First Day of School

The Rosemeade Friends

Oh so cute bunch of school-goers even though the bus was over 15 minutes late. They loved having their pictures taken and hanging out with each other.

I-Dude - 1st Grade
He loves his new Polo Assn shirts, especially this yellow one. He was so excited to be in school that he woke up twice; as he remembers it, at 2:22am and at 5:00am. Lucky Mommy...


J-Pony - 4th Grade
She didn't wake up and had to be woken up several times. Her cute shirt was so cool on her that her new backpack of purple and dark grey just made it that much cuter. Her and her friends were so excited about all their new stuff that they were doing an impromptu fashion show for the parents while they waited for the late bus...


L-Infinity - High School Junior
This outfit was so cute on her that I had to insist she wear it today to set the tone. It turned out that it made the impact we both knew it would. She fit in well with both boys and girls in all her classes which made the first day of school that much more awesome as a Junior.


These little moments we enjoy with the kids (and their friends) are what our family's all about. We love our neighbors and we love seeing the children enjoy wholesome activities, even as simple as posing for a community shot.

Our children are very rich... they make friends everywhere we live and that's one treasure no one can steal from them.

Meet the Teacher Night

Man, where did the time go? One day, I was almost pulling my hair out trying to figure out things for the family to do, then I blinked and "poof!", school is here again!

Today was an adventure; L-Infinity had a dentist appt at 9am, we had to go to Dallas to apply for something for me, only to find out I can do it online, then lunch and more school shopping to do! J-Pony and L needed backpacks and then back on the hunt for the elusive "18x24" construction paper... Only it was a typo, yep a mere typo that ended up wasting our precious gasoline on several occasions thinking it's really something Jasmine would need in 4th grade. I-Dude's list wasn't any easier; apparently, after the teachers have found their "chosen" primary composition notebooks, they forgot to have the list updated. We had to go to Office Depot to find this specialty notebook just to be told that they wanted a spiral bound one as opposed to the regular black marble. Aaaarrrgggghh!!!!!!

Whoever put this list together ought to attend an editing class, because it was nothing short of a "stupid, stupid mistake" on their part to have such a confusing list. And the EPI crew who put together the school packets this year, they're somewhat spaced out too, not to notice that they labeled a "12x18" white construction paper, "18x24" on their own boxes! I guess idiocy spreads during summer time when most people elect not to use their brains!

Then off to Wal-Mart for more food to store while waiting for the "First Day of School" to come around as this is when the kids choose three meals they want to start the year off with. As usual, it's "pork adobo, steamed veggies, steamed rice and V-8 Fusion juice for dinner. I'm back to making extra waffles for the freezer and even try to make orange jell-o with mandarin oranges in it so we can save money on lunches.

So... how was your day, dears?

What happens at 5pm?

For us, it means, Lisa reading to her siblings and their friends 1- 2 books for a little story time; a nice downtime before heading back home for dinner. She just recently started it last week and have had much success. She has read anywhere from elementary math related stories to Berenstain Bears and Mercer Mayer books. Even a couple of good short stories from Highlights didn't escape Lisa's repertoire. The kids love it; they get read to and a treat at the end of 20 minutes. Today, they were even rewarded with a brief game of Charades to help them escape the humid heatwave.

Here's some of her audience:

This is the first day we decided to do it... Great turn out!




This is the day after...







It became a daily thing...



Here's some Berenstain Bears...







Lisa reading from September Highlights





Too hot outside...




And today...










Jas and Ian love to go and remind their friends, but it's more exciting when the kids themselves remind Jas and Ian that it's close to 5 o'clock, "story time..."

Lisa also has her own book review site, check it out!

http://friendsonbooks.blogspot.com

We're A Reading Family!

In our little family, books are just as important as food, so each family member reads, reads and reads some more. I, the mom, act as the proofer, and end up reading most of these books; and in all honesty, I prefer Children's and Young Adult books to Adult fiction because they are more imaginative and a better means of escaping mundane things we call life.

Look at some of these books we've read... And I mean only some, we have many more books that had to be boxed up due to lack of space and to us, libraries are more appealing than McD's chicken nuggets or Sonic's milkshakes. That should give you an idea how much we read...

How about your family?

4th "Back to School" Fashion Show

Well August is here again and that means, new clothes, new shoes, new school supplies! L-Infinity, J-Pony and I-Dude, can never wait long enough for school to start before trying on their clothes, so we decided to do annual fashion shows, back in 2005 to celebrate a new school year.

Here's some cute outfits and poses for you to enjoy. I sure did, while managing the camera. I kept wanting to stop and just hug them, they were so cute!

I can't wait until they actually start their first day of school. More photo-ops!

Our children...

Mr. Man and I recently discovered, as in many other times, that we love our life together and aside from the fact we are head over heels over each other, our "it's a wonderful life" epiphany centers around our children. So let me share a little about each of them:


L-Infinity is our resident genius; she's been into learning everything since she managed to say "key" as her first word at five months old. Maybe because she kept on chasing after the key in the file cabinet lock while in her walker. She started reading at 2 years old and couldn't get enough of libraries. Currently, she's into AP classes, Academic Decathlon, Choir, writing her own teen fiction, Guitar Hero, created her own book review blog site and even put on a story time everyday for the neighborhood kids. We are so pleased that she hasn't been pressured with dating and has a style that many can relate to. She easily makes friends and is not afraid to tell the boys "I can't date until I'm 16, and it has to be a group date".




J-Pony is our "fun seeker" & "cowgirl". She loves swimming, going to different places (especially Grandma and Grandpa's), recently discovered chess and of course is obsessed with horses! She loves to try anything that I do as a mom and loves to find ways to spend time with Mr. Man. She loves Disney and have started to devour books as much as Lisa did at the same age. She wanted to be like her sister that when she got accepted in the advanced learning program or LEAP at school, she immediately declared, "just like L-Infinity! Cool!" She maybe adoring us, and loves to inherit L's shirts, but this girl has her own unique style and a personality that lights up any room.




I-Dude, our only son, & our baby... Even from the very beginning, he's decided that we are going to fall in love with him and we haven't stopped yet! He loves life and has enough energy to put the Energizer bunny to shame. He also recently earned the honor of being recognized as a very good reader in his Kindergarten class and he loves doodling anything that comes to mind (sometimes to our own embarassment...). His imagination and memory is amazing; he belts out songs out of nowhere and he loves hearing that he is both similar and different from his two sisters. He constantly declares that he loves his family and that we, his parents, are the best.

Now with these rap sheets, how can you not feel "well pleased"? We do go through our "heavy" moments, but we are first and foremost a "goofy and weird" family that most neighbors either judge as odd or endearing. We still don't care about what others think. What we have is great and the love we share is eternal. That's what matters to us, thanks to our three precious gems...

Time Capsule (A Slideshow)

This album is to capture how our family has evolved over the years... Specifically, from 2002 to 2007. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together.

As you can see, these are from past Christmas, our family's favorite time of year. Our favorite Christmas Eve thing to do is open one present that is related to bedtime. What are your traditions?

This simple and "Ordinary Girl" definitely lucked out!

Six Flags Arlington Adventure

The front fountain

So... on August 9th, we went to Six Flags to use the two tickets that J-Pony and I-Dude earned for reading 600 minutes each last school year. (August 9th was the last day we could've used them. Yep, it was a Saturday, but our budget said that's the only time we can go, so that's when we went.)

We took along L-Infinity's school friend Daniel W. He was great with the kids and even helped Mr. Man convince L to go on some big roller coasters like the Gotham City the Ride and The Texas Giant. We also went on the "Vibora" or viper, a luge-type of a ride, the log ride that was quite disappointing (we didn't get wet, just sprinkled on) and of course, the boot ride and the fun Chaparral vintage cars ride.

Eating was an adventure itself; getting through a long line of stinky, wet, loud people was not pleasant for me at all while the prices almost made me swoon. The best part of this adventure was the fact that we had a great time, loaded up on sodas and water, enjoyed a "heart-stopping" decadent chocolate concoction from Cold Stone and having some alone time with I and J while they are having fun.

Enjoy the pictures...

DW and L while waiting to get on the Vibora ride

Mr. Man looking down from the entry stairs of the Vibora ride

I-Dude on the same stairs

J- Pony on the same stairs

J and Iwhile waiting for the Chaparral cars ride

Mr. Man and D while we waited at the Chapparal ride


D and L while waiting for the kids to ride the Batwing






Mr. Man and I-Dude


L-Infinity









J-Pony on the bumper car ride


I-Dude on a bumper car

J-Pony and I-Dude posed in front of the batmobile while we waited for L, Mr. Man and D to get off the ride



Me and the girls rode on one log, the boys the other...


More pictures will be posted on our e-album!