Enjoying the small things

I have been following Kelle Hampton's blog for some time. Something draws me to it, I get inspired to go out and do more things with my kids, to be more creative, more patient, to live each day to it's fullest. Yes it sounds a bit cliche, but it's true in so many ways. It's no secret I feel guilty to be a working mom, the fact that I don't always get to pick up my kids from school, and do all the things I want to do with them on a daily basis, but I think we do our best, and make the best of the time we do spend together.


I read this article today written by Kelle, and I decided I must have it on my blog TODAY. It doesn't matter than I have about 5 or 6 unfinished blog posts waiting for photos or just time in general to sit down and finish them. I had to do this one now. I want to remember these 6 things to follow.


1.Create Mantras!

I create new mantras every year and I repeat them to myself whenever I need to hear them. After Nella was born, I owned the word "Capable." I whispered "You are capable" to myself, I wrote about it, I believed it, I lived it. This year, I remind myself to "Breathe Compassion." I practice it with my husband, my children, my friends and when I'm ever faced with negativity, it helps so much to know that I am in control of my own response, and I can always be compassionate.

2.Give Room for the Low Points!

As a naturally positive person, my first response to feeling sad or discouraged is often to push those feelings away. But then they just dwell and build. I've learned to give a little hug to all of my emotions, to be aware of what I am feeling and take ownership of what I can do about it. Crying is good sometimes. So is sharing a vulnerable moment with a friend. And then, I move on.

3.Tell What-Ifs to Take a Hike!

Dwelling about all the bad things thatcould happen in life is pointless and destructive. I am a far more productive person when I believe the best and when I don't waste time worrying. Do challenges lie ahead for all of us? Most likely, yes. But I know I am equipped to handle them. My dad always tells me, "Don't let your worries for tomorrow rob you of the joys of today." There is so much truth in that statement.

4.Enjoy the Small Things!

It started as the title of my blog for me, and it's become a way of life. I am very aware of all the things in our life that make it rich, and I make time to think about them, talk about them, write about them. We tend to think big and flashy for the rock star phrase "Rock your life," but really it's about the little moments. Make time for fun and friends. Drink good coffee, cook with the good dishes. Find a signature perfume and own it, splurge on flowers. Let your kids help you bake and don't worry about the mess. Tell people you love them. Read to your kids. Sleep under the stars. Plan trips. Don't ever be too old to skip.

5.Dream Big!

Talk about your dreams—places you want to go, jobs you'd love to have, people you want to meet. My friends and I play a game called the "If" game, based on a book called "The Book of If." I used to take that book everywhere, pulling it out and asking questions like "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?" "If you could have any job, what would it be?" Not only is this a fun way to learn more about people, but it makes us realize "What are we waiting for? Who says we can't do these things now?" Write your dreams down and look at them frequently. Find ways to create action plans for the ones that are important to you.

6.Do Something for Someone Else!

Always. Think about others and find ways to help, encourage, be there for people. It's life changing. It's empowering. It affects you just as much as it does the person you are helping.

Obviously these aren't my ideas, but they ring so true for us. I agree 100% with every single one of them, and want to remind myself everyday to live by these simple principles. 

So this Saturday we "Enjoyed the small things" and loved every moment of it. We had a spur the moment idea to grab the kids and go to the beach. Yes it's less than 15 minutes away from us, and we just don't do it enough. The kids didn't even have dinner. I quickly sat them down with a few random things to eat, and some packed snacks and we were headed out the door! My parents joined us too. I am pretty sure they had just as much fun as the kids. 

We set up our blanket and a few chairs and walked barefoot for as long as we could with running in and out of water. At first both Cameron and Sascha weren't too excited to be touching the cold water, but then it became fun! We'd run towards it, and as a wave would come in, we'd start running away. Both of them were wearing clothes and they both got wet. 

Sascha, Baba and I collected fun shells and pretty rocks and put them into a mason jar until there was no more room. We got back to our blanket, had a quick snack and it was time to head home. I loved every minute of it, their sandy dirty feet, messy hands, all totally worth it. 

I love that they are holding hands here... even though it lasted a few seconds and they couldn't' wait to get free to run around

I love this photo of Cameron's sandy feet, even though his face is funny in it because I had just given him some crackers to snack on. I love our San Diego weather and living so close to the Torrey Pines beach. I love to watch and enjoy these sweet times between daddy and Sascha (she wanted to hold his hand or my hand while we walked), I love her sweet innocent smile and the hair in the wind, while she holds on tight to a jar full of shells. We went home and spent another hour washing and organizing them the next day. I love, love, love my  family and these precious little moments we get to spend together.

Padres Opening Day

Considering how much daddy loves baseball, he doesn't usually miss this day. After we started dating, we have always gone to opening day together, we even took Sascha when she was 4 months old, but sadly I haven't been since. So this year we decided we were going and were able to score some really great tickets on the roof of the Western Metal Supply Building with food and drinks included! At first we only had 2 tickets, but slowly we were able to get 2 more thanks to our aunt Fran (Grandma Laurie's sister). We took Aaron for getting straight A's last semester, and because he loves baseball (it's his last year playing for Little League and he's super into it), and we also took my dad who is learning more and more about the game now that his grandson is so amped on it. Also it was his 65th Bday just a few weeks ago, so a perfect opportunity to treat him to this Opening Day Experience. We all got off work early and headed down to Petco Park. We even got lucky with a free parking spot (that has never happened to us on Opening Day, but then again I don't think we've ever gotten there before 2pm either)

We watched some batting practice, ate food, and before we knew it the game had begun. Unfortunately the Padre's lost, but I think we all had a really good time at the Park. 

It was a gorgeously perfect day to be outside!

 Group Shot of the 4 of us

And the rest of the photos also taken with my phone and modified with Instagram

Remembering 9/11

I wrote this entry over a week ago, but but for some reason wasn't ready to post it just yet...

I am so grateful that every single day I am reminded about how amazing and precious life is. This just isn't something you think about all the time, and I think our kids are definitely a constant reminder of this. We go through our daily lives and emotions, and get busy and wrapped up in an every day chore. On my drive home from work, I often feel tired and sometimes overwhelmed by my "to do" list, but always try to think about the positives and look forward to spending the evening with my kids. I feel grateful to have this feeling every time I get home. I've been thinking about this a lot more this week because of 9/11. How quickly 10 years have passed. How much we realize now, and how much more appreciative we are for the gift of life. We have overcome this event, but it has changed everyone and everything. Everyone remembers this day, what they did, how they found out about the horrible events in NYC. I was 21, going to UCSD... still pretty naive. I didn't have school that day, but I was getting ready to go to work at the bank where I was a teller. I remember turning on the TV while getting ready, and watching in disbelief. I couldn't take my eyes off what I saw, I think I was even late to work and it usually took less than 5 minutes to get there. Once I got to work, my coworkers and I had the TV on in the tiny little break room where we sometimes ate lunch, I remember running into the break room every chance I got along with the other tellers, to keep watching for updates on what's going on. I don't think I understood the full gravity of the situation, but I knew things just wouldn't be the same.

Yes I look at the world differently now after having children. I think about how to raise them, are they safe, how will they survive in this crazy world? Those questions are always in the back of my mind, and I always have hope that things will work out, and that the world will be a better place for our kids.

I don't do many of these type of posts, but I felt like I wanted to remember this day. Write about what I was feeling at the moment. I couldn't begin to imagine what some of the people who have lost loved ones are feeling on this day. It makes me feel sad, angry and helpless when I think about all the lives that were lost that day. Humans are pretty resilient creatures, and are able to overcome a lot of things and still have hope. So on a day like this, I am glad to say that I still have hope.

A view of the Twin Towers Memorial that was opened on the 10th anniversary of 9/11