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!