13 moments of 2013

it was a good year for the mitas clan.  maybe not in the way we had anticipated, but nonetheless it was a good year.

here are 13 moments from 2013 that stand out:

1. jordan's graduation from cha.
saying goodbye to his school and his friends. leaving the safety of this wonderful place for the bigger adventures.  taking with him confidence and self esteem. it was a bittersweet moment for all of us.

2. starting high school at notre dame
going from a class of 27 to a class of 320.  from a school of 2 hundred to a school of 12 hundred. finding his way with more independence and responsibility.  being a part of the band and the water polo team. making new friends along the way.  experiencing high school life and all that comes with it. it was a change for all of us.

3. camacho family reunion
we worked for many months to put together a weekend for our family.  there was time for  games, food, laughter, and getting to know each other.  it was a great time with our family.

4. andrew's championship baseball season.
it was a roller coaster for him.  he started the season with confidence and then lost his mojo.  he went to every practice and took the game seriously.  he tried so hard but just lacked the belief that he could do it.  and when he had it, he would smack the ball and made an amazing catch in the outfield.  he is a star in our eyes.

5. running my 3rd half marathon.
the training was the hardest i had pushed myself in a long time.  it was a busy time but i made the effort and sacrifice to train, eat right and take care of myself.  the satisfaction that comes from all of that hard work is indescribable and it motivates me to work even harder.

6. this riding picture 
which i can't share enough. it means we had adventure and fun.  it means we were outside of our home and our comfort zone. it means togetherness and love. it means excitement and growth. i love this photo.

7. bobby making a movie in new mexico.
it was exciting for all of us to have bobby producing his first movie. but it was one of the biggest challenges of his career.  he was in charge of the budget, the script, the crew and cast, the schedule.  he was stressed but was on an adventure that he will never forget.  he still talks about the beautiful sky, the great friendships he made and all that he learned.  can't wait to see it on the big screen.

8. dealing with life at home while he was gone.
while bobby was away i had to deal with the house, the kids, 2 schools, 4 schedules and all kinds of emotions. it was a tough time for all of us.  if it wasn't for the help of so many family and friends, i'm not sure i would have made it through without going mad.  it was a learning experience for me as well; constantly reminding myself that i can do this and we will be ok. and i did it and we were better than ok.

9. watching sofia grow up 
this year i noticed she had grown into a big girl.  maybe it was the growth spurt and the change in her face.  maybe it was her attitude; she seems more like a teenager than an 8 year old.  she has so many friends and is a good student.  but i think it's seeing the sunshine radiate from her soul.

10. a girls' trip to palm springs.
spending the weekend with four women who inspire me and make me laugh.  we had great food, relaxed by the pool, went dancing, and did some shopping.  it's important to me to take a little time away from my everyday life. to focus on me and being a friend, sister and woman.  it reenergizes me and motivates me.  what more could i ask for? only that we do it again.

11. growing our garden.
it took planning and tending to.  we watched it grow everyday and then reaped the benefits.  it produced in abundance and we enjoyed every bite.

12. a burglary.
i hate to bring bring up something so negative but this made a huge impact on us.  2 weeks ago our home was burglarized.  it happened in the morning while i was at school celebrating the holidays with the kids.  they came in took our computers, xbox, some of our christmas gifts and our feeling of safety.  i came home and discovered what had happened and wept.  it was devastating and invasive and it angered us.  we know the material can be replaced, but the feeling of our home being sacred and welcoming was temporarily ruined.  we're working our way back to normal.  we replaced the stolen gifts and the xbox right away.  it looks like i'm getting a new laptop (i'm currently using bobby's computer which was safely with him at work) and we are organizing our neighborhood so we keep watch of each other.  but this one hurt and will have an impact for a long time.  we hope to turn it into a positive impact.

13. the fiesta bowl parade.
jordan and i ended the year on a trip to phoenix for the fiesta bowl parade with the notre dame band.  so many stories to share.  traveling with 120 high school students was a challenge.  but we had a great time and got to be a part of something so special.  thankful to have been a part of the trip.

i look forward to the moments that will make 2014 special.  happy new year!

merry merry

wishing you all of the joy of this season!

love,
the mitas family

2013 weekly menu: week 50

inspired to make my own sauce last week.  lots of cooking time, but so worth it.

week 50?
gulp.

i had to check the calendar a few times to make sure my number was correct.  and it is.  week 50 of 52. day 344 of 365.  crazy huh?

getting ready for christmas and celebrating the days in between.  this week alone has notre dame fall sports award banquet, mother's guild meeting and holiday social, sharing traditions in 2nd grade (making tamales), kids' holiday concert, a getaway to palm springs, cookie bake and my dad's company christmas/birthday party.  how will it fit into one week?


weekend eats:
saturday: pizza and salad for my nephews birthday
sunday: pizza and salad for my mom's birthday

making this week:
monday: tomato soup and grilled cheese
tuesday: lemon chicken and hummus, rice and salad
wednesday: bbq salmon, mashed potatoes and lemon broccoli 
thursday: scrambled egg burritos (it's concert night)
friday: eat out

hope you are enjoying the season as much as we are.

2013 weekly menu: week 49

bobby made the pumpkin pie using this recipe.

feeling happy and grateful and really tired.  these last five days were so good, so good. but getting up this morning and back to the grind was hard.  good thing is that we have 3 weeks and then we're off on break for 2 weeks.  bad thing is i have 3 weeks to do what needs to be done for christmas.

we got a lot done this weekend; finalized the christmas list, planned our december weekends, cleared some space in the garage, ordered christmas cards, put up the christmas tree and decorated the house.  so i guess i'm feeling accomplished as well.

this week it's all about making use of the leftovers.

weekend eats:
saturday: chinese take out
sunday: tacos, rice and cake to celebrate bobby's birthday

making this week:
monday: turkey pot pie ; )
tuesday: creamy white bean soup, bread
wednesday: tacos, rice
thursday: pasta with homemade ragu
friday: deep dish pizza

on thanksgiving i also started the mile a day challenge.  i'm running one mile everyday (more if i have time) between thanksgiving and christmas.  working my way up to training again in january.  i'll have to run more than a mile a day in order to burn off all of this holiday food! follow me on instagram and keep me motivated.

have a great week.

happy thanksgiving!

we are so very thankful today.
we are home enjoying this time together
playing video games
watching football
doing book reports
starting my december daily book
running a mile
making a pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and green beans
drinking good coffee (and later good wine)
feeling inspired
catching up on breaking bad (seriously, we are on season 3 and can't stop watching)
planning for christmas
decorating the house
getting ready for a birthday
cleaning
enjoying the beautiful weather
and so much more.

happy thanksgiving, yo!

2013 weekly menu: week 48

fruit stuffed french toast

it's gonna be a great week.  a short school week. a short work week. lots of good food, football, visiting with family, generations day, birthday celebrations, putting up the tree, cleaning out the garage, getting ready for christmas and being together.  looking forward to all of it.


weekend eats:
saturday:  homemade greek food at a school event
sunday: fish tacos at a family birthday

making this week:
monday: sausage and spinach soup, ciabatta parmesan toast
tuesday: chicken pomodori panini, green salad
wednesday: seared ahi tuna salad
thursday: thanksgiving dinner
friday:  leftovers or pizza

hope you have a good week ahead of you.

2013 weekly menu: week 47

tomato soup and lasagna grilled cheese.

this week just got away from me. it's been a very long week, but also a very tiring week.  here we are on friday and i'm just getting to posting our menu.

i made the menu up as the week went on - i know shocker.  made multiple trips to the store and even put one meal together by opening the fridge at 5pm and coming up with something.  that was not a good feeling. but it ended up being a great meal - see tuesday.


weekend eats:
saturday:  pizza
sunday: mexican food

making this week:
monday: caldo de pollo - mexican chicken soup
tuesday: chicken enchiladas, rice
wednesday: grilled chicken sausages, vegetables and wild rice medley
thursday: sun dried tomato and goat cheese ravioli, focaccia bread
friday:  dinner with family

this coming weekend is a relaxed one for us.  looking forward to a little catch up time and maybe writing a bit.  we'll see.

have an amazing weekend!

2013 weekly menu: week 46

food paks put together at children's hunger fund by the 6th grade class to send out to needy families in the valley.  this was a great way to spend a thursday morning.

enjoying spending the day at home with the kids today. no school, no (more) practice, no carpool or rushing around.  taking a breath as we slow down a bit.

our evenings this week are  another story. between meetings, banquets and football, we won't have dinner together at home all week.  so i'll plan for the best.

weekend eats:
saturday:  notre dame gala
sunday: chinese food

making this week:
monday: tomato soup and grilled cheese
tuesday: crockpot salsa verde chicken tacos, rice
wednesday: salmon and hummus salad
thursday: water polo banquet
friday:  football playoffs - eat out

now it's time to get out of my pajamas and get to the store.

hello november

hello fall weather...eventually

hello boots, sweaters and scarves.

hello to slowing down.

hello to grandparents day at cha.

hello to gratitude.

hello to soups and hot tea.

hello to fresh baked bread and pumpkin muffins.

hello to getting ready for the holidays.

hello to teacher conferences and report cards.

hello to football and staying on top of my game.

hello to getting my running shoes on again.

hello to weekly family birthday celebrations that don't end until new years.

hello to finishing the unfinished

hello to making plans for the new year.

hello to less anxiety.

hello to enjoying the everyday moments.

let's make this the best month yet!

2013 weekly menu: week 45

bobby and i had lunch at gatten sushi last week.  we came here because we heard the sushi is served on a conveyer belt.  sounds like fun.  the suhsi comes around to your table and you grab what you want.  the prices are determined by the color of the plates.  cool concept, ok sushi.

starting the week off with some energy and motivation.  maybe it comes from the extra hour of sleep we all got on saturday night.  or maybe that i'm getting excited about the holidays. or maybe it's the fact that it feels like a new beginning in so many ways.

regardless of the why, i'm going with it, starting with dinners this week.  challenging myself to try a few new things and getting myself organized in the kitchen. let's see how long this lasts.

weekend eats:
saturday:  family birthday dinner
sunday: mexican food

making this week:
monday: seared ahi tuna salad - i'm going to try and recreate the salad from yard house.
tuesday: blue cheese chicken burgers
wednesday: lemon pepper pasta with shrimp
thursday: pork tenderloin with apricot glaze, potatoes and salad
friday:  water polo tournament - eat out

hoping this week lives up to its potential.

a happy halloween

this past week went by in a flash.  a week ago i was anxious about bobby coming home and now i can't believe he's been here for 7 days.  it's an adjustment for all of us but we are happy to be a family of 5 again.

one thing i kept on my mind while he was gone was that by halloween he would be home trick or treating with the kids. and he was.

the day started off at our school's annual halloween carnival.  the pto puts on this event on halloween day which makes it exciting (and exhausting) for everyone.

there was a parade on the sport's court with each grade showing off their costumes.

sofia, as a disco girl, and her friend madison.

andrew, as a hobo, and his horse friend chance.

after the parade the kids came down to the lower parking lot where class booths had been set up with fun games and activities.  we had a trackless train, bouncy houses and acroflights, face painting, pumpkin decorating, a book fair, snacks and lunch.

it's one of the biggest events the pto puts on and it's always so creative and fun.

after closing up the carnival, the kids and i went to jordan's water polo game.  they played crespi which is our biggest rival in the league.  unfortunately, our varsity team lost in overtime which knocked them out of the playoffs, but the jv team won 6-11!!  go knights.

we left pierce college and headed across the valley to trick-or-treat with friends. the kids were energized and eager to fill their bags.

we went to the.best.neighborhood to get candy.  i have never seen so many people walking around. there were lines at people's doors, amazing decorations and one house gave out king size candy bars to everyone!

one street had a table set up to give out candy to the kids and another table with wine and cheese for the adults.  yup, we're coming back here every year.

by the end of the day my feet were killing me, i felt exhausted and drained, but my heart was happy. we were together as i had imagined and that's the best treat of all.

2013 weekly menu: week 44

i wanted to do a post today that said - who cares what we're eating this week as long as the five of us are eating together. but that's not true.  in fact this week is all about good family meals.

weekend eats:
saturday: 2nd grade parent social - the theme was food that comes in pairs (i brought milk and cookies)
sunday: chinese food

making this week:
monday: corn chowder and turkey paninis
tuesday: chicken tostadas
wednesday: crispy fish with lemon dill sauce, green beans, oven roasted potatoes
thursday: candy or pizza
friday: eat out - jordan has a h2o polo tournament

we are all smiles and enjoying having bobby back home.  he was thrown into a busy weekend and picked up right where he left off.  and what a great week for him to be home with 2 water polo games and a tournament, a family birthday party this weekend and the kids' halloween carnival on thursday.  life is full and busy and perfect.

hope your weekend was a happy one!!

our weekend in photos

just a typical weekend for us.

friday, jordan and the jv water polo team had a game at harvard westlake.  the jv team did not fare well but varsity won their match.  it was amazing to see jordan in the stands with his teammates, cheering them on and then celebrating their victory with a t-shirt rally.

he went straight from the game to notre dame for the last home football game of the season.  it's been so fun going to high school football games and cheering the knights as they win, and lose.  but what makes it even more exciting is watching the band take the field at halftime.  they play good music and put on a show.

this has been such a great experience for him.  he has met so many friends and has been able to share something that he is truly passionate about.  he has been challenged and is taking his commitment very seriously.  he is already looking forward to next year and being a solid member of the drumline.  keeping my fingers crossed that his audition goes well.

one of my favorite things at the home games is to listen to the drumline practice before the game.  they really get everyone pumped up and excited.

in the past i have helped serve snack for the band, sold notre dame merchandise, and worked the snack bar for the athletic boosters.  it's a great way to experience the community at notre dame.  the high school kids standing around socializing and not paying attention to the game - fascinating.  the snack stand is hectic and fast, but you get to meet a lot of parents and students.

for the last game i sat in the stands and enjoyed the game with andrew and sofia - who would rather be any place else - and the band boosters.  we ate pretzels and subway and tried our hand at the 50/50 raffle.  glad i was able to do that one last time.  our home season was short with only 4 home games. but hopefully the team makes the playoffs and we will get a few more games in our stadium.

saturday, yes saturday, we got up bright and early to get jordan to notre dame by 6am.  the band left for their review in riverside.  i decided not to go this weekend with them. jordan texted me after the award ceremony to tell me the band won first place.  that is a huge accomplishment now that they are in a very competitive division.  check out the video.

so proud of their hard work.  looking forward to seeing them compete this weekend in anaheim.

sunday we had breakfast at home and then church.  sofia went to a birthday party with friends and i spent the evening hanging out with "the girls" at the yardhouse.

candlelight, a bottle of wine, and the slowest service ever!  but we had such a blast laughing and sharing stories. and we are making some fun plans together.

we have a few more hectic weekends ahead with a water polo tournament, more parades, birthday parties and school dances.  but with two of us sharing the load it will be easier.  i can't wait for that!

2013 weekly menu: week 43

hummus and sauvignon blanc from yardhouse.

i am struggling a bit these days trying to stay on menu.  finding ourselves eating out a lot more than i would like.  our family dinners aren't the same when the whole family is not together.  that will all change soon with bobby coming home and the end of water polo and football season in sight.

i try to be practical and use what we have on hand to make dinner easy. but sometimes easy is ordering out.  especially when it's just 3 of us.  i know we'll get back to the kind of dinners we love soon.

weekend eats:
saturday: chinese food
sunday: seared ahi salad from yardhouse

making this week:
monday: bbq pork chops, potatoes and green beans
tuesday: chicken tostadas
wednesday: sweet potato ravioli, salad
thursday: pizza
friday: football fare

have a great week.

2013 weekly menu: week 42

we had to prematurely cut a few branches from our persimmon tree because they were hanging over into the neighbors yard.  i filled 3 big bags with fruit that i hope will still ripen. not sure what i will do with all of the fruit.  cookies, bread and jam maybe?

weekend eats:
saturday: sushi and chinese food with my in-laws
sunday: leftovers

making this week:
monday: blt and tomato soup
tuesday: spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread
wednesday: entomatadas, rice
thursday: bbq salmon, mashed potatoes, green beans
friday: anything but hot dogs and nachos

well we survived the week. i can't even explain how tired we all are. taking today to make a huge to-do list.  prepping for another fun,  but not so exhausting, week.

wishing you a great week too!

around here: october

finally getting a post on here during the week.  i think about writing, i want to write but i sit down at the computer and can't start, or get distracted by email, or really never have the time to sit down at the computer.

lots of catching up on photos and stories.  there are so many lost or forgotten by now.  but here's what's happening around here.

this is jordan's water polo game day uniform.  i love seeing him dressed up like this.  the team may not be doing that well but they look sharp. (side note: jordan scored his first goal, and the only goal of the game, yesterday. so proud of him.)

working my way through this six pack.  got a mixed pack at trader joe's and finding what i like.  so far the pumpkick is the best but i'm only half way through.

here's jord's other uniform - his away game band uniform.  that's him right in the middle.  the game was at chaminade on friday and what a nail biter. it ended in a field goal attempt with controversy.  no comment since i think some a few chaminade moms read my blog, but it was really disappointing.

in jordan's free time he plays drums in a band.  they played on saturday at a music store.  in the end they were disappointed with their performance but it was a learning experience for everyone.  can't wait to see them perform again and rock it.

trying really hard to get started on this book.  i've been carrying it around with me for a month and am on page 3.  good so far...

oops, i neglected the garden too.  and found crazy, overgrown zucchini!

saw this on the sidewalk by notre dame.  love!

here's some of my chalkboard art for school's pto drive.  love the ease of the boards and that we can use them over and over for other fundraisers and events.  it will be a shame to erase this though.

the pigs are in the house.  forgot all about this game until unlce jessie and gaby brought it over.  we are having fun teaching the kids how to play.

somebody had a birthday. and somebody loves teen beach movie.

someone else is constantly building legos...and leaving them all over the house.

the countdown is on.  just a few more weeks and he'll be home and smothered with love.  he is on the biggest and hardest adventure of his career.  can't wait to see him.

if you add pumpkin to something, i will buy it.  i did not take a picture of the pumpkin spice english muffins, but they were good.

majestic buttes.

and to end, just an announcement that i am in second place in our fantasy football league.  i play the number one team this weekend.  tacocorp is going down! that's all.

working on another post for tomorrow but making no promises.  

thanks for reading.