Christmas Party #1 - Dutch Style

After leaving San Luis Obispo early Saturday morning, we were able to make it down to San Diego by early afternoon. Linda, the incredible hostess-with-the-mostess, planned a small Christmas party for that evening, with a few of her friends. A few of her friends were Dutch, so there was a lot of conversations that I was lost during, but I was not lost during fun games!!

I have no idea what this game was called but it was very similar to skeeball, or maybe shuffleboard. I have never been on a cruise, so I have no idea how shuffleboard is played, but apparently it is similar.

The goal is to get the little pucks through the "goals." There are a few more rules, but its not important. The game was handmade by one of Linda's friends and it was SO MUCH FUN. There was a lot of laughing and shouting and Luke not sleeping. Surprisingly, I was not too bad at it!


You really want to line the pucks up so you can shoot a lot in at once. Todd said he would make a game for me, so *cross your fingers* it is some good times!

We also played Left, Right, Center which I had never played before. There was a lot of laughing and having a good time. They have made a few changes to the game, instead of using chips, they use quarters. Everyone becomes very invested when the game involves money!

The party was an awesome way to start our vacation - in very "Linda style."

The MAN.

So Santa is the man. We built him up for a good month or so with Luke to get him stoked and willing to work towards staying on the "nice" list.

Todd and Great-Grandpa were installing a new faucet, so, thinking that I am a brave, strong "mom" type, I declared that I would single-handedly take Luke to see Santa.

I'd like to review that statement again:

I thought that I, by myself, would take Luke, by myself, to see Santa, by myself.

*sigh*

I am nutso.

So I called my parents. I needed backup. Luke is not a bad kid, he is just intense. Like, super, textbook "active" child intense.

We even arrived early, but there was still a huge line. My parents were able to swing by the mall and we all took turns standing in line and taking Luke for walks. Yikes.

But when Santa Claus arrived, it was like the Beatles landing in America. Or like Will Ferrell in "Elf." Luke's arms shot out and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "SANTA CLAUS IS HERE!!" It was pretty epic.

But when the moment came, the time to approach SANTA CLAUS, he actually became a little gunshy, which is terribly unlike him. But Santa, bless his heart, raised his hand and said, "High Five!" And then Santa was speaking Luke's language and all was well.

I put him on Santa's lap and asked Luke if he was on the "nice" list or the "naughty" list. Let's just say there was a really long pause and a really deep breath and some staring at the ceiling and eventually declared "the nice list." Santa, being the awesome Santa he was, said that he was sure that Luke was on the nice list. *ahem*

Luke told Santa that he wanted tools for Christmas:
"A-saw-and-a-hammer-and-a-wrench-and-a-pliers . . ."

The pictures were not awesome, mostly Luke looked like he was in some serious pain. Oh well, he wasn't having a tantrum, so we're good.

After getting off Santa's lap, Santa whispered to me, asking if he could give Luke a mini candy cane. After saying yes, Santa gave Luke the candy cane. Luke was absolutely shocked (free candy! I can't blame him . . .) and adoringly looked at Santa and said, "Thank you Santa. Thank you for the candy cane."

Mommy was proud.

The candy cane was gone by the time I paid for pictures. Good job, Luke.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and relaxing Christmas with your family and friends.

Winter Program

There is always a winter and spring program at Stratford - whether you are 2 years 9 months and in a preschool program or 10 years old and in 5th grade. I have my show that I do every year ("Charlie Brown Christmas" which is adorable, if I do say so myself) and now Luke gets to do a show, too.

Some background information to note:

• Luke is not yet three.
• Luke has been going to preschool 2 afternoons a week.
• Luke began preschool at the end of November.
• Luke has no freaking clue what a "program" is.

And now, the story of Luke's show.

Luke was dressed up as an elf (a very cute one at that) and was placed at the end of the line with all the other "standers." You know the "standers:" the kids who don't do anything and just take up space. They don't sing, they don't dance, they stand. Please look at the background information above to note why Luke is part of the "stander" group.

So Luke is absolutely bewildered, wondering why he is dressed up as a freaking elf. He keeps saying "Mommy? Mommy?" while I keep smiling and waving with my cameras (plural) and being a super obnoxious preschool mommy. (with all the rest)

He immediately starts making goofy noises and being very Luke-ish to the adorable little girl next to him and she is so incredibly irritated. She shushed and shushed him and finally, I kid you not, "hmphed" him, tossed her hair and turned away. It was awesome.

So the music started, the kids were (mostly) singing, minus the standers, and Luke looked like he had been dropped on some strange, mysterious planet wondering what he was supposed to do. At least the kid next to Luke was the "chewer" of the "standers." The kid who chewed on his shirt, then the bells, then the kazoo around his neck.

After a few songs, Luke decided he was completely done with this whole performance and started walking towards me. I, being the director of my own show, waved my hand, said "No no Luke! Go back to your spot!" Dang, did I get a dirty look. He pouted back to his spot and promptly . . .

pulled his hat down completely over his face.

What did I do?

Laugh, of course.

Then he really yanked down the hat, to make sure his face was good and covered.

I continued to giggle, as did many of the other parents. Luke pulled the hat up a little, to check to see if the attention was on him, caught my eye and the hat went down again. Really, really pulled down.

Nice work, Luke.

We have it all on video, which is really cute. Granted, out of a 20 minute boring performance of Luke, this is the 2.5 minutes of good film. So I won't put up the whole boring thing. This is the only still shot I was able to take, as the battery died on my camera. Bummer.

He just looks so disappointed in me.

"Why Mommy? Why would you allow them to dress me up like this? I thought you liked me? I thought we were in a good place."

Because these are the moments (videos) I can embarrass you with when you're 16 and bringing home girls. That's what you get for pulling down your hat over your cute, pouty face.

Wrastlin'

I love how much Luke loves his cousins - it happens to be a nice bonus that his cousins love him, too. So here, Gracie and Luke are having a hug fest. I think everyone won. But especially Todd and I: Luke was so exhausted from the "wrastlin" that he crashed pretty quickly that night.

Juliette's Birthday Party

Luke was lucky enough to attend his buddy Juliette's 5th birthday party at a gymnastics school. Wow - did this kid have fun! It's all about action for Luke and he was able to run and climb and bounce to his heart's content.

Though he did not appreciate me tossing him into the foam pit. Oh well.


Luke did a great job sitting and listening to directions. It was a miracle. Thanks preschool - we're already seeing an improvement! Hooray!

The obstacle course:

climbing the ladder

a somersault down the ramp


crawling through the tunnel



bouncing along the long trampoline

Luke had such a fun time - he is just a little boy who needs to run and be active. Shock and awe, right?

A Very A's Christmas!

On our way down to San Diego to visit Nana, we decided to stop off in San Luis Obispo to visit Uncle B and Auntie Sam in their new home. It was nice to get out of town quickly, but not have to do the full drive in one shot. They were kind enough to let us stay with them for the night.

Luke was so excited to have an early Christmas - Luke could hardly stand the excitement of opening his gifts.

What could it be?!?

Its an awesome A's jersey!


Put it on! Put it on!
Mommy and Daddy also got A's t-shirts with their NAMES ON THEM. I know - cool, huh? So Todd's says "Bickel 01" and mine says "Bickel 02." Now I'm ready to face all the Giants fans on Sports Day in the spring.

Another try . . .

So, a while ago, we had attempted our first "Mommy/Son" outing for donuts, but it was not very successful. I thought we would try it again and head to someplace new.

Success!

Much better selection and they were delicious!! Hooray!

I'm so glad we finally found a place that is fairly close by that has delicious donuts. This is an excellent reason to eat donuts without feeling the guilt. Its about bonding, not about donuts. I swear.

Life of a teacher.

This was what my responsibility was over Thanksgiving break.

That, my friends, is grading. That is 5 1/2 inches of grading. (I measured.)

And I only have a dinky class of 14. I'm sure if I had a full class (like the rest of the school) I would never see my child. Ever. They will have to drag my lifeless body from that little mini-classroom if they ever want me out of there. I don't know if I could go back to a full size class, verses my little 2/3 class in my (ahem) "cozy" classroom.

Freaking grading. Teaching would be awesome without it.

Poor Miss Helen

These two boys are nothing but trouble together. I mean seriously. They spend three mornings a week at daycare with Miss Helen, and as she tells me, "I don't get to sit. Not even for one minute." Yeah. I know. Sorry about that.

So the Gartins and the Bickels have been making an effort to let the boys hang out more outside of daycare to make the three mornings a little less exciting. Please note: it has not worked. They are crazy together.

We took the boys to look at the Christmas lights in Vasona Park (The Festival of Lights - its very festive) but were able to get pizza and then go to Starbucks for coffee before the drive through the park. Clearly, I don't have a point and shoot camera with a fast enough shutter speed to capture these boys.

Poor, poor Miss Helen.

On that note, Luke is going to be starting 5 full day Preschool starting in January (still not potty trained - but let's not go there) and we had to say goodbye to Miss Helen. I completely cried like a baby. Todd rolled his eyes at me. It really just means that Luke is no longer a baby and is growing up. Miss Helen was such a blessing in our lives, being a "third parent" for the last two years. Her husband was on the brink of tears and asked us to please bring him back to visit.

While I know he will be missed, I'm sure that Miss Helen will have a little bit of a quieter day without Luke there. :)

Timber!

So I made the executive decision this year: we had one weekend to get a Christmas tree, so while Todd stayed home with a sick little Luke, I went with my parents to pick out a tree and cut it down. I picked out the keeper and took him home. It still took us another week or two to actually decorate - but we eventually got around to it.


One of the first things I noticed about our house when we found it last year was that it had the "perfect" Christmas tree spot. And it fit perfectly. And by perfectly, I mean we had to cut off the top of the tree to make it fit. Apparently, I imagined more glorious, lofty high ceilings than we actually had.

I'm no longer allowed to Christmas tree shop by myself.

Venturing North

I really should have taken pictures of our shopping adventures the day after Thanksgiving, but alas, it was not to be. Way to cold for pictures standing outside Kohls at 3:30 in the morning. Yikes!

But we traveled up to Novato to visit Auntie G for breakfast that weekend and see where she was working after moving up from San Diego. After that, we figured we might as well head up to Russian River Brewery.

Oh glorious delicious Russian River. You are a beautiful place with amazing beer and food. We were rushed - mostly just picking up a few growlers and taking off.

I enjoyed a glass of my Supplication. Yum Yum Yum. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend it. True deliciousness.

Thanksgiving

I know, I know. It's December, it's almost Winter Break . . . and I'm behind. Shoot.

So here's Thanksgiving in a nutshell.

Luke went to school on a Wednesday to celebrate Thanksgiving with his buddies. All the boys were Indians, all the girls were Pilgrims. The boys wore feather headbands (not shown here - you think Luke would keep that on?) and the girls had little bonnets. Luke had war paint. He liked the war paint.


Oh, and he really only ate fruit and the cornbread I bought. He's so picky.

For dinner on Thursday night, we headed up to Todd's grandparents house for dinner. As always, it is the most delicious meal of the year and I had to be rolled out of there!

Beautiful placecards!
Luke played happily outside with Frankie D - his "just-my-size" dog. They run around together and have a great time. Every time he sees his Auntie G - he always asks where Frankie is.


After dinner, we celebrated Grandpa's birthday.

And then we ran. And ran. And ran.

Mostly, that's what my kid does: run.

He was completely wrecked after Thanksgiving, but did not fall asleep on the ride home. We had such a wonderful time, just as well always do. And of course, we were thrilled to take Linda home with us to get ready for the annual Post-Thanksgiving Day shopping extravaganza!

Grateful - Day 10

I know I know . . . I went MIA there for a while. These last few weeks have been atrocious in every sense of the word and I'm exhausted.

So today, I am certainly the most grateful for a BREAK.

I am thankful to be sitting here, on a Thursday, in my jammies. I so love jammmies.
I am thankful that I survived the last few weeks with my sanity.

I am thankful that it is a four-day weekend, though I'm trying not to think about the mounds of grading that is sitting in my car. (I refused to bring it in yesterday)

I am thankful to have the opportunity to see my family today - the family I was born into and the family that I married into.

I am thankful that we have survived two weeks of preschool without an accident, leaving the accidents for home. (Okay, I'm not grateful for the home accidents, but I'll take them for now.)

I'm grateful for my son, who is the sweetest kid.

Last night, around 2-ish, I heard him start crying, so I went in to see him. He quieted down immediately, looked up with those sleepy kid eyes, gives me a sweet smile and says:

"Oh, hi mommy. I'm so glad to see you."

And you know, at 2 in the morning, after a crummy couple weeks, I was really glad to see him to.

I kissed him, he happily rolled over and went back to sleep.

So, I'm grateful that Luke is a stellar sleeper.

My class is frantically trying to get their winter program together (lines, staging, choreography, etc) but the one time I'm relaxed during rehearsals is during the song "Counting Your Blessings." Its a short song, but so beautiful and I always relax and enjoy my kids little voices belting it out. I'll be thinking about it today:

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep
Counting my blessings.

-White Christmas

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

(last year's turkey centerpiece - I didn't even get to make on this year - bummer!)

Grateful - Day 9

Today I am grateful for being a teacher.

I took a long way around becoming a teacher (still working on it . . . ugh) but I know that I've found the job I am supposed to have.

There are some really unfortunate downsides to being a teacher:

• excessive work load
• having summers off, but not being able to take them because I don't make enough money during the year
• having to keep everyone happy: administration, parents, kids . . . it is exhausting
• knowing that I'll never make the money I'd like to make doing the job that I love
• I hate grading. I really really hate grading.

But the positives far outweigh the negatives:

• Kids who love coming to school every day because they love to learn and are excited to hear what I'll bring to them today
• Hugs daily, sweet, endearing notes - I keep them all, I have them in a book and refer to them when I'm feeling crummy
• Learning patience. It has made me a much better mommy. Having patience for one or two kids is tough enough. Imagine having to have a classroom of patience. Yikes!
• Getting winter break and spring break. It's not a summer break, but it will do.
• Dressing up for Halloween. I am expected to dress up and I get to be the "cool" teacher if I come up with something clever. Last year, I was Amelia Earhart and was deemed cool. This year I was Medusa, the year prior, Harry Potter. But I was the super-coolest when I was Princess Leia. That costume might make another round next year.
• I get to start over fresh, every year. I like having a definite beginning and a definite end. And those kids that push my buttons, in June, I'm done with them. Done done done.
• Kids really do say the funniest things. I get to laugh every day and get my kids to laugh. I get to act like a fool and sing and dance and they appreciate my efforts.
• I have learned what kind of kid I want to have - I have learned through observation what good parents do and what not-so-good parents do.
• I love my kids, as much as they frustrate me, I really really love them. We're a family for nine months and I get to know and understand them like they were my own kids.
• I love giving them tidbits of knowledge that they really don't need to know, but will make them feel smart and cool. You know, cocktail party conversation starters. They eat it up.
• Nothing makes a person feel more amazing than watching a kid "get it." Their eyes light up and you have been put on a pedestal for a moment in time.
• Having parents tell you that you've had not only an impact on their child, but on them as well. Parents that have begun to love history and reading because their child has learned to love them because you have loved them.
• I love making art projects - and I have to make an example. No really, I really should.
• Days go by quickly - there's no time to be bored, or tired. The kids want your best and there's no other option.

Viking Shield with a runic sentence. Cool, huh?



I get to make an impact . . . on kids and on parents. And they make an impact with me. I am blessed to have the opportunity to be creative, every day.

Grateful - Day 8

Yikes! Change!?!?

I've been working on being grateful for this . . . its always a challenge.

So today, I will be grateful for changes.

Being grateful for change has a lot to do with faith and trust. (And maybe a little pixiedust?)

Change can be so frightening, but it's always there for a reason. Life is going to change whether you want it to or not, whether you embrace it or not. I'm working on embracing life's changes and taking the time to understand the why's of them all.

I began my college years in Los Angeles, focused on becoming an animator and getting a job in the "industry." I suffered from an extensive lack of confidence and chickened out of staying down in LA, so I came back north to go to grad school for history. I was so full of regret for not staying, for not really giving myself the opportunity for failure or success. But that change, picking myself up and coming home led to so many other wonderful opportunities, including meeting Todd at San Jose State Univ. in our history class, finding my way to teaching and so on. So I can't regret these choices towards change - there were other paths for me to follow.

This is my character design from my senior thesis, "Rapunzel." Don't let Disney fool you - I did it first. If there is a pizza delivery guy named "Simon," in the upcoming "Tangled," I'm suing.

Because I'm such an animation nut (as is Todd - one more reason I love that guy), I love Pixar and I love their shorts before their films. One that I have grown to appreciate over the years, especially as I reflect on change and having a positive attitude, is "Boundin." The basic storyline being a cute lil' ol' sheep who is embarrassed after being shaved clean. A jack-a-lope sings some advice that I've taken to heart:

Now sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down,
When you find that you’re down well just look around:
You still got a body, good legs and fine feet,
Get your head in the right place and hey, you’re complete!

So having a positive attitude towards change has really made me change.

I was nervous about Luke starting school . . . we're still totally not potty trained (shhhh!) but he has a bladder of steel (new superpower?) and can hold it for hours. He needed more structure, he needed a challenge, he needed kids his own age. I love our daycare (more than I can ever begin to say) but now Luke has become one of the oldest, and has few kids his own age. He just needed more.

But I wasn't ready for the change. I wasn't ready for him to grow up and go to school. Its part of my process of realizing that Luke isn't a baby anymore - he's a big kid capable of a lot. I had to suck it up and send him along. So on Tuesday, he was off to an afternoon session of preschool. I will say, it's nice to have him (literally) right next door. The classroom right. next. door.

So he went to school. I said goodbye, Luke said, "Have a good day at school, Mommy!" I, of course, replied, "You too, Luke." And he was over it. He did awesome in Spanish, counting along and singing (Thanks, Dora!) and sitting and participating. I was such a proud mommy. All the teachers attempted (in vain) to get him to potty, but he would have none of that. And he didn't have an accident, he held it for a few more hours until later at home.

The preschool principal at my campus is so awesome - she was so impressed with Luke and how he just fit right in that she took a couple of pics on her phone and sent them to me. He's already made a few buddies and is happy as can be.

So, change can be good, depending on how you look at it. His behavior issues (screaming, jumping, running) at daycare seem to have subsided, we're getting great reports all week. He needed that new challenge, as much as I felt emotionally resistant to it.

When I picked him up from daycare of Wednesday (a non-school day) he immediately said, "Going to school, Mommy!?!?" I was so pleased that he was so excited and happy about going to school.

The effects of a non-nap Tuesday/Thursday, combined with a busy afternoon at school:
Please note: I cannot remember the last time Luke slept in the car during a non-road trip drive. He was totally out on a 15 minute drive home.