The road ahead

It has been an emotionally draining week. The election was on Tuesday. I didn't realize how draining it was until this weekend. Yes, Obama won.

The day before, Kiira came home from school and asked, "Mom, are we voting for McCain?" "Oh my," I replied. I quickly gave my eldest a lesson in why I thought Obama was the better candidate. I was so proud of her though for thinking about such grown up things. They have clearly been talking about voting at school. She came home one day with a sign that said "VOTE!" that she had colored in.

The night of the election, we let the kids stay up late and watch. Kiira was really into it. We tried to explain to her about red states/blue states and everytime she heard a color being called - she rushed to the TV to see what state it was. Not sure she actually got the whole electoral process, but hey, that confuses alot of grown ups. Both kids kept cheering, "Go OBAMA!!"

I hope that night is one that she remembers for years to come. We kept saying that this was a moment in history for her to remember. Bless her though, she has no clue that it is a historic moment for an African American. She really doesn't care about the color of someone's skin. When I asked her to describe what Obama looked like, her first reply was that he has a nice smile.

One thing I was very disappointed by was Prop 8. California voted on whether or not to repeal one of our latest laws that allows same sex marriage. The Yes's won - meaning it was repealed and same sex marriages are no longer allowed. It was disappointing to me not only because I believe that two people should have a right to marry, no matter their sex, but also because I don't believe all people really knew what they were voting on. The media (funded largely by the Mormon church in Utah) pulled in issues that had nothing to do with this one. For one, they tied same sex marriages into the schools saying teachers could teach your child about these issues.

First, this was not what we were voting on. Second, it already HAS permeated schools to a certain degree. Teachers have kids that have two mommies or two daddies and often they will have to field questions about this. While I agree there needs to be some control about what teachers tell our kids, it is not practical for them to not be able to explain something that the children may see day to day.

Our country made a vow to honor separation of church and state. Yes, I don't think marriage and who one should marriage should be taught in schools just as I don't believe religion should be taught in schools. So why pull this in? If you ask me, it was done to confuse the issue. And it worked. I talked with several people that said they voted the wrong way. Sigh....it passed 51% to 49%. I can't help but wonder if these people had fully understood the issue if the 49% couldn't have turned into the 51%.

Yes, history is being made every day. Slowly but surely change will creep upon us, whether we like it or not. Change can be good, even if it scares us. Change can be exciting if we let it. If we are lucky, Obama will be in office for 8 years. It shocks me to think that Kiira will be 13 year old when he leaves. By then, I think she will have a strong grasp of red states/blue states.

Halloween videos

Ginger and Evan, Kiira and June.

Evan and Ginger

Evan, Ginger, June and Kiira (BTW Na-Na is Ginger)

Money Party with the Wishing Well

Trick or treat?

The stuffed animal house.



The gang.



The peacock and the baseball player.

Believe it or not, Halloween went off without a hitch. And not one trick! All the kids chose treat. Go figure....

Nancy and Gideon had their famous Halloween party again this year. There were probably 30 or 35 kids and we went trick or treating around her FLAT neighborhood. We didn't switch the clocks till last night so we actually got to trick or treat in the light. Better to keep track of the kids since Alan was stuck in San Diego with a flight delay. The highlight each year is the stuffed animal house. They don't give out candy - they give out stuffed animals that people have donated throughout the year. It really is a blast.

These are just a few highlighted photos - for the full bunch, click here....

Change

We need change. 6 days to go before we find out if positive constructive change will happen.

It's funny, even though I've been bad about picking up the phone and calling friends on the east coast lately, we still seem to come together in times like this. For better or worse, the state of the union has pulled us together again if only to worry about what the future holds. Thank you KT for forwarding the below quote.....I find it powerful on many levels. I hope others do as well.

"I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."
--General Colin Powell, 10/19/08

8

Yup, it's been 8 years since Alan and I tied the knot.

Twas a chilly day in York Harbor, Maine. About 135 people. We had three seasons. When people arrived it was 82 degrees and some had fun on the seashore. Soon after, they admired the changing leaves of the season. By the day after our wedding, they were searching for mittens to cut the cold from the first flurries of the year.

All of you who read the blog were actually in the wedding-Liisa, Jenny, Katie, Kim. I'd like to pause to say that I feel so fortunate to have everyone in my life today. I feel so fortunate to still love the person I married as much today as I did then. Sure, there are ups and downs but never do I doubt that Alan is the one for me.

Tonight we celebrated by spending a little romantic time together at a restaurant in the Marina - Isla. It was lovely.

Here's a toast to a long marriage, good family and many years of friendship, health and prosperity.

First sleepaway sleepover

Our little girl is growing up! We went to dinner at our friend's Zoe and James last night. Their daughter Brianna and Kiira were in the same preschool. Well, besides a delicious gourmet Thai dinner that Zoe cooked, the kids has a blast. Kiira begged for a sleepover that night. So, we ended up leaving her there! Her first sleepover away from home.

The report - GOOD! No sad phone call in the middle of the night. No waking up screaming for mama. I think the truth of the matter is, Kiira likes sleeping in a room with someone else. She just gets lonely. She loves sleeping in our room and on more than one occasion has said they wished she had a TV in her room. The one time I tried to have Evan sleep in her room, well, it just didn't work out. Kiira stated that she thought she would like it when Evan had real words. Fair enough as he did a good deal of crying the night we tried to put them together and while poor Kiira tried to console him, she just couldn't understand what he needed.

Wow - 5 yrs old and her first sleepover away from home. Yup - she's growing up.

All worked up

Okay - I'm sitting here all worked up. Kiira has ballet at Roco Dance on Fridays. Her teacher is wonderful. Kind, engaging, and most of all - talented. The kids are learning real ballet. They do a few things at the bar as well as playful excercises. Kiira seems to really like it. She's been taking here since she was about 3 yrs old.

Why am I all worked up you ask? The owner, Annie, is a royal bitch. Yes, I do not throw that term around lightly but if I could bring myself to call her something stronger, I would. I really, really would. Can I just say - there is always something. Ok, some history....Starting two recitals ago, she brought us parents into the lobby during the tech rehearsal. Mind you she had made it a BIG deal that we couldn't take photos during the performance so tech was the only time to do this. And yet, when does she choose to inform us that 1. Our children could not come sit with us after their performance (we had all already purchased $20 tickets for them to do so) and 2. This would be the last performance for this age group b/c it just "stressed the kids out too much" (her projecting, clearly)? Right when OUR CHILDREN ARE ON STAGE PRACTICING naturally. Yes, the only time we have been given to take photos/videos of them. More than just a few of us were pissed off by EVERYTHING she had to say. And not just what but HOW. She just exudes stress. Take a chill pill lady.

So what happened this week you ask. Well, the passive aggressive you know what just continues to treat us like we don't matter. Today we noticed that the benches we sit on to wait for the kids (it's a 45 min class) were gone. Hmm...I joke with the teacher, "is someone trying to tell us something?" She shrugs and smiles, clearly not wanting to be the one to get into the politics of something a-brewing. Five minutes later, the owner comes by and shuts the curtain in front of the one door we parents have to see our kids. Doesn't say a word, just shuts it. Okay then, we parents give each other looks.....five minutes later she comes up and says that we need to keep our voices down when the door is open, "it's very distracting for the kids." Fair enough. I ask, is there somewhere we can watch them? Mind you the entire studio is glass windows which she has put curtains on. Perhaps even one of them could be pulled back a little? No she replies, there is not. "Can the little kids switch studios to the one with the waiting room" I ask. No, she replies. Mind you, most of us waiting have younger siblings that have to wait with us. Come rainy season I'm wondering how everyone is going to love waiting in the rain? Again she replies, they are just not set up with a waiting area. So, I reply with a cold look in my eye - "I guess that's something for us to consider next time we go to sign up."
I'm a pretty laid back person but god this woman gets under my skin. She just does NOT seem to want our business. We have 45 min to wait for our kids. Not really long enough to go anywhere but she doesn't seem to want us there.

This is Kiira's last session at this studio. Although she loves it, I really in good conscience will not give this woman our business. I've talked to my friend Nancy whose daughter takes ballet/tap at Happy Feet. She said she's heard many of the moms talking there about the fact that they couldn't deal with Annie at Roco anymore and that's why they switched. Roco is probably keeping Happy Feet in business. Kiira will be sad not to do the big performance on stage but I'm hoping I can replace the disappointment by some excitement for tap dancing. Keep your fingers crossed. It's a shame the innocent little ones suffer in the end for this woman's bitchiness. Yeah, there's that word again but...if the ballet slipper fits.....