Tis the season

December has been a whirlwind! I hate to look back and see how long it's been since I've blogged. Oops! The girls are a lot of fun right now. They are also a lot more work. Thanksgiving was a nice time. Then things sped up. The highlights being as follows.

Girls dressed up as angels to pass out poem with sparkles to other little kids for a Christmas parade. I should have used this our holiday card, maybe next year I'll have it more together and do that.

Buddy ended up in the hospital and having surgery to remove a foreign object, although we didn't know that until right before the surgery. We really thought his number was up and this was it. We stopped by the vet office on our way to the airport to find out the news that he should be fine since....
Jeremy and I went back up to WA to check on the house and for some work stuff, namely a party. He had a great time reconnecting with his co-workers and playing games with them. I made it out with my old co-workers to check out the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) and walking around downtown.

When we returned home we brought the rain with us. Which prompted Cassidy to say after the 3rd day, "When is it going to stop raining?" How quickly she has forgotten the last 5 years.

Keira has kicked up her language again. Although she can sometimes still be difficult to understand. Especially since she's at the age that making up silly names for things is fun. For example, one of the boys in her class is named Mateo, yet she says "Matato". I kept correcting her until I realized she was trying to make it sound like 'potato'.

I know they have done tons of other cute stuff, but it's forgotten now. Darn, that's why I'm supposed to blog!

Life Lessons and Monkey Bars

Keira had quite the achievement this week. She crossed the monkey bars herself. It was amazing to watch her swing across grabbing the bars and moving so fast. The last couple were hard for her, since she was a bit tired, but I only helped her land her feet. She was so excited and I was so proud of her. This great accomplishment was allowed our family an opportunity to learn.

Cassidy has not crossed the monkey bars on her own. In fact, she seems to not want to hang from them for long. So she was quite upset that Keira did it when she's 3 and Cassidy hasn't when she's 5. We often try to tell our girls that everyone has something that they are good at and that they are special in their own ways. Yet, this did not seem to be helping Cassidy's ego. Seemed she saw it as a competition between herself and her sister. I knew that had to be stopped. Finally it dawned on me that when someone gives a compliment to another person does not mean they are saying something bad about you. After all, if I say Cassidy you had good manners, does that mean Keira had bad manners? Cassidy, thankfully, understood.

Then I realized that it is a life lesson that many people miss out on. Too often when we hear a compliment for someone we think that it means we aren't special or deserving of a compliment. Funny how something that is meant to be nice for one person we (okay, I'm talking about myself) turn it into a negative comment about ourselves. Hopefully we are all going to learn from that lesson in our house.

Duck, duck, goose

It has been a crazy week. Flying, packing, driving Uhaul, unloading, and settling in. Today was our first almost "normal" day. Jeremy came "home" from work, we had dinner, and then headed into the backyard. There was a rousing game of duck, duck, goose followed by cloud shape observations. Cassidy excelled at this, although I think she was inventing some of the clouds.

Fishing 101

Cassidy finally got to go fishing with Grandpa Oma. He and his fishing partner took their grandgirls out. They all had a good time and caught lots of fish. Cassidy actually hooked a few herself. :) She brought in more than Grandpa did. Which, I think, made him proud. Have it on film too, will get some DVD's out when it's ready. Fun Fishing!

Apple Hill

Oma and I took the girls up to Apple Hill yesterday. It was nice going up midweek as there were no crowds. We picked some golden delicious and made friends with a wonderful little kitten at our first stop. Oma took some great photos (inculuding this one). And helped the girls climb the trees for photo ops. Keira tugged an apple free while sitting in a tree, and then came tumbling down. Thankfully she only scratched her nose, and was ready to explore quickly.

We headed to the next place that had a fishing pond. The girls found some sticks and pretended to fish. Keira got a little close to the edge and slid into the pond, feet first. She scampered out, and didn't seem to upset by it. She was more upset that she had wet socks and shoes for the rest of the day. We picked up some great apple cider and Oma got the girls some fudge covered apples. Time to go make some apple pie!

CA State Fair

We hit up the CA state fair today. Ashley treated us to our tickets and we finally got to meet baby Everett. It was great fun! Amazingly we stayed for over 6 hours. We hit up the rides early on, while it was cool. Keira loved the ferris wheel, but Cassidy was not so happy with it. Thankfully Ashley was with Keira, so they got to enjoy the ride, while Cassidy and I got off early. They then hit up the dragon roller coaster, and somehow that was okay. After lunch, which included a deep fried Twinkie, we headed to see the fuzzy and furry animals. We took a monorail ride over, under and through the fair. After that it was time for a turkey drumstick and funnel cake. We headed out after that. We were really happy with how well the girls did, and it was fun to go with 'family' who helped us watch the girls so we could eat and talk and really enjoy the day.

First Day of Kindergarten

Cassidy has started kindergarten. She was a bit nervous about the new school and not knowing anyone. Mostly she was worried that they were going to do "hard works". She was a bit confused when the bell went off, but held her teachers hand and led the class, skipping, down to their classroom. She was bouncing when I picked her up as well. She had one a prize for doing well, and she picked a medal. Then she told me that if we have any old toys that we don't want anymore we should bring them in for the toy prizes. "So you had a good day?". "No!" She also told me that she didn't get to play that much, "only during free time, which wasn't long at all". Then she had to do some "hard work". Writing her name and the letter A, Big A and little a, "a bunch of times". "There was a bowl with a spoon and I had to circle all the big A's, and another bowl and spoon and I had to circle all the little A's." She shakes her head, and puts her hand to her forehead.

Later on, someone asked if it was a hard work because she found it hard to do, or if it was because it was easy. She replied quickly, "It was easy". I knew she would need to adjust some, but overall I think she likes it. Jeremy asked her, "How was your first day of kindergarten?" She replied, "Stupid." I just grinned and Jeremy had the look of dread, since his Mum loves to tell the story of Jeremy having a "dumb" day. Gifted children! What are you going to do?

One week to kindergarten!

The whole family made the 15 hour drive from overcast and rainy to the sunny and warm in order for us to have some time to settle before Cassidy starts kindergarten. The drive was not as bad as we thought. Girls only got antsy towards bed time. It was the next day that was tough. The girls schedule was all out of whack, and of course we headed to the pool, saw cousin Ariannah. After calling the school that is slotted for Oma and Grandpa's house and getting no answer, we drove past and found out that open enrollment started the next day. We were in at 8:30 and thankfully got in. Phew! We are happy, and Cassidy is anxious. She's not happy since it isn't her classroom in WA. I'm only concerned since she is used to a full day program and is now doing a half day. I'm sure she'll be fine, but what am I going to do??

Summer in Seattle

Today we headed to the zoo! The weather here has been, well, less than nice and very Seattle. Yesterday the high was 65 and it rained. Not just rain, but we had an absolute down pour. Jeremy and I went out and had to run from a restaurant to a movie theater, and it only took a few minutes and we were drenched. I would have had more self-pity, but when we turned to go in to the theater, it was like a sheet of water falling. Literally it felt as if we were looking through a water fall. At least we weren't in line like those suckers at the book store. :) The girls had fun at the zoo today, as the sun peaked out this morning. Then it sprinkled as we headed in to Seattle. *sigh* It didn't rain on us ALL day, which is amazing, but it did stay overcast and fairly cool. Despite the cooler temps and odd weather, we still had a blast and the girls enjoyed some delicious ice-cream.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!
I thought I had posted this photo already. Then I posted it this last weekend. So now you know how my week has been going. Third time is the charm.

How does it Sound?

Last weekend was quite warm up here, so we headed out to the Sound to go play. Well, it was supposed to be a hike, but it turned into play time in the water with a short walk. The girls had a blast running into the really, really cold water. You can see the Olympics mountain range in the background of this shot. It was nice to get out and see the beauty of the area. Just when we were getting used to 80 weather, it turned back to normal. Low 60's and rain. At least I have the photo to remind us what it was like.

A letter to Cassidy

Dear Cassidy,
When you were born, I had so many ideas for what I wanted for you. Here it is 5 years later, and all I can think is, wow. I wanted you to be smart and sassy (as I thought I had been), and you already have that. You have an unquenched thirst for knowledge. Every week you want to learn about something else, and it involves you saying, "Tell me everything about ..." You read, and not just cat and hat, but words like 'mischievous'. I am in amazement with you. I wanted you to have a good sense of humor (daddy and I figured you would need it to survive living with us), and you are so funny. You love telling jokes, making things up and making funny faces just to get someone to laugh. I wanted you to be confident. Here's the thing, I wanted you to be a confident teen ager, a confident 5 year old is a tough thing. Yet, I would never take it back. Even though your determination causes battles now, I know that as a woman you will always get what you want when you set your mind to it. You are so beautiful. I'm sure at some point you will go through an awkward phase (I'm guessing it will be menopause), but I know that you will handle it with poise. It wasn't too long ago that you said you wanted to live with us forever, and I remember saying that I doubt that you will think that way in 15 years, but secretly, part of me hopes you never move out.
I love you as big as a dinosaur poop! Which is pretty big!
Mom

Scary Nuns and the uncommon cold

The girls have been watching the movie Mulan a lot lately. It takes place in China, and has the Huns breaking through the Great Wall. We had it on in the car last week, and we here Keira in the back seat, "Scary. Scary Nuns." And they've never gone to Catholic school!

I had the worst cold last week. It was a sore throat that didn't go away for 5 days. Ugh! Lost my voice for 3 days. Kaleb, Christy and Ariannah were supposed to come up last weekend, but we had to cancel due to us perhaps being contagious still. Which we were. Keira has come down with it now. She seems to know that she's got it bad and trying to take advantage. This morning, after she woke up and said her 'tote' hurt, she informed us "I no go to school today, I sick".

Moving?

Keira has really kicked up her language. She likes talking now, which is good because she needs to practice, but bad because she likes to talk... a lot. And she is a bit repetitive right now, "Mommy, mommy, mommy. Buddy ate my crayon." Although I may have missed a few reps of Mommy in there.

Cassidy and I were chatting on Sunday morning and she said, "Mom, when I grow and become an adult, if I move into my own house, will you promise to not forget me? Don't forget that I'm your daughter?" Does she know how to pull the heart strings or what??

Do you know the Muffin Man?

Cassidy has been coming up with some creative stuff lately. This morning, I asked if we should go get some muffins. "Yeah! Let's go see the muffin man" And me trying to be cheeky said, "Do you know the muffin man?" "Yes, he works at Costco." "Don't you mean he works on Drury Lane?" "No, that's the one in the song. The real muffin man works at Costco." Now, I'm confused, so I ask "What does he look like?" "He has things all in his hair that are blue, like blueberries. They are delicious." ....really? Then later, she starts talking on her phone, and asks me to be quiet because she's talking to magic people. "You mean pretend people" "No, real people who are magic. What? Oh, it's my Mom. I had to tell you are real and magic."

At music class last week, they read a book that we have at home about dinosaurs and manners. One of the important things was that you have to try at least one bite of new food. Cassidy pipes in, "And if you eat three bites (holding up her fingers to emphasize the three) you can have dessert." Hope those other kids don't remember that.

Tulip Festival 2007

We had planned on going on Easter Sunday, but the forecast said Saturday would be better. Boy, were they wrong. At least it didn't rain on us, and the girls had a great time. The girls were a bit tired, and Jeremy's allergies kicked in, so I drove home while all 3 of them took a nap. Sunday we did yard work while the girls played outside. We had planned an egg hunt, but when the grass was up to our knees plans were changed.

The secret is out

Cassidy had her annual check up recently. She recently got a doctor kit, so it was fairly easy going, until....the shots. I had mentioned them before we went. The doctor mentioned them. Cassidy seemed to not be happy about it, but knew that she had to do it, three times. So what do you do when your child starts crying and sobbing, "Mommy it hurts, don't do it again."? Normally, I'm a whimp and make Jeremy do the shots as he is better at making them feel better and get over it quickly. I thought Cassidy was old enough that I could rationalize it out with her, but after that first poke, there was no more rational thoughts for her. She got through the next 2 quickly and then it was time to leave. The receptionist told Cassidy that she got to pick 5 stickers, and that if she didn't see any she liked that she could look through her secret box of stickers. Well, Cassidy had to go check it out. After making her selections, the receptionist told her, "Now, don't tell anyone about my secret stash of stickers." Cassidy said she wouldn't. I said, "Not even Keira." "Oh, I won't tell Keira. But I will tell Julianne and Tea. Oh yeah, and Angelina!" So much for secrets. She even told Jessie, when we got home, but at least she whispered it.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday the girls school had parent teach conferences. Usually, they are student led, which means you go into the classroom for an hour while your child shows you their favorite works. This time around, it was a sit down one-on-one with the teacher. Since the alloted time was 30 minutes total for both girls, it was a nice change for me. Happy to report that both girls are doing great. Keira is adjusting to her new classroom, and is doing lots of practical life works. Cassidy is blossoming. She has moved up to a new reading level, and her teacher said she is starting to become a leader in the classroom. The girls are really growing, and are really great friends to each other. We are so proud!!

Leaving Las Vegas

The girls school closed down for a week for "Mid-winter break" At first I thought they must be kidding with how many days of school the kids have missed thanks to snow and power outages. Then we scrambled to make arrangements for a vacation. A real vacation. The kind where we don't have a wedding to attend, or papers to sign, or a house to sell. Wow! What a difference! We headed to my parents place and settled the girls in for a couple of days, then we packed up and headed to Las Vegas. No kids! We had a great time. We slept for 8 hours, uninterrupted! We went hiking, and on the car ride we didn't have to yell into the back seat. We went shopping, and didn't have to say, "No, we don't need a Princess *insert noun here*" We went out to dinners and didn't have to worry about what time to get back for the babysitter. Basically, it was a lot of fun. And it was nice to remember what life was like before kids. It's amazing, how much time they take up in our life and in our minds. Even without them, we thought of them often. One of the highlights from Vegas was meeting up with my college roomie's (Hi, Gayle) older sister (Hi, Aileen). She works for Wynn, and she hooked us up with dinner our first night in town. It started the whole Vegas 'experience' off with style. The next night Jeremy went to play in a poker tournament, and Aileen allowed me to tag along with her at work. She took me to the VIP room and then to dinner with some of her friends. I had a fantastic time laughing, talking and eating. It was a ton of fun to be myself and not be "Mom" "wife" or "Senior Chemist". Hmm....although none of those titles is too bad. I think the best part of the trip has been that I am energized and ready for life again. So this Senior-Mom-Chemist-Wife can get back to the real world!

You opened the door and ...

In flue Enza. So after having the girls home Thursday afternoon and Friday, and everyone was healthy on Saturday morning we thought we were in the clear. Cassidy went to a birthday party Saturday, and I feel horrible b/c she started coughing on the way back. Eek! At least it's not the dreaded "Norwwalk virus". No, that would be Keira who vomitted last night. Maybe it was just her coughing too hard, which we really believed until she vomitted again this morning. You are contagious for 3 days after onset of symptoms, so now we are in a waiting game to see if anyone else gets it here.

Worst Ever Winter

Just when I thought the Winter Worst-ever was over. This came from the school, along with a phone call to pick my kids up in an hour.
"Dear Parents,
After much deliberation about the health and welfare of our community, and consultation with the Public Health Department, the administration has made the decision to close school completely on Friday, February 9th, so that we can continue to disinfect the entire school and to prevent the spread of further illness. This decision is made out of concern for the health and well-being of our students, families and staff. We have had several illnesses in the community, however, the Norwalk Virus is of concern. If anyone in your family does have any of the symptoms below please let us know, as Public Health has asked for us to track it."

*sigh* fingers crossed that my kids are healthy.

More Winter Wonderland?

We woke up Saturday morning to temperatures in the 20's. Checked the weather, and the weathman said, "There will be a few flurries today, but don't panic it won't amount to anything." So around noon, it started snowing. No flurry, but snowing. I wanted to snap a photo of the ice rink coming down our hill, and you can sort of see the snow falling by the dumpster. I thought it might blow over, hoped it would just stop. Then after the second hour of snow, I decided to give up hope. It was a four hour flurry. Yesterday the forecast was for 39 today, but this morning they have rolled it back to 35. *sigh* Jeremy managed to get my car back this morning. So now we just need the ice to melt.

After the storm

Happy Birthday, Mom. We have been stuck at the house all day. Jeremy tried to rescue the car this morning, but was unable to make it up the hill. His car is still at his work. Our sitter was rescued this afternoon in an all wheel drive vehicle. It's the end of the week, so we are almost out of milk and the freezer isn't fully stocked up since the massive power outage right before Christmas. It has been a winter to remember with 2 months left to go. Might as well enjoy the view.

Adventure's in Babysitting

I'm not exactly sure what is happening up here, but the weather this winter has just been HORRIBLE. Today my commute home was quite an adventure, even for the babysitter who would occasionally get a phone call from me giving her an update on my position. It all started with picking up my car at the dealership in an area of Seattle that I'm not too familiar with. It had already started snowing by the time I left work, start the clock. 3:15. When I head out on the road, I look down and realize the tank is on E, literally my range predictor said 0 miles. So in an unfamiliar area, I hunt for a gas station and fill up. 3:45 Hit the road again, trying to make my way to the freeway. 4:00 on the freeway, traffic is moving, and the snow is really coming down. I decided to go across the lake, which is not the way I normally go home, but thankfully I did so. 4:15 On bridge. Waiting. Listening to traffic reports telling me how there's a car slid off the road ahead. Call sitter and inform her that I'm probably going to be late. Call Jeremy, ask him to head out to relieve sitter. 4:25 Rolled forward, finally. Start rolling across bridge. 4:50 Made it to other side of bridge. Jeremy calls, from his office. He sat in parking garage at his work for 15 minutes before saying forget it. I say, if you can make it to the freeway, I can pick you up on my way home. Continue to roll. 5:15 Jeremy calls to say he made it to another building but the cell phone service is sketchy. I ask him to come down the on-ramp of his exit so I don't have to leave the freeway. Make it past the dozen or so cars that slid off the road on the exit before the one I told Jeremy to meet me. The road suddenly clears of cars and even though the road is now covered in ice, I'm rolling along at a good speed. 5:35 I pull over on the side of the freeway and wait for Jeremy, who is running down the ramp to meet me. I move over to let the New England driver take the wheel. 5:40 We roll, merge, and move in to the lane we need to be in. 6:30 Call the sitter, we are at end of freeway, just past Target and know we will at least make it home tonight. We tell her that she's probably staying the night since the roads are so bad and that we expect to be home in an hour. Less than 4 miles to go, and I expected it to take an hour. 6:50 Make a turn on the busier street with less of a hill in hopes to make it closer to our neighborhood. Pass 3 cars on side of road. 7:00 Pass 6 other cars, one car parked next to another, with a car abandoned on the other side of the road, which leaves a passage big enough for just one car at a time to get through. With cars on both sides of the road trying to get through, we have to wait our turn, and finally turn into a neighborhood that we occasionally walk thru. 7:15 Leave the car at the 'enabler house' since we couldn't make it up the hill. Walk home. 7:40 Walk in the door. So happy to be home and have power.