Back to school and on to the 2nd grade!

Summer vacation was a blast but the girls were so excited to go back to school. Big kids now, they have settled nicely into second grade. The year ahead will surely be filled with new lessons, friends, activities, and adventures. Wishing the "core four" a fabulous year!

-Tara, Ellyn, Annabelle, & Lisa

Lila is excited for science class. She is currently experimenting with the idea of becoming a chemist.

Clara can't wait to devour lots of books this year. Her love for reading has inspired Clara to consider a future career as a librarian (in addition to being a mommy).

Elisa is a whiz in math class. No wonder why she plans to become a mathematician. 

Clearly an animal-lover (note the stylish cat ear head band), Sarah is already looking forward to a wonderful career as a veterinarian.

First Day of First Grade

There's nothing like the first day of school. Everything is fresh and new and there is so much excitement that goes along with stepping up to the next grade. Here they are: Elisa, Lila, Clara and Sarah on their first day of first grade. Our girls are growing up so quickly! Check out last year's post to see just how much they've grown.

Here's to a fabulous year in first grade!

-Tara, Ellyn, Lisa, & Annabelle

Elisa: loving her new classroom.

Lila: a yummy, healthy lunch is one of the best parts of the school day.

Clara: with a bright smile for her first day!

Sarah: stylin' and ready to take the bus to school.

Magic show party with a taste of New York

Lila's 6th birthday was truly magical. Since Lila now is a budding magician herself, we arranged a top notch magic show with performer extraordinaire, Mario the Magician! Mario, who is in high demand in the kids' party circuit, was booked over two months in advance. My husband had seen him perform before and seemed even more excited than Lila. "He's no joke! Wait 'til you see him." The excitement was quite contagious as whispered "rumors" spread rapidly around Lila's kindergarten classroom-- "Lila's getting a magician for her party!" The party was set. We all were looking forward to the big day.

One important aspect of the party was left undetermined-- what food does one serve at a magic show party? Lila's previous parties had an easy food tie-in: Dora = Taco Bar; Pirate Party = a Caribbean Feast; Cowgirl & Cowboy Ho Down = Tex Mex Grub; Magic show = ?

So, we asked Lila. Her simple response was, "My friends love two types of food-- cheesy pizza and hot dogs." Pizza was out. Too common. Hot dogs??? Perhaps a hot dog bar? That could be fun!

The idea was simmering for a while, but it wasn't until the morning of the party that the overall theme finally clicked-- New York, New York! 

It made perfect sense. Mario, who had honed his craft as a street performer, enters with a classic vintage vagabond style-- a tattered suit and top hat and an old suitcase full of tricks. Although we had a small theater room available in the apartment building, he prefers the crowd to gather around and get up close to interact and see what he's got up his sleeve.  

The room was filled with those familiar New York food truck aromas-- kabobs, giant pretzels, popcorn, and, of course, hot dogs with loads of toppings! (To be somewhat healthy, we used nitrate-free Applegate hot dogs.)

For dessert, I made "rabbit in a magic hat cupcakes." For an added New York touch, we had black and white cookies.

On orientaltrading.com, I found old fashioned carnival treat bags which we used for popcorn as well as the goody bag/party favors. The goody bags were filled with a magic tattoos, carnival stampers, and a snack. 

To keep the kids entertained before and after the show, we set up activity stations around the room which included arts and crafts, hula hooping, ring toss, and Twister (although I found the kids mostly just wanted to run around and play with the balloons).

Overall, it was the best magic show and 6th birthday party. Mario was amazing! His slap stick comedic antics, self-made creative contraptions, and many "how-did-he-do-that?!" surprises were an absolute hit! And as easily as he breezed in, in a blink he was gone, leaving behind a magical memory that Lila will never forget.

The first day of school!

We all experienced mixed emotions sending our not-so-little ones off to their first day of kindergarten. We are pleased to announce there were no tears-- the mamas really held it together! It was bittersweet to acknowledge this major milestone. No more daycare or preschool for these girls. Kindergarten is the real deal! Each attending different schools (private, public, and parochial), the girls made us so proud as they embarked on this new experience with such ease and confidence. Many adventures are sure to come!

-Tara, Annabelle, Lisa & Ellyn

Elisa on her way to school, so happy for her big day!

Lila getting right to work.

Clara enjoying Orientation Day.

 Sarah- so excited to take the bus like a big girl.





The Wonder of Summer Camp!

When my husband first suggested that Sarah attend summer camp full time, I baulked.

What?!?!?!

Not stay home with me? That’s just crazy.

Beside the outrageous expense of a full-time summer camp program in our area, she would be so tired. I just couldn’t imagine my girl handling the demands of such a long day. Of course, my husband knows me better than I know myself at times and suggested that I think about what I would do with the free time. With such an inviting demand for self-reflection and the prospect a few spa days thrown in, what could I do but sign her up and hope for the best.

Put this in the record books – he was right!

Once I got over the initial sadness of watching her load the bus on her own, without a tear, I eventually reveled in hearing about her adventures each day. Sarah grew exponentially at camp! She rode the bus without fear, running up to the door in the morning and bouncing down the steps each afternoon, waving at her new friends or high-fiving the camp counselor who accompanied them each day. She came home with art work, friendship bracelets and tie dyed shirts. AND, she learned so many new things . . .swim without a floaty, dribble a basketball, hit a baseball, run the bases, play gaga (a politically correction version of dodge ball), make up a cheer, swing across all the monkey bars without help and spit out watermelon seeds and plethora of new nature facts . . . to name a few small milestones!

I learned it was time for her to begin developing her own life – that spanned far beyond the walls of our playroom.  As a result, she is ready and excited for kindergarten, plays school nearly every day with her spotless new backpack and regularly asks how many days remain before she can go. I couldn’t have asked for more. I realize that she and I both needed to grow in our independence, and now our quality time is even more high quality as she leads the activities and teaches me new things. These are the exact big-girl adventures we’ve been preparing her for, and I’m so proud of both of us!

 

A cute care package from your "aunt flo"

I know this is a loooong time off for us but when you have a daughter you know that "the talk" is inevitably in your future. I never really had "the talk" with my own mom, so I'm not quite sure what I will do when the time comes. I remember my information came from Catholic school health ed class (cringe), my peers who knew just as much (or as little) as I did, and one of my all time favorite books, Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Classic.

When I came across the commercial on YouTube hailed as "the best tampon commercial ever," I had to check it out. It is brillant!

The commercial is for an online company called "Hello Flo" (adorable!) which sends care packages for girls when they have their period.

Each care package contains:

• Light and regular tampons
• Pads and liners
• Get Ready Guide for Parents
• Get Ready Guide for Girls
• A canvas pouch for carrying supplies
• A Do-it-yourself Feby Kit (Female Empowerment Bracelet)
• And other surprise gifts and goodies

What a super cute idea!! I am totally keeping this idea in mind for the future. For my mama friends with tweens and teens, this is for you!

-Tara

Acceptance on Ice

Parenting has challenged me to find acceptance for what is actually happening in a given situation even if it is different from what I expected. When we signed Clara up for ice skating classes last winter in January 2012, I envisioned her white ice skates gracefully gliding along the ice and her classes ending with triumphant spins. I'll admit I come from a family of high achievers.

Instead, what happened was that Clara was scared. She was scared of falling, and that meant she was scared of doing virtually anything on the ice because of the potential that she might fall. To try to ease her out of her fear, I wrote and illustrated a hand-made children’s book for her, “Cautious Clara” to help teach her that it was OK to fall, that even though nearly everyone falls when they are learning to skate, that they can get up and keep going.

Fast forward to January 2013. Clara and I went ice skating after a year's hiatus, and we were both delighted to see that she was comfortable on the ice. She triumphantly skated around the whole rink by herself three or four times. She begged for ice skating classes because she loved it so much, and a trip to see "Disney on Ice" helped to reinforce her new passion.

Between last year and this year, Clara advanced from the “Snowplow Sam 1” level class to “Snowplow Sam 2” class. My husband brought her to skating classes and seemed disappointed when he came home that the teachers had split the class in two and Clara ended up in the “remedial” class. I figured my husband was being overly critical. Hadn’t I just seen Clara confidently skating on the ice with me a couple of weeks ago?

Fast forward to class three of Snowplow Sam 2. I went to take a look myself. It was true, Clara was lingering behind the others. Once again, it seemed that her fear of falling was preventing her from fully participating in any move that involved lifting one of her feet off of the ground. She was talented at doing the “swizzle”- moving her feet simultaneously back and forth in a V-shape, but as soon as the teacher asked her to lift one foot or balance on the other, she froze.

My husband and I were not star athletes when we were children, and so why this feeling of disappointment that Clara was not excelling on the ice? For my husband, it was the idea that she wasn’t giving her all by fully trying. For me, it was the idea that perhaps she was learning to be fearful from us and that she might hold herself back in other parts of her life by not believing fully in herself.

Before I could get too wrapped up in my thoughts, Clara skated over to me with a big smile on her face, “Wasn’t I so good today?” She was proud of the improvements she was making. Even though she wasn’t near the top of the class, it was true that she was getting better during each class.

Clara’s ice skating adventure proved to be an opportunity for me to re-examine my expectations and to strive for accepting “what is” whether Clara is at the top of the class or the bottom. From the smile on her face, it was clear that Cautious Clara was turning into Confident Clara despite my hesitations. Now, I just have to find some time to start writing a new book, “Confident Clara,” for my little skater and to remind myself that a happy child is the most important goal I can hope for.

-Ellyn

Thumbs up for Lila!

This past summer I wrote about Lila's struggle over sucking her thumb. Despite her sincere desire to stop, it seemed she was fighting a losing battle (or should I say thumb wrestle). Her dad was constantly on her case about it, while I was the enabler, totally coddling her and making excuses-- "She just needs it to {fill in the blank} relax, calm down, stop crying, fall asleep... She doesn't do it that often anymore."  In the back of my mind, I worried that she would be in high school still sucking that thumb.

Well, who would have thought that a little holiday magic and a whole lot of stubborn will power would do the trick. I have discovered that when Lila decides (for herself) to do something, then you could count on it being done. She is a determined, independent little person with her own goals and agenda. We did, however, get a little help from Santa.

A couple days before Christmas, (thanks to a suggestion from Annabelle) Lila received a video email message from the North Pole. It was Santa Claus! He had a personalized message just for Lila. He knew her name, age, favorite color, what she wanted for Christmas... but what was most fascinating of all was that he had a special challenge for her. For the new year, Santa suggested that Lila should "stop sucking her thumb."

Lila gasped and covered her mouth. "How did Santa know?!"

A few days later, Lila asked if I would buy her the "special nail polish." During one of my motivational / I-can-relate talks with Lila, I had shared  that I used to bite my nails as a child and had to wear bitter-tasting nail polish to break the habit. So, we went to Walgreens and purchased "Thum," a disgusting-tasting product made with cayenne pepper extract (described as "harmless"). After applying it to Lila's thumb, without her looking I tasted it myself. "GAK!!!" It was so bad! I was worried for Lila.

That night, Lila faced her challenge head on. After storytime, came the tears and the pleading, "I want to suck my thumb! I can't sleep! I want to suck my thumb!" I got back in the bed with her. She tossed and turned and tossed and turned. She shook and snapped and tugged the blankets, flipped and hit her pillow several times. She whined and yelled and cried. But she did NOT suck her thumb. Finally she calmed down enough for me to wrap my arm around her. I held her hand and within a few minutes, she fell asleep. Success! She made it through one night.

The next day she was so proud of herself and as a reward she got to download a new Ipad app.

When I thought now I would have to spend every night holding her hand, Lila came up with her own idea to move forward with her goal. She now sleeps with a puppet on her hand. Brillant!

By January 1, Lila successfully completed her New Year's Resolution. I tell ya', this little girl is my hero. I can't even tell you how many resolutions, goals, and intentions I've had that were left undone. Lila truly amazes me and inspires me everyday to do a little better.

Happy New Year!

-Tara

Top 10 Tuesday: Accomplishments of a "big girl"

Lila ran into the bathroom bursting with the most exciting news. "Mama! Listen..." She proceeded to whistle "Jingle Bells." Preoccupied with getting ready for work, I almost didn't realize what she was showing me that was so special. She stood there, clenched fists, huge smile, practically shaking with excitement, anticipating my response.

"Ohhhhh! Lila! You can whistle!!" It finally dawned on me.

Whistling was something that Lila would try and try, again and again, and it would only lead to frustration and disappointment. The "give a 'lil whistle" song on Pinocchio would seem to mock her each time she would hear it. Now, look at her. Whistling away.

"Good job, Lila. You're such a big girl."

"I AM a big girl." She agreed and, right then and there, Lila came up with her own "Top 10."

Lila announced the "Top 10 Things I Can Now Do As a Big Girl," holding up each finger as she counted them out. Here they are:

10) "I can whistle."    

                                                                                           

9) "I can brush my teeth by myself."                           

8) "I can clean myself in the bath."

7) "I can chew gum." 

6) "I can write my full name."                                          

                                                                         

5) "I can play with a yo-yo."

4)  "I can play catch."

3) "I can swing up high on the big girl swing at the park."

2) "I can put on my own coat and even zip it up."

1) "I can hold things that could break... as long as I'm careful!"

You go, big girl!

-Tara



Lila: a girl of many accomplishments!