What did you do this weekend?

We spent the weekend in Kernville with Bob and D. Had such a great time, relaxing and enjoying the outdoors.

We went because we were bottling the wine that we've been making. So proud of the work that everyone did. It was fun to be a part of something with such tradition. Everyone who tried the wine agreed, it's awesome. Here's a picture of Bobby holding the very first bottle. He was involved in the entire process, from picking the grapes to bottling and here he is holding the finished product. And in case you were wondering, we drank that bottle at lunch.



We went Quad riding on Sunday up in the mountains. It was refreshing to be in the woods. Jordan took his quad out with his grandpa, while Bobby rode with Becky, Jeff, Derek and Melissa. I stayed with Sofia and Andrew. I took Sofia on a spin on Andrew's little bike. Shhh, don't tell Grandma Sue and Tita. Sofia LOVES it. I think she may want to take it up as a pastime.



We got her hair up in ponytails for the first time. I've been waiting a long time for that. Doesn't she look cute?

In other news Jordan had his Spring performance last Friday. They did a CHA salute to TV and Film theme songs. Jord's second grade class did the song from THE JEFFERSONS - "Well we're moving on up, to the east side. . .", the theme from CHEERS, with mugs and all, and "Staying Alive" from SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, with the hand gestures and everything. The crowd went wild. He always has so much fun performing. I don't know where he gets it from ; )


Andrew had his school's farewell picnic today. We went to a park in Simi Valley that has a water area. The kids wore their swim trunks and were able to run around and get wet. Not Andrew though. He wanted to stay dry. At first I spent more time chasing Sofia around and keeping her safe than I did spending time with Andrew.





But once Sue got there I could push Andrew on the swings and chase him around. He refused to ride the school bus. In the car he told me that the bus might rock the bus driver to sleep. It will be sad to see Andrew leave Weekday Preschool. He had three wonderful years there and I know he will miss his friends and teachers. The teachers are already fighting over who will get Sofia when she goes there. I can't imagine life with three kids in school at the same time, ahhh.

Driving Mom Crazy!

Not the kids. We had a blast last night at the Mother Son Event at Jordan's school. It was the CHA Amazing Race. We started at the school and were given a clue for the next stop. We had to figure out where to go and then complete the task so that we could get the next clue. We went to Baskin Robbins and had to get samples. We had to find a Dream Dinners and make a dinner to take home. We went to the train station to get a total for tickets to Union Station. And the mom's had to hit a ball at the batting cages. We ended up back at school for an Ice Cream finish. Jordan and I had so much fun figuring out the clues and doing the tasks. His favorite part was the Chinese Fire Drill we had to do before leaving the school. What a great event for everyone.

Here's a picture of the kids new favorite activity:

Sofia sits in her doll stroller and the kids push her back and forth in the living room while she yells, "wheee." They have so much fun that we can't stop them.

Hope everyone had a fun weekend.

Mellow Yellow

Absolutey loving the color yellow. In fact I am working on a scrapbook page all about why I love it. It makes me feel happy, sunny, light. As I was taking some pictures i realized that I have surrounded myself with yellow; coffee cups, shirts, flowers. Loving all of it. It makes me smile

Jordan update: We got the results from the endocronologist and he has Hashimoto's disease, just like I do. It sounds bad but it's not, at least not if you take medication. So he will start on it tomorrow. It's a small pill that he has to take everyday, for the rest of his life. I wonder if it will help get him up in the morning. Hypothyroidism makes you feel tired and cold all the time. The doctor told us that if you had to pick a medical condition to have, this would be the one. I guess I feel better.

Andrew had his check up today and he is doing well. Weight is still on the low end of the curve but overall body mass is OK. Working on eating a variety of foods; he could live on pb&j. Also trying to work through emotional breakdowns when things are off, like forgotten lunchboxes and loud music. The school is also working with him to get him through those moments without giving in to the meltdown. But overall development is good. Honestly, with three kids and between check ups, dentists, eye doctors, endocronologists and the occasional cold, I think we have all had our fill. My next task is to get Jordan to the orthodontist for some prep work for braces. Ugh!

Mother's Day recap

Had a wonderful day yesterday. We were home for the first time in a few weeks and it was great to just hang out without having to deal with a schedule.
Bobby made me breakfast in bed. My favorite thing is french toast and crispy bacon (Bobby calls it burnt, I call it perfection.) The kids gave me their gifts from school and we just relaxed. Jord made a decopauge picture frame with a poem he wrote. Andrew made some sand art that is also a recipe holder. It's funny because he had asked me last week how to make macaroni and cheese. I wasn't quite sure why he was asking but I gave him the instructions. Well he was asking because he needed the recipe for the gift. He was so sneaky. It really made me laugh.
I got to choose what to do for the day so I scrapbooked while the kids played video games. Dinner was Carne Asada, a Corona and some lemon sorbet. Can it be mother's day everyday? The boys declared that it was Mother's day and brother's day. They are the cutest.

Back to the routine today. Had to deal with those dishes I neglected yesterday. Oh well, I had the best day yesterday, so it was worth it.

5 Celebrations

Back in February, Andrew started asking the question: "How many months/days til my birthday?" It really did seem far away at the time. And now the day has come and gone, whew. Here is a recap on five ways to celebrate being five years old:

1. Celebrate April/May birthdays with the Brockett's.

He had a hard time understanding that we were going to celebrate his birthday in April when I kept telling him that his birthday was not until May. Oh he didn't resist it, he just didn't understand it.

2. Have a birthday playdate at your house.

I didn't have the energy to put together a blowout party for Andrew so we invited a few of his friends to the house for a playdate. Originally I wanted to do a camping themed party at the park so I went with that concept for the playdate. We set up the tent in the backyard, put out a sandtable filled with plastic snakes and frogs, made corndogs and a smores cake for the kids. They had so much fun running around the backyard and finding hidden plastic bugs everywhere. And it was easy compared to the work it takes to put together a party for all sixteen of his classmates.

3. Celebrate with your family at home.

We had my family, Bob and D, and Angela and Mike over for dinner. I heated up a leftover lasagna from Jordan's First Communion that I had in the freezer . A little salad, some garlic bread and a lemon bundt cake that Andrew requested rounded out the festivities. Our house now has more legos, another light saber and TMNT toys, all of which he loves. (That's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). He was exhausted when he finally went down to sleep that night.

4. Make a birthday cake at Pre-school.

Andrew was snackboy in his class on Friday. He wanted me to bring mini corn dogs, rainbow goldfish, strawberries and strawberry milk for snack. Then we treated the kids to chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkles that we had made the night before. Andrew decorated his cake on the felt board while the kids waited and sang for him. Each of the kids made a birthday wish for him. They wished him everything from a toy elephant, a bike with his name on it, a million power rangers and a doggy. It was so cute to watch.

5. Surprise him with a trip to Disneyland.

Andrew has been asking to go to Disneyland for a while. So yesterday we told them that we were going to Grandma's house to celebrate Mother's Day. The boys were really surprised and happy when we pulled into the parking lot. Sue took Andrew to get his birthday button and he wore it all day. Cast members would say "Happy Birthday Andrew" and he was always amazed that they knew his name. Then he would look down and remember that it was written on his button. But honestly the best part of the day was getting a pack of flour tortillas from the Tortilla Factory as a birthday gift. Fresh, hot tortillas off the press; nothing is better than that. He wanted to spend his Disney dollars on a sword he had seen on a previous trip. When we got to the store he took two swords; one for him and one for Jordan. I loved that he wanted to share his birthday gift with his brother.

Over all, even though we didn't have a big birthday bash we spread the love over days and moments that, we hope, he will never forget. Happy Birthday sweet boy!



To everyone celebrating Mother's Day today, have a wonderful day. I will share my day with pictures and memories tomorrow. (except for the picture from this morning of breakfast in bed ; ), truly not a wonderful sight.)

Jesus is the way

No, I am not trying to preach to you all. It's the name of the song that the kids sang and signed at the First Communion. I am truly breathing a sigh of relief today. It has been two years of classes, retreats, meetings and then two intense weeks of preparation. It was a beautiul ceremony. As I saw Jordan walking into the church, he really took my breath away. I felt so proud of him and he looked GREAT!! (He did take the tie off in the car.) He was really looking forward to this moment. And we got to walk up with him when he received communion for the first time, really cool. Sorry no pictures during the ceremony.


The celebration after the ceremony was equally beautiful. Our good friends, Jay and Marisol, opened their home to our family for a joint celebration with their son Ryan. It has been a team effort from the beginning. I did drop off at CCD and they did pick up. It was the only way to celebrate, together. Everything was perfect, except for the wind that blew the umbrellas from the tables. Yummy food, lovely drinks and, thanks to Sue and Gigi for some awesome desserts. Then it was time to relax and enjoy everyone who was there. At the end of the day our feet were killing us, we were exhausted but so happy that everyone had a good time. One down, two more to go.

So Thankful

Yesterday I mentioned that we were going to take Jordan to the doctor today. Here's the story . . .

At Jordan's 8 year check up back in February, his pediatrician noticed that his thyroid was enlarged. After learning that I too have an enlarged thyroid she felt it was necessary to do some lab work. She referred us to a Pediatric Endocronologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. SO THANKFUL that Bobby was able to take the day off so we could take him together. The dr. explained that at this point there is nothing to be done but watch and see what his body does. Jordan shows no symptoms; growth and weight changes are normal. In fact he is in the 85th and 75th percentiles on the charts. His energy is good and he sleeps well. The dr. was in awe that his pediatrician was able to detect the enlargement, it is very slight. SO THANKFUL for a great pediatrician who really cares and is good at what she does, and detected something that others wouldn't have noticed. He ordered more blood tests and we will be back to see him in six months. Nothing to worry about, as long as there are no symptoms we can keep him off medication. SO THANKFUL for such a wonderful hospital. We were amazed at what a difference it was to be in a hospital just for children. Bright colors, play areas, even a McDonald's. It was almost like being in a museum. All in all it was a wonderful experience. We should have the test results tomorrow but do not anticipate a change, for now.

As we entered the hospital, I felt incredibly overwhelmed to see the children that were there. Kids on crutches, in wheelchairs and even strollers that were brought in for various reasons, some obvious, some not so obvious. I could not help but feel SO VERY THANKFUL for the three beautiful, healthy and happy children that God has given us. I cannot imagine what it would be like to bring any of them to this hospital because of a more serious illness. I know that you never want to hear that your child has something different or "wrong" with them, but when I think about what Jordan has, which is treatable and can be harmless, I am SO THANKFUL for it. As we were sitting in the waiting room at the lab we saw a little girl, maybe 3 years old, in a wheelchair and living with a much more serious illness. She was having surgery that day and her mother was comforting her as they were waiting for the blood test. The mom seemed so calm, at least on the outside, knowing that her daughter was going to have some kind of surgery in a few hours. I admired them. I felt sorry for them. I cried for them. I look over and Bobby is crying too. It really is hard to see kids hurt and upset. The funny thing is that all the girl cared about was getting a Spongebob toy from McDonald's. The mom promised her one after the surgery.

We walked out of the hospital. Jordan is going to be fine. I hope that little girl is fine and she is enjoying her Happy Meal. And I am feeling THANKFUL.