Kung Fu Hustle

I am watching the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen in my life... and I love it! It is called "Kung Fu Hustle". The plot and choreography in this movie is truly spectacular. Words cannot describe. You will just have to watch for yourself. "From Justin to Kelly" move over! I have a new favorite!

Tiva the Diva

I am house/dog sitting for my close friend while she is out of town visiting her sister and brand new nephew. Check out her blog for a picture of the little monster, and yes all babies are monsters, except my niece Ava Rose who is just plain precious.

House sitting at her apartment is pretty nice. Not only is it closer to my work but she has a pool! You can trust that I am soaking that up while I can. She also has a cute dog named Tiva who is definitely a diva. If I ignore her too long she come over and starts whining. If I stop petting her she will scratch two layers of skin off my arm until I start to pet her again. She also has to sleep right next to me. If I move over in the middle of the night, Tiva moves even closer than before. It's funny because when Tiva sleeps she is passed out! Last night I was against the wall and Tiva was obnoxiously close. So I pushed her over hoping she would get up and move. No movement. I was afraid I smothered her in my sleep with one of my fat rolls, so I checked to make sure she was breathing. She was and I was relieved. I physically picked her up to move her over. She did not move a muscles and stayed asleep the whole time. It made me laugh a little. I thought only people passed out that hardcore.

Ava Rose

I had the great pleasure of babysitting my new niece Ava Rose! Even though I was a last minute choice it was still a great honor. She is 2 and 1/2 months old and soooo cute! It was a really easy day. All she did was eat, sleep, and poop. Man, does she have the sweet life. I took my friend Jackie along to keep me company. It was fun, we played the Wii that they had there and during nap times we battled in Guitar Hero. While the baby was awake we took turns watching her while the other played a game on the Wii. She was really a good baby and loved to watch me box in Wii sports. She even tried throwing a few punches here and there. Jackie took lots of pictures so once I get them from her I will definitely post them.

There was one really funny part about babysitting. I was holding Ava in my arms and after a little while she fell asleep. I was getting ready to put her in her crib when she let out the loudest old man snore I have ever heard. I was a little taken back on such such a tiny thing could make such a loud noise. It wasn't long before I was laughing uncontrollably. I tried to fight it in fear of awakening her but I couldn't. My whole body shook as I tried to fight the enormous belly laugh that was forming in my bowels. Ava is over my shoulder so I took her to the bathroom mirror to see if my good vibrations had waken her. They had and she had the most puzzled look on her face. That made me laugh even more. The giggles finally subside and I finally get Ava down for her nap. It has been a long time since I laughed like that. I think a little pee even came out.

Too Much T.V. = Square Eyes

For a lot of schools today was the last day of school and the first day of summer. That is sort of true for the child care center I am working at. This is the last week we have to have official lesson plans and move into the summer routine. The summer routine is more laid back and you go more off what the children want to do, plus there are splash days!

This whole week we were talking about deserts. We talked about what the desert climate was like, the animals that live in the desert, and plants that grow in the desert. I work with 3 year olds so the curriculum is very basic. We would talk about what they know and then read a book about it. Then after reading we would do an art craft that went along with it. Everyday this week we have read the book "Way Out in the Desert" by T.J. Marsh. The kids love hearing and I love reading it. I think I have the whole book memorized. Here is a little snip it:
"Way out in the desert having fun in the sun,
lived a mother horned toad and her little toady one.
'Scurry', said the mother. 'I scurry', said the one,
and they scurried all day having fun in the sun."


After reading the book for the last time we had circle time and I gave the kids a few minutes to chat with each other. It is something new I am starting because I want to see what it is that little people gab about. I overheard an interesting conversation that I would like to share:

Trist:"Did you know that you shouldn't watch a lot of t.v."
Mase:"Yeah, my mom told me if you watch a lot of t.v. you get fat".
Trist:"That's not true. If you watch too much t.v. your eyes turn into squares and you can't blink or you will cut yourself in the eyes".
Mase:"Who told you that"?
Trist:"My mom and she's a lawyer".
Mase:"Well your mom is wrong, you get fat".
Trist:"Na ah"!
Mase:"Uh huh"!
Trist:"Na ah, you get square eyes"!
Mase:"Na ah"!
Trist:"Lets ask Mr. Jesse".
Mase:"Ok".
Trist:"Mr. Jesse, what happens if you watch too much t.v."?
Me:"Your eyes turn to squares and you get really fat".

I didn't know what to tell the kids. I didn't want them to think their moms are liars. That is something that they should discover on their own. At least this way everyone is happy and the kids won't watch too much t.v. Which I don't think I believe there is such a thing as too much t.v. Now excuse me while I take out my square contacts and change my mu mu.

Time Away

Me:"Skyler! You need to have a seat and quit punching Dylan".
Skyler:"I'm not Skyler, I'm Harry Potter".
Me:"Harry Potter have a seat, and when we get outside you need to sit in time away for hitting our friends".

(Outside on the Playground)
Me:"Skyler, come see me".
Skyler:"I'm not Skyler, I'm Harry Potter".
Me:"Harry Potter come see me".
Skyler:"Yes Mr. Jesse".
Me:"Why are you in time away"?
Skyler:"We need to hurry I see another fish eye-ing our anemone".
Me:"Are you quoting Finding Nemo"?
Skyler:"Yes".
Me:"Ok, so why did I put you in time away"?
Skyler:"Because I was eye-ing your anemone".
Me:"No, because you were hitting our friends. Are we suppose to hit our friends"?
Skyler:"No, just fish who eye our anemone".
Me:"Go play".

This is just a small piece of randomness that happens when you work with small children. They definitely keep the day rather interesting. Luck for me I know my children's movies.lol

Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!

On this last Monday in the month of May I would like to wish you all a Happy Memorial Day! Let us take a moment to remember all this brave soldiers who have given their lives so that we can live ours.



This weekend has turned out to be a pretty great weekend. On Sunday I had to pick up my good friend We Wu Ho Co Wa* from the airport. It was a surprise to hear why she went out of town... for a boy! If you know We Wu it is a shock that she would go anywhere to see a boy. After picking her up and gaining conscientiousness over the shock we went to have a late lunch/early dinner with my close friend** at The Cheese Cake Factory in the Arboretum. The Cheesecake Factory is insanely delicious. I had their Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwich, which I highly recommend. We stuffed our faces and managed some small talk between swallows. I love that We Wu. So much that I think I will make her my first wife.lol With my plate licked clean it was time to take We Wu home. I had never been to her house so it was pretty exciting for my close friend and I to see it. We Wu is kind of a flake so it's good to see where she lives so we can go kidnap her when she doesn't return our calls.lol We Wu, close friend, and I lounged on We Wu's sofa and got to know her younger brother. It was nice sitting and talking. Gabbing about life is one of my favorite past times.

I ended up spending the night at my close friend's apartment. It was nice, we started the 1st season of Project Runway before calling it a night. I had difficulty sleeping since my close friend's dog insisted on sleeping with me. She is a small dog but she slept really close to me so I couldn't really toss and turn like I like to. I didn't really mind, it made me feel loved.

Monday we woke up with plans of a picnic at Zilker Park and outdoor activities. We were a little scared since there were some dark clouds looming in the sky. We headed out anyway and hope for the best. The fates were smiling upon use because our planned day of fun did not get canceled. It was Jackie, close friend, and me who drove over to Zilker together. Our friend Melissa and her boyfriend joined us a little later.

Jackie, close friend, and I started with the picnic first. I cheated and picked up food from Zen while the girls packed a lunch from home. After eating Melissa finally showed up and brought a little kite. Close friend flew it for a little while before getting bored with it. We made a giant pentagon and tossed a football around. I am embarrassed to say that the girls throw the ball a lot better than me. It's something I need to work on, amongst many other things. After throwing the ole pigskin we headed off to go kayaking. I love kayaking! It is one of my favorite things to do on the face of the Earth! Next to drawing and eating, of course. We were out on Lady Bird Lake for over an hour and a half. My arms are really feeling it as I type. We went from Mopac bridge to Auditorium Shores. It was quite the journey. I was in a 1 seater and everyone else was in a 2 seater. I had to work harder just to keep up with them.

We return the kayaks and with my arms feeling like Jell-O we decide to treat ourselves to Amy's Ice Cream. Amy's has a thing where they put a quote up and if you know it you get a free crush in, or mix in for your ice cream. The quote was "Gort klaatu barada nikto". I honestly didn't know it, but lucky for me my T-Mobile Sidekick did. It is from the 1951 Sci-Fi movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still". Needless to say I added oreos to my ice cream as my free crush in.
I do want to rent that movie though. I need to Netflix it and I recommend you do too.

The evening ended with my close friend, Jackie, and I at close friends apartment. We went for a dip in her pool before she cooked up dinner. It was delicious as usual and we watched the rest of Project Runway. I look forward to more of these good times as summer fastly approaches.

*We Wu Ho Co Wa is short for a Disney Channel original movie called "Wendy Wu Homecoming Warrior". It is also the nickname for my friend Wendy Lee because for the longest time when I first met her I thought her name was Wendy Wu, which in turn reminded me of the movie.

**Close friend is the alias for, you guessed it, a close friend. She prefers for me to refer to her in my blogs as close friend. Much to her chagrin I have mentioned her by her real name once in my blog.

Going Ga Ga

Friday I was back at Cheers elementary with my class. I have been there for 3 days in a row and it is relatively evident that school is almost out for summer. I think it is t-minus 4 days and counting left of school. I am not going to lie, it was a tough day. The kids just had to be told over and over what to do and I hate to repeat myself. Just like yesterday when I was getting frustrated I broke out into "Midnight Train to Georgia" and all was well. Friday was basically catch-up/busy work day. Since it is so close to the end there really isn't much more to do with the students. When it came time to get work done the kids really buckled down and finished, sooner than expected. I decided to give the kids some free time outside, only if they could stand quietly in line as well as walk down the hall without a peep. It worked swimmingly. They were the quietest and straightest line I had ever seen.

When we got outside the kids introduced me to a game called Ga Ga. It takes place in an octagonal ring that goes up to about my waste. Then you have a dodge ball that someone throws into the ring. You let it bounce twice then you hit it with your hand. To get someone out you have to either hit them below the knee or catch a ball that they hit into the air. It was a fun game. I admit, I let them stay out a little longer since I was so into the game.

It was the end of the day and I started to become sad. I said good bye to students and teachers alike, because there are chances I will never see them again. I am not subbing again before school lets out for summer and if I get a job I don't know where I will be. Chances are that I may never see some of those people again. It made and still makes me really sad.

After school today I met my close friend at the store to buy some ingredients for the dinner we planned for the evening with our friend Jackie. It was a simple summer-esque dinner. It was hot dogs and potato salad. After that we took my close friend's dog for a walk. For the sake of anonymity we will call my close friend's dog Tivo. Walking Tivo was fun. Jackie ended up way ahead of me and close friend so we decided to play secret agent to catch up to them. We took the alternative route of bushes and dumpsters to try and surprise Jackie. It didn't work, we suck at sneaking up and ambushing people.

After the walk and relaxing for a bit we made a road trip to Jamba Juice. We picked up our smoothies and on the way out we decided to do some late evening shopping. Our first stop was Linens and Things where we basically looked around at the randomness they had to offer. We were still in the mood to look around so we stopped by Old Navy, but much to our chagrin they were closed. It was only 9' o clock in the pm. We wandered a little farther down to Best Buy. We had an hour till close so went in to see what technology had to offer. It wasn't long till we found ourselves playing Guitar Hero. Needless to say I rocked out harder than close friend and Jackie. We left the store in excitement because Jackie bought everything you need to play Guitar Hero at home. I am anticipating many a rock concerts at my close friend's apartment.