And two more...

headed off to school this morning.

One reports to his seventh grade classroom a bit sluggishly while the other trots off enthusiastically to the second grade.

And I pause amidst the quiet of the mid-morning--though I promise you my little birdies are squawking in the early morning rush!

Friday Morning

5:45 AM--Alarm(s) beeps obnoxiously

6:00 AM---Sleepily making breakfast and lunches.

6:20 AM--My teenage girls cruise off to school together hoping to stop at Starbucks for a Friday morning treat.

6:30 AM--Tea and my morning paper

7:16 AM--Telephone rings.

Me:  Hello?

Hello, this is Foster City Police Department.

Me: Speechless.  Subconsciously holding my breath.

Is this Nikela's mother?

Me:  mumble an affirmation, still not breathing.

Is Nikela home?

Me:  No.

When would be a good time to reach her to schedule her final interview?

Exhaling...Me:  She starts school at 7 AM, so I am not sure, but I can leave her a message to call you.

My heart was still palpitating when I hung up the phone in utter relief that my daughters were safely at school.

Somehow I had momentarily forgotten that my oldest daughter applied for the discovery program with the local police department.  It all started with a 12 page application a couple months ago--complete with certified documents.  An intensive background check was run as she was interviewed at different department levels.  References were checked and neighbors interviewed (some were concerned about why...)  Then there was the surprise visit at our residence complete with a room check and then more interviews.  Today she had a computer voice stress analysis today...and she passed!

She has reached the final interview with the chief of police next week.  If accepted she will attend a 9 week police training academy.

Obviously the program has an intense screening process which has been an excellent learning experience for my daughter.

I am so proud of her.

I am even happier that the phone call was so simple.

I can't believe that I panicked.

Well, yes, I can.  I am her mother.

Basil

I was enticed by the big beautiful basil plant at the grocery store for $2.99.

Fresh basil in the produce section is nearly the same price, so I figured why not?

My first lesson was basil likes water--lots of it.  The generic plastic container it came in drained quickly, and my lovely basil plant would be sad and wilted by nightfall.

Thus I made a trip to Target for a new garden pot.  As I looked at the limited, end-of-the-season selection, I quickly narrowed it down to ones that had drainage holes and a drip tray built in for another $2.99.  I suspected that it would be the only way the plant would survive me!

A quick transplant left my basil smiling.

Then I had to ask my sister how to harvest my new herb.  Evidently it is important to pinch it off at the stem where new leaves are forming because then it can split and grow again (rather than plucking a few leaves which just leaves barren stems)!

I added it to my fresh veggie pizza that we grilled a couple nights ago.  Yummy!

Plus I love the gentle aroma of growing basil in my kitchen.

I am thinking about a fresh pesto sauce and pasta for supper.  Maybe my son should make some fresh crusty country bread.

There's a spider in my room!

Kiahra scream reverberated throughout the house.

No one moved. (Not even the spider.)

"Somebody kill it!"

"Kade?"

She started with her little brother.

Without any luck, she texted her big sister who was not sympathetic either.

Finally she called over the bannister for her father.

"How big it is?"  he inquired as he ate supper.

"It is a spider," she disdainfully proclaimed with the undertone making it clear that size didn't matter.

"As big as a tic?"  He persisted.

"Dad, it is over my bed.  If it falls into my bed I will never be able to sleep again!"

"Well it is probably crawling into bed as you stand there."

"No, it won't," she protested half-heartedly as we heard her footsteps return down the hall to her room to check the spider's location.

Did I mention her father's eyes were twinkling?

She returned pleading, "Daddy, will you please kill the spider?"

Finally, he pushed his chair back and climbed the stairs.

Then I heard shrieks from her room.  Her daddy was tormenting the spider making it run along the wall.

Finally the commotion ceased.

The spider was eradicated.

Her daddy descended the stairs chuckling.

Waving from the driveway,

I watched my teenage daughters cruise off to high school together this morning.

It left me feeling nostalgic, so I am flipping through the years of photos.

I am not sure where my little girls went??  But I remember them in pigtails well...

Kiahra is a freshman this year.  Nikela is a junior.

Just yesterday Nikela and I were stylin' our Christmas Eve hats.

And how could I forget their elementary school days--my crazy kids with crazy hair!

I really don't need the photos because I have thousands of precious pictures tucked away in my heart.

Sometimes I have to blink to bring the present into focus.

Snail's Pace

My son was up early with his friend, John, and they were out the door without so much as a nod from me as I worked to make breakfast.  

The boys stopped to smell the flowers--literally and discovered a snail!  Then as they looked closer, they discovered there were lots of snails of all shapes and sizes.  Inevitably, the snails were soon transported by curious hands right into my kitchen!  Even I couldn't resist pausing to study the snails (though no escargot on the menu).

Those two little boys never have difficulty finding adventure or embracing the world with exuberance.

We lived in Greycliff, Montana when Kade was born, and his friend John was merely 3 months old and one of his first visitors!

As our first (only) son, I remember reading a card or two with the famous words welcoming the arrival of little boys into families...and I suspect I may have mumbled about the stereotype.   

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

That's what little boys are made of!

The truth is I love those little boys--snails and all!  

I only wish they would grow at a snail's pace

Wine Country

We finally made it to Napa Valley.

The land of endless vineyards.

The land where wine caves were first dug by hand in the 1870s, and the caves are still being dug today but with fewer blisters!

As a man who works underground, the caves intrigue my husband the most.

The land where we paused with my sister and her husband to celebrate.  This year marks our 20th wedding anniversary and their 5th wedding anniversary.  The location was perfect for them, as they started their wedded bliss exploring the Italian vineyards.

The land where we could bask in the warm sunshine (compared to the cool Peninsula of the Bay area) and chat uninterrupted.  Laughter rolled easily along with the day....which is now a fond memory to be aged like a fine bottle of wine!

The little monkey princess loves to climb.

Kaiya also loves to mimic Kiahra.  If Kiahra would dance and spin, she would dance and spin.

She also handed Kiahra the canister of popcorn kernels she found in the cupboard, and as Kiahra brought out the pan for popping her enthusiasm increased.  She started pantomiming the shaking of the pan...it was utterly adorable.  Then when the first kernel popped she smiled and clapped.  Did I mention she loves popcorn?  Yep, the girl can eat popcorn.

Kaiya does a great cookie monster imitation of him eating cookies.  Be careful around cookies though...she can become the cookie monster!

Her wink is adorable.  I wanted to capture the elusive skill on camera.  It was a bit trickier than I thought.  She would look at me and give me a wink before I could even focus!  Nonetheless, I captured this one.  Her grandpa likes to wink too.  Her mother claims the winking started after their visit to the farm, so we suspect the little monkey is copying grandpa.

This afternoon it is a bit quiet at my house as everyone sulks because the little monkey and her "mom" and "da" are on their way home.