Not Just a Working Mom

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:24:00 +0000

I'm off to the wild blue yonder, well, more like the rainy and brightly lit skies of Shanghai. Look for me over at Silicon Valley Moms where I've got a post on balance and will soon have one up about my brand spanking new job. I've left yummies in the freezer for the boys while I'm gone, and expect a pile of dishes and dirty happy faces upon my return. These happy faces to be exact.

The Possibility of Everything

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:06:00 +0000

It's book club time again over at Silicon Vally Moms blog, and I loved this month's choice, The Possibility of Everything. Hope Edelman wrote about her journey to Belize where she met with healers to help with her child's issues and imaginary friend. The book was wonderfully written, honest and emotional and there was so much I can relate too. My kids are so different, one seems sad so often, takes my irrational ravings about the messy house to heart and ends up working extra hard to clean the house and please his mommy. As much as I appreciate his help, I see myself in this dire need to please and avoid conflict, and I just hope it doesn't take him 35 years to grow out of. My other son could care less about this stuff, but gets way more time outs for his behaviour. I mostly trust my gut that we're dealing with our babies the right way, but it can be tough.

The part I could really relate to, though, was the issues with her husband, her role in the family and her feeling like a single mom. There's a passage where she takes her daughter to the city, and gazes longingly at a group of apartments, imagining what it would be like to move there with her daughter, have her own little place, leave all her problems behind. My fantasies too revolve around just walking away from it all, deciding the "for worse" part of those marriage vows are just too much for me. Hope felt like she had to do everything and rarely saw her busy husband, although they were clearly very much in love. My husband and I may take on the opposite roles this year, with me being away on several business trips with lots of late nights in between, while he juggles his stuff and the kids. I can only hope they don't eat Frosted Flakes or In and Out more than once a week. We'll see where that takes us, but sadly Belize won't be in the picture.

Hope had to really step away from her practical side, look at her beliefs and open up to possibilities, to use her title. I want to take inspiration from that, do something out of character, more spiritual and less practical to wake myself up from my funk. I've got two trips to China planned this summer, so perhaps I'll find something there.

I got a free book, but no other compensation or obligation to write this post. Head over to SV Moms to see more posts inspired by The Possibility of Everything.

Apartment for sale, Americans need not apply

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:01:00 +0000

Since I'm going to China, I've been asked to pick up a Hong Kong phone book while there so someone can track down her parents old friend (a ped named Yik Ting) from 20 years ago to give her a contact for a Hong Kong newspaper to advertise her mom's Palo Alto apartment. She wants to advertise there since foreigners value apartments more than Americans.

Following this surreal conversation my dad called to apologize for giving my number to this woman.

He then had to hurry back to my mom, who is recovering from a broken pelvis in a rehab center. I'm not ready to join the sandwich generation, and I doubt I ever will be. My dad is still in excellent health, and keeps himself extremely busy. Unfortunately that makes it harder to be there for my mom. It's not that he can't get away, but it's got to be tough to see his wife like this. My mom has accepted her limitations, but this may prove too much for her. They are taking the rehab very slowly since she's pretty much in pain all the time, and any movement just makes it worse.

I joke that my knees and back and other joints are all in excellent shape since I haven't made them do much, while my poor husband suffers from arthritis. But the reality is you have got to keep your body moving, exercise, push yourself, and keep that body of yours in working order.

Winter Break California Style

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Unlike many other families, who really took "ski week" seriously by actually going skiing, this is what Brian and the boys have been doing for winter break, except for the day they spent at the skate park and jumping at Sky High.

I worked, but look for a post at Silicon Vally Moms blog soon to find out why I was a-ok with that.

Valentine's Day in the Wild

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:42:00 +0000

We didn't exactly have a romantic valentine's day, although my husband did get us tickets to Wicked for the end of February. The beautiful flowers at the Wild Zone was good enough for me, especially as I've gotten my chocolate fix with the German chocolates my new cube made brought back. I am just so proud of the structure I my boys made. This was our third trip and we finally figured out what to do.

The organizers brought bunches and bunches of flowers. They were laid out right by our little fort, and little kids get grabbing handfuls and jabbing them into the side, only to be removed by adults so that more kids could use the flowers. I resisted the urge to yell, "those aren't my kids, I'm not letting mine take all the flowers!"

Keegan had this need to pull as many petals as he could off the roses to decorate the entrance. Purty.

They didn't exactly finish building the teepee so I had to take over. Keegan asked if he could make a fire, and I readily agreed. It would get him out of my hair so I could work in peace, and I didn't think he could really make fire.

They made a valiant effort, but when they sadly came over to ask for help I had to tell them no, I didn't want to make a fire. I then confessed that it's really really hard and I didn't expect them to succeed, and I wouldn't really allow a fire anyway. The Villians may have done it with only sticks and shrubs, but they had a lot more motivation.

Hope y'all had a lovely Valentine's Day

In The land of the blind, yada yada yada

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:21:00 +0000

I saw a post (tweet, facebook, I don't know) that dissed people with 300 followers and 269 friends calling themselves a "social media expert." What about 590 followers? How about if probably half of those are random companies I've never heard of? Guess if I was really a social media expert I'd at least have the link to that post right at my fingertips.

Tonight, though, someone wanted to hire me to build up their web, facebook, twitter and myspace (myspace, I'm afraid of that space) presence. So I sent an email with my thoughts, then spoke with the business owner for about 20 minutes on what I think he needed to do. We ended the conversation talking about my mom who had to go to the hospital yesterday. Yes, it was my brother's store, and my dad who wants to hire me, and no, I'm not going to take anything from my brother's fledgling store or my dad/free babysitter. They spent way to much money on a website and I see such potential.

You can see why so many want to call themselves social marketing experts. When someone has barely heard of twitter and you start talking about mommybloggers who will crash a website with a single mention and link to a new small business, you feel a teensie bit of prowess. So I'm going to see what I can do, and hope we can build him a bigger audience that this little blog o' mine. If anyone of the real experts out there want to pitch in, well, free toys are in the cards. First order of business, a header.

Your kids don't play chess? How will they ever get into college?

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:04:00 +0000

Keegan loves trying new things, and watching him get right back up after falling off his skateboard, getting "rug burn" from a trampoline or pulling a groin slipping on wet grass in soccer is inspiring. The one area he is not comfortable is taking direction from other people, besides coach daddy that is. Donovan, on other hand, pretty much needs only one thing to make him want to join in, other kids...preferably slightly older boys but he's not too picky. So I was really excited when Donovan wanted to sign up for chess now that he's in kindergarten and has a chance for "after school activities." I was hoping Keegan would see how much fun he was having, and join i the fun.

They are both jocks for sure, but they can't help but reek of geekyness, what with the multiple advanced degrees in the family and a nephew who learned to read and play chess before he was potty-trained. Sadly, I know the rules of chess and that's pretty much it, although I can beat an average 5 year old. Brian's good at many things that he doesn't particularly enjoy teaching. This is the first thing in a while Keegan's signed up and he just loves it. Five minutes after the first class he complained he'd have to wait a week before the next one.

Seriously, though, in this class what's not to love?

Chess with the world's sweetest chess player - this is Donovan with one of Keegan's classmates, who's been playing chess for a while.

Chess Master Ryan in the back there - I want to say a teenager, but that's probably my age showing.

And Chess Master D is in the house. Heard this guy was from a family of 9 and loves chess and children.

Wordless Wednesday - Rain

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:01:00 +0000

I Resolve to Drink More in 2010

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:20:00 +0000

Like a lot of bloggers posting in the new year, I too have eliminated resolutions from my vocabulary. However, I ~~want~~ need to do something to improve my life in this start of this new millennium. I really wanted to jump on the bandwagon saying goodbye to the awfulness that was 09 and hello new start. I have to admit, though, that 2009 was great for me in many ways. I had my first summer off in 20 years, in fact, spent a huge amount of time with the kids, going days sometimes without yelling. I spent a wonderful summer without going overboard on spending, and even managed to snag a job right when my severance pay ran out.

The last month of the year, though, was so sucky even Mexico made me cranky, and that is just wrong. I felt so out of control when it came to solving my most pressing problems. Weighing heavily was the lack of regular employment for either of us. Funnily, a friend called me "the most famous unemployed person [she] new." Us bloggers really get around don't we. There was the photo shoot by Joe Claus, an unemployed photographer did a photo spread called "Let Go-Photographs of talented people in Silicon Valley who’ve been dumped by local businesses"

I heard about this when I responded to another request by Patrick May, San Jose Mercury journalist, from another blogger, and got on his mailing list. He wrote an article on the photo shoot, and I got a lot of comments at school the next day. He sends the occasional request for his pinkslipped series, and he published a quote about holidays without a paycheck. The best was when I was interviewed for The California Report about COBRA at the subsidy, was called a "goddess" by a wonderful friend. Thank goodness they've extended the subsidy, since I still don't have benefits with my job.

So what's in store for 2010? I'm going to find the things I can control that makes me happy. Some people are giving up alcohol, I resolve to drink more in 2010. How will I accomplish this?

Planning regular mom's nights out, even if we end up with only two moms

Joined a co-ed soccer team who's main reason for existence is drinking beer after the games ("beer practices" when it rains)

Hand-made Kahlua and amaretto from a small Mexican distillery, party at my place.

In 2009 I switched to real food, started a few exercise programs and lost weight with a cleanse, 2010 is the year of feeding my emotional side.

Thinking of Others

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:52:00 +0000

I'm having a hard time getting motivated to post. I'm way behind on my Silicon Valley Moms blog obligation, yet I can't seem to get in the right state of mind to write something. A light-hearted post seems wrong in the face of my funk, not to mention the tragedy in Haiti. Writing how I've been feeling would just be too pitiful for public eyes. So I'm going to push my personal issues aside and talk here about how to help others and how I want to help.

Last week I got an email from the KIT list, a "keep in touch" email list started to "help great people find great jobs." The founder of the list asked everyone this week to do something each day to help someone else find a job, a "pay it forward" movement. What a great idea. I could use my blog and facebook and twitter to do something, even something little, right? Wrong. I can use the excuse that I was making sure "I put my own oxygen mask on" before helping others, for why I mostly helped myself instead this week, but the reality is I was just feeling sorry for myself. I set up a future lunch with someone working at a place I applied at a while ago, followed up about a potential contract at my current company, and poured over craigslist postings looking for jobs for my husband. Except that last part, this is the kind of stuff I should have been doing for the past 6 months, and yet that overdraft notice was what finally put the fire under my but.

Then this earthquake hit, and it was awful. Really awful. We had a few earthquakes here, remember? What a world of difference. Haitians were suffering tremendously from poverty before this earthquake, and now the devastation was incomprehensible. I hadn't even gotten it together enough to help pay it forward for job searchers. Before I did anything I got another KIT List email, essentially tapping into the Pay it Forward effort to helping the victims of Haiti.

It's time to focus others. Many people around the internet have posted how to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake, so follow those links or here's what I got from Sue at KIT List.

News reports say the best way to help the Haitian effort is through
monetary donations. Here are some links to trusted charities:

Text Donation:

SMS text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts
SMS text “YELE” to 501501 to Donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts
You can also give via phone at (888) 4-HELP-BAY or online.

American Red Cross - Disaster Relief Fund

Catholic Relief Services

A list of charities from a local San Francisco TV station site:

Avoid scams by checking the legitimacy of an organization at CharityNavigator

Tonight I gave while watching Project Runway with the Clever Girls Collective, who managed to get it matched by Silicon Valley Community Foundation. They gave to half to the Red Cross and half to Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti. Don't forget to see if your company will match.

And for those still looking for a job, that will have to come in my next post.

Are you ready for some Futsal!

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:15:00 +0000

Creative Soccer Instruction By Brian Pelton
2010 Winter Futsal Class Schedule

Coach Brian runs the K-2 soccer practice at Castro School. He has the top soccer coaching license in America, the second highest license in Brazil, and is one of only two people in America with a Futsal coaching license issued from the Brazilian Futsal Federation. His classes for Futsal and will have an emphasis on dribbling, shooting and playing games. Coach Brian uses age-appropriate exercises and futsal balls, as well as games that develop coordination and agility. Your child will have a great deal of fun while doing the part of futsal that is most fun: dribbling and scoring goals.
All classes will be at Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E. Remington Ave., Sunnyvale

Futsal Classes
 Classes will be held Saturday mornings from 8 – 9:15am
 For players between 5 and 8 years old
 A minimum of eight players are required for the class to be confirmed.
 The cost will be week of class will be $15/week (limited number of scholarships available) or $120 for the 10 week clinic. Ask about siblings discount.
 Players must bring their own water, energy drinks and snacks. Please have your child wear tennis or futsal shoes and shinguards. Balls and other training equipment will be provided. No food or drink allowed in the gym, but can be consumed in the lobby
 Classes will run from Saturday, January 9th through March 13th in the Sunnyvale Community Center Gym.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 Creative Soccer Instruction Futsal Class Application Form
Parent’s Name _________________________ Child’s name __________________________ Age _________________
Child’s name _________________Age _________________
Address
Phone numbers: Home_________________Cell______________Work
Email address
Any medical conditions? _____________________________________
Emergency contact name/phone ____________________________________

Typical class schedule
15 min: Individual Futsal ball work
30 min: Coordination & shooting games
30 min: 3 v 3 or 4 v 4 Futsal games

Liability Waiver
I grant my child/children permission to attend a Creative Soccer Instruction (CSI) futsal class. I understand that soccer activities are strenuous and there is a potential risk of injury. As parent/guardian, I waive all claims of liability against Brian Pelton and CSI and any city where the camp is located. My child will participate in the camp using proper protective equipment and does so with my permission and at their own risk. In case of emergency, I hereby consent to medical examination and/or treatment for my child/children. Parent/Guardian signature ______________________________________________

Mail signed form with a $45 nonrefundable deposit** to:
Creative Soccer Instruction
c/o Brian Pelton
616 Manzanita Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Questions? Email Creative Soccer Instruction at pelotasdad@yahoo.com or call at 650.575.9383
** Credit may be applied to any other camp or towards private training sessions.

New Camera...Broken Camera

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:50:00 +0000

We finally got one of those new fangled SLR cameras, a Nikon D70 to be exact. I wanted to post some photos of my babies that we managed to get before it went kaput. I can't wait to try out some of Pioneer Woman's photography contests now that I've mastered her recipes (okay, that's not exactly true, but I've drooled over a lot of them and we both do seem to have a fondness for the fungi.)

From new nikon december 2009

Compare to this from the iPhone, ah, they are still darn cute

Pearls of Wisdom & National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:10:00 +0000

This January, besides the start of a new year and a new millennium, it is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Today a website is being launched by women's health advocates to "TAKE THE PEARL PLEDGE” to protect themselves and others from cervical cancer - just click the button on the left.

By taking the pledge, you promise to make your gynecologic appointment, tell five friends about the pledge, and wear your pearl. Wear your own, your moms or grandmas, or you can get one on the site.

I was fortunate to be able to participate in a conference call last month discussing ways to prevent cervical cancer and advice on woman's health in general, and what women can do to help themselves. We heard a moving story of a cervical cancer survivor, Michelle Whitlock, who told us her own personal and heartfelt story, and I swear I teared up when she talked about having a baby. She lost her fertility, but was able to save her eggs before having a radical hysterectomy so she had her baby with a surrogate. My fertility issues were nothing compared to what she went through, but even though I considered adoption, I wanted to be pregnant so badly and am so grateful to have had two healthy pregnancies and a wonderful doctor.

Dr. Marie Savard was also on the call, and she recommended to not only ensure your doctor does an HPV test along with the pap, but have them send you the full results for your records. My doctor did that without being asked, but many just leave a simple phone message saying everything is okay. The pap test is important, but a woman can have the HPV virus and have a normal pap test.There have been some changes in guidelines for gynecological health and these are the recommendations.

Girls and young women: Ask your healthcare provider about the HPV vaccine, which protects against the two types of HPV (human papillomavirus) that cause the majority of cervical cancers. The vaccines are recommended for girls 11 to 12 years old, and are approved for girls and young women up to age 26. Even women who have been vaccinated will still need to be screened.

Women age 21 or older: Get the Pap test, which detects abnormal cells that can lead to cervical cancer.

Women age 30 or older: Get the Pap test and the HPV test together as part of routine cervical cancer screening. The HPV test detects the virus that causes cervical cancer, identifying those women at increased risk who will need to be monitored more closely.

Cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer for woman, and timely and proper exams and the vaccine now available can prevent nearly all of these cases. Go take the pledge today.

Mexico Holiday Montage

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:12:00 +0000

I managed to get my kids to do a few things in Mexico out of their comfort zone with the simple promise of a peso. They are in a Spanish immersion school so I really wanted them to practice their Spanish, although unfortunately Puerto Vallarta is not exactly a hotbed of Mexican culture. My proudest moment was when Keegan asked the teller at the bank for some tape in perfect Espanol, although their rendition of Feliz Navidad with the mariachi band at a local ~~tourist trap~~ restaurant took a close second.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Favorites I wrote over at SV Moms blog

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:36:00 +0000

I often forget to highlight my posts from over on Silicon Valley Moms blog, where I've been contributing since nearly the beginning, July 2006 to be exact, when my kids were mere babies and my writing talent was in its infancy as well no doubt. I feel more pressure to pull out my best writing for that blog, this is more of a "I don't scrapbook, I blog" document of my mommy life. In honor of the end of a year, and the last year of a century, I present some of my favorite posts I've written. Added bonus (for me, at least) are some photos of my boys through the years.

My first published post featured a raging tantrum by my 3 1/2 year old not one of my favorites. However, the first one I actually wrote had a picture of underpants, documenting my son's obsession with underpants - Tag in Front from July 2006.

I really shouldn't pick two from the first two months, but can't help but share this ode to my awesome grandma - The Belly Dancing Grandma from August 2006.
It's so much fun to go back to these Deep Thoughts from my kids, and this one from Nov 2006 got quite a few funny comments.

This one needs no explanation...Confessions of a Working Mom from Jan 2007. It was nice to see I had great company.
Here's an apology to my neighbor I wrote in June of 2007, soon after we moved. Didn't feel so bad a few months later when I go to hear their R rated antics.
Seems I was in great company as I documented the top 10 reasons a three year old throws a tantrum, June 2007.
I had to confront some religious talk a bit earlier than I anticipated in Aug 2007, which sparked some comments.
I can't have a list without mentioning my dad, a very trusting guy who volunteers in EPA, and his experience in Nov 2007.

This is a mommy blog, so I wanted to make sure I included a post from Feb 2008 about Accidents and Brotherly Love.
I made sure to document my battles with food, but I'm happy to say their taste buds have expanded since April 2008.

I admitted I was just living through my cool kids here in June 2009

Do clothes really make the man?

Holiday Recap and Happy New Year

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:55:00 +0000

So one of my new years resolutions will be to start blogging more, every day perhaps, and in a more timely manner. How hard could that be (I'll let ya know later). This is all starting tomorrow, it's not even new years yet, thank goodness, since I've already ruined one pumpkin pie (oven set to broil gosh darnit), and made a Mexican version of these scrumptious things (note, even though carnitas are marinated in orange juice, they still will not work for an Asian type dish, and you should really use a bamboo steamer). Perhaps I'll start a Pioneer Woman and me blog, ala Julie and Julia, 365 days of ruining the recipes posted on her lovely blog. Tomorrow I'm attempting the Leftover Turkey Pot Pie, with my dad's leftover smoked turkey. A prepared Trader Joes foods blog might also be in the works, as in addition to the carnitas, I used their buttermilk biscuits and have frozen veggies and pie crust for said pot pie - scratch that idea.

Now that I've wished you all a Happy New Years (of if not, consider it done), it's back to the holiday recap. We all had two full weeks off, where we tried not to stress too much about the fact that our future employment prospects are a bit grim. Think this was my first unpaid holiday in about 15 years, yikes.

I tried to reintroduce Hanukkah, lighting the menorahs nearly every night and getting gifts for the kids for the first time in a few years. Having never had that Christmas morning feeling, I've been living that through my kids and ignoring this fun but frankly pretty low key holiday. I actually didn't get any gifts, so good think I'd finally bought myself the coat I've always wanted and some cute boots.

I brought these scrumptious things into the classroom, and gave each class a little lesson in Hanukkah.

This color-your-own ornament was one of their Hanukkah gifts. Not surprisingly, it's much easier to find little Christmas themed items than Hanukkah. I refused to spend $10 on a snow globe with a dreidel inside.

Sad as Pelota was after losing her brother, she got into the spirit with a jaunty holiday scarf.

We were very fortunate to get to spend the holidays in Mexico. This is something I did a number of times as a child, and it's not quite as fun when you're the parent. We did have a wonderful time, although I missed the snow we saw the last two Christmas's.

You can see the boys had tons of fun, hardly even complaining during the day long "Jungle tour" which was actually a bus trip to a restaurant, cliff diver and tequila distillery (why yes, there were free tastings).

I have to say, wearing a bikini did not turn me back into the flirty teenager that I remember. They actually had tequila volleyball every day at the pool, but without a co-hort to join in, or a husband that drinks, I just could not get in the spirit.

No worries, though, I had plenty to drink. The owner of their restaurant brought over a tequila slammer at the beginning of the meal, and finished us off with this Kahlua and Bailys concoction. Too bad I had to drink both.

The most fun we had was the Pirate cruise, and there you see our personal pirate, Choco - yum.

Happy New Year, everyone, from the Pachuka boys!

Lights, Music, Christmas

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:28:00 +0000

It's freezing here, really, the grass was even covered in frost this morning, much to the kids delight. That's okay, though, because I do love this time of year, at least for the lights if not the weather or the feeling I'm missing out on all sorts of holiday parties. Now that I'm a grown-up, I can decorate my place to my hearts delight, at least inside. I have to admit Christmas lights are still as magical to me as when I was a kid.

We still have never had Christmas lights on our house, so I live vicariously through my neighbors, and this new 'hood is a doozy. I've been taking different routes with our doggy at night, so I can see the latest in Christmas light creativity. Apologize for the poor iPhone quality, but check out those two characters above. Hi frosty! Hi Santa!

When I saw this house, I thought, "oh, they're Jewish."

Then I saw the same lights here. They're snowflakes, not stars of David.

This is our classy neighbors, all matching red and white, with a subtle little Santa in the yard.

Happy happy, joy joy

Christmas cactus anyone?

Say hi to this little guy, who's part of a piece de resistance, the musically coordinated light show on the corner. I stood through two or three songs when walking the dog.

Sometimes you just have to laugh

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:04:00 +0000

After a few months of failing to find a job in this tough market, I started on the path to becoming a teacher. Teachers, too, are getting hit in this economy, but high school math teachers seem to be always in demand. I've already realized I'm not cut out to be an elementary school teacher, but a huge shout-out to those who are. Last year Keegan had a truly awesome 1st grade teacher, who started out the year saying he wasn't "cute or artsy enough" to teach 1st grade (he'd moved from 2nd). Suffice it to say he did a bang-up job, even managing to learn a few things when he made his very own sock puppet bandero for market day.

Teachers don't just need patience and skills and creativity, though, what really gets them through the day I think is a sense of humor. Helps as a parent, too. Check this little ditty out. It was a in a book of Spanish nursery rhymes my son brought home in his kindergarten homework bag. He usually gets one book in Spanish, and even at the kindergarten level I usually can't understand most of it. This was translated, though, and we got a huge laugh. Was that wrong? I'm sure it sounds better in Spanish.

My younger son's kindergarten teacher is really a saint. She has an amazing amount of patience and an awesome sense of humor. She told me once she'd lined all the kids up to go to the cafeteria. The leader took it upon himself to march the rest of the kids down, forgetting they were supposed to wait for a teacher, or at least an adult, to accompany them. She was very proud. To date my son's been asked to stop throwing himself down on the carpet in his patented wrestling move, moved from the spot near the wall since he stopped paying attention when he leaned against the wall, and not to get sucked into hitting and spitting at your friends. Seems the boys love to play the "how hard can you hit me game?" and I was once warned that he just might mention that a little boy had pulled his pants down and several others followed suit. My friend was called to the principal once when her son had been caught competing for who could pee the farthest, so I'm feeling pretty good right about now.

My other son does not seem to posses the "boy" traits that keep kids from sitting still, so I asked my son what he did that drove his teacher crazy. "We tell the girls to hide all the erasers in their desks." He said when someones absent and his teacher can't find the erasers she'll usually find a stash in the absentee's desk. Erasers are a rare and valuable commodity in the classroom when I volunteer, and I remember the teacher pondering where on earth they all go each day.

It's book club time again at Silicon Valley Moms blog and this post was inspired by Phillip Done's second book, Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood. I reviewed this book here and if you're interested, his first book here. Those of us who live in the bay area got to hear him read from the book. I feel a special connection, since he started his teaching career in Sunnyvale, where I live, lives in Mountain View, where my kids go to school, and now teaches in Palo Alto, where my mom wants our kids to go. Maybe if I knew he'd be teaching them I'd jump on board. Little tip from Phillip about teacher gifts. In addition to telling your friends and neighbors (and blog readers) how much you love your teachers, give them a card thanking them.

Happy Thanksgiving

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:35:00 +0000

I kind of slacked on my gratitude posts and activities, and one day, someday, I may do the nablomepo thingy, but just not this year I guess. I did want to say what I am thankful for, since this year may end on a much better note than I imagined a few months ago.

It goes without saying, even though I'm saying it, that I am so thankful for my family. My two wonderful boys who make me laugh and smile so much. My husband who is such a great daddy and wonderful person. My parents who I know will always be there for us and who take my kids to garage sales even while complaining we have too much stuff. Here are a few other things I am so thankful for.

My health...I'm attempting to run/jog/walk three miles tomorrow having barely even used my Wii fit, and I'm grateful that at my advanced maternal age I know I can walk even if I can't run.

Our jobs...we are definitely underemployed, but that far beats unemployed.

The fact that I don't have to cook the whole thanksgiving dinner, but still get to make a few dishes. We're joining friends for the feast and I'm bringing green beans and an apple pie.

My first even toaster oven, is that too superficial?

The place I live, where we can go to the beach, the mountains or the city all within an hour of our place and get real, healthy food from a variety of sources, including or own garden.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all, may your turkey or tofurkey be moist this year.

First Holiday Party of the Season

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:55:00 +0000

I sure hope I have a chance to dress up again before New Years rolls around, but I was very excited to see all my mommy (and daddy) blogging buddies at a Silicon Valley Moms blog holiday party. It was loads of fun and I'm talking about the goodies we left with over at my review blog. What was great was getting to see the lovely people I most get to read. A huge bonus was finally getting my Cluttercast junk mail planter - I thought I was doing Darryle a favor by offering to pick it up, not realizing how small and light it was. But I was so happy to get to meet her and take this photo with her. Promise to send photo once I have it planted, thinking herbs in the kitchen

We had to work in our corporate schmoozing along with our socializing, so it wasn't until the end that I dropped all my stuff and hung with some great chicks. Let's do it again soon.

Photo by Carla Duharte-Razua of babyjidesigns.com

Boo hoo to Ice Cream

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Look at the artistic display of yumminess. Four little scoops of cookies at cream ice cream, a swirl of chocolate with sprinkles and just the tiniest squirts of whipped cream. All this at a Thai restaurant, brought with a flourish after we had declined dessert. Sweet, huh?

Not to my kids, it just made them cry. We happen to be near one of their favorite frozen yogurt places, and the world's meanest mommy, who had also forced them to do homework, eat chicken and broccoli and buy a used robot book instead of a brand spanking new $25 one, changed her mind about the yogurt when this arrived. I guess I deserved the mean looks.

I was mortified, having one bawling child who said he did like that kind of ice cream, just frozen yogurt better, and why did the guy bring it after we'd told him no dessert? Donovan tried to strike a deal, after proclaiming he did not like cookie ice cream. "I'll try it, but then you HAVE to get us frozen yogurt."

I told my husband, next week he gets to make all the dinners and tell the kids to do their homework. I'll take 'em to In 'n Out and play Guitar Hero.

Ghost Cake

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:09:00 +0000

I started back at work this week, and I'm sure my group is happy to have my marketing skills, not to mention I'm the only one who can provide an unlimited supply of small children stories. What they miss the most, though, is being the taste testers for all my baking experiments. My buddy loves her some red velvet cupcakes, and I used the new food blog search to find this recipe from Andreas Recipes. All the red velvet cake recipes seem to be similar, although I've made marscapone-whipped cream based frosting, cooked frosting (which is incredibly light due to the 15 minute beating time), and this one from Andrea which is simply butter, cream cheese, sour cream (I used full fat greek yogurt) and powdered sugar. Next up is a side to side taste test of the two frostings.

Isn't it a pretty color? This was 2 oz of Wilsons no-taste red food coloring. I put the whole jar in since I used extra cocoa. I like the addition of coffee instead of water to dissolve the cocoa and coloring. I also loved reading all the Red Velvet cake controversy. I also have it on good authority that Red Velvet since to be the choice for the most serious of cake wrecks.

Even with all the mixing I still ended up with this tie-dyed look, although the last two were perfect. Yes, I cooked two trays of ghosts, then one tray with two lonely ghosts.

Friendly, tasty ghosts.

Happy Halloween!!

The Obligatory Halloween Photos

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:11:00 +0000

Pretty darn scary, aren't they? We've got your battle ready ninja and bad dude Darth Maul.

And here's a grainy photo of Donovan showing off his pumpkin.

I am pretty darn proud of my first template attempt, note the skull there, with the face designed by Keegan (except the eyeballs, I added those) on the flip side. We made good use of the free Disney potato head pieces to add the piece de resistance. And it's hard to tell, but Brian's actually says "Boo!" and the O's are the eyes.

Wild Zones, Wild Zones

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:40:00 +0000

I think there's a song that goes like that, but anyway, yesterday we managed to fit a very cool adventure into our sports filled day. After two soccer games, I felt no need to rush to another outing before our later afternoon skateboard playdate, but really wanted to check out this Wild Zone set up in a somewhat nearby park. The co-founders of this awesome concept came to talk at a PTA meeting and I was enthralled with the idea. I like to think of my boys as nature loving creative adventurers, but frankly when we went camping they seem to enjoy a rousing game of UNO or soccer as much as building a fort or a hike through the woods.

After the meeting, where I heard things like "creative brain development occurs throughout your whole life, up to 90 years old" and "play to allow a complex brain to create itself" I didn't not want to pass up on this opportunity. (I've included more words of wisdom from various experts below). As an added bonus, the volunteers are teenagers and my kids, like most little kids, love hanging out with teens.

This free adventure is about 10 minutes from our house, so we had no excuse not to go. After a few missed turns, we arrived at the Ulistac Natural Area "Get off the Path and Play", said the giant sign as we made our way to the "wild zone."

Thankfully, my son quickly spotted a classmate of his. I knew Donovan would love this place, they had mud and water after all. Keegan can take up to 30 minutes to get comfortable with new people and places, and of course we only had 45 minutes to play.

A couple boys had already constructed a giant and beautiful tepee, with sticks and palm fronds, and "flowers to make the place pretty and smell good" in the boys own words. As I learned at the PTA meeting, the group brings in materials like bamboo, palm fronds, willow branches, flowers, and the kids make shelters or dens or forts, reclining chairs, or balance rocks to make a sculpture.

I went around and took pictures of some of the other creations, like this wall of palms.

Play is serious. Self-directed play in nature is vital for physical, mental and community health.

Another group of kids had made this structure. I should point out how much teamwork was going on here. Not only did little groups form to create these fabulous places, but the kids walked around helping one another. A few little girls stopped to admire the flowers and add some of their own.

This one reminded me of a Christmas tree. With some initiative and enough interest, you can have one of these set up at a local park. We were told if enough Castro kids showed up we might get one at our school, so I was glad to see so many of Keegan's and Donovan's school mates there.
Is he not the sweetest thing? He's the twin of the kid in the tie-dyed shirt.

People protect what they love, so they need to play in nature, grow to love
it, to want to protect it.

Funnily enough, the third kid in the background happens to also go to a Spanish Immersion school in San Jose, so the kids were practicing their Spanish.

Building the floor and patio.
Watching the kids carry around giant rocks, and my sons with huge sticks, I kept an observant eye. I had to learn early on to let my kids take risks, and to keep my heart in check. I know taking risks is important, but it was nice to hear what some "risk experts, ie. teenagers" had to say about the value of risks:
Decision making about actual rather than virtual reality
Gaining skills
Agility, balance, reflexes
Understanding limits
Risk deprivation leads to excess risk...lack of courage and confidence
Interesting and exciting
Appealing to kids
Trust and team building
It’s life!

Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional

nicole.pelton@gmail.com (The Peltons) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:09:00 +0000

When my whole family gets together, which is not that often these days, about the only thing we can agree on is nobody wants to sit next to our mom. She loves to talk, bless her heart. Thank goodness for grandpa and the grand kids. It's funny because even though she drives me a bit crazy, it didn't occur to me that my brother and sister would have the same attitude. My brother has always been closer to her, while I was most definitely daddy's little girl, so it was my little brother's attitude that surprised me more. Embarrassingly, I often still am, when I need money or a job, but my dad seems to think it's time to grow up, gosh darn it. My mom always has good intentions, but we can't help but hope it is not our kids, or our spouses, or ourselves, who's actions make them her current target of complaint. Is it wrong to be secretly thrilled to hear her go on about my niece and nephew drinking soda while my kids stick to milk and water? Who cares if the truth is she buys them all soda when they're out, like the spoiling grandma she is, even if she thinks she's stricter than her own kids? She manages to skirt around and take a very roundabout approach when it comes to criticizing the person she's actually talking to (Donovan is doing so much better than last year, we just give him anything he wants and he's stopped throwing fits.)

As strange as my mom can be, we had a pretty normal childhood, a pretty good one I have to say, although we both question why it is that two of her three kids can't seem to support themselves? Was there something they could have done? I like to think I am examining my childhood more not to blame my parents for anything, but to make sure I emulate the good and make changes as needed. My mom protected me from death, from illness, from most bad things. It was clear by my late teens and early twenties I had been over protected, and I'm glad my husband has chosen a more direct approach with our kids. When our neighbor died it took all my courage to walk over to console her widower. I then proceeded to hem and haw about how to tell the kids, approaching my husband with my dilemma. "Diane died" was his answer, after sitting the kids down. "Where is she? She's in the ground." Done, and done. We took them when we had to put our dog to sleep, which would freak my mom out to no end. It gave them closure, though, and while they may not exactly understand death (who does?) they feel comfortable talking about it.

We have a pretty functional family, with just enough crazy and disturbing anecdotes to create laughter and shock, but we are not even close to the league of the family in Jonathan Trooper's novel This is Where I Leave You. We've had divorce, infertility and an abortion, but have bypassed infidelity and punching each other or anyone else in the face. As I mention in my review over here, I'm a bit envious of their directness, their raw emotions that spill out during their seven days together. My mom may have had the Joy of Sex on her bookshelf, but none of us want to hear intimate details of each other's lives. I'd like to think I'm raising my kids to be somewhere in between.

This is part of the Silicon Valley Moms blog virtual book club. Head over there for more stories inspired by this captivating book. And full disclosure, I got a free copy of this book.