Currently | April 2019

Ah, an oldie but one of my favorite ways to tell the story of right now.

So here goes:

Listening to Musical soundtracks.  After Sofia's show this weekend I've had the Into the Woods soundtrack on repeat on Spotify.  And then I listen to Dear Evan Hansen.

Reading  Sourdough but have lost interest in the story.  I am 3/4 of the way through and will finish but I'm not super excited by the story any more.  I'll push through and move on.  I am listening to The Heart's Invisible Furies and absolutely loving it!! I also picked up The Path Made Clear at Target and am reading that one before bed.

Clearing my desk off at the end of every work day. Putting my word clarity into practice.  Clearing off my desk and putting everything in order so when I walk in in the morning I can start fresh and not feel overwhelmed. it's actually making me more productive.  

Going to a Dodger game this weekend. It's Cody Bellinger bobble head night and Sofia must be there.

Watching Game of Thrones to refresh our memories.  To be honest, we thought the new season started last weekend and just had time to watch the last episode of season 7. With a week to go we have been catching up on the best of the best.  We are huge fans of GOT.  Looking forward to the new season and all that is to come.

Hoping to get some cool things at the Notre Dame event this weekend.  They always have great items at the silent auction. The live auction is beyond my means but they also have a raffle and grand raffle. 

Eating out a lot this week. We have Volleyball games, a softball game/ practice/batting lessons, meeting at Notre Dame, an event at CHA, youth group.  It's hard to plan when people aren't in the same place at the same time.  Maybe next week I'll plan a weekly menu.

Making lasagna soup for an event at school on Friday.  It's one of my favorite events of the year.  The middle school students make bowls and the staff makes the soup. Parents bring food to donate to the food pantry and they take home a bowl. It's a fun community event.

Wondering if I have 92 more stories to tell.

Writing for 8 days in a row is a win.

10 things that make me happy

in honor of david letterman's last show last night, which we haven't seen yet but will watch tonight, i wanted to do a top ten list.

10. paint - i had made time to work on some projects yesterday and had fun playing with paint and stencils. far from perfect but having fun was what i was going for.

9. student showcase - next week the kids will have their student showcase. this is their chance to show us what they have been learning in their units of inquiry. sofia is the mayor of a mini society and will be "selling" yoga lessons. andrew is doing a project on the renaissance - "out of the darkness there is light". excited to see what they have planned.

8. pitch perfect 2 - hoping to see it this weekend. i'm sure it won't live up to the first one but i'm looking forward to seeing it.

7. music - i've been listening to a lot more lately and i love what i'm hearing. like i turn the music up in the car and sing out loud. and the kids do too. our current favorites - uptown funk, honey, i'm good, budapest, shut up and dance, and anything by taylor swift.

6. chef's table - this series is on netflix and i've only seen the first episode but it's everything i love.  getting to know the way chef's think about the food they prepare. my favorite quote from the first episode is "one of the most important ingredients in his food is memory." YES!

5. 3 day weekend - looking forward to everything this weekend has to offer, including seeing family on sunday, a birthday get together for andrew, baseball game and time off.

4. disneyland's diamond celebration - i've been seeing lots of pictures on instagram and hearing details from my mother in law about the fun stuff going on at the park. we'll try and schedule one trip over the summer and then again during christmas.

3. irish knight band - i can't put into words what an incredible experience this has been for jordan, and for us. we love the community within the community. the kids are so talented. it will be hard to say goodbye to the seniors and their parents, many of who helped us get through our freshman year. #goknights

2. peonies - i have a few favorite flowers; ranunculus, gardenias and peonies. i really love the soft colors that these come in. happy to see them at trader joe's this week and i had to buy a bunch. lovely and delicate.

1. end of the school year in sight - always a mix of emotions, but overall it's a happy time. no more schedules and homework. time to be together and relax. jordan has finals next week and the kids get out in june. it's all winding down now and we're ready for summer.

looking forward

now that i've remembered all of the fun things our summer was filled with i am thinking ahead and getting ready for fall. the kids have already chosen their halloween costumes.

school will start for everyone on wednesday and that will free up time around here.   there are two big changes for me this year.  i am no longer heading up the pto this year.  truly that has been a full time job for me; being on campus almost everyday, meetings, lots of emails, and planning. this year i get to be involved without the responsibility of getting it all done.    there is a great group taking over this year - huge sigh.

the other decision i made was to not run a half marathon in the fall.  that was a tough one for me. i was looking forward to being on a training schedule and doing a run in temecula's wine country - why am i not doing this?  well, we have football games every friday that end at 11pm which means not getting a good night's sleep.  then saturday mornings (break of dawn) there are parades and water polo tournaments.  with bobby home this year it will make a huge difference, we can take turns coming and going.  but it also means that the other kids don't have to go along for the ride.  the complaints from last year are still so present.  they get to enjoy their weekends too.

fall means cool weather, sweaters, coffee, lots of birthdays and holidays.

september will be epic.  we are looking forward to:

• our 20th wedding anniversary!!! how is that possible?
• the first day of a very exciting school year.
• a back to school picnic, first day of school coffee and movie night.
• taking an online scrapbooking class.
• our trip to toronto - beyond excited for this.
• jordan's band's gig. 
• water polo and football games.  
• jordan performing on the snare at the half time shows.
• a birthday party with dear friends
• taking a calligraphy class with my sister - can't wait!
• finding our new normal with food. we will keep so many of the changes we have made over the last 30 days but i'm ready for some variety.
• the start of the brockett blitz fantasy football league.

luckily we have this three day weekend to get ready for it all.  and then it's go, go, go.

high school | week one

we have (almost) made it through the first week of high school.  we are so tired and ready for the weekend to be here.

the night before school started we met up with jordan's friend and classmate to have our end of the summer, let's start school off with a party get together.  andrew and sofia were spending a few days with family so it was just me and jord.  we met up at mulberry street pizza - is there any other place to go?

jord spotted this autograph on the wall of dave grohl from the foo fighters.

we are up at 5:45 for me and 6:00 am for him every morning to get ready for the day.  his school works off a block schedule so he has 4 classes on blue day and 3 classes on gold day.  gold day also has an x period where they can do homework or study with their teachers.  kind of awesome.  the problem is he has to remember what color day it is and make sure he takes those books and notebooks to school that day.

he decided on a two backpack system for organization.  one backpack holds his blue day class books and notebooks and the other holds his gold day books and notebooks.  he's hoping that will keep him organized and with the right books on the right day.  we'll have to see if this works.

we got to school around 7:30 on monday, just in time to get the embarrassing picture in front of school. they are such good sports.

jordan and ryan have been friends and classmates since pre-school.  they are more like brothers at this point.  we are so happy that ryan (and his parents) chose this as their high school.  maybe we should start looking at colleges together. ; )

day one, and the rest of the week, ran smoothly for jord.  he's been going to school for a few weeks now with band and water polo practice, so he's familiar with the campus and has friends already. he said his teachers are all nice and he's happy with his class load.  phew, huge relief for me.

after school we went to the barber shop to get a clean cut.  they have very strict rules on hair, shoes, clothing, etc.

for dinner we had a date at our favorite mexican place.  it's so nice to hang out just the two of us.  something that i  can already feel slipping away as he gets busier with his own life and not willing to go along with us everywhere.  so i'll enjoy it while i can.

but he is busy.  water polo practice started on tuesday.  wednesday he had a full day of classes then it was practice, a quick bite for dinner and then band til 9pm. the first school football game is next friday. we'll get a chance to see him march during half-time - so excited!!

i think he's adjusting well.  he has to focus on his time management for sure with such a packed schedule.  but that's something he's pretty good at thanks to cha.

the first few days of school i was home alone.  i had plans to get so much done while jord was at school but of course the time went by so quickly.  i did get laundry done and cleaned out my closet. but the kids rooms never got touched.

and while i waited for jordan to finish water polo practice, i cruised ventura blvd. and went into shops i've been wanting to see.

a nice way to spend the afternoon.

the kids spent time with their grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncle in the pool.

eating s'mores, playing skip-bo, eating pancakes, and going to disneyland.

they finally got to ride the cars' ride.  and sofia was very excited that she was tall enough for indiana jones.

thank you to our family for spoiling taking such good care of them.  they felt loved and happy when they got home. and thanks for the pictures.

of course they had to tell bobby all about their adventures, which he thought was very funny.  he's sad to be missing these first weeks. but he will be home soon for a visit and then we are almost halfway through his time away.

so this is our new normal.  at least for the next week.  then the other two start school and it will be complete chaos!  not sure how i will manage, but i will.

so happy for a good week for all of us.

hello july

hello to being halfway through the year.
hello to 2 family reunions.
hello to the last full month of summer vacation for jordan.
hello to 5 more h2o polo games.
hello to crossing more things off our summer list.
hello to adding more things to our summer list.
hello to new books for everyone.
hello to lots of salads and smoothies.
hello to starbucks refreshers.
hello to adventure.
hello to enjoying every minute of the 5 of us together.
hello to inspiration.
hello to organization.
hello to learning and practicing.
hello to being brave.

right now

i need to order more of this film to capture our summer - so fun.
jordan is getting through five hours of water polo practice today.
getting up at 6am in the summer is getting a little easier.  just a little.
i am starving but can't eat - i have a blood test at 9.
i am thinking about the starbucks i am going to get after the test.
our broken dishwasher is being used as a drying rack.
i have 129 photos that need to be developed and put into the album.
we are looking at getting this printer. hopefully so i can do some printing at home.
i am so excited that project life is being sold at michael's. not that i need anything.
bobby's project at work is becoming more of a reality everyday.
our weekends are booked til august.
our tomatoes have 6 little babies on them.
our strawberries have 0.
i have to clean out the pantry.
i am considering this as my next project.
did i mention i was hungry?
we are looking forward to going to the zoo and hanging out with cousins this weekend.
i am looking back at pictures from the weekend and missing the girls.
i better get ready before the other 2 get up.
it's all good.

hello june

hello summer, goodbye school
hello celebrating the marlins as champions!!
hello talent show, 8th grade volleyball game and yearbooks
hello graduation
hello end of the year parties
hello free time
hello shorts, skirts and sandals
hello vegetable and herb garden
hello beach days (and nights too?)
hello girls' weekend
hello fresh, sweet, juicy fruit
hello time for reading, sleeping and swimming
hello baseball camp, summer camp, and staying busy
hello homemade popsicles
hello dinner on the patio
hello to change
hello to taking it easy

looking forward to it all.

before school gets out

another beautiful card from trader joe's.

the other day someone had the nerve to mention how many days of school were left.

10.
10?

10!

ten days til graduation.

10 days til the kids are home all day.
10 days til it's a little more difficult to do what i want, need, have to do.

don't get me wrong.  i am looking forward to summer and time away from school and no homework, schedules or things to do. but with their freedom comes a loss of mine.

so i'll cram everything into the next ten days.  here's what the list looks like for the next 10 days:

• reschedule the dentist appointment that i flaked on a few weeks ago because of a very important school meeting.  not looking forward to the lecture.
• do some summer clothes shopping for all.
• make jordan his graduation present.
• schedule his graduation lunch.
• get myself ready for his graduation.  it's gonna be ugly people.
• get my hair cut (and colored)
• get the kids' hair cut.
• get caught up on project life.
• finish the last two assignments from my one little word class.
• find a new exercise routine.  hopefully one that will get me motivated to keep going during the summer.
• research and book a vacation. a.s.a.p. looks more like a few long weekends at this point.
• schedule those coffee and lunch dates i've been postponing.
• visit this store.
• eat here again.
• spend the gift cards i won from crate and barrel and bed, bath and beyond.
• get a manicure.
• get the car washed.
• clean out the pantry, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets.
• write out our summer bucket list.
• finish up some books so i can get new ones.
• make at least one thing from my diy pinterest board.

i know, i need more than 10 days to accomplish this.  and not everything needs to be done before school gets out but it would be nice to cross some of them off.

i also want to enjoy the routine and structure of the next 10 days.  summers for us are completely about free time, relaxing and being on our own schedule.   

let's see what i can get done today.

a happy recap

this has been an interesting few weeks.  i've been busy with so many different things - it feels like a whirlwind.  i think it's because we're coming down to the end of the school year.  but i also think it's because it's life and life can be crazy sometimes.

here's what's been going on with us lately:

baseball for andrew has been hit or miss.  pun intended.  he seems to have lost his confidence and has not had a hit in quite a few games, until last week.  lots of talking to him and convincing him that he has what it takes.  the worst part was seeing him so upset.  we didn't think he cared.  but his attitude has done a 360 and his performance is starting to reflect that.

feeling a little emotional about jordan graduating in a few weeks.  nine years at the same school is a long time and this school is his home.  at the same time he's been planning for the next four years.  taking placement tests, filling out registration forms, auditioning for the band.  last week notre dame had it freshman reception.  it was nice to see all of these new faces together.  he will be graduating in a class of 24 and starting high school in a class of over 300.  he is so ready.

bobby was away last week on an adventure.  we missed him so much but managed to get through the week without a disaster.  he went from place to place seeing some amazing sights and dreaming of what could be.  i think his dream is going to come true...

and then he was home.

 hanging around with these goofballs. going to see "41" was completely inspiring.  maybe that helped andrew a little.

hiking with the dads and sons from our school.  they saw a rattlesnake on the trail.  luckily it had just eaten so none of the kids were harmed.  beautiful spot for a picnic.

alumni dinner at school. next year these kids will be reunited at this event.  this year they proudly shared where they are headed for high school.  such a close group of friends.  i hope they stay in touch and i look forward to hearing about their accomplishments.

i went solo to the school's gala, but i had lots of friends to share the night with.  it was a casino night and birthday extravaganza.  i won an auction basket filled with cooking goodies, including a $100 gift card to crate and barrel!  the night was a huge success for all.

the volleyball season is almost over.  not the best, but jordan gave a new sport a try.  next year maybe he'll try water polo.

he is also out of control with the rubik's cube.  i can't get over how fast he solves it.  and no, he doesn't take it apart.  he started a trend at school by getting one and teaching his friends how to solve it.  now they're all doing it.  his latest purchase is the 2x2 and the 4x4.  that one is giving him some trouble.  algorithms, twisting, turning, i am so confused.

prepping for 2 more events at school; the tea and the end of the year festival.  this project has something to do with crop circles.  

i don't have time, but i started this.

excited, nervous, jealous.  they are going to have a blast.  and looking at their itinerary, they are going to be wiped out.

tropi-kale smoothie.  yummy!

did my last long run last weekend. 12 miles!!!  it was a killer but i did it.  now we are tapering in preparation for the race next week.  tomorrow we run with the group, just 8 miles this time.  then it's off to the race and beautiful santa inez.  can't wait.

my sister in law and met becky higgins, a scrapbook industry icon.  she has inspired me creatively, as a woman and mom for many years.  her project life system is all the scrapbooking i need in my life.  doable, creative and life changing.  so fun to meet her.

loved finding this in sofia's folder this morning.

but this, this is a treasure.  i hope she always feels this way.

lots of stories to tell, but not a lot of time to sit down and record them.  that has to change.  it's not just about being busy.  i'm enjoying the moments, big and little.  and i want to remember them.  

i will.

have a happy weekend.

i miss u!

Source: blinksoflife.com via Gioconda on Pinterest

forever nuts

i laughed out loud when i read this package while making a cup of tea.  somehow it describes life right now.

i may look calm and collected on the outside but inside i am nuts.

thinking about everything.
working on the next thing.
worrying about what can or did go wrong.
what did i forget? 
thinking about what i would rather be doing.

this week it felt like i was barely getting by.  it is teacher and staff appreciation week at our school.  the pto is in charge of daily events to celebrate our staff and teachers.  it's been a fun week but so busy.

on top of that it was baseball practice and game, volleyball practice (which means twice the drive to and from school), daily homework, bobby's csun lecture, school reports, trying to find lost keys, getting my weekly runs in (i could not function without that), visiting with a friend from out of town.

see what i mean?  nuts.

i learned a long time ago to be honest with myself.  i know i can't do it all. i will kill myself trying. but i do push myself to the edge. i will do the best that i can with the time and energy that i have.

there is a lot of retrospect as well.  making better choices next time.  being better prepared for weeks like this.  it easier to think when you are not caught up in the stress of the moment.  i learn everyday.

and it always works out.

we made it to the end of the week.  the teachers and staff feel appreciated. no notices from school that the kids are failing (at least not yet).  i packed lunches and fed the family every night.  ok, ihop fed them last night, but i did the other nights. i managed to run.  still can't find those keys though.

life might be a little messy and a lot nuts, but it always works out.

by the way, that tea was delicious.  so nutty can also be delicious.

hello april

hello springtime
hello crazy, busy month ( i know, they all are)
hello to baseball and volleyball games
hello to the school gala
hello to a work trip for bobby
hello to being four weeks closer to the big race
hello to staying healthy and injury free
hello to using my camera more - my real camera
hello to a president's speech - andrew as george washington
hello to being four weeks closer to graduation
hello to keeping my balance
hello to some gardening
hello finding peaceful moments

hello april
hello life

hello march

hello birthday month.
hello to a chance to make the most of the next 31 days.
hello to celebrating life.
hello to high school acceptance letters (keeping our fingers crossed).
hello to good news at work. (keeping our fingers crossed)
hello to girls hanging out together.
hello to commitments at school.
hello to the father daughter dance and mother son bowling.
hello to lots of baseball games.
hello to miles of running and training.
hello to another month of getting stronger.
hello to the agoura 10k.
hello to yoga.
hello to warmer weather and cooler clothing.
hello to spring break.
hello to birds making a nest in our backyard.

hello march.
hello life.

2012 happy moments

goodbye 2012.

you will not be forgotten.

we will take you with us on our new adventure.

you were a good year.

filled with happy moments.

playing in the snow.

finding happiness wherever we went.

eating well.

charting our own destiny.

expressing ourselves.

taking on new challenges.

going on adventures.

spending time together.

being champions.

reconnecting with the past.

geeking out.

capturing moments.

being reunited.

uniting in love.

not being amused (with allergies).

welcoming a new little cousin.

celebrating an important birthday.

having a blast with friends.

learning to play.

making new goals.

supporting a cause.

making our voices heard.

sharing our story.

laughing til it hurt.

meeting someone i admire.

feeling loved.

 

enjoying this life. 

hello 2013.

we're ready for you.

let’s do this.