"Bronx Tale"... in San Francisco

Last night Vadim and I and his sister and her husband decided to have a night out on the town. We were going to La Scene restaurant (a nice French place near Union Square) and later were seeing "Bronx Tale" at the Golden Gate theater. GG Theater is located in the heart of the Tenderloin... very colourful neighborhood, but can be somewhat dangerous at night. Well, little did we know that a little French place might be a magnet for "white-color" robbers! We were having a really nice dinner. Vadik's scallops were amazing, I enjoyed my caprese salad and butternut squash soup with a glass of Pepperwood Grove Viognier, Vika had an apple martini, Ahi Tuna Tartare and a soup, and Pavlik had Ahi Tuna steak. The desserts were amazing: passion fruit sorbet with pieces of passion fruit and an absolutely delicious Crème Brûlée with candied orange peel... SO GOOD... Well in the middle of enjoying this feast, a Middle Eastern looking man comes into the restaurant wearing a nice shirt and trousers and confidently walks towards our table located right in the middle of the restaurant. He then proceeds to pass us only to turn around a second later and say "Oops... wrong door." None of us except my husband paid enough attention to notice that in the process he grabbed Vika's purse and proceeded to leave the restaurant in a calm manner. Thank God for Vadik being so quick (all those video games I tell you!) He screamed "He took your purse!!" and ran after the guy, who casually dropped the purse and left the building. What a crazy and unexpected situation! Be aware of your surroundings regardless of where you are.

The play was great! I really felt the raw emotion of this young boy, it's amazing when a person talks about his own experience of growing up Italian in the Bronx. It also showed how multi layered people are... there are no black and white when it comes to people, we are a colorful bunch.

[as C walks out of Sonny's funeral] Sonny and my father always said that when I get older I would understand. Well, I finally did. I learned something from these two men. I learned to give love and get love unconditionally. You just have to accept people for what they are, and I learned the greatest gift of all. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever. But you can ask anybody from my neighborhood, and they'll just tell you this is just another Bronx tale.

Enjoying a walk with my husband in sunny SF!

It is so difficult to stay connected with my husband when we are constantly trying to keep three little flea bugs under supervision. We love each other very much and obviously share the same goal (not to lose sight of the flea bugs, keep them healthy, fed, educated and jumping for joy.) However, there are days when we miss each other.... I think both of us have been under a lot of pressure and hitting midlife crisis of sorts... wanting change... wanting peace.... sense of accomplishment... sense of stability... some adventure... Unfortunately, sometimes we forget how much we have and how incredibly grateful we should be for the good jobs, good family, good health. Greed (not monetary, but emotional) does motivate, but also robs you of pleasure that only living in the moment brings.

Today, I enjoyed my moment with the love of my life... we went for a walk around San Francisco... enjoyed catching a glance of San Francisco "busy bees" catching a 10-minute lunch in the financial district... some homeless people smiling up at the sun looking very content... a few tourists having a time of their life. It felt so nice to actually hold hands and be out there even if it was just for a few minutes.

One day in retrospect

My two girls are such good friends... for the most part. Sonik dominates the relationship of course... she does dominate pretty much every relationship as we jump at her every whim. Look how generous she is with her cheerios! Sonik is so super active now, running around and getting into everything. Finally, we got the gate installed to protect our precious Sonik-Slonik from getting to the stairs. Daddy and Anton got it assembled over the weekend. What a team!

Look at my daughter's beautiful auburn chestnut locks! I like to bury my face in her hair and smell the freshness of rain, wind and baby yogurt (Sonik is a huge yogurt fan.) I always find stashes of cheerios hidden in the tight curls in the back...

What a mess!

Masha has the stomach flu, but she seems to be feeling much better! Today, however, has been a strange day filled with mishaps. My wonderful 9-year old daughter who does know all too well the dangers of the old-fashioned mercury filled thermometers, managed to drop one and break it sending a thousand mercury balls rolling around the room. Hmmm... very dangerous... I sent everybody out of the room and started the big clean-up. This was the first time I had to clean-up hazardous materials... equipped with rubber gloves, I started trying to connect the little balls into one large one. I used Sonik's nose cleaning syringe to pick up the ball, the rest of them were picked up by two pieces of paper.... Now mercury, the broken thermometer, syringe, gloves, paper are all sealed in two zip-lock bags and sitting outside. I have to investigate where I am supposed to take this waste now. What a hassle! I do like the old-fashioned thermometers as I always get an accurate reading, unlike the battery operated ones that actually are only accurate when the battery is brand new. But now I will have to rethink the whole thing. This was quite a nightmare. Masha was terrified of the health consequences as well as my anger (poor baby)... to tell the truth I was annoyed.

Masha is under the weather

Masha seems not to be feeling good. I might have to keep her out of school tomorrow. It will be a day with my girls... taking care of them... loving them... I am a little excited although I am not happy Masha is catching some strange bug! I need a glass of wine... Au revoir!


From: masha@hotmail.comTo: mama@hotmail.comSubject: Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 12:16:02 -0600

dear mom that makes me feel better

From: mama@hotmail.comTo: masha@hotmail.comSubject: Date: Sun, 5 Oct 2008 21:35:59 -0700

Masha, I just wanted to tell you that I love you so much and I hope that you feel better soon... My heart breaks whenenver I hear that you are not feeling good. All my love, Mama.

Mama and Sonik love lazy Saturdays outside!

My baby Sonik is a champ when it comes to walking! I am amazed at how quickly this little baby is turning into a little lady. I love the baby stage, but I am happy to admit that this toddlerhood is even more enjoyable for me. She has developed quite a personality and now she proudly puts it on display whenever there is an audience. Sonik is a delight for my soul!

Anton and Masha are busy as usual. Anton with hockey (scored 1 goal) and soccer (scored 1 goal.) He moves with the speed of light and it is hard to capture him on film when he flies by. Masha is as usual the QUEEN of Social Butterflies. She is at the friends house, her friend is at our house, she is on the phone, on the computer... she is everywhere in hopes to stay connected to the world on 24/7 basis.

My Middle Child

My Masha is the most beautiful girl in the world and the most spirited and strong-willed person I know. I am in awe of her strength. She does not give in easily and always has an opinion about every single thing. At the same time she is a sweet and caring girl, the best older sister any baby could wish for. Sonik is so lucky! Anton teases Masha, but I think he also admires her a great deal. In her fights with us, she pretty much always has the last word... while Anton is more sensitive and falls apart while trying to confront parental unfairness. Masha is the loveliest example of a woman-to-be. I think she is a gem as far as any suitors are concerned, but I hope she does more than wife/mother duties as she truly possesses the most incredible intelligence+endurance+likability combination. I love my daughter so much and I am so proud of her for being who she is.

thinking inside the box

Create your own visitor map!

Sonik is a picky eater!

My baby does not feed herself much. I think it comes from overzealous efforts demonstrated by grandma. I am convinced that Sonia gets fed 1/4 of her body mass on a daily basis.... If I wanted to, I could produce proof by weighing her potty! Oh My God! One would think that it could not possibly be a cute little one-year old girl producing these massive amounts of poop... more like a fully grown African elephant. Any time I offer her food to eat on her own, she throws it on the floor... she does eat a little bit of cereal and some cookies now and then, but we are a long ways away from eating independently.

Here is one attempt in feeding herself.

And then....

Living in the moment

Sonik is trying to enjoy her bath... not for long, she is back up to a standing position in 2 seconds

My Hubby's idea of getting the baby ready for bed?

Diaper Check: Poopy or not?

My husband woke up in a puddle of milk this morning. You could have guessed, the baby yet again migrated into our bed in the middle of the night with all her gear consisting of her blanket, pacifier and a bottle of milk. I should hang one of those cup holders on the headboard of the bed to keep the bottle in.

My husband and I have been experiencing some severe mood swings... the good thing is that we are harmoniously swinging in opposite directions. Today is one of my low days. Hubby on the other hand is enjoying his day (maybe because it was started by a very satisfying display of fireworks between him and his mom.)