Sunday, March 28, 2010

Spring has Sprung....

And yet for some reason it was 19 degrees yesterday morning.

I finally uploaded all the photos from last weekend, they're below. Rest assured grandparents, the sweatshirt photos were from last weekend, when it was NOT 19 degrees.

We met up with friends at a fantastic playground last Sunday. It was new to us and relatively easy to get to, especially if one follows the directions correctly. If not, you can go all the way to Salisbury on the way there. After a couple of hours of energy burning we went to Newburyport for lunch. Discovered a great pizza place, Upper Crust, in the center of town. After lunch we did a bit of shopping and then parted ways. We took the long way home, following every Open House sign we saw, just to see what was out there. The answer? Not much. Alas....

Onto the photos!

Running....
Over the bridge with Bryce.

The girls


We ran into Juli and Alisha's friend there, that's his little boy, J. Somehow he got roped into pushing all the kids on the swing.


Wronged by someone, she found an Arden sized cubbyhole.


Representin' for Boston


With the treasure she found. She told Juli we could buy lunch with it. If only!


Dictating. Oh c'mon, you know it.



Remember that moment in Parenthood....with the kid at the bucket....?


Pushing her imaginary brother. The face is because he's only imaginary. Arden insists she needs a brother name Paxton. Bryce's parents were good enough to give HER a Paxton.



Future tree hugger of America.


We should get some royalties for all this Red Sox advertising.


Fast forward to this weekend, a happy girl who has just seen Alice in Wonderland. Which she loved.
Weird, weird child.


Rewind to last weekend's gymnastics class. She skipped this weekend -- woke up Saturday morning with a bit of a cold so we decided against contaminating the equipment.
Anyway. Last weekend was all about the beam. Here she is on the a tall one with no mats underneath. Always good for the nerves.





Saturday, March 20, 2010

Just another day in the life

Yesterday ended up being a surprise home day for the kid. I was planning on a work at home day and figured I'd just take her to school where she would get oodles of time outside on the playground thanks to the nice weather. Fast forward to 9AM when we started to back down the driveway and my brakes started to make a not so great noise and then decided to not work so well. Call me conservative but I took a pass on driving it across town to drop her at school. Gert goes in Monday for new brakes. We are grateful to have found mechanics we trust. We often say they are the best thing about living where we do.

In the end, the kid and I hung out at home. I turned the tv to Monsters Inc and let her have run of the oh, 2700 square feet of house while I took my computer to the sunporch to stay out of her way. 3 minutes later she was sitting next to me at the table, working. Someday she won't want to be near me, so I try to appreciate these moments. Try.

She did spend a fair amout of time playing in the backyard with her beach toys and the dog. I should have had her do spring clean up to the yard with her rake! Today is another beautiful day before it drops down to the 50s. And I left California why?

Below are some pictures we took before (attempting) to head to school yesterday. Oh how I wish I'd raised a little Yankees fan.


Skiing down a box. Naturally.


Hi.

With her dog.


Future leader of a grunge band





Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Little Miss Independent

A certain someone has crossed over into a whole new world of independence. Perhaps the most uttered phrase these days is 'I can do it myself.' She is exercising particularly extreme independence in two areas, dressing herself and putting herself to bed.

Don't get me wrong, she has been able to put clothes on by herself for awhile now, but I'll be honest, I haven't encouraged her doing it when we actually have to be somewhere. On time. Or at least somewhere in the realm of on time, meaning I get to the train station before the train leaves. Details details. She now insists on putting her clothes on. I am allowed, still, to dictate what she wears (phew), but I am then directed to leave the room. I was suspicious when this first started happening, that it was a glimpse into the future. That, like any teenager, she would wait for the door to close and just go back to sleep. Lo and behold, she actually stays awake. And puts her clothes on!

Bedtime is another exercise in independence. We are expected, of course, to read her a story, but then she asks us to leave the light on, turn on her cd player and close the door, leaving her surrounded by books. Without fail, she reads for 10 minutes, turns off the light, and whammo, asleep. Go figure.

The pictures below capture a couple of different things. 1) What she dresses herself in if we have no say and 2) That she is growing up so incredibly fast.











Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Pressure of a School

So much for getting a post in everyday...not sure where last week went!

We've had a busy weekend. We spent Friday night meditating in preparation for Saturday's insanity. I'm fairly certain Ghandi wore a similar outfit for meditation.

Saturday was a busy day. Arden had gymnastics, where she proved once again that her forte is the bar. She is the only one who flips over the bar on her own. We were impressed.

After gymnastics we visited a Montessori school. Wednesday of last week was a big day in this house. In a town fraught with school district scandal, and in a housing market devastated by the economic downturn, our options are limited. Wednesday was Lotto Day for the one good school in our town. 1100+ applicants, 36 openings. 32 of those openings were for the K1 class, 18 of those openings were filled by siblings. 14 openings remained for the 111 applicants for K1. Arden was in the pool for K2, which had a whopping 4 openings. And 145 applicants. 126 names later, her name was drawn. 126th on the waiting list. The remaing applicants spanned the grades, and there were no openings for 1st through 8th grade. Simply a waiting list, leaving people to hope and pray that a few children left the school. For the rest of us, it is back to the drawing board.

We spent Wednesday looking for options. One of my first stops on the web was a Montessori school one town over. We've eyed them before, but the cost is well, costly. In interesting timing, they had an open house planned for this weekend. Friday night I ran out to get Arden a new outfit. First impressions are everything, right? Yes, grandparents, there are photos below.

Walking in the front door we were greeted by a 5th grade student, who would serve as our tour guide. Flocking him were the Admissions Director and the Head of School. Our tour guide, N., took us first to the Art Room. The art teacher was there, and talked with us about all of the different art projects they do each year, all designed to support the curriculum underway. Upcoming for kindergarten? Rainforest dioramas. Rainforest study starts this week. Arden was hesitant, but intrigued.

Next up was the gym. She hasn't stopped talking about the gym and the basketball hoops since. Onto the kindergarten class, where we met the class dove, parakeet and tree frog. Arden proved that she is not only a goat whisperer, but a dove whisperer too. The bird immediately began to coo to Arden, she was pleased. We explored the classroom, full of organic materials, puzzles and even their own piano. It is, without a doubt, a perfect kindergarten classroom. N sat down with Arden at a table and started to work with her on puzzles and math beads. She has not stopped talking about N either. This morning she got up and colored 18 pictures. All for her new classroom, with the exception of 1. Naturally, that one is for N.

We do not know if Arden will go there in the fall, or if we will wait until the first grade. It is an incredible school. There were no issues, and trust me, we can tell, with Arden having two mothers. They are encouraging of leadership, nurturing, yet with high expectations. She would thrive, most certainly, regardless of her start date. And, because the world continues to prove itself to be frighteningly small, we met people (N's parents, actually) that knew a woman who was one of Dora's Montessori teachers 25 (or 30...) years ago.

After visiting the school, we went to the mall. I needed new glasses, so we headed to the place that could have them ready in an hour. Why would anyone go anywhere else? I came armed with my prescription from Friday's visit to the optometrist, tried on a few different frames and, creature of habit that I am, ended up selecting frames nearly identical to my last pair. Why mess with a good thing.

We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and returned for the glasses by way of the Disney Store. I'm not sure if Dora or Arden enjoyed that experience more. New glasses in hand, we headed home (after offering a visit to the Easter Bunny, which was received with a vehement shake of the head), let out the dog, and hit the road for our friends' house. It was movie night, with salad and pizza for dinner, and popcorn and ice cream for dessert. A fun and exhausting day.

Today we spent in the house, sheltered from the nasty rain and wind that has been pounding New England for the last two days. And with that, I think I shall use the excuse of the rawness outside to make a cup of hot cocoa.

I leave you with pictures, my attempt to get a smile for the grandparents while waiting for our table, coveting a new Buzz Lightyear ('but he TALKS'), followed by the end of the evening, upon arrival home. And yes, she is wearing Wall E pjs. Hand-picked by hers truly. I have to tell you, it used to be a lot easier to carry the sleeping child up the stairs.





Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I wouldn't cross her...

Arden's day was full of highs and lows. Not unlike my day, if you want the truth, but that's a story for another day.

On the way home from school, Arden started to dictate the notes she needed to write to all the friends who crossed her today. It went something like this:

Dear C: You do not listen to the teachers. You are loud and everyone listens to you. Please be quiet.

Dear D: You are not good at taking turns. You have three seconds on the computer, otherwise the mothers will come and your friends will not get turns.

(I'm also told that she will be writing a note to D's mother.)

Dear B: You do not use the bat like that. Bats are for baseball. You will not be allowed to play with the bat anymore.

Dear N: When your friend wakes you up at the end of naptime, do not be mean to them.

On a high note, today was their 100 Day Celebration and involved a lot of sugar. Including cookies care of our family. 12 4-year olds on a sugar high. THAT had to be fun.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Sneak Peek...

At spring this weekend. With temps soaring near 60 it was a sweet relief from winter, brief as it may have been!

We took advantage and spent a fair amount of time outdoors.


Honing her soccer skills in the backyard

How she felt about Mommy scoring a 'goal' -- we are raising such a good sport.


Think she'll be this into raking when it comes to time for the spring yard clean-up?



Sometimes I wonder if Stanford is just a pipe dream. Heck, sometimes I wonder if Barstow CC is. This is one of those times...



At the park!






Post slide experience...


She can really dribble the ball with her feet. I think we may have found a good way to channel her energy. Now to find a team for her.


Finally, she has mastered the art of the tire swing.

Self-explantory


Pushing her soccer ball in the swing. Wouldn't you?

The rest of our weekend was spent working on her homework. At 4.5 years old she is being sent home with homework. Tuesday marks the 100th day of school. Their assigment was to put 100 things on a posterboard. For the record, 100 things is nothing to sneeze at. She is very, very proud of it. When I tried to give guidance, or even just help count things, I was told (admonished, really) "MOMMY, this is MY project." And yes, she's wearing a Santa hat. And yes, she wore it to school today.


Extreme close up. Hers was the best in the class. Naturally.


Christmas in March.


Doing her yoga poses. This is the sprinkler.


And finally, the tree pose.


Thursday, March 4, 2010

Holding Court

They (yes, the ubiquitous they) say you pin a character when you pick a name. We had one helluva time picking a name for our kid. Well, at least once we found out she was a girl. A boy would have been easier, named after one of my grandfathers, he would, more than likely, have been a William. Bit I digress.

Dora and I could not agree on a girl's name. The good Italian that she is, Dora preferred strong Italian girls names. I did not. We bantered back and forth, looking for the perfect moniker. Something that would befit a CEO or the president or the leader of a grunge band. And one day, we settled on Arden.

When I picked Arden up from school today they were playing "Doggie Doggie Where's my Bone". For those who don't know how this game goes, one child holds a bone behind their back, while another child (whose back was turned while the bone is given out) has to guess who is holding it. Arden was up first, and sat with her back to the class. When the time came, she turned around and I watched her hold court. On her knees on the chair, she named each and every child in the class. Even the ones who straggled in late to the game who she knew, without question, were not holding the dog's bone. But you know what? All eyes were looking up at her, and she liked it. A lot.

When she finally picked Drew, the last possible choice, they traded places, and it was her turn to choose the holder. I watched as she commanded to the 15 children that they need to be quiet and put their hands behind their backs if they wanted wanted her to choose them. And they LISTENED. I remarked on this to her teacher and her response? 'They always listen to Arden.'

It is days like today that her departure from baby and toddlerhood is so obvious. The whole scene made her seem older than her years. And while sometimes I miss that teeny tiny baby who used to sleep on my shoulder, I am enchanted by the person she is becoming.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Life

Life in our house is busy. We are constantly running. The morning sprint, up before 6, the dash to drop Arden at school, the race to the office. We put in 8 hours at work...if you average the hours I get in and D puts in I think we end up at 8, anyway. The dash out of the office at 4 to ensure arrival at school before 6, lest they charge us $1/minute as the arm on the clock ticks round and round. We get home, the child goes into the shower, dinner is somehow thrown together, and we prepare to do it all over again the next day.

This every day life though, is what it's all about. As Dora's mom said tonight, life isn't about all the highs and the lows. It's the every day stuff that matters the most.

We are so incredibly lucky to have each other, to have the health of our family and friends. I have to force myself to slow down once in awhile. As a 4 year old, Arden sees the stuff that we don't. So tonight, instead of shooing her up the stairs immediately upon walking in the door, we had a photo shoot, at her request. As any good little superhero would, she donned her cape and began to run around the house.




After the photo shoot and a shower, she helped me make dinner (oh the child, how she loves to cook). At the end of the night she snuggled up to me and asked if I knew why children need moms. Her thoughts? "To make us comfy, and to keep us safe."