M&Ms really work

I am not going to write a detailed report about this, but let's just say that Diana made a major turning point in potty training last night.
She went (actually went pee-pee, not just sitting there) twice at school on Wednesday (and was rewarded with stickers) and then twice at home yesterday. She is being rewarded for sitting on the toilet (one M&M) and going (five M&Ms).
Right before her bath last night, she was holding her "area" and said "Mommy, change diaper." Well, since she was completely naked, I thought "Oh man, she has to go." I picked her up and sat her on the toilet. She was extremely quiet (very unusual for her when she sits on the toilet) and then all of a sudden, "tinkle, tinkle." I looked down and she was peeing in the toilet. "Mommy, I go pee-pee!" I screamed down to Matt, "Daddy! Tinkle, Tinkle!" He replied with "Tickle tickle? or Tinkle Tinkle?" I said "NO, Tinkle Tinkle!" He came up with five M&Ms and Diana ate them while she sat on the toilet. I know, real sanitary, huh? Matt said we were having a potty party!
Hopefully, this wasn't just a case of one-hit wonder. I know we still have a long way to go, but it was pretty awesome.

The ride home

The ride home from work and school lately has been extremely enjoyable so I thought I would take the time to give a play-by-play of our experience starting when I pick her up. This is from Monday's trip home.

4:24 p.m....I sign Diana out in her classroom, pick up her art project from the day and her daily activity sheet. This paper tells us what she ate, whether or not she tried to go potty and if she took a nap or not. Sidebar: We have started rewarding Diana with M&Ms if she tries to go potty. She gets one if she tries and if she actually "makes pee-pee," as Matt calls it, she gets five. This is gonna be TMI, but if she goes No. 2, she gets 10. Two days in and she's all about the M&Ms...she tries, but doesn't "make" anything yet.

4:28...I go into the "backyard" at KinderCare where Diana is playing with the rest of her classmates. I look around for her and notice she's playing in the dirt and grass with some other little girls. I watch her for a couple minutes before she notices me. she runs over full steam ahead and embraces me with a hug. it's the best part of the day!

4:30...we head down the hallway, grab some crackers from the basket and talk about the day on the way to the car.

4:35...once we get out on the street in the car, Diana asks for her music, "Di-Ana music, Mommy." I push play on the Splash CD that she gets from her ABC Music and Me class and we are all set for the 20 minute ride home.

4:36-5:00...So many things happen on the ride home today...none that are really out of the ordinary from any other day, but this day was a little more animated than others. We usually sing and dance to certain songs on the CD, but today was a little more emphasized. Diana would request a song and if I didn't guess it right, "no, Mommy, no." So, I would skip through the CD trying to guess which one she wanted. when I finally got it right, she gasped and screamed "YES!" then we danced.
By the way, I am totally a safe driver. when i say I am dancing, it is the lowest form of dancing you can imagine. It's more Diana dancing than mommy.
On this particular day, Diana noticed something on the freeway and pursued to tell me, in her most excited voice. I had no idea what she was trying to tell me after several guesses. Then, I looked ahead on the freeway and saw it...A Target truck.
"Mommy, Target Truck!" Target is Diana's favorite store. She freakin' loves that place. She noticed during the Indy 500 the driver's who had Target as their sponsors.
Seeing the Target truck was the equivilant of a teenager getting first row tickets to that Hannah Montana concert.
the second I exit the freeway, diana notices another favorite. "Mommy, KFC!" I look in the rear-view mirror and she's raising up out of her car seat looking out the window trying to get a better view of the restaurant. She continues to yell "KFC" until we pass and then she says "Bye-bye KFC!"
It's seven more minutes until home and we are pretty much on cruise control after here. KFC is pretty much the peak.

The drive home is extremely fun. it's a great way to catch up (we do that too..I didn't mention that) on our days. when I ask Diana how her day was she usually says "It's fine." that's exactly the way I feel!

Happy Birthday to my Mommy!

What a great three-day weekend! I haven't had one in a while here at the new job, so it was really nice to have an extra day to take care of some things around the house. I put up a bunch of frames around the house that have been collecting dust for a few months now. Our house really feels like a home even more now because of all the family pics I put up. It's awesome.

Thanks to my family, especially Matt, for putting together a great party last night with my family. It was nice to have everyone over and laugh and have good times.

The best part came later that night when I was setting up my new laptop (thanks, Mom!)and Matt and I heard Diana making some noise on the monitor. We turned the television down and turned the monitor up so we could hear what she was saying. After all, it was over an hour since I put her to bed. She was singing.

"Happy Birthday to My Mommy! Happy Birthday to My Mommy!
Happy Birthday to My Mommmmeeeee. Happy Birthday to My Mommmmeeee!"

I just sat there on the floor with my jaw to the ground and my hand over my mouth. The girl was singing exactly like we had sung two hours earlier when we had cake. I know they have birthdays at school, but I don't know if they sing (they probably do). But it was amazing! The girl shocks me every day, but to full on just start singing was hilarious!Matt and I were still laughing about it this morning.

There could have been no greater end to my pre-birthday celebration! Now, for Shopping at Target (thanks, Dad!)

Our favorite things

To say it was hot this weekend would be an understatement. It was well over 100 degrees and all of us were in desperate need of cooling off. After Au Bob's bridal shower on Saturday, we took naps, and enjoyed the return of a few of our favorite things - mommy's camera and Diana's water table.(I will post a photo later tonight).
Diana played in the water table for about an hour. I didn't even realize that long had gone by because I was busy snapping away pictures of the happy girl. She's so funny because she's very business like when she's playing with the water table. It's not all about splashing...it's about organization, making sure everything gets played with and making sure water gets poured on the ground at least once.
It was the first time Diana got to wear her Princess bathing suit. It's been hanging in her room for about a month now and it fits her perfectly. She'll be able to have it all summer.

Then....on Sunday, we went for a bike ride a couple hours before bed time. Diana rode her tricycle, which she is getting very good at, up to the park and we went on the swings. All was fine until Diana lost her balance running down a small hill and smacked her face into the sidewalk. Needless to say, I will not be posting a photo from that. She's OK. She had some swelling and looked like she was involved in a heavyweight fight, but no black eyes today thank goodness! She's a trouper because after it happened, we walked back home to clean her up and the whole time, she is saying "bike, Daddy, bike!" She wanted to get back on her bike. So after we changed clothes and got her all cleaned up, we went back to the park to go down the slide. She keeps it all in perspective for us!

Oh, Mandy!

Well, we got back from Vegas yesterday afternoon and it's back to work today. Vegas was good. We ate out at a couple nice restaurants, one of which is a hot spot for a ton of A-list celebs that stop in to town. I was very proud to suggest that one to Matt. While he was getting a massage and I was getting a pedicure, I asked some of the locals where to go before our concert at the Hilton and they said "Piero's, definitely!" So we went and it was awesome. Italian food, of course. Great atmosphere and really not bad priced either.

The Barry Manilow experience was interesting for me. Having not grown up around his music, I was mostly there to provide support for Matt. It was a good show. The guy didn't so much as take a sip of water for the 1 1/2 hours that he performed. He was non-stop the whole time. It was funny to see the 40-year-old women all dressed up and swooning over Manilow though. You would swear that they were at Thunder Down Under (a male revue show in Vegas) not Barry Manilow!

The basketball clinic was good too. We saw Jay Wright from Villanova, but only stayed for a little bit because he wasn't that good. He really liked to hear himself talk. We also saw Geno Auriemmo from UConn. That's mostly who we went to see. Matt didn't even bring his notebook to write anything down (not that he needs to because he's seen all the guys videos and runs his offenses). Geno was hilarious! Just as funny as in his coaching videos. He threw a Tennessee jab in there, which is what I was expecting. Awesome! One of his former players was in attendance, Shea Ralph, and he kept asking her "This is what we ran, right Shea?" And she would answer "Yup!" It was interesting.

Diana had a little separation anxiety after being with Gramma V for three nights. They picked us up at the airport and took us back to Michelle's apt. to get our car and Diana refused to drive back home with us. She wanted to stay with Gramma V. So she drove back with Gramma V and was fine once she got home.

I can't believe how much more Diana is talking. We were only away from her for a few days. It's crazy!

All Better!

Diana seems to be all better!
She went to school on Wednesday with a big smile on her face and seems to be so glad to be feeling better. I got off work early to go pick her up and when we finally got home after running an errand, she came up to me and said "Mommy, eat." So glad that she finally has her appetite back. We are taking it slow still with the food she eats but she's got her energy back that's for sure.

And she's talking more than ever too! I was packing last night for our trip to Vegas and she said "Di-Ana Borchert come?" I also taught her to say "Dos Vedanya" (I hope I spelled that right) thanks to Grandpa D, who wants to teach her Russian on top of the English and Spanish she's already learning. She said it pretty good.

Anyway, we are very glad to be back to a healthy family. Thanks for all your support!

Being sick is the absolute worst

Diana has been sick since Wednesday. Throwing up, coughing, diarrhea (though that hasn't been that bad). She hasn't been herself, which is not fun to watch. She's fallen asleep on the floor, on the chair, on the couch, on us. She hasn't eaten much and really doesn't like the taste of Gatorade or PediaLyte. We have taken her to the doctor twice, including a trip to Kaiser in Vallejo on Sunday afternoon. They said she has an ear infection (which she probably got two weeks ago when the cough started), which turned in to a sinus infection which caused her to get a minor case of pink eye. She's on two antibiotics. I feel so helpless. What's a mom to do but give TLC?

While she's been sick, her lips have gotten super chapped, but she won't let us put Chapstick or anything on them. Well, last night, I pulled the Cinderella card. I told her that the Burt's Bees came directly from Cinderella and Snow White because I called them and asked them what they used on their lips to keep them shiny and healthy. A couple minutes of that worked like a charm. She let me put it on her without a whimper!

I thought it would be good to end this post on a happy note. :)

Loving School...and KFC

I remember a time when Diana used to run over to me when I went to pick her up from school. She doesn't really do that anymore.
The other day, she was playing at one of the tables with the rest of her class. They were making pretend food with play-doh. She held her flat piece up to her teacher and said, "monica, tortilla." She knew I was standing there watching her. I'm glad she likes school though...if she didn't life would be so much harder for Matt and me.

On another note: Diana's favorite restaurant is by far KFC. This is the first place that she started going with V a long, long time ago. It's still their place and she went there with Matt a couple weeks ago. We pass by it on our way to work and on our way home everyday and Diana points it out to us: "Hi, K-F-C! Bye, K-F-C!" It's that quick because usually we are driving by it. A couple minutes later, when we are well passed it, she says in a sad, sad voice "Mommy, K-F-C." I always have to tell her, "Not tonight, buddy." She understands.

Three is approaching

We are only two months away from having a 3-year-old. And I am reminded of it everyday. The tantrums have stopped for the most part. I think Matt and I did a good job of ignoring them and not letting them control our lives.
The talking is non-stop. We REALLY Have to watch what we say around Diana because she says everything! Grand V asked Diana the other day "What's up?" And now, Diana says "What's up?" all day. Matt turned the Giants game on the other day while Diana and I were eating dinner, they were losing and he said "Oooooh Maaaaaan!" Now, Diana says "Oooooooh Maaaaaan" all the time. You can ask her to say something and she tries her best to say it. She constantly refers to herself as "Di-Ana Borchert." As long as she doesn't call herself "Anna Borchert" anymore, I am happy.
The other night when we were getting ready to go to bed, Diana grabbed "Choo-Choo Guy" which is a stuffed teddy bear dressed like a train conductor, and she gave him a big hug and said "nigh nigh, choo-choo guy." Then, she grabbed his hand and had him wave good-bye to me. "Nigh nigh mommy." She's just the dearest sweetest little thing sometimes. That far outweighs all the trouble she gives us with potty training.
That's a topic I am not going to get into right now. The girl can't be bribed. If she can't have her letter cookies because she won't go pee, then it's "Eh, Ok. No biggie."
Hopefully, by the time she goes to Stanford, she'll be potty trained.

A goal

I signed up to run a 5K in Vacaville. It's on May 3, a couple Saturdays from now. My sister is going to run it too though I know she's going to kick my butt. I hope we can run together because that would be fun and I really don't want her to go ahead and run ahead of me and try to beat me. She would, she's in much better shape than I am.
I haven't run on the treadmill in about a week because I was sick for a few days last week and then this weekend. I'm better now and Matt has a home visit tonight (the last one. Yay!) so I don't have an excuse not to run. I have to increase my mileage though because I am used to only running two miles. I have to get up to three over the next couple weeks.
On another note: I got my hair cut and colored this weekend. It makes me look about seven years younger. Seven? Yea, I think it's more than five but less than 10. It's a fun little cut that I am starting to get used to.

I, E, O, O, B

For the most part, Diana can sing the alphabet. It's very fun to sing it with her because at the end, when you say "next time won't you sing with me" we get very loud with our "me" and we say "me, ME, MEEEEEEEE!" It's a riot.

She's not succeeding so much with her numbers. She knows how to hold up 1-5 on her fingers, but counting in English has not been a success.

When she counts, she says "I, E,O,O,B." She's done it for a while now and we can't convince her to say "1,2,3,4,5."

The other night, I was taking her barettes out of her hair and said, "Oh, you have two black barettes today, huh?" She responded with, "Yeah, I,E" as in "1,2."
This girl definitely has her own way of doing things.

On a side note: When I went to pick her up from school yesterday, they were just getting ready to go play outside. Diana ran over to me and buried her head in my lap after I leaned down to say hi. She seemed very sad. I asked Miss Monica if Diana had a good day and she said oh yeah, very good.

I asked Diana what was wrong, but nothing. Then Miss Monica said "Well, we were about to go outside, so maybe she's upset that she can't play outside." OH, Duh!

"Diana," I said, "Do you want to play outside?"

"Yes," she said...still very sad.

"Well, we can go play outside at home if you want," I said.

"No home, Mommy."

"You want to play outside here for 10 minutes and then I will come back and get you?"

"yeah," she said and then took her jacket out of my hand and went and hung it back up on the hanger. I took the hint, waited out in the lobby for 10 minutes and then went and got her. She was happy to see me this time.

From the sports world: So sad about Stanford. Not a great way to end a wonderful season. Hopefully some of the girls get in better shape and are ready to go and make another run next year.

Better Spanish than English?

Matt just called me at work on his way to take Diana to school and he said "Did you know that Diana can count to five in Spanish?"
Uh, no.
Sure enough, he holds the phone up to her and says..."Uno" She replies, "Dos." Matt: "Tres...Cuatro." Diana: "Cinco."
I love KinderCare! Diana blows me away everyday. She's also now saying the last half of the alphabet. So when you sing A-K, she can get the tones right for L-Z. And sometimes, when she is totally immersed in her kitchen or trains, you can hear her singing it to herself.
I have heard people that go on shows like American Idol and other competitions say they have been singing since they were 2. I always thought, "Wow. They were really singing words to songs at that age? That's amazing!"
Now I know what that means. Not actual words for the most part, but humming and trying to sing. Diana does this on a daily basis. Our child will be on American Idol one day...just watch!
On top of all that, she won a coloring contest at a local bank yesterday. Granted, there were only like four entries and we don't know exactly what the word "won" means, but they want to take her picture for their newsletter so we are going to pick up her prize this afternoon!
On another note...
Go Stanford!!!! What a great game last night. An inspired performance that brought tears to my eyes. There isn't a player more deserving of going to a Final Four than Candice Wiggins. Maybe now Stanford will get the respect it deserves. I am really looking forward to this weekend's games!

Casual Friday

Casual Friday is not something that should be practiced at all offices around the country. For instance, where I work. Our CEO and Founder doesn't allow us to wear denim to work. NEVER. I totally understand that and have never argued that. We are a professional workplace, a major company, and we should look professional. You never know who is going to get a tour of this place and we should always look nice.
I had a doctor appointment today and when the nurse called my name, I looked up and almost stopped in my tracks.
She was wearing tight jeans, white tennies and a white hooded sweatshirt that she got on a recent vacation (I can't remember the tourist destination that was printed across the front). How am I supposed to know that she's a nurse? If I saw her walking around the office building, I would never know that she was a nurse. She was dressed exactly like the woman who was cleaning the garbages around the same office. Oh, wait. That woman was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt.
So, because she was at least wearing white to work, I am supposed to assume that she is a nurse. How do I know that jeans, tennies and a hooded sweatshirt isn't the attire for the people who clean the garbages? The "nurse" could've been a garbage cleaner and was filling in for my nurse who went to the bathroom or something.
I allowed her to take my BP and all that other stuff, but I was leary. She then proceded to sit me in an empty room.
"Wait here until an exam room opens up. I didn't want to leave you in the waiting room and make you think we forgot about you."
I swear, those were her exact words.
So, she thinks that the nurses would forget about me in a WAITING ROOM? There were dozens of people sitting in there after she called my name. Are they still sitting there waiting for their appointment or did they get called back eventually? The whole process was weird.
I am thinking about changing my doctor so I never have to go to that office building again.

The greatest little family

I am a lucky lady. I know everyone thinks they are lucky to have their family whether it be a husband, kids, parents. But this week, I feel especially lucky to have my family.
Diana is a constant source of humor for Matt and I. I know that lately I have been somewhat of a downer because the so-called terrible threes are approaching and she's been a bit of a challenging kid lately. But she's a great kid!
She picks up a lot of bad habits at school. It's inevitable. Everyone told us when she started school that she would learn how to hit and bite, etc. And sure, she's picked up some things that I have to teach her not to do at home. But there are a ton of good things that she does that are definitely a blessing.
Like talking. She's learned to talk a lot more because it's a survival technique at school. She's learned how to sit on the toilet and have some patience while waiting to see if she has to pee. The biggest thing though has been her music class.
Diana's teacher is so proud of her because of the incredible strides she's made in music class once a week. She's really come out of her shell and started to participate more. We listen to her music CD in the car ALL THE TIME. And I actually like it. There's some fun songs on there.
But this morning was probably the most classic. I don't know if Diana was dreaming about music class or what, but she greeted Matt this morning with "Hi Daddy. Wiggle Waggle."
All morning it was "Wiggle Waggle, Wiggle Waggle."
I asked her, "Diana, did you learn Wiggle Waggle at school?"
She said yes and then made the gesture that she makes when referring to her music class.
"Oh," I said. "You learned that in Music class?"
She said an emphatic yes and said "Wiggle Waggle."
So, all the way to school this morning, we said wiggle waggle. Who knew that saying wiggle waggle would be so much fun to say in the morning? I suggest trying it!

Also, I do have the greatest husband. I am so very proud of him for doing our taxes all by himself this weekend. He's never done that and while I sense that it was a source of great stress, he did it with flying colors!
He's got the week off school and when I got home on Monday, the house was clean and the plumbing situation was getting resolved. And, while I worked out, he cooked dinner and fed Diana. I definitely don't take for granted that he's a great Dad and husband. I am very appreciative of everything he does around the house and in life to take care of us!

Bras

I put that title up there as a fair warning to anyone who doesn't want to read a post about bras. Don't read any further if this is TMI.
I made a much overdue trip to Victoria's Secret yesterday (I had the day off work) with the simple mission of buying at least three bras. The ones I had were stretched out, uncomfortable and in desperate need of being thrown in the trash. A bad bra throws me off. I am fidgety all day, long for a sports bra and can't wait to get home and get out of it. That's how I have been for a few weeks now.
When a coupon advertisting VS's new Bio Fit bra came in the mail, I took it as a sign. It said that I could go to VS for a free panty and $10 off any bra. Sweet!
Luckily, one of Matt's former players was working there and she's just awesome. She sized me and then had me go into a fitting room and gave me the samples of all seven bras that VS has now. I tried each one on to see which style I liked the best. What an amazing concept, I thought. Trying on a sample before you buy. The whole process was actually kind of fun. Once I got done, I knew which bras I wanted. J-Lo (that was the player's nickname when she played for Matt) then brought me over to the display, got my sizes for me and we headed to the check out counter. I ended up buying the Bio Fit bra and I highly recommend it. It really does feel like it's custom made.
Anyhow, I spent an obscene amount of money at VS, but I plan on having these bras for years. I think that's why VS charges so much money for their bras. They are great quality and you will be able to have them for a while. If that's not the case, I am screwed.
I am extremely comfortable today. I think today will be my most productive day at work in months.
In other news...
Why does everyone, including broadcasters, refer to the NCAA Tournament as March Madness? That's what the uneducated, non-sports fan is supposed to refer to it as. It's not March Madness! Let's call it what it is!

Diana was very upset (OK, I was too) that the Stanford men's game wasn't on TV yesterday when we got home at around 3:30. Some genius decided that it wasn't important I guess. They show every other game but they decide the Stanford game is no good. I know that the Stanford men aren't going to go very far, but at least let me see a game!

Diana's new words of the week: Hello and Hi, Buddy. It's hilarious!

Welcome Back, Daddy

Matt is back home. After five days of an all-girl house, we were glad that he returned home from the state tournament last night. Upon his return, Matt noticed that Diana is talking a lot more (she says "Pasta" now) and even more active than ever before.
She also said "I Love You" for the first time. Of course it was to V, but when I put her to bed last night, she said it to me too...along with the nightly ritual of blowing kisses.
All is going well in the Borchert household and the weather is wonderful! What more could we ask for?

'Um, that's not Cinderella, mister'

We took Diana to the doctor yesterday. She has an ear infection, prescribed her some medicine and it was all good. He was very impressed with her immune system and the fact that we haven't brought her in during the winter time.
Diana was a little scared going to the doctor. She's never had a bad experience there but when the nurse called her name, she froze up and started crying. We reassured her that nothing bad has ever happened to her at the doctor and that she'd be fine.
She had to get on the scale and even though there was a Dora sticker on the scale that she LOVED and a poster of kids with their heads in sunflowers that she thought was funny, she didn't want to do it. So, Mom got on, the nurse wrote down my weight, and then Mom and Diana got on. Poor Nurse had to do some math, but she got what she needed.
Diana did fine while we were in the exam room. She let the doctor look at her eyes and her ears. She put her shoes back on all by herself while he was doing that, as if to say 'OK, we can go now' but she didn't get upset until he asked her to open her mouth so he could look at her tongue.
I told Diana on Tuesday that the doctor was going to have to look at her tongue and that she would get stickers if she did everything she needed to do at the doctor. I told her that he would have Cinderella and Snow White stickers for her.
The doctor was able to look at her tongue while she was crying, made his prognosis and that was it. No big deal.
As we were getting ready to leave, he asked Diana if she would like to pick out a sticker. She leaped off my lap and practically chased the poor man down the hallway. Mom and Dad were an afterthought.
The doctor handed Diana a basket with various stickers in it. He leafed through trying to help her decide. She didn't see what she wanted.
"Eee-yah, no-white," she said.
I explained to the doctor that I told her he would have Cinderella and Snow White, but that if he didn't that was OK, we would make do.
"OH, no let's see what we can find," he said.
He opened another drawer with about 500 stickers in it and Diana followed him over there, got on her tip toes and looked into the drawer. He found some girly stickers with imposter princesses on it and told her to choose her Princess.
She just stared at the stickers.
"Eee-yah, no-white," she said.
I quickly noticed that what he was trying to give her were imposter Princesses and tried to convince her that it was Cinderella and Snow White. It didn't work.
She threw herself on the ground and started crying. I took the stickers from the doctor, thanked him, apologized to him, picked Diana up and we left.
We had our first lesson with Diana about being grateful.
This morning, we found out that there is a confirmed case of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease in her classroom at School. Wonderful.

Conflicting Reports

Diana has been sick - again - for the last week or so. Just a bad cough...her spirits are the same as usual. Her mood has never really been affected by being sick. She just goes about her day and coughs when she needs to.
But she's had a cough for a little over a week and yesterday at school her temperature got over 100 degrees. I didn't have to pick her up or anything, but we called Kaiser to get their opinion on the matter. They said not to worry.
We have never liked to give Diana any medication because I believe it weakens your immune system. I don't take medicine when I am sick, I just drink a lot of water and green tea. Seems to do the trick.
Then these reports came out a while back saying that you shouldn't give your kid under 8 cold medicine because it doesn't really work and there could be side effects anyway. Well, that did it for me. No more medicine.
But then Diana develops these two white patches on her tongue the other day. Now, I am a little concerned. I am taking her to the doctor today. What started out as a regular cold could now be strep. So, do I freak out and assume it's strep everytime she gets a cough? I don't want to be freak-out parent, but I do want a healthy child. I realize her going to Kindercare is going to produce more colds, but strep? That's a whole new story.
I will keep you updated.

All good things must come to an end...

The season is over. And though Solano lost on Saturday to Siskiyous and there were parts of the game that were frustrating and sad, I thought the girls played really well. I was extremely proud of their effort the entire game and they were very pumped up before and during the game. Even at the end, the girls on the bench were chanting "Defense" and cheering for the sophomores who finished the game off.
Before the game started, it started snowing so it was really fun to see the girls get to experience snow for the first time and get to play in it if only for three seconds during a water break. :)
We had a pretty good amount of fans that made the drive to see the game: My dad, Jan and Carl, Leilanie's family, Brandi's dad and Natalie's family. It was awesome to have that support even though we played the farthest away we could have possibly played. The Siskiyous crowd was good too. It seemed like the whole town of Weed was there!
I am really excited to see where the sophomores end up going to school next year and to have these freshmen come back next year. I think recruiting is going well too so it should be fun also to see who decides to join the Solano family.
I have a short week this week because I am headed to Phoenix for the Town Hall meeting on Friday and Saturday. I am really excited about it. It should be a ton of fun!

Weed, AI, Texting

No, I am not writing about drugs, the movie Artifical Intelligence or Allen Iverson.
Solano found out its playoff opponent on Monday - we are headed back to Weed on Saturday. We played Siskiyous earlier this season and lost, but the girls are pretty fired up about Saturday's game. I am excited because I get to drive up to the game with the team. I will take a lot of pictures and post them sometime next week so everyone can see the fun road trip. If memory serves, the gym there has really good lighting so I am hoping to also get some good photos of the game.
American Idol...it was better last night. I was glad to see that Chikezie stepped it up. What a turnaround from last week! But by far the best was David Archuleta. I wasn't surprised that Paula Abdul cried because that version of "Imagine" by John Lennon was impressive. He sang it flawlessly...I am downloading it on iTunes tonight. My favorite, David Cook, was awesome as well. I am still not voting though.
I have decided that I would prefer not to get text messages anymore. My cell phone is a piece of junk (to use a family-friendly word) and keeps flashing "memory full" on the screen. I have cleared out all the old messages in the sent and inbox, but it still is "screaming" at me in its own little way. Matt texts enough for the both of us anyway. :)
If you need to get a hold of me, just call, I would love to hear your voice!!

Back to work...

Not that I took any time off of work, but what a busy weekend we had. It was very hard to get up this morning (I ate very poorly this weekend and haven't run on the treadmill since Wednesday...YUK!).
Diana developed a cough this weekend so I am hoping I don't get a call from Kindercare today saying she has a fever. Coughs are always worse when she is lying down so I am hoping that she doesn't cough much today while she is running around playing and stuff.
I was so glad that Debbie came down this weekend...what a treat. She was quite the Oscars hostess. She brought prizes for our little Oscars predicition test and of course, she won! That's OK, she has much more time on her hands to get out and see movies. It was good to have her expert opinion on what movies Matt and I should watch once they come out on OnDemand! :)
Matt finds out about the playoffs today (we finished the season undefeated on Friday...it was great!). The phones were ringing off the hook yesterday. Since Matt is the president of the association and thus in charge of the meetings today, he had to field calls from all these coaches about how the system works and how he thinks the bracket is going to be filled out.
I am so proud of the girls, but I am also proud of Matt, the Coach of the Year. I thought this year was his best coaching year. He made great decisions on the sideline and I thought was much more confident in his decision-making abilities. It's been so much fun to watch him grow as a coach these past eight years. It's funny to say that because you never think that someone who has been coaching for half his life has to grow. He's become a truly great coach and I can't wait for the playoffs this weekend.
Go Solano!

Idol, hoops and rain

It's raining here today. I hope it stops because I am supposed to take some pictures of a co-worker's daughter playing soccer this afternoon. I am really looking forward to it because I never get to take pictures of outdoor sports. The clouds would make for some really good lighting, but I can't do the rain because I will have Diana with me.
The University of Tennessee announced this morning that Candace Parker will participate in senior night festivities at the end of the month. As a huge UT fan, I am sad to see her go, but know that great things await her in the future. If she ends up playing for the LA Sparks in the WNBA, there will be plenty of chances to see her play against the Monarchs...that will be a ton of fun!
Once again, American Idol last night was just 'eh.' There were a couple of girls who really came to perform - Asia'h most specifically. But the others were just blah and played it safe. I am still not voting, but hope the right girls stay on for another week.

American Idol...eh

I thought the boys did an OK job last night. Wait, I am calling them boys..they are men (well most of them at least).
My favorites were David Cook, David Archuleta (he's so adorable!) and the dread locks guy that I can't remember his name right now. They were original, creative and comfortable on stage. The other guys sang the exact song they chose that was recorded 40 years ago.
I am learning to side with Randy, Paula and Simon more when they get frustrated with the singers who sing the song exactly as it was recorded. This competition is about being creative and showing you deserve to be a recording artist. Show some spunk for crying out loud!
The excuse, "The song is a 60s song!" is so old. Make it your own! Haven't these contestants watched the show for the past eight years? Don't they hear what the judges preach year after year, contestant after contestant?
I hope the girls do a better job tonight. There are a ton of guys that should be voted off Thursday night but unfortunately only two will go.
I have decided that I am not voting until the Round of 12 starts.

We are the champions!

For the second time in three years, Solano won the BVC title. It's awesome. What would be even more awesome is to win these last two conference games and go undefeated. These girls are so fired up and it would be so fun for them to go undefeated. Playoffs start either on the 29 or March 1.

Never Assume Anything

I have been doing this Mommy thing for a while now - 2 1/2 years. And I think I am pretty good at it. But everyday is a learning experience because there's something new that Diana does everyday. It's all fun and exciting.
Last night, we went out to dinner to my favorite Italian restaurant across the street. It's the perfect little family restaurant with great New York ambiance! Whenever we order pizza, I insist we get it from there because it's New York style and just awesome! We rarely order dinner from there and we don't usually go and sit down. Honestly, whenever we order pizza, Matt buys it so I have no idea how much it costs.
When Diana and I got there, a 15-year-old maitre'd (who may have been the manager because he was dressed in a nice shirt and pants) brought us to our table. He gave us our menus and walked away. He never said one word to us, not even a "Happy Valentine's Day."
When I saw him walk away, I just assumed he was going to get a high-chair for Diana. No such luck. I turned around to see where he was and I couldn't find him. The high-chairs were right behind me so I grabbed one and set it up. Thanks, kid.
As I glanced at the menu to order something for Diana, I noticed that the kid's menu only included pasta (four different varieties of spaghetti with a different sauce). I looked at the price and was floored-$6.95! It didn't include a drink or desert or fruit or a veggie. Just six little ravioli rounds. Are you kidding? I tried to find something on the menu, maybe a small personal pizza that was cheaper but the cheapest pizza was $19.99.
I ordered her the cheese ravioli and sulked. Luckily, she inhaled it. I also ordered her a milk. Did I need to mention to the waitress that a kid's size milk would suffice?
She brought back a red, paper Coke cup that was 16 oz.
"Um,do you have something smaller than this for kids?" I asked.
"No, that's the smallest cup we have," she replied. She sounded surprised that I asked. "I didn't put milk in it all the way though."
Gee, thanks.
I explained to Diana that the big cup was all she was getting and she was going to have to make do. Of course, she was fine.
As I looked around the restaurant I noticed that every single table was filled with families and more than half had a 2-year-old with them.
I have learned a lot because Diana and I go out to eat together quite a bit. There are staples that I guess I need to bring because I shouldn't assume that every kids meal is going to come with a small cup, some veggies and/or fruit and a sensible meal.
Therefore, I vow to always come prepared from now on with: a sippy cup (they make these take and toss ones with Princesses on them. I will make sure to stock up), some fruit (Luckily, we have a stash of those Dole fruit cups in the cubboard), a small fork and spoon (even though Diana does fine with a big one), wipes (Diana goes through paper napkins like diapers) and a desert item suitable for a toddler (a Gerber cookie).These are things that I brought when she was a little kid and nothing they had in the restaurant was good enough for a baby. Now she can pretty much take what they give her at restaurants that cater more to families so I just never thought about having to bring stuff like this.
This will make the dining out experience so much more enjoyable.

Three more to go

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Last night's sophomore night was great! Matt and the assistant coaches did a great job of honoring the five sophomores who were playing their final home game at Solano. There are photos from the celebration on my photo web site. And there will be more added later.
Shockingly enough...The Falcons won. So, that means, with a win on Friday over Mendocino, we clinch our second conference title in three years. Hopefully we can close out the season with three wins and have some momentum going into the playoffs. It's been a great conference season and the girls are really fired up to keep the win streak going.

Monday, Monday

What a beautiful sun shiny weekend!
Once we got done with the filming on Friday around 5 p.m., Diana, V and I went out to dinner. I couldn't imagine going home and standing on my feet for another 30-45 minutes to make dinner...I had been on my feet all day in heels, running around the building and I just couldn't stand any longer.
I even tried to walk on the treadmill after Diana went to bed and my knees started to swell. I had to stop.
So, I watched TV and waited for the phone call from Matt telling about the game. They won 106-55. Ouch. They have no mercy!
On Saturday I did some shopping at the mall with a friend of mine. I got a ton of new clothes (and all of them were on sale) which I needed desperately.
Sunday was the best though. We all went to the driving range and hit balls. I hit pretty good, considering that I hadn't hit balls in forever. Diana enjoyed being Mommy and Daddy's caddy more than she wanted to hit balls. We brought her clubs and she tried to hit the ball a couple times, but when she missed, she picked the ball up and chucked it out into the open. It was funny...even she laughed at herself.
She was very helpful on the putting green while Matt and I putted. Once the ball stopped rolling toward the hole, she would pick it up and throw it back to us. This saved Matt and I more time and allowed us to practice putting. Unfortunately, more people started coming over to the putting green and Diana wasn't able to be the caddy. But she did a great job and had so much fun. When we got home we played in the backyard for about an hour. I am sure that breathing fresh air was a wonderful thing for her.

I have to give a big shout out to Matt because he bought me these fantastic pair of Carlos Santana shoes that I have been wanting for quite a while. They are my Valentine's gift.
Back to work and school today though and the day is moving along. Two more big games this week, including sophomore night on Wednesday.
Go Falcons!

Whoa!

Last night was one of the most unbelieveable games I have ever witnessed-both as a player and a coach's wife.
We beat Napa Valley 101-42. The girls played so well. Everything went right, it seemed. The crowd was stunned, but excited at the same time. Solano started the game on a 23-0 run in which Napa called four timeouts. The girls were so excited everytime the coach called a timeout. They lept off the bench and celebrated with the girls coming out of the game. It was great energy and I was so proud of them.
Matt also got his 150th win at Solano and though he said it wasn't a big deal, the girls did a great job of presenting him with a plaque in front of a large crowd.
I just hope the girls and coaches can keep up this same intensity for five more games. It seems that they are ready to make this final push and win the league title with an undefeated record.

Busy week

This week is going to be a busy one for the Borchert family.
Not only do we have two more big games this week (Napa on Wednesday) but Angela has a busy week culminating with a production company coming to corporate this Friday to film some employees. Copart was named one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area and they are basically coming all day Friday to film. It's going to be pretty fun. So, I am helping prepare for that all week. We have to meet with the people that are going to be on camera (different employees here and at our Martinez yard) to go over what they should say. It's all buzz words so we give them the questions and answers prior to the filming.
I love being busy at work, especially when it's for something like this that I have never done. It's interesting to be a part of a filming session like this. I have no idea what to expect.
Anyway, the big game on Wednesday should be a good one. It's our next to last home game and against a team that was talking all kinds of trash before the season. They have three league losses now. :)
Oh and Megan turns 12 this weekend! As Diana would say "Oh boy-yah!

7-0

I hope I am not jinxing anything and I doubt that the family is relying on me to keep this blog up to date anymore, but here goes.
Matt's team is 7-0 in conference. It's amazing. The team is playing really well right now and we hope to keep things going through the rest of the season. We won all our conference games by double digits, though we got a little scare last night. We were down two at half to Contra Costa, our big rivals, but pulled it out with an inspired second half.

Diana reached a big stage in the last week or so (which is the main reason for writing). She is sitting on the potty regularly at school and every so often at home. She actually goes at school, but has yet to go at home. The teachers at her school asked us to bring Pull-ups because it's easier for them and her when they take her potty. Pull-Ups!!! So, Matt and Diana went to the store this morning and got her some Princess Pull-Ups.

I can't believe that what we have been doing with her potty training has worked. It's amazing..our kid is amazing. We didn't force it on her, we just asked her every so often if she needed to go. I know we have a long way to go still, but it's a great start!

Another list item

We got Diana some Play-Doh a while back and she loves it. She rolls it out with her little rolling pin and cuts "cookies" with the canisters. It's messy, but she loves it. She does need some Play-Doh accessories though if you want to add that her already long Christmas list!

Diana's Christmas List

Is it too early? I started my Christmas shopping last weekend and we are getting bombarded with catalogs in the mail, so it's kinda hard to avoid. Here's the lowdown on shopping for Diana for Christmas--she doesn't need any toys, plus with all the lead in toys and toys being recalled at a rapid pace, we are even more hesitant.

There are some things that she needs, besides clothes, which are always always welcome. She's into a 3T or 4T by now. She won't wear jeans. For the most part, she wears sweats and cotton shorts. Also, she likes to take her diaper off at night so we have resorted to putting her in onesies as PJs. So, if you can find onesies that are 24 mos. and older, buy them...PLEASE!

She needs some busier bath toys. A lot of the ones she has right now are from when she was little and she gets a little bored of pouring, pouring, pouring for the 15 minutes she is in the tub. There are some in the Lillian Vernon catalog that are cute. Anything really is fine. Just stuff that keeps her busy.I have been looking for the bath crayons but haven't had any luck. I think she would like those.

She's also really into the Disney Princesses (Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Snow White and Jasmine). Anytime she sees them (which is everywhere nowadays) she goes crazy. She also likes Hello Kitty (we met her at the outlets the other day) and Sesame Street. Books are fine too. She also loves cars and her new train set.

Matt and I are probably going to buy the soccer goal set for her that's in the Lillian Vernon catalog. She loves to kick her soccer ball and is quite good at it. She loves playing outdoors and has quite an outdoor collection. Of course, she also loves basketball, so keep that in mind.

Some other things that I liked and would actually help her with school: there's an easel that comes with paint in the Lillian Vernon catalog. She's really afraid to use the paint at school because she doesn't want to get messy. We bought her some Play-Doh (which she loves loves) and that's made her a little more outgoing during art time at school. I think the easel would get her more involved.

Hopefully, I have helped, but not been too pushy. Everyone always asks what to get Diana for Christmas so hopefully this will be good to refer back to. Also, get in touch with family members and exhange lists. I know several of you have done that in the past.

Side note/Different topic:We are really looking forward to the season starting on Friday! Can't wait to see the girls in action!

Great Halloween

I posted some photos on SmugMug of Diana's third Halloween, but to put it in writing...she had so much fun. She doesn't eat candy so it makes the night so much better for us, we can just cruise around to a couple houses and head back home. Several of Matt's players came over to the house so we had a packed abode...it made it really fun. Matt ordered pizza (eight of them) so we had plenty of food for all the hungry mouths. We didn't have that many trick or treaters in our neighborhood, but I don't think that many kids trick or treat anymore. It's kinda sad really.
Back to Diana...She loved going up to people's doors, ringing the doorbell and getting some candy. She even started to pick out her own candy at one lady's house. We visited the house where Diana spit up on the lady's front porch three years ago and she totally remembered Diana. It was pretty funny. At one point, Aunt MIchelle took over and brought her up to the front doors. Then, Diana would literally pull Michelle up the street to go to the next house. Poor Michelle, dressed in that prom outfit with heels on had a hard time keeping up with D.

Matt's first game is next Friday at Mt.SAC. It's going to be fun. We are looking forward to it. Diana, Grand V and I are leaving Friday afternoon. We will miss the first game but be there for Saturday and Sundays games. Go Solano!

Photo of Diana from one of the patches

Things are going very well

I haven't blogged in one month. Sorry about that.
Before I catch everyone up, I would like to say that I am glad that my in laws to the South are doing well and that they escaped those horrible fires without any damage to themselves or their home. Our thoughts were with you everyday. Sorry, Ryan and Megan, time to go back to school! :)

OK...Where to begin. Working at Copart is great! It's such a great atmosphere, everyone is very helpful and since my boss and other co-worker in Communications are a little less busy these days, it's fun to get to know everyone and be more social while also getting more work done.

Copart is a growing company and we have two test markets going on right now that are going to be huge for the company's expansion. I am actually going to be put in charge of one from a communications standpoint so I am really excited about that because I think the idea is genius.

I don't know if anyone has been watching the stock market, in particular Copart stock, but it's one of the most talked about stocks on the NASDAQ today. I would highly advise getting in touch with a stockbroker and buying some of this stock before it gets more expensive. We have an employee stock purchase program through work that I will be eligible for in three months, but won't be able to sign up until June. I have already talked with a stockbroker and am looking into buying some stock before then. It's a great company and only going to get better.

Diana...What can I say? She's great. She hasn't cried yet at KinderCare and loves every minute of it. The teachers love her because she follows directions, stays clean and doesn't seem to be nearly as sick as some of those other kids in her class. She does artwork everyday (it's hanging up framed in our house), eats healthy meals and plays with the other kids. She also loves her teachers. There is a Halloween party on Tuesday so I will post some pictures next week so everyone can see what her school looks like. She's having a blast!

Matt's team has its first game in two weeks. I am really excited about this season. Not only because there are some talented girls on his team, but because I get to go to more games. It's going to be a blast! I am going to be posting pictures of his players on my SmugMug account, so make sure to check it out when you get a chance.

Time goes by too fast

I have two days of work left. I have what seems like a million things to do between now and Friday. One interview just fell through because the guy called me at work and I am at home. I am POSITIVE that I told him to call me at home. Now, the guy has to go to class and I most likely won't be able to do the interview this week. Another guy that I was supposed to interview Monday morning didn't have his cell turned on. I called and called and left two messages but he never got in touch with me. It's an interview and a story I really want to do but it's not looking good.

These seem like signs to me. It's like God is telling me, "Angela, you are leaving. Just enjoy the last few days and don't take on anything new. Cruise out of here and move on."

Maybe I should listen. One more interview try this afternoon and hopefully I can get one story done before Friday.

Fun Family Farm Days

We made a trip out to Suisun Valley which hosted the second annual Fun Family Farm Days. Various farms, wineries and businesses opened their shops and had different activities going on to draw attention to the valley. It was a ton of fun and Matt was able to get some more fruits and vegetables at Larry's Produce.

You can visit SmugMug to see more pictures from the day.

Vacation almost over

Today is Angela's last day of vacation. What a bummer. It was great...11 days of not thinking about work, not reading the newspaper and just relaxing with friends and family.

Lake Tahoe was great. Despite the fact that Angela and Grand V fell out of the kayak and Matt and Angela ate a spectacular dinner instead of seeing Bonds hit No. 756, it was wonderful!

You can see some pictures from Lake Tahoe on the SmugMug Web site. Enjoy!

Me and My Shadow

Diana has two new best friends. With 2-year-olds, this seems to change everyday...Pink Doggy is her best friend for a couple days and then her baby and this week, it's Ryan and Megan.
Diana has all but forgotten about Pink Doggy, sometimes Baby, but mostly Mom and Dad. Her two new best friends, who she follows around the house all day long are her cousins. Ever since they arrived, she has to know where they are at all times. They color together, play kitchen, do puzzles. All the stuff that mom and dad did with her before, it's now Ryan and Megan's turn.
And they politely play. Good thing the toys that Diana has now are enjoyable for an 11 year old and 13 year old. Otherwise, we would be out of luck.
Mom and Dad just love to watch Diana play with Ryan and Megan. This evening, while we were cooking dinner, Diana sat on the couch and played BrainQuest with Ryan. Ryan quizzed her on different items. It was adorable!
We are hoping that the transition once Ryan and Megan go back home will be OK...We aren't thinking about that yet though, we are just enjoying the fun D is having right now!

New Web site

Angela started a new photo sharing web site today. It's only a 14-day free trial, but will be making it permanent when the trial ends. You can visit www.borchertmr.smugmug.com to see the one photo that's on there now.

Unfortunately for those who like to right click photos of Diana, you can't do it from here. Angela signed up for the account that doesn't allow visitors to right click. This was so that once basketball season starts, we can protect the photos from theft when we post them.

If you see a photo you want, just let us know and we will make a copy and mail it to you!

Trip to the Zoo

Aunt Michelle, Diana and Ang went to the Sacramento Zoo today. What fun! There are some incredible animals at the zoo. We saw flamingos which were absolutely beautiful, screaming monkeys (hilarious), giraffes (another beauty), ducks (love em), orangatanes (sp)which are just about the slowest creature alive and much more.

Diana seemed to like the flamingos because they were pink. She loved the ducks of course and tried to talk to them. Most of the animals seemed to be boycotting because of the heat and just stayed in the shade most of the morning that we were there. It was as if they were saying, "You can see me from there."

We didn't stay long, about 2 hours. They had a playground and Diana got to play for a little bit. That might have been her favorite part actually. Another mom commented that she thought the zoo was supposed to be for the kids, but it was more for the adults. Totally true. Ang and Michelle got more enjoyment out of the screaming monkeys, giraffes and flamingos than Diana. OH well.

You can visit twopeas to see some photos Ang took at the zoo. There's a link at the bottom of the blog. Enjoy!

At the County Fair

Diana, mom, dad and Grand V went to the County Fair in Vallejo on Friday. The weather was perfect!

Diana had a great time. She rode the ponies, watched the Splash Dogs competition, saw some crazy high divers, colored, had lunch and then went to the horse races. It was a busy four hours!

Her favorite had to be the pony rides and petting zoo. She was having a great time saying hi to all the goats in the petting zoo until one of them got mad at another and the two goats started head butting one another while Diana was darn near in the middle of them. We got out of there with the quickness.

She was so brave to get up on the pony and ride him around for a couple minutes. Well worth the five bucks.

Oh, and we watched Cook's Racing Pigs. What a riot! Grand V and momma's pigs won so we got a blue ribbon and Grand V won the overall prize so she got a t-shirt that said "My Pig Won.!" Hilarious!

Here's the photo

I decided to post the photo here to see what it looks like. I put the watermark on it for TwoPeas, but it's probably safe to use it here too so no one can steal it.Enjoy!

Trip to Calistoga

Wow! What a great (and exhausting) day we had. It all started at 10:45 when we left the house to pick up Grand V and off we went to Calistoga. Jenn (Ang's best friend since the fourth grade)was in Lakeport visiting her parents so we met her and her family (kids and parents) at a restaurant in Calistoga. We had lunch and then walked around and did some shopping. We met at 12:30 and didn't leave till 3. It was great to see Jenn, the boys and her parents. We shared some really nice conversations.

On the way home we made a couple stops just to enjoy being out of town for a day. We did some more shopping at the Napa outlets. I bought Diana some t-shirts at Gymboree off the clearance racks because for some reason, that's the only place where the discounts are at outlets.
Isn't the purpose of outlets supposed to be that they have discounted prices on everything? Not so much the case at the Napa outlets. It seems like they have some stuff on sale at most of the outlets, but they bring in the regular seasonal stuff to put on their shelves so they can boost sales. It's ridiculous really.

Anyway...Had a great day. I posted a picture of Diana in Calistoga on Two Peas if you want to check it out. It's called "Cutie On Duty"

Happy Fourth!

Wow...Once again, I am a slacker and haven't posted for months and months. I am not even going to try to catchup (chances are, we've talked since I last posted). I am going to start posting photos here though.

Fourth of July was good. Angela had to work, but we all went as a family (plus Debbie, yay!) to the parade in Fairfield. You can visit TwoPeas to see some parade photos that Angela took and also some photos she took of fireworks that night from the top of her office building! :)

Diana got her first hair trim this morning. We went to the lady who has cut Angela's hair since she was a pre-teen and Diana did wonderful. She sat in the chair and it only took 10 minutes. I think once we told her that she was getting her hair cut so she wouldn't have to shoo it out of her face with her hands anymore, she totally understood that she wanted to have her hair cut! :)

I will post some more as the summer goes on. It's too hot to go outside (100-plus today) so I will be on the computer a lot!

What now?

Well, basketball season is almost over. Playoffs start next week but it's essentially over for me because I might not see another game this year. This time of year is hard because it gets busier for Matt which means more chaos for me in helping him stay organized. It's hard not to plan on going to the gym a couple nights a week. I just hope he gets all these recruits. Life will be so much more pleasant.

I posted some pictures of Diana on twopeas so check them out. They are fun!

Dah-purrr

We think Diana said her first word today. We were getting ready to change her diaper and she was saying "Dah-purr" as we were walking up the stairs. We didn't think anything of it until we realized it was all she was saying for about a minute. I asked Matt if she was saying diaper and he said he thought she was. We asked her to say "diaper" and she kept saying it. She saw how excited we were and she got excited and just kept saying it. Who knows if she said it anymore today or if she will ever say it again, but it was cool!

The basketball season ends this week. There will probably be playoffs, but the regular season ends on Friday with sophomore night. It's a busy week too because we are trying to get the highlight film closed down and since Matt rejected my song choices, it's back to the drawing board and iTunes this week. :)

I hate losing

We lost to Contra Costa. They were just better, but the girls fought hard and gave it all they had. I was very proud, but I hate losing.

There was a big crowd, all three papers covered it and there were a lot of recruits there. We have four games left now and have to win them all to get a playoff spot. Cross those fingers!

Matt and I are headed to LA this weekend. Oops, I hope Kate doesn't read this. :) Oh well. Surprise!

Oh, in addition to being able to signal for three pointers, Diana can almost get the form down when you ask her to shoot free throws. It's hilarious! Matt taught her the correct shooting form the other night. I am pretty sure he did the same thing with Ryan when he was Diana's age. Look where it got him, he's got a sweet shot! :) Hi Ryan!

One down

Solano won tonight. Whew. They controlled the game and won by 14. My sister went to the game so it was nice for her to see the team and she texted me during the game.

So, the big game with Contra Costa on Friday. It's for first place so hopefully the girls show up and are ready for it. I am excited, but I will probably just stay for the first half and then come back to work. There is a feature on one of Matt's players in my paper on Thursday. I know it's a paid web site, but the story is really good!

A Nervous Week (Wreck)

Solano moved into a tie for first place on Wednesday. So, this week we play Yuba on Wednesday and Contra Costa on Friday. Big week...as big as they come. Think good thoughts for a couple hours (between 5:30-7:30 p.m.) those two days and feel free to call me on my cell to get the score. I will be at work both nights so you can call me at work too. Matt's manager will be texting me with updates.

Matt and the team are really excited about the opportunity to win another BVC title, but I just sit back and let things happen. I don't want to get all excited and then...well, you know.

Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!!

Stack me up!

Big news of the day: Diana stacked eight square blocks today all by herself. She did it on the living room table and just kept going back for more until she couldn't reach the top anymore. She was EXTREMELY proud of herself and we exchanged high fives after six, seven and eight! Then, she celebrated by knocking them down.
I am going to be proud mom and mention that just the other day I was reading in the "What to expect" book that kids her age are supposed to stack four or five blocks! I know it doesn't really matter, but eight!!!! She was reaching way up there! The best part was the pride she had in herself. To see a 19-month-old beam like that was a great feeling for me!

Matt won again tonight. 14-12 and 5-1 in conference. Eagerly awaiting the rematch with Contra Costa but have one more game next week before that one. Go Falcons!

Warming up

Finally, back to good ole California sunshine. Matt, Diana and I had a picnic at the park this afternoon before I went to work. Diana went down the slide (she loves the slide) and walked around on the bark. She likes to pick up the bark and put it in this little crane toy they have at the park. She loves to get dirty!

Back to the slide thing. I put her on it last week after our walk and she just kept asking me to put her on it. I sit her at the top and she slides right on down by herself and laughs. Keep in mind that it's a small slide. I am taller than the slide so it's not like she is on it forever. She can't get enough though!

I got my new lens last night. I used it a little this morning, but I can't wait to use it on Matt's games. It's teenie tiny! Small lens, lots of power!

Matt starts school on Monday...No more reading the paper in bed in the morning for him! It's been fun the last month because I go get Diana and bring her in so she can "read" the paper with Daddy in bed for a couple minutes before breakfast. She might be kinda sad about that. Summer will be here before she knows it and she can have her newspaper time again!

Ordered a new lens

I ordered my new lens for my digital camera last night. I have no idea when it is coming, but I am really excited to use it when it does eventually get here. I just hope that it gets here before basketball season is over. Otherwise, it's almost a waste and I will have to wait so very long to get the real purpose of it.

Matt has two games this week. I actually get to go to the game on Wednesday. They play Mendocino...all these games are big games. I just like to see the girls compete, they are good kids.

Diana is busy as ever. The girl is non-stop! I like to think that watching her inspires me to play with her and try to get some exercise keeping her entertained, but she wears me out some days. We will go for our walk tomorrow after lunch. It's only supposed to get up to 50 degrees as the high, but sunny, so we'll go out for 40 minutes, go to the park and then back home for a little TV and then a nap.

We are going to help Matt recruit tomorrow night - Vanden vs. Rodriguez. He needs to get these four girls from Vanden. Two of them are pretty sure they are coming, but the other two are not for sure yet. Cross your fingers, they are really good.

This is not easy!

It's hard keeping up with this blog! I apologize to the family for not keeping you updated on our lives. Matt's season is in full swing (games twice a week, recruiting on the other days), my business is extremely busy and Diana is just busy! Oh yeah, and I am working while Matt is on semester break. How do I get into that community college scene?

Matt's team is 1-1 in conference, 10-12 overall. We lost to Contra Costa tonight. Bummer. It was ugly...Actually, I can't say that because I wasn't there. But Matt didn't offer any quotes to the local newspaper (won't say which one) so we'll never know. :P

Diana did the funniest thing today. We were playing in her playroom waiting for Jill to come and I was sitting on the floor shooting baskets. She went to look for her mini-USF basketball, found it and asked me to shoot with it. (For some reason, she likes me to shoot with the little one rather than the ball the hoop came with. Maybe she thinks I need all the help I can get).

Anyway, I asked her to give the mini basketball to Franny (her Cabbage Patch doll) and let her shoot with it. She looked at me a second, walked over to Franny, picked her by her hair (caveman style), touched the ball to Franny's hand and then walked over to the hoop and tried to shoot it. She did it twice more and I just laughed so hard.

She also knows how to put up one finger when you ask her how old she is. Thanks to Matt's persistance on that one!

The start of conference

Solano opened conference play with a win tonight. 74-44. Pretty good, Matt was pleased with the way his team played. Now, they have a bye on Friday and Contra Costa on Wednesday. It's a big one. I think the girls will get fired up for it...I hope.

New Year's went well. I got off work early and then had the next two days off. It felt like I had three days off because I stayed up so late on Sunday night. It was like having a vacation. I never realized how much I enjoy having two days off in a row.

We went to the San Francisco-Nevada game on Tuesday. What fun. Diana was awesome! She played by herself pretty much the whole game. We sat over in the corner so she had room to move around. She played with her purse (thanks Badillas!) and her books and sat around. After the game, she ran around on the court with her mini-basketball throwing it all over the court and chasing it. She was cracking up. She drew the attention of SO MANY people that were standing around talking to family members. One USF player even chased after the ball for her one time. It was pretty fun. She got to meet Auntie Coach (Kim) for the second time. She met her last year when Nevada played at San Jose State, but she was little. Kim loved her (as well she should). :)

We got to talk to Kim before the game because we got to the gym right as Nevada pulled up to the gym. Perfect timing! It was a great night.

Nearing the end

I haven't been very good about updating this lately. I've been so busy with work (we are down two staffers because they both took nearly two-week vacations) and my side-job (I have two projects in the works right now). I haven't even had time to post photos on the photosite from Matt's games. I have some from the Hartnell game and the Cypress game last night.

What a game that was last night. We won in overtime by 2! It was so exciting. We were down 12 in the first half and 10 in the second. I believe that's what it was. I am bad, I never pay attention to the score. I just know we were losing. The girls played really hard and fought back so well. Matt did a superb coaching job too. He didn't oversub, which he tends to do sometimes. His girls are in great shape and he put the right subs in at the right time! Good job!

I am pretty sure they lost to Ohlone tonight. The score was 52-20 at half. That's a big deficit to have to overcome. The game was over about an hour and a half ago and he still hasn't called. That's usually not a good sign. He probably piled the girls in the vans and drove straight home.

I just found out tonight that I don't have to work New Year's Day. It'll be nice to sit at home and play with Diana and hang out with Matt all day. Then, I have Tuesday off too. Yipee!

It was great!

What a great Christmas! Diana got some great presents that we played with this morning! Ha ha!Seriously though, she got a basketball hoop from Daddy that Daddy was practicing his couch jump shot on all day. Luckily, nothing got knocked over, but I am pretty sure that Diana will be under the impression that playing basketball indoors is OK.

She loved her stocking this morning! Santa brought her some $1 items from Target that she didn't let go of all day. Now I know what to tell Santa to put in her stocking for years to come..."Just go to the dollar store Santa!" Diana just had a wonderful day! She played hard and laughed even harder, she was definitely in the Christmas spirit!

We got a ton of pictures so I will have to email them out to everyone soon. Matt is off from school for a couple weeks so that will be nice, but I am working and Matt has practice and games. He plays on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Gervasoni tourney at DeAnza College. Looking forward to that because I actually get to go! We are also looking forward to Aunt Debbie's arrival on New Year's Eve! Big Party! :)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is ready for a big shopping day Tuesday!

Merry Christmas

I am at work. But I don't mind because I am off in 45 minutes. Just let this 49ers game get over quick!

I am real excited to get over to my dad's for Christmas celebration with the family. I hope everyone has a good time with their own celebrations this week. I wish we could see more family, but it was real nice to see everyone last weekend and have some Christmas celebrations.

If you are traveling, do it safely. When you ring in the new year, do it safely but have a great time!

It's beginning to look like Christmas

There is a street by my house that has about 10 houses and all of them have lights! It's so fun to drive by and look. We might take Diana there Sunday night. She has to see all the lights. It's great that it's so close to our street too. That way we don't have to drive all the way over to Candy Cane lane and sit in traffic to see lights.
I was beginning to think that people just don't have time to put lights on their houses, but I guess people wait and turn them on closer to Christmas to save on the PG&E bill. Smart.
Two more days...I am excited. Excited because Diana is getting more practice opening presents. She opened a package from her babysitter, Jill, today. Cute little sweat outfit and some books, of course. Diana was more interested in the box and the paper, but she loves her new book, too. Poor Jill is going to be reading it for days!
I have to work this weekend, but I think it will go by fast.

Christmas came early

Diana got some practice the last couple days opening presents.
First, it was presents from the Badillas. The Tickle Me Elmo Extreme battery is almost out because it's been used so much in the last couple days. That thing is hilarious! A must have! Diana mostly played with the box – and still does. But the box is pretty fun in its own right.

Today, Papa John and Gramma Judy came up and had Christmas with us. Diana did pretty good. Once I asked her to "help mommy" with the boxes, she was more than willing to tear the paper off. She did OK. She got some great toys and clothes. My fave so far though are the towels. Big ole towels with her name on it. Something she really needed. She was outgrowing the baby towels she got when she was a baby. She would shiver out of the bath because she wasn't all the way covered. It was sad, really. She also got a pink roller suitcase with her name on it. Awesome for all those trips she'll be taking to family members' houses.

I can't wait for Xmas now. Six more days! I still have a lot of shopping to do but hoepfully I can do it in the daytime and avoid the crowds.

The weather here is frightful! Tomorrow: 49 high 27 low. Brrrr! I had to laugh tonight when I read about the Arizona State women's basketball team playing an outdoor game in Phoenix. The fans in the stands were bundled up, according to the story on AP, 'like Packers fans at Lambeau Field.' The temp in Phoenix at tip-off? 56 degrees. I woulda been wearing shorts!

Wanna hear something gross?

I called someone tonight to do an interview and couldn't control my cough. I was covering up the phone, drinking water while she was talking and trying not to gag. She finally suggested me calling her back this weekend. How horribly embarrasing is that? I went to the bathroom where I coughed for another five minutes. I have never had this bad of a cough. It's a little out of control. I went to the doc on Wednesday and she did a strep test. I didn't hear anything back from the lab so I am assuming I am OK, just whatever is going around is what I have.

On another note, Solano beat Hartnell Wednesday. Yay! 7-9. Matt said that he is very happy with that record.

We are going to have a Xmas card this year. Lots of people are asking and we will get one out soon. The letter is written, sitting on the computer upstairs waiting for changes to be made and for it to be printed out. We have to get together for a family photo too and that seems to be near impossible. Busy time of year.

O Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas Tree last night – at Raley's.
There's just something completely wrong about this, but Matt assured me that in the future, we will go and chop one down. It's a good thing we are honest people because we could've very easily drove out of the Raley's parking lot after Matt tied the tree to the top of the car. We went back inside though, got some sandwiches and hot chocolate and paid for the tree.
I slowly drove back home in a panic that the tree would fall off during the three minutes that it takes to get from Raley's to home. I suggested that Matt stick his arm out of the window and hold on to it, but he just laughed. I was serious.
It looks good though. It's in Diana's play room. We just moved things around and there it is. She didn't touch it at all so I am hoping that stays true for the next three or four weeks.

Matt's team is playing in the Showdown right now. They were down one at half (20-19)...Snore!!

What a Day

Solano lost. It was close, then it wasn't. Hopefully, we can get back on track on Friday at the Showdown. I love the Showdown, I just wish I didn't have to work during it. I love tournaments, it's fun to see other teams come to games and watch them have fun together. I especially love taking my dinner breaks in the hospitality room. Matt and his assistants put together the best hospitality room!
Grand V is going to have playdates with Diana on friday and saturday so they won't be able to see any games until Sunday. Aunt Michelle is coming down though and she said she doesn't even mind sitting by herself watching the game. Poor thing!

Back to Reality

Matt's coming home tomorrow. I have mixed feelings. :)

Diana and I have had such a wonderful four days together. We have laughed more than we have ever laughed together. Most of it is because she is 1 1/2 now and she's just at a very fun age and a very fun girl to begin with. Everything is fun with her.

Grand V spent some real good quality time with her as well and they laughed a ton too. Diana and I didn't really go anywhere (except over to a local high school to take some photos this morning). We just stayed around the house and played with her puzzles, her basketball, her books, etc. She laughed at me while I was in the shower this morning. She wasn't quite sure what to think of all that, but she laughed after a while.

I am excited for Matt to come home and see her. It was a rough weekend. Solano lost to Reedley today by six points. We are 4-7 now...Matt hates losing. He thinks that he isn't doing a good job. But, he's a perfectionist and is very hard on himself. Sometimes, I don't think that I am doing a good job being supportive. Especially when I am three hours away. I wish I could be there to help him out. It's hard to do that over the phone.

Maybe we will get our Christmas tree this week. That'll be fun. Then again, Solano has a big game Wednesday and the Showdown this weekend and the week leading up to that is always crazy.

It's been cold here...Anywhere else? It's supposed to be 54 on Thursday. Yikes. I will staying inside that day!

Argh, a loss

Solano lost to LA Valley tonight by two. LA Valley hit the game-winning shot with seven seconds left. Matt said his team didn't play well until the final five minutes of the game. Bummer.
His manager/scorekeeper was kind enough to text message me at halftime of the game with the score.
Text messaging comes in very handy during this time of year. I just hope he always has nice managers who are willing to keep me in the loop. I hate just sitting around waiting for a phone call or a text from Matt about the score. I hate not being able to go to as many games but for now, that's how it is. :)

Went for a Walk today!

I just realized that it's been a while since I posted.
Matt's team won today in the first round of the COS Tournament. It's a big one. We beat Riverside, which we lost to at the Mt. SAC Tourney a couple weeks ago. Matt's team has been playing so well lately. They lost to Sierra the other night, but it was close and the team was actually up 15 at half, or something like that.
Today's win was a good one though. They played at noon today so they have the rest of the day to relax, probably have study hall and go back to the gym to watch some of the games tonight. Matt really likes this tournament because of the night games. They are pretty exciting. I guess to him it's the closest thing to night tennis at the U.S. Open he's going to get! I haven't been to the tournament since I played in college, but he always has some stories to tell and it seems like his teams always play well there.

The team plays LA Valley or Merced tomorrow.

Diana and I are just kickin' back today..it's my day off. It's really nice here today. The sun is out and it's not bitterly cold like it has been. We actually went for a walk up to the store. Haven't done that in a while!

Additions to the Xmas list

After a delightful dinner date with my mom tonight, we crossed the parking lot for a short trip to Barnes and Noble. Love that store, by the way. You can get an instant Christmas list by spending just 10 minutes in there.
So, here are a couple books to add to my Xmas list:

"She's Got Next" by Melissa King
"Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide" by Busch (it's the green one)
"Sports Digital Photography" by Lowrence
"Understanding Digital Photography" By Bryan Peterson
"Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook" by O'Reilly

Can you tell I am really into my photography? Plus, there's always got to be the newest basketball book!

The countdown to Christmas

Thanksgiving was great!

Matt did a fantastic job and what's more important to me is that he was proud of himself. He cooked an outstanding turkey, turkey breast, purple stuffing (he he), four pies, mashed potatoes, gravy...I am sure I am forgetting something. Everything was great and our guest, Ines, had a great time too. She even entertained Diana while we cleaned up. She had Diana laughing so hard! It was fun to listen in from the kitchen.

Now, the countdown to Christmas begins. I am really excited about this one because I really think Diana is going to get what's going on a little more than last year. I am also excited about giving gifts. I already bought Diana a couple things and Matt knows what he is buying her, but aside from that, we are leaving it up to the family. We don't want to go too overboard and we know that the grandparents and aunts will go crazy! :)

Matt has two games in the next four days (Saturday and Tuesday). I won't be able to go to either (have to work Saturday) and Tuesday it's in Rocklin at 7 p.m. Too late for Diana.

We hope everyone had a safe and healthy Thanksgiving and found their way back home safely from wherever they were.

My Xmas List

Since I am the only one in the family who is blogging, I feel like it is OK for me to post my wish list. :)

Here's what a I want (and if I have to get it myself, that's cool):

Tripod
50 mm 1.4 lens (probably get that myself with some extra cash coming in soon)
ITunes gift cards
Gift cards to: Bath and Body Works, Macy's, Barnes and Noble
Conversion actions from a photographer at 2 Peas
Black Crocs (clogs or sandals, haven't decided yet)


It just feels good to get it out of my planner and out in the open. I feel like I am 8 again and posting a piece of paper on the fridge for all to see! :)

Thanks!

Just need to vent

What a day I had (found out later that Matt's Monday wasn't much better).

I have been dealing with a new printer for all these media guides that I do for Solano. What a hassle they have been for the past two weeks. It's been one thing after another. They got me some media guides Friday, but turns out they were printed on the wrong paper. I was on the phone all morning trying to get things squared away with them.
In the meantime, I was on the computer trying to download some software for the photo sharing site I have. My computer lost the internet connection midway through so I have to start over another time. I might actually have to sit at the computer while it takes 26 minutes to download. I guess I should just get DSL and it will only take 2 minutes.
I called Gateway to see about returning a memory chip that I bought that turns out I don't need and can't use on my computer. The guy said that I only had 15 days to return it and it's way past that day. Too bad. Someone at work told me to keep calling, get another person on the phone and see if they will help me. What a waste of money otherwise. I guess I might be putting "256MB of RAM" on my Xmas list this year.
I get to work and my boss still hasn't made the schedule for this week. He hasn't decided who is going to work on Thanksgiving (it's likely going to be me) and he is taking Friday off in addition to our preps writer. We have two football games that Friday and will have some stringers covering them. Lame. If I work Thanksgiving though, I get another day off so I might head down to Visalia with Matt's team in a couple weeks. Hopefully they at least win the first game. :)

OK. I think I feel a little better. I did extend a nice gesture to the new reporter at work. She's from Brooklyn and I asked her if she would like to join us for Thanksgiving on Thursday. She said she would love to. She's super nice. She is also a Cowboys fan so I think she is going to love watching the game on HD.

Bummer of a loss

Solano lost tonight. It wasn't close. The team didn't play that great, but they're going to get plenty of time to improve in the next couple weeks because they have a ton of games. Hopefully things get better.

Diana was awesome at the game. She watched the first half with Grand V...I had to work. I went out at halftime and watched the second half with them. She just "cleaned out" my purse while Grand V and I watched the game. She was awesome.

After the game, she practiced her layups and sprints. Grand V walked next to her while they ran in from the 3-point line to the hoop and raised their arms to make a layup. I was cracking up. It was so funny. No, I didn't have the camera. I know, I know. Everytime D ran out to the 3-point line, she crouched down and touched the 3-point line and then pointed at me. Yeah, D, Mommy shot a lot of 3-pointers. :)

I guess when Grand V and Diana arrived at the game, Grand V told Diana, OK, we are at Solano. Diana raised both of her arms in the air as if to signify "3-pointer!" We had been practicing it all day. Hilarious!

Lucky me

A reporter at work tonight was interviewing a man for a story and he mentioned to her that he cooks the whole meal for Thanksgiving. She was stunned by this and suggested to him that the paper write a story about that. Huh?
Is it that unusual that a man in the 21st century cooks the entire Thanksgiving meal? I don't think so. I am not even allowed in the kitchen on Thanksgiving...until it's time to do dishes! :)

Some thoughts on College Basketball

This is why I love this blog. I can write stuff here and not have to worry about it being too short to fit a column space. I don't even know when I last wrote a column for work. Too busy with too many other things.

Anyway...So excited about college basketball season. Gonzaga! Yeah, I don't know any of those guys...except Ravioli...but they are fun to watch because they are Gonzaga and I lived in Spokane for a very short time.

Here's what I have to say about Bobby Knight. Bobby Knight is who he is. He's going to do stuff that most people don't agree with. To those people, I say, leave him alone. He's old, he's proven himself, just let him be. If you don't like how he coaches, don't send your kid to Texas Tech to play for him. Simple as that.
I am not a Bobby Knight fan...I live with a die-hard Bobby Knight fan though. I just roll my eyes whenever he does something stupid. It's not of any interest to me. SportsCenter spent too many hours discussing the Bobby Knight "made contact" with one of his players incident. The Texas Tech AD wrote it off, the kids' parents wrote it off. No biggie...Let's drop it.

Good job by Oral Roberts knocking off Kansas tonight. Big upset and big props to the mid-majors who I love dearly.

Last note: Go West Virginia...You are young, but you'll be OK!

What a busy weekend

Whew. I am glad that weekend is over. Basketball went well, the team went 1-2 at the Mt. SAC tournament and played hard in all three games. The outlook is positive.

Entertaining Diana on the way home was a chore. In addition to both of us being tired, she demands that we keep her busy. Unlike at home, she has a hard time entertaining herself while confined to a car seat for nine hours. I was making shadow puppets until the sun went down when I realized that I had to make up a good excuse for the duck to go bye-bye. I said he had to go night night, and Diana got this extremely sad look on her face and these two HUGE tear drops just sat under her eyes. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen. I felt guilty that the duck had to go but glad that I had entertained her for so long. She was so sad!

She eventually fell asleep and went down perfectly when we got home.

Back to work this week and a normal schedule. There are two photos from the tournament this weekend on twopeas...I took a ton and a lot turned out pretty good. I wish the lighting at Solano was as good as the gym at Mt. SAC. I didn't have time to post all to twopeas...but I am working on getting a photo web site started so I can post more.

Matt's next game is Saturday against College of Siskiyous at home.

Mt.SAC Day One

We lost to Orange Coast...bad. The team did some good things and OCC is a good team. Matt said the team made big strides as a unit so he was pleased with that. We play at 1 p.m. today against Southwestern. They lost bad yesterday too. Hopefully we can continue to improve and bring home another win.

As far as SoCal is concerned, it's nice and warm here. :) We are loving it!

Photos from game one

There are five photos on the twopeas site from the San Mateo game. There aren't any of Matt but I am still trying to get better at taking game action stuff. He was pretty animated though so I am bummed that I didn't get a chance to take any of him. Maybe this weekend!

Enjoy!

We win!

It wasn't pretty but the first game of the season was a success. I can't remember the score - I never remember the score - but Solano won by about seven, I think. It was a typical first game (turnovers, sloppy, not so great defense, etc.) but there were some good things that came out of it too.

Matt's redshirt freshman was awesome. She played so hard, scored 14 points and probably had a bunch of other stats too.

The team missed 21 of 36 free throws, but that'll get better with time.

Diana just sat in her stroller most of the game and I got to take pictures while Grand V entertained her. Thank goodness for Grand V! D definitely knew that she was in the gym and that she had to sit still, so that was nice. But I don't think we will be sitting up in th bleachers anytime soon. :)
We let her run around the gym after the game and she got to see some of the girls that were on last year's team so she enjoyed visiting with them.

Up next: Mt. SAC tournament this weekend. We open with Orange Coast College, it could be ugly, but we'll see. We are looking forward to seeing some family there and having a great time in sunny So Cal!

Tuesday will go by slow

I am so excited about basketball season. Did I already mention that?
I am glad that there is a lot to do on Tuesday in preparation for the game or else I would go crazy sitting around the house reading "The ABC Book" and "Let's Go To The Doctor" to Diana all day.
I am going to vote in the morning with Diana..our morning walk. She'll take a nap and I will work in the office. Lunch time then picking up and delivering Daddy's suits to Solano. (We are such good girls!)
Then back home for a pregame nap and off to the college for the game. Hopefully there are no outbursts or anything that will throw this perfectly scheduled day off course. Yeah, right, who am I kidding?
Game's at 5 so please everyone think good thoughts. I've got everyone around the office excited for me so that is kinda cool.

I will likely post after the game Tuesday. Hopefully it will be a happy post and not a sad post.

Insider Info

I hope I don't jinx things...Matt saw San Mateo play today. He said they looked good. He said that he thinks his team will be able to beat them, but you just never know. All I know is that I am so excited. I am excited to shoot a game (not practice anymore) with my new camera, I am excited for Diana to go to an actual game (and not practice or watching on television) and I am excited for the season.
I hope that I can be disciplined enough with Diana so she knows how it's going to be during basketball games. She has to learn from the start, right? We'll see. I am sure that I will have some pictures to email (I can't figure out how to post photos on the blog yet) everyone from the first game experience.

Trick or Treat

Halloween with our little Bunny was great! Diana just walked up to those houses and got her candy. She even gave some of her candy to one guy. Some people said that she was the youngest and cutest trick or treater of the night. We went out 30 minutes before her bedtime and stayed out 30 minutes after her bedtime. We were really surprised at how well-behaved she was. I think she was just shocked at the whole idea of strangers giving her candy and us actually allowing it. She was super interested in the whole process. She also loved the fact that she was doing something with "the big kids" as Grand V said.

Diana even stayed up after her bath and read with Grandpa for 30 minutes. It was a great night!

We will have pictures for everyone to look at tomorrow hopefully so check out the 2 Peas site and your email!