Summer 2013 :: Day 17

Kale picking at Bloomfield Farms

:: Grady had a Sunday birding date with Mr. Toms.

:: The Oregon Junco was the never before seen bird of the day.

:: I did a 3 mile power walk along the bird sanctuary loops in Bodega Bay.

:: We were gifted 5 wine 1/2 barrel planters and vintage art supplies; pastels, water color palettes and the most luscious, thick watercolor papers.

:: Two words.  Nutella.  Popsicles.

:: Grady's keychain production line in final phases today and he got to use power tools with his father.  What's not to love about that.

:: Reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple for my July book club meeting.

:: DVD - Your Sister's Sister.  I liked it.  Made me want to go to Orcas Island.

:: Shrimp, pasta & pesto on the deck this evening.

Summer 2013 :: Day 16

:: G slept in until 9:30 am.

:: The temperature is supposed to be in the 100's today.

:: Lethargy has blanketed our house and we do nothing all day, but lay around and read books.

:: An afternoon breeze revives us and we start making art.  Sanding, taping, painting, carving, stamping.

:: Margaritas on the front deck with neighbors.

:: Impromptu dinner of spring rolls and a big pot of sushi rice.

:: Today was a good day.

Summer 2013 :: Day 15

:: 96 degrees in Petaluma today.

:: Epic thrifting day at my local haunts in P-town.  Embroidery hoops + lots of new summer clothing.

:: Reading - The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai.  Absolutely love it.  So good.  About a children's librarian and a 10 year old little boy.  What's not to love?

:: G went off a sweet bike jump just like Pedro's creation from the movie Napolean Dynamite.  He came home bloodied up and pretty proud of himself.   Lucky!

:: Breakfast at Della Fattoria and afternoon iced coffee from the Water Street Bistro.  Definitely gonna do this little combo, again.

:: Late afternoon wine with the ladies in Tomales + warm plum upside down cake while the kids hung from trees and played in the blackberry tunnels.

Summer 2013 :: Day 14

Artist in Residence

:: The 100 Faces of Origami Yoda are now on exhibit in our kitchen.

:: Wood keychain prototype created by father + son.

:: 83 degrees.  That was the temperature in our house last night at 7 pm.

:: Homemade pizza + new friends.

:: The entire evening was spent on our front deck.

:: Grady is the best babysitter ever.

:: Fake plastic flies made it into everyone's cocktails, courtesy of three sneaky little kiddos.

:: G fell into bed, happily exhausted, with his clothes on at 11 pm.

Vacation :: Southern California

The most awesome car traveler in the world

This trip was centered around taking our son to Legoland and seeing my nephew, who was home on leave from the U.S. Coast Guard.  We spent almost a week in Oceanside at Steve's Dad's house.

Steve's hair is something else in the morning!
Christiansen boys and their new dog, Holly

We also threw in an evening visit to my bestie and her family in Orange on our way into town.  Lots of laughing and boy bonding happened.

Legoland Water Park

I had been dreading the trip to Legoland.  I'm such a killjoy, right?  I'm not a monster, it's just that I don't handle big crowds, traffic and blatant consumerism being pushed on me and my kid very well.  I just don't.  I make very conscious efforts to live in a way that helps me avoid all that, so it's hard to let go of all that for me.

Before the trip, I read two blog posts here and here that helped me readjust my inner-cynic.  I decided to let go of my pre-conceived notions and try to enjoy the fact that my son was soaking up all the fun and new adventures around every corner for the day.  Six hours to be exact.  Could I do it?  You betcha.

It also helped that I have the most laid back best friend on the planet.  I followed her lead and thoroughly enjoyed our day at Legoland (I never thought I'd type those words!).

Oceanside Pier

All the fun and shenanigans from the day before completely wiped out my little guy.  We all slept in and started the day slowly.  A trip to the Pacific Ocean was in order and quick game of frisbee and bodysurfing happened near the Oceanside Pier.

We also popped by the Mission San Luis Rey Church & Museum in Oceanside.  This was the 18th Mission built in California, as well as being the largest.  Grady purchased and lit a candle in honor of Molly, his dog that passed away over two years ago, and toured the recently restored church, museum and gardens.

Next up, we hit the California Surf Museum in Oceanside.  It was intimate, casual and packed with beautiful surfboards.  I joked that it had the most laid back dress code of any museum that I've ever been to.  This flip-flop wearing family liked that component.

BBQ
Hopscotch lesson
Tree reflection
Sidewalk Art
Another nap for the boy

We ended the day with a BBQ with MacGyver (that's what we call Steve's dad).  We ate appetizers for hours on end and ended the day with a game of hopscotch and a Dodgers vs. Padres game on the tellie.  My husband is such a good sport about the no cable t.v. thing we got going on here at home, but he sure does miss watching his sports teams.  He listened on the radio and watched on the tellie as much as he could on this trip.

Legoland Redux

Because I'm Krazy with a capital "K", I convinced my husband to go back to Legoland on Friday.  Say what?  Yeah, I loved it so much that I wanted to take him back and let Grady show him all of his favorite parts of the park.  Our entrance fee covered free re-admittance within nine days, so we went for it.  G was so excited to show his dad around and take him on the scariest roller roaster!  They floated on the manmade river in the waterpark and hit the watersides, too.  We only stayed about three hours, but it put a nice punctuation mark on our trip.  Legoland, over and out.

Our last night was spent with Steve's brother's family up in Alta Loma, which is the town where I spent my childhood years.  Our visit was brief, but it was nice to reconnect, give hugs and hear about the goings-on in their lives.  Trevor loves his job with the U.S. Coast Guard and Kerrigan is headed to Texas next week for the Junior Olympics in Volleyball.

Our goal on the drive home was to visit Mission San Luis Obispo de Toloso, the 5th Mission built in California and Grady's 4th grade project.

He spouted out facts that he knew, pointed out the differences between the real building and his model and stretched his legs from the long car ride.

And then we came Home.

A Super Moon, a clean house, clean sheets and three hens that were still alive and well.

Summer 2013 :: Day 13

Bethany Hamilton's board at the California Surf Museum

:: Muggy morning.

:: Lots of time spent in my kitchen today making batches of granola and spring rolls for dinner.

:: Bus driver forgot to drop G off at the bottom of our lane.  He called me from the Valley Ford Market and sounded calm and confident.  He was rewarded with ice cream, of course.

:: The rains left us and the skies turned a beautiful shade of blue this afternoon.  It was warm and I opened all of the windows in the house.  It felt good.  It felt like summer.

:: Red-tailed hawk siting just outside our living room window.  Followed up by a beautiful fawn in the lower orchard at sunset.

:: G watched Soul Surfer, a movie about surfer/shark bite survivor, Bethany Hamilton.  We talked about sharks, people who believe in God and the power of the human spirit.

:: Today was an historic day for human rights and equality.  DOMA is dead.  Prop 8 dismissed.  I explained it to Grady when he got home from school.  I love how open and honest kids are.  Of course everyone should have equal rights mom, just like in that movie Lincoln we just watched, right?  Exactly.

Summer 2013 :: Day 12

I love how much my husband makes my son laugh

:: Tuesdays are father-son days during the summer months, as I head into work in Sebastopol and run our family errands.

:: A light rain fell all day long.  The air was warm and muggy.  Very strange June weather.

:: I thrifted a beautiful turquoise sleeping bag for G and a hot-pink and grey striped Miley Cyrus (yes, Miley Cyrus) shirt for me.  No laughing.

:: Staked up my tomato plants at my office garden plot.  Seven plants total this year.

:: G has been sequestered in his art studio which he has apparently renamed "Lego Central".  Hours upon hours of playing and creating with his Legos are happening in there.

:: Epic UNO match tonight.  Final score :: G 237! to Steve's 9.  There is a fair amount of gloating and goading going on around here by the boy.  Apparently, an UNO war has just been declared.  

Summer 2013 :: Day 11

:: We woke up to a heavy drizzle.  Rain is in the forecast.

:: Today was the first day of summer school.  And while G dreaded it for the last week, I think he was ready for it this morning.

:: Blood pressure check for me - 120/82.  Finally, I'm normal.

:: The summer school focus is on animal anatomy.

:: G's animal choice of focus :: The Capybara.  World's largest rodent.  Awesome.

:: Dinner was pan-seared mahi-mahi, sliced heirloom tomatoes & leftover orichette pasta with pesto.  All plates were completely cleared.

:: After dinner embroidery by the boy.

Summer 2013 :: Day 10

:: Woke up to a fog-covered valley and llamas chomping on dry grasses just outside our bedroom windows.

:: I started reading Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy, again, to Grady.  We stopped back in February and we have vowed to finish this summer.

:: Shaun White DVD before breakfast.

:: Video games, audio books, art studio, Lego building session(s).  Repeat.

:: G found comfort with one of his favorite authors today, Roald Dahl.  He read The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Esio Trot, The Twits and BFG.

:: Mom, I don't want this day to ever end was uttered before noon.

:: Picked a massive amount of kale at Bloomfield Farms.

:: Watermelon salad & orrichette pasta w/ homemade parsley pesto for dinner.  What a perfect summer dinner, even if the fog enshrouded our valley all day and sporadically spit rain on us.

:: Another first.  G's embarking on a new art medium.  An embroidery project wherein he is stitching his "logo".  Results will be revealed on a later post.  I loved showing him what little I know!

Summer 2013 :: Day 9

:: We packed it up and out of Oceanside by 9 am.

:: Mission San Juan Capistrano drive-by.

:: Lunch stop at Three Pickles in Santa Barbara.  Good call.  Thanks for the recommendation, Yelp.

:: Mission San Luis Obispo de Toloso.  The fifth Mission built in California and G's 4th grade mission model assignment.  He noted the differences and lead me around the building spouting mission facts.  It was cute.

:: The best (and cheapest) Bahn Mi sandwich in Milpitas.  Again, thanks, Yelp.  You really came through on this drive home.

:: Supermoon rising over the Sonoma Coast.

:: Sipping the coldest, hand-shaken vodka martini, with the prettiest lemon twist, while I unpacked.

:: Climbing into fresh sheets.

:: Home.

Summer 2013 :: Day 8

The Hecht Family (minus two grown boys)
Kerrigan, Cindy, Steve Sr., David, Steve & G-Man

:: Legoland, again, but this time with Steve.  Roller coaster and water slides on the "must do" list today.

:: Another Drumstick for G added to the ice cream tally on this trip.

:: Hecht gathering at Dave & Cindy's house in Alta Loma, my former childhood stomping grounds.

:: Learning about their three kids and the milestones and accomplishments they are in the midst of.

:: Loved seeing G with his cousins.

Summer 2013 :: Day 7

Father-son frisbee in the surf at Oceanside Beach (Pier in background)

:: The benefit of being the first one of our family to rise in the morning?  Coffee with MacGyver's (aka - Steve's dad).

:: Mission San Luis Rey tour.  We learned it was the 18th built in California and the largest.

:: Daily Drumstick ice cream total consumed for our family?  Three.

:: G's 1st time bodysurfing with his dad in the salty, rough Pacific Ocean.

:: A visit to the most laid back California Surf Museum.

:: G crashed hard for an afternoon nap once we got back to Steve's dad's house.

:: BBQ w/ the Hecht men.  G acting as MacGyver's sous chef.  So cute.

:: I taught Grady how to play hopscotch.  His first time ever.  Lots of firsts on this trip.

:: Father-son-son Dodgers vs. Padres game viewing tonight.

:: Elf DVD.  Why?  Why not.

Summer 2013 :: Day 6 LEGOLAND!

So this happened today.  Oh, yes.  I finally came around and sucked it up, got over myself, gave in to a little commercialism/consumerism and let my son have the time of his life for 8 hours straight.  It was totally and completely worth it.

My best friend and her two sons were our companions today and it was so nice to enjoy this milestone with their family.  The boys are all at such good ages (10, 10 & 8).  Self-sufficient, easy to reason with and follow directions.

I'll write more about this in my next weekly blog post, but suffice it to say a good time was had by all.

1st roller coaster ride.

Legoland endorsed driver's license.

Water park adventure - complete with chest rash.

All of us completely drenched from head to toe after bad (late in the day) roller coaster option.

Two words.  Star Wars.

Spending every last penny in his wallet at the Legoland store.

Ice cream cones on our way out of the park.

Realizing we can come back FOR FREE within the next 9 days.

And seriously figuring out how to make that happen.

Hearing my son say "This is the best day of my life!"

Summer 2013 :: Day 5

:: Early morning wake up.

:: 8 hour drive south.

:: Audio books.  Chomp by Carl Hiassen and Stuart Little by E.B. White for the boy.

:: Reunited with our best friends in Orange, California.

:: G's first virgin strawberry daiquiri.

:: Laughing.  Lots and lots of laughing.

Summer 2013 :: Day 4

Video game zombies

:: In the summer months, I work outside the home one day a week.  On this day, Grady spends a father-son day with Steve.  Last year, they did a lot of really fun things together.

:: Me: What was the best part of your day today, G?
   Grady: Being with dad, minus the fake gym visit.

:: "You look stylish, Bob, from the heels down." Overheard at Steve's fake gym in Sebastopol, according to Grady.  G hung out and read while Steve worked out.  This gym is full of characters who sometimes work out, wear creative athletic clothing and/or conduct business calls in between bench pressing sets.

:: Kite repair at Candy & Kites.

:: Honeymoon Frozen Yogurt visit.  Caramel, cookies & cream, green apple yogurt with two chocolate rocks on top, plus oreo cookie crumble.  Yuck.

:: Grady finished Harry Potter #4.

:: We packed up for our family vacation to Southern California.

:: Laundry, leftovers and neighbor egg-gifting happened tonight as we readied our little homestead for a week without us.

Summer 2013 :: Day 3

Daniel Johnston's "Hi, How Are You?" frog imagery + homemade card love

:: Homemade gifts given first thing in the morning to a wonderful dad, husband.

:: Father's day brunch at Bloomfield Farms.  Guest chef, John Lyle.  Egg & fennel hash while sitting atop a hay bale, sipping coffee and meeting our local farmer.

:: High winds and pollen debilitate me for the remainder of the day.  :-(

:: Father-son kite flying adventure at Tomales Elementary School (see the wind served them well!).

:: Legoland tickets are researched and purchased for later this week.

:: Homemade parsley pesto pizza for our favorite dad.

:: We all retreat to our corners and read until the sun has put itself to bed.

Summer 2013 :: Day 2

:: Attend pirate-themed wedding at China Camp State Park in Marin.  Our first time there!

:: Thrift shop stop for cocktail napkins.

:: Work on embroidery project for Father's Day w/ Grady.

:: G makes homemade card with list of why he loves his father.  Sweetness.

:: G jumps into Harry Potter Book #4.

:: Upon Grady's recommendation, I finish The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

:: Attempt to watch Magnolia DVD in honor of father's day eve w/ SL.

Summer 2013 :: Day 1

:: Shaun White DVD.

:: Cheerios for breakfast.  Two bowls.

:: Re-reading Harry Potter #3.

:: Summer family creative writing journal started.

:: Soccer match with friends at Ragle Park in Sebastopol.

:: No bedtime rules.

:: The boy reads until he falls asleep.

Countdown to summer...

I'm up early to write and edit photos this morning.  I like this quiet time before the guys (and the world) wakes up.  I can hear the birds starting to chirp and there is a stillness in my house that just isn't here the remainder of the day.  I cherish the few hours of solitude before I kick into mom & wife mode, focusing on doing only the things I want to do - catching up on blogs, journaling and doing my daily correspondence for birthdays, anniversaries or putting together care packages.  The time I spend sitting at my desk feels a little like work, but it's the best kind of work because I am choosing to sit here and do it.  I like it when my day starts like this.

This last week was infused with a bit of creating here and there.  We attempted carving more stamps and mostly played around with our carving tools and figured out how to trouble-shoot some of our designs and fine-tune our technique.  We have amassed a small collection of beautiful, quirky stamps to use on stationary and packages.

I took a quick trip to the Legacy Thrift Store in Sebastopol where I discovered a plethora of embroidery thread in the most beautiful colors!  I only picked up a small assorted bag of mixed threads and quickly left the building.  I knew well enough to step out of that thrift shop until I had a few practice rounds under my belt.

I came home and asked Grady to draw the artwork from Daniel Johnston's Hi, How Are You? CD.  I think he did a great job.  The embroidery on paper part?  Not so much.  We're going to give it another go on fabric just as soon as I track down an embroidery hoop.  This is going to be Steve's father's day present and I think he'll love it, as Daniel Johnston is one of his favorite musicians and he's converted Grady into a fan, too.

I've been focusing on cooking vegetarian meals for our family and it's been working out okay.  It's funny how you think you don't eat that much meat until you really have to cut back.  Kind of like watching television, you think you don't watch that much until you ditch your cable and realize that you most definitely did.  Same on the meat front.

NEWS FLASH :: GRADY ATE A GRILLED PORTABELLO MUSHROOM BURGER AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.  HAND TO GOD.

The weather can't decide what it wants to do, but we're pretty much into the June gloom now.  Hot inland, grey and cloudy on the coast.  We had a major thunder and lightning storm over the weekend and it's been warm & balmy.  I kind of like it.

I think I have summer pretty well booked for our family.  We're heading to Southern California to see Steve's family and take the boy to Legoland next week.  After that, G has three weeks of science summer school that will have a focus on anatomy.  He's not thrilled, but I am.  The rest of the summer we're home.  I love our home.

Golf, tennis & CYO camp are also on the agenda later this summer with a few weeks of nothing planned in between all of those activities.

We attended Open Studios last weekend and visited the lovely studio of Kai Samuels-Davis.  His new work is really cool and I just love his aesthetic.  Grady was rather shy around his former art teacher and proclaimed that the Pomegranate Study was his favorite piece from Kai's display.  We tried to order a print of same, plus two fishing lures that G had been coveting for some time, but Kai would not take his former student's money!  He said he would gift the prints to Grady.  An artist trade is how we'll make good on this sweet gesture.

I worked with G's 4th grade class to create the above Pollack-inspired painting for the end of the year teacher present.  I think it turned out great and the kids thought it was really cool.

Speaking of cool?  Um, Grady came home and informed us he was performing in the school talent show with Grace next week.  Yes, he would be singing the song Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae.  Who?  Yeah, that's what we asked.  We looked it up, printed the lyrics and downloaded the song for him to practice with.  I'm mildly horrified by the lyrics, but realize it's pretty harmless.  Completely out of character for this shy, quiet boy and I guess that's all the more reason to support him and not make a big deal out of it.  He even had rehearsal over the weekend with the oh-so-stylish, Grace.  It's going to be something else.

And the end is near.  I can't wait until school is out for summer.  I love the summer rhythm we get into. Slow mornings, lots of popsicles, creative endeavors, reading for hours in the sunshine, meals al fresco and no strict bedtimes for the boy.

Three more days...

Million Days of May

May seems like it has a million days in it, which can be good and bad.

The winds have been relentless lately.  Wind is the hardest of weather conditions for me to deal with.  It looks beautiful outside, but you can't be out there.  The sun is shining, but you are stuck inside with a runny nose and doped up on allergy medication.  Yuck.

I've just been put on high blood pressure medication and that freaked me out a little bit.  I've been battling it ever since I was pregnant with Grady, but somehow putting me on a long-term medication really hit the issue home.

I've been trying to get out there and run, but with all the pollen wafting in the air it feels like I'm only making matters worse.  I'm also working on reducing the amount of animal products I consume and focusing on preparing healthier meals for me and my family.

Actually, I love this kind of stuff (not the high blood pressure and visits to Kaiser) because it helps me to refocus my energies and take stock of my life.  I've felt a tightness in my chest over the last few months and I chalked that up to stress and being busy.  I hate that word :: busy.  Every woman I know is busy.  I want to un-busy myself, focus on creating art and beauty in my life, share more meals with friends and family and release those things that weigh me down.  I'm a work in progress.

Maker Faire Shenanigans
G's 10 year old physical exam obligatory mom photo

Steve picked up the parental festival duties and took Grady to Maker Faire a few weeks ago.  I wrote a little bit about it here and here.  It's all about science, innovation, technology, creating and making things.  The crowds were huge this year and the highlight for Grady was watching the Coke-Mentos bottle rocket demo.  Yes, a father-son outing for sure.

Arann Harris & The Farm Band
G's pop-up art sale
G + Kristin, his former preschool teacher & fellow artist

Oysterpalooza hit Valley Ford over Memorial weekend and so we walked into town to see a few of our favorite bands, visit with the locals and G set up shop under a big 'old pine tree to sell his artwork.

G really had a blast playing with new friends he met at the festival, handing out his new business/social  cards and hay bale hopping until the festival shut down around 9 pm.  He used to be one of the kids dancing right in front of the stage, but those days are long gone.  Now he roamed the back garden area with his cohorts, only checking in with me every once in awhile.

We're still making our weekly pilgrimage down the highway to Bloomfield Farms to harvest our weekly vegetables.  G is learning how to identify different lettuces, greens and teaching me how to harvest kale.

We picked broccoli last week and I ended up making a batch of broccoli soup.  Now, I remember back to the days where my son would only consume Odwalla's Green Juice and a cheese quesadilla.  Well, happily, those days are long gone.  I've worked really hard over the past five years to get him to ingest more than a chicken, cheese, tortillas and PB&J.  It has been a long, long road and I'm happy to report that he ate my broccoli soup.  He didn't love it or want seconds, but he ate it without putting up a fight or trying to negotiate how much he actually had to eat.  He just ate it.  Sweet Jesus!

I attribute the above feat to the fact that he hand-picked the broccoli and had ownership of that thick, rich bowl of mama-made love.  Well, that's my theory anyway.

The winds drove us into the library on a school night last week.  I had just finished my book club selection State of Wonder by Ann Patchett and was itching to get out of the house.  All three of us drove into town and loaded up on books, videos and had a little respite from the howling breezes surrounding our little abode.

G's idea studio
Local dairy cows
My favorite sign

We attended the Open House at Tomales Elementary School and brought home mounds of graded schoolwork, the finished Mission Project Model and G met his future 5th grade teachers.

The 4th through 8th grade classes went to Cal Skate on Friday.  I was a little bit nervous about G going because I didn't want him to hurt himself.  If my husband is reading this :: Stop rolling your eyes!  Yes, I am a bit of a worrier.  Be careful is my mother's mantra and, yes, she passed it down to me.

Needless to say he left the house with a pocket full of quarters, his favorite ripped up pants and kissed me on the cheek.  I'll be okay mom.  Tell you all about it after school.  

No broken bones to report.

We spent the afternoon in Stinson Beach over the weekend celebrating a dear friend's birthday.  We were there a matter of 10 minutes and our son quickly changed into his board shorts, hopped on this paddle board (1st time ever being on one) and paddled across the lagoon, tied it up and proceeded to climb into a total stranger's hot tub.  He was soaking for about 30 minutes and then leisurely returned to us with the biggest smile I've ever seen.  So out of character for this careful, quiet boy.  We all had a good laugh at his boldness and I'm sure the hot tub owners got a chuckle out of this kid, too.

Stinson Beach afternoon with the Matthews & Tuchbands

We spent the afternoon reminiscing, storytelling and watching our children enjoy the first (windless) day of June.