The Things They Say...

Rigel, our 3 year-old, has proven to be pretty articulate in the last couple months. Lest I forget, (and biased mom that I am), I've begun to write down what I find most clever and amusing.

• "Don't step on Izzy. She's just a little itty bitty thing. If you step on her, she'll be all broken forever and ever and ever." (Addressing a tickling match that broke out between kids and parents)


• "Don't eat my ice cream, Izzy. Just yours. Mine's a different kind. If you eat it, you'll get sick." (Attempt to steer sis away from his dessert, over which she was hovering)


• "No. I can't run and race. The whole sidewalk would be all broken." (On being too big to race)


• "Cows make milk, and ducks make chocolate. They pour it into a little thing, fill it up with water... mash it up... smash it all up... then they store it up. Then it's all done! It's chocolate!"


• "If you make music, the trees will dance. The trees are dancing! It's snowing!" (Responding to Mom's observation on how the trees overhead were 'snowing' leaves)


• "When I get big, like you, and I get mad, I'm gonna say, 'DANG IT!!!!' Just like a grown-up, Mama." (Responding to Mom's explanation of how the D-word was not a good word to say)


• "An owl flew in the window and stole 'em. He took 'em and built a nest with 'em." (Regarding his pants, as a response to Mom's inquiry as to why he was not wearing any)


• "Throw that boy in the trash can right now, Mama." (Regarding a play ground kid that pushed him down)

....To Be Continued...

Lizard Among Us

On our walk to the park near grandma's house today, we found a baby lizard--the tiniest lizard ever! Minus its tail, his body was about the length of my thumbnail. As tempting as it was to bring him home, we decided to return him to his dwelling behind the baseball field. (Besides, we have attempted raising lizards before... from an alligator lizard that got loose in my car and lived off crumbs for over 2 months before molting and then escaping, to a lizard we kept in a cage and which refused to eat any of the live insects we presented. We learned it was best to observe them, not house them).

Rigel holds the baby lizard (with a little help)

Look how small it is compared to Izzy's little hand!

Grandma gets Caitlin a drink once we reach the park.

Grandma's Gardens

We love going to Grandma's house, and are so grateful Gerri lives nearby. She resides in the same house in which my mom, aunt and uncle grew up. There is a park and a school within walking distance, and a few of the neighbors knew my mom when she was a kid. Until 6 years ago (this month) when he passed away, she shared this house with my grandfather, Charlie. My grandparents were married for 58 years. One of Grandma's passions is gardening (along with geneology, hot tea, mystery novels, friends, family, church, and her dog, Caitlin--among other things). Rigel and Izzy love their great grandma very much, and don't like it when our visits come to an end.

The playhouse (Grandad's old office), and the Fairy Garden

The Fountain (In memory of Rigel & Izzy's great-great grandparents, Oradelle and "Smokey").

Izzy and Rigel enjoyed helping Grandma deadhead her flower beds... "put 'em in the bucket.")

First Cry-Free Day of Preschool

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

Dropping Rigel off at preschool today wasn't as hard as the last 2 occasions (howling, teachers peeling him off of me, etc.). Alas, there was crying during the car ride, but once we reached our destination, all crying ceased. Rigel seemed as though he had accepted the challenge presented before him and was ready to tackle the playground head on. Mounting a tricycle, his lower lip quivered as he paused to address me, "I'll miss you, Mommy." Then, eyes afront, he peddled onward. Sigh. It's working, he's settling in... now I'll attempt to refrain from hovering outside those few minutes after I drop him off and before I pick him up, watching for any signs of undue distress. On second thought, maybe not quite yet... I'd rather know just how he is doing than to guess.

Side Note: During the car ride to school, Rigel cried that "preschool is scary. You're going to be gone for a really long time... The boys and girls don't like me there, and people are mean..." So, I explained that this was a good preschool, and that I wouldn't let him go there if it was not a safe place... that I chose that school because it was safe and so he could have lots of fun. I told him I understood that it was scary to be going to a new place without me. I explained that even nice people can act mean sometimes, and how important it was to tell people how he felt, and that it is not okay to be mean. I pretended to take a toy from him (since that is a sensitive issue for him), and had him practice saying, "Hey! I don't like it when you take my toy. Please give it back." He just mumbled back to me very quickly and quietly, so I told him he needed to practice telling people how he feels in a strong voice while looking the other person in the eye. I figured we would practice it more later, but once we were on the playground, another kid's tricycle bumped into the back of Rigel's. Without hesitation, he turned around and yelled, "Hey! I don't like it when you do that! That's not nice!" Then he peddled away, while I stood there trying to turn my grimace into a smile, saying "Um, that was good!" Guess he doesn't need any more practice, huh? And, I'm not too worried about his complaints regarding the school. He always has a smile on his face when I pick him up, and doesn't seem to want to leave. He even explained to Dan last night that, "I like preschool. Mommy found me a new one where I can have fun, because the other one was scary."

Swim School Progress

The kids are doing great in their swim classes, and even though I tried to resist, I couldn't help but break out the camera during their lesson today. Among their accomplishments are jumping into the pool on their own, holding their breath underwater, and retrieving objects underwater. Now, they are working on using their arms without kicking their legs ("straight legs"), and keeping their face down while reaching with their arms. The instructors' first milestone is to teach their students to get from one end of the pool to the other without using their legs, and to develop good, full arm strokes.

Rigel practicing "straight legs"

"Ready, Set, Go, Izzy!"

"Ready, Set, Go, Rigel!"

Izzy and Rigel after class (provided stamps on the hand are a must, as is a little tinker with the Micky phone)

Love this blog...Want this life (for our family)

photos courtesy of SouleMama's blog

There is a particular blog that I love to peek at every time I update the Fox Den. It is called SouleMama, and is created by a very crafty, resourceful and talented mother from Portland, Maine. She is definitely a nature mama who is teaching her kids about the joys and wonders of the simpler side of life.... knitting, sewing, canning, baking, gardening, hiking, etc. I must confess, I want this mamma's life (with my own family included, of course). Oh, if I could magically transport the life and land portrayed in her blog out west to San Diego, CA--then there would be no more need to subscribe to Country Living magazine, because I would already be an expert.

Rigel's 2nd First Day of School

Yesterday was Rigel's first day of preschool (again). Originally, he was enrolled in a Monday through Friday program at the beginning of the school year, but we decided to pull him out after the first week and find something different. Now, a month later, he is beginning a 2-day a week half-day program.

We made the mistake of informing Rigel the night before that he would be going to preschool in the morning, and boy did that complicate matters. From the moment he woke up to when the teacher pried his fingers off from around Dan's neck and carried him out to the playground, he was in protest. We also thought maybe Izzy would benefit from the school's program for 2 year-olds, but we could hear her screams and howls from the parking lot--she didn't understand why we had left her. The scene was so distressing, that Dan and I sat outside the preschool debating whether we should even go through with this whole "preschool thing." We went back inside, discussed our concerns with the preschool director, and resolved to wait until Izzy got a bit older before enrolling her.

When the director delivered the message to Rigel that Izzy was too little for preschool and was going to go home, Rigel asked her to "move out of the way" of his tricycle. 2 hours later, when I stopped back in to sneak a peak at him (paranoid mom that I am), he caught me standing outside his classroom. He smiled, waved, and disappeared from my view. Whew! What a relief to know that he is comfortable with this new environment, especially after the big fight he put up in the beginning.

Now, Izzy and I get some one-on-one bonding time for the first time, though at first she kept asking, "where's Rigel at?" or, "go get Rigel?" The funny thing is, once it was just her and me, she was coming alive in way that I had never seen. For instance, there was an audio book on the car stereo that Rigel always narrates along with, but this time Izzy was reciting all the words and sound effects. She had known all the words this whole time, yet never said them aloud!

The preschool is right across the street from a library and park, too, so we had a little fun when school was out and had time to kill before swim class. I've already been in touch with the librarian about volunteering for an after school story time. We'll see how it goes...

Hands Down, the biggest challenge yet...

Of the 3 1/2 years I have been a mom, these past few months have been the most difficult for me. Of course, motherhood is not all about what is easy and what is hard, and like most things in life it requires work, trial and error, and lots of love. The rewards occur daily, at minimum--and they are as simple as a Little Dude smile or a Baby Girl conversation.

When I was adapting to motherhood for the first time, I thought it was the hardest and yet most rewarding process I had ever experienced. Then, when our family expanded and I was adapting to being a mother to a newborn and a 14 month old, I thought it was even harder (yet of course, as rewarding as ever). Now, with a toddler and toddler-preschooler (2 and 3 year old), I think it is HANDS DOWN the biggest challenge for me yet. Two toddlers with two opinions, two agendas, two tantrums, two responding to each other, copying each other, competing with each other, bickering with each other, and learning from each other (and not always setting the best example for each other)... It is a minute by minute challenge, especially on a day when my patience and tolerance levels are low--then, it feels like a game of survival. All that stress is later reflected in my children's behavior.

Now, as you can see above, it is not really that negative. It just feels like it right now, at the end of a long day of meltdowns and pushing Mamma's buttons. So, tonight, as a little reminder of how rewarding motherhood really is, I am going to write a bit about my kids.

Rigel, my 3 year old, has the best imagination. We were walking on the beach today at Mission Bay, observing the animal tracks in the sand, when he referred to the dog foot prints as "ghost dog prints"--I assumed because there were no dogs in sight. Then he elaborated, "when it gets night time outside, the ghost doggy comes out, and then he puts fire out his mouth, to scare people away." Whoa. I know he got the ghost concept from Thomas the Train episodes, but the rest?

Rigel loves stories, and though he can hardly sit still otherwise, he will sit through a good, long story, especially at bedtime. He has memorized the Thomas the Train audio book called The Jet Engine, and he loves Bill Harley's narratives, particularly "The Great Sled Race." He also loves music, and will sing his repertoire of favorite songs over and over again.

Animals are a soft spot for Rigel. From lizards to baby chicks to kittens, he gets a silly little tender grin on his face when he gets his face up close to an animal and talks to it, as if it understands everything he says.

I love how Izzy is so free spirited, especially when she sings and dances. The other evening, on our walk home from a neighborhood restaurant, she found an outdoor stage on the landing of some stairs. She must have danced and sang and posed up there for 2 or 3 minutes before she realized her audience wasn't invisible. I don't necessarily feel it is about "being in the spotlight" that she enjoys, but the actual entertainment factor of singing and dancing. She'll sing to herself everywhere--the car, the bathtub... if she's bored, she'll sing (and sometimes dance, too).

Izzy is very "people observant," and though she doesn't understand everything she sees, she sure pays attention to physical and emotional expression--from a subtle frown to an affectionate hug (of which she always notices and of course makes herself a part). This attention to social detail is one of the reasons why I think she is so outwardly expressive.



Even though there has been a lot of Time Outs lately, I love Izzy and Rigel more than words can ever describe.

Owl Obsession

Rigel and Izzy have a somewhat strange obsession with owls. I think it all started before Izzy was born. Rigel and I would do a lot of reading together, and one of his favorite books was P.D. Eastman's Sam and the Firefly (among a few others). Then, when Izzy was about a year old, he had his first owl encounter in Grandma's garden (via a plastic hardware store owl that functions as an animal deterrent). Grandma gave the owl to Rigel and Izzy, and it is permanantly perched in our Ficus tree. Now, when he streaks half naked through the house and I inquire as to where his pants and underwear went, he replies, "an owl flew in the window and stole 'em. He took 'em and built a nest with 'em." When we are in line at Costco, Izzy will solemnly stare at the rafters pointing, "Wook, Mama, Izzy see a ow-all." If a spooky Halloween-themed Thomas-the-Train episode comes on, Izzy gets truly terrified of any and all images of owls, and Rigel scoots out of the room and watches from a distance. If we are in a store, they go nuts over anything relative to owls, and when we are traveling in the car, they enthusiastically point out the animal deterrent owls perched on gas station overhangs. Rigel has informed me that, "once, when I was big like you, I had an owl" ... I could go on and on.

So, what is this combined fascination and fear of owls about, anyway? According to a gift tag on a Pier 1 Imports owl statue, the ancient Chinese considered the owl to be a symbol of yang masculinity as well as the guardian of the afterlife. Lei-gong, the god of thunder, had the beak, wings and claws of an owl, and owl-shaped roof finials were believed to offer protection from thunder and fire. Um, that's interesting. Not quite the explanation I'm looking for, though. Maybe I should further my research... Or, maybe it's all in good fun. Hooo knows?

More on the owl iron-on transfers / appliques

Aquarium (...Been a While)

baby cuttle fish

Rigel and Iz on the lower right (on the ocean floor!)

Lovely Moon Jelly, and some other graceful jelly below

We decided it has been a while since we have gone to the Aquarium, so when Dan had a change of plans today that left the rest of us with an open schedule, we "looked at fishies" instead.

The kids loved everything--the indoor exhibits, the outdoor tidepools (sea stars and sea cucumbers are a hit), and especially the water current exhibit (boat races galore). The only downer was when Rigel got stung by a bee outside the museum as we were making our exit. In his distress, he wailed for a lollipop, and then when that was declined, an ice cream. I'm going to have to keep an eye on him, because for a 3 year old he sure knows how to "work it."