Spring Break is No Break

Spring Break for Dustin started at 1:35 Friday afternoon. From that moment on, he's had the enjoyment of having a friend with him practically every waking moment. Karen's family is in town and unlike other years where we only spend a few days with them, this year we've spent many many days with both them and the Chan family because of my time off. Friday he had two playdates, one in the afternoon (immediately after school) and one more in the evening. Then on Saturday we went to the Easter egg hunt at Valley Christian School where they had inflatable jumpers, pony rides, and 50,000 eggs. Lunch with the gang. Then dinner at the Chan's. Sunday after church we had lunch with grandma and then dinner at the other Chan's (Martin) with the same bunch of kids (6 of them). Then went nuts every night.

Monday we did the Oakland Zoo with even more kids: the Youngs and the Tangs (so now we have 10). We had dinner at Ono Hawaiian BBQ. And Tuesday (Dustin's 7th Birthday) we did Happy Hollow with the same kids again with the addition of Grace and her daughter Faith (11 kids). Four of our families crashed at Grace and Owen's house afterwards where we had a greasy Chinese dinner reminiscent of Oakland Chinatown. We got home by 9 and I was exhausted.

Wednesday was my only day of rest where I didn't have to watch any kids other than my own. Dustin and Colby were originally supposed to go to Six Flags Marine World with Chrissy's brother but the impending rain cancelled it. In hindsight I'm glad they didn't go. I think the boys need a break from 5 straight days of running around (not that they'll ever complain). So instead I sent Dustin off with a friend to see "Meet the Robinsons" in 3D.

Today we invited his friend Robert over. We made him run errands and go shopping with us. Then we had dinner at grandma's. I'm finally home now, exhausted. Tomorrow we'll be getting together with the Chans and Leongs again. No idea what's happening at this point. Man, I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to Monday when school starts again.

Recently, two of the moms mentioned to me that their husbands could never do what I'm doing. That is, staying at home, hosting playdates, coordinating carpools, and shuttling extra kids to parks/zoos. So they either admire my efforts, or think I'm becoming a girly man. I think I'm just trying to find creative ways to keep my kids occupied (and out of my hair). It's actually easier with extra kids. They can do things together and entertain themselves. All you do is to provide the place and some junk food. So far so good, I think all the kids have been getting along great this past week. But before you think about sending your kids over, here's a clip of one of our "organized activities."