BIRTHDAY TRIP (Part 1)

Megan and I had a fabulous time in LA last weekend, doing all things American Girl and birthday related. Uncle Dan was an amazing host, putting us up in his place and taking us everywhere we wanted to go for 48 hours... although it felt much shorter to us!

The flight from Sonoma County to LAX was perfect. Megan loved every bit of the process, from security to boarding to flight instructions. She was thrilled when the snack cart came by and offered our choice of beverages to go with the packet of crackers they handed out -- although she was expecting peanuts, the bruchetta toasts were EXCELLENT, she told me.

Uncle Dan whisked us away from the airport and we picked up his boyfriend, Randy, and headed to Dan's place for dinner with some good friends. Art and Gus and their two daughters live upstairs from Dan's studio apartment, so we had built-in playmates, even! Uncle Dan had arranged to have a surprise for Megan, too-- a princess cake and nine candles to blow out! (This would be cake #2 for #9, by the way!)

The next morning we went to breakfast and then hit the Grove mall, where the new American Girl movie was playing and the American Girl store was waiting...

Kit Kittredge was TERRIFIC, just adorable from start to finish. We got special T-shirts to commemorate the event, even. (Uncle Dan didn't want his, for some reason... and we gave mine to Hannah, Megan's cousin, as part of her early birthday present.)

The next step was to hit the American Girl Place, but first we needed to fuel Uncle Dan with some snackies and caffeine... Megan couldn't even eat, she was so excited and anxious to get inside the two-story red building, so we kept it very brief... and then we were off to Little Girl Heaven!!

(Stay tuned for Part 2)

Hey!

Today I asked the three girls (Megan, and the two sisters I watch three days a week, Grace and Rose) if they'd like something different for lunch.

"Sure!"

"How about a peanut butter sandwich made on waffles?"

"Yea!"

So I asked who wanted crunchy, and who wanted smooth peanut butter.

"Crunchy!" Megan sang out.

"Crunchy!" 5-year-old Grace immediately echoed.

"What?" said Rose, who is still 2.

They sat down to eat, and Grace took a bite. A strange look came over her face: part concern, part dismay, part befuddlement.

"Um, Juliana? What is crunchy in this?" she asked.

"That's the crunchy peanut butter," I told her. "Those are bits of peanuts."

She raised one eyebrow and gave a small nod. "Oh." She took another small bite, and chewed with concentration. "I never had crunchy peanut butter before."

I have a feeling Grace is going to think through the options next time I offer them, instead of just chiming in with whatever Megan says! :)

SUMMER!!

Matt and I very rarely argue, but we often disagree. The things we disagree about are relatively minor, too-- whether to floss first, or brush first; how hot the shower water should be; when the electric blanket should go on or come off the bed; and, of course, when the seasons change.

I know the calendar says that the first day of summer is June 21st, but if you divide the calendar into bulletin board months, summer is clearly June, July and August. Fall would then be September, October, and November, and winter would take place during December, January and February. Spring would blossom into being during March, April and May. Simple, right?

Today is the first weekday of summer vacation for our family. The calendar says June, and there are shorts being put on all across Sonoma County. We could wait for three weeks to officially label this season, or we could come to our senses and just call a duck a duck.

Quack!

Happy Summer!!

Don't forget the sunscreen and to drink lots of water!

Whirlwind Days

The last few days have been a whirlwind of performances. Friday was the Talent Show, Saturday was a choir performance, Monday was the school play, and Wednesday was a piano recital. Thank goodness we have a three day weekend coming up to recover!

No camping, no travel, no big plans... just relaxing and enjoying the day set aside to honor our servicemen and -women.

So far our weekend plans are pretty tame, compared to most Memorial Day celebrants. We're going to a Bar Mitvah on Saturday (one of the babies I nannied is all grown up now!), and then Saturday afternoon we've got the cousins coming over for dinner and a visit. We usually get together with our good friends on Memorial Day to do some R&D on Fourth of July drinks... so we'll probably set something up to do that important task. (They'll be red, white and blue, like our high-flying flag. If we discover something truly yummy, I'll try to post the recipe here!)

Stay safe-- be smart. Enjoy the weekend, but remember to pay attention to the reason we have the holiday set aside. And to all the brave men and women who have served our country -- and the families behind them --- thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

WHERE IS THE BALANCE?

Matt and I are blessed to have very bright, very sweet, very funny children... which feels very much like the ancient blessing of "may you live in interesting times."

Lately Megan is on a planning kick, which I enjoy. She draws up lists and plans and labels things so we know what is what: A is the computer, B is the Mythbusters site, C is the telephone, D is a smiling girl saying, "Well, Hi, Adam! Hi, Jamie!"

Yes, Megan is planning to meet the Mythbusters. Her plan includes contacting them (email was hard, but we may have found a street address...) and then to wait for them to call. She has pretty much decided to invite them to her birthday party, which will be a  Mythbusters themed event this year, and so far her only dilemma is which one to hope comes....

Matt and  I were talking the other night about how far we let her get carried away in this endeavor. Do we sit her down and give her the cold hard facts of life -- namely, that two adult men probably don't want to come to a 9 year old's party? Or do we let her dream and plan and hope?

How far is too high to reach? How big is too big to dream? And who are we to define her limits?

And yet, who better than us to lovingly give her boundaries, to give her a sense of reality, to give her some perameters to work within?

So, listen, Adam, Jamie? We'd love to have you come to Meg's party. There'll be homemade ballistics gel (peach jello) and some quicksand (cornstarch and water) and a decent amount of Diet Coke and Mentos to watch geyser up into the air. There'll be cake... And I bet she'll do her famous clicking for you, too.

(Oh, and for the record, the rest of the team is invited, too. We're fans of ALL the Mythbusters!)

BUNCO MANIA

Tomorrow night is my night to host bunco. The gals that I play with are fun, funny, and silly, so the bunco nights are a party in and of themselves, each month. It's wild, it's fun, it's moms gone wild!!

My theme is "Polka Dot Pajama Party." I've encouraged guests to show up in their jammies, and I'm decorating in polka dots. The theme sets the "surprise gift" for the gift exchange at the end of the bunco, so guests can bring something polka dotted or pajama-related. Even the food is themed... I've got M&Ms, Skittles, and malted milk balls (pajama party-ish, and polka-dotty if you think about it long enough, which, apparently, I have...) on the playing tables, and for dinner I'm serving pizzas and veggies and dip. (Once again, doesn't that evoke a pajama party? And one of the pizzas is going to be pepperoni, so that's more polka dots!) Dessert is a cake with M&Ms on top in a colorful polka-dotty confusion.

The beverages are not polka dotted, but they make you see dots. (LOL) I've got a recipe for "Kona Mai Tais," and I'm also mixing up a pitcher of "Safe Sex on the Beach," a non-alcoholic version of the popular "Sex on the Beach." (The trick is to substitute white cranberry peach juice for the peach schnapps and vodka, so it's just three juices. It's YUMMY!)

Today my challenge is to clean the house so that tomorrow I can just set everything out and be ready for my guests. That means the downstairs bathroom, mostly, because the living room and family room will continue to be thrashed up to and possibly including when the guests get here... Luckily they are moms, too, and will gladly overlook a foam puzzle of the United States on the floor, several books on the couch, and a random Duplo block here and there. :)

I can't guarantee pictures of the event, but you never know... after a few pitchers of drinkiepoos are downed, everyone's guard is lowered, too! (Stay tuned for the next installment of BUNCO MANIA!)

bellybutton piercing!

Wow, I just won a free bellybutton piercing, for the cost of the bellybutton ring! How cool is that? I'll have the cutest bellybutton in a solid black Miracle Slimmer swimsuit at the kiddie pool this summer!

I'm thinking something classy, like a diamond stud, or maybe a charm bellybutton ring that I can change to go with my outfits. What do you think?

The only question I have is how do you get the back of the bellybutton ring on? And what happens if it falls off? Where does it go? Will it set off metal detectors at the airport and jury duty if it's floating around in my intestines?

Bellybuttons and Such

The question of the day was one of those things that make you go, "Hmmm..." :)

I think the bellybutton is where God poked a finger in to see if Adam and Eve were "done" yet.... so yes, they had bellybuttons. (Innies, Cereals. LOL) But the little divot on your top lip has a reason for being there, too...

This story is from our family friend, Lani, who for years and years and years was our Grandma Bovee's best friend.  (I have a picture of Lani, Grandma, and Grandma Jeane sitting on the couch with  Megan as a newborn, and I've always thought of it as the "Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather" picture... She was like an "extra" grandma, two for the price of one!)

Lani was not a "religious" person, she was simply Lani. If you said, "Oh, God!" she'd quick clasp her hands in prayer and peek out from tightly clenched eyes to whisper, "Go ahead, He's listening!" She didn't Bible-thump, she walked the walk.

When Megan was itty bitty, Lani exclaimed over her cute little lips and showed me the little dip in the upper lip, saying it was from "where the angels put a finger there before you were born, and said, "Shhhh!" as a reminder not to talk about where you were in heaven before you came to earth."

See why we were allowed to have her in our lives? :)

Hair and There

I'm not the most trendy of women. That's okay with me; I don't think I could be trendy if I tried. (And frankly, I don't have the energy, interest, time, or money to be devoted to the Latest Whatever.)

When I go get a haircut, I either go to the Beauty College, or a quicky cut place for a trim. I love words, but I'm reduced to waving frantically in the air and using phrases like "crappy part here," and "so it goes swwoooop here," and "this thingy that goes zhwip here." The gals are patient with me, and they do what they can with me. ("No product, thanks. No, I don't want to look all that different than when I came in, just tidied up, thanks.")

When I came home from today's haircut Matt looked up and said, a touch reflexively, "Hair looks nice, babe." (I imagine he reminded himself a few times while I was gone to say something nice when I came home, no matter what. LOL) It does look nice. It's freshly washed, trimmed, dried smooth so that it curves under the way it's supposed to... and it looks a lot like what I wanted when I went in. (Win/win, in my book.)

While I was sitting in the chair, I got to look around at the other brave women in the room. I say brave, not because they are at a Beauty College for a haircut- these students are good, and very supervised-- but because they are willing to experiment with their look... I am in awe, really, at that willingness. There were several color jobs going on-- highlights, or whatever-- and some perms and such. The student gals working on their clients are beyond cute, and totally trendy/hip/with it. They are the type that can swish their hair up and twist it, clip it with a chip clip, and it looks DARLING. I am sooo not that girl, though.

The girl I am -- er, the mom that I am, really -- is pleased with the whole morning, though. I got a nice haircut, got some fun people watching in, and a couple of hours to myself. Not bad for a Saturday...

Nostalgia

The toys pictured above are vintage Little People toys, straight from my husband's childhood. His mom saved them and gave them to us years ago, and while they are technically "unsafe" by today's standards, they are still very fun! The best part has to be showing our peers and watching their faces light up: "Oh, man! I had that school! And that airplane! And no way, the A-frame house?! How cool is that?!"

The toys have been in a big box in the garage for a few years, but we needed the box to move the Solar System Project to school (long story, I'll tell you later, I promise) and the kids spotted the buildings on the shelf.

After a few hours of pleading, I gave in and brought them in. (I'd like to state for the record that I realized their bribery purposes, and got several positive results from the kids first, but yes, I caved. So sue me. See if I care. Megan's room is clean, and Thomas signed all his Valentines. Neener, neener.)

"Oh," Megan exclaimed as the toys came in, "I remember that one! Oh! And that one! That guy was my favorite!"

I'm puzzled how an eight year old could have nostalgia, but there you go....

My favorite pieces include the merry-go-round, or "launcher," as you probably recall utilizing it in your living room back in the day. Dukes of Hazzard was on TV, or Three's Company, or the Brady Bunch, and we'd load the little dog, and the frowny face boy, and the teacher with her blond bun, and the boy with the sidways cap, and spin the heck out of the merry-go-round. Wheeee! Off they'd fly! The other fave is the phone booth, which is sure to bring a look of puzzlement to today's kids. ("It's a phone? Where do you load the ringtones?")

Ah, sweet nostaglia! Enjoy!

He's getting better...

Thomas is feeling a bit better, but he's still home from school. The breathing treatments and Ritalin make him a little bit of a handful. (That is an understatement, but I can't for the life of me figure out a good comparison for you...wait, how about Jim Carrey on caffeine? )

We hung out this morning watching the Shrek holiday show (taped on TiVo last night) and I've gotten a few things done here and there... very small, insignificant, non-productive things. But that's okay. I'm sort of letting the mellow day roll on, and enjoying the recovery process.

I'm sure I'll very much enjoy the going-back-to-school process, too, hopefully soon. :)

Sick Kidlet

So, all weekend we're kind of enjoying Thomas more than usual. He's mellower, slower, less inclined to Super Mischief... a welcome break.

Then he starts asking for a blanket, and falling asleep on the couch or on the  floor an hour earlier than usual. He's hot -- sure enough, he's got a fever -- 101.4.

 Thomas has a high pain threshold, and he doesn't say anything when he has a sore throat or headache or joints aching... With no other outward symptoms to treat, I was just keeping an eye on his fever, and giving him Tylenol to bring it down to acceptable levels. I decided to be safe, rather than sorry, and take him in for a look. Monday morning we trekked in to see the doctor.

The doctor thought Thomas's throat was a little red, so it was probably a bit sore; but nothing else was infected, so we were just keeping him comfortable with Tylenol or Motrin.

Then in the middle of the night Thomas woke up, completely congested, and having a hard time breathing. He was hoarse and coughing a tight, barking cough that had to hurt his throat. He called out for me, and as I entered his room he asked, "Medicine?"

Thomas was asking for the Nebulizer treatments we give him when he gets these blitzkrieg colds, to ease his breathing. It seems that every cold he gets goes right to his chest, and he gets asthma. Poor little guy, the noise and mask and steaming mist is not comfortable, but the effects are worth it -- and he knows it.

So there we sat, at 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas over the buzz of the Nebulizer... ah, the memories.

This morning (well, later this morning, at 6) he woke up hoarse, and with a cough, but very cheerful. We did another breathing treatment, and he watched the Teletubbies through the roaring mist, very contentedly.

The fever seems to be gone, and he's back to his old energy levels.

I don't want him sick, ever, but it was sort of nice there for a couple of days...Sigh....

It's getting closer!

I got an early Christmas present this weekend... a new laptop! I'm so excited, I even took a picture of it to upload here. (I know. I'm sorry. But only a little!)

We also took our family picture this weekend for our annual tradition of sending out photo cards for Christmas. (It only took four adults, several hours, and six ibuprofen!)

I'm trying to figure out how to put up a series of pictures so you can get the full experience. First picture, two adults stand with two children on a bridge. Second picture, one child has rubber legs and has all-but-disappeared out of the frame. Third picture, same child is blur of motion. Fourth picture, child is now held ("contained" is our word) and the adults have decidedly strained smiles. Fifth picture other child is now squinting with an odd look. Sixth picture was deleted on the spot, as were photos seven, eight, nine and eleven. (Tenth was okay, but we all look tired.)

Now, you're probably thinking, "Of course you were tired! Such a production! Sheesh!" We were at the Christmas Tree farm for a grand total of 25 or 30 minutes, taking two family's worth of pictures, but it felt a lot longer.

Every year I hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. I go through the pictures and toss out several for expressions or stances or some other artistic detail... and then the next year, I sigh with pleasure when I come across even the imperfect poses. Look how cute they were! Look how little! Look how sweet!!

This year we got one very sweet picture for our card, and another one that I love and want to frame. In the first one we're all smiling and looking at the camera, but in the second one Thomas is hugging me and I'm looking at him... This is the picture I'll have on my desk, to look at and smile year-round.

Each year we get comments from friends and family that they love seeing how the kids are growing up, and they look forward to our cards. Sometimes I add a little newsletter, too, but usually I rely on the "picture being worth a thousand words" adage, and hope the recipients understand. (If they see the gleam in Thomas's eye, or the grin on Megan's face, surely they see why I can't write 125 cards at this time of year!)

So now another major item is checked off, and I breathe a little easier. It's really starting to feel like Christmas!!

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