Soccer

Soccer started. It complicates my life, but my kids really like it. This year I lucked out and both kids have practice the same day on the same field. That could not have worked out better.
Samantha is playing for the first time in a competitive league (they keep score and have little playoffs). Her coach is good and she is learning a lot. The games are fun to watch...I was worried they might be too intense, but so far it has just been fun. Of course, it always helps that they keep winning. That makes everything more fun. :)

Landon's team is lame. They have lost every game so far, which makes him quite disappointed. However, they did score 2 goals for the first time this last week. Awesome.
It is hard watching his little team get creamed each week, but still funny to see 5-year-old soccer. At any time during the game, this is what you see. A mosh pit of boys all trying to kick the ball. Now that is entertainment.

Despite all the running around, it has been fun for all of us. I just keep hoping for cooler weather. I've had enough of the heat. :)

What I learned today...

I learned that I am just as frugal as my husband, despite what my in-laws think. :)

My dryer broke today. The drum wouldn't turn...so I called Whirlpool and got a number for a service company. I made an appointment for next TUESDAY (hello! i'm pregnant and am limited in both the clothes and underwear department. I'll never make it to Tuesday!). Anyway, the lady proceeds to tell me that just to look at my dryer will cost $75, and then I will get an estimate of the cost to fix it.

That is A LOT of money to pay for something that is probably easy. So...three hours later, with a lot of assistance from the internet and youtube, my dryer is up and running again. Yippee!

I must admit, I feel pretty awesome today. Granted, Julie was definitely ignored for those 3 hours, but I saved myself a serious chunk of change and boosted my self-esteem in the process.

I would post a picture, but you can imagine what I still look like. I was doing laundry this morning so I WOULD have clean underwear and clothes for the day. No shower, no make-up, still in pajamas...who cares? I fixed my dryer! :)

Managing...

Yesterday I got a panicked note from a tenant about some broken things in her apartment. She had stayed home from work THAT day, so those things could be fixed. Uh, ok...luckily for her, I could get the proper vendors over the same day to help her out. That is rarely the case though.

Then she leaves a number for me to call her and let her know when help is coming. I called it and called it and called it...it was obviously the wrong number. Please, know your number!

At 6:30 this morning I got a call from an irate tenant. Someone had parked right behind his car so he couldn't get to work. I would be ticked, too, but I could have used less yelling and cussing so early in the morning.

I really, really hate my job. 9 months and counting...

Julie

Taking pictures of Julie is always an adventure. We usually start ok, but then things start spiraling downwards. I love the pictures anyway because they are just so HER. Inevitably, she starts making this face. It is the funniest thing ever to her. She can hardly keep the face up because she is laughing so hard.


Then we move on to this one. What a goof ball. It's even better when I show her the pictures of herself...then she REALLY starts laughing.


Julie is awesome.

1st day

My kids started school 2 1/2 weeks ago. It has been an adjustment for everyone, for school brings homework, piano lessons, soccer, achievement nights, and lots more that makes life a little hectic.

My camera had no battery when Samantha left, so these next pictures were actually taken AFTER school. Oops.

And, of course, Julie hated to be left out so she decided to join the picture (personality and all)

The space between

I went to enrichment tonight. I taught a class on cleaning green...hee hee. I think it was funny I got asked, because I am not very green myself. Anyway, in preparation for tonight, I found myself walking the aisles in Whole Foods.

I like that store. It's cool. I kept thinking, "I could be this person. I could be more earthy, more granola...less sugar, more natural! Yes, this is the life for me!" And then I saw the price of the groceries. I was quickly brought back to reality.

And that is the space between who I could be, and who I am. I love the idea of eating everything organic and fresh, but the prices can be insane. My family would have to eat a lot more rice and beans to make room for all that healthy stuff.

I went to another class tonight. An art class for little kids. Awesome. I want to be that mother, the one who realizes that the process is so much more important than the product. But I'm not her. I want to be though, and that gives me hope.

The space between who I am and who I want to be is sometimes so vast. How will I close the gap? I don't really know, but I'm glad I was a part of enrichment tonight. It gave me a lot to think about, and even more to work on. And aren't those times the best of all? The times when we leave wanting to be better than we came?

The end of summer

This Labor Day we went to the beach. It started out overcast, but ended up being a perfect beach day. Samantha and Landon love to play in the waves, so I was really glad Brian was there with us. It is a lot less stress if he is out there with them.
We also took a kite someone gave us a few years ago. It was not an easy, one string kite...oh no, this contraption had two strings and needed more skill than we were able to muster up. Despite that, we did get it flying a few times and it was fun all the same.

Julie spends most of her time digging in the sand, but has started playing more in the water. All my kids have a serious fascination with sand crabs. I never mind the little ones, but some of those suckers get pretty big, and then it is just creepy. Yuck. The beach is so fun. It is probably one of my favorite things about living in California. It was a wonderful end to our summer. Sigh...

The evolution of food

I love how food just keeps getting better and better. Take salads, for instance. There are so many different kinds of salad. I love them. I found this one in a magazine several years ago. It does not disappoint.

Nectarines, pictachios, prosciutto, and watercress...my mouth is watering again right now! Yummy. I'm so glad we get to eat. :)