It's Never Easy But It's Always FUN

Guest Bathroom Remodel - And So It Begins...

As many of you know, these bathroom remodels have been years in the planning...not details of how, mind you, but *when* we would actually do them. Though the house was "move-in" condition when we bought it oh, about 12 years ago, we now have four bathrooms that have existed beyond their time...functional yet outdated...except for one. The guest bathroom downstairs (which became the girls' secondary bathroom because it's the only one with a bathtub) has been sporting a hole in the floor for the last few months. I guess the floorboards just couldn't take it anymore - the water seeping through the ugly vinyl covering, the constant pitter patter stomp stomp of little feet, the water splashing out of the tub despite the many warnings and threats. It finally just gave up. So, before the flooring beneath the bathtub could join it, we decided it was past time to do something about it.

Oh and while we were at it, we figured it was time to replace the pipes throughout the house with copper ones. Yup. That's right. It became one of those, well, if we're going to do this, we may as well do that sorta projects. 10 days. That's the schedule for the bathroom remodel and replacement of all pipes. We are now at day 4. Demolition happened Monday and Tuesday. The ditch in our front yard was dug yesterday. And now, the crew is here today to do the big stuff.

We weren't quite sure when everyone would show up this morning. As it seems that my body clock is back to Pacific time, I was up by 6:30 this morning. I saw the first guy milling around the front at around 7am...and Truls was not even close to being awake. Time to get him up.

This [Hawai'i] Camp Was Better Than Watching TV!

hahaha  High praise indeed coming from Songwriter. After we picked up the girls from Hawaii camp a few days ago in Maui (we're home now), she followed that statement up with, "This was the best camp ever, Mommy, in my whole life! It was so much FUN!" This is three weeks of veteran day camp experience and 5 years of life experience talking here. <wink>

Even though it ended up that no hula lessons took place at Hawaii camp, she (and her sister) still had a great time. It could be that since they participated in the mini hula lesson before the Old Lahaina Luau, they were somewhat mollified with that particular requirement for vacation. (Truls thinks that the hula instructor had a case of "large swells" - waves, that is...at the beach. We'd hung out at a beach favored by many surfers while the girls were in camp.)

"The man was so funny. He made me laugh and laugh. I told him he was a big Cheese!" Songwriter smiled in memory. "And then he laughed and I laughed and everyone laughed," and Songwriter cracked herself up again. She was referring to the guy that came to teach everyone how to play the ukulele.

"So Storyteller, what was your favorite part of the camp?" I asked her sister.

Saved From Serious Disappointment by the Keiki Lani (Kids camp) at Fairmont Kea Lani

You know how there are certain things you know that will excite your child that you just can't wait to tell them? You know how you rev them up beforehand to maximize the joy you know they'll show in their faces? You know how sometimes you can even use that thing to help instill good behavior for a bit?

There were two main reasons Songwriter wanted to see Hawaii - hula lessons and volcanoes (oh and Hawaii food). Ever since she heard about such things from preschool classmates last year, she has been campaigning for a trip there. That's largely why we're here this week in Maui. My husband's company shuts down for the week before 4th of July, so it was an opportune time to take a little trip.

Now, she didn't really care which island we visited as long as she could take hula lessons and see volcanoes. We chose Maui because it was purported to be the best island for kids activities. Thus, getting them into hula lessons and perhaps an artsy fartsy crafts class making leis shouldn't be difficult, right? I mean, it's Hawaii for goodness sake. There should be hula lessons up the gazoo everywhere you looked, right? <derisive snicker> Yea, rrrrrrrrrright. 

Mommy, You Didn't Have To Kill That Fly!

Mean mommy! Actually, more like UNthinking mommy. Ugh! I swatted a fly in the kitchen this morning. Yes, that's what I did. And Storyteller cried. Her big brown eyes filled with tears and her lips turned down in a very sad line as she berated me for it.

"Babygirl, flies are dirty. When they land on our food, they just make it dirty and we can't eat it. They're not allowed in the house," I patiently explained.

"But Mommy, the fly does not eat our food. The fly eats poop," she answered. "And it was so small and cute and you killed it! His name was Lolly." And down the tears fell.  <heavy sigh>

Out With Old, In With the New? NOT When It Involves Lamb-y...

They were only 6 months old when they first received their plush white and pink lambs, complete with soft rattle to help lull them to sleep. Now at 5 years old, only Songwriter has stuck to her pink lamb-y. Storyteller has since moved on to an entire collection of animals from lamb-y to tiger to dinosaur to horsies to unicorns to..well, you name it. But Songwriter has stuck with her lamb-y, affectionately named, "lamb-y," sleeping with her every single night and everyday at naptime (when she *does* sleep). If anything, Songwriter might add one or two animals (such as her unicorn or horsey) to her bedtime collection but lamb-y is the one that holds that special place by her side day in and day out.

Years ago, such an obsession led me to search on the 'net for a similar lamb-y. One that I could easily substitute into the bedtime or naptime routines to avoid that inevitable breakdown should we be unable to find lamb-y at those critical times of day or night. And believe me, lamb-y has wandered into many an unexpected location in our house and car.

Treat Yourself To A Lot of Feel Good Laughs With "32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny"

Warning: do not read this book if in a state of PMS or are otherwise feeling emotionally sensitive, for whatever reason. It will make you smile, weep, chuckle, sob, and laugh out loud (making everyone around you wonder at your emotional instability). It will make you reminisce fondly about your own grade school days or fill you with hope for your own children that one day, they will have a teacher much like Phillip Done (we can only dream). “32 Third Graders and A Class Bunny,” is a publication that every parent with young children should own. And I am glad I do.

I don’t usually write reviews of any sort mainly because I simply don’t have the time. However, when I heard about this book from fellow SVMoms blogger, Jill, I had to check it out. And though this review is way overdue (with apologies to Mr. Done), I still wanted to write it as I believe that if you haven’t heard of it or read it yet, it’s the next book purchase you should make. Why is that?

Well, for one, it’s a quick read…that is, if you don’t read it like I do. I mean, as a mom of twin 5-year-olds and an entrepreneur in the middle of starting a new business, I rarely have a good chunk of time to sit down and relax with a good book. There are so many wonderful stories, anecdotes and quips in this book, that I often don’t return to the point I left off. I tend to go back a few pages…or a chapter…to familiarize myself with where I left off and smoothly move into the new unread section. Savor is the word that comes to mind.

A Very Busy Saturday...According to Storyteller

Don't you ever long for the days when life seemed so much easier...at least in retrospect? At 5 years old, the days can seem so complex, too. In fact, one Saturday morning not too long ago, Storyteller fretted about the day's upcoming events (as she searched for a movie to watch before the rest of the household woke up):

"Mommy, I really have so much to do today. I have to help you. I have to watch TV. I have to read books. I have to get candy." <big sigh>

Life at 5 years old. Don't you miss it?

An original It's Never Easy But It's Always Fun blog post.

You may also find MommyTwinGirls at Silicon Valley Moms Blog telling tales of parenting in Silicon Valley, at Mad About Multipes recounting the ups and downs of raising twins and at Solheim Photography posting favorites from her latest photo shoots.

A Lost Tooth and a Letter to the Tooth Fairy

Well, Songwriter finally caught up to Storyteller in the missing teeth department. A couple days ago, she lost her second one as she bumped her mouth on my car’s side view mirror (don’t ask). Excited? Oh yea. After the initial pain and blood (more than I thought there would be), she couldn’t wait to go home and put it in a bag for the Tooth Fairy. And Pappa and I had to stop forgetting to help her write a note to the Tooth Fairy.

You see, Songwriter lost her first tooth while on vacation at Lola’s and Lolo’s house a couple weeks ago. We were in the Caribbean and shocked at how quickly it all happened. I mean, when we left the Bay Area, there was no sign of a loose tooth anywhere in her mouth…though we thought it rather odd that her new teeth seemed to be breaking through while all her baby teeth all seemed solidly in place (guess not).

Anyway, on the phone with her one day, she mentioned her tooth was loose. The very next day it was gone…literally. They lost it. Ugh! (Time to shore up my Tooth Fairy stories.) A voice cracking with tears related what happened. Apparently, Songwriter had dropped it as she was showing it to her sister and it fell…right into a pile of broken shells. As small as that tooth was, it was difficult to distinguish the tooth from the shards of shells…I guess. Well, that’s the story we heard. ANYway, Songwriter had asked about the Tooth Fairy earlier and if the Tooth Fairy was going to be able to find them in San Diego. I told her I didn’t know because well, I didn’t. I hadn’t yet worked on that particular angle of the legend.

Up and Down the Wiggly Way - Driving in St. Barth

Imagine the streets of San Francisco covered with island vegetation and hills much longer and steeper and you get an idea of what the topography is like here. It would be difficult to build a house without a view of some sort on any given property (unless you live at the beach).

Our guide at the villa company told us that we didn’t have anything to worry about with respect to DUIs on the road in St. Barth as the police won’t bother us. But he cautioned us to drive slowly because you know, you can’t trust the other drivers. Well, I can think of many other reasons to drive slowly with caution on this island.

Our "Amazing Race" Moments at the Old San Juan Pitstop

Confession. We are Amazing Race (AR) wannabe’s. We have TIVO’d every single episode since the series began. We tell all our friends about it in hopes that we may find fellow AR junkies and reminisce together about the latest adventures. Unfortunately, it is an impossible dream for us given my husband’s citizenship (must be U.S. citizens). But on the way to our vacation destination, we experienced an AR moment in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and it was eye-opening…especially since we consider ourselves travel veterans. One of the pit stops during the show was at a fort in old San Juan. Ever since that episode, my husband has wanted to visit that location, if we ever had a chance…and that chance came along during a 4-hour layover in San Juan, en route to St. Martin.

After leaving our carryons with the Admirals Club desk at the airport, we grabbed our camera and headed out to find a taxi to the fort. On the way out of the airport, a poster with an image of the fort adorned the wall. How cool! Must be a major tourist attraction; we shouldn’t have a problem finding the place.