Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Slippers and Forts and Purses

Making forts is a favorite activity at our house.
Erin Joy's slippers are her friends. They have names. She plays with them. She carefully tucks them into bed at night. I think it's pretty cute:)
While I work at school, Erin Joy creates. Here are purses she had made for every member of our family:
The purses are great for carrying things like a DS.
This is an extra-special purse. It is for all of us. The letters represent all the members of our family: Erin, Mommy, Rachel, Bella (the cat), and I-Pod (the I-Pod). I didn't know she considered the I-Pod a family member. We do listen to a lot of music:)

Even the inside of the purse is colored.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Green Challenge

I will take Jody's challenge and take pictures of green things in my house and outside of my house. Green was easy because there is moss/mildew/mold growing everywhere in the Northwest. I had fun finding moss everywhere...I need to get rid of the moss...it's a constant battle.


I took pictures of 50 green things! You can try too if you'd like:)

Your pictures and fotos in a slideshow on MySpace, eBay, Facebook or your website!view all pictures of this slideshow

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Bubbles

Today while Rachel was in dance class, Erin Joy and I went to the park. We brought bubbles. We never blew our bubbles. We didn't need to blow our bubbles because the Bubble Man was there! We have seen him before. He is often at Carkeek Park. Today he was there for a birthday party so we just crashed the party. It was a lot of fun. We had so much fun watching him that we never made it to the beach. Oh well. Notice the shoes Erin Joy was wearing. Most children wear rubber boots to the beach this time of year, but not Erin Joy. Silly girl:)


Poor Rachel keeps missing out on our visits to the park. While Erin Joy is in her dance class, Rachel and I enjoy our favorite hot and sour soup restaurant. Erin Joy doesn't like hot and sour soup so it works out well.

Enjoy our little movie of today's adventures in the park:

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Our Family Zodiac

Rachel doesn't like her Chinese Zodiac sign. She happens to be a snake. She doesn't want to be a snake. I told her it was all just for fun and doesn't really mean anything. I suggested she chose another animal for herself. She decided she wanted to be born in the year of the ocelot. (Rachel loves ocelots because there is an ocelot at the zoo named "Bella" and her cat is named "Bella" too.)

As long as she was changing, Erin Joy and I changed too. Erin Joy is now born in the year of the unicorn and I am now born in the year of the panda. People born in the year of the ocelot, unicorn, and panda are very special people. We'll give a description below.
THE YEAR OF THE OCELOT
People born in the year of the ocelot are very determined. They work hard to achieve the goals they set for themselves. They enjoy reading, but they don't enjoy math. People born in the year of the ocelot ask a lot of questions and are curious to know about the world around them. Ocelots are very kind, loving, compassionate, and friendly. Ocelots are very patient. Ocelots never whine. Ocelots never complain when they have to practice the piano, practice the violin, or get out of bed for school. They always obey their mothers. Ocelots are wonderful sisters and daughters. Ocelots are very loved by their mothers. Any mother of an ocelot is truly blessed. An ocelot is a special child of God.

THE YEAR OF THE UNICORN
People born in the year of the unicorn are very creative. They have a vivid imagination and love art of any kind. They also enjoy playing, singing, and dancing. People born in the year of the unicorn are very good with math. Unicorns are also excellent readers. Unicorns are very friendly and enjoy being around people. They can brighten any room with their beautiful smile and joyous laughter. Unicorns are also very patient. Unicorns never whine. Like ocelots, unicorns never complain when they have to practice the piano or get out of bed for school. They always obey their mothers. Unicorns are wonderful sisters and daughters. Unicorns are very loved by their mothers. Any mother of a unicorn is truly blessed. A unicorn is a special child of God.

THE YEAR OF THE PANDA
People born in the year of the panda enjoy being mothers. They enjoy spending time with their children and watching their children grow. Pandas also enjoy being outside. They enjoy camping, hiking, and have a particular fondness for waterfalls. Pandas love spring. They love spring flowers, especially daffodils. Pandas enjoy reading and playing the piano. Pandas do not like housework...especially laundry and dishes. Pandas would do well with a maid, however, they generally don't make enough money to afford maids. Pandas like traveling and dream of seeing places all over the world. Unfortunately, pandas are usually too poor to travel far. Instead of travel, pandas often read about exotic places and continue dreaming. Pandas strive to be positive and happy. A panda is also a special child of God.

Which year were you born in? Are you an ocelot, unicorn, panda, or another animal?

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Signs of Spring

Today was beautiful! I love spring! I love the fresh smell, the spring flowers, the buds on the trees, the chirping birds, and especially the sun! It's been so gray and rainy lately that the sunshine today was so much needed. While Rachel went to dance class, Erin Joy and I enjoyed a few hours at a park.

I love flowering trees!

The best sign of spring for Erin Joy was playing in the park without a coat on!! (She took it off after this picture...)



We enjoyed a nice little walk around a pond. We stopped by a stream to see if there were any fairies or unicorns nearby.

No unicorns or fairies, but we did see ducks.
Sometimes wearing ruby red slipper with no socks to the park is a good thing.
It makes wading in the water easier. I'm so excited the weather was warm enough to wade in the stream. Bring on the sunshine!!! I'm ready for spring!!
Not exactly a sign of spring, but my kids had fun making pizza at a friend's house last night so I had to take a picture of all the helpers with their creation.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Violin According to a Panda Mother

I read Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, because I wanted to know if she really treated her children the way portrayed in several articles I had read. The book was unbelievable. She claims the way she raises her children is "the Chinese way," but I don't agree with her. I have known several Chinese parents and I have lived in Taiwan...I agree that there is a difference between parenting styles and expectations in Eastern cultures from Western cultures, but she really takes tough love to the extreme.


I often think of her book as my children are practicing the piano and the violin...especially the violin. I marvel that she made her daughter practice the violin 5-6 hours daily including weekends, including vacations. She really must be insane. I'm not kidding. I can handle listening to beginning piano...at least it doesn't squeak. Listening to a child learning to play the violin is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I will set the timer for 30 minutes for Rachel to play and often take away minutes just so she will finish earlier just so I don't have to listen to her. Poor Rachel is still not very far in Suzuki book one. The tiger mother made her daughter practice so hard that she finished book one in one week. Well, my expectations are far from the tiger mother's! I'm definitely a "panda mother." I love this post from author Jean MacLeod about panda mothers.

I'm glad Rachel is enjoying the violin and I don't care if she ever plays at Carnegie Hall.

Rachel has been wondering why I posted video of Erin Joy playing the piano and not her playing the violin. I told her she had to stop squeaking before I posted video of her playing on my blog. I think she is finally past the squeaking stage. I hope. She really wants video of her violin playing on here so this is for you, Rachel. I hope you continue to play the violin only if you continue to enjoy it.



Monday, March 14, 2011

Happy Pi Day!!


Friday, March 4, 2011

Squeaky Scales

I love how Erin Joy plays scales on the piano. She gets very squeaky by the time she reaches the end of the piano! Stay tuned for the low notes of the bass clef!


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

ChoralFest



I am always amazed by how our elementary music teacher can get a bunch of ordinary kids to sound like singing angels. Rachel is so excited that she is finally old enough to be in choir. I am excited that she is excited:) I LOVE music. (I wish Rachel would have watched her conductor instead of looking at the people behind her so often! She wasn't the only one, however.)


Rachel and her choir participated in a Choral Festival yesterday where they learned about choral music and had an evening concert for parents. The first two songs on the video are sung by our school choir followed by two songs performed by the combined choirs. My favorite song is the third song "When I am Silent" which represents a child singing during the holocaust. It gave me the chills.

The first video is the entire performance. It is wonderful and if you have 15 minutes, it is worth watching. If you don't have 15 minutes, you can watch the 4 minute shortened version. I accidentally made the first video widescreen. I hope it fits within the frame of my blog. If not, sorry...

Enjoy!