Peanut gallery

We were trying to get Ellie to figure some math tonight.  A 12th grader came to the door, collecting for charity.  She couldn't believe he was in high school because "he looked so old!"  If she is in 2nd grade and he is in 12th grade, how many years older is that?

Stephanie piped up with some guesses: "10!"  "12!"  "Painting!"

Numbers of Ellie...and Stephanie

Ellie was completing a homework sheet "All About Me in Numbers" with questions like "What are the numbers in your street address?  What is your height in inches?"

The last question was "How many books do you own?"

This one was overwhelming.  I told her she didn't really have to go count them but to just make up a number higher than 100, like 147.  She asked if she could put 1000, but I thought that might overdo it.

Then Stephanie suggested, "Put '50 like a tiger'."

Obviously.

First day of Pre-K

Ellie wasn't the only girl in this family who started school on Wednesday.



Stephanie has started attending FriendShip preschool at the Presbyterian Church near our house.  The preschool is not religious, though they do say a prayer of thanks before snacktime.  It has a play-based learning model, which Stephanie loves!  She has been a happy camper since day one.  She was so very ready to go to school.  Of course, I'm sure it helps that last week was a starter week with only one hour of school each day for three days.  Her regular week will be daily "school" for only 2.5 hours, a far cry from her rigorous, highly regulated 8:30-1:30 days at her previous Montessori school.

I've always been a big believer in the Montessori method for under-6s.  While no one approach is perfect, I really like the emphasis on independence and structure in the Montessori system.  It was ideal for our rule-bound Ellie; not so much for our free-spirited Stephanie.  We always suspected that a play-based program would suit her personality better, but it wasn't worth sending the girls to two different schools to find out.  In this location, however, we have no choice about that; two different schools was our only option.  Stephanie is thrilled!

In the US, Kindergarten is the first year of mandatory schooling.  The year before that in most preschools is called Pre-Kindergarten or Pre-K.  Since Stephanie won't reach the Pennsylvania age cut-off for kindergarten until next year, she is in pre-k now. Her teacher, Mrs. Lear, is very kind, warm and experienced.  She gave up teaching kindergarten more than 10 years ago and has been teaching at this preschool ever since.  There are only seven other children in the afternoon class (mornings are more popular; we couldn't get in), so the small class size is fantastic.  From the very first day, Stephanie has gone in without a backward glance.  We're so happy we found a great place for her too.

 

Back to school

Today, Ellie starts second grade at Sewickley Academy.  She is in Ms. Boehmig's (pronounced "Bay-mig") class.  Here, I actually got a smile as she sat down at her desk for the first time.

After months of change and without school, Ellie was understandably apprehensive this morning.  There were tears and fears of my leaving her there.  After a while, she let go of me long enough for me to go get her a tissue...and when I returned, her teacher had taken my place.  She was snuggled in close to Ellie, soothing her with kind words and offering reassurance.

 

This is going to be a great year!

Ellie's surprise party

Weeks ago, Ellie started looking ahead to her birthday (this Friday!).  All she wanted, she said, was to have a surprise party with her friends (from Australia...sigh).  I couldn't make that last part happen, and I was a bit worried about the first part too.  Although we live on a street overrun with little girls (22 on our street!), we haven't really made friends with them yet.  I wasn't sure how we could do a party, what's more a surprise party.  And then, it all worked out.

This past weekend, we drove to Northern Virginia to visit family.  With school starting on Wednesday, we knew this would be our last chance to drive over there until Thanksgiving.  While it was a bit whirlwind and exhausting, it was worth it!  We all enjoyed extra time with Mimi.  I was able to have a nice solo chat/visit with my grandpa and a girls' night out with my mom, sister and my grandpa's wife, Barbara.  The girls enjoyed their first iced custard while we visited Uncle Bob, Christina and baby Lily.   On Sunday, my sister and her husband, Matt, hosted a family brunch.  When she called to check the menu with me, I asked if perhaps we could have a balloon or two and call it a surprise party for Ellie.  Then, my mom got hold of the idea and there was no way she could stop at a balloon or two!  It was a full-blown, super-exciting princess-themed surprised birthday brunch party.  And the girl who only wanted a surprise party for her birthday this year...did she love it?  Decide for yourself.













See those curled up feet?  That is true excitement.
Thank you to my family for this truly special event.  She was/is so very happy.  I know she will never forget it.

Update on editing job

I finally heard back about that little editing job.  I figured after so much time having passed, I probably didn't get it.  Still, I admit I felt rather disappointed when the official "no" came in my inbox.  Sigh.  Oh well.  I will go with the philosophy that it would have worked if it were the right thing.

This week, the girls start school.  Stephanie will only go for 2.5 hours each day, but that is 2.5 hours I don't have now.  I know too well how quickly those little hours will go, how easily they can be lost on errands and cleaning and kitchen work...but with a master plan and a lot of discipline, I might be able to turn that time into some exciting new projects.  We will see.

Thank you, as always, for your encouragement and support!

Defining territory

Last night, the girls were running from Papa in a giggle-coated game of tag.  They've taken to declaring just about any available spot "base" or "free" so they can stop at will.  Last night, all "bases" were off.  They ran and giggled and ran and squealed until Ellie demanded to know where was free?

Papa answered, "Switzerland."

School starts next week...for both girls!

We've known for a while that Ellie will be attending Sewickley Academy.  A few weeks ago, Stephanie was screened for their pre-kindergarten program.  Although the pre-k class is full, we were hoping they planned to make an exception and give her a spot anyway.  Why else would they screen her mid-summer, right?  Or not.  They screened her so she can officially be the first spot on their waiting list.  However, with just over a week until school starts, it's not looking good for her to attend.  Furthermore, no other local preschools had availability in the morning either, which is her best time.  I had never really considered standard preschool anyway; I always wanted Montessori until age 6, which also isn't available.  Hmmm.

I have been more than fine with the idea of Stephanie being home with me again this year.  I feel an awareness of how fleeting these younger years truly are, and I was happy for the time with her.  Although she did well in her previous environment, she never really warmed to the idea of school.  Or so we thought.  Lately, she talks a lot about school.  She misses her class, her friends, her teachers.  She asks when she will go back.  She's ready.

What to do?

This morning, we visited a small, non-denominational preschool run out of the Presbyterian church at the bottom of our street called FriendShip.  It has been highly recommended to us, and just yesterday some moms told me the afternoon class only has 7 kids (everyone likes mornings) and 2 teachers.  That sounded pretty good to me.  I called and we were invited to visit.  Stephanie didn't want to go ("I don't want to go to school!"), but after we checked it out, she didn't want to leave.  I signed her up right away, and she will start the same day Ellie does.

I don't love that it isn't a Montessori environment, but it definitely isn't just daycare.  It reminds me a lot of Ellie's peuterspeelzaal in Holland.  There are weekly themes, alphabet learning, walking field trips (fire station, small grocery store...), but it's only 2.5 hours per day.  She will still have mornings with me, and then she can play with other children and be in a learning environment after lunch until we pick up Ellie from school.

Plus, she's excited, and that's the point that really matters.

New opportunity?

For years, I've been wanting to expand my writing.  Our crazy changeable lifestyle gives me every excuse (and often reason) not to, but I still want to do it.  I have purchased two different new domain names in the past 2 years: the first I felt was perfect for me and the second because the perfect first name doesn't really apply now that we're stateside again.  Hm.

Recently, I've really been enjoying the posts at DesignMom.  This week, she posted some assistant positions to work on her site.  I felt that the book editor position was right up my alley with a much more realistic time burden than a whole new blog for myself, so I applied.  She has other applicants, many of whom seem to have well-known blogs themselves, but I was excited to try anyway.

Fingers crossed!

Stephanie speak

Stephanie came to see me and moments later there was an odor.  I asked if she "made stink."
She sniffed the air several times and said,

"No, it wasn't me.  I didn't feel a bump in my bottom so it wasn't me."


Later this same morning, we were in a parking lot when we all noticed a strange smell coming from the street.  Stephanie announced,

"It smells just like elephant fur!"

Baby Lily

This past weekend, my brother Robert, his partner Christina and their baby daughter (my niece!) Lily came for a visit.  This was their first travels with a baby, and it was wonderful to see them.  Seeing my "little" brother as a smitten father is incredibly sweet, and having a darling baby in the house again, even for a short while, was marvelous.  It reminded me and Markus of just how much our girls have grown and changed, and how quickly (too quickly!) it all happens.













Lily celebrated her first birthday last month, but we had a little party for her here too.  I miss our life and our friends in Perth, but being able to share time with family again helps me know in my heart that this choice is right for us at this time.  I wouldn't want to miss this.

Happy Weekend

What a week!  I tell ya.  When some women get PMS, they become homicidal.  I just cry.  A lot.  Somehow, homicidal seems more feminist.  Sigh.
But the drama is over as the hormones recede.
Whew!

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to the weekend!  Weather-wise, we are expecting a cool front (hooray!).  Family-wise, we are expecting guests!  My brother, his girlfriend/partner/lady and their baby daughter are coming for a visit.  They are on the road right now, and we're all very excited. I've been cleaning like a mad thing for the past few hours (ahem), but the end result is pretty darn satisfying.  Even the girls noticed.  When I enlisted them in a major playroom tidy, my older daughter had a meltdown...but later when the room was all clean, she stood back, put her hands on her hips, and said, "I'm feeling very proud of myself!"  Amen, sister.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Gossip: a twist in the saga

So, I just received a call from the pediatrician's office.  He says we can see him after all.  Which really begs the question...

What the heck went down yesterday?!

Part of me is very happy this is over with no apparent hard feelings (he is our neighbor, so we do have to see him from time to time), but part of me wonders what happened in the first place.  Maybe he was having a bad day?  Maybe it was the office staff?  I have no idea.  I doubt we'll ever know.

I smiled and said we would just stick with a different doctor for now, but to please thank him for thinking of us.

***

Ran into the neighbor who recommended him in the first place.  I called her yesterday to ask about the urgent care clinic, but I hadn't updated her when we were dumped.  She said she saw him last night and asked if he'd met us.  She told him she knew we'd missed our appointment that morning but that I "felt appropriately bad about it" (I was in my crying phase when I called her about urgent care).  She went on to say that she had told us that he would never leave us high and dry if a child needed care and that it would be all right.

And today his office calls us and offers us a place back in the fold.

Amazing.

The black brush

After months of settling in process, there are still a few loose ends.  We still haven't met our doctors or dentist.  I have appointments, but most required a month-plus wait.  Our pediatrician appointment was this morning at 9am.

The girls are up so early each day that usually by 9, we're all starting to get a little stir-crazy.  An appointment at 9 was perfect.  Yesterday, I remembered to get the records ready.  I double-checked them twice.  

This morning was a lovely morning.  The girls played.  We baked muffins.  We all sat together and munched and chatted until it was time to walk to their art camp...at which point I remembered our appointment.  Nearly an hour too late.

It was a simple, honest mistake and I took full responsibility for it when I called the office to see what we could do, but I am still painted with the black brush.  New patient who cannot be bothered to show up for her very first appointment, especially one with so many things (back-to-school physicals, prescription refills...) to check off the list.  They let me know what that meant for my mothering skills.  I wonder if it would give them satisfaction to know that after we rescheduled in six weeks' time that I cried for an hour.

The irony is that if it had been a stressful, crazy morning, there is no way I would have forgotten.  I would have been eager to run out the door with somewhere we had to go.  But it wasn't and I did forget.  I feel bad, but that doesn't mean I am bad.  I hate being painted with that black brush.

**Update**
Earlier, I was upset.  I thought I was dramatizing a bit when I talked about the black brush, but it seems I wasn't.

Change "black brush" to "Black List."

One of the receptionists called us again this afternoon, saying she needed to reschedule us with someone else in the practice.  She was the nicest person I had talked to this morning, and she said she told him I was very sorry, that I had called less than an hour late with an apology.  She said the doctor had then told her that if we cannot keep our appointment, we cannot see him at all.  One strike and we're out.  She seemed embarrassed and emphasized that he made her call.  Apparently, this isn't policy.

To add insult to injury, this doctor is our neighbor.  He literally lives two houses down from us.  The reason we waited this long to see him is because all the families on our street use him and rave about how great he is.  Although we haven't met him yet, he knows he's our neighbor (another neighbor told me she told him about us and her recommendation).  I'm glad he is wonderful to them.  He has been awfully harsh towards us today.  It's going to be hard smiling when I see him in the street, but I will do it.

In the meantime, I took my daughter to a very friendly urgent care centre, where they happily did her physical and gave us prescription refills.  No appointment.  No wait.
We were there when the receptionist called me about my Black List status, and the doctor we were seeing was kind enough to be shocked.  She said she has not met a doctor with a one strike policy (usually it's three and sometimes not even then).  At least I can feel somewhat reassured that this isn't what to expect now that we're back in the States.  It has been a hard transition.

Papa chew toy

They call him "Papa chew toy".  He is the entertainment source of choice.  On a hot, hot day when we all would rather be inside, he still provides the best fun: "tossing" Stephanie and a serious indoor tennis match with Ellie the Champion.

Drawing dolphins

A couple of days ago, Stephanie called me downstairs to look at what she'd been doing on the chalkboard: drawing a family of dolphins!

 

She was very proud of her work. Usually, she prefers to colour in with markers or paint rather than draw her own, so this was a delight to see. Of course, the painting is pretty great too. She and I have been painting together most mornings when Ellie is at camp. Today, Ellie is home from camp (they are having a field trip from 8:30am-5pm which was too much for us), but Stephanie is still engaging in a morning ritual as I type up this blog entry to share with you.

 

Stephanie

Could you not just eat this girl up?

And she's off!

We bought her the bicycle over a year ago.  The initial excited enthusiasm lasted less than a week before her hyper-cautious nature kicked in and she refused to ride it.  She was afraid she'd fall.  She didn't trust the training wheels.  She wasn't confident that we wouldn't let go.  She just didn't want to.  Training wheels or not (tho especially against the "not"), she would not ride her bike. Hoping to spur her along, we brought her bike on our family trip to Rottnest, where there are no cars and cycles are the best way to get around.  She wasn't having it.  She wailed at the thought and wailed louder when I got on her bike and rode it for her, trying (and failing) to make her laugh and spark her interest.

In the months since, we've talked about it as much as she'll allow.  In the past weeks, I've pointed out all the kids riding without training wheels and how fun it looks.  Lately, I have let it drop here and there that I intend for her to be riding her bike without her training wheels by the end of the summer.  How I was supposed to get her on the seat was beyond me, but I figured we'd get to that somehow.  I dropped it again this weekend, saying Stephanie could learn at the same time.  Markus took the training wheels off both kid bikes that day.  It was on.  Sort of.

Then, tonight, Ellie spied her bike, sans training wheels.  In minutes, it had been wheeled into the backyard, where Markus and I both enthusiastically assured her that even if she fell, falling in the grass doesn't hurt so it was no big deal.  He ran with her, holding onto her seat, encouraging her to pedal or steer or both.  Back and forth they went as I ferried dinner items out to the table.  And then I looked up and saw Ellie cycling all on her own, at first just a few feet before thumping her feet down in triumph...and then around and around and around the house she went until she wore a track in the grass with the sheer thrill, the joy, the freedom of it!









Just like everything else she has ever done, Ellie started riding a bicycle in her own sweet time.

Sewickley Academy

After much debate (mostly on my part), Ellie has been enrolled in the Sewickley Academy for the 2012-2013 school year.



When we first arrived, I visited Edgeworth Elementary School, the local public elementary school, and I was smitten.  It was by far the nicest public school I had ever seen.  It even made me (almost) wish I were a teacher again so I could teach in a school like that.  It was that good.

But.

Sewickley also has a top-notch private school where most people like us (international movers) tend to go.  Their system aligns fairly well with the International Baccalaureate, making an easy transition to schools in Europe.  They use technology to enhance education, not replace teaching as I woefully observed in other schools.  I was so impressed with their high school program (one of the classes is "Modern History of the Middle East").  Family participation is encouraged, and a broad range of skills are requisite (including mandatory dance class for all students--picture 5th grade boys in ballet poses).

The screening was fairly intense with over an hour of testing Ellie for skills (at age 6!), but she was accepted with open arms probably before the screening was over.  I kept telling the admissions man that she was ready for Grade 2, and he was insistent on Grade 1...until he tested her.  Then, he was all about Grade 2.  As much as it annoyed me that he was so dismissive of my assessment, I was equally pleased when he recognised her skill level.  The public school was also prepared to put her in Grade 2 just because I asked them to, but at least I know the Academy is putting her there out of recognition.  Her age would normally have her in Grade 1 here, but she has already passed the skills they teach for that group.  The admissions officer even acknowledged that she already has many of the skills they hope to cover by the second half of Grade 2.  She will be well-placed and hopefully well-taught.

The biggest reason we chose the Academy is class size.  There is a maximum of 16 students per class, though it may be 14 or 15.  Ellie is such a sensitive, tender-hearted girl, and she has yet to be in a non-Montessori classroom.  We think she will like the discipline and attention facilitated by a small class.  I personally like that the creed of the Academy is "Curiosity, Courage, Compassion". Yes, please.

My worry about sending her to the Academy versus the public school was making her too different from the other kids, especially since all of the remaining 22 girls on our street go to the public school.  I really didn't know what I wanted to do since both schools were equally good at this age level, and I debated a lot.  There seems to be a touchy-sensitivity in public school kids towards the Academy kids, and Ellie certainly has a finely tuned radar for slights.  However, while we were away on our holiday, the choice seemed crystal clear to me.  She will go to the Academy, and I'll put in extra effort outside of school to help forge friendships locally.

Portland

We have just returned from a 7-day spree in Portland, Oregon.  Though neither Markus nor I can remember who or when or why, it seems so many people over the years have insisted that Portland would be the ideal place for us to settle down, whenever we figure out how to settle down.  It is a city with an airport (critical) but it's not big, not fussy, fairly liberal and green and very outdoorsy.  We were told the lifestyle would suit us 100%...in the summer.  Apparently, you have pretty much guaranteed nice weather from after the 4th of July until the end of August.  After that, you are pretty much guaranteed that your favourite pair of wellies and a good raincoat will be appreciated.  Hmmm.

Every other time we had considered visiting to check it out, the time of year wasn't ideal.  Now that we're in the States and subject to school schedules with Ellie starting 2nd grade in the fall, we figured this was our time!  We went just after the 4th of July, and do you know what?  The weather was every bit as wonderful as we had been promised!  Escaping from over 2 weeks of temperatures near 100F and humidity to less than 90F, low humidity and cool nights (below 60F) made it a double holiday.

We rented a vacation home in Lake Oswego, a fancy suburb outside of Portland.  We found it via airbnb, and we'd say it was a cross between a bed and breakfast and a vacation rental in that we had the house to ourselves but the owner (Shela) was still there in the basement.  It was quite an unusual arrangement and not one we would seek again, but thankfully she was wonderfully nice and so friendly with the girls that it all worked out ok.  It was a lovely house, a historic home she had saved from demolition and renovated beautifully.  She had saved some of her daughters' toys and had them out on the sun porch for our family to use, which the girls loved!  Fashion Plates (which I also loved as a child) were the huge hit.  Thank goodness I packed lots of blank paper and our colouring pencils!



We try to take it easy on holiday, meaning the girls aren't overtaxed but Markus and I are often under-taxed.  We want to do and see, and we try to moderate.  This time, we did a side trip on Sunday and Monday to Mount Hood and stayed the night in the historic Timberline Lodge (dedicated by Roosevelt as an icon of the Works Progress Administration).  The craftsmanship in the lodge is stunning, and I felt privileged to see it and thankful we could appreciate and enjoy it.  Our room had a king-size bed, a single and a roll-away, so there were plenty of beds to jump on sleep in.  The pool has a view up the mountain and snow comes right to the fence.  The biggest thrill, of course, was the snow!  The girls were over the moon to play in snow for the first time in memory, and we were all very happy that we could play and wander to our hearts' content because the air was quite warm (80+ degrees F).

I have posted a ton of pictures in our flickr account, but here are a few of my favourites:










On the way home, we drove a different way so we could pass through Columbia Gorge and see the magnificent Multnomah Falls.  There are many falls and a famous dam along that drive, but the girls couldn't have cared less.  They have no love for long car rides, so that when we stopped for Multnomah Falls and got out for a closer look, they insisted they could see it just fine and could we please go home now.  The perils of childhood in our family...sigh.



One of my oldest friends, Quinn, and his wife live in Portland.  I hadn't seen Quinn in over 10 years (wow), but we were able to catch up on this trip.  They made a lot of time for us, showing us all around Portland on Saturday.  We met at the university farmer's market, ate lunch at a food cart (essential Portland fare), stopped in at Powell's Books (overwhelming!), played in Washington Park and relaxed with a beer and pizza at the Lucky Labrador pub.  Quinn met up with us again on Tuesday and introduced us to another neighbourhood for good food and the most amazing ice cream at Salt & Straw.  Then, we drove out to Sauvie Island so the girls could play at the river beach.



Portland was a great place for food and small neighbourhoods.  I am a huge fan.  The Waffle Window was a must-stop for us, and we went twice.  I admit it.  If you have the chance to go, do yourself a favour and order the blueberry cheesecake waffle.  It's a Belgian waffle topped with homemade cheesecake pudding (amazing stuff!) and homemade blueberry compote.  Holy moly.  Is it over the top rich and decadent?  Yes, indeedy!  Order it and enjoy it because where else can you have that?  Yum.

 

Wednesday was our last full day, so we visited the Oregon Zoo in the morning.  Our girls are bit rotten on zoos (Rotterdam, Sydney, Perth, Singapore, Bali, Thailand elephant rides...), so they are a bit tough to impress.  Markus and I, on the other hand, were very impressed.  The Pacific-Northwest section of the zoo is built right into the forest setting, and it felt very much a part of it.  The zoo was well-designed and accommodating to kids (you'd be amazed at how many zoos are not), building in steps up to high displays and even putting step stools at the toilets and sinks in the bathroom.  Afterwards, we went back to the Waffle Window for a snack and then to visit a bike shop we'd found online.  Being atypical tourists but tourists nonetheless, we bought atypical souvenirs: new bikes!  I found a bike I'd always wanted, and they are going to ship it to me here in Sewickley.  Markus found a very unusual adaptation piece that will convert his old mountain bike into a bike that can fit two kids on the back.  It will take two weeks before we see them, but I'm excited.

On Thursday, Markus flew home with the girls and I carried on to San Francisco, taking my mom there for a long weekend as a birthday present.  It's a big year this year, and we wanted to celebrate in a special way.  Now, we're all home again and trying to settle into some sort of routine.  The weather is still hot and humid.  The air conditioning in the bedrooms is still totally inadequate.  But we are so thankful we had such a fantastic holiday...and we can't help considering a move there perhaps someday in the future. As Markus said, at least you can count on the summers being fantastic, and that is his favourite time to be out anyway.