Say no to eliminating First 5 Funds

FIRST 5 FUNDS THREATENED TO BE ELIMINATED

Please take a moment to read the following as it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. It directly affects all families, children and providers associated with and or participating in First 5 services and classes. It also affects First 5 employees, like myself, who have worked extremely hard and passionately the past 7 years, dedicating our jobs to providing children and families with affordable and available services, classes, workshops and preschool readiness.

Introduced by Senator Dutton (R) Riverside, SB 486 eliminates First 5 completely and redirects Prop 10 dollars to general fund children’s services. If passed by Legislature it would then require voter approval.

SB 486 will be heard by the Senate Health Committee on April 13. While an identical version of this bill had been introduced twice by the late Senator Cox and rejected both times by Legislature, today’s budget environment remains extremely unpredictable. Those wishing to voice an opinion on this bill can contact State Senator Tony Strickland, a key member of the Senate Health Committee. More information is available (including a sample letter) can be found at http://www.f5ac.org/ and by clicking on the left hand tab titled “News and Updates”.

Send letters of opposition by one full week prior to the hearing to:

Senator Ed Hernandez, OD

Chair, Senate Health Committee

State Capitol

Sacramento, CA 95814

In addition, we’re urging parents and providers to take a moment a fill out our “First 5 Hand” in support of First 5. Please take a moment to write a sentence or two of how First 5 has helped you, someone you know, or your facility. Feel free to include a picture of your child or family, or a drawn picture. We’re asking that all “Hands” be mailed or dropped back off to either of our centers no later than April 5^th, next Tuesday.

We’re up against a tough deadline here, so please show First 5 your support!

** We're currently trying to keep this off of the ballots. If it makes it to the ballots and passes, First 5, will be eliminated within 90 days of it passing. Help us to keep First 5, state wide, in action! Below I've included some key points to what the proposed bill will entail. Below that you can find the letter I will

Senator Robert Dutton (R-Riverside & San Bernardino) has introduced SB 486, a bill identical to SB 1109 (Cox) from last year. It contains the following provisions:

• Eliminates funding to all First 5 commissions (state and county) and, instead, requires Prop 10 tobacco tax revenues to go to the General Fund for the Healthy Families and Medi-Cal programs.

• Abolishes the state and county First 5 commissions 90 days after enactment.

• Requires unencumbered funds from county commissions to be divided between the county offices of education, for transfer to school districts within the county, and the county treasurer, to be divided between the county and cities in the county.

• Directs the bill to be submitted to the voters as a ballot initiative.

If you're interested in writing a letter of opposition, feel free to forward it to me. Our center will be doing a mass drop-off of all letters and first five family hands to Senator Tony Strickland's office next week.

Help us keep this off the ballots, and keep the decisions in the hands of the voters, and most importantly - the services in the hands of our children.

Say no to cutting First 5 funds and oppose SB 486!

The following is my personal letter to Senator Hernandez and Senator Strickland is opposition of SB 486. You can find a sample letter to send under News and Updates at http://www.f5ac.org

March 29, 2011

Honorable Ed Hernandez, O.D.
Chair, Senate Health Committee
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

Fax: 916-445-0485

Re: Opposition to SB 486 (Dutton)

Dear Senator Hernandez,

I am writing on behalf of myself, Stephanie Otwell-Curtis, and my
family in opposition of SB 486.

First and foremost, we are a First 5 family.

Senator Dutton proposes to use SB 486 to divert all revenues collected
under the California Children and Families Act (Proposition 10 of
1998) to the General Fund to be used to provide health care services.
This will immediately end all local programs First 5 commissions
currently fund, which include a wide range of health and development
services, quality child care and early education, support for at-risk
families, child abuse prevention, early intervention for children with
special needs, parenting education, family literacy, nutrition and
anti-obesity efforts.

As a parent, early childhood education facilitator, advocate, and
current Moorpark/Simi Valley Neighborhood for Learning Scholarship
Program Coordinator, I understand the importance that accessible and
affordable preschool readiness brings. Preschool readiness programs,
preschools and family childcare centers facilitate developmental,
emotional and social growth of children. Furthermore, these programs
aid in the recognition of behavioral and developmental delays in
children that otherwise go unobserved and impede assessment in some
cases until as late as elementary school age. Removing funding from
these programs will hinder the prevention of early intervention and
the inclusion of children with alternative needs in childcare programs
for those who need it most; those who cannot afford it without
subsidized assistance. Health care services alone cannot fulfill this
need.

Since January of 2005, our Scholarship Program has provided children
in the community of Moorpark and Simi Valley with nearly 600 childcare
subsidy grants. We have provided over 60 Parent Education workshops to
Scholarship families.

As a family, we have participated in Mommy and Me classes since my son
was born. We have utilized the Developmental and Car Seat Safety
checks we offer. Our parents, siblings and friends have volunteered
over the years to support the Moorpark/Simi Valley NFL in local
events.

Unlike SB 486’s proposition, First 5 addresses the needs of the whole
child as well as the specific needs of each community.

The voters have spoke, in 2000 when Proposition 28 was rejected and
again two years ago when Prop 1D was voted down. SB 486 once again
undermines the voters and our capacity for local decision-making.
Eliminating First 5 funding would not only be a disservice to the
voters, but detrimental to the numerous communities of parents,
guardians and children that have come to depend, support and grow with the First 5
Commission and its community resource centers.

We urge you to vote no on SB 486. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Stephanie, Shaun and Sullivan Curtis

Bubbles

Shoe Tsunami

They say that you're only ever as good as the people you keep around you -

and you know,

I really believe that's true.

I think I've said it before, but we're extremely fortunate to have some pretty amazing family and friends. No matter what I seem to get everyone dragged into, they're always willing to rise to the occasion and come along for the ride. To date, our family, friends and coworkers have helped us to ...

• Feed families in need at Thanksgiving
• Adopt families in need for Christmas
• Raise over $1,000 for CHD awareness at Sully's birthday drive
• Provide Christmas pajama baskets
• Donate blankets for Wyatt's Warmth from the Heart organization

In response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan a couple weeks ago, my work decided to become a drop off location for Soles4Souls, an organization that provides used shoes to people in need. They've teamed up with Sports Chalet, and all raised shoes will be making their way to Japan after April 10th. (I'm really proud of my coworkers!)

I sent the word out to our family and friends, and within two days, my dad's co-workers had already raised two GIANT bags of shoes to donate to the cause. Thursday evening I got a text message from my girlfriend Nikki, who works at New Balance. They had recently had a promotional sale - bring in an old pair of sneakers and you got a percentage off a new pair in the store. Well, girlfriend worked it, and got the company to agree to donate ALL the exchanged shoes to my work for Soles4Souls. On top of 11 BOXES of shoes, New Balance also donated 4 HUGE bags of new shoes.

It pays to have friends in all the right places.

So Friday morning, I headed down from my office to pick up the loot. If there had been one single shoe left over, I swear, it would not have fit in my truck. We crammed every single space with shoes, in a desperate attempt to keep me from having to make a second trip back. (Its about a 45 minute round trip)

Nikki and Baby Alphonse (He's due next month! Woo!)

My car was packed to the ceiling, literally!

Me in the only space left in the car! (Funny story - As I was turning on the off ramp the shoes started to fall, and the irony hit me at the possibility I could die in a shoe tsunami that was headed for the tsunami victims.)

I got back to my office in one piece,even though I was convinced a cop would pull me over, look inside my truck and see that it looked like I slaughtered a shoe store inside. And for the entire rest of the day, myself and a volunteer sorted through the nearly THREE HUNDRED pairs of shoes - mating, tying and bagging them up. I'm not going to focus on the fact that I smelled like a dirty sneakers for the rest of the day, or that my two pointer fingers are permanently chaffed on each side from all the looping and tying. Its worth it.

We're doing a count on Monday, but we estimate that the families at our center have helped to raise an additional 100-200 pairs of shoes. We're close to breaking through the 500 mark!

I'm extremely proud of the people we know.

I'm forever grateful of the things everyone has helped us accomplish over the years.

Thank you, all of you, for helping us to make a positive impact on the world, for believing that we can still be that change, no matter how small of an impact we're making in the larger scheme of things. (And Nikki, you're amazing. It wouldn't have been possible on this scale without your help.)

"Do you want to know who you are? Act.

Action will delineate and define you"

- Thomas Jefferson

Rainy day projects

You can take the preschool teacher from the school, but you can't take the school out of the preschool teacher. Or you know, something to that effect.

I have an entire closet full of craft crap, literally, because sometimes I just get the itch to create something after sitting behind a desk for 8 hours straight. Sometimes, I really miss teaching.

I had bought some felt sheets and a giant black felt square in hopes of turning an old poster frame into a flannel board for Sully. I forgot I ended up turning that poster frame (the glass shattered in it some time ago but we kept the frame) into a message board above my desk.

When we moved we bought Sully a cheap Ikea chalk board for his playroom. The other side is a dry erase board, and because I don't have STUPID stamped across my forehead, we never used that side, for obvious reasons. (I like my walls)

Well I decided one night to literally hot glue the black flannel to the dry erase side of the chalkboard, effectively taking any future marker usage out of commission - for good.

I ended up getting some patterns from work (We had a flannel making workshop), and just free-handing the rest. We've been working on them since its been raining a lot lately, and in the evenings once he's asleep I paint them so they can dry. They're one of his favorite things at class, and he's been really enjoying getting to play and sing - especially since he doesn't have to share with 10 other kids at home. (And by share I mean other children taking them from Sully and him just watching because my kid is a huge pushover and doesn't fight back/push/hit/scream/yell even though I secretly wish he would sometimes .... and certain parents would rather chat it up with other moms than actually parent their kids, leaving my kid bewildered watching your punk play with the stuff he just had)

Sorry. Anyways, here are some of the flannel stories we have so far. Don't judge my freehand puff painting skills. Look past the horrific whale and never mind that my octopus looks more like a 4 legged squid. I was a preschool teacher, not a freakin' artist!

But seriously, its been really fun and we have a blast doing the songs together. I'm including the lyrics in case anybody wants to give it a go! These are all songs/books I sang/read when I taught preschool. They're fun but also teach children about counting, sequential order, memory, colors and on and on. And its cheap! The felt cost me 5 dollars for a multicolor pack and the puff paints cost me 6 bucks for a small assortment, which honestly is all you really need unless you're looking to get really fancy.

Including the ones below, we also have Twinkle Little Star, and are in the process of making I AM A PIZZA (CHARLOTTE DIAMOND) and 12 LITTLE CARS. Next month at work we'll be doing another workshop so I plan on snagging the patterns for 5 LITTLE DUCKS, MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED and BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR.

And yes, Sully can sing all of these, purely from us just singing/doing them all the time. Did you know storytelling is a dying art? And that singing and story-telling (sans book) is a excellent form of literacy? You don't always need a book to hit that 20-minutes-of-reading-to-your-child-a-day goal!

OCTOPUS (AKA SLIPPERY FISH)

(SONG BY CHARLOTTE DIAMOND ON "10 CARROT DIAMOND" CD)

SLIPPERY FISH, SLIPPERY FISH

SWIMMING IN THE WATER

SLIPPERY FISH, SLIPPERY FISH

GULP, GULP, GULP

OH NO!

ITS BEEN EATEN BY A ....

OCTOPUS, OCTOPUS

SQUIGGLING IN THE WATER

OCTOPUS, OCTOPUS

GULP, GULP, GULP

OH NO!

ITS BEEN EATEN BY A ....

(TUNA FISH, FLASHING IN THE WATER ...

GREAT WHITE SHARK, LURKING IN THE WATER,

GINORMOUS WHALE, SPOUTING IN THE WATER)

BUUUUUUUUUUUURP!

PARDON ME!

FIVE GREEN SPECKLED FROGS

FIVE GREEN AND SPECKLED FROGS

SITTING ON A SPECKLED LOG

EATING SOME MOST DELICIOUS BUGS

ONE JUMPED INTO THE POOL

WHERE IT WAS NICE AND COOL

NOW THERE ARE 4 GREEN SPECKLED FROGS

(NOW THERE ARE 3

NOW THERE ARE 2

NOW THERE IS 1

NOW THERE IS NONE)

GO AWAY BIG GREEN MONSTER (BOOK BY ED EMBERLY)

BIG GREEN MONSTER HAS TWO BIG YELLOW EYES

A LONG BLUEISH-GREENISH NOSE

A BIG RED MOUTH WITH SHARP WHITE TEETH

TWO SQUIGGLY EARS

SCRAGGLY PURPLE HAIR

AND A BIG SCARY GREEN FACE!

BUT...

YOU DON'T SCARE ME!

GO AWAY SCRAGGLY PURPLE HAIR!

GO AWAY TWO SQUIGGLY EARS!

(GO AWAY LONG BLUEISH-GREENISH NOSE,

SHARP TEETH, RED MOUTH, TWO BIG YELLOW EYES,

BIG GREEN FACE, BIG GREEN MONSTER)

AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL I SAY SO!

THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ...

THERE WAS A HOLE, DEEP IN THE GROUND

THE PRETTIEST HOLE, THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

THERE WAS A TREE

DEEP IN THAT HOLE

THE PRETTIEST TREE

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

AND THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE, THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

AND ON THAT TREE

THERE WAS A BRANCH

THE PRETTIEST BRANCH

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

AND THE BRANCH IS ON THE TREE, THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE

THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

AND ON THAT BRANCH

THERE WAS A NEST

THE PRETTIEST NEXT

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

THE NEST IS ON THE BRANCH AND THE BRANCH IS ON THE TREE

THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE AND THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

AND IN THAT NEST

THERE WAS A BIRD

THE PRETTIEST BIRD

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

THE BIRD IS IN THE NEST, THE NEST IS ON THE BRANCH

THE BRANCH IN ON THE TREE AND THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE

THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

YEH, THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

Flu, flu, go away

Last Monday I had an entire post set up about how Sully got his first official flu-bug ever. I stayed home, got our provisions all set up for the day, and as he started to dose off I got ready to post a little blurb.

That was until I got my ass handed to me. Whatever that virus was literally bitch-slapped me in the face, so bad and unexpected that by 10 AM I was doubled over in our bathroom with a screaming, sick child on my bed. I had to call Shaun by 1 PM to tell him to come home. I NEVER call Shaun to tell him to get home.

I was convinced my insides were making the great escape, and I was dying. Literally.

Needless to say all of us wound up sick from Monday until Thursday. This is what it would have looked like if I hadn't been busy tossing my cookies all day.

**********************************************

My poor bubbaroo is sick with his first ever flu-bug! After much pondering and Shaun and I going back and forth about what to do as we both sat ready and dressed for work, the sad heap of sickness that hadn't moved from my lap in a half hour said I needed to keep him home.

He rarely lets me hold him like that.

It was actually kind of nice.

Needless to say, this Mama-bear called out sick today to take care of little sick baby bear.

Bucket, check.

Quickly devoured popsicles, check.

Dry snack and clear liquids, check.

Loads of cars, check.

Movies, check.

Mega-cup-o-coffee, check.

Really sick kid, check.

Happy Monday ya all.

Motivation ...

I finally did it - ponied up, and bought myself a new elliptical.

Shaun and I will be spending this weekend putting it together, which is really code for Shaun will be putting it together while I play bubbles and chalk outside with Sully and say things like,

"Hows it going in there?" and "Do you need a band-aid?!"

We're turning the half side of the garage into a mini gym, for some major motivation. We're dusting off the 'ole yoga ball, mats and weights and getting our asses back into shape.

Shaun promised he's taking me to Italy next year for our 10th wedding anniversary if I reach my goal weight, and I refuse to look like my ass ate the scooter's seat that you can assure yourself I will be riding over there.

I'm not past bribery.

I heart you, Japan

I was headed to bed, but I can't sleep.

On my way up the stairs, my eyes caught a glimpse of the picture in our downstairs restroom that I've looked at a million times.

Its of a bike, in an alley.

There are two walls that line the narrow path.

On the back of the wall, the white siding of a house.

On the bike, slightly tilted, a basket.

There's stones that cover the path.

And the reflector of the bike glimmers slightly against the sun.

Purple flower flank the sides.

Koriyama.

2006.

Shaun and I - our two week trip to Japan. And I stood staring, trying to take Japan all back in at once, as if I could find it there in that alley somewhere, if I only could stare hard enough, long enough.

I turned around, flicked the hall light back on, opened the laptop, and here I am.

Restless. Realizing the place Shaun and I vowed to return to as we said goodbye to our new friends and family ... It makes me horribly sad. Because we have always had every intention of returning. And now. Now. I don't think anybody knows that answer.

There is nothing spectacular about the picture. Most people would be hard-pressed to know it was even Japan by looking at it. And its one of my favorite pictures, in a series I took of alleyways and labyrinths that snaked through the backsides of the towns. There was something real about those alleyways, something intimate that I can't explain - that shed a little light on the people with each one we passed. With each one we walked down. Shaun and I have never been the kinds to hit up the fanny-toting tourist hot spots. We like to hang with the locals, in local settings, blending in as well as we can to experience the day to day life of wherever it is we happen to find ourselves. That's where the adventure lies in it for us. That place where - getting lost means actually finding a small piece of yourself you never knew you were missing. Each time I find myself somewhere new, I feel as though I've claimed another small piece of me.

Japan was no exception.

We fell in love with Koriyama and the people so deeply, we bypassed the second part of our trip, which was to stay in Tokyo for the latter half of the second week. It was a place so foreign, yet felt so much like home to us.

I think about where we would be if we had decided to pursue moving there. If Shaun had decided to take up residence as an English teacher, like we talked about, like they all wanted us to. Crazy ...

I think its impossible to not leave a little piece of your heart behind when you fall in love with

a place.

When you fall in love with

the people.

When it exceeds every expectation you thought you knew you had.

That's how Shaun and I feel about Japan. About the people. But specifically, about Koriyama, a place and people that welcomed us with such open arms and hearts. Who taught us and laughed with us. Who cooked meals and picked up our tabs. Who proudly showed us their city, their home, their customs and proud traditions.

A town that our friends have fled for fear of radiation exposure.

Homes that they can no longer live in.

A family restaurant, where we spent so many amazing nights, that is no more.

Streets that we walked, littered with crumbled pieces of buildings.

The schools we visited, that we spoke at ... now shelters for the fleeing.

(Koriyama resides north of Tokyo in the Fukushima Prefecture. Its approximately 40 miles from where the nuclear plant that is melting down is located, and is the next major city next to Sendai, one of the hardest hit cities closest to the epicenter of the quake.)

And with every new video image, picture and news report that has come out within the past few days, our hearts have

sank

a little

bit deeper.

We are beyond devastated for our friends.

We are beyond devastated for their country.

Its hard to find the right words to explain how completely that place changed us. That it opened our eyes. That it made us step outside of ourselves and the see the world from a completely different place. And we were in awe. I'm forever grateful we decided to make that trip.

I remember Missy seeing the pictures Shaun and I took when she came to visit a few short months later. She said she couldn't believe how we made every day, normal, ugly things like alleys and old houses look so beautiful. I told her simply "Because it is beautiful."

And it was.

And it is.

We spoke again tonight. We talked about the past weeks events, how they were holding up, what was going on there. And in true style, in true grace, we also laughed, and after I few I love you's, she spoke with Sully, and she promised him that Japan would be beautiful again for when he comes. For when we return.

And it will be.

Because it is.