After a long day at work yesterday I decided to go to the club and work out. I hurriedly changed into my gym clothes, threw some cash on the kitchen counter and asked Sophia to go to the grocery store to get us something for dinner as I raced out the door. Ninety minutes later I returned home welcomed by  the mouth watering smell of homemade pizza wafting through the house and the sight of Sophia, Mark, Eva and Cheryl hovering around the stove. I walked in the door just as the kids were taking the pie out of the oven. Eva saw me first and exclaimed, “Mom, you gotta take a look at  this masterpiece!” And a masterpiece it  was. Gorgeous. They were so proud of themselves. Each kid had a role. Sophia made the crust, Cheryl and Eva layered the sauce and cheese and Mark made the salad. What a team and what great kids I have. It was cause for celebration. Eva broke out the bottle of sparkling apple cider she had been saving from last week that  the orthodontist gave  her when she got her braces off. It was a joyful event. I love summer.

I took Eva and her BFF, Jill, to see Justin Bieber in concert last Saturday night in Oakland. Jill’s mom Susie came too. For those of you not up to speed, we used to live two doors down from Jill and Susie before I married Paul and we moved way across town, a whopping five minutes away. But when you are  little and used to scurrying over to each other’s house in your pajamas, it may as well have been five hours away. (If the truth be told, Susie and I were traumatized as well because we too missed the convenience of living so close. I was always hitting her up for some wine and she often came over to my house, coffee cup in hand, looking for some cream. One morning Susie actually brought down a piece of bread, smeared some mayonnaise on it, and walked back to her house. Those were the days.)

It was a heart break for both Eva and Jill to not live so close to each other. Eva does not remember a time when they were not friends. They met when they were three. I have photos of them dressed in their Madeline costumes selling lemonade in the front yard.  It is amazing how close these two girls are and probably always will be. Their friendship has survived not only our move, but the test of middle school. Now they are both 14, starting high school in the fall and IN LOVE with Justin Bieber. Susie and I gave the girls the tickets as a gift for their 8th grade graduation. We took them out to dinner first and while they went into the concert to watch the opening acts we waited in line to buy T-shirts. I enjoyed spoiling my daughter this way. I used to worry that she was the neglected middle child … but not anymore. As we were leaving the concert, (after 3 1/2 hours of shrieking and squealing) Eva put her arms around me, squeezed me hard and proclaimed, “This was the greatest night of my life. Thanks, Mom.” I swooned with Mommy glee.

I took a much needed break yesterday evening to swim some laps. We joined a private swim club for the summer and I am really enjoying working out in the fitness center and relaxing by the pool. I often go at the end of the day so I can unwind and decompress. Last night Paul was working late in San Francisco and the kids were at their other parents’ houses, so I took advantage of my alone time. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that school is out, my girls, Eva and Sophia, have a lot more free time on their hands. They have complained of a little bit of boredom so later this week we plan to hit the beach, catch a movie and maybe drive south to Monterey to visit the aquarium. We also plan to make sand candles and beach beads (made with sand) that will appear in videos later this week on my blogs SeaweedArt and JustImaginate.

In the meantime, the girls have been cooking up a storm. They have made dinner the last two nights and are enjoying thumbing through my cookbooks looking for new recipes to try. Then they go to the store to get the ingredients. They shop, the cook and clean up afterward. Here some photos of their recent masterpieces, lemon cake with marzipan frosting, homemade pizza and potato eggplant curry.

Do you know what today is? OK. I’ll tell you. It is 11 days until the JUSTIN BIEBER CONCERT!!!!!! I am taking Eva as her 8th graduation gift. And… it is 2 more days until she gets her braces off. I’m not sure which is the more life changing experience. Aaaah… To be 14 again.