February Family Picture

Picture was taken in Joshua Tree on Valentines Day.

February recap:
- Dama Shan came out to visit for about two and a half weeks in February. All four of us love her trips out to California. We feel spoiled that we get to enjoy her as much as we do. When Dama Shan comes, Matt gets motivated to do house projects. With Dama Shan's encouragement, he created us a fire pit in the back yard this month. Woooo hooooo! We cant wait until this summer when we can see Dama Shan again.

-Finn finally finished basketball this month. Yipeee! When I asked him if he wanted to do it again next year he said "I dont think so... unless Jeremy and James play again." He's looking forward to swimming lessons at The Wave. Last year we had to skip lessons for financial reasons, but this year we'll be sure to get him signed up in Spring. Finn and Seamus are both getting into the ipods this month too. Dama Teri gave them each one last year and it seems that they are just now realizing how much fun they can be.

- Seamus started playing soccer for the St. Francis School team this month. They have a good sized team and Im excited to watch them play. Its nice to get Shea playing a sport after taking the winter off. Shea also did a 5k run with Matt this month and finished first in his age group. Go SEAMUS!! His grades are doing better. He pulled up his Math grade to a B- a couple weeks ago, but I think its gone down a little since then. Hopefully with soccer starting up he'll be able to balance the studying with the sports.

- Matt went to Virginia for a week this month - work stuff. I missed him a lot, but was excited by the Georgetown hoodie he brought back for me. Matt gave up beer for lent this year and I believe its been a huge sacrifice thus far. Hopefully he can keep it up and stick to his commitment.

- Ive been enjoying the Olympics this month. I watch almost every night with Matt and am gonna be really bummed when its over later today. Matt and I are currently getting geared up for the Canada/USA hockey game this afternoon. Of course I want USA to win, but if they lose to Canada Im cool with that. Canada is rad. I would love to see them take home another gold on their home turf. Of course, if the USA wins, I'll be ecstatic. Im sure I'll cry.

What else? We were able to get a quick trip to J-tree this month which was awesome. Vista has gotten more rain than usual. I dont like it. Matt and I are beginning to solidfy plans for taking the boys over the Atlantic Ocean to Italy. We leave in 33 days. Eeeeeeeeekkkkkkk!

I guess thats it. February was quick, but good.

Happy Sunday.

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Matt found this picture online last week. He got incredible pleasure showing it to me and then having me guess who it was. I didnt have a clue.

Can you guess?
Its my celebu-crush and "get out of marriage free" man, GEORGE CLOONEY!!!

Can you believe that? My God! It seriously blew my mind when I found out it was Clooney. Wow!

Happy Tuesday!

We Are Loving The Olympics!

In Casa de McGarvey, we have been watching the Olympics daily. Matt and I both really love the Olympics.
I didnt realize the boys were into it as much as we were until Seamus brought me this today.

Awwwwwww!
Also, we went to the green field by our house and I got a fantastic pic of the boys. I'll have to share it soon.
Happy Saturday night. :)

I Turn My Camera On

Like many of my friends and fellow scrapbookers, I take a lot of photos of my family. I feel confident in stating that I definitely take more pictures than the average person. Ballpark numbers? I cant be sure, but if I had to guess I'd say Ive amassed 10s of thousands of images. Going digital back in 2002 empowered me to click that shutter button liberally and often. I have not stopped since. It makes me kind of proud that I have created a comprehensive photographic history of our family thus far, but in the majority of our pictures I am not present. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? In my family, I am the picture taker and like many other family "picture takers," I prefer to be stuck behind the lens instead of in front of it. It is a problem.

I grew up with a mother who also preferred to be behind the camera lens. Thanks to her, I have many quality photos documenting my pre- adult life. However, just like me with my own family, my mother is absent in 99.9% of my childhood photos. This makes me sad. You see, my mom was very involved in my young life. She was the gas that made our family car run, and yet I have no images of her as I remember her. Likewise, I have maybe 2 pictures of her and me together when I was a kid. I am certain that, like me, my mom wasnt really comfortable seeing her image in our photos, but because of her choice to not be in them, I have very few images of my mom.

I do not want to repeat what happened in my childhood photos and I have tried throughout the years to hand the camera over to others during holidays and special occasions. I gotta be honest: its not easy for me. Im not sure if I have a problem giving up control of how the images will turn out or if Im just afraid to see my image in the photos. Is it a vanity thing or is it a control thing? Im sure its both - vanity being more of an issue than control. However, I am happy to say that lately, I have found a way to include me in the pictures without the fear of giving up control. Ive been using my timer. In the past two months, I have used that timer a dozen or more times and in almost every instance Im totally cool with the images.

This past weekend at Joshua Tree, I used the timer for a couple group pictures and I got great results. Yipeee! Towards the end of our stay, I got the most magical picture using the timer. I wanted to share it with you. Its not a technically perfect photo. The "noise" is substantial and the color is a little off, but I squealed with delight when I saw it on my monitor.

Not only did I get a picture with the boys, Matt, me and Dama Shan together (in itself a HUGE feat) but I also got a shot of us by firelight. That, my friend, is what we call lightening striking twice. Oooooooh yeaaaaaah!

I totally love this image and guess what: Im in it. Mission accomplished!

Happy Thursday.

Me Gusta! - Knee Socks

When I was young and a student at St. Francis, I wore knee socks with my uniform every single day. It wasnt a fashion statement. It wasnt even a warmth thing. Knee socks were the required sock uniform so I wore them. Period. I never really thought much about them. They were just something I wore with my shoes.

Its been 2 decades since I wore knee socks regularly, but let me tell ya - they're making a comeback! When I was a kid, knee socks were just something I put on my feet. Lately I have discovered how much I like them! First of all, they're so cute. Who knew they came in so many cool colors and designs? I certainly didnt - not until a few months ago anyway. Wearing these brightly colored socks makes me feel positively cheerful! They're a great pick me up when its cold or raining outside. Im especially fond of striped knee socks. When I wear them it makes me feel like Punky Brewster or the Wicked Witch of the West. Under the hem of my plain ol' jeans is a secret Rainbow Brite soul ready to sing. I like that - I like how the socks make me feel!

Mostly, however, I love how warm knee socks keep my legs. You see, I am a naturally cold person - a side effect from having really low blood pressure. Being cold is one of the reasons I love summer so much. Summer is the ONLY time I feel warm. I literally freeze my butt off from October to April. Lately, the knee socks are keeping me nice and toasty. It feels like I have an extra layer of skin under my pants. Who knew that knee socks were actually functional? I honestly had no idea.

Here is a picture of the clean knee socks I presently own. Dont you love them?

Just looking at them makes me smile.
And yes... those legs in the blue knee socks are mine. I was a little reticent to post the picture because my legs arent as nice looking as they used to be. But you know what - Im cool with it. They havent given out on me yet, so I consider myself lucky to have them.

Happy Tuesday. :)

Valentines Day

We spent February 14th with Dama Shan, the boys, Barry and Eli in Joshua Tree. It was wonderful. We only went up for the day but it was enough for us to get in a couple hikes, soak in the radiant sun and make a campfire. I can't imagine a more sentimental place for me and my love to spend Valentine's Day.

Hope your day was as wonderful as ours.

Happy Monday.

PS - This picture was taken with the timer on my camera which is why its all wonky looking. While it was being taken, Matt was terrified the camera was going to fall off the rock where it was precariously perched. He kept saying "Lisa... its gonna fall. Lisa... be careful... aggghhh....its gonna fall." Thankfully it didnt.

Congrats to Finn!

Somebody finished his multiplication timed tests 1-12 last week.
Way to go Finn!


Oh... and that's red pen on his face. Its not a cut or anything.

Happy Thursday.

Catholic Schools Week

Last week was Catholic Schools Week at St. Francis School. We had Open House, Grandparent's Day, an Art Show and various big projects due. Here is a photo recap.

Open House was on Thursday night. We were excited to be joined by my sister Jennifer's family, my Auntie Lucy and my cousin Nicole's family. Both my sister and my two cousins are thinking of sending their children to St. Francis next year. The idea of all the cousins (there would be 7 of them) being at the same Catholic school makes me smile so big. I dont want to think too much about it because the odds of it happening arent great. Still, I cant help but sneak a few happy thoughts from time to time. What a dream that would be.

Here is Finn showing us some of his work in his classroom. His work was pretty impressive. He had this essay written on the wall about MLK and it made me tear up a bit.


Seamus' artwork. The sarcophagus hanging from the ceiling is the one I talked about in an earlier post.

Here is Elijah and his parents in the kindergarten room.

A close up of my nephew Elijah. Doesnt he look like Finn? When he was a baby I would get comments all the time about how much he looked like his older brother. I didnt have the heart to tell people that Finn wasnt his older brother.

Friday was Grandparents Day. We started the day off with mass and then the kids showed my parents around the school. They also took professional pictures that day. Incidentally, my mother in law, Barb missed Grandparents Day by less than a week. She is here with us now - just got here yesterday. I wish I had known earlier to plan for her to be here to participate in Grandparent's Day. I just didnt see it coming early enough. Im not really good at planning ahead. I will try better next year.


And these last pictures were taken on the way to school one day. Im pretty sure it was Monday morning.


That last picture was taken at a stop light near our house. Literally a half a second after I pushed the shutter release button, Seamus yelled at Finn saying "Finn... your breath stinks! Stop breathing on me!" You can almost see him getting ready to unleash on Finn.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Happy Wednesday.

Rub A Dub Dub

I have always had a passion for handmade gifts. In actuality, Im not particularly good at giving them. Afterall, that would take planning and forethought - two qualities I do not naturally possess. No, Im talking about receiving handmade gifts. The quirkier the gifts are, the better. I think it is the uniqueness of handmade items that draws my attention first. Its their natural faults that make them so desirable to me. And then, of course, there is the sentimental value of handmade gifts. Who can deny the appeal of a handmade gift made with love and intended for one person? For me, it really doenst get much better than that.

When I became a mom I entered the motherload of handmade gifts. Pictures and paintings. Christmas ornaments and painted rocks. Macaroni necklaces and handmade frames. All of these gifts I treasure like gold. Even though my boys dont particularly enjoy art or craft making, I adore having their wonderful goodies around me.

This year I received a gift from Seamus that I'd never received before. He made me soap! Apparently he chipped off pieces of regular bar soap and his teacher took the chips and made them into a larger, glycerine type soap. In the past, I have been known to buy similar styled soaps so when I opened this gift, I began using it immediately. You guys, that soap smelled SOOOOOO good. I dont know what they put it in, but the smell was divine. At first I began using it daily because I enjoyed the fragrance so much. But as the weeks went on and the bar became smaller and smaller, i began to fret that this one of a kind gift was almost gone. When the soap got to the size of the picture above, I decided to stop using it. Now I keep it in a bag in my nightstand and whenever I want to smell it I open up the bag and take a good whiff. It still smells awesome.

Happy Monday. :)

Happy Monday.

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful... Beautiful Boy.

I took this picture of Finn yesterday in the big green field by our house.
Happy Thursday. :)

Family Portrait - 1/10

My friend Tara is doing a monthly family portrait exercise on her blog and I thought it would be fun to join her. We dont have a ton of family portraits. We have lots of the boys and lots of Matt and the boys, but not many of the four of us. Usually Im the one behind the lens, so I thought I would roll with this monthly challenge and reap the benefits of 12 family portraits from 2010.

This photo was taken on New Years Eve with a timer. I love it.

Our January Recap.

-The boys started school on my birthday (Jan. 4) after a very enjoyable and much too quick Christmas break. They seemed to have settled back into our daily school routine and for that I am very grateful.

-Seamus has kept his room clean most of the month. He goes through stages every week or so where he will stop everything and focus on cleaning his room. I have not asked him to do this. Its all driven by him, though I have noticed that this process often begins while he is in the middle of doing homework or right before bedtime. In any case, its been a real joy to see him take pride in his room. I gave Seamus a calendar for the new year and he has been updating it with important information. In addition to due dates and birthdays, Shea also notes Finn's basketball games. I think thats cute. Seamus is in the process of making a crystal garden for Science class (due on February 8th) and he just turned in a big Social Studies project where he made an Egyptian sarcophagus. Stay tuned for the pictures.

- Finn is on the final half of his basketball season. I think he's enjoying it but mostly he looks forward to seeing his teammates Ryan Hilder, James and Jeremy. He told me he wanted to swim this Spring at "the Wave" so Im going to have to talk to Matt about making that happen. Last week, Finn and I drove down to the Naval Hospital in San Diego to get some testing done. The appointment was a follow up appointment regarding a possible Aspergers diagnosis we began in November. The doctor believed that Finn's intelligence might be super high and that this fact, not Aspergers, may explain his social awkwardness with peers. The testing went fine. We will get the results in the next few weeks. Finn's been having a great time doing scouts this month and getting weekly playdates with best friends James, Jeremy and Ryan Huelsman.

- Matt has been super stressed out the entire month about his job at USMC. Today we finally got an official active duty paycheck. Hopefully this is the first of many. We have mucho bills and people to pay so keep that money coming, Uncle Sam! Matt continues to run each day and looks very fit and strong as a result. I must say, he looks pretty damn hot. Love those legs! ;)

-My birthday was earlier in the month and it was totally fantastic. It was by far the best Ive had in years. Im back in the swing of things with speech and basketball and homework club and school volunteering etc. This past month is the most balanced Ive felt regarding school and home in a very long time. It feels good. I am really enjoying my neighborhood walks. They seem to be getting easier which makes me think I must be toughening up. I hope to keep those up. :)

- The weather has been cold, or at least cold for So. California. Me no likey! We had a wet spell there for a few days mid month which was very unusual. They say its supposed to rain again this weekend. Im not looking forward to it.

-The boys and I finished reading My Rotten Life; Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar. Finn is doing his February book report on this book's sequel called Dead Guy Spy; Nathan Abercrombie, Accidential Zombie. We are currently pages away from finishing 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. Im excited to start a new book with the boys because I found both of these books kind of dull. My friend's daughter suggested Fablehaven by Brandon Mull so we're going to give that a go in the next couple days.

What else? I think thats a rap. :)

Happy Wednesday.

Bob The Builder - Can He Fix it?

This weekend, Finn made this cool tool box at cub scouts. I was so impressed when he walked through the door with this awesome craft.

A father in the group cut out all the pieces before hand so that the kids just needed to assemble them with their dads. I cant imagine the time it must have taken to cut out all the necessary pieces. There are about 10 cubs in our den - that's a lot of pieces to cut out!

I really didnt know what to expect when we got Finn involved with scouts, but I gotta say its been fantastic. I feel super grateful that Finn gets one on one time with Matt and that they get to participate in enriching activities like this one.

Happy Tuesday. :)

P.S. - The school is letting Seamus play soccer. He's pretty excited.

P.S.S - Finn looks super big to me in this picture. Jinkies!