sisters

There's so much that's different about these two- one is blond, the other dark, one girly, the other not, one fiercely independent, the other fiercely connected to mommy ... I could go on and on ... it's actually a little bit funny just how different the two girls are. But  I think because they are so different they've become close in a different way. Sally looks up to Maggie.  Maggie is cool and fun.  If Maggie asks Sally to join in a game, Sally just beams.  When Maggie's friends are over and they include Sal, like they did last week when they were making a movie and they gave Sally the part of the dog(including a 'script' with lines like, 'dog:woof') Sally was in heaven.  And Maggie is protective of Sally, like a third(and sometimes better) parent.  The other day I told Sally she could have a piece of gum if she got ready quickly in the morning, she went downstairs after she got dressed and I heard Maggie say, "No Sal.  No gum in the morning."  And Maggie, like all of us, is delighted by Sally's charm.   It'll be interesting to watch as the girls grow, but nothing fills my heart with such wonder as looking at my girls and thinking how unlikely, yet how perfect it is that these two girls are sisters.  

Sally turns 6!

We had Sally's 6th birthday party a few weekends ago- Happy Birthday Sal!  We always have her parties outside, even though we never know if the March weather will cooperate.  This year the Gods were on our side and we had a beautiful sunny day for the party.  I had a big bouncy slide, a snow cone machine and a Build a Bear lady.  The kids each got to make a stuffed animal and pick out an outfit for it.  It was so cute and all the kids seemed to love it, which made Sally very happy.  She invited all the neighborhood girls - Isabella and Elena, Jamie, Samantha, Fatima, Marianna and Claudia, some friends from school - Ana, Isabel, Cruz, Natalie, Quinn, Nico and Daniel and of course, Gus.   The slide was SO MUCH FUN, definately will get that again and the cake was beautiful.  Amy made eggrolls, my friend Sandy made pasta salad and I made hot dogs for the kids.  It was a perfect party.  Now we have to get to the thank you notes ...

old soul

Ever since she was little people would meet maggie and invariably refer to her as an "old soul".  She always been mature beyond her years. Well beyond.  Some examples- when she was a baby I used to joke that I could leave her on a fire escape with a set of knives and go do the laundry and she'd be okay.  She has always been cautious and responsible.  Calm.  In her head.  And as we apply to middle schools, her maturity has really shown through.  I have grown more and more stressed, she has gotten calmer, more zen.  We were prepping her for an interview one day and I asked her if she was nervous(because I was) and she said no.  She'll end up somewhere and if a school doesn't want her, then she probably doesn't fit at that school.  Um.  She's 12!  I ordered some books on amazon the other day about parenting, one of which was "How to talk so teens will listen and how to listen so teens will talk"(you know how I love me my self help books).  Well, I was at work when the box arrived and Maggie apparently opened it before I got home because when i walked in the door, maggie asked me how my day was and I started to complain about having to write a blog for my episode, and Maggie said, "That must make you feel sad."  Then she handed me the book and walked away.  Old soul, I don't know about, but sarcastic teen for sure.

cute girl alert

lost:one tooth

Finally!  The tooth fairy came and Sally got five dollars. Can you believe it?!  Five bucks.  And Sally says she didn't hear or see the tooth fairy because the tooth fairy sprinkles fairy dust on your eyes so you don't wake up.  :)

san francisco!

We went to San Franciso on President's Day weekend.  We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel, which is beautiful and elegant, and "like a castle" according to Sally.  We went for a number of reasons, mostly to see our friends, Amy and Emma and Mei Mei.  As soon as we landed we headed out to Berkeley to their house and had lunch and played.  Then we went on a great hike in a park near their house and rode a carousel.  We LOVE these guys and wished they lived closer. Emma is a miracle child, good at everything she does.  Amy showed me some of Emma's artwork and it blew me away.  Mei Mei is sweet and easygoing and has a smile that doesn't stop.  And being with Amy is always an energy boost for me.  Thanks Amy for the wonderful day!  After our visit, we headed into the city and checked into our hotel.  Sally and I hunkered down for some movies and room service, while Tony and Maggie went to see Mystery Science Theatre Live.  Maggie's friend Madeline was also visiting so they met up at the show.  The next day we went shopping in the Haight where Maggie was in alterna-heaven.  She bought a bunch of t-shirts and some music at Amoeba Music.  That night we went for a cheesy theme parky dinner at the Tikki Room(like Trader Vics) with a live band on a floating lagoon and thunder and lightening effects.  The next day we braved the rain and went down to the Pier for breakfast.  We ate everything in sight - donuts, madeleines, croissants, cake, homemade potato chips, cinnamon buns.  Mmmmmm.  The we headed home - fat and happy.  Here are some pictures of us in the hotel, at Amy's and at the Tiki room.