Discovery and Creativity

I went with Sammy's class to The New Children's Museum today. I love this museum. Absolutely love it. It is creative and cool and so fun. Oh and the kids liked it too.

As you can tell from the photos Sammy had just a little bit of fun (understatement of the year). Blowing bubbles. Sammy mostly ran around trying to pop them all.

Rock climbing. That kid sure can climb.

Pillow fight room. The kids really loved this. So did the adults.

Making clay sculptures.

Can you guess what Sammy made?

Peek-a-boo! I love that face.

And the piece de resistance, colored goggles. Very, very handsome.

How could you not have a great time here?

4 Weeks

4 more weeks of school and then it will be summer.

I really don't know where this school year has gone. I guess because Dan and I have been so busy with stuff it has just flown by. I fear that the summer will pass just as quickly. But we have so much fun in store. I am dreaming of hot lazy days, dips at the swimming pool, a visit to Oregon, the county fair, wearing pjs all day long, trips to the beach and parks and the highlight - 3 long weeks in Hawaii. Oh yes, I am looking forward to summer. It will be knocking on my door sooner than I know it. I can hardly wait.

One Berry, Two Berry

We have been having the most amazing Spring days. Sunny and warm and perfect. My garden is loving the sunshine and warm weather and is just exploding. The strawberries and blueberries are ripening everyday and the veggies are flowering and starting to grow tiny fruits. And my roses. Obscene with buds and flowers. Once the gardenia, plumeria, pikake and stephanotis start going it will be like a fragrant paradise out there. Don't you just love this time of year?

Date Night

Just got back from a date with Dan. Dinner and a movie (Star Trek - it was good). Nana has taken the boys for the night and will return them in the morning. Thank you, thank you Nana. You are truly the best!

Ladybugs Galore

Sammy loves ladybugs and is always on the lookout for them, so this morning Sammy and I went on a ladybug hunt. We found a grand total of three ladybugs, although one got away. Since our hunt turned out so poorly we decide to head over to the nursery to see if we could buy some. Sure enough there were ladybugs galore to purchase. 1500 of them! Boy was Sammy excited.

We don't have a very big backyard so releasing 1500 ladybugs into our small garden was pretty cool. They were everywhere. On plants, on the ground, flying through the air, crawling on our arms and legs, in the boy's hair, everywhere. I doubt there will be one aphid left alive by tomorrow morning. Thanks little Miss and feel free to stick around as you are always welcome.

Swinging

We have been having beautiful Spring weather here. Sunshine and clear blue skies all the way. Yesterday Sammy and I found ourselves at our park while out hunting for bugs. Sammy jumped on the swing and I couldn't resist either. Sammy is finally old enough to swing himself although he needs an underdog every once and a while. We swang and swang under the beautiful blue sky. Straining to get as high as possible. Lean forward, pull back, lean forward, pull back. Just like when I was a kid. And then I had to stop because I was getting a little nauseous. But what a perfect day for a swing with my little guy.

When was the last time you took a ride on a swing and tried to touch the sky with your toes?

Stinky Laundry

Our laundry has reached new levels of stinkiness.

'Oh, that blog topic has been done to death, no one wants to hear one more thing about people battling with laundry!'

Well, last night we made family history because we broke the three wash barrier.

'Three washes? We go through more than three loads all the time! You got nothing!'

The three wash barrier actually means we washed THE SAME load of laundry three times. We have a bad habit of forgetting about a load. We run the washer, and forget to switch over. So, a few days pass, and you have a load of mildewy clothes and towels sitting in your washing machine. Last night we finally completed the cycle, the same load of laundry was washed three consecutive times over the course of a little more than a week before we remembered to switch it over to the dryer.

Is it possible to have 'Senior Moments' when you are only 36?

Mother's Day 2009

Once again on Mother's Day I was fortunate enough to be able to cook dinner for my own mother, as well as the mother of my rascals.

Since I didn't have much interest in doing all the work I enlisted the help of my boys in planning the meal. Originally the boys were going to do some cooking, but Daniel came down with a cold last night, so I figured that was out. Suzy was off on her Saturday hike with the girls (she says she was hiking, but she came back with a full water bottle, clean shoes and shopping bags. Should I be worried?).

So the menu planning went something like this:

'Boys!'

'Yes, dada?'

'Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I want you guys to figure out what we are going to cook for Nana [my mom] and mama. Remember, this isn't something that you guys want, I want you to think about what they want.'

The boys scrambled off to do their scheming. I had a feeling about what cookbooks they would gravitate to. We each have our favorites. Suzy actually has more than one, and they look very fancy and healthy, but they actually come out surprisingly good. My favorite is 'Help my Apartment has a Kitchen', I have used it for years (since I lived in an apartment), and it has the stains to prove it.

The boys, however, have two favorites, Wookiee Cookies and Disney the Magic Kitchen. Daniel is regularly pestering us to cook things like, 'Han Burgers' or 'Skywalker Smoothies'.

So the boys came back with their selections,

'Galaxy Grilled Cheese' and 'Disappearing Chocolate Cookies'.

As much as cooking grilled cheese sandwiches for Mother's Day appealed to me I sent them back to try again,

'Remember boys, this is supposed to be something that mama and nana will like.'

'Ok.' They were clearly disappointed, but glumly walked back to do more research.

About a minute later they came back with attempt number two....

'Crazy Cantina Chili'

Not wanting to push my luck I decided that would work. We talked about ingredients, made a shopping list together (Sammy was there mostly for moral support during that part), and finalized our plan of attack.

Excepting Daniel getting sick the plan worked pretty well. The boys were good today, Mama and Nana made all the appreciative noises one could hope for, both for the chili and the homemade cards the boys made. The chili was actually quite good for being veggie (who knew the Star Wars world was so hip to come up with veggie chili). And the Disappearing Chocolate Cookies lived up to their name, they disappeared quite quickly.

Happy Mother's Day, Suzy, Nana, Tutu, Cassi, Chrissie and all the rest of you mom's out there in CyberSpace. I hope each of you got what you wanted, maybe even a little Crazy Cantina Chili.

Three Sisters Waterfall

We went in search of waterfalls today and found three of them. Absolutely beautiful. It was an adventurous and challenging hike, but totally worth it. Vertical drops, mounds of poison oak, refreshing water, rock climbing, blooming flowers, slippery rocks, cool breezes and amazing scenery. A great hike with a group of great women.

A Momentous Day

While searching through my photo archives for a pre-kid snapshot of Dan's hair I found this photo. We took this picture early on January 15th just before heading to the hospital to have Daniel. Wow was I big. I remember I was quite huge, but wow. The word wasn't yet invented back then, but would have been so appropriate - GINORMOUS. My poor belly, no wonder it still hasn't recovered.

It seems such a long and short time ago. I can still remember the excitement and nervousness I felt at the time. Scared and unsure about being a parent and being responsible for this new life. So anxious to finally meet this little miracle growing inside my womb and finally hold him (although at the time I didn't know it was a him) and get to know him. What a time it was.

Before and After

A week before Daniel's birth and yesterday - seven years later and two kids later.
Dan requested a side by side photo of pre-kid hair and current hair. Poor, poor hair.

Crazy Hair

There is a strang man living in my house. Big crazy hair. Big head...could that be? No. Yes? Yes! That's my hubby.Would someone please give him a haircut!? Oh wait, that would be me...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today was an absolutely beautiful Spring day. Sammy and I spent most of the morning working in our much neglected garden. I am happy to say our yard is somewhat under control now. And it is just bursting with flowers, fruits and color. I love it. This is definitely my favorite season.


And here are some photos from our camping trip:

Back

We spent the weekend in the wilderness of Julian with a pack of boys (cub scout boys to be specific). We had a great time, but now are trying to catch up on lost sleep and I am trying to dig my way through smelly, dirt encrusted clothes. And it is hard making the transition from laid back camping to the daily grind of school and work. Hopefully I will have time to post some pictures of our camping adventure tomorrow. For now, I am looking forward to another night of uninterrupted sleep (no barking coyotes, gobbling turkeys, howling wind, dropping acorns or yelling kids).

The Amalgamations

Genesis 2:24 states the following:

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (NIV)

I don't understand how that is possible, but it is sure true, and the boys are the proof. They are an incredible amalgamation (good SAT word there) of our respective family genetic codes. Almost every day I notice some new combination or permutation manifesting itself in one of the boys. Today it was Daniel. I realized that he has his mother's situational awareness. More accurately, her lack of situational awareness. Suzy's toes have to be covered in bruises, because she is constantly stubbing them on things. She will turn around in the kitchen and be completely surprised that I am standing there (that happened just yesterday). I think it has to do with her incredible ability to focus, she can be so absorbed in something that the background just sort of fades out. I, on the other hand, have trouble focusing on one thing, and tend to have my mind wander. But that is balanced by the fact that I am pretty aware of my surroundings. Daniel, not so much. You could walk right past him with a marching band and he would just keep on keeping on. There is one thing though, that will always tickle his brain into paying attention, mention the word 'Lego' and his little brain radar zeroes right in on your conversation.

Our little amalgamations running around wreaking havoc in our house are strong points of evidence that there are some profound truths in the Good Book.

Edward

Exemplary

Determined

Wise & Witty

Authentic

Reader

Devout

Daniel

Dependable

Affectionate

Nice

Intelligent

Entertaining

Loving

Samuel

Smart & Sensitive
Always Adventurous
Mischievous
Undeniably Cute
Expressive
Lots of Love

Cherish

"Children will not remember you

for the material things you provided

but for the feeling that you CHERISHED them."

~Richard L. Evans

Love this quote. And isn't it true of adults too? At the core don't we all want to be loved and cherished above all else?

Do my boys know how much I cherish them? I think so. I pray so. Because I do so, so much.

Photos from Our Staycation

The view from our room at the Omni Hotel. We spent a lot of time walking and eating in the Gaslamp District.A nice day for a walk along the bay. Lots of art sculptures.Historic ships. Me looking really happy with a Ghiradelli's mint fudge sundae. It was awesome!Where shall we go?Paying tribute to a baseball legend.Padre game. Great pitching, extra innings, an exciting Padre win and fireworks.Is it over already? It flew by too fast!