Go-Go Mommy

Not Many Years of This Left...

The other day Poppy had a question for me that came completely from left field:

"Mommy, how do you and Daddy know so much about so many things?" 

After I get done dancing a jig and patting myself on the back, I answered; "Well, daddy and I went to school for many many years.  We also learned a lot from our mommies and daddies, and we learned a lot, and still do, just by reading on our own."

Poppy; "Wow, so that's why."  (And I see the little wheels spinning in her head.)

Me to myself; "Hmm, I'd better get this conversation on the books so I can dust it off in about 10 years."  At least, I hope I have that long!

Friday's Findings

Instead of the old "Photo Friday", I decided it was time to expand the category so I can include more than just photos.  Please feel free to comment and share your own "findings" every Friday!

Today's Find: Sweet Pea can now participate in jokes!

While sitting next to each other in the shopping cart at Costco:

Poppy:  Why did the elf run out of the kitchen?

Sweet Pea:  (Shrugging shoulders with hands raised and palms up) I don't know. 

(Said in absolutely the sweetest, cutest, baby voice you could ever imagine.)

Poppy:  Because the recipe said "crack one egg and beat it"!

(Followed by belly-shaking laughter by both girls..)

And somehow, it remained funny the next 8 times it was repeated:)!

Ode to Cheerios

Some time back I remember

a day in late November

when every moment I seemed to be

a Cheerio Pick-Up Club member.

As I wandered through the market with my pack

and pulled items from shelves and off of the rack

a stray Cheerio or two I would see

as the items I tried neatly to stack.

Thus causing me to bend over and place

the strays in my pocket with untold grace

before someone might see the debris

and show a scowl on an unforgiving face.

These strays stayed stray a week or more

as I left them in my coat pocket by the door

and hurried to unpack my groceries

to make dinner for our party of four.

Much later on another day

when the banshees were screaming and raising hay

when my nerves pricked raw clearly 

left me sore and for sanity I pray.

The sun was warm, the weather bright

and that jacket I left a fortnight

was in my hand for the laundry 

when I reached in and pulled out a heartwarming sight.

Those Cheerios dropped so long ago

lay in my hand like a forgotten beaux

their beauty bright with days I'll miss

when my little ones will too soon grow and go.

Princess Sweet Pea Update

Our trip to Michigan for the holidays was a little long and pretty cold, but very beneficial for Sweet Pea.  Although still "the shy one" of the two (it's hard not to be considered shy when compared to our outgoing Poppy), she really blossomed when it came to her vocabulary.  In fact, now that we are home again I'm wondering how I will get a word in edgewise once the two of them get going!

Her latest vocabulary:

"Ah do"  still means "excuse me."

"Soup, soup" when pointing at the tv translates into "I'd like to watch Ratatouille."

"Ciderellellella"  is, of course, "Cinderella"

"Ohhhweee" is reserved for when she thinks something is really great.

Everything else is pretty much normal:  requests like "park slide, park slide"  (she's a fast talker so most requests come in doubles), "milk or juice, milk or juice"  and the never ending "mama, mama, mama".  

And my MIL says that she still has a very "dirty laugh": the conspiratorial kind that just makes you want to join in too.  I love you Sweet Pea!

A Glimpse Inside or "From the Mouths of Babes"

Well the Go-Go household is finally getting settled in, I'm finally gaining some time to myself as I'm actually getting Poppy and Sweet Pea to nap AT THE SAME TIME (incredible, I know), which means I get to write again. YEAH!

It's not that there hasn't been anything to write about, oh, there has. I made some mean homemade vegetable soup from scratch and even took some photos to post with my off-the-cuff recipe (and for those of you who don't know me, recipes are my "bible" when I cook - in other words, I'm the like mad scientist who has to follow a specific formula to a "t" when I'm cooking and I NEVER ad-lib cooking) so it was very daring of me to create a recipe of my own to share.

Then there were the usual writing opportunities: write about moving our household again, write about finding new schools/new friends/new activities, write about this totally bizarre political season (NO WAY, NOT even going there), write about Sweet Pea now repeating nearly everything and even coming up with her own names for things, like a fish is a "BB BB" (maybe I'll still post on that one). Anyway, you get the picture.

Today's topic came to me today, however, as something that totally trumps whatever else I do or learn today on this Halloween, 2008.

Today I had the privilege of helping the teachers in Poppy's preschool class. While I was there, one of her teachers shared this story about Poppy and of course, since I cry at Hallmark commercials, I almost broke down right there and ran over and smooched Poppy all over her beautiful little face. Here's why:

Teacher: Oh, Poppy is certainly something. The things she says are just so amazing.

Me: Yes, she can be quite a handful at times.

Teacher: Oh, no. I wanted to tell you what I overhead her say to one of her friends in class. It was so sweet! You know "L" doesn't really talk much and is very quite. Well, Poppy asked her what she was going to be for Halloween and at first "L" didn't answer but Poppy asked again very politely and said "It's okay. You can whisper to me." So "L" whispered something to her and Poppy said; "I'm going to be a princess too! Which princess are you going to be?" "L" answered very quietly and Poppy said she couldn't hear then "L" whispered again. Then, oh, how do I put this? Poppy said, "You know "L" I can't wait until you are ready to use your loud voice and talk out loud because I bet when you do, your talking voice will be the most beautiful voice I've ever heard."

Me: Stunned silence. Tears welling up. Finally -

Me: Wow! She certainly is something.

I love you Poppy! Happy Halloween!

First Day of School! - Part 2

Here is our conversation as Poppy and I were getting ready to go to her second day of school on Friday morning:

Poppy:  Well mom, I have to tell you that there really is no dancing snake in a tutu at school.

Me:  Oh, really?

Poppy:  Yeah.  And there's no peacock shaking its feathers and Donut didn't talk either.

Me:  Oh, okay.  So why did you make up all that stuff? (I'd forgotten about the peacock.)

Poppy: Well, I just wanted to make you laugh.

I guess I got it wrong - maybe Poppy is going to be a comedian!

"First Day of School! First Day of School!"

Some of you may recognize that quote. It was shouted by the infamous fish Nemo as he bounced on his father to wake him up and head out for his big day.

Well, for the past 2 weeks, Poppy has been practicing that exact line and preparing to wake KB and I in the same enthusiastic manner. Unfortunately, this morning began with that line, but it was us saying it to her. Let's just say that she was so excited about her first day of preschool that she got to bed a bit past her bedtime; about 3 hours past her bedtime to be exact. I do have to give her credit though because she was still every bit as enthusiastic once the sleep wore off and with her head cleared, she realized that this was the day she had been waiting for.

So we got her dressed, had a quick and nutritious breakfast, and took the requisite "first day of school" photos of Poppy, Sweet Pea, KB & I. Then KB, Sweet Pea and I took her to her classroom with the same sort of "pomp and circumstance" that befits a first day and, lucky me, I did it all without shedding one tear. Maybe it's because I realize that it IS preschool after all and I'm probably just waiting for the official Kindergarten first day. No matter.

Here's the conversation when I picked her up:

Me: So did you have...(I got cut off)

Poppy: Mommy! Mommy! I had so much fun today!

Me: That's great. What did you do?

Poppy: Well, I petted a snake.

Me: You did? Was it real? (Wondering where they hid a snake in the room since I had just been there 2 nights ago for Parent Orientation.)

Poppy: Yes, and it had a tutu on and danced!

Me: It did? Wow, can you show me the snake when we go back to school?

Poppy: Sure. And I talked with Donut (the class bunny) and he answered me and said it was very nice to meet me!

Me: Wow! I didn't know Donut could talk.

Poppy: Well, he didn't but that's what he would have said if he could!

I'm thinking maybe Poppy is going to have a very good writing career of her own someday!

PS - I can't wait to see the "dancing snake!" Hope you send your "first day" stories. They are too precious not to share!

The Sweet Pea Update

Happily, I can report that little Sweet Pea is definitely coming into her own. At 21 months, she is pointing at everything saying "that", "that", and I have to sit there and name every single item in whatever room or place we happen to be in at the moment. I respond: "bed", "book", "blanket", "chair", "sofa"; well, you get the picture. Sometimes she'll say the word once. When she does, it usually comes out surprisingly clear but then it's not repeated - only once. And I treasure each of those softly spoken words like a rays of warm sunshine melting my heart.

Sweet Pea also loves to dance and is already insisting on dresses - just like her big sister, Poppy. She has even taken to picking out more shirts to wear even if she is already dressed! It doesn't matter, she will insist on adding another shirt. KB says she obviously prefers the "layered look" and would have fit perfectly into the 80's (coincidentally, our era).

The best thing now is just being able to talk to her and know that she basically understands what we ask or tell her. If we ask her to do something like "Sweet Pea, go pick up that crayon." She will gingerly walk to it, pick it up, and bring it right to us saying something like "ouhh" - maybe she means "here."

One last note for my memory book is the way Sweet Pea shakes her head for "yes" and "no." "No" seems to be the one they always master first, especially when you have a big sister that constantly loves to take every single item you pick up out of your hands. Hence the robust movement of "yes" is so cute, not only does her whole head bob up and down but she bends more at the shoulders than at the neck so it is almost like a little bow repeated over and over.

Kids - don't you just love 'em?!

The Happy Door Knocker

There are so many things I could blog about right now. For example, I could write about the fact that we are now homeless in California; or that the reason we find ourself so is that in the short span of 3 weeks we made the decision to put our home up for sale, prep it, hold an open house, receive offers, sign closing papers and physically move out; or that we are now on the hunt for what will (hopefully) be our home for the next 20 years.

As you can see all of this is great blogging material, but here's the thing. Despite all the changes and turmoil in our household right now, the cutest thing is happening: Sweet Pea is knocking on doors - literally.

Maybe it's the fact that over the last 2-3 weeks we've spent all of our free time touring model homes, visiting open houses, and living at an extended stay hotel - all of which have doors a plenty. Whatever the impetus, Sweet Pea has taken to running up to doors, knocking on them, and expecting to go right inside and explore new places.

It's cute when it's a model home and you know that there is no one home to disturb, but when we make the trek down our long hallway at the end of the day to reach our new living quarters and she heads for each door along the way, her little fist raised in the air ready to make as much noise as a 21 month old can muster, then... not so much

While it's a tiny milestone, it sure is a cute one! And who knows, one of these days she just may knock on the door to our next home!

I also write as JB on the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog.

Life Lately

Sometimes life comes at you hard and fast. It definitely feels that way in my life right now. The girls are doing well, KB is working harder than ever, and I am getting back to work. Not that I haven't been working beyond my expectations as a SAHM, but now I am even busier after the girls go to bed with a new project that will move me into the "WAHM" and "mompreneur" categories.

It is exciting to be so close to having something that will enable me to exercise my professional muscle again; to put my "thinking cap" back on and get back to a sense of business acumen. I will share more on this later, but in the meantime, I'd like to share my latest life moments that make giving up the "crazy rat race" in the first place so worthwhile.

Today I saw:
-Sweet Pea so beautiful and innocent at 19 months. She has the cutest wispy hair that is too baby fine and sparse to take her for an actual haircut but is now so long in the back and at the sides that it's starting to curl in all directions. It looks sweetest head-on where it sometimes sticks straight out beyond her ears and catches the light making her look like a little mad scientist. Because of this trait, she has affectionately also become known as "Bibble" in our household.

-Poppy lovingly putting shoes and a dress-up bonnet on Sweet Pea and Sweet Pea sitting quietly like a little, live baby doll, watching her big sister with enormous hazel eyes behind lashes that just don't seem to end.

-Poppy sweetly (and sometimes a bit bossy) directing Sweet Pea on where to go and what to look at as we toured some new homes today.

-The two girls together as one "read" a book (Sweet Pea) while the other talked on a pretend telephone (Poppy) and set up a "sleepover" with a close friend. I can finally see that while Poppy's hair is a more striking color, Sweet Pea's is getting close to becoming a toned-down version of the same unique color.

-Poppy help her little sister up into and down from various chairs around our house when Sweet Pea would make noise that she needed help.

-Sweet Pea inspecting all of the flowers at the newly landscaped model homes. She had to go up to each and every bloom and touch them. I'm not sure what she likes more, the color, the variety, or the feel of them.

-Poppy putting on her ballet leotard and slippers and dancing with Sweet Pea who was dressed in a sparkly green Tinkerbell outfit. The image of the two of them twirling and curtseying will always live with me.

In sum, it's so clear that while my new "job" may give me an avenue to pursue some of my personal passions and interests, it's still all about being here for the little moments.