A numbers story

I've caved!

I went on a shopping spree with a friend today, taking advantage of her 30% off Friends and Family at the GAP/Old Navy, and....bought new pants in a bigger size.

Little history. I was a size eight forever. Then when I switched careers and got into teaching, my hyper-ness kicked in, and I worked all the time and my appetite shrunk. I dropped to a size 4. People worried about me. Eventually, things settled and I rose to a 6 and stayed there awhile. Got pregnant, had miss P, and pretty easily returned to the 6. After a few years I gradually returned to the 8. Yikes, I said, I have a closet full of pants I can no longer wear, but I did nothing, except buy a few pairs of pants in an 8.

Well, its happened again. About 4 months ago I found myself at about 10 pounds heavier. Age, I suppose? I've always ate pretty much when I was hungry and enjoyed what sounded good. I enjoy exercising but it has always been sporadic, depending on my time and what 'phase' I'm in (runner or couch potato). I've never seriously tried to lose (or gain - naturally), it just is what it is. This summer I broke down and bought 2 pairs of shorts in a size 10 from Old Navy, just to get me by. I didn't want to invest too much money in clothes when I hoped to get in better shape ASAP.

Well today I broke down and bought 2 pairs of nice jeans and some black pants all in a 10 I had been squeezing into my 8's, which fit, but not always the greatest. The new pants don't look bad at all, and it feels so good to be comfortable! I am making steps toward getting into better shape. I don't know if I'll stay a 10, or return to an 8, but for the time being, I need to put my best foot forward!

pretty please

A few times people who have chatted to me about my blog have said, "do you want me to comment?" I've always said, "If you want, no pressure." Ok, I'm changing my stance! I'm hearing crickets lately, and while I enjoy blogging regardless of my 'popularity,' it's nice to get a little feedback online. I've changed the settings so anyone can leave a comment, without having to do a 'login' step. So, I'm asking nicely, pretty please, send me a shout out, will ya?

All About Miss P

I interrupt this evening work-fest (I'm enjoying) to bring you the latest on my little rock star. Miss P has experienced some pretty cool milestones lately. Here they are, out of order. The summer wrapped up with P enjoying an art camp. Above is her self portrait. Below is her group posing in costumes they made for their interpretation of Where the Wild Things Are.

P loved the art class, but for some reason has no interest in pursuing other classes. Very chill, that one.

Last Monday she had her first day of first grade. Oh, it has been awesome. The difference between kindergarten and first! The confidence! P loved kindergarten, but was a bit slow to get comfortable. Previously she'd been at preschool three days a week, and really missed the two days we had at home together (me too). She grew a lot throughout the year. Now, in first, she started out with already tons of friends, two playdates the first week of school, and a sleepover this upcoming weekend. P is full of little stories about her class, which is perfect for her. Her teacher is doing a ton of PE which her daddy is thrilled with (me too), and while her K teacher did tons of songs, this teacher does a lot of silly dances. One has the instructions, 'bottom out, tongue out, make a face.' Which of course she loves. The shock of sticking out your bottom! I just wish I could be a fly on the wall for awhile.

Here she is in her new room, flashing the pottery barn kids backpack/lunchbox combo. We never got her one for K, she just re-used her preschool stuff. Hopefully, none of this will get lost!!!!!
Another milestone: the weekend before school started she lost her FIRST TOOTH! I was having the girls' night out mentioned in the last post, so daddy played tooth fairy. I missed it!

Another fun fact: we have discovered chapter books. I'm pretty sure she will become a reader this year. She passed the end of year standard for K, but isn't fluently reading yet. However, I am excited that she is excited about the longer more complex stories for read-alouds. I have read her Disney Princess anthology, particularly the little mermaid stories out loud soo many times. For her birthday, two friends gave her chapter books, Ramona Quimby, age 8 and one of the Rainbow Fairies series 'Pet Fairies' books. We read both of them within a few days - it was a blast - particularly the Ramona book. I'm not sure which of us enjoyed it more! I headed to the bookstore and bought her Ramona the Brave and more of the Fairies books. I will present them to her on her birthday Wednesday. It's not official yet, but....so far I love 6!!

girlfriend reunion

Had such a special night last weekend getting together with four of my sorority sisters in Pleasanton. There was a lot of anticipation as I have not seen some of them in a couple of years. B, the one I'm next to, is the only one I see regularly. The others are pretty spread out, and between families, work, distance - it has been tough. My friend C, who is seated in red, is six months pregnant, and I do miss her terribly. Anyway, we must have sat and chatted for at least a half an hour before even a drink order was placed. There was so much to talk about and such a festive celebratory mood all night.
The three above were the bridesmaids at my wedding over ten years ago! We moved on to a dance establishment after dinner and my cute friends attracted a lot of attention. We've still got it! : )

little Update

Almost done with the first week of the new school year and I am toast! Good year so far, just still revving up my stamina after a summer of lollygagging. : ) Sooo much to do mentally and physically. The additional kiddos in our class (we lost 20 to 1 class size reduction) may have something to do with it as well. Good news: Miss P is l-o-v-i-n-g first grade. What a difference a year makes! She loved kindergarten too, but her confidence level is through the roof now. She is really hilarious. I visited her at lunch recess today and she was playing with three other friends. She and one of the other little girls - E - were pretending to be puppies. The other two used their belts to make make-shift leashes which they attached to Miss P and E's wrists. Such pride I felt watching my daughter gallop across the field as a happy puppy. : )

Olivia Birthday Party

Miss P will turn 6 later this month. Since there is no way I can host a party at home during the first week of school, the miss celebrated a bit early this year. Last year's b-day (at a children's cooking school) was Pinkalicious. This year we went with Olivia. Once I, I mean we, chose the theme, I did a little research and came up with the idea for the cute picture above from this site.

Like my Real Housewives Party, I didn't quite get the photos of everything looking nice and ready. In case you are reading this post wanting to do your own Olivia party, here's a quick overview.

We had 10 friends - 7 girls, 3 boys. 7 were 6 years old, the other 3 were 4 year old sibs - so that's the age range we dealt with. By we, that was me, E, and two girlfriends willing to stay. I said 'drop off optional' and parents were more than happy to skedaddle! I did not blame them. I didn't want to do structured games, I wanted more of a free flowing station feel. As kids arrived, they could do coloring activities (from the nick jr. website - they have great paper dolls, coloring books, door hangers, and other Olivia themed crafts for free), or play on the play structure. My girl and her friends mostly chose to 'hang out' and talk. Shocker.

Once most everyone was there, I read an Olivia story and reviewed (teacher style) the activities. Because Olivia loves to paint, there was an art area, also a dress-up area full of red, black, and white boas and rings (and some special things for the boys), a soccer area (O plays on a team in one book), and a dollhouse with Olivia figurines. Also the beforementioned coloring activities and play structure. I scheduled the party a bit long, as I wanted it to feel like a 'blow-out' to P, and because we live further away from the other families (they ended up carpooling) - I wanted it to be worth their while. Anyway, we had lunch - food was a big hit, including pigs in a blanket and tons of fruit. Then came my favorite part of the party - the kiddos watched an Olivia movie while the grownups had a margarita in the kitchen and gossiped. : ) After our time-out, the kids played more, we had singing, cupcakes and present opening.
The dress up area - boy style.
If I were to do this party again, knowing what I know now, I'd add a lemonade stand, as that is another feature of Olivia's episodes. I'd stock it with lemonade, cups and a pretend cash register. I'd give all the kids a purse or wallet with play money and let them take turns being the lemonade sellers, servers, and buyers. The pretend play options, dress up and art were hits. Soccer - notsomuch.

Fun time was had by all!

Flower Girl

So cute, right????

Project Barbie Runway

So, here's a craft that is free, fast and easy peasy! How can you beat that? It's Barbie's (or your fav fashion doll's) stylish poncho! Miss P and I were inspired by our many mother daughter shopping trips and various fashion shows seen on TV. Why not replicate at home? (A mom can only make a doll just talk so much..)



You simply need: 1. paper towels or napkins 2. twist ties, ribbon,paper clips or rubber bands (or all of the above) 3. hole puncher 4. scissors 5. markers (optional)

Steps are so easy!

1) Trim and/or roll the paper towel or napkin into the shape you want.

2) Consider whether you want to cut out arm holes for a poncho, or leave it as more of a 'cape.'

3) Add a hole punch near the neck area and thread through the ribbon, twist tie, rubber band, or small colored paper clip.

4) Optional: use markers for design.

Viola! Barbie is ready to walk the runway!

Buh-nanas!

Ahhh... my friends at Bravo. I have been glued to this network, along with HGTV all summer. Three cheers for cable! Anyway, Rachel Zoe project premiered last Tuesday night. I decided to get the season 1 dvd (which I missed) to keep me company at work yesterday as I cleaned the %$# out of my cabinets. Nothing like Rachel, Taylor and Brad to keep me company. I found myself spouting zoe-isms as I worked. "Do you love this new room layout? Bananas!! " "Oh-my-God I die! Look at these red, yellow and blue lazy susans from Target. I had to have these." Back to the trenches now to meet my new student teacher!

summers end = laziness

A friend recently had a great facebook quote:

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. - Sam Keen.

I am already back in work mode preparing for school. But...yesterday, we had Miss P's 6th birthday party. More on that later. After entertaining 10 children (+ P) for four hours (after my traditional crazy rush to get everything ready the night before/day of) and then cleaning up, I was quite tired today. (Oh, add in a yucky fight with husband before party prep. bleh!) Anyway, despite, a need to get in gear, I announced some veg out time. And I'm enjoying it dearly!!

I started last night with a Pizza My Heart dinner - yum. Once we got home, I settled in for a double header - DC Housewives and season finale of Bethanny's Getting Married. Love! I enjoyed DC Housewives. Stacie is my early fav - she is the most down to Earth housewife they've ever had. Her house even looks normal - like someone I know might live there. : ) Jury is still out on Mary, but so far I'm liking her too. Bethenny Getting Married was a fantastic final episode. She is so hilarious and her husband is uber-likeable.

Today, I dedicated myself to hanging out with Miss P. The 'domestic dispute' we had the other night was I think in part to my family's reaction to me gearing back up at work again. After buying P a pack of play-doh on Tuesday (24 colors - $8 at Target), and promising we'd play (we've been designing cakes, a la Cake Boss), I found this note at night scrawled in orange crayon. Side 1: Mommy, I hope hope we play play doh like you said. (we didn't) Side 2: Dear Mom, we have no food. Love, Paige. Today, we played with all of her birthday toys, read, did some crafts, and worked on her thank you notes. This afternoon was awesome! I *encouraged* her to come outside (she'd rather play in the cool house, thank you very much). We filled a tub with water and played games where we took turns climbing in and performing dares,like jumping, spinning around, and yelling things like "I love summer!" E accompanied us, by sitting in the shade with his book. After some other games, we filled our water shooters up and hit targets all over our park. P *may* have accidentally been hit by my shooter a few times.....what can I say, I don't have very good aim. : ) Tonight, we are meeting friends for dinner. Ahhhh.....long live the final lazy days of summer...