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.