They Say the Heart of Rock & Roll is Still Beating...

and from what I've seen I believe them.

I feel like dead lady walking today and it's the busiest day of my life! So I 'll just leave you with that blatant little tease for now because I gotta go get ready for the second of three parties for this weekend. Just call me party girl!

Much more later...

Rockin' Good Time!

OK before you get all excited for me and think that I actually had a rockin' good time, I have not.

But I might!

You see, the company that Tony works for throws this celebration every two years. I have been to a few of them but not the last one two years ago. Eva was only a few days old at that time and Tony and I were not attending but a the last minute I told him that he should go without me. My mom was with me since Eva's birth a few days earlier and I felt comfortable with that decision. It's traditionally a dinner with hundreds of people, some kind words for all the employees and dancing. You can imagine our astonishment and utter disbelief when Tony came home at the end of the night, with his gift CD in hand, telling tales that he had seen the Beach Boys.

Yes the real Beach Boys. Kind of a sweet and endearing thing about my husband that you may not know is that he is almost entirely American pop culture illiterate. Before that night he had never heard of the Beach Boys but could possibly sing a few bars from Surfin' USA. This was very amusing for my mother and I as she kept trying to convince him that he saw a cover band, like the one she had seen on a vacation in the Caribbean once. We pretty much had him convinced of it until weeks later I found out that it was, in fact, true after all. I was a bit bummed to have missed that one.

That ain't happenin' again folks! I don't know who is going to give us this Rockin' Good Time but as for me I have big expectations. The rumor is that it is going to be even bigger. Universally, what could be bigger than TBB's with the same middle of the road mass appeal? I am quite intrigued to say the least.

Another really cool development in my near future is that I have plans to spend a day, (yes quite possibly a whole day as long as she does not try to dump me early) with a very dear friend that I haven't seen in almost five years (I am ashamed). So Sabrina, get ready because I am way way beyond excited to see you and have you all to myself for a day!

I really need this Rockin' Good Time, Tony does too. My mother is coming to stay with my monkeys, it'll be fun sharing the details with her after! I'll be a little embarrased to tell you if it turns out to be some obscure cover band. Just know that if that turns out to be the case, I still had a Rockin' Good Time!

Saturday = Soccer.

At least for the next seven weeks anyway. It's exhausting, especially to have more than one playing. One will be at 9 a.m. and another at 1 p.m. so you're basically prepping, watching, toting, and driving most of the day away. And of course it changes every week. But it is fun. Last Saturday was also picture day and it poured rain for Emily's 9 a.m. pictures. No big deal, we rolled with it. It will be interesting to see the pictures because even though Sarah's were not until noon, she went along so she could be included in the coach's picture with Tony and Em. So by the time her pictures came up at noon, she was a bit frizzy. The sun was out by then though, and Eva loves the umbrella.

Tony's dad, aka "Abuelito" came to watch Emily and Sarah play. (Renee: thanks again for Sam's old Spiderman jacket, Wyatt loves it, although it seems now he's outgrown it!)


Emily was a given, for playing this year. It's her fourth year and she loves it. But Sarah on the other hand, we were not even going to sign her up because last year (her first year) she was totally not into it. Not even a little. She didn't want to go to practice, she just goofed around with the other kids and was very distracted, I guess what you would expect for a five year old really. So for some reason we signed her up again at the last minute, I think mostly because she does like the game...at least in the backyard.


So you can imagine our surprise, and extreme delight, when Sarah goes after the ball like her six year old life depends on it! She has become a highly competitive little athlete almost overnight. She is actually too aggressive, meaning we had to continually remind her not to push the other kids so hard. The face she is making in the photo below; her game face, she kept it throughout the game. Unbelievable. Really. She's almost growling at the ball!


Grrrrrr!

Little Sweeties.

If I get really fat soon, it's because of these babies:



Really, I don't know if they make you fat, I only know that they make you happy. I have always liked the rice crispy treats (not the store bought ones) but was never obsessed with them like I am now. I discovered this recipe for PEANUT BUTTER treats and that's what these little sweeties are. It's just so easy to make them because I do it in the microwave. Here's a tip: put plastic wrap over your measuring cup before you put the peanut butter in it. I just learned that not too long ago, cool huh? Unless you already knew that and you're saying "Ahm, duh girl!" Alternatively, just guess, because it really doesn't have to be that exact! I can eat almost a quarter of it as soon as it hits the pan. Then I want more an hour later. Can it really be that bad? Cereal is good for you, no?

Today was another funny morning with Eva, she's my little shadow. Just bopping around with me, doing chores and other house things.



Today I started sorting through the children's old and outgrown clothes. As it always happens here, we go from summer to winter in only one day. No, not really, but it's most certainly felling like fall. (I love that pumpkin graphic, as you can see I am inspired by this beautiful artist Kal). So, yesterday the girls went to school with shorts and short sleeves and today, long pants and sleeves and jackets. I can never keep up with Emily's pant legs, she outgrows them so fast and it's hard to even find them long enough for her. Three girls means I get to make a lot of decisions about what should stay and what should go and do I really want to store it for years? Good thing I have just one boy. "Oh that doesn't fit you anymore? Bye-bye."

Baby & Me.

Wyatt is back to school and on his first day he told me "you can go now Mom" a mere 10 seconds after we arrived at his classroom. He is so well adjusted.

Actually he has been a bit of a monster since we returned from vacation. He is more aggressive with his sisters (the balance of power is shifting), more defiant with me, and very very whiny. A phase? I freaking hope so!

I am loving my two mornings a week with little miss Eva. She is almost two and we have so much fun playing around and being goofy (it's my thing, I'm good at that). Two is so much fun you know. This baby is more independent than my other three were at this age. She owns the whole world as she knows it. I'm thinking it's because she has so many examples to follow and with so much constant distraction in the house she just makes her own way. She can be a little bossy though, maybe she feels like it's the only way to compete with five three other loud mouths blaring away at their every whim. She dictates when we walk, when she drinks, what she wears, when she is changed, (and yes we are seriously committed to the potty training, we sing potty songs and we spend lots of time sitting on it but not making anything go into it yet) when she sleeps, wakes, you get it...she's the boss of me. And I love it.

"My bankee."

"Play?"

Soccer Time!

It's that time of year again. This is Em's fourth year and Sarah's second. After last year we didn't think soccer was for her, but Sarah is putting out so much effort this year, and it totally shows! She did just as well or better than all the five and six year-olds out there. We were blazing with pride on Saturday morning for her.
















And then there is Emily. Ohmygosh! She works so hard on that field, it just astounds me how much energy and persistence that child of mine has come to posses. And for her efforts...two, yes, not one, but she kicked two goals! She does have an awesome team and awesome coaches (one of whom is named Tony), and she made TWO goals!
















I had so much fun watching my big girls play, last year I missed out on much of the season because Eva was smaller. I can't wait for the next game!

Here Sarah was thrilled that her team blocked a goal attempt!

He Said What?

My curious little four-and-a-half year old son Wyatt really said this:

"Garbage trucks know that carrots are in the world, right?"

What should I tell him?

He's waiting for my answer.

Help.

Family Photos.

I hope you had a great holiday weekend, we did. I'm linking you to our favorites from the beach portrait session with Maria Bowman. I think she did an amazing job.

We met at Torrey Pines State Beach. I didn't foresee the need for towels or extra clothes. What a rookie move that was! The second the kids laid their eyes on that beautiful water, they wanted in! You know I don't blame them for that! It's a miracle we got them to look at the camera even once. They were eventually soaked to the skin...all except Eva that is. Eva really wanted nothing to do with the water, she was happy just squishing the sand between her fingers but mostly just clung for life to Mommy and Daddy.

We were on the beach at about 6:30 in the evening and we were there for a little over an hour. Maria was so patient with us. In that time she took over 200 photos. It was so hard to whittle them down to my favorites.

We did have a great time, especially after we realized that it was OK to let them just play and get wet. That inevitable conclusion freed us up to have some fun with it.

I'm so glad we did this. The last time we had a family portrait (at the mall) we had only two children. It's seems silly now, but I almost cancelled the photo shoot. We were exhausted from the day and I just didn't think I could go through with it. I was feeling somewhat overwhelmed and the task of getting six people ready for pictures in a tiny hotel room with very little time gave me a slight panic. It just would have been easier to go sit by the pool and watch the kids swim. Thank goodness I pushed through that funky funk, just look what we would have missed!

I just LOVE them. The individual ones of the kids may be my favorites. Let me know what YOU think.

From Beach Favorites