Me Too You

Rules: Stay Where I Can See You

Yesterday, we went to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (which will be closing in July for a much-needed year of renovation, so we are trying to use our pass!) with our twins playgroup. It is a reunion of sorts - all the kids are in various preschools and/or activities, some moms went back to work full or part-time,  our regular playgroup meeting time started to not be so regular anymore. We used to get together once a week at our favorite local fenced park, the fence being a necessity for a parent of twins aged 12 months - 3 years, the boomtime of our regular meetings, as the two toddlers inevitably run off in different directions if not contained!

The reunion week is being organized by my good friend whose twins are off from their preschool for a week between regular and summer school. So she has planned (and invited the playgroup to join her) for:
- Monday - Happy Hollow
- Tuesday - Bay Area Discovery Museum in Saulsalito
- Wednesday - Gilroy Gardens
- Thursday - a local park (our old haunt?)
- Friday - Monterey Bay Aquarium

I am still debating about which of these I can do solo (sanely) with my 3 kids. And I have to work some days. But I figured Happy Hollow would be a breeze. Especially since we have just recently been to Disneyland, coupled with my feeling more bold overall, this small little amusement park should be no problem, right?

In the first ten minutes, I lost Ben. We were playing with our friends by the shoe slide (ironic, I know, after all "There was an old woman, she lived in a shoe, she had so many children, she didn't know what to do"). I was doing my regularly scheduled internal count of my 3 kids (1, 2...) and Akemi says "Where's Ben?" Umm...he was just here...not here. I was pretty calm for a few minutes, but panic soon started to set in. I wander for a bit, then go back to the shoe, where Linda's been watching Ava and Lily, plop Ava in the stroller and take Lily's hand, saying "Ben's lost. We have to find him." The girls were very helpful, understanding intuitively that something was up.

I went over to the carousel operator and she called a report in. The manager came over. My inclination was to go look for Ben everywhere, but the manager convinced me to stay put - that way, they wouldn't then have to go look for me when Ben was found.

"He's wearing olive green shorts, a white shirt with an orange and green 'California' on the back (well, it is supposed to be on the front, but Ben has finally learned how to put his shirt on by himself and I don't have the heart to tell him at this point that it's on the wrong way), blond/brown hair, Spiderman shoes" is conveyed over the radio to all the ride operators.

I ask where the water is. No, not the water fountain, as the carousel operator answered. Water, as in, someplace he could have drowned. I don't think he would go into the water, but I have to be sure. You never know, right? Truly, I am mainly worried about him being along and scared and looking for me and not knowing what to do.

Akemi is looking too with her boys and in just a couple of minutes I spot her by the model trains...with Ben. They wave. He runs over to me and I hug him. He's really excited. He has no idea that Lily, Ava and I (and our playgroup and the rest of the park) have been looking for him. We are the ones who were scared. He tells me that he found a train and his mommy friend (Akemi). When I told Ben he had been lost, that we were scared and worried and were so glad to have found him, he started to cry. I felt terrible. Here I was, hoping he wasn't crying...and then making him cry! I didn't want to be the one to make him cry and I was glad that he hadn't been scared, but at the same time, I needed to let him know the rules - Stay Where I Can See You, Ask First Before Go To Look At Something Somewhere Else, We Have To Stay Together.

You know how Akemi found him? That backwards t-shirt he had on. She knew right away it was him. I guess breaking the rules can sometimes have unintended effects.

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This post is in response from an invitation from the book Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues that New Jersey Moms Blog is discussing today.

Cousins

Another great photo shoot with done with our favorite children's photographer, Anna Mayer, a few weeks ago when my sis and her family were visiting. Our location was the lovely Santana Row. The proofs are back and, as usual, Anna has wowed us. Take a look at the slide show here. The cousins are so cute! And, so are we, the twin sisters, if I do say so myself! It is great to have a new photo of my sis and I (the last one was from just after Hannah was born 5 years ago!). And isn't it amazing to see how much the kids have grown since last year?

Photos posted with permission from Anna Mayer.

Everybody Was Kung Fu Panda Fighting

Silicon Valley Moms Blog partied this afternoon at the University Club in Palo Alto. We attended, of course. Party? Kung Fu Panda party? We're in. We haven't seen the movie yet, but our 3-year-old friend Sarah assures us it is a "very funny movie" (she hasn't seen it either).

Lately, I have become bold taking my three kids, 4-years-old and under, to all kinds of places by myself. A year ago, or even six months ago, I would not have attempted this. A year ago I congratulated myself on taking all three kids to get a haircut at the same time - and that was completely contained and full of entertainment (the huge movie screen, the car chairs, the slide, the playhouse, the books, the lollipops...oh, and don't forget the JUMPY HOUSE that is there on Saturdays - it can be tough to get them to leave after their haircuts). Now, after having four kids for a week (when my 5-year old niece, Hannah, was visiting last month) and after gradually braving it to all kinds of parks and stores and what have you, I am pretty confident in my abilities. They all know how to hold hands, stay close to Mommy, and listen (well, a lot better than 6 months ago when then-18-month-old Ava thought it was hilarious to run away from me). So when I asked my husband around 2pm today "We are going to the Kung Fu Panda party at 3:30 - can you join us?" and he responded that he had a new prototype to finish up, I was not frazzled. I assured him that was fine and just to please have a large, nice bottle of wine waiting for me when I got home (I've been drinking far too much Two Buck Chuck lately AND its Friday).

The plan went without a hitch. I got Ben and Lily all dressed and ready to go (Did you pee? Are you sure?) and woke Ava up around 3:15. She was already awake and playing in her crib (I am actually not sure that she slept at all, come to think of it). When I mentioned "party" she jumped up and happily put on her clothes and shoes and collected her bribery bag of Goldfish and sippy cup of milk. "The bus was leaving" and we all headed out the door.

We drove over the "mountains" (read: Palo Alto hills, but we pretend 280 is a rollercoaster to make it more fun) and through the woods (umm...highway greenery) to the University Club where there was. No. Parking. Damn! We had to park down the hill by the tennis courts. No matter - I am confident, remember? Holding hands, we treaded carefully up the hill on the street (no sidewalk) and made it safely in the door. Ben was initially scared of all the people he didn't know, but I assured him that no one was looking at him (this is my new trick for this reaction of his to new people). A little tough to enforce when there are cameras everywhere, but he was buying it. The fun began. We collected masks. We decorate chinese food boxes. We played playdoh. We ate mac-n-cheese (ahem...I had salad and turkey, so trying to be good!), cookies, and chocolate milk. We did cool crafts (you can download them from the HP Kung Fu Panda website, FYI). The giant panda (7-8 feet tall?) came out - here's where we lost Ben, but luckily there was an entrancing boy-heaven section of Kung Fu Panda video game section on the opposite side of the room from the panda, so he just plopped himself down and made himself at home. Lily, Ava and I learned the Kung Fu Panda dance (sort of), Lily got her arm painted with that cute panda, Lily and Ava visited the panda (a lot!), tickling him, playing peek-a-boo, posing for photos. Well, Ava posed for photos anyway. It is amazing how unafraid she is of characters in costumes. And this panda was HUGE. I stood by him to show Lily how cool it was and, I have to admit, I was a little nervous myself.

Mommies had fun too. I had a great time, talking with my fellow twin mommies Linda, Akemi, Ana, Beth, and Alix and  mingling with the other writers and founders of Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

We almost escaped with minimal tears. On the way out, collecting our goody bag, Lily was given a balloon which slipped off her wrist up to the high ceiling. That girl can scream, let me tell you. Everyone rushed to get her a new balloon so that she would stop that racket! Maybe that's my imagination - it probably sounds worse to me, since she's my daughter and I just want her to be happy. Into the car and home we went. Kids fed and tired - that's my idea of a GREAT Friday night!

Blogging daily?

The way I have blogged for the past 2+ years has been to go through my photos and catch up, sort of like blogging as baby book or scrapbooking. I consider it a miracle to be completely "caught-up" - and that I would define as my latest post being only a week old. I definitely don't have a nice and fresh blog! But, such is life. This blog is mostly for me, for my kids, so that I will record the things I would otherwise forget about documenting. And it is to share with family. It is not to earn money from advertising or to run it as a business.

But...I do feel the pull to blog more often, like...dare I say it...daily? Especially being a part of Silicon Valley Moms Blog and being around these amazing women who are really into it and committed and have beautiful and thoughtful and fun and important blogs. My good friends are doing well at keeping up (see here and here). I know this is just a decision that I have to make. Or not. I have to commit to it and stick to it. Or not. I have taken baby steps in the commitment direction, updating the blog on a monthly basis, rather than every 6 months! Yes, that's it - what I have been doing is "updating" not "blogging."

I am reading the book "Writing Motherhood" right now by Lisa Garrigues (for a Silicon Valley Moms Blog book club). She is a real muse and has definitely got me thinking that I can do this writing thing daily. I just need to, you know, do it. So, I'll try. Really. I'll commit. Maybe. Daily? We'll see? First I've got to catch up on the past month. Hold me to it, ok?

Announcing a new blog: Mothers With Cancer

Last week, I was emailing with WhyMommy from ToddlerPlanet (and DC Metro Moms), sharing some words of encouragement as she passed her 1 year anniversary of diagnosis of IBC (inflammatory breast cancer - and if you don't know what that is and what the symptoms are, please, please, please go check it out, as it is deadly and sneaky) and she told me about a new project she is starting - a Mothers With Cancer blog. She invited me to be a part of it and I gladly accepted. Being a now 7-year survivor of cancer (Hodgkin's Lymphoma), I still feel very much a part of the cancer community - I still have fears, I deal with the long-term risks of treatment (increased risks of lung and breast cancer, among other things), I empathize with those going through treatment, I see the need for supporting those who raise money for cancer research (having raised funds myself many times), I am so thankful for the family I have today due to the treatment that saved my life.

Just because you're 7 years out doesn't mean cancer is ever behind you completely. I hope I take the good parts mostly and share some great stuff on this new Mothers With Cancer blog. So, please stop by and look around (maybe get a cup of tea and a box of tissue first, cause you'll want to settle in). Here's my first post. Maybe something you read here will help save a life.

Locks of Love

My sister-in-law, Laura, just got married last weekend in DC. Congrats Laura and Nate! She sent around some of the first wedding photos today (am still trying to get my hands on them to see if I can share) and also sent me a couple of photos of her post-wedding haircut. You see, her hair WAS almost down to her waist - gorgeous blond locks. She went for a Katie Holmes bob, cutting off a good 14 inches!!! to donate to Locks of Love, a non-profit that provides hairpieces to sick kids. My other sister-in-law, Sonya, who is a surgeon in DC and does A LOT of cancer surgeries, grew her hair out last year and also donated to Locks of Love.

If you have long hair and are looking for a new do, be sure to consider planning ahead a bit to make sure you cut it off correctly for donation. This is a GREAT program!