Celebrating Daddy

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

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

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

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! 

Ten on Tuesday

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.