Letters For Lucas

Wonders, Mishaps, Blunders and Joy.. commentary on my life as a mom in the form of letters to my son

Laughter In The Backyard

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My sister is so good with Lucas and their relationship is simply endearing to witness.

Lucas’ face lights up whenever we speak of aunt Leah and her visits are always too short.

Leah recently spent five days helping me out while Todd was away on a business trip and I could swear there was more laughter in (and out of) the house.

We have been blessed with some gorgeous sunny winter weather, allowing for some fun in the backyard. Lucas calls it his “park” and since he can’t yet be out there on his own, one or both of us are always out there with him.

On Saturday morning, Leah and I were both lounging on the chaises watching Lucas run around the yard having a great time, when all of a sudden he was sort of over it and wanted to go back inside. Leah and I, on the other hand were enjoying soaking in the sun, not quite ready to start the day and both wanted to stay put.

Leah bounced up and started chasing Lucas around the yard and then he’d turn around and chase her. This is a game Lucas loves and he and I play it often. Leah’s twist on the game was every time she “caught” him, she tackled him to the ground and tickled him.

His laughter was divine. It’s moments like this that make me hope my son and my sister always remain as close as they are today.

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A New Year

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2010 was a year of highs and lows for our household. Luckily the highs outweighed the lows and in many cases I shared them on Letters For Lucas

Here are (just) the highlights:
January – Leah moved to Los Angeles.
March – I got my third tattoo.
April/May – We took a very memorable trip to Australia and New Caledonia, where I got to see my dearest and oldest friend, Sophie again after 10 long years.
May – A fun girl’s weekend to San Luis Obispo.
August – Lady Gaga in concert with Leah.
August – Letters For Lucas turned one.
September – Todd started his new business, European Classic Cars on PCH.
September – I gave Seattle another shot, fell in love and got to see my friend Siobhain again after 25 years.
October – I participated in my third Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk, second with my sister and I got to cross ‘walk over the Golden Gate Bridge’ off my Bucket List.
December – We moved to Orange County.

December – Leah and I took Lucas to Disneyland for his visit time.

Looking forward to 2011, but not a big proponent of New Year’s Resolutions per se, my goals tend to be very similar from year to year:
  • Exercise more
  • Read more
  • Cook more
  • Be present no matter what I’m doing or who I’m with. Be in the moment.

And this year, I am on a mission to declutter our home starting with Lucas’ toys and books, but more on that in another post.

What’s on your agenda for the next 364 days of the year? Let’s make ’em count!
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Our Holiday

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Christmas jammies #1

We spent the week of Christmas in the Bay Area at my in-laws house. My sister drove up from LA to be with us too. My sister-in-law and her husband and two daughters live nearby, so they were a big part of our holiday. Our visit was full of food, family and fun.

Here are some photos that tell our Christmas story…

Watching the nightly news with Grandpa. One of my favorite photos ever.


Christmas jammies #2

Spending Christmas Eve with my two favorite aunts.

The tree.

The loot.

Christmas morning.

The wrapping paper is the best part!


Christmas jammies #3

The Day After – Tilden Park choo choo ride.

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The Spirit Of Christmas – Redux

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I originally posted this last year (December 16, 2009 / The Spirit of Christmas) back when I only had 16 followers.

The memories and sentiments remain true today, so with very few edits, I’d like to share it with you again and from my house to yours, Merry Christmas!

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My mother loved Christmastime and our house was always decked out for the holidays. She was the reason Hallmark Cards exists!

We always had a beautiful tree covered with colorful international treasures from our life overseas and all the traveling we had done together.

She loved snow globes and nativity scenes and every year one whole couch would be completely covered with her motley crew of Christmas guys (stuffed animals dressed in red and green).

She had Christmas dishes strewn about the house filled with holiday candy and would have enough baked goods on hand to guarantee at least a three to five pound weight gain after each visit.

She was a big fan of the Christmas letter (writing and receiving them) and she loved shopping for our holiday cards and stationary the day after Christmas for the following year. I remember many 5:00 AM alarms going off on December 26 and the two of us rifling through bins of picked over greeting cards to find enough boxes for everyone on her and my father’s Christmas list. I swear they must have sent 300 cards!

I miss my mother every day but especially during the holiday season. She made Christmas special and a lot more fun with her childlike enthusiasm and overall joy. My dad, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Sure, he loved the Christmas cookies and other goodies, but growing up, his family would put up their Christmas tree the day before Christmas and take it down the day after, or so he said.

He would often tell my mom to buy what she wanted and he would wrap it and put it under the tree. Over the years, he started to get into it more and I think even began to enjoy picking out gifts for all of us and eventually came to understand the element of surprise, however, his wrapping always left a lot to be desired! See picture above; that is VHS tape wrapped around a present. My dad also had a vast collection of holiday music and liked to play it constantly the week of Christmas.

One of my favorite family holiday traditions on Christmas day was after all the presents were opened and prominently displayed in front of the tree (another tradition), we would go to a movie. Many big blockbusters open on Christmas day and we had fun trying to agree on which one to see. After the movie we would come home and make leftover turkey sandwiches and each have a slice of pie. Chocolate pudding for me, pumpkin for my dad, and pecan for my mom and sister.

It’s hard to believe that this will be my fourth Christmas without my parents and second with Lucas. It is very different now and for me it has lost some of the magic.

Leah and I have kept the tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas Day, followed by lunch together, just the two of us. We spend a lot of time reminiscing and looking forward too.

My in-laws have done their best to include me and my sister in their holiday, but I am looking forward to creating new traditions with Lucas and hopefully seeing some of that lost Christmas spirit shine through him.
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A Symbol Of Love & Loss

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In November 2007, a month after my parents died, my husband, sister and I traveled to Tunisia to visit the school, ACST (American Cooperative School of Tunis), where they worked. We wanted to spend time where they last had, visit with their colleagues and gain some peace and understanding. It was also important to me to be the ones that cleared out their home.

It was a difficult trip to say the least, but necessary for our grieving process. We were met with much understanding and support and much of the time we were not only being consoled but were consoling.

In a very touching ceremony, the school planted two olive trees* in a common area on campus and dedicated one to each of my parents while we were in town.That year for Christmas my husband had an olive tree planted for me in our side yard.

This was taken the day the tree was planted:

It was almost an exact replica to the ones planted for my parents continents away. right down to the white stones. Luckily, however, it is a non olive producing tree, for that would just be a mess!

In three years it has almost doubled in size.

This is me pregnant with Lucas at 30 weeks:

This was taken the day we moved:

I love this tree and will always appreciate the kind gesture that my husband made in finding and having it planted at our home. It will forever remind me of our trip to Tunis, the two trees that grow and bloom there in memory of my parents and of course, my parents themselves.

Todd is working with our old gardener and the new residents to either move the tree to a farm until we buy our next house and can plant it there, or keep it with the old house until we are ready to transplant it.

*The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean and a cultural symbol of Tunisia.

Silvery green leaves are oblong in shape and in spring small white flowers bloom. With age, the trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.

Tunisia produces 500,000 tons of olives each year. Many of Tunisia’s olive trees are believed to be over 2,000 years old.

The olive tree is one of the plants most often mentioned in literature. In Homer’s “Odyssey”, Odysseus crawls beneath two olive tree branches that grow from a single stock. The Roman poet, Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: “As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance.”

Olive trees are symbols of abundance, glory and peace.

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Week One

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In our first week in Orange County we’ve been to Disneyland, the annual Newport Beach Boat Parade and a shopping trip to South Coast Plaza and have managed to settle in to our new home. There are still many boxes to unpack and a garage full of items to organize, but the basics are done.

I was five years old the first time I went to Disneyland in the Summer of 1977. How my parents managed to get this shot without another soul in it is beyond me. Fast forward to 2010 and this is what Sleeping Beauty’s Castle looks like today:Lucas loved his first visit to Disneyland or “the Mickey Mouse park”, as it has come to be known in our house. If you ever get the opportunity to visit during the holiday season, it is really worth it. The Happiest Place on Earth becomes the Merriest Place on Earth with holiday decorations abound and it even snows!

We took Lucas on the It’s a Small World ride and he was bright-eyed and excited the entire time bouncing along to the soundtrack and enjoyed being on the boat, even after waiting in line for 40 minutes.

I was pleasantly surprised that he sat through the entire “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade, which includes all the Disney characters and Santa Claus too, after waiting another 40 minutes. He was mesmerized by the lights and dancers.

photo 5

Handing us the park map so we can find our way to the “choo choo”.

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Way more interested in his Mickey balloon than meeting Minnie.

 

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It was a memorable and magical first of many trips.

Back to unpacking…

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Anticipating 10 Great Things

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As I busy myself with unpacking, organizing and getting to know my new surroundings, my sister Leah is guest posting for me today.

It has been three months since your aunt Leah visited Letters For Lucas and after spending several days with us celebrating Thanksgiving and keeping you occupied while we geared up for the big move, she has a list to share of all the things she’s looking forward to with you:

I just spent a few days with you and your parents over the Thanksgiving holiday so I got to see just how you are growing. You are starting to talk a lot more now and really develop your own cute little personality. It makes me wonder what you are going to be like when you are older and can really hold your own in a conversation. I am so excited to be apart of that life that you will create for yourself.

Here’s a list of 10 things that I’m especially excited for:

1. I look forward to hearing you say “I love you, aunt Leah” for the first time. : )

2. I’m a great listener so I look forward to you coming to me for relationship advice or any advice at all actually. I hope you want to talk to me about your first girlfriend!

3. On that note, I’m going to enjoy coming to you for advice too sometimes.

4. I can’t wait till you can spend an entire weekend alone with me in LA.

5. I’m excited for your many phone calls to tell me what you did that day.

6. I think we all are ready for the day when you can tell us what’s wrong, what hurts or what we are doing right.

7. I look forward to going to a bar and grabbing a beer together.

8. When you get your first e-mail account and e-mail me!

9. I am going to love introducing you to my favorite movies, books and music.

10. It will be so much fun when you take your mom and I out for dinner one day.

I look forward to all these things too. Watching my son with my sister and seeing their relationship grow and blossom is one of my very favorite things do.

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Project Smile – November

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A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you’re at home. – Author Unknown

Another month of reasons to smile!

1st – Last day of our Kindermusik class. This was our fourth session
2nd – I voted!
3rd – A glorious walk along our beautiful ocean with my beautiful friend, Jenn.
4th – A happy little traveler.
5th – Officially in escrow!
6th – Enjoyed a nice long lunch with a dear friend and Lucas turned 17 months!
7th – Celebrated my niece’s golden birthday.
8th – I got to hold my girlfriend’s newborn baby boy and remember back to when Lucas was so tiny.
9th – Took a peaceful walk along the beach and saw dolphins. A walk is always better with dolphins.
10th – Remembered my mother with love. She would have been 62 today.
11th – Finally got my hair cut and colored. It had been almost THREE months. So long, grays!
12th – Daydreaming about a brilliant future.
13th – Lucas found a mud puddle and he was happy as a clam to play in it.
14th – My best friend’s birthday and a fun day date with my husband complete with movie popcorn.
15th – Exercising my freedom of speech.
16th – Epic carrot cake.
17th – Dinner, wine and good conversation with a dear friend.
18th – Children that take three hour naps.
19th – Family.
20th – I threw a little shindig and brought some of the coolest bloggers together that I know: Kludgy Mom, Surfer Wife, Mommy of a Monster, The Little Hen House, Mommypants, Not Just Another Jen, A Beautiful Mess and Mamaondago
21st – A visit to the bookstore and train table.
22nd – Oprah’s final Favorite Things episode.
23rd – Hiring a mover.
24th – Catching up on TiVo.
25th – Family, friends, good health, a little money in the bank and a clean kitchen.
26th – Sushi and pool with our neighbors.
27th – Dinner and a movie with my sister.
28th – Family picture in front of our new house.
29th – Story time and shaking our sillies out at the library
30th – Donating three huge bags of clothes and other household items to Goodwill. Purging feels so good!

I hope I wasn’t the only one that found so many reasons to smile this month!

Alicia is the brain child behind this wonderful meme. Be sure to link up at her blog, A Beautiful Mess or check out other people’s lists.

You can see my October reasons to smile here.
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My Son Has A Crush

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My son likes Elmo, but LOVES Abby.

He enjoys watching her on Sesame Street, pointing her out in books, looking for her whenever we are out and about and toddles around saying Abby, Abby, Abby all the time. It truly is one of the cutest things ever.

He almost jumped right out of his skin when he saw her on the Sesame Street float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

My sister recently got Lucas his very own Abby doll and the two have been inseparable ever since.

Seeing as my son has such a crush, I thought I should do a little background check on little Miss A.

According to Muppet Wikia, Abby Cadabby is a three-year-old fairy-in-training and made her debut in the first episode of Sesame Street’s 37th season.

Her name is a play on the magic word Abracadabra.

Abby’s magical powers are limited to popping in and out of thin air, floating when she’s happy, and turning things into pumpkins.

Although familiar with the world of fairy tales, Abby is astounded by such basic learning skills as drawing letters or counting, prompting her catchphrase “That’s so magic!”

She frequently uses her wand cell phone to call her mommy. When she’s asked to return home, she says that she’s “gotta poof.”

I gotta respect anyone that can turn things into pumpkins, but personally, I think it’s her bright pink color and adorable freckles. I don’t think I have to worry too much. I mean, really how far can a relationship with a Muppet go?

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Giving Thanks

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Wise men count their blessings; fools their problems. – Author Unknown

Last year, my husband and I took 5 1/2 month old Lucas to Italy (you can read about our trip here) and had a fantastic time, but this year I’m happy to be home spending the holiday with family.

Today, we started our day with a local 5 mile Turkey Trot, which I highly recommend to anyone is planning to eat and drink all day, like we did. It was only Leah and I that crossed the finished line, because poor Lucas woke up with a cold and since it was 50 degrees out at 7 AM, after mile 1, he and Daddy waited for us in a cozy and warm coffee shop. The rest of the day, Leah and I played Scrabble, cared for Lucas, wiped his runny nose, watched his favorite programs on TV, tried to get a good holiday card photo of him and stayed out of Todd’s way as he cooked the turkey, made twice-baked potatoes and green beans.

Our feast was served at 4 PM and it was button on your pants popping delicious!

This year, like most, I was in charge of the pies and there were three, as usual: pecan (Leah’s favorite), pumpkin (Todd’s favorite) and chocolate (mine!). And yes, there is a piece missing from one of the pies… someone just couldn’t wait until tonight.

Looking back at my Thanksgiving post last year (you can read it here), there isn’t much that I’d change or add to my list of things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. I have been blessed beyond belief! With only a few minor edits:

  • The 35 years I had with my parents.
  • A supportive, loving, patient and understanding husband, who also happens to be an incredible father and amazing cook. He’s also very generous; I found him preparing a full plate of food for a homeless man hanging out in our alleyway tonight.
  • A happy, healthy, smart, adorable, fun toddler who teaches me something new everyday and fills my life with joy.
  • A sister who has the capacity to listen, forgive and love unconditionally.
  • Being able to stay at home and raise my son.
  • Friends and family near and far, old and new, especially my mommy friends; I don’t know where I’d be without any them.
  • Living in Southern California where there is sunshine 360 days a year.
  • This blog, which has proven to be one of the very best things I have ever done for myself.
  • Extra long foot massages, pajamas, Cabernet Sauvignon, babysitters that are available at the last minute, TiVo and sleep!
  • The ability to travel to far away places, have exciting adventures, meet new people and then return safely home.

I hope however you are spending the holiday, you find as many things to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This post is for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop – Prompt #2: Share a photo of what Thanksgiving looks like in your neck of the woods.
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