Why Being A Parent Is Like Training For A (half) Marathon

1. Training begins before sunrise.
2. It's 70% mental ("I can do this") and 30% physical.
3. Goals should be realistic and broken down into smaller milestones
4. Having a plan in place is essential
5. Rest is scheduled and necessary for recovery
6. While the flat course is ideal, there will always be hills
7. For every hill there is an up AND a down
8. You are stronger than you think you are
9. Part of training is figuring out what works for you...and what doesn't
10. It may be painful at times, but giving up is not an option
11. Don't forget to enjoy the scenery
12. It's not about winning, it's about doing the best you can do and finishing what you started

A Style All Her Own

When one thinks of having a daughter (especially after having 3 boys), one conjures up images of fairytale and princess dresses, tea parties and cute bows in her hair. Unless that said daughter is Ella...she has her OWN ideas. Dress up? Absolutely. It's her favorite thing to do...but not in fairytale and princess dresses.


Okay, sometimes princess dresses, but with her own flair. "Poo-wee, mama, poo-wee!" (pretty, mama, pretty!).

A moment of pure joy when Ella discovers her bathing suit matches perfectly...with her pajamas. And, yes, she did sleep in it...some battles just aren't worth fighting.

Tea parties? She loves those too. Just not the kind complete with white gloves and feathery boas. In all fairness, her "guests" are not really the glove-and-boa type. And, for the record, I just knew it would only be a matter of time before she was coercing her brothers into her fabulous tea parties. They may never admit it, but I think her brothers enjoy them too...


And if there is anything on Ella's head, it usually doesn't resemble a bow. Maybe a hat. Or a beanie. Maybe a bucket or a box or the hood of a sweatshirt (or anything else she can balance there). But bows are pulled out the second they placed there. And, of course, no outfits are complete without some kind of off-the-wall accessory...

like goggles...

or oversized glamour sunglasses...or hiking boots....or gardening gloves...or all of the above! Like I said, she has her OWN ideas. But, holding true to my promise from my previous post, I will continue to encourage her creativity. Even in public. Just please try not to stare.

Building Dreams and Creating Memories

One of the things I admire most about Brian as a father is his not just tolerance (that would be me), but the encouragement and help he gives our kids to create and build whatever crazy ideas they seem to come up with (within reason, of course). Maybe it's because he remembers what it's like to be a kid and the endless curiosity and adventure that goes along with it. Or maybe it's because as adults we lose most of that to the responsibilities and demands of everyday life. After all, ideas take dreaming and dreaming takes time...and we all know what happens to time as we get older.

So, here are some of the boys' latest "creations". Blake loves the outdoors, so he's often busy building and/or growing things and every time we go to Home Depot he is sure to return with his next project. When we planted flowers on Memorial Day, Blake randomly scattered sunflower seeds in our front yard. I have to admit, I wasn't going to be disappointed if they didn't grow since they weren't part of the real landscaping. But the joy on his face as he saw first the sprouts, then the buds, and now the flowers and studied their progress every day made me realize that the pride he took in this process was more meaningful to him than anything I could have contrived. Even if they didn't match the rest of the landscaping.

And every time I step foot outside our front door I am reminded that just because his goals aren't necessarily my goals, doesn't mean they aren't valuable. Just look at the beautiful sunflowers that now decorate our yard.

And the same goes for the lovely bird buffet he built for the neighborhood birds. (The sign is for the dog, too bad she can't read...). We now have multiple birds outside our windows throughout the day.

Garrett's creativity seems to manifest itself in different ways. He loves to draw and paint. Here's a wood block he found, painted with water colors and "framed" himself with rubber bands and glitter glue. I'm pretty sure I never would have thought of this.

Then there's the fruit dish he created (pretty much a smoothie but stirred instead of blended). He is happy to give you the recipe if you ask. And just so you know..."not all the great chefs eat their own food" according to Garrett.

He "invented" what he calls the Air-O-Nator which is an empty sports water bottle which, when squeezed, gives a puff of air. This comes in handy for blowing up balloons and on a hot day. Garrett is constantly building new and novel "models" from Legos and continues to invent whatever comes to mind. He's even written out his own set of instructions to go with it!

He reminds me that having faith in him and believing in his ideas means more to him than whatever it is he is building.

Leave it to their "silly" ideas to teach me how to be a better parent. Who knows, maybe one day they will invent or create something extraordinary! Until then, I promise to tolerate and encourage their goals, ideas and creativity. Even if they don't think that having a clean bedroom is a goal worth striving for.

Storm Troopers

In every sense of the word. There was the Storm baseball team, the Boy Scout troopers, and then there were the actual Storm Troopers. In combination, it doesn't get much better than that for a six year old boy.

The Cub Scouts pack attended their annual Lake Elsinore Storm minor league baseball game this summer- with the added bonus of a Star Wars theme. The Scouts got to parade around the field with the flags.

And Darth Vader even threw out the first pitch!

As a Star Wars fanatic, Garrett was beside himself with excitement...(can you tell?)

so much so that he didn't don his Tiger Cubs hat to the game, but his Clone Trooper Helmet! Blake was pretty excited too.

Actual Star Wars characters...a dream come true. Oh yeah, and the baseball game was fun too. Turns out, they like baseball too, who knew?


They even stuck around for autographs afterward...


Can you guess which one is Brian?

Something tells me we have a trip to Comic Con in our future.

Back at home Garrett's obsession with Star Wars continues.

(Garrett on the Star Wars website, listening to Star Wars music, wearing his Star Wars helmet).
It begs the question...what in the world would he do without Star Wars???

Getting Schooled

Three days into school and...so far so good (phew)! We were very excited to learn that Garrett would have Blake's teacher from last year, and that Blake was in a class with a great teacher and some good friends. A great start to hopefully a great year.

They actually loved going back to school, but the picture-taking...not so much (hence the other "candid" shots). Isn't six years old way too young to be too cool for your parents?

One big difference this year is that Garrett and Blake will have different recesses, which means that Blake won't have Garrett's back when it comes to other kids and having someone to play with (except in the mornings). I actually think this is a really good thing, since Garrett has yet to find a "best friend".

First thing, Blake showed Garrett the morning playground routine.

Blake lacing up to start racking up his running miles. This year his goal is to get to 100 miles by the end of the school year!

And Garrett is off to look for a soccer buddy.

As for the twins, this time next year they will be starting preschool. From the looks of it, they will be well-prepared. I just hope I am.

Congratulations to the boys for a great beginning to first and second grade! Hopefully they'll still feel the excitement when the homework starts rolling in...

Ha Ba Da OOO

That's "Happy Birthday to You" in two year speak. It took me seven years and four kids to really realize that as special as birthdays are, parties can be a lot of work and overwhelming to little ones. So we kept things simple this year. A small get together with family and minimal presents. And while the babies (okay, toddlers) still didn't quite "get it", they understood enough to know that this was a cause for celebration that required hats, ice cream and cake, and a song. They still didn't get that it was for them, as Ella wished everyone else a Ha Ba Da and even placed her birthday hat on her milk cup and sang it Ha Ba Da OOOO a day later.

A soccer ball was the perfect gift from her big brother since Ella was already decked out in his shin guards and cleats. How did she know?

Give him a good book (especially with dinosaurs) and he's a happy camper.

One of the big hits was their new picnic bench for their play area. Perfect for eating cake and ice cream.

Here's Chase's reaction to realizing he had eaten all his dessert. What can I say, he's two and he LOVES dessert.

My little food bandit takes his first opportunity to steal his sister's bowl...and eats it ALL!

Then she realizes what he did. Of course she was quickly given a fresh bowl all her own to eat...

and Chase becomes the ice cream police to make sure she finishes every last bite of it.

Having twins can be hilariously entertaining at times. But having TWO YEAR OLD twins is priceless.

Two Years Ago...

I was driving myself to the hospital...for the fourth time. Only that time Brian got "the page" at work. Two years ago I was overjoyed, underslept (not sure if that's a word, but you get the picture) and a little anxious. Two years ago Chase & Ella came into our worlds...and now we can't imagine it without them.

I'm still amazed at how much of their personalities shone through in the first hours of their lives. Although Chase would startle easily, he was quickly comforted by a loving hug- and still is. He was a hard worker even then, relentless in his attempts for a good meal, despite being tongue tied. And somehow he could just light up a room. And still can.

His endearing smile is impossible not to reciprocate, his happy belly laughs, irresistible to not encourage and his loving hugs are abundant (as if his dimples weren't enough).

If he's not jumping with excitement or doing his "dinosaur walk" then he has a book in hand and is looking for the perfect place to sit and read. And, of course, he loves cars and trucks (or "twu" as he calls them), trains, airplanes and dogs. But more than all of that, he loves his big brothers and wants to be JUST like them.

His big heart matches the rest of him at a whopping 40+ lbs.

Everyone should be so blessed as to have a little "Chase" in their lives.

Ella has been equally consistent since birth. Or even before that when she use to do crazy summer salts (with half the room) in my tummy, often leaving me breathless. And she still loves to show off her flexibility. She was born a tough cookie and it's good thing with three older brothers. Even today, she holds her own and doesn't usually cry for the "little" hurts. Unless she sees somebody is watching and wants the attention...but she IS a girl. And she's a girl who knows what she wants, which hasn't changed and probably never will. Her obsessions are true to her gender...shoes (or anything that fits on her feet- tea cups work too),

hats (or anything that fits on her head- buckets work too),

(some buckets are better than others)

clothes (or anything she can "wear"- towels work too),

baby dolls and "mothering" her big brothers (that's a nice way of saying that she's bossy). Depending on her mood (and her company), she can come across as intimidating...or a flirt. And her facial expressions are priceless (and indescribable). She is her own person, that's for sure. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

With two years comes tantrums, time outs, and teaching boundaries. And exploration and wonder, communication and understanding, and fascination in the little things. That is what I'm looking forward to. Making music, building blocks, dressing up and experiencing the world beyond the stroller. Because in two years from now my babies (okay, toddlers), will be preschoolers and moving into the next stage in life. Whether I like it or not.

Wishing a very Happy 2nd Birthday to our Chase-asaurus Rex (C-Rex for short) and our Ella-Bella-Cinderella.

Taming the Ocean

Despite the HIGH RISK ADVISORY leading up to the days before it. Despite the warnings of STRONG RIP CURRENT and HIGH SURF. Despite the multiple SHARK SIGHTINGS in recent months off the coast. And despite the reports of SCHOOLS OF JELLYFISH stinging by the hundreds...Brian braved it all.

This past weekend Brian swam the 1/4 mile rough water swim portion of this year's Solana Beach Triathlon. He convinced two of his co-workers to take part in the biking and running portions- smart man.

On your mark...get set....

GO!!!

And...they're off! There he is, do you see him? He's the one in the wetsuit with the red swim cap...don't worry...we didn't either. He's out there somewhere.

There were like ants storming the beach...so I just kept taking pictures thinking that I would get lucky since you really couldn't tell one swimmer from another. I think I just missed him in this frame, but they were moving so fast that before I could focus he was...

right in front of me. Go Brian!!!!

He had been training for a few months and the distance was very manageable for him. He wasn't even afraid of the sharks or jellyfish! But who would have thought that the swimmers would have to run up a steep HILL to the transition area? Sand, yes (and there was plenty of that to run through), but a hill? In a wetsuit? After swimming your heart out? Wasn't there a reason he didn't sign up for (or train for) the 5k run?

But despite it all, he did GREAT. Brian finished his swim with the first set of "relay" swimmers to come in, and kept his competitive edge. Despite the hill. That's our Brian! Determined, courageous, competitive and athletic! Congratulations, Brian!

And if you've ever been to an organized competition like this, you already know that the excitement and adrenaline are enough to keep you wanting to do it again and again. The next competition? Forget a 5K...think BIGGER. How about a 1/2 marathon in November? Brian and I plan to run it together...I'm just hoping there isn't any swimming involved.