Merry christmas 2012

How quickly it's come to an end, 2012 zipped by and the holidays were a blur.
It was our first Christmas in our new home. We weren't fully moved in yet and there were still boxes to unpack. I did my best to deck the halls with holiday goodness, our stockings were hung and we got the cutest skinny tree for our family room.

Two Weeks Gone

Our beloved Jeremy has been missing for 2 weeks now. Ever since he was startled by the furniture delivery man who left the front door open while bringing in our new couch. It was dark and raining when he bolted out the front door. Our indoor only kitty who'd only been in our new home for two months has now been missing for two weeks.

A Gratifying Vote

I voted today because I know that every vote counts. The best part of the experience was taking Aidan, my 8 yr old into the voting polls with me and educated him on the importance of voting. It was an incredibly gratifying parenting moment and one that Aidan thought was worthy if dressing up for, hence the fedora and tie.

Auction Time

Another fun school auction this year. I was the class coordinator for Aidan's class. I had the class paint "peace" themed rocks which I then set up in a peace symbol, and heart, and had photographed. We made notecards to sell, as well as, auctioned a peace symbol that was professionally framed. It was a huge success.

Are You 6!

Happy Birthday Miles and Liam...amazing, you're 6 now.

We opted to skip bringing treats to class (figure after Halloween that's a good thing. Instead, I enjoyed reading books in their separate kindergarten classes followed by birthday wishes song. Liam chose Snow by PD Eastman and Miles chose an Eric Carle book, Mixed-up Chameleon. We ended the day with dinner and cake and Grandma and Grandpa's. Celebrations not over yet, soon to come is a pump it up party.

Dia De Los Muertos

Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated in our home every year. We make sure the boys know we celebrate the lives of those who were special to us. This year I decided to bring the cultural experience to my boys kindergarten classes, we set up altars, made calaveras, and enjoyed pan de muertos.

Halloween Fun

The boys had a great time at school, enjoy a fun filled day of crafts, parties and a parade. With our recent move and yes still many unpacked boxes, I just didn't have it in me to make costumes. So, we made a trip to Target and each got to pick a costume. Miles was Luigi, Liam Captain America, and Aidan was Harry Potter.

Time to Carve Pumpkins

With Halloween just around the corner and the boys dying with anticipation to carve their pumpkins, we decided we could hold out no longer. It was time to carve. We had ourselves a pumpkin carving get together with our new neighbors. The kids were thrilled and loved their "fire breathing" jack-o-lanterns.

Proud to be a Bear

I have mixed feelings about the cub scouts...but despite that, here we are in our second year. Aidan is now a "Bear" and so proud to wear his uniform.

Cat in the Hall

This I don't get.... why Jeremy (our cat) chooses to lay in the middle of the hallway, and strategically place himself at the doorways between the kitchen and laundry room I'm starting to wonder if this is a game to him. Roadblock, I'll make them step over me. Because yes, that's what he does, not even a body walking towards him makes him budge. He'll occasionally just lift his head and stare at you, as if you're the nuisance...not he.

Early Jack-o-lanterns

My boys have been dying to carve their pumpkins. I keep explaining to them, if we carve them now, they'll rot before Halloween. Just when I think they finally get that, they ask again. So I found a great solution to the problem. These pumpkin transfers seem to have done the trick.

Simple Fall Goodness

A little Fall goodness to celebrate my favorite time of year.

Soccer Stars

My three soccer stars. Despite the time and commitment it takes to keep up with their soccer schedules, I'm grateful we made the decision to have them play soccer this year. They really enjoy playing and we equally enjoy watching them play.

Joining the Ranks of Safety Guard

One of the things about being a 3rd grader is you are now considered old enough and hopefully responsible enough to join the Safety Guard. The Safety Guard are the folks who help make the morning drop offs run smoothly. They help open car doors to let kids out, close doors so cars can move along quickly (in theory) to help expedite drop off and keep the parking lot safe...all this with a polite "good morning", " have a good day" and lots of smiles. It was no surprise to me when Aidan, the enforcer of rules, was thrilled to join the ranks of Safety Guard and wears his sash with pride.

Wishes Do Come True....Sometimes

Last school year Aidan said on many occasions that he wished he could walk to school. Each time I so wished I could make that come true for him. On several occasions I dropped him off with the walking school bus so he could join them on the way to school. Clearly this was not the same. But wishes do come true sometimes, this is our walk to school now. The boys, especially Aidan are so thrilled about this great trail that takes a short cut from our house to school. Let's see how they feel about it once winter comes.

Sold

Escrow closed today, and I handed the keys over this morning, a bittersweet moment to say the least. Max and I decided the kids would be late to school this morning so we could take a moment to go to the old house take some photos and say a final goodbye. The boys all said in their own way, that they would be missing the old house. But, they are all so über excited about the new house and new neighbors and new freedom with living here they haven't given our sweet old home much thought. And, although I am happy they aren't mourning some loss ( as I am, weirdly??) part of me is a bit sad as if I'm losing a part of us with those fading memories. I imagined I'd be kicking my heels up ...yippee! hooray! So not the case, a deep sigh of relief yes, hootin and hollering, not so much. Well, time to make new memories.

Underwear Hat

Kids do the craziest things. Let's start with...at what age do they decide it's time to close the door to go potty, that it's no longer socially acceptable to take a dump while the rest of your family occasionally wanders in an out. But even crazy is when you casually walk by and find your kid has his underwear on his head, really!?

The Problem With Bunk Beds

Up until now I thought, "wow the bunk beds are great, why didn't we do this sooner!?" It made more space and the boys love hanging out in their room much more. So yes, I thought it was the next best thing to bacon....that is up until child on top started to vomit and I realized there was no good way to get him down. He spewed down the side landing on his brother below. We tried to coax him down but his terror of what was happening had him fixed right where he was, while he continued to projectile barf landing on mom and dad on its way to the rug. Not until he was good and empty and we were thoroughly grossed out, was he good and ready to make his way down. There just wasn't a safe way to get him down without his cooperation. Bunk beds....not so great anymore arghhh.

Soccer Mom Begins

My new soccer mom role began this weekend. Aidan had his first soccer game of the season yesterday. He has several school friends on his team so he was excited to play. He hustled out in the field and kicked every chance he got. Now those kicks didn't always land on the ball so thank goodness for those shin guards. The opposing team had several of his school friends as well, this added to the fun.
As soccer mom I stood on the sidelines, cheered on cue while working the moms for a carpool schedule for practices. You see, this is just the first of 3 soccer players in the house. Unless I can help it, I'll be going to 2 practices and 2 games a week (Miles and Liam are on the same team). I'll be living the life of the quintessential soccer mom with my mini van to boot.

Mosaic Roll Call

It took months, but it's finally finished. Through the efforts of several moms, including myself, we completed this mosaic art installation as a school fundraiser. It had been eons since I last made a mosaic so having that skill revived was a bonus for me. The visual beauty that it adds to our school just makes me so proud to have taken part in this project and my kids are just thrilled to see their handprints and names out front of their school.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The twins were finally starting kindergarten and Aidan was on to 3rd grade. For me that meant finally only one drop off. Yay, now if only they started at the same time that would be best, instead of the 1/2 hour stagger, but then that would be asking for a perfect world, wouldn't it!?

Aidan Turns 8

Hard to believe 8 yrs ago this little guy came into my world changing my whole life. He's quirky, fun, and often times thought provoking (with his many deep questions). Happy Birthday Aidan!

All House and Very Little Play

This summer has been all about houses, buying and selling and everything that goes in between. After 5 1/2 months our short sale purchase finally came through meaning we had to whip it into full speed to get our current home ready to sell. After several weeks of constant work, painting, cleaning, organizing, and landscaping, the house went on the market. In 8 days we had 2 open houses and 3 brokers tours, and ended with 3 amazing offers. We couldn't be more happy.
After all that hard work we finally decided we deserved a little rest and relaxation. We took a last minute trip to Calistoga. Thanks to my friend Rachel, I knew exactly where to go, Calistoga Hot Springs. It was a short trip, 2 days one night but oh so worth it. It was what we all needed. Lots of water play, yummy food, and a Sugar Train (candy store in a vintage train car) brought fun end to our summer.

Chabot Camping

Since this summer was about selling out house, we worked our fun around it. We needed to be away during the weekend of open houses and perfect timing, my moms group was planning a camping trip. It was the perfect thing to do, go camping. We joined in on the trip to Chabot Lake, close enough to come home should we need to get back to deal with any house issues and yes still close enough to be connected via IPhone to know (sad but true).
Despite several calls from brokers, we managed to have a good time. We took a boat tour of Chabot Lake, had great pot luck meals, and spent the evenings relaxing around a campfire (as much as we could relax given the circumstances). All in all, the boys had a great time and parents had a bit of down time.

Gross Candies Trap

Some candies are just gross and yet I find myself buying them for my kids. I'm not sure why they gravitate to the gross stuff, but they just can't seem to resist. I like to indulge them every once in a while, so we end up with disgusting things like a hotdog gummy or some awful blue raspberry taffy that sure makes you blue. That much blue dye can't possibly be good for you.

Big Day

Today was a big day...open house number 1. We're planning on having 2 open houses, and taking offers after that. I know that sounds optimistic, but honestly I think the house looks great. So I'm feeling pretty confident. I'm not a dreamer, not expecting some huge price bid war over my house but feel pretty confident the perfect someone is going to come and fall in love with my 1916 farmhouse just as I have.