Merry Merry : Recap

I totally stole this layout idea from Ali Edwards . She's a graphic designer scrapbook diva extraordinaire. I want to grow up to be just like her. (Which is impossible because she's white and thin and organized and perfect.) These are most of the Christmas cards we got this year. This way I get to cherish the cards instead of recycle or put them in a corner of a box somewhere.

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone so quickly. Matt's parents were here and then they were gone. They arrived on the 13th of December, about a week and a half before Henry got released for winter break and left on the 27th of December.

It was so nice to have them here. They made the holiday seems so much brighter and easier to deal with. The boys absolutely loved having them here. Mum came with me and Henry to class on 3 separate occasions. On the first Thursday of their holiday here, she came on a "regular" workday and helped the kids make Christmas candles. Then on Friday, Grandad joined us for a production of Elves and the Shoemaker at Cabrillo College. The kids really enjoyed it. Henry wanted to see it again. It was kinda hard explaining to him that we couldn't Tivo a live performance!!

On Sunday the 18th of December we went on the Christmas Train in Santa Cruz. It was so much fun! It started at Neptune's Kingdom at the Boardwalk then went all around Santa Cruz. At first there was a worry because it had been miserable and rainy. But, thankfully it stayed dry. Even if it did rain, it would have been o.k. because they had covered the open air cars with see-thru plastic and lights.

We all enjoyed ourselves. We drank free hot cider and sang songs.Santa Clause came on the train and made a visit. Even the porta-potty car (which after all the cider, Henry had to "try out" naturally) was decorated in lights. Sam was too mesmerized to speak. He just stared out the window happily. He loves trains so much. Everything is Thomas to him. Unfortunately Cindy (who arranged the whole ride) had to sit this one out because little C.J. had the sniffles. Even though we had to wait almost an hour for the train to arrive, they charged 3 dollars for 50 cents worth of popcorn, and they guy with the guitar kept messing up which song to sing, it was definately worth it. We'll surely do this again.

On the 20th Henry and his class had a Cookie Party at the Prebyterian Church near downtown Watsonville. Mum and I came along to help make cookies and take pictures. I wish my kitchen was a big as that one! Henry being a rough and tumble boy wasn't as "into" making cookies as I would have liked. He and Braelan put on an apron, did their regulatory 2 cookies, and then went back outside to play.

This was also the first year we decided to do a Gingerbread House. I bought the kit at Micheals and it said "easy to assemble" Ha ha! I was just glad Mum was here to help. You get these pieces of gingerbread, and the instructions say you need to use the icing to glue them together. You need more than just icing! You need an extra set of hands and some cans of Spam to hold the sucker together! It took us a couple of hours and a lot of patience but, we finished it. The boys helped decorate it. I have a new respect for bakers or anyone who has to write with icing. It's not easy! In the end, much to Matt and Dad's chagrin, I think it turned we did a good job! A few days later, we watched The Gingerbread House Competition on the Food Network. Apparently, it's a pretty big thing in North Carolina! I was amazed at what some of those competitors made and what they used. Who would have thought that a piece of PVC pipe could be used for a Gingerbread theater mold! Our house wasn't quite as good as the nine year old who placed third in the competition with his Reindeer Runway but, it was still fun to do. I can understand why people would get sort of addicted to doing this but, I'm not even sure if I'll be able to do it by myself next year!

On Christmas Eve Henry kept asking when it would be dark so he could go to bed. He wanted to go to bed right after dinner. We kept him up till a respectable hour and he luckily he didn't wake up till 7:30 in the a.m. We sent him downstairs first to check if Santa came and I'll never forget the pitter patter of his feet as he ran up the stairs and said "He camed! Santa camed!". For Henry it was all about the video games, specifically Mario Party 7 . For Sam it was a very Thomas Christmas. The Thomas Aquadoodle was a big hit! It's really quite ingenious. All you need is water. There is this track stamp you use to make a track with the water, then you turn Thomas on and he just drives along the track on his own. Henry also got Mario Dance Dance Revolution complete with a dance pad and even a calorie counter for those mommies like me who are resolving to be smaller next year!

Christmas was one of my days off in the kitchen. Matt cooked the turkey and his mom did all the fixings and sides. The only thing I had to worry about was the table setting and dessert. Cindy, Mary, Cindy's mom Ruth, Lilly, and C.J. came over for a festive dinner. Cindy made these tasty little appetizer cups using turkey slices, spinach, onion and cream cheese. We started out with wine and the tradition of popping Christmas crackers. Dinner was perfect. Matt's turkey was moist and the veggies were cooked perfectly. This was also my first attempt at making Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding (think bread soaked in lots of chocolate, butter and cream). It was a hit as was Mum's Christmas Pudding (with brandy butter) that flew here with her on the plane! A lot of pictures were taken. Henry and Lilly kissed under the tree. It was a great night overall.

It's hard to believe that two weeks passed so quickly. The old adage is true: time sure does FLY when you're having fun!! I loved what Henry kept saying most of all, "This is the best Christmas ever!"

Blink of an Eye

Sad to report some terrible news. Betty Peck, a teacher at Valencia Elementary died last night of an apparent brain anuryseum. From what I gather it was sudden and on the last day of school before vacation. The Valencia School community is undoubtably shaken. I was only at Valencia for two years but, they were busy and wonderful and memorable. I enjoyed working for that staff. Betty was a great teacher. She was very organized and on the ball. She will be missed. My heart goes out to her husband Bill (retired Watsonville High Teacher) and her sons. How scary too. In the blink of an eye...

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Ah...the craziness of Christmas! Can you feel it? Mum and Dad will be here next week. I should be cleaning but, I'm procastinating and blogging instead. LOL. Hope eveyones Turkey Day was a.o.k. Matt cooked the turkey to perfection as usual. My sister even made some awesome Leftover Turkey Fried Rice! Henry ate turkey as long as it was swimming in gravy. Sam, naturally, didn't. We'll see if we can get him to eat some when Grandma is here. Fingers crossed.

Charlotte and I partook of the Black Friday Madness , like we do every year. For those shopping impaired (or from another country) Black Friday is traditionally the day after Thanksgiving when all the shops open really really early (think before the sun) with super cheap deals on stuff from Christmas and gifts. Unfortunately, our first stop, Circuit City was a totally fruitless event. We got there a little before 5 a.m. and the line was almost to the street! Fifteen minutes after we got in, in the midst of the chaos and the grabbing, the computer system went down! In a computer/technology store, the computer goes down!. They had to manually call in every single credit card transaction. Every single one. Now, how many people do you know carry cash on hand??? Charlotte stood in line for at least an hour. (I had to leave her, I went to Toys-R-Us next door to do some important work for Santa.) All for a few CDs and DVDs. They didn't even lower the price of all their CDs (which they usually do). Sis and I plan on NOT going there next year. We also went to Gottchalks, Beverly's, and Target after. At least we got over the "bad" shopping first - so everything seemed pretty tame to us.

One of the things I went sort of ga-ga over, this past shopping weekends has been fleece! Thanks to Cindy, I found a way to make blankets without sewing them! You buy two pieces of fleece and cut strips around each piece. Then you tie the strips together. I made a train blanket for Sam and a Darth Vader blanket for Henry. I keep waiting for them to unravel, but so far they haven't! I made one for a couple new parents that I know too and Charlotte wants me to make one for her too. I have gotten so fleece crazy Matt had to give me a small fleece intervention and told me to stop buying so much!

If you haven't already noticed, we also go a new couch! No eating or drinking on this one - sorry! It's a tough rule, but we've stuck to it so far. It's an end of an era for us. We had those ugly yellow couches since Mom and Dad were alive...
We put the tree up this weekend. Our old fake one was looking a bit worse for wear so we got a new fake one. (Someday, I'd like to get a real one again.) It was much easier to put up. Plus, the lights are already in it! All we had to do was plug it in. I think it looks really good! The boys helped me put the ornaments on the tree. Henry did a great job. Sam mostly "helped" by taking his favorite ornaments and either playing with them or leaving them on the floor! Thanks to him, the brand new C-3PO ornament now has missing shins! Seriously, he's completely broken at the kneecaps! He and R-2 are now the same height!

Henry also picked out our new door wreath too this weekend. At least it's real. It's made of eucalyptys and dried flowers. It smells really good. I almost don't want it outside!

Now, I know I have caused a lot of mothers to cry because of my last post. I'm sorry. I think I owe you at least an update on how Henry is doing. Henry, of course, has pretty much bounced back from all this happy. He and Braelan still hang out a lot at school but, now they are the Three Muskateers with Marcus Chavez. Watonka, Braelan's mom just had their baby - another boy named Skylar. I think the imminent arrival of his sibling was causing Braelan to act out towards Henry a little because now he's back to being nice to him. We even had a play date (Braelan's parents idea) last week at McDonalds.

Henry is so good at just getting over things. I wish I was like that. I'm still very wary of Henry being with Braelan. I still try and remind him that he can do other things and be with other people . Most of all, we just continue to remind him everyday that he is a great kid with a big heart. He's so excited for Christmas. The other day he said, out of nowhere, "I've been good so that means I'm getting LOTS of presents!"

Well, I better get to what I'm supposed to be doing -- finishing Christmas Cards, Cleaning, Laundry etc. Later.

I'll Fix You (A ballad for a broken Friendship)

There's this song on the latest Coldplay album called Fix You . It's so simple and affecting that it makes me want to cry every time I hear it.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you canÂ’t replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try
To fix you....

Today, more than most days, that song resonated within me. Because today I saw my son's heart break.

I had this seen that this was going to happen in the last few weeks. Part of me hates myself right now for not doing anything, but, then part of me wasn't quite sure what to do. Let me explain.

Pretty much from the first week of school, Henry became really really close to this one kid named*Bn. To say there were inseparable would be putting it mildly. They bonded because they were pretty much the only kids who didn't go to Linscott Pre-school or didn't have an older sibling at Linscott already plus, they both loved Star Wars. They were constantly asking to have a playdate or go to lunch together. They were really really happy with each other. I'm not romantisizing this, they really were. I'd see them in circle and*Bn would put his arm around Henry. At recess they would go run around the playground just the two of them making up games. They made up a game called Castle Adventure with their own rules. They were in a world of their own. They were happy.

A few weeks ago, the teacher, Odile was talking to us at session and she talked about friendships. She warned me then, that things would change eventually. She said that Henry, being one of the younger kids in class just wasn't at the same emotional developmental level as*Bn. She didn't say it directly at me but, explained that kids friendships change at this age and that feelings will get hurt . Maybe I should have started to prepare Henry for the inevitable then. Maybe I should have told him to lay-off. I don't know... They were just so close and Henry is such a great kid I guess I was denial. I guess I didn't want to believe that anyone would not want to hang out with my Henry.

Well, for the last few days now, whenever I picked up Henry from school, Henry was quiet. I'd ask him if something was wrong and he'd say "no" so I didn't pry though, I knew deep down, there was something. Then, a few days ago, I noticed Henry desperately saying goodbye to his friend and*Bn just sort of ignoring him and looking away. Then today my fears came to full light

It was my regularly scheduled workday in the class room. It was recess and as usual Henry and*Bn were running around in the playground. But, about halfway through recess, Kristin, who sits at Henry's home table came up to us (me, Odile and Tracy another parent) and told us that*Bn wasn't being nice to Henry. I thought they were o.k. at first. But, it turns out that Henry wasn't running with*Bn he was running after him. He was trying to get his friend, the guy he had spent 20 plus recesses with, to play with him again.

Turns out,*Bn was now "with" this other kid Marcus Chavez. They were really the ones playing together. They were running away from Henry. They were actively excluding him. And it made me so sad to watch Henry trying to run after them. The teacher and I talked to Henry and tried to explain to him that*Bn just wasn't in the mood to play with him today. And at first he seemed o.k. He played around for the rest of the recess but, when recess was over that's when it happened. It's one of those moments that I will never forget as long as I live.

Odile called all the kids to get in line. Henry tried to get his usual spot behind*Bn and I saw*Bn push him away and tell Henry that Marcus was there now. And I watched as Henry started to walk to the back of the line, he put his hands to his face, and he started to cry.

At that point, I went to my boy, picked him up and carried him. I was glad I was there for him but, I was also so angry inside - like a tigress protecting her cub angry. It took everything within me not to just throttle that kid for hurting my boy so bad. Seriously. I was shaking inside.

We got through the rest of the day o.k. Henry sat with me at the library after recess and he was still kinda crying. At circle time, he didn't sit with*Bn but, I noticed him watching him. *Bn did show some concern. He asked me why Henry was crying and I told him that Henry was hurt but, that it was o.k for*Bn to have other friends. (Though, deep down inside, I wanted to go all banshee on that kid. I wanted to tell him, "He's crying because you hurt him. It's you're fault! You made my boy love you and then you stomped all over his heart. It's your fault!!")

Thankfully, when we got home there was a message from Caroline asking to see if Henry wanted to play with her son Kahler. Henry's known Kahler since they were 11 months old. We've been playing phone tag for weeks! Caroline took them to the park and Henry played the rest of the afternoon with his good friend.

Today also happened to be our Parent-Teacher Conference day. After Henry left with Caroline and Kahler, Matt came home for lunch and we got ready to go to the Parent-Teacher Conference. I told Matt what happened today, and I started to cry. I tried to cry it all out but, as soon as we got into the classroom and Odile brought it up. I started to cry again. She reiterated what she said that this is just a developmental thing. That*Bn is almost 6 and is ready to explore new friendships. That this is all a part of Kindergarten, of social learning..That Henry will get over this. She said that*Bn has actually dealt with this better than some kids. He hasn't been physically or emotionally abusive to Henry at all. She said that*Bn is having a hard time too because he likes Henry, Henry is still his friend, but, he just want to have more socialinteractionn than just Henry. And I know she's right. And I know he will be o.k. But, it still hurt, and what worse is I don't know how long it's still going to hurt Henry. I don't want this to stick with him. I don't want it to scar him. I hope it won't

On the good side of this, Odile said Henry is very bright and is excelling in school. He's one of two kids in the entire class who has successfully completed all the homework so far. She said that Henry's reading ability just "blew her away." He just whizzes through the books without even having to sound out the words! He's needs a little help with phonics but, other than that he's progressing very well. He is an amazing creative kid who draws elaborate pictures during journal time. Our kids is great!

I have so many feelings going through me right now. I don't know if the answer that kids are just developing is enough of an answer for me. I don't know. It's just not fair! I feel like Henry got gipped. It seems to me like*Bn has the tendency to sort of glom onto one person and treat that person like they are the world. He did this to Henry. He made himself Henry's world and then in a blink of an eye he took Henry's world away. I don't think that's fair. Part of me wants to tell Henry to never talk to that boy again for fear that he will hurt him again. I give*Bn rides to school on Monday and part of me just want to tell his parents I don't want to pick him up anymore. But, that just wouldn't be right. It's just so hard to watch Henry get hurt and to not be able to fix it . He's always been such a happy kid and to see someone who is naturally happy and excited about life get totaled like that, to see my child get totaled like that makes me rage inside. Don't worry, I'm not letting Henry see all this. He hasn't seen me cry on his behalf. He has no idea I feel this way. The last thing I want is my boy to worry about my feelings. Tomorrow is another day. Matt and I plan to just give Henry more encouragement in the coming weeks, to stand by him and let him know that whatever happens his family and his home will always be here for him . That's the best we can do...

And high up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth


Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you...

Birthdays, Business trips, the Big 10, Halloween and heck it's November already!

I can't believe it's November! Where did all the time go? Here is what happened last month.

On the first week of October our good friends Cindy and Mary had their baby Collin James! He is so perfect, with a round head and the sweetest most laid back disposition! I am so happy for them! When Matt, the kids and I went to visit them in the hospital, the nurse addressed Matt as the father! Ha! "He's not the father," we all exclaimed at the same time. Boy was the nurse's face red!

Matt turned 34 in a different time zone! For the second and third week of October Matt was way busy. He was in New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and L.A.! At least he got to see a couple movies in between the traveling. He saw Serenity, Capote and A History of Violence All really good movies in his opinion. Poor guy was so jet lagged when he got back. I got a cake from The Buttery ready for Matt when he got home. I took Sam with me to the Bakery and he when we got home he so upset that we weren't having the cake right away. I kept telling him that it was for when his daddy came home. So, when Matt walked in the door from his long trip the first words out of Sam's mouth was "birthday cake! Birthday cake!" He kept saying that everytime his dad walked through the door for at least a week! "Birthday cake! Birthday cake!"

Unfortunately, Matt was in the middle of his trip on our 10 year wedding anniversary too! When he got back we took the kids to a movie and dinner at Applebees. It was nice to just get out for a change. We went to see the latest Wallace and Gromit movie The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It was hilarious! Too cute! The kids were pretty well behaved and Sam even ate more than Henry! Of course, when the dessert (chocolate cake) came out the boys went after it like 2 dogs searching for a bone!

And last week Henry's class visited an Organic Farm in Watsonville and picked pumpkins. The farm is right next to this old rickety house that looked perfect for Halloween, so I took some pictures of it.

I bought Henry a pair of rubber boots just for the occasion. Of course, he managed to fall anyway!. The lady who owned the farm, Jeanne, also has a stand where they sell all that they grow. She had this celery that was the brightest green I have ever seen and it was darn fresh! I had never tasted a piece of celery so fresh. It was almost sweet! She also had some great carrots which Henry tried. There was no way he was trying the celery!

And yesterday the kids at Linscott had a Harvest Festival and were able to come in their costumes to school. There was a parade and then each class had these booths where kids could do activities like paint a pumpkin or do a cake walk. Linscott is a very health concious school so all the treats were healthy and the baked goods were sugar free! Henry did the cake walk and won a chocolate cupcake and he and Sam gobbled the thing up without any hesitation. They didn't even miss the sugar!

As you can see, Henry was Nintendo Mario this year! He'd been asking to be Mario for a while so I did my best to get a costume ready for him. It's not something you find pre-made anywhere. Maybe in the 80's or 90's when Mario was big but, certainly not now! I found most things at Target. The only thing I had a hard time trying to find was the perfect hat. I found one that was green so I tried to dye it. It came out mostly a brownish red as you can see but, I think it turned out o.k. During the parade when Henry walked down the steps the older kids were chanting "Mario! Mario!" so it was a complete success!

For Halloween night, Cindy, Mary, Lilly and lil Collin came over. We also invited Henry's classmate Braelen and his parents Dave and Watonka. Lilly was in this gorgeous Tinkerbell gown and Braelen was a Ring Wraith from Lord of the Rings. I was worried that Lilly would be frightened but, she wasn't at all! And our Sam was (what else) Thomas the Tank Engine! He was swimming in the costume. Mary ingeniously tied a small string belt around him so he wouldn't be stepping on it. Of course the moment we went out the door Sammy was chanting "Take it off! Take it off Mommy!" But, after we got to the first couple of houses and he realized that the costume was getting him candy - he was fine. It was so cute watching them, say "Trick or Treat!" and "Thank you" with a few "I'm Mario" or "I'm Tinkerbell" tossed in. The reception for Henry's costume was funny all around. You could tell who grew up in the 80's because they really got a kick out of his costume.

The neighborhood yielded a bunch o' candy - as expected - though not as much this year as last. I didn't mind that, just that it was kinda annoying that some porch lights were on but, no one was answering the door for candy! I mean if you're not going to give candy, at least leave your porch light off. Anyway, I had bought some take-n-bake pizzas from Papa Murphy's before we went off to Trick or Treat so by the time we got back Matt had baked them all. We had pizza and talked while the kids played. All in all it was a fun night!

Whew! Now we are in November. I can't believe it. Before I forget I must remember to give a "shout out" (why does it sound so uncool when I say that??) to a few people. Our friends Casey and Amy had birthdays last month, so, Happy Birthday ladies!! They're both of Norweigan decent so they still look like teenagers even though (cough cough) they're in their early 30s. In fact, Casey told me she just got carded a few weeks ago!

Then I want to wish Baldo's dad, Baldomero Senior a speedy recovery. He had a clotted artery in his legs and was hospitalized for at least a month. He's home now and Baldo and his sisters are all working together to take care of him. I hope he gets better soon!

Then last, but not least I want to wish a super happy good luck to Bev and Wes and their little pea-in-a-pod girl, who is going to make her appearance in less than two weeks! There has been some rare complications with Bev's pregnancy so she's on bed rest till November 14!! I can't wait! Babies are so wonderful!

Thanksgiving will be here soon, then Christmas. We got a brochure from Toys R Us in the mail this weekend and Henry has already gone through and circled everything he wants to Christmas! And it's pretty much everything! Sam just keeps staring at the train page. It's hilarious. Well, that's it for now. Hopefully, I'll get back to update all sooner rather than later!

How well do you know 80's music?

If you have time on your hands --you gotta try this:

80's Music Quiz

It's sort of pickie, so you need to know the spellings of the exact words. I got a pretty high score. Only because it took me like hours and I knew a really obscure word for one of the songs. It considers the Madonna songs really easy to remember. She's only worth a measly half a point while the Meatloaf stuff is worth one whole point! Anyway, I had a fun time doing this. I expect high scores from Jamie and Eric. If you reference my blog url, you can get a bonus 5 points at the end. Let me know what score you get! Have a great week!

Field Trips and "I carry you".

It's been a busy couple of weeks here. On the last week of September Henry and his class went on their first class field trip! (The picture is Henry with his best friend Braelan. They have been inseperable since the first week of school.) Since I am class photographer, Sam and I came along too. We went to Cooley Ranch in Watsonville. We met up with Mrs. Cooley, our official tour guide. She showed us her barn and her chickens. She gave us the background about her farm and a complete tour of all the different kinds of trees on her property. She had walnuts, quince, apple, persimmon, pomegranate and lemon trees. The kids had the privaledge of picking the apples and lemons and bringing them back to class.

The best part was the kids got to pick and eat strawberries from the farm next door. They were so ripe and sweet. There is nothing better than sun-ripened strawberries. Sam spent a lot of time there. He never eats much, but at least he loves fruit!

The kids made lemonade from the lemons and sold cups of it on Friday. The money they made went to the Hurricane victims.

The next week we went to Pinto Lake County Park. I've only been to Pinto Lake city park so it was a real change of pace. The city park is nothing by comaprison! Pinto Lake County Park is actually a great park with lots of hiking paths and a great view of the lake.

The only problem was Sam was with me and he's going through a real clingy stage where he doesn't really like to walk. He wants to be carried all the time. He tugs on my leg and says to me "I carry you, I carry you" when he wants to be carried. It's not easy looking at those big chihuahua eyes and say "no." Pinto Lake County Park has a lot of steep hills with steps and Sam did not want to walk! I was so tired, I could barely take pictures! Luckily, one of the kids dads offered to have Sam on his shoulders for a little bit. That helped my back alot!

For most of the trip we were guided by a man named Patrick who is part of the Ohlone Native American tribe in Watsonville. He had a drum with him and he told some great stories and sang some songs. It was very interesting to see.

I'm happy to say that for the last 2 weeks that Matt has been home on my Linscott workdays, Sam has been doing really well. The first time Matt brought him, he had to stay with Sam for an hour because Sam would just break down and cry everytime his daddy started towards the door. However, his cries were not like the ones he gave me. So Matt left after the hour, Sam cried for a little bit but, got over it. And last week, Matt left after only 10 minutes. Sam didn't cry at all!

Of course, all the progress could and probably will be lost come this week when Matt leaves for New York. Starting Thursday, he'll be gone for a week. We'll be missing his birthday and our 10 year anniversary. I'm bummed but, he's gotta do what he's gotta do. We can celebrate when he gets home. I'm just glad and grateful he's working. If it means I have to carry Sam for two class workdays, so be it.

Small Pond, Big Fish

So I forgot to tell everyone that we went to the Santa Cruz County Fair a few weeks ago. We love the fair. It's such a tradition for us now to go. We usually go with our friends Cindy, Mary and Lilly. We watch the Pig Races, visit the Petting Zoo, the kids ride the Carnival Rides, and Mary gets hypnotized by the Hypnotist Mezmer. The highlight, however (at least for Cindy and I) are the exhibits. A few years ago Cindy and I started entering stuff in the fair. We enter in baked goods, candy, poetry, and more recently collections and scrapbook pages. Cindy always blasts the competition with her candy and her brownies. I never place higher than 3rd with my cookies. And poetry is unfortunately a joke. Every year I have entered in 2 poems - one I worked hard on and one I literally do in half an hour about the fair theme. The fair theme poems are so cheesy, I think my Creative Writing would revoke my evaluations at U.C.S.C.! Nevertheless, I usually win something for the Fair Theme poem whereas the regular poem has gotten me zero. Not, that the prize money is that big of a deal anyway.

Last year, my sister Charlotte entered in a scrapbook page about our parents working in the fields of Watsonville. She won first place. Lucky for me she was too busy to enter. I entered in three categories this year - Individual Scrabook Page, Indiv. Stamped Scrapbook Page, and Scrapbook. I got First Place for two out of the three!!. My Scrapbook, a Small Zoo Scrapbook, garnered me a Special Award !. The thing is, when you place in any of these competitions you don't get a rosette - you just get a plain straight ribbon, even when you win first prize. The only time you get a nice lovely big rosette is if you are "Best of Division" or the most coveted "Best in Show." Or so we thought, until now. I guess they decided to start giving out these "Special Awards" too. Anyway, I am so proud of it. I didn't even feel that bad that once again Cindy smoked me in the one category she and I were both competing in - Ind. Scrapbook Page. She got 2nd and I got 3rd.

Anyway, the rosette I got helped me feel a little bit better when in the following week I was rejected by Memory Makers Magazine. They hold this contest every year for inclusion in a group called Memory Makers Masters. The 10 chosen ones basically work for the publication for an entire year, doing scrapbook layouts for the magazine and getting paid for them. There are also 10 Runner Ups and 20 Finalists. The critera is to send in 4 layouts of your best work and 1 with a specific theme. I thought mine were pretty good but, I didn't even make it to the Finalists list. I know there were probably a couple hundred who did apply but, I worked so hard on those layouts. Matt can attest to how much of a wreck I was when, on the eve of due day, I found out that the Kinkos here wasn't 24 hours anymore.

I don't know what it is. I really want to be published. I remember trying to get my poems out a long time ago. I gave up a few months after I started submitting. I don't know what it is about scrapbooking, I've been submitting for almost a year now and nothing. I have even less time now than when I did without the kids but, I still scrap every chance I get. I still think about what magazine each layout would be good for. I'm still trying. But, unlike the Fair, this is a huge body of water I'm trying to swim in. It's overwhelming sometimes. At least I have the consolation that even if I never get the "glory", at least the boys will benefit from these bits and pieces of our past someday. Have a good week everyone.

Guilty Pleasure

You'll probably lose some respect for me after I say this...but, I have been addicted to Big Brother all summer. I got totally voyeristically caught up with this group of people. I didn't go so far as buying the feeds but, I did (thanks to my friends Cindy and Mary) check the message boards daily on what was going on. Did you know that there are actually people out there who had the time to watch the live feeds 24/7 and then report what is going one almost verbatim ? Well, thanks to them I didn't have to pay the 20 or so bucks to get the live feed. I just read what they wrote and then watched the shows on t.v. every week.

It was like reading a really trashy novel. I just couldn't stop. There was every aspect of a great story. There was a short Mussollini villian named Eric and his spengali brainwashing (and by the time you read this probably grand prizewinning) partner Maggie. They formed a group called "The Friendship" who systematically evicted everyone they didn't like, one by one, out of the house. There was the tall, dark and handsome kingly Muslim-American Kaysar and the beautiful buxom blonde with brains Janelle who with their friends were dubbed The Soverign. They were normal people who went there to play a game. Unfortunately, they were no match against the evil force of "The Friendship". It was amazing. These people just seemed to forget that there were cameras on them 24 hours a day. They did and said things noone would say in public. I was flabbergasted and mesmerized.

Anyway, last night I just watch Janelle, the last of her group, get kicked out of the house -- along with any more enjoyment I will get from this show. Janelle was a message board nerds dream come true. She was tall, blonde, funny and very smart. She was also genuine. Believe me, I wanted to hate her but, I couldn't. Not with the other people there who were literally talking out of their rear orrifices, they would say one thing then turn around and say another, all with the pretense that they were so much better than Janelle. They said some nasty awful things behind her back. Janelle said some things too. But, anyone who watches the show can tell you that Janelle never tried to be anybody that she wasn't. She held herself accountable for everything she did and said. She was a really good game player. If this show had been judged on game, she should have won.

Unfortunately, that will not be the case come Tuesday at the finale. It's between Maggie and Ivette. Ivette is a psycho racist coffee barrista from Miami. She played the game with her mouth. Her brother is in prison and she kept saying on and on about how this game was for her family. If she had taken Janelle to the finale with her instead of her dark lord Maggie, she would have the 500 thousand in the bag. Unfortunetly, she has taken Maggie with her. Maggie, being the head Sith of their group, will easily walk away with the money. Maggie did very little in this game except play mind games with these people. She was a very very very very bad player. I will watch the finale on Tuesday. After that, that's it, I'm done with this show. I swear...

Anyway, on a different perspective I'm also quite smitten with a little show called Rock Star Inxs. I was never a huge fan of the band but, they had some good songs. This show knocks American Idol out of the water. (Not that that is a hard thing to do.) The songs that they have used for each performance are all amazing songs: Nirvana, the Beatles, Queen, The Who, and Rolling Stones just to name a few. And all the performers vying for the job of new lead singer have been amazing. It's down to the final 3 and they are each very talented in their own way, that I don't mind who is going to win. Though I do have a soft spot for my fellow Filipino Mig with the Austrailian accent. Anyway, after this, I probably won't be watching American Idol.

I know I know. All this is like eating an entire cake in one sitting. I can't help it. Reality TV. is my ultimate guilty pleasure. I enjoy it. Please don't hate me for it. You can lose some respect for me, though. That I totally understand. Have a good weekend.

Separation Anxiety.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been very hectic, this new school year. It doesn't help that this coincides with Matt's busiest time either. His product, StuffIt just released another version. If you buy it, you'll find a small picture of Sam somewhere - I haven't seen it, but a picture of Sam at Dennis the Menace Park is on or in the box somewhere. I'll post it here when Matt gets back and gives me a copy.

Anyway, I'll cut to the title and let you all know that Sam has been having some real trouble lately. I read somewhere that the two hardest times in a persons development are the toddler and the teenage years. Apparently, they're both a lot alike, in that the person is at a point where they want to assert their independance but, have no real clue how to do it.

As most of you know, Thursday is the day I have to take both Sam and Henry to school because I have to be part of Henrys classroom. The first time we went, which was when I was most worried, couldn't have gone any smoother. Sam was perfect. Last week, I was pulled out of class about halfway through because he threw up. Turns out, he was catching a cold. I chalked his sadness up to the cold making him miserable. I found out yesterday that that wasn't true. I was called in again for throwing up. This time, he had thrown up, not once but 3 times . The daycare person, Renee, told me it looked like he was so upset that he was actually making himself throw up. I wish I could have acted surprised, but I wasn't. Sam has taken to this lately. He gets himself into such a tizzy that he actually makes himself throw up. I had him with me most of the class that day, which wasn't easy. I happened to be in charge of snack this week so, I was serving everything with one arm. Once he was with me, he was fine. I tried to put him back into daycare a couple timesbut, he wouldn't have it. He would cling onto me with dear life.

At the end of the day, the teacher, Odile, and I talked about it. There are several reasons this might have happened.

• He is still getting over a cold.
  
• His daddy isn't here. (His dad was the one who dropped him off the first time).
  
• There is a younger baby in daycare now (There's a 10 month old there too now, ironcially named Sam) who is requiring the attention.
  
• I'm leaving him in daycare in a hurry, which causes him to get scared and worry that I'm not coming back.
  
• The first time was a total complete fluke.
  

Odile basically said that I have to make a decision and a plan on what to do. I can either find someone else to take Sam or we can work on getting him used to daycare at the school. I'm going to see what I can do. I'm still rather frustrated about all this. Matt is going to be away again next week so, I will be on my own again. I will either see if my sister can drop Sam off (maybe it's just the act of me leaving him that is scaring him) or I will try and get to the school really early and hang out with Sam in daycare longer before leaving him. If I do the second scenario, I have to make sure he knows I'll be back and that I won't be far behind.

I know he won't be this small for long and there are moments when he says things and does things that are so cute. Sam is such an individual. I do adore him. Lord knows there will be a day when he'll be the one leaving me and I'll know exactly how he feels...

Beginning of the Fall

Today was the end of the first week of School for Henry. It was hectic, but as usual Henry took everything in stride. He starts school at 8:30 in the morning and it ends at 12. Thursdays are the most hectic for us all. As you know, I am required to be in Henry's class at least half a day a week. So, on Thursday I drop off Sam at the school daycare center next door and then I am in Henry's class the entire time.

This Thursday, thankfully Matt came with us on and helped me drop Sam off. This was Sam's first day in daycare! I half expected the daycare person to come running in but, it didn't happen. Infact, he seemed to have a great time. At one point I was helping the other kinders put their work in their cubbies and I Sammy was walking hand in hand with the daycare person, Renee, and another child. He looked at me and said, "Hi mommy" and continued walking.

It was interesting watchin Henry in his classroom. He is such an easygoing kid. I was worried that he was going to "act up" or expect things from me but, he was just fine. He did have snack with me, worked on centers with me, and sat next to me during circle. But, most of the time he stayed at his designated spot. He seems to really like school which is the most important thing.

The week after next, I am the designated snack person. This means I need to prepare snack for 20 kids! Just my luck, it is also the week Matt will be in L.A. for work. I will be frantic. But, the boys will take it in stride.

Last weekend we went to theCircus in San Jose. Because Cindy and Matt are kinda freaked by clowns we had seats way up up. But, we still managed to see everything. All the kids really enjoyed themselves. Sam was laughing and laughing. He thought the whole thing was just hilarious. Henry loved watching the acrobats and the animals. And Lilly was mesmerized by the horses. All in all, it was a good time and I think they would go again, if we could.

This weekend will be pretty tame. In the wake of the Hurricane, gas prices have soared here (over 3 dollars a gallon) so, we just can't afford to go anywhere. We will however, see Mila and Chaz on Monday. That will be fun. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

A Sudden Reprieve...

So today would have been Henry's first day of school! He was supposed to go to WCSA (Watsonville Charter School for the Arts) We went to the "Back to School Picnic", filled out his emergency card, even met his "new" Kinder teacher Miss Monohan.

But, no. Things have suddently changed. Yesterday morning, out of the blue, I get a call from Linscott Elementary.

For those of you who don't know, Linscott is one of the best public schools in the county. Someone said to me it's like a private school where you don't have to pay. Linscott was Matt and my first choice for Henry. Unfortunately Linscott was the first choice for at least 50 other pairs of parents! And even worse, siblings get priority and everyone couldn't help but point out that this was an "unusually heavy year for siblings". This meant that there were even less than the normal handful of spots for incoming kids like Henry. Matt and I signed Henry up for consideration, kept our fingers crossed, and pursued other options. Of course, the lottery for incoming kids came and Henry was not chosen. We then proceeded to get Henry into WCSA.

Then I get the call yesterday that lo and behold there's an opening. Long story short we jumped on it and Henry is now going to Linscott. I say he's got a "Sudden Reprieve" because Linscott doesn't actually start school till Auguast 29th! (For those of you interested) click here for a calendar.Even though this means Henry gets to enjoy a bit more vacation, it doesn't mean the same for me. If you peeked at the calendar you may have noticed School Clean-up Days.

One of the things that make Linscott unique is that they require a specific number of hours of parent participation. This has proven to not only help your child be a better learner but has also helped to create a closer school community. They require from us parents the following:

• One session in each childs classroom per week.


• One monthly 2 hour parent meeting per month per child


• Four hours of work per year on scheduled clean up days


• One classroom or school-wide suppport job or one school-wide committee per family or the equivalent per year


• Participation in one school-wide fundraiser per year.

Heh...it didn't seem like alot when we were trying to get him in... :P

Anyway, if you peeked at the calendar, you will see that the first scheduled "clean-up days" are this Saturday and Monday. I guess I'll have to roll up my sleeves this weekend! I've also met with Henry's teacher and I've signed up for a support job already. I am the official Kinder Classroom Photographer. It was either that or Snack Scheduler (aka snack lady).

Anyway, that's it for now...till later!

Swimming into the Fall...

Sorry I haven't had the chance to let everyone know what's going on lately. It's just been so busy!. Henry had his last day of swimming on Friday. Unfortunately, no actual swimming occured! First off, I and another mother (Maria), decided to plan a surprise "thank you" to all the kids who spent their summer teaching our kids how to swim. I wrote out a short note and Maria translated it asking for donations. We planned on getting pizza and cake for the kids. Parents were really generous! I expected 2 maybe 3 bucks a kid and some parents actually gave me 10s! I even got a 20 or two!! On Thursday I gave Maria the money to get the cake and I would get the pizzas. I would leave Henry at the pool and Maria would watch him while I get the pizzas.

Friday comes along, and right off the bat, I see something is wrong. I find parking really really close and people (including some of the instructors) were just milling around outside the pool gate. Henry and I get out of the car and I notice people are leaving . One of the parents heading back to their car asks me if we are still going to have pizza and I say, "I think so..why?" And as they are heading back they tell me, "because swimming is cancelled."

Sure enough the head instructors tell me that swimming is indeed cancelled because...someone in the class before threw up in the pool!

Threw up on our plans is more like!! Anyway, to make a long story short, I decided the instructors deserved their pizza (I had already ordered it ahead of time - 8 large pizzas). So we did indeed have cake and pizza! Luckily (sort of) the instructors had to be there the required time, so, they got their well deserved reward. A few parents and their kids stayed behind to share the food but, nothing like we had planned for.

In the end, I was glad that we got to give these great kids a nice "thank you" I just wish everyone was there. I felt bad having received such generous donations and not having those who gave actually be their to receive the thank yous. The instructors were really surpised. They so deserved it though. Henry had a great time swimming. He learned a whole lot!!

I can't believe Fall is already here. It sort of just took over. Henry is going to school so soon! I hope I don't cry!

Happy Idiot Driving Day & the Busy Birthday Weekend!

The summer is almost over and we had a busy busy weekend! Before I go into the details, I have to relate a funny Henry story. On Thursday, on the way to swimming, with Henry in the back seat, I was cut off in traffic a few times. I said in exasperation, "Must be idiot driving day!"

Then on Friday, my sister took a long lunch and we went to look at flooring. Both the boys were in the car. I was stopped at a stop sign and it was my turn to go. Not one but two cars went right through the stop sign. "Must still be idiot driving day,"I said. Then we were in the store. The boys were pretty good - no running around or knocking things over. As we were leaving, the lady behind the counter thanked us and said, "Have a nice day!" Henry with one foot out the door stuck his hand up in a cheerful wave and yelled, "Happy Idiot Driving Day!. I shuffled him out the door during mid-sentence so it was worse because they probably just heard, "Happy Idiot..." Charlotte was laughing till she was almost crying in the car. I was mortified at first but, then I realized how funny it was. I should have known Henry would pick up on it. Poor kid thought it was actually Idiot Driving Day! I really must watch what I say...

On Friday we joined Lilly, Mary & Cindy at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalkand we sawSly & The Family Stone Experience! They were fun. The kids had a great time dancing to the music.

On Saturday, Sam turned two! He got this great Disney ride along bubble machine from Grandma and Grandad (it was in the big big box). We didn't want bubbles in the house, so we didn't put the bubbles in. But, Sam loved it all the same.

After presents, we had cake with Thomas The Tank Engine on it. Sam was so cute trying to blow the candles. He loved his cake. It was chocolate with chocolate fudge filling. Yum!

On Sunday, we went to see Thomas at Roaring Camp. Sammy had a wonderful time. He kept pointing at Thomas and saying, "Thomas" as we waited for the ride. We got to sit in the car right behind the famous Blue Tank Engine.

The boys also got Thomas tatoos and face painting. Sam actually sat still most of the time while his face was getting painted. I'm kinda dreading bath night because there will be tears when the Thomas Tatoo comes off! There was also a bouncy house, which was an obvious highlight of the whole trip - the boys went on 3 times! They also had a Thomas made out of Legos which the boys loved climbing on. Sam kept saying, "Lego Thomas, Lego Thomas..."

We also took pictures with Sir Topham Hat and in front of Thomas. Unfortunately, Sam is not a ham (like his brother)so it took a lot of yelling to get him to even look at the camera. Our little guy does smile all the time, honestly.

Fever.

So, Sam woke up with a fever this morning. He was warm last night but, not so warm that I wanted to wake him and put medicine down him. But, this morning he was warmer. So Matt and I gave him some Motrin. We are supposed to meet Lilly in the park but, I'm inclined to cancel. I really don't want him to be sick on his birthday, Saturday. Especially since we are seeing Thomas the Tank Engine on Sunday.

Even though, they aren't supposed to be bad, fevers always worry me. I know fevers are a symptom and that they don't necessarily hurt the child, but I'm still not crazy about them. When Henry is sick, he's so different. He's so quiet and listless and sleepy. He's a good patient though. He knows to just go to sleep and let his immune system do the fight. Sam's a bit more restless. He's got those fever eyes right now. Poor thing. I don't like my kids being sick. It makes me feel helpless...

What could it be?

Got this Large package from Amazon.com yesterday. It's addressed to "Master Sam Covington". As you can see, Sam already enjoys just sitting on the big box. He doesn't have any real clue that it's for him. Although, he now knows when I ask him,"How old are you going to be?" He says, "two!" So cute. I'm a little anxious what could be in there. Mum called on Sunday and told us to expect a package for little S's b-day. She chuckled slyly and said something about us not being "too happy" with it...hmm...

"You might wake up the sky"

We Survived Camping! Barely. Thanks to yours truly -- the whole trip would have been a wash. You see, after we set up camp on Sunday, the original plan was for me to go out and get pizza because Matt would be too tired to do anything else. The campsite is only about 10 minutes away from Target and Roundtable Pizza and about 12 minutes away from home. As expected, there were a few things that we needed and or forgot to take with us so, I was to go home get some things, go to Target buy some things, then go to Roundtable and get dinner. When I got to Target, I managed to lock my keys in the car! This lead an errand that was supposed to last 1/2 an hour tops into a 2 hour ordeal!! Matt was at the campsite with the kids. It was cold there and they had no food (the cooler was in the car). All I have to say is, thank God for cell phones and the fact that Matt was in the Boy Scouts (or it's U.K. equivalent.)

I managed to track down my sisters, who were 1/2 an hour away in Gilroy. They picked me up, we went back to the house, picked up the spare key that Charlotte had, and I finished getting food and went back to camp. The boys hadn't killed each other, but, it was getting close. Matt managed to make fire without the firestarter (one of the things I was supposed to get) and Sam managed to bite Henry just once (out of boredom and fighting over the gameboy.) Yes, Sam bit Henry. It was a nip on the finger. Oh, the terrible twos. Matt was actually quite patient with the whole situation. But, he won't let me forget this. Believe me. Slap that Scarlet "S" on me! S for stupid.

The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly. I just wish it was warmer. It's that darn Marine Layer! It's the middle of July but, it was still too cold. Being near the beach didn't help either. The thing is I (the native Californian) was really the only one who had trouble with this. The boys truly enjoyed themselves despite the chill. Sam was in his element. He was at least 2 shades darker from the dirt, but he loved it. He and Henry just ran around and played among the trees and on the beach.

Henry got to stay up with his dad and bond by the fire. Matt told me that he had the flashlight and was shining it up into the trees when Henry said, "Don't shine it up there, you might wake up the sky." It was nice to getaway, even if it was just for a few days.

Now it's back to the daily grind. Not to mention Laundry. All the endless laundry...

Need Noise?

Here's a scrapbook page, I just finished. I scrapbook almost every day. It's a real addiction for me.

Almost Friday. Things have been humming along. The weather is really nice. Henry's been swimming. He's really getting along there. Sam is talking more and more. He's definately going through those terrible twos though. We are planning on going on our first camping trip on Sunday to Sunset State Beach. I have to make up lists. We'll probably start packing on Saturday. Check in time is 2p.m. on Sunday. Wish us luck!

Took the kids to Jose Ave Park yesterday. We had a good time. There was this nice young woman from Barrios Unidos who offered free lunches to the kids. Apparently for the summer, they can have a free luch every Weds. in the park. Mary and I were impressed. Usually, there is a parent group there, who never acknowledges us or introduces themselves.

Seen any good DVDs lately?? I Finally got a chance to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and House of Flying Daggers. I liked them both but, also not as much as some other Wes Anderson or Yimou Zhang movies. For both of them, I felt the pacing was a bit off. But, I liked them. Thank goodness for Netflix! You pay one monthly price for rental and you keep the movie as long as you want. Seriously no extra fees, no "restocking" charges that Blockbuster try and sneak by you...

Aside from the camping this weekend, we will probably take the kids to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Sam loves the squirrels on the preview. We watched a special on MTV about the movie and Sam wanted me to rewind the part with the squirrels over and over again (we have a DVR on our sattelite). Apparently, Tim Burton hired real trained squirrels and the chocolate river was made of a kind of base used for baked beans. Tasty.

Oh before I forget, I wanted to let everyone know that if you have the t.v. channel Noggin you might catch a glimpse of our friends Eric and Christina's kids Alaric and Gwyndolyn in a music video on rotation there. It's for a song called Farm Animal Friends by a group called "Gwendolyn and The Goodtime Gang". Alaric is in chaps, blue denim and a Clint Eastwood cowboy hat and Gwyndolyn is in a maroon cowgirl dress complete with pigtails. The song is pretty catchy. Although, I never imagined our Eric (Mr. Bloody Valentine) telling us to watch a band with the words "Goodtime Gang" in the title. :) I understand the whole proud parent thing though. If my kids were in a video for something like Kelpo and the Seaweed gang I'd be all over it too! Have a good weekend! Janet out.