House of Air

About a week or so ago I met a friend and her family at House of Air by Crissy Field in SF. 42 trampoline are attached together and the kids jumped nonstop for a full hour. well worth the 20 dollars.

I thought Kate might be too shy to go on it without me, but she ran right out and jumped in the same rectangle for a good 20 minutes before making the jump to other areas...

Charlie, of course, was in absolute heaven. He was jumping so incredibly high, and doing cool tricks.

The kids had a great time climbing up this and jumping off...Charlie naturally turned his jump into a somersault, which developed into a full front flip in the air. I was nervous each time.

I think it is time to sign this kid up for gymnastics...

The final countdown

I have a few different due dates, so it is not clear to me how much longer I have to go. Not that it matters at all, because this berkowitz baby will make its deput when he/she is ready and willing. I have around 2 months and last night for the first time this entire pregnancy I started to worry. I feel so big this time, the baby is so low. I feel uncomfortable. I don't think I felt the glow or energy I did with the last two pregnancies. Maybe it is a combination of working more than I have in 5 years, packing, moving, unpacking, and entertaining two energetic kids. I have always felt and said that I think having a newborn will be easier than being pregnant.
About a week ago Adam and I had an evening from hell. I was finished with tutoring early and looking forward to a night at home with my family. I tutor 4 evenings a week, and Adam tries to play tennis a few evenings a week so nights where we are all home together for dinner and bedtime are few and far between. Charlie and Kate were absolute messes. Crying, yelling, fighting. It was one of those times where everyone (including the parents) needed to just go to sleep and hit the restart button the next morning. After the kids fell asleep Adam looked at me and said, "How are you going to do this with a newborn?" He said in gently, with caring eyes. And I snapped at him
"I don't know ADAM. But I will be able to exercise, I won't feel huge and uncomfortable with a painful hernia. I will be able to have a glass or two of wine to help calm me after a chaotic day."
It sounded convincing to both of us. But last night I felt less convinced.
I am great with newborns. Or at least the two I have had so far. We were like one, and most things were relatively easy because we ate, slept, played, walked as one.
This time will be different. I will have two active kids that will need to be shuffled to school, sports, preschool. I will continue tutoring and teaching.
And I would by lying if I told you I know that I can handle it all. And still be patient, fun, loving, mellow.
I had a few rough weeks with Charlie lately. Somehow I was able to step back, consult some of my favorite books, talk to other moms (including my own), and once again re-vamp my approach to parenting.
The past week has been so much better.
I am going to take deep breaths before I respond. The louder my kids get, the quieter I will become. Firm, consistent, yet loving. Most importantly I am validating their feelings. Listening more than talking. smiling more than crying. And when all else fails I am going outside.
Yesterday we took a 1.5 hour walk around our neighborhood. We wondered the back parts of Montara, looking at trees, holding hands, looking at banana slugs, appreciating the huge heart shaped white flowers, studying each house, stopping to swing on every tree swing, and discussing random things. I felt in control. I felt in awe of my beautiful children and the way they played in the puddles, created things with sticks, and asked questions about the way the world works. I felt calm as the wind blew away my worries. I reconnected with my children and myself.
I think that is how I made it through having two kids so close together. Everyday I packed Kate up in a sling or ergo and went outside with Charlie. I felt more at ease and in control in the open world than I did at home.
I hope it works this time around too.

What two kids do for 12 hours on a very rainy day...

A little over a week ago it rained very hard almost all day long. The month before we were blessed with beautiful sunny weather where we spent long days at the park, beach, and on bike rides. When I woke up to the nasty weather outside I was a little concerned. What would we do all day long? The kids weren't worried one bit. Charlie kept saying all day, this is the best day ever!

They read books on the couch....

Giggled together while exploring their tunnel.

When they got tired of that game they flattened the box and turned it into a steep hill for their cars:

We spent a long time building a castle with our blocks and Magna tiles

Both kids really focused and worked together to make it just right...

They watched the pouring rain together, chatting the whole time.

They played Mommy-Daddy for a while. Oh, and I crack up at what they like to do with their "babies". They usually either take them to the fair for cotton candy, or set them all up on the couch to watch scary movies. Basically, they act out things that Adam and I don't let them do. I love it.

Charlie took art to a whole new level. Notice the mess in the background. They emptied the big cardboard box and played with the trash all day long. I had to secretly throw out a piece every once in a while until days later it was finally call cleaned up.

Finally around 3 after 8 hours of indoor play the rained stopped. We got all dressed up for some serious puddle jumping.....isn't my gnomie adorable? And notice she is wearing jeans...over her tights. It was that cold.

My other gnome checking out the puddle damage...

There have been plenty of days where the kids seem to fight and bicker all day long. But somehow this day was perfect. Thank you Kate and Charlie for leading the way in a great day.

Snow for the first time since 1976

It snowed last Saturday in HMB from 7 until 7:40. I ran around my parents house waking up everyone the same way I did when I was a kid Christmas morning. The flakes were huge and it was beautiful. It didn't stick, but it was magical as it was falling. I sat in front of the window sipping a nice cup of coffee and truly felt like it was winter. And then it was over. And it probably won't happen again until I am 67....

Our new place

We are in love with our new place. It is small, cute, homey, and cozy. The kids love the easy access to the front and back yard, and Lily seems to be in heaven. So far every day has been sunny, and we have views of the mountains and ocean from our deck (our deck that we can't walk on because it is unsafe...but still...)

We closed escrow on Feb 11 after 5 weeks of ups and downs, and moved in Feb 26. Not bad considering we had to tent for a week, paint the whole place, pack up our entire place (ok, not everything but most things).

A big thanks goes out to Adam's parents for dedicating two full weekends to painting and moving. And another big thanks goes to my parents for making us dinners, and watching the kids while I worked and Adam and his parents painted. It really did take a village for us to buy and move into this home, and we will be forever grateful for our village.

Originally I was a wee bit concerned about moving my stomping grounds all the way to Montara. I have spent the past 4 plus years walking around downtown hmb, at Ocean View park, biking along the bluffs, walking to the beach....exploring an entirely new place seemed just a bit daunting. But it only took a few mornings in this beautiful neighborhood for me to realize we hit a goldmine.

Yesterday morning while waiting for our friends to arrive we took a walk down the street to meet some of our furry neighbors. Two cute goats were there to greet us and the kids were so excited. Right by the school is a llama farm that we are going to be visiting today. We also have Montara mountain in our backyard, and Montara beach. I am excited that we have so many new places to explore.

With something unbelievable great comes the fear of loss. I keep feeling like this is too good to be true. Like something terrible might be right around the corner. I am trying to live in the moment and just appreciate how wonderful life is in this moment. I feel in awe of Adam and how hard he is working both at work and with this house to make things comfortable for us. I watch him act so lovingly with the kids as the stress of moving and a changed routine takes it's toll.

There will be definite adjustments. I work in HMB and PES, preschool, swim class, and tennis classes are all in HMB making the day more chopped up by driving than I like. We forced Kate to drop her nap a few months ago for many reasons, but now loading her up in the car for a 15 minute drive at 2:30 is just asking her to take a car nap. Yesterday I was driving while turning around and tickling her and rolling down all the windows just she wouldn't fall asleep. Cuz napping at 3 is not allowed in this family.

Here is our house. We haven't put up any pictures and there has been no decorating yet. But we are simply people so I can't promise much for than this for a while. We LOVE having a fire place, it is gas and very efficient and heads up the main room very nicely.

I spend a lot of time cooking and baking in the kitchen and I love the look and feel of this kitchen. I realized quickly when unpacking that we don't have very much...but I will add on with time. Oh and my fridge and freezer are those two bigger drawers. We have another fridge in garage but I love having a smaller space in the kitchen. I am hoping it will help with my new food budget.

The bathrooms are very small, cold, but cute.

We finally went for bunkbeds and we all love them. Julia and my parents treated my kids to beautiful pottery barn sheets/quilts as a house-warming gift. So far the first two nights went very smoothly. Both kids climbed into their beds and were asleep very shortly after. Adam and I waiting quietly on the couch. The first night we overheard: Kate are you awake? Yes, are you? Yes. Good night, Kate. Good night, Charlie. And then they both fell asleep. We were amazed , especially since it was only 7:15.

It has taken a few days but the kids are finally playing with their toys and together again. And as I blog they discovered that "couch play" can continue at this new house.

We asked the kids if they each wanted their own rooms or if they wanted to share two rooms, a sleeping room and playroom. We were proud when the both chose to have a playroom and sleeping room. They love "cooking" and playing babies together so we creating a corner for that kind of play.

We moved the nursing chair into the playroom because we didn't have room in the living room. But I like to think I will spend many mornings holding and nursing a newborn while my kids play around me.

There is a lot more work to be done, but for now we are very comfortable and very happy.