Pinterest Saturday

I became a fan of Pinterest less than a year ago. My neighbor insisted that I become a member of the site and after much denial, I finally got on board and have been hooked ever since. Now, every time I make a dessert, something fun for dinner or offer my kids something creative to do during quiet time at home, they ask "Pinterest?" I proudly say "yes. All good ideas come from Pinterest ladies." I have no shame. I had the girls to myself for a few hours on Saturday so I decided to turn it the short time before naps into Pinterest Saturday. We made Flubber - one batch was good, the other one was not so good (my bad for not cleaning the bowl out completely between batches). The girls loved it - the made "cookies" mostly, but it was a great time killer while I made lunch, cleaned up after lunch and then later made dinner. Yes, they actually came back to it later! After naps, I let the girls play outside. They have been very excited about painting lately (especially Amy) so I decided to try out a new painting "recipe" I found. It involved shaving cream and tempura paint. Yes, it was messy, but it made for some great artwork, a lot of creativity and many "wow" moments, which I live for! I now have to make a trip to buy some frames to hang up the girls' art work. (I would add a ton of photos that I took during our Pinterest Saturday but this Blogger website isn't being my friend. I guess that's the payback for not blogging in a really long time.)

Seeing stars at the eye doctor

My girls have poor genes when it comes to vision. I wear glasses (though I didn't wear them until I was in college practically) and Matt has about the worst eye sight I've ever seen in a human. On my most recent trip to the eye doctor, I asked them when it was appropriate to bring the girls in for a checkup. They said about 4 years old. I was under the impression that you didn't have to take a kid to the eye doctor until they complained that they couldn't read what the teacher was reading on the blackboard - er, whiteboard - anymore. Wrong. So, before I left the doctor's office that day I made them an appointment. I didn't feel the need to tell the girls prior to the appointment that they were going to be visiting the doctor. I told them the night before and they were very excited about it. Diana pumped her fist. I later got a picture from my mom of she and Amy practicing reading big letters and small letters. I left work early to take them to the appointment and when we arrived and were called back, the girls practically ran back to the exam room. I knew they would like this place because the exam is very interactive and fun. It involves letters and it's a bit of a test which my kids love. Diana went first, sat up in that chair and fired off letters that were smaller than ants. Truly smaller than ants. The doctor was blown away. He showed me how small the letters were that she was reading and I couldn't even read them with my glasses on. Diana "aced" the rest of the exam and had a great time. She's a little far-sighted which the doctor said is normal because most kids start out far-sighted and as they get older become more near-sighted. Amy was a champ as well. She hopped up in the chair and ran through every test that Diana did. The doctor was impressed that a 3-year-old could focus long enough to do all the tests. Amy was funny - she got a little attitude when the doctor asked her what the pictures, numbers and letters were on the wall. She had a "duh" sound in her response a couple of times and doctor and I couldn't help but laugh. I guess Amy needs a little more of a challenge. I left the office beaming at my two little people. Once again, they amaze me and make me very proud. Sometimes they don't act like little angels at home and the tantrums are exhausting, but when we go out in public, especially to a place where I go solo sometimes, they behave and do as they are told. We went to Burger King to celebrate.

Full circle in a rectangle

I am lucky to have two little girls who love books, love to hear stories and love to make up stories. Three and a half years ago, I taught Diana how to read. She was almost four, about to become a big sister and a year away from being in kindergarten. It was time. It wasn't hard. She is a great learner and very enthusiastic. We did have our rough nights, but for the most part, she got it, wanted to learn how to read and picked it up in no time. It helped that I have parents who are familiar with the great resources available to teachers and could guide me in the right direction. My mom picked up Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop to teach me how to read decades ago so she insisted that I start there. Along with Frontline Phonics and Hop on Pop, Diana and I were off. Now, three and a half years later, it's all coming full circle. I sit with my girls in Amy's bedroom nearly every night and we read. Amy proudly assigns us our books and we read. Amy even makes up a story based on the pictures in her selection. It's nearly always 100 percent accurate. Lately, Amy has been picking out Hop on Pop to read. I get a little grin on my face every time she picks it out. Time flies. The first time the three of us sat down to read, Amy amazed me at how well she knew the book. It wasn't until we were halfway through that I asked her if she had been reading it with Grandma V. "Yes," she said very matter-of-factly. Oh, that explains a lot. But still, it's very awesome how much she loves to read, how well she remembers the story and the words. She's also very easy to teach and I am sure that she will be ready for kindergarten in no time. After we read Hop on Pop, I head next door to read with Diana - Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is the book of choice these days. The book was published in 1981...I was six. I remember the book fondly and chuckle at everything that happens to Ramona in third grade. The egg in her hair, throwing up in class, her constant love-hate battles with Beezus. It's remarkable how books transcend time. I wasn't sure if Diana would like the Ramona series when her grandpa got the series for her a couple of birthdays ago, but we have worked through them pretty rapidly. I am the one who insists on taking a break once in a while, much to the dismay of Diana. As stressful as bedtime routines can be for a tired working mom, the quiet time we have in the final 30 minutes of our day is the most relaxing, enjoyable 30 minutes of my day. I love their creativity, their love for one another to sit and read to each other and their passion for books. I hope it never ends.

Well excuuuusssse me!

An area that I need to improve upon is patience. I've always thought I was a pretty patient person. Then my kids learned to talk back and developed a little bit of attitude and my patience went out the window. Any hint of attitude and I lose it. I won't stand for it. A mom friend of mine says that her kids are afraid of her. They don't give her attitude and in that remote chance that they do give her a little twinge of attitude or talk back, she gives them "the look" and the attitude flies out the window. My kids aren't scared of me. I try and give them a timeout and they just give me more attitude and yell more. Granted they are on their way to their bedroom, but they are still yelling. I don't think there's any chance my kids will ever be scared of me. That ship has sailed. I need to have various levels of the attitude that I will accept. Seven-year-olds these days are like 12-year-olds and unless my kids are cursing at me (that's not gonna happen), I have to give in a little. Plus, a lot of the blame goes back on me. I am a very sarcastic person and a 7-year-old can't quite comprehend that. She's just giving me the tone of voice that I give her and Daddy all the time. Sarcasm just comes out a lot different from her than it does from me. When I hear other kids Diana's age talk, they talk to their parents the same, if not worse, than she talks to me. I breathe a sigh of relief, briefly, that I am not the only one who deals with this attitude. I guess what it comes down to is as long as she doesn't give this attitude to other adults and her teachers, I'm OK.

Just another tough decision to make

As Amy's third birthday approaches we are re-evaluating her needs for speech therapy. She's doing great, talking a lot and saying more words. Her ability to communicate her needs to us improves every day. She's been with this speech therapist for almost a year now. We love Miss Cari. When I went back to work Cari was willing to continue Amy's sessions at the daycare instead of at our house. She has a great personality and Amy has trusted her and responded well to her from Day One. Cari has also called and left messages on our voice mail at home with a funny experience she shared with Amy from that day's session or just an update on how she's doing. It also helps that Cari brings trains every once in while to the therapy session. But Amy is "graduating," so to speak, to another level of therapy. Her case is being handed over to the school district. They will have Amy in a preschool setting a couple of days a week with a speech therapist and other kids to help her speech/development. The problem we run into is that "school" where Amy would have these sessions is on Travis Air Force Base and they are held in the middle of the day. I work 30-40 minutes away from the base. Logistically, it's a nightmare to even think about having to take off work, pick up Amy at daycare, drive out to the base, get a parking pass, wait in the car while she has class and then do it all again in reverse. I'd easily be away from work at least two hours. Thinking about the gas frightens me as well. The speech therapist informed me that they could provide transportation to and from the daycare. "Oh, what does that entail?" I asked. "Well, she would bussed out here," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You put a three-year-old on a bus?" "Yes, there are others her age that do it," she said, not at all seeing any problem with it. "Sorry, I am not putting my three-year-old on a bus and sending her across town," I said. Our other option is to decline the services. We know that's probably not the best option either. Amy still needs therapy. She especially needs it in the environment that the school district can provide - a group setting under a speech therapist's watch where she can help Amy learn to communicate with other kids her age. When she's at daycare now, and another kid comes within two inches of her, she gets raging mad. She hits, screams and shows a lot of anger. The teachers there are not trained to help her in the way a speech therapist can. We can only tell Amy so many times to "use your words" but if she doesn't know how to do that, it makes no sense to her. I've asked the speech therapist in our district about the possibility of an inter-district transfer. I work in Vacaville and it seems logical that they would try to honor this. She skirts around the issue and then eventually changes the subject. I am going to keep pursuing this option because it seems like the best option. Amy wouldn't start with her new speech therapist until the fall (she would be on the regular school year schedule for the most part) so we have some time. In the meanwhile, our district would perform an evaluation (which they are going to do at our house, thankfully) and see where she's at. If there is room in the Vacaville district program come fall, they might be able to squeeze her in. Who would've ever thought I would have to be on a waiting list for speech therapy for a three-year-old? Geez! Let the educational drama begin!

We're going to the Huki Lau

I have to be more in touch with my family so over the next month, my goal is to blog, blog and then blog some more. We have a lot going on and yet, I never write about it. So sad because I am, in fact, a writer. And I do take pictures to document everything we do. Today, the adventure for Diana and me was an Island Girls She and Me event run by another Girl Scout Troop in our Service Unit. It was, of course, Hawaiian theme and lots of fun. It was nice to be indoors, too, considering the temperature is nearing 95 degrees...it's April right? Diana and I got in our best Hawaiian themed outfits and headed over to the event. There was great food, games, crafts, raffle prizes and a dessert contest. Of course, I part took in the dessert contest. The rules were to use a tropical fruit. I took the easy way out and made Pineapple "D"-Lite Cupcakes (The "D" is for Diana). I started making them Saturday morning after breakfast (cupcakes are always freshest when eaten the day they are made, right?). But as the oven was preheating and I had the batter in the cake tins, the power went out. I waited 20 minutes, texted my neighbor to see if it was just us or the neighborhood, and then decided to head over to Grandma V's. I piled the girls in the car, grabbed all my supplies and drove into Fairfield. I baked and frosted the cupcakes, took a shower and got ready for the event at V's and then headed back to Vacaville. By mid-party, I was pooped. There was so much party left to be had though! I sucked it up, decorated a frame and watched Diana get a feather put in her hair. Then the results for the dessert contest were announced - four categories and I walked away with nothing. Granted there were about 50 desserts so my chances were slim. I must say though, that I was disappointed to see my cupcakes completely in tact though when I went to get a dessert. The judges hadn't even sampled mine! Technically, I was never in the running! I even went all out and put Girl Scout decor on them. They were awesome! When Diana and I left the party, I took my cupcakes and passed some out to the other moms I know who had family at home. I brought some home for the "real" judge...Matt.

Surprised? So am I

What does one write about when she hasn't written for five months? It's been a little busy around our neck of the woods and blogging hasn't even been on my radar. But tonight is a little funny in the Borchert house. After attending the local 100th Girl Scout Anniversary celebration downtown earlier tonight, I came home and put the girls to bed. Thirty minutes later, Matt was headed to bed because he's sick. That left me, at 8:30 p.m., alone sitting on the couch with my laptop, working on a project. I got a phone call from some politico lady who wanted 15 minutes of my time but I said no. I tried to kill time on Facebook, but it annoys me. I read my sister's blog which I haven't read in probably a year (sad, I know), read my blog which I haven't read in months and decided that I had a couple of minutes to write.

I'm busy. Too busy? Maybe. Working mom. Girl Scout leader. Coach's Wife. Taxi driver. There are a lot of little titles that I own in between those titles. I didn't necessarily enjoy every minute of being a stay-at-home mom, but man I had time to do things. I can barely find time to clean the house, do laundry, cook dinner now. I think it's because as my kids get older, they are involved in more activities. And I love that they are involved in activities. My dream of having a Girl Scout has come true. I love being a Girl scout leader. It's a lot of work but it's so rewarding. And Diana loves it too. She's so into it. And Amy loves her Saturday gymnastics class. I can't believe how good she is. She pulls herself up on that little bar and just dangles there. I am perfectly happy wearing myself out day after day to ensure that my little people are healthy and happy.
That's what it's all about right?
One of these days I will have time to myself...oh wait, I just had time to myself. See you in another five months!