Bad Moms!!!
This was us pretending to be the stars of the movie in the poster behind us.
We laughed so hard and saw ourselves in the women on the screen.
The moral of the story is we all have our struggles, we’re all doing our best and we love our kids no matter what. We are perfectly imperfect and we have each others’ backs.
One Love.
Carry on, warrior mamas! We are all amazing! Just don’t expect me to ever be your PTA president. 🙂
xo
You know there’s always a back story to what we see and read.
Facebook and Instagram and blogging and family photos and parties and e-V-e-R-y-T-h-I-n-G is a show. They represent the-best-of-our life show! But there’s typically the behind the scenes events we don’t share. Only the people closest to us get to see and really know and get the back stage pass.
We work hard every day to hold it together, to shine, to be prepared, to show up, to be the best we can be and it takes work and struggles and makeup and cute clothes and wigs. Yeah, we all have a wig or a mask that we wear. Yep, we do. Quick, smile, you’re on candid camera!!
I choose to share the highlights and yet there is usually a back story. Sometimes the back story helps me to actually write my story after I stop and digest and reflect to glean the good.
Today one of my BFFs shared this with me after I gave her a back stage pass to one of my posts: “I love the way your back stories always end with a silver lining. You seek it out and recognize it. That’s your gift.”
We all have our struggles. We are all learning and adapting and doing the best we can. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? We’re doing something right and sharing the (high)lights and creating our love stories every day. I love seeing your snapchat stories, Instagram posts, blogs and Facebook status updates. You’re the best reality TV! Keep shining. Keep sharing. Keep living it up.
nAMaste and thank you my friend for sharing your words of wisdom.
xo
Doug loves to fish.
Doug shares pictures of his Pacific Catch on Facebook.
Adriana asks Doug about his awesome fishing trip and all the fish he and his friends caught.
Doug shares his fish with Adriana.
Adriana is so happy.
Be like Doug.
Be happy, like Adriana.
Thank you, Doug.
The End.
Tonight was the Sadie Hawkins dance and Juliana asked a friend to go with her.
It was fun to watch her get up the courage to ask someone and then watch her be excited and nervous up until the date. She made a poster inviting her date to go with her and was so happy when he said yes.
I helped her pick out an outfit and did her makeup and gave her some hair styling tips. My baby girl is growing up!!
We went shopping together for appetizers for her friends before the dance, and cleaned the house together.
While we gone, Charlie decided to decorate the house with streamers, signs and paper lanterns. He is very cute with this sappy stuff and I love it.
The kids were dressed in Surf attire to match the casual theme. They hung out for awhile before I dropped them off, fashionably late.
I hope they are having a good time!
Good night.
This is just one of the sweet things I enjoyed today that made me smile. It’s an Oreo Pizookie and it’s the sweetest thing that hits that ooey-gooey yummy spot!
I wish I didn’t love food as much as I do, but I do!
Julie made me a delicious sandwich today and I think it tasted so good because she made it for me. Have you ever noticed that something you can make for yourself tastes so much better when someone else makes it for you? I think there’s a love additive they add.
And one more food story, just to see if you’re hungry yet…I was the lucky one who got to finish off the last few bites of the Christmas Gruyere au gratin potatoes with arugula and bacon. Mmm…was all you could hear and I couldn’t see anything because my eyes were closed, as I savored and enjoyed the decadent moment. They were that good!
The other sweet things had nothing to do with food.
We took down all the Christmas clutter and my house feels spacious again. I love Christmas decorations and I love putting them all back in the attic again before New Years.
The final sweetness involved spending time with friends. We were so thankful that our Dutch friends chose to come see us again before flying back home tomorrow. We loved having them here and fondly remembering our time living abroad, so thankful that we made lasting friendships. Thank you J, S and B for coming by and for dinner. We love you guys! Tot ziens.
Sweet dreams.
xo
Love and light are two of my favorite things and I found a way to share them with friends.
This year I’ve been making these beautiful jars filled with light, and giving them as thank you gifts to the friends who invite us to celebrate the holidays together.
I love turning on the light and bringing the lit jar into their homes as we greet each other, sharing love and light.
If you’re interested in making them too, I purchased 8oz mason jars, short strands of firefly LED lights on Amazon, ribbon, tags and bows and tape. I taped the battery pack to the inside part of the lid and just twisted the light strand to fit inside the jar, and turned on the switch before closing the lid, tying on a tag and sticking on a bow. So simple, right?
Wishing you love and light.
nAMaste
Wishing everyone a happy end of summer and smooth transition to the next season. Give it your best and practice being the best version of wonderful YOU!
Today we enjoyed the cool, foggy beach and escaped the Bay Area heatwave to celebrate Summer Sweet 16 Birthdays with friends.
Dolphins kept swimming in front of us and a sea lion was looking to make friends in knee deep water.
The boys dug a deep hole that kept them occupied for hours! 
All 14 kids were in the water boogie boarding and body surfing.
They also gathered in a big circle to play ball and when they were done, they arranged their towels in a circle too so they could all enjoy being together.
We sang happy birthday and ate colorful, neon cupcakes.
I am thankful that my kids have picked great friends and that I am great friends with their friends’ mamas. I loved being at the beach today, my happy place, with my kids, my friends, and their friends. Thank you to K&K for being great party planners and driving today and to L for driving and hanging out too!
Life is good.
We are already into our 6th week of summer vacation and I’m already getting anxious thinking about it being over.
I really love summer vacation and it takes me awhile to unwind and let go.
Today I am still feeling jet lagged and so I did a little less and relaxed and it felt so good.
I tried to not have a plan and let the day unfold without a schedule and boy did that feel great and turned our remarkably fulfilling. Here’s what an unstructured day looked like.
I slept in and played with the kittens. J stopped by for a cup of tea and drove with me to drop CJ off at his practice.
We came back and played SpikeBall with the other kids in the front yard and got such a kick out of it.
I cooked lunch and did some paper work and then took the kids and friends to the pool to cool off and play. The kids were so happy playing and he moms chatting that no one wanted to leave and we stayed an extra hour.
The only plans we had was dinner with our friends and that was spectacular!
What a perfectly, unplanned and unscheduled, fulfilling day just living in the moment.
I love summer!
nAMaste
Today was a beautiful day. The weather was warm and we explored parts of Alameda, particularly the Pinball Museum with friends.
All of us had a great time playing old fashioned pinball machines for three hours! This was a cool way to spend the day. I was happy that the boys were entertained and weren’t longing for Ps4s or xBox games.
Favorite game!
Sticking with the old fashioned theme, we stopped in at Foster Freeze for a hand dipped ice cream cone. This brought back so many memories from my childhood and begging my parents and aunts and uncles to take us to FF for summer comes.
Yum!
Alameda is a quaint little town. We loved driving down the streets and admiring the old Victorian homes. We also loved watching all the people outside enjoying the day playing soccer, splashing in the water, fishing, walking dogs, climbing trees and running.
East Bay
Exploring the rocks
Climbing trees
Soccer in the park
This was another day where we had one idea and it expanded and became so much more. We weren’t on a schedule and were open to explore whatever came our way. I enjoyed FaceTiming Juliana again and including each other in our day. All is well.
Volcano in Japan
Life is good and I’m loving this break.
Tree lined streets in Alameda
We ended the day in Downtown San Jose for dinner at the Loft. It was absolutely delicious and a great way to end the day.
American bistro
Juliana mentioned that she liked seeing the American flags in my pictures and that flags are not as visibly noticeable in Japan.
Today was fun and I recommend visiting the Pinball Museum at least once.
nAMaste
It’s not my birthday. But I felt like it was. My favorites are in town. I got to just hang out with them all day and night and I felt like it was my birthday celebration weekend. This is my dream come true.
The kids. The moms. The sisters. The Husband. All mixed together, playing and enjoying each other. That’s it. This is what makes me glow from the inside, so thankful, so filled with joy.
The littles were running around the house with trucks and small toys, making noise, chasing each other, banging on the drums and dancing.
The middle one made pancakes.
The big one slept in.
My loves enjoyed coffee together in the breakfast nook.
We didn’t have a plan and then one just came together.
We enjoyed the day unfolding, meeting everyones’ needs and just flowing. I love days like today.
We were at the soccer field, watching Charlie’s first match of the season, all of us sitting together on blankets and chairs in the sunshine and cheering and enjoying the journey.
We made raclette party food for dinner, everyone pitching in and loving the shared experience.
The middle girls baked meringue cookies and we stayed up way past our bed times again.
THIS is the life. Pinch me. I love it. I love them.
I am so happy they are here to celebrate my “birthday.’
Life is good. Namaste.
here i am 