ramblings

Does This Thing Even Still Work?

2013-04-06T09:15:19Z

Hello, hello, hello - shaking the dust off this old horse after reading back through some forgotten memories and remembering we were always writing to our future selves (not that we didn't mind you listening in!) It's amusing (not to mention unnerving) now that the kids can read back over details from their early childhoods as well. Hopefully they will forgive us.

Brandie & Sophie are both at (separate) birthday parties tonight, so Josie & I went to see The Croods at the multiplex downtown. We both got all dressed up and made a real date of it, had an early dinner at the food court before the movie (Josie picked McDonald's, I had tandoori chicken from the Indian place), browsed the Games Workshop before the movie and Whitcoulls bookstore after - generally didn't have to rush so it was a really enjoyable night from start to finish. The movie was great, not too scary and beautifully done - lots of really fun creatures and environments. Hats off to friends who worked on it, and thanks for a fun evening!

Brandie & I just finished a 30-day paleo challenge, giving up sugar, grains, dairy, legumes and alcohol. I also switched my coffees down to one a day (from three) and use almond or coconut milk instead of regular. I'd been eating somewhat paleo during the week for several months and noticing a positive affect, but decided to try the challenge after some encouragement by a friend at work. I really felt a difference, mostly in my mood - it's like someone took the cloud off my head, and I hate to feel it going back on now. Makes me wonder how much easier some years might have been without the ups and downs of the food. I was also really looking forward to that first post-challenge beer and pizza, and was much chagrined to find the price is too high to pay (at least regularly)! I definitely feel much more 'present', switched-on and patient than I do eating non-paleo foods.

Anyway, I'm going to try publishing this now to see if the system really does still work - it's good to be back, if all goes well I might try upgrading to the latest Movable Type and seeing what new bells and whistles are available. Hope all is well with you & yours, thanks for stopping by!

First Day of School - Year One - Josie

2011-05-09T22:08:48Z

I was lying in bed last night feeling like I was standing on the abyss. What will my life be like tomorrow? What is going to happen? The expanse of unknown made me sway backward, wanting to reverse time. How will I deal with this new step in our life as a family? Both of my babies are off at school. They don't need me! I know it's not true. I tried to turn my thoughts on their ear and think of what I want to fill that abyss with. Support, love, comfort, encouragement, love, stability, hugs, direction, imagination, fun, adventure, and love and love and love.

For Josie, I wish, and know, that she will take the world and change it, and embrace it and live in it, not worrying who's watching or what they think. I think of this song lyric from Tangled (I am a sucker for musicals!) when I think of my wishes for my girls, "Look at the world so close and I'm half way to it. Look at it all so big, do I even dare? Look at me, here at last I just have to do it. Should I stop? No. Here I go!"

The world is there for you. To jump in and enjoy and change. Don't halt wondering what anyone else thinks. Dance when you feel it. And I hope you feel it often. Make your own mistakes. Love your mom! :)

Love,
Your Mom

Happy 5th Birthday Josie

2011-04-27T22:14:06Z

Our beautiful little girl turns 5 today. She sprang out of bed, just happy to be 5. She's been counting down the days for her BIRTHDAY! Here's a little photo flashback from the beginning to now. I'm totally in love.

Bunnies!

2011-02-23T04:36:42Z

We are proud to announce the latest additions to the Stephens family. Pepper and Belle. Two sister half Dutch/half Mini-Lop bunnies. They are pretty cute! The girls have been very good at handling them and taking care of their every need. Sophie has even taken to reading them books in the morning.

Happy First Day of Spring!

2010-09-01T02:17:13Z

In celebration of the southern hemisphere's first day of Spring, I thought I'd post some pics from our garden at the new house.

Happy Things

2010-08-12T06:02:31Z

Several things made me very happy today.

I got to Skype with my father-in-law on his 65th birthday. Happy Birthday George!

I watched my daughter fall asleep in my husband's arms.

I saw a man giving his girlfriend a ride on the handlebars of his bike.

My 4 year old daughter belted out "All The Single Ladies" in the produce aisle while a 20 something girl gave me the eyebrow.

All-Purpose and General Update

2010-07-31T09:56:13Z

Could I be any more specific and exciting? I've had a bit of blogging block so I thought tonight I would just do a general update of all things and happenings here with us.

We've moved, again. My husband pointed out we've moved 6 times since 2005. Scary. But this time it feels really good (even if it is quite a bit colder). We just moved down the street closer to the village part of Brooklyn which has been really convenient for getting the girls to school and kindy. We walk each morning and it feels so liberating not to have reason to get in the car for a couple days at a time. The walk to school and kindy is a very social time and Sophie explained that it makes her "all shaky" with excitement each time we are ready to walk to school. So many of our friends and her classmates walk to school that it's rare for us to arrive at school with less than 5 other people.

The new house is also considerably smaller than our last view filled casa. Three bedrooms and one bathroom. I said to my father in law the other day, nothing brings a family together like one bathroom. It's true that we all have less, how should I say it, personal time. However, I think Jake and I are the only people who notice. :) We have a beautiful back garden that is very nicely designed to be just jam packed with fruit and vegetable bearing plants without seeming crowded. The girls have a playhouse with a slide and a wooden swing on the tree. It's got a great kitchen with a "professional" oven. It's got a spit with built in motor for roasts. I made a chicken on it the other night and it was fabulous! I am so much more at ease in this house. It feels like me and everyone seems more relaxed. Or maybe I am projecting.

Sophie has started children's choir this term and really enjoyed her first session. She is a natural performer and is frequently asking us to be an audience for her dances.

Annoyingly, she's had the same cough for about 17 weeks! I've taken her to two doctors and she's had antibiotics twice (for things other than her cough) but nothing kicks this cough. Her lungs sound clear and she has no other symptoms but man, we all feel sorry for the kid.

She continues to be a texture eater. Each day after we arrive home I unpack her lunchbox and will ask her how her lunch was and why she did or did not eat a certain item. I've been mentally noting her descriptions of what is wrong with various foods. On various days things have been ishy-squishy, spongy, soggy, sloppy, too soft, too crunchy, a little wet, not fresh and wonkey. I pack the kid nearly the same lunch every day! Peanut butter and jelly with either orange slices or apples, then crackers and either carrot sticks or pepper sticks plus a treat of some sort. Ah ha! I just realized the treat NEVER gets any of those nasty texture descriptions. Hm... Looks like the joke's on mom.

Josie has a couple themes going on at the moment. First, she is in love with mirrors. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say she's in love with watching herself in the mirror. Our new house has several full length mirrors (which on a side note are a big motivator for exercise) and Josie never passes up an opportunity to practice over-acting in front of one of them. She cries, laughs, sings, dances, shouts and jokes all just to see what it looks like. She's pretty hilarious unless of course you need her to pay attention then she very quickly becomes not hilarious.

She has also created an alternate family. "My other mommy. Her name is Brandie." The first time she tried this I was trying to explain that I was Brandie but she was pretty certain that it was her other mommy. She comes up with stories about her other family all the time. "My other dad, Mopey, he lives at my kindy." I was really hurt at first. Is our real family so bad she needs to create an alternate one to escape us? Then I thought of a way to use it to my advantage. I tried telling her that her other mommy wanted her to tidy up her room. Well, I crossed the line because apparently only Josie can talk to the other mommy. Not me. Ever. Good times. I wonder what other Brandie thinks about this?

Lastly, Josie is no longer being carried. Yes, I realize she is four years old and why the hell was I carrying her in the first place? Well, she's my youngest and gets tired easily and walks really slow and and and it was just easier for me. Until I realized that she always wanted me to carry her. It just stopped being feasible. So I really had to suck it up and start leaving the house earlier to get to school or pick Sophie up from school. She put out a valiant effort the first day I made her walk at school. We'd discussed it before leaving the house but when it came time to walk up the hill at school you would have thought I was putting screws in her eyes. "Maaaahm! I just caaaaaan't waaaaaalk! Uuuaaaghhh! It's tooo hard! It's tooo steep!" Oh, hi there, tons of other parents. Just don't mind me torturing my child here. No, I don't need to be reminded that it's a big hill. I am very aware of how long this is going to take. "Come on Josie, you are doing great! No I am not going to pick you up." Phew. We made it to the top and collected Sophie. Then, repeat crying and screaming for the entire way down the hill. Thank God that just happened for one day. She put up a little fuss several times over the next week but nothing on the Oscar winning scale of that first day. I needed a stiff drink after that performance. Chilled me to the bone. She does get the odd piggy back now and then but has mostly embraced her new independence and won't ask to be carried.

Is this starting to sound like a family Christmas letter? I was about to write a little note about my arthritis and Jake's awards but I'll save those tasty morsels for a more appropriate time.

Just wanted to say, we're still here and plugging along. Hopefully more updates and recipes will be posted soon.

Josie Update

2010-07-16T21:17:59Z

A few weeks ago Josie had a routine followup visit with her pediatric neurologist, Dr. Sadlier at Wellington Hospital. We are feeling very grateful that we can leave her office with smiles on our faces and "thank yous" being exchanged.

She confirmed through an epilepsy research group that we joined (and had blood tests done by) that Josie has the SCN1 gene mutation. We can't remember if it is A or B or if that makes a difference. We don't know why but are somewhat relieved that we can point our finger at something and say, "This is why Josie has epilepsy."

At any rate, Josie continues to be seizure free, 1 year and two months now! The doctor has decided to leave her on the current doses of her meds (Lamictal and Epilim) for at least the next year. We'll see her again in 6 months and if all is still going well (fingers crossed, knock wood, legs crossed) she will schedule another EEG then discuss weaning her off of what she is on.

This is all fine with us as Josie continues to be bright, sassy and herself while on the current doses. The doctor also explained that as she grows and the doses stay the same she is essentially very slowly weaning herself already. All very exciting news.

Happy 5th Birthday Sophie!

2010-05-10T01:14:08Z

Ok, this one is just a bit overdue but I have a great excuse.... actually, I don't.

Sophie celebrated her 5th birthday surrounded by family in Reno during our trip to the States in December. She had requested a Hawaiian birthday so my mom and I stayed up the night before making her cake. It was a really easy and cute plumeria that I had seen in Women's Weekly.

Mom and Grandma Mary decked the whole table out with leis and golden necklaces, foil garland. It was after all, Sophie's Golden Birthday. My mom planned a treasure hunt for the girls and they had clues as to where to find everything. They really enjoyed running all around and finding the treasures. The Birthday Fairy (something created by Mom) hid all of the presents and the very last one was The Golden Necklace. Sophie was enraptured that a fairy had come with everything for her.

Sophie was showered in presents and love by all the family who rarely get to see her. It was really a special treat being able to celebrate with all of them together.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T19:29:21Z

..to all the moms out there, greenhorns to seasoned veterans: thanks for all you do! Most especially to my best friend, the best mom and partner anyone could wish for.

I love you Brandie!

Sophie's Dream

2010-05-08T00:23:50Z

Here is the dream Sophie had this morning, as described by her:

"Jessica was swimming underwater and was trying to find a key to Voltron and when she found it she flipped it up in the air at night and all the roofs on the houses became all Christmasy and when she threw it up in the sky it was Christmas. And it never came down again. Actually it came down again and then haha-hmhm-haha" (starts humming).

So, yes we've been watching some Voltron. Boy there's a lot of build-up to the first time he appears! And thanks Jessica for finding the key and making it Christmas!

One Year Seizure Free!

2010-05-07T18:50:10Z

The superstitious part of me is reluctant to post this for fear of it somehow being taken away, but another part wants to shout it from the rooftops, over the world: Josie is celebrating one year of seizure freedom this week!

It's been amazing to see her blossom this past year - in every way she's just taken off like a rocket ship. I am so proud of her, and happy for her. She's much more physically confident and able, less shaky and clumsy. She's also become an avid bookworm, asking for as many books as you can read to her and really focused on the story.

Josie is still on two anticonvulsants, Epilum and Lamictal, but successfully weaned off the third (Clobazam) over the holidays. Her last EEG showed there was still abnormal activity in her brain so she still needs the others to maintain seizure control. Her next appointment with our amazingly awesome pediatric neurologist is in June, and we'll keep you posted on what she says.

We realize how incredibly lucky we are and how easily it could change, putting her back in the throes of it. There are many families who struggle a lot longer and go through a lot more before seeing seizure-freedom, if at all. We are grateful for every day we get to spend with her.

Congratulations Josie - we love you!!

Been II

2010-05-07T06:49:59Z

Please allow me to start this post by saying way back in early January I had grand plans of recording each day of our awesome holiday tour, supported in colorful detail by our SmugMug photos, but in the effort of updating the blog itself (among other things) I've let months slip by and now the events are starting to become hazy. Here however is the last post I started way back when (may as well put it to some use!), and I will do my best to broad-brushstroke the rest before it all turns to dust in my head!

The second day of our big holiday trip began with a trip to feed the ducks by the Marin County Civic Center with our fabulous hosts, the Eversons. We all hit the playground together and then split off to drive up to Petaluma for lunch. It was exciting to make that familiar drive again, now with the girls so much older. On the way we stopped by our old house to see how it was holding up, and were happy to see how good the neighborhood looked. We were also surprised at how established all our front yard plantings had gotten:

After snapping some pictures we crossed the D Street Bridge (and Rivertown Feed, thinking mightily about Eula and the dog park!) for lunch at Mike & Susie's house. We hadn't seen their family since our combined trip to Martha's Vineyard a few summers ago, but Sophie still remembered her friend Kane. We had a grand time catching up, playing and relaxing in the sun in their backyard (ah, late fall in northern California!):

After lunch we headed into San Francisco for a gorgeous sunset and belated Thanksgiving dinner with our newlywed friends Matt & Jane (whom we had last seen in Wellington just a year prior, thanks again for all their help during a very difficult time!!!) Dinner was over-the-top delicious, but possibly overshadowed (in Sophie's mind at least, not mine or Brandie's!) by their very cool wedding presents:

After many fun lightsaber battles and delicious eats we thanked Mr. Matt and Miss Jane and packed two well-traveled and weary kids back into the Explorer for the drive back over the Golden Gate to Novato.

Birthday Dance Party!

2010-05-02T08:30:08Z

Today we had a bunch of friends over to celebrate Josie's birthday. It was cold and raining when we woke up, but the sun started piercing through while we were getting ready and by the time everyone arrived it was a gorgeous morning.

After months of deliberation, Josie had finally settled on a Hello Kitty theme for her party. Brandie & I decided to try making Hello Kitty-themed cake pops after seeing them on Bakerella (amazing stuff on there, if you've never been!) They turned out to be really easy and as usual fun to do a project like that together - plus they seemed to be a hit with all the kids today (click on the picture of the birthday girl above to see them).

We also had a dance-party theme to the party, inspired by the dance parties we had with our cousins during their visit. On today's playlist:

Jack Rabbit Slims Twist Contest - Various (Pulp Fiction)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyonce
So What - Pink
Don't Stop Believin' - Glee Cast

It was really a fun day, thanks all who made it out (and to everyone we wish were there!)

Happy 4th Birthday Josie!

2010-04-28T08:37:23Z

The Juice turned 4 today. She got all dolled up in a new outfit from Uncle Jesse and carried her new Hello Kitty backpack in to school today, proud as a peacock. As soon as I walked out the door I wanted to run back and stay with her, as if that would keep her from getting older. I can't help myself. She's my baby.

Now that she's 4 she's started in the 4 year old Kindy (preschool) class on Monday. This means she'll be attending 5 mornings a week. She was very excited and proud to see her teachers that morning. Giving her best smile to each of them as they greeted her. I picked her up from school, happy as a clam at high tide. We came home, had a nice snack and a nap. Then headed off to her new swimming lessons. I was concerned as her last lessons consisted mostly of her waiting her turn and during the waiting time she would cry for me. This time she hopped right in, her swim cap and goggles accentuating her cheeks, and did everything the teacher asked her. Smiling all along. We stopped to get fish and chips on the way home to celebrate our first day back at school and Josie's first day at 4 year old kindy. As we drove up the hill she exclaimed at the top of her lungs, "My name is J-O-S-I-E Josie and I'm a big girl now!!" She was so proud.

We're proud of you too Josie. Keep growing up even if mommy tells you not to.