Buzz

After our super-big party last night, Dave kept saying to me, "You still have your glow...Keep enjoying your glow!" I know there is a post-party glow that happens, especially after an enormously successful beach party, but I also just learned that there's a new Jennifer Lopez perfume out called "Glow." So now I'm starting to think that I'd like to refer to it as more of a "buzz." (Until Lindsay Lohan or Courtney Love comes out with a perfume by that name.)

Two other moms and I organized this beach party for all of the families and teachers in Luke's graduating class, and we were thrilled to have more than 100 people show up, including at least 10 teachers. We also lucked out with weather - sunny and warm - and with hermit crab season offering plentiful little beach crabs for the kids to collect and admire. We went through 17 pizzas and who knows how many bowls of fruit, drinks, cookies, and cupcakes. By the end of the party I knew it was a success because someone (Luke) threw up. (In fairness, it was after dinner, dessert, hours of running around, and one of his friends had tossed a shovel-ful of sand that landed right in his mouth, so it had to come back up.)

Luckily Dave kept an eye on Zach (who made at least 30 trips to the dessert table, but what are you gonna do?) so that I could spend time chatting with other grownups. It was so much fun that I felt a little sad that we hadn't spent more time together during all of these years of preschool... Often we're just ships passing during pickup and dropoff times. But we've got lots of playdates and special trips planned for summer vacation, so we're just going to try to maintain these friendships while we can, until kindergarten starts and we all go in our different directions. Tonight, for example, we met three of the other families for a concert in the park, and while the kids ran around playing detective, we drank wine, did the chicken dance, and enjoyed the buzz while it lasted.

Pomp and Circumstance

It's official: Luke is now a pre-K graduate. We had all of the festivities last night, and what a trip it was. Uncle Bill was the event photographer, and we are eagerly awaiting his photos from the evening, but until then, you just have to deal with my amateurish snapshots and read a bunch of words.

The ceremony started with each of the kids marching up to the stage slowly (to "Pomp and Circumstance"); then they sang a few songs - one in Spanish, one with the sign language alphabet; and then they each came down from the rafters for a diploma. When the director handed out the diplomas, each kid had to say his or her name loudly into the microphone. It was kind of a blur to me, but this is how several people described it: Five or so kids went and spoke in a someone restrained manner, to polite applause; then Luke got up, and said his name so exuberantly that a cheer sort of rose up in the audience; and following that the kids and the families were much more animated and enthusiastic. (I know what you're thinking: Leave it to the kid's mom to somehow imagine that the graduation ceremony was all about her child.) After that we had a nice dinner with Suzi and Bill and friends, and everyone had a great time except for poor Zach who is having a rough week for a couple of different reasons including sickness and overtiredness.

People have been asking me, "Did it make you cry?" Well, I felt all melt-y and goosh-y inside but I didn't really cry - I was too entertained by the whole spectacle. But I'll tell you something much more real that almost made me cry today:

Zach loves trains, right? A few weeks ago I took Zach to the little mini-train ride in the mall near us, thinking he'd have a blast. As it turned out he was a little scared and didn't want to ride it without me (no parents allowed on the train). So today, Luke and Zach had off from school and (given that I had a bunch of unused tickets from a few weeks ago) I decided to bring them both to the train ride. Luke held Zach's hand, they walked in there together, and Luke sat next to Zach right up in front at the engine. As the train started up, Luke put his arm around Zach's shoulders and kept it there, protectively, while they went around the tracks. A minute or so into the ride, I saw Luke showing Zach how to push the red button to make the whistle blow; then they sat back again, with Luke's arm draped over his brother's shoulders. I would have given anything to have a camera, but then again, maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed the moment so much. I just loved seeing Luke, with his baseball cap on at a jaunty angle, looking like such a great big brother; and Zach, with his saucer-wide eyes, finally feeling safe enough to enjoy the ride. Now there's a tear-jerker for you.

Hamburger Rock

I'm extremely pleased to report that Dave declared yesterday as "The Best Father's Day Ever." And it was pretty darned good for me too. Dave took up the invitation of his good friend Paul (known to Luke as Friend Paul) to take the boys over to Dodger Stadium for a special Father's Day ball-playing opportunity down on the field. Dads were invited with their kids to toss a ball around on the grass, after which they all got free Dodger Dogs and ice cream. Good deal, right?

The best part was that the boys had a great time -- at one point sharing a feel-good moment of brotherly love -- and Dave came home calling it "even bigger and better than expected." Oh, and I got four hours of "free" time while they were gone. How do you like that?

After that we had a fun cookout/celebration with Dave's side of the family (including Uncle Jerry) in Long Beach. Zach kept himself busy shooting baskets, while Luke spent most of his time poring over the Lego catalog and deciding what to get next.

At one point Dave took Zach out in front and Zach stopped to admire a nice flat, round rock. Turns out that it was a rock that Dave spotted in a park when he was 10 or 11 at a camping/cookout adventure, and he was thoroughly amused that it looked like a hamburger, so he brought it home. "That's a...nice...rock," said Zach. "You're right!" said Dave, "That's the same thing I said when I first saw it 30 years ago!" So he promptly picked it up and packed it in the car to bring to our house. As Dave explained to me later, "For the past 30 years, every time I walk into my parent's house, I pass that rock and I think, 'Hey, there's my hamburger rock.' So I thought it would be a nice Father's Day thing to bring it to my house and share it with my own son." So if you walk into our front door and see a round rock, now you'll know why.

Final thought - Chances are Luke has been watching too much TV lately. This afternoon in the car he said to me (out of the blue), "You know Mom, if you or Dad have a heart attack, you should probably take some Lipitor."

Huh?

Next up on the docket: Pre-K graduation!

Party of One

That's me, in my usual position on my "perch," playing Scramble, as it turns out. When I expressed surprise to Dave that he had managed to snap a picture of me in this position, he said, "Well, I've only seen you like this about a thousand times." So there you have it, me in all of my glory.

For the past five years we've hosted joint half-birthday parties for Luke and his buddy Hatcher at the end of June. This year the invitation list was getting just too complicated, so Hatcher's mom Julie and I decided to put most of our energy into a graduation party for their pre-K class, and a very small amount of energy into a very small half-birthday party for the boys. So last night, Luke and Hatcher had four of their closest friends over for a special evening at their favorite ice cream parlor.

Anyone who has hung around with Luke knows which ice cream parlor I'm talking about, and you know that he's not really all that interested in the ice cream - he's there for the books. This picture of him is actually a shot from the middle of the party, when everyone else happened to be up from the chairs, and he was so engrossed in his book he sort of forgot that he was at a party.

Nevertheless, the whole thing was extremely cool. They gave us a "tour," which essentially had us walking into the back room to see the ice cream machine and they let the boys add the sprinkles to the Birthday Cake flavor ice cream (Luke's favorite, and perhaps not coincidentally, their most popular flavor). After that everyone got a little sample of the freshly made Birthday Cake (which I like better fresh, especially when made by a bunch of five- and six-year-olds).

Then - and this is the kicker - they brought out these giant bowls and everyone got to have any flavor ice cream they wanted, along with their choice of toppings and whipped cream. It was supposed to be all-you-can-eat but one bowl was literally all most of us could eat. Actually, I think Hatcher's dad Stu managed to have a second bowl, right after declaring that this was where he wanted to have his own birthday party.

For Father's Day, Luke and Zach and I sent Dave off to get a massage, and while he was gone, the three of us drove down to Carson to the meat market that has Dave's favorite carne asada. Somehow when Dave has adventures with the two boys he always comes home enthusing about what a great time they had and how good the boys were; and yet when I attempt to have an adventure with the boys, it always turns into a comical disaster. So picture us at this meat market (where we are the only people speaking English), jostling for position within a huge crowd at the meat counter. Zach spots a precarious pyramid of apples and wrestles his way out of my arms to grab one, which is annoying, but I figure if I give him one it'll keep him occupied. So I get him an apple, and he starts eating it, and then he starts doing this thing where he chews off a little piece of skin and then spits it out as far as he can. Picking up pieces of apple-skin from the ground, and trying to listen for our number to be called (in Spanish), I am mortified. In the meantime, Luke sees all of the deer heads mounted on the wall, and then notices one that is smaller and has no antlers. "Mom? Is that a fawn? Why did someone kill a baby fawn? Isn't that mean? Why would someone kill a fawn? Did they shoot it? Why would they shoot a baby?" and on and on. We finally get the meat and make it to the check-out counter, and I have no cash so I attempt to use my Visa. They must be using one of the old dial-phone systems because it takes another 10 minutes before the machine can process it. I start getting the eye-roll from the regulars. And just before we finally are finished, Zach decides it's time for a loud chorus of the one part of the Handy Manny song that he remembers: "Muy rapido! Muy rapido!"

Final postscript: On the way home, I told Luke that I don't like the idea of killing fawns either; and in fact I don't really like the idea of hunting at all. So he thought about this, and then said, "Mom, when we get home, we should look up "Duck and Deer Hunters" on the computer, and then email them, and tell them that it's not nice." My five-and-a-half-year-old. The crusader.

Happy Father's Day to all of the amazing men in our lives.

Man of the moment

Beneath his shy, I-only-want-mommy facade, Zach is quite the mischievous little imp. But the saving grace to his prankster personality is that he will loudly and gleefully announce whatever he is doing, especially if he knows that it is somehow "wrong." Examples from the last 48 hours include: "I'm taking off my diaper!" "I'm dumping the fish food!" and "I'm opening a lollipop!" to name a few. There are nights that he might balk at getting in the bathtub, but if he has an opportunity to get wet in, say, a fountain, he is first in line. Today after the farmers' market he got so completely soaked playing next to the little dog-statue fountain that I had to bring him home in just a diaper, socks, and shoes - with a huge grin on his face. (I later found out that the shoes and socks were completely soaked through as well). Once he realized he could take his diaper off, he wanted to go over to his little kid-potty. This gave him an opportunity to announce from the bathroom, "I'm sitting in the toilet!" (which sounds more alarming than it turned out to be).

The other day at the park, Zach overheard some older boys saying to their friend, "Go get the ball, dude!" and for some reason (I think it was the "dude") this had him doubled over with laughter. Now if you want to make him laugh, all you have to do is add "dude" to the end of the sentence. It'll just about send him over the edge.

Luke is in a quiet, serious mode these days, probably due in part to 1) his newfound interest in Legos ("Mom, when we went to the snowy mountains - was that before or after I was into Legos?") and 2) reading. Yesterday Luke brought a book over to me and read a passage very authoritatively (without any hesitation between words): "The most poisonous jellyfish is the Australian sea wasp. The largest jellyfish measures almost 7 feet across and has tentacles more than 200 feet long." After I scraped my jaw up off the floor, I was able to manage a "Great job, Luke!" Where did this come from?

Lest anyone think I'm bragging about Luke, I should follow it up by noting that he then went on to forget the book and leave it behind at My Gym, becoming the third item this week that he's left behind somewhere and we had to drive back to pick it up. Super-genius, maybe, but absent-minded professor for sure. Dude.

Hats Off

Today was the last t-ball game, or should I say love-fest in honor of Coach Dave. I guess I can't really say enough how beloved he is by all of the kids on the team (and their parents), although those of us who know him can certainly understand why. Throughout this season he has been totally dedicated, thoughtful, encouraging, lighthearted, fair, and approachable -- all the things you would want in your kid's t-ball coach. The kids are even talking about requesting to be together on Dave's team next year. I'm not surprised, really, but I'm extremely pleased to see him so happy and natural in a role -- and I'm tickled to see so many other people appreciate him for all that he does. One dad asked Dave how much time he spent on coach stuff each week, beyond the one hour practice and the one hour game. Dave thought about it and estimated that it was about another hour, but I know it's more than that. I've seen him poring over batting lineups and practice drills, and doing countless other things to get the kids more playing time and exposure to high-quality baseball. I'm especially glad that Dave's parents were able to be there to watch him in action today and see the team give him a nice thank-you gift after the game.

What's that? You're getting tired of me rattling on and on about Dave? Well here's one funny thing about the end of the season: Dave got an official league baseball for each kid and had them all autograph the balls for one another as an end-of-season present. But unbeknownst to him, the trophies that the boys got from the league turned out to be in the shape of a golden baseball glove - into which the ball fit perfectly. So each boy took home an autographed ball, nested neatly into the glove of the trophy.

What's that again? You're tired of me burying the lead? Oh yeah, Luke got his cast off yesterday. The x-rays show that the bone is still cracked but the doc was satisfied with all of the new bone tissue that had grown around it. Luke is not allowed to bike or skateboard for another week, but otherwise he's good to go. It was a real treat to see him get up to bat and play in the final game -- and even though his arm wasn't quite as strong as it was eight weeks ago, he still did a fine job and everyone in the stands was cheering for him.

Tonight we all (our little family, that is) went into the hot tub together for the first time in two months. We love being in the pool, but I guess it was just a little solidarity thing with Luke while he had his non-waterproof cast on that none of us went in the pool. But tonight we were more than ready to celebrate a cast-free lifestyle. Let the summer begin!

Spoke too soon

Yeah, yeah, we went on vacation, la, la, la. Hope everyone enjoyed the last little installment of what a great time we were having, because things have a way of turning quickly. Zach came down with a fever on Tuesday night, and was completely feverish and basket-case-y all day Wednesday. Add to this the fact that Luke was suffering from over-stimulation and sheer exhaustion. By the time Thursday rolled around, our collective parental nerves were fried (Ed: Where is the collective parental nerve, exactly?) and we were ready to do anything -- anything -- to pass the time until our 3:45 flight. A long aimless drive, a second trip to Target...Let's face it, we were more than ready to go home.

When we actually got home, however, everyone miraculously cheered up. A happy little reunion with familiar toys and beds seemed to do the trick. Now, as we get more time and space away from the actual vacation, I'm willing to gloss over the not-so-pretty parts and remember some more of the fun stuff:

-- A pajama-clad Zach, who adorably says, "butt-nin" instead of "button," running down the hall to the ice machine: "Push red butt-nin! Get ice!"

-- Luke, after reading a sign painted on the wall of the crab restaurant that says, "Free Crab Tomorrow" (a rip-off of the old bar joke "Free Beer Tomorrow"), waking up the next morning and saying, "Hey! Today's the free crab day!"

-- Sampling the pushing-the-limit Jelly Belly flavors, including "Toothpaste" and, yes, "Booger."

-- Pretending the big glass hotel elevator was a massive spaceship.

-- Going back for cereal again and again at breakfast just to use the cool cereal dispenser.

-- Chowing down on Chex mix and goldfish every night during the hotel happy hour.

-- Getting the kids all cleaned and polished for a "fancy" dinner at Dave's favorite Italian restaurant.

-- Having two movie nights (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and I Love You, Man) with Dave after the kids went to bed.

OK, maybe it wasn't so bad after all...

Lucky

As we soak up every minute of vacation #2 within a week's span, I have to say how lucky I keep feeling. To have vacation time... to have discretionary spending money... to be able to stay in a nice hotel for five straight nights... to "call for" our car whenever we need it... Seems like we are truly living in the lap of luxury, at a time when I know many people are not. Things might be totally different in two months, when our income stream officially runs dry, but for now we're definitely enjoying our time. I had a real moment of reflection today after yet another day of special treats: We stopped off at the Target to get another little plane toy for Zach because he had left his at the minor league baseball game the other night... and suddenly I started thinking about how totally extravagant this vacation must seem to a lot of people. Buying more toys after losing the first toy while at a baseball game? Not to preach-ify, but seriously... I need to recognize that this lifestyle is somewhat extraordinary. (Not that it's stopped the kids from complaining at any given point, but still...).

What is there to do in Sacramento? How 'bout a quick laundry list of what we've done since we jetted in on Saturday? Minor league baseball, steam engine train ride, train museum, Lego store, carousel ride, Fairytale Town park, tour of the Capitol, tour of the Jelly Belly factory... and of course the requisite dining out, ice cream treats, and dips in the pool.

I'll start with Zach because he just continues to amaze me. He was completely transfixed at the train museum by the extensive display of Thomas trains and villages. He stayed there for about 90 minutes before nap, until we had to drag him away, and then another 90 minutes after nap. The funny thing is that even though he's extremely shy around strangers, something about the trains seemed to give him a boost of confidence. Without fail, every time a new person approached the train display, Zach would pick up a train, carry it up to that person, and declare, "Train!" as if to make sure that they knew why we were all there.

Another crazy thing was at Fairytale Town, a park that has sets re-enacting various fairy tales and nursery rhymes. There was a feature called, "The Crooked Mile," a long winding path through the trees that went up and around and twisted and turned every which way. It was not a full mile, obviously, but it was long enough that it took Zach a full 5 minutes to run through the course. So he ran it with Dave once, then again, then again... and then he kept running the course again and again. He ran it a total of 10 times, which was pretty astonishing considering he left Luke in the dust after about round three, and he had Dave pleading for mercy by the end.

Zach has a funny little speech pattern in which each sentence starts out LOUD and then fades to a whisper: "CAN I HAVE (some goldfish)" "HOORAY FOR (hot water pool)" and so on. Whenever we get into the rental car, Zach announces, "I LOVE (very fast car)" which is ironic because the car (a PT Cruiser knockoff made by Chevy) isn't all that fast or lovable.

Luke is suddenly obsessed with Legos, which is funny and sad, because if I'm honest, I can't stand Legos. I'm sure if he were an only child, and we had a big organized area of the house devoted exclusively to Legos, and they never got lost or swallowed or stuck up someone's nostrils (ahem), I'd think they were cool. But those kits with the tiny pieces that are so easily lost and so tempting to toddlers... they just make me crazy. Regardless, we treated Luke to a trip to the Lego store and he was in hog heaven, deciding whether he wanted to choose pirates or Star Wars or some kind of evil robot creature for his next creation.

Also, I am SO glad we took Luke to the Jelly Belly factory tour. When I saw the brochures, I was a little doubtful because I assumed it would be super-touristy and probably a little cheesy. And, sure, it was a little of both of those, but it was also extremely compelling. We had a great view of just about everything that was happening at each stage of the factory and Luke was absolutely enthralled by the robot-creatures that load up and sort all of the trays and beans. When you think about it, machines and candy sounds like just the kind of place that Luke would never want to leave (and he didn't).


Most little kids would probably yawn at the idea of a trip to the Capitol, and Luke probably was bored for the most part, but when we got up to the Senate chambers, I sat down next to him and gave him a little "pep" talk: "This is where you'll sit when you get elected to the California Senate," I told him, "and you'll get to make the rules for everyone in the whole state. And once you are elected governor, you'll sit up there in front of all of the senators. And when you get elected president of the United States, you'll be able to come back here and all of these senators will listen to you and you can tell them what kind of rules you want to make for the whole country." He seemed extremely pleased with this idea, and suddenly the Senate chambers got a whole lot more interesting.


As you can tell, this has been a fairly kid-oriented vacation. But one interesting thing about Dave on this trip is that he has seemed almost proud to show off "his" city. Even though the kids had just about had it by the end of the Capitol visit, he still wanted to show us his meeting spots, his favorite coffee shop, and his favorite diner. And of course he insisted that we pop in to his favorite sandwich place, where you order the sandwich and they make it in some mysterious place on the second floor, and when it's ready it comes sliding down through a special chute. Now who wouldn't love that? Luke sure did. What a lucky, lucky guy.

desert island

We're in the car right now, heading back on the seemingly interminable drive back from the desert. Luke is exhausted and cranky; Zach is picking up a second wind after demolishing nearly every morsel of food in sight at dinner. Some brief tidbits from the trip;

Zach, upon first walking into the massive lobby of the hotel/resort: "What...a nice...airport!"

Luke, after jumping into one of the hotel pools: "Let's pretend this is my house, and it's flooded, and all of these people are here for a big party!"

Tori Spelling, at our hotel pool: Nothing more to say on that, except she was there and we saw her.

Dave and I are looking at this trip as sort of a milestone in our family life: It's our first real trip without a "baby." Sure, we had a stroller but we barely used it, if only to have Zach push it himself. But we had two bed-sleeping kids who were both able to talk and express their (strong) opinions and preferences throughout the trip. (Pool- good. Application of sunscreen - bad. Tiny desert bunny rabbits seen roaming the grounds - good. Leaving - bad.)

We love renting a house in the desert and it's always much better at least to have separate sleeping quarters and a kitchen, but we may soon be in a position where this hotel is the kind of place we need to stay with kids. Think seven pools, ping-pong, foosball, a sixty-foot water slide, and (most important for Luke the Extrovert), new people to meet.

Did I mention the water slide? We didn't even go on it the first day but once Dave got Luke started, Zach had to go, and soon it was a family obsession. Of course Luke the cautious one would never go by himself, while Zach was ready to go without hesitation. (Luke's cast was never once an issue, by the way). But for Luke at least, whooshing down the little tube fueled countless superhero fantasies. More than once we'd come out of the water at the end and he'd be yelling, "Fight the crime! Fight the crime!"

Would anyone believe just how fierce and fearless Zach is? He is 30 pounds of solid muscle, as anyone who has seen him holding his legs straight out on the hanging bars will tell you). At the pool, he has no problem jumping straight into the water (yikes) and he practices willingly dunking himself and then popping his head up, saying, "Zach - water dog." He is not just ready to swim, he's ready to take off and leave the rest of us in the dust.

Looks like we're pulling into town so I'll stop for now. Time to unpack this mess of a car and put some lotion on our dry, parched skin.

"My name is Luke, and I am an addict." "Hi, Luke"

As of this week, we've essentially de-baby-fied the house. We gave away the glider and we sold the crib (on Craigslist, five inquiries within six hours). I'm happy to have two boys in beds, and apparently Zach is too. He's been defying all expectations by sleeping until 7 am or 7:30 every morning. The only little moment of sadness I had was when the young father came over to buy the crib from us, and I wished him luck and told him that we had many happy ... memories ... of ... and I got this big lump in my throat and started choking up. So embarrassing! And unexpected, because the truth is I don't have that many happy memories of babies in that crib. My crib memories run more along the lines of: 2 am, 3 am, 4 am, 5 am - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go back to sleep. But the guy understood and I ducked out of there and let Dave handle all of the formalities.

On Saturday night we had the annual family campout on one of the local baseball fields next to a big park. Luke was in hog heaven because he had three little buddies to run around with and they were all carrying swords or light sabers and fighting off "bad guys" for most of the night. Zach and I enjoyed the dinner and time with our friends, then went home for a cozy night of sleep in our own beds, and then rejoined the motley crew in the morning. At 8:30 the fishing derby began and, after a quick tutorial on casting, Dave and Luke caught not one but two pond turtles. Then we all came home, muddy, cranky, and counting the days until next year's campout.

Today is election day here in California, which marks the culmination of Dave's first campaign as a solo operator. I don't want to speak too soon but at the moment it appears that his new company is a roaring success. Somehow he's managed to start his own new business, run a major statewide campaign, coach his kid's t-ball team, and be a great dad and husband every day. I don't know how he does it. The other day Dave had a meeting with a potential new client, and Luke wanted to know how the client knew to call Dave. "Does everyone in the world have your phone number?" he asked incredulously. Also, Dave and I had a good chuckle when Dave received a blind resume submission from a guy who wants to work in politics. The letter began, "I know that at your campaign group, you only hire the finest employees..." to which Dave, the sole employee, had to agree that the guy has a good point.

I have to confess that I am a little worried about money coming in after May, but we might have found a solution in Luke. I did a scratch-off lottery ticket with him a few months ago (bad mom! bad mom!) and he won, so he wanted to do another one, and he won, so now he wants to get one whenever we go to the store. The other day I got him a ticket along with a little speech about how you don't always win, and that's why it's a game, etc. etc. So he took the ticket along to a playdate and I kind of forgot about it until I joined him at our friends' house and the two moms that were there were puzzling over the ticket. "I don't know how to read these things - I can't tell if he won anything or not," said one mom. The winning numbers were 24 and 28, and his whole ticket was 24, 28, 24, 28, 24, 28, etc. Turns out he won fifty dollars! By my count he has won at least $75 so far this year. Now I will be totally to blame when he has to go to Gamblers Anonymous meetings by age 8.

And now for today's moment of zen: Zach and I are driving in the car after having dropped off the baby sitter at the train station. Zach is sitting quietly, until out of the blue he announces, "Some foods...are very...crunchy." Okay, then. Carry on.

Cast-away

Today was supposed to be the day that Luke became cast-free. But once they sawed off the old cast and did a new x-ray, it was readily apparent that fate had other plans. I was standing behind the x-ray monitor at the doctor's office and as soon as the image of his newly naked cast-less arm came up, I didn't even need the doctor to tell me that he was in for more cast time. One bone has healed but the other bone still has a fractured part sticking out that just needs more time to grow back together. On the bright side, his new cast is shorter (below the elbow) and waterproof (hooray for baths, pools and hot tubs!). (This pic is actually of his old cast - a nice shot from Bill taken at Zach's party).

Before we go feeling sorry for Luke, though, let's think about all of the special treats, packages, and attention he's gotten just by virtue of being a generally outgoing and well-liked kid. This morning as we stepped out the door, we were greeted by a little pack of Play-Doh with a get-well-soon note for "The Mayor of Morningside Drive," which is what our neighbors call Luke. (That's right; we were literally on our way to get the cast off, and he's still getting presents.) Then you should have seen him when he got back to school with his new neon-green cast. As soon as he stepped past the gate, he was instantly surrounded by five giddy girls all wanting to look at his arm. One of Luke's friend's moms was planning to pick Luke up from school tomorrow for a playdate and she decided that she was going to make it a "cast-off" party for Luke. Instead it'll have to be a re-cast party, or something like that. As long as it involves Wii and treats he'll probably be happy.

All of this is not to overshadow one of the biggest developments of the week, which is that Zach has now moved out of his crib into a big kid's bed. I know there are some kids (and I envy their parents) who just love their crib and sleep in the crib until age 3 or something, but Zach the climber clearly had other plans. So he's now sleeping in a bed identical to Luke's and -- who knew? -- for the last three mornings he has slept past 7 am. I mean, knock on wood and all, but this seems like it's working out alright. Naps are another story, but if we're not waking up at 5 am I'm not complaining about much (yes, my standards are that low).

Tonight as Dave was putting the two of them to bed, Zach was sitting up in his bed proudly declaring, "I does going to bed! I does going to bed!" This of course had Luke absolutely collapsing with giggles, until he was able to correct Zach and get him to say, "I am going to bed!" Once we figure out what to do with the crib and get it out of their room, they really will be just two kids, sleeping in a room together. So long, baby-hood! It was fun while it lasted, but now we're on to bigger and better things.

Mom's Day

I don't know what anyone else has planned for Sunday, but it sure would be hard to top today in terms of pure Mom-lovin' activities.

Both of the boys had Mother's Day teas at school so I did one first with Zach and then with Luke. Zach was a little ambivalent about his party (see exhibit A at left). Even though I told him it was a "Mommy party" and all of the mommies would be there, he still clung to me as if I might take off any second. They had a little song and a snack, and the main highlight for Zach was eating a chocolate muffin and pouring himself a glass of lemonade that was full up to HERE (apparently no one noticed him with the pitcher in hand, so he just went to town filling a cup for himself).

At Luke's class party, the kids sang three songs (You Are My Sunshine, Y-E-L-L-O-W Spells Yellow, and Mamma Mia). I'd like to pretend the songs were a surprise but Luke has been practicing them on me all week, so I kind of knew they were coming. The surprise that he had been nearly bursting to keep from me was a present that he made out of an Altoid tin. And I would have been surprised, too, had the mom sitting next to me during the songs not said, "...And I can't wait to see the jewelry boxes they made from the Altoid tins." Ooops.

But one of my favorite parts by far was the pictures that each of the kids drew of their moms. It was supposed to be an illustration of something that your mom likes to do. So Luke drew a picture of me -- wearing the dangle-y earrings that Dave gave me for our anniversary, which now seem to be emblematic for him of me being happy -- and it said, "My mommy is going to New Jersey to see her mom and dad." I am just fascinated and tickled that he sees me like that.

As I was lying here thinking more about the day, I was doing a little mental calculation: Turns out I am just about to reach the 2000-day mark of being a mom. Two thousand days -- and nights! How did I get this far? I think back on my first night of being a mom, in a hospital bed with Luke by my side, and not sleeping at all because I was just so awed and excited and nervous and confused. I was a completely different person then because at the time I didn't even know a fraction of what I know now, 2000 nights later. Just imagine how much more I have to learn.

Two Time's the Charm

We love birthdays around here; or at least I do, perhaps maybe a little bit too much (ahem). Anyway, since Grandma Bobbie and Granddad couldn't make Zach's party last week, we had a little celebration with them last night and Luke and I made brownies with chocolate frosting for the occasion. We had to frost them, of course, because what else are you going to lick off the candles if you don't have frosting?

Zach has so many quirky little sayings, it's hard to remember them all when it's time to sit down and write. (Like have I mentioned how he calls a car carrier a "car carrier- ier - ier - ier" and never seems to know when to stop?) But one funny thing about him talking so much is that 1) He can't get away with anything because he's constantly narrating ("Zach... going... downstairs") and 2) We know what he's been thinking about because he'll just pop out with random excerpts from his day. Like he'll be playing with his toys and he'll randomly say, "No, Cruz... don't eat goldfish. Those ... Zach's goldfish" (and I can surmise that his buddy Cruz was trying to pilfer some of Zach's lunch at school). Or he'll walk around muttering, "Rice and beans... then cake," as if to remind himself that he has to eat his dinner first. The other day in the middle of dinner, he stopped to say, "What happened... to heater?" -- which reminded me to tell Dave that Felipe had turned the heater around when he cleaned the boys' room, and apparently it had been bugging Zach all day. Zach later tagged along to watch Dave fix it, and he's been saying, "Daddy fix it... the heater," ever since.

Over to Luke for a minute: One of his favorite pastimes is drawing comic books, and his main hero is his alter ego, Robo-Justice. He's becoming quite handy at drawing Robo-Justice with his left hand, too. Usually while Zach is napping in the afternoons, Luke will dictate the plot to me, I'll write the bulk of the story, and then Luke will add the pictures.

Last night Zach was being super-cranky at bedtime and Dave called him "Crank-o-tronic," which of course captured Luke's fancy. So today he decided to draw the "Crank-o-tronic 800" and me (Mom). But what's that thing hanging down underneath my face? "Oh - it's your tummy, Mom." Sheesh. The nice thing is he made a point of drawing me with the special earrings that Dave got me for our anniversary.

My problem (just one? hahahaha) is that even though he can be a huge pain sometimes, I can't help falling in love with Luke over and over again. Like yesterday afternoon when we we making the brownies: He picked up the spoon to stir the batter, and out of the blue, he sang, "If I knew you were comin' I'd have baked a cake...How'dya do, how'dya do, how'dya do." I love that song because it reminds me of Grandma P., and it's so funny to hear it come out of such a little person. Somewhere I know she's smiling.

Post Partum

What? It means "after the party," right? Oh. Never mind.

So anyway, it's clear that I should not be the one selecting toys for the kids, because everything that Zach got for his birthday is way cooler than anything I have ever picked out for him in the past. He got such cool stuff that he and Luke have been fighting about it all week.

Example: Daniel and Eitan got him a Handy Manny toolbox, and when you push a button in the front, all of the tools bounce up and down and sing their little song. It would never have occurred to me to get one, but Zach and Luke are absolutely obsessed with it.


Then there's a little green Escalade from Suzi and Bill that pulls a horse trailer. When you push a button on the top of the Escalade, it plays a few bars of music with a country twang. Again - Zach is obsessed with it.

And don't even get me started on the tiny stuffed Dalmatian puppy from Janeen and Michael and Gavin. Luke and Zach are both crazy about him, and I actually had to take it away from them yesterday because they were both pulling on it and I was afraid they were going to rip it in half. Yes, it's technically Zach's, but I think they are going to take turns sleeping with it at night.

But it's a good little change of pace for them to have some new things to keep them occupied around the house. We need all of the distractions we can get while Dave is out and about, in the home stretch of election season, and while Luke is barred from the beach and swimming with his cast. So we're basically biding our time while we count down until May 19 and then life gets normal again. Right? Right?

Showtime - New and Improved

Long story short: Zach turned two, we had a cute little party at the park; I forgot to bring the camera, and our good friend Bruce (yep, that Bruce) took plenty of pictures and video to make up for it. So, thanks to Bruce, here's Beach Bucket's very first little video clip. *sniff*

It was a small gathering but the seven little boys who were there each appeared to have a rip-roaring good time. The older kids (Luke and Eitan and Luke's school pal William) ran around playing superheroes, while the younger kids (Zach, Eitan's little brother Daniel, William's little brother and Zach's school buddy Henry, and Baby Gavin) enjoyed time on the playground equipment.

Also we set up two big blue tarps and we had a dozen fuzzy playground balls, which at first the boys sort of ignored, but by the end of the party they had flying in every direction. Bruce even set up an impromptu volleyball game so the boys could pop the balls back and forth over the park fence.

Zach used to be at a little bit of a disadvantage with Daniel because Daniel talked up a storm very early, and Zach didn't have too much to say until about three months ago. But now Zach can totally hold his own. At one point Daniel was crawling inside a play caterpillar and Zach wanted to go inside, so Zach told him, "No...sweetie...it's Zach's turn...inside...caterpillar." Sounds like he's been spending a lot of time with me.

Also we can't thank Elizabeth enough for helping us set up and clean up before and after the party. Even during the party she was on top of things: There was a lady walking through the park with a dog (not allowed) who was off the leash (not allowed) and who made a little poop (the dog, not the lady) right near our table without the lady even noticing it. Elizabeth asked Dave for a plastic bag, then declared, "I'll take care of this. Salathes are good at this sort of thing," and marched over to the lady and very sweetly but firmly got the lady to deal with it.

We were also happy to have Suzi and Bill with us, even as they were preparing to leave for a big Alaska vacation. Bill took some pics, and if we're lucky, they won't get completely lost in the shuffle of all of the Alaska photos and we'll be able to see them when they get back.

One last little footnote: Try as we might, we cannot seem to convince certain people (ahem) that Zach's name does not have a "k" in it. Anywhere. Zachary. Zach for short. See? No "k." Anyway, when we got the cake it seemed perfectly fine but it wasn't until later that I looked more closely and saw that they had apparently written a "k" at the end of "Zach," realized their mistake, scraped off the last letter, and stuck an "h" on there. I'm not sure whether to be sad that they made the mistake or happy that they rectified it, sort of. Maybe next year, Zach can be in charge of decorating the cake and spelling his name on it - his way.

Ten Years

Dave, my beloved partner of (more than) ten years today, was in Sacramento this evening so we weren't able to have dinner together. At 5 pm I got the boys ready to go to the t-ball practice field, and our good friend Bruce (Eitan's dad) parked by our house to help me unload all of the equipment from our garage and wheel it down to the field.

After practice Luke begged Eitan to come over to our house, and one thing led to another and we decided to just have dinner together. (Brandi was out of town tonight, so Bruce was doing the single-parent thing too.) I watched the four boys at the house while Bruce ran down to the Mexican place around the corner and got food for everyone.

While we were chowing down on rice and beans and burritos, etc., I said, "Bruce, you know you're a good friend of mine, but I have to tell you, when I pictured my tenth anniversary, I didn't imagine that it would be you I'd be having dinner with."

Luckily we've been friends for a long time and could have a good laugh over that one. Now Dave is home - oh, happy, happy day. Gotta go!!!

Pop Quiz

Question: Which adorable young man turned two today? Hint: He is sweet, shy, funny, gives enormous hugs, loves cats and dogs, and does a little two-step shuffle dance when he is excited. Need more? OK, he loves trains, trucks, water, balls - heck, any circular object -- and climbing up ladders to dizzying heights. Still more? He has massive greenish-blue eyes, wavy (yes, wavy) blond hair, and a smile that can melt the hardest heart. And when you ask him how old he is, he says, "Foo" - not because he can't say "Two," but because it's funnier than "Two."

Give up yet? It's Zach, of course, and boy am I glad to have a two-year-old. Dave is gone tonight so we had a very pathetic little celebration with just me and Luke and Zach here at the house. Everyone (including me) was in various stages of screaming and melting down, and we managed to have a collective calm just long enough to sing the birthday song over a jumbo cupcake. I'd rather forget about that and just think ahead to Sunday, when we're having the "real" party, and when we're all a little healthier and a little more rested.

Zach is a little volcano of words and opinions these days, and nothing or no one will get in his way. If I put something he wants out of reach, he'll calmly go and get a chair and move it over to where he needs it so he can climb up. There were two different times yesterday when he was very slowly and methodically dragging the chair from Luke's work table upstairs (yes, up a flight of stairs) so he could get closer to the water dispenser on the fridge.

On the flip side, he's happy, silly, and incredibly affectionate. Today we brought cupcakes to Zach's class and Luke joined Zach's little group for snack time. Apparently Zach announced, "Give Luke...big hug!" and wrapped him up in a massive bear hug. The teachers are all impressed with the openness and intensity of their affection for one another.

I am falling asleep rapidly here; it's been a long day with two rambunctious boys. Just want to say once again how happy I am to have this little guy.

I love you, my two-year-old boy.

Chillin

My day of parenting started just about 15 hours ago, and didn't really let up until just a few moments ago. So you can understand why I might be sounding a little bit jello-brained.

Today I was supposed to have the morning "off" but Zach was still a little sick-ish, so I kept him home and dragged him along on my day. I had made plans to attend a lecture on pediatric dermatology at a big skin care medical center/spa near us -- one that just happens to make my very favorite kind of sunscreen -- and they had promised some goodie bags for anyone who came to the lecture. So even though I had thought that the topic might make good column material at some point, I really went for the swag. It was billed as a "Mommy and Me" talk, and it said that children were welcome, so I figured, how bad could it be if Zach came along? Well, guess what? When Zach is tired and a little sick, he doesn't want to sit through a PowerPoint presentation on skin care. And no amount of raspberry juice or mini-bagels can convince him otherwise.

I basically spent the lecture chasing him around the top floor of the building between the two most interesting things he could find: the "Call Freight" button on the elevator (why did they put that one the lowest?) and the door to the "Use Only In Emergencies" staircase. When I finally managed to get him back into the lecture room, he discovered the blueberry-flavored cream cheese for the bagels, which he thought was ice cream. So while I was trying to keep him from licking it directly off the serving knife, he was alternately yelling "Want...ice...cream!" and coughing right into it. If it sounds bad, it's because it was.

So why didn't I just leave? Because I was determined to get the goodie bag, which they didn't hand out until the end. And as it turned out, the goodie bag was a massive waste of time. No sunscreen to speak of. But hey - anyone want a paper-clip-sized sample of stretch-mark cream?

The day got a little brighter when we got home because there was a big broken-arm care package from Uncle Joe waiting on our doorstep ("Spare Ulna and Radius Included," it said on the outside). It was clearly designed to thrill Luke to pieces (complete with Captain Underpants comic taped to the box) and drive me to distraction (candy, candy everywhere). Luke is most thrilled with a lollipop that has a grabber-arm attached to it. I guess he figures if you only have use of one arm, why shouldn't it be extra-long?

Speaking of treats that Luke has received since he broke his arm, Mom and Dad sent him a little stack of read-it-yourself books aimed at 1st and 2nd grade readers. This afternoon he and I sat down to read them and I was completely, jaw-droppingly, flabbergasted at what he can do. These are somewhat complex books (no "See Spot run") that he has never seen before and he just read them out loud to me as if he's been reading his whole life. I knew that he could recognize words but I imagined that most of his favorite books he had essentially memorized. Who knew that he could just plow through a book that he had never even seen before? Dave credits "Captain Underpants" with this development. He is so desperate to read it, and everyone is so desperate to avoid reading it to him, that it has forced him to learn to read on his own. This opens up whole new worlds for him...and me.

I'll end with a cute thing that the boys do: When they're both running somewhere, Luke will be running out ahead and then he'll stop, turn around, and open both his arms up to Zach. Then Zach will run straight into his arms and say, "Luke... big hug!" Then they'll separate and continue running, and stop every few moments for another hug. It is hilarious and adorable. Sure beats fighting over toys or licking cream cheese knives. So as I fall asleep tonight, that's what I'll be thinking about.

As Quoted

I'm going to have to write quickly to smudge out everyone's memory of yesterday's blog, which involved some unsavory side effects of illness. I'm actually feeling better today, even though the boys are still a little fever-y. But let's move onward, and I'll spare you the details.

One thing I've been meaning to write more about is Zach's very amusing speech cadence. He speaks slowly, deliberately, so that we are often waiting to hear what ... the ... last ... word ... is ... going ... to ... be. For example, he's been very open about letting us know things that he likes. But he'll say it in such a way that you're in suspense until the very end: "I love....... this book." or "Hooray for..... diaper!" I got a good laugh the other day when he announced, "Hooray for Daddy...... 's car!"

Sometimes he breaks up the words the wrong way, which is also good for a chuckle. The other day I heard him calling a can opener a "cano... pener." He also has quite a few books that show a cat playing with a ball of yarn, which he calls, "A ball.......ayarn." And at the end of just about every book that we read him, he'll say, "Reddy...........gen." (read it again)

But one of my recent favorites is his conviction that the strongest possible way to say "no" to something is to say "No thank you!" So if I offer him something neutral, like, "Would you like a cereal bar?" he'll just say "no." But if I tell him it's time to get dressed and he'd rather do something else, he'll be saying, "No thank you! No thank you!" while running away at top speed. Today we went to a store to buy him a little kiddie toilet and I said, "Zach, should we get this little potty?" and he took one look at it and said, "No thank you! No thank you!" so I had to assume he was serious. Looks like we'll be saying "Hooray for ....... diapers!" for two more years.

Oh, what a beautiful morrrrr-ning...

Last night we hosted Shabbat at our house and by the time everyone left and we got stuff cleaned up, I was feeling a little green. Today I'm sick, Luke is sick, and Zach is sick. Here's a little snapshot of how our night went:

3 am: I wake up throwing up. Stomach flu, ugh.

4 am: Luke walks into our room for no apparent reason (explanation given: "My legs don't work.") Dave walks him back.

4:55 am: Zach wakes up, burning up with fever. Dave and I can't convince him to go back to sleep, so I drag myself out of bed to give him a cool bath.

5:45 am: The bath is over and he's raring to start the day. I take him downstairs to watch a video and we see the sun rise.

6:10 am: Luke comes downstairs, teary-eyed and burning up with fever, and carrying a bucket. A bucket?!?! "Daddy told me to bring it in case I needed to throw up." Somehow I manage to keep the boys occupied for another hour and a half while running back and forth to the bathroom.

Once Dave got up I took a short snooze, then Dave took Luke to the t-ball game despite his fever, and I put Zach down for what turned out to be a four-hour nap. I was pretty much a basket case, and I don't know how I would have taken care of the boys on any other day.

That's not to say we didn't have some bright spots. Luke is amazing all of us with his reading ability, and for a little while today he was reading entire books to Zach. Can't wait until that happens on a regular basis.

Also Zach is cracking us up with his constant narration of everything that is going on. He's not much of a TV watcher, but this morning I pulled out the Baby Einstein water video, and he seemed to enjoy it...sort of. He spent most of the time sitting on the couch talking about watching it: "Zach... watch... water movie. Zach... and Mommy... watch... water movie. Watching.... water movie." and so on.

Later Dave had a baseball game on, and it turned to a commercial that showed a man hitting a golf ball out of the grass. Zach got excited: "Man... hit... egg!"

Off to bed now, and hoping for some healing time.