Aquabears

Mike called me in the summer on a long shot to see if I would at all be interested in coming back to Aquabears.  I had been thinking about going to Aquabears for the Fall program with Scott and thought maybe that would be a good solution.  He needed someone for the Senior group and their beginner group.  I told him I would do 2x a week for the seniors and do the 8&unders.

Scott swam with Russell and Steve, who are awesome.  It was fun to see him try new events.  He was really good in the 200 free.  He swam it twice in the fall and both times I think had anxiety leading up the event for week, but did it and realized he can indeed swim more than a 50.  Rec swimming is so intense in some ways.  The kids get up and race, race, race.  It is a lot of pressure to win and race.  USS takes some of that pressure off and it is more about the journey, trying new things and long term development of the kids, which I like.  There are pluses and minuses to both and a definite need for both.  He liked it but once is got cold outside, got sooo cold for him.  Miserably cold.  I remember how I used to be and how cold I would get.  He would go 3x a week taking wednesday off for Scouts and Friday off to hang out with friends.  Once the 3x became too hold, I would tell him to just get out when he wanted, but he would feel bad.  He made it through mid November and had a good experience.  The weekend of JO's he said he wished he could go which I thought was pretty funny.  Glad he tried it and tried new things.

When Kira started gymnastics, doing the senior group was too much because she wanted me at gymnastics.  I called mike and he was soo understanding and told me to take care of Kira.  The one thing I love about Aquabears is that they are so understanding, so family friendly, so good to the kids, coaches and families.  They really do have balance in mind for everyone which I love and think is so healthy.

I am enjoying it.  I like working with the little kids.  It is something that I really do have a passion and love for.  I feel fortunate that I get to do something that I love to do.  It is a constant battle of finding balance in my life.

I have tried to really make the most of my time with all the kids. Working really forces you to make the most of your time.  I try to do dinners before I go, which sometimes gets done and sometimes doesn't.  In the mornings, I really make the most of my time with Blake and Parker.  I enjoy the days Kira is with me, but it leaves me with limited time with Tyler and Scott and I am not sure how I feel about that.  For now, I continue doing it.  Dana  Hills starts mid April and I will stop Aquabears for the spring and summer.  The thing I love about Dana Hills is that all my kids are there which I really enjoy.  It is very much a part of our family so it isn't as hard to find that balance, because my kids are there with me.

Gymnastics

Kira has been going to gymnastics for about 10 months at Black Diamond.  She really liked it and then went through a period that she was scared to do anything.  She was scared to try new things, scared to be without me, scared to go to school.  I am not sure what it was the result of.  Her therapist at school said she would funnel all her fears into one specific thing but it really changed her.  I don't know if it was experiencing my mom and dad dying, me going to work, Tyler being normally mean to her.  Probably a combination of it all.

We live in a relatively new community that is about an hour from the City.  That means that most people commute.  It also means that a lot of kids programs are not as developed or available in Brentwood. We went to the only gym in the City.  Unfortunately it was about 20-30 minutes from our home, depending on traffic. She liked it and the teachers were really nice.  When I started to work in Walnut Creek and Clayton and Scott started to swim in WAlnut Creek, I decided to look for different options for my kids sports that would be closer to us.  Swimmer families recommended a Community Youth Center in Concord.  Kira went and tried it out and the place is CRAZY!

It is a center where kids can do wrestling, soccer, gymnastics, taekwando, etc. at the center.  They have homework centers that the kid can do to and the kids can be dropped off and picked up with gates and alarms around the entire facility. 

I have been wanting to get Blake into something and Tyler into some type of martial arts for various reasons, so we gave it a go.  

Kira spent the first week scared to do anything but bars.  Crippling fear to even go out on the floor.  I sat with her and patiently remembered what she was like at swimming and gymastics in the beginning.  Realizing this is her.  Internally, it tried every fiber of my being.  I wanted to tell her that this was the same thing that she would do at her other gym that she loved.  But logic doesn't work with her fear.  I am hoping she continues to feel more comfortable with time and overcome her fears.

If she learns one thing from sports, it is that she can do things that are out of her comfort zone. Realize she can do things that might be a little scary or hard.  Get used to trying new things.

Over time, she would go out and just watch and I thought that was a victory of the day.  Then she would go out watch and do a little and that was a victory of the day.  This week she went out relatively early and did almost the entire practice.  On Friday she actually did everything from the warm up to beam, which is her hardest skill.

The girls and other parents are SOO nice and SOO supportive.  They were always so kind to her  Her coach went out of her way to help Kira.  To allow her to process her fears.  I am really grateful for that.

So we make CYC a new home for our family.  I am excited for her. She has grown to really like her coaches and the other girls.  I am really impressed with the program and she wants to practice her tricks at home.  

It is fun to watch her feel more comfortable and grow as a little human being.

After a month, she goes out with a smile on her face and is really enjoying it.  When I tell her that she doesn't have to do it, she explains that she can't wait for gymnastics.

I sit and watch her for 2 hours and then afterwards we go onto my work.  She comes with me M, W, F and does her homework, eats from the candy machine, reads or just wanders around. It is kind of fun to have some one on one time with her as we drive out and drive back.  There was a talk a couple of conferences ago about being at the crossroads and I realize that is what it means.

I have been using my dads truck as my commuter vehicle when I just need to bring 2 or less kids places.  It allows whoever is watching the kids to have a van.  Or Danny to have the van after work and makes it so I don't have to use Danny's car which he appreciates it.  The best part of it has been able to sit and actually talk with the kids.  It is really nice not having a television and being right next to them instead of what seems like really far away.  So even though it bumps up and down and looks like it might break down, it has been a good little addition to our family.  Plus, my dad would be happy that we have a truck to dump or home depot runs.

Halloween

Hey.  Here are a couple of pictures from trick-or-treating.  It's way too easy to shoot a shabby picture with the iphone, and I am pleased to say that I put the big flash on my SLR for these.  Aren't they nice?  Well, they are.  Thanks.  

Mister is great.  He still sleeps in his crib, which we keep in our closet, and he likes to sleep with the light on.  He can climb out, too.  He can hardly say any words but he seems to be able to get what he wants.  He likes playing in the dirt outside.  

Kira likes playing with our neighbor, Ethan.  In fact, all the kids light up when he's out front.  He seems to have all the cool toys and they play in the court for hours.  That's cool.

Scott is swimming with the Aquabears.  He goes out to Walnut Creek with Heidi and usually gets some fast food for the ride home, which he likes.  Heidi's been commuting in the truck, which I like.

I'm glad Blake's in a good mood here.  He seems to be having a hard time with life in general.  He gets upset but isn't able to articulate why, and it seems his fuse is pretty short anyway.  He hits things and tries to break them.  He can be so charming when he's in a good mood.

Tyler was excited about the results of his trick-or-treating.  He loves candy and likes to keep it just for himself.  He was bummed that his amazon costume didn't arrive.  Maybe it did and someone stole it off our porch.  I just think that's lame:  People selling their souls for a silly costume.

I keep my thoughts, philosophies, and goals on my other blog.  I just thought you would appreciate some photos of the kids in their costumes.  Okay, bye.

Heather Farms and Lindsey Wildlife

We had a fun day planned to visit Paisley during a day off.  Had a great time at Heather Farms Park.  Then we went to the Lindsey Wildlife museum but Tyler got really sick.  His chest really hurt and he looked really grey.  Luckily we were able to drop off Paisley at home and head home.  It was one of the few times that I actually thought about going into the hospital.  He didn't look good.  We went home, gave him some fluids, he slept for a couple of hours and felt much better when he woke up.  I think he was really dehydrated.  Glad he is doing better.  The kids love to go down these fake hills on cardboard. they are crazy and fearless.

Blake made this bread with Lisa at preschool.  He was so proud of himself and it was really good bread!  He is having a good time in preschool.  He loves being with friends and it is fun to see him enjoy learning.  A blessing my kids all seem to have is a love for learning and being with friends.  Not to say they are always good friends or love everything about school but for the most part enjoy the process of learning and being with friends.

Kira and 1st grade

Kira is doing really well in first grade.  She had such a hard time when I went to work in kindergarten and seems to have outgrown a lot of her fears and anxieties.  Some of it I am sure was loosing my parents and time seems to heal and make a lot of things better.

She is really smart.  Just gets things.  Reminds me of Scott in a lot of ways.  Has perfectionist tendencies.  Scott used to be hard on himself.  She isn't hard on herself or the outcome but just scared to do new things or in the process if they aren't turning out how she wants, she gets real frustrated.  It has been fun to see her learn to read.  All of a sudden, her reading just took off and somehow she went from learning one word to reading at a pretty high level.  I read an article years ago about how they teach kids in Switzerland (I think) how to read when they are older and actually ready to read and they progress happily and much faster than in America.  It really impacted me and for the most part I have adapted that into letting the kids learn skills when they are ready.  It has worked for reading for us.  She loves it.  In her free time, she goes onto RazKids, an online reading program, to read.  Reading has been such a great thing for Scott so I hope it is for Kira as well.   Scott has been really bored in school the past couple of years and this is really the first year I addressed it with his teacher, but I am going to stay on top of that with Kira because I can see her also getting bored in school before long.

She doesn't seem to have a group of friends like my boys did or at least I am not as much in he know with her.  With every kid, I feel like I am more and more removed.  With Scott, I would go to the park and knew all the moms and kids.  Now I find that Kira plays with her brothers friends more than her own.  Not that it is a bad thing, but just how it works out.  With that said, when we go to school, her friends seem to always say hi and she seems to have a lot of friends.  She is happy to go to school and always seems to have fun.  So we just plug along.  She has Mrs. Shirley, who Scott had.  Danny or I volunteer on Tuesday and I teach art once a month which is fun!

She is doing gymnastics which she really likes.  She seems much more confident and comfortable.  Last year, she didn't want us to leave her and now she doesn't mind so that is a great thing.  She has another showcase coming up.  The last one she was so scared, so hoping she is happier this time around!                                                            

Tyler's Yearly Cardiology Appt

Tyler met with Dr. Saba, his new cardiologist.  Dr. Cooper retired with Kaiser a little over a year ago, so this was our second appt with Dr. Saba.  Great guy, great Dr.  We are so blessed.  It was the first appt that I was able to drop him off for because I had Blake and Parker with me. He did great and the best news of all was that his heart is doing great!  We are so blessed.  There are so many kids that spend most of their lives in and out of hospitals and I Tyler has been blessed with a fairly normal childhood.

He is getting to the age that he needs to start using judgement of how to manage his health. 4th grade is the first year that the class has a P.E. teacher and I suggested to his teacher and Tyler that he probably shouldn't run for warm up but instead save his energy for more fun activities such as tag, frisbee or whatever they are playing.  He came home one day and told me he had to sit out all of P.E. because he didn't run in the beginning so it was a good opportunity to remind him to vocalize his limitations to his teacher.  I talked to the teacher again and he said he forgot which I totally get, but Tyler needs to continue to work on communicating his needs and limits.

He is doing fairly well emotionally. Still can be mean to his siblings at times, but everywhere else he is really a wonderfully nice kid.  He is kind of shy at school, obeys, works hard.  His patience and that love is still being worked on at home even though I do feel it is going in the right direction so I will take it.

He isn't doing many activities outside of school and that is fine. I am someone who is always on the go and can probably overschedule my kids, but I am doing a better job at realizing it is ok for them to have down time or just activities they want.  The kids play with neighbors a lot and always have kids over and I realize that is something I loved about my childhood so grateful they get to experience that as well!

He is doing well in school.  He has his same 1st grade teacher and always says how she is so much stricter in 4th grade than 1st, which I find funny.  He is so smart but also really lazy with doing homework or any extra work.  I should get on that but for now we are just kinda coasting along until I get more disciplined.

Tyler's BD and such

Kira's into having her hair done.  She asked for [French braids] and I didn't know how to do them.  I told her I'd have to watch a youtube video.  Then, in church, Megan was doing French braids on Malie and I learned how to do them.  My first attempt was pretty ugly, but you gotta start somewhere.  This was my second attempt.  I'm still not that good at them and it takes a while, but I had to take a picture before Kira took them out.  Her hair's not quite long enough to do two braids and merge them into one, so I did three separate ones.  

Tyler celebrated his birthday by having a sleepover.  More like a NO-SLEEP over.  I think the kids had a good time, though.

The piñata was popular even though it was too heavy to support its own weight on the hook.  The kids ended up smashing it on the ground.

Our new neighbors are great.  Our kids take turns jumping on each others' tramps.  They just climb over the fence like this.  Here they are enjoying some fudgecicles and popsicles.  Mmmm.

Yesterday we went to the redwood valley railroad at Tilden park.  It's been a while since we've been there.  I always like that place.

This is the little farm at Tilden park.  It was fun until Blake had a meltdown.

Last stop was the Oakland Temple visitors center.  They showed us the new "meet the Mormons" video and then Parker started to melt down.

We finished the day by eating at Mi Pueblo.  The kids were kind of wired but the food was good.  We even had a little left over.  

We got Kira this Trek Mystic bike on craigslist.  She probably could have used her 16" bike for another year but I've been searching for several months for this bike in pink, and when it came up in Stockton for $35, we had to get it.  Kira loves it.  She was telling me about it and then when I started to film, she thought I was taking a picture.  But she was so cute I had to post this.