Friday, September 28, 2012

a date, a date!

Tonight Andrew and I went on a date with our little third wheel.  It seems the longer we're married the more we need these dates!  Zara is looking laid back in the high chair.  This is a new thing for her.
We started out at Paradise Bakery, went to Walmart to purchase a helmet and sport sunglasses for our triathlon, finished off The Great Wall of Chocolate from PF Changs that Andrew left at his office from lunch today, and stopped by one of our favorite stores: Barnes and Noble.

So Andrew to a peak at J K Rowling's new mystery novel and it turns out the main character's name is Barry.  Ha ha!  We thought it funny because of her epic Harry Potter books.  Also, the illustrations in the Rapunzel and Snow White books are amazing!  Children's books are all about the pictures but I also liked the way the stories were written.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

my Abue"lita"

Let me introduce you to my spunky, unique, silly, Guatemalan, one of a kind grandma, Lita!  She is seriously a pioneer and a legend and I can't help but love her and be inspired by her the more I learn her life history.  I know she's not perfect and has certain qualities I have inherited stubborn temper, but I love my Lita!  She turned 92 last month and we arranged to visit her for her birthday but she wasn't feeling well so we finally got around to visiting her on Sunday.

Our visits to Lita always begin and end the same: with big hugs and kisses.  It's a ritual.  Then we all sit down and she asks us why it's been so long since we saw her and teases that the next time we see her it will be a new year. During a visit we often have to talk loud so she can hear us and we repeat ourselves and remind her our kids names but we still enjoy each visit.  Zara was fussy during this visit but I was able to snap a few good pictures that mean so much to me!
Sometimes it's hard to get the kids to sit for long but my aunt, Tia Silvia, who lives with Lita, was able to distract Elliot and Avery with some English toffee.  Sometimes it's cookies.  Yum!!

I have so many good memories visiting Lita in this home growing up that it's hard to believe Lita will not always be here with us.  I mean, she may be doing pretty good for her age but her memory and body are not what they used to be and she's 92, for goodness sake!  I will never spend the night, watch movies past my bed time, drink chocolate milk, trace the pretty flower tile, sew/cross stitch/knit/crochet at Lita's again but I feel an urgency to let my children as time as possible with her.  I am grateful for her example in my life but I am also grateful my kids love to go to their grandparent's house.  I just wish our English family weren't so far.

Lately I've come to terms with the fact that I'm going to write Lita's biography, or at least some of it.  It's taken me a long time to admit to these feelings and I feel completely overwhelmed but I also feel honored.  Isn't it wonderful to be surrounded by incredible people?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

call me a runner

Half marathon, march 2012
Seeing this picture makes me feel hopeful again.  As of today I officially feel like a runner again!  I've been running with my friend, Nicole, once a week and she really pushes me hard.  She's training for a half marathon in November which is a week before my triathlon and because of her I have been able to increase my weekly miles and pace.  It's been hard but it feels so good!  This morning we ran 6 miles in an hour!  Wasn't a mile hard like last month?  I can't wait to get this body back into race shape again so I can cross a finish line proud of my time and accomplishments.  It's seriously a drug for me.  Have you ever gotten the race drug?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Zara faces

This little ham is close to 7 months old and we have been having a lot of fun together while Elliot and Avery are at school.  As much as I love nursing Zara we have both been enjoying baby food adventures.  Well, maybe she's not enjoying everything but I sure laugh a lot!
Gotta love those faces.  Food torture.  Her very favorite is sweet potato but she'll settle for mango . . nothing else.  Also, her knew thing is crawling everywhere and sitting up.  She'll do anything to reach the toy she wants.  Unfortunately it has often resulted in a bruise or two.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

sleepies

My favorite time of day is sneaking a peak at my sleeping kids right before I go to bed.  I usually give them a kiss and a quick snuggle and tell them I love them.  I do this before they go to bed as well but it's different this time.  There will come a time that they will feel too grown up kisses and snuggle and I already lament it.  I love that my kids let me snuggle them when they're tired.

The other day I helped out in Elliot's class and he was so proud of me and happy to see me.  As hard as it is to coordinate my morning to make it happen it's good for my heart to see Elliot so happy.  I'm so proud to be his mom!

I'm a little sad that Elliot doesn't take daily naps anymore.  Today is an exception (Oh . . Sunday naps!).
Do you watch your kids sleep?

Friday, September 14, 2012

book review: Wonderland Creek

Last week I was able to go to the library with just Zara so I actually got to look for me books!  This doesn't happen very often.  Wonderland Creek sort of stood out on the shelf so I thought I'd give it a try.  From the cover and summary I thought it would be a modern-day Alice in Wonderland but the only similarities were the name of the main character, Alice, and the name of the creek, Wonderland Creek.

It turns out that this book is more of a historical fiction novel about a girl named Alice during the Great Depression who loves to read all the time but looses her job as a librarian and her boyfriend and just needs to get away. She finds herself in a small mining town where there are lots of secrets and family feuds.  While in this town she has lots of adventures and learns how to work hard.  Ultimately she lives life instead of reading all the time.

I loved this book because I can relate to Alice.  It's too easy to get caught in a good book instead of doing little things to take care of my home and family.  If i'm missing out on an adventure it's now ones fault but my own.  This book was a pleasant surprise (not all books I randomly pick up at the library live up to the cover) and I found myself looking forward to seeing what would happen next.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

sewing project: pants to shorts

Last month I took some free time to tackle some of my sewing projects.  Not the fun ones where I start sewing from scratch but clothing repairs and tops that need to be taken in and such.  In that pile I found a couple pairs of pants for Avery that I wanted to turn into shorts.  This was a fun quick project.
One of the best parts about turning pants into shorts is I get to decide the length.  If I wanted to buy a knee-length pair of shorts for Avery I'd have to look in the boy's section.  Now I can just sew the length I want.
We're getting a lot of use out of these shorts while the weather is still warm but I can't say I'm not looking forward to Autumn and the Holidays!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

a new office

Since Louise and Stanley moved out we're been planning what to do with those two rooms that are now empty. The first one we're working on is Steven's old room, Andrew's new office.  He's really excited about his "man cave".

Although it's Andrew's office he's letting me help out with decor.  Notice the door sign on the right.  Yep, that was totally me.  So far we have painted all the walls white and the inside of the door green.  Carpets were put in on Monday, with my Dad's help.  Andrew did some track lighting yesterday and some new blinds are going in tonight.  As far as the walls go Andrew has his ideas and I have mine.

In other news yesterday was 8 years since the day Andrew and I met.  We watched Sleepless in Seattle last night after the kids went to bed just for fun and are going to Le Grande Orange this Saturday for the first time to celebrate.  We don't normally celebrate the anniversary of the day we met but we felt like doing something special.  Have you been to Le Grande Orange?  I've heard only good things so I'm really looking forward to it!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

school update


I can't believe it's already September!  August was such a whirlwind month for us and now we are already a few weeks into school.

Elliot started kindergarten and he loves it!  I've been really impressed about how responsible he is with his homework and my favorite time of the day is when the bus drops him off in front of our house (he's AM kindergarten only).  If only he would stop being so moody!  I am told it is normal but still!!

Avery has been enjoying pre-school twice a week with her cousin, Lizette, and she feels so grown up.  Her teacher told Andrew that Avery has become the mother hen of the class, always reminding the other kids to clean up and do criss cross applesauce during circle time.

I love watching them grow and learn.  I feel I have grown as a parent during these past few weeks learning to let things go sometimes.