Christmas Highlights!

Sylvie has been having trouble sleeping in her own room so this week we worked very very hard to "practice" for Christmas sleeping. The night of Christmas Eve we stayed up til 11:30 partying and then I got the jammies on the kids and showed them the google Santa Tracker. It showed Santa flying around the skyscrapers downtown and that's where we had just come from, so the kids knew it was mighty close to our house, and they went running upstairs with fervor and hit the pillows in their own rooms without complaint.

We had so much fun on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year was the most "last minute" of any year, even running into Walgreens on our way to the party at our house on Christmas Eve. A lot had been done ahead of time, but Jorge had been on 2 trips- Tokyo and then Mexico- and then working all week, so it left final preparations to last-minute. It wasn't stressful, and it all worked out in the long run.

I think Logan's on the verge of losing sight of believing in Santa, but he very much wants to play along because of the joy in it. My guess is he'll hang on to pretending for another year or two. Sylvie was nervous about Santa's Elves watching but it did good to keep her in line this spunky child of mine. On the plus side, she was the sweetest darling little girl during the 3 days of celebrating! Yeah!

We were spoiled with presents, hosted a fun party and now have so many fun things to play with!

My Brilliant Offspring

Logan is starting to spout off 'Mom, I can spell 'love backwards'. I know how to rhyme everything.' I can read that word 'playbill' 'cast'....etc. He's also learning subtraction and has decided he already knows how to multiply (not sure on that one, but I would love to see it!)

Sylvie came home from a dead sleep, woke up, got out a pen, found a pad of post-it notes, and started some "messages." It's past bedtime and her brain is on fire writing words. All of a sudden she knows letters she didn't seem to remember before, she's stringing them into words, with appropriate vowel and consonant placement, and asking how to pronounce the words she wrote.

Brilliant children I tell you, just brilliant. Yeah, I'm bragging. And yeah, I know your kid probably did all this 3 years ahead of my kids, but it doesn't matter. The first time your kid does it, it's durn exciting!

Strawberries with "Stuff"

Logan: "Mommy, do you want to know a gift everybody will like? Strawberries with stuff on it. You mix up the stuff, and you make sure it's all around it and you wait til it dries and then you can eat it." Me:"What about the stem?" Logan "You eat all the way to the stem but don't eat the stem. I made those at the restaurant before." "Got it Mommy?"

Someday he won't say "Got it?" all the time like he does now, so I have to write it down.

Also, he's very very big on repeating everything from the tv back to me, as the commercial is happening, like I don't hear it myself. Ah, my boy.

We are headed out to some store tonight because "Mom I NEED a pencil sharpener at school. And it has to come from that store where Daddy took me." Me: "Logan, do you need new crayons as well? Are yours wearing down?" Logan: "Only the gray." I find that hard to believe as I saw his crayons at the Halloween party and they were on their last legs but I forgot to get new ones til now. He's so into recycle/reuse that he probably thinks you need to use a crayon til it literally is gone. Silly sweet boy.

Sylvie is in an eating phase, she eats all the time. Logan is in a talking phase, he never stops!

Middle of the Night

What's keeping me awake tonight?

Reliving a work situation. I hate when I do that. No one else is thinking about it at 3 am!

Wondering about Sylvie's school and if it really was a good idea. And wishing I had the means to decide on a different preschool. This one covers my work hours. At least she has made good friends.

Kinda pissy that Jorge is on his 2nd vacation trip in 2 weeks and I'm here dealing with frigid cold, a finicky furnace and ice and snow and Christmas prep all by my lonesome. Missing him as I had a cranky day and really could use a hug and smile.

Got sucked into a movie. It takes place in England and is flashing to Paris and I am reliving the memory of Paris.

Wondering if I'll ever get out of this job.

Wondering if all the other things I'm sad about will change.

Wondering if I'll wake up in a better mood if I go to bed for another 2 hours.

Greenbuild!

When I hit September and didn't get my new path laid out in gold for me, I chose to go at it alone. And maybe piece by piece. So piece #1 was Greenbuild Chicago. Just the idea of skipping responsibility for the day after so many days of playing double-parental duty made me a bit guilty. I did however at least leave a list for Jorge. And pack lunches for the finickies.

Drove in. Blech. What an ugly state. I'm sorry, but after learning that the actual scenery can actually soothe you while you drive long distances in Washington state, I always shock myself driving through factory areas where speeders fly by in the shoulder. Ignore the scenery and focus on the white knuckles and getting over to the lane where you need to be, which may or not be the one GPS tells you with all this construction in this town. If I had not looked up where I was supposed to be, I would have been overwhelmed by McCormick Place so score one for me for knowing what I was doing instead of trying to read a massive sign while driving.

Happy day, loved it. Loved the seminars, big and small. Yes they are tree-huggers. But I know that type, they live in Seattle often. Even more of them live in Portland. :) And man, those guys/gals at MIT are pretty crazy, but it looked so cool and out there, I'll take it.

Went to 4 seminars. Only thing that was weird was not having someone to share it with, but I did strike up a conversation or two along the way. And made myself go to the social event at the end, despite the potential of helping Jorge out by picking the kids up. Love the kids up, but I've had 80% of the parental duties this year, so kids, here's your dad. Jorge, here's your watch. It's 5:30, normal people leave at this time of the day and live in the same state as their wives. And he did it like a champ. At the social event I had great conversation, which I started, so it was awesome.

Happy day. Love this world of green, but even more than that, it made me miss my intellectual school days. Seven years of college and then one day the learning ends. Well, in some firms you continue. My new goal is to figure out ways to keep up the learning. Despite the company that employs me. Ideally it would be some great company though right? :)

4 Year Old Preschool

Sylvie likes to call her year of preschool "4-year old preschool." It has been a whirlwind year so far and while nothing is earth-shatteringly funny she does make me laugh, worry and cry.

Here are some highlights:

-Storytelling. Ellen had a wolf visit her house. Alex got bit by a REAL vampire. Emily saw the real monster that lives at Great America.

-Best Friends. She has been having issues keeping in the clique of girls. She spent the first few months concerned about who sat next to her, who liked, her, who talked to her, etc. My goodness she came home and threw temper tantrums left and right from the stress of it all. I've volunteered and it's insane at times. However, it does seem to be calming down. She gets out of school and obsessively wants to go over to the flagpole for her one on one time with Allison. I was really upset at her behavior until I understood that she spent the day fighting for attention and this was special friend time. Preschool can be rough! But on the plus side she's making some really long-term good friendships.

-She's good with the boys. Having a brother has taught her how to talk about Star Wars, and how to not freak if a boy talks to her.

-They call her Chivis (the kids, not the teacher) which I think is hilarious and she likes

-Every day is a fashion parade for Sylvie. She spent the first months wearing dresses and skirts, mourning days she had to wear gym shoes and having massive numbers of outfit changes. Then this week she wore jeans. Twice. With heeled shoes and a sparkle shirt. She keeps the teachers laughing. She wore two pigtails but wanted one clipped to the side to look like a side ponytail.

-Introducing the "I want for lunch exactly what my friends have for lunch." Which can be great because I know I can get her to eat a sandwich for the first time ever. And horribly disastrous when you pre-order hot lunches in September and she has a meltdown about it. And packs a lunch anyway.

-She's more patient with the process of getting to school, waiting for Logan's turn, and the walking it takes to get it all accomplished. As long as mom is right by her side. Woe to the family member who has to take her to school, her world is not okay on those days. I had to beg my office to let me change my hours just to keep the peace. Ah, kids:)

She's keeping me laughing, keeping me guessing, and throwing tantrums like a true 4-year old can pull off.

Life today....

Today I have been weepy. Probably hormonal, but it's kind of nice. I like being able to really "feel" strong emotions some days. Not being on cruise control. Or just being satisfied with something like a clean kitchen. Seeing life's big picture and really assessing it. I worry sometimes that some big crisis will come crashing into our lives, we have this beautiful life and I want it to stay good, great really. Happy, loving, and sweet. Joyful. Who would want to rock that boat? I always feel like I am asking for better and I'm always worried about how can one not feel guilty for complaining about anything in their perfect life while thereare miners stuck 2000 feet below the earth's surface for over 60 days, and friends who left the earth leaving their children behind, and babies who left the earth leaving their moms behind. All that seems so life-shattering and crazy and I hope nothing like that enters our daily bubble.

But life is life and we churn through dishes and losing weight and meal planning and parenting. And smiling in disbelief that our kids are so smart and get 100% on all their papers. And spend a long time coloring the perfect picture. And make mini-laptops out of paper and leave them all over the house. And tuck their dolls into a hand-me-down American Girl bed. I want a new job and had given myself a September deadline to accomplish this task but for all the hours spent trying, this recession is either double-dipping or just not coming up for air just yet. So knowing how firms are in this career, I'm trying to grieve the loss of this happiness I wanted for myself and make do with the new reality of our real fall schedule.

Not that I'm in this terrible place. I'm just so stubborn that I want what I want when I want it thank you very much. And I thought things were going to be one way and they are another. So I'm trying to make the best of things.This week I stood up to a head person to ask for something I knew they would not like. And when his mouth formed the word 'no' and every ounce of his body language said the same, I had to step it up, fight for what I wanted, and sell it. I got it. Phew! I also played the work game, you know the one where you run into an issue and instead of banging your head against your desk you find just the right person to get an answer from with the added bonus of sympathy for your plight? Plight. I learned that word ages ago in grade school and did a whole report on the Plight of some group or another.....always loved good words....

Seeing my kids in school is bringing back memories aplenty of life back when. When the cool song everyone wanted to listen to on Walkmen was "Toy Soldiers" by Martika. When the cool thing was to make fun of the music teacher. My son is making fun of the music teacher and I asked him why and kind of leaned over and said "well, she's not really that bad" which leads me to believe he doesn't quite know why the kids say she's mean, but he'll happily jump on that bandwagon anyway. Poor music teachers!

I'm trying to just enjoy what life is bringing my way this fall instead of making my own path, because it doesn't seem to be going that way. I do have to say some big decisions seem to be coming clearer and I'm pretty happy with that. Sometimes I think it takes being a peace with what you have before you can take on something new. And not knowing if you want something is overwhelming. But feeling at peace with a future plan is so liberating. For now, I'll share some of the little things that made me smile today....

Do we really have to get rid of all of these leaves? I am LOVING them. They make everything so pretty. My favorite is the bright pink/red trees that show up when you round a corner and take your breath away.

Logan, my sweet soul, was getting into a habit of bringing every friend he owns downstairs and now he's narrowed it down to a few "best friends."

Sylvie has rejuvinated her mothering role. She has a few American Girl knockoff type dolls she's loving on. Abuelita collected this doll bed back from a neice and Sylvie really loves it. I can't wait to introduce her to Jamie's twins this weekend and see what she thinks.

We have a house built in 1946. A brick Georgian. It has its perks, its quirks and its frustrations. But when we went looking for a house I really really wanted a staircase. And while a ranch house would be good for laundry I won't regret the stairs. The window and the paintings from Mexico make me smile each time. The wood stairs are warm, and warmer with white paint. I always think about the fact that we are creating a baseline for our kids on what they see as "home." I can see us dragging our kids to an ultra-modern urban condo someday only to see them buy their first home with their spouses that looks just like this one.

My sweet dog. Jorge and I both had cocker spaniels growing up and wanted one as our first "together" dog. She's full of spunk and can push my buttons worst than Sylvie but I do love her as a walking companion, and a sweet friend who is at my feet.

William and Pink

Logan: "William at my school is funny."

Sylvie: "I have a William at my school too. He teaches Gym. Mr. Williams."

Logan: "I have another teacher named Mrs. M."

(I was surprised because I haven't heard of this teacher before.)

Me: "Logan, what does Mrs. M teach? Spanish, speech, music, library......."

Logan: "I don't know what she teaches, but she's really fast at sharpening pencils!"

I seriously laughed out loud, then he got upset, then he got curious. So I had to explain that it was surprise that made me laugh, that I was laughing with him not at him. (don't know why the font went all funky on me).

++++++++++++++++++++

Sylvie: "Mommy, I can't wait til we learn about the letter 'pink' so I can bring this Barbie with me for Show and Tell."

Lapbooks

I have heard about this from the homeschooler-crowd and it was right up my alley as a fun and educational Sunday activity. I am eternally grateful to websites that help moms out with freebies all ready to print. It took awhile to get my printer to produce this, and I was right there with my big scissors cutting things for the kids (it would have been a LOT of cutting), but they had a blast!

I think the idea is to focus on one subject and create 3D games, activities, etc. all based on that subject. Sylvie had a book telling her Three Little Kittens Story. Logan got to act as a reporter and interview Sylvie for his Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs theme. I flashed some pictures of a summer activity we did on the computer to jog their memory, and then had him ask the questions "who, what, when, where...." that were listed on his reporter notebook to write down the answers.

Sylvie loved this. She was all about the games we made, the almighty glue stick and the sing-songy story. She loved completing the project and went back later to continue decorating it more.

Logan was a bit worried about the idea of being a "reporter" but really enjoyed writing down words all over his lapbook. I did give him the option of drawing pictures and he chose words- that was pretty exciting!

This is where I got our free lapbook printouts, by subject, by age group, etc. A lot of them are based on a book you would read, and then do a lapbook to summarize it. They also had a great list of additional activities. It was great being able to print and make the whole thing this morning, but some of the ideas would take a day or two of prep, supplies, etc. Next time i'll find the lapbook, get the book and read it, and then do the lapbook activity after. A lot of Logan's lapbook involved reiterating vocabulary words from the actual book, which is a great idea.

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/Lapbooks_at_HSS.php

Don't worry mom....

Logan: "Don't worry mom, I won't ever leave this house. I'll live here forever and take care of Abby (the dog). Sylvie can still feed her, but I'll take care of her. "

Me: "Well, if Sylvie feeds her, what will you do to take care of her?"

Logan: "I'll play with her."

Me:"What about walking her? Like around the block on a leash all by yourself?"

Logan: "Maybe I can do that when I'm 10. And an adult."

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Sylvie on Monday :"I know what I'm going to be when I'm an adult. I'm going to be Merliah. With a Tail." (that would be a mermaid tail)

Sylvie on Tuesday: "I know what I'm going to be when I'm an adult. I'm going to be Barbie Fashion Fairytale. With a Tail."

Sylvie on Wednesday: "I know what I'm going to be when I'm an adult. I'm going to be Rapunzel. With a Tail."

Sylvie on Thursday: "I know what I'm going to be when I'm an adult. I'm going to be a Cowgirl. With a Tail."

Sylvie: "Mom, when I'm an adult I'm going to have my own house. So I can buy all the things I want to buy and you can't say there isn't room for them."

Yep, that about sums up their personalities right there.

Bonus: Sylvie gave Logan 2 princes to play with while we all played Polly Pockets.

Sylvie: "Logan. This is the Prince from Snow White and this is the Prince from Sleeping Beauty."

Logan argues.

Sylvie: "No Logan. I'm really serious here. I know what I'm talking about. That is the prince from Snow White. I'm sure (pronounced "sir"). I know all about the princes and princesses."

I show them the pictures on the computer to confirm that they are indeed both actually right.

Logan: "I knew it. I just looked next to my eyes and I thought about it and I could see the picture and it was right there from when I watched the Snow White movie."

Voices

Sylvie talking .....

Sylvie "Hey, I talk like someone at school."

Me: "Oh yeah, like who?"

Sylvie: "I don't know. Dylan."

Me: "Do you like talking like your friends?"

Sylvie: "Yeah. I do. I'm an Ac-tor."

What a ham!

Clubs

Logan:"Blah blah blah clubs. Sylvie, are you gonna.....blah blah clubs? Mommy are you gonna blah blah clubs? Sylvie, come blah blah blah blah blah blah........"

Sylvie gets annoyed, irritated and I see a temper tantrum coming on like the other 5 she's had since 2:30 (it's only 6 pm, my poor mom!!!! )

Me "Logan, we're not playing that game. Sylvie has had enough already tonight. You are asking questions that 6 year olds love and 4 year olds hate. Please wait til tomorrow to ask those questions to the other 6 year olds in your class."

Laughter from Logan, peace from Sylvie, whew!!!!!

Early Learners

Sylvie: "Mom, Jamie's babies are gonna read!"

Me: "How do you know?"

Sylvie: "I heard it on tv."

Those "Your Baby can read" commercials are getting a bit ridiculous!!!!

Trilingual

Logan: "Mommy, I'm learning 3 languages."

"China, Mexico and Sign Language."

Me: "What about English."

(he ignores me)

Sylvie: "What about spanish?"

Logan: "Yeah, I'm learning that one too!"

I will call you....

Sylvie: "Logan, stop being a doody bop!"

Logan :" "No."

Sylvie: " Logan, if you can't stop being a doddy bop I will call you a butthead!"

Me: "Sylvie, that's not nice. What is a butthead?" (I couldn't resist)

Sylvie : "It's a head, with a butt on it."

Logan: "I f you say butthead one more time, then I will cancel our parties every time."

Me: "Sylvie, do you think it's worth it to stop calling Logan mean things so you can go to his parties?"

Sylvie: "No, Logan you are a butthead."

Logan: "That's it, all the parties are cancelled."

Sylvie: "Aw, no, I'll stop saying things. Puh-leeeeease?"

Logan: "Sylvie, don't touch my penis!"

Okay this blog post has to end and I now need to go talk to these kids instead of typing what they say.......

Okay, false alarm. But they are now put to bed. Not that it means much, Sylvie has already come back down here and I now mush shoo her back upstairs. Crazy kids!

A touch of red brings.....

This house has both the formal living room and this amazing family room. It was outdated and needed some TLC when we got it, and it has changed the most often through the 6 years we've owned our Casa Barrero. It takes a bit of vision to see the whole picture,...when you can buy things one piece at a time. This room is the most heavily used and abused, tumbled on, rolled around in, and oh...my....the TOYS! They are the bain of my clean house I tell you. So this is just one more round of "arranging the family room" with some new IKEA furniture, but I am so happy to have walked through the store without too much of an idea except the sizes and functions, and found exactly what will help. I have some different chairs picked out, but they were out of stock, these are borrowed from the dining room. Don't tell the kids but there is a MOUND of toys downstairs I've been sorting through for the past month, and bags of broken pieces I've tossed. Anyway, just wanted to share my fun new family room and record THIS family room moment. Because it may never be this clean again!!!!!

Snippets from home....

Being around these kids is hilarious and some day they will be whiney unreasonable teenagers with somewhat more adult behaviors so I'd like to write down some of the sillies that they do just being at home on a Thursday and Friday without school.....

*Sylvie has covered her legs, arms, and fingers slowly with bandaids over the past 2 days. Every time she walks by she has more.....

*Logan randomly got bored, rolled the legs up on his jammies, then rolled them down and walked around like a duck with his jammies and undies around his ankles.

*They both fought over who would get to keep the yellow power ranger (with a skirt) long-term. As in their house when they are adults.

*Sylvie put makeup all over Logan. Logan tied Sylvie's dress. Sylvie got Logan's silverware. Logan got Sylvie a snack.

*Incessant fart jokes.

*Sylvie was showing me a castle she said belonged to mermaids. She flipped it around and showed me the living room, the bedroom for mermen and mermaids and the bathroom. Then she giggled and said she wondered how the mermaids pulled their tails down to pee. Then she said maybe there is a special hole on their tails for that. She's smart as a whip I tell you.

*We were watching a scene from Epcot where they have a globe and Sylvie wanted to know how we can tell what the earth looks like when we're standing on it. Logan and I said the astronauts see it. Logan said "but, that earth on tv is made of lights. The astronauts see the earth that is green and blue." So I asked him to clarify why it looks green and blue for Sylvie. He said the green is trees and grass, but "the astronauts are so far away they can't tell the difference between grass and trees." And then I explained the Ozone Layer to the kids. And then Sylvie told me she absolutely positively needs to go back to the Apricot (Epcot ball) and do the ride there. Soon.

*We're going away to a hotel with bunk beds and I showed the kids so they would be prepared. Logan helped me ease her mind about not being the kid to sleep on the top by reassuring her that all the ocean dreams happen on the bottom. Then Sylvie decided that princesses sleep on the bottom and Mermen hang out on top.

I love these kiddos!!!!! And as a side note, how the heck did they go from looking young to old in 6 months since the Disney trip!!!!

School-ish Evening

After a very physical day of running, playing, ballet and los Abuelitos, the kids played here and then easily transitioned into school-time. I found a great Kumon workbook for numbers and Sylvie flew through it. It's great practice writing and recognizing the numbers, with connect the dots up to 20. She did really well!

Logan found his Transformer Sight Words workbook and the tasks are complex but he's doing well with them. We also have some flashcards and he matched up all the upper and lower case letters. Dd, Pp, Qq and Bb gave him a bit of trouble, but to his credit, they all looked the same in this font to me as well!

Anyway, I love when they are feeling engaged in an activity, and if it's a learning one, even better. And since I took my thyroid pill later today my attention span is still here at 8 pm. Kinda crazy how much I notice the difference!

Feeling Sappy

.....and sad to see different phases of my kids' lives pass. They are growing up so quickly. Their awake hours are not 100% ours so they come home with all these things to tell us, show us, and make us laugh. Tonight both kids were showing us how they can do cartwheels, splits while in a handstand, and walk on their hands!!!!! After years of "My Gym" they are moving quickly through the ranks of Flying High Gym. Sylvie is in the kinder-stars class already, and Logan is moving up to the next level as well.

Miss Sylvie had her ballet recital that was just adorable and Logan is getting so good at golf. A huge piece of all these extracurriculars is my in-laws doing. They are doing the legwork, the signing-up, the paying and keeping the kids' spirits up about attending all of these lessons. It feels like the world is in front of them, they are being exposed to all these amazing things. In school they are just learning so much, given so many opportunities to better themselves, and push themselves. Even religion is coming into their vocabulary. And we are getting all the million "how does the world work" type questions from our free-thinkers.

They are real little people with real personalities and real goals. Things like "do I push for them to go to college or be happy with them following their dreams" and "Do I help them with their homework" are entering my mind. Today we were talking amongst the moms about when they get married and that person entering our families as "daughter- and son- inlaws." Not that these things are anytime soon, we have a virtual lifetime ahead of us. And so many experiences.

I was reading an article about the experiences of 2 French High School exchange students. They were saying in America we are pushed to think, to have ideas, to have an opinion. We have clubs, teams and so many ways to form the hours of our lives. I got Logan's yearbook and there are so many clubs to be joined as early as this upcoming year! The French students also spoke of America not having as strong of an educational base. I know it's not as important for life or all jobs, but I think having a general knowledge of life, culture, other places, other people, and current events, is important. I was at lunch with co-workers and some new interns and felt like I was discussing things others had never even considered experiencing. And they were all right here in Chicago. Maybe it's the fact that I lived elsewhere before, I appreciate what Chicago has, just as I voraciously ingested what Seattle had to offer, I want to soak it all in here as well. We got a list from the art department on what there is to do in the area and I plan to bring the kids to many of the places.

I feel our kids are lucky and blessed to have so many people, places, experiences and so much love in their lives daily.

Silly-Inquisitive-isms

Sylvie: "Mom, why don't people feel that the earth is moving?"
"Oh, you know what? I know why the clouds are moving, because the earth is moving!"

Sylvie: "When I grow up, where will we all sleep in this house?"
Logan: "When I grow up, I'm going to live here."
S:"When I am a princess, I will live in Disney World."
L:"I'm not going to live in Disney, I'm just going to visit. I'm not going to work when I'm an adult." Me: "What are you going to do for money?"
L: "I'm going to work at Legoland."

Sylvie: "Logan, how does the juice get out of the battery?"

Letters and Reading

With the school year coming to a close, I'm focused on keeping those brain cells alive with not only a love of the outdoors and all things physical, but school things as well. Logan has really made strides this year and is on the cusp of actually reading, I do not want to lose this! So I bought the "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons." For Sylvie, the first 50 seem to make sense, going over letters and sounds. So far she has proclaimed this all "boring" but we shall see on another day. Perhaps I should skip her ahead to lesson 20?:)

Logan was all gung-ho to do this book and we did approximately 12 lessons in a very short time, just reading sounds he was interested in reading, and then reading the corresponding words right after that, and then the sentence.

When I opened the book I thought it looked a bit silly and jibberish but what it does have going for it for Logan's skill set is he is at that point where all words starting with a "th" are automatically "The", and the literature at the front of the book talks about getting past that habit. It might be perfect timing!

Each letter has a dot, and a long line if the vowel is long. This will be great for his speech as well, this is exactly the sort of activity his teacher recommended. He really took the time to sound out each word, put it together in the sentence, still sounding it out, and was quick to recognize some of his sight words from school. Also, the letters are rather large, about the size he writes them himself.

All in all, I recommend it highly for your 6 year old between words and sentences!

A day of sports

Logan and Jorge went out golfing with Bill, their "private trainer" this morning. Jorge said Logan's improving quite a bit, and Bill (friend of his mom's) has helped him correct his own swing as well.

We spent a lot of the day outside on this hot hot spring day and finally by evening, the kids were running amuck again the house. Time to go outside once again. It was still 89 or so degrees, but we went over to the park hauling some equipment.

Logan was super intense with the tennis balls and his metal bat, throwing, catching, hitting, enjoying. Sylvie joined in and using a plastic bat and tennis balls, really started getting the hang of things. Now I think I need a "personal trainer" to teach me to throw so I can pitch to my two cuties!

We headed over to the tennis courts and both kids practiced swinging a racket and Logan worked on a back and forth game with Jorge.

Logan gets so keyed up, working hard, concentrating, listening to your advice, and not giving up. If anything, it's hard to keep up with his intensity. Sylvie did pretty well for herself, kept at it even when things didn't go easily. I'm impressed! It was a lot of fun but very sweaty and humid. It's fun to have more sports in our lives.

The Parisian

I know I haven't posted on our Paris trip. It was an amazing experience for so many reasons, and I feel like I'm trying to blend my experiences into my current life and see where it all fits in.

I keep having this image come back to my head of the last full day. It was rainy, chilly and a great day to be hopping in and out of shops wearing a raincoat and an umbrella. We settled down for lunch at an indoor cafe. Dark wood interior, wall of windows closed against the weather, old tin signs for Coca-Cola. I ordered a salad I had wanted to try since reading about it in Rick Steve's- egg, tomato, proscuitto and some additional things. Goodness.

As we filled our tummies and warmed ourselves, I couldn't help but look around at our fellow cafe-goers. On either side of us were two women and I was fascinated. What was their story. They looked like locals. One looked to be about 50. She sat and drank an espresso out of an impossibly small cup, book in hand, facing the window and us coincidentally. I couldn't actually tell if she was listening to our conversation, but she looked happy. Content. I don't know if she was retired, on break from work, alone or enjoying a moment of peace in life of chaos back home.

The whole time we were in the upper end of the Latin Quarter, I tried to picture who lived here, how did they live. They stopped at the fresh corner store, picked up flowers and groceries, opened their windows to let in the social noises in the street below. These women seemed to fit that life. Enjoying the little moments.

The older woman at the window drank a mid-day glass of wine. She ate steak and frites and had walking shoes on. She probably walked the park all day, every day, she looked hearty but was not eating low-fat, low-carb, low-taste food. She even ordered a mousse, and this huge smile spread across her face as she took that first bite.

I think what struck me was the lack of reaching out. I find myself in solitude looking for everyone around me, they are happy, they are with their friends, enjoying their children, judging my own experience of the moment on what I am NOT doing that everyone else IS doing. I would like to keep that image of the other women in my mind as a reminder to enjoy my quiet moments, enjoy the solitude, the routine and the daily moments that make up our life, and not always be looking for the newer, bigger, next, better and more fulfilling. The stuff of life is what makes the happy moments. And, I would like to remind myself that sometimes, it is okay to order dessert. Or drink wine at 1:00 in the afternoon. Because, really, the endorphins it releases must at some point outweigh the damage it does to our figure, especially if we walk more and drive less.
The

Logan's conversation.....

typed as I'm listening to it....

Logan: "Mom, want to know what kind of superhero I'm going to be? I'm going to be one that flies."

Logan: "I'm going to live with you forever mom."

Me: "Logan what will you do when you're an adult?"

Logan: "Mom, when I'm an adult I'll feed Abby (the dog) her food whenever it runs out."

Logan:" I'm going to do what Abby does. Relax at home while you and daddy are at work."

Logan: "When I'm at school, can you drop me off?" (we always walk in together)

Me: "What kind of job will you have?"

Logan: "The job is to take care of Abby at home. I'm going to do all the Abby work. Clean up her toys, get her something to eat and something to drink. When I'm an adult. Hey Sylvie, you don't have to do any work when you're an adult. Sylvie, will you live with mom when you're an adult?"

Sylvie: "Yes."

Me: "Sylvie, what about when you are an adult"

Sylvie: "I'm going to be Melody (a character from a Barbie movie)."

Friday Evening Playtime

Busy day Friday filled with a backyard birthday party with the meetup moms, school, a bit of running around and plenty of outside time. Friday evening the kids were ready for mom-time so we set down with the box of barbies and had at it. I started flipping my barbie up in a twist and so Logan started getting interested, trying to copy my moves with a flick of the wrist. Then he found a red bandana in the barbie box and started doing his karate moves. My very own Ralph Machio...swoon! hehehe. Sylvie, ever the princess, wore through 2 pairs of tights today caking them with mud at parks, and still found time to glitter her face and accessorize with a necklace.

This morning has been a lego/ pancake-making/ mermaid-watching kinda morning. I made a lego ship, which Logan asked to "borrow." Sylvie, after a bit of moaning about wanting to play Barbies again instead of legos, built her first lego house.

And seriously, when did we get this many barbies? Last summer if seems we were picking up a few at a garage sale so we had enough to fill one barbie car. Now we have a plethora!

Paris Preparation

We're going to Paris in 14 days- eeek and oooh-la-la!

So I've been surfing the web to see what to wear besides the obvious advice I keep seeing "don't wear white tennis shoes." I have some of my current wardrobe set aside but I feel like my coat is just blech and my shoes that I have relied on are falling apart (including for my work days). So I checked out a few stores online and saw what the price ranges and styles were nowadays and ended up at Target for a few new key pieces.....

The image of the shoes is small, but you get the idea. The dress I got is in black and has a lining underneath and looks really nice. Logan said I should wear it tomorrow.

I Recommend.....

Today the kids were planning lunch in the car ride home from school. So I decided we would have a "Taste Test Lunch." I put bowls of the 2 soups they requested with a bit of soup in each one, their sandwiches and some rice I had on hand that I wanted to eat myself.

Sylvie was the announcer, telling us what was available, Logan dove into the taste testing immediately. I taught them that after tasting, we could "Recommend" something to others based on what we liked.

So, I officially recommend the
Tomato and Rice soup with extra rice and a dab of fat free sour cream.

Sylvie recommends the
Chicken soup with Arroz (rice) on the side. She liked the grilled cheese but her favorite was the soup.

Logan recommends
Everything. He liked it all. And ate it all!

Guardian Angels

Alongside the power of Google image, I was explaining Guardian Angels to the kids and was reassuring Sylvie (who was on my lap) about how we have all these "magical" powers of spirituality watching over them who are powerful enough to help them in ways even mom and dad can't. We were talking about prayer and such.

So Sylvie said "I've never seen my guardian angel" and Logan, who I didn't think was listening, came over and said "I see my Guardian Angel all the time. It's a 'He' and he gives me funny dreams."

Kids are hilarious, that's all I can say about that.

I've been into Angels and spirituality lately and read a book about Angels by Sylvia Brown. It was fascinating and I think it's pretty interesting to me. I personally feel like I have NOT felt the power of my guardian angel. I don't know if I shut out the idea of it or haven't really come into harm's way, but as often as I feel a "6th sense" about someone, I really do not feel like I have someone leading me on my path towards what is right. Not sure if I'm not just open to the idea or if it's something else, but it would be exciting to have a sixth sense about a few things on my mind for the future. Actually, maybe it's my Spirit Guide that I need to connect with, the Guardian Angel has kept me safe whichever way I go. So, Guardian Angel and Spiritual Advisor or Guide, if you're around, you are welcome to come drop greetings my way on the next way to turn.

On a side note, I had a really rough day with work and with Jorge out of town I probably slip a bit more to the kids today than I need to. So I was talking and joking with the kids during brushing teeth and joked with Logan "Logan, if you see your Guardian Angel tonight, ask them what I should do about my job." and Logan said "Oh, that's easy, you should have no job. You should just play with your kids all the time. "

My bank account vetoes the idea but my heart is definitely on board with my sweet Logan. It's a good thing he has so many other adults that love him in the interim. You know, while Mommy still has a job.

A 50's kinda kid

Just when I thought I'd had it with this generation and its commercials that seem to lure my children incessantly (I know because they come over and repeat them verbatim for me, just in case I missed them), the kids surprise me.

We had our first warm day. This weekend is the Easter Holiday weekend and the kids are completely and totally jazzed up for the candy and toys to come. They have spring fever, are on spring break and in general, are intense to the max.

So we got outside for two 80-degree days in a row! Logan had me laughing because he had this whole agenda of what he wanted to do. He wanted to rotate through all the toys in the garage and you could see his brain clicking a few more notches and he started asking for some random things. Like his baseball tee. Only he didn't use it as a tee, he started inventing. What could a 6 year old do with a tee? Well let me tell you, there is "Make it into a star wars blaster." And then there is "Sit on it and make it a rocket ship." oh, and then let's grab mom's sunscreen and drop it in the back of the rocket as "fuel." He had me cracking up with his intense missions so I had to snap some pics to remember this phase of my son's life. The inventor, the intensity, and the fact that this worn-out tee has been turned into new uses like they would have in the "Good old days" of past generations when children didn't own 1000 different toys all to play in their backyards.

How to get a child to morning kindergarten by 8:00.

First, you must be a morning person by nature. Or else your child is doomed to be late at least a few times.

Then you must wake up quite a bit before all the rest of the members of your household, shower, dress, and do whatever it takes to gather all of your wits about you. On the days I skip this step, those are the days I'm running back into the house gathering up the 20 things we forgot.

You wake up your kindergartener who jumps out of bed and starts telling you the story of the dreams he had for the last 10 hours in detail.

Then you wake up your 4 year old who whines incessantly about everything for the next 3 hours because she is not a morning person. She will insist upon being carried down the stairs. With her big blanket. And her little one. And 3 stuffed animals. And oh no! We lost Polly Pocket's shoes- tragedy has struck. So you will now be digging around in a toddler bed in your work clothing working up a sweat before the day has begun.

Provide cups of milk and television refreshment.

Check the clock while you get yourself ready, the dog ready, the house ready, and breakfast ready for the kids and pack a lunch for myself.

7:15: hand your kindergartener breakfast. Put it on a kid's chair so he can eat on the family room floor in comfort and not spill.

7:18: run upstairs to grab clothing for both kids and at least 2 outfit selections for the fickle 4 year old.

7:20: show kids clothing. Give kindergartener breakfast #2 as the dog has eaten breakfast #1. Shove the dog outside and run upstairs to get another outfit as the kindergartener now only wears "skinny jeans and size 6 shirts."

7:22: Try to get the 4 year old dressed in vain. Plug ears to the drama that ensues. Threaten preschooler that she will stay at the house alone if she does not get dressed. Get 4-year-old dressed.

7:24: After third trip upstairs, and 4th trip up and down family rm. stairs, let dog back in, finish getting ready for work. Make sure all weather-appropriate outerwear is by the back door for 3 family member and the backpack is ready to go.

7:35: Tell kids to get coats and shoes on.
7:37: Tell kids to get coats and shoes on.
7:40: Tell kids to get coats and shoes on. Turn tv off. Listen to whining kids.
7:42: Tell kids to get coats and shoes on.

7:42 Blockade the couch so the dog doesn't sleep on and ruin the cushions all day long.

7:45: Tell kindergartener and preschooler to please hush for just a moment so mommy can think and make sure we have everything.Try to remember everything, listen to the kids freaking out about who is first and who gets to press the garage door opener. Sigh and be happy that you all made it out the door.

7:49: Get the kids out of the car. Do a daily check of "How many degrees is it today?" Remind kindergartener 4 times to grab his backpack. Take forever to walk to the school, and across the playground to the line. Listen to both kids complain if it's too hot, wet, stinky, snowy, cold, etc. End up carrying the preschooler half of the time. Smile knowingly at the other moms ushering their kindergarteners into school carrying their whining preschool girls. Another busy morning under your belt. Go to work. Go to bed. Start all over in the morning. Mornings were 10 times more difficult when the kids were babies, but some days it's the incessant banter that makes it feel more like climbing a mountain to get out the door.

Bilingual Dog?

Me: (playing with the dog) "Abby, why are you licking your paw? Is is a worry spot? Are you worried about Jorge being gone. He's coming back, it's okay Abby."

(Sylvie looks concerned) Me: "It's okay Sylvie, I'm just telling Abby that daddy will come back in a happy voice because she doesn't speak english so she doesn't know when I'm telling you how many days til he gets back."

Logan: "Abby speaks spanish?"

The naming of a plush toy

Conversation at the checkout line at IKEA. Both kids were purchasing a stuffed hampster

Logan:"Mine is named Hampster-y"
Sylvie:"Mine is named Hampster"
(2 minutes)
Sylvie:"Hampster-y is a girl."
Logan crying and whining
Me:"Sylvie, do you mean your hampster is a girl? Logan's can still be a boy?"
Sylvie: "I mean, mine isn't named Hampster-y anymore. I am naming him 'Uno.'"
Me: "That's such a fun name Sylvie."
Sylvie: "No, I am changing his name. His name is Yellow-y."
(5 minutes pass, we get in the car)
Me: "Sylvie, maybe your hampster fits inside the new i-carly purse from McDonalds"
Sylvie: "My hampster is a girl and her name is I-Carly. And she does NOT want to be inside my purse."

Update:
Logan:"Sylvie, get I-Carly off of Hampster-y's house."
Sylvie of course does not
Logan: "Grrr! I-Carly! You are in a time- out!"

Parti-Party

Sometimes I forget. I forget that once Parti was pronounced "Par-Tea". Way back when, as in, my pre-kids life. As in, when there was no client and my brain was on fire trying to further my own ideas to the max. Back when I got less sleep than a new mom. Back when I met Jorge and our lives were ablaze with sheer determination, drive, and willingness to redo and redesign towards perfection. Where ink pens were refilled in expensive doses and models were constructed one small piece at a time, and I listened to cd's. On a "portable cd player" with huge headphones. All night long to meet that 8 am deadline.

A Parti or Parti pris ^[1] / from the French Prendre parti meaning " to make a decision " ^[2], often referred to as the big idea ^[3] , is the chief organizing thought or decision behind an Architect's design presented in the form of a basic diagram and / or a simple statement.

In school we did a few projects where we drew the floor plan emphasizing the main axis, the main ideas, the main gestures, with bolder lines. The diagram if you wish. But Parti sounded way cooler.

This week my friend is interviewing off in Seattle. I wish her luck. I saw the website for the firm she is interviewing and it brought back a flood of emotions. About what design was like in the great Pacific Northwest where you work hard to make your imprint on the earth small. . Where you color your house bright so it brings a smile to your face on even the dreariest of days. Reading the website reminded me of design in the school setting. About ideas and concepts, about parti's and perfection. Not that my current firm who does not strive for this, I guess in a way it's the nature of home additions and remodels. We work hard to fit into what is existing. And what is existing is suburban Chicago. And while plumbing fixtures bring their own sense of intrigue and satisfaction, there is no wow factor involved. Not to mention the day to day of correspondence, selections, permits, office politics. You know, the other side of what it takes to get something built.

I know there are a lot of unemployed architects right now. And more that are "settling" for projects and jobs. I guess I'm just not ready to drop the idealism that 7 years of college afforded me. After all, I'm still paying for school, why should that chapter be over? In a way I'm happy I haven't found that ideal job yet, it's a recession, the really amazing projects are only a glimmer in someone's eye. I'm just going to wait patiently until the economy turns for real, and I'll be the first in line ready and eager with my idealistic shoulders held high and my inspiration binder at my side.

A childcare center

A multi-family housing unit in Chicago's bulldozed Washington Park

An elevated train station. Wouldn't you like to start your morning commute with something fun and inspiring to look at?

A kiosk for information for architecture students.

A sculpture with one name "Contact" to be placed in a local body of water.

Small gestures sometimes can be wonderful moments of inspiration.

New Vocabulary words

Sylvie learned a new vocabulary word which she shared with us this evening. "Brain."
Sylvie: "Knock knock."
Logan: "Who's there?"
Sylvie: "Brain."
Logan: "Brain who?"
Sylvie: "Aaah! My brain fell out of my head!"

Logan's new word involves a human body part and starts with a W and ends with an -einer. You can imagine the line of knock knock jokes that had to be stopped once that word got involved. Ah, parenhood, never a dull moment.

Logan's "First" Dinner

Yesterday was one of those days where Logan just could not get enough food to stay satisfied. He wasn't eating too much all morning, just often. And then we got home and I made cornbread. I'm sure the yummy smell and long wait while it cooked aided in the hunger factor just a bit.

He's sitting eating hot dog (no bun) #2 and has already eaten a huge hunk of cornbread and he says:
"Mom, can this be my first dinner?" and I ask "What would you like for your second dinner?" He says "I need to think about it......" and then later he says "Mom! We forgot to eat lunch!" No Logan, you ate lunch, breakfast, 3 snacks, dinner and then a late evening snack- good grief!

Lunchtime Banter

Ever one for attention Sylvie was chattering away about anything and everything.....

"Mom, if our ceiling had a hole in it, we would have air inside. And we could see the sky and the roof. And that would not be good."

"Mom there is this guy, and he's scary and he comes into our room and takes stuff. I had a dream about him and he came into your room and took your things mom!" She's been telling me some version of this story every few hours for days now. Turns out today, when we were in Trader Joe's and they were hanging shamrocks, and discussed St. Patrick's Day, we found the culprit. Apparently at preschool they have a song about a leprechaun and this has morphed into this dreadful little man who comes and moves our things about in her head. Needless to say, we won't be introducing leprechaun shenanigans into our home this year!

Giving Project

This morning we had Amvets scheduled to come pick up some bags of donations. I warned the kids about an upcoming donation project and set them down with a few of the bags of toys that have been hiding in the basement since Christmas. I gave them each one brown bag and let them sort through the toys to decide what to give. I also got them to okay giving away a few larger toys. It was a great experience and they did really well with it.

Nickjr.com

Thank you television for all of the hours of distraction and intrigue you provide my children. Thank you Kai-Lan for allowing Logan to think he is trilingual and speaks fluent Chinese. I hopped on their website for a simple and fun project. Sylvie made a Dora diorama and Logan made one for Kai-Lan. Here is Logan's. It was a lot of fun and required quite a bit of cutting. I was impressed that Sylvie did so well and it motivated Logan (who usually does not want to cut a lot of paper).

Impromptu Tent

Sylvie has a bit of time with just mom on Fridays while Logan is in kindergarten. This past Friday she decided to make a tent and it was the topic of discussion and a welcome distraction for many hours. She decided how to build it, I just provided the manpower and tying skills.

Sylvie's Play Phone Conversation

Overheard by my mom and scribbled on a post-it for posterity:
Sylvie speaking into a play phone (a one-sided pretend conversation)
"Hello?"
"Yes."
"No Way."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"No, No Way."
"I love you Logan. You're the best friend I have."
"What the heck?"
"You got all Princess Toys?"
"Thank you Logan! Thank you!"

So I'm guessing in Sylvie's imagination somehow Logan scored a bunch of girl toys and in his ever present generosity he is giving them all to Sylvie. I like how this girl thinks. Sylvie, dream up some new perfume for mommy will you? Mine is all gone.

Why Not?

Logan has been really into Lego's lately. Like obsessively obsessing over when the next new lego will enter his life. As a mom I'm pretty stern with the word "No" and if I say no, I don't cave in. I've set limits like "Mom doesn't buy toys except from the dollar section at Target. And if you want something you see in the dollar section, awesome. If you don't like anything, you get nothing and let's move on with our day." I have been the mom of the 2,3,4, 5 and 6 year old dragging a screaming child from a store on a bad day wanting something, anything, I had already said no to. And I stick to it.

And yet, this little 6 year old has been on my case to get a lego. A new one. So I bought one. But I'm not his only target, he's been obsessing to everyone about the legos. So instead of just punishing this sensitive cheeky monkey, I'm attempting re-direction. Right now we're in the heart of Lent and heading towards Easter. It's not too far for a child to comprehend, so we're working on some Lenten projects to take his mind off the next lego and onto our new thing... "Giving Projects." I'm not even sure what we'll do but I know it'll be a good bonding time for all of us if we follow through.

Wish me luck!

Self Portrait

Sylvie has been drawing a slew of these types of images. She says they are "Me as a jellyfish" and "Ariel as a jellyfish." We got a new book called 'Mermaid Sister' and the concept of a mermaid sister who likes jellyfish has sunk in apparently.

Independants

Conversation overheard while driving....

"Maybe we could go to Disney again..."
"And when we go to Disney, can we ride the Pirates ride?"
"Yeah! Will you go with me?"
"Yeah, maybe we can go just you and me."
"All by ourselves?"
"Sure, I'm a big boy!"

The other day when Tio came walking in .....
Logan: "Hey Tio, Long time no see!"

The other day getting into the car
Sylvie: "This sure is a friggin' cold winter."
Hehehe. That took a bit of explaining that just because mommy says it every time we go out in the cold doesn't mean she should repeat what I say. Still darn funny. Not to mention true.

Overheard while I was unloading groceries:

Logan: "Sylvie, when you are bigger and you are Tiana (Frog Princess) when you grow up, then we can have our real wedding with flowers and music and a church." Sylvie: "For real?" Logan: "Yeah."

And did I mention Jorge is on his bazillionth trip to Vegas as Snowstorm #2 is about to drop 10 inches on us during the work week. Again!?! He's a better predictor of bad weather than the groundhog!

First Book "Read"

My mom ordered some sight word books from Scholastic books. There are 2 sight words and you "read" a simple story. That kind of worked for attempt #1. But after that Logan decided to memorize the book and read it back to us over and over.

One side of me wants to correct him because he's doing it wrong and he's supposed to at least attempt to match up words on the page with words he says. But oh what the heck. Whatever, he's interested in reading and has now sat and "read" me his first memorized book. That's a huge accomplishment in itself. Yeah for Logan!

And Yeah for Sylvie because darn if she didn't take her turn next and read the entire darn book just as well as Logan with appropriate page turns and everything. Cheeky Monkey:)

I love these kids. At whatever pace they run, they keep moving forward and surprising me at every turn.

Sweet Nothings.....

Logan: "Sylvie, how much do you love me?"

Sylvie: "I love you to Disney World and to the moon and back to our house."

Sunday Morning Architecture

Logan was Mr. Inspired this morning and we all made a mess of the kitchen creating architecture. Logan decided we have 3 architects because Sylvie scribbles and architects don't scribble. Then Sylvie surprised him by drawing real window shapes on her creation and Logan officially inducted her into the family of architects. First he made a "Blueprint" where he drew an elevation of what he wanted to build. Then he cut up the Blueprint and made a "Model" (the one with the frog in it). Then he built the real thing. What a smart little boy! Sylvie wanted a house for Snow White so I folded and she windowed and we made a little home.

Addition, Not Subtraction

Logan has been into the idea of math. So I have been writing equations for him most mornings, he gets all excited. I think he understands the concept as well. I'm pretty into taking things a step further and trying something new, and I always have to remember to ask him first. This is the boy who took a whole year writing his name with the lightest pencil weight barely visible until he felt like he had mastered his name, and then we could move onto new letters and words.

So anyway, after I wrote an addition equation for him, he handed me the paper and asked me to write another. I wrote a subtraction equation for him and he was very upset. First he thought I messed up, which is really good that he knew I had written the wrong answer! Then I showed him with my fingers about subtraction, and he totally understood what I was saying and kind of gulped and sulked and thought on it.

Then I got a nice lecture on how this was unacceptable and all equations should be addition today. So I erased the answer, made the subtraction symbol an addition symbol and revised the result. What a kid. He's got his own way of thinking, doing and understanding. I can't wait to see how he does through school.

And speaking of school he's doing well! He's starting to get his sight words and patterning under his belt and doing well with capital letters. He needs a bit of extra help with lower case letters and recognizing some of the larger numbers in written form. His social and motor skills are all excellent:)

Logan's Soul

is so sweet. And my mom and I were discussing that I needed to write this down for posterity. Right now, at age 6, the absolute worst thing that can happen in Logan's world is for his sister to cry and be really upset. 90% of the time he ends up giving her something she has coveted all day and then goes off to corner to mourn whatever he gave away.

This little boy has to be living a second life, his soul is so sweet and he feels like he has the wisdom of 1000 years. Such a sweet, sweet boy.

Grocery Lists

Mom's Grocery List
milk
butter
sugar
cereal
oatmeal
(+50 additional foods)

Logan's Grocery List
(that he asked me to make)
uvas/grapes
bananas
apples
(What can I say, the boy is a health nut at times!)

Sylvie's Grocery List
(that she asked me to make)
chocolate chips
cookies

Oh wait. Logan just came over and asked me to add something to his list.
"Something from the Dollar Store."
Gotta love it. Logan may eat healthy but he is my toy-aholic. Sylvie may eat junk, but she does not ask for toys as often. No, when she wants toys, she throws herself to the floor and screams like a banshee.

'Princess milk' explained by a princess

'Princess Milk' from my explanation. Sylvie had a weird lactose intolerance where she handled cheese, dairy and milk-based formula but had a hard time with rashes and spitting up when it came to milk. So she stayed with Enfamil for older kids for awhile. She clung to drinking it from a bottle, so it took awhile until she would willingly switch to milk (didn't like the taste after her tummy was ok with it) and it took awhile until she was ready to give up the bottles.

So one day in Target I made a deal with her. I would mail the bottles to the babies and she could get 4 new Princess sippy cups. Deal made. From then on, all milk became known as "Princess Milk" when it was served in a princess sippy cup.

Nowadays we differentiate between princess milk (white) and chocolate milk. Logan calls it princess milk in front of Sylvie, but he knows it is white milk and was giving her a hard time about calling it princess milk at dinner.

So Sylvie decided to explain. "I know it's not really a princess milk. It's white milk. But it's a special white juice made just for princesses. That's why I call it 'Princess Milk.'"

Works for me!

Day 7- The last full day

We split up again and Jorge, Logan, Sylvie and I went off to the Magic Kingdom. We got to enjoy the “It’s a Small World” ride, get one last souvenier for each kid (they LOVE the toy stores, go figure!) and a last mid-morning ice cream snack (luxury!). It was overcast and windy but we were able to get a fastpass and enjoy the Buzz Lightyear ride. I defeated Zorg mid-ride with a top score of 999999, it was pretty exciting!!!!

We headed over to Epcot for a lunch at a french restaurant. It was divine!!!! It was my favorite meal by far! They have a little animated “Ratatouille” that comes to your table and he came to speak with us, which was so much fun. He was really cute! French bread, salad, wine, red pepper sauce vegetable lasagna, and chocolate gateau. I don’t ever want to eat again because it won’t live up to that meal! Divine.

We walked around Epcot ...again...and still found things we had not seen previously. Saw the Canada and China movies and saw the Moroccan dancers again. Enjoyed the night life in Epcot for a bit before racing over to the Polynesian for dinner at 9. Er, wait, the dinner is at 8, eek! We made it in time and the luau was fabulous. The fire-dance was just surreal and both kids fell asleep dreaming of dancing I’m sure. It was the perfect last night to the vacation. Complete with a downpour. Luckily Lilia had bought ponchos for us all, and with the umbrella we brought, we stayed mostly dry. Mostly. The kids were exhausted and happy.

What a fantastic vacation we all had, and we’re kind of ready to get back to real life. Kind of:)