hello february

wow that one snuck up on me.  february is my second favorite month of the year, the first being october.  i don't know if it's valentine's day and seeing all the red and pink around but there is something about this month that makes me go ahhhhh.

or maybe it's because it is the short month before my birthday.  as of today there are 37 days until the big 4-0.  yikes!  not stressing at all.  thinking of ways to celebrate, but alas none of the options involves going to new york for a week to eat, shop and see plays.  maybe next year.

i wanted to do something different this month and focus on the things i love.  life has been a little challenging lately so this will help put me in the right spirit.  i will post everyday for this month with something i love.  don't think i'll make it?  you'll have to check in and see, got that mike?!  and yes i will be making some kind of scrapbook to document.  hoping to work on that tomorrow.  but for today, here is what i love:

28 things i love: day 1

 

Lovey Gummy Tummies from Trader Joes

i am definitely a gummy lover.  any fruity, gummy, chewy candy wins me over, not so much chocolate ,.  so when i found these at my beloved tj i knew i had to try them.   they have a little burst of cherry flavor in the middle that is a sweet surprise.  and of course i love the lovey hand holding the gummy.  she's pretty sweet too!

in other news:  went to the doc today and he gave me a shot in my wrist to help relieve the pain and numbness.  wow, that was not fun.  painful, uncomfortable and it made my fingers go completely numb.  but now they feel better.  thankfully he only did one wrist, he said it can have overall affect.  i hope so because i don't want to have to do that again.  now i'm not sure what else will happen.  i will have physical therapy again, with a new pt because my insurance no longer covers the first pt place.  and i think i see a deep tissue massage in my future.

check in tomorrow for day 2 of 28 things i love.

ten on tuesday

trying to find some inspiration these days for my posts.  so i am borrowing this one today. here goes:

1. got back yesterday from a trip to 'the heights'.  snow, wine making, skiing, food and fun.  is there a better way to spend a three day weekend?  watching andrew, bobby and jeff ski/snowboard together was touching.

2.  my brother and his family joined us on sunday.  their kids have never been to the snow and i think they liked it.  and the best part is that it snowed, it rained too, but the snowing was awesome.

3.  wondering how bad this storm is going to get this week.  i love rain, but wish my family was home safe and sound.

4.  excited about attending the Craft and Hobby Association Super Show this weekend.  i am signed up for a class taught by her and this one should be productive.  plus i have a ticket to roam the convention and buy, i mean see, all of the product out there. 

5.  excited that glee won on sunday.  although i am a HUGE fan of the office.

6.  the kids got haircuts on friday.  sofia needed some help with her stringy hair.  it got evened out and is just to her shoulders.  getting used to her new look but she loves it.

7.  thankful that my hands felt better all weekend.  i have 2 more pt sessions this week.  i am starting to love that place.  it feels like family.

8.  thinking i might try online grocery shopping today.  i've done it once before and liked it.  not sure i want to head out if it's pouring rain.

9.  bachelor anyone?  love it or hate it?

10.  going to a bunko party on thursday with some moms from school.  not sure how i will do, they can be a crazy bunch.  but it will be fun to do something with the ladies on a school night no less.  wow, my life is boring!

have a happy tuesday.

january updates

i wish i had something exciting to share with everyone, but i don't.  it's kind of quiet around here and i have been spending some TIME trying to create a new routine that includes exercise, peace and organization in our lives.  let me tell you it's a challenge.
 
i am still dealing with my hand issue.  it's been tough and a little frustrating for me.  i started physical therapy last week and it helped.  the pt thinks that it's coming from a nerve issue in my shoulders, kind of what i thought too, not carpal tunnel.  yesterday she put pressure on my shoulders to try and loosen them, i wanted to cry.  everyone tells me how tight they are and i don't know what to do.  it's where my stress lives, and i guess i have a lot of it.  anyway we have been doing some stretching and band exercises.  but the best part is when they hook me up to the wires, pack ice on my shoulders and let me relax for 15 minutes.  nothing feels better.

one of the funnest things i've been doing is playing with my new iphone.  dare i say i love it.  i have set up alerts to remind me to pick up andrew early from school, that jordan has a basketball game, that library books are due.  i love that i can surf the web while i'm sitting at carpool.  i love that i can send an email or text message at any time, except while i'm driving of course.  but i really love the camera.  always with me, always ready and not bad quality. (both photos in this post were taken with the camera)  now i just have to remember to keep the phone with me and keep it charged.  thanks again santa.

what else?  jord is enjoying basketball.  he had his first game, 2 games actually, on tuesday.  a double header.  but we only have one team and they had 2.  so the kids were tired.  and it was not pretty.  the scores were 24 to 16 and 35 to 4.  and let's just say that was not in our favor.  but honestly, there was a kid on their team that was as tall as i am.  we have a kid that is as tall as andrew, so you can imagine the match up, brutal.  but jord is having fun and loves it.  what more could we ask for?

he's also getting ready for the spelling bee at the end of the month.  lots of pressure being the returning champion.  he has a friendly battle with his close friend rebecca.  they are mentally psyching each other out.  it's really cute.  he also signed up for the academic decathalon, the math bee and will be in the school's production of grease in march.  he is so busy.

andrew and bobby just got back from a weekend in big bear with the ymca group.  always a lot of fun.  baseball will be starting for andrew with tryouts next month. 

sofia has been growing.  she seems taller everyday.  and her personality is growing just as quickly.  we have been getting together with my friend and her daughter over the last few weeks enjoying yogurt shops around the valley.  it's been yummy. 

the kids are off tomorrow and monday.  we are heading to the snow for the weekend with my nephews who have never seen snow in their lives.  excited about experiencing that with them.  and it looks like it might snow while we are there.

wish we had more exciting things to share.  have a good weekend.

favorite moments

since too much has happened and tomorrow the kids start school i thought i would just share my favorite moments/pics from the last 3 weeks.

Here goes:

Favorite pic of kids sledding  from CHA's snow day.

sofia went down more times than the boys did.

Favorite cookie recipe:

cream cheese cookies with raspberry and apricot jam.  they were not only yummy but pretty too.

favorite pancake breakfast:

from the original pancake house in temecula.  i like kenzi's apple pancake puff and these pumpkin spice pancakes.  it was fun hanging out with mike and becky and jeff and kenzi.

favorite christmas shopping snack:

the tower of onion rings from red robin.  (is it any wonder we all gained weight over the last 3 weeks?)

favorite hannaumas celebration:

dinner with the baron's to celebrate hannaukah and christmas.  we love the kugel.

favorite wii moment:

andrew beating everyone at swordplay on christmas eve.  we are so proud.

favorite new board game:

last word.  bobby i still think that hippopotamuses don't make people happy.  well except for the kid in that christmas song.  and i hate that song.

favorite snow moment for bobby:

skiing and snowboarding with his sons at alta sierra.  and they enjoyed it as much as he did.

favorite non-traditional snowman:

kind of scary huh? the snowman not sofia.

favorite snow kids:

favorite snow moment for me:

 sledding on fresh snow.  cold but fun.

favorite new year's eve photos:

she's drinking sparkling apple juice.

first photo of us in 2010!

favorite 11 year old:

 

love this kid!

favorite moment today:

seeing the princess and the frog with sofia while the boys saw avatar.  everyone loved their movies.

favorite christmas present:

my iPhone.  thanks santa.

and the beautiful book that bobby made me of my food pictures.

favorite thing of all:

 

having the five of us together for 2 weeks.  even though it got stressful right before christmas, it was fun hanging out together, staying in our pj's, playing in the snow, playing games, celebrating a birthday, hugging and kissing, and just being a family.  i love you and will miss you as we all get back to life/school/work.

 and that brings us up to date.

 focusing on my word for 2010: TIME.  i will blog about it soon.

hope everyone had a great holiday.  love to all.

merry christmas

so i can't figure out how to post a video here.  i've been trying for two days and i have just about given up.  but it's cute and it explains why i haven't been around for a while.  i will keep working on it and get back to you. 

but in the meantime i wanted to pop in and wish everyone a wonderful christmas. hope it was full of fun moments, surprises and lots of good food.  see you all soon.

have you ever . . .

had a day where you felt like everything went wrong?  you know you run around trying to get things done and you can't quite cross anything off your list.  or you spend so much time trying to make a decision and then walk out empty handed.  or you buy something on the internet and then go into target and find it $30 cheaper.  or realize when you get home that you forgot to drop off the angel tree present at your daughter's school and it's been in the car all day.  or realize that you didn't fill your prescription and you are in desperate need of some pain relief.  or it's raining outside, all of the kids have been picked up from school and you remember that you were supposed to go to the store and get something for dinner.

well i am having one of those WEEKS.  it literally feels like the world is spinning around me and i need to get off the ride.  there are two weeks until christmas but only one week until the house is full of kids.  i have things to do, cookies to bake, presents to wrap.  i am a mess.  next week is full of class parties, holiday concerts and as much present buying as is possible and i really need to schedule a manicure somewhere in there.

and my hands aren't helping.  i went to an orthopedic specialist yesterday and he thinks it carpal tunnel or trigger finger.  my x-rays came out fine.  the question now is why?  hopefully one of the 12 viles of blood they took out yesterday will reveal the problem.  i have a nerve test next week and then i meet with dr. again on christmas eve to see if they have any answers.  in the meantime, i am wearing hand braces on both of my hands at night and taking advil to help with the discomfort.  he prescribed an anti-inflammatory but as i stated earlier it's still on the to-do list.

anyone else having a hard time?  i'm trying to keep it together but right now i just want to crawl into bed and sleep until new years day.

ETA
had to share this photo that i took this morning.  sofia was the snack girl and i brought tamales to share the posada tradition.  i also brought these clementines and i loved that they had christmas stickers. i am trying to get out of this funk and enjoy the holiday.

december daily - day 3

here is the page for yesterday.  i just finished it.  yes, we are throwing a holiday party on saturday.  we decided on a white christmas theme and asked our guests to come in white.  the menu is centered around white food, cheeses, tarts, ravioli, chicken, white wine, you get the point. 

today we had colonial day at school for jordan. each of the parents chose a station to host and we had to prepare and bring what was needed for the activity.  there was candle making, johnny cakes, quill pen writing, lanterns, even a classroom with a mean, old teacher (sorry michelle).  bobby chose games and i did quilt making.  bobby's group played horseshoes, had a three legged race, and made whirly gigs.  we made quilt squares and hand stitched leaves on them.

i was surprised at how much the kids enjoyed it, even the boys.  they caught on so fast and really made them look special.  we did have one little accident, a bleeder.  but he was ok.  we had lunch and then saw a presentation on the printing press.  they also had ben franklin visit the kids and talk about life in colonial america. 

everyone dressed up.  we opted to piece together costumes with stuff we had at home. luckily i still had jord's vest from when he presented a book report on ben franklin.  we added a long sleeved white shirt from old navy, a pair of sweats and bobby's socks and his tennis shoes.  sometimes comfort wins out over authenticity.

i felt more like an altar boy than a colonial woman but it worked for the occasion.  here i am with the school mistress, miss whipsemall.

i'm so glad we get to do this again . . . and again.  maybe we will invest in costumes for next time.  thanks sue for all of your supplies and help. 

have a great weekend everyone.