Kilikina and Lopaka

"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." ~Unknown:

Bob and I got to go on a wonderful date last night. Friends of ours hosted a Hawaiian Couples Valentines Party. Everyone dressed up in Hawaiian attire (except us because we don’t own anything even remotely Hawaiian) and we ate Hawaiian Haystacks. We exchanged couples Valentines Gifts and then played the Newlywed game. Bob and I were tied for 1^st place. On the tie-breaker question, I lost it for us because I couldn’t remember the exact make and model of Bobs first car, but we did MUCH better than we have in years past. I even learned that if Bob could tame any wild animal and make it his pet, he would choose a bear. I was way off…I guessed a shark! (Kilikina and Lopaka are our names in Hawaiian)

(Picture taken by Tyler.  I look like an awesome Hawaiian Vampire!)

The worst part of Iowa? The Snow! The best part of Iowa? Snow Days!!

Seriously I have never needed a snow day like I did this week! There is just something about “hunkering down” while the soft snow falls outside and then cements itself to driveway, never to be removed until Spring. We just needed the break. I find myself praying very hard for snow days…very hard! Marisa’s friend , Alex, took her and Alayna to see the “Squeakquel” to celebrate the day off.

(Who is that crazy person in the yellow jacket?)

Legos, Lightning Thief, and Cup stacking Club

The Star Wars Lego’s finally arrived! Tyler raced outside, ripped the box open, and screamed while running down the stairs, “I will be in my room for a very long time!!” He was. He has put together some of it and its pretty cool.

Tyler and his friends, Joshua, Logan, and Hunter, all went to see Lightning Thief on Saturday. They actually got to try and go by themselves without an adult. Tyler said the movie was “so awesome” but they had a very serious discussion on the way home and found “100 ways in which the movie did not follow the book”. Boys are funny.

(An update on Tyler’s arm from last week)

Tyler has also joined the Cup Stacking Club at school. Of all things he chooses to practice 24/7, he chooses that? Man! Is it annoying or what? With all that practice he is getting very good at it though! Too bad it can’t be super quiet!

Who plays with their food and who eats lettuce like it’s a pill?

You guessed Alayna right? Wrong! I have noticed lately like Marisa plays with her food. One day she was reenacting Adam and Eve with a giant broccoli (the tree), a mini broccoli (eve) and the giant one was holding a grape (as the fruit). Then another night, she used a tiny piece of pepperoni to go repelling and rock climbing on the bottom side of her pizza. I bet you money she will be a very entertaining date. Then, there’s Tyler…we told him he couldn’t leave the table until he ate some lettuce. He is boycotting all vegetables, claiming we are trying to kill him! So, after many tears, he tore up his lettuce into tiny, microscopic pieces, and swallowed them like pills with water. I kid you not!

(The broccoli reenactment)

Maybe not the greatest room reveal ever, but whatever…

We worked hard on Marisa’s room and its coming together. I still don’t have curtains up or the vinyl lettering up, but I am posting pictures just so you can see how its coming along. Please realize it is missing some of its homey touches.

(View from the corner by the closet)

(View from the door)

(Another view from the door)

There’s nothing like New Beginnings to make you feel like you are old.

The girls had New Beginnings at the church this week. Each family was supposed to bring a picnic basket and blanket along with a dinner to enjoy the evening together. Our evening was a usual one, where we are all running around like chickens with our heads cut off! I had to go buy my running shoes (yes, I am running) while Tyler had to go buy a parachute for his science experiment and I also ran Battle of the Books. Anyway, I felt so guilty because we got a pizza and then a salad from Taco Bell. It was so tacky, our picnic basket was moldy, and I felt like a loser until the girls told me some moms were jealous of my “smart idea” of getting fast food. Whew! Way to come out on top there! Anyway, we had to sit for the whole program on the gym floor and man were we stiff the next day. Does that mean we are getting old? In the program, they showed the brand new personal progress books, and then showed the old ones and how they progressed through the years. I felt even more old when I realized one of the “oldest” books is the one that I had. Does that make me old too?

Mozart tapped once again the source from which all music flows, expressing himself with a spontaneity and refinement and breath-taking rightness that has never since been duplicated.-- Aaron Copland, Copland on Music (1960)

I attribute my deep love for classical music to my parents unwavering determination to expose us to it. It used to drive me nuts when I was younger, but I truly love it now. Marisa was in the Masterworks Concert this week. (Bob will post some of it on the blog soon) It was a Phenomenal Concert and Dad, it sounded a lot like the Messiah you guys do. They played Mozart’s final requiem (pieces from the choruses) and it was the High School choir with the Chamber Orchestra. It really was fantastic and I just loved the whole thing.

The end of the 2^nd Trimester is near!

This trimester ends this Thursday. Whoo-hoo! 2/3 of the school year is over.

Marisa's 2nd song

Can you hear me NOW?

Can you hear me now?

If any of you have been following Kayla’s facebook lately, you would have seen that she has been counting down to special “something” which FINALLY happened for her on Monday. She got her 1^st cell phone a little early for her 14^th birthday. She loves it! Now we usually get to view the top of Kayla’s head, rather than see the whites of her eyes. Marisa finally got a new one: her 1^st one had some technical difficulties, Tyler broke the 2^nd one on “accident”, and the 3^rd one was a “giant piece of crap! (quote by Marisa)” Bob was also due for a new one. They all got really cool touch screen ones.

(Its not cool having a mom always taking pics of you while you are texting)

Are the aliens trying to contact YOU?

We were in the kitchen last night making the yummy recipe below, when all of the sudden Marisa grabbed her ear and started flailing all over the kitchen and yelling , “Oh my gosh! The aliens are trying to contact me again!!” I think “what the heck??” She laughs hysterically. (She is one funny kid) She then explains: it’s when your ear plugs and then you have that ringing in your ear and it sounds like aliens are trying to contact you. Um…ok…weirdo…

(Our resident chef (kayla) at work)

Does anyone ever REALLY listen?

Tyler got to go to his 1st winter campout this weekend! He came home a stinky, smelly, wet, frozen gob of goo! He said he didn’t sleep because the cabin wasn’t “air tight” and he froze to death! To death, people! At dinner, he was telling us all about it. Do any of you remember on Seinfeld when Peterman would tell his stories? He would go on and on giving very descriptive details! Well, Tyler has mastered that art of storytelling. He went on and on about something to do with sledding. Our whole family was nodding along while eating and then he said his arm really hurts and pulled up his sleeve. He had a HUGE bruise and we were all like “what happened”?? And he said, “I just explained the whole thing!! Didn’t anyone listen to me??” Poor guy- we laughed so hard. We realized none of us were really listening so we had him tell us again. I guess when he was sledding, all his friends missed the barrel and Tyler’s arms got caught in it on the way down the hill. Poor kid! Of course, you all know how I feel about sledding. NOTHING good can ever come from that sport…

The long-awaited unveiling of the girls’ most awesome room:

We FINALLY finished Kayla and Alayna’s room. It took forever because my children are “crap collectors” and no, they don’t get that from me. Alayna collects everything known to man and hides it under the bed…everything from flashlights, Barbie heads, bouncy balls, old cell phones, erasers, rocks, gems…you name it, it’s under there. So, we made a box to put her “treasures” in. So, here is the final product except I didn’t get the curtains up yet.

(View from the doorway)

(View from the closet.  Notice “Catty’s” bed on the floor)

(View from the bookshelf)

Technical difficulties:

I can’t unveil Marisa’s room yet because we have run into some, um, “technical difficulties”. Hopefully we will get it done in the next few weeks for you to see. I should have done before and after pictures of each room so you could oooh and ahhh over my amazing organizing and rearranging skills. Maybe next time?

Scrumptious new recipe of chocolate goodness:

Warning: If you don’t have the quality of “chocolate self control”, then do NOT make these.

1 Cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

54 Hershey's kisses (9-ounce package), unwrapped

Confectioners' sugar

In large mixer bowl cream butter, granulated sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine flour and cocoa; blend into creamed mixture. Chill dough 1 hour or until firm enough to handle. Heat oven to 375. Mold scant tablespoon of dough around each unwrapped KISS, covering KISS completely. Shape into balls; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost set; cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Roll in confectioners' sugar.

Tried to get a picture of our 2 sickies yesterday with their “Rudolf-the-red-nose-noses” but Kayla wanted nothing to do with it :)

Marisa's is on the far left

Living Like a Foo

January 31, 2010

Cause I’m a Foo…

One day we were talking about how we were going to switch rooms around and rearrange. I told Kayla this was her chance to get her own room. She said she didn’t want her own room because someone may sneak in and kill her. She must think Alayna has some sweet Ninja skills and could protect her should any harm arise. When I asked why she is so worried she blurted out really fast, “Cause I’m a Foo!” She must have comedic timing because it was hilarious and we all just about died laughing (including her.) I’m still not exactly sure what a “foo” is, but she moved downstairs to share a room with Alayna. Now you know why we have see-through shower-liners too!

(Making Valentines)

Keep it secret that I am a teacher:

Apparently this whole month, I have been spelling “Lightning Thief’ wrong. How embarrassing. I should have realized my mistake, but lo, I was so caught up in the beauty and magic of the book, that looking up the correct spelling was impossible. Yep, that’s how it was…and I’m sticking to it!

Story of my life:

Way to go, Kayla (oh you frozen jello you!) on updating your blog! I would say I have to cease and desist with the teenager jokes, BUT one teen did not update her blog which makes her fair game this week (plus its fun cause she is such a good sport). Marisa’s new phrase is “Story of my life” followed by a massive eye roll. She can fit it into almost every situation. We made a secret game this week to see how many times she did it- way too many, so I lost count. The funniest one, though, was when we were at choir and sang this warm up called “Iknow…Iknow, I know, I know”. She looked right at me and said “Story of my life!” Goofball!

The sweet taste of success

Did anyone here my universal scream?? What a relief to have it all done. All my observations were a HUGE success! Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me when I did my jig of joy. Picture, if you will, a leprechaun doing an Irish jig while simultaneously doing the running man and cabbage patch and chanting “I’m done! I’m done! I’m done!!!”

There are still honest people left in the world?

To celebrate, we went as a family to Pancheros for dinner and Cold Stone for dessert (even though it was almost -15 with the wind-chill.) Apparently, while we were eating, a lady hit Bob’s car and almost ripped off the front bumper. (It looks like its hanging by a few threads!) Anyway, I guess she waited in her car for almost an hour trying to figure out who the driver was to give them her information! She could have very easily left and no one would have known. I was so impressed that she honest and actually stayed around to give us her information. Marisa was the one most devastated. It will be her car in a few months- you should have seen her face! (Picture the boy from Home Alone when he put aftershave on)

OCD on Steroids

Then we entered the next phase of our lives which can only be described as OCD on steroids. I am really thinking our kids will need therapy for years to come after living with me. We started on Tyler’s room. It took about 1 ½ days. We rearranged and cleaned every square inch. He is now rocking a pretty spectacular Bionicle display and is LOVING his new Avatar poster he got.

We spent the weekend changing the girls room, not just rearranging but actually exchanging rooms. (Yes, more proof that I am steadily losing it). It made sense to move Kayla and Alayna downstairs since the room is bigger and move Marisa upstairs to the warmer room since on most days she drags herself upstairs for seminary looking like Frosty the Snowman! Everyone is thrilled with the moves (except for my back.) You will HAVE To tune in next week for the great unveil of the girls rooms. For now, you can enjoy the totally awesome boys room.

(A wordle made for Tyler by Kayla)

Ever experienced the “awkward pause” in a situation?

Alayna had her open house at school this week. We had to stand in line to get our scrumptious spaghetti dinner. We were chatting and then there was that long awkward pause when no one has anything entertaining to say, when all of the sudden Marisa made this weird hand gesture and posed. We all stood there staring at her, wondering if we should claim her or pretend we had no idea what family she belonged to. She said that’s the new thing…if there’s an awkward pause, then you make one of the “awkward” signs and it gets the conversation rolling again. So, being the awesome mother that I am, I made them pose for the camera so you can learn what to do should this situation arise. You’re welcome!

(The awkward turtle)

(The awkward turkey)

(The awkward palm tree)

(The awkward snail)

(the awkward baby turtles)

(Last, but not least, my very favorite…the awkward starfish!)

Mom’s Brag Corner: (Although this could be a weekly feature, I will try to refrain from too much of that annoying motherly bragging. But I cant really help it when my kids are so cool!)

*Marisa was once again chosen for the High School Metro Orchestra. It is made up of the top kids from each high school in the CR metro area. They had an amazing concert last night which we taped and hope to get posted on the blog. Man is she getting good! The Brahms piece was my favorite! Her conductor looks exactly like that cartoon conductor with the huge grey curly hair and so animated it was like watching him dance. He was so cool!

*Kayla got the 2 most coveted pages of the year book! She is so excited and has put together some really cool stuff. When it comes out in June I will post them online.

*Tyler finished off the Lightning Thief series. (notice the correct spelling this time!) That kid reads so fast. It’s nice to know someone is inheriting some of my finer traits. I also bought him the “Demigod Files” and “Percy Jackson and The Olympians: the Official Guide”. And he is almost done with those too. Now if I could only made household chores as intriguing…

*As I mentioned earlier, we had Alayna’s open house this week. She is quite the story writer. I am sure her teacher thinks our family is full of psychos. She also auditioned for a singing part and speaking part in her upcoming school musical thingy. I was so proud of her for being so brave. We will let you know when she gets the results.

*Bob and Marisa were the lucky speakers at church today and both did a fantastic job! You need to get a hold of Bob to ask him about the funny joke he started his talk off with!

Raising Teenagers is Like Nailing Jello to a Tree!

Raising teenagers is like nailing Jello to a tree…

But I shall keep hammering away until I succeed. So, if you drive by our house and see a rainbow assortment of jello sliding down our tree, you will know its just me practicing. However, my analogy is ruined because in Iowa the Jello would be frozen and therefore, the difficulty would be obsolete.

You will never guess what we got this week…Ice storm!

I bet you all guessed snow, right? Well, haha, we ended up with an ice storm. School was cancelled and I slept forever. It was heaven (well, my idea of heaven without the chocolate). The kids, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to use the massively sloping ice rink that our driveway has become. I can’t tell you how many times the kids have slipped and fallen on the ice. I am surprised we don’t have any broken bones around here. I heard a great quote on Gilmore girls the other day: “Snow is nothing but annoying icy frozen water stuff that falls out of the sky at inconvenient times”. Amen! Have you ever seen ice covered raspberry bushes? Its quite stunning. If it hadn’t been 95 degrees below zero, I would have ventured outside to capture its beauty. Speaking of things that bedazzle…

Awards that Bedazzle and sparkle:

In staff meeting this week, I was awarded a “bedazzled” coffee mug for winning the staff NWEA tutorial competition. It even has sparkling crowns on it! I Know! I feel so special. I am also currently in 3^rd place in our school fitness challenge. First place is the PE teacher who is young, newly married, and no kids! I firmly believe that amount of children, age, and amount of “issues” people have should be calculated into our totals. I would be winning by a long shot!

Bitten by the “Lightening Thief” bug:

Ok, so here is how the conversation has gone the past 2 weeks. “Mom you HAVE to read Lightening Thief” “Ok, I will!”…Next Day: “Mom, what page are you on?” “I’m on page 1” “Mom! You HAVE to read this book!” Next Day: “Mom, what page are you on?” “I’m on page 2” “Mom! You HAVE to read this book!!” etc. I FINALLY gave in and started reading and now I am totally hooked! Its so exciting and well written and we are SO excited for the movie coming out! If you like an easy read and mythology, this series is totally for you! Should we have a contest to see who can read them all first?

Tyler and the Basketball magnet

I got to go to Tyler’s basketball game yesterday and was amazed at how much he has improved since last year. Getting rebounds is definitely his thing. I also discovered that I am indeed a basketball magnet. I got hit 3 times and had 3 serious near misses! One time the ref said that ball was mine and I should’ve taken it down the court. Now THAT would have been something to see. Those who were fortunate enough to see me in my basketball career are relieved that my camping chair sinks so low that popping out of it, and racing down the court like a lunatic, would have been impossible.

Pure awesomeness:

As I was trying to take a picture of Bob today, I commented that my camera wouldn’t focus correctly. Then Bob matter-of-factly stated, “That’s because cameras can’t capture awesomeness.” Enough said.

Don’t forget to listen for the universal scream of joy:

My pre-observation (along with the 7 page paper that accompanied it) went great on Friday. He will observe me M/T/W and the post-observation is Thursday. If you are lucky I will tape my jig of joy for you and post it. It will come in handy if you are ever sad and need something to mock.

PS-Apology:

I apologize that all newsletters are from my point of view and my point of view only. My descendants keep choosing not to update their blogs. So, I said maybe I will just have to keep doing silly jokes about the challenges of raising teenagers until they do. As you can see, the jokes are still coming your way.

The Lightening Thief with a Chance of Meatballs and Titans?

   

January 17, 2010

“How to tell if you are a real teacher”

Real teachers never sit down without first checking the seat of the chair.

Real teachers know the best end of semester lesson plans can come from Blockbuster.

Real teachers cheer when they hear April 1 does not fall on a school day.

Real teachers have never heard an original excuse.

Real teachers buy Excedrin and Advil at Sam's.

Real teachers hear the heartbeats of crisis; always have time to listen; know they teach students, not subjects; and they are absolutely non-expendable.

I wish people really knew how hard we teachers work. I literally spent 12 hours straight yesterday working on this 3 day observation. Make a point to listen very carefully on January 27 at 1:20 and you will hear my universal scream of relief. Tell me if you hear it!

Children know more than we think they do:

Lately Alayna has not wanted to go to school. I suspect it’s because her awesome teacher will be going on maternity leave soon. The other day I asked her why she doesn’t want to go and she said, “Well, you don’t like to go to school and I don’t ask you what the heck is wrong with you…” Touché my dear, touché!

(Alayna at “Great to be 8”)

Cosmic pinball:

Tyler had his school science musical this week and I got to see the whole thing. It was awesome! He was very animated and dramatic. I am REALLY hoping he tries show choir next year. Hopefully Bob can post some of it that I taped.

The Lightening Thief with a Chance of Meatballs and Titans?

We watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and it was absolutely adorable!! I can’t wait to see it again. I think the kids movies lately have become so awesome! The movie “Up” was wonderful too! How do they keep coming up with such great stuff?

 

Tyler has been whizzing through the “Lightening Thief” series. He sent me to the store to get the rest of the series, but they didn’t have the last book. He is a few pages from finishing the 3^rd one and begs me on a daily basis to read the first one. We just saw the trailer for the movie today and we are TOTALLY stoked. We also saw the trailer for the new “Clash of the Titans” and we are so excited!! Anyone want to go with us?

Electric violin?

Marisa was asked to perform with the high school show choir this week. She got to stand on a box, on the risers, and play an electric violin! How cool is that?? She played for their concert on Thursday night and their big regional show choir competition on Saturday. I heard she was awesome! Wish we had gotten a picture to show you.

Now who’s hogging the art genes?

It’s no secret that I didn’t get any of the art genes. My brother, Jonathan, hogged them all. My students mock me on a daily basis because even my stick people are crooked. Kayla just finished up her art class at school and I was surprised by how awesome her artwork was. I have taken some pictures to show you. I see another emerging artist…

(Kaylas art)

Saturday is a “friend day”, it’s the day we “get out of moms hair” day!

As I said before, I worked 12 hours straight on work stuff. So, I let everyone have a friend or 2 over. Kayla had two friends over. They made brownie bites, “wordles”, and makeovers. Tyler had a friend over and they played computer games and wii. Alayna had a friend over to play barbies, dress up, and hide and go seek. The funniest thing was when Tyler was playing with them and he couldn’t find them anywhere. He was getting really frustrated and then Brie’s mom came over and we couldn’t find the girls anywhere!! After a good 10 minutes, we found them in the garage hiding in Bob’s car. How’s that for a first impression with a mom you have never met before. “Um, I think your kid is here somewhere but I cant find them…” Yikes!

(

(Kayla with friends Katie and Morgan)

(Wordle)

24 starts tonight!!! Woot woot!!!