fab find

i found this wonderful print on etsy
and ordered it for the boys' bedroom.

i know right where it will go...
on the bookshelf between their two twin beds.

etsy

every day this little poster will remind 

us that books expand our world,

introduce us to people
and take us to new places. 

tonight, while the boys and i were reading this book before bed,

we were transported back to the civil war period.

we met clara barton, who was known as the angel of the battlefield.

we also learned about the youngest boy, at age 11 to enlist.

his job: a drummer boy.  {the boys found this fascinating}

i've come to love the magic treehouse series just as much as the boys.

there are 48 total books now in the series, and we are on book #21.

we plan on reading every single one of them.

on a completely different note,
i spent my entire ride home from work talking with christi mac tonight.

{also known as the 'world's best nanny' to the gerber family}  


it was so fun to hear about her life as a newlywed. 

oh how we miss her cheery disposition and optimism.

i let her know the gerbers haven't forgotten her a bit.
finn still points out places around town she used to take them.
yes, this lady left an imprint on our family.

i'm hoping portland will bring sunshine to her soon.
{she tells me she is anxious for it}
if not, she is always welcome to stay in sunny san diego

potty mouth

poopy face

you farted
look at my penis

- scout gerber 

these are a just a handful of the words that come
out of my 4 year old's mouth these days.
yes, my child can have a potty mouth.

grammy barby might remember from her last visit

{i certainly do} 

just look at this kid. he looks so innocent doesn't he.

don't let his sweet smile fool you.

he is obsessed with potty talk!
he thinks it's hilarious and encourages big brother to join in
{finn knows better but on occasion he can't resist}.

i know this is common among preschool and kindergarten aged boys.
they are discovering their bodies and their language is vast now
compared to a year or two ago.

what i'm not sure of it exactly how to nix it,
since i don't have tons of experience to draw upon.
{for whatever reason, finn didn't have much of a potty mouth}

c and i are trying not to make a big deal about it,

keeping poker faces instead of giggling or getting upset,
and reminding him that type of language is inappropriate.

{but some days are more challenging than others}.

after consulting with a mommy friend to get her take,
i went digging for some articles to see what experts had to say too -
about little boys and their potty mouths.

i found this article and have committed it to memory.
now when my little guy starts up with the potty talk,
i'll have some new techniques up my sleeve. 

oh the joys of being a mother.
{and the challenges only get bigger from here}

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

~ i cheated tonight.
i started this post last week when scout was running around the
house with no clothes on asking who wanted to see his butt crack.
{i'm serious}. good and bad, it all needs to be recorded.

i have so much i wanted to post about the weekend,
but that will come later.  the BIG news revolves around my father-in-law {john}
he went in for a quadruple bypass today...just weeks after he retired. *sigh*

the good news is, we are looking at this as a blessing in disguise in a sense.
this surgery most likely will prevent any heart attacks which would have
kept him from fully enjoying retirement {his adoring family and lots o' golf}.

we heard word back the surgery went well.
he will be down for a few weeks as he heals.
between his wife sheila, and then trevor and hopefully heidi going out to mn,
he will be well cared for.

he's been in our thoughts and prayers all day...

my first field day

on friday, i spent 7 hours at the grassy field at liberty station
cheering on my firstborn and his friends in almost every type of
outdoor activity imaginable.

it was all part of explorer's annual field day!

the kids did everything from gymnastics, indo boards,
an obstacle course jumper, sack races, 3-legged races,
soccer, karate, scooters, games of tag, dodgeball,
tug-of-war and there was even a table where kids could get 'pied'
{a face full of whip-cream}

since there were so many parents volunteering,
i didn't have to be assigned to a particular station,
and was asked to help photograph.

i spent all morning with the PINK team {where finn was assigned}
and after lunch i figured it was time to photograph other teams so other
teams/kids could be represented fairly. *wink*

here are a few of my favorites:

what a fun and exhausting day it was for both of us {i took 720 photos}.
finn was so happy to have me there...and i was excited to be there.
it was such a great experience, i decided i would volunteer at
all the future field days that finn participates in.
{next year i'll have scoutie to cheer on too}. *yay*

our first look at lillian

~ she's filled a space in my heart i never knew existed.
bonnie schmid

a few nights ago,
the boys and i grabbed take-out chinese
and headed over to see new parents bonnie and marty,
and {insert drumroll}

lillian michelle schmid

this baby girl was born while we were in palm desert
and the birth went so fast and so well,
bonnie was home in a day a half.
{when we visited, she answered the door with a skip in her step}

lillian is so little and oh so so lovely.
we all took turns holding her and cooing over her.
well, all but scoutie.
he preferred to just look at her.

it was such a happy visit.
c and i were always hoping this day would come for our dear friends.
having children is one of those experience that you just
can't know and understand until it happens to you.

as marty said to us with tears in his eyes "now i know".
*sniff*

~ i am taking a vacation day tomorrow (friday} and volunteering
at finn's annual field day at explorer.  remember those from your elementary days?

it will be a fun and probably a very long day for the both of us.
i'll work where they need me, and of course cheer on finn and his pink team|
as much as i can.  the students are divided up into teams and assigned colors
and for the last 2 years, his team has gotten girly colors - purple and pink. *grin*

the anderson clan

other than running the st. paddy's day race with finn,
the highlight was spending the weekend with the anderson
family who was visiting from phoenix.

matt is c's cousin and is the son of aunt naomi
{naomi is one of christopher's dads 9 siblings}
did you get follow that?

the gerbers are a BIG and close family.
cousin matt is married to niccoli and they have 2 sons, gordon and truman.

while the little guys played in the invention room,
the adults spent alot of time talking and getting to know each others.
i have to mention matt has has a very interesting job.
he is a radio personality, and known as 'matthew blades' on phoenix' #1 ranked
morning show on 96.9 . i'm going to tune in one morning and listen.  so cool!

since the rain made a beach day out of the question,
we decided to check out the uss midway,
an aircraft carrier that has been decommissioned and turned into a museum.

it was something!
i could never truly appreciate the scale of a carrier because i had never been on one.
after walking all through one, i have much more appreciation and respect for those
sailors who have to live, work and sleep on those ships.

the next morning, we all met barry {maddy's dad) for breakfast at our neighborhood cafe.
we learned barry actually lived on the midway for 2 years back when he was in the navy.
if only we knew that the day before!  we could have asked him for a personal tour *grin*

back: barry, christopher, matt and truman {3}
front: finn {8}, scout {4) and gordon {5}

and the last night of their stay, us adults were able to get out and enjoy a dinner sans children.  
my very kind-hearted sister {auntie jen} agreed to come over and watch the entire crew.  
i think they had as much fun as us adults!  i took a picture, but it didn't turn out so well. 

st. paddy's day 2012

~ we can make it mom, all we need is a little determination.
finn oliver, age 8

finn and i got lucky today.
the rain paused just long enough for us 

to do our traditional 2 mile fun run.

after running for a whole mile with no stopping
he asked to take a short break to catch his breath.
"sure" was my response, and then we were back
to running again.  i think we stopped 2 or 3x more
but only for a minute or two.

when we had 1/4 of a mile left,
finn started to get tired and that's when he said
"we can make it, we just need a little determination".
i think he was trying to encourage and remind himself 
that he can do it.  and he DID do it!

as soon as we crossed the finished line,
we received adorable pot o' gold medals,

which finn wore promptly and proudly around his neck.

he was so proud of himself.
and yes, his mom was proud of him too.

just as we picked up a free energy drink from one of the sponsor tents,

it started to drizzle. we got a little wet walking back to our car.

with company in town, i was a little distracted before we left the house
and i ran out the door without bringing our small camera so i have no
photos of finn and me together.  this means i'll be purchasing the overpriced
photo from the sports photographer that was at the race when it becomes available.
{i'll try to remember to come back and post} 

i spent the rest of the afternoon with the anderson family and my boys.  

that will be a separate post. it's getting late and i'm tired.

i hope you had a Super St. Paddy's Day!!
{next year Scoutie will join us in our run}

and speaking of my littlest, here he is before school last friday.
i dressed him in a cute old navy tee and green converse kicks
i adore these simple classic shoes
{would seriously love them in every color for the boys}

shamrock shakes

since st. patrick's day falls on a saturday this year,
the boys and i are semi-celebrating today

the lil' men are dressed in green for school,
are having lucky charms for breakfast today
{a once a year treat},
i also put all types of green goodies are in their lunchboxes
and they get shamrock shakes tomorrow after dinner.

via

it has been a week!
house hunting
house cleaning
house projects
piano practice/lessons
field trips
and guests
{arriving this afternoon from phoenix}.

c's cousin matt anderson and his lovely family,
arrive from phoenix today for a few days.
they have 2 sweet boys, gordon (5) and truman (3)
whom we've been watching grow in christmas cards.
we are excited to finally meet them.

finn and scout are are especially excited to play with their cousins.
their geotracks train is set up and ready for little hands.
their mom, niccoli and i will be outnumbered in this house full of boys.

i was hoping we would get to do some outdoor activities,
but the weather men are predicting rain.
i'm hoping they are wrong {they often are},
because this city isn't designed for alot of indoor living.
even our shopping mall walkways are outside.

also tomorrow morning finn and i were looking forward
to participating in the annual st. patty's day run. 
we have our green shirts and some faux shamrock tattoos.
and i paid for us to run this thing this time...
to ensure finn gets his own medal at the end.

my fingers crossed.


happy {early} st. paddy's day to you!

days in the desert

it's late and before i turn in,
i wanted to do a short post on our time in palm desert.
the weather was really nice this year.
i think the days got up to a high of 85.

christopher spent both days at the tennis tournament,
watching his favorite players: djokovic, federer and nadal.
the little guys and i spent one day at the pool
with a 2.5 hour break for nap for scoutie,
and some reading for finney and me.

because there wasn't a shuttle from our hotel,
we were c's taxi to and from the tournament
so we grabbed starbucks together in the mornings
and joined up for dinner each night.
conseulas neuvas is a place we'll visit again!

as promised, i went down the water slide with the boys
finn insisted we make a train a few times.
i was in the front, finn followed and scoutie was our caboose.
so fun! {i felt like a kid again}

since scoutie got lots of practice swimming last summer,

he did great great getting to the edge of the pool time and time again.

he was so lucky there was no height limit for slide {rare}.

the following day, we were back at the slide,

and after lunch we headed to the children's discovery museum of the desert.

{i'm the nerdy mom who looks for the museums in every city i visit}

so glad i did because this was a great one and only 15 minutes from the resort.

we had a great afternoon - spent 4 hours here and the boys could have stayed longer,

but we needed to pick up christopher and get on the rode. here are some photos of our day:

scout stocked up on pop tarts because "i never get them" {it's true}

time for tennis

this weekend christopher gets to enjoy his christmas gift -
a weekend of tennis in palm desert!
it's time again for the annual bnp paribas open,
a professional tennis match held every march that
c loves attending.

instead of bringing a buddy along with him,
he chose to bring me and the boys. yay!

while c is sitting in the grand stadium watching tennis,
the little guys and i will be enjoying the sunshine and the pools
at the marriott in palm desert. we've never stayed here and are hoping
it will be a comfortable place.  i read  somwhere on the property
there is a slide too.  i promised the boys i'd go down with them. 

google

though c would love for us to sit and watch hours upon hours
of tennis with him, the boys and i will most likely attend a match or
two one evening. after attending last year with c and battling the heat,
i just couldn't commit to full days of tennis. {i don't do well in heat at all}

most of our time will be spent splashing around in the pool
trying to stay cool, and in any downtime, i hope to read a bit of caleb's crossing,
our book club selection for this month. i haven't even started it.

~  remember my girlfriend bonnie,
the lovely lady who is expecting a baby girl?
well, her due date was this past tuesday and no baby yet.
we are all patiently waiting. 

her hubby shared this with me last weekend.
they went paddleboarding together - 3 days before her due date!
she has dr. o'hara, the same doctor hottie doc i had.
he's a believer in prego mommas staying active.
(i remember him telling me i could run until i felt uncomfortable}
doesn't she looks fantastic?

happy happy weekend!

first fanta

the boys discovered fanta while we were
vacationing in mexico this past november
{someday i will post photos of the trip...really}

after lots of leche, jugo and agua,
c and i decided to let them try their first soda - an orange fanta.
it was one of the few sodas i was allowed to drink as a kid
since it didn't have caffeine {it's a mormon thing} *grin*

finn and scout had never had soda - of any kind
{we're pretty strict with certain things: bedtime and soda are two}.
this was a BIG deal for them, and for c and i too.

finn was hesitant when we offered him one.
his eyes grew big with concern and he asked
"are you sure because soda is not good for me".
{i love our lil' rule-following son}
we confirmed that it wasn't, but one bottle wouldn't kill him.

scout on the other hand, didn't even question it.
he drank every drop and said i ♥ fanta!
from that moment on, he was a fan.

i think he asked for one every day while we were on vacation.
on the last day of our vacation there, it was unusually warm and
we let him have one more.  he was so happy.

a few weeks ago while shopping at vons,
i came across single glass bottles of fanta,
and couldn't resist picking one up for scoutie and finn to share.
finn passed on my offer, but scoutie was happy to partake.

we will always remember fanta being the boys' first soda.

the holy cows

the boys spent a good portion of their weekend cheering on
high tech high's robotics team, the holy cows at the 6th annual
san diego regional robotics competition.

google

if you are a high school student and interested in robotics or engineering,
this is the event you participate in.  it brings kids together from around the
world to solve engineering design problems and compete in a fun way.

my three went last year and i missed it for some reason so i put on my
calendar and made sure i went this year.  it was very entertaining -
the robots had to to shoot basketballs into the hoops {on autonomous mode}
and then the students took over the controls to see how they'd do.

finn and scout brought me up to speed on everything i missed on saturday -
which teams had the best and worst robots, who was leading, etc.

the teams schools showed so much spirit - some wore togas and handbands,
other wore bright colored jumpsuits or lab coats.  most all had fun props to
wave in the air and high ech high even had a mascot, daisy diablo,
a person dressed in a cow that kept the crowd entertained.

the boys even took me down to the "pit",
the area behind the stage/arena where the robots and teams
did their tweaking of their robots when they weren't performing
or were they simply waited until they were called to compete.

finn was certainly in his element - so thrilled to be there.
i told c i can picture us at this event in a few more years
actually cheering finn on instead of just being a spectator
for other parent's children.

~ oh i almost forgot to report on friday night's fundraiser at explorer.
this year was yet another success.  even though c and i got outbidded
on everything we wanted {we're on a strict budget as we hope to buy
a house this year}, it was still lots of fun. 

the boys had fun too.  finn slept over at his buddy josh's house and
scoutie hung out with aunt jen all night. he was happy to have her all
to himself. he told me he got "a little bit spoiled too"
{yes, she tends to do that}. 

fashion friday: baby legwarmers

today i thought i'd post about those ever so cute and
trendy tie onesies that are popping up all over etsy shoppes.
have you seen 'em?  if you are a mom of young boys,
i'm sure you have. these are a pretty big deal right now.

via

so why are cute onesies on my mind? 
last weekend i attended my dear friend shannon's baby shower
and she received the cutest tie onesie for her soon to arrive son, {sidney}.

he's supposed to make his way into this world april 12th,
and i can't even begin to tell you how excited us 'breakfast club' girls are!
scout was the last baby in the group so we are due.
if you are wondering what those things are on the babies leg in pix above,
those are legwarmers. {another popular trend for baby boys and girls}

don't these cute onesies make you want a baby boy so you can dress him?
no? you enjoy your sleep too much i guess. me too.
i'm looking forward to playing auntie to sidney shire when he arrives
and will leave night duty to the new parents. *wink*

~ i'm so ready for the weekend.  i have lots of fun activities planned.
tonight is explorer's annual art from the heart fundraiser.
c and i look forward to the event every year.
this is the one time of year parents and teachers let their hair down.
there's eating, drinking, dancing and yes, bidding {it is a fundraiser}.

wishing you a fabulous weeked.