Wednesday, August 31, 2011

First week report

The first week of school was crazy but somehow we managed to survive it! Getting up at 6:15 in the morning was the hardest part, followed by all the little tasks that had to be done by 7:25 when we had to leave for school. Heating-up the thermos and  heating up the food to go into the thermos were two of those.

I guess being a mother of a child with food allergies has made me into a bit of crazy person! Or maybe my own craze for eating healthy and balanced, or I don't know what I else has contributed... But ever since Ella was old enough to start solids, I ALWAYS made sure that her meals included one or two veggies, protein, grains, and a piece of fruit. And this awareness and desire to feed her the best that I could have increased when she turned nine months old and tested positive for dairy, milk, peanut and treenut allergies. Food allergies add a lot of stress to life. Really the stress comes in when you know your child does not really have any options (like choosing one of the lunch caffeteria menu items) but most importantly, when you realize they may not be safe at school. That's been my biggest stress, my biggest crazy-thing-to-worry-about on this first week of school.  My sweetheart made it easy on me though by constantly telling me that she would never eat or share food with/from anyone because she doesn't want to have a reaction or use the safety thing (that is the Epi-pen), how she calls it. [She is so aware and careful that sometimes I feel I can see through her little body, the mature and adult spirit she brings from heaven.] The school teacher, nurse, and all the staff have been really wonderful about this so far.

I think I even figured out how much she will eat in the 15-30 mins lunch break they get at 10:30 am!!!! Yes, that's when the have lunch.  On the first few days she would bring back almost all the food untouched saying she didnt' have enough time to eat. Poor thing, lots of changes thrown at her and at all children of her age starting school.

So we survived first week, yeay!!

Sweetie pie with her 3-D peacock. (She worked so hard to carefully color all the tail feathers and then put it together with daddy's help.)


Sweetie pie in a swim make-up class. Two or three levels up. She did a good job though trying to keep pace with the seven and eight year olds in the class. (I threw in a couple of other by-the-pool pictures as that's Ella's and my favorite past time when we can fit it in.)


And while I'm at it, I think a quick update on our backyard project is in order!


Can't wait for it all to be finished! It will be really pretty.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Good things

This Saturday we went through our first full day of training for foster-to-adopt:  the S.M.A.R.T training, Supervision, Motivation, and Response Tecqniques. Good things to be learned, in fact great things. What's nice is that they have immediate applicability in our parenting with Ella. Once again I realized how long ways away I am from becoming the kind of parent that I want to be (i.e. infinitely patient, never yelling, or getting aggravated no matter what, detached yet so loving and in the moment) but I received more knowledge and tools to help me do it. Good thing because I so needed it!
Another good thing is that we have these wonderful friends who babysat Ella at heir house the whole six hours we were in training. They have two little adorable boys who love Ella and she loves them. Really grateful to them for doing this for us. And we're grateful to her for being so understanding and sweet and never saying no to spending the whole day away from us.



We picked her up and after a quick stop at home, we went to another friend's house for a birthday party. Had lots of fun catching up with them and watching the kids play.



Another good thing.... somehow we got caught up on laundry, folding, and ironing! Hrishi did it all! I took care of the cooking.

Life is good. Oh, and almost forgot, speaking of good things we had some amazing italian food on our training lunch break at this little family-owned restaurant, Vetoni http://www.vetonispizza-pasta.com/. The food was heavenly! I never had such scrumptious meatballs, chicken basil, and garlic rolls! So rich and delish! But I'm going low carb for a few days to remedy the "damage." :)

Friday, August 26, 2011

Inspiration

I love the Mormon Women Project here http://www.mormonwomen.com/! It's on my favorite things to read on almost a daily basis. I love how they bring some many different women's real lives into the spotlight; they all have such diverse backgrounds, ideas, insights, but a common faith and love for God and His Gospel. Reading their stories of personal faith and resilience in life makes me appreciate the vastness of the Gospel across the world and how it touches so many different lives in so many different ways. Two of these stories, in particular, have recently struck a chord in me:

First one is "Unexpected Motherhood", http://www.mormonwomen.com/2010/03/17/unexpected-motherhood/. I learned so much from this amazing woman's story about how doing what feels right to us through the Spirit can be so rewarding, about breaking the norm and creating our own "normal" or normality.

The second one, "A Champion Inside and Out" http://www.mormonwomen.com/2011/08/24/a-champion-inside-and-out/ speaks so much to me at this point in my life where getting fitter and stronger have become so important. Reading through her story, I kept nodding my head... and if I were to highlight one great point she makes, this statement would be one: "Through strength-training, I’ve learned to put my mind to something, believing that I can do it, and then to not allow doubt and thoughts of failure to creep in." I would extrapolate that to physical training in general. Another great quote from the article where she actually quotes her personal trainer is: "You will find that training like this [hard] will develop your mental strength.” So true.

(Click/type those links in your browser. I think you will enjoy their stories.)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Driven

To be driven: that's what I was taught by my good parents in my early elementary school years, and later on, tried to emulate on my own. Having the drive to work hard at things no matter how bad the odds look, no matter what everyone else thinks or says. It started in elementary school when I learned that an "ok" completed homework assignment was really not ok or acceptable. Not (just) because we were sticklers for "A's" (ha-ha! :)) but simply because they knew that I could do better. And that's how I learned that I, and really anyone, can do better, that there's always room to improve and to elevate oneself past previous experiences, performances, etc., and do better and better every time.

And just like my parents worked hard to engrain this spirit and drive into my heart and brain, Hrishi and I are hoping to do the same for and with Ella. Maybe sometimes it feels like too much recognizing that she's only almost six but I think it starts early. 

A couple of days back we were at Target in the dollar section of the store (I love that part of the store, don't you?) where most of the time I find these awesome little gizmos, fun school and learning supplies, stationary and the such. Since I love flash cards, I grabbed quite a few on addition, subtraction, phonics, sight words, and world famous landmarks.  Knowing that Ella is tired at the end of her full-day of kindergarten, after-school and extra curriculars such as piano or ballet, I've been trying to figure out a way to squeeze in a bit of "home learning" into her already busy schedule, here and there. So last night, while she was playing in her toy den/closet, I went in, sat on the floor with her, flash cards, pen and paper in hand, and while we're playing dress-up with her stuffed animals, we're also doing additions and sight word reading. Pretty nice, I thought! She didn't seem to mind it too much, in fact when she realized she was getting it, wanted to do more.

And while Ella made progress with her addition skills, what I learned from all this is that I can always rely on the Spirit to teach me how to teach her, how to get creative and do the things which I know are right for her and for us, even with very little time on my hands.

Speaking of creativity, I remember some really neat stories told by my dad from when his dad, my grandfather, would have world geography lessons with him and his brother as young boys, using an imaginary map on their kitchen wall. He would teach and then drill them on major rivers, mountain chains, desserts, mineral riches, landmarks, or capital cities of the world. He was a wonderfully skilled man with his hands and an avid learner, mostly self-taught. He had a very rare love for learning and reading. (He even read Selections of the Book of Mormon before he passed away.) Needless to say that I share and treasure these stories a lot. But this is for another post.

It's not always easy to get motivated and stay driven amidst life's crazy ups and downs.... but it's probably the thing that helps us move forward and keeps life interesting and exciting. It has rewards. And speaking of rewards, I was very fortunate to be recognized for my work contributions yesterday with a BRAVO! company award. It's the first one in my seven-year tenure with the company, and so it means a lot to me. And although I know that my work is appreciated every day, a little official recognition doesn't hurt! :) It feels good, very good, in fact. The crazy thing is that I had a premonition the day before yesterday and all day yesterday that I would get it. I don't know why...maybe Hrishi is right: it's probably because I really really wanted it! :) (And Hrishi, even from out of town made a lot of funny jokes on me but I love him anyway! You see, for him this is a piece of cake since he's got quite a few BRAVO!'s and other awards under his belt.)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Backing out to ...

This...
every morning for the past couple of days. We're turning the backyard upside down to put in sidewalks around the house. What's there right now... well you can see in the pictures. Ella was quite concerned when saw it all being torn out.... but when it's done, will be really pretty.


(Retaining wall logs being taken out to put in real stone & cement retaining walls)

Old fence pile:


New fence poles put in:

Cement poured in on one side:


Now my challenge is not to drive into the trailer when I back out of the garage every morning...!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Last weekend happenings...

Last weekend was so full and fun!

After swimming and playing (to be read as "working-out" as far as Hrishi and I were concerned and "kid playing" for Ella, of course), my two adventurers, Hrishi and Ella, packed up the cooler with lots of yummy snacks, water, and juice, and headed south of Forth Worth to a safari-like park, called Fossil Rim http://www.fossilrim.org/. Beautiful, beautiful place with lots of wild animals roaming free and acting unusually friendly to humans!

They had animals eat off their hands (deer and antilope), and chew the car side mirrors just to get attention, those temperamental zebras! :)



The pictures they took are awesome. That's how I got to vicariously enjoy their adventure. :)) My heart fills with gratitude for God's amazing creation just by looking at these beautiful animals. Needless to say that Ella had a wonderful time bonding with deer, goats and the like. This child LOVES animals with all her being. You can see it in her eyes.

And while they did all this, I got the house in order: I did laundry, dishes, mopped floors, dusted, and did some good old "foot-stomping" a.k.a rug cleaning/scrubbing out on the deck! It was fun! With our 105+ temperatures, the hose water felt so nice and warm to my feet and I imagined that I was at the pool! :)

Nice clean rugs, huh??

Then on Sunday I must have gotten some stomach bug or something, because I felt really sick... it lasted through the day and night but I was better on Monday when I went in to work out and shake the sucker off. Life is great! 

Monday, August 22, 2011

First! (day of school)

This morning went well, very well in fact! Hoping and praying the rest of this very first day of school will go well too!

The proud kindergartner was excited, happy, and anxious, and who knows what else was going on in her sweet little head or heart this morning! She got to work right away though and started coloring and eased mommy's anxiety. The classroom was neat and clean, well-organized, and just ready for all these cute "lady-bugs" to crawl in. It just dawned on me after dropping her off that this will be a great year, that she will learn lots, feel loved and protected in her kindergarten room, and grow together with her friends and teacher. It will all be good and well (even if I still worry... a bit!)



And I got my updates at pick-up time: everything went well, eating-her-own-lunch-in-the-cafeteria experience included. She did mention that school was a bit boring! Ha! Not surprised though as they're taking it easy this first week.
After gobbling down her dinner (boy, was she hungry?!), she asked for a yummy desert: brownie topped with (soy) vanilla and chocolate ice cream and a cherry on top! This girl knows what she wants! :)


(Cute, silly face but can't ask for more since she'd been in school for 9 hours at that point!)
This is what she made in after-school:


It was nice to be back in ballet last Thursday. It was a very small class too due to the "back-to-school" hoopla (some kids did not show up.)

(... please excuse the glare. My faithful DroidX camera is still doing the job though!)

We haven't taken a break from piano this summer. The only (welcomed) change there is that now Ms. Bell comes and teaches Ella at home. And they get a lot more done!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Happy Birthday to Mom & exciting beginnings

First off, today is my mommy's birthday! LA MULTI ANI, draga Mamica!!! Te iubim mult si de abia asteptam revederea!!!

Mama ea e cea mai frumoasa si buna din lume! Isn't she beautiful?!!!!


So we're only a few days away from school start!

Backpack, lunch box, and clothes were bought a few weeks back.

Class list was posted last night on the school's door (no, we don't know anyone in her class. Wish she had at least one of the two friends from church in the same class.) And we get to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Brininstool tonight.

School playground was carefully "checked-out" and played-on (I see this as a way for her to get comfortable with this new world that is about to unravel starting next Monday.)


[When she got out of the car last night and saw all the cars, parents and children gathered around by the school door, she nonchalantly said: "Hey, what's all this about?" Knowing her though, I could sense the nervousness in her voice.)  Then we met a really sweet friend from church, one year older than her, Lindsay, and it made it all better, more comfortable.:)]



(Love that little tongue tip sticking out! It makes up for my pretty pathetic "silly" face, I just can't do a good one!!! LOL!)

Tonight ballet is back in session. Ella is very excited about that (and I KNOW that one of the reasons is because she can now wear one those nice oversized bows in her hairbun, just like the older ballerinas do!)


She loves this. I do too! Really great post-stretching.

Daddy has a big day tomorrow. Many prayers are going up for him. 


Mommy has a "super" Saturday planned out with swimming workouts and house cleaning. Oh yeah, baby!! ;-D

(And a very random pic Hrishi snapped of me last night at the school.)

Yours truly,


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

All about me! :)

A couple of days ago it was the "all about me" day! I was happy to celebrate my 35th birthday.  I was happy, although a bit apprehensive because the years truly go by quickly and it feels like in no time the "40's" will be knocking on my door!!! Ugh!!! Alright, now that I'm done with the apprehension, will move on to the fact that I am truly grateful to have made it through life thus far, having made some good choices (one of them being to marry the wonderful man that I love and cherish), and being able to enjoy the many blessings  that have been pouring down from heaven this past year or so, and generally speaking, throughout my life.

Happy because I have a super sweet husband who took time off work to hang out with me, start the day with a brutal workout at the gym (which is my new favorite hang-out place, by the way), and enjoy a delish lunch at Rafain, a  really nice Brazillian steakhouse.



Desserts....! Yum!
I felt pampered and loved and it felt great!!!! I got lots of wishes from dear family and friends everywhere, for which I am very grateful.

I got some beautiful flowers, cards, and treats that made the day even more special. Ella was so sweet, she started spreading the word that it was mommy's birthday on Sunday in her Primary class, hoping that they would give her a goodie bag or treat for her to take home to mommy. Isn't she just adorable? I love her to pieces!!!!!! The first words she uttered Monday morning when she woke up were "Happy Birthday Mommy!" It melted my heart. She certainly is a special spirit. 




She made cupcakes with daddy and blew a candle of her own with me that night.


My biggest accomplishment this year is by far the physical and mental transformation I've undergone. I say this with humility as it was not a one-person effort. Many special people in my life contributed to it.  All the evening hours that Hrishi watched Ella while I worked out at the gym during my first months of training, all the very healthy meals they had to put up with (first) and then learn to love, all the conversations and training hours I had with John, who put a huge amount of time and thought into this, and last but not least, all the whinning or exhiliration they all had to witness and put up with many times during this amazing journey. My friends and extended family who cheered and praised and complimented, all of them played a big part in it. So thank you!

I've learned quite a few things about life in this process and all the other experiences I've had this past year. Life is a gift that should never be taken for granted. In fact, every day is a gift and we make most of it by living it with purpose. 

Happy birthday to me!!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Fondue mainly

Yup, that's what Ella wanted to make this afternoon. Since she had the day off from school, mommy worked from home and we got to spend some more quality time together. So she guided me through the process of melting the chocolate, washing and carefully arranging the fruit on her little princess platter, and then doing the fun part: DIPPING! She used bamboo skewers to dip the fruit into the chocolate. I just love my fancy Ella!!


(I had a couple of strawberries and grapes too, hopefully that doesn't tip the weighing scale tomorrow. Because looking at the weighing scale over the past two days and seeing this----->


has sure made me happy.

And another thing that makes me happy right now is fitting in size 4 jeans/pants. I have never ever been a size 4 before, so you get the idea. :)


Totally random, but in line with things that make onevery  happy is that this past week we've been going to the pool almost every day. Daddy's been out of town and that was a fun way to end the school and work day.

Swim lessons:



and leisure:

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Build-a-... Cat!!

A few nights ago Ella was humming a cute little tune with strange words that went like this: "builder bear, builder bear, where are you? builder bear, builder bear, how are you, etc., etc." At first it didn't click. She had heard about "Build-a-Bear" probably from her friends at school and that's what she thought it sounded like "builder bear!" Funny!

You see, this kid did not know of this magical place where you could "build" your own bear or other stuffed and cuddly favorite toy. So on Saturday I decided to take her there and let her pick a toy to stuff. She was super excited! First, I must say she was very patient with me finding the store in the mall. I didn't know which side of the mall it was on, and with the mall being outrageously big, we had quite a walk. Good thing that there were a few interesting places (for mommy) along the way (i.e. Ann Taylor, Loft, Old Navy, etc.) and she was a good sport about stopping in and waiting for me to try some clothes on. (I love my sweetie pie! She is the best shopping buddy.)
Anyway, we finally got there and she was so happy in the bear/stuffed toy paradise! As I suspected, she didn't pick a bear (she's not a big teddy-bear fan), she picked a cat instead. 
[The experience was so neat, how she picked a "heart" for her cat, and rubbed and kissed it and then stuffed inside; then pushed the pedal to stuff for just the right amount of fluffiness, gave the cat a bath, and then picked her outfit! Once we did all that, we moved on to the computer station to create kitty's birth certificate and enter other very important data :)! Very neat! I was almost as excited as she was!] There she is:


Now she has to earn money for any additional outfits or accessories.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

On Life

A recent observation I made (also posted a couple of days back on my facebook page, a cherished place for wisdom quotes! Ha-ha :)
[Seriously I have a few friends on facebook who always come up with these great quotes!]

Life is a lot like a series of back to back training sessions, physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. You have to give it all you've got in order to come out better, stronger, and happier each and every session.

I must "blame" this analogy on my new found passion, physical exercise but I really believe it to be true. :)

I feel physically challenged as I try to train for the upcoming triathlon; it's going to be here before I know it (only six weeks out) and I'm still a beginning swimmer (and will probably be so for many months to come) and have not yet started training two legs at a time (swim/bike, bike/run, etc.) Overwhelming?? That's an understatement! But I remind myself how far I got from where I was nine months ago.  

I feel mentally challenged to find room in our already crazy busy work/school/life schedule for upcoming foster-to-adopt parent training sessions, babysitting arrangements (mind you this is particulary hard when you're talking a whole day worth of training you can't bring your child to!), doctor appointments, paperwork filling, getting my house ready for my parents' visit, etc. But I remind myself that others are challenged with even more. For example, take those who have a few children at home, all involved in all kinds of activities, maybe with health or other types of problems/challenges, single parents, financially tight, etc. They can do it, so can I!

Office work is busy and a bit stressful right now. But I'm grateful that I do have a job to get stressed about sometimes, and for great peers and bosses who sing on the same tune that I do.

I feel spiritually challenged to keep my chin up through ups and downs, come to terms that life is crazy and will continue to get crazier but in the same time, more fulfilling and worthwhile after all is said and done. That I will not always get what I want, when I want it, that I may never travel the world (or domestically intra- or  inter-state!) carefree, take nice relaxing vacations where cooking is prohibited, and just go with the flow. That stretch marks will never go away even after I get my athletic dream body, etc., etc., etc.! Ha-ha-ha!
BUT (big one), I remind myself of ALL THE REST of the things that I DO have, that I CAN do, and that in fact, I DO enjoy cooking and that by nature I am a planner and would never really go with the flow even if I were forced to!

And I also remind myself that my mortal existence here on this earth is really short (speaking of which, I'm turning 35 in a week and I am so not liking it!) That mortal life is only one piece of the puzzle in the great scheme of things and that stressing, fretting, and feeling overwhelmed are counter-productive and really useless activities. That the only way to stop feeling overwhelmed is to work and get it done, cross it off your list, or whatever it takes to get closure and move on.  I also have to remind myself that whatever comes my way, I will embrace and make it count! (this is one of Hrishi's favorite things to say, or my favorite things to hear him say.)

So I will make it count, every single bit of it. It's a promise I make to myself and my loved ones.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Photo shoot (new family pictures!)

We are so your non-typical family when it comes to family pictures or portraits. Mostly because Hrishi hates photo studios. In a way, I'm glad he does as we get to go out there and experiment ourselves with our camera and because it makes the event really spontanous. (We never really try to color coordinate but it just so happens that we match ok!) This past Sunday after church I wanted to go out for a drive and take the camera with us. Hrishi had a couple of places in mind so we dressed down, packed a couple fo sandwhiches for dinner and took off. Us, our camera, and tripod. Here's the result. The black & white makes for a nice variation. I can't wait to frame a few.



















October Birthday!

Ella turns 12!!!!! Lots of milestones: graduated from Primary, moved into Young Women's, got her temple recommend. She is such an a...