Goodness! Well...here's an update

Wow?  Has my lack of posting gone on so long that now Google blogger has a whole new format to compose posts?  I guess so.

It appears that half my entries in the blog start with apologies to my dear viewers for the lack of posting, and, well, this post falls into that category.  We are in June, and my last post was in March.  Ah, oh well!  If you are reading this then your commitment to me, and my bogging, is still in tact and I hope to not disappoint.

So much has happened (as you can imagine in a house of two girls under five) in the last few months, but let's start with the biggest news - TATUM TURNED FOUR!   And to celebrate, we had four parties for her, more like four celebrations....

The Shearer Family celebrating at Outback Steakhouse thanks to a birthday gift card from Pop Pop.

A super happy four year old celebrating with friends at preschool.

 

 

For the past year or so I have been working on Karma Triyana Dharmachakra's (KTD) National Steering Committee for Family and Dharma programming.  KTD is the monastery I belong to and have been affiliated with almost my entire life.  In case you didn't know, I am Buddhist!  My work lead me to participate in a Family Weekend hosted at KTD where Tatum and I took our first trip together to join my mom and grandmother in Woodstock, NY.  That's right - four generations!  It was the first time I had returned to KTD in ten years, and it was a wonderfully magically weekend full of activities, crafts, nature hikes, life releases, and fun!  And even more special, Tatum turned four while in New York.  She was able to share her birthday with her new friends, my mother, and grandmother (not to mention a whole plane of strangers too as we flew back to LA that night).  

 

Above - Tatum poses in front of prayer flags near the pond. 
Right - Tatum insists on swimming in the gorge although it is freezing.  Like mother, like daughter - where there is water, we will get in!

The rest of the family, meaning Andrew and Hazel, are doing great.  Hazel is still smiling with only six teeth in her head, but that does not keep her from eating anything placed on the table.  We finally moved Hazel out of room and set her up in Tatum's room.  The girls enjoy their shared space, and we parents LOVE having a room to our own.  The simple freedom of being able to walk into my bedroom and turn on the light no matter what time is an act I will never take for granted.  

Tree Planting

We are in tree planting season here in Southern California.  For the past two weekends I've taken my trusty tree planter Tatum to tree planting events in the community.  Two weeks ago we headed out to El Monte and planted a 15-gallon Sycamore tree at a future community river park.  Tatum was excited to be given a small shovel and a sun hat to plant.  At one point during our digging she became more focused on the rocks coming out of the ground than creating the hole for the tree.  She would give each rock a bath, and then set it up in her kingdom (of cardboard) as a princess, prince, or monster.  Our goal was to plant four, as Tatum is obsessed with the number four and turning four in May.  Well, we got one in the ground and started to dig another when Tatum decided she would rather eat popcorn in the car and head home.  When we got home Tatum shared her thoughts, "Mommy, this was a perfect day!"  Granted it was only 11:30am, but she was right, it was a perfect day. 



The Shearer Clan around LaLa's Oak

 Last weekend the whole family headed into the Angeles National Forest and planted a 1-gallon Oak trees in the Vogel Flats picnic area.  Saturday March 4th was my mother's birthday, so we dedicated this tree to her - Happy Birthday LaLa!  Upon watering the tree, Tatum turned to the tree and said, "Tree, you are growing so big. I am so proud of you. I'm gonna give you a big kiss" and then kissed the tree.  As we headed home and were about 20 minutes down the road Tatum exclaimed that she could still hear the tree growing and it was getting so big!  Yep, we got a 2nd generation tree hugger/kisser on our hands.

Housework or Houseplay?

Life is all perception, right?  Right.  So the other night I found myself in typical fashion on my hands and knees sweeping the kitchen floor.  Hazel approached in excitement seeing the dustpan and broom as nothing more than toys.  I denied her the opportunity to play because I wanted to finish this simple task of cleaning the floor. She protested the rejection and cried to have the toys in her hands.  I realized as I looked at the frustration that was growing in my body for having to even clean in the first place, that I saw these two items in my hands as tools to do work, whereas Hazel saw them as toys to do play.  If I simply changed my perception of what I was doing, playing instead of working, then the whole process of cleaning becomes a source of joy instead of resentment.  Funny how perception works.  So I finished my sweep, dumped the dirt in the trashcan (literally and figuratively) and gave the toys to Hazel to play.   I'd much rather play than work any day, anytime. 

Hazel Turns ONE

Yeppers, Hazel is One.  After very little consideration, we decided to take advantage of MLK day and throw a midday party at the house.  Oh, how the second child is so short changed....you may remember (or not) Tatum's first birthday where I went ALL out and built a sandbox, purchased shovels and buckets for all attending friends, personalized the sand toys with each child's name, balloons, lanterns, etc., etc., etc.  Fast forward to Hazel's approaching first birthday and Andrew and I found ourselves scratching our heads wondering if we should have a party.  Well I am certainly glad we did, for Hazel deserves a day of cupcakes and presents to honor her first year of life in celebration with all of her friends. 

On Hazel's actual birthday, we spent the day together with Tatum, hanging out at home and a visit to the toy store in town.  On the way to the store, I chose to hold Hazel in the Ergo child carrier realizing that these days of carrying my baby girl are numbered as she continues to grow each day.  Hazel buried herself in my chest as we walked and I rubbed her little body and felt complete satisfaction in and gratitude for being a mother to these two.  Tatum held my hand and spoke, "Mommy, you know everything."  "What?" I exclaimed, did I just really hear that statement, "I know everything?"  Tatum responded "Yes, you know everything.  There is only one queen and you are the Queen."  Wow!  Sweet!  I'll take that lovely gift of words on my youngest daughter's first birthday.  Thank you Tatum. 

Happy New Year - 2012!

11 months and still no teeth

Are You Thankful?

A conversation in the bathroom:

Tatum, going potty: "You know momma, one day I am going to have to go bye-bye."

Me: "What?"

Tatum: "Soon...Hazel and I will have to go, but you and daddy will have to stay here.  You and daddy will be crying.  And you'll say 'noooo', but we have to.  Hazel and I have to go."

Me: speechless - stunned

Tatum: "Are you thankful?

Me: "Am I thankful?"

Tatum: "Yes, are you thankful?"

Me: "Yes, I am.  I am very thankful."

Goodness! My three-year-old daughter is already prepping me for the day she'll leave the house.  I assume this realization came from her watching and understanding the plot of Toy Story 3.  Andy had to go to college, and one day Tatum and Hazel will too.  We have 15 years before any of that happens, and I am thankful.