Chasing the sun.

This was my view this morning on the way to take Avery to preschool.
This was also my view yesterday morning.
And the morning before that.

Gone is the sun from the weekend.
Happy, cheery, sunny feelings - also gone.
So when I picked Avery up from preschool I asked her if she wanted to find the sun.

And...wouldn't you know...
we found it 20 minutes away.
At Nordstrom.
:)

A little grilled cheese {for her}
tomato basil soup with salad {for me}
and a new pair of jeans {ahem, for both of us}
plus a healthy dose of Vitamin D
made us feel like new women.

When we drove the 20 minutes home it still looked exactly like that first picture.
Blech.

At least now we know where to find the sun.
{wink}

Brinner.

When Gary's not home for dinner I have a really hard time
cooking a decent dinner for the kids and me.

Tonight we had brinner:
waffles, turkey bacon, and eggs.

That is my grandmother's waffle iron.
I think about her every time I pull it out.
I love using it.


{fun fact: Colin has decided he will not eat pancakes and will only eat waffles,
despite my telling him that waffles and pancakes are exactly the same
ingredients-wise, and only different in shape.
He doesn't believe me and/or care.}

We watched Obama's State of the Union address while we were eating.
I liked his quote about us needing to teach our kids that it's not just
the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated,
but the winner of the science fair.
{true!}

Because let's face it,
9 times out of 10, it's the smart guys and girls that finish on top.

Monday.

I'm happy to report that there have been no additional black eyes
suffered courtesy of the trampoline in the last 24 hours.

{Which is a good thing,  because we have an appointment with the pediatrician next week.
I'd hate for him to have to report me.}

Monday was a quiet, productive, low key day.
Avery and I went on a bike ride
...went to Costco
...played
..and just did other very mundane Monday things.
Sometimes, mundane is good.

My favorite Costco purchase?

Rainbow socks, of course.
{with my initials on them.  coincidence?  hmmm....}
They go well with rainbow polka dot bowls filled with granola and The Bachelor.

My very exciting Tuesday plans?
Throwing out every other sock in my drawer.
They're all holey.

It's a glamorous life, no?

jump!

We bought the kids a trampoline for Christmas.
They've asked me almost every day if I can put it together for them.
I was nervous, because the instructions said,
"Three adults in good physical condition are needed for assembly."

Uh oh.
Gary + me = 2 adults in...reasonable...condition.

But we managed.
And the kids have been jumping and bouncing and jumping like maniacs.

 

I jumped for about 5 minutes and was SO tired!

My legs were jello.

The kids didn't get tired until about an hour in.

{They really do love each other.}

Overall, the trampoline is a big hit.

We'll try to overlook the fact that five minutes in to jumping
Avery's cheek met Riley's forehead.
{{tears...ice...swelling}}
I'm hoping that red mark on her cheekbone falls short
of becoming a full-fledged black eye.
And then, a little bit later, Colin's own knee hit his own eye.
{{more tears...more ice...more swelling}}

Great.

{Say hi to all of our neighbors back there!
Now you know why we bought three trees from Lowe's last week.
Operation "Try to Shield Our Yard From The Neighbors" is in full swing.}

Friday is...

...a playdate day. 
{usually.}

...a no kitchen day. 
{mommy doesn't cook on Fridays.  except to make pb&j.}

...hang up your new wreath on your front door day. 
{ok, this is the only friday I've ever done that.  semantics.}

...play in the tub at 5:16pm day.
{ouch.  m-a-j-o-r tangles today.  detangling spray is our friend.}

...my favorite day.
{I can feel myself decompressing as the clock ticks closer to friday. 
goodbye week, hello weekend.}

Happy Friday to you.

sunny: a state of mind.

This week started out fantastically.
Monday was a holiday for everyone.
Gary and I had some alone time since
the kids were with his parents.
We went to Lowe's...we went to lunch...we talked for an hour.

{LOVED it.}

Then, since he was experiencing a rare and temporary
lull at work,
Gary took Tuesday and Wednesday off.
We planted trees we bought at Lowe's...
we installed closet organizers...
we replaced our kitchen faucet...
we spent a lot of time together.

{LOVED it more.}

Today it was back to the real world.
But it was s-u-n-n-y,
so I could deal.

Sun even makes the mean-person-encounter I had more bearable.
{But just a little.}
Mean people are really a buzz-kill.

Moving on...

Avery asked for a quesadilla for lunch.
She must have known that today was
National Cheese Lovers Day.
{Just some of the useless info I learn on Twitter.}

This was my counter at 4:00ish this afternoon.

I was inside doing my thing
and 2/3 of the kids were outside playing in the sun with a box.

The other third was in a time out,
upset because the aforementioned 2/3 were in "his" box.
::sigh::

Gary is reading this book right now.

It seems pretty interesting.
It talks about what makes successful people successful.
He loves that stuff.

This is what I did while I was watching American Idol last night.

I know...everyone and their grandma are making yarn-wrapped wreaths.
I don't mind.  I like it.
I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped.
It was tedious, but therapeutic, too.
I'll show you the finished product soon.

Tomorrow is supposed be sunny again,
and I will be happy.

Take that, meanies.

Socked in.

Christmas is over...
New Year's is over...
so winter has my permission to beat it.

We have been getting non-stop dreary,
depression-inducing fog here in the bay area.

Gross.

Saturday we had had enough
and decided to drive up and out of the fog.

I know I said I am a weather wimp
{and I am}
but I will take snow and cold and sun
over fog any day.

It was bright
and beautiful
and {surprisingly} warm!

We were soaking up that Vitamin D like nobody's business.

We decided that when we win the lottery we're all going to need snow mobiles.
{I guess I'd better start buying tickets.}

For all of you nor-cal folks we went to Soda Springs.
It's perfect for kids.

We just had the best family day.
I love those days where the kids get along
and no one is crying or whining
(not much anyway)
and everyone is having a good time.

We drove back down the mountain as the sun was setting.
We could see the fog settled on the valley as we made our way
back towards the bay.

And when we got home we were socked in with fog again.
Yuck.

Can't May just go ahead and get here already?

A Valentine banner

Last week I finally took our Christmas cards down.
It was the last "Christmas" thing up in the house.
When I took them down
my windows looked so sad and bare.
{See them here?
I r-e-a-l-l-y need to do something with those windows.
Shutters?  Curtains?  Not sure.}

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I were at the dollar store
and I saw some paper heart doilies.
I grabbed a few packages of pink, white, and red.

I sewed them together and voila -
Valentine banner!
{a Valentine banner that cost $3...even better}

Even if you don't sew you could definitely do this.
Just thread some embroidery floss on a needle and weave it through the doilies.

It's probably the one and only Valentine decoration I'll have in the house.
Unless you count the bowl full of conversation hearts.
:)

Winter Walk.

I hope those of you reading this on the East Coast
or the midwest
or other places that are getting pounded by snow right now
don't think I'm a huge winter wimp.

But I am a huge winter wimp.

These past several days have been foggy and cold.
(Cold by my wimpy California standards, anyway.)

But this morning the sun was shining through the windows
so Avery and I bundled up and headed outside.

I would just like to say that I have never given this girl permission to
get that tall or
look that big
or just walk five steps ahead of me like she doesn't really need me.

This is not ok with me.

The park was freezing.
I was miserably cold, but it didn't bother her.

I hate how quickly she's growing up.
I can't believe that I only have a year and a half more with her home and not in school.

But I'm not going to dwell on that right now.
I'm going to enjoy these days of freezing at the park
and warming up with pb&j's and hot chocolate.

And having a girl at home that wants to help with the laundry.
{Seriously.  She does.  How great is that?!?}

A birthday tradition.

Back in 2009, a tradition was born.
Every January 8th, my sweet kids bake me a cake.
{2010 birthday}
{2009 birthday}

{Technically I bake, they decorate.}

They are my very favorite decorators.
Even if they are a bit heavy on the sprinkles.

I was feeling horrible when they were decorating these cakes.
The stomach flu was about an hour from hitting me full force.
Seeing all of those sprinkles on the cake was not looking good to me...at all.
Thank goodness the flu only usually last about 24 hours, right?

But the kids were so sweet.
They told me they would make me a cake every single year for my birthday.
Even when they're grown-ups, they said.
Even if she lives in China, Avery said.
She added even if she's in jail.

Uh...'scuse me??

 They were very proud of their cakes.

 

Tonight we went to dinner with my family and then had cake when we got home.

I'm feeling mostly back to normal, so I was able to eat some cake.
Wow...sprinkles.
But delicious,
and made with a lot of love.
I'm a lucky girl.
:)

Saturday night I wasn't feeling 100%, but my sweet friends had planned a dinner.
So my handsome date and I headed to dinner.

Unfortunately, 20 minutes into dinner, my handsome date was blindsided
with the dreaded flu.
He headed home and I was dateless for the remainder of the evening,
but it was a special night.

I love these girls.
(And their unpictured hubbies, too.)
It was a lovely birthday,
despite that wicked flu bug.

Now we're all on the mend
and the kids go back to school tomorrow.
Real life will settle in again.

We're all ready.