Getting festive!

This makes me so happy! So my TA bought me a mini Christmas tree so that I can have a tree in my little studio! I had mentioned to her that I missed having a Christmas tree in my house, but my place is way too small to have a tree...and so she went out and got me a small..mini...Christmas tree, and I was able to hang up some of my Christmas ornaments that I had saved over the years! :) I love it...it's only 2 feet high and it is perfect! I am looking at it as I am sitting here, typing this post! :) Yay, to the Holidays! :)

School Valentine's "Day"

Today was the day that we celebrated Valentine's Day at the preschool. I did something little for yesterdays keiki's but today we did a little more...since Valentine's Day is on Sunday, we just celebrated today for the kids. We don't have school on Monday, and so by the time it was Tuesday it would be way passed Valentine's Day...so that's why.

This whole week we talked about what it means to "Love"...your parents, your friends, your pets, your world...and just how to show it and not only did I help them make Valentine's for each other...we did plenty of Valentine's Craft work...which turned out pretty cute! I got some of my ideas from the ever wonderful pinterest...and then tweeked them to be more appropriate for my age group, and other projects I just had in my repertoire of craft/art work.

I also had the children make a print of their hand so that we can make a "valentine" for their parents. Overall, even though it was a SUPER long week...it was also a week filled with fun for the keikis. Wait, what am I saying...EVERY DAY is a fun day with my keikis! :)

Two of my favorite crafts that I did with the keikis were the "Bee Mine" and the "Love monsters!" They turned out SOOO cute! All their craft work turned out super cute! But these two where my favorite!

 

Here is my little Love Monster that I made...but I think my kids did a WAY better job than I did!



 
  
  

 Oh my goodness! I wish that I could post them all, they are just all so darn cute! The kids picked their own color out...I showed them mine...but I let them glue everything and they decided where to put their own pieces...and I loved how they turned out! Oh my goodness, my keikis are my lil Love Monsters! So full of love...and such cute little monsters! :)

 

 

  

Their bee's also turned out super cute as well! I was getting tired of all the pinks, whites, reds, and purple colors that we were using so I asked them which bug they wanted to do for something like "Love Bug"...and they all wanted to do a bee...and so a bee we made! :) And I think they turned out so amazingly cute! My kids LOVE LOVE doing arts and crafts! I usually just leave a table with all kine of different art materials that they can use however they want to use it...appropriately (unfortunately, they are not allowed to draw on the walls, floors, etc.). I usually cover the whole table with scratch paper or newspaper that they can do free art with...but I also have several guided art projects that we do A DAY...they LOVE creating...and I am all up for it! I also love how my class LOVES to sing. I wonder where they got that from! :)

Today we only had time to do one guided craft work because I filled the day with a lot of games and of course we HAD to have our Valentines Marching Parade! :) The craft was a cute one that the kids made for their parents...

 

I had forgotten to take a pictures of the kids work...and they had taken them all home for their parents, so I was left with this one. The one that I made for my lil DollGirl. I adore that saying..."I love you to the moon and back!" It just makes my heart so happy. :)

My sister had read the book "Guess How Much I Love you" by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram where it says that phrase. Now my lil DollGirl likes to do this thing where she calls you to come closer and she whispers in your ear, "I love you to the ocean, to the sand, to the tree"...just random things that she sees at the moment...and you have to say one back to her too. I love it so much and I hope that she never stops that. Even though sometimes, it's questionable..."Aunty, I love you to the door, to the light, to the rubbish can!" Really?! Rubbish can!? Oh well, she loves me. :)

The Valentine that I had the kids help me make for their parents was this:



I like doing handprint keepsakes for the parents and I would laminate it. I know that I am a sentimental person...and so I can just imagine that whenever I have my own child that I would have a keepsake of how tiny my little ones hand was so long ago.

The poem that I placed on it goes like this:



It was a simple project for them and I hope that they liked it. I know that I did. :)

And last but not least, my TA (who is THE BEST Teacher's Assistant EVER!) and I couldn't let the children leave without a little Valentine from us...so we gave them this:

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the book "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees! It has such a lesson to learn and it's just a fun book that has rhythm and rhyme...and it's just a good book to read over and over again and again! And I love sweatheart candies...so I had to give them just a little of that...and their own little valentine card.

It was a good day today. Long...extremely hyper-active, and non-stopped paced...but a very good day indeed. :)

"We can all DANCE when we find MUSIC that we love."

 -Giles Andreae

Beautiful Day!

Today was such a beautiful day...I woke up early because the birds were chirping and it was pretty bright in my room from all the natural light from the sun. I love that. I love waking up to the birds chirping...to the sun shining in my room...and to the sound of the ocean greeting the shore. It instantly puts me in a good mood. :)

The other day I wasn't feeling so well. My keikis tend to come to school with the sniffles and what nots...and being me, I never turn a child away from a quick cuddle, I ended up getting the sniffles and whatnot. No, I think it was a little more serious than that. I lost my voice. That was not fun. But I have to say that I am so blessed to have an amazing family. My brother-in-law was in the neighborhood and he asked me if I wanted to come over...he had brought his truck. And sick or not, one of my favorite things to do here in Hawai'i is ride in the cab of the truck. The wind in my hair makes me feel as if I am flying...and cools me down from the beating sun. I love it. I hadn't had the opportunity to ride in the cab for awhile, so I did...and look at my view...

This is Kailua Beach...and it's one of my favorite beaches here on the island. The sand is so soft and although it can be choppy at times, for the most part I love the stillness of the water. I also think the water is more warmer here than in town! *laughs*...but that is just my opinion.

Well, I am sad to see this weekend go...but I am kind of glad it is over. It was pretty busy week, wedding-wise. We had several weddings to design for this week. Today we had 2 weddings...and so starting Saturday night I had been working on "wedding #1"...and quickly jumping in to help with "wedding #2" when they needed me. But my wedding that I had to concentrate on was wedding #1.

Weddings that have a base of hydrangeas make is SO easy!

I like hydrangeas...I have heard that you can start your own hydrangea bush from the stem...I should look that up...however, where I live would not be a good place plant hydrangeas anyways. They need a cool climate...and it's more sunny in the area where I live. So, in this picture I have started the base of 18 center pieces.

 

And then by layers we added the color! I enjoyed this wedding because I do love the bright weddings that we do. The ones that broke away from the traditional white-tone colors.

When we add the different sades of pink and coral (the groom wanted PURPLE in his wedding to represent the Lakers! Yeah, no...we talked him in to letting us have lavender instead!) the whole studio bursted into a room full of bright gorgeous flowers! And the smell smelled like flower candy! I loved it! It was a good thing that the wedding that we did were held on Aunty Michele's backyard which was just there outside our studio! And the family members of the bride and groom all pitched in to help!

It was a fun, gorgeous wedding full of happy, nice people, flowers, color, and  hardwork! But we did it! 

So congratulations to the happy couple, Jake and Lindsay! And yay for Passion Roots! We did it together! :)

My first love: Music.

It was a pretty eventful day here in my lil town of Kailua. More specifically at my preschool. But I love it. I can know for sure that there will definitely never be a dull day working as a preschool teacher! Today the cops came to my school. No, no one was getting arrested! They came to talk to the children about safety and to talk about what it means to be a police officer!

The kids had a blast! The officer and chief that came were both very good with children and they were at ease with all the questions and curiosity that the children showed. They kids were able to sit in the car, hold some of the tools that were on the officers tool belt (of course NOT the gun!), and even go inside the car! The last thing was the siren. The kids absolutely loved that! I love how they came down to talk to the children; to show them that police officers are friends and that its okay to talk to them.

When I got home, I just wanted to start my evening in a relaxing state so I started playing the piano when I got to itching to buy some new music from here. That is a very handy site for getting specific music that you would want. I bought four different songs (two with the same name!). Well, just writing about it makes me want to play the piano ago! So for now, enjoy the music I have added! :) And I will go and relax and enjoy playing my keyboard! :)

Rainy Day.

Today was a comfort day. This is the first time in a long time that I actually do not have to work this weekend...and I just wanted today to be a lazy day filled with comfort stuff and just recollect myself. And that is what I'm doing. Just doing anything that I want to do. 

Right now I am enjoying my Ginger & Lemon tea with honey and a bowl of popcorn. I am listening to Pentatonix on youtube and I can hear the rain falling in the background. And I have to admit that I feel super relaxed at the moment and I am loving it. I think that everyone should find time for themselves just to do whatever you want to do...no obligations, no pressing matters...I know that it's hard to find times like that...but every once in a while when you can, grab it...and never take for granted those times that you can have a moment to yourself.

I did wake up early this morning...even though I knew that I could sleep in. But my body is already used to the fact that I wake up early...and so I just woke up and for some reason the first thing that I looked at was my nails.

And oh my days! How did I let this happen! Oh yeah, I've just been super busy that when I get home I was not feeling like taking off the nail polish. *laughs* That is actually it though...the only reason why I don't do my nails every day...(I do love painting my nails and coming up with different designs!) is because I do not like taking off the nail polish. *laughs* I know that I can paint my nails with elmers glue first...that way I could just peel it off...but then when I do do that, they can accidentally come of in the middle of the day...and I don't like that at all. So at like 7 in the morning I sat in front on my computer watching Netflix while I took off my nail polish and cleaned, cut, and shaped my nails. 

I knew that I wanted to do my nails pink because it is Breast Cancer Awareness month...and I wanted to do my part in supporting the cause of finding a cure. So I picked this design that is chokefull of pink and girliness. :)

You might not be able to tell, but it is an ombré effect of lighter pink going to darker pink with the "falling" effect to tie it all together. Looks super girlie and I love it. :)

I did go to church today. And I did like the sermon a lot. I might go to church more often because I really like the sermons of Jesse. I am so glad that I got to know him as friend before knowing him as a Pastor...I feel more comfortable around him because of that. He is actually Shilhi's husband...and her family is my hanai, so I do feel comfortable around them all. 

I remember him preaching a sermon similar to this one and it was a great reminder because I needed it. His catch phrase today was "Are you out of your comfort zone?" The first time I heard him speak of this topic, I was touched that I even wrote down the quotes that he used from this sermon which is why I remembered it so well. This is what he said, "Success is stepping out of your comfort zone." That's it. That simply. 

I like that a lot...because there are times in my life where I feel as if I am going no where...where I feel as if I'm a failure or not even needed. And I realize that success is not really that far away...it's just stepping out of your comfort zone. So simple to say...but it is a scary thing to do. Going to school abroad was super scary for me...but I wanted to do it because I knew that I would experience something great...and I'm glad that I stepped out of that comfort zone. Moving here to Hawai'i was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone...because California will always be my comfort zone...well, I don't know if it will "always" be...but it's high up there...but I am learning that I can "succeed" here to. It was a powerful sermon today, and I am glad that I made the decision to go to church.

I was also glad that I recieved my ipsy: glambag today. It was a good day today...and I wish that I didn't have to end...but as all days will, it will end and I will get to see what will happen tomorrow. Something exciting I hope...I do have to say that listening to this rain outside makes me a bit homesick...but it's okay because Hawai'i is starting to feel like home. 

Yep, I am looking at my nails and they super, duper, uber make me smile. :) See, I'm such a simple girl...just painting my nails makes me happy. *laughs*

Mermaid Sisters.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I met up with my friend Ashley after work. I was so good to see her. One thing that I like about this new place is that I can have my phone with me, and so texting Ash every so often really helped a lot when I would start missing her and everyone. It's going to take time getting used to everything new...but I think that I'm getting there...but for now, I was so glad that I saw Ash.

I needed to go to Ben Franklin's Craft...and so since I knew that it was just down the street from where the school is, I told her to come and meet and me we will grab something to eat before she went to go pick up her boys.

I love how at Ben Frankin's they have this area in from of the store they sell local craft and jewelry and I love looking at what they had...and guess what we saw?! We saw mermaid bangles! And so we got matching mermaid bangles! 

Of course, Ash only wears gold...as for me, I don't mind as long as I like it...and so she got a gold one and I got the copper one...and so we took a picture of it together. Dig our nails?! :)

Oh my goodness...I miss this girl already. I know for sure we need to hang out more!

Today, I had 10 kids come in. I think it's going to look like on Tuesdays and Thrusdays I will have 4 kids and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will have 10 kids...and so I got to meet EVERYONE today...and I have to say that I have a good, smart bunch. I do love how I can understand them when they talk! And boy, do they LOVE to talk! I love it...but one thing that I need to change is that they don't really like to sing! I so need to change that! I like to sing and so my goal is to get them to sing more. That is one thing I loved about my 2's is that I would hear them singing randomly and it is my goal to get my new kids to sing too. :)

So me.

I was having a hard day today and look what my sister sent me to make me smile. I wanted to save it so that I can look at it and smile whenever I see it. 

Stand in the Rain.

I was tired of looking at ugly nails...so I took the time to make my nails pretty again. :) It's been raining a lot lately...and although there was no thunder or lightning...I miss it. I decided to make some lightning on my nails. I used the same technique that I use when I do galaxy nails...

I absolutely love how they turned out! I really love the nail polish pen! It really made the lightning easy to do...and I love it! :)

"Stand in the rain, stand your ground, stand up when it's all crashing down."-SuperChick

Say Something.

Today was a very, very difficult day. I did go into the day with a smile and a positive thought, however it did not help that I am feeling "under the weather" and my throat hurts like a mofo! But hey, look at me! I survived...and you know what...?! I love my friends. I love my family. And I love the fact that God is there for me when I need Him, or even think that I don't need Him.

I rolled out of bed already feeling quite crummy. My throat was so painful and I couldn't breath properly...which meant that I probably slept with my mouth open (which I know that I don't normally do)...so my painful throat was dry and it hurt to swallow. But I thanked God that I was awake and I had a new day ahead of me. See, I told you! I was positive! :)

I got to school and my co-worker and friend put this on me:

Although it is quite obvious that I am NOT Irish...I still wore it! I wore my green shirt to school today too...and my nails are still green and I wore these really cute green earrings in honor of St. Patrick. Usually when I get to school, my keikis are coming down from the playground but since it was raining they were already in my classroom with two other classes. I am always excited to see my keikis after the weekend. I miss them. Today, I got hit with a surprise...I have a new child in my class. Lets just say that he is my new challenge...bring it on! :)

All day long my throat hurt so bad...but I got through with it. But what made my day super crummy was the bad news that I got. My friend, my dear, dear friend Ed was out wild boar hunting when the boar turned on him and his friend. I don't know the whole story...but please pray for him...because his friend was impaled through the chest with the boars tusk...and did not make it. Knowing Ed, he is probably playing "what if's" on repeat in his head. So this news has been breaking my heart since I heard it early this afternoon. 

It was a rough day...but I made it. But I sure hope this is not a foreshadow of what the rest of the week is like. 

This song has been a broken record in my head recently...and I adore Pentatonix's version of this song...although I do have to say A Great Big World & Christiana Aguilera did an amazing job as well, but Say Something is a song that can speak to a lot of us...so here it is for you to listen too.

"Sometimes it's not the song that makes you emotional. It's the people and things that come to your mind when you hear it."-anonymous

It rained.

It rained today. Which means that I stayed inside with my keiki All. Day. Long. Oh my...if you have ever been in a roomful of energy-filled 2 year olds with do way for them to run off their rambunctiousness...then you have no idea the millions of thoughts that ran through my head today. Oh wow.

It wasn't all that bad. Not super bad...I'm not wanting another day like this again...but that's the beauty of working in a preschool setting...no two day are alike...but I do not fancy another rainy day. Not complaining though because it did give me more time to spend more one-on-one with my keiki...and that is never a bad idea. Exhausting at times...but not a bad thing.

I have this one little "cupcake" that reminds me a lot of...ME! She can't sit still...literally...she can NEVER be still...even in sleep she is constantly moving. It's cute really...but I have to say she was my challenge today. I just kept thinking...my parents were able to keep their hair with me...so I'm pretty sure I can handle this little "cupcake"...she is a cutie. :)

Once again my lil keiki has asked me to paint my nails blue butterflies. I don't want too. But she is pretty insistent that she really wants me nails to be blue butterflies. I have come to realize that butterflies is her favorite nail design...so when I have proper time I need to see what I can come up with. I know that I am not going to paint all my nails butterflies...but maybe at least one. For her. I do love my keiki so! :)

Well, it was another long day. I just got back from my wedding designing job...and wanted to say a few words before I went to sleep...so I will leave you with this song that I am currently listening to. I might have posted it before...but oh well...can't hurt to hear it again. :)