Quote of the day

Alyssa: "Mommy, help! Come quick! Me and Jaden are in danger!!!"

Me: "What's wrong?"

Alyssa, handing me a Barbie: "I can't get her dress on!"

Me: "I thought you said you and Jaden were in danger."

Alyssa: "We are! We're playing house. That's the living room, that's the bedroom and this (spreading her arms to indicate the area we're standing in), this is danger!"


I'm just guessing we were in the kitchen. The kitchen scares me too.

The Kite Festival on Random Photo Tuesday

Scott has a thing for kite-flying so we've been going to the kite festival for years... Technically there's the Art & Wind Festival in San Ramon (every May) and the Kite Festival in Berkeley (every July) but to me they're both Kite Festivals and we usually go to at least one of them every year. We went this weekend and it was fun, as usual, except that for some reason they didn't do the big candy drop. That's Amanda's favorite part. Because what's not to love about candy falling from the sky? WHY didn't they do the candy drop? I have no idea, but Amanda was wildly disappointed. Until we found the cotton candy.Last week Amanda asked me some question that prompted me to get out the journal I kept when I was pregnant with her. I ran across the entry below, in which I talk about the kite festival... and since this is my blog, I'm sharing it:

May 31, 2002

Dear Baby,

These last few weeks with you have been the most fun of all, I think. I can feel you moving around and kicking on a regular basis so I can worry less about you and instead, just revel at the wonder of you. Sometimes I sit in front of my computer at work grinning like a fool because I feel you flip-flopping around and I know that anyone who walks by and sees me might think I'm crazy. But who cares? How lucky am I, that for me, every day is "Bring your baby to work day."

I probably worry more than ever now though when I don't feel you move for a while. Your daddy and I went to the Art and Wind Festival on Monday. I spent much of the time thinking about how fun it will be when we can bring you in a couple of years. Maybe it was because we were walking through a sea of strollers, but I couldn't stop thinking about you...imagining you at the petting zoo playing with the goats, imagining getting you wired on your first cotton candy, imagining your daddy teaching you how to fly your first kite. We stopped for ice cream and then headed home, and it was then that I realized that I hadn't felt you move all day.

I remembered hearing that doing a lot of walking can lull the baby into deep sleep so I decided not to panic. But a few hours later I tried to gently wake you up by jostling my stomach and then I jumped up and down a few times, saying, "Hey Baby, it's time to wake up!" But nothing.

That night I must have woken up at least fifteen times relieved for a second that I'd finally felt you moving and then believing the next second that maybe I'd only dreamed it.

I woke up long before I was supposed to that next morning and didn't bother trying to fall back to sleep because I was so happy to feel you kicking at last. I jumped out of bed and your daddy asked, "Have you felt the baby kick?"

"Yep!" I was glad to know that he was worried about you too.

We've decided that if you're a girl we're going to name you Amanda. I hope you like it. I sent your grandma (my mom) an email saying that Amanda was one of my favorite names and she wrote back saying that my Grandma Nelson (your great-grandma) would have been thrilled for you to have that name because it was her mother's name. Then a few minutes later I got an email from your Grandpa Nelson (my dad), saying that Amanda is simply the best name in the world because it was the name of the Grandma he adored.

According to your Grandpa Nelson, your Great-Great Grandmother Amanda Larson Imsland was a wonderful grandma with a soft lap who gave gentle kisses.

All that enthusiasm sort of clinched it for me. I decided right then, that as long as your daddy didn't object, you would be named Amanda. But only if you're a girl, I promise!

Coming up with a boy's name is proving far more difficult. That and a middle name for Amanda are yet to be determined.

Last Friday night we went out for Mexican food with your Aunt Cara and we tossed around names for a while. Our favorite was Jake. What do you think of Jake?

I don't know. I like it because it's such a masculine name (which your daddy insists on!). I can already picture the girls swooning over Jake. But should it be "Jacob" and "Jake" for short? I'm really not as fond of the name Jacob.

Oh well, we'll figure it out. We still have a few months left to scour the name books. Unless you decide to come early, that is.

Monday morning at about 4am I must have woken up your daddy when I got up to go to the bathroom. When I came back to bed, we were talking and I told him that you were kicking like crazy.

Until then, he'd only felt some of your smaller, barely perceptible movements, so this time when he put his hand on my belly and felt you really bouncing around in there, he was shocked. He said, "Geez! What's it doing in there?!? I think it's trying to chew its way out."

That line struck me so funny that I couldn't stop laughing. I was trying to hold still so he could feel you kick some more but that only made it worse and I would laugh even harder. He was laughing too. I wonder if you were.

All along I'd imagined you as being perfectly content in there. Safe and secure without a care in the world. That's how my baby would be. But you're not just my baby, you've got your daddy's DNA too, and a baby of his may very well be bored out of his mind. Completely frustrated with the knowledge that he's missing out on all the excitement, and hatching a detailed escape plan.

I guess it's a good thing you don't have teeth, because if you did, you might be trying to chew your way out!

I love you, Baby!

Mommy

Now for your viewing pleasure, I pulled out some photos of us at kite festivals through the last few years. I'm sure I have a bunch more but these were the ones I was able to find easily.

2003, Amanda's first kite festival... chubby little thing, isn't she?
2005... I was pregnant with Alyssa in case you notice I was a chubby little thing:Before the candy drop:After the candy drop:
2006, Alyssa's first kite festival:
And finally, this year:

This last one is the scene that happened while we were unpacking the car. In the last few weeks, Amanda has started carrying this little red journal around with her and she stops frequently to write down whatever happens to be going on in her world. Of course I have absolutely no clue where she might have picked up such a habit but I LOVE IT. So maybe if she decides not to be a teacher or a massuese, she'll be a writer. Or she can be all three. That could work too.

Random Photo Tuesday

Just a few recent pictures from the last couple of weeks. The first few were taken in our backyard. The next two were taken at our friend, Brandon's, 7th birthday party and the last one was just one day when Alyssa stumbled into the living room half asleep, spotted the spare carseat and went right back to sleep.

It’s Random Photo Thursday!

Okay I know, I'm supposed to do this on Tuesday. I'm behind. What's new? Tuesday was not our best day here. Amanda had a friend over and lately when she has friends over she seems to think she can get away with things she normally wouldn't. We've had several talks about this but they haven't helped. I know this is partly my fault because, well… when her friends are around, I've let her get away with things she normally wouldn't .

I didn't want to be the mean mom so I've let things slide when I shouldn't have. Does that mean it's all my fault? Okay well anyway, we're both working on this. I'm trying to turn things around. Tuesday showed me I need to work harder at this.

Amanda had already been pushing the limits on Tuesday, when she finally pushed them too far. She and her friend went outside to play on the swings and when I went outside to check on them, Amanda said, "What do you want? Go back inside Old Lady."

(I'll give you a second to get over your pure shock and disbelief.)

I said, "Excuse me?" To which my delightful six year old replied, "Go back inside Old Witch."

(I know. You probably need another second to digest this. I did too.)

Yes, my completely adorable child called me an Old Witch.

Now in her defense, upon further consideration, I'm 98% certain that when she said it, this is the Old Witch she had in mind:

But since she didn't specifically refer to me as, "the kindest and most beautiful witch in all the land," I have to assume there was a possibility she was talking about one who resembles the one below, so I had to respond appropriately.
She'd never called me a name before, certainly not a mean one… and for the record, we were in the middle of a play date, so I was on my best mommy behavior (which is what got me into trouble in the first place) and certainly not acting like an old witch. Not saying it never happens but it wasn't happening then.

Anyway, it took me a while before I came to my senses and made Amanda's happy little world come to a screeching halt. I know, I know… Next time I'll act faster. This time I waited until her friend went home and then we had a very long chat. She said that she had no idea why she said what she did. She said she was trying to be funny. She also said she was sorry. She put on her brave face while I told her the consequences, which were in response to more than just being disrespectful and the name calling (lest you you think I was being too harsh in response to a first offense).

When Scott got home, Amanda ran to lock herself in the bathroom while I told him that she'd gotten into trouble. He asked why and I said, "Well for one thing, she called me an old lady."

His response: "So suddenly she's not allowed to speak the truth?"

Smart ass.

I bit my cheek to keep from laughing and whispered, "United front. We're presenting a united front here. We are a team and We Will Not Laugh."

Then I explained to him that there would be no more play dates for the week. No treats. No TV… Scott stopped me there and said, "No TV? That means no American Idol!?!"

Yep. That's right.

He said, "Man, you're a mean old witch."

Now I ask you, do I look like a mean old witch?

So in happier news, Amanda is winding up first grade, counting the days until summer. She is also currently sporting her very first wiggly tooth! She's a little freaked out by it, because one of her friends told her it's going to hurt.

Today she'll be getting up in front of the class to give a report about what she wants to be when she grows up. Currently she wants to be a teacher, and the child is seriously dedicated to playing school. She's constantly setting up classrooms in various spots around the house. She says decorating and organizing the classroom is one of the very best parts of being a teacher. She's always writing out homework assignments, making reading lists, pulling in willing or unwilling students.

I regularly get progress reports for Alyssa. Alyssa doesn't listen. Won't pay attention. Won't stay in her seat. Always forgets to raise her hand before speaking. That Alyssa is a little delinquent, I tell ya. But Miss Amanda perseveres.

Amanda has other aspirations as well, one of which is to be a masseuse. Now hypothetically, would it be wrong if I were to encourage her in that particular pursuit over something more altruistic and world-changing mainly because she… hypothetically… gives me the best foot massages on earth? Did I mention that she actually begs me to let her give me foot massages? Hypothetically, of course. I know the world may need more teachers but Mommy needs foot massages too.

Alyssa is in normal Alyssa mode. Always so much fun to hang out with. For the record, she wants to be a dinosaur when she grows up. One of her favorite phrases is, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Trust me it's always fun to find out what she is thinking and very rarely am I thinking the same thing. Moments ago she was thinking that princesses should only wear white dresses and very tall shoes. Earlier it had something to do with monkeys eating cookies and before that it was something about kitty cats with balloons.

This is the conversation we had yesterday a moment after she woke up from her nap…

Alyssa: "I had a nightmare!"

Me: "Really? What was it?"

Alyssa: "It was pictures behind my eyes and you could click on them. It was like a movie."

Me: "What were the pictures of?"

Alyssa: "You!"

Me: "Oh! Were they scary?"

Alyssa: "No."

Me: "So it was a dream then."

Alyssa: "No, it was just like a movie behind my eyes."

I bet Mommy looked like this:

In other news, the cat has fleas.

And umm, let's see… Scott is desperate for a vacation. We're trying to decide between Disneyland and Yosemite. For the record, I'm on the Disneyland team. Alyssa has never been but she's been to Yosemite a few times. Who wants to go see Mickey? WE DO!

As for me, I got to be a (non) celebrity (non) super-model last week. Shutterfly's creative director sent me an email saying they were looking for a customer (and photo book creator) to represent the reasons to create a photo book. They said they wanted to interview me and do a photoshoot with me holding one of my photo books and wondered if I would be interested.

Ahh gee, let me think about it, YES!!!

Cara drove me to the photo shoot in San Francisco. (Thanks Cara!) They did my hair and make-up and I had a wardrobe stylist who dressed me in different outfits for different seasons. Yeah, I know. How cool is that? It was really fun. Though when I saw myself on the monitor my first thought was, WHOA!!! When did I turn into such a MOM? Anyway, I'm going to be on their website, in the photo book section of their store, starting in July.

While I was having my make-up done, they did a quick photo shoot of my niece, Sophia, holding some of my photo books and today they sent me a release to sign. They said I should add Sophia's name if it's okay to use her photo on their site in the future. How fun is that?

They used big binder clips to make my clothes fit. You better believe I'll be using that little fashion tip in the future. So if you see me walking around with big binder clips sticking all over my back it's not because I'm a dork, it's just because I'm a big (non) celebrity (non) super-model.

Hold the crud please...

Alyssa: "Mommy, can I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

Me: "Sure."

Alyssa: "Please cut the crud off the bread."

Me: "You mean the crust?"

Alyssa: "No, the crud. I don't like crud on my bread."

Me: "Yeah, I'm not crazy about it either."

CPS should be arriving any minute now...

Quote of the day

Alyssa, after talking to my mom on the phone: "Now can we call Grandma Daddy's Mom?"

Me: "Maybe after lunch."

Alyssa: "Can we call Grandma Bea then?"

Me: "Nope, we can't call Grandma Bea because she's in heaven."

Alyssa: "That's okay, I'm sure she has her phone in her purse."