It's been 2019 all year!

I have not written anything since 2017! Weird! Busy? Yes!


Gerard, you are now 11 years old. Getting ready to move up to 6th grade, and you're heading to AP Giannini!

Aubrey, you are 9 years old. You have grown so much since that 6 year old crybaby. You are finding yourself now and you're still a messy kid.

You both just earned your green belts in tae kwon do!

Gerard is out camping this weekend with ASLP, and Aubrey is getting ready to run your first 5k with Girls on the Run. You both are showing different athletic abilities. Dad keeps pushing you both, and we want to see less giving up from you, Gerard. You're so smart but when it comes to challenges you don't feel like doing, you back down and holding yourself back from growing. Aubrey has a lot more motivation to be pushed, which is great!

While you get to work and earn xp at Versus (I mean, store credit), we really want you to take advantage of this and turn it into a business venture. The cards you earn are your assets, and they can help you build a side hustle! I'll help you, Gerard, as there is so much promise in you and I want you to make the most of it.

I'll end this here, for now. I'm sleepy.

Our little (big) house

Our house was built in 1900. We are actively digging up as much information on it as well as the neighborhood. It is pretty darn mind blowing to own an old house. We are trying to learn so much of it, such as which part was the original built and which was added. Pretty sure much of the additions are not permitted, but I guess we'll find out.

The new roof is done, and the electricals are now updated. We continue to renovate the kitchen. The east walls are patched up, and now the north walls had been torn. We will put up the cement and mold resistant drywalls next. We have had a new sink and stove for a while, neither of which we are using. We also have a new stainless steel table counter that is still in the box. We just bought tiles, and a trip to Ikea is due for the new cabinets. Soon, this kitchen will be up!

It's been more challenging to update our blog here.

But just so that it goes on personal record, we bought a house. Offer accepted on Sept 20, 2017, and in our possession by October 19. Without the help of grandma Sally, we couldn't have done this. She put in a chunk of her investments on us.

It's a nice old house that needs a lot of work. It's okay. It's ours. Pictures coming soon, it's hard to upload anything from my phone to blogger.

We had the roof on the cottage fixed temporarily.
Now we are tearing out the kitchen to put in a new sink and counter, and ready it for the installation of our washer/dryer. And we still need to buy a stove.

We need the electricals fixed! Working on it.......

Gerard is ecstatic to have his own room, Aubrey is not. She is very sad to leave our current home at 41st Ave. We all are! It's a great location and lovely neighborhood.

But now we have our own house again. And we plan to be here for a long while. So, let's embrace what we have. We're on to better things now.

New school year

As we get older, keeping this blog updated is becoming a challenge. More activities, more junk in the way, i say.

This school year we saw Gerard start third grade and Aubrey first grade. It has been a smooth start, and i no longer get to walk in the classroom to say goodbye. We do this in the yard now before your class goes into the building. It is a little hard to let go.....

But i am coping.

To speed up the news, you both achieved your white-yellow belts in tae kwon do. I don't know how aubrey passed, but she did. Gerard, i can see, takes it seriously. 

Meanwhile in soccer, aubrey blazes the field! Gerard, not so much :) we always tell you to hustle and play hard, but you are overly polite on the field. 

Aubrey has been super besties with simone, while gerard is with sofia. Glad that this school community is attended by wonderful families, because we really do like the friends you have made here. 

Perseverance

Gerard,
You're our eldest. You will go through more hardship and struggle than Aubrey. And that's okay. We will challenge you and drill you. But in the end, you will be a smarter and stronger person. We will learn from you, and Aubrey will benefit from you.

Don't be hard on your shortfalls. Just remember to keep facing them, keep failing, and keep trying. That's perseverance. I am behind you and will continue to support you, forever.

Love you,
mom

Mm Hmm Aubrey

At dinner, as I sat with the computer and Aubrey at the table, she was saying things. My responses must have been "mm hmm, mm hmm" and then she asked "May I have some water?" I said, "yes of course!" and got up. She comments that she thought I wasn't listening because I only kept saying "mm hmm"

Hello, my loves.
It has been a couple of months since anything was written.

2015 ended off quite well. We had our jobs, we had a home, we had Christmas together.

The start of 2016 was busy for mom, with a foot in a boot and a work event to start. I just got the screw removed yesterday, and boyyyy i am feeling the raw cut. But i hope this is it. I hope i can walk and do my activities again.