How I Met Your Mother

Lately, AK has been asking a lot of questions about how the Hoos and I became "mommy and daddy." Not in the biblical sense, but in the "fairytale romance" sense.

This morning she said, "I know how grandma and grandpa metted" Although, to both the Hoos and I it sounded like "mated"). And she went on to explain that grandpa was a teacher and grandma was in his class. As a student teacher. Although she left the part in bold and italics out.

Since she has a tendency to leave out important details - see above - I decided to document the whole "how we met" thing in case she shares any misinformation. This is long and tedious and likely not interesting for most of you - so feel free to skip to the bottom and watch a YouTube Video of LP instead.

The first time I remember seeing the Hoos was in Buck McMullen's English Lit class at GW my freshman year. He was the boy with the fish hook on his hat that sometimes got held up at the professor's desk after class. To him I was the girl with the blue hair who called out things like, "Buck, this book sucked!" Not surprisingly, we did not get together at that point.

At the beginning of sophomore year - maybe a day after we had all arrived back on campus - they showed a movie on the Quad (maybe The Hunt for Red October?) and a mutual friend came by with the Hoos to catch up.

It was at this point I started seeing a lot of the Hoos around campus. Turns out, we had the same major - environmental studies - and were in a bunch of the same classes. I lived in Crawford Hall (what a yucky dorm), which was next to J Street - the Student Union - and the Hoos passed by with some friends while I was sitting outside and asked if I wanted a Rainbow Chips Deluxe AND if I wanted to study for a statistics exam that was coming up in Professor Lilifors class.

We went on our first date shortly thereafter.

And almost 17 years later, our most recent date was to watch LP's class show off. 

On Four

Four years ago today, our family met its match. Its perfect match - AK.

She fit into our home like a hand in a glove, a pea in our pod, the cheese in our macaroni.

Even if she is a second child, she comes in second to no one. She is her own person. An individual truly like no other. 

A dizzying bundle of energy, she is also world class snuggler.

She often thinks she is six, but still fits into her 3Ts (and insists on wearing her favorite 2T items as well).

A complete contrast to her big sister, they are still the best of friends (until they aren't).

She loves pink and insists on blingy accessories, but has black and blue knees from her rough and tumble activities. 

She is so, so smart. Her mind is a steel trap for songs, memories, numbers and words.

She constantly challenges us - and herself. Why walk on the sidewalk when you can balance precariously on the curb? Why have mommy hold me when I hang from the monkey bars if I can just hang here until I want to fall?

The universe's response to my mother's request that I 'have a daughter just like me,' she has her daddy's green eyes with an impish twinkle.

If these first four years are any indication, the world had better watch out for this one. She brings her own brand of sunshine. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

2012 - 2006 = SIX

Remember LP? Remember when she was a pale, chubby-cheeked, fleshy thighed, white-blond baby?

I do.

And sometimes, when I look at her, I still see that little baby that changed our world.

I remember when the Hoos and I packed for the hospital a few days before my May 25th due date. I remember how he packed a red shirt because he had read that bright colors attract a baby's attention. I remember him sleeping on the couch/bed in my room in Stamford Hospital with her tucked under his arm.

I remember thinking, "What will this wonderful, perfect baby grow into?"

I still don't know what she will ultimately grow up to be (although I have high hopes that she will at least grow to be taller than her mama), I know that she has started to develop all of the base skills and attributes of a truly spectacular person.


She is so genuine and full of love and sensitive to the needs of others - there is something about my LP that makes people love her.

She is, at times, way more mature than I expect a six year old to be. She listens, observes, remembers. At times she also acts like a two year old, but that is less surprising.

She plays by the rules - often insisting that others do the same.

She is a phenomenal big sister. She has loved AK from the moment she arrived and the feeling is mutual. When they play nicely together, there is nothing like it.

Yesterday, they held hands and raced across the lawn to our play set, clutching the tic tac toe board LP had made in a crafts class. When they were done, they decided to avoid the pine needles at the bottom of the slide and climb back down the ladder. AK went first, then stopped on the bottom rung, reaching up. LP handed her the board so her hands could be free for the climb down. It sounds silly written here, but it was a perfect mom moment.

Happy 6th Birthday, LP. You are more than we ever could have hoped for.

I Miss My Babies!

Where has the time gone? It is May 2012. Later this month LP will be SIX! And the first of next month AK with be FOUR! Now is the time to ask - are you for serious?! Because, I agree, this is mind-boggling.

In the past month, the Hoos and I have watched as reading has totally clicked for LP. She went from slowly sounding out words to READING books. We take weekly trips to the library to restock on more easy reader books. The Pebble Dogs series is her current favorite. Easy to read, about a topic she loves, with the occasional "hard" word to keep her challenged.  Yesterday she read the fortune out of a fortune cookie! And asked, "Mom? Why don't some people like reading? I love reading!"

Oh, and she has a wiggly tooth. I remember when she didn't even HAVE teeth!

For her part, AK continues to think that she is also going on 6. Her day care teachers insist she is ready for the Olympics with her amazing swimming (it really is insane to see her swim without a bubble or any support, calm as anything, just gliding through the water). Her writing is also improving - I spell words for her and she creates stories. Sure the words are all jumbled, but she knows what every letter looks like and can recreate it.

We are busy planning a joint* birthday party. And our first at the house. I think we will end up with about 25 kids! Between family and friends and parents that stay to hang out, it is like we are having a bat mitzvah in terms of the number of people. Please start praying now for good weather. If we have to have everyone inside, I am thinking of renting a movie and squishing the kids in to watch when they aren't eating or doing crafts.

If it is outside we are hopefully going to have a bounce house, crafts and some outdoor games (hula hoops, jump ropes, bubbles, Twister, pin the tail on the donkey).

Please share any brilliant ideas you have to keep 25+ kids entertained for 2 hours! Indoor or out!

Also, any ideas on how to slow time would be appreciated.

*Okay, it is isn't exactly joint. We will mostly have LP's friends. There will be "joint" friends there (and bringing presents) for AK, but not her class. I plan on having an in-classroom party for her. I am feeling very guilty about this and hope she doesn't feel overlooked.

Fresh Air

For the past week I  have been getting up early to go for a walk around the neighborhood. I have not been feeling too great about my physical fitness, so I figured this was a good way to at least make sure I got some exercise. It makes sense to me that taking a 1.75 mile walk is better than laying in bed for an extra half hour.

This morning, I had the pleasure of company! As I crept down the hallway to change into my walking clothes I heard, "Who's there?" A bright-eyed and bushy-tailed LP smiled and said, "I want to come with you," and she quickly got dressed and grabbed her sneakers.

As we walked she chirped along happily - all be it a bit loudly for 6 am. Occasionally she would come up next to me and wrap my arm around her shoulder so we would bump sides as we walked.

While this was not my longest morning walk, it was my best one.

Crusty

I posted a version of this to a blog I wrote on occasionally.

And then I deleted it.

I guess my direct tone doesn't fly everywhere.


We all know it is not politically correct to refer to any colleagues as "old." Instead you should say "experienced" or "seasoned." So, if after almost 6 years of motherhood, I am a "seasoned veteran," my level of seasoning would be "crusty."

Why crusty? Because I am smug. I am over-confident. I roll my eyes at new moms and moms-to-be.

I am sorry.

I, too, was once a new mom:

• I called the pediatrician to see if my one-week-old slept too much. in fact, I even did this for my second daughter (I had either forgotten - 2 years is a long time! or I was so used to an active, talkative 2 year old that a silent newborn was disconcerting).

• I also stressed about my day care situation. Granted, several of the teachers were illiterate, but in hindsight, both of my little ladies are smart, healthy kids. They are social. They are bright. In short, the impact the Hoos and I have on them as their parent is way more significant than that of day care. Even if it does seem like they spend a lot of time there.
• Was I ever sleep deprived? You betcha! Did I ever imagine that I would sleep past 8 and have my babies take care of themselves? Never. But did that happen? Yes.
• Did I wonder how I would deal with two children? Only for about 9 months. Okay, and maybe an extra two or three. And, even if LP and AK don't always get along, I have no doubt that my girls will always be best friends. And before too long they will undoubtedly plot against me - together.

So, I promise to try to minimize the eye-rolling and head-shaking - if you all promise to remember that it does get easier, no one is perfect, and you are doing an awesome job. Oh, and that your kids will love you no matter what.

Parent Teacher Conference

This morning I had LP's parent-teacher conference. I am so proud of her. She is doing so well with her reading and writing. She is really leaps and bounds ahead of where she was even a few months ago (e.g., she uses vowels in words when she writes now).

It is hard for me to believe that in two months LP will be done with kindergarten. It honestly seems like the Hoos and I were visiting day care centers for our "Bump" only last week. And it was yesterday when I attended kindergarten orientation with her, right?

The good news is that as much as things change, a lot stays the same too. For instance, the teacher told me that LP is a very rules oriented kid. Some days she will tattle share information with the teacher more than a half dozen times before morning snack.

This is classic LP.

At day care if her job was "book collector" she would literally rip the books out of other kids' hands when the teacher said it was time to clean up.

Oddly enough, at home she is often less likely to rat her sister out. Sometimes she does just the opposite. If AK does something wrong - often at the detriment of LP - and gets admonished, LP explains away her transgression, "It's okay, AK. You can have it," she soothes, shooting me a look.

Ah, sisters. Ganging up on dear old mom already. 

The Evolving Kids' Table

Hard to believe it is already April. APRIL!

Once again, my mom and dad and grandmother pulled off a fabulous, food- and family-filled Passover Seder. This year there were only 35 attendees. My mother-in-law hosted us for the second Seder (also wonderful) and there were 21 guests. Pulling off a sit-down dinner like this is a true feat. I am happy to say that it is also one that I have not yet had to attempt.

Like most family events - no matter what your background - both Seders had a "kids' table."

When I was a kid there was a "kids' table" with me and my brother and my seven cousins once we were old enough to be left to our own devices.

Unfortunately for several of my cousins, they are still sitting at the "kids' table". Only now it is called the "young, single" table. Two of my nieces (11 and 13) brought down the average age to 22.

That isn't to say that there weren't a lot of little kids at my parent's house. There were actually 7 kids under the age of 6; and, as much as LP likes to lead the charge and act like the other hen, no one thought she was up to the task of watching her second cousins. 


On the second night, we had a true kids table that included LP and AK. The average age was 9.

I have to say, it is still kind of odd to me that I don't fit it at any kids' table - no matter what the composition! 

Children are the Mother of Invention

Today I got to spend an hour at Wilton High School as part of their "Real World" panel, where adults from the community talked about their jobs and their career paths. While I may be the height of a teenager, it is true (although very odd) for me to say that I have almost 15 years of experience in my field.

I was on the Environment, Architecture, IT and Entrepreneurship panel - how is that for a random assortment? The man sitting next to me, Dave, the "entrepreneur" part of the panel, is an inventor. And, as luck would have it, the DoodleMark, is his tres cool product. Part bookmark, part Magna Doodle, he created it to fill a need he saw when reading with his daughter.  As soon as he started talking about it, it all clicked.

I thought about how lately LP has been a reading machine. For an almost-6-year-old reading can be exhausting work. Which means she stops often. And she is always searching for a bookmark.

She is also learning to write, so she liked to carry around a separate notebook to write down a hint to remind her of where she left off:

If you can read the right page it says, "I left off at the letter I". She was very proud of how small her writing was on the left page, but it makes it hard to read, - this one I will write verbatim, "I LEFt of At tHE LEDr you AND PAJ NUMBr 27."

Can you see how this handy-dandy device can save 1. a lot of paper and 2. a lot of headaches? So, while I may not have imparted that much wisdom to the 125 students that showed up (my key point was, "focus on your strengths" - can you hear their eyes glazing over?), I got to meet a really smart and interesting guy - and potentially avoid future meltdowns.

As I left the choral room where our panel was held, three kids had pinned Dave down, asking for advice on how to make ideas into a reality.  Man, do I wish I had a good idea!

Another Day, Another Party

This weekend we celebrated my eldest nephew's bar mitzvah. Our entire family was looking forward to this for a long time - especially LP and AK.

1. They love to dress up - and we had a great time picking out their dresses a few weekends ago (H&M has an adorable, wallet-friendly kids line)
2. They love spending time with their cousins - big and small.
3. The love hanging with the big kids - and a DJ dance party is the best way to do it (but of course)
4. They love free stuff - especially when it involves light sticks, sunglasses, fancy hats and pretty much anything shiny.

In addition to the fabulous party, my nephew did an awesome job reading from the Torah - as did his uncles (including the Hoos) and cousins.

The weekend also gave LP the opportunity to explain to her baby sister what a disco ball is.

They also demonstrated for us the difference between synagogue dress up wear (see top picture with aforementioned adorable H&M dresses) and party dress up wear. Note in the second picture we are on our way to the party portion and they each added headgear, bike shorts (LP explained this was in case their dresses "flied up") and socks pulled up to their knees.I am not exactly sure where they learned that some vents require head wear - perhaps from watching the Royal wedding?

It was a late night on Saturday and a long weekend overall. When we got home Saturday night at a quarter to 11, both ladies had fallen asleep in the car. Of course, they both woke up, but just to tell us which pajamas they wanted to wear. Apparently divas never sleep in anything less than their finery. 

Sunday morning AK was not content to let the party mystique disappear and she layered on all of her party wear - including home made arm warmers (fashioned from LP's tattered stockings from the day before), cowboy hat, paw gloves, and various necklaces. 
 

Obviously the next family party can't come soon enough. The good news is that we don't have to wait too long - the Passover Seders start Friday night and a family bat mitzvah is already on tap for May. I am going to start sleeping extra now.