The girls were all smiles when out with Q one recent afternoon…

-M

The girls were running around while I was relaxing on the couch one day. When I looked up and saw sassy Avery crossing her arms and sporting her patented “I own this place” look, I had to capture the moment.

-M

As mentioned here before, this is the absolute craziest time of year in my office. There are long days, intense meetings and what feels like never-ending to-do lists, and I often come home in the afternoons totally worn out. (I’ve historically been open with the girls about work things: I love my job, I tell them, but sometimes it’s hard – similar to a tough day at school.) The other night I was feeling particularly tired and, worse, overwhelmed, and Zoe had an idea to cheer me up. “Let’s do a haiku!” she said and ran to get some paper. She proceeded to ask me for and jot down my “emotion words” and within a few minutes had prepared a poem for me. I won’t embarrass myself by sharing the poem (and my emotion words here), but I will share that I was touched that she had thought to do this. And, yeah, it made me feel better.

-M

The girls had two skating parties last week: a rollerskating one for Avery on Saturday and an ice skating one for both girls on Sunday. Avery wasn’t as excited about being on the ice – but Zoe and Q were!

-M

Here’s Avery this morning, hamming it up and sharing some exciting news.

-M

Avery’s first soccer game was yesterday – and what a treat! She and her teammates worked really hard, running up and down the field and trying to get the ball, and they wound up winning 4-3. (It’s a non-competitive league at this age, but it was still fun to see them come out on top.) Even more exciting: Avery scored one of those goals herself, and seemed to have a blast doing it.

-M

It’s been several days since I’ve last posted, and the main reason is that we’ve been keeping quite busy. The school year is in full swing, which means nightly homework for Zoe and various activities for both girls: Zoe is doing piano, chorus and swimming while Avery is taking Spanish and doing soccer and swimming. The girls seem very happy with their new teachers and classes; there’s no complaining other than about being very tired at the end of the school day. And speaking of tired: September and early October are always my busiest at work, which can take a toll (and make it tricky to manage all the days off school this time of year.). But we’re making it work!

-M

Rosh Hashanah started last night, and Avery presented us with a card she made at school. What she wrote (note that “owes” = “always”) brought tears of happiness to my eyes.

-M

I often tell my friends with younger children how much easier things get once kids hit a certain age and start playing with their siblings. Indeed, for several years now our girls have taken advantage of their built-in playmate and entertained one another. Most mornings these days the girls get up and start playing with each other (often after getting dressed on their own) without even checking in with us. Here’s what I woke up to one day last weekend.

-M

We signed Avery up for soccer again this year, and her first practice was Thursday afternoon. When I arrived  just before practice was over, my jaw practically hit the ground – Avery, who was somewhat tentative when out on the field last year and who was somewhat lukewarm about playing again this year, was running up and down the field kicking the ball, laughing and having the time of her life. I was shocked – and thrilled – at how good she looked and how much fun she was having! (“I made a goal!” she ran up to me and said excitedly.) I think it’s going to be a good year…

-M

When cleaning up the house the other day I came across a note that Zoe had written (and forgotten to give me). “Dear Mom, I love you,” she had written. “You are the sweetest and kindest mom I know. Even though we’re not at home, I still like you the same. Love, Zoe”

This one’s a keeper!

-M

At the open house, we were treated to some info on Avery. I learned a lot: I didn’t realize this was her favorite book (we haven’t read it in ages!) or animal, or that she wanted to be a vet when she grew up. And I had to laugh about her line about TV; she doesn’t even watch it that much!

-M

The girls’ school had a back-to-school night for parents last week; the annual evening event offers parents the chance to meet their new teachers and hear more about the year’s curriculum. In first grade each child also wrote a message for their parents in their journal, and when I opened up Avery’s and saw what she had written tears immediately sprang to my eyes. “I am happy,” she wrote (with her own spelling). As I told her teacher, that’s all I needed to hear. I could go home a happy mom.

-M

With nothing on our calendar  yesterday – a rarity (and luxury) for us these days  – the four of us jumped in the car and headed to the other side of the city. There we explored the area around Q’s new office (including the Transamerica Pyramid and a cool store that specializes in architectural books); roamed around the Embarcadero Center, North Beach and Chinatown; and saw Coit Tower up close. It was the quintessential San Francisco day.

-M

After I told Avery that I loved her one night, she asked if I loved her as much as all the water in the world. I told her yes, and I also loved her more than all the air there is to breathe. She thought for a moment and said, “Sure is a lot of love you have!”

-M