MM #3: She Put Music On

Charlie and I were trying to figure how to end our newsletter when he remembered an incident about Ian at school.

Apparently a few months ago, Ian came home with a notation on his homework folder instead of a "good behavior" stamp. It clearly said, "Dancing in class". Charlie saw it first because he picked up Jasmine and Ian from school. So, of course, Charlie asked what happened.

Charlie: Ian, is this true, you were dancing in class?

Ian: Yes, Daddy... (sad, got-caught face being displayed)

Charlie: Were you supposed to be dancing in class?

Ian: No, Daddy... (the sad face still there)

Charlie: Well, if you knew that, why did you dance in class?

Ian: (surprised face) Daddy, she put music on!


You see, it's clearly not his fault! He was just following the natural thing to do when music's on. :D

I asked Lisa this morning if she can take the kids to the bus stop because I'm still a little stuffed up. After about 15 minutes, she comes down asking me for something.

Lisa: Mommy, can I borrow your bootalon?

Me: What?

Lisa: You know Mommy, your bootalon? (pointing at my legs)

Me: What is a bootalon?

Lisa: Mommy, isn't bootalon Tagalog for boots?

Me: No, but you just combined the word "boots" and "pantalon" (Tagalog for pants)!

Lisa: (Lol) Well, can I borrow your bootalon?

Me: Ok, I guess you can borrow my bootalon...


This girl can't remember much Spanish, much less Tagalog, but she can certainly adapt the words that she does remember... :D

Butter Anyone? Some trees? (10 days to go...)

Tonight was about taking advantage of great grocery deals, putting up lights, setting up our trees (yep, you read right!), and making our very own homemade butter!

Here's how we did it:
1. We poured some of the the heavy whipping cream (16 oz.) into a small jar and some into a food container.
2. We added a pinch of salt to each and made sure the seals are good.
3. Then Jasmine shook it.

4. And shook it...

5. And shook it some more.

6. Then Charlie shook it some more until it solidified.
7. After that, Charlie separated the buttermilk, and rinsed the butter solid 4 times with very cold water (perfect from tap, it's about 25 degrees here!).
8. The last step is to spread it on any bread or rolls and enjoy!


(All together now...)
"Yummm!!"





We also decorated our trees
(the four small ones that we recently bought)



A forest of trees with gold stars and burgundy ornament balls... (click photo to see details better)


... And a candy cane tree!





Whether you choose butter or tree, it doesn't matter. Either one, you'd be in for a treat!

"Mary Did You Know?" (11 Days to go...)

(We read this book every year...)
Sabbath days are so amazingly refreshing that it's almost a spa, a massage and a confession all wrapped into one!

Today, most of us are sick, at least three out of five, but we had a quiet day, so it was only fitting enough to have a quiet and reverent evening... So, we chose stories and songs that reflect the respect we should be showing the Lord especially this time of year...

Poem: "God Is Love" by Jon Bowring

Story: Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell

Song: "Mary Did You Know?" by Kenny Rogers
(my new favorite...)

I love how this song directs us to think about who Jesus Christ truly is to most of us and why he came to earth. Also, at the end of the book it says, "A little one came for the world."
The birth and coming of Jesus Christ is the true meaning of Christmas...

Stretched Out Saturday! (12 Days to go...)

2008 CARROLLTON NATIVITY EXHIBIT
If there was a record of cramming too many things in one day, I think we may have come close today.

After we woke up, we...
- Had a quick breakfast
- Watched "Penelope" & Disney channel
- Had leftovers for lunch
- Shopped for gifts for two birthday parties
- Dropped off one kid to first birthday party
- Stopped at Sonic for their "Happy Hour" deals
- Go back to store to find gifts for second party
- Chauffered 5 children to the second birthday party
- Spent 35 minutes at the 2nd party (Worst Mom Award goes to... ME!)
- Went to the Nativity Exhibit
- The little ones performed (panting a bit...)
- Cruised and took pictures in the Exhibit
- Hit Denny's for dinner
- Visited Nieman Marcus' holiday window
- Dropped off the kids at home (whew!)
- Go back to the exhibit to gather our nativities
- Had to go back two more times looking for one last lamp
- Unloaded the van of nativities, lamps and small trees
- Learn how to compress pictures for blog
- Choose carefully pictures for blog
- Blog before midnight! (this day does end! Yay!!!)

HERE'S OUR OWN NATIVITIES AT THE EXHIBIT:
We found this plastic carving at a Christian/Educational Supply store

This is a Target find

MORE FROM THE NATIVITY EXHIBIT
HERE'S SOME FROM THE PHILIPPINES:


HERE'S SOME OF BIRDS (Penguin and Ducks)


AND HERE'S ONE MADE OF CUPCAKES! (The bishop's wife made it)

Check out more photos at:
www.carrolltonnativity.com
ON TO NIEMAN MARCUS... (Our second year)
Downtown Dallas
The side of the building
Multicolor Recycle Bubble tree


Their theme this year is have children design a tree and explain why.
There's a pencil tree, the jagged one
A yarn tree, the translucent triangle tree
One made of dolls in snow,
The other of rocks, and
The most unusual one is the combo of wheelchair wheels and crutches



And of course, our three darling children in front of the same fountain as last year when we visited Nieman Marcus.
(One is smiling, one is sleepy, the other is a tad chilled...)
How was your Saturday?

Coaching Update & Big Moon (13 Days to go...)

Today, I found out that there was a pizza party for the UIL participants, coaches and parents. So, even though I am somewhat sick, I showed up since I didn't for the awards ceremony.

Megan was so happy to see me, we gave each other a hug and I was so happy for her that I twirled her around!

This is what I found out from the two teacher coordinators about UIL and how the Ready Writing category is judged:

1. This year, 7 schools competed, including us
2. The other 6, all had the 3 maximum kids competing in their teams.
3. Our school had no money for UIL because they weren't sure if they were going to compete.
4. The judges chose the best 6 out of all the competitors, so Megan's was the best out of 19 essays!

Megan couldn't believe her ears when we told her that she beat out 18 kids! She thought that each category was judged per school, and since she was the only one from our school, she thought that it was for that. She was so happy to know that her writing won because it was the best!

Some of the PTA moms and the coordinators were very proud of the both of us, and encouraged both of us to "team up" again.

You know, I just might agree to that... :D

Tonight, because of my Math finals, we only had time to fetch some new Christmas lights and watch the movie Elf.

Activity: Be together and watch a Christmas movie of your choice

(Elf, the movie)
Oh, yeah, have you seen the moon tonight? It was 14% bigger since it was closer to the earth. Right outside our door, its beam created a massive ring that feathered out at the bottom. It was an awesome sight!
(Can you see the ring and the feathering?)

World Christmas- England (14 Days to go...)

(compliments of www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com)
Tonight was another final exam for me and another choir concert for Lisa, so we quickly ate (though late) and got the kiddies ready for bed. As I'm also somewhat sick, I opted to just read about other Christmas traditions. This time, we chose England since my hubby's heritage is part English.

Article: Christmas in England

Song: Christmas Bells are Ringing (A capella)

Activity: Ask the children to choose a song you can all sing

A traditional Christmas goose
(compliments of www.bbcgoodfood.com)
We read this in our bedroom, all of us on the bed, no lights, but surrounded by candles. Daddy offered the bedtime prayer. We laughed and laughed, but the best part, we were all together.
I love my family and our traditions...

My 1st coaching stint... (15 Days to go...)

(this is their elementary school symbol)
Hello to all of you, I just had to share this good, no, great news!

In my kids' elementary school, I signed up to be a UIL (University Interscholastic League) coach for the Ready Writing category. This is basically a category where you are asked to write a whole article, letter, or essay out of two prompts to choose from, as long as you want. Well, I was given the 3rd grade level team and I started out with 3 kids, one boy, two girls. During a few weeks, schedule conflicts resulted in one contender to bring to the competition, the most shy out of the three, but I didn't let that stop me from teaching them what I've learned from my own English teachers, and the techniques that I've used to critique my children's school papers.

The day of the UIL competition, held at a local middle school, we sat next to another team of three "well prepared" bubbly girls, a coach with a Master's degree in English, coming from a school that have sponsored and competed consecutively for this category. My pupil and I felt a little bummed but I ensured her that what we've done is just as effective as what the other coach was reviewing with her team. There were 2 other schools that competed with multiple people in their team, and their coaching packets were thicker than my arm's vertical profile!

I felt very disadvantaged as a coach, we had only 30-minute meets, two sheets of paper of rules and very simple prompts to go by. But I didn't let on to my pupil. I just told her to do her best, write about what she knows, write until she feels that her story is finished, make it interesting and most of all, have fun writing! Even after all the competitors lined up to leave into their respective rooms, and the coaches or parents can come back, I promised her that I'll stay to support her. Yes, I stayed behind to inquire of how the other schools "prepared" for this category. As suspected, we had barely 10% of what they had to work with. All I had with me was my purse! (I was screaming, "yikes!" in my head while I talked with these coaches, particularly the one from Pennsylvania with a Master's degree in English. I thought I was gonna faint!)

Well, each participant from every category gets ribbons, and medals for those that won from their respective categories- done in their respective schools a few days after getting the results. I was supposed to be there since I was a coach, but Ian is very sick so I had to miss it. My pupil's mom attended for the both of us. This is what she emailed me a few minutes ago:

Carolyn, you won't believe it!!!!! Megan won FIRST place!!!!!!

Thank you so much for all your great coaching!!! We had several students win up to 6th place, but I think Meg's the only one who got first from our school!!

Good job!

Isn't that amazing?! Megan worked so hard to practice all the techniques I showed her, both during our meets and at home. Plus, she truly loves to write about anything, so coupled with the stress of competition, her true level in this talent shone brightly and blew away the judges! Yay, Megan!!!

I'll post her picture (with me, of course) soon!

http://www.uil.utexas.edu/policy/constitution/index.html

Thanks for reading; hope to hear from all of you soon!

World Christmas- Philippines (16 days to go...)

Tonight was rather a mild day though it got cold, 35 degrees and very windy! It suffices to say that I didn't go anywhere. It's not like I could anyway, I had one last homework to do and an essay final exam!

Anyway, many entries in our Christmas book are about celebrating the Savior's birth in different countries. Which country do you think we started with? If you guessed the Philippines, you get a gold star!

Philippine Christmas celebration is quite unique- it's an infusion of mostly Catholic traditions with Spanish and Chinese twists.

We have firecrackers that go off every night from about December 24 to New Year's Eve. We enjoy the luxury of seeing poinsettia that was grown in the northern provinces. We create lighted bamboo star-shaped lanterns called "parols" to symbolize the star that guided the three wise men. We have pastries and delicacies that are only made during Christmas time to show respect for the meaning of the holiday. We fill our tables with all kinds of goodies and eat them on midnight of Christmas Eve to show respect for the baby Jesus' entry into the world. We also toss coins in the air for the kids to share the treasure that Jesus Christ is and wish for prosperity in the coming year.

We may have been influenced by other nations over the years, but the true meaning of Christmas is alive and well in the hearts of Filipinos, rich and poor alike...

Here are some examples of what I mean: (I borrowed these images online)
A sample of the many "parol" designs.

A typical Christmas feast.

Article: Philippine Christmas (or any country of your heritage)

Song: O Little Town of Bethlehem and Little Drummer Boy

Activity: Listen to songs reflective of the main traditions in that country.

Philippines maybe considered a third world country, but we sure know how to ring in a holiday! We are known for our hospitality all over the world. And for that, I am honored to be a Filipino.

Chocolatey Christmas (17 days to go...)

(photo courtesy of www.targetwoman.com)
Hello again!

Tonight was grocery night, so things were just as hectic. I needed to find a story that would be fun, short and sweet.

Well, I got all three!

It's called "The Chocolate Christmas Story" by Adele in Taiwan (that's the name of the site).

Anyway, it's a short story, fun and sweet because it substitutes the names of actual chocolates! Most are made by Cadbury, so you may not be familiar with them (we weren't), but it reminded me of why we always have tons of chocolate at Christmas time (aside from the fact that I love it!)...

Jesus is our King, and when royalty visits, you can't help but feel that you must bring out your fineries. Well, in chocolate speak in my house that means finding the best cookie/chocolate we can find.

Story: The Chocolate Christmas Story

Activity: Find images of chocolates mentioned and show pictures when it gets mentioned in the story.

Here's our "fineries"... Yum!
What do you think of our stash?

Picture time! (18 Days to go...)

(This photo titled, "The Baby Jesus" is from the back page of the December Ensign; I loved it so much, I framed it!)
Today, we missed our Stake Conference for one simple reason: we couldn't get up after our crazy day yesterday. None of us woke up any earlier than 9:30! Sorry...

After much delaying, we've decided we need to start figuring out where our Christmas decor will be this year. At least, the ones that we do have... I say delaying because we got sidelined making paper animal snowflakes! So fun! We had butterflies, swans, dinosaurs, a modern sphinx (Ian's design) and an armadillo head (though I still contend it was a bunny's head).
We couldn't locate any of the Christmas boxes we stashed from last year and with busy days ahead of us, there was no time to "search and rescue" our intended decor.
After setting up, we decided, "We can take our portraits now, too!"
After dinner, outfit changing, and several test shots, we finally found some doable poses.
These are what we came up with:

Our fireplace; I found this new Nativity carving of just Joseph, Mary, Jesus and three animals. It looks beautiful, it was affordable and I just love it!

Charlie and I

Our three darlings...

Ian

Jasmine

Lisa

The official portrait shot
(after many that you would have to sign a confidentiality contract before viewing)

"Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night!"