back from africa

oh it's been wonderful having c back home with us.

everything is better when he's home!
{he didn't pay me to type that}

the gerblets and i made it through his absence with just a minor mishap.
i got a call from the director of scout's preschool  

letting me know me that he didn't have a lunch one day last week.

OOPS! i had packed it, but somehow we left in my car.
he didn't starve. he enjoyed his first hot lunch from the school's cafeteria.
the irony to this is we actually arrived early that day - the first all week!
{even stopped at starbucks for a vanilla milk and coffee}.  

when c caught up on sleep, he took some time to share his photos with us.
the majority are architectural photos, rather pictures of buildings and not pretty at all}
but most structures in ghana aren't.

the very basics that we take for granted,like running water, are rare for the
average ghanaian.  yet, c tells me they are the most hard-working and appreciative
people he has met in all his travels. ok, now on to some photos.

c took this for the boys. shows his flight over the atlantic ocean

the accra airport

the hotel c stayed at 

it even had a pool {he said he enjoyed in late afternoons}

his comfy hotel room 

c worked closely with gentlemen, joshua + godwin from ghana

a typical school {piled up for cleaning}

bricks made out of of concrete are made directly on the site

a typical 'current' classroom

christopher spent lots of time with chris, the cfo of edify 

all private schools require uniforms {i love them all}

many babies cry seeing 'ubrinis' {white people} for the first time

the modern accra airport 

my favorite pictures are of the children

i hope you enjoyed those as much as  did and they give you a
teensy glimpse into what c's trip there was like.

c told the boys and i he may get the opportunity to go back in the spring
when the prototype schools he designed will start to be built. so exciting!

oh and he shared some interesting tidbits about ghana:

1. anything that can be carried will be  carried on the HEAD.
2. goats are plentiful and walk the streets
3. trash is also plentiful
4. like the locals, it's appropriate to shake with your right hand only
5. religious tolerance is high. christianity is dominant, and muslim and traditional religion is also practiced
6. most stores names have god in the title
7. everyone cooks from scratch
8. dancing is a big part of the culture
9. the people are exceptionally kind and gracious
10. the children's smiles are contagious

beautiful brussels

i don't know alot about brussels,
other than it's in belgium and it's in europe somewhere,
and it was where my hubby said he was today
{during a 7 hr layover}before a flight to DC and then home.

i was driving home from a breakfast/playdate at a girlfriends
with the boys in the backseat,
wound as tight as watches from all the fun they had.
when i heard the little beep announcing i had an email,
i peeked at my phone and saw an email from my honey.

i asked finn to read daddy's email outloud and as he read,
brussels sounded magical and made me wish i was there with him.
not to take anything away from the emails about africa.
brussels just sounded a little more romantic is all.

he said he was walking down cobblestone streets,
in this old city full of gorgeous architecture.
he said it reminded him alot of paris,
it made me smile and remember our time there together.
gosh, it was such a long time ago. *sigh*

when finn finished reading the email,
he said "daddy took a picture of a beautiful castle too".
i reached my arm back and asked for the phone because i
knew i wouldn't be able to make it home without at least peeking
at the picture he sent.  and oh, was it was lovely.

we sure miss christopher, and can't wait to have him home.
{and not because he said he picked up some belgium chocolate for us}

we'll see him tomorrow! *yay*

getting by

most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.
- aldous huxley

it's been 5 days now since c left on his trip
and though it has been a little crazier than normal here
we are getting by. {i haven't even made finn late for school...yet}.

i've received a few sweet texts this week asking how we are getting along.
pretty good i say, but yesterday, in response to maddy's text,
i texted that "i take christopher for granted"

her response:
"why is it when someone is gone, we appreciate them more?"

that's the million dollar question. why is this?
well, i don't think it is intentional that we forget to appreciate.
i think we get busy with life, and if things are going smoothly, we just don't think about it.

so maddy's response was a reminder for me to tell c 
just how much i appreciate all he does for our family and for me.
{i just sent him an email expressing this}

i would have preferred to tell him in person or via skype in this case,
but because of the time difference between us {ghana is 8 hours ahead},
we haven't been able to video chat or talk on the phone. *sniff*
when we get home in the evenings, it's the middle of the night there.
when it's morning here, c is already up and out working.

so we just been emailing.

like the days when internet was new,
i get excited when i open my inbox and there's an email from him.
he seems to really be enjoying his trip so far.
the people are warm and friendly {have even given him a nickname}.

best of all, he feels he is really making a contribution in terms
of helping come up with ways to build better schools for the children there.
this made me smile as this was the main purpose for being there.
{before he left, he spent many evenings reviewing the type of schools they
currently have and researching building and construction methods for that region}

on another note, i engaged in a little tv time tonight after the boys went down.
{not true tv time, but a movie}.
a friend recommended crazy, stupid, love, a few weeks ago
and i rented it from redbox and just watched it..

i thoroughly enjoyed it!

it was touching, as opposed to crazy
and funny, as opposed to stupid.
and yes, about love. 

it's definitely a movie worth making the time for.
and reminds us not to take what/who we have for granted.
{a theme lately}

it doesn't hurt that beautiful emma stone and ryan gosling are in it either. *wink*

little mr. roo

little mr. roo
let the stars shine over you.
don't grow up too fast, too soon
save some time for dreaming
- carly simon, winnie the pooh's heffalump movie

a few days ago,
after homework, piano practice and dinner was out of the way,
the boys and i sat down to watch a movie together.

we dug through our drawer of dvds,
and i came across winnie the pooh's heffalump movie.
it had been a few years since any of us had seen it,
it had been a favorite of ours when finn was a preschooler.

we were all quick to agree that this would be our movie.
scoutie was especially excited to see it,
as he wasn't old enough to remember watching it.

the movie is wonderful on so many levels.
it's about friendship and tolerance and love,
and the lesson learned is taught by the youngest characters in the story -
roo (the kangaroo) and his new friend lumpy (a purple elephant).

not only is the story-line great,
the soundtrack is wonderful as well.
it's full of music by carly simon.
do you remember her from the 1970s?
{i vaguely do, but i know my older sister valerie was a big fan}

there is one song that never fails to make me teary-eyed.
it's called little mr. roo 
the first time c and i watched this,
it reminded us of our finn.

roo is young, full of life and wants so badly to be big.
his mother, kanga, {like me}, knows it comes too quick already,
and urges him to take his time.

if you have just 2 minutes today,
watch this clip and listen.

if you are a mother to a child of any age,
it will probably strike a chord with you
{if your eyes get moist, you've been warned}

if you are looking for a sweet and fun family movie,
i can't recommend this one enough.
it will fill your home with laughter and warmth.

~ i cheated tonight.
this post was a draft i had saved and forgot to post.
it's been a long day and i'm tired.

i spent the afternoon at bonnie's baby shower while the
boys spent time with maddy. i think we all had an equally
good time. {a big thx to m}

i need to be up early tomorrow morning and ready to fill
c's morning routine, so on to bed i go.  goodnite.

leaving on a jet plane

c is in full swing preparing for his trip to ghana tomorrow.
he has his passport, visa, shots and is almost packed
{after one more load of laundry tonight}.
he is pretty excited and we are excited for him.

i've reminded him numerous times to take LOTS of pictures,
so we can really get a feel for what his experience there was like.
i'll be sure to share a few here when he returns.

in the meantime, i'll be juggling life as a single mom,
something i never look forward to.
i sometimes take for granted how much c does around here,
and when he's away {especially midweek}, i'm always reminded.

after we see off c, i have a few fun things planned for the weekend.
i'm taking the boys to sea world {we're hoping scout is tall enough to ride journey to atlantis}.
tomorrow night, finn has a sleepover at his buddy's home which means scoutie and i will have
an evening all alone. last, bonnie's baby shower is on sunday afternoon.
{i also need to clean my home, grocery shop and dig out our mexico pixs and post}

since i'm a believer that every post needs a photo...or two
i thought i'd share a couple i took of miss madison last weekend.
the shoot was probably my favorite of all shoots to date.
we walked all over downtown, stopping at extraordinary desserts
so i could photograph the girls in front of the shop's funky metal facade with holes in it.
{we couldn't resist grabbing a coffee and hot chocolate too while we were there}.

~ the holiday season is officially over at the gerber casa.
our tree went to a recycle center today and our christmas bins have been
put in storage for next year. i pulled off all the holiday cards that were pinned
all over the family room and tucked away a few of my favorite photo cards.

oh i almost forgot. we even got all our thank you notes sent out.
finn was happy his younger brother took the lead on them this year.
scoutie wanted to write in each of the cards.{such a contrast to finn}
i just had to call out the letters to him so he knew how to spell the words.
he enjoyed it so much, he asked if there were more to do.

have i mentioned how much i love that kid?

somewhere out there

this has been a little mantra that i say to myself when
i start feeling discouraged about finding our next home.

ever since the sell of our little diamond street cottage,

i have been casually looking at homes that get emailed to me
based on certain criteria i've selected (community, price, size, etc.) 

in an entire year, there has only been one home that i've actually

driven to see, and that home didn't warrant a second trip back with c.

part of the difficulty is, we are being selective
but 
not in a traditional way

we aren't looking for the big house in suburbia with all the latest appliances,
granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a 3 car garage and sprawling backyard.
there are plenty of communities with homes like this in the greater san diego area {and for less money}.
but we are trying to avoid moving to suburbia with the masses.

we really want a home in a community that is in central san diego,

{so we spend less time in our cars every day and more time enjoying life}
one within walking distance to cafes/shops and to recreation,
at least 1,500 square feet, and one that has a yard, even a small one.
seems easy enough right? oddly, it isn't unless money is no obstacle. *wink*

i thought i found a home that might work for us 2 nights ago.  

a property popped up on my phone and immediately i was interested. 

the home was 1,900 sf {plenty big for our family}and in point loma,
the community we currently live in {but not in the flight path}.

it was nothing spectacular from the outside - circa 1960s,
but inside it had some pretty cool architectural features -
high ceilings, lots of windows and almost every room had a loft space

{something i knew the little boys would love}.

here are a few pictures:

we walked through it and YES it was very cool,
but it had been a rental to college students for years and needed alot of work
{about $50,000+ we estimated to be where we would want it to be}.

we considered making a low offer,
but because the property backed up to a pretty steep slope,
it didn't have a usable yard at all {not even a little one}.
it only had a deck. it was nice, but with two young boys,
it didn't make sense for this time in our lives.

we've promised the boys a treehouse when we get our next home,
and this wouldn't allow for one, so the search continues.

somewhere out there is our next home
{c is hoping that home will be closer to the beach} *wink*

ring in the new

youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on new year’s eve. 
middle age is when you’re forced to.
- bill vaughan

it's official peeps - 2012.
are you ready for it?
i'm not exactly sure what i meant by that.
it just sounded exciting - the possibilities!

today's quote seemed appropriate because staying up late isn't easy for this momma
and since having kids, it sometimes on new year's eve it feels  'forced'.
shhh, don't tell anyone.

in my pre-kid days, i never felt that way.
i would look forward to the huge themed parties our 'pb' group would host/organize.
and it wasn't just on new years. i was able to stay up late all the time and get up early the
next morning and run for miles or even snowboard all day.
i was in my 20s then - young and at my peek fitness level.*sigh*

at 40, this body can no longer do that (i've tried}
i'm usually in bed by 10pm and up by 6am nearly every day.

it's no surprise that by 11:30pm, even in a house full of excitement, i was starting to fade.
luckily, someone turned up the tunes and the little people,
all hyped up on sugar, started dancing/wrestling in the hostess' living room.

this was enough to keep me laughing until the magic hour of midnight.
much to my surprise, finn and scoutie made it too {they are usually asleep by 8:30pm}
no more than 2 minutes after their heads hit the pillows, they were out.

the battery on my cheap point and shoot ran out so i captured
this blurry scene of some of the boys being silly
{and if you were wondering, the hosts permitted the boys to jump all over their furniture}

we all slept in until 9am on sunday morning {a record in our family}.

while so many spent this weekend taking down their tree,
did the gerber clan?  um, that would be a no.
who wanted to work the first day of the new year *grin*

per c's suggestion, we spent our first day of 2012 doing what we enjoy most,
getting mexican take-out and relaxing on the beach. we chose windandsea.
c wasn't actually relaxing - he was catching waves, but i was enjoying this book,
and the gerblets ran around in the sand and jumped off rocks.

{we hope to get to the tree/decor later this week}

goodbye twenty eleven

i can't believe a new year is just around the corner.
can 2011 really be over?

every year seems to go by faster and faster. *sigh*

since i have been unsuccessful slowing time,
i made an effort to get as much enjoyment out of 2011 as i could,

while burning off a little fat that i think i packed on this holiday season.

here's what I did: since the days have been beautiful all week {sunny and lows 70s},
i headed to mission bay for a run and to enjoy a little sun.

my plan was for the boys to ride their bikes alongside me,

but c had taken the volvo to work which meant i couldn't fit both bikes in the prius.

boys both moved up to larger bikes a few months ago but up until then,
i could fit scoutie's lil' 12" bike and finn's 16" bike into my car.

scoutie now rides the 16" red cruiser that was finn's {the cute one with flames on it},

and finn moved up to larger cruiser. i shared the news that we could only fit one bike in the car,
and finn said "that's ok, i'll run with you mom. dad's been teaching me the proper technique".
{c ran cross country in high school and has been trying to teach me proper running technique
since well, forever}. *grin*

my goal was to run at least 3 miles, but with finney, we were only able to do 2 {with just 2 stops}.

i was quite impressed and reminded him he'd be ready for our annual st. patty's run in march.

later, i picked up maddy and her girlfriend and we headed downtown

to photograph the girls in an urban environment. we'd been talking about it forever and
finally got around to it.  the girls are so silly and kept me laughing the entire time.
{i can't wait to share pixs}

last, we have my neighbor and friend's sweet little logan here for a few hours.

he's almost 4 and this is his first time with the gerbers without his mom.
he's doing just fine and after a update to his mom via text, she's ok too. *grin*

these two cute superheros have been busy fighting 'bad guys' for the last hour
{and much too busy to stop to let me snap a photo}

i better run and get a cake mix into the oven.
the boys and i are heading over to my girlfriend's home tonight for a new year's party
and i've been asked to bring a desert. i sure hope they are expecting anything fancy.

all the families invited have young children, so my friend has hired a teenager to entertain
them until they crash. we're all pretty excited.
{now if only i can make it until midnight}

here's to twenty twelve!

christmas 2011

from our family to yours.

christmas day 2011

we need a little christmas, right this very minute,
candles in the windows, carols at the spinet,
yes, we need a little christmas, right this very minute,
we need a little christmas now.


for the past few weeks, scoutie has repeatedly asked me to
play the glee version of this song over and over in my car.
he loves it and if truth be told, i love it too.
if the holiday was longer, i might feel differently,
but it hasn't grown old to me yet.

after lots of anticipation, the BIG day arrived.
typical in the gerber casa, the boys woke at dawn.
finn continued last year's tradition and came into our bedroom
jumped up on our bed and sang 'jingle bells' at the top of his lungs.
he had warned us the night before he would do be doing this
{still it didn't seem to help prepare us}

the boys were so excited to see if any 'magic' happened in the night.
they yelled up to us "santa came and there's no coal" {like they had doubts}.
i wish i could have gotten downstairs before they did to capture that first look on film,
but i didn't have my running shoes on yet.  i'll be better prepared next year.

this year, scout was able to search out presents with his name on them,
going as far as reading which ones came from santa, mom and dad and auntie jen.
he wasn't able to make out the ones from grandma and grandpa yet,
but next year i have no doubt he will be able to read all the packages.

i think the packaged stickers he received from auntie j and santa were his favorite gift,
with the creature peeper and watch-a-bug from grams and gramps a close second.
finn's favorite gift was a new lego set which kept him building in his room for the entire day
{literally} breaking briefly for candy from his stocking and skyping with family.

when i look back on this christmas, here's what i hope to remember:

• finn playing christmas carols at our piano 
• our first christmas paper chain
• making a gingerbread house with the boys 
• chili on christmas eve
• cute robot jammies
• special ornaments
• happy holiday movies 
• auntie jen with us
• skyping with loved ones
• being the recipient of the most thoughtful gift i ever received, one that made me cry tears
  {and will always make me cry} when i pull it out. i will treasure it forever. .

my heart is full this holiday season.



scout too engaged with his 'spy gear watch'  for pictures

my silly two, finn (7) + scout (4)