I would love to blog more...but just about Steven...

Early Saturday morning (6:45 a.m.) Steven woke me to say his eye really hurt. He had taken out his contacts, but it hurt bad!
So I got up, put drops in and had him use a cold compress. We sat together downstairs watching The Firm for a while. I tried to call
the optometrist -but they are closed on the weekends:0( So about 8:45 he shares that is REALLY still hurts and I see that he is real
sensitive to the light that is now streaming in the windows. So I called the regular advice nurse line and they advised me that their protocol states that I need to take him straight to the emergency room within 4 hours of the onset of symptoms. Knowing he had been up since 5:30 (he had told me) I had him get dressed and we quickly headed out.

We were seen surprisingly quick in the ER (saw the dr. within 45 minutes) then sat for 45 minutes until he came back and said that
he had spoken to the Opthamologist on call and we were to go see him at 2:30 on the other side of town. He said a nurse would be back shortly with discharge papers --but she never came! We waited a little more than an hour before I flagged someone else down and they had us on our way out the door in 2 minutes. We paid our $100 co-pay and headed to the pharmacy. It was a nightmare --first they said they didn't have the antibiotic drops, then it was the pain drops, then one could be generic, but both rang up brand name price $284 was the first price she gave me. I had them check again and ended up only paying my $94 and we were on our way after only 72 minutes in the pharmacy.

We headed home with just enough time to eat, grab our stuff and head to the Opthamologist. Jack went to my parents with Cyn & Brian and we went to the doctor. He told us it was a Corneal Ulcer and VERY SERIOUS! He cautioned Steven about ever sleeping with contacts on again and went as far as to say when he first came to Sacramento they would admit people to the hospital with this -to ensure they got the drops every hour to avoid possibly going blind. He told us to keep the drops in every hour on the hour and come back Monday.

This brought up a dilema -up to this point I was putting the drops in for him. He was scheduled to attend his friends (twins) birthday party and sleep over at their house that night. It was decided that if he could put the drops in himself -he could still go --but no swimming.

We then headed to my parents for dinner -we were supposed to be celebrating Steven's 13th birthday. We stopped and got him a grande vanilla bean frappacino to make him smile and then we headed to my parents. Another post will follow on the birthday -he had a good time -but had wanted to swim -which was a no -go.

He learned over the next couple of hours to put his eye drops in and after dinner we took him to his party. He was there until 10am Sunday morning.. texting me after every eye drop was put in. When I picked him up, the parents said how responsible he had been and how proud they were of him for doing it on his own (although they were totally willing to help him!). We headed home and he told me they had been up til about 1 am and he was up again at 7am (which fit the 6 hours the doctor had said he could sleep before waking and resuming eye drops).

We were excited about the Little League World Series Championship game with a team from California in it and the Giants game was gonna be on an hour later. We all sat down to watch. 1/2 hour into the LLWS I took this picture. He was exhausted. I had to wake him up EVERY hour to put drops in during his 4 hour nap. He slept just long enough to miss both games.

Today we saw the Opthamologist again. He said it is healing, still SERIOUS and we should see him again on Wednesday. So we continue with drops every hour....and lots of prayer of a full recovery.

Backtracking...

On our day in San Francisco we went to the beach. Now, I have taken the boys to the city
a bunch -we shop, go to the wharf, Golden Gate Park, Giants games --but not once have I taken
them to the beach. Why? As a teenager -the beaches were my favorite place to go. A picnic lunch or a book to read and the beach -total perfect matches. So on this trip -I decided we would go to the beach. It was our last stop and the weather had changed from sunny and clear to overcast and foggy -but it didn't matter to them one bit. The boys all said the beach was their favorite part of our day out. From my perspective -it was also free! So we can be sure to go more often when visiting the city by the bay.

I chose a beach on the Presidio at Crissy Field. It is right next to the Marina district and had lots of free parking and actual bathrooms. Because it is on the bay side of the bridge, there is virtually no wave break and it is not too crowded. The water is still super cold -but that didn't stop the boys! The beach is about a mile long with an excellent view of Sausalito, the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatras & Angel Island.


This was taken near the end.. when they were all drenched!


I called them to look so I could capture their smiles as they were
immersed in super cold water.

Jumping was the game they played for almost an hour..

This was near the beginning.. they were just starting to get braver and
go in further ...



They were all in at this point...

I love this one of them jumping!

They started off playing football -but they could hear the call of
the water...

More football..

The Golden Gate Bridge...

There was a National Kite Surfing competition going on..

Alcatraz behind them....

Another day in our life.

It's Thursday of Jonathan's first week of vacation (one more to go!) and I must say it's been good having him here. Once the boys get home sometimes things are so crazy -we don't get to just "hang out" and talk about stuff that doesn't involve kids, sports or the house. That is something we've been able to do this week -which has been really nice. It's always good to reconnect in that way and to know that you still like the person you married just as much as you did before you married them. We are having a fun day today -heading out to the movies to see Inglorious Basterds... I have to say there is nothing I enjoy more than a matinee on a weekday. It feels luxurious, sneaky even -but it isn't crowded, it's cheaper and I just love it.

My sons both have a fashion sense all their own. One wears only comfy clothes -typcially athletic shorts, t-shirts and sweats (with his new jeans thrown in!) and the other like to dress it up a bit. Jackson is comfortable and enjoys wearing dress shirts with ties and has done so twice this week. He now wants to get a jacket and a vest to include with is ensembles -and I have my eye out for a good deal. If only they would let him wear his hats with it --he would be so happy!






Last night Jack's team won their playoff game 34-23. The team had a tough start -it was 0-2 in the other teams favor at the end of the 1st period. They warmed up and pulled thru though... which is good. They will play again Friday night in the Championship game.. so we'll see what happens there.

Steven is on a AVID Field Trip today to CSU Sacramento. They are participating in a ropes course and touring the campus. I can't wait to hear how it goes.

Crossing Guard

on

Jackson is one of the afternocrossing guards at school this week. He had to attend a hour long training at the end of last year in order to be able to . He says it is good and he likes helping people. I have not been to watch yet (tomorrow) but my mother took these pictures on Tuesday of him at the driveway to the school -which is the busiest spot! or so he tells me. They help stop traffic to let kids cross the street, the take the flag down and fold it up. It is a great thing to be a part of!

I am hoping to post more about the last week .. but right now I have to get my banana muffins out of the oven and then we are headed to Jackson's playoff game. As the 1 seed-this is their first game in the playoffs and if they win tonight they will play in the championship game on Friday.

School: Day 9

Today was day 9 of school. The boys are getting into a rountine, but we are all still having a difficult time getting going in the morning. I will say that they are up & ready with breakfast eaten when they need to go.. so we are getting there!

Jackson let me take this picture before he left this morning -although as you can see by his face, he wasn't really happy about it. He has grown so much over the last 6 months.. becoming more confident and caring less what others think. He loves ties and wearing them. I am pleased to say that he also see's that he should wear them with a collared shirt as opposed to a t-shirt now. He has quite a collection, having raided both his father and grandfather's closets and cleaning them out of ties they don't wear.

On a personal note.. this was the first picture I have taken in 9 days. For some reason I just stopped picking up my camera and it got harder to restart. I had taken a picture (at least 1) every day since January 1st and then ..nothing.. So now I am back on track and working to "make up" those days. True it won't be pictures I took on those days -but I will use everyday photo's to fill in -the purpse of the Project 365 I am working on is that at the end I will have a snapshot look at our whole year. So I will go to Jack's school and take a picture of the door to his room, same with Steven, pictures of backpacks, lunchboxes -that kind of thing to fill in those days.

Things are crazy busy around here and I know I haven't written -mainly because I just didn't know what to say!

Jackson is finishing up a karate session (belt test tonight!) and a basketball session (last game tomorrow -then playoffs as we are in 1st place and undefeated). Now that school is back is session the schedule is getting to him -school all day, karate on Tuesday & Thursday for an hour, basketball on Mondays for 2 hours and Friday games, Saturday tournaments. He gets Wednesday and Sundays off -that's it. He has decided to take a break for this session of karate and go back in the winter. It makes me a bit sad as he really enjoys karate and I worry that if he stops to take a break he may never go back. On the flip side -he currently LOVES basketball. He works really hard at practice and at home to get better and we see improvement in his game every week. So I am happy that he will keep up with that. Jack has always needed to balance activities with down time and is is nice to know that he is now at a point that he can self-regulate how much of each he can comfortably handle.

Steven is working on his baseball. He is in a training program for Performance Pitching and Hitting, Power Throwing and Agility with a great coach. He is working out Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for 2 hours a night. He is committed to growing his game and is working hard at it. He is much happier with his classes than he expected and is enjoying having his friends in classes with him immensly. The AVID program is amazing. They are teaching them to be organized and time management skills, plus so much more (a whole post to come later regarding this program!).

Jonathan has built up so much vacation time that he is no longer getting any. So he is taking the next 2 weeks off! I have some projects for us to do around the house, there are some movies we want to see and restaurants we want to try. I have my regular committments -so he will get time at home alone. I hope it serves as a break for him, he really needs it. I can see the stress building in him and hope that time away from work will allow him to decompress and reboot.

I have been working on building my jewelry business. I have had 9 shows now and it is going really well. I am always looking for people who want to earn free jewelry and meet them in all kinds of crazy places. My mother has been instrumental in drumming up business and excitement for me - I really appreciate all her support!!Having this business has been such a blessing to us -especially since the timing coincided with a lull in my other work. I have been also trying to learn to meditate and pray. That is much harder to do than it sounds, but I am enjoying the process and look forward to it daily.

I guess that brings everyone about up to date. Have a happy day!

A long week....

So it is finally Friday! I have had a long week, but a good week. Getting up early is always hard for me and much harder coming off 8 weeks of sleeping til 8am... 6am is just sooooo early! But we've managed it for the most part -everyone is happier to get to bed a bit earlier each night. I know we are all looking forward to a relaxing weekend with nothing planned. That's not really true -but there is a lot of unscheduled time to look forward to.

I have 2 jewelry shows. One tonight and one tomorrow at 11. I am looking forward to them.. having gained practice and confidence over the last month. I have most everything ready to go (although there is a bit of tagging left to be done)... and am planning on having a 2 great shows.

Jackson has a basketball game tonight against his cousin Logan's team. I wish I could go -but I don't think the timing is going to work out with what time I have to be at my show. Jack's team is undefeated at this point (6-0) with 2 games left in the regular season... so I am sad I will miss it. He is understanding about it and that helps.

Steven has had 3 nights of grueling conditioning workouts for baseball. His coach is all about building and conditioning the bodies to build them into the baseball players they need to be. Those boys work HARD and no one complains --it is great to see them growing and learning together. He gets today & tomorrow off -but full field practice is Sunday late afternoon. I am not sure there could be a worse time to practice than Sunday at 5pm -but at least he gets to sleep in a bit and has all day today & tomorrow off to rest.

School seems to be going well. Homework is getting done, the boys are getting used to their classes and organized. Back to school nights are next week -so I'll get to see more then.

I had a long week of my own making. After taking Jack to school Monday -I went out to breakfast with some friends to celebrate the kids going back to school! We had a great time. Then I went to get my nails done and ran into another friend there -we chatted for quite a while. Took the dogs to the park, hit Curves and the kids were home. Tuesday I went to the movies with my mom and a couple of our friends to see Julie & Julia. I didn't expect much (read 1 of the books it is based on -the Julia Child one and was bored to tears) and found it to be quite entertaining and fabulous really. Stopped for lunch on the way home and got here just as Steven arrived home..day 2 gone!
Wednesday I worked around the house, went to Curves and had a coffee meeting to close out a jewelry show -then the day was over. Thursday I went to Curves and then to have coffee with another friend at her house -ended up staying most of the day. We hadn't really gotten together over the summer and we were enjoying catching up! Today... is another day and it is busy getting ready for my show.

The good news --we had dinners ready every night and the kitchen stayed clean. The laundry is almost all done.. so I accomplished some things.. next week will be better (less social anyway).
That said -gotta get going and get some things done!

School's In!

Monday the boys headed back to school. Uncharacteristically I forgot to take pictures that morning. It hit me as Jackson & I arrived at his school.
I did snap one of him in line (with my cell phone), but it still bugs me to no end that I missed out on that photo op.

Steven was willing to get one after school -but his smiley face is just
so forced. He was trying to look happy -as opposed to actually being happy
(naturally).


After school we headed to McDonalds for an ice cream treat.


Both boys had a great first day. They enjoy their classes and
have new friends. After a summer of no schedule -it is a bit
tough getting back into the swing of getting up early, doing homework
still making your sports committments and getting to bed before
it's too late.

Day 4 of school is done. Steven called & then went home with Josh.
Jackson is home and had a good day. I have to go and talk with him
before my window of "how was your day" chatting expires.

This post is late because blogger & picassa are just not cooperating. I have tried
to upload pictures 15 times, it hasn't worked. So I manually did it today -but couldn't
get them rotated and so you get the horizontal photos as opposed to the best photos.

Maybe tomorrow will be better?

San Juan High School

So a week ago we attended our 20th high school reunion. As a girl the idea of this terrifed me. I was
worried about no one remembering me, not knowing anyone's name.. really the idea of being thrust back
into high school worried the crap out of me. It made my stomach hurt to think about it. So when the date
corresponded with a trip out of town -I was more relieved than anything. Jon was still planning to go -but
I wouldn't be here. That suite me just fine. Fast forward, trip dates change and now I can go --then the
questions begin: should I or shouldn't I, will I or won't I... yikes.

I ended up going with Jon & Eric and having a great time. I forgot a few names and had to remind a few
people who I was -but overall I was remembered more than I would have thought.

I was excited to see many old friends and catch up on what's been going on in their lives. It was loud and
hard to talk much after a while, but it was still fun.


My friend Mark, his fiancee Sara and me


Eric, Jon and our friend Matt (he's a dr. in Alaska now and just
welcomed a son named Jackson)

Sam, Brandi & me.. funny thing is Sam & Brandi were an item
in school -but are now married to different people and just
came to the reunion together.. so fun to catch up with them
(she's a dr. now too!)

Phil and my hubby both wore suits and we captured it for
the 50 yr reunion posters.. LOL so they can show that they
cared enough to wear their very best. (note they all have cool
lanyards cuz they paid early -no lanyard for me:0()


Now I get to look forward to my Lowell Reunion in San Francisco in November.
2 of my good friends from 8th -11th are going for sure -so, so am I.

Next stop... Chestnut Street

Some things never change, while other things constantly do, yet still feel the same. We got to the Marina district, parked off Chestnut street and headed to Johnny Rockets. When I went to middle school here -there was no Johnny Rockets (just a Mels on Lombard 2 blocks up) and many of the shops on Chestnut are new too. There was Pottery Barn, Gap, Noah's Bagels, Peets and Starbucks to name a few. Quite a few of the old bars and shops remain -unchanged over the last 25 years.

We enjoyed our lunch at Johnny Rockets. We all had milkshakes, mainly because that is why one goes to JR in the first place. Mom had a mushroom burger (can't remember the name), I had a patty melt, Steven had a bacon cheese burger (no surprise there) and Jackson & Robert each ordered a BLT minus tomatoes on white. Some fries and onion rings and we were set.

My milkshake -Chocolate (split with Mom)... Jackson had Strawberry and Steven & Robert both had cookies & cream milkshakes.


We sat in 2 booths -so the boys could have some space.

After lunch we walked down the street to Marina Middle School -
where I attended 8th grade. My mother recalled waiting in line
to register and the Asian family in front of us being told there was
no room, then them telling my mom there was room for me
"we haven't met our quota for whites yet." Yikes.

Strangely I don't remember the parking lane in the middle of the
street. Of course I didn't drive back then and the bus I took let me
out on the other side of that street -so I may not have been aware
of the parking lane -it just looked strange.

The boys walking down the street I walked at Steven's
age. I couldn't resist snapping this shot of brotherly
affection -that was real. Just a moment of
big brother being nice to little brother.

The Presidio

As we exited the Golden Gate bridge on Wednesday -the kids seemed excited to see where we had lived and so we took a detour thru the Presidio...

I was able to show them:

The street we lived on...

The house we lived in .... 2nd on the left behind the bush.




The view from the street you drove up to get to the house
(also the view from the back windows for the most part)



The Pet Cemetery where my hamster was buried.
As we drove by we decided to stop and see if
we could find his grave.... I can still remember
taking him to the vet, having to make the decision to
put him to sleep. My dad took me and was very
patient during the process, although I know
now that it was probably difficult for him
since I was so openly emotional and bawling
about my pet. We made a grave marker out of
one of my mom's round wooden plates
and buried him in the pet cemetery.

Well -the marker is gone, but there is a new one.
Many graves have the same type of marker -so my mom
is thinking it might have been a scout project to
replace them. Regardless, we found his grave and
I was glad it was still there and marked. It was a
challenge, since they changed the entrance to the
cemetery and so it wasn't where we expected it to be.


The new marker... same words I painted on the original..



The view from the Pet Cemetery, the
boys were all still cooperative with the
camera -that is Jackson, his friend Robert
and Steven.


where the grave is.. (to the left of the one with the heart, right next to the flowers)


Jack got a picture of my mom & I with the bridge in the background!


We also stopped at Stillwell Hall so the boys could sit on the cannons.


Then we drove down Chrissy Field on our way to the Marina district and our Presidio
visit was over.

Zeum

We started out the summer with plans to make day trips every week somewhere. That didn't happen. The boys & I agreed to go to San Francisco on Wednesday to go to the Exploratorium. Each was to bring a friend. Steven's friend had to cancel last minute as he was up North with his grandma and when he was coming home changed. Jackson was thrilled his friend Robert could join us. I was worried about 3 kids -but decided to chance it. We had a wonderful day!

We left home about 8:30am and headed to the city. We arrived via the Golden Gate bridge about 10:30. As we exited the bridge, we talked about how I used to live right there and ended up on a tour of Presidio (tomorrows post!). Then we headed to lunch and then to the museum. When we arrived at the Exploratorium -the lines were huge! So we called Zeum, confirmed we could use our pass for at least 50% off and headed across town.

When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised that our $44 admission turned into $0 with our museum pass for the Discovery Museum here in town. Thanks Aunt Lulu and Michael for such a generous gift -we really enjoyed it!! The boys had a blast and for a museum we had never heard of -it was full of cool, technology and things to do.

The pictures aren't in order and I am too tired to try to arrange them... so here goes...





Jackson took this to prove that I was still a tiny bit taller than Steven. But gosh we look alike!

Outside the museum is the carousel 2 rides for $3 .. the boys had to ride of course. There is still nothing that draws riders like a good old fashioned carousel.

Trying to pick a song to make into a music video....

On the way back to the car. Happy as can be.

Dressing up for video production -although the machine was broken and we had to come back later to record.

Making a claymation animated video.

Outside of Zeum -which is in the Yerba Buena Gardens center ---right smack in the middle of downtown.



Outside the museum -such a cool feature -it had a guy on top who moved with the wind and balanced on the globe.




Jacksons clay art


Making clay art...

So we would recommend this museum to others -especially those using a reciprocal pass from another museum. It was alot of fun and we spent 3+ hours there.

More from our trip will come tomorrow.....

Today was a busy day here. Steven got his school schedule and is super excited to have the same classes as his best friend! They haven't been in any class together since 4th grade -now it will be all day (although they have different PE teachers). They are ready for school to start Monday -uniforms for PE purchased, school supplies ready and classes planned. Then Josh spent the day with us -they saw G Force while I saw The Proposal (which was funny and well, any movie that involves just watching Ryan Reynolds can't be all bad!). Then we came home and they played at the park for a couple hours. Then off to sports and now they are all settled back here ready for bed. I had a jewelry show -it was fun and I was home at 9:30. So we all watched Burn Notice, I am finishing this blog post and heading to bed.