Sleeping on an Iceberg

Sydney and I recently spent the night "camping" out at Woodbridge Lagoon with other Irvine 2nd and 3rd Grade Brownies. It started with the setup of the 8-man tent we purchased over a year ago and had yet to use. To say that it was a challenge to set-up is an understatement. At one point Drew was standing with poles in his hands looking completely lost (with a look that said, "I wish I was anywhere but here.") Fortunately, Jamie Rogers, one of the mom's dropping off her daughter, is an experienced camper and knew where we were going wrong toward the end. I set that tent up in my living room with no problems a year ago, but with all the cooks in the stew, no one knew really what to do! So after much sweat off my brow and a quick kiss good-bye to Drew and Emelie, Sydney and I began the camping adventure.

The evening started with making hats from brown paper bags, sequins, tulle, and other decorating doodads. Then they moved on to learning hula dancing and doing the limbo. After a hardy dinner of pizza, carrots, celery and lemonade, we did a marshmallow craft, transforming a foam marshmallow into a hula dancer, complete with grass skirt and lei. With sticky hands we then moved on to the sand volleyball courts for coconut rolling (with a push broom) and Hot Coconut (a derivation of Hot Potato). Last but not least was the treasure hunt, complete with chocolate coin treasure at the end.







All of the games were enjoyable and all the girls seemed to be having a good time. After a snack and change into jammies and tooth-brushing we were on to a visit to our tent by the Senior Girl Scouts for one last project, writing our own bedtime story. It started out mild enough, about a Sea Star named Shelley looking for treasure and quickly degenerated into a dark tale of my name is Carl, and I can read minds and I know where you live. I finally had to cut it off because they wanted it illustrated too and we were already at our cut-off time for being quiet (10:30) and the girls were so wound up I thought they would never go to sleep.

Little did I know that it wasn't the noise that would keep us up, but something much more insidious: the cold air!!!! Unfortunately, I don't think some of the girls were really equipped well for the cold. I had our sub-zero sleeping bags and sweatshirts with hoods and the only exposed part was our faces. I felt like mine was going to freeze off!! In the middle of the night, I heard a sound like someone weeping and quickly realized it was one of my tentmates, Vanessa. The poor thing was trying to wake up the girl next to her to walk to the bathroom and her friend wouldn't wake up! Her teeth were chattering so loud that it sounded like heavy sobbing. I walked her to the bathroom and then had her put an additional sweater on and pull the hood up over her head to keep her body heat in. There weren't any more bathroom visits that night until I awoke to the call of nature at 6:15! I had "slept" the whole night with my shoulders hunched up to my neck, so the next morning I was stiff and had a massive headache. (Two days later the tightness finally subsided.)

The girls were treated to donuts for breakfast (I had a trail mix bar, yummy :-( ) and then some free-for-all activities until the parents picked them up at 9:00.

I truly had a wonderful time and for the most part there was camraderie among all girls. The only downer was the evening temperature which will prevent me from doing this again (unless I can be assured that it will be over 60 degrees)!

The Genesis of I.Q.

A little over a week ago, we found out that Sydney qualified for the Gifted and Talented program (GATE) at her school. She took the OLSAT (Otis Lennon School Ability Test) at the beginning of December. It is a test to determine I.Q. and you must take it if you want to participate in the GATE program in the district. You also must score in the 95th percentile in order to be a part of the program. I received the results and was immediately nervous to open the envelope. What if she didn't qualify; what if she scored 94th instead of 95th. I held my breath and opened the envelope and immediately started crying. I was so happy and relieved and felt swept up in a moment of complete and utter pride.

I think I was overwhelmingly happy for Sydney because I was only a B average student and I had to work hard to get A's. The classes I always did well in were classes where I loved the teachers and subject: English, Art, Music and Speech. Also in 11th Grade I had the most incredible American History Teacher and also got an A in that class. But I never had natural ability or a photographic memory like Drew, Sydney and Emelie. I'm grateful that both girls have inherited Drew's photographic memory and it has boded well for both of them.

Sydney will be (hopefully) participating in the Altenative Program for Academically Accelerated Students (APAAS) this fall. I'm going to pass on the GATE program because they are clustered in various classrooms and are given, what sounds to me, like just extra homework to do. APAAS has it's own classroom of students and every child in that class is accelerated and therefore up to more challenging tasks. You cannot be automatically placed in the classroom, every child must score proficient or above average on their Standardized Test (STAR), and must be recommended by their teachers. Both Sydney's 2nd and 3rd Grade Teachers have recommended her so I'm 99.9% sure she will make the program at Westpark.

School, for the girls, has been a wonderful experience so far. They have had wonderful, loving teachers (with one minor exception) and both girls truly love going to school. I hope they have this experience their entire academic life, but if they do face rough patches, I hope they will face them firmly, knowing I am wholly behind them the entire journey.

Next Stop: Hollywood

Every year I ask Sydney if she wants to be in the school play. Every year I get a definitive "No!" (I didn't ask Emelie last year, because she had so much anxiety just from people looking at her when she was the center of attention, I knew it would be a hard sell.) So this year I thought would be more of the same. Surprisingly, the answer this year was a "yes" from both of them!

I think Emelie got the acting bug when she had her Holidays Around the World performance in December. She had a speaking part and had to sing with her class so I think she figured it really wasn't all bad, this being on stage thing!

So I drug the girls to a 7:45 a.m. meeting regarding the play on Tuesday and they were so excited to find out the play is going to be "The Magical Land of Oz." On Wednesday they had a mandatory rehearsal where they found out more about schedules, etc. Then on Friday they had auditions for those who wanted speaking parts. They had to read from a script and then sing a solo. It was all VERY professional! Regardless of how their auditions went, they will be in the play, they just may not have a speaking part. For those without a speaking part there is a chorus, munchkins, and (my favorite) flying monkeys.

I'm so proud of the fact that they both not only want to participate in the play, but that wanted to audition! Sydney learned a song in one day to perform for them. She was not accompanied, so she had to be able to carry a tune. After their audition (they went in together with two other girls) they came out so excited! It was truly thrilling to see how the acting bug has bit!

Most people that know me, know that I loved acting and singing in school and was VERY active in Speech and Music. Andy also was very involved in theater in his school, so we were kind of scratching our heads when both of our girls appeared to be not the least bit interested in anything thespian. Maybe they just needed to get their feet wet first. Whatever the reason, Andy and I are delighted they are doing this and hope it is a happy experience that motivates them to do it every year.

The play is March 16 and we will definitely be posting pictures of it! I can already feel my Stage Mother senses tingling!!!

Girls Day Out

The girls and I tripped the light fantastic and went ice skating with their Girl Scout troops on the Friday Veteran's Day holiday recently. We pulled on our gloves and scarves and long underwear and drove down to the Aliso Viejo Ice Rink. As you can see by our pictures, it was a great deal of fun, though you can tell how unstable they felt by how securely I'm holding them up!


Sydney skated solo most of the time, still trying to get her Hamil Camel down (even though this was only her second ice skating experience). I don't think she had a single fall that day and that smile never left her face.


Emelie was surprised at the slickness of the rink when she ventured out for the first time. She refused to let me hold her, though when she fell (only twice), she couldn't figure out why I let her fall! (Go figure.) She really hit the ice running (not literally) wanting to have the technique and balance down before the end of the day.




I am really proud of both of them. Considering their limited exposure to ice rinks (although we do drive by the Wayne Gretsky rink just about everyday) they did a fantastic job. All in all it was an absolutely wonderful day, topped off with the token hot chocolate, a pretzel and some popcorn!

Sanity Lost (or Why the Hell Do I Live Here)

When it's election time, I really hate living in California. I am a minority in a state that is going to hell in a handbasket. We had mid-term elections yesterday and the biggest shock to me (other than Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House) is that the voters said they didn't want parents to have notice before their teenage daughters have abortions. I mean, come on!! Do you really want your teenage daughter to have an abortion and come home and eat dinner and act like nothing happened? That is major surgery!!!! Not to mention that it could affect her her entire life! I'm completely appalled and sick to my stomach.

I maintain a close relationship with my girls, but what if a manipulative boyfriend talks one of them into sex, she gets pregnant and is too embarrassed to tell me or Drew (God forbid). I know both girls would be terrified of disappointing us, not of being abused. I would be devastated for them if they felt getting an abortion was their only option. I really hate living here right now.

Also, listening to Bush's press conference this morning to talk about Rumsfeld's resignation and the election results, I was stunned at how disrespectful the press was to him. They were almost gleeful in their smug questions, one reporter saying, " I just want to ask you about your thumping at the rodeo last night..." with roars of laughter from the press corps. That also made me sick. If it wasn't obvious to me before, it's crystal clear how liberal the reporters are, some of them completely far left! I say thank goodness for Fox News, where I know at least we'll hear all the news, not news just spun to fit some agenda.

Hazy Days of Summer

Is it me or is it HOT out here? I'm not kidding when I say hazy days of summer, because with this heat I feel particularly hazy on just daily details. Did we have swimming lessons today? When does camp start? I was supposed to pick up who?

To escape the heat, we finally had our first beach outing on Wednesday with our preschool pals from ICNS. We went to the Environmental Nature Center first in Newport Beach. They have trails to explore and a butterfly pavillion (miniature compared to the Natural History Museum's in LA). We stayed only about 45 minutes--long enough for Emelie to become completely attached to the butterflies and not want to leave. After a tearful farewell and a promise that we will come back soon, we were off for the beach in Newport.

We had a lovely time: Emelie collected seashells, Sydney built a monstrous sand fort and I chatted it up with the other Moms. After 3 hours we knew it was time to go when the powerful surf pounding the beach encroached on our fun and started swamping the kids left and right. Only after I took a tumble chasing after a friend's boogie boards (which were being sucked back into the sea) did we finally pack up and leave. Yes, I left a little of my pride on that beach but took with me a headache that lasted the rest of the day. Don't get me wrong, it was quite funny and I was the first to laugh. But you won't see me chasing after boogie boards again any time soon! Sarah scolded me that they were only cheap Target boogie boards and that it wasn't worth risking life and limb to retrieve them. I guess I'll do anything for a laugh!

Tomorrow we are going for an early morning hike at Santiago Oaks Regional Park and then having a little picnic with our preschool pals. Hopefully it will stay overcast all morning like it did today or we'll all be not only hazy, but suffering from heat stroke too!

Happy Campers

Sydney finished her first introduction to camp yesterday. She went 4 days to the Newport Dunes for the Girl Scout "Beach Safari." From what I can tell, she had a wonderful time. She went with a smile and came home with a tired smile, exhausted from the activity in the sun. She would be completely covered from head to toe, knapsack to lunchbag in sand! And she couldn't figure out why I made her take a shower every day either!

At camp they learned to row a boat, how to canoe, made lanyards, tie-dyed, and made various other crafts. They also did skits and had a sandcastle-building contest. From every aspect, it sounds exactly like the camp I used to go to and it brings back so many fond memories for me. I loved Girl Scouts and I particularly loved going to camp. When I asked Sydney if she would be interested in attending and I told her what they would do, she jumped at it! That's my girl, full of adventure!

When I was young, I attended Camp Tahigwa, a sleepover camp that I attended for one week. I also went to Day Camp at Dutton's Cave for many years. Those are cherished memories for me, because I met many new friends (despite my social anxiety) and learned so much about camping and being on my own. The songs that we sang and the crafts that we made are still tangible for me. I was a camp counselor at a Brownie Mini-Camp for 2 weeks my Freshman and Sophomore summers in High School. I relished being a counselor and being able to pick a name (Casey) for myself. The little Brownies that attended were so sweet and I loved every minute of being one of the big people at camp.

I hope Sydney gets the enjoyment from Girl Scouts that I did. In many respects it shaped me for motherhood and community involvement. This coming year I will be a co-leader for both girls' Brownie troops and I look forward to it with great anticipation.