A Mom's Car

So people always joke about what's in a mom's purse, but I can do you better...what's in a mom's car? This heap of stuff is what has collected in my car in a mere 3 days. On Wednesday I cleaned out my car, a ritual I try to perform at least twice a week, and took it in to get a wash. By Saturday afternoon, this is what has collected in it.
Interesting things to note: 3 lunch bags (one of them belonging to our neighbor that forgot it after our little adventure yesterday). At least 4 pairs of shoes (the kids habitually take their shoes off the minute they get in the car, and because we're usually rushing to get out of the car and into the house, we leave them in there. Then, when it's time to go, we just grab a new pair).
Several magazines, 3 of them being Coastal Living. Our swim instructor thought I would enjoy them and I can never turn down a magazine.
A Starbucks cup, of course. Several changes of clothes. Sunscreen and wipes, and just a bunch of trash. YUCK! And last but not least, all of the kid's treasures including the stuffed animals, artwork, coloring pads and pencils, etc. The stuff that they beg and plead to take with them EVERY single time we leave the house. It changes on a daily basis, but we can never ever ever leave the house without each child taking at least 2 items.
I swear I am a clean freak, and despise that this happens to my poor beautiful car, but it's just inevitable.

Back To School

This was a big week for us in that Taylor started back to school at Teddy Bear 2 days a week and as usual, my worries were highly exagerrated because she did great! Through all our struggles last year with drop offs, I was convinced that I would be dragging my little girl into 8th grade everyday because she would "hate" school and would beg me to stay home with mommy, as she did almost every Tuesday and Thursday last year. I questioned my decision to enroll her and many times thought I might just pull her out. I started to feel much better after receiving her end-of-year report and "yearbook" where there were a ton of pictures of her smiling and genuinely having a ball. I have to admit I felt a little duped!

At the end of the day though I am so glad for our choices because on Tuesday and Thursday of this week she walked into her new "BIG" class (Room 4 is twice as big as her old classroom), ready to conquer the world. She really seems to understand now, and enjoy that she will go to school to learn and have fun. I couldn't have been prouder.
Because we had decided to keep her on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule this year, I was equally worried because all of the friends she had made last year would now be on a M/W/F schedule so she would have to make all new friends. The day before school started we were chatting about her new class room and the new adventures she would have and she asked, "Mommy, will I have the same friends, or will I make new friends?" I cringed and tried to casually answer, "Oh Taylor you will make all new friends!" She replied, "Oh good, I am really good at making friends now mom. Remember that time at Chik Fil A and that girl bumped into me and I said "hi" and we became friends?" Gosh, I just love her!!!

So a successful first week back indeed. I am very happy with the letter the teacher sent home that explained the emphasis will still be on learning through play, but with some emphasis on academics as well to get them ready for Kindergarten. I can't wait to see what this year will bring us and continue to see our little girl learn and grow.

Senior Citizens and Bebel Gilberto at the Hollywood Bowl

While I may complain at times about living in Southern California, I do deep down love this place so much. After living here since the day I was born I can still find things to do that I have never done before. Case in point; last night Art and I for the first time attended a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and it was spectacular.
The special guests were Seu George (the Nat King Cole of Brazil) and the beautiful and very talented Bebel Gilberto. I've long been a fan of hers ever since I discovered her album Tanto Tiempo in the downtown Santa Barbara Borders. Her music is upbeat while at the same time relaxing and sensual. It is the perfect background music and the perfect party music. The added bonus to the night is that because it was one of the last concerts of the season, we got to see the Fireworks Spectacular.
The night was made extra special when, upon finding our seats, we discovered that we were stuck smack dab in the middle of 5 rows of snappy, sassy and at times down-right grumpy senior citizens (the majority of them being ladies).
The evening was going swell until Art did his infamous two finger/tongue whistle thing at the end of a song. One lady turned around and said "Ugh, does he have to do that every time?" We couldn't help but laugh, and out of respect he stopped doing the whistle.
Then Bebel came out and said she was going to sing one of the most beautiful songs she had ever sang and one of the ladies turned and said "Give me a BREAK!", complete with an eye roll!
It gets even better! A young Brazilian girl was standing on top of a brick half wall at the intermission, talking loudly and fervently into her cell phone in Portuguese, looking for her friend. Another lady starting yelling at her to "Please get down! You're making us nervous!! You're gonna get hurt!!!"
Later on when Seu George came on he started talking in Portuguese as he introduced one of his songs. The same lady that was yelling at the young girl on the wall started yelling at Seu George to "Please speak English! Speak English!!!" over and over again. She was so agitated that she continued to yell at him even after he did start speaking in English! It was both hilarious but also uncomfortable at the same time.
The night was brilliant. Perfect weather, fantastic music, delicious wine and picnic dinner, and of course the best entertainment, courtesy of the Yenta Woman's League. Gotta love it!

From the 40's Andrew Sisters to the Streets of Brazil!

Concert in the Park above
Hollywood Bowl Pics below







Another busy summer week but at least I have a bit of a tan to speak of :) It wasn't all just shuttling kids around day after day. Our highlights of the week were:

1. Hitting up Concert In the Park for the first time this season at Los Cerritos Park. A ton of our friends went and we had a potluck style dinner with Mexican as the theme. There was so much food and it was all delicious. I went back to my taco bell days and made Cinnamon Crispas! Remember those? Back in the day I remember it didn't get much better than a bean and cheese burrito, nachos and Cinnamon Crispas from T Bell. Now I've resorted to drinking tablespoonfuls of cod liver fish oil. Blah! Anyhow, overall a good time was had by all and the kids LOVED dancing and hearing a 40's Andrews Sisters tribute band play.

2. I had a meeting with Royal Underground, a clothing company founded by Kelly Gray and Nikki Sixx and it went great! I was immediately given a project and started on it that day. It was a small Product Knowledge piece and turned it in yesterday. They loved it! Yippee :) Just call me a freelance product knowledge writer now :)

3. I got the majority of the text written for CIU's new Website that we hope to launch in the next few weeks. I also called some potential customers that I met at the Quickbooks seminar last week and we may be doing some work for one of them. Just call me the Sales & Marketing lady for CIU Networks now too!

4. Thursday was Taylor's yoga class and swimming afterwards. Caroline and Olivia and Ali joined us too and we had a great time at the pool. This is where I got my tan :) Taylor can now swim on her back! I'm so so proud of her :)

5. Today we went to the Hollywood Bowl for Summer Sounds, a children's concert series, with my sister and Andrew. Each week is a new theme and today's theme was Brazil. We saw the Brazilian dance troop and also saw a break dancing group. It was awesome and the kids LOVED getting to take pictures afterward with all the performers. They didn't allow any pictures of the performance so I was kind of bummed, but at least we could take pics afterwards.

A busy but great week. Now here's to the weekend!

a post not related to children (sort of) Lesley, this one's for you!

Last night I went and saw the Proposal with my girlfriend Jenn and a few of her friends (I guess would they be acquantices then?). Overall a good chick flick, but the storyline was predictable and unoriginal. It was definitely good for a few laughs though, including the scene where Sandra Bullock is chanting with Grandma and starts singing that rap song (I forget the title or artist), but it goes "to the window...to the wall! Till the sweat runs down my b*lls!" I have to admit I have a secret love for that song because of a very fond memory I have of me getting my groove on at Devil's Martini in Scottsdale and speaker hopping around the club. Good times. I clearly remember Art and the douche bag we were with which is now my BFF's ex husband, doing the hand gestures to the "sweat runs down my b*lls" part of the song. We were young and kidless, what can I say?

Speaking of douche bags, I was appalled today to watch the news and see that Jon Gosling is dating a 22 year old and has taken her to the French Riviera, a mere 3.5 weeks after filing for divorce. The gross couple happily poses for a picture while holding glasses of champagne, and are coming out of what appears to be a private jet? What makes the story even creepier is that the girl is the daughter of the surgeon who performed Kate's tummy tuck a few years back pro bono. Her parents must be so proud.

Jon is now in talks to produce a children's clothing line. Wow, I didn't think he could be even more pathetic until I heard that! Way to go loser, go ahead and capitalize on your fame based solely on your 8 adorable children and venture into something that you have absolutely NO knowledge of and invariably will not even really be producing, just merely licensing your name out to. Bravo Jon, you win the Douche of the Day award!

fun filled week!

the last few days have been great and I can honestly say we are taking advantage of summer in full force! last week we went to Pump It Up with some friends (the video attached was taken after we jumped for 2 hours and had lunch) and the kids had a blast. I got to attend my friend's 40th birthday fondue feast filled with 3 course of fondue. We had 2 cheese starters, shabu shabu with 3 different kinds of meat, and a chocolate fondue for feast. it was heaven!
4th of July was great and was the most relaxing 4th yet since having kids. Unfortunately Art has all the pictures on his camera so none to share at the moment but I will post to Facebook later.
Taylor and Sydney have both been doing great at swimming lessons and I couldn't be prouder. Taylor can now float on her own and is really working on her stroke.
Yesterday we visited Look What I Made for the last time since they will be closing at the end of the month. I am so sad to see this place go and we will miss it.
Enjoy the pictures! Sorry for the quick, kinda boring post, but just wanted to get caught up for the week and go enjoy the rest of this hot day with the kids and Art!

Hawaii

the view from Don the Beachcombers

the dark road over the lava field to see the lava flow
lava flowing into the ocean
Taylor in front of the volcano




I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture!
doesn't this look like it's straight out of a Corona ad?

I know this is very old news, but back in May we took our first vacation in about 5 years to the Big Island. I figure even though it happened over 2 months ago, I would still post about our trip and show some pictures so I don't forget all that we did when we were there! We stayed on the Kona side in our baby sitter's parent's condo. It was beautiful and we had a great time.
My overall impression of the island, however, was that I thought the locals were a little less friendly than those on other islands. Some were actually quite rude! We went with my parents and my dad was even really nervous at one of the local beaches we went to. While the island was interesting to see with all of the lava rocks and such, the beaches were a little difficult to get to and weren't the typical white sand beaches you may think of when you think of Hawaii. We are so glad we visited the big island but don't think we will be going back. We plan to visit Kauai next and then stick with Maui, our favorite island by far.
We arrived late Tuesday night and pretty much just found the condo and crashed.
Wednesday we had a pool day, then lunch in town, nap and then a quick visit to Honokohau Bay. This is where there were a ton of locals and my dad felt nervous. It was beautiful but you had to cross over 200 yards of lava field to get to it. With the kids it was a little hairy and in fact my mom didn't even attempt it and just waited for us in the car! We then had dinner at Big Island Grill, a favorite among the locals. Look it up and you will see that they offer the meanest grinds in all the islands!
Thursday we ventured out to Kekaha State Park which was absolutely breathtaking, although the waves were a little too rough for the kids to venture into. We continued to travel north to Hawi town and had lunch at the famous Bamboo Grill, then shaved ice at one of the local stores. On the way back we visited the dolphins at the Waikoloa Hilton. Art and I went out that night for a romantic dinner ocean side at Don's the Beachcombers at the Royal Kona Resort. It was the perfect evening until the flying cockroach landed on my dress!
Friday was another beach day at the little beach right in front of our condo. That night we went to the luau at the Royal Kona Resort and I think this was by far Taylor's favorite part of the trip. She loved the hula girls!
Saturday was a pool day in the morning and then after lunch we packed the kids in the car and headed out to see the volcano in the afternoon. Along the way we stopped at the southernest most bakery in the US, the Punaluu Bake Shop. I had 3 malasadas while we were there and 2 cups of their 100% kona coffee! So delicious :)
We continued onto the volcano, which had just erupted the day before and got to see a ton smoke coming out of the top. We then left the state park and drove down to the ocean to see the lava flowing into the water. It was a beautiful site but was quite the trek to get there. In the pitch black over hardened lava flow we walked about 1/2 mile down to the viewing spot. Again, my mom decided to forgo that adventure! Saturday was quite a long day and we didn't get home till 11pm that night!
Sunday was Mother's Day (and our last day) so we took it easy and had a simple brunch at Don the Beachcomber's again. While the kids napped Art and I went to the shops at Waikoloa Village and then came back and packed. We were on the red eye so for dinner we hit up the amazing ocean side bar at the Royal Kona Resort and had a couple of last mai tais and to take a few more pictures.
We had a great time but it went so fast! Next vacation we're definitely going to plan to stay for at least a week. Aloha and Mahalo for reading!