My Life Must Have Taken Forever

My job requires me to be at work in the mornings and the evenings. Which means, my kids have to go with me during the summers to "KidsWorld". They are so lucky to have such a great place to go. They get to play and have lots of fun with other kids and best of all, they don't have to be there all day.

I was taking the kids there the other day - at the beginning of the summer break and was trying to explain to them how lucky they are to be able to spend so much time with me. When I was young, I was telling them, I had to spend my entire day in daycare and I only got to see my parents in the evening for about an hour to an hour and a half and on weekends. Holden just sat there for a minute and then says........"Wow, your life must have taken FOREVER!".

PRICELESS

Where Has The School Year Gone

Seriously, where has this school year gone? It seems like just yesterday Maria had her first day of kindergarten. My little baby, babyhood gone :-(. My little man, third grade. In exactly 10 1/2 weeks, it'll be first grade for Maria and fourth grade for Holden. We've made HUGE progress this year. Maria is now reading and I no longer read to her at night. She wants to read to me - lovely. It makes me so very proud. Holden is, I swear, smarter than me in math. There was one day when I truly couldn't figure out a word problem. I remember being so frustrated that I called Craig and practically started crying. Well, you all know me well enough to know that I DID CRY. Holden said to me that day, " Oh Mom, don't worry. The math wasn't this hard when you were in third grade." Adorable. And now, here I sit and the school year is just flashing through in my mind.

I just want to capture every moment in my hand, and I can't. In nine years Holden will be off to college and I'll be sitting here pondering the same thought: Where has the school year gone?

Three Day Weekends

What a weekend. It was so nice. We had a barbecue - oysters - and just had a nice one. The kids were great and I realized for once how nice it was to just relax. That is really hard for me. I think I put my family under a lot of stress, trying to make things perfect all the time. But, I tried really hard this weekend to just relax. It was a lot of fun :-).

Rainy Day, Please Go Away

Here it is, May 27th and it is STILL raining. Seriously? This has been the most dreary seven months that I can remember since I moved to California 20 years ago. Not to say we haven't had a couple days here and there of nice weather, but normally by now we would have had at least some spring like weather.

The hardest part of all is that I find my mood is affected so much by the weather. Waking up every day to this dreary weather, doing the same things every day, it's starting to take a toll. I want my sunny and warm weather! Let's just hope that today is the last of the storms.

Please Mother Nature, I'm sure my family would appreciate the change! I need my sunshine :-).

Time Goes By Way Too Fast

I Believe Holden was just shy of three when this video was taken and my parents recently sent it to me again. It seriously brought tears to my eyes. I am yet again reminded of how fast time goes by and that I need to cherish every moment.

We went and saw Shrek 4 today and the theme of this Shrek is to be thankful for what we have, because it can be gone in an instant. There was a time in my life when I didn't think I wanted to get married or have children. This video is only 30 seconds long and the second it starts, I realize that getting married to Craig and having Holden and Maria are the three best things that have ever happened to me.

Bedtime Rituals

Every night, it's the same thing.............bedtime is 8pm. Thank goodness there are two parents and only two kids in our family. Otherwise, I don't know how I'd do it.......get the kids to bed in less than two hours. Actually, it only takes 30 minutes. Each kid gets book and cuddle time. Maria is now officially reading, which is just amazing. It's been truly thrilling to watch her progress from not being able to read to being able to read independently. Now she reads to me, with minimal assistance. Love it. Each night, Craig does one kid, I do the other. Then, the next night we switch.

What is amazing to me, and equally adorable is that Holden still enjoys this "cuddle time". He actually tracks the amount of time that I spend with Maria in her room - he says I don't spend as much time with him cuddling. I think this is so precious. Especially because during the day sometimes, we can have such major battles! Oh, this kid can argue like none other.

Nonetheless, although I am ready by that time to have time to myself, I want to hold on to him and her tightly because I know it won't be much longer until they won't want this time together. They will want to be alone and not want to cuddle with me. Oh, I dread the day.

Someone gave me a book called I Liked You At Ten, I'll Like You Again. It has poems based on a child at various ages and it is spot on. For a nine year old, like Holden it is this:

I'm still your hero

And still kind of cool,

But it's your peers that impress you

Way more at school.

Look out for number one

I remind you to do -

You alone

Are accountable for you.

It's momentous to you

What to wear

And let's not forget

About the hair.

You use new slang words,

Most I've not heard;

You don't want to be considered

Weird or a nerd.

Treat others with kindness,

I remind you to do;

Compassion and Integrity

Are Instilled in you.

I understand,

You just want to fit in;

What you don't realize,

You're where I have been.

Little Gestures For Mother's Day

I just love the way kids give gifts. Maria loves to "package" little things that she sees around the house into ziploc bags and give them to me. "Close your eyes mama", she says. I do willingly, because I know something special is coming. It's usually one of my own bracelets from my jewelry box, or a rock from outside, or even something more special like a flower from outside.

Kids TRULY understand, without us telling them, the meaning of "it's the thought that counts".