Is she six already?

Hello Six!  She took ballet. She took tap lessons. She loved to dance. We would put on music and she would choreograph her own dance and perform for us.  She loved to sing. She would memorize the lyrics of a song and belt it out at the top of her lungs. She loved to dress up in costumes. She would go all out for any dress days at school or even dress up at home.  She loved stories. Thanks to her Papa being willing to tell stories over Skype about Princess Isabella and Mr. Monkey.  Who knew this would be the beginning of a love for all things creative?

 

Five years old

I’ll never forget when I was pregnant with Isabella and we lived by this elementary school. It was the first day of school and I watched the five year old children with new backpacks walk into their first day of kindergarten. I was undone. I had tears running down my face simply thinking about that milestone in my unborn daughter’s life.

Five years later, I walked her to class on the first day of Kindergarten and I sucked in all the emotion and put on a smile until I got to the car and I cried my eyes out.

It’s now hard to believe that it’s only eight years until she will be graduating high school. A good friend of mine who currently has a senior in high school now offered me this  beautiful advice to truly enjoy and drink in every moment. I have to keep that in mind when I’m going through a tough parenting situation and not try to rush through everything without taking it in.

More at Four

Four was a year of change for us. We moved to Berkeley, California that year. We had to say goodbye to family and dear friends. You were so sad to leave Seattle, your cousins, your church and your friends. It was that summer that we found your school.

We visited almost every park in Berkeley. We  also went to the library once a week gathering at least twenty books each time. I remember my mom taking me to the library and loving it. I wanted you to share that same love. We did a lot of exploring thanks to the Berkeley Public Library Discover and Go program. It gave us free passes to museums and fun kid locations. You and I had many adventures in the Bay Area.

Three

Three is when you first went to preschool. You were beyond excited to get your big girl bed. You had discovered a deep love for cupcakes. You would sing songs like “What’s the Weather” and “Twinkle, Twinkle.” You loved to play at the park.  Anytime we went to some place that had a water table you loved to stick your hands in and play.  You were into playing with characters.  You had a Mickey Mouse clubhouse set, a Cars set and a Nemo set.  You would pick up a character and create a world around you. What fun it was to be three.

It was the year that you had a few intense sicknesses. I remember our first visit to the emergency room. You had some sort of croup and couldn’t breathe. The ride over in the car was enough for you to be able to breathe again. The ER doctor explained that getting in the cold air upright was a good way to help you out.  It taught me a lesson as a mom to understand how to watch your symptoms and not freak out at every little thing.

Two isn’t Terrible

Two isn’t terrible at all. In fact, to me the best videos come from Isabella at the age of two. I love hearing her speak.  Where the word “tree” is pronounced “twee” and “banana” some how becomes “ba-lana” and “breakfast” is “breakpest”.  I would not correct it. I know that is my “terrible two mothering”, but there was something so endearing hearing her saying a word in her own cute two-year-old way.  Later, there was “soup-case” instead of “suitcase” and “froggy” instead of “foggy”.  I still smile thinking of how she first said those words. It is simply the best.

Year One

 

Your first year was exciting to say the least. We planned a party at a park club house  with all your friends in Washington. I will never forget when you took your first steps at your cousin’s house while the Nutcracker played in the background. From the beginning, you loved to talk even if it was making sounds and eventually words. You loved to explore and spend as much time as possible with your cousins. One was a very good year.

COUNTDOWN TO DOUBLE DIGITS

I think it has been forever since I’ve posted a blog to this account. It is crazy to think that I’m about to be a mom of a child who is turning Double Digits. So, I felt it was appropriate to relish the moment and do a countdown to ten even though technically it’s a count UP to universe of double digits. 

She was eleven days old when we took this picture. I remember loving her nursery. At the time, it was my favorite room in the house. I remember the sleepless nights and my husband literally hallucinating that bugs were around him because he needed sleep. I remember her falling asleep on me.  I remember the joy of all the first experiences from eating, crawling, making noises to words, experiencing snow and loving trees. Parenthood is all about figuring it out and having no idea what you’re doing. Then you find a rhythm and it instantly changes based on how much they grow in one year.

Here is a quick video down memory lane for the year before she turned one.

 

 

Happy Easter!

Do you remember this TV commercial in 1984?  Thanks Easter Bunny,  Bok! Bok!  The last scene in this spot will forever be embedded in my childhood memory.  The kid in the chick suit saying, “Bok! Bok!”  Isn’t it funny the things you remember?

Here are some fun memory making crafts that you could do with your kids.

 Cute Food for Kids created this fun project that includes four simple ingredients: plastic spoons, chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles and cute pastel eggs.  Voila!  How fun is this?

Need a fun glitter project?  Sew in the City has this simple tutorial to sparkle up your Easter table decorations.

Don’t all eggs need a beanie to keep them warm? Absolutely.  Craft and Creativity offers a how-to tutorial on how to dress your eggs.  I wish I knew and had the patience and the time to learn how to crochet.  This is adorable.

Have a great Easter weekend! Bok! Bok!

Do you have a leap list?

What in the world is a leap list? I have seen a few Honda commercials about completing your leap list. But what is it exactly?

According to Go Mom inc., The Leap list, ” is designed to help you focus on your dreams, be mindful of the milestones, and get out in front of any road blocks to take steps to make your goals a reality while living a lifestyle you truly love. ”

Here are some from Go Mom Inc.  practical tips to writing your own.

1. It’s all about choosing the next big milestone in your life. Whether its having kids, getting married, or buying a home, it works for us all. If you are older, you are working on sending your kids to college, buying a vacation home at a bargain price, maybe you are retiring, or moving to southern california to start a new career with Honda ~ it happens.

2. Choose 10 items that you really want to accomplish BEFORE you reach that milestone. So it can be little things or big things. Every day things that don’t actually happen every day, like landscaping yard, the garage, taking all that junk in the garage to the recycling center, taking the dogs to get professionally groomed every once in a while, or going on that trek to Mammoth.

3. Then get social. Sign onto Facebook to connect and there you can share and save your Leap List with your friends and family on your profile page and your news feed. You can also rally your community to work on their own list and learn more about how they can live the lifestyle that truly fits their goals.

Here is my local leap list for Northern California / San Francisco Bay Area.

1. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge – CHECK!

2. Take a ferry to Alcatraz

3. Eat at The French Laundry

4. Visit the Santa Cruz Boardwalk with Isabella and Parker

5. Visit Skywalker ranch and/or  Lucasfilm Studios

6. Ride a San Francisco trolley

7. Run a half marathon in San Francisco. Preferably the one where I get a Tiffany necklace at the end.

8. Take a family trip to the Russian river.

9. Write a play. Rent a theater. Direct a performance for a weekend showing.

10. Go on a weekend getaway with my man to the white sands of Carmel.

This would be ideal to accomplish before I turn 40 years old. What is your leap list?

Having a tough day?

There will be days where the magical joy of motherhood will be ruthlessly tested by your sweet and loving child. It will be one of those days that all the plans are tossed out the window due to the fact that your toddler is throwing an uncontrollable tantrum and leaving the house at the moment is not the best idea. Siblings are sparring so intensely you want to send them to different countries let alone different rooms. Up to this point in motherhood, you have repeated the same line at least five thousand times. Words like “gentle”,
“inside voice”, “potty” and especially “no” have found a regular rotation in your dialogue. It has been one of those days where you are counting your hours to bedtime.  This is it.  You are about to go NUCLEAR on everyone.   Here are a few disarming ideas to hopefully keep the volcano from exploding.

Take a Mommy Break

It could be as easy as taking a breath, taking a walk or quite possibly take a nap. A twenty-minute nap may be all you need to give you that extra boost to finish the challenging day. Maybe you need some alone time? Call up a girlfriend and go see a flick that will pull you away from the stress of the day. Maybe a little shopping therapy will rejuvenate you back into a happy mommy state. Mothering is more than a full-time job. It is seven days a week from the moment that your little one awakes with a few nap breaks or quiet time until they rest their little head one your shoulder. It is important to recharge your batteries so that you can be the best mommy to those amazing children.

You are not alone

It is so easy in the day-to-day to think that you are the only one whose child has not mastered potty training. The only one whose child has not walked, not talked or mastered the art of controlling their emotional land scape.  The only one who has children who act out beyond belief in public, have bad attitudes and display a huge amount of ungratefulness. But the truth is that you are not alone. Many times I have found when I open up with another mom,  I find that they are either going through the same thing or they have already gone through.  This conversation alone gives me the much-needed wisdom to get through the day. There is something completely comforting to know that you are not only one in the world.  So, pick up that phone and call a friend.  It could be your lifeline for the day.

Remember the good moments

Maybe it is time to pull out the old movies or pictures and remember that sweet one’s smile. A good reminder is inspiration to stop yourself from pulling out all the hair from your head. A friend of mine passed along this great article Don’t Carpe Diem.  My favorite part from the article is:

There are two different types of time. Chronos time is what we live in. It’s regular time, it’s one minute at a time, it’s staring down the clock till bedtime time, it’s ten excruciating minutes in the Target line time, it’s four screaming minutes in time out time, it’s two hours till daddy gets home time. Chronos is the hard, slow passing time we parents often live in.

Then there’s Kairos time. Kairos is God’s time. It’s time outside of time. It’s metaphysical time. It’s those magical moments in which time stands still. I have a few of those moments each day. And I cherish them.

Like when I actually stop what I’m doing and really look at Tish. I notice how perfectly smooth and brownish her skin is. I notice the perfect curves of her teeny elf mouth and her asianish brown eyes, and I breathe in her soft Tishy smell. In these moments, I see that her mouth is moving but I can’t hear her because all I can think is — This is the first time I’ve really seen Tish all day, and my God — she is so beautiful. Kairos.

The author does a fantastic job in acknowledging the tough part of being a mom, but also inspires to look for those tiny moments that you want to freeze in time. If those moments do not happen on the day in question, pull out a video or a picture that reminds you of the joy of having such beautiful children.

Being a mom can be tough, but know this that even if you don’t feel like it.  You are doing a great job!