Belated School Update

Hi Friends!

This update is so overdue.

Charlotte loves Kindergarten. Even though everything has been review so far, she doesn't seem to mind. She loves homework, she loves computer lab, she loves checking a book out at the school library. Every day seems great.

Those of you who know Charlotte know just how happy she is all the time. I don't think I really appreciated it until I had other moms ask me if this is really how she is all the time. And it really is. Her happy nature just attracts people to her. I don't know where she gets it - I'm definitely much more mercurial. A few months ago, Chris and I were talking about this and Chris turned to her and said, "You really have a gift." And sweet Charlotte said: "Gift? What do I get?"

Last Friday I accompanied the three Kindergarten classes on their first field trip to Apple Hill, which is a place about 20 miles east of here where there are a few dozen different apple orchards. It was the first time most kids were on a yellow school bus. 

Charlotte and two of her soccer team friends

Charlotte had a great time. We went on a tractor ride through the apple orchard, saw apples being peeled and cored, and drank apple cider. Charlotte's favorite part was getting to eat an apple. (because we never get to eat them at home?)

Most of the other parents opted to drive their cars up there, but I was happy to sit on the school bus. It gave me an opportunity to get to know Charlotte's two teachers. Mrs. M declared Charlotte a "hoot" and Mrs. O' whispered to me that Charlotte is a really bright girl, which is always nice to hear from someone who has obviously seen many different students.

I asked them their opinion on the moving the cut-off day for Kindergartners to turn five from December 1 to September 1. Mrs. O' gave an emphatic thumbs' up. She said that the kids are just so much more prepared now. She told me that this was the first year that all of the Kindergartners knew how to write their names on the first day. Apparently, there used to be kids that had never been to preschool and were just lost. This was interesting because from a working parent's perspective, I would hate to have to spend money for an additional year. In any case, I'm glad neither Charlotte nor Phoebe will be in that predicament.

After riding the bus with the two teachers and chatting with them, I'm even happier that we were able to place her in that class. They really are great.

Next week, I'm starting my every-other-Tuesday volunteering in the classroom. I'm really thankful that my boss is so flexible and encouraging that I do this (he told me that you never get these years back, which definitely is true). But I'm also super excited about volunteering tomorrow for "Meet the Masters", which is an art history program the elementary school PTO puts on to teach the students about various "master" artists. Even though it's been 18 years, I still remember so much from my AP Art History class. I'm thrilled that this year Charlotte will learn about Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andrew Wyeth. If only I had known, I would have bought some prints for Charlotte from our trip to the Museum of Modern Art in New York back in June.

Georgia O'Keefe's Calla Lillies on Red - Georgia O'Keefe Museum

Henri Matisse Dance (I) - MOMA

Finally, every child gets a special day every couple months or so. On their special day, the kids get to choose something to share, and then that night, they get to bring home Corduroy the Bear. This is all cute, but then the kids have to "journal" about what they did with Corduroy, which really ends up being a homework assignment for the parents. Here are Charlotte's two Corduroy pictures from her special day this week.

Corduroy doing homework 

Corduroy getting ready for gymnastics

So there's a little update on our Charlotte. I'd better do one for the Phoeber-bieber pretty soon - she is quite the character!

Charlotte B. Goes to School!

The day we've been waiting for has finally arrived! Today is Charlotte's first day of Kindergarten.

First, let me give an update of Parent Orientation. I am so, so glad we got switched. These two teachers have been teaching at the school since it opened in 1990. In fact, one of the teachers pointed to a man in the back and said, "You sure look familiar!", and he said that he'd had her for Kindergarten in 1990! Amazing (his daughter is one of the girls on Charlotte's soccer teams). You can tell, just from hearing them talk, that they know exactly how to get the kids ready to learn. They're organized and have their system down. I'm not suggesting that the other teacher for the K-1 Combo wouldn't have been great, but it just wouldn't have been the same.

The teachers went over all the great things the school does. The kids are going on a field trip to Apple Hill at the end of September and then in October, they'll be going to a pumpkin patch. The PTO President explained that parents hated having their kids sell wrapping paper and cookie dough, so instead, we'll just be donating money to the school (fine by me - I hated selling all those things). The PTO funds, among other things, the librarian, the computer lab, and the ceramics program. Yes, the Kindergartners will get to do ceramics - the school has two kilns. I can't wait to see what Charlotte will make.

I was also thrilled to learn that six of the girls on Charlotte's soccer team are in her AM class.

Last Friday, KinderCare did a trial run for the Kindergartners who will be picked up by bus. They sent this adorable picture.

~

We've been preparing the past two days by getting her up earlier, so she can eat breakfast, get dressed, and be out the door by 7:40. We quickly learned that it's much easier to get Charlotte up and eating, than it is to get both girls up at the same time. Phoebe can still eat breakfast at Susan's, so there's no need for her to eat at home. Plus, if she sees that Charlotte's eating, she'll want to eat too, and she's a very slow eater.

While Charlotte eats breakfast, I start the long, painful task of brushing out her horribly tangled hair. She has very thick hair, but it's baby-fine and it gets tangled simply by doing nothing more than shaking her head. I bought her a satin pillowcase, which seems to help a little, but really, it just requires a gallon of detangler spray and extra time. It's awful for everyone involved.

I wanted to walk her to school on her first day because it seemed more special, and because I was working from home. Chris and Phoebe went in the car so they could leave right after. Charlotte was so excited that she walked much faster than usual. She loved seeing a baby bunny on the lawn of one of the houses we passed. She talked the entire time, all the while never letting go of my hand. I think I'll remember that most from today. She's such a big girl now, but she loves holding our hands.

Charlotte said as we were walking, "Can you believe it's the first day of Fall?" I said, "No, it's not the first day of Fall, Honey." Charlotte replied: "Oh, it's the last day of Summer?" I guess that's the problem with starting school in the middle of August. It feels like Summer is over.

We arrived at the school at 7:42, ten minutes before the official start of the day. Phoebe ran around the playground and also tried to get in other kids' photos by standing next to them. That girl. At 7:52, the classroom door opened and the two Kindergarten teachers stepped outside. They told all the kids to line up. (Phoebe, of course, tried to get in the line with the Kindergartners.)

We went in the classroom and helped Charlotte find her cubby. Apparently, she's not the only Charlotte in her class, so her cubby says Charlotte B. (The other Charlotte is Charlotte M.). Mrs. Moffitt, one of the two teachers, told us that there was a Charlotte B. in her class last year, so she's not even the only Charlotte B. at her school! (It made me flashback to my first day of Kindergarten, when I was one of two Stephanies in my class. I would forever, from that day forward, be known as Stephanie H.)

Charlotte B. got her name tag and went and sat down on the carpet. I was holding Phoebe, who desperately wanted to sit on the carpet. I told her we were leaving, so Charlotte gave each of us a half-hug and sat right back down. That was it. The room was super crowded, so it made sense that we leave, but it sure felt like we should hang around. Surely, she'd need us? This was, after all, a new experience for her. Nope, she never even turned around as we left.

After that, we dragged Phoebe away from the play structure. She said, as I was putting her in her car seat, "Bye, my school. Bye, my school!" Poor thing is going to have to wait three long years before she gets her chance at school.

~

When I went on a run during the mid-morning, I made a point to run by the school. The kids were outside for recess, and I saw Charlotte running around, happy as can be. I was across the street, so she didn't see me; and really, I didn't want her to see me. It felt a little silly to be checking in on her.

Scratch That

Just got a call from the school and my persistence must have worked. A spot opened up in the straight AM Kindergarten class, and they asked if we wanted to move her there!

Hurray!

Looking forward to meeting Charlotte's Kindergarten teacher on Thursday!

Even When You Do Everything Right...

Charlotte's first day of school is next Wednesday, and we're already dealing with a setback.

I diligently checked her school's calendar in January and noted the first day of registration on my calendar. I printed the required two utility bills (to prove residency), made a photocopy of Charlotte's birth certificate, and filled out information requesting an AM Kindergarten class. You see, Charlotte's school is small. It only has two straight Kindergarten classes, a morning class that starts at 7:52 and an afternoon class that starts at 11:17.

[I requested the AM Kindergarten for two major reasons. One, it's early enough that Chris or I could drop her off on our way to work. Two, she's not stuck at KinderCare basically doing nothing for three hours.]

On the day of registration, I left work early and was in line before it officially started. There were, at most, a dozen parents ahead of me. Some of them were told to come back later because they had brought the wrong proof of residency, but I had everything in order. I met briefly with the school nurse to talk about Charlotte's sesame seed allergy, and then I was told I'd hear from the school in late May or early June as to what class Charlotte was assigned to.

I think you can guess where this is going, but I'll lay it all out there anyway.

I hadn't received anything in the mail from the school, so when Chris and I got back from our trip to New York and Boston, I called the school. This was the beginning of July. The message on the school's voice mail was that the administrative office would be closed until July 28. I called the school district next, but they had no information on enrollment information. Finally, I emailed one of the moms from Charlotte's soccer team to see if she'd heard anything. Imagine my surprise when she wrote back and said that she had received a letter in the mail a few weeks before. A few weeks?!

There was nothing that could be done until the principal and administrative staff returned on July 28, but that didn't stop me from picturing the worst - was something wrong with her registration, had the notice got lost in the mail? What was going on?

So last week, on July 28, I called the school. I spoke with the principal's administrative assistant, who listened to my concerns and promised to get back to me within a day or two. (Do they not have enrollment info in their computers?). Two days go by, no return call, so I call her again.

Here are some of the questions I got: Was Charlotte a school choice request? No, we live right around the corner - it's our school. Was she in summer school? No, she's 5. Was she in Transitional Kindergarten last year? No, she just turned 5 - she wasn't eligible for T-K. Oh. Well, let me put you on hold.

Turns out? They had her paperwork, they just failed to assign her to a class. I asked if this was normal and she said, no, they must have overlooked her and that she'd have to talk to the principal about which class Charlotte would be assigned to. I reminded them that I had requested the AM class because of our working full-time.

The next day, Thursday, I got a call back from the Admin. We were at the post office in the middle of applying for the girls' passports (which is another fun tale of bureaucracy gone mad), and we learned she would be in the Kindergarten-First Grade Combo. It's basically a spill-over class because there were too many Kindergartners for two classes, but not enough for three.

Chris and I were livid. I mean, I could have registered her yesterday and ended up with the same result. The Admin assured me that Charlotte would have had only a 50/50 chance of being in the AM Kindergarten class anyway. I was too upset to point out that she had a 0% chance of being in our preferred class because she was never considered when they were assigning the classrooms. I asked if there was a waitlist for the straight AM class and for there to be a note that Charlotte get switched should room become available, but she said it would be unlikely since no one has called requesting a switch.

The K-1 combo starts at 8:22 (why can't they start at nice even times like 8 or 8:30?), which means that we have to drop Charlotte off at KinderCare for all of half an hour before she turns around and pretty much heads back almost to our house. It costs us an additional $100 a month for paying for before and after care, as opposed to just after school care. And Chris is very concerned about how a teacher manages to teach Kindergartners and First Graders at the same time. (There are 13 Kindergartners and 15 First Graders).

We also learned that there is a Parent Orientation this Thursday. When I went by this morning to pick up the letter that was sent to each child, it was dated June 3. June 3. Today is August 4. Good thing our babysitter is available at such short notice, so both of us can go.

What a nightmare. The worst part is that everyone - parents, teachers at KinderCare, neighbors - says that the best thing about this school are the two Kindergarten teachers. They've been there since the school opened over twenty years ago and now Charlotte doesn't get to experience having them.

As for Charlotte? Well, she's excited that she's in a class with one of her friends from KinderCare and has begged me not to switch her. And I know she'll thrive wherever she's placed, she just has that kind of personality.

#OhPhoebe

I really feel like every story about Phoebe, should now end with the hashtag, #OhPhoebe. She just never ceases to amaze.

Phoebe has now been in a big girl bed for a week. We made the transition in a hurry after my parents were watching the girls while we went on vacation and woke up to her screaming in the middle of the night (She was dangling off the side of the crib). It started out okay, albeit with some mishaps. Last Saturday, she refused to take a nap and instead grabbed books from the closet, some of which she shredded page by page. As a book lover, these acts really disturb me. As for Phoebe, she'll see a book that she destroyed and say: "I tore that." (But aren't you upset that you tore that?! GAH!)

The first night, it took her a few tries to stay in bed. She wanted to have her shutters open, so we'd go in each time we could see light streaming out of the room. I had also put a brand new bedside lamp by her bed, but she turned it on so much that first night that we took it out. Finally, we let her keep the shutters open and after she was actually asleep, we'd go in and shut them.

The next couple of nights were okay. I was beginning to think things were going pretty smoothly. Silly Stephanie! Fast forward to Thursday night. At around 4 AM, I woke up to find her next to the bed, staring at me, her face inches from my head. I yelped with fright, and pulled her into bed with me. She was quiet and not fidgeting, but I don't sleep when my children sleep with me, so after about 20 minutes, I nudged Chris and told him to put her back in bed. He said, "You're talking in your sleep again." He was seriously shocked to see her in bed with us. Chris took her back to bed and about 30 seconds later, she was out of her room and headed back to ours. So Chris had to continue putting her back in her room for about an hour. Awesome.

Friday night, I went out with friends to an 80s cover band called Tainted Love. It was super fun, but even though I didn't stay for the entire show, I still got back at around 12:30, which is really late for me. At 3 AM, we woke up to Phoebe screaming. Chris turned on the hallway light, went in and comforted her, and then left. As soon as he turned off the light, the screaming started up again. This happened several times. Finally, I decided to go in and sleep with her (she has a double bed, so at least there was room for me).

We went to the mountains on Saturday morning to visit with my aunt and uncle and grandparents, who had rented a cabin for a few nights near Donner Lake. The cabin owners are members of this homeowners association that allows access to a huge community pool. The weather was really hot for Tahoe, so we all enjoyed ourselves at the pool and got back to the cabin around 2 or 2:30. It was definitely past Phoebe's naptime. I put her in the room where the four of us would be sleeping. It took a few times of me gently reminding her to take a nap before the room was quiet. My aunt and uncle took my cousins and Charlotte to Truckee for some ice cream. Chris and I watched a movie on the third level (well, he watched all of it, and I napped for a good chunk of the time). Finally, at around 5:15, I decided I'd better wake Phoebe up or she wouldn't want to go to sleep later.

I found her passed out on the bed with the bedside light on. It was a hurricane style type lamp, you know, the type with glass surrounding the bulb. She had somehow taken the hurricane glass off so that now the paper lampshade was touching the bulb. I don't know how long it was like that, but the hot bulb was burning a hole in the lampshade! She could have seriously started a fire! And she was sleeping only a couple feet away. I shudder to think what could have happened to her had I waited much longer to get her up. (We immediately put the lamp up high on a shelf in the closet).

When we got home yesterday afternoon, we decided to do something drastic, which we hope will only be temporary. We changed the handle on her door so that it locks from the outside. And it's clear we needed to because shortly after midnight we woke up to hear her screaming, "Mommy? Mommy!" She had woken up and had tried to get out of her room. Chris put her back in her bed and luckily we did't hear any more from her after that.

Overall, Phoebe's a quick learner, so I'm hopeful we won't have to do this for much longer. But we can't have her roaming all over the house in the middle of the night either. We have too many stairs and too many lamps that can be turned off and on.

#OhPhoebe

Phoebe's Summer

Here are some pictures texted to me by Phoebe's daycare lady. Since she has a big car and extra car seats, the kids get to do fun things over the summer.

Making streusel

Playing dress up - I love her little face!

Going on a ride at Chuck E Cheese

Playing mini golf

Going to a park with water features

Helping in the mail car at the California State Railroad Museum

I'm glad she's having such a fun time with Miss Susie and friends!

Charlotte Round-up

Wow! I have really gotten bad at this blogging thing.

Last I posted, I mentioned Charlotte would be graduating from preschool. Well, this happened on June 6.

The kids all entered wearing adorable red graduation gowns and caps to the first song from Frozen. Then they changed into handmade shirts with each of their hand prints on them and proceeded to sing "Let it Go". So cute.

Here's Charlotte (and Phoebe) with her teacher, Ms. Kim.

And with her former teacher, Ms. Cheryl.

Then Charlotte got sick. Right after this happened. And she remained sick for over two weeks. It seems that every time she gets sick it goes straight to her lungs so that she hacks and coughs like crazy. We spent the next couple weeks with her home a bunch. This included a trip to San Diego. Anyway, after going to the doctor three times over two weeks, we got it under control. Unfortunately, all signs point to asthma. She's currently on the allergy medicine Singulair, which is a pill she takes daily before bedtime. She also has two inhalers, but we're waiting to see if she really needs the steroid one on a twice daily basis. (Her doctor takes very conservative approach and doesn't want her on all sorts of medication unless really necessary).

We even had to go to the doctor's on her birthday. They gave her oral steroids for the wheezing, which made her a little loopy at her birthday dinner.

My parents got her a pink digital camera for her birthday. These are some of my favorite shots that she took.

Learning to take a selfie

 

 

 

 

More selfies

This creepy turtle in some movie at my parents' house

Her leg - very abstract

Phoebe legs and a goat at the San Diego Zoo

There are about 5 of these - Chris didn't know she'd taken them until later

There are a bunch more, including ones of a cable, ducks, a piano, and the floor. Hilarious.

I took Charlotte to her 5 year well child visit yesterday. She is now 42.75 inches (that's 3 inches taller than a year ago), and 39.3 pounds. She's a wee skinny thing. To put it in some perspective, she was 28 pounds at her 2 year visit, so it's taken her three years to gain 11 pounds.

4th of July. We went to my co-worker's in-laws' house in Corning, California, which is northwest of Chico. Apparently, it's where most of the olives and olive oil come from in California. My co-worker's in-laws have a large property covered with olive trees and plum trees. Charlotte loved picking plums straight from the tree. She must have eaten five at least. There was a bounce house water slide, a tractor/quad parade, quad rides, and (illegal) fire works. We didn't stay for the fire works, but both girls got a ride on the quad. We had a fantastic time.

Unbelievably, Charlotte starts Kindergarten five weeks from today!

Up and Down, Hot and Cold

Living with a two year old like Phoebe, is like living with (what I only imagine to be) someone who is bipolar.

One minute, she's all smiles and sunshine.

The next minute, it's tantrum city.

Here's what's been going on.

Phoebe is still in her crib. We've finally ditched the sleep sack, and it's worked out very well. She hasn't tried to take off her clothes and paint the room. She actually hasn't climbed out of her crib at all, so we're holding off on the transition to a big girl bed, for now. Unfortunately, we now have the full size bed standing up in the guest bedroom, all ready to go. We'll try it soon, but why mess with a good thing?

She is talking and singing like crazy. Toddler brains are so fascinating to me. One day, she calls everything blue. The next day, she knows all her colors. Her vocabulary has exploded, and her enunciation is worlds better than Charlotte's was (is, sometimes). Her current favorite song is "Clementine," which by the way, is supremely morbid and sad (it's all about a little girl drowning). She'll yell at the top of her lungs, "Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Kementime." She sang it on the phone to my grandma the other day, which I know tickled her to no end. She speaks in paragraphs and most of the time I can understand the gist of what she's trying to tell me.

Phoebe's daycare provider is closed this week, so she's been at KinderCare. It's her first time in the 2s room there, and it has not been smooth sailing. The first day was great, and she was happy. The second day, she didn't nap well and screamed most of the afternoon. The third day, she got written up twice for incidents involving other children. Apparently, not only did she pull a girl's hair, but doing so caused her to fall out of a chair. The other incident involved not wanting to share, which resulted in hitting a child and then biting the teacher! I am horrified. As Chris said, it was Terrible Twos Trifecta. Today, I just now got an email that she had a bloody nose from . . . picking it. Way to go Phoebe. She's going to be banned for life.

We want to take the girls on a big trip to somewhere warm and tropical, but we're still experiencing PTSD from our last flight 9 months ago! We are, however, flying down to San Diego next week (it's actually a work conference for me, but we're all going). Let's hope that Phoebe can sit still in her own seat for an hour. We went out for breakfast on Sunday and she sat still for all of 10 minutes before wanting to run around.

GAH. It would be nice not to feel like we're being held hostage by a two year old.

*Note: I would just like to point out that despite my complaining, she's super cute and funny, and oh how I adore her. See: This Text from Susan:

Speaking of poop, when I ask her if she's gone, she'll say: "No, I don't think so!"

Next up tomorrow: my almost 5 year old is "graduating" from Junior Kindergarten. What???

One Two

Okay - so I'll just publish this one, which I started at the END OF MARCH, and start writing a new post.

This is a little late, but our baby big girl Phoebe turned two on March 15.

I just don't even know how to explain this crazy girl.

She is loving, adorable, hilarious, infuriating, and crazy all at once. She's also growing up much faster than we would like.

1. Early potty training. Phoebe is obsessed with the potty. She's only gone once for real, but she's at the point where she'll drop what she's doing and start pulling down her pants. She also demands that I put her on the potty every time I change her diaper. Mostly, she just sits there, pulls off the toilet paper, and says "All Done!" She does this at daycare too, but luckily Susan is game to indulge her. I have a feeling she'll really potty train soon once she can figure out the mechanics.

2. Big girl bed. Still an insane climber, but a timid jumper. If she sees big kids attempting things at the playground, she'll try it too. She has no problems with ladders, including the straight-up ladder in our backyard. On the other hand, she is so cautious when it comes to jumping down from things. We're trying to encourage her to jump, but instead she'll just get down on her hands and knees and ease her way down. This has proven useful in her escalating crib escapades. I know I mentioned this, but she can easily climb in and out of her crib. We've been containing her in the crib by keeping her in her strait jacket sleep sack put on backwards because she can unzip it if it's in the front. Well, Saturday morning, Charlotte was quietly playing on the ground in our room with her dolls, while Chris and I were trying to wake up. Suddenly, we heard a door open and shut. Both of us looked at each other, jumped up, and ran down to her room. Her door opened and out popped Phoebe, shouting "hi" and waving a book at us. She had climbed out of her crib while still wearing her sleep sack. That girl must have some mad core strength to pull herself up and then be able to swing her legs over.

Unfortunately, for us, this means that she needs to graduate to a big girl bed sooner than we would like. Clearly, she will not be like Charlotte who did not know she could leave the bed for almost six months. I foresee many times that we will need to shuttle Phoebe back into her bed. She's too young to do what our friends do with their son, which is to hand him a "hall pass" which he can use once to get a drink/go to the bathroom/get extra hugs. However, once we can actually reason with her, I have no doubt we will use that. Charlotte and I went to the mall on Saturday while Phoebe was napping (she only got out of the crib once before falling asleep) and picked out a quilt and sheets from the place that has the potential to suck dry all my money. All that's left is going to a mattress store and buying Chris and me a new mattress - we're moving the full bed in the guest bedroom to Phoebe's room and our mattress to the guest bedroom.

3. Fierce independence and extreme clinginess. Yesterday, we took advantage of the break in the rain and went on a walk to the duck pond and then the park. Charlotte rode her bike, and Phoebe "rode" her tricycle (her feet don't quite reach the pedals). Phoebe quickly tired of the tricycle and insisted on walking. This involved stopping to try and pet every dog we passed on the bike trail, yelling at the ducks, picking up countless sticks, picking wild flowers, and stomping in mud puddles (the last one is my favorite /sarcasm). Any time I attempted to pick her up, so the mile walk would take less than an hour, she would go limp to make it just about impossible. Still, it's fun to experience walks through the eyes of a two year old. The things they notice are things we simply don't have time for. On the other hand, she is still extremely clingy around me. If I even so much as leave the room, she freaks out. We took advantage of KinderCare's Parents' Night Out on Saturday Night and there was just no way to avoid the screaming as we left, although we were told it quickly subsided. She also did not go to sleep until 10:45. Oh Phoebe.

4. Language spurt. Chris and I both have noticed an explosion in Phoebe's language skills. She is now speaking in six or seven word sentences. Most of her talking has to do with demands or wants. "I will get my jacket. I don't want the purple one! I want the penguin one!" In fact, Chris had to point out to me that I no longer need to say two word sentences like "No touch!"

Go Phoebe, Go!

The time change has been particularly rough. Charlotte won't fall asleep until 9 or 9:30, and both girls are wiped out when we go in to wake them up in the morning.

This morning, it took some major coaxing to get Phoebe out of bed. She just wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, I picked out her clothes to do something productive while she woke herself up.

Finally, I picked her up, plopped her on the changing table, and proceeded to change her. Her diaper was dry. Dry after nearly 12 hours!

I immediately grabbed her and put her on the little training seat that fits in the toilet.* She sat there, while I grabbed a cup of warm water, thinking that might do something. But before I could do anything, she went!

All of us, including Charlotte, made a huge deal out of it. "Phoebe!" we exclaimed over and over again. "You went peepee in the potty!"

I honestly don't think she has any idea what she did, but hooray! And just three days shy of her second birthday.

Go Phoebe!**

*We used one of the little potties with Charlotte, but this time, we're going to try and only use the little insert. Much less mess and I hope gives the message that going potty means the big potty. We'll see.

**I'm super excited for her, but this didn't seem the appropriate thing to announce on Facebook. So blog readers, thanks for indulging me. :)

Insert Witty Title Here

Poor Phoebe's been sick since Wednesday - fever, horrible cough, diarrhea, and general grumpiness.

I call this my sick selfie.

Poor girl did not want to nap in her crib yesterday, but did sort of nap on me. She has also been so very clingy, not wanting anything to do with Chris, but only me. It's been a little exhausting.

We went to urgent care yesterday because she was acting really listless and lethargic. The doctor didn't diagnose her with anything conclusive, but given the 5 days of fever, prescribed antibiotics nonetheless.

She seems to be doing better today (I'm at work after staying home on Thursday and Friday), but she was up most of the night with coughing fits.
-------------------
As for our other daughter....

Charlotte has been pretty funny lately. She clearly learns a lot about different things at KinderCare, but it comes out at the strangest times.

1) I'm not sure what we were talking about, but Chris said the name Helen. (ed. note: I remember. We were talking about an Oscar quiz and one of the questions was whether or not Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson were both nominated for Best Actress/Actor Awards for As Good As It Gets - true, they were.)
Charlotte interjected: "Helen! I know her! She's the lady who can't see!"  I guess they learned about Helen Keller at school?

2) Charlotte told me a funny story about her friend's mom.

Charlotte: Did you know K's Mom can control the weather?
Me: She can?
Charlotte: Yep. That's why it's raining right now.

A couple hours pass
Charlotte: Mommy! It's sunny out now!
Me: You're right.
Charlotte: K's Mom must have changed the weather to sunny.
Me: I guess?
Charlotte: She did. I know it.

ed. note: I'm wondering if K's Mom works as a television producer because Charlotte later said something about her filming TV. K has two moms, so it could have been the other one. Maybe one of them works in some weather-related field? I must ask them the next time I see them at drop off or pick up!

3) Charlotte: Did you know white blood cells eat germs?
Me: Yes, that's right. They attack germs and help us get better when we're sick.
Charlotte: But they don't have eyes or noses or mouths.... Well, I guess they must have mouths because they eat the germs!

4) I guess they play music during naptime (she does not nap unless she's sick) because Charlotte comes home and sings lyrics to songs, often easy-listening songs that my parents listend to when I was little. Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman" is the first one that comes to mind.

Anyway, her recollection for lyrics is pretty astounding. If we don't know what she's singing, we can Google the lyrics and sure enough, there's the song. It's become kind of a game. Chris will ask her: "What did you hear at naptime today?" And then we'll have to figure out the song.

A Day in the Life

After reading similar posts, like these from Alexa and Jen, I decided to do my own.

(I apologize for the length).

Thursday, February 27, 2014

6:20 - I wake up. I purposefully did not set the alarm clock because I don't have to wash my hair today, but I wake up around the normal wake-up time anyway because the heat clicks on and that's Tandy's cue to jump on the bed and snuggle my face. I pet Tandy for a couple minutes, listening to the rain falling outside. Then I get up and shower, put makeup on, and get dressed.

6:43 - I go downstairs to the computer room and backup my phone, which I haven't done since October (oops). While the phone is backing up, I look up the lazy pizza dough recipe for dinner tonight. I go to the kitchen and begin mixing flour and salt together. I look in the pantry for the yeast, but can't find it. This makes me grumble about our black hole of a pantry - I can't find anything due to its weird shape, so I always end up buying something only to find out later that I already had it. Case in point: while pulling out stuff in my hunt for yeast, I find two unopened containers of cornstarch. Anyway, I can't find the yeast, give up, and then cover the flour salt mixture with plastic wrap and begin grabbing stuff to make my breakfast and coffee.

7:06 - Charlotte bounds down the stairs and runs up to give me a hug. She notices the whipped cream I'm putting in my homemade mocha and asks if she can have breakfast at home today. I explain that we're already running late, but if she's ready to go tomorrow morning we can have breakfast together (she eats breakfast at KinderCare, normally). Charlotte gets a little upset, but follows me upstairs to her room. I pull out some pants and let her choose the top. Then I run up to our room where Chris is in the bathroom looking blearily at the mirror. He worked at the office until 11pm last night, so he's understandably exhausted.

7:15 - I make sure Charlotte is actually getting dressed (this usually takes some extra prodding), and then I go into Phoebe's room. She woke up to the sound of me opening the door, but it's clear she is still very sleepy.

As soon as I unzip her GroBag (which is on backwards so she can't unzip it) she proceeds to unzip her pajamas all the way, reminding me once again why we desperately need that GroBag to fit until she's 4. I pick her up and plop her on the changing table. I put on the Frozen soundtrack while I get her changed and dressed.

7:21 - Charlotte comes in dressed, carrying her hairbrush and headband. Chris comes in and collapses on the ground. Phoebe dances around the room, waving my phone and showing Chris the picture of the Frozen album cover. We all laugh as we realize Phoebe really does know all the words to each song.

7:27  - I turn off the music much to Phoebe's disappointment. We go downstairs and Phoebe counts the steps as she goes down one by one. 

A quick gathering of jackets, coffee, shoes ensues.

7:32  - I blow a kiss to Phoebe as Chris gets her buckled into the carseat in his car. I buckle Charlotte in.

Charlotte spends the entire car ride telling me each of the people she wants to invite to her birthday party in June. She says she's going to ask them every day if they'll be coming. I tell her that her birthday is four months away and that she probably shouldn't do that. "Why not, Mommy?"

7:37 - We arrive at KinderCare. Charlotte bounds into the building and we walk over to her classroom, where she hangs up her jacket. She shows me the two huge cardboard boxes that they're making into a rocketship, apparently. We then walk over to the Twos room where her teachers are, along with two dozen other kids. Charlotte immediately hugs her teacher, Ms. Kim, and then runs over and hugs her old teacher, Ms. Cheryl. Ms. Cheryl always chats with me. She's a mother of four and grandmother of who knows how many, so she just exudes warmth. Things are a bit crazy, so I give Charlotte a quick hug and kiss, and I'm on my way.

7:45 - I start my drive to work. It's been raining so I make the decision to skip the freeway and take the backroads instead. It's actually a gorgeous drive through pastures and old oak trees, and even if I sometimes get stuck behind someone going slow, it's much less stressful than the freeway. I listen to NPR and learn all about the "Slate", the clicky clapper thing used in movies to help line up the picture and the sound (I never knew that's what it was for). I love NPR. I learn so much. Plus, I can't stand listening to those stupid morning radio shows on the other stations.

8:06 - I pull into work. I gather everything I need from the car.

8:15 - I'm at my desk, reading emails sent after I left work the day before.

8:22 - My boss comes over and chats about this project we need to do. We split up the work, and I start at it, only then remembering my breakfast of yogurt, granola and raspberries.

10:15 - I take a break to type up this list and poke around at the blogs I like to read.

10:30  - More Internet research on 2015 filing deadlines for various state exchanges.

11:20 - I grab my gym bag and head over to the gym in Building C. It's not raining when I head over, but I don't dare run outside, instead opting to sit on the stationary bike and read on my iPad. I've been pedaling on the bike for about 30 minutes when rain starts pelting the windows. I am relieved I decided not to run outside. I pedal for another 10 minutes and then do a little bit of weight lifting before changing.

12:15 - It's pouring outside. I dump my gym bag in the trunk and jump inside my car. I drive down about a mile to this little shopping center. It's days like these that I really miss working downtown where I had so many lunch options within walking distance. I'm wondering what place I'm going to stop at when I see that the new Panera is actually open. Score.

12:20 - The line is huge. The cashiers are clearly trainees.  I notice that this Panera is significantly more expensive than the one in Folsom, but since there are so few food options in the vicinity, it probably makes sense. I order a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and a cookie.

12:25 - While I'm waiting, I check my phone for emails. There's an email from my friend seeing if we want to go in on a private skiing lesson with her daughter. This reminds me that I need to call Sierra-at-Tahoe to remind them about the refund I'm owed for cancelling Charlotte's lesson two weeks ago.

12:35 - I've got my order and I'm in the car and decide to call Sierra. Someone finally answers the phone. I explain that I called on Friday, the 14th to cancel Charlotte's lesson for the 15th, but still haven't seen my refund credited to my American Express account. The girl I speak with says her supervisor is on break, but that he'd call me back. She looks up Charlotte's account and says it is marked "no call no show." I explain that not only had I called to cancel, but that I left two messages (Charlotte had contracted a fever on Valentine's Day, thus necessitating the cancellation). I had also received a call back two days later from an Amy who assured me the refund would be processed.

12:45 - Back at my desk, eating my soup, writhing from the fight I know I'm going to have with Sierra.

1:35 - My boss tells me that HR is interviewing someone for the position we have open in our little department. He tells me the guy's name, whom I then proceed to Internet stalk (it's what I'm good at). Wonder why this guy doesn't have his JD listed on his resume.

1:50 - Read a bulletin from the Utah Insurance Department and try to determine if it's relevant information for our company.

2:34 - Someone finally calls me back from Sierra. He claims he can't issue me a refund because his supervisor was the one who made the "no call no show" note in Charlotte's account. He also says there's no record of my having left messages. This gets me angry as I try to explain that I left two messages within the window of the refund timeframe, received a call back two days later from an Amy who assured me a refund, and then called and left another message a week later when the refund still hadn't shown up on my statement. Meanwhile, I'm IM-ing all of this to Chris, who is also getting angry.

2:46 - Frustrated, I hang up the phone and call Chris. I IM him the timeline of my calls.

2:51 - The same guy calls again, forcing me to explain the whole thing again. I ask him if he really thinks I'd lie about this when I have the phone records proving I called Sierra multiple times. He assures me that he will talk to his supervisor in the morning and get back to me.

3:20 - Chris IMs me to say he's called this guy, who apparently offers the same story but sounds more sympathetic. Chris says he's told him he has until noon tomorrow to call back or we call American Express and dispute the charge.

3:35 - My boss walks over to chat more about next week when he'll be in DC. We also talk about what conferences make sense for me to attend later in the year, so that I can start planning my travel. One of them will likely be going back to Orlando in September (but thankfully, I won't be with the girls this time!).

3:46 - Chris and I chat online about who will pick up whom. He's taking a call from home, so we agree that I'll pick up Phoebe and he'll pick up Charlotte.

4:31 - I gather my things and hit the road. This time on NPR I learn about some classic breakfast for Mardi Gras in New Orleans - deviled eggs and milk punch (alcoholic). 

4:48 - I stop at the grocery store to buy yeast, knowing full well that I will find five packets in the pantry later.

5:06 - I arrive at Susan's house to pick up Phoebe. I find Phoebe dressed only in her socks and diaper because she got into a mess at the park today with all the water and mud. She's happy and shrieking as Susan puts her clothes on. Susan tells me how they went to a craft and story hour at a local toy store. Phoebe was obsessed with all the shiny toy costume jewelry. Susan hands me the craft Phoebe did at the toy store, along with a pair of wings that Sydney, one of Susan's school age kids, made for Phoebe. (Side note: I love how much the kids love Phoebe there. Sydney is 9 and just adores Phoebe. It's really sweet).

5:12 - We leave Susan's house and drive home. 

5:19 - We are home. Phoebe and I walk across the street to get the mail and then Phoebe finds our neighbors' cat Cowboy, whom she tries to pet. She loves Cowboy and is always looking for him and calling to him in that high-pitched voice you reserve for your pets (so cute).

5:23 - Just as we're getting into the house Chris pulls up with Charlotte. Charlotte is really excited and tells me about how the next day it's going to be Dr. Seuss's birthday at school and they get to wear pajamas and have a special snack. Chris shows me Charlotte's headband which is broken in two (Charlotte's explanation: "I was bending it to see what would happen!"). I hurriedly start making dinner which tonight instead of homemade pizza will be pasta and bread.

6:02 - After eating, Charlotte and I rush upstairs to get her changed and ready for gymnastics. 

6:15 - We head out the door. During our drive Phoebe and Charlotte serenade us with "Do Re Mi".

6:28 - We arrive at gymnastics and there is no where to park. Phoebe gets concerned when we leave the parking lot to park somewhere else.

6:32 - Gymnastics starts. Phoebe does an okay job of listening today.

We try to watch Charlotte as often as we can (in case you can't tell, that's Charlotte on the right finishing up a somersault).

7:15 - Gymnastics ends. Phoebe is super excited to get her stamps. We wait for Charlotte's teacher to finishing writing up skills learned for the month.

7:35 - We're home. Charlotte throws an epic tantrum when we tell her she can't have a treat tonight. This results in no stories either, since she can't stop flailing and kicking the wall.

7:57 - I finish reading stories to Phoebe. Charlotte is still crying, but finally getting her pajamas on. Phoebe demands multiple hugs and kisses from us before going to sleep. It may be a stalling tactic, but getting kisses from her is still so sweet that we don't mind.

8:06 - We give hugs and kisses to Charlotte, who has finally calmed down. I head downstairs to add the yeast and water to the flour and salt mixture - homemade pizza will happen!

8:25 - Chris finishes up cleaning up from dinner and makes popcorn. We settle in front of the TV to watch Tuesday night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

8:30 - My closest friend, Kristen, calls. We haven't chatted in a long time, so it's really nice to catch up. We talk about all kinds of things that have been going on in our lives in the past month or so since we've seen each other.

9:12 - Phone conversation ends. Watching TV starts up again, including my favorite show, Parks and Recreation, which does not disappoint.

10:35 - I head upstairs to get ready for bed. I read a little on my iPad, but am definitely getting sleepy. Chris joins me shortly thereafter.

10:57 - Lights out.

Let It Go

I think it's an understatement to say that our house is Frozen obsessed.

Number of times Charlotte has seen it? 3

Number of times I've seen it? 2

Number of times Phoebe and Chris have seen it? Zero

Number of times Phoebe asks to watch this clip each day? 10




Number of times we've listened to the soundtrack? I don't know. Count the number of days since the Day After Thanksgiving and there you go.

Number of times Chris outed himself as a dad to two girls at work? Twice (once when basically spouting off all the names of Charlotte's My Little Ponies, and the other time, with this story)

Chris is singing (under his breath, I hope!) "Let it go, let it go. Can't hold it back anymore."
Co-worker: What is that? Some kind of potty training song?

Number of times I will now hear this song without thinking of potty training? Zero.

Charlotte the Chickadee

It's been a long time since I've written anything, so I thought that I should probably give an update on Miss Charlotte.

In mid-January, we registered her for Kindergarten! That means that come August 11, she'll be in public school. I really can't believe it. Her school seems really community-oriented, and the two Kindergarten teachers have been teaching there since the school opened in the early 1990s.

However, I am a tad worried that she'll be bored in Kindergarten because she's essentially doing a Kindergarten program today in Junior Kindergarten. We had a parent-teacher conference with her teacher last week and learned a lot about what she's learning these days. She does Phonics and Sight Words (or, as they call them in class, Popcorn Words). She knows a couple dozen sight words. Sight words, in case you're not hip with the lingo (don't worry, I wasn't either until a few months ago), are words you recognize by sight. These are mostly little words like if, and, but, the, I, or, of, on, so, said, and others. We try to have her read each night, and she's getting better and better at reading simple books.

[Can I stop right now and tell you how frustrating it is for Chris and me to teach Charlotte how to read? I know neither of us is the most patient person in the world, but Charlotte will oftentimes just guess what the word is, meaning she's not really looking at the words. And then she'll forget a word she's just read. I've been assured this is normal, but I just don't know how the brain works when it comes to reading. Plus, she wiggles and won't stop moving the entire time she reads. ]

Apart from reading, she can write really well. She can write all her upper and lower case letters. Where she struggles is writing the numbers. This seems to trip her up a bit, but she's getting there. She can do some simple addition and subtraction.

The one area where she has had some struggles is paying attention. Her teacher (and we also know this from experience) said she has a very short attention span, and if she doesn't have an interest in something, it's like pulling teeth to cajole her to do it. At KinderCare, they can't force her to do anything, but that will change in Kindergarten, so that may help.

That being said, if Charlotte likes doing something, such as puzzles, she can put a lot of effort and focus into them. I got her a set of four 100 piece puzzles, and she did them fairly easily.

She's been doing ballet once a week at KinderCare, and her teacher is just the nicest, sweetest person. Last week, they had their "graduation" from Level One Chickadees (hence the yellow tutu) to Level Two Flamingoes (they're wearing pink tutus now).

Charlotte and her friends.

She's had a really big growth spurt recently. All of her 4T shirts are too short on her and many of her 4T pants are getting too short as well. Thank goodness for the "slim fit" pants at Gymboree, or else she'd need to wear her pants short in order for them not to slip off of her body. By the way, I've noticed that she (sniff, sniff) really can't wear any "T" clothes anymore. They're made for short, heavier preschoolers and all the shirts are short and wide. In the big girl section, she can actually wear 5s and 6s and they fit her much better.

Finally, I wanted to close with a few Charlotte quotes.

Charlotte: Mommy, I'm full. I ate a lot.
(Five minutes later)
Charlotte: I'm hungry.
Me: I thought you said you were full?
Charlotte: I was, but the food went down to my hips, where it turned into energy.
Me: Your hips?
Charlotte: Yes, the food goes down to your hips, where the energy center is, and then it turns into energy. And that's why I'm hungry again.

Watching the Sing-along version of Frozen, during which a choir sings when Elsa is being coronated.
(Loudly)
Charlotte: Mommy, are those nuns?
(To be fair, she had just watched the original Sound of Music, in which there are many singing nuns. Still, the lady next to her cracked up)

Watching the first episode of the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last night after dinner, Charlotte saw a very scantily-clad Lady Gaga with about 10 feet of platinum blond hair come on the stage to give Jimmy Fallon a $100 bill.
Charlotte: She is soooooo beautiful!
Chris: Really?
Charlotte: Oh yes, she is soooo beautiful.

Hmm, we'll have to work on that one.

22 Months

This post could also be titled "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Phoebe?"

I got the original Sound of Music from Netflix for Charlotte to watch (none of this Carrie Underwood business!), and she's really enjoyed watching it. She's so quick to learn lyrics to songs, so when I heard her singing "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" I quickly thought of our dear Phoebe.

This child. Oh, this child. In two short months, she'll be two. Two!





It's just so amazing to witness her personality unfolding. Phoebe is so different from Charlotte in temperament, you'd think they were unrelated.

Phoebe's verbal skills continue to improve, practically exponentially. She can sing her ABCs very clearly. She sings "Let it Go" from the Frozen soundtrack (only the Let it Go part). She watched the video "What Does the Fox Say?", and now sings "What does the Fox Say? Ding, Ding, Ding."

Phoebe is very opinionated. She knows which shoes she wants to wear, which jacket is preferable, and if you do not choose wisely, you incur the wrath of Phoebe! She even tells me which song to sing and when I should stop singing it: "No ABCs, Mama! Let it Go! Okay, now Jingle Bells!"

Her proclivity for daring tricks continues. She has figured out how to launch herself from the rocking chair in her room into the crib. She long ago figured out how to climb out of the Pack N Play at daycare. The only reason she hasn't climbed out her crib at home is because we continue to put her in a sleep sack at night. Unfortunately, she has figured out how to unzip her pajamas and take off her diaper, so the sleep sack is a must. Yesterday, she took off her diaper at daycare and things got, um, messy. Witness from today, when we sent her in with a sleep sack and a onesie on:

Yes, you read that correctly. She had both managed to get the sleep sack off and unzipped the crib tent. I guess the onesie worked. Baby Houdini!

You can't keep your eyes off this girl for a second because you don't know what she's going to do next! She pulled the little toddler chair up to the stove and ignited the gas! Thankfully, I was right there. Phoebe loves jewelry and usually goes around the house with about five Mardi Gras beads on (along with two Hello Kitty necklaces). Lately, however, she has started to go after the jewelry in my jewelry box, which is a BIG no no.

Sleeping has been a bit of a struggle. Mainly, getting her to go to sleep. Her appetite for books is never-ending, so it doesn't matter if you read her three or ten books, she will always protest when you're done. We've started leaving books in her bed (books we don't care about much because she tends to shred them), but even this is not solving the problem entirely. On Sunday night, she screamed off and on for over an hour before finally settling down. Gah!

But for every exhausting moment, there's a super cute one (like the above video). She loves talking about all of us. "Cha Cha, where are you?" or "Where Daddy go?" She has really great manners and will say "Thank you for the cookie, Mama! Welcome!" (as in, you're welcome - she seems to know the two words go together). She named the baby doll she got for Christmas Baby Susie, which is what she calls Ms. Susan and melted "Susie's" heart when she heard that.

Phoebe has determination and persistence, something Charlotte, our easy-going child, lacks. She will keep trying to do something even if she can't do it right the first time. I predict she will be our athlete. She amazed me by running almost the entire way on our walk the other day. She was in the stroller while Charlotte was riding her bike, and she decided getting out would be better, and she just started running and didn't stop until we reached the end of the bike path. When Charlotte runs, she'll stop and tell me "I need a little break."

I really just can't wait to see what life has in store for my little lovey.

2013: The Year of Apocalyptic Memoirs

As usual, I'm here to share with you the books I read in 2013. Almost all of them were books I borrowed from my library's e-collection. Click to see my lists for 2011 and 2012.

My goal for books read in 2013 was 40. I didn't make it, but I did finish 32, which is almost three times the number for last year. Those highlighted in red are ones I absolutely loved.

1. Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
3. Where We Belong by Emily Giffin
4. Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
5. The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe
6. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
7. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
8. Defending Jacob by William Landay
9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
10. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
11. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
12. Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
13. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
14. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
15. Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky
16. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
17. French Silk by Sandra Brown
18. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
19. Inside by Alix Ohlin
20. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
21. My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
22. The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
23. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky
24. Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love by Matthew Logelin
25. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
26. Farewell To The East End: The Last Days Of The East End Midwives by Jennifer Worth
27. A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar: A Novel by Suzanne Joinson
28. Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman
29. The Stand by Stephen King
30. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
31. Margot by Jillian Cantor
32. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

Using Good Reads' handy stats to track the books I've read, I read 11,472 pages this year, almost all of it electronically!

Of the 32 books I read, 13 are what I would consider to be memoirs. Some, like Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's My Beloved World and Cheryl Strayed's Wild were incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking; others, like Beds in Heads, an inside look at the hotel industry, were entertaining. I particularly loved Salt Sugar Fat, which really delved into the food industry and how processed foods truly do contribute to the obesity epidemic and other diet-related chronic illnesses like Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.

Finally, I read three apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novels that really stayed with me. Two are basically classics at this point: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Stand by Stephen King. The last one I read, The Age of Miracles, tells the tale of how the Earth is suddenly and inexplicably spinning slower, so that each day is longer than the one before it. The environmental considerations of such a scenario are so gripping that I still think about the book when I stop and hear birds sing. It truly gave me an appreciation for our delicately-balanced ecosystem.

Can I just put one more plug about how much I love reading on my iPad? Using the application OverDrive, I can search for books to borrow from the Folsom library and then download books immediately. With my now-defunct Nook, I had to download the library book to my laptop's hardrive, hook the Nook up to the computer, and then transfer the books. The only problem? A 14 day check-out limit. The Stand was over 1100 pages long, and even though I really tried, I was not able to finish it in 14 days. Luckily, only one or two people were on the waiting list, so I didn't have to wait too long to check it out again.

Here's to another year of great books! Oh and please give me some ideas of books you've loved. I am totally at a loss right now!