Elf Yourself 2012

Luke Skywalker, Call Me Maybe

We interrupt the serious stuff for a total bit of fluff.  
This made me laugh out loud and my kids love it (although each loves it for a different reason) 

I Thought High School Musical Would Wait Until 1st Grade

at least....

But alas, they used it for part of the Kindergarten school play at the day care D attends half day (since real Kindergarten is only half day around these parts)

Luckily- it is pretty cute (and they didn't actually watch the movie)

Goodnight iPad

Elf You!

Weekend Wisdom??

Becoming a Family (tissue alert)

In honor of the day that D joined our family... I continue to debate how best to handle this day, given the joy and sorrow that are co-mingled in the events of May 9, 2007. So for this year

Ching Chong! Asians in the Library

Alexandra Wallace is was a student at UCLA who made a couple of fairly significant mistakes in the last weeks. The first is recording her racist rant about Asians in the UCLA library interrupting her epiphany while studying Poli Sci. The second (arguably much larger one) was posting said video on You Tube. See Alexandra has clearly forgotten the first rule of the internet- You can hit delete but the internet is forever.....

And while the video is a springboard to discuss many things:
the racism that is still present in society,
the stereotypes people continue to hold about Asians
etiquette that not every thought you have needs to be shared,
ways to mortify your parents in front of millions of people,
or even why you really should choose your outfit more carefully before videotaping yourself

Sometimes the best response is, well, a song.....
(and if you buy the song on iTunes- all proceeds are going to Japan relief)



Oh and Alexandra- good luck when future employers Google your name.......

What Could be Cuter Than

a bunch of 4 and 5 year old girls dancing for Chinese New Year?

You tell me.....

You kind of have to ignore the teacher giving the directions- this is actually the rehearsal, not the performance. I originally filmed the rehearsal just in case D decided not to actually preform- turns out I didn't need to worry and actually I should be glad we didn't need one of those hooks to get her off the stage. Turns out I had a much better angle to film during the rehearsal so I have better footage of it rather than the performance.

However- should you want to dance along at home- now you too can follow along.

Since the Adults Can't Get it Right

how about some kids singing the National Anthem?

This is a video that went viral a while ago but I thought that since I don't have time to do a longer post due to my ongoing uploading issues in light of the Super Bowl lyrics flub and the fact that these girls are beyond amazing that I would share it with you.

Enjoy

K Gets Her Glee On

Of course, when she was really rocking out I didn't have the camera but here she is enjoying a slower moment during the show

(and yes, sometimes I do let them watch Glee)

Wordless Wednesday- Elf Style

Cuteness from before the P-flap

I found this video of D from right before she had her p-flap surgery. I really have not noticed a big difference in her speech (although EVERYONE else does) but watching her here I realize how much the surgery has improved her speech. I will try to get her to perform an encore so you can see the difference. But what she lack in articulation she makes up for in cuteness and enthusiasm

I Need Africa More than Africa Needs Me

Think about it....

Love is Not a Color

In light of all the conflict over race and racism on

one of my favorite online groups

any questions?

A Lesson for Humanity

How is it that these animals can figure out what we can't-

that relationships aren't defined by size or color or even (in this case) species

I Like Spaghetti

One Belt, Two Belt

Green Belt, Blue Belt

It was belt test time again for the boys in Kung Fu. A tested and earned his junior green belt and X tested and earned his junior blue belt.

Who Needs a Hose When You Have God?

The kids have found something even better than getting wet with the hose- playing in the rain.  We had a garage sale this past weekend and both days were abruptly interrupted by torrential rains- they didn't last long, but what they lacked in duration, they made up for in intensity.  The three younger kids however, found the rain to be utterly and completely enjoyable.  In fact, they couldn't understand why the adults were running to their cars and not stopping to play with them.

We should all find such joy in simple things

The Boys Can't Wait for Me to Post This

Since Star Wars is the thing at our house

(it does take a few minutes to load however)