Thankful for Me

I am not often very impressed with myself, but for Zac's birthday this year I was awesome. Birthdays always stress me out because I worry about money, time, and the worst part, the guest list. So I did a lot of self coaching, told myself to "Chill out, he's only 8" and made some decisions. Only boys, only 7, at our house, legos. It was great! One box of legos for each kid, pizza, cake, presents and done! 2 hours of fun. It was perfect for an 8 year old boy like on other.

I also managed to be team parent for both Zac and Claire's soccer teams this year. I admit, I didn't quite think that one through. But with Eric's help, we pulled it off. We finished this weekend with two games that, thankfully, didn't overlap, and two team parties. I was gifted with flowers and a Starbucks gift card. A girl always enjoys flowers!

We began our Thanksgiving celebration with school parties at Condit on Friday. Claire's class were the controversial Native Americans while with the other classes were the equally controversial Pilgrims. RoRo joined me to see and hear (yes you could here her over everyone) Claire sing, then move to the playground to give a "Pilgrim" a handmade necklace and enjoy a peaceful meal together. Mom and I hung out long enough to appear helpful then ditched the "feast" to have one of our own at Euro Cafe. I came back in time for Zac's pie party. When I walked in I immediately noticed he was the only kid who tucked his napkin in his shirt like a bib. Gotta love him! The parents and teachers got a kick out of it. Of course he loves the attention. I have no idea where he gets that from!?

Sunday we enjoyed our annual meal at church. I happily overate as I plan to do the entire week, guilt free. I thought I should document that for when, come Monday, I am crying when I can't button my favorite jeans. :)

Halloween

A few of my favorite Halloween moments for 2011:

Eric and I started off the holiday at a grown-ups only party. We laughed so hard our stomachs hurt! Our costumes were fun and easy. I had to show the kids a YouTube video so they would know who we were. I felt old! I also wondered what I ever liked about Popeye the Sailor Man. It was creepy!

We opted out of the dramatic pumpkin patch adventure and went back to our neighborhood parking lot patch. We were the only people there, we took Porsche, Zac jumped on a bouncer, the kids picked a pumpkin, we took some photos, they each got a piece of candy and we left. 20 minutes tops. The "Butch" in me loved it! I know you are jealous Mark. ;)

We went home to carve. Zac ran the show, Claire helped, and Luke refused to touch the thing. He kept signing "all done" and made the yucky face. It worked out well!

Zac was first to show off his costume at his Halloween piano recital. He played Witches Rock dressed as Luigi. Well done Zac!

Sunday the kids dressed up for church and we hit the Early Childhood Center's Spooktacular afterward. More fun and photo opportunities with Luke's school pals and the Tucker cousins.

Finally Monday came and somehow I got the kids all dressed for their school parties, including myself for mine. I was done with Halloween by 9:00 a.m. (Thanks Butch and RoRo for being a Condit parent that day!) But trick-or-treating commenced at sundown. We cruised our neighborhood intent on getting the kids to bed on time to spare all of the poor teachers who had to teach them the following day. Zac gets the prize for etiquette (no walking on lawns, back up from the door, don't grab, say "thank you."). He was very frustrated with the non-etiquette displayed by his siblings. It's got to be tough to be the oldest. I wouldn't know. :) Claire gets the prize for being the proudest of herself because she felt pretty darn awesome in the almost inappropriate bunny costume. I must document that I am not, at this point, concerned about her self esteem! Finally, Luke gets the prize for being SO FLIPPING CUTE! He ran the entire time to keep up with his siblings, his light-up Toy Story boots flashing all the way, and by the sixth house he finally attempted to say "Trick-or-Treat!" It was darn clear and it made my night!

The kids were showered and in bed by 8:00. Yup. I am proud of that! :)

New Start

September brought many new beginnings for the Tucker Clan. Claire learned to ride her bike without training wheels. I didn't have the patience for her but thankfully Eric did. The kids began their new classes with ease. It was more of a shock to my system and our child care providers, aka Butch and RoRo.

Luke began speech therapy and has been diagnosed as "severely delayed." Severe is my new least favorite word. Somehow between soccer, piano, ballet, and an Orf music class, we squeeze in the 3, 1-hour sessions of speech and play therapy a week. I am hoping that this early intervention will work miracles by April! :/

I have a new principal at Vista who is young and full of new ideas. It is exciting but challenging. It feels a bit like my first year of teaching without all of the scariness! Eric began his third year at Claremont High and I am please to say is doing great. He is a site representative for the teachers union so he can keep us in the know about our shaky future in education. To be continued...

So if all of this isn't enough we decided to add her to our schedule.


Porsche, 3 months

The kids and Eric started working on me a few weeks ago. I caved way earlier then I intended. But I am so glad. So far she is amazingly sweet, smart, and just good!

All Done

I am not very motivated to write anything exciting here. Not to say my posts are ever very exciting but, you know what I mean. I just think the picture of Luke on the potty is getting old.

We are very close to the end of summer here. Soccer has resumed, Eric and I have begun to reclaim our class rooms, and the happy summer mommy I once was is fading. Sara already started 7th grade, Zac will begin 2nd, and Claire-bear starts Kindergarten! OH and we can't forget that Luke J. will be in the Busy Bee's starting September. We already stopped by for a visit and used their toddler sized potty. He thought that was great! He had to wave at them as we left.

So good-bye summer! You weren't too hot or too busy, just good. Looking forward to a new school year!

Holding Strong

We have completed week 1 of operation potty train Luke. I wish I could say it has been a complete success but #2 has proven to be a challenge. If we turn our back for one second he decides he should just let it go. On the floor. Ewwww! But he's got the main idea and gets pretty excited to check out every public restroom available. Here is a pic of Eric this morning, working hard to promote a poop! Note the Clorox and baby wipes in arms reach.



My past experience is what is keeping me sane because I know that soon (hopefully REALLY soon) he will get it. Right?

Dallas

It's been one day since our return from Dallas, Texas. I think we have finally recovered from what I would call a whirlwind, extremely hot, family excursion.
Thanks to my Aunt Mary, my entire family was able to gather together in Dallas to honor my cousin James and his new family for their one year wedding anniversary. I saw some cousins for the first time in 11 years. Too long! The trip was packed with family events from a barbecue, a formal reception, to a baptism then brunch. I don't feel like I was able to talk with and enjoy any of these people enough. But I'm not sure if any amount of time would be enough. I absolutely LOVE being with my Kansas and Texas clan!

Some highlights include an evening walk with the kids in 100+ degree weather. You can tell by the red faces how hot it was!



The roof top pool at the Hilton provided hours of entertainment for everyone. The adults especially enjoyed the phone you picked up and magically drinks would arrive. Here is Luke and Thomas enjoying a shade break by the window. You can see how high up the pool is.



Serious cousin bonding time for my and Mark's kids. So much so that tears were shed by one 7 year old who shall remain nameless. I watched Andrew sulk down the hallway with his head bowed upon saying good bye. Ugh! Heartbreaking!



We got to dress up for the occasion. Something my family almost never does. In fact, my boys wore ties for the first time! Highlight of this evening was the dance show our kids put on. Zac and Andrew paired up, Thomas and Claire did some sort of slam dance routine, and Luke just wanted to feel the music alone. And wow did he feel it! You had to be there. It was hysterical! We (Susan and I) were also smart enough to cut it short and call it a night so perhaps the adults could enjoy the live music and the dance floor as well!







We managed a quick tour of Dallas that included a stroll through Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot, a drive through Butch's Alma Mater, SMU, and a hilarious glass elevator ride for the kids. Eric took this pic when we thought we were going to go up in this building. But for security reasons we couldn't. The elevator wasn't quite as high, but I assure you I am not complaining!



It's hard to pick a favorite part of the trip, but seeing my twin cousin, lovingly nick-named MC (Middle Claire), takes a top spot!

Connections

Zac and I had a play date the other day with a small group of his friends from school and their moms. I too have become friends with these women and enjoy them all so much. That night I lay awake "solving the problems of the world" as my mom would say. It was then that it occurred to me how rich, unique, and special these relationships are. We all have the obvious in common: our kids, their siblings, school, soccer, etc. We talk about our husbands, clothes, and the T.V. shows we watch. The usual girlie chit chat. But what's even more obvious that I never quite realized before is how different we are. The host is Peruvian and speaks Spanish. Another is Chinese, speaks Mandarin, and was raised in New Zealand. My closest friend of the group is Hawaiian and married to a Japanese man. Then the other woman is middle eastern who speaks Arabic. Then there's me! (Wow I need to learn another language.) I have gotten to know these women over a 2 year period and not once have I thought about how amazingly cool this mosaic is.

Now I have made other connections with moms and dads at Zac's school that will always remain what I call "surface" friendships. On the 4th of July I had this conversation with a fellow school mom during Claremont's Memorial Park celebration. After small talk about how our summer has been going I asked if they were going to the 4th of July parade?

Mom: No. It just keeps getting weirder and weirder every year.

Me: (Head tilted with a quizzical look.) Really? (Knowing what was coming but hoping to not hear it.)

Mom: Yeah. Those liberals you know, they just...(eyes rolling and a giggle).

Me: (A smart ass giggle) Yeah. Those liberals!

Surface relationship sealed!

Now those of you who know me well are thinking, "Maria! Just because she isn't a liberal doesn't mean you can't be friends." And I agree. (Although admittedly I really like a good progressive. ;)) It's just that it was assumed that I would jump on board with her bigoted comment. We may look alike, but that doesn't mean we think alike!