Family Reading Hour

Tonight we started Family Reading Hour. I know we won't do this every evening, but a couple of times a week would be good. All four of us are on board with the idea and we all enjoyed tonight's Family Reading Hour. So what happens? We all sit together reading whatever books we choose quietly and independently. After a period of time (tonight it was a full hour, but I think a min. of 20 minutes is probably more reasonable), we all find a good stopping point and put our books down. Then we take turns telling the others what book we read and a little bit about it. We all enjoyed this activity tonight and found it to be a great way to end the day.

Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial

We were in La Jolla this morning and stopped by the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial. This was our first visit to this beautiful monument. The kids enjoyed looking at all the memorials covering the walls that circle the cross, esp. Thomas who got a kick out of reading the veterans' nicknames on the plaques. The views are phenomenal from atop Mt. Soledad. It was cloudy today but I know on a clear day you can see all the way to Mexico. Today we could make out the Coronado Bridge, Mission Bay, a tower at SeaWorld... and to the north we could locate the Torrey Pines Golf Course since the blimp was circling over the PGA tour down below. We're looking forward to visiting again on a clear, sunny day and bringing out-of-town guests here, too!

Meredith: more cute than scary

the chore chart

We've used various charts for the kids (potty charts!) over the years but I don't think we've used a chore chart before. They do a great job with their responsibilites but I thought it'd be fun for them to earn rewards and see their responsbilities outlined and hung on the fridge. Boy, was I right! The kids were SO EXCITED about this idea! I mentioned it two days ago and they've been asking for it ever since. Today we put together a simple chore chart for them to get started with. Immediately after coloring their charts, they both got right to work and earned all their stars right away. When I tucked Thomas in tonight he smiled and said, "I'm going to make my bed as soon as I wake up tomorrow so I can put a star on my chart!"

first school report card

"Thomas is a conscientious and independent worker who excels in all academic areas. He succeeds at the challenge of work above grade level in both math and reading."
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Thomas received his first school report card Friday afternoon. The report gives marks for all their areas of study -- language arts, writing, listening and speaking, mathematics, history/social studies, science, physical education, visual and performing arts, life skills and work habits. Thomas received the highest marks in every category (E - excellent) with the exception of one: completes classwork on time. He received a G (good) in that one. Don't be thinking that he must not keep on task because that is completely the opposite. During our last parent-teacher conference, Mrs. Fearn explained that Thomas is very meticulous and thorough with his classwork so sometimes he doesn't quite finish the work during the time allotted. I think he's already a detail-oriented, hardworking overachiever and there's no question that this kid really loves school (and his weekly science camp)!

our walk to school

Today we walked to school! First, we walked Meredith to preschool. Then Thomas and I continued our walk straight down to his elementary school. It took us 20 minutes to cover the 1 mile, but it was so much fun! We talked, he snacked, we skipped, we ran. We are definitely doing this again soon! After dropping him off, I headed out for a nice 4 mile run from his school, all along the lagoon trail and then back up to our house. It was a great way to start the day!

walk (ride!) to school

When I was in elementary school, we walked the one pancake-flat block to school. Thomas' school is one mile away and it's a hilly walk. Needless to say, we drive it every day for both drop off and pick up. We're also usually rushing to get to school anyway so we don't have the extra time it would take to walk (ride) to school. But today we talked about shaking up our morning routine a little and we hustled to get out the door in time to make the walk to school. Greta wanted to join us, too! When mornings allow for it, I think we're going to start doing this regularly -- but only for drop offs because it's all downhill to school. Pushing two kids one mile up to go home is way more than I want to take on!

six awesome beach finds today

1. smooth, clean sand to dig in - 2. teeny, tiny seashells
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3. the joy of being stuck in wet sand - 4. lots of fun sand toys

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5. cool effects of the sun - 6. dolphins swimming by at sunset

M-E-R-E-D-I-T-H

I love learning the differences in our children. When Thomas was in preschool, I never learned a single thing about his day there. I would ask questions that required more than a no/yes response, but never did get more than a shrug and "I don't know" or "I don't remember". Then along came Meredith. We hear pretty much everything that goes on in preschool. I know who doesn't sing certain songs, who doesn't like someone else, who goes to Lunch Bunch, etc. When I ask (and I do every school day), I hear it all. Earlier this week she told us how the kids were all asked to write their names. According to her, only two of the girls could write their whole name -- herself and one other. She's been writing her name for at least a year, along with her brother's name and a few other words. This little girl is amazing!

drawing by Thomas

Thomas is always drawing whether it's on paper, a doodle pro board, pretty much anything he can get his hands. This is one of his drawings I found on a cardboard box the kids have been playing with this week. Boys will be boys...

Thomas reads

Grandma sent Thomas this great collection of six Dr. Seuss stories in one book. It has become his favorite book to read before bed. He has not asked us to read it to him once, but always selects a story and says, "Okay, I'm going to read this story tonight." His reading skills have been developing quickly and it's been fun to watch it unfold with the evening Dr. Seuss stories. The kids have gotten the biggest kick out of Wacky Wednesday which was one of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories, too.

the gum chewing 3 year old

Notice the gum in Meredith's mouth? This girl loves gum. She chews my gum and spits it out after 3 minutes so I'm not overly concerned about it. BUT, I'm not looking forward to the day it gets stuck in her beautiful hair and we end up having to cut the gum out. That'll be a sad day for me.

Unique of the Week

Meredith was the "Unique of the Week" in her classroom this week. She loves preschool, but this week was clearly something extra special for her. Watching her classmates have a turn all these weeks since school started has really made the excitement build. She couldn't wait to show off her poster board (of things that she loves), pick out her favorite snacks to share and take the homemade flowers to her teachers. In a way I wish it wasn't done alphabetically so she wouldn't have to wait, but I think the wait made it all that more special for her. And, as a woman once said to me after a piano recital, I also have said to Meredith this week: "They saved the best for last."

the beach

It has been unseasonably warm this week. Normal high is 66* but this afternoon it climbed to 80* along the southern Californian coast. We went for a walk along the beach and saw a surfing competition, swimmers in the ocean (no wetsuits!), girls in bikinis... One would almost think it was a summer day here today.

sunset picnic

Earlier this week I took the kids to a really great neighborhood park with amazing views. It isn't in our neighborhood but a few miles east of us. I knew it'd be a great place for sunset picnic dinners for our family later this spring. However, I couldn't wait. The sun currently sets just after 5pm which doesn't give us much time for eating and playing but tonight we went anyway. The kids and I packed up a picnic dinner and headed over around 4pm with their bicycles. Mike arrived around 5pm, just in time for us to see the sun dip into the ocean together. The 360* view at this park is spectacular and seeing all the hills in the warm glow was absolutely beautiful. What a great way to end the week!

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pool playdate (in January!)

We rarely turn down pool playdates so when a friend invited us to join them for an afternoon swim we jumped at the opportunity. And it was a perfectly warm 75* day for this! The kids had a great time moving from pool to hot tub to munching on snacks. Meredith especially loved jumping into the pool and having me catch her. She also got a big kick out of holding her breath under water, esp. when the periods under water grew longer and longer. Two hours, a little suntan and plenty of fun with good friends. Love this wonderful week of great weather!

longer days

We love that the days are already getting longer! Having it stay light enough that we can get in some late afternoon play has been really nice. Around 4pm today I made a pot of chili, turned it off and let it do its thing, then gathered up the kids for some play. They love to ride around the sidewalks and ramps at the church near our house. An hour later we saw Mike drive by and it was getting dark so we headed home to find the hot chili waiting for us. Love easy evenings like this!

school jog-a-thon

Thomas' school held their annual jog-a-thon today for the Kindergarteners (the rest of the school will do theirs tomorrow). All the money raised will help fund school activities, some of which the Kindergarteners directly benefit from. They had a DJ emcee the event and play music during the 20 minutes that the kids ran laps. The school mascot, an eagle, also came out to run some laps and give high fives to the kids. A handful of parents of Thomas' class were there today. Some were making tick marks on the kids' bibs to record their laps and others (like myself) were spraying the kids with mist bottles. And they were happy to get that little bit of cooling because they were really working up a sweat today! Afterwards the kids enjoyed popsicles out on the Kindergartens' playground. What a fun event this was for everyone! I'm so glad I could be there to help facilitate and also to cheer on the kids.

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Thomas & his classmates size up the competition ~ and they're off!

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go Thomas go!

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Thomas enjoys the race ~ school mascot ~ popsicles!

late afternoon park

there's a 360* view from this quiet neighborhood park

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While the rest of the country is in full-blown winter weather, southern California is enjoying sunny and mild days. If you're standing in the sun, the 65 degrees felt even warmer than that today. We're looking forward to climbing into the mid-70s this weekend. No complaints here from us!

an adventurous eater

Thomas has always been my little buddy. He's always game for anything and everything I come up with whether it's an activity, a way to do something, new foods or drink... He's always been adventurous and open to new things. I love that about him.
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Since January 1st, I've been trying a vegan, or plant-based, diet. It's strictly a personal choice and I do not impose this diet on the rest of my family. They've continued to eat meat since I became a vegetarian 18 months ago. Likewise, they'll continue to consume dairy, eggs, etc. while I experiment with other foods. My biggest supporter in this journey has been 5 year old Thomas. Everything I make, he tries (and more often than not, he likes!). Meredith turns her nose up to the foods and Mike has been indifferent since he's been on his own diet for several months anyway. Overall, the food experiments these last 11 days have been fun -- at least for me and Thomas!

** He can't get enough of this Roasted Seaweed Snack from Trader Joe's!

Venice Beach, Calif.

"World's Smallest Front Yard" (see the grass?)

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Venice Beach looking north to Santa Monica

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Venice Beach Fishing Pier (a concrete pier!)

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paddle tennis courts (we hadn't heard of this either)
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Muscle Beach: Schwarzenegger worked out here back in the day
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We used a friend's son's birthday party in Redondo Beach (Los Angeles) today as an excuse to spend the day exploring Venice Beach. All the SoCal beach communities have different vibes and Venice Beach is definitely a standout for it's uniqueness -- and not necessarily in a good way. They have a great bike trail system and the concrete pier is pretty cool. The beach is expansive as it is in all the communities up there. There are interesting shops along the boardwalk but this is where the strange, uncomfortable vibe comes in. Every other shop is a medicinal marijuana joint, there are many more people just "hanging around", and the Muscle Beach (outdoor gym on the beach) and paddle tennis courts are an eyesore. They look like something straight out of a prison yard to me. Aside from those few blocks, the walk was nice and just what we all needed before grabbing dinner in Santa Monica and driving back home.