucky, they had is favorite Scotch at the bar!  A few cocktails, great music, some snacks and some people watching.  James is a sucker for a cute girl in cowboy boots. Gentleman…. women outnumber guys at this place, hint… hint. James had a great time, and so did I, we will return again. 

 

 

Leggo my Jello

Now that we have small kids, James’ love for Legos has returned. So I was on the search for something Lego-ish.  I came across a really fun Lego cake mold.  I thought this would be great to do cooking projects with the kids as well.  

I knew I could not make a cake without drawing suspicion.  For the mold’s first use, I opted for Jello instead. I’m lucky that James also loves jello.  Jello made, hiding in the fridge, unnoticed for two days.  I pull it out to plate for presentation….and the Jello won’t come out. I soak the mold in warm water, carefully get the edges pulled from the walls with a knife.  Still nothing.  Running out of time, I throw it back in the fridge so I can go get kids.  When I got back, James saw it in the fridge, surprise ruined, and jello still stuck.  Boo.

We just scooped it out, and the kids were still excited.  Frustrated at the moment…I never took a picture.  Here’s one of the mold. 

 

I told James’ mom the idea about his birthday early last year, and she teared up. And then she politely asked if she could be involved.  Of course you can… you are his mother! That’s Susan though, probably the most polite person I know.  She is a combination of Betty Crocker and the First Lady.  She has a craft room, makes all her own greeting cards, and also helps all of us plan our kid’s birthday parties with the enthusiasm of a frat guy at spring break. We spoke and she of course took a day, and then is helping me execute other days, thank you so much Susan!

Until yesterday, I did not know what she had planned. I probably should not be surprised… sushi.  James is a sushi addict.  He’s one of the pickiest eaters I have ever encountered, except for sushi. He will try just about anything, which is weird for a guy that does not eat cheese, olives, artichokes, mustard, mayo, cream sauce, sour cream, ranch dressing or mushrooms.  Because of this intense love, we discovered early in our relationship that we should stick to places where “All You Can Eat” was an option. We got super lucky over a decade ago when we discovered Jun’s Sushi in Cypress. James was looking for a sushi place by his old office to take someone to lunch, and this place was a quick drive.  We hit the jackpot.  Family owned and run, intimate, and staff that has been there almost our entire time we have known of the place.  As James walks in the door, they start making his first order before he sits down. The “All You Can Eat” menu used to have an exception, yellowtail.  There was a limit of how many orders you can place… because of James.  I am not kidding, the owner confirmed it. James has also successfully converted a few family members and co-workers into frequent customers.  

James, his mom and stepdad enjoyed a fun meal at our favorite place!  Beers for everyone!

 

Yummy Bears!

After owning a chain of candy stores, James’ favorite candy was a surprise to me.   My expectation was something rare and exotic. Single-origin sourced Ecuadorian chocolate made by the hands of virigns who had dedicated their entire lives to making the finest confections. Nope, totally wrong. 

His favorite candy is milk chocolate covered gummy bears.  The fresher, the better.  I always thought the combination of chocolate with fruity gummy was odd, but I have also grown to like them. I swung by this adorable candy shop to pick some up.  AND…they sell little tiny jars shaped like a gummy bear, and I caved. In the immortal words of Donna and Tom from Parks and Recreation.. “Treat Yo Self!”