Diana tri(es)!

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

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

Diana getting bodymarked. Grandpa D thought this was hilarious!






The girls with their game faces on!



Diana gettin' her kick on!



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



We're almost done, girl!



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



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

Gone Fishin'

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

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



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



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



"I think I got one, Mommy!"



So pumped!



"I've mastered the fishies!!"

Cupcakes...and more cupcakes

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











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



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

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



These are the basketball cupcakes, vanilla flavored.



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

Packin' up the car

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

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

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

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

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



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



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

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







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

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

The bunny came!

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

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

Diana is pumped about her Phineas and Ferb stickers:



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



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



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



The girls then added their colorful touches.





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

A trip to the city

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



The man played "Twinkle, Twinkle" for her.

Spring Break - Day 7

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

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

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

Spring Break - Day 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Festivals, rehearsal and eggs

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

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

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

Matt was giving Amy instructions prior to her event:



When the horn sounded, Amy just stood there:



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


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


And then Amy was escorted back to her family:


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


But very excited about her loot!


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

Spring Break - Day 5

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



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



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

The kitchen is being kind to me

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy!!

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

Spring Break - Day 3

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

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

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



Diana was very happy with our evening project:



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

Spring Break - Day 2

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

Six months and counting

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

Sister Friends

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

Staying busy

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

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

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

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

Oompa Loompa Doopadee Doo

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

The aftermath of the first field trip

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

A new club

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

Remember me?

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

I will skip to the good stuff.

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

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