Thanks

It's finally approaching the end of 2006, and the time when my brain shuts down for vacation until sometime next February. Am I the only one who finds it hard to get it together at the end and beginning of every year? This year I am thankful for my wonderful family, in Texas and here in Cali, especially for my loving husband, whom I never tire of getting to know better. I am so blessed to be surrounded by a loving church family, full of women who I feel care for my well-being (and can party hard) and brothers who are willing to put up with our party lifestyle, an enriching year for me and the children, getting through many busy weeks filled with classes and various extracurricular activities for the girls, getting back to the Bible through BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), positive changes and more stability with Joe's job, and just being happy and healthy this year. I don't take any of it for granted and owe it all to God.

Now excuse me while I hibernate and recharge for 2007.

Happy Birthday Bro

My baby brother is now 25 years old. Happy Birthday AND congratulations on getting engaged AND on finally graduating - three big things to celebrate this year!

Here are some famous people with whom you share a birthday:

77 Berry Gordy Jr. - Motown Records founder, 70 Gary Hart - Former U.S. senator, D-Colo., 66 Bruce Channel - Singer-songwriter, 64 Paul Warfield - Football hall-of-famer, 63 Randy Newman - Singer-songwriter, 60 Joe Dante - Movie director, 57 Paul Shaffer - Bandleader (''Late Show With David Letterman''), 56 Ed Harris - Actor, 53 Michael Chertoff - Secretary of homeland security, 50 Kristine Arnold - Country singer (Sweethearts of the Rodeo), 47 Judd Nelson - Actor, 45 Alfonso Cuaron - Director (''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''), 44 Matt Cameron - Rock musician, 44 Jon Stewart - TV host (''The Daily Show''), 39 Anna Nicole Smith - TV personality, 38 Dawn Robinson - R&B singer, 28 Aimee Garcia - Actress (''George Lopez''), 27 Chamillionaire - Rapper, 18 Scarlett Pomers - Actress (''Reba'')

Who knew you shared so much in common with Anna Nicole Smith?

What if...

After much deliberation, Joe and I have decided to stop at 2 kids. I packed up clothes, toys and gear that the girls have outgrown and even got rid of some things, including our Pack N Play. This weekend I had a night out with the girls and some drinks. Yesterday I was feeling nausea. And now, I'm late. I got rid of baby stuff, had a night of drinking, have been feeling nauseous, and am late. What if... This is not looking good.

Highlights from home

Things that remind me to be thankful for what I have:

1. Painstakingly making peanut butter sandwiches shaped like hearts and lovingly packing them in your child's lunch box. Then being told by your child that she refuses to eat peanut butter and jelly. What child doesn't eat PB & J? Tough cookies, toots. You should be happy I'm not sending you to school with breaded chicken liver.
2. Finally making it to the end of another semester of classes and still loving what I'm doing. Tonight we have to present our final design for our projects. I'll let you know how it goes.
3. Getting my husband back after a long weekend apart. Not only was I happy that he had a good time with his friends in Vegas, I was also glad to see that he came back with the same amount of cash in his wallet as when he left.
4. Eating the most mouth-watering, sensual sushi at Katsuya last night (the raw sweet scallops were practically R-rated). Is it a sin to lust after sushi?
5. Witnessing my baby's first successful poo in the potty. [chorus sings: Hallelujah] And it was a big one. Am I glad that didn't wind up in her diaper for me to have to clean.

It's gonna be a good week. I can feel it already.

One womb, two woes

It sometimes amazes me how different my 2 girls are. Not only do they look so different (to me), their personalities couldn't be more opposite. For instance, Abby has a temper and can sometimes be impatient. Sarah is more slow to anger and although she is going through her terrible 2's, she diffuses fairly quickly. Abby is loud and bold (we know who she gets this from) and Sarah is mild and meek. Abby is outgoing and sociable, Sarah is suspicious and introverted. When Abby started school last year, she was so happy to go everyday that she barely even noticed or cared about us leaving when we dropped her off. She was like this from the first day. It amazes me how highly adaptable she is. Sarah on the other hand loved school the first week and then decided the second week that she no longer wanted to leave mommy's side anymore. For the past week or so, she has been crying and screaming when we go to drop her off (it's even worse when I'm the one leaving her). On the days she's not in school, I talk about school and prepare her for the next day she has to go. All of us, Abby included, have been hyping it up. Abby even helps me take Sarah to her classroom first, so she can see that Abby is being dropped off too. So, this morning I thought she would be better. I left ample time to allow her to adjust, and Abby helped me soothe her. She whined and fussed, and as soon as I left, she began to scream. And instead of going to her, I ran... away. As fast as I could. I did all I could to assure her that I would not leave her for long and that she would have fun, but really what more could I do? Feeling guilty, I popped my head back through the door about 5 minutes later to check back on her. Once I saw the teacher give me a wink, I knew that everything was fine. According to the teacher, within a few minutes after I left, she was playing with her friends and eating snacks. She was just putting up an act. There's one thing my girls do have in common, and that's shear drama.

Thoughts about schools

The discussion about public versus private schools is always going on in our home lately. Next year our little girl will be entering kindergarten. Interestingly, I have come from being a staunch proponent of the public school system, to a supporter of private school education, and then back to public again. From my observations, private schools generally contain children from 2 different family backgrounds: 1) those that highly value education and/or 2) those that have loads of disposable income. Public schools, on the other hand, contain a different mix: 1) those that value education as an opportunity to gain more than textbook knowledge or 2) those who don't want to be there, but don't have a choice. I want a school that contains children from both #1's, without the #2's. I am even considering becoming one of those moms that commutes almost an hour each way to send my child to school. Is this crazy? I mean, how different will the outcomes really be for my children if they attend the public school down the street, versus the prestigious (and highly academic) private school a bit farther off, versus the "ideal" school over the hills and through the traffic-filled woods? As I ponder this, I realize that our decision on where to send our child is influenced less by what the school teaches, and more by the type of peers my child will interact with. Children will all learn to read and write in their own time, but the values they pick up these formative years, those are hard to change. These values become a part of their thinking for the rest of their lives. Who I am, including my insecurities, my self-confidence, and my perception of myself in relation to the world was and is shaped by the people around me. So, to me, it makes sense to think this way. Am I thinking too much into this issue and am I trying too hard to control every unknown in my children's future? Maybe so. But this could be one of the most important decisions we make for our children, especially since, if we were to go the private school route, this could possibly be the school they attend until they leave for college. I am grateful that we have the option to send our children to private school (as long as we don't have any more unintended mishaps). The choices among the over 70 private schools in the area, however, range the whole spectrum - on one end you have the school that boasts of famous and highly esteemed alumni such as Paris Hilton, and on the other you have the earthy, "anthroposophic" school that emphasizes healthy play and artistic learning. Ultimately, I want my children to go to a school that values my child's education as a high priority and inspires them to reach their highest potential. Every parent wants the same, but how a school achieves these goals is what parents differ on the most.