Chasing Bluebirds

Whoops! where did October go?

So I made it through another fab trip with my mom, Edinburgh and Glasgow were amazing! I do wish we could have taken that tour we originally signed up for but we still managed to see and do a lot. We used the heck out of those hop on/hop off buses. I can't say enough about how well they run in Scotland. I remember using the London buses a ton as well. It helps get you around to all the sites and the view from the top deck is always good. I will post more about our trip later (probably six months later, ha ha!) Here is a shot of my mom in London visitng Zeus the cat we see every year we stay at this studio apartment:

So another busy October has passed. While away my family found a new puppy for us, my mom and I watched on the "puppy cam" from Scotland and became smitten immediately!
I've got a thing for black dogs I think

puppy teeth, watch out!!
first trip to the beach and puppy school
and a few October traditions:
Camp Fire carnival
and a little pre trick or treat party at our pad
November here we come!

Sleep away camp: Wintaka time!!

My kids just returned from "sleep away camp", this is Emily's 6th year and Lizzies 3rd. I find it interesting how many of my friends are too scared to send their kids to camp, worried that something horrible might happen. Having gone to camp every summer since I was going into third grade, I couldn't wait to send my kids. I don't look forward to them being away, not at all, but I enjoy giving them this most magical opportunity. It is an amazing gift to give your kids a camp experience, I know personally that camp was one of the most important experiences of my life. It gave me an independence I never would have had without it. Here are a few things I have learned about sleep away camp:

1) Kids are forced to work out their squabbles. You can't get away from your bunkmates, you are together 24/7 for a week. If there is an argument, you must face it and work it out. This is something that doesn't happen at home with your school friends. You don't get to go home, talk with your folks, find a new friend etc etc. You work it out. What a great life skill! The roller coaster of being friends, getting on each others nerves, bickering, working it out and being best friends again brings kids closer together in a week than in years of going to school together. I remember truly "loving" my camp friends on a very deep level, which I still have today! School friends, not as deep.

2) Kids learn to be away from their parents, that it's ok to miss them. A whole week away seems like a long long time to kids and I think it's important for them to trust other adults to care for them. I also like that other adults are disciplining them and teaching them new things. It takes a village to raise a kid, I truly believe that! (It's also good for parents to let their kids go a tiny bit too, so hard sometimes!!)

3) Kids learn to follow a schedule, to do their daily activities (like brushing teeth, brushing hair, getting dressed) on their own. They follow the routine which includes meals, activities, getting ready for bed, sleeping... managing their time in a way they don't have to at home. I remember becoming very aware of how long an hour activity is, the time it took to walk down the hill to the lodge, being aware of the dinner bell ringing, watching the sun go down and knowing how much daylight was left. There is something about camp, without parents around, that teaches a kid to pay attention to details they take for granted at home.

4) Kids will look up to their counselors and want to be like them intensely. I remember falling in love with my counselors and I just could not wait to be one too! This is a totally different feeling than loving your parents. It is magical and more effective than being told "this is what you should do when you grow up." They see their counselor up there singing and they want to do that too. It is powerful stuff even though it seems so simple.

5) Last, sleep away camp FEELS so much more exciting than it really is. It is safe, organized and pretty routine, but to a kid it's like a trip to the moon. 

heading to camp, so excited!!

Returning from camp energized and happy, priceless!

Summer 2013

Where have i been? yikes! Another year of Camp Shiwaka has passed, this is the 7th year my first Camp Fire group has attended camp together with me as leader (actually one year I lead the Rocket Cats... but we were still all together). Next year my girls will be Day Camp Aides, wow! Where has the time gone? Each Spring we sign up again for the following year and I was so happy that all my girls signed up again for yet ANOTHER year!! Here are some highlights:

there was a science fiction theme this year... my favorite ever!
crazy time machine making (i love free form "make anything from a pile of crap" crafts for kids)
every day the kids do a challenge course that promotes team work and getting along in a group
we spent a lot of time cooking this year, out doing all the years past: a few items we tried were "shrimp and couscous hobo packets" and "real pizza" (we made homemade dough with a rise x 2!)
"pancake cake" via jamie oliver and pinterest for breakfast (with donuts and bacon too of course)

sleeping under the stars and our camp shiwaka sign photo tradition

a glimpse of my littlest having fun too
so another year down, about 4 more to go with my younger group now... looking forward to some quality camp time with them. i think it makes a difference all that sweating and dirt together.
we finally made it up to the cabin after a 4 month break (working weekends is making it hard to get up there)
even if it's a bit wacky, i am glad they are still playing with "toys"
happy 4th of july! we spent it riding to the beach, swimming in our "pool" and cooking over the fire...here's to checking in more regularly!

Springtime

We took a trip to Utah over spring break, I hope to have a full post on that trip with lots of photos. One of my favorites was this one:

we were beat but happy, can you tell? Utah is just so gorgeous and the springtime is a great time to visit because it's not too hot. I did one quickie painting and really enjoyed all the orange and blue combos with sky and rock. It is also the end of our camp fire year, end of the school year with lots of camp fire events going on:
not just cleaning up the wetlands, we are PLANTING now!!

my favorite wetlands event yet. we also had the camp fire grand council fire event that celebrates all the kids who make their "wo he lo" the highest honor in camp fire. 11 this year! wow!

Spring camp out was a hit too, this is a time for families to camp out together at camp shiwaka... not just with their group and leader



i'm pretty nuts for instagram these days!
an art installation at the wetlands
and i started doing cross fit, ouch but so much fun! i am really enjoying the new friends i have made and how much better i feel. more to come on our utah trip! happy springtime everyone!

Camp Fire leader 101 (x 2)

So when i started this blog, my plan was to document my experience being a camp fire leader (did you know that?) well my first year had some regular posts on all the mishaps and adventures i had trying to figure out what the heck i was doing. Can you beleive it's been 7 years now? AND i have TWO groups? The interesting thing is that i not only have two groups, am the LEADER of TWO groups, i actually run about every single second of said groups. The few leaders i know who have tackled having two groups aren't crazy enough to actually run them both without some serious help OR to be the co-leader of one while leading the other. i think it makes a big difference and why my journey has had more ups and downs than most.

so what have i learned? so much, so much. for one, i could probably be the ceo or big time manager of a corporation now. here is my list:  i know that you never ever ever say what you really really are thinking most of the time. i know that people will say they are coming, text you they are on their way and never show up. i know that some events with 30 people invited will have 2 attend and some have 45 (??) plan for either, that i have learned. i learned to spend as many hours as it takes in the summer at my leisure to plan the entire coming year AND actually write in every event on the calendar and just go with it no matter what. i learned that canceling a meeting makes some people grumpy and some people happy. i know now that in this economy, people aren't buying candy like they used to and not to take it personally. i learned that my passion to overcome whatever competition and downright hostility the girl scouts feel toward camp fire has burned out and i cannot build that bridge (at least for now). i learned to use every resource possible during a crazy out of control meeting (parents, older siblings, whoever) to try and bring it back together. kindergarten kids can only sit still and be quiet for a minute at a time and never the same minute as the kid sitting next to them. i know now that paint + kids = a horrendous mess that will find you picking paint out of your nails and hair for a week. i learned that a church who wants to do something for the community can up and dump you one week before your meetings start up again (after 6 uneventful years) because they dont have space for your 11 or so kids but will let the boy scouts continue to meet there with their 100+ kids. i have learned that when the leader of the group's child has a birthday party and she doesn't invite all of the camp fire kids (even if the plan is to keep it small, cheap, simple) and you post a photo on facebook of said party, that the kid or kids who weren't invited will most likely quit over the hurt feelings. there are going to be some parents who 1) say i favor my kid at meetings calling on them more than others 2) tell me i am too hard on my own kid 3) roll their eyes during meetings and i have to figure out what the heck i did/said to offend them 4) tell me i am the most amazing leader BUT they aren't continuing in the group 5) will tell me that camp fire isn't cool enough for their kid 6) will dump me AND my kid for not being cool enough in their attempt to climb the social ladder at school 7) will sincerely become my closest friends and stick with me for years and years through thick and thin 8) will spend miserable nights camping on the hard ground in the drizzle, dust and bugs to give their kids a unique outdoor experience here in the city 9) will bring me coffee at the crack of dawn after the countless camp outs we do each year 10) will bring bushels of ice, bags and bags of food and anything else i request during day camp. i am sure this list could go on and on... i think that's it for now. wo he lo!!

Slip/Fall

So i had a slip and fall accident this week in the shower (!!!) and rapped my head on our glass shower door (not recommended) thank goodness i didnt break it, but i came away with a nasty cut over my eye. At first i thought that was it, but by morning i had two black eyes and a goose egg over my nose. Unbelieveable! Very humbling to say the least and very very embarrassing. Sure people fall all the time but i have never injured my face like this before, never, even as a kid! I have instantly become house arrested as every day my bruises go from pink to purple to greenish and yellow and quite shocking i must say. The kids are nice and make their funny comments to make me feel better. Being housebound has had its ups and downs. For the first two days i was in too much pain to really do a whole lot, but by day 3 i was cleaning the house like a freak and trying to get through a zillion "to do" lists. Today is day 4 and i have cabin fever like crazy. I am supposed to be back at work in 2 days but i am so freaking scared these bruises will remain. I am not a vain person but to be honest i don't want anything to draw attention to myself. I prefer to just muddle through my work and get back to what i want to do each day. 

before my accident, i had spent some time walking with the girls out in the on and off rain to sell candy and stumbled onto some fun landscape ideas

I have only recently become a fan of this type of native gardening. I still have a love for the "tropical" look so i am trying to see if i can mix a little
I took a walk around our local park yesterday, for the first time really getting out of the house. Felt so good! Our weather has been amazing. I say it over and over again, California is best in the winter. Cool nights, warm days... just perfect!

December happenings

I started out the month way ahead of schedule and it FEELS GREAT!! I have done most of my shopping and even wrapped most of my gifts, a definite first for me. Having two kids who are at such different maturity levels has proven hard for me this year. Lizzie is just 8 (soon to be 9) but Emily is closer to 13 than 12. This means that toys are pretty much off both their lists, even Lizzie! Last year eveyone wanted dolls (boy barbies too ???) and I obliged because I could feel the end of the doll era approaching. I guess it makes me a little sad to be moving out of the toy section and into the "curling irons, nail polish, make up, clothes" tween/teen world. Oh well! At least SANTA can still bring toys, right??

Karate and New Trucks, yay!! (food is not allowed in the new truck, yet)
Talent show and awards ceremony, we have almost gone a full year of karate, can't recommend it highly enough (especially for those kids who really really really need it)
On the Camp Fire front: we have done progressive xmas dinner parties, potluck parties and many parties at a very special grandma's house... but we have never just gone out to dinner for the heck of it! This year I decided to set our Xmas party at our local mexican food restaurant. It turned out great and I enjoyed letting the girls just "hang out" We left a nice big tip, hugs all around (hugging is BIG right now with the middle schoolers, so cute!!) and full bellies after a quick handmade gift exchange.
Some things i am enjoying right now: 1. Rachel Khoo especially her new cooking show on the cooking channel, so fun! 2. this cookbook 3. and this one too 4. this blog (I stumbled onto this blog about the time she delivered her twins and thought it was a really refreshing blog about parenting. since then i have been just smitten with it, i love her mom as well. when my kids were babies i didn't have a girlfriend to hang with or talk to and i remember feeling really lonely sometimes. i was lucky to find a really homey nurturing day care for my daughters and i met some other working moms i could talk with. it still wasn't that "dream girlfriend to hang at the park with" situation, but it did help me feel less neurotic! anyways, this blog is what i was looking for then and i don't mind taking a little trip back to the baby days sometimes, it's that good) 5. this blog totally inspiring, she has a video i watched and wow, what a lovely lady!! 6. and this one, are you KIDDING ME?? can these people be any cooler? sheeesh!! ok, off to my date with the laundry and super quick house pick up... we have had some algebra issues so today we meet the new tutor... yippee!!

Belmont Shore Parade

one of the first things i blogged about was the annual belmont shore christmas parade 7 years ago, wow! having two groups i try to be with both and sometimes it works out, sometimes not. this year we were able to stay together so it was a pretty smooth event

the younger kids still clowning around
my older group a little more reserved



parade photos always seem to come out dreamy and fuzzy and surreal... sorta how it feels while you are walking in it. never stops amazing me how exciting and fun it is to march down the parade route with all the noise, music, lights and action. another year down, getting ready for christmas, for once i am organized and early!!

halloween

just a quickie (after the fact) halloween post. i turned 45 this year! seems like a milestone but i feel pretty much the same. i have been in midlife crisis mode for about a dozen years anyway, right?
i like homemade, handmade costumes but the girls begged to look at the cheapy costumes at the store so i went along. it was actually fun and surprisingly easy !! Lizzie is some character from the monster high books? cartoons? not totally sure
emily was little red riding hood, always a favorite in our house (lizzie still has the cape my mom made her when she was about 4 or 5)
we used the "fish" game again at our camp fire carnival. it is so easy to set up and has a nice big look to it. our halloween carnival is super corny and retro, which i love, but we are trying to elevate it a bit so the kids don't get bored. the big kids REALLY get into it
they did a gross out booth... which was very popular!!
this cracked me up because i remember sorting out my candy with my friends and my brother.... the girls were so excited! another halloween (and birthday) has passed! on to thanksgiving and christmas we go...

grand council fire and spring camp out

a whirlwind of events right now, spring camp out (where families camp together at our local day camp)
emily finished her sixth year of camp fire, wow!
my goofy middle schoolers, such fun!

i never tire of seeing my girls up there singing... the camp fire law this time
love all the tents, watching the sun go down in the middle of the city...
lizzie flys up to adventure level (and will attend grand council fire next year... no more winging ceremony which is just for kids in k through 2nd grade)

lizzie liked when i pointed her out during my little speech

we are just weeks away from our trip to italy...been really addicted to this site and daydream of visiting all the places she writes about. ciao for now!