aunt leah

Guest Post

Posted on January 21, 2010 Written by Tonya

Your Aunt Leah has started her own blog about her new life in Los Angeles, but she will continue to provide notes to you here. Here is her latest:

Dear Lucas,

Your Aunt Leah is back here on your mom’s blog but this time I have some advice for you. Last week I went to Jamaica and read an interesting article on the plane ride and I wanted to share with you what I learned from it.

The article was about Jay Leno, the late night talk show host and what he considers to be the secret of his success. And since I want you to be successful in this life, I thought I would share this with you.

I’ve never been a huge fan of his and I would usually rather watch Conan or even Letterman, however, his words in this particular article really spoke to me. It’s interesting that such a successful and popular comedian believes the key to a good life is maintaining low self-esteem. Who would have ever though that Jay Leno had poor self-esteem before breaking into the entertainment industry? I totally get it though. Leno says, “If you go into a situation assuming that you are the dumbest person in the room, I think you will fare better than if you go in assuming you are the smartest one.” He goes on to say, “that at no point in the day am I going 100 miles per hour. Most people work in 100-mile per-hour spurts and then relax. For me, one of the keys to success is pacing myself.”

I think that I agree with that work ethic. It’s that constant steady pace that will get more accomplished in the long run without feeling too crazed or overwhelmed.

With this philosophy, Leno thinks he is one of the hardest-working people in show business. I would have to agree with that statement. He certainly gets a lot done. He has his own daily late night talk show, and an on-going comedy tour. He is one busy guy! Now, while this is great and all, I do not expect you to rush into Hollywood kicking and screaming for this kind of job. You do whatever makes you happy and try following Leno’s work ethic. I also believe that if you go into any situation (be it at the workplace or at home) hoping for the best but expecting the worst, you’ll almost always surprise yourself. I think this a great way of looking at every situation in your life.

Well, Lucas, I hope that this was helpful to you. I love you very much and wish you all the success in the world!

Love,

Leah

These are great words of wisdom, Lucas. Above all else, we want nothing more for you than for you to be happy. Follow your heart and success can never be too far behind.

The best is yet to be.

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Rainy Day Blues

Posted on January 18, 2010 Written by Tonya

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

Your dad left for Arizona this morning for an annual trip he takes to attend the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction and other events. He’ll return in six days. We are both going to be a little off while he is away. Luckily, your aunt will be visiting us for a couple of days, followed by your grandma.

It has been dark, windy and pouring rain all day long and unfortunately, it is suppose to be like this all week. Right now, the sky is the most beautiful shades of indigo and gray. We are safe and warm inside and very much loved.

The best is yet to be.

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You Own My Heart

Posted on January 17, 2010 Written by Tonya

It must be so frustrating being a baby. It must be terribly defeating not having the capability to communicate what it is that you want or need, when you want and need it. Without words, you are virtually crippled. You cry and whine and hope that your caretakers figure it out, but it usually takes them a while (particularly if one of your caretakers is me). It is so unfair to you and babies everywhere and it makes me feel bad, especially when you are sick. There really is nothing worse than a sick helpless baby.

Sometimes I look at you and wonder if you know how much you are loved. I can officially say, without a doubt, you own my heart. I didn’t fall in love with you immediately, I had to get to know a little bit first. Now that I do, there’s no turning back… The love you feel for your own child is really indescribable. It’s deeper and wider than any other love there is.

I wonder if you feel my love? I have to think (hope) that on some level you do, like when you physically reach for me or draw yourself closer to me. That’s early stages of affection, isn’t it? Maybe it’s just the instinctive need for the maternal caregiver?

I know love isn’t enough when you are bored, over stimulated, tired, or just need a good burp, but I hope you know we are/I am trying and that I would do anything for you. I would do anything to make you smile.

Your Aunt Leah wrote you this poem shortly after you were born and posted it on her blog recently. It’s sweet, simple and I don’t think truer words have ever been said. I will treasure it always and hope that you will too.

Forever and Ever
Your parents made you with all of their love.
They had help from your mom’s parents up above.
We’ll love you forever, this much I know is true.
I can say for certain that there’s no one else like you.
As you grow up, we’ll do everything that we can
to make sure that you grow up to be a great man.
We promise to teach you all kinds of different things;
Like how to listen and what possibilities life brings.
You’ll learn how to play, work and how to read.
You will learn everything that you’ll surely need.
But most of all, we’ll show you how to love and care.
In this crazy world we live in, those feelings are often rare.
Right now, you are very small and you have your father’s looks.
Maybe when you’re older, you’ll be like your mother and love to read books.
Well, Lucas, let’s treasure every moment we have together.
I will always love you forever and ever.

The best is yet to be and I, too will love you forever and ever.

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An Exercise In Patience

Posted on January 9, 2010 Written by Tonya

Sadly, your dad had to work all day today, in fact, it’s after 9:00 PM and he is still working, so I decided to take you up to LA to visit your Aunt Leah.

It’s been less than a week since Leah moved to LA and she is already completely unpacked and for all intents and purposes settled in. Aside from a couple of odds and ends, she made creative use of all of the space in her new place and her room looks great!

We had a nice visit and lunch at a fun place called Giggles ‘N’ Hugs, the friendliest kid-friendly restaurant I have ever been to or heard of. It offers a healthy, mostly organic menu and a large portion of the restaurant is devoted to a play area. Unfortunately, you are a bit too young yet to use the see-saw, drive around on the tricycles, or go down the slides, but you enjoyed watching all the other children and playing with the colorful kid-size utensils and some other just-your-size toys in the play area. I appreciate Leah finding a place for us that is not only tolerant of toddler behavior, but celebrates it. This alone helps a mother relax immensely!

After lunch, we indulged in Crumbs Bake Shop cupcakes, where the “Elvis” (pictured above) is the cupcake of the month. Just listen to this decadent description: vanilla cake filled and frosted with banana cream cheese frosting, topped with a swirl of real creamy peanut butter and edged with peanut butter chips. Yum, and I don’t even like bananas, but I love love LOVE cupcakes, so this stop was a real treat.

What wasn’t such a treat and what I will HAVE to learn to deal with better, is the traffic! We spent about as much time with Leah, as we did in the car. Aggghhh! It took us two and a half hours to get to her house and back home….that’s five hours, plus all the driving around we did while up there. Traffic drives me (no pun intended) absolutely insane! As always, you were a good sport, but your poor mommy lacks the patience to deal with look-lous, red lights or grid lock. I don’t mind being in the car or even driving, it’s just all the stop and go and waiting that kills me. I am trying to focus on the nice time we had and the fact that Leah now lives so much closer, but it’s hard.

The best is yet to be.

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LA ‘n’ LA

Posted on January 4, 2010 Written by Tonya

To document her adventures in Los Angeles, Leah has started her very own blog, LA ‘n’ LA. I can’t wait to read about her new life in the City of Angels.

I am also looking forward to getting to know LA better myself. From what little time I have spent there, I haven’t been very impressed. After graduating from college, your dad lived in Brentwood (a neighborhood in west LA) for 10 years and loved it and would probably move back in a heartbeat if I was on board. He says it’s because of the anonymity the city offers offers and the endless options. I, on the other hand, have always felt that it was too congested, full of horrific traffic and shallow people, but I’m keeping an open mind and can’t wait to experience a different side of LA from the view point of a frequent visitor. 🙂

Leah included this Frank Lloyd Wright quote in her first blog posting: Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles and I like it! I am so happy that she has landed there. All the best, Leah. xoxo

The best is yet to be.

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Moving Day

Posted on January 3, 2010 Written by Tonya

Last night my sister arrived in San Diego with her 10′ moving truck in tow and today I helped her move into her new house in LA….sort of.

It was a very long, hot and frustrating day that didn’t start off the way either of us had planned; but when is moving day ever fun?

Her best guy friend was kind enough to drive her U-Haul out here from Phoenix while she followed in her car and he was going help us unload it, but he unfortunately had a rough night last night (I’ll just leave it at that…and no, he wasn’t over served) and needed to fly home this morning. Your dad, still recovering from his ankle sprain stayed home with you and so, that left Leah and me.

I got to drive the U-Haul, which was super fun, but once in LA and knowing full well that we couldn’t get her bed, enormous desk, dining room table, or heck, even TV up the two flights of stairs by ourselves, we did what any two savvy women would do and hired two beefy hombres from a Home Depot parking lot. I am 100% confident that we over paid for Ivan and Orlando’s help, but who cares, the entire truck was unloaded in under 90 minutes. Oh, and they put her bed together too. Bonus!! I don’t know what we would have done without our handy helpers, God bless them.

I think Leah is second guessing her decision to move to southern California, but I hope it’s only because today was so stressful and she is running on empty. I hope that she soon realizes that it will take a good 30 days or so to learn her way around her new neighborhood and that before she knows it, things won’t seem so foreign. I am super excited for her LA adventure to begin, for her to land a fabulous new job and make new friends. I applaud her for making this move and am thrilled to have her closer.

Leah’s new place is great and so are her roommates, who thankfully made themselves scarce while we (I mean, our new friends) moved in.

Once Leah gets settled in, I look forward to taking you to visit her in her new digs.

The best is yet to be.

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So Much To Say

Posted on December 21, 2009 Written by Tonya

“I find sometimes it’s easy to be myself sometimes I find it’s better to be somebody else.” – So Much To Say, Dave Matthews

This is my 100th post! I never thought I’d get here…100 posts!? Wow! I guess I had more to say than I thought.

I love blogging and I am so thankful for the outlet and I appreciate whoever is reading this, especially my sister! I love that she has commented on just about every single post I have made. Thanks, Leah!

If you do read this and haven’t become a “follower” yet, please do and as always, I love feedback, so comment and comment often on anything that strikes a cord with you, makes you laugh, or rubs you the wrong way. I’m also open to advice. I know that there are a lot of first time and seasoned mommies out that I could learn from.

My husband likes to point out that my blog has/is undergoing an evolution and that not all of my posts are “Letters For Lucas” and some are just rants or fun stuff (ie. quotes, book, movie, product reviews, etc.). I acknowledge the shift and he acknowledges that this is my space. 🙂

The best is yet to be and I still have so much to say.

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Guest Post

Posted on December 15, 2009 Written by Tonya

We love it when your aunt Leah visits, especially during the holiday. Today, we took you Christmas shopping and to lunch. You were not exactly in the holiday spirit, so we ended up shopping in shifts, but we got a lot done and had fun doing it (thanks to a much needed cocktail break!).

Here is your aunt Leah’s holiday post:

December 14, 2009

Seasons Greetings, Lucas! Welcome to your first holiday season! I know for a fact that Santa will be very good to you this Christmas! As your aunt, I feel like it’s my responsibility to spoil you rotten all the time but now that the holidays are upon us, I feel that way even more. I just love seeing your face light up when you see something new and exciting. But to be honest, the older you get the more joy you’ll get from opening up presents.

You simply cannot enjoy a holiday like Christmas without children around. They go hand-in-hand. The older I get, the sillier buying lots of gifts for everyone in the family seem. What we should be giving to each other is love and more of our time. I promise to always be generous with my love and with my time for you. Don’t get me wrong; I totally understand that it’s hard for children not to be greedy when relatives keep asking them to name all the toys they want. Parents and adults need to teach kids the true Christmas spirit without completely removing the gift-giving factor. It can be done.

I have no doubt that your mom and dad will show you how to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas, as you grow older.

I recently found this quote and I think it sums up my feelings about this holiday:

“The hidden meaning is that Christmas is the festival of the human heart. It is a time of year when all the universe conspires to raise the vibratory level of consciousness on earth to one of peace and love toward ourselves and one another. This season resonates to the sweet, childlike innocence that resides in all of us. A time when the heavenly forces inspire us to shift our focus away from fear and toward one of joy, and healing.” – Sonia Choquette

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Lucas and I promise the best is yet to be in 2010!

Thanks, Leah. We are looking forward to spending the holiday with you too and are so happy that you are going to be such a big part of Lucas’ first Christmas.

The best is yet to be indeed.

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Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk

Posted on November 14, 2009 Written by Tonya

A year ago next weekend, your aunt Leah and I participated in the San Diego Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I was 12 weeks pregnant with you and had to get special permission from my doctor to participate.

The Breast Cancer 3-Day is an amazing 60-mile journey that helps mothers, sisters, spouses and friends get one step closer to a world without breast cancer. It is three very inspirational, very grueling, very powerful days and it was my pleasure to be a part of it.

Together, Leah and I raised over $5000 and were two among almost 4000 walkers (597 were men!). The money we raised helped to save lives.

I had walked in the event previously in 2001, so I had a a pretty good idea of what to expect…muscle aches and pains, blisters between your toes, long lines for the showers that were in trucks?!, cold nights on the hard ground in bright pink tents as far as your eye could see, entire neighborhoods urging you to take one more step by clapping and providing entertainment and snacks as you walked by and lots of heartfelt emotion.

Nothing could compare though to walking with my sister. She had every ailment in the book; from blisters and sore muscles to a strange rash all over her feet and ankles and the wrong size sports bra, but she never let any of it get her down and all the while making me laugh mile after mile after mile. It was one of the best weekends we have spent together.

This weekend, Leah is serving as a volunteer crew member in the Phoenix 3-Day Walk and I am very proud of her. We were both so motivated by the cheering and enthusiastic staff along the route as walkers, that I know having gone through it, she’ll be great being on the other side. I can’t wait to hear about her experience. Way to go, Leah!

The best is yet to be and I’m thankful that I still don’t know anyone that has had breast cancer!

Guest Post

Posted on November 2, 2009 Written by Tonya

Your aunt Leah was one of the first people that I told I was blogging and she has become a faithful reader and commenter (!). My posts have spawned several in depth conversations between us and have brought us closer.

I have asked her if she would like to be a guest poster from time to time and here is her first message to you:

November 2, 2009

Dear Lucas,

Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time with you and your mom. I went to visit you guys in San Diego a couple weeks ago and just got home from meeting you two in Tucson. Since you were born, almost five short months ago, I try to come visit at least once a month. These visits usually land on a holiday of some kind or another event. I came to San Diego last week because Thursday, October 15 marked the 2 year anniversary since your mom’s and my parents passed away. We would like to always be together on this day. I am sure by now, you have heard all about your Grandma and Grandpa Adams .

Your Grandma and Grandpa loved children and loved making them laugh. They would have surely enjoyed making you giggle! They were very loving people and whenever I was with them, I felt love. It’s hard to explain but I really did feel that way when I was around them. Your grandparents also loved hugging and kissing. They were incredible parents and would have had a lot of love to give you. I am deeply sorry that you missed out on meeting them but I hope through our stories you will grow to know them and love them just the same. They would have been so proud of your mom. They were very excited to see her as a mother.

Nothing can describe how happy I feel to be able to spend all this time with you two. You make me very happy and have the unique power to instantly cheer me up! I swear its true! I seem to have the fun ability to make you smile with my goofy voices and my facial expressions. I am thankful to you that whenever I am feeling sad I look at a picture of you and I’m reminded of how much love there is now in our family.

Well, until my next blog, Lucas, all my love! I am sure that I’ll be seeing you very soon!

Love,

Your aunt, Leah

Thanks for being my first guest poster, Leah and for your kind words.

Until next time, the best is yet to be.

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