Reality Check

My kids undoubtedly believe in the healing power of kisses. No one in this house under 5 feet can leave a boo boo unattended until you kiss the exact spot of pain. I love it.

They also believe that as a part of daddy's regular chores he kills any monster that might come from their closets or from under their beds.

This is why I'm a little surprised sometimes when I get a dose of reality from my kids.

Yesterday, I was joking around with Iwa and told her that we needed to move to Mercury for some reason or another. She said, "No, mommy. That's to close to the sun. It would be way too hot for us there."

Iwa: 1
Mommy: 0

What made me sad was a few days before that she was wanting something. She said, "I would wish on a star, but they're just balls of fire in space. They don't come true."

I've been thinking about that ever since.

I told her that we don't have to wish on stars because we have prayer and all of that, but a part of me is sad that one piece of childhood is taken away from her by reality. Sheesh. Education.

I realized all was not lost, though, when she helped me hunt leprechauns. John and I were on our way somewhere with the kids. We were talking about where to go or something and, of course, she was trying to be in our conversation.

Iwalani: Mommy, where are we going?

Me: (jokingly) I don't know about you guys but I'm looking for leprechauns. I hear he has some really good Lucky Charms.

Iwalani: (in an "Whatever, Mommy" kinda laugh and tone) Okay mommy..

**long silence**

Iwalani: So, Mommy... what do leprechauns look like?

Of course I told her where we were actually going, but if she was going to believe that, she's still a kid.

I'd rather not think about what it says about me.

Math

For all of you who know how much I love math, here's a little equation for you:

This:+ this:= this:
and this:and when you add 6 years (what?!?) = this:Happy 6th birthday, test child. You've been a good sport. Here's to many, many more.

(years people..... more years.)

Wockets and pockets

I cannot get Dr.Seuss off my mind lately. His birthday is Wednesday and my classes are doing projects inspired by his work. Because of this, and because it's just plain good stuff, I've been reading a lot of Dr.Seuss both to my kids at home and my kids at school.

In preparation for this, I did a lot of internet research on Dr.Seuss and discovered that (not surprisingly) he had a lot of good stuff to say.

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

When people express their amazement about how alike my kids look, and how much they look like me, I jokingly call myself a human Xerox. I mean really- three chances for genetic variations and this is what we get?
While the four of us do look alike (sorry John), they all have their distinct personalities. If they learn nothing else from me, I hope they learn to be themselves because you should...

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Here are two more I love:

"Adults are just obsolete children and to Hell with them."

"If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good."

...and one final one that I would love to have cross-stitched and framed in my house:

"I've heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me."

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss. Thanks.

Hot-lanta

Last week I went to Atlanta for school. I looked out my hotel room to see this:I was sent to visit this man:Who co-founded this school:The school visit started in the library with stuff like this painted on the ceiling:
...and this jumpy thing as a permanent fixture in the middle (yes, of the library):
The classrooms all had fun stuff like this in them:
We learned (and sang and danced and laughed) a lot and at the end of the day, the only way out was to go down this slide:
What an amazing place! You can go here and read more about him/his school.

The house was even still standing when I got home.

Happy (early) Valentine's

Valentine's Day was always my favorite holiday as a kid.

Not for the romance aspect. Bleh! No, I love Valentine's Day because of the crafting possibilities. There's just something about heart shaped doilies that makes me pause and think, "what could a grown woman do with these?"

The answer, is nothing.

This is why I had kids.

As I said in an earlier post, I made the kids' Valentines this year. I ran into a post on the blog I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. This also introduced me to the photo editing website called Picnik. I see many more projects like this in my future.

Here is Iwa's:
For the treat, I upcycled a bunch of broken crayons (I'm an art teacher who can't throw anything away in a school of 900+ kids. I have plenty of these) into heart-shaped crayons. I put them in a snack-sized ziploc bag and stapled the picture on top.

For Kawika's, I stuck more closely to the idea I saw on the blog:
...mostly because he has THE BEST kissy face in the world. I filled a snack-sized ziploc with Hershey's Kisses.

I still couldn't find a way to incorporate doilies. Maybe next year.

Spoiler alert

This year, I made the kids' class Valentines. I'll post them when I'm done but here's a sneak peek of Kawika's:


...just makes me smile every time!

Happy birthday, daddy!

...John warming his hands by the fire.

We know you've only spent the last 8 1/2 years with us, but we love you forever.

Here's to many, many more.