Monday, March 28, 2011

Shakira and Niamh, Pretty Much the Same Person

I have been waiting months for this performance to happen.

Niamh’s class was one of the classes doing a dance performance at her school’s International Dinner Night. The night features performances from half of the classes at John Stanford International School, plus performances from the school’s BOC Kids (Bilingual Orientation Center). The “dinner” part of the night went away this year because norovirus was served for dinner the last 2 years. Ewwww. Having seen the entertainment provided by the kids, I doubt the pot luck was the reason folks went to the event.

One of Niamh’s teachers is a Zumba instructor, so she was the natural choice to choreograph the 1st Grade Spanish Class performance. The music she chose was Waka Waka, by Shakira. I have been listening to Shakira since I studied in Ecuador, which was way before Hips Don’t Lie, the song that made her famous in the USofA . I’m a huge fan.

Though Niamh and I listened to the song over and over and over, memorizing it in both Spanish and English, Niamh refused to let me see her practice the dance.

I know its really good to practice things more when you’re at home, Mama, and Jaya practices at home, but I just don’t want to. There is a reason we call her Lazy Legs.

Needless to say, I was very excited to see her class walk on to the stage and hear the opening holler of the song begin.

Needless to say, I was less than thrilled with my seating choice to video the performance once I realized Niamh was almost totally blocked from my sight, the lights were so bright that the kids faces were all blown out, and the 3rd grade boys I had positioned myself next to were very gassy.

Try to spot Niamh. She is second row, center stage, wearing a dark blue skirt with lighter blue belt. Featured in the front row are 3 of her besties, Hayden, Drew, and Jaya. Jaya is really enjoying herself. She practiced a lot.

Bueno, Damas y Caballeros, les presento El Primer Grado de Espanol y su interpretacion de Waka Waka!



Even though I couldn't see Niamh clearly the whole time, I had a HUGE smile on my face and tears in my eyes the whole time. There is something about watching my own kid and her friends on stage that confuses me emotionally.


There Can Be No Other Explanation

I’m pretty sure that Finn, my sweet 5 year old, my boy who loves to cuddle and give kisses, my boy who can spend an entire day quietly at the table following the instructions in a LEGO book to build a fire truck, my boy who asks if we can buy his sister a lollipop when we are out and she is at school, I’m pretty sure that in a past life my boy was a beer guzzling frat guy.



Thursday, March 24, 2011

Commandment Numero Uno

Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me.

On Sundays I stand before them and they begin their worship ceremony.

Friday, March 18, 2011

We Have Yet To Catch A Leprechaun

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For the second year in a row, we didn’t catch the St. Paddy’s Day Leprechaun that comes to our house. We know he was here because he switched all our whole grain cereals for Lucky Charms, he peed in the toilet, and he made our milk green.

This year’s trap was a much simpler idea than last year’s trap. Niamh wanted to put duct tape down so that he would get stuck when walking toward the bowl of shiny gold coins and York Peppermint Pattys. This was something that her group did last year at her afterschool program. Last year, the Leprechaun’s shoes stuck to the tape, but the little rascal just took off his shoes and got away. So, she remedied that with a sign that asked him to take off his shoes.

Looks like what happened is he took off his shoes and in his stocking feet walked over the bridge toward the shiny loot. If you look closely at the picture you can see the fuzz from his white socks stuck to the tape. His socks just didn’t stick enough to the tape to trap him like a fly on fly paper.

I’ve got some ideas for next year. I’m not listening to the kids anymore. I’m more Irish than they are. I’m 100% Irish and they’ve been tainted by Steve’s DNA. I’m going to trap him in a box of Irish Oatmeal. You just wait and see.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Finn’s 5th Birthday

Well, thank goodness Finn can’t access the internet, he doesn’t know there is a blog about him and his sister, and he can’t read. If he was knowledgeable about any of those things he’d know that his Mama is way behind in posting about his 5th birthday.

I’ve thought lot about posting about Finn’s birthday but the farther from the day it gets, the more pressure I feel to recap the event in detail. The more detail I try to remember, the more I regret not posting the day of the event. The more I realize I can’t remember, the older I feel. The older I feel, the sadder I get. The sadder I get, the more I visit the liquor store (conveniently)  down the street. The more I visit the liquor store, the less money I have to buy my couch. The less money I have to buy my couch, the more I overtime I sign up for at work. The more overtime I work, the less time I have to post about Finn’s birthday. See where I’m going with this?

Hopefully when I’m 82 and Finn is 51, the following photos and minimal captions will tell the story of the birthday that celebrated his half decade of life.

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Niamh went to school with a 7 painted on her face because she is not to be outdone by her brother…not even on his  birthday.

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At lunch with the Prentices and Sieberts. We really like them. 5 years has not cured Finn’s eye deviations.

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Hadley Jane. My favorite UnWestover.

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This is what happens when you say to Hadley “be silly.” She shows you her bootie. I’m pretty sure that after this photo, Hads said she was going to pee on all of us…and I laughed…and her Mom gave me “that look.”

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This is the look that a 5 year old boy gives you when you give him books for his birthday for the sake of his mom. He looks at you like “Ummmm, is this a Lego set?”

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This is the kind of cake the greatest Mom in the world makes. Wondering how I made it? Well, keep wondering. I had to suffer through tutorials and the search for a Lego mold, so should you.

(I’m cheap. For $5 I’ll tell you the secret how to make it.)

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Heading downstairs for the “movie” part of the Movie Birthday Party.

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This shot was taken from the disco balcony in our dining room. We’re cool.

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Playing “Dancing Statues”.

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I LOVE THIS FACE

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The cake that looked great but tasted awful.

I believe that looks are everything.

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The best group of Preschoolers in the Pacific NW!

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I wish I could Age Enhance this 12 years to their senior year in high school.

Monday, March 7, 2011

A Whole Lotta Love

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Finn, I Love (x7) You. You are a great stuffed animal. I love pie too but I love you the best. Love, Niamh.

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Dear Finn, You are playful. You are loveable. You are funny. I love you. You are strong. I love when you play with me. I love you Finn with all my heart.

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Dear Dad, Are you strong. I love you. You scare me every minute. Love, Niamh. PS I love you.

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Dear Mommy, I love you with all my heart. I love you Mommy because you are my mommy. From, Niamh.

So, In summary. Niamh loves Finn more than pie and she is clear that he is strong. Daddy scares her, and she questions his strength. And, she loves me because I’m her mommy.

Finn’s a lucky guy.

I’m No Sucker

Niamh just approached me for another lollipop.

She looked pretty pathetic and explained that she needed another one because she accidently ate the first one too fast and she didn’t mean to. Please?

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With practice, I have found its gets easier and easier to say No to this face.