Marc went to a retirement party for one of his co-workers on Saturday. It happened to be at the Perry & Price(local radio personalities) show atJimmy Buffet's. He won one of the prize drawings for a trip to Vegas!!!!
How fabulous is that? Only thing-- leaves on Tuesday. Perfect for Marc since he's a School Counselor and on Summer Break right now (so jealous). Although we got married in Vegas-- it's not my most favorite place to visit, and I have to work...so he's taking his Dad. You know that if it was someplace like, say... San Francisco-- I'd be THERE!
Since Marc's leaving this week-- we decided to do a family day today. We surprised Em Jay by taking her to the fair. Or as she calls it, "the carvinal". She was so HAPPY.
Last weekend we went to the Home and Garden Expo. Em played "spin the wheel" at the Geico Insurance Booth and won a Gecko... She wanted to take pictures with him:
(photo by em jay)
(photo by em jay)
We also spent some time journaling...
here's em jay's. it's pretty neat to see what she ends up with after going at it with the supplies...
Em was busy drawing all morning. When I went to see what she was drawing, I found these. I asked her what they were and she said, "It's a Potato Man!" My favorite part are the "shoes".
I am completely ADDICTED to the television show Oddites on the Science Channel. It fosters my appreciation for the strange and unusual. Strange things, strange people, strange phenomenon. Love it all.
Would I want these things in my house? No Way-- freaks me out, but it's intriguing to look at none the less.
Reminds me of the time Marc, my Sister Jen, and I were wrapping Christmas presents and having a conversation about "Levels of Weirdness". What is weird to you, may not be weird to me. Both of us are weird to Marc. And Marc is really weird to Jen. It was pretty hilarious.
Well this show definitely displays several levels of oddness. You see someone walk in the shop and think that they are strange, but then that person thinks the next person is strange...and so on. It just doesn't stop-- keeps getting weirder. That's what makes it fabulous. I highly recommend it.
10 FREE (AND ALMOST FREE) THINGS TO DO ON THE ISLAND OF OAHU, HAWAII:
1.Sharks Cove: (Named for it's shape, not for having sharks) Perfect beach for kids... and adults to explore. I've always loved tide pools. This one is beautiful.
(google images)
2. Matsumoto Shave Ice: The absolute best on the island. Then you can walk and shop around Haleiwa Town.
9.Rainbow Drive- in: My go to place for comfort food. I always order a BBQ Cheeseburger, French Fries, and a side order of Rice with Gravy. And Marc always gets the Mix Plate with BBQ Meat, Mahimahi, and Boneless chicken with rice. Yum!
Em and I had lots of fun this weekend making little fashion mini magazines. Making a mini zine is super easy to do, which makes it a perfect activity for kids.
Except for the part where your toddler decides to dig all of the glue out of the gluestick and smear it on the table. And after telling her to use the glue correctly, or not at all says-- "mommy why are you scolding me, why?". Sound like I'm speaking from experience? Oh, yes.
Other than that little bump in the road though, the rest was smooth sailing. And tons of fun. It's amazing how therapeutic simple cutting and pasting can be for an adult.
MATERIALS:
2 sheets of copy paper-- one for mommy, one for child
old magazines
glue
scissors
pens for doodling
color copier
other collage items (optional)
How to make a Mini Zine
When your zines are folded, it's time for the fun part. Cut out images you are drawn to or that match the theme of your zine. Zines can be about anything. We did a fashion-ish one, but you could do dinosaurs, cars, animals, recipes, poetry, all pictures, or all written word, things to do in your town-- anything goes.
All of our images came from an old (2008) issue of Sweet Magazine from Japan.
Em picked out all her images, I helped her with the cutting. Then I let her go at it with the glue.
After you complete your little book, open it up and let it dry.
When completely dry, run it through a color copier and fold the copy into a mini zine for a clean, smooth version of your book. Make lots of copies, and give them away. Leave them in random places for people to find!
This year Em Jay loved dyeing eggs. She had so much fun-- and sat for over an hour coloring her eggs.
Who's having more fun...Em, or Daddy?
Em discovered that if you paint eggs with tempera paint, then dip them in the dye it makes a very pretty marbled look.
This year, along with our regular old dudley egg dye. I decided to try natural egg dyes from eco-kids -- eco-eggs.
The dye powders come in cute little containers. Just pour the powder in a cup, add water, and mix. I absolutely LOVED these dyes. The colors are beautiful, and they are really easy to use.
Also see the first photo in this post (all the way at the top) for an example of the blue. The entire two left-side columns of eggs in the photo were made with the eco-kids dyes.
These were my prized ones. I loved the monochromatic look.
Although they were a bit pricey for egg dye...I will definitely be purchasing the natural dyes again next year. I ordered mine from imagine childhood for about $15.99.
I never did get a chance to post our photos from our January San Francisco trip. It was so much fun, and great to spend time away-- just us three. This was our 5th time in SF, and our first during January. This is what SF is like in January...cold. Especially for us Hawaii people.
Of course we ate dinner at Dojima Ann on O'Farrell Street (we love). The next day we went to Molinari Delicatessen, and ate North Beach Special Sandwiches. Then headed over to Haight Street. And here's Em at Amoeba saying "Aaaahhh, so many records!"
We had time that evening to walk around Union Square near our hotel, pick up cupcakes at Cako, stop in at Game Stop for a super good selection of DS games (I bought 5). And take photos on the Cable Car.
On our last day we went for a quick stop in Chinatown to pick up a few things, then we went to meet some friends at California Academy of Sciences
Our last stop was Japan Town. Great selection of Japanese Craft Books at Kinokuniya. And this place is a MUST everytime we visit.
It really was such a nice vacation for us. Hopefully we'll be back to SF soon.
We've decided to take Em Jay to Disneyland this year. Well, actually my Dad promised her that he would take her for her 3rd birthday. Marc's thinking is that it's ridiculous to take a child to Disneyland when they are not old enough to hold their memory of it. I say, it's the experience in the moment that counts...and we'll remember it. So my Dad is literally taking Em, meaning he is paying for her trip while we pay for ours.
I've been trying to prep, and desensitize (I believe systematic desensitization is the proper term) her to her fear of rides. And loud moving things. I think it's working.
First we tried the Train Ride at Windward Mall. My parents take her during the week. Here she is with random kids that she says are her friends.
This past weekend was the Iolani School Family Fair. I think it's safe to say that she is over her fear. All she wanted to do was go on rides. Here she is with her pals (these really are her pals).
Now I can't wait for Disneyland. I am slowly getting over the fact that we aren't stopping in San Francisco this time. And it will be nice to see Em Jay enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth.
