Practice makes Perfect: Introducing the Skills Bros Jr

Ball control is one of the most basic soccer skills, and my boys have been practicing keepy-ups (kicking the ball up with one or both feet without letting the ball touch the ground) since they were in first grade.  I remember when doing 5 keepy-ups was a challenge. They were so frustrated and impatient to do more, but Alfie and I reminded them of their experiences with the Shred Sled -- that they would only improve with practice.

So they practiced.

Good bye, grade school

Yesterday we said goodbye to the end of an era.  The Pea has graduated from middle school; next year she'll be starting high school.  3Po and Jammy have graduated from grade school; next year they'll be starting middle school.  We've closed the chapter on the elementary school years.

So You Athletes Think You Can Dance? Yes, We Can!

When friends and family think of my sons, the first words that come to mind are probably: Identical. Twins. Soccer. Tough. Solid. Maybe Cello and Videogames and Drawing and Athletic. Maybe Dark Haired. I would add Handsome and Brilliant and Imaginative and Loving and a million other complimentary adjectives that make it obvious I'm their parent.

How to throw a fuss-free Indoor Soccer Party -- Jammy's 11th birthday celebration

When I asked Jammy what kind of party he wanted to throw for his 11th birthday, his answer was immediate: a soccer party at Sports House, and indoor soccer venue.

"Okay," I asked.  "Let me get this straight.  You play soccer with your friends Every. Single. Day.  And for your birthday, you want to play..... More Soccer".

A Mother's Day poem

You are the best mom in the world,

So you are the queen.

If I did not have you as a mom,

I don't know what I could have been!

You are so awesome, you have two jobs,

One job you give us toys and the other makes little kids not sob!

Every day you walk me to school,

All of this is why your (sic) so cool!

Happy Mother's Day!

                                                  -- a poem by Jammy

It doesn't get any better than this.  Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Coloma Outdoor Discovery School, Day 3

We had some surprise visitors on the morning of Day 3!  Click to read about what happened on Day 1 and Day 2.

I couldn't believe it when Joanna and I woke up on Day 3 of our Coloma adventure:  it was almost 7:00 a.m.!  The girls were so tired that they had actually slept in! We spent the early morning packing up our sleeping bags and things, and cleaning up our dorm. The girls were determined to win the Golden Dustpan Award (a glittery gold bead for their pouch), so they made sure all their trash was thrown away, and swept the floors till they gleamed.  Once everyone was packed up and ready to leave, we had breakfast (bacon, eggs, and biscuits -- The Pea was right when she told me three years ago that I should definitely volunteer to chaperone the boys to Coloma because the food was so good!).

Coloma Outdoor Discovery School, Day 2

Day 2 was Hiking Day for the students of the Coloma Discovery School (see what we did on Day 1 here!).  We woke up bright and early at 7:00 a.m.  (actually, the girls in our dorm woke up at 6:00 am because they were so excited, much to the dismay of my dorm parent partner Joanna and I) and fueled up with a delicious breakfast of eggs, sausage, and french toast.  We filled our backpacks with water, sunscreen, snacks, and lunch, met up with the members of our town, and set off to explore the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park and the Monroe Ridge.  The whole camp spent the day outdoors, with each town starting at a different landmark so we wouldn't all crowd into the same location.

Coloma Outdoor Discovery School, Day 1

Fourth Grade seems to be the time when the schoolwork starts getting serious:  the colorful carpets are gone, the cute room decorations are kept to a minimum, the books and binders come out more frequently than the crayons and glue.  Fortunately, the big kids still get to play: Fourth Graders at our school get to take a 3-day field trip to Gold Rush country as part of their California history unit.  The Coloma field trip is something every kid looks forward to (those with older siblings wait for this trip for years!). The Pea went to Coloma 3 years ago; this year, it was 3Po's and Jammy's turn -- and mine as well.  I was chosen as a parent chaperone, so I got to experience the whole thing!

Letter to my sons, March 20 2014

Today is Day 2 of 3Po's and Jammy's 3-day school field trip to the Coloma Outdoor Discovery School.  The boys and I (I'm chaperoning them!) will be traveling back in time to 1849, going on hikes, panning for gold, and participating in all kinds of hands-on activities designed to teach kids about life during the California Gold Rush.  They'll have read the letter I wrote to them last night, and tonight they'll be reading the letter that Alfie wrote to them, written as though we were living in the Gold Rush era and they were away seeking their fortune.  I went the extra mile to make the letters look old, staining the paper with tea and using a vintage font (Yes, I printed the letters -- no way I'm going to hand write them!  My desire for authenticity only goes so far!).  I found a vintage postmark and stamp online and printed them on the envelopes.  I even printed out the vintage photo that we had taken in Virginia City in December.

I doubt if the boys will be feeling homesick at this point.  They'll be having too much fun, and besides, they'll have the comfort of knowing that I'm close by (even though I won't be assigned to their dorm or to their classes, so I won't really be seeing them much).  But I hope these letters remind them that we're still thinking about them and cheering them on as they have fun and learn.

Letter to my sons, March 19 1849

photo courtesy of ushistory.org

I can't believe it has been three years since we sent The Pea off on her first overnight class field trip!  She was in 4th grade when she attended the Coloma Outdoor Discovery School to learn about life during the California Gold Rush -- and now, 3Po and Jammy are going on the same trip.  This time, I'm coming along as a chaperone!  I didn't volunteer to chaperone The Pea's class because I had to stay and take care of the boys.  I'll admit, I also didn't want to give up my smart phone and internet connection for three whole days.  But The Pea had so much fun that I regretted not going, so I resolved to volunteer when the boys' turn came.  This time around, The Pea is old enough to get herself to and from school, and I've arranged for her transportation to and from her dance classes.

Happy 10th Birthday 3Po and Jammy!

Ten years ago, two little boys entered my life.  I was nervous, scared, unprepared, unsure.  The year that followed was one of the most difficult of my life.  But I wouldn't trade that year, or my boys, for all the riches on earth.  They were exactly what we needed to make our family complete!

Holiday birthdays often get lost in all the celebrations, and that has certainly been the case for 3Po and Jammy on my blog -- but not this time.  I haven't posted anything since Christmas (I think that's my longest dry spell ever) but I was determined to give their double-digit birthday the acknowledgement it deserves.  So I'm delaying the 2013 Highlights posts, the Ski Trip posts, the Family Game Night posts, the New Year's Resolutions posts and all the other posts I have planned in my head.  Those can wait.  What can't wait is my message for 3Po and Jammy:  

Happy Birthday, Boys.  These last ten years have been a wild, wonderful ride.  I'm not going to dwell on all the twin cliches -- double trouble, twice blessed -- even though they're true.  The chances of having identical twins are about 0.4%, or 1 in 250, but the chances of having both of you were one in a million.  Your daddy and I definitely won the lottery when we had you!

To celebrate 3Po and Jammy's 10th birthday, here are 10 fun facts about their birth:

The year my sons fell in love with reading

“Reading one book is like eating one potato chip.” -- Diane Duane

You can't stop at just one.  Unless you don't really care for potato chips.  Strange as it may seem, there are people in this world who don't like potato chips.  Or maybe they just haven't found the right flavor....

Jumpin' with Jammy: How to throw a trampoline birthday party

Last year I went all out for 3Po's and Jammy's 8th birthday parties.  Each of them had themed parties at home, and I sweated over every detail, from the decor to the games to the cake to the food -- and since they held separate birthday parties for the first time ever, I did it all twice.  This year, for their 9th birthday, 3Po and Jammy once again asked for separate parties, but this year I decided to give myself a break and outsource their parties to a local party place, so all I'd have to do was bring the birthday cake.

Of course, it didn't actually work out out that way.  Jammy decided on a party at a trampoline park, and I couldn't help it -- I had to do everything I could to fit a theme.

How teammates become friends

This past weekend the boys went on their first-ever overnight soccer tournament, the NorCal State Cup for U9 boys in Davis, CA.  Davis is less than 2 hours' drive from home, but their team had four games spread out over 2 days, and 2 of those games started at 8AM (7:15AM if you count their warm-up time) so everyone agreed it would be best to stay at a motel on Friday and Saturday night.

I love watching their games, but with the holidays approaching and The Pea's Nutcracker rehearsals going and with our trip to the Manila looming on the horizon, taking a whole weekend off for soccer seemed excessive.  Then we all came down with colds and flu the week before, so everyone was stressed out trying to recover.  3Po and Jammy shook off the virus by Thursday and I scraped through on Friday, but Alfie had to miss the whole thing, which was a huge blow since he's their biggest fan.  The team hasn't been playing too well either, so I was not optimistic as I drove off, leaving a miserable Alfie and an ecstatic Pea (ecstatic because didn't have to go) at home.

Halloween Costumewatch 2012: Evil Jester (part 2)

Finally, Jammy consented to have his photo taken! I've been bugging him for weeks to try it on and pose in it, but he resisted until this morning's school Halloween parade.  Better late than never!

Big Spender

Jammy: Mama, why won't you let us spend our money to buy the toys we want?

Me: Because the toys you want are pretty expensive! You just bought yourselves some Webkinz stuffies last month, and now you want to buy a Star Wars Lego set?

Jammy: But I can afford it, it only costs $10.

Me: I know, but then you won't have much money left. Why don't you wait and save up? Getting an allowance doesn't mean you have to spend all of it. You can spend some of your money, but you should also save some of it and set aside a bit for charity, you know, to give to the poor.

Jammy: But mama, you only give me a dollar per month! I AM the poor!

Forty before Forty Item #18: discovering Jammy

When I made the resolution to spend some quality time with each of my 3 kids, I knew it would be difficult. I spend lots of time with them, but it's mostly with all 3 of them. On the rare occasions that Alfie and I get our parents to babysit, or when do splurge for a babysitter, we use the time as a couple. My plan for one-on-one kid time was was to ask Alfie to watch 2 kids on some weekend, and take the 3rd one on a solo excursion, which is great in theory, but hasn't worked out too well.

The Most Disgustingly Delicious Sandwich Ever

Last Friday was the kids' first day of summer vacation, so I was pretty lax about what I gave the kids for lunch. I just put out a bunch of stuff and told them to get creative. 3Po and Jammy really took my instructions to heart, because they came up with The Most Disgustingly Delicious Sandwich Ever. Here's how to prepare it:

Don't be Seven

It's difficult to believe that seven years ago today I was lying in a hospital room with two tiny babies lying beside me. At the time, I was numb with pain and exhaustion, and paralyzed with fear at the prospect of taking care of two tiny boys (note: my use of the word tiny is relative, because the boys were 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 7 lbs. 4 oz., and after carrying over 14 pounds of baby, I was much happier to have them out than in). The Pea was 2 years, 9 months old, and as girly as a girl could be. I didn't feel capable of taking care of one boy, let alone two.

I won't lie to you: the second half of the pregnancy and the first year was difficult, both physically, mentally and emotionally. I often joke to people that I erased it from my memory, and the only thing that stood out was how quickly I wanted that first year to be over and done with.

Soccer, Don't Stop!

3Po's and Jammy's soccer league season ended last weekend, and there's more than a vacancy in our Monday, Wednesday and Saturday schedules -- there's a a hole in our heart. Okay, that's overdramatizing, but 3Po and Jammy are really are going to miss those practices and games. The soccer bug has bitten them hard, and they're really sad about not being part of a team any more. Getting a shiny trophy and a snazzy pin at the last game (which, to add insult to injury, was canceled due to the rain) was small consolation for the prospect of being deprived of soccer games throughout the winter.