4 Years

Dear Penelope,

You never cease to amaze me.  You challenge me and open my heart & mind in ways I never imagined.  Somehow after 4 years, we still haven't figured out how to best help you go to sleep at night.  I wish I could get inside of your little mind, so I could better help you.  Sometimes we talk about things we might want to dream about.  Happy things.  Tonight when you were going to bed, you told Daddy and me that you wanted to dream about all of our friends and family from Colorado, Missouri and California getting together...and playing Ring Around the Rosy, even  the dogs (especially Darla, Wendy & Mike's dog).  I hope I always stop and smell the roses with you even when I have loads of stuff to do.  I love seeing the world through your eyes.  And while you and Amelia fight like siblings do, you can be very loving and patient with her.  She adores you.  Raising you makes me want to be a better person.  I love you.

Mommy

My kinder garden

A couple of nights ago I was putting Penelope to bed when she started asking me questions about preschool and what school she would go to when she turned 4 and 5 and so on.  I think she found it a little confusing because, although she'll turn 4 in a couple of weeks, she won't be in the '4s' preschool program until next fall / school year.  Kind of an advanced concept for a 3 or 4 year old.  Anyways, she started asking me about kindergarten.  I told her I didn't know what school she would go to and whether or it would be in California, Colorado or somewhere else.  She seemed to think we needed to move to Missouri or Colorado for kindergarten, since Mommy may not know where the kindergarten classes are in California.  I guess our experience of getting to know this place (navigating to new places and some times getting lost and doing lots of u-turns in the process) has made a strong impression on her.  And also since we know other kindergartners in Colorado and Missouri. Anyways, I assure her that we will find a great kindergarten class for her no matter where we live and that all that matters is that our family is together.  Her reply was, "Mommy, will they have flowers there?"  And I say that I didn't know, but it would be nice if they did.  And I asked her why she wondered that.  And then I realized what she was talking about.  She figured that they would surely grow flowers in a kinder GARDEN, right?  That just about melted my heart right then and there.  Do you know what the word kindergarten means?  It's a German word which translates to 'Children's Garden'.  What a lovely and appropriately used word.  I hope I remember these very sweet little conversations when she's older and a lot less innocent. 

Grow

Yesterday we planted a garden in our backyard with the help of Jason and Becky.  It took about 3 hours to buy prep and get it all planted.  We planted tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, a variety of peppers, onions, and a bunch of herbs.  It was a great afternoon filled with sunshine and family.  Grow garden grow.

Is it spring yet?

 My newest sewing project.  I guess I'm ready for spring.

  

Much needed getaway

Thanks to a very generous offer from Becky & Jason to watch our girls, Jiffer and I went on a little mini vacation to the Napa Valley last weekend.  We had a fantastic time (except for the part when the fire alarm went off in our hotel at 7:15am - but I'll get to that later).  When we arrived at Hotel Avia in downtown Napa, we got to witness the first 'snow' (if you can call it that in 50 degree weather) in this area since 1976.  It lasted less than a minute...and then we saw it snow again on our way into the first winery we visited Swanson Vineyards.  We did some tasting at the Sip Shoppe at Swanson.  They call it a candy store for adults.  Yes indeed.

  

After that, we went to Round Pond, an incredibly beautiful family owned estate producing not only wine, but olive oils and vinegars.  We were served some pretty incredible food and wine pairings.  They, of course, had no problem catering to my vegetarian diet (thank you California).  One of the bites I had involved a crostini and kale pesto.  Yum.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a complimentary wine tasting and chair massage.  It was almost a perfect trip.  Time for us to 'reconnect' as a couple in a beautiful setting with delicious food and wine.  Jiffer and I were especially excited about the sleeping in part.  We haven't done that more than a handful of times since 2007.  A little after 7am, defining smoke alarms sounded and we had to evacuate the hotel.  You've got to be kidding me.  Our ONE, yes one morning to sleep in.  False alarm.  Whoops. 

Thanks Becky & Jason.  We owe you.

Some beautiful sights

My mom came in town recently and we used her visit as a good excuse to do a couple of small trips to the beaches of northern California.  We did a day trip to Half Moon Bay exploring Moss Beach and having lunch in downtown.  There is a little hike that leads you to a grove of beautiful Cypress trees and some other beautiful tree (not sure of the name) and overlooks the beach.  This is the second time the girls and I visited this area.

 

I love this series of our family - Penelope's become quite the photogenic one

We also went on a two day trip to Point Reyes.  Point Reyes was amazing!  I'm not sure which was more beautiful.  The dramatic seashore or the beautiful rolling hills and dairy farms that we drove through to access the shore.  It reminded me of Ireland except their were tons of dairy cows roaming the hills instead of sheep.  We went to the North Beach which warns against getting too close to the water because they have 'sneaker waves' that are extremely dangerous.  The surf was spectacular.  We were told the waves were 17 feet tall.  The house we rented - The Blackthorne Inn - was very unique and cozy.  We would definitely like to go back again some day. 

Resolution

You're probably thinking, it's a little late to be talking about New Years resolutions.  Well maybe you're right.  But that's not really what this is.  This is a little something I came up with tonight that I think will help me be a happier person and a better mom, wife, friend, stranger on the street.  I went to a class at Parents Nursery School tonight because it is my obligation to do so as a member of the co-op.  As with most nights after leaving the school, I feel both a small sense of camaraderie (about the trials and tribulations of parenting) as well as inspired to apply what I like about the new and old ideas discussed to my own parenting.  I think tonight was especially inspiring because I rode my bike and had a drink / appetizer with a friend before the meeting.  The ride home was lovely.  A peaceful and quiet night sky and Orion staring down at me...

I recently had a real change of heart about being apart of this co-op.  I am so grateful of this experience for many reasons, but one of the most powerful ones for me right now, is that I am 'forced' to participate in parent educations nights.  It's not that I wouldn't have otherwise wanted to educated myself as a parent, but now I'm expected to do so as a part of the school (much easier to do so when it's expected of you) and it's really opening my eyes.  The two other wonderful parts of this experience are 1) Penelope loves school and seems to be learning and growing in all kinds of healthy ways and 2) It's truly a lovely community of families who are unique, international, caring, giving, and who are all going through similar things.  This is especially nice given the fact that I recently moved to a place where I have no existing community and friends.  Don't get me wrong, I'm worn to a nubbin at the end of my work or 'volunteer' day, but all of the good stuff outweighs this, somehow.


Back to the resolution.  Just a small, but powerful little thing:  I'd like to reduce the number of times someone (anyone who notices me) sees me during the day where I'm looking hurried or annoyed.  To me, an improvement in way, would signify that I'm learning to slow down and be a little more present.  I'm confident this would improve the quality of my life and everyone around me.   Wish me good luck.