california 2014

we booked some spontaneous (is spontaneous still applicable when most everything we do is last minute?) flights & took off to california last month. the trip was just too good to pass up. the nflpa takes pretty good care of their retired players. they payed for todd's flight, our hotel, rental car, & room service, all on the condition that todd do some work outs, visit a dietician, & get treatment (aka massages) not far from where he's from. and the timing was impeccable. my parents, my sister, & her family already had their plans booked to be in san diego at the exact same time. basically, it was a win all around.

the boys loved it. we tried to keep the trip a secret but coop is just too smart. he was on to us from the get go. when we finally spilt the beans he was not too surprised, but still very excited. tj was confused about the whole thing. it took about a week of being on california before he finally realized it wasn't just another hawaiian island. the flight over was easy peasy. mylo slept in my arms most of the way & the older two were happily occupied by handheld technology. 

other than a day trip to anaheim we spent the first week & a half in carlsbad. you should have seen the boys faces when we pulled up to our hotel & legoland was next door. i doubt they have ever been that excited before. we picked up season passes & spent just about every day bouncing between the hotel pools & the park. ti's favorites were the dragon ride, & building & racing cars. coop loved the dragon ride, & the incredible designs in miniland. mylo loved the lost kingdom ride, & the boat ride. they were all completely ecstatic to come face-to-face with snow. they've asked about the freezing phenomena for months, years even & couldn't wait to experience it for themselves. i opted to sit that part out since the high 60's weather was enough cold for me. i am still amazed with how well my boys  handled the southern california winter. i was so worried but obviously their skin is much thicker than mine.  

 staying in a hotel is probably my favorite part of vacationing. no cooking or cleaning? throw in a couple of pools & other amenities & i am so there. i may have to fight my germophob fears a little when watching my toddler roll around the hallway floor or sit bare bum in the hotel room chair. but what does it kill 'em makes 'em stronger, right?

i won't lie, i was a little shocked with how beautiful the california beaches were. i mean, don't get me wrong, they've got nothin on maui. like, not even close. but they were gorgeous in a totally different admire-from-a-distance kind of way. (heaven knows, i wasn't about to get hypothermia by jumping in that frigid water.) the boys were so excited when we showed up to the beach. they were literally mad when i told them i didn't bring their swim shorts-well, until they stuck their toes in & realized just how cold the water was. then they were more than happy to keep to the sand.

other than binging on mexican food & in-n-out, the highlight of our trip was family. we spent the last week bunking up with todd's grandparents, my parents, & a couple nieces & nephews. the boys were surrounded by so much love, they could barely handle it. cooper spent most the week touring the city with grama, papa, & jameson getting spoiled every step of the way. tj & mylo were obsessed with   kam, rylie, "auntie kam's mom," & uncle scott. they made some lasting memories that the boys still refer back to on the daily (like never, & which hand). my favorite part was getting a little quality time with my niece & nephews that made the journey to see us. i was beyond excited to watch my nephew, kam, play in a soccer tournament. he is such an amazing athlete & so much fun to watch. 

we had the unique experience of spending thanksgiving with my family & todd's family all together. which means, my dad's mashed potatoes, my mom's rolls, nana's creamed corn, nana's stuffing, & a couple julian's pies. it was everything our hearts & stomachs could wish for. we also got to celebrate nana's 82nd birthday with the lady we all so love & admire. 

it was real california. but this island girl is happy to be home. 

nfl: preseason

the preseason is always welcomed with big smiles in our home.  it signals the end of training camp & the begining of the season.  it means games!  we love going to games.  professional sports games are always fun but they are even more enjoyable when you get to park in the player lot, go in the player entrance, enjoy amenities such as family rooms, complimentary food & drink, & complimentary seats in a reserved section & to top it off you get to cheer for your loved one while the do what they love & excel at.  the games are often unpredictable since the coaches are more focused on analyzing the players' abilities than actually winning, but they are still so fun!  we are so excited to make it to the giants last 3 preseason games!

nfl: training camp

the offseason & training camp are polar opposites.  it's hard to go from one extreme to the other.  during the offseason we have todd around all we could want & more.  during the offseason he is gone, all gone.  needless to say, this is my least favorite time of the year.  todd practices from about 7:30 am to about 9:30 pm.  he has breaks for lunch & dinner but he uses that time to rest & study plays.  he stays in a hotel & has bed check at 11:00 but he is usually asleep before the coaches come around.  so as you can see he really doesn't have much free time.  i am very grateful that the giants camp is typically around 3 weeks.  the raiders would last up to 5.5 weeks.  

as for us, we miss him.  a lot.  we try to keep busy & enjoy each day to the fullest.  we go to a lot of parks, do a lot of crafts, play a lot of games, eat out a lot, & visit a lot of family & friends.  i take the boys to play outside, putting them in the tub, or sticking them in the double stroller for a good jog-those are the only things i can do to keep both boys quiet & happy. in the end, it's hard to be 100% happy when a big part of our little family is missing.  cooper seems to take it the hardest.  he is a daddy's boy through & through.  when todd's gone he gets really clingy to me.  he is way more emotional than normal.  he says things like, "our house used to have 4 people but now we only have 3." and he constantly asks when daddy will be home.  as for me, i miss having someone to help with the kids & the house, but more than anything, i miss the companionship.  due to todd's strict schedule i only get to talk to him for a total of about 1.5 hours a day.  that isn't much. 

i am excited to say that the giants break camp tomorrow & we get to see our favorite man after 23 days without him!

NFL: the offseason

the offseason.  aka the dreamlife.  the offseason starts at the end of the season (jan-feb depending on postseason activity) and ends at the end of july when the players head to training camp.  during the offseason we do nothing & everything at the same time.

we have relatively few responsibilities.  todd typically trains with the team from the middle of march to the middle of june; he goes in 4 days a week for 4 hours a day.  this is probably our favorite time of the year.  todd enjoys training with his teammates. yet, he is home in the early afternoon & he has 3 day weekends so we still have plenty of time together.

todd has to stay fit so when he isn't at mini-camp or off season workouts or o.t.a.'s we make sure to fit in workouts at home.  these usually involve the whole family having quality exercise fun.  we run sprints at local parks while cooper plays on the playground & t.j. watches from a blanket.  or we pull out our sparq training gear & cooper joins our workouts in the backyard.  or we take both boys for a run around our creek.  or we just lift weights or do p90x in our gym.  or todd throws with one of his qb friends & the boys & i tag along.  no matter what we are staying healthy & having family fun.  it's awesome.

other than that we play. and play. and play.  we love making trips.  at least a few times a week we head to the beach, or the city, or hiking, or the fair, or the lake, or the rodeo.  you name it, we do it.  todd golfs a lot.  we see a lot of family & friends.  no matter what we always have a lot of fun.  we are constantly on the go.  we love it.  

when we aren't playing or working out we are just enjoying each other & enjoying our home.  we love our home.  we are so lucky.  we watch shows, play, read books, play soccer & baseball, go on walks, go to the park, play games, make crafts, & cook a lot.  i love having todd around all the time.  i constantly have his help.  he can take one boy while i help the other.  or i can leave both boys with him to run errands by myself.  

we do begin to miss the structure of the season.  there's something about structure that just works.  as much as we enjoy the offseason we are all glad to see the start of training camp & the begining of the season. overall, life in the offseason is lovely.  

NFL: life in a lockout

it seems like i am always being asked the question, "what's it like to be an nfl wife?".  well, that is not at all an easy question to answer.  are you talking about during the off season?  when we are at home?  groupies?  fans?  other wives?  partying?  on game day?  during training camp?  on rookie night?  self-esteem?  materialism?  career/location instability?  after a lost game?  or after a win?  there are so many aspects to consider.  our life is constantly adapting to coincide with the ever changing needs of the nfl.  (i've never watched those reality shows about professional athletes' wives but i have heard from reliable cources that they do not accurately portray the average nfl family lifestyle.)  and i would have to say that my family is pretty average.  so i will attempt (over the next few months) to provide a more correct  depiction .

if i could only use one word to describe my life right now i would go with, unpredictable.  there is constant uncertainty as to when this lockout will end thus bringing about our pending move to the lovely new york.  i always have everything tidied up & ready to go should the lockout come to a close tomorrow & we be expected to move across the country in a matter of days.  or of course, there is the other possibility that this lockout will continue through the season, in which case we try to enjoy this time off & pack every moment full of fun.  it is rather hard to be ready to go & always on the go at the same time.  we are constantly invited to various events & our response is always the same, "we'll see".  we can't commit to anything.  i try to limit my grocery purchases to a one week supply so when the time comes to leave we don't have an abundance of food to throw out.  the down side to this is that i am forced to make more grocery trips than i would like.  we've been living with this dilemma since the first week of march.  this is precisely why having a spontaneous & non-stop fun husband like todd sure does come in handy.  he takes our unstable life in stride & never let's it phase him.  just look at our crazy fun life we enjoy thanks to him:  we went on a huge adventure to utah for 7 weeks then within 10 days of returning we have visited yosemite, san francisco, and santa cruz, coop & i went on a date to his first musical, todd & t.j. had their first date night, todd helped with a friend's sports camp, we've been swimming with friends, and stopped by the water park.

this is difficult to cope with for a natural planner like myself.  i love to plan.  i am a habitual planner.  planning keeps me sane.  i like to know what is coming & how i am going to handle it.  for example, cooper's birthday is 2 months away.  on a normal year i would have already planned his party, purchased all the supplies, bought every gift, & had the full days' menu laid out.  so it is killing me to not have any of it together!  cooper also has to be enrolled in preschool & soccer for the fall. so do i sign him up in california or new york, or both?  along with these concerns i also wonder where i will live in ny, how will i get all of our belongings out there, how long will we be there...the list goes on.  all these questions are overwhelming but i always try to see the positive in each situation.  i know that everything i encounter offers me the opportunity to learn & grow in some way.  this lockout is no exception.  through this experience i have learned a great deal about "going with the flow", patience, improvising, and the true importance of things.

now with that being said, could the nfl & the players please come to an agreement & end this  lockout?!