how many days till halloween

halloween is just around the corner and today, almost one week before the day,
i started decorating.  the good news is, i started and finished in less than 30 minutes. 
we don't have that much thankfully.  before c left to hawaii, he asked if i wanted our
halloween storage bins pulled down from the rafters in the garage. YES, please, i said.
he was surprised i hadn't asked for them earlier.  me too.

a few years back, i'd have asked for them the first week in october,
but back then i had little boys. now i have big boys. with scout playing competitive soccer
and a tween son who has surf practice and competitions that last hours on weekends,
our weekends are full.
there was a time when the boys had no where to be, and when they were little, we kept life
pretty simple and spent lots of time together....knowing it wouldn't always be that way.

my fondest memories of those years with little ones are walking to the beach on weekends,
playing in the sand for a few hours, eating a picnic lunch {usually from taco surf},
and then we'd walk home, rinse off and take a family nap.  those were the days.


so we got a late start this year decorating and between scout's soccer game
this morning and explorer's fall festival, we pulled the bins into the living room.
there we found almost every one of the boys' past costumes {i'm sentimental and can't
seem to part with them}, styrofoam pumpkins to decorate our fireplace, a faux skull,
black rubber rats, paper bats that get taped to the fireplace facade, and even the doubled
layered halloween plastic cups from target that the boys have had since preschool.
between the two layers, pumpkins and ghosts float around in glitter water.
the boys think they are 'kinda cool' so i keep them around.


much to my chagrin, we aren't doing a group themed costumes.
we all enjoy star trek, so i suggested we dress as characters from any of the tv shows.
i specifically didn't say 'the next generation, as i wanted to allow the boys lots of flexibility. 

finn loved the idea and went back and forth between going as wesley crusher from star trek:
the next generation or spock. in the end he chose spock. {i was surprised lieutenant data wasn't
in the running}.  i purchased a simple red star trek dress on amazon and when i showed to the boys,
scout pointed out that i wasn't really going to look like uhura because i'm not black.
i had no specific character in mind, but apparently uhuru wears a red dress and is african. 
no matter.
scout proceeded to tell me he really didn't want to dress as anyone from star trek.
he really wants to wear his thomas muller soccer uniform. when i mentioned he wore
that uniform last year, he clarified that he wore muller's germany's national team uniform.
thomas also plays for bayern munchen, a club team in germany. they are different and he has
several jerseys.  so be it i said. he's past those years where i have influence on what he dresses as.
{thank goodness i dressed him as a penguin, skunk, frog, bird and owl when he was younger}.

i can hardly wait to see finn all dressed - he has the pointy spock ears and a black wig to complete his outfit.
he wasn't a fan of the black shiny wig, but with blonde hair, it's a must if he wants to be spock.
i'm looking forward to seeing him fully dressed before he goes off with his friends {middle schoolers
don't trick or treat with their parents}. luckily, scout and his friends are happy to have us tag along.

my man's in maui...without me

yes, the title of this blog post is true.
c is off playing in hawaii for almost a full week and i'm stuck at home.


he is there with his brother trevor, who will be racing in the
Xterra's World Championship off-road triathlon this sunday! 
it's a pretty big deal and t' trained really hard to get there.
i love watching races and competitions, and wish i could be there
to cheer him on.  c promises me he will take photos and yell extra loud for me.



the utah and san diego gerber families all wanted to be there, but
the cost was just too high, so the brothers went alone.  I don't know if the
boys have ever taken a trip together, so this is pretty special and well, it's
the kind of thing that creates memories and strengthens bonds. 
I encourage that and c would do the same for me in a heartbeat.

the big race is on sunday, and when trevor isn't training and familiarizing
himself with the course {yesterday he rode his bike 21 miles}, the brothers
are exploring the island, having fun and sending photos to us back at home.


here's one c sent tonight. {hiking through a bamboo forest is on MY bucket list}.
until then, i'm living vicariously through these brothers!

a princess is on her way

a new baby is like the beginning of all things...
wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.
- eda j. leshan


my brother todd and his wife heather are expecting a baby girl
at the end of this month. heather lovingly refers to her as princess,
as she's been anxiously awaiting her arrival.


they are already the proud parents of 2 sweet and active boys,
and this little girl will complete their family.
i am excited my niece is expected in late October, which means
i get to meet her when the boys and i visit next month.  she will be so new! 
gosh, there's something special about holding a newborn....
their smell, their smallness, and the endless possibilities they bring.



my brother shared this photo and i got the 'ok' to share here. 
this photo is recent...and shows my sis in full bloom and glowing.
we're all ready to welcome this baby girl to the world.

heather, 9 months

auntie jen's visit to san diego

as a birthday gift to herself, auntie jen flew back to san diego
to relax and visit family and friends!  she visited with friends
and old coworkers during the week and spent the weekend with
our family watching an outdoor movie {pele}, attending scout's
soccer game, visiting sea world, celebrating her birthday with
krispy kreme donuts, and visiting belmont park the night before
she flew back to florida.


i didn't get near as much time as i would have like
{the boys either} but we were grateful for the time we had.
the day after she left, out of the blue, scout said "i wish aunt
jen hadn't moved away. i like hanging out with her and i miss
the sleepovers we used to have".


it's only been 2 years since she has lived here, and though it
doesn't seem like that much to an adult, to a kid, it can seem
like a lifetime.


i reminded him that auntie jen loves him LOTS... no matter
how far away she lives.  i also reminded him that we will be
seeing her very soon, along with grandma and grandpa, auntie
and uncles, and cousins!  we are overdue and are all excited.

scout's first ping pong tournament

"i hope they don't go easy on me just because i'm a kid"
- scout gerber, age 9


my company hosted their 4th annual ping pong tournament a few weeks ago.
tables are rented, a food truck brought in and employees and clients meet for a
fun and fierce competition in the back parking lot of our office.


typically i help with the front end stuff, set-up and registration but this year,
i thought it would be more fun to play, especially since both of my boys were
playing.


c has played in it every year and the little guys have come out to watch.
last year, the organizer of the event here from my company, saw scout's
skills and welcomed him to play in the 2016 competition. he was thrilled but
was concerned that people would go easy on him because he was a kid.
{he never wants people to go easy on him...what's the fun in that he says}.


now our family doesn't own a pong pong table.  we never have. what we do
have is a large wood table that we use as one.  a friend of c's surprised us with a
net and paddles about 2 years ago and our kitchen table is used more for games and
pong pong and projects more than for eating on.  the table is not quite as long as a
standard ping pong table and it's a good foot and a half narrower but that might have
worked to our advantage as all 3 of us progressed to the 'winner's bracket'.


we all played hard and if anyone started out going easy on scout, they quickly learned
not to.  he played his heart out and ended up losing to the mike, one of our young
engineers who has won the last 2 years.  im happy to report that he didn't get upset at all.
he played his best and was actually quite pleased with himself. on our way home he
gave me the run down on every match he played and who he will try to beat next year.
some highlights of the day.

scout {age 9} - exp's 4th annual ping pong tournament



parenting...it's really really hard

"nobody understands me in this family,
you are all just mean".
- scout benjamin, age 9




these were just a few words spoken by our youngest
two weeks ago after one of his soccer games.  his words sounded more like
those from a tween or teenager, but they were from our  newly nine year old
who was extremely upset at a decision that was made when he was showing poor
sportsmanship. after many many discussions on this topic, and 2 warnings to get himself
together, i told scout he would not be allowed to play in his next soccer game. 



tears flowed and harsh remarks came.  he told us how unfair he was being treated,
how no one understands him and shifted blame to the child who tripped him on
the field and to the referee who didn't give the child a yellow card.  *sigh*
after we arrived home and scout took a relaxing bath, c reminded me that since
the call was made, we {I}needed to stick to our guns. c doesn't have any problems with this,
he's consistent and extremely self disciplined.  i do pretty well, especially with bed times
and other rules, but this was new and i think he could sense how bad i felt for scout.


it was a difficult decision, and whether it would work or not, i had no idea, but i stuck to
my guns.  over the next few days, he would sweetly ask, with those big blue puppy dog eyes
and long dark eyelashes of his, if he we really weren't going to let him play. i said yes.
midweek, he eventually stopped asking.
on the day of the game, he asked if he could dress in his uniform and
sit on the bench with this team because "that's what professionals players do".  we said
sure.  it was painful for him and for me watching him sit there, knowing how much he
wanted to be on the field, but it was a teaching moment.



a very thoughtful coworker of mine, who isn't a parent yet, heard my story in the lunchroom,
and shared a video that she came across. she said it made her think of my recent situation.
i absolutely loved  the video....so much that i shared with almost every  mom friend i have in
my contacts {some had already seen on facebook}. 

the mother is sharing things every parent knows intuitively, but may {or may not} struggle with. 
she zeros in on the one very important aspect of parenting - that it's HARD, really hard and there
will be lots of times our kids don't like us, and that's ok.  our job isn't to be liked. our job is to
raise human beings who will be productive members of society.
it's honest, raw, and funny and she says it all while eating from a carton of ice cream
{and making a wine milkshake}.