christmas day 2010

christmas waves a magic wand over this world,
and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. 
~norman vincent peale

the entire household was awaken at 6:30am.
with the excitement of two little boys on christmas morning.

trying to bide some time to lay in bed just a few more minutes,
i agreed to let them go downstairs to see if santa came.
they were right back upstairs announcing Santa DID come.

he left presents and ate the chocolate chip cookies we left.
the reindeer even ate the carrots we left too.
(auntie jen was up before the boys just to make sure)

i dressed quickly, wiped the crust out of my eyes and stumbled downstairs.

i made sure to find my camera before the chaos ensued. 

christopher and auntie jen were already downstairs and c made sure they
ate a quick bowl of cereal knowing they wouldn't be able to get them to
even consider food later in the day. they would be much too busy.

.

after they ate, we gave the 'ok' and the present opening began.

though scoutie knows and recognizes all the letters in his name (and alphabet),

he didn't understand the concept of opening presents that ONLY had

his name on them.

he simply grabbed any gift and started opening it. he opened a gift for finn,
for me and started to open one for jen just as i noticed and reminded him
that gift was for his auntie. he responded saying "i know, i was just helping." *grin* .

after opening presents and watching the boy's heads spin with excitement from

their gifts, jen and i chatted with mom and dad via skype for a quite a while.
(oh how i love skype - i almost feel like i'm right there with my loved ones)

later i skyped with my dear friend jen bennett.  she recently gave birth to
her second son, george, born december 6th.  what better gift could a
family ask for than a new baby?  here is a pix of jen's sweet boys.





bennett boys: keith and george

here is finn telling us about the present he received from santa: lego mindstorms.
after 2 years of asking, santa finally felt he was ready for it. *grin*



i know two little boys who went to bed exhausted and with smiles on their faces.
i hope you had a wonderful and magical christmas too.

XO



'twas the night before christmas...

i had plans to post on christmas eve,

but the evening came and went so quickly.

i didn't want to forget to share some of the highlights

of our evening so here's a little recap of how our family (including auntie jen)

spent the night before christmas...

- walking garrison street in point loma looking at beautiful christmas lights on homes

in awe of these residential homes



 boys bundled up for our 60 degree weather *wink*

- eating warm chili (a christmas eve tradition handed down from my mom)
- boys receiving and wearing their new christmas pajamas
- gathering around the tv eating popcorn, black licorice and watching home alone 2 (finn's selection)

before the boys settled into their cozy beds,

we left cookies on the table for santa,

and a few carrots for the reindeer.

scout leaving carrots for the reindeer

after kissing my boys goodnight and making
those final christmas eve preparations,
i couldn't help but think back to my childhood christmases.

i remember being so excited i could barely sleep.
the anticipation, the excitement, the magic.
as a child, i don't think there was anything more exciting
than waking up on christmas morning.
it truly was MAGICAL.

my mother was a master at making christmas mornings special for our family.
she must have spent endless hours decorating our home, baking,
and searching for the perfect presents for us kids.

i don't recall receiving exuberant presents.
with 7 children, it simply wasn't possible to get lavish gifts, but it never mattered.
the gifts santa brought were always personal - they were perfect.

even with all this, mom never let us forget the true reason for celebrating christmas.
before we could open our presents on christmas day,
we all sang 'happy birthday' to jesus and blew out candles on a cake.

though i haven't started the tradition of baking a cake for jesus' birthday,
i do my best to create a little magic for the boys on christmas morning.
someday, i hope finn and scout will remember happy christmas mornings
and get a little tingly inside like i do.

christmas 2010

last year i blogged about possibly doing away with the paper cards
but when december rolled around, i simply couldn't do it.
i love paper cards too much.
i know there are others out there who want to be more green,
but can't resist paper cards either. i love them too much.

for the first time in years,
christopher and i did not keep our tradition of making our family holiday card. 
we ran out of time and though i was sad at first, i got over it pretty quickly.

we wanted a card that was non-traditional,
something that reflected our family and our casual lifestyle.
after a little research online, we agreed on a design and ordered the cards.
they arrived 3 days later. it was SO easy!

wishing you and yours and lots of holiday cheer!

a little christmas crankiness

not every day of the christmas season can be peaceful and joyful.
i wish they could be, but i know that's not reality.
i saved a note that finn wrote to christopher and i as a little reminder of this.

it all started when finn came downstairs after his shower and saw that
we had put one (JUST ONE) strand of christmas lights on the tree.
we had told him we would "wait for him to start decorating".

when he saw we had put on a strand of lights,
well went a bit crazy. he was so upset.
i can't remember the last time i had seen him so hurt.
he cried tears and told us we had lied to him.

we apologized and showed him the four other strands
that needed to go on, but he was too upset for any of it.
after expressing his frustration verbally, he ran upstairs,
slammed the door and wrote this letter: 

i think this was the first letter he's written to us without
anyone (teacher for instance) directing it.
and despite the frustration behind it,
i was proud of his handwriting.
i could actually read every word of it.
last year, i wouldn't have been able to.

the funniest part about the note to me was the writing to scoutie.
in all his angst, he forgot his younger brother can't read yet. *laugh*

breakfast with santa

saturday morning was the pacific beach recreation center's annual 'breakfast with santa' event.
i continued with our tradition of taking the boys. we picked up auntie jen,
grabbed coffee at starbucks and arrived just after the doors opened.

both boys were a bit excited (one a bit more anxious) and had a hard time waiting
for me to finishing eating my breakfast.  as they sat, future scientist finn pointed out
that that this santa is a PRETEND santa because the REAL santa was busy preparing
for christmas.  the santa at the pb recreation center is just a 'helper' to santa.
scoutie seemed perfectly ok with this but i whispered
to finn that other little kids might think this santa was the 'real deal, so we
better not say that outloud. he understood.

as scoutie stood in the line next to finn, he held his sock dog, patches pretty close.

scout (3) and finn (6) with santa



when it was their turn to see santa, both boys climbed right up
on his lap.

finn started off telling santa what was on his wish list:
- lego mindstorms (he's asked for this every christmas and b-day for the past 2 years)
- knex rollercoaster
- a dog (at least he's off the baby sister kick)

scoutie shared next and although he was clenching tightly
to patches, he answered santa's questions and even managed
a little smile while i snapped a picture.

scoutie still hasn't gotten the hang of making a wish list (yet),
but he here is what he mentioned:
- stickers (any kind)
- crayons
- paper for drawing

easy enough and affordable.

he also asked for a racetrack with remote controlled cars.
this request came only after seeing the unwrapped box in our closet and
showing it to finn. it's now at my work until it's time to bring home.

note: jen and i recalled last year's visit with santa.
scoutie sat frozen with fear on santa's lap.
boy, does one year make a different! *wink*

holiday parties

the boys' end of the year holiday parties were held last week and
they were both themed around COOKIES!  not a bad thing right?! *wink*
the kids were asked to bring in 3 dozen of any kind of cookies to share and
a container of some type to carry a variety of goodies home.

i baked premade snickerdoodles from a package found in the freezer section of
my local grocery store.  you see, these cookies won a contest a few weeks ago
at my work when i baked them for a fundraiser.  employees voted and mine
tied for FIRST place.  i couldn't believe it - storebought cookies! *grin*
it would have been crazy not to throw them in the oven for the boys' parties.

i did bake from scratch too. my sweet friend jen shared an easy chocolate peppermint
cookie recipe with me and these were a hit with everyone too - adults and kids.
if you want the recipe, just email and I'll share. (thx a million jen)

scoutie (3) and mom

finn and his girl, elizabeth

c and i with our big 1st grader



i attended a holiday party on saturday night and took the boys to see

santa at the pb recreation center for their annual 'breakfast with santa' event. 

pictures to come!

for now, i better jump in bed and get some sleep. i've been up late helping

christopher prepare to take the boys to utah tomorrow for a few days to visit

their cousins maya and isaac. he is leaving before sunrise.

i will miss my boys, but while they are having fun tubing and sledding in the snow,

i'll be at work during the days (no more vacation days for me after last month), and

tying up loose ends at home in the evening to prepare for christmas morning. 

goodnight!

crank up the carols

this holiday season is in full swing and i know there must be others out there like me,
who need a little KICK in the pants sometimes to get in the christmas spirit.
i really do love this time of the year but it can be exhausting.

i was just thinking that in just one month's time, people manage to put up a tree,
decorate it and their homes (and maybe even the outside of their homes), bake,
shop, wrap, send out holiday cards, host parties and/or attend parties and events
at our children's schools and in our communities. and this is on top of all the other
day-to-day things. it's no wonder people are exhausted this time of year.  

besides learning to be more efficient with my time (on-line shopping),
i've found that whenever i need a little energy boost, i crank up the carols!
music always makes me feel good and it's not everyday that i get to listen to
dance and sing to christmas tunes.

all week, i've been listening to christmas cds i've dug off my bookshelves and in the
evenings when i'm cooking dinner, i've been enjoying pink martini's new christmas cd
that c picked up last week at starbucks.it's unique and the music is calming which is exactly
what i need after a day at the office.

now when i want to sing outloud, i need something that's
easy to sing to and glee's christmas cd is what i have in mind.
christi mentioned it a few weeks ago and said it was great.

and after watching glee's christmas episode last night
(i'm still catching up on the episodes i missed while on vacation),
i fell in love with the music - a mix of traditional and contemporary songs.
finn and scout recognized the 'island of misfit toys' song
the kids sang at at very beginning of the episode.
i wonder if that's on the cd too.

i'm off to target the first chance i get to pick this up.
i considered putting it on my christmas list for santa
but i can't wait. *grin*

have fun cranking up your favorite carols.

i believe

if this court finds that mr. kringle is not who he says he is, that there is no Santa,
i ask the court to judge which is worse: a lie that draws a smile or a truth that draws a tear.

bryan bedford, defense attorney for kris kringle
miracle on 34th street, (1997)

over the last 2 months, there has been some doubt in finn's mind
as to whether santa claus is real. already at just 6 years old!
when he shared this with me, my heart sunk.

to me, believing in the santa and all the magic that surrounds it
is part of what makes christmas so special for children and for parents.
santa reminds us all to believe in miracles and to have hope.
it makes me sad to learn parents tell their children early on there is no santa.
the window they believe is already so small...
why not let the magic last a little while.

so when letters arrived from santa in the mail this past weekend to both finn and scout,
the timing couldn't have been more perfect.  it was as if santa knew finn was doubting.*wink*
they were mailed from the north pole and had information that was specific to each of the boys.
i read finn his letter and showed him santa's authentic signature, then i read scoutie his letter
which scout had little interest in. i could tell finn wanted to believe...

earlier in the week, i was thinking of the movie that inspired me to believe,
probably long after i should have. it was the classic miracle on 34th street.
oh how i loved (and still love) this movie! i remembered there was a remake
some years ago and mentioned it to my dad. i shared my plan of showing to finn
in hopes it will help him believe. he said the remake would work best.

so on friday night, auntie jen joined us on the couch for a movie night and we watched
the new miracle on 34th street.  we all enjoyed the beautiful story and i watched finn in
awe of the citizens of nyc - standing behind kris when he was on trial. he loved how the
the people of nyc posted signs all over the city that said 'i believe'.

when the judge slammed his gavel down on his desk and dismissed the charges against kris,
that sealed the deal. finn was convinced. we all cheered.

then finn turned to me and said "i believe."

i smiled and hugged him tight - so happy this movie was enough to help keep the magic alive.
at least for this year. *wink*

vacation - final days in florida

c and i flew back to florida relaxed and SO ready to see our little guys.
we hadn't called to talk or skype with them during our 5 day trip in the D.R. 
we discussed it briefly, and realized it would upset scoutie if we did,
so we chose not to.  we did check in via email with grandma and she
reported all was well with the boys, which allowed me to relax and enjoy myself. 

the boys welcomed us home with BIG hugs and LOTS of kisses,
but after about 5-10 minutes, they were off playing again.
there was no clingliness or acting out which reconfirmed
they got along 'just fine' while we were away.

we only had a day and a half left in florida when we got back, so i was
on the telephone coordinating times to meet up with those i hadn't seen.
my girlfriend robin and her son met us at a bowling alley in orlando and we
all bowled and had a great time. more than once, we said we wished we
lived closer to each other. *sniff*




scout (3), finn (6) and reagan (8)

 












first time bowler - he loved it

 



  




reagan (8) and robin

  

from here the boys we headed to my brother todd and s-i-l heather's home
to meet the newest shappard member - jayden collin. 
he was wide awake when i arrived and later feel asleep in my arms. 
i literally held him for a few hours - taking in all his sweetness and newness.

i enjoyed watching the new parents in action.  they were wonderful!
i've been waiting to see my brother in the role of 'dad' for a long time and
he was amazing. he changes diapers, feeds, burps, bathes, you name it.
i'm know heather must love having a 'hands on' hubby. 

these sleep deprived and exhausted parents actually invited all my siblings
over for dinner that night so that I could see them all before i left. 
not only was heather playing hostess (after just having a baby),
she cooked AND baked for us all.
i can't thank these new parents enough.
i'm kicking myself for not having a group photo taken.*sniff*

we were up at early the next morning to catch a 6:30am flight back to san diego.

it was a whirlwind vacation, but a very satisifying one.

after the passport scare at the beginning, everything just came together.

without mom and dad, c and i wouldn't have been able to getaway and

for this we are so very grateful. 

vacation - second stop: D.R. (part 2)

from the north coast of the D.R., c and i headed back to santo domingo via the inter-island bus.
i had a new book in hand which i picked up from one of those 'take a book/leave a book' bins
from our last hotel.  i love reading so this time on the bus was perfect for me. as c dozed, i read
i was done with the book by the time we got back to santo domingo.

when we arrived back in the capital city, we contemplated finding a new hotel. we didn't have hotel reservations anywhere after the first night, but in the end, we chose to stay at coco boutique hotel, again because it was so comfortable. we ate at caffe bellini, an italian restaurant a hotel guest recomended just around the corner. the food was amazing and a more pricey, but we were on vacation and felt we could
indulge a bit.

the next morning, we were back on the bus heading to the town of puerto plata, located on the coast,
about 2 hours east of santo domingo.
,

this town was a good jumping off point for our next adventure - hookah snorkeling.
this was another one of those 'must do in the DR' things and we were excited. 
we were lucky to find out the hotel a fellow traveler recommended had a room available.
there were lots of mega resorts all around, but we prefer the smaller boutique hotels because
we get more opportunities to interact with the owner(s), other guests and even locals who
are employees.

a bit about puerto plata:

- the town has a european feel (much different than mexico's coastal communities).
- it is FULL of italians who for whatever reason, have moved and opened businesses here.
- most employees of these businesses are hatians who speak french and cater to the large number of french/french canadian visitors. we found very few spanish speaking dominicans in this beach town which was not only odd, but made it tough to communicate. the spanish that we did hear, was so thick with a french accent, it was near impossible to understand.
- the italians and europeans here love to smoke. not the best environment for me as i can't be within 100' of cigaratte smoke or i get nauseous.
- friendly folks wherever we went
- there was no harrassment. when we said 'no thanks' to a peddler/vendor, they would walk away. 
it was refreshing.

we come to find out we are the only ones signed up for the hookah tour (most tourists went on the booze cruise tour around the samoa islands).  we had our own personal guide, marco. he was a well-spoken and educated 30-something, who moved to the DR from barcelona to learn to scuba dive. he became a master diver and stayed. he's been in the D.R. for 3 yeras and now works for seavis taking tourists on scuba and hookah tours.

our first dive was to a coral reef not too far off the beach. we were just 15'-20' below the surface but it was perfect as i'm slightly claustraphobic. the water wasn't crystal clear like we've heard it was in some of the carribean islands, but it was pretty enough and all new to me. i learned the international hand signals to communicate with our instructor and c and i stayed down with him for about 45 minutes.
from here, we were taken out to the open ocean and anchored next to a 50' ship that was sunk purposefully for recreational diving.  were were excited but the winds had picked up and it was choppy.  because our air comes from a compressor that sits on a float on top of the ocean, there was brief concern that the waves may knock over the compressor which  means - no air coming through our tubes.  10 minutes later, the winds died down and we were given the go.  we were down a good 40 feet this time.

this was REALLY amazing and c's highlight from the trip.  we saw eels, fish (which kind i couldn't tell you) but my sister stacey could name them all i'm sure. *grin*  i am convinced hookah diving is right for me - no carrying heavy equipment and nothing more than a 10 minute lessons. 
some photos from our hookah dives:

after hookah diving we went back to santo domingo (same hotel) for

our final night. we enjoyed a delicious dinner at a restaurant at the main plaza

in the zona colonial.

c and i sat together not wanting to leave, but ready to see our sweet boys.
we agreed the this trip was exactly what we needed -
time together, reconnecting, sharing, and having a little fun.

vacation - second stop: D.R.

since i didn't keep a travel journal along the way,

i'm going to try to touch on the highlights of c and i's trip to the D.R. (dominican republic)

i have to start off by telling you that we almost didn't make it to the D.R.

while i was napping to try to rid myself of some serious jet lag from flying to florida,
c wakes me to tell me we didn't have our passports with us!

i was sat up dazed while trying to register it.
WHAT??!! (thinking he must be mistaken because he went back into the house to grab the
boys' passports even though i told him they weren't necessary). they weren't coming with
and they don't need to show identification to fly in the states. *sigh*

he had left them on the bathroom counter. we were both thinking about our trip to FL
not the trip to the D.R..  i almost flipped out, then realized, we had some time.
it was 4pm there and in san diego, it was 3 hours earlier. if we moved fast,
we could have them sent out overnight but it would be cutting it close.
we were flying out at 10:30am.

c was on the phone in minutes asking for help from our trusted friend nic.
i must say this man went Above and Beyond by going to our home,
getting the passports and sending them fed ex overnight for their earliest deliver.
we even had them sent directly to the hyatt regency hotel right there IN the orlando
international airport. we coldn't risk waiting for them at my parents.
we wanted to be at the airport so we could literally grab them and check in.

fortunately, it all worked out and they were delivered at 8am the next morning. *sigh of relief*
we briefly discussed a 'backup' plan if the passports didn't show.
c suggested the florida keys and i suggested miami.
we'd been ok without passports here.

so we were off.

the first stop: santo domingo (the capital city)
located on the carribean sea.

  

highlights and thoughts on santo domingo:

• sometimes called 'city of firsts". santo domingo has the first cathedral, monastery, university
  and hospital in the new world that date back to christopher's columbus' arrival in 1942 

 

first paved street in new world, 1502

 




building in the zona colonial (colonial zone)

  



• i was serenaded my first night in S.D as c and i were sitting at a cafe table outside at pat'e palos waiting for our dinner. it was very romantic and a perfect way to start a trip. i'll never forget it. (thx c) 
• stayed at the coco boutique hotel. it was exactly what we were looking for - something local, unamerican, hip and yes, affordable. kudos to c for finding the night before we were to leave.
• little to no english spoken at most places we visited in the D.R. - brush up on your espanol if you visit

the D.R. shares the same island with Haiti and it was much larger than i imagined.
since we didn't have unlimited funds to fly from one place on the island to another, we traveled like the locals. we took caribe tours from santo domingo to playa dorado on the north coast.

the trip took 4 hours total and cost just $25. i should note renting a car in the D.R. is not recommended.
after seeing how locals drove, i was so glad we listened.
much to our surprise the cross-island buses were really comfortable.
they had a.c. and had plush velour seats, and lots of dominican music. *grin*
during the long drive, i finished up the 2nd book in steig larsson's trilogy.
intense is the first word that comes to my mind when i think of that story - whew!!

i should note i convinced c to take this 4 hour bus ride to the northern coast do ONE thing.
i wanted to visit 27 waterfalls or damajagua falls as the locals call them.  i've had never swam in real waterfalls and i was determined to since this island is choke full of them. c was up for it but also wanted to try to get a little surfing in at cabarete,  which we simply didn't have time to squeeze in.  next time.

because we wanted to be close to the national park where the falls were, we stayed in an area full of
all-inclusive mega resorts which by far was our most boring and 'stale' hotel experience there. food was horrible and was was full of east coast canadians and americans who smoked like chimneys and preferred not to venture out of the walls of the hotel (or compound as c and i joked).

one very nice couple we met from alberta said "we'd never venture out onto the streets". this was all before they learned we'd been travelling all over the island.  for the life of me, i can't undertsand why people travel across the world and then stay in a hotel and never leave. they could do that in their own country for 1/4 of the cost.  just doesn't make sense to me. so with that said, one night at this mega resort was plenty.  i should mention our room was ocean front and the beaches were very nice. we enjoyed laying in the sand and relaxing before the waterfall adventure the next day.

so on to the waterfalls which is by far the highlight of my trip.  c and i were picked up by arriba tours and taken tot he waterfalls where we were given helmets and life jackets. we had done our research and were prepared with water shoes too. so off we went. i want to share without giving too many details that
these tours would NEVER be allowed in the states - too dangerous and too much liability.

note: c told me after we went that a few people have died on these waterfall tours and i did some research tonight and it's true.  i won't go into details about the deaths, but if it's been raining, it's safe to wait a few days for water levels to go down and the current to slow.  some folks are trying to close the tour operators down but it brings so much revenue into the country, i don't think it will ever happen.

got the gear on and ready to go!



we were like teenagers - so excited



the 1st waterfall...
we went THRU the falls to get to the next pool

one of the 9 falls we toured
pix doesn't do it justice 

the last waterfall, we had a choice of jumping or sliding.
i chose to JUMP this one! (appx. 6 meters high).





since i didn't have a REAL water camera (just a housing to go over our
point and shoot digital camera), i've pulled these off of the internet to share.
these photos do the falls a little more justice. 

the falls were simply BREATHTAKING!
if you ever go to the D.R. and want an adventure, don't miss the 27 waterfalls. 

we talked about going back with the boys when they are older.
much older...

stay tuned for more vacation posts!

have a great day!

vacation - first stop: florida

days have been jam packed since returning from vacation.
i spent almost a week playing 'catch up' at home and at work.
a big deadline at work is off my plate so i feel like i can take a little breather.
so without further adieu, on to the vacation highlights. i'm starting with florida
and will do a separate post on the D.R. trip.

when we arrived in florida, we stayed with grandma and grandpa for the first few days.
it was wonderful just spending time with them in their home and their sweet dog (maggie).
the boys couldn't get enough of her and i wonder if she got 'more' than enough of them after a week.

the second day i was there, my childhood friend karen drove up to eustis with her boys in
tow so we could visit and so she could introduce us to her newest family member, levi (just 7 weeks). 
he was itty bitty and precious. karen didn't mind me lovin' on him a single bit.

mom was an true angel and watched the boys so karen and i could sneak away for a little girl time.
karen was celebrating her BIG 40 in a few days so we went out for a little pampering.  we got some
time to ourself to talk and we both agreed that 40 really is the new 30 because we certainly aren't old.
no siree!!

our pretty toes



while moms were away, the boys were at play
shad (2.5), scoutie (3), and finn

later, i got some time with my favorite aunties - donna and frankie.

and as always, i could have spent hours more with each of them.

there is NEVER enough time when i visit - with anyone.  i told c

that only time when i did get it was when i was there on maternity leave.

it was easy to fly with a newborn so i'd hang out for 2 weeks.
oh how i miss those relaxed trips home...

while c and i were away in the D.R., finn and scout were kept very busy.
grandma and auntie valerie treated them to a day at disney world and animal kingdom.
i haven't even been to animal kingdom yet. let me just say they are still talking about
the parks and scoutie has asked numerous times when we are going back to florida...

one night the boys had a sleepover at auntie sherry and uncle randy's home. there they behaved
liked wild animals (they are christopher's boys during these times), but i was told they enjoyed
every minute of their time with cousins kristen and marc.

they also spent another day with their cousin aidan (2.5) and auntie stacey and uncle aroon.
they were busy EVERY day and c and i half-joke the boys were so busy they never had
an opportunity to miss us.  we were away a total of 5 nights and it was wonderful for all.




dizzy boys in a monster tire swing