a boy's life

live a boy's life and you'll be happy!
- linda marshall

san diego received a little rain this past weekend and
with that rain, came one very happy little boy.
why is this you might wonder?
PUDDLES of course!

scoutie pulled out his adorable and beloved frog boots
and spent a good hour doing what little boys do best -
getting dirty and having fun!

oh to live a little's boy's life.

in the company of friends

there's nothing like spending time with old friends
so when my longtime friend amira and her hubby julius took a train
from camarillo to san diego last sunday to visit, i was a happy lady.

finn was excited to accompany me to the santa fe depot to wait for their arrival.
we went early so i could grab a coffee and finn could sit and watch and watch some more.
his face lit up every time a coaster or a train pulled in or out,
and i knew what needed to be done.  i needed to take the boys on a train ride...while they are young.
i promised him right there we would take a train ride together soon - scoutie included.

where will we go i thought. los angeles, santa barbarba? 
then i realized it doesn't matter where we go.
for the boys, it's ALL about the journey, not the destination.

my friends arrived just a few minutes late and our adventures began.
i took them to a few places they hadn't seen before on their last trip,
including the point loma lighthouse. it was a cool and windy day,
but a must see for any visitor to san diego.

the highlight for all the boys were the ships we toured at the martime musem.

we toured several ships, including the star of india (1863), a fully-rigged merchant vessel,
a national historic landmark, and the world's oldest ship that still goes to sea.
we also spent time on a ship that boys swore was a pirate ship. they were pleased
to learn the ship had actually been in pirate movies - master and commander, and mostly recently,
the pirates of the carribean. i haven't seen either film, my friend alexis, was a pirate 'extra' in
master and comander (filmed at the fox studios in rosarito, mexico)

after we toured the ships,
we headed over to the submarines which was the highlight of finn's day.
we explored a 300 foot cold-war era b-39 soviet attack sub
which still had torpedos on board.  it was quite an experience!

as we were walking in the hull of the submarine,
i couldn't stop thinking about the movie the hunt for red october.
i really enjoy that  movie and honestly, it's the first movie i've seen with a 
sub in it that had a strong enough story to hold my attention.

i'm sure i said outloud more than once how i wished my dad was with us.
he would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of these vessels - my brothers too.
it was a great day and a great weekend with amira and julius.

it's always wonderful being in the company of friends.

dynamic duo

image: duotone2.com

this is the name given to my bff, robin and i
by a neighborhood dad back in the 1980s. 

it was appropriate because when we paired together
in our weekly street touch football games,
with that dad as the 'designated quarterback',
we almost unstoppable.

we were fast
and we could catch a ball.
we weren't afraid of anyone or anything.
we were dynamic.

today robin is still DYNAMIC and
this lady is celebrating her 40th birthday!!

she's is amazing in so many ways.
and i feel like i need to list them tonight
to celebrate my friend across the miles,
and to remind her (in case she forgets),
just how amazing she is.

first, she is independent (a quality i admire in woman).
she doesn't expect anything from anyone.
when she wants something done, she does it herself.
she's a doer...not a lazy bone in her body.

robin has had a full time job since she was 16,
put herself through undergrad and graduate school,
started a new career, and now has her own practice.
all the time, she is raising a young son with minimal help.
this woman works hard, and i mean hard.
still, when she can find some time, she lets her hair down and has fun!

and did i mention her physique?
even with her hectic lifestyle, she makes the time to workout.
this girl can compete with any 25 year old out there,
but she has the wisdom a 20-something can only dream of.
(a benefit of having 40 years under your belt). *grin*

it almost pains me not to be with her to celebrate.
even if she thinks birthdays are no big deal *wink*

so tonight before i got to bed,
i'm thinking back on so many things we've shared together over the years.
my list is long, but here's a few that pop in my head:

meeting in the rain, forts, riding the bus to school, being minorities at our elementary school, auditions, tryouts, dances, fights, swapping clothes, many sleepovers, first loves, toilet papering homes, lots of concerts (U2 was our first), family dramas, roadtrips, beach day, beach boys, clubbing, driving, first speeding tickets, playing the piano, experimenting (just a little), a reggae phase, a hippie phase, dancing, drinking, eating, cooking, sharing books, singing, bowling, marriages, divorces, and becoming mothers.

it's no wonder this woman shares a very special place in my heart,
a place that is reserved and will always be reserved just for her.

happy birthday to my fabulous 40 year old friend!!!!
here's to many many more.

a bushel and a peck

i heart this song written by frank loesser for the musical guys and dolls.
and have been singing it to scoutie alot lately because he has
been requesting it as his bedtime song.

i first heard it when i was in the musical at san diego's city college
back in 2003.  i LOVED all the music from the play and i never
imagined this would become a bedtime song for my children someday.
i'm so glad it has.

it's a simple tune, and the words easy to say so scoutie sings along too.
tonight after we finished singing, i went over to finn's bed,
kissed him goodnight and whispered "i love you a bushel and a peck too."

i wonder if he remembers me singing this song to him all those years
ago when he was a baby and toddler? i didn't ask him,
i just watched him smile in the dark as i left the room.

someday, the boys will be too old for bedtime songs,
so for now, i sing to them as often as i can.
i love these little guys
a bushel and a peck
and
a hug around the neck.

ps. i'm happy to share i can cross one thing off my 'promise me' list.
i made a new dish for dinner tonight - eggplant parmesean.
it was delish and easy!

music with a message

the weekend came and went quickly...too quickly.

the weather here in paradise (as my mum calls san diego)
was a little on the cool side, but the sun was shining and with a jacket,
it was near perfect for all the walking around  i did with our guests.
i will dedicate an entire post to my friend's visit later in the week.

for now, i'm in the midst of finalizingsome things for a coworker's
retirement party that takes place wednesday evening.
i've just finished cropping all the photos i scanned earlier in the day,
and am now searching for music to play throughout the party.

the soon-to-be retiree is a SUPER great guy and anything but a typical engineer
when i learned his undergrad was in chinese studies at the uc berkeley,
well that said everything.  i learned he was a true hippie in the 70s -
protested the vietnam war, gave speeches, and belonged to various organizations.
today, he continues fighting for peace and equal rights for all.

so tonight i'm looking for music with a message,
music that will take him back to his early years,
to remind him of those times in his life and hopefully
music that celebrates his passions today.

since he is one of the few modern day hippies i know,
for fun i typed hippie music in google to see what would
come up and i came across this website.

it was perfect!
as i read through some of the songs,
i remembered i had a couple of the cds in my own collection.
i found the mamas and the papas, the beatles, and bob marley.
(i love music from a variety of decades)

i'm guessing there will be others like me on wednesday night,
who might have a difficult time saying goodbye to this
amazing guy as he begins his next journey.

i'm hoping a big hug and the right music will help us all.



image: allposters.com



going to the chapel...

i was so excited to find this in my mailbox

christi and tyler have set a date for their wedding!
august 28th is on my calendar and though it's months away,
i am excited just thinking about it.

i love having something special to look forward to.
i love weddings.
i love the name of their venue - sweet cheeks winery.

and

i love this sweet couple.

they aren't officially going to the chapel to get married,
but i liked the sound of it anyway. *grin*

it's late and i should get some zzzzs.
my girlfriend and her husband coming to visit this weekend.
i'm so excited!!
we met at work years ago in tucson and became fast friends.

now if it would only stop raining so we could enjoy
san diego's traditionally beautiful weather.
if not, we'll just have to find something fun to do inside.

enjoy your weekend!!

promise me

per yesterday's post, i've been working on my promise me list
inspired from my friend jessica of pen and paper flowers

for the past few days, i've been adding to my list.
i now have have a total of 35 items, and i am done.
i this these will be plenty to keep me challenged over the next 12 months.
to make them real, i'm sharing.
here is my list of promises:

1.  cook 12 new dishes for the family (In Progress)
     1. eggplant parmesean (c and i loved it - the short people in the house not so much)
     2. veggie lasagne (packed with veggies - a hit with all but scoutie)
     3. brown sugar and honey glazed salmon (though c's made this on the grill,  i experimented in the oven - a hit - even scoutie ate it  (his first fish ever 7/25/11)
     4. chicken enchiladas (all enjoyed these but scoutie - refused even a 'polite bite')
     5. turkey chili (since i don't enjoy cooking -i'm separating my two chilis)
     6. veggie chili (a hit - packed it full of all types of veggies)
     7. curry pumpkin soup (love but not a fan with the short people)
     8. quinoa salad (just discovered this fabulous little grain) nice to have a new side at dinner
2.  run san diego's annual st patty's day race with finn (COMPLETED: finn and i ran 3/12/11)
3.  participate in at least (2) community service activities (in progress: plan on attending Surfrider's Annual Paddle for Clean Water 9/24)  UPDATE: C was sick and i don't trust myself to paddle with a child onmy board so we missed this year and will try again next year)
4.  add (3) new dresses to my wardrobe (COMPLETED 9-24-11) 
5.  learn one new piano piece (in progress: selected a song  on 4-6-11, taking piano lessons
6.  compete in the bootcamp challenge with christopher and try to get a new personal record (PR)
     COMPLETED - no PR this year...try again next year)
7.  build a sandcastle with the boys (COMPLETED 11/20/11 - Mexico vacation)
8.  watch a sunset (COMPLETED 7/28/11: after a run/ (boys biked) on the bay, we all sat and watched the sunset. scoutie announced "i think it's my bedtime". 
9.  read at least 15 books this year -12 with my book club and at least 3 on my own (in progress)
     book 1: the help (4.5 stars)
     book 2: the hunger games (4.5 stars)
     book 3: as the great world spins (4 stars)
     book 4: room (3 stars)
     book 5: cutting for stone (4 stars)
     book 6: breathing lessons (3.5 stars)
     book 7: the boy who harnessed the wind (4 stars)
     book 8: catching fire (4.5 stars) 
     book 9: mocking jay (4.5 stars)
     book 10: the battle hymn of the tiger mother (4 stars)
     book 11: the immoral life of henrietta lacks (4 stars)
     book 12: animal dreams (5 stars)
     book 13: wench (4 stars)
     book 14: cat's cradle (2 stars)
     book 15: daughter of time (in progress) - couldn't finish 
     book 16: a tree grows in brooklyn (5 stars)
     book 17: the prodigal summer (4 stars)
     book 18: the tipping point (3.5 stars) 
     book 19: outliers (4.5 stars)
     book 20: five chimneys: a woman's true story of auschwitz (4.5 stars)
     book 20: a wrinkle in time (3 stars)


    
10. go on a field trip with finn's 1st grade class (COMPLETED 5/6/11 - went to suzie's farm)
11. do something that scares me. (COMPLETED 12/12 - coached Scout's soccer team, Fall 2011 season at the YMCA)
12. discover a new neighborhood in san diego (discovered sherman heights when the fam was there for the soapbox derby races in may 2011.  would like to explore another neighborhood)
13. watch 3 classic movies and check off in my 501 must see movies book (a gift from my s-i-l) - in progress:  idenitifed 3: blazing saddles, cool hand luke and rear window
14. go hiking somewhere new with finn and scout (COMPLETED 11-19-11: Yelapa, Mexico)
15. host a 'girl's day' at the pool (COMPLETED: ladies lounge day at the Hilton Hotel while boys were in MN
16. discover 3 new music artists - COMPLETED: Snow Patrol, sampled Adele, and discovered Keane - LOVE them (piano led band and male vocalist) 
17. play 'photographer' and do at least 3 photoshoots (COMPLETED: friend's daughter (paige) in august,  madison and bella in september  and aunt j and boys in october) 
18. hotel stay overnight with christopher (no kids) (COMPLETED : c and i stayed at the indian wells resort on 3/13/11)
19. get a massage (in progress: spa day planned for 9/11 with book club girls: hoping to get one)
20. find a new tennis partner since mine moved to chicago (in progress: asking around and attending weekly group workouts at barnes - may meet future partner?)
21. visit a real pumpkin patch for this year's pumpkin(s) - missed this - try again next year.
22. listen to an entire series of spanish cds on my commutes (COMPLETED 10/11)
23. build a fort with the boys and sleep in it overnight (COMPLETED 3/11 - i didn't make it through the entire night on the floor. when c crawled in got way too croweded. i decided to to go upstairs to my comfy bed). they didn't notice until the am. *oops*
24. take the boys on a train ride (COMPLETED 8/11: rode the coaster to encinitas for a half day) 
25. bring my photo albums up to date (in progress: ordered photos from finn's recent birthday)
26. bake a lemonade cake or any cake by scratch (triple layered) - COMPLETED 4/10/11 - tried baking with my sis and the darn thing didn't rise. still not sure why (we followed instructions -maybe we overmixed).  the homemade lemon frosting was a success so we put that on a boxed cake mix!
27. fingerpaint with scoutie  COMPLETED 3/6/11
28. gather ideas together for displaying ticket stubs i've saved from past theater productions
      (been wanting to do this for years. YES, i've saved them all)
      (starting to poke around on the internet)
29. spend a half day one weekend watching 'chick flicks' COMPLETED 6-23-11
30. camping with the family (last attempt left alot to be desired)
31. spend a day practicing R.A.K.s or Random Acts of Kindness with the boys
      (borrowed this idea from jessica's list - love it!) -  (in progress - made a list with boys)
32. take an online tutorial for some aspect of photography (Photoshop Lightroom) - (in progress)
33. sing outloud when i play the piano COMPLETED 6/1/11
34. purchase a print with dorothy law nolte's children learn what they live'  poem for our home
    (in progress: having conversation with a graphic designer i found on etsy)
35. build a robot or something with finn (his choice) - COMPLETED 3-11 - he built his Lego Mindstorm robot, i assisted.
36. print blog (added this on 3/16/11)

so there it is, my list of promises to myself.
these should keep me engaged in positive things all year.
creating this list was so much more FUN that i thought it would be.
i think it's because it's full of things that i have been wanting to do.
i just needed to think about them, write them down, and share them,
now they are REAL.

i am anxious to get started on my promises...
my journey!

i hope you are too.

a year long journey

if you follow my blog (or have known me for a even a week),
you probably know i'm a HUGE list girl.
i love writing down tasks/goals and then crossing them off my list once i've completed them.

my friend jessica posted her  'promise me' idea on her blog last month.
the idea was to create a list that will help bring additional enrichment to her life.
she encouraged her readers to not just follow along her year long journey,
but to go on our own journeys. 

i loved her idea, but i had just created my new years resolution and i was tired.
then the flu bug made it's way into my home for a few weeks,
and i put this list on the backburner.
over the weekend, things changed.
i started on my list of promises to myself.
some items on my list are just plain fun, and others will be challenging.
ultimately, everything i've included on my list will enrich the lives of my family,
my community, and ultimately, ME. 

that's what this promise me list is all about.

i'm anxious to share my list,
but would like to add just a few more items to it.
once they are out there, they become REAL,
and there will be no turning back.

if this sounds like something you would enjoy,
or just need to do for yourself,
i encourage you to start your own list.
let's do it together!

i better skedaddle.

i've got 1/4 left of this book i need to finish reading
before i meet with my book club girls tonight.

have a beautiful day!

cute valentine cards

i run into this dilemna every valentine's day.
either buy the store bought cards from target or make our cards.
i'm not a fan of those storebought cards at all,
so the personal homemade or semi-homemade cards always win out.

this year, finn requested science OR robot valentine cards ,
but he quickly narrowed it down to robots since he didn't get to
do robots last year. (the robot obsession is still in full swing)

we headed to michaels which is just around the corner from us now.
i found packs of 12" die-cut robots.
a 12" valentine is pretty large, but they were oh so cute! i couldn't resist.
though we only needed 2 dozen, i picked up an extra dozen since i had the 40% off coupon.
i figured the additional package could be used for future projects or even as birthday cards.

once i was home, coloring and/or decorating 24 robots seemed daunting
for me and for a boy who doesn't typically get excited about things unless they have a
motor or a moving part. (scoutie on the otherhand would have enjoyed coloring them all)

i rummaged through the garage and found a new can of red spray paint which i used
to spray a dozen robots before i ran out.  at this point, finn suggested giving the girls
in his class the red robots and spraying the other ones gray for the boys.

c was heading to his favorite store for something or other, so he picked up a can for us.

next came the cute hearts. we put a sparkly red heart on each gray robot for a little 'pop' of
color, and white foam hearts on the red robots. next, finn addressed them to each child in his class.
the back of the robots, we put I Like You A BOT!  (super cute)

and here are the final robots valentine cards:  

scoutie was next.
his love of FROGS continues so i wasn't surprised when he requested
them as valentine cards for his class. trains came in a close second.
michael's unfortunately didn't have any die-cut frogs,
so i went online and found this cute template.

it looked easy enough, but after printing and cutting out just two,
i realized how much work was involved - LOTS of cutting!
aunt jen came to our rescue and offered to cut them all.
when she returned them to me, they were separated out in tidy
ziplock bags which  made it easy for me to assemble.
(thank you so much j)

after scoutie announced the glueing was "too messy",
i was able to work alone and make better time. 
since jen took a big chunk of work off my plate,
i was able to throw in an extra something fun.

i came up with the idea of wrapping small boxes of raisins
with white paper, and writing 'flies' on on the front of each
and then taping to the front of the frog.
it was a small detail, but it went a long way. 
not only cute but healthy too.
a perfect little treat for 3 year olds.

scoutie put his finishing touch on each frog -
a red or pink foam heart sticker for the lips.
he was so proud of himself.
the back of the cards read: HOP-py Valentine's Day!

and last my little lovebugs.

i dressed them in red 'initial tees' i purchased from piccadilly circus designs through etsy.
scoutie even had on red converse tennies to match.
c teased me and reminded me i have BOYS (like i could somehow forget),
and i reminded him i have to have some fun
since i don't have girls to dress. *wink*

  

this little guy has my heart



happy valentine's day

i'm up early making blueberry muffins before we all head out this morning.
the muffins are sitting in a red heart-shaped ceramic dish here on the table
and the cold milk it out and ready for the boys. 

if it was a weekday i might have attempted heart pancakes and strawberry
milk, but on a work day, this is about all i can do. 

the boys' valentine cards are finally complete and in red bags on the kitchen
counter ready to be handed out to their classmates.
they are SO cute! 

i can hardly wait to post and share.
(will be tomorrow as i have yet to download them).
if you know the boys, you can probably guess what their cards are.

i had to share these pretty donuts.

image: krispy kreme

i bought these for my coworkers last friday and saved
two for finn and scoutie.  they are suckers for sprinkles! 
i was going to save until this morning, but i couldn't resist
giving to the boys yesterday.

i hope you enjoy something sweet today too!

~ finney is off to legoland today with this class.
he is so excited!

birthday girl

Happy Birthday Leslie!!
i hope your birthday day was WONDERFUL.

if we lived closer, i'd bake a yellow cake with chocolate icing just for you.
(i remembered it's your favorite).

XO

finn's mad science party

i'm so excited to share photos and highlights of finn's birthday. (sorry for the wait grandma)
last sunday, a dozen of finn's friends joined us at dusty rhodes park to celebrate his 7th birthday!

after finn chose a 'science' theme, i did some searching on-line and came across the celebration shoppe. 
i purchased this adorable invitation and coordinating printables that made it easy to for me to decorate and theme the party around. easy is always good.

for the first time in 5 years, coastal san diego didn't see much sunshine on finn's birthday.
it was a cool, cloudy and windy day - with temperatures in the low 60s.
those who live in cold climates might chuckle, but for san diegans, it was chilly.
we survived - but we definitely had to pull out a sweater.
well the adults did...the kids didn't seem to notice it was cool.

one of the highlights of the party was the 'Mad Scientist' that came out to entertain the kids.
he was AMAZING! he not only had the kids laughing outloud, but the adults too.

after his 45 minute show with lots of interactive experiments, i had a chance to thank him and
chat with him. i learned he was a retired drama teacher.  no wonder he was so fantastic!
Dr. Don was his stage name and c and i agreed, he was worth every penny.
if you have a little science lover, i recommend mad science of san diego wholeheartedly!

after he left, christopher brought out our his own science experiment - an air compressor rocket
that he made with the boys literally the day before the party.  the kids couldn't get enough of this.

there was even more entertainment when one of the plastic soda bottle rockets, filled with water,
exploded all over finn's daddy. *grin*

after lots of rocket launching and playing on the playground, the kids had worked up an appetite.
we chowed on warm and greasy pizza and then it was time for the birthday cake.

christopher spent several hours in the kitchen baking and building a 'flask' shaped cake.
i suggested it just be flat, but NO, that wasn't interesting enough. it had to be 3-dimensional.

he used several round cakes to build it up and then inserted a glass vase in the center for
the dry ice and warm water so it would produce steam. he wanted it to mimic a science experiment.
finn was THRILLED! he said it was the best cake dad ever made.
(even better than the robot cake). *grin*

and if the cake was a little too crazy looking to eat, party guests had the

option (and privilege) of eating a delicious cupcake baked by my sweet

and very talented coworker tina.  they were as delicious as they were cute!

i found these science cookie cutters online months ago and couldn't resist purchasing them.

my first thought was to make sandwhiches for the younger siblings of party guests,

but instead, i decided to have sugar cookies made.

i discovered baked, a local bakery located in mission beach.

the wonderful owner nanci, was happy to help me out. 

she did a fantastic job!

the science sugar cookies included: beakers, flasks and test tubes

toppings were set out so the kids could pile on top of their mini
vanilla ice cream cups that auntie jen handed out (thank you).

the wraps for the drinks were printables purchased from the celebration shoppe. 

party favors were test tubes filled with skittles. these tubes and their trays (not pictured)
were purchased at steve spangler science.  they were a hit with the kids! 



and finally, the guest of honor, finn oliver.

he told us he had the best birthday EVER!

i forgot to take a picture of the b-day boy with his lil' brother so i snapped this in front of the house after the party..
scoutie was about to fall over from exhaustion (we both took a 3 hr nap after this picture was taken)

my best news all week

i came home from work this afternoon to christopher handing me this.

actually 'this' was wrapped in a padded lens cover but i recognized the shape.

i didn't even want to unwrap it. i simply asked "is this the lens"?

christopher answer yes. the lens hadn't broken and after some tests,

it was determined the camera and the lens were ok. 

i wanted to scream hallelujah and jump for joy but i was tired.

i just breathed deeply and said 'thank you' and gave him a big hug.

(after my outburst, christopher dealt with it all - taking the camera in

to the shop, being the main contact so i didn't have to stress out about it).

i appreciated that.  he never got emotional about the camera or lens so he

was the best person for it.

after hearing the lens and the camera were functioning perfectly,

i didn't even want to open the lens which was wrapped securely in padding.

c assured me he even purchased a new lens protector which was key to saving

the lens when it dropped.  

this incident was a lesson learned for all of us,

and especially for me.

fortunately it had a happy ending.

i'm so relieved

and so happy tonight.

tomorrow i photograph!

connecting

one of the things i am doing in the new year
is making more of an effort to better CONNECT with those i love.

if i've learned anything in all my years,
i've learned good relationships don't just happen.
they require some nurturing.

i've been thinking of specific things i can do to keep the relationships i have that are strong,
remaining so, and what i can do to help strengthen those that aren't.
some things will include more phone calls, ocassional kind texts, sending random
notes/card, giving of my time, small tokens of affection, and occasional trips (if financially feasible).

most important is keeping the relationships in my home strong,
so getting back to regular date nights with christopher was at the very top of my list.
second on my list is having mommy and son outings with finn and scoutie
(individually) since it's rare we get alone time together.

tonight was c and i's first first date of the new year.
i was hoping to surprise him and take him to a lighted driving range
so we could hit some golf balls (i've always wanted to do this and i knew he'd love it).
unfortunately, some serious santa anas blew in and that was out of the question
i'm going to have a hard enough time just hitting the ball off the tee without wind,
so that's for another date night...

5 minutes before the sitter arrived, c suggested dinner at the bali hai,
a restaurant just around the corner from us.
i'd never been before and was looking forward to it.

we were seated at a cozy table along the glass
overlooking the harbor and with view of san diego's skyline at night.
the view was perfect.
the food superb.
the service excellent.
(i'll most definitely be taking out of town guests here)

  

i can't speak for christopher, but i had one of the best evenings out with him in a long time.

i forget how great it is to just sit and talk - to give each other our undivided attention.

last night, a tiny part of our conversation was about the camera/lens

(we are still waiting to hear the extent of the damage),

but most of our evening was spent talking about travel, and our passion for it.

we talked about all the places we'd like to visit (the lists are long),

and about some of our past adventures together.

we laughed recalling our first trip to europe.

we walked for miles around vicenza, italy 

looking for andrea paladio's famous villa rotonda.

my 'fresh out of architecture school' hubby just had to see it.

hours later, we arrived to find it CLOSED on mondays.

it was a monday.

we were rookie travelers then - never even bothered to look it up.

still, that day brought us some of the best memories of that trip.

we walked along quiet and beautiful country roads,

and even through vineyards that seemed to go on forever.

when we finally arrived back to town on foot

(the buses were on strike)

we were exhausted and starving.

when we walked over the footbridge into town,

we were rewarded with a spectacular sunset.

i couldn't remember the last time we even discussed that trip.

so this was a reminder why date nights are so important.

they give us time to share, reminise and ultimately connect. 

~ our sitter offered to come over bi-weekly if we preferred.

oh it's tempting, i'm not sure if our budget will allow it,

but i'm giving this some serious thought...

my bad landing

people who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.
- will rogers

the evening started off so well.
i walked through the front door after work greeted by my two little guys,
and my big guy was just finishing putting the five loads of laundry away.

we had a 'breakfast' dinner and later UPS delivered a package that was addressed to finn.
he opened it to find a mechanical 'brush robot kit' and screamed "i've always wanted this".
we read the sweet message inside from a sweet couple and finn said "that was so nice of them".
he was anxious to start building right away.

before he began, i wanted to take a photo of him with his new gift.
christopher told me my camera bag was in his car because he photographed a project earlier.
because i was preparing food for the boys' lunchboxes,
i asked finn if he'd bring it to me.  he did.

he dropped it right down on the kitchen's ceramic tile next to me.

my heart seemed to stop.
christopher said "that doesn't sound good".

i unzipped it PRAYING it wasn't the new (and very expensive) lens
that c just bought me for christmas.

as my luck had it, it was.
i saw the crack and lost it.
(my sister has said my camera is like my first-born child)

i yelled at finn for not handing the camera to me,
he told me it's not his fault.
i should have told him then and there it wasn't,
but i continued yelling about cameras and lenses being *very* expensive.
he ran upstairs very upset,
and probably scared of me.

then i turn to christopher in anger because
he didn't have the camera stored in the padded area of the bag.
it was loose in the main compartment!
my anger towards him caused him to tell me how poorly designed the camera bag was.
he yelled back that the entire camera bag should be padded.

this bag is one i recently purchased and love, and yes, it isn't entirely padded.
the padded compartment is inside the main bag and the camera/lens have to go
into this compartment in order to be protected.

i yelled back that he should have looked into the bag to see how to store
it and also he should have felt the bag so he'd know it wasn't all padded.

scoutie got upset because of all the yelling and started crying.
it was NOT a pretty sight in the gerber household.

christopher in the meantime was looking at the lens protector which was clearly shattered.
i asked if the ACTUAL lens was broken,
but he couldn't remove the lens protector to see,
because it was jammed from the drop.

he said the new lens 'appeared' to be ok. 
that brought my heart rate down some, but i was frustrated.
tomorrow he will take it to our local camera repair shop to have them look at it.

shortly after, finny came down with his piggy bank and says "here mom"
and sits it in directly in front of me goes back upstairs.
my heart sank. 

all year long, he saves any extra dollars or coins he gets and drops into his piggy bank.
right after his birthday we deposit it all in his college savings account.
he was offering his year-long savings because he felt responsible for what had happened.

i felt horrible. 
i pulled myself together and went upstairs to apologize for my behavior.
it was a very humbling moment.
here i'm the grown up but the one who acted like a child.

i'm forever telling the boys "things" aren't important
but somehow tonight when it mattered most,
i forgot this.

fortunately, finn was forgiving.
now only if my husband will do the same...