M.I.A.

No, no, no. Not the Mutual Improvement Association. (Was it seriously called that?)
I plan to go missing for awhile, because I just got a lovely little package in the mail today. I have been dying to get a REAL photo editing program... you can only do so much with Picasa or Piknic. So while I teach myself new things, I will probably not be reading blogs or posting much on here. I only have so much computer time in a day, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to obsess it all on this program.
Plus, Skip got new tires and new bumpers for the Jeep, so he will be busy pimping that bad boy out. Which means I won't feel guilty about taking additional computer time while he's home. So basically, we'll be useless to the world for a week or so. Anyone wanna take care of my kids?

Tunesday: Goapele

This week's tune is Closer by Goapele. She has only been on the music scene since the start of the new millenium, and has released three albums. Her voice reminds me a little of the smooth, rich vocals of Sade. Here's a little write-up I found on her:

"Goapele (born Goapele Mohlabane on 11th July 1977 in Oakland, California) is a U.S. soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means “to go forward” in the South African language Sesotho. She was born to a Jewish mother, Noa, and an African father, Douglas Mohlabane, who was a South African political exile. They married in Nairobi, Kenya." (www.last.fm/music/Goapele) (note my keen ability to reference copyrighted material.)

This isn't really a love song; it's more like a song about moving on. I don't really know why she wrote it, or what she was writing about. But when I listen to it, the melody is almost hypnotic, and her vocals are so soothing, that it makes me feel like she's coming out of something ugly and finding her way towards something better. I think everyone can relate to that. Check her out, she has lots of other great songs.

Cold, Hard Cash

Does this kid look happy? Is this the face of a satisfied child? Do you see pride and accomplishment all over the place? As well you should.


I believe I mentioned sometime back that this young man made a less-than-stellar choice at school. While I wouldn't rank it up there in severity with the goings-on of a Somali pirate, or the shenanigans of Bernie Madoff, it was nonetheless a poor choice.
As a result of said poor choice, this child was required to wear church clothes to school for awhile (to remind him how to comport himself appropriately) and was also removed from his karate class.
I am not one to waste a dollar, and suddenly, we were $51 in the hole on this karate class. Guess who was going to pay us back? Ah yes. Young Master Keola. He did jobs and chores and menial labor, otherwise known as "opportunities." It went a little something like this:
"AH! The dishwasher needs to be unloaded. Would anyone like an OPPORTUNITY to earn a quarter?"


It proved to be a good learning experience for all of us. At first I affixed a price to various jobs; he quickly learned that he could do a crappy job sweeping and get 50 cents. So we nixed the price list, and just kept "suggested opportunities" posted. His effort determined the payment.
Also, about 2 weeks into the experiment, the poor child had a meltdown. He was crying in his room and said, "I am NEVER going to earn that much money!" It was a good opportunity to help him brainstorm what he needed to do, and made me realize that I needed to put a time frame on the deal. We set a goal for him to finish within a month. Having a tangible end in sight helped him focus more on how much he needed to earn per day.
He also had a great chance to sharpen his math skills. He knows a whole lot now about quarters and dollars, and how to add them. I daresay he will sail through this portion of the 2nd grade curriculum.


When he was finished, I emailed his principal and his teacher these pictures. I asked them to give him an extra high five and let him know that they were happy to hear that he had worked hard to right his wrong. Some days, the process was sheer drudgery for all of us. But the end result was absolutely worthwhile. And Skip and I really appreciated the fine fifty-one dollar meal we treated ourselves to at the end.

My Easter Peeps

Still trying to get a feel for when to use the new flash. It was overcast, so I was hoping to brighten the shots a bit and fill out some shadows. It worked in some pictures, and others just got too much light. Overall, the whole family was cooperative and cheerful, with minimal threat from mom. What a bunch of troopers.

I sure do love my family.

Tunesday: Landslide

Dave will 'splain you some facts:


I chose this song for so many reasons. First of all, I love classic music; stuff that has been around forever and that people still love listening to. There's a lot of Fleetwood Mac that qualifies there. Landslide is such a reflective song. Stevie Nicks once said it's a song about making choices. Sometimes life throws you huge choices and you question your abilities to make those choices...and sometimes it just feels good to listen to a song that lets you know someone else has felt the same way. In my opinion, the best line of the whole song is "Can I handle the seasons of my life?" Really, sometimes my days feel like entire seasons in and of themselves.

Anyway.

This song plays for about 4:40, and then another one starts. I couldn't find a shorter clip with the same intro from Dave, so only feel obligated to listen to the first 4:40. I like the cut from this album (The Dance) better than any others I've heard, so when you download, be sure to look for this version.

Two Birthdays and an Easter (and pictures of none)

First off, thanks for all the advice. When it comes to parenting, aren't we all just flying by the seat of our pants? I guess the pants just fit better on some than on others. I'm still struggling to get mine buttoned up right. We have talked about it a lot over the past several weeks; I think we are going to give them a copy of the booklet For the Strength of Youth. (a book of guildelines put out for the youth in the LDS church). Someone pointed out that if they're old enough to be in a situation requiring guidelines, then they're old enough to read the guidelines.
Really, the goal is to teach them to internalize good choices. While this doesn't absolve us of setting limits and guidelines, we want them to make choices simply because it's the right thing to do. It's harder with Jordan and Sam because we don't have much say in their day to day lives when they're not with us. (you already know my thoughts on kids and cell phones for social purposes... totally ridiculous) Parenting is hard because you want so much for your kids, but really, life is theirs to learn and grow from. Hopefully, when you get your occasional strokes of parental genius they'll be open to them... but you can't force it.

Anyway.

This year we got super lucky. Jordan and Samantha are here for their spring break, and it happens to fall on Noe's birthday, Samantha's birthday, and Easter. Three holidays that we never get to celebrate together, and this year the planets aligned and we got all three.

Jordan said to me, "I like that picture. It makes me look like a fun-loving guy." He kills me.

We took Samie out for her birthday with a friend, we had Noe's party with too many friends, and we're looking forward to new outfits and an Easter Sunday tomorrow. And of course EVERYONE in the family is REALLY SUPER EXCITED about dressing up and taking some pictures tomorrow. It's all they talk about, really. "Mom! Can we go take family pictures now? Please? Can we?"

What? Did you call me a liar?

Yeah. I prefer the term "wishful thinker".

Happy Easter!

Eeek. Parenting.

Let's just say that hypothetically, there were some boys who were beginning to show interest in girls. And let's just say that there were girls who were beginning to show interest back in those boys.
Let's also say that these boys are just too young for this kind of stuff. What do you say to the boys? How do you set boundaries when you're not sure what kind of boundaries to set? "Don't talk to girls"? "Don't associate with those girls"?
I want open communication with my children. I want them to know that I respect their feelings. But I also want them to know that they are too young. I realize it's starting younger these days, and I also realize that they are bombarded with this stuff. Everything around them tells them it's cool to be in a relationship. It's cool to text, to call; to be texted, to be called; to visit girls or be visited by them. But I'm not ready for this, and frankly, neither are my sons.
How do I tell them that while still keeping the lines of communcation open, and letting them know that I respect their feelings?
Thoughts? PLEASE??

Tunesday: Saving The World, One Track at a Time

I have decided to start a new feature over here. If you know me at all, you know how much I love music. We have something like 6500 songs on our iTunes. Music is almost always on in our house.

My tastes are ridiculously eclectic. But if you stay tuned, I promise every once in awhile there will be a Tunesday for you. I will try to include some info with each song, so that you can broaden your horizons in the process. I know, pretty big of me, right? And I insist that if you don't have the song in your personal library, then download it. (mp3panda.com is only 20 cents a track) There will always be an occasion when you should be listening to it. I'll be sure to point that out as well.

The kick-off tune for this series is "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire. It's a little tribute to the man I love. I love EWF, and one of the first things I found attractive about him was that he knew more about them than I did. These guys are great on the horns, with some funky vocals to match. Maurice White has performed with lots of greats, including Muddy Waters and Etta James. And you'll instantly recognize Phillip Bailey's crazy falsetto voice. Their hits began in the 70's, and in 2004 they were still going strong, blowing it up with Outkast performing "I Like The Way You Move". They also performed in '07 on American Idol's "Idol Gives Back." And I read something recently that said they performed at the White House for the first dinner hosted by the Obamas. Not sure if that's true, but you can look it up.

I chose this song as a must have in your music library because it is so fun. Everyone knows it, and no matter where you are (excluding church or a formal business meeting) people get up and move when they hear it. Don't feel like doing housework? Turn on "September" and your vaccuum will practically move itself. I promise.

Pass Me The Kleenex

My daughter turned six today. I can't stand it. I have cried four or five times today just looking at her. MY BABY! The last fruit of my loom. Or however that expression goes. I adore this little girl.

She brings joy to my life in a way I cannot explain. We were reading our scriptures tonight, and she read almost an entire verse. If you have any idea how hard she has to work in school, you would realize that this is a huge accomplishment for her. I tried not to cry. Again.

She is forgiving, enthusiastic, determined and loving. In Hawaiian, her name means "beautiful gift from heaven." She is, indeed, just that in my life. And she is no longer a baby. And I can't handle it.

She has a new Taiwanese student in her class who doesn't speak a word of English. The poor girl has cried almost every day for a week now, and can't talk to anyone. Noe's teacher told us that she has hardly left the girl's side. She gives her hugs, tells her "Nihau" and tells the class that "we talk to her by smiling at her." Her teacher said Noelani is the only one who has gotten the girl to smile. You'll excuse my pride. And you'll excuse me while I start crying. Again.

Happy Birthday, mamacita. I love you.

Hitchcock Ain't Got NOTHIN On Me!

This is our house. I love it.


Our backyard is a huge park, with protected wetland area. The kids can play out there for hours, and it is beautiful. Here are a couple of shots that show you how fabulous it is in the summer.



Okay, enough with the positive spin.

I'm going to go crazy any day now. See the roof on this beautiful home? It's not your traditional wood and shingles number. I'm no home depot genius, but I can tell this roof is made out of some kind of material other than wood. Like maybe metal? Who knows. Tin? Steel? The green plastic from a Lincoln Logs set? Point is, it's the kind of roof that would be really noisy if you hit it repeatedly with a hammer. Or a beak.
Remember in the first paragraph where I talked about the beautiful park and wetland? It draws a lot of cool birds to the area. We have even been nerdy enough to check out books from the library and learn to identify most of these birds.
Earlier this fall, it was discovered there was a section of the house where the walls meet the overhang of the covered porch that had not been properly finished. It was discovered by a couple of freakishly large birds who decided to peck their way through the wood and nest in our attic. We could hear the pecking and it was loud. We couldn't find the holes, however. Finally after about a week, the pecking stopped, but the pitter patter of tiny bird claws over my living room ceiling began. We called "people". The people came, discovered the problem, and took care of it. Don't worry, PETA, it was all done ethically.
Fast forward to, oh, say 6:00 this morning. And 6:00 every morning for the past 2 weeks. Imagine yourself sleeping soundly in your toasty bed while Mother Nature continues to feel confused about what season we are actually in. Now imagine someone sneaking into your room and gently placing a jackhammer on your cranium. Ready? Set? Yeah. Because of whatever material this roof is made of, the noise reverberates like a bad Looney Tunes experience. This morning, it got worse. A second bird, probably the witchy female mate who has been nagging at her male counterpart to hurry up and get their home ready, and who finally said, "Roger, if you can't get this job finished any faster so I can drop YOUR children into a cozy nest, then I will just get it done myself. " joined the melee. I could clearly hear the one hammering directly above my bed, and the second slightly around the corner above my bathroom.
I threw on my robe. I stepped out my sliding glass door onto my deck and grabbed a log of firewood from the stack. I yelled "UUUURRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!" and hurled the log up at the underside of my covered, wrap-around porch. The log hit the underside of the roof and came hurtling back down at me. Since I have cat-like reflexes, I sidestepped the fallout, pleased with the ridiculously loud noise it made. I scared the birds away. This is the 2nd day in a row that I have thrown firewood at my house, and consequently at myself. I am pretty sure the birds are now SUPER pissed off, and will be back again tomorrow with reinforcements.
It's time for me to call my People again. This time, I will not insist upon the following of any PETA guidelines. Bring out the Red Ryders. Prepare to put some eyes out.