Back In The Saddle

Hello! 

It's been almost 3 years since I've blogged.

I've missed it. 

I am learning that life is flying by me at a rapid pace.

The older the girls get, the faster it goes.

So here I am. 

I am jumping back in the saddle.

Or, sitting back down at the keyboard, or whatever,  but you get my drift. So yes, back in the saddle! 

I've been waking up in the night writing full blog posts in my head. 

I got a massage a couple of weeks ago, and do you know what I did the whole time? 

Relaxed and fell asleep?

Nope. No, I wrote 4 blog posts in my head so I wouldn't forget some of the stories I want to remember. 

If that's not a sign telling me to blog again I don't know what is. 

I am jumping in today with just a quick hello and I will be back to sharing Hass House happenings and other news on the regular so get excited! 

This last summer was fun and the older I get, the more I understand that the days are long but the years are short. Summer days felt longer than they do now during the school year, but either way, the years feel way too short. 

Mr. Hass turned 40 this summer and we celebrated in Big Bear with family and friends. We also celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in July. We went to Temecula for some wine tasting and ate dinner at Ponte. 

These two seem to have grown and changed just since the start of the school year already. Hannah will be 12 in two weeks and Claire turns 10 a week after. They used to play with legos and spend hours playing outside. Now their days are filled with school, homework, and softball practice and games. The little one wants to make slime, watch YouTube videos and spend her chore money on anything with a unicorn/glitter on it while the older one wants to play Minecraft, redecorate her room and learn how to apply makeup. 

Each week it seems like we are stepping into new and uncharted territory as parents that we aren't completely sure how to navigate. It makes me want to write. It makes me want to share my experiences and hopefully be able to connect with others through them. So that's what I plan to do. Stick around, I hope you'll join me on the journey!

And before I go today, a few pics and random things from last weekend. You know I love to write about the randoms. 

Last weekend we packed up the Prius and drove to Mesa, Arizona to visit with Diane, my mother in law. She recently moved into a new place and we went to visit and help her hang some pictures on the walls and get settled in. 

On the way there and back we listened to multiple episodes of a new to me podcast by Lewis Howes. 

He interviews some of the world's most brilliant business minds, athletes and influential people to find out what makes them great and how you can apply their lessons to your life. We just bought his book and I can't wait to read it. If you are interested, check out his 5-minute Friday podcasts, they're short sweet and to the point. After a couple of those, I was hooked! Hannah really liked this one too. 

One of the episodes we listened to was an interview with Kobe Bryant. It was super inspiring and I had no idea about his passion for storytelling. I love to read and write and I love how powerful and inspiring stories can be. He wanted to tell stories that relay important messages that he wanted to teach his kids without sounding redundant and he was inspired to come up with the podcast called The Punies with a cast of unique characters to share his stories. Each short story teaches an important lesson in a fun and entertaining way.

So, of course, I immediately subscribed to the podcast and we listened to several during our road trip. They range from about 14 - 17 minutes and they're perfect for kids! 

After discovering how much we all liked The Punies, I googled the top 10 podcasts for kids and found the Dream Big podcast by Eva Karpman. This 9-year-old little girl is so well spoken and wise for her age. She has several episodes and they are all such great life lessons that inspired all of us. We listened to lessons on learning how to go with the flow, how to deal with haters, what to do when a friend lies to you, what to do when you get angry, and a good one about the famous Zig Ziglar quote: "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." One of my favorites was the interview she does with Simon Sinek. Let me know if you check them out! 

This last weekend, I also learned something else that I am still in disbelief over. 

Are you ready to hear what it is?

Hannah's legs are longer than mine!

Yup.

You heard me.

My soon to be 12-year-old daughter's legs are longer than mine. 

I am 5'9 and Mr. H is 6'4, so it's no surprise that she is tall. 

I guess I just wasn't prepared for her to pass me up just yet. 

I've still got a couple inches on her, but not for long.

I just don't even know how to wrap my head around it. 

I guess I can always buy some new wedges. Haha. 

That's all I got!
Be back soon.
Xo,
Genn

Claire is 7, Winterball is Done & I Blogged Again!

Here I am blogging again!

Can you believe it?!!

Me neither!!

So, Claire's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year.  She wanted to open her gifts before school so here she is at 6am...

 She found my hiding spot and peeked at the majority of her gifts this year.  She randomly mentioned one night at dinner how she'd like some Frozen Legos.  I got her some Frozen Legos, but she hadn't mentioned she wanted any so I thought that would be a great surprise.  It was weird that she mentioned this, so we asked her if she had looked at her presents.  She promised she hadn't, but I knew she had.  Earlier in the week she was counting up some of the birthday money she has received and she pulled a crumpled up five dollar bill from her backpack.  I asked where she got that and she said, "Oh, Peyton gave it to me."  A friend from her class.  I told her that it was very nice but that she cannot accept that and to return it to Peyton the next day.  The next day I asked if she returned it and she said she had. But... a couple days later she was once again counting her money and I saw that same crumpled up five dollar bill!  So I asked her if that was the same bill she was supposed to return to Peyton?  The same bill that she said she did return to Peyton?  And she very shamefully lowered her head and muttered  a "Yessss".  I was so disappointed in her.  She went to her room and Mr. Hass and I both had a very serious talk with her about the importance of honesty and telling the truth.  It was the second time this week she was caught in a lie, and after talking to her I think we made her feel pretty bad and I don't think she will want to lie again anytime soon.  And if she does, Lord help me!  

Mr. H and I got Claire a set of Clementine books for her birthday and last night Mr. H was reading to her and there was a part in the story about how Clementine's friend was telling her how there is usually one easy child and one hard to handle child in each family and Claire said, "Yeah, like us huh Dad because that is Hannah, she's the hard one for you guys."    Ohhhhh Claire.  Insert all the laughing face emojiis right here.

 After presents and cinnamon rolls for breakfast I dropped the girls off at school and headed to work for a couple hours.  I finished work in time to swing home a few minutes before I had to pick them up and shove some lunch in my face.  Just as I sat down to eat, the girl's school was calling my phone.  The school nurse said that Claire had gotten hit in the nose and it was bleeding and there was blood in her hair and on her clothes and that she needed me to come down there.  I felt so bad and the first thing I said to the nurse was "Oh noooo, but it's her birthday!!!" I grabbed my keys and rushed down to school.  Good thing it's only 3 minutes away by car.  When I got there she was in the nurse's bathroom by herself, trying to stop crying, and with shaky hands attempting to wipe the blood off of her nose and face.  My poor baby.  I gave her a big hug and told her she was okay, and then I helped her wipe off the rest of the blood.  Poor girl had it in her hair and on her new shoes and all over her shirt.  When we got home she finally said that she was just walking fast on the playground and bonked into another boy's head.  He cried too but didn't have to go the the nurse.  She wanted ice when we got home but there was no bruising or swelling and she was fine, thank goodness.  

This happened right before the bell rang so the girls got to come home about ten minutes early.  Then it was homework, snacks, and time to change and bundle up for their first tournament game down at the softball fields.

Their last game was on Hannah's birthday and she has really started to connect the dots with her batting and she wanted to hit a homerun on her birthday so bad.  She never had a chance to in that game, and before this game she said,"I'm gonna hit a homerun today!"  And sure enough, her first at bat, the very first pitch,and she hit her very first homerun!!!!  It went straight to left center, and we were jumping and cheering so loud for her!!! The look on her face as she rounded those bases was absolutely priceless!!!  I'll never forget it.  

 She was the star of the game.  She had two more awesome hits after that homerun, and a total of 5 RBI's!  Way to go Hannah!!!

It was a fun game because, well, because we won, because Hannah hit a homerun, and because the girls had friends on the other team too.  Payton is the same age as Claire and they met last season when their big sisters were on the same team.  These two discovered they share a birthday so they call each other their twin.  Payton's parents brought doughnuts since it was her birthday for their team and Claire and Hannah were lucky enough to get one too.  The twins on their birthday...

 And Hannah had fun getting to play against her old teammate Jayden, Payton's older sister, just days apart from Hannah too.

 I just love the friendships and the memories that we are getting to watch these girls make on the softball field!

 After the big game Grandma and Geeps and Noah and Aunt E came over for In N Out and I made PW's chocolate sheet cake for dessert.

Another night that week the girls received a very special delivery package... on ice!!!...

 chocolate covered strawberries and brownie cake pop bites from Don & Kaylen!!!

 They made their night!!!! Thanks Don & Kaylen!  You guys are the best!

 On Friday Hannah received the Academic Excellence award for reading, so proud!

I've joked with Mr. H that at least our girls are playing softball because the softball fields seem to be the only place in town where it gets cold enough for me to wear some of my Fall layers.  The girls played Tuesday and Thursday night this week and it was chilly.

 They had an 8am game on Saturday for the end of the season tournament and they won, so they played again at 3pm for the Semi Finals and lost.  They had so much fun this year and had such wonderful coaches.  They wanted to stick around and watch some of the older girls Championship games so we didn't get home from the softball fields until 7pm that night!  It was a long day and a long week. 

We were supposed to have family pictures yesterday and Hannah came down with a fever.  I knew she had been fighting a cold and I'm sure after the busy week and three late nights on the softball field it just finally got to her.  So we laid around all day and rested.  And I got to watch like 8 episodes of Gilmore Girls which made me very happy.  ;) 

 Today Hannah's fever was gone and I was antsy to get out of the house so I took the girls to lunch at Panera.  This picture of Claire just cracks me up because it is so Claire. I posted it on instagram and wrote 
'Maybe it was the sunshine.  Maybe it was her new mermaid tulle dress.  Maybe it was the cookie... but I think it's safe to say her first day of Thanksgiving Break was pretty damn good.' 
I love how relaxed this kid always is.  And I love how she doesn't care what other people think in the slightest.  I hope she always hangs on to that.

After lunch in Target waiting for Hannah to try on some stuff.  I took them to spend some of their birthday money and they had a blast.  Looking at this photo it's crazy to see my dark hair and those two blondies next to me.  

After all our shopping I needed wine.  We came home and watched Rookie of the Year.  I had a few laughs remembering some lines from that one.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving this week!  

I'm off to sneak in a little spa time.

Alright and maybe some more wine.  ;)

Shopping with those two wore me out!!!

 PS- Thanks so much to everyone for still reading this ole blog!  I was so excited to read your comments and to know that people really do still want to read my blog! Makes me want to try and keep up with it even more! :)

Your Mom Looks Like A Witch...

HI.

It's me Genn.
The author of this blog.
You might have forgotten me.

Life is so crazy these days.
I miss documenting the happenings of our weeks.
But the weeks are so busy.
And they are flying by so fast.
And by the time the girls are in bed I am too tired to move.


But right now I have about 10 minutes before I have to feed the family dinner and then head off to soccer practice, and I have a funny story that I wanted to remember.  Claire is currently upstairs throwing a crying screaming fit for some reason, and Hannah is mad that I won't let her play outside for longer.  So I'm gonna try to make this quick. ;)

Today I walked into Hannah's classroom to help her teacher out.
The teacher was explaining a few things she wanted me to do for her, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Hannah cross her arms and throw her head down on top of her desk.

When the teacher was finished talking to me, the kids were getting ready to head outside for their lunch recess, and Hannah still had her head down on her desk.  I called her and she wasn't asnwering me.  Then her teacher said "Hannah, your Mom is calling you", and she ran over to me with tears in her eyes.

I pulled her in for a hug and asked what was wrong.
Her bottom lip started to quiver as she stuttered out that Trevor and Ryan said to her "Your Mom looks like a witch" when I walked into the classroom.

A witch?
LOL.
Really?
I was a little taken aback for a second and then I just laughed.
Last week was Anti Bully week and they learned different ways to "Turn a put down around".  So I reminded her of that, and said "Who cares!  Just turn it around and make a joke.  Say, "So what if she is!" 
She wiped her tears and gave me a half smile and hopped in line to file out the door with her peers for lunch.

I was alone in the classroom working, and then five minutes later Hannah's teacher came back in and says to me,
"Okay, so I found out what happened and first I have to apologize!!"
She said she talked to Hannah and Trevor and Ryan and got the story straight.
Hannah thought that they said you look like a "witch",
but Ryan said "NO NO NO, I said that her Mom looks rich!"

*****LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL*****

I was dying.
But truthfully, also happy to know that those boys did not really think I looked like a WITCH.
Truth be told, I was looking down at the camo pants I had on today and wondering if those second grade boys thought that maybe camo was something only witches wear.  
Nope.  
But maybe they thought my fringe scarf and camo pants made me look "rich".  Or perhaps it was the dangly earrings? 
Anywho, second grade misunderstanding crisis averted... Hannah's Mom just looks rich, not like a witch.
;)


And just because a post is more fun with pictures...
Fall finally feels like it is approaching.

 Hannah achieved the Academic Excellence Award at her assembly last Friday...

 I tried bulletproof coffee and I must say, not a fan.  It tasted like butter, which made me think it tasted like popcorn.

 Claire was the cutest little farmer for Pumpkin Patch day in Kindergarten...

And the girls had a blast at Gma GG's neighborhood Carnival and Trick or Treat party last weekend.  Rapunzel & a Witch...  Maybe it runs in the family?  Get it? a witch?  HAHAHAHA.  

That's all for now.
We've made some fun house progress which I hope to blog one of these days.
Gotta go.
Spaghetti and an IPA are calling my name.  ;)

First Day of School... Already

I can't believe it's time for school again.

This is the first year that I think I wasn't quite ready to get back to it.

Don't get me wrong, I mean, all Summer long I long for those short few hours I get to myself in the mornings when both the girls are in school.  But I hate the very early start time we have.  And as much as I love structure and routine, sometimes I hate it too.

And this Summer having our very own pool in our new house has been an absolute blast for us all.  We have enjoyed the pool/spa every single day.  And it's still HOT HOT HOT outside, and I think we'd all have loved it if Summer lasted just a little bit longer.

But alas, that is not the way it works.

So today Hannah started SECOND grade!!!

And Clairey is now in Kindergarten!!!

 Hannah has had a little bit of anxiety about returning back to school.  She's my type A kid who has some ocd tendencies and likes to always be prepared for what's coming her way.  She doesn't like the unknown and there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to starting a new school year.  But this morning after Mr. H and I walked her to her new classroom and found her desk, she was all smiles and totally ready to say goodbye to us.

 And sweet Claire Bear.  Bless her heart, she's just not a morning person.  I can't say I blame her one bit.  I'm not much of a morning person either until I've had at least one and a half cups of coffee runnin' through my veins.  But poor Claire isn't drinking the java yet, and 6am is darn early to be woken from her slumber.

 She just was not in the smiling mood by 7:30am either.

 That's ok.  I wasn't worried about her today one bit.  After loving TK, and already knowing who her teacher is (same one that Hannah had in Kindergarten), and having a handful of friends in her class from TK, she was more than ready to become a Kindergartner.  

 We drove this morning because I had to stay for a half hour in Claire's class and then had some errands to run, but from now on I think we'll be walking in the mornings.  The parking lot is always so crazy in the beginning of the year.

 Hannah had a handful of friends from her class last year in her class.  And a couple nights ago on a walk after dinner she met a little girl two houses up from us that is in her class too.  She was excited to see her and it was her first day at this school so Hannah said she ate lunch with her and she showed her where the restrooms were.  

 After we said goodbye to Hannah I took Claire to her classroom where the parents stayed and did a couple of projects with their kids.  Claire was squeezing my hand pretty hard until we got to her room, and then she saw some old friends, relaxed a bit during the projects we did, and when I left her she was sitting on the carpet chatting animatedly with a little girl from her TK class last year.  I left smiling.  I am happy and excited for this year for my girls.  I'm also very anxious for next year to get them both on the same school schedule.  Right now I drop them off at 7:45am, come back to pick up Claire at 11:30, and then back again to get Hannah at 1:57.  It's a lot of back and forth and that time in the morning alone goes So.  Darn.  Quick.  This morning I had time to run to Target and Trader Joe's and back to unload the car, and then it was time to go get Claire.  

Wanna see these cute new shoes I got at Target???

Swoon.
They're leopard.  
And they're so so so comfy.
They're gonna match everythinggggg. :)

I'm off to shower and plop on the couch with Mr. H.
We started a new show on Netflix.
Orange is the New Black.
We're diggin' it.
Peace Out.

Schooool's Out For Summer!!!!!!!!

These cute girlies finished up TK and First grade last week!

 There were a few tears from both on the way home from school the last day.  Claire was so sad to learn that a few of her bff's will be changing schools next year.  And Hannah was a little teary at the thought of leaving her wonderful teacher.  She really wanted to just stay in her class again.  I think she'd have been happy with for every year from here on out!  We really lucked out with great teachers.  Hoping next year will be the same way!

Silly me thought that as soon as school got out I'd have all this time to blog about every little change we've been making to our new house.
Ha ha ha.
More like I'm making snacks every fifteen minutes.
In between snacks I'm playing lifegaurd by the pool (which I don't mind all that much) ;)

 The girls have turned into little fish.
Both love the pool so much.  
While Hannah enjoys jumping and splashing and diving and cannon balling, Claire is just as happy in the shallow end playing with her new Pearl Princess Barbie doll. 

Although Claire is getting very brave under water this year too. She's really swimming and holding her breath longer and longer underwater.  Which scares me and every time the girls are under I'm about ready to dive in and grab them, and then they come up for air smiling and giggling.

 When I'm not making snacks or meals, or by the pool, I've been trying to cross things off my never ending list.

One of my favorite Before and Afters we've completed so far has been the fireplace and barbeque area.
You might have seen this on facebook or instagram, but this is the Before...

 And the After...

The paint is the Behr Marquee exterior paint in Smoldering Copper.
We bought the outdoor trash can at Sam's Club.
The green lantern and Welcome sign with the sea turtle were both from Home Goods.
And the red umbrella came from Kohl's.
We are still searching for a couple of outdoor barstools and then this area will be complete.

For now I gotta go.
My girls are begging to go outside and swim.
But I've got high hopes to post some more Before & Afters of the following areas very soon:
-front door and shutters 
-messy tree removal by pool
-family room
-guest bathroom

I'm also hoping to come up with a plan for a Mud Room Wall very soon.
I'm searching for an awesome brick wallpaper for that space.
Anybody have any suggestions on where to find that? 

Dance Details

Friday night the girls came home from the dance on cloud nine.
They had SO much fun.
Here are some of the highlights that I got...

-Right when they got there after taking pictures with Mr. H, the song "What Does The Fox Say" came on, and they ran out to the dance floor screaming and giggling and immediately joined their friends to dance.

-It was fun to dance to Gangham Style

-They liked throwing balloons

- They enjoyed the conga line

- Claire said "Dinner was delicious!" It was a food truck with quesadillas, beans and rice.  Mr. H said he was hoping for a larger portion of everything, but was able to finish off the girls meals and that satisfied him.  ;)

-They ate dinner with Zoey and her Dad

-Cupcakes were good

- Hannah enjoyed one slow dance with Mr. H, and also had fun dancing with her friend Tori who will be joining her Daisy Troop once they become Brownies this summer

-The dance was on the local high school campus and they had fun getting to see the school grounds a little bit and were amazed at how big the school is

-Mr. H had a great time.  He said he was smiling ear to ear the whole time.  And that he loved to see how social both girls were.  They both had their own groups of friends, and Claire was even socializing with older kids she knows from Hannah.  He said he had a hard time keeping an eye on them both because they were buzzing about both in different directions, socializing and dancing the entire time.  :)

Their First Dance...(I think my heart might burst)

I'm sitting in my kitchen, home alone, eating a bowl of cereal for dinner and smiling.
An hour ago Mr. Hass left the house with our beautiful girls as his dates, and headed down the street to attend their very first Father/Daughter Dance.

 Right before it was time to go he told the girls that he had a surprise for them.

 Their very first corsage.  Oh gosh, why is there such a lump in my throat?!

 They were giddy with excitement.

Of course I had to explain to them what a corsage is, and that they will probably receive many from boys in the far far far away future, but their Daddy wanted to be the first boy to give them one.  

 I am kicking myself for having my settings all messed up on these pictures!!! They are completely grainy and out of focus.  That is what I get for attempting to use my big girl camera after only taking photos with my iphone for months and months.  At least I captured those smiles.

 Claire adored hers.
She gave Mr. H a big hug and said in the cutest 5 year old voice, "Thanks Dad."
Gulp.  There's that lump again.

 We made our way out front so they could leave for their date.

 The girls spotted their friend down the street and her Daddy heading for the dance and ran to meet them.

And then they were off.

Melted.
I am completely melted.
And what a handsome date Mr. Hass sure does make.
It thrills me to know that my girls look up to their Daddy so much. 
They simply have no idea what a huge role model in their life he is just yet.
And I can say from experience that I know just how great that is because I am lucky enough to have one of the greatest men ever as my Daddy.

Mr. H sent me a couple pictures and videos from the dance and I've just been smiling all night long.  It looks like they are having the time of their lives!