rain, bubbles and reading

we don't get to wear rain coats much here in san diego...as evidenced by how short sea's is (hat obviously no longer fits, short sleeves)...and story's is a hand-me-down for sea...she kept telling everyone "he's not a girl...do you think he's a girl because he's wearing a girl's rain coat?" though i try to break gender stereotypes she still picks these things up somewhere...it is raining here now...not very exciting news but i feel like it is "raining" so many things in my life right now i just don't have the energy to think, analyze and write about all of them so i'm posting one quick photo and an idea to meet my nablopomo daily quota and will try to be more interesting in the next few days...off for a hot bubble bath (i splurge a little on california baby overtired and cranky bubble bath since i figure that description could almost always help my children...oh, and me...and it is all natural and smells good...aromatherapy... and comes with a bubble wand inside...it is also a lot cheaper at target than on their site)...whilie on this topic one other little thing is how much story loves bubbles and points them out all over the place... and a little reading...i'm reading the blue shoe by anne lamott and though this book is fiction, i can see a lot of "her" in there so far and have enjoyed several of her previous books like operating instructions: a journal of my son's first year...she is an odd mix of liberal in politics and lifestyle but quite religious or at least spiritual and dedicated to God and i must say i have friends in both camps but few with both qualities and would like more people in my life like her...so forgive me for choosing sleep and relaxation over a thoughtful and meaningful post...maybe you'll read something by lamott and be moved (or at least laugh...she is a great writer and very witty even if you don't agree with her)...

singing along

we got this little cassette player for sea and story for $1 at the swap meet...they love putting in tapes and singing along...i need to take a video of sea singing old macdonald's farm and story ending it with "ee-i--ee--i--oo...."

i'm still out at my mom's house planning my 20-year reunion...just connected with several old classmates on facebook and committed to co-chairing...

so much to do i have to be brief...story now says "abble" (apple) "aungee" (auntie) "gum"

we are going to go and visit hayno (90-year-old lady i grew up with who is like a grandma to me) and maybe bake her a cake for her birthday and sea's half birthday last month...sea is requesting grape flavor? hmmm....

sea is arguing with my mom about stealing versus borrowing my sister's gum...story is calling "MAMA!" and saying "gum" and pointing to where he can find some...i feel way too busy to be on here right now but am trying to keep up with nablopomo and will be driving home late tonight when i would normally be blogging...

20 year h.s. reunion planning brainstorm

did you go to yours? think you will or will not? why? this is my school i.d. card from my freshman year (1986-1987) of high school (not sure why it is so small...bad scan?)...my son is about to wake up from his nap so i'll have to edit this post later but here are some of the things i'm thinking about:


• Finding as many students as possible and then sending them all
o a “why you should attend your 20-year h.s. reunion”…second chances, moving beyond h.s., getting resolution, connecting your past, understanding more about yourself, etc.
o questionnaire about what they would like included in this reunion…why they would come, how much they would be willing to spend, any special talents or resources they’d like to contribute i.e. riza music…I can take photos…recruiting students to start sending photos for the slideshow and program
• Program/update on students
o Welcome from the committee plus a little “remember yesterday, live today, hope for tomorrow” pep talk on connecting with our history and looking forward to our future potential
o Weekend plan, details, directions, cost
o List of students and page in ABC order
o Map of where we live
o Contact info (maiden and married names, kids, etc. city, state, phone, email, web, fb yes or no?)
o Fb-like “info” mini bio of what you have been up to/care about since h.s.
o Summary of your impression of high school (there is one on fb) and how you are similar or different now
o Random school memories (we will edit out ones that might hurt someone’s feelings?)
o Why you would or would not come to the reunion…what you’d like to know about, resolve, rekindle
o Photos—first of h.s. or earlier and then current
o Anything unique you want to add about yourself we never knew about you in high school…something you’ve done, are in to, about your personality, etc. details…goals or predictions for yourself in the next 10 years…
Weekend details
• Friday
o School tour
o Meet up for dinner with friends
• Saturday lunch picnic
o Cheap food…haystacks, cookies and drinks (making a pot of beans, Costco…determining a price)
o Kids get to play at a park while we catch up in a casual setting
• Saturday formal dinner
o Location…per/person cost
o Slideshow with high school and current photos going in the background (I have some from our 10 year, too)
o 80’s music…karaoke?
o Special music…riza
o Food…buffet?
o Alcohol…bar available
o Photocopies of old school photos as centerpieces on tables
o Table with 12 years of yearbooks, school papers
o Officer summing up memories from high school (general ones most people can relate with)
o Time for mingling
o Child care available on site for an additional fee
o Taking photos of each person attending
• Sunday brunch
o Location? Buffet? Cost?
Tasks I’d be willing to take on
o Sending out a summary letter…why they should come, question about what they’d like included, be willing to spend, etc.
o Creating program
o Recruiting photos
o Taking photos at the reunion
o Advice on negotiating food costs/group deals at sites
Questions/concerns/issues to work out
o Date
o Costs for each
o Priorities..values…i.e. impt of location, food…pros/cons of nicer but less people or vice versa
o Who can help/timing/making a list of tasks and timelines
o Finalize date and events
o Contacting students
o When receive photos, money
o Resources/amount students are willing to spend
o Suggest break the costs up so students can just come to one event i.e. cost lunch, dinner, program, brunch

these are notes from my word document that didn't translate well...i'm taking them to the planning committee meeting tonight...i also sent out the following note on facebook to friends who have already gone to theirs:

theme: remember yesterday, live today, hope for tomorrow

i like the concept of cycling back around...resolving issues from the past...of course i'm also applying for kindergartens right now for my daughter, sea, so i'm thinking both backwards and forwards while wanting to be in the now...

so i'm tagging you in this note in hopes you either attended your 20 yr and/or can give me insight into why you did or did not attend...why? do you wish you had? hadn't? why? i feel these reunions hold something for many people and the more people who go, the more resolution to be had...like it is part of our history, part of us, especially since we didn't typically choose this part...it still shaped us. some of us have evolved into such different people; some of us miss parts of that care-free, simpler life with all that youth and naivety offer; some of us wish we'd embraced that chance to take more risks, be young when we had less responsibilities; some of us hated high school and some of us felt we were at our prime; some of us had something to prove to someone; some of us always held onto hope for that first love; some of us don't think anything about high school and feel no reason to return; some of us are intrigued by the little we know about a lot of people from our past on facebook; some of us finally figured out who we are or what matters to us and are excited to share this with others; some of us are still struggling with various issues and ashamed to go before what was already a judgmental group...i see myself in much of what i just listed and am curious why others would or would not attend.

on a related note...i once participated in what i felt was a very cool driving school (is that what it is called when you get a ticket and don't want it on your record?)...the teacher basically said to all of us "look, i don't want to be here either. let's take advantage of this time together and see what we can share of ourselves with one another"...this lead into questions about what we were good at, our jobs, resources, etc. like "i own a car wash and can pass out free coupons" "my parents own a restaurant and you can come by for a free appetizer" "i'm a massage therapist and can give you a free massage" etc. and i was thinking it would be cool to use some of the talents of students to save money on planning our reunion (and give them p.r.) and learn more about what everyone is in to...did any of you do anything like this? how did they do it?

i also think it would be fun to have lots of photos...old school from elementary through high school and then recent ones with families...and questionaires (sp?) similar to those everyone fills out on here...i know there are some high school related ones...but also just general info like where people live, the age and names of their children, hobbies, etc....compiled into little booklets...but i don't want people to feel badly like some people are bragging (similar to xmas letters that go on and on)...how do you feel about this? how do you feel reading former classmate's "info" on fb? would you want to know more info like this on your classmates?

i also want to be sure we have at least one event where our family (kids included) can go and interact with the other children...i was thinking a picnic lunch saturday afternoon at a park with all the kids playing together and then the more formal adult-only dinner that night...did any of your reunions do something like this? how did it work?

those of you who attended...what did you learn? about yourself? your classmates? did you get resolution on anything? am i the only one trying to clean out skeletons or deal with childhood issues in going to this?

what other reasons did you have for going? what did you gain from it? what disappointed you? how could these things have been fixed?

i know some of you even helped with planning...how did you go about making decisions about what to include, how much to spend, how to find people, convince them to come, etc?

more later...

valentines themed coop preschool

i hosted co-op preschool today...valentine's day theme...it was so chaotic with six or so crafts (stickers, cutting, painting, sponging, collage-making, pasting...you get the picture...) going at once that i didn't take any photos until almost the end...i should have taken one of the floor covered with confetti, scraps of paper...it covered several rooms...here is the group shot without the cooperation of kids holding up their crafts (oh wait, ensen and calvin look quite cooperative though story didn't even make it in the shot)...
boys playing shy...

good bye hug for ensen...
here is one of the projects...a collage of construction paper, hearts, hole punched confetti, glue, glitter...we then cut hearts out of this...i got this idea and the idea for the sponge hearts from kids craft weekly, a free online newsletter...click here for the valentine issue...
sea being pouty looking at the collage...
close up...it was bright out and actually quite warm...pushing 70 degrees which seems unreal looking at the feet of snow on fellow bloggers posts across the country...
lisa and baby violet cutting out hearts...
baby violet...
story excited to pose with the girls on the porch...

story showing off one of his hearts...
ruhi showing off one of her hearts and sea having a moment...

ruhi and sea (still having a moment)...
group shots are hard...
a little more posing...




we finished a lot of the crafts after everyone left...and hung them up to dry...
sea made this one with sponges cut out in the shape of hearts and acrylic paint...
cut out from the collage...
colored chalk on black paper...
we used many of the hearts on a branch with paper clips...daddy is going to take this to his job...

got this idea out of a recycling into art book...weave colored paper strips through grocery bags cut into hearts...
sea making more crafts...
these are going to be made into cards for all the coop friends...


sea and story still crafting right before dinner...

you can see the valentine garland we made in our dining room window in the background...


i'll leave you with a couple "little things"...this morning story opened the produce drawer in the fridge and said "abble" and promptly pointed to an apple as if he's always known that word...i got all excited and hugged him and then later he kept saying "abble, abble, abble" to get more attention...later i was online and he saw his friend sachi (the 2-year-old sister to ruhi posing in photos with sea towards the end) and pointed and said "awh-chee!"...so he still call his sister sea "ee" and hasn't quite gotten "s's" down...i remember sea did the same...it is so exciting when they learn new words i'm glad i'm blogging every day this month to hopefully catch more of them in the moment...with sea i swore i would write them down and then it somehow felt like she had always been saying each word before i could record it...

i'm at my mom's house (she lives 1.5 hours northeast of us) for a meeting to help plan my 20 year high school reunion...i've been having anxiety dreams or dreams of resolution dealing with my own childhood issues coupled with researching kindergartens for sea...these will be my big issues to blog on this month...oh, and my love for my husband and family and life...if i can get my priorities in the right place!!!

sea folk dancing at the swap meet

folk music is probably one of my favorites...having my daughter sing and dance along makes it even better...here she is at our local swap meet here in san diego...making friends, running around oblivious to anyone else...i love the way she literally kicks up her heels...i so rarely click on people's videos on their blog...this one is quite long and much of the same but if you just START to watch it you will get the idea and "feel" her energy...too much on my mind for much else...

lists; accomplished, need to do and little things

i was trying to upload a video of sea dancing to this bluesy band at the swap meet but the video was over 3 minutes long and taking way too long...maybe later...i finally upgraded to flickr pro (you can see my photos under "sea and story's mommy") and hope to use it as both a back-up for my photos, and well, now that they have merged with snapfish maybe i'll even print out some photos before our birthdays (manuel's is the 12th, mine the 15th and story's is the 27th of this month)...my point was just that i'm uploading a bunch of photos right now so my computer didn't want to try and do a video at the same time...

so back to my lists...i still didn't put up my resolutions...maybe by midnight tonight (once wee ones are in bed)...but i thought i could handle listing what we did accomplish today, what i still need to do (that i hoped to do today) and then a few "little things" as i call sea and storyisms...so this photo falls under the little things category...sea likes to kick up her heels quite literally when she dances and i didn't want to forget to write about that...she also is really in to drawing with "permanent ink"...story has really gotten in to saying "HI!" and "bye" and even "hungee" for hungry...just now sea was on the phone with my mom who was telling her that dogs' ears hurt when a fire engine goes by and she said "except for dalmations..." oh the ties she is making...one more; she says to her daddy "dance me!" which of course means dance with me...story learned how to pedal a small bike with training wheels a month or so ago so the children quickly ride after each other through the house...they are talking to my mom on the phone right now...story has been so excited about "MIMI" recently and it has been way too long since we've seen her...another storyism...he says "bumbee" for bumble bee...

i have to stop or i won't get to my lists which indirectly record typical days around here and just general randomness i might want to re-read sometime in the future...

last night i had a lot of anxiety dreams about planning my high school reunion. i was thinking a lot about the past, the present and hopes for the future and so my status update on facebook was something about existentialism and "remembering yesterday, living today and hoping tomorrow"...sure i borrowed that from somewhere...anyway, i was just thinking how different people live in different "times" (myself included) and how one thing this reunion offers each of us is a chance to balance those things...

so i straightened that idea out somewhat upon waking...then began uploading photos to flickr (in part to clean up my computer that has had way too many photos on the desktop trying to make family calendars)...uploaded photos from both my camera and my iphone and videos from my flip (just used this for the first time at disneyland this past month)...fed the children, somewhat cleaned up...changed 4 poopy diapers!!...then after riding their bikes around, making drawings, reading a few books they decided they wanted to play in the backyard...i thought it was too cloudy and cool but the sun came out and it was in the mid-60's so i thought eventually i would get out to plant the seedlings (2 kinds of broccoli, snap peas, spinach, arugula, several mixed types of lettuce...that is all i can remember right now) i bought 2 weeks ago...nope...too busy reprimanding children, changing clothes, taking off clothes, cleaning up dirt, cleaning off dirt, sweeping up rocks...

i'm not going to get to finish this list...sea is having a meltdown over picking up her drawings and i have to start dinner soon...more later...

lists, nablopomo, resolutions, kindergartens, reunions...ties

february 1st, 2010...somehow i'm treating this like jan 1st complete with goals for the month and year, new year's resolutions, fresh starts...guess i'm at least a month behind on these things...i also love lists. so this post is all about my list of things to do...things to get out of my head, out of my closets (literally and figuratively), out of my life...and what to fill my life with instead...

this photo of sea was taken at one of the many kindergarten orientations that we have attended the past few weeks...she is contemplating something...probably what to do next but more philosophically, what her life will be like when she is in school and away from spending every hour with her mommy and brudder story...or maybe i'm projecting way too much on to her experience and analyzing what was probably just a simple moment of pause in her life...

either way, i've had so much anxiety about this process. i should add that she is both starting school in the fall and i am attending (and helping to plan) my 20 year high school reunion this year. this brings up all sorts of issues for me (i went to the same school for 12 years so i was just a little older than sea when i started) and though i would overall characterize my school experiences as quite positive, i was often very depressive and felt misunderstood by most people (my peers and adults and teachers). much much more about this in future posts. along with what i'm hoping to achieve for sea when she is in school. and the process of resolving these two independent yet related issues. and letting go. and trusting God and myself and sea and my husband and the process...

so appropriately, the topic for february at national blog posting month (nablopomo) is "ties"...so despite my struggle with quality versus quantity, i have decided to challenge myself to blog every day this month. i figure i have so much anxiety and so many things tied together in my head that i might as well get these ideas down in my blog...and the more often i get them down, the less likely they are to build and take over me and this process...so join me in this ride and throw in some comments...your experiences, opinions, share...