A day in the life.....

Well Kiddos,

We are off to a terrible start when it comes to keeping a sane schedule and managing our time well.  

I blame myself since I manage our time. 

Yesterday went like this.

8am camp drop off

Then Daddy, Hudson and I went to the paint store because 

I was convinced we needed to repaint. EVERYTHING. 

We wrapped up a great trip where I talked daddy into letting me repaint most of the downstairs 

and get swatches for the upstairs (tee hee- upstairs painting coming soon).

We happened to be near an insane burrito place so we stopped and grabbed a few on our way home.

We raced from there to drop daddy and HTD, then I got you Anna from camp.

You ate a burrito in the car before your noon PT appointment. 

This was your first trip back this year and.... it felt like no break at all.

The ladies were happy to see you, and you were thrilled to see them.

 From there I picked up Taylor from camp, then we got Anna at PT....

Then got dad and Hudson at home and off to teeth cleaning!

I love the purple look for plaque dye.  

It takes all the cheating out of tooth brushing.

GOLD STAR KIDS! No cavities.

Can we take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are.

When I was a kid we maybe had a walkman to play music... this is so ridiculous.

They clean your teeth while you watch movies???

Anna, you were one chair over also got an A+ in brushing.

 Hudson, there are no pictures of your appointment because you had a defcon 10 meltdown.

You were fine until you had to get in the chair.  

Mind you, I was in the chair with you, but you were NOT having it.

So, in an effort to just get your teeth counted I held you while you kicked me non stop.

Daddy tried to hold your legs, and then you SCREAMED!

It was such fun love.

I am sure it will take a few hundred therapy sessions to work through all your anxiety.

By that time, I am sure I will have developed anxiety thanks to years of dragging you through TORTURE like getting your teeth counted.

:)

We finished the day with basketball camp homework.

It is coach appreciation day tomorrow (which I didn't know about).

Taylor, you made the nicest note for your coach.

Then, because I was not exhausted from all the above, I decided to paint the living spaces downstairs.

So, my New Year's Resolution is going to be to do my best to maintain sanity in our days/weeks/months.  While a day may be chaos, hopefully there will be a feeling of calm overall.

xoxo

mom

The party

Hi Kids,

Sorry, another one for Daddy.

The party.

When we thought about your birthday, 

we imagined our friends gathered around the table enjoying a meal.

It was perfect.

The favors: 2 PBRs and 2 pocket pies. The epitome of you love.

 The table.  

Another view of the pretty table.  

It was definitely a tight squeeze, but I loved the feeling of being at our home.

 The easiest appetizer.   

I am a firm believer of Ina's rule for entertaining which is make about 3 things and assemble the rest.

We have huge Ikea cutting boards.  Marcona Almonds, Cheese, Appricots.  

I forgot the grapes, which would have added nice color:(

This cake was heaven.  HEAVEN.  I ordered from one of our favorite bakeries, Susie Cakes!

People who hate carrot cake, loved this cake. People who love carrot cake, ate seconds and thirds. 

 Lighting candles. Thank God Jill remembered before dinner:)

 Last minute prep/getting dinner ready.  Thank god for Cathy!

Well, that sums up the party!  We had such a special night with so many special friends.  

I loved it and I loved celebrating with you!

xoxo

me

Hello 2014

Well my loves,

It is 2014.  What a year we have ahead of us.

We ended our first day of the year racing to the beach to catch the last few minutes of daylight.

It was perfect.

Our city is too amazing.

We are so so lucky to live here.

Sadly, our Cardinal lost the Rose Bowl but we will not let that kill the year.

 No better way to get everyone focused on the picture than arms up like a roller coaster!

 Panorama mode on my new camera:)  

 Anna girl, you are loving your new hat!  You and Daddy went on a special errand to Sports Basement and you got to pick a treat- you picked this:)

 Me and my guy.

 Nothing better than watching the three of you run along the wall.

 Another panorama.

I could not love this photo of you three any more.

 Or this one, which perfectly shows the three of you.

 As the sun set, it was so nice to take a minute to ponder the possibilities of the year ahead.  

It was such a beautiful night in the city. 

We talked about our goals for the year ahead.

Taylor, you will score a goal in soccer.

Anna, heaven help all of us, but you want to get your brace off this year.

Hudson, you just wanted a fresh baba, but I am sure you have higher hopes:)

Buddy, you are starting school in 2014!  It is a long ways away, but it is this year and you are ready.

xoxoxo

mom

Happy New Year

Well my sweet loves,

This has been an incredible year.  I have loved so many special moments with you, and can absolutely laugh at some pretty terrible times we have shared too.  Another blogger wrote about living in anticipation of the memory.  Others would say we should be present every single moment.  I say, do your best, and sometimes the moment is the place to be, other times, closing your eyes, and hoping that the moment passes so you can anticipate the memory (which is always better).

ANYWAY!  What a few weeks we have had, and I am behind on keeping track of it all.  So tonight, I will say we had such a perfect NYE.

Hudson, you didn't make it to the festivities, so here you were earlier in the day.

Pancakes and iPads for breakfast.

 Buddy, you were "fixing the tree with pliers."  Hudson you worked so so hard.

I love this picture mostly because you remind me so much of you as a baby.  

I can just imagine you as a six month old.  

My girls and your mocktails before we sat down for dinner.

 So, this looks better than it tasted.  We have made it a tradition to have 

Barefoot Contessa Real Meatballs and Spaghetti for dinner. I was reheating the pot just before dinner and apparently turned the burner on high, and then left the room to give Hudson a bath.

Well, I may have BURNED DINNER!  This was just the top of the pot and I found it mostly inedible. Oh well. Next year.

 TWINS.  How embarrassing for me. 

New Year's Resolution, dress in clothes that dad doesn't have.

 Beat the Parents!  Girls, this year we beat you, but it was close:)

 Conferring on one of your answers.

Well my loves.  I will type up your end of the year interviews asap. 

I have loved watching you grow and thrive again this year.  

It is truly an honor to be your mom and this year my resolution is to have more dates with each of you.

Daddy. Taylor. Anna. Hudson.

I can't wait to have dates with each of you.

xoxo

mom

In closing, my annual post:

This Christmas mend a quarrel. 

Seek out a forgotten friend. 

Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. 

Write a letter. 

Give a soft answer. 

Encourage youth. 

Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. 

Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. 

Forgive an enemy. 

Apologize. 

Try to understand. 

Examine your demands on others. 

Think first of someone else. 

Be kind. Be gentle. 

Laugh a little more. 

Express your gratitude. 

Welcome a stranger. 

Gladden the heart of a child. 

Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. 

Speak your love, and then speak it again.”

― Howard W. Hunter

40!

Dear Kids,

This one is for daddy.  We had such a great time celebrating your 40th birthday.  I am still stunned that you are 40, I really keep thinking we are still in our 20s... but I guess the grey hair, transitions lenses (for you) and the aching joints, and lack of ability to hold cocktails should have told me otherwise.

Anyway, we started last Sunday with your first party!  A family day at a beach-side restaurant to celebrate with your brother and family.  It was a great lunch followed by a better time at the beach. 

Best buds:) 

 The Birthday Boys!

The difficult-to-get family photo.

From there, we celebrated again after the girls Christmas Show with a few families.  It was such fun, and nothing says 40 like an evening spent at the kids Christmas show followed by dinner for 19. (more on that in another post).

Bright and early on your actual birthday, we gave you your "This is 40" book!  

We were so so excited about this secret project:)  

I surprised you with a quick trip to Solage in Calistoga, which is one of our all-time favorite places.

There is a little fly fishing spot up there, which had this truck in the driveway, I just loved it.

We had a nice drive up and stopped for an amazing lunch on Bouchon in Yountvile. 

 There is nothing better than a relaxed long lunch with a glass of wine or gin and tonic.  Nothing.

Solage greeted us with a lovely bottle of champagne and a birthday wish!

 After a nice long nap and soak in the hot tub, we headed out for a late dinner.  

Love, it was so so nice to spend the day with you.  

Even better to enjoy a few meals without interruption.

We finished off the day with a white russian at the bar, and their take on carrot cake.  

Instead of cream cheese frosting they had cream cheese icing.

Amazing. 

Next up..... your birthday party.  I am clearly rubbing off on you if your birthday now has 4 events.

xoxo