Who's Got Your Back?

I caught a bit of the Golden Globes last night...the eccentricity, ego and glitz can be very entertaining. I most enjoyed Sandra Bullock's speech. I loved it when she said, "Family isn't just who you're born to or related to or what colour you are, it's whose got your back." And then she went on to thank her huz, because before him she didn't know what it was like for someone to have her back.

Such a simple thing to say but so true. In our house, we are constantly referring to the team=family analogy. Meaning that we all need to help each other and that we're playing a game everyday and each need to do our part. As an only child, I never was much of a team player but Tosh has since learned me all about it. I think about it everyday. I think about it when there's chaos. I think about it when we're laughing. I think about it when we're yelling at each other or irritated or just plain grumpy. Just yesterday, I was having a heart to heart (aka 'lecture') with Kennedy about pulling her weight on the team - helping out so that we can all be successful and happy. And then of course, we joke with it too, saying things like, "You are so not on my team right now..." etc.. etc... Anyway, the point is, that I absolutely LOVE the team approach to family. So when Sandra talked about family "having your back," I could totally relate. Ain't it the truth. My BFF Andrea actually just summed it up really nicely on her blog today..(funny the way things are so timely like that). She and I have talked a lot about this and her thoughts today are priceless.

It feels good to know that people have your back.

Lazy Days of winter

The thing I love most about New Year’s is that it is so low-stress. Well, it is for us anyway. Tosh left for Seattle Friday morning to go do some outdoor adventuring with his brother (Christmas present from his wifey) so it has been a quiet girls weekend. So I thought I’d sum up the last couple of days with only a few words, which should bring it all into context quite nicely. Suffice it to say, there have been few rules. We’ve stayed up late and slept in late…we’ve watched lots of movies and eaten too much junk food and still managed to do a lot of laundry and clean the house…so it’s not all lost. But wow, other than not having Tosh here to share it with us, what a great coupla days. Here’s the rundown, in all it’s glory:

*Sunrise waves in Pacifica

*A quick coastal drive

*Breakfast in a rainy and yummy smelling Half Moon Bay

*A little shopping

*3 hour nap in mom and dad’s king sized bed

*Johnny, Ponyboy, Dally and “Nothing Gold Can Stay”

*Cheesecake Factory (I didn’t want to cook, ok?)

*Rocky Balboa, 2 & 3 (I’m so proud of my daughter, who now shares my adoration not only for “Nothing Gold Can Stay” but also for the Eye of the Tiger)

*Jake Ryan – Is this not the greatest moment in film history? (I watched this one on my own and got the same chills as I’ve had 100 times before…it never gets old)

*The Fratellis, Lloyd Dobler, Mr. Darcy....

*And last but not least, my most favorite moment came when we were at the Stanford Women’s B-ball game today (which also included a quick stop at Sprinkles!) – and Isabel asked me if the mascot was a “salad.” (It's actually a tree in case you were wondering...)

Christmas Time Was Here...

We had a beautiful Christmas. On Christmas Eve we spent most of the day making treats for neighbors and friends. This year I found a chocolate cookie recipe from Sunset magazine that used Nutella as frosting. I don't know why but that just seemed so amazing to me...and it was. The girls helped a lot...

...mostly with the sugar cookies.

Don't you wish you got some of these...knowing they were 'kissed' by an angel?

One of the things the girls like to do is braid their hair when it's wet and sleep on it so it's crimped/curly in the morning. They thought Christmas should be such an occasion. It was also at this point of the evening that Kennedy would only refer to Tosh and I as "Mother" and "Father." She's hilarious sometimes.

Here's Kennedy braided up and sipping her cocoa just before bed.

And Isabel, stirring in her mallows.

All jammied up and ready for bed.

Santa did come and everyone was happy. Isabel got the American doll she asked for and Kennedy got a bike. She also got a pogo stick, which Father couldn't wait to borrow.

Kennedy knew what to do with the thing too. Isabel also got some new boots - which she thought merited and opportunity to practice doing splits. We were all happy people. Thought I'd also include K's reaction to Santa's generosity.