Tacky Christmas

Everyone's heard of the "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. Well, this year I wanted to take it one step further and allow people to go all out in holiday gaudy ness.Why just limit it to just sweaters?!  

We had a few competitions. A vote for the tackiest.

Nope. It wasn't me.

Gosh, you'd think he'd win it! 

Too cute.

Not him either. 

Judy was very creative, but this one didn't win it for tacky.

Actually, I need to upload Alisyn's pic. She was the queen of tacky, the mascot and the standard for future contests.

We also had some minute to win it which was silly and fun. We played Christmas Tree Challenge, Smell the Snow, Face the Cookie, and Antlers.

Here were the leftover rice crispy Christmas trees mom and I made.

Merry Christmas!

Our family at breakfast on Christmas morning

The "Grinch" signed thank you cards this year!! :)

2014 Christmas newsletter

Happy holidays from the Sanui family!

Here is a snapshot of 2014 of our family:

Ryuta

Ryuta started on his new journey towards becoming an “o-sha-rey” (stylin’) hair stylist.  He started night and weekend classes at Fremont Beauty School while transitioning into a day-time stay-at-home dad routine.  The days were filled with trips to the park, to Happy Hallow, laundry, and cooking the family meals.  We’ve gotten into a better meal routine and Ryuta has expanded his recipe choices.  With childcare and school, Ryuta hasn’t been able to spend as much time playing tennis, but gets out whenever he can.  He still enjoys SLEEPING(!!!) and manga.  The boys are so lucky to spend a lot of time with their dad!  We are all getting used to the new schedule and Dad’s new hair styles! 

"High Maintenance.. You say it like it's a bad thing."

Somer

I finished my first year back to teaching at Weibel and am still there, happily, teaching 2^nd grade.  It was a huge adjustment getting back into the working world full-time AND having 2 little boys running around at home.  Fortunately, I got hired back for the new school year before the summer and was able to store all of my teaching things at school (rather than our garage.)  However, I changed classrooms and it was crazy getting settled into my new room in August.  But, I love it!  It has been such a fantastic new school year with a really sweet group of students.  My days are so happy and I’m so grateful.  Other than allowing Ryuta to color my hair, highlight it, chop it, not much has changed for me.  I still love going out to eat sushi, rooting for the SF Giants, hanging with my family & friends, going out if I can (to shop or watch movies), and staying involved at church.

Kai

Kai turned 5 in September.  We pulled him out of preschool last year and spent the last months of his 4 year-old life doing what 4 year-old kids should do—a lot of playing, imagining, a lot of nothing (it’s pretty important!), reading.  Over the summer, Kai went on his first roller coaster at Happy Hallow and loved it!  Kai started TK (Transitional Kindergarten) in August at Gomes.  Every morning, he rides his bike to school with his dad and his brother.  This fall, he learned how to ride his 2-wheeler.  He’s such a big boy now!  

He really transitioned well into the daily routines of school and is currently transforming his bedroom into a classroom.  He really loves school—learning how to spell, learning about the calendar, how to sing different songs (especially the “color songs”.)  It’s amazing how much he is learning at school and even just on his own at home.  He is so curious to learn.  Although with Kai, he is very specific and particular about what he likes.  Over the summer, the boys grew VERY attached to the Ice Age movies series.  Kai developed a big interest in maps, globes, and soon, we started to discuss earth history.  Why don’t mammoths and dinosaurs still live on the earth?  This led to talks about a possible asteroid that hit the earth and then, he became very obsessed with outer space and the solar system.  We got a family membership to the Chabot Space & Science Center for his birthday.  Kai has drawn multiple maps and built freeways with the exact directions to Chabot.  It’s amazing how he knows the roads, the freeways, the speed limits.  Kai has become such a little expert about the solar system that he has created lots of solar system art and has taught his 2 year-old brother the names of the planets.  The kid continues to amaze me.  

 Kai changed his color interest from green and yellow to red and blue.  He still really likes popsicles and chocolate chip cookies.  He has yet to try ice cream and has decided that he no longer likes cheese, spaghetti, or hot dogs.  But, we are so lucky that he is still a healthy eater and actually requests to eat broccoli!

For Halloween this year, I thought I’d get the easy way out this time and that Kai would want the astronaut costume at Costco.  My unique kid wanted to be a woolly mammoth!  Thank goodness my mom knows how to sew and was willing to help!  He was the cutest woolly mammoth ever. During the fall, Kai wore an eye patch to bed, to parties, and around the house, to be “Buck the Weasel” (from Ice Age 3.)  I thought I could get away with him being Buck for Halloween.  He insisted that he was Buck every day, but that he’d be a mammoth on Halloween.  That kid!

On Kai’s letter to Santa, he requested “solar system toys” and a “number line” (like in his classroom.)

"Dear Santa, I was a good boy. I would like solar system toys and a number line. Thank you. From, Kai."

Lukas

Lukas is still our affectionate, physical, active little monster.  Lukas turned 2 in June.  The kid thinks that his big brother is his personal punching bag and the little angel with the doll eyes shouts with this husky monster voice, runs, stomps, throws, kicks, climbs wherever he goes.  We had “sleep wars” most of the year.  I lost count, but currently, we are still on the losing end.  Lukas learned how to climb out of his crib and sneak into our room every night.  My goal over the summer was to sleep train him, but I think he tired me out and ending up winning the war.  We always start the night in separate rooms and I wake up to a foot in my face.  My students know that Lukas is a tiny ninja who moves quietly and quickly in the dark.  Lukas started gymnastics this summer and it’s been nice to let him have his own activity where he can be physical.  I’m thinking to eventually sign him up for a sport like soccer or martial arts.  Lukas loves being with people and can’t stay by himself.  He loves his big brother and likes what he likes—dinosaurs, planets, cars.  

Lukas is still the destroyer while Kai is the builder.  Kai is order and Lukas is chaos.  That’s just part of being the little brother.  He is still our junk food baby and it has been a challenge to get him to eat healthy food, especially at dinner.  The boy will just eat carbs, fruit, yogurt, and if we let him, junk food (anything with high amounts of sugar!) 

For Halloween, to stick with the Ice Age 3 theme, Lukas was a dinosaur (since big brother was a mammoth.) 

On his letter to Santa, Lukas asked for “Santa clothes”, dinosaur, dinosaur clothes, dinosaur toys, and candy.

Trips, Changes, & Fun Stuff

We started the new year in San Diego visiting family and friends.  The boys had a blast with their cousins, Tay, Risa, and Brooke!  We even considered whether we could move down because it was so great to see all the kids out in the street together.  In April, Ryuta courageously flew with the boys to Japan to visit family.  I traveled 2 weeks later to meet up with them and we got to eat really well, relax, and spend time with Ryuta’s parents.  In July, Ryuta and I got to get away for a weekend and explore Seattle.  We had a really wonderful time exploring the city by bicycle and getting some alone time away from the kids.  Over the summer, I got to take it easy with the kids and we were so lucky.  My parents got us all a membership to the Aqua Adventure water park.  We were there at least once a week!  In October, our family got to get away for a weekend to the cute beach town called Avila Beach.  

The boys loved playing at the pool and digging holes in the sand in the beach.  In November, my mom and I did our annual mother-daughter weekend and relaxed at the spa.  The timing was perfect!  I actually got to sleep in for daylight savings!  Happy birthday to me! J  The BIG change in our house was the kitchen remodel.  My mom has been anxious to remodel the kitchen for years and this year was her big break.  During September and October, we camped out in the garage and the backyard for all of our meals.  Remodeling is no joke, but we couldn’t be happier with the end result.  It is soooo nice to have such a beautiful kitchen with an open floor plan.  If we haven’t invited you over yet, we are taking advantage of such a nice space to be hospitable and to entertain.  So, please come on over and we’ll cook you something! 

Well, 2014 is coming to a close and it has been a pretty good year.  We wish you a very merry Christmas & a happy new year!

Sincerely,

The Sanui Family--Ryuta, Somer, Kai & Lukas

Luke 2:11: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Conversations with my young souls

I love their little voices and their young hearts.

I wish I could capture the days. Our conversations, their questions. The soft curves and shape to their little baby cheeks and baby lips. Lukas with his bright doll eyes. His pudgy fingers and Fred Flintstone feet.

I want to try to keep it all written down and recorded because I'm already losing my memory and I'm only 35!

Kai has developed such strong opinions and distinctive interests. I get really really happy when he decides to take an interest in something.

Last weekend, I asked him what he wanted to do. Do you want to go to the big movie theatre and watch a movie? "No." No?! Really? My kid has his own mind. sometimes it intrigues me and sometimes  it drives me crazy.  I've had to learn to love him for him and meet him where's he's at.

So, anyways, currently, Kai is obsessed with a few things: ice age, mammoths, dinosaurs, the solar system, and the Chabot Space Center (we just bought a family membership for his birthday.)

Some cute things I want to remember...

Every night, we need to pray "for the same." This means praying for the asteroids (not to hit the earth and wipe us out like the dinosaurs), the black hole (not to suck us up), and the ozone (to keep our temperature livable). Oh and also that the planets don't smash into each other. 

Lukas has been cute to pray.. "Dear God. Amen!" He has asked to pray for Mr. Tim, the earth, and pizza. :)

Kai was my dear this past Sunday during communion asking questions. I told him the juice was only for the grown ups. Why? So we can remember Jesus. He asked what he could do so that he could remember Jesus too? It really warmed my heart. 

Lukas has been talking more and I love his little voice. The best times are reading or playing or doing art.  He will put his dinosaurs into timeout. He will tell me about his painting as a baby bed with stars.

I'm exhausted. The little one still is a part of our bedroom. My students know about our ninja. Even when I try to rest or relax he comes in and jumps on me, treats me as a "horsey" or honks my nose. I love him so.

What fun to play dinosaurs. 

It's a new school year and I'm still teaching 2nd grade. I actually love it this year and have a really, really wonderful class. I'm in love with this school year.  This is a happy, happy season in my life.

Kai is back to recreating the classroom at home. He has set up a calendar time wall on the easel, sings all the color songs. He said he wants to be a TK teacher when he grows up. :) I think he would be a great teacher because he is an organized, smart guy who likes learning. Although I don't know how interested he is in taking care of or teaching others or how my Kai deals with stress. But we are all works in progress, right?

Kai loves Buck the weasel from Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs. He sometimes wears his eye patch to bed. "The name's Buck. Rule number one..."

For Halloween, we saw an astronaut costume at Costco. Perfect, right? Nope. Want to be Buck? Nope. Well, what do you want to be? (Because I really want my kids to wear costumes!) A mammoth, mommy. 

What?!?? Ahhh. Lukas will be "Rudy" the dinosaur from Ice Age. Luckily, we got to borrow a Dino costume from my friend, Emma.

More pics to come at the end of the month. :)

Taking it all and learning something new

So, I'm not totally new to teaching. I taught before I became a mom. It was a huge part of my identity and my confidence.  I felt like for the most part, I knew what I was doing, who I was, and I found a wonderful second family in my school community.  Then, God had different plans for me, what I could handle, what was best for me and our family. I was laid off and the timing was just right. Kai was born at the start of the following school year.  I stayed home to focus on motherhood and building our home.  After 4 years at home, Ryuta needed to make a change and I needed to go back into the classroom.  This was my first time working AND being a mom.  I got a job in Fremont teaching 2nd grade.  Some things were huge blessings and others were big challenges. 

I was thankful to teach again and have that space that was all mine. I was blessed by a nice principal and coworkers plus a breezy "commute" and an army of parent volunteers.  I experienced some humbling learning experiences and I will take my new knowledge into next school year.

Doraemon/my husband left this in the car for me when I was going through a little slump during the year. His fobby English makes me smile.

I feel like I have never done so much art before! This was a super cute spring art/poetry using egg cartons.

This was my April Fools joke I played on the kids. I baked some brownies/brown Es for them!!! :)

I felt really loved and appreciated during teacher appreciation week!

My 2nd graders were really into Legos and rainbow looms. I loved getting these rubber band bracelets! 

These were our plants versus zombie grass heads :)

It may not look like much, but I felt so proud of myself and my kids of our room and our hard work.  I took this right before Open House.

2nd grade letters can be really sweet.  One of my "friends" left me these thoughtful cards and notes on my desk! <3

We did an impromptu art project for our ocean animal report. They colored on crinkled tin foil with markers for the ocean background.  I loved the end result!

What a year.. I feel like I'm becoming a moving expert. Goodbye, Room 1 & hello, Room 18!

I was so lucky to have an amazing 2nd grade team to work with. Our students were so lucky to have parents who planned big celebrations for them. Our end-of-year celebration was packed with an awards ceremony, pizza, ice cream sundae bar, minute-to-win-it, and a face painter!!! 

As soon as I get the email, this will be my next home away from home in room 18!! Anyways, let me savor these last few weeks of summer... :)

Life as art

I love these photo apps. It makes photos look like art. I've been playing around with these photo apps and it's a lot of fun!

Photo booth silliness

Photo sketch

Instagram filters

It's been awhile

Ever since I started this full time working mom thing and Ryuta started being a SAHD/part time student, life has gotten really busy. Really busy!! I realized that no one was documenting our family memories. Now that I'm on my summer vacation, I had a moment to remember our blog and all those things I used to do...like play groups, fun little day trips with the kids, cooking and cleaning.

Here are a few pics to catch us a little up date on the last 6 months:

Saturdays have been my SAHM day while Ryuta is at school. Here is where I get to flex my teacher muscles at home with a little art on a rainy day. I think this was back in February or March?

Let's see.. What else? This pic was sometime during the spring. My kids love donuts! We went on a "donut date" :)

This April, Ryuta took the boys to Japan.  I met up with them during my spring break. We visited family, ate lots of oishii food as usual, watched a lot of Anpanman, and had an awesome time.

Here is Lukas on his 2nd birthday!!! We didn't do a party, but hung out at Chuck E a Cheese with pizza, favorite auntie Laura, the Giffords, and the Lopezs.

Love this kid! Such an angelic doll face...

But looks can be deceiving!! Little angel terrorizes us like a ninja all night!! He's such a pro now that we don't even know when or how he showed up.  It's just been a daily wake up kick to the head..

So far, this summer it's been really cool going to the water park every week, bike rides to Starbucks, small trips to meet friends at the zoo and the park and the movies, music in the park on Thursday nights, but Ryuta and I needed to redeem miles from our cancelled Hawaii trip and were fortunate enough to have babysitting (thanks, mom and dad!!) for 3 days and had an awesome time in Seattle!! We were blessed with free bicycles, beautiful sunshine, good food, and a city so fun to explore.. I'm grateful.

Last summer, Kai was obsessed with the color green and Shrek.  Recently, we watched Despicable Me and Ice Age for the first time and parts of the movies expanded Kai's love of maps and atlases into questions about outer space and the solar system. Kai is still into building and having things a certain way (untouched by his little brother.). He has a good sense of direction and knows about the roads, the freeways, the speed limit, compass directions, the continents.  Now, he is fascinated with the planets and is curious about the mammoths and why animals became extinct and how the earth plates changed Pangaea.  He is my earth scientist/astronomer.  I took him on a date to the Chabot Space Center and he loved it!!! We got to see Venus through a large telescope.

A dear friend, Michelle, has been a faithful and inspiring friend for many for years. It was an answer to many prayers to see her get married this summer on the beach in Carmel!

Here is a picture of our kids yesterday from our personal stylist/their daddy:

I'm thankful to get to slow down and catch my breath after the busy school year.. Ryuta is learning a lot about hair and his interests and seems much happier.  I hope to update this blog more than once a year!!

That's my awesome, handsome stylist (sorry, ladies, he's mine!) giving me new highlights.