Edward White 1924-2008

Alan's dad passed away two nights ago. We are heading out Sunday for Boston. He'll have a service on Monday and then the family will gather for the Jewish tradition of shiva. I've never been to a shiva but I can imagine what one for Ed White will be.

He was a character always with a good story and a kind word. Quick to help out if someone needed him (or even if they didn't) and the kind of eyes that always seemed to be smiling at you. Bright blue - he passed these on to Evan.

He always made me feel welcome in the family. In fact, he didn't even see it as welcoming me. He made me a PART of the family. I was very lucky to have such a wonderful father in law and he will be greatly missed.

If we could choose to infuse any humor in this (which Ed would have liked) - following Kiira's theory of "where is heaven", if heaven is somewhere near Berkeley, we can be thankful that as least he is closer to where we live now! :-)

Girlfriends

What would we do without our girlfriends I ask....
I found out today that one of my girlfriends had pulled a muscle in her jaw. Now this easily could have been done at any one of our gab sessions (it was not however!). We have a standing get together once a week and I consistently look forward to being able to dump my woes on another tired mother/wife. We compare stories about our kids, offer anecdotes, swap silly husband stories and generally lend a shoulder to either laugh or cry on.

My above pictured friend, Mona Helen, always has a good story (she is a master story teller and beautiful writer - check out her blog if you haven't, it's under my favorites column). She is this extraordinary person who seems to have done it all and how she keeps it together with four kids, I have no idea.

One of the things we love to chat about is our latest creative tickle. We are always making something that the other has a good idea about - birthday themes and the supporting cakes/invitations/goody bags to go with it are always a popular topic. However, Mona Helen also has this unknown skill of making incredible beautiful jewelry. And, have I mentioned that she is my neighbor? And her last two kids and my two kids are about the same age?

It is wonderful to walk over on a sticky hot day (such as today) and plop the kids down, not care about what they are up to, enjoy a cold glass of iced tea, and have a moment of sanity where we have adult conversation no matter what the noise level around us is.

Thank goodness for girlfriends!

The end of the road....

While I wouldn't say we are highly accomplished on either tricycle or bicycle (respectively for ages) we do have fun tooling around the cul de sac.
Safety first....safety first.....

HOT HOT HOT

It has been hotter than a ..... than a.... well I can't think of anything witty so suffice to say it's been REALLY HOT lately. We took advantage of the hot day to use our underutilized pool.



Kiira is mastering the doggy paddle and Evan is mastering hanging in mommy's arms. He's not real interested in the water but then again....Kiira wasn't at his age either. I like taking the photos so here are a few apres swim.

Where is heaven?

There are a few sayings and stories of Kiira's and Evan's that I want to make sure not to forget. Like....

"lasterday" - def. yesterday or any day before that (kiira circa 2006)
"bemember" - def. remember (kiira circa 2006)
"belaxing" - def. relaxing (kiira circa 2006)
"mony" - def. mommy (Evan circa 2007) This one is especially dear to our hearts since our good friend in England was actually named Mony

"Where is heaven?", we were asked several times in the last two years. Our two kitties, Bullseye and Calvin, have gone to heaven in this time. What do you tell a 4 year old? They don't REALLY understand it so I tend to put it in rosy terms as far as "heaven is where the kitties get to play all day, or where they can have as many treats as they want." After Calvin died, we had a friend of Kiira's over for a playdate. She asked where Calvin was and Kiira said in heaven. Her friend, who is a year younger, asked, "Where is heaven?" Kiira's response was priceless. It truly shows they don't really understand the concept as hard as they try.
Her response to "where is heaven?" She paused for a moment and then apropos of nothing simply said, "I don't know...somewhere next to Berkeley I think."

Fly little bird fly

Well, we've done our job. Kiira has started kindergarten and as of today, her first day, seems to be adjusting like an old pro. A recap if you will.....Kiira clinging to my leg and screaming "Back home", "Back home" her first day of preschool (and the subsequent two months) before we pulled her out of that preschool for good. Kiira not wanting me to leave the room where she took ballet for the first month. Kiira not wanting to perform any of the ballet performances.

Now...flashforward....Kiira performing for ANYONE that will watch. Kiira giving me a peck on the lips and saying goodbye before heading off to kindergarten. Fly baby fly....your wings will bring you infinite possibilities.

The greatest show on earth

The greatest show on earth - this is what Ringling Barnum and Bailey is now calling the circus. I have not been to the circus in years and years and let me tell you - the circus has come a long way. They are trying to keep up with the times and now have incorporated contemporary music, lots of (to my surprise) scantily clad women dancing to the beat in the group numbers and some motorcycle tricks that would make even the more daring person squirm in their seat (imagine 7 motorcycles going round and round in a big "globe" cage - FAST!).

My kids were mesmerized! I wasn't sure how Evan would react to having to sit (2 1/2 hrs as it turns out!) for it all but I don't think they even blinked. Suffice to say - a hit! Favorites were definitely the elephants. Every time an act came and went Evan would start doing his sign for "more" and saying emphatically "Mo!, Mo!, Mo!".