The Borchert's Basketball Blog

We are one Cool family

2011-10-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

We love our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch, the official kickoff to the fall season. Matt gets pumped about the holiday season. He gets all the decorations out and has the girls help him decorate the house. I don't help anymore. I don't do it right. And when the girls help, they don't do it right either. Then Matt asks me to "check their work." I am the last person that he needs to be asking to do that because I don't do it right according to him. He goes back and checks my work. If a decoration is a half-inch out of place, it will get moved to the correct place. So I just sit on the couch and let him decorate the house. I tell him "When you want something done right, do it yourself!"

Our trip to Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon is fun. The whole family comes out and this year we let Diana invite one of her friends and her family. We could've spent the whole day out there, it was so beautiful. I will let the pictures do the talking.

The girls walking into the patch with Daddy. I have a picture of Matt and Diana walking into the patch when she was three. It's great to see this one with an extra little person in it!

Diana and Amy love playing in the houses.

Another one of my favorites. I am going to get this one blown up and frame it with the one of Matt and Diana from three years ago. She's so BIG!

After a while, they just want to be chaffeured.

Remember me? I'm Amy!

2011-10-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Amy's birth story is great. I know she was born early and there were complications, but once she came into this world, she was awesome and her story is so unique. Not too many babies spend their first three weeks of the world in three hospitals. Both of us got great treatment in our hospitals, but Walnut Creek Kaiser has to be the most special. She was there for two weeks and let me tell you, she thrived!

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) there is one of the best, if not the best, in Northern California. There were so many babies in the NICU when we were there and all of them there for different reasons. Amy was very fortunate to be one of the healthiest babies in there at the time. I visited Amy every day once I was discharged from the hospital, making the 35-40 minute drive, sometimes with my mom, down Interstate 80, then to 680. I walked into the hospital, Boppy and diaper bag in tow and was excited about our one hour together for the day. I visited her in the morning and because the nurses didn't want her overstimulated, I was only allowed to hold her for an hour. Once she got bigger, I could hold her for longer. We did kangaroo care (where she laid on my naked chest in just her diaper) for an hour and we just sat there. I didn't sing, I didn't talk, I couldn't even rock in my chair. I wanted to fall asleep, but I couldn't take my eyes off this little person. She loved kangaroo care and so did I. When the nurses told me my time was up, they literally had to peel her off me - our sweaty skins were stuck together (LOL).

We were invited to the NICU graduate reunion and it was decided as a family that we were definitely going to go. I wasn't sure what it was going to be like because we didn't get an invitation last year. There were games, snacks, live kids music and activities. It was so much fun. Amy and Diana even led a group of kids in dancing to the live music.

I got a little emotional being back in Walnut Creek, seeing all the little babies and the big "graduates" walking around. I've been back to Walnut Creek since Amy left there, because she has appointments there once a year so I don't know why I was emotional on this day. But that hospital and the staff holds a special place in my heart and I will never forget how wonderfully we were treated there.

Here are some pictures from our fun day.

Amy was very helpful, making sure to set up the pins after she knocked them over in the bowling game.

Daddy was pumped that there were Color by Number coloring books. He needs structure, but I didn't know he needed THAT much structure!

You would've sworn that the "live music" was Taio Cruz or something by the way the girls were dancing, but no...just a man and his guitar singing kids music.

Another chapter begins

2011-10-09T14:09:00.001-07:00

It's been a long 11 months. There have been ups and there have been downs. It's basically been an emotional roller coaster. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with my girls and spend more time with my family which is what everyone wants,right? Walking Diana to school every morning has been extremely fun and being the first one to see her smiling face when she rushes out of her classroom at the end of the day is awesome. I can't wait to hear all about her first-grade adventures.
All the while, I have stayed busy with a lot of freelance work. It was important to me from the get-go to stay busy and still write and be involved with the community and take on projects. I even started volunteering with some organizations at Diana's school.
For the past month I have gone to a parent preschool with Amy which is so much fun. It's kind of surreal to watch her in a preschool atmosphere. I never got to do that with Diana. We dropped her off at daycare, went to work and picked her up. We relied on the teachers to fill us in with every detail of her busy day.
Now, it's time for another change. I am ready to go back to work and someone is...finally...ready to have me.
In my email inbox on Monday I hope to have an offer from Novartis, a pharmaceutical company in Vacaville. Yes, Vacaville, the city where I live. Not San Francisco, not Sacramento. I will drive 15 minutes to work every day and 15 minutes back home. If my kids get hurt at school, I can jet over and make sure they are OK if I need to. Amazing. Things happen for a reason. All the rejection for the past nine months happened for a reason.
I had an interview with this company on Friday afternoon. I was there for two hours and met with several different people. I loved every single one of them. They were excited about this position and honest about the company's "transitioning" culture. I am excited to possibly shape that culture.
At 6 p.m. that night, I got a phone call from the director of communications telling me that the committee met briefly and that it was unanimous to move forward with me as their primary candidate. I submitted my references and will wait for the offer to come in the email. They will do a background check, I will do a drug test and then I will start in a couple of weeks.
Check out the company online, my mom did. She's impressed. I'm impressed. While the job is only a contract position through the end of the year, there is a possibility that it could go full-time. Like I always do, I will work my butt off for the next two months and ensure that I can stay with this company as long as they want me.
Thanks to everyone for their support over the last 11 months. A big reason that I have been able to stay hopeful that there was something out there for me was because of the love and support of my family and friends.

It's time for preschool already

2011-09-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

I knew it was time for Amy to start preschool when she got so excited about Diana's friends coming over for playdates. She was screaming for some friends of her own and for some time away from Mommy.
My mom convinced me that the parent preschool at her former place of employment (yay Mom!) was a great option for us now. It's four hours a day, twice a week. A bonus that you don't get a traditional preschool is that for about an hour during the day, I learn some great parenting techniques. We talk about discipline and other topics that parents feel they want to know more about.
Last week was the first week for Amy and me and she had a great time. She recognized the playground right away from the few times that I took the girls there to visit Grandma V. She busted right into the room and was so happy to have new toys to play with. I was really pleased with her for paying attention during circle time, sitting still at a big table during lunch and playing on her own while I was watching a video in another room. The kids played pretty well together on the first week, but they were all still a little shy. I am sure that will change as time goes on.
They got to play outside as well. When Amy heard that it was time to go outside, she shot out of the door like her hair was on fire.
I had never seen her run so fast - not even in the Diaper Derby! When she got outside, she couldn't decide what to play with first so she ran back and forth between the playground, the sand table and the play house. Then she went back to the sand table, and then the play house and then the playground. She was like a pinball.
I finally ran over to her and told her that we had plenty of time out here and that she would get to play with everything before we went back inside. It was almost like she took a sigh of relief. She settled on the playground first.
She slept really well that night and was very excited to go back a couple days later.
For me, it's nice to have some parents to talk to and to get to have some out of the house time with Amy. I love to watch her play and learn. It's going to be a great experience for both of us!

Well, that was rude!

2011-09-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

We've all seen the movie Pretty Woman, right? You know the one...prostitute falls in love with billionaire and they live happily ever after. Right, we're up to speed now.
There's a scene in the movie where Richard Gere's character gives Julia Roberts' character money and she goes down to Rodeo Drive to shop for some "appropriate" clothes. When she goes into the first store, they tell her that she's in the wrong place and they don't have anything for her. Booo!
I love the scene a little later in the movie when she returns to that store with about 10 shopping bags in her hands and says that they made a huge mistake..."Huge!"
Well, I am no Julia Roberts, but I was "Pretty Womaned" the other day and I feel compelled to write about it.
I am going to be in a wedding at the end of October. I have been a little preoccupied lately so I put off dress-hunting until Friday. Huge mistake, I know. Especially since I was asked to pick a dress that is more summer color than fall color. My bad, yes. I saw an ad in the paper the other day for a popular dress shop in downtown Fairfield. They were having and end-of-summer clearance. Well, Angela missed out on all the summer dresses so when I went the clearance was over.
I strolled into the shop promptly at 10 a.m. after enjoying a Starbucks tea with Amy. She was still munching on her bagel when we arrived at the store. I immediately got dark stares upon entering the store with my kid. I could practically hear what the two older women were thinking "How DARE she bring a child in our store? And the child is eating to boot?"
The lady asked me to put Amy's bagel away (yea, good luck with that) so I had Amy put it back in the Starbucks bag. She screamed and then threw her book across the store.
"I have a thrower too," the lady said. I looked at her a little funny.
"My grandson is a thrower," she clarified.
Whatever. I told her what I was in the market for that day because I obviously wasn't in the mood for small talk. She looked at the swatches that I brought along and instantly she was discouraged at my color choice. She showed me a couple dresses that I said were "OK" but not exactly what I had in mind. She presented another dress that I don't think anyone in their mid-30s should even touch let alone wear.
"I don't think that's quite me," I said. She turned her nose up at me and went to another part of the store.
She then handed me back my swatches and said "I don't think we have what you are looking for."
HUH?
"Oh, well, OK," I said.
There was no offer to order something from a catalog or offer another shop. Nothing. Just a snooty attitude and dismissal. I left the store with my kid. As I manuevered out of the front door with Amy in the stroller, she didn't even offer to help. Not that I need it, but an offer would have been nice.
That's the last time I go to that store. (Technically I have never purchased anything at that store, but still...)
I have never been "Pretty Womaned" before and I have never gotten the kind of reception I did from those women anywhere else because I had a kid with me. Considering those women, at least one of them, was a grandma, I would've expected a little more courtesy.
It's all good. I went to JC Penney...a nice family-friendly store...and got a dress for the wedding for $30! Thank you big-box retailers and your end-of-summer clearance!

Staying very busy

2011-08-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've known people all through my life who have held down three jobs just to make ends meet. They go from one job to the next, barely enough time in between to feed or even say hi to their kids, and this is their life. The whole family adjusts to this crazy schedule...but it's only crazy to those not in it. What is crazy to one family may not be so crazy to another.
As a writer, I can work from anywhere. Right now, I am in the backyard with the laptop, sitting at the table while Amy plays in the water table and slides down the slide. Diana is learning Spanish at school and Matt is at work. It's quiet for the most part, aside from lawnmowers doing their business and some birds chirping.
For the last few months I have been writing a column for the local newspaper about being a stay-at-home mom. I've gotten good feedback from it and I really enjoying writing it. Last week, I picked up another freelance writing gig and I have another prospective offer to do some freelance work for a local company. That's three jobs. And I haven't even mentioned the stuff I do for Matt's basketball team and freelance work I do for some of the other sports teams at Solano, some PR stuff I do for the Solano president and part-time PR for Diana's theatre company. Whew.
That's OK. It's projects, and I love projects. I love staying busy and keeping my creative juices flowing.
I had a coffee meeting with a friend this morning and she said that maybe I was just going to be one of those people who freelances. I said I was OK with that because freelancing allows me to be involved with my kids' lives. I can take them to gymnastics, theatre and all their other activities and still have some money coming in. I just have to make sure I am cutting back in places.
The thing I look forward to every day though is taking Diana to school and picking her up. She really looks forward to school and I have been able to help out a friend/neighbor by having her daughter walk with us to school every day. I realize that there's nothing quite like being there to tell your kid to have a great day and being the first one to ask how their day was. Yes, all the in between stuff is hard - disciplining a 2-year-old, coming up with creative lunches every day, cleaning the house, staying sane - but it's all worth it when that little first grader runs over to me in the afternoon and tells me all about her day on the way home.

First day of first!

2011-08-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

There are new routines to adjust to on the first day of school. We have to get up a little earlier, there's more of a sense of urgency as the morning progresses and the to-do list is a little longer.
On Wednesday, Diana started first grade. She's been ready to go back to school for a while and, frankly, so have I. Unfortunately, even though she's excited, she still has no sense of urgency.
Diana woke up around 6:15 and got dressed right away (just like I told her was going to have to happen). I made breakfast and then got Amy going around 7. The little one is getting up about 30-45 minutes earlier than normal which sucks for her. Amy likes to chill in her crib for a while before greeting the family. She did well Wednesday though.
At the breakfast table, I had to remind Diana four times that we are not in talkative, summer, goof-off-at-the-table mode anymore. It's all business baby!
I admit to having a little anxiety on Wednesday but I wanted to make sure we got out of the house on time. Anticipating the traffic at school was at the forefront of my mind as well.
Once breakfast was over, Diana brushed her teeth and hair and put her shoes on. Once the clock struck 8, we were out the door and drove the 1 minute and 30 seconds down the street to school.
NEVER AGAIN.
So much traffic, so many people. I know it was the first day of school and all, but I had to park way down the street from school - it was nearly the equivalent of being at my house. What a waste of time.
There I was, pushing Amy in the stroller, lugging two reams of copy paper, a box of Kleenex and my purse with the camera in it. Meanwhile, Diana has a backpack that the crossing guard says makes her look like a turtle because it's so big. It's filled with supplies and she's carrying her lunch. We looked ridiculous but as I looked around at other families, we fit right in!
Diana was the first one in line and I didn't speak but two words to her the rest of the time. Once her teacher came out to greet the class, she went with her, put her backpack away and sat on the carpet. The teacher told the students to say "Hasta Luego" to the parents (remember, she's in Spanish Immersion) and Diana was still staring at the teacher as if to say "Yea, can we just start learning now?"

She finally turned around, waved and we left. I got a little misty eyed but I think it was more hurt feelings because my baby wouldn't say bye. Whatev, D! Momma doesn't forget! :)

The next Erin Andrews

2011-08-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

We put our kids in sports in hopes they will become the next great superstar athlete. The chances of that happening are slim and we all know it, but we have to take a chance, right? Besides, they are getting some exercise, making new friends and learning valuable lessons along the way. There are really few negatives to being involved with sports.
In the past nine months since Diana has been involved with various athletic endeavors, she has learned that maybe she actually enjoys sports. She tries really hard at everything she does, she smiles, she has a great attitude toward her coaches and teammates and it's led to an interest in the sports we watch at home on television.
Since it's summertime, that means she's paying more attention to the (World Champion) San Francisco Giants. They are on nearly every day and even though most of the games are on past her bedtime, she can catch the games when they playing on the East Coast. (I am sure that she will be a fan of the National League East someday).
Diana can tell us what the score is, what inning it is - including whether or not it's the top half or the bottom half - and knows that three outs is all ya' get. Now, granted, these are basic baseball facts that everyone should know, but remember, she's a girl and she's just started showing interest in baseball. She's picked it up pretty quick. Her favorite player is Pablo Sandoval but I don't think she could tell you any other player.
I was excited the other day to learn that she's been paying a lot more attention than I though after talking to a friend of mine (a sportswriter) who struck up a conversation with Diana at a barbecue.
He told me that he was impressed with Diana's baseball knowledge. I had no idea what he was referring to.
He said that she was excited because the Giants has won two games in a row and that they won that day 4-1. She was aware, he said, of the Giants' streak of hitting a home run with no runners on base (something Dad must have taught her). I was blown away by all this knowledge. My friend was impressed.
I thought all day about this and later told Matt that if nothing comes of Diana being an athlete (with the legs she's grown over the summer though, I am pretty sure sports are in her future), she's got a career in broadcasting for sure! I can just think 20 or so years from now watching Diana on SportsCenter - blonde hair and all - as the next Erin Andrews (minus the stalker of course).
See, there's more to participating in sports than the physical side of it!

Our venture into signing

2011-08-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Amy began her second week of speech therapy this week. I sit on the couch and let the therapist work her magic for 30 minutes twice a week. She's teaching her a little bit of sign language which I am not totally for, but it's not a lot of signing. She's taught her how to say "more cookies please", "fish", "apple" and some others. She brings Amy snacks and encourages her to use her words if she wants another snack. I practice her signing with her at home while also encouraging her to use her words when she needs or wants something.
The two of them play with a train and the therapist shows her pictures of objects, encouraging Amy to look at her mouth while she says the word. She's impressed with Amy's jaw movement and how well she uses her tongue to chew, etc. The words will come, she tells me. (I'm still not concerned.)
The thing I realized this past week and I think the therapist realized it too, is that Amy just doesn't want to talk. She's not ready. Diana wasn't ready at this age. She knows how to ask for more cookies or Goldfish crackers, but instead she whines and points to them. We remind her to use her words and after a little bit of encouragement, she signs for them. The therapist says that she has several kids who are in the same phase as Amy and they don't seem to want to talk either.
While the girls were at Camp Gramma V, Diana taught Amy to say "Dada" so now everytime Matt comes home, he asks Amy who he is. When we sit down to dinner, he looks across the table and asks her who he is. "Dada" she replies. He chuckles. I just remind him who her favorite is...he shrugs because he knows the answer to that is me.
Amy's vocabulary is slowly expanding. I just don't know that it's because of speech therapy.

We gotta get outta this town

2011-07-29T15:32:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of places to take kids in the summer that don't cost a thing. We have done Michael's craft days, gone to the park, gone swimming, visited the Jelly Belly factory...that's just the beginning.
But sometimes, you just gotta pack up the car, head out of town and spend a little bit of money. That's what I decided to do one day so we went to Fairytale Town in Sacramento. I didn't tell the girls where we were going, I just said we were going for a car ride. It was Amy's first trip to Fairytale Town and Diana's second. I realized not long after we arrived that Diana is a little bit old for that place. She was practically tackling the other kids who were climbing on the structures and going down slides. She loved it, but she's ready for something a little more age-appropriate. Amy, on the other hand, was in heaven. She loved chasing her sister around, going down slides much larger than those that we find at the parks and being outside.
It was fun to watch them discover a new place. And I was pleased that the snack bar inside Fairytale Town was extremely reasonably priced. Everything was less than $2 for the most part...way within my budget.

Here are some images from the trip. Diana first went to Fairytale Town with my mom years ago and she made Diana a photo album from it. I am going to do the same for Amy because Amy just loves looking at D's album. Now she can have her own.

Diana was such a good big sister, watching Amy as she climbed up the stairs on every slide to make sure she didn't fall.

Amy really did chase Diana around some times.

And they loved the hippopotamus water fountain!

With a huff and a puff

2011-07-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

Birthdays are funny. We spend weeks planning for a party - sometimes when only family is invited - and the day goes by in a blur. That's kind of what happened with Amy's birthday. Invitations were sent out three weeks before her party via email because there was so much going on after Diana's birthday one month earlier. I think I did a pretty good job with her invite though and we got a good response. Both sides of the family were coming to her party which I was really happy about.
We woke up on Saturday morning and serenaded Amy with Happy Birthday. She loved it. She had been practicing holding up two fingers and by the time her birthday rolled around, she nailed it! We had French toast for breakfast and then opened presents, just the four of us. Diana and Amy made a mess of the living room with the wrapping, toys and clothes but they were happy so I wasn't one to complain. Shortly after that, it was time to get into party mode. I vacuumed, Matt took Diana to the store to get some food for the party and I baked cupcakes. Poor Amy was left in the living room to play. She was fine with it, but I felt bad. Poor birthday girl just got ditched on her special day.

That's OK. Later on, we had a lot of fun with family and friends.

Amy got a baby doll from Grandpa D. She loves her! She sleeps with her every night and more often then not, she is still in the crib in the morning and not on the floor because Amy threw her out in the middle of the night.

We trained Amy a long time ago to blow on her food when it's hot. She picked it up pretty fast but we never thought it would work like a charm on candles. Matt told Amy that her cupcake and candles were hot and to blow on them. She took a deep breath and swiftly blew both those little pink candles out. It was the highlight of the party for everyone there. And the birthday girl was very proud of herself too!

Where's MY summer camp?

2011-07-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Diana was at summer camp for the last two weeks. She participated in a sports camp, where there was a lot more going on than just sports - they went on a field trip to Scandia, went to the dollar movies and did arts and crafts every morning. Last week she had cooking camp, where they "cooked" sandwiches, tortillas, edible arrangements and other goodies. They also went on a field trip on the city bus to Fresh Choice and two of the days they went swimming. There was also a park right outside the site so they played there too.
What I want to know is...where is MY summer camp? I want to go away for a week, do arts and crafts, go swimming, cook, go to a movie and play sports. I also would love to play miniature golf since I haven't played that in probably three years.
I guess my house is a constant camp, but it sure doesn't feel like it. I supervise the arts and crafts, act as lifeguard during swimming (even though I don't know CPR -I know, that's bad) and cook the meals for other people.
My ideal camp would be me at a quiet location, sans children, with my Kindle, soaking up the sun and sleeping in until about 9 a.m. I want to eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it without a child saying "Can I have one?" This is all wishful thinking because these "camps" cost mucho dinero that I just don't have. I will have to improvise and have a makeshift camp during naptimes. I can sit in the backyard in my bikini, with my Kindle, soaking up the sun and sneak some snacks while the kids can't see me. As for the arts and crafts, I will have to make sure to take part in them, instead of just supervising. I will insist that my husband take me on a date to go play mini golf one of these days.
Camp might be spread out among several days, but I will get my chance too!

When I am strong, my kids are healthy

2011-07-21T10:20:00.001-07:00

I am not what my husband likes to call a "mental midget." I like to think that I am mentally tough. It's that mental toughness that gets me through every day and helps me run a functional household.
Sure I am tired throughout the day. When you get up at 5 a.m. to exercise five days a week you are bound to get tired at some point. But there are little people running around that need attention, need to see sunlight and need to be entertained. There's also a house that needs to be cleaned, meals to cook and diapers that need to be changed. Plus, it's not healthy for me to be couped up in the house all day either. So I push through the tired.
When I want to just sit down and roam the internet for a job for 15 minutes, I glance over and my 2-year-old is making a mess of the living room. That can't happen so I get off the internet and have her help me clean up. When I would rather stay in the house all day then take the kids to the park, I can't. That's not fair to them. So, I lather them up with sunscreen and we head out. Do we walk, ride bikes or take the car? Most of the time we take the car, but let's walk today...or ride a bike. Sure, one might say that my kids are a little spoiled because I am giving in to their every need, but they are kids and it's summertime. This is their time to have some fun and not have any pressure on them. When Mommy and Daddy have jobs and we are on a tighter schedule, they have more limitations. Now, let's just have fun.
When I put the girls down for bed at night and I come downstairs and take a breath, it's nice. That's MY time. I finally get to relax, read a book, look for a job, watch television, bake something...do whatever I want to do.
It's not easy being mentally tough, but my kids are mentally healthy because of it!

Diana's rookie year

2011-07-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

One of Diana's many summer activities includes t-ball. She's never played baseball a day in her life and we have barely played catch with the girl in her six years of existence. When we have played catch, it's been with a basketball. Certainly nothing as small as a baseball. But her friend from track season was playing so we decided to give it a shot.
Diana is not the best player on the team, but she's not the worst either. She has a smile on her face the entire time she's out there and that's all that matters to me. She's in the senior division which means that the games are not that hard to watch from a talent standpoint (most of the kids should be playing Little League or Bobby Sox).

Here's Diana at opening ceremonies last Friday.

Here she is warming up before her first game on Saturday morning.

Diana getting some batting advice from her coach. Yes, she is wearing a skirt. I tried to tell her that she needed to wear shorts, but "Daddy said it's OK because it's sporty!" was the reply I got. Matt suggested that we needed to get her some baseball pants and I said heck no! I especially was against that idea when I saw one of the girls on Diana's team wearing baseball pants and they were super baggy in the crotch area (enough room for a cup!). Those things are not made for girls. Gramma V suggested waiting to see if Diana requested baseball pants after the first game. I said "Mom, my daughter is wearing a skirt. Do you think she's gonna request baseball pants?" Enough said.

She reached base a couple of times. I love this photo because the first baseman is totally checking her out! :)

And here is Diana's No. 1 fan, watching her from behind the fence. Amy wanted to be out there so bad!

She now has two games a week until the week before school starts. It's going to be a busy month for us because she's in camp this week again. She's also taking gymnastics one day a week. Hold on for the ride!

My backyardigan

2011-07-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

It doesn't matter what the temperature is outside, my girls always want to play outside. I am fine with that. Let's get the sunscreen out and head outdoors! With Diana at camp during the day for a couple weeks, Amy and I have been playing outside more often. It's nice that the temperatures haven't reached triple digits too many days so far this summer so she can actually play in the sun and I don't have to move her backyard toys to the shade.
I texted Matt a picture of Amy playing with the water table one day when it was a little hot and he replied "I can't believe she wants to be outside." She's a kid...what kid doesn't want to play outdoors!

One Friday, I decided to test Amy's artistic abilities outside of crayons. I got out the tempura paint, pinned up a piece of poster paper onto the fence and let her have at it. Now remember, Amy has never painted a day in her life. And she doesn't like to be messy (hmmm, I wonder where she got that from?). I brought the camera outside and knew that it was going to be a Kodak moment.

Here's Amy's adventures with the water table on a very hot June day.

She loves her ducky.

That's a smile worth a million bucks!

Here's Amy's awesome artwork (I got the smock - a two-pack - at Ikea. The only good purchase I have ever made at that store).

Amy checking out her messy hands.

Sometimes we get a little on our faces, but it's OK.

An overrated skill

2011-07-12T14:50:00.001-07:00

It was decided a while back at Amy's 2-year preemie checkup that she would start speech therapy. I am not one to argue with the doctors but I did tell them that I didn't think it was necessary. They insisted, saying that it couldn't hurt. OK, I said, still showing my displeasure.
Diana was a late talker, Matt was a late talker and they are both fine to the best of my knowledge.
Fast forward to about three weeks ago when Amy had her initial assessment. She passed with flying colors in all the developmental stages. She only struggled in the verbalization test...obviously.
Today, she had her first assessment with her speech therapist. It wasn't an actual appointment because she still has to get approved by a board to get speech therapy. The therapist was impressed with Amy's development and her intelligence. She even taught us some sign language - something that I have always been a little against. Amy knows how to sign "More cookies please." It's funny though because Amy knows how to say "please" so she does the sign for "more cookies" and then says please.
The therapist was here for 45 minutes and conducted a couple tests. Amy loves the test part. The therapist brought a picture book to warm Amy up to her and she was into it as I chatted with the therapist. Once she brought out the cards to test her abilities though, Amy perked up and got down to business. She correctly identified several objects in the book, impressing the therapist tremendously. It was fun.
We won't hear from the therapist about our next appointment for a couple weeks because she has to file a report and then it is presented to the board at their site who then recommends or denies Amy speech therapy. The therapist doesn't think Amy will be denied. In the meantime, she gave us some activities to practice with Amy. We have to make sure she's looking at our mouth when we are talking to her and there are some letters we should practice with more than others because they are easier for a beginning talker to use.
It's all so intense. When she's ready to talk, she'll talk. She communicates very well. We know what she wants and she knows what we are saying. She's a very smart girl and I am not worried about her at all. Being a preemie has not hindered her development one bit - outside of this whole talking thing.

A bittersweet day

2011-07-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Diana's sixth birthday also was her last day of kindergarten. So, it was a happy day for sure, but sad that kindergarten is already over and she's on to first grade. Where has time gone? I saw a picture of her the other day on her first day of school and look at pictures of her now and she's grown into such a young lady in such a few short months.
Diana is a confident, smart, fun girl who we adore. She's a great big sister who loves her family. She has a bright future ahead of her and had a great kindergarten year. She's in Spanish Immersion and her teacher had nothing but great things to say about her. We were very proud of her final Kindergarten report card. She's more than ready for first grade and we are already doing some extra work this summer to make sure she is ahead of the game.

Here are some images from her last day of school. The three kindergartens had a family picnic in the kindergarten field with families invited. Amy and I joined the group and then we went to Fenton's afterward with some of D's friends for ice cream!

Diana's birthday party was the day after school. She had it at the community pool with some of her classmates and friends. Everyone had a great time. Diana has a great group of friends at school...she is very lucky, but she's also a very good friend to everyone in her class.

The busiest week of the year (hopefully)

2011-06-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

There's a lot going on this week - mostly because we have two big events happening on Thursday. It's the last day of kindergarten for Diana, and it's also her birthday. Yes, the same day that Diana finishes kindergarten is the same day that she's turning 6. Crazy.
I am in crazy baking mode this week. I have scaled back on my baking lately so I got a little excited at the prospect of getting something done in the kitchen and baked cupcakes this morning that she doesn't need until Tuesday. I hope they are still good and not too dry by the time I deliver them to her after-school group on Tuesday.
They are having a kinder picnic on Thursday and I am bringing homemade banana bread for the celebration. We are going out for ice cream after school that day with a bunch of Diana's friends and some of the other moms to celebrate a year that went by way too fast.
I was looking at pictures today from her first day of school and all the kids just look so young. Open house was the other night and the teacher put together this huge project consisting of some of Diana's artwork month-by-month. There are also pictures of her in it. It's crazy to see her face on Day 1 vs. a photo that was taken of her a month ago wearing a lab coat and happily peeking through a microscope during their science segment. What a difference!
I feel fortunate to have been home for most of her first school year. I love walking to school with her every day, telling her to have a good day and then picking her up afterwards and talking about her day on the way home. She's learning so much and I am extremely excited about her future.
Diana's big birthday party is on Friday at the swim park. I, of course, can't just let it be a swim party. I have to go above and beyond with the decorations, homemade cake and all the things that her birthday doesn't really NEED to include. We are having family over that night for our family birthday celebration. It's a big week.
One thing at a time is what I tell myself every day. You can only get one thing done at a time and you are not Superwoman...no matter how hard you try.

Fiesta Forever

2011-05-31T21:59:00.001-07:00

Diana had her chance in the limelight at this weekend's Fiesta Days celebration - she joined several of her classmates in the parade on Saturday. They sat on a float to promote their school's Spanish Immersion program. I absolutely love this program. The teachers are great, the parents are great and we love that Diana is doing so well in school while learning another language. She's becoming such a well-rounded individual and that's what we want for our kids.

We were especially proud of our kids this Saturday because the kids were asked to get to the meeting spot one hour prior to the start of the parade. Our float didn't step off into the parade route until 30 minutes after the official start of the parade. The kids sat around in the cold and wind, never had to pee (which surprised us all) and never complained once. Truly amazing! When the parade started, they waved, blowed bubbles, proudly wore their sombreros and represented their school and program with pride!

Matt, Amy and I walked alongside the floats (well, Amy was pushed in the jogger) and had a great time as well. I proudly carried the Mexican flag with another mom.
The highlight of the parade though was my dad jumping out of the crowd to get a super closeup of Diana in the float. One of the moms asked me if he knew one of the kids and I said "Oh yea, that's my dad." She just laughed.

Here's Diana with her crew of girls before the parade - Shae, Natalie, Elizabeth and Delaney.

Diana and her friends waiting patiently before the parade.

Diana practicing her parade wave.

Diana and some of the girls posed with the pink fire truck.

This program is so much fun. It's exactly the type of community atmosphere that I wanted for my family in elementary school. For anyone who is on the fence about doing Spanish or Dual Immersion, I say jump on over. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

The tradition continues

2011-05-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

I had reservations about entering Amy into the Fiesta Days Annual Diaper Derby. Diana did the race twice, taking first place the second time. But it's crazy. It's like a beauty pagaent for athletes. It's not super organized like a Borchert function would be so that's a big set back for us as well.
But my family is always giving me a hard time about not treating the second child equally. The Diaper Derby was my chance to allow Amy to do something that Diana did even though I don't look forward to it.
Matt wasn't thrilled that we were going to have to get to the Derby site right as the Indy 500 was starting. Too bad, I told him. This is the only year that Amy is doing the Derby so suck it up. The Indy 500 is like 4 hours long or something anyway.
We arrived at the site, signed Amy up, put her in her official Derby t-shirt and practiced around the gym with her. She ran from one wall to the middle of the court upon our yelling "go!" One mom commented "She's ready." Yes, Amy is always ready to run.
Around the time the crawlers were starting their race, Amy was getting a little tired of running from the wall to the middle of the court so I took her outside to get some fresh air. Grandpa D showed up and we chatted for a while. But before I knew it, Matt comes running outside yelling "It's time! C'mon!!"
I scooped Amy up and we ran inside. I gave Amy to Matt, he lined up on the starting line and I ran to the finish line.
I started looking around for my family - I found Au Bob, but my mom and Diana weren't there yet. They were going to miss it. Oh well, there was no time to cry.
There were about 15 kids in Amy's heat so there were an equal amount of parents, grandparents and siblings on the receiving end. I squeezed my way down to the floor, much to the chagrin of some of the grandparents and parents, and waited for Amy to start.
The lady in charge decided to split the group up into two heats. Matt yells down "We are going to go second!" I nod my head. My mom later suggested that Matt scoped out the competition to see where Amy would have the best chance of winning. And so what if he did?
The first heat went and the lady in charge wasted no time in getting the second heat up on the starting line. I barely had time to make eye contact with Amy before she was sprinting from Matt's arms, across the gym floor, to the finish line and into my arms. She won, and it wasn't close. (My dad has pictures to prove it and Matt has it on video.) The girl took off at the first sound of "GO!" and with a huge smile on her face.

I scooped Amy up, the Fiesta Days princesses came over to confirm that we, er, Amy did in fact win her heat. I was way more excited than Amy, she just looked very confused. I think she wanted to keep running.
We took Amy over to get her trophy and headed home. I was beaming. I have two Diaper Derby winners. When we got home, we took a picture with the girls with their first place trophies. Classic!
If Amy could give an acceptance speech, here's what she would say; "I would like to thank my sister, Diana, for all the nights running around the living room. I never thought that all that running would actually pay off, I just had a fun time chasing you and thinking I was 5."

Flying colors

2011-05-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Amy and I returned to Walnut Creek on Tuesday for her two-year preemie checkup. It's hard to believe that it's been almost two years since we were rushed from NorthBay hospital in Fairfield to Kaiser in Walnut Creek just 12 hours after she was born so she could receive the best care for preemies in Northern California.
When strangers make comments about Amy nowadays, they don't say "oh, she's so small." They usually say "She's not two yet?" I just smile. I guess there's no need to say "She was less than 3 lbs. when she was born." When I do tell people that, they are stunned.
Amy met with a physical therapist, who was happy with her development. Amy played some games and pointed to pictures in a book. The only issue that came up was her language development. She doesn't have as many words as a typical 2-year-old should have at this point and they suggested that we enroll her in speech therapy. I am hesitant of course but the doctor we saw later said there's really no disadvantage to it. If Amy starts talking in the next two months (by the time she turns 2) and the speech therapist decides she doesn't need therapy, then we don't need it. But it can be helpful and useful for her if we decide to proceed.
The doctor came in next and was real happy with how Amy is eating and sleeping. Then the nurse came in to weigh and measure Amy. This is always our favorite part. Amy is 25 lbs and 35 inches long. She's in the 95th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight. I've joked all along with her pediatrician that instead of a basketball player, she's going to be a volleyball player - long and lean. But now, it seems that she's putting on some weight. Maybe she will be Matt's power forward after all! It was a very exciting revelation! :)
The social worker came in last (before the nurse returned to stick Amy with another round of Hep B) and asked how home life is. The only concern that she had was that Matt and I don't go out enough. I told her we were going out tonight to a concert and that I was very excited about it.
It was a great visit and we will go back in a year for her final preemie checkup. A little sad, but glad that our little person is doing so well!

Diana tri(es)!

2011-05-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I got an email from A Change of Pace Foundation, a non-profit group in Davis which puts on a lot of foot races in Northern California, advertising a kids triathlon - the Positive Energy Kids Triathlon. I've seen this before on their website, but never gave it much thought.
With Diana in such great shape right now, I thought it was something we could "tri" (no pun intended). They offer a parent-child division so I thought it would be a great starting point. Diana, at first, was hesitant, then I told her that she could pick out where we eat lunch afterward and she was on board.
The week before the race it was raining here so training was nearly impossible. When the sun did come out, I got Diana on her bike and we rode to the park and around the neighborhood. I took her swimming in the local pool a couple times to get her some practice with the kickboard, which she was allowed to use in the pool at the race.

The day of the race came and once we arrived on scene, she was excited. Here are some images from the race, courtesy of Au Bob. I must thank my family for coming out to be cheerleaders. Diana continues in a long-line of triathletes and even if this is her first and last triathlon, I was super proud of her for finishing and working real hard today!

Diana getting bodymarked. Grandpa D thought this was hilarious!

The girls with their game faces on!

Diana gettin' her kick on!

Diana needed a little extra help up the last hill on the bike portion of the race. The entire bike course was a little more hilly than we expected.

We're almost done, girl!

This photo is a little blurry, but it's my favorite! We did it!

Everyone (including me) got a finishers medal. Five hours after her race, Diana is still wearing hers!

Gone Fishin'

2011-05-16T20:02:00.001-07:00

The minimum age on the box says that kids should be 4 years and older to play the "Let's Go Fishin'" game that sits in our living room. But Amy doesn't think that's right. She wants to play now. She's watched us all play it and must have said to herself "Easy breezy, I got this!"
We started out slow with her, letting her play with Matt or me when we played against Diana, but after a while, she wanted to do it herself. She held the pole wrong the first couple times she did it, but that was OK. She was still getting the hang of it. After a few tries though, she aced it. Now, she wants to play all day every day and it's not even a big deal anymore when she gets the fishies. She doesn't take a deep gasping "I am so proud of myself" gasp and show us. She just puts them down on the table and tries to get more. It probably takes her 15-20 minutes playing by herself to clear the whole pond. Once she's done, she puts the fishies back in the pond and goes at it again.
It's fun to watch her play, but the funniest thing (according to Matt, at least) is watching her place the fishies on the table once she's fished them out of the pond. If one falls over, she has to place it right side up. OCD is inevitable.

Amy giving the pre-game stare down to the fishies.

Amy has unbelievable patience for an almost 2-year-old and a very steady hand.

While sister poses for the camera, Amy sneaks in and grabs the fishies!

"I think I got one, Mommy!"

So pumped!

"I've mastered the fishies!!"

Cupcakes...and more cupcakes

2011-05-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

I love cupcakes. I don't love to eat them, but I love to research them and bake them. I am not a big fan of decorating them all fancy, but I love to try different flavors. I found an awesome cupcake cookbook that has really inspired me to try different flavors. It's been a lot of fun to use my creativity in this manner.
I have been baking a lot of cupcakes lately. I tested some flavors months ago and gave them to friends and family members to taste and give me feedback. I baked some cupcakes for Easter - malt shop cupcakes and lemon buttermilk. The girls helped me and Diana was even happy to help with cleanup.

While we were in San Anselmo, I came across these cute British-themed cupcake decorations and I had to have them. It gave me an excuse to make orange flavored cupcakes with almond frosting for the Royal Wedding. I took some to Debbie and Dave for our visit to Santa Cruz and froze the rest. ;)

Lastly, the grand finale (well, not really)...I baked 80 cupcakes for Matt's banquet last weekend - four flavors to celebrate the four straight titles the team has won. My selections were vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting, dark chocolate with peanut butter frosting, snickerdoodle with vanilla buttercream and lemon buttermilk with vanilla buttercream. They were a hit!

These are the snickerdoodle cupcakes with a cute fondant basketball decoration on them.

These are the basketball cupcakes, vanilla flavored.

I have a lot of time on my hands so if you would like some cupcakes, give me a call!

Packin' up the car

2011-05-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

The last two days of Diana's spring break were mostly spent in the car. The girls were driving each other - and me - nuts so we headed out for an adventure to visit some friends and family.

Last Thursday, we went to Tiburon to have lunch with a former co-worker of mine. I love driving into Tiburon because the view of San Francisco is wonderful. It was a clear day and I couldn't take my eyes off the city. Once the Golden Gate Bridge was in view, I asked Diana what it was and she responded quickly with "Golden Gate Bridge." That's my girl!

We went to a restaurant in San Anselmo called Comforts. It was outstanding food. We walked around the downtown area, had frozen yogurt and then headed home. It was a long day but a very fun day.

On Friday, we headed to Santa Cruz for a visit with Aunt Debbie and soon-to-be Uncle Dave! We arrived at lunch time and Debbie made pizza-dillas for us. I was very surprised that Diana chowed on hers since it was made with a whole wheat tortilla. Thanks for thinking healthy Deb! :)

Dave and Deb's house is awesome and the front porch was a perfect opportunity to take a picture of the girls before we headed to the boardwalk.

After lunch we headed down to the boardwalk for some good times. Diana got a free day pass because Deb and Dave bought their season passes.

I decided not to buy any tickets for me and Amy because we were only going to be there for a short while. Huge mistake. The minute Amy saw Diana on the merry-go-round, she threw a fit. By the time the ride was over, I had to buy some tickets so she could ride some rides.

I am so glad I did. I never would have gotten these photos!

Amy insisted on having Soothie in her mouth the entire time. I let her because it was naptime and she tried to jump out of the boat when she didn't have it. Baby overboard!

This photo though is by far the best. Diana was annoyed by all the kids pressing their horns on this ride.

The bunny came!

2011-05-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

Easter is a mixed bag for me. I feel bad that my kids don't know the true meaning of some of our country's religious holidays. It's all about Easter bunnies and Santa Claus. Diana was so excited for days to find out what the Easter bunny was going to bring her. It pained me to know that her basket was going to be filled with candy that she will never eat and dollar toys that will end up in the trash. But, their happy faces on Easter made me feel a little better for a while. I didn't grow up in a religious family so I pretty much grew up the same way my kids are growing up. Someday, I will sit down with them and we will chat about the real meaning of Christmas and Easter, but this year just wasn't the right year.

Here are some images from our visit from E.B.

Diana is pumped about her Phineas and Ferb stickers:

Amy is equally excited about her chocolate from See's Candy.

The Easter bunny brought the girls kazoos. We are going to have to have a chat with the bunny before he arrives next year about the ban we are instituting on those.

Diana and Matt colored eggs the morning of Easter (yea, we were a little late on that this year).

The girls then added their colorful touches.

The day was over when Amy dropped one of her eggs. She was a little bummed, but more than happy to throw it in the garbage.

A trip to the city

2011-05-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

Our annual trip to San Francisco for Easter was one I will never forget. It started in the beautiful city of Sausalito with lunch with my family - all 17 of us. We then took the ferry to San Francisco. It was a beautiful day in the city. I wrote a column for the local newspaper about the entire experience as it was truly one of the strangest days in my life.
I brought cupcakes to share with my family and because they didn't eat them all, I decided to bring them on the ferry just in case someone wanted more. I ended up carrying the tray around the ferry building for more than an hour. My brother-in-law, the great Chris, made sure to humiliate me the entire time. It was well deserved.
My girls had a great time with their family members and being in the city on a georgeous day just made it all that much more fun. While we were at the ferry building, Matt stopped with Amy to listen to a man playing music. This photo was taken right after Amy put a dollar in his tip jar. I was so upset with myself for not capturing that moment on memory card. I will have it in my brain forever though. It was a very sweet moment.

The man played "Twinkle, Twinkle" for her.

Spring Break - Day 7

2011-04-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Poor little Amy didn't leave the house on Monday. In fact, the only time she got out of her pajamas was when we took a bath Monday night.

So, by Tuesday mid-morning, while I was baking cookies for Diana's tea party on Wednesday, she was destroying the house. She broke the salt and pepper shakers because she was taking the napkins from the napkin holder. She was taking the DVDs and CDs off the shelf, books were off the shelf...she was crazy. By 10:30 I said OK, we are outta here!

Diana was out with Matt hitting golf balls and having a fun time so I had to get Amy outta the house. I took the cookies out of the oven before they were finished and we packed up the car. I took her the jump house place for an hour because they have an open gym type set up. WHOA! I have never been there except for a party. Amy is not the only one with pent up energy. Kids were running all over the place! There were 8-year-olds in the toddler area (I had to regulate on them) and kids taking Amy's basketball from her...dang, can a baby just get her hoop on, please? Amy lasted an hour and then we left. That was five bucks well spent!

Spring Break - Day 6

2011-04-20T13:32:00.001-07:00

Adult conversation is definitely what I miss the most about working. There are days when I don't get out of the house because there's too much to do around here. I talk to a five-year-old and a 1-year-old all day and that drives me nuts. I love my kids, but the conversations I have with them are not keeping my brain fresh at all.

I got a call two weeks ago about a job in San Francisco. I was a little off my game of talking to adults so I am guessing that I sounded like an idiot or they would've called me back for an interview by now. I have to be more prepared for these random calls in the middle of the day from potential employers or I may never be employed again.

(Sidebar: I don't count weekends as Spring Break so Monday was considered Day 6 of Diana's Spring Break.)

I talked to a Mom last week about having our girls get together for a playdate. She's off from work on Mondays and I really like this mom so I wanted to be able to visit with her and not just drop my kid off.

So, I took Diana over to their house on Monday. They live right around the corner from us and the girl that's in Diana's class has a younger sister and an older sister. The older sister had a friend over as well so it was all girls all the time.

I had the chance to have adult Mom conversation for almost three hours! I know I shouldn't type that with an exclamation point, but I did. That's how excited I was. The other little girl's mom was there with her 11-week-old son so it was nice to sit, drink the Starbucks they bought :) and not have to worry about kids for a couple hours.

I could've stayed there all day and night, but you can't just sit at someone's house for hours on end and I could tell Diana was getting a little restless. Hopefully there will be more playdates. I love those things!

Festivals, rehearsal and eggs

2011-04-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

There was a lot going on around these parts this weekend so I took advantage of the sunshine and got the girls out of the house. On Saturday, our adventures started at the Home and Garden Show. It cost $6 to get in, but there was some great stuff there. At the Home Depot booth, I learned that during the first Saturday of every month, they have a kids craft class. It starts at 9 a.m. and they create projects and teach them how to use tools. The women at the booth gave the girls these adorable orange aprons like the ones the employees wear. Diana wasn't loving it, but she will. The best part about the craft class is that it's free and when the kids complete the craft, they get a pin to put on their apron. Pretty cool.

Later that day, Diana had rehearsal for her upcoming show, Camp Rock. While she was there, I strolled to the downtown area where the Medieval Fantasy Festival was taking place. It was nice to walk around downtown, listen to music, check out the vendors and smell the great food. I talked to a couple of women at one booth who make kids clothes. They were giving me a pep talk about how easy the sewing machine is and that I shouldn't be intimidated by it. (Future post: Angela takes on the sewing machine). They suggested that I check out their website for ideas on creating my own kids clothes. I haven't done it yet, but I will because I would love to make Fourth of July dresses for the girls.

On Sunday, we got word of an Easter Egg Hunt up the road in Dixon. We picked up Au Bob in the morning and checked it out. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

Matt was giving Amy instructions prior to her event:

When the horn sounded, Amy just stood there:

Then she got going, but still didn't understand the concept of picking up the little plastic eggs:

So another little girl shared hers (and then quickly took them back):

And then Amy was escorted back to her family:

Diana though...
knows exactly how it works. There were five Fiffer-Feffer-Feff plushes placed on the grass. We instructed Diana to run as fast as she could when the horn went off to the plush. Don't let the shiny eggs distract you, we said. Go straight for the plush!
She got one. I was very proud.
But then she was lost in the crowd.

But very excited about her loot!

Can you believe I actually got them in the same picture together?

Spring Break - Day 5

2011-04-20T08:34:00.001-07:00

Having grown up in Fairfield, I have been to the Jelly Belly Factory a time or two. I went on the factory tour when I was a little kid when they actually took you down on the factory floor and you could practically touch the chocolate while it was being made.
I never took part in the activities they had out there until the last few years though. They do a great job providing activities for little kids and their families. I took the girls out there on Friday to see the Easter Bunny. There was no line to see him and we walked right in. Diana wore her Easter Bunny ears, which the Bunny thought was hilarious. Amy, however, was not so keen on the idea of the Easter Bunny. She took one look at that guy and said 'No thanks, sister, you go right ahead, I will wait right here.'
So, Diana got her picture taken with him and we were on our way. We checked out the store on the way out and saw some of the women prepping caramel apples, chocolate Easter Bunnies and cell phones in the workshop. It was pretty fun.

After that, it was lunchtime. We called Grandma V and stopped by her work to have lunch and go for a spin on her playground. The girls had a great time visiting V and having a picnic!

That night, I took Diana to the Club Live Countywide Lip Sync Competition in Sacramento. It's an event hosted by my sister's work. Diana was fascinated and it was a very fun event. It went a little late so Diana was very tired by the end of the night!

The kitchen is being kind to me

2011-04-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of cooking and baking happening in my life in the last six months. I'm pretty willing to try anything because I truly believe that cooking and baking is just a test of how well someone can follow directions. It's also a test of my patience. When I don't have kids hanging on me, I am much better in the kitchen. So when the girls are down for naps, that's when I attempt to be a master chef.
The last couple meals I have attempted for dinner were a huge success. Friday night I made chicken apple pizza. I knew the girls wouldn't eat it so half the pizza was reserved for cheese only.
Here's the recipe, which I got from "Something Extra" the Raley's magazine.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt 1 tbsp. butter in large non-stick skillet. Add 1 peeled and thinly sliced apple and 1 halved and sliced onion (I used a white onion); cook and stir for 10 minutes. Place thin crust pizza on a large baking sheet or pizza pan and top with 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese and apple mixture. top with thinly sliced chicken apple sausage (I used two for half the pizza) and bake 10-12 minutes or lightly browned on edges.
Makes 4 servings.

On Saturday, I made zucchini cakes. The part that took longest was the prep of the zucchini and other veggies. This was a huge hit with Matt who today called it "the best thing" I've ever made. WOW! This recipe, I believe also taken from Something Extra, made about 10 cakes. I don't know what else to serve them with. I will do some research. It was all I had for dinner because I saved room for an ice cream sandwich for dessert.
Here's the recipe:

3 c. coarsley grated zucchini
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. fresh breadcrumbs (from a baguette)
1 egg
2 green onions, thinly sliced (I used three)
1/4 c. diced red bell pepper (I used a little more than this)
1 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbl. mayo or plain yogurt
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbl. vegetable oil, for frying
1 tsp. butter

1. Place grated zucchini in a colander; sprinkle lightly with salt and let stand 30 minutes. Press with paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible. Zucchini should be fairly dry; and you should have about 2 cups. Place zucchini and remaining ingredients (except oil and butter) in a bowl. Mix well. Form into 8 pattied the size of crab cakes. Chill.
2. Heat oil and butter in a skillet.
3. Add patties to skillet and cook on both sides until browned. Drain on paper towel.
Serves 4.
**Place day old baguette in food processor and pulse until fine crumbs are formed.
**For a quick sauce, mix some chopped fresh herbs (chives, dill) and lemon juice into mayo. I used 2 tbl. mayo, 1 tsp. dill weed, 1 tsp. lemon juice and it was fantastic for the two of us.

Enjoy!!

P.S. I am not like those cooking bloggers who can take pictures while they cook. Someday, I might be able to. Until now, you'll have to use your imagination!

Spring Break - Day 3

2011-04-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Most of Day 3 was spent indoors as Comcast decided to spend more than 2 hours at our house trying to fix our internet/cable/phone. There was no resolution. I was exhausted when it was over (too much technical jargon) so the girls took a nap, I did some chores and then shut my eyes for an hour.
After that, we made a trip out to my favorite baking supply store in Dixon and then to the library. I was more than pleased to find out that the library was having a preview to the Solano Youth Theatre production of "The Wizard of Oz" in the children's section. Diana loved watching the young actors and Amy loved to hear them sing. I was only a little disappointed because it was closing in on dinner time and the audience was sitting in the section where the books are that I check out for Diana. It was OK. I took Amy over to the picture book area and she had some fun.

After dinner, Diana and I made ice cream sandwiches. I bought sugar cookies the other day from Nugget and vanilla bean ice cream. A few years back, I purchased an ice cream sandwich maker from Pampered Chef. Matt and I used it all the time that summer (before we had kids) but haven't put it to use much since the kids have arrived.
It was a messy project, and Amy didn't really participate, but Diana loved it and I tried one of the sandwiches after the girls went to bed. Though the cookie part was a little hard, it was delicious!

Here's Diana cutting the cookie to the appropriate size for the sandwich maker:

Diana was very happy with our evening project:

I wrapped the sandwiches in saran wrap and put them in the freezer, for friends or for us later!

Spring Break - Day 2

2011-04-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

Diana has three weeks off for spring break...yes, three weeks. I have a lot planned, but Day One didn't go so great so there is no photographic evidence that the day even occurred.
Day 2 was better so I took the girls on a picnic at their favorite park and they played after. Amy was not so happy about the leaving part. She loves parks. I am glad the weather has improved so we can go more often.
Diana actually saw a friend from her class at the park and she played with him and his siblings while I followed Amy around and went down the slides with her.
On the way home, Diana saw another one of her friends walking with her mom. Turns out the girl lives right around the corner from us. Because Amy was tired and throwing a tantrum while I was getting her out of the car, I couldn't get the lady's phone number so the girls could get together. Hopefully we see them again. Otherwise, I will go knocking on every door on her street until I find them and force my kid on her. Just kidding.

Six months and counting

2011-04-11T13:06:00.001-07:00

I have been unemployed for six months now.
In that short (er, long) time I have taken up several hobbies to keep me busy. I am not the type to sit around the house and wait until Oprah comes on at 4 p.m. I developed a love for baking and cooking. Cupcakes fascinate me and I have tried several recipes. If you want to be my taste-tester, I would love to bake some for your event or just because. Please...keep me busy! The only thing I ask when being my taste-tester is that you are completely honest. If you don't like it, tell me. I won't take it personal.
I have pulled out the Crock Pot a lot in the last six months and though it's convenient, helpful and easy, there are not too many things that kids will eat out of a crock pot. The one thing that I have made, and made my own alterations to, is a lasagne. It's really good and very easy.
Since I am stuck inside most of the day, I have to look at these boring off-white walls all day. I took it upon myself to paint our bathroom Summer Sky and love it. I need to apply another coat because the more I inspect it every morning in the shower, the more I realize what a poor job I did.
The next project was giving Amy her own room. The poor girl has been sharing her room with the office for almost two years now and it was about time for her to have her own space. I am in the middle of turning the playroom downstairs into our office/playroom. It's quite an undertaking, has involved a couple trips to IKEA and various discount stores in the area but I can't wait to share pics when it's done. That project also involved painting one wall white. I had to put three coats on the wall to finally get it even. That was frustrating and I will never paint anything white again.
Once the playroom project is done (hopefully soon) I am going to paint the girls' bathroom Cosmic Blue. They have a ducks theme in their bathroom and I think a blue would really put some life in the room and give it some personality.
I have other projects on my list, most of which involve painting, so keep checking back to hear all about them. I will add pictures as well soon.

Sister Friends

2010-12-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

One great thing about staying home is being able to see a huge bond develop between Amy and Diana. When they were in separate day cares, they barely got to see each other during the day. The only time they got to see each other was at night when we all got home from work. It was only a couple hours during dinner and then play time after that.
Now, they are with each other all day for the most part. They have breakfast together, play before Diana goes to school and then we pick up Diana from school (which Amy loves - it's the highlight of her day).
Sure, they have their moments when they are playing together when they don't get along. Amy will take something that Diana is playing with and D gets upset or vice versa, but there are a lot of moments when I hear them laughing together and having a great time.
These are the moments I am grateful for. The moments that I am glad I am here to witness my girls developing a special relationship that will hopefully last a lifetime. I know that they are young and that things might change when/if I get a job someday, but for now...I am very glad that they have the chance to play together and share this time with one another.

Staying busy

2010-12-15T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's been a month since I lost my job and I feel like I am finally into a routine. It probably helps that I have found some part-time work to keep me sane and keep my creativity flowing. I have had five photo shoots (paying photo shoots, I must add), covered a high school basketball game for a local website and even got to take photos at it and wrote some feature stories for the same site. I do all the "me" stuff on weekends and while Amy is sleeping and Diana is at school.
The photo shoots have been really fun. My sister even came with me on one shoot and I can't express enough how grateful I was that she was there. She's a great assistant!
Being a sports writer again has been a blast too. It makes it even better that I got to take photos at the game. I really enjoyed that part of my working career, though I don't want to go back full time. I like being able to work from home on features and cover a high school or college game at night time for a couple hours. The schedule works for me right now.
In the meantime, I am still searching for full-time work. I applied for a ton of jobs, but I don't think anyone is hiring or even in the process of hiring right now. Hopefully I will hear something after the holidays are over.

We enrolled Amy in gymnastics one day a week. I knew she would love it and she does. In class today, the instructors wanted the kids to stretch and get some basic exercise in before they let them play, but Amy and this other little boy weren't having it. They fled like those teachers were holding needles. Amy never rests during the 45-minute class. She is constantly moving and if I let her go all over that building to where the big kid equipment was, she would go. It's good exercise for me too, I guess. This is also a good lesson for Diana. She has to tag along because the City of Vacaville only offered classes in the morning. I feel bad for her, because all my attention is on Amy and D can't really play because she might crush a baby. Through two classes, it's been hard for her, but she's adjusting and understanding that I can't really take my eyes off Amy for one second or she might fall into the trampoline pit.

As for Diana, she sang the other night at Chevy's. The Spanish Immersion kids from her school got together and sang Christmas songs for the folks dining. It was a fundraiser for the program - you know...eat there and 25 percent of what you spend goes to the school. It was fun to see her sing the Spanish version of popular Christmas songs.
Tonight, she sang Jingle Bells to me in Spanish. Quite a kid that one.

I truly feel blessed as everything in my life is coming together. I knew I would settle into a routine and have some sense of normalcy again. It took a while. I am very grateful for this time and for my awesome family who continues to help and support me every day.

Oompa Loompa Doopadee Doo

2010-12-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

Diana's stage debut was this weekend. She was an Oompa Loompa and a Candyman kid in the J&S Center for the Performing Arts production of Willy Wonka. There are four more shows this weekend so we are only halfway there but so far so good.
It's fun to watch her on stage - she squints when the lights come on because they are so bright and she's fascinated by all the other kids on stage, so a lot of the time, she's watching the main characters or her fellow Oompas. She's the youngest one in the cast and the least experienced, but I am super proud of her for getting up on stage.
They have been preparing for this since August and Diana has never complained one time about the rehearsals, the late nights, her role in the production, the other kids - nothing! She's loved every minute of it.
I actually went down to their dress rehearsal two nights before opening night and watched them run through it and was pretty amazed. There are some really talented kids in this company. The show is all kids - ages 5-13. Some can sing well, some can't. They are all trying very hard though and have a true passion for what they are doing.
I was really amazed at Diana's ability to remember her songs and dances (that's pretty much all she does as a Candyman kid and Oompa Loompa) when there are tons of people in the audience. I don't know if she sees them or not, but it's fun to watch her sing and dance and do her thing.
I would post a picture, but Matt hasn't seen the show yet because he had a tournament this weekend and I don't want to spoil it for him!

The aftermath of the first field trip

2010-12-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Diana went on her first field trip yesterday. All the way to UC Davis where the entire Spanish Immersion Program listened to Christmas music and mariachi music at the Mondavi Center. I was pumped for her, she was pumped. They even got to ride a big yellow school bus.
It was raining when I dropped her off at school and the teachers decided to have the kids leave their lunches at school (instead of having them bring them on the trip so they could eat them picnic-style on campus).
When I picked Diana up later, she was beaming. She told me about the pretty dresses the people were wearing, the music they played and she sang Feliz Navidad (her new favorite Christmas song) the rest of the day.
When I was lingering around with other members of the Drop Your Kids Off at School Club this morning, the parents said their kids were bored at the event. Some said their kids fell asleep. One kid was biting another kid and got sent to the principal's office when they returned to campus that afternoon.
Granted, not every kid thought the event was boring. I am just glad my kid could tell me details about the event and that she enjoyed it. I have a cultured kid...yay!

A new club

2010-12-04T10:59:00.001-08:00

I joined a new club two weeks ago - the Drop Off Our Kids club. I am part of a select group of parents who drop off their kindergartner in the "afternoon." Since I am a new member of this club and am joining midway through the school year, many of the original members were curious as to why I was joining this club so late. I informed them of my current job status.
During one of our first "meetings" two dads (yes, moms and dads are allowed to be part of this club) were talking about how they have a hard time falling asleep at night. They don't get to sleep until 4 in the morning. This is a foreign concept to me. I go to sleep at 9:30 and once my head hits the pillow, I am out.
I informed them of this wonderful invention called chamomile tea. They had no idea that something natural could get them to sleep so well.
The next day, I was a good club member and brought them each one tea bag of Sweet Dreams tea. One dad asked where he could buy it. Any store, was my reply.
This club is a mixed bag. There are grandmas, grandpas, moms and dads. Every day there are different members but everyone is very friendly. Some members have even exchanged phone calls and texts.
After a meeting one day, I walked home with one club member who lives down the street from us. She's very nice. Miss D and her son are actually really good friends. We had a nice chat.
Maybe next meeting, I will remember her name.

Remember me?

2010-11-30T12:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know who reads this blog anymore. I haven't done a great job of keeping updated about what's going on in our lives. A lot has happened since I last posted (since we returned from Chicago). That seems like forever ago. Diana is still talking about it and asking when we are going to go back. She wants to know what kind of airplane we are going to go on, if the bus (shuttle) will take us to the airport (from the parking lot) and if there will be lots to do on the plane (i.e. Mom bring more stuff for me to do on the plane).
I could recap the last three months, but I'm not going to. That would mean I have to include Halloween, Thanksgiving and a hundred million stories of how Diana is doing in kindergarten (great!) and how Amy is doing (wonderful!).

I will skip to the good stuff.

I was laid off two weeks ago. Yes, from my job. My new job is a stay at home mom. I don't know how to do this. I am in awe of women who do this all the time. It's one thing to come home from the hospital knowing that you are a stay at home mom now and can get your kid on a schedule, etc. But to completely disrupt two little ones' lives and have to reprogram them is not easy. Especially during the holidays. I am in week three now and I hope that by the end of this week, we are finally on a good schedule.
I am actively looking for a job but there's not much out there for what I was doing before. Everything would involve commuting, which I am not opposed to, but they have to pay me decently.
Right now, I am just taking things one day at a time and enjoying my family.

Speaking of which, Amy just woke up from her nap. Gotta go. :)

A quick vacation

2010-09-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

Months ago, we decided to take a trip to Disneyland. I arranged the whole thing with a travel agent and the night before I was to call the agent to book it, Matt's best friend called and said he was getting married on Labor Day weekend...in Chicago. Disneyland cancelled. Luckily, we never told Diana that we were going to Disneyland. Good thing, huh? So we were in Chicago this past weekend. It was so much fun. We arrived on a Thursday night and left on Monday morning. Quick trip, yes. But jam-packed with events. We got really lucky with the weather (it was never humid and only rained a little bit).
I even got to run in preparation for the half marathon I am training for (yes, that's another post to come).

Here's a breakdown of our weekend:
Thursday p.m. arrive Chicago
Friday - L-train to the Chicago Cubs game (amazing on both accounts!!), dinner at Rainforest Cafe.
Saturday - Sears Tower (very cool), Navy Pier, Lunch at Billy Goat Tavern (hilarious), rehearsal dinner at Gino's East in Wheaton, Ill.
Sunday - Me, 8-mile run along Lake Michigan from hotel to Navy Pier to Soldier Field (wonderful way to start the day). Magnificent Mile shopping, Wedding in Wheaton, Ill., reception.
Monday - home.

We were busy bees, but had so much. We love Chicago and want to go back every year for vacation. Diana had a great time at the hotel, on the train and in the airplane. Amy slept at all the major sightseeing locations.

Matt and the girls outside Wrigley...Amy slept on the L on the way to the park, woke up for lunch and then slept for eight innings of the game.

This was taken during one of Matt's many trips to the concession stands. :)

Matt and the girls at Navy Pier where Diana and I rode the Ferris Wheel and Matt and Amy rode on the carousel.

And she's off..

2010-08-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Diana started kindergarten today. We had a fun morning and started lots of traditions!
I stayed home from work so I could walk her to school because it's only 1/4 mile down the street.
This morning, she opened her schultute. It's a German first day of school tradition and I have adopted it as well. Hey, Matt's part German, so that counts, right? There were all kinds of goodies in it. She said she didn't have a favorite, that she liked everything in it.

Then we took a picture outside before we walked over. Thanks to neighbor Heather for snapping a couple pics.

Then Diana obliged and took some photos outside of her classroom where we patiently waited for her teacher to open the door. Diana was posing the whole time. I hope other parents don't think she's a model or something. On a side note, she's the only blonde in the class (as of the first day, that is).

I sadly walked home by myself after the teacher asked the kids to stay bye to their parents. A couple little girls cried like crazy but not mine! We blew kisses and said see ya later. I can't hardly believe it.
My sister called me while I was in the classroom and I texted her on my way home that she would have to give me an hour or so before I called her back because if I called right away, I would start bawling! :)

Amy's first graduation

2010-08-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

I don't have a photo because I wasn't expecting to be told that Amy would no longer have to go to physical therapy. I would have taken a picture of Amy with her physical therapist and made a big ole scene, but I was really surprised when Jennifer said that my little one is doing great. She thinks she will be walking soon even. I said 'Do you think she'll be walking before Christmas?' She said definitely. Now, I am not going to take that to the bank, because it's not like she's a fortune teller or anything, but that's awesome!
Her final appointment was yesterday and it went great, obviously. Amy played, crawled around the room and walked along the furniture. Jennifer was very impressed.
It was a bittersweet day for me. I have always loved the PT appointments because they are fun, informative and require zero shots.
But...Amy's physical therapist got pregnant and is due in a month. So, had she not granted Amy release from PT, we would have had to see a different physical therapist in six weeks and I was not down with that.
I was all weird when we left and Jennifer was all 'Bye!' I said 'Bye, thank you for everything, good luck with the baby...' And on and on. I mean, this is the woman who has been very instrumental in Amy's development. Does she think I was going to sprint from the office and never look back? Not likely.
I am pretty pumped that Amy is doing so well. But she's growing up way too fast. I just can't believe that 12 1/2 months ago, she was a little 3-pounder. She's a big mama now.

Why does time fly?

Don't even get me started on the emotions I am going to feel seven days from now when I drop Miss D off at (wait for it) kindergarten (gasp!) AHHHHH!

My little camper

2010-08-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Diana started her second week of Camp Disney at a local performing arts center this week. The week before was week one and the week before that she participated in a gymnastics camp that was more camp than gymnastics.
Every day when we asked her what she did at camp, she'd reply with 'We colored.' It's pretty much been the same response with the Camp Disney experience, but they are learning some Disney songs. Whatever. It's cheaper than day care and it gives her summer a little variety.
It's weird though to think of her at camp. We just drop her off and she's fine. That's one brave girl, man. She has no idea who we are leaving her with (not that I do) and she just goes on her way. As long as she's happy, I'm happy.
She starts at the new daycare center next week and then it's off to Kindergarten the following week.
As one of the moms said a couple weeks back at a birthday party we attended, "shouldn't the first day of school be a holiday for moms?" Uh, yea, is my response!

State Fair

2010-07-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to the California State Fair in forever. I have avoided it mostly because of the cost but I had a free weekend and wanted to take the girls up there. I called Au Bob and we left in the afternoon for a trek to the fair. I bought our tickets online earlier in the day and explained to Diana that if anyone asked her how old she was, she was to tell them that she was 4. I wasn't trying to pay $8 for a 5-year-old to attend the state fair...that's insane. She was free if she was 4, so she was 4 for the day.

Diana rode some rides, Amy stayed in the comfort of her stroller for most of the day, we participated in crafts and ate some great food. It was a fun day and though no one can possibly do that fair in one day, I would definitely go back next year!

Happy Birthday, Amy

2010-07-28T07:30:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that Amy is one. We had a great birthday party for her a few days before her actual birthday and she was surrounded by family and friends on a not-so-hot day. It was still hot, don't get me wrong, but no one melted.
We set up the water table in the backyard, protected with a pop-up tent and ate cake. Matt made burgers from the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives cookbook and also a potato salad that was to die for. Everyone had a great time, including the birthday girl!

Diana opened Amy's presents and Amy played with the wrapping paper.

Amy proudly ate her birthday cake and then wondered what that fantastic stuff was!

Well, hello there

2010-07-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Amy loves to play. She can play in her playroom all day if it was up to her. She does get a little lonely if she looks up after a while and we aren't around. She will crawl to wherever we are (living room, breakfast nook) and want to join the party.
I decided to take some pictures of her one afternoon after work playing with herself in the mirror. I took a ton, and they all turned out fantastic, but this one was one of the favorites.

We also got out the water table since the temps here have been in the upper 90s and 100s. It was about time! This was Amy's second time playing on the water table. She loves it and did a very good job sharing with Diana.

I truly believe that everyone should own a water table - especially those with kids. :)

Diana is five...OMG

2010-07-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Diana's fifth birthday was so much fun. It was hectic and a little crazy around our house the week leading up to the party because of the type of party we were throwing her, but it was all worth it. Looking back, I will never do that again until Amy turns five, but I think every girl is entitled to a big bday bash at 5...but not again until they are 16. Here are some photos from the event. There were nine kids total, including five from Diana's class and a couple family friends. She had an absolute blast!

Big ups to Au Bob for assisting with the cake the morning of the party. With her help, it only took two hours. I think it turned out pretty good.

A summary of events

2010-07-10T15:29:00.001-07:00

Just a few photos to recap our weekend activities over the last month or so.

Diana, Amy, Au Bob and I took a trip to San Francisco for the North Beach Festival over Father's Day weekend. It was quite fun to ride the ferry and walk from the ferry building to North Beach. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. I took lots of photos, but these are my favorites.
The girls waiting to get on the ferry in vallejo.

Diana enjoying a rather large cool beverage.

The next day we had breakfast with the family at the golf course. Matt gave the girls a golf lesson.

Here are the girls on the Fourth of July. It was a busy day but a great festive day with the family!

What you say?

2010-06-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Amy is just growing so fast. She is moving along developmentally so great and it's fun to see her go from this little teeny tiny to a big ole 18-pounder now.
The other day, Matt and Diana were playing with her and Amy scooted right along, grabbed onto the chair where Diana was sitting and pulled herself up onto her feet. We have been doing lots of exercises to strengthen her legs and they seem to be working because over the last few days, she's been pulling herself to stand a lot. So exciting. It's funny though because when you watch her from afar, she has this long torso and this little short, chubby legs. We won't mention where that gene came from. :)
I was in the kitchen the other day and all of a sudden from the living room I hear this "ba ba ba ba." I run into the room and look at Amy. I say "ba ba ba" and she says it right back at me. The rest of the night, I don't think any of us spoke English. Even Diana got a kick out of it.
Today, the whole drive home had Diana and me speaking baby language and Amy talking right back to us.
So fun!

The best sticker ever

2010-06-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

I try to be a good role model. As a mom of two girls, I feel that my role is very important in their lives. Diana and Amy see and hear everything that I do so I make sure to eat right, exercise, have a clean mouth (lol), practice what I preach and generally make good decisions.
I think I do a pretty good job of doing all those things. Sure, sometimes I slip up. But trust me, Diana is right there to catch me when I do.
The last few elections Diana has come with me to vote. Even when she was a baby and a toddler and had no idea what was going on, I still thought it was important for her to go. She went with me yesterday when I voted in the primary election. She asked me questions in the morning during breakfast while I was reading my booklet about the candidates. I tried to answer the best I could. She asked me questions on the way to the precinct. But once we got to the polling place, she knew that it was silence. I barely had to remind her. She did a great job. I showed her my ballot and how I made my choices. She asked why I was standing in the booth and I explained privacy to her...just like a bathroom!
As we were leaving, I made sure to pick up my "I voted" sticker and the volunteer said that I could take one for Diana. I said thank you (I had planned to take one anyway) and we headed out. Diana proudly wore her sticker as we drove to school.
When we got there, she stuck it on her cubbie right alongside the stickers she gets for her math class.
I was so glad that she had some pride in her sticker and hope that she realizes the importance of her right to vote.

Check me out!

2010-05-24T17:38:00.001-07:00

I have mentioned before that I have been experimenting in the kitchen with different dinner ideas. I find a recipe online somewhere and try it out. I am not too bad. I try to stay away from recipes with too many ingredients because if I can't find it in the store or if Matt doesn't know what it is, that's a bad sign.
I found this cake online a while back and thought that I would give it a try. I figured it couldn't be that hard. I wanted to make Diana's 5th birthday cake instead of buying it at the store. Matt, and several people at work, just raised their eyebrows and expressed some concern. I had never played with fondant before and didn't find anyone at work that could give me any advice. I found some hints on the Wilton website that got my confidence going a little and when I made a trip to the cake-baking store to get my supplies last weekend with my sister, well, I was ready to go. It really wasn't as hard as it looks. The biggest obstacle to overcome was patience which I have a ton of in the kitchen. It's the only thing I have going for me. I follow recipes by the book and work slowly. That's what I did on this cake. It took forever. I baked the cakes Saturday night, left them out to cool and worked on the cake for 3 1/2 hours on Sunday morning.

Voila...The finished creation.

I learned a lot so that when I prepare the actual cake for Diana's birthday next month, I don't think it will take me that long and I think I will have the kinks worked out.
I brought the cake to work and everyone loved it - even though it was lookin' real ghetto because it was drying out.

(Praise and congratulations are always welcome!)

Is it Girl Scout time?

2010-05-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

I took Diana to an introductory Girl Scout meeting last night. Turns out, it was more of a "How to become a troop leader" meeting that involved the girls doing a craft. I am a busy woman. Between being a working mother of two, being heavily involved in Matt's basketball team and helping keep an orderly house and spending time with my family, I don't have a spare minute to run a Girl Scout troop. Don't get me wrong...I would LOVE to. I think Girl Scout leaders are great role models for young girls and come up with great activities, field trips and crafts for the troops to do. I plan on being as active as possible without having to go through hours of training and certification that's required of a troop leader.
I wasn't the only one in that boat last night. There was another mom who works and goes to school and wants to be involved, but not as a leader. There were two stay at home moms, one who was gung-ho about being the leader and the other who wanted to be a co-leader. The Girl Scout organizers were pumped - a troop was formed!
Here's the thing.
This troop is in Vacaville. Matt and I work in Fairfield - about 25 minutes away. We aren't totally sure where Diana is going to be going to kindergarten in the fall - Vacaville or Fairfield. We started the process of an interdistrict transfer but who knows what the status of that is at this point.
These troop leaders think the most convenient time to have their troop meetings is after school. Uh, sorry. Not for me. I should've chimed in, but I didn't. There is a HUGE, massive waiting list in Vacaville for Girl Scouts. Who knows if that's the same situation in Fairfield. Too many girls, not enough moms wanting to be leaders. So sad.
I feel like I need to make it work for Diana in this troop - whether it's getting off work early and getting Diana to this meeting a couple times a month or getting the grandparents or the aunt involved. Girl Scouts is crucial...to me, almost as crucial as college. Is that crazy? Am I talkin' crazy talk? I don't want her to be on a waiting list when I have the chance to get in a troop now.
These are the tough decisions and the sacrifices we make as mommas. Bust your butt, bring your kid all over the county to do what they want to do. Diana had a lot of fun last night singing the girl scout song, dancing around, doing the craft. She even got her first badge, which she proudly showed off to Matt when she got home.
I would love to be involved with Girl Scouts with her. I guess my decision is made.

Our second family

2010-05-07T17:52:00.001-07:00

I didn't take pictures because that would have been super nerdy, but Matt was honored, along with several of his peers, at Solano today for being at the school for 10 years.
I can't believe it's been 10 years already. I still remember when he got to Solano and I met him on campus to interview to be his assistant coach. It seems like that was yesterday. Having attended and played basketball at Solano, the place was always a huge part of my life. When I returned as an assistant coach and then as a coach's wife, everyone there became our second family. There were a ton of Solano people at our wedding.
Solano is a great place to be. The diversity in the student body and the outstanding faculty and staff is unmatched.
It's not easy for a lot of people in the California community college system to say they are happy with their community college right now. Budget cuts have put a major scare into not only the athletic departments but the academics at colleges too. Matt has seen that first hand. We know though that things can only get better and that it's important to stick by family in rough times. That's why we are still here. That's why a lot of Solano people are still here.
We turn to them for support and advice. We attend birthday parties and community functions together. We go to one another's games and wish the best for each other.
Matt has known a lot of people who have left Solano for bigger and better things and they have all advised him to never leave Solano. Though they are happy where they are now and have made great life and career moves, they know that there is no better place and there are no better people than what is at Solano.
I am a very lucky person that my husband is happy in his career here and that it also happens to be in the same city where I was raised and where my family still lives.
Go Falcons!

All about Amy

2010-05-07T17:43:00.001-07:00

Matt and I felt really bad on Tuesday night when the entire family came over to celebrate Gramma V's birthday and I put Amy down to play so I could eat. I sat her down in the living room on her behind and she sat up and played.
"Amy! When did you start sitting up?" Au Bob asked.
Oh, oops, I thought. "Did I not mention that she was sitting up?" I said.
The family didn't even hear me, they were so excited about Amy's new trick.

Yes, Amy is sitting up. News flash! Stop the presses!

In the last couple weeks, she has been sitting up really well and also goes from tummy time to sitting up and from sitting up to tummy time. She's also got a little Army crawl going on. She's all over the place. It's so fun. I know that this might not be a huge step for most nine month olds, but since Amy was a preemie, I am fascinated by everything she does. She's getting so big and doing such great things. She's also sleeping on her tummy at night (no more swaddling) which means that Mommy and Daddy are sleeping better and are finally getting to talk to one another at night uninterrupted.

These are all tricks that I am super excited to talk to her physical therapist about in another week and a half.

Amy also sprouted a tooth and the second one is on its way. It's funny to see her with teeth. I am going to have to change car seats in my car for her soon because the Peg Perego that I have is way too narrow. I am going to have to bust out that big ole car seat for the back of the car....you know, the one that I can't remove when I have to run into the grocery store real quick? Sucks, but it's all good.

I love a growing baby!

Loop the Lagoon

2010-05-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

It's been two years since I ran the Loop the Lagoon 5K with my sister. I was pregnant last year and not really in the mood to run 3.1 miles so I opted out. Even though I was not in the greatest of shape this year, it's a great fundraiser, the weather was beautiful and it's a great excuse to get out of the house first thing in the morning and get some exercise.
I signed us up a while back and got Diana into the kids 1/2 mile run as well. Being competitive people, of course Matt and I were talking about which one of us would beat the other. Of course, I am in better shape than he is right now, but thanks to course mis-management, he ended up finishing ahead of me. I did, however, run farther than him, if it's any consolation.
I must send a huge shout out to my dad and Rosemarie for keeping Diana and Amy occupied while Matt and I ran. Amy slept the whole time and Diana was more than happy to hang out and take part in the festivites around the race.
When it was finally time for her to run, she did great! I was so proud of her, she ran the whole way (at a great pace, according to Daddy) and had a big smile on her face the whole time. I have said it before and I will say it again, she is a natural runner and loves it. I gotta get this girl into track.

Trying to stay busy

2010-04-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Spring time has hit Northern California and when Mr. Golden Sun graces us with his presence, I am outta the house with the girls.
During Masters weekend, we did all kinds of fun stuff - shopping, parties and more shopping. It's fun to spend time with my girls on the weekend because weekdays are so focused on dinner and bedtime.
This past weekend, Diana concluded her DanceGym class with a performace at the Vacaville Recreation Department's Expo. She got up on stage and did her little performance that they practiced during class. It was fun to see her on stage and do her thing. I was so proud of her.
Right after that, we piled back in the mini-van, picked up Au Bob and went to the block party in Dixon. It's been going on for 15 years and is a chance for the community to learn more about what's going on in their hometown. There were some performances, vendors, food for sale, etc. The library was even giving out a free book to kids. That was pretty cool.
We went out to lunch and then headed home for naps. Matt and Diana had a date later that night and attended a dance performance at Solano. I have a picture of them all fancied up. Diana saw what Matt was wearing and asked him why he was wearing basketball clothes (I guess he's only allowed to wear Dockers and a polo when he's coaching). They looked really cute.
I had to make a trip to Target on Sunday because Diana needed a white t-shirt to bring to cheerleading which starts on Tuesday. :)
I guess they are going to decorate a t-shirt on Tuesday. They also have these cute little cotton "cheerleading" shorts so I got her a couple pair of those...they were $5, a steal in my book. Plus, Matt wanted Amy to have some white socks because sometimes her socks don't match her outfit (we can't have that!!). There were some other things that randomly found their way into our basket and I left thinking I should've just gone to Wal-Mart where there are less influences. I have no idea where anything is at Wal-Mart and I don't take the time to look for the "dangerous" stuff. I know where all the "dangerous" stuff is at Target.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing. I went to Au Bob's softball game (sans kids) on Sunday afternoon and when Gramma V got there she said I looked different. I knew exactly what she was talking about. A momma looks different without a preschooler and infant by her side.

On the news front: Amy got her first tooth! It's on the bottom and she's a little fussy, but mostly has a loss of appetite. She's being pretty tough about it though and Diana is learning about parenting every step of the way!

This weekend is Loop the Lagoon in Vacaville...a little exercise for the Borcherts!

If they're happy, that's all that matters

2010-03-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

We've signed Diana up for many activities. She obliges and tries it out, but sometimes, she just doesn't want to do it anymore. This is what happened last time with soccer. She got burned out or something and completely lost interest. (money down the drain).
She's always loved ballet and tap though. She loves to dance. She dances in her room in the morning while she's getting ready for school, she dances in the car on the way home, she dances all over the house. But I am done with ballet and tap (for now). I need a break.
So, I signed Miss D up for Dance/Gym where the kids mix gymnastics techniques with fun, upbeat music. That's what the description says so we'll see tomorrow night if that rings true. She's looking forward to it and frankly so am I.
The class is four weeks long and after that it's on to...are you ready? Cheer. Beginning Cheer.
Diana loves cheerleaders. She wants to know why there are no cheerleaders at Daddy's games and it's the first thing she notices when we watch games on TV. "They're so pretty, Mommy!"
We went to Arco Arena on Saturday to see the NCAA Elite Eight women's basketball tournament - Stanford was playing - and of course, Diana wanted to know where the cheerleaders were and where the Stanford Tree was. Once we found both, she was OK. She couldn't take her eyes off any of the cheerleaders all night.
She didn't really show any interest in taking a picture with any of the Stanford or Xavier cheerleaders but she did want to take a picture with the Stanford Tree (we tried to chase him down after the game but with no success).
During the Stanford game, though, the Gonzaga cheerleaders arrived at the arena and sat in the section next to us. Diana was in awe. I asked her if she wanted to take a picture at halftime and she said "Yes."
So, once halftime came, I got my camera out, asked the cheerleaders if she could take a picture and they said "Of course." I apologized for her Stanford gear but they said it was OK and laughed.
I am OK with my kid being a cheerleader because as long as she is happy and active, that's all that matters. Those Division I cheerleaders are no joke. We watched the Gonzaga cheerleaders run all over the court during timeouts and at halftime of the game and they were working so hard. I was in shock. You don't see that stuff on television. I have a whole new respect for them. I always knew that at that level, they were athletes, but to see how hard they were working in such a short amount of time during timeouts, was a trip.
So, here's to a whole new adventure in cheerleading. Who knows...maybe in a couple months, Diana will be over it and we will be back to soccer.

I think I'm back...

2010-03-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am not going to make any excuses about why I haven't blogged in forever - I'm busy. I am just going to blog when I can and when there is something truly worthy of shouting about.
Lately, after we get home from work and school, I have been taking Diana and Amy for a bike/walk. Diana rides her Princess bike and I put Amy in the jogger and we do three laps around the block. Mostly, it's two, but there was one day it was three laps and I was super fired up for the exercise (something else I am not doing these days).
I decided that I wanted to give Diana some variety in her workouts so I asked her yesterday if she wanted to go for a run with me after school. She said "oh yea!" I knew she would because she knows I run on the treadmill, has seen me run on the treadmill and in person and loves to run.
When we got home, we got changed, got back in the car and headed over to the track across the street for a little jog. (Matt was at home so I left Amy at home. It was too windy for her to be out).
We got to the track and did some stretches. I thought Diana would see how big the track was and immediately turn and run the other way, but it didn't happen. I asked her how many laps we should do and she said "12." I don't know where that number came up, but I thought it was funny that 12 laps equals three miles on a track. Strange and very ambitious.
"I think that's great,D. But let's just do a couple and see what happens," I replied.
She said OK and we started out. We ran the first two laps and as she slowed down on Lap 2, we decided to walk Lap 3. I told her that we would do one more lap and head home. As we approached the start of Lap 4, she wanted to keep walking but I wasn't having it. "C'mon D! Let's Go!" I cheered. I started skipping sideways for a little bit and she followed.
We eventually got back to running and she finished the lap with a big smile on her face. She ran a mile!
When we got home, I told her to tell Daddy how many laps we did and he was shocked. He said, "She really ran the whole four laps." "Well, she ran two for sure and a large portion of the fourth." He was beaming with pride.
The girl loves to run. She does pretty good on her bike too...loves to go over speed bumps. We just have to get her back in the pool and we will be secretly training her for a triathlon!

My blog says "Stop ignoring me!"

2010-02-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

Today is as good a time as any to revive the blog - Amy had her six-month checkup today. Yes, six months. I can hardly believe it myself. Time really does fly when you're having fun. Amy is a great baby. She's super happy, very independent and just loves life. We are very lucky and blessed.
Her six-month appointment today was followed up by a physical therapy appointment last week. Her physical therapist is very happy with Amy's progress (she's rolling over both ways, grabbing toys, making raspberries and has pretty good balance) and says she's right where she's supposed to be for a 4 1/2 month old. She's even doing some six month things.
Today's doctor appointment went well. I always like to go see the girls' pediatrician because he's a great guy. Matt and I love him. He spends the first 15 minutes talking about Matt's basketball season (more on that in a little bit) and then he gets into the kids. I like the small talk personally. It shows that he cares about our family.
Amy weighs a little more than 14 pounds and is a little more than 25 inches. Right where she should be. The doctor was very impressed with her balance as well and that she's making raspberries, grabbing toys, and doing all the other six month baby things. We started Amy on rice cereal a couple weeks ago and she loves it so the doc said we can start to incorporate other foods. I would really like to puree our own fresh veggies rather than buy the jarred baby food so I am going to look into that in the next couple days before we start her on everything this weekend. Matt and I were trying to remember how it works...do we still give Amy rice cereal? Do we give her the whole bottle? We were giving her six of the 8 oz of formula and using the last two to make the rice cereal. I will be emailing the doctor once I finish my novel here. :)
All in all, Amy is doing great and we just love how much joy she brings to our family. She's sleeping really well and she loves going to Matt's games. She even likes watching sports on television, which is great when I have to sit with Diana to do homework or fix dinner on nights when Matt isn't home. I know that sounds terrible, but hey...she's quiet and happy!
I am very lucky to have two little girls who love one another as well. Both of them bring a smile to each other's face every day and I love to watch them interact with one another.
On to Miss D! Diana is doing great in Pre-K. I was super proud of her the other day when a girl in her class told Diana that she wasn't her friend (this wasn't the first time this has happened). Diana immediately responded with "We're all friends!" I almost cried, I was so happy! My little girl is growing up right before my eyes. She's toned down the tantrums and I think she's done with them...or so I hope. She loves to play with Amy but when she's done it's "Mommy, I don't want to play with Amy anymore." There's a little sass in her tone too as if Amy did something to offend her. It's pretty funny.
Diana has also gotten the courage to sit behind Matt's bench at his games and hand the girls their towels when they come out of the game. We have been trying to get her to do this for a couple years and all of a sudden she decided she wanted to. She just does it in the second half so I can sit on the baseline and take pictures of the team and keep an eye on her, but she loves it and she's great at it.
I try to make sure that Matt watches his language or goes away from where Diana is sitting when he just can't resist, but she hears it enough at home, so I guess it's no big deal.
When Matt was watching film the other night, Diana was looking for herself on the television. She asked Matt "Daddy, where's my helper?" We didn't quite know what to say because SHE'S the helper. After a couple minutes of blankly staring at each other, Matt says "OOooh, you mean Victor (the team's student trainer who hands the girls water)?" Diana says "Yes." We started laughing so hard because to Diana, he's HER helper.
Matt's season is going really well. You can follow the team on the team's blog www.solanowbb.wordpress.com. The blog is the reason I haven't been here much. I update the blog, do game notes and a variety of other assistant coach/wife duties that I absolutely love doing. I never stop going these days, but it's so much fun for me to be involved.
And it's even more fun when the team is winning. We are really looking forward to an exciting conclusion to the season and hope that only good things come our way.
I haven't been working out as much because of all the extra work I am doing. I try to fit in a session on the Wii we got for Christmas, but it's been hard lately. Once basketball season is over, it'll be easier. I love doing yoga, boxing, step aerobics and running on the Wii Fit Plus. It's a great workout...shocking even to me. I love it and Diana has actually gotten into it as well. She's quite the bowler and I challenge anyone to come over to the house and take her on!
Hopefully I won't be absent much from the blog as our basketball season winds down. I love talking about my family so it's been killing me to ignore this blog for as long as I have.

A very Borchert holiday season

2010-01-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

I intended to post photos here from our holiday season, but never got around the taking the photos out of my camera until this past weekend. The photos have escaped and they can be found here. Please enjoy looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!

There aren't any descriptions on the photos unfortunately because I didn't have time to go through them all. You can be creative and make your own! :)

So busy

2009-12-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

It's a busy time of year and with me helping out Matt's basketball team as the team's unofficial sports information director, I have been going non-stop for a while now. I enjoy it though. I don't think I remember what being bored is and I am pretty sure I wouldn't like it.
I don't have any pictures to share but I wanted to let everyone know of the Christmas present that Matt bought us ... a new mini-van! He bought it last Friday, a Toyota Sienna. It's burgandy (though I am sure that the official color is something much fancier) and has a DVD player in it. Diana loves it because she has her own princess seat.
Our driveway is much smaller now, but everyone has room now to stretch their legs out in both our cars! :)

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am Frankie Heck

2009-12-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite TV shows this season is The Middle on ABC. It stars Patricia Heaton as a working mom (she's a car saleswoman) in Indiana. Her family is a little crazy.
Last week's episode saw Frankie earn a solo in the church choir. Because of all the rehearsing that was necessary, she passed the duties of Christmas on to her husband. Frankie is a list maker (so am I) and at Christmas she makes lists of everything that needs to get done and everything that needs to be purchased.
Christmas, she claims, is very stressful and she had a hard time convincing her husband of this. She passed her list on to him and he handled all the duties that Frankie always took care of. Long story short, though he was OK at first, he got a little flustered at the end and realized that, yes, Christmas is a crazy time of year.
I never believed that Christmas was stressful. I am a planner. I do my Christmas shopping online and weeks before Christmas. I didn't bake cookies or anything because Matt enjoys that and that's his thing. We only travel every other year a great distance so that was no biggie. There was always plenty of time to take care of everything.
Until we became a family of four.
Now there's all kinds of stuff to do. I want to bake cookies, take Diana to Candy Cane and Lolly Pop lanes to see the awesome Christmas lights, write (and send) our annual Christmas letter, decorate the tree, buy and wrap Christmas presents for the family under my roof, my immediate family and my extended family and all while being a working mom and a Coach's wife.
Last night, I got off work, rushed home to pick up Diana (who was eating dinner in her ballet outfit)and we headed off to her final ballet class of the season. After, I wanted to take her to Candy Cane Lane. It was 6:30 by the time we left ballet and it's always a gamble to keep Miss D up after her bedtime on a school night. I knew that taking her to Candy Cane Lane was worth it though. It was...she loved the lights and had a great time. I was beaming at my awesome parenting decision!
She went to bed a little later that night and with no tantrum. Score!
I finally had something for dinner at around 8 p.m. and I am hoping that the Christmas presents that I purchased on my lunch break yesterday get wrapped eventually. They are in the trunk of my car right now and if I forget about them a week from now, God help me!
I admit, there's a lot going on this time of year. I am not complaining by any stretch of the imagination. I have embraced the chaos that is now my life. I can relate though to Frankie Heck and appreciate her every day!

Our brave girls

2009-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Diana hasn't visited Santa since she was six months old. I don't know how she knew that Santa was a "scary" guy then, but she screamed the entire time. I, of course, purchased the two-keychain set of the picture of Diana screaming while sitting on Santa's lap and showed them off to everyone. Most people thought I was wrong for making that purchase, but it's memories. I am going to have to find that keychain because I know it's in the house somewhere.
For the past three Christmases Diana has taken a pass on visiting Santa. She wanted nothing to do with the Jolly Man. But this year, she was all about it. So on Wednesday, we headed to the mall after work with the little gals in tow and hoped that she didn't have second thoughts.
While waiting for the kids in front of her to finish, Diana kept saying "Hi Santa! Hi!" Cute.
When the kids went away and I told Diana to go up, she got a little nervous. I told her it was her turn and to go up and sit on the bench with Santa. Still nothing. Now, this wasn't a total refusal. She was thinking about it, but just needed some convincing.
"Mommy, I want Amy to go first," she said.
Sure, Diana, sacrifice the baby! In her mind, Diana's thinking, this guy might eat me, take me back to the North Pole and I will never see Mommy, Daddy and Amy again or worse! So, let's put the baby up there and see what happens.
I put Amy on Santa's lap and sure enough, he did not eat her or run as fast as he could out of the mall with her.
So, Diana jumped up on the bench with Santa and told him all the things she wanted for Christmas. It helped that Santa knew that a little girl wearing pink is probably a princess lover. Diana rattled on for 3 minutes about all the princess stuff she wanted. I was so proud of her!
The girls took the picture and it was time to get down. I collected the baby - with no teeth marks on her - and turned around to leave. Only, there was no 4-year-old with me.
"Oh, I want a princess castle too," I hear Diana say. She's STILL talking to Santa!
"D, time to go, hun!"
She got her Candy Cane and we headed out. She was beaming and I am sure that her teacher at school is hearing all about it today!
Later that night, day two of Christmas tree decorating took place. We are doing it in segments this year. Sunday was Day One: Tree Purchase and put the lights on. Oh the life of a family of four!

Party Pooper

2009-11-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

When Diana came home from school one day last week, she came home with an envelope with the words "Princess Diana Borchert" written on the front. Curious, I thought.
I opened it to find an invitation to a princess-themed birthday party for a girl who used to be in her same class at school. The girl has since moved to another classroom, but I think they play together every now and again when the classes join together.
Diana was obviously very excited and carried it around the house the rest of the night telling us which of her princess dresses she was going to wear to the party.
Sunday came and I finally got around to calling the mom to RSVP to the party. (I am way old-fashioned that way).
The mom informs me that this is a kid-only party (no parents allowed) because the little girl's grandmother has terminal cancer and can't have a lot of people around. The mom is videotaping the party as a keepsake for the little girl so she has something to remember her grandmother by.
Well, I don't know these people. I was flattered that they invited Diana but I can't send my four-year-old to someone's house that we don't know. Who knows if they are telling the truth about this grandmother? What kind of food are they going to serve my kid when I am not there?
The mom explained that she understood if we didn't want to send Diana to a stranger's house. Damn straight. I wish this would have been explained in the invite so we didn't get Diana's hopes up.
My plan was to explain about the party to Diana when she brought it up later in the week.
Well, she brought it up tonight. I explained to her about the parents not being able to be there and she said "Well, I guess I will just have to go by myself." She said it in the most serious voice ever. I said "Well, not quite D. I will talk to Daddy."
There's no way D can go to this party. I hate to be the party pooper but being a good mommy is way more important.

A growing girl

2009-11-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

Amy had her four-month well check and shots yesterday and despite spending 2 1/2 hours at the doctor's office yesterday, I left a very happy Momma!
Amy is now 12 pounds which is great because you can actually see the chubs on this girl. It's so fun to just kiss her big ole tummy and grab her big ole thighs. I know some babies are born at 12 pounds and mine is four months and 12 pounds, but a healthy, happy girl is all I need!
She's also a whopping 24 inches. The doctor said that if she was a term baby (meaning if she was born at 40 weeks) she would be in the 90th percentile for height. Well, that's awesome! He suggested that she might be out of point guard status and possibly might be a power forward. That's great!
Now, I am not naive. I am a realist. I know that all that "percentile" talk is all just silliness. A kid's weight and height can't be determined or predicted from the time they are a baby. It's just silly. But...BUT...it's exciting to know that Amy might have inherited the tall gene. Especially considering how early she was born. I mean, she was three pounds at birth, but still 16 inches so that's a pretty long preemie.
All that really matters is that she is healthy. Amy isn't quite holding her head up all by herself all the time and she's certainly no where close to sitting up on her own so we can't quite start rice cereal yet. That's OK. The doctor said that we are doing everything right by talking to her, giving her things to play with and having her do tummy time, etc. That was definitely good news because as a mom of two, sometimes I feel like the little one doesn't quite get the attention she needs except when it's time to eat.
I really do miss my cuddle time with Amy and as week two at work comes to an end, I look forward to four days with my girls all to myself!

On a side note: Go Falcons this weekend! Please come home with three wins and a trophy!

The no-cavity club

2009-11-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

Diana had her third visit to the dentist today. I wasn't sure how she was going to do considering she threw a monster tantrum this morning. I actually walked into the dentist and told them that I didn't think she would be sitting for them today. I had accepted that it just wasn't going to happen. And this was after she had completely settled down and was playing in the lobby of the dentist office.
she sat and colored and played in my purse while I had my teeth cleaned and when it was her turn, she eagerly went with the hygenist, Eve, to her chair. She still had to sit on my lap, but she opened her mouth and let Eve clean her teeth with the same automatic toothbrush they use on adults (I later found out that they used cookie dough-flavored toothpaste on her..jealous!). Diana then let Eve floss her teeth. I was amazed!
The dentist then came over and Eve explained that he wanted to count her teeth. I said, "Diana, you know how many teeth you have!" Last time we were at the dentist, he told her how many and my kid has this great memory.
"Twenty," she said confidently.
The dentist just about fell out of his chair. He stopped what he was doing and just looked at me in a state of shock. He couldn't believe that a four-year-old would remember such a thing.
I was so proud!
He looked at her teeth, praised her for taking such great care of them and rewarded her with a purple toothbrush, stickers and a ribbon that inducted her into the No Cavity Club. Me proud once again!
Later in the day, Diana told me: "Mommy, I had so much fun at the dentist!"
Yeah, if I got four stickers, a ribbon, a new purple toothbrush and all the attention in the world...I would be loving it too!
All I got was a stinkin' box of travel-sized toothpaste and a reminder to go visit the periodonist!

First week is almost over

2009-11-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

Re-entry is not easy. It's difficult to take four months off work - four months away from adult conversation, four months away from friends, four months away from a rewarding job that is really fun.
But this week, I had to go back. I was looking forward to it though. I enjoyed the last three and a half months though. I accomplished a lot. I bonded with with Amy and gave her a great start in life. I experimented in the kitchen and became a more confident chef. I began to teach Diana how to read and she's very confident now with her sight words and feels that no book is too hard to read.
It was a great four months.
Monday was hard though. Diana spent Sunday night at Gramma V's in order to give Matt and me a chance to get a routine down with Amy. I woke up and fed her a bottle at around 5 a.m., brought her upstairs and took a shower while she chilled in her chair, packed up all her goodies for the day and we were out of the house by 6:30 a.m.
I learned that pre-planning is crucial. Sunday afternoon I made scones (thanks, Mama Parker for the recipe)and planned on making fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast this week with our Magic Bullet. I put the scones in Ziploc baggies so they were easy to grab on the way out of the house. I also packed my lunch the night before. All that I had to do each morning was take a shower, do my hair and makeup and the rest of the morning was dedicated to getting Amy ready for her day at daycare.
The pre-planning definitely cut down on any stress that could've happened and made the mornings much more pleasant. I arrived at work at 7:30 a.m. each morning a very happy momma.
It wasn't totally easy leaving Amy at daycare, but since Diana has been at the same place for over two years now, I totally trust the people there. I know my girls are taken care of every day and will be happy all day.
And they were. When I called to check on Amy, she was happy, eating well and sleeping in her crib. When I picked her up in the afternoon, she was smiling and happy.
She even has her own "happy place" as we discovered after the first day on Monday - they have swings. She sat in that thing wrapped up in her fluffy blanket and fell right asleep. She did so well that I sent Matt to Target Monday night to go get a swing. Though we still haven't put it together (I didn't say that nights were easy) I know that Amy's going to be swinging away in the living room in no time.
Nights this week were another story. I was not naive to the fact that my needs for the rest of my life will come third to Diana and Amy's. But the craziness of mornings, work, picking the girls up, coming home and fixing dinner, feeding Amy, doing bathtime and bedtime and cleaning up around the house leave me in my work clothes until about 7:30 or 8. That's a long time. I fell asleep on the chair downstairs twice this week before 9 p.m. I know that once I start working out and not neglecting my treadmill anymore I will have more energy so I can't wait for that day.
Diana's teacher did make an observation on Tuesday that made me laugh. She asked me if I was glad to be back at work and I said, "Yes, I really like my job." She said, "You just seem so much more energized now!" It may sound bad written here, but she meant it as a compliment.
It's very rewarding to be a working mother. I feel a huge sense of pride knowing that I am being such a great role model for my girls and doing something so important to contribute to my household. I hated being on bed rest for three weeks. I really felt like I couldn't contribute to my family's well being during that time and to be able to be back to a normal routine is wonderful!

General Mills is the devil

2009-11-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

Who does General Mills (you know, the cereal company) think they are fooling? They try to tell us parents that by eating Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and their other line of sugary cereals that my kid will be getting a ton of fiber and Vitamin D. Well, they fail to mention the high amounts of sugar in all those cereals. It infuriates me!
Cheerios and Kix are the only cereals my kid eats and she's getting plenty of healthy intake. We give her Special K with strawberries every now and then and Miss D also likes the cereals that Fiber One makes so she's getting all the good taste and fiber she needs.
General Mills isn't going to suck me into their sugary trap!

So close, yet so far away

2009-11-12T14:31:00.001-08:00

Amy has been sleeping in her crib at night for about a week now. She does pretty well and even if she wakes up and fusses, we stumble across the hallway, give her Soothie and she falls back asleep. I have only had to pick her up and snuggle with her twice in the last week.
The first night she was in there, I think I checked on her five times during the night. And last night, she slept from 12:30 a.m. till her next feeding at 5 a.m. I woke up a couple times during the night and didn't hear a peep from her on the monitor and nearly freaked out.
But Matt and I have taken back our room! No more tip-toeing around the room avoiding the creaky spots on the floor, no more brushing our teeth in another bathroom in the house. I don't have to worry about Amy waking up because Matt is snoring. :)
It's kinda weird though when I peep in on Amy and she's all swaddled, just her little head popping out of the blanket. We also have two blankets on top of her so all you see is a little teeny tiny head lying on this huge mattress.
Then I go next door and check on Miss D and there she is in her big ole bed snoring away. My girls, though four years apart, are getting older every day!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

This may have been the best Halloween yet. I was very excited when our neighbors, Heather, Clint and their kids Kezia, 2 1/2, and Keegan, 2 weeks, accepted our offer to come over for pizza and trick or treating. They usually go to their church and participate in the festival there, but opted out this year because of the H1N1 scare. With a new baby, I can understand their fears.
Our Halloween actually started with the construction of Diana's costume. Aunt Debbie got the ball rolling by making the dress and ears but I had to put the finishing touches on:

Next, we spent Halloween Eve at Diana's school at the Fall Festival. It made for a late night, but it's something we like to do. Diana made a cookie and participated in some games the teachers had set up:

Halloween was so much fun! The day started out with the Borchert girls traveling up the road to Dixon to visit the Daggetts as they moved into their new home. Of course, Diana had to wear her costume and trick or treat at their house.

And Amy even had a good time at the Daggetts!

Diana was a big help to me as we made all kinds of goodies in preparation for our Halloween party!

Once Matt got home from the Solano football game, we all carved pumpkins!

Diana drew a face on Amy's:

We had a great time trick or treating in our neighborhood and it looked as though Heather and Clint weren't the only ones with fears of festivals. Our neighborhood was packed with kids and families - in years past, our neighborhood has been like a ghost town on Halloween...very scary!
And, as is tradition, the Borcherts got dressed up. Contrary to popular belief, I did not lose a bet and have to wear the ridiculously oversized costume....it was chosen for me by Diana. I was actually quite popular in the neighborhood and became somewhat of a celebrity. Gramma V even offered to buy the costume off me so she could wear it to school next Halloween. Gramma V, you can have it!

Diana scored big time on the candy, even though she only got to keep one bag of M&Ms.

I personally think that Diana was the cutest Minnie Mouse ever...thanks to Aunt Debbie!

And of course, our newest little pumpkin did quite well despite sleeping through most of Halloween!

Cool Patch

2009-10-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

Though just six days before Halloween, we finally made it out to Cool Patch Pumpkin Patch on Sunday. We called the family at 10 minutes to nine and said we would be leaving at 9:30 and everyone made it there by 10...thanks to my entire family for understanding that the Borcherts work at the last minute these days!
It was really windy so Amy rode in the Snugli the whole time - hence the lack of Amy pictures in this post. I am thankful though that Au Bob and Grandpa D got some pictures of Amy riding in the Snugli so that 20 years from now we don't have this conversation:

Amy: Mom, why aren't there any pictures of ME and my first trip to Cool Patch?
Me: It was really windy that day, Amy and you rode in the Snugli the whole time.
Amy: But Diana was screaming her lungs out in the pictures of her first trip to Cool Patch, why?
Me: Because it was really windy that day.
Amy: Um, and there are no pictures of me because....
Me: We didn't want you to be as miserable as Diana!

So, again, thanks to Au Bob and Grandpa D for hopefully helping me avoid the above conversation someday.

Diana tackling Matt in the Corn Bath, her favorite thing at Cool Patch:

Diana driving with Gramma V:

Diana running through the mini-maze:

Milestones

2009-10-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

There are a few major milestones in the first four years of a child's life - walking, talking, getting potty trained, the first day of preschool/daycare. Though every day is a new adventure in a toddler's life and thus very rewarding for parents, the big ones are the ones that stand out and leave lasting impressions.
Over the last couple weeks, reading has been this major accomplishment in Miss D's life. Tonight, she finished the last book in the first group of her "I Can Read" series that Gramma V bought her. She breezed right through it.
When I was playing basketball growing up, my mom always said that she was proud for me--not proud of me. She explained to me that I should be proud of myself and that she was excited for me. I tried to understand this theory for the longest time and it never sunk in until this week. I am so proud for Diana because reading is such a huge accomplishment and she's done it with such ease. It's come so natural for her. I am excited for her because of all the fun that comes with reading. Her imagination is going to grow, she's going to learn about new places and things and really start to expand her vocabulary.
On Friday, Matt took Miss D to McDonald's for breakfast before school and there was a sign in the restaurant. Matt asked Diana to read it and she instantly said "Wet Floor." It was great!
I have probably been blogging a lot about the adventures in reading of Miss D, but to me, this is one of the biggest accomplishments of her young life so far!

November 16

2009-10-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

For the past three and a half months, it's been my choice whether or not I want to take a shower in the morning. I could skip breakfast if I wanted to because I was either too busy or just didn't need to have anything. The couch started out as my BFF then turned into my worst enemy. The same can be said for our chair. I have learned that many women I know are stay-at-home moms and I am very jealous of them. But I know that I can't join their company because I have to work.
So...on November 16, I will return to the workforce. I officially gave that date to my boss and the HR department the other day. I am looking forward to being around adults every day because I miss all the people I work with. I really love my job and look forward to writing stories about all the wonderful people who work at our company. (I can say "our" company because I own stock).
It's gonna be real hard to be away from Amy and put her in daycare because Diana wasn't in daycare until she was almost 2 1/2 years old and I loved the time we spent together in the mornings before work.
I will try not to think about someone else feeding Amy, putting her down for a nap, reading to her and cuddling with her. As long as I can provide for my family financially that's the most important thing. And since I am going to be getting out of the house and into a normal routine, that will keep me a little more mentally healthy and energized for the end of the day and weekends with my family.
So, the countdown to November 16 begins. I will take advantage of every moment I have left in this house during the day and appreciate every moment I have with Miss Amy in the day time.

Pillowcase Hair

2009-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Diana has naturally wavy hair (she got that from Matt)and I have played with it every now and then on a special occasion - curling it with a curling iron or trying to straighten it with my straightener. But Miss D doesn't like to stand still and I am always afraid that I am going to burn her. She loves the look of her hair after it's curled or straightened (what princess wouldn't?).
My awesome hairdresser, Kim, suggested that I try pillowcase curls. She explained what it was and I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do it. A couple weeks later, I looked it up on the internet and was positive that I couldn't do it. It was worth the try though and I told Diana that it was a "Hair craft" and she got all excited.
So, pillowcase hair requires the parent to cut up an old pillowcase into strips and tie them into the child's hair. I put some mousse into D's nearly dried hair after bathtime and the "hair craft" began.
Here are the before pics right before Diana went to bed. Oh, pillowcase hair requires the pillowcase strips to stay in overnight to assure maximum curlage.

It's actually very simple. I used the instructions found here. Some of the strips fell out at night, but it's no big deal. I plan to get some more practice both on myself and Diana. She didn't complain about the pillowcase strips in her hair at night. She was mostly bummed when they fell out.

I forgot to take an after picture. Mostly because Diana woke up at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and asked me to take them out because she wanted to see the curls. It was a little too early for me (yes, even me) to operate the camera. Trust me though, the hair was extremely curly. It was like I had used an extremely small curling iron on it. I had no idea that this hair craft would work as well as it did. I saved all the pillowcase strips and will definitely do this again!

Book Worm

2009-10-12T20:02:00.001-07:00

It's a good thing we own a lot of books. Diana is going through a phase now where she just can't be read to enough. You know how you are supposed to read to your child at least 15 minutes a day? Well, I surpass that by about an hour. I know that's probably going to change when I go back to work (although I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't change), but right now, I can't read to Diana enough.
This is a good thing for Amy too because while it's hard to read to a baby that's asleep most of the day, when I read to Diana, I am holding Amy most of the time so Amy hears the words.
Diana gets home from school and wants to be read to. She especially likes her Miss Spider and Her Sunny Patch Friends books right now. There are 25 of them and they came in a big box. I think Aunt Barbara got them for D a couple years ago. Well, turns out, there is a cartoon on television so I have been recording it for Diana in the morning and she watches it in the afternoon when she gets home. In addition to reading the Miss Spider books, she is working her way through the Now I'm Reading books that Gramma V got her. She is on book 4 or 5 now. I lost count. We go back and review the previous books to keep all the words fresh in her memory and I can't believe how well she does even though she hasn't read one in a couple weeks. I think she's a reader now.
Tonight, I read one of her Disney Princess stories to her and saw so many words that she knows. She can probably read that whole story to me now. When we are driving, I find myself looking for signs that have words on them that she is familiar with.
We have read to Diana since she was a baby and it's truly paid off now! It's such a great accomplishment for all of us!
BY the way, I mentioned to Diana's doctor that she was very close to reading and he thought that was great. I told him that we are prepping her for Stanford so I hope this means good things. He pointed out that many Nobel Prize winners come from schools other than Ivy League schools or Stanford. Whatever. I'm not trying to win her a Nobel Prize, I just want her to go to Stanford!

It's that time of year

2009-10-05T13:39:00.001-07:00

Diana, Amy and I attended our first fall festival of the season on Saturday - the art, wine and chocoloate festival in Suisun. I really enjoy this one because one of my favorite local bands - Inner Soul - was playing and it's right on the waterfront. We packed a picnic, a blanket and had a really good time. Diana got to play in one of the jumphouses, tried some Russian chocolate (I have the wrapper, Dad, remind me to have you translate) and even purchased some jewelry (a plastic pink bracelet).
We have a lot of festivals planned in the area in the coming months and I am really looking forward to taking the girls out on the weekend and enjoying some of the culture that our area has to offer.
Here are some pictures of Diana at the Suisun festival:

"This is so much fun, Mommy!"

Movin' On Up

2009-10-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

About 10 years ago, my dad bought my sister and me this cool alarm clock from Sharper Image for Christmas. It's a CD player and also has soothing sounds and a radio. You can wake up to any of them and you can unplug it and take it with you anywhere. It's pretty neat. And the fact that I have had it for 10 years speaks volumes about the quality of product that Sharper Image offers...even though I am pretty sure they are out of business now.
Amy and I moved upstairs yesterday. Yes, I said, "and I." It's been too hot for her to sleep upstairs in our room so I have been sleeping downstairs with her for the past month and a half. The temperature in Vacaville has gone down quite a bit which is great because my body aches and I was glad to get somewhat of a good night's sleep last night. We put Amy down at around 8 p.m. and though I felt horrible, I went back downstairs to have some husband time with Matt. Not long after she was down, she started fussing and then crying. I went up to see if she was OK and she had escaped her swaddle. I re-swaddled her, gave her the Soothie and glanced over at my nightstand. I pushed "Soothing Sounds" (which plays ocean waves) on my alarm clock and it took all of two minutes for the little one to fall right asleep. We kept it on for another couple hours before she ate but will definitely use it again. The white noise was very helpful in getting her to sleep.
Hat's off to Grandpa D for that one!

Swaddling back on

2009-10-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Amy is being swaddled again. As I was doing a massive cleaning of the house yesterday (both upstairs and down) she woke up from her nap after only 30 minutes, but then napped perfectly on me for two hours during 90210. Well, not that I mind cuddling with my favorite little 2-month old, but this can't become a habit. Diana took naps on me all the time when she was a baby and I never, and I mean never, got anything done around the house.
Matt fed Amy last night and she was still wide awake. We took turns getting her back to sleep and when she finally closed her eyes, I put her back in her bassinette and after 30 minutes, she woke up screaming. Well, she was up all day playing with me so I thought for sure she would sleep well during the night. Matt walked her around the house and put her back down in the bassinette...30 minutes later, more screaming. Forget it, I said. So, I swaddled the little one, rocked her on the Boppy a little and put her to bed. Four hours later, she woke up. This morning, she's still sleeping and even cooing a little in her sleep. Thank goodness! Who was that crazy mom that said swaddling was overrated?

Another weigh-in

2009-09-28T13:09:00.001-07:00

Amy had her two-month well check today and yes, she is well!
She weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is 22 inches long. She's healthy and happy. She also had to get shots and this was the first time that I had to go at it alone. With Diana, Matt was there to hold her down and I just sat across the room and looked away but today I had to hold Amy while the meanie vaccination man poked my kid's chubby little legs. He didn't even offer her a sticker! He suggested I go to the pharmacy and buy some infant Tylenol and give it to her when we got home so she doesn't get a fever. I did...that went over real well. Poor thing had this thick red syrup all over her face. She feels fine, ate lunch well and is now fast asleep.
Meanwhile, this weekend we got the first look at Au Bob and Uncle Chris' new house. Very exciting stuff and Diana found herself a new playground. She cried when it was time to leave. I don't know that she's going to have this much fun in the house once the newlyweds get furniture in the house.
Here's a picture of her reading a book that Gramma V bought her.

Comcast Rocks

2009-09-19T13:47:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, Comcast installed a new feature -- caller ID on the television. If your television is on and the phone rings, a little screen pops up on the television to tell you who it is. This is great because even though I am on the Do Not Call list, I still get 10 calls a day from telemarketers and survey companies. Comcast is promoting this feature as good for men who don't want to be interrupted during ballgames, but this is a great feature for moms who don't want to be interrupted during the day when they are feeding their newborn. I like to have the television on all the time - to watch, yes. But for background noise. With Matt gone a lot of nights during basketball season, it blocks out the neighborhood noises and wind which sometime freaks me out. So during the day, the television is on - usually with some re-run of Golden Girls or Beverly Hills, 90210.
Comcast's new feature gives me just one more reason to have the television on all the time.
I can sit in the chair, feeding Amy or rocking her back to sleep and see who called. If it is a telemarketer, I don't have to worry about checking the voice mail later. if it's a family member, I will either get up and answer it, check the voice mail later or call them back when my hands are free. We don't have that many family members who call at home right now anyway, but the feature is great and it's just another reason that I love Comcast!

The Last Seven Days

2009-09-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

Upon talking to my father in law last night, I realized there's been a lot going on that I haven't written about. So, here goes:

Me: I ran two miles last week on the treadmill. One mile at a time and at a very slow 15-minute pace. Matt insisted that I take it easy so I did. It was a very slow jog but I was sweating and my heart rate was up so that's good. It's kinda nice to be able to run at any hour of the night (I run while Matt is feeding Amy at around 9 p.m.). I always tell myself that once Amy eats in the morning, I am going to go back to bed for a little bit but that never happens. I get hungry then find a million things that can make my day a more productive one. I am also doing some abs, but not 400. I made that mistake once. Just 50-100 crunches a day. Baby steps!

Diana: She is working her way through Hop on Pop. She has memorized the book but when we read it out of order, she still reads the words right so I know there is some reading going on. When we read other books, I ask her to read the words she knows and she does a great job. I am so proud of her! We also did a craft project. We cut out words that she knows from old magazines and glued them on some blank pages and created her "Diana Book." Diana's constant reminders to me to sign her up for ballet and soccer finally sank in and she will be starting those again in October.

Amy: Where do I start with this one? We aren't swaddling her anymore, for starters. She was fighting it every step of the way and it wasn't worth the restless nights. So we put her in feetsie PJs and cover her with a somewhat heavy blanket and she's getting much better sleep. Her home health nurse came for the final visit last week and weighed Amy at 7 lbs. 3 oz. It was a great visit. Then, on Monday, we went to the pediatrician where she was seen by her regular pediatrician (Diana's pedi, who we love!). Amy weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs. 10 oz. The doctor said we can stop giving her the vitamins and iron drops, which was great because they made her spit up more. We can also switch to regular formula soon and not give her the preemie formula she's been on. It's very exciting!

Matt: Daddy has been very busy with football games, meetings and practice but he still makes time to color, take trips to the park and pay us all lots of attention.

We are one happy family and adjusting to our new routines quite well!

Need a laugh? Look no further

2009-09-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

I had to make a trip to the grocery store today - not just for one or two things, for a big shop. I was gonna be there a while. Matt suggested that Amy would be fine if I just kept her in the car seat and put the car seat in the shopping cart. I have seen people do this before and I am not a big fan. It seems like it's not very secure in there. I thought about bringing the Snugli baby carrier, but thought "The husband is usually right, I will give it a try." Plus, I wasn't totally sure that Amy would fit in the Snugli yet. I hadn't had a chance to test her out in it yet.
So, off I went to the grocery store. Once there, Amy and I walked in (with her in the car seat) and I attempted to fit her car seat in the shopping cart. Now, keep in mind that I tend to talk to myself...a lot. I am standing in the lobby at Raley's trying to fit the car seat in the cart and it's just not working. It's way too wobbly. I am narrating this outloud as all this is happening. After a couple minutes, I decide that this is not going to happen.
"Amy, we are going back home to get the Snugli," I tell my one-month-old.
I go back out to the car, put Amy in and drive home. (Luckily, we only live across the street.)
Once home, I get Amy out of the car, place her (in her car seat) in the foyer, run upstairs to get the Snugli and attempt to put it together. There are ties, buckles and padding all over this thing. It's about 11:30 in the morning, I have the front door open and it's starting to get hot. I am breaking out into a sweat trying to put this Snugli back together. It's comedy. If I was on hidden camera, I am sure to have gotten thousands of hits on YouTube. (Keep in mind, that I am still talking to myself.)
After about five minutes, I finally figure it out and I have it tightened everywhere it's supposed to be tightened.
"I am not taking this thing off and putting it back together in the Raley's parking lot," I tell myself.
So, I grab my child and we get back into the car - with the Snugli attached to my chest.
We get to Raley's and life is good because I can do some worry-free shopping! It was hilarious, but well worth every laugh!
Thank you Snugli!

(Child) Labor Day

2009-09-08T11:11:00.001-07:00

Diana knows the meaning of hard work. Well, as much as a four-year-old can know what it means. She loves to lend a helping hand whenever it's needed, no matter who needs help. Grandpa D took full advantage of her services on Labor Day, the day we Americans get to take off from work to celebrate work.

Goodbye cute clothes

2009-09-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

For a couple weeks now, my closet has been exploding everytime I open it. Maternity clothes fly off hangers and off the shelves in the closet. OK, I get it, you want out! I must admit that I really don't need to wear them anymore. I was weighed at my six-week checkup the other day and am just eight pounds heavier than when I first found out I was pregnant. Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, I have been telling myself for weeks now that one of the things on my to-do list was to get rid of the awesome maternity clothes that I have and re-organize my closet - giving my regular clothes their hangers back.
I did it today. I got an extra large Space Bag and put them all away. I also just sent an email to every woman in my email address book asking if they knew what I could do with these clothes. I don't want to donate them to Goodwill because I don't know that they will do anything with them. Does Goodwill have a maternity section? I was only pregnant for 7 1/2 months so the clothes weren't even worn that much. And I have to dress nice for work so they are really nice clothes.
I am excited to get back to my normal clothes (even though I won't wear them until I get back to work).
During my pregnancy I threw away all the sale postcards I got from New York and Company - didn't need them, right? Well, they are still coming...as are the emails. I hate New York and Company now. I want to shop there oh so badly, but can't. I have to wait till I start working again. Luckily, they don't really have anything that jumps out at me, but the offers of free shipping are really hard to pass up. I have good will power though!
If anyone knows what I can do with these maternity clothes, please advise!

Grow, Amy, Grow!

2009-09-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Amy's home health nurse came by this afternoon to check up on the little one - well, turns out Amy is not such a little one anymore. The biggest thing we like about the home health nurse (besides being very encouraging and offering great tips and advice) is that she weighs Amy. Otherwise, we would have to wait until doctor appointments to find out how much she's growing. Amy's home health nurse is a woman in her 50s and she's super nice. She genuinely cares about Amy and our family so when the scale read what it did today, she was thrilled just as much as I was. That was something that wouldn't happen at the doctor appointment with a nurse there.
Anyway, on to the good news. The last time Amy was weighed by this nurse, Amy was just home from the hospital and weighed 4 lbs 5 oz. Two days later, she had a doctor appointment and weighed 4 lbs 8 oz.
Today, she weighed 6 lbs 5 oz! So exciting. I called Matt right away and he couldn't believe it. I texted my mom and she called me immediately and was thrilled. The girl is growing so fast!
To put it all in perspective, remember that Amy was born almost six weeks ago and was just 2 lbs 15 oz. Technically, she is still supposed to be in my tummy for one more week. It's just amazing and truly a blessing that we have such a (ahem, TWO) healthy girls under our roof!

Fun Family Farm Days

2009-08-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday gave Diana and me a chance to get out of the house and do something together. Luckily, Suisun Valley was hosting its annual Fun Family Farm Days. This is something we all usually do as a family, but we decided to make it a girls outing this year. We try to visit a different place every year when we do the farm days - last year we did the Clay Station out at Mankas Corner and Diana made a craft, we have also gone around to several of the stands. This year, I heard The Hipwaders (a local band that sings children's songs) were going to be at Erickson Ranch so we ventured out there...great decision! They had a U-pick flower garden, had lots of fresh fruit and a great atmosphere.
Even though it was really windy when we got out there, Diana had a great time picking flowers with Gramma V and listening to The Hipwaders in the patio. I even bought one of The Hipwaders CD's so we can listen to it in the car.
After Erickson Ranch, we had lunch at Valley Cafe and then went to Larry's Produce to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. Now, this is something that Matt usually does as it's right on the way home from Solano. It tends to be a little busy out there and he has a method when he goes there. As for me, I have never gone there by myself and with me still adjusting to large crowds of people, it was a nightmare. I grabbed a few things (not nearly everything we needed) and got outta there in a jif. Matt can go back and attack that place later in the week. I'n done!

Amy update: Amy did a great job at physical therapy on Friday. The physical therapist did a series of tests on her to see where she's at developmentally and she passed with flying colors. She also asked me if Amy makes eye contact with us and responds to our voices, etc. We will go back in six weeks for another exam. It was one of the more fun appointments we have had. She will go to physical therapy until she can walk, the PT lady said, but if she's advancing along at six months, we won't have to go anymore. The physical therapist also said that Amy will be considered a preemie until she's three - very interesting. I really like her physical therapist. She's a young lady (OK, she's probably in her late 20s, early 30s) which is quite different than the other doctors Amy's been seeing.
Amy will most likely see her home health nurse this week so I will post a weight update when we get it.

Ang update: I tried to start getting back into some sort of shape this week. Silly me. I got the fit ball out and did some ab exercises. OW! I think I did about 400 and three days later I will still hurting. What kind of nonsense is that? I have a doctor appointment this week as well and I am going to ask him what is the matter with me. Granted, I realize that it's going to take some time to get back to where I was pre-pregnancy, but I have to be able to at least do some ab exercises. It's been way too hot to walk - even on the treadmill in the garage - so I am weeks away from doing any cardio. My sister asked me to be part of a relay for the California International Marathon. We'll see, I told her.

Running? Oi vay!

Hop on Pop

2009-08-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

We chose to enroll Diana in KinderCare because of the curriculm. It's never been just daycare to us. They teach a lot and she's involved in a great Phonics program on the side at the school that has taught her a ton about her letters. She's come a long way, including being able to spell and write her name as well as Mommy, Daddy and Amy. She's always asking us how to spell something and she writes it really well.
My big task right now is teaching Diana how to read. I know, she's only 4 and a long ways from kindergarten, but why not? We are working out of Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss right now because my mom said that's how I learned to read. She's pretty much got the book memorized so I never know if she's reading the words or just remembering them. It's all the same though, right? She knows all her letter sounds, which she's learned at KinderCare so that's half the battle. I really want her to be able to read long before she goes to kindergarten so better to start now than later!

It's Never Too Soon for Tummy Time

2009-08-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

When Diana was one week old, she came home from the hospital and Matt immediately had her on the ground doing tummy time. It was an exercise she took part in frequently.
Well, since Amy was in the hospital for three weeks, she got a little behind on her tummy time. But have no fear, Mommy won't let her get too far behind!
Here is Amy's first session of Tummy Time. She has been doing it at least once a day for ten minutes at a time. She's doing really well and doesn't seem to get frustrated very easily - that's my girl!
She has her first physical therapy appointment next Friday and I think it consists of her doing some tummy time as part of the evaluation so I want to make sure she is ready to impress!

Patriotic Songs

2009-08-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

While it was very hard to leave Amy in the hospital three weeks ago as she continued to grow and learn how to eat from a bottle, I was glad to get home and get back to the routine that I've been used to for the past two years.
During the last month of my pregnancy, it became increasingly harder to give Diana a bath so Matt took over those duties. I still read and sang to Diana afterward but being able to do the whole nighttime routine once I recovered fully from my c-section was quite a thrill!
Lately we have added some new songs to our nighttime singing routine - America the Beautiful (we sang this one before but now it's every night) and The Star Spangled Banner. Diana does a great job with both of these songs and I was very impressed to hear her sing both songs in their entirety last night when Matt took over nighttime duties as I fed Amy. (Yes, Amy is home now).
I do hope that Diana continues to embrace both these songs, understand their meaning and have a deep love for everything this wonderful country offers us!

So proud of my girls

2009-08-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Matt and I are very lucky to have such great daughters. Last week, I got to see Diana in her ballet/tap class for just the second time. I took her the first day and then was placed on bed rest so Matt or Gramma V took her. They also took her when I was in the hospital. Her improvement was amazing but the best thing is how well she pays attention to her teacher. The class is 45 minutes - 30 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap. It can be a little long for some 4 and 5 year olds, but I am amazed at Diana's ability to stay focused and do what the teacher tells her. The ballet experience has been really great for her - she's gaining so much confidence and really developing tremendous balance. I was filled with pride watching her last week. Her last class is on Tuesday but I am definitely going to sign her up again (and I am sure she will make sure that I do!)
Meanwhile, Miss Amy is making strides of her own. She's up to 3 lbs. 10 oz. and will be moved to Vallejo Kaiser on Friday morning. That's right, she's being evicted from The Creek. The doctors are increasing her feedings to a bottle every feeding (up from every other feeding). She's making such great progress and I am so excited for her growth. I can't wait till she can come home and our awesome family can be under one roof!

Who's that guy?

2009-08-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

I have been visiting Amy in the hospital every weekday since I left the hospital last Wednesday. My mom (the angel) has been driving me up to Walnut Creek and back. It's been nice to have the bonding time with my daughter. She's graduated to a bottle so I have been able to feed her. Today, she did great with the bottle for me so I left there a very happy Momma. My mom is busy at work this week so I had a new chauffer - Matt! Because he had basketball camp last week, he hasn't seen Amy in over a week. Amy was definitely interested in the new, male voice that was talking to her this morning when we went down to visit. She opened her eyes a ton more than normal (she loves to sleep) and was trying to figure out who the person with the short hair was sitting with us when we were cuddling. It was pretty funny.
I talked to one of the doctors/nurses about two hours ago about Amy and she was telling me what great progress Amy is making there. She told me that she is ready to be transferred to Vallejo whenever we give the OK. I told her that we would like to keep her in The Creek for as long as we can till she comes home. I don't want to have to get used to a whole new set of doctors and nurses, especially if Amy is only going to be in the hospital for a little while longer (which is what one NP has told us). Amy is eating really good and once she becomes more consistent with her feedings, she will be able to come home. Here is the first picture of our new little girl sitting with Matt this morning. She's 11 days old!

Dedicated to the Ones I Love

2009-07-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

I have never taken my family for granted. I have a great support system around me and am very lucky to live close to all my family and friends. This was never more evident than last week when my second daughter decided she was ready to come into the world. Since it was a week ago and I really don't want to blog about the details of her being born (since I have recapped it so much over the last week), I will just send a shout out to everyone in my family for being great.
My husband, of course, is the most awesome. By my side during the c-section and then at home with Diana, making sure that she had normalcy in her life over the past week. He took her to school and soccer and made sure that she knew she wasn't forgotten or out of our minds when Amy came. He's a rock. He had basketball camp this week and with me staying with Amy in the hospital all the way in Walnut Creek, he was basically a single dad for a few days. He was tired, I'm sure, but didn't show it. I can never repay him for being so awesome.
My mom, dad and sister provided overwhelming amounts of love and support over the past week. They drove me to the hospital at 4 a.m. (mom) and then drove to visit without even a second thought throughout the weekend (all three). There's not a greater family in the world and I love them all so much.
I have to also give a shout out to my BIL who got to knock fists with his new niece. I'm sure in no time he will have her turned upside down and laughing hysterically just like he does with Miss Diana.
I was also overwhelmed by the support sent out by my co-workers. Four years ago, when Diana was born, I got lots of support from work types. But now I work with all women and I have gotten flowers, text messages, phone calls and lots of prayers sent my way from moms who know what we as a family are going through. I am truly blessed.
I am truly a very lucky Momma. Not only do I have two great daughters who continue to surprise me every day, I have the greatest family and friends in the world.
I am back at home now, but visiting Amy every day in Walnut Creek. She's doing wonderfully! Like I said, she continues to surprise me every day and is eating like a horse - or a Borchert! :)

Oops..Suprise!

2009-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to find out the sex of the baby until the day the baby arrived. I don't like taking advantage of modern technology, I love surprises and it's just more fun to find out when the baby actually comes. There's really nothing you can do to prepare if you know the sex in advance. OK, so you go out and buy girl clothes (all pink) or boy clothes (all sports and dinosaurs). But then later on, you find out that the baby doesn't fit into any of them because they are either a) too small; b) too big. We didn't find out what Diana was when she was born and it was the best surprise ever.
Matt wanted to find out from Day one with this baby. I was vehemently opposed and since he was unable to come to the ultrasounds, it was my decision. A couple weeks ago, my perinatologist breathed a sigh of relief when I told her just before she placed the monitor on my belly that we didn't want to know the sex.
"Oh, you have to tell me these things!" We both laughed.
One week, and I'm sure thousands of patients later, she forgot.
As she was looking at the ultrasound, she casually said "She's asleep."
HUH? WHAT?
"Uh, what did you say?" I asked.
"Oh my gosh, you didn't want to know did you?" she said as she looked over at me with a look of horror on her face.
"It's a girl?" I nearly screamed.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
"Oh my god, I can't believe we are having another girl!"
Tears start streaming down my face and I look over at Matt (hmmm, ironic that he made it to this appointment) and he's crying too.
"That's OK," he said. "In the back of her mind, she really wanted to know."
Well, no I didn't, but I did need a big smile and a nice surprise after all I have been through in the last two weeks (well, after all that WE have been through in the last two weeks) and this was definitely a good surprise.
So, a girl. More pink and purple and princesses. So exciting!
The first person we told was Diana and she and Gramma V went back to Babies R Us and purchased about five pink outfits for the baby and a pink and purple butterfly lamp for the room. No, the room is not pink and purple butterfly theme (far from it actually) but Diana just HAD to have it. Diana and her sister also have matching Big Sister, Little Sister t-shirts.
Geez, I hope my doctor was right.

Diana's Four-Year Checkup

2009-07-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Getting out of the house is a rarity these days so I was really excited to take Diana to her four-year check up on Tuesday. Gramma V came with us because Camp Gramma V started Tuesday and Diana is spending three days in Fairfield with her.
This appointment was the big one before she starts kindergarten. Matt and I have been talking about what kindergarten Diana is going to be enrolled in next year and we have to get that process started because it's likely she will need an inter-district transfer to have her go to school in Fairfield closer to where we both work.
Diana did great at the usual checkup stuff - weight, height, etc. Then, she had to get her blood pressure checked. She was a little skeptical at first but the medical assistant said that it would be like a grizzly bear hug on her arm. Diana thought that was hilarious. I told her it was just like when I have been taking my blood pressure at home and that eased her mind a ton. She put the little cuff on her arm and her expression immediately changed. She did great though.
Next, she had to have a vision test. The medical assistant put the "E" slide up on the board and gave Diana a cardboard E. She had Diana practice a little and asked her what way the Es were pointing. Again, Diana did great. Then it was time to put a little Band-Aid patch on her eye on do the test with one eye. Diana wasn't having it. There was nothing I could say to make it happen either. We decided to try later. next was the audio test.
Diana has to do all these tests to get into kindergarten and I explained that to her. She stepped into the booth in the audio room, seemed excited about it actually, but wasn't thrilled about putting on the headphones circa 1952. We had to pass on that one as well.
we proceeded to the exam room where I once again explained to Diana that she couldn't get into kindergarten unless she did those tests. I know she knew what I was talking about because lately everytime she sees the number 5, she says "when i am 5, I get to go to kindergarten!"
The rest of the appointment went well. We love her doctor and were pleased to find out that the new baby will get to go to him as well. He's very hard to book an appointment with these days so I was glad to hear we wouldn't have to get another pediatrician.
Diana is doing really well. At the end of the appointment, the doctor asked us if Diana knew MOST of her colors and shapes. Uh, MOST? Yeah, doc. She knows MOST of her colors...and then some! He laughed at my sarcasm and retorted that she was ready for kindergarten. I said no, we aren't gonna be like that.
Diana had to get three shots. This was hard because I couldn't pin her down to get the shots and Gramma V had never had to do that before. Gramma V is pretty strong, but I felt bad because I don't think she realized how strong Diana is when a needle is being thrust into her leg. Diana (and Gramma V) both survived.
I can't believe Diana is going to start kindergarten in a little over a year. It's crazy to think about it. I am going to drop her off at a school with 11 year olds? That doesn't seem right! I have some time to get over it, I guess.
Time flies.

My new BFF

2009-07-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

I guess I am obligated by the title of the blog to keep family and friends updated on the status of our entire family...not just Matt and Diana. Therefore, this will be a post about my new best friend, our couch.
I was placed on moderate bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. My numbers (blood pressure and urinalysis) were really good over the weekend in rest mode so the doctor decided to keep me here...on the couch. Granted, I have to work. I love my job. But I love living and I love my family more so this was the right move. Some of my friends don't seem to understand that bed rest, even the moderate type that I am on, means that no, I can't go to work. I have to sit here and rest as much as possible. About the only time I can leave the house is to go grocery shopping and take Diana to one of her many activities this summer (she started swimming on Monday and will start soccer on Saturday).
Bed rest is not fun, but necessary. So the couch and I will bond over the next two months until the baby is ready to come. I went to the doctor on Monday and have an appointment with a perinatologist on Friday. I think they are going to want to do another ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing OK. Fine, do what you have to do, I say. The baby is moving well so I am not too concerned. Honestly, I would rather have overconcerned doctors and overprotective doctors than have doctors who say "eh, you're fine, just take it easy."
I truly believe that all this is going to make us stronger as a family. And that's never a bad thing, right? There are a lot of people out there who are a lot sicker than I am.
The night after my appointment, I had a hard time sleeping so I came down to watch SportsCenter at 2 a.m. There was a story of a 6-year-old kid who had cancer, but it was being treated successfully with chemo, etc. He had a wish to practice with the Dallas Cowboys (Matt's favorite team). I thought, "you know, this kid is going through a lot more than I am and he's 6!" I fell asleep a short time later.
I am monitoring my bp and doing urinalysis at home and all has been good for the most part. I am reading "The Associate" by John Grisham (so good!) and if anyone has any good books they want to pass on, please do. I can get through a book quick style these days!

Time of Her (our) Life

2009-07-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Diana made her first trip to AT&T Park on Friday night for her first Giants game. I am not going to leave out a single detail because that's what I usually do and this experience deserves all the space the internet will allow.
We took the ferry from Vallejo to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We arrived at the building at about 4 p.m. and had lunch at Taylor's, this awesome little diner. Matt had been planning this trip for a few weeks now, doing a lot of research on how to get to the park from the Ferry Building without using the mode of transportation that we would normally use - our legs.
It turns out that the Muni station that could take us to the park was quite a walk from the Ferry Building. By the time we would have gotten to the station, we would be halfway to the ballpark. So, we just started walking - very slowly, as we had two hours until the start of the game.
(Also, in an act of rebellion, I wasn't supposed to even go to the game. I was placed on modified bed rest for the weekend on Wednesday afternoon at my doctor appt. I didn't go to work on Thursday and didn't do much of anything Friday morning before we left.)
Anyway, I am so glad that we walked. Diana had a great time walking downtown ("Look at the big buildings, Mommy!") and I got some exercise. The weather was perfect as we were walking...about 68 degrees or so.
There was a small park right next to the ballpark so we stopped there for a couple minutes and let Diana run around and play. She had a great time. We proceeded to the ballpark after that and Diana was in awe! I can only imagine how big the place looked in her eyes.
After our long walk, I was sequestered to my seat for the rest of the night. We found our seats and Diana got to watch a little batting practice. Matt took her to the Coke slide, the Build a Bear workshop store and the Fan Lot where she got to hit a few balls and run around the bases of this little makeshift field they have out in left field. Apparently, she had a blast and nearly brought Matt to tears!
When the game started, the Giants dominated from the start. Pablo Sandoval (our favorite player now because Papa John bought Diana a panda bear for her birthday and we named him Pablo because Pablo Sandoval is named Baby Panda or something) hit a home run in the first inning and the crowd went absolutely berzerk. It scared the bee jeezus out of Diana and she started crying. She was OK a minute later and danced the rest of the night whenever music played. She was in heaven and really, Matt and I were too. Who would have imagined that a 4-year-old would sit as still as she was the whole time, never complain once, never cry that she wanted to leave and just go with the flow?
Diana continues to amaze us. The game got out of hand fast...the Giants went up 13-0 right away and the Astros never came close to threatening to score. It was fun! Matt got the chance to take Diana back up to the Fan Lot and went down the Coke slide a few more times. He even let her pick out her own baseball hat...pink with a magenta "SF" on it...and the best part...it has a fairy on it. Seriously? Pink, magenta AND a fairy? That hat has Diana's name all over it! She wore it the rest of the night!
In the top of the eighth inning, after Diana and I returned from the bathroom, we made our way around the ballpark to where the ferry would pick us up after the fireworks show. Now, keep in mind that Diana has never seen fireworks. Matt and I usually fall asleep before they go off and we don't like big crowds anyway so we have stayed away from all that for the past seven or so years. But this was a great chance for Diana to see them for the first time. Across the bay, while we were waiting for the Giants' fireworks to start, there were some fireworks (green and gold). We couldn't hear them, but Diana could see them. She loved them!
Then, the lights went off in McCovey Cove and the fireworks started blasting overhead...very loud. The tears and screaming started. It only lasted a couple minutes and once she realized all the pretty colors (magenta, especially)she liked them. If you ask her now what her favorite part of the night was, she will tell you it was the fireworks. Go figure.
By the time we got on the ferry, it was nearly 11 p.m. and Diana was still going strong. She didn't need to be held, was still dancing around with a big ole smile on her face. It was three hours past her bedtime and she only took a 45 minute nap earlier in the day because of all the excitement of going to the game.
We got on the ferry finally and headed out. And that's when Diana crashed out...like a light. She crawled up in my lap and fell asleep. She stayed asleep for the most part until we got home at 12:30 a.m. and stayed in bed this morning till 9.
It was quite a night. Matt and I were beaming with pride. It was so great and something the three of us will never forget.

A new chapter

2009-06-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

We all go through different stages in our lives. We’re one person when we are in high school; college usually brings out another person and then adult life usually changes us a couple more times.
I have been through many stages in my life – from a girl in high school who was a total jock to someone who slowly realized throughout college that basketball wasn’t the end all be all.
Becoming a mother changed me completely – for the good, of course. I never knew that I could love someone so much yet go through so many emotions on so many different levels every day.
A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a party for someone who I have known for a very long time. She was a very influential person in my life and someone who was even more obsessed with basketball as I was.
Recently, she decided to become a mother. She can’t have kids herself so she and her significant other are having a baby boy thanks to a surrogate.
After seeing her at this party, I noticed a huge change in her attitude. I hadn’t seen her in a couple years because our schedules conflicted and we just couldn’t get together. In that time, she’s become a totally different person who is thrilled with this new direction in her life.
She was always a career-focused woman, though having kids was something she always wanted. Now that it’s happening, she’s beaming with excitement – more than she ever did even after the best basketball game.
It was fun to just sit back at this party and watch her practically float around the room, mingling with friends and family. For the first time in the 15 years that I have known her, I looked at her as a friend – not a mentor.
I am supremely happy for my friend as she ventures into this new chapter in her life and know that she is going to cherish and enjoy every minute with her son.

Father's Day

2009-06-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Father's Day always falls during the U.S. Open golf tournament. So Matt pretty much requests that we stay out of his way. No, those aren't his words, but Diana and I do our best to keep things quiet around the house so Matt can cheer for Tiger Woods very loudly during the day.
We gave Matt his present on Saturday (we were very excited), went to a baby shower and went swimming and played the rest of the weekend. Matt had quite an extensive dinner menu that he wanted and it required three trips to the store because I kept a)forgetting something; b) inviting people over the house and c)running out of supplies.
For Father's Day, Diana and I got Matt a 9-burger slider maker. It's from Cost Plus so you can go online and check it out. It's awesome and makes great little burgers (especially for little Diana fingers) but it's a bee-atch (excuse the harsh language) to clean up. Matt actually injured himself cleaning it for the third time in one night. (Totally not kidding).
It was a great Father's Day that I got to celebrate with my dad and my wonderful husband. We even got to eat outside in the backyard and watch Diana score many a soccer goal around Grandpa D! Good times!