Neighbors

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Look at this little rose tree. I’d like to call it a bush, but it isn’t bushy. It looks like a long green stick with a few green leaves on it, barely surviving.

This little tree is so loved and tended to daily by hand. It is on the side yard of my neighbor’s house.

Everyday she comes out with her bucket of water and pours it on her tree. I imagine her collecting water throughout the day from half filled left over cups and cooking water. Sometimes she walks around with the hose, watering spots on the grass. And sometimes she brings a bucket and collects fallen leaves, keeping her yard tidy.

She used to come outside with her husband and they would take walks together, with her in front and her husband shuffling behind her with his cane. He doesn’t come out anymore and I have a feeling he passed away.

I look forward to seeing her outside from my kitchen window, with her long white hair pulled back in a ponytail and with her glasses on.

She usually waves back when I see her but never utters a word. I don’t think she speaks English, but her eyes and smile say it all. I enjoy her daily routine. One time when she saw me on the bakfiets, her smile was larger than usual and she gazed at me a bit longer, and gave me a thumbs up.

She likes me and I like her.

We are friends. We are neighbors. And I look forward to seeing her everyday.

Simplicity and joy.

Namaste.

9Jun2014

Work and Play

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

This is one of my mottos. We work hard and we play hard. We do the work and then we play.

I’m trying to instill these values in my kids and I’m trying to help them to be accountable and responsible as we enter the summer season, much to my oldest’s dismay.

He thinks he should be free to do whatever he wants and that there should be no expectations whatsoever. He says I used to be the cool mom but now I’m a bit crazy. Bless his heart. He doesn’t understand my motivations and I’m trying to teach, ever so gently, yet we have lots of conflict and it’s only Day 1. God give me patience and grace and help me to be a good teacher.

I’ve asked them to come up with their own daily schedules to help them feel like they have structure to their days without asking me what they should do or telling me that they are bored. I told them that they have limited screen time and that they have to include time to eat, do chores, read, exercise, rest, play, outdoor time, learn and have time to be giving. It is up to them to come up with a rough sketch of how they think the day should play out and that they should think of some of the fun activities and places they would like to visit.

I want them to feel empowered and I want them to be productive, while still enjoying the laziness of summer. without being too lazy.

Each night they are to come up with a plan and write it out, share it with me and then we’ll decide if we need to make any changes. Once we have a plan, it’s perfectly fine for it to change, but doing nothing everyday is not ok.

For Juliana and Charlie, this was easy. It worked. No gripes. They worked hard, played hard and enjoyed their first day. For Christian, not so much. He didn’t like this idea at all and has resisted. He is of course a teenager and has his own definitions and knows it all, so I’m ok with that. We’re working through the chaos and conflict and loving each other despite the disagreements. I think we’ll meet in the middle hopefully by the middle of this week.

Here are copies of their charts from tonight. I especially loved Juliana’s creativity, Charlie’s family ideas, and Christian’s list of possible ideas to explore. They are thinking. They are creating. They are working. They are playing. I am happy.

Happy Summer Everyone!! If you like this idea, steal it, copy it, and let me know if you have success!! xo

8Jun2014

Something New

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Today we experienced something new.

We went to our first ever water polo match. The USA played against Serbia at Stanford, and unfortunately lost. I happen to follow Stanford Athletics on Facebook and learned about the timing of this match through social media.

Christian has expressed interest in possibly playing next year and we thought it would be great for him to see a live event.

I was amazed at how fast and how strong the players were, and how they were able to propel themselves half way out of the water and still be able to throw or pass the ball. It is a very physical sport too! I know, I’m new. I was just in awe and loved watching the entire match, even though it was nearly 100 degrees out. Luckily we found seats in the last row in the shade, otherwise watching the game in the sizzling sun would not have been enjoyable or bearable at all.

I was thankful to spend the day with my family, discovering something new together. Juliana came home considering playing one day too. They gave out miniature little water polo balls and Charlie took one with him on a walk this evening, mimicking the arm movements that he witnessed in the pool today. So cool to watch and who knows, maybe today will be a spark, or perhaps it’ll just be another way for us to spend time as a family watching and enjoying a new sporting event.

Life is good. Live it up.

7Jun2014

Best Part of Your Day

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What was the best part of your day? Was it small or magnificent?

We had such a busy day that required a checklist with times and tasks and people to keep track of all the back to back details.

My favorite part of the day was when I wasn’t busy. I was up early and got to drink coffee out on the patio with Jeff and read together before the mad dash.

I heard parrots flying over head and listened to the sprinklers spraying the grass, while feeling the light mist and warmth of the sunshine on my legs. I loved this unrushed space.

Charlie’s baseball team had it’s closing ceremony and I hosted the team potluck party afterwards. My tennis team had a match afterwards and my doubles team won in two sets, and our entire team won the match.

Juliana and Christian both went to the movies with friends this afternoon, and Jeff grilled out for us for dinner.

Hope you had a relaxing and fun Saturday.

Life is good.

6Jun2014

Summer is Here!

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My kids finished school today and I’m so excited.

We started the day with a pancake breakfast with April and family, per Charlie’s request. Pancakes are always a sign of good times.

The kids and parents all walked to school together, except me, as it was late and I had to catch my TRX class. Here’s the last day as a fourth grader:

Juliana was done with school at 10:30 and we went to get Jamba Juice for her as this is her favorite treat. We then decided to go shopping at Target together before picking up Charlie at 12:30.

I loved the excitement in the air and the anticipation of summer fun to begin. Everyone felt happy. I loved all the promotion and graduation pictures shared and posted on Facebook. This feels like a good time of the year.

We had time to relax after school and to hangout and swim with good friends.

Charlie went to a birthday party and Jeff and I took Juliana out on a dinner date with us.

We finished the night by picking up the kids and Facetiming with my family, laughing together and sharing stories.

So happy that summer is here and we have a break to our normal routine. Let the good times roll….and please help me figure out how to limit the screen time with my kids! Amen.

Happy summer!!

5Jun2014

The Happiest Place on Earth

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Today I decided that I’m related to Walt Disney and that it’s my mission to create the Happiest Place on Earth. Here. Right now. Where we are. Don’t laugh. It’s true.

I think we all have the power to be happy, to create happiness and to live happily ever after despite the chaos and craziness of life.

This is what I do really well.

I practice it daily.

I sing. I laugh. A lot. At stupid things. And it’s hard to not smile back when someone is laughing at herself. Just ask my family.

I dance. I smile. I make connections.

I get it. I get you. I get life. And I’m not afraid to show it. Or to live it. Or to forget about it and let go. So what?

And don’t bother me, because I’m living happily ever after

Just kidding. But that is another one of my life mottos.

I choose love.

I choose happiness.

I choose you and me and them and us. We are one. One love. And we all can live happily ever after. Just choose with me. Right now. Smile. Laugh. Live. Love.

Namaste.

4Jun2014

Summer Nights

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Why wait for school to end? We are celebrating summer right now.

No homework for the littles and a couple more finals for the big one. Charlie insisted I come outside to shoot some hoops with the entire family. I thought I was going to catch up with bills and paperwork but someone “needed” me and how could I resist his sweet little voice and demands? All 5 of us took a break to play together and I loved it. Juliana thought we should go get ice cream too, and her daddy is too sweet to say no. So guess where we are with everyone else in town?

YOLO!! Living it up. Loving it out.

I love summer.

Life is good.

3Jun2014

Almost Summer

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It feels like summer now. It’s staying lighter out later and the weather is warming. I am ready.

I am starting to transition and I’m loving the feelings of anticipation for my favorite season to begin.

The kids finish school this week and our schedule is all wonky. That’s ok – it’s just another signal that our schedule is about to change and I like it.

I’m ready for my 6:15 am weekly alarm to be turned off.

I’m ready to stop making 3 different lunches at 7 am.

I’m ready to not have 3 different schools and 3 different times to drop off kids and pick them up.

I’m excited for the unity to return and hopefully a bit less chaos.

I’m ready to have my kids back with me for more hours of the day – to explore, to learn, to share and to love.

I’m ready for vacation time. We have 10 weeks to make our own and we’re beginning to carve out a loose plan. I like to have some planned activities and lots of down time too, to fill up as we wish depending on how we feel each day.

We started playing yesterday, by driving to pick up Jeff from work and going to pick up Indian food for dinner. We typically wouldn’t be able to do this on a normal week, as we’d have sports practices and homework. Today I took Christian and his friends for ice cream after school, as it was my last day to drive the carpool. These are some great teenagers and I love that I get to spend some time with all of them each week and am going to miss seeing them. I’m hoping they’ll still get together over the summer.

Later today, I took two of my kids with me to Costco after school. That was a mistake!! I have to remember not to take additional shoppers with me as it doubles the time, doubles the questions and doubles the bill!! I’m much better off shopping alone! Lesson learned. 😉

Bring on summer. I am ready! What are your summer plans? Do you enjoy the summer months?

Happy Summer!!

2Jun2014

Princess in Shining Armor

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Today I got to be the Princess in Shining Armor. I like that title. Just don’t tell my minivan, because I’m pretending!

Here I Am, stuck in Silicon Valley gridlock at 10 am.

Jeff’s car broke down on the highway and luckily I had “nothing” to do today and could be there for the rescue. It’s so great to be needed, or to at least feel useful.

I’m sure he could have handled it on his own, but we made an adventure out of it. In the morning, I just dropped him off because he had an important day at the office. In the evening, the kids and I had time to drive back up together in the carpool lane to rescue our Prince Charming and take him out to dinner. At least that’s the story that played out in my head. The Prince could easily have taken the train or caught a ride with a friend, but this story had a much happier ending my way and we lived happily ever after. The End.

1Jun2014

Pretty Things

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Today I wore this pretty blue dress that received so many compliments.

I put it on because it was hot out today and I just wanted something loose and flowy. I didn’t have anywhere fancy to go, I just wanted to be comfortable and I liked the color, and the story behind it.

My mama bought me this dress just because. She does that sometimes. She likes to go shopping and picks out things she thinks others will like or need. I didn’t ask for a blue dress.

She knew I was getting ready to go on a trip to Cabo and thought that I would look good in it, so just brought it home for me. She picked the color and the size and style and just showed up with it for me one day. I love this about her. How did she know I would like it?

I would never have looked at this dress twice on the shelf, and would have never picked it up nor tried it on. Once I put it on, I loved it! How does she do that?

Thank you my sweet mama for always being so thoughtful and giving. I love you! Thank you for my beautiful new comfy blue dress. You have style, Gorgeous!