Birthdays All Around

My birthday was last week. I've hit 35 and I'm pleased to say that Clue is still my favorite movie and that I enjoy dancing to pop music. Right now my favorite song is Pumped up Kicks by Foster for the People. I think I'm still pretty hip with the kids. That being said I think my 34th year on this earth was pretty crazy. I had a couple of babies and I fed them my milk for 10.5 months all through the help of a pump that I would like to take out to a field and hit it with a baseball bat, think Office Space. I can't say this has been the hardest year of my life but I think that perhaps it has been the most dynamic. The highest highs and the lowest lows. We moved from Okinawa to San Diego. I got lost in the craziness of readjusting to life in a huge city. But what kept me grounded was my family. My girls needed me to get up every morning, feed them, change them, dress them and make sure they were nurtured. That motivation made me snap out of my uneasiness of living life away from my island. A support system was built up, dear friends stepped in and helped me so much that I can't even begin to thank them. My parents came down once or twice a week for the whole year, they allowed me time away to be alone. Shopping by myself, eating by myself and of course listening to music really loud in the car. I needed that time and I thank my parents so much for affording me the opportunity.

The person I can thank most for this year and it's success is Greg. He helped me from the very beginning. He held my hand in that cold operating room and made sure I was ok. He looked into my eyes each day and told me I was beautiful even though I didn't think I was. He held our daughters when my arms were too tired and my soul was spent. He picked me up when I was too exhausted to move from wherever I had fallen. He loved me even though I made mistakes and praised my accomplishments no matter how small. He never complained about how the house looked or if the kids were still wearing their pajamas when he got home from work. He took a job far from home to ensure I could stay home. He sacrificed his personal time to give me mine. For all of these things and more I say thank you.

To my dearest Gabriella, I love you. You showed me your big sister qualities right from the start. You held those sisters close to your heart and you haven't let go. I'm sorry I haven't given you all the attention I should have. But you overcome the lack of attention by branching out creatively, your stories and drawing entertain me at every turn. Julia and Genevieve loved you from the moment you stared into their bassinet at the hospital. And when they hear your voice they run to you and occasionally from you. You named them, you labeled them in the womb and you gave them more love than any of us, sight unseen. I think you've had favorites at times but you still love them just the same. Thank you for your patience when they've pulled your hair or stolen your toys or spilled your paints. I love you Gabriella and I thank you for being such an amazing daughter, I hope you can teach your sisters to be the same.

A year has gone and I suppose the next will be easier but it will probably be just as hard but different. Hopefully it will go just as well.

Motivation

There is a song in Rent that asks how a year is measured. Is it measured in minutes, inches, midnights, cups of coffee...you get the point. This year has been so full it's hard to measure it in anything but blurry events. It's been full of babies, first steps, moves, school, tantrums, attitude and tears. But looking ahead I see my 35th birthday, a storm taking shape on the horizon, just in view and seemingly stationary even though it's not. Today in the sort of exuberance that only comes from a looming birthday I dusted off my Zumba DVD and did a workout. As I'm typing this almost 30 minutes later my heart is still beating like I'm sprinting. The muscle memory of all those Zumba classes quickly returned but the lumberous body I now posses made it seem like I was lugging an elephant around my living room. Before the first song was over I was debating whether I should remind Gabriella how to dial 911. Yet I persevered, I made it through the grueling 20 minute express work out, slowing only once to crank the air conditioner down to arctic. I suppose the most motivating voice was not in my head but on the couch, casually studying my every move. Gabriella had a comment about every single thing I did. It reminded me why I use to do this workout when she was at school. The first thing she noticed was how young the people on the video were and how small their tummy's were. After my comment about how I was doing the workout to decrease my own tummy she studied her own pensively for a few moments before returning to her commentary. She noted that I didn't lift my feet as much as the dancers, that I wasn't jumping and that I wasn't showing my tummy while I danced. When it was all over I announced that I was going to take a shower, her response was "why?. But once I turned around to face her, sweaty and gasping for breath, she responded "oh, I see". I can't say I'll be working out in front of the peanut gallery very often. I use to do this video in front of the little girls they were much less vocal. However, that was months ago and who knows what kind of squeals and giggles I would get from them now, plus they don't know how to dial 911...yet.

Summer Time

And the living is easy. Well I can hope it will be easier. With the two little kiddos walking the chances of ease are pretty slim in this household. However, no more school for Gabriella means at least the potential for sleeping in exists, even if it isn't too likely. We are looking forward to a few trips to Disneyland and a vacation in early August. There are a few things I'm really looking forward to. First, sleeping in, even if it's just past 7...once. Second, going to parks or kid friendly places like Java mama and not having to stress about getting back in time to pick up Gabriella from school. Third, not making lunches 5 days a week. I'm considering letting the kids go free range and forage in the pantry for food on their own. Just kidding, they can't open packaging yet, although Gabriella could help them with a few things. I'm happy summer break is here, I think I'm probably more excited than Gabriella is. Hopefully the next few weeks will be full of fun and relatively stress free, but if their not at least I don't have to explain to a teacher why my children are in pajamas at 3 in the afternoon.

Swimming Days

Now that the weather is hot the easiest way to stay cool is to crank the air conditioner to arctic and shut the windows. However, since we don't want to blow our food budget on keeping cool we occasionally get out to our community pool. The water is a bit on the chilly side and we tend to try to go first thing in the morning before it gets too crowded. The little girls love splashing in the water and being toted around in either our arms or in their princess floaty. Gabriella is mastering her strokes and breathing. She's like a fish in the water and given the chance she would swim for hours. Of course getting to the pool requires a few bags of stuff and enough sunscreen to keep us from getting too toasty. Lucky for me Greg is there to help. On this particular day Gabriella even rode her bike to the pool. We hope to make it to the pool a lot more now that Gabriella is almost on summer break. I haven't been brave enough to take the girls by myself, I think it's a little too much for me. But who knows maybe a day will come when I just need to cool off in the pool.

Raising an Adventurous Eater

Feeding children is a challenging and often thankless job. They complain about what is on the table or constantly ask for something that is not on the menu. I love to cook and when my food is complimented it makes me glow with pride. The little girls are starting to appreciate new and different foods. As we move away from purred beets and applesauce, I'm saddened as they make another move towards growing up. They've enjoyed steak, guacamole and turkey meatloaf. I'm sure overtime they will become just as adventurous as Gabriella.

Gabriella is shaping up to be quite a foodie. From the video above you can see her eat her very first crawfish. She's had more high grade sushi than most children twice her age. She loves natto, fermented soy beans and enjoys crab legs. She happily eats fish when ever it's offered and even has her favorite ways to prepare it. Because I like to cook and eat, she's been exposed to many different types of food. Living abroad also brought opportunities to try different foods that are they norm there. Another example is miso soup, full of tofu and seaweed, is delicious to her. I hope this love of the different and adventurous continues throughout her life. I hope she's always willing to try something new. I've given her the building blocks, I hope she continues to build on her foodie foundation.

All's Fair

The San Diego County fair is in town and has been for the past month. We've been lucky enough to go quite a few times. We've taken Gabriella to the fair in the past but this time she was tall enough to go on a lot of the rides and had a great time going on them over and over again. The little girls enjoyed the sights and sounds of the fair and were incredibly patient riding in their stroller. They did get out a few times but didn't go on any rides. Of course the best part of the fair is the food. This year we branched out to try a few fried food treats. Greg had a deep fried Klondike bar and I sampled the deep fried bacon. Julia and Genevieve had their first sips of lemonade and licks of ice cream. Gabriella did her best to cause a cavity with cotton candy and candied apples.

The pillow pet pictured above was won by Gabriella all by herself. I'm not really sure how it happened, I'd just handed over my $5 and the next thing I know I hear "winner" and the guy handing over the pillow pet prize. It was pretty impressive. She's quite good at the dart game and has quite a few prizes to prove it.

We walked slowly through the shopping tents and I was able to keep myself from buying all the as seen on TV items. Although I really wanted the counter top popsicle maker, maybe next year. We went two times with our good friend Kathleen who graciously agreed to ride a few rides with Gabriella. I had a great time watching her daughter while she twirled away on the rides with mine. A great time was had by everyone and we look forward to the fair next year.

How to Fill a Mini Van in 3 Easy Steps

First have a child, then add twins and add a dog for good measure. With those three things you can easily fill a van full of annoyingly necessary stuff. There are a few things that are permanent residents in the van, the 2 car seats and the booster seat. We keep a couple of blankets in there in case it's chilly or someone needs an impromptu pillow. Now if we are going to the grocery store we add in a diaper bag and a lot of reusable grocery bags. If it's the park we add a stroller, maybe a large blanket to sit on and possibly some sand toys. Now if we are going anywhere for a night or a week the list of things gets much much longer. A pack and play, a couple of bags of clothes, a bag of baby toys, diapers (10/day times the number of days we'll be gone), wipes, bottles, pump, baby food, dog food, bowls, and if it's for a birthday party then add in the gift. It's a lot of stuff and getting it in and out of the car feels like I'm moving out each time we go somewhere. The funniest (read most frustrating) part is when I get somewhere and realize I forgot something important.

It's a wonder that I get out of the house at all, each trip requires an extensive list and a lot of forethought but it's worth it. We've gone on a lot of adventures and trips which are good for all of us.