Playing Catch Up

Friday has come and gone and here I am trying to catch up with you.

Friday morning I took the girls out to Corona Del Mar. I am usually the last person you'll ever here offering to go to the beach. In the past year I've probably been between 4 and 5 times. But I promised my girls the beach and I wasn't going to let my bad attitude ruin something I know they love. So I got into my bathing suit, which is one of the things I hate about the beach, and got them into theirs. I packed our snacks, sunblock, towels, and who knows what else for the trip and off we went.

As you may have noticed I am a bit on the frugal side so I was not about to pay $15 for beach parking. I was just fine parking on a side street and having my girls and I hike ourselves in. Hey, I figure I can always use the extra exercise. We arrived about 10am and once I set out the towels and covered us in sunblock I unleashed the wild beasts that our my girls and from that point on rarely saw them unless it was for a snack or water break. Of course, i could see them but they didn't hang out with me like they did last year. They found other children on the beach and had a grand time in the water. Even my three year old was spalshing away which is something she'd never done.

Two hours later I took two tired and hungry girls home for lunch. They'd had a wonderful time and even I had managed to enjoy myself. Once I learned to relax a bit I found that maybe the beach wasn't so bad. As long as it didn't actually involve me going into the water. 

Saturday was my husband's birthday. We started his day by going for a hike in Peters Canyon without the kids. I thought they'd enjoy the break and he and I could do a longer hike together on our own. So the girls had a playday with their grandfather and my husband and I packed up our things and headed out on our hike. We began around 10:30am, which is actually later than I'd like to start, and decided to do the whole darn trail. That meant we hiked just over five miles and it took us about two hours to complete. The first half of the hike had the most hills, which is probably for the best, and the last half was quite pleasant. There's not much shade so be careful not to go out on a super hot day. The view is gorgeous and we spotted a roadrunner along the way along with a squirrel and many beautiful plants, insects, and birds. I was very proud of myself for having completed the hike and would recommend it to anyone. We did see families out there so feel free to bring the kids when you head out. Not all the trails have such steep hills and you can always go a ways then head back the way you came. No one expects the kiddies to hike the 5 miles. But if they can then more power to the little super kid.

After a quick clean up in the shower we had a delicious lunch at Islands then dropped the kids off at my parents while we spent some time wondering around the Orange Mall. It was relaxing just wandering aimlessly through the stores and since I had a gift card, since last year, to JcPenney I decided to check out what they had. Turns out they had some things and I was ecstatic to buy them. After a few hours of wondering around we picked up the girls, came home, and just enjoyed eachother's company until bedtime. It was relaxing and peaceful and I think my husband loved his day.

Since my husband is so special, or so he tells me, he not only got a day but a weekend. I kept the girls busy this morning with church. Afterwards we came home for a quick lunch and change of clothes then headed to the Center for Living Peace, across the street from UCI, to take a class called Smiling Monkey Yoga. It's yoga for ages 3-7. We took it before and although I wasn't thrilled with the last teacher we still decided to give it a go. This instructor was a huge improvement and the girls had a great time dancing, stretching, and chatting with their teacher. Since the instructor asked the mommies to join in I ended up doing the class with the girls. And though yoga is not best done in a dress shirt and jeans I did my best and had a good time hanging out with them. I absolutely recommend trying this with your little ones. It's a good way to teach them how to center themselves, how to control their breathing, and how to pay attention to their bodies. And it's always just a fun way to spend an hour on a lazy Sunday.

Once we came home I pretty much passed out and stayed that way until dinner time. I had no idea I was out so long but sometimes a body just needs to rest. See, in one class I already learned to listen to my body and it told me to take a darn nap. Pizza was on the dinner menu along with The Water Horse for our viewing pleasure. I baked a chocolate cake for a belated birthday cake and we all enjoyed cake with ice cream for dessert.

We have finally caught up to the present. The girls are bathed and in bed after a chapter reading of Roald Dahl's "BFG" Big Friendly Giant and prayers and I am starting to wrap this up. I have nothing to read for tonight because I recently finished The Sister's Grimm by Michael Buckley and Angel's Fall by Nora Roberts. But tomorrow I hope to borrow a book from a coworker by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

What you can take away: Life can be exhausting. There are times that are exciting and times when you just don't have a darn thing going on. And don't get me started on all the things in between. But all you have is this time, right now, for better or worse. So take what you can from it. Remember, it doesn't matter if the cup is half full or half empty, if there's something in the cup just drink it. Thank you Nora Roberts for that metaphor in your book. Read more. Bask in some sun. And breathe now and again. It's all going to be okay.