Early to rise

There are times when I can't ask my family to help out with the girls every time I need them. They are always gracious and help out when I need them, but they all have lives and they need to live them. With basketball season starting there are a couple of times during the fall and winter when he's out of town and I need to get the girls off to school. But...I don't want to go in later (I start work at 7 a.m.) because I don't want to get off later. It's a dilemma that's for sure. One day a couple of weeks ago, I had to get the girls to their before school day care by 6:30 ... right when the place opened. I was so proud of them because they had to get by 5 and out the door before they are even usually awake. These are days when I just want to take them on a shopping spree or buy them an American Girl doll to say thanks. But, with Christmas coming up, they are going to have to settle for a big thank you and a hug. Plus, for Amy, being at the before school day care that Diana typically goes to after school was the thrill of a lifetime. She got to hang out with big kids, play with all the games and toys and crafts they have there. She was more than happy to get up early if that's where she was going to be for an hour in the morning.

Our version of family dinner time

Some families eat around the table every meal, every day. They believe that's the best time to catch up on one another's day, talk about what's going on in each other's lives and enjoy a little bit of quiet time that may not be the norm in their family. We've experimented with family dinner time. There are only a handful of times during the week when we are all at home together for a meal (usually dinner because I leave for work before the rest of the family is even out of bed in the morning) so we want to make the most of it and share our days. The sharing lasts a couple of minutes and then the entire focus of family dinner time shifts. One kid is complaining that she doesn't like what's for dinner. Another can't sit still and we are constantly watching to make sure she doesn't fall out of her chair. Then more complaints from ants in her pants that she now doesn't like what's for dinner. It's a stress that's not worth it. So, we don't eat together every night, every meal. It's totally OK to judge me or say I have no patience. When my kids are sitting at the dinner table together - just the two of them - they talk like they are best friends. They laugh recalling their day, share fun stories and, most importantly, they eat. Plates are clean, cups are empty and bellies are full. They are so busy talking and eating when it's just the two of them, they don't even realize what they are eating. It's a science experiment that proves me right every time - family dinner time (at least every night) is overrated. There are plenty of times when I can catch up with my kids day. But at the dinner table, I need them to concentrate and eat. So, I leave them be. I give them their privacy (like most kids want anyway) and let them have their space to eat on their own terms. But, I am listening and watching from the other room. I love the stories they tell, the whispers they think I can't hear and the giggling. This isn't going to last forever and honestly, the short time they are getting along, talking to one another and enjoying one another's company doesn't happen all the time so I am going to eat it up...so to speak.

A little motivation for hard work

Do I need to provide my kid with some motivation to do well in school and sports? Sometimes. Though they are young, my kids need a little extra push to remind them what's important and maybe help them prioritize. I've seen parents offer money as a reward for certain achievements - academic and athletic. Hit a home run, get $20. Get an "A", $20 goes into your piggy bank. My kid is not a professional athlete, or even a professional student for that matter, I'm not paying her for doing what she should be doing - getting good grades, helping the team by turning in a good individual performance. You work hard, you see results, you are rewarded with a good grade or a good athletic outcome. But we did recently try to light a fire under Diana's academic skin to help her prioritize and help her understand the importance of what she is doing at school. Fourth grade is tough. There is more homework, it's more intense, there are projects and it can be very stressful for a little person. To keep her motivated, we had to offer up a reward. She was promised an American Girl doll for her 10th birthday in June if she gets on the honor roll all year long. Now, keep in mind that her grades area already good. She's on track to make honor roll, but we all need a little motivation and incentive for the end result. Diana was excited about the prospect of finally getting a "real" American Girl doll. She's been working hard, studying well, paying attention in class and hopefully all of that will lead to a great end result. I'm OK with rewarding good things, when it comes as the result of hard work.

My extended Girl Scout family

There are few times when I get out of the house and spend some girl time to myself. I cherish every opportunity I have to mingle with friends, and just de-compress for a little bit. I attended our Girl Scout Service Unit meeting last week and it was a great chance to listen and be inspired by some of the other leaders we have in our area this year. I hope these new leaders are inspired by the veteran leaders and can take away some best practices from them. I've offered my phone number and email to new leaders in the past and they never called when they needed help coming up with ideas for meetings. A year later, their troop disbanded and they were done with Girl Scouts. I felt the most energy at this meeting than I have at previous Service Unit meetings. I really think that this year is going to be a great Girl Scout year...not just for my troop but for our whole area. One of Diana's friends has joined Girl Scouts for the first time this year and her mom is a leader. I've met her a couple of times and she's nice. I told her that she is more than welcome to call me if she ever needs ideas. I gave her some places where I've found great ideas (Pinterest being just one). I hope she calls if she ever feels overwhelmed or at a loss for a meeting activity. I don't like to consider myself a mentor, but I think us women and moms have to rely and count on one another. Oftentimes, women see each other as competition for everything - who can run faster, who can balance more, who can have more kids. With Girl Scouts, it's one troop vs. another during cookie season, but it doesn't have to be that way. It's silly really. We need to be on the same page, the same team. I hope that I can develop some friendships with these new leaders and have some "jam sessions" so to speak and bounce ideas off one another.

A family reunion to remember forever

Some people have friends who you can go years without seeing and when the time comes to reunite, you pick up where you left off. You talk about old times, you catch up on new times and nothing has changed. You might go another 20 years without seeing each other, only keeping up with one another on social media, but it's, again, like old times. I had a moment like that this weekend with family. My awesome mom put together a family reunion with both sides of my family - my mom's and my dad's. There are people on these two sides of the family that may have never met before, but there we were - in the same house, laughing together, asking each other how are families are somewhat intertwined. We all have something in common - my mom, dad, sister and me. I had the chance to have an awesome conversation with a cousin I hadn't seen in years. It's been so long since I'd seen her that her three youngest kids had no idea who I was. Sad really since I have a picture of my sister with her second oldest hanging in my house. Getting a chance to have mommy talk and wife talk with her (she's just a bit older than me) was amazing. I was so inspired talking to her because she's so calm, laid back and chill. I saw who I want to be as a mom. I wish I could be as laid back as her and never yell at my kids, but that just doesn't seem to be in the formula for the day. It was great to see other cousins who I only see on Facebook and who I just adore. It was great to see my aunts and uncles who live so far away and who I wasn't sure if they would be at this wonderful event. We have to cherish every moment we have with family. Whether they live under our roofs or not, we have to make the most of every day. We have to make positive memories that last forever. I will remember our little family reunion for a long time and hope that we can make it an annual thing. I hope that more family can come and share in the joy. I still can't believe that we stayed at my sister's house for more than 6 hours (part of that was because of the lengthy Giants game), but it was so wonderful. All the laughter, all the stories and all the catching up. If we only do it once a year, it will be worth it.

Thanks for the memories, alpacas!

It would be super easy to take the family to obvious outings on the weekend when we have a couple of hours to spare - the library, the Outlets, the bookstore are a couple of places we go and the girls have a great time. They are always up for a trip to any of these places. But when I saw that a couple of our local alpaca farms were opening their ranches to the public one weekend, I jumped at the opportunity to expand our horizons and do something a little different. The day was going to start with alpacas if I had anything to say about it. The girls didn't really question this decision. They didn't know what an alpaca was, they changed their outfits several times because they didn't really know how to dress for visiting a farm, but we eventually got there. I called Au Bob and Julia and they met us there...it's never too early for a baby to experience farm animals. The alpaca farm, Ahh...Sweet Alpacas, had about 40 alpacas on the ranch. There were already a ton of people there when we got there. The girls were able to feed the alpacas leaves and pet them. They are such friendly animals. If you don't have food, they want nothing to do with you. They literally ran away from us if we ran out of leaves. Diana had so much fun she kept running back to get more leaves without even asking us if she could. Amy had a harder time warming up to the alpacas, but we finally convinced her that the alpacas wanted her leaves, not her fingers. She finally got brave and got a kick out of feeding them. I took a ton of pictures but due to technical difficulties am unable to upload them. It's a memory that I won't forget. One hour at this place was a great time and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a chance!

Listen close, happy kids are nearby

Parenting becomes a lot easier when you stop and listen to your kids. I can put them in swim lessons, soccer, gymnastics and every sport and activity in between and they will always have a smile on their faces. It's hard to tell when they are unhappy. Most of the time though, they aren't begging us to enroll them in some of these activities. It just happens to be that time of year, we sign them up because we did it the previous year. I'm going to start paying attention and spend my money wisely - I'm going to invest my money in my kids. Diana loves to draw and doodle and says that she wants to be an art teacher when she grows up. She's been fortunate to have three teachers so far who have made art an integral part of their classroom curriculum. Maybe this is where her motivation comes from. Lord knows it's not genetic. Her cousin is quite the artist and has an art-related major at USF. Another cousin can play guitar and was in a band for a long time. If Diana really wants to pursue this art thing she needs practice and that starts with us. She can only do so much sitting at her table in the playroom. Unfortunately, there aren't many options for art classes in Vacaville. I found a place in nearby Davis that offers a Saturday art class for kids her age and it covers a wide variety of mediums. She starts the class in a couple of weeks and I'm excited to see where it leads. I'm sure she's going to learn a lot and have fun and that's the most important thing.

We love to sew and give!

We got to combine the best of two worlds the other day when we presented four homemade baby blankets to KinderCare, Diana and Amy's former daycare, as a thanks for the years of care they provided to our family. I sat down and taught Diana to sew (not that I am some great seamstress, but I can get away with the basics) not long ago and she proceeded to make her first blanket. I ran the idea by the girls that we should make some blankets for the baby room at KinderCare because I wanted to show my gratitude to them. The girls really liked the idea and I thought it would be a fun project the three of us could do together. I took the girls to the fabric store and they picked out the colors they wanted for two "boy" blankets and two "girl" blankets. They did a great job of picking out some cute, bright colored fabric. Once the fabric was washed and ready, Amy helped me pin the pieces of material together. Then, we let Diana at the sewing machine. I was amazed at how quickly she picked it up. She wasn't intimidated or scared (which I was when I first bought this machine three years ago). She also didn't get frustrated, which I definitely do with this machine on a regular basis. She's as natural behind the sewing machine as I am on the treadmill. :) It took us a couple of weeks to finish all the blankets, but we finally knocked two out in one afternoon on a weekend and delivered them to KinderCare this past Wednesday. The center director, who we have known for many years, and the staff in the baby room were thrilled. Some of the walking babies even came over to see the blankets when we hand-delivered them. This was such a great thing for my girls to be part of. I love teaching them about helping other people and thinking of others before ourselves and they have been very receptive. I am very lucky. I completely forgot to take a picture of the blankets...I can't believe it. But they are very cute and just the start of many wonderful things my girls are going to do behind the sewing machine!

The Greatest Night of Their Lives

Even though my kids are older now, there are still a lot of firsts that we encounter. A couple of weekends ago, we took the girls to the aquarium for the first time (Diana went when she was 14 months, but that doesn't count because she doesn't remember it). Firsts bring so much joy to parents because of the reactions, excitement and suspense that come with them. A woman at work gave me four free vouchers to Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey circus for Friday night so I immediately jumped on that. No matter that it was going to be a little stressful having to drive home from Sacramento after work, pick up the girls and drive back to Sacramento for the show. It was going to be worth it, I concluded. I remember going to the circus as a kid and it truly is the greatest show on Earth. But that was forever ago. I had no idea what I was getting myself, or my kids, into by going to the circus this past weekend. We got there just as the show was starting and the girls ran up the stairs to our seats. They were blown away with the lights and the singing and the performances. I could sit here and recount every performance, every moment and every "That was amazing!" that came out of Diana's mouth that night, but you would lose interest. The girls never took their eyes off the show and sat on the edge of their seats the whole time. Diana loved the acrobats - it was hard to see the trapeze artists from where we sat and we tried to move so we could see better to no avail. She thought it was awesome that one of the artists leaped off the swing, bounced on the net right back onto the swing. I've never seen her smile so big. She was screaming in amazement. Amy loved the animals - the elephants, the tigers, the leopard, the lion, the dogs. I could go on...there were plenty. The performing dogs were hysterical and the girls will never forget them. I could've done without the horses and the "acrobats" performing death-defying stunts on them. They are truly crazy and have a death wish. Why, then, could I not take my eyes off? Luckily that was at the end of the show and Amy had to go to the bathroom so we missed most of the "good stuff." Ringling Bros. has been around for decades and maybe even centuries and it will always be highly entertaining for families. I am so grateful for the generous people in the community that provided the vouchers and my kids for making me feel like an awesome mom for bringing them!

An author I will become

Writing comes easy to me. I've wanted to be a writer since I was eight years old. I knew that's what I wanted to do and I never wavered in my desire to become a writer. I've been a journalist for small town newspapers, college newspapers. I've written for work and written for pleasure. The one thing I've always wanted to do, for as long as I can remember is write a book. If I could just have my name on the outside of a book I would be the happiest person alive. I want to thank the people who have supported me all these years inside the book. My mom and I attended The Author's Luncheon at Rancho Solano in Fairfield on Sunday for the second year in a row. It's an event put on by the Solano County Library Foundation to raise money and awareness for literacy. It's a huge fundraiser with a live and silent auction, great food and above all, some of the world's greatest authors. Yes, I participate in the silent auction because I like to win things that I can give as a gift. But where I get truly captivated at this event is listening to the authors. I love to hear their stories - how they became writers, what they like to read, what inspires them, how they develop characters. They are funny, they are serious, they are down to earth. I pictured myself up on that stage, speaking about my book, speaking about what inspired me, speaking about how I wanted to be an author and that if that's what you want, you can do it, too. I know that I belong on that stage someday. I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of authors during the book signing session afterwards and I continue to be blown away at how helpful they are to aspiring writers like myself. Anyone can say that they want to write a book. To a published writer, that's just a bunch of crazy talk. But when you preface that statement by making small talk about what newspaper you used to work at and joke about how you escaped from journalism and crossed over to the dark side of communications/PR, you grab attention. Ears perked up. These authors were more than willing to talk to me and offer advice on what I could do to get my book published. I am a realist. I know that a lot of rejection comes with getting a book published. I am OK with that. That's why I am not putting everything into becoming an author. I haven't quit my job to become a full-time aspiring writer. It's a process, and it could be a long one. If it takes me 20 years to get this book published, so be it. I do believe that it will happen though. I might have some time coming up to dedicate to sending this book out and trying to find an agent and a publisher for it. That will be my goal. I can handle the rejection that could possibly come my way. I'm prepared for it. But I have to give it a shot. To make my career as a writer come full circle.

Soccer, futbol...it's all Greek to me!

Diana and Amy were introduced to soccer over the summer. I was a little worried about this for Diana because by this time, most kids her age have been playing for several years and any activity we put her that involves sports will involve a game-like setting. I was worried that she would be overwhelmed, not know the rules and get frustrated. We decided to put her in Just 4 Kicks, which she did when she first start playing soccer when she was 3. (That experience didn't go well and she didn't play soccer again until this past summer). To my surprise, Diana enjoyed her summer soccer experience. She was forced to get in shape really fast and learned that soccer isn't like t-ball(which she was also playing this summer) - you are constantly moving in soccer.

We had a decision to make come fall - soccer or theatre. Rehearsal for theatre was on the same days and times as soccer. We knew we wanted her to get exercise and keep playing sports, but wanted her to be able to decide too. Since she wasn't too familiar with the play her theatre company was doing, it was an easy choice for her to make. So, we signed her up for soccer again. This time around it's an eight-week session with games on Tuesdays and clinics on Saturdays. We liked the fact that they do a clinic on Saturday because it not only gives her another day of exercise, but it gives her more skill work as well. She's improved tremendously over the past three weeks since the fall league started. When she's not tired, she's a lot more aggressive than we thought she would be. She knows how to create space with her elbows and does a good job of trying to steal the ball from opponents. Her favorite is playing goal right now - her hand shoots up when the coach asks who wants to play in the goal. I didn't say she was great at it...though when she's paying attention, she does fine. There are some kids out there right now that should be playing in the MLS, it's amazing. These kids are 8 and they do drop kicks and make it into the goal. They kick the ball harder than I ever could. It's almost unfair. We decided it was time to put Amy in soccer when we saw her kicking the ball easily and gracefully in the open field while running. She didn't fall, she didn't trip and she kicked it quite a distance without stopping. It was impressive. She quickly fell in love with her soccer ball and she always had it with her when we went to Diana's t-ball games. Her class is an introductory soccer class so she only plays a little "real soccer" as she calls it toward the end of the 30-minute session. She's got a smile on her face the whole time though. During Diana's Saturday clinic, she keeps playing on one of the fields that's not being used.

As for Matt and me, we have no idea what's going on out there. I just sit silently in my folding chair, clap every now and then and give Diana a thumbs up when she looks over at me. Every now and then I will tell her to "go get the ball" just so the other parents realize that I am, in fact, paying attention. We have no clue about soccer, can't figure out how these professional-looking eight-year-olds snuck into Diana's class and hope that someone can give Diana some tips because she's not going to get them from us. And she doesn't want to get them from us really. It's not going to help her. As long as the girls are getting exercise, smiling and enjoying themselves, they can play whatever sport they want. And I will continue to take pictures.

The tape shape game

A rainy day was upon us on Saturday and a new babysitter was on her way over. I remember seeing a genius idea on Pinterest that involved painters tape and decided today was the day to try it out. I grabbed the roll of blue tape and started making shapes all over the living room and playroom carpet. With Matt out of town at a basketball tournament since early in the morning, I knew I wouldn't get the normal Pinterest eye roll that I typically get when I experiment with a Pinterest idea. Amy quickly yelled "let's play Momma!" when I finished taping the eight shapes to the carpet. She even reminded me that I forgot to put a diamond down so I had to find another spot on the carpet to put a diamond. (What a smartie pants!) We played the game a couple of times with me shouting out a shape and Amy running around the house standing on the shape. She even got her hexagon and pentagon right! When the babysitter got there, it wasn't like we don't have other games to play, but this was a good icebreaker. Diana and I were off on our Coastal Cleanup effort and Amy sat with the new babysitter with a big smile on her face. Mission accomplished.

When Diana and I returned from the pouring down rain outside, Amy and her new friend had played nearly every game in the house, completed puzzles and even played the tape shape game a couple of more times. Score one for Mommy! It's Sunday now and as I head to bed, the only shape that's not still on the ground is the hexagon. Amy tried to tear up the rectangle a couple of times but she put it back together once I glared at her. Every once in a while today she yelled "Mommy, let's play the shape game!" I gladly obliged. When I put her to bed tonight and asked her what the best part of her day was she said "Staying at home and playing with you!" Melted heart. See? All you need is a little tape to make a 4-year-old's day!

Happiness is...being a Girl Scout leader

One of the best things about being a Girl Scout leader is not only that I get to do all kinds of fun stuff with my daughter, but I get to be super creative and come up with fun, new and interesting experiences for a bunch of girls who may have never experienced something like this had it not been for Girl Scouts. The time they spend in a meeting or out in the community or going on an outing with their "sisters" is time they might have been sitting on the couch or just playing in their backyard (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not the same as doing some of the things that our Girl Scout troop has done lately). Last Friday, I hosted my first Girl Scout event at the house open to other troops - a Brownie Book Swap. The event was open to only Brownies and they each brought old books that they wanted to exchange with other Brownies. I had more than 35 Brownies and some of their moms in my house. We made popcorn for them and they exchanged books. It was a blast! We are definitely going to host it again in the future...but not at my house. I was so proud of myself for offering something like this to the Service Unit.

A couple of weekends ago, we released our adopted pelican back into the San Francisco Bay with some of his friends. It was an amazing experience and I am so glad that we got to give the girls the chance to do this. Last weekend, a group of my girls went orienteering in Sacramento. This is something that only I had done before but I knew that Girl Scouts must experience. We all had a great time. And by all, I mean girls and moms included. I love watching the girls interact with one another and work together to solve a problem. For our orienteering outing, we didn't have to use a compass because we were on the beginners course. That was fine with me because I struggled to figure out the compass during the orientation. The girls just learned how to read the map - which at times proved to be a challenge of its own.

Surprisingly, my youngest Girl Scout led our group through the first four controls. Then she got hungry and snacked out of her sack pack the rest of the morning. My girls got tired as the adventure wore on...especially when they realized that our other group probably finished before us (even though they started two minutes after us). But it was great. It's definitely something we will do again and that I recommend everyone try once. This weekend, we are participating in our second Coastal Cleanup event in Vacaville. We did this as a troop last year and it was so fun. I was amazed at how much fun the girls had. They worked so hard picking up cigarette butts in the park and along the creek in Vacaville's biggest park. They were all looking forward to doing it again this year and I am glad to lead them. Diana has been involved with a lot of different activities and sports over the past three years but the one constant that she says is her favorite is Girl Scouts. I like to think that me being the leader plays a big part in that, but I know that it's the surprise around the corner also. These girls never know what I have up my sleeve for them to participate in!

Pinterest Saturday

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

Seeing stars at the eye doctor

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

Full circle in a rectangle

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

Well excuuuusssse me!

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

Just another tough decision to make

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

We're going to the Huki Lau

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

Surprised? So am I

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

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