Gratitude Photo #2

I had a great trip to the beach with my babies and my Girls.
It's the best!
x.o.
c.f.

Adventures continue...

Too much seaweed to play in the waves. So.....

we decided to explore the beach.

We found live barnacles!
Huge crabs.
Stinky clams.

So much fun.
xo,
c.f

pet peeves

Ø way toooo many people jumping aboard the
Pity Train
[soooo weak]
Ø raising our taxes before cutting administrative waste.
[tighten your own belts first]
Ø prop 8
[wrong, wrong, wrong]
Ø kids in this recession learning to be victims
instead of warriors
[raising the young & weak]
Ø broken promises
[trust killer]
Ø a 2nd grade teacher not knowing the difference
between the red & blue parties,
elephant or donkey!?
[whoa, we’re in big trouble here]
Ø flu season
[pure misery]
Ø health care often floating in a toilet
[+ prohibitive costs]
Ø college students getting hit in crosswalks…
2 hit & runs near us in the last month.
1 fatality.
[please, please, please drive safely!]


b.q.

Have a Great One Charlie Brown!

It was a carvin party!

Seeds were flyin, goop was oozin, little hands workin hard.

Hopefully the Great Pumpkin, or at least A Great somethin
will visit our patch this year.

Have a great night! Be safe.
xoxo,
c.f.

pet peeves

Ø Stepping on dog poop, gum, or any bodily excretion.
(grrrosss)
Ø Parents not keeping a close eye on
their kids at swim parties.
(Bless the responsible Parents who hire lifeguards for these pool parties!)
Ø Filthy trash left at the lake, the beach, the park, etc.
(especially dirty diapers!)
Ø The plethora of germs on escalator rails, gas pumps, public drinking fountains, & apparently on slices of lemons in restaurants.
(no, I’m not a germaphob)
Ø Gophers.
(Dad eliminated them by putting in
a big swimming pool. Ha!)
Ø Digital cable outage (again)
Ø Big fat pig-ass City workers stopping their work,
to gawk at my Daughters as they
leave for school or work.
(Where’s my tazer?)
Ø Any employee at an eatery picking their nose.
(uhhh, gotta go.)
Ø The smell of natto.
(As a child, I had to leave the table.)
Ø Biting flies on my German Shepherd’s ears. (ouch)
Ø OTC meds packaging that is impossible to open.
(ohhh, my sinus headache is exploding!)

b.q.

pet peeves

Ø Auto repair, home & appliance repair, financial, or any other business guys, who assume you’re a clueless or helpless female.
Ø Not enough hours in the day. Everyday.
Ø The land of missing socks.
Ø Flailing me-me parents flipping out at their kid’s athletic events.
Ø Fools who borrow & never return OPP
Ø Buying “fresh” food, going home, & finding it’s past the sell-by date.
Ø Allergies. Haaachooooooo.
b.q.

Pet Peeves

+ Drivers who don’t signal.
+ Cell phone dead zones.
+ Outright criminals screaming racial profiling.
+ Moms handpicking ALL their kids’ friends.
+ Dreadfully sick kids being sent to school.
+ Financial & Housing Markets ~ will they ever bottom?
+ Party Poopers.

b.q.

Juvenile Hall

As school starts up for our children, I think of my biggest reality check as a parent. I worked for a year on weekend nights in the Juvenile Hall Infirmary. This is a place all Parents should VISIT. Go talk to these kids, & get a dose of some horribly neglected lives. A look at the children passing through the Juvenile Detention system is the best affirmation I know of for the importance of parental love, guidance and support that every child requires. Oh, the detention facility is not awful. These kids get warm beds, regular meals, & attend school every day. Medical, dental, vision, & even psych care is provided. It’s not ideal, but it beats the abuse and neglect most of them suffer through at home. Some – no many – are repeat offenders, by choice. I had kids tell me that they shoplifted or tagged the walls of a pizza shop, just so they could go back to juvie. Imagine the unthinkable environment they return to, once released. Violent families, substance abuse, molestation, stupidity + poverty induced neglect & crime. Vengeful hate. Total lack of love & protection. As the weekend night charge nurse, I was warned never to turn my back on these kids, never doze off…young murder suspects have already killed, so they won’t think twice about killing again to get a set of keys to escape. I was shocked how many young kids are committing violent heinous crimes. 1000's of young boys & girls. Pregnant teens. STD, HIV, & TB infected youth. You don’t hear about every one of these cases; the media only picks up a random few. The icy, angry, hateful look in some young suspects’ eyes can shred your heart, & send chills down your spine. Go & look, listen, & learn. It will stay with you forever. One night was so upsetting, I rushed home, & took pictures of my sleeping Girls’ precious fingers & toes at 6 A.M. for solace.

Counting my Blessings, always.

b.q.

Jam Secession

At the close of what was a typical school day Wednesday, we had a jam secession.

Our band included:
A Super grumpy 2nd grader, a super sleepy 3 year old, and a

caffeine-loaded-so-I-can-stay-up-to-watch-the-beach-volleyball- Olympics mom.

Music of choice:
Jimmy Buffet

Instruments:
Guitar, electric drums, tambourine.

How it played out:
We turned the music up so loud that it didn't matter that none of us actually has any ability to play the guitar. But we jammed! We also sang, again with the music, so loud that it didn't matter that our family has been blessed with the type of voice that makes the dogs start to sing with us. And we danced for over an hour. Nothing but smiles and noise. It was so much fun.
c.f.

T.V. Then & Now

Recently, our cable was out for a day,
which meant no computers, no TV.
The computer downtime was
the most annoying.
This seems to happen a little
more since they converted to digital.
Anyway, I started asking the Family
what their favorite TV shows were,
when they were kids, & now.
A spur of the moment topic for the mom blog.
Actually, nobody has time to watch TV
regularly now, but here’s a sample of
what we’ve enjoyed through the years:

THEN [as KIDS!]
m.a.n.: Lassie, Rin-Tin-Tin, Sky King
b.q.: Mickey Mouse Club, Flipper, National Velvet
Dr. B: Superman, Twilight Zone, Star Trek
c.f.: Gidget, Punky Brewster, Silver Spoon
or Facts of Life
bb: Blossom, Punky Brewster, Batman
or X-men cartoons
dd: Saved By The Bell, Blossom, Doug
kk: Rugrats, Boy Meets World, Sesame Street
(especially Elmo)

NOW
m.a.n.: Football, Cops, The Unit
b.q.: E.R., Mad Money & Fast Money, '08 Olympics!
Dr. B: [doesn't watch much TV.
Busy doing brain research at UCLA]
c.f.: Everyday Italian, Ace of Cakes,
dd: How It’s Made, Family Guy (sometimes),
bb: Friends, Intervention, The Soup
kk: Intervention, KTLA news, Cops

Occasionally, it's nice to enjoy watching
a recent movie released on HBO
or other premium channels,
or pick a favorite with the On Demand feature.
Discovery always has great shows.
The Food Network has a yummy variety.
Despite the 100s of channels,
I don't really see my Famliy
watching much TV these days.
Life is too busy ~ that's our reality show!

b.q.

School Dayz

As summer winds down, take a good look
at what your kids are facing in school.
Public School, or any school, for that matter.
We grew up in the Los Angeles area,
attended & graduated from public schools,
and went on to graduate from college.
That seemed to be the common path for all my friends
(except those who were drafted, & ended up
not coming back from in Viet Nam. Bless them.).
Anyway, recent news articles about
the state of our schools prompted me
to make this brief comment:
K -12. So, you call this education. Really?
L.A.U.S.D. 30% + drop out rate???
Give me a break – how are our kids going to
navigate successfully in life with what we
give them in public school?
IF they even stay in school.
HEY - Are you administrators still paying
your chauffeurs more than the teachers?
PTA? Do you just put your money in the envelope,
so your kids can get credit for the membership,
& win a class pizza party?
Even in the few great classes that I’ve seen personally,
there are always significant obstacles
for the dedicated teachers.
Such as:
> Little disruptive i-have-NO-respect-for-nobody
future gangsters who were hatched
in the wrong environment.
> Non-English speakers, who apparently come
from families that think learning English is
unnecessary in this country.
> Parents/Guardians who do not care to
reinforce education at home, & obviously
didn’t stand in the line for parenting skills,
but will scream all day long when their kids
fail the Exit Exam, & can’t graduate from high school.
> Guns in back packs
> Drugs - from the street or stolen from home.
> What is really in those water bottles?
You'd be shocked!
On & on & on.
Accountability.
b.q.

Dis & Dat

Dad loved watching SUMO. Here's one match he missed.

A taste of why I choose happiness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SANSEI MOMS, where are you?

I have noticed a little controversy over the use of the name HAPA lately. Maybe this issue has cycles, because I remember the same dispute around 25 years ago. Our kids have always been proud & happy HAPA Girls, & they'd like to remain that way. Hopefully, the academic & emotional drama won't take that away from us. That being said, I've also become aware that there isn't a large presence of 3rd Generation Japanese MOMS blogging ~ at least not together in any widely used Sansei Moms blog group. Hmmmmm. HEY - any of you Sansei Moms interested in getting a blog together? If so, please e-mail me: machi30@aol.com.
Arigato!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LIFE of 5IVE

The Spirits pass on.
My Grandmother was born on May 5th (5-5).
I come from a Family of 5.
Our Mom had 5 brothers & sisters.
Dad had 5 brothers & sisters. Our 1st daughter was born 5 days after our Mom's birthday.
My Granddaughter was born 5 months
before Dad passed away.
Coincidentally, my Grandson was born 5 months
before Mom passed away.
Yes, many Spirits are passed on.
5IVE is now my lucky number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUOTE:

"...I wish that I may never think the smiles of the great and powerful a sufficient inducement to turn aside from the straight path of honesty and the convictions of my own mind. "
--David Ricardo

b.q.

I've Got Your Back!

These are my guys.

Daddy's Girl

Daddy's little guy

I cherish this!

xo,
c.f.

True Love

There is something about the beach that I have fallen in love with...


... is it hours of playtime with only nature, imagination,
and a few beach toys?

... is it endless possibilities?

... is it hours of daydreaming?

... is it my children?

It must be!
xoxoxo,
c.f.

Summer’s best: 4th of July

Fantastic holiday; also my MAN’s birthday.
What a kicked up celebration every year.
Delicious birthday dinner,
my MAN’s favorite German Chocolate
or Pineapple Upside Down cake,
with a mounds of lip smackin’ ice cream,
then scoop up the Family,
& off to a spectacular fireworks show.
We’ve loved incredible fireworks at
Boulder City, Disneyland, Dodger Stadium,
Laughlin, the Beach, the scorching desert,
various colleges, backyards,
& even perched on our roof.
Next – HAWAII!
How cool is it to have your kids
thinkin’ that everyone
celebrates Daddy’s birthday?
BOOOM!