First day of Kindergarten

As if we don't have enough going on around here, on Monday I walked my oldest to Kindergarten.

This darling girl.

Do you know what you get when you combine postpartum hormones, a mother already prone to strong emotions, and the milestone of your first child going to her first day of "real" school? TEARS. Not as many as I would have expected, because I knew that wouldn't exactly help Sam, but I did well-up quite a few times that morning and even had to compose myself in a corner of her classroom once. I was glad I stashed some kleenex in my pocket, and I was thankful I could hide behind my sunglasses.

The time I really had to keep from losing it was when I had a quiet moment in my room with Sam just before we left the house for school. She was so excited and so adorable in her sparkly Hello Kitty shoes and I wanted to say so much to her. I wanted to grab her sweet face and burst out with  "you are so ready," "you just go be you and you'll do great," "you are smart and beautiful and kind and fun and sensitive and they are lucky to have you in that class," "I am so excited for you to start down this beautiful road of growing and learning." Etc. Etc. Etc.

Instead, I wisely just choked out "I love you, honey" because really those are the words she needed to hear on her big day...and every big day that will follow.

Here we go.

First day of pre-preschool

Earlier this week was my baby's first day of pre-preschool.

What is pre-preschool you may ask? Well in our case it is a wonderful "transitional" preschool designed for 2-3 year olds to help them start to understand the structure of a school day and get them ready for "real" preschool when they are 3 or 4. It's pretty similar to regular preschool (circle time, play time, crafts, snacks, social interaction) except this place is more nurturing and they change diapers (thanks for that!).

This little "school" we found is run by a former teacher and is a wonderful and intentional environment. Sam went here for 7 months before she started preschool, and she loved it. Abby seemed young to be doing this, but she was ready and I thought she needed the structure...and I figured come August I could use 4 hours a week with just the new bambino. Funny that I now consider 4 hours alone with a newborn a "break" - wow, I've come a long way in motherhood.

Here are a couple highlights from Abby's first day...

The report when I picked her up was that she did GREAT and didn't skip a beat...or hit (thank you Lord!). She proudly wore the animal mask she painted all the way to the car while pulling her hand-me-down Nemo backpack and saying over and over, "I made it. I made it" (referring to the mask, not the day).

I guess it really is time for another baby in this family, because this girl truly isn't a baby anymore. 

Sniff, sniff.

Hello Summer!

You might think that summer is no big deal in San Diego because it always feels like summer here.

Well, you'd be wrong, for two reasons.

#1 It doesn't always feel like summer here. The weather is wonderful and very mild and pleasant most of the year, but it isn't exactly summer weather. For example, due to "May grey" and "June gloom" it has barely reached 70 degrees in the last couple months. This pregnant woman is NOT complaining - I'm loving the cool temps.

#2 Summer is a state of mind, so it is a big deal no matter what your local climate.

Aside from the fact that today is the official first day of summer, I know it is summer because...

Schools are finally out. Kids camps and Vacation Bible Schools have begun. 

Tourists are here. Beaches and pools are getting crowded. 

The days are long. The bedtimes are late. 

And in this house...

Alfresco dinners have begun.

The plums and peaches are ripe.

The backyard is full of life.

And these two are ready for lots of time together.
Until they are joined by one more in August.

 Welcome summer. We're glad you're here.

Preschool promotion and the end of an era, well the end of 2 years anyway

Wednesday was Samantha's preschool promotion.

I appreciate that it was not a "graduation" because I think that word should be reserved for actual accomplishments like high school or college. I digress.

Preschool promotion was adorable. It had all the makings of an event designed to get parents to cry...individual sharing and performing by each student, group songs, a slide show complete with sappy music, certificates, art, general adorableness. I had to sing "The Mickey Mouse Club" in my head many times (a fool-proof trick my sister once taught me) to keep from totally losing it and giving in to emotions.

Here are a few highlights, including a 30 second video (mostly for the grandparents).

Not sure what is going on here, but the little certificate given to each child had a special nickname for them on it and Sam's name was "gentle spirit". Very sweet. 

Let the record show that age 4 has been largely about fairies.

See video for proof.

Ms Melissa and Ms Dora. We LOVED them both!

 The 3 amigos. Could definitely be trouble in Kindergarten next year.

I had a friend/sitter stay home with Abby so she could nap and I could actually be fully present for this big event. After school I surprised Sam and took her to see Madagascar 3. I hardly ever get one-on-one time with Sam anymore so this was a very special outing for us. We both ate way too much movie theater junk food, we both almost fell asleep during the show (OK, I actually did), and despite the fact that Madagascar 2 is one of our all-time favorites this movie was TERRIBLE. 

Oh well. It was still a precious memory.

I can't believe in about 8 weeks my baby will be going to Kindergarten.

I plan to enjoy these short weeks of summer with her to the full, despite being so pregnant.

Given how emotional I felt today I can only imagine what the first day of Kindergarten is going to be like, especially since I will be a hormonal mess with a newborn. It could be ugly. 

And I'm not sure if "The Mickey Mouse Club" will even help me come August 20th.

Some little highlights from a big month

April 5 through May 6 will probably go down as the busiest (and most fun) 4 weeks we have ever had. I am still recovering. Although those weeks were full of really good things (Easter, celebrating 2 birthdays, Disneyland vacation, family visiting, final MOPS of the year, Coldplay show)...it was WAY TOO MUCH.

My mantra for June and July is "slow down...boundaries...just say 'no'...rest!"

Amidst all the fun of the big events of the past month there have also been little moments - the moments where normal life happens. Here are some highlights...

Simple plain old life with these two is always a highlight.
Here are the girls' "too cool" faces.

One in a dog costume. One with sunscreen all over her lips and tummy. 

Yep, you look really "cool" girls.

Thanks to the Coldplay show we got to catch a soccer game and track meet of our favorite CA cousins.

The "enthusiastic" spectator and the very enthusiastic trampoline jumper.

Add a sprinkler underneath the cousins' trampoline and it is even more exciting!

 This week we had a great playdate at a little local nursery/farm. 

I'm becoming very aware that my one-on-one outings with Abby are numbered and I'm trying my best to get some more in before preschool gets out in June and she becomes the middle child in August.

Sam has been doing soccer for the past 6 weeks or so. 

The greatest challenge with soccer is keeping little sister off the field. 

Please note in this shot that the "player" on the left is a 2 year old who swiped a jersey and joined the big girls. And you should have seen the pregnant woman have to "run" on the field to pull said 2 year-old out of the game when Sam's team switched back in. It wasn't pretty. Neither was the tantrum that followed.

Last Saturday I returned from a walk with a dear friend and found that THIS is what they had been up to when I was gone (Abby's not in this video, but she had her turn too)... 

 I am always striving to be OK with Chris doing things his way when he is with the girls. While this particular activity makes me nervous I am so happy for my girls that they have such a FUN and adventurous dad. HOWEVER, I am also glad that parenting is a partnership full of balance, and think it is a really safe good thing for my kids that their mother is a bit more cautious and a little less "fun."

Claire from Modern Family said it best, "When I met your dad I was fun too, but I had to give all that up because you can't have two fun parents. It's a carnival. You know that kid Liam who wears pajama pants to school and pays for things with a hundred-dollar bill?  Two fun parents."

Spring "Break"

We are coming to the end of WEEK 2 of Spring Break for Samantha.

Spring Break for preschoolers is kind of funny to me. Do they need a break?  Really? I'm sure their teachers certainly need a break, so I am glad for the teachers. But for my preschooler, I think Spring Break is kind of a bummer. She literally skips to school. She adores the social interaction, the learning, the playground, the time away from home. She loves school. She needs school. She misses school. And add to all of that the fact that I don't have a preschooler who is OK with staying at home and being mellow. I have the kind of preschooler who has been known to ask upon exiting Seaworld or the zoo, "What are we going to do now?" After nearly 2 weeks, I'm about done answering the question, "What are we going to do today Mom?"

Don't get me wrong, Spring Break has been fun and Samantha has truly done great, but it's been 2 WEEKS now, and it hasn't really felt like a break for Mama. In fact, I lost out on my normal break of 3 days/15 hours a week where I only have one child with me...so I'm exhausted. And I'm 21 weeks pregnant. And I have a 2 year old. So, really, I'm totally EXHAUSTED.

Here is a little pictorial highlight of our Spring Break activities, including, but certainly not limited to:
a visit to Zoomars, egg hunts (there were 4 just for the record), a 2nd birthday, a little beach time, Kelly Clarkson concert (just mom and dad at that one), and The Lorax at La Paloma. And that list doesn't even include a beach birthday party for my April babies, or Easter.

Whew. No wonder I am exhausted.

I leave you with a short clip from the Kelly Clarkson concert. 

I think the words, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" could be applied to Spring Break this year.

One more day to go...

Fun back story on the Kelly show...my sister's dear friends from Nashville are Kelly's backup singers. 

Jill and Kate are awesome and extremely talented women, who also love my sister and her sweet husband and babysit my nephew. It was a treat to get to hang out with them in their dressing room for an hour before the show, and very fun to watch them on stage. 

And truly, you haven't lived until you have been on your feet with crazed Kelly fans for an hour and a half...in wedge flip flops...at 21 weeks pregnant...an hour past your bedtime. 

It was a super fun and memorable date!

Oh Africa

Oh Africa, Kenya to be more specific, you will always have a piece of my heart. 

I lived in Kenya with my family for a few months when I was 5 years old, and again for one year when I was 12. Then as an "adult" I lived and worked there for another year after college (Chris was there for most of that year). I will always have a longing in my heart to go back. I have had 4 invitations/opportunities to return to Africa (Kenya and South Africa) fall through for various reasons in the last 4 years. One of those opportunities was going to be in a few weeks (and with my dad) but this pregnancy side-tracked that trip for me. Someday I will get back, someday...

I am drawn into nostalgia by just about anything that reminds me of Kenya...eucalyptus trees, red soil, woven baskets, passion fruit juice, the smell of burning trash or tires (seriously), dangerous driving situations, and barefoot children with dusty dirty feet.

This weekend a person and a service opportunity helped connect me to a sweet time and place in my life.

On Saturday night a lovely Kenyan woman (Anne) who spoke to our MOPS group came over for dinner, along with another MOPS mom and her daughter. We talk and read about Africa a lot with our kids so it was really special to have a Kenyan woman in our home. Samantha promptly, and without prompting, got out all our African instruments and books about Kenya to show Anne. Anne enjoyed looking through the books and telling the kids about her beautiful country. In addition to the treat of getting to know Anne a little bit, the highlight of the night was the SAMOSAS that she made and brought to share. I probably had 7 that night, and shamelessly asked if she would leave the leftovers with us. She did. I won't even go into the hosting/cooking/tantrum disasters that made this NOT one of our best dinners, and instead try to remember the joy of talking about Kenya with Anne...and the samosas.

Then on Sunday I signed Samantha and I up for a food packing event hosted by Dream Dinners and promoted at my MOPS group.  Friends & Family Community Connection organized an event where 32,000 meals were packed in a matter of a few hours. These meals will be going to San Diego, Haiti and Tanzania. I thought this event would be a great opportunity to do something tangible with Sam for a country in Africa. Well...her attention lasted for about 10 minutes of our 60 minute shift. Lucky for her she found two of her favorite celebrity-status-middle-school-girls from church and ditched me for them while I continued to scoop protein flakes into the small plastic bags. In my daughter's eyes I am totally not cooler than a middle school girl...and I am totally OK with that...as long as those middle school girls babysit.

On the drive home I definitely questioned the worth of what I had done bringing Sam to this event with me. Did this make any sort of impact on her? Would she ever remember this? Did she have a clue what was going on, really? I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but I did conclude that it was definitely worth it.

My daughter has an awareness of the world, and an interest in Africa because little by little, throughout her whole life, we have talked about the continent, we pray for this part of the world, and we have pictures, books, and "artifacts" from Kenya around our home. Africa is a normal part of our conversation in our family. I believe THAT is how I instill interest, value, and excitement for something in my children. I live it out naturally in front of, and with, them.

For me it comes down to this... If there is an opportunity to invite a Kenyan woman into our home, I will take it. If there is a chance to spend an hour packing food to go to Tanzania with my preschooler, I will sign up. If there is a news story about a country in Africa, I will draw their attention to it. If our church hands out Love Loaves from World Vision, we will participate. If Uncle Jeff or Papa have recently traveled somewhere in Africa for work, we will listen to their stories. And when an opportunity comes to take our family back to Kenya someday (please God, please!), we will go. All of this, after all, is exactly what my parents did with me.

Oh Africa, you have made an indelible mark on my heart. 
And now my heart is to pass that mark on to my children.

A memorable movie theather experience on my 33rd birthday

On Feb 3rd I turned 33. In some ways 33 sounds and feels "old" to me, I mean I am firmly "in my thirties" now. In other ways I still feel like a spring chicken and regularly have days where I don't feel old enough to be driving, let alone carting my offspring around with me.  Anyway, back to my birthday...

It was a GREAT birthday. One of the best ever actually. Birthdays have been a growing and learning experience for us as a couple. There have been some hits and some misses. Chris has come a LONG way in the last 10 years. This year he completely out-did himself. So as not to embarrass him, I'll just say that breakfast, gifts, flowers, and written words (my love language!) were involved. It was wonderful.

The grand finale for my birthday was a date. I always have the same request for my birthday date...sushi and a movie. These two things are hard to come by these days, mostly because my husband isn't a fan of sushi and, well, we have children.

So we had a lovely sushi dinner (well I did, he had Korean BBQ), complete with a view of the sun setting over the ocean, and after dinner we went to a quirky theater, which is also a historical landmark in North County San Diego.

The theater looked something like this back in 1928 when it was first opened...

I doubt that the interior has changed much since then. Seriously. 

Here is how the movie theater experience went. I'm not making any of this up.

- Arrive at theater at 6:10pm for 6:30pm movie. No one is there (except for a few confused patrons like ourselves), the box office is dark and clearly closed. But then we notice a sign that says, "Be back at 6:20pm". Ok.

- 6:25pm a borderline homeless looking man wearing a backpack, army boots, and accompanied by two small white dogs unlocks the theater door and disappears for a few minutes. The man reappears and flips on a light in the box office booth to take our payment (cash only) for the show.

- We enter the FREEZING cold theater lobby and check out the concession stand. I see hot tea on the menu. Interesting. We pay for candy, a soda, and hot tea. A rugged looking man takes a tea pot off of a hot plate and pours steaming hot water into a Styrofoam cup for me and then points to a stack of 5 boxes of herbal tea for me to choose from. Alright. I help myself to Pomegranate Pizazz, thank you.

- We enter the huge FREEZING cold theater and look for seats without large holes  No kidding.

- It's 6:40pm. It's 6:50pm. People have trickled in and at 6:55pm they decide to start the 6:30pm showing of The Descendants.

- Oh, did I forget to mention that the two small white dogs from earlier are wandering around the theater darting down various rows and startling unsuspecting movie-goers?  Yep, they sure were.

- We FREEZE while watching the movie, but at least I had my hot tea and the film took place in Hawaii,  which both helped...a little bit.

It was a hilarious and very entertaining movie experience thanks to the theater, and it made my 33rd birthday even more memorable.

I love that in this time and place dominated by money, the clock, and the allure of all things new, shiny, and beautiful, places like La Paloma Theater still exist. It was rustic and grungy and homemade and TOTALLY charming. We'll be back to this theater for sure, maybe when I'm 34...and we'll dress warmer.

Because I need to document this stuff...

Today while doing the dishes I came clean to Samantha and said, 

"Sometimes I get really tired of doing the dishes."

To which she very quickly responded,

"Yeah, I'll bet you wish you were a Daddy."

Ouch.

Then, at the end of the night,
Sam and I went next door to our favorite neighbor's house to borrow something,

and when we came back we were met by 

THIS GIRL...

Apparently this ensemble was totally her idea.

Never a dull moment around here.

And just for the record, please note Daddy in the background doing the dishes.

A weekend with Mark

Our great friend Mark came to visit this weekend. He was the "best man" in our wedding, and we all went to college together. Mark is a special friend to our family, and our girls just adore him.

In addition to being "best man" material, Mark is a really talented professional photographer. He specializes in engagements and weddings. Check out his work at his website www.markkuroda.com

We had a fun-filled weekend with Mark...eating Indian food, watching Crazy, Stupid, Love (awesome movie!), having a little beach playtime, and the grand finale...a trip to Seaworld. It is particularly entertaining for us to see our crazy life through Mark's eyes. And just for the record, I think he enjoyed Seaworld as much, if not more, than the girls. Single guys don't get to Seaworld much.

Click here for a 53 second slide show (to music) of some of our outings this past weekend. Thank you Mark for the slideshow and pictures below!

It was great to have Mark here and we hope he comes back again soon.

Shamu's Christmas Show is a fabulous and wondrous Christmas experience.

Choirs, candles, soloists, Christmas music, melodrama, killer whales jumping in unison...what's not to love. 

If you haven't seen it yet and have a pass to Seaworld...GO...it will not disappoint.

Through the eyes of a child

These are two pictures from a play-date last week.

I LOVE these pictures. They speak of the wonder and simple joys and energy of childhood.

One thing I really appreciate about this time of year is how much easier it is to see life through the eyes of children. The lights, the tree, the manger, the wonder, the mystery, the gifts, the music...I feel like I am experiencing it all afresh thanks to my children.

I'm trying to savor every day of this advent season as we get closer and closer to Christmas.

I hope you are too.

When the dog runs away...

...you learn that you really do love her. Or at least that was my experience last Thursday.

We returned home after a lovely morning at the local botanical gardens, and as I pulled in the driveway I saw that the side gate was wide open. I knew that gate was closed when we left. I also knew I had left Bailey in the backyard (as usual), and I knew she wasn't wearing her collar (as usual - I won't get into THAT right now). I knew she was gone...and I was right.

We drove around the neighborhood for a while and I talked to Animal Control (on my earpiece, of course) as we drove. They told me to post something on Craigslist (hello 2011) and call back at 4:45pm.  4:45pm...she could be in Mexico by then!

After calling the micro-chip company and alerting Bailey lovers out there via Facebook, I got a really good idea (if I do say so myself). Samantha and I hauled in the enormous art easel from the garage and made a "LOST DOG" sign.  Then we placed the easel in the driveway hoping that all the school pick-up foot traffic would see the sign and maybe someone would know something about the whereabouts of our dog. Oh, and Sam added a pile of dog food under the sign to entice Bailey home.

Well, the sign had been out there for less than 10 minutes when I got a knock on the door.  A kind mama from down the street said that someone else up the street had a sign in their yard that said, "FOUND DOG." Lost dog sign + Found dog sign = happy-happy-joy-joy-reunion

Here is what this experience reinforced for me:

1. Despite the fact that my relationship with our sweet Bailey has suffered greatly since the birth of my children, I do in fact love my dog. I felt like I was missing a child (well, almost) for those hours she was unaccounted for.

2. We live in a GREAT neighborhood.

3. We have great friends. In addition to the Facebook sentiments and support, I had 3 people call or stop by out of concern for our pup. This fact both touched me, and gave me confidence that in a time of need loved ones, near and far, would be there for us. Thanks guys!

4. While advances like micro-chipping pets and Craigslist are all great, our dog was located thanks to 2 handmade signs. Score one for the old-fashioned way of doing things.

5. It is time for a new collar that doesn't jingle so loudly that we take it off the dog every night (and then forget to put it back on every morning). It's been ordered.

Welcome home Bailey.

Happy Halloween

My girls are in costumes so frequently that Halloween is really just like any other day in our house.

Except for that candy thing.

Every year Halloween reminds me why I don't keep any candy in our house.
I have ABSOLUTELY no self discipline when it comes to candy.  None.

We had two sets of costumes this year. First there was Sam's school costume.

The only hitch was that apparently I was the ONLY parent who didn't get the notice 

that kids weren't supposed to wear costumes to school.  

Oh well.  It's preschool.

In the evening they changed into their REAL costumes 

and went trick-or-treating as Hello Kitty and Tigger.

And to think, I hate cats.

But these were two dang cute felines.

Abby was WAY into her first trick-or-treating experience.
She had a death-grip on that bucket of candy all night and boldly marched to each door.
Judging by her enthusiasm for her treats she may have inherited her mama's problem with candy.

Showing off their loot.

It was a great day of costumes, friends, neighbors, and CANDY.