Seven Year Itch

Michael and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary on Monday, Sept 21. I cannot believe 7 years have gone by. I cannot believe we have a child in kindergarten. I cannot believe another is in her first year of preschool. SEVEN YEARS. Wow.

We brought in our 7th year together with Madison sleeping in between us. We celebrated with a romantic dinner...for 4...at Cafe Veloce, a local family-owned restaurant that we have driven by several times but never considered eating at. Surprisingly, it was quite good.

It's been a great 7 years even with all of its challenges, whether it be dealing with aging parents or young preschoolers, making ends meet, praising small steps, celebrating accomplishments, enjoying our travels or simply watching our favourite TV shows together. Life is good.

Thank you, Michael, for the 7 years. It's been a fun ride! (I love roller coasters much more than the Merry-Go-Round.)

September Updates

I have been so negligent in updating my blog. I have become a slacker! Well, two kid comments of recent:
1) Madison to me: "Hey, you are fat. You are very fat. You are like a big piggy." OUCH! Only out of the mouth of a babe. Coincidentally, I have been feeling fat lately. I think I am 10 lbs heavier than the spring. I am definitely out of shape, my clothes are tighter. I gotta get back on the treadmill! And then a few days after that comment she said again but in another way, "Mommy, you are having a baby. You have a big tummy."

Now I can receive the fat comment once but a second time in the same week???? Come on, does this child show no grace? I guess it would be unreasonable for me to expect diplomacy from a 3-year old. Well, at least, I know where I stand. I am overweight. Or to put it nicely...I am just right but with a few extra pounds. Now there is diplomacy.

2) Jaclyn yesterday: "Mommy, can I go to school tomorrow." "There is no school tomorrow." "But I can't wait to go to school. I want to go NOW!"
The update on Jaclyn and kindergarten: After two weeks of reviewing the pros & cons of Frost (public) and Overlake, we decided to send her to Overlake. It was so hard because both options were good for different reasons, and Jaclyn would have excelled at either. But after this past week at Overlake, I am soooooooooo happy we switched Jaclyn. The projects she brings home are so much more interesting and challenging. She seems happier, not that she wasn't happy at Frost, but there is an excitement in her eyes which I didn't see when she was going to Frost (except for waiting for the school bus). Teacher Tami, her teacher from Pre-K last year, is absolutely amazing. Before school even started, she gave us a monthly calendar, a weekly schedule, a daily schedule, and a 9-week progress report check-list. I got zero from the public school. I had no clue what Jaclyn was learning there. A couple of times she was bringing home colouring sheets which I thought was a joke.
Once I stopped thinking about the cost of Overlake, and that it is an "investment", it was so much easier to make the decision.
And just hearing Jaclyn make that above comment about wanting to go to school NOW, affirms that I made the right choice.

Summer is Gone and School is Here

It's been over two months since my last blog entry. We have had a fun and exciting summer. We travelled to Portland & Great Wolf Lodge. Whistler. Vancouver (a few times). And the best of all, 2 weeks in New York State. The kids have been in swim lessons, gym classes and gym camp, and Vacation Bible Schools. We have had playdates at parks, beaches and shopping malls. We have visited family, relatives and friends. We celebrated Madison's 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.

And now today, Jaclyn went to her first day of kindergarten at Frost Elementary. She was super excited to go. SUPER. There was no anxiety at all. Just pure excitement and joy. For me on the hand, I had mixed emotions. A bit of sadness that my Jaclyn has so willingly flown from the nest.

Wow...first day of kindergarten. Where did the time go? How come there are days that seem long and years that seem to have past so quickly?

my old idols

Yesterday, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett past away. I can't believe it. I was a huge fan of Farrah Fawcett when I was in elementary school. HUGE. I had every magazine that had Charlie's Angels or her on it. I had that poster that made her hugely famous. Books, bubble gum cards, you name it, I had it. Even the spelling of my daughter's name is from Jaclyn Smith (although she was named after my dad, Jack).

And then Michael Jackson. What a loss to the world. He was an incredible talent. Yes, he was odd...but he was an amazing artist. You gotta give him credit for that. He had a hard life with all the media at him. To this day, his concerts were the best concerts I have ever been to.

I still can't believe he's gone.

Always Tell the Truth

I was reading Jaclyn "The Tale of Desperaux" and at the beginning of the book, it introduces a mouse that loves honor & justice and always tells the truth. So I asked Jaclyn if she always tells the truth. "NO!" she said. Then I told her that she should always tell the truth like Desperaux. Her reply to me was, "Well, nobody's perfect."

And then the other day, she tattle-taled (again) on Madison. "Mom, Madison is drawing all over herself with a pen." When I looked at Madison, Jaclyn was right. There were pen marks all over her body. Legs, arms, tummy, back, on shirt. Wait a minute! BACK? How would Madison be able to draw a flower on her back? Wait another minute! Since when is Madison able to write a single letter let alone her own name, and upside down? "JACLYN...did you write on your sister?" "We both did." (So much for always telling the truth.)

Vancouver. Spectacular by Nature.

Vancouver is still the most beautiful city to me. I went boating today with the girls, Geoff and buddy, Alan. The Vancouver skyline has changed so much over the years but it is still a spectacular sight. The new convention centre is absolutely gorgeous. I just loved seeing the seaplanes & helicopters fly in & out of the harbour, the kayakers, the aquabuses, the sailboats, people running or riding their bikes along the Stanley Park seawall, the huge cruiseships, and the odd seal pop its head out of the water. I am sure there is no other city where you can go boating and skiing all in one day, if you wanted to.

"Vancouver. Spectacular by nature."

cute prayer request

Madison's night time prayer tonight included, "I want to live in the big white house. The big white house has pretty flowers."

A day at Alki

We celebrated Michael's birthday at Alki Beach. It was a beautiful day...lots of folks playing in the sand and riding pedicabs. We had the best fish & chips at Sunfish (I think it's called that). The water was cold but that didn't stop the kids from running into it.

Little Bird

I said to my mom in the car:

"Chrissy told me that a little bird told her that I was in town. That little bird must have been Auntie Vera."

Jaclyn in the backseat eavesdropping: "Auntie Vera is not a little bird. She doesn't fly."

Jaclyn Graduates

I cannot believe that Jaclyn graduated from preschool today. Where did the years go? I wish, more than most things, that I could freeze this time where my two young daughters are so full of joy and have not been tainted by the challenges of life. (The other thing I wish is for my dad's mental health to improve.)

Jaclyn got the Friendship Award because she is always willing to be friends with whoever needs one. And that she is...just like her mom. I am so proud of her and so happy in what she has achieved in the past 5 years and who she is as a person. Full of heart. Full of love. Full of joy.

42nd Birthday

I spent my 42nd birthday in Whistler, BC (from May 21-24) with my husband and kids, my parents, brother, and uncle. We had such a wonderful, relaxing time. Our friend's place is so huge - you can hardly call it a "cabin" - it's more like a mansion. We hardly had any reason to leave it. We got caught up playing snookers or the pinball machine. Or got glued to the satellite TV. Or lapped up in luxury in the eucalyptus steam room. For me, I got caught up in reading the 4th book of the Twilight Saga, "Breaking Dawn". It wasn't as good as the previous books but I had to finish the series.

My brother, Geoff, cooked gourmet breakfasts and dinners (another reason to not have to go out). Why pay an exorbitant amount of money on dining when we have our own in-house chef? We did have one (lousy & expensive) lunch at the Longhorn, and great burgers at Splitz Grill.

Jaclyn had a great adventure hike around Lost Lake. I enjoyed hearing Michael teach her about old man's beards, moss, lichen, fungus and all the different trees. Then the kids dipped their feet in the lake while the seniors watched from afar at a picnic table.

Michael and I were able to sneak out to watch the new Star Trek movie. It was amazing, REALLY amazing. I definitely could see that movie a few times.

All in all, I had a great, relaxing birthday. I loved being with my family.

Sleeping Beauties

Look what I found after I checked up on the girls before I went to bed!!!

How cute is that!!! Jaclyn and Madison are the best of friends. They play all day together and still can't seem to get enough of each other.

Twilight

I read a thick book in two days. That's pretty good considering I am a mother of two preschoolers. At first, I thought, "Ah, it's just a tweener book. Teen angst. Easy read. No big deal." But as I got into more and more chapters, I found myself caught up in the lives and unforbidden love of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, the girl and the vampire. I have to admit, I loved it. So much so, that I had to reskim the whole book over again.
Then I saw the movie. How awful. The acting was deplorable. The quality was definitely low budget. Had I seen the movie first, I would not have had the slightest interest in picking up the book. But I guess that is always the case. The book is way better than the movie.

It reminds me very much of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice...not that anyone's work can compare to Jane Austen's. Edward Cullen is the modern day Mr. Darcy. Bella Swan is Miss Elizabeth Bennett.

I am itching to read the 3 next books in the Twilight saga. I have to have more of Edward Cullen.

Two Lips

Michael took the day off work yesterday. We took the kids to La Conner for a picnic and then a look-see of the Tulip Festival. It was a fun, relaxing day.
On the way there, we stopped at Home Depot where Michael bought 5 face masks in case of a spread of the swine flu, at the Seattle Premium Outlet for a Starbucks & to purchase 10 Webkinz, and at the Tulalip Hotel to see what it looked like (beautiful!).
We bumped into an old friend at the outlet, Renee Wong. We hadn't seen her in years, and we had only seen her once since our wedding. She was shopping with other fellow moms - 2 of which I happen to know. What a small world.

The tulips were beautiful. Not in abundance as in previous years but I think it's because it's the tail end of the festival. And La Conner is such a cute little town.

Enough rambling about nothing. We just had a great, relaxing, playful day in the hot sun.

6 Tips for Helping Children Learn

I learnt these 6 tips today from a MOPS guest speaker. It's not like she is reinventing the wheel but the tips were good reminders to me so I thought I would share them in this blog (plus because I am so disorganized, I know I will misplace my handwritten notes):

1. READ READ READ to your children.
2. LIMIT THEIR SCREENING TIME as it lessens their attention span. (Of course, when we got home today, my kids plugged themselves in front of the TV, so I have yet to apply that tip.)
3. EXPERIENCE LIFE TOGETHER. Teaching your kids is not about "Sit down now and do your homework". (Here is a picture of them experiencing life after drinking a smoothie they helped make!)
4. LIBRARY
5. SET THE EXAMPLE of reading. (I am not much of an example there. I need to get in the habit of reading again. I haven't picked up a book in ages.)
6. SPRINGBOARD OFF AREAS OF THEIR INTEREST. (In my home, it's all about Princess.)

No one will ever care as much as you do about your children, their future and their education. No one's qualification will be as great as your own devotion for your kids. Never let your children's schooling interfere with their education (paraphrasing Mark Twain).