January Whirlwind

January was full of events...it's all a blur!--

1. San Antonio Food Bank: For a Girl Scout service project, Elina and I volunteered a few hours at the local Food Bank.  It was really rewarding and such hard work!  They really put you to work and it makes the time fly.  Besides the 15 minute orientation, you are working the entire 3 hours you are there.  We were in charge of bakery items, so we sorted through loaves of bread, cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and more.  There were a few organizations there doing different jobs...sorting through canned food, working in the garden.  At the end, they informed us that we had all sorted through 13,000 pounds of food.  Amazing!  This is something I hope we can all do as a family when the kids get older.

2. Monster Jam: This is an event that Elina and Eli have been asking about for a whole year.  Ever since they went last year, they've been asking when they would get to go again.  And this year, Evie got to join them!  She was in heaven to be able to join the big kids!  They had an awesome time, as usual.  The favorites are always the dog truck and the mohawk truck.  The kids had a blast!

3. Wee Folks Recital: Elina and Eli had another recital this month.  This was a recital for kids 8 years old and younger (hence the name "Wee Folks").  They both did so well.  Eli was really nervous because he was the first one to perform since he was the youngest one there.  He played his piece perfectly though.  

There was another 8 year old girl there who played right before Elina.  She played a sonatina impeccably.  It was beautiful and amazing.  This really intimidated Elina, so she was pretty nervous when it was her turn.  Poor thing!  But she still did a great job!  I couldn't tell she was nervous at all!

4. Dance Class: Evie has officially joined dance class.  She has traded in her white belt for a leotard and tights.  She is in heaven.  She loves going to dance class, dancing on her tippy toes and tapping her shoes.  It's the cutest class!

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5. Planet Presentation: Eli's class was studying the solar system and they had big planet presentations in class.  All the kids picked their planet out of a hat and Eli got Saturn.  He was so excited!  He did such a great job drawing his planet.  He used watercolors for the planet and every single piece of craft material from my craft closet for the rings.  He did a great job!

6. My Birthday: I turned 38 this year.  Where has the time gone??  Unfortunately, I was also sick on my birthday.  But it didn't ruin everything.  My family was visiting for an early Chinese New Year and my birthday, so it was fun to have everyone here.  The kids, J, and B made me breakfast in bed--pancakes to remind me how old I am.  Ha!

The kids all made me cute cards and a cake, too.

 

What a great family!  I'm so thankful I have all these kids to keep my caffeine addiction going, to hone my time management skills on a daily basis, and to keep me on my toes.  Without these little ones I would never understand the true power of baby wipes, snacks, and candy.  I love my family!

Spelling Bee Blues

It's taken me quite awhile to post this.  I was really sad for a bit and couldn't get myself to sit down and type this post.  What am I referring to, you ask?  I'm talking about the Spelling Bee, y'all.  I know I sound really lame by saying I'm saddened by something like this, but I just can't help it.  You'll see why.

Before Winter Break, all the class spelling bee winners were given the school spelling bee list.  This list had about 450 words on it for grades 1-5.  Some were really simple, others were crazy-hard.  (Do you know the spelling and definition of the word "dirndl?") We knew it would take a lot of work, so B and I started studying with Elina halfway through Winter Break.  We studied for 2 whole weeks.  We looked words up left and right to find out the definitions and pronunciations.  We carried the list around everywhere.  We quizzed her during meals and in the car.  We didn't expect her to win or anything because she would be up against 5th graders, but she was SOOOOO nervous about it.  The only way I knew how to calm her nerves was to prepare her...make her comfortable with the words.  And it really helped.  We started using the new words when we spoke to each other.  We would come up with some pretty funny sentences!  It was all starting to make more sense to Elina.

Besides knowing the words, I tried to emphasize to Elina the importance of being sure about the words she would be asked to spell.  I told her, "If you don't know what she's saying, then buy your time.  Ask for everything--repeat, definition, sentence, origin."  She said she understood.

The night before the bee, Elina was so worried.  She kept saying, "What if I don't even make it through Round 1??" and "What if I'm the 1st one out???"  It was not pretty, but I knew I would be feeling the same things, too.

On the day of the bee, I took Eli (even though he had school...he was just so excited to see Elina in the bee), Evie, and Eulee with me to cheer Elina on.  Elina was the 10th speller up there.  We were all so nervous and excited at the same time.  Elina got up to spell her first word, MASK.  The librarian automatically gave a definition since it sounds similar to other words.  I could tell from Elina's face that she wasn't really listening to the definition.  She just looked so very very nervous.  Then she looked at me...like a deer in the headlights...confused and unsure.  I KNEW she wasn't sure what word was said.  I was using all my might to mentally tell her "repeat" or "sentence."  I kept saying those words over and over again in my head.  But, alas, it was too late.  She didn't ask for any of it, and went ahead and said, "MASS...M-A-S-S...MASS."  I nearly keeled over.  The librarian said, "I'm sorry, that is incorrect."  Elina looked stunned.  She swore she had heard MASS and spelled it correctly.  She quietly exited the stage and sat down.

I went over to her and tears were streaming down her cheeks.  I gave her a huge hug and I just wanted to whisk her away.  She was so so sad.  And so was I.  And so were Eli and Evie.  (Later on Eli told me, "Mommy, I wanted to cry when Jie Jie got it wrong."  Breaks my heart.)

The bee resumed and we stayed to watch.  What hurt all of us even more was that every single word the librarian chose, Elina knew like the back of her hand.  They were all specific words that we had emphasized...and she knew them all too well.  It was like rubbing salt in the wound.  Elina said that she was spelling all the words in her head while the other spellers were up there.  Poor thing.  Then to top it all off, we could totally tell that a lot of the kids didn't study that hard...or they didn't go so far as to find out the correct pronunciations for some of the words.  One speller got VERDURE and spelled it with a J in the middle.  Another kid spelled ASYLUM as A-S-I-L-E-M.  This made Elina and me even more sad.

You don't realize it, but a spelling bee is really one of the most heartbreaking things to watch...completely gut-wrenching.  Elina wasn't the only one who didn't hear the right word.  One kid got INCHED but he spelled INCH instead.  Then there were a lot of kids who would begin spelling a word, stop mid-way to ask for a definition or repetition, then re-spell the word from the beginning again....which is totally illegal!  So they would get it wrong regardless of whether they re-spelled it correctly or not.  I wanted to give all those kids big hugs.  They were all crushed.  Many of the girls ran off the stage in tears.  So very sad.

After school, we took Elina to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins (her favorite place).  I even let her get a cone, which I don't normally do.  What was so sweet was that Eli was eyeing the cone and I said, "Oh, Eli, it's because--" and before I could finish the sentence he said, "I know, Mommy.  I know."  (Seriously, folks, I love my sweet Eli!!)  While we had ice cream, Elina finally started talking about the spelling bee.  I think she was removed enough to not feel as sad anymore.  We talked about all the words that were spelled incorrectly.  Y'all know that Elina has a crazy memory, right?  Well, she remembered which word every single speller got wrong...and HOW they misspelled it, too!  So once we got home, Elina immediately grabbed her spelling list and told me, "I'm going to mark off all the words that were used and I'm going to highlight all the words that were misspelled."  Then she quietly worked on it for 45 minutes.  I know she sounds completely insane, but I think it was cathartic for her.  After that, we looked it over and she looked better...more happy.  She told me, "Mommy, I just feel like we wasted our time."  I told her that we definitely didn't waste our time because we all learned so many new words and definitions.  I told her that this was just a humbling learning experience to prepare her for next year's spelling bee.

So, what have we learned?--

1. You can never be too sure.  One boy was really smart and asked for his word, HOPE, in a sentence even though he knew what it was.  There were a few snickers from the audience, but I thought he was so smart to take his time and make sure.  Now Elina knows to ask for every single thing--repeat, definition, sentence, origin--no matter what the word is.

2. Confidence is everything.  Elina was SO nervous in the beginning.  I know that if she had just gotten that first word correct, she would have felt more confident and relaxed a little.  It's all about getting over the initial anxiety.

It took Elina and me a few weeks before we could say or hear the words "spelling bee" without glancing at each other or shuddering.  I'm not saying she would have won the bee, but it would have been nice for her to get out on a word she heard correctly and honestly misspelled.  But now she's ready for next year and she's looking forward to it.  Life goes on.  We're more humbled and we've learned a lot.  Live and learn...live and learn.

Eli at 6

It's hard to believe Eli is already 6 years old and halfway through Kindergarten.

Here are his stats--

Weight: 40 lbs 5 oz (15th percentile)

Height: 43.5" (12th percentile)

He is still our sweet little boy.  He's caring and always asks if we are feeling better after we get hurt or we have been feeling under the weather.  He's also surprisingly polite.  He's so sweet that he can't go into his classroom without giving Eulee and Evie goodbye hugs...it's the best.  He really gives the most sincere hugs and says the most thoughtful things.  He's a wonderful brother!

Even so, he has developed some not-so-good habits this year.  He is definitely more resistant to things now.  He used to readily comply to any request, but now he can resist.  I always need to remember to give him warnings about transitions way ahead of time, otherwise we have a problem later.  He's not awful, but he definitely voices his complaints more.  "I'm tired" is an all-time favorite.

Eli has also grown to be somewhat of a sore loser.  This boy does not like to lose at all.  It's something we're working on every day.  It's a struggle...and some days are better than others, but we're working on it.

Even though Eli has developed some less-than-appealing habits, he is still the absolute best!  He is such an awesome reader.  He still loves to draw and play outside.  He loves going to karate and pretending to be a ninja or a Power Ranger.  He loves pretend fighting all the time.

He has also gotten pretty good at the piano.  He's still in the honeymoon period where he enjoys to practice...I hope that doesn't wear off too quickly.

Here are Eli's favorite things now that he's 6--

Favorite animal: "loin" (LION)

Favorite color: gold

Favorite book: Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed 

Favorite activities: making paper snowflakes, camping, playing Wii (especially Mario Kart)

Favorite food: "raveelly" (RAVIOLI WITH PESTO)

Favorite drinks: "hot choklets and sprit" (HOT CHOCOLATE and SPRITE)

Favorite restaurant: Red Robin

Favorite shows: Wild Kratts and Power Rangers

Favorite movies: 'Loin Kige" (LION KING) and Ponyo

Favorite dinosaur: "Gignotusoris" (GIGANOTOSAURUS)

Favorite piece of clothing: "raskore shrt" (RACE CAR SHIRT)

When I grow up I want to be: "itmollugist" (ETYMOLOGIST)

We love our little 6 year old!

Last Hurrah

Right before school started back up again, B took a few days off so that we could take the kids out for some fun.

First B took the older kids roller skating.  Then we all went to Incredible Pizza to play some games and ride in go karts.

Then we decided to take all the kids to Six Flags.  We have season passes and it was the last weekend before the season was going to end.  I must say that it was the nicest time I've had in a theme park in a very long time.  The weather was nice and cool (I'm definitely more cranky when it's hot and humid!), there were no lines, and we didn't have any time constraints.  We lucked out because Eulee was only on one nap that day so we had the luxury of being at Six Flags for 5 hours straight that day.  We closed the park out!  Since we weren't rushing for a nap or bedtime, we just took our time with everything...walked around leisurely, got on fun rides multiple times.  Sometimes, I can't wait for Eulee to be only on one nap a day.

The awesome thing about this trip was that the kids were willing to ride most of the rides.  During the summer, Elina actually started liking roller coasters...not the adult ones, but at least the Roadrunner Express.

She wanted to go on it so many times!  So this time she had to ride it a few times with B.  Then she also wanted to ride on a few other thrill rides.  Her favorite was Pandemonium which is a roller coaster where the cars twirl around!  It looks crazy (like pandemonium) from far away.  I could never ride that!  But B and Elina rode it twice and loved it.  B is so happy that he can finally ride some semi-thrilling rides now!  He has been waiting for this day to arrive.  He absolutely loves thrill rides and is always sad to walk by them when we go to theme parks.

What surprised us the most that day was Evie.  She was willing to go on any thrill ride that she was tall enough for.  She was loving it!

I couldn't believe that she actually enjoyed the Wave Runner.  It went so fast, but she was just laughing and laughing while she rode it.  Eli sat out for this one and was glad that he did.  When he saw how fast they were going he said, "Sicky, sicky!"   Eli didn't even want the teacups on the teacup ride to spin around either.  On the other hand, Elina and B were spinning their own teacup around so quickly that I wanted to throw up just watching them!

Maybe Eli will outgrow it...that's what B is hoping for.  Who knew Evie was such a thrill-seeker?  Well, relatively speaking I guess she's pretty wild and crazy, so I shouldn't be surprised.  What was funny was that she was willing to ride all these big rides, but when it came to the Scooby-Doo shooting game (which was totally fun), she didn't want to ride it more than once because it was dark and a little spooky.  She can handle being thrown and spun around, but once you turn the lights off, she's outta there!

Eulee got to ride a whole bunch of rides, too!  I was so excited that we could ride so many rides as a family on this trip.

When were on the swing ride, Eulee couldn't stop saying, "Oooooooooh!"  (She also says this whenever she sees pretty Christmas lights.)

After we got home that night and put the kids to bed, I told B that I had such an amazing time.  It was really one of the best family days we've had.  There was just no stress and it was just pure fun.  I definitely need more of these outings in 2014!

Then to end our Winter Break, we had a fire and roasted marshmallows and drank hot cocoa.  What a perfect ending to a wonderful break!  I miss it already!

Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year!! 

On New Years Eve I put up envelopes on the wall.  Each envelope had a time on it to countdown for the day.  When it was the right time, the kids would open up the envelope and find an activity to do.  The deal was that even if the activity was mundane or not a favorite, we still had to all do it together for at least 30 minutes.  I decided to do this at the last-minute so I didn't make it look cute at all.  Plus, some of the activities were just regular things to play around the house.  Nothing too exciting, but the kids thought it was more exciting because it was in an ENVELOPE!

Here is a list of some of the things we did--

*Work on a puzzle...we got a 1000 piece puzzle to work on together during the break.  Lots of fun!

*Play board games...I had to strategically do this one during an hour when Eulee was napping.  That girl is all about ruining our games these days.

*Watch TV...see, like I said, not all of them were exciting...although the kids were very excited by this one!

*Make anything in the kitchen as long as we have the ingredients...the kids were most excited about this one.  Luckily, they chose things that were easy to make.  I thought they would want to bake something, but they just wanted to make their own smoothies and snow cones.  Phew!

*Play Hide n Seek...this one was lots of fun for all of us.

*Take a silly picture with props...this one was funny, too.  They all went upstairs and chose dress-up items and 'lo and behold, our son was the only one in a skirt and high heels.  B said that I am forbidden from posting those pictures, so this is all I can give you.  Still silly though...

*Make necklaces with cereal. Old-school, right?

And the last one was...Go somewhere fun to celebrate!  The kids thought we were going to Chuck E. Cheese for New Years.  Isn't that just sad??

Well, this year we spent New Years Eve night with our friends AJ and her family.  They have 4 kids, we have 4 kids...it's always a party when we get together!

The kids played together and the parents chatted and ate food.  Then we did sparklers outside.  I was so proud that finally all 3 kids did sparklers!!  Last year only Eli refused to join, but this year he was totally ok with it.  Yay!

Then we watched a countdown from the other side of the globe at 10pm and made lots of noise and showered confetti on the kids.  We used the same confetti we used last year and made a big ol' mess.  It's funny because AJ is not a fan of messes at all, so it was awesome to do that at her house!  But we all helped clean up in the end, so it wasn't SO bad.
I love that in the picture below, B looks like he is the most excited about the confetti!  Ha!  It was difficult to really take pictures since B and I were the ones in charge of showering the confetti...so this is all I got.

We also ate a cupcake clock that I made.  During the day, the kids kept moving the hands of the clock.  It was really cute.  I only made it because I had leftover cupcakes from Eli's birthday party in the freezer.  Lucky find!

We ended up putting the big kids to bed at 11:30pm.  I wanted to let them stay awake another 30 minutes but B was exhausted and nixed the idea.  Plus, they all had dark pinks circles around their eyes, so I knew they were toast.  They didn't put up much of a fight when we put them to bed either.  Maybe next year...

When we did our New Years toast, we all said what our wishes were for 2014.  (I also had us all write them down in our Family Celebration notebook.)  The kids had such cute wishes for this coming year!  Eli wants to learn to whistle, to blow a bubble with bubblegum, to invent whatever he wants to invent (like a flying car), to play soccer, to ride the boat on the Riverwalk, and to drink coffee!

Evie wants to see a shooting a star and to learn to play piano.  How cute!  She's definitely been jamming out on the piano lately.

Elina also wants to learn to blow bubbles with gum and to drink coffee...hmmmm, maybe B and I are consuming too much coffee these days?  She also would like to build a clubhouse in our backyard, learn to make more awesome rubber band bracelets with her loom, and to do spins on her roller skates.

I wished for earlier bedtimes to make for less crankiness and less yelling and more happiness.  I also wished that I could learn to decorate cakes better this year...maybe with a class or something.

B wished for more project completion.  I think he meant to make that wish for 3 years from now.  He definitely jumped the gun on that one.  Ha!

I guess we have lots to do in 2014!