Smurfs 2 and Sushi

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I took the kids to see Smurfs 2 this afternoon with some friends. They seemed to enjoy it and I liked seeing the Paris highlights, as the movie was set in Paris. I also liked the messaging somewhat, and especially liked the positive focus and tension between the two female Smurfs and their friendship that grew.

As my reward for sitting through the kid movie, it was only right that I got to enjoy some alone time on a date with my husband sans kids. I’ve been craving sushi and we enjoyed sitting at the sushi bar watching fresh sushi and and a Smurf go around the river! Dinner was excellent too!

Life is good! Hope you have a good weekend!!

9Aug2013

Celebrations

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Do you find it interesting that humans choose to celebrate different holidays differently?

When we were in Holland, we celebrated the arrival of Sinterklaas on December 5th with his sidekick Zwarte Piet. Everyone was in the streets celebrating and waiting for the arrival and parade and giving of gifts and pepernoten. Of course, I’m oversimplifying.

In America, this holiday isn’t celebrated and would be viewed as racist, which isn’t how the Dutch see their tradition at all0. In Holland, this holiday was bigger than Christmas and the birth of Jesus and is part of Dutch culture. I find it fascinating that two Western countries share such different celebrations and that many other countries and religions don’t recognize either of these celebrations, and that there are several others that we hardly hear about.

I’m only sharing a bit of my context and connection as I was reading about the celebration of Eid in the Muslim countries that ends Friday (already today there) and realizing how little I know or understand of this significant celebration in another part of the world.

We all have so many different cultural and religious ways of celebrating life.

I’m always curious about how others choose to live, love, and celebrate.

‘Eid Mubarak’ which means Blessed Feast.

From reading about a couple people’s descriptions of how they celebrate Eid, it sounds like Eid is a celebration with friends and loved ones, with a grand feast and gifts shared after a month of fasting. It is a cultural celebration.

Sounds like a great practice of mindfulness and connectedness.

What celebrations do you most enjoy?

I love Halloween and Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day to name a few. Heck, I love them all!

Namaste.

8Aug2013

Downtown Music Summer Series

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Tonight we met up with Julie and her family to celebrate the summer concert series downtown. It was fun to be outside, people watching and enjoying a nice dinner together with our families. There were lots of crazy people there, dancing and just enjoying themselves.

I’m loving the sunshine and warm weather every day and am so thankful
for the change. I am slowly resettling and starting to feel at home again. Thanks for dinner, Julie!!

Life is good!

7Aug2013

San Francisco Day

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Today we played the role of local tourists and took the Caltrain from Mountain View to San Francisco.

We met up with my friend Jessica and her two boys and enjoyed the journey up the peninsula together.

When we arrived in San Francisco, our first stop was Panera for lunch. We enjoyed freshly baked sandwiches, salads and soup, Mac-n-cheese, and bagels. We then had enough energy to walk along the Embarcadero to the Ferry building, stopping along the way to admire AT&T Park baseball stadium and the gorgeous weather.

When we arrived at the ferry building, we took a bike taxi to pier 15 to explore the Exploratorium.

Our feet were tired and we didn’t know how much further it might be from the ferry building to the designated pier. The bike ride was an experience in itself that we all enjoyed in the California sunshine.

The Exploratorium had so much to see and touch. We could have spent several more hours there if I didn’t have other plans this evening to bring us home by dinner time.

Everyone was having a good time, touching and learning. I especially loved the transistor circuits and watching all the creative and smart kids work together collaboratively.

I also enjoyed being outside on the back of the pier admiring the sailboats passing by. There were great big boats supposedly racing today for the Louis Vuitton Race. They picked a perfect day to be on the water!

I loved just being back in San Francisco again. We picked a perfect day to be there as the sun was shining and it was actually a warm August day.

I hope we get back up there again very soon to explore another part of the beautiful city!

Namaste.

6Aug2013

Redefining Yourself

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How often do you think about transforming yourself? Kind of like a butterfly, transitioning from one stage unto the next and becoming something new?

Some people transition their bodies, others transition their spiritual selves, some their jobs, and others their hobbies or life style. Some transition with a significant event such as a birth, a death, marriage, divorce, college, kids leaving or returning, retirement or a new job. Some choose to make a change because they become uncomfortable in their current state and others just want something new. Some have no choice and some do.

There are so many ways to change and adapt and I love this process. I love recreating myself every few months. I almost seek out change and think about what I want to be when I grow up.

Sometimes change is scary and brings on anxiety. Some times it is spontaneous and desired and quick. Sometimes it takes forever. Sometimes change is welcome and sometimes it is not. But change is always constant. Isn’t that crazy?

We’re always constantly changing and we always have the opportunity to start again, to start something new. I do like this process of life’s journey and am thankful for the opportunities to begin again. If you’re not happy where you are, change it. Start over. Ask for a do over and begin again. Aren’t we lucky?

Right now I’m observing and wondering where I’ll go next. What do I want to do with my days once the kids go back to school? I have some ideas and I can’t wait to explore them and let them unfold. I just ordered my Fall Stella & Dot samples and can’t wait to start selling jewelry again. I played tennis today and can’t wait to have more time to be on the courts with friends and getting better, I hope! I can’t wait to explore the water ways on my paddle board with a friend. I am dreaming up a storm right now, while in this transitionary state. What are you dreaming of?

I used to like the quarter system at Cal Poly, because every short while we were starting over again. And if you didn’t like one class, you didn’t have to worry, because it would soon be over and the next one would be beginning.

One of my favorite mottos ( I have many) is this too shall pass. So if you’re stuck where you are, don’t worry. This too shall pass. And I hope the next phase will be more enjoyable for you. Just dream a little dream and enjoy the ride!

Namaste.

5Aug2013

Sacred Sundays

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I’ve declared Sunday to be a family day. Not that all days aren’t family days, but I really want Sundays to be a day for our family to do activities together and to be home and to prepare and share a meal together, exercise together, perhaps go to church together and just BE together. Before school kicks back into gear and all the sports and homework responsibilities take over our lives again, I want to be sure we hold on to our sacred family time. Being together in Europe and traveling together and relying on one another and just being together was something that I really treasured. Now that we’re back in the states, I’m already feeling the tugs and pulls to separate us – nothing bad, but just competing priorities. I know I’ll have to give in and let go, so I’m going to hold on to our Sacred Sundays for as long as I possibly can.

Today we had fun and worked out and worked and traveled together. We got our new cell phones in working order, did some housework and paperwork, and even a little bit of shopping. Jeff and I went for a run together – the first time in a long time, but definitely not the last time!!

This afternoon we took the kids to explore Jeff’s new office and areas around the bay. His office is like a wonderland for small and big kids alike. There are scooters to scoot around the office, foosball and pingpong tables, video games, nerf guns, robots, and snacks that would satisfy any of your cravings, not to mention any type of beverage you can imagine. The views of the San Francisco Bay are absolutely stunning. He is so lucky to work in such an awesome environment, but as Charlie mentioned, we only wish it was a little closer to our house so he’d have less of a commute – which really isn’t that bad, we just wish we had him home with us sooner most evenings. Silicon Valley is a magical place.

When we came home from our adventures, we were all hanging out front of our house and talking about dinner plans. Jeff came up to give me a hug and was just loving on me for a minute, and Juliana must have been listening in. She came up and gave us the biggest compliment, without even realizing it. She said that she loved that we really and truly loved each other, and weren’t just together because we had to be. She could see and feel the love between us, and casually recognized us for that. I got my receipt for holding on to our sacred family time and doing the work and truly loving our family, despite the arguments, frustrations, and ups and downs, which we have many over and over again. I am thankful for the unconditional love we share and create every day.

And with that, we moved inside to talk about dinner, the next event of the day. The boys went shopping and picked out steaks and chicken to grill. While dinner was being prepared, the kids took their bikes to the park to ride around before the sun went down. We all met up at home again to enjoy our family dinner.

Life is good. I hope you all have a wonderful week. 2 more weeks until school starts!

Namaste.

4Aug2013

Growing Up

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We are still in the process of transitioning. Not only did we move back from overseas, but our kids are growing up quite quickly and I’m fully aware of the transition state they are also in right now. Two of the three kids are going to new schools and this stirs anxiety in me. In 2 weeks+ I’ll have three kids at three different schools.

My oldest is starting high school and judging from the wise women who have gone before me, I am fully aware how fast this time will fly by and it scares me. I want to hold on tighter and longer and give just a little bit more advice while they still can hear. I know that this is probably the opposite of what they need, but it’s what makes me feel more comfortable. I keep telling them that I’m still learning and luckily they forgive me when I don’t do this parenting thing just right.

For now, I’m giving them lots of freedom and a few boundaries, rules and chores and practicing holding them accountable. I want my kids to be disciplined and learn how to delay gratification. This usually means more work for me, but that’s ok. That’s my job.

And in the end, I think they’ll thank me for it.

Namaste.

3Aug2013

Preparing for School

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In 2 weeks from Monday, the kids return to school. I’m so glad we moved back to the States long before school begins for several reasons. One, it takes longer to resettle than you think and I’m still not there yet. Second, there are lots of doctor, dentist, and school appointments to make and they are spread out and almost done now three weeks into being home. Third, there are several friends and family to visit and reconnect with and relationships take time. I love this part the most and am so thankful for all the visits and hugs and kisses on both cheeks. And finally, well maybe not finally, it’s summer break and kids need to be kids and play and swim and run around the neighborhood without appointments and structured team sports and homework.

Today brought us to the doctor’s office to have the TB test results read and signed off. We then took the results to Christian’s new high school to finish registering him and setting up a counseling appointment. Juliana’s new school wasn’t quite ready for us and told us to come back a week before school starts.

We also went to the DMV, to apply for duplicate driver’s licenses. It took 3 weeks to get an appointment, and you definitely don’t want to go there without an appointment. The line at 9:30 this morning was wrapped around the building! The Netherlands took away our California driver’s license when we applied for a Netherlands license. I don’t quite understand why we couldn’t keep both, but it just wasn’t possible. I’m learning to just go with the flow and jump through hoops.

The rest of the day was more fun. We got new tennis rackets for the kids, baked cookies for the potluck BBq at the swim club, visited with friends, and played some tennis with the kids. We ended the night at the BBQ, chatting with friends and watching the kids swim until after 8 pm. A very full and rewarding day. Thanks to Kris for stopping by for a surprise visit. You made my day!

Life is good.

2Aug2013

Tennis Lessons

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Today the kids took tennis lessons in Carmel with their friends. I’m hoping at least one of them finds and shares my passion for playing tennis and will play with me.

They all seemed to find some pleasure in their lessons, which is a good thing. I try not to push too hard and to find a balance between their fears and desires. I love when I push them just outside their comfort zone and they come back happy and not wanting to stop. Those are some of my favorite mom moments. I never want to be the overly demanding parent that they eventually don’t like anymore, but I also don’t want to allow them to say no for the sake of laziness and fear of not knowing how to do something. Today was good.

Did you face any challenges today?

1Aug2013

Carmel-By-The-Sea

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One of the things I loved most about being an expat was my sense of adventure and curiosity for learning and exploring. I was never bored. I want to keep that spirit with me in my now “normal” life and continue to explore the beauty that surrounds me.

California is one of the best places on earth! Today brought us to Carmel with Michele and her kids. To watch our kids just play together and enjoy one another is such a joy in itself, not to mention the beautiful surroundings and just being with one of my best friends. Thank you Michele for inviting me to join you this week!!

Life is good!