Culinary delight

I don't know what got into me today, but I decided to try a few new things in the kitchen.

For lunch, the kids and I made pita pizzas. Not only did they have so much fun putting their toppings on, but they also scarfed it right down, having made it themselves (or "me do it myself" as Bennett says). Do you like how Morgan made a circle with her bell peppers? :)
















For an after lunch treat, Morgan asked for applesauce and I spruced it up with some banana slices and strawberries.


For dinner, I made a new dish from Cooking Light, Skillet Chicken Breast Aglio e Olio. The dish was rather spicy, so the kids ate it in between sips of milk, but my hubby ate it up!

I love trying new things in the kitchen. It helps me keep it interesting and helps when I don't feel like cooking! :)

Reality gracefully tumbles back down

I was so tired last night that I was out by 10pm. I guess that's what a long, emotional weekend will do for you. Nevertheless, time marches on, as does life. With a renewed spiritual energy, I woke up and did my morning devotional, got things packed up for a walk at a local park with my friend Kristin, and got Morgan off to school. Kristin and I walked our furthest route yet - about 4 miles and then took Bennett to story time at the library. He enjoyed it as usual, especially since this week's theme was fish. After story time, we had just enough time at home for me to get the bathrooms cleaned while corn dogs were cooking in the oven. I wrapped them up in tin foil, packed up some other stuff and headed to pick Morgan up from school. Her classmates were meeting at a park by our house for a picnic after school! We spent a good two hours there before it was time to come home. I put the kids down for their naps and then right as I was sitting down to catch up on email and facebook, my mom calls. I had hoped to talk to her, so I spent a good long time catching her up on everything and anticipating her upcoming visit here with her. I started prepping spaghetti for dinner and before I knew it, nap time was over and the kids were up! Dinner, bath time, bed time, dishes. Finally able to sit down and relax with my hubby after all the day's reality came tumbling back down.

I need a weekend away from my weekend away. :)

Defining Moments

You know how you might be in the moment still and you think to yourself, I will never forget this. Yep, that happened to me over and over this morning. It all started with breakfast. You see, this morning we were paired up with our small group tables again for breakfast and during this breakfast, I had the opportunity to be that spiritual person. You know the one...they are the one, who when someone else expresses their own sadness or dilemma, they are the ones who say something truly godly and everyone nods their heads and breathes deeply. Except, normally I'm the head nodder. Certainly not the one speaking. Because honestly? 34 years of living in Christianity if it has taught me anything, it's taught me that people who say things like that are sometimes looked at through judgmental eyes. You know, with thoughts like, "Oh sure Miss Goody Two Shoes" or "Well doesn't she think she's better than everyone else". Except that I don't think I'm better than anyone else. In fact, I think I'm pretty much as lousy a Christian as you can come by. I'd be lucky to tell you a story or two from the Bible. Even my husband has read it from front to back and I can count on one hand all the times he's been to church since I've known him. But, this doesn't stop me. No, when the woman at our table admitted to having a hard time accepting God's grace because she had done so many horrible things earlier in her life, I remembered a sermon that our church's pastor gave sometime over the past year and the words from his message just blurted out of my mouth before I could even stop them, "If has seen it fit to forgive you, what makes you think you shouldn't forgive yourself?" And then there was the nodding and the deep breathing, but it wasn't me. It was everyone else at the table. The woman looked at me, smiled with tears in her eyes and said, "thank you".

Later, while in our final service on Sunday morning, we took communion and after taking communion, many of the women were doing just as they had done the night before. They were going down to the front of the room and hugging and praying. The speaker was down in front with a steady stream of people coming her way. I kept looking, through teary eyes as I longed for this type of interaction. It was such a distant thing, though. Nothing like I was used to. I'm used to taking my walk alone. Melissa and I continued to exchange glances and then she said to me, "Paige go down there!". I looked at her and immediately blurted out, "NO!". I looked down there and noticed that the speaker was standing there, hands clasped. Waiting. Melissa looked at me again (and would later tell me that she just got the urge to MAKE ME GO) and told me that I needed to go and that she was waiting for me. I practically ran down the aisle and to the speaker. I looked at her, not knowing what to say and just asked her to pray for me. She told me to give her one word. "Alone" I said and then she started hugging me and praying for me. She prayed that I would know that I was not alone because God is with me always. I felt a rush of warmth and love come over me. She prayed that a spiritual partner would come into my life because she knows we all need someone like that. She prayed that today would be the turning point. She prayed again that I would know that I was not alone. When she was done, we finished hugging and I went back to where I was sitting.

No sooner had I gotten there, when they started playing this song that I knew from the night before was emotional for Melissa. She took off, saying she'd be right back. I was stuck there. Alone. Then the most amazing thing happened. A woman sitting at the end of the pew came over to me and gave me the deepest, biggest hug ever. Then she went away. A woman sitting in the pew in front of me came behind me and hugged me again. She returned to her seat, only to return a few moments later, asking if she can pray for me. I told her she could, we hugged and she prayed that I would be free. Free.

Pretty soon, the service was over and I had to find Melissa. Seems she had had a few defining moments of her own. More bonding. More moments. As we left the retreat at Mount Hermon, we travelled home to our families, whom we were sorely missing, but reflecting the entire way. Basking in the sun of a gorgeous Sunday, driving down the mountain in the convertible, we were reflecting on what brought us together. Our first meeting. Our first impressions. How the idea of the retreat came up and how we made it there.

There is a reason that Melissa and I were brought together for the weekend. A reason we bonded and shared some defining moments. God is good. God is very good.

Spiritual Bonding

Today was the first full day of the women's retreat. After road-trippin' it up with the top down on the convertible yesterday afternoon, Melissa and I got settled into our room. We had dinner followed by a session with the speaker about balancing your life and resting in God. The discussion was around slowing down, looking up, and trusting in God more. When the it was over, Melissa and I went back to our room and did the girl talk thing until nearly midnight. Or whenever the older ladies next door decided to go to sleep. We got up this morning before the crack of dawn when the older ladies next door started chatting and giggling. Neither of us slept well, but Melissa slept particularly badly. We got on with our day by showering and getting ready for breakfast. After breakfast, we had our the morning message by the speaker, followed by 45 minutes of quiet time before lunch to reflect on what we had heard and the things that we thought applied to us. We were instructed not to say a word and to find a quiet spot to write down our thoughts. The morning's message was about intimacy with God and it was a topic that is new to me since my religious background has been more at an arms length, and not very intimate or personal. Needless to say, the message spoke to me.

I wandered back towards our lodge and found a partly shaded spot in the playground area. How appropriate considering how much I am missing my kids! I sat there, said a few prayers and then it all poured out. This was my "letter to God"

Dear God,
I have never had a relationship with you that was deep enough to satisfy my needs. Growing up, a relationship with you meant little more than showing up. Showing up at Sunday School, showing up at church or Youth Group. Now it seems to be the same when I feel like I want it to be more. But all I know how to do is to show up. And even that is hard sometimes. There are many "excuses". This is not the way I know, or I am all alone, or I don't have the time. Maybe I am afraid of the unknown, which is completely silly. Maybe I'm afraid of the known.
Lord, I ask you to help me remove the obstacles and excuses. I ask that you give me confidence and courage. I ask that you give me the desire to overcome all my excuses.

Love,
Paige

After our quiet time, we all met back at the dining room for lunch, where we were then broken up into small groups with various table leaders. My table leader just so happened to be a woman I had met on a previous occasion, when she substituted for our leader at Bible Study. She and I hit it off right away since she was from Birmingham, AL. She recognized me and it didn't take long before we were talking about our sweet tea and the Auburn Tigers! We had some discussion questions to go over with our group and then we were released for the afternoon for some free time.

Melissa wanted to do some scrapbooking and I wanted to sleep, so we went our separate ways. I laid in my bed in our room for HOURS trying to sort everything out. Even though I was completely exhausted, I couldn't sleep. My mind was going a mile a minute. Before I knew it, Melissa was back and we talked and talked and talked and before long, it was dinner time.

Tonight was a very emotional night for both Melissa and I. After dinner, we went back to hear the next topic from the speaker - being set free to fulfill God's purpose. At the end of the message, they gave us these index cards where we could write down what we were going to do. The front said "I Will" (Luke 5:5) and on the back of mine, I wrote:

.....reach out
.....make an effort
.....be still and listen

Then the band was playing and women were going down in front to pray with one another. This is when I completely lost it. To see these generations of women, hugging each other, praying for each other and generally loving on each other. It was such a beautiful sight. The church I grew up in was not openly emotional. I had never witnessed anything like this in my life! Melissa and I kept exchanging glossy-eyed glances and smiles as we saw the older generation taking the younger girls into their arms and praying with them and for them. It was so beautiful. And it made me miss my mom. And it made me upset that I had missed out on that as a younger woman and it had this strange way of making me feel like an outcast or a fraud, seeing as how I've spent my entire life in the church but never had a moment as meaningful as that.

They excused us to leave if we wanted to and so we did. Melissa and I both expressed what we were feeling to each other, both coming from different perspectives, but both also very moved and touched by what we had witnessed. We stayed up far too late talking about such things and bonding. Good, old-fashioned bonding.

Ready to make my escape

In the past week, I've dealt with issues with having the five and six year old girls sleeping in tents at Camporee, girl friend issues between Morgan and a friend of hers, a son who is increasingly precocious and constantly testing boundaries, my daughter getting a time out at school for pushing said friend of hers during recess, and catching my son grabbing hold of another little boy at MOPS to get him out of the way of the slide. On top of all the drama, I've been busy as ever this week, meetings on Monday and Wednesday, movie night on Tuesday and packing on Thursday. Not to mention the usual regimen of gym, shopping, chores, cooking (and extra at that!), playgroup, MOPS, helping in Morgan's class, etc. I'm just about worn out and I'm ready to make my escape.

This afternoon, I leave for a women's retreat at Mount Herman. The retreat is through my church and I'm very much looking forward to getting away and getting refueled. I'm going with one of my Melissa friends and we've been chatting back and forth about what movies to bring, snacks, activities, etc. I'm soooo looking forward to some girl time and while I know I'll miss my family sorely, I also know this is exactly what I need right now. Farewell!

Can't even think of a good title

But I had to share this with you, because it's so damn funny. Well, at least to me. In that "you said fart" way.

Last night, as I was getting ready to leave for a playgroup coordinator meeting for the moms club, I was kissing Morgan goodnight and after the day we had, an extra big hug and we said "good night" to each other. I must have squeezed her a little too tight, because she farted.

We both giggled a little and then she said, "my bottom was saying good night also".

Guess how I was greeted by my husband when I got home?

A new recipe

I've been trying to create a new meal each week, something I've never cooked for my family before. In preparation for my being gone all weekend long, leaving the family behind, I figured I would cook almost every night this week, leaving them with plenty of leftovers for the weekend. (Awww, what a nice wife, right??)

Anyway, I had planned to roast a chicken, giving the possibility of three meals with one roasting. Instead of doing the standard chicken noodle soup and goat cheese pasta dish that I've been doing, I decided to try a new recipe from Cooking Light for an Enchilada casserole. Now, I've NEVER made anything like this before, so I was a little leery. Then, the recipe called for Great Northern Beans. I went to the grocery store, fully expecting to see a can labeled "Great Northern Beans". When I didn't see that, I decided I'd have to wing it. I picked up two cans of pinto beans, knowing that I had cans of black beans, garbanzo beans, cannelini beans, and kidney beans at home. Come to find out that the Fabulous Northern Beans are nothing but smaller cannelini beans. I had one can of "white beans" which appeared to be smaller cannelini beans and another can of just regular cannelini beans. That would have to do!

The recipe entailed a lot of prep work, which took up most of nap time. But, it baked in the afternoon and I got to spend time with the kids during those witching hours between 4 and 6. That part was nice! It turned out a little spicier than I expected, but everyone really seemed to like it! Hooray for new recipes!

Stroller shopping and shoe swapping

Today I went with my friend Melissa in search of the perfect double stroller since she is due with #2 in May. Now, some people might thing that it's a little strange that I might want to tag along on a trip like this, but some people wouldn't know with my near fetish with regards to strollers.

I love strollers. I have owned no less than eight strollers in the past five plus years and have many opinions on the subject matter. Finding the perfect stroller is like finding the holy grail. Requirements are simple. Small but roomy. Sturdy, but lightweight. Fashionable and functional. Easy, right? Hardly! See, it seems that, much like shoes, there is a stroller for every season and reason. Going to the mall? You might want one particular kind of stroller. Airplane? Another. How about a trip to the zoo? Or worse, Disneyland! Yes, as you can see, there are many different needs in these different scenarios and I have yet to find the end all be all stroller for every occasion. Though, my current Chicco stroller comes pretty close. Only, it's just for one kid. Those with two kids, closer in age, have yet different needs.

When I started talking strollers with Melissa a few months ago, I was googling and looking at product specifications galore. Many a late night was spent with her and I on Facebook swapping stroller links while Lance looked over at me with suspicious eyes. I had to repeatedly tell him that I was not purchasing a stroller. Just simply looking. FOR MELISSA!

When she narrowed down her choices, I encouraged her to go try them in person. I mean, how else can you really tell what they are like, but to put them in your hands and wheel them around. Feel their graceful movement or their clumsy collapsing. I graciously offered my assistance, because would you decline a trip to the shoe store? I didn't think so. That's how it is with me and strollers.

We went down to San Jose to one of the few stores that actually had a Joovy Caboose in stock. We had Clare and Bennett ride around in all kinds of strollers and they thought that was all kinds of fun! When that was over, the decided to take their shoes off. And apparently Bennett thought Clare's Pedipeds were too cute to not try on. :)

Good times!

$5 for water and snacks

We had a kids' outing to Pump It Up today. This place is packed for of jumpy houses, inflatable slides and all kinds of fun stuff for kids to enjoy. Want to know what my son enjoyed the best?

1. Eating his snack. As soon as we walked in, a friend of mine's daughter had a bag of goldfish in her hands. That was it. I knew it when I saw it. No matter where we go, the first thing Bennett wants to do is eat. And if he sees someone else eating, even more so.


2. Self service water fountain. I actually thought I was taking a cute video of him trying to figure out this fountain, but apparently I got the on and off reversed. :) Anyway, every time he tried to drink it went like this.

push button
water flows
put mouth to water and let go of button, no water
back away in confusion

push button
water flows
put mouth to water and let go of button, no water
back away in confusion

Over and over until he figured it out with a little coaching. Oh, and a little soaking of the front of his shirt.



Eventually, I got him warmed up to the idea of actually exerting a little energy on the inflatable slide and in the bouncy house. He ended up having a ball and asking over and over again after we left, "Momma we go back sometime?"
















Yes, baby. Sometime. After you've been properly fed and watered on the way there. One of these days I learn.

Putting it back together

Ever get that feeling that your child takes everything for granted? Ever think to yourself that maybe they've become too spoiled? I have the solution for you! Seal off their room for approximately FIVE WEEKS (gosh has it been that long??) so that they don't have access to their normal toys, clothes, or even books for a while. After the five weeks is over, clean up their room, put things back in order and let them in. You will be amazed by their pure joy as they reenter the room that once held things that were "boring" or didn't have enough room for their stuff. Gasps of pleasure. Words like "wow" and "I love it" came out of her small mouth as she walked around her room as if for the first time. She would open a drawer she hasn't seen in over a month and say something like "oh here's that horse, I love that little guy". She was so excited to actually put the things that she's had in the guest room upstairs back where they belong. Funny how that works.

It's been a LONG five weeks. I mean, it's hard for a man who works long days (gone approximately 12 hours a day during the week) and has busy weekends to get projects like this done, but my husband has managed to patch the ceiling in Morgan's room where there was a leak from upstairs, scrape the popcorn ceiling, run a ceiling light, and texture and paint the ceiling. It's all done now, thank goodness. When he tore down the patch the first time, I was starting to get worried. He and I both discussed, with amusement, Morgan's diagrams of the work. She took a lot of time to draw each step of the process. First picture was of her room with the water stain on the ceiling. Next picture was of the ceiling with the hole. Next picture was of the ceiling with the patch. Next picture was of the ceiling with a hole. At the time, she still had another picture to do. You got it, one with another patch. Once she got them done, she taped them together and taped them on the outside of her door. According to her, it was to warn people about what they might encounter in the room. She also asked me to write the following on a post-it note, which we also taped to the outside of her bedroom door.

"Under Construction. Please do not enter."

Lance wasn't quite sure what to make of all of this, but it certainly didn't inspire confidence in him when it was time to go repatch. But, he was able to get it done to his liking the second time and then after a few false starts, was able to get the ceiling sanded, primed, and textured.

Today was the day of finishing touches. The light was installed, the walls were wiped down and paint touched up. The floor was mopped and remopped. Furniture was put back into place and pictures and stuff re-hung. Today was moving in day. And it felt so good. Not just for her, but also for me. I now have access to the 5 cubby hanger in her closet, that I use to divvy out her clothes for the week every Sunday. I'm able to put her crayons, markers, and folders back on her desk. The books she's had access to that have been strewn about the house for over a month now have found their home again.

I feel as though a part of my life that has been living in chaos is now straight again. It feels great! Long live finished projects!

Running free

I got to do something today which I consider a total luxury. I got to go running, not at the ungodly hour of 5:30am or something crazy like that, but at a normal hour - around 8:30. I got to run outside. Without a jogging stroller. By myself.

I'm sure you can tell by my glee that this is a rare occurrence these days. If it's not me being way too tired, then it's we've got too much going on, or during the week the fact that there's no one around to watch Bennett. I've been trying to get my mojo back with running. I'm thinking of doing the Bay to Breakers run in May with my friend Lara, and to be able to do that, I need to be able to run more than 3 miles at a time.

On the treadmill, which is one of the two places I've been running (the other being the indoor track at the tennis club), I feel like a hamster. Time seems to slow to a turtle's pace, with me looking at the distance/time every 30 seconds.

But when I'm outside, like today, I'm down and back before I realize it. 3 miles goes by in 3 minutes and it's so.....refreshing! I feel free. Free to change my pace. Free to groove to the music when Jimmy Eat World comes on my iPod. Free to take in the sights, sounds and smells. The beautiful sun poking through the clouds, the snow on the hill tops, and the buds on the grape vines in the vineyards. The sound of birds chirping, squirrels scampering, and leaves rustling. The smells of freshly mowed grass, crisp cold morning air, smoke from someone's chimney early in the morning, and freshly cooked bacon from the restaurant down the street. As opposed to the gym, where the sights might include people on either side of me, the sound of someone else huffing and puffing and smells that you don't want to think about.

Makes me realize that I need to do this more often. Make time for just me. Just me and the wide open road. Running free.

Happy Spring!

Not sure if it's the gorgeous 70 degree weather outside, the fact that today is officially the first day of spring, or the really great workout I got in this morning, but something is giving me energy and bringing out my inner Martha Stewart.

Instead of the standard rotation of peanut butter and jelly, meat and cheese sandwich, corn dog, hot dog, cheese and crackers, and even just your plain run of the mill quesadilla this afternoon, I decided to spice it up a little. For the kids, I put diced tomatoes, corn and bell peppers in with the cheese in their quesadillas. For mine, I diced up some roasted red peppers (roasted by me nonetheless) with some diced tomatoes and used whole wheat tortillas. Mmmmmm. I added some black bean soup on the side and it made a very filling and yummy lunch for everyone!


After lunch, we went outside for Morgan to practice her tennis, for Bennett to play in the sandbox and for me to do some weeding. While I was out there, I noticed how pretty my camellias are looking in bloom. I cut some, Morgan picked some lemons and this is the result that is now adorning my dining room table.


For dinner, I had tilapia in the refrigerator. When I wasn't satisfied with any recipes I was finding on allrecipes.com, I decided to make up my own. It actually turned out great! I pan "fried" the tilapia in olive oil and garlic and then put together a caper wine sauce (wine, garlic, capers, lemon juice and a little bit of butter). I even made some homemade garlic mashed potatoes that were a big hit with the under 6 crowd. Delicious!

Danger at the zoo

Some of you may have heard about the horrible tiger attack at the San Francisco zoo on Christmas day in 2007. Since then, you can see how the zoo has secured many of it's animal enclosures much better than they were before. One thing that they haven't done was to get rid of the crazy savage squirrels they have running around.

It was a beautiful day at the zoo. We were enjoying giraffes, turtles, birds, and other creatures. We went into the children's zoo and saw there was a fairly large petting zoo. We all parked our strollers outside the petting zoo, as instructed, and went in to enjoy some fun with the goats and sheep. While we were in there, the batteries in my camera died. I wanted to take a picture of Bennett on a tiny little tractor, so I ran out to get replacement batteries from my diaper bag. I noticed a rather large squirrel on the handle of my friend Melissa's stroller. It was trying to get into a bag of wheat thins she had and was dangerously close to her Starbucks coffee cup. I shooed it away, grabbed my batteries and headed back in and took this amazingly cute shot.


We spent a lot of time in the petting zoo and then it was time to move on. We went to the gate where the hand sanitizer was, sanitized our hands and then went out to get the stroller. I looked at the ground and saw a bag of cookies that had been opened. Hmmm....I brought some with me just like that. That's when it dawned on me. They were MY cookies. Like, the ones that were in the thermos cooler bag that was completely zipped up. I checked my bag. Yep. The little bastard had managed to unzip the bag and in doing so, ripped the zipper up so badly that it completely ruined my cooler bag! So not good. And the little shit had the audacity to sit there, eating my Sensible Portion S'mores cookies right in front of me (apparently he has to watch what he eats with such a smorgasbord of options every day, fat bastard). I'm pretty sure that he was laughing at a decibel level that I just couldn't hear. Savage, I tell you. Completely savage.















As we were walking away, my friend Lisa noticed that her girls' bag of Pirates Booty had been ravaged also. Forget the tigers! Watch out for those sneaky savage squirrels!

How I made Morgan's teacher cry

After Morgan's last report card, we gave her a challenge. We told her that if she improved on the two area's that we felt she needed to improve the most, following classroom rules (raising her hand to speak) and verbal self control, there would be a very special surprise for her. It was our first attempt at a long term goal and reward, and definitely our first experience with this and grades. She told us she could do it and so we challenged her to do it.

As we've gotten closer and closer to today, report card day, I've asked her periodically if she was going to be getting a surprise and she's told me that she was. She keeps asking me what it's going to be and I honestly hadn't settled on anything. It's a tough thing....this is the precedence for future report cards and so I wanted it to make an impression, but didn't want to go overboard, considering what we were actually asking her to do. Her guess? Disneyland. Yeah....ummmm....not so much!

I was pretty sure she was going to have shown improvement in those areas, so as an opportunity arose to take a trip to the SF Zoo on Thursday with some friends, I clamored for it. First of all, I haven't been to the SF Zoo in over 10 years, so you know Morgan has never been. She's such a zoo an animal person that I thought she would really enjoy it. Not to mention that since she is off of school on Thursday and Friday, it would be a great thing for us to go do.

Now that I had my game plan, I was ready to go to the conference and get her report card. Since I'm in the class a lot, I pretty much know how she's doing. I know how she compares to the other kids and the areas that she continues to struggle with. I wasn't expecting any surprises. First thing I was handed was her report card for P.E. and music. She got all normal scores except that she apparently can't catch or throw a ball. I was a little baffled by the not being able to throw a ball thing. I mean, I know she can! But, apparently the "yes" standard is for them to take a step forward with one leg and throw the ball with the opposite arm after the step. Which I'm sure she could totally do if I had known that's what she was going to be tested for, I could have prepared her for that. Ah well.

Next, it was time to go over her report card. She did so great! They are graded on a scale of 1 to 4, with four being "exceeds" standards". She had soooooo many fours! So good to see. The areas that she was supposed to show improvement on before, she had. Hooray! I went through each line item with her teacher and we talked about where Morgan is now vs. where she's supposed to be to go to first grade. In most cases, she's ready for first grade, if not already at a first grade level. I'm so proud! Her teacher reiterated how wonderful it is that Morgan has such a desire to learn and how nice it is to have students like that. We talked about her reading assessment. She's at an 8 and she needed to be at a 4. Her teacher expects her to be at a 12 by the end of the year and the standard for students starting Kindergarten is a 6. She's doing great and I couldn't be prouder. I actually started to cry at this point because this has been such an awesome thing to witness.

You see, last year around this time as we were preparing for Kindergarten, there was one thing that Morgan would always tell everyone when they asked if she was looking forward to Kindergarten. She would tell them that she couldn't wait to learn how to read. To see her come full circle and actually being able to read now, at an accelerated rate at that, is so cool! She's over that hump where reading is more work than fun and so she'll actually go get books on her own and sit down and read them. She is a reader. She comes from a long line of readers, so this is something that I'm so happy to see. There's so much to be said about a love of reading! As I'm wiping away my tears, Morgan's teacher is tearing up, too. She has so much love for her students and really enjoys seeing them learn and mature. She could feel the same thing I felt - how proud we were that Morgan set out to learn to read and here she is reading on her own. Seeing her love of it is icing on the cake. Morgan's teacher recognized what a cool thing that was and shared that feeling with me. I just love her!

But the amazing thing, and I know that I risk coming off as an overly proud parent -- which is probably an accurate statement, is that she ALSO is doing wonderfully in math as well. She can easily count and write to 100 and is doing simple addition and math problems. Soon they will start on subtraction and go further with money. These are beyond Kindergarten concepts,where by the end of the year they only need to be able to get to 30. To see her accelerating in math as well as reading is just more than I could hope for. She really has been a joy in this area and I just couldn't be prouder.

SF Zoo here we come!!

Weaning a five year old

And no, I'm not talking about the boob. I'm talking about the bed. My five year old has this really bad habit of needing a ton of sleep. Apparently, she's an apparition, belonging in the same category with the famed Lochness monster, Big Foot, or Chupacabra. It has actually become quite embarrassing to explain to friends and acquaintances that yes, my five and a half year old daughter is still taking naps. Gloriously long naps, in fact. And given where we are in the school year, the inevitable question has been bouncing around in my brain for a few weeks. How is she going to make it next year when she has to be at school during naptime? I have visions of her, with her eyes all glazed over trying to keep up with her friends in first grade. To set my mind at ease that my plan of getting her off the naps over the summer was a good one, I spoke to her teacher. I asked her if I should start weaning her from her naps now. She promptly broke my heart and informed me that summer doesn't count. Which totally makes sense because you're so far out of a routine during the summers. And that yes, I should start now. A couple days a week. Quiet time but NO sleeping. *sigh* This is one of those situations as a parent where the statement "It'll be harder on me than it is on you", just might ring true.

So, today was day one. I didn't tell her about the plan until after Bennett had gone down for his nap. We did her AR quiz on the computer and then I broke the news to her that she was not going to be napping. I told her that she could stay on the computer and work on the Starfall website, she could read books, or play with her Leapster, but that there were two rules. She had to be quiet and there could be absolutely no sleeping. She agreed and was excited to be unleashed on the Starfall website.

She ended up spending about an hour on the website and just as I was worried that she might actually have fallen asleep at the computer, she comes out and informs me that "if it gets really quiet up there, it might be because she fell asleep". I'll admit it, I began to panic a little. I reinforced the fact that she was not supposed to be sleeping and asked her if she wanted to do some quiet coloring. She said she wanted to finish up on Starfall and then come down and color. Just as I was ready to go get cold water to throw on her, she came downstairs and asked to color. I decided it was time to bring out the big guns, so I asked her if she wanted some snack and set her up in the playroom table with coloring supplies, goldfish and a big glass of APPLE JUICE. If you knew me, you would know that I can count on one hand all the times I've provided my own child with apple juice with no special reason. I was obviously desperate.

Luckily, this was about the time that Bennett woke up, so he managed to pester her into a state of full consciousness until it was time for her to go to ballet. Of course, as soon as she got to ballet, she announced that she DID NOT HAVE A NAP TODAY, which in turn got me the usual head turns and surprised looks from the parents and instructors alike. What can I say? Some people's kids have an uncanny knack for numbers or remembering things from when they were in the womb. Mine needs a lot of sleep. Don't hate me.

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Today is my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Seriously, that's like four DECADES. And if you knew them, you might be surprised that they've made it this long. Except the thing is, they are committed. They love each other and they work through things like a difference in opinion of the actual temperature that should be considered "room temperature" or where golf balls should be placed when not in use. When I spoke to them on the phone earlier today, we each repeated the same thing - it's a rare thing these days. I really think this is so true.

So many couples are so eager to go their separate ways. I'm noticing this the older I get (I guess the older I get, the more married couples I know, the longer they've been married and the more divorces we see). It's as if marriage is to be this magical thing that never has any road bumps or problems. Heck, Lance and I have been married for nine years, ten this year, and we've certainly had our share even in the short time frame we've been together. Yes, there were times when I thought about how hard it is, and it really can be. Other times? It's so easy. But, I guess when you have the role models I had growing up, you know how important family is and you know that marriage is actually a verb. It means you have to do things. You have to work at it if you want it to be good. And just like anything in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Thanks for getting married and for setting the bar! ;-)

Girl power and the making of men

Today I kept my friend Lara's youngest daughter, Kylee while she and her husband went house shopping. It was great to repay her for watching Bennett for me while I worked in the classroom a few weeks ago. I have seen Bennett excited to play with his friends, but I've never seen him smitten like this before. I was watching the development of girl power right before my very eyes. It started when she first arrived and she was a little slow to warm up. After having a snack, we came out to the living room to play and Kylee kind of hovered near me and watched the Backyardigans episode I had turned on. Bennett sensed her apprehension and came over to her. He was saying "Kylee, come play" and when this didn't work, he just started rubbing her back. It was very cute to watch and to see him reacting this way to her. When that didn't work, he went and got a few toys and started playing with them very animatedly. It's as if he was saying "look how COOL these toys are" and trying to entice her to come play with them. She finally gave in when he broke out the Handy Manny tool box and they played until it was time to go to story time. I loaded them up in the car, and off we went. They held hands the entire way there and I can tell you that this pleased Bennett immensely.















I was very impressed with the two of them at story time. We met a couple other friends there and while the books were way above any of their heads, Bennett and Kylee must have sensed that I was not prepared for either of them to get crazy on a day when it was just me with two strong willed toddlers. They were so good! They sat there, trying to grasp the extra long leprechaun story and being quiet. They participated in and impromptu musical parade and then before we knew it, story time was over. They got to spend a few minutes looking at books and playing with puzzles at the library before it was time to come home.

Once we got home, we had a little time to kill before it was time to go get Morgan and it was such a pleasant day out, I thought I'd let them play with the sand table for a little while before it was time to go. They started playing and then all of the sudden, Kylee ran off from the sand table and Bennett called after her,"Kylee! You come play?" She gave him a little smile and then ran off. This was too much for him to bear, so he took off after her and finally got her to come back to the sand table. Only temporary, though, because she thought that was fun and it became a game that she could engage him in. The best game, though, came a few minutes later when she dropped one of the toys that she had been holding. No sooner had it hit the ground and then Bennett was over there, handing it to her, "Here you go, Kylee!". She smiled and waited until he went back over to the sand table, looked at him, held the toy out away from her and dropped it again on purpose. As if it were some scientific experiment, the rat took the bait and came back for more. Picked it up again, and handed it to her, "Here you go, Kylee!". Rinse. Repeat. Sucker!!

Oh the ways we women learn how truly manipulable men are. And how early it starts! :) Bennett didn't mind in the least though, he was just so tickled to even be in her presence. I sense a long and sordid affair between those two over the years. ;-)

I didn't think I'd like this

But I do. My daughter. Wearing my clothes. Cute, huh? She wore it to church today and was super happy to be wearing it. Especially when I told her that I think she looks even prettier than I did wearing it.


She wanted to know if Grandma made it. With only a little laughing, I explained to her that (1) it had tags in it, so no, Grandma didn't make it and that (2) if Grandma had made it, one sleeve just might be longer than the other. And people laugh with disbelief that I literally cannot sew on a button. Some things you just can't fight nature (or would it be nurture?) on.

A long, busy day of FUN!

Today was busy, starting right away this morning when I got up with the kids so that Lance could gain some progress on the project that is now suitably referred to as The Great Ceiling Project '09. Poor guy had to repatch the area that needed repair and therefore had to re-puddy, re-sand, etc. So, no sleeping in for anyone. Before long, it was time for Morgan's second tennis lesson. Things went much better this time, in that I sat my freezing butt on the bench outside the court and chatted it up with a few of the other moms while she enjoyed her practice alone. Considering that she is not at all affected by the Tennis Wench, it's best that I don't hear the things coming out of TW's mouth.

After tennis, we rushed back home so that I could throw together a lunch for Morgan and I and head to the Girl Scout Thinking Day. It was a fun time with each Girl Scout troop in our association manning a booth that represented a country. Each table had a poster with facts about the country, an activity for the girls to do and one (or more) snack from that country. We started in Italy and literally ate our way around the world. So fun! Bruschetta and a gondolier race while in Italy, Swiss cheese and chocolate from Switzerland, dragon making in China, bookmarks from Sweden, and even lemon sorbet from France! The girls all had their passports and at each table, they got a stamp after they'd learned something about that country. Morgan really enjoyed seeing what kind of stamp each country used. I think Morgan's favorite country was Germany since they had built a big "castle" and the girls from the troop had decorated it with pictures of stories from Germany (like Hansel and Gretel) and animals that are indigenous of Germany. Guess her full bred German instincts are quite intact. :)


After Thinking Day, we headed home for a quick nap because Morgan was having her first official sleepover that night with her friend Kaitlyn. While naps were going on, I was busy chopping and simmering and preparing for our second "supper club" as Lance has coined it with the Alexanders. Last time we had dinner with them and it was so nice to come and just hang out and enjoy some good food and good company. This time it was our turn to host and I had to make my Dad's famous Cuban style black beans and rice.

While Morgan was having her first sleepover with her friend Kaitlyn, complete with McDonald's, High School Musical 3 and sleeping bags, we were having fun hanging out with a couple of crazy toddlers. They were so funny together! Here's a taste.

Letting go of Bunko rules and not a bottle of wine

I used to play in a Bunko group through the moms club I'm affiliated with. Unfortunately, that group just couldn't keep it going and it disintegrated well over a year ago. One of the moms from Morgan's class had sent an email to all the moms in the class to see if anyone was interested in getting a regular Bunko game or book club going. I immediately voted for the Bunko group since I was all about the possibility of a monthly night of gambling and boozing it up. Okay, so maybe it's not quite like that, but it's close.

Anyway, I offered that I had the gear and stuff and gave a few suggestions on logistics. Another woman in the group offered some suggestions on the logistics also. I figured it's certainly not worth arguing about and that we, as a group of women, could discuss the options and figure out how we wanted to run the group as a whole.

Except this woman who had the other ideas? Yeah, well she ended up being the first hostess tonight due to a last minute emergency situation and because of that, guess what? Yeah, we ended doing things her way. Which, even though I'm somewhat of a control freak, I've gotten better about letting go and doing things someone else's way. Except that when I offered her a differing idea, she kept making comments.

When she talked about the fact that the hostess would determine how the pots are split up, that night, she talked about the fact that it's more fun that way. Well, I guess it could be, except for ME PERSONALLY, I think it's more fun to win a BIG jackpot for something like most Bunkos as opposed to just earning my measly $10 back. I mean, where's the excitement in that. But, I didn't say a word. Not one single word. Then, there was the way that everyone was asked to pay their money. She was like "just throw it in the basket" and I was like "Oh. Okay. We used to have an envelope that you'd write your name on once you put your money in the pot so that you knew who still needed to pay (and there was always someone!). Her comment? "Oh, my group is way more laid back. We just trust each other." Although, I should have gotten the message when in the classroom, earlier that day, while discussing what time Bunko would be over, I said that we used to play to 9:30 or so to which she replied that she'd been playing with her group for five years and now they are great friends and that they play well past midnight. So obviously me and my uptight group all hate each other because we wanted to get home to our husbands, and in some cases kids who were still awake, at 9:30. What prudes we are!

Anyway, as hard as it may be to believe, I kept my mouth shut. I played Bunko and smiled as the lackluster prizes were handed out. I thanked the hostess and then, as I was struggling to get out the door (trapped by a "talker"), it happened. I was holding a basket with all the Bunko stuff in it and with the same wine bottle in it, that I had brought to Bunko, still unopened. I felt a slight movement in the basket and before I could even look down, the bottle had rolled out of the basket and fallen onto the CERAMIC TILE floor. Yeah. Did I mention it was a Syrah? Full-bodied red wine EVERYWHERE. Up the baseboards and onto the wall. Oops. I felt HORRIBLE! I struggled to clean it up without making too much more of a mess and was stuck there watching the hostess mop and vacuum up the entire bottle.

Of course, Lance reminded me when I got home that karma is a bitch.

That laugh

I've had people tell me what a great laugh Morgan has, and one of these days, I'll capture it for the world to hear. Because when you hear it? Oh, you just can't help but smile. It's something that just comes over you as you listen to the joyful sounds that come out of that little girl.

Well, I'm not sure if it's nature or nurture, but if you ask me, the little guy has the same glorious laugh. See for yourself. It really starts around 2:45, but there it is. That laugh. See if you can watch this and listen to this and not crack a smile. I dare you!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

March is my new December

You know how December is like crazy busy with every weekend being filled with activities? Somehow, my March has turned out to be like that. I've been busy nearly every moment of it so far! So busy, in fact, that my normal every day errands are now being squeezed into any spare moment I have. Lance even went to the grocery store for me AFTER I got home from a moms club meeting last night, around 9:30.

Today, I was up and out and at Boswell's when they opened at 9am. I needed to get stuff there for Morgan's class' St. Patrick's Day party as well as stuff for Easter, and for Melissa's baby shower. I also wanted to hit Party City, but they didn't open until 9:30. I managed to get there shortly after they opened and got done with just enough time to get to playgroup on time. After playgroup, I had a little less than an hour to kill and needed to eat, so Bennett and I went to a nearby deli to eat some lunch before heading off to pick Morgan up from school.

Once we were home, the kids went down for naps and before I knew it, it was time for Morgan's play date with her friend Nolan (they went to preschool together and he lives in our neighborhood). While they played at his house, I was able to get a few chore-like things done and get dinner prepped while keeping Bennett entertained with "painting". Pretty soon, I went and got her and then we came home, had dinner and then it was time to get the kids to bed.

Seems like day after day is like this. One thing after another. Yesterday it was gym, park, pick up, quick nap, Super Franks, Lance met us there and took the kids home so I could get to the moms club meeting on time. Tomorrow it's running errands in the morning, then MOPS, then pick up, then catching up on the chores I haven't done this week. Last weekend was busy with tennis and then yard work, having friends over for dinner, church and then High School Musical on Ice and then movie night with a friend. This weekend starts with Bunko on Friday night, tennis on Saturday morning as well as Thinking Day for Girl Scouts, Morgan having a sleep over at Kaitlyn's house, us having friends over for dinner, church and then me working Bingo. Seems like most weekends this month are like that!

It's funny to think about how I was concerned with what I would fill my days with before I quit working. Somehow, I find a way! Anyone who knows me knows that I thrive on this type of schedule. As much as it may tire me out and as much as it's nice to have a break here and there, I much prefer to keep moving. I feel like I'm really living life and trying to get the most out of it.

Sisterly love

This afternoon, while at Katilyn's 6th birthday party at Super Franks, Morgan and Bennett both hit it big at this one particular game in the arcade. Morgan got 167 tickets and Bennett had 348. When it came time to cash in the tickets, Bennett had his eye on a broomstick horse. The horse cost 500 tickets, so if he combined his tickets with Morgan's he could get it. When I presented Morgan with the idea, she wasn't interested, and instead picked out a frog, a snake, a lizard and a lollipop. I kept trying to convince Bennett to get anything else and he wasn't interested. He really only wanted the horse. I explained to him that we didn't have enough tickets and that since Morgan had gotten other items, we couldn't use hers. Morgan overheard this and immediately turned to me, and asked if she could return the stuff she had just gotten. I told her she didn't need to do that. I told her that they were her tickets and if that's what she wanted to get with them, then that was fine. She told me that no, she wanted to help Bennett get the horse. She asked the girl working at the ticket counter if she could return her stuff and use the tickets to help her brother buy the horse. The girl at the ticket counter said sure and was so impressed with her generosity that she offered to let her keep the lollipop. Bennett was so excited about he horse and I was so excited about my loving daughter. I'll try to remember this when she's yelling at him tomorrow about taking her puzzle pieces.

Day trip

A small taste of what I have missed since this summer....Morgan was out of school today for a teacher's work day today and we took advantage of that fact and the great weather and took a day trip out to the zoo. We brought our lunches, our friends Kristin and Kaitlyn along and we all had a great time! I know that when summer comes, we'll get to do more of this, but maybe since this is a mid-school-year getaway, it's a special treat and seems even sweeter.

Not to mention that we are now completely out of the sick and bad weather funk.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip today.


Life is good!

Wasn't sure we'd make it

But luckily, Morgan finally managed to earn back her tickets to see High School Musical on Ice. Originally we had planned to go with her friend Chenoa, but that didn't work out and her friend Kaitlyn went with us instead. The girls had a blast and barely noticed that none of the actual cast members were there on the ice. Although, Kaitlyn did notice that "Troy looks different!!" Obviously, for her to notice that way up in the arena, they didn't do a good job making it look like him.


But it was a cute show - the first half was the story from the original HSM and then after intermission they did HSM2. Girls all around us were screaming their teeny bopper screams whenever "Troy" came out on the ice and Morgan and Kaitlyn picked up the hang of it pretty quickly. It was very funny. So cute to watch the girls sing the songs and dance in their seats. They both had a great time, even though Morgan looked at me at one point, yawning, and told me that "at some point I might fall asleep".

Definitely fun and memorable....and best of all...FREE! :)

World's worst tennis mom. Ever.

Apparently, I am not meant to be a tennis mom. Soccer mom? Sure. Ballet mom? Absolutely. Tennis mom? Not so much. Or maybe it's not me, but maybe it's the witch who was teaching the lesson? I'll let you be the judge.

• When we got there, I was asked if I brought our waiver. I took the paper that was in my hand and gave it to the instructor, who looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Oh, it's pink." Sorry, lady, that's what color paper I had in my printer.
• The parents asked where the instructor wanted us. She told us that she could use our help in the court. We go in and line up at the end of the court, away from the net and where she'd placed all the stuff. We were immediately asked to get out of her way, that the kids needed to practice there. Oops.
• While Morgan was practicing hitting the soft foamy balls against the back fence of the court, the instructor came over to help her with her form. She took one look at the BRAND NEW racket I had purchased, pointed at me and said, "Are you the mom? This racket is WAY too big for her". Which, was a little surprising considering that when I bought it I clearly looked for the racket that was for children under 50 inches (check) and up to eight years old (check). What an idiot I am. She had to go get one of her special rackets for my poor child who's mother is a complete moron.
• When it came time for the kids to go over to the net to practice, the instructor made a big speech about how she could really use some parents to help because she has FOUR KIDS (!!!) who HAVE NEVER HIT THE TENNIS BALL BEFORE and she was going to need to help them a little more than the others. I was a little shocked at this, since this is the TINY TOTS class (ages 4-6), and of course they would be expected to already know how to play tennis before coming to TENNIS LESSONS!! Sheesh, I should have known better!! Damn me for not getting Morgan into pre-tennis lessons.
• Then it was time for a parent to offer themselves up to help the class run more smoothly with all these poor children who didn't know how to play tennis. She asked if one of us would please throw the soft foamy balls to the kids from the other side of the net so she could help them with their form. I raised my hand to help and started throwing the balls. Except I couldn't throw them in the 3 inch square area that she wanted them in and only frustrated her even more with my ineptitude. I kept trying, and she kept correcting me, "NO!! You need to throw it OUT HERE. Throw it underhand. Softer. Faster. BETTER!" Not wanting to make Morgan suffer any further embarrassment due to my lack of foamy-tennis-ball-throwing skills, and after I'd, quite honestly, grown tired of being chastised, I stood up, and declared that maybe someone else needed to give it a try. One parent took pity on me and offered up that maybe there was a learning curve?? Yeah. Maybe.
• But the final thing that proves that I am not fit to be a tennis mom is that my child apparently doesn't speak tennis. When it was time for Morgan to try some stuff on her own, the instructor was asking her to move her tennis racket to the back and down. Morgan moved it behind her, but didn't get it down low enough. The instructor actually had to walk all the way over to the other side of the net to show her. I know she was frustrated because I heard her say in an under-the-breath-but-loud-enough-for-you-to-hear way, "I guess I need to learn how to speak a different language".

What do you think? Am I a horrible tennis mom or what? Or maybe, just maybe, this woman needs some lessons on how to teach FOUR TO SIX YEAR OLDS about playing tennis. I'm just sayin'.....

Teachers are saints!

Today I went to help out in Morgan's classroom. I haven't been on a "regular" schedule since my swap partner moved away. Morgan's teacher had told me previously, that she was willing to try Bennett sitting in the classroom during the days when I was helping out because he'd been so good on the class party days. I've been a little weary of this, not just because of my unpredictable son, but also because I know that the class tends to be distracted by him (I mean, he is pretty cute!). But since the class was going to be out watching a play for two hours today, I thought it would be a good day to give it a shot. I crammed my diaper bag full of snacks and headed off to school with the two kiddos.

The plan for the day was for me to help keep the kids on task while the teacher finished some assessments she needed to complete so she can get report cards done next week. After the kids left for the play, I would get to work on the kids' memory books. The teacher has been keeping some of the kids' more special projects for a memory book that she will give to each child/parent at the end of the year. There are pages and pages of their work that were stacked in no particular order in bins and under tables and they needed to be sorted by child, organized by date, and then alphabetized for later updating. I also needed to note who was missing what for the memory books so that they could possibly finish the projects later. It took the rest of the school day to get that stuff done. I was alternating between making notes on who had missed what, figuring out who had done which polar bear picture based on the way they had cut it out (since they had left off their name), and switching Bennett from area to area to keep him busy. He actually did pretty good, especially during the time that the kids were in the class. He stayed out of their way for the most part, so that was good.

I worked HARD in the class today. I was on my feet, moving around, correcting, entertaining, and sorting the entire morning. And I am EXHAUSTED this afternoon. How do teachers do it EVERY. DAY.?? They are saints, it's as simple as that.

Kindergarten Crushes

There's a little boy in Morgan's class that I've come to realize has a crush on her. It didn't dawn on me until the night of Open House when his Dad said, "Oh THAT'S Morgan! We hear a lot about her". Since then, I've been paying attention to two of them in class and I've seen this little boy really looking out for Morgan.

There was the time on 100th day when Morgan had just finished stringing her 100th Fruit Loop and was walking over to have it tied on as a necklace when she dropped it. 42 Fruit Loops fell on the floor, so she got a little upset. This little boy rushed right over and started picking up the Fruit Loops she had dropped. We counted out 42 new ones and she proceeded to finish her necklace. When she was done, I advised her on the best way to hold the strings of her necklace so as to not drop it again. Only she did drop it again. And this time I wasn't quite as patient. I told her that I wasn't going to count out more Fruit Loops for her to string on the necklace and that if she wanted to finish the necklace with the ones on the floor, that was fine but that she was NOT going to be eating them. This little boy steps in and offers up his necklace. I convince him that he should keep it (I *have* seen it scooting about on the floor after all!) and he decides that he'll make her another one. How sweet, right??

Today, when I picked Morgan up from school, she was upset. She told me that some of the boys were mean to her. As I was talking to her, this same little boy realized that she was upset. He comes over to her and asks her what is wrong. She doesn't answer, so I tell him that she was upset because some of the boys were being mean to her. He demands to know who and I could tell just by the way he was talking that this was totally in her defense. If he could have, he would have had some serious talkings with the said offenders.

I get the full scoop on what happened today from the teacher. Apparently Morgan got pulled away for testing and when she came back, the boys she was playing with were not interested in having her rejoin them. And there was also a special toy involved from the star of the week - the little boy who's crushing on Morgan! Apparently he even saved Morgan a part of the toy to play with (complete with snatching it from another child because "Morgan has been waiting a while to play with this").

As we are leaving, I am talking to Morgan about how it's the boys' loss if they aren't nice to her and how if they aren't nice then she shouldn't want to play with them anyway. I was talking to her about how nice it was of this other little boy to save the toy for her and to stick up for her. It had never dawned on my observant daughter before that time that he may actually like her. I told her that he was a nice friend and she said, "Yeah. So are the girls. They are all nice."

See, she's totally oblivious to the fact that he's got a little crush on her because she's so busy having a crush on another little boy from a different class that doesn't give her the time of day. And so it begins. Morgan being interested in the boys who don't know she exists and the ones that do, she's totally oblivious to. Although, I do have to say with mildly embarrassing satisfaction that Morgan was so upset with me the other day (she thought I was walking too fast and therefore dropped her playdough animal on the ground and it was very clearly MY FAULT), that we walked right by the boy she likes and he was all, "BYE MORGAN" and she did a half hearted wave. The adult that was with the boy actually said "wow, she dissed you!" LOL. That's my girl, a little heart breaker.

This is just the beginning. Lord help me!

Grace in small things

Another wonderful day. Here's my list of five things I'm grateful for today.

1. My tennis club membership. It's such a luxury (especially in this economic climate), but it really does help me retain my sanity. I can go there, drop off the kids and get lost in my music and exercise for a good hour or so. Then, I can take my time and shower, shave my legs, hang out in the sauna, dry my hair, do my makeup and basically make myself feel like a woman. I love the feeling I have every day when I leave there. For that, I will overlook the ludicrous amount it costs to go there to exercise.

2. A wonderful library program. I've been trying to take Bennett to story time at the library once a week since Christmas. Except for illness, he's been to them all and he LOVES them. He asks me to sing songs from them, he talks about stories that were read to him there, and he loves checking out his very own books to bring home. And I love that our playgroup met there today. :)

3. Daisies. When you look for options for extracurricular activities for your child, there's always a sport to be played or dance lessons to be taken. Luckily for us, my good friend Kristin wanted to start a Daisy troop (first level of girl scouts) at Morgan's school. Where sports can teach things like teamwork and sportsmanship, Daisies teaches things like character. I believe it's particularly important as these girls are now exposed to so many different things and people since they are now school aged. The girls will be together as a troop for a good long while, and it makes me happy to know that they will have all been taught things like how to treat friends, taking care of the earth and how to defend yourself against a stranger. I'm so happy to have such an activity for Morgan.

4. I'm so thankful that my friend Kristin agrees to keep Morgan with her between Morgan's reading group and Daisies. She does this even when she's got so much work to do to set up for Daisies and she does it when she knows that I can't be there to help. Ever since Lance got his new job, he hasn't been able to work from home (which was the original plan since Daisy meetings are every other Wednesday) and subsequently be there to "watch" Bennett during his nap. So, instead of me having to go pick Morgan up after reading group (at 1:10) and then have her back in time for Daisies at 2pm and then picking her back up at 3, I'm able to be at home with Bennett while he naps. Don't underestimate how important a nap is to an almost-two-year-old!

5. I'm thankful for a husband who understand that even though my obligations may not drive income, they are still important and he will go out of his way to come home so I can be where I need to be on time. I know this seems like a simple thing, but you'd be amazed at how many women have problems with this! Of course, I would never be married to those men anyway, but I still have to give props to my husband.

Energy

It's amazing to me how much more energy I have when I am able to follow my routine of getting up before the kids, getting ready for the gym, taking Morgan to school and then spending time exercising, showering, and taking care of myself in general. I always pick Bennett up from the nursery, energized, refreshed and ready for the rest of the day.

Today when I picked him up, he was all smiles and ready to go! One of the ladies in the nursery commented to me about how much he's talking. Ummm, yeah. Complete sentences. A lot. Like all the time. For example, after the gym today, we headed over to a golf club in Pleasanton to talk to them about being a potential venue for the moms' club Mothers Day brunch this year. It was a good 20 minute drive, through pouring rain, up windy muddy roads and Bennett talked THE ENTIRE TIME. I actually had to ask my not-even-two year old child to PLEASE BE QUIET SO MOMMA CAN THINK. It's almost like my energy is contagious. :)

My energy lasted all day. No napping, no stopping. And loving every minute of it.

Pelvic breathing

There's been this yoga class that I've been wanting to take at the tennis club pretty much as long as I've been a member (since July of last summer). It hasn't ever really worked out since it starts at 3:45, but I really wanted to go, so I put the kids down for their naps a little early so they'd wake up early and we could go. We were running a little late, but I manged to get into the class only a couple minutes late. Now, in true "Paige" fashion, the normal instructor wasn't there for this particular class. I believe her son was sick, but really, I have to believe that the memo got out that I was going to try something new.

Anyway, I walk in and am instructed to grab two sticky mats. I do so, and find a spot towards the back of the class where I can stumble and grope my way around in semi-privacy. Now, I should mention that not only is this my first yoga class at the tennis club, but this is also my first official yoga class. Everything I learned about yoga, I learned from a few DVD's I have. I ADORE yoga. I love the way I feel when I'm done. I love how sore I am, in different places, the next day. I love the way it makes your muscles look and how it strengthens your core. But I have been a little hesitant to do it publicly.

As I mentioned before, the class had already started when I got there. I got settled in the back of the class with my two sticky mats and tried to follow along with the pelvic tilts that the instructor was guiding everyone in. She was saying things like "let the breath move you" and "up and back", asking us to rock our bodies, using our breath.....coming from our pelvis. This pelvis doesn't breathe. Now, I can get on board with a certain amount of "breath" talk when it comes to yoga because I do know how important it is to the practice in general. But, when you ask it to come from my pelvis, I'm just plain lost.

Anyway, I try to follow along as best I can. We finally move away from pelvic tilting and more into traditional poses that I'm familiar with. Except the instructor was interesting. Like, she'd ask you to "sort of let your arm fall to the back a little, if you want, without forcing it, just let it kind of go back without thinking about it" Ummm, what?? Either I'm thinking about my arm moving and making it move, or I'm not. And she'd say things like "and then maybe your hands touch above your head". What do you mean MAYBE?? I know yoga is all new-agey like, but really, I guess I just need simple instructions. Not, sorta kinda do a thing that you haven't really thought about. What the hell is that?

We spent the last what seemed like eternity lying on the floor doing nothing. Which was nice, I admit. I almost fell asleep. Except there were those pesky kids to go get from the nursery!

I will try the class again with the normal instructor, but I may also just stick to my DVD's where she actually tells us what to do and we are not trying to breath from or tilt our pelvis.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

Today was Dr. Seuss' birthday and this is a little known national holiday, celebrated far and wide by the Kindergarten set. The fun started when both Morgan and I got to wear our pajamas to school. Yes, I wore tasteful PJ's, although I have to admit it was hard to find some that didn't have a little hole here or there or didn't have a matching tank top that would have been wholly inappropriate, if not just for the company, but also for the weather. But I digress...

There were centers in the classroom today and I was able to get my niece to come babysit Bennett so I could help out in the classroom. What fun! They made red and white striped Dr. Seuss hats (Morgan's favorite), they made their own animal creations out of playdough at my station to go into Mr. McGrew's Zoo (If I Ran the Zoo), they counted fish and graphed them, they cut out and colored one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, and several other centers. Upon my recommendation (since this is the single most memorable kindergarten moment from my childhood), we even made green eggs and ham for them. They loved it!

Baby fever

I could have also named this entry "the one my husband doesn't want to hear", but you know what? It's MY blog, right? Maybe as a courtesy, I could put something in the title like "honey, just pass this one over". But, maybe that's pretty much the same as the title I picked, no?

Today I spent time planning a baby shower for Melissa. I am so excited about throwing her this shower, as I have actually gotten very few opportunities to throw baby showers and hardly ever for such a great friend. I let my creative juices flow and settled on a "theme" that really suits Melissa to a T. I cannot wait! While perusing websites for shower invitations, it's hard to not also get sucked into looking at those baby announcements. Cute toes. Crazy hair, or no hair. Time, date, weight, length. Happiness. Baby sighs. Baby breathe. Ohhhhhh - baby smells! See, it's hard not to do that to yourself.

Are all women this way? As soon as your baby is not so much a baby any more, you start reminiscing about the good ole days of no sleep, little lumps of baby goodness and tiny fingers and toes. I wonder, when you're on your fourth or fifth, or FOURTEENTH kid, does it go away? I've been praying for this very thing. Either to have it go away and to know that my family is complete as it is, or to have some clear indication that another child is just what we need. Now, my husband will tell you straight out that we have a girl and a boy and we are done. But me? Not so sure. Granted, we'd need to be on the same page, so maybe since he's done, by default I am? Except what if it doesn't feel right?

Then, today I get an email from my friend Tara, who's older daughter is in Bennett's playgroup. She just had her second child, another little girl. And she's got that newborn goodness dripping from the pictures. I mean, seriously. Do I have a problem? Is there a support group for women like me? Or am I completely normal? How do you know you are done? I asked my mom this question and her answer was so easy. She always wanted two. My dad always wanted two. They had a boy and a girl. They were done. But see, me? I've always dreamed of a bigger family. Maybe it's because I always wanted to have more, and/or closer siblings. I just think the relationship that you have in a family is such an amazing thing and why wouldn't you want to have MORE of that?

I have friends tell me that I need to have another. I've been told things like "two are too neat" and "if anyone should have more it's you" and those statements echo through my head and my heart whenever I start thinking about this.

The thing is, I can see myself with at least one more kid. I can picture it. I know what I would do. I know the things we'd have to change and the logistics of it. I know how it would work. And even though when I was going through everything with Bennett's pregnancy and babyhood, I prepared myself for it to be the last (knowing how my husband felt), that doesn't mean that it "sits" right.

For now, I'm going to enjoy seeing, hearing and smelling the babies that are entering the world now. Tara just had hers, Melissa is due in May. Maybe by then I'll have gotten my answer. Maybe by then, I'll feel at peace with it, whatever it is.