We Are Family

Recycling!

2010-10-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

My sister sent me this card. It made me laugh out loud : D Thanks Ang! I love you!

D-day celebration

2010-10-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

You put on quite a show, really had me goin'. Now it's time to go, curtain's finally closing. That was quite a show. Very entertaining. But It's Over Now. Go on and take a bow.

I am officially single as of today. Mixed emotions, but closure is good. I need to move on. Here's how I celebrated...

Sexy before make up shot

Meow.

Yeah!

Hiss!

Love you Frank! You're the best! So glad I have your friendship.

I will be victorious!

2010-10-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

‎

"I believe in playing with your heart, with every fiber in your body fairly,
squarely, by the rules to win. And I believe that any man's finest
moment, the greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is that moment
when he has worked his heart out and lies exhausted on the floor of
...battle victorious." -Bela Karolyi

Soren discovers the allen wrench

2010-10-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Soren asked me what tool he needed to loosen the screws in his little chair, in his room. I showed him an allen wrench. I left and came back a few minutes later and he'd completely taken apart one chair and started on the other one : )

Release the tension...

2010-10-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Man! I forgot how much I love yoga! It felt amazing : ) I plan on making it a habit.

LOVE this quote!

2010-10-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

You came into the world to succeed. You have accomplished much so far. It is only the beginning. As you move forward on the trail of life, keep the banner of faith in self ever before you...you will be amazed at what might happen when in faith you take a step forward. -Gordon B. Hinckley

My visiting teacher gave it to me near the beginning of my divorce. It's called One Bright Shining Hope and it has helped me in times of need.

Glad I have my kids to make me smile

2010-10-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ander spilled a huge bowl of popcorn and immediately grabbed his toy vacuum to help clean it up.

When that wasn't picking up, he grabbed the dustpan.

Just a classic underwear, on the head, shot.

A Passion For Life

2010-10-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

The passion is in the risk. You stop taking risks, you lose the passion. I want a life of passion.

Patience is a virtue

2010-10-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

It is in the waiting that we grow the most.

Arts and Crafts

2010-10-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

The boys having really been into arts and crafts lately. They're crafty!

Salsa at "The Ramp"

2010-10-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Although I was in tears when my friend Raphael came to pick me up, I made myself go out last night. Went to "The Ramp," a cool salsa dancing place, on the water, in San Francisco. Had fun as long as I kept dancing. I LOVE to dance! It was a good distraction. My friend said, "I would've never guessed you were such an amazing, sexy dancer."

California Academy of Sciences

2010-10-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Soren says the sweetest things

2010-09-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Mom: "Can you think of anything else we need from the store today?"
Soren: "I think we need to get some flowers for you."

Some more cute dialogue...
Mom: "I love your silliness."
Soren: "I love your goodness."

Divorce

2010-09-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

It's hard to see my son struggling with pain and insecurity. He admitted to me tonight that he's scared that I will go away too :.(

I am trying my hardest to be a rock and provide stability for him and reassure him that I will NEVER leave.

Soren's birthday

2010-09-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

Soren was with his dad on his birthday weekend and when he came back, I asked him if he had fun at Chucke Cheese? He said, " yes", then he starting crying and said, "but my friends weren't there." So had a re-do and went with his friends.

: )

2010-09-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Brittany McAllister sent me this today:

Dear CREATOR of the universe, This is my girl, my friend, my sister, whom I love and this is my prayer for her. Help her live her life to the fullest. Please promote her and cause her to excel above her expectations. Help her to shine in the darkest places where it is......impossible to love. Protect her at all times......,...lift her up when she needs you the most and let her know when she walks with you,
she will always be safe. I Love You! ♥

It made me cry and made my day. Thank you Brittany.

Gratitude

2010-09-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Feeling extremely grateful for such loving family and friends. I couldn't have made it through this without you. I love you all! I wish I could give each one of you a hug right now.

Getting old

2010-09-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Finding some gray hairs and I'm not too happy about it. So, I had to take a sexy picture so I didn't feel old...lol.

Berkeley, CA

2010-09-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

My little sister asked, "isn't berkeley full of hippies?" Lol. It's actually fabulously diverse. Where else do you see someone playing the harp on the corner of the street. I love it!

2010-09-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

My new ward/congregation at church wanted the new members to make posters. There's a dinner tonight and the posters will be displayed to help others get to know us better. So, this is what I made today...

Life

2010-09-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

Life doesn't do anything to you, it just reveals your spirit. -unknown

This little quote is from a book that my lovely sister gave to me called, "Keep the faith." It definitely has helped me through some tough days. You're the best Ang!

Fun Family Photo Shoot

2010-09-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

I Love Music

2010-09-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

I discovered a beautiful song, "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa. Irglova.

I am in love with it!

pics of the boys

2010-09-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

Family

2010-09-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

I miss my family!

Insight

2010-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

‎"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are".

-Anais Nin

So true.

Mom's weekend

2010-08-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

This morning Soren excitedly said to me, "I'm so glad it's the weekend with you today." I feel so loved : )

Kids say the darndest things

2010-08-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Soren quote of the day-"I didn't know humans AND shoes had tongues." So cute.

Details in the Fabric -Jason Mraz

2010-08-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hold Your Own
Know Your Name
and
...Go Your Own Way.

I am doing this!

The Peacegiver

2010-08-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just finished "The Peacegiver." In this moment I feel like my countenance has been "purged of the anger that darkened it."

Latest favorites of the brothers together

2010-07-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

Momma's Birthday

2010-07-26T00:14:00.000-07:00

Mom had a surprise party when she got off the plane.

Soren took this picture : )

The boys painted her a little wooden sign that said Country...

and got her a little rooster.

4th of July

2010-07-26T00:08:00.001-07:00

Ander got tired pretty early on, so I put him to bed and same back out with Soren later.

Easter

2010-07-26T00:01:00.001-07:00

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T14:13:00.000-08:00

Waving, clapping, talking, walking

2009-12-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

Santa

2009-12-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

Soren's First Bonfire

2009-12-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Light Up Eustis

2009-11-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Eustis kicked off the Christmas season with lights, rides and games. Ander was too tired to go, so I put him down to sleep and got some Soren and Mommy time. We had a blast!

This is Soren is a crocodile jump castle.

Soren won a rocket ship after a fishing game. He was so excited! He kept launching it all night...3 ,2 ,1 blast off!

Here were some of the many lights.

Soren loved his rocket so much he fell asleep with it.

Ander's milestones

2009-11-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Crusing

Getting teeth

Climbing

Dare devil

Walking with a little help

Soren, the little photographer

2009-11-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

Soren is into taking pictures of his creations and posessions.

A stand off between his animals and a play doh snake army.

More play doh creations.
He also just documented his papa's trip to Florida. Pictures to come...

Cute clips

2009-11-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

Ander loves playing ball with Maggie.

There are a few words Soren likes to say certain a way, even though he can pronounce them correctly when I ask him to repeat them slowly after me. I love how he says mashed potatoes.

Todd's Wedding

2009-11-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

He is so happy he's crying.

Yay! Congrats Todd and Heather! I love him and my new sister.

There was a great band and I had fun dancing the night away.

Jungle Zone

2009-11-06T20:18:00.000-08:00

Angela found a great place to take the kids in Tavares. It had giant indoor jumpcastles and slides.

I hadn't laughed that much for a really long time. Thanks Ang.

Soren had a blast with his cousins.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-05T05:48:00.000-08:00

Soren wanted to be a tiger, but when we got the costume in the mail it was too small, so I got creative at the last second and put together a bug catcher costume.

Ander's costume has to be the cutest costume I've ever seen. Loved it!

Perfect for a crawler.

I was a sexy kitty.

We are a happy family. Pretty sunset huh?

More Halloween 2009

2009-11-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

They love playing together.

Ander enjoying his first taste of ice cream from Aunt Sherry.

Hiss!

I came out and saw Ander with vampire teeth in his mouth and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Soren had fun passing out candy after he went trick or treating.

Soren sayings

2009-10-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

About Ander: "I just want to smile and make him happy."

"Mommy don't be mad at grandma, she's my friend."

"Aunt Donna sure is a nice girl."

We did it, we did it, we did it...hurray!

2009-10-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

Ander started pulling himself up about a week ago. He's also saying momma, but I haven't been able to get it on video yet.

Soren mastering the tricycle he got for his birthday.

The Life of a Child

2009-10-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

One hundred years from now,
it will not matter
What kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in
How much money I had in the bank
Nor what my clothes looked like,
But the world may be a little better
because I was important in
the life of a child.

Soren wanted a Chuck E Cheese party

2009-09-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Disney World for Soren's 3rd Birthday

2009-09-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

An employee at Disney asked Soren if he wanted some pixie dust and his face lit up. He loves Peter Pan. Here he is showing me his pixie dust.

Disney cont.

2009-09-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Ander is growing up

2009-09-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ander is sitting up perfectly and scooting/crawling from room to room. It is so much fun to watch him grow up. He is a joy. Thank you for allowing me to be your mother Ander.

"You are being sued"

2009-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was served the divorce papers today and that's what it said on the top of the first page, "You are being sued". He really doesn't want to be a family anymore. I don't even know how to explain the the swarm of emotions that are happening right now. This is so surreal.

New Cup, New Cup, Move Down

2009-08-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Soren is way into tea parties right now.

Family Reunion

2009-07-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

It made sense to me

2009-07-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Soren wanted a snack so I gave him some goldfish and H2O.
A short time later I looked over and saw a bunch of soggy goldfish floating in his glass. I've been trying to teach him not to play with his food so I asked, "Why did you do that?" He replied, "The fishes wanted to swim in the water." It was so cute and logical that I couldn't be upset.

For Better or For Worse

2009-07-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Jared and I have been going through a lot lately. Our relationship has been an emotional roller coaster for both of us. On one of our better days, Jared and I were being affectionate with one another when Soren came up and began a conversation with Jared. It went like this:

Soren: "You love mommy, daddy?"
Jared: "Yes. I love your mom."
Soren: "Are you getting married?"
Jared: "We already got married a long time ago and then
we had you and Ander."
Soren: "Oh."

Soren seemed happy with the answer. He put his arms around our legs and, with a big smile on his face, hugged us.

Temescal Street Fair

2009-07-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

Oakland Zoo

2009-06-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Brotherly Love

2009-06-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today, I asked Soren, "Soren, are you happy?"
Soren replied, "Yes I am. I'm happy to be with my brother. He comed out of you."
This just melted my heart. I wasn't expecting such a personal, heartfelt response about Ander. I think a mom always hopes that her children will get along, even be good friends, so I was thrilled by this! Soren really loves his little brother. I love my boys! What sweet spirits. I feel so privileged to be their mother.

Soren's (and Ander's) first movie theatre experience

2009-05-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

Ander's hospital stay

2009-05-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ander gave us quite a scare. He had two seizures. The hospital wrote off the first one because there were no symptoms that the doctors could see and because of Jared's family history of infant seizures. After the second they kept him (ended up being about a week) and did all kinds of tests on him (MRI, EEG, Spinal tap, ultrasounds, urine, etc.) It turns out he had a raging urinary tract infection. The ultrasound showed that both kidneys were infected due to reflux. He is still on antibiotics and will do a urine test once a month. We're hoping he grows out of this and doesn't have to have surgery.

Getting some love from papa.

Ander in his hospital bed. He is a kicker and kicked that IV out of his foot twice so they put one in his hand, then in the last few days said he's getting enough fluids from mom so we're not going to worry about it.

When we were returning to the hospital from J's graduation, the nurse was about to feed Ander a bottle and Soren asked if he could him. He's such a good big brother.

He had such a cheery disposition through the whole ordeal. You never would've known he was sick. Look at those rolls! A nutritionist came in and said, "Uh yeah...," and walked out : )

BFF

2009-05-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Adorable Ander

2009-05-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Florida getaway

2009-05-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

Smiling at grandma : )

Soren and grandma sharing a story.

Feelin' the love with the other Shappard family.
Kisses from Kristen.

Adorable.

My venting partner while I was there. Thanks Sherry.

More FL

2009-05-13T03:35:00.000-07:00

I finally got to meet my new sister-in-law to be, Heather! I really like her. They just got engaged in Paris. I hope they live happily ever after.

It felt good to reconnect with my friend Kim. She's awesome! I wish her all the happiness in the world.

I got to see Shelley too. Yay! It was really great to see her. It was just like the old days. I miss both them already.

I love how much they love each other.

The beach rules!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Soren really enjoyed decorating eggs.

An Easter surprise from grandma Dottie.

J's grandma made this sock rabbit and its clothes. How cute is that?!

All dressed up for Easter Sunday.

Soren likes wearing ties.

Leslie's new hair

2009-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Soren really is THE MAN!

2009-03-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

Soren already knows how to talk to the ladies. After getting dressed, he said to mommy, "I like that shirt on you. It's beautiful. You look beautiful." He is such a doll.

He is so empathic towards others also. He always has been. We were in a store the other day and he heard someone crying off in the distance and said, "That boy is crying. I don't know what he needs." And then yelled, "I'M SORRY KID." I just love his tender heart.

Some other quotes:
"Hello Ander. Cute little boy (insert kiss)." He is such a sweet big brother.

"I didn't get any sleep last night. I'm tired."

"My full's tummy." Then went on to correct himself and say, "My tummy's full."

After changing Ander in the family room at Ikea, I announced mommy has to go potty too. Soren then replied, "You're too big for the changing table."

MAN! I love that kid!

Ander is smiling a lot more, and laughing too : )

2009-03-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Before and after

2009-03-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

The recovery period this pregnancy has been so much quicker and more pleasant. I felt at one month, where I felt at about three months after Soren. Midwives rule! Life is good.

Professional pics our friend, Marielle, took of Ander...I LOVE THEM!

2009-02-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

Soren Loves Being the Big Brother!

2009-02-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

Little Ander is Here : )

2009-02-15T09:09:00.001-08:00

Ander Aaron Petersen was born 1/14/09 at 1:18am. He was 7 lbs. 13.6 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. I delivered, a successful vbac, au natural at Sage Femme Birthing Center in San Francisco, with a midwife. It was so fast! Active labor was only about 2 1/2 hrs. and I pushed for almost 30 minutes.

The birthing experience was extremely empowering and rewarding.

He's just perfect!

Soren misses his daddy!

2009-02-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

Lately, Soren has been very attached to his daddy. Today when Jared got home Soren said to him, "I'm sad. I missed you. You wanna play wif me?" Also, whenever Soren is watching a movie and the actor is sad, he'll say, "He misses his daddy." It is so precious because that's how he feels, so that must be why the person on tv is sad.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

He loved his first time decorating cookies.

He really enjoyed decorating the tree too.

Still waking up on Christmas morning, looking so cute.

Me and my prego belly.

Who doesn't like Mr. Potato Head? Thanks Toddy : )

more Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

Jared's custom Rikki Tikki Tavi designed pull toy for Soren. So rad!

Soren thought it was cool too.

Soren and Papa painting it together.

I Love Christmas!

He's all about planes, trains and automobiles right now.

More prego pics

2008-12-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2008-11-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I asked Soren what he wanted to be and he said a rhino, so I went online and found a rhino costume.

Have you ever seen a rhino this cute before?

Striking his Zoolander pose : )

One of my favorite comments from him for the night were, "How exciting!" Also when I asked him if he liked trick or treating he said, "It's my favorite!"

Our First Pumpkin Patch Experience (Soren & mine)

2008-10-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Pics from Shawn & Jillian's wedding

2008-10-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

I love my family and my prego belly!

2008-09-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

Some of Soren's latest cutest phrases.

2008-09-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

"No fine." He uses this when I ask him if he needs something and he means, no, I'm fine.

"Neo, poo poo diaper." Yes, he has the Neo doll from the Matrix and he told us that Neo has a dirty diaper, lol.

"How 'bout dat?"

"Hi baby. How you doing? Doing good?" He pats my belly and says this. I love it!

"Mama, down please." This is how Soren wakes me up in the morning. He comes into our room, over to my side of the bed, and says this.

"Oh Man!"

I'll say, "I love you" or "You are so cute" and Soren will say, "No! Momma yuv you!" or "No! Momma cute!"

Soren, growing up.

2008-09-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here is Soren displaying his art skills.

Here he is showing off his new birthday bear.

He is really into cars now.

He was so excited about his new big boy/toddler bed!

He remembers the stories from books and will sit and read to himself.

Soren's level of understanding is amazing.

2008-08-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight, after I put Soren down to sleep and left the room, he screamed and kind of freaked out for a few minutes. So I came back in, looked at him and asked, "Why are you acting like this?" He said, "Umm," pausing to think, then stayed silent for a moment. Then I said, "Honey, you look so tired. Why don't you make a good choice and lay down with your bears and go to sleep?" He then answered with an understanding, "Yeah." He then immediately laid down, and went to sleep.

Soren being super cute!

2008-08-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

Pics of Papa & Soren

2008-08-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Pics of Soren & Mom

2008-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Old MacDonald Goes Jazz

2008-07-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Keep on dancin'

2008-06-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Soren's potty time

2008-06-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

We've been prepping Soren with "Elmo's Potty Time" and "Once Upon A Potty" videos, but we didn't want to start training until we returned from vacation. So, tonight Jared took Soren to Ikea to pick out a potty. He chose the red one and carried it on his lap the entire way home. As soon as he got out of the car he put it down and sat on it. When he entered the apartment, he ran in with it, excited to show mommy and minutes later pooped and peed in it. We were amazed!

Still Puerto Rico

2008-06-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

The next stop was Cabo Rojo, with a scenic lighthouse and a nice, private beach.

So beautiful!

Soren LOVED playing in the sand.

What a great family picture!

We ended our awesome trip by visiting another gorgeous beach in San Juan.

More Puerto Rico

2008-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Exploring the north side of the island.

Yes, Jared climbed to the top of that rock in his flipflops.

This is La Parguera. We took a rented boat out to some of those islands and took a swim in the shade of the mangroves. It was Soren's first real swimming experience, and he loved it.

These are some of the awesome Mangroves we saw while crusing through the beautiful waters.

We tied up the boat and went swimming and discovered sea urchins, as well as fish and crabs.

Back from Puerto Rico

2008-06-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

The first place we visited was Old San Juan. Where we saw an incredible fort and cemetary.

The fort was from around the 1500s.

I love the angel statues.

Really beautiful.

We came out to witness a cool cultural event. Tons of kite flying.

Extra Extra...

2008-05-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

Recent faves

2008-05-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Playing under the curtain.

Peek a boo.

Riding his rocking horse.

Carrying around his new blanket.

Holiday and Soren playing with each other.

What Soren's into right now

2008-05-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

He's into wearing our stuff (momma's hat).

Here he is wearing mom's flipflops.

Papa's shoes are just a little too big.

He likes helping papa wash dishes...

and helping him make pancakes.

Photo Shoot Jen Took of Leslie & Soren-Love It!

2008-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:00