Life is All About Chocolate

Frédéric is on travel again, this time to Switzerland. Angelina was VERY teary this morning, but managed to pull away eventually. When picking her up, her teacher asked what kind of work Frédéric did. I told her space science. She said "Oh, I thought it was something to do with buying chocolate. Angelina told everyone today her daddy had to go to Switzerland to buy chocolate."




On other quotable quotes:

Angelina:"Lenaïc loves me SOOOOO much! He loves me more than anything!" This is true, he's so excited when he sees her and always wants to be with her.


After thinking awhile, she said, "Lenaïc loves me, but you know what he loves even more than me? A boob." (yes, trying to wean,but it's not going very well)


And Classic Lenaïc. give him a beer and he's set:

Our First Rocket Launch!

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 BLAST OFF!

ok, so they said "Lift Off" instead of "Blast off," but we yelled BLAST OFF.

I'm very late in sharing this. In August, we all joined Frederic and the Juno Launch Team to see, live and in person and up close, our very first rocket launch.

Juno is a project Frédéric and his colleagues have been working on for awhile. The instrument will go to "unlock the secrets of Jupiter" http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/overview/index.html

To say it was exciting would be an understatement. We were at Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was hot and humid. As "Special Guests" of NASA (along with a few thousand other scientists and their families and friends), we had access to a special viewing area. We listened to the control room over loud speakers. As the lift off window approached, we kept hearing "5 more minutes," and at one point "recommend waiting as long as possible." As the technical problem was resolved, another problem arose - a person in a boat was in the water nearby! They got him away. The window was just over an hour. If it didn't go off Aug 5, we'd come back the next day, and the next, and the next. Fortunately, we didn't have to.

Finally they said "4 minute countdown ready." Then assorted systems checks followed each by "Go. Go. Go. Go....." until finally 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and we have LIFT OFF!"


If I was a kid seeing it for the first time, I'd be so hooked on space science I'd want to do nothing else. And so it is, Angelina has declared she will be an astronaut (even though this rocket carried no humans) .

And just to add to the cool factor, that night, we were invited to a special party at "The Beach house." This is in a restricted area and only accessible by special pass (they took us all on buses). An amazing stretch of beach. The house is where the astronauts would spend time just before launch. It happened to be very near the launch pad, so we could see the after effects of the launch (lots of charred stuff).

For more pictures: HERE

The Mad Scientist

Tonight, Angelina kept saying "I'm doing something." It was clearly meant to be a science experiment of sorts.

Then she spilled all over the floor, making me slip. As I was cursing under my breath, I was trying to embrace her scientific curiosity.


The Frédéric asked her what she was doing.

Her response: "I'm making a disaster!" 

First Week of School

4 days in to Angelina's first week of school and so far I have learned I've totally underestimated my daughter. I know she's bright and confident, but I also know she's a bit hesitant, sometimes overwhelmed, and let's face it, a new big school can be scary. Throw in the teacher speaking 100% in a language she barely understands (Spanish - what little she knows is from her one week Spanish camp in July), and I expected her to beg not to go to school, to cry, to not want to leave.

As you can see, not an issue. She woke up extra early Monday morning, then had too much time to kill, so we put on a Backyardigans episode. However, we had to leave before it was done. She initially asked to stay until then end then asked "Oh? Is it time to go to Bonham?" When I said yes, she quickly turned it off and ran out the door.

We had to stop her so we could take some  First Day of School pictures.  

And one of the reasons she's so excited about Bonham, is that it means going to school with her "big brother and big sister" aka neighbors Wiley and Felice. 

When we arrived, she ran up the steps. Again I had to pull her back so we could get a picture!

She came out of school at the end of the day arm in arm with her new best buddy, Ava, bursting with Spanish words. She's in a dual-language immersion program, where in Kindergarten the teacher speaks 100% Spanish. Someone does come in with some English here and there, but mainly it's Spanish. She struggled a bit with Spanish camp this summer, so I figured she'd have a hard time when school started. Not so, she's loving the Spanish, and though she doesn't understand everything, she says "I just look at the teacher and try to figure out what she's saying." And she does! 

Each day she's so excited to go to school, and so happy when I pick her up, if a bit tired. She's quickly making new friends and loving walking to school which is just around the corner from our house. I am sure sooner or later the exhaustion will come out and it won't all be a piece of cake, but for the first week, I am so impressed and very proud of how well she has handled this transition. 

btw - the schools in our district all have "uniforms", all the bottoms (pants/shorts/skirts/jumpers) have to be khaki color with some specifications on style and shirts white or the school's color, in our case green. There are pros and cons to uniforms, but Angelina loves it - as far as she's concerned, it's all part of being a big kid and going to the "big" school. Also means we have a dresser full of clothes she'll only wear on weekends...

As for Lenaïc, he doesn't know it yet. but he's enjoying a more routine day with sister gone from 8-3:10. But he's oh so happy when she's home. 

First Day of School!

I am wondering how this little baby is suddenly old enough to start Kindergarten tomorrow.




















I blinked, and FIVE years passed. If I blink again she'll be off to prom.
It still seems like yesterday we were praying she'd make it through her first 12 hours alive.

And on my one first day of school, Sept 1974. I tried to show her this picture, to show her Mommy also had a first day, and she didn't recognize me. 

Quotable Quotes and Rockets

Our lives have been revolving around space lately.

Last week Angelina and her School Coop buddies went to the Scobee Planetarium on a field trip. This past week, she attended Space Camp where she learned all about the solar system, rockets, planets and then some.

And it's good timing, as one of Frederic's missions, Juno, is about to launch next week. And we get to see it in person, by special invitation from NASA! Angelina can't wait, and I'm pretty excited too.


After a week at Space Camp, she's an expert. She asked me to draw some planets. When she saw the one with rings, she asked what it was. I said "Sa-TURN" she said "No Mommy. That is not right, it is Sa-DURN. D-D-D DURN."

We'll be going to Cocoa Beach, FL to watch the launch. Today she asked "What language do they speak in Florida?" (so she could practice, she's had a week in Spanish camp as well).

Whenever we travel, she wants to know how many airplanes it takes to get somewhere. Today she asked "I want to go to Mars. How many airplanes does it take to get to Mars?....Oh wait, it's not an airplane, it's a ROCKET!!!!"


For more on Juno, click JUNO.

Homebirth on NPR

Just a small plug - if you missed the Diane Rehm show today, you can listen online -

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-07-25/ina-may-gaskin-birth-matters-midwifes-manifesta?page=1

to Ina May Gaskin, THE midwifery expert.

Lemonade for a Cause

102F in the shade. What better than a little lemonade and cookies?

Angelina and her friend Maddie (with help from Maddie's mom), set up a lemonade stand outside Maddie's house in King William. They decided they wanted to donate the proceeds to the no-kill Animal Shelter.They also had a sign up "Free for the homeless," but alas, they didn't have many homeless walk by.


They earned $25 for the shelter! And had a blast doing it.

What a way to celebrate turning 5!

A trip to California!

Angelina's 5th birthday turned into a birthday vacation:

Day 1:
Pool time with Hannah and Martina (cousin Matthew arrived later)


Horseback riding with Hannah


Day 2:
More pool time, followed by grunion hunting....for those who have never heard of grunion or why one would "hunt" them, they are little sardine like fish. They come ashore to lay eggs and for a few months of the year, you can catch them. But only with your bare hands. No nets, no hooks. And they come during the night. So at 9pm off she went with Papa, Uncle Chris, Nanny and her cousins to the beach to catch some grunion. She loved it.



Day 3: off to Big Bear Lake and Uncle Bruce and Aunt "Doretta's" cabin...
Day 4: Turn 5!!! Complete with Dragon cake


And a ride on the "taco" on the lake. At first she didn't want to ride the tube when we went out with Uncle Bruce. Later, when Uncle Chris arrived and took the kids out again without Frédéric and I, they convinced her to try. And in customary fashion, she didn't want to get off.


Day 5: 4th of July with friends

Day 6: Learning to rock climb with cousin Justin. She loves the climbing wall at the park, so Justin, an avid rock climber and home from college for the summer, offered to take her to his climbing gym. Martina, Hannah, and Matthew came too. Camille did as well but having had surgery that day to remove a rod from her arm, she avoided the climbing. Of course, at first Angelina was afraid to try. Then she did and there was no stopping her.


And more pool time



Day 7: Off to Pismo Beach! Wanting a little "family" holiday, we headed up the coast to Pismo Beach. Beautiful!

Day 8: Searching for shells, crabs, and clams in Pismo Dunes

Day 9: hiking the sand dunes south of Pismo, followed by blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry picking near Lake Cachuma.

Day 10: More fun in the pool....


And then home.

for more pictures, click HERE. Pay particular attention to the water slide photos.

Celebrating Angelina's 5th Birthday

Angelina has been asking, oh, since December, when her birthday party would be. I explained July. When is that? "When it gets hot again." Only it's been hotter than hell since April. She's been to tons of birthday parties all year, and has been not so patiently waiting for her own. In the past week, every morning she'd wake saying "Is today my party?"

Finally, FINALLY, the day of the party arrived!


Her actual birthdate is July 3, but because that's usually a holiday weekend, we've been having her party early. This year, we celebrated June 26, which also happens to be our Swiss Wedding Anniversary (7 years!).






Invited were all the kids in her class, a bunch of neighborhood playmates, assorted other friends with kids. Turned out to be quite the shindig!

Angelina is absolutely obsessed with an out of production PBS show, Dragon Tales (we watch on Netflix). I'm not good with theme birthday parties, but I thought I'd try...

This year we have our pool up (3ft x 15ft), kiddie pool for the little guys, trampoline, and thanks to our wonderful neighbor Fredo, who initially asked me months ago if we'd be having a party because he really wanted to hire a pony (he knew a guy...), pony rides. All this turning our house into quite the Fun House.




And having heard my Dad say enough times that no matter how many adults are around during a party, someone must be lifeguard, I took it to heart and asked our neighborhood teen/housesitter to act as lifeguard during the party. Best decision ever. even though it's only 3 ft deep, with 15+ kids playing in it it can get a bit crazy, and it'd be hard for parents to really watch, esp. if they also have a younger kid around.

The ponies were a huge hit, once the kids got over the shock. I didn't tell anyone, including most of the parents, so it was a surprise for all. The kids were more surprised than excited at first, but then they loved it. Most got to have multiple rides.


Then back to the pool.

Then the piñata.

Then singing Happy Birthday.

And back to the pool.

A great party!

Quotable Quotes

"Mommy, can I have salsa? It has to be hot." (says the girl who lives on plain pasta with cheese.)
"I want to breathe fire!"
and she ate it, with crackers and lots of water..



No, this is not an announcement.
Angelina "Mommy, do you think it's a sister?"
Me "HUH?"
A: "The baby in your belly, is it a baby sister? You have a big belly." (as she pats my belly)
Me: "No, sweetie, there's no baby in my belly, that's just fat."
A: "Well, you and Papa need to get working on it."








Having made some art project, Angelina presents it to Papa.
Frederic: "What is it?"
Angelina: "I don't know, but would you mind liking it?"


Angelina: "Can we paint the house today?"
Me: "You can paint your play house."
Angelina: "No, that's already pretty. We have to paint the big house. It needs to have a rainbow painted on to make it beautiful."
Think the historic commission will ok a rainbow? This is Lavaca afterall...


A: "We need to buy Papa a race car so he can drive really fast."
Me: "Who's going to buy it."
A: "Us."
Me "Who has the money for it?"
A: "I know! We can ask Maya. She has lots of money!" (Maya is one of her friends. Later she mentioned something about lots of coins, guessing Maya has a piggy bank?)


‎6PM. Angelina, lips blue and shivering from being in the pool for the better part of 4 hours, "Mommy, after I take a bath [chattering teeth], can I go back in the pool?" Yes, she's my kid.



Angelina: "It hasn't rained in a loooong time. The water machine must be broken."


Daylight Savings Time! Angelina: "The sun is not down, it isn't night time yet."


Angelina "So when are we going to get a puppy?"
Me "Puppies are a lot of work. We have to walk it, and we have to train it to go poop outside, then pick up the poop."
Angelina "I know an idea! Chakapu [our cat] can help! the puppy can use the kitty potty [litter box]! Chakapu would be really happy to help the puppy!"





"I want a new book. It's called 'Mommy Turns Into a Monster.'"

"Mommy, today I'm going to be good and sweet."

"Guess what Mommy! Switzerland is out of chocolate...do you know why? Because I ate it all!"

"Mommy, for my birthday, I want a surprise party! Can you plan a surprise for me? And I want a big cake, and Zoe (her friend) will be inside, and then come out and everyone will say 'SURPRISE!'"



"I want to be a global Traveler. I want to save the world!"
"Est-ce que you have the poi'eau?"
"I want to be a clown." Then a few days later, "I want to be a clown so I can be in the circus!"

So attached to Papa

This morning, as we were leaving for school co-op*, Angelina started crying. It wasn't the temper tantrum type cry but rather a sad, sweet cry. Finally, between sniffles she sobs "Papa forgot to give me a hug goodbye this morning."

I thought by the time I picked her up this afternoon she'd forgotten about that....about 3pm, when she asked what I was doing and I told her I was sending an email to Papa to ask him something, she said "Then you have to tell him he forgot to give me a hug."

An hour later...she's going to the neighbor Felice's house to play, she said "I have to tell Felice Papa didn't give me a hug this morning and I'm so sad."


Finally, Papa is home, she's busy playing in the pool and forgets all about him. Until dinner time and she says, almost in tears "Papa, you didn't give me a hug today!"

Funny thing is, he did give a hug and a kiss!

Sibling Fun

Lenaïc's favourite thing is to push stuff around. If it has wheels, all the better (better for our floors, too). Fortunately, Angelina's favourite thing is to ride and be pushed.

They make a good team.

Cancer Free!

It's official.

Frédéric had his first post-op blood work and CT scan. AFP normal! CT scan, normal!
If the lymph node dissection hadn't removed all the cancer, his blood markers would be increasing by now. They're not, so his testicular cancer is gone. The CT scan results also suggest the kidney cancer is gone.

Of course he'll have to continue close surveillance (blood work every 6 weeks, CT scan in 6 months - will probably be chest x-ray then CT scan of other regions). Having had it once, he's at increased risk to have it again. But at this time, it looks like the decision NOT to do chemo was the right one (thanks Dr. Einhorn at Indiana Univeristy!)

On the recovery front, he's pretty much back to normal too. He got an infection in the incision which was pretty painful and yucky for awhile, but that was resolved with oral antibiotics (thankfully! was worried for awhile it'd required IV/hospital). He's been cycling with us, building a fence, playing in the pool. All things a summer should be!

Stacking