halloween 2013

october 31st finally arrived!

the boys were so excited and had been waiting anxiously
for the day they could trick or treat.  scout didn't wait to
wear his costume before then though. he strutted around
the house in his aviators looking utterly cool.

the days of me picking or even suggesting a costume is over. 
no more cute lobsters, penguins, chickens, owls or skunks.
the boys want 'cool' {at least it's not scary yet}.

since they LOVE top gun,
specifically the ice man and maverick and the air combat scenes,
they chose to be fighter pilots.

finn already had a flight suit that he wore for his 9th bday party,
so i ordered one from scout online and a cute little dress for me.
scout wore his grocery shopping and around the house and
was quick to show anyone who commented on his uniform
that he was wearing dog tags too.

the costumes were so fitting and so easy. {no sewing or gluing required}
we had a fun night and as always, we have waytoo much candy around the house.
i brought most of what was leftover to the office for my coworkers.

fighter pilots maverick and ice man

 

field trip with finn

today i joined finn and his 4th grade class
for a full day at the wild animal park.

it was a treat to drop scout off at his class.
he quickly did his morning chores and then
it was 'free time'.  he grabbed sea of monsters,
the 2nd book in the percy jackson series,
and seemed to forget i was there. *grin*

from there, finn pushed me along to his class where
we enjoyed bagels and juice with his friends and other
parents who were volunteering.  afterwards, parents were
given the list of kids we were responsible for.

since i drove the prius,
i was assigned 3 boys and unfortunately one was sick
and couldn't make it so i just took finn and his buddy luka.
{easy peasy}

 



 

a quick summary of my photo collage:

{top}: my passengers: finn and luka, me and finn, giraffes
{middle}: the 4 kids for the day: finn, charlie, olivia and annie

{bottom} elizabeth and finn, finn and teacher, ms. jones, and finn taking notes

we had a fun day learning and exploring and this mom was exhausted by day's end.
{scoutie reminded me on our drive home that the next field trip would be with him}
yes, it will be i assured him.
 



moulin rouge movie night

the greatest thing you'll ever learn is
just to love and be loved in return.

- toulouse-lautrec, moulin rouge

oh how we enjoyed this fantastical, over-the-top,
slightly irreverent musical friday night!

i rushed home after work last friday to find christopher
setting up audio and the big screen.  i helped with the last step -
lowering the poles into the shaft which we have staked and left into
the ground to make set up easy.  then, i made sure my audio/technical guy
fill a plate of whatever he wanted to eat before us ladies dug in.

the girls gathered in the kitchen to mingle and
stuff ourselves with yummy food and drink.
just one glass of wine for me as i had a big run the next am.
at 8pm we grabbed blankets and headed outdoors to watch the movie.
{the little guys were having their own movie night watching this}

we swooned over ewan mcgregor's character, christian,
the penniless poet/writer who falls for a cabaret performer satine,
played by nicole kidman.

here's a secret, if you enjoy the music, the soundtrack
is even better.  it contains the complete score in all it's glory.
{i've been listening to it for past 3 days}

the little guys can't get over that ewan mcgregor,
only known to them as obi-wan from star wars, can SING.
he's a talented man.

i almost had some unexpected guests.
as a courtesy, i always inform our neighbors of any parties/movies nights.
somehow i had forgotten to inform our sweet mormon neighbors next door,
so i sent finn over to let them know mom was having a movie
night and that it would be over by 10pm.

finn returned announcing "dave and doris probably can't come
because they have some stuff going on".  what???
apparently, i wasn't clear enough with my instructions.
{he wasn't supposed to INVITE them}
i was glad to hear they were busy. whew!
i don't think they'd have been fans of the movie.

it was a really enjoyable night.
i kept thinking how much my sister leslie would have loved it.
someday i hope we live closer and can enjoy theater and plays together.

i should get to bed as i have a long and active day ahead of me.
tomorrow i'm taking off work to drive and help chaperone finn's
4th grade class.  we're heading to the san diego safari park all day!

the volunteers are almost always the stay at home moms,
{they do so so much...i am truly grateful},
but every year i make sure a take a day and volunteer for one outing
with each of the boys' classes. 

it's not always easy,
but it's so important to me.
when i overheard finn tell scout that the first field trip
i went on with him was to the butterfly farm when he was in kinder.
i realized then, it's pretty important to the boys too.
they DO remember....
 

underwear saga

a boy's will is the wind's will.
- henry wadsworth longfellow

 

this quote sums up boy's so well.

especially our scout.

he is strongwilled.

he still refuses to wear underwear most days.

when the school season started, i pushed it.

 

i bought him days of the week monster underwear

and he liked the idea of them at first, looking for the

correct day ever morning.  

then the novelty wore off.

then i thought, is it a battle worth fighting?

does he really need to wear underwear?

in the end, i decided it's not a battle worth fighting.

christopher has no objections, and i shouldn't either.  

it's probably a phase like many things,

and there are more important things to enforce

{like homework and practicing piano}

our strong-willed boy lost his 3rd tooth yesterday

and said he feels much more "grown up". 

~ it's been a full week!  somehow, i made it to two 6am bootcamp classes,

enjoyed an evening with a neighbor and new friends, chatted with my

sweet s-i-l last night and tonight, i'm hosting my first girl's movie night!

{at the new home}  we're watching baz luhrmann's moulin rouge. 

as a courtesy, i've alerted the neighbors and promised to be done by 10pm.

in preparation for tonight, i've been listening to the soundtrack the last few days.

i love the music! 

 

 

a bday brunch and a bunch o' stuff

i've missed posting about a few events,
like auntie jen's birthday celebration!
the boys and i took jen to the patio for brunch,
a newer restaurant right here in the neighborhood.

it was yummy and we all ate alot,
including our share of BACON.
{it's almost dangerous that it's so trendy right now}
i've eaten a bit more than i should.

coffee lovin' sisters, 2013


 

there are so many more little things that go on in day to day life.
i can't capture them all but i try to focus on highlights in this blog.  
i'm just not always timely.

i hope to post on these past events in the next week:
- the annual paddle for clean water event
- finn's first adventure rock climbing
- a beach photo shoot with auntie jen and the boys
- christi's baby shower in orange county this past weekend 

a baby shower was also held for my sister stacey back in florida.
{sure wish we lived closer so i could have celebrated with her}

i was just thinking how lucky to have a blog as a journaling tool.
it's made it so easy to record, and though it's a form of social media,
it's the only one i don't feel guilty about spending time on.
i even turned of the 'comment' feature a few years back because i didn't
want it to become like facebook {i.e. for an audience}

i simply wanted a journal,
a place to for me to stop, be mindful and
to record the important things in my life and in the life of my family.
it's time well spent.

not only do i enjoy going back and reading old posts,
the little guys often ask me to pull up my life with boys so they can read.
they get a kick reading about their 'younger' selves,
their accomplishments, birthdays celebrations, family trips,
and their favorite, their birthday tributes.

{i think those might be mom's favorite posts too}

it's friday...



i LOVE fridays,
i guess i'm not the only one as there's even a song with the title.

{gosh i love that song by the cure....it reminds me of my youth}

anyway, so how are you spending your friday folks?
i'm working but after work, i'm meeting a girlfriend for a 7/8 mile run

{we are in training for this half in a few weeks}

 

afterwards, i'll probably stuff myself with food,
pour myself a glass of wine that will last me all night,

read to the boys {or be read to} before they go down,
then i'll snuggle up on the couch with c and watch revolution.

i won't claim this as 'my show' but i watch it with him
and am semi entertained throughout.

 

however you spend your friday,

enjoy it.

 

life is beautiful

etsy

i took a parenting class a few weeks ago at explorer
{was the best hour and a half spent that week}.
one of the points that resonated with me was to
slow down and take time to connect with our kids.

like many busy moms,
i sometimes get stuck in autopilot,
and forget to stop and give the boys
{all of them} my undivided attention.

since taking the class,
i've made a conscious effort to really try do this and i've
noticed the difference it has made.

i took the time to listen to finn share his latest interest

and theories on colonizing mars, and since scout just started
piano lessons and wanted an audience, i pulled up a chair as
he practiced and i just sat there and watched/listened.
he loved it and i did too.

life really is beautiful.
{i just need to remember to slow down and take it all in}

~ i'm looking forward to a date with c tonight!

bringing back outdoor movie nights

 "i can't wait until tonight mom.  i've missed movie nights so much"
- finn gerber

i think our entire family shared finn's sentiments.

we've all missed movie nights...even scoutie who was just a toddler
when we held them regularly in the backyard of our little beach cottage.

finally, after 10 months of being in the new {old} home,
we had our first outdoor movie night this past weekend.

thanks to our buddy nic, we now have a new {20'} screen
that we can project onto.  it worked beautifully!  

in the old days {as scout likes to say},
we had a much smaller screen and would squeeze
ourselves together so everyone could see it.

with this large screen, i don't think there's a bad seat in the backyard.
c set it up on the sloping hill which made it tall enough that the little ones
could get up and refill their popcorn and goodies bags throughout the movie
without blocking the picture. 

to keep it intimate and more personal, we invited a select few:
auntie jen {of course}, some of our favorite families and friends,
and a few furry friends were there too. we munched on popcorn and
candy and sipped hot chocolate/coffee while watching october sky.

it was enjoyed by all.
it's the movie that never fails to meet expectations.
even after watching it a dozen times, i still get chills
and i still cry. {i just can't help myself...it's that powerful to me}.

~ next summer, we hope to have the pool heated and have
'dive in' movies so those who want to watch in the water can.

root for the home team

the boys and i rooted for our home team,
the san diego padres one evening last week!

we gathered with c's colleagues and gobbled
down peanuts, popcorn and crackerjacks.
scoutie took off his baseball glove for a few minutes to eat,
but left it on for the rest of the game hoping to catch a fly ball.

because it was a school night,
we couldn't stay the entire game.
we headed home after the 6th inning and that's
when the highlight of the night happened for scout.
{besides being allowed to share a fanta with finn}

as we walked by the bullpen, one of the arizona diamondback
pitchers were warming up and noticed the boys. from behind the
fence, he slowly walked towards them with baseballs in each hand.
i urged the boys to go to the fence to meet him. 

they did and sure enough, the guy motioned to c that he was going
to toss the balls over the fence. c caught them and gave to the boys.  

c and i thanked the pitcher and the boys followed with their thank yous.
scout was all smiles and exclaimed he had a 'official' baseball.
finn just looked at it for a few minutes and quietly said baseball isn't my passion.

i chuckled to myself and i reminded finn that though baseball isn't
HIS passion, it IS the passion of the pitcher who so generously tossed the
baseballs to them. just like finn enjoys sharing {talking} for hours about
science/robotics, the baseball player wanted to share his love of the game
in the only way he could at the time...by tossing baseballs to 2 young boys. 

finn understood my point and promised "if a player ever throws me a ball,
i'll be sure to smile bigger mom".  t

our boys are so very different, and we love 'em for it.

all taken with my iphone
{i still struggle to stay still}

i checked online the next day and our padres ended up winning!
they beating the diamondbacks 12-2. woot woot

welcome to the weekend!

so long summer

i can't believe summer is over already!
 
it actually has started to feel a little bit like fall,
at least in the mornings. i even dug out my robe
to wear as an extra layer in the mornings.

i haven't had lots of time to post but i wanted to cover
some highlights before i forget.

scoutie lost his 2nd tooth last week!
unlike the first one, there was no tooth behind this one,
so he's completely toothless which is super cute.



























i left a note for the tooth fairy asking her to return the tooth
to me so i could save. {i try to save the 1st lost tooth, but i forgot last time}
the tooth fairy returned it so we now have this tiny tooth
tucked safely away in a labeled ziplock bag in his keepsake bin.

other than losing tooth #2, scout is staying busy with soccer during
the week and his saturday games.  he LOVES the game which makes
it so enjoyable to watch. {so different from his big brother who wasn't into it}

when he isn't kicking a soccer ball around,
he's been burying his head in the percy jackson book series.

other highlights, we've got our first outdoor movie night scheduled
for this weekend. the boys and i unanimously chose october sky.
we never tire of this movie and are excited to share it with friends.

other news: my two s-i-ls turned 30!
todd's wife, heather and c's sister heidi jo.
yes, they are youngins. 

now i've known heidi since she was probably 8 years old,
so i'm in a bit of denial that she could possibly be 30 because
that means i must be...well i won't think about it. *grin*
wishing them both their best decade yet!

feliz cumpleanos auntie jen

i missed posting on my sister's actual birthday
but i didn't forget her.  i swung by her office before
i went to work to surprise her with some goodies.
it was fun and she was unsuspecting.

had i not gone to bed at 9:15pm the night before,
i'd have had this little birthday message up on 10/3.
i asked her nephews, finn and scout, why auntie jen is
so special.  here are their responses:

aunt jen...
- is nice to me
- makes me laugh
- comes to my soccer games
- pushes me on the swing
- comes to my school events
- lets us sleepover
- is a good listener
- plays games with me
- listens to me read and she reads to me





scout {6} and jen, august 2013

not every kid is lucky to have an auntie that truly takes an interest

in their lives. my two are pretty fortunate and i think she'd say she's
fortunate to have them.  happy birthday auntie J!



~ the boys and i will be celebrating with her manana!



 

gringo gerblets, summer 2013

summer is over and before i completely forget
how the boys spent their summer of 2013,
i'm taking a few minutes to post.

they started out with ymca camps,
but those didn't last long as they weren't the best
fit for them.

we found other camps that were more focused on
their interests - science related camps here for finn and
sports and art camps for scoutie. 

finn could have spent ALL day EVERY day in science camps.
unfortunately, we couldn't afford that but he was in his element.
when i pick him up, the teenager/college-aged assistants told
me they enjoyed having finn in the class.
for scout, a handful of half days camps was plenty.
he spent the afternoons swimming, reading, and playing boardgames
with bibiana.

bibiana was the college student that we hired later to
help shuttle the boys back and forth to camps and to watch them
during those weeks they didn't have camps.  

she was wonderful!!

we allowed her to drive them anywhere in san diego, so they
spent lots of time at the museums, the neighborhood library,
parks and the beach.

even with all of that, she made sure to follow our guidelines.
and though my sister teased and said i gave her a 5 page list,
i didn't.  my list was actually a single page with things that
were non-negotiable (30 min/day in their work books,
30 min/day reading and piano practice for finn 3x a week).
she never missed a day.

the bonus, bibiana spoke ESPANOL!
we took full advantage of this. 
c and i asked her to speak only spanish to the boys every day from noon
until we arrived home from work every afternoon.  

at the start, the boys said they understand about 25% of what she said.
by summer's end, that number increased to 85%.
it wasn't important they spoke spanish by summer's end,
our hope was for them to get an ear for it...understand a bit more.
{they did pick up a dozen or so words which was wonderful}

we miss sweet bibiana and though she's back in college
{studying engineering at ucsd}, she occasionally sits the boys.

the one and only photo i have of her is blurry
{i need to get better at phone photos}.
i will be sure to snap another and post when she babysits next.

i'll finish today's post with a picture of my 3 standing in front
of ikea's in-store daycare....almost their second home. 





















the boys have been here so much over the years,
the ladies that work in the childcare know them by name.

last week, i ran in for something and i asked finn and scout if
they wanted to go in and maybe watch tv, a treat since they rarely
watch at home.  finn looked at me so seriously and said
"mom, i'm 9 years old.  i'm too big for daycare.
i'm always the oldest one in there".

i looked into his bright blue eyes and said, "i understand,
you don't have to". 

though finn will probably fit the height requirements to enter until he's 14,
he's done with ikea daycare.  he's been a trooper for going in with scoutie
as long as he has.  that's brotherly love. *wink*