Fundraising Mission

I did it as a kid, and now my two older daughters are doing it too. They’ve become pseudo door-to-door sales girls, not selling girl scout cookies, but Sees Candies for their school fundraiser. When they pulled the crumpled forms from their backpacks, they immediately asked if they could try selling the candy to our neighbors. I let out a resigned sigh, and begrudgingly said yes. I had no desire to walk through our neighborhood with my kids while they gave their sales pitch. My girls however, they were beyond excited to pound the pavement.

So on Saturday we did just that. No one answered the door at the first house. The second house either. In hindsight, we probably should have gone on a non-holiday weekend, but my girls could not be deterred. They were determined to get a sale, and at the third house: success!  With a kind smile, our neighbor patiently listened as Olivia spewed out her pitch in a rapid fire speech. Once she finished, she took a quick breath and then held her breath waiting for our neighbor to respond. When she said she’d buy a box, Olivia flashed a huge grin and I visibly saw the look of relief on her face. Behind me, Erin pumped her arm in celebration even though she did not make the sale. We had decided ahead of time the girls would take turns so the neighbors wouldn’t feel pressured to buy from both kids. Erin wanted Olivia to go first so she could learn the tricks of the sales trade from her big sister.  As we walked to the next house, I quizzed Erin on what she would say. She giggled and shrugged her shoulders. The cuteness factor worked in her favor because she got a pretty big sale on her first try. Beginner’s luck I think not.

In all, the girls secured sales from five houses. Not bad for their first outing. I know plenty of parents who bring the fundraising forms to work, guilting co-workers into buying the candy, gift wrapping, or candles, which they neither want or need. I don’t want to become one of those parents. I’m pretty sure I already annoy my co-workers enough with photos and videos and stories about my kids.

So I gave up part of my lovely Saturday afternoon traipsing through my neighborhood with my kids. While I didn’t want to do it, there were a couple of benefits.  It gave me a chance to catch up with the neighbors who were home and who answered their doors, and I got the goods on the latest neighborhood gossip. I also scored major points with Olivia and Erin. And for that I may even chaperone them again while they try to raise money for their school, one house at a time.

Tags: children, family, fundraisers, parenting, school

“Mom, Do You Ever Feel Left Out?”

The title of this post came from the mouth of my 6-year old. She asked that question last week and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. As soon as she asked the question, my heart sunk to what felt like a new low, knowing that my sweet, funny, quirky kid had her feelings hurt on the playground.  It breaks my heart right now, just writing this. As bad as I feel about this, I can only imagine how it made her feel. I went straight into Lion Mom mode (notice I didn’t say Tiger Mom), wanting to protect my cub from the harsh, harsh world of the kindergarten playground. And you know it can be harsh. Little girls, even cute five and six years olds can be mean and tell other girls they don’t want to play with them.

So what did I do? Well, first I emailed the teacher to see if she knew exactly what was going on. She didn’t, but said she would keep an extra eye on her during recess. With 30 kids in her class, that’s far from an easy task. Second, I contacted an elementary school teacher friend who eased my concerns. Third, I’m taking one of her suggestions and am trying to set up even more playdates.

I’ve mentioned before that Erin isn’t a typical six-year-old girl.  She’d much rather build Legos or play medieval castle than play Barbies or dress-up. When it comes to Erin, I will never need to read a book like Peggy Orenstein’s “Cinderella Ate My Daughter“. I may need it for Carrie, who is a poster child for everything pink and girly-girl, but never for Erin or Olivia for that matter. I’m proud that I have independent and free-spirited daughters, but those fantastic characteristics can at times make navigating the perils of elementary school even more challenging. This is one of those times.

At sharing day last week, she brought her Lego Cars she got for her birthday. I think she was hoping it would win over some of the girls. It didn’t. She did however get a ton of attention from the boys. Unwanted attention, according to Erin. She said she didn’t like that all the boys were crowding around her. For now, she has no interest in boys. She thinks they’re gross. I told her they may be gross, but they do like a lot of the same things she does, so she may want to consider becoming buddies with the boys. Girls, boys, I don’t care who she plays with. I just want her to find a friend who can appreciate her winning personality and share her interests.

I have no doubt it will happen soon. It might be a boy. It might be a girl. Heck, knowing Erin, she’ll have a whole posse of both genders hanging out with her. She’s a great kid, and it’s only a matter of time before her classmates see this too.

Tags: children, family, parenting

To Erin: On Your 6th Birthday

Dear Erin,

You’re six! A few months ago, you couldn’t sound out the word six, but guess what? Now you can! That’s just one of the many new things you’ve learned in the last year. You’ve also learned how to ride a bike, ski, speak a little bit of Spanish, and build creative Lego sets.

That’s pretty impressive my dear, pretty impressive, and I’m not just saying that because I’m your Mom. O.K., maybe I am saying all this because I’m your mom, but what kind of mom would I be if I didn’t brag about my kid?

As much as you’ve learned, you’ve remained our little girl with the wicked sense of humor, infectious laugh, and mega-watt smile.

You know exactly what you like and what you don’t, and are quite aware that you’re not a “girly girl.” You are one of the most unique and special kids I’ve ever met, and I wouldn’t want you any other way. How could I not love a kindergartener who likes to watch “60 Minutes?”  Yes, if given the choice between “Scooby Doo,” “House of Anubis,” or “60 Minutes,” you’ll turn to the first two, but it does this TV news producer’s heart good to see her daughter watching (mostly) quality journalism.

Unlike your Mom (and Dad for that matter), you’ve got some killer break dancing moves, and you show them off to anyone who comes to our house to visit.

You eat with enthusiasm, gobbling up brussels sprouts with gusto,

just as easily as you dig into a birthday cinnamon roll. 

As crazy as you are at home, imagine my surprise when your kindergarten teacher told me you’re quiet and shy in class. I guess you save your big personality for your family and friends. Lucky us!

You’ve come a long way in six years kiddo, and you continue to amaze me in big and little ways every single day. It is my privilege to be your Mom and watch you grow and learn. I can’t wait to see what surprises you have in store for us this year.

I love you Nutter!

Mom

 

Tags: birthday, children, family, parenting

Frank Talk About Anne Frank

Just a couple of weeks ago, Olivia was reading the Rainbow Magic Fairy series. For those who don’t know what this is, you’re not missing much. It’s written by Daisy Meadows, which is actually a pseudonym for several writers who churn out dozens of books about fairies. Olivia can churn through one of these books in a day, and is thankfully outgrowing them.

I couldn’t wait for to her to broaden her reading horizons, but I didn’t expect she would go from asking for Rainbow Magic books to the Diary of Anne Frank.

But yep, that’s my oldest kid. When she asked if she could read Anne Frank, I was conflicted. Of course I want her to read it, but I don’t know if I want her to read it when she’s eight. I decided she could first read a biography of Anne Frank, while I re-read The Diary of Anne Frank. Thanks to the biography, Olivia already knows the basic concept of the book. For the last two days, she has been regaling me with facts about Anne Frank. As interested as she is in this amazing young girl, I’m ready to give her the OK, and let her read the book. Who am I to ban it from her? Well yes, I am her mother, and really I can say no, but I won’t. Sure it’s a difficult book with a lot of difficult themes, but it’s also one of the most important books I’ve ever read.

I’m sure she won’t understand quite a bit of the book, but I’m going to do my best to have a frank and honest discussion about what happened to this 13-year old Jewish girl during World War II. I’m also quite certain this won’t be the last time she reads The Diary of Anne Frank. And I can’t wait until she does have a better understanding of it.

Tags: Anne Frank, books, children, family, parenting, reading

Skiing Without Snow

Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place with or without snow, but in mid-January, I want snow, and lots of it. Unfortunately, this was my view from the top of one of the runs at Kirkwood Ski Resort.

Yes, there’s snow right in front of me, but it’s the man-made version which comes from huge snow making machines that run all night long. And even with the snow making machines working overtime, only about 30% of Kirkwood was open. That meant crappy skiing conditions for me, but the new, young, skiers didn’t seem to mind the less than stellar conditions.

Last Minute Instructions

In Line for the Chairlift

We traveled to Tahoe with family friends, and we signed-up the four older kids for lessons with two pretty awesome teachers. Before this trip, Erin had only been on a chairlift once with me, and Olivia had a very remedial knowledge of how to ski. Three days later, they were rockin’ down the slopes!

Here She Comes!

That’s Erin making her way down the hill holding a hula hoop. It’s not some aerobic skiing fusion, but a way to introduce kids to poles. From what little I saw, it works. Olivia used it on her second day of lessons, and by day three she was using poles.

She also took a couple of runs with me and her dad.

Dad and Daughter Ready for their Ski Date

I can’t tell you how immensely fulfilling it was to be able to ski with my oldest daughter. She surpassed all my expectations, and best of all, every day she was excited about skiing.

Even though I didn’t get a chance to ski with Erin, from what her teacher said, she grew by leaps and bounds. She was tired and exhausted every day, but kudos to her for stepping into the clunky uncomfortable ski boots and getting back on the hill for three straight days. We were going to let her off the hook on the final day, but she changed her mind on her own. That change of heart also meant she got to ski with her dad at the end of the day. I don’t know who was happier about it, Erin or Dad.

We did put Carrie in ski school the first day. At 3 3/4, the most I wanted her to get out of it, was getting used to wearing ski boots and all the rest of the gear.

Happy Skier

Well, you can see she succeeded.

This was our third winter Tahoe trip with the kids, but our first time going to Kirkwood. It’s one of our friends’ favorite places, and now we know why. Although the weather conditions sucked, you can’t really beat how close everything is at Kirkwood. We stayed in a condo within walking distance to the lifts. With six young kids between the two families, that was huge. It’s also a little closer than South Lake Tahoe or North Lake Tahoe, and anytime you can shorten a road trip the better.

Unfortunately, this trip also included a visit to the ER. Even though there was no snow, there was a little patch of ice, and Olivia slipped and fell hard on her elbow. I didn’t see it, but I heard it. She screamed bloody murder, and it swelled up. Based on past experience with broken bones, we decided not to take any chances and I drove her to the ER 30 miles away. Luckily, we beat the rush, and an X-Ray showed no broken elbow. The doctor thought it was a bad bruise, and gave her the OK to ski if she felt up to it. The pictures show how quickly she recovers, and we hardly heard any complaints about said elbow after the initial accident.

This is not the first time we’ve had medical issues while in Tahoe. The first time, it involved Carrie. She was sick, miserable, and smelled. Yes, smelled. We couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from. A trip to a Tahoe urgent care didn’t solve the problem, and only when we got home did we figure out what was causing the god awful stench. Actually, our pediatrician figured it out in about two seconds.

The Smelly Offender

Inside that specimen jar is a fuzzy ball. Carrie apparently stuck it up her nose BEFORE we left for Tahoe and after marinating for several days up there, it smelled like something died. No wonder she looked so happy in the after photo. I would have been miserable too with that stuck up my nose.

After our third skiing trip with three kids, we’ve realized a few things. It’s hard and no kid ever wants to carry his or her own ski gear. Ever. It’s expensive (Very expensive). It’s worth (almost) every penny and parental frustration.

Tags: children, family, Kirkwood, skiing, snow, sports, Tahoe, vacations, winter

The Layover in San Francisco

He’s been all over the world, and now in his new show The Layover, Anthony Bourdain returns to my turf, San Francisco. If you haven’t seen the show, which I highly recommend, Bourdain spends about 30 hours drinking his way through a city. I didn’t particularly like the first few episodes because it felt like a cheap off label version of Bourdain’s original series No Reservations. Yeah, I’ll watch it if nothing else is on, but if I want the good stuff, I’ll save up for it. Well I was low on TV options so I decided to catch up on a couple of  The Layover episodes, and I have to say, they’ve gotten better.

Maybe I’m biased because I love San Francisco, or maybe it’s because he was inebriated for 29 out of the 30 hours he spent in SF, but it was funny. Damn funny. Any show that starts off in the Tonga Room at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel is bound to spark a fair amount of hilarity, and this episode of  The Layover did not disappoint. It was like watching a progressive pub crawl in fast forward and skipping the right to the slurred words and stumbling in the street scenes. I lost count of the amount of drinks Bourdain consumed. He had at least three potent drinks served with fancy umbrellas in huge lava or skull themed glasses. I’ve been to the Tonga Room a couple of times, even used it as a backdrop for a news special I produced, but never, ever did I try even a fraction of the drinks Bourdain enjoyed.

From Nob Hill, he continued his San Francisco tour through a one of a kind Chinatown bar, and then headed into another bar where the dude behind the counter wore a tie. Bourdain eventually ended up at a pizza and burger joint that’s known for staying open late. The chef and foodie is in one of the top food cities in the world and he’s scarfing down a double cheeseburger. Yep, that pretty much sums up The Layover. The show highlights people, places, and drinking establishments that you’ll never read about in Fodor’s or Rick Steve’s guide books, but still make you want to visit.  Hell, I was just happy Bourdain didn’t dog San Francisco again, like he’s been known to do on No Reservations. It’s probably because he was drunk almost throughout the entire episode, but Bourdain was effusive in his love for SF. I think at one point he even said it’s the best drinking city in the world.

After watching probably a half-dozen episodes of The Layover, I’ve noticed something. The drunker Bourdain, the better the episode. In fact, I’m watching the one on Miami as I write this, and Bourdain is way more sober, and it’s nowhere near as good as the San Francisco episode. So if Bourdain were to ever ask my producing advice for his show, I’d tell him to do what he did in San Francisco. Drink early and often. It may not serve him well on the flight home, but it makes for entertaining television.

Tags: Anthony Bourdain, food, reality tv, San Francisco, television, The Layover, TV

Bring on the Playdates!

Its been a long three weeks of winter vacation for the older two girls and me. Yes, three weeks. That’s the Redwood City School District’s answer to the California budget crisis. The state gives the school less money, so the district tacks on an extra week to winter break which means one week less of pay for teachers. Awesome huh?

But I digress. This post isn’t about California state lawmakers failing our school children, it’s about playdates! And when it comes to entertaining my kids when they’re out of school and I’m off work I try to schedule as many playdates as possible. I was off two days this week, so both days I made it my mission to find other kids to come over. It’s a win win for everyone.

Here, in no particular order are the reasons why I actively recruit children to come over and trash our house:

1. It’s one of the best ways to get my own kids to behave. All I have to do is to threaten to take away the playdate, and they transform from hell on wheels to perfect angelic children.
2. Other kids can entertain my own kids much better than I can.
3. My kids tend to follow the lead of their polite friends and say please and thank you without my incessant prompting.
4. Major brownie points from other parents who can unload their kids at my house for a couple of hours.
5. I actually like most of my kids’ friends. They’re sweet, funny, and tend to bring out the best in my own kids.
6. I actually like most of my kids’ friends’ parents. They too are sweet, funny, and tend to bring out the best in me. Plus, most like a good cocktail, glass of wine, or beer as much as I do.
7. I’m lazy and having kids come to my house means I don’t have to schlep my kids anywhere.

As much as I may like playdates for my kids, I am counting the minutes until we get back to school schedule. They’re driving me crazy, they’re driving each other crazy, and I’m quite certain I’m driving them crazy.

Tags: children, parenting, playdates, school, vacation

Return to P90X

I didn’t want to do it. I really didn’t want to do it, but I had no choice. Too many potato pancakes, dinners out, and not enough exercise all added up to extra post-holiday pounds. So now I’m once again dragging my much flabbier ass out of bed at an ungodly early hour to work out with Tony Horton while listening to his tired old jokes that are still just as lame as the first time that I heard it.

I’m also retreating to the low-carb, high protein diet that goes along with the P90X workout. It basically consists of an egg white omelette for breakfast, salad for lunch, and a sensible dinner. I’m also once again severely cutting back on my alcohol consumption. No wonder I’m cranky.

It’s amazing how long it takes you to get in shape, and how little time it takes to get out of it. I admit, I’ve gone totally off the rails when it comes to my diet, but I’ve still been lacing up my running shoes and hitting the road a couple of times a week so I thought I wouldn’t be back to square one with P90X. I thought wrong.

I started it bright and early Monday morning, and two days later I still can’t lift my arms above my head. I’m in pain. A lot of pain. Let’s not even talk about my abs. Ok, I changed my mind. Let’s talk about them. It hurts to laugh. It hurts to cry. It just hurts.

And still I’m determined. I have plans to get begrudgingly get back out of bed early tomorrow morning and do yoga with Tony. I may however, have to mute him.

Wish me luck!

Tags: diet, health and fitness, p90x, running, weight, workout

What Time Is It?

As the countdown to the end of 2011 begins in earnest and people look ahead to 2012, my two oldest girls are literally watching the last minutes of the year go by.

This is why:

Tic Tock

They are sporting brand spanking new watches. And no, they’re not the digital ones. These are big kid ones which force the girls to put their time telling skills to good use.

For Hanukkah, Van got them watches, although the ones in the picture aren’t the ones he picked out. Like most girls, they have specific tastes that don’t necessarily match their Dad’s, so today we ventured out to the mall to exchange the original ones. That was approximately three hours ago. Since that time, (pun intended) the girls have gleefully been shouting out the current time every few minutes. I’m sure it will get annoying in about a day, but right now I can’t help but giggle when I hear one of the girls inform us of the time.

I’ve heard the predictions about the death of wristwatches, I don’t believe it will happen in my time (can’t stop with the time cliches).  Maybe I’m old school, but I still wear a watch almost every day even though I could just as easily use my iPhone. Time will tell if the watch novelty eventually wears off for the girls, but for now they’re sleeping with them.

Their foray into this new time-telling era also means something else: no more fudging the time to get them to bed earlier. As their 8 p.m. bedtime neared tonight, Erin counted it down to the minute. Like I said earlier, tonight it was cute. Tomorrow, I’ll be giving them time-outs (last one) for their time-telling quips.

 

 

 

Tags: children, gifts, kids, parenting, shopping, time

The Great Soccer Battle

Olivia has learned that if she asks to do something, I will force her to follow-through, no matter what kind of tantrum she throws. This latest battle involved trying out for a spring soccer team.

Van and I were pleasantly surprised to see how much Olivia liked playing soccer. At 8, this was her first year playing on a team, and even though she was a soccer newbie and had to sit on the sidelines for nearly half the season due to a broken wrist, by the end of the season we saw a marked improvement. She must have figured out her soccer skills improved too because she told us she wanted to keep playing.  So when she came home from school earlier this week with a flyer advertising soccer tryouts, I asked if she wanted to do it. She said yes. I asked if she was sure. Once again, she vigorously nodded her head while saying, “Yes, Mommy. I want to do this. I want to do this.”  OK, kid you got it.

Of course when tryout day arrived, (yesterday) Olivia changed her mind. I think it had more to do with not wanting to get up off the couch where she had planted herself for a couple of hours, watching countless episodes of “So Random,” and “Good Luck Charlie” with her sisters. When I informed her she didn’t get to change her mind and had to get dressed in her soccer clothes, the water works and screaming started. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t fun. I screamed as much as she did. I finally told her that if she didn’t go to tryouts, this would end her short-lived soccer career. That’s when with lots of stomping and yelling she marched off to her room to begrudgingly get dressed. Van missed most of the theatrics, and looked utterly bewildered when he came downstairs to see his eldest daughter in a fit of rage. He also got charged with the task of schlepping her to the tryouts.

When she got to tryouts, she apparently transformed into a new child. Gone were the tears and tantrum, replaced with smiles and giggles as she goofed off with friends. As far as the tryouts go, well Van reported back that she seemed kind of oblivious to the ball. She’s far from a star player, but she likes the game. How do I know? When she came back, she thanked me, yes thanked me for making her go to tryouts. That almost made the earlier hysterics worth it. Almost. Did I mention she’s only 8? Lord help me once she hits her teenage years.

 

 

Tags: children, family, parenting, soccer, sports