June

Oh how I wish I were a better photographer.  

Supercalifragi-something...

Hey Texas. I'm Here.

Wouldn't be H-town without a trip to Chuck E Cheese

Oh...the Pleasure Pier...How I hated you. How my children loved you.

Wrong on So Many Levels

Back in SF.  Warm day and jet lag always goes better with an ice cream soda.

C on the blocks

Tenacious D

Look who's working the Open

My odd little D behind her mask.

And Voila!

On the flying trapeze...

Tightrope!

Circus Camp

Golf Camp

You will eventually get a Kindergarten recap from me, but it is holding me up. SO.....

June was Lila's recital,  Texas, Circus Camp, Golf Camp, and Lila had school camp.

Texas was hot, fun, swimming, beach, putt putt, pottery making, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles.  A great kick off to the summer.  No Astros this time was maybe only negative.  And Ainsley's swim meet was rained out.  But all in all, great.  Chuck E Cheese, Rainforest Cafe, swimming at Galveston Beach, swimming in Houston and jumping off the high dive, playing at the cousins house. Only bad thing--L got her first bee sting while heading to jump off the diving board!

Mid June was camp time--Circus Camp one week for C and D, golf camp the next, while Lila had camp at her school.  Each year I seem to take a different strategy with camps.  When they were 3 I got them in, at the last minute, for 3 weeks of camp at the preschool I moved them to for Pre K, and that may have affected our lives (for better and possibly worse) more than I will ever know (so sad to say, but true). I also put them in a camp that I now wonder what the hell I was thinking because it wasn't very safe and they were so little (I would NEVER put Pips in it today).  When they were 4 we were about to switch schools, so I put them in a bunch of different camps and I ended up feeling like we never really had a summer.  When they were five I did less camp, but I tried two weeks of the same camp (failure) and I focused on camps that would "teach them something" (but probably didn't really).

This year we did less camps, and only camps I knew they would really like.   C and D did circus camp and 'golf camp' (C, D, Ford, CHarlie, and Will R for 2 hours a day) and they loved both.  Only problem is that i did NOT optimize enough on making it easy for me. Camps were either very short (2 hours for golf) or just a LONG drive (40 min each way for a 3 hour camp).  Guess there's always next year to get it right.

We also joined a swim team.  I will send a bigger update on the swimming stuff in general later, but suffice it to say that A) they loved it and B) we don't need to worry about booking our tickets for somewhere-in-Asia 2024.

C

C Again

More Quotes

Lila sings a song from school about traffic lights, and the song says that yellow means very very slow. Often when driving I hear...

L: "Mom, the song says "Yellow means bery bery slow."  Why is it that you go very very fast?"

Or when we are waiting for another car to move I will hear C say...
"Move dude."

C has a friend at school named Cooper.  He is sweet and kind and absurdly smart.  One day C was complaining that another boy in class teased her when she didn't win a math game (a game, for the record, you win or lose by chance).  I told her that maybe he was just feeling sad about something someone said to him, or that maybe he was insecure about his own math skills (only kid in their class I don't like, for the record again).
C: "Cooper is the best in the class at reading AND math.  And he's always nice to me." (Then, more to herself than me....) "I think I might marry him..."

C refers to her best friend as "Claire, she's the girl I fell in love with..."

(We did tried to xpleain that you can't really fall in love until you are a grown up.)

I found LBD putting sunblock all over her doll.  L, "I am putting sun block all over her because I am a great mom!"

LBD loves to talk--everywhere but in school.  She can often be heard to say "It is my turn to tell the story."  (And then we just hope she will stop talking at some point)


When traveling I pulled out a toothbrush and told L that it was an adult toothbrush.  (At home we have electric toothbrushes). "No mommy that not an adult toothbrush. Adult toothbrushes go 'bzzzzzzzz.'"



Somehow we started talking about soft drinks and why it was so bad for you.  We were talking about how bad food can lead people to be unhealthy, and that even some kids end up weighing more than a healthy weight.  
D: "Some kids weigh too much? I way too less."


We had an event at school and Andrew would be out of town, but all the grandparents would be there.  They were having a big debate over who would pair up with me and who would pair up with Sam (it involved kneeling and the girls decided that my Mom was too short, Chris was too tall, and Gram's knees didn't work well enough).  I realized that they were guessing numbers, and that the winner got to be with sam.  Me: "You mean the loser gets me?!?!"


Dylan has this guttural sound she makes when she doesn't like something. It sounds like "Uhhggrrrrmmm."  Example:
D: "Where are we going?"
Me: "Church." 
D: "What are we going to do there?"
Me: "Listen to the priest."
D: "Uhhggrrrmmm."
(It is, admittedly, hard not to laugh.  And I kind of want to make that sound often too).

I asked C to remind me of something later in the day.  C's response? "Mom please don't ask me to remind you. Ask Siri."

One night after I put the kids to bed I was looking all over for my computer.  I started to think I one of the kids had thrown it out the window.  Finally after frantically looking I hear a yell from Lila's room, "Mom, I think I know what you are looking for?!?!"
Me: "You do?"
L: "Your computer."
Me: "Uh, yes."
L: "It is behind my chair!"
(yep, it was)
L: "You weren't being nice to me so I hid it.  But I did NOT hide your cord!"

We ran into a friend who had just had her third girl. L was mesmerized by the baby. As we walked away she said to herself. "I think I am going to ask for one for my half birthday."

Me: "What?"

L: "A baby sister."

And then a day later in a kids store.

"Mom, since I'm asking for a baby sister for my half birthday, can I buy these sparkly shoes for her?"

Names the girls would choose for future siblings:

D:  Maya or Tommy

C:  Gracie or Victor

L: Lila or Flip Flip (Or Kaitlyn and Lop Lop)

Sometimes Lila and I will be talking or going through things we need to get done and LBD will just bust out with "Ok, well I love you."  I wish I could bottle it.  

C: "I like to say words that challenge my mouth."

L:  "Can I have some Buggle gum?  I don't swallow it!" Please? Just one piece?"

(And then a few minutes later) "Two is not a lot you know.  Can I have two pieces of buggle gum?"
("One is not a lot, two is not a lot, and three is not a lot is frequently said by LBD).

We were talking about boarding school.  D asked me if she would go and I said unequivocally NO!  But then I told her she would probably want to go away to college someday. 

D: "Mom, I am going to live with you until I am dead." Pause. "Well, actually, until you're dead."


D hates cigarettes.  She wanted to know why people smoked which led us to the topic of addiction.  She wanted to know what addiction meant and I tried to explain it with a G rating.  I tried to get her to understand it on her terms.  
Me:  "D, sometimes people just can't get through a day without something.  Say, coffee, for example." 

D: "Oh, I see. Ok, so I'm addicted to hugs."

C was asking me about a hundred questions about war.  At the end, she came to this conclusion. "So war is like a big game of hide and seek... with guns."

Andrew found a pen mark on the lampshade in the living room.
A: "Lila did you draw on the lampshade?"
L"  No...." Pointing at him... "Did you??"


I was driving with L and said out loud "I wish I knew where a Starbucks was."
L yelled excitedly, "Mom give me the phone!!  I will ask Siri where there is a Starbucks!"

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D put something up high and then taunted L because she couldn't reach it. 

Me: "Dylan I might think twice before doing that to her."

D: "Why?"

Me: "Because she could be taller than you someday."

D (Slowly): "Someday." (Pause, deadpan) "But not today."

Even better, about 10 minutes later she asked me for help retrieving the item because "Well technically I can't really reach that either."  My sweet, tiny, tiny D. 

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Quotes

We were discussing what sports she was interested in playing this summer.

D: "Well I am not good at basketball because of that problem with the net."

Me: "What problem?"

D: "It is, well, too high."

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We decided to pull the pull ups at night and see if C and D could sleep through the night.  I have to admit I wasn't pushing for it at all --the last thing I need is another reason for them to wake me up.  That and I admit, I find it sort of sweet when they crawl into our bed in the morning smelling of urine (gives me the illusion that they are still little).

Me: "I am sort of sad you won't smell like pee in the morning."

D"Well, we might..."

(P.S.  After 3 weeks of accidents at least 1x a night we decided to try again with C.  I was expecting C to be the easy one but it was the other way around).

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D is sometimes torn between playing with Ford at recess and playing soccer on 'girls soccer day.'

D: "Sometimes I just get tired of Ford wanting me soooo badly."

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I don't even remember what we were talking about, but I think it had something to do with kids who didn't have mothers.

C:  (In a very serious voice) "Mom, I think it is time i tell you the truth. i love you more than anyone on the planet.  You make my heart sing."

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I played C and D some Adele songs.

C: "I don't understand why you think she (Adele) has such a good voice."

Me: "You don't think she has a good voice?

C: "Not really."

Me: "Who do you think has a good voice?"

C: "Well, me...."

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I often give C and D small art projects on the bus to help pass the time.  The kids around them always ask if they can have some of it too, so I try to give projects that can be shared.  

C sits next to another charlotte (if only I would have known how popular that name would have become--people I know, STOP copying my name!).  C came home one day bitter: 

C: "I got on the bus thinking how happy she would be, but then she didn't like the pen colors I had.  She should just be grateful that I brought an art project at all!"

Me: "Now you know how I sometimes feel Charlotte."

C (very serious) "Oh Mom, I am sooooooo sorry."

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L basically told me she didn't draw on the ottoman, and I thought she did.

Me: "Lila you need to tell the truth."

L: "No Mom, next time I tell you the truth."

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L uses Paula as a tool for many things.  Paula's mom gives her more desserts, Paula's Mom reads her more books at night, (Paula's Mom lets Paula puts her hand down her shirt, but that's another story), Paula's Mom lets her do ALL the things I don't.  One night it was that Paula's Mom let her have lollipops for breakfast.

Me: "Maybe I should talk to Paula's Mom about that..."

L: "No, you can't. Paula lives far away."

Me: "Where does she live?"

L: "Near Shoop Shoop and Oh Ohs houses." (other  'imagerary' friends)

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On the way home from school, Lila will tell me in GREAT detail about the treat that she received that day in honor of someone's birthday.

M: "Whose birthday was it?"

L: "I dunno" (said with wonder and amazement)

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We were at a birthday party for Cate, Lila's closest friend.  Andrew was watching L in the bounce house.  There was a little boy sitting instead of bouncing, and Lila essentially jumped on him.  After he took her out of the bounce house...

Andrew: "Goagsies what was that?"

L:  "He wasn't bouncing. So i TACKLE him."

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Heard frequently by L.....

"Rember one time I...."

"Here's the deal"

"I'm serious, Mom, I'm really serious. "

I wan't some macle syrup"

"Is it Balentine's Day today?"

"Can I have a lot of Balentine's Days?"

"Can I have a BIdeo? Just one BIdeo?"

"Can I have some buggle gum? Just one piece?"

(When she wants something from me) "I'll give you a dol-lar!"

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Lila has been skipping naps once or twice a week.  She'll quietly play in her room for an hour or more. The first few times she did this I tried to coax her to sleep.

Me:  "Lila, you need to go to sleep."

L: (As if trying not to trouble me) "Oh, no I'm ok."

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I try to save their favorite art works, so sometimes they will bring drawings to me for safekeeping.  C ran up and handed me a scrap of paper recently.

C:  "That paper is really special to me!"

Me: "What is it?"

C: "The passcode for your phone."

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We asked L how many Big and Little Paulas there were....she said 20 Little Paulas and 2 Big Paulas.  D: "CharChar, can you imagine if mom and dad had 22 kids?! They can barely handle 3! I bet they are happy we aren't the Paula family."

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C and D love sushi (D especially).  L does not (and she calls it shushi)

L: "When I was in your belly, did you eat shushi?  Did I like it?"

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C and D have been getting teased for being small.  Everyone else has grown this year and they have not.  It worries me, and it upsets them.  I have started pointing out athletes who are not that big as examples that size doesn't (always) matter.  We were having a discussion along these lines when D says .."Charlotte,  I mean, Sam's not that big, and look what a good race car driver he is!"

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On a Sunday after church (yes, we actually go on occasion) we had nothing to do.

A: "Girls, if we could do anything today, what would you like to do?"

D: (with force) "SKI."

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We were driving a little girl home from a play date.  (Incidentally, I have learned to hate Mill Valley after driving kids home up hills so windy that I think I should leave a bread crumb trail behind me).  We drove up to her beautiful home and there was a gate.  First, the little girl didn't know her address, which  C and D couldn't understand.

C:  "What is the code to your gate?" 

Friend: "I don't know."

Later, as we left the gate after dropping her off, I heard C from the back, with a little disgust in her voice, say to herself, "She should really know the code to her gate."

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A baby visited D's class in K one day.

D: "We thought he farted, but turns out he just passed gas."

Me: "What is the difference between passing gas and farting?"

D: "Farts smell."

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There was a discussion about passing gas in school.

D: "I fart in school all the time."

Me: "Do you say excuse me?"

D: "No."

Me: "Why?"

D: "Because I don't want the teachers to know it was me who farted."

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I often say to Lila..."I'll eat you up I love you so..."

L" But then you wouldn't have a Goagsy!"