explorer skate night: 2014

i'm not sure who was more excited about this year's skate night - me or the boys.
c took them to the one earlier in the school year and i couldn't join because of a work event.

with auntie jen moving to texas in just a few days, i knew this would be our last
time to skate together for a while so we invited her to join us and she said YES.
she braved skating in a rink full of elementary kids falling left and right.

i rented the 'skate mate' for scout, but after just 15 minutes with it, he opted to put it
aside and skate on his own.  he is improving and still has one speed - fast.
{i'm trying to work with him on skating slower and smoother but he wants
nothing to do with that}.

i managed to capture just a few videos on my phone.
forgive the shakiness or blurriness.
i was dodging little people the entire time.
here's my big 1st grader rockin' in his retro skates.

auntie jen, finn {10} and scout {6}

on the drive home, finn shared that he is much more stable on
skates than he used to be, and scout shared that he made it around the
rink 6x without falling, 4 more than he did the last time he went with dad.
now that's progress!

we are already looking forward to our next skate night.
{i don't think i'll ever outgrow my love of rollerskating!}

memorial day 2014

i hope your 3 day weekend was a wonderful one!

i wish i could say ours was spent lazily at the beach or poolside,
but i can't.  c and i worked on landscape projects at the house.

the days leading up to memorial day,
we had the hardest working landscape crew i've ever seen at the house
from 8am until 5pm. they installed a new irrigation system in both the front and
backyard {including the sloped hillside}, ripped up several yards of dead plants/weeds,
transplanted plants, removed hundreds of pounds of rock, put in new planting and dug
holes for new trees {8 total}.

the crew took memorial day off.  they needed it.

though the guys were gone, c and i continued to work on some smaller landscape projects
that we didn't include in their scope of work.  the boys busied themselves by playing in their
treehouse and building a huge lego military base that took over more than half the bedroom
floor.

as the day came to an end, i made dinner for the boys - these turkey lettuce wraps,
which have become my 'go to' quick and healthy dinner lately.  for dessert, i made crepes.
mom would make these on special occasions when we were kids. i hadn't had one in years,
and finn and scout have never had one.  when i saw an easy recipe in parenting magazine,
i was inspired.

they had a choice of strawberry or chocolate crepes and they chose chocolate.  they were a hit!

~ we've got another busy week/weekend ahead: tennis lessons,

book club wed night, explorer's skate night, a photo shoot of aunt jen,

and a piano recital on saturday! 

cheetah town

cheetah town is the name of a fictitious country
the boys created months back after we returned from
our family trip to mexico.

ever since this trip, finn has became slightly obsessed with customs,
passports, and law enforcement.  he collaborated with scout and
they came up with their own country, named after scout's 2nd favorite
animal. cheetahs are his favorite because they are the fastest animal on the planet.
{his first favorite animal is a dolphin}

this sign currently hang on the pocket door that goes from our
main hallway into our library.


























what kind of country is this i wanted to ask?
as much as i wanted to sit down and ask about law #5 AND spend several
hours working on spelling with finn, i refrained and played along as i finished reading
the rules aloud, per finn's request, the president of the cheetah town.
{later i heard scout pointing out the misspelled words}

despite my request to enter without typical protocol so i could drop off laundry
to cheetah town residents, i was refused. i had to show my 'real' passport,
was detained for questioning, and i was even searched.  *grin*

oh these boys - they truly are a constant source of entertainment.

~ i'm so far behind on my posting.  at this point, i can't even begin to catch up.
the biggest news is we finally started on the landscaping.  not us exactly, but a crew
we hired and have known for years.  this guy and his team did all our work on the our
little diamonds street cottage years ago.  because of the mess and magnitude of our yard,
{for pacific beach, it's quite spacious}, the project will be phased.  with luck, the first phase,
which is planting (lots of drought tolerance plans and several trees), should be complete next week.

we're also hosting the boys' piano recital next saturday!!  after the original venue fell through,
c and i decided to offer our home since we have space. i snapped a few photos of the living
room and the instructor, mr patrick, gave a thumbs up.  this will be scout's first recital and he
is pretty excited about it. he has his song memorized and has been practicing his bow for
months now {he thinks he has it down}.

santa anas

the wind...it's what makes it so warm this time of year. 
legend has it, when the santa anas blow, anything can happen.
- miles to iris, the holiday

the santa anas have kicked up this week and it's
downright HOT here in southern California.
every time this crazy weather comes {about 3 or 4x a year},
i think of the line from the holiday.

there is almost something almost magical about that
hot dry windy air.  it's kind of exciting because it's just so
different than our normal temperatures.




















the boys seemed energized by it too.
they asked if they could built a fort in the library yesterday,
and c had a better idea which didn't require using every blanket in our home.
he pulled out our dome shaped 3 man tent that we've owned since we were in college.

the boys were in heaven!

finn hadn't seen the tent in years, and scout didn't remember it
since he was just a baby the last time we camped in it.
c helped them set it up and we let them sleep in it as long
as they had lights out by 8:15pm. they did. *cheer*
i wish i had a photo of them reading their in the tent wearing petzls
on their head. they looked so funny!

so as i think ahead about this week,
as the santa anas blow through san diego,
in the back of my mind, i think anything can happen and smile.

wishing you a beautiful week friends.

~ summer is fast approaching and all i can think of is i need
to finalize our summer calendar and get the boys signed up for
a few camps before they fill up!  finn wants to go back to the science
museum for camps {no surprise}, scout wants to attend camp at the art institute,
and both want to attend a surfing camp.

more than anything, they are looking forward to their visit to florida next month!
after grandma visits my sister leslie and her family, including her new granddaughter
in northern ca, she will fly south to spend a few days in san diego.

when she heads home to orlando, she'll have finn and scout with her for 2 weeks.
they are beyond excited!! they get to spend lots of time with grandma and grandpa,
aunties and uncles and cousins too. scout hopes to visit disney world and finn is
dreaming of a trip to kennedy space center with his uncles. 

it will be the longest c and i have been without them. 
we are sure the boys will be fine, but the concern is will their mom. *wink*

mother's day: 2014

happy mother's day!!! are you awake now?
- scout gerber, age 6

these are the words I woke to at 7:15am on sunday morning.
i've never been one to sleep in, but i was sound asleep until two
very energetic boys burst into the room and came to my bedside.

i had barely opened my eyes but i saw christopher trailing cautiously
behind them with a tray in his hand. the boys jumped into the bed with
their hands full of cards and gifts. finn presented me with a plant he had
grown at school. he announced "i'm not a very good gardener"
{i barely noticed some of the pink flower buds that had turned brown}. 
I told him it was beautiful and turned my attention to scoutie who was
bouncing up and down anxious to present me with presents he made in art class.
his gifts were bracelets - two of them.  one made of paper that he embellished
and the other was made of blue glass beads and simple string. beautiful!

they announced they made my breakfast which consisted of eggs,
sausage, toast and hot coffee with cream.  oh how i love breakfast in bed!
it's so rare and watching the boys faces light up as they bring to me is priceless.  
scout asked if i remembered bringing him breakfast in bed on his birthday.
of course i do. a mother's never forgets special days.
{though they might get a tiny bit foggy as time goes by}










the real deal - just woke, no make-up but very happy

we briefly discussed heading down to the beach,
but with the new solar heater on our roof,

the pool was 90 degrees and i was anxious to swim.
{the ocean is still so cold - about 68 degrees}
 

the pool felt fabulous!!
the boys were so excited i was 'in' the pool with them.
they've been swimming almost daily since march, but i hadn't gone in yet.
we played games, raced each other from one end to the other,
i judged dives and we ate a couple of popsicles each.

and where was my hardworking hubby while we were playing?

he was working on the walls for the treehouse.
with multiple tree trunks coming through it,
it required lots of planning and tedious cutting - took about 2.5 hrs per wall.
he was able to get up 2 walls up the other 2 will go up this weekend.
 

that evening, we all ended up cuddling on the couch watching marley and me.

i'd been wanting to see it for a long time, and when my mother recommended
it and I came across a a copy at our library, i couldn't resist.
 

we all enjoyed watching the mischievous marley grow from a puppy to a

120 lb dog, and had no idea the ending was so tough. with the exception of scout,

we were all in tears.

 

as i put the boys down, finn told me that he was 'maturing' because he now cries in
sad movies.  a line my m-i-l barby said to me over dinner last month when i was in
arizona popped into my head.  she said "is there anything sweeter than a 10 year old"?
at that moment, i couldn't think of a single thing.  

 

the boys are truly blessings in my life and i try not to let a single day go by without

letting them know that my life is fuller because i get to be their mother. it's the
toughest, most meaningful and most rewarding job i'll ever have. 

 

i also want to share how lucky i am to have mother-in-laws who,
from day one, welcomed me into their homes and hearts. i can share anything with them
and i am so grateful for this. i am also grateful for a mother who gives freely, sacrifices so
much and consistently models what unconditional love is.

 

to these woman in my life, including my mommy friends, sister-in-laws, sisters who are
mommies and a sister who is like a mommy to my boys, i hope you had a marvelous day!











birthday bash for mr. jacobson

we arrived home from mexico and the following
day a reminder popped up on my phone about our friend
paul's 50th birthday bash.  we had rsvpd for it 2 months ago,
but it completely fell of our radar. 

YIKES!!

i quickly secured a sitter for the big night,
dug out a dress i had bought a year ago and had never worn.
i was excited to finally have an event to wear it!

the birthday boy went ALL out for this party.
he booked the entire floor of a fancy high rise downtown,
hired a band, caterers, and hosted an open bar all night.
and what a night it was!

it had been a while since i had that kind of fun,
c and i got home late and completely exhausted.
{man, we are getting old}

here are some of my long long--time girlfriends.

bottom: me, mercedez, danielle, rena
back: james and lori

~ my amazing and dedicated girlfriend kate left this party early 
because she was running a marathon {26.2 miles} the next morning!

the gift of reading

reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty.
it should be offered to them as a precious gift.
- kate dicamillo           

i'm so so far behind on posting,

and my mind is full of things i need to record
{spring soccer ending, thoughts on finn growing, new friends, etc}

i wasn't sure where to start, but when scout mentioned he was halfway through
his 500 page chapter book that we just picked up from the library 3 days ago,
i knew i had to dedicate a post about his love of reading.

when i look back to these years, i want to remember scout's little
head poking out from behind a thick chapter book.  i want to remember
him completely enthralled in adventure stories, his updates every few chapters
and me trying to keep the characters straight so i can engage and respond appropriately.
i also want to remember his asking ever so politely if finn and i could "keep it down"
when we read out loud to each other before bed so we don't distract him from his reading.

oh how i love our scout benjamin...our beautiful book loving boy.

it's no secret, we are a family who treasures books.
though christopher mostly reads for information these days,
he makes almost weekly trips to our neighborhood library for the boys.
like scout, he was an early and avid reader.  so much, he took home an award
for it when he was in kindergarten.  scout adores the photo of his daddy holding
a book when he was photographed at 5 years old. {i must find and post here. it's so cute}

since we have a library in our new {old} home,
i am slowing filling it's bookshelves with everything from classics, biographies,
to children's books.  the lowest shelves hold the cute little board books that the boys
have had since they were babies, and the shelves above those are packed with
picture books we've accumulated over the years.

finn has shelves dedicated to science, space and technology,
and scout has an entire shelf dedicated to the magic treehouse series, and
a section strictly for his large chapter book boxed sets.  most of our books
aren't fancy or even hardbound, but we don't mind. we love them all.

i came across this video of scoutie reading to me when he was just 4 years old.
{it seems like forever ago and at the same time, like it was just yesterday} *sniff* 
time passes so quickly, and my hope is, as he grows,
he always remembers that reading is a special gift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdKurwYhNE

 

spring soccer ends for scout

spring soccer has come to and end which means
no more practices midweek and no games on sundays.
oh how i will miss scout's sunday games
{probably just as much as he will}

the purple chipmunks ended the season on a high note.
after a season of mostly ties or losses, the were on fire during their
last two games - they were AMAZING!!  I'd never seen any of
the boys play as hard as they did.

scout plays best in defense, and he went up against boys a foot taller.
he was fearless defending his goal and i am sure c and i cheered the
loudest we have all season. what a great season we had in the U8 division.



and i can't forget the end of the season party!

we had planned on going to mission bay for a picnic, but a big event there 
and limited parking had the coach and his wife scrambling for another location.
c looked at me and quietly said, we could offer our home. what do you think?
sure, was my reply - we have the space, a pool and we were 5 minutes away.
12 families {38 people plus 3 dogs) caravanned to our home.

we spent the afternoon grilling and swimming, and all the players were given
a trophy by their coach.  scout was thrilled to add this one to his collection.
he lined it up next to his other 4 trophies on his desk and announced this was
his 2nd favorite so far, and he can't wait until next season!

{me too}


easter 2014

i hope you had a wonderful easter!!

to keep the boys getting up before the sun,
they were reminded the night before easter AND a note was left
on their door reminding them to stay in their bedroom until 7:30am.

i had been up late the night before doing what mommies do to make
holidays special for their children. i woke up just before 7:30am to find
auntie jen {who had slept over} entertaining the boys in their bedroom.
this allowed me time to wash my face and grab my camera.

the boys found their baskets on the kitchen counter and did the
traditional hunt in our home. there was no outdoor hunt this year since
there is really no yard to speak of yet {it's strictly weeds}. hopefully by next year.
later that morning, we went to the mission bay hilton for their annual hunt.

on the way home, finn shared that was his last year hunting eggs
at the hilton because he was getting older and that it was really for
'little kids'.  i had noticed that but wanted him to stop when he was ready.
with concern, scout asked if it was HIS last year. i responded "absolutely not.
you are only 6. you have a few more years left".  he was very happy to hear this.
finn followed with he would still hunt eggs at home...until he was probably 12.
a few photos of our morning.

it was a beautiful day.  the boys spent the afternoon swimming
and helping christopher work on building a platform for their
zip line.  i made a simple thanksgiving meal which we ended up
eating outside around the pool. later, our neighbors stopped  by
to relax and lounge poolside with us.

auntie jen didn't get to relax as much as she might have wanted.
her nephew begged her to hide plastic eggs all over the house for
him to find again and again. she outdid herself when he asked
for a 'treasure hunt'. she wrote cute sayings and sent him on a
hunt all over the house {literally}. he LOVED it!

i recorded it with c's phone.  if you have 10 minutes to spare,
you can watch the entire hunt here.  *grin*