baby hawk lets it shine

Today was our little Nora Jane's preschool graduation.  She tapped me on the arm this morning in the kitchen and asked me to come to the couch in the living room because she had a secret.

"Momma, I don't want to graduate."

"Oh sweetie, you'll have so much fun with your friends and they'll be so happy to see you because you have been at Summer Camp the past week and a half."

"Will they make me go up on the stage?"

"Yes, they will, but do you not want to?"

Nora Jane shook her head no.

"OK then, let's go see your friends and just watch them graduate and celebrate."

"OK. You make sure they don't take me up on stage."

"Promise baby."

 Nora Jane slowly got ready and we arrived 20 minutes late.  I was trying to get us situated in our seats with my back turned when one of the assistant teachers came over and swooped Nora Jane away.

"Oh no. I'm in big trouble."

But, just like Mama Hawk, my little lively Hawk is very outgoing and friendly after she warms up a bit. She did great. Check out her singing with her preschool friends.

Congrats to the Class of 2012. Here's to doing it again 2029!

Call Us Maybe?... at the Hawk's Nest

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post! We've been in a whirl of Preschool and Kindergarten events all spring long.  Now that we've hit summertime, the girls have really taken a liking to creating videos.  They love Cimorelli. Here's the video that's on repeat in our house:

Grace asked me to video her singing the same song and put it up on YouTube. Here she is:

And here's what happens when you add a little Nora Jane to the mix:

Yep, things are still pretty much the same.

Call Us Maybe?

hawk's swinging without teeth

Gracie spent much of 2011 mastering the monkey bars. Spending that amount of time around kids monkey-ing around kicking their legs comes with risk. "Surprise", she was kicked square in the mouth causing both her front teeth to really loosen up. Now we've got a super cute toothless Hawk that can take on her choice of monkey bars across the Bay Area.

I had a loof toof...and now it's gone.


Here is Gracie on the monkey bars at her favorite park in Oakland. She spent a lot of time staring down these monkey bars since being a baby, hanging with help, and finally crossing one bar at a time. We're still working on skipping a bar.


Once Gracie mastered the local bars, she took to Kirk School in San Jose to take on "Grandma Bernie's" monkey bars. These were a little tricky with a downward slope, but she mastered them nonetheless.


Once Gracie's confidence built up, she then took on the "High Bars" by Auntie Anne's house in Redwood City.


We're so proud of our Gracie for accomplishing her goal. With that determination, you can & will do anything you want!

junk mail vs the real thing

Picture 1:

Picture 2:

There's a big difference between what you see in Picture 1 vs Picture 2. Picture 2 is what you would call "Junk Mail". It clogs up my mailbox, clutters the house, and takes up the bulk of the recycle bin EVERY WEEK. Sometimes it even hides Picture 1 type mail. All that & it can make you feel fat! Darn those skinny catalog models! This January I started my Paper Diet with Olivia, one of my colleagues at Manilla(www.manilla.com).

What does this mean? The first thing I'm doing is seeing what I'm dealing with. I've never actually monitored the mailbox junk volume for over more than a week. I have designated the Cuties box our location for junk mail. Over the next couple weeks I'll see just how fat the "Junk Mail" is making our recycle bin. I'll follow Olivia (https://www.manilla.com/thepaperdiet/day-1/) for more tips & tricks on how to be more thoughtful about my paper usage and opportunities to get rid of paper altogether.

Wondering where mail like in Picture 1 goes? That's easy. It gets into the Hawk's Nest and is cherished for as long as it will survive with little grabby fingers on them, and you may even be called out on The Hawk's Nest blog. Thanks to you all for the beautiful holiday cards. I'd also like to make a special shout out to the Koldas - Your envelope did not go unnoticed.

First official mail for The Hawk's Nest. It's about time!

P.S. The Cuties are a tad dry this year, don't you think? I'm such a sucker, I keep buying them anyway.

all i want from santa is....

"a wii and the magical dust that makes the reindeer fly"
--Gracie

"an orange teddy bear and sponge bob DS game. that's all i want!!"
--Nora Jane

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

hawks & santa passing by....

i always say i want to write down special moments on this blog and tonight was one of them. i wasn't able to get my camera out in time for this moment, but maybe sometimes that happens so when you remember it seems bigger and better than what really happened. BUT that is not the case this time because.....

nora jane saw santa AND he definitely saw her. he came down main street in Redwood City during the holiday parade, turned and waved directly at HER. nora jane, the little girl jumping up & down and screaming "SANTA! SANTA! SANTA!" amongst a bunch of other kids, including her sister and 3 cousins. SANTA saw her & she was all smiles. that type of happiness is infectious and i want to bottle it up and shake it on myself whenever i'm caught up in the less important things.