Dwali Festival and Chinese New Year

We spent the last 5 weeks learning about ancient China, Africa and India. Last night, the kids presented some of their hard work.

Jonah gave a 5 minute, entirely memorized, presentation about the history of India, Hinduism, Dwalii and traditional dress. I never knew so much about India! We were in awe of his memorization skills.

Oh yeah, so Jackie has a big crush on Jonah and it drives him nuts. I'll get to that story in a later blog.

The grandparents partied with us and the two grandmothers were responsible for nearly every craft done. Clearly, we’re not pottery people, as our Ming Bowls broke. Twice. So we gave up on those.

Jackie presented on The Chinese New Year. She drew pictures and borrowed Jonah’s robe, straight from China! (Also Made in China). I’m so proud of her.

Cameron was going to present on the rainstick and Anansi the Spider, but last minute decided he would rather be a spectator at this party. So I read the fairy tale he wrote to the audience.

Amy got African music and the kids played their home-made instruments. Jonah was really moved by the music and danced as a tiger would.

These two were inseparable! Bella couldn't even use the bathroom without company.

We ate Indian food, Chinese food and forgot about the couscous. It was a fantastic night and I hope the kids remember these times!

Fairy Tales

The kids are studying fairy tales. They had to re-write their favorite and then come up with their own. It's been a fun few weeks.

Kiawah Island: Land of the Reptiles

A few weeks ago we took our buddies, Beth & Braxton to Kiawah Isl, SC for a weekend get-away, courtesy of MTF. While Dave worked the days away, the rest of us squeezed in some quality water time.

 Even though the breeze was a bit chilly, it didn't stop the kids from spending hours in the ocean.

The condos came equipped with boogie boards and other fun toys, including an alligator swimming lazily along the river outside the condo.

Awesome wildlife!

After the beach and the pool, we made it to the Wildlife Center (sans a napping Lucy Lu). There, they had every reptile-friend or foe- on Kiawah Island, live for our viewing, and touching pleasure!

Can't say we ever pet an alligator before! These guys were 1-2 yrs old. There were also plenty of live snakes for us to enjoy, including the copperhead, the cottonmouth and the rattlesnake.

Then it was off to the playground for some acrobatic exercises.

And this was ALL in one day! Kiawah was great. They had miles of tree-covered running/biking paths and it was heaven.

Gymnopedia

There's a new gymnastics place in Chapel Hill that just opened it's doors 2 weeks ago.

The kids each have private lessons, b/c no one knows about this place yet. It's been a real hoot Thursday evenings spending the night as a family at the gymnasium. The kids are asleep in the car before we get on the highway.

October Excitement

Much to my chagrin, the Egyptian-and/or-mummy-costumes-as-Halloween-costumes didn’t fly so well with Jackie and Cameron. They want to be ghosts & witches, because clearly those are the scariest Halloween costumes ever. Lucy wants to be a ghost too. No a witch too. Jackie wants to pick out the Halloween candy now so we have it, you know, just to be ready for Halloween. CamO's idea of Halloween candy is green jello. Oh my kids lead such sheltered lives!

This month, Jackie also started earning an allowance. She came up with a list of her weekly chores and she’s saving her allowance for an American Girl doll. It's been a great motivator for homework and practicing. And I see her (clean but don't want to pick up) clothes flying over the railing to get washed every morning. Who is this kid?!

Work has ramped up for me and I’m traveling again. Tonight, Cameron said to me: “I want to go with you wherever you go, Mom. If you were a kangaroo, I could go to work with you in your pocket.” Yeah, my little joey, that would be cool.

Lucy is loving school. She can’t get out the door fast enough. But her favorite thing these days is gymnastics class! Seriously, I think it’s so good for her sight/coordination issues. Why didn’t anyone tell me to do this sooner?!

Jackie took this picture of Grandad and Grandma Holly before the cold front hit NC.

Do as the Egyptians Did

Jackie read this last post and commented: My eyebrows look so silly! Why did I do that with the make-up?

Me: Who knows, Bird. At least you noticed. Do you think we should get rid of that eye make-up now?

JBird: No Way! I'll use it on Lucy.

Me: Awesome.



Oh, and here's King Cameron. Photo by Jacqueline.

Walk Like an Egyptian

We’ve spent the last few weeks learning all about ancient Egypt. And last Friday, the kids presented all they learned.

 Above are 3 Nile Delta's and 3 Great Pyramid. (Yes, they are created by sugar cubes. But don't eat them. They're covered in lemonstone.) Below are the mummies, wrapped and buried in their sarcaphogus, along with their sacred cats.

 A few Egyptians and their loyal friends.

 Next we have the display table with cave drawings, scrolls, a non-fiction book and a fairy tale they each wrote about Egypt.

 Here's Jackie's fairy tale 'King Cairo" sort of mixed in with The 12 Dancing Princesses.

 The Thespians...

 ...and the audience, clearly more enamored by the glittery collar and amulets.

A Month of Bliss

Grandad and Grandma Holly spent a whole month in NC. It was a month filled with dinners, swimming, golfing, sleep overs, frozen yogurt and uberfun in our RV. Safe travels, Grandad & Grandma Holly! We love you!

That's the way we became the Brady Bunch...da ta da ta DA!

There's been way too much Brady Bunch around here. We've Netflixed every episode and the kids have the early years memorized. Jackie told me how groovy the science class was today. Cameron thinks plaid and stripes make one super cool outfit and Lucy calls me Mrs. Brady- I kid you not. Pretty soon Jackie's going to think the ultimate family car is a wood-paneled station wagon and seat belts are optional..WAH...no car seats! Far out! At least we'll only have to pay 50 cents per week for allowance.

Jackie got in trouble today and I took away Brady Bunch for 2 days. Her eyes bugged out of her head. There was no way she was going to lose Brady Bunch for a week. That's just downright cruel!

Jackie and Dee are knee deep in this week's Egypt project. They're making a wig for our little Egyptian. Despite her protests, Jackie will be an Egyptian for Halloween because it took so long to make her costume. And she'll like it! If Lucy continues to call me Mrs. Brady, she will become a mummy.  

Are you ready for some football?!

Tanner: Dallas Cowboys are the best! They will beat your team, Cameron.

Cameron: What’s the name of my team again, Mom?

Jackie: MICHIGAN, CAMERON! You cheer for MICHIGAN!

Cameron: Oh yeah. Michigan will win, Tanner.

Me (sharing my entire, but miniscule wisdom on football): Actually boys, those teams will never play each other.

C & T: Yes they will!

Tanner: Dallas will win.

Cameron: No, Michigan will win.

etc...

The pups are ready for football. As long as they don't have to move.

BTW, The boys asked for the football pictures and even arranged the helmets and ball just so.

Treading Water

It’s that time of year again when schedules ramp up, work gets busy and we’re just happy to keep our heads above water.

Today we learned that Lucy is allergic to Triaminic Cold and Cough strips. We breed and import allergic babies. Lu’s got a fierce rash and she looks like hell, but acts fine. Poor baby.

The kids have been using their advanced vocabularly lately and it’s a real treat. Jackie tipped over in the plasma car and said “I hate this damn thing.” Cameron said that he “felt stupid all day.” And Lucy insists that she is “NOT A CARROT” when she actually means parrot.

School has been exciting and exhausting. In the last 2 weeks, the kids made a replica of the Nile River, mummies, a sarcophagus, an Egyptian mask and a pyramid of sugar cubes. (Yes, we are studying Egypt right now!) Jackie was so proud of her pyramid and told us all about how the Egyptians used lemonstone to make them, but they faded over time. And by lemonstone, she means limestone. But just don’t tell her that.

Dave and I tackled a bathroom project that was sure to be simple and quick. Unfortunately, a hot water break changed those plans for us. So now we have a bit of repair work to do before painting and cabinet installation. I’ll just send the ‘after’ pictures.

Well I’m off to bed. Who knows what adventures await us tomorrow!

Lucy's first day of preschool

Unfortunately I missed my baby's first day of preschool.  But Dave was like paparazzi on Lucy. She had her own personalized "packback."

 This girl is truly amazing. According to Dave, she practically ran to school.



 Dave did her hair too. :)

 Wasn't Cameron just here?

 Lucy met up with her new friend, Margo and her teacher, Ms. B.

I think she's the most well-adjusted of the three kids! So begins a lifetime of schooling.

Lounging Around

We've had a few lazy days in the company of Grandad and Grandma Holly....

 ...and Bogey. The pups are happy to have a playmate around.

Grandad, Dave and Cameron went golfing the other day while the girls enjoyed the pool and popscicles. It's nice to have a lazy schedule for a change! BTW, the second pic is from JBird.

Happy Birthday, Lucy Lu!

Our baby girl turned 3 on Tuesday. We celebrated indoors this Saturday since Irene put a damper on the pool party. Miss Lucy Lu requested a Hello Kitty cake, so I obliged. Unfortunately, it broke in half upon transfer from the pan to the plate, but nothing a little icing glue couldn’t fix. And my newly-3-yr-old baby girl didn’t know the difference.

As per our standard Party-at-the-Paul-house itinerary, we served Q Shack and lots o’ alcohol. And as my father-in-law figured out early on, the birthday celebration was just an excuse to have a ton of our friends over for a party. Guess what we're doing on Labor Day?!

Bella and Lucy had a belly full of cake and were lazily digesting.

There's always room for mac-n-cheese. Even after birthday cake and 4 glasses of milk.

The kids mistook Lucy’s b-day present opening as Christmas morning. Everyone was opening Lucy’s gifts. Initially, there was enough distraction that this wasn’t a problem, but once Lucy realized those were her gifts, she made sure everyone else knew it too!

 Since Grandad and Grandma Holly arrrived in a giant RV, Lucy was overjoyed to receive her very own, albeit a minature version, of the original Coach.

 And what's better than a Dora dress up costume? A fairy dress up costume over a Dora costume. So much crinoline! Lucy was ready to party or dance or fly away. (Fairy wings not shown, but on.)