A Case of Spring Fever

With the dark cloud of illness looming over our house for the entire winter season, we have been housebound and sick far too much for a family with three young, lively girls. You name it, we've had it...cold, stomach flu, cold, lice, cold, pink eye, cold, cold, cold. In fact, I think we've passed around the same cold virus since January. So coming into Spring Break with colds was a bit of a letdown, and after listening to the lovely vacation plans of so many friends...I admit I was a bright shade of kelly green with my envy. I was ready to get the heck out of Dodge and have some fun, but it wasn't looking good.

Our week started off mellow, nursing a cold and a possible case of pink eye (thankfully it never transpired), and with rain in the forecast I was quite concerned that our Spring Break was going to be a miserable, painful bust. But by Wednesday we were out amongst the living, hitting children's museums to hold starfish and fly space shuttles, horseback riding and spying on barn owls at a bucolic ranch nearby, and visiting a baby giraffe and Malia's beloved capybaras at the Santa Barbara Zoo. And today Olivia was off to sleep over at her cousin's house in Seal Beach for the very first time. Talk about exciting for a 5 year old.

Reminds me that I was looking at the glass half empty again...there was plenty of adventure and fun right under our noses.

Auntie Tita spreading her passion for horses to my girls, with the help of her sweet horse, Snort (tough name, gorgeous girl)

My sweet girl, a slice of romaine and one very long, black tongue

A Farewell

This weekend we said our final farewells to a truly good man, Leo Perez; a husband (who called his wife "Lover" til the day she died, after 62 years of marriage!), a father of 3, a grandfather of 6 and a great-grandfather of 5.

Having been part of Paul's family since our early years of dating (because that's the kind of people they are- they open their homes and arms generously), I have heard many of the family's stories (and continue to hear the good ones over and over). But upon his death, I continued to learn more about what a great man Grandpa was.

As a young man, he was a competitive cyclist in the Bay Area, with the utterly cool nickname "Chili" Perez. He was a Navy man, proudly serving his country during World War II, during which his ship was bombed by Kamikaze planes in the Pacific Ocean; he was one of few survivors pulled from shark-infested waters. In his retirement, he and his wife were founding members of Food Share, gleaning leftover fruits and vegetables from the fields for those less fortunate.

He was a man of many talents. He was known to family and friends as a fantastic cook, a master gardener and a talented wood-worker, using his favored oak boards to make just about anything and everything, and building well into his late 80's. Every family member has enjoyed the fruits of his labors: bellies full of traditional Mexican dishes, beautiful plumerias growing in our gardens, and his lovely oak furniture gracing our homes.

He has a well-earned spot in Heaven, where he can enjoy watching his Angels and square dancing with the love of his life, Stella. I am so grateful to Leo and Stella, not only for beginning this family and allowing me the chance to meet Paul, but also for the chance to be like a granddaughter to them. I never had the opportunity to meet either of my Grandfathers, they both died shortly before I was born, so Leo was the first man I called Grandpa. And my heart swelled every time Stella called me "Mija"; they took me in with the generous manner their children continue to practice.

And I'm grateful that my children got to meet them, even if it was only for their early years. Unfortunately, Grandma only got to meet Olivia, but Grandpa held and cuddled each of my girls, and I'm so glad we have pictures to show the girls of each of them in his lap, sleeping sweetly or staring up at him, enjoying his warm, strong arms (and God bless Grandpa for holding a screaming Malia last summer!).

We love and miss you Grandpa!

Milestone Mania

Last year, while imagining what three kids might look and feel like, I tried to prepare myself for day-in and day-out chaos. Three kids crying at the same time, perhaps all for different reasons. Long nights where I'm up with each one of them at some point, dealing with nightmares, scary shadows, wet beds, fevers or just simply tears. I imagined three kids sick all at once, with long days spent holding feverish little bodies, wiping noses and filling humidifiers. And I knew that our aging laundry machine would rarely sit idle, churning out clean clothes and linens far faster than I could ever get them folded and put away, (I was incredibly on the mark with that prediction, as I currently stare at three overflowing baskets.)

Thankfully, chaos is a rare visitor to our home, however it has paid a recent visit to our home and decided to make itself comfortable. Besides fighting constant viruses that won't seem to leave us alone, Paul and I are on our toes, literally running from room to room these days. All three girls are on the move. All three are growing and changing. And all five of us are riding an emotional roller coaster while adjusting to all this change. Lovely change. Exciting change. Exhausting change.

Olivia just lost her first tooth. Physically, this was a pretty easy milestone, but emotionally, this hit me like a punch to the gut. Olivia and I experienced such opposite reactions. She initially cried out, from pain and fear, followed by great excitement knowing it meant the arrival of the Tooth Fairy. As for me, I broke into a huge grin, which was immediately followed by tears; my sweet girl is truly growing up and it's such a shock that she's losing the baby teeth that caused such a fuss upon their arrival just four short years ago.

As for Malia, I'm thinking she is going to be the kid that always surprises us. She is a sensitive, slightly nervous child that takes awhile to warm up to new people and places. So she blew us away with her acceptance and love for her baby sister from the minute they met, and her transition to preschool last August was an absolute breeze. Since January, this girl has decided, on her own, to potty train, sleep in a big bed and share her room with Livy...all things she was extremely reticent about just a month before. Note to self: Malia will do it when she's ready...and she will be impossible to predict!

And our little Miss Madeline is busy on her way through the baby milestones. After 2 months of scooting about the house, she is now truly crawling. And quickly. And she's pulling up on everything in sight, particularly the tippable, highly unsafe furniture, doll strollers and laundry baskets that will surely send her crashing to the floor. Really? We're there already? It seems weeks ago Maddie was nursing and sleeping her days away and now she's a force to be reckoned with, causing me to circle all floors and low surfaces like a vulture, on the hunt for Legos, doll shoes and beads that are prime Maddie targets. Not to mention she's already eating finger foods, babbling and charming the pants off people...um, where did my baby go?

So I was thankfully wrong about the chaos three kids might bring. It's not that three kids is more work than two, because honestly, one high-needs kid is probably more work than my three put together. It's that kids are always in a new phase of development and growth, and when all three are on the move and changing up our world, it's the perfect trifecta of chaos.

#15

So.Damn.Lucky.

This is our fifteenth Valentine's Day and I can remember every sweet part of our first. Balloons with clues. Dinner in Morro Bay. At Dorn's. Exchanging presents in your truck. Next to Morro Rock. A picture frame for me that I had nearly bought for you. Great minds that totally think alike.

Not sure what I did, but God blessed me with the best man ever. Love you Babe!

Wild as the Winds

Given that this is possibly the strangest winter of weather experienced in So. Cal as long as I've lived here, it's fitting that our family is experiencing a bit of the same, with wild winter days of ups and downs and complete 180-degree turnarounds. I'm not given to moodiness, but if I were, I'd have a touch of whiplash given the highs and lows we're experiencing around here lately. Much like our garden, it seems we are laid a bit bare for the hot sun one day and bitter cold winds the next.

We are in much transition right now: applying for lotteries for Kindergarten (who knew this stuff began 7 months before the kid actually goes to school?), turning five, potty training, sitting up, scooting and eating solid foods, turning thirty-five and starting a new management position that will require even longer work hours for all adults in our house. And all this along with very busy everyday stuff like preschool conferences, playdates, doctor appointments, ballet and swim lessons, beach days and haircuts. If it's an ebb and flow kind of thing, we're all flow right now.

Marvelous moment #1: Our (big) little girl turns 5!

There are lows that require much thought and prayer, like an extended family member recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and there are highs like 35th birthdays with childhood friends rallying around and driving long miles to celebrate and cheer. Disappointments, like an upcoming visit with cousins (and nieces) we haven't seen in over a year now postponed 'til summer, and thrills, like the news I am awaiting of a dear friend's first baby girl arriving any moment now.

Marvelous moment #2: Surprising Paul on his 35th with his very best friends

My heart is so full yet so heavy. Much to love, much to celebrate, much to hold up high and rejoice. Much looking forward to quieter times when the melancholy mixes less with the marvelous.