Week in the life - wednesday

i have been carrying around my camera all week.  taking lots of photos and trying to capture our everyday.  what a week this has been.  wednesdays are usually my busiest day of the week and this was no exception, in fact it was a bit busier than usual.  take a look . . .

getting ready for school.  jord's class went to the ronald reagan library for a field trip today so he had to wear his cha shirt.  brushing his hair in the morning is always a challenge.

sofia dressed for school.  she is a doll.

some alone time in the car.

my wednesday eco festival meeting.  planning for the big event.

made it back to the gym today.  a huge accomplishment for me this week.

one of my all time favorite meals: baja fresh tortilla soup and chips.  it was a bit chilly today so this was perfect.

 walking up to another meeting at cha.  this one is for the mother/daughter tea happening next weekend.  sofia is an honorary member of the pto.  she goes to more meetings than some of the parents.  she has her stuffed dog in her jacket.  she didn't want him to get wet.

 picked up the boys from school, came home for some hot chocolate and a snack and then it's off to CCD.  andrew makes his first communion in 3 weeks, right before his birthday.

today was also the model clothes selection at old navy.  the mother/daughter tea includes a fashion show.  so we met the girls at old navy to help them select their outfits.  this is a picture from the surveillance camera of me and sofia and the baron's waiting for the models to show up.  and then chaos broke out.  9 3rd grade girls looking for outfits, trying on clothes, laughing.  sofia was grabbing clothes too saying "i want to try on my outfit".  it was mad!  but it's done.

dinner: salmon and spinach salad with strawberries, blue cheese and candied pecans.

ended the day with a little mad men.  bobby and i LOVE this show.  we borrowed the dvd collection from a friend so we get to watch an episode every night before going to bed.  i love the styling on this show and i love to hate don draper.  bobby even started calling me bets.  great show.

gratitude: thankful that my daughter is 4 and not 9.  wow, alot changes.  but i am looking forward to going shopping with her.

thoughts on today: CRAZY!  my usual wednesday mixed with meetings and fashion show stuff.  i felt like my adrenaline was running all day.  but it's good to see that a lot got done.  i think the workout saved me.

having fun documenting.

week in the life - tuesday

so tuesday's approach to this project was easy:  just get it done!  i picked a really crazy week to lug my camera around everywhere and try to document all that goes on in my life.  in some ways it is not realistic because life really isn't this busy.  but in other ways it is very realistic because life really is this busy.  whether it's baseball, or swimming, mother & daughter tea or grandparent's day, gala or a shower, book reports or president's reports, our lives are FULL of things to do.  i'll tell you this, there is plenty to document.  i will just have to narrow down all of my pictures to tell the story of our day.

so here's a snippet of tuesday:

again not a whole lot of action shots.  only two pictures with me in them.  lots of food pics, of course.

 i helped the kids make cornbread at school today and i took some home, so we had to make chili for dinner.  sofia bumped her head.  our usual dinner at the table and an empty laundry basket.  that might just be the highlight of the day.  of course i filled it about two minutes later but here is the evidence that it was empty at one time.  didn't post the pictures of our sink full of dishes, sofia playing with her dolls and me relaxing while watching "glee".  but that was part of our day as well.

today was another mad day.  my feet hurt and i never want to go to old navy with 9, 8 year old girls again.  (you'll understand why tomorrow.)  it was insane!

having fun with this.

Week in the life - Monday

i am working on this project again this year.  i love it because it makes me step back, take a breath and find the details in my everyday life.  i did this two years ago and i love the album i made.  that time is was a week in october, sofia's birthday.  it's fun to see how much our lives have changed and how much they have stayed the same.

this time i have so much going on, at school and at home.  it will capture a crazy and exciting week for us.  saturday is our big fundraising gala at school and this whole week has field trips, pto meetings, baseball games and another attempt to empty every laundry basket in the house.  here's a peek at what we did yesterday.

our usual wake up time, actually i got up one minute earlier.

yes that is a picture of jordan from christmas 2 years ago.  not sure why we still have that out.

some of us had this for breakfast

and some of us, ahem i, had this

i did my usual menu planning on monday morning

before taking sofia to school

then i had a LONG meeting at school for our eco festival in may.  talked about the gala, and the mother & daughter tea too.  i know, i am doing too many committees right now.  my life is all about CHA this week month.

then i ran to the store before picking up sofia from school.  i was racing against the clock all day. i hate days like that.

sofia looked so cute when i picked her up.  she had a necklace painted on her at school.  but every once in a while i would look at her and thought she had a rash on her neck.  she also brought the share bag to school today.  and her toy?  a beach towel.

we ran home to finish my lunch, chinese chicken salad from trader joe's, it has become my usual monday lunch.  then we went to ralph's to finish the grocery list.

picked up the brothers + one little red head.  stopped along the way to pick up baseball bags, and talk to another mom about the staff luncheon we are planning for next week - i know too much going on.  i really don't know how i ended up on so many committees at the same time, oh wait, yes i do.  i said "yes".

went home for a quick snack and change of clothes for andrew and then it was off to baseball practice.

practice is an hour and a half, so i try to use this time to make phone calls, go over meeting minutes or read a magazine.  but i usually end up chatting with other mom's and watching the kids play. they are really good.  today i dealt with wine issues for the gala on saturday.  at 5:30 we head home.

dinner prep, homework and emails. snacks, playing in the backyard and some laundry.

he's not doing homework here, he is creating another comic book.

baseball uniform and cha shirts for the fieldtrips this week.  but i forgot to wash jord's p.e. uniform, oops. hope it's not too stinky today.

andrew finishing up his heritage boat.  where did his ancestors come from and why did they come to america.

dinner was chicken tostadas.  one of our favorites and so easy on a day like today.

after the kids go to bed,  b and i unwind with a little vino and some cat cookies, while he teaches me how to keep score for the baseball game on thursday.

then he works on the bean bag toss for the eco festival.  see even he volunteers for stuff.

i finish off the day with emails to the models for our fitting with old navy on wednesday and pto stuff.  plus i uploaded my photos from the day.  i didn't get to bed until  midnight.

daily gratitude: i am thankful that i have the energy to keep up with a day like today.

thoughts: wish i had made it to the gym.
andrew had a hard time finishing his homework.  he went straight from school, to practice, to homework, to bed.  that's tough for a 7 year old.  and he was not happy.

looking back at the photos i realize that i need to take more action shots.  pictures of people doing stuff.  and some of me.  but this is what our day looks like.

ali edwards started this project as a class and now she does it on her website.  i love her pictures and the story that goes along with them.  check it out here.

so today looks to be another jam packed day.  but my goal is to empty ONE laundry basket.  we'll see if i make some progress.

check this out

our school is having a fundraiser in a few weeks.  they invited this group to put on an outstanding in the field event to coincide with our "going green" theme.  so they sent this out school-wide.  kind of exciting and kind of scary.  You can click on it to see it bigger.

i wish

i wanted to do a blog post about our easter celebrations but i have this need to get this down first.  here goes:

i wish i had a designated scrap space.
i wish i had time in my day to get all of my to-dos done and time left over to have fun.
i wish i blogged more often.
i wish i didn't care so much about my weight, maybe that way i could just lose it and forget about it.
i wish i was more consistent.
i wish my kids could stay at this age.
i wish bobby and i could have more alone time.
i wish i had more money to buy really amazing gifts.
i wish i had a garden full of yellow and orange flowers.
i wish i had this.
i wish my car was always clean.
i wish i would finish what i started.
i wish i could make money doing something i love.
i wish i knew what that was.
i wish my kids could never feel alone, pain or heartbreak.
i wish my hair was neither red nor gray.
i wish i could be on time.
i wish licorice and tortilla chips had no calories.
i wish i could feel peace all the time.
i wish i wasn't so sensitive.
i wish it could be 75 degrees everyday, make that 72.
i wish i loved adventure vacations as much as bobby does.
i wish we could go to italy every year.
i wish i made going to the gym a priority.
i wish modern family was on everyday.
i wish we didn't have so many legos.
i wish fear didn't keep me from trying new things.
i wish i was more confident.

i hope you have a good day.

happy easter

(photo from this weekend in kernville)
love,
the b's

grease is the word

so last september, while bobby and i were in italy, jordan had to pick his electives for the school year.  his first choice was  basketball, not a surprise.  that went well and he learned a lot and gained some confidence that helped him when he got on the court to play for real. 

his second elective was drama, a little bit of a surprise.  i kind of knew it was coming because he had a chance to be in the play last year.  he was part of the 4th grade chorus and they sang one song at the end of "bugsy malone."  he really liked it.  this year they were doing "grease" and he was all set to be a part of it.  i was a little concerned that it would take up too much time.  and he had to use up two of his electives to be in it.  drama lasts for 2 quarters.  but he committed to drama and went for it.  he had a little audition where he had to sing and do a  monologue.  he was trying out for the role of eugene.  remember him from the movie?
well he  didn't get that part.  but the teacher created the part of sheldon, eugene's campaign manager.  his role was to be the sidekick.  he was in a lot of the play, sang alot of the songs and had a few lines.  he played the part perfectly, right down to the snort.  he had a costume and make up and they plasetered his hair with hairspray.  he learned everyone's lines and sang "we go together" around the house for days.  but he didn't like the all day rehearsals on saturday, just 2 of them.  and he didn't like that it used up two quarters of elective (his friends were taking magic and oragami) and it was pretty chaotic at times.  you know how those creative people can be .  it was funny to read his little post in the program.  everyone in the cast has a chance to thank their parents and teachers for helping them get through the play.  jordan did that too.  the kids talk about how they want to be actors or singers or producers when they grow up.  jordan's said that he wants to be an inventor and create  eco-friendly vehicles.  he took the role of sheldon very seriously.

we were amazed to see him standing on the stage performing.  he was funny, he looked awesome and he was brave.  not sure i could have done this in fifth grade.  the back story is that this is the movie that made me fall in love with movies. i know it's not a masterpiece, but i was 8 when we saw "grease" at the drive-in.  i was drawn into the songs and the love story and the makeover.  i thought olivia newton john was "the most, to say the least."  and i became a huge fan.  i wanted to be her, and make movies with her in it.  my sister and i wore out the soundtrack and i sang "hopelessly devoted" over and over in my room .  so watching my son be in the play was beyond words.  actually all of the kids were great.  it was a school production but it was done the best way possible and i am so proud of him for taking a chance and stepping out of his comfort zone and doing it.  he already told me he doesn't want to be in the show next year.  but if it's "little shop of horrors"  i may have to do some convincing.

oh and by the way his next elective is fencing. cool, huh?