JFK style

fashions fade, style is eternal.

- yves saint laurent, french fashion designe
1940

i was perusing coffee table books last weekend and came across this book on the kennedy family.
i thumbed through the beautiful images on the pages and thought wow - our 35th president was all about the cool factor. if his personality matched his looks even a little, i can see why he was so likeable.

i think most would agree, john f kennedy was a good looking man,
but in looking through all those images of him,
i noticed he was a great dresser too.
whether he was dressed for the oval office or a day out on the ocean,
he always looked fresh, clean and classic.
with all the styles that come and go, his remains timeless.

he didn't dare wear 'front-pleated' pants (my big male faux paux).
no matter how he was dressed, he evoked casualness and confidence.
he is an icon in the american culture for alot of reasons - his personal style is among one of them.
here's to jfk and his effortless elegance.

(mom, i thought you especially would appreciate this post - i know you were a fan too. ;)

a thing for thin mints

it's girl scout cookie time and i can't go anywhere without getting asked if i'd like to buy a box or two. when i respond by saying i have some at home, these girls scouts are quick with reasons why i should buy more. one little girl said "it's good to have a stash for when you run out." ha - she can talk - she's eight and doesn't have to squeeze into a swimsuit this season!! this year, a neighbor girl got to us first and christopher purchased several boxes from her and well, let's just stay he's practically taken to guarding the boxes of thin mints. he could care less about the other boxes, but he stuffed the mints in a high cabinet above the refrigerator. unless i grab a kitchen chair and stand on my tippy toes, i can't get to them. i think that was the idea. he LOVES them and honestly, it's bordering on obsession. he pulled a box down from the cabinet one evening and when i asked for one, he literally gave me "one" and put them away. it was obvious they meant alot to him so i didn't push. geez! anyway, i had almost made it a whole season without purchasing any, but when a little brown-eyed girl told me it was the last weekend to buy cookies, i caved and bought a box of thin mints - not for me but for christopher. i'm so good to him i know - ha! i slipped them into his laptop bag so he could keep take them to work and keep them all for himself. he was happy and i'm happy to say goodbye to thin mints - at least for another year. c's favorite cookie in the world ******** i almost forgot to share, i did the SD Mud Run today with three coworkers. OMG - it was crazy fun but we all survived!! i'll post more when i get the photos so you can get the visuals. it's always better with visuals. ;)

stayin' in the game

to win you've got to stay in the game
- claude m bristol

tonight was such a fun evening and i needed it as my work week was hellacious.
no, it's not a real word but i like it.

my b-i-l, jay and his lovely wife shelley came over for a casual dinner and once the little guys were down,
we pulled the rotating scrabble game off the shelf (a wonderful xmas gift from chad and anissa) and played
a mean game of scrabble!

c and i both LOVE this game and have been playing, well, for years now. he's highly competitive and quite frankly beats me 99% of the time. i beat him once with a 60 letter word. i wish i could remember what it was because i think that was the only time i've ever beat him. he's always looking at ways to get points for creating multi-direction words and it drives me nuts - mostly because i have a hard enough time with single direction words - ha!

he came in first place tonight and i tied with jay. a tie in scrabble?  how often does that happen?
i had such a great time just hanging out with the fam and playing this board game. 

i'm sitting here thinking how great it will be to have them in san diego permanently in just a few months.
we really should schedule a monthly dinner and scrabble night.
i'm determined to beat christopher again - i'm staying in the game!


 

when i grow up...

engineers like to solve problems.
if there are not problems handily available, they will create their own problems.
- scott adams


finn, preschool, age 5


 

finn tells me this is a picture of an airplane,
a rocket and a helicopter and he is in the drawing too.
he says he wants to be an aerospace engineer like his uncle todd.
as you can see, his drawing skills are already better than mine.

today's quote seemed appropo as finn is obsessed with machines and factories -
specifically how things are made and how they work.
the more complicated the process, the better.

he asks question after question - and if he's not satisified with the answer,
he will say "well just go to youtube so we can watch a video of it."

if we let him, he'd sit for hours watching process after process.
i can almost see the wheels turning in his head.
i think he secretly wishes for some of his electronic toys to break
 so christopher can open them up, look inside and try to fix them.

when christi picks him up from school in the afternoons, she asks him what he learned in school,

his answer is always the same - SCIENCE.
he certainly doesn't take after me this way at all!

if finn continues on this path, i wouldn't be surprised if he ends up becoming an engineer someday.

how can i resist ya?

mamma mia, here i go again

my my, how can i resist ya?

mamma mia, does it show again?

my my, just how much i've missed ya

- lyrics from mamma mia

if you've been reading my posts, you probably know i love music, and yes musicals too.
mamma mia is one of my favorites. last night i had a bunch of girlfriends over to watch this movie outside.
it was a cooler night than usual (upper 50s), but since it was planned as an 'outdoor movie night',
i wasn't about to bring it indoors. there's just something more exciting about watching a movie outdoors.

so the girls dressed warm, bundled up with blankets and we sat out under the stars drinking sangria and munching on popcorn and candy. it was a fun evening and a big thanks goes out to all the ladies who showed up with wine, food and chocolate. oh, and i can't forget the av guy (christopher) who got us up and running - thanks love. i'm already looking forward to our next movie night, but first things first, i've promised finn he could have a kid's movie night next.

**********

i received this adorable baby announcement from an old friend jessica. she welcomed a little girl into her world a few months ago. jess was the photographer and the designer of this lovely card - such talent and such a pretty little girl too. i hope to meet ella when i'm back in florida visiting.

**********

my sis, leslie shared some beautiful smiley pictures of her 8 week old son, ander. below is just one of them. oh, i must must meet my nephew... and soon! she and i talked a few days ago - about them coming to sd or us taking a trip to the bay area. we need to figure it out - he's growing fast and i want to hold him before he's no longer a baby. i love that she has two boys like me. who knew we'd be a family with so many boys when we come from a family with 5 girls. i love it. i see lots of fun gatherings ahead with our clan. i should mention, leslie has a very cute blogsite. if you want to see more, check it out at http://jaredleslie.blogspot.com/

**********

i can't forgot to mention i had the chance to babysit the eichorn twins - kai and katherine two weeks ago. parents, kristi and rich trusted me (i felt truly honored) as i was the first "friend" they've left their babies with. the parents got some much needed couple time and i had a few hours with these sweetie pies who are 4 months old now and growing like weeds. kai is 10 lbs now and katherine is up to 7 lbs. it's hard to believe they started off so tiny. i look forward to watching them again - and soon. wish i had a an image to picture to post of them.

these are some of the things i can't resist right now.

mistaken identity

i was standing in the book aisle of target yesterdaywith the boys packed in the shopping cart and finn says "look mommy, it's barack o'bama". i looked up to where he was pointing and there's a large poster of will smith, the actor. a teenager in the aisle laughed out loud and i explained to finn that it wasn't barack, but an actor who has darker skin like barack. finn's response "oh." ever since finn learned a little about our country's new president in school, he's mentioned him several times. we don't talk politics with him, but i'm sure he sees him on magazines covers all over the place. more than anything, i think he just likes saying his name and likes the way it sounds - with those 'b's in there, it is kind of fun. i guess i can see how a five year old might mistake will smith for present obama. ;)

lucky in love

one of my favorite songs right now is jason mraz's lucky in love.
it's a sweet melodic duet with colbie caillat and every time i hear the song,
it brings a smile to my face and i think about christopher.

i consider it one of our songs for alot of reasons. we both enjoy enjoy it, but 
the biggest reason is we were introduced to this amazing artist when we were together celebrating.
for my 30th b-day, christopher surprised me with tickets to see lisa loeb at a small venue here in pacific beach. 

jason mraz opened for her from the moment he stepped on stages and i heard his voice,
my mouth (and heart dropped). he sung elton john's rocket man and as most would agree,
few should attempt to sing anything by this music god.

jason did it justice - singing the entire song acapella.
his voice resonated with me and i was hooked. today,
i still believe he has one of the best, if not the best voice out there.

at the time he lived in san diego and i was fortunate to be able to see him perform at java joes,
a little coffee shop here several times before he signed with a major record company and went on
to become famous. he is deserving and well, if you listen to lucky in love and want to hear more, i recommend his latest album. i promise it won't disappoint.
so i listen, sing outloud and think, yes, i'm lucky in love...

here we are playing the 'newlywed game' on valentine's day at our friend paul's home.
he invited c and me to be one of the couples/contestants that night and it was crazy fun!
friends were falling out of chairs laughing at some of our responses - anaconda particularly.

 i was wearing a tank that said lucky across the chest and even though we didn't win the game,
we were a close 2nd behind danielle and ray - who are still happily married today.

(gosh - i can't believe how short my hair was!)

 

c and i, feb. 1999

 

  



jason mraz, 2002

finn's first race

every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.
- anonymous

saturday was a big day for finn - his first race.
he said he wanted to run a race with me and i thought the annual st. patty's race would be a good one to start with. there were 6, 4 and 2 mile runs offered and we opted for the 2 miler since i had no idea how finn would do and since i would be pushing a 20 lb jogging stroller with 20 lb scout inside as well. it started out great.

for the first half mile, finn jogged beside me as i pushed the stroller. he was so excited and would run ahead and yell back "i'm beating you mommy." i had to remind him not to run too fast or he'd get tired. he seemed to have only one speed and sure enough, about 30 minutes into the run, he said he was "tired and needed to walk". we walked for a while then he'd get a second, third and fourth wind and run again and then walk. around 1.5 miles he said his legs hurt so i offered my back for about 10 minutes. somehow i managed to push scout and keep finn on back but it was not easy. he's getting big - too big for me to carry.

as we got closer to the finish line, he got his fifth wind and ran ahead of me and crossed the finish line. he was so excited. he was presented a medal and he wore it proudly. he wasn't shy about showing it to other runners and telling them he finished the race too. we picked up our race t-shirt and then sampled some drinks and snacks at the exhibits. later that day, finn told christopher "the gatorade and cookie" he got after the race was the best part of it all. the best part for me was experiencing his first race with him. although he wasn't quite ready for it, he gave it his all and had fun. in a year or two we'll try again and if finn has his way, we will be wearing matching green wigs or shamrock antennas like some of the costumes we saw. ;)




i ordered this photo from the official race site.
it's not the prettiest pix but i had to have one of my partners for the day.

   

 

proud finn enjoying a post-race cookie

 

here's to handy men

my girlfriend charlotte's husband built her a beautiful gate last weekend and she shared a photo of it with me via email. i responded telling her how lovely it was (it really is) and how lucky she is to have a hubby who can do things like this for her/them. it got me thinking about handy men and inspired this post.

if something breaks, leaks or needs to be built in our home, i don't pick up the phone to call for quotes. the first thing i do is ask my handyman, christopher, if he is interested or up for the task. most of the time he is. it doesn't matter if it's something he's never done before, if he has the time and/or is willing, there's a pretty good chance he'll figure it out. what i find interesting is his father isn't handy at all, so it's certainly not genetic. as a child and even several years into my marriage, i assumed ALL men were handy. silly me, i was young and naive. i'm glad christopher didn't assume i could cook or he would have been sorely disappointed.

i grew up in a home where my dad fixed anything and everything - and i mean everything. saving money was probably his biggest motivation, but i'm sure he also found satisfaction in it as well. he'd figure out most anything and exhaust every avenue before he picked up the phone to have some 19 yr old kid bring him a $10 part and charge him $150 for labor and the service call. i could almost see the steam coming from dad's head. somewhere along the line, he even went as far as fabricating some parts too. yes, my dad is amazingly handy and that's what i was used to. my mom emailed a few days ago to tell me he did some electrical work for an elderly woman in their neighborhood - and she paid him for it. this isn't the first time she's mentioned him lending his skills to a neighbor.

i didn't consciously looked for 'handiness' in my future husband, but maybe on some level, i knew i wanted a man who was intelligent, logical, resourceful and maybe even a little frugal - just like my dad. i found those characteristics in christopher. i've learned a few things since my early years of marriage.

i've learned:

- all men aren't handy and some are as mechanically challenged as i am
- that living in an old house means there are always projects to do
- i've saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years having a handy man in my life
- i'm lucky to have a handy hubby

below is a picture of the soccer goal he built for finn two saturday's ago. he wasn't satisified with a store-bought goal from target or sports chalet. it needed to be higher quality and built for longer use so that finn can use it in 5+ years (did i mention he's super practical)?

 he invited finn to join him on this project and they had a great morning together. my only request, that it wouldn't be too large to move behind the cottage to get it out of site when entertaining. he obliged. ;)



finn tests out his new goal
(there IS a net - hard to see )



it's official

i am a soccer mom.
at least i think i am since i'll be joining scores of other moms (and dads) for a portion of the weekend watching their child kick a black and white ball around.

i don't quite fit wikipedia's definition:
the phrase soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to activities such as soccer practice and music lessons.

no mini van or suv for me or in my future, i don' t live in surburbia, and at least for now,
i'm not spending a significant amount of my time playing taxi as the boys are young yet.
i'm putting that off as long as i can.

still, our finn IS playing soccer - his first real team sport.
he's playing with the Pacific Youth Soccer League and their games are held in a field just a few blocks away every sunday afternoon. since this is a small community, finn knows alot of the kids from somewhere or another. the kids range in age from 4-6, call themselves the green goblins, and wear adorable uniforms that could pass as dresses on most of them. coach michelle is amazing and lucky for us, she lives 2 doors down from us so we can get private lessons whenever she's working with her daughter mia who is on finn's team.

this past sunday was his first game and for most of the first half, the kids had no clue what they were doing. they'd kick the ball towards the wrong goal, never look up to see where they were on the field and they'd ALL swarm after the ball trying to get a piece of it. it was comical to say the least. i admit, our little finn was part of these clueless kids, but things turned around after the half. with some coaching from michelle and several reminders where his team's goal was from daddy and i, he started to get it. he even scored a goal (i should note that at this level, there aren't any goalies).

still, we were SO excited.
you'd think he'd won a gold medal at the olympics if you were watching christopher and i celebrating.
we are both pretty competitive so that side of us came out - ha.
finn is certainly not the biggest or best player out there, but he's got a style all his own and plays lots of heart.

i think i'm going to enjoy this soccer mom thing.



finn showing his moves

 



patiently waiting for the coach to blow his whistle

  

holding onto memories

memory is a way of holding on to the things you love,
the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

-kevin arnold

a friend of mine asked me why i blogged yesterday.
i responded to her that it was therapeutic, a quick and easy way to share,
but most of all a way for me to to preserve memories of this time in my life.
even though these days in my life are hectic,
busy and noisier than they will probably ever be,
these are very happy times.

i blog so i can remember these days.  

a typical evening in the gerber casa

keep running

i'll keep running because it gives me a legitimate excuse for looking in the neighbor's windows at night.
- asics advertisement

i saw this text printed in an old copy of a real simple magazine i picked up at the cabin last weekend.
my wonderful s-i-l let me take it with me for my long roadtrip home.

the text is SO me and made me laugh outloud.
i am guilty of looking into homes during my runs.
the homes on the boardwalk are built so close to the path,
it's almost impossible not to look.

it really helps to keep my long runs interesting,
i get to see everything from simple beach cottages to
huge modern mansions and everything in between.
the people hanging out inside are just as interesting as well. :)

oh how i love running!  it's one of those activities that i consider perfect.
it requires no equipment - other than a pair of shorts and tennis shoes,
and even shoes aren't a requirement for some extreme runners.
some run marathons without them.
for most though, shoes are a must and well, maybe a good jog bra.

anyway, my point is running is EASY, and easy is good.
i woke up today with one thing on my mind.
i wanted (needed) to do a really challenging run.

since saturday mornings are christopher's tennis mornings and i've got the boys,
i was out the door by 7:15am and home in an hour.
i ran the fanuel street hill which starts just a block away.
it's a long steep grade and yes, it hurt and i may walk funny tomorrow,
but i feel great right now.

i really need to do this hill at least 2x a week so I can prepare for this upcoming
mud run at the end of the month. i'm excited about it.
it will be really strenuous for me i know and i will get filthy, but that's part of the fun.
what other time in my adult life can can i be covered in mud and it be ok?

i was just thinking this would be a fun race to do with my brother todd or my s-i-l shannon.
maybe next year i can convince them to come out to do it....

i'll try to dig up a pix of my sister jen doing it last year and post.
she had so much fun and inspired me to try it this year.

my lists are growing

my lists seem to grow longer and longer - my work as well as my personal lists. work has been insanely busy - i can hardly finish one task before 5 more pile up. we are marketing like crazy to get jobs coming in the door. it's better than the alternative and i'm just happy to have a job (and one that i enjoy). for the first time in several weeks, tina and i peeled ourselves out of our chairs and took an actual lunch break today with the girls from the office. we were tempted to order a margarita but used our better judgement and opted for waters and diet cokes. just getting out was a treat - the ladies are awesome. i must make a point to go out twice a month with them. ********** i received the cutest birthday invitation from my sister stacey a few days ago. her son aidan will be a year old on march 16th. aidan is such a beautiful little boy. he has gorgeous eyes, lots of hair, big brown eyes and a smile that will melt you. i haven't seen him since he was 2 months old and boy do i miss him. i really wanted to fly across the country to attend his celebration, but it's just not possible. i looked into flights and they were beyond my budget. stacey has promised to send LOTS of photos. little aidan's first year bday invitation ********** christopher and i attended explorer elementary's open house on tuesday night. this is the school finn will be attending in the fall. explorer is affiliated with the charter school system, high tech high, which employs christopher. c knew practically all of the staff there - from the director (they don't use the term principal at any of their schools) and the teachers. i was amazed by one particular teacher, zoltan sarda, a male kindergarten teacher who is as cool as his name. i asked c if there was any way he could pull some strings to ensure finn gets in his class. i think finn would relate well to him. my fingers are crossed. i walked away from the open house very excited about finn attending school there. i can't believe i'll have a child in school this fall! ********** i signed finn and i up for the st. patty's day run in 2 weeks. i usually run the 6 mile course with friends/jen, but this year i thought i'd do the 2 mile run with Finn. he's a great little runner and this will be a good first run for him. i'm excited about it and he is too. we're going to get all decked out in green. ********** while doing laundry last week, i hear scout calling "momma" over and over. it wasn't an urgent cry for help, so i told him "just a minute" and didn't turn to him until i had a break in the laundry. when i got that break, i looked over to him and there he was stuck on step three of the loft ladder. if it weren't vertical, i have no doubt he'd have climbed higher, but as it is, it's a little tough to climb for a 19 month old. it did scare me a little and i scolded him, reminding him that ONLY mommy, daddy or christi can take him up. he got so mad. geez - the kid has a temper. later i ended up climbing up with him and we sat on the big rug up in the loft playing cars. we had fun together up there. i can see why kids love playing in clubhouses and small spaces - it's kinda cool. =) climber scout, feb. 2009 (taken little later in the day - he's determined & doesn't listen very well)

so grateful

let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

-marcel proust


our nanny christi, is the best nanny in the world!!

i wanted this post to be a tribute to her -
to let her know that we are grateful for her.

when my boys are with her, they are happy and for parents,
nothing is more important than knowing this.
christi loves children and they love her -
it's easy to see on their faces.

i picture her being a mother of several kids someday and being that mom
at the playground that all the other moms go to for advice or are envious of.
she's confident, stylish, caring and a nurturer. it just comes so naturally for her.

beyond this, she's also super fun.
even after a full year being in the boys' lives,
finn still asks weekly "is tomorrow a christi day because i LOVE christi days."
some days are school days and some are christi days, so this is a common question,
as he doesn't have days of the week figured out yet.

christi is the kind of person that doesn't think twice about getting out of the house
and going anywhere with the boys. on any given day,
i will get a text message from her telling me she and the boys are at the beach,
the zoo, the train museum, sea world, a park, the hilton pool and my latest favorite - black's beach.

if you are a san diegan, you know getting down to this beach is a trek and with two kids -
well let's just say that most wouldn't even consider it. the beach is hidden by a cliff and to get down to the sand, you have to walk along a long dirt path which becomes a little tricky towards the end.

take a look at the picture in this post, you'll agree she's AMAZING!

she truly is a gardener to finn and scout and they've grown and blossomed so much under her care.
we are blessed to have her in our lives.



black's beach, san diego, CA (there is a dirt path to get down to the beach)

  



i came home to a sweetalicious bakery one day





each of the boys had on hats that christi had made with them





at balboa park. christi told me scoutie insisted on wearing his rain boots.
christi let him (another reason why i love her). 



making memories

family life is full of major and minor crises --
the ups and downs of health, success and failure in career, marriage, and divorce --
and all kinds of characters. it is tied to places and events and histories.
with all of these felt details, life etches itself into memory and personality.
 it's difficult to imagine anything more nourishing to the soul.
- thomas moore

i'm home now after a long weekend in utah with the gerber clan. it was an amazing weekend -
full of fun in the snow, great food, and lots of talking and laughing.
stories were made that will be etched into our minds forever and retold amongst the gang at future gatherings.

one story stems around a few of the guys getting their snowmobiles stuck on a steep and hard to get to mountain which jay named 'stuckback mountain'. another was watching papa g getting thrown into the jacuzzi with ALL his clothes on, and there were a few hilarious moments on the slopes as well. i sure wish those few who couldn't make it this time could have been part of it all. we missed them.

with all this fun, there was one little person who wasn't enjoying himself. s
cout came up with a horrible cold the second day we arrived.
he was miserable and reverted back to the days of infancy where all he really wanted was to be held.
lucky for us, there were lots of open arms.

sheila and auntie shelley were the best. they cared for scoutie which allowed allowed c and i to take finn tubing and even get a few hours of snowboarding in together. it was very much appreciated. i can't thank them enough.

every time i get together with the gerber clan, i'm reminded that i married into a great family and that i should never take them for granted. they are fun to be around, big-hearted, love my boys, and have always made me feel part of their circle. a girl couldn't ask for anything more from the family she marries into. i know i have it good -i have had friends share their stories or nightmares.

a BIG thanks to trevor and shannon for hosting us all at their cabin, and for all the work that goes with this!   i am already looking forward to next year's gathering.