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Five Busy Bees

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if i could share some pictures

hi everyone. hope you are staying cool. it has been terribly hot here, over 100 degrees. and we have had one of those weekends full of fun things, but really tiring. our computer is still out of service, not sure when we will get it back. we did go look at the new imacs yesterday. so tempting, especially with our tax rebate sitting in the bank.

i can't access our photo library but if i could

{insert picture of jordan bouncing on the trampoline at school}

we went to the boys' school for their picnic fund raiser. the kids had a great time jumping in the bouncy house, going down the slide, jumping on the huge trampoline and climbing the rock wall .

{insert picture of bobby at the top of the rock wall}

we then headed over to the baseball field to watch andrew play. he did awesome at first base and got two outs.

{insert picture of andrew being baseball ready and looking cute in his uniform}

these games are really getting exciting to watch.

finally, we headed to sofia's pre-school for their spring picnic. more fun games, ice cream and gift baskets. i did win a cool picnic basket with plates, cups, bowls and a $25 gift card to von's. we were just there for a little bit and everyone was exhausted.

{insert picture of the kids with all of their prizes. oh and sofia's face is filthy from dirt and popsicle}

we could not wait to get home, take showers and put the kids to bed. the heat was really a drag. i can't wait to get to bed.

{insert picture of me cozy in bed. not really but you get the idea}

hope everyone had a good weekend. can't wait to get our computer back, or get the new one. hmmmmmmmmm . . . .

technology aghhhhhhh

so, our computer is not working. it is both frustrating and freeing. i realize how much i depend on the computer/internet; checking email for important information . . .ok for sales at gap, but that's important to me, looking up a phone number, keeping up with online classes, and just being connected. so i'm taking this time to do other things. things that i don't do because i am on the computer.

it looks like we need a new hard drive and we may have even lost some data. but the guy at the genius bar was so cool. he was helping me with my computer, resetting someone else's ipod and helping someone else with their iphone. seriously, when i grow up i want to be a mac genius. i've been calling around getting repair quotes and now i am proficient in mac-speak. 80 gigs, 4200 rpm, data recovery. i even sound like i know what that all means. that is until one guy started talking about api and isi's. huh?

so i do have a post that i started with pictures and an update but i can't access that until the computer is fixed and that may take a few days. also don't email me cause that's not working either. thank goodness bobby brought home his work computer so i can log in and check out the latest.

hope everyone is doing well. and i hope you had a wonderful mother's day. as soon as i am back in business i will post pics from andrew's birthday.

see you soon!

life is good

we have been enjoying life around here. it feels like summer has begun already. it's been so long since my last post that i missed by blog anniversary. it would have been 4/24. it's been a year since i started this blog and kept a written record on a somewhat continuous basis. it's been fun and i hope everyone enjoys checking in every so often to see what we are up to.

so let's get updated:

since my last post, jordan came back from his outdoor adventure trip very happy and comfortable with being away. kind of glad that we know he can manage without us for a few days. and he was even wearing different clothes than the ones he wore when he left. that's always a good sign. he got home on a friday and saturday he and i took a surprise trip to sacramento to visit my friend april and his friend owen. it was a surprise to all three of them. i was there to celebrate april's 39th birthday (wink, wink). we had so much fun shopping at the outlet mall, going out to dinner and seeing a play at this oh-so-tiny playhouse. i even met some of her friends and loved the adult, yet girly conversations. we had a flight home on sunday, which made it a super short trip.

since then we celebrated march/april/may birthday's with the brockett clan. i can't believe it's going to be andrew's 6th birthday soon. seriously, where has the time gone? yes he was in need of a haircut and he got one, but not very short cause that's how we like it. we are having a baseball birthday lunch at our house on his actual birthday.

we celebrated good report cards at robbin's basket (as sofia calls it) and we went to disneyland on a no school day. sofia loved the princess coronation ceremony where she saw belle, sleeping beauty and mulan up close and personal. andrew and jord rode splash mountain and loved it.

sofia and i are enjoying some new toys at the house. i bought this cute game at target the other day. the spinner tells you the color or shape that you need to pile on the sandwich next. and every time you do sofi and i have to say "woaoaoa" until it topples over. she really has fun with it. and she received the cutest little camping set from our friends last night. it's a car that is pulling a trailer with beds, camping chairs, an ice chest and campfire. too cute.

so this weekend we had a chance to visit some old friends and make new ones. friday the kids and i had a playdate with a family that also has three kids; one in jordan's class, one in andrew's class and one that goes to sofia's preschool. and the similarities don't end there. both jordan and rebecca, the eldest girl, are avid readers and writers. jonathan and andrew had fun playing lego star wars together and running around in the backyard. sofia and rachel played princess dress up and rode scooters. and it's great when we enjoy the parents too. they invited us to stay for dinner, thai food, bobby's favorite. and the best part is that they live in granada hills, not too far from us.

saturday we visited a friend of bobby's whose daughter just turned one. i so wish i could post a picture of her, but i need to get permission from them first. she is an absolute cutey!! and so happy. the kids were wild about getting to "swim" in their hot tub. the bubbles made sofia giggle. we were just a few miles away from our friends the conroys, so we stopped by for a visit and ended up staying for dinner, yummy cuban food.

finally yesterday we went to andrew's t-ball game. this was the first day that they were doing coach pitch. andrew was the last batter and he smacked it both times. i was jumping and screaming from the stands with excitement. the little guy did it!! so proud of him. of course he also played catcher and refused to put his glove up to stop any of the balls, but whatever. we then had our friends the winter's over to celebrate christmas. yes, i said christmas. we see each other all the time but hadn't made a date to celebrate and exchange gifts until now. i think we will make it a tradition to celebrate way after the holiday.

so that's about it. i'm all caught up and will try to post again soon. trying to work up to 100 posts. hope everyone is well. leave a comment just to say hi so i know who is visiting us here.

priceless

a pair of boy's jeans from old navy . . . $16.50
a pair of boy's new balance tennis shoes . . .$39.95 (actually it ended up being $65 because it was buy one get one half off at famous footwear and andrew saw a pair of sketchers that he had to have)
packing a duffle bag for your 9 year old who is heading to camp for three days . . .nerveracking and sad and exciting and scary and incredible.

yes, jordan is heading to science camp with his class on wednesday. when i reminded him that it was this week he gave me a look of tentative excitement. he has never been away like this before but i'm sure he will have a blast. and science camp, are you kidding me? that is right up his alley. but no phone calls, or dinners together or car rides to and from school for three days. trying not to show the sadness.

he gets back on friday and then we go to the dodger game. saturday there is a BIG surprise planned for him and someone else that i am not allowed to say more than that. but i am super excited for that.

til then we are working on a paper mache mask for a book report. lots of fun around here.

oh and by the way, the potty wars have begun. she has won the battle (no potty in a week.) i am wounded but recovering. the war rages on and I WILL FIGHT BACK AND WIN!!!

no fools

but lots of . . ."i don't have homework today. april fool's." "i didn't eat my lunch. april fool's" "i didn't get a treat at school today." and after i gave him a treat he says "april fool's. i did have a treat at school." he got in trouble for that one. but i forgave him because today there is a fine line between april fool's jokes and lies. and he is walking that line ever so carefully.

here's the "treat" he spoke of.


we made these for each of their grades. almost 60 of them. super easy to make. i saw them on this website and couldn't resist making them for school. the kids loved them, but weren't fooled that it was the real deal.


sofia and i are struggling with the potty thing. we had four days of success and today she didn't go all day until 3pm when we were picking up the boys from school. at that point i resorted to a diaper because i knew what was coming and i wasn't ready for it. so she went in the diaper and she is back in underpants. we'll see how it goes. this is so emotional for me. on one hand i want to be free of the diapers (and save the $50+ we spend every month on them) and on the other hand it is the last of the "baby stuff" around here. but i'm ready, she's ready, we are all ready. so let's go.

and that's no joke.

birthday, holidays and how i gained 16 pounds

really has it been that long since my last post? before my birthday which seems like a long time ago. so let's start there:

had a great birthday celebrating with my family for breakfast, lunch and dinner. and always a dessert to sing "happy birthday". waffles with lots of whipped cream for breakfast, strawberry shortcake at lunchtime and mochi with chocolate syrup for dessert. i had the best day and even managed to watch andrew play some t-ball in between. so that's how the first five lbs came on.

a few days later i got a delivery. these beautiful flowers from bobby's boss. the note said: happy belated birthday wishes, gioconda. have a great year -michael
it was so thoughtful and amazing. and he even knew what my favorite flowers are, hydrangeas and ranunculas. how cool is he!

then we had a fun st. patty's day celebration. first at school with green bagels and cream cheese and a leprachaun hunt. then at home for a "green dinner." spinach pasta, ceasar salad, green milk and cupcakes with lots of green frosting. (+2lbs.) the kids thought the idea was cool but they were not fans of the pasta.

that same week was andrew's invention convention at school. each of the kids was asked to bring in househould items that would have been thrown away. at school they used these items to create something new. andrew's was called "drillhead" and he invented it to make him any food he wanted. ironic, seeing that he's not a big eater.
it was fun to walk into the classroom to see each child with their invention in front of them. we went around and asked them questions about their inventions. bobby's favorite (after andrew's of course) was the one that could do homework for you while you played video games. super cute ideas.

the next day was easter/spring celebrations and a bake sale at school. i made chocolate covered pretzels and smores for the bake sale and ate a few (+1lb.) then we had lunch with the third graders from el pollo loco, mac and cheese and cookies (no pounds gained because i was so busy helping the kids that my plate of food was thrown away twice. and the cookies were gone by the time i got to the dessert table.) right after that i went to andrew's class for an egg hunt and coloring some eggs. (no pounds gained because there was no food to consume.)

finally that brings us to this weekend. we had the best time at "the heights" celebrating easter with bob and d, the dakes, and our friends the conroys. i worked with juliet back at dreamworks and we have been good friends ever since. we packed in as much fun as possible into four days. the boys took skiing and snowboarding lessons at sierra vista. andrew had his first lesson and did awesome. smiling and plowing and falling but still smiling. bobby took a snowboard lesson with jord. from what he said and by how he looked when they came back, i think he will stick with what he knows best.

they also went quad riding, fishing, took the kids to the park, played for hours outside, had the best easter egg hunt, colored eggs (without a kit), played sequence (juliet and i smoked bobby and bill in our tournament on monday night. can you say 15 to 2, or something like that.) oh and we had dessert upon dessert. strawberry triffle, caramel loaf, cupcakes, banana boats with chocolate chips and ice cream, and easter candy. (+8lbs). it really did feel like i came home with extra weight and a lot of fun memories.

so now the kids are home the rest of the week. today was declared a pajama day, except for bobby who had to go to work, sorry (but you had coffee this morning and i didn't, so we're even.) we are going to the movies tomorrow with sue and to the park on friday with my mom and sister-in-law. and then the week will be over.

starting some spring cleaning this week. kitchen pantry and fridge + all the laundry from the weekend. definitely going to make some of these, with this
i'd love to get to sofia's room and clear out the junk and old clothes. but i am so tired and have no energy at this point.

hope everyone had a happy easter. i'm off to exercise or have a slim fast or take a nap. see you all soon.

what's going through my head

• conference today with andrew's teacher to discuss how he is doing socially in class (this should be fun).
• kids are off for the next four and a half days, happy. . . really.
• opening day ceremonies for little league on saturday morning, at 8 am!!!!!!
• first t-ball game on sunday.
• it's my birthday weekend. happy birthday to me!
• busy organizing, printing and storing my photos into storage binders.
• getting my haircut tomorrow, can't wait.
• wishing i could go shopping, spring clothes look so cute. and maybe a pair of brown heels?
• not excited about daylight savings day on sunday. i need to sleep.
• we have captain crunch peanut butter cereal in the house. oh no i di-int.
• happy about the beautiful weather we are having today.
• it's probably time to put sofia on the potty.
  

now you know what is happening around here. hope you are well.

i just need a british accent

Take the Quiz here!

this is Austen heroine i am most like. i love emma thompson, and sense and sensibility but it made me feel a little old and safe.

thought i'd send this fun link along to you .. . .check it out. can't wait to see the jane austen book club. it's next on our netflix cue.

have a happy monday.

lunar eclipse

thought i would share that tonight there will be a lunar eclipse beginning at 7pm. jord is working on a moon phase project for school and he's been anticipating this day for a few weeks. i hope it's not too cloudy to see.

hope everyone is well. working on a few things . . .a bake sale for the school. . .school albums . . .someone's bridal shower. all fun stuff.

enjoy your day.

happy love day

ahhh . . . i love love! maybe it's because i am in love with my family.

the celebrations started on tuesday in our mommy and me class. sofia handed out her mickey mouse club valentines and then we took a walk to the post office to mail one she had made for us. here she is dropping it in the mailbox. we got it in the mail yesterday. so cute.


today, sofia and i have been party hopping. first to andrew's class. my goodness!! the chaos that 20 five year old cause. i don't know how you teachers do it. and these teachers were doing it in an orderly fashion. but when it comes to kids and candy, watch out. anyway, andrew seemed to have a good time and came home with a bunch of treats. we are waiting for bobby to come home to open them all.


then it was off to jordan's class for a more low key event. the teachers like to keep it simple, and as a room mom i appreciate that. they decorated their valentine's bags, passed out their cards and treats and then had a brownie and some milk. thanks sue for making those. the kids devoured them. (i didn't get a good picture of jordan at school, so i owe him one.)

tonight we are having a romantic dinner for five. i am making this for us and the kids are getting happy meals. for dessert, chocolate caramel fondue with brownies, marshmallows, bananas and strawberries. next year we need to order out!!

wishing everyone a happy valentine's day.

i voted!

have you?

took sofia to our polling place after our class. she voted too. well for roosevelt. they let her use the practice one.

i'm really inspired by some of the blogs i've been to today regarding the candidates. i don't want to get political here. this is not that kind of blog and i know i'm not the most informed person when it comes to this stuff and i'm not looking to start a debate with anyone. i just go by what i feel. and i'm feeling something for someone.

so this is as political as i'll get, GO VOTE!


no statement here, just a cute picture of sofia.

Andrew for President

i've been learning some interesting things about andrew lately. here are a few of them:

-in music class the teacher asked each student what their favorite song was. andrew's answer; "the pretender" and when asked who sings it he answers "dave grohl" (lead singer of the foo fighters. he also knows that dave used to be the drummer for nirvana). his other favorite song; "yyz by rush". so this week the teacher took the kids favorite songs and downloaded them on her computer and played them for the class today. i'm sure andrew had a big smile on his face when his song came up.

-one of his teachers was asking the class what they would do if they were president. andrew answers, "i would pick a snail up by it's shell. i wouldn't even care if it was slimy." he also tells me that he would go to mexico everyday to eat lobster.

-he doesn't like the book jumanji. we read that and he had a look of fear on his face as the animals came to life. cross that off the bedtime reading list.

-he really likes math. he is doing addition and subtraction in his head.

-his new favorite word is "irony."

love this kid!!

rain, rain, go away . . .

actually i love this weather, i just wish we had a fireplace to cozy up to. we canceled our trip to kernville this weekend because it was supposed to snow heavily. some disappointed boys here today. i'm relieved because i wasn't looking forward to the drive up and back.

so we had no plans this weekend. but there was much to do. bobby painted our room, while i played with the kiddos. love the new color. tan, goes with everything. moved back to a queen size bed. feeling a little sad. but i have some great bedding for the queen so that's cool. and our room looks so much bigger. we are shopping for a dresser, night stands, tv. can't wait to get it all done.

we've been playing a lot of rockband lately. it helps pass the time and get some energy out.

sofia is sick, again. yucky cough, little fever. she comes over to me with a tissue and says, "i have boogers."

kids have been home since thursday at noon for parent teacher conferences. none for us though, that's a good thing. everyone is doing great. andrew is really picking up reading. he passed his first sight word test, on the first try. jordan is working on his times tables through 9. he also has a three day science camp that he is going to in April. excited for that.

bobby moved into new offices at universal. bungalows, very hollywood. we're hoping to visit soon. nothing new for me. still trying to be creative in some way. taking another online class that starts in february. excited for that.

i think that's it. i'll share some pics soon. stay dry and see you all soon.

it's been a while

and i have had a few requests to post. but i've been sick, sofia has been sick and we are dealing with a mold issue in our house. so i've been a little off over the last week and not really feeling the creative flow lately. so how about i just get you up to date and i'll share a more exciting post later? great.

like i said i'm sick with a pretty bad cold. finally went to the dr. friday and i'm on day three of zpac. everyone i know is taking or has taken it. i feel better today but sofia is coughing and cranky. she has been outright mean to andrew, poor guy. and he just tries to find a way to make her happy. we are hoping to be better soon.

MOLD - we hate it, but we have it. it seems that during the rainy and windy days water came into our room via a small hole that someone, who shall remain nameless, made to put cable in our room and didn't patch. it soaked our carpet and gave us this great moldy scent. yesterday my dad and nameless guy pulled up all of the carpet. we were going to change it eventually but now we get to do it soon. it may even lead to a room re-decoration.


the boys enjoyed a weekend in the snow last weekend with their ymca group. despite the request to stay home and avoid the "storm of the century" they went up. and of course had a great time and saw some beautiful fresh snow on sunday. sofia and i stayed home for a girl's weekend. we saw "cinderella" and "little mermaid" and had popcorn and of course got sick together.

thursday i took the kids to get their haircut. and when sofia took her turn we decided to even out her hair. i can't seem to post the pic i have but she looks adorable. i can't wait to see her in this that i got for her yesterday.

last night bobby and i saw "once." it's out on video so we watched it in our cozy bed in the living room. lovely movie, wonderful songs, sweet story. very low budget, low lighting, and it's irish so some of it is hard to understand but we both LOVED it and one of us cried at the end. you know, nameless guy.

hope everyone is having a good weekend.

new beginnings

gotta love that. happy 2008 to all. we are getting a late start today after partying until 2am. ok, we are dorks because we were playing wii, not really partying. but we were still up until 2am so that counts for something.

want to catch up with so much but i thought i would start the new year off with my word for 2008. last year my word was "create." not just in the artistic sense but in creating the life that i want for me and for my family. it was fun to have a word as my anchor. and i definitely kept it in my mind all year long

this year i knew what i wanted to focus on and i found the perfect word: RESOLVE. the definition i am going with is; (n) a firm decision to do something. there are so many aspects of my life that are in need of some resolve. i will tackle them one at a time. but this is the big picture. i am the type of person that thinks too much before making decisions. whether it's a life choice, a paint color, or what kind of creamer to buy. i think and debate and question and sometimes never end up making a decision. so that is why i resolve to have resolve this year(?). i will make decisions that will have a positive impact on my life. i am ready for this. and i am excited to move forward with confidence.

ok, that's done. anyone else thinking of a word? i was inspired by ali edwards who put out the challenge last year and i loved it. post a reply if you have a word for 2008.

and finally i have a lot of pictures to share from the past week. but here is one of my favorites from yesterday. it's hard to believe we were here in the morning and back at home to celebrate new year's with my family. thank you melissa for the picture.

oh yeah and today is my biggest little boy's birthday. wow, 9! i'll post more about his happy day tomorrow. and write something touching about what a wonderful boy he is. that's my decision for now.