06.05.08
Talent Show
Here’s Emma and her friend McLean in their school’s talent show on June 5th.
06.13.07
Instead of Sleeping - Angela Rhymin!
Dinara has a video camera. As a parent, I can tell you that I am often a bit “afraid” of what I might find she has recorded on there. We have several “funny” videos we can share. Let’s just say Dinara has personality PLUS!
This clip of “Angela Rhymin’” is one of the video prizes we found on the camera after it was confescated in a post bedtime raid. Dinara was supposed to be trying to go to sleep, but why sleep when you can PERFORM!!!
11.05.06
Cuteness
Dinara and Noah found the “video-record” on her digital camera. I thought I would share the cuteness even though the sound doesn’t seem to be syncing correctly.
05.27.06
Technology Realization
Dinner table discussion: Did you or daddy ever make prank phone calls?
Our answer: Yes.
All the kids excited talked about how THEY would execute their first prank call.
We pointed out there was no such thing as Caller ID in our day.
Everyone agreed that this technology would remove a lot of the fun.
01.11.06
Girly Handwriting
Emma and Noah are making a birthday card for a party we have to go to this afternoon. Both of them are really into crafting. Anyway… I just heard Emma give Noah the explanation of why he should use circles at the top of his “i’s” because the dot is too hard to see otherwise.
Noah’s response: But Emma - circle’s make my ‘i’s’ look girlish!
12.27.05
Burning motherhood questions…
How long is it exactly before an eight year old gets tired of practicing on her new guitar?
Just wondering.
12.24.05
Almost blew it…
This morning started very early for me. I heard some jumping around downstairs and it woke me up. My mind immediately went to two things: 1. It’s Christmas Eve and the kids are going to be so excited…that must be what I’m hearing! And then 2. Oh crap! John put the toys I was wrapping last night away and then turned off all the lights while I was on the computer but left the excel spreadsheet of “who gets what” on the couch!! Because it was dark, I forgot to put it away. And all my kids are readers now…. YIKES! I swear to you, I jumped out of bed and practically ran down the stairs. Lucky for me, only Noah was up and he was jumping in the playroom. (It honestly sounded like the whole freakin’ neighborhood was in my house!) Turns out he took all the pillows off the couch and was dive-bombing into the middle of them.
So with that adrenaline rush… I was awake.
Later when Emma came down and I was telling her what happened, she was lamenting the fact that she was sorry that she didn’t get downstairs first to see the list. Which gave me an opportunity to tell her how devastated I would have been if she had found it. I told her if she had found that list, I would have cried. That I spend countless hours picking out the perfect toys, wrapping them, decorating the house, planning a menu, doing all the shopping, making sure everyone is equal, making everything beautiful and wonderful for them. And although she would have had great joy at finding the forbidden list… it would have hurt my feelings to know that all my hard work was for naught. That she wouldn’t have any surprises for Christmas. I explained to her that her joy is what excites ME about Christmas. That her childlike excitement would have been nonexistent on Christmas if she didn’t have all the surprises. It would have been horrible to have that robbed of that experience.
It was a good talk. It was one of those talks I hope “sinks in” so next year when she’s searching for presents she will stop and think again about snooping. But I think it’s much more likely that she will simply decide to not get CAUGHT snooping. That is how she will choose to protect her mother’s joy.
12.16.05
Emma’s Sanibel Story
Emma is into writing stories lately. She’s quite good. She wrote this very involved story about a dog named Sanibel and her four kids. Problem is… she named each of the puppies the following:
Sanibel Jr.
Sanibel Jr. Jr.
Sanibel Jr. Jr. Jr.
Sanibel Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr.
Her father suggested to her this morning that perhaps the story would be easier to follow if she chose different names for the puppies. She laughed and then told her father that Sanibel is in fact psychotic in this story and it’s crucial to the plot that all the dogs be named Sanibel. Her father then agreed that then naming all the dogs Sanibel was a good idea.
Well – ok then. I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what psychotic meant when I was 8 years old. I’m not sure if I should be proud or very afraid!
12.13.05
Our Holiday Message
Kym “doctored up” the holiday cards this year to convey our philosophy of trying to savor every moment and make each moment the best possible! We hope you and yours have a very blessed holiday season and a fantastic new year filled with many moments that take your breath away!
Take a look around and be sure to read our Christmas Letter to you here.
12.12.05
20 Holiday Questions: John
When asked which he preferred, John responded:
1. Hot Chocolate or Tea
2. Chocolate or Vanilla
3. Salsa and Chips or Fruit Bowl
4. Blue or Purple?
5. Christmas or Halloween?
6. Puppies or Kittens?
7. Board Games or Computer Games?
8. Hot Dog or Hamburger
9. Comedy or Drama
10. With or Without Nuts
11. Hot weather or Cold weather?
12. Mild or Spicy?
13. Bike Riding or Roller Blading?
14. Cautious or Carefree?
15. Alone or in a Group?
16. Shower or Bath
17. Books or Magazines
18. Spongebob or The Amazing Race
19. Early Bird or Night Owl?
20. Christmas Cookies and Pumpkin Pie