Lessons from Lucas

I am continually reminded of how much I learn from Lucas.

Yesterday, Lucas asked me for the 3rd time to play cars with him, and for the third time, I said, "Lucas, I told you already. I'm going to finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher, then I will play cars." His response? "Mommy, sometimes you are so serious, you make me want to laugh!"

I wasn't the only one who learned something from Lucas this past week. Lucas is currently really into his dinosaur book. He has the dinosaur names and facts memorized (triceratops has 3 horns and a bony neck shield to protect it from its enemies, etc.) Lucas informed me that he has to read this book to my mom, "because she doesn't know how to say the dinosaur names".

Who knows what he will teach me next? How to have a good organizational system for my paperwork, how to do our taxes, or maybe how to multiply and divide fractions - some of the many things I have yet to learn.

When fate steps in

After a week of a lot of "bad" eating (aka lots of carbs), I woke up today and thought, "Today I will get back on track with healthy eating."

Even as I walked with Kimberley to Semifreddi's, I didn't plan on getting anything. I didn't even bring my wallet. I walked in and one of the girls asked what I was having and I said, "Nothing for me today."

But then a couple minutes later, I saw a hot chocolate with my name on it (not literally, but I could tell it had extra chocolate and they left about 1/4" at the top, which I always request). I asked Joanne, the other girl who was working the coffee machine if it was for me.

Joanne said she was kind of on auto-pilot and when saw me she just made my hot chocolate. She said I should take it anyway, no charge.

And who am I to let a good thing go to waste?

Not just for kids anymore

I can't wait until Lucas is old enough to take to SF and do this...

Hundreds smack each other around in SF pillow fight
Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

(02-14) 19:19 PST -- Hundreds of people filed into Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco this evening for a massive pillow fight that is becoming a Valentine's Day tradition.

The Pillow Fight Club, which started last year, kicked off when the clock on the Ferry Building struck six. There were at least 500 people swinging pillows at each other in a brawl that lasted more than an hour.

"I wasn't exactly thrilled that this was the way my date started," said Lindsay Lathrope, 28, a Cole Valley resident. "But smacking my boyfriend in the head turned out to be awesome."
It was quite a spectacle as people ran down Market Street giggling with pillows under their arms. Stunned tourists and diners took photos. Some wanted to join in the fun.
Demarcus Jones was willing to pay.

"I will give you five bucks for a pillow," he screamed into the crowd.

The joys of the wine country

We went to the wine country for Kevin's birthday this past weekend, while Lucas vacationed at my mom's.

We drove up Friday night and stayed at the lovely Gaige House Inn in Glen Ellen. We returned Sunday morning.

To sum it up, here are some of the most commonly asked questions about our trip.

Did you go wine tasting? No.
Did you go on any lovely hikes to enjoy the beautiful mild weather? No.
Did you leave our room for anything other than food? No.
Did you eat some amazing food? Yes.
Did you eat lots of chocolate and cookies? Yes.
Did you catch up on our sleep? Yes.
Did you watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD? Yes.
The extended versions? Yes.

Have bike, will travel

Today Lucas had another first. He put on a jacket over his pj's and his bike helmet and he got on his bike. He rode it all the way to his favorite destination, Toot Sweets. He rode on the sidewalk and I ran alongside next to him. It's a nice little ride, and we only had to cross one little street to get there.

We celebrated once we got to our destination with oatmeal and orange juice.

Lucas rode the whole way home too.

Choosing pajamams

Lucas was choosing which pajamas to wear to bed. I said, "How about the Bones of Fred McFee pajamas?"

Lucas: No, every time I wear those Daddy freaks out.

Me: What do you mean?

Lucas: He gets really scared. I don't want to scare him tonight.

Me: That's very nice of you Lucas.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is what I learned about love this Valentine's Day:

1) There's more than enough to go around.
I went to Target to get some notecards and chocolates so we could make Valentines cards for Lucas' classmates. I was so overwhelmed as I bumbled through the 5 aisles in Target that housed just the Valentine-themed candy. I found some simple heart chocolates, however, in the 50,000+ square feet that is Target, I couldn't find a single heart sticker.

2) You have to work at it, part 1
On Monday night Lucas and I embarked on the task of making Valentine's cards for his classmates. We had simple flat notecards. I started to write: To: [name] and From: [name], figuring that Lucas would just want to be involved with the decorating. But Lucas had other ideas. He wanted to write the names out, including his own, which is a little tough with long names like Valencia and Sebastian (the one below says "Sebastian" and "Lucas").

but much easier with short names like Nia and Owen (the one below also shows how much his writing improved over his 2-day intensive writing workshop).

Monday night we only got through about 7 of the 20 cards needed for his classmates. We took time-out when Lucas said he was "tired of writing", to embellish the cards with glittery stars and felt heart-shaped stickers, which I finally found at Five Little Monkeys, one of my favorite local toy stores.

3) You have to work at it, part 2
On Tuesday night, we plugged away at more Valentines cards. But soon Lucas didn't want to write anymore. Then he insisted on dictating to me. And of course, he didn't just list the kids in his class, but he went down the class list and started to spell each of the names for me. "Okay mommy, now this name is C-A-R-T-F-R."

4) People who love each other don't have to agree.
I said, "I think it's E-R, like Carter." Lucas stood his ground, "It's F-R! It says it right here!" Luckily, the dictation phase was short.

5) Love, well, it can be sticky.
Inevitably, Lucas got glue all over his hands. But that wasn't enough, so he actually dug his fingers down into the glue stick and it got under his fingernails.

6) Lucas has a lot of love to go around.
When we were done with his classmates, he wanted to make them for his teachers. And not just his two primary teachers, but the afterschool teachers and the substitutes. To avoid a possible meltdown and writing cards into the wee hours of the night, I convinced him that the since the subs weren't going to be at school, we could wait for another holiday to make cards for them. But we did take the time to make a card for his best friend Owen, see above. But after the 3rd teacher, he gave up writing and decorating entirely. So I was left with making them for the rest of the teachers.

7) It can get ugly.
Since it was Valentine's Day and all, Lucas ate quite a bit of sweets. Actually, probably more than he usually does in a whole month. So I'm going to attribute his extra fiery temper on the playground to the excessive amounts of sugar coursing through his veins. Though anyone who has seen him on a "bad" day, knows that I'm just making excuses.

8) It can render you speechless.
We topped off our sushi dinner with chocolate cupcakes from Love at First Bite and they were delicious, "Guittard chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream frosting" (I'm guessing that "Guittard" is a French word for "extremely delicious"). Kevin asked Lucas a couple of times if he liked his cupcake while he was eating it. He didn't say anything. He ended up shoving a big handful of the cake part in his mouth.

Happy Valentine's day to you!

Lucas' comedy show, in two acts

Act 1: Last night as Lucas was getting ready for bed, he told me he had a good joke.

(Background: Every night Lucas puts out the clothes he'll wear the next day on a nightstand in his room.)

He said, "Mommy, this will be so funny. I'm only going to put out socks, underwear and pants...I won't choose my shirt tonight. Won't that be funny? [laugh laugh, giggle giggle].

"Hysterical," I replied.

Act 2: This morning as I was getting Lucas' breakfast ready.
Lucas: Mommy, I'm going to do Eeny Meeny Miny Moe. [He did it and he pointed to me.]
Lucas: You're going to be a cheese roll-up! (which is basically a piece of cheese wrapped up in a slice of turkey)
Me: [with mock horror] Oh no, does that mean somebody is going to eat me up?
Lucas: Don't be silly, it was just a joke.

I'm glad he clarified that.

Indoor-outdoor weekend

Saturday was pretty miserable outside. When it wasn't raining it looked like it was about to start raining. We spent the majority of the day inside.

Lucas and Kevin kept busy with construction projects,
and of course, the demolition!

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I did take Lucas out in the late afternoon to go puddle stomping at the playground across the street. His mood really lightened up after that.

However, on Sunday the skies were clear and it was a great day to be out. After a long walk and brunch with Ann and Kimberley, I took Lucas on a walk to Supercuts for a much-needed haircut. Then we went over to the playground so Lucas could try out the new scooter from Kimberley.

Actually, Kimberley gave us two scooters, guess which one Lucas chose to ride?

It's a very cool scooter. It's more like a skateboard with a handle. Unlike the Razor scooter, the handle moves with you and the base, instead of just staying upright all the time.

Lucas loved it and he rode around for a good 2-3 hours.

Lucas explores choreography, or "Oh, if the neighbors could see us now!"

This morning, Lucas requested his favorite CD, which currently is The English Beat's "I Just Can't Stop It". It's fast-paced, kind of hyper, happy music, which fits Lucas to a tee.

Lucas asked that I dance with him, but not just any dance. He told me I was going to be the princess and he would be the angel king.

Once Lucas' song of choice began, "Mirror in the Bathroom", he started running around and sliding on the floor, which I guess is how all angel kings dance. I was doing my normal head bobbing and subtle dance moves (for anyone who has seen me "dance", you know my dancing skills are VERY lame.) But luckily, Lucas gave me some pointers:

Lucas: Dance like this, spin around on one foot.
Lucas: And put your arms up in the air. (I spin on one foot and arc my arms, this was what I was shooting for, see below.)

But Lucas had other ideas.

Lucas: No not so your hands are touching, but just up in the air like this. (He demonstrates, more like the referee motion for touchdown). You need to dance like this, like a ballerina.

Me: Oh, like this? (And I do the referee move, as seen above).

Lucas: Yeah, just like a ballerina.

Lucas: You have to dance like that. You can't run around fast like me because you're a princess, not a boy, and not even a dad.

Where is Lucas??

For those of you who have been checking in regularly to this blog, you may have noticed that our star has not been pictured lately.

The other day, he was playing his harmonica and doing a little jig. After a couple minutes, he was still doing it and having a great time. So of course I ran to get my camera since it was so cute.

This is what I got. Stay tuned, I'm not going to push it, but hopefully his camera-shyness is just a phase.

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Only in a preschool

Yesterday when I dropped Lucas off at school, he asked me to stay and watch him do some of his work.

Lucas got a small basket of shells. He took out a blindfold and put it over his eyes. Then, blindfolded, he reached into the basket and took out shell after shell and held each one up to his ear.

When he was done he said, "Try it mommy, you can hear the oceans in some of the shells."

It's such an awesome activity, but where else would you see something like this except in a preschool??

The countdown begins

Yesterday Lucas asked when Kevin was coming home. I told him that he would be back on Friday. Though Lucas knows the days of the week, the timing of those days is not totally clear yet.

So I made this nifty little calendar for Lucas.

Every day, he can put an X on a new day. It worked because today after he put in his X, he looked at the blank squares and said, "Daddy will be home in 3 days!"

Girls gone wild - Point Reyes

Okay, so we didn't really go wild. But there were six of us, including Jeanne (the bride-to-be), a rental house in Point Reyes, ideal weather, delicious food, and no kids in sight.

But really, what did we do?

Friday - I picked up the bride-to-be at the Oakland airport. We got pedicures then headed into SF to catch our ride. Got yummy ice cream at the Fairfax Scoop along the way to Point Reyes. Then once we were settled into the house, we made and indulged in cheese fondue and beautiful cupcakes from Sprinkles. Asleep by 11. Saturday - Breakfast at the Pine Cone Diner, shopped for organic cotton linens at Coyuchi. Walked along Limantour beach. Private vinyasa yoga class. Lounged at the house, catching up with the latest Hollywood gossip magazines. Then a lovely dinner at the Olema Inn. Again, asleep by 11.

Sunday - Breakfast at the Station House Cafe. Tidied up the house. Left the house by 11am.

Wild, crazy, and very very relaxing.

The haves and have-nots

We were driving past a construction site the other day. Lucas was very excited to see all the machines at work, so I pulled over for a bit so we could watch.

Lucas: I think they're building a house.
Me: That would be an awfully big house. (It was clearly an apartment complex or series of storefronts, as it was a block long).
Lucas: You know, when I was with Grandma Kay once I saw someone who didn't have a house.
Me: Not everyone has a house to live in. It's sad.
[ silence ]
Lucas: If people don't have a house, they should sleep in a hotel.
Me: Well, if you don't have a house to sleep in, you probably don't have money for a hotel either.
Lucas: You know, Aaron said he went to Lake Tahoe and slept in a hotel.
Me: Aaron's family has a house, but he went on vacation. When you go on vacation, you sometimes sleep in a hotel.
Lucas: We only have a house, not a hotel.
Me: We are lucky to have a house to live in.
Lucas: We have a big house, but we don't have a hotel.
Me: You're right, we don't have a hotel.

Ice Bat...so far so good

So far the Ice Bat and new bedtime routine is working. Though I did promise him that I would camp out on the couch while he sleeps. My back's a bit sore, but at least I'm not wedged in his twin bed, somewhere between his elbow and the wall.

I think next week I'll tell him that I'm going to sleep upstairs. One step at a time.