All About Rebecca

5 Years Old!

2012-02-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

Today, Rebecca Lee Cisneros is a five-year old!

So hard to believe that it has been five years since she came screeching into the world, full of determination, curiousity, and loving cuddlieness. There's no doubt that she is growing up - far too quickly for this mama. But I also wouldn't have it any other way. It's such an amazing thing to see her growing, learning, exploring, and experiencing all the world and life have to offer.

At five years old, Rebecca is still quite small for her age. We'll get her exact stats next week, but she is somewhere in the neighborhood of 32 pounds. Not sure on the height. She wears a size 3 in most brands, though jeans in a 4 Slim fit her perfectly....as long as the waist is adjustable. Dresses remain the only acceptable article of clothing in Rebecca's mind. Though she occasionally consents to wear pants or jeans, she really doesn't like to do so.

She is learning to read and loves her stage 1 reader books, as well as crafts, puzzles, dolls, all kinds of little playthings (e.g., Zoobles, Polly Pockets, Squinkies), and her beloved stuffed animals. She enjoys riding her "car" to the park nearby and taking the dogs on walks, which she is now able to do independently (we're with her, of course, but she can hold them on their leash). Her Leappad and iPads belonging to Mama and Grammy are some of the things she likes best, though we limit how much "screen time" she is allowed to have on them.

Rebecca continues to adore our dogs, Paddington and Sydney, though she is quite partial to Sydney (and vice versa!). Doing crafts with Grammy is her favorite pastime. Her favorite store is Michaels, because that's where she likes to buy craft supplies. Rebecca is very creative and is always making things. This week, she used scraps of fabric to make decorations. She also loves to help mama cook and bake and garden. With daddy, she loves running around playing with their nerf guns, Spiderman web sprayer, and general running, hiding, and shrieking.

In school, she is known to be quite articulate (one of her teachers describes a conversation with Rebecca as being "just like talking to an adult!" and sits patiently and quietly. Rebecca is very sensitive; she is concerned for others' feelings and cries easily if she gets in trouble or thinks she has hurt someone else's feelings. However, she also has a definitive stubborn streak! Rebecca looks forward to share day at school and is always trying to win the award for the best (some superlative) of the day. She is still a snuggler and cuddler. If she had it her way, she'd still sleep with us every night and rub our earlobes until they fell off! On Friday mornings, when Mama doesn't have to go to work, we have Mama-Rebecca Snuggle Time in the big bed and watch television and read books and cuddle. When Grammy is here, Rebecca sleeps with her. She is kind and loving, always gives many hugs and kisses.

We love our sweet, five-year old Rebecca so very much. We are excited to see all the new, fun, and exciting things that being five will bring her!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-02-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

1. In a new level of ridiculousness, last week I actually cried a bit watching Pandora's wedding on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I know, I know, I know.

2. The only thing that got me out of bed to go to work yesterday morning was thinking that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion show began last night. And if there's anything that can make the drama I face in my work life pale in comparison, it is a Real Housewives reunion show. Don't judge. We all have to make it the best way we can.

3. This essay on mothering really struck a chord with me today. My daughter certainly has her own spirit and personality, which does not easily bend to the whims of anyone! I know that there is a purpose for her temperament!

4. Choosing a kindergarten for Rebecca proves to be a daunting task. The amount of time that I spent researching college majors, graduate schools (or all of the three I attended combined!), or the purchase of our house in the way that I have approached this. Too many choices! And too much fear that if I choose the wrong one, I may have doomed my child to a lifetime of mediocrity and unfulfilled destiny. The one that had been the frontrunner has now left me and Ramy with a lack of confidence that it is the right choice.

5. Rebecca's catch phrase of the week is, "Okay, whatever you say." She says it in a very respectful, nonchalant manner without sarcasm or defiance. "Can I have ice cream before dinner?" "No." "Okay, whatever you say." No idea where she got that.

6. Last night, I woke up at 2:36 a.m., thinking of the perfect snappy comeback that I would have liked to have given to someone yesterday. If only I had thought of it at the time.

7. At 5:24 a.m. yesterday, Rebecca was in our bed. Stealing my covers.

8. It is inappropriate for me as a neuropsychologist to evaluate a client who doesn't speak the language, particularly since I don't have normed measures that are appropriate for that client. We certainly have a number of Spanish-speaking clients who we refer out to a group that specializes in Spanish-language evals. So we got in a new guy the other day who is monolingual-Mandarin speaking. Same principle. We ask for authorization to send him to a Mandarin-speaking neuropsychologist who can test him in his language and has the tests that are appropriate. The worker's comp adjuster wouldn't approve that, but they did approve for us to send him to the Spanish-speaking neuropsychologist. Oy vey.

9. Yesterday, I had to go back to Loma Linda for the alumni meeting with the APA accreditation committee. Wow, things have changed! It was so nice to be back there and see familiar people but also nice to know that I'm "on the other side" now.

10. We are on the birthday countdown! Five years old next week! I can't believe it.

DIY Project: Herb planters

2012-01-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend, we conquered one of the things on our loooonnnnngggg list of home and garden projects - our herb garden. We have a whole little area on our side yard that is going to be a flower garden (maybe some veggies?), but I wanted a lot of herbs and didn't want the whole garden to be taken over by them (my experience before with oregano was that it overwhelmed everything in its path; the same is reportedly true of mint). I'd seen some great ideas on pinterest but I really wanted to have a lot of different kind of herbs. Also, we're not exactly woodsmiths, and I didn't want to spend a fortune on this one projet. We melded together a couple of the ideas I'd seen on there and are really happy with the results!

We made two planters, but the things you need for one of them are as follows:

2 5-step deck "stringers" - find them in the section at Lowe's where they have supplies for building a deck. This is the tall piece with the cutouts (you use them to make stairs).
5 boards (ours were 0.75" thick x 7.5" deep x 30" long)
Wood screws
Wood glue
5 30" planters

First, we waterproofed our wood pieces and let them dry.

Once they were dry, we propped them up against the wall and got to work on assembly! We used wood glue in addition to the screws to secure the "stairs" to the frame.

At this point, all you have to do is add your planters! We had originally planned to use wood planters, but our Lowes didn't have any. So we could have spent the time to build them ourselves (and maybe we'll do that next year), but we went for the composite ones.

We drilled holes in the bottoms so that they would drain well.

Then it was time to plant! Since we did two of the planters, we had ten planters. We bought some plants and also did some seed. Based on what we use, we did the following herbs:

2 boxes of basil (genovese and sweet)

2 boxes of italian (flat leaf) parsley

1 box of rosemary

1 box of mint (spearmint and peppermint)

1 box of oregano (italian and greek)

1 box with sage and thyme

1 box of chives and dill

1 box of cilantro and bay

Our work was complete! We chose to put our planters on the side of the garden where we have pavers, but it is easy to move them to another area, because they are not bolted to the wall - they just lean against it securely. This area gets full morning sun and afternoon shade at our house. This is important, because even though herbs thrive in full sun, nothing can survive the sun of Southern California as the summer wears on!

We are looking forward to the seeds germinating and growing and our herb containers overflowing! I'll be posting pictures of how they progress. Rebecca is very excited about us being able to use our herbs to flavor chicken and to use in making spaghetti sauce.

Ten on Tuesday

2012-01-24T22:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't stopped doing these! At least, I never intended to!

1. Please pray for my friend Lucy's sister Connie. She was in a terrible car accident last July and has been undergoing rehabilitation, numerous surgeries, and a lot of pain since then. She has a MRSA infection in her leg, which had been broken multiple times, and now has sepsis and is on a ventilator in MICU at Vanderbilt. Today, they were able to successfully amputate her leg, which although sad, hopefully gives her the chance to overcome this.
2. Now that the Christmas decor is down, I am realizing that all my walls are still completely bare. I can't stand it! However, I am wracked with indecision. I keep feeling that when I find exactly what I want for the living room walls, I will know it. It just hasn't happened yet.

3. I do, at least, have a color scheme in mind. Think of the rich reds and yellows in Provence-style tablecloths. Maybe a pop of cobalt blue every now and then.

4. I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately. There are so many cute craft ideas, decorating ideas, and just generally good things that I feel inspired. Other than pinning several dozen ideas of things that I really want to do, I have only actually made a couple of the crafts with Rebecca and made a few of the recipes.

5. Rebecca usually takes a bath in the evening and her hair is oftentimes still damp when she falls asleep. This leads to some interesting hair in the morning. Last week, I was trying to tame it with the curling iron and I said, "Rebecca! Your hair has a mind of its own!" She said, "WELL! Maybe but it don't have eyes - it can't see where it is going!"

6. My friend Julie's sister-in-law Marika received a pancreas transplant this morning. She underwent a live-donor kidney transplant last fall. Please pray that this amazing opportunity gives her a chance for a new and healthy life and for her donors who made amazing sacrifices.

7. Please pray for my dear friend Marilyn (Aunt Mimi) and her aunt Nadine, who has Alzheimers dementia. They will be transitioning Nadine to a nursing home that can provide her the secure facility that she now requires. Families who care for loved ones with dementia at home for as long as (or even longer than!) humanly possible are such heroes, but there also comes a point when such patients just have to have even greater security and monitoring than can be done at home. This is an agonizing thing for families.

8. Today, a patient told me that Walmart sent him a check for $100,000 because they messed up his eyeglass prescription. Is that customer service or what? Now before you rush to Walmart, this same client told me that he was acting on the show "House" and also got treated by Dr. House. He was also Nellie Olsen's husband on Little House, Benny on Gunsmoke, sang the intro song for Happy Days, will be starring on NCIS this summer, and is still friends with Michael Landon. And he has $62 billion in the bank. He also holds the world's record for snoring. Oh yeah, and I really need to tell the narcs that that lady who is watching him through the wall in my office that the witness protection program doesn't allow her to monitor him in rehab.

9. For real, he believes it all completely. And for real, none of that is why we have him.

10. Some days my work is cognitively challenging. Frequently it is stressful. Often it is rewarding. But NEVER is it boring!

Christmas Morning

2012-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

After Rebecca was asleep, we quickly cleaned up from the party. Then Santa's elves got to work! It was quite a late night for those elves! Rebecca slept until about 7:45, and then she and Grammy called Mama and Daddy so that we could come down and get ready for her to burst into the living room. I was able to snap a few pics before the destruction began!

Santa Claus was here!!!

Rebecca loves Snowy far too much for him to go back with Santa the way most elves do. She wrote to Santa to ask that he leave him with us to see her open her gifts. He stayed around in our tree for the next few days and then flew back to the North Pole on New Years Day.

Our stockings that Grammy made!

The thing Rebecca wanted most was the pets from American Girl. She had been asking for Sugar for weeks but she also got Ginger!

Because it was too big to fit down the chimney, Santa left one of Rebecca's gifts outside on the porch. She was so excited when she went out to see the car!

She was also surprised when we sent her upstairs to get something for us. When she got up there, she discovered this playhouse from Grammy! Rebecca saw it when she was about halfway up the stairs and exclaimed, "Hey! Hey! Hey! WHAT IS THIS!?!?"

After a nice breakfast, we took a leisurely nap for a few hours. In the evening, we awoke and finished opening gifts and our stockings. Then Rebecca took her car for its inaugural ride and quickly discovered the "turbo" speed!

2012-01-22T20:57:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve

2012-01-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, I realize that Christmas was almost a month ago but I also realized that I never got around to posting the actual pictures! On Christmas Eve, we hosted Ramy's family. I worked on the 23rd, rushed out and to the packed supermarket, and then we cooked and baked most of the night and the morning of Christmas Eve.

We had planned to attend the children's mass on Christmas Eve, which is held at 4:00 p.m. I knew that it would be crowded, so I planned to arrive at 3:30. I was serving communion. When we pulled out of our driveway, Jasmine texted me to let me know that they had arrived at the church and the main church was already packed! They were holding seats for us for the co-occurring mass in Maher Hall. That hall was packed also! The girls had a lot of fun attending mass together. I got a little confused in serving communion, as I had never done it in the Hall before and ended up being at the very back wall. Nonetheless, it was nice to kick off Christmas Eve at church. Then everyone headed over to our house for the festivities.

Because they were together and it was a party, the girls changed into Spidergirl costumes. I really cringed at the thought of our Christmas Eve pictures having them in Halloween costumes, because Rebecca had a really sweet dress. Nonetheless, I let it go.

Here are Rebecca and her sweet cousins.

While we waited on everyone else to arrive, the girls watched some Christmas shows on television and talked about when we might let them open presents.

After Grandma and Auntie Theresa arrived, it was time to eat! We had cheese straws, sausage balls, and cheese ball as appetizers. We did a wonderful prime rib on the rotisserie that Maddy and Paul gave us as a housewarming gift. I love to do it as a sandwich on a baguette with arugula and parmesan cheese shards. Along with that, we had mashed potatoes, creamed corn, caprese salad, macaroni and cheese, and some Filipino food. For dessert, I slaved over my aunt's caramel cake, which was one of the most laborious cakes I have ever made, and we also had chocolate pie and cream cheese pound cake. We were honored to be joined for dinner by our new friend Rod and his son Rod.

After digesting sufficiently, it was time for dirty Santa. As Myrna gave the rules, these two were laughing and not paying attention. It caused them problems later on!

Auntie Myrna was assisted by her Spidergirls.

I ended up stealing this Bath and Body Works set from Jasmine.

The Spidergirls were eager to help all the adults open their dirty Santa gifts.

Ramy was so enamored of the gift he contributed that he opened it himself and was terrified someone would steal his precious fire extinguisher. It may well have been his favorite Christmas gift. He's a simple fellow.

The real entertainment happened when Myrna tried to steal Theresa's gift. Because she hadn't been paying attention, Theresa wasn't really up on the whole stealing aspect and hit the gift inside her shirt.

At long last, Dirty Santa was completed and it was time for the "kids" to open their gifts. Boy was it hard to keep Hannah and Rebecca from mixing up their gifts!

They eagerly watched each other open their gifts and ooohhed and aahhhed over the things they each got. Slinky tried to take part also (it was a five dog night for Christmas Eve in the Cisneros household!).

It was a really fun night. However, when the girls saw that Santa was in Montana on Norad, they quickly called the evening to an end. Rebecca jumped in bed before she could even say goodbye to all the family, because she was so afraid that Santa would get there before she was asleep!

Preschool Christmas program

2012-01-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Although I posted videos several weeks ago, I am only now getting around to editing the pics and posting them. I love the still pictures because it gives you an idea of just how animated our little star actually is! As she told us, "I said my line with FEELING!" Rebecca says (and sings!) most everything with FEELING!

Posing before leaving for her show:

Flowers from Nanny Rebecca in honor of Rebecca's stage debut:

Despite having seen each other just three hours before the show, the kids all squealed with delight every time a new friend came in. Rebecca thoroughly enjoyed posing for pictures with her girlfriends.

Yes, I am a heathen, because during the prayer, I was taking pictures of how sweet and cute Rebecca was with her little silver halo on and praying so intently.

"Run to see Jesus..."

"Hurry, hurry, come to see Jesus..."

"Not one, but MANY! My, what a sight!"

"Away in a manger..."

"the little Lord Jesus, laid down his sweet head..."

"We wish you a merry Christmas!"

"Happy birthday, Jesus..."

With her proud grandmothers, after the show:

Some of her fans:

And with more of her audience:

Mommy and Daddy are so proud!

With her sweet teachers, Mrs. Morales and Mrs. Gallegos:

It was a wonderful night! Afterwards, we were all in the Christmas spirit and went to Dripp to celebrate with ice cream sandwiches and hot chocolate.

Dance recital pics

2012-01-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

After the recital, the ballerina was whisked to the car in style by daddy!

2011 in review

2011-12-31T16:12:00.000-08:00

It's the last day of 2011, and I have yet to post any pics or stories from Christmas. Hopefully I can get to that tomorrow, but I didn't want to end the year without a little reflection.

2011 was a year of growth for me. It has been a year of big decisions and milestones. Thankfully, it was a year of health and togetherness with family. Rebecca started preschool and turned four years old. I got the job that I had been waiting on for more than a year, then decided that it wasn't what was best for our family. I went from volunteering at Casa Colina to gain hours towards licensure to a part time job to a full time job to a permanent position and raise. I passed my licensure exams and got my psychologist license. Ramy left the land of felony trials and began as a supervisor. We put our first home on the market and fell in love with a new home in a new city. Rebecca finally stopped sleeping in our bed! Grammy spent all the holidays with us. For the first time in my life, I didn't have Christmas in Tennessee.

2011 was a good year for me and for our family. There were a few tears but far more laughter. God has blessed us tremendously and we are grateful. Tomorrow brings a new year, and I pray that it will be a joyful, healthy, loving one.

Holiday Dance Recital 2011

2011-12-21T06:40:00.001-08:00

Waiting on Snowy

2011-12-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

Snowy, our Elf on the Shelf, has really been mischievous this year. He has been getting into all kinds of things! Rebecca loves to race around the house each morning to discover where Snowy is and what he has gotten into overnight.

One night recently, Ramy made Rebecca a promise that they could stay up all night and try to catch Snowy leaving to go back to the North Pole. So they camped out in Rebecca's play room (because Snowy had been hiding on the plantation blinds in her room that day). Ramy ended up falling asleep about an hour into the night watch, but Rebecca made it at least another 45 minutes after he did. I came in to check on them and found that Snowy was already gone and they were asleep! I woke them up to see if they had seen him leave, but he was too sneaky for them! That sneaky Snowy waited until they were asleep, and then he was off to the North Pole!

Christmas Program

2011-12-11T22:52:00.001-08:00

Thursday night was Rebecca's Christmas program at her preschool. I will be posting clips from the video so check back to see all of them as I add them.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T20:31:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I am really behind in doing some actual posts, rather than little snippets on ToT. And pictures! Where have the pictures been? I have no idea. But here's to trying to improve on those things.

We started the morning with a leisurely french toast casserole while we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Afterwards, we watched the dog show while we cooked. This was our first Thanksgiving in the new house, and it was such a pleasure to cook in my new kitchen! There was plenty of room to have different projects underway in various places on the countertops, while also having someone (my mom!) cleaning without us tripping over each other.

Rebecca was a tremendous help in making the decorations. She began her projects a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and had quite an assortment of things. She made little turkey art projects with craft foamboard and feathers and googly eyes, which we made into place cards. Rebecca added her collection of tiny pumpkins to the dining room table also.

I had twig pumpkins that I had planned to use for centerpieces, but that was just not fancy enough for Rebecca. For the table where we had the food, she added a handprint turkey she did on a spare piece of cardboard. Probably two weeks before Thanksgiving, she folded paper napkins into triangles and then glued them into place with a glue stick. This was very fancy indeed. As she set her tablescape, she added a stuffed bird and a baby Jesus Christmas tree ornament. This completed her look and she was quite pleased.

Rebecca also helped me make another centerpiece for the main table from flowers and herbs we bought at the farmers market in my fairytale pumpkin. She only would not participate in the cutting of the pumpking, "because that stuff inside is GROSS!" I thought it turned out really nicely, compared to the similar one they had at Costco for $40.

Not everyone in our household was as helpful.

Just kidding. Ramy took out the trash regularly and didn't ask too many questions. Actually, Ramy did the nicest thing by befriending our neighborhood security guard who was on duty and has to make rounds of all the building construction sites every 2 hours. He's a nice Filipino man whose wife is still in the Philippines. So he was both alone and working on Thanksgiving, until Ramy convinced him to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. We were pleased to have our new friend Rod with us for dinner.

Myrna, Ed, and Jessica came by for appetizers on their way to their other-side-of-the-family obligations. We had cheese straws and sausage balls as appetizers.

Then Grandma and Auntie Theresa came over and Rebecca entertained them while we finished up preparing for the meal. We had turkey breast, honeybaked ham, cornbread dressing, hashbrown casserole, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, and homemade rolls. Dessert included pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, and vanilla bean pound cake.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-06T22:28:00.001-08:00

1. December is moving way too quickly! I think I've actually gotten less Christmas shopping done to this point than ever before. It is 19 days until Christmas! I have so much to do! We have almost no free nights left between now and Christmas. I think tomorrow night and maybe one random Thursday night, but that's it until 2012.

2. On Friday, we went to tour Western Christian School, which is a school that we are considering for Rebecca. It was a lovely school, and we felt really good about the possibility of sending her there. We will consider a few others, and she will have to do entrance testing in the spring, and we also have to do an interview (that could kill it right there!), but we will put it in God's hands to see where He wants her to attend school.

3. Kindergarten is not the same as it was when we were in school. My child is bright, but after hearing about their expectations, I have to admit that I engaged in a bit of quizzing to see how much she knew. I think the only things we may be "behind" on are that she doesn't have our address memorized and she doesn't know our telephone number. Cut the kid some slack though, we just moved a few months ago, and the post office and Google Maps don't even know our correct address! Plus, what exactly is her phone number? Our home number? A lot of good it will do for her to know that one! I would much rather her know my cell phone number, which could actually be useful if she needs to tell someone how to call us. And Ramy doesn't even have that memorized. Otherwise, she is good to go.

4. Today, Rebecca won the "Angel of the Day" award for spreading joy. Oh, how she is indeed a joy-bringer!

5. Thursday night is her Christmas program at preschool. She is an angel and has a line and lots of songs. They said they should wear their "Sunday best." Was that a challenge or what?

6. Last weekend, Rebecca told me that she and two of her friends (Zanya and Ireland) like to swing on the tire swing and make up songs. They made up a song about heaven, which they sang quite loudly. Rebecca explained that that was how they praised God. She went on to tell us how, when she and Ireland and Zanya were swinging and praising God, the sun shone brighter.

7. A bit of fashion advice: Faux fur vests are currently trendy, wearable by most body types, and of the sort that can be dressed up for work or down for casual. I bought into this trend. Today I wore my faux fur vest to work. However, I made the mistake of wearing it with black. Hence, I looked like I had spent the night curled up with a Great Pyrenees. I was also told that it reminded them of Cruella de Ville. I took that as a compliment.

8. Speaking of fashion, Ramy and I will be attending the Casa Colina Holiday Party at the Fairplex this Saturday night. It is a command performance. However, I hear that there is an open bar and a lot of prizes that are given away, so we'll see what happens. By the way, "open bar" is really not a big draw for me. In fact, I will be avoiding it completely. I consume alcohol approximately once every 18 months, and libation causes lowered inhibition, which is the last thing that needs to be going on at a work function. Loose lips sink ships.

9. I have spent a lot of time considering what to wear to said Christmas party. It has resulted in the purchase (and return) of a skirt outfit and three dresses, all of which are in some shade of black. We will see what I will ultimately end up wearing probably around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday evening.

10. I may have found the most delicious pair of tall black leather boots that fit and do not bag at the ankles. And I may be getting them for Christmas.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-29T21:29:00.001-08:00

1. What happened to me last week? Why didn't I post anything, not even a ToT? I don't know. I have no good excuse for you.

2. We had a lovely Thanksgiving. Preparing and cleaning up for a big meal was so much better in the new house with a kitchen actually large enough for such a task.

3. Rebecca contributed all sorts of decorations, including hand-drawn turkey centerpiece for the food table, turkey place markers with feathers and googly eyes, and paper napkins folded in half and then glued shut. She also stuck a Model Magic birthday cake and a baby Jesus ornament on the table as additional decorations for the food table.

4. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, we started decorating for Christmas! The tree is up. The mantle has some gorgeous garland, as does the archway between the hall and dining room. Still more to do, and I feel sure that I'll be adding new stuff every year but we're off to a good start.

5. How is it that I am decisive and taking action on decorating for Christmas, when there has been absolutely no decoration of the rest of the house with the exception of Rebecca's room since we moved in five months ago? Too much pressure to do that, I think.

6. If you usually send us a Christmas card, please note that our address has changed to:
14788 Oak Leaf Dr., Eastvale, CA 92880

7. We went shopping on Black Friday, as always. We made out with some great deals. However, now that I am considering it, I am not sure that I actually bought any presents. Rebecca certainly got a boatload of new clothes. I bought myself a faux fur vest and some shoes. I got some stuff for our house. But, no presents. Ooops.

8. It was so hard to go back to work on Monday. I had five days off, which was glorious. It was a nice break from Casa, which I really needed. But boy was it hard to go in on Monday afterward!

9. Mother and I have been trying to convince Rebecca to go to the movies with us. Grammy wants to see Happy Feet, and I want to see The Muppets. Rebecca isn't interested. She assures us she will watch them when she can see them at home instead of in the theater. She also suggested that if we wanted to see them so much, we should just go together and she would stay home. She's one tough cookie, that girl!

10. On Friday, we will be touring a potential school for Rebecca. It looks to be exactly what we want for her, but we'll see what the vibe is in person. She'll have to have testing in the spring and we have to do a formal interview and get letters of recommendation. It's hard to believe that we are preparing to enroll her in "real" school. Gulp.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-15T22:02:00.001-08:00

1. Last week, Rebecca won the "Turkey Award." This is actually a good thing! Each month's award has something related to the month (e.g., September = Apple award, October = Pumpkin award, November = Turkey award). She got the award for "thoughtfulness," as she helped a peer find something they had lost without being asked to do so.

2. When she told me about this award, she said, "Mama, I'm the turkey of the day!"

3. Tonight, she told us that in school they each had to say something they are thankful for today. She said that she was thankful for "mama, because she snuggles me before I go to sleep every night." Awwwwww! That was the nicest thing I've heard all month!

4. I finally have official business cards. With my name and title and license number on them. Seems legit, huh?

5. Pinterest keeps losing some of my pins. What the heck happens to them? I had a whole board of Christmas ideas and they are all gone.

6. I'm entering the Casa Colina Bake-Off on Thursday. Part of me wants to make something so fabulous that I knock the socks of the judges. The other part of me just wants to go to bed early. I'm not sure which will win tomorrow night when I have to come up with this creation.

7. We got our housekeeper ladies back last week. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I came home to the smell of bleach and lemon Pledge, and there was no dust on my plantation shutters.

8. XM Holly station is on! It's now all Christmas music all the time!

9. If you want to keep up with all the Christmas movies that will be coming on television, then here's a great website for you so that you don't miss anything!

10. Please watch the 20/20 special on Gabrielle Giffords, if you can find the full episode online. It was really great. They showed a true picture of brain injury recovery, the hard work, the frustration and tears, and the way that even a miraculous recovery doesn't mean someone is back to 100%. They didn't have any neuropsych on the show though, which was a bummer though.

2011-11-12T11:11:00.001-08:00

The holidays are upon us! Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, which means that Snowy could be arriving any day now.

This morning, Rebecca decided that we HAD to send a letter to Snowy to be sure that he would know that we moved. After all, last year, he came to us in Chino Hills, then had to meet us in Tennessee. So he could very well be confused about where to come to find us. And even though we'll have to write a letter to Santa separately, she wanted to get the jump on telling him that she wanted a Josefina (American Girl) doll!

Halloween Recap

2011-11-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

1. Halloween pics to come tomorrow! Our girl was a queen. A nice queen. We trick-or-treated with Rebecca's cousin-twin Hannah and her mom Jasmine.

2. The highlight of trick-or-treating was NOT the candy. It was the ringing of doorbells. The girls took turns ringing doorbells. We came across several homes where the people were sitting outside or groups of neighbors had a little block party in the driveway. These things were huge disappointments for our girls, because it meant they didn't get to ring the doorbell.

3. Rebecca got a SACK full of candy. She ate 2 or 3 pieces last night and then I put 2 pieces in her lunch box. And I got busted. Apparently there is a no candy rule at school. Rebecca scolded me for it this evening. Geez, not even a piece of your Halloween candy on November 1st?

4. This evening, I felt as though I earned the award for terrible mom of the year. Rebecca got covered in mosquito bites while we were trick-or-treating last night. Mosquitoes LOVE her sweet blood apparently. Poor girl!

5. Rebecca was sick toward the end of last week. Ramy picked her up early from school on Thursday, and we skipped her last night of hula because she was running a fever and feeling achy. She was better on Friday but ran a brief fever again that evening. By Saturday she was all better, though she milked it for one more night to get to sleep with mommy.

6. I don't understand the frenzy over Kim Kardashian getting a divorce 72 days after her wedding. First of all, these are reality tv stars who film their entire lives for fame. Secondly, did anyone else watch the wedding spectacular television event? They had nothing in common and they fought the whole time. It was clear they didn't have good communication skills or expectations and hadn't even considered anything past the honeymoon location. And finally, what's it to us? Yeah, she had a crazy elaborate wedding and got millions in gifts and that money could better be spent on starving children in Africa. I agree, but it's not my money. That money was spent whether they divorced or not.

7. I think what I actually find interesting about the apparent outrage over the Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries divorce is that many of the people I know who are so aghast about it also talk about how gay marriage would erode the sanctity of marriage. Yeah, because straight people haven't thoroughly done that already!

8. This week at work I got officially switched from being a per diem employee to a permanent employee, and I got to keep my day off. I also got a nice raise in honor of my now being licensed. That has made work a lot nicer this week, I have to admit! But actually, it has been a good couple of weeks at work (knock on wood). The stress of the internal politics weighs heavily but I really do love my patients.

9. I've already started Christmas shopping! And I have firm ideas on a few others. That's so exciting! And so unlike me. Watch - I'll get cocky and then not do any more until December 20 and I'll be on here freaking out.

10. Goals for this week: Get Rebecca's flu shot (last appointment cancelled because she has been sick).

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we met up with the Woltil family to take in a pumpkin patch. We headed out to the border of Hollywood and Beverly Hills, which, as you can imagine, is not exactly a place where they grow pumpkins. It was the same one that we went to last year - Mr. Bones.

And once again, Rebecca's favorite thing was the hay maze. This year, I wasn't able to capture nearly as many pics of her, because she's so fast!

Julie and I dressed up for the outing, see?

Then it was time for face painting. Rebecca again decided to get a spider in a web. With sparkles.

A new addition to Mr. Bones pumpkin patch this year was the pony rides. Rebecca had a blast! She named her horsie Cinnamon.

(Rebecca and Addie would give each other the thumbs up sign across the ride)

Next, it was on to the petting zoo, where Rebecca was particularly fond of the goats.

At last, it was time to pick out the pumpkins. Rebecca settled on two baby pumpkins and one small pumpkin.

These three were determined to not all look at the camera at the same time. But when you're this cute, who cares?

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-25T23:19:00.000-07:00

1. Today my husband did something that made me fall in love with him all over again. Not that I had fallen out of love with him anyway. But it made me love him even more. It was hat day at preschool. Naturally, since Rebecca hadn't been to school since last Thursday, we forgot. I thought about it when I was pulling into work and was upset that Rebecca might be the only one who didn't have a hat. Our knight in shining armor came to the rescue and went home to find Rebecca's favorite floppy hat. He couldn't find it, so he went to the Halloween store and bought her a white cowgirl hat and took it to her at school so she would have it for hat day. She was so happy and has worn it all night too.

2. Rebecca has chapel on Wednesdays. I always look forward to hearing her rendition of what they learned about that day. And let me tell you, this is no Noah and the Ark and Baby Jesus kind of chapel. It's serious stuff. Most of the time, Rebecca is able to give you a play-by-play of the story from beginning to end. Sometimes, however, she has a hard time remembering, but she can wing it. Particularly with the ending.

3. Two weeks ago was the story of Moses and the burning bush. Rebecca recounted that "Moses was in the desert walking around and saw a tree that was ON FIRE. And he talked to it and it was God and then he took his people and took them home. And God took care of them." The next week, she told us about "Jah-suh-fuh." Who? "Jos-a-fuh." I thought he might be kin to "Jo-phus," who is Jesus' father. But no, I finally figured out she was talking about Joshua. So asked her to tell me the story. She said, "God told Jos-a-fah to go to Jericho and march around the city and blow a HORN! And the wall fell DOWN!" I said, "And then what happened?" She said to me wisely, "Well, God took care of them." She proceeded to sing me the song over and over and over and over. Then I had it in my mind and was walking through the aisles of Costco singing it. Last week, she said she learned about "these 3 brothers." I wasn't following it until somehow the Lord put into my mind that she was talking about Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego. I said, "Well what do you know about them?" She paused and said they were thrown into a fire because they loved God. "Well what happened then?", I said. Rebecca nodded and said, "God took care of them!" So that's the take-home message of all Bible stories in her book.

4. Rebecca is looking forward to Halloween. She is going as a "queen. Not a princess. A queen! But not a mean queen, a nice queen." Got that? Even more exciting to Rebecca, however, is that Sydney and Paddington have costumes also. They are going as Superman Dog and Wonder Woman Dog. She and I attempted to try their costumes on them. Let's just say that it will be an adventure to get them into these contraptions and have them stay in them long enough to snap a picture. But it is worth the delight Rebecca has had in thinking about it.

5. Rebecca has become a big fan of talking expressively. I know. I have no clue where she gets that! She's also become very animated in the using of her hands to talk. She loves talking on the phone to Grammy and demands phone time any time it rings. She walks around the whole house, jabbering and and making melodramatic hand gestures. Then she randomly decides she's had enough, says "okay, bye Grammy" and hands me the phone.

6. I did indeed survive last week. It was hellacious, but I survived. Thank you for the prayers that I not spout off at the mouth and inhibited the inclination to run around cursing at people. It's been a better week so far this week, thank God. Things will be changing though, I feel sure.

7. Last night as we were getting ready for bed, Rebecca asked me why germs were so small. I told her that they didn't want us to be able to see them so they were very tiny so that they could hop on our hands when we touch things and then we touch our faces and they hop off into our nose and mouths to make us sick.
She accepted that but then said, "who makes germs?" "Does God make germs?"
I couldn't come up with the best answer for how God doesn't make anything bad right off the top of my head but no matter, Rebecca had already come to her own conclusion.
She said, "Are they from Hellman?"
Me: "What?"
Rebecca: "Hellman!"
Me: "What's Hellman?"
Rebecca: "Hellman!" You know, that bad place where that angel that tried to be higher than God lives!"
I figured out that she was talking about HELL but got it confused with the name of the street in front of our house - Hellman Avenue.

8. For the first time in my life, it won't be a Tender Tennessee Christmas. We're having the thing that I swore I would never stand for - a Christmas with palm trees. There better not be a heat wave. If there is, I'm cranking up the a/c to 32 degrees and it may snow inside our house. But even though I'm not thrilled, there are some positives that I'm looking forward to. Like the chance to get to see all the things at the holidays around here that I've never had time to do - like the Mission Inn. A dozen different theaters doing versions of A Christmas Carol. Our church's Christmas Eve children's service. Breakfast with Santa. A good excuse to buy a new taller, bigger Christmas tree for the new house.

9. For the past couple of weeks, we had Flat Bailey visiting us from Tennessee, based on the Flat Stanley project. My childhood pal Cathy's little girl Bailey is participating in it for her school, and we were excited to have Flat Bailey visit us in California. We took her on a tour of Hollywood. Rebecca was sad to see her go back and said "I liked that cute girl!"

10. On my quest to make a different pumpkin recipe every weekend until Thanksgiving, this weekend I made pumpkin bread with a new recipe. It was a total score! Stay tuned for the recipe.

At long last....

2011-10-23T14:38:00.001-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

1. I'm officially licensed! The Board of Psychology issued my license number last Tuesday. I still haven't gotten my card in the mail, but the number is the only important thing.

2. Today was Rebecca's sharing day at school. It is "G" week. Rebecca shared about her Grammy. We're never really sure what she shares, because every time you ask her about it, she tells something different (both before and after her presentation).

3. Please say a prayer for my mother-in-law who for her safe, quick trip to the Philippines and back this week.

4. Pottery Barn recently displayed an autumnal centerpiece display with rattan pumpkins. Their rattan pumpkins range from $45ish to $79. I found very similar pumpkins at Hobby Lobby when I was in Tennessee, ranging in price from $12 to $15. It was a nice find!

5. Speaking of Pottery Barn, I have a slight obsession with throw pillows and table linens that are crewel embroidered. Actually, I have an obsession with finding throw pillows that I'm in love with for our couch. I think there are just too many options and I'm paralyzed under this decision.

6. As much as I love the Real Housewives franchise, I think it may have jumped the shark. I actually fell asleep this Sunday night about 15 minutes into the first half of the New Jersey reunion special. I totally missed the Beverly Hills episode on Monday night. The drama has just reached levels that bend reality so far out even willing suspension of disbelief, and the effects are just toxic. Am I falling out of my state of being enamored with them? Horrors!

7. Rebecca has 5 Christmas dresses. Does that seem like too much?

8. I showed Rebecca a picture of a beautiful red dress I was planning to buy her for Christmas. She saw it and loved it. She said, "Oooh, I wanna wear that for Thanksgiving!" I said, "Well, I think it is better for a Christmas dress, since it is red." She said quickly and diplomatically, "Yeah, or I could wear it for Thanksgiving!" She wasn't giving up on that idea.

9. On the news, they are reporting that a zoo full of wild animals has been found to be open, with wild animals now roaming in the community. What the heck?

10. It's been a hard week. A really hard week. (At work.) Please pray for me. I need a whole lot of restraint, a hefty dose of discernment, and a clear plan/path for how to proceed.

Scenes from a fall visit to Tennessee

2011-10-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

1. I passed the CPSE yesterday! It is such a huge relief, I can't even describe it. Actually, finding out I passed the test was rather anti-climactic. The test proctors who had no idea if I was taking a test for my dog walker license or my psychologist license just print off something after returning my ID to me. I scanned it for a millisecond to find the word "Congratulations!" and then ran out the door. The idea of being DONE with this whole long process is what is such a relief.

2. I stopped at the post office on the way back to work after finding out that I passed to mail in the form to demand the Board of Psychology issue my license. I was going to overnight that sucker to Sacramento until I realized the cutoff time for Express Mail is at 12:30, so I sent it Priority Mail instead. It will be there on Wednesday. Since I already sent in my initial license fee, hopefully I will avoid a lengthy delay in their issuance of it. I'll start stalking the website to see if it lists it starting on Thursday.

3. Did you notice above that I said "on the way back to work after finding out that I passed..."? Yes, I went to work yesterday morning. Left at lunch to drive to El Monte and take the exam. Then I went back to work, arriving at 4:00 to attend a neuropsychology department meeting. That's dedication, isn't it?

4. Not really. If it weren't for the fact that I'm going to be leaving early on Wednesday and off the rest of the week, I would have just taken the whole day off. But I have a lot to do before I go away for a few days. Rebecca and I are heading to Tennessee for a few days and are looking forward to it!

5. We've had a rough go of the sickies in our house in the past few weeks. Rebecca and I got a coughing sickness about two and a half weeks ago. We got over it. Then last week, I got sick again - sore throat, congested nose, and then more coughing. Ramy got some of that this past weekend too. Then yesterday evening, Rebecca started feeling sick from some kind of tummy upset. Jury is still out on the exact nature of her illness.

6. I realize that I should have changed the blog header and theme this week. Unfortunately, Blogger has revamped their design and I can't find the location of where I change it. Hopefully soon!

7. Rebecca is loving pre-K this year. She enjoys "centers" the most. She also likes when they have "sharing day," which for her is on Tuesdays. On Sharing Day, a subset of students bring something to talk about that is related to one of the themes of the week (e.g., letter/number/shape/color/Bible verse/theme of the week). It's a good first opportunity to become comfortable with public speaking. Rebecca wings it as an extemporaneous speaker each week. I tried practicing it with her a couple of weeks, but every time she does it, she says something different. I think she probably stands up and talks about her topic until they make her stop. This week is "E" week. Guess who she is going to be talking about? Lord have mercy.

8. Her other favorite thing about Pre-K is the opportunity to be a teacher's helper. Every day, they have a line leader, an American flag holder, a Christian flag holder, a Bible holder, and the teacher's helper. With that many jobs, it's almost assured every student will get to have a role once a week or so. Last week, Rebecca was ecstatic that she got to be the holder of one of the flags. She said, "It was so exciting!" She has yet to get to be THE teacher's helper, which is the person who passes out the nap mats and directs people to change centers. I think the power may be dizzifying.

9. In a note to demonstrate how glamorous our life is, one of the most sensational things going on at our house has been that we have had gophers in the back yard. There were some gopher mounds Ramy had noticed. Well, Sydney noticed them also, and there is NOTHING that will keep her from trying to GET THOSE GOPHERS. She races into the yard, ignoring our demands that she do her business and leave the gopher holes alone and digs like her life depends on it. Rebecca let her out the other day and by the time Ramy noticed, she had dug down to expose the pipes for our sprinkler system. We've tried vinegar. We've tried dog deterrant. She scoffs at those things. Ramy has put the gopher traps into the holes, but no dice. I think Sydney destroys their holes and they move on before we can get the trap in.

10. I apologize for the lack of posting lately. As you can tell, things have been busy. I am determined to achieve a better sense of balance in my life now that I'm done with the tests and things look to be settled a bit at work. That's my goal! Hopefully that will mean more time to take pictures during more good family time and more blogging!

4 little monkeys jumping on the bed...

2011-09-23T10:05:00.001-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

1. Ramy had a two-day seminar to attend this past weekend. Rebecca and I were planning on having a girls' weekend. Alas, we both came down with a respiratory infection and spent the weekend barking and laying in bed, watching tv and reading magazines and books. We're not quite over it yet - I still sound like a chronic smoker who's been on a two-week bender.

2. On Friday, we had our closet organizer systems installed. LOVE THEM! I really want to just stand in our closet and stare at it. It's so exciting. It allowed me to put all of my clothes in my closet, rather than having just one season out at a time. However, it also allowed me to see that I really need to get rid of a lot of clothes that I never wear.

3. In case you missed it, Rebecca's school is having their annual fundraiser and is selling awesome wrapping paper (as well as chocolates, magazines, and other kinds of things that I'm sure are cool). If you'd like to support Rebecca's school and get some nice, thick, pretty wrapping paper...

Click the link below to visit Innisbrook.com and they will recognize Rebecca and herschool automatically.

http://www.innisbrook.com/credits/index/studentlink?id=R181998G

If the above link does not work:
1. Click below
2. Select Shop the Innisbrook Online Store
3. Enter School# 121926 and Select Go
4. Select Continue
5. Enter Seller ID# R181998G
www.innisbrook.com

4. Still haven't been able to schedule the CPSE. I did break down and just buy the new study materials for it, rather than trying to be cheap and get used ones. At this point, I think I'm just numb and if they asked for my right arm, I'd give it to them to be done with this process.

5. Said study material arrived in a priority mail flat rate envelope. One spiral bound notebook. I paid WHAT and got one dinky notebook? I was so aghast that I took it to work and showed my colleagues so that they could be equally flabbergasted. We are now quitting the neuropsych business and just doing psych study materials.

6. It's been a full moon lately. All kinds of craziness has been breaking loose at work. And at home too. I swore this morning I was hexed. I was going to take Rebecca to school. She was dressed and eating breakfast when Ramy left. Then she spilled her milk and we had to change clothes and I had to clean the chair cushions and wipe up milk off the floor. Then I couldn't find my keys (to car and office!) and didn't remember where we have the spare keys in new house. So I took the truck and forgot the doctors note for Rebecca to be able to get Dimetapp at school. Then we got stuck in traffic. Then her class was in another classroom. Then there was intense fog causing more traffic. Then a patient's family caught me in the parking lot. When I finally got to work, I had a nonstop barrage of weird phone calls. Twice today I answer my phone and hear, "Hi Dr. Cisneros, it's me. Remember who I am?"

7. I have seen numerous posts last week about "National Back to Church" Sunday. What? What does that mean? Was there summer break from church? I'm just not getting it.

8. Each week Rebecca has "sharing day" on Tuesday. They do this as a public speaking kind of thing to get the kids comfortable with talking to a crowd. So each week they bring in something to share related to one of their themes for the week. There's a letter of the week, a number of the week, a shape, a bible verse, a good deed, etc., so you have a lot to choose from. This is "C" week and the number of the week is 3. So Rebecca took in a picture of me, her, and Ramy, because our last name is Cisneros and there are 3 of us. Last night when we practiced, she came up with different things to talk about each time. Heaven only knows what she could say off the cuff.

9. I don't like watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills knowing that one of their husbands committed suicide after it was filmed. It feels voyeuristic and I find myself trying to be the woman's psychologist. I don't like it. And it makes me sad, because it ruined the show for me this season. (Also sad, of course, because the man committed suicide. Just to be clear).

10. Please pray for the family of Baby Tristan. He was born at 24 weeks and did well for 8 days. However, his little body just wasn't ready to live in the great big world and he went to heaven last night. So sad for his family whose arms and hearts feel so empty.

Wrapping paper!!!!

2011-09-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

I'm a junkie when it comes to wrapping paper for Christmas! I love when Costco puts out their ribbon every August. AND I've always looked forward to being able to buy new wrapping paper. My favorite was the Innisbrook paper that I would buy from my niece Jessica for her school. Well, Jessica has moved on to high school and isn't doing that sale anymore. However, now Rebecca is going to Chino Hills Christian and they are still doing Innisbrook as their fundraiser, so I'm assured of having my fix. This year, I've got my eye on the pretty cream colored paper with the gold nativity figures.

They also have chocolates, magazines, and all kinds of other things you can buy, but I can't comment on the quality of those. However, I LOVE their wrapping paper! It's good quality, nice thick stuff with vibrant colors. Even their foil papers are nice and thick.

If you'd like to make a purchase to support Rebecca's school, we would be most appreciative! The deadline is next Monday, September 26.

Click the link below to visit Innisbrook.com and they will recognize her and her school automatically. (She gets points toward some kind of prize, and her class gets points toward a pizza or ice cream party).

http://www.innisbrook.com/credits/index/studentlink?id=R181998G

If the above link does not work:
1. Click below
2. Select Shop the Innisbrook Online Store
3. Enter School# 121926 and Select Go
4. Select Continue
5. Enter Seller ID# R181998G
www.innisbrook.com

Thank you for your support!

Politics

2011-09-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

It's not even 2012 yet, and the politics are already in full swing.

I make no secret of the fact that I am, politically, as liberal as they come. I live on the left coast and my favorite color is blue. I live my own life in an incredibly conservative fashion; I just don't think everyone should necessarily do the same. So I'm completely biased.

That said, this clip from the Colbert Report was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

I passed!

2011-09-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

I did indeed pass the EPPP! Thanks be to God!

It was a huge relief to get the news, and I was able to celebrate with lunch out with my favorite date. (Ramy and I actually work just about half a mile from each other - literally, right down the street. We have had the opportunity to have lunch together only about three or four times since I started working at Casa Colina. I usually eat lunch at my desk!).

I got the word from the California Board of Psychology that all of my hours have been accepted, so now I'm just waiting to get the code to take the CPSE. What's the holdup? Well, after they received my check to take said CPSE, apparently the check has to travel around the state by carrier pigeon and receive blessings from seventeen left-handed Trappist monks before it posts to my account. Not really, but it apparently takes a couple of weeks for the state of California to put the money in the right place and link it to my name. This also explains a lot about why California is in the shape that it is. I have learned from this lesson, however, that I will not make this mistake again. After I pass the CPSE, I then have to send them some more money to get my initial license. However, I am going to go ahead and send them my check now so that while I'm in the process of waiting for the CPSE and taking it, they can process my payment. So now I need to study a bit for the CPSE. It's not nearly as "big" a test as the EPPP, but it is a little less predictable because they change it every 6 months. The stakes are also higher, because if you fail it, you can't take it again for 6 months. With any luck, I'll be able to take the exam the first week of October.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

1. Apparently Tuesdays have been kind of rough for the last month or so. Sorry.

2. I took the EPPP last Sunday. I am cautiously optimistic, but it's a hard test and there are a lot of experimental questions on it, so I have been anxiously awaiting my results. They batch the results on the 15th and last days of the month and send to the states. California allows online retrieval of scores, so I had hoped to get my scores before the long weekend. Unfortunately, they haven't yet been posted. I thought it should surely be today but alas, no, so maybe tomorrow!

3. After I pass the EPPP, then the California Board of Psychology has to certify that I've had my requisite number of postodoctoral hours and that they were gained in a legitimate fashion. I've already sent in all that paperwork, so hopefully that part won't take too long. Then they qualify me to sit for the CPSE - California Psychology Supplemental Examination. It doesn't have much overlap with the EPPP, so it's back to studying. Luckily, it's only on the areas of California laws pertaining to psychological practice, HIPAA, ethical issues, treatment planning, and psychological interventions.

4. It sure was a nice long weekend. It sure was hard to go back to work this morning. But there were clients happy to see me, and Kelli and I had a lot to talk about so we were back in the groove within minutes. I really do love my work. I have a story to tell about a client who really affected me, but not in a ToT post.

5. We have gophers in the backyard, and they are making holes in our nice, freshly sodded yard. Any ways you know of to get rid of them that don't involve poisons which could also harm our dogs who like to make holes in our nice, freshly sodded yard?

6. Today, Rebecca came home with the Apple of the Dy award for her class, which she earned for "great behavior." She was so proud of herself! We were also very proud of her. She also came home with the class pet, which is a stuffed elephant. That's my kind of class pet!

7. Rebecca was overjoyed to announce that in school today, they learned about Johnny Appleseed. Rebecca LOVES the story of Johnny Appleseed. She sang the song for them on the playground, of course inserting her "fuji apples" phrase instead of the traditional "golden apples."

8. It was such a good long weekend. I enjoy being with my family so much! On Friday, Rebecca had an appointment and then she and I went out for breakfast and then did some crafting. When Ramy came home from work, we had a family water balloon fight. We spent Saturday doing some errands and hanging out at home after we checked out a local place for breakfast (which had amazing banana macadamia nut pancakes and apple streusel pancakes). On Saturday night, we hired Jessica to kid-sit for us while we went out to dinner in Claremont and then went to the movies to see Crazy, Stupid Love. Claremont has a great old town with all kinds of shops and restaurants. It also happens to be just down the street from Casa Colina (which is in Pomona). As it turns out, one of my clients who had been having a really rough week was there! We went to mass at 7:30 on Sunday morning and then headed into Hollywood to go to a cool new place for brunch. Then we went home with the intention of doing cleaning and organization projects for the rest of the day. As luck would have it, however, we got invited to dinner at Paul and Maddy's house so we couldn't pass that up! On Monday, we had someone come to give us an estimate for closet organization systems, and then we just did some other household projects.

9. I give Crazy, Stupid Love a thumbs up. Not a two thumbs up, run out and see this movie and it will change your life. But it was cute and there was some really good eye candy (Ryan Gosling).

10. In celebration of it being September, I made banana bread last night. So yummy! It makes me think that fall is just around the corner! However, in Southern California, we realistically have another month to two months of hot weather. I'm ready for cool weather! I can't wait to have a fire in the fireplace downstairs while we're watching tv or eating dinner!

A Message for Aunt Margaret

2011-09-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Aunt Margaret,
Thank you for the card you sent me. Someone else in the house got the mail and gave it to me to open, and my mommy didn't realize it had come. So I am very late in sending you a thank you message. I thought that you might like to see me instead of just hearing my voice, so I recorded you a video message.

I love you!
Rebecca

A new school year

2011-09-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Rebecca's transition from the 4-year old class to Pre-K seems to have gone smoothly. We went to the Transition Party at her old class and to meet her teachers on the Friday before she started in her new classroom. The kids enjoyed pizza and all kinds of other snacks.

Rebecca followed her friend Nicholas around, batted her eyes at him, and said in a sweet and coy voice, "Hiiiiiiiiii, Nicholas.....!" Lord, give us strength.

Rebecca was very sad to say goodbye to her teachers, Mrs. E and Mrs. Flores. Mrs. Flores said about Rebecca, "I'm so going to miss talking to her every morning! It's like having a conversation with an adult!"

The next week, Rebecca marched into Room 9 like she owned the place. We checked out her cubby and looked at the names of the other friends in her class (alas, there is a Nicholas in her class but not the one who lets her pretend he is her puppy). She had time for Mama to snap a couple of quick pictures, but that was it. She was ready to make friends!

So far, it looks like we are off to a good start. Occasionally, Rebecca seems to worry that she isn't smart enough. She does't like to try things that are hard unless she knows she can show that she can do them. For example, she refused to draw an "S" until she had mastered it. Now, this is hard to accomplish, since practice really does make perfect!

Recently, there has been a commercial on that she has seen about teaching kids math. Rebecca points out that those kids aren't yet in kindergarten and they know math. This prompted her to be concerned that she didn't know math. Since then, we have had to point out all the things that she does with numbers that are, indeed, math!

Rebecca has also become very aware of the fact that she is much smaller than most of the children in her class. She remarks about being "small" and tends to frown if people incorrectly assume that she is three. We have to talk a lot about how God makes people in different sizes and that it doesn't have anything to do with how good they are or how smart they are.

Then there are other days when we have to put her ego in check. For example, she announced the other evening, "Well, I'm the smartest one in my class!"

It's a fine line to walk!

Celebrating Daddy

2011-08-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ramy's birthday was a couple of weeks ago - the day after we got back from Vegas. He's not one for much hoopla (I guess opposites do attract, huh?), and he wanted to keep it on the down low, so we celebrated with dinner out and cake and ice cream at home. Rebecca was determined to bake a cake for him, so she and Grammy did one that Rebecca could do as much of herself as possible. She did, however, tell Grammy to "scramble" the eggs (scramble = beat) because she doesn't like to do that part. As you can tell, Rebecca's theory of cake decoration is that there is nothing that can't stand a few more sprinkles!

Back to School

2011-08-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Rebecca starts a new year in preschool. She is going into Pre-K this year, her last year of preschool. She is still going to be at Chino Hills Christian, just a few doors down from her old classroom.

She's been a bit nervous about this change. Bless her heart, she isn't one for change. (I don't know where she gets that from!). She loved, loved, loved her teachers Mrs. E. and Mrs. Flores in her former class, so she was sad to be leaving them. However, when she met one of her new teachers, Miss Navarro, on Friday, Miss Navarro already knew who Rebecca was. This made a very good impression on Rebecca, so now she is looking forward to being with Miss Navarro. Hopefully Mrs. Morales will make an equally good first impression tomorrow and vice versa!

On a quick side note, I was a bit shocked to find out that leveling starts in Pre-K! Rebecca was put in the classroom she is going into because it is for "the smartest kids." Aside from the fact that I'm (ashamed to be) quite pleased that she IS one of "the smartest kids," it seems awfully early to put this kind of label on them, doesn't it? I mean, IQ isn't even stable for a few years yet! The psychologist in me is a bit horrified and knows that this really isn't good for any of them probably, though the mommy in me is glad that she doesn't have to be in class with the one lone "bad kid" who was in her class this past year. Of course, the kids don't know that they're levelled this way, but what about that whole self-fulfilling prophecy? Anway, I digress.

It tugs at my heart though to see that Rebecca has fears about her new school year. How well I remember those kinds of worries that adults see as being trivial but that I know are major worries for a four year old who is the smallest in her class and has such a strong pull toward perfectionism (and how guilty I feel that I've probably passed my own perfectionistic freakishness on to my child). She's worried about if she would know anyone in her class. As it turns out, we already know that at least two girls she is friends with will be in her class, although we don't know if either of the little girls she plays with most are in her class.

One of her concerns is related to the fact that she is going to be in Room 9. This is a problem, only because her 4-year old class happened to be in Room 4. Now, not only is she still four years old, she is going to ROOM NINE. I am pretty sure that in her mind, this means that she is going to be with much older kids, though I have tried explaining to her that the room number has nothing to do with the age of the kids. It doesn't help that now she is in "Pre K," which isn't so face valid about how old the kids are! She's also worried that the work will be hard, and she won't be smart enough. (I wonder how many times I had those same seeds of doubt along my academic career. Oh Lord, please let her not be plagued with self-doubt!).

Quite possible the most salient for Rebecca is that there's a little boy who was in her class who Rebecca played with every day. At the transition party, I got to see this little boy about whom Rebecca talks frequently. Apparently, he's a "nice boy, not a mean boy." And by nice, I think Rebecca means that he is willing to do what anyone tells him to do, because Rebecca plays "puppy" with him every day. She explained that this means they pretend he is her puppy, and she walks him on a leash. I'm a little bit worried about the self-esteem of this kid who is quite willing to be a puppy on a leash every day. Rebecca is worried that he might not be in her class, and she thinks (quite astutely, I believe) that probably no other kids will want to play puppy.

I'm sure that it will go well. Rebecca has a positive attitude about school and enjoys learning. So I'm sure she'll do fine. But please say an extra prayer for her tomorrow. And my niece who next week starts a public, charter high school on a college campus after having been in a private, Christian school so far in her education. And for my friend Jackie, whose son just left for college. And for all the other kids embarking on a new school year. And thank God I'm no longer one of them!

Scenes from Vegas trip

2011-08-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

At the M&M Factory

Rebecca said, "I LOVE Vegas! It's so shiny!"

Walking on the strip:

Jelly Belly Statue of Liberty!

Out to dinner at Trevi at Caesar's Palace:

The girls out on the town

We stayed at the Mirage, because of the good dining options Rebecca would enjoy and the aquarium and other animals. She particularly enjoyed seeing the new baby dolphin there. Alas, she and Grammy didn't have the camera so they didn't get to capture that experience. Rebecca loved all the "sparkle-nee" lights and frequently requested walks or drives on the strip to see all the beautiful buildings.

Inside the lobby at the Mirage.

This was one worn-out girl after all the Vegas excitement!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

1. I'm still here and alive! Promise!

2. Last week, the girls' trip to Las Vegas commenced. Grammy, Rebecca, and I drove to Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon/evening. I had my EPPP workshop for the next four days from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. each day. This gave Grammy and Rebecca time to hang out in the hotel and have some fun, and then we had more fun when I got home in the evenings. I have to admit that I was mentally zonked each day, because it was nonstop cramming for the test. I think it was worthwhile...at least I hope so! We got back on Sunday evening.

3. The drive to Las Vegas took 3 hours, 45 minutes. The drive home from Las Vegas took 6 hours, 30 minutes. So. Not. Cool.

4. Going to work on Monday morning was cruel and unusual punishment.

5. I now have eleven days and eleven hours before I take the EPPP. Even though I feel better about it since the workshop, I am so not ready. I will be spending every spare moment stuffing my brain full of as many ethics rules, stages of acculturation, and theories of industrial-orgnizational consultation.

6. Right now, we are down-census at work. One would think that this would make for less work and stress, but it doesn't exactly work that way. I've been doing a lot of co-treatment with our occupational therapy, which has been pretty intense!

7. Last night, I caught the edge of my wedge sandal in the crack in our sidewalk, twisted my ankle, and fell on my knee. Today I have a really nasty bruise and a lot of swelling. It's not pretty.

8. I watched the series finale of Sex and the City. I think it was the best series finale ever. I didn't really watch the show devotedly, but I loved the way they ended the series. Lots of closure. Have I ever mentioned that I don't like movies or television shows that don't give you closure at the end of them?

9. Rebecca has no problem with self-image. She informed Grammy yesterday that she was "a master cooker" and that she knew how to bake a cake because Mommy had told her how to do so.

10. Sydney girl is doing much better! The doggie Celebrex really seems to have helped her. She is grinning and even ran out the front door the other day. It was good to see her acting like her old self!

2011-08-06T11:20:00.001-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

1. At the end of this month, Rebecca will start Pre-K. Gulp. It's like the warm-up to kindergarten. In truth, it's really just like moving to a different classroom in the same preschool she is already attending.

2. In honor of the new school year, Rebecca needs a new backpack. This has resulted in a significant amount of searching on the internet. Rebecca would really like a backpack that has dogs on it, BUT it cannot be a poodle and it must look girly. It must also be large enough to hold her pillow, blanket, and sheet for naptime. A backpack meeting all of these criteria does not actually exist. So I am trying to get her to branch out and consider a backpack with owls on it. Or a ballerina hippopotomus. Or butterflies or ladybugs.

3. Last night, I was faced with a very difficult decision. I had to choose between watching the second half of the Real Housewives of New York reunion or the finale of The Bachelorette. These are hard choices to make.

4. I ended up watching the first hour of the Bachelorette exclusively, because I knew I could see a thousand more episodes of the RHONY reunion in the next few days and I didn't want to see the spoilers of the Bachelorette finale. Then I flipped back and forth during the After the Rose show. Good decision-making thought process, no? I still wasn't all that into the Bachelorette this season, but I just can't resist the sappiness of the final rose.

5. For the record, I thought Ashley chose the better guy. Always go for the sweetheart! Speaking of which...Someone who reads my blog emailed me yesterday and asked why I didn't mention Ramy in the update I did on Saturday. I didn't meant to leave him out! He is doing just fine and enjoying his new supervisory position. He still goes to court everyday. Just what you'd expect from a trial attorney who comes home from being in court and watches Judge Judy.

6. Because of the fact that I will be taking the EPPP in 26 days, I should and am trying to be doing nothing except studying. My gem of a husband is totally supportive and went to the grocery store for me last night so that I could study. He also took Rebecca with him. How awesome is he? I'm so lucky he married me.
7. I got my hair cut yesterday. It's amazing how much better a girl can feel just by getting a haircut. Especially when my hairstylist laughed when I told her I was starting to go gray. She said she couldn't see a single gray hair. Of course, she is the same age as me so she may just be losing her eyesight.

8. Anyone have suggestions for preschooler-friendly activities in Las Vegas? I'll have evenings free while we're there, and Grammy and Rebecca can do some things during the day. I don't think the topless swimming pools or strip clubs are what we're looking for here.

9. Rebecca announced to me last night, "You know what's cool? When you use the bathroom before you take a bath, you don't have to wash your hands because you're going to wash them in the bathtub!" All about efficiency, our girl.

10. How amazing was it to see Gabrielle Giffords on the floor of the House to cast her ballot?!? She looked great, I thought, but very consistent with the movement and look of someone 6 months out from a left hemi gunshot wound. From a neuropsych perspective, I thought that the statement released by her office was unlikely something she crafted without help.

A lot going on

2011-07-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've totally been remiss in blogging lately, haven't I? Somehow the evenings and weekends are never long enough to get everything done.

Right now, work has settled down a tiny bit. We have another session with out consultant next Saturday to start putting into place some of the recommendations he has made and that we have tinkered with. This past week, I discharged 4 of my clients with whom I've been working very heavily (with them or with their families). All four of them had become very dear to me. One in particular - a sweet Mexican man who came in the same week that I started at TLC. Even having to do therapy with him and his wife through a translator, I had a really strong connection with him. He cried and hugged me before he left and told me he'd never had a doctor who worked so hard for him before. It's patients like these four who remind me exactly why I love my work so very much. Of course, now that these four are gone, I'll be getting a new crop next week.

We're settled into the house now. Finally, finally, finally, we have all the furniture that we have purchased so far. We just got our bed on Tuesday evening and Rebecca's bed on Friday. Her room is really shaping up; Ramy painted it last weekend, and I got her new bedding. It will probably be the first room to be completely decorated the way that I want. So far, there is still nothing on any of the walls. That will be changing over the next few weeks, I hope. I really love the house, especially my kitchen. I love having so much counter space and storage space! I'm looking for a set of antique-looking white canisters that are in the Provencal or French Country look. I haven't fully decided on bedding for our room yet. There is a Pottery Barn set that I like, but Ramy isn't as much of a fan. If it were up to him, we would have bare white walls, plain white sheets, plain white blanket, and a bed in a bag comforter that could grace any dorm room. Not exactly the look I'm going for!

I am scheduled to take the EPPP on August 28. I've been trying to study in the evenings and on weekends, but by the time I get home from work and have dinner and spend time with my family, there isn't a lot of mental energy left. So I'm glad that I registered for the intensive seminar. Cramming is a skill that has served me well throughout my academic career, so I figure there's no need to do anything at a logical, reasonable pace at this point. It's quite amazing to me how little the material on this exam has to do with the actual practice of psychology. What the hell is the Zeigarnik effect? (It's the concept that we remember unfinished tasks better than finished ones). So I'm heading to Las Vegas to take that seminar in a couple of weeks, and I'm bringing my mom and Rebecca along with me. They can have fun at the pool and seeing the sights while I'm frantically learning all the things that I never learned in graduate school.

Rebecca is her usual delightful self. She has been singing new songs a lot this week. When we ask her about them, she said, "Oh it's a God song I learned at school." So far, it has been pretty chilly on her splash days at school, and she does not like to get wet and cold. We're supposed to get a heat wave this next week though, so that could change. She loves her new Kanani doll! Every night though, she sleeps with her menagerie of stuffed dogs. One morning she told me that she woke up and couldn't breathe because all her puppies were in her face but she didn't want to move them.

Please pray for my good friend Lucy's sister Connie, who was in a terrible car accident on Monday evening. She suffered multiple traumas - brain injury, open fractures in her leg, several broken vertebrae, essentially a crushed ribcage, etc. etc. She is making a good initial recovery and has done well with all the surgeries she has already endured, which is certainly the best predictor of a good outcome from trauma, but it will definitely be a long recovery. Fortunately, it seems that her brain injury is relatively minor from what I have heard, so I don't think she'll be in the kind of shape most of my patients are in. But please pray that her recovery continues at this pace as well as for her whole family.

Girl Loves Dog (And Vice Versa)

2011-07-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Sydney girl has had a rough go of it lately. We've noticed for awhile that she wasn't moving as fast as she used to. Then we'd noticed periodic episodes where she would tremble all over with no explanation (e.g., not cold, clearly not scared of anything). Just after we moved into the new house, Sydney jumped up to go to Ramy one morning and her leg gave way with her as she ran. She just also seemed more lethargic and just not herself. So a few weeks ago, I took her to the vet and they did some tests on her and determined that she has arthritis, as well as hypothyroidism. (Sydney hasn't lost her personality though - even when the pet nurse brought her back to me after she drew her blood, the nurse exclaimed, "What a funny dog! She looked up and grinned at us!"). The thyroid issue isn't something they want to treat right now, but our Sydney girl is on doggie Celebrex now. Fortunately, it appears to be helping her, so we're glad about that. Now if we could just keep Paddington from climbing on her back...

No one has been more concerned about Sydney than Rebecca. In Rebecca's eyes, Sydney is blameless for anything. That dog can do no wrong. And our Sydney, the one who used to walk out the back door into the yard when I came back from being gone for a week or two? The one who would make her body go rigid when we first got her and would pick her up to love on her? That black dog adores Rebecca too.

Rebecca has taken it upon herself to be the administrator of Sydney's medication every evening. She also likes to cradle Sydney's head in her lap, sing her lullabies, and cover her with blankets. It's a beautiful thing.

Sweet girlfriends

2011-07-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we met up with the usual Chinese suspects in Pasadena for dinner at my favorite restaurant. What could be better? Maddy and Paul had an extra set of children with them - her nieces and nephew were visiting from New Jersey, so we had 5 adults and 6 kids.

Well, Rebecca couldn't have cared less about the fresh pasta. For her, it was all about getting to spend time with her beloved Ashley (it is "Ash-LEE" now and not "Ash-NEE" anymore). The girls sat together at the end of the table and created a crayon masterpiece on the tablecloth.

After dinner, we walked through Old Town Pasadena a bit and stopped for gelato at an Italian gelateria.

At the end of the night, Rebecca wanted me to take a pic of her with her buddy. By the way, Ashley is 6.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-07-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

1. On Tuesday, I finally got my approval from the California Board of Psychology to take the EPPP! I was able to get registered for the test, get my authorization to test letter, and registered to take the EPPP on August 28.

2. In the process of this whole ordeal, the website didn't take the authorization code I was given. So I called the Board of Psychology to see what the deal was. The lady I spoke to told me that I didn't actually have the email from which I was reading to her. She told me I couldn't have gotten the approval the day before, because they only sent them out on Wednesdays. I read it to her again and she agreed it was their letter, but reiterated that I didn't really have the approval despite the title of said email being "EPPP Approval Letter." I convinced her to look it up, which she did, and lo and behold, I had been approved! The authorization code just had a typo in it. After that exchange, I know why it took this many months for them to review my application for licensure.

3. I took a practice test for the EPPP this weekend. It was a wakeup call. Let's just say that my fantasy of rocking the practice test with about a 90% and not needing to actually study for the EPPP were pretty much shattered.

4. As a result, I registered for a crash course to get me prepared for it. So I'm heading to Las Vegas in the middle of August to take that, because it is the closest place that has one before I have to take the exam.

5. In the meantime, I am brushing up on the areas of psychology that I have either forgotten or never really knew in the first place. Apparently, I retained nothing from Developmental Psychology, Research Design, or Multicultural Psychology. I am also paying for the fact that I last took Social Psychology while I was at Vanderbilt and spending most of my time planning my wedding. And the closest I came to Industrial/Organizational Psychology was going to a friend's master's thesis defense when I was at UAH. Fortunately, my strong suits were in the topics of Ethics, Neuropsychology, and Psychopathology. I think my clients would be pleased with those things.

6. Our living room and master bedroom furniture came in last week! Unfortunately, they realized the rails on our bed were split and had to be re-ordered. So we are still sleeping on a mattress on our floor. But at least now it is a king sized mattress!

7. Tomorrow is Splash Day for Rebecca at school. She enjoyed it so much last week. She decided that this week, she is okay with wearing her pretty pink bathing suit, even though it makes her look small. It is okay because it is "very beautiful and I look like a fancy lady" in it.

8. Thursdays are Chapel Day for Rebecca at school. I always enjoy hearing her paraphrase of what she learned at chapel. Last week, when I asked her what they learned in chapel, she sighed loudly and said with disdain, "We watched a movie about some vegetables that were singing." Clearly, she felt that this was not an acceptable chapel.

9. Last night, I went to a presentation at our church about the new building project we are undertaking. Wow, it's going to be amazing! We're actually adding another campus. An opportunity to purchase this property just fell into the lap of the church at a third of the price that it was going to cost us to just add an educational building at our current location. This will allow us to have 40 additional educational spaces for religious education classes. It will also have retreat facilities for our many retreats that different ministries and groups have each year. Our priests will relocate to this property for the new rectory. There will also be a chapel, a big commercial kitchen with banquet facilities, and a lot of indoor and outdoor meeting space and socialization areas. It's really a blessing for our parish, as we are bursting at the seams. I was amazed in reflecting last night on the way God has worked in our parish. Twenty years ago, our parish served 200 children in religious education programs. Last year, we served 2,800.

10. My current favorite pen is this one from Bic. Love it! And good price.

4th of July

2011-07-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

We had Ramy's side of the family over for an Independence Day cookout. It was fun to entertain in our new house...even though we still didn't have most of our furniture in!

The kids all had such a good time playing together. They were all upstairs running around, shrieking, and playing dressup. Then they were running around in the back yard, blowing bubbles and shooting each other with water guns when the sprinklers came on. It turned into a big water adventure!

After the girls got dried off and changed into some other clothes, Hannah and Rebecca wanted to perform their hula dances for us. It was quite a little performance! Here they are taking their bows.

Then they all gathered around the iPad to play a Wow Wow Wubbzy game.

We had the cookout on Sunday evening, which gave us all day on Monday to lounge around. Rebecca enjoyed posing in her 4th of July fabulousness.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-07-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

1. We are still sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Our bedroom furniture will be delivered on Thursday evening. Rebecca has her toddler bed in her room, but she is sleeping on the floor because she wants to use that bed for her dolls and stuffed animals to sleep in. Her bedroom furniture should be here next week.

2. We are also now sitting on the floor or at the kitchen chairs. This is because we gave away our couch this weekend. Our living room furniture will be delivered on Thursday evening also. We had thought about moving our old couch up to the loft/bonus room/family room, but the idea of trying to get that couch and huge chair up the stairs was really not worth it. I envision that room someday filled with sleeping bags and giggling little girls watching movies and eating pizza and turning cartwheels.

3. Ramy and I did indeed celebrate our 7th anniversary a few weeks ago. However, it was also the weekend of the move, we had people in and out and doing projects for us for the two weeks surrounding it, plus there was Rebecca's recital, Jessica's graduation, Father's Day, and just general craziness doing on in the meantime. So we skipped a getaway or even a date night. We might have grabbed an In-and-Out burger alone together on the way to pick out floor rugs or something equally mundane. But hey, that's real life. We passed fancy a long while back! I think that, seven years in, we can probably take a raincheck and go on a nice date sometime in September when we have time. Maybe then we'll have a topic of conversation that won't focus on when Rebecca's bed is going to be delivered, how deep the cement should go in the backyard, and whether bright white or soft white is the better trim color.

4. This weekend, I finally got a pedicure for the first time since my birthday. People, this was a serious situation. I also got my eyebrows waxed. It's nice to feel like a girl again.

5. There is one serious problem with the new house. So far, it is the only thing I do not like. The lighting the master bathroom has a major issue. When looking in the mirror on my side of the vanity, the light reflects what looks like a few silver hairs. The mirror at the old house DID NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM!

6. We were joking around in the car and Rebecca scolded us, "Hey! Stop the monkey business!"

7. Our nightly routine is bath, prayers, stories, bed. Usually I read anywhere between three and six books to Rebecca before it is time for sleep. On Monday night, however, Rebecca said to me sternly, "ONE book. ONLY one book tonight, Mama." Apparently she knew she needed her sleep, because when I finished the one book and gave her a quick snuggle and kiss, she rolled over and was asleep by the time I was out the door.

8. Today, I finally got my approval to take the EPPP - Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology. It only took three months to get that approval! Woohoo!

9. So. Now that I have that approval, I have to wait to get the Authorization to Test letter from the test administrator program, register on their site for the test, schedule the test, take the test, and wait for the results. Assuming that I pass the exam (and please pray with me that I do pass it!), then I have to register for the CPSE - California Psychology Supplemental Exam, take it, and pass it. THEN I'll finally have my license.

10. Tomorrow, Rebecca has Splash Day at school. Tonight, we had a discussion about which of her bathing suits she wanted to wear. She loves her pink skirted bathing suit and said that it is very pretty but she wasn't sure she wanted to look cute at school and that it might make her look too small. So she settled on a black and white polka dot bathing suit instead, because it looks very grown up. I can't believe that I had this kind of discussion with my 4-year old today.

Rebecca earns Kanani

2011-07-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, Rebecca began to want the newest American Girl (the doll of the year), whose name is Kanani. Kanani is a Hawaiian girl and has very long hair and wears a hula dress. She will only be on sale for the year 2011. Rebecca decided that she wanted to earn money to buy her Kanani doll. Since we were in the process of getting ready to list the house, having the house on the market to be shown every day, and moving, Rebecca found plenty of ways she could earn some dough. She helped make beds. She had a dedicated job of putting all shoes in the hall closet or upstairs where they belong. Rebecca helped Grammy plant flowers. She helped pack boxes, put away dishes, fold towels, and on and on. There was even a trip to a Coinstar to cash out a jug of pennies. Rebecca was very proud of herself for the way her box of cash piled up, and she frequently took her money out of her "cash drawer" to count it. Finally, Rebecca had plenty of money, and last weekend was chosen as the day she could buy her doll. Rebecca transferred her stash of cash from her "cash drawer" into a purse (which Mama watched like a hawk the whole day!) and we were off in search of a doll!

The day was made even more special because we got to meet up with Addie and Miss Julie for lunch and fun, as well as a trip to the American Girl store.

For the past several weeks before the trip, Rebecca had decided she wanted to buy Josephina instead of Kanani. We told her it was her money and her choice, but I always knew that when she got to the store and saw Kanani again, she would want her. And mama was right. As soon as we saw Kanani in the store window, she changed her mind. Rebecca paid for her doll herself, and mommy and Grammy both treated Rebecca to another outfit for her dolls. It was a fun day, and Rebecca LOVES Kanani. The other dolls haven't been neglected, however. They were moved over in the bed to make room for their new sister.

Favorite pics of favorite girls

2011-07-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

In the midst of the moving craziness, we had the chance last Saturday to meet up with half of the Woltil family for a girls' day at the Grove at the Farmers Market. Rebecca and Adelaide were delighted to see each other again. I don't think one could ever tire of seeing these two little friends together. They are so precious! (Julie and I like each other alright too!).

I think these are some of my favorite pictures I've taken of Addie and Rebecca together.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

1. Love the house.

2. Many boxes yet to unpack and many things to put away.

3. Still not sure where I have put things that I have put away. I open four cabinet doors before I find the cereal bowls each morning. It's nice to have so many options though!

4. We decided not to have Rebecca in the dance competition team. It just didn't sit well with me to have her in competition at four years old. I think that at this age, the focus should be on teamwork and cooperation and being a good sport and trying new things, not in outdoing other people. There will be plenty of that in the years ahead, and if she wants to do it when she is old enough to understand the commitment, then we'll be happy to support her in that. For now, we're going to branch into some additional extracurriculars....swimming, Hawaiian/Polynesian dance, maybe gymnastics.

5. Since we moved, we have not had a digital cable box in our bedroom. Unlike in Chino Hills, where we still 99 channels which included the essentials (Bravo, HGTV, TLC, and the Food Network), here we only got 30. Those 30 included mostly home shopping networks. I have missed Real Housewives of New Jersey and New York for the last two weeks.

6. Ramy picked up the cable box for our bedroom today. I love him. Even if he did it so that I am not trying to make him talk to me when he is usually already asleep and I am watching Real Housewives.

7. Grammy made a chocolate chess pie yesterday. It had never worked before in California. I thought it was a difference in the butter/margarine (original recipe called for margarine, horror of horrors). Then I thought it might be that my oven in Chino Hills was gas. Apparently that is indeed what it was, because it turned out perfectly in new oven, which has the gas cooktop and the electric oven, which is the perfect combo in my book.

8. I finally found the sectional sofa I wanted in leather! I took a lot of searching, but I sleuthed it out. And we ended up getting it at a good price. Unfortunately, it will take a couple of weeks for it to come in.

9. Gymboree has increased their prices, which makes me unhappy. However, they seem to be having sales sooner with deeper discounts. So I will have to see if I might actually come out better in the end. This is why I took so many statistics classes.

10. Still no approval to take the EPPP. And now that we've moved and I am just a few weeks away from having all my postdoctoral hours required for licensure, I really have no more excuse to not study. Please remind me of this!

7.

We're in!

2011-06-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

The old house closed on Monday.

The new house closed on Wednesday afternoon. We slept at the new house Wednesday night, though we were sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

We were fully out of the old house and into the new house by Thursday at 11:00 a.m. Ramy's text message to me on Thursday morning was "How can a family of 3 have so much $%!#."

Since then, it's been a marathon of having people come in to put up ceiling fans, measuring for our shutters, deliver furniture, and for us to get drawers and cabinets lined and to begin unpacking. We still have boxes everywhere, and the organization will be an ongoing project for the next few weekends.

Real Estate Update

2011-06-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

On Thursday afternoon, the loan documents for our new house came in, and I took off work early to meet Ramy so that we could drive to Corona and sign everything. That was supposed to be the very last paperwork we needed to do before closing. Also on Thursday, when we were supposed to close escrow on our old/current house, I got a call from our realtor Shirley. Apparently the buyer's lender realized they needed two more pieces of paper, which were technically optional but they wanted anyway. These were things like a variation of the disclosure statement that had been signed in mid-May and a piece of paper agreeing that we didn't have termites, something that the inspector's report had said three weeks ago. As a result, they wouldn't fund his loan, which meant we couldn't finalize the purchase of the new home. It would have been nice to have a few more days, since we had the recital and all this past weekend. Of course, however, we'd already arranged for the delivery of the new refrigerator, for the people who are doing the shutters to come in, for the cable people to come set everything up, and we'd had our mail forwarded to the new address; plus, Ramy was already set to be off work Friday and this week. Oh well, it was a minor delay, but a pain nonetheless.

The walk-through on the new house was on Friday afternoon. It was so exciting to get to see the house with everything complete. The construction superintendent did the walk-through with us and noticed some imperceptibly miniscule things that needed to be perfected and marked those to be done before we closed. The wood floors look so beautiful! I love them so much! Rebecca gave Grammy a tour of the house while we were being oriented to how to run the house (ha!). Of course, Friday was also the day of Rebecca's dress rehearsal in Upland, so we had to take off a little before we were done to be sure we got there in time. This weekend, we did some furniture shopping. We bought Rebecca's new bedroom furniture, and we also bought a new formal dining table and chairs for the dining room and informal table and chairs for the great room. I also went on a wild goose chase for a leather sectional sofa that apparently has existed at one time but is discontinued.

Our buyer's loan was funded today and also recorded today, so we officially no longer own this house we're still living in for the next couple of days. We have three days in our contract to turn over possession, and I think the buyer would like to have moved in a second after we closed. In fact, he had a contractor over this afternoon to see about knocking down a wall that is actually structural. Whatever, it's his to do with now! Whew!

If everything goes according to plan, the transfer of title on the new house will be recorded on Wednesday. The moving-in will commence on Wednesday as well! Ramy will be off the rest of the week, with Grammy and Rebecca to help him, but I'll be at work! Hopefully I will leave for work at one house and come home to a new house. If only it would be fully moved and unpacked too! A girl can dream, can't I?

Dance Recital

2011-06-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

Rebecca and her fellow dancers had to be at the auditorium 2 hours before the recital began. They sat outside with their class until everyone had checked in. Then they went with their bags of snacks, makeup, and other necessities and their room mom to wait patiently for the show to begin.

Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, and Grandma were very excited to see the fifth performance, Little Stars!

If you'll notice, the children to the left of Rebecca watched Rebecca the entire time to see what they were supposed to be doing.

Such good balance!

Rebecca really belted out the song. You could clearly hear her!

Definitely not the best picture I've taken! However, notice that Rebecca is the 4th from the left and in midair! Great jump!

At the end of their song, they were supposed to hold their final "kiss" pose until the lights went out. There were only two kids who held their pose....Rebecca was one of them.

After their performance, the class sat together in the audience to watch the remaining two and a half hours of the show! Then they had their final bow.

After the recital, I was finally able to go check her out. I assumed she would be totally exhausted. Not our girl! She said, "I loved my recital!" She got a new stuffed dog and a ballerina puzzle as gifts, which she loved. We were so proud of our beautiful dancer at her second dance recital!

Dance Recital

2011-06-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today was Rebecca's dance recital. She was a champ! She had dress rehearsal yesterday, in which I had to drop her off and come back and pick her up two and a half hours later. This morning, we were up early to get her hair done, then she had to be there an hour and 45 minutes before the show. Then mommy stood in line in the broiling sun until they opened the house doors. The Little Stars were the 5th number. I was glad they were early in the program for several reasons - less time to mess up hair or costume, less time to get sleepy and not want to perform, and less time for mommy to be nervous. I have to say that Dellos definitely puts on a good production, but it is a bit of an ordeal!

Here she is! (Video by Ramiro P. Cisneros....I was snapping pics, which I'll get up tomorrow).

Incidentally, Rebecca was invited this week to audition for Dellos' competition group. I had no idea that they had competition groups for kids as young as 4, but they do indeed. I'm glad that they recommended her to audition, because of her skills, listening/attention ability, and how fast she catches onto steps. However, it just seems a bit young to me to be in that level of competitive activity. At this point, dancing is just fun, and she is into being part of the group. I'm thinking emphasizing teamwork instead of competition at this age is the right way to go, and having the opportunity to try several activities instead of honing in only on one is probably better. Not to mention that the time commitment and financial outlay are weighty! (A minimum of a ballet class plus another area class each week, plus special group rehearsals and specific technique instruction. From January to July, they perform in 6-8 competitions). I don't think we're going to do it at this point, but if she continues to love dance and wants to do it when she is old enough to get what it entails, then I'm sure we will.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday morning

2011-06-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

1. I'm waiting to go pick my mom up from the airport. She got delayed in Las Vegas. It could mean that they want her to keep spending money in the slots there in the airport.

2. We're set to close on the houses on Thursday and Friday! Moving will commence on Friday!

3. The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion shows were fabulous! Love all the nasty back-biting and catfighting. Million Dollar Decorators is a new show, and I love it. I love it when one of the gayest of the gay men on the show said they thought their job was more stressful than that of the President of the United States.

4. I'm taking a group of clients to a bar on an outing for Therapy in the Community on Thursday. We've got plans to take them to Therapy in the Community on an outing to a baseball game in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can find a way to work in some therapy at the beach! It's a tough job, huh?

5. Rebecca is excited that she has to wear makeup for her dance recital. She is not excited that she has to wear her hair up in "piggy buns." I am not excited about that either. In fact, I woke up at 3 in the morning on Friday thinking about how much spray gel and how many bobby pins were going to be required for this feat of hairdressing.

6. I'm a little nervous about the dance recital. They have to be there 2 hours early and parents can't stay with them. Instead, they have a "room mom" for each class, who is to get them fed, keep them calm, and make sure they don't get scared, keep them quiet in the dark for 3 numbers before they go onstage, and then keep them orderly while they sit in the audience for the rest of the show. Initially, they chose a woman to be the room mom who shows butt cleavage in her jeans and whose children are named Londyn and Rocket.

7. Casa Colina hosted a varicose vein screening, and I went to it today with three of my colleagues. It was kind of a team-building exercise. Three of us (me included!) indeed have varicose veins that should be treated. One of my colleagues is actually getting hers fixed tomorrow (sclerotherapy). If hers turn out well and her leg doesn't fall off, I might get mine done. Luckily, I don't have to work with radiology very often or that would be weird.

8. My niece graduates from middle school tomorrow night. Yay, Jessica! (Pics from her graduation dinner will be coming soon...as will pics from the graduation).

9. We have a crazy neighbor lady who staggers drunkenly down the street to go to the hot tub every night. Ramy informs me that this same lady (crazy! old! batty!) sometimes washes her car in a bikini. Yikes!

10. It is time to go to the airport!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

1. It's been a fast and busy week! Work is still ridiculously busy, but I have high hopes that the stress may have reached its peak and that we're on the way of getting things back under control. We have a consultant who we're working with, so I had to work on Saturday to meet with him. It was a LONG and intense day, but I think progress is being made. We love the patients SO much....if we can just fix some of the administrative stuff we're dealing with, work would be so perfectly golden.Knock on wood!

2. That said, every day has its own set of crazy. Yesterday, I was chasing a brain injured client with no memory as he ran out the front door and across the parking lot, as he was yelling and throwing various articles of clothing and personal belongings. Today, I had a client whip out his penis in the middle of a brain injury support group. I love it!

3. What do you say when a client whips out their penis in the middle of a support group, you might ask. Well, what I say is, "So-and-so, that's not appropriate for brain injury support group. Put it back in your pants until you have private time." It's hard to segue back to group conversation after you've discussed genitalia.

4. On Thursday night, Rebecca is going to start taking hula lessons! Actually, it's Hawaiian and Polynesian dance (they even throw in some Filipino dances!), and they get to wear little sarongs to class. She and her cousin Hannah are going to be taking the class together. How cute is that going to be??? I know there will be some fabulous pics to come from this adventure. How sad is it that I have been planning her wardrobe for class each week?

5. In reality tv news, Real Housewives of Orange County is finished except for the reunion show. It was a good season! We've still got New York and New Jersey. Plus now Million Dollar Decorators is on and Flipping Out is starting up. Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time fitting in the Bachelorette. It's good stuff, my friends. Don't knock it!

6. Rebecca is able to essentially give herself a complete shower, though we still watch over her and make sure her hair is really washed and that she doesn't drown and such. It's hilarious to see how much soap she uses to wash her tummy though. As if she ever actually gets dirty or sweaty. The best part is when she washes her underarms. She giggles so hard, because she tickles herself as she does it. Every time, it is a new set of giggles.

7. We should be closing on our houses sometime next week! Everything is in on the sale of our house, except for the last finalization of the loan stuff after they got in all the paperwork from the HOA, the appraisal, etc. Can't wait to get a firm date! We'll still have to do a walk-through a couple of days before closing, but other than that, it seems as though we are good to go!

8. All is going well with our new house as well. They put the tile in last week. The wood floors got started today and will continue to be installed tomorrow. The carpet should go in on Friday. After that, they still have to do some paint touchups in a couple of spots, install the facing on the fireplace, and the only other remaining thing should be to put in the sprinkler system and landscaping in the back yard. It looks like we'll still be able to close concurrently on both! Please pray for no last minute hiccups in this process!

9. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks. This weekend, we will be packing like crazy (Ramy, please note that this means no naps this weekend)! We also have a graduation party for our niece Jessica. Next week, Grammy arrives for her visit on Tuesday night. Our niece Jessica graduates from middle school on Wednesday night. We should be closing sometime around Thursday. Hula class is on Thursday night. On Friday, Rebecca has her regular dance class dress rehearsal. Saturday is her dance recital. Sunday is Father's Day. And sometime within three days after closing, we'll be moving.

10. Do you know about Sorelli jewelry? They make pieces that are inspired by antiques but made with semiprecious stones. Good stuff without the major expense of true antiques. If you love jewelry like I do (and, oh, I do!), then you just might need to check out their site. Even better, find a retailer so you can see it in person. They make gorgeous pieces! My mommy bought me a necklace and earrings for my birthday, and now I'm obsessed. Because it wasn't enough to love all kinds of beaded necklaces that I have spilling out of my jewelry drawer. I really needed to start a new jewelry love affair.

Birthday

2011-06-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

I am not one who is embarassed by being fussed over or being given attention on my birthday. Phone calls, text messages, email cards, and hugs? Love it! Birthday cake? Yes, please. Happy birthday song by the loud operatic singer at Macaroni Grill? Bring it.

I am also not one to lament turning another year older. I realize that I'm only entering the years where people really gripe about birthdays, but I really believe strongly that I never will. Whining about a birthday is a pessimist's way of complaining that they're not dead yet. Having stared death in the face in my early 20s, I'm game for all kinds of birthday celebration! Never mind that I have now found a few more glistening silver hairs in the mirror and that I'm regularly using anti-aging moisturizer. Just a good excuse for more beauty products and trips to Ulta and Sephora.

This year, my birthday fell in the midst of a lot of hectic goings-on. I was hearing news about appraisals and inspections and title reports and escrow documents and CC&Rs (still have no clue whether that is a rock band or a financial statement), work's so chaotic that I worked late to try to be able to go on vacation, and Rebecca got sick. I have to admit that I had given little thought to my birthday this year. No wish list, even!But it ended up being one of my most enjoyable.

I took a few days off to fly back to Tennessee. Being "home" is always a wonderful treat. My mom plied me with biscuits, country ham, and sweet tea. I got to hang out with (at least a few members of my) girl posse. Seeing Les Miserables again after 9 years and being with my pals on the third row to see the 25th anniversary tour was an amazing celebration. I got a lottery ticket at a sketchy convenience store we dashed in because we all needed a bathroom and won $20 on it. I had a girls night for Mexican food and at the movies, complete with raucous laughter. My little girl selected my gift with such care and excitement that nothing could compare, and her hugs and kisses and repeated wishes of "Happy birthday, Mama!" made the day so precious. I started my actual birthday in Tennessee and then flew across the country (and Southwest gave me the gift of there being relatively no major delays) to end the birthday with my darling hubby. He picked us up at the airport and took me out for Italian for dinner and wrote sweet, thoughtful words in my birthday card. When I returned to work the next day, my co-neuropsychology partner-in-crime brought me my favorite Panera cinnamon crunch bagel with honey walnut cream cheese and iced tea and a funny card. On Friday night, my bestie Julie took me out for more pasta and the delight of a girls night of chatter. The weekend after, Rebecca and I made my aunt's famous strawberry cake as my birthday cake, and I'm not sure which of us enjoyed the fact that we were baking together more.

It was a wonderful birthday, because I'm blessed to be surrounded by so much love. My mom and Rebecca ooze love with their words and hugs and kisses and adoration. Ramy shows me love in the thousand things he does so carefully and with such devotion for me and the way he painstakingly writes sweet things in my cards and then tells me twisted jokes that only he and I would find funny. My girl posse can simultaneously give me the town gossip, important news, withering assessments of people we know, and make me laugh until I get a cramp in my side. I get to work with people who have my back and with whom I get to share hard work that is amazingly fulfilling. Julie shares with me this season of life in which we're balancing motherhood and career and has an uncanny ability to disarm my insecurities and recognize that my own quirks and obsessions maybe aren't so freakishly unique.

That kind of love is the best celebration!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

1. We arrived safely back in L.A. on Wednesday afternoon. Ramy picked us up at LAX and took us out for Italian for my birthday dinner. (I'll do a separate post on my b'day sometime this week).

2. Rebecca got much sicker on Wednesday night. I had given her the Dimetapp PM, which was practically like water. Between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., she coughed every single breath and she was burning up with fever. I spent a long time on the internet figuring out the half-life of Dimetapp PM's ingredients and when I could give her the regular Dimetapp. She stopped coughing her head off sometime around 2:20 a.m. Ramy took her to the pediatrician on Thursday, and she had a secondary bacterial infection on top of the virus she'd had. They dosed her up with an antibiotic, Zyrtec, and Codeine.

3. A 4-year old is pretty funny when she is stoned on Codeine. She slept most all day on Friday. By Saturday, she was good as new. She's still on the antibiotic, but she hasn't had the cough medicine in a couple of days now. She coughs just a bit and starts a coughing spell only when she starts running around or singing like crazy.

4. Rebecca is saving up lots of money for her new American Girl doll! In the last couple of weeks, she has earned $10 for helping us make our bed. She earned $12 from Grammy for helping her plant flowers. She earned $4 from me for helping me pack for our trip. Rebecca keeps her earnings in a little drawer and takes them out and counts her dollars.

5. My new phone gives me a list of people I talk to the most. #1 on my "favorites" list - our realtor. In the last month, apparently she is the person I've gotten the most phone calls from. How is this possible?

6. Today at work, I had the awesome experience of seeing a client come back a year after discharging from TLC. He wasn't ever my patient (I wasn't working for Casa Colina while he was here), but it was nonetheless exhilarating to see him and hear his story. He drove up with his wife, jumped out of his car, and ran across the front lawn to greet his physical therapist who happened to be walking outside. She had helped him take his first steps after his brain injury on that same front lawn, in front of the very same classroom where my neuropsychologist colleague had worked with him and his wife on ways to manage his impulsivity so he could successfully manage family life. There were nurse techs running out to give hugs and speech therapists conversing with him and praising his excellent articulation. He came to speak at our support group, and it was so powerful for several of our clients that big construction worker guys had tears.

7. A client spit on me today. I then had a long talk with his mother about how long he needed for bowel care to be scheduled in their daily post-discharge routine. Yep, definitely not all glamorous in my world.

8. Fortunately, there are enough of the #6s to make up for the #7s.

9. I'm having a hard time getting into The Bachelorette this season. I missed the first episode, but thankfully Julie brought me up to speed. I saw last night's episode, and I'm just not feeling the love. Luckily, the Real Housewives of New Jersey has plenty of ridiculous drama to keep me hooked.

10. I spent a little too much time on Pottery Barn's website this weekend, to the extent that I ended up looking up discontinued quilt patterns on Ebay, and then looking at a message board devoted to the store to try to figure out what a particular pattern is. YIKES!

Les Miserables

2011-05-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

While we were in Tennessee, I had the opportunity for a night out in Nashville with my buddies. We had tickets to see Les Miserables, third row! It was their 25th anniversary tour, and they had re-done the set. It was amazing! It had been nine long years since I saw it, and it was even better than I remembered! I missed the rotating stage, but I liked a lot of the new elements of the staging. It was a marvelous night with marvelous friends!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

1. We're in Tennessee. We arrived last Friday and will be going home to Daddy tomorrow. We've been having a lovely time.

2. Unfortunately, Rebecca got sick on Saturday night. She started running a high fever and coughing (so much that it would make her throw up). She was so feverish, I thought it would be with her awhile. True to form, she ran a fever for exactly 24 hours. I think she's on the mend now, although her cough creeps up and now her nose is also congested and has lots of snot. Poor sweet girl. She never admits to feeling bad or being sick, though she just looks so pitiful when she is sick.

3. I've missed my husband! It's nice being "home" but I'll be glad to see his sweet face again. We of course talk every day, but lately our phone calls have been primarily related to when we can meet at the design center to pick out the flooring for the new house, whether I've sent the last batch of required documents to our lender, and which pieces of paper need whose signatures. I'm looking forward to being able to relax in our new house!

4. The next couple of weeks will be devoted to packing and preparing to move. And eating up everything in our freezer and pantry. It could be a couple of weeks of interesting food combinations. Fortunately, we have a lot of frozen hamburger and chicken. I think we have a lot of pasta in the pantry. Maybe no pasta sauce though. We'll see how it goes!

5. Ramy and I both got new cell phones a week or so ago. I got a Droid Incredible 2, and I love it. The only thing I don't love is how quickly the battery runs down. I keep a charger at work so that it will be ready to go so I can text and email through our long meetings. I'm a heavy user of my phone.

6. I accidentally accepted a request to teach a course for the University of Phoenix, when I meant to decline the invitation. I can't change it now! Yikes! I emailed the scheduling people, so hopefully they'll fix it for me.

7. I went to see Bridesmaids with Brenda and Lisa on Monday night. It was hilarious! Completely inappropriate, vulgar, and side-splittingly funny. I actually laughed so hard I snorted in the movie theater. Klassy, huh? We gave it three thumbs-up.

8. The Real Housewives of Orange County has its season finale this coming Sunday. I can't wait. There's going to be a great catfight. I live for that stuff. I'm sad that Oprah is ending. I only watch Oprah about two times a year, but I always felt better knowing she was on the air.

9. My daughter's favorite song is Miley Cyrus' Party in the U.S.A. A little part of me feels panicked that she likes a Miley Cyrus song, but I also know that she doesn't really know who Miley Cyrus is, and she's just so darn cute when she dances to the "nodding my head like 'yeah,' movin' my hips like 'yeah...'" lines. I enable it by playing it for her on repeat.

10. My birthday is tomorrow! Woo hoo!

Real Estate Update

2011-05-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

We are now 8 days into escrow on the sale of our house! We got past the price negotiations, signing the contract, the disclosures, the physical inspection, and got the report for the physical inspection which had no negative findings. It seems like it really is going to go! I've been scared of something happening and didn't want to report the news until we got past those issues. We're scheduled to close by June 16, though the exact date hasn't been determined.

The house with which I had fallen in love when we were in escrow before with the crazy lady got snapped up just after we knew things weren't going through with the sale the first time. As it turns out, it fell out of escrow the same weekend as we got the offer for our house. It's like it was just waiting on us! Since the house was already done and they don't want any houses sitting around when they are trying to go into their next building phase, they were willing to negotiate on both price and options, and they took our offer! It's already finished, with the exception of the flooring, which we'll be picking out, and the landscaping of the backyard, which was an option we asked for. This is it! We're scheduled to close on this house concurrently with the sale of our house. We're just praying it all goes through as scheduled.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

1. Rebecca is apparently past her benevolence to the insect world. She has told me about stepping on a "pincher bug" that was coming at her. I said, "Rebecca, I thought you all decided not to step on them because they were God's creatures." She said, "Mama! They're BUGS! They're ugly and pinchy!"

2. Still not studying for the EPPP. But I did mail in my application for licensure as a psychologist. One step in the right direction, I suppose. Of course, when they send me my approval to take the test, then I'll have to freak out and finally study for the darn thing.

3. It's a good time for reality television. We're in the midst of Real Housewives of Orange County and Real Housewives of New York City. Real Housewives of New Jersey just started back up. Whew! That's a lot of spoiled rich women having catfights! I love it.

4. I think that the reason I like this kind of television so much is that it's a nice departure from what I do every day. Lately, when I leave work, I feel like I am saturated with heavy emotion that I've absorbed from patients and their families and am mentally exhausted from putting out fires. I just want an hour where I decompress and don't have to be trying to fix something for someone. The Real Housewives are good for that. So is the Bachelor, but it's not on yet.

5. I really do love my job, despite #4. There's a lot of turmoil with administration and staffing right now, which makes for some chaos. And the nature of my work is that I can't ever count on there being an "easy" day. But I also know that no day will ever be boring! I love my patients, and I love (most of) their families. I love the opportunity to work with these people at such a crucial point in their lives. I see some of the most interesting cases imaginable. This week, I have a sports superstar, a crazy scientist, a guy who won't be convinced we aren't in the Middle East, and a stroke patient who is being fitted for a device that will allow him to speak again after his stroke. How cool is that?

6. It is very un-cool that we haven't been able to have a playdate with the Woltils in 2 weeks, because of scheduling issues. It is even more un-cool that we won't be able to see them for the next 2 weeks either.

7. It is super cool that Rebecca and I are headed to Tennessee for the next few days! I get to see my mommy, aunt, and Girl Posse, and I'm celebrating my birthday with some pals by going to see Les Miserables in Nashville.

8. It has been nine years since I have seen Les Miserables. The last time I saw it was on the front row on Broadway, just before it closed. This will be the 14th time I've seen Les Mis. This is a revamp of scenery and costumes (but not of music!) in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the show. In case you don't know, Les Mis is a serious love affair for me and this group of pals. We have notes about different actors playing different parts and create our own little fantasy cast (e.g., if we could put the Broadway Marius with the Atlanta Cosette and the Nashville Eponine and the Birmingham Javert..."). See, it's not all about reality shows!

9. Rebecca has decided that she wants a new American Girl doll. I told her that those dolls are expensive and that if she wants one, maybe she can ask for one from Santa. She told us that she was going to earn some money so she can buy her new doll. So we decided we can make this a teaching tool. She is going to be doing some jobs, such as making the bed, etc. and earn money for it that she can save to buy this doll. I have a feeling we will be buying a Kanani doll with a stack of $1 bills, because Rebecca thinks that a $20 is the same as a $1 bill.

10. I hope to have a real estate update for you in the next couple of days!

Mother's Day

2011-05-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, although we got to have Grammy with us for Easter, she was back in Tennessee for Mother's Day. Incidentally, the fact that there was a mere 2 weeks between Easter and Mother's Day meant that Mother's Day completely snuck up on me. I did not get to do Mother's Day cards the way I usually try to do them. It also meant that I did not get the photo gift for my mother made. Ooops. Oh well, she'll like it as a mid-summer gift probably.

We celebrated Mother's Day with Ramy's mother, sisters Theresa and Myrna, and Ed and Jessica. We all took Grandma out to CPK to celebrate.

Our beautiful niece Jessica was newly home from her trip to Washington, DC, Amish country, and NYC, so we got to hear her stories about her trip. She loved seeing The Lion King on Broadway. That's my girl!

Sunday was a perfect Mother's Day for me! We woke up, I was treated to my gifts, and then we went to early mass. Rebecca was ecstatic to give me the gifts she had for me for Mother's Day. On Friday and Saturday, she'd kept asking how long until Mother's Day and exclaiming about how she couldn't wait to give me my gifts. I got these beautiful flowers (sunflowers - my favorite!), which Rebecca has taken as her responsibility to ensure that they stay alive (tragically, they won't last forever), and she was practically dancing as I opened my presents and artwork she did for me.

Afterwards, we grabbed some Panera bagels for breakfast. Then we headed out to our friends Madeline and Paul's house. Initially, Ramy and Rebecca were going to take me to brunch at Il Fornaio, but Maddy invited us to brunch at their house instead, so I chose her yummy brunch and good times with friends over the restaurant (easy choice!). Rebecca LOVES going to their house, because she gets to hang out with Rachel and Ashley and usually with Maddy's niece Lauren. Rebecca does not realize that she is the youngest of this group. They always play dress-up and this time, they spent a lot of time doing a singing/dancing game on the Wii as well. We don't see the girls from the time we go in until we leave. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time catching up with our pals.

On the way home that afternoon, Rebecca fell asleep and slept the rest of the night!

Mothers

2011-05-08T18:43:00.001-07:00

It's been a happy Mother's Day weekend in our house. Rebecca has asked multiple times daily when it would be Mother's Day, and this morning, she was so excited to finally give me my gifts. Yesterday, she was equally excited to give me and Grandma some flowers. She's so very sweet. We took Ramy's mother out last night, and today they were going to take me out to one of my favorite restaurants in Pasadena. However, our friend Maddie was hosting a Mother's Day brunch and wanted us to come there, which was much more fun than a restaurant. Unfortunately, Grammy wasn't with us - she's in Tennessee and spent Mother's Day with Aunt Margaret, Lynn, and Carol and families. But it's been a good day celebrating motherhood, and what an amazing thing to celebrate. My own mother has been such a force in my life, and I probably strove to emulate her in a thousand ways of which I'm not even fully aware. I see that Rebecca does the same with me, from wanting to put on makeup alongside me at the bathroom mirror to wanting to cook or bake. It reminds me what a sacred role it is to be a mother and that God entrusts me with the care and shaping of his little one.

Ten on....yeah, it didn't happen on Tuesday

2011-05-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm behind. That's the story of my life these days!

1. I woke up to watch the Royal Wedding last Friday morning. I had originally thought I'd stay up all night, but I was tired and couldn't even finish Real Housewives of New York. So I went to sleep around 10:30 and kept the tv on. I woke up around 1:00-1:30 and watched some people arriving. Then I went back to sleep for a bit. I woke up whenever Princes William and Harry came in and went back to sleep. Then I woke up when the cheer went up when Catherine was getting into the car at her hotel. So I stayed asleep from then through the whole wedding and to see them all drive to the palace. I went back to sleep then and knew I'd be able to see the kiss(es) countless times later.

2. I was initially slightly disappointed in the dress. I expected some kind of magnanimous skirt. However, I came to really like it, because she wore the dress. The dress didn't wear her. It showed her personality and her style, with the deep v-neck and the nipped in waist. Very modern Grace Kelly.

3. I actually kind of liked the hats that Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice wore. I especially liked Eugenie's. Would I wear the sculpted knot hat that Princess Beatrice had on? No, because I would look ridiculous. But I say kudos to her for wearing a fascinator that was so fascinating! It got more attention than the crown the future queen of England was wearing, so maybe #5 in line for the crown got the last laugh.

4. I talked with Rebecca last week about the tornadoes in Tennessee, Alabama and the surrounding states. We prayed for the people affected. Her response was sad, but she was also quite matter-of-fact that she had told Grammy to stay here in her big pink bed (the bed in the guest room, which has a pink quilt on it, where Grammy usually sleeps) and she didn't - she just went on back to Tennessee. It had a bit of the attitude of, well, this is what she gets for going back instead of staying put! We'll have to work on that.

5. I'm rather miffed about Rebecca's dance class right now. In addition to the monthly fee we pay, I paid a $50 recital fee and $50 deposit (read: more to come!) for costumes. They brought in the skirts on Wednesday. They are cheap looking navy tutus that are of the $5 quality. I am waiting for them to tell us that we have to buy something else to go with it, like the leotard. Then I found out that the tickets for the recital are $20 each. What the @%$#^? If it weren't for the fact that I have to sit on the floor outside her dance class each week, I might be able to handle it, but as it is, we're going to be finding a new dance studio for next year!

6. Our house is still on the market. We currently have two counter-offers out there, but I do not feel optimistic that it will go anywhere. This week, we had our first day since we listed where we did not have a single showing. Wahhhhhhh! Luckily, the next day, we had three showings. Someone please buy our house! I realize it has only been on the market for three weeks now, and in many places, that's absolutely nothing. But as I might have mentioned, I am not a patient person.

7. Thursday is the day that Rebecca's class goes to chapel. I always enjoy hearing Rebecca's recount of chapel and then trying to piece together what they talked about. In the couple of weeks leading up to Easter, they had stories about the Last Supper, crucifixion, and ressurection of course. She particularly enjoyed watching a video about the Last Supper. She really is Filipino. (For those who don't know, every Filipino family has a version of the Last Supper painting on their wall somewhere. If you don't, your karaoke card gets pulled). Yesterday, she told us that they heard about the "parting of the Red Sea." I asked her to explain what happened. She said, "God told this guy to go to the Red Sea and to raise up his stuff...."
Me: "His stuff?"
Rebecca: "Yeah, it's like a big stick."
Me: "His STAFF?"
Rebecca: "No, it's a STUFF! Anyway, he raised up his STUFF and prayed to God and the water split in two sides! And they goed right through the middle of the sea but they weren't swimming!"
Me: "How come they had to do that?"
Rebecca: "I don't know. I think the bad guys were chasing them."

8. Rebecca only wears dresses. I thought we might have moved past that, because she'd worn pants and shorts several times here. But no. Only dresses to school for the summer. Maxi dresses are good because I don't worry as much that she is showing her underwear to various little kids. Yes, I know I could buy bike shorts to put under her dresses for modesty's sake, but that's not going to fly. She knows you don't wear shorts underneath dresses, not to mention that I think that would be really hot.

9. Rebecca also told us that yesterday on the playground, she and her friends were walking around following "a pincher bug." They were following it to see where it goes. They didn't want to step on it, they just wanted to follow it and watch it, because it was one of God's animals (awwwww!). Then this bad boy stepped on it and killed it. This is the same boy who gets in trouble for pooping in his pants in their classroom and who Rebecca said she had to be a good friend to but didn't have to like.

10. Rebecca has told me no less than 27 times that she has a Mother's Day present for me hidden in the garage. She doesn't tell me what it is, but she has told me many times that I shouldn't look at it but then she tells me exactly where it is. I love it.

Wordy Wednesday update

2011-04-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

As you all know, our house is on the market. We listed it on Monday, April 11 and had at least one showing every day the week after. Our open house was on Sunday, April 17. At the end of the open house, a woman came in after having seen it on the internet, and made a respectable cash offer, verbally, as well as another lowball offer. At first we were cautious, because it seemed all too simple! The next week, the house was still officially on the market, but we were negotiating with this woman and doing the requisite disclosures and she looked at it again and drove around in the neighborhood interviewing people who live here. This process went on all week, and we weren't sure if she was going to officially commit or not and got another lowball offer which wasn't going to come up. Friday night, she called our realtor and said she was ready to sign the contract. On Saturday, they signed the contract and we came over and signed it and, voila, we were in escrow with less than thirty days to move! On Sunday, we prepared to make an offer on a house that I really loved, planning to submit it Monday morning. Around lunch on Monday, our realtor gave me the bad news that our buyer had gotten cold feet and was backing out. As luck would have it, we got another offer, which was low but at least within negotiating distance. We countered, and now we're waiting to see what they want to do. Arghhhhh! This process is so frustrating. We're still keeping the house ready to show at a moment's notice, and yesterday we had two showings.

Ramy is in trial this week and next. He's actually officially the new supervisor for the Pomona misdemeanor division and started on Monday, but because his trial was going on, that's kind of postponed for a week or so. So he's doing his last murder trial for awhile. Ordinarily, Ramy is very focused on his trials and thinks of almost nothing else while he has a trial going on, but all the house chaos has been a bit distracting.

Work has been incredibly stressful and frustrating these last two weeks. After a couple of crises, the fact that we need more help in neuropsychology has finally been noted. Unfortunately, instead of giving us the help that we asked for, we're getting help in a way that isn't helpful but actually makes things harder. And we now have more meetings and paperwork to do. We counted up and realized that we spend 12 hours a week in meetings. Of course those do not count toward productivity. The good thing is that we have a really good team, and I'm confident that things will get better soon.

We've been so very blessed to have Grammy with us for much of the last two weeks! She and Rebecca had a delightful time doing craft projects and cooking projects and all kinds of fun things. Grammy was an enormous help in all the craziness that has ensued around here. She went back to Tennessee yesterday, and we sure miss her! Rebecca was very sad at Grammy's leaving, telling Grammy, "It just bwakes my heart!". She knew it was coming but didn't want to talk about it. On Monday night, every time we'd try to tell her something, she'd say, "Just don't tell me that Grammy's leaving. I don't want to talk about it." After I'd come back from taking Grammy to the airport at dawn yesterday, Rebecca was sad when she woke up (she knew Grammy would be leaving while she was asleep) and we had a few tears. Rebecca said, "I wish it wasn't a school day. I wish it was a Grammy day, for days and days!" However, she adjusts to these comings and goings quite well and was a happy camper going to school and then was sad that she wasn't going to school today (it is dance class day).

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday morning, we went to the 7:30 a.m. mass. When we got there at 7:05, it was already pretty full and soon the church was overflowing (they had a concurrent service is the multipurpose hall for those who didn't have room in the main church). The Easter Bunny sent scouts to see when we went to Church so that the Easter Bunny knew that it was all-clear to visit our house. We even saw several of the bunny scouts at church, clearly radioing back to the E.B. about who they saw at mass.

When we got home from mass, sure enough, the Easter Bunny had been there! Rebecca ran to see what he had brought her.

The Easter Bunny brought her all kinds of fun things - a jump rope, monster bubble wand, a water gun, another Zhu Zhu pet and outfit, a stuffed bunny, and of course...chocolate! Somehow Paddington gobbled up one of the chocolate carrots, foil and all.

Rebecca's Easter dress was as special as the girl who wore it. Well, almost! Of course, made with love by Wanda Preston. Rebecca enjoyed modeling it.

Instead of cooking, we had a nice Easter brunch at Tam O'Shanter in Los Feliz. It was lovely! I had the traditional ham, but the others had prime rib. We also had an amazing chocolate caramel souffle. Divine! It was a wonderful day with the people I love most, celebrating Christ's resurrection.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

1. Last week got even crazier! We had not only the suicide but a couple of other very serious issues to deal with at work. As fate would have it, I was the only neuropsych person at TLC to deal with everything. It was unbelievable. I even worked on Friday, which is usually my day off, as well as on Saturday. Saturday was actually a planned training with a neuropsychologist consultant we brought in from Phoenix. It was an exceptionally hard week, and I really needed more than a one-day weekend to recoup.

2. Fortunately, my neuropsych colleague is back this week, and we are picking up the pieces from last week and I'm trying to play catch-up on all the reports that I didn't write last week because I was busy ensuring people weren't going to kill themselves.

3. It was also a crazy week at home! We had at least one showing every single day last week, more on several days. Then the open house was on Sunday. I was fielding calls from realtors to give permission to show the house in the midst of #1.

4. We have very promising news on the house sale! I'm not going to give more specifics because I don't want to jinx anything!

5. Rebecca has some new knock-knock joke material. She delivers the punch line so perfectly with one of them. As funny as it is, however, she thinks it is even funnier if she tells the same joke repeatedly to the same person.

6. Rebecca watched about an hour's worth of a History Channel special on Judas. She is still asking us questions about why Judas betrayed Jesus for some money. On Palm Sunday, she explained to us that it was Palm Sunday, because that was the day that Jesus rode a donkey into Jee-loo-sa-lem and people waved palm trees at him.

7. Right now, gift-giving is so important to Rebecca. In the last few days, she has made me several necklaces that are strung with large multi-colored beads and letter blocks which spell non-English words. She presented two of them to me as we went out to dinner on Saturday night. What's a mom to do? Of course, I wore them proudly. As we checked in, I noticed the hostess staring at my necklace. Then the person who sat us was trying to surruptitiously see if the letters spelled something. There were furtive glances from the waiter also. I'm sure they were just jealous.

8. Our sweet niece Jessica heads off to Washington, D.C. and New York City on Sunday for her 8th grade class trip. Please pray that she has a safe trip and a fun time away from home.

9. Also please pray for a little boy from my hometown named Curt. He was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle and is critically injured with a traumatic brain injury.

10. I had good intentions of doing an Easter card and mailing it out. Yeah, didn't happen. Maybe I will be able to get an Easter e-card. Maybe. We'll see how the rest of this week goes!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

1. This is a crazy week in my life. I may or may not escape it with my sanity intact.

2. We listed our house for sale on Sunday. It was on the MLS Sunday night. The lockbox was to be installed yesterday afternoon, which meant people could start showing it after that. I thought, realistically, that meant it might start being shown today. At 9:00 yesterday morning, an agent called wanting to show our house and couldn't wait until the lockbox went up! I actually had a few things on the top of the counter on our linen cabinets that I still wanted to clean off completely, but otherwise we were ready. The for sale sign went up today, and the house was shown again today. Tomorrow is the agent caravan (where our agent's firm does a tour of all the new properties they have for sale), and then we have two showings tomorrow night. Sunday afternoon is our open house.

3. At work, the other neuropsychologist is out all week. I knew this would make for a lot of extra work. I had no idea that I would come in on Monday and find out about a tragic suicide of a former patient that has impacted our staff greatly. For any psychologist, a patient committing suicide is a huge blow. For our non-mental health staff, it's something that they haven't ever had to deal with and has just devastated them. We've also admitted some very ill, distressed, and impaired patients who take a lot of time, care, and energy, either emotional or mental or in terms of marshalling patience.

4. Last night when I left work at 7:00, I was just glad the day was over and we could start fresh today. It was such a relief to come in this morning and find that all was well. Tonight, I left work at 7:00 and felt good that my peeps were all safe and taken care of. I realized that this is in stark contrast to how I felt after the crises at CONREP last year, which is what has made this such a different situation.

5. Thank you Lord that this is also the week that our cleaning ladies come. They are coming Friday afternoon. I have to have my house in the kind of condition that people who might want to buy it could come in and look at it at any moment while we're at work, since we only get 30 minutes notice that they are coming to show it! Yikes! I wonder if our cleaning ladies might want to move in....

6. Do you know about Bakerella? If you don't and you like to bake or you like to eat sweet things that have been baked (and if you don't fall into that latter category, who are you and what is wrong with you?), then you must get to know her. She has a wonderful food blog with drool-worthy pictures of the magnificent things she concocts. She also happens to be a kidney transplant recipient who is back on dialysis and praying for another transplant. This week, she posted about a site that sells the most gorgeous cake stands...among other things. I spent quite awhile on that site perusing the other night, while also considering that if I buy a single other platter, serving dish, or similar, my husband might divorce me.

7. Have I ever mentioned that I have a bit of an obsession with cake plates, serving platters, and mixing bowl sets? Seriously, it's a problem. I have five sets of mixing bowls, gorgeous things, beautiful bowls. When I'm actually mixing something, however, I tend to use my glass Pyrex that cost $4.97 at the Walmarts.

8. Last week, I calculated my hours and realized that I will hit the number of hours I need for licensure sometime this summer. This means that I really do have to study for the EPPP. In fact, I need to go ahead and submit my licensure application like now, because it takes the California Board of Psychology months to process these things. I guess that means the stack of practice tests and volumes of review materials deserve to stay in the house instead of going to storage.

9. Did you know that I'm a control freak? I took the pictures of our house to go on the MLS, even though the realtor was planning on doing it at the listing appointment. I wanted the opportunity to take 45 pictures of the same room from multiple angles and then photoshop them to be sure that the lighting was perfect. It also bugs me that we don't get feedback about what potential buyers think (unless of course they want to make an offer or have questions). I really want there to be some kind of debriefing after each showing in which I get to know what they liked, didn't like, whether they thought the reed diffuser scent was overpowering, if the guest room not being feng shui was a turn-off, if they liked my shower curtain, if I should move a lamp from this table to that.... Do you think that might turn people away?

10. I know, I know. I have serious issues. Julie, can I schedule an appointment for therapy?

Happy birthday, Paddington and Sydney!

2011-04-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we celebrated Paddington and Sydney's birthdays. Paddington's actual birthday was on Thursday, and he is now 9 years old. Since Sydney was an orphan, and since she thinks a lady should not have to tell her real age, we aren't really sure how old Sydney-girl is. According to her medical records, when Ramy's parents adopted her in 1999, the vet then estimated she was about a year old. So that would mean Sydney is about 13 years old. Several weeks ago, Rebecca decided we needed a birthday party for the dogs. Since Paddington is a nice fellow who loves his sister, he was agreeable to sharing his birthday with Sydney.

Rebecca and I baked a cake for the party. We cut it into the shape of a dog bone. Rebecca iced the cake herself, and then she helped me write Happy Birthday on it in the green icing. We also bought party hats. Rebecca was adamant that the dogs don't like the Happy Birthday song, so we shouldn't sing it for them. She wanted the cake to have candles, but ~~we didn't have any in the house~~ dogs don't know how to blow out birthday candles.

This was the dogs' initial reaction to the party hats. However, after putting them on again a time or two, learned helplessness kicked in. Sydney especially just stopped trying to take it off and was just resigned to wearing the birthday party hat. Paddington's ended up doing better sitting more around the collar area. Nonetheless, both dogs were a good sport and ultimately wore their party hats for a very reasonable portion of the party!

Of course, the party's honorees had to be allowed pieces of their birthday cake! (This is why we made a white cake instead of chocolate, even though german chocolate would have been the perfect color for a dog bone cake!). Sydney ate hers in a rather ladylike fashion (or maybe she just isn't that crazy about cake and icing). Paddington gulped his down without even tasting it. Then he sauntered over to be sure Sydney didn't need help cleaning her plate. Rebecca laughed and laughed, and so did Ramy and I. It was a fun birthday party. Next year, we'll definitely do it again. Maybe we'll even invite some doggie friends and family.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

1. I finally found my perfect spring purse when at the mall with Julie, Addie, and Lucas. I love it! When Ramy saw my original post about the flowered/ruffled purses several weeks ago, he thought I was posting that picture of that purse as a joke. Clearly, it was not to his taste. So when I brought this one home, I made the mistake of asking him if he liked it. He said, "Oh I thought you decided you didn't like that purse?" I said, "No, I didn't! You didn't like it!" He said, "Oh, I thought after that you said you weren't going to get it after all." Seriously delusional.

2. The house that I fell in love with last week also went into contract (with someone else) last week. Bummer! Thankfully, the next day another house that I fell in love with came onto the market. We were scheduled to see it on Sunday, but when we met with our agent, she told us that they had three offers on it already and were writing up the contract that day. Luckily, last night another house I fell in love was listed for sale. We were going to see it, but...the house wasn't ready for showing until Monday. The house-selling/house-buying process could completely destroy me. Have I mentioned that I am not a patient person?

3. This weekend, we finished the last of the big projects before we list the house. Those consisted of getting the fences between us and our neighbors torn down and replaced. Also, I did an extreme closet and pantry overhaul. Now we're just getting the carpets professionally cleaned and taking a few more things to storage, and our house is going to officially be for sale this weekend.

4. No, I do not have expectations that our house will sell as fast as the ones I mentioned in post #2.

5. My closet looks nicer than it has since I moved in here. There's no junk on the floor beneath the rows of clothes. My purses are neatly lined up on the shelves. There are no random shoes off the shoe rack. If my house had the ability to actually be as organized as it looks (with a ton of stuff in storage), then we wouldn't need to be moving.

6. While the guys were here on Friday and Saturday ripping out our old fence and putting up our new fence, Sydney spent a couple of days at Grandma's house. You see, our old Sydney girl is an escape artist. If there's a way she can sneak out of an open door, she'll do it. Also, she feels no obligation to get out of anyone's way. Paddington stayed with us and stuck by our ankles even with all the doors wide open. He was torn out of the frame by the whole experience. I don't know if it was that Sydney was gone or that there was so much noise and commotion, but he had gastrointestinal upset the whole time. Sydney came home last night and had her trademark snickering smile for us. Paddington was overjoyed!

7. Today, while coming up with the fifth behavioral plan that I've created in a week, I talked to the client about what kinds of rewards and consequences he wanted to use. I had things in mind like credits for songs from iTunes, cafeteria privileges, home passes, movie tickets, etc. In complete seriousness and without any awareness that it was inappropriate, he said, "BJs." I will let you figure out yourself to which he was referring. Hint: it was not BJs pizza.

8. In case you wonder, I did not use "BJs" as a reinforcer. I also managed to keep a straight face as I responded to him. I also did not consider asking for further input from him.

9. I wanted to watch The Black Swan when it was in the theater, because it's a psychological thriller. I was chicken to go though, because I don't like suspenseful movies. So this weekend, Ramy and I got it on On Demand. We watched about an hour of it, and then I asked Ramy if we could turn it off, because I didn't like it. It freaks me out to watch movies of people who are psychotic, though I've never been seriously freaked out by actual psychotic people.

10. While in a conversation in public this week, Rebecca calmly handed me a booger. I was in mid-conversation when she did it and took it without examining it. In mid-conversation, I realized that I now had a booger on my finger. It takes a lot to maintain self-composure while speaking with a booger on your finger.

Grandma's Birthday

2011-04-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we had the great honor of celebrating two birthdays. First, we went out to Redondo Beach for Lucas Woltil's birthday. It's so hard to believe that sweet baby boy is already a year old! He's just as precious as his wonderful big sister, Adelaide. For his birthday, he was surrounded by little girls. He might not appreciate that now, but one day, having that many gal pals might just work to his advantage!

Julie and Derek did a wonderful birthday party with a car theme. They even made cars out of cardboard boxes for each of the kids to wear and made a whole driving park for them, complete with gas station, roads, and stoplights. The kids also got to wash their cars by blowing bubbles at each other. Rebecca's car is currently parked in our garage. It's not going anywhere soon! The worst part of the party was that I forgot to put the memory card in my camera, so I didn't get any pictures. However, Julie captured them here on her blog.

We had to leave that party a bit early so that we could go to our second party of the day! (Are we popular and well-connected that we have to stack parties on the same day, or what?). We celebrated Grandma's (Ramy's mom's) birthday at the Japanese sushi/teppan restaurant near us.

Ramy's sisters Theresa and Myrna and her family were there with us so we could all celebrate together. Even though it was Grandma's birthday party, somehow Rebecca ended up with a present!

Rebecca is not a big fan of the giant blazes of fire that are the hallmarks of teppan-style cooking. She coolly covered her head with the cloth napkin when she knew the chef was about to do one of them.

Rebecca surprised us that she could use chopsticks very well, to eat rice no less!

It was a fun time, especially when they brought Grandma a scoop of ice cream with a candle. I don't think she was expecting or wanting that (apparently not liking to have the birthday song sung is a Cisneros genetic trait, since neither Ramy nor Rebecca like it either. Not me. Bring it on!).

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

1. In the de-cluttering process, I came to realize that we have more books than the Chino Hills Library. We have the market covered on cookbooks and children's books. I have also come to realize that we own many things that do not have a home. There is no "place" they belong; as such, they end up crammed in various places. For the time being, this means they are going into storage.

2. HGTV gave me this carpet stain removal tip that worked when Resolve and Spot Shot did not on two stains. Make a paste of Borax, salt, and white vinegar. Rub it into the stained carpet and let it dry overnight. Vacuum up.

3. I place way too much importance on the name of the street that a house is on. My college roommate and I were enthralled with an apartment...until I realized it was on Suck Creek Dr. No way was I going for that! I realize in our house search that it still affects me. I find myself already discounting houses if they are on a street whose name I don't like and preferring houses on streets with names I like, even if the houses aren't as nice or are more expensive.

4. Yesterday, I found a house with which I am completely in love. It's so perfect! Hopefully no one else thinks so. We are going to tour it sometime this week. All the more incentive to finish up the last few projects and officially list our house. Have I ever mentioned to you all that I am impatient and that I am firmly in the camp of instant gratification?

5. The letter of the week in Rebecca's class is "V." We asked her what they learned about that starts with "v," and she replied, "victor." She said they colored a picture of it. When asked what a victor was, she said, "Preston and Chris' dad." Indeed, our neighbor's name is Victor. Somehow I think that is not who Chino Hills Christian Preschool had in mind. But why didn't they just do a "violin" for this week?

6. Rebecca has added preschool on Thursday, which is when her class has chapel. After he first chapel last week, we asked her how it was and what they did. She said, "be quiet."

7. Last night, I made banana bread. It was so delicious. At 10:00, Ramy and I were eating pieces of it fresh and hot out of the oven and slathered in butter. Here's the recipe:

Banana Bread

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups ripe, mashed, bananas (I actually zuzz mine up in the mini food processor)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a medium bowl and with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring well. Add bananas and pecans, stirring just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pans..Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

8. My favorite digital scrapbooking site hasn't released a new batch/kit since before Christmas. Have I mentioned that I'm impatient? I might have emailed them twice asking if there is anything new in the works.

9. We have stuff scheduled for every weekend from now until June. Wow.

10. Last night, a commercial for Disaronno (amaretto) came on television. Rebecca said, "I already know. You don't need to remind me." "What?," we asked. "Not to drink that stuff," she said. I didn't know we had begun substance use education, but apparently she has picked it up somewhere. But where? From "Hank" (King of the Hill, which she sometimes watches with Ramy), she informed us.

A lot going on

2011-03-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of things going on these past few weeks, and the next few will likely be even crazier! We got back from Tennessee on Sunday night and the suitcase is still in the floor, not yet unpacked! We had a meeting on Wednesday night and other things going on every other night. Yesterday was play date. Then today, we had a birthday party for Lucas Woltil in the morning in Redondo Beach, and tonight, we celebrated Grandma's birthday with the family. Pictures to come!

After the decision to stay in Southern California, we decided that the time is still right to move...just not across the country. We've been in the same townhouse that Ramy bought before we got married, and it's been a wonderful home for us, but it is time to move on. So we're getting ready to put the house on the market and look for something else in one of the neighboring cities (not too far, since Ramy and I both work in the next city over and we like short commutes!). With this plan comes a lot of de-cluttering! We're moving out some furniture and general stuff so that the house shows better. There's also been the cleaning of baseboards, repairing the screen on the sliding door, touching up a couple of nicks in paint, and on and on and on. We're just about there, and we're hoping we won't have to wait too long for it to sell! If anyone you know is interested in moving to Southern California....

I've also started working more hours each week. I bumped up to 3 1/2 days a week. I'm still at the Transitional Living Center, and I am taking over all of the neuropsych testing we do there. I will keep doing probably two groups a week (the other neuropsychologist will field most of the group work), and I'll keep a caseload of individual clients. Plus, we have three practicum students we supervise and are interviewing more for next year. I love my work, and I work with really wonderful people. Rebecca started going to three days a week of preschool, and she is happy and excited about that. Ramy is going to be moving to a supervisory position in about three weeks, and that will take him out of doing trials, for the most part.

Spring hasn't seemed to have sprung here yet - we had rain and some chilly temps this week. I think next week is going to be more like springtime.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

1. Rebecca can be picky about what she thinks she likes to eat, moreso than she is actually picky about what she eats. For example, she likes pork of all kinds, as long as it is called chicken. She is actually the one who started this, because when she pulled some barbecue off one of our plates and tasted it, she said, "this is good chicken!" We had barbecue for dinner Saturday night, and Rebecca claimed she did not like barbecue. Then Grammy remembered that it was to be called chicken, but Rebecca was on to her. Grammy kept trying to force the "chicken" on her, and Rebecca frowned and said, "Hmmmph, tricks. Always tricks. Somebody always trying to trick me."

2. In the Nashville airport on Sunday, I was purchasing a bottle of water and perusing the magazines befowe our went to our gate. Rebecca was at the perfect height to inspect the covers of the tabloids as we waited to pay. She pointed out the many mags that had pics of Brad and Emily (hello, the Bachelor and the girl he picked!). She exclaimed, "Hey, its the guy on your favorite show!" I briefly considered this could mean that I am too addicted to the show.

3. Speaking of which, I was so sad when I realized last night that there was no Bachelor that night. The Bachelorette will start in May, but that's a poor substitute in my mind. I'm not sure why that is. There's just a different kind of drama. No catfights.

4. I finally got the chance to read Jodi Picoult's newest release: Sing You Home. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love her. Love this book. Just sad that I'm finished with it, and it will be a long time before her next release. I think this might be my favorite of her books so far, and that is saying a lot.

5. Last night, we went to eat dinner at Roscoe's, since there had been no purchasing of groceries for the week. After we ate, we went to Stater Brothers (grocery store) to do the shopping. It was after 8:00 by the time we got done and were on our way home. In the car, Rebecca announced, "I don't think I want a snack." Ramy said, "Oh, okay." Rebecca continued, "I don't want a snack so I can eat a really good dinner." I laughed and fell right into the trap, saying, "You already ate a really good dinner!" Rebecca pounced on that: "So can I have a snack?"

6. Can I give a shout out to my Tennessee hairdresser? Faron has cut my hair since I was in high school (yep, more than half my life) and has seen it through various colors, lengths, and textures. She's wonderful, and for the price of what I pay to get my hair cut in California, she cut both my hair and Rebecca's and waxed my eyebrows. Love her.

7. Do you like Pottery Barn? Crate and Barrel? If you don't, then what planet are you on and how did you find my blog? If you do, do you know about Ballard Designs? Love that site. They do have a few retail locations in Florida and Georgia, but apparently they haven't branched out more than that.

8. I realized that I only will likely complete my hours required for licensure in California sometime this year. God willing. That means that I have to stop flirting with the idea of taking the EPPP and actually get ready to do it. Was saying that enough?

9. In case you didn't know enough of my quirks, here's another one. I have a weird obsession with ink pens. I am constantly on the quest for the perfect one. I used to only write in blue ink, but that doesn't go with writing on pages that become part of a permanent medical record, so I've converted to black ink. Only out of necessity. Once I found an amazing yellow and black pen on a floor or table somewhere, and it was so fabulous that I spent a month searching for them. I thought it was the holy grail of gel pens until they discontinued it. My current favorite is a Foray 0.7 mm rollerball ink pen. I bought it to try it out a couple of months ago and loved it. Unfortunately, then I couldn't remember which store carried it. It wasn't Staples. It wasn't Target. It wasn't Office Max. Clearly, this means it is at Office Depot, of which there isn't one in my city. Yes, I will drive a long distance to buy the perfect pen.

10. While we were in Tennessee, I enjoyed getting to take more pics of the birds at my mom's birdfeeder megaplex. She has a birdfeeder that is on the ground, rather than in the air, to attract those birds (like my favorite, the mourning dove) that like to keep their feet on the ground. It is on her back porch. I sat down at her computer on Saturday and glimpsed a cat sitting in that birdfeeder. Then I did a double-take and realized that it wasn't a cat but....it was a possum (yeah, it's really an opossum, but who ever says it that way?). I let out some kind of gutteral sound, as the heinously ugly creature looked back at me. Slowly, it got off its throne (oh yes, it was using the bird feeder as though it were a litter box) and waddled away. It gave me flashbacks of my tween-age run-in with a possum in the garbage can early one summer morning when I was supposed to take the trash out to the road. I am convinced that possums are what Satan looks like - pink eyes and rubber tails and ugliness. I'm shuttering just thinking about it.