Make it work

The thing I miss most about living in California and Washington is the weather.

Here in Kansas it is often too hot or too cold to be outside, and then when it is nice, it's too windy.

But the past week or so has been heavenly. I feel like I was given a gift and as quick as I am to complain about Kansas, I then must also be quick to sing it's praises and acknowledge the cool temperatures and outside dinners we've been enjoying.

My parents just happened to visit during this week of temperate weather. It was a nice break from the 100+ temps in Arizona.

We sat outside one night after dinner, enjoying our pergola, bellies full of pork tenderloin cooked on the grill.

"A. My name is Alice. I come from Alaska with a basket full of apples."

The girls had joined us from their game on the swings. Something called "elements" that looked a lot like swinging and talking.

When we get to May, I'm usually frazzled and burnt out. Every year, I question my life choices, until I remember I always feel like this, during this month. Then after a week of wandering around my house, wondering what I'm forgetting to do, the fog begins to lift and I start having creative impulses and can stay awake past 9 o'clock.

"M. My name is Maia. I come from Minnesota with a basket full of mangoes."

These last few weeks I've been trying to be mindful of experiencing each moment. Not living in the future, filled with anxiety and list making.

Noticing the gentle rocking of my patio chair. Feeling my hair lift off my neck as a soft breeze comes across the yard. Appreciating the weight of my youngest as she sit in my lap, inhaling the smell of sun and dirt and childhood.

Summer is not without its challenges. Changing schedules and bored kids top the list.

However, I'm determined to enter this season fully in the present enjoying the life I'm creating for myself. Even if it is in Kansas.

"W. I come from Wichita with a basket full of wishes."

Final YMCA Pool Rankings

Today the girls and I headed to the downtown YMCA; the last destination on our YMCA pool summer checklist. During dinner I asked the girls to rank the facilities.

There are seven YMCA locations in the the greater Wichita area. Here's a quick breakdown of their offerings:
Andover- Our local Y. Has a large outdoor pool with water slides, lily pads, and a lazy river.
East- Indoor pool only, but has an indoor water slide that both girls are tall enough to use.
Northwest- Large outdoor water park with water slides and a lazy river, indoor water slide as well, but Ruby is not tall enough to use it.
West- Indoor pool only, water slide that both girls could use and is bigger than the east water slide
Southwest- Large outdoor waterpark that has water slides, but also a diving board and an in-pool rock climbing wall.
North- Medium outdoor water park with water slides and here's the best part: every 20 minutes the pool turns into a wave pool.
Downtown- Indoor pool only. Nothing special, but wins for largest tv in the midwest (well, I made that up, but it's really big)

Honestly, if you asked my kids which pool was their favorite, they'd probably just say whichever one they swam in that day. However, here are their rankings.

Maia:
1. Southwest
2. Northwest
3. North
4. West
5. Andover
6. East
7. Downtown

Southwest was her favorite because the water slide was cool and the lazy river was fun. When I asked why she didn't like the downtown Y she said "oh! I love it! but there's no water slide."

Ruby:
1. Andover
2. Downtown
3. East
4. North
5. West
6. Northwest
7. Southwest

Poor Ruby is just about 47 1/2 inches tall and you have to be 48 inches to go down all the water slides. Next summer will be more fun for her. She loved the Andover Y because this year she was finally tall enough to do the lily pads, which are floating pads with a rope net extended above. She didn't like the southwest y because she wasn't tall enough to do the diving board and she wasn't very good at the rock wall.

Aleks:
1. Andover
2. North
3. East
4. Southwest
5. West
(He didn't go to the Downtown or Northwest)

Emily:
1. North
2. Andover
3. East
4. Northwest
5. Southwest
6. Downtown
(I didn't go to the West location)

Maia said once we went to all the indoor and outdoor pools, summer could be over. On Friday we find out the kids' teachers and then Maia starts school next Thursday (the Kindergarteners have a slightly different schedule). We're hoping to squeeze in a few more adventures before the fall schedule kicks into gear.

It's been a great summer. It's going to be a great fall.

The start of summer: I'd give it a B+

It's been ages since I've sat down to write and life has been full during my online absence.

Once classes at the university were over, I immediately started painting. Judging from the paint cans in our basement (left by the previous owners) it's been 7 years since any room has been painted. Now that Aleks has tenure, it's time to take some ownership of this house and I'm hoping to paint the entire interior within this year. Summer is a good time to get a lot of it done.

I painted our bedroom in the fall and in the last month have completed the remaining upstairs bedrooms. We decided to move Ruby into the craft room and so for a week our house was in total chaos. My timing is really something. I finished putting together the two rooms the day I left for Washington.

The old craft room/color.

New color/Ruby's room.

Ruby's old room (with the old color) about 3 years ago before the big girl bed.

New color/craft room/office.

At the end of May I headed to the tri-cities in Washington to sing with the Mid Columbia Symphony. I got to sing my first Beethoven 9 and Bruckner Psalm 150. My friend Nick Wallin conducts the orchestra and does an amazing job getting a high quality performance with just a week of rehearsals. It was a thrilling experience to sit on stage in front of the orchestra and hear such a masterpiece in this way. Not only was it a rewarding musical experience, but I also met some extraordinarily warm and lovely people.

It also didn't hurt that there are some beautiful wineries and wine in the area.

The week I got back the girls attended princess camp, which was basically an introduction to ballet and tap classes, while learning to be princess-y. Or whatever. Obviously, because they are a typical 4 and 6 year old, they loved it.

Personally, I couldn't get enough of their leotards and buns.

The week ended in a coronation, so just FYI, Maia and Ruby are real princesses now.

And when everyone played freeze dance, they wasted no time finding each other to waltz together. It makes me so happy to know they will always have a dance partner.

Our transition into summer hasn't been seamless. The girls were absolute terrors the first two weeks: not listening, sassy, and disobedient. It wasn't fun. Thankfully, the past week has been much better. They've remembered how to play together and be respectful and find a rhythm in our less structured days. We've been able to spend some time at the pool and have made lots of trips to the library. Maia is devouring the Junie B. Jones books.

If you listen to the national news, I'm sure you've caught wind of the mess Kansas is in right now. I read this article, which I feel is easy to read and sums things up nicely. My emotional welfare is not usually affected by politics, but I've found myself feeling quite sad this past week.

On Thursday my grandfather was flown out on an honor flight to DC to be honored for his service in WWII. My aunt Annie was able to go with him and posted this on her instagram account:

I admit that I come from a long line of educators and may be biased, but my heart just breaks over the respect and treatment our teachers and schools receive here in Kansas. Not to mention the poor and lower middle class. Something has to change. I'm confident it won't be this way forever, but it sure doesn't make the humid midwest summer any easier to stomach.

A silver lining is that the girls and I are headed to Arizona next week to see my family and soak up some sun in the pool. Be warned: I'm sure my social media will be flooded with pictures of my girlies with their cousins. It's gonna be cute!

Here's hoping your summer is off to a great start!

Recharged

Maia had her last day of school and the next morning Aleks headed to Austin for his triathlon, leaving me with the girls for four days. Not only was I greeted with the shock of single parenthood, but also with the abrupt end of hectic school and work schedules. Which left me suddenly gasping for air even though I was no longer suffocated with things to do.

As artists and professors, our lives and routines are extremely varied from week to week, but the consistency of intense work and time commitments dictate the rhythm of our days. And every summer, the rug is pulled out from under us. Both parents are home at the same time. Mornings seem aimless without school to propel us out the door. It's an adjustment.

I spent those four days as a single parent, somewhat isolated from the world. There were brief moments of conversation with other adults, but they were few. I entered a bit of a depression, eating too much, looking at Facebook on my phone incessantly, watching my 600 pound life on TLC. And while I really despise feeling lethargic and am terrified of becoming deeply depressed, there was a little voice encouraging the boredom knowing that it might serve me in the long run.

During that time I also read. Aleks had been loaned A Life Without Limits by Chrissie Wellington, a world champion triathlete, and I found myself sucked into and inspired by her journey.

"Hard work and an open mind- it's the only way to realize the potential that is inside every one of us."

I also began reading Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott, whose honesty about motherhood and masterful storytelling are so incredibly motivational.

So while my world had come to a screeching stop and it felt like I was sitting on my butt (I did go to the gym several times!), ho-humming and unmotivated to practice or write, I was actually recharging the batteries that had completely run out.

Sure enough, Aleks came home and I now have a list of projects for the summer, yard work has been done, lots of laundry folded, and de-cluttering has revived my spirits.

Yesterday I even went bathing suit shopping.

If you have 3 and 5 year old girls, I strongly encourage you to bring them along. If you have two little  girls chirping how beautiful you look, they almost drown out the voices of self loathing that can knock a woman to her knees.

The girls are remembering how to play together again. Aleks and I are catching up on sleep (the dark circles are only occasional now). The air conditioning is now a constant whir in the background.

Summer: let's do this.

Blackberries

We went blackberry picking this morning.

It was hazy and humid and sunny after 3 days of rain.

It's this cool guy's birthday today!

Blackberries for all!

And of course, singing into the fan is the perfect way to end a fun morning.

Summertime

Summertime happenings are in full swing at the Sternfeld-Dunn house.

We've checked a few things off our summer bucket list (Austin trip, movie night, swim lessons) 

and are working on a few more (potty training, reading).

My mom and dad are visiting and we are soaking up as much of their loveliness as we can.

We're just starting to step into the heat that Kansas summers bring.

Despite school being out of session, we've been busier than ever.

There's just so much to DO. (I hope you read that in Julia Child's voice)

Each day brings some sort of new adventure.

And we're drinking in as much as we can.

You know it's summer when...

The other night Aleks and I were watching some of the Olympic trials.

One young woman, who just turned 17, qualified for the first time.

As the heat ended, the cameras cut to her family and showed their reactions in the final moments of the race.

The dad was jumping up and down and the mom was standing with her hand covering her mouth, hardly moving. As their daughter finished and it became apparent she would be a part of the US Olympic team, the mom looked stunned while the dad looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin, he was so excited.

I looked at Aleks and said, "No way. There is absolutely no way I could handle it if our girls ever go to the Olympics. I mean, it's just too much."

Aleks started laughing, "Are you kidding me?! Have you met our girls? They're not going to the Olympics. Unless there's a 'jumping on stuff' category."

He has a point. Our girls are really good at climbing on top of every piece of furniture in the house. 

Oh! And they're really good at jumping onto stuff too.

It's been sweltering here. We've had triple digits all week. Thursday was 106 and Friday was 102. Interestingly, Friday seemed exponentially more bearable, even though it was only 4 degrees cooler. A friend of mine said it was because there was less humidity.

At any rate, we've been spending some time at our YMCA. 

The outdoor water park is wonderful.

I can't wait until our girls can be on our own at the pool. Right now, it's a bit like an intense survival game. Keeping the girls from getting knocked down by older boys who run past, making sure Ruby's always holding a hand as we walk through waist high water, catching them at the other end of the slide so they don't drown...

at least it's cool!