Hardly Working

Katie has become increasingly interested in having her own 'work area' so she can color and cut-out things. She sees me working from home sometimes and I think she wants to replicate the 'importance' of having personal space when she is concentrating on something. (I think she just likes the idea of having a work space that guarantees some level of "you can't interrupt me, I'm busy working") I guess I need to think a little more about the impact of saying that to my kids when I am working at home...

So when Nana offered this little roll-top desk, it seemed like a great fit for Katies needs. She really gets into her coloring and crafts and especially loves her new desk. Thanks nana! This is nana's desk from when she was a littel girl, and was also used by TL and your's truly.

We were up in SB this weekemd. Got to see Nana, Papa, and Great Grandma. Highlights: Natural History Museum, Dinner and Woody's, and Ice Cream and McConnel's.

My favority mispronounced word of the week: Andy saying "Aliens", pronounced "LAY-LIE-ENS".

Oh one last quick story, tonight I'm giving the kids a bath. Katie says, "Andrew, pretend you are a boy in ballet and put your arms like this..." (She poses like a ballerina while sitting in the tub.)

(Andy looks at her confused and then his eyes get big as a new idea enters his brain...) Andy replies, "No Katie, pretend I have a lightsaber, and it's stuck in my back and I'm dead."

Charades

Tonight:

Me: "Hey guys, lets play Charades. It's where you pretend to be something and we guess until someone guesses right."

Kids: "Yay!"

Me: "OK, I'll go first..." (Pretends to be an Elephant)

Andy: "Erua-phunt!"

Me: "That's right, OK your turn Andy."

Andy: (Thinks for a few seconds, then takes the center stage of the living room.)

Andy: "I'm a Lion, RRRRAAAAAAWR!!!"

Me: "Ummm, a LION!?!"

Andy: Yeah!!!

Katie: (Whispers in my ear giggling) "Daddy, Andrew dosen't listen very well."

Sing Sing

Today, Katie had a special Thanksgiving Pageant at her school. She sang 3 songs with her class for the parents to enjoy. I swear I'm not being one of those parents that thinks their kids is the best when I say, "she really was the best". No really! (To be honest, I can't say with any certainty that there were any other kids in the pageant, as I spent the entire time watching Kate and taking pictures.)

Unrelated story: On the way home, Andy said something funny:

Andy: "Dad, Obee Wun Kenobeee is a good guy and Genwal Greee-vus is a bad guy right?"

Me: That's right.

Andy: "But sometimes Obee Wun Kenobeee cares for Genwal Greee-vus."

Me: "What?"

Andy: "He takes care of him"

Me: "What are you talking about?"

Then I realized that Andy had taken the dialogue in the movie too literally... At one point Obi Wan says, "I'll take care of General Grevious". Classic.

You are never too old to be a Jedi...

Grandma Kari came to visit recently and help us out with Halloween. (Anyone who knows Kari, knows that Halloween is one of her favorite days of the year) and she helped us make the most of it. In addition to giving mommy and daddy extra rest during the week (which we really really appreciate!) Kari was all over the decorations, sweets, and costume preparations -- and especially the all important light saber training exercises.

We also picked up Star Wars Episode 1 this week. Katie got a little bored with it after Queen Amadala stopped showing up with her fancy costumes, but Andy was riveted throughout the entire show. He is at that age where he is constantly asking questions during the movie to where I can't even follow what is going on due to all the inquisitions...

"Is he a bad guy?"
"Is she a bad guy?"
"Are they bad guys?"
"Is dat a good guy?"
"Is dat Jen-Wal Greeeee-vus?"
"Is dat Obeee Wun Kenobeee Daddy?"
"Where is Luke?"
"Ann-I-Kun is Darth Vader right daddy? But hes not a bad guy yet right?"

Where the Sidewalk Ends

We dug out the ol' Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends book this week. We had read some of the poems to Katie when she was younger, but Andy had not yet heard them. The book has been quite a hit with the kids, especially "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too". Andy finds the concept of three guys in a flying shoe so hysterical that he cant stop giggling for about 15 minutes after the story has been read. This incites some mania in Katie as well, and is making the whole bedtime story reading experience more than a little rambunctious.

The kids usually select the stories/poems based on the pictures along side. Some of the pages however, don't have any pictures. I was flipping through these overlooked pages after the kids went to bed, and noticed one poem that resonated with me, and made me feel a little younger than I normally do each day, and I thought I would share it with you all...

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Comfortable with her PC

Katie has a laptop in our home office that she uses to visit various kid sites. She really enjoys the interactive element and is able to navigate all over a site and play games, etc. It's interesting considering she can't read yet, but the 'intuitive' elements of the internet are a language that she completely understands. She spends a lot of time at PBS Kids and at the Barbie site.

This picture was taken on Sunday (Game day as can be see from the Charger Jersey), I guess Katie got a little bored with the game and decided to check-out on me. She did inspire me later on when she came out to watch the second half. Andy was still napping and the Chargers we losing at that point... Katie decided that if she ALSO wore Andy's jersey that she would be showing extra spirit and that it would help the Chargers win. So, she put on 2 jerseys, one of top of the other. Sadly, her rallying effort was not enough to prevent the Vikings from clobbering the Bolts at the end of the day. :)

Encore

Well, since I had so many nice comments about Katie's costume, I thought I would post a little encore. Here is a second shot where she is pretending she just lost her glass slipper (notice the expression and the shoelessness.)

Beauty and the Sith

Here they are, Darth Vader and Cinderella. We sure had a fun time trick-or-treating last night. I was surprised at how into-it Andy got. This is the first year where he really grasped the concept of Halloween. He was CHARGING from house to house and did not want to stop, even after completely filling his candy bucket with goodies. Needless to say, we got tons of treats, and must have visited at least 30 houses. Fun fun fun.

Halloween!

We're going out Trick-or-Treatin tonight! Here are our pumpkins. Tomorrow Ill post some picks of the kid's costumes...

Fire Update

Its looking like the fire is getting contained now, at least the one near us. People are starting to return to thier homes. Thanks for all your emails and concerns.

More Fire

Wow, lots has happened since yesterday.

Fires are raging. It's scary down here. 300,000 people have been evacuated from north county. The Ramona fire (Witch Fire) has now burned clear to the coast and is threatening Del Mar. We have friends here who have evacuated from thier homes. Rancho Bernardo (where I work) is burning.

So far it looks like we will be OK, but you never know, and the winds keep blowing. The fire is about 10 miles north of us right now. We are safe now. Ill update more as I know more.

Good web coverage and maps are at:

http://www.cbs8.com/

Fire

Santa Ana winds blew hard today, up to 60 MPH+ causing a number of fires to start across California. Scary stuff for those of us who live out here, as pretty much anyone who has been a resident of CA for 5 or more years is bound to have expeience with some kind of fire. This week marks the 4 year anniversary of the Cedar Fire that wiped out 2,300 homes in SD.

So this afternoon when we saw the conditions and the massive smoke, we were understandably concerned again. We have been watching the news channels for info, and it looks like the closest one is in East Ramona (20 miles away). While the winds are moving it in our direction, so far things are looking pretty good for us and the communities in its path. Hopefully things will be brought under control soon.

The pic above is a shot in the other direction from our house, toward the setting sun over Mount Soledad. The amount of smoke is very thick and creates an eerie dark setting that is a continual reminder of the raging fire eastward. The smoke stretches across the county today. Hopefully Ill have good news to post tomorrow.

Summer 2007 Slideshow

Had a chance to put together the Summer 2007 Slideshow. Clink on the pic below or link to the left to check it out. Enjoy!

'Love' that Hair

So when the world seems stressful and bleak, just link to this little picture.

This is what I have come to know as a 'heart braid'. I'll be honest, I didn't even know they existed until I had a daughter. Now I have determined that they are the coolest thing in the world (to her) and make her feel extra beautiful and ultra-special. I have to admit, I am starting to understand this.

Katie got treated to her fancy hair dew in preparation for a special princess-party this last weekend that I was told she thoroughly enjoyed. While the girls were off being girly, Andy and I set-up our own play-date with my buddy Stan and his 3-year-old, Charlie. We spent the afternoon playing video-games, wielding light-sabers, and eating pizza. I'm not sure who had more fun between Andy and Katie. Actually, I'm not sure who had more fun between Andy and me!

And away they go...

I really wish we had some neat national geographic quality pictures of the butterflies taking flight today but sadly it wasn't in the cards. Every time we got one on a finger and got it to the top of the habitat, they would quickly take-off. I guess they couldn't wait to get some freedom. Katie was totally into it, practically grabbing the little guys in an effort to get them to walk on her hand.

As you can guess from my tone, we released all the butterflies today. I am happy to report that there were no fatalities and all our little guests made it off into the wild blue without any incidents. I must admit I am sad to see them go. It was a nice change of pace having them around and watching them change from day to day.

Thanks again Nana, we really enjoyed this.

The Great Escape

No pics in this post but I have an interesting update from the butterfly front.

I left a small crack open in the netting as I was putting some new flowers in the habatat yesterday. Apparently one of the inmates was ready to make a break for it, and quickly fluttered out into the living room within seconds seeing the opportuity. We raised all the sirens and alarms, spotlights, you name it. Kids were running around yelling, chasing -- chaos rained supreme.

We finally gave up trying to catch the little guy and gave him some space as he was visably agitated and fluttering madly the closer we came.

Later that day, I was working outside fixing the side gate and Katie came out with the butterfly on her finger. "Look daddy!" she said with a big smile on her face. No sooner had she uttered those words than the butterfly took off and made for the sky. Katie was suprised but not sad as she watched her new pet escape.

We plan on releasing the rest of them tonight (they have all hatched now). WIll give you a final post soon.

Butterflies Day 12

Ta Da!

After a few days of quiet transofrmation, our butterflies have emerged! It's been quite an amazing thing to watch, reminding us that there is a lot of magic around in the world, all around us. Sometimes all you have to do is stop an pay attention in order to see a miracle.

We are feeding them flowers with sugar water on top, and they seem pretty happy with the menu. We still have 3 sleepy-heads tat have not yet hatched and we expect them to come about within a few days. Our plan is to then take them out back and finger-escort them in to the great wide open. We will keep ya all posted...

Jedi Viking Commando

This is my son. He is a warrior.

Not just any warrior mind you, a rabid Jedi-Viking-Commando warrior. With sharp teeth and a penchant for accidentally spitting while he makes "SHZZZ SHZZZ SHZZZ" laser sounds.

His Armor: Viking Rainment, 100% Poleyester -- $7

His Helmet: World War 2 General Issue Infantry, Reinforced Plastic -- $3

His Weapon: Blue Star Wars Lightsaber, Very Deadly -- $9


Finding him wearing all this and NOTHING else on underneath -- Priceless

There are some things money just can't buy.

Butterflies Day 11

Pretty amazing. In a matter of hours we watched 6-7 of the little buggers climb up to the top and make their cocoons, all at the same time. It was as if someone rang a bell in there and they all said, "OK, time to go!" As you can see, one little guy is a bit behind the rest, hes been hanging, but no cocoon yet. We are excited for him to 'wrap it up' so we can transfer them to the habitat. This is likely the last pic you will see of the little plastic cups...

Butterflies Day 9

The transformations have started! When I got up this am I went over to our little friends and noticed that one of them was neatly wrapped up in his chrysalis. The others are also hanging upside down and shaking in a weird way... I guess they shake-it up when it comes to makin'a cocoon...