Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Katie is here. Winter Break almost is.

We are happy to have Kate here in town. Emmett has no school this week, so they are playing all day while the rest of us finish up our last week of 09. Big party at our place on Saturday night so she can meet some of our friends.

Gotta go grade final exams, but here's some evidence that the holiday spirit is a global thang.



Desi was psyched to hop on up. Asked for a robot. Methinks he might be in luck...mwahahaha! As we waited in line, Desi asked "Is that the REAL Santa?" When I feigned incredulity, he explained that it just looks like a guy in a suit. I had a feeling this day was coming. Luckily, his boots were super-authentic looking, and Desi had to concede that point. By then, it was lap-time and all doubts vanished. For now.

Emmett, not so psyched for the lap. He DID draw a picture to give to Santa. Video of that forthcoming. For now...



Here's mom and E with a shirt that gets more true with each really loud tantrum. He IS 3, after all.



And, i couldn't resist one more, as it's just a little cute. emmy wishes you all peace this holiday season. Lately he has taken to singing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." Not a dry eye in the house!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

TGIF

hey there world. the work week is over, at least on this side of our beautiful blue ball. soon i'm off to catch the fading sunlight for a game of ball with Emmett. friday nights at our house are Breakfast and a Movie Night. Cereal and cartoons--at night! It's so sweet.

Then we have a party with co-workers. I'll be sneaking away from it to watch the Civil War for the Roses at a fellow Oregonian's apartment. Our other co-worker taped it off of Filipino satellite TV, which carries ESPN. Gotta love the modern conveniences. Of course, the game is already over. But so far, I have successfully avoided hearing ANY news. Let's hope it stays that way for 3 more hours.

FInal exams start here at the HS next week. I, for one, am looking forward to it. I know for a fact the students aren't, and that reminds me how great it is that I AM NOT A STUDENT ANYMORE. Sure, it's been ten years since I was. But even at 36, the math still indicates that I have spent most of my life as a student. I won't be over that hump for a couple years. So let's all pause and appreciate the fact that we don't have homework or exams or projects hanging over us.
There. Doesn't it feel good?

So we have the Xmas tree up. Stockings, lights, the whole nine yards. And if you think the Chinese-exported lights you bought are crap, you ain't seen nothin' til you've seen (or should I say "felt"?) the ones for domestic consumption. Shocking, I can tell you. Actual sparks shooting out as I plug 'em in. Still, we are enjoying the season. Lots of holiday music, and I can happily report that the boys' favorites are the parody songs on Dr. Demento's compilation album "Holidays in Dementia." Like "Rusty Chevrolet" (to the tune of Jingle Bells), "Hanukkah Homeboy" and "It's so Chic to be Pregnant at Christmas."

Desi is tearing it up these days, reading and writing like a madman. He wrote a thank you note last night with minimal help and only one misspelling. He's getting into wu shu (just got him the outfit last week) and drum lessons from a neighbor kid. Emmett is showing art skills, including a SWEET butterfly. He also likes wearing his lion costume to school for no apparent reason. I went to a parent-teacher conference and Ms. Beini said Emmy jumped through the door yesterday in his lion suit, growling and pawing the air. I promise I'll post a pic soon.

In case I don't post again for a couple days, happy birthday to Brad Brown (Dec. 7). For those of you who know him, he's now a father of two and his wife Marlo runs a nice blog that puts mine to shame.

Gotta run. GO Ducks and only 10 days til Katie arrives here!