Wish

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Close your eyes and pretend there is a fountain behind you and a penny in your hand. Think really hard about your favorite wish and imagine throwing the penny over your shoulder and your wish will come true, especially if it lands in the middle.

We threw several pennies into the fountain today and I think a couple landed in just the right spot. I think our wishes are going to come true!

This fountain brought back many memories as there used to be a toy store right by it when our big kids were little. We would always stop by and sometimes sit next to it, relaxing and eating snacks, throwing pennies in it, and making wishes.

What we think about and what we talk about is what we create. We have the power to make our wishes come true.

I hope all your dreams come true. Keep wishing. Keep dreaming. Keep creating.

20May2014

Teacher Appreciation

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Tonight we were invited to attend Charlie’s Classroom Celebration and Open House. We received a formal invitation with all the important details, and of course we gladly attended.

We love Charlie’s teacher for so many reasons. We have a shared history, as we first met her when she came to our school as Christian’s second grade student teacher from Stanford. Lucky for our family, she was hired on that summer and became Christian’s 3rd grade teacher. Juliana also then had her for 3rd and 4th grade. When we returned from Amsterdam and found out that she would also be Charlie’s teacher, we were elated. I think we are the first family where she’s had all 3 siblings.

I asked Christian and Juliana to join us at the celebration, so that they could see their teacher again too. This was pretty special to me.

Charlie gave us a tour of his classroom and walked us around the room, pointing out all the important details. My favorite sites were the Word Clouds that the students created for each other.

I love positive recognition and seeing the good in everyone. This activity empowered the kids to practice kindness and celebrating each other. They all seemed to like their individual highlights.

Charlie was most proud of his writing portfolio.

This year he joined the newspaper staff and every month worked on an article for the school paper. I loved seeing his skills develop and how proud he has been. He loves to write and has a natural talent for creating interesting stories that flow. He types them himself, using Google Docs, and emails them to his advisor all on his own. After all the articles are turned in, the team meets to peer review and edit the articles before submission for the final paper. He says this year he’s learned how to indent paragraphs, and to use quotation marks properly. I’m still amazed how much a 4th grader can do and love seeing him enjoy learning.

I am thankful for all the amazing teachers and staff at our school. We have passionate, smart, empathetic, kind and loving teachers. Our principal has also been supportive and has created an open environment where the synergy between multicultural students, teachers, staff and parents has thrived and has created a wonderful community.

I am happy to be back home again, living in the same, ol’ neighborhood, and getting to enjoy these last two years of elementary school at “our” school.

Love this life. Love our teachers. Thank you.

19May2014

A Real Vacation

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Hello Friends! Did you miss me? I missed you. It felt really strange to not write for a few days and it felt totally liberating too. I enjoyed a real vacation and wanted to savor the moments with my girlfriends and to keep everything private, during the time I was away.

I went on a yoga retreat with one of my very best friends in Cabo, San Lucas, Mexico.

Everything was awesome and words can’t describe the fabulous experience. I am filled with gratitude and came back rested and relaxed and filled with joy.

My parents came to stay with my kids and to support Jeff, getting them to and from school, fed, loved, and to all their appointments. They were so lucky to have 5 days with their grandparents, being spoiled and loved day after day. I was thankful that they took the time to be here and that my kids were well taken care of. I was able to enjoy myself without worry because I knew my job was covered.

Stacey and I have been friends for 18 years, which is hard to believe since we’re only “29.” We both lead busy lives and don’t talk as often as we’d like, but when we get together, it’s like no time has passed at all. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing – we just enjoy each other’s company, sharing stories and laughing and playing together. Being on vacation with her and 8 other girlfriends was just magical. I am so thankful that she invited me to join her in Cabo to create and share more memories together.

We enjoyed doing several hours of yoga each day, listening to the sounds of the ocean and wind, feeling the warmth of the air, and practicing with amazingly strong women. We called ourselves the Yoga Mafia and laughed at the silliness of it all. These girls are amazingly strong, beautiful and graceful yogis.

We ate delicious Mexican food and drank homemade watermelon juice everyday.

We sat by the pool, drank shots together, ate chips and guacamole and enjoyed each other’s company.

We paddle boarded and did yoga on the water in La Paz, even while being scared by jelly fish, puffer fish and sting rays.

We were pampered with outdoor massages in the privacy of our house.

We danced the night away at Cabo Wabo, and danced in the moonlight on the beach until 3 am.

Life is good. Love this life. Love my girlfriends and family and am ever so thankful, especially for my BFF.

Hope you have a wonderful week and take good care of yourself. xo

Namaste.

13May2014

Nesting

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Oh my gosh… I had such anxiety today. I am going on vacation tomorrow and leaving everyone behind. This created such anxiety for me and I wish it didn’t. I am so excited to go away and yet I’m scared to leave and feel guilty, which is so stupid. I don’t believe in all this fear and worry, yet it swept over my body even when I was telling it to disappear. It was just there. Hello anxiety. I don’t like you.

So I went to yoga first thing this morning to let go of the stress and felt great the whole time, even after I left the class. I went shopping to gather all the groceries for the week, and drinks for the baseball game tomorrow, because I’m the team mom and won’t be there. And then the anxiety creeped in. I want to go but I don’t want to leave my kids and family. All of a sudden, it took over and I found myself making dinner for everyone and stuff for lunch for the rest of the week for my gluten free child, in case no one would know what to make for her. I felt like I had to provide for everyone, have all the laundry done, and the house clean and in order before I leave, heck before I even packed!!

I was definitely nesting. That’s the feeling you get before you have your first baby, where you want to have all the comforts and food ready to go. April came to the door to visit, unexpectedly, and asked me what I was doing. I told her I was nesting as I was sweating over a hot stove, not sure why I had 5 pans going at the same time, when it was a 100 degrees outside and there was a fundraiser dinner for the school tonight too that we could have gone to instead. I never cook like that. I made hard boiled eggs, gluten free pasta, brown rice, regular pasta, pasta jambalaya and steamed artichokes. Something is really wrong with me! At least I was aware — that’s usually half the problem, right? I was laughing at myself.

I had all the laundry done and folded, even the mismatched sock basket, while cooking and washing dishes and chatting with April and Val, who also showed up. I laughed that two of my friends came by to visit today, who I haven’t seen in awhile and just enjoyed their company, instead of worrying and continuing to pack. I know I was being irrational and I actually really loved having the distraction, even though I knew I was procrastinating and still had to pack. Yin and yang. Living in the moment. That’s what it looks like.

After they left, I was out of time and it was time to go and pick up the kids and run to an orthodontist appointment. And since it was 100+ degrees outside and the ice cream shop was right next door, of course we had to stop in and enjoy the moment. There was still time to pack. At least dinner was already ready to go. 😉

I came home and finished packing – ta da!! Just in time to finish cleaning before my parents arrived. They came to town to take my place while I’m gone. I’m so, so thankful and lucky because they are so capable and willing and loving and helpful and my kids and husband love them. I had lists written out with all the schedules for the next few days and I shared the details with them after dinner. Man, when you see your life in writing, it’s crazy to see all the logistics. No wonder I feel anxious. I have to let go of my responsibilities and it feels so weird.

But I’m good now. All is well. My parents arrived and Jeff came home from work and we all shared a nice dinner together. The kids are in bed and I leave first thing in the morning. I haven’t decided if I will write over the next 4 nights, but if I have internet access, I will do my best. I haven’t taken a break since I began blogging 785+ posts ago.

Thanks for reading and sharing and laughing and listening. I hope you have a great rest of the week and feel good! xo

12May2014

The Real Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day was fabulous of course – but everyone was home and together, which is fabulous too, but noisy and chaotic and messy. Let’s just keep things real.

We all know the real Mother’s Day is Monday – the day AFTER when everyone goes back to school again, and we’re so thankful for the peace and quiet and lack of clutter and arguments and messes.

My floor was soooo dirty! And the laundry piled up – even though I was the one doing the washing yesterday!

Wasn’t I supposed to have the day off? Hmmm… I kept washing, and today sorted, making piles in baskets for each of the monkeys to fold and put away themselves. They are big enough now to do that on their own. I still choose to fold mine and Jeff’s and all the towels and socks and linens. I actually stayed home for an hour today to clean up a bit, since I am a “stay at home” kinda mom who doesn’t really stay home. Seriously.

Today I was busy exercising and burning off all the extra calories I consumed in my celebratory state. And then I spent the day in misery – shopping for a bathing suit. No woman really likes to shop for a bathing suit. It’s depressing. I went everywhere – trying to find one that looks half way decent. You’re not going to believe this, but the last place I went, was a walk by, grab and go, without even trying it on WIN!! I literally had five minutes left of shopping time before picking up Juliana, that I just grabbed it off the rack, went up to the check stand and asked if I could return it if it didn’t fit, if the tags were still on. SInce they said yes, I took my purchase and shoved it in my purse (because they don’t give out bags anymore!) and raced out the door, so I could be 3 minutes late to pick up my daughter. I came home and tried it on with my full dinner belly, and actually didn’t cringe. It looked ok – it’ll do. And my misery is over. Just like that. 5 minutes. After hours and miles and a gazillion shops and try ons that didn’t work. Oh, I wish it could be this simple all the time, and next time, before I put in the hours of work.

How was your Real Mother’s Day?? You get me, right? tee hee hee…. xo

I leave you with this, that I found on Momastery –

Mamaste

“My soul honors your soul.

I honor the space where

Motherhood resides in you.

I honor the love, hard work, frustration and exhaustion within you,

because it is also within me.

In sharing these things, we are one, we belong to each other, and

I hope you survive the day. ” – by Channa B.

Namaste, Sisters!! xo

11May2014

Happy Mother’s Day 2014

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We were in Sunnyvale today. Just me and my little family and no guests.

It was a great day to be home and at the club, playing tennis and watching the kids swim.

The kids all made home made cards and decorated the kitchen to celebrate ME!! I love being spoiled with attention and love that they took the time to think of me.

They joined me for coffee in bed and then Jeff made me a healthy egg white scramble with chicken, kale, garlic, tomatoes and goat cheese that was fabulous!

After breakfast, Jeff and I worked on sorting through our digital photos for hours, even though we need months to make sense of them all. At least we touched them again and made a little progress. Every time I work on the backlog, I feel so frustrated because it’s overwhelming and is such a slow process.

After working around the house, we headed over to the club to play tennis as a family and to swim. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine.

I didn’t want to fight crowds at a restaurant, so we went to a Japanese market and got fixings to make sushi and shrimp and noodles. Our dinner was beyond fabulous and I kept saying Mmm… between every bite!

I wish my extended family was with us to share this delicious dinner. It was so easy to make and assemble and there was no rush and no crowds.

Love this life!

Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating all women and sisters!

10May2014

The Night Before Mother’s Day

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Tonight I’m thankful that I am a mother. When I grew up, all I wanted to be was a mama, and go on Wheel of Fortune!! I know, big dreams. But my first dream came true three times over and the second dream is just trivial and not something I think of often. Now I think I’d rather be a guest on Ellen. 🙂

Today I got to enjoy my kids. Juliana and I played tennis together and I just smiled looking at her across the court from me, so happy that she chose to learn to play and that we were there together sharing time playing outside in the sunshine.

Afterwards, we went and got some frozen yogurt before heading over to watch Charlie’s baseball game. I love seeing him in his element and cheering him on. He got two great catches and a couple good hits and was content.

We came home and helped Christian get ready for a birthday party. Not that he really needed help, but we thought of a gift idea, prepared some food to share and Jeff dropped him off. I’m so glad that he has a great group of friends with great families. This was my dream for him when we returned from the Netherlands.

Jeff, Juliana and Charlie and I went shopping together and out to dinner tonight, while Christian was away. I was happy that everyone got to see what they wanted to and that we were able to buy some new summer clothes for Juliana.

This is how we spent our day. Jeff and I were going to go on a date, but the kids wanted to join us. I love that they still want to be with us and will not wish that away.

My dream has come true and I am one lucky and happy mama.

As for tomorrow, I’m hoping to have a couple hours in bed with coffee and the newspaper while they clean up and declutter and make breakfast.

Then we’ll hopefully head outdoors for some swim and tennis, or go to the beach to paddle, or maybe just hang outside on our patio. No big plans and that’s just perfect for me. We’ll just go with the flow and see what everyone is in the mood to do.

How will you spend Mother’s Day?

Love this life.

Happy Mother’s Day Eve!

9May2014

TGIF

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It’s Friday…time to relax and enjoy the end of the week. Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all the mamas. I hope you get to relax and be treasured and spoiled, doing what you love with those you love.

My boys at Juliana’s tennis match this evening. She won!!

Love this life.

8May2014

Do What You Love

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Tennis is what I love to do right now. My hobbies and passions change often, but this one has stuck with me for the past 6 years. I started playing tennis to get out of volunteering, following a wise friend’s lead. She had started taking lessons twice a week, so that she would be “busy” and wouldn’t always be available to say yes to volunteer requests. I thought that was brilliant. And it wasn’t that she didn’t volunteer, she was just the UBER volunteer and was so good at it, that people were always asking for her help. I really admire her and followed in her footsteps.

I still volunteer and love that part of my life too, but I really also love having something for myself. I love the practice and skill building. I love the social aspects. I love the physical and mental challenges. I love the new friends I meet and hearing their stories. I love working hard, playing hard and winning!! There’s always something new to learn and practice and perfect and it’s always changing and stimulating.

Tonight we had an evening match in a beautiful location. However, I screamed out loud twice when I noticed a squirrel trying to get a nut out of my bag. Someone had to shoe him away and off the tennis courts twice. This was a bit distracting, however we still won our first set 6-1 and were having a lot of fun. At the beginning of the second set, my partner hurt her knee. At first she tried to keep playing, and then sat out for the 3 minute time period allowed for physical injury recovery. We iced it, rubbed some aspercream on it, and wrapped it in a brace. When the 3 minutes was up, she bravely decided to come back on the court to play again, yet her knee just wouldn’t allow her to continue and we had to forfeit the game. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to continue our match, but was thankful that she didn’t fall down or hurt herself more seriously. I know that she was disappointed too, but she handled herself with grace. And hey, that’s just part of the game. Life happens.

I decided to stay and watch my teammates play on the other courts and this is where the photo above was taken. It was a gorgeous night out. One of my opponents came to sit by me and we enjoyed a lovely conversation about our match, while nibbling on healthy kale and quinoa salads and sipping wine. She told me that she didn’t play as well tonight as she usually does, and then proceeded to tell me that she is a breast cancer survivor and was proud of her short , dark, hair that had grown back. She told me how she played tennis through her chemo and recovery and that she didn’t give up. I told her that I had a friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer, and was just beginning her treatment. Right away, she had a compassionate look on her face, like she was a sister. She gave me her contact information and told me to tell my friend to call her, if she needed someone who has been through the experience. She said that so many people helped her and that she wanted to help others too.

And that my friends, is another reason why I love tennis. The stories, The hope. The friendships. The movement. The personal growth and challenges. It’s all good. Even when your game gets forfeited.

Love this life.

7May2014

Sometimes the Little Things are the Big Things

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Today I have three examples of how the little things mean so much, and yet they seem so trivial but really help to create those connections that make people like each other a little more. I probably have more than 3 things, but these three things come to mind first.

I made dinner tonight while everyone was away, using lots of pans and knives and cutting boards and bowls. I made fried rice and had it ready to go for everyone when they came home at different times and when they were hungry. I chose to wash all the dishes and pans and such so that they kitchen was clean and no one else had to clean up. This is a big deal in my house. We all work together, and it’s no one’s job to do the dishes or clean up, we just do it, whoever is able and there and has the time, which usually means Jeff or I. Sometimes we just want sandwiches for dinner so there is no clean up, because we’re all busy and tired at the end of the day. Jeff was so happy that there was “no” more work to be done after dinner. Silly, but true and such a simple way to connect.

The second thing that made Charlie happy was allowing him to stay after practice for 45 minutes longer to practice his catching skills. He wants to be a catcher, but is the youngest kid on his team and the coaches aren’t quite ready for him to be playing catcher in the “big leagues.” I was thankful to the coaches for giving him more one on one time, and to allow him extra practice time. Charlie was happy that he got to play catcher. I stood outside freezing in my shorts and flip flops, not expecting to stay late, but the little things make life more meaningful. When I told Charlie he got to play for an extra 45 minutes, he was surprised it was that long and was thankful and told me so. More connections and gratefulness.

The last little thing, that is a big thing, is Jeff decided to go pick up the kids from the last event of the evening. I was so cold from standing outside so long (and am still defrosting), that he decided he would go out and do the last pickup, even though I was expecting to do the work. This little gesture was huge to me. He was stuck in traffic forever and had already been in the car for so long, yet he decided to let me stay home and warm up and he went out again. The little things. I’m so thankful. And that’s BIG!

What little things are BIG to you? Did anyone make your day? Did you make anyone’s day? It’s the little things…

p.s. Two more little things that made me happy today – Trish and Kimmy both called me in the middle of their busy school schedules. It’s so nice to be loved. And thanks to Jeff who inspired this post tonight! xo

Love this life.