Family Adventure

Where in the world are we these days? 

Well, with the launch of Petit Bistro Photography, we're commonly found behind the lens.  Justin and Annalise have been very patient about heading out to photo shoots on all (and I mean ALL) of their free time recently.  Here's Justin, muddy knees and all, working on his homework at the baseball field this past week while I did a Team Shoot for the little league.  Annalise found a new friend this particular day (there have been many, I think she was playing with Bella this time) and they were digging up cups of dirt and serving some kind of dust soup to the parents. 

It's not just sports events for us!  They spent John's birthday this year playing in the waves on Coronado Beach while we did our first Family Portrait shoot.  For a minute that night I thought I had lost them and a bit of panic set in for this usually relatively calm mother.  I started the frantic search and thankfully after about a minute, I found Justin's feet kicking up above the sea wall.  I'm not sure what he was doing because I couldn't see his body (just kicking legs - straight out of a cartoon) but I knew the feet were his!  A second later, Annalise's head bobbed up and I saw that she was supervising whatever activity was going on.  I figured they were safe as long as she was in charge. 

Although they usually complain when we head out the door, they always manage to have a good time once we get there.  If our business becomes successful, it will be based on the efforts of all four members of our family and our kids are so much a part it all.  I hope they're making good memories along the way because in this world of digital and electronic everything, at the very least, they are forced outdoors on a regular basis.  With their Mom and Dad.  I love it!

The Bike Ramp

 Gathering the Materials - Two plastic ramps made the journey from Bryson's garage across the street.  Bryson was also kind enough to contribute most of the bike and helmet gear.

Here they are working on the solution for the backside of the ramp. The question is, "How do we make it tall enough?"

OK, Down Ramp...ready to go!  The table can hold the bike's weight but the board fell down while they were pushing it up.  No problem - all you have to do is set it up again before the next person goes.

After the reset, the front is back in business. 

Let's test the back end of the ramp.

Tabletop is OBVIOUSLY not going to work.

...and the testing starts again...

 

Tomorrow's Engineers!

Justin had his buddies (Jordan and Bryson) over yesterday for the normal after school antics.  I was in the back yard doing homework with Annalise when I heard some loud scraping noises that made my ears perk up.  It eventually stopped so I went back to fractions with Annalise.  I got a little worried when it started again a minute later, so I went out front to investigate and, sure enough, my kids were responsible for the noise.  Bryson has two plastic bike ramps that they were dragging over to our house to use in their bike ramp.  The contents of our garage were also being unloaded and considered for the final product.  There were 2x4s and boards from John's last project, saw horses, and every other random thing we might own. 

I knew this would most likely be entertaining, so I got out the camera and found a spot across the street to watch their progress.  Their negotiations were quite spirited and they all found themselves to be fantastic engineers.  They were eventually ready to test the contraption and Justin hopped on his bike to be the first brave soul.  I tried to stay out of their way but when I saw that happening, I had to jump in and ask they they test with a non human object first.

Thank God.

They have set a date for next Wednesday to construct and test the newest version.

The Day She Arrived

There are lots of new babies around these days, which makes me feel very nostalgic, and it reminds me again how fast the time goes.  I was in the grocery store tonight with Annalise and she was clowning around with the lady at check out.  I was giggling and having fun watching her, but there's always a fair dose of peer pressure to "get a move on" when you know there's a line of people behind you, waiting to check out, who do not think your kid is as cute as you do!

Believe it or not, the guy behind me said, "With that kind of personality, be sure to record every moment because you'll forget them as she gets older."  I guess he was having fun too.

He's right!  I forget the baby moments from time to time so here's the story of Annalise's Arrival into this world.  I wrote it a few days after I came home from the hospital so it's genuine but written by a groggy new mom. 

October 6, 2005

I went to the doctor's office for a check-up a couple of weeks out (probably around September 27th) and our doctor said I was looking healthy and was making some progress toward labor.  I had been going through some false labor since about the middle of September.  Rachael came out to stay with me "just in case" while John was in Monterey starting his MBA Program.  I went back to the doctor around October 2nd and I was still at the exact same place I had been, "making some progress toward labor." Not much though.  We scheduled an induction for 6:00am on October 6th which was her due date.  I went back home to wait.  Each night I would take a shower before bed, "just in case" I needed to go anywhere.  Mom was here to stay with Justin whenever the time finally did come.

On the night of October 6th, we went to bed with the alarm set to go bright and early for our appointment in the morning.  Our bags were packed and we were excited!  At about 1:00am, a contraction woke me up and I KNEW this was it.  Even though I think I knew this was the real thing, I took a shower like they suggest to make sure it wasn't just another false alarm.

We timed the contractions and they were about 4 minutes apart right away.  I tried to stay calm and I assumed I was just doing something wrong because it's not supposed to happen that fast.  I stopped very calmly to talk to Mom on my way out the door but John was trying to get me out of the house because he knew it was going to happen quickly.  Boy was he right!

We finally hit the road (from our house in Chula Vista) at 2:30am.  As soon as we got in the car, I knew we were in some big trouble.  At about the end of our street, my water broke and I was so happy that John had stocked my seat with an armload of towels!  Contractions started coming at about 2 minutes apart and I tried to hide that fact from John because I was scared - it was a long drive to La Jolla!

About halfway to the hospital, we were close to Balboa hospital and I thought about begging him to stop.  I didn't because I wanted to be at La Jolla so bad (since that was the plan) but I think he read my mind.  He drove FAST up the highway and he called the hospital on the way to let them know we were coming and that we'd need a wheelchair at the curb.  They told us later that lots of peole say that but they knew by John's voice that he was quite serious! I remember smelling burning brakes when we got out of the car and the nurses tricked me into the wheelchair by promising drugs if I could get myself upstairs.  Those jokesters were lying!!!! No drugs for me!  Annalise was on her way whether I liked it or not!

They told me "not to do anything" until they could get a doctor there (like I had any control over the situation) and I'm not sure how anything happened from there.  All I could manage was to listen to John's voice who talked me calmly through each step.  Eleven minutes after we arrived at the curb, we had a baby girl crying in our arms!  We were famous up and down the hall.

My clearest memory right after she was born was when the nurse asked if I wanted to hold her, and I said, "I can't...".  She took Annalise away from me and tried her best to comfort me by saying, "Don't worry...it will be OK."  I recognized that she thought I didn't WANT to hold her but that could not be farther from the truth.  My body was so tired, I was on pitocin, and my hands were so weak from squeezing my fists the whole car ride up that I knew I couldn't safely hold her.  I heard her crying and I knew that I'd hold her soon.  

 Hello Sweet Girl!!!

Mom came to the hospital right away to see us and John and Ginnie brought Justin a little later.  Kelly came with snacks, Dave and Susan came by and Jen (Auntie Jenny) came to see me the first day.

The first thing Justin did when he got in our hospital room was to kiss his baby sister on the forehead.  He didn't like all of the hospital garb on me and he stayed away for a minute.  Finally he got in bed with me and snuggled.  I was so very happy to see him!

 Big Brother and his Baby Sister

 Hello Little Man!!!

Annalise was a sweet and snuggly baby from the first second.  When Justin was born, he cried when they had him in the heater but Annalise just watched.  He was loud from the start, Annalise waited a little longer, but when she finally did cry - it was LOUD!  I remember thinking that we needed to keep her quiet in the hospital room because she was likely to wake EVERYONE else up!

We came home on October 7th after the doctors gave us a clean bill of health.

 Her first outfit - Sporty and Pink!

Let the loving begin!

How I spent most of my first week home

Here are some comments I wrote about Justin and his "Big Brother" revelations dated 11/18/2005:

"Mommy...Annalise will be the Princess when she grows up and I will be the Prince Charming when I grow up."

Another cute one...

Often when she's crying, he will say softly to her, "It's OK Annalise, your Big Brother is here."

Broncos

NFL Playoffs are here and the ugliness comes out!!!

I treasure the memory of my first Bronco Game and I've loved those boys for a lot of years! I remember "The Drive" and getting a phone call from my cousin in Cleveland 2 minutes before the game ended when we were on the 2 yard line.  Those years that we went to the Superbowl (and lost...twice) as a child were amazing because the whole city was enjoying Bronco Fever!    There were orange and blue painted houses and Bronco songs on the radio.  I remember Thunder running around the field, the official naming of "Bronco Boulevard"and generally feeling like I was a part of something bigger.  That's a powerful feeling as a young girl and I think I needed it at the time.

In college, the excitement started again as Elway and The Broncos were enjoying the long awaited return of excellent, winning seasons.  My Bronco Pride heightened during my 4 year tenure in New England.  How many times did I come home to find my door covered in Patriot Paper or find a photo of Thunder being stabbed by a Patriot Bayonet?  Too many times to count.  Broncos are my childhood and, try as I might, I have not found a bond with any other team that rivals this one.

It's an interesting battle that I face (in all of my parenting challenges) to separate my own desires from what my kids want.  When they were babies, I decked them out in Bronco Gear any chance I got! 

As they got older, I wanted them to have a chance to build their own memories and find their own team.  Football was still (and always will be) a family sport but we started to foster a healthy rivalry in our house.

I still kept the faith...but I encouraged the kids to find teams of their own.  As I look through pictures for this entry, I find MANY pictures of Justin or Annalise in Charger shirt being snuggled by me in a Bronco shirt.  

After an incredible (and unexpected) win against the Steelers last week in a wildcard game, Denver is preparing for a playoff game in New England against those Patriots that I love to hate.  I woke up this morning and posted a few comments on Facebook before putting on my Bronco hat to take the kids to school.  Annalise is at an age that makes my heart melt (wanting to be like Mom) and she asked me for a Bronco shirt.  She's been asking for a while and I keep avoiding it because I want her to have her own experience.

Imagine my rage when in line for school to start, three boys from her class (wearing Charger shirts for spirit day at school) came up and told me, "Broncos Suck!"  I listened to it for a while, somewhat in shock that first graders were so comfortable talking like that, but I was done when I saw the tears balancing precariously close to the edge of Annalise's little eyes.  She was offended that someone would hurt her Mom and she started to trash talk, unsuccessfully, right back.  The real me wanted to take the bait and laugh that the Chargers were done for the season (Ha Ha!!!) but the more mature me explained that saying that is not nice and that everyone can have their own team.  They asked lots of questions and I explained that when I was in first grade, I lived in Denver.  One kid is moving soon and he was pleased to find out that he could stay a Charger fan even if he leaves San Diego.

The morning ended peacefully with my girl on her way to class but you can bet your Bronco Behind that if Denver manages to pull out a miracle this weekend, that girl of mine will have her very own Bronco shirt to wear on Monday and she'll be well prepared to handle any trash talking that might come her way!!!! If we lose, well, she's got her Charger shirt as a back up.

Beautiful Girl

Annalise agreed to be my model for an afternoon a couple of Saturdays ago. We made a special day out of it by going to the salon and getting a snack together before hitting the beach. I've been struck recently by how fast time seems to fly by and I wanted to capture my little girl while I still had one.

Yes, my girl is growing up and showing me every day that she can take care of herself. About a month ago, she found herself in a bind. She was very brave about it and she took matters into her own hands. She had a ponytail in her hair that she wanted to take out, but when she wound up with some tangles in the rubber band that were hurting her, she realized she was stuck. She thought through what I would do if I were helping her and she remembered me using scissors from time to time to cut out stubborn rubber bands. She got the scissors that I had used and she cut the ponytail out. As far as she was concerned, the problem was solved.

Along the day, John and I found clumps of hair laying all around the house in odd places. We were calm at first but after the 7th or 8th clump was found, one hidden in her art supplies, we left a message with the triage nurse at the doctor's office on a Friday evening. We braced ourselves for terrible news about a rare disease. I got out the brush. John asked me not to do it, with a genuine fear in his eye, but I held my breath and combed carefully through her hair prepared for it all to fall out in my hands.

As I brushed, I noticed a distinct pattern to the clumping. All pieces on the floor seemed to be of the same length and when I looked closer, they seemed to be coming from one section of her head. I put the brush down, snuggled her close, and promised that she would not be in trouble if she had cut her hair but I told her that I needed to know. She tearfully fessed up to what had happened. When the nurse called back, we told her the good news, and she giggled and said, "Poor little girl!"

She's healthy and I am reminded again how lucky I am. I hug her more than ever now. We did, however, have a fashion issue to solve. When we took her to the salon, we were told that the only thing they could do was to give her bangs. We agreed but when they were cut, Annalise took one look in the mirror and looked right at us and said, "I look Horrible!!!!" The stylist thought she was just being cute, but it was genuine disgust coming out of my daughter with that sentence. I promised her that she looked beautiful but she wasn't ready to believe me. Yet.

It's taken some time, and while she still hates her bangs, she believes me that they'll grow back. She's promised not to cut her hair again, and she is content with pushing the bangs to the side for now. My joy is seeing her keep her confidence and poise, not letting the trivial things bother her, and watching her patiently grow them out! It's a good story to have so early because I can't find a woman out there who has not cut her own bangs (and regretted it!). I consider her lucky because at 6 years old, my little one has already experienced and recovered from this traumatic rite of passage.

First Newspaper Appearance

Justin's been playing football for a few years now. His first season was on the Flag Blue team with the Panthers, his next season he played Tiny Mite for the Portsmouth Patriots, and then he returned home to play on Mighty Mite Blue and Junior Pee Wee Blue Panther teams. This season they have achieved the ultimate in youth football...A SPOT IN THE Q BOWL! They take the field this Saturday to play for the Championship. Below is a newspaper article that was printed yesterday in the Eastlake Times.

Undefeated Eastlake Faces Otay Ranch in 2011 Super “Q” Bowl

This year Eastlake’s unbeaten Panther’s Junior Pee Wee Blue team (ages 10 and 11) will face Otay Ranch Blue (10-1) at this year’s Super “Q” Bowl, sponsored by San Diego’s Youth Football & Cheer (SDYFC).

The winner will be crowned the best team in the conference and possibly San Diego county, as SDYFC is arguably the most competitive youth football league in San Diego.



Less than three miles separate the two Chula Vista football teams but for two hours a day, four days a week (San Diego Youth football mandates teams switch to 3 days per week after Labor Day) both teams have tirelessly practiced from July to Mid-November to successfully reach this milestone.

Led by first -year head coach, Clarence Freeman, the Eastlake Panthers come into the “Q” Bowl championship confident having beaten Los Toros Bulls last week 31-0.

However, the championship game should be a good one as it will be a rematch from Week 8 when Eastlake Panthers barely beat Otay Ranch 19-15.

Good luck to both teams.

2011 Super “Q” Bowl
Event: 2011 Super Q Bowl (Jr. Pee Wee Division)
Date: Saturday, November 19th
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Southwestern College
Cost to attend: $10.00 adults $5.00 children 6-14
Head Coach: Clarence Freeman
Eastlake Panthers Blue (11-0) vs Otay Ranch Broncos Blue (10-1)

Q BOWL 2011 @ Southwestern College
Mighty Mite-Balboa vs Skyline 10:00am
Junior Pee Wee-Otay Ranch (Blue) vs Eastlake (Blue) 12:00pm
Pee Wee-Del Norte vs Balboa 2:00pm
Junior Midget-Coastal vs Skyline 4:00pm
Midget-Menifee (Red) vs Steele Canyon 6:00pm

Happy Birthday Papa

We have a very strict rule in our house: "If Papa does something, we should probably not do it ourselves." It's a good general rule of thumb for them to follow in terms of behavior because it often guides them in the choices they make. For example, they can ask themselves on the playground before jamming their fingers in a friend's nose, "Would Papa do this?" If the answer is "yes" (he would), they're supposed to choose not to do it.

On this special day, however, we thought a tribute to Papa would be appropriate. The kids practiced and negotiated terms with me in order to make it authentic. I gave in on almost everything they thought of, but I did ask them to change "jerk" to "nerd" so it doesn't rhyme as well as they would have liked. Mom's fault on that...

Enjoy! Happy Birthday Papa!