move over bruce lee...

my whole life my pa has always preached about what he believes is "important" in life - "the 3 M's": math, music, & martial arts. i had actually forgotten about it until i had kids of my own. as soon as they were born he'd remind me, "the 3 M's wena, the 3 M's!"

when g turned 5 i felt it was a decent age to go ahead & let him try the 3rd "M". r & i debated between jiu jitsu, judo & karate, but finally ended up choosing kung fu. the deciding factor for me? bruce lee, of course! we wanted to choose a martial art that was, in my opinion, "traditional". if he gets older & wants to learn all the "new school" styles, he'll have that option. but until that day comes, here's to my little white belt!

FIVE

1 2 3
4
i close my eyes & he is
at 12:06 a.m. on september 6, 2004
after 15 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and an emergency c-section, my first born graced this earth and changed my life FOR GOOD. how time just FLEW! i started the day like i always do on my babies birthdays...cuddled him in my arms & reminisced about the day he was born, with every last detail. i love how he stared at me in awe.

this year was especially moving for me, since 5 years old is a critical age. before he woke up, in the early morning light, i stared at his sweet little face, remembering all we've been through together and -- i started bawling! we spent his big day in his favorite place, disneyland.

he has always had such a sweet face i can't believe there was a time in my life when i actually did not want children. i firmly believe i'm one of those women who would have been just fine had i chosen not to have any. but when i look at pictures like these, i thank all that is right & good for the blessings of my sweet, sweet gavin :)

happy, happy birthday to my favorite boy!

first thursday

summer break 2009 - week 1, day 4 - thursday!

ok, ok, i know i was supposed to be at yoga at 9am this morning...but it was much more fun snuggling in bed with my babies! even though they wake me up at the crack of dawn when i have at least a few more hours of sleep in me, seeing their chubby faces is worth it - i know this stage won't last forever!

we grabbed lunch with monica, sebs & mathias and i dragged gavin to yet another dr's appt; once again he was such a good boy :) i met my sister at loehmann's to buy a dress for meriel's bridal shower. i SO hate shopping! actually, i SO hate trying on clothes (that'll teach me - i guess i should have gone to that yoga class after all, huh?). finally i was able to find a really cute dress, now the fun part - a pair of cute shoes!

monica met up with us again since the boys had so much fun earlier. we were at the mission valley mall, supposed to go to sammy's, and i remembered it was happy hour and we were steps away from my all-time favorite hand roll, spicy scallop @ seau's:

yum! you can even see sweet baby mathias quietly sleeping, letting his mama enjoy her dinner. the boys were so behaved monica & i felt they deserved a treat :)

another wonderful summer vacation day!

p.s. nette i'll see you here @ 6am tomorrow! OR if you'd rather grab breakfast, let's talk ;) xo

daily stroll

summer break 2009 - week 1, day 2 - toosdy!

today began like all others...kids jumping around wanting "biya button" and fighting to lie down next to me. i was up & ready to go to yoga, but then decided i would go later that night with my mom (ha!). i made the kids & r a very special breakfast - spam & egg sandwiches. if you know me, you know i never let my kids eat spam, but that's all we had & i was too lazy to cook anything else.

i dragged g along with me (he can sit, e would be all over the place!) to my chiro appt. he was such a good boy i decided to give him a treat - i promised him a bag of candy (of his own choosing) at his favorite candy store in plaza bonita. if you haven't been there lately you've got to check it out (before it gets ghetto-ed up). they re-did one half of the mall & it actually looks nice! on our way to the disney store i just happened to walk by these CUTE shoes:

at a store called "judy shoes" - they were only $12! i just had to grab a pair (or two). what a bargain! before i left i snapped a quick pic to send to some of my girlfriends who would appreciate this great deal. as i was leaving the (18 year old) sales clerk said, "you're not allowed to take pictures". i asked her if she wanted me to delete it & she said yes. poor thing, she was unaware of my new texting skills & with the help of my trusty crackberry it was already out in cyberspace before she could even finish her sentence.

still trying to make it to the disney store, i stopped by crazy 8's to grab some jeans for g&e - only 6.99! i don't normally like shopping, but i do when it's a steal :) we finally made it to the disney store for the UP shirts (pics to be posted on friday). g got his candy & i even bought him a cheese-stick since he was so well behaved. i started a new skincare line, too, so we'll see how that goes.

p.s. no, i never did make it to yoga so i will try for 6am tomorrow morning...ha!

summer break is here!

summer break 2009 - week 1, day 1 - monday!

inspired by my bff lees and her daily spring break journaling, as a promise (to myself), i am going to record each & every day of my summer vacation! if i had enough energy i would have done a "summer daily" album. maybe next year? breaks are so dear to my heart because i get to spend true quality time with my family. there's no need to rush in the morning, i can make them REAL meals, i can walk g & e to the park, we can take our time. oh, how i love these breaks!

day 1 - as usual, we got up at 7am (well, the kids did, then they woke us up). so much for sleeping in...i'm trying to keep the kids on schedule though, so i guess this is not an option. i made g & e their typical toast for breakfast (forgot we had to be somewhere) & since i am trying to watch what i eat (ha!) i had coffee.

i enrolled g in a 5-week reading program through sdsu's college of extended studies. it focuses on phonics, comprehension, and independent reading skills. the class requires one parent to be present, so i was able to experience what it's like being in a classroom with g. i tell you - there is such a big difference between boys & girls at this young age! the girls were much more verbal, more outgoing. if you know g, you know that he is extremely shy - and it's so much more in the classroom. i can tell you this though - i am so glad i have taught him manners because most of the kids (and parents!) didn't have any, but that's a whole other talkshow...oh well. five more weeks of class and homework (great)...the good thing is he enjoys it very much and he insists we listen to the cd everytime we're in the car (wait, is that a good thing? :)

since i had some time between class & my optometrist appt, g & i had lunch at panera - he was so upset because he wanted "just a snack". when i asked him what he wanted he said "an ice cream sandwich". um, me too gavin. we walked around the mall, found a cute summer scarf at anthropologie (yes, i returned ALL 3 dresses, lees!), and was off to my appt.

the rest of the day was uneventful..we cleaned up, read (too many books!), played, lounged around - everything a break should be :)