WestCoastMama -

Coffee and Education go hand and hand

2018-04-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

This is for more of my teacher friends. We all know what it is like to gulp your coffee down in order to brave your day.

Check it out

Easiest Gift ever for your kids teachers!

2018-04-09T05:49:00.001-07:00

Great Teacher Gift!!! Everyone is always wanting to show others that they can do it. Great graduation gift or teacher gift. Made from poly cotton blend, so soft!

Check it out here

Overwhelmed and Grateful

2011-11-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

Going to visit my sister for Thanksgiving and overwhelmed with packing and cooking. Happy and Thankful that i have family to go to. As I do laundry and cook, have to remind myself that people would kill for the obstacles that I am facing. I do not need to worry where our next meal is coming from, I do not need to worry where we will sleep tonight. My worries are petty.....and for that I am Thankful. Have a Great Thanksgiving and enjoy your loved ones.

Thankful for Modern Medicine

2011-11-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Since I was up a lot of the night with the little man, I am thankful for modern medicine. Nothing is worse than seeing your child in pain. He had such a bad throat and fever, and although I had given him a pain reliever, it hadn't kicked in yet, and he was miserable. It is such a hopeless feeling when your child is hurting, and there is nothing you can do about it. That being said, today I am thankful for modern medicine that will heal him. We went to the dr. and sure enough it is strep, and we are now treating with antibiotics, and hopefully no more pain.

Thankful for my car....

2011-11-17T04:30:00.001-08:00

Today I am thankful for my car. Even though it is an older model with almost 100k miles on it. I am thankful that I have it. Often I complain because the kids have trashed it, and it is filled with half drunk water bottles, balls and sports chairs, it is my faithful companion and I am thankful for it! Despite the stained carpets, and multiple dings in the doors, I am very happy to have it.

What are you Thankful For?

2011-11-16T04:22:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for dirty laundry. Yes. You read that right, dirty laundry. I have to remind myself that dirty laundry means, I have clothes for my children. It means my children are healthy enough to go out and play and get those clothes dirty. So thank you dirty laundry.

2012 will be here before we know it.

2011-11-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

Get your holiday card lists done this weekend. Even try to get a pic done, that way you are ready to go. Get the list done, and you can budget for cards and postage once you know how many cards you will be sending. Now Get It Done!! :)

2011-09-28T04:35:00.001-07:00

Yeah! No more reusable baggies clogging up the landfill. Try them. You will love them, and so will the kids.

Emergency Preparedness

2011-03-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Please be prepared! So many people are in need, make sure your family can survive if the Red Cross takes a few days to help you and your family.

God Bless!

Not about Cali anymore!!

2011-02-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Well, this is not longer about being a "westcoastmama". I am back on the east coast, and although, I miss the west coast terribly, I am back.

Same town, same schools, back to my bff's. I'm not sure what this is about. Just writing to write. I found that I think I will remember everything as time goes on....not true. I hate the idea of diaries. So, I guess this is just blather and rants.....

Dying to see this movie. Anybody see it??? I will let you know when I do.

Great new site!!

2010-02-17T12:57:00.001-08:00

Great New Site! Best to check it out. Promote the "green" lunch and save your school money by having less waste.

http://www.zerowastelunchstore.com/

Abby's Birthday

2008-06-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Abby's Birthday is today. She is 7!!! I can't believe it. Yesterday was her party, we had it at a beauty place. All the little girls had their nails painted and their hair done. Then they walked the runway for a fashion show. Made jewelry boxes. So Abby wanted a jewelry box cake. This was the best I could do. Make sure when you are viewing this pic you realize, that it was 4:00pm in the afternoon, and the graham cracker walls were not structurally sound any more. So it was sagging a bit. Also, here is a pic of the glamour girls hair.

Wow! Time Warp!

2008-06-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

What the hell is going on? It is June already. What happened to May? Time is just flying. I can't believe it. Am I getting so old? I remember my grandmother saying "where did the time go?". I thought she was crazy. Apparently it is hereditary! :)

So, whats new? Joe has been traveling the globe. Literally. I know it is not easy for him, but it ain't easy for me either!! Fortunately or unfortunately, we are used to it, and we have our own little routines when Daddy is away.

Abby will be 7 next week. I can't believe it. We are having a girly girl party at a hair salon with nails and hair braiding and a fashion show. Right up her alley. She is finishing up swim and her tap recital is next week. Sooooo cute.

Leah finished soccer and is now starting summer basketball. She will be playing tennis this summer. She can't wait to be finished with 4th grade. Her teacher was awful. But, as everybody knows, you have to deal with people you don't like everyday, so maybe it was a good lesson. She is so super excited to be coming to NJ this summer.

Evan, my little Evan. The mouth on this kid is incredible. I was on the phone making carpool plans for CCD. I get off the phone and here is the conversation that ensued.

"mommy, I fixed the cow." Evan said
"cow?" I asked, not having the foggiest idea of what he was talking about.
"yes, the cow head needed to be glued back on, so I fixed it." he replied
"with what?" I asked, fearing the answer
"with superglue" he boldly answered with pride

Then I find the cow, see it is in fact fixed, and then check his fingers to make sure none are stuck together. Once that is cleared, we resume conversation and my heart starts beating again.

"honey, i'm glad you fixed it, but you can't use superglue without mommy or daddy around. it can be very dangerous."
"I was clearly in your view when I took it out of the drawer." he answered

what? what? did my 4 year old really just say that to me. I was in fact looking right at him when he took the superglue out of the drawer. In my defense, this is the same drawer that they go in for scissors. I was obviously not paying 100% attention, hence the admonishment from MY FOUR YEAR OLD!!!!

Well hope you had a laugh. Can't wait to see everyone in July. If we don't have plans email me and we will make some.

love and miss you all,
sn

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day. Mine was incredibly indulgent. I woke up to sloppy kisses and breakfast in bed. A great omelette and fresh fruit, and most importantly --- coffee!!!! Luckily, Leah knows how to make me coffee, because Joe doesn't. Seriously. Very lazy day, hanging out and enjoying the kids.

I think I might be on a reality show. "What Happened?". Let's see 2 weeks ago, Joe was in NYC. Last week he was in Palm Springs (w/Peyton Manning, Dana Carvey and Wyclef Jean) with Entertainment, today he jets off to Paris. Next week he is in San Francisco, and then it is a 10 day Tokyo trip. Hmmmm. I'm so glad I moved 3000 miles away from everybody so he wouldn't travel so much. There we are my reality show. "What Happened?"

anyway, nothing else exciting. Kids are winding down their school year and there are events all the time. I can't keep up with the schedule.

We are visiting NJ 6/30 - 7/14. Let's make plans!!!

miss you all - sn

Lesser of Two Evils? or three?

2008-04-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.........Great White shark attacks, repeating wild fires, or wait, the best one yet, is the aftershocks that precede "the big one". Hmmm... kind of like....Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my. In my world its sharks, earthquakes and fires oh my!!

Seriously, its hotter that hell this weekend, going to go to the beach, but that one got scrapped.

just a little food for thought coming from "america's finest city"

xoxoxo
sn

Latest Read

2008-04-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, I forgot to add that my latest book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is a great book. It is a non - fiction book (and I don't usually like non fiction books) that captured my attention, and made me learn along the way. Great Read. I highly recommend it. If any of you have read it, please comment along the way.

Holy Crap! School is almost over!!!

2008-04-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hello All. Wow! Easter has come and gone. Spring Break has come and gone. One week blends into the other. Really, I can't believe how fast time is going. We are coming to the East coast from June 30th - July 14th. Let's figure out when we can see each other.

Well, for spring break we went to Disneyland. I haven't been since I was little. It was a lot of fun. We went on Tuesday and left on Thursday. We were so busy. We splurged and stayed at the Disney's Grand Californian. While the hotel was nice, it was the location that you paid for. We walked right up to the maingate at Disney, and there was a back way into Disneys California Adventure. The weather was great. It even got cold. We stayed for the fireworks on Tuesday night, and it was so cold, the kids had on scarfs and hats. Seriously.

Joe has been working and traveling, nothing new. The kids are busy doing sports and I continue living in my car and fighting to keep my car clean!!! I am enjoying watching American Idol, and yes, I will admit it, I watch Dancing with the Stars. For the record, I do think Shannon and Derek are a couple, however, she is about 12 years older than him. Good For Her!!!

We miss you all terribly, and can't wait to see you in the summer.

xoxoxo
westcoastmama

Where does the time go?

2008-02-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? or what do I do with my time? Good Question. The beginning of the year, is hectic as usual. Janine cam out in Jan, and we ran away to santa monica for the night. We had a great time, weather was beautiful. Right after she left, Joe had his double hernia operation (yes he is 40, not 80!). That required a little more TLC from me, but he is basically recovered. It was a 4th child to take care of for a little while. He still can't lift more than 20 pounds, yet it doesn't stop him from traveling. How does he lift his suitcase? Don't know.

Did you see there was snow in San Diego County? No joke. When I drive Evan to preschool, I have a great view of the mountains. Yesterday morning half of the mountains were covered in snow. It was crazy. It has been cold here. We have had the heat on, and the wind has been whipping up. I know, not compared to your cold, but really, for here, COLD. I guess my blood has adjusted.

Ohhhh....voting in CA. Very different. I felt like I was on Candid Camera and they must be kidding. You take a pen and fill in the circle on a piece of paper behind a very private cardboard partition. What year is this? Some of my friends polling station was in someone's garage. What????? From the most technology advanced area of the country and CA has preschool polling?

Mare and Maia are coming tomorrow, so we will be on the whirlwind of San Diego touring. Miss you all. Trying to plan a visit East in the summer. Still working out dates. xoxo

Happy New Year 2008!!!

2008-01-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2 months since I have posted anything, I am certainly slacking, or nothing much has gone on. Well, you would think with the writer's strike, my TV viewing would have dwindled, leaving me with a lot of time to chronicle my days. Not so.

After Halloween, we celebrated Leah's 9th birthday (even though her birthday was in Sept. she wanted to see "The Bee" movie ). Then my parents came for two weeks. For Thanksgiving we went up to Los Angeles for a few days. We had Thanksgiving Dinner at a restaurant in Malibu on the beach. It was beautiful. That was exciting, we went to Universal Studios, I was able to go down Wisteria Lane (yes, I was a little excited). We also went to American Girl in LA. And my favorite part of the trip was a trip to Sprinkles Bakery. For those of you not familiar with Sprinkles, they are very decadent pure cupcakes. I had read about them and I have heard the celeb's talking about them. It is in Beverly Hills, and once we got there, there was a line. I was made fun of for standing in line for cupcakes, but I stood my ground and waited. At $3 a cupcake, it might seem extreme, but it was so worth it. I think there is one opening in NY. If you get there, try them. I will try to post some pic's. It was very fun.

Then Christmas started. I don't know what happened or how it is January 2nd already. I am taking down the Christmas stuff wondering where the time went. We had a busy week. Christmas Day we had friends from Ohio here for dinner. Another day we had neighbor's over for dinner. We went up to Big Bear Lake for snow on Sunday. It was fun. The kids loved it. Evan really has no memory of snow. Kind of sad. Joe is going to Vegas next week, and then off to Tokyo. We are all well and hope you are too.

Get Ready, American Idol is starting soon! Also, have you taken pictures of EVERYTHING in your house yet? Upload it to a photo sharing site, or make a CD so you have it!

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-11-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

I can not believe it is our second Halloween here. It was fun, people are crazy into Halloween. Again, fog machines, people hiding and scaring people. Wow!!

Here are this years costumes: Abby - Dorothy. Leah - Hermione, Evan - Firefighter (he got a lot of attention, as his costume could not have been more timely!!)

Pics from 4s fire

2007-10-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken by a friend whose neighbor stayed behind. He was a firm believer in the "shelter in place" of 4s ranch. Luckily, he was right. This is my development, a few blocks away. Unbelievable!!!

Where do I begin???

2007-10-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Let's start by saying. Right now we are all fine. We got home this morning and house is perfect. Some wind/ash/soot damage, but that is small potatoes, and I welcome it!!!*************************************************************************************
Here is a timeline of what has been happening:

Sunday, October 21st.

6:30am Joe leaves for Tokyo

12:30pm - Kids and I go to a birthday party in the park in 4s Ranch (my development)

1:30pm - Smoke starts to fill the park, slowly, we know there is a fire, and we know it is 20 miles north. Fire not a concern, the smoke is. The air is so bad, we all leave. Go home, shut all windows, and continue on our day, indoors. It smells bad, but we had been smelling the smoky sooty smell all day. We go to sleep.
***********************************************************************************

Monday, October 22nd.
12:30am - I lie in bed listening to heavy winds. approx. 50 mile an hour winds. I keep hearing stuff flying all over. I finally doze off about 2:00am

4:00am - Cece wakes me up. I assume she has to go out. As soon as I fully awake, something smells different. The house had already had that sooty smell, but this was definitely worse. I go downstairs, and open the door for cece to go out. It was unbelievable. Winds were whipping through the backyard. It smelled really bad. It was really smoky. There was ash flying around the backyard. I immediately turned on the TV and saw that the fire that started in Ramona Sunday, had reached Rancho Bernardo. (just for reference, I live in San Diego, within san diego, I live in Rancho Bernardo, within Rancho Bernardo I live in 4s Ranch.)

At this point the news indicated that it was on the other side of the highway 15 and only that side was in danger. I was glued to the news, not really sure, whether this would effect me, was i just being paranoid, I really didn't know. I just kept watching.

5:00am - Fire was moving further south, toward my area, but not real close. At this point, I started loading all my pictures into Rubbermaid tubs. I brought them all downstairs near the garage. When I got close to the garage, I could tell the smell of smoke was much worse in the garage. The winds were still whipping up, and I couldn't wait for daylight. I still had the news on and wasn't sure whether I was being paranoid or not.

6:00am - My friend Julie called me and asked if I was okay. I asked what to do. She told me that there is a system in place called Reverse 911 for evacuation. If we need to evacuate, I will get the call. She said, just pack a back in case, and wait for the call. After that I started throwing things into a bag to take with us. Clothes for the kids, my clothes, toiletries, etc.

6:30am - Kids are now waking up, the sun is still not up, and I am starting to panic. I realize now, that I am not paranoid, and evacuating is real. As i am trying to calmly explain to the kids to get dressed, I am also getting a backpack for each of them of their favorite stuffed animals, activities, books, etc.

7:00am - Julie calls me back and tells me Jenni (another friend) is not waiting for 911 call, she left, but she is sitting in gridlock traffic and not moving, trying to get on the major highway.

7:15am - Joe calls from Tokyo to see how I am, I lose it a little bit, as now it becomes real because he has no idea how bad it really is.

7:30am - I open the garage door, and see everybody on my street packing up their cars quickly. I load the tubs of pictures in the car, the emergency kit, the suitcase and the kids backpacks in the car. Meanwhile, it is like armageddon out there. Winds whipping at 50plus miles, shit flying everywhere and an unbelievable stench. I ge the kids in the car, and cece, and get ready to leave. As soon as I leave my street, i see the traffic starting to back up. I get on the highway that leads to the major artery out of rancho bernardo. It is dead stop traffic and stinks to high heaven. I noticed that the opposite side is empty. I called julie, who was waiting for reverse 911 and asked her if the news said anything about the Rancho bernardo road entrance to 15 was open. She informed me it was open, but they are going to close it soon. I drove over the divider (not my best example of driving, or following rules)and hightailed it to the entrance on the other side. I turn right on the road that would lead me there, I drive fast for the next mile, and all of a sudden the mountains come into view. I see the fire coming over the mountain. I hesitated, not knowing whether i continue or turn around. The car ahead of me turned around. Nobody is on this road but me, I figure, if it was that dangerous, it would have been closed, so I continue to floor it. I get on the highway no problem and call Jenni, who had left earlier, and is still not on the highway. There were also major road closures, so i wasn't sure what direction to go. Jenni tells me where to go, and we meet there. She takes me to her in laws, who live further east. Mind you she has 3 kids with her. I have 3 kids and a dog!!

9:00am. we arrive at rich's parent's house. they are the nicest most welcoming people and treated me and my children as if we were there own. Even Cece. They didn't care at all. Kids are actually doing great and playin with each other. We are glued to news coverage and can't believe the morning we have had.

12:00pm. We take the kids to an indoor mall for lunch. Come back to rich's parent's house. His mother decides to make play doh for the kids (she is a kindergarten teacher). They are just so great. She is treating my kids like her own grandchildren. Between non stop news coverage and phone calls and rumors, we are trying to get the story about what is happening. Rich is a police officer, so we do get direct scoop, and his brother in law works for the dept. of justice. so we know things pretty early on. Kids are happy playing and we decide to stay put, because we have nowhere else to go. all hotels are full and any direction i would want to drive in, roads are closed. Meanwhile, cece is still hanging in there wondering what the hell is going on.

10:00pm kids crash, i am still in shock and watching the tv 24/7

Tuesday, October 23rd

2:30am Rich comes home from work and tells me that the fire is coming close to his parents house but he doesn't think it will be a problem.

5:00am Jenni comes down and tells me to pack up, we have to get out, the fire is closer than we think. Jenni wakes rich who calls headquarters and says its premature, we can stay there.

9:00am Joe tells me he is in la, but they can't fly into san diego and they will rent a car. He calls back later, there are no rental cars to be had in la. He is still on the plane, as they keep waffling whether or not to fly in the smoke.

11:30am - Joe calls me and tells me he is in san diego, ca and the pilot decided he could make it and come get him at the airport. On the drive to the airport to get him, I bring Evan, because he is exhausted and leave the girls with Jenni. Evan falls asleep immediately, as I drive to the airport, i am listening to the news, because i have to be aware of where the fire is as there are road closures all over the place.

12:30 - get joe and bring him to Rich's parents. At this point, his colleague calls, there is a hotel room where he is. At dinner time, We move over to the hotel, much to Jenni and her family's dismay.

6:30pm - we are constantly watching the news to see if we have to move. Even though we think we are in a safe area, it is constantly changing.

10:00pm - kids are fed, mostly asleep, and as exhausted as I am, whenever I doze off, I am convinced that I am missing something and we should be moving.

Wednesday, October 24th

6:00am- wake up. go to Jenni's in laws, the kids want to play, and we take them to an indoor mall. The air smells like a damp fireplace and you can feel your throat being scratchy after being outside for 5 minutes.

12:00pm We go to the mall and we have Cece with us. We are bringing her in the mall, and I am approached by a security guard telling me i can't bring cece in on a leash, but a doggy bag or a doggy stroller is okay. In the mall is a petstore. I absolutely refuse to buy a doggy stroller. I don't even have a stroller for my kids anymore, if you think I am buying one for the stinkin' dog, you are crazy. Sadly, I settle on a Paris Hilton like bag for my 20lb dog. Cece loves it, and you can't even tell that she is in there. She was actually sleeping in there.

3:00pm Rumors starting to circulate about being let back in to 4s ranch. Then there are rumors that we can go back but there is no electricity.

5:00pm San Diego City is saying we can go back, San Diego County is saying we can't.

8:00pm Rumors circulating, there is power, but there is looting going on in 4s Ranch. Joe and I decide to stay in the hotel and regroup in the morning.

Thursday, October 25
6:15am The moment I wake up, my thought is the same, turn on the news see if we are still okay. We are. 4s Ranch was officially opened at 10:00pm last night. Electricity on and no looters.

8:00am We check out of the hotel. As we get closer to home the smell is more pungent. In addition as we pull into our development, certain landmark sites/homes that we are used to seeing are gone. There is a lot of wind damage. There is soot everywhere and ash. The inside of the house is flawless. It seems forever ago, that i was awestruck in front of the tv thinking that I might have to evacuate.

As you can tell from the news. We are the lucky ones. so many people are coming home to NOTHING. It is amazing. Our development is a "shelter in place", which means when building our development, they did everything possible, maintaining greenery around perimeter, concrete fire breaks, to eliminate the spread of wildfire. That in itself helped saved our home. Also, they are building a high school right across the way from me. When I first moved here that was all trees, had they not cleared those trees for the high school, i most certainly would have lost part or all of my home. I will never complain about the construction again, what used to bug the crap out of me every day has become a blessing, and I will welcome that noise!!!

Of course, I am going to have to pontificate and teach a lesson. At the very least, call your insurance agent and make sure you have enough coverage. In addition, go around your house take pictures of everything, burn a disc and keep it in your spouse's office or in a firebox.

Thank you all for all the phone calls/emails inquiring about our safety. It was nice to feel so loved during a time when you didn't know what was going on.

love and miss you all,

sn

My little model!!!

2007-10-10T16:32:00.001-07:00

Okay, i know, i am horrible about posting, but honestly, i run around like a chicken with it's head cut off every day. I know we all do. Not much is new here. Weather is nice. Luckily we didn't fall into that La Jolla landslide. We had a great time with Jeff and Eileen. They were here in Sept, right after Leah's birthday. Next to come out are my parents. They are coming for thanksgiving. We are going to go to Los Angeles, CA for the week.

Kids are good. They are busy with school and soccer. Soccer is killing me. Between the both of them. Leah is doing well in school, and Abby is finally adjusting to the long days of 1st grade. Evan is still doing swim. He is so cute, he does the butterfly stroke and the backstroke. So Cute. He also does a sports class, seeing all the 4 year olds doing jumping jacks are adorable. I have posted some pictures of him from picture day.

Joe is good. Still traveling all over. talk about getting duped!!!

Halloween is just around the corner, and my kids are already counting down.

hope you are all well and are gearing up for the holidays.

love and miss you....
sn

2007-08-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

2007-08-27T12:14:00.000-07:00