disneyland surprise:

Manny planned an amazing surprise trip for us to Disneyland last week.  A week before, he revealed it to me so that I could pack accordingly, for which I'm very grateful!  He told the kids we were going to a museum.  They were very patient on the drive, even though Lucas threw up from overeating.  When we arrived, we saw Disney buses.  Manny told the kids we could stop to ride the bus.  Naomi remarked that there sure were a lot of people there just to ride the buses.  Then she figured out where we were.  She was super excited!  Lucas had been asking to return to Disneyland for months just to be hugged by Mickey Mouse, so he was happy as well.  I didn't know if we'd ever go with the kids at Christmastime because Manny doesn't care for the crowds, so I was very surprised and elated as well.

We had three fun-filled days.  Chris joined us for part of the latter two days.  My in-laws couldn't join us this time, but they gave us spending money for the kids.  Gone was my usual response of, "I'm not spending [dollar amount] on something that doesn't last."  Naomi wanted to call Grandma often and she really missed her.  We came back on Thursday, and she was very happy!

The kids were much braver than last time.  Naomi rode Matterhorn, Star Tours, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Soarin', and Toy Story Mania, all for the first time, some twice.  She liked going on certain rides at night like Astro Orbiter or the teacups.  She said her favorite ride was Soarin' Over California.

Lucas did much better on the rides this time, but we made sure to skip Nemo for him.  I think we were able to focus more on covering his ears or eyes when appropriate (like during the gunfire on the Jungle Cruise), and he's also more familiar with Disney now.  He kept saying, "Me happy.  Me like Disneyland!"  He went on Autopia five times, Heimlich Choo-Choo three times, and the bumper cars twice.  We had to split up or Naomi would've been bored.  Manny, too.  If there was one ride he wanted to skip, it was that caterpillar train, but I waited in line twice more with Lucas.  After the last time we went on Autopia, I told Lucas I was too tired to go anymore and he said, "I'll drive!"  But I said no, and he was good about it.  Lucas also liked the interactive show with Crush from Finding Nemo.  He exclaimed, "He a turtle, you're a turtle, everybody a turtle!"  This was the one time we got a major protest from Naomi.  She didn't want to see a show she'd seen before.  Lucas, on the other hand, likes to do things again and again.

Both kids enjoyed the Christmas parade.  I probably enjoyed it more than I let on, to be honest.  Manny and I also liked the Believe Fireworks show, but the loud booms scared the kids to the point of tears.  We learned our lesson and hid in a building on the third night.  They also liked meetings the characters, although we sense Naomi's outgrowing it.  I'm glad we took her when she was younger, despite my short-lived vow to not take them till they were old enough to appreciate it.  First, she did appreciate it and remembers so much, and second, she outgrows so much so quickly, just as she did the princesses before she turned four, and it's a new experience for us every time.  She still likes Tinkerbell, but she didn't feel like waiting in line to see her again (when she could be waiting in line for a ride!)

There are several possible variations of the new Star Tours, and she liked the first one more than the second.  I got the worst of it when I got on by myself.  I was so sick from all the rocking and swaying (I had the pod racers in Tatooine, dodging asteroids, and I'm not even sure what else because I started blanking out).  The others said the snow scene at Hoth was pretty smooth without much rocking.  I would have liked that one, I think.

Having no stop at the water play areas due to cooler temperatures, we sort of ran out of things to do at California adventure, so after 9 p.m. we returned to Disneyland proper just so Naomi could get on Matterhorn and Lucas could drive the Autopia cars again.  

The thing that was important to me was the photos, but sometimes I just had to put it aside so the kids could have fun.  I looked my best on the second day, when I wasn't so exhausted, but we didn't really take any formal photos.  We also returned to the spot where Manny proposed, by Snow White's wishing well, although it was harder to get a good photo at night.  But we did get some great shots of the kids and their huge smiles!

The one ride that I loved at Disney World that hadn't made its way to Disneyland yet was Test Track.  It appears it might come to California Adventure next year as part of Cars Land.  I hope so!  Disneyland isn't just for the kids!  I think they could profit from a Pixar characters dining option as well, although it'd be tough to get a Lightning McQueen or Nemo to walk around and give you a hug.  But there are plenty more characters available, especially as part of Toy Story.

Some of our 300+ photos.  Just click the play button at the bottom (the center one opens a new window).
  

thankful:

We had a nice time at my in-laws' house.  The kids were so happy to see their grandparents and vice versa. During our stay, Manny surprised us with a trip to Disneyland!  (More later.)  Naomi was sad because the grandparents couldn't make it this time.  When we returned, we stuffed ourselves with their excellent cooking.  My mom was invited, but she had a reunion and visit with her sisters this year.  It was truly one of the best weeks ever.  We thank God for His grace toward us.  I pray that every day would be a day filled with thanksgiving.  

Lucas observing Dexter.

Celebrating Manny's birthday.

Naomi excited for the feast.

Turkey's ready!

Turkey, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, bread, and corn.  My mother-in-law made a pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and carrot cake from scratch.  It was all so delicious, and we got to have turkey tacos the next day!  Yum!

Lucas snuggling with his Auntie.

our little celebration:

We were all sick so we had to skip our small group this week (and it was cancelled due to illness as well), so we celebrated Manny's birthday at home once again.  The kids helped me make some mini cheesecakes, some plain and some with chocolate chips.  Naomi made Manny a birthday card and Lucas actually sang happy birthday to him (up until recently he really didn't like the song).  

Happy birthday!

Naomi became sad because we all went to the other side of the table and left her alone.  

speech evaluation:

We got the results for Lucas's speech test, and he tested within range of normal speech development, albeit on the slower end.  That means he won't be needing speech therapy classes at this time.  However, if his development slows more and he does not reach the speech milestones for ages 4 and 5, then they would have to leave him back a year in school.  I would probably homeschool him, but he's also made many strides in the past couple months.  Last night he carried a conversation with Grandma on the phone, which is a big milestone for him.  It's interesting how Naomi started speaking in phrases and short sentences when she was 14-15 months old, and Lucas is barely speaking in sentences now.  They say boys are generally slower than girls in speech development, but that was quite agap for us.  I don't think it's the second-child syndrome either, at least not anymore.  I work with him a lot on his speech, read to him often, and Naomi does as well.  I can tell he has a good mental vocabulary, and he listens and understands what I say pretty well, though, so maybe he'll just be a good listener like his dad.  :)

happy birthday, manny:

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband, a man of great character who helps so many without a desire for recognition or reward, a devoted father to children who love greatly because they see his example, and a husband who loves me despite it all.  And you're handsome and hilarious, too.  I could not ask for better.

isp conference:

We had another very successful review this month with the ISP coordinator/principal.  Naomi loves to present her work.  The principal is great at quizzing Naomi on her work, and I suppose Naomi's pretty good at answering the questions.  Naomi is also good about editing her own work for spelling, grammar, handwriting, and spacing issues, and she does this often during the conferences.  The principal pointed out how it can be difficult to edit our own work on the spot because we think in our minds what we mean.  I know my blog posts are riddled with errors that I don't see until I go back to read them.  Not that Naomi's spelling and grammar are perfect, as I'm barely teaching her what a noun is, but she does catch a lot.  She got to have her two deep-sea creature write-ups posted.  These were from our trip to Monterey.

Math is Naomi's least favorite subject at the moment, which is quite different from her father and me at her age.  Manny and this Chinese girl named Kathy would be the first finished with their math work, and in my class it was me and this Greek boy named Efthimi.  Math was actually the subject I thought I was most prepared to teach, but it turns out I'm having to rethink quite a bit for Naomi.

The principal said that her son received a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT but didn't enjoy it in college.  Now he's thriving in culinary school.  We chatted about how we can encourage our children to grow into who they are.  We don't share the same faith or educational background, but we do share a desire to see the children grow into who they were meant to be.  Train up children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).  The principal often talks to me as one parent to another, but she also has a wealth of information with respect to children's education.  A valid question someone asked me about homeschooling is how I can teach a child without any credentials.  I have limited experience in a classroom, some tutoring experience, and I also read some books on education before we began, but also I think teaching your own child is quite different than managing a classroom of kids who belong to other parents.  I don't think I could do the job that many teachers do.  There is also room for me to adjust, focus, slow down, or speed up depending on how things are going.  Still, it's not for everyone, so I don't really advocate it beyond saying it is working out pretty well for us so far.

A couple misc photos:

Snack time at the Lego team meeting.  Naomi had almond butter and sunflower seeds on brown rice cakes. She has never liked peanut butter, but we've discovered she likes almond butter, which is even better.  

Naomi's poster for her ISP presentation this week, which she mostly did by herself (I had to print out the pictures she chose).

lunch with j:

J invited us over on Saturday to his place for lunch.  He served a beautiful slow-baked salmon with lemon zest and rosemary, along with pasta, longanisa, garlic bread, ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies.  The salmon was a hit with all of us.  I can pass on the recipe if you contact me.  I brought a salad and didn't have enough spinach for it, so I should have cut the dressing in half, but it is one of my favorite salads (Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts).  You can add golden raisins or cranberries, and probably mushrooms if you like them.  Afterward we hung out and went to the playground (where Lucas wanted to play with Uncle J endlessly) and took a nice walk.  We had a good time, although the kids were sick and out of sorts.  It had been a week already, so they were recovering, but sometimes it's hard to know whether we should cancel.  I'm glad we were able to go.  

All of us.  The kids wanted to stand by J.

Pleasant walk around the neighborhood.

dance:

Super busy + we're all sick, but will try to catch up soon.  In the meantime, here's a dance performance a friend sent me.  I think what he's doing is considered jookin' mixed with waves, but either way it makes for a beautiful and interesting twist on ballet.

operation christmas child:

We went over a friend's house last week to fill shoeboxes and containers for Operation Christmas Child and to have a little lunch and playdate.  By the time Lucas decided he wanted to start playing, it was time to go and get ready for Chris coming as well as the party.  It was very fun for the the kids and an exercise in giving and compassion to other parts of the world.  It's pretty easy with Naomi; she's constantly wanting to give stuff away.  She actually almost gave away my Disney movies to her friend, thinking they were hers, so I had to explain that she still needs to ask permission for certain things.  I did teach her early on not to hold on to material things, but I think it's also just in her nature to share.  That's probably where I've seen Naomi most misunderstood by adults, because they may not expect kids in general to want to share.  Naomi also takes being misunderstood much better than I do.  I learn a lot from my little girl.

Our church goes down to the processing center to prepare the boxes for shipping, so we should get an idea of where the boxes go.  I believe they went to the Philippines last year.  Samaritan's Purse is a solid organization.  When friends ask for donations in lieu of gifts, it's really eye-opening to read through their list of needs.

We spent the weekend with Chris, watching Stanford football and playing games.  Sunday after church, Manny, Naomi, and Chris went to see Puss in Boots while I stayed home with Lucas.  I really wanted to get caught up with my photos, but other issues with Lucas were more pressing.  :)  It's good for us to get time alone with our kids, especially since they're so different.

Naomi and J playing with Lincoln Logs.

Naomi filling a container for a young girl.  Each of the older kids had a box to fill.

all saints' gathering:

Friday night we went to an anniversary/All Saints' celebration hosted annually by some friends from our old church.  There were probably about 60 or more in attendance this year, and it was the first year we've ever been able to make it.  Chris went with us as well, and only he and Naomi line danced while Manny, Lucas, and I remained wallflowers.  I've done the dance once before, so maybe next time I'll get up there with Naomi.  

The spread was great, and so many people were around it, I forewent the photo.  They hired a Ben and Jerry's truck/counter, and it was just a blessing to see a lot of people we hadn't in many years.  The two older women in the following photos have been like moms to me at one point or another.  Naomi had the time of her life with her little friends, and Lucas started having fun when most of the guests had left.  :)  Naomi had made paper bracelets for her two friends before the party.  She sure loves to love.  She almost knocked over the mic while playing "strategy tag" with her friends (these are intellectual kids!), and there was a collective gasp in the hall, and I barely saved it.  Whew!

Last call for ice cream!

Lucas actually sat in D's lap!

Lucas and me with Mrs. Z., who used to teach Naomi as a toddler.  Lucas is having a roast beef sandwich.  Yes, he is willingly eating bread and meat!  He still ate his fruits and veggies first.

My handsome little boy.

Chris doing the do-si-do with Mrs. Z.  He got invited up by one of the hosts.

C teaching Naomi a simple dance.

Enjoying themselves.

legos, playdate, recital:

Last week was a busy one with the field trip and a charity project at a friend's.  We had one day where we got up earlier to complete school, then went to Naomi's Lego team meeting, then a playdate, and then Naomi's keyboard recital.  Lucas was pretty worn out by the recital time, and he was quite disruptive.  The only minute or so he stopped screaming was when Naomi had her solo, because I bribed him with food.  Right after the applause, he was screaming again, and I had to take him outside again.  So I missed her group performance and the teacher solo/demo.  At least I was able to remove him from the class easily so that he didn't interrupt the other students' performances.  It was embarrassing and frustrating, but it's a reminder that he can't handle too much in one day very well.

This week, our healthful snack was veggie with make-your-own dip.  Naomi made a yummy dip out of sour cream, sunflower seeds, a tiny dash of ranch powder, and bacon bits, her own recipe.  She actually doesn't like dip at all, except for Asian dressing, but she's usually at least willing to try something new.

Four of the five kids working together to build a model based on a diagram.  Great problem solving and teamwork!

Naomi and E at an odd rock and pipe playground.  A bunch of E's friends from school showed up unplanned, and Naomi said it made her "feel a bit neglected."

Lucas proudly climbed up on a rock himself and nearly gave me heart attack going from rock to rock.

The kids got to choose a song from the past five weeks that they wanted to play as a solo. Naomi chose a song called, "What Can I Share With You?" because she liked the lyrics.  I only got to watch maybe five minutes of the 45-minute class.

martial arts birthday:

We went to K's 6th birthday party at the martial arts center with most of the students from Naomi's ISP.  I took Naomi, and Manny stayed home with Lucas.  The two martial arts instructors who ran the party did a very good job with the kids and making sure they followed the rules.  It's probably because their job is to teach discipline while making it fun.  Naomi still doesn't want to take martial arts, but she certainly wanted her next birthday party there!

They started out with a sack race.

A sack version of the three-legged race.

Then a race with two kids dragging a third.

Naomi's favorite part was the obstacle course.

Birthday boy using a samurai sword to cut the cake!

The kids getting a martial arts lesson.

Naomi did a a perfect break of the wooden board!

aquarium field trip:

We had a field trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium on a Homeschool Day (i.e., homeschoolers get in free).  It's amazing how much is offered to homeschoolers these days.  My friend J drove us all, which was a huge favor to us or I wouldn't have been able to go.  Lucas was very quiet both on the drive and at the aquarium. Naomi had the time of her life, and I have to say I was really proud of how well-behaved she was.  If time was up, she didn't talk back or whine.  If they were all doing something, she'd let everyone else have a turn first.  When she and one child were playing a game, she would always make sure the other was included.  She also told her friends stories and sang songs in the car.  And just because she didn't even ask for it, I gave her extra sweets from our stash.  And she actually got to bed earlier!  Since Naomi was a toddler, if I allow her sugar, she actually sleeps better.  I remember how desperate I was to have her nap sometimes that I'd give her an organic lollipop, and she'd fall fast asleep still holding the stick.  For the sake of her teeth, though, I can't make a habit of it.

I bumped into a couple other friends there, which made me very happy.  It used to be if I saw someone I knew, my first inclination would be to hide behind my cart or whatever, but now I'm more than happy to go up to them and say hi.  Naomi and I were just there for the group, and it wasn't a big deal where we went as long as we were there with friends.  Even though Naomi is a natural leader, I seldom find her to have a "me-first" mentality.  I wonder if that's what makes her such a good leader (for the most part--she has her moments of leading kids astray as well).

We'll probably write up a report on some of the deep sea creatures she enjoyed learning about.  I enjoyed learning, too!

The kids learning how sardines are canned.

Watching Mysteries of the Deep with a live narrator.  We learned about deep sea creatures.  Naomi was fascinated by the vampire squid, Dumbo octopus, and a biolumescent creature that shoots out sparkles.

The kids like this overhead tank.

Pretty jellyfish.

J likes the sunfish, which are huge and odd-looking.

The kids by the kelp forest, minus Lucas and A.

Lucas observing the penguins being fed.

S and Naomi at the water.  Naomi never got a turn with anything, but didn't complain.

One of Naomi and Lucas's games.