Tanysha's School Assembly. The Grr, Grr, Grr, Grrr....Gruffalo

Last Friday Tanysha's class had their assembly. They sang 3 songs but I thought this one was the cutest. The song is called "The Gruffalo" . It's a great book and also a wonderful read for young children.

The kids normally wear uniforms but they got to wear their "favorite" outfits that day so it was an extra special day for them.

Hope you enjoy the song....

.....Kari

Tanysha's School Assembly. The Grr, Grr, Grr, Grrr....Gruffalo

Last Friday Tanysha's class had their assembly. They sang 3 songs but I thought this one was the cutest. The song is called "The Gruffalo" . It's a great book and also a wonderful read for young children.

The kids normally wear uniforms but they got to wear their "favorite" outfits that day so it was an extra special day for them.

Hope you enjoy the song....

.....Kari

The Warriors are Out!

Oh I was so hoping for the Cinderella story but I guess it was not meant to be.  The Warriors copped a thrashing from the Manly Sea Eagles.  32-6.  The Eagles were the better team on the night, in fact the whole season so they deserved to win.

It was a great for the Warriors. They were not expected to get this far but they did.  Keep your head up boys - you did mighty fine!!

So next week is the big Grand Final - I've planned the weekend around the game. Oh how I love my footy!!!

.......Kari

The Warriors are Out!

Oh I was so hoping for the Cinderella story but I guess it was not meant to be.  The Warriors copped a thrashing from the Manly Sea Eagles.  32-6.  The Eagles were the better team on the night, in fact the whole season so they deserved to win.

It was a great for the Warriors. They were not expected to get this far but they did.  Keep your head up boys - you did mighty fine!!

So next week is the big Grand Final - I've planned the weekend around the game. Oh how I love my footy!!!

.......Kari

The Melbourne Storms are In

Watched a pretty boring game this evening of the Cronulla Sharks against the Melbourne Storms. (This is the Australian Rugby League.  I know, I know I can't get enough of football!!).

The game didn't live up to the hype which was disappointing but the Storms are in - marching onto their 3rd Grand Final in a row. 

Pretty impressive. 

Now they will wait for the winner of the Manly Eagles against the New Zealand Warriors.  I will be rooting for the Warriors. Yep, I love a Cinderella story.

.....Kari

The Melbourne Storms are In

Watched a pretty boring game this evening of the Cronulla Sharks against the Melbourne Storms. (This is the Australian Rugby League.  I know, I know I can't get enough of football!!).

The game didn't live up to the hype which was disappointing but the Storms are in - marching onto their 3rd Grand Final in a row. 

Pretty impressive. 

Now they will wait for the winner of the Manly Eagles against the New Zealand Warriors.  I will be rooting for the Warriors. Yep, I love a Cinderella story.

.....Kari

Panther Pops....

So yesterday I spent nearly 1/2 the day making delicious cookies on a stick which we call "Panther Pops" for the ISB PTA .

 

I started out all excited and feeling really great that I was doing my part for the school and the PTA but after the first 20 I wasn't so excited anymore.....but I toiled on.

You see the instructions were;

• make 40
• make them all the same size and
• Do not overcook.

After baking the whole batch I had;

• only made 33
• they were not all the same size
• and I definitely overcooked the  cookies - not all of them but a couple here and there.... well okay about 12 of them to be exact.

Oh how I hate the feeling of being incompetent. - Terrible!

This was the first time for me to bake these Panther Pops so I shouldn't be too harsh on myself but I didn't want to use that as en excuse.  Anyway I completed my task - cooled the cookies then packed them ready to be delivered. But not after spending the whole afternoon trying to figure out what to say when I went to deliver the Panther Pops.

Anyway after all the worrying, when I went to deliver the cookies the lady was great.  She told me not to worry that I didn't make 40, never mind about the over baked ones because there were more of them that were just right and for the ones I thought that were too large she said they were perfect.

Oh the unnecessary stress!! 

Final Product - Panther Pops for Sale

A good time to remember -

Your the smallest deed is better than your grandest  intention!

 .......Kari

Panther Pops....

So yesterday I spent nearly 1/2 the day making delicious cookies on a stick which we call "Panther Pops" for the ISB PTA .

 

I started out all excited and feeling really great that I was doing my part for the school and the PTA but after the first 20 I wasn't so excited anymore.....but I toiled on.

You see the instructions were;

• make 40
• make them all the same size and
• Do not overcook.

After baking the whole batch I had;

• only made 33
• they were not all the same size
• and I definitely overcooked the  cookies - not all of them but a couple here and there.... well okay about 12 of them to be exact.

Oh how I hate the feeling of being incompetent. - Terrible!

This was the first time for me to bake these Panther Pops so I shouldn't be too harsh on myself but I didn't want to use that as en excuse.  Anyway I completed my task - cooled the cookies then packed them ready to be delivered. But not after spending the whole afternoon trying to figure out what to say when I went to deliver the Panther Pops.

Anyway after all the worrying, when I went to deliver the cookies the lady was great.  She told me not to worry that I didn't make 40, never mind about the over baked ones because there were more of them that were just right and for the ones I thought that were too large she said they were perfect.

Oh the unnecessary stress!! 

Final Product - Panther Pops for Sale

A good time to remember -

Your the smallest deed is better than your grandest  intention!

 .......Kari

Make them Treasured Moments

Today was an exciting morning for Tanysha - she had Daddy to take her to school and this just made her little heart soooo happy.

Such opportunities do not come by often so she took full advantage of it.  Not only was Dad going to take her to school but she got him to help her shower, get dressed, have breakfast together and then off to school.

It was such a beautiful thing to watch.  Such precious moments. 

As a mama I get caught up in the mundaneness (is that even a word?) of the chore that I find myself not enjoying the time together and it becomes just a matter of getting every one out of the house on time.

Thank you for the reminder this morning that such chores should be turned into precious times, done in the moment, in the here and the now - it should not be just about getting everyone out of the house on time and thinking about what needs to be that day.

Tanysha putting her school ID on Dad so he can walk her into school

Father and daughter. (Love the face Tanysha!!)

Time to go......

.....Kari

Make them Treasured Moments

Today was an exciting morning for Tanysha - she had Daddy to take her to school and this just made her little heart soooo happy.

Such opportunities do not come by often so she took full advantage of it.  Not only was Dad going to take her to school but she got him to help her shower, get dressed, have breakfast together and then off to school.

It was such a beautiful thing to watch.  Such precious moments. 

As a mama I get caught up in the mundaneness (is that even a word?) of the chore that I find myself not enjoying the time together and it becomes just a matter of getting every one out of the house on time.

Thank you for the reminder this morning that such chores should be turned into precious times, done in the moment, in the here and the now - it should not be just about getting everyone out of the house on time and thinking about what needs to be that day.

Tanysha putting her school ID on Dad so he can walk her into school

Father and daughter. (Love the face Tanysha!!)

Time to go......

.....Kari

Celebrate the Differences

So Renee comes to me the other day and asks me to teach her a dance from Papua New Guinea!! OMG.....  what do I do???

You see ISB Elementary school is having an International Day Assembly and they're asking for students to represent their country in music, dance or drama. 

Hence the request.

So here's the thing,  I know maybe a dance or 2 from PNG my home country, my motuan heritage but they're always done in groups - never solo performances.  Maybe it's  been done but I've not seen it.  And at the ISB Elementary school there is no group of students from Papua New Guinea - Renee is the only one. 

And so there is my problem.

This is not the first time my daughter has requested such a thing when it comes to PNG. Last year for International week she wanted me to prepare a  fish and cook it with bananas and taro and send it with her for her class to enjoy!!

I love Renee's enthusiasm and pride when it comes to Papua New Guinea.  The longest she's lived there is less than a year but she feels so proud of her home country.

I want to do something with her for this assembly, so my PNG wantoks if you have any ideas please help me out. I love Renee's courage and willingness to get up on the stage to perform and to represent so please help me out. 

......Kari

Celebrate the Differences

So Renee comes to me the other day and asks me to teach her a dance from Papua New Guinea!! OMG.....  what do I do???

You see ISB Elementary school is having an International Day Assembly and they're asking for students to represent their country in music, dance or drama. 

Hence the request.

So here's the thing,  I know maybe a dance or 2 from PNG my home country, my motuan heritage but they're always done in groups - never solo performances.  Maybe it's  been done but I've not seen it.  And at the ISB Elementary school there is no group of students from Papua New Guinea - Renee is the only one. 

And so there is my problem.

This is not the first time my daughter has requested such a thing when it comes to PNG. Last year for International week she wanted me to prepare a  fish and cook it with bananas and taro and send it with her for her class to enjoy!!

I love Renee's enthusiasm and pride when it comes to Papua New Guinea.  The longest she's lived there is less than a year but she feels so proud of her home country.

I want to do something with her for this assembly, so my PNG wantoks if you have any ideas please help me out. I love Renee's courage and willingness to get up on the stage to perform and to represent so please help me out. 

......Kari

Oh No we have just over a month to go .....

 

So this morning we had a room parents meeting for our upcoming Halloween Carnival.  It was supposed to be an hour  but it went on for 3.  Oh how we digress!!  I will not allow that to happen again!  We had a lot to discuss - prizes, cost of each games, food stalls, laying out all the booths etc, etc, etc so we did get through a lot.

The school has never done anything like this so we are all learning as we're going along. I must say though I am so thankful for the experience I gained when I helped out at Renee's  school back in the US.  Invaluable lessons learnt.

I'm excited though about the whole thing but also incredibly stressed.  But for some reason I thrive on stress - no pressure would be the correct word !!  weirdo - I know.  Anyway I think it's going to just be great fun - can't wait!!

.....Kari

Oh No we have just over a month to go .....

 

So this morning we had a room parents meeting for our upcoming Halloween Carnival.  It was supposed to be an hour  but it went on for 3.  Oh how we digress!!  I will not allow that to happen again!  We had a lot to discuss - prizes, cost of each games, food stalls, laying out all the booths etc, etc, etc so we did get through a lot.

The school has never done anything like this so we are all learning as we're going along. I must say though I am so thankful for the experience I gained when I helped out at Renee's  school back in the US.  Invaluable lessons learnt.

I'm excited though about the whole thing but also incredibly stressed.  But for some reason I thrive on stress - no pressure would be the correct word !!  weirdo - I know.  Anyway I think it's going to just be great fun - can't wait!!

.....Kari

The Weekend I realized my girls are growing up!!

Oh how time flies - it was only like yesterday they were little babe's in my arms.

On Friday night Renee went for a sleep over with one of her good friends.  Of course I didn't want her to go but when I thought about it, it was  purely a selfish reason on my part if I said no and not let her go. You see I'm afraid that she won't rely on me too much anymore. 

Then on Saturday Tanysha whom I take to school every morning just out of the blue says; "mom, on Monday can I go to school by myself, I mean can you just drop me off at the gate so I can go in on my own" - oh my oh my, what do I do?!?

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
   don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
   he's the one who will keep you on track.  Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

Like many of you, ya'll probably know these verses of the top of your head. For today these verses are for me - not my children but for me.  As God's child I trust that God knows exactly where my children are heading.

.....Kari

The Weekend I realized my girls are growing up!!

Oh how time flies - it was only like yesterday they were little babe's in my arms.

On Friday night Renee went for a sleep over with one of her good friends.  Of course I didn't want her to go but when I thought about it, it was  purely a selfish reason on my part if I said no and not let her go. You see I'm afraid that she won't rely on me too much anymore. 

Then on Saturday Tanysha whom I take to school every morning just out of the blue says; "mom, on Monday can I go to school by myself, I mean can you just drop me off at the gate so I can go in on my own" - oh my oh my, what do I do?!?

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
   don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
   he's the one who will keep you on track.  Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

Like many of you, ya'll probably know these verses of the top of your head. For today these verses are for me - not my children but for me.  As God's child I trust that God knows exactly where my children are heading.

.....Kari

Green Tea Latte

Last Thursday I went to my neighborhood Starbucks (now when I say neighborhood - I mean like smack bang in the middle of the community that I live in) I wanted to try something different.  So I ordered a Green Tea Latte. 

I didn't think I would enjoy the drink, because "it is green", but I was pleasantly surprised.  In fact I enjoyed it so much I ordered another one the very next day.

You see growing up I didn't always like my "greens" so I wasn't too sure about having a "green" drink.  But like I said I really enjoyed it.

What's you're favorite drink from Starbucks or do you even like Starbucks?

........Kari

Green Tea Latte

Last Thursday I went to my neighborhood Starbucks (now when I say neighborhood - I mean like smack bang in the middle of the community that I live in) I wanted to try something different.  So I ordered a Green Tea Latte. 

I didn't think I would enjoy the drink, because "it is green", but I was pleasantly surprised.  In fact I enjoyed it so much I ordered another one the very next day.

You see growing up I didn't always like my "greens" so I wasn't too sure about having a "green" drink.  But like I said I really enjoyed it.

What's you're favorite drink from Starbucks or do you even like Starbucks?

........Kari

Happy Independence Papua New Guinea

Today my young nation celebrates 33 years of Independence. 

PNG my island nation  is home to some 700 Papuan and Melanesian tribes each with their own language. My beloved country a  patchwork of mountains, jungles, and swamplands - Happy Independence!!

Though we are of many tribes and languages, cultures and customs, this is our pledge and today I recite it proudly........

We, the people of Papua New Guinea, pledge ourselves united in one nation.
We pay homage to our cultural heritage, the source of our strength.
We pledge to build a democratic society based on justice, equality,
respect, and prosperity for our people.

We pledge to stand together as one people, one nation, one country.
God bless Papua New Guinea!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE !!

 

Pictures from our Independence celebrations in Anaheim, California in 2006 we found some wantoks(people from same country, share same language) in the US.

preparing our mumu (cooking under the ground)

waiting for the food.

My girls in their "meri blouse"

Group photo - so far away from home but remembering our Independence!!

........Kari

Happy Independence Papua New Guinea

Today my young nation celebrates 33 years of Independence. 

PNG my island nation  is home to some 700 Papuan and Melanesian tribes each with their own language. My beloved country a  patchwork of mountains, jungles, and swamplands - Happy Independence!!

Though we are of many tribes and languages, cultures and customs, this is our pledge and today I recite it proudly........

We, the people of Papua New Guinea, pledge ourselves united in one nation.
We pay homage to our cultural heritage, the source of our strength.
We pledge to build a democratic society based on justice, equality,
respect, and prosperity for our people.

We pledge to stand together as one people, one nation, one country.
God bless Papua New Guinea!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE !!

 

Pictures from our Independence celebrations in Anaheim, California in 2006 we found some wantoks(people from same country, share same language) in the US.

preparing our mumu (cooking under the ground)

waiting for the food.

My girls in their "meri blouse"

Group photo - so far away from home but remembering our Independence!!

........Kari

I Love my Footy!!

So after we unpacked from our getaway my hubby and I were looking forward to watching the Rugby Union game between the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks.  I enjoyed the game because my team won!! That would be the New Zealand All Blacks.  It wasn't so good for my hubby though -  his team lost.

Congratulations NZ All Blacks!!

.....Kari

I Love my Footy!!

So after we unpacked from our getaway my hubby and I were looking forward to watching the Rugby Union game between the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks.  I enjoyed the game because my team won!! That would be the New Zealand All Blacks.  It wasn't so good for my hubby though -  his team lost.

Congratulations NZ All Blacks!!

.....Kari

Our Getaway Pictures

So we got back yesterday - in the rain.  It's always great to come back to be in your own home and especially in your own bed.  We had a great time .  We enjoyed the sand and the water and the food which just totally threw my diet, I mean lifestyle change out the window!!  But we really did have a great time!

We played in the sand,  swam in the sea and in the pool and we relaxed.  We also visited Pattaya City's highest point, an underwater world and Little Siam.  I especially enjoyed Little Siam.  It had many miniature landmarks of places around the world, especially Europe and Thailand. 

Here are some pictures:

my blessings

playing in the sand

sisters having fun

Joshua's first trip to the beach

 

Family pose at a Monument in Pattaya

miniature temple dedicated to Ramases

miniature monks worshipping (my dear hubby in the background)

me and my girls

.......Kari

Our Getaway Pictures

So we got back yesterday - in the rain.  It's always great to come back to be in your own home and especially in your own bed.  We had a great time .  We enjoyed the sand and the water and the food which just totally threw my diet, I mean lifestyle change out the window!!  But we really did have a great time!

We played in the sand,  swam in the sea and in the pool and we relaxed.  We also visited Pattaya City's highest point, an underwater world and Little Siam.  I especially enjoyed Little Siam.  It had many miniature landmarks of places around the world, especially Europe and Thailand. 

Here are some pictures:

my blessings

playing in the sand

sisters having fun

Joshua's first trip to the beach

 

Family pose at a Monument in Pattaya

miniature temple dedicated to Ramases

miniature monks worshipping (my dear hubby in the background)

me and my girls

.......Kari