Sugar and Spice

Like a Roller Coaster

2008-09-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

Lots of ups and downs this week.

Down- I took Tasha to the vet on Tuesday (my ol' lady Pug- 11 but still spunky) because she had suddenly become incontinent. I had mentioned to Martin this summer that she was drinking a lot of water, but shrugged it off as a result of it being so hot and dry. One two-hour office visit and a smoking checkbook later, we went home with a diagnosis of doggie diabetes and a toolkit to care for her. So now I'm giving my poor girl two shots a day, watching her diet and worrying about coming home and finding her in a diabetic coma, though I've been prepped to deal with that too. If managed well, it shouldn't affect her lifespan, but she is likely to go blind from cataracts and we'll certainly be spending a lot of time at the vet's office. Upside: I have mastered the shots after much dread in the anticipation, and it wasn't so bad. She doesn't even notice the needle going in and is eating her new food.

Up - Got a 98% on my first test in physiology class. Woo hoo! Downside: 3 people in the class got a higher score than me (!) and that makes me crazy.

Down - My grandma who was recently diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's disease continues to deteriorate, though she still has better social life than me.

Up - My patience levels have reached a new high this week, and I am trying to be strict but still make time at home with the boys really fun. I'm choosing my battles better, and they are getting old enough not to need correction at every turn. And I've played UNO at least 1000 times in the last 3 days.

Ok, 1 More Cent

2008-09-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

You can read more about Palin at this link: (curiously, the first link was pulled, or maybe the server just crashed) http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/a-letter-about-sarah-palin-from-anne-kilkenny/ or keep reading below. I'll talk about why I think it would be ludicrous to teach creationism in shools in another post. So much for keeping it nice, but you all knew my gloves would come out at some point, they always do.

This letter is written by someone who knows Sarah Palin, lives in Wasilla, and has city council lurker cred. (There ought to be a badge for that.) I think that babygate is on the way out of the news cycle, and the next aspect of her life to come under scrutiny will be her tenure as mayor. This is a good place to start. And thanks to Anne Kilkenny for speaking out. Wasilla is a small town. It takes a certain amount of conviction and downright bravery to lay it all out there like this. So a hat tip and a big sweeping bow to Anne.
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Herf ather was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her becauseshe is a “babe”.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month orso in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by theCity increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased aregressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to thecommunity but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed itwould be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.
She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing fromthe library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrewher termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran forMayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s topcop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigationfor abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that shelater fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimandedf or sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her inhelp. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Councilbecame one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah gotthe best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: oneof the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this greatjob which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, thestructured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of thisCommission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budgetguidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservants he had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State partyleaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliatedthem. Other members of the party object to her self-description as afiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition andpredatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be madepoint guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National WildlifeRefuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a statei nitiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams frompollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’slawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polarbears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.
There has to be literally millions of Americans who are moreknowledgeable and experienced than she.
However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and areregretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementaryschool, not since•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a billthat would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor topromote it.•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-lifelegislation•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla hasresidents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-onsupervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a cityadministrator to run town of about 5,000.•political maverick: not at all•gutsy: absolutely!•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box storesand disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a citywithout a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Builtstreets to early 20th century standards.•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden onresidents•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of citygovernment in Wasilla’s history.•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works uniondoesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claimthat she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informedvoter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +Alaska), you will find references to my participation in localgovernment, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do becausefew have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City ofWasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they ares wamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that thecurrent population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
Anne Kilkenny

My 2 Cents on Sarah Palin

2008-09-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Someone recently asked me, "being a young woman, a student, a mother of two, and a wife, what do you think about Palin?" It made me think a little about whether I thought she was a good pick (my knee jerk reaction was " that crazy gun-slinging Republican, of course not!") searched my soul around to an admission that I had to say I kind of admire her a little, then I responded as follows.
Ohhhh, well, I have to say, something about her does appeal to me- I like that she seems to be doing it all- the kind of woman who can be a mother, pretty, smart, driven and still likeable. That being said, I don't believe that anyone who believes in creationism or thinks it should be taught in schools has enough reasoning or common sense to be running our country and she seems to have a "my way or the highway" Bush-like approach to governing. Her right-wing, frontierland views might be fine for Alaska but don't represent the majority of the country, and do I need to use her daughter as an example that abstinence-only sex ed doesn't work?

There it is. My 2 cents.

Red Tide

2008-09-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have experience with Moon Sand? I should have known when the nice lady at preschool said it was too messy for their art table. I thought, if they keep it outside, how messy could it be? It is now embedded in the mortar between the bricks of my front porch. It has replaced the sand in between the pavers of my back patio. It is the devil's candy. Damn you moon sand!!

The Greatest Show on Earth

2008-08-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the Barnum and Bailey Circus in San Jose yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and we managed to get out of there without buying a 20 dollar souvenir. They had snowcones in a split clowns head which reminded us a little too much of Indiana Jones sampling "chilled monkey brains", so we avoided those. Speaking of circuses, I was able to get my class at Contra Costa college, so I am officially a physiology student. How great is it to get these rusty gears in my head going- I think I can actually feel the cobwebs blowing in there...

I've got a friend in the class with me, a fellow mom of two kids who I know from my gig with PRAM and have met another mom of two kids, both who are around my age and trying to get into nursing school. I actually look forward now to opening the book and learning the material- what a difference a decade makes!

Giddy as a Schoolgirl

2008-08-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I officially take the first step on my journey to the next stage in my life. Do I finally know what I want to be when I grow up, besides a mommy? Quite possibly. I am going to try to get into Samuel Merritt college for their Doctor of Physical Therapy program. No, like all previous successful ventures in my life, I'm just going to say that's what I'm going to do and do it. So here goes- this year, I will complete the few prerequisites that I am missing, my volunteer hospital hours, take the GRE and earn and obtain several fine letters of recommendation. Next Fall, I will apply to Samuel Merritt where I will begin the following Fall. So Sam Merritt, class of 2013, here I come!

Tomorrow's task at hand is to get into a physiology class at West Contra Cost College, where I will attempt to crash two, possibly three, sections in order to fulfill this simple requirement. I have purchased a notebook, a folder and two comfy pens which took me way too long to choose at Target. I admit there was some thought of buying a High School Musical notebook and/or Hello Kitty notebook, but I settled for a canary yellow folder and blue notebook. I'm a little out of practice though, because when I got home I realized that I bought the wide rule dammit! Maybe Jackson can use it for his school.

I'm jumping in with both feet- I'm going to show my boys that I can do more than cook and laundry, and myself that I can do it.

Bears, Boys and Blackberries

2008-08-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, so there were no bears. But there was a whole lot of hiking on Saturday at Wildcat Canyon park. The whole family walked up and over the hill, then down the dry river bed where we discovered a motherlode of berries and a whole lot of baby newts. (We didn't eat those!) We went home with purple fingers, and happy bellies.

PB&J's gave everyone enough energy to go on.

Anniversary Celebrations

2008-08-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Martin and I drove to Carmel last weekend to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. Carmel was lovely. I'll post a few of the pictures, but you had to be there to appreciate the beauty. We had a few nice dinners, delightful bike rides, and leisurely strolls through town. We saw deer, otters, seals, sea lions, birds, ground squirrels, and tourists trying to get rabies. We lunched at a fancy hotel, spa'd at a private club , and all in all got a taste of the good life. Actually, we have a pretty good life all the time. Thank you so much, my dearest Martin.

That's my man

2008-07-31T22:43:00.001-07:00

Watch out boys, Martin just moved the bar up to the next notch.

Here is the conversation that we had as I was contemplating what to pack for our anniversary weekend away...

Me: I'm taking too much stuff. Why do I have all of this stuff? Do I really need all of this?

Martin: You don't have too much stuff, your suitcase is just too small.

Wow. Now that's what I call foreplay.

Six Big Years

2008-07-27T21:20:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Jackson's 6th birthday on Saturday with a trip to the Antioch waterpark. It was a wonderful day, with perfect size slides for the little kids, nice staff, beautiful weather and made complete with Alli the alligator, pizza and Indiana Jones-themed paper products. We all had a great time, dropped the guests at their houses exhausted at around 5 pm and patted ourselves on the back for a perfect party for our great little guy.

Overheard at the zoo

2008-07-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

Conversation overheard at the Oakland zoo:

Scene: a multigenerational Latino family is discussing the flamingos...

Father: Did you know that the flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp?

Family: Oh, wow

Father: Do you think that if we ate shrimp we'd turn pink too?

Kids: (laughing) Noooo

Father: Maybe that's why White people are so pink- from eating lots of shrimp

My new 15 minute addiction

2008-07-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Friend Dave was telling me about signing up for Facebook, though I was convinced that it was not for me because I am over 15 years old. With protests about how he had found and kept in touch with all sorts of adult-type friends, he convinced me that i too must try it. After all, my blogging clearly is not keeping me busy all the time, so I have few minutes to try to connect with those I've lost touch with.

The funny thing for me is not only have I found some long-neglected cousins and high school friends, but I love to peek into the lives of my "mommy" friends. There is a certain kind of image one feels they must maintain around the people they have met after they became a mom. Perhaps to fend off fears of CPS being called, or to battle that little voice inside that says occasionally, "They let you be in charge of a helpless human being?" Or there just isn't the proper time to mention all the fun and the mayhem that one made before making a baby. As a relatively new transplant to California, it is nice to get some background on the characters that I call friends, what their families look like, even "what drink would they be?"

Ok, that might not give you much insight into the window of one's soul, but sure makes for better conversation then, "How much sleep did you get last night?"

Yay! A star is born!

2008-07-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Stats are up for Uncle Nick on the Bears website. See his picture here. We are so proud of you Nick- you've worked so hard for everything. Now we wait and see if he makes the roster. My vote is for YES!!

Oops, I forgot to blog

2008-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

But how could I forget with my favorite blogger always reminding me, "you don't blog anymore!" Alas, the steam has run out of my excitement in the blogosphere, and I can think of things I'd rather be doing than sitting at the computer complaining, er, I mean raving, about my beautiful children. I know that many of you from far away places, and even some near, do enjoy catching up with what we are doing, so I will make an effort to continue.

Of Merlot Pugs

2008-05-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Martin was opening a bottle of wine this evening for dinner, when the bottom slipped and the bottle leaped into the air. Luckily, it didn't break, but it did leave our floor and our pug a little more colorful. The picture doesn't quite capture how purple she really was, and laughed so hard after we'd already cleaned everything up then she came wagging to us, quite unaware of how ridiculous she looked!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

Does it get any better than this?

Two bluebirds of happiness, a tissue-paper bouquet and a handpainted "MOM". I couldn't ask for anything more, though I did. I asked that I not be served breakfast in bed. I try to enjoy it each year, but between trying to not knock over my coffee on the bed, my body itching to get up and at 'em for the day and missing out on the breakfast company its just not something that I like. So I asked that I have breakfast with my family this year, which was homemade waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream and sausage. And of course, Lola coffee from Catahoula. Delicious. And Ben picked out his I love Mommy shirt and happily hammed it up for the camera. As yet it is undetermined what it is that we are going to do today, butI'm sure it will be fun. It always is with my boys. Happy Mother's Day to me, to my dear mother, and to all of us in "the club."

Remembering sarah marshall and surfin' penguins

2008-05-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ben at the Oakland Zoo

Last Friday Martin and I went to a great local theatre (Cerrito Speakeasy) to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Even though we went in just hoping for a good laugh, this movie exceeded anything we were expecting. Between the good popcorn and the cozy chair, and Martin's two pale Ales, we laughed until we cried. Not sure what was up with the guy sitting behind us who snapped his fingers over and over everytime he doubled up laughing, but at least I found out afterwards that it wasn't Martin. (I was wondering when that annoying gesture popped up.) Tonight we watched Surf's Up with the boys, which was a really cute movie. Lots of potty jokes really make it work for the kids, and I have to admit that they kind of make me laugh too- a side effect of raising boys.

Long time, no blog

2008-05-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Amy, Kristen, Kris, Heather, Laura and I raging on State Street. Ok, not really raging, more like, dining, and enjoying a nice Malbec.

Ok, so its been awhile. In March, I was horrified to see that I had blogged about laundry, and decided that if a crayon incident was the most interesting thing I had to share, it was time to pause and reflect on what it is that I have to offer my readers. Since March, however, several things have happened:

Cut over 8 inches from hair

Martin quit job, has been to interviews, interviews and more interviews

Little brother-in-law Nick got signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears

Jackson earned orange w/ white stripe belt in Tae Kwon Do

I went on girls weekend in Santa Barbara with college roommates from UCSB (See above picture)

Ben had 1, 387 more tantrums, and has learned to dance a la James Brown

Attended Samuel Merritt open house day to learn more about becoming a Physical Therapist

Things are always busy around here- I have Martin finishing up projects begun but not completed around the house, and I am busy with PRAM work (as President still) and now with taking on PTA tasks, being librarian for Jackson's classroom on Mondays, and working in the classroom on Wednesdays, and trying to get an internship/volunteer gig at a hospital for my PT application. More to come.

Of Laundry and Location

2008-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Major laundry incident today. It looks like someone (Jackson) left a green crayon in his pocket, and when it went through the dryer it spread green around like spatter gun. Pristine white Tae Kwon Do uniform, school khakis, Martin's tidy whities: all spotted green. I've washed them three times now- with oxy clean, baking soda, sprayed with WD-40, but it looks like its sticking around. Guess I'll be checking pockets better from now on, at least it wasn't a frog or a lizard.

Also, I've been exploring places I imagine that taking green "whites" out of the dryer wouldn't be so bad, and I've got a list from a website called find your spot. You input a few preferences and it spits out a list of places that you might enjoy living. While I don't think I'll be moving to Arkansas anytime soon, my list was pretty good and has many places I've often thought I'd might like to live like Oregon and Washington. Thanks for the idea, Krista, my friend who always has something new up her sleeve.

She lives!

2008-02-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

I could make this whole post about more sickness in the house, the kids sick blah blah blah, me sick, blah blah blah, etc, but I am so tired of sickness!! So off to new and better things. How about this gorgeous weather? As many things as I can find bad about California, spring brings even more to brag about. While I'm reading the articles about the rest of the nation freezing their patooties off, here we are in February with daffodils in full bloom, birds in the bird baths, and kids running around in shorts. My dad was up last weekend and I got a chance to ride the new bicycle which rides like a dream. Did I mention that I got the one I wanted for Christmas? I felt like a little kid riding my new bike- all giddy, wind blowing in my hair. It was so much fun and I can't wait to ride it again soon, as soon as I'm not sick. Damn, see those germs sneaking into everything. The weather is turning, and so is our health, I can feel it. The sunshine will wipe clean all the germs, and we will be well once again.

Fever!

2008-02-05T22:42:00.001-08:00

Again, the blog has been spotty because illness has invaded the house. Remember the Matrix where the Sentinels are trying to breach the hull of their little ship? That's what I feel like here, like giant viruses are lurking outside every door, and hiding behind every surface. Last week I had the fever- Martin insisted on staying home Wednesday because he thought I wouldn't be able to take care of the children from my sick bed. Thank goodness for that, I didn't get out of bed all day with the aches and pains and tiredness. I think it might have been the flu. Yesterday during a quiet game of Crazy Creatures Ben began to shiver and complain about how cold he was. Out came the thermometer, and this morning it was up to 104.7. Now some of you might think we'd get a little nervous about this high of a fever, but for Ben its the norm. Everytime he gets a bug he gets a fever over 104 which used to make us crazy scared when he was an infant, but now we know is just how his body operates. Poor thing, I'd take a picture but its too pathetic. His eyes, when open, are at half mast. His cheeks are hot and flushed, and he's just been laying on the couch listlessly. Poor guy, I do hope he feels better tomorrow.

Happy Dishes!

2008-01-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

We have a beautiful set of plates from Pottery Barn, that we got many, many years ago for our wedding shower that are blue with little bees on them. These plates are our all purpose dessert, salad, lunch and feed the kids plates, so they get a lot of use and have held up really well, but are finally giving out. They are beginning to show so much wear that they no longer look "shabby chic" just shabby. I've been looking and looking for salad-plate size replacements, but they all have fallen short. This one is too dainty, that one is too large, the other is too boring. Imagine my surprise when I found these beauties at Pottery Barn this weekend, amidst their spring line attempting to bring more color into your life. I like them all, but the one with the butterflies is my favorite. Yay, new dishes!

Desperate Housewife

2008-01-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

The comic strip above pretty much captures my panic last week at realizing that it would be nearly impossible for me to go back to work to exceed the amount of childcare costs that I would incur if I went back on a part-time basis. Don't get me wrong: though I complain loudly and often, about my kids making me crazy, I love being with them. The position of having to be with them, and not having an option out is a horribly suffocating feeling. It makes me feel lazy, panicky, claustrophobic and really disenchanted with an American system that leaves parents with the choice of unemployment or low-quality childcare in most cases. So, in order to see some light at the end of the tunnel: I will remain unemployed for 9 more months, and in the Fall do what I need to do to get full-time care for Ben and go back to school or get a job.

I'm back

2008-01-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

Thank you, all you faithful blog readers, for encouraging me to pick up the pen, er, keyboard again. I have been uninspired to write about daily life after returning from an exciting trip to Hawaii. Winter here seems so blah. We visited Hawaii to watch Martin's "little" brother Nick play in the Hula Bowl. Though the West team lost, he played great and we had a really fun trip preceding. We stayed at the Ihalani Marriot which couldn't have been more beautiful. It had 2 lagoons in the outside courtyard, one with hammerhead sharks and one with manta rays and beautiful tropical fish (free aquarium!) We swam and snorkeled with big sea turtles, and went out to the North Shore for Matsumoto's shave ice, to see the giant winter waves, and to have a real Hawaiian BBQ with Martin's Uncle Bill. The kids swam and played and I think we've really turned a corner. I can stop dreading vacations with them, they are now pretty fun to travel with. So sad, but the highlight of my trip was an encounter with Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed at the breakfast buffet. It was like meeting a combination of Bill Cosby and some mythical creature. They just embody everything about the 70's to me. I couldn't have been more excited if a unicorn hopping a rainbow had walked up to the fruit bar. They were so cordial about taking a picture with them, and when we saw Kevin Sorbo with his kids at the Manta ray lagoon, it was kind of a let down. Hercules ain't got nothing on the Demon!

Christmas fun

2007-12-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

phew! Christmas is over! It was a great time, actually pretty calm this year. We really scaled down and only had Christmas dinner at our house. After a wonderful crab feast at mother-in-law's house, a quiet breakfast and feverish gift-opening here, we took a nice walk and bike ride at the marina. Two of my favorite presents were from Martin's little brother, these fabulous hats for the boys from the Berkeley Hat store.

Christmas Miracle

2007-12-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

Outboard the kitty has returned! On Christmas Eve, Martin thought he heard an opposum outside. I said, "that's a cat!" Mother-in-law's dog is visiting us, and is Outboard's buddy (they used to sleep together)- so we let her outside. He must of recognized her collar jingle or smell or something, and came to Martin. He is sooo skinny, and very hoarse, but very happy to be inside. As he was using everything in our house for a bathroom, I let him go back outside, and he has been in and out ever since. I think its been about 4 weeks, so it really is a wonderful Christmas gift to have him back.

Religious education for the holidays

2007-12-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Our neighborhood church did a wonderful thing on Friday, holding a live Nativity scene complete with indoor marketplace designed after things that would have been in Christ's time. There was a booth for making perfume with spices, a rope-making station, and a booth where the kids could grind wheat and rye. They invited the public, and had caroling and refreshments. It was really nice, the kids loved it and was a great way for us to make sure that they know why we are celebrating Christmas. (read: it's not just to receive presents).

They also had a craft for the children to do, for Jackson it was making a clothespin nativity (above). For Ben, it was making Baby Jesus in the manger. Yes, that's Baby Jesus himself below, designed and made by a 3 year old. Ben was quick to point out that in the live Nativity, there were two kings and a queen instead of the three kings. When he exclaimed, "look, one of the kings is a queen instead," without missing a beat the girl with the crown replied, "Well, someone had to ask for directions, didn't they?"

Potty update- 'cause who can get enough?

2007-12-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

Ben is officially potty trained! We tried a softer approach, by not asking him to go, but saying things like. "I know you'll go when you are ready, but you can't sit on the couch until you go because I don't want you to pee on it." Or, "the light is on in the bathroom, when you need to go just go ahead." Finally, he has caught on that it is something for him to be in charge of, and today he went by himself every time and didn't even want to talk about it. Just went in, took care of business and came back out. I'm so afraid of his teenage years.

Does anyone else see the white elephant?

2007-12-16T18:55:00.001-08:00

Last night's white elephant party at Jason and Tara's was hilarious, with gifts that keep getting funnier and more bizarre. We came home with an action figure of Miracle Jesus, now with glow inthe dark hands, and a 5-picture frame full of pics of Sara G. I think Martin might be a little smitten with her, but the kids and I were pleased to have her around for dinner.

Cookie Madness

2007-12-15T07:35:00.001-08:00

So no actual footage of the cookie-decorating craziness, because my camera battery was dead. But, here is a taste of the finished product. Perhaps Nicole will blog about it later, as she is the photographer and she and her kids, Judah and Cordelia joined us in the merriment. There were all sorts of sprinkles and snowflakes and sugar glitter for the kids to use, but our favorite decorating method turned about to be dipping the frosted cookies directly on the plate where the toppings had mixed. I used royal icing for the first time, and am very happy with the results. The cookies have that bakery cookie hard, shiny frosting. And they were delicious! I wish you could taste one here- feel free to drop by and try, though I must warn you there was a lot of finger licking during the decorating, because it was so good.

Santa's lost reindeer

2007-12-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

I think Tasha likes Christmas- she always gets right in there when we are decorating the tree. Or, maybe she just thinks that something will fall from it for her to eat. Ben had star duty this year, which Jackson wasn't happy about, but when we told him that he did it last year so this year was Ben's turn, he shook it off. A five-year-old's whole paradigm revolves around what is fair and not fair, and taking turns each year fits into the model, so tantrum averted. There is peace on Earth, and goodwill toward man. And little brother.

I'll win this one

2007-12-11T22:45:00.001-08:00

Sorry that I have not posted, but we are on round 4 of potty training with Ben. In the past, I have stopped because I didn't think that he actually knew when he had to go. This time I know he does, because when he feels like it he goes (he likes to go to toilets in new public places and loves going in low urinals) but is stubborn as a mule anywhere else. His lovely teacher at preschool got him to go, so I knew we were on this time. I read over and over how not to make it a battle of the wills, but that is what everything is with him. Sooo.... I will not get mad, I will be smiling yet persistent, that the diapers are gone and he must use the potty. I've got rewards at hand (Hot Wheels cars that he picked out) and plenty of m&ms, and am working on my patience. And if that doesn't work, I'll put a few extra dollars in his therapy fund. But he will use the potty, by golly!

I finally pulled the above, beautifully handmade and gifted-to-Ben sweater, out of the closet, because up until now the sleeves have been so long. The sleeves now fit him, but it is a little bit of a midriff shirt. He still loved it, and wanted to wear it and his backpack all morning.

"Fast" Food

2007-12-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

I've recently rediscovered the magic of the make ahead split 'em and freeze 'em meal. Martha Stewart Everyday Food has some really good recipes for this. Tonight I made the Mediterranean Tuna Noodle Casserole- the idea is that you make a big portion, cook one casserole tonight and freeze one 8X8 for down the road. I've started looking more closely, and many of her recipes are like this. I'm going to try the Vegetable Enchiladas next. My only problem before is that I only have one 8X8 pan, and go crazy when it's stuck in my freezer. The new solution is Glad Ovenware. Just make sure you preheat the oven before using the plastic ovenware, otherwise it can melt during the high heat that your oven uses to come up to temperature.
Its also good for sending casseroles to new moms etc. I'm sure someone will let me know that it produces some horrible chemicals when cooking, but can't be worse than the stuff that Long John Silver puts in their food, which we (very rarely) go get if I don't feel like cooking

Last night I made the Shepherds Pie from Everyday Food, which Jackson went crazy for- after piling on the ketchup. This one doesn't recommend how to freeze it, but it can be made the day before and put in the fridge. I cheated a little, and used some frozen mashed potatoes they had a Trader Joe's (they were delicious by the way, even if they had a few ingredients that were a little more chemical, i.e. "butter flavor" then I would normally put in my food.) Martin was impressed by the way I used a fork to decorate the top of the mashed potatoes as recommended in the recipe-is he easy to please, or what?

In a future post I'll give my secret to serving, but not cooking, hot breakfast every morning.

Surfin' Santa

2007-12-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

Martin and Jackson & Dad and Me

Sunday we went to Seaport Village in San Diego. It was our lucky day, because Santa rode up on a Waterski! Ben and Jackson chucked Fruitcakes and Aunt Carol taught them to fence using balloon swords.

Ben's birthday joy

2007-12-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

We spent a wonderful weekend in San Diego continuing the bash for Ben's third birthday. He first had a party on Friday at school, complete with cupcakes and cheese and crackers and apples, which is what he requested. Saturday brought a birthday luncheon at D.Z. Akins Deli (we highly recommend it if you visit San Diego) with Uncle Cory, Grandpa Steve, Nana Marcia and the carrot cake that Ben selected. Noise blowers hastily purchased at the CVS drugstore along with the candle were worth about 15 minutes of laughter.

Then it was on to the football game, to watch Uncle Nick play. They lost to BYU, but put up a great fight! Who knew if I wore my glasses to the game I'd actually know what was going on?

We went out to dinner after the game, and Ben had another birthday ice cream (vanilla of course) with a candle. The kids did great, and they are getting much easier to travel with. Look at the excitement on Ben's face- he couldn't believe the birthday stuff kept coming!

Coloured is better

2007-11-28T19:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my brother-in-law Cory for passing on this little European commercial- makes me smile for so many reasons....

A short rant on mixing metaphors

2007-11-28T10:19:00.001-08:00

Listening to NPR this morning, a speaker was talking about French xenophobia, and referred to the problem being when the "spark falls on fertile soil". Huh? I'll give him a break, because who knows what I would say if I were put on the radio, but geesh!

How do you like my thighs?

2007-11-28T09:42:00.001-08:00

I am always looking for good chicken recipes because I buy the large pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Costco (its cheap and the meat tastes really good), and this recipe for Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs was a success. It recommends serving with couscous, but I served it with bulgar cooked in chicken broth. The kids like it, except for the carrots, but we thought it was pretty delicious. I can't get the kids to eat orange food, except for oranges. Don't know what that is all about. Though they will sometimes eat raw carrots, with ranch dip.

Kitty sighting

2007-11-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

I spotted Outboard yesterday. Opening up the backdoor, in my peripheral vision I saw something spring across the yard and I looked up just in time to see two white paws disappearing under the fence where Martin had opened a hole because Outboard seemed not to know how to get back over the fence. Good news, but no luck getting him to come back around. I will continue to put out food, which is probably getting eaten by other cats and/or possums and/or racoons.

Brothers are mean

2007-11-26T20:39:00.001-08:00

Ben was a complete pill today. Even worse than his usual, disagreeable self, he was sick with a cold and extra ornery. Nothing was good enough, or done the right way. Jackson even made him a picture to make him feel better, and Ben told him "I don't want that. I don't want you to love me. I don't like hearts."

Poor Jackson cried for about 10 minutes in the play area under his loft bed. Ben didn't seem to be saying it to upset Jackson, but just felt like saying it. I can't even count the number of times today that he told me "I don't like you." I told him he could watch tv when we got home from dropping Jackson at school, and when we got back the power was out and he screamed and sobbed on my shoulder until he fell asleep. He seemed to perk up at the end of the day, so hopefully tomorrow he will feel better.

Burning off the sweet potatoes

2007-11-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we went hiking and biking, as we are boycotting the materialism of the Christmas shopping experience this year (at least this week).

I wish I had a bike! The bike that I want is this really cool cruiser, with gears.

Thankful for the little things

2007-11-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

How trite. Another tribute to the things I am thankful for.

My two little boys singing. And what are they thankful for? Jackson said he was thankful for "turkey." Ben, what are you thankful for? "Meat."

Gobble Gobble

2007-11-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish all of you who visit my site a very Happy Thanksgiving! I appreciate all of your comments and feedback, and am very thankful to have you sharing in daily (or not so daily) observations and interpretations of life. I am also thankful for boys who like to dress up in their pajamas (with Thing hand, binoculars, beanie, and viking hat) and make me smile.

Oh, Richmond the beautiful...no, really.

2007-11-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

Lest you think all of Richmond as some inner-city wasteland of gang warfare and refinery pollution, I submit as evidence to the contrary this picture taken in Marina Bay at the Rosie the Riveter Memorial (yes, the ship-building history making women were here!) while the kids were riding bikes at sunset.

Lettuce wraps

2007-11-16T20:13:00.001-08:00

So you know those recipes that appear in kids' magazines, that want you to turn beets into spiders with cucumber legs, or carrots into alligators with raisins for eyes? I always thought those were pretty ridiculous, like I'm really going to spend my meal prep time turning food into sculpture, as if I don't have enough to do. But Jackson got a new subscription to Highlight magazine's sister publication (yes, you remember it from the dentist office, don't you?) for younger kids called High Five, and begged me to make the Veggie Roll-Ups. So here is a picture of the final product- organic lettuce and diced baby turnips from the veggie box, carrot strips, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing rolled up and eaten like a taco. It called for simply "vegetables", and pictured cucumber (or maybe zucchini?), carrots and celery, but I used what we had on hand. The kid loved them! He ate 4! Actually, they were pretty good- I have to admit I ate a couple of them too. This month features meringue snowmen, which I will be willing to do, 'cause I love meringue and chocolate chips.

Outboard is gone

2007-11-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

I am a bad cat sitter. The cats had been hiding for two days under the bed, only one coming out briefly to pee on my purple pashmina. In my sadness that they were cooped up in the house (they have been outdoor cats for 12 years, by golly) I decided that Outboard needed some outside time. I asked Marcia if he might want to walk around outside for a minute, and we took him to the backyard. The minute his feet hit the ground he was across the yard and over the back fence. There he meowed and meowed, unable for some reason to get back over the same fence he had just leaped in a single bound. That was two days ago, and no sign of him until today when... I spotted him in the neighbors yard. Martin went out to call him and he darted under her air conditioner unit. I am just so happy that he is alive! So many ideas of how his demise had come to pass had seeped in to my brain- but he is a well-seasoned, scrappy little guy and I will continue to put cat food outside until he is lured back to us. It is very cold tonight, and I keep going to the back door to listen for his little bell, but no luck yet. On a good note, Spooky seems to be settling in, albeit under the bed, but he comes out when called and even has been letting the kids pet him. And he hasn't bitten or scratched me yet, which is making me like him- a lot.

Rainy days and the Jungle Book and new cats

2007-11-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

Today the rain has arrived. It started as a mist in the air, and has progressed to a steady downpour . We helped move the last of mother-in-law's plants to our house and the new apt, then came home. Sitting on the couch watching the Jungle Book and eating popcorn snuggling under a blanket was such a pleasant way to pass the afternoon. Ok, so I couldn't sit still for that long, but the boys did and I dropped in to watch in between loads of laundry.

I've been feeling completely overwhelmed this week by m.i.l.'s move, even though frankly I haven't been that much of a help. I think it is because she moved on Wed, and Tuesday when she went to sign the lease on her apartment they informed her that their policy had changed and she wasn't allowed to bring her cats. Selling her house after the death of her husband 2 years ago, downsizing to fit in an apartment and moving were all huge stressors, but the thought of now having to turn over her cats to a shelter because the move was imminent was just too much. I have been trying to find homes for her cats, because I don't know where we would put a cat litter box or food dishes for them in our home, and I don't really like cats that much. But, today we decided that we could move some things around and make it work, because its just terrible not to. So Monday, we will have 2 twelve year old cats at our house. Yikes. I'll be sure to give updates on how that goes.

The Color Purple

2007-11-05T11:09:00.001-08:00

Martin and I had a lovely afternoon- a date in the city to see a matinee performance of the musical "The Color Purple." Although the show hurried through events and years at a blistering pace and the music was a bit lackluster, the singing and the performing was wonderful, the sets and period costumes were visually stunning and of course the story had me weeping with sadness and joy. (Move over Roger Ebert!)
We went to dinner afterwards at the restaurant Indigo near the Civic Center and had a wonderful time eating, drinking wine and pulling together all of those fragmented conversations that we have during the week in between the household distractions and minding the children. Thank you ,Nicole, for watching the kids and giving us a little time to reconnect!

Car Crash

2007-11-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

Jackson fell asleep in the car yesterday after a birthday party. He had told his friends earlier in the best teenage voice, (which I predict will be used in the future for complaining about chores, homework, and curfews) , that "I have to go to a baby's birthday party" but found plenty to do once we arrived. After a few minutes in the car on the way back, we heard a light thump and looked back and his head had fallen onto the middle console. He slept that way all the way home and for 2 more hours after we moved him into his bed. I think the week finally caught up with him.

Virgin Mary House update #3

2007-11-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

One last Halloween picture. The Virgin Mary people on the corner went all out with their Halloween decorations. I didn't get a chance to get a picture during the day, as its hard to be discrete when taking a picture on the street, but we did get one at night while the kids went trick or treating. They had one of those full-size inflatable snow globes with a ghost, blowing leaves and whiches flying around, There were pumpkins, lights, a disemboweled man half buried in the ground who talked and removed his head (the kids really didn't like this, even during the day walking to school) and some scarecrows. Standing proudly in the middle was still Mary, trying to look dignified for the sake of her precious flock, the tiny gnomes.

More halloween pictures

2007-11-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Halloween Madness

2007-11-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here is my brave knight screaming on the floor at the kindergarten after being told he couldn't have another candy.

Jackson and Ben parading around the school grounds (above)

Whew! Halloween is over. Who knew that it was such an exhausting holiday? I always thought that about Thanksgiving and Christmas, but now I have Halloween to recover from too? Elementary school and Halloween go together just about as well, well- as 20 five-year olds and a bag full of sugar. They pretty much gave up on the academics at the school, and kindergarten for the day was a parade, an outdoor carnival, lunch (no one ate), more parading, a party, then home- for trick-or-treating. Jackson was a knight, and Ben was too, during the day. In the evening, Ben was trying to wear his raincoat under his cape, and I suggested that he could be the dragon to Jackson's knight instead. He was all over that one. So yes, it is his costume from last year, but it looks so much cuter this year because it fit him just right.

Martin worked very hard on our haunted front yard. As a recovering Jehovah's Witness, he takes celebrating Halloween very seriously.

Mom song

2007-10-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

This has been making the rounds for quite a while, but still worth a laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSpBUxsgAU

Funny links

2007-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this yet, its worth checking out. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675

She also has a blog. http://www.mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/

Yellow Belt Achieved!

2007-10-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jackson took his test at Tae Kwon Do for his yellow belt. He did a series of 10 movements, two kinds of kicks and broke a "board" (ok, a sheet of balsa wood) with his foot. He kept asking me " What kind of wood was that? It felt kind of soft." I don't think he was buying that he was so strong he broke a wood board. He did really well, the other kids in the class were really impressed and I was so proud I could have burst. I love all the "Thank you, sir" and "yes, sir" that they say to the teachers.

Catahoula Conquest

2007-10-29T14:15:00.001-07:00

Catahoula coffee is my new addiction. Ok, maybe addiction is too strong of a word, but other coffee doesn't seem to taste as good to me now that I have tried theirs. Starbucks tastes, well, burnt. Catahoula is a lovely little cafe that opened in Richmond recently, with a beautiful roasting machine and bright colors that just invite one in. I highly recommend purchasing their beans, which can also be shipped I think. Now if only they had a drive through....

Stinky pug gets a bath

2007-10-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tasha got a bath today. We debated taking her to one of those U-wash doggie washes, or doing it outside, but decided she's getting too old for outdoor washes and that the trip to the store might be too traumatic for her. She shivers and has a bad leg, and ends up rolling in the dirt while she's still wet anyway. We clipped her nails, and off to the bathtub she went. Poor puglet. I don't want her to be one of those old, blind, deaf stinky dogs that sits in the corner and no one wants to touch.

A week in Northern California

2007-10-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Not southern California. We were supposed to go to San Diego this weekend - to Legoland, to an Aztec football game- but it was on fire. So we stayed here, and pretended like we were on vacation. We let Jackson play hooky from school on Friday, started out at IHOP (mmm, blueberry syrup) and then went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It's pretty much your average amusement park, except that it has some wild animals in small enclosures thrown in and some sea animals like Shouka the killer whale. We spent much of the day in the kiddie area. It wasn't too busy, and the kids could go off a ride and right back on if they wanted. It was nice not to have to worry about buying another round of those tickets. Jackson was tall enough to ride the small rides by himself, and insisted on doing so, while we rode along with Ben. Above is Martin on the Harold the Helicopter ride, in Thomas the Tank Engine land. Martin and his mom rode a crazy roller coaster called Medusa and Martin also rode the Boomerang. Nana looked like she needed a drink after that one. I am so proud of her for doing it, but I don't think she's going to do it again anytime soon. At around dusk, mobs of teenagers started arriving for the Halloween Fright Fest and we got out the heck out of there.

Everyone on the cow train!

2007-10-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to a really fun Halloween party at our friends Jason and Tara's house. They had their annual pumpkin carving party, and we prepared by going to the pumpkin patch and buying pumpkins. I am a very competitive person, and I know I had my star carver, Martin, so I was determined that my family was going to take home a title. He did not disappoint, which is good, because I told him he couldn't come home if he didn't win Mama a trophy. Ok, the prizes were dollar store items, but that was good enough for me. Here is a nice video of me riding the cow train a the pumpkin patch. (Glad we didn't get Martin a ticket, we would have had to use the Jaws of Life to extract him.)

Ben's favorite part was riding the pony, and Jackson's was riding the cow train.

Here is the winning entry.If you were wondering why I didn't carve, and just filched Martin's talent, its because I had more important jobs like making sure Jackson didn't cut off a finger (he got to carve for the first time this year- he went a little cubist on it.) Martin's theme is "Cannibal Pumpkin."

Mr. Sweet and Mr. Sassy

2007-10-19T15:43:00.001-07:00

I have a cute and sweet moment, and also a cute and not so sweet moment to report on today. First the good: Jackson and I were working on reading- he knows a few words, and can sound out a few in English, and can read 3 and 4 letter words easily in Spanish, which is a much more consistent language. He was visibly excited to be able to read, say and understand the words which I was making with the letters, wiggling around in his chair until finally he exclaimed, " Do you ever feel so happy that you feel all ticklish inside?" I couldn't ask for a better parenting reward, than to know that my child is feeling so much joy in that moment.
Than the not so good- Ben is definitely getting close to 3- I don't like three year old children generally- I find them very contrary, disagreeable and generally whiny and grumpy. He fits all of these plus stubborn, occasionally violent, and just when you we have had enough, adorable and sweet. After a day where he was hitting, breaking things, throwing objects and generally doing everything he wasn't supposed to do, I asked him if he had turned on his ears today. This always gets Jackson to pretend to adjust his ears, and he realizes its time for him to start following directions. Ben checked his ears and said that they were on. We then got back into the car, and he "adjusted" his ears again. I asked him if he was making sure that his ears were on and he replied, " Nope, I'm turning them off", sporting a big, ornery grin. What a stinker, and we haven't even hit three yet.

Environmental steal a blog day

2007-10-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, today was environmental blogging day, and I have just gone on and on about my consumer values. So please go to another log and hear what she has to say about our veggie box. Yeah, what she said. Riverdog farm mm mm good. Local sustainable farming. Good.

New computer!

2007-10-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

There has been a loss in the family. Yes, my computer: loyal servant for 8 years, has kicked the bucket. I attribute it to the Bay Area's frequent (thought getting better) power outages which seem to have fried my motherboard. As my father puts it, "with each power outage, your electronics die a little death." I tried to turn it on, and the fan was running, but it never booted up. I then took it into our local computer fix it store- I won't say which one, but it rhymes with Vest Guy. It was a pretty great sight- I had the giant computer tower in the stroller, with a rain coat over it because it was pouring rain, trying to lead poor Ben into the store. I took the pcu over to the guy behind the fix-it desk and told him what had happened. He plugged it in and used his vast geek knowledge to announce flatly- "well, I plugged it in, hear the fan running but it is not booting up." Duh. "Looks like your motherboard is fried." Double duh. In the next 45 minutes I managed to choose and purchase a new computer, monitor and printer, fed Ben some fruit snacks I found at the bottom of my bag to bribe him to get up from his spot rolling around on the floor, put his shoes back on and sit in the now empty stroller, and get back out to the van with all of my new stuff to race over and pick Jackson up from school. It was a new record in decision-making time. Anyway, we'd been saying we need a new computer for a while now, it had been acting up, but this was not the way I wanted it to go out. I need more time to say good bye.
FYI (technophobes: stop reading now!) - I learned something new about transferring data- I bought something called a hard drive enclosure, which turned our internal hard drive into an external hard drive, so that we could transfer documents, etc. via USB cable, instead of having to pay the dorks to transfer the data for us. Plus we can now use that drive (which was a perfectly good 350 gb drive) as a backup/external drive. Pretty cool.

My little ghosts

2007-10-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

Martin is getting excited about his annual Halloween display and has recruited the children to help him with this. He filmed them acting as ghosts, and has some technique for projecting it and making it look like the transparent ghosts they have at the Haunted house at Disneyland. What would we do without the internet for guidance?

Why is leisure so stressful?

2007-10-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

So the kids have become much easier, and I have realized that I must not cram an activity and/or childhood experience into each moment of free time, so we keep ending up with days for which nothing has been planned. Some people revel in free time, for me, it is near torture. Martin worked a conference booth this morning, so I baked pumpkin muffins, played Alphabet Go Fish with the kids, went for a bike ride, whipped up some nearly organic minestrone soup for lunch and started making Christmas presents. It sounds so Martha Stewart-ish, but the day feels like it was 20 hours long not having another adult with whom to talk.
Yesterday was my kind of day- much more social. We celebrated a friend's birthday with a picnic at the V. Sattui winery in Napa. It was a beautiful Fall day, and she brought along a babysitter for the group. We tasted wines, and sat and enjoyed the kids playing, and ate pate and cheese and beautiful sandwiches. I think that must be what it is like to have a nanny. You get to experience the joy of watching your children and having them near, but can also actually have a conversation and enjoy yourself with friends. I think I'd like to give that a try- now if I can only win the lottery. I know money doesn't make you happy, but I'm pretty happy already, so I think it would be a nice thing to try for a while.

Office Purge

2007-10-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

As I write this, I am sitting and looking at my desk surface. This is unusual, because it is usually covered with (literally!) a 6-inch pile of papers, charging cords, product boxes etc. While Ben napped today, I cleaned it. It was a little like an archeological dig. I found coupons that expired in June, daily report sheets from when I was doing child care, and bills from July. (Yes, thank goodness for online bill pay, they all are current.) Next I plan on tackling our supply drawers and office floor, which I need to clean and convert to an art supply cabinet to hold the kids' markers, glue, scissors and endless assortment of paper and stickers which end up all over my dining room. Living in a 1920's bungalow with a 2007 amount of stuff means finding creative organization solutions. My dilemma is what to do with all the stuff I have already in there- piles of photographs, random photography equipment, cords, cords and more cords etc. I am pretty good at purging, but somehow these things squeak through behind that little voice that says "but you might need that someday." I find that when I get ride of things though, there are very few times where I think later that I really wish I had _____. So tonight and tomorrow, I will take a deep breath, open a big bag, and start stuffing. I really enjoy watching shows like Clean Sweep and Clean House, which helps packrat people who have become completely overwhelmed in their clutter and mess, because it makes my 3x2 disaster area not feel so bad. Good self-esteem through tv. Yippee!

This is an example of the kinds of things Jackson is now drawing. This is a how-to picture he made to teach Ben how to draw a ladybug. I bought him a book on how to draw insects, and now I have an infestation of drawings of centipedes, scorpions, butterflies and stag beetles.
This is a picture of a butterfly that Jackson drew for Ben, who was a very happy boy to receive it.

Directions?

2007-10-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not sure anyone is actually looking at my blog (except Nicole- thanks!) I thought I'd direct you to a site that might be more interesting. Its about monkeys. Bonobo monkeys to be exact. This is what I could have done with my biology degree instead of raising little monkeys at home. Hmmm.... http://bonobohandshake.blogspot.com/

Cowboy Ben

2007-10-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a little biased, but I think we might have the cutest kids ever. This pic was taken last week however, because today would have featured a generous portion of snot dripping from Ben's nose to his upper lip, which is quite red from him using his bottom lip to squeegee the mess.Too much detail? Perhaps for the non-parents out there. I find it amusing that the sign for child in sign language is a motion under the nose, simulating snot. Makes perfect sense to me.

We went to Annie's Annuals today for their Fall Planting party. They have the most beautiful and unique plants there, and we even got to meet Annie. Ben kept asking where she was, and couldn't get it out of his head that we were at "Annie's house", so he seemed relieved to know that she was actually present. I got several plants for my garden, and spent the afternoon cleaning up the front yard while the kids played with their friends from across the street or "helped" me. I find so much pleasure in getting on my knees and planting, pulling weeds and dead-heading the wilted flowers. There is something so pure to me about creating a living picture, and being able to stand back and admire that in which nature and I have collaborated. I bought some homemade tamales from my neighbors and we had them for dinner. A little too spicy for the kids, but I really enjoyed them. I do love this neighborhood for its diversity.

Lights! Camera! Action!

2007-10-04T20:21:00.001-07:00

Martin's little brother Nick has been made into an action figure. If he goes pro, I hope he buys me a pony. A girl can dream, can't she?

Wednesday Workday

2007-10-03T18:55:00.001-07:00

Ben went shopping with me to get supplies for my parents organization last week, and he found a doll to which he really took a liking. He kept asking if he could get it, and hugged it and said he loved it. (It kind of looked like Jackson, which made it that much cuter.) Just when I was patting myself on the back for raising such a sweet, tender boy, he draped the doll over his wrist and with sound effects, announced that now it was a "wrist laser" and that it was shooting me. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
On the other front, I worked again in Jackson's classroom today. I'm feeling much more at peace with his educational experience now. The children were a little more focused, but most of all the lessons seemed to move at a faster pace which worked better with this bunch. They had a miniature dry-erase board (look, we've come full circle back to the little red school house) to write on, and I worked with the students who were having trouble getting started and needed help with their "R". The kids were really sweet, but I still am amazed at how wiggly they are. Ben is taking much better to school also, as I told the teachers not to bother him about using the potty. He is really against going to the bathroom when others suggest it, and I think that and starting a new school were just too much for his little rigid brain. He is so stubborn- sometimes he responds to a cheerful "good morning" with "No, it's not morning."

Hallalujah! The kids went outside!

2007-10-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

We arrived home today and the kids from across the street were out riding bikes and scooters. Jackson spoke those words to me that every mother longs to hear: "Can I stay outside and play?" I took his helmet and bike from the garage, and off he went with his friends, riding up and down the street. They were out there for about a half an hour, then went into our backyard (Ben joined them) and played baseball, basketball and "throw the ball at the garage" for another 45 minutes!! I made dinner, listened to NPR, vacuumed my living room, and smiled smugly in self-righteousness, knowing my children were not part of the statistics, playing outside instead of sitting in front of the tv.

This is a picture of me, in marker by Jackson, with a princess crown. He has taken to being very sweet after particularly bad behavior (this one was after a tantrum before taking a nap) which almost makes it bearable to be a part of his rediculous emotional meltdowns.

Update on the Virgin Mary people

2007-09-26T22:58:00.001-07:00

Now the middle Virgin Mary on the birdbath has gone on vacation. In her place has appeared a medium-sized pumpkin. A gnome and his family have moved in to the corner of the lawn, and artificial flowers now line the walkway, with tin whirligig animals.

Blogs out of the woodwork

2007-09-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

So I don't know where I've been, but apparently everyone and their mother has a blog. I've been getting more and more links to them, and I find the humor that they can extract from the mundane is amazing.
I spent an hour this morning in Jackson's classroom, after peeling Ben off my leg and leaving him at preschool, which he has decided is his new enemy. More on that later. After spending the time in a kindergarten class with 19 5 year olds, I have decided that the teacher is a saint and that I may have to be treated for PTSD. I've never seen such a squirrely bunch of kids. I don't think they've ever sat still, and most of the time they seemed pretty unaware that the teacher was even in room. Wow! The teacher told me that they were really restless today, that they usually aren't that bad- but I think she was just trying to get me to come back. I spent the entire time simply moving kids back into the places they were supposed to be sitting or standing and reminding them to keep their body parts to themselves. The boys couldn't stop hitting each other, and the girls couldn't stop fussing with hair- theirs or their neighbors, it didn't seem to matter. Jackson was one of the few that seemed to know what was going on, and I can see why he is so tired at the end of the 3 hours- that was certainly too much chaos for me and he and I are both overwhelmed by too much noise. I need to peek in on the other K classes and find out if this was normal or I should be concerned with the classroom management. If these kids haven't figured out how school works by the end of Sept., I've got to get Jackson into a better environment.
Ben is... Ben. So many nos, so little time. And now it's no to school. I don't know if he is just having a hard time adjusting to leaving me, because he seems to have a good time while he is there. I need the break though, so I'll keep taking him. Torture by sandbox and storytime. Ahh, parenthood.

On Spidey's web and baby-eating dogs

2007-09-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

I had a fabulous weekend in Colorado- just what this mama needed to recharge. My BFF Krista's little brother got married, and I wouldn't have missed it. I remember when he was in diapers! I stayed with my college girlfriend Kris and her family, who strangely enough moved to my hometown of Fort Collins. They have 3 kids, and a dog as a nanny for the youngest. Just kidding, I'm just checking to see if you're paying attention. Their dog has a penchant for picking up whatever she can find nearby, hence the disturbing picture above.I was able to see several old friends, 2 new babies and have a corned buffalo hash breakfast. (By the way, the twins were adorable and I'm just going to believe that Erik was named for me.) What more could one ask for? The kids did great here with Martin, though Ben gave himself a small haircut. Nothing that a trip back to Barber Lamont couldn't fix. I miss the curls though, but they'll grow back. Martin just finished cleaning the Spider Man web (Silly string ) spray off of the ceiling, which has been there since Jackson's birthday- I had finally grown tired of looking at it. Not sure what they put in it, but we definately should have heeded the bottle warnings not to spray it on anything- the spray ripped a hole in my patio set pads and formed some kind of alien being on my living room ceiling- is that really part of a children's toy?

Fall has arrived

2007-09-20T13:18:00.001-07:00

We awoke to a light sprinkling of rain today, which was fitting to how I felt: miserable with a cold. I don't remember ever sneezing this much in my whole life! Sorry the blog's been spotty this week, but frankly its difficult to type with the typhoon blowing through my head. I can feel the skin on my nose starting to dissolve from all the blowing. It should be really attractive in a few days.

A night in Richmond

2007-09-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Last night was a rough one. Woke at 12:30 to the sounds of cats fighting in our backyard. It wasn't stopping, so I opened up the back door and saw two black cats having a standoff on our fence. One cat is Sparky, who lives next door, but I had not seen another black cat in our yard before. We are often visited by a large orange cat and a small Siamese cat, but not this guy. My pleas to the cats to stop were ignored, so finally as I walked out to them in the yard they scattered. Then, at 3:08 (yes, I know the exact time because its one of those instances where you wake up and look immediately to the clock) I heard 9 shots. Yes, gunfire. Richmond right now is having a major turf war. Most of the time I don't dwell on it too much, because it usually happens to "them" over on "that side" of Richmond. But in the last week, it has been all over town. First 2 shootings, then more in retaliation and so on. On our neighborhood internet group it says that the shots were aimed at someone's front door, and were 2 blocks over and 4 blocks down from us. Richmond has brought out the SWAT teams to deal with the situation, but violence seems to be contagious and is spreading to all parts of the city. What a feeling to lay afraid in your bed. We've heard gunfire before, but never that close. I ache for the parents in the world who fear for their children's safety all the time- including those here in Richmond.

Backyard fun

2007-09-15T19:18:00.001-07:00

Martin had to run a lab for work today, so we had a nice day at the house trying to clean up some of the summer mess in the backyard. Who knew that plastic toys could spontaneously destruct into shards of plastic shrapnel after a year in the sun? And that sidewalk chalk has a shelf (or ground) life of at least 1000 years? (I must have bought the Chinese kind with extra lead.)

I brought out the paints that I've been building up the courage to let the kids use since last summer, and let them go to town on a cardboard box that they dubbed a rocket ship. Ben helped me sweep, and, I must say, looked lovely in my straw hat. Oh, how I dream of a having a lawn someday. Notice the color dots on Jackson's side. Those are the "rainbow laser shooters", because to a boy, nothing is complete without some kind of gun.

Master Jackson

2007-09-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

In addition to learning Spanish, we've decided Jackson should now learn Tae Kwon Do, with a little Korean thrown in. Just in case. Actually, he really was doing "karate" all over the house and his brother, so we decided it would be better to channel his ninja moves. Here he is in his do-bok, or uniform, at the do-jang (taekwondo studio). I'm very happy with his teachers, and the fun and respect they are teaching him at the TG studio.

Jackson and the 4 Pokes

2007-09-13T20:28:00.001-07:00

So the theme for today's blogs must be the number 4. If I can come up with a letter of the day, I may rival Sesame Street! Poor Jackson had his 5-year check up today. I warned him that he might have to get a shot. When will I learn? That just gave him a few hours to work up to complete panic about them at the visit, where he learned that he would get not 1 but 3 shots, and a TB test making 4 pokes for the day. He screamed like a banshee, but didn't fight my lap restraint. I asked the nurses if every kid made such a fuss and they said that all the 5 year olds did, because they were finally old enough to get what was about to happen and that he actually handled it pretty well. I've never seen him ham it up so much with the nurses- he had 4 nurses who were getting him to sing to them ("Don't you want me baby" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles") and 4 asking for hugs even though two of them weren't even involved with giving the shots! It was a preview of his teenage years, where I'm sure we will be harassed to our wits end with calls from little prepubescent girls named Chloe or the like. Remind me to put "find monastery to cloister children" on my to do list. Or at least unlist our number.
Jackson has grown nearly 4 inches since last year's appointment and moved up from 50th percentile in height (at which he has always been) to 75th. He has definitely had a growth spurt since he got his tonsils and adenoids removed- after all, they grow while they sleep so since he has been sleeping better, he is probably growing better. Apparently its a pretty common event after a successful surgery.
He was so tired and his arm hurt so much from the vaccinations that he didn't even want to go to his 2nd Tae Kwon Do class, so his adoring fans will have to wait until tomorrow for the picture of him in his uniform. Stay tuned....

Pooch Plunge- 4 observations

2007-09-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Krista from Colorado sent me this link to her annual "Pooch Plunge" at the Fort Collins City Park Pool. City Park pool is open for the summer season and then closes for the rest of the season. Before the pool is drained the dogs get to enjoy the pool.
I have 4 small observations about the whole event.
1. Is that the coolest pool in the world or what? It didn't look like that when I was growing up; man, that looks like fun!
2. Who the hell wants to go in the water with all of those dogs? Yuck.
3. There are people dying in the world from war, starvation, dysentery, genocide and even terrorism: and someone is out shopping for a bikini for their labrador retriever. No wonder Bin Laden hates us so much.
4. My friend Krista can manage to get 550 dogs and their people to get along together and I could hardly get my kids to put on their shoes this morning without killing each other.

School meetings

2007-09-10T20:02:00.001-07:00

I went to a meeting for the Dual-Immersion program that Jackson is enrolled in today. It was a plea for volunteers, to help with everything from finding resource materials to fundraising, grant-writing to communication with parents. I was a little overwhelmed hearing all of the needs of the program, in addition to the needs of the PTA. A friend and parent at the meeting shared with me that a woman who moved from the program here to another program in a more affluent community over the hill (ok, Diane in Pleasanton) was alarmed to find that her school limited the time of parent volunteering to 1 hour per month! I have to admit, after sitting through that meeting the thought of a self-sufficient program sounded really good to me. This friend argued that she'd rather be in a situation like ours where we all have to work together and form a community in order to make the program successful, rather than being prohibited from participating. I love these fabulous parents that we are working with to make this program great for our kids, but frankly if it were already great and had enough funds, staffing etc I'd be happy to sit back and let the paid professionals take over. I'd rather take care of all the outside of school stuff (and with only 3 hours of school, there is plenty of that) then to have to do that job too.

I love the East Bay- I love the people I have met, the diversity of the neighborhood we live in, the great restaurants- but daily living seems to be a real struggle here. Things that I took for granted in Colorado- good schools, safe streets, clean air- are things that we have to battle for here. Frankly, I'm not up for all this fighting. I'd like to fight against all the other obstacles that our kids will come up against- and there are plenty out there in areas where there are good schools and quiet neighborhoods; I'd just like big things to be that which we take for granted. Don't get me wrong: of course I'm going to put in my time as a parent in this program: but I'm just going to be wondering if somehow I'm short-changing my son by not providing a more solid educational experience, manned (or womaned) by professional educators and not parents trying to eke out a good education from a not-so-good district. That's my rant for today.

Shakespeare's wisdom

2007-09-08T23:22:00.001-07:00

We watched the movie "As You Like It" tonight. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, as the actors were really good and the casting was surprising. (Ok, I'll admit I was a little thrown off at first by the black guy being the master of the white old man servant-yes, I can own my stereotypes, recognize them and move on.) There was a line that really intrigued me- Orlando is starving in the forest, and approaches the banished Duke wielding a sword in order to steal his camp's food. Duke Senior declares "Your gentleness shall force more than your force move us to gentleness". I can think of so many applications for this proverb in the world right now: U.S. diplomacy with the world, some of the unhappy married folks that I know, and in my discipline with the children. A woman that I worked for a few years ago, Maureen Simon, believes that the world has tilted into an unbalanced state of more male energy than female, and the imbalance is leading to more wars, power struggles, unhappiness in the world etc. Ok, I may have simplified that a little, but I think it applies here as well. Certainly a little more gentleness and a little less force would make the world a better place. Now if we could only get Bin Laden and Bush to buy into that....

Mmmmm, tastes like summer

2007-09-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

We get a box full of organic produce weekly from a local farm called Riverdog farm (http://www.riverdogfarm.com/) . Winter makes me consider cancelling as there are times I want to stand on our front porch and scream "No more kale!!", but summer boxes are full of a juicy, better-than-homegrown, beautiful bounty. First came apricots, then peaches so delicious we'd often eat them right at the box pick-up point. Then the tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers and onions came, perfect for what, of course? Gazpacho! I made another perfect batch tonight, and it is chilling in the refrigerator waiting for dinnertime. This time I made a change, following a recipe in Health magazine, which had me blend up 2 cups of cubed whole wheat bread into the tomato mixture. It made for a more hearty texture, but you'd never guess the addition of the bread. It would be a delicious light entree now, with a side of cheese toast and a beautiful green salad.

That is one of the things I've loved about getting the box-we've been getting it for about a year and a half now- I've learned to improvise with what we get weekly- if a recipe calls for onion, I use whatever I have on hand- red, white, spring or even shallots. Greens can be added to so many things, and yes, one can have too much of a good thing.

Martin visited his barber, Lamont, today. Nice haircut! Those of you who know how "thrifty" I am (some of you might call me even a little cheap) might be suprised that Martin isn't cutting his hair himself at home anymore. But it seems that my dislike of finding cut hair around the bathroom trumps my desire to save money, so off to the barber he goes, every two weeks. It always looks really nice too, though he did a good job as well.

There goes the neighborhood

2007-09-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Just when I think the neighborhood is looking up, new renters move in down the block. They seem to have an affinity for statues of the Virgin Mary, Things in Twos, Scarecrows, and oh, yeah, America. I went to Ben's preschool open house today. Too bad it took place yesterday. Then I went and bought a planner. With two kids in different schools, my poor wall calendar has finally had enough and my memory clearly has been exceeded. I went to a PTA meeting tonight, and Martin went to our neighbor/friend Dave's house with his buddies for their Fantasy Football draft. We found a great babysitter who lives literally across the street and only charges $10/hour for two kids! She is 15, the kids love her, and she has two little brothers so she is great with little boys. We are looking forward to many nights leaving Jeanett (pronounced, Janet) and finally getting some time for ourselve . TGIF- I am ready for the weekend. School everyday is hard, and I'm not even going!

Summer has not ended!

2007-09-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

I am busy trying to figure out a schedule that works for everyone- Jackson's Kindergarten is from 10:45 til 2:45, smack in the middle of the day. It doesn't leave much time for anything before, except for him to try to stir up some trouble with Ben. We are trying to do some cleaning around the house, and take Tasha for a walk, but as I generally don't allow tv on school days, they are stir-crazy by the time we leave for school.
The weather was strange here today- a fire nearby in Suisun made the sky hazy, and it felt hot and sticky. Not our usual Bay Area, cool and breeezy weather. We decided to go swimming at the El Cerrito pool. I enjoyed it so much- usually I sit on the sidelines for swimming but today I jumped in and we all swam around like crazy. When we got home at 8, the boys were hungry and they had toast with homade jelly. (Strawberry from Nana Marcia, and apricot from Cousin Bruce)

I think that when Ben starts school on Friday, it will be better, because we'll have to be out of the house before nine. Homework was sent home today, and Jackson was eager to do it. We'll see how long that lasts. He was writing his name, with lowercase letters, and lost a little steam when I explained that the letters were supposed to be written "under the line".

S'more s'mores please!

2007-09-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

We went camping for Labor Day, at Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. We went with a couple of families, and the kids loved it. They even slept in! I wish I could let them ride their bikes and jump off rocks every morning while I made breakfast. We spent two days at the beach. The water was cold, but Martin and the boys didn't seem to mind. There were millions of stars, and yellow jackets to equal, but we had a really great time. I really cherish our friends- its nice to create good memories for the kids, but just as nice to have those fun times for us.

Big Year

2007-09-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here thinking that I am so sad that the boys are growing up so fast. It was such a big summer for Jackson- he learned to swim, ride a scooter, ride his bicycle without training wheels, got his tonsils out, went camping twice and did his first soccer camp. Ben is learning to swim too, talks constantly, and learned how to count to 10 and tell me "Mommy, you look pretty" whenever I get dressed up to go out. I have to remember to stop each day and just admire what gifts they are, before I drift back into the chaos.

Kindergarten Begins...

2007-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten started last week for Jackson. The kids all looked so cute in their uniforms, and of course we made Jackson pose until he couldn't take it anymore. He is attending a Dual-Immersion Spanish/English program. In Kindergarten, they start out with 90% Spanish, though for part of the time there is a teacher who helps explain what is going on in English. The percentage of class time in Spanish goes down each year by 10% , but these young kids apparently begin understanding within weeks. Amazing how their brains work!!