Cords and Fleece

Soccer, kung fu, or gymnastics? Art, piano, or dance? Fencing? I want to enroll Elizabeth in some sort of class, but it's just not going well. I'm not sure if the problem is me... OK, it is me . Take ME out of the equation and the "problem" magically disappears. Lizzy is just not interested in joining a team or taking a class, and Michael isn't keen to sign her up (and thus spend money) for a class she won't enjoy or may not participate in fully. He has a point. We enrolled her in soccer last year, and while most kids ran up and down the field kicking their balls, Lizzy stopped to examine a flower. When the kids stood in "ready position" (standing in line with one foot atop their soccer balls), she sat on her ball at the end of the line. While other kids weaved their balls around little orange traffic cones, Lizzy picked up a cone, turned it upside, placed her soccer ball on top of it, and pretended to lick it like an ice cream cone. That is Lizzy i...

Oops! Enjoy (or not) this overly-ripened entry from Easter that I forgot to post. (At least I remembered to throw out the hard-boiled eggs. I think... ) I have good news: They didn't lose Elizabeth ! Yay! She had a really nice time at Zoo Camp, except for the first day when it was really hot. When I picked her up, she fell into the car, her cheeks red, and said in an exhausted voice, "We walked everywhere." "What about those moving sidewalk/escalator things? Did you you ride any of those?" "No. We walked everywhere. " Lizzy is more of a sprinter , if you know what I mean. She's good in short bursts, but tends to peter out over long distances. However, a medicinal dose of chocolate frozen yogurt perked her right up, and the weather became more tolerable the rest of the week. By Monday Elizabeth was rejuvenated. Not only had Zoo Camp proven successful, but the weekend was a blur of chaotic Easter goodness -- which, of course, left me exhausted. I th...

"I've been looking forward to today since... a few days ago!" Lizzy said happily this morning. Today is the first day of Elizabeth's spring break and she's spending four days of it at the San Diego Zoo. Wow! It's all very exciting. Thanks to a last minute cancellation, Lizzy will spend her days going behind the scenes at the zoo, learning what animals eat, how they communicate, and what they sound like. There will be animal encounters and special guests, lessons and games, art crafts and cooking. And the theme of this year's Zoo Camp is, "Let's party!" It all sounds super neato fantastico, right? Well, it was... until last night. Don't get me wrong -- despite a little separation anxiety this morning when I dropped her off at camp, Elizabeth is definitely on board and looks forward to four, fun-filled days at the zoo. In fact, she's there right now, hopefully having a wonderful time. But last night as I prepared her last minute documen...

We're still fighting the virus -- now it's Lizzy's turn. While our family continues to battle this viral beast, I am in limbo. I can't focus... can barely think. Instead of Discover Magazine and Frontline, my head-space can only accommodate Us Magazine and Hottest Bikini Beaches. Thus, work today is slow-going. So I will leave you with these few Family Bites I've collected over the last few days. Because it's all I can handle. -------------------- Samantha: "Mommy, you're more beautiful than princess stuff. If you have short, short hair, or loooong, long hair you're still beautiful. When you wear cool t-shirts -- and pants -- you're beautiful. Even when you're naked you're beautiful. Me: "Wow, even then ?" Samantha: "Yes!" Me: "Thank you, Samantha. What a nice thing to say." Samantha: "You love me, right?" Me: "I love you so much!" Samantha: "I'm saying nice things to make you ...

I caught the virus from hell this past week. Let me tell you -- sitting in the Urgent Care lobby makes for interesting people watching. More than once I had the thought, Don't sit next to me... don't sit next to me... (I know -- not very charitable.) Like the time the loud, cigarette-scented husband returned to find his wife still sitting in the lobby and asked, irritated, "You're still here?!" He was all amped up and insensitive and generating drama. Go away. Then there was the 18 year-old slacker boyfriend who couldn't put down his cell phone and barely acknowledged his girlfriend when she was ready to leave. He had an angry, disinterested look about him and I had this sudden thought: What if one of my girls dates him someday? Followed by the thought, I hate him and I will do everything to destroy him and his relationship with my daughter. Go figure. Must have been the virus talking. There was also the Springer-Family-Audition- Rejects (husband, wife, m...

Observing my day while living it at the same time is not always easy. Plus, it's weird. I find myself "watching" myself and the people around me. Now when Samantha makes a series of silly faces to cheer me up, I say to myself, Oh -- this is funny! I should put this in my Five-a-Day List . And then I think, But she makes silly faces all the time. Is this really Five-a-Day worthy? And then I'm like, Well that's absurd. If it's positive, put it on the list! And then I'm all, I think I can do better than silly faces! To which I respond, Better?! You think you can do better than Samantha's silly faces? Well -- bring. it. on! And then I want to hit myself. It's not pretty. So I took a break from watching my life, and during that time I: Worked at my job. Re-arranged the living room, family room, and dining room with Michael. Took Samantha to her first official ballet class and decided it was my intention all along to have her sit on the side and obse...

1 Michael invited me to lunch on Tuesday, knowing I was having a bad morning -- and he offered me his jacket when I forgot mine. :) 2 Samantha tried to sing Puff the Magic Dragon in the car (which was just plain cute), and then she told me she wants to make me happy. 3 This picture from Elizabeth. I especially like our matching mini-dresses (mine is bordering on obscene...) and how we're hugging each other and looking lovingly into each others' eyes. I'm not sure why I have blonde hair, though -- wishful thinking on her part? 4 My friend/coworker spoke up for me when another coworker bombarded me with a work request right as I walked in the door. "Hey, why don't you give her a chance to take her coat off?" she interjected from her adjacent cubicle. Classy. 5 This other picture from Elizabeth. Apparently she decided to grade her school paper, herself. It took me a while before I noticed that "Great Job" was misspelled (sometimes I'm kind of slo...