A Collection of Unrelated Stories

Sometimes Marc and I can find ourselves very tired with busy days, but then one of the kids says/does something really cute and funny and we both enjoy the moment. Here are some things I want to remember when I get older. I think they are funny right now. They might make me shed a sentimental tear if I read them again when I'm 80.

Before I start, here are some relatively recent pictures of the two of them together.




In no particular order...

At dinner time one night I noticed a bunch of rice on the floor. I pointed it out to Matthew and asked how it got there (rhetorical, I know). He replied, "the rice got legs and walked down there". Of course...I knew that. :)

Our neighbors gave Madeleine a teddy bear that reads stories. There is a book for them to read along. Matthew was listening to one of the stories the other day and it said that the bear was from syBEARia. "Wow", he said..."Cybelle got a really nice gift, it came all the way from syBearia".

Madeleine has been so polite lately. Yesterday she was taking a bath. After being in there for almost an hour, I asked her to get out and she replied, "no tanku". Then this morning, she wanted to watch Elmo's World Potty Training, which she LOVES. I explained that we couldn't do that right now and she said, in the nicest voice, "otay Mommy". She knows how to assert herself when necessary though...like when she wanted her milk today. She asked me first, but I was still waking up, so I suggested that she go ask Daddy, since he was already up. To which she replied, "no ask Daddy, ask Mommy...Mommy get it"! Well, okay then.

I was so pleased with Matthew this past week. One day, after getting up at about 7:30am, I noticed the light on in his room. He came to me and said that he woke up a long time ago, but decided to play quietly until everyone woke up. This continued all week. After 4 1/2 years of being woken up, we had the sweet feeling of waking up on our own. It felt SO good. As long as Madeleine continues to wake up after us, we are in a sweet spot.

One day last week Matthew was missing his Dad a lot. He asked to call him several times during the day. Each time Marc took special care to talk to him. But, on the last call just before bed, Matthew asked Marc delicately (I think he knew he was pushing it) if he could tell a story over the phone. Marc often tells him stories over the phone, but this time he just had to say no, so that he could finally finish up and come home. As I sat next to Matthew I saw his body shrink down and his face slide with it. I understood Marc's situation, but also had sympathy for Matthew. So, I tried to connect and asked if he felt sad. He seemed comforted that I cared and sat up a bit. He said, "I feel sad, but not a lot sad". He paused and referenced the story, "close, but no cigar". I thought that was hysterical and asked where he'd heard that phrase..."Uncle Steve taught me that".

A final entry on Matthew. Recently he came up to me while I was writing thank you notes. He asked if he could write a note to Santa. He said he would tell me what to write for him. We got started and this is what came out.

Dear Santa Claus,

How is your wife? I told you the wrong thing about the crane. What I really want is a huge Buzz Lightyear. Thank you for the crane, Santa Claus.

Love,

Matthew

We sealed it up, addressed it (to a family member so that we could get it back) and took it to the post office. At dinner time he said, "that mail person must be exhausted"...obviously sympathizing with the long haul they would have had all the way to the N. Pole.

Please write suggestions for our reply in the comments. We need help.

Birthday Princess

Madeleine had her 2nd birthday party on Saturday. It was a very nice day complete with sunshine in the middle of January. There were lots of little people to celebrate with her...cousin's Gianna and Clayton, her brother Matthew and friend Havah. She had a blast jumping around with them, playing and eating cake.

She was blessed with lots of wonderful clothes and toys from her family and friend Havah.

She really is 2 now. She's constantly asserting herself..."I do it!" She wants to do everything, even read her own books. She takes the book from me and says "I read it". She flips through the pages and tells her own story. It sounds like she's singing out her thoughts and identifying whatever she can see in the pictures.

She copies whatever her big brother does. Tonight he put on his jacket and called it his space jacket. He pulled out one of the stools in the kitchen and crouched underneath it. So, Madeleine did the same thing. He counted down from 10, 9, 8... and so did she. He made the blast off sound and so did she. It's fun to see them play together.

At night, after we read, we turn out the lights and sing in the rocking chair. I usually sing a song and then sing the notes with other misc words...like singing row, row, row your boat, but saying la, la, la, la, la instead. She started the practice of singing ya, ya, ya, ya, ya. She hits all the notes. Recently, she started requesting songs. Tonight she wanted E-I-E-I-O. Then she wanted the "dogie song"...BINGO. It's really fun when she sings along with me. And I love it when she asks me to "sing more songs Mommy". Trust me, she's the only one making that request. She doesn't realize my challenges in this area yet.

Here are some snapshots of our little princess on her special day.

A Growing Garden

I've been wondering why I haven't been getting many revelations from the garden lately. Then it came to me...I haven't been in the garden. Well, that's a revelation right there!

God is like that too. If I don't talk to him, he doesn't talk to me...usually. Same with my Bible. If I don't dig in and read it, I don't get anything out of it. Amazing!

Since it's Winter, I don't really feel like going in the garden, but there are some sweet and inspiring lessons along the path up to our house.

Like in the picture above. At the front of this photo there is nice ground cover. You would never know it now, but earlier this year, an aggressive gofer tunneled it's way under it and popped it's head up 3 times! He left behind HUGE piles of dirt and big holes. I was slightly pissed, but I got over myself, and swept up all the excess dirt.

Over the next several months, I watered and watched. And look at it now. It's almost all filled in again, except for a relatively small patch back by the chimney, which will soon be gone too.

I guess that's how it is with people too. Big holes can sometimes happen in our lives, but over time, things heal and we grow. It's true, there are still tunnels under the soil that are still there. We should be careful where we step, but the fresh growth on the outside is beautiful.

That is, until your gardener gets a little crazy with the weed whacker. And then that growth seemingly disappears. Check out the picture to the right.

Didn't he see the beauty in that ground cover that I saw? Hmm. Another interesting lesson.

I'm not worried. I know it will grow again. I think it's beautiful and that's all that matters. Hey, I've grown too!

I wonder if the people who walk along the path care, if they will be willing to wait, or if they realize the potential that will show itself soon.

K Files Blogger

Who is the K Files Blogger? My research on schools for Matthew has taught me a lot and led me to a lot of interesting people. Matthew starts Kindergarten Fall '08 and I've spent much of Fall '07 touring all the possibilities. I visited about 10 schools all together...public KN, independent KN, Catholic KN, Christian KN, Transitional KN (for young 5's). So much KN!

Given that I'm the VP of his preschool, I also give tours to all prospective parents. This adds up to a lot of touring...giving and taking. I now know WAY more than I ever thought I'd know about schools, kids, parents, admissions directors, financial aid, essays, and everything else related to this process. And so does Madeleine, because she was hanging on my hip every step of the way.

At various points I thought that perhaps I was a little crazy to be spending so much time figuring this all out. When I started KN, I think my parents just signed me up for the public school in the neighborhood. But, my concerns were obliterated after getting to know other parents on the tours. Many of them were attending all the same tours...and MORE. The parents at Matthew's preschool...same thing. Friends of ours with a prospective KN student...same thing.

At one school I visited, there were at least 60 other parents there along with me, and the school had around 15 other tours set-up for Fall just like that one. The numbers are astonishing.

As parents, it's no longer about the latest Duran Duran tour. It's all about the KN tour! We're groupies and we know every last detail about each concert/school in the tour. They should start selling T-shirts outside of the schools. The only difference is that, although all the parents are very nice and all, they are actually your competition! Since, at many private schools, there are well over 100 applications for an average of 10 spaces. And, with SF public schools, you pick your top 7 and then hope for the best.

Okay, back to the K Files Blogger. She's a mom in SF that was overwhelmed with the whole process herself and started a blog as a means of processing the experience. She wrote a total of 65 eloquent and amazing posts in 2007. If I didn't feel validated before, I did once I read her blog. She visited 15 schools and detailed every single one out in her posts. Plus, she wrote posts about all the little things that go on in your mind during the process. Public or private? What to wear at the interview? Should I approach the Admissions Director during the course of the tour to get face time? On and on. I think she should do a post on which school has the best coffee/pastry offering or if they have one at all.

A person, not me of course, could spend hours reading all the stuff she posted (except they have to split their time with greatschools.net). She has a fan club herself now. Lots and lots of people read it and make comments. She's even been spotted on tours. The constant note taking gives her away.

Since I just finished 2 applications this week, I thought it would be interesting to see what the K Files Blogger was saying about this phase. Turns out she wrote her 1st essay for an app back in November. Can you spell ANXIETY?

Her daughter, Alice, starts in Fall '08. I hope Matthew and Alice like their new schools. TBD.

Better Late than Never

Here are pics of our attempt at making a gingerbread house over the holidays with my mom and the kids. It looked AMAZING for about 20 minutes, and then it fell down. It was 2 days in the making. We made the batter, rolled out the walls, baked them, mixed the frosting/glue, constructed the house and then finally decorated it. I think the kids liked the decorating best.



So, when the house fell down I set the timer for 10 minutes and told the kids they could eat whatever candy they wanted until the bell rang. At some point, they couldn't consume anymore. Somewhere around 6 minutes.


Following this, I brushed their teeth thoroughly. Then I sat them down in front of a Christmas movie and spent 45 minutes cleaning up the sticky mess. It was ALL worth it.



Two weeks later we did it again with a smaller house. We baked the, you know what, out of the walls. It worked...success at last!

Hot Apple Cider

After 2 weeks of apple cider on the stove at all times, hanging out at cafes, letting the kids stay up late, sleeping in, playing with all the kids new toys, watching movies, and generally doing nothing but hanging out...life starts again tomorrow. Of course there was the trip to Bodega Bay over the New Year, but that was just another excuse for eating and lounging.

School starts for Matthew and Marc goes back to work at the office...for more than 4 hours/day. It's the real deal again. Everyone up, showered, dressed, fed, lunches made, etc. by 8:45am. Hmm. It's going to be a shock.

Pray for us!