play by play of a summer day

Oh summer you have been so good to us.

We had a great Monday. I slipped out of bed at 8:45 this morning and the girls were still snoozing. What?! Yes! They are usually elbow deep in a pint of ice cream (they have short fore arms, don't mock them) with two episodes of the Cosby Show under their belt by the time I roll out, so today, I woke up feeling like a truly successful parent. I got ready in a flash and was nothing but smiles when our neighbor-gem-of-a-babysitter Clara showed up at 9 to feed, discipline and play tag with the girls while I went to work for a bit and lunch with Tom at an upscale Subway by the juvenile detention center. When I got home the girls and our beloved Clara surprised me with a clean living room and kitchen and a bundt cake decorated with blue sprinkles and candles arranged in the shape of a 4 and a 1. I was slightly confused and hurt that they thought it was my birthday and more importantly that they thought I was 41--but hey, it's cake, so I was over it and ready for my slice when Tess explained that it was a Mavs cake and the 41 was in honor of Dirk. So we had cake and ice cream for lunch (my second lunch) and the girls detailed the fun they had without me; Skyping with Granda, Eva and Ben, working the surprise, math workbooks, candyland marathons etc... We walked Clara home and took some cake over to our other much loved neighbor Rodney and relished in the flow of an easy summer day. So good.

The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming and at music lessons. Tess learned a new song, Separate Ways by Journey. Adelle and Tess spent the evening dramatically dancing to that very same song on repeat as Tom and I cooked up some burgers and my new favorite salad copied from a restaurant we went to last Saturday (arugula, beets, oranges, and goat cheese all tossed with a lemon vinaigrette--yum). For family night, we watched God in America while playing Set. When the girls went off to bed Tom and I caught a little Daily Show and then Tom finally dozed off while I made it my mission to end the Frida Kahlo eyebrow thing I've had going on this last week.

The days are so full and so good.

summer morns

Summer is on.

So happy to have relaxed mornings and random cuddles in pjs till noon.

The girls woke me up this morning begging to watch the 25th anniversary special of Les Miserable. I told them they could watch it if they made breakfast for me.

Deal.

Don't forget the bon bons!

Ms. Tess

Oh today I'm a weepy mess. Tonight is Tess's "Moving On Ceremony" which is a little event for the 19 third graders leaving her school this year. She, along with all her third grade friends, will give a little speech (see Tess's speech below) and sing a little song and say goodbye to their friends and teachers and their happy little sheltered lives in this school with stained glass windows in an idyllic park setting and move on to schools with lockers and cafeterias and where there are kids going through puberty.

Tess is soo ready and I am sooo not.

Tess gets to accompany the elementary kids singing on this massive grand piano tonight. She has been busy making sweet notes for her teachers and classmates, some she has been in same class with for the last five years. It's hard to express how completely grateful I am to my little village of friends, parents and teachers that have all contributed to the growth and development of my sweet girl. I am so happy with the beautiful person she is, the respect and love she can so easily show to others because she has received that type of care from these good people. My keyboard is all soggy.

Good evening. My name is Tess. I came to Lindsley Park Community School when I was four years old. Now I am nine years old. When I was in primary, my teachers – Mrs. Maria and Mrs. Brenda – were very helpful to me when it came to math work. My favorite material in Mrs. Maria’s class was the taster. I liked it because I got to taste a lot of different things and I had to tell which one was bitter, sweet, sour, etc. I felt terrible when I had to leave Mrs. Maria’s class but my sorrows were soon to be cleared up. I was six years old when I met the wonderful teachers Mrs. Brisbon and Ms. Gabby. My first year in their class my friends were Skyla French, Wilary Ramos Lugo, Nitai Naidu, Justin Arellano, Robert Gonzalez, and Oscar Cepeda. My favorite work was the stamp game. I liked it because I got to move some stamps. One of my favorite memories from first grade was a field day we had. It was only Mrs. Brisbon’s class. We walked to a park with our lunches and we played some games. My favorite was the egg toss even though I dropped the egg. When I was in second grade all my classmates were my friends. My teachers were still Mrs. Brisbon and Mrs. Gabby. My favorite work was the grammar boxes because I had to choose which one was the adjective or the pronoun or the preposition, etc. Mrs. Brisbon gave me lots of new lessons and so did Mrs. Gabby. Some field trips I remember were the red court house, the museum of nature and science, the trinity river, and the planetarium. Then something absolutely terrible happened. Mrs. Brisbon told us that she was leaving the school. It sounded terrible. Eventually, I stopped crying but I never got over it. When I moved on to third grade my teachers were Mrs. Toni and Mrs. Gabby. I had all my classmates as my friends. My favorite work was the Racks and Tubes because I could pretend like I was a scientist. My favorite memories from third grade were the holiday parties. I would like to show my appreciation to Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Gwen, Mrs. Toni, Mrs. Gabby, my parents, my sister, my friends, and Mrs. Brisbon. Thank you very much and once again, good evening.

girl and her bike

Adelle learned to ride her bike in about 5 minutes without her parents while playing at a friends house.

Since then it is hard to keep her off her two wheeler. She prefers to ride bare foot and helmetless so she feel the wind in her hair. I usually do force her to wear a helmet but not when the sun is setting on her beautiful blonde hair.

Just being around this girl makes me feel free.

good saturdays

The best part about this performance was when Tess dedicated her song to her Dad.

She was the first one to perform that evening and feeling a little nervous so Tom was trying some of his very Tom-esque way of calming her pre-performance nerves (a little gentle reverse psychology/sarcasm)

Tess: I'm nervous. I don't think I can do this. Can we just go?

Tom: Really? You're nervous? I guess we don't really know if you can sing well or not so that makes sense that you are nervous. We know that I sing well, but you're right we aren't sure if you do.

Tess: eyes roll, annoyance peaks, she is called up to sing

Tess had never dedicated a song before that night and gave us no indication that she was planning on it. We then heard..."testing, testing, 1, 2...Okay, I'd like to dedicate this song, to my Dad...because he can't sing."

Oh snap.

Tom was so proud.

My brothers, one in particular, provided me with a healthy dose of sarcasm my whole life which I think actually served me well (although painful at times). I am grateful to them and love them for it. Somehow in the moment of Tess's unsolicited dedication I feel extremely comforted that she was well on her way, at the early age of 9, of holding her own in any setting. She is beautifully sensitive and sharp.

today

At this point, I'm not sure I even remember how to blog...regardless, I want to type a word or two for today.

It's spring break in Texas and I am savoring this extra time with my little ladies; lounging around the house and riding bikes up and down our street and on the newly finished trail to the lake. I worked on some origami with Adelle this afternoon--so happy that my girls are still in the phase where they looked at me with awe and appreciation when I presented them with my rather sad, mutilated version of the classic origami crane.

Tonight at the grocery store Tess randomly hugged me and looking up at me, smiling, she softly told me she loved me and asked if I was doing okay. Later, as we were settling down for the night, I could hear her laughing to herself as she read Shel Silverstein's "Falling Up" out loud. Adelle has mastered biking on her two wheeler in the last few days and she is rarely seen without a helmet. I love that she still wants me to read with her each night and I can never get over how easily she picks up on sarcasm or irony and how quickly and beautifully she laughs.

It's been a good day. Simple and so good.