Rohde Family SF

ARF Animals on Broadway Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 15:28:00 +0000

Team Rohde is once again gearing up for ARF's Animals on Broadway Walk on Saturday May 17th! Of course, we'd love your support in our fundraising. Any and all donations are MUCH appreciated!

Orange October

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 06:53:00 +0000

While Rohde Family is not making a comeback, I decided it would be easier to post pictures here after talking to a few of you. Onward!

Max and Julia attended a Dia de Los Muertos party where they learned about Day of the Dead. I really adore some of our mom friends and the events they put on.

And even though it poured the afternoon of the school parade, it carried on!
Our Wolverine

Our Rainbow

In Motion

We have our own Jack o'Lantern, Max who has lost 4 teeth in the past two and a half weeks!! He's keepin' the Tooth Fairy in business!

And of course since it is Orange October, I must mention my beloved Giants who won their THIRD World Series in five years. It has been a stressful month of baseball watching at Casa Rohde. We backed into the Wild Card with a Brewers loss and never let up. Mike and I watched the victory parade from the comfort of home Halloween afternoon.

From a church in my old hood in the city

Rohde Family Walks for Animals on Broadway

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 04:19:00 +0000

Long time no post...

Life has been busy at Casa Rohde.

Team Rohde is gearing up to participate in Tony La Russa's Animals on Broadway Pet Walk to raise money for homeless animals and we would love some support for Team Delilah Bob (named in honor of our beloved rescue, Delilah). The link is on the right side of this blog blog page and we would truly appreciate any support.

A few highlights of the past few months in pictures

Max lost his top TWO teeth in the same evening!

I'll skip over the screaming and yelling that was heard from the bathroom. The permanent teeth have already popped through.

Delilah hangs with the kids while they read on the iPad

J and her Daisy troop sold cookies outside of Safeway on a warm Saturday afternoon. Behold our awesome poster:

J's Daisy troop visited Tony La Russa's ARF for a tour and we met the man himself! I was lucky enough to be a chaperone and we had lots of fun and snapped an awesome pic.

A blurry pic of Max carrying the flag in the flag ceremony for his Pack meeting

Max and Mike participated in their first Pinewood Derby with the Cub Scouts

We've done some great hikes up Briones

We celebrated the Giants' opening day win with some ice cream

Delilah enjoyed her first beach outing and slept for many hours that afternoon

We spent one of our Spring Break days with Claude at the California Academy of Sciences

And our girl just after a bath due to rolling in horse poop on our hike. Poor J was in hysterics when Delilah rubbed against her leg.

Delilah is a growing cuddle monster

noreply@blogger.com (Mike and Jill) — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:49:00 +0000

The dog is growing quickly and at the same time, she loves to cuddle. Here are some pics from this morning and the past few days.

A New Addition

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 06:32:00 +0000

Breaking News at Casa Rohde...We've happily added to our family with a DOG! Mike and I have talked about getting a dog since before we got engaged. Today it finally happened.
Introducing DELILAH....

We are in LOVE and over the moon. We adopted her from the San Francisco SPCA. We've had our eyes on several rescue dogs closer to home the past few weeks, but Mike found her this morning and the rest of the family met her this evening and we brought her home.

I always had in my mind that we would adopt an older dog that was already potty trained. Instead we got a baby and I am super happy. Go figure. We've already had a few accidents and are taking her outside to potty what seems every 10 minutes. But all is good!

Play Clay

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 16:35:00 +0000

This week the First grade classes are going to build snow people out of play clay. I'm so lucky we got to make the play clay at home and send it in with the kids! When I finally read the recipe, the day before it was due, I knew we'd have to make a trip to the store for extra ingredients. I was suprised (and annoyed!!) to find Safeway was sold out of cornstarch! Thank goodness we ran into another set of first grade twins and their mom and she sent me over to Whole Foods where we scooped up one of the last three containers of cornstarch.

In front of the mandarin display, because why not? Mind you, they both insisted I take this pic.

While Mike and the kids did the nightly reading, I whipped up 2 big batches of play clay. Just to keep it real, there was some complaining and cursing along with it. I had to pull out the step stool to stand over the stove to do the heavy stirring.

Max said he had to get in a photo bomb

It seems hysterics ensued when I failed to have decorations (buttons, ribbons, etc.) at the ready this morning for them to take in for the snow people. I looked for my giant jar of buttons but haven't found it yet and I thought we had until Friday for decorating the snow people. Of course I was told at bedtime last night it is happening today. I can't wait for vacation to start....and hopefully I can get organized in 2014.

Skate Party

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 18:38:00 +0000

Over the weekend J attended the rolling skating party for one of her best buds. Another first! She was a little nervous since she's never skated before. And when I realized the kids have never skated before I felt bad. In my defense it was on our summer list, but we missed it. It's back on whatever fun list we're currently keeping.

A genius thought up these white push stands that assists new skaters.

J got frustrated a few laps in and decided to take a break. The next time she hit the floor she did it sans help stand and skate-walked around and around. There were lots of falls but she kept getting back up and going! Sister was determined!

Watching her was tons of fun and brought back great memories of my roller boogie days, complete with the royal blue pom-poms with bells I tied onto my laces. Ah, the good ole days....

The Nutcracker

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 22:34:00 +0000

I've daydreamed of taking Julia to the Nutcracker in San Francisco for years. No exaggeration. When I looked at ticket prices in October I realized this would not be our year. I couldn't justify it when I wasn't sure she would sit through it and enjoy it. Good thing one of her best buds dances with the Orinda Ballet Academy and they are dancing the Nutcracker this year! Last night we headed out with our old neighbors for a girls evening.

Ready to go!

The girls and me waiting in line while V picked up our tickets at will-call

The look on J's face was priceless! She oooohhhhed and aaaahhhed more than I imagined. I was thrilled that she loved it as much as I do. One of my fave childhood Christmas memories is dressing up and seeing the Nutcracker in San Antonio. I hope we can make the Nutcracker an annual tradition!

Visit with Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 05:47:00 +0000

Last night we headed over to Broadway Plaza minutes after Mike walked in the door from work for our annual visit with Santa. There was NO way I was attempting a visit with Santa this weekend so we decided our best bet would be mid week. This was our 4th year visiting THE BEST Santa in the land. In previous years I took the kids on a weekday morning and we had the place to ourselves. (In reviewing previous blog posts, I realized I haven't blogged a Santa visit since 2009! Criminal!) We had no idea what it would be like so we prepped ourselves for a long evening.

We had a mini photo shoot in the family room while we awaited Dad's arrival. I almost fell on the floor when Max said he would wear whatever I picked out for him. Why can't I get this on school picture day?!?

This is probably the truest picture ever

Mike purchased new sunglasses and gave J his old pair. To say she's obsessed would be an understatement. She required her own photoshoot:

Group Selfie

Once again, I scored in the parking karma--that parking garage is no joke. We walked into Santa's place and there was one family waiting. We all waited while Santa took a break and re-parked his sleigh. It was mere minutes before Max and Julia were settled in for a short chat and photos.

Afterwards, I insisted we walk over to the big tree and try to find someone to take a family photo. The place was empty and when I took this J was screaming about how hungry she was. No family photo was to be had. I hope you aren't holding your breath on that holiday card this year....we're a bit behind.

We ended the evening with dinner at the Habit, always a good time. Their gummies are the best!

Holidaze

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 05:22:00 +0000

I forget how busy we are this time of year and I can't keep up!

The best thing about Elvis finally returning home? NO ONE noticed he was sitting in the tree on Saturday morning!

Mike and I made our way into the Big City on Saturday evening for his firm's annual holiday dinner.
Mike on the train-he loves having his pic taken!

Too bad this is the only one I took the whole night. One of the bosses was snapping pics of everyone eating dinner on his phone-I'd love to see those!

I met my girls for our annual holiday meet-up on Sunday afternoon and once again, not one picture. I'm sensing a theme here.

I found a bunch of pictures on my phone Sunday night that I didn't take. This non-blurry of the tree is pretty good.

I had already been in my office for over an hour yesterday and this is how cold it was outside.

We aren't used to this in NorCal...

Tonight's newest find at TJ's: Eggnog ice cream! Mike and I only had small tastes, so we can't give full reviews, but even the non-nogger J ate hers. Everything tastes better with Midnight Moo!

An Elvis Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 05:28:00 +0000

I spent over two hours on separate occasions this week tearing apart my bedroom closet, the storage and all other hiding places. Elvis was still missing. I finally gave up and realized I would have to buy a new one.

I made a trip to Target at lunch on Wednesday only find that they only had girl elves. After cursing myself and checking out the holiday decorations and nail polish, I returned to my office. I decided to give them another try on Thursday and I made off with the LAST boy elf. I sat in my car staring at our new Elvis trying to decide if he looked like the old Elvis.

Elvis has made his way back to the top of our tree and is waiting to be found when Julia and Max wake up tomorrow morning. I'm only a week behind so I'm counting this as a win.

32*

noreply@blogger.com (Mike and Jill) — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 17:26:00 +0000

To say it's been cold the past couple of days would be an understatement. This morning it was 32 degrees outside as I drove them to school, which prompted the following photo shoot...

Elvis

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 05:41:00 +0000

We're two days into December and Elvis is MIA. I can't find him ANYWHERE. Which means I hid him very well.
Stay tuned for an update and possibly another panicking post...

It's December!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 23:37:00 +0000

We bid a fond farewell to November yesterday.

We got our tree

We unpacked and washed our new holiday dishes (Thanks Nana!!)

Decorated

Our fave new ornaments from our Texas trip in May
Where's the basement??

And settled in for our first family viewing of Elf (with popcorn, under the Z no less!)

Double Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 05:17:00 +0000

We had an excellent Thanksgiving and got lucky to celebrate Mike's birthday the same day this year!

My trusty companion and I set out early Wednesday morning to pick up our Willie Bird. As a reward for keeping me company we stopped at Starbuck's after loading Willie into our car.

The kids and I paid a visit to IKEA to procure last minute entertaining items. We sadly learned that J is too tall for the kids' play area although they were kind enough to allow her to squeak in one last visit. They preferred to spend their time coloring to perusing the kitchen section.
Lunch

We are now required to take one funny pic and one nice pic

Maggie got a sister, Millie and Doggie got a brother, Woofer

Ready to bake a birthday cake

J assisting in the green Jell-O making

Cheers!

Finished Willie. One of my best, if I do say so

Birthday Guy with his trusty helpers

We have much to celebrate and be thankful for.

Today we took in a matinee viewing of Frozen and then noshed on some Five Guys. Max is a fan of the peanuts

The Monday Before Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Mike and Jill) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:23:00 +0000

I'm working from home this week while the kids are off from school for Thanksgiving break. We walked down to Subway for lunch and when we got back the kids decided to play some Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.

Max's Hair Cut and Julia's Leopard Hat and Soccer Clinic

noreply@blogger.com (Mike and Jill) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Max gets his hair cut so infrequently, that when he does, it's worthy of a blog post. Here then are the pics.

Not to be outdone, Julia sported her sunglasses and leopard hat along with her neon pink jacket for our trip to the Farmers' Market.

And she's at her soccer clinic right now (Jill emailed me the pic while I'm writing this).

Scouting Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Mike and Jill) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Max has been very busy with Scouts over the past couple of months and I just got a handful of pictures that were taken at some of the events. The first two pictures are from last night when Max collected his first collection of belt loops earned for participating in archery, bb guns, hiking, community help and more.

This picture is from October when the Den went to a pumpkin patch. The scouts made darts made out of corn and a feather. They then threw them through a hoop.

These pictures are from last weekend when we went to the local firehouse and got a tour. The kids crawled through a fire truck and then later they were able to spray the fire hose.

After visiting the fire house, we walked down the block to Subway to learn about good nutrition.

Another

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:21:00 +0000

Yesterday Julia lost another! tooth. This was number seven. She is keeping the tooth fairy in business.

And she wanted to show off the pillow case she made at last week's pajamarama

Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:20:00 +0000

I'm still adjusting to our new schedules. I was in bed before the kids last night if that tells you anything. I'm working on being super organized. Some days it works and other days it goes out the window.

Team Mexico finished a fantastic season!

Team Pic

This is from Week 2 and I think her first time in the goal

We celebrated with a family/team pizza party on Saturday evening and the girls received their trophies. And of course, I didn't take a single pic.

On Friday evening J and I attended a Mom/Daughter Pajamarama put on by a Girl Scout troop at her school. She opted not to wear her Hello Kitty pants so she could wear the jammies and matching robe.

There was food, music, dancing, face paint and pillow case decorating. Whew!

Some serious Lego building going on last week!

We spent Saturday morning picking up the donated food for Scouting for Food with Max's Tiger Den. We did lots of walking and people were very generous with their donations. When we dropped off the food we were welcomed with a pancake breakfast where Max noshed down 6 pancakes! Again, no pictures from the event.

I'm busily putting together my shopping list and menu for Thanksgiving. This time of the year goes so fast I hope I remember to document it.

BIG THANKS to all our family and friends that ordered from Max in his Cub Scout popcorn sale!

A Wish Come True

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 05:57:00 +0000

If you aren't a local or you're living under a rock, you might not have heard about BatKid's adventures in San Francisco today. Big ups to the Make-a-Wish Foundation for making Miles' wish of being BatMan come true. I followed the story and live video on my phone in my office and was in tears for most of the day.

From saving a damsel in distress, to saving a kidnapped Lou Seal, to receiving the key to the city, Miles indeed had an amazing day. I was glad to be along to watch.

Here's a good recap.

Picture borrowed from SF Chronicle

People and my beloved San Francisco never cease to amaze me.

More News

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 13:42:00 +0000

My big news to share: I've returned to work full-time! We've always planned er, hoped that when the kids were in school longer hours I would make my come back. The time has come! Talking about it at work this week I realized, I haven't worked full time since I went on maternity leave seven years ago. Yikes! I'm super lucky that I have a wonderful boss and had the flexiblity we've needed when the kids were small. Max and Julia have wavered a bit between, "Yay! We get to go to after-care everyday!" To one tear filled breakdown, "I want my mama!!" We've been talking about this for many months so it hasn't come as a surprise.

Me in my office before the sunrise, freezing my culo off

Their new coats arrived this week. We can't get Julia to take hers off and we can't get Max to wear his out of the house.

Team Mexico's last game is tomorrow. I can't believe how fast this season flew by.
J at her last practice this week (she's in the yellow)

Max doing jumps during J's practice

Breaking News!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Last night Max lost BOTH of his bottom teeth! He willingly went in the bathroom for the first one but Mike had to ~~drag~~ coax him in for the second. There might have been a bit of yelling.
Go Max!!

Yes, those are his permanent teeth you see behind the holes. They've been sitting back there for months.

The teeth loss came in part thanks to J since she lost number 6 last night! When I picked them up this afternoon J told me her latest loose tooth had bled off and on today which it has been doing for a few weeks but just had not been quite ready.

The Tooth Fairy was busy here at Casa Rohde!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 05:46:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to the world's best brother!

And don't worry, next year when I make my return to the fair I shall procure you a poster just like the one in the background of this picture!

More Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Jill) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 14:24:00 +0000

On Halloween I volunteered in J's class to help with the parade and party. It was fun to help all the kids get into their costumes and lead them outside for the parade.
J Hammin'

J's class making the rounds

I didn't get a picture of Max's class because they started blending in with another class and he moved past me so quickly all I got was, "Hi Mama!"

That evening before we headed out for ToT, the kids paraded through our family room

The fantastic cupcakes made by one of our neighbors

It was another fun filled day! We can't wait for next year!