Kool it

Go ahead call me a rookie.
Yes, I made and served kool aid to my kids without any sugar.
I thought it was included.
Thanks to a knowledgeable friend, I've been set straight.
>>>Fast Forward a week>>>

I made kool aid again, this time with sugar.
When the powder first touched the water and turned red, I said "Eek, looks like blood."
Note to self: I should not say that out loud and in front of the kids.
With a little encouragement but with some skepticism they tried it.
We liked it so much better. Yes, I had to try it too... first...
Bella & Josh said it tasted like liquid Jell-O.
I guess it does.
It wasn't a family favorite.

I have one pouch left. Grape.
Might be another year before I make it again... I will use this post as reference.

Isabella's Friend

This video was taken on the morning of Bella's preschool holiday performance.
At first she thought it was Friday when she usually has Show & Share, but after I convinced her that it was Wednesday, she decided to only take her friend out for a ride.
Trick was how to get the doll TO the car. (my hands were full.. As usual)
Her friend's name is Hannah, and if you listen closely you might be able to figure out how old she is.
Though it is different on any given day.



Here is the URL in case something goes wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmU939XPwUE

Snow? What snow?

Supposedly there was a "snow storm" on its way here last Friday.
For a second there I thought I would have to run to the store and buy milk and bread.
Oh the horror stories I heard of storms past in NC...
"Did you know that NC has no plows??"
"Last time we had a storm like this, we were stranded for 3 days"
"...There was no food at the grocery store except for dog food!"

Are you people kidding me?

The hype for this storm was incredible. The kids were let out of school early, businesses were shutting down, meals on wheels canceled deliveries to the poor old folks... ALL BEFORE ANYTHING HAD EVEN HIT THE GROUND!!

The weirdest part was that the main roads were treated a whole 2 days before anything was even to come... I wonder if that was effective at all when the 1/10 of an inch finally did fall.

It did get VERY COLD, don't get me wrong. I felt unprepared for my kids without the typical boots and snow pants & gloves. I guess I was naive thinking I would never need them here.

And so, after all was said and done. It did snow, for a whole 10 minutes. Beautiful, big fluffy flakes kind of snow.
Then it sleeted, and then it changed to plain ol' rain.

Needless to say the kids were highly disappointed!

Me, I'm not complaining really. I hate winter, and the "magic" of snow only last about 5 minutes for me.
Never fear little ones,
we'll get our snow fix soon enough.
And probably there will be another "inconvenient" storm to come.Click on Pic to see it bigger.

Isabella's Preschool Christmas Performance

Ok, this video was originally over 5 minutes long. And even though it's hilarious to us, I did not want to be responsible for all the bleeding ears or heads wrapped in duct tape.
(Thanks M&M for being our guinea pigs)

Isabella, our little honorary Osmond, did a FANTASTIC job.
She wasn't shy at all to sing in front of a good sized crowd.
(and obviously neither were some of her little classmates)

At first I was caught by surprise at how terrible the school director sounded... and this is coming from someone with absolutely not a musical bone in her body.
I thought for sure, she was just nervous, and surely she would start sounding better... Unfortunately that was not the case.
The Result:

A serious case of the giggles, and a very shaky recording.

Off course the giggles just got worse once the "four calling birds girl" so eloquently delivered her line.

It was all downhill from there.

By the end of the recording I managed to get a hold of myself and Woo-hoo for Bella's extraordinary performance.

Enjoy!!

Click on Video link below.

From 2009_12_16

Eventful 24 hrs.

Poor Joshua.
Last Friday just wasn't a good day for him.
We went to a friend's house for a play date after school.
2 of the boys decided to play wii while Josh watched nearby.
I am sure you can guess what happened next right?
>>WHACK<<
was all I heard, then a bloody nose to follow.
He was so upset, but after a while he finally calmed down.

Fast Forward to about an hour later...
We decided it was too late to try to cook dinner, so we took the kids to McD's.
Happy meal toys are always fun to toss around, specially since I don't allow my kids to toss the nice ones I buy.
Not fun though, when you toss the toy from a 3 ft. wall and you end up going along with it.
I tried to warn him...
but they never listen do they??
All I saw was
>>WHACK<<
He screamed, and I ran to him.
When he finally looked at me... all bloodied up AGAIN, he said
"I wasn't even ready to lose that tooth mom!"
Tooth?
Crap!
Where did it go?
After a few minutes of search AND rescue, the tooth had been found and Joshua was once again feeling a little better. Poor kid had been bruised and battered all in one night.
Once we got home and he got to see the size of his lip and the obvious gap, he broke down again. I felt really sorry for him.
He felt really sorry for himself too.
I gave him my "Mommy blanket", an ice pack and a movie, and that seemed to make things a little bit better. This picture just doesn't show well enough how huge and instantly black and blue his lip and gums turned.

Early the next morning Josh and I were going to participate in the Chapel Hill Holiday Parade.
I thought for sure he was going to want to stay home, but NOooooo...
He was up, and ready to go.

Fat lip and all.

That's off course from all the excitement over the Bionicle the Tooth Fairy brought him.
(Btw, with 3 teeth under her belt, the tooth fairy is becoming a pro at this.)

Ready to march in the parade.
It was a freakin' cold! 30something degrees when the parade finally started moving.
Even still, Joshua and I had a great time marching with our friends.


(conveniently, some of the tkd moms are also my kickboxing buddies)

Baby Crazy

So for Christmas Isabella requested an "I poop a lot doll".
NOT sure what doll that is, but i have a feeling it must be a baby alive type.

She has been non-stop talking about babies.

It doesn't help that there's about a 1/2 dozen new little ones in our ward, and just about all around us.

Not to mention all the pregnant friends.

She keeps asking if my muffin top will yield any offspring... Sorry kid.. I just ate too many desserts!

Hope this phase runs its course quickly... I'm starting to feel a little insecure here..

Happy Birthday Isabella!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Sweet Heart!
We love you so much and could not imagine our lives without you!

(Click on Collage to enlarge it.)

Josh's First Pack Meeting... So CUTE!

Again, this is part of the "catching up" series...

Here are a few photos of Joshua's first Pack meeting as a Tiger Cub. He had such a great time.
His den is HUGE. There are 20 Tiger cubs, which is WAY too many rowdy 6-7 year old boys!!
So they split the Den into 2 "Teams" which makes everything a whole lot more manageable for the leaders.
During the first meeting the boys were given "The KEY to scouting"

"The key to Scouting is "Scout Spirit." Scout Spirit includes teamwork. It includes fair play and good sportsmanship. It includes that something special that makes Scouts want to be the best they can be at everything they do. This key will unlock the door of achievement, both in scouting and in your everyday life."

The Pack we belong to is associated with the University UM Church in downtown Chapel Hill. So at least once a month we go downtown to "Franklin Street" and have a date. The last time we decided to get ice cream at coldstone. It was sooooooo good, and we both appreciated our little time together.
Joshua is growing up so fast. We're so glad we've had this opportunity to participate in activities exclusively with him. We're making wonderful memories!

Frankie's = Heaven for kids

This is part of my "catching up" effort.
Back in the summer, when it was 100 degrees outside and we were crazy enough to hang out there, the kids were invited to Frankie's for a buddy's birthday party.
It was so much fun, the kids had a great time. Joshua was in heaven.
Really, Frankie's is a first class Chuck E Cheese's on steroids.

The best part about the entire experience for Josh, was that he was finally tall enough (over 48 inches) to drive the go-carts.

He was a very cautious driver, which really didn't surprise me, but he wasn't driving Ms. Daisy either.

Check out his "determined" face :)

He also got to play Lazer Tag for the first time, and off course, LOVED IT.
And since it was such a hot day, the kids had a great time blasting each other with water on the blaster boats.

Duck!

Can you possibly guess why Isabella chose the black and gold boat??
Because of her Daddy's Steelers off course.


The party Animals!

Plus the two partying ladies off course!

*As a little side note, Josh hit a major growth spurt this past summer, and is about as tall as the 3rd graders in his school.
Where does he get his height?? WHO KNOWS!!

"OH NO! THE BLACK BAG OF DOOM!!"

Come over to our place unannounced and you will quickly realize that we've been overtaken by toys.

Sometimes I find (step on) legos EVERYWHERE I go.

Some days it can get pretty bad, and I just feel like tossing everything out the window.

One day I just couldn't take it any more, and decided to get rid of some of the toys.

We did that, but still...

And so one day when I just had it with dodging/tripping over toys, I grabbed a big ol' black garbage bag and started throwing toys into it.

My children FLIPPED OUT!

I was really miffed, but I also felt bad for making them cry and beg for their toys.

It was really a very dramatic scene, as you can imagine.

And so the BLACK BAG OF DOOM was created.

Nowadays, when the place becomes totally trashed with toys, all I have to do is grab the kitchen timer, set it for 15 minutes and announce a "Black bag of doom" cleaning.

At first they panic, then they get a grip and clean to their little hearts content.

There are times when they slack, or decide to play with the toys instead of actually putting it away...

It doesn't last though, 'cause the timer NEVER FAILS. It chimes giving them a 5 minute warning, and that is usually when they freak out grabbing everything in sight trying to "save" their toys.

Sometimes, they can't get to everything...

...And the black bag emerges in it's full glory!

*Insert Evil Laugh

Like a tornado, I run around the apartment grabbing every toy left out of place... The kids run after me trying to save what they can. If I am feeling extra sassy, I even make sound effects...

I laugh, and my poor children cry.

But never fear.
The compassionate mother that I am comes through and saves the day.
After all I try to be as fair as possible you know.
As long as they pick everything up within the allotted time at the next "doom" cleaning, the bag will return a couple of toys.

They are allowed to "rescue" one toy each.

So then they're happy...

...and I am happy the apartment is cleared.

Santa Bella

Funny Bella.

She has such a cool imagination.

Can you tell what she was saying by looking at this picture? :)

I am sure...

She loves to have fun, and I love that about her.

Bath time at our house is NEVER dull.

A Sure Sign of "Getting Older"

Meet Kelly.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago in the Harrisburg Ward she was a beehive.

A tiny cute-as-a-bug little beehive.
And I was her leader.
(A leader? Inspiration? I still wonder about that one :)
In any case, Kelly and I got to become wonderful friends.
In one of our many conversations, which almost always included the topic of boys, she asked that I promise I would someday be at her wedding.
I added to that promise, "Off course I will. No matter where either one of us are!"

Well... My beehive didn't stay a tiny little bee for long. Before I knew it she was off to college.
BYU of all places... I knew then it was only a matter of time.

And at the time, the best advice I could come up with to offer was.
"Date lots and lots of guys and don't go getting engaged."

I'm not sure if that was the wisest advice I've ever given anyone, but I am happy to report that she was NOT engaged at the end of the first semester of school!

And so, the day finally came, when she did become engaged.
He's a lucky fellow I tell ya. Because she is the absolute best!
She has often told me "I want to be like you when I grow up."
It's an incredible honor to have been part of her young life... If she only knew how much I learned from her... How much I want to be like her when I grow up too.

I am so proud of you my little beehive. I wish you only the best in life... You're already on the right track.



YEP! I've taught her well!!!

Our family at the Washington DC Temple grounds. It was one HOT day in August!!

Promoted!

I've been a little bit of a blog slacker recently and wanted to catch up a bit on some of the "events" we've been able to participate and enjoy...
Back in August, Joshua decided at the last minute (with some of Master Kim's influence) that he wanted to test for his yellow stripe in TKD. He did very well. I was impressed with how much he could remember.
He was a little nervous, but the neat thing about Josh is that even though he is usually very shy, in situations like these, he totally rises to the occasion.
The best part about it is that he is absolutely LOVING this experience and being part of this group.
We've been very fortunate to have found such a great studio. The Masters are excellent; super friendly, but also very strict. I like that Master Kim (the owner) gathers his students in the beginning of class and discusses values, and encourages them to become better people.
Great Job Buddy!

Master Park presenting Josh with the new belt.

We are so proud of our little Bruce Lee :)

Master Kim presenting Josh his promotion certificate.
감사합니다
(kamsahamnida
Thank you in Korean)

Isabella's First Day of Preschool

The first day of Preschool FINALLY came! The night before, Isabella's chatter box was on full throttle and she could barely go to sleep. To my surprise she actually had a hard time waking up the next morning, but when she realized it was THE DAY, she jumped right out of bed.

After a quick breakfast she was ready to roll!

She wanted to make sure her hair was "beeuful" and that her dress was perfect.
I picked the dress for her the night before, and she picked the hair-do that morning... I was so glad she didn't want braids, I absolutely stink at them.

In the car she kept saying "I'm FINALLY going to school, I'm FINALLY going to school!!"
Just look at how excited she was... :)

Doesn't she look so sweet & precious?

Walking towards the building she said "Preschool bla bla bla... " I didn't quite catch it at first, so I asked her again and this is what she said...



Well... Let's just say she gave them Fair Warning!!
For me it was a little sad walking away. I gave her a big hug and kiss, and she darted off to play with the other kids and NEVER LOOKED BACK :(

When Dwight and I came to pick her up, this is how we found her...

When she saw us, she got upset and started to cry saying "I want to stay in school, I want to stay here!"
Fortunately we were able to convince her to come back home with a nice little bribe and the fact that everyone else was leaving.

I just hope she keeps this enthusiasm throughout her many more years of school that are surely to come!

Update on the Binky Saga

In anticipation to the Binky Fairy's visit, Isabella could barely sleep that night.

She stalled and stayed up as long as she could. I think she would have stayed up all night if it wasn't for the fact that she was completely exhausted.
She was THRILLED when she woke up and found her reward... this is her account:

Here is the funny thing.
We explained to Bella that the Binky Fairy needed her binky to give it to a new baby somewhere in the world.
She replied with the usual smarty pants comment... "Why can't the babies buy their own binkies? They can go to Target!"
"Well dear child", I explained with my mommy wisdom, trying not to laugh... "Not all babies have the means to buy binkies... that is why we have fairies :)"

She still wasn't too convinced this was all necessary, but went along with it since she would get a reward in the end.

Since the day the binkies were taken away, she has only had one MINOR meltdown.
You see, she thought the binky fairy was only taking ONE binky... I guess I forgot to mention that little detail...
"She took them ALL??" She gasped in horror as she threw herself down on the floor in complete despair.

She got over it though. She still mentions the binkies every once in a while, but only to remind herself what a big girl she is.

We are so proud of her for dumping the binkie and being such a generous little girl.
Even though really no baby will benefit from this sacrifice, Isabella has been a wonderful example to our us of Love, Sacrifice and Resilience.

DWIGHT'S 40!!

So we threw him a party!

Not just any party though, A Steelers themed party!
(What can I say, I'm used to throwing kid's themed parties:)

Thanks to Pearl and Fransiska, again the team was able to achieve this masterpiece :)

All hands were on deck! Even Isabella and Ryan (Pearl's little guy) got to do something...

Like stuffing the football pinata :)

We all had a great time, even with the threat of rain. The food was awesome, the music was great, and the company the absolute best!

As the evening went on, the rain did finally come. Fortunately we had put up a canopy which gave us a little bit of shelter. Even still we were all totally wet, either from the rain or the pool but had a great time.

This is Dwight recreating the moment he blew out the candles... my camera was a little slow catching the moment.
I love the kids' faces... they're like Whatta?
(Bella totally blew out his candles the first time around too)

Speech!

Dwight was so thankful for all the friends and family that helped him celebrate his 40th. He was sincerely touched. We never thought we would have the opportunity to celebrate with so many great friends here in NC so soon after moving here. It really meant a lot to him.

After cake, it started to rain pretty good, and the kids couldn't wait to whack the pinata!

It got a bit crazy, but everyone ended up with a lot of loot!

At home, Dwight was still trying to take it all in and the fact that he will get to go to Pittsburgh and watch his favorite team play right in front of him from the 40 yard line row "C"! That's right.. in the middle of all that madness. It's a dream come true for him, I just hope I have a jacket warm enough to handle 10 below weather in December in an outdoor stadium.

LUCKY... Blessed.