7/2/11 Playing The Blues

We really need a new electronic piano that has more keys, but still has all the other features too.

The piano we have now has a recording feature that Gabriel uses a lot. First he records something:


Then he plays it back and plays another part. Sort of like being your own band.


I'm really at a loss how to help him develop this interest. Piano lessons seems the obvious choice, but he doesn't want lessons, or thinks he doesn't need them. His playing is pretty sporadic anyway -- he goes in phases in which he plays a lot, then doesn't, then a whole bunch of new compositions come out (like in the videos above). Piano lessons are more of a regular, committed thing. He would benefit tremendously from the training, but we're not going to force him. I regularly remind him that if he wants to take lessons, we'll totally support it.

It was really fun watching him sort-of jam with his cousin playing on recorder.

Though, his cousin is really more of a front-man vocals guy, and prefers Guns'n'Roses to blues.

I wonder if there are kid-blues guitarists and singers out there who'd like to start a kid-jam band!

7/2/11

7/1/2011 Summer Family Visit

We had such a nice visit with East Coast cousins!! There's a whole photo book waiting to happen, but here's a rundown of each day.

Saturday, Laura and Ryan were here and played with all five kids all day. It was great! More aunts! More uncles!


Sunday morning, Gabriel and I ran in the Summer Scamper 5K. In the afternoon, we set up my new 4-man tent in the backyard in preparation for our camping overnight later in the week.


Monday, we took the kids to Rinconada pool in Palo Alto. This was a huge hit! They had a great time in this shallow, diverse and fun pool.

(Heads left to right: Gabriel, Aidan, Julian, Remi, Katrina)

Tuesday morning we packed up the minivan -- and not easily -- for our much-anticipated campout night. We were delighted to find the campsite spacious and the entire campground empty, though the clouds and sprinkles were threatening as we were setting up and making lunch.


We went on a short waterfalls hike, handily accessible right from the campground. It was sprinkling on and off.

By the time we got back from our hike, it was really raining. I drove out to get cell service and called Dave to get a weather report, but it was clear from the skies that we were in for a night and morning of rain from a freak storm. With great regret, we packed up camp, had dinner at a restaurant in Morgan Hill and went home.

Wednesday was recovery day, and we fulfilled our promise that we'd roast marshmallows, with a makeshift firepit from leftover bricks in the backyard.


Thursday we went to the beach! A chilly wind drove us grownups home a little early, though it's never truly warm on a Northern California beach. I assured my sister she wouldn't need a swimsuit.


Friday, today, we went to Castle Rock State Park and did a lot of climbing. The kids loved this.



And tonight after dinner, I took my sister and niece and nephew to the airport for them to be reunited with their father and dog. But the joy of the memory far outweighs the sadness of seeing our family go. And we're determined family-wide camping will happen again!!

7/1/2011

6/30/11 Beach Day

I haven't been blogging this week, since my sister and niece and nephew and my kids have been too busy together and I've been too tired at night.

So this too will be brief: we had a great day at the beach today! We took the kids to the same place we'd been to a few weeks ago for Jake's birthday. This is a darling beach, easy to get to, pretty and very convenient.

As usual, the first half-hour was spent in the water, jumping the waves.




But the water is cold here. The bigger kids retreated to shore and spent most of their time digging in a hole and playing in the sand. Katrina spent the entire time running around in the water. It got really cold, but she didn't quit!



After about 2-1/2 hours, Steph and I got tired of being cold, and just as the chilly wind died down, we gathered the kids to go home. It seemed longer! They'd all had a great time.

The kids entertained themselves the whole way home singing in the minivan. Even Katrina joined in?! (She was pretty out of key though...!).

Aidan, Remi and Julian continued this on our front lawn at home too. SO cute.

Some colorful bee cookies were the incentive for this shot after dinner. This one's for you, Mom!


I'm still blue about the freak rainstorm forcing us to bail on an otherwise perfect camping introduction, but today was so great it almost much makes up for it!

6/30/2011

6/30/2011 Updated Scamper photos

I just updated my post about the Packard Summer Scamper 5K with two wonderful photos that a photographer took along the course. What a treasure to have these of me and Gabriel together!

About halfway through the course. I love this picture!


Approaching the final turn to the finish line, moments before my epic sprint to barely edge out my son by 1 second, probably for the last time ever.


Thanks to Stacey for pointing me to these photos or I'd never have noticed!

6/30/2011

6/26/11 Summer Scamper

Today Gabriel and I ran in a 5K race to benefit the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Over 1200 participants turned out for a 5K and 10K walks & runs, plus kids' runs. It was quite the event! Steph and Aidan and Remi accompanied us to cheer us on -- and of course get photos.


Gabriel and I had a goal of finishing the 5K in 25 minutes. I thought I was running strong, but he kept up with me the whole way, fading back sometimes, then catching up. That's harder to do!

A photographer was taking shots along the way.

(I love this shot, what a treasure.)

When the finish line was in sight, Gabriel and I were running together, and the photographer was there again.


As we approached the finish line, Gabriel sprinted ahead, and then I pushed the hardest I've ever pushed in my whole life to pass him. I barely did and had to work HARD to keep going -- and Steph got the shot! (That's me crossing the finish, and Gabriel is the next runner behind me, the short one in the white T-shirt).


We were both really out of breath but psyched. What a race!!


Afterward we walked to where the goodie bags and snacks were. A radio station was blasting music so loud there was only one thing to do.


A lady with the radio station came out and gave Aidan a T-shirt for dancing! He was psyched.

Race results were chip-timed with devices we attached to our shoes. In the end, I beat Gabriel by 1 second, for an overall time of 26:33 (pace 8:33 minutes per mile) -- much slower than our goal of 25 minutes.

This race has the strangest age divisions: womens' age groups spanned only 5 years (I was in 45-49), but the younger years (where the most differences are) had only one age category: 19-and-under. What's that about? 19-year-olds in the same group as 7-year olds? I don't THINK so!! I thought they should at least have had a 10-and-under category, even before discovering that if they had, Gabriel would have come in 3rd. He did GREAT. He'll certainly beat me our next 5K, as he should.

Other than getting too discombobulated by the crowds to meet up with my friends who gave me the idea to do this, it was a terrific time. I'm so glad my sister and niece and nephew were there for us. And what FUN to do with my son!

6/26/11

6/25/2011 Hail hail!

The gang's all here!

6/23/11 2011 Pre-K graduation!

Today was preschool graduation! As usual, our preschool did a nice job of preparing the kids, with the whole group entering one at a time and then performing at least 7 little songs, with enthusiastic hand gestures.

All except one.


Some years there's a cryer, and this year, it was ours. Katrina had refused to sing along with all the practices, her teacher told us, and now she was so mad that she was put in a position to perform (though she didn't have to sing) that she buried her face in her hands and cried. People asked if she had stage fright or was feeling overwhelmed or is sensitive -- hah! No. She was just P.O.'d that she couldn't get out of this. Our little contrarian.

She pretty much went along with the diploma receiving ritual at least, but without the bounding happy proud smile of the other kids.


After graduation, we went to Pump It Up, where I had a a great time scaring other first-time kindergarten parents to death with my tales of woe about school. "What, you can't go to Hawaii for a week?" one Mom asked. Uhhhh, that would be a big fat NO.

Anyway, I'm very proud and happy anyway, despite Katrina's troubles today, that we're done with preschool forever!


6/23/11

6/21/2011 First day of summer

It's HOT!! Usually I like hot, but on Tuesdays I go running, usually with a coworker. We had a heck of a time today running our usual 4-1/4 flat route, talking about motivation techniques and trying to keep each other going. Toward the end, my coworker had to stop and walk; for me that's worse so I finished and then walked back to meet him. We were both dizzy and chilled (like goosebumps) and felt awful.

I'm a summer person, but NO THANKS to 99 degree weather! How many more minutes until ski season??

Busy crazy night...last day of preschool tomorrow (!), cleaners coming tomorrow so tons of cleanup tonight -- AND new episodes of White Collar and Covert Affairs on TV. I didn't even bring my work laptop home tonight!

One thing that keeps the Bay Area permanently crowded is that even on 99 degree days like today, it's pleasantly cool tonight.

6/21/2011

6/20/2011 Mad About You

Good grief. Gabriel has been really easy and cooperative lately, but he reminded us again tonight that when he wants to dig his heels in, he has no equal.

I think it started because I asked him to wash his hands before dinner. He felt he'd washed his hands recently enough, but I insisted anyway. It's a rule, I'm not about to go making judgements on how dirty hands or the length of time or activity engaged upon since the last hand-wash: you wash your hands before dinner.

He was so mad that I had to give him a countdown just to get him to leave the room to go wash his hands, upon threat of losing computer time (something he's been getting daily now that it's summer, a rare thing, and only for programming). Then he sat in the bathroom for 20 minutes until I chased him out with the same threat. Then he sat at dinner and refused to eat for a full 40 minutes, until it was time to clean up. He got a 5-minute respite while Dave to go check something in his car outside, but at the end of that 5 minutes, that was it, dinner's over.

Then he refused to leave the kitchen, put his shoes away, go upstairs to get ready for bath, or do anything without being prompted by the threat of lost computer time. Finally we got tired of pushing him every step of the way and told him that every minute past 8:00 that he's not ready for bed is a day of computer access lost.

He's now 10 minutes past time, with 10 days of computer time lost. Sounds oh so GREAT huh? I can't wait to enforce that one.

An hour and a half long conflict, that's still not over, about not wanting to wash his hands. And don't think for a second that "he'll learn" for next time. Ohhhhh no, if he decides to dig in again, it'll be the same darn thing all over.

That's Gabriel for you. At times like these, I can never decide if I'm madder AT him or madder ABOUT him!

6/20/11

6/19/2011 D-Day

Low-key Father's Day around here. I went running this morning with Betsy, then came home and made Dave's favorite breakfast (with middling success unfortunately!). I wasn't feeling well today, so didn't do much in the afternoon, but found the energy later to do some long-overdue gardening and pruning. Our landscaping really needs regular attention -- it only took half an hour to clip enough stuff to completely fill our huge yard waste bin. At dinnertime, I put out the things the kids had made for Father's Day, and we had a relatively calm dinner and kid-bedtime.

No major blowouts or issues with kids today -- that's the best gift possible for Dad!

6/19/2011

6/18/2011 Jake's beach birthday

Anyone who has our annual calendar will see that June's photos are all taken on the beach.

Last year, those photos were all taken at Julian's friend Jake's birthday party in Rio Del Mar, just south of Santa Cruz, less than an hours' drive from home. This is the only birthday party in which I'm happy to attend for the whole party!

Jake's mom and I made friends when we were waiting to drop off our new kindergartners (Jake and Julian) at school, and have stayed in loose touch since. Jake and Julian weren't in the same kindergarten or 1st-grade class, but we're holding out hope for 2nd grade!

The weatherman once again predicted cold and foggy -- GEE that's a leap in Santa Cruz in June -- but he was wrong once again, and the fog burned off early to reveal a sunny, beautiful day.

Gabriel and Julian wasted no time filling the water guns.



Katrina was reluctant to go into the water at first, saying she was afraid and that it'd be cold.


I persuaded her to get closer to the water, but it took the help of a brother to get her into the water.


The surf is unpredictable, and it caught both of us off-guard. I got soaked taking this photo, and Katrina got knocked over by the wave and shrieked in terror.


I quickly grabbed her and picked her up to a stand, still screaming in shock. But as soon as she was standing, she changed completely: "That was FUN!!" And after that, I couldn't get her out of the water.

Katrina ran around the water for most of the time we were at the beach, running into the water, running away from it. Twice I had to chase her down the beach as she drifted farther and farther away. I told her to stay near a lifeguard station with a big number 7 on it near us that could be seen from a distance, and she did.




Long after the boys gave up on the cold water, Katrina was still running in and out of it. I'd never seen her run so much! But eventually she was so cold she could barely move her fingers. Her lips were blue and she was covered in goosebumps. I wrapped her up to warm her up.


Moments later, she was right back at it. She refused to put on more clothes or stay on the sand where it was warmer, she was having SO much fun running in and out of the surf.


Meantime, the boys had teamed up with the birthday boy, Jake, and were busy on a major digging project. Jake's Dad is an experienced beachgoer, and he brings a serious shovel and digs a huge hole for the kids as soon as they arrive. He knows what he's doing, because something as simple as a huge hole is a huge hit. The boys spent the better part of the day digging more into the hole and bringing buckets of water to make a "river" into the hole.





I had a great time chatting with Jake's mom and other parents I'd met last year. Dad took the opportunity for a motorcycle ride and stopped by, to Katrina's delight.


As is always the case, we were among the last to leave. It took a good 40 minutes to get everything packed up and everyone de-sanded and ready to go. I had a rare opportunity for a photo-op, but had to promise them birthday cake for that (birthday cake and candles aren't practical on the beach).


I paid up though -- a trip to Whole Foods where they all picked their own "birthday cakes."


Beach days are tiring! The drive back was unusually quiet.


What a great way to start the summer!!

6/18/2011

6/17/2011 Rose Blossom

Katrina...what a funny little thing she is.

Picking kids up this week has been crazy because they're all 3 in different places. I pick Katrina up first at preschool, then Gabriel at our usual CDC, then Julian at a YMCA daycamp where he took Martial Arts for a week (and he loved it). Despite this craziness, having the boys apart has been great for everyone. What a relief not getting behavior reports from teachers or camp counselors every day.

On the way to pick up Julian, which is farther than usual and along a new route, Katrina's been making a game of calling aloud names on street signs, and showing that she knows all their abbreviations, like "Rd" is Road, "Dr" is Drive, "Wy" is Way, etc. And sometimes she make a joke or laughs at a particular street name.

One sign that caught her eye a few days ago was Rose Blossom Drive. "Rose Blossom!" she called out, "That's my new name!!" And so, she's now Rose Blossom.

Rifling through this week's preschool work, I couldn't believe it when I saw the Name on this worksheet.

At least 3 of her worksheets, she'd put her name down as Rose Blossom!! Mis-spelled, but I can forgive a 4-3/4yo for that.

Other worksheets, she used her real name however. This worksheet caught my eye because it asks kids to write a sentence -- a sentence! These are preschoolers! This worksheet shows in the lower left corner that it's technically for Grade 1.

That's Cupertino for you. It's not just Katrina; her whole pre-K class is doing first-grade level work. Meantime other parts of California -- heck, even nearby in San Jose -- are struggling with getting kids up to par in just the basics. I hate it when teachers are criticized for "failing schools"; I think most teachers are very committed. It's families and parents that have the most to do with kids' success in school. Cupertino preschoolers are doing first-grade level work because of their parents -- even skeptical/lazy/apathetic ones like us who don't directly supplement their education at home. Our preschooler is writing sentences and doing basic subtraction without flashcards or tutoring or "educational" anything, and I think that's mostly because of her general environment at home.

Wherever she gets it, I love that Miss Rose Blossom's education opens the world up to her -- it means that she can read street signs, process what they mean, and be able to write a name down as her own and make a game of it.

Speaking of education, one thing I've finally learned: don't even bother putting away my "marking station" when the summer starts or when school starts! Every day it seems I have another item of clothing, towel, water bottle, whatever, to label. I have a whole kit of iron-on name labels, labels with no printed name that I can write on, and heavy-duty stickers for things like swim goggles. Good grief!


6/17/2011