Bird house attempt

It's a work in progress! I thought this would be a fun project for Ara and I and then we could paint it and attatch it to a fense post. The problem is that it isn't as easy as it looks! We are waiting for the glue to dry to attempt a roof and some front door. I doubt any bird will decide this house looks structually sound enough to live in though. It's probably for the best because my cat might eat the birds when their house collapsed and that would be sad. Ara added the sample paint color on the side tonight. She was painting pictures next to me while I puzzled over the third wall. I left the room once and she called out to me "mama I spilled but I'm cleaning it". I cringed.. the image of Ara smearing paint all over something with her hand came to me as I hurried into the kitchen. I was wrong though. I found Ara, paper towel in hand expertly wiping the paint off the floor. She did indeed "clean it". I tried to kiss her for being so mature and thoughtful, she complained and went back to her painting! Darn grown up kids who don't want mama kisses!

Coloring in the kitchen during church

I'm sorry mama.. Sorry you yelled at me.

Short

I have been passively avoiding organized religion for most of my adult life. A few months ago I started taking Ara to the church I grew up in. I left today in tears. Isn't it ironic how the "holiest" of the older church ladies can wear such an expression of disapproval and make you feel so unwelcome in their sad childless little sanctuary. I plan to write more later but right now I need to get out some power tools and fix the gate (aka vent some anger).

Also Alex left this morning on a work trip and irrational as it is I feel so alone!

Under a Mountain of Toys

For my birthday I got a lovely bouquet of flowers that I promptly stuck in a coffee cup with water (I don't even own a vase!) and expected to watch them die. I put a packet of that flower food that came with the flowers and it was amazing! My flowers lasted 20 days and I got used to having this pretty bright spot in the kitchen. So I have added a resolution for 2009! I need flowers every week! I told Alex, he was less enthusiastic about it, don't ask me why. This week Ara and I picked out a bunch of white mums and my Mom gave me a pretty vase. I can't explain it but I look at them and I see happy :D Maybe it's just because it's winter, who knows? Yay flowers!

Today is raining so I have pulled all of Ara's toys out into the living room to begin a mass organization project. This has been on my "to-do" list forever and it's quite the undertaking! Why does my 3 year old have so many books and toys? Well I can guarantee that the donation and trash bags will be full today.

I am also trying to think of projects and games we can play next week. I want to keep busy and on schedule so that Ara won't have as much time to act up about Alex being out of town. I am also trying to comfort myself, he has a business trip next week and I am nervous about things here. I'm sure everything will be fine but I'll miss him!

Megan took me out to lunch and ice cream for my birthday. It was so nice to eat Chinese food and laugh and worry only about my own table manners!

I have been missing the YMCA a lot lately. We stopped going when the purple car died but I think it's time to go back! Y-M-C-A ( I was singing that).

That's it for my small update. I will write more often next week so Alex can read all about it! I'm off to organize!

Lunch after spending christmas money!

Child Flute Player and You Tube Auditions

Amazing 8 year old flute player! She apparently started lessons at the age of 3, which makes me think... Ara is 3... but unless I can find a "My Little Pony" flute I doubt she would interested lol.



This is an interesting concept. Auditions for an orchestra via You Tube. Check out the LSO master classes linked from this video!

My Lola

I'm sick today so I'm doing a lot of laying around trying to think of things to occupy Ara with. My Dad is in California today for my lola's (Filipino Great Grandmother) funeral. I want to post some pictures of her from our visit last May but I can't remember where I put the little key drive thing. My brain is useless today! My great uncle emailed the obituary that he wrote for her and I want to share it here because her life story is so amazing.

Felisa was the third of four children from her mother’s second marriage; she had two half-sisters, and three half-brothers and sisters. As a child, she loved reading but had to leave school in the third grade to help an older sister take care of her children. Despite leaving school so early, she was an able writer in three languages, Kapangpangan, Tagalog, and English. She loved sports, playing softball in her youth, often at first base because she could leap high for balls thrown wide and wild. In 1935, at age 19, she married Aniceto, a young soldier in the Philippine Scouts.

Evident early on in her life, her strength and resourcefulness often kept her family from harm. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese armed forces attacked and eventually occupied the Phillippines. With her husband away defending the Philippines, and pregnant with her fourth child, alone she protected her three young children, evacuating them from her home at Ft. McKinley to a village about 30 miles north of Masantol. This village was not immune from the Japanese planes, which dropped bombs which she described as larger than her forearm. To safeguard her children from bombardment, she dug foxholes, where she lived with the children until the bombings ceased. To keep them fed, she bartered and bargained on the black market for any food she could find. Along with other woman, she slaughtered chickens and pigs. Assisted by midwives, she had her fourth child in July 1942. During the Japanese occupation, she rarely saw her husband. He, along with thousands of Philippines and US soldiers, was captured, and forced on the infamous Bataan Death March. After arriving in the prison camps, he attempted to escape but only to be shot and returned to a Japanese prison camp. He made good on a second attempt to escape, and surprised Felisa, making an unannounced visit to her door in July 1943.

In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Felisa and her children, now numbering six, saw her solider husband off to another war. Her husband, now a member of the United States Army, saw close combat for which he received the Silver Star for his heroism. Felisa wrote to Aniceto’s commanding general, eloquently describing the hardship of raising six children on her own if he was killed in combat, and requested that he be sent home to his family. Disappointed, Aniceto was home within the month.

In 1955, Felisa packed her family and left her homeland to join her husband now stationed in Japan. After two years, the family moved to Ft. Lewis, Washington. In 1959, her husband retired from the military, and all eight piled into one 1957 Buick to make the 18-hour drive to Sacramento, where they put down roots. Here in Sacramento, Felisa had her last two children.

As her children grew up and had their own, Felisa became “Lola” to her growing grandchildren, followed by great grandchildren. For almost fifty years, she often had at least one grandchild in her care. Her last grandchild, Emilio, spent much of his first year in his Lola’s arms and care. Besides the special foods she would cook for the grandchildren, she was fond of making up unique and playful nicknames for them.

Her final days and months of life were spent in the generous and loving care of her fourth daughter, Dellie and her husband, Dr. Achelle Punla. This Christmas was spent with her children, grand children and great grand children. Her family has lost a very strong, but loving mother and grandmother, aunt and friend. She held the loving respect and admiration of all who knew her. Though she was our family’s heart and soul, we each will carry her love forward.

I don't want to sound insensitive but I was surprised how sad I felt when I learned of her passing. As she grew older she spoke English less and less. My memories of my lola are mostly of her in the kitchen cooking for our family gatherings. I remember the smells of fried rice and lumpia. She always had a smile for me. She would place her soft worn hands on my face and smile and speak in tagalog to me (which I didn't understand). My childhood is filled with memories of my great grandparents wonderful house in Sacramento. I only realize now how much I miss those gatherings. How much I wish that Ara could have those same memories. But now she is gone, and it will never be the same. That makes me sad. Ara did get to meet her last May and the image I have of them locked in each others eyes smiling is a very comforting one. Great great grandmother! Today I am sad that I am not in Sacramento playing Ave Maria for her. She wanted me to do that and I am not there. I feel guilt and sadness. I remember nodding every time she would tell me that this was her wish and thinking that I would be too sad to play. My thoughts are with my family there. They have had a rough couple of years, seeing my lola through her failing health. I wish I could be there, I can imagine there are tears but also laughter and food.. lots of food. That is the Filipino way! I keep getting the crazy urge to call my Grandma in California to beg her to move here. I want so badly for Ara to know and love her like I do. Visits don't feel like enough. Since Ara was born I have noticed how very few Filipino customs I have kept. Ara is only 1/4 Filipino (1/4 white (sorry if that was not pc) and 1/2 Hispanic) she has so many pieces of herself, so many places to belong. I want her to love and embrace that about herself. Suddenly I feel out of energy to write and to feel this way so I am going to stop.

A quick list of things I want to blog about:

• Pictures from Christmas
• CA pictures
• The Yard
• Current Books
• Ara's chores and cooking
  

Giant flute

Contra Flute @ TFC rehearsal

In my head though, it is called paper clip flute!

I have a ton of things I want to write about but I don't have time at this moment. I want to write all about Ara's Christmas, my birthday, New Years, the exciting new play yard for Ara... the list goes on and on. I did go to the library last night before rehearsal and I checked out far too many books and audiobooks.

• Joy of Cooking
• How to Practice The Way to a Meaningful Life
• Practical Wisdom for Parents
  
• Confetti Cakes
• Eclipe (audio)
• New Moon (audio)
• Letter to my Daughter (audio)
• Harry, A History
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Eragon

(there are a few more but I will stop there, I realize I left out author's names but I'm pretty sure a google search would reveal all!)

I actually haven't even finished the Host yet so I am behind in my reading! I feel so rich in life when I have so many books waiting for me!

Quick Ara update:

She loves her new bed.

Lately, she greets other children so enthusiastically she is actually frightening some of them. I've told her she should at least ask before hugging and kissing them. She calls every kid she sees "friend".

We have been having her help with cooking and baking and I even let her help me rinse the dishes. She glows when we include her in such grown up activities.

Today we are painiting her fence and I am late already!