Just a couple of things on my mind this week… May 25, 2008

This has been a very crazy week.  

1.  My work place was burglarized.  This was very scary and they were not caught.  We are very thankful that none of us were there when it happened.  It’s a very strange feeling to have this happen. All of us that work there feel very violated.  

2.  I have a two week vacation coming up and for a minute I thought to take the kids to Hawaii to see family and friends…then I checked the airfare.  HOLY S*?#!  The fares are so high.  I guess with summer and the oil crisis…how can anyone ever afford to go home?   It would cost us over $5000 just to get there!  So that idea is OUT!

3.  I’ve been talking to T about why Hawaii is so great to have a family.  Did you know Honolulu was rated a top 10 place to raise a family?  I have lived in California since 1992 and although have gone back and forth on vacations very often, I still feel a sense of loss.  Don’t get me wrong I love California too but Hawaii is always HOME.  So What’s So Great about Hawaii?  

• The laid back lifestyle is really wonderful, it does take me a couple of days to adjust back to Hawaii Time and Speed but once I do I love it.  I love that no one is really in any hurry to do anything. 
•  I love that everyone is extended family.  Everyone is an Uncle or Aunty.  For someone like me who came from a small family, all this extended family was terrific!  
• The weather and the outdoor living. I often imagine our kids hanging out at the beach after school, surfing, and eating a plate lunch watching the evening sunset with us.  I remember living at the beach every second that I wasn’t working or in school. 
• The FOOD.  Hawaii has the best food.  I may not be a gourmet but I know that hands down Hawaii has the best Food.  What I miss the most?  The variety, we just don’t have that where we live now.  We need a Zippys!
• Punahou Carnival.  This the biggest Carnival you will ever see.  It is put on by a private school- Punahou (very good school) every year as a fundraiser which raises over a million dollars.  I have so many fun memories of this event and I wish our kids could experience it.  They have the best local foods as well as regular mainland carnival food….but this is what I crave:

 

 

Happy Tuesday. Wish it were Friday! May 21, 2008

It’s been one of those weeks already and it’s only Tuesday.  Have you ever just felt blah. That’s what I’m feeling this day.  I’m looking forward to this weekend to have a couple of days off. 

It’s hard to complain when we have a pretty great life.  I was talking with a friend Katie who’s son has a little friend fighting childhood leukemia and he’s only 5!!!  Can you imagine.  I look at our kids and thank GOD over and over that we don’t have to go through this.  It’s a blessing to have healthy happy children.  

You can read a little more about him here:  sean

K, E and Baby H are doing great.  K is going through some girlfriend issues at school.  I just don’t understand why 8 year old girls just can’t be nice to each other.  Why do they have to be so catty and mean to one another.  It seems like everyday someone doesn’t like the other just when they were best friends the day before.  

This is how our afterschool talks go these days…

ME:  K, how was school today?  

K:    MOM, Melissa was really mean to me today, she didn’t invite me to her birthday party.

ME:  I don’t get it K, Yesterday you said you loved her and she was your bestfriend.

K:    Yeah, that was yesterday.

We have this talk pretty much everyday, except the name of the mean girl changes.  Of course K denies being one of those mean girls herself.  As her mama, I really want to believe that she is sweet to everyone but somehow I get the feeling that this not the case for any 8 year old girl.  Sheesh.  Life is complicated when you are 8.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Little Picasso May 16, 2008

Tonight we attended the 15th Annual Carmel Youth Art Show where our “E” won first place in the “painting” category.  We are very proud of  him.  Here is his masterpiece.

 

 

Some of Our Favorite Things About Carmel Valley May 12, 2008

One of our favorite things about Carmel Valley is the Earthbound Organic Farms.  It is really quaint and beautiful.  We love going there for “organic” treats but mostly because we like to hang out there.  Something about it is peaceful.  There is a small farm stand selling fruits and veggies and homemade foods.  In the fall, there is a pumpkin patch for kids to pick pumpkins.  There is a really wonderful chamomile garden that we walk through barefoot and a kids garden.  We love it!

              

More things we love…

This is Carmel Beach. One of the most beautiful, cleanest beaches we have ever seen.  It is one of very few dog beaches where dogs roam freely and there is never any dog pooh any where to be found.  We live about 12 miles from the beach and admit we don’t go as much as we should be we love it when we do.  

COME VISIT US!

Happy Mother’s Day! May 12, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommy’s out there. I hope you had a wonderful day with your families.

We had a great mother’s day.  My MIL and FIL  are here in Carmel Valley visiting for the weekend and we went to one of fave restaurants here called Tarpy’s.  The kids were great at brunch and all day pretty much.  go figure.

We lazed around downtown Carmel and then had dinner at another great restaurant in Monterey called The Whaling Station.  We are now home and exhausted!

What did you do for Mommy’s Day?

This was a long day May 9, 2008

a very long day.  

but it felt like I didn’t have much time with the fam.  i’m still trying to figure this out and work through the mommy guilt.  so i know that i have a pretty decent gig when it comes to hours and flexibility but it still feels so hard.  I like working and i like being at home with the kids.  so take today, woke up, made lunches, kids off to school by 9:00, work by 10:00, off at 6:00, meet family for dinner at pf changs for dinner, then Target run with K home at 830pm.  Kids in bed.  so at the end of the day i feel like i had no time with them really.  

Now I have read many books on mothers in the workforce trying to balance work and family and I know that at the end of this all the kids will be fine.  BUT it’s still so hard not feeling guilty.  It’s been almost a year that I’ve been at this job and I love it and it is getting easier…I guess the longer I do this the easier it will keep getting.

Then I look at the mommies that work at home by being home with kids and I think that is so hard too!  I did it for a while and that was really hard.  Now I sound really crazy.

Well that’s that.  Tomorrow will be a better day.

 

 

Proud Mama May 7, 2008

So I am going to be a proud mama for a moment… Our E is one of the children that won the Carmel Youth Art Award.  Isn’t that cool?  His teacher submitted the picture he painted and it was entered into the art competition and won an award.  We are so excited.  Our E doesn’t quite get it yet that he won a contest but I think he will when we go to the ceremony and he gets to accept his award.  

K is taking her STAR test at school this week.  I hate those tests, it puts so much pressure on the kids.  I realize it’s a way for them to gage where the students are at academically but I wish there were a better way.  It’s like the SAT’s for third graders…  She seems okay but is worried that she won’t do well.  We keep telling her that as long as she does her best, it will be fine.  

As I write this I am listening to H sing songs in his bed, it is 9:45pm.  I tucked him in at 8:15pm.  E fell asleep over an hour ago…what is going on with him. He’s been up late everynight, we’ve tried sitting with him, singing with him but nothing works…and he’s getting up at the same time he used to every morning with less sleep.  What gives?

 

 

 

“I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids” May 5, 2008

That’t the title of the book I just read.  It was fun to read and very true.  It’s about the misconceptions we moms have about how it is to be a “perfect” mom.  I know I struggle with this everyday with our three children.  I don’t volunteer on my kids PTA, I don’t schedule a gazillion playdates, I don’t even take the kids to every single birthday party, nor do I bake or cook gourmet meals every night.  Now before I had kids, these are all the things that I said I would be doing because I was going to be the BEST mother.  If I held myself to that I would be voted the WORST mother ever.  I do realize I can’t do it all and I struggle with going to work or not working but at the end of the day I am a better mom working.  I couldn’t do this without Hubby T’s support and help.    The kids are so lucky they have T around all the time, I mean I know most kids their dads work all day and come home for dinner but T is there after school. 

This weekend was just another one of our busy weekends.  We went to a pool party at a friends home in Carmel Valley and had a fun time. Tonight we went to a silent auction/fundraiser for our boys preschool. It’s amazing how much money is going to be raised at this little fundraiser, almost $40,000.  Our preschool is just wonderful, the teachers and the administrator have really done a terrific job and we really appreciate them.  Our boys are so confident and happy there.

 

 

Just a quick update May 3, 2008

It’s been a while so I thought I should give a quick little update on what’s been happening here with us…when we moved here last year, I took a Full-Time job working as a Store Manager for a luxury retailer.  This is the first full-time job I have had in several years and with it came alot of change for all of us.  Hubby T is still running his business from a home office but he gets to leave the house to go into a detached office (a.k.a old garage/laundry room).  Our neighbors have dubbed him the “home father”.  All three kids are in school, K is in the third grade, E is in Practice Kindergarten (that’s what we call it because he’ll be going to Kindergarten again next year), and Baby H who is not a baby anymore is in preschool (3.5 years old).   The boys really love their school, it’s a really quaint little school in Carmel Valley that really is more like grandmas house but it’s an actual school.  They love it there, we love it and believe it or not the teachers seem to love it too!!!

K is still adjusting to her school and has made some friends, I’m thinking that 3rd grade is the start of the drama years.  She is quite the little woman these days.  We have noticed that there is a big difference from age 7 to age 8.  Most days she is our sweet little angel and some days she is just a little sass…

Thank goodness for Hubby T, he really does more than his share of the “family” work.  He’s home when the kids get home from school and does the pick ups after school.  That has really made going back to work easier.  I do miss being home with them but at the end of the day I think that I am a happier mom working and mommying.  I’d say the biggest challenge for us these days are “what’s for dinner?”

We have lived here in Carmel Valley for almost a year and we like it.  It’s very beautiful and near the Ocean which we love.  We live in the valley where it’s a little more rustic than Carmel, it’s a little strange as T and I see ourselves as more city folk.  We’re still adjusting.

So that’s all for now….

 

 

We’re Back….again! May 3, 2008

 

 

Welcome to the new family blog.  I know I tried this once before and failed at it but I realize now it is important to keep it going.  Why?  Well I’ve realized that we are all very busy with our own lives and that sometimes keeping in touch isn’t that easy and that the lack of communication is not lack of interest in each other.  Now, I know the life of this family isn’t that exciting but I thought it would be a great way to keep in touch with friends and family.  For me anyway sometimes it’s easier to get on the web than pick up the phone especially after a long day.  So I hope you check in with us from time to time and let us know what is happening with you!