Life Lesson: The good life...

Gabriel, Michael and Isabelle, I started this blog more than 4 years ago to recount and remember just how amazing this journey of being your parents is.  While it has been wonderful to also keep our families informed and connected to what's is happening in our lives; I always wanted this to be a place where you could look back, remember and cherish the times, like I do.  What I've found to be a surprise is that you already enjoy doing this, even you, Isabelle, love to look at the books I created from the stories I've shared here.

And so this morning when I was out bright and early, trying to get a jump start on the day, I was reminded just how lucky I am to have such a good life.  I thought, I wonder if I've taken the time to share with you what it means to have a good life. Because in the end, of the many things I wish for you, I wish you a good life... a good good life (as One Republic says). Listen to it.  I know its a song your mom likes, so it probably can't be that good, but just give it a chance, it really is.

Some people spend their entire lives looking for the good life.  Some believe it is a life filled with lots of riches, more money than one know how to spend and luxury like we can't even imagine.  While many believe the good life can be hard to find, I have a secret for you.  The good life isn't hard to find, in fact, when you stop and look around, the good life is right there, almost like your shadow.

The truth is the good life is filled with riches, but not in the sense you are thinking.  Instead of money, the good life is found in enjoying all the riches money cannot buy in a life.  It's creating quality, loving and giving relationships with others that allow you to be who you are, require you to give of yourself to make someone else's life better and to be rewarded with the same in return.

The good life is one in where you work hard for a purpose and find satisfaction in knowing you've done your best. Some days this will be easy and you'll feel great joy for having a job you like.  And there there will be other days, when things go wrong, deadlines approaches faster than expected, you make mistakes and fail all while trying.  These are the days when its harder than ever to remember the feeling of a good life.  And that's where I like to think about one of my favorite songs again.  As one republic says, Sometimes there's airplanes you can't jump out, sometimes there's bull-crud that don't work out, we all have our stories, but please tell me, what's there to complain about.  So, do you get it?  Does it makes sense?  While the good life involves a lot of good, there are days that aren't so good.  What's important and the message is, you've got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and keep trudging on, to find the good stuff, the stuff that reminds you what this life is all about.  The hard days remind you to cherish the good days.

The good life is stopping to appreciate all the beauty in a world that doesn't necessarily celebrate altruistic beauty.  While media and television tell us to celebrate beauty in flawless faces with Botox and puffed up lips and other parts; I believe the good life is celebrating the beauty all around us.  From a new tree sprouting tiny flowers in its quest to reach the sky,

 To the beauty and tranquility a summer's sunset can bring.  The beauty in holding the wrinkled and time worn hand of your grandparents and to celebrating the way we age.  I remember the feel of my great-grandmother's hand and how loose her skin felt on her fingers.  When I was a little girl, I asked her why her skin was so loose. She responded by saying, "When you live a long time and have had as many great times as I have, your skin can't help but get all wrinkled and loose.  There's been too much to take in, my skin can help but get stretched."  And that's the way to look at it. Getting old and wrinkly isn't bad, as long as you celebrate it and remember the blessings life has given you in each of the wrinkles on your face and hands.

And so that's what I wish for each of you.  I wish you a good life.  I wish for you a life, where you have have a partner who gives you all you give them and more.  I wish for you a life where you feel love from family and friends at every turn.  I hope the challenges you find in life teach you to grow, to appreciate and to realize you are stronger than you will ever know.  I hope you find joy in the simple things... the feeling of your heart melting when your baby laughs for the first time, when your son jumped into the air with pure happiness after hitting his first home run and when you middle baby comes up to you for no reason other than to hug you and say, "I love you Mom."  Those are the moments that remind you the good life is all around.

The good life... making Minnie Mouse bows out of your own hair.

The Good Life... wondering if your vinegar/egg experience will actually work out. 

The good life... Reaching for the sky to help mom test of some crazy idea she had for a work activity.

The good life... the loving moments you share with each other. 

The good life.... YOU, all of YOU!

 Until next time,
Angie

Pirates

Last weekend was glorious.  Jarrett got to spend two whole days away from work and instead spent the time with us.  Did I mention how nice it was?  It was the first Saturday in a very LONG time where Jarrett didn’t race off  sometime after lunch and head into work.  He was around almost the entire weekend.  We ate meals together, we watched movies together as a family, we went out to eat as a family, and we went swimming together.  It was so special in fact, that all the kids made a comment about it.  Isabelle questioned, “Daddy no work?”  Gabriel  repeated, “Dad, it is so nice you aren’t going into work” And Michael said, “Dad- now let’s play Star Wars video games since you don’t have to leave.”  While I appreciated having the extra help around the house, I also let Dad enjoy the quality time with the kids. 

Last weekend we watched the 1950's Disney movie called Treasure Island.  I saw the movie at the library and remember watching it with my mom and dad as a child.   I thought it would be fun to rent it and watch it with my family.  When I showed Dad and the boys the movie they wanted to watch it right away.  At first the boys couldn’t understand what the pirates were saying.  They said, “They talk like the olden times” Going to our standard of how Jarrett and I watch movies, we turned on the closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing.  Thank goodness for subtitles.  I actually thought of it as a win-win, while we didn't have to constantly translate what was said, instead, the boys could read it!  That counts as an educational activity then right?

Anyway, the boys could obviously tell the movie hadn’t been made in recent times and that the setting was “a long time ago” as Michael likes to say.  After the movie ended I could tell the boys were still very interested in the timing, the life of pirating and curious if pirates actually are real.  Jarrett and I had just watched Captain Phillips a few weeks ago and so when Gabriel asked me if pirates are real, I responded, “Yes, but they don’t dress the way the pirates in this movie dressed.”  My answer must have thrown off his hypothesis of when pirates were living, because I could see him sitting at the kitchen table still thinking about the movie we had just watched.  Meanwhile, Michael, who has a question for everything, continued to interrogate Jarrett about pirates, how many there are, where they live, what they did with their treasure; you name it.  He had a question. 

I went to see what Isabelle was doing and when I returned to the room, the boys and Jarrett were still talking about pirates.  That’s when Gabriel’ jumped back into the conversation and said, “So Dad, I think I’ve got this figured out.  First came dinosaurs, then came pirates and after that came people, right?”  

We may need another history lesson.  Just saying…

Until next time,

Angie

Taking Minnie to the grocery store...

Tonight after dinner, and after what has been a horrible weekend of eating terribly (I try to blame it on it being my birthday but that was two days ago and it hasn't stopped), I decided we needed to take a family walk.  Never mind the fact that we had just been in the pool for almost 3 hours and that the boys had been running full steam since the moment their eye lids opened this morning.  I was needing to get out and feel better and so I thought, why not take a family walk.

Prior to our walk, Isabelle and Michael had been playing so nicely together in the front room.  Isabelle was of course playing with her Minnie Mouses and Michael, was so kindly being the good big brother and pretending to do all sorts of fun stuff with her for Minnie.  Minutes before the decision to go for a walk, Minnie, Michael and Isabelle had been taking their babies, aka Minnie's" to the grocery store.  I guess I interrupted them when I said go get your shoes on we are going for a walk.  I say interrupted because there was NO way, I mean NO WAY we were going to get Isabelle out of the house without Minnie, and by that I mean Minnie in her stroller with Isabelle's purse on the handle.

I wondered to myself exactly how far we'd get on our "around the block" walk with Isabelle pushing her Minnie. The image flashed into my head.  We'd be about 5 houses down the block (just far enough away) and Isabelle would get tired and demand to get picked up.  While I carried Isabelle in one arm, I knew that meant my other arm would be trying to finagle stuffed Minnie in her stroller as we attempted a "fun" family walk.

Even with that image clearly pasted into the front of my mind, I gave in and said, "Okay Isabelle let's take Minnie along."  Happy as all get out, Isabelle bounced along pushing her stroller while talking to Minnie the entire time as we left the house.  I walked along side Isabelle to make sure she didn't make her way into the street and soaked in every minute of what I was watching.  Isabelle decided some where along the way that she was taking Minnie to the grocery store.  And at the store she was going to get bananas and cheese.  Yes, just bananas and cheese.  As we made our way down the block and past the 5th house, I wondered when she would start slowing down.  For she was still bouncing with happiness and pride that SHE was taking her baby to the store.  On top of that she was being a very protective mother, as we approached a crack in the sidewalk that was raised higher than the pavement before, she picked up the entire stroller with Minnie still fastened in and gently set her down past the big bump.  Then she'd say, "There you go Minnie. There you go."

In some ways I couldn't believe I was watching our "baby."  I use that term pretty loosely now as I know she is anything but that.  I can't believe how big she is.  She talks in full sentences, can follow commands, understands most things we say and is just soooo big.  When I shared what happened tonight with my parents, they said, "Just wait, soon she'll be riding her bike around the block like the boys do."  I told them to stop.  I'm not quite ready for that.

As we rounded our 3rd corner on our way back home, she was still happily trotting along as if she was a mommy and had to protect her baby.  She continued to talk to Minnie and repeated to herself what she was going to buy.  "Bananas and cheese, okay Minnie?"  Perhaps she's heard her own mom repeat the grocery list to her a time or two.  Ahem, I mean, I have no idea where she got that idea.  Strolling up to our house, after our good 20 minute walk, the walk she did entire on her own, without being picked up or asked to be carried once, I was again reminded just how quickly she's growing up.

While I wish I could stop time and relive these moments over and over, I know that is not how it works.  I guess that's why I was probably so insistent Jarrett take out his phone and start recording. I just had to capture our little BIG girl in her excitement of taking her baby to the store.

Until next time,
Angie

SCHOOLS Out FOR Summer!

So, are you singing along with me?  While the kids have already been out of school for almost a week now, I am just catching my breath and asking myself what just happened.  Last Wednesday the boys finished 1st grade(Michael) and 2nd grade (Gabriel).  Yikes!  Where is the time going?  Where are my boys who are so small, innocent and just learning their ABC's?  When did I exchange them for division learning, cursive writing and science loving big kids?  I guess I must have blinked when it happened because I now have two boys who are quickly catching up with me in height and soon entering the 3rd and 2nd grades.... WOW.  I guess that's all I can say.

Just 10 months ago we started on a new journey at a new school, with new teachers, new friends and a new routine that to the boy's delight involved riding the bus.  Summer literally snuck up on me and while I usually try to prepare for summer starting in April, this year I prepared last Monday and Tuesday, yes one day before the end of the school year.

As we reflect back upon what the year entailed for the boys, I am so, SO thankful we made the decision we did to change schools.  While it was scary (I think mainly for me), we hoped and trusted our gut that we had done the right thing for Gabriel and Michael.  It turns out we did.  They both had AMAZING, I'll say it again, AMAZING teachers who welcomed them with open arms, shared their gift of loving to learn and showed the boys they were cared about from day 1.  What more could a parent ask for.  While each of their teachers were different, they were the perfect balance for what each boy needed and as a result Gabriel and Michael thrived.

Both Gabriel's and Michael's teachers went above and beyond to show how they were cared about individually.  Each boy invited their teacher to come to their baseball games.  While thinking it was a nice gesture by the boys to their teachers, I never thought twice about them actually coming.  Turns out, I was blown away when both Gabriel and Michael's teachers emailed me asking when the next game was and letting me know they'd like to come.  In fact, Gabriel's teacher asked if it would be okay if she invited the entire class to come to Gabriel's playoff game, as their class was following Gabriel's team in the playoffs and wanted to come and support him.  I was impressed.  Still am, actually.  And not only did Gabriel's teacher come but several of his classmates and their parents.  That in itself showed me the cohesive bond she had created among the students in her class.

Another thing I am grateful for this year is the fact that the boys were able to experience and live the 7 Habits of Happy Kids as a part of the Covey grant their school was awarded.  I'm a big fan of teaching my children leadership skills that they can use throughout their entire life.  The 7 Habits the boys learned this year, were exceptionally helpful, taught them to identify their strengths, set and work toward goals, and how to think Win-Win in a world that constantly reinforces Win-Lose.  I've seen them warmly accept the principles and philosophies taught through the program and incorporate the language and behaviors in their daily life.  In fact, last Friday when we sat down to talk about things they'd like to learn over the summer the boys told me they wanted to set goals and write them down.  Sometimes I feel like I"m looking in the eyes of 20 plus year olds.

On the last morning of school, we were of course running late.  While skipping breakfast was going to be a sure thing, there was one thing I was not going to skip.  That was this...

Yes, I did insist on the last day of school photo.  While the boys kept asking why they had to take a picture, I just kept telling them to smile.  What I wasn't ready to put into words yet was just how much I had seen them grow.  I knew they all have changed so much this year, but I just had to compare pictures with pictures.

Yep there are a few differences from this photo to today.  And I"m sure by August they will have even changed more.

Here's to one successful school year, to a safe and fun summer, and a fantastic fall that will be here before I finish planning the summer.

Until next time,
Angie

PS:  Oh and while my intention was to mainly take a picture of the boys on their last day, this little miss decided she has to be a part of the fun too!

 Some body insisted on wearing her backpack and pretending it was her last day of school too.  Look at that CHEESE in her smile!

Precious Moments...

I have a habit of going into Isabelle's bedroom to check on her while she is sleeping.  I love how precious she looks while she is sleeping.  Actually, if I'm being honest, I love how innocent and precious all the kids look while they are sleeping.  

Here are a few photos of her sleeping so peacefully.  Aren't they too precious?  

Yes, she is hugging her teddy bear

And yes her hands are folded together like she fell asleep while saying her prayers.

And then there was this day.  She insisted on having all of her Disney friends in bed with her.  I can't help but wonder if her magical friends were a part of her dreams.

Oh I hope these days never end.

Until next time,

Angie

Art.

I've never been much of an artist and when it comes to understanding classic art masterpieces worth millions of dollars, most often I find myself wondering why in the world anyone would ever pay that much money for just one picture.

So with that disclaimer, I have to share a story about one of Gabriel's recent drawings.  While I've been wondering all year what Gabriel has been doing at school, I am now finding out.  With less than a week left to go in school, I've learned that Gabriel's "cubby" in the classroom has been jammed packed with his papers to bring home.  While the teacher encouraged him to bring home his work frequently, Gabriel decided he'd wait until the end of the year to bring home his papers, all of them.

In the piles of paper he has been bringing home, are his art masterpieces.  As I'm sorting through the many papers he is bringing home, I came across this picture.

Immediately I thought, WHAT is THAT?  I searched the top of his paper looking for a clue as to what he was suppose to be drawing.  I thought to myself, maybe this picture went along with the lesson on the human digestive system.  I don't think they've been learning about certain body parts yet. Hummm... I didn't know.

After scanning the top of the paper and not getting any better clue, I read the caption right above the picture. I guess I should have read that first.  My favorite thing to draw is....

Boy am I glad he wrote a caption on his picture.  Thank goodness that's a baseball and a bat.

Until next time,
Angie

Barbies, Squinkies and dolls

This weekend our friends shared some Barbie’s, Squinkies and some dolls their daughter had out grown.  While I wasn’t sure if we were ready yet for Barbie’s in our house, it turns out we were.

While Isabelle is interested in playing with those toys, it turns out Gabriel and Michael are just as interested. 

  It is funny.  When the toys were brought to our house, you could tell the boys were interested but trying with their might to resist the urge to play with “girls toys”  Michael gave in first, within 5 minutes he started playing with Isabelle.  He said, “Mom, I don’t care if its Barbie’s.  I’m going to play with these all day!”  

And that’s pretty much what he did.  He and Isabelle got along like bees and honey.  He’d comb a Barbie’s hair and then give the brush to Isabelle for her turn, while he set up the RV and got the food ready.  Gabriel on the other hand, tried his best to keep a “safe” distance pretending to watch TV while still letting his eyes wander back to them having fun playing on the floor.  He has some good stamina.

And then came yesterday.   Isabelle was having what we coin a two-year old tantrum and wasn’t sure what she wanted other than to scream.  The boys, being the great brothers they were, immediately sprang into action and tried to distract her to make her happy again.  Immediately they went for the new toys they had just received the day earlier.  Right away Isabelle calmed down and started playing.  The boys of course had to start playing with her.  

As I prepared dinner I listened to them talking to each other.  Gabriel, let’s dress them up so they can go to a party.  Can you comb her hair Isabelle?  Now we are going camping.  My Barbie gets to drive the camper.  And on and on and on.  At one point I couldn’t resist the cuteness so I went over and took a couple pictures with my phone.  

Immediately Gabriel said, “Mom, do NOT post this on Facebook.”  Okay I said, telling myself he didn’t say anything about Instagram or our blog.

For almost an hour the kids played nicely (which is almost a miracle) with “girl toys.”   When Dad came home Gabriel ran with his Barbie and hid behind the couch so Dad didn’t see him playing with a doll.  In some ways, it makes me sad that he was so embarrassed about playing with the Barbie’s.  What’s really that wrong with boys playing with “girl toys”  They were having fun pretending to go camping and on vacation.  They were using their imagination and actually playing nicely with each other.  In my book, I can’t find anything wrong with that.  I think part of the interest, comes from having new toys to play with.  What kid can resist not playing with new toys?  The other thing, is that it was something different.  Never before have we had Barbies, Squinkies or any girl toys in the house to tempt them.

While I don’t think the boys will be adding Barbie’s, Squinkies or dollies to their Christmas wish list, I do think they have enjoyed getting to play with “girls toys”.  And I’ve enjoyed watching them.  Finally my skills in Barbie hair styling will be helpful.  I’ve been waiting for this day.  I know so much more about this girly stuff.

Until next time,

Angie