We've had a tough ending to summer and a difficult beginning of the school year. The shooting of a police officer in College Station has hurt the entire community. I know, having lived in a big city, that officers of the peace aren't held in high regard, but here in College Station, they are our friends and our protectors. They are the person standing next to you in the check out line. They are the husband of the kindergarten teacher, the father of your child's best friend, cousin of the lifeguard at the pool, mother of the girl selling cookies. Our entire community is still mourning.
It's an interesting experience for a big city girl. I've never experienced this type of communal grieving. Perfectly normal people have set up fundraising events for the victims of the shooting and the Bachmann family. Perfectly normal businesses contribute to the cause without asking for anything in return. Children set up lemonade stands and give all the money they earn, and trust me, nobody stops them. They aren't told to that they need permits or licensing. This type of love and help convinces me that "big city" America has lost touch with some of the basic values that small town America still has a firm grasp on, and it almost convinces me to never, ever live in a city again. Wow...did I just say that? What a scary thought! I'm not sure if I could live without opera, ballet and art museums. Like I said...almost. I think it's sad that we have to exchange values for conveniences.
Our van is decidedly on its last legs. I think the accident that we had at the beginning of the summer had something to do with it, so I am officially a biker. Not a cool one sorry to say. I've got a rusty, mountain bike that I ride to and from work every day. I've got to take it easy in the evenings when I come home because it's about 100F, so I make sure I pack a couple bottles of water just in case. So far, it hasn't been too difficult. The only thing I complain about is the uphill ride home, but then, I'm really glad that I don't have the uphill ride to work. Who wants to arrive at work all sweaty and sticky? I'm lucky because work is only 3 miles from home which is a reasonable biking distance with only a few minor uphill swings. I figure it's God's way of helping me get back into shape!
What's amazing is that Tanner's school schedule worked out really well this semester. He has classes from 9:00 until 1:00 which works perfect for a single car family. He takes the girls to school in the morning and picks them up in the afternoon, throws a casserole in the oven and dinner is ready when I get home. I gobble it up quickly and then start teaching violin while the girls clean the kitchen. Tanner usually leaves around that time to start his evening study session while I put the girls down. Then I do my schoolwork, quizzes, tests, reports, etc.. after they are in bed. Whoop! What's really nice about all of this, is that I have time to go running in the mornings since I don't have to take the girls to school, so my 5k training is going pretty well. I am panicking because it's coming up really soon, but I'll get there.
The only thing I can't figure out how to fit in to the daily routine is laundry. My laundry genie left at the end of August, so now, my clothes to magically appear in my drawers all clean and neatly folded. I really need to get me another one of those!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
I hope I don't regret it, but I really haven't taken very many pictures of our completely awesome summer. I decided at the beginning of May to try to live in the moment instead of outside of the moment, hence, I haven't been carting my camera around very much. Luckily for me, there such a thing as a cell phone camera, so if I really see something that I just can't resist, I can still snap a picture, but my waterproof, lime-green camera has spent most of the summer sitting on my desk.
It's taken a great deal of will power. My Japanese instincts insist that a camera is as important as underclothes and a bathing suit, but I am determined to play this summer rather than record. I've had a lot of fun, and I think we've built some good memories.
We've gone to the beach a couple of times this summer, and all of the girls head straight to the water. Reagan will play in them for a few minutes, at least as long as Mommy is in the water (which is about 5 minutes tops). Once Mommy heads for the umbrella and lounge chair, Reagan heads for the sand, shovels and buckets. I've always declared that I go to the BEACH not the OCEAN, and I've finally got a kid that likes to do the same things I loved doing as a kid. Reagan and I have spent a couple of lovely afternoons together digging trenches and moats and building impossible walls.
And then there is Kate, who is the waterbug of all waterbugs. She will stay in the water until her skin is withered and wrinkly. We have to make sure she doesn't keep going deeper and deeper! If she had her druthers, she would be surfing already! She has amazing heat stamina. I start to wilt, and she's ready to run. She turns a lovely, silky brown that matches her golden eyes and hair. Most people know her as a bookworm, curled up on a chair next to mom reading thick volumes of musty paper, but Kate loves to be active, warm, sweaty and wet!
And then, I discovered that Reagan can read. I'm not sure when that happened, but it did. Sometime between the ages of 4 and Kindergarten, she figured out how to recognize letters and words. It makes Georgianna jealous, so I won't be surprised if Georgie starts reading early, too.
Emily has been a whirlwind, amazing, fun-loving, totally-awesome Auntie! She and the girls get to do all sorts of fun things while I'm stuck at work. They go swimming, do the dollar movies, hang out with other kids, go bowling, walk to the park, have picnics, visit Target. Of course, she makes them clean their rooms and pick up the house which is super nice!
We're a little concerned that maybe we're making them do too much work. Last night when we were talking about God creating a new heaven and a new earth, Reagan said, "yes, we wreck the world, so when God makes the new one, I have to remember to put my toy away before I get out a new one!"
It's taken a great deal of will power. My Japanese instincts insist that a camera is as important as underclothes and a bathing suit, but I am determined to play this summer rather than record. I've had a lot of fun, and I think we've built some good memories.
We've gone to the beach a couple of times this summer, and all of the girls head straight to the water. Reagan will play in them for a few minutes, at least as long as Mommy is in the water (which is about 5 minutes tops). Once Mommy heads for the umbrella and lounge chair, Reagan heads for the sand, shovels and buckets. I've always declared that I go to the BEACH not the OCEAN, and I've finally got a kid that likes to do the same things I loved doing as a kid. Reagan and I have spent a couple of lovely afternoons together digging trenches and moats and building impossible walls.
And then there is Kate, who is the waterbug of all waterbugs. She will stay in the water until her skin is withered and wrinkly. We have to make sure she doesn't keep going deeper and deeper! If she had her druthers, she would be surfing already! She has amazing heat stamina. I start to wilt, and she's ready to run. She turns a lovely, silky brown that matches her golden eyes and hair. Most people know her as a bookworm, curled up on a chair next to mom reading thick volumes of musty paper, but Kate loves to be active, warm, sweaty and wet!
And then, I discovered that Reagan can read. I'm not sure when that happened, but it did. Sometime between the ages of 4 and Kindergarten, she figured out how to recognize letters and words. It makes Georgianna jealous, so I won't be surprised if Georgie starts reading early, too.
Emily has been a whirlwind, amazing, fun-loving, totally-awesome Auntie! She and the girls get to do all sorts of fun things while I'm stuck at work. They go swimming, do the dollar movies, hang out with other kids, go bowling, walk to the park, have picnics, visit Target. Of course, she makes them clean their rooms and pick up the house which is super nice!
We're a little concerned that maybe we're making them do too much work. Last night when we were talking about God creating a new heaven and a new earth, Reagan said, "yes, we wreck the world, so when God makes the new one, I have to remember to put my toy away before I get out a new one!"
Thursday, July 19, 2012
July passes swiftly by
Why is it that the most poetic sounding phrases are so grammatically incorrect? Regardless, we are heading round the bend of July, and I am not prepared for the summer to come to an end. We haven't really felt like it has been a summer. At least, not a summer by Texan standards.
While the rest of the United States seems to be suffering from heat waves, drought-like conditions and all those uncomfortable things, we have been blessed with rain and mild weather. I know, sounds like the Northwest doesn't it? Of course, our rain happens when it is 82F, but it is still rain, and for Texas 82 is mighty pleasant.
Now, if I were at home with the kids, they would be allowed to play outside, ride their bikes, scoot on their scooters and the fun things you get to do in the spring, but there would be no way that they would be going to the pool, splashing on slip and slides or having water fights. It would just be too cool, and I'm sure that they would agree with me. I would have moans of, "Mommy, I'm freeeeeeziiiiing!" But, since Emily is here, the kids are getting plenty of water time, and as far as I can tell, they aren't freezing.
I find it perplexing. Their differential attitude that is, not the fact that they aren't freezing.
I can tell that the weather has been mild because the girls are the same color they were at the beginning of summer. No tan lines. No sun burns. All in all, I'm thankful for the no sun burns part. Emily is unhappy with the no tan lines part. I'm relatively certain that things will start heating up pretty soon. After all, August is coming...right?
While the rest of the United States seems to be suffering from heat waves, drought-like conditions and all those uncomfortable things, we have been blessed with rain and mild weather. I know, sounds like the Northwest doesn't it? Of course, our rain happens when it is 82F, but it is still rain, and for Texas 82 is mighty pleasant.
Now, if I were at home with the kids, they would be allowed to play outside, ride their bikes, scoot on their scooters and the fun things you get to do in the spring, but there would be no way that they would be going to the pool, splashing on slip and slides or having water fights. It would just be too cool, and I'm sure that they would agree with me. I would have moans of, "Mommy, I'm freeeeeeziiiiing!" But, since Emily is here, the kids are getting plenty of water time, and as far as I can tell, they aren't freezing.
I find it perplexing. Their differential attitude that is, not the fact that they aren't freezing.
I can tell that the weather has been mild because the girls are the same color they were at the beginning of summer. No tan lines. No sun burns. All in all, I'm thankful for the no sun burns part. Emily is unhappy with the no tan lines part. I'm relatively certain that things will start heating up pretty soon. After all, August is coming...right?
Thursday, July 5, 2012
4th of July
I couldn't let the opportunity pass to share our 4th of July. We slept in late. Translation: till almost 8:00a.m.! I think Tanner woke up a bit earlier than me because while I was tottering around in the kitchen trying to figure out how to make breakfast, he came waltzing in with a cappuccino from Starbucks. I never did get breakfast made...
We wanted to give Emily a break from kids and stuff, so we piled the kids in the car, swung by Home Depot for one of those pump sprayer thingy-mums and then found some breakfast tacos. I tell you what (please imagine a deep Texan drawl at this point), the whole darn city shuts down on the 4th of Jewelye! We couldn't find an open fast food restaurant to save our lives! Took us almost 20minutes to find a place to feed the kids.
Well, then Jonny called us and told us that his work was having a 4th of July party, so why not come over and hit the pool and have some hamburgers and hot dogs. We did. We had a lot of fun, and I finally got rid of the office pasty white that has become my usual skin tone. Unfortunately, I had planned hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner, too! But that was okay, because I had planned a truly northwest experience. Turkey burgers and chicken hot dogs, so it was different.
We decided to do the rooftop parking again rather than go to the George Bush Museum for the show. I just didn't feel like fighting the crowds this year. The girls played with glow sticks and made funny animal shapes with them. My favorite was the panda face they made.
Speaking of pandas, we got onto the subject of Kung Fu Panda because the girls and I made chocolate ice cream for after the fireworks. Emily was gushing about how delicious it tasted, and Kate said, "that's because of my secret ingredient!" Well, of course I had to be a proud Asian mamma at that moment, and as we were talking about it, Tanner started laughing as he remembered the duck's confession about there being no secret ingredient when we were all expecting him to confess that Po was adopted. Kate said most emphatically, "Well, I knew he was adopted!" Tanner asked, "Really? How did you know?" We all expected her to say something like, "Ducks can't have pandas" instead she said, "Because I saw Kung Fu Panda 2!"
Okay, back to pre-fireworks...So the girls climbed on to the roof of the van with Auntie Emily so that they could have a good view. When the fireworks began, the biggest racket I've ever heard those girls make assaulted my ears. Woohoos! Whoops! Aaaaaah! Screech!...all sorts of noised and shouts. They were the loudest group on the rooftop. I felt like I was in 7th grade again, saying, "I don't really know them." At least they had fun.
We wanted to give Emily a break from kids and stuff, so we piled the kids in the car, swung by Home Depot for one of those pump sprayer thingy-mums and then found some breakfast tacos. I tell you what (please imagine a deep Texan drawl at this point), the whole darn city shuts down on the 4th of Jewelye! We couldn't find an open fast food restaurant to save our lives! Took us almost 20minutes to find a place to feed the kids.
Well, then Jonny called us and told us that his work was having a 4th of July party, so why not come over and hit the pool and have some hamburgers and hot dogs. We did. We had a lot of fun, and I finally got rid of the office pasty white that has become my usual skin tone. Unfortunately, I had planned hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner, too! But that was okay, because I had planned a truly northwest experience. Turkey burgers and chicken hot dogs, so it was different.
We decided to do the rooftop parking again rather than go to the George Bush Museum for the show. I just didn't feel like fighting the crowds this year. The girls played with glow sticks and made funny animal shapes with them. My favorite was the panda face they made.
Speaking of pandas, we got onto the subject of Kung Fu Panda because the girls and I made chocolate ice cream for after the fireworks. Emily was gushing about how delicious it tasted, and Kate said, "that's because of my secret ingredient!" Well, of course I had to be a proud Asian mamma at that moment, and as we were talking about it, Tanner started laughing as he remembered the duck's confession about there being no secret ingredient when we were all expecting him to confess that Po was adopted. Kate said most emphatically, "Well, I knew he was adopted!" Tanner asked, "Really? How did you know?" We all expected her to say something like, "Ducks can't have pandas" instead she said, "Because I saw Kung Fu Panda 2!"
Okay, back to pre-fireworks...So the girls climbed on to the roof of the van with Auntie Emily so that they could have a good view. When the fireworks began, the biggest racket I've ever heard those girls make assaulted my ears. Woohoos! Whoops! Aaaaaah! Screech!...all sorts of noised and shouts. They were the loudest group on the rooftop. I felt like I was in 7th grade again, saying, "I don't really know them." At least they had fun.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Just keep swimming
Wow, we've had some hot weather the last few days. Heat indexes as high as 117F. Yup. Now that is hot! Not as hot as it was last year, but we got a wave of muggy, hot heath, thanks to Debby. Looks like things will cool down in the next few days and we should be hovering right around normal all the way through the 4th of July.
The first part of every week passes in a fuzzy haze for me. I get up early, work late and sleep for the first half of the week. I am so thankful that Emily is here to help with making dinners, because I think the kids would end up going without that last meal for at least Monday and Tuesday. It would make for an interesting weight loss program, but wouldn't be one that I would suggest or endorse. And don't get me wrong, Emily is not slaving away in a hot kitchen all day long to make dinner. She just reminds Jonathan to do it. :-) As long as he has someone to remind him, he stays pretty consistent! On Monday he made an out of this world chicken breast ala Jonathan and on Tuesday it was a delicately flavored salmon (even if it was from the Atlantic and YES there is a big difference. I miss my Pacific salmon). Emily made a very tasty Mediterranean leg of lamb on Wednesday with homemade hummus. Wow, after writing that, I'm just not sure if I'm gonna let Emily leave!
Lest you think that I'm just coming home and gorging myself on all sorts of delicacies, please remember that I work until 8:00pm on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday I consider my light work day because I finish at 6:30pm. So, yeah, I am spoiled, and I love it!
Emily has been taking the girls to swimming lessons this week. I haven't put much hope in them for the two little ones, so you can imagine my surprise when they started swimming last night at the pool. I was very impressed. Both Georgianna and Reagan bob and stroke and do all sorts of lovely little tricks, all under water! Woohoo! So, a three year old is NOT too little to learn how to swim. It's so nice to know that if one of them did take a running jump into a pool during some ungaurded moment, I would have a few seconds of grace to get in the water. Kate is turning into a strong swimmer, too, and I'm contemplating on enrolling in a second set of swim lessons for all of them.
Kudos to my mother and father-in-law. You did a great job raising Tanner. He is such a caring father. He knew that last week I had a hard time with Georgianna. She broke down in tears last Thursday because her daddy was all gone, so he determined, without telling us, to show up once again on our doorstep midweek. Georgi was already asleep, but I rousted her out of bed because I knew the trip was for her. She was so excited and ready for her daddy snuggles! She sat on Tanner's lap for a good hour, and only left it to brush her teeth. Then when we tried to put her to bed, she promptly snuck into our room and crawled into bed with us. Super cute, and I didn't have the heart to tell her no, so I spent an uncomfotable night. He had to leave at 4:30 this morning, but Reagan made him promised to wake her up even if it was in the middle of the night so that she could give him a goodbye kiss.
It does feel like the week is surmountable, now, and next week will be even easier. So, perhaps this weekend requires a trip to the beach...
The first part of every week passes in a fuzzy haze for me. I get up early, work late and sleep for the first half of the week. I am so thankful that Emily is here to help with making dinners, because I think the kids would end up going without that last meal for at least Monday and Tuesday. It would make for an interesting weight loss program, but wouldn't be one that I would suggest or endorse. And don't get me wrong, Emily is not slaving away in a hot kitchen all day long to make dinner. She just reminds Jonathan to do it. :-) As long as he has someone to remind him, he stays pretty consistent! On Monday he made an out of this world chicken breast ala Jonathan and on Tuesday it was a delicately flavored salmon (even if it was from the Atlantic and YES there is a big difference. I miss my Pacific salmon). Emily made a very tasty Mediterranean leg of lamb on Wednesday with homemade hummus. Wow, after writing that, I'm just not sure if I'm gonna let Emily leave!
Lest you think that I'm just coming home and gorging myself on all sorts of delicacies, please remember that I work until 8:00pm on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday I consider my light work day because I finish at 6:30pm. So, yeah, I am spoiled, and I love it!
Emily has been taking the girls to swimming lessons this week. I haven't put much hope in them for the two little ones, so you can imagine my surprise when they started swimming last night at the pool. I was very impressed. Both Georgianna and Reagan bob and stroke and do all sorts of lovely little tricks, all under water! Woohoo! So, a three year old is NOT too little to learn how to swim. It's so nice to know that if one of them did take a running jump into a pool during some ungaurded moment, I would have a few seconds of grace to get in the water. Kate is turning into a strong swimmer, too, and I'm contemplating on enrolling in a second set of swim lessons for all of them.
Kudos to my mother and father-in-law. You did a great job raising Tanner. He is such a caring father. He knew that last week I had a hard time with Georgianna. She broke down in tears last Thursday because her daddy was all gone, so he determined, without telling us, to show up once again on our doorstep midweek. Georgi was already asleep, but I rousted her out of bed because I knew the trip was for her. She was so excited and ready for her daddy snuggles! She sat on Tanner's lap for a good hour, and only left it to brush her teeth. Then when we tried to put her to bed, she promptly snuck into our room and crawled into bed with us. Super cute, and I didn't have the heart to tell her no, so I spent an uncomfotable night. He had to leave at 4:30 this morning, but Reagan made him promised to wake her up even if it was in the middle of the night so that she could give him a goodbye kiss.
It does feel like the week is surmountable, now, and next week will be even easier. So, perhaps this weekend requires a trip to the beach...
Monday, June 25, 2012
The weekend...
which leads me to my next point. Triple digit temperatures. Really? Last week we were freezing at 80 degrees. This week we're being threatened with triple digits. Come on. It's not July, yet. I blame Debby. She's hanging off the coast of Florida and really messing up our lovely June weather. At least she has decided to visit our Atlantic friends rather than our Gulf Coast friends. It means perhaps a beach trip is in order this coming weekend. I'm thinking of Stewart Beach, a picnic and lots of sun!
Are you wondering why I haven't described our latest weekend? That's because all we did was shop! I became obsessed with finally getting a new espresso machine. I was tired of coffee, coffee coffee! I've been muddling through life without my morning I.V., and I was just tired of it. It seems like I dragged the kids to every single store in the mall. Even when they started to complain, which usually signals my immediate departure, I made them tough it out. I really don't think I've ever done that.
I looked Tanner square in the eyes and said, "We're not going home without my espresso machine." He just nodded, grim determination settling in around his eyes. He knew we were in for the long haul. I can't tell you how many times we've gone to look for a new machine and made it it one or two stores, and then the kids start to get bored, so we head home. This was not going to be the case. I had been sacrificing my well being for almost three months. The girls would have to sacrifice for 3 hours.
It was worth it. I emerged from the cavernous, air conditioned mall with an espresso machine. Purists would be reviled, but when your options are limited, as they tend to be in a smallish town, then any 15bar espresso machine is considered gold. You cannot imagine my excitement and utter satisfaction. The feeling was better than a satiated salted dark chocolate craving.
Needless to say, we were all exhausted and barely managed to scrape together something resembling dinner. We went to church the next day, took naps, had lunch, puttered around the house and generally did nothing remarkable except get Daddy ready for this coming week.
Oh, and Emily and Jonathan killed a cockroach.
Did I mention that I am super lucky, blessed beyond all measure to have such great siblings? I am so glad that we all get along so well. I continuoulsy pray that we will always remain friendly. I know way too many families who "get along" but couldn't stand to be with each other for extended periods of time. I can't say thank you enough to my parents for raising us in a way that would help us to be friends, to enjoy each others company, to accept our differences and revel in them.
Makes me curious to see if we can do the same with our girls...
Are you wondering why I haven't described our latest weekend? That's because all we did was shop! I became obsessed with finally getting a new espresso machine. I was tired of coffee, coffee coffee! I've been muddling through life without my morning I.V., and I was just tired of it. It seems like I dragged the kids to every single store in the mall. Even when they started to complain, which usually signals my immediate departure, I made them tough it out. I really don't think I've ever done that.
I looked Tanner square in the eyes and said, "We're not going home without my espresso machine." He just nodded, grim determination settling in around his eyes. He knew we were in for the long haul. I can't tell you how many times we've gone to look for a new machine and made it it one or two stores, and then the kids start to get bored, so we head home. This was not going to be the case. I had been sacrificing my well being for almost three months. The girls would have to sacrifice for 3 hours.
It was worth it. I emerged from the cavernous, air conditioned mall with an espresso machine. Purists would be reviled, but when your options are limited, as they tend to be in a smallish town, then any 15bar espresso machine is considered gold. You cannot imagine my excitement and utter satisfaction. The feeling was better than a satiated salted dark chocolate craving.
Needless to say, we were all exhausted and barely managed to scrape together something resembling dinner. We went to church the next day, took naps, had lunch, puttered around the house and generally did nothing remarkable except get Daddy ready for this coming week.
Oh, and Emily and Jonathan killed a cockroach.
Did I mention that I am super lucky, blessed beyond all measure to have such great siblings? I am so glad that we all get along so well. I continuoulsy pray that we will always remain friendly. I know way too many families who "get along" but couldn't stand to be with each other for extended periods of time. I can't say thank you enough to my parents for raising us in a way that would help us to be friends, to enjoy each others company, to accept our differences and revel in them.
Makes me curious to see if we can do the same with our girls...
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Country Music
I discovered that Emily likes to listen to country music. I think it's funny because I live in Texas and rarely tune in to the country side of things, but now, every time I get into my car, country music is playing. I am impressed with my level of knowledge about all things country. I was able to explain some of the lyrics to her -- like the reference to "gigging frogs". I'm tempted to introduce her to King of the Hill just so she gets a thorough education. At least then she'll be able to listen to the lyrics and know what they're all singing about.
We are so blessed to have such a great family. There are people that just can't imagine any of their siblings coming out for a summer to help, but I can and I do! Kudos to Mom and Dad who raised a bunch of kids that like each other and want to help each other out. Having Emily here for the summer has really lowered my stress level. I feel such great support, and I know that even when I pull a really long work day, the kids will be sane and even bathed!
Of course, all this non stress makes me want to go and play, so last night we headed to Target and bought every imaginable bad snakc food, carried our plunder away in high fashion and then settled to down to a cozy movie night. It sort of replaced my running schedule, but since I've got shin splints I guess I have an excuse! Please, don't remind me that I should have done some cross training!
The weather has gone a little nuts on us. We've had thunder and rain for the past couple of days. No big storms, but I think it would be cool if Emily got to experience at least on wild Texan rain storm. Don't worry, I'm not praying for it. For some reason, God seems to like to answer my prayers about the weather, so I have to be careful what I ask for!
We are so blessed to have such a great family. There are people that just can't imagine any of their siblings coming out for a summer to help, but I can and I do! Kudos to Mom and Dad who raised a bunch of kids that like each other and want to help each other out. Having Emily here for the summer has really lowered my stress level. I feel such great support, and I know that even when I pull a really long work day, the kids will be sane and even bathed!
Of course, all this non stress makes me want to go and play, so last night we headed to Target and bought every imaginable bad snakc food, carried our plunder away in high fashion and then settled to down to a cozy movie night. It sort of replaced my running schedule, but since I've got shin splints I guess I have an excuse! Please, don't remind me that I should have done some cross training!
The weather has gone a little nuts on us. We've had thunder and rain for the past couple of days. No big storms, but I think it would be cool if Emily got to experience at least on wild Texan rain storm. Don't worry, I'm not praying for it. For some reason, God seems to like to answer my prayers about the weather, so I have to be careful what I ask for!
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