i think i forgot how to blog.

One night last week, we played around with the camera timer to try take a photo together. This one turned out decently. I think we need to do that more often. We barely have any pictures where we're all together.

I still take a lot of pictures with my "real" camera--I haven't yet migrated to a phone camera as most people seem to have done--mostly because I still have the same ol' smartphone I've had since December 2009. It takes dismal photos, so when Franco's not around with his iPhone 4s, I prefer using the better camera.

So, it's not the lack of photos that's kept me from blogging. It's also not a lack of memorable or notable events--there have been plenty of those since last August, believe me. And it's not because I've been particularly busy, though raising a toddler is a full-time job. I guess I just didn't feel like blogging for a bit. Maybe I wanted to see what would happen. Would I miss it? Would I choose a better way to spend my time? And then when more and more time would pass, I just felt guilty for leaving it alone for so long, like I broke up with my blog and didn't know how we could stay friends.

Sorry, I'm being a little melodramatic, aren't I? It's the mood I'm in right now. I've been having rollercoaster mood swings lately, maybe because I'm almost 7 months pregnant? I'm almost always at home nowadays because I'm too lazy or tired to actually get ready and go somewhere.

Also of note, a very exciting note, is that Franco will be taking boards in two weeks! The Board Exam is the Bar Exam of optometry--the I Ching of exams, the Big Kahuna, the BIG One! I will try to sum up the last several months of preparation in one sentence: my husband is almost nonexistant. Ok, that might be pushing it. It would probably be closer to the truth if I said it this way: While Franco is still an integral part of our family and household and continues to perform his husbandly and fatherly duties very well, we have had to shift around a lot of things and have had to sacrifice time spent together quite a bit. But this is for the greater good--he has to study, which he does, day until night every single day except Sunday (I am a witness to this daily since he basically only leaves the house for class, clinical rotations, church, or other important meetings relating to school or church.) We had a glorious two-week break during Christmas and New Year and I savored each moment together. It's like, he's here--if I look over my shoulder right now I can see him, studying away--yet he's not really here. It's taken a while to get used to, I'll admit. I used to interrupt him often to ask a simple question like, "Any requests for dinner this week?" or to ask him to do a small chore...but I have learned to refrain and to save stuff like that for mealtime or at night or on Sunday. The boy needs his study time! So dedicated, that man. I love him.

It's been quite the learning experience. But just think what will come out of it! When he passes Boards, which I'm confident he will the first time (I keep telling him), he will officially be able to practice as a Doctor of Optometry! It's like we can finally see the light at the end of this never-ending, 7-year-long tunnel. I'm so, so proud of him.

So, our life the last seven months summed up in seven words: baby, Boards, growing, planning, living, praying, loving.

And that's what we'll keep doing. Good to be back.

Oh Hello.

I don't want to get too wordy on this post, so I'll highlight the last few weeks (or few months...has it been that long?) in bullet points, with a smattering of photos to break up the monotony of text:

life as a wife, mother, friend, designer:

• playing constantly with Clarke, who is now 11 months old and has no shortage of energy. God bless you mothers with more than one child.
• cleaning. Every day. It never ends.
• teaching Clarke sign language--his favorite sign is "more," no surprise there.
• planning two-week meal calendars and buying groceries every two weeks. Life. Changing.
• keeping up with a birthday calendar, for once--this year I designed and printed birthday postcards and when I see a family member's or friend's birthday coming up on the calendar, I write a short message and pop the postcard in the mail. Easy, simple, effective, personalized, and inexpensive.
• jogging. That's right, three times a week!
• dating my husband regularly.
• designing logos, labels, invitations, business cards, t-shirts, book covers, posters, certificates, you name it.
• serving at an ever-growing capacity in the primary, and learning more than I ever thought possible.
• weekly piano teaching, a new job I started last year. I have two wonderful, dedicated students!

life as a family:

• waiting until Franco gets home from school every day so we can all play and laugh together.
• traveling to and from Camarillo and/or Santa Barbara as much as we can swing it.
• looking forward to pizza Fridays.
• attending the LA temple as often as we can.
• taking walks around our beautiful neighborhood.
• going to Disneyland in the rain or shine. Literally.
•  spring-breaking at museums in L.A. (and seeing the space-shuttle Endeavor up close--magnificent!) Soaking up the sun in Camarillo and Santa Barbara.
• contemplating where Franco's fourth year of externships will take us...do we want to stay local or travel around the country (and world) every three months? Definitely calls for many pro-cons lists.
• encouraging Mosiah, Franco's youngest brother, who will serve a two-year mission to Montreal, Canada starting May 1st. (!!!)

 So that's what we've been up to lately. I totally neglected to take any pictures on Easter, mostly because we were having such a good time that I forgot to pull out the camera. But we had a great day, well, great week, actually, for Franco's Spring Break. That's what I love about working from home, I can vacation whenever I want!

Happy April!

* Instead of waiting for the rare post on here, you can follow us on instagram and vine. We'd love to connect with you through those awesome apps!

something old into something new, and two photos in which i look terribly chubby.

Because I suffer from acute indecisiveness when it comes to web design (here, here, here, to name a few) I had to yet again change up my personal blog layout, name, etc. But I really like this one, so maybe it'll stick longer than a year? We shall see. I always get antsy and change things around this time every year, at home as well as on the web...why is that, I wonder?

I recently updated my design blog, too. Though I have yet to commit to regular posting. And! I almost forgot. I started another blog last month, too. (What? Another one, Anelieze?? You can't even keep up with this one!) Well, it's a blog dedicated to well-designed resources for primary in our church. It's in Spanish, though, and I've only posted five times yet, but I have high hopes for this one! It's called: Para La Primaria.

Oh, and this little blog turned five years old on Tuesday. Huzzah! Hey, thanks for sticking around.

Photos above from Thanksgiving, 2012. I took so long posting them because I just look so chubby. But we don't have any pictures together since then, so these will have to do for now..

Ring In The New Year!

 We feel so blessed to have spent another year together! It's possible we are more in love than ever. And now we have another little soul with whom to share our everlasting love. Too many blessings to count. 

Happy 2013 to you!

Yuletide With The Castrejons.

I am alone (with a napping boy) for a bit at my parent's house in Camarillo right now, after everyone else left to do this or that within a half hour of each other. A good time to catch up on the past few days of merrymaking, I told myself, so here it goes. Let's see how far I get.

Christmas morning (on the 24th) at our house before heading to Camarillo for the week!

Finally made Clarke's mini stocking. ^^

Now THAT's an expression of an excited boy opening his gift. ^^

 (He could tell it was legos from the sound the box made when he picked it up.)

Next, Christmas Eve at the Porter's with Franco's family.

Around The House: Wednesday, September 5th

-------// Clarke's toys //-------

------// Clarke's red balloon pillow //------

---// a painting I've been working on //---

---// snippets of my little office //---

--// my attempt to pretty up the heater //--

------// a red eiffel tower //------

---// Franco's Star Wars collection //---

----// another red eiffel tower //----

------// Clarke's first cereal //------

------// watermelon slushies //------

 

----// Franco's studying sustenance //----

happy middle-of-the-week!

Goodbye, Summer. Hello, School.

Over here at the Castrejon's, summer's over and school is back in session. Franco just dove right in--he's already had a couple of quizzes and started a new clerkship, so vacation is officially over. I know I haven't been posting everything we've done lately, I just can't seem to get away from our little Clarke long enough to do anything, and honestly, I don't want to! But, I thought I'd do a little recap, with the help of our trusty instagrams, here:
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Left to right, top to bottom:

// Franco and Clarke are seriously best buddies. They even have the same "Feed me!" crying face.

\\ Clarke and I take walks early in the morning; mostly because it gets so hot that all we want to do is stay inside with the AC on.

// Franco worked at an optometrist's office for a month because he was getting bored of having nothing to do (figures, overachiever ;) and once he got off early and we had lunch at a nearby park.

\\ Clarke has so much hair, it's funny to see how many different ways it sticks up after his naps.

// He's also gotten used to sucking on his hands--he won't take a pacifier--and sometimes he does it while holding his hair. When it's replaced by a swaddling blanket, he reminds me of Linus from the peanut gang!

\\ I have yet to show you his little nursery corner. I hung up a canvas I painted, and this Le Ballon Rouge mobile I made back when I was nine months pregnant.

// Sometimes while I'm getting ready, we make faces at each other in the mirror. (Sorry, it's a little dirty.)

\\ I love it when he wakes up smiling and happy! It just makes my day.
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Happy weekend!

5 years.

what happens when you're married to your other half,

with whom you always seem to be on the same wavelength,

with whom you share the same goals, beliefs, and silly humor,

who knows you inside and out, sometimes better than you know yourself,

and who doesn't care if you have more weaknesses than strengths?

i'll tell you what happens; 

time flies,

and then suddenly you've been married for

five whole blissful, amazing years.

happy anniversary to my one true love, franco!

The Two Of Us, Together.

Last weekend, Franco and I had our first date alone since Clarke was born. We were in Santa Barbara for the weekend, and had his mom watch him for us while we went to a movie (M.I.B. 3) and ice cream at Thrifty. It felt like it was just the two of us again, but of course we missed Clarke and couldn't wait to get back to him! It was a very necessary outing and I'm so grateful for family who made it possible!

A Name...

Jonathan Clarke Castrejon was blessed last Sunday here in Chino Hills. We were very fortunate to have most of our family there, as well as a few friends. Baby cried during the blessing, but it didn't retract from the sweet spirit that was there as Franco blessed our first child. Clarke, as we're going to call him, is already an integral part of our family and we're incredibly lucky to have him! He doesn't recognize it right now, but we feel the love and joy our family and friends have for him every day! Thank you for choosing to come into our family, baby Clarke!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our World.

This little dark-haired, cuddly bundle--with a tried-and-true pair of strong lungs--has turned our world completely upside down, and we are loving it! We can't eat, sleep, or plan anything in our daily activities without first thinking, "Would Clarke like that?" or "Will Clarke behave through it?" or even sometimes, "Will Clarke sleep through it?" Like when we wanted to watch The Avengers and went to the over-packed theater armed with bottles, blankets, extra clothes, and everything else we could think of in case he woke up. I had him in the Baby Bjorn and kept glancing down every time there was a loud noise (which was pretty much every 30 seconds), expecting to see his little eyes open, but, nothing! It was the most distracted I've ever been during a movie at the theater, but at least I didn't have to duck out as I had expected.

Clarke is usually pretty good with noise. It's when his surroundings are too quiet that he gets restless and wakes up easily. His favorite noise in our home is the bathroom fan--it quiets him down almost immediately! I'm going to be in trouble if we ever move. After watching The Avengers at the movie theater in Downtown Disney, we took a walk down Main Street at Disneyland. There were crowds and crowds of people and the fireworks were going off, and still Clarke didn't wake up! It was astounding to me. But I'm sure it won't last so I'm enjoying it while I can.

Franco finished his first year of medical school last week, hooray! I'm incredibly proud of him and it's possible I let him play games on his iPod for hours on end as a reward for his non-stop studying the past year. The first year they say is the hardest, but it's as if he was always meant to be a medical student because he loves it and did so well. We celebrated with a trip to Disneyland with a few of Franco's classmates, and Clarke went on his first ride! He was awake all through It's a Small World, his little head turning from one side to another, taking in all the colors and songs. 

I can't get enough of watching my little one experience things for the first time. It's my favorite thing about being a mother, I think. Every day I see the world through his new eyes and it's like I'm seeing it for the first time. It's pretty amazing! I'm so, so grateful.

Little Announcement.

One Pregnancy Post A Week: A Name.

We still haven't decided on what to name our baby boy over here. It's not that my husband and I don't agree on a name, because we do, actually. We have a first name and a middle name chosen; we just decided to keep it between ourselves right now. It has more to do with the question, "is it the right name?"

I believe that giving a name to a child born into this world is a sacred and special event in his or her life, as well as in both the parent's lives. It is a "name [the child will] be known by throughout his or her lifetime, distinguishing him or her from anyone else."* No pressure...So our response to the constant inquiry, "Do you have a name picked out?" is and will continue to be, "No, we're waiting to meet him first."

For now, his nickname is Boyo, and once we get to see and hold this little miracle in our arms, we will give him a name.

We are, however, entertaining any suggestions for names, such as the list above that my sister, brother, and cousin made up early this year. Coincidentally, Niches is my nickname, given to me by my older-by-3-months-cousin, Eddie. When he grew old enough to speak, he could not pronounce my full name, which is correctly pronounced, "Ahn-Eh-Leez-Eh", so he shortened it to "Eez-Eh" which became "Neech-Ehs" and it caught on. I was too young and powerless to stop it. Sigh. ;)

*quote from this talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard.
previous pregnancy posts here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you had a happy Valentine's day!

I set my alarm clock earlier than usual (7:30 am. Yes, that's earlier than usual for us) so I could get up and prepare the little surprise I had for Franco. I printed out love notes to Franco, "I love the way...", and attached them to heart balloons I bought the day before. Then I crept back into our bedroom with the bouquet of balloons and let them float to the ceiling above our bed. The noise woke him up, and he smiled as he realized what they were. That was my little "gift" to my Valentine--simple!

We had wheat pancakes, scrambled egg whites, bacon, and a bowl of fruit for breakfast in bed, while watching "The Cutting Edge", a movie we've seen a hundred times! I don't know what happened, but we went back to sleep and didn't get up until noon! It was a perfect morning.



After we got ready for the day, we had a lunch date at In-N-Out (which we hadn't had since October!) and I went to work for a couple of hours. When Franco picked me up and we got home, it took me about half an hour before I noticed something taped to my computer screen. It was a map of our apartment! There was an 'X' marking the spot where our refrigerator sits, and I went to look for whatever it was Franco had hidden there. Franco was smiling and watching as I did this. Inside the freezer, all the way in the back, was a Haagen-Dazs pint of butter pecan ice cream! My favorite! To it was attached another map with another 'X', this time marking the dresser in our bedroom. In it I found a new wireless mouse (I'd been hinting about needing a new one for a few weeks) and a lovely note Franco had written. Somehow, his notes always make me cry, as this one did, so I knew it wasn't because of pregnancy hormones.

Since it was Tuesday, I had a youth activity at church, so Franco decided to come along. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate heart's day. I don't need a fancy dinner, sparkly jewelry, or even a bouquet of flowers. Just give me a day to spend with my love and I'm happy!

New Look!

This year has been flying by, but I'm kind of glad that it has because I'm really looking forward to some events happening here in the next several months. So far, January and February have been filled with cleaning, organizing, preparing healthy meals, a lot of studying (hard school stuff on Franco's side and baby stuff for me), a Disneyland trip with a total of 27 people, many trips to the thrift store, photoshoots, enjoying the beautiful weather, temple trips, homemaking projects, date nights, hockey games...wow, we've done more than I thought!

I've been wanting to do a blog facelift for some time now, but I didn't know what to do so I kept putting it off. Finally I just sat down Monday and Tuesday and worked on it. It didn't take me as long as I thought it would, which is great.

Though it's not completely finished, welcome to the new Life With The Castrejons, now known as "A+F: Living The Simple Life"! We really do lead simple lives. We try not to clutter our days with unnecessary things and believe in living life to its fullest. Franco and I love being together and have many little adventures which we'll share here occasionally.

Thanks, friends, for being a part of our lives!

p.s. I also did a redesign of my design blog a while ago in Wordpress, you can see it here. I haven't updated it for a long time, but I have a lot of posts in the works. Lots to do before baby comes in April!

photo of the santa monica pier