October 2016

Disneyland & California Adventure!
An extra day in the parks meant we could slow down the tiniest bit … but we didn’t really! Our trip this year saw slightly cooler weather, slightly larger crowds, and a lot more rides, minus the evening events which we saw last year and decided we didn’t need to prioritize this year. It was AWESOME!!! Annika went on Space Mountain four times (twice each with R. and I), I got to ride Tower of Terror, we went on Big Thunder railroad several times, Pirates three or four times, Radiator Springs Racers 14 times, Haunted Mansion, R. and I got to go on Matterhorn twice each … and so many other things — we even did the Roaring Springs Rapids (and got pretty soaked). The kids held up really well — no actual meltdowns, not like last time, just near-meltdowns. There was an especially big difference in how Lukas handled things — he LOVED the Midway Mania ride that he screamed through last year, for example. So much fun, and such a great time! We can’t wait to go back!!! 

Annika’s birthday
—Home & school celebration: Her actual birthday was on the Sunday that we got back from Disneyland & the end of the school break, so she took Pokemon cupcakes to school on Monday the 10th. But! on Sunday, she came downstairs to a special place decorated at the table for her, and a small present to unwrap. I made pancakes for her (her favorite), and dinner was her favorite kalamata pasta thing. Her presents were the kind that are starting to get really good — calligraphy kit, Robux (so she can play more RoBlox), a gems & minerals kit, Pokemon Team Mystic schwag (necklace & shirt), etc. She loved them — said they were the best presents she’d gotten, ever! whew! Love that kid — can’t believe she’s NINE. That just seems impossible, but there she is, more and more wonderfully herself as she grows. Happy birthday, sweet thing!
—The Party: Annika was dead set on having a sleepover, so despite swearing we wouldn’t do a home party again, we did … but at least this time it was just nine girls altogether and not 18 + little brothers. The theme was Pokemon, and the volume was loud. We started with pizza from Bibo’s, then a cake with her two favorite Pokemon (Suicune and Flareon?), and then the idea was they’d dip in the hot tub. Well, they did that, and proceeded to pile into the unheated, 67-degree pool — in the rain, in the dark — and swim, going back and forth between the pool and hot tub, for two hours. Then they settled down for a couple of movies (I popped popcorn, dished out bowls of Pirate’s Booty, and baked some cookies), while I dozed in the guest bedroom. They asked for a third movie at 1:45 a.m., insisting they were not sleepy, but I had to shut that down. Within ten more minutes, all was quiet. In the morning, they let us sleep till after 7:00 — miracle! — then there were waffles, and presents, and the general gathering-up and exit. Only one girl left early (and at a perfectly manageable 10:30 p.m.), nobody threw up, there was no drama — it went so well! Whew! And Annika loved it, said it was the best birthday ever, so!

Lukas Life
—PJ Masks: This is a new Disney Junior show he’s obsessed with, and has sort of gotten Annika obsessed with as well. Three young kids go out to “fight crime” at bedtime (thus the PJ bit) — v. cute w/a catchy theme song… until the next one he gets into!
—Pumpkin patch field trip: I went along on the TK/Kinder pumpkin patch field trip, yay. It was … whew. It was something. At least it was overcast so it wasn’t BLAZING HOT like it was the year I went with Annika’s class, but it was still dusty and janky and the kids were maniacs. Ahh well, they enjoyed it, and they loved getting their pumpkins at the end — which we carved the following Friday in class. The kids each had one adult come at 2:00, and I sat next to a kid who didn’t have a special adult with him so I ended up carving two — aaahhh, my hand! It was a lot of fun but so crazy … how does that teacher manage???
Party time: This being the TK class, everyone’s birthdays are September, October, and November — so Lukas went to several parties this month, including Gavin’s (which Manir’s mom took him to, so we could get ready to go to Sauce), and Manir’s party, at Happy Hollow, which Ray took him to on account of I’d been with Annika from 8:30 - 5:00 at the walkathon the day before … whew. 

Annika’s stuff
—At last, we got our letter from Hogwarts: Thanks to Mr. Dinh, who read the first book to the class, Annika has gotten into the Harry Potter books in a BIG way. She tore through the first two in about three days, and has been plowing through the rest as fast as she can. She’s forming a Quidditch team, trying to be a good sport about being Sorted into Hufflepuff on the Pottermore website (I’m a Slytherin, and Lukas is Ravenclaw; we haven’t Sorted R. yet), carrying a wand around, writing a book of spells, wearing a bathrobe in the house (as Hogwarts students do!), etc. I could not be more thrilled — I’m so glad she loves these books!!!
—Two more to go: Annika earned her Flying Fish ribbon, meaning there are only two remaining before she “graduates” from the AVAC program. Go, little mermaid!
—Mr. Dinh's class get-together: This guy just can’t get enough of his students! We had a class family get-together at a local pizza place, in which it was incredibly loud but lots of fun and the families all got to meet each other & Mr. Dinh’s baby (Maisie); he's about to go on parental leave in November, through February. 

Dandy Day 2016
Another wild and long day … Annika walked 64 laps, which fell short of her goal of 75 but significantly exceeded last year’s 50, so she raised good money and did it all on her own power … all of which she rejected and made little of, and CRIED ABOUT, because other people walked more and/or raised more. That’s Annika, always focusing on the positive … Lukas walked about 25, which is a lot for such a little guy, and generally behaved like a f’ing maniac with his pal Lawson. I won four items in the silent auction, which is about 3 more than I thought I would … oh well. It’s For the Children. 

Sauce-o-ween
We’ve done this before with the Sauce band — play a night in full costume around Halloween — but this time was different: It was with an audience! Mike & Heather opened it up to friends & family the Saturday before Halloween — revealing the mystery of what it is we do here — over (I must admit) my own objections, on grounds of I’m the weakest musician and not up to public performance. BUT: IT. was. AWESOME! We played for six straight hours. I loved it so much and now I just want to do that all the time! People sang, they cheered, I played better than I knew I could … and for once, I was wearing a costume that people actually got: R. and I were Hopper and Joyce from Stranger Things, it was so cool! The kids just sat around for a truly unconscionable number of hours playing on various screens … so they had a great time too. :-) 

Halloween
The second-greatest day of the Kid Year was on a Monday this year, and a school half-day at that (it was the first day of conference week, with dismissal every day at 1:00). So on the 31st, we started off with the school costume parade — which took forever as always, but was adorable and awesome. Lukas was the cutest little Storm Trooper, and Annika was a regal and spooky vampire queen. Then the older kids changed into uniforms and went to class, but I stayed to help with the costumed Kinder/TK “Halloween Extravaganza” (in which small groups of kids went classroom to classroom for various activities). I minded the “pin the tail on the cat” activity, and by the end of the day never wanted to speak to another human being again. LOL. And then we went home and carved our pumpkins — Lukas’s was a “scary jack o’ wantern,” and Annika’s was the significantly more difficult Team Mystic symbol. We’d barely finished that when it was time for all four of us to suit up and go to Niamh and Lawson’s house for the now-traditional stand-up dinner, drinks, and wandering trick-or-treat revue in their neighborhood. The kids got a LOT of candy, maybe more than last year, and an excellent time was had by all.

Quotable
—“camoplage” Lukas’s interpretation of the word “camouflage,” which Gekko does a lot on PJ Masks
—“And then after Christmas I'll have toys I never had before!” Lukas waxing rhapsodic about the wonders still to come, even after his birthday
—“My belly is done with this cake.” Lukas, having finished his treat at Gavin’s birthday. 

September 2016

Family social life
—Lots of things going on in September, including an overdue dinner at the Carneys (where we stayed longer than intended and the kids + grownups had a blast); the Lendlers driving down to visit and bringing homemade Indian food (aaaaaaahhhh!) and the kids paired off to play Pokemon (A. & Theo) and Hot Wheels (L. & Dylan) for literally hours while we adults drank champagne and ate till we couldn’t anymore; and a modest celebration of our 24th anniversary, kind of low-key because A) the date crept up on us, B) next year’s is a bigger deal, and C) we were trying to get ready for Disneyland! But it was nice, and there was cake, so.
—Almaden art & wine festival: This time we did a better job of getting there early, before the sun fried us all where we stood. The kids had a great time in the bouncy houses, and doing this martial-arts obstacle test culminating in kicking a board out, etc. And of course R. and I drank beer and ate street food, so that worked out. When we got home, it was pretty much the last pool day of the year — a good way to close things out!
—Another screening of The Empire Strikes Back: An overcast, low-key day … perfect for Empire. Annika haaaaaaaaaaaaaated it (too scary!), and Lukas loved it. 

Things & whatnot
—Halloween costumes early: Unlike childhood me, these kids knew a long time ago what they wanted to be for Halloween this year: Annika chose a sort of gothy vampire princess dress — dark red taffeta, black velvet, with a hooded cape and a set of fake teeth — and Lukas was adamant about being a Storm Trooper. So I ordered the costumes early and Lukas wore his pretty much every chance he got from the day it arrived. He likes to recite bits of Star Wars dialogue in costume — either actual Storm Trooper stuff or things Han and Luke said while dressed as STs. ha! 
—Annika gets actual braces: We weren’t sure when this would actually happen, but apparently it was now — she got her expander wired into place as is, it having done its job, and they installed a row of braces on her top front teeth. That wasn’t a problem — she’s handling this whole thing like a champ! — but these so-called “bite buttons,” aka rods sticking backward into her mouth that prevent her from actually biting (her teeth do not meet; there’s about a half-inch gap — so she can only eat liquid or very mushy foods, nothing that needs chewing at all, surprise!), those were a problem. She was so upset about it — and honestly, how can I be expected to put an almost-nine-year-old on a liquid diet for weeks or months??? — and we were about to go to Disneyland, so I was That Mom and took her in on a Saturday to get those things removed. Braces are one thing; this stuff is a other. Whew. So we’ll see what happens next!

School days
—3rd grade Kinder Buddies: Annika’s class were assigned members of one of the Kindergarten classes as “Kinder Buddies,” with whom they will meet weekly in the hope that the 3rd grade can influence the K kids with “positive behaviors.” Annika is thrilled at the big-sisterly aspect of this, and she looks forward to each weekly meeting with her buddy … whose name she does not recall. hahahaha!
—Student council speech: 3rd, 4th and 5th grades elect two students per class to the student council, so each kid who wanted to participate was told to write and present a speech. Annika’s was just about perfect — short and sweet, but with good details and solid plans for what she’d do to represent the class on the council. She rehearsed and revised, gave the speech to us several times, and was ready for it. She didn’t get elected, but it was a great learning experience and we were super super proud of her and her campaign!
—Fever Strikes: Annika and Lukas tag teamed for over a week on being feverish (about 102 degrees) and staying home sick from school, one at a time, miserable and logy. I had a day of it myself, but mostly it was them.
—Star’s party: A new kid named Star, in Annika’s class, invited everyone to her birthday party at the cabana club her family is a member of. She seemed nice enough, but it was soon apparent to me that she’s part of a demi-Mean-Girls clique with three classmates — one is a would-be co-leader, and two are followers; the four of them together were unspeakably irritating to me (not outright mean, not yet and not in that setting w/parents everywhere, but insular and clannish in a way that pings a lot of alarms for somebody who’s been through that). To her utter credit, Annika did not seem to notice or care, so yay! But still: Grrrrrrr.
—Volunteering in both classrooms: I’m doing regular Wednesdays in Lukas’s class now, helping out with “small groups” the teacher breaks the class into. My section has involved tempera paint each time thus far, but that’s fine by me. I’m getting to learn what the kids are like — it’s cool! For a few weeks, I went to Mr. Dinh’s class to help facilitate “book groups,” with medium success. That feels like good and important work, but the organization is somewhat lacking and I suspect the gig won’t go on all that long — fun while it lasts, though!