Keeping the focus

“Focus up.”

I say this to the girls at least once a day when I need them to channel their energy into eating, getting dressed, or some other task that they can’t seem to be bothered with at that exact moment.

But this week, I find that I’m the one who needs to do a little focusing up. I can’t figure out what my problem is. Normally, I am a pretty organized person. I have my task lists, I organize my errands to minimize my “running around,” and my house looks – for the most part – inviting and clean.

But for the past few days I have been incredibly scatterbrained. I can’t even put together a task list that makes sense. I move stuff from one room to another and then back again. I’ve found two different birthday cards that should have been sent out last week. And I started to write out a check to pay our taxes, went to answer the phone and by the time I came back I had already forgotten what I was doing.

Grrr. It is frustrating. And Em came home today and was so excited about collecting her jog-a-thon winnings and I remembered that I never even posted to let you all know how she did!

MOM! You didn’t even blog about how amazing your little runner did?

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Uh…nope. Let’s discuss now, shall we? Here she was before the race…

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Flash! During the race…

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And after…

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I roped all of our visitors into “volunteering” for the PTA as well. I was marking the runners as they did their laps. Meesh was taking photos (Thanks, M!), Lexer was on the water station…

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And the three little ones were on cheerleading duty…

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So how did she do, you ask?

Well, when we were fundraising we were told that the track was 1/8th of a mile. So she and I thought that she might try to run 10 laps – so that would be over a mile! And they had 20 minutes to run. I figured that was pretty do-able.

And the girl is good. She got pledges from both Nana AND Papa, Nena AND Bill and then she hit me up, and also got a separate pledge from Daddy. And also sweet talked both Daddy and Uncle Jeff each into $5 a lap.

You see where this is going, right?

Yeah. She ran 20 laps! She made some c-a-s-h for her school. But it is all for a good cause. The fearsome foursome…

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Good work, girls. And I’m so glad one of us is able to focus up and overachieve around here lately.

And then…she was six.

Dear Emma Grace,

It has been yet another incredible year. Just about six years ago, exactly to the minute (figuring in the central coast – west coast time change) my water broke and we really knew that you were on your way at last. We ran, well I more or less “lumbered,” downstairs at 4:30am on that April 9th and I still remember Daddy saying to the night doorman who was standing watch, “Well, looks like a good day to have a baby!”

And then that dumb doorman, instead of finding a cab for us like he was supposed to be doing, thought he would be funny and said, “Oh, but it is a Wednesday. Wednesday’s child is full of woe!” Come on! Who says that to a woman in labor? At any rate, a few minutes later we were cruising to the hospital and the doorman (and his stupidity) was forgotten.

But occasionally, that line will pop up into my mind, and at the oddest times – usually when you are wailing or having a dramatic meltdown over some inconsequential thing. But no matter how “woeful” that moment may be, I will never, ever agree with that man. You are anything but full of woe!

emma sunbeam

I see an insane physical growth in you nearly every week – usually when yet another pair of jeans gets passed down to Addie because your legs have decided to sprout at least an inch overnight. But I also see the growth you are making as a person, on the inside. I went back to read your five-year old letter and just kept nodding my head and thinking, “Yep, she is still like that, she still does all of those things, only with ten times the force and intensity.” Your heart, and your capacity to show love to all of your friends and family, seems to be growing as much as those long legs of yours.

little writer

And I marvel at how your mind is growing and how much you have accomplished in your first seven “official” months of school. You are full-on reading (Everything. You even read over my shoulder as I try to type blog posts.), you are becoming a very prolific writer (Keeping several different journals of your own, even ones not prompted as schoolwork.), and you love all things nature and outdoors. Science experiments and getting things to grow have opened your mind to a whole new and exciting world of knowledge. You just continue to soak it all up.

journal writing

And your learning has only meant that I get to relive my childhood again. I get to explore all of the wonders of the world with you, and just see them as you do – all new and shiny. It has given me a chance to take a second look and really see the beauty in so many things that I may have otherwise overlooked. Whether it is an interesting new bug, a fun new park, a new sprout in the garden or a new book about the planets we haven’t read yet, they all seem much more exciting when I can learn it through you.

last day as a 5-year old

Emma Grace, you truly are the perfect mix of joyful, serious, sweet, excited, and curious. (Ok, maybe a hint of woe sprinkled in every once in awhile, just to keep Mama on her toes!) And I don’t think anyone who knows you can imagine life without you.

The happiest 6th birthday and year to you, Gracie Girl.
I love you,
Mommy

All-American Girls

Em wanted to go to the American Girl Cafe for her birthday this year, and since her birthday week coincided with the cousins being here, we made the trek to the Grove and brought along two of Em’s best friends as well.

Yep, count ‘em – seven girls, two Mommies…

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…oh, and don’t forget all of the dolls -they all brought their American Girl dolls. Emma was so excited because the bathrooms are equipped with little hooks to hang your doll while you “do your business,” and the cafe has special high chairs.

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They do pay attention to the little details (teacups above, pretty centerpieces below)…

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And everyone (dolls included) seemed to enjoy the lunch!

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The girls all had butterfly pasta (appropriate for our garden theme!) and Lexer had the tic-tac-toe pizza.

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They have little conversation starters, and now that the girls know how to read, they we are asking each other questions and giggling. I think Emma was asking everyone, “If you could be any animal, which would you be?” here…

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And of course they had cute little desserts, Em’s had a candle and we all sang to her.

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I think all-in-all, the party was a big success. Em got a gift certificate and had quite the decision to make. She brought home a new cat for her doll, Elizabeth, and has some money leftover for a trip to the doll hair salon the next time we visit.

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Then we all made some wishes in the fountain on the way out.

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My wish definitely came true.

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A Hot Game of Zingo ~ Wordless Wednesday

Bingo with a Zingo

Okay, I just can’t let this one go Wordless.

I mean look at Puppy Dog Alarm Clock’s sad and forlorn eyes. He wants to just smack that smug smile off of Care Bear’s face. Dumb bear, all uppity and gloating because it is winning.

Like this photo, from a few months ago, this pic just makes me laugh out loud. It also reminds me that the girls are at such an amazing stage. They spend hours together and come up with the most involved and creative play, it is really something special to watch.

This game – Zingo – is their favorite board game to play right now. Addie got it from my friend Kimmer and she just adores it! It is a great game for 3-4 year olds. And truth be told, it is one of my favorites to play with them, too. It is a refreshing change from Candyland, and I like that Addie has just as good a chance to win as anyone. So it is fair and fun!

My favorite thing they play though is “Mommy/Honey.” (Yes, that is what they call it.) Usually Addie is the “mommy” and Em is the “honey (little girl)” and they just play “house” for hours. I really need to video/tape some of the conversations they have, because they are wet-your-pants funny. And the funniest part is that Ad sounds EXACTLY like me in some of the things she says.

Well, most of the time it is funny.

Crafty Tuesday

Only one thing to show today.

We are busy preparing for Aunt Meesh and the girls’ visit (on Thursday), Em’s little birthday deal (next week), her actual birthday and Easter (also both next week!). So we are busy, busy little bees around here.

These are the invitations that I made for Em’s birthday lunch for next week.

Em's Birthday Card

I got the idea for the “garden” and then wanted it to be a little 3-d like. And since I only had a few invites to do, I printed them out, cut out each piece separately and used the little block adhesives to make them pop off the page. I think they turned out pretty cute. Em really likes them, so that is all that really matters, I guess.

Anybody else have some crafty goodness to share today?

DIY ~ Theme Thursday

When I found out that this week’s Theme Thursday was DIY: Do It Yourself, I was a little stumped. We haven’t exactly been doing any house projects lately, and I’ve pretty much blown all of my crafty projects on Crafty Tuesday.

So I thought I would try to capture Addie as she “do it myself, Mama!” since that is pretty much all I hear these days. And that didn’t exactly pan out either. She and I have been a little bit on the “outs” this week. (Just picture LOTS of time in the corner, mostly for Addie…but occasionally for me, too! There have been numerous temper tantrums this week.)

And then last night, Em asked if I would help her figure out what she needed to do for her jog-a-thon for school next week. I told her of course I would help her, but as far as the phone calls and asking for sponsors? I told her “You will have to do it yourself.” Ohhhh…Ding, ding, ding!

So here is Em, drummin’ up business for her jog-a-thon next week and proving you can do it yourself if Mama helps you write out a little script. She is expecting to finish 10 laps (which would be 1.25 miles!) and right now if she does, she would raise over $200! Go Em! I think she can do it…she is after all her Mama’s girl!

Drummin' up business

And there is absolutely nothing cuter than listening to her read the script, and the look on her face when everyone said “yes.”

I unfortunately did not set up the photo session very well. I was trying to do dinner, baths, and help her with her pledge drive, so I just snapped a quick, few photos – but didn’t get any great photos. However, I like this one and I tried to salvage it a bit. I’m sure there are plenty more great photos over at Stacy’s today.

Crafty Tuesday

It does this Momma’s heart good to watch my little budding artist. If you recall we have seen glimpses of her artistic greatness in the past. And she just continues to impress me with her constant creativity. Every corner of our house is littered with scraps of paper, pictures, drawings, and notes, basically…little pieces of Emma.

I decided to get my canvases and paints out on Sunday because I have been promising the girls that we would do it, and more importantly because Addie needs some new artwork on her walls now that her baby bedding has been replaced with her new kitty quilt.

But most of my day was spent just in awe of my artiste. She is good. And she has some serious talent…if I do say so myself. She has a lot of confidence in her drawing and painting, she can look at something she wants to draw and she will draw it. And she does it with such a steady and fearless hand. It really is fun to watch.

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And her first piece…

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And her second…

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Notice, they are “signed” pieces, too! Em told J. that artists have to sign their names to the painting. (Although usually they are quietly signed down in the corner…but nonetheless!)

And J. spent pretty much the entire time cleaning brushes out for Addie. And you can see that it really helped keep her colors separate in both of her pieces…

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I haven’t finished my two pieces, I still need to put the finishing touches on them, but I’ll post them when they are done.

How about everyone else? Any good stuff to show today?

Why it is fun to try a tri…

Triathlons bring out all kinds. All shapes and sizes, and all ages. They write your age on your right calf before the race, I’m not exactly sure why, but I believe it is to teach you humility as a 60+ year old goes flying by you halfway through the race.

Somewhere in the middle

Anyhow, I do love the Nike tag inside my hat that says, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” The oldest person to complete our triathlon was 79 years old. Can you believe that? I hope I am still walking at 79…much less swimming-biking-running!

Emma and I had a little discussion when we were going to pick up my race number on Friday.

E: “Mama? How old do you have to be to run a triathlon race?”
M: “I don’t know, Peanut. I’d guess 14 or so.
(I hear nothing from the backseat and then whispered…)
E: “Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen.”
E: “Oh! Well that means in 8 years I can run a race with you. Because it is almost like I am six already, right?
M: “Yes (smiling) I would LOVE to run a race with you. I’ll be 44 then.”
E: “Oh. When I’m 30, how old will you be?”
M: “61.”
E: “Can you run when you are 61?
M: “Um, I hope so…I guess we’ll have to see.”
E: “When I’m 60, how old will you be?”
M: “I’ll be 91.”
E: “OH! Gosh. When I’m 91?”
M: “I’ll be…uh, 122.”
E: “Um, Mama…you probably won’t be here when you are 122.”

You are probably right kid, I’ll be pretty lucky to make it to 91, I think!

We happened to find the youngest athlete on Saturday, he started next to me…

The youngest

And as for that lesson in humility…he finished only 10 minutes behind me.

Sigh.

I better step up my training. I’ve got four years until Em is out here beating me.

Triathlete in training