Anecdote: Imagination, Za Boo and Toy Rubber Snakes

Za Boo has always been an imaginative child, but to simply say that she is 'imaginative' would be an understatement of ridiculously epic proportions. And yet, I think her current passion for reading the Harry Potter books has spurred her imagination on to dizzying new heights!

Case in point, while she was playing with a batch of rubber snakes earlier this evening I heard her, as the voice of a rubber cobra, addressing a rubber python, exclaim: "YOU are a LUXURIOUS constrictor, Sir!"

Za Boo and Harry Potter

Za Boo has been rather taken with Harry Potter these last few days. We watched the second movie (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) about a week ago and because she was so tiny when it came out and we all saw it in the theater, it was like a new movie to her. She proceeded to watch the first movie (Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone) at the next opportunity, and subsequently asked whether she was old enough to read the books herself.
She is of course, at this age and reading ability, so she checked out the first one from the school library (our copy is a hardbound, and of one of the first print runs, so she didn't feel comfortable reading that copy).
She has been reading it avidly ever since, and at every opportunity.
She has taken the various cloaks, wands, scarves, ties, and other Harry Potter costumes and their accompanying accessories out of the costume bins in the closet, is dressing up in them, and settling down to read. I had to take a picture of her, dressed in her Ravenclaw necktie and Hogwart's robes, while she was immersed in reading her book, it was so adorable!
I love everything about this new phase of hers. I love that we have finally seen a book truly light that fire under her! It had happened with each of the boys: a particular book--and there was never any way to predict which one it would be--would light that fire that, when kindled, ignited into a life-long love of, and passion for, reading, and I have been waiting for it to happen with her!
And I simply cannot overstate how absolutely thrilled I am that it has happened at last with Za Boo!

Location, Location, Lo...Mascot?

Za Boo was musing on the subject of high school mascots earlier this evening, due largely to the fact that Monkey Boy will be starting high school next year and he and I had been discussing, at length, his high school options. He has basically decided on the independent study high school, where he can take high school and junior college classes concurrently, and earn dual credit, but was wistfully noting that the mascot for the local tech high school is a dragon, and, although the mascot is largely irrelevant to him, he would enjoy having a dragon as a mascot, in the event that he was to have a mascot at all.
Za Boo had been amusing herself quietly with a game of solitary Uno during the discussion and, as always, taking in every word. When she realized that Monkey Boy and I's discussion was winding down, she jumped in: "I must start thinking about what high school I will go to," she said, "I will have to decide very near in the future what mascot I will have when I go to high school myself."
Monkey Boy and I both turned and looked at her, startled a bit by her apparently abrupt entrance into the conversation (why, I don't know, though, because we all know she is always listening and quietly processing these things).
"What do you mean, you have to decide what mascot you will have in high school?" I asked, ridiculously oblivious to the fact that the mascot would be a factor in choosing a high school when you are a 9 year old girl.
"Well," she pontificated, "I can be a Cougar, like Ender and The Raven, or an Eagle, like Monkey Boy will probably be, or I can go to the tech high school and be a Dragon, or I might want to be a Bulldog."

It is vital to note, at this point, that a bulldog is the mascot of the cross-town high school; the arch rival high school to the older two kids' high school, and my own Alma-mater.

Always the paragon of calm and rational parenting, I immediately responded "You will not be a Bulldog!!! To do that you have to attend The Bulldog High School! Why would you even say such a thing?!?! You ARE NOT going to The Bulldog High School!"
"Well, Mama," she responded, "I DO like bulldogs better than cougars, because cougars are a type of cat, and bulldogs are dogs. You know how I feel about dogs, Mama."
"Well, be that as it may, you are NOT going to go to The Bulldog High School!!!" I calmly and rationally responded.
"But why, Mama? What's wrong with The Bulldog High School?" Za Boo asked earnestly.
"Well, because, the Cougar High School is better, and it's where your siblings go, and it's better, and, um, well..." and as I was so eloquently summarizing the finer points of why The Cougar High School is the superior learning institution, based, of course, on reasonable and objective criteria, Ender walked in on the discussion.
"What's going on?" he asked, sensing a debate was in progress.
"Za Boo is talking about what high school she wants to go to, based on the mascot," Monkey Boy informed his brother.
Ender looked right at Za Boo, and in an unarguable voice said to her "You do not choose a high school based on its mascot. You chose it based on the quality, where it is located, and, maybe, the people who are going to go there as well." And he walked out of the room.

It was a watershed moment for me; one of those rare moments when you unexpectedly witness all the work you have done in an attempt to teach your child the things he needs to know in order to make good decisions in the world manifesting itself in a simple and profound statement.

We may have a-ways to go yet in helping Za Boo learn these things, but, knowing we have done well by Ender, I feel a whole lot better about our ability to make it happen.

A New Tradition

We have a new tradition for Hallowe’en, begun this year: “All Hallow's Read.”

I love traditions; I am a huge fan them. I grew up with many traditions and I believe it is vital for the kids to grow up and look back fondly, and with amusement, and even with bemusement, at the things that were meaningful, fun, silly, happy, anticipated and even dreaded (in a nostalgic 'I can't believe Mama made Fruit Cake every year!' kind of way), as we mark the passing of the days, seasons and years in their life journeys. Many of our family's traditions have been adopted, adapted and handed-down from the traditions that Amazing Husband and I grew up enjoying in our childhoods, and many are new, and were evolved or created along with our growing family over the past many years.

If the truth were to be told, Amazing Husband is possibly less fond of the traditions than I am, mainly because I am, perhaps, a wee bit tradition-centric when it comes to holidays, and that can be a lot of work. Nevertheless, he hangs in there and enjoys the existing traditions as we circumnavigate the calendar each year. Despite enjoying the already existing traditions, however, he tends to be a bit...skeptical, when I talk about adding new traditions. We both know it is because of the amount of work involved, and in all honesty, his main concern has always been that we not add traditions unless we are reasonably sure we will be able to maintain them in the future, because consistency in the kids' lives is as important to him as it is to me, and he hates to disappoint them.

So, for example, when I was inspired to add a St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt tradition--based on an imaginative and whimsical tradition I read about on my friend Fawndear's blog [...FawnDear...: Magic by Moonlight ]--to the long list of regular days, holidays, achievements, accomplishments and events we mark each year as they go by, he basically put the kibosh on it. Realistically, as Amazing Husband pointed out during our discussion about my desire to add a St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt to our laundry list of annual traditions, we have no less than twenty-three birthdays and anniversaries between March and April alone, and when you calculate in Dr. Seuss’s B-day/Read across America Day, St. Patrick's Day (we do already have a few existing traditions), and Easter, the mere suggestion of adding anything else is kind of ludicrous. Particularly when said 'something' is as involved as an individualized Leprechaun’s-Pot-of-Gold treasure hunt for each kid. Consequently, Amazing Husband and Common Sense won that debate, and I regulated my daydreams of St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunts to the 'Things I Can Do For My Grandkids Because I Will Have A Lot More Time By Then' queue.

When I discovered the suggestion of the All Hallow's read tradition, however, I knew we would both be on the same page about adding it to our family's tradition repertoire!

Here is how it happened:

I am an avid reader of author Neil Gaiman's blog, and just about a week before Hallowe’en he wrote a post observing that there aren't enough book-giving holidays, and suggested the idea of an "All Hallow's Read" tradition to remedy the situation. [The original blog post is here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/10/modest-proposal-that-doesnt-actually.html ]

I loved the idea, and when I presented it to Amazing Husband he was on board with it right away. (Although he did say he would have preferred a bit of notice, as I kind of sprung it on him on the day of Hallowe'en!). Next year we will be preparing for it over the weeks in advance of the holiday, and really shop around for the best deals at the local used bookstores and such, but for this year we just popped over to the Big Name Bookstore nearby, and gleefully bought spooky books all around!

Ender has been very into the classics lately, so we bought him Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

Monkey Boy was a bit tricky, as his tastes don't generally run to the spooky, but we ultimately decided on Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book for him, as we thought he might enjoy it, and, of course, we had to include at least one book by the author who inspired the new tradition!

Za Boo was even harder to shop for than Monkey Boy, as generally even the mention of anything spooky sends her running, but we settled on The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley, as it appears to focus more on the mystery/detective aspect of the genre, than the scary stuff. I've had my eye on that one for her for awhile, and this was a great opportunity to include it in a way that wouldn't feel overwhelming; time will tell if she can handle its degree of scary.

The Raven could have been the hardest to buy for, because she thoroughly enjoys the scary and there are so many choices that it might have been hard to narrow it down, but she had recently finished Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, so the logical choice for her was The Vampire Lestat, which is what we bought.

Amazing Husband had been wanting to re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, and we did not have a copy in the house, so he got that, and I chose Coraline, by, again, Neil Gaiman, because I have been interested in reading it ever since seeing the movie.

We bought another Neil Gaiman book, American Gods, for my best friend. We are both avid readers, and have always shared books with each other, so it was a no-brainer to include her in the new holiday tradition!

We didn't buy anything at the bookstore for MiL, as she has basically given up printed books since the acquisition of her Kindle, but we did tell her to choose a scary book on the Kindle, and we would gift it to her.

The kids were delighted by the new books and the new tradition when we presented them with both just before Trick-o-Treat was about to commence on Hallowe'en evening. Everyone has been happily reading all week, and the only problem now, is having to wait a whole year until we can celebrate All Hallow’s Read again! ;)


http://journal.neilgaiman.com
http://fawndear.blogspot.com
http://www.allhallowsread.com

So, inspired (as always) by my friend Fawndear and her current de-cluttering/purging/organizing adventure, AND sick to the teeth of a mess that currently consumes a particular room in our home, making it largely unusable, AND realizing that in order to feel less crowded in the house we need to GET RID OF UNNECESSARY STUFF, I have decided the time has come for me to clean out, purge and organize the home office once and for all. Although I have always been a rather organized person (and a neat-nick!), I have never been able to keep the creative space in our home organized. Everywhere else in the house could look like a room out of a magazine (although, despite my intentions, it rarely did for more than a day at a time), but walking into the creative space in the house was like walking into another house entirely. Realistically, though, it's not even accurate to say "walking" into the room was like walking into another house, because it, at any given point in its history, has been more of a climb, scramble, hop, jump, or even just a look, into another house, after which you walk away, because you cannot stand to be there.
And that is a huge part of the problem, of course, because I cannot stand to be in it, because it is such a devastatingly overwhelming mess, and, therefore, never actually clean/purge/organize it, it just gets worse, and worse, and worse, ad infinitum.

I started tonight.

Amazing Husband and the Boys had 'the gang' over for D&D, the girls were variously occupied with watching movies and whatever, MIL went out with a friend, and I tackled The Room Formerly Known As The Office. I had lately christened it The Room Of Shame, but, after tonight, it will, hopefully, become The Organized And Inspiring All Purpose Creativity Room in the near, near future.

I have had an extraordinarily significant epiphany through reading about Fawndear's journey: I am a Hoarder.

Whew, it took a lot out of me to write that "out loud."

I would never have categorized myself as a hoarder, I don't fit the archetype. I have always been organized; a place for everything, and everything in its place. I have helped friends with organizing, and been offered a job as a professional organizer on many occasions. However, the fact remains, I Am A Hoarder.

How do I know? Well, the signs are all there, once you know what to look for: nearly everything that is in the way in The Room Of Shame is mine. Not the kids, not Amazing Husband's, not MIL's, MINE. AND, I have a very valid, reasonable and convincing argument for every tiny bit of it. And nearly all of those arguments come down to one of three basic points: one: I MIGHT need it someday, I HAVE A PLAN to use/make/work on it some day, or I am EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED to it.

So.

I have started my adventure. I believe my journey will be more challenging than I want to believe, and I do anticipate that the road will be long and hard. But I am determined, and I will NOT give up.

I am, as Amazing Husband is fond of saying, going to eat the elephant one bite at a time, this time. I have always tried to stuff the whole darn elephant in at once in the past, and I am sure that has not helped.

I am going to celebrate the steps along the way this time, as well. I have a tendency to look at all that I did NOT get done, rather than recognizing the progress I make along the way--and, sadly, that is true in all aspects of my life--so I am going to take yet another inspiration from Fawndear's blog, and stop to revel in joy of accomplishment as I go!

And, to that end, I have pictures of my (tiny but significant) accomplishments of the night.

I was able to let go of this 17-year-old box:



Which has housed my scrapbook items from high school and college drama since shortly after Amazing Husband and I received a lovely engagement gift in it, 17 years ago. I could not part with those items. I haven't come that far, and, to be fair, a genuine goal of the future Organized And Inspiring All Purpose Room IS to be able to create things like a scrapbook of all the drama productions I was involved in, in high school and college, and having never achieved a space in which to work on such projects, I do not feel that I can, in good conscience, let go of that project, until I have actually had a space in which to attempt it. If it sits in a space in which I could perfectly well work on it, and don't, for the next 17 years, well, then, clearly it wasn't that important to me after all.

I have relocated those keepsakes to a large and sturdy Victoria's Secret Bag, and I believe they fit quite well in it. They are readily organized, handy, and easily accessible now.



It's a tiny bit of progress, but, off I go!

Pondering the emotional needs of toddlers and teenagers...

I am finding that parenting The Raven now is in many ways very much like parenting the boys when they were small. She needs so much that they no longer need, and that Za Boo needed for longer, but no longer needs at the age she is now. I am as tired, cranky and exhausted some days as I was when I had two boys under three and was emotionally responsible for three people, rather than just myself.

I guess that's the thing that many people don't understand; it's hard to do this not because she is a teenager now, but because she is a toddler now, and a teenager at the same time.

I have a friend who is having a hard time adjusting to the changes in our family; she is, in a word, jealous. I didn't recognize it right away, and couldn't articulate it well after I realized it initially, but she is, basically, jealous of the time parenting The Raven takes away from time she and I had been spending together, before The Raven became a part of our family. We were both at the place where certain aspects of parenting were becoming less hands on, the kids were working on being more independent, and our ability to be "grown-ups" more often had expanded. With the addition of Raven to our family that has definitely changed.

I remember being loathe to leave the boys, and later Za Boo, when they were fairly small, and still very dependent. They just needed ME to be around, at home, available, because they MIGHT need me. I remember the first time I went to Jury Duty, when Za Boo was old enough to have stopped nursing (I had requested, and received, a postponement a number of times, because I always seemed to be called right after having one of the kids!), and the kids were beside themselves with concern about how things would work without me. Not that they didn't trust their Papa to handle things, but there were certain things that I did, and they could not comprehend how the Papa would figure them out: "Will Papa know where the lunch is?" asked Za Boo, "Will he know how I eat my sandwich?" "Will he know how to pick us up from school?" Monkey Boy needed to know, "Did you tell Papa what time school is out? Will he forget to come get Monkey Boy and me, because he is used to being at work all day?" Ender worried.
They just needed ME, because I was the one who was always there, I was the one who KNEW all the things they needed to be sure were known. They were dependent on me for their emotional grounding, and, despite having now grown to a place where they are very capable of being responsible for their own emotional grounding, they will often still need that from me. However, it is no longer a constant need, and it is no longer an absolute hindrance, or something that may cause a state near panic, when I am not immediately available for such; in fact, I have seen the Boys, being the older of the three I have raised since birth, make a choice to find their emotional grounding inside themselves at times, because they have matured to that degree.
Which is a place where The Raven will, now that she has the opportunity, eventually be able to grow to as well, but is not, at this point, ready to do. Or even, really, capable of doing. No one ever did it for her when she needed it before now; there was no emotional ground that was safe, secure, and unconditionally available to her. She is working through a phase now that a large number of children go through in toddlerhood--discovering that there is an unconditional safety net, testing the net, and then trying their wings out OVER said net, in order to experiment safely. And, then, eventually, venturing out past the net, but always knowing that it is there, to return to, if you need it.
Right now she is like a toddler, needing that constant reassuring presence of an emotionally grounded safety net, and not being ready, willing, or able, to begin venturing out over it quite yet.

The Train Trip - Day 6

Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Well, we had our first rough day today. We had planned to get up and swim for awhile, and then go back to Golden Gate Park to hit the Japanese Tea Garden & Shakespeare's Garden, which we missed yesterday because the museum was so utterly engaging, and be back by five to meet Uncle Buddy for dinner. But we overslept, again, and got to the pool about an hour and a half after we had been planning to be there. Raven stayed in the room and slept, and by the time we got back to the room and then back out the door to head for the park, we were running nearly three hours behind the plan. We made it to the park by three, but we got off at the wrong stop--about 4 stops early--and had to walk through the park to get to the Gardens we were planning to visit, which wouldn't have been sooo bad, except that it was particularly cold today, we were wearing shorts, and everybody had low blood-sugar because we got up so late that we skipped breakfast in order to try and get to the Park earlier.
We saw the Conservatory of Flowers on the way, and I was able to take a few pictures with Za Boo's camera, but unfortunately, we were too cold to really appreciate it. They were advertising the carnivorous plant exhibit there as well, but we had neither the time nor the money to visit it, unfortunately.
We had what would otherwise have been a nice stroll through the park, though, on our way to find the Gardens of our focus.
When we came to the Japanese Tea Garden it was adjacent to the park amphitheater, and we settled for a picture of the kids on the amphitheater stage, although we would have enjoyed the chance to see a performance there.
Just outside the Japanese Tea Garden was a Waffle stand, and we were hungry, but were waiting to eat at the restaurant inside the Tea Garden.
Well, at this point the boys were cold, the girls and I were freezing, all of us were hungry, and cranky because of it, and I had sprained my toe when we were getting off the bus, so when it turned out that the Japanese Tea Garden now charges for admission (either it didn't when I went there years ago, or no one told me we had had to pay to get in), we almost didn't go in.
However, I have had my heart set on sharing the Japanese Tea Garden with the kids since the beginning of the PLANNING of the trip, so I made a quick decision, ponied up the funds, and in we did ultimately go!
And, in the end, everyone had a good time!
We had hot cocoa and fortune cookies in the Tea House (they were out of nearly EVERYTHING we wanted to order to actually eat), and cheered when we heard (via text from Amazing Husband) that Prop 8 was overturned today!
We had waffles from the Waffle Cart on the way out of the Tea Garden, and they were delicious! We caught the bus back to the hotel (and it didn't break down this time!) and arrived with enough time to get warmed up and changed for dinner by the time Uncle Buddy arrived.
We headed out to find 'The Stinking Rose" (They season their garlic with food!), and had the opportunity to explore Little Italy, and, inadvertently, the red light district on the way. We had an amazing and delectable dinner--Ender, Monkey Boy & Za Boo ate 'Vampire Fare' (minimal garlic), while Uncle Buddy, Raven and I all indulged in the full menu of the pungent house specialty. It was delicious!
We went to a chocolate, gelato and candy specialty shop across the way for a fitting dessert (Courtesy of Uncle Buddy).
We had taken the bus to little Italy (well, actually we had taken the bus to the end of Chinatown, and walked into Little Italy from there, which is how we ended up on our inadvertent tour of the red light district), and we walked back to the hotel through the dark and quiet business buildings, which was an adventure all in itself. Za Boo LOVED being in the business area of town! Uncle Buddy lived in the city for a number of years, so he had all kinds of information and trivia that we enjoyed hearing.
We visited for a bit back at the hotel, and The Papa was able to talk to Uncle Buddy on the phone and catch up.
We are headed to bed now, because we have to be up early to check out, and we are off to Vallejo via the Ferry tomorrow! Happy dreaming!

The Train Trip - Day 4

So, we SERIOUSLY overslept today-- 1PM in the afternoon overslept!--and we got up and around rather slow, so we didn't get going until nearly three! But, we were planning on Chinatown for the day, and luckily it was just a few (relatively) short blocks away, so we were able to spend enough time there to enjoy our visit, have enough time to stop off for dinner, and have a swim back at the hotel before an (un)reasonable bedtime (unreasonable as in 1AM unreasonable!). Well, perhaps not unreasonable on a vacation, but definitely unreasonable when we are planning an early morning the next day!
We had lunch at a combination of a street-side hot dog vendor (hot dog for Za Boo, soft pretzel for Monkey Boy) and a lunch stand at the Station-The Cable Car Cafe- which was made out of a cable car-(really good sandwiches for Ender, Raven and I). After lunch we walked to Chinatown, where we bought a large number of Xmas gifts and a few souvenirs. We had dinner at a fun 50's diner called Lori's, which we has noticed the day before. Decent burger, good fries, great shakes, neat decor, retro-atmosphere, all good. We were able to get a couple of 49ers gifts for Trina and Ben--actually from SF!--and a little Steelers something for The Papa, at a tiny little sports shop we caught on the way back.
Raven stayed in the room and took a hot bath, and the rest of us went for a bit of a swim. We all headed back to the room, where Raven had just finished her bath, and settled in to bed and watched a movie. And now, g'night!

The Train Trip - Day 3

Today was all about Fisherman's Wharf, and, the holy grail, Ghirardelli Square! Having decided to surprise them as a plan with Papa, I woke the girls a bit early, and took the three of us for manicures at the in-house Salon: "Bliss". After our nails were done (and Natalie, one of our delightful attendants, had fixed the one I jacked up while trying to pay!), we headed back to our room, and woke up the Boys. We were a bit slow to get moving, and there were a couple of cranky incidents, but we got out the door reasonably early, and headed for the Visitor's Center. We stopped on the way for a hot drink and a dab of free Wi-Fi at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and then found the street vendor we had missed the day before, and bought Raven's kitty hat. We hit the Visitor's Center next, and found EVERYTHING we need to navigate the City during our stay here! Maps, guidebooks, schedules, and all of it complimentary! We are digging SF!!! I was able to purchase transportation passes good for unlimited use on all public transportation options (bus, subway, cable cars, and trolleys) for the entire time we are here.
Getting on a trolley to head down to Fisherman's Wharf proved a bit tricky at first, it's pretty dog-eat-dog when it comes to--literally--grabbing a spot on one, and we missed two while figuring out the local system. Third time's the charm, though, and we elbowed and pushed our way on to the third one successfully.
Riding the trolley was interesting, uncomfortable, and kind-of laborious, frankly. We got where we were headed ultimately, though, and that was the goal!
We meandered through the vendors and shops, and looked into the tourist-y tours and attractions (way too expensive for this trip, unfortunately) and finally made it to Fisherman's Wharf, proper, after an hour or so.
Sadly, the Wharf was a bit anti-climactic for the kids. It smells of fish, is very crowded, is all about seafood (no one eats fish but me), and is VERY expensive. We did see the Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and we all were fascinated by the amazing people and feats preserved there, but the Holy Grail of Ghirardelli awaited, and was what got them through a VERY chill and windy walk along the Wharf to The Square.
Ghirardelli was everything everyone hoped it would be, and delivered on it's promise of chocolate beyond the dreams of all the kids! We purchased delectable treats to take home, and set out looking for a nice= sit-down restaurant for dinner. I had hoped to enjoy sundaes at Ghirardelli Square as part of our visit, but it was just too cold this time around. We may try to go back before we leave, we'll see.
We found a place to eat called "The Pub BBQ at Ghirardelli Square" and had an absolutely DELICIOUS meal. Full and happy we headed back to the trolley stop, and waited-semi-patiently for a trolley to get a back to the hotel. The boys were able to achieve their goal of riding on the outside of the Trolley car--holding on like an old Rice-A-Roni commercial--all the way to the hotel!
We picked up a couple of movies at the Welcome Desk on our way back up to our room, and then settled in to watch a movie and eat Ghirardelli chocolate before bed! Goodnight!

The Train Trip - Day 2

We woke up late, relaxed, organized the room, got everybody showered and headed out to get a bite, and our bearings. We had lunch at Jamba Juice, Subway, and ended with Starbucks (free Wi-Fi was needed to help in the "getting our bearings" aspect of our excursion). Not exactly a flavor of the local scene, which we generally prefer to visit when traveling, but it was necessary and appropriate for the circumstances at that point. We saw awesome street vendors, many performers, some significantly overweight pigeons, and finally made our way to the Powell Street Transit Station, which was where we had set out to go in the beginning. We inadvertently found the Visitor's Center, which was just what we needed, but was already closed, and made plans to go back again tomorrow. We explored the station a bit, picked up a transit schedule, and headed back to the hotel by way of the street vendor area. We stopped at a Walgreen's (of which there was one on nearly every corner -there are more of them than there are Starbucks!) and in the attempt to purchase a few inadvertently forgotten sundries, had an injury incident with Bekka; she accidentally pulled the shopping cart over and landed on the ground, hitting her head on the floor, while the cart landed on top of her, and hit her face, causing a cut and a fat lip where her braces and her lip briefly became one. We managed to get her lip and braces separated, and all the blood cleaned up with the help of a kind fellow shampoo purchaser, all the kids, and a box of "we'll just use it now, and I'll pay for it when we check out" tissues. We finished the shopping and headed back to the hotel. We discovered a variety of local cafes and restaurants to try during the rest of the trip throughout the course of the day, and enjoyed getting the lay of the land. We finished the day with a good swim, dinner in our room, and a movie on the hotel network. Goodnight!

The Train Trip - Day 1

Friday, July 30, 2010
We made it! Mainly a smooth trip. The train was wonderful (delightful 81 year old man who used to work the mail car on the same route before they took the mail out of the trains, and who had some amazing stories to tell, as a seat mate, AND I treated the kids to dinner in the Dining Car because I can still remember what a luxury that was when I was a kid), we connected to the bus just fine, we had a bit of trouble when we needed to get a cab, but after nearly an hour and a half, numerous phone calls and a huge tip, we made it to the hotel!
And we have to talk about the hotel! By far the NICEST place we have ever stayed! We have a King room, with a roll away bed for Jacob, and Andrew has taken the window seat for a bed. I am snuggled up in bed with the girls, and ready for a good night's sleep. My babies (who are still my babies whether they want to be or not, no matter how old they get;)), are still so young looking when they sleep. I can hardly believe how big they are!

The Epic Adventure Log Begins!

Today is the first real opportunity I have had to log on to a computer and upload the chronicles of our adventure to date. In fact, we only have three more days before we are homeward bound, however, I HAVE been keeping a journal nearly every day of our adventure, and THAT, in-and-of-itself, is an accomplishment!
As predicted, the entries are all over the place grammatically, stylistically, and probably any other adverb (ly) we can think of, and I have not proofed them for typos, spelling or grammar. All that notwithstanding however (again, *major cringe*), I DID ACTUALLY DO IT, just like I promised my self I would! I am weirdly excited, despite my apprehension regarding publishing something potentially less than perfect, to have done an amazing thing (keep the journal), and to actually publish it (even more amazing)! I would probably set a record of some kind if anyone knew the number of blogs I actually write, and then hide in the draft folder (theoretically in order to edit and publish later), rather than getting them posted. Ay-yi-yi!

The Train Trip Pre-face

Having worked it all out to make the Epic Train Trip happen, I have decided that I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT have it happen, and allow it to go undocumented. Although I had played with the idea of having each kid bring a journal and making them write about the adventures of the trip each night before bed, I realized that, ultimately, that was folly, and would serve only to make me an annoyed taskmaster, and the kids grouchy and reluctant participants in the documenting.
SO, I have resolved to write about the trip here, on my often written, rarely published blog. That is, after all, the reason I began this blog in the first place, no?
We leave on Friday, and I can't wait! The kids are nearly beside themselves with excitement, and we are packing and planning and preparing like mad! I WILL write about the trip, everyday if I can, as we go, and I will post it when I have Internet access.
The entries will, unfortunately, be 'fast and loose,' i.e. unedited (not even for typos *cringe*) and unpolished, because that is the only way I will be able to do it and actually have it happen. I will be applying the lesson I have been learning from my good friend Fawndear, and keeping the important things first (having a good time on the trip, enjoying it with my kids, being present in the current activity), and letting the not-as-important things go (editing for hours, polishing and publishing to my personal standard of 'perfect'). I am cringing even as I am writing this, but I HAVE to do it, not just for the kids, but for me. *Sigh* I don't always enjoy working on self improvement!

Anyway, here we go...

Wild and Crazy

Okay, so, here we go again, experimenting!

I had this wild idea a while back, of taking a train trip up the California Coast with my kids. I was thinking about the fact that the train is wonderful, and riding it is relaxing, and no where near as stressful as a car trip, or, worse, flying now-a-days. We have family and friends all up and down the coast, who we are certainly overdue to visit, and there are places we want to visit just, Because.
I had this vision of the five of us traveling together over about three weeks, everyone carrying their own belongings in a backpack, and using all public transportation the whole way.
I put the idea out to Amazing Husband, and he agreed that it sounded like a wonderful plan, and was bothered only by the fact that he wouldn't be able to go (we don't have that kind of vacation time for him to spare, unfortunately).
Next, then, we needed to overcome the ever present obstacle of funds. This would not be an extravagant trip by any stretch of the imagination, however, neither would it be cheap to stay in reasonably priced hotels (reasonably priced hotels equaling reasonably clean and safe hotels) and to use all public transportation the entire way. And, of course, we would never want to plan a trip this epic in nature without allotting at least some meager portion of funds to collecting a few mementos along the way.
I won't go into all the wrenchingly dull details of how we are going to make it happen, however, we ARE going to make it happen!

Today we are celebrating a man whose birth, 81 years ago, eventually lead to a paradigm shift in the culture of this country. No one will deny that we still have work to do, but when looking at how far we’ve come, I can’t help but feel hopeful.