This week, thus far

Monday:  Trailblazers game with the family, friends and a large portion of Jason's company.  Oh, and I "explained" (my friend Dave used the words "told off"---to each his own) to a drunk guy in the row in front of us that he was being a real jerk. I helped him understand the difference between being a good fan and a poor sport.  I also told him to quit acting like a child and grow up.  Did I mention this all happened before the end of the 1st quarter?

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Tuesday: Ansen was the super speller in his class. He scored 100% on his spelling test AND did amazing on his fluency test.

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Wednesday:  Braley finished all her homework without being asked and then read to her brother for 45 minutes.  The kids and I also made candy lei's for their teachers as Happy Birthday's (Braley and Ansen's teacher's) and a goodbye gift for Kahau's favorite teacher, Ms. Rice.

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Thursday:  Speaking of Ms. Rice. Today is her last day.  She is moving....to Abu Dhabi.  No, for real. I didn't believe Kahau at first but yep, it's the truth. She is going to teach and dabble in camel racing. How seriously cool is that?  Kahau is bummed but Ms. Rice is going to find Kahau a cool e-mail buddy.

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Thursday (part2): Jason is going in for his MRI today.  I am not sure how that is going to go.  He's claustrophobic.  An hour in a tube might be about 59 minutes and 59 seconds too long for him.  Wish him luck.  After his MRI he heads over for his sleep study.  They are making him go to bed by 9:30 pm. Iiiiiiiiiii don't see that happening.  Then again, maybe it will since he will probably be exhausted from worrying through his MRI. We'll see.

No pictures yet.  Some to come.  I don't know when so just sit back, relax and check in with me later.

Tootles!

I'll admit, I swore

I swore that I would never have a gaming system in my house. I swore they were idiot boxes and time wasters (Internet, TV, teen romance novels anyone??).  I swore that my kids would not become gaming drones with controls glued to their hands.  I swore I would never, ever....ever change my mind. 

And then my eyes were opened jussssst a little.

And now we have one of these:

In my pathetic defense we did not go buy it from the store. It practically fell in our laps. We have friends who are trying to make me fun.  And to be honest it is fun.  We set it up tonight and all had fun playing together.  Things got a little competitive.  Not between the kids but between the non-kids. This could get interesting.

Unfortunately the kids are not allowed to use it during the week, or if their rooms are dirty or even if they look at one of their superiors (*ahem* me) funny.  Their superiors (me again) are hoping to hold it over their pretty little heads in order to get their homework done and chores completed.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime I will do my best to keep my swearing to a minimum.

Let's talk about Jamjam

 True that she left us and moved to New Z.  True that we miss her especially when naps need to be taken (above), fireworks need to be watched (below),

 games need to be played,

 and fun needs to be had.

Love her and miss her tons!

2 years ago

This is us two years ago (technically 3 Christmas' ago) enjoying each other at Walt Disney World.  It was a crazy time for us and this break is what our family needed.  We took along a wonderful nanny (good friend of ours) and she snapped this picture. Today is the 1st time I have seen it.

Look how little my babies are!

It's fun to find stuff like this.

Dinnertime warfare

 Every night my kids fight at dinner.  They fight about portions.  It drives me crazy! I just want to sit and enjoy our meal but instead everyone seems to have an opinion of my skills at putting vegetables on their plates. When it comes to brussel sprouts and broccoli the fighting gets close to physical.  It's madness I tell you, madness.

"Her portion is bigger!" complains the only boy.

"I need more I am a growing girl" whines my whiny one.

"This is brain food and you are giving me that small of a portion?" says the one who wants it all to herself.

There are never enough sprouts or broc on the table.  Ever.  Last week I thought I was being slick and made 2 full packages of sprouts and a lot of broccoli for the same meal.  I had my lecture all prepared about eating everything you are given and not wasting fresh food.  I didn't get to give my lecture.  They ate it....all.  Every last bit.

So I will continue to fill them full of greens and be thankful that they love~love~love eating what is good and healthy for them.

 Tonight I am adding artichoke into the mix to see what the kiddos think.  I am guessing it will be a split vote just like asparagus is at our house.

For the record I introduced my kids to Twinkies last week.  Honestly it was kind of embarrassing to be standing in the grocery store and asking my kids if they would like to try one and their responses being "those are real?!?!?!?"  They honestly thought Twinkies were a pretend food that people used on t.v.

I think I am failing as a parent.

Let's talk about Braley

 I swear this girl has music running through her head all the time.  And when there's music there is dancing.  Braley decided to follow her path and take a dance class instead of play basketball like her siblings.  She is taking a hip hop jazz class and she is loving it!

 Jason took Braley to buy dance shoes and the girl came home with PINK ballet slippers.  Thank goodness ballet slippers were on the approved list for footwear.  She plays the songs from the dances she is learning over and over and over...and over.

 Everyday I get questions like "what do you think my dance costume will look like?"  "Do you think my costume with have sequins?"  "I think my costume will be hot pink, don't you?"  I think she is excited about wearing a costume.  Shocker!

Love this girl!

Let's talk about Ansen

 Or Spud Webb as I have been calling him the past day.  Yesterday Ansen too had his first basketball game of the season.  It was a riot!  First off, the boy was so hard to find in a crowd because he was so little. I thought that would be a major disadvantage.  Not so.  I forgot to take into account how quick he was and that he can actually dribble the ball.

 While 80% of the other players (5 & 6 year olds) were traveling down the court without bouncing the ball once Ansen made sure to use his skills wisely.  Anytime he could he made himself open and he did a great job.

 He was in everybody's faces on defense and the other kids were not sure what to make of it.  He didn't want anyone from the other team to score and his hands were up and he was doing his very best.  Yesterday was a double header and so he was running around for 2 hours.  I know he loved every second.

Love this boy!

Let's talk about Kahau

 Today was Kahau's 1st basketball game.  She was up at the crack of dawn ready to hit the court.  Too bad her game wasn't til noon.  When she hit the court she was a little timid until the best girl on the other team was on her.  That kicked my girl into competitive mode and then her arms were out and her feet were movin'!

 Kahau is playing with her bestie Brakelle and the two of them did so well.  I couldn't be more excited for this upcoming season.

Love this girl!

Family room: take 24

 It's been a while ya?  December was the month of resting from the family room renovation.  And it was nice.  But it's January and we are back to finishing this up.   Jason and our good friend Ben worked hard, very hard and got the walls and ceiling up in 3 days.

 We are so excited.  Just a few things left to do.  I have our carpet all picked out and now I need to find a paint as well.  Eeeeekkkk!  I'm so excited.

Until next time.

Let's talk about me

I am one of my favorite subjects. Just kidding.

I may not be my favorite subject but we are going to talk about me anyway cause I had a few realizations this week.

1.  I am way too passive.  Really.  I seem to think that if I say something like "I'd really like to xyz" that people understand I am saying "I want xzy."  Nope.  Instead people think "hmmmmm, that's nice that she'd like xyz but I am sure it's no biggie if she doesn't get it."  Fact is I am easy-going and need to be a little more straight forward.

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2.  I look better with shorter hair.  I lopped my locks off this week and all I have heard is "you look younger!"  (which is great.)  I am a serial ponytail-ist and so now it is pretty much impossible to get it back.  While I mourn the loss of my ponytail I welcome actually having to comb my hair everyday like most people do-sorry bald people.

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3. Middle schooler's aren't awful.  In fact they can be pretty fun.  For the past two days I have been teaching all the PE classes. That's 6 classes of zumba a day, so 12 over the past two.  I admit I was nervous that they would stand there with their arms folded staring at me but THANKFULLY they danced!  Even the boys. (read: most boys. There was most def a handful just stood there looking bored and angry that they were being subjected to dancing but that way prob at 5% of each class, not to shabby).  I was even more afraid of totally embarrassing my 6th grader but all doubt left when, as she was walking out of her PE class, I heard a large group of kids say, "Kahau I wish my mom was as fun as yours."  Whew.  That's right-I'm fun.  Don't forget that.

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4.  My feet and knees don't love 12 fitness classes in 2 days.  However, my metabolism does.  I feel like I could eat a horse but I am trying to be good.  But let's be serious.  I ate like 10 cookies after I finished today.  So there.

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There.  I am done talking about me. Feel free to talk about me if you'd like but please be kind!

Oregon vs. Wisconsin

 Jason has a friend, who has a friend WHO had access to Rose Bowl tickets. We (read: He) could not let that opportunity go to waste.   And who better to share the game with then your very own Dad who, for the better part of his life has been a Beavers-not a Ducks-fan BUT who has learn to appreciate the Ducks and their program nonetheless.

 Jason and Dad flew down on a early flight to the Burbank, hopped in a rental car and hustled over to the stadium to a sea of yellow (ducks) and red (badgers).  They were so fortunate to have wonderful weather. Look at the pic!  Not a cloud in the sky.  It was actually in the high 80's and they were warm!

 Because it was so warm they took a little break from the sun and ducked (ha, ha get it?) into one of the many tunnels to enjoy a bite before the game.

 A hour before game time.

 OOOOOOooooooOOoooooOOOOOOOO!

 Here they come...

 Look at those helmets.  They sure were manly.  The original plan was to be in all black uniforms but because the weather was so warm they opted for the green.  Good call coach, good call.

 The boys.

 Jason said this fly by was really cool.  According to him you could not hear the plane until it was right on top of you.

 I guess the stadium was about 65% red.  Look at all those fans.

Crazy.

 The game was close all the way through from the very start.

 Jason and Dad sat next to the kicker's family (Maldonado) and really enjoyed talking to them and also getting to talk to another former player.  How fun is that?

 Oregon WON!

2012 Rose Bowl.

A game to remember.