Christmas Card

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Glass Castle

Has anybody read this book? I just finished it and I have to say, absolutely LOVED it. I liked it even better than the Secret Life of Bees and Cane River combined (and I really loved those books). The best part about this book is that it's a memoir--it's TRUE! This is the life of Jeannette Walls. Amazing. One thing I took away from the book is the resiliance of children--I'm a good Mom, maybe too good...in their extreme parenting philosophy, or maybe utter neglect and dereliction (you can never quite figure out which) the Walls parents made me think that maybe I need to be a little more willing to let my kids make their own mistakes. Anyways, great book, blew me away, you should all read it--as an added bonus, it's a super quick read, for all you moms and workaholics with very little time to yourselves!

"Tagged"

So, I've been "tagged" to post "6 facts about Lia" - here we go:
1) Feet and thumbs gross me out, therefore these might be the first things I notice about you. If you give me someone's name that I know, I can most definitely describe their feet and their thumbs to you in great detail.
2) I talk, laugh, cry and tickle my arm whilst it's held up at a 90 degree angle in my sleep. I freak Ryan out. What's even more freaky is that my sister does it too--genetic?
3) My favorite treat ever is S'mores. It's the only reason I agree to camp, ever. Which leads me to my 4th...
4) I HATE camping. Don't tell Ryan, though I'm sure he already knows, he's just in denial. These are words that come to mind: dirty, cold, ticks, coin showers, public restrooms at 2 AM with a flashlight, boring, unless there's a beach,... So in regards to camping I just have one question: "Why?"
5) I start watching Christmas movies in August...okay, July.
6) And last, but not least, I will leave you with this: I get stage fright in public restrooms. In the dorms in college, I would always turn the faucet on before I went into a stall--everyone knew it was me in there when they walked in to a running faucet. Unless they were a guest, and in their ignorance turned it off, then I would have to wait for them to finish and leave. However, if you too share this same phobia, here's a little trick that I've learned since college: plug your ears. This works for two reasons: one, if someone does walk in the bathroom, you can't really hear, so you hardly know that they are there, and two, if you can't hear yourself pee, then nobody else can either, right?
Hope you enjoyed a little window into my life:) I am going to tag:
Josie
Nancy
Lisa
Sara
And that pretty much comprises my list of blogger friends--it just occurred to me, I need more friends...

Soccer!

Ummm, I'm sorry, but miniature shinguards, cute! Below are some action shots of Kayla at soccer "practice"--quotes because they are all "practices" really. Community center soccer doesn't actually have games. Unfortunately, she believes she will be receiving a shiny trophy at the end of the season, which is why she wanted to play in the first place... How much do you think we'd have to pay Coach Pedro and Coach Katie to participate in a mock pizza party and trophy ceremony at the local pizza joint?

Body Check!

Skills

Shot!

"The Team"

Jack of All Trades, Renaissance man, whatever the term, I married one.

So over Labor Day weekend, the kids and I headed down south to stay with my mom and sisters so that Ryan could remodel the kitchen. As many of you know, my husband is quite handy. In this most recent project he proved that he truly is, as they say, a Jack of All Trades. He did re-wiring for the under cabinet lighting, plumbing for new sink, granite install, dishwasher and microwave install, and everything else you will soon behold. I give you...
BEFORE:



AFTER:

Who knew we were living in such squalor?! I love my new kitchen and appliances that work and actually match eachother. Now can we sell it and get the heck out of San Jose? (Ummmm, no offense to all those whom I have met and love in bless-ed San Ho...I just miss the ocean and my allergies here are debilitating).

"The Little Guys"

We went to a Giants vs. Dodgers baseball game with the kids last weekend. It was their first baseball game and thanks to garlic fries and some treats I packed along, it wasn't terribly painful:) Benson managed to stay contained in our row for 5 whole innings! We took them to the kids size batting field and slides under the Coke bottle and called it a game.
But, my favorite story from their first game came from Kayla. She was intrigued by the whole experience and shortly after arriving Ryan said, "Look down on the field. See those little guys way down there? Those are baseball players." A little while later she began to get antsy insisting that we go "down there" (pointing at the field). We tried many times to explain to her that only baseball players were allowed on the field, when finally she shouted, "But I just wanna go see the little guys!" She thought they were really "little guys", like miniature people! A 4-year old's perception of reality--priceless.



PS: Giants won. However, Ryan was able to convince Kayla that she likes the Blue little guys.

Mrs. Beesley's Busy Bee School

Kayla had her first day of preschool today at Mrs. Beesley's, otherwise known in our household as "The Beez".
This morning in the car:
Kayla: Mom, is this YOUR music on the radio, or MY music?
Me: My music.
Kayla: Can I listen to my music?
Me: Sure, what do you want, Disney CD, Raffi,...?
Kayla: Ummm, Ralphie (Raffi).
She then proceeded to sing each song and comment after the close of each:
"I knew all the words to that one, that was an easy one."
And the kicker, just as we are pulling up to Mrs. Beesley's:
"I can't WAIT to show Mrs. Beesley how I can write my name, she's gonna be SO impressed."
While some may find smarty pants's annoying, I on the contrary am filled with the reassurance that MY little smarty pants is going to make it in this world--and, afterall, what did you expect? She IS her mother's daughter;)

Big Sky

The sky really is bigger in Montana! I don't know how or why, but it is...


Here is Ryan shredding in Montana--just like surfing, he makes it look so effortless! I have to toot his horn a little bit for him, because he is so modest!


Here is Benny driving the boat.


Kayla buried in the rocks by her Uncle CJ.


Boat rides, being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa, cookies for breakfast, the icing on the cake you might ask? Pictures with Belle after the play "Beauty and the Beast" in Bigfork, Montana. Might possibly be the happiest moment of Kayla's life to date!
In addition to relaxing and eating good food, Ryan and I were able to sneak away for a day and go hike in Glacier National Park. It was awesome, here are some pics:






Great trip, but as always, it's nice to be back in our cozy little home:)

Thank You Josie!

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!
My friend Josie had this little gem of a website on her blog and Kayla and I spent at least 20 minutes laughing hysterically at La Cucaracha (sp?)! You should check out her blog--it's equally as hilarious! Thanks Jos for my new favorite hobby!

No more tangles

BEFORE...






...AFTER!

Evolution?

Yesterday Kayla decided to place these pictures she had drawn on the refrigerator...in this order...

Where we've been

Two weekends ago we went up to Lake Shasta with a bunch of Ryan's friends from work. It was super fun--we got to wakeboard and jetski and Kayla swam in the lake for about 4 hours straight!


This is what Benson did most of the time...


Here's Kayla--why's she gotta bite my style?


Just cute. But, what was NOT cute...


...did I mention I got some kind of stomach bug on this trip? Who gets the stomach flu in the middle of the summer?! It felt like morning sickness, and it reminded me how much I hate being pregnant. Love kids, hate pregnancy. The lake was fun anyways and it made us really excited for our trip to Montana in August.


A day after we got home, we left for my Mom's for a family reunion. I don't really know what I was doing, but I know what I wasn't doing--taking pictures. This is pretty much the only picture I got the whole 3 days--Benson and his cuz watching a "choo choo" movie. My mom had some professional photos done of the whole family, so maybe I thought I didn't need to take any pictures...anyways, it was fun and all 13 cousins went ballistic for 3 days.
And now we're home and I've gotta go take Kayla to her first gymnastics class--I'm definitely bringing my camera today!

Big Sur

Kayla was kind of excited about roasting a marshmallow...camping is one of the few occasions we let her eat anything that doesn't occur naturally on earth--that's because we're so earthy. No really, it's because she's "lergic" (as she says) to artificial colors and ingredients. But that's a whole other blog.
Camping was fun--can you tell that I'm lying? Both kids got sick the day we left and I hate getting up in the middle of the night and needing my flashlight to walk down to the bathrooms only to sit on a chilly metal public receptacle and stare up at prehistoric size bugs living on the open-air ceiling. But at least the showers were scorchingly hot, just how I like them. Oh, and Benson got a tick. Now can you tell that I'm lying? However, Ryan, Kayla and Benson had the times of their lives I think, so it's worth it for me to live a few slightly less comfortable days for the sheer joy of kids getting to be dirty and catching parasites 24-7.
I do honestly have to say though, it was absolutely beautiful--the scenery in this photo was so gorgeous it looks super-imposed:



And Kayla had a super fun time with her cousin.




Here's our "setup". We've got a big tent that hooks onto the van to add additional space--we use it to put all of our stuff in so there is space when we pull out the beds in the van. And believe me, without the Westy I would NOT be doing any camping with the little chitlins! I highly recommend picking one up if you're ever thinking of camping...at all...ever. Sleeping in tents is so last season.



So, generally speaking, I would have to say that this is what I think of camping:



But, this is what I think of seeing my husband and kids happy:

Re-cap

Since I haven't blogged in almost a month I thought I'd just share a few highlights!


We went down to my mom's for a few days in May while Ryan went to San Diego to get his Coast Guard license renewed. One of the days we went down to Santa Barbara to see some old friends--this is Kayla and her friend Eli.


We have an annual Memorial Day pancake breakfast and parade at our church--here is Kayla in the parade. Note that instead of turning the pinwheel and letting the air naturally spin it, she has it faced towards herself so she can blow on it--control freak. I don't know anyone like that.


This is Benson's signature TV watching pose--thumb in mouth, legs crossed, and T-shirt rolling between his fingers. Lately he's been obsessed with Curious George. "George" is quite possibly his very first coherent word--although his version sounds a little more like "Chorch".


This is just so you can see how cute and big Benny's getting:) He's number one. He's starting to look like a real kid now that he's getting hair! He will be 18 months old already on Friday!


Here is Kayla holding a piece of crusted poop--just kidding--tee hee hee! It's really a rock. As the weather is getting warmer here in San Ho, we have re-instituted "family hikes"! Last summer we did about 6 different hikes several times over the summer. Ryan really likes to check them off on his map with his little pencil. I just like the exercise and quality family time--but hate the gnats and horse poop--it's a trade off. Back to Kayla and the rocks--she likes to collect rocks on our hikes. By the time we got back to the car all of the pockets on the stroller had been mysteriously loaded up with good sized rocks. Wonder what she was planning to do with all those rocks? When I asked she said, "that's because they're my treasures mom." Obviously.
So, nothing too exciting this month, but I was sick of looking at the YouTube videos from Kayla's birthday that apparently didn't work. Has anyone been able to use YouTube successfully? I'm starting to feel like my mom: Regarding electronics of the 80s i.e. VCR/Stereo/Microwave/Computer/etc. "I don't know how to work this thing".

Kayla's Birthday Party

Here's a video of Kayla's birthday party--I tried to email this to some of you, but I guess YouTube is a bit too complex for me, because none of you can actually view it...am I getting old? Anyhoo, let's see if this works...
This is a disclaimer for "non-relatives" or those who don't LOVE Kayla: These are home movies just like anyone's home movies--they won't be interesting or entertaining to you unless you are blood related. So, watch if you please, but it's not really AFV material.
Oh, and this one is for you Uncle CJ.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

So Ryan came home from work a few weeks ago, took off his jacket and said, "Make sure you wash that in hot water"--he then proceeded to tell me the story about the blood all over his shirt sleeve and inside of his jacket sleeve as well.
Anyone who knows Ryan knows that he is an extremely hard worker and will take any opportunity to go that extra mile. So, pretty much since he has started working at Genentech he has been providing blood draws to them for research just to make a few extra bucks here and there. He goes in once a week in the morning and they draw his blood and he gets some money. The blood demand is a little different each week so sometimes he gives a lot and sometimes he gives a little. So anyways, this particular day after he had gotten his blood drawn the girl didn't put the bandage on tight enough and as he was walking out the door he felt a little trickle...He took his jacket off and blood was just GUSHING out of his arm!

It was when he told me that story that I decided I needed to do a post entirely dedicated to my amazing husband:
This is Ryan's schedule - Alarm sounds at 5:30 AM. Rides bike (before the sun comes up) to his vanpool stop where he proceeds to board a 15-passenger van with 12 other Asian women (this in itself is risky--Asian women driving large van!). An hour and a half later he arrives at work. Then he goes to give blood (if it's Friday). He pencil pushes his morning away and then works out on his lunchbreak. He gets off work at 4:30 and one day a week he goes straight to class until 9:45--arrives home about 10:15 PM then gets to bed around 10:45 and starts the day all over at 5:30 AM. One weekend a month he has class all day Saturday. And one weekend a month he has drill for his Navy Reserve all day Saturday and Sunday. And as if that weren't enough, he fulfills his church calling faithfully, which requires an extra few hours a week. When he is home and not studying or making phone calls for church, he helps with dishes and chores and playing with kids and takes me on dates about every other weekend.
Everything he does is to the end of providing the best that he can for his family, both spiritually and physically. My husband is spectacular!

The True Story of the Ant and the Grasshopper

So, I just got this email from a friend and it made me angry, so I "fashioned" a reply. Here is the email forward that I received:


The Ant and the Grasshopper - the moral of the story

OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

************************************************************
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a
press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp
contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's
sake.
Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the
grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act
retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by
the government.
Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel
of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.
The ant loses the case.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper
finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't
maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug-related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful
neighborhood.
MORAL OF THIS STORY: Be careful how you vote.

If you're as disgusted as I am, by all means, read on to my reply--if you agree with the above text then you will undoubtedly again convince yourself that all it takes to succeed in this country is to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps", so you needn't read on unless you feel like being enlightened. This was my reply:

The Ant and the Grasshopper--an in depth look
You forgot the part in which John Stossel from 20/20 does an investigation that uncovers that what the ant construed as the grasshopper running through the field and "playing all day" was actually picking strawberries while pesticides were poured down overhead so that the ant could enjoy his fruit salad, yogurt and granola every morning for the reasonable price he expected to pay at the supermarket.
The story also left out the minor detail that most of the ants had parents who had educations and made annual salaries well over the poverty line while the grasshoppers parents/grandparents were mostly uneducated and marginalized to undesirable areas of the country where the state of their existence was constantly reinforced by the gunshots they heard at all hours throughout their neighborhoods. The gunshots were also seen as "playing"--the ants thought they were fireworks... The youngest of the grasshoppers once had hope of getting them and their families out of these situations, but then they realized it might be near impossible for them to pass the SAT when they only had a 4th grade reading level and no time to study as they were working late nights trying to help their parents feed their little brothers and sisters while also taking care of their ailing grandparents.
Then Barack Obama meets with several experts and lawmakers to determine that while we can't change this sytematic dichotomy overnight, we can look at our situation through the lens of economic logic in what claims to be a democratic society. A quote from Warren Buffett, 2nd richest ant in the world, in a meeting with Barack Obama:
"The free market's the best mechanism ever devised to put resources to their most efficient and productive use. The government isn't particularly good at that. But the market isn't so good at making sure that the wealth that's produced is being distributed fairly or wisely. Some of that wealth has to be plowed back into education, so that the next generation has a fair chance, and to maintain our infrastructure, and provide some sort of safety net for those who lose out in a market economy. And it just makes sense that those of us who've benefited from the market should pay a bigger share" (Obama, "Audacity of Hope" p 190).
MORAL OF THE STORY: Democracy wasn't built on an "every man for himself" attitude (Capitalism was, but that's another fable). OBAMA 08!

Camping New Brighton

On Saturday we went camping in Santa Cruz--it was the maiden voyage of the "side tent" pictured below:





Here are some highlights:

This was nice because I took this picture from afar--shortly after which I fell asleep in the sun, something I haven't actually done since pre-kid years! It was heavenly.

And of course, the surf lesson. Kayla wasn't quite ready to get in the water, but she was pretty thrilled about the wet suit and having daddy pull her around on the boogie board in the sand!

And so, camping was really fun blaa blaa blaa, but here is the real story...

Late Saturday night Ryan hopped down from the top bunk in the van and grabbed the flashlight--"Raccoons!" he whispered loudly. He opened the van door and the little stinker ran away, but not before he had opened both the lid to our cooler and to our food bin and ravaged the pasta salad, graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, cereal, etc etc. All of it...gone. Ryan immediately (at 2 AM) got out his little broom and dustpan and began to clean up the mess the little rodent had left...what a responsible camper. I would have left it for the birds. I think I dreamt that night about that clever little raccoon on Over the Hedge--or I dreamt about Bruce Willis who plays the VOICE of the clever little raccoon on Over the Hedge... So anyway, now I am on the watch for raccoon proof coolers and tupperware...any tips?

PS: Before I go, one editorial comment about "camping": who said camping has to be dirty? I mean, can't we treat the camp bathrooms as we would treat our bathrooms at home people? We're all friends here on the campground--if you get poop on the seat at home, wouldn't you clean it off? I guess some people who camp really WANT to be dirty... Not I, and I feel it my responsibility to start a clean camping revolution. I just have to find the public "powder keg" as they say...my PERSONAL "powder keg" is obviously the poop on the seat in combination with my 3-year old whom I have to tell that if she touches anything in the public bathroom she'll get germ bugs on her hands and they'll rot and fall off.