Let's get real...

I HATE (capital H.A.T.E.) mornings. Waking up is in my list of top five things I wish I never had to do.  Right along with getting sick, shopping with a screaming toddler (or a hungry baby), unpacking after vacation and moving car seats from one car to another.  I am a giant grump every time I hear the first signs of Dominic stirring, I groan and sometimes shoot straight up in bed and other times roll over and pray that he will fall back asleep.

I keep hoping that this will pass.  That one morning I will wake up and feel refreshed, ready for a new day.  That I will hop in the shower before any one is stirring, feed the baby before he makes a peep, make a gourmet breakfast and serve it to Chris before he even feels the pangs of morning hunger.

But the reality is almost every morning is complete chaos.  I roll off the edge of my bed, take a quick look in the mirror and try to tame my hair after realizing that a shower is not an option, find clothes for Scarlett and spend 5 minutes trying to convince her to put them on, change Dominics dirty diaper and dress him while squeezing Sophie to keep him from bursting into "Im hungry and still tired tears", then proceed to dress myself in something presentable, throw on some blush, toast some bread and toss it in Scarlett's direction and walk out of the door 15 minutes late.

Only lately have I realized that maybe the rushing is actually causing the deep seeded hate of my current morning ritual. This would probably be an obvious observation to most, but unfortunately I am a little dense in the early morning light and actively choose to ignore and deny my grumpy disposition as the day progresses.

This lent season I have finally let myself see these internal workings for what they are, the roots of sin that hold so tight to my inner dialogue.  I spent my quiet mornings in the car, reviewing the frustration that I feel in the first 30 minutes of my day, taking a deep breath and praying for the same thing over and over.  Asking for forgiveness for the way I spoke to my husband or the harsh words that I said under my breath as I spent 20 minutes trying to get Scarlett to pick a pair of shoes.  My sin is anger.  It is like a light switch that I can not control, and in the morning the switch is always on.

This lent I finally see it, and more importantly I am finally dealing with it.  I am taking deep breaths as Dominic starts to cry at 3 oclock in the morning.  I am taking control of the sin that I let grow like weeds, sin that has slowly stomped out any trace of patience I had left in my soul.  I am giving up the control that I hold so dear, the control of setting my own alarm, and I am replacing it with morning prayer.  It is still hard to fight the urge to grunt and grown when things don't go my way, but every morning I try.  I try to see the beauty of the sun shining through the window and look at the smile on my sons face and I am thankful...thankful for the much needed wake up call.


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Empty shelves...

and empty walls can only mean one thing...we are officially moving.

This process has been a shock to our family.  We accepted an offer only one week ago and escrow will close (fingers crossed) next Friday. Now we start the processes of fighting against the other two million people that are looking for a three bedroom home in orange county, in our price range. We have been encouraged by our realtor to take deep breaths and realize that this is a process. We might have to put numerous offers on numerous "perfect house's" before finally getting the call that this one is finally ours. Until then our family of four will be living in a RV parked in my parents drive way. Who knows, we might like the "small house" lifestyle so much that we give up searching all together and start living like gypsies.

Accepting new blog name recommendations now!

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In no time...

Dominic and his cousin Stephen are just seven months apart and Dominic is already racing to catch up.  I never notice how big Dominic is for just four months old until I see him next to another child, or a stranger tells me "really, he is only four months, he looks so big".  After I proceed to tell them that "I am sure" and  "he was born on November 5th", they accept his height and birth date and tell me he will be up to my eye level in no time, and this is the very statement of truth that I am most afraid of.  Not only will he surely pass me in height and weight by the time he is five, he is going to do it "in no time".  In no time he will be rolling all over the house, in no time he will be eating beans and avocado and pureed carrots, in no time he will be walking, in no time he will be going to school and playing sports, in no time he will be making his own lunches and in no time he will be starting a family of his own.  And in between each "no time", I will wonder where the "no time" actually went.






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A quick fix from boredom...

Art supply box.  Any time there is a lull in our daily schedule I recommend the art box and Scarlett's face lights up.  It doesn't matter what she is doing as long as there is paint, scissors, paper and glue involved.


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We are family...

Poor boy has no idea what he has gotten himself into.  

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Los Padres...

A day of food, sunrise to sunset.




Breakfast - Parfait and mimosas
This dish left the table requesting more of everything, more homemade granola, more mango honey, more mimosas.  We all realized that we have been doing ourselves a disservice for years by not partaking in the early morning parfait ritual of our hosts. Breakfast for dinner has never been quite as satisfying. 


Brunch - blackened ahi eggs benedict and bloody mary
Homemade english muffins topped with fresh seared ahi tuna.  If I saw this on a menu at any restaurant I would HAVE to try it, and in this case I would be so glad that I did.  After the first bite there was not one person at the table that was not moaning in complete satisfaction.


Lunch - Roasted red pepper and cauliflower soup with a pear, candied walnut, blue cheese and roquefort salad


Tea time - Brioche doughnut holes served with fresh vanilla bean whipped cream and homemade raspberry current jam
This dish was exactly what tea time should be.  The bitter earl grey tea complemented the sweet cinnamon sugar doughnut  perfectly.  The doughnuts were crisp and sweet on the outside and soft, warm and buttery on the inside. If I wasn't preparing myself for two more courses I would have stuffed my stomach full of these tasty treats. To be fair tea time is ALWAYS my favorite time of the day, so I would have been thrilled if this course lasted into the wee hours of the morning.


Dinner - Duck three ways
Seared duck breast served over duck egg linguine, duck confit, pancetta and shitake mushrooms


Midnight snack - cheese and crackers
Smoked trout and salmon served with fresh baked poppy seed and dill crackers and assorted cheeses


Another successful dinner with lots of laughter...


pretty dresses (and dapper suits)...


and of course a raging game of two on two basketball...



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Bunny girl...

I take this same picture every year with Scarlett, thank you target dollar section, unfortunately I can only find one of the past 3 years (mom do you have copies of the older ones somewhere?)
...2011...

It kills me when I look back and realize I genuinely have no idea how she got to be so old. I know the saying "time flies" and I have even been found guilty of using this statement to warn new mothers as they look down at the cooing faces of their new born. But really would it kill the gods of time to slow things down a little bit?  

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Bring on spring...

We have really been enjoying this new spring weather.  Scarlett, Dominic and I have been taking daily picnics "pool side".  Unfortunately right along with the sunshine came Scarlett's desire for swimmies and deep end diving and I am not quite ready for the chilly rush of water to take my breath away just yet.  So instead I encourage her to monkey swing from the trees and build flower crowns out of the surrounding landscape.  We learn about the seasons and why the days seem longer and the sun shines later. We turn on toddler radio (pandora) and dance while the sun beats down on our exposed skin, and drink in the much needed sunshine vitamins.  We are ready...and we fully embrace spring.

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