Tidbits

Last weekend my old roommate Shayla, and her sister Lisa, came to San Francisco. We were lucky enough to have them stay with us so we could catch up with each other...it's been 5 years!

We went into the city with them one day...and I forgot my camera at home. But we took our first trip to Ghirardelli Square where we got some ice cream and yummy chocolate treats (the pumpkin spice caramel squares are AMAZING!). We also drove down Lombard Street, went to the completely fogged over Golden Gate Bridge, stopped at our favorite Baker Beach, where there just happened to be a wedding going on...random!, went to Golden Gate Park for a little bit, and ended the day with dinner at Panera...yum! It was a very busy, very fun day.

Last Sunday we squeezed in a trip to the coast. We drove up Highway 1 through Half Moon Bay and then stopped at the tide pools in Moss Beach. It was a perfect day to go and we were able to see lots of wildlife. The kids LOVED it.


They especially loved touching the sea anemones. They thought it was hilarious to touch them and then watch them close.

Matthew, our resident rock collector.  :)

Me and Shayla

Thanks for coming to visit, Shayla and Lisa! We had a great time!



This was some time last week. The kids insisted that their pets (stuffed animals) were hungry and had to eat breakfast. Just thought it was cute.

The most exciting tidbit from this week is that Jon is done with Megamind! Done with 70+ hour weeks! Done done done! He finished at 3:30 last Saturday afternoon, so we went out to dinner to celebrate. It has been SO nice to have him home in the evenings again. It has been especially nice for the kids to have a dad again....to see him every day instead of every 3 or 4 days. They are so happy to have him back. We are all happy.  :)


And a random funny story to end on...

I teach the 7 year old class at church. During sharing time (when they have all the classes meet together for singing) I was sitting next to one of the girls in my class and put my arm up on the back of her chair. She reached over and starting playing with the flab hanging from my upper arm. Then she looked up at me and said, "Oh, I just love your wings. I want wings too! They are just so pretty!" I didn't know whether to be offended, mortified, or just laugh. So I laughed and then put my arm down.

I know my arms aren't stick skinny, but I've lost 35 lbs and I've been working out still, so they are fairly toned. Just kind of a little blow. I'm glad she at least thought my fat was cool. Haha...the joys of teaching primary.

Quotes

My kids say a lot of funny things. And I laugh and think I need to write that down. And then I don't and the next day I can't remember what it was that was so funny. Drives me crazy! I'm sure everyone with kids can relate...unless you're the one that actually DOES write it down.  :)

So I'm going to start writing them here, and titling them all Quotes...for me more than anything.


Today Emma got frustrated at Matthew and yelled shut up. We have been working on saying nice words and have threatened to wash her mouth out with soap if she says dirty words (hopefully I never really have to!). So I asked if we needed to clean her mouth and she immediately turned to Matthew and yelled Shut Down! Then she looked at me and asked very seriously if that was a clean word and if she could say that instead. I was caught off guard and laughing so hard that I just told her yes.

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Emma was drawing a picture of our family. She got to Jon, drew his hair and eyes and then said, "And Daddy has a really scratchy face too. I'll just put some spots on his chin.When she finished she said it was perfect. And it was.  :)

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She has recently started calling pinky fingers and toes "hanky pankies". Today she walked up to Matthew, who was laying down, and exclaimed, "Oh Buddy, you have the cutest little hanky panky!"

A Time Out and First Day of Preschool

So, these are two completely unrelated pictures that I'm throwing together because I'm feeling lazy tonight.  :)

This last weekend I was able to go to Time Out for Women, a women's conference put on by our church. Three friends and I set off for 2 glorious days with no kids, no responsibility and a lot of inspirational messages and fun. It was really great! The theme of the conference was infinite hope and it was just what I needed.

  

Then on Tuesday Emma finally started preschool. Oh happy day! It is the same preschool she went to last year and the class is the exact same except for one new little boy, so it was fun for her to see all of her friends again. We love her preschool and are so excited for this next year...her last year before kindergarten. It's still hard for me to believe.

Fitness Challenge

For anyone interested, I have started a fitness challenge...and a blog to go with it. I am doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout dvd. My goal is to do it every day for the next 30 days...except for Sundays because that is just too much work for Sunday!  :)

I have started a blog    http://shreddersanonymous.blogspot.com        where I will be posting my progess...kind of a way to be accountable. So far I have 5 other people who are joining me on this crazy little journey and we would love to have others join as well.

Nothing is set in stone and there are no concrete rules. I really just want to have a place where anyone who wants to set a fitness goal can come share their ups and downs and cheer others on. Having accountability is a huge motivator!

So, are you in? Set your 30 day fitness goal, whether you do the 30 day shred or walk 20 minutes a day or go swimming or chase your kids around the house...whatever works for you. Let's all get moving!

If you'd like to join us, let me know and I'll add you as a contributor!

Totally Awesome Tuesday

That's how Emma described our day today. Totally awesome. Actually almost everything lately is prefaced with totally...totally cool, totally awesome, totally bediculous (ridiculous), etc.

We started our totally awesome day by going to the totally fun park for park day. Always a good time!

After some lunch, I was really itching to get out of the house and enjoy the nice day. The kids LOVE riding the train, so I decided to take the totally cool train to Burlingame and visit our old stomping grounds. Emma thought we were going to the bowling game (Burlingame-bowling game...I can see how she got confused), so she was a little disappointed when we got there and we were definitely not at the bowling place. Haha!

As we were leaving the house, Emma asked if she could bring her book so she could read a little. I love that she loves reading. She picked her totally cool amphibian and reptile encyclopedia...just what every little girl would pick...and we were off. We walked the two blocks to the train station and got there just in time. I love it when it works out that way.

Matthew's only ridden the train once or twice, and it was a LONG time ago, so he was a little unsure of it at first. Emma on the other hand, is a pro-train rider. She chose her seat and settled in with her book. It was fun to chat with her about frogs and turtles and all the totally awesome things they can do...and to occasionally look out and watch the scenery fly by. Every time the train stopped at a station, she would ask if it was our stop. Every time I said no, and told her how many more we had and every time she gasped and said, "Oh mom, your totally kidding me!"

Once we got to Burlingame, our first stop was Powell's candy store. I had a coupon for a free birthday gelato (yep, I'm really milking this birthday thing for all it's worth!) and the kids got to pick out a few of their favorite treats. This store has so many fun treats that you just don't find anywhere else....gummy fried eggs and letters, gummy whales and bugs, lego candy, chocolate rocks, grapefruit candy....mmm....so many totally yummy treats! We picked a few and then sat outside at their candyland tables to eat and build towers with lego candy.

This was probably my favorite part of the day. We were all happy...content really just sitting there, enjoying everything. We weren't rushing, nobody was fighting or complaining. It was nice....one of those moments you want to freeze forever.

When the candy was gone, we took a little walk to go see our old house. Gosh, it feels like forever since we lived there, but somehow it was only 7 months ago. And while I don't miss that house AT ALL, I got a little emotional as I passed it, just thinking of all the memories there. That was our first post-school home....where we started life in the real world. That is where we lived when Matthew was born. There were just so many memories from the 2 years we lived there that came flooding back as I looked at it. It was kind of a bittersweet moment.

We continued our walk and headed to the totally fun park 2 blocks from that house. During our 2 years in Burlingame we spent hundreds of hours at that park, because it was so close and we didn't have any real yard space. While the kids played I watched them and relived lots of other memories there.

Next, we stopped by the library. I love the Burlingame library. The building is gorgeous. The selection is great! (Much better than our current library). And they just have the coolest kid's section. We hung out there for a while, found some books and movies and moved on.

Our last stop on our walk down memory lane was the kids consignment store. I love that place and miss living so close. I'm like a kid in a candy store there. I just love all the great deals! We had also gotten to know the owner pretty well, so it was fun to see her again.

Finally, it was time to leave....our train was coming so we said goodbye to Burlingame and headed home. This time we sat upstairs on the train and it was so totally awesome. Made Emma's day.

We finished off our totally perfect day by eating Toy Story macaroni and cheese for dinner and watching Ponyo, which, according to Emma, is totally her favorite movie ever.

Thank you Emma and Matthew for a totally awesome Tuesday!

Gilroy Gardens

Saturday Jon had to work all day....blah! We have been home a lot this last week so we decided to get out of the house and go do something fun. So, we headed to Gilroy Gardens, a small amusement park for little kids, and met up with Jon's family there. Tickets were $12 and Matthew was free, so we got a heck of a deal. This was our first time and it was really fun....lots of rides, a small water park...I felt like it was the perfect size. We got to see most everything and the lines weren't bad.

The kids LOVED the fire engines. Emma made Matthew sit in front because she insisted that she didn't know how to steer. I don't think she realized that the trucks were connected and they weren't going anywhere. Haha.

The race cars were a hit too. I love how on both of these rides they are watching the pole that connects them to the middle of the ride the whole time.

We went on a train ride around the park...the kids were thrilled!

Gilroy's version of the teacup ride.

One of Emma's favorites

And this is how Matthew feels about carousels... :)

Steve, Jenny, and Fij on the banana split

The artichoke dip- another teacup-esque ride

Buddy and Grandpa planning our next move...probably lunch.

And I just have to say how NICE it was to have other people along...to take kids on rides, to stay with kids while I went on a couple rides, to be my extra eyes and hands....it was great!

It also happened to be HOT on Saturday, so we took a break from rides to splash around in the water. Very refreshing!

We ended our visit with a little boat ride down the river.

Emma put her arms up as soon as she sat down.

As soon as Matthew saw her he had to do it too. Funny kid!

I promised the kids ice cream at McDonalds on our way home, since I couldn't bring myself to pay $5 for a tiny thing of it at the park. They were so excited. So we went, got some ice cream, and then they didn't touch it...at all. But they did have fun playing. It was actually really sweet. Matthew wanted so badly to climb up the jungle gym to go down the slide, but the platforms were too tall for him to climb up. Emma ran over and offered to help him. She was so excited that she was a big girl and could help Buddy up. She kept encouraging him the whole way up, saying You can do it Buddy, Keep going, you're almost there, Oh you're doing such a good job, etc. Very cute. When they got to the slide she told him he could sit on her lap. Then I heard a bunch of banging and grunting and then Emma, "Oh Buddy, I think you're too heavy to sit on my lap. I just can't slide. It's just not working. Sorry Buddy. Let's try again." So, they scooted their way down the slide together and at the end she gave him a big high 5. She is such a good sister.

Birthdays

Today I turned 27. Twenty seven. Far enough past 25 that 25 just sounds so young. But far enough away from 30 that 30 almost sounds old...almost. It just feels like such an insignificant number.

Throughout the day, I've thought over and over how birthdays are funny things. The older you get the less they mean. Yeah, it's kind of fun to celebrate those milestones....18, 25, 30, 40, 50...but the years in between I would almost rather not celebrate. I really don't like being the center of attention and I just feel like there's nothing significant to celebrate. At the same time, I know that I would care if nobody acknowledged my birthday. And I wonder why that is. Is there just that cultural/social expectation? Does the number of people who tell me happy birthday say something about my self worth? Why do I care so much??? See, birthdays are funny like that....or maybe it's just me...

Today was an okay day. A day just like every other day (except for the fact that the kids slept until 9 AM which is no small miracle in this household). We got up, went through the morning routine, went to park day with friends...sweet, thoughtful friends who had brought a birthday cake to celebrate, went to the grocery store, ate lunch. Nothing big or extraordinary(well, except for the birthday cake part). Then in the afternoon, after kids didn't take naps, the day just kind of went downhill. I spent the rest of the day breaking up fights, and dealing with tantrums. I just felt tired and emotionally drained and all of a sudden I was having one of those days where I just needed to cry. I didn't need a reason, I just needed to cry.

Jon came home early and we got to eat dinner together as a family, which is a rare occurence with his work schedule lately. It was nice. Then Jon gave me my present...a lap desk, so I can more comfortably use the laptop in bed. It was a very thoughtful gift and I love it. After we got kids in bed, Jon headed back to work...we can't wait for this movie to be done...soon...

And that has left me here alone, which I am kind of grateful for. I love the quiet of the early morning and late evening. It's just really relaxing. And it gives me time to think...about birthdays, and how they're funny things...