the preschool prayer

as a preschooler, finn had a prayer he insisted on saying before dinner.
sadly, i can only remember the last line of it -
...thank you for the birds that sing, thank you god for everything.

now it's scoutie who shares his preschool prayer with us every evening before dinner.
i had forgotten about this little video clip i took of him a few months ago.
i used the video on our little point and shoot camera, which is still the only video
capability we have. (i can't justify buying anything else since we'd rarely use it).

after telling us he was "too shy" for months to say his prayer in a voice we could hear,
he now insists on saying the prayer, or rather 'singing' it in an audible voice. 
the rest of us sit at the table and do our best to listen and not giggle.
he's just so stinkin' cute!

i really don't think i could love this little boy any more than i do.



snaggletooth

snaggletooth is the name christopher and i have given to finn
because of a front tooth that has been loose and sticking out past
his gums for the past 2 months.

now finn isn't one that does very well with pain or even a little blood,
so he's refused to help this loose tooth of his along in any way.
tonight he shared that it is almost out and just hanging there.
i had to document it.

i'm hoping by the time this 3 day weekend is over,
my first born son will be minus one tooth - the front left.

i'm SO looking forward to this holiday weekend.
i have some catch up to do (lots of laundry) but i have a few fun things planned.

to begin the weekend, the family is off to the soapbox derby races tomorrow morning.

the boys are SUPER excited!  i think i'm almost as excited as they are.

some other fun things include: one-on-one dates with finn and scoutie,

c and i are participating in a 'newlywed game' hosted by our friend paul jacobson.

we were contestants in his game 10 years ago and were invited back this year.
we are more like oldyweds now, but it will be fun.
(i just hope the questions aren't too embaressing)

last, i plan on spending some time outside (probably at the beach),

enjoying san diego's perfect weather.
i was reminded after my recent trip to florida
just how good we have it.
it's 70 degrees today...ahhh.

~ i haven't forgotten to post about my parent's 50th wedding anniversary

celebration. a short post and a few pictures are coming soon!

*************************************************************

i'm coming back to this post to say finn's snaggletooth fell out today, 5/29!
he's no longer our little snaggletooth, well for now at least.

the celebration weekend begins

i'm flying to the sunshine state tomorrow!

yep, it's nicknamed the 'sunshine state'
even though according to weather.com,
orlando averages 86 sunny days
to san diego's 186 sunny days.
mmmm....

i am hoping this weekend will be FULL of sunshine
as my family gathers together to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary!

i've been excited about this weekend for SO long and it's finally here.
i better get packing. tomorrow will be a long day.

have a fantastic weekend.
i'll be sure to share photos of the festivities!

(and i'm a teensy bit excited about having 5 hours on a plane to read this book).
i read the first book of the triology months ago and *loved* it.

brady bunch home

since moving into our temporary home (a condo in point loma),
i started referring to it as our 'brady bunch' home because well,
the decor seems to date itself to that area - circa 1970s.

though there is no avocado or orange carpet or appliances (thanks goodness),

the kitchen cabinets are all original, brownish-yellow
and the floors are a combination of laminate wood and tile,
and the stairs are carpeted  (beige).
i have no idea what the previous owners were thinking.

we've tried to cover things up as much as we could  -
hanging curtains over the vertical blinds that are on every window in the house,
hanging framed art and pictures we've collected over the years. it's helped a teeny bit.

i've even selected paint samples for the rooms and walls i'd like to paint
but christopher keeps reminding me not to put energy into a home that we
won't be in long term.  he's right.  it's just hard for me not to do more.

even with all that, there are some upsides to living in this 'brady bunch' home:

• we are saving money
• there's room to spread out  (a playroom , double sinks in each bathroom and lots of closet space)
• pools and a jacuzzi to enjoy
• it's just one mile from c's work and the boy's schools (with gas prices at $4.25 - a very good thing)
• we have more time on weekends for fun since we have no yardwork

so while i don't have a place to make my very own,
i am enjoying some benefits of being a renter right now...
even in this brady bunch house.

below is a photo of the interior of a mid-century modern home that is for sale right now.
even at a short sale, they are asking $699,000!!
c and i love mid-century modern architecture and love this home.
the clean lines, the simplicity, the open floor plan. it even has a pool.
it's too far out of our price range to even consider,
but a girl can dream...

field trip to the farm

finn and i experienced an organic farm for our first time this past friday.
i took the day off work to join him and his first grade class at susie's farm.

when finn first told me his class was going to a farm,
i envisioned an 'animal farm' and was looking forward to getting a glimpse of
farm life- ya know, walking through a hen house, seeing a sheep get sheared
and a cow getting milked, etc.

then finn brought a permission slip home with all the details and i learned it
was an organic crop farm. i was a little bit disappointed, but this was the last
field trip of the year and it was important i go - for both of us.

i'm glad i went because it was a wonderful experience for me (as well as finn).
the freshfaced young gals (britta and elle) who toured the class were knowledgeable
and fun. they knew how to keep first graders attention and that is NOT an easy task.

the highlights: driving finn and his pals to the farm, harvesting and sampling a variety of fresh vegetables,
eating flowers. yes, many flowers are edible. (i remember sampling a few at this restaurant years back).

and i made it back just in time to attend a mother's day gathering in scoutie's preschool class.
his eyes lit up when i walked in the room and well, that made mine light up as well.

all in all, it was a great day with my boys...both of them!


my crew: joshua, kalyana and finn



miss britta helping finn harvest fennel



grammy's going

i've been wanting to share this for a while,
and now the trip is just around the corner so i better hurry.

grammy barby is heading to guatemala next month!

she will actually be in the city of coban,
visiting her long-time friend who runs L.I.F.E. Unlimited 
in coban and tanzania with her husband.

she is so excited about going and i am excited for her.
this trip will come directly after her college graduation.
YES, my m-i-l when back to school a few years ago
and graduates next month.  i am SO very proud of her.
she is an inspiration to me (and many others).

when things settle down for her and when she returns
from her trip to guat (how the locals refer to guatamala),
i want to hear all about her adventures.

though i have no trips to central america planned in the near future,
i am looking forward to my upcoming trip to florida to celebrate
my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  it will be nice to see the
family, and to see how big my nieces and nephews have gotten.

i realized i never recorded the big change my company went through recently.
we were acquired by a company out of canada and we underwent a name change.
we are now exp - a very large company with more services offered in offices all over the world.

it's a big change from the company i started with back in 2002.
with this change, there is ALOT more work (on top of our day-to-day work).
all of our marketing material has to be rebranded and there is so much of it.
i see it taking months and months, but we will get there...

though the timing isn't great to take off work (and when is it ever really),
finn's last field trip of the year is this friday, 5/6,
and i knew it was important to be there.
i am taking a vacation day and joining finn and his classmates at a farm.
YEE HAW!

progress report

tonight's progress report isn't on me or my promises that i've made.
tonight is about the littlest guy in our house, scoutie.

i wanted to post this little assessment that was given to us a few weeks ago by his teacher.
he is doing so well at the rock preschool. it makes me almost wonder if he's going to be bored
in kindergarten.  they cover so much now in preschool.

with summer fast approaching,

i've been thinking about how much scoutie LOVES his preschool and his friends there.

he will certainly miss them this summer.
i hope his time with finn and renae (summer nanny) will keep him happy. 

he has a birthday coming up in july and announced he wants "ALL the kids in his class

to come to his monster party".  ALL?  i think there are a dozen. *sigh*

if i'm lucky, maybe half will be on summer vacation in july...

as for the monster theme, he doesn't want "scary monsters".
he specifically asked for silly monsters.
these adorable uglydolls are my inspiration
(his auntie jen purchased one for him on his 1st birthday)

he had been talking about an art party for a while,
but we came across a cute monster pinata at target a few months ago.
he wanted it and i let him know we could get it and save for his birthday
if he wants a 'monster' themed birthday.
he said "ok, but they can't be scary".