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the musings of a san diego mom who loves her city, her life and her boys.

Monday, May 30, 2016

you have been my friends




i am taking a minute today to share this quote that i found when i was
looking for the right words to share to some special ladies in my life.

because i married young and moved far from my childhood home,
c and i ended end up choosing friends who became our second family.  
a few we met in tucson during our early 20s and we moved to san diego
within a year of each other.  others we met shortly after we moved here.

we shared so much with this group.
like most 20 year olds, we loved to have fun. we spent holidays together,
camped, travelled, threw lavish new years parties, snowboarded, surfed,
learned to swing dance together, had regular game nights, ran in races,
went to concerts, etc.  for a decade of our lives, the majority of our free time
was spent with these friends.


when c and i decided to start a family of our own, things changed.
our lives slowed down. our weekends were spent at home or the beach with
our new family.  our disposable income went to daycare and later to piano and
to sports. am i complaining? not at all. this is the life we were ready for and we chose.
it was very much on purpose.
though i miss these friends, i am savoring the stage of life i'm in right now...
content seeing this 'family of friends' whenever i can.  these days, it is usually
for special occasions like birthdays and the annual 'holiday head' party.

i got together with several of these ladies recently and they presented me with a token
of our friendship. the gift was not just unexpected, but it was beautiful and meaningful,
and yes, it brought tears (to all of us).  this simple quote above from author, e.b. white
captures the essence of friendship so perfectly.   

my life is better and brighter because of dear friends.
and this is truly a tremendous thing.







Wednesday, May 25, 2016

sweet mornings

one of my mom/son traditions is sneaking out to krispy kreme
a few times a year on weekend mornings.  a few weeks ago,
the boys and i got up before the sun to make a kk run before
finn needed to be dropped off at the beach for surf practice.
as i put together this little photo collage, it reminded me of the days
when the boys were little and would stand behind the glass watching
the donuts on the conveyer belt....they were far more interested in that
than eating donuts. they still do this....but now they don't stay riveted quite so long.
with all the different kinds of donuts to chose from, they still,
want the simple glazed donut {my favorite too}. 

oh how I love our sweet mornings together. 















Sunday, May 22, 2016

scout's spring soccer season 2016: warriors

soccer has filled our lives over the past several months.
with scout playing on both a recreation and competitive soccer team,
he is on the field practicing field 3x a week with games and or
competitions on the weekends {the games are my favorite part}.
with all the running scout does, he has grown lean and strong.
my 8 year old reports he has a 'six pack'.  this is apparently something
the boys talk about on his team}. seriously??  *sigh*
i am quite certain scout could beat me in a long distance run now too. 
in addition to becoming more fit, soccer has given scout so many other
intangibles: more focus, discipline, confidence, courage, patience and resilience,
and something to call his own.  it is truly one of scout's greatest passions,
and has been for well over a year now.

he is borderline obsessed.


with all the field time he's getting, he still wishes for 2 hour practices every day,
and he religiously follows the sport professionally. he prefers the european leagues,
specifically bayern munich and germany's national team. here's an example of his
dedication: because of the time difference between europe and the US,
the games are often in the early hours here on the west coast.
scout will set his alarm clock to wake him at the crack of dawn
{and often before dawn}, so he can watch his favorite teams play.


he gets upset when finn has surf practice/competitions and he has to miss some of
the game because he has to ride in the car with me to drop his brother off at the beach.
he'd love to stay home alone, but our rule {for now} is he has to be 12 years old.
if scout were our 3rd kid, maybe by 8 years we might be just fine leaving him.
as it stands, he's our second child. the magic number might shift to 11 in a few years,
but for now it stands as 12. {honestly, i'd have left finn at home alone for short windows
at 10 but c felt 12 was more appropriate}.i think it depends on the child...some 12 year
olds might not be ready. 
i digress, i jumped on to my blog tonight so i could record some memories of
my youngest's spring 2016 soccer season. his team name was warriors,
and sunday was his last game was this afternoon.  they lost, but it was to the best team
in the rec league in his division. it was expected.  the boys played hard and scout
only shed a 'few' tears after the loss.
i think he remembered that coach o'shea was handing out trophies after the game.
the frozen treat from yogurtland took a far second to that.


the best part of the season for scout was simply getting more time on the field AND
meeting a new friend, patrick. with scout's best friend moving to barcelona for a year,
scout is making a conscientious effort to make more friends...specifically one good friend.
he identified this boy halfway through the season as a kid he would like to be friends with
{he's very selective}. if i had to handpick one of the boys from the team, he was it. 
so when scout asked if he could come over for to play, i reached out to the mom the same day,
and we had a play date set for the next day. {i don't use this term 'play date' in front of the boys anymore}.
apparently, they are WAY too old for that. they prefer i use 'hang out'. 
*sigh*

patrick is the oldest of 3, a full year older than scout and is very mature, which is
probably why he gravitated towards him. patrick's mother, who i had only met a handful of
times on the soccer field, had no qualms at all about dropping him off at our home.
when i offered her a cup of coffee and invited her to stay and see the home environment,
she said "oh, that's not necessary angela, i've met you and your husband and your kids.
i trust your family".   oh how i loved hearing this and i love mothers who go with their gut,
don't helicopter and aren't anxious. their kids are more confident and simply easier to host for
playdates or sleepover.  anxious parents make anxious kids.
some highlights of scout's days with the warriors...































Sunday, May 8, 2016

mother's day: 2016 [part 1]

my mother's day started with two boys in the kitchen
making some ruckus...and me patiently waiting for them
to bring me breakfast in bed. 15+ minutes later, they tiptoed
into our bedroom and finn, seeing me awake and c asleep,
whispering "happy mother's day" and then telling me he needs
help making breakfast because he's never made french toast before.

i followed him into the kitchen and gave him a quick cooking lesson
{he had the eggs cracked and bread out} and i showed scout how to make
coffee so he felt useful.c staggered into the kitchen half asleep and helped the
boys finish up.{unlike me he isn't a morning person}


the breakfast they cooked turned out to be delicious.


the boys presented me with sweet cards and small gifts.
csout's 'Appreciation Book' got the tears flowing,
and a chuckled came with i heard finn whisper "you did well scout".
he sure did.  {i'll share in another post}.


he boys also filled out these cute forms and presented the to me
and they gave me a smile. scout's guessing of my age and weight
made me smile...he made me younger and 10 lbs heavier. *grin*


after my tears and my meal, we dressed and headed towards
the soccer field. scout had a huge competitive soccer weekend...
2 games each day and an additional game with his rec soccer league
on sunday.  

i spent my mother's day biting my tongue and cheering from the sidelines.
c and i get SO into his games {yes, we are those parents}.
when finn played, that side just didn't come out since he wasn't competitive.
with a kid who LOVES the game and is pretty good, it's a whole different us.
it was a weekend full of soccer and smiles. scout's blast team took 2nd place in

i ended the night meeting my girlfriend at the mall to see mother's day the movie.
{we knew our husband's wouldn't be interested}.  it turned out to be everything
we thought and hoped it would be, heartwarming and funny, and yes, we pulled
out tissues from our purses a few times.

what a beautiful thing to be a mother. it's exhausting and sometimes even a little
scary, but it's also the most beautiful, important and rewarding job i will ever have.

i am blessed to not only be a mother of two great kids, but to have so many positive
and hardworking moms as role models in my life. they've spent hours sharing,
listening and helping me navigate motherhood and i thank and celebrate them today.

it takes a village to raise a child...and it's also true with mothers.   

Thursday, May 5, 2016

cinco de mayo 2016

be sure to tell christopher how much fun you had and everything
he missed out on tonight.
- chuck a



i just returned home from a cinco de mayo party that
was AMAZING, as always.  every year, dpr construction
hosts a huge party and it's the one event that anyone who
wants to see and be seen in san diego's AEC industry
architecture/engineering/construction) attends. 
everyone's there!


san diego has learned this general contractor knows how to party.


it was fully catered, with servers around every corner,
an open bar, a tequila tasting room, and excellent live music.
i literally could have stayed and closed it down but
i have to work tomorrow morning and more importantly,
drive home.

my darling c was home with the boys as scout had his bestie
spending the night. it's a thursday night but tomorrow is not a
school day.  the high tech community has a 'snow day'. 
ridiculous right?  why don't they just call it a 'beach day' or a
'may holiday'?

anyway, i made it home safely, got a quick update on how the
boys' evening was {finn cooked a spaghetti dinner for all}, and
they enjoyed an episode of star trek: the next generation.

as i promised chuck, i was sure to tell c that i was partying with his
tennis partner and wife for the last few hours. he smiled and said,
i'll beat him on the courts this weekend. *grin*

~ i ate a churro cupcake tonight - possibly one of the most
delectable cupcakes i've ever had!



Wednesday, May 4, 2016

look who's 2: aria

my niece aria celebrated her 2nd birthday on april 16th. 
{yes, i'm just a little behind on my blog and trying to catch up}.
i haven't seen this little one since she was about 9 months old.
since then, she is walking and talking up a storm. *sigh*
why does this happen so quickly?
here she is in all her 2 year old cuteness!
she looks so much like her mommy at that age...
big brown eyes, rosy cheeks and strawberry blond hair.
it makes me smile to see all those features of my sister's
reconfigured on her daughter.
i'm so looking forward to loving on her this summer!!







new niece coming this fall

last friday the shappard family received a text from
my brother todd announcing that he and his wife, heather,
are expecting a baby this fall!


i responded with, "i'm crossing my fingers for a GIRL",
as they are already proud parents of 2 little boys.
my brother followed up with a second text saying
"no need to cross your fingers, it's a GIRL".
they had already found out the sex and this adorable
photo collage was attached. such happy news!!


















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About Me

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San Diego, CA, United States
I'm a Southern California mom to 2 boys and a wifey to my long-time love. I work full-time and life is a bit crazy, but I strive to remember to take time to enjoy the little things, because in the end, it's those things that will matter most.