Camo Gal

camo girl outfit from tcp the childrens place. we got this last year as a back to school outfit. its been foggy all day in the sf bay area, drizzled in the morning. this is not normal at this time, and big different from yesterday. hopefully we are on a warming trend for the labor day weekend. the kids brought home a paper bag for "getting to know you" activity. ariana brought her dolly (the backup). cheerleading medal, where one of her classmates on the same squad shared the trophy. ariana's favorite food is sushi - california roll. she had mentioned that we have sushi every friday. the only photo we had available to bring was joshua's graduation announcement. she said her kuya is 23, going to cal poly and "in his masters". i looked all over the house for a united airlines die-cast airplane toy for her to bring. the only thing i had in my purse was a pin given from a flight attendant. ariana mentioned her dad works for united; he makes the airplanes fly and fixes them. one time he even fixed the toilet. she also added she gets to fly on the planes, thats why we go to disneyworld every summer.

the 2nd and 3rd graders come out of the side school door, not the front office area like last year. all of the parents wait outside for pickup. one girl in ariana's class, asked me "have you seen my mom?" i told her to stay by me and wait. then 2 more girls comes up and askes "ariana's mom, have you seen my mom?" she was told to wait by the tree. if i had left her there - they would've sent her to the office. the mom got stuck by the stoplight crossing the street. ariana summed it up and said i'm a popular mom today.

Second Day of 2nd Grade

ariana is one happy camper as she got the teacher she had been hoping for. there are 4 girls in her class from last year, and her other girlfriends are right across the hall. everybody is all split up going from 7 first grade classes to only 5 second grades. and it went from 25 kids to over 30 kids in each one. ariana plays with most of the girls from 1st grade. "just because we're not in the same room, we're all still friends!" ariana had mentioned that her friends wore flower sundresses yesterday on the first day of school, so she picked this one for today. its from gap southwest line 2010.

First Day of School

or should i say "first day of second grade"?? the back to school outfit is gymboree smart & sweet line. luckily we didnt see another girl wearing it, since this is from one of gymbos current lines. the skirt is a size 6, and i had exchanged the top to a 7. she is now in sock sizes 5-7 and l'amour shoes size 12. a little chilly in the morning, i grabbed a pink blazer from gaps indigo line. byron is working midnights now, and came home in time to walk ariana to school. its a tradition to take the kids to school, and luckily this year he didnt have to take a day off. he will be home ASLEEP when she comes home 2:00, and leave to work right before her bedtime. the only thing we have to adjust to is being quiet while dad sleeps in the daytime. although she slipped a couple of times saying "i forgot". shhhhh.

Just Sayings

we have been driving back-n-forth to san francisco for the saludo rehearsals and shows for the past 4 days. most of the time we would take vaness to lombard. byron used to take me out on vaness when we were dating (20 years ago). it was convenient as we both worked at the airport, and byron lived in pacifica at that time. i started to reminisce and mentioned how i missed hanging out in the city and daddy used to take me here when we were dating. immediately ariana joined in "you guys can't date, you're married now... and only if your plans has me."

after the final performance on sunday at the palace of fine arts, we had to clear the place out. the director had mentioned that there is practice next sunday for those who are dancing at the sf giants game (filipino heritage night). so basically the kids are done for the year, until the next workshop starts up again in january 2013. everybody was walking to their cars and to meet up at a nearby restaurant. the director told ariana "see you next sunday". she was quick to the draw and started laughing - as she knows darn well it doesnt apply to her. she got a kick out of it and said "uncle rudi is funny!"

joshua has a habit of not putting away his plate or glass... either in his bedroom or family room. ariana loves to tattle-tale on him, and basically finds something every day. before we used to say for kuya to pay her a dollar or a quarter for everyone she finds. well she finally put her foot down and says "i quit, i'm not going to be your maid anymores!" another time we were having a conversation with josh. out of the blue - she walks through the room saying something like she was one of those ladies in the boxing ring holding a sign. it was the cutest thing.

i have been buying trident bubblegum ever since we went on vacation. i let ariana chew gum during takeoff so her ears wont pop. then she wanted to learn how to blow a bubble. the trident gum is too small to do it. so i picked up this habit of chewing gum and popping bubbles inside my mouth. and i could only do it on the right side. well my snapping is bothering byron while he's driving. i try to chew it on the left side, but eventually it always makes it to the right. ariana told me that if i keep on snapping & popping, i'm going to be grounded and she's going to take my gum away...for 50 weeks. oh no! after all said and done, she told byron "you're welcome dad"...before he had a chance to say thanks.

Happy Anniversary LIKHA

the little likha kids stole the show. a review on bakitwhy.com wrote "As soon as the children were brought out, the audience went crazy, ready for the little ones to showcase their skills."
we didnt have any family & friends attend the saturday night show, they all came on sunday. ariana had noticed one of the girls received a bouquet of flowers, and said "oh i wished i had flowers". early this i went out looking for a florist even in the grocery store. guess what - most shops dont open until 9:00 am. i ended up getting one big bunch and able to make 3 bouquets out of them. the girls thought they were like in the olympics on the stands receiving their gold medals. i got another one for ariana with blue daisies to match her dress. congratulations LIKHA girls!

da Palace

it was beautiful in the city on sunday. i figured we could walk the grounds around the san francisco palace of fine arts for a mini photoshoot before call time. and out of all days (this being the last) - i didnt dress ariana up or put her make up on yet for the show. i took her out anyways, against her will as she wanted to stay inside with her dance buddies. byron and i had our wedding engagements photos taken here - 13 years ago.

It's Show Time

ariana is part of the LIKHA pilipino folk ensemble troupe. the group has been around for 20 years now under the direction of Kuya Rudi Soriano (former Bayanihan). my friends were like "you dont mess around. when you sign ariana up for something - you sign her up to be with the best!" we are so honored to be part of this organization exposing our children to what is dear to our hearts - our heritage and culture thru music & dance. i only wish my mother Lola could've have seen the show. not only to watch ariana up on stage, but she would've enjoyed the whole show. unfortunately my mom had a stroke almost 7 years ago. my mom instilled the filipino folk dances in us. we learned the traditional ones - binasuan, tinikling, itik itik, bulaklakan. my sister and i performed at local bay area filipino organization events, family parties and school talent shows.

Call Times & Make-Up

08/23 thursday 6:00 - technical rehearsal only to check for staging and lighting. ariana is wearing a maxi skirt from Next with a gap tank.

08/24 friday 5:00 - dress rehearsal. ariana has been waiting for this day. her make-up cosmetic kit has been packed and set to go since last week. the only thing we forgot was one of those lighted mirrors. all the kids are in one dressing room together. first the girls need to put their hair in a bun. ariana's is so easy to do. i put her hair in a pony tail and wrap it around, then put a hair net over it. the other girls use a "bun sponge". some girls thought ariana had on fake eyelashes or curled them. nope - those are ariana's real ones with very little help from mascara. filipinos are not known to have long eyelashes, let alone curly ones. funny we would see this one girl constantly trying to curl her lashes with a curler. ariana is so blessed to have both long hair and long curly lashes. oh how we wish we could have the same.

08/25 saturday 4:00 call time - performance 7:00 pm

08/26 sunday 12:00 call time - performance 2:00 pm

SALUDO

Likha commemorates its 20th anniversary with a salute to Philippine dance--a broad repertoire representing the many regions of the Philippines. Saludo is a must see production that will delight all and be a source of pride for all Filipinos. each of us were given out 20 tickets to sell (10 for sat, 10 for sun). all along i had been putting the word out (via email, facebook, etc) that i had tickets available minus the fees. do you think anybody contacted me?? filipinos and people in general do not like to commit to attend an event in advance. i guess we are waiting to see if another event comes up. i mailed out my postcards on monday, with a little reminder "come see ariana dance". good thing the event is general admission open seating.

Full Dress Rehearsal

...this time with minimal make up. they added the printed wrap, and we are now nixing the sash. the company practiced the curtain call with the kids. all of them walk out in a line, take 4 steps and bow. luckily we have another run-through on stage to practice this. i don't even know what the weather is outside, it doesnt matter since we are inside from 1:00-6:00. it does get stuffy in the dance hall though, so ariana is wearing a gap hampton bay dress. easy off, easy on.

Rockin' Jump Birthday

from previous blog posts, do you recall me talking about me and my girlfriends that worked at united were all pregnant in 2004? its that time of the year again where one of the kids kicks off the birthday parties. they are 8 this year, with ariana turning 7 in october. they have all grown up together soooo fast. the party was held at rockin' jump, an ultimate trampoline park. ariana is wearing gymbo - shorts are from citrus cooler 5T with a tank from floral reef. both summer 2010 lines. yep i'm still pulling from the same drawer stack. there is a week and half til school starts, so i might as well let her wear these outfits now. hoping she still fits in them next year.

Tooth Fairy #7

yesterday morning ariana had mentioned her top right tooth was loose. it went from loose to hanging in no time. she was afraid to eat, chew and even talk. i made sure she drank liquids and she managed to eat a bowl of soup (broth) for dinner. all day and all night we were hoping it would fall out. i took her to a creative memories scrapbooking open house with me in the evening. i thought getting out would do her some good. wrong - she was not in the mood and very cautious of her tooth.
fast forward to this morning (6:00 am to be exact). how ariana ended up in between us in our bed - we dont know?? she sat up and asked for a glass of water. after 2 sips - she presented me with her tooth. you would think woohoo! yahoo! its out! now go back to sleep. ariana usually gets sick when a tooth falls out, mostly from not eating. we had a couple rounds of throwing up throughout the morning, and kept going back to sleep after each bout. i didnt wake up til 11:30, and ariana slept in way passed noon. good thing it fell out before school starts, now she has one more to go. hmmm wonder what the tooth fairy is leaving under the pillow tonight?? 2 statue of liberty dollar coins, a fairy chapter book and a fairy doll (alas Twinkle). ariana is actually wearing a cheerleading nightgown from gymbo, i have no idea what line its from.

Dress Rehearsal

the filipino dance troupe show is 2 weeks away. full dress rehearsal, minus the makeup. the girls have to have their hair in a bun. i'm actually getting pretty good especially with ariana's long hair. my only thing are the "fly away" strands no matter if i put alot of hairspray. do you know what happens when you wet curly hair, even the the slightest mist of liquid? it curls!

EKG Heartbeat

on wednesday night watching the olympic, i was combing out ariana's hair. out of the blue she got up and started crying to dad. she said her heart was beating too fast like it was going to jump out. her pulse was fine, as well as her breathing. we kept her calm until she fell asleep. then two times on thursday morning, she felt the same thing twice. ariana thinks that by going outside to get "oxygen" is the cure. out we go even in our pajamas, does the trick. i always ask her what she is thinking about when the attack occurs. the only thing we could think of is - anxiety. i had mentioned to her about school starting in 3 weeks, and we need to start working on going to bed earlier. on top of that, she is probably worrying about who is going to be her teacher. it could also be her filipino dance show is at the end of the month. usually sunday practice is only an hour, and now its a 4 hours long. ariana knows when its a full run of the show, the closer the event is coming up. to be safe we took her in to see the pediatrician. of course, her heart was fine during the appointment. you know how it is, where it never repeats itself at the doctors. ariana went to the hospital today to get an EKG or ECG (same thing). they had 12 wires hooked up to her, 4 going across the chest. we learned something new, where a kids heart is more on the right side. then it moves more to the left as you get older. ariana did really good during the test. in fact taking off the little tapes probably hurt more than anything. hoping to hear a good report from the cardiologist.

Citrus LOVE

I only hang dresses in Ariana closet for the season. The rest (tops, shorts, skirts) are in her dresser drawers. Most of her gymbo stuff are all together by lines, and I could get at least 3 stacks in each drawer. she currently has 6 drawers full of clothes, not counting the chest that houses pajamas, underwear, bathing suits and socks. I pulled from the citrus cooler stack again. The tank is kid girl 5 and shorts size 4. knit shorts run funny, good thing ariana could fit both in toddler and kidgirl sizes.

Citrus Cooler Sweet

even tho I haven't been posting every day during the summer, I do get Ariana dressed...even if we dont go anywheres but outside. It might not be til 12:00, but I don't want her to get in a habit of pajama days. Plus it makes me look lazy on my part. I stocked up on several summer clothes over the past years, on sale mind you. I got one or 2 sizes up, only because she had so many outfits in the current size she was wearing. My motto to Byron is "would you rather have me pay full regular price when she needs them? OR buy ahead on sale?" And you know his typical answer "not to buy at all". wishful thinking. ariana is wearing gymbo citrus cooler line that I got during a box sale, even the matching flip flops. The tank is kid girl 5 and shorts are 5T.

Island Time

this outfit is from gymbo "greek isle style" line. This isn't the best top to go with the tile motif shorts, but they are both from this gis. I couldve done a plain white top, and now I'm in search of another shirt from this line that goes better. you are probably wondering about the blue target on the wall, like I got this from target store instead of gymbo. It's for the bow & arrow. since the movie brave came out, one of the hottest item is the bow & arrow. sold out everywheres, even at disney. I managed to grab the purple set at walmart.com online for $17. Luckily this is the one ariana wanted, where the other set is more expensive and harder to find. Not only do girls want to be like merida, even kuya josh wants to take up archery like in the olympics. its target practice in my living room - bullseye!

BTShopping Outfits

i have this outfit slated for the "first day of school" minus the boots. but it really all depends on the weather. usually we get a heat wave the last week of august, so this is subject to change. gymboree is having a back to school sale. theres a price point for each piece, and we get to stack a 20% coupon on top. this is from their latest new line - smart & sweet. tie polo shirt and skort are both kidgirl size 6. boots are size 12 and seem to fit perfect. i'm going to have her try on a size 13. hoping she will have some room to grow but not swimming in them. (update: i exchanged the polo shirt to a size 7, and boots to a 13). so far we have an outfit from TCP the childrens place and from H&M. funny, i keep telling byron that i'm done - but every other day i ask him to take me to the mall.

Uncle BRENT Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY uNcLe BRENT!!