This week is HOT! We have been so spoiled this summer, in that it really has been very cool and delightful. And I mean really delightful. We've hardly had to use our air conditioner at all. But the past couple days things have really gotten miserable. It's even a little muggy out. Ew. Our air conditioner is going most of the day and part of the night. And I am saying little prayers to the gods of heating and cooling that it continues to work. It's bad out there.
This morning we took Juliette to her gym class and then to run a couple of errands. I know the kids have had a big week... They've been swimming and going to friends' houses and having friends here. Annalise has had camp all afternoon and they're tired. But my goodness, I couldn't get those kids to motivate to do anything today! I asked them if they'd like to go to the library. "It's really cool there!" "No." Even Juliette... "Do you want to go to the library?" "No." "Do you want to get some books?" "NO!" with the emphatic head shake even. So we came home. The kids played and fought for a while. Juliette is napping and now I have two blobs on the couch watching a movie. Frankly, I don't blame them. With this weather all I want to do is be a blob also. I'm not sure my brain is even working well enough to read, much less write. (Forgive me if this makes no sense! It's the heat!) The heat just zaps the energy and motivation right out of us.
We really are spoiled here in Southern California with our weather. I would say probably 350 days of the year we can play outside -- maybe even more. There really are just a handful of days where it is really too hot or too rainy to play. And when I think of it that way, I really am grateful. Jason's parents and cousins live in Arizona and I always wonder how they survive the summers. Perhaps they hibernate. I think that's probably what I would do if I lived there. Just go into sleep mode and wake up in October. Maybe that's why the plastic surgery rates are so high there... If the hibernation thing didn't work out, then maybe we'd just be naked in our house all the time. My kids would be totally OK with that, but the UPS guy or my next door neighbor might appreciate it if I have a little work done. I have nursed three kids. I'm not as, well let's say, fit as I once was. And at the other end of the spectrum are my cousins who live back east. Whenever we visit Boston, I say I could live there. It really is such a great city. But my cousin says I wouldn't last a month! And she's probably right. It gets COLD there! Even if I could survive there myself, without kids, I'm pretty sure that, with kids, something would bring me down. It might be the constant wrestling with the winter clothing; getting them on to walk out to the car only to have to take them right back off to get into their carseats. Oh God! And what if they have to go to the bathroom? I think I'd just keep them all in diapers. Nobody uses a toilet until we're all home. And then there's that whole having to play inside all day thing. I'm pretty sure I would go stir crazy after just a couple of days. I think if I were to live in either place, I'd have to have a basement the size of a football field in order to survive. That might be kind of nice, actually. They'd be totally contained. No cars to dodge. No dirt for Juliette to eat. Hmmm, she might not like that. We'd have to get her a flower pot so she can get her iron. There's a reason it costs a couple arms and three or four legs to live in Southern California. It's the weather. That's it. We're paying for weather. Seems kind of ridiculous, especially on days like today. But for the 350 beautiful days of the year, it's worth every penny.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Cold Feet (Literally)
Last night was not such a good night for sleeping in this house. Jason and I have an arrangement for waking up. If Juliette wakes up in the middle of the night (which is pretty often), it's all me. I'm the one up with her. But if Zachary or Annalise wake up, Jason's on duty. This system works out great, except when Jason is out of town, like he was last night. It was not a great night. First, Juliette didn't even go down until after 10:30. What's up with that? And then she was up a whole bunch of times during the night. But Zachary also was up. He has this problem in the middle of the night where he says his feet are cold. We put socks on him every night (even when it is HOT outside, like last night) and sometimes he will wear two, three, even four pairs. Sometimes we pile blankets on top of his feet. It is the strangest thing. Jason and I are totally stumped. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it seems like it is really painful. Last night, his left foot woke him up three times. One time he was up for almost an hour, cuddling with me on the couch, in front of the TV, trying to distract him and get him to stop shaking and crying. It's starting to really upset me. It's been happening now for over a year. Our doctor has had no explanation so far, but I think we're going to have to talk about it again. Maybe his foot is falling asleep and it just won't wake up. Maybe he is dreaming. Maybe he has a circulation problem. I don't know. But I'm hoping to find out soon. Triple socks in the middle of summer in Southern California is just not practical.
Dirty Camp
This week Annalise is participating in our local Girl Scout day camp. It is a camp I attended when I was a Brownie, and I am so excited that she is following in my footsteps. The camp takes place in the afternoon. The girls aren't picked up until 7:30, which means right to showers and bed. Annalise is exhausted and oh so dirty when she comes home. The camp takes place at a park in town, which I am convinced is the dirtiest, dustiest place on earth. It is full of hiking and horse trails, a frisbee golf course and dirt. And sticks. And dust. And a few weeds. Beautiful old oak trees. And dirt. I'm still not sure what all they do there all day. The answers are always a little vague. Yesterday they went on a hike. Today they learned how to make lanyards. They sing those same old songs that have been around since the beginning of time -- songs about bubblegum and worms and boom-chicka-booms. Yesterday she learned a song about being terrific but nobody knows it yet (except people do know... I think she's pretty great.). They do some cooking and then some more singing. Tomorrow they are going to hike to the cave to see the "one-eyed monster." Both Annalise and her friend Cora were pretty sure they didn't want to have anything to do with that at the beginning of the week. But today they both are considering going inside. We'll have to see. This camp is the highlight of their summer. And it's one of my highlights, too. My girl grows before my eyes when she goes to day camp. She leaves the house a little girl each afternoon, but she comes back a little taller, a little wiser, a little braver and a whole lot dirtier.
Monday, June 28, 2010
SUMMER!!!!!!!!!
Mrs. Rose, my tenth grade English teacher, would be extremely disappointed in me for my excessive use of exclamation points in the title of this entry ("Any more than two and you just seem crazy."), but I feel it entirely necessary. I am so excited that summer is here.
We have had a really busy year. I completely overextended myself (as you can tell by lack of blog entries). I don't feel like each individual kid was overextended, but as a whole, our family was. Not every family works this way, but in this family, pretty much, if one kid has tee ball, then we all go to tee ball. If one kid has dance, we all go. That's not to say we always stay the whole time, but it does mean that everyone is loaded and unloaded from the car quite a lot. Our afternoons were overly full, and I'm happy to take a break from that.
And apparently I am taking that whole "break thing" to the extreme. The kids are signed up for almost nothing this summer. Annalise will do a week of Girl Scout camp -- the funnest, dirtiest camp ever. And Juliette will continue her MyGym class over the summer. But that's it. We plan on doing nothing but playing, exploring, swimming and going on field trips. It's totally my kind of summer. I may be totally regretting this decision in a couple weeks, but for now, it suits us just fine. The fighting has stopped. The bickering, whining, complaining, over-tired melt downs -- all of it has stopped. We are back to going to bed after nine and Zachary, for one, is sleeping in until ten almost every day. It's so lovely! Last night we took a walk to get ice cream after dinner. We are going to make a tradition out of playing at Annalise's school every Wednesday evening. I am going to have a little cooking class with Annalise and three of her friends. We'll have lots of playdates and trips to the park and beach. But we'll also have lots of days like today, where at almost 1:00, three of the four of us are still in our pajamas. To me, this is what summer is all about.
We have had a really busy year. I completely overextended myself (as you can tell by lack of blog entries). I don't feel like each individual kid was overextended, but as a whole, our family was. Not every family works this way, but in this family, pretty much, if one kid has tee ball, then we all go to tee ball. If one kid has dance, we all go. That's not to say we always stay the whole time, but it does mean that everyone is loaded and unloaded from the car quite a lot. Our afternoons were overly full, and I'm happy to take a break from that.
And apparently I am taking that whole "break thing" to the extreme. The kids are signed up for almost nothing this summer. Annalise will do a week of Girl Scout camp -- the funnest, dirtiest camp ever. And Juliette will continue her MyGym class over the summer. But that's it. We plan on doing nothing but playing, exploring, swimming and going on field trips. It's totally my kind of summer. I may be totally regretting this decision in a couple weeks, but for now, it suits us just fine. The fighting has stopped. The bickering, whining, complaining, over-tired melt downs -- all of it has stopped. We are back to going to bed after nine and Zachary, for one, is sleeping in until ten almost every day. It's so lovely! Last night we took a walk to get ice cream after dinner. We are going to make a tradition out of playing at Annalise's school every Wednesday evening. I am going to have a little cooking class with Annalise and three of her friends. We'll have lots of playdates and trips to the park and beach. But we'll also have lots of days like today, where at almost 1:00, three of the four of us are still in our pajamas. To me, this is what summer is all about.
Phooey
Juliette is learning to talk. I know. All babies do it. It really shouldn't be anything special. But it SO IS!! She has had quite a few words for some time now. But now she is in the period of time my mom calls the "language explosion," where new words are coming fast and furious out of that kid's mouth. And, I'm sorry, but it really is adorable. I love that she is able to communicate with us with confidence and we are (sometimes) able to understand her. Today she repeatedly said, "Ogurt", a new one. She was done with her yogurt, but it was like she had to repeat herself over and over so the word would cement itself in her brain. My favorite word is "My shit," which is a sit/chair hybrid. So I get a kick out of a 17 month old cussing. (Ask me some day about Annalise and moving my gramps into a nursing home. More kid cussing. Love it!) And now she is constructing "sentences" like "Mama sit a dow side." (Mama, sit down outside.) This morning she kept pointing and saying "phooey" over and over. I handed her the flower I thought she was talking about. She pushed it down, pointed again and repeated "phooey." Of course! Phone! There were two play cellphones on Annalise's desk and she wanted both. She made her calls ("Papa," "Gama," and "Dada work") and was a happy girl.
She is very proud of herself, too. Of course she is always trying to keep up with the big kids. Last week we went down to Annalise's school to play after dinner with a few other families. The kids had the whole playground to themselves and so Juliette was really able to roam about freely. She didn't look back as she crossed the entire field to join in the huddle with the other kids. When they ran off, she was right behind them. At Annalise's dance rehearsals, she was right up in front, attempting to follow the choreography. It is amazing what happens to a third child sometimes. It seems like sometimes they really embrace that baby role and seem even younger than they are. Not this girl. She wants nothing more than to keep up with "Zachy" and "Seece." And third borns are exposed to things so much earlier. I seriously doubt that many first born 15 month olds are talking about "R2" when they spot R2D2 at the toy store. Maybe some day Juliette will embrace being the baby, but for now, she is daring herself, pushing herself and willing herself to be a big kid. Phooey.
She is very proud of herself, too. Of course she is always trying to keep up with the big kids. Last week we went down to Annalise's school to play after dinner with a few other families. The kids had the whole playground to themselves and so Juliette was really able to roam about freely. She didn't look back as she crossed the entire field to join in the huddle with the other kids. When they ran off, she was right behind them. At Annalise's dance rehearsals, she was right up in front, attempting to follow the choreography. It is amazing what happens to a third child sometimes. It seems like sometimes they really embrace that baby role and seem even younger than they are. Not this girl. She wants nothing more than to keep up with "Zachy" and "Seece." And third borns are exposed to things so much earlier. I seriously doubt that many first born 15 month olds are talking about "R2" when they spot R2D2 at the toy store. Maybe some day Juliette will embrace being the baby, but for now, she is daring herself, pushing herself and willing herself to be a big kid. Phooey.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Faire
So I mentioned that I co-chaired the faire at Zachary's school this year. That thing was a lot of work! It is a huge event and fundraiser. I'm happy to report that we earned almost $30,000. We were $5000 shy of our goal, BUT we were still almost $9000 over last year. And that's not bad. I know I bitched and complained about it the whole way, but the truth is, it really was a lot of fun. My co-chairs, Courtney and Julie, are amazing, fun girls and we had way more laughs than we did complaints. We worked well together, balanced off each other well, and were a great team. And our committee chairs were fabulous! They came up with new ideas; they questioned the way things had been done in the past and made them better; they were creative and innovative. They were awesome! The whole thing was a huge team effort that had all these separate pieces that all came together to make for an incredible day. In the end I was really proud! But I definitely felt a little weird when it was all over -- like a what now? kind of feeling. I miss seeing Courtney and Julie every day. And it was great to really feel like I was doing something to really help.
The whole volunteer thing is really quite new to me. I have done little things here and there, but nothing major like this. And that phenomenon is really an amazing one. It amazes me what people will do for no money, no paycheck, and often barely a thank you. Maybe it's because of how volunteering makes you feel -- like you're really making a difference, really helping someone out. I know for now it makes the most sense for me to be focusing my efforts locally, on my kids' schools, but I hope as they get older I will reach far beyond our community, and bring my kids along in that adventure. I can imagine how powerful that will be for a kid. Who knows where these volunteering gigs will lead for me. Perhaps someday it will land me a paying job doing fundraising for a non-profit. (I'll certainly build up quite a resume in the meantime!) Or maybe I'll become a "professional" volunteer, like my mom. So far I have found the experience really rewarding, and I look forward to my next assignment, whatever that may be.
The whole volunteer thing is really quite new to me. I have done little things here and there, but nothing major like this. And that phenomenon is really an amazing one. It amazes me what people will do for no money, no paycheck, and often barely a thank you. Maybe it's because of how volunteering makes you feel -- like you're really making a difference, really helping someone out. I know for now it makes the most sense for me to be focusing my efforts locally, on my kids' schools, but I hope as they get older I will reach far beyond our community, and bring my kids along in that adventure. I can imagine how powerful that will be for a kid. Who knows where these volunteering gigs will lead for me. Perhaps someday it will land me a paying job doing fundraising for a non-profit. (I'll certainly build up quite a resume in the meantime!) Or maybe I'll become a "professional" volunteer, like my mom. So far I have found the experience really rewarding, and I look forward to my next assignment, whatever that may be.
I'm Back!!
I have taken quite a break from writing in my blog. I have been unbelievably busy and have not had a spare second to myself. But this afternoon, Juliette is napping; Zachary is "resting" while watching a movie and Annalise is still at school. They are all great by the way. I'm not sure what this entry should be about, so maybe I'll just catch you all up.
I have been so busy because, well, I have three kids. But more than that, I also co-chaired the fair at Zachary's school this spring. (Much more on that later...) And since then I have been playing catch up with my life! Also, my brother and his family were here from Italy for two wonderful months. (Hopefully more on that later, too!) And other than that, I shuffle people from one place to another. Jason is still plugging away at work and then working around the yard on the weekends. We're hoping to get some fun stuff done around the house now that I have a little break! And maybe we actually spend some time together, too. Aaaahh, a girl can dream! :)
Annalise is still doing her first grade thing. She is gaining confidence every day. She is still a "floater" -- playing with different kids all the time, which I think is fabulous. She has a couple girls whom she would call her "best friends," but doesn't play with them every day. She seems very happy with her friends, her school, everything but her brother. (More on that later, too!) She finished softball, which she really liked. It is kid-pitch in this league, which was excruciating to watch. Often there were only one or two hits in the entire game. Ugh! It is just strike out after walk after strike out. So obviously they don't get to practice their fielding, either. I just don't get it. But fortunately, I don't run the league, so I don't get to make those decisions. I'll let someone else who actually knows something about softball make those decisions. She is still dancing, too. She's getting pretty good, though I really can't read her when she dances. Does she love it? She says so, but she just looks very intense. I'd like to see her let go a little.
Zachary is finishing up his second year of preschool. He is very conflicted about not going to kindergarten next year, as many of his friends are. We have had him observed by the district psychologist, who really thinks he is doing just fine, though he is a little immature. He definitely is showing a little more interest in "academics" lately. And we need to do a better job of follow through with him, and not accepting "I don't know" or "I can't" as an answer. He is still very social and loving. And I think he's a good friend, too. He is also done with his gym class. I'm a little sad about this, but he was ready to move on. And he has moved on to tee ball! Adorable!! Everyone gets a base hit, even if it takes you ten tries to hit the ball off the tee; even if you get tagged out; even if you run zig zag across the field to get to your base. The last one up always gets a homerun. The game goes on even if the opposing team is now sitting in the outfield playing duck duck goose. It's really cute and he's having a lot of fun.
Juliette is a rascal!! She is now 16 months old and is just so full of spirit! She's been walking and climbing for so long that now she really is an expert. Somehow she still manages to fall about 30 times a day. But she is one tough cookie. She cries for a second and then is back in action. She is by far the toughest one of my kids, and the least bit of a drama queen. She has tons of words now, and a few signs, too. But her favorites are baby, please, doggy, cracker, birdy and Zachy. My favorites are still shoes, cheese, purse and backback. She is always in action, often with a purse over her shoulder, ready to go. She is still a huge flirt and wins hearts wherever she goes.
Okay, you are now caught up on the major happenings in our house. Hopefully I'll have a chance to go into more detail, too. Keep sleeping, Juliette...
I have been so busy because, well, I have three kids. But more than that, I also co-chaired the fair at Zachary's school this spring. (Much more on that later...) And since then I have been playing catch up with my life! Also, my brother and his family were here from Italy for two wonderful months. (Hopefully more on that later, too!) And other than that, I shuffle people from one place to another. Jason is still plugging away at work and then working around the yard on the weekends. We're hoping to get some fun stuff done around the house now that I have a little break! And maybe we actually spend some time together, too. Aaaahh, a girl can dream! :)
Annalise is still doing her first grade thing. She is gaining confidence every day. She is still a "floater" -- playing with different kids all the time, which I think is fabulous. She has a couple girls whom she would call her "best friends," but doesn't play with them every day. She seems very happy with her friends, her school, everything but her brother. (More on that later, too!) She finished softball, which she really liked. It is kid-pitch in this league, which was excruciating to watch. Often there were only one or two hits in the entire game. Ugh! It is just strike out after walk after strike out. So obviously they don't get to practice their fielding, either. I just don't get it. But fortunately, I don't run the league, so I don't get to make those decisions. I'll let someone else who actually knows something about softball make those decisions. She is still dancing, too. She's getting pretty good, though I really can't read her when she dances. Does she love it? She says so, but she just looks very intense. I'd like to see her let go a little.
Zachary is finishing up his second year of preschool. He is very conflicted about not going to kindergarten next year, as many of his friends are. We have had him observed by the district psychologist, who really thinks he is doing just fine, though he is a little immature. He definitely is showing a little more interest in "academics" lately. And we need to do a better job of follow through with him, and not accepting "I don't know" or "I can't" as an answer. He is still very social and loving. And I think he's a good friend, too. He is also done with his gym class. I'm a little sad about this, but he was ready to move on. And he has moved on to tee ball! Adorable!! Everyone gets a base hit, even if it takes you ten tries to hit the ball off the tee; even if you get tagged out; even if you run zig zag across the field to get to your base. The last one up always gets a homerun. The game goes on even if the opposing team is now sitting in the outfield playing duck duck goose. It's really cute and he's having a lot of fun.
Juliette is a rascal!! She is now 16 months old and is just so full of spirit! She's been walking and climbing for so long that now she really is an expert. Somehow she still manages to fall about 30 times a day. But she is one tough cookie. She cries for a second and then is back in action. She is by far the toughest one of my kids, and the least bit of a drama queen. She has tons of words now, and a few signs, too. But her favorites are baby, please, doggy, cracker, birdy and Zachy. My favorites are still shoes, cheese, purse and backback. She is always in action, often with a purse over her shoulder, ready to go. She is still a huge flirt and wins hearts wherever she goes.
Okay, you are now caught up on the major happenings in our house. Hopefully I'll have a chance to go into more detail, too. Keep sleeping, Juliette...
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