GBF PolkaDot

rain rain go away, at least the winds are calmer. ariana is wearing gymbo girls best friend. brown & blue polka dots. willits puddle jumper shoes. the book Silverlicious is part of the "pinkalicious" series. at the school's book fair last week, they ran out of it. ariana really wanted it and we were able to order it and have it deliver to her class. she was so surprised to see it in her cubbyhole today. can you guess what book she chose for bedtime story? i had no idea what the story was about. "goldilicious" is about a unicorn, and "purplelicious" where a girl loved the color purple. i was thinking silverlicious would be about a silver star or something. its about when pinkalicious loses her sweet tooth and writes letters to the tooth fairy for help. perfect timing for this book, since ariana lost her second tooth last week.

Memorial Day

ariana is wearing a top from gymbo spring rainbow line with target jeans. slipped on her garden rain clogs. we just went outside to release the ladybug. ariana caught this ladybug last week, even brought it to class on friday. the kinders have been learning about animals, and lastly about insects. we soaked a small balled-up wad of papertowel for it to drink. grass, leaf, and tiny flowers. ariana keeps asking for one more day to keep it, even though she knows we have to let it go. finally agreed to set it free today in the backyard.

Kite Festival

our annual tradition to fly a kite at san ramon arts & wind festival over the memorial day weekend. the way the winds have been blowing lately up to 15 mph, we could've stayed closed to home and flew them. ariana used her pink rainbow heart one, plus the butterfly one the easter bunny gave her. she actually has the hang of it and kept them up in the air all by herself. then she let dad takeover so she could chase them flying. on behalf of memorial day, ariana is wearing gymbo bon voyage polo and hat, with lucky brand jeans. these jeans normally cost $79, but one of my loopie gf hooked us up on a great deal.

Spring back to Fall Homecoming

Friday - May 27, 2011

ariana is wearing fall colors from gymbo fall homecoming line - in the middle of SPRING!! i had this outfit put aside for her to wear in the first grade this coming october. byron took today off, to get a jump start on the memorial weekend. our initial plans were to go chicago, but we'll see everybody at the family reunion in july. and also just in case we decided to go to legoland down in san diego. my nephew (practically almost like my second son) is graduating from a community college (remember, the announcements i made?). at first he wasnt making it a big deal since its ONLY a junior college. we had a talk with him - no matter where or what kind of school you are graduating from, its a major accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself as we are of him. and to add to it, the school tells him 4 days before graduation - he is short 9 units. he still gets to walk and do all the pomp & circumstances, then make it up during the summer. then joshua calls and decides to fly home... which happens to be the same time as the grad. we go pick up josh, take him to my sisters house for the truck. he'll drive back down to college to move his stuff out of the dorm. josh has a symphony concert tomorrow night, which we were planning on attending. but with the weather & memorial day weekend load - we're staying home.
update: on monday josh drives his car back home (3 hour drive) since he has the truck too. guess who the lucky one is to take him to the airport EARLY tuesday morning??

Lost Tooth #2

Thursday - May 26, 2011
picture says it all. ariana was scared & crying as her tooth wiggled loosely. i had mentioned that she was braved last time when her first tooth fell out in school. she said "...because the teacher was reading a story and my mind was off it." we even called dad at work, thinking he could calm her down. i consoled her, at the same time encouraged her that its better to come out now. 1 - she's at home and i'm home. 2 - wouldnt be in pain at school. 3 - i dont want her to go to bed and fall out during while she's asleep.
9:33 pm: it fell out on her little blankie (towel).
ariana was a happy camper...me too. whew, i thought it was going to be a loooong night. she immediately put her tooth under her pillow and a note for the toothfairy. usually during the week, she falls asleep on the couch trying to wait up for dad. it never happens, so byron ends up carrying her to her bedroom. i thought for sure this time she would want to stay up and show dad her tooth. ariana said "oh no, i have to sleep in my bed for the toothfairy to come." she went to her room, laid down on her bed, and i tucked her in. hmmm, wonder if the toothfairy could fly in everynight. 8 hours later - 2 coins (a gold dollar coin, a octagon shaped dollar coin) and 2 new crisp dollar bills. 2 coins and 2 bills because its her second tooth. wonder what she will leave for the third tooth??

Butterfly Release

in the beginning of the month, ariana told me they have some new kids in the class - caterpillars. they were kept in a jar until they turned into chrysalises. i was taught it was called a "cocoon" when i was in school, and ariana keeps correcting me its a chrysalis. on may 13th, the chrysalis pupa (pronounced pew-pa for those that thinks it poo-pa) was moved into a butterfly house (net). just like the butterfly garden advertised on the tv infomercial. they say in 10 ten days you should have butterflies flying around. ariana kept asking me - has it been 10 days yet? finally on may 19th (according to her insect journal) "the crislis hacht out". the next day "tow buttreflys wher out". the kinders came to school a little bit early today, to share the release with the morning class. it took awhile for them to fly off, they had to have their lunch - nectar from little daisy flowers on the grass. ariana wore a linen top with gold elephants from crazy8. and yes i made sure the trunk is up for good luck. she said she was dressed like india fiji. khaki shorts are from gymbo.

Open House

open house. ariana is so excited where this time - she gets to show me around the classroom and be the tourguide. altho i'm always in the kinder classroom on fridays to help out. theres 7 of us where the last 3 kids are born a year apart, me being one of them. can you imagine my mother had to go and visit 3 classrooms? theres a brother 4 years older, so they had to go to another school for his events. it rained again today, thus the black longsleeve tee. ariana is wearing another gap modshift dress. dont remember what line, but i love how gap makes black dresses for little girls. the quilted black flats are from gap outlet when corsica line came out again. sometimes i change ariana when she comes home from school. most of the time i let her stay in the same outfit unless we're going outside, and becuz she doesnt have much playclothes (well, she does but they are still brand new). when i was giving ariana the countdown to leave to openhouse, she wanted to change into something like going to a meeting. but nothing fancy in black when we go to one of joshua's symphony concerts. i dont know where she got this idea from. i worked around the black tee shirt she had on, and picked this crazy8 suit. might as well let her don it since i dont have plans to wear this anytime soon. i remember getting the jacket at first on sale, then scored the matching skirt later on marked down. the boots are from janie&jack wintercheer 2010, size 12 with room to grow.

J.Crew Cuts

i had moved some of ariana's dresses out of my closet into hers. most are spring-summer ones that needed to stay on a hanger, instead of folded put away in the bins. last year i found out the first lady michele obama dresses the president's girls in J.C.Crew. i had no idea they made clothes for kids. their children brand line is called "crew cuts". very similar to ralph lauren polo. breaking in the white swimmer saltwaters (size 10) for summer.

Ice Cream Social

this is the last kcd in may. i've been prepping ariana for it, since the last one a couple of weeks ago, it was a rough morning for all of us. i was constantly reminding her last night to go to bed early, altho she kept trying to get one more thing in to play with dad. fast forward to this morning - rise and shine, its kinder combined day! first thing she said rolling over "i hate mondays!" i totally agreed with her, and she asked me why. 1 - because kuya has to go back to college. 2 - daddy has to go work. 3 - because she has to go to school too. even tho i'm a stay at home mom (aka homewatcher), i still hate mondays since i have to help prep everybody else. i still count down the days til friday, as i'm always looking forward to the weekends to be together. ariana is wearing janie & jack apron dress from ice cream social line. light pink lamours maryjane shoes.

Week-end Nana-isms

sometimes when i ask ariana a question, byron answers. he says he's helping her out. its either a habit where he still thinks shes a baby or actually giving his own opinion. lately ariana has been catching on, even before i get a chance to say "are you ariana?" she lets him have it "dad, don't talk ahead of someone. Not nice to say it in front of me."

then theres the time dad interrupts. "stop cutting my mouth off."

when she is vying for attention or competing with kuya josh - "you are not in the middle, i am the center. you guys are on the side of me." really she is trying to say that its not about them and she is in the middle of universe.

when the teacher was reading a book to the class, she read it kind of fast than usual. only because the kids had alot to do on friday. ariana noticed it and tried to explain. she said the teacher needs to read and talk like a normal voice so she can understand. i didnt get it at first, but when i asked her later on - "the teacher wasnt using all the periods".

kuya came home from college. she came running to him and gave him a big hug right when he got thru the door. then she backed off, pointed her finger - "uh, did you bring your helicopter?" remember, what i had thought was my mothers day gift??

Gallery Night

its gallery nite this evening. we're suppose to display 2 to 3 artwork from each child, ariana has 4 projects displayed tonight. train (paper shape collage), fish (paint), house (oil pastel), and monkey (clay). ariana is wearing this chambray dress from target', with these most comfortable shoes from japan.

Star of the Day

yippee i believe the rain has moved on and the winds are dieing down. now that all the kids have been Star of the Week in kinder class, now they have a chance to be Star of the Day. everybody stands up and the teacher said "the name has 4 syllables". and we just talked about syllable names the other night. ariana knew right off the bat how many she has. if your name doesnt have 4, you sit down. the next clue - a "female", making all the boys out. and this person is wearing "red". everyone called out - its ariana!! she actually wore a red polo dress from gymbo newyork girl puppy school line. i am helping to set up for gallery night tomorrow. changed ariana into gymbo savanna sunset capris and gap butterfly tee. she is also sporting her new pair of glad sandals from payless shoes. leaving the school, i caught a pic of her shadow.
joshua received his acceptance letter for cal polys biomed engineering masters graduate 4+1 program. i was all teared up when i read the letter. then try explaining that josh is going to be in college longer to a 5-year old. we are so proud of him. josh was suppose to walk at the end of this year. now he will receive both degrees (bachelor & masters) at the same time. and i just have to throw him one graduation party. congratulations son!!

Back-to-School Uniform

our favorite crazy8 outfit from their back to school line. ariana wore this outfit for school pictures in the fall. this outfit is so preppy something like a private school teenager would wear in england. can you believe she is wearing this again in MAY?? hopefully the rain has moved out this morning, and looking forward to sunny days ahead. 20 more days of school left, and i'm pretty sure there are outfits yet to be worn. i got the scrapbook out of the way plus our summer vacation reservations made. i put all my scrapbook stuff away in the garage cabinets - until the next one i make. monday i vacuumed the whole house. first thing ariana said when she came home was "WOW look at the living room." it was too clean for her, so up went the fairy trap house with rock & marble path for them to follow. its still standing, pending a tour of it for daddy. tuesday i cleaned all the oil splatter around the stove area. byron said its so clean, he just wants to look at it. and guess who fried bacon this morning? ugghh. today i'm taking a break from cleaning, realized i have 2 projects. i need to work on the morgan family tree for the reunion in july and my nephews college graduation announcements.
update: tried to do the family tree on powerpoint, thought it was like making an organization chart. i think i need canvas or visio. i moved onto my nephews grad announcements. while i was searching on wording, i ended up ordering kindergarten grad announcements for ariana instead. shutterfly had 20% off cards, $10 off and free ship on $30 orders. our xmas cards were via shutterfly. and if you post (share) to your blog or website, you get a coupon.

Here Comes the Bride

my nephew is getting married in july. ariana is one of the flower girls and is getting excited. its a known fact that her bff likes this one boy in class...mind you, we're talking about 5-6 year olds here. ariana felt to pick another boy. she even wants to have a playdate when school is out, and is planning her "pretend wedding". get this, she is going to make a copy of her list for my niece-to-be. ariana took out her white shoes, bouquet, veil, etc. then i remembered one of my loopie's daughter was in a wedding, and i have the dress to play dress-up. oh my gosh, ariana knew exactly how a bride poses. she loved walking around the house with the train dragging behind her. ok who's going to carry her train like pippa did princess kates? its kinda scary - to think this will be the real deal in 20-something years.


Tuesday - May 17, 2011 WINTER IN MAY??

brought out the gap cable knit sweater dress. looks like ariana is dressed in the winter.

Zebra

its here! the late seasonal cold front to hit the west coast. i cant believe this weather - in the middle of the may, mind you. i had put away most of ariana's sweater dresses, they happen to be in bins underneath her bed. i didnt have time to sort & sell them (even the ones i doubt she'll fit in the first grade). she is wearing the gap zebra one (size 5T), gray leggings, and gregory girl patent boots for the rain. this is the first time wearing the black trench coat too (gap bleeker line). i finished the kinder class scrapbook album for the auction at gallery night. i usually take pictures of just ariana in mind, and put them in a book. luckily this year i went around snapping pictures of all of the kids, which came in handy to make this book possible. ariana was my little handy helper assistant and got attached to it. she asked me "mom, can you buy this album at the auction?" i have all the pictures, but i really doubt if i can duplicate this (let alone find the time again). see i do things and complete them when theres a deadline or an event. but to scrap daily here-n-there, it hasnt happened in 5 years. we ended up going to kinkos and making color copies of each page. now ariana wants to keep the book and give the copies to the school. this whole thing ended up costing me - making the album the ole' traditional way (even tho i have all the supplies already) to copying it. i spent about 2 days putting it together (even with "i want to help - i'll do it" at my side). and another day of stickers & journalling. i'm thinking of going the digital route via creative memories storybook creator. but what will i do with ALL my stuff?? the kinder teacher told ariana "i need this scrapbook because i will miss the kids when they go in the first grade". hopefully she will be the highest bidder. SOLD!

Teacher Treat Day

a couple of years ago, i got a Trish Scully skirt outfit from a loopie, i liked it so much where i found the print in a dress. its a very light thinned corduroy which is perfect for the weather we're having. the day starts out with sun & blue skies, then by noon time - the wind picks up to almost 15 mph or more. the color challenge is orange by the way, notice some of the flowers down at the hem? this is the last day of teachers appreciation week. bring in a small treat (be it muffin, fruit, candy, etc). ariana gave out see's candies "an apple for a teacher".

School Supply

on one of my clothing loops i belong to, they are having a color challenge for the week. its fun playing, posting pics, and seeing all the outfits. plus it helps narrow down the decision of what to dress the kids. i completely forgot on monday, totally missed out since we didnt even have a spec of blue on. tues was pink, wed was red, and today is purple. our lavender cashmere hoodie dress from naartjie fit the bill perfectly. last night i arrived at the restaurant early, worked out great since there was a Staples store next door. kids bring in a new office supply for their teacher. on the newsletter, dry-erase markers and post-it notes as examples. ariana picked out a set of markers for the class and post-it notes for herself.

Wednesday May 11, 2011

this outfit is from crazy8 back to school line. i call it her "janet jackson" outfit because of the military buttons on the tunic dress. those are actually plaid print leggings, not tights. i cant believe i'm still dressing her in fall outfits - in the middle of spring! she was even sporting her princess kate look-a-like white wool coat from gap. unfortunately i had put most of all her fall-winter coats away, except this one hanging in my closet. at the rate our weather is going downhill with the winds blowing and all, i might have to bring them all back out. ariana wore navy maryjanes to school, but changed into sandals afterwards.

TurtleMatch

tuesday is Note of teacher appreciation day. kids can either draw a picture or write a thank you note. ariana did both (sorry forgot to take pic) - one on each side of the paper. "thengk you for teeching me things. you are funny and noseye (nosy). you are the nisis (nicest) teacher in the class." i put her in gymbo turtlematch, which looks more like a tennis match outfit. i think this was a first sending her in white to school, luckily she came home clean.

Flower for a Teacher

its teacher appreciation week. today is flower day, where you bring a single flower. suggested a bloom from your garden will do fine. well as you can see, ariana's garden (flower patch) is still in the sprouting stage. even if there was a flower, ariana wouldnt want to give up her prized bloom. we ended up buying a bunch at the grocery store florist and picked out 3 big purple daisy sunflowers. one for her teacher, the a.m. morning teacher, and the student teacher. unfortunately it was kinder combine day and we forgot them (too early in the morning for us). ariana handed them out when i picked her up. she's wearing gap deauville tunic dress with leggings, boots from crazy8.

Happy Mothers Day

with easter a couple weeks ago, i didnt want to do brunch again. meaning we would've had to get up early (me, even earlier) to get dressed. i just wanted to sleep in and take it easy. byron usually gives me flowers and a card, i told him not to bother. ariana colored a vase with a potted plant - via kindergarten. i get an email about a amazon order being shipped to arrive on saturday. something joshua ordered. i thought to myself "oh what a wonderful son, he ordered a gift to arrive by mothers day. how nice." joshua wakes up and greets me a happy mothers day first thing. he opens the package - its a remote controlled helicopter for HIM! i basically did what i wanted to do or needed to do at my own pace - whether it was laundry vs the dishes... or angry birds (ipod game). not a peep out of byron. he usually thinks i'm suppose to stay home on the weekend and clean the house, just because he's "working" at home. like i cant do the chores during the week (duh!). look at my two babies, i am truly blessed. they were teasing each other who made me a mommy for mothers day. joshua always tells her "she was my mommy first". ariana insisted on taking a picture with kuya before he drove back to college.

Southwest Cowgirl

these cowboy boots were on sale at crazy8. i had a coupon that had expired on may 1st, found out the codes are still working. i ordered these pink boots which are only available online. we received them, and ariana wanted to wear them right away. this is one of those times again where the outfit started from the shoes. the closest dress with a western style print was a gap one from their recent southwest line.