This and that...

I always think I'm going to be a better blogger than I am...and then, well, life just happens. I know...it's super cliche, but it's truly our reality. Sitting down to actually begin and finish a post is relatively unheard of...especially the FINISHING part of it. Once again I have countless posts lined up in the proverbial queue, most of which will never have their [PUBISH POST] buttons hit.  I suppose that's why I still remain kinda' torn and caught between my two blogs...the private side and the public side. And please don't be offended if you're not on the private side...if you'd like to be, just email me and we can take care of that lickety split. I just don't know who really wants to hear about it all. Things are a little more raw and real over there...a lot of IF and I don't mean 'if' talk...I mean 'IF' talk...and well, if you don't know what that means, then you might be in over your head. It's a little more ME...okay, a LOT more ME. :) 


This blog is for my girls...for our family...and I like to keep it that way. And since it's all about us over here...here is what we have been up to!


Oh, the places you'll go...

The last few months we have been exploring the Huntington Gardens, the Santa Barbara Zoo, and well...the valley we live in...oh, and our own backyard, which is quite the park in and of itself.


We've thoroughly fallen in love with the gardens...so much so we have become members. Visits there have been full wonder, exploration, plenty of impromptu teachable moments (my favorite kind of teaching/learning)...and just plain good ol' family time spent in this most beautiful place. The photos posted of the girls a few days ago are from there. And here are a few more from our first visit in March. You'll have to excuse Mia's enormous sty in the corner of her left eye. She was a trooper dealing with it, though!

We've also returned to the Santa Barbara Zoo for monthly visits after taking a couple winter months off. It continues to be a favorite.

And just for fun, from our very first trip to the zoo two years ago...

Home sweet home...

And then there's home...which really has it all and is why we don't venture to parks all that often. The castle Cedarworks playset, 

the mountains slopes, the rolling meadow big grassy area, the garden, and the race track patio provide hours upon hours of fun.


The front yard is usually off limits, but even it has turned out to be rather um, educational in the last month or so, providing us a 'real-time' lesson on the lifecycle of the ladybug. Who knew those crazy black alligator bug things were ladybug larvae! But yes, we were fortunate enough to watch larvae attach themselves to the wall...while hundreds of others were nestled in their pupae. We even watched one ladybug emerge from it's pupae before our very eyes (this was well before I thought to grab the camera) and it was quite possibly one of thee coolest things we've seen. We then proceeded to watch the wet, yellow-orange ladybug "get her spots" over the next day and turn from yellow-orange, to orange, to dark orange, to red. Amazing. 


The Crazy Life

So basically we're just living and loving life. Robert's job is crazy as always and working around his schedule is always a challenge. My job can be crazy at times and then there are other times like now...when it's nothing (since I'm thoroughly enjoying my 3 week long spring break). Ahhhh...teachers love spring break just as much as their students do. :)

The Girls

The girls are growing, growing, growing and I so wish I could bottle this age...well, at least most aspects of it. I really think we missed the terrible two's and instead were SLAMMED with the thoroughly exhausting three's, which is bound to happen with two children going through it at the same time. One moment we are smiling and chuckling at the things they come up with...and the next moment we are counting to 10 over the things they come up with.

Mia has become quite the story teller and bearer of great knowledge. I really need to write these things down as she says them, because it seems that she is overflowing with life lessons. Let me share a few that have stood out (and yes, these are word for word):

"If you are walking alone in the mountains, make sure you hold someone's hand." 

"If you are angry, you need to take a breath and calm down."

"If you want to look cute, you need to make your hair like princess hair."

"If you are grumpy, you should take a nap, because when you wake up you'll feel all better."

"If you want something, you need to be a patient girl."

Gosh...there are tons more, but these are the only ones coming to mind right now. I'll need to start keeping track of them. My favorite is the first one. :) 

Juliana is dramatic as ever. She is our night owl and fights sleep like no one I know. But our late night chats are super sweet and when she is most animated...most likely because she isn't competing with Mia who pretty much talks non-stop from the second she wakes up. Juliana still is not fully potty-trained (enter long exhausted breath here)...no pooping on the potty, just in her underwear. And please, no suggestions needed because we've literally tried them all and I'm finally resorting to doing absolutely nothing about it. When she's ready...she'll do it...I hope. 

Both girls are getting taller...Mia has literally grown inches in the last few months. We've had so many comments on how tall she is and it's true...she's skyrocketed past so many of her peers in height, which is no surprise when you consider this girls' appetite. Juliana is growing too...just not quite so fast. There is almost 2 inches between them now. When they were born it was 1 inch and now it's been stretched a bit. 


They are extremely imaginative and the dramatic play of the moment centers around dragons, dungeons, the mean queen, the princess, the prince...etc. It's a little bit of Sleeping Beauty mixed with Dragon Tales mixed with Little Einsteins. Mostly I just love that they have each other...watching the relationship they have and the friendship that continues to grow with each passing day...it's truly amazing. I just hope that when it does come time to separate them in first grade, that they are ready for that. Right now, I know they need each other still and you know what...that's fine by me.

Preschool

Preschool is going great...something they love, love, LOVE. They only go two days a week and will continue that next year. The class they are in is a mixed-age class (2-4) and while this year it has been mostly 3 year olds, next year they will be the leaders, the helpers...which will be nice for them. And now some reasons we are staying with two days a week next year... 

1. Two children in preschool is costly enough at 2 days a week...3 days a week times two is a bit much.

2. Next year I will be job-sharing once again and though I am moving up to 4 days a week in August, I will still have Monday's off with Robert and that will be our only real "family" day with him still working weekends. If the girls were going M, W, F...they would be missing 2-3 Mondays a month while we traverse California on day trips and that would just be a waste of money...period.

3. Two days a week gives me a chance to do a little homeschooling, if you will. Not your drill and kill, but rather lots of field trips and fun projects. I may be a kindergarten teacher, but I'm not a fan of worksheets in any way shape or form which is why they attend preschool where they do. But I have lots of great ideas centered around the project approach and look forward to implementing them next year.

4. Two days a week also allows us to do story time at the library and begin gymnastics/dance 1-2 days a week...depending on what each of the girls decides to do. In the next few months we will have our free trial classes for both and it will be up to them what they would like to do.

I think I'm becoming a "Mom-tog"

I'm loving my camera and learning tons. I'm oogling two new lenses, but will have to settle for just one. I was also hoping for a speedlight, but again...decided on a low-cost gadget to get great pics with my pop-up flash...perhaps the greatest gadget ever. I was so disappointed with my Easter night pics of family during dinner that I was ready to buy a speedlight ASAP. I despise using the built-in pop up flash as it just washes people out and creates such an unnatural look, but I was even more unhappy with the sub-par pics I was getting with both of my lenses trying to work in low-light without a flash. Now? That's a thing of the past with my Lightscoop. Check it out...I promise you'll heart it just as much as I heart mine!

I'm also taking a photography class in a week or so dedicated soley to my new camera and really getting to know all of it's functions. I feel like I've learned so much in the past few months, but also feel like it's just the tip of the iceberg with this baby. And while I don't plan on becoming a photographer anytime soon, I sure do love the fact that I am finally getting the most amazing shots of what matters most to me...my family!


March on...
And finally, it's that time again. On May 15 we will once again walk for babies in our annual March of Dimes March for Babies walk. I'm working on updating the video for 2010, but if you want to check out why we walk before it's ready, then click on the link in the sidebar that takes you to the 2009 photo montage. When the new one is ready...you'll know! Hopefully by the week's end. 

And that's it...phew!