Team Bonding

Yesterday was a really rough day for us all. Some of the kids have become outright brazen and it's difficult to deal with. They're right between being 7th and 8th graders and it's been stressful to say the least. Of course, these annoyances tend to make our team grow closer to each other. Last night I went over to the commissary to pick up my two favorite therapists, Dr. Ben and Dr. Jerry. I know eating is not the answer but when I came to work loaded with homemade chocolate chip cookies, chips and salsa, and ice cream I felt like a hero in my team's eyes. We all sat together with our pints of prozac in a circle venting about the things that vex us. I love love love love LOVE my team and I am completely destroyed that I'll be with a different group of teachers next year. Roy and Tino are like my brothers and Catalina and Brenda are like sisters to me. I'll miss our team planning periods, field trips, grumbling about administration, telling each other funny stories about the kids and spending lunches together. Roy and Catalina will be moving to the Yellow track while Brenda and I are looping with the kids to the 8th grade. We both have mixed feelings about it. There will be a lot of estrogen on our next team- ALL WOMEN! We'll see how that goes...

Encore!

Lately Joseph has been singing up a storm! Here he is singing, "The More we Get Together." I remember that it used to be one of my favorite songs. I think he is carrying on the tradition of musicianship in our family!

Camping Fun

Joseph sure likes camping! We had such a good time this weekend even though it was muggy and bug-infested. I suppose that is what boys enjoy most! We did a lot of reading (I purchased every gossip magazine with Jon and Kate on it; I'm obsessed), relaxing, singing, talking, snacking, and swimming. We had a fantastic time!

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

Joe has been looking for a kite for Joseph forever and when we went tent shopping today we found it! We came home and immediately took it for a spin. The sky was clear and the winds were churning which made for some righteous kite weather.

Busy Saturday

The day was action packed and Joseph was a true sport! In the morning I had a scholarship ceremony at the USS Bowfin Memorial at Pearl Harbor. There were a handful of us who received scholarships in the name of someone who was integral in the opening of the Bowfin Memorial Park. I received the Captain Alexander Tyree scholarship. It was a nice ceremony. Then in the evening we went to Auntie Taryn's graduation ceremony at Manoa. Watching the exercises, I was really sad that I did not participate in either my BA or advanced degree ceremony. We followed the crowd to the A-L section to wait for Auntie. We met her entourage at the field and gave her a lei. Then we went to Buffet 100 at Ward for her graduation dinner. We ate our fill and then some! Joseph grinded on noodles and ginger chicken while Joe and I enjoyed shrimp, egg rolls, gau gee, orange chicken and chow fun. Yummy! For dessert, there was an ice cream machine with toppings. Joseph decided he wanted goldfish with his ice cream... bleh! You'd better believe we were ready for a bath and bed- ALL of us!

Joseph in Action

For some reason Joseph was in a super-hyper mood. He was running around like a crazy man on fire! So I grabbed the camera and took some pictures so you could see our kolohe man in action.

Mother's Day

Joseph made the coolest Mother's Day present at school! I love my new potholder! It has his little hand prints on it! He was so excited for me to open it. He was very proud that he kept it a secret. I am looking forward to celebrating many more Mother's Days.

Frisbee Fun

Yesterday we went to the beach again since Dad is home. Joseph has never played with a Frisbee before but he seems to be getting very good at it. We had to stop when he threw it at the same group of people two times in a row. They had a little baby with them so we thought it was unsafe to continue. He sure has an arm on him, though! Check it out for yourself! What a wind-up!

Joseph's Favorite Song

Weather Song
(to the tune of "Bingo")

There was a time when it was hot
And sunny was the weather.
Sun, sun, all around,
Sun, sun, all around,
Sun, sun, all around,
And sunny was the weather.

replace with appropriate weather words

There was a time with it was wet
And rainy was the weather....

---

Today the sun is in the sky,
And sunny is the weather.
S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y
And sunny is the weather.

Other verses:
Today the rain falls from the sky... R-A-I-N-Y
Today the clouds are in the sky... C-L-OUD-Y
Today the fog hangs in the sky... F-O-G-G-Y
Today the snow falls from the sky... S-N-O-W-Y
Today we have to wear a coat.. C-O-L-D

Movie Night

About 3 years ago the MWR started sponsoring a Movie Night at various military housing community parks. They usually start during late spring and run through to the very end of summer. They have games out for an hour before the movie and free cotton candy and popcorn. Last night was the first time Joseph was able to stay for the whole movie! Usually we stay for the first hour and play with the games and have our fill of free treats but last night he wanted to stay for the whole movie! Joe had to get three refills of popcorn! We went to get the cotton candy but it was banana :( bleh! So we stuck to our popcorn yum!

Joseph's FAVORITE Song

Weather Song
(to the tune of "Bingo")

There was a time when it was hot
And sunny was the weather.
Sun, sun, all around,
Sun, sun, all around,
Sun, sun, all around,
And sunny was the weather.

replace with appropriate weather words

There was a time with it was wet
And rainy was the weather....

---

Today the sun is in the sky,
And sunny is the weather.
S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y
And sunny is the weather.

Other verses:
Today the rain falls from the sky... R-A-I-N-Y
Today the clouds are in the sky... C-L-OUD-Y
Today the fog hangs in the sky... F-O-G-G-Y
Today the snow falls from the sky... S-N-O-W-Y
Today we have to wear a coat.. C-O-L-D

Haricuts and Healthy Dinners

Today I took Joseph to get a haircut. He really enjoys the attention. We went to the commissary to pick up some ingredients for supper. I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Joseph helped me grate the breadcrumbs. I took some over to my mom's house since she wasn't feeling very well. She said that she really enjoyed it. On the way there, Joseph fell asleep. I thought about waking him up since he hasn't seen grandma in a few days but I thought he could use the nap. As I was driving home I suddenly got a hankering for shaved ice. I drove all the way to Hale`iwa to get some Matsumoto Shave Ice. I really wanted to share it with Joseph but he's at a stage where he thinks he's a big boy and needs his OWN everything. So I ate half of my small strawberry (they have a sugar-free syrup selection) and he ate six bites of his small strawberry and we were pau. Oh well. It was a beautiful drive and very relaxing. When we got home, Joseph wasn't hungry so we went upstairs, brushed our teeth, read books, and went to bed. I guess he had shave ice for dinner. Shhhh... don't tell anyone!

Spaghetti and Chocolate Milk

Joseph and I had a terrific day together. Stacy and Nine came over again and that was waaaaaaay fun! It's amazing how they can play together despite their age difference! He's such a little daredevil and I absolutely love him to pieces. The highlight of the play date was when he vomited all over the floor and poor Stacy held her cupped hands out to catch it. Unfortunately, it was projectile vomit and although she did catch a good amount of it, the capacity of her hands were no match for the Juicy Juice, SPAM musubi, and kakimochi that spewed out. I'm not joking, though. It was a highlight because I'll never forget it!

While picking lemons from my lemon tree, I accidentally threw a long wooden stick over the wall and into my neighbor's yard. I had to retrieve it as quickly as possible so they wouldn't think I was trying to burgle them. Stacy brought over some ono fried chicken from Taniokas. I've never been but I understand that it is renowned for its seafood.

After our guests left and Joseph took his nap, we went to Hickam Beach. I used to not understand what the fuss was over Hickam Beach. Ever since I've had Joseph, though, I completely understand the beauty of the flat, shallow water. We had a great time in the water. We were pretending to feed each other our favorite things. I stood in the water, bucket in hand, pouring "chocolate milk" into Joseph's bucket while he poured "spaghetti with meat sauce" into my bucket. He has such an amazing imagination that it's difficult to keep up with him!

All that talk of spaghetti made me hungry for dinner. Joseph and I went to Zippy's (to use the gift certificate Mr. Palacio gave me for Christmas LAST YEAR) and ordered two mini spaghetti's (one without the noodles - less carbohydrates) and chocolate milk.

We went home and took an abbreviated bath. When we went to floss our teeth I was marveling at how thorough and meticulous he was and I said, "I'll bet you're going to be a dentist when you grow up because you're so good at flossing." To which my perfect, beautiful son responded, "No, I'm going to be like you when I grow up."