summer's begun

it's official folks.
summer has begun!

i love summer for SO many reasons,
the longer days, warmer weather, beach days and sand between my toes
it's worth that mess in my car, my hair, and my house.
ahhhhh, i just LOVE it!

via

here's the thing.
i love almost everything about summertime,
except the kids being out of school so long. 

they don't need 2 1/2 months off school.
{did you know it's a tradition left over from america's farming days?}
2 or even 3 week breaks during the year would be great ...camps and family
vacations could happen, and then our kids could be back in school learning.

until year round school becomes the norm,
the challenge for parents everywhere {even those that stay home}
is how to keep our kids engaged all summer,
or rather 'enriched' is the term christopher used that i prefer.

at 16, most kids are doing internships and/or working. that's easy.
what to do with grade school and middle aged school kids isn't so easy.
i could plant them in front of the tv or computer to entertain them all day,
but what parent wants that for their kids for 2+ months?!

the challenge is how to give our kids an enriching summer.
an attentive, book loving and adventurous sitter would be enough
for scoutie, but finn needs more.

i dream of putting him in ucsd's robotics and science camps,
he'd be in heaven and learn so much. unfortunately, they are crazy expensive...
more for families who can afford to send their children to private schools. 
unfortunately, we can't offer these camps to finn. 

so what's left? the traditional camps, like the more affordable ymca camps,
{which still aren't cheap}.  this is where my two peanuts were last week,
and where they are all of this week. 

they come home every evening with stories about their day and activities.
scoutie's is the same - he tells me he had fun, but the days are too long.
physical activity is great, but from 8:30am to 4:30pm is a bit much for an almost 6 yr old.
he's ready to crawl into bed before 8pm every night.

finn complains there is no time to just read or to focus on any one activity.
they corrall the kids from one activity to another all day long every hour.
from his description i have to think the camps are set up for kids with
attention deficit disorder {aka as add}. 

*sigh*.

though the ymca entertains and engages kids,
their camps don't seem to enrich kids.

that's not an inherently a bad thing,
but for an entire summer, it can be.
our kids have so much potential.
{they are ripe for learning}

SO

as the boys finish their 2nd week of y camps,
i am on the lookout for more enriching camps they can attend.

c and i also found a summer sitter who we are hoping
will keep the boys both engaged and enriched...to some degree.
we sat down with her last night and went over expectations, etc.
her name is amber and she's a pnlu student {starting sophmore year},
and starts with us on monday.  the boys are excited.

happy news:  denise, a lovely lady in my book group and mother of 2 sweet boys,
welcomed a daughter today. i hope to meet this little girl this weekend once mom goes
home. {i didn't mention her name because they are still undecided...tomorrow hopefully}

father's day surveys 2013

i had no idea scout had filled out a father's day survey at school,
until he brought it home on a friday afternoon just 2 days before the day.

weeks before the big day, i jumped online and found one the boys could take.
i love these surveys because their answers tell so much about how they
think and view their dad at their particular age.
{and this stuff is priceless to us}

i sat down with finn and scout {separately} to ask them questions.
here are their responses:


finn's interview, 9 years old

1. how would you describe dad?
   dad is kind and helps me with homework, my projects, my treehouse and lots of other stuff.
   he always explains them to me.

2.  what makes dad happy? 
     being with family and getting kisses from us

3  what makes dad sad?  arguments

4. what is something dad always says to you?  I love you

5. what makes dad laugh?  jokes scout and I tell

6. what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  build anything

7. if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for?  world’s best architect

8. what is dad really good at?  building treehouses

9. what is dad not so good at? he can do anything

 

10. how do you know dad loves you?  because he kisses me and tells me every day
 

Scout's Interview, 5 years old

1.  how would you describe dad?  he is tall, he has blue eyes and he is very nice

2  what makes dad happy?  when I tell him I love him

3  what makes dad sad?  i’ve never seen him sad

4. what is something dad always says to you?  i love you

5. what makes dad laugh?  when finn and I tell him jokes

6. what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  surf

7. if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for?  surfing

8. what is dad really good at?  surfing, building forts and designing things

9. what is dad not so good at? playing the piano {i think because i’ve never seen him play}

10.   how do you know dad loves you? because he tells me he loves me every day.

father's day 2013

i had BIG plans for christopher this weekend,
i really did.

i was planning a trip up the coast on amtrak's pacific surfiner
for the weekend, but with c's new job starting on monday,
he asked that we postpone the trip and stay in town.
i understood. {first day of a new job is a pretty big deal}

so here's how the daddy in our home spent his day.

c was up before 8am announcing he was going to make some
"serious progress on the treehouse". 

before he headed to home depot,
he opened some small gifts from the boys and me.
the surf book i bought him was a hit and and he loved
the portrait scoutie drew of him and the questionnaire
that scoutie filled out.

 

finn customized a cotton all-purpose bag and presented to c.




the reverse side says 'i love you dad"

c asked about the picture to the right of the earth.
finn said that was a rocket, the red arrow was it's trajectory to mars.
{he said he got a little distracted}
c joked that if the earth was too polluted to live on,
we'd just leave it and live on mars.  finn said yes, that was i was thinking.
finn can talk for hours about how humans will be living on mars in
100 years. {thx to his favorite television program, nova science now}

and last but not least, the treehouse.

c made great progress.
it's fully framed and half the roof is up.
it just  needs the rest of the roof and walls and i think they'll have a treehouse.
they are shooting for completion by july 4th weekend.

the boys are BEYOND excited.

i had anticipated c just wanting to relax at the beach,
but he did just the opposite.  he swung a hammer for about 8 hours
this father's day...stopping only to have a coke and a sandwich.
he was exhausted but very satisified and very happy.

i'm convinced i couldn't have handpicked a better father for my boys.
he takes being a father seriously - it is a priority for him. he's not just
there for his sons, but he shows them by his actions what a good father is. 

happy father's day to my baby daddy,
and to my wonderful father who i admire so much.

{and happy father's day to all those other great daddies out there
who are committed to their families}

fashion friday: peek

during a lunch break last week,
i ran to the utc mall to buy chocolate at chau chocolate
for one of my bookclub girlfriends.

on my way out of the mall,
i walked by a shop window that stopped me in my tracks.

it was packed with he cutest southern california style clothing.
lots of cotton tees with cute surf prints or lingo.
the store was new and was called peek
{i couldn't resist taking a 'peek' inside}

while i was inside oohing and aahing,
at the cute clothes, i noticed several new and unique children's books,
as well as some classics displayed throughout the shoppe.
they weren't just for decoration, they were for sale too.
i love books just as much {maybe even more} than clothes so i was
in heaven. i thought this might be my new favorite kid's store.

then i 'peeked' at one price tag.
a boy's sized 6 tee was $35. ouch! 
i can't justify paying that for a kid who will outgrow it in 6+ months.
i walked out empty handed, but i did sign up to be on their mailing list.
{my hope is maybe they have occasional great sales}

oh and the building.
i love the facade - clean modern architecture.
the utc mall has had a complete makeover.
it's officially my favorite mall in san diego.


~ tonight i rushed home to skype with my sis leslie and her 2 sweet boys.
it was so good to see them and all those silly faces ander made. oh how i love 'em!!
we are looking forward to their visit this summer!

an how could i forget, school is OFFICIALLY out for the summer!

winding down the school year

the school year is winding down.
i can hardly believe it after friday, finn will no longer be
a 3rd grader, and scoutie will no longer be a kindergartener!

even though the school year is winding down,
the activities that come with the end of the school year,
have been keeping the students, teachers and parents busier than ever.

last week was explorer's exhibition night.
it's a pretty big deal for the kids.
they prepare for weeks to showcase what they've
been learning and doing all year.

we started the night in scout's classroom which had 'stations' set up.
students took their parents {and in our case, their auntie too},
around the room to each station to show us all of their projects
{a book they wrote and illustrated, value of money game,
an interactive human digestive system game, etc}

the kids were in the rooms before the parents arrived
and when we walked into the room, our sometimes shy scoutie
had completely disappeared.

in his place was a confident and very verbal 5 year old. 
he was SO serious as he went through every station explaining them to us,
as well as to other parents whose kids weren't quite so excited about sharing.
he truly shined, and even took a little bow after leading his tour.
{got this idea after seeing finn bow at his recent piano recital}

a created a little photo collage with the couple phone photos i
snapped.  the app i used is called framemagic.  i'm a beginner
camera phone person so bear with me, i'll get better in time
{i hope}



bottom left: scout and jen, bottom right: ms. lim and scout

and here is finn's 'outside the lens' project which is sortuva
photography/writing class.  i wish they offered something like
that in my elementary school!

 



i'm not sure if you can make out the first line,

but after reading it, i couldn't help but smile

and tell him i love his hands {and hugs} too.

yesterday i took the afternoon off work to attend scout's

end of the year class party. i stopped by the store, grabbed

a big tray of fresh fruit and showed up at liberty station park.

it's just 2 blocks from their school so the kids walked over.

we had a fun filled afternoon.  

now the hard part begins before i can enjoy summer...
finding camps and a summer sitter for the boys.



cupcake love

yesterday was my coworker tina's birthday.
this girl LOVES cupcakes - eating and baking them.

now i didn't want her baking for herself on her b-day
and since i'm no martha, nor do i have any time these days,
i started thinking about cupcake shoppes around town.

then i remembered pure cupcakes,

via

it's a new shoppe tucked behind the starbucks and jamba juice
in the von's shopping center in pacific beach where i buy groceries.
it's only been there a few months and i had been wanting
an excuse to try a cupcake {or two}.

i wandered in the evening before her birthday,
and was greeted with a big hello by one of the owners.
the shop was decorated simply and in a modern style,
and their gorgeous cupcakes were displayed on stainless pedestals.

as i was looking at all the varieties they offered,
my eyes stopped at the salted caramel ones. YUM!!

tina and i both LOVE any combination of salted caramel and chocolate,
so i had to get this for her.  i also picked up a red velvet and a double chocolate too.

i've tried many fancy cupcakes from bakeries/boutiques and have been
grossly disappointed {even thinking a boxed mix cupcake would have been better}.
so many have been tasteless or just too heavy.  i was hoping these would be amazing.

O.M.G. - they did not disappoint.
tina said they were the BEST cupcakes she's ever had!!
i thought so too {but she is the cupcake connoisseur}. *wink*

they were fresh, light, and the cream cheese frosting with the drizzled salted caramel
was like a bit of HEAVEN on earth. seriously.

if you'd only heard us eating one of these at our desks,
but couldn't see us, you'd might think we were listening to a naughty movie.
we were very verbal as we were eating these delicious pieces of cake.

to my san diego friends - if you haven't been here, you MUST
patron pure cupcakes {and tell all your friends about it so it's successful}.
i wish the two owners of this little place success and will be going back
again {scoutie and c have birthdays coming up in july}

~ today is CRAZY hair day at explorer elementary.
the boys let me put gel in their hair for the first time
since they started going to school.  they aren't the boys who
think it's cool {i'll be grateful during their teenage years i'm sure}.
scout wasn't thrilled but since big brother did it, he agreed.
he just wouldn't allow colored gel.

good day sunshine

today was a great day.
the sun was shining bright and it was just beautiful.
i wanted so badly to just wheel my chair and desk outside,
but i had to settle for lifting the rollershade in my cube.

i was missing the sunshine as this past weekend was cloudy and cool
{low to mid 70s}. it was perfect for the rock n roll marathon runners,
but not so great for those who wanted to sit outside and catch up with
reading or little guys who wanted to swim. *wink*

i have so much to record and share.
since BABIES are the perfect way to start, i'll start here.
there's been some very happy news in the past 2 weeks.

first, my sister stacey and her husband, steve are expecting a baby this winter.
{i'm not sure of the date yet} but my order is in for a girl!
it will be my sister's second, but the first for her new husband.
ALSO
our former nanny, christi and her husband tyler are expecting their
first baby in december!  they married a few years ago but gave themselves
a few years to be newlyweds before bringing a baby into their lives.
she hasn't shared on FB yet {it's a teensy bit early},
but she gave permission for me to share here.

christi + tyler

she called and shared the happy news with me last week.
after our conversation, my cheeks hurt from all the smiling.
{this girl was meant to be a mother....she's a natural}

and there's more happy news.

i enjoyed 3 hours of good girl time last night.
our breakfast group met up for dinner here .
it was wonderful catching up over good food.

and today {insert drumroll},
c accepted a job at a global commercial real estate firm.
i won't name the company yet or what he will be doing as
he's still negotiating with the employer,
but by friday, it will be official and i can share more.

i think i'm more excited than he is.

he's been enjoying the consulting work he's been doing from home,
and mentioned continuing it indefinitely but i pushed for the 9-5 job.
at this stage in my life, stability is important to me.
having a kitchen table that isn't full of drawings is too.
{i seriously haven't seen the surface for probably 2 months}

~ i took the photo of christi and tyler {above} off of c's FB page.
while i was grabbing it, i came across this photo of her with my 2.
i'd never seen it - like EVER.  it made me smile seeing her smile
and seeing the boys so tiny. they grow fast...oh so fast.

christi, finn {5} and scout {2}

summer birthday celebration...a little early

i was up late thursday evening
making these adorable jello sailboat cups
for scout's kindergarten class.

seriously, they make me smile.
{i have a thing for sailboats and for jello}

so why was i up way too late on a week night cutting out sails?
it was my little way to let scout know he is special and loved
as he shared these with his class for his b-day celebration.

his thoughtful teachers decided to hold a celebration for all
those children with summer birthdays. scout was so excited
since his birthday is july 6th.

unfortunately, i couldn't get away from work
but christopher was able to be there.  he said the sailboats were a hit!
from this picture he snapped, it appears that way.

i plan on making more of these treats this summer.
i might even include a swedish fish or two in the jello.
{because the boys really need more sugar} *grin*

BUT

with a pool and warmer weather, the boys are more active than ever.
i came home from work one day this week to lots of noise coming from
the backyard.  i walk out the sliding door and find my two boys in their
full wetsuits {when the sun goes down, it's cool by the coast}.
scout was SUPing with a broomstick as his paddle,
and older brother was trying to knock him off from underneath.

i wish i had thought about snapping a photo.
{someday i will learn to reach for my phone}