One of those weeks

You know, I don't really know why I haven't written much this week. The kids weren't in school or camp and somehow the week slipped away from me.

This week the girls wrapped up their year in dance. Even though I have my gripes about "Trumps" Dance Academy,it was a good experience. The girls' had an awesome teacher, who happened to be great dancer. She did a mini-performance after La Nina's last class on Thursday and we were all spellbound by her. Of course, that meant I missed my spinning class, but it was well worth it. I'm a little sad to see this dance year ending and I'm glad I didn't switch studios. (Shocking, I know, considering all my whining!)

Then, this week the girls started their summer session of gymnastics. At her request, La Nina is now going to gymnastics twice a week. In fact, she asked the coach for more gym time all by herself, and the two of them informed me of the request. Maggie does gymnastics too...just once a week. But that's three hours of watching gymnastics for me, not that I mind. It amazes me how quickly the kids progress.

Let's see, we also took the girls to a Giants' game on Wednesday. Cotton candy and a trip to the fan lot fueled them into the 8th inning. It was a family record. Then, I had a doctor's appointment and a dinner out with work friends. And somehow a remodel is happening under our watchful eyes. Now suddenly, the days of my week have melted into a Friday. And it leaves me marveling at the swiftness of life, the speed at which kids grow and change and the shortness of summer weeks.

This and That

A series of updates:

Silence: The Magster lasted five days of cooking camp without uttering a word to her teachers. As we were leaving, she said "Thank You" and the teacher laughed out loud. She was shocked the Magster could actually talk. Oy vey!

Silliness: Have I mentioned five is the age of spelling? Oh...La Nina doesn't do any spelling herself rather she simply asks how every word is spelled. Tonight she wanted us to spell "buffalo" over dinner. It isn't a hard word to spell, but why on earth was she thinking about "buffalos"? We're still not sure, but we did spell the word.

Remodel update: We believe this weekend is the half way point of our remodel. It's been four weeks since we moved out and the work schedule shows there's four more weeks of work to be completed.

Painting was completed this week. Despite all my worries, it looks great. I love it. The colors are dark and when I first saw the main room early one morning, I almost panicked. I thought I was going to have to live in a cave. However, once I saw the house in daylight, I was relieved. Whew! Another tough week behind us.

This week the cabinets start going in and I'm so excited to see the kitchen begin to take shape. I'm especially excited to see our new island. It's twice the size of the old island, and the space will be wonderful. After cabinetry, it's onto granite, flooring, tile, appliances, and touch up. We're still on track to move back by the end of July.

While we're all very grateful have to a place to live during this whole process, it's getting harder and harder to be away from home. We see all the great work being done to our house and we can't wait to move back. We miss grilling in our yard, hanging out with our dogs and visting with our neighbors. We're enjoying living close to downtown Pleasanton, the shops and restaurants are great. And it's wonderful to just walk to the parades, farmers markets, concerts and other happenings. And believe me, we take full advantage of all the fun there is to have in downtown. But as the saying goes, "There's no place like home."

Cooking Camp: Part 2

Last year, I signed La Nina up for Cooking camp. It's a three hour camp where the kids make some sort of food each day, complete a food related craft and read food related stories. While La Nina screamed bloody murder the first two days I took her, by day 3 she loved it. The Magster is old enough to attend camp with her sister this year. So, the two girls are in the same 'camp class'. Below is a conversation I had with the Magster about her camp.

"Maggie, what's your teacher's name?"

"I don't know." The Magster replied never lifting her eyes from coloring.

"Did you meet her today Maggie?"

"No."

"Why not, Maggie?"

"I don't talk to teachers Mom." Her answer was so matter of fact, I was taken aback.

"Why don't you talk to your teachers Maggie?" I continued.

"That's Carly's job, Mom. I don't talk to teachers."

Great, I thought. She's in a 'class' with Carly for the first time and she's letting her sister do all the talking, while I get not a moment's peace and quiet from the same child. Why can't I get a little more silent treatment?

This conversation took place on Monday and was repeated on Tuesday. So, this morning I talked to the teachers. Here's how it went:

"SO, how's my little one doing?" I queried.

"You know, I don't think she's said a word to me," she answered.

"Is she talking to the other kids?"

"No. She just stays right with her sister unless it's art time, then she's the first one at the table and the last to leave. But she stays quiet. Is she delayed?"

"Trust me, she's not delayed. She loves art and she told me she wasn't talking to teachers." I explained.

"Well, we're going to work on her today, I'll let you know."

At the end of the day during pick up, the teacher informed me that they separated the Magster and La Nina. And the Magster remained silent.

I almost laughed. The Magster isn't going to let a mere separation weaken her resolve. These teachers clearly don't know who they're up against. This is just one of those occasions when she has dug her heals in and has decided she's not going to talk. She'll make it through all five days without speaking and leave this group of teachers convinced she can't speak.

Remodel Update: My Eyes are Closed!

The remodel is still now entering its fourth week, and things are going well. All the electrical is complete, the plumbing is complete and the walls have been retextured. Where they removed the wall, it looks like the wall was simply erased. There is no sign a wall ever lived there.

This week is a nail biter for me. They're painting.

I've never been shy about colors on my walls. I love the mood color creates, I love the emotion it adds to a room. But this time I'm scared. We aren't just painting a single room or a solitary wall for accent. We're painting the entire interior of our house (except the master bathroom) and we're commiting on color. Big time.

The tamest color we're using is "flaxseed"..which is a gold color. The boldest is "caramel candy". It's the color of caramel candy. A family member who shall rename nameless called our bold color a "crappy color". Truth be told, if you think that caramel candy looks like crap...well, then it's a 'crappy' color. Other colors include Gold Promise, Soft Moccasin, Cushy Suede and some color in the kitchen that is sort of an olive green. In another life I want to be the person that names paints.

The girls' rooms are getting spruced up too. I let each girl choose the color of their room within reason. I narrowed their selections down to two that I could live with and each made the final decision. La Nina's room is a lovely pink, and the Magster is sticking with yellow but getting a new coat.

So, why the stress this week? Now that we've removed the wall, there are several points in the house where all four major colors are visible, so the color of every room impacts the room next to it. The decorators and I went through three rounds of color and only finalized everything on Friday. It was a struggle.

And even now, on painting eve, I'm worried I'm going to hate something. I know it's silly, because paint is the easiest thing to change...but still, I can't imagine what it will take to find a new color that matches everything if one of my choices doesn't work. Keep your fingers crossed.

This Time It's Going to Be Different

It's official. I'm now unemployed AND homeless. Yes, I'm realizing every mother's worst nightmare for a child. Ok, so the jobless thing was planned and the homeless thing is temporary...you have to admit, it's worrisome when you read "unemployed and homeless."

This will be my second attempt at full time motherhood. The first round of mothering wasn't planned. When Maggie came home, it was clear she needed me worse than the job did. When the job didn't cooperate with my needs, I quit. Now after a year of mostly part time and partly full time work, I'm taking a break and staying home full time for an undetermined period of time.

Since this is a more planned adventure, I've pondered what I want to change about this turn through the madness home life. Here's what I want to change:

1.) Last time I stayed home I was grocery shopping at 4 different stores. I went to one every day. Partially this is because I had Maggie on a wheat free diet, which cleared up her eczema, but kept me running from place to place. This time around, one store...no more..and better face cream.

2.) I love Target. It's my absolute favorite hangout. Pathetic, I know, and I probably don't need to go there every Thursday...(It was the one the day I didn't grocery shop.) But where else can I get toys for a birthday, motor oil and a new set of pots and pans? This time around, I plan to limit myself to 1 trip every month. (GULP!)

3.) Last time around, I was just getting started as a writer...thanks to this blog. Then, when I went back to work, I started writing for real money. But somewhere along the way, I forgot to write for the joy of writing. Sure, corporate writing pays and journalism is fun, but I need to save some creative juices for other projects. The stories I'm most proud of, the ones that have won awards and the one that was published, I wrote for fun...not pay. This time around, I plan to write for fun everyday.

4.) It's tough to explore when you're up 6 times a night with a Magster and then home by one for La Nina's required nap. But now with a 5 year old and a 3.5 year old, exploring is much easier. This time around I hope to plan more outings with friends to parks, museums and local happenings. And yes, I'll still need to make sure La Nina gets her sleep.

5.) This is just something I want to do. My mac and I have been dating for the past few months, and it's time we take our relationship to the next level. I need to invest some time in her, get to know her, and who knows...may be figure out how to post pictures to my blog again.

Hopefully, the last year of work will make me appreciate the time I have with my kids. This time I'm expecting the rough days and planning for the monotony of the stay home Mom routine. I'm sure I'll feel like my brain is turning to mush, my children never listen to me and no one appreciates my efforts...yet this time, hopefully, going into drill of a stay-home-life with a plan will help. And if it doesn't, I'm determined to beat the Dad's prediction and last longer than 6 weeks before I start looking for a new job.

Recital Day

Today was the big show. The really BIG SHOW. Both girls had their first dance recital. This meant everything from the roots of their perfectly curled hair to the tips of their pretty pink ballet shoes had to be primped, primed and ready for the performance. With two girls in the same recital, that means a lot of time in the bathroom, three episodes of glue gun fun and four trips to the drug store in two days, but hey...that's what moms are for, right?

The show consisted of 10 dances and lasted about an hour. It surpassed my expectations in terms of entertainment value. The classes performing ranged from 2-year-olds to five-year-olds in this show. Then for variety a couple of the dance teams performed and the teachers danced a number. The girls were absolutely spellbound watching their teacher perform with her dance company. She was great.

I cried twice during the hour: once from laughter when a boy walked out on stage with his back turned to the audience and never moved for the entire song. I could see one arm waving at him from back stage, but nothing, not even a toe tapped. Then, once from sentiment during the Daddy Daughter dance when brave Dads took the stage with their daughters. I suspect next year the Dad will not escape the stage. In fact, my guess is he'll be in two different shows.

Of course, both of my girls performed their ballets flawlessly. Maggie's teacher was on stage performing with them, but La Nina's class went out on stage all by themselves and nailed their dance. All of us parents were so proud.

Afterwards, each girl received a medal naming them a "Star Performer." La Nina was so proud, she's still clutching it in her hand and she's been asleep for a couple of hours.

I asked the girls on the way home what they thought of the recital. Here are their thoughts on the days:

The Magster, "I loved dancing on stage. But I don't like the curls."

La Nina, "It was fun. Can I do it again?"

So, in the end, the hair, the costume and all the work was worth it because the kids had fun. That's all that matters.

La Nina's Big Day

Today, we celebrated La Nina's graduation from pre-kindergarten. Her school had a very official ceremony. The kids were dressed in gowns, brightly painted t-shirts with the hand prints of their classmates and paper hats. Then, the teacher handed out diplomas and served up some pizza to help send this crop of five year olds into the world of elementary school.

Of the twelve in La Nina's class, eight have been together since they were 2. These kids have ate together, slept together, learned together and grown together for three years and it was touching to see them graduate as a group. A couple of the kids were very emotional. One little boy had to stay on the sidelines. One little girls cried on and off throughout the ceremony.

La Nina shed a few tears last night because she realized today was her last day at this school. But she seemed fine today and proudly accepted her diploma, then gave her teacher a big hug.

This school has done such a great job preparing these kids for kindergarten. And it's funny: it's not the best school in town. It's a good school, but it's not fancy or snooty. There is not a defined teaching style at the school. In fact, if anything, it's pretty old fashioned in terms of how it deals with kids. Rules are rules. Time outs are handed out fairly. Teachers work closely with parents if there is a problem. As a school, it's affordable, flexible and very laid back. But the one thing I notice every time I walk into the place is that the kids are happy. And in the end, a happy kid will thrive.

Next year, these twelve will start at 6 different schools. Only one boy will be at La Nina's school and he isn't taking the Dual Immersion program, so he won't be in her class. But the amazing thing is that if everyone remains in the community (and considering most of us grew up here--we probably will), ten of the twelve will reunite in high school and thirteen years from now, we'll be with the same parents and grandparents sending these kids off to college. And oh what a day that will be.

Until then, we'll have twelve little souls to watch for around town. Twelve sets of parents that we'll wave to at the grocery store. And a community that will always hope the best for each other.

As if a remodel isn't enough...

Tonight, I had a chore tougher than packing for the remodel. I had to repair La Nina's dance costume and hair piece. You should know a few things about me if don't already: First, I'm not crafty. Second, I never took home economics at any point in my life, and my mother's attempts to teach me to sew didn't take. Third, I believe all sewing issues can be resolved with office supplies. You'd be surprised the level of hem repair that can be accomplished with some creative stapling.

Alas, no staple in the world could fix the flowers that fell apart in La Nina's hair piece on the way to picture day. So, I pulled out my glue gun (I know, sis, you didn't think I owned one) for a little repair job.

Now, this repair was complicated. The flowers are silk, the barrett plastic and I had to get bead of glue just right or the flowers would look like they were covered with cob webs or worse, the barrett wouldn't function. I carefully laid a drop of glue on the plastic holder, gently pulled the glue straight out from the flowers and promptly dropped the whole hair piece on the tutu of the costume. Yep, that's right, I got glue on the tulle. Now...that's actually hard to do when the stupid costume is hanging up on a door knob about 5 feet from where I'm working, but I managed. Fumbling is bad. You need to let things fall. Don't try to catch them. Trust me.

The good news is glue does come off tulle without ruining it...if you're patient. So, then it was onto repair the flowers on the costume itself. For this, I had to sew. Nothing fancy, just a few stiches. I carefully lined up my needle and took the three stitches the costume needed. The stupid flower thing went crooked on me. I pulled, I tugged, I twisted. The flowers, looked went up, then down, then up again...and never straight. I was tempted by the glue gun, but remembered the pain of glue on tulle and refrained. SO, at the point, it looks like the hair thing is okay and the costume will at least survive the dress rehearsal in one piece. Besides, let's face it...who's going to notice the costume when she'll look so lovely with her hair done just so?

A Conversation

The following conversation took place in the restroom of a local restaurant between me and the Magster.

We enter the restroom and the Magster reserves one stall, La Nina takes the other. There are only two stalls.

Me: "Mags, do you need help?"

Another patron enters the restroom.

Magster: "No, Mom. I need my piracy."

I stand outside the door. La Nina is taking care of business, the Magster begins making grunts and groans. She sounds like a truck driver after eating coffee shop chili.

Me: "Mags, you ok?"

Mags: "Oh yeah. It's just a really big one, Mom."

Other patron starts snickering. More truck driver sounds from the restroom.

Me: "Are you sure you don't need help?"

Mags, her voice strained: "Mom, this is the last one." Then a sigh of relief.

La Nina leaves her restroom. Other patron crying with laughter enters stall. I'm just hoping Mags isn't going to ask...

Mags: "I'm ready for a wipe down."

Me: "Ok. La Nina, wash your hands and wait for me." I enter the stall, provide the required assistance. Turn to leave.

Mags: "Mom. Look how big my poo-poo friend is. Look. Look."

Me: "Just flush it Mags."

Mags: "OK." Flush. "Bye, bye poo-poo friends."

Patron in the stall next to Mags is starting to worry me. I fear she's hyperventilating. I just really want to go back to my dinner, not that I'm hungry. I just don't think I can face this woman.

We wash up and leave. As we're drying our hands, the woman exits her stall, she crying as if she's chopped an full onion. I flee the bathroom before she can find our table. I bet that woman didn't realize she'd signed up for the dinner show.

The funny thing is: Mags usually refuses to even use a public restroom. I don't know what got into her...