The every day stuff and GOALS

I really like the idea of children setting goals and working towards them over the summer or well, over a period of time. My inspiration is here at 71 Toes blogspot. (By the way, Shawni Eyre Pothier is my inspiration in family/motherhood and other areas.)

From personal experience, goal setting is a challenge we give ourselves, a motivation, something that keeps us going and makes us better in whatever it is that we set goals for. Since Ella is little, her goal setting has to have some incentives tied to it, right? For example, she'll get to spend the day at "the cool" pool [a place right across from us that has very kid friendly water park paraphenalia. She picked this prize] at the end of two weeks of reading her scriptures daily. And then of course, the cycle starts again and she gets to pick another prize. Since she can't really read all by herself yet, I read to her but she's responsible for picking up her Scriptures Stories books and inviting me to read to her. Other goals for her right now are practicing piano and ballet (piano daily/ballet usually on Saturdays), rock climbing (she hit it right off with this one), journaling (drawing and labeling her drawings with a few words or short sentences), math (additions/subtractions and money), reading, and writing/ recognizing music notes. Does she do all of these every day, of course not but so far she's been able to do at least three things aside from scripture reading. Is that too busy of a schedule for a five and a half-year old? Well, maybe a little  but since she enjoys doing most of those things on her own anyway, I thought a little bit of structure and reward would be nice. Plus, staying busy keeps one out of trouble and "builds brain muscles" :) Anyway, I'm pretty proud of her that she somehow manages to fit these in after her full day in summer camp. So far.



Scripture reading chart:



If she forms this habit and sticks to it that's the biggest GOAL she can achieve and PRIZE  she can get in my book! :) This weighs so much becuase I want her to know and feel for herself starting now at an early age that there is so much comfort and knowledge that she can get from reading the scriptures.

[I know, totally random picture but it captures just one of those sweet moments that you never just sit down to write about... this is our sweetie pie after I washed and brush-styled her hair. She really loves the "curl out" style.]

Since summer has been here for a while, we've been doing a lot of grilling (burgers, fish, lamb, chicken, and veggies.) And since she loves getting her hands dirty, we've been getting her to help with family meals prep, desserts, table setting, picnic basket packing and such. I'm just so amazed at how excited and happy children get when they're tasked with things. And I know the same goes for us adults. There's nothing like feeling loved, involved, and needed.

Mixing the batter for strawberry shortcake:

And speaking of goals, I really need to get serious about my lap swimming goal.

Great heights

Ella climbed the 50 ft "Alphabet" wall last night. I was not there when all this happened but I got to watch  (in awe) the iPhone video Hrishi shot. Gotta say I'm impressed!

Keep up the great work, baby! You rock!

(This was only the 4th time she went rock climbing. The background sound is from the adjacent basketball courts.)

And the stills:

June 26th, 1993

A couple of days ago (almost forgot...!) my parents and I had a big anniversary. June 26th, 1993 is a very special and dear-to-my-heart date: it is the day my parents and I got baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The day that was going to change my life forever. I am so grateful for the Spirit that touched our hearts enough to see/feel the light and truth of the restored Gospel and start on the path back to Heavenly Father. So grateful to know of my Savior and His love for me. So grateful for His wonderful Church where I always feel at home.

My parents and I with Elder Brandon Jensen, one of the missionaries who taught and baptized us.

My parents have the "dressed-in-white" picture from the same day and I hope they can scan it so I can add it in here. One day I have to sit down and write our conversion story. It's really beautiful and I want Ella and Hrishi and all of our dear ones to know about it.

(BTW, I love momma's furcoat and daddy's leather coat!) :)

Musical night

I always loved classical music and over the past few years Hrishi got into it as well. For me going to a concert is one of the best forms of entertainment. Listening to the music and watching the orchestra and conductor morph into this amazing body that lives and breaths as ONE in perfect harmony just fills up my entire being with joy and happiness. The experience leaves me a different/new person every time. Last year we bought a family subscription for three concerts that are family/children friendly; so on Saturday we went to the last one available on our subscription which happened to be the first concert in the DSO Teen series. The intent for the series is to feature young/teen musicians and hopefully grow an appreciation and love for classical music amongst the teens. This concert featured an amazing 17 year old pianist who played Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor for Piano and Orchestra. His performance was outstanding and electrifying. Ella loved it too although there were a few moments towards the end of the concert when we could she was a bit bored but was a great sport and never asked to leave. Other great pieces were played: Beethoven, Mahler, and Rachmaninoff.

After the concert they had a DJ and snacks in the lobby. It was fun to watch a few teens dance and Ella enjoy herself. We loved it too!  It was an evening to remember. Next doors at the Opera House there was another fun event going on in their lobby. Ella wanted to "crash" that party so we had to promise her that we'd look for tickets there next time :)

After the concert, we enjoyed driving around downtown soaking in the beautiful modern architectural highlights. Just love the Dallas downtown skyline. In fact we love it so much that the thought of renting an apt/condo downtown has sneaked in....bet it's super duper expensive but maybe someday...!

Back to my passion: I love classical music and I think it's a great way to grow and become a better self. It's not only relaxing but for me it's also mentally stimulating. It puts me into this dreamy creative mood. And I'm happy we all get to enjoy it together.  Now I got to figure out what's next. I know for sure we'll do the Nutcracker by Ella's Ballet Company around Christmas time; would be really fun to find some other concerts that are kid/family friendly.

So behind...

Oh no, not on posting but on so many other things... :) like house cleaning and organizing... and what do I do about it, you may wonder? Nothing at the present time.  Well, I write about it. :) I keep procrastinating until the "next weekend" and "the weekend after that" when we always have something that takes us out of the house and far away from cleaning and organizing. Don't think the house is a total mess because it's not, well, not really anyway (thanks to some picking up here and there), but boy it could sure use some DEEP CLEANING.  But I do have a plan: since weekends, really Saturdays only, are always for grocery shopping, laundry, and family time, I must clean in small chunks on week nights. It's not going to be easy as after work, there's always dinner to make, practice to do and bath to give but it's got to work because there is no other time in the day that I can find for cleaning! So I'm starting tonight with our bathroom, yeay! And I really hope I won't be too tired to do it after ballet, dinner, and piano practice.... All you very busy mothers out there: any tips would come in handy! :)

Father's Day!

Another awesome weekend in our neck of the woods! And of course a special one as we celebrated our wonderful daddy and husband. We don't celebrate Father's Day in Romania but I'm so grateful for my father and all that he's done for me. Love you daddy and can't wait to see you and mom in fall.

Now, to the wonderful man I married nine years ago: HApPy FaThEr'S DaY, SwEEtIE!!!

We had fun at the pool:

(Boy, I need a tan so bad!)

Had zpizza:

Explored nature (see that teeny weeny dragonfly Hrishi caught for Ella? She got to hold its wings for a few seconds and was over the moon!)

Took silly pictures together...

Saw a play together. Of course, had to do the traditional collage with pictures taken with pretty much all of the actors/characters in the play. (Ella as she always does, got their autographs:)

And Ella sang with the entire ward Primary one of my most favorite songs ever, "The Family is of God." Big tear jerker. I love our family and I'm so grateful for it! And I know it is of God.

 My dashingly beautiful princess and handsome prince:

We love you honey! And we're so thankful for all the big and hard things, as well as for the small and simple but oh, so important things you do for our family every day. Someone once said that the greatest gift of love one can give is the gift of time. You always do.

You always put us first and that means the world to us!

We couldn't ask for a better husband and father!

May God bless you always!

We started this:

Rock climbing that is... at Lifetime. Every time Ella would pass by the gym where the climbing wall is, she'd stop and look inside, then beg to go in and try it. Well, yesterday she did, for one hour! Yes, one hour of trying pretty much all the walls. No wonder her cute little legs and arms were hurting this morning. I told her she's building muscle!!! :)

We'll probably be going once or twice a week to practice since they have open wall climb during evening and Sat hrs and harness and shoes to use at no additional cost. Hrishi has done quite a bit of rock climbing rappelling in his youth. I think it's fun and definitely a great work-out. I may give it a try too.

All geared up, ready to start:

A few days later:

Fun weekend

Last weekend was so nice. It started Friday afternoon when we made a really nice discovery, zpizza next door from us, a place where they make fresh pizza on thin-whole-wheat crust with a vegan cheese option!! For folks like us, this is quite something!!! I was so happy to see they use the same brand of vegan soy cheese we use at home. We stopped by during our lunch break and ordered what we thought Ella would also enjoy: chicken bbq. It was really good. We saved Ella two slices for after-school. She gobbled them up, no allergic reaction! Yeay!! It's really awesome to have a couple of eat-out options to treat her once in a while.

We kicked off our Saturday with a lovely breakfast whipped together by daddy: breakfast pizza (I know, pizza again by Ella's request) topped with fresh spinach, egg, turkey bacon, and soy cheese, along side a medley of berries (blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries.) It was delish. We then went out to spread the lava rocks in our front yard and thus complete a landscaping project started a while back. Well, Hrishi did most of the work, while Ella and I assisted here and there, laid out in the sun (me), and changed into several outfits (Ella, of course!) :)

Once the work was done, we went to Lifetime and worked out, had lunch, and then headed to the ward pig roast which was to say the least a neat experience. Our little carnivoure, Ella, loved the meat and had seconds. We heard the cool story of how the pig was "procured", prepped, and cooked, hung out by the lake and chatted with friends.

Later on, we headed to do some clothes shopping at one of our favorite stores, Khols.
So grateful for my little family and the wonderful time we get to spend together.

Precious moments

Last night for family home evening Ella decided to give the lesson. I think it was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing for her or the "leader" in her. I had already prepared a little lesson but of couse wouldn't refuse her the opportunity. She spoke about friendship, what it means and how Jesus is our greatest Friend and Savior. She presented her topic and then asked questions, reinforced our comments with her own commentary and stories inspired from her school day.  She then asked us to name two things we're grateful for (something Hrishi instituded a while back and which I love so much!) It was fun, simple, yet wonderful and deep. We felt the Spirit and appreciated once again the great blessing of following a prophet's counsel to hold this special event in our home on a weekly basis.

What I realized last night was that when we make FHE a priority and fit it in right after dinner without letting other things like practice or TV time somehow slide into the schedule ahead of it, we are more reverent, spiritual and focused.

Family home evenings can provide special personal and family experiences and precious moments. It may not always seem or feel that way, but as Elder Bednar said once, consistency is the key.

This is it! #750790

I'm finding that in order to conquer fears, get rid of excuses, and just stop waiting for the "whichmahcallit" big thing to come knock at my door, I just have to DO IT! (Yes, just like the good old Nike slogan, "Just do it!") I just need to commit and get to work. So today after some deliberation, with mixed feelings ranging from exhilaration, pure joy, jump-off-the-walls type hype, to "OMgosh, what did I just do???", "am I crazy?", "how on earth I'm going to swim laps?", etc., etc. etc., I signed up for my first indoor triathlon at Lifetime Fitness in September. It's a 30min bike/20min run/10min swim deal all indoor.

Got to save the date:

One of the main reasons I decided to do this as opposed to a outdoor (real) triathlon is my fear of open waters swim... so here it goes, it's official: I now have something bigger than my weight loss to work towards. I'm so excited!!! (And to set the record straight: I'm not a swimmer, I can barely swim but hope to improve technique and breathing with this effort.)

(And...I'm trying to convince Hrishi to sign up for it too as he's weighing his other option to go do something similar with the Elders' Quorum in our ward. Can you blame me? I want a training buddy!!!)

Life is good!
(750790 is my registration #.)

Hearts in my eyes

This sweet child of mine has been telling me this lately and I keep forgeting to write it down:

"Mommy, when I was born I had pink hearts in my eyes out of love for you! You couldn't see them becuase I was crying but they were there!!"

And I think she not only has hearts but also stars in her eyes! Love you so much, baby!

Ballet dress rehearsal and recital

Oh what fun last night dress rehearsal was... with all the make-up drama (I only put lipstick on Ella but still had some difficulty of course ONLY because I wanted it to be perfect... and because as I came to know it's NOT easy to put lipstick on little lips!), buns, hats, and everything else that comes with the territory. All these beautiful little girls and a boy (who just so happens to be with Ella at Primrose) did such a good job! That considering they had to wait over an hour for their turn in the dressing room. I have to say that for me this was a very neat experience, as I have always been kind of fascinated with the whole backstage and on-stage performance world and all that goes on in there (which believe me, IS A LOT), but never had the chance to be (not even vicariously) involved up to this point. Hopefully I'll get to enjoy this for a few more years or who knows, maybe for a long time if Ella decides to stick to ballet! (and be like one of the young ladies in the picture below:)

I have to admit that I chickened out on making the bun myself at home and took her next door to our kids' hair saloon. The lady there did an awesome job for a very humble fee! Thank you so much super nice and talented lady at Hair Diddle Doodle!!

All in all it was really neat to watch Ella's class and the other performers practice for the recital. She remembered the choreography but then again she is probably the oldest in her class so it's kind of expected! :) Most importantly, she enjoyed it, was not nervous (or at least it didn't show) and had a blast on stage. Since no pictures/videos are allowed during the recital (which is tonight), we snapped quite a few last night. They really don't do justice to all those beautiful kids/girls and boys but still.

Before getting dressed:

Waiting in the dressing room:



With Ms. Sarah, the student teacher Ella adores! She wanted a picture with her so bad!
I loved being around that beautiful group of cute giggling girls!



 After the rehearsal, we just hung out in front of the high school with Ella eating her left-over pizza and cupcake. Love you baby, thanks for making mommy and daddy so happy and proud!

Recital night program (as you can see, this was pretty special as it was the 20th Anniversary Recital):

With cute classmate and friend, Lauren:

Posing for mommy before going on stage:

Recital roses:



After the recital, so happy!

Pico's, good friends from church who came to support her/us :)

Another year

Yesterday we wrapped up another school year and our last one at Primrose. Ella graduated from their private-kindergarten class. Needless to say, she had a blast last night at the actual graduation ceremony where she got to sing with her class and be in the spotlight! ( Did I mention that she loves being in the spotlight???!!!!) It was a really nice event where each and every child was recognized by their teacher. The ceremony was held just like last year in this beautiful Methodist Church,  the First United Methodist of Coppell. After the ceremony, they had refreshments (cupcakes, cookies, and punch), as well as a couple of graduation gifts one from school:  these little graduate caterpillars with a Sharpie so kids can have their classmates and friends sign it, as well as as graduation cup with straws and treats from her class teacher.

We are so proud of her and all her friends for all the hard work they've done, all the great things they've learned and the wonderful friendships they've made. We're grateful for her teachers Mrs. Larkey who had a great influence on her, pounding day in and day out principles of hard work, honesty, love for learning, and always doing/trying her best no matter what. You know, they type of things we parents try so hard to instill in our kids at home. It sure helps to have the teachers work on the same things with them at school. Ella made huge strides this past year with her math, reading, writing, and social skills (now we just need to work on listening and following-instructions-the-first-time skills!). I think she is ready for public school, for new things and new challenges.

I'm so happy for her and her experience at Primrose; and for the peace of mind the teachers and staff provided for us, as parents, during these past two years she was in attendance. We've gone through a lot in the past trying to find the best care possible for her. As many of you out there know, that's not an easy feat, especially when you deal with additional/special needs (like food allergies.) In Omaha, the Goddard school was a great place for her early preschool years. Primrose did some amazing things building on the foundation laid earlier at Goddard. At first, I have to admit that I was a bit thrown off by their strong focus on academics at such an early age and I don't know that I necessarily liked it. I got to appreciate it though soon enough seeing how much growth it lead to.  And without much further ado... here are the pictures:


Primrose Private-Kindergarten Class of 2011



Lined up, ready to walk.



Graduate Walk



Mrs. Larkey (notice how they were both wearing wedges!  HA!:))

Mrs. Boscamp, the director of the school.



Private Kindergarten Class of 2011




Primrose Summer Camp/Explorers here we come!!! Kicking it off today with Splash day!