marty's birthday bash

the day before marty's birthday bash,
c checked the invite and said it's not 80s themed,
we were supposed to come dressed as in attire representing 1964
{the year marty was born}. thank goodness he checked!

we weren't sure what was worn this particular year as we weren't born yet,
but after some research, we learned men wore white short sleeved dress shirt,
pants, and the woman stayed at home and always looked perfectly coiffed in
heels and form fitting shirt dresses. {think leave it to beaver}

i ended up wearing a black shirt dress, which i couldn't even accessorize
 because i my faux pearl necklace and earrings were no where to be found.
{they turned up the next day in a random drawer}

i was happy to see others find some really creative and fun costumes.

as the night progressed, there was a LIMBO contest.
i love limbo so i jumped in and prayed i wouldn't throw out my back. my gfriend rena {and owner of our old diamond street cottage}
and i ended up going head to head and tying for 1st place.
to break the tie, our hubbies had to see "how low they could go".


it was comical to watch the guys do it,
but c came through and the Gerbers were the victors!!

rena {my competition}

mercedez {loved her look}

3 marilyns

the birthday boy marty, aka fred flinstone
bonnie was wilma and baby lillian was pebbles{super cute!}

fashion friday: summer purses

so summer officially began june 20th,
which meant it was time for me to tuck away all the black, gray and brown
in my closest and pull out anything with COLOR.
i was disappointed i didn't have more fun things in my wardrobe
{and vowed to visit a few shops this weekend to add a few tops to my wardrobe}

since i can't completely overhaul my wardrobe
{we're still hoping to by a home sometime in this decade,
the most economical way is to update accent pieces.
think a tank top, necklace, scarf or a purse.

i'm lovin' this orange bag by big buddha right now.

via

and this bright yellow bag would look fabulous with jeans and heels
{i can't remember where i found it online}

and how about this green bag from target.
pair it with cute shorts or capris, and big sunglasses
and you've got yourself a fresh summer look!

maddy graduates

before this week ends, i wanted to be sure to post about last week's big events.
miss madison rae graduated high school on saturday! 

here she is with her girlfriends. {you may remember some of their faces from this shoot}

i had to snap a photo of the boys with maddy.
when she is graduating from college in 4 years, and we take a photo of the three of them,
it will be fun to see how much they've grown.  it will come fast.   

congratulations to miss maddy! 
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY - here she comes.


~ after this celebration, the boys headed over to auntie jen's house for a sleepover.
they were excited as this was their first time since she's been in her new place. 
c and i headed to marty's birthday celebration. {post and a pix or two to come}

extra hugs and love

sometimes i say i don't want love, but i really do. that's when i need extra hugs and love.
- scout benjamin, 4 1/2 yrs. 

my girlfriend jen {who has recently started a photography business}
snapped this photo when she was visiting a month or so ago.

i loved that it was taken without us even knowing.
we were at balboa park, it was the end of our day.

it seemed appropriate to post because this little guy has been on my mind,
as he's been a little out of sorts for the last two weeks.  
he's been extra sensitive - crying when he loses a game or a foot race,
or grumpy and telling us all we are "mean to him".


this isn't typical behavior for him.
c and i talked about it and we think it might be because of
all the transitions in his life right now. 

he graduated preschool, then his beloved teacher he's had all year,
took maternity leave and a new teacher is finishing out the year,
and he's heard a lot of talk about kindergarten which he will be
starting this fall which means a new teacher and new classmates.
  
this is alot for anyone - much less an young boy. 

 
the quote came as i was putting him to bed the other night.

he announced that he "couldn't have a song or a backrub because 
he had been mean and grumpy."


withholding love or skipping our bedtime ritual isn't something 
i would ever do when the boys misbehave. he knows this.
i replied "are you sure scout, you know how much i love to
sing to you and rub your back."  

his reply:
sometimes i say i don't want love, but i really do. 
that's when i need extra hugs and love.


i made sure he got lots of love that night.
later, as i shared with c what took place, i couldn't help but think,
if only adults could be so self aware and so brave.
to ask for what we need, instead of being afraid and
working so hard at not exposing our innermost feelings. 


there isn't a day that goes by that my children don't teach me something.
{it might be as simple as noticing a sunset, a picture in a book or how to use my kindle fire}
that night, scoutie reminded me it's ok to ask for what you need.

fashion friday: pirate wear

happy friday to you!

the planning of scoutie's upcoming pirate party is in full swing now.
invites have gone out, rsvps are coming in,
and ideas are floating around in my head.

i always try to dress the birthday boys in something 
relating to their party theme so i went looking for
something piratey a few weeks ago.

{is that even a word?}

i found all kinds of cute pirate clothes,
and a very cute and ridiculously overpriced 
striped black and white tee for $45.  
i think not!

then i remembered my favorite on-line boutique, etsy.
i always have luck here.

they had so much to chose from.
in the end, i selected these simple tees with skulls - 
they aren't overly scary and they aren't too babyish 
{because 5 year olds want to wear cool stuff}

i couldn't resist and bought one for finn,
as well as his 2 cousins who will be visiting from northern ca.
they are going to be so stinkin' cute in these.
{i can't just picture them now with their eye patches saying ARRR!}

~ lots of exciting things happenin' this weekend. 
maddy's graduation party is tomorrow afternoon, 
and tomorrow night is our friend's 80s themed b-day celebration.
we are all pretty excited, including finn and scout.
{they get to sleep over at auntie jens} 

first things first, i need to find a costume, 
and i have to make 2 dozen deviled eggs tonight for the party.  
a friend shared some ideas for gourmet eggs.
think: wasabi, chipotle, bacon and cheese topped.YUM!!  

get nacked

a few weeks ago the boys came downstairs butt naked
and marching in line...scout behind finn. they were humming a
tune and doing a little dance that involved shaking their booties.

since i know they would never behave like that outside the home,
i didn't stop them from having their fun and figured in a year or two,
they'll probably be too embarrassed to do anything like this. *grin*  

i even got them on video, but i don't want to put out there in cyberland for
the world {and wierdos} to see.  instead, i thought i'd  share few of the signs
they hung all over the house about being nacked.
as you can see below, spelling isn't finn's forte. {we're working on it}. 

by the end of their little performance, there were 27 signs around the house:
they named their invention room the Nacked HQ {headquarters}

others signs included:
- mom and dad are nacked
- the piano is nacked
- the wall is is nacked
- the garage is nacked
- we love to be nacked


could these boys be any sillier?  
they keep us laughing,
and as finn's recent mother's day card said "from getting lonely".


i sure love my sometimes nacked and naughty boys!

~ it's been a productive week so far -
scoutie's birthday invites went out yesterday and
i got the boys signed up for swimming lessons at the y.
they both swim like fish now, but we want them to learn proper form
{something their momma never truly learned}.
summer is in FULL swing. 

father's day 2012

happy father's day to all you dad's out there!

i feel so fortunate to have great ones in my life.
christopher is a fantastic father to our boys.
he is the dad who puts work aside because
"it can wait, but childhood won't." 

and my dad {and father of 7 children} is pretty darn amazing too.  
he deserves his own father's day post...which i hope to do later.

i had a grand idea of how to show c how much we appreciate him

but the more i thought about it, i realized my 'grand' idea was more
what I would have enjoyed.  i knew c would prefer a more low key day. 
so, to ensure he got exactly what he wanted, i simply asked him.
his response came as no surprise.

he wanted to spend the day at the beach -
with his toes in the sand with the family.   
so that's what we did.


his day started at 6:30am with two boys screaming happy father's day
and presenting him with homemade cards. finn wanted to take his order but
he was too tired to eat.  later, when he was fully awake, he enjoyed his favorite drink,
a mocha frap from starbucks {no whip and only 2 pumps of the frap roast}.


then we headed to law street in pacific beach and found a spot in the warm sand.
it was a beautiful day - sunny and almost 80 degrees.

finn and scout answered some questions about their dad too:

Scout, age 4:
1.  how would you describe dad? he looks like me and is really nice.
2. what makes dad happy? when I give him cards and when we wrestle
3. what makes dad sad? when he doesn't get to see us
4. what is something dad always says to you?  i love you
5. what makes dad laugh?  when I tell jokes
6. what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  to play tennis
7. if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for?
      getting shocked by lightning {not sure what he meant by this...he was being silly} 
8. what is dad really good at?  his job
9. what is dad not so good at?  taking apart computers
10. how do you know dad loves you?  he gives me love..he hugs me

Finn, age 8:
1. how would you describe dad? kind, generous, sweet and funny
2. what makes dad happy? me and scout
3. what makes dad sad?  when he gets hurt
4. what is something dad always says to you?  i love you
5. what makes dad laugh?  jib jab
6. what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  be an Architect
7. if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for?
      for designing the best school in the world 
8. what is dad really good at?  playing tennis
9. what is dad not so good at? bosconian (a game)
10.  how do you know dad loves you?  because he holds my hand and says he loves me


and last, here are my boys with their daddy on father's day. 

c and the boys, who are buried up to their waists in sand

~ and how could i forget.  for lunch we had huge breakfast burritos from

c's favorite hole in the wall, taco surf.   

scout reads

i don't like to read, i LOVE to read
- scout benajmin, 4 yrs


i've been meaning to download the clip of scoutie reading for months now,
tonight i finally uploaded to our our family youtube site so now i can share here.

since i can't get youtube clip to post here properly tonight,
you can click here to see scoutie reading todd parr's peace book
{this was his first time reading it}

this book has such a good message!

it might be a little far fetched to believe that if everyone would have had this in
their library as a child, the world might just be a more peaceful place to live.

the words and illustrations are so simple,
yet the message is profound.

~ finn officially finished 2nd grade on wednesday!
he tells me he spent the day cleaning out his desk, watching the movie my neighbor totoro
and eating lots of junk food. and unlike most kids who are itching for the school year to end,
he isn't.  for the last few nights, he has voiced concern about being home for Summer.

he said "i love school and all my friend. Summer is just too long".
i agreed with him. the days of kids needing to be home to help their families on the farm are over.
alot of educators believe more days in school and fewer vacation days would benefit our kids and improve our education here in the u.s. {this is a topic for another time}

i assured finn we'd make it a stimulating and fun Summer with lots of playdates.
he has a robotics/tennis camp next week at barnes which he is really looking forward to.
we also found a summer sitter, anna who will be starting with us in july!

underwear where?

after reading this book by todd parr,

scoutie got an idea:

this text from one of the pages is where the idea came from:
       DO put your clean underwear away
       DON'T put it in the freezer.

can you guess what i found in the freezer this morning
when i pulled out a box of frozen waffles?

cute orange and white striped UNDIES, size 4/5,
owned and put their by one silly scout benjamin.

he was downstairs waiting for what i thought was
his breakfast, but he was really really waiting for my reaction
when i saw the underwear in the freezer.

i laughed outloud and said "i know what inspired this prank".
when asked if he was going to wear them to school,
he responded they were too cold.

i sure love this sweet and silly boy
who is going to be turning 5 next month!
{he's requested a pirate themed party}

exhibition night 2012: explorer elementary

the end of the school year is winding down which means
it was time for another exhibition night at explorer elementary.

finn was anxious to share all the things he's been working on this year.
his teacher, mrs. glover, is a SCIENCE LOVER like him and i feel
like they were a match made in heaven. i couldn't have dreamed a better
teacher for finn this year. {she's also a mom to two middle schoolaged boys}

finn walked us around his classroom, showing us every project he worked on.
the benjamin franklin pop-up book he wrote and created was my personal favorite.
his was the powerpoint presentation he put together on how to build spy-bot 8
{a lego mindstorms robot he built and programmed}

if finn had his way, he would have given us
2 hour dissertations on each of his projects,
but none of us had eaten dinner so we needed to call it a night.
i made a promise that finn could share more about every project
when he brought them home after the school year ended.
{he was content with this}

~ i hope you had a lovely weekend!
it was a busy and productive one here.
i finished the cute teacher gifts i posted about earlier,
cleaned my home, washed and folded 4 loads of laundry,
ran errands, ran 5 miles, met our realtor and toured a few homes {all no gos},
and made stacks of belgium waffles for 4 hungry little boys sunday morning.
finn had a sleepover with two of his classmates {twin brothers in pix above}.
whew - i was almost ready to go back to work today.

guess who's graduating

i received this announcement in the mail last week:

i'm still experiencing a little bit of disbelief about maddy graduating.  

i remember meeting her shortly after c and i moved to san diego.

she was just a preschooler for goodness sakes! 

has it really been that long? 

i adored this girl's from the moment i met her.
i loved that when she got a little older,

her parents gladly let us take her on adventures and have her overnight. 

we share many memories of sleepovers and drive-in movies. 

i am so so proud of this beautiful brown eyed girl,
and am excited to hear about all the adventures she will have away at college.
{i am also excited about visiting her in oregon} 

to kill a mockingbird

you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...
until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
- atticus finch, to kill a mockingbird

of all the books i've ever read
this pulitzer prize novel, to kill a mockingbird is my favorite.

it's been called the great american novel, and if you've had the
 pleasure of reading it, you know why it's beloved by so many.

it's timeless and transcends generations.
atticus finch and his children are not only people you want to be friends with,
but they are people you want to be more like.

this book and many of the characters are so loved,
they inspire people {like me}, to name their children after them.

it was required reading during my high school years,
and though i enjoyed it then,
it wasn't until i read it again in my late 20s that i came to fully appreciate it.

i'm not as eloquent as one reviewer of the book but i share his sentiments:

after reading this book, we never leave the book the same person.
it crawls up inside of our brains, wraps itself around our hearts, and refuses to let go.
leaving a lifetime of legacy, and remembrance, and reflection. 

i am reading this book again and this time, with my finn.
i didn't think it possible i could ever enjoy it more, but somehow i am.
being a mom might have something to do with that.
{i've chosen to skip over the courtroom chapters because of his age}

at 8 years old, he is unable to fully appreciate the beauty of this book,
but he is enjoying the siblings jem and scout - their inquisitiveness and their adventures.
he is also growing to love their father attitcus, who is is dedicated to justice and equality.

finn and scout will both get their own copies someday,
with a handwritten note inside the cover by me.
i've been thinking about the best time to give them this book,
and the transition from middle school to high school seems appropriate.

someday, i hope they will share this book with their own children,
because harper lee's novel is truly a gift to us all.  

scout's preschool graduation

i am a promise
i am a possibility
i am a promise with a capital "P"
i am a great big bundle of potentiality
and I am learnin' to hear God's voice
and I am tryin' to make the right choice
i am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.
- bill gaither

today was a BIG day for scout benjamin.

he officially finished his years of preschool at the rock academy.
the lyrics above are to a song that the graduating children sang.
they had some movements to go along to the words.
{c told us he used to sing it as a kid in church}

since scoutie had been talking about this day for weeks,
i decided to just take the entire day of work and spend with him.
i'm glad i did because it was very special and oh so cute.

the students sang a few songs, and then walked to the center of the stage, one by one,
in their adorable little caps and gowns to receive their graduation certificate.

scoutie was beaming the entire time.
more than anything, i think he was just happy the whole family was there.
we even pulled finn out from class so he could attend.

during the outdoor picnic afterwards, i thanked his teacher for all she had done for him -
mostly providing him a loving and safe environment that would prepare him for kindergarten.
she laughed and said he was prepared.

apparently, he's been reading out loud to his classmates for a few months.
my semi-shy kid i said?  wow!  that's progress.
this little guy is ready to attend "big school" with finn this this fall.

the one wish i have for scoutie on this special day: to have a passion for learning...always.

our happy little graduate:

scout, 4.5 years