Ghosts

Last night, Mia said to Carey, "Dad, there's a ghost in my room." Carey replied, "There's not a ghost in your room." And she said, "Oh, well there's ghosts outside. And ghosts freak me out."

This girl is two! Or, as she would tell you, "I'm not two, I'm two and a half!"

She's a funny girl!

19 and counting

Tomorrow I start teaching summer school, so as of today, the count stands at 19. Yup, that's right, I'm counting. Nineteen days until REAL summer vacation begins for me.

Movie Night

Tonight, we had our first of what will be many movie nights in the front yard. Last summer, we started the tradition of watching movies on the lawn, and the kids really had a good time. Stephanie and I picked tonight to be our debut night of summer movies, and we couldn't have chosen a better night. The weather was in the high 90s today, so this evening, it was perfect....nice and balmy, but not too hot. Everyone had a great time!

Busy first day off!

Summer is here! Sort of. This week, I have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off, before I start teaching summer school. Today, we had a busy day! This morning, the twins and I took Mia to her "My Gym" class followed by a delicious lunch at California Fish Grille. After that, Gracie got her hair cut into the most adorable bob. It fits her face well, and she is so happy with it. She is very excited about her new hair! Next, we went to the Yorba LInda Library, where the girls signed up for the summer reading club and checked out books.

We hung out at home for the afternoon, and in the evening, Grace and Sarah began their two-week run of swim lessons. It was a busy but good day!

Still Gone

Carey and the girls are still gone at their campout, and Mia is asleep (has been for almost three hours.) It's 9:30pm and I'm sitting here at the kitchen table sipping a Malibu and Diet Coke that I made for myself. Yum. That's my favorite drink. I was introduced to the deliciousness of Malibu Rum many years ago by my friend Melissa's husband Jerry while in Vegas, and haven't discovered anything that I like better since then.

Tomorrow is Father's Day.




I am so lucky and blessed to be married to the most wonderful, amazing husband and father. Carey absolutely loves his girls and would do anything for them. But this day still brings me back to thoughts of my own father. Yes, he is still alive, and no, I have no contact with him. Many, many years ago, when I was merely five years old, my parents divorced. He was cheating on my mom, and had been doing so for years. They tried to make it work, to no avail. He moved away to Utah with wife #2 (he's on wife #4) and has not lived in California since. That was in 1976.

Since then I've seen him only a handful of times, and in the last 17 years I think I've spoken to him three times. I often wonder what he thinks about on Father's Day. Does he think about his kids? Me? Does he have any regrets? Does he think about his grandkids that he doesn't know one lick of anything about? Is he sorry? Does he wish he had a relationship with me? These are just a smidgen of all the questions I wish I could ask him. It probably will never happen, but on this eve of Father's Day 2008, I wonder.

Camping

Today the girls left for their second weekend campout with Carey for the Y-Princesses. This time, they are going to stay in San Onofre, above the beach on the bluffs. They are so totally excited about their weekend away, and I am so not excited that they'll be gone. I actually feel a tad bit depressed, still thinking too much about kindergarten being overwith. Stupid, I know, but I just can't help it. And being in a semi-quiet house this weekend with just Mia isn't going to help me get my mind off of it. I should go somewhere, but I'm not quite sure where to go. Disneyland? The mall? We'll see....

Last Day of Kindergarten!

It is an understatement to say that today was a tiring day. It was completely and utterly exhausting. Emotionally exhausting, that is. This morning, I walked the girls to their last day of kindergarten, trying hard to choke back the tears on the way. I dropped them off at 8:00am (thinking all along the way that this is the way it's going to be next year, having to go to school so early in the morning, only I'll have to get them there ten minutes earlier.) Like I said yesterday, traffic was dreadful. But, alas, I got them there on time and took a picture of them as they walked into class for the last time. I took a slow, quiet walk back home with Mia, thinking about this wonderful kindergarten year. More tears to choke back.

I came home and tidied up a bit, packed up the car, and left for the girls' kindergarten promotion ceremony. I got a great seat--front row center!--saved my seat, and went into the classroom to drop off the ice cream I brought for the party afterwards. As soon as I saw Mrs. Willey, I just lost it. Many more tears. I just couldn't hold it back anymore, and I became a blubbering idiot, feeling so emotional that kindergarten is already over. Sandy consoled me and gave me some tissues, which helped a bit.

The promotion ceremony began with the class coming into the room donned with their cute little graduation caps while the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" played. The moment I heard that song and saw all the kids, I lost my marbles again. More tears. It was a rollercoaster ride throughout that entire ceremony. Tears. OK. Hold it together. Oh, I can't. More tears.

The class sang some songs, which were super cute by the way, and then each student's name was called up for their certificate. They shook Mrs. Willey's hand as well as the hand of Mr. Slonkosky, the principal. After, a big surprise came when Sarah received a perfect attendance award. That's right...Sarah never missed one day of school, nor was she every tardy. I know I never did that in any grade ever, and I'm so proud of her and happy that she has such an awesome immune system.

After that, there was a really great slide show presentation that was shown to the audience, made by Mrs. Willey. I lost it again while watching that show, thinking again about how great this year has been and how sad I am that it's over.

After the promotion ceremony, all of the kids and parents went back into the classroom and had an ice cream party, and then the kids spent some time playing outside. The time finally came when we had to say good bye to Mrs. Willey. The tears flowed again as I thanked her and told her that this year was a dream come true for me.

I will never, ever forget this completely awesome kindergarten year.

Last super-relaxing school morning

The end is here. And I am not at all happy that my sweet, blissful, super-relaxing school mornings are over. This school year, Gracie and Sarah were "late birds," which meant that they started school at 9:45 every day. So on my non-working days, I would have the sweetest mornings. After showering, I'd get in my comfy-cozy sweats, get the girls breakfast, pour my coffee, get my own breakfast, sit at the table and read the newspaper while sipping my delicious cup o' joe and eating my usual breakfast of oatmeal. After perusing the paper, I'd get onto my computer and surf around the net and check email. Then around 9am, I'd start getting the girls ready for school, and we'd head out for our quiet walk to school around 9:35. Oh how I loved my mornings. And I'm so terribly sad that it will never be that way again.

Starting next year, the girls start school at 7:50am. The traffic is dreadful. It's hard to cross Van Buren Street. And we're not going to have any time to relax, drink coffee, read the paper, or the like. Boo hoo.

I will always have warm fuzzy feelings for my super awesome kindergarten mornings.

Last week!

One down, three to go! Days, that is. This is our last week of school, both the girls and me. Now I am very excited about the end of this school year, but sad that the girls' kindergarten year is over. It has been the best of the best, and I am so happy with the education they received. My favorite thing about this year was walking the girls to school at 9:30 in the morning, when traffic was almost non-existent, listening to the quiet sounds of the neighborhood. I tried to savor those moments as I was walking along with my girls, and want to remember those times forever.

On the contrary, I am not sad one bit to finish this school year; it has been very difficult teaching a 1/2 combination class, and very wearing on my conscience. I am very excited to have straight second grade next year, and looking forward to a positive start to a new school year in August.

This summer, I am teaching summer school, so my usual excitement for summer is not quite at the level it has been in the past, but I am teaching in the summer to buy a new Mac computer for home. I have everything picked out at the Apple store, and am counting the weeks until I can do a much-needed upgrade to my age-old desktop computer.

Grace's Favorites

"I love my mom."
"I like to go to Chuck E. Cheese and Disneyland, but most of all I like to go to stores and buy stuff."
"My favorite color is yellow, but I like rainbows."
"My friends (besides Sarah, of course) are Shannon and Lizzy, but most of all I like my teacher."
"My favorite food is almost every each food." (huh?)
"My favorite movie is The LIttle Mermaid and other mermaid one."
"I like salads."
"For dinner I would like to go to the Pirates of the Carribean next to the ride."
"And I like to go to the car wash."

Sarah's Favorites

"I like going on field trips and I like my teacher."
"My favorite color is pink and purple and green."
"My favorite food is strawberries, cherries, apples, bananas. I like so many I can't choose."
"My friends are (besides Grace, of course) Lizzy, Brooke, Isabella, and Sophie."
"My favorite part of school is my teacher. "
"When I grow up I want to be a firefighter."

Potty Training

We are in the thick of potty training, and just when I think that Mia's got it, she pees or poops in her pants. Yesterday, she wore regular underwear all morning, going pee pee on the potty three times successfully. In the early afternoon, my hopes were dashed when I smelled something stinky...poop! In the underwear! Ewwww. Today, she peed twice in the potty, and as of ten minutes ago, she peed in her pants. Total bummer.

A Little Sad

Yesterday was my last day volunteering in Gracie's and Sarah's kindergarten class, and I'm a little sad about that. I have thoroughly enjoyed going in every Friday to volunteer and will really miss doing so. I am so grateful that Mrs. Willey allowed me to come in every week; I never imagined I would enjoy that time as much as I did.

Every Friday, the girls got very excited because I was coming to their classroom that day. "Are you coming to my class today?" they would always say on Friday morning. "Yes, I am," I would always reply. "Yeah!" they would cheer, with BIG smiles on their faces.

I am so lucky to have a job where I have the time to volunteer. I know next year and the coming years will never be as awesome as this year was for me, and I will always remember with fondness the girls kindergarten year and their awesome teacher.