A Hug A Day

Dear Mrs. S,

I know you are my boys' Kindergarten teacher and I'm sure you have a good reason to keep your lines of students nice and straight while walking through the halls of the school.  But, if their sister tries to give them a hug while they are in line please don't make them feel like they are doing something wrong by hugging her back.  They are only little for such a short time and in a few years they'll be too embarrassed to give each other hugs at school.  Plus, it's been studied and proven that children who get lots of hugs are smarter than those who don't.  So please give them just a second out of line to embrace their sister.  They'll even be better students for you if you do.

Thank you!

Quotables

"I wasn't thinking about anything.  My brain was turned off."

New Hang Out on Hope Street

If you're ever in the neighborhood you might want to check out the newest fav hang out on Hope. It's the Cesar Clubhouse and it is the most happening club on the street!   There's no cover charge although drinks and snacks may be extra because I'm learning when you are the cool place to be you have to have food to eat.

Art Masterpiece

We are in the process of making the Cesar Clubhouse.  This was a last minute decision. As we were watching the landscapers dig the hole for the trampoline, we realized there was a lot of space in that hole that wasn't going to be used so we asked if they could build stairs going down underneath the trampoline.  Our wish was their command and we now have the perfect place for a kid hideaway.  Today we painted the walls.  Since this is a kid clubhouse I let the kids do the painting and I LOVE the way it turned out. 

Here's AJ's baseball player.  He likes to get things right so I got to help him out a little with his painting.  But he colored everything in, chose the colors and told me exactly how to help him.

DJ painted an astronaut going to the sun and other planets too.  As you can tell, his is all original artwork done all by him which makes it one of my favorites.

Isabel wanted a fairytale castle with a princess.  See the long flowing blonde hair coming out of the castle pillar?  That's Isabel.  I think she's trying to be like Rapunzel.

Expressing her dreams through art, Alexandria painted a rockstar singing on the ice.  Love this one since she is making her dreams a reality on a canvas.

 Then they added a few more touches like flowers, a fire breathing dragon, control stations, fish, trees, etc. and TA-DA!  We have a new clubhouse.  The grand opening was a huge success.  If you missed it you'll have to stop by another time.  Oh, and when you come by to check it out you will also see newly set grass.  :)

Upgrading

We had birthdays.  So, we upgraded.  

Isabel finally got a big girl bed.

 And the boys finally got big boy bikes.  They have no problem riding the bike but stopping and starting has taken a little practice.

Apology

To everyone I have neglected this month,

I'm sorry I've been so scatterbrained lately.  Papi is home.  I don't know why but, for some reason when he's here I can't remember anything.  He distracts me in a good way.  Then, every time he comes home we work on some big project so that always clouds my thoughts too.  Whatever the reason for my scatterbrainedness I promise I'll get better soon as he will be leaving again to go play winter ball in a few days and I'll be able to return to my regular routine. (Although he will definitely be missed.)  Thank you for being understanding.  If you are interested here's a few pictures of what we've been working on the past few weeks.

More to come . . .

Witch Fingers

We don't trick or treat on Sunday.  It's not a bad thing we just choose to do other things on that day (like have landscapers working in our backyard but we'll save that for a different post).  So we thought we would get a four for one this year.  We planned a Halloween/birthday party for Isabel, DJ and AJ.  Then it turned out we got to turn it into a five for one because we added Monique's first birthday in there too.  I wish I would have taken more pictures.  What was I thinking?

On the menu for the night?  Mice house pumpkin rice, witch fingers, werewolf brain, vampire teeth, venom dip, little monsters, ghost pops and to wash it all down, fly water.  And then of course all the candy corn you could possibly ever want.  I still have leftover candy corn if anyone wants more.

Even the adults were encouraged to dress up.  Turns out my family (except Fabi, you looked great!) isn't very good at that. :P  But Kristine's. . .they did awesome!  I think we'll Halloween party with them more often.  This is me and my werewolf because we all know I'm a Jacob fan.  And, no it wasn't his brain we ate.  Although, sometimes . . . never mind.  

Activities for the night included pumpkin bowling and mummy wrapping.  Both done with cheap rolls of toilet paper that had little ghost faces drawn on them courtesy of the birthday boys.

 And of course the night wouldn't have been complete without the presents and cakes. 

Thanks everyone for coming to our party.  Hope you had as much fun as we did.  Oh wait, you adults couldn't have because you didn't dress up.  I guess there's always next time Halloween comes around on a Sunday.  Wish the rest of the family could have been here too.  And if you were at our party and have any other pics of the party could you send them to me?  Thanks!

The Smart One

I guess this skinny jean style is coming around to stay for a while.  And while I swore I would never wear them again I'm giving in, big time, as in every new pair of jeans I buy are skinny.  But it took both Papi and I to convince this girl to wear a pair of skinnies.  She really is the smart one in the family because we all know that boot cut jeans are so much more flattering.  Skinny..... are just fun.

And that awful looking yard in the background . . . it's on it's way to an updated makeover too.

October Break

I really need to keep this blog up but now that I've got my macbook I'm starting to enjoy video.  Here's how our October Break went.  It's split into 2 parts because of YouTube's time limit. And if you're only going to watch one of the two, part 2 is better than part 1. 

Part 1 

Want more?  Well, okay. :)

Part 2

As you can tell, the kids had a fabulous time.  I think it was one of those little vacations that they will always remember.

One Tough Girl

This girl has no fear.  Remember the lemon tree post?  Today, we had a little discussion about bad people.  Know what she said?

"I'll just kick them in the butt!"

She's scheduled for a little surgery on Monday to get her tonsils removed.  Hopefully, she'll let this attitude help her to get better quickly.

The Big Day

Well this is why we came home, for this big day, the first day of school.

Alexandria was excited, as usual.  She loves school.  But it was made even more exciting because she got the teacher she had been praying for for the past year and her best friend is in her class too.  It doesn't get any better than that.

DJ is ready for Kindergarten.  He often asks me how to spell words or write letters.  So I was a little surprised when he seemed hesitant when Ms. Paula pulled up that big yellow bus. I think he just got a little shy since she already knew him from when she would pick up Alexandria but he obviously didn't remember her.  Then, I was even more surprised when school was over and he told me, "it was horrible!"  What?  But you were so excited.

AJ, on the other hand could care less about school.  He just wanted to ride the bus and look good doing it. So the night before he set out his pants, his shirt, his socks, his shoes and carefully tucked his underwear into his pants.  Then he stood back and announced, "There, that's how I'm going to look tomorrow." Luckily, I'm pretty sure he hadn't totally understood that the bus was taking him to school because I'm sure if he knew he wouldn't have gotten on.  But he jumped right on the bus and was ready to go.  Then he totally shocked his mom after school when he said, "Know what Mom?  I kind of like that school."

Then Isabel cried because she wanted to go to school too.  She is missing her siblings.  Mom just isn't cool enough for her.

*******

Things I want to remember about my boys before they started their life long pursuit of learning:

DJ

I love how much you love your mom. 

I love your positive attitude and willingness to to make me happy. 

I love how you have figured out that you can do jobs to earn things and when you want something you go after it full force.

AJ

I love that you are my sweet little boy. 

I love that you are very generous and always make sure you share with your brother and sisters so they can be happy.

I love how you act out every single scene from every single movie you watch. Most of the time you are more entertaining than the movie.

In the few short days since school has started I've already seen small changes in my boys.  I know they will only grow more.  I'm excited to see how they'll become but I hope they will always be my little boys.

Missing This . . .

I am missing Japan.  When I was there I couldn't wait to get home to have whole wheat bread and fruit smoothies.  Now that we're home I'm seeking out Japanese noodles and curry rice to make for dinner.  But most of all we're missing him.


Love you Papi!

Japanese Adventure

It began as most of our adventures in Japan begin,

HERE,

waiting for a taxi to take us to the subway station.

The kids had been anticipating this day for two days now and they couldn't wait for it to begin.

We heard there was a beach in Nagoya and we were setting out to find it.  After a 45 minute express train ride that we were charged too much for because of our lack of Japanese communication skills, we arrived at out our destination, Utsumi.  But we had passed through the were middle of Japan farmland and now it looked like we were in a tiny town.  Where was the beach?  Luckily, we noticed that a few other girls getting off the train were wearing swimsuits under their clothes so we followed them on a long, hot walk.

We walked, and walked and walked and walked.

And stopped to get drinks and walked some more.

I think we walked through people's front yards.

I think we walked through people's back yards.

But, of course, we enjoyed the scenery.

And we laughed because we weren't sure if it was adventureness or stupidness that took us on this little adventure with four shorties through an unknown country where we can't speak or read the language.  

We joked about getting lost and having to use the sheet in our bag to sleep on that night because who would we ask how to get back?  And how would we ask it?  Don't get me wrong we do okay but it was still a little crazy.

Wait!  What's that in the distance?  Could it be?  Yes, it is . . . the ocean!!!  We won't be needing the sheet to sleep on, YEA!

Finally, we arrived!  And that ocean water never felt so good.

Ahh, more drinks, food.

We enjoyed that beach until we were one of the only ones left, like around 6pm because everything around here ends early.  We stayed so long they pulled up our umbrellas and took our mats.  But we kept on playing.  Crazy Americans!

The ocean was perfect.  It wasn't too deep so the kids had a great time seeing how far out they could go.

Nobody wanted to leave but unless we really did want to use the sheet in our bag to sleep on that night under the bridge, under the train then we needed to leave so we wouldn't miss the last train which left at . . . oh wait we couldn't figure that out because we didn't know how to say "last".

After finding a fabulous burger joint that served it's hamburgers on rice patties, (delicious, I highly recommend it) we somehow found our way back to the train station.

We even made it before the last train left.  Once again, YEA, we wouldn't have to use the sheet to sleep on that night.

Maybe . . .

Maybe it's the sweet smell of jasmine, magnolias and other flowers that fill the air as you walk by. . .

Maybe it's the yummy food and exotic restaurants. . .

Maybe it's the kids having soooooo much fun with their Papi . . .

Maybe it's the cleanliness of the streets, people taking care of their neighborhood, even the construction is all wrapped up nice . . .

Maybe it's the cool tunnels we get to walk under . . .

Maybe it's how elegant the Japanese look in their kimonos . . .

Maybe it's the taxi's with their white laced interiors, white gloved drivers asking directions in Japanese, "migi deska?"  . . .

Maybe it's the honesty and respect from the Japanese people and knowing that you can walk away from your laptop, leaving it in a public area, go outside for a break and know that it will still be there untouched when you come back . . .

Maybe it's the lights and the excitement of the city. . .

Maybe it's the asian architecture . . .

Maybe it's that the kids can go to the park and play everyday, whenever they want by themselves if they want . . .

Maybe it's the happy Buddah . . .

Maybe it's the pristine condition of the plants and patios on the front door steps of every home . . .

Maybe it's the rich history that dates back thousands of years that we didn't learn anything about in our European centered history classes . . .

Maybe it's the anime art or the cool murals on the side of the buildings . . .

Maybe it's the artistry of reading and writing kanji . . .

Maybe it's the fun shopping centers where all the big haired, brightly make-uped, crazy dressed people hang out . . .

Maybe it's the energy of the baseball games and the cleanliness of Nagoya Dome . . .

Maybe it's that we were here during the rainy season and rainy, cloudy days are my favorite . . .

Or maybe it's that we can do this whenever we want . . . I'll miss this. I'll miss him.

Whatever the reason, I'm not ready to leave Japan.