petersens play in san diego

leslie and her two munchkins flew in from northern california to spend the weekend with us.

it was our first time meeting ander who is already 6 months old.

it doesn't seem possible he can be this old.

wasn't it just last month i posted a photo of leslie holding him in the hospital?

it sure feels that way.

ander is such an easy baby.

content with tummy time or just being held and taking in the world around him.

he is a cuddle bug and there is lots of him to cuddle. 


he's a little chunker and one

look at his little thighs, you'll just makes you want to eat him up.

he's SO yummy!!

brother soren is a doll and is such a good big brother.

he's gentle and helps out alot with ander.

he has a head full of long blond curls and is just a sweet, easy going kid.

though he's tall for his age (almost 3), and looks closer in age to finn,

he's actually closer in age to cousin scout.

he didn't quite know what to think of his wild 5 year old cousin finn!

he found his interesting, but he and scoutie interests aligned more. 


i tried to cram in alot of activities while they were here, and as always,

there simply wasn't enough hours in a day to do everything we wanted.

next time for sure.  

until then, we will anxiously await our next visit with the petersen family!
i miss them already.

 

 

finn giving his cousin ander some love

soren and finn enjoying a vanilla milk

finn insisted we take soren to see the krispy kreme factory
(he didn't find it quite as impressive as his older cousin)

movie night

the power of female friendships

i just finished reading the girls from ames.
this was my book club's selection from last month, and i really enjoyed it.
it is a memoir about the friendship of eleven women from ames, iowa.

they met when they were children and have remained lifelong friends.
they are all in their mid 40s now and they remain close -
getting together annually somewhere for a week.

reading their stories brought up so many memories of my childhood friendships.
the girls i ran around with are now woman,
not too much younger than these woman in the book.
they all have children of their own now.

it doesn't seem like so much time has passed, and in my mind,
these woman will always be the youthful girls they were when we were young.

though i moved away from these girls in my early 20s,
i can go months and even years without seeing them and yet,
it's like little time has passed at all when we get together or when we talk on the phone.
there's something very powerful in this.

some research on this subject shows that
if women can maintain their friendships through the ages of 20-40,
when they are in the midst of raising children and establishing their careers,
they will probably remain lifelong friends.

reading this gave me so much hope, because since having children,
it has been tough to maintain many of my friendships - at least in the way they once were.
with work and young children, there doesn't seem to be enough time for me,
much less my girlfriends.

reading this made so much sense.
if i can just plug along for another few short years,
the boys will be older and more independent.
i will have more time for nurturing my friendships.

so to my girlfriends, if you are reading this,
know that you are loved and that you are important in my life.
i don't take you for granted.

this study by ucla on the power of female friendships is so interesting.

scout's backyard b-day bash #2

on saturday, we celebrated scoutie's second birthday.
it was a beautiful summer day - full of fun, food and kids!

it was extra special as madison and auntie leslie and her little guys were all there to celebrate with us.
maddy helped with the set-up, leslie was the party photographer, and jen pitched in wherever needed.
with all the help, i was able to relax and socialize with the parents which was really nice. thank you ladies!

i even met scout's friend 'walker', for the first time, along with his parents, annie and carson, and his 8 week old sister savannah. what a wonderful family they are! even after walker and scout start preschool,
i will make an effort to get the boys together to play because they have become such good buddies.
for entertainment the kids played in the sandbox, in the pools, in a jumpy a friend loaned us,
they hula hooped(big kid christopher enjoyed it too), and they enjoyed bubbles.

the only planned activity was gathering around the kid table to sing 'happy birthday' to scout.
he was a little shy, tilting his head down, but as soon as the song ended and his big brother clapped and screamed 'yay scoutie', he grinned from ear to ear. his cake was shaped as a goldfish and decorated with skittles candies. he enjoyed eating these almost as much as the frosting!

happy birthday to my SUPER sweet 2 year old!



baked by mom, decorated by dad and madison





favors: plastic sandpails with beach towels and bubbles inside






birthday boy LOVES bubbles

 




3 muskateers: ben, buzzy and finn

 


best nanny in the WORLD - christi

 




the wind helped a bit

 

 

beat up brown shoes

these are the most recent pair of scout's riley roos shoes.
notice the holes in the toes/soles? the right shoe is identifical to the left as well.
these shoes have taken a beating and one look at them and you'd probably guess
they belonged to a little boy - a very active one! both came from many many days
of dragging his little feet behind a skateboard in the alley behind our home.

like alot of older neighborhoods in southern california,
we have a paved alley behind our home that is mostly used by neighbors to
drive their cars into their detached garages just off the alley.
the boys play back there often because there isn't alot of traffic.
 finn first learned to ride his bike here and both boys love to skateboard
here every chance they get (on their knees at this point)
but that will change quickly i'm sure.

these little shoes were favorites for both scoutie and i.
he's had two previous pairs that he outgrew,
and this last pair was worn out before he outgrew them.
before i tossed into the garbage, i had to photograph them.
scoutie would bring to me and say "shoosh" when he wanted to go outside.
these days, only thick rubber soled shoes will hold up for our little boy.

farewell to these little brown shoes.
i'll miss 'em and everything they represent.

in denial

it's not denial. i'm just selective about the reality i accept.

- bill waterson

this is fitting, as i am being selective about my reality.
i've known for about two months now that christi would be leaving our family in august,
but i haven't allowed myself to really think about it too much because i know it will just make me sad.
the sadness is just for selfish reasons because i know she will remain a part of our lives forever and it's a decision that she had to make.

christi joined us when scoutie was 5 months old and we've all grown attached to her.
i see her almost as a little sister to me and to the boys, well she's their second mommy.
she's been there for the good and the bad and everything in between.
she is graduating from school in a few weeks and after lots of thought,
she has decided to move to eugene, oregon where her parents and younger sister have recently relocated. she's been there to visit several times and tells me it's beautiful there - green and lush.

it's funny because i've *always* wanted to visit oregon - eugene and portland particularly, so now i have a perfect excuse to go. christi has family and a boyfriend here in san diego, so we know she will be back on occasion as well.

christopher and i had always hoped that the person we found to care for scoutie would stay with our family until he was 2 years old. we were fortunate to get our wish. we always knew that when christi graduated, there was a big possibility that she would move on. still, it's never easy to say goodbye.

she's been a ray of light in our home and in our lives and she will be missed. for now,
i'll just be in denial for a little while longer and not think about it after this post.
i found this image of a park in eugene on google - it's beautiful and i was just thinking that
she will actually have real 'seasons' there - something we don't get here in san diego.

the perfect snack

my brother-in-law trevor believes bananas are the perfect snack.
he says they are easy to eat, come in their own wrapping, and are full of nurtion.
they are one of my favorites snacks too.
i eat at least one every day, usually as mid-morning snack at work.

the boys enjoy bananas too, but they love peanut butter even more.
i was making finn his favorite sandwhich - peanut butter and honey,
and remembered c telling me he liked putting bananas on his when he was a kid.

since finn is like most kids (a little picky when it comes to trying new foods or combinations),
i tried to make it 'fun' so i gave him an open faced sandwhich, sliced bananas and suggested
he make the craziest face ever. he enjoyed this challenge and when he was done,
he took a big bite and said "this is actually good mom".

doesn't this look delish?!

new pad

my lil' sister jen has just moved in her own place.
i think i am as excited as she is but for different reasons.
she's happy to come home to her very own place and to be closer to work,
and i'll be happy to have her closer to me!
we'll be neighbors now and i'll get to see *lots* more of her.
she not living next door or even a block or two away, but she's not too far away either.
she's a short bike ride or run (maybe 2 miles) away.

after 5 years of living with a bunch of 20-something girls and being the 'mother' to most of them,
she decided she'd have enough and was getting her own place.
this is a big deal as getting your own place in southern california - at least in a place you'd really want to live,
is *not* an easy thing to do. it's expensive to live here and living alone is a big chunk of change.
her new pad is oh so cute! it's an older one bedroom apartment with built-ins along one wall of the living room and her bedroom has two (yes 2) wall to wall closets on opposite walls. i'm soooooo jealous - seriously, i almost hyperventilated when i saw them. closet space is something i'm desperately needing.

anyway, this is a big move for her and i must admit, i've a little envious.
i've always wanted to live alone. i lived with girlfriends but never had my very own place.
it would have been nice. my single girlfriends tell me i might have never gotten married if i had lived alone because it's so nice. i can see that. *laugh*

as she gets settled into her new place, i am anxiously awaiting 'sister night'.
we talked about getting together bi-weekly or so to cook a healthy vegetarian meal and then watch a chick flick.
so much to look forward to.

congrats j on your new pad sis! enjoy making it yours!

my hot doc

so i walk into vons to grab something and go, and i literally almost run into my obgyn.
i'll just refer to him as 'gary'.

he is the HOT doctor i was assigned to when i was pregnant with finn.
the fact that i had a 2 c-sections only makes it a teensy bit less awkward.

anyway, this was the 3rd time that i've run into him at our neighborhood grocery store.
i always forget he lives in the neighborhood.  and i must say, a beach community suits him.
he is a laid back guy - probably mid 40s, a father of 3, takes annual trips to new zealand for
a month plus and he loves to surf. 

during my c-section with scout,
he and c were casually talking about surf trips - where they've been,
where they wanted to go, etc.

even though i was a little out of it,
i remember thinking and then saying outloud to christopher
"i know this is routine for him, but please don't distract the doctor".
i mean we only get one body.

so my doc is a real life mcdreamy.
i've actually never watched an episode of grey's anatomy before,
but i'm fully aware patrick demsey is the 'hot doc' of the show.
i've been a fan of his since the 80s teen flick can't buy me love.
remember this one ladies? you know you do if you were born in the 70s.

he was adorable then.
sure he was a little skinny, but he was still cute.
i should really tune in sometime and watch grey's anatomy some evening.
even if it's just for a little eye candy. *wink*

a surprise in a song

one evening months back, christopher and i sat and watched a kpbs special on john denver.
we hadn't planned on spending our evening watching the program, but it was on and something about his music captivated us.

we sat on the couch for over 2 1/2 hours listening to his music, learning the inspiration for his lyrics, and watching past interviews of him. we were never huge fans, as neither of us are country music lovers (although i have discovered taylor swift and love her). c and i both remember our parents having his album when we were young. both of our dad's are music lovers (c's dad has even recorded an album or two), so we had been exposed to him and were familiar with a few of his songs - sunshine on my shoulders and leaving on a jet plane.
his simple, sweet and poetic lyrics and melodies made him loved by so many. it's a tragedy he died in a plane crash at age 53 in1997.

so when i came across his cd randomly at a store recently, i bought it and tucked it away to give to c on his birthday. i didn't know how he would react. it's far from the likes of jason mraz and maroon 5 , but he had enjoyed the kpbs special, and like me, he's a a little romantic, sentimental, and enjoys alot of different of music. i thought if he didn't like it, i would keep it for me. i was happily suprised when he opened the cd and genuinely said 'thanks ang, i'll enjoy this.

we sat and listened to the entire album that evening. annie's song is one of our favorites. john wrote it for his wife ann while on a ski chairlift in switzerland. he said the lyrics were inspired by his love of landscapes and his feelings for her. *sniff*

if you aren't familiar with john denver's music, or even if you are, take a minute to listen and enjoy.
 it's such a sweet song - a song i'm sure that made her feel warm and fuzzy.

and here's to another wonderful john - my father-in-law. it's his birthday tomorrow and i though i don't know for sure, i can almost bet he's a fan of john denver. *smile*.

happy birthday JT. keep smiling and singing. love ya

onesies

i love onesies.
i really do.

there's something about them

that makes me think 'oh how sweet'
everytime i see one.

i love their simplicity

they are comfy for babies and easy for parents.
they say baby to me more

than any other piece of clothing.

carters brand is my favorite.

i wish i could say gerbers was,
but they aren't quite made as well.
i have two boys - ive learned this.

i will be sad when scout's too big for a onesie.
he's two now, and the days are numbered.  *sniff*

i couldn't resist sharing a few i came across on-line.

there are so many out there to chose from.

the plain white ones are my favorite but these are fun too.

here's to onesies and all their cuteness!!

super sunday

the boys and i spent this past sunday evening with our friend paul, his 135 lb.
great dane 'gigi', and the hoskins family.
aleyda and aaron have a son, daniel, so it was perfect setup for our us.
the boys played and ran around for hours outside wearing gigi and themselves out.
the adults had a chance to just enjoy the evening catching up.

and the food, OMG. it was fab!
paul provided some appetizers, marinated tri tip and fresh corn on the cob,
aleyda made homemade mac and cheese, and we brought a boston creme pie (c's favorite).

it wasn't homemade, but it was baked fresh from our neighborhood von's.
i considered trying to bake, but since i've never made one, i didn't want to risk it.
(i want to be invited back to paul's place again}.

i must remember to tell my brother and sister-in-law about the meat.
it came from cardiff seaside market and it's supposed to be one of the best
 places to purchase meat in san diego.

you see, my bro and s-i-l recently moved here from minnesota and apparently
are having the darndest time finding good meat (unlike they did in mn).
shelly said the reason there are so many vegetarians in cali is the meat here is tasteless. *laugh*
this could be true for all i know.

c and i would be the last people to give advice on meat. we eat some, but could live without it.
paul and aledya however, are true carnivores and can vouch for good meat.
this was good stuff even to their pickiest of pallettes,
so shell, if you are reading, check out this market and let me know what you think.

hopefully you'll agree there's more than just good vegetables and weather in southern california. *wink*

one of my favorite things to touch

i've been playing the piano a bit more over the past month and i'm enjoying it -
i'd almost forgotten how much i love to play. it takes my mind completely off
of everything and i just get absorbed into the music.
it's almost as if i'm in my own private world.

i've decided that as soon as i get my credit card paid off (very soon),
i'm going to start taking piano lessons again.
i'm not sure what studio or for how long, but i'm going to give it a go.
i've thought about it for years and i've put it off long enough.
i fear i am going to lose everything i've learned and i don't want that to happen.
my hope is an instructor can at least help me get to the level i used to be?

in the meantime, i've picked up sheet music for the song tennessee from the movie pearl harbor.
it's a beautiful song and i'm a long way from playing it well, but i'm working on it.
maybe this will be my first piece i can have my piano teacher work with me on?
the song is from my favorite composer, hans zimmer.

i could listen to it all day long....

helicopter parenting

have you heard of the term?
it's seems to be getting alot of press lately.
overparenting is a term that has gotten alot of press over the past few years.
it has other names - helicopter parenting, smothering mothering, alpha parenting,etc.

no matter what it's called,
it's got researchers, educators and psychologists concerned about our kids.

my first thought was,
do i fall into this category?
i know parent who do, but i don't think c and could be classified this way.

i didn't even buy one of those cover for the grocery cart to protect the boys from germs
when they were babies (a wipe was enough for me and sometimes i didn't even do that). 

so why is helicopter parenting so bad for our kids?
it sends a message that they are incapable of success on their own.

so i'm making a point to let the boys have even longer leashes these days.
and to let them fall and fail more.  as painful as it might be, they'll be better off for it.

if you want to hear more, check out this article from the newyorker.

celebrating life

the more you praise and celebrate life, the more there is in life to celebrate.
- oprah winfrey


 



today is a very special day.

i am celebrating the lives of three wonderful people who were born on july 10th.
they are: my mom - dottie, my sister - valerie, and my hubby- christopher. i
t's a day i could never forget.

i always thought it was really cool that my mom's first child (valerie) was born on her birthday.
what a beautiful gift to her that year. how could that ever be topped?

i wish i could be with the girls to give them both BIG hugs. s
ince i can't, i will share with them a few reasons why they are so special.

mom - endless amounts of patience puts her right up there with mother teresa.
truly she is a a gift from heaven and i'm have been lucky to call her mom and to have her in my life.
i hope all the kindness she shows to others comes back to her 100 times.

valerie - kind and selfless are the two words that come to mind when i think of her.
i can't remember a time when she wasn't good to me - from the days we were kids and sharing a
bedroom to my teenage years when she allowed me to live in her home (even when she was a 1st time mom. now we are adults and she continues to love me and my boys from afar. i couldn't ask for a sweeter sister.

christopher - my confidant, my partner, my lover, the father to my children and my best friend.
what can i say, i am a lucky i get to share my life with him. today he will get his birthday wish - a sunset surf session with his wife! YES i will brave the cold california water for my love. maybe we'll even catch a wave together like we used to do. *wink*

 happy birthday to you all, and here's to many many more....

our house rules

if we truly love our children, we'll develop our courage to discipline them.
without discipline they are like monkeys, at the best like savages.
-unknown


 

every parent wants good children.
children that are respectful, patient, kind, gracious, use please and thank you, etc.

c and i are not exceptions.
we figured the earlier we start the better.

we started disciplining with simple timeouts,
(1 minute for each year) when finn was a toddler.
discipling him was easy then and distraction worked wonders.

as he grew, he began challenging us in ways he hadn't before.
we've had to modify our disciplining techniques and i'm sure we
will be doing this again and again as he grows until he goes off to college.

c is a fan of the television show supernanny.
he doesn't watch it every night but if he's not watching a tennis match or something on KPBS,
he will often tune in.

he thinks jo frost (the nanny) is amazing, and since he's a big believer in routine and discipline,
he suggested we adopt ''house rules' because the supernanny advises this of all the parents she visits.
finn is a big rule follower and at the perfect age for this. he's still receptive and eager to please us most of the time. 

last month, we sat down together at the kitchen table as a family and wrote our house rules.
christopher cut out a simple house from construction paper and these are what we came up:

1. listen and do as your told

2. no hurting one another

3. no whining

4. be kind with your words

5. use please and thank you

finn and scout are still young so we figured five rules were plenty for now.
it's only been a little over a month now, but these rules are helping!

welcome chloe

another gerber baby was born today. my sister-in-law anissa and her husband chad welcomed chloe madison to the world at 2:58am this morning. she was 6 lbs, 10 ounces and 19.25". mom is tired but she is doing well.

we can't wait to meet this sweet little girl. congratulations!!

i ate a bug

EWWWW!!
yes, it happened.
i was running on the boardwalk tonight at sunset and as i ran by a lighted area,
i was breathing heavy as i was at the end of my run.

i felt a tickle in my throat and saw a few moth-like little bugs flying around and i knew what happened! *ugh*. i tried to cough it up but it was too late. there was nothing i could do.
(c teased me saying that's my protein boost for the day)

this isn't the first time i accidentally ate a bug.
during our college days in tucson, we owned a little scooter and during the summer months,
we never wore helmets (not safe i know but it was so darn hot there). i remember riding it home from spanish class one day and a similar incident occured.

that's two bugs now - i hope i've reached my lifetime quota!!

two today

today is scoutie's 2nd birthday!!

it's hard to believe my little blue-eyed, olive-skinned, chubby cheeked boy is two already.
it doesn't seem possible, but it's true.
i'm embarrassed to say, i FORGOT his birthday this morning.

you see, he and i are usually the first ones to wake everyday,
and this morning was no different.
we spent a little time together as i got ready for work,
he played in his room and had a string cheese snack.

i said goodbye and planted a kiss on his cheek and he said "bye mom",
blew me a kiss and went back to reading his books.
this has been our morning routine for awhile now.
no tears, no drama.

around 8am i saw in my calendar that TODAY was july 6th, my baby's birthday!

i called home to tell christopher what i had done.
he reassured me saying don't worry about it,
it's not like he will ever remember.
this is true and i instantly reminded myself to stop being so ridiculous.

with company in town all weekend, and a busy work week ahead, i simply forgot.
it happens sometimes.  because we aren't celebrating his birthday for another 2 weeks,
it just wasn't on my radar screen.

i came home this afternoon to scout greeting me at the door.
he said "hello mom" and him giving me a big hug and kiss.
it was almost as if he was telling me not to worry about this morning,
that the morning hug and kiss i gave him was all he needed - then and now.

i scooped him up, planted 20 kisses all over his little face and
sang happy birthday to my little toddler.

here's a short video i took tonight.

 

 

i'll be sure to post pictures of the actual celebration that is just around the corner.

it will be a traditional backyard party, but having auntie leslie and her boys with us
will be anything but typical. this will be our first time meeting scout's newest cousin 'ander'.
we are very excited and are counting down the days!

fun on the 4th

i love holidays and to me, the fanfare isn't really important, it's simply about family - spending quality time with my loved ones. fortunately, this 4th, the boys and i were able to enjoy lots of family time. now, i'm sitting and wishing it wasn't over already. trevor, shannon and the kids drove from utah and we can't thank them for making that trek. we've driven it a few times and we know it's NOT easy, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. with the utah gerbs in town, and with jay and his family now living in san diego, the weekend was full of family and fun activities. this included a neighborhood parade (non-motorized), lots of tennis between the brothers, a few good runs for shannon and i, a beach/surf day, pool day, time with cousin 'maddy' and auntie jen, bocce ball and badminton, a little baking by the kids, a backyard bbq and a competitive game of pictionary. i look forward to next year's 4th and hopefully being able to share with extended family. who knows, maybe we'll even see the fireworks if the kids can make it that late! *wink*