Christmas and Kids

Here are some pictures from our photo day at Matthew's school and some stories from tree cutting day.

Kids are so much fun, especially during the holidays. Yesterday we drove out to Half Moon Bay to get our tree. As soon as we turned into the entrance the kids faces sparkled with joy. Trees shaped and painted like snowmen and a train with Santa inside. Matthew noted that we just saw Santa on top of the firetruck at the parade on our street, so this one MUST be pretend.

We headed up the hill and into the valley to find the perfect tree. They squealed with excitement as they jumped out of the car and ran to the trees. Madeleine loved standing on the stumps and jumping off. Matthew liked carrying the saw by himself for the first time this year and pointing out "the best tree EVER." There were lots of them. :)

Matthew observed that some of the trees were really small. Marc explained that they had to grow and that each year we come back they will be bigger and bigger, just like him. Matthew responded, "Dad you're a genius!...and then we'll cut me down?" Then he laughed like crazy. Not sure how that makes Marc a genius or why that was so funny, but we all laughed with him and Marc seemed to have a proud fatherly look on his face. That comment surely secured his train ride on the way back down.

The train ride was great, complete with Christmas songs and antidotes about the different types of trees. Did you know it takes a Nobel Fir the longest to grow (12 years) and that's why it's the most expensive. It was lots of fun and when we finished, we were greeted with snow coming off the roof of Santa's Workshop, teenagers caroling and hot apple cider.

The kids continued to have a blast later that night when we put up the tree and decorated it. They were very excited to see all the Christmas things that have been packed away for a year. The Christmas clock, the talking Santa Claus, their Santa hats, their stockings, the Manger scene, etc.

Before we went to bed, Matthew mapped out where he thought Santa should put his gift in the living room..."do you think he'll put it over here or over here, Mommy?" He added, "I don't like Santa, I LOVE Santa." It was a great day. Now we have to spend some time teaching him more about the reason for season to cap it all off.

Merry Christmas!

Did You Miss Me???

Chalk it up to holidays, knitting and leaving my camera in my mom's car. I've gotten behind in making a post. Plus, my friend Margaret made the BEST post ever. Check it out. I didn't think I could ever top it, but a girl's gotta keep going.

Here are some highlights from my hiatus.

Many people may have crashed parties when they were younger. Marc and I did it for the first time this weekend. Technically, Marc is not yet a Sony employee (in the works) and so we were not technically invited to the holiday party. However, we got in!!! We got all dressed up...suit and cocktail dress and walked right up to the door, looked straight into the doorman's eyes, smiled and kept walking. He never even motioned for our Sony wristband. We couldn't have crashed a better party. It was AMAZING! 25 upside down 7 ft trees in the shape of a chandelier, and a full circle of white table cloth tables with 4 bar stations underneath. This was just the beginning. We had a blast. We need to crash more parties.

A couple of weeks ago Marc got a pumpkin pie. Matthew had a piece one night after dinner and LOVED it. The next night he asked for another piece, only to find out Dad got to it first. Lesson learned. This weekend he asked to stop at the store for Pumpkin pie. He suggested we get 2. A pie for Dad and a pie for the rest of us to share!!! Matthew is so funny! Even made his Dad crack up...his mentor.

The other day, Marc and I had a debate about who's the funniest in our house. For some reason Matthew woke up at 4am that night. Marc took the opportunity to ask Matthew who is the funniest. He said "Daddy". Bummer. Marc reminded me relentlessly the next morning. Matthew continued to say Daddy was the funniest for the next several days. Finally, I said to him that I wanted to be funny sometimes too. That request alone is VERY funny! Anyhow, Matthew conceded...he now assigns days for us to be funny...but I think Matthew is the funniest (most funny...my English teacher would say).

So, we participated in the annual field trip to the fire station. Here's a picture of Matthew on the fire truck.


Here's all the kids listening to the fire fighter tell us all about life at the station. Did you know that there are big black pipes that hang down from the ceiling? What are they for??? Well, they hook them up to the trucks and the exhaust goes up and out so that the station is exhaust free.


Then GAD (Great Aunt Diane) came over to make a Christmas tree decorated with gum drops. What child wouldn't get excited about this prospect? Go GAD!


I saved the BEST for last. The day wouldn't be complete without buying a new car!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?

Too bad it's not mine!!! See, I AM the funniest!!! It's GAD's new car, but I want it! Just love the color. Shimmery light blue. Lot's of room inside and it's TOTALLY loaded. She said it took an hour for the guy to review the computer screen capabilities. We could even see my real car parked behind it with the rear end camera that comes up on the screen. I realized my real car needs a bath!

So Much To Say

Madeleine has been practicing single words for awhile. Now she's trying to put them all together. It's fun to hear her first sentences and word combinations.

Her 1st two word combination, and one she mastered early on, was "all done". She lengthens the "aaaaaall" and punctuates the "DONE". More recently, I was sitting in her room with her as she played with puzzles and she requested, "Mommy play (with) me".

Lately she puts together words that allow her to assert her autonomy and things she wants. She says, "I get it (eg ball, car)"... "I want it"..."I hold it"...."I cut it"..."more ______". She fills in the blank with all sorts of things "more bread"..."more playdough"...etc. I'm trying to teach her to add "please" to the end and she does sometimes..."peeeese".

She is good at identifying messes too. Whenever something spills in the kitchen or toys fall down she exclaims "mess". She'll even create a mess, just so that she can say it. Thankfully she also says "clean up" after and is more than happy to pitch in and chant "clean up" as she helps.

Matthew is learning some language skills too - in the realm of manners. He's learning quickly. For awhile he had a habit of sitting down for dinner and telling me that he didn't like what was out for him and/or I used the wrong cup/plate, followed by a melt down.

So, we had a talk about how to get what he needs in a less combative style (read between the lines...in a way that doesn't upset mommy). Now, most times, he'll come to me before I set things up and request his preference. Or, if he misses that opportunity, he will tell me that he's not happy with my cup/plate selection, but that he plans on using it anyhow. Also, at the end of dinner he'll explain to me that what I made wasn't his favorite, but he ate it, and can I please choose something different in the future for him. I wish he liked everything, but I'm pleased with his progress!

Maybe I'll serve cookies and ice-cream every night. There won't be any discussion at all and I'll probably get hugs and kisses left and right. An added bonus...the dentist will love me too!

Thanksgiving

I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been busy knitting and enjoying the holiday with the family. I'm out of yarn now and the holiday is over. Time to make a post.

The first thing we did after arriving in Carmel for Thanksgiving with the Senasac's was to go shopping at Safeway. It's the best way to jump start a holiday vacation. Really. We needed milk for Madeleine and the kids LOVED the double seated car attached to the shopping cart. At every stop they got out for a pit stop and changed sides. Giggling the whole time.

We went back later in the trip to hit the Starbucks inside the Safeway. I thought I'd run in and grab some coffee quickly before heading out for a drive along the coast. While waiting in the car Matthew asked his Dad why we would stop to get coffee there...when we knew he'd be sad if he couldn't ride the cars. He's right, we're not too smart. Then again, it was the only cafe open on Thanksgiving near the hotel. It's a toss up.


Next, we got to the business of a real vacation and headed to the beach with the kids and many of their cousins, aunts and uncles. It's a short walk from the hotel, so very convenient. Here's Matthew playing with Mother Nature.


The kids had fun hanging out at the hotel too. Here's Madeleine giving her brother a big smooch.


Here's Matthew wiping off the smooch! He still loves her. How could he not? She's so sweet.


All around, it was a fun trip. We saw so much family...22 of us. We're home now and ready for another great week. This time on Garden Lane.

Yo estoy aprendiendo Español con Maria!

This is my new friend Maria. Well, she's really not a new friend. I've known her for several years. She's a parent at Matthew's preschool. The thing is...I never got to know her because she primarily spoke Spanish.

Since then, she has taken many English classes and has learned a lot. I, on the other hand, have done nothing to learn Spanish. Still, we can now have brief and paced conversations in English.

One day I was chatting with her and we realized that it would be fun to get together to practice English and Spanish together. A language exchange. Interestingly enough, you can search for language exchange partners on craigslist.com.

Maria came over last week and we got started. We weren't sure what to do at first, but then eased into something that worked for us. Even though I had known her for a long time, I knew almost nothing about her. So, I started asking her questions in English. I would write them down and she would write out the same sentence in Spanish. Then the answer, in English and Spanish. We wrote down numbers above the words to help us see how it all connected. Before long, we had 5-6 sheets. I made copies for her to take home.

Now when I see Maria at the school she asks me simple questions in Spanish. I'm constantly making a fool of myself, but I'm trying. The other day I said "Buenos dias, Maria". She then reminded me that it was the afternoon. Oops. I corrected myself..."buenas tardes, Maria". Later I saw her cleaning up after the kids at lunch and she looked tired. I said, "cansado"? She smiled and said, "Si". I think she was happy for me to move past greetings.

My new favorite site...spanishdict.com! We get together again tomorrow. I'd better go study!!!

What is so funny???

Here's Matthew and Madeleine laughing and screaming uncontrollably with their friend Havah. I love to see kids laugh like this. It's contagious.

Halloween...What a day!

It took a couple of days. We've now recovered from 14 straight hours of Halloween fun. It started out with a parade and potluck party at Matthew's school. All of the kids were SO cute in their costumes. Aside from a few varieties of princess, everyone had something different. Pixar had a big contingent with Buz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen. We also had the standards...fire fighter, cowboy, and a witch. There were throw backs too....Darth Vader and Spiderman. Madeleine was a giraffe and Matthew was her Veterinarian. It was a good showing.

The Veterinarian choice was interesting. He picked it on his own without even knowing the historical roots of that choice. When I was in college, I worked for a Veterinarian. While there, I became friends with a girl named Nicole. After a couple of years of working with her, I went to her brother's New Year's Eve party. Her brother being Marc...aka Matthew's Dad. Funny stuff.

After the parade there was a lot of good food to enjoy and a pinata. Madeleine turned down the offer to smack the paper pumpkin several times. At the end, just before the thing broke open, she accepted the invitation. She must have taken some pointers from the big kids. She got up there with perfect form and a nice slice off the bat.

In the afternoon, Matthew and I carved a pumpkin and baked the seeds. He chose the shapes and I performed surgery on the gourd...rectangle please mom, now a triangle. The pumpkin and the seeds came out great. We took a couple of raw seeds and planted them in the garden. We're hoping for another cute little pumpkin like the one that recently came off the vine from last years planting.

After Madeleine woke up, we headed down the street for the Annual Halloween Block Party. They had a great time in the jumpy/slide house, bobbing for apples, eating mummy dogs, and playing with the other kids.

We came home for a quick dinner and changed back into costumes. This time Matthew opted for his train engineer costume. It's hard for him to go a day without being and engineer. We handed out candy until Marc came home and then we headed out to the streets. Madeleine seemed to catch on quickly. She chimed in on "treat" and held out her bag. She felt so comfortable, that at the next house she walked right in, found the table with the bowl and started to help herself.

After we canvased our street we packed in the car and headed to a kids party at the church. Our friend Nikki heads it up and she does a bang up job. This year it was a circus theme and she was the ring leader. There was a show with acrobats, but we just missed it. Matthew and Madeleine put on their own show on the stage and enjoyed all of the other festivities of the night.

It was a full and fun day!

Conflict

Lately, I can't decide if I should spend time blogging or knitting after the kids go to bed - my two new interests. So, tonight I decided to compromise and blog about knitting.

How did this all begin? What is this knitting thing? Is there a knitting movement? Is there is knitting King or Queen?

I tried knitting many years ago. I can't believe I'm old enough to say this but....in those days there wasn't a knitting shop on nearly every main street and I didn't know very many people my age doing it.

Now, when I walk down 24th Street in Noe Valley I see a knitting shop that lures me in like the Starbucks a few doors down. It's a very social place. Lots of people milling about...looking at the yarns but also following each other. The yarns are beautiful and so are the sample projects lying around. Buying a ball of yarn seems to be as satisfying as buying a cup of coffee, minus the caffeine. And the yarn lasts longer.

I never did it though...buy a ball of yarn. I couldn't remember what I learned many years back. But, then my friend Margaret started knitting this past Summer. I thought she'd do it for awhile and then get busy with other things. She didn't. She's obsessed. She has several projects going, listens to knitting podcasts and makes entries on her favorite knitting site.

Our family stayed at Margaret's house this past weekend. The dads watched the kids and the moms took the night off. Margaret and I got back around 10PM and soon after Marc and BZ started playing an Xbox game. Margaret and I were bored so I suggested she show me a few things about knitting. We stayed up 'till 1AM knitting and watching the guys slash away at their foes with their virtual swords. It was bliss and now I'm hooked.

It's not just a bunch of practice rows anymore. It has a purpose now. It's a scarf for baby Clayton, my cousin's son. Not sure when I'll finish. I've already had to unravel to fix mistakes many times. Shouldn't be too long though, and I'm having fun along the way.

Sound the Alarm!

Matthew has wanted a pedal fire truck for a long time. He worked very hard over the last several months and did all kinds of things to earn his truck.

He helped clean the bathtub, remove huge amounts of sand from his bed (a leaking stuffed animal), clean/sort/fold laundry, etc.

On Saturday, he became the proud owner of a 1940's styled hook and ladder truck, with room on the back for a crew member named Madeleine. He handed over his hard earned cash and signed an official Bill of Sale before taking ownership. Thankfully, he had a loving relative as a silent investor.

Matthew tested everything on the vehicle...the light, the bell, the ladders. Following the inspection, he took it for a spin.

This morning, he got up early, picked out his clothes and got dressed without any prompting. He said he wanted to ride his truck. Dad took him out after some cereal.

On the way to school he told me they put out 2 fires. And this was just the start of the day. No telling what he could accomplish by dinner.

Mannequins and Buggers

I'm often treated to some funny things during the day. Yesterday I went shopping at Old Navy with Madeleine. They have a bunch of mannequins distributed around the store sporting the latest in ON fashion. Madeleine loved them. She liked hiding behind them, holding their hands and hugging their legs.

When it comes to mannequins, can you think of a better dancing partner? Not really. They don't step on your toes and you can lead every time.

At one point a really groovy song came on in the store. Madeleine got her groove on and danced away. It was super cute, but at some point I finally had to cut in on the dance. It was time to go.

Since she loved the mannequin so much, I suggested she give him/her/it a kiss good-bye. I thought she'd give it a peck on the leg. Nope. She wanted to give a proper smooch on the face. The only thing is, none of the mannequins at ON have a head. I'm not sure how to describe the look on her face as she gazed up at the headless mannequin.

Quick. How about a kiss for Mommy? Okay, time to go.

Later that day I picked up Matthew from school. As I turned onto our street I looked into the rear view mirror and spotted him picking his nose and sticking it in his mouth. I did what any mother would do. I told him to stop and added a very sophisticated word to punctuate my request...Yuck! Matthew replied, "you should try it sometime Mom, they're really good! They're sweet. Actually, the big ones are sweet. Not the small ones." I wasn't sure what to say. I just kept driving.

Secrets in the Garden

When we moved into our house, the backyard was mainly weeds. Over the years I've spent a lot of time nurturing it and have developed a picture of what it will look like when I'm finished.

As I turn the corner toward our front door, I often look out to our backyard. I usually wish that I could add some mulch and finish off the path I dug out. And sometimes I even imagine the trellis and gate that would serve as the entry to our oasis.

Mulch and trellises always come after diapers, kids shoes and preschool tuition. Still, I want to see the path finished. I want to complete the picture.

As I've nurtured the garden, the garden has nurtured me. And as I've watched the garden grow, the garden has seen me grow.

Last week in the garden I thought about how 90% of the garden IS complete. Not only is it complete, but it's flourishing.

Looking at the garden from different points in the yard made me forget that the path even needs to be done. Seeing the butterflies flutter around and the bees rest on flowers was revealing too. They were very happy and didn't seem to care about the path.

It is easy to think that if something would just come to pass that everything would be in balance and that all things would fall into place...the picture would be finished...complete. There is a sense of security here.

You know what? Once that thing comes to pass, there is something else. Nothing is ever complete.

There are a lot of things that are growing and flourishing in my garden. That's where I should place my thoughts. In the absence of fear there is peace and security. There is faith. This is the path I want in my life.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

We went to Lemo's Farm in Half Moon Bay today. My mom came with us. It was a field trip for Matthew's school.

There were all sorts of activities, aside from finding pumpkins. The kids went on a pony ride (first time for Madeleine), train ride, tractor/hay ride, haunted house, jumpy house. and petting zoo. We had loads of fun, but we wanted more.

On the way home, we stopped off for tacos at the beach in Pacifica. We sat outside, watched the ocean, ate lunch and collected rocks.

The other day Matthew told me he really wanted a collection of rocks. Today he tried to sneak a few boulders in, but I explained that he could only collect rocks that he could carry.

In a valiant attempt, he tried to tell me the rocks (boulders) were for me. There was a quiet understanding that then I could carry them. There was also a quiet understanding that I had no interest.

He decided on several very large rocks that he could carry and we headed home...2 pumpkins and 3 rocks richer.

Scones

We made orange-almond scones today. Yummy! This is the picture after we cleaned up the counter. Madeleine can't wait to get her hands on them.

Matthew and I had a good time measuring. I told him to tell me when we reached the line for 1 cup of milk. He didn't tell me to stop until 1 1/2 cups. Oops, "we went over the line, Matthew". For some reason, he thought that was SO funny. He kept repeating it.

He also kept repeating "P" when we started talking about the "reciPE". "P" is such a funny letter because it sounds like #1, and that always leads to so much laughter. Even Madeleine joined in on it all.

I remember when my mom took my brother Mike, my cousin Kathy and I camping when we were little. I can't really remember the game exactly, but somehow we were pulling big plastic letters out of a bucket and when we pulled out the "P" it was all over. We couldn't stop laughing until...well I guess we fell asleep at some point.

A new generation and a more laughter about "P".

Painting

I took Madeleine outside to paint. It was a beautiful day to be doing things in the sun. She had fun painting the paper, the grass, the sidewalk, etc.

She likes to do art projects. She can spend a lot of time at the kitchen counter coloring, painting, pasting and adding stickers. She sings quietly as she works, although I don't always understand the words.

I get a little nervous when the glue starts piling up on the paper or when crayons or paint start falling on the floor like dominos, but I try hard to be calm. I wouldn't want to crush a future Monet.

Recently, a mother at Matthew's pre-school warned me about the dangers of having a sample as a guide for projects. Apparently there are guidelines for appropriately developing an artist. I just do my best and try to have fun with them.

Daddy and Me

On Sunday's Marc helps out our church with the sound. He goes early to set-up and Matthew likes to go with him. He likes to spend time with Daddy. He also likes to eat the muffins that are out for the early birds who prepare the church.

I like the quiet time at the house with just the girls. Madeleine and I hang out and take our time getting ready. She likes to put on a "pretty dress" and "tights". She points out "mommy's tights" and then shows me her "baby tights".

It's so cute to see Matthew walk around to "check the sound" and then report back to Marc on what is needed. He's also learning how to work some of the buttons and knobs. He likes being back at the sound board with him. It's a nice bonding time for them until he runs off to church school.

My First Blog Post

It's late and I'm tired. I'll type more in my next post.