College Flashback

I've always admired those creative people who see art in everything and can create positively anything out of any material. Many of those people also seem to be so flexible and easy going. I, on the other hand, tend to be a master scheduler. I schedule EVERYTHING. I plan our weekly meals in advance, vacations, budgets. I'm a little OCD apparently. And I'm not really flexible and easy going. I aspire to be flexible and easy going. But sadly, I often feel like the character in Alice & Wonderland, "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!"

I also inflict change on myself. I always joked that with all the yoga I've done, one would think I'd be much more flexible -- about a lot of things! But I stir up my own pot and then freak out. I've got to learn to go with the flow and mellow out. Ironically, when I tried zen meditation a couple of years ago, even that got stressful. I just couldn't quiet my mind. And finding time to do it was really killing me.

Anyhow, Rex is in school. I've got field trip dates, PTA dates, book club dates, class volunteer dates, scout dates, etc. all over my calendar. The girls, however, are going to be attending a new school. I'm really excited about it too. They were originally scheduled to start just after Labor Day. But since their school is moving to a new facility, they are having to deal with the city and permits and other beaureaucrats who don't have the same priorities as staff, teachers, parents and students. So, at this moment, I'm not entirely sure what their school year looks like. But I am pretty sure that with the late start date, they will be attending school straight through next June.

I'm sitting down trying to make a weekly schedule. I have to plan what times I'm getting which kids to school. Am I carpooling with someone else? Are we riding bikes or driving? Amira needs to be picked up earlier than anyone else -- everyday. Valerie has half days every Thursday (which is actually great). I'm trying to work out a time everyday to go to the gym. I'm also trying to work out a time to do my job. I need to be able to volunteer in the classrooms of three different kids. I still need to go shopping, plan and make meals. Oh, and both girls are signed up for soccer. Although I know when Amira's practices are, I still have not heard from Valerie's coach. That shouldn't stress me out. But I have this fear that practices will be Wednesdays. And I have NO time left on Wednesdays. We already have piano lessons, CSA pick up, soccer practice for Amira and scouts for Rex that night. I'm still trying to figure out when we'll eat dinner that night!

I feel like I'm putting together a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle but I just realized I only have 497 pieces. How frustrating is that?

My junior year of college I remember taking 18 units and working two jobs. I sat down and made a giant schedule blocking out 4 hour chunks of time in which to sleep. I'm having a flashback to that kind of schedule!

In the mean time, I'm not locked in to anything. I'm in limbo until the girls get into school and I hear from that soccer coach. I think this is life's way of reminding me that the world does not revolve around me. I do not get to control everything. Sometimes we're going to miss a soccer practice, I have a feeling. Or something ... And perhaps I shouldn't sign up for so much. We all need some down time. (I think that's what I'm missing about summer already).

NEXT YEAR ... (I hope I remember this!) I'm scheduling time on the calendar to NOT SCHEDULE ANYTHING. I would like to see some blank spots. Right now I'm going to carve out a few hours on Thursday afternoons (when the girls don't have scouts, every other week) to just chill out.

Back to School ... Back to Summer

Oh,my goodness! School started for Chico Unified on August 12 this year. It feels like the summer gets shorter and shorter. By the time we're in a vacation groove it seems we have to snap out of it and on to a schedule.

Amira started kindergarten on August 12 and Rex started 4th grade. Valerie came to her old school with me to say hi to old friends and hang out at the PTA coffee table on the first day of school. She's looking forward to starting 3rd grade at her new school (a Waldorf school) the more traditional Tuesday following Labor Day.

After the first week of school being in session, the realization that an extended summer break can be lonely when all your friends are back in school settled in on Valerie. Fortunately the "games teacher" from her new school was running a day camp at Bidwell Park for students in her position.

On Valerie's first day of camp, it was blazing hot. She ran out of water. She had a blast. That girl had a smile from ear to ear. She got to play games and swim in the creek all day. I thought for sure she'd want to run home as fast as possible. But she really wanted to hang in the park with her new found friends.

Meanwhile, Sleeping Beauty (also known as Amira around the house) was having quite an adjustment to getting up at 7am and to school on time at 8am. She trodded into kindergarten daily with 29 other students. Mrs. Potter-Jones, her teacher, is a fantastic teacher. Rex and Valerie each had her. Of course, when they went to kindergarten, class sizes didn't exceed 20 students. And both Rex and Valerie didn't seem to have a problem getting up in the morning.

As I watched Rex settle nicely into the fourth grade, Valerie excitedly looking forward to her camp and new school, I watched Amira try to socialize in her big class and struggle to get up each school day. I kept thinking of all the work sheets and homework Amira was going to get at Neal Dow versus the fairy tales, art, games, handwork and cooking at the kindergarten in a Waldorf School.

I began to think ... Rex only has a year or two left at Neal Dow. Amira is on the wait list for the Waldorf school to start first grade next year. Why am I forcing her to socialize at Neal Dow knowing I'm going to move her? Why didn't I just put her in the Waldorf school. I do not want to be running through three schools a day in a couple of years (Middle school, public school, Waldorf school). And I don't want Amira to keep having to make new friends and then be moved.

I panicked and called the Waldorf School to see if they might have a kindergarten spot open. Bingo, they did. It just opened. But I had to make my decision yesterday.

Now, the new guilt came over me. I needed to say good-bye to Mrs. Potter-Jones after looking forward to working in her class this year. Amira was going to be fortunate enough to gain a week of summer vacation and sleeping late before she had to get back into a routine. But then why did I put her through all the anxiety of starting at Neal Dow?

Hopefully Amira will be more flexible and forgiving than I am. At this moment I'm battling the feelings of relief (I really believe that Amira is going to benefit from the move on so many levels) and anxiety over having let down Mrs. Potter-Jones with basically no notice. I'm pretty sure Mrs. Potter-Jones is over it. And Amira woke up this morning with a smile on her face. I asked her how it felt to be back on vacation, she gave me two thumbs up!

Summer Vacation (s) are here!

And as we kick off July we are beginning to truly feel the vacation aspect of "summer vacation". Michael finally completed his long job July 2nd. So, as a family we all hopped in the car on July 3rd to head up to Truckee. (It is a tradition to spend Independence Day up there ever since we've left).



Our road trip begins with a trip to Tony's Fruit Stand on Hwy 70. There we just had to pick up a flat of peaches, bag of cherries, yellow water melon with seeds, squash, honey, nuts, etc. (All the things I was going to miss by not hanging around Chico for the Saturday morning market). A few miles past that we hit up the Woodruff Road fruit stand for several baskets of blackberries and strawberries. Yes, we were all sugar crashing and in dire need of the bathroom by the time we reached the cabin.



Michael grilled up some lovely veggies to have with our dinner on the deck of the cabin Friday night. We followed dinner with a family trek into the woods where we provided a feast for the local mosquito population.








Saturday morning we had our drill down! (After 5 years, we've kind of gotten it right ... although I don't want to jinx next year!) Michael ran down to the beach and put up our shade tent, ice cooler and blankets. Then raced home to pick us up and get to the parade. And this year we did it without too much bickering. 5th time's a charm!






We always enjoy the parade. Who doesn't like a parade? Well, except you, of course. This is usually a chance to spot old friends on the side lines or actually in the parade. Our friends Crash & Rachel were driving a fire truck this year with their kids. Rex's oldest friend from La leche meetings was there marching with the cub scouts. He even spotted our Chico neighbors watching the parade.

Rex used to call this the "candy parade". When he was about 4 or 5 years old I can remember him saying, "Hey! Valerie, remember to bring a bag for all that candy we're going to get at the candy parade!" It's important to pick a spot at the head of the parade (before they run out of candy). This year the kids even got some sunscreen (much to their chagrin) and a good spray from some of the floats.






Before the last float was out of the gate we were running back down to the beach to have our picnic, play games and frolic in the water. Now, my family knows what a land lubber I am. Really. I will take them to lakes, creeks, pools, beaches. I just don't like to get in the water. Of course, if it is insanely hot, I will wade in the water like a water buffalo. But I'm not the splashy fun mom. This year I thought I would rent a paddle boat and take the kids out. Yes, my vain attempt at being "fun parent" turned into "sea sick parent" on the beach for the next hour. Well, the kids might have had some fun.







The funny thing is that we were in the "no wake" zone of the lake just outside the swim area. You'd think it would be next to impossible to to acquire sea legs out there. I mean, I was surprised. Maybe I shouldn't have been ...









Once back on land, wonderful solid land, Amira hooked up with her friend William from the Montessori preschool in Chico. I had no idea there were so many Chico people up in Truckee. I had a chance to chat with William's dad and found out that he lives across the street (practically) from my in-laws. He grows kiwi fruit (hey! a winter fruit connection!!) and now has a vinyard. So we chatted about wine and farming for a bit. He was not impressed with the bottle of rose that we'd brought on our picnic. (Well, neither were we ... but it's a good cold picnic wine). Anyhow, turns out bee keepers use his land and pay him in honey ... honey that he doesn't use and would love to get rid of. So, I pretty much invited myself over to help him get rid of all that honey ... and get a winery tour!



Meanwhile the kids participated in games and played their hearts out until fireworks. It was actually nice to lay down on the sand and just zone out at the colors popping off over our heads ... and feel the rumble of the ground beneath us. Oh, and listen to the terrified shrieks and cries of the little kids who were not expecting such loud sounds and bright lights. I still remember the first time we took Rex ...

On Sunday we went over to the camp ground on the East end of Donner Lake where most of our friends camp every year. It's funny. It's like entire neighborhoods of Truckee camping 10 minutes from their homes. Our kids get a chance to swim and play and climb rocks with their old friends. And we get a chance to see our old friends and invade their camps.









The rest of the weekend was spent hiking or hunting for crawdads or just relaxing and dining on the deck of the cabin. I'd say a good time was had by all.















And now, I'm doing vast quantities of laundry in preparation for our annual Santa Cruz trip. We leave tomorrow! I guess I'll find out just how many loads of laundry and pounds of fruit our septic tank can hold.

Yes I CAN!

I can. I can can the can! I'm canning at last. I'm so excited. Way back in April Michael ordered a pressure canner for me for my birthday. We were so excited about the garden and the abundance it was sure to provide that we thought we'd better get all 19th century on it and preserve those vittles.

Anyhow, the canner was back ordered forEVER. Finally, I was downtown at Colliers Hardware the other day (supporting my local business) when I saw their lovely canning selection. They had a 32 quart pressure canner for 1/2 the price of whatever website it was that we had ordered from.

Needless to say, I canceled that web order and ran right down and got my canner. Woopie! I read all sorts of canning guides and manuals for 24 hours and figured I was an expert. Well, not an expert ... but more prepared than I was.

I began rescuing the abundance of stone fruit that happened upon us in the last week. I canned some apricot halves and pitted about a million cherries from Sunsmile Farms and popped those babies in the mason jars. (Sterilized and pressure canned according to a recipe, of course!)

Today I'm venturing into pickle country. Apparently one cannot pressure can pickles successfully. So, I'm using my big-ass canner as a water bath canner today. Now the thing is, it takes a LONG time to bring a bathtub to boil. Seriously. I'm writing in this blog while waiting for that bad boy to boil. (Because everyone knows about that "watched pot"). Of course, after many previous disasters of boil overs with things like beans, I can tell you there are some problems with not watching a pot.

Anyhow, here is the recipe I am using (a hodge podge from other recipes I've found). I will find out in about 8 weeks whether or not this was a success. But since I had a big old pile of cukes from GRUB (our CSA) and this ginormous canner, I simply had to make some pickles!

This recipe fills 3 quart sized jars. (And I probably could have squeezed in one more pickle at least).

5 Big Old Pickles from CSA cut into spears
6 table spoons of sea salt (with no additives)
4 1/2 cups water
4 cups vinegar
Tons of fresh dill & flowers from garden
1 tsp whole mustard seed per jar
1/2 tsp celery seed per jar
1/2 tsp peppercorns per jar
1 garlic clove per jar

Soak cucumbers in ice water for 2 hours. Slice into spears and pop back into ice water while getting jars and water bath ready.

Combine salt, water and vinegar in big pot and bring to boil. Pack cucumber spears into hot jars (leaving 1/4" head space). Add dill, dill flowers, celery seed, peppercorns, mustard seed and garlic clove to each jar. Ladle boiling vinegar/salt solution over cucumbers. Remove air bubbles with plastic spatula. Adjust your two piece caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

So, tomorrow I will check the seals on the jars to make sure they vacuumed up properly and then find a cool place to store these ... and the cherries ... and the apricots ... then I will get more jars and begin to make jam from the plums and peaches I anticipate. Oh, and I have to rescue all those green and yellow bush beans I have in the garden ... I have big plans this summer. Michael's next big plan will be to build out a pantry so we can store all this stuff. If you are reading this, Michael, I would like to thank you in advance. You are my Mr. Greenjeans.

Seriously Summertime

I have actually been relishing summer vacation lately. I hope the kids have too. Since my boss has been out of town, work has been a little on the light side for me. So, I have made an attempt to leave the computer behind and jump on my bike and enjoy the great outdoors.

Our weather has been really beautiful. We haven't headed into the serious triple digit Chico heat yet. So, it's been especially nice to ride around town. Last Friday morning the kids and I rode our bikes down to the creek in Bidwell Park. There is an especially nice little swimming hole just up from the One Mile Area. I wish I had brought my camera. I packed a nice picnic and the kids and I parked our bikes next to the water. Immediately they jumped into the creek searching for pollywogs and fish. Much to their delight, there were tons. There was a half fallen tree hanging over the water that made a great structure. There were the delighted squeals of happy kids, trickling water in the creek, the buzz of insects and the croaking of a bull frog to play our background sounds. Lush vines covered the trees in the area and blackberry bushes lined the paths. Really, I wish I had thought to bring the camera!

Besides getting a picture of Rex lately is like trying to get a picture of Sean Penn back in the days he was dating Madonna.


After tiring of the water hole, the kids and I proceeded to bike downtown to the plaza where there is a water feature spraying up for all to enjoy. I bought them snow cones and watched them run through the fountain for a while. Then we headed back home.

On Saturday we took our annual trek up to Sunsmile Farms in Grass Valley. Our friends Mark and Suzanne go up there every year to help with the U-pick in cherry season. It's traditional for us to meet them up there and squeeze in a visit and pick lots of cherries for ourselves. Mmmmmm!



Here's Mark giving us the review in proper technique of picking a cherry so that the tree will be able to produce more fruit next year:


Here's Elizabeth and Valerie having a picnic under a tree at the farm:



Suzanne and I met in the trenches of video production. And here we meet again in the trenches of motherhood ... in front of a hydrangea at the farm:



I'm pretty sure I ate too much fruit. In addition to the cherries, I bought a box of blueberries/raspberries/black berries. That was finished before we even got into the car. And then we had to stop at the fruit stand on the way home to pick up strawberries and blackberries. There is nothing like fresh off the vine, super sweet berries. I ate more fruit on the way home. (I am not going to document the results of the vast fruit experience ...)

But another fun experience was the kids got to play in the pool at the farm. Here are Valerie, Amira and Elizabeth:


Here's Theo splashing in the shallow end:


Did I mention that we didn't bring our suits? So, the kids had a little underwear party at the pool:



Saturday evening the kids got to hang out with their favorite babysitter while Michael and I had a nice date downtown. (We even rode bikes again). We had a delightful dinner at Christian Michael's followed by a movie at the Pageant Theater. I love that place.

Sunday, of course, was Father's Day. The kids helped Michael clean out the garage and I mowed the lawn. He got to spend the afternoon playing games with his friends Matt & Eamonn. Then we took him to the Bear for dinner and finished off the evening with an Outlaws baseball game.

Those baseball games are a hoot! They play the Imperial March (Darth Vader theme music) when the umpires march onto the field. Then they announced that every time a certain player on the other team struck out that all drinks would be half price. I felt a little sorry for the guy on the other team ... because every time he got up to bat, you know everyone was cheering for a strike out a little harder than usual.

Of course while Michael and I watched the game, the kids roamed the park playing with other kids and getting their faces painted. Well, faces, arms, etc. There was also a clown making balloon animals, hats and swords for the kids. Love those Outlaws games!

Here's Amira with a Heart on her face:


Valerie got this cool alligator on her arm:


Once upon a time it was all butterflies and princesses ... now it's skulls and alligators for Valerie:


What a fun summer weekend! I have to remember to bring out that camera more often.

Lemonade Stand

Well, this week it officially feels like summer. For some reason, we weren't quite there yet last week. And I'm not talking about the weather. But I had the hangover from all the end of school tasks and schedule still looming over me last week.

Today the kids got up and had decided today was a lemonade stand day. Valerie's good friend, Ireland, actually has access to a pre-fab stand. So, since she was coming over anyway, she brought the storefront along.




Now, this wasn't just any old lemonade stand. First, let me say that our lemonade has real lemons and real sugar in it. None of that powdered stuff full of high fructose corn syrup. Next, the kids also decided to sell flowers. After Rex took down half of my hydrangea and headed for the roses, I stepped in to do a little snipping. The kids proudly displayed their blooms in water bottles, cannelloni cans and old pop bottles. It was actually quite attractive.

And last, but not least, they also decided to sell cookies. I thought they were actually going to bake the cookies, but the excitement of having the cut flowers, lemonade and stand took them out front right away.

Anyhow, I slaved away in the kitchen for a while so that their customers would have homemade frosted sugar cookies with sprinkles ... well, the people who showed up later when the lemonade ran out. Those first few suckers had to deal with store purchased sweets.

Those kids raked in $25 today. Can you believe it? I constantly saw cars driving up to the front of the house. And we don't live on a busy street. Valerie and Ireland stood down on the corner with a sign to lure people in. Smart kids.




I'll expect that visit from the Franchise Tax Board later this week!

Hey! I can ride a 2 Wheeler!

Well, Amira has probably been riding a "2 wheeler" for a good month or more. And because she is the third child, I didn't take the opportunity to record the date and mark the occasion the way I did with the first kid. Possibly the first two. Oh, there goes my mind again!

Anyhow, may I suggest to anyone who reads this blog who may have a kid learning to ride a bike, just skip the training wheels. It goes so much quicker and there is so much less anxiety. For Amira we lowered bike seat so she could touch the ground and removed the pedals from her bike. She had to "Flintstone" that thing around for ages. As she picked up speed, she began to balance on the bike without even realizing it. One day, Michael put the pedals on and Amira was off like a shot. It was pretty impressive.

Recently Valerie attended her first piano recital. Our neighbor, Terri Ogden, is her piano teacher. Rex's friend Porter also takes piano lessons. In the photo here you see Valerie playing a duet with Porter at the recital. It has been such a pleasure to listen to her play piano. And I am excited that she will also be picking up the violin again this fall as violin is part of the school day curriculum at her new school. I don't even have to beg Valerie to practice. She just sits at the piano and genuinely enjoys playing.




In other news, today marks the first day of summer vacation for the kids. I am so thrilled to not have to run around to scout meetings, volunteer in classrooms, drive on field trips and generally tour about the town on a daily basis. I have not signed the kids up for any camps either. I'm hoping we can all seriously relax and hang at home for a few weeks before taking up any more activities and projects.

Our lives have also taken on a simpler tone now that we have sent Boo Bunny on to another home. Gosh, we loved that bunny. But apparently she wasn't Turbo Fluff's type. We had some ferocious fur flinging fights around here and two depressed and jealous bunnies. Boo has gone to live with our friends Natalie & Esmerelda. I think they will all be so happy together.
Boo Bunny, we hardly knew ye.