Smacking me in the face

"Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; try to use ordinary situations." (Jean Paul Richter, a German Novelist)

This quote was on my daily calendar the day after my post below. Coincidence?

One's Power

I often think that I have to do something grand in order to really influence others...like find a cure for cancer, bring peace to war-affected areas or reverse global warming. But this video reminds me that that is just not true. It's not a matter of how big or small your actions are. It's not a matter of how many people your actions affect - whether it's one or a million. It's not a matter of how publicized your actions are - sometime it is the quiet ones that are the most effective. But what does matter is what kind of actions they are...and not just the ones we speak of, but actually do. Maybe it is bringing in your neighbor's trash cans or holding the door for an elderly lady. Maybe it's adopting a highway and picking up the trash on it. Perhaps it's donating items to a local charity or feeding the homeless.

Do you ever wonder how you influence others? Do you ever wonder what you'll be remembered for?

http://www.kovideo.net/music/video/Bomshel---Power-Of-One/1908.html

Being Creative

Katelyn is getting really good at drawing descriptive pictures – mostly “stick-type” people, complete with a full face, arms and legs. At a recent doctor’s appointment, Katelyn was sitting on the examining table drawing on the paper covering the table (you know, the “protective” tissue-like paper). Her doctor always gives her littlest patients a box of crayons and let them entertain themselves during their checkup. It’s a great idea and Katelyn will often cover the entire paper with smiley faces and little people. Katelyn is very good about drawing and coloring on paper and has never ventured to the walls or books or anywhere else. Except…one time…to her and her sister’s body. With a ball-point pen in hand and a creative urge wanting to be unleashed, she decided to draw pretty pictures on both of their tummies and feet. I was very encouraged to see the detail in her drawings and the fact that she thought of her sister and wanted to make sure she shared her creative streak with her too. But with a ball-point pen? Ouch! Next time kid, use markers.

SNOW!

We were in Tahoe last week, where we enjoyed a good 5 feet of snow on the ground, more or less depending on where you were, but on average it was. We were treated to bright blue skies, which compared to what they are getting this week, was truly wonderful. The girls went on several bear hunts, prepared with binoculars and a flashlight for whatever they would find.

Bill and the girls made a wonderful snowman, complete with a carrot face, at least until the dogs decided they were hungry...hungry for carrots.

Katelyn had her first ski lesson –a very basic beginner class. It was absolutly hilarious watching her try to walk in ski boots for the first time. She was walking on her tip-toes, until she realized that she could sort-of walk normal. During her lesson, they practiced with one ski on, allowing them to get the feel. They then put the second ski on and would practice standing up straight and moving forward. They would ski about 5-10 feet, until either they sat down, fell or made their way to the green carpet. Yes, they had a magic green carpet, where you were safe from falling down in the snow and could easily stand up. It actually worked out well because the kids could walk up it with their skis on and then “ski” down the few feet.

Her instructor should get a pay raise for working with a group of 4-year-olds. He was picking up kids and moving them from “Point A” to “Point B” on the green carpet, putting gloves back on, tightening and rearranging goggles, helping kids to stand up as they attempted to “ski” down the path…all in all, a very physical workout for this guy. And to think he does this all day long! Hopefully, his next class was not another group of beginners.

Vanessa still isn’t so sure about the snow, even though she has been in it several times. Since she is one whom doesn’t like very many clothes on to begin with, putting on her layers and layer of snow clothes makes the whole experience that much more unpleasant for her. And the moment her clothes get wet or snow goes into her boot, forget about it – she’s done playing…which is completely odd since this kid can play in the water (sink, hose, or even a puddle) for hours and be completely fine wet, that is, until she realizes that she is wet and then immediately wants to be changed RIGHT NOW.

Happy Valentine's

Happy Valentine’s to everyone, belated of course. We spent the day driving to Tahoe…nothing says “Happy Valentine’s” like spending several hours in the car, especially with your kids! It’s been beautiful here and I cannot wait to share some pictures with you of Katelyn’s first skiing experience and Vanessa all bundled up in her layers of snow clothes.

My cousin sent me an adorable e-Valentine card from I site that I was not familiar with. The link is http://www.care2.com/ as in Care 2 Make a Difference! Their tag is “Discover, Share, Take Action! Green Living, Health, Human Rights, and More…” After searching around for awhile, I realized that there was a wealth of information there and perhaps you’d be interested in taking a look too. This site is a bit different than other “green” sites that I have come upon, mostly because of the vast array of information and topics they offer. I have spent a lot of my time searching under “Green Living”, which can be found on the top tab bar (the sixth tab from the left). Take a look and enjoy!

Are we looking at them or are they looking as us?

We spent a warm sunshine-filled day at the zoo this weekend, in what was a belated birthday treat for Vanessa. Since she doesn't do well in a party-type situation and does not eat cake, we decided that a zoo visit would be more appropriate for her. We were supposed to visit several weeks ago, but due to the weeks of rain we were experiencing at the time, an outdoor outing was a call for disaster. It was nearly 70 degrees today and not too crowded – both factors which make for a good Family Fun Day.

If I haven’t explained before, our FFD (Family Fun Days) are outings that we take as a family to do something fun. Our goal is to just spend time as a family; our outtings don't have to be elaborate or expensive. We’ve had a picnic in the park, visited the Aquarium, went on a bike ride, and explored the Children’s Discovery Museum, just to name a few. Usually, it is just us four, but for this special outing, we decided to include the grandparents who I think were happy to join in the fun.

Vanessa is a HUGE lover of animals. She has learned the ASL sign for every animal we saw today, as well as the sounds that many of them make. Her therapist often will use toy animals when working with her in a speech session, as she’ll respond to them when interacting with animals. She loves to watch them, whether they are eating, playing or are just laying there asleep. I am not sure what her attraction or fascination is with animals, but animals in all form keep her interest – zoo animals, farm animals and water animals (yes, they are not “animals”, but you understand). When I asked Vanessa what she wanted to see at the zoo, she replied, in both verbal and ASL, “whale” and “roo” (as in Kangaroo). Obviously, she wasn’t going to see a whale and unfortunately, the kangaroo exhibit was closed. By the end of the day, I don’t think she actually realized that we didn’t see either of these, as she was just so excited to be there.

And what zoo visit would be complete without a train ride?
And an ice cream treat?
And a Merry O’Round (as Katelyn says it) ride?
Needless to say, it was a pretty quiet ride home.

And this is why I drink…

Today, I discovered why someone invented wine: they had children.

This afternoon, I decided to pack up the girls and head to the grocery store. The three of us usually make this trip together, as I really don’t have many other options. And usually, it’s not that bad. I try to make it fun for everyone, knowing full well that even with a list in hand, this field trip will take twice as long and I will still have forgotten something. We try to get a shopping cart that has a car in the front – you know the limo of all shopping carts. With the girls up front driving through the store, I try to maneuver my eighteen wheeler up and down those narrow aisles, while trying to avoid all of those perfectly stacked displays (which by the way, almost never happens. I don’t knock things over; just usually give them a good bump). If they want to wander free, I invite them to help me – getting the plastic bags for our produce (kid translation: get not just one, but at least three), putting the boxes into the cart (kid translation: throw them in), or holding and checking off our list (kid translation: art time). And if they start to get really restless, I usually will pop open a box of animal crackers or pretzels or some other treat. I am always buying at least one item open, if not two.

Anyways, we were making our rounds in the store today and Vanessa was trying to dominate both steering wheels in the car. She wanted control over the entire car. Then she wanted out. Then in. Then out. Then she found a roll of plastic bags (the ones for your produce) and decided that she wanted to unroll the ENTIRE roll. And, of course, she didn’t like it when I told her she had to stay in the car or in the basket. So that brought on “flinging body on the floor episode number one”. So I picked her up and tried to continue with our shopping, while holding onto at least a little dignity that I still had. We go around the corner to the next aisle, where I promptly run into the end display, and then Katelyn started screaming. And then, of course, Vanessa chimed in too. I bend down to try to settle WWIII. But by now, it’s not even about the other one; their internal clocks went off telling them each that “now” was the perfect opportunity to have a complete melt-down. I didn’t think that their bodies would have the same “clock” until they both reached puberty, but I guess I was wrong.

By now, Katelyn was screaming at the top of her lungs and EVERY SINGLE PERSON was staring at us. And the worse looks I got were from other moms pushing a cart with a quietly sitting child in the basket. “Why can’t she control her children? What a horrible mother she must be – she cannot even control her children in the grocery store! Why doesn’t she discipline them? Why did she even bring them to the store with her? That NEVER happens to me!” I was trying to do everything possible to remain calm and collected, but it’s a little hard to be incognito with two screaming children saying “Look at me! I am attention deprived! I just want some milk and mommy won’t buy me any!”

And rather than sit there in Aisle Three trying to have a rational conversation with a four and two year old, I do the smart thing: pick up Vanessa and drag Katelyn out of the store. And let me tell you…that was no easy task there. Vanessa was flinging her body everywhere, Katelyn decided that she couldn’t walk and I had one hand full of my reusable bags that I just couldn’t leave in the cart. Katelyn quickly realized that we are leaving the store without milk, which is what I told her we were going for, and proceeded to scream even louder and in-between the screams added “But what about our groceries? We cannot leave our groceries!” What to bet?

We struggled to get out to the car and somehow I got the girls buckled in. THANK GOD FOR CARSEATS! What a wonderful invention! Once they are buckled, they have no place to go. And once they have thrown everything within arm’s reach, including any clothing that is at all possible of being removed, they have nothing left but to sit there (and scream and cry and spit and name call, but who’s counting…they are strapped into a seat and are not going anywhere until you let them out!) .

I drove home in complete peace and silence – well, at least in my head it was. By the time we reached home, Vanessa had calmed down, but Katelyn was still going. How long can a melt-down last? Is this a record setting melt-down? I calming told her that once she was calm, I would let her out and into the house. Oh, that went over well! I’m sure many of you are completely shocked that I left her in the car, but believe me; no one would want her in that condition. And besides, she was still buckled in and couldn’t go anywhere and I was watching her the entire time, so don’t worry.

So yes, I left our cart full of food sitting in the middle of an aisle. I’m sure the store didn’t appreciate it, but I’m sure they would much rather have had us leave than to keep shopping, causing such a distraction that the rest of the shoppers left the store too quickly without spending lots of money. I have never left my cart like that before, but there was NO way we were going to get through the check-out line without blood.

Where are you?

Vanessa has been in a twin bed for about a year now and has never had any problems with falling out or being able to manage getting in and out by herself. Only one time have I found her asleep on the floor by her door (that she can open by herself), which I concluded that she must have been sleep-walking (since she hadn't cried at all) and decided that that spot on the carpet was a perfect spot to go back to sleep on. Well, the other night I woke up to "Mama...Mama...Mama". Usually, she will get up and come find me in bed without any problems. She wasn't crying, so I gave her a few minutes thinking that perhaps she was just dreaming. She kept calling my name. I went into her room and did not see her laying in her bed, yet continued to hear "Mama...Mama...Mama". I looked down and saw her laying next to her bed. Puzled, I wondered why she had not sat up, climbed back into bed or hadn't come into my room. Since her room is rather dark at night, it took me a second to realize where she was. UNDER THE BED! At least from her waist up, she was under her bed and apparently couldn't figure out where she was and, therefore, didn't know how to get herself out. I pulled her out and put her back into her bed, where she went right back to sleep. Since she had not been crying at all, I figured that she must have been sleep-walking again and feel asleep on the floor, then rolled or sooted herself into that position. She was not scared or upset, as I think she was still asleep through most of this and at some point woke up while under there and realized that it was darker than normal.

Oh, the options…

Although Katelyn has one more year of Preschool, we have started to research local elementary schools. I had no idea how overwhelming this process can be and the vast range of school options. We are keeping an open mind and therefore looking at a wide range of school – which number by the dozens in our area – everything from private religious-based to private non-religious to our local public to alternative public options. And within each of these “type” of schools, there are even more sub-categories to look at, such as community, tuition, and curriculum.

Did you know that you can send your child to Kindergarten for a mere $26K per year? And at this one particular school, tuition only goes up as your child goes up in grade-level. Needless to say, Katelyn is not going to this school. I know, how mean of us! But then again, I think she would like to eat.

At a private Christian school I toured last week, over 60% of their students are non-Christian. This fact really threw me for a loop. How can this school consider themselves to have a Christian atmosphere when over half of the student population are non-believers? Yes, these students learn about God and the Bible in class, but what are they doing and saying and being influenced by during lunch and after school and on the weekends?

I recently toured a non-religious private school, where I was informed that the teachers were not allowed to stray from the curriculum and had a set plan that they were suppose to teach daily. Sounds ok, right? But here is my problem…I found out that the teachers would be punished if they deviated from the day’s lessons plans at all or actually used their creative teaching skills in a more hands-on approach. So if the class was interested how bridges were built, the teacher was not allowed to bring in a parent who is a structural engineer and builds bridges to share with the children. I’m not saying that teachers shouldn’t have daily lesson plans to follow, but they should be allowed to have some flexibility to incorporate the children’s energy into a subject instead of bottling it up and telling the children that they don’t have time to learn about life, because they have to memorize spelling words or take a math test.

In another school that I looked into, the children were being taught Latin as their foreign language. Latin! I applauded the school for teaching a foreign language, but Latin? Besides very old-school traditional Catholic masses, where is Latin used? I know many say it is a fundamental for many things, but why not teach a language that is actually applicable in everyday life? And if they are teaching Latin, which to me is a very dated language to learn, then does that mean the rest of their curriculum is also dated too?

How do you know which school is the “right” school? I know our decision will have to incorporate several factors, but the fear that I will make the “wrong” decision is weighing on me. I know we can always transfer schools down the road if needed, but I don’t want the girls schooling to be a negative experience. I want them to be happy and thrive in school. I want them to love learning and want to go to school. I constantly remind myself that the girls will do well where ever they go, at least more-than-likely, since we are very involved parents and are trying to lay a strong foundation for the girls to build their lives on. But it’s just a little overwhelming with the options available.