Staycation with Miss Bean.

As an early birthday present, I took advantage of our beach membership to book a special one night rate at Tucker's Point Hotel. Who better to share the evening with than my little Bean.  Some mommy-daughter bonding time was long overdue. 

No babies, no boys, no dishes to do. 

Bliss.

Enjoying some lobster at the Point restaurant. 

I enjoyed soaking in this tub twice over the course of 24 hours. 

I also liked the lotions and options with their faint recall of the poem references in my favorite book, "1984."  

One long size bed made for cozy selfies. 

 I wish we had taken advantage of the member discounts more often while we have been living here. I can't believe this was the first time I ever used it.  Such a shame. 

I'm glad though that I got to share it with Mina. Making time for each child on their own is a challenge and takes a fair amount of planning. Thankfully, Jeff is a trooper in that regard. He steps up to man full household duty with the boys while we enjoyed one night to ourselves. 

Back to reality this week ... sick baby, ear infections, Jeff traveling, carpool switches, water shut down for continued backyard renovation. 

Oh well. At least we had Tucker's. 

Carols for All, December 2015

The holiday season continued in full force this week. Mina, who only recently began playing clarinet, had a holiday concert called, "Carols for All," at St. John's Church. 

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When you are immersed in a country as beautiful as this, it's easy to forget how old it is. There is so much history on this tiny little island. St. John's Church, is over 400 years old.  

This is where the performance was held. It's very close to the kids school (and home too. As an aside, the arch bishop, who delivered a reading this evening, had a hand in welcoming Theo to the island a year ago.  Without his wife (Fiona Dill, a nurse, midwife and doula) I am 100% sure I would have given birth to my third child on the floor of my dining room. 

While we sat in the pews, Jeff wondered why the school wouldn't bother to create a separate auditorium. 

And then the orchestra began to play, and we realized that despite its age, the acoustics here were amazing. 

Miss Bean. She is the littlest one in the entire orchestra, and was invited to join it last year. 

Sitting stil for long periods of time is not easy, alas. But I reminded him of the hours Mina used to spend sitting in the gym waiting for him to finish training. 

It was worth it though. Mina did an amazing job and it was lovely seeing her perform, as well as the older groups. Clarinet is a new instrument for her, which she took up on her own initiative. She goes in early to school twice a week to be ready for rehearsal (7:45!) and also has individual lessons during lunch time once a week. She is expected to practice a half hour a day in addition to all this. 

But she does it. I warned her when she wanted to take up another instrument that it would be a challenge. But she hasn't faltered in over a year now.  She balances piano practice, dance, daily homework, soccer, and early morning clarinet and practice. 

So Proud of my girl. 

Mina's dance recital, 2015 - "All that Glitters."

Mina dances to "Uptown Funk."

 

Adding to this month's swirl of activities, The Somerset Dance Academy celebrated 45 years on the island.  Mina was in two performances - a ballet number and this one above for her jazz/tap group.  I just have to smile with the little sassypants shake shake thing going on. 

And here's the ballet number:

She has done such a wonderful job going to classes each week, putting in her hours at rehearsals and never complaining.  And I just love that she gets up on stage and does her thing - with a smile too.

With all the different activities going on, in addition to school stuff, we have had some late nights.  It's in keeping with the way the month of December works here in BDA.  The weeks leading up to Christmas are such a hurricane of frenzy.  Between the kids things and the social stuff for the adults, I am constantly double checking my daily planner to see if I've missed something, forgot to pack something, confirmed car pooling for different sports, birthday parties, or playdates.

Of course I love it, I've been at this game for awhile now.  It's fun frenzy - all of which will come to a screeching halt post Christmas, when the island basically shuts down for a couple weeks to recharge.

Summer camp - Lohikan 2015.

Judging from her pictures, Mina had a great summer!  Following a very successful 9th birthday party, she headed off to camp for a full 4 weeks!  Thank goodness for pictures, or we'd have no way of knowing what she was up to!  Snail mail delivery of letters back to BDA did not work so well.

Great counselors.

Lots of outdoor, electronic free time!

So many new friends.

Girl time!

My super swimmer.

A chance to perform!

Many mom friends asked me whether I was nervous about sending Mina away for so many weeks solo.  I've realized that the idea of sleep away camp is a bit foreign for most of the ex pats here.

I never did sleep away camp as a child, but for some kids, it was a summer ritual.  Jeff recalls most of his friends in Brooklyn leaving for the summer, and I loved hearing stories Grandma H told of her summers away in camp.  For upstate kids like me, camp was our backyard, so that was the end of it! It might be a city thing.

Obviously, you have to know your own child's maturity level to assess whether they are ready for the adjustment of being away for so long.  Mina begged us let her go for the full summer, but I wasn't ready for that.  So I compromised and gave her four weeks.  This was also her second year of going to this  camp, so i felt more comfortable knowing she was in great hands.  She's also very self directed, social, and loves group activities.  In other words, camp is a perfect fit for her!

My only concerns, and they remain so, are exposing her to kids that are much older than she is, and are also very Americanized.  

Just to explain... Living here in BDA, the kids grow up with a very different sort of cultural environment.  It's really one of my favorite parts of living here - the culture of politeness and respect and innocence that exists.  It's very old school, in a sense.. The please, and thank you, and "good morning" greetings, the way children address grown ups, etc.  I'm American, and very proud of it, thank you ... but I do worry a bit that kids grow up,way too fast back home.  Here in BDA, they get to stay kids a lot longer.  It's just a very different atmosphere.

At any rate, Mina survived, and had a fantastic time.  Her counselors were like the big sisters she never had, and she loved her bunk mates.  I missed her like crazy, and I counted down the days till I could get her back.  

At the same time though, it was also a mini lesson for me in letting go.  Isn't that the hardest job as a parent - trusting that you've taught your child how to behave and why, and letting them venture out in short doses?

A tie dye birthday - highlights!

Before Pinterest, all we had was our own imagination to craft memorable birthdays for our kids.  Life may have been simpler then, but I'm not complaining.  I'll take all the help I can get!

Fast forward to 2015, and between Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, there is no shortage of inspired ideas out there to compare your own handiwork against.

For Mina's 9th birthday, she asked for a tie dye party. No other explanation. After sitting down and talking about it, we came up with some ideas and I set off to execute the grand vision. 

The plan:

Cake

Food station

T shirt tie dye

Swimming. 

I shamelessly borrowed from all the above mentioned online sources and came up with this. 

Cake:  Birdonacake has a great tutorial for the whole thing. 



Practice round. 



I tried the blue frosting in the middle for this round, but it was easier to just stick to white.



I added some Trix bits along the edge to tidy it up (and get rid of the cereal.)

Once sliced, you get the full effect.



Decor:

I like chalkboard art.  Plus, I needed a sign by the front door so people would just come inside.  We disconnected the doorbell to preserve the baby's naps.  hahaha

 

Theme inspired food ideas:

Trix krispy bars from Cravings of a Lunatic

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Décor:

Tie dye and rainbow colors, courtesy of Amazon.com and Oriental trading company.  We did tie dye backpacks as favors too.

The girls decided to have an impromptu freeze dance competition at the end, and we used the peace sign fans as prizes.

T shirts:

Fantastic tutorial on YouTube on how to do this with acrylic paint and fabric medium, by Shemi Dixon. 



I bought some fabric markers, so the girls could flair out their shirts.

Drying on the tarp, once the rubber bands are removed. Yes, that is a pair of boxer shorts there as well.  Jeff thought he needed one.



Swimming:

 

We put together a fun playlist with songs from the 60's through today, and the girls had a blast dancing and diving into the pool.  It was a great way to cool off after doing the shirts in the sun.

Success!

Mina turns 8!

Mina turned 8 this July in a frenzied week of celebrating, culminating in a spa party with a few special friends.  We found an amazing place here on the island, called "Inner Beauty Kids Spa."  They arrange for spa birthday parties on site as well as mommy-daughter manicures and pedicures.  Totally girly!  Mina loved it.  I loved the ease of managing an intimate birthday indoors, while in my third trimester.

I tend to go overboard with birthday parties, but this year, the heat, humidity, and late pregnancy hit me hard.  I knew, from looking at Pinterest inspired ideas, it would be easy to go over the top with this theme.  But I restrained myself. 

 KISS!  (Keep it simple...), I kept whispering.



Most of the décor was already in place.



Simple activities, run by lovely staff kept the girls entertained.



The spa is small, which necessitated keeping the guest list manageable.



Glittery options were available.



The timing was pre-lunch, so edibles were light and of the finger-food variety.



I made the cupcakes using the semi-homemade method (Dunkin Hines for the cupcake, homemade frosting for the top, cake toppers I made with art store supplies, sandwiches, cherries in cupcake wrappers, fruit kabobs, cake pop balls - ugh, disaster, but kids loved anyway.)



A happy camper. 

I'm going to consciously stop using the expression, "I can't believe she's (insert age of child) because it's so cliché.  How else can I express it though?  One minute I was driving myself to the ER to deliver her (long story), and the next, she happily jet sets to sleepaway camp for two weeks by herself. She loves clothes and fashion and designing outfits.  She's a reader, just like her mom, and gravitates towards all sorts of books like Dork Diaries, to Roald Dahl, to fairy princess tales.  Sometimes, she'll take her entire collection of cuddlies, line them up, and read to them.  She still adores bunny rabbits, and her favorite one "Luvabul," which she's had since she was a few months old, is still alive and well.  She informed me Luvabul will be attending her marriage.  If she gets married.  She changes her mind about that frequently.  She plays piano, swims like a fish, and has started taking sailing lessons - such a quintessential BDA thing.

She never lacks for friends, and unlike me - she always knows what to say to people in any situation.  Her social skills leave me astounded.  I would be at a loss without her by my side.  She happily joins me in the kitchen to cook or bake, feed the dog or set the table.  And she does it with such a smile.  Every night, she cuddles next to me for lullabies, and hugs my ever expanding belly.  "It's just so cute I can't help it!"  She says with a grin.  She tries talking to the baby through my belly button and laughs at the silliness of it all.

It looks like she'll be the only daughter I'll ever have, and for that - I am  grateful.  I couldn't ask for a better one.

Reluctant Runners.

In-house cross country meet.



The kids' school is very big on sports, whether you like them or not. 

Coming from a background of athletics my whole life, I applaud the sentiment, but part of me resents the amount of time they devote to promoting sports during school hours.  It's purely economics.  I'd rather the massive sums we pay in tuition be utilized for more time on math, science and reading.  That's it.  Keep the recesses and gym classes to burn off energy.  Those kids that want to play sports, should do it after school as part of their extra curriculars. 

That's what we did.  I played tennis, softball, rugby.  I joined the ski club in the winters and even played some basketball to keep occupied.  But we did it after school.  And we didn't drag kids into it kicking and screaming.

What we used to call Field Day, now takes two full days of pageantry during the day.  There's races, and races and races.. and odd sorts of races for those kids that don't actually like running.  Think walking with a tennis racket and balancing a ball.  There's also this cross country meet which every child must practice for at gym class and then perform one morning before parents and spectators.  They time the kids to try and improve their scores. See that field out there in the back?  They have to run it twice.  It probably works out to about a half mile, slightly more.  There's also a huge  all morning swim gala (I was there last year - the nurse brought Jordan over to me after he competed because he complained of dizziness), and an in house soccer tournament (days and weeks).

All of this occurs during school hours with much fanfare and awards given out during school assemblies.  The kids get all riled up and the winning "house" gets awarded a plaque to display under their house name in the gym.  Yes, the kid are grouped into houses.  Very Harry Potter. 

Needless to say, if you're a sporty type of kid, this is fabulous.

If you're Mina, it pretty much sucks.

She looks very brave up there, but when I arrived at the field, she was sobbing.

Poor kiddo.  I don't fully understand it, since the two of us have run together several times before.  She always seemed to enjoy that.  Maybe it's the competition.  Maybe it's the fuss.  Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't shine at sports the same way she does socially  or academically in the classroom.  She's a perfectionist, alas.

I think it's a shame, since running for me has been such a cathartic and enjoyable experience.  The way it's promoted so heavily in the schools here has turned Mina off to it.  I think back to my sports, and I distinctly recall coaches using running as a punishment.  If you were goofing off or not following the game plan - you did laps.  It wasn't until later in life that I realized running was fun in and of itself.

Maybe Mina will get there ... on her own time... once she learns the only person she has to compete with is herself.

Miss Bean had a very good, no, in fact - fabulous - day at school on Friday.  Not only was she recognized for outstanding results on her math exams, she also won a special "Good Conduct Award."  Her "high standards in everything she does," did not go unnoticed by the teachers at Saltus.

My only regret is that no one from the school informed us she would be getting the award at assembly that day.  Had I known, I would have been rocking the front and center seats, armed with my Nikon D90.

I did make her pose immediately when she got home.  She was so modest in the car ride when she told me about it!!

Little Bean - she really does have exceptionally high standards for herself... to the point where several teachers have told me she is a complete perfectionist and will burst into tears if she gets a single word wrong on spelling tests.  Her teacher this year pointed it out at parent teacher conference.

teacher:  Mrs Trimarchi.. you know.. Mina was very upset when she only got 18 out of 19 words right on the spelling quiz.  She said to me, "Anything less than 100% is a failure!"  Now where would she learn something like that??

Me:  My goodness!!  I can't even imagine! 

Except, of course I can imagine. 

Sigh.  Just call me Tiger Mom.

"I'm the mini-Mommy."

Mina is only 7, but she's unilaterally decided she is in charge.  As she puts it, she is "second in command." 

Part of this is my fault, as I taught her that expression.

I only meant to use it with respect to Oscar .. our dog. She was upset because Oscar wouldn't run out for a walk with her unless I nodded at him and said, "Oscar, walk."

 I  explained the pack mentality to her, i.e. why Oscar only  listened to me.

Me:  "It's because I'm the alpha dog, you see?  So when I tell him it's time for a walk, or car ride or sit, he listens."

Mina:  "I want to be the alpha dog!"

Me:  "There can only be one in a pack.  Maybe you can be second in command."

She walked away, satisfied.

Slowly but surely, however, she's staging a mutiny.




Exhibit A: Mina's plan to thwart "quiet time." Jordan becomes the fall guy.

Lisen[sic] Jordan here is the plan
You open your door quietly
You peek out if mom is soundlees[sic]
you tiptoe to my room slide the response to me and I
send back
Love: Mina
P.S. if she is there you wait until she (mom) is gone.

It's been suggested I frame this note for posterity. 

When I confronted her about it, she denied everything, despite her very obvious signature.  Jordan laughed maniacally; and claimed he ignored it and sat very quietly in his room reading during the appointed hour.

We are in trouble.

Birthday celebrating

This month, Mina celebrated her first birthday in Bermuda. Hello my little five year old!

Jeff and Mina both shared the birthday spotlight. And cupcakes.



See that little speck there? That's us!



We celebrated turning five at the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo.

It was an amazing experience going behind the scenes at the exhibits. And I lost a year of my life as we stood above the shark tanks with 14 five year old kids and no gate.



What swam below us.



The turtle feeding was more my speed.



Mina and her cake



Mina and her bubbles! I still can't believe she's five years old.