Cuteness

I love hearing cute kid sayings. The girls (as all kids do) come up with some hysterical things. So today while the girls were opening presents I thought it might be fun to jot down some of the cute sayings. Later I will upload photos as that might help you visualize what they were talking about a little better.

Merry Christmas!!!

Beginning with Fun Emi Sayings:

Kaida has just finished opening a Ballerina Mat that plays music and talks you through different ballet positions and moves. Emi stands side by side puts her arm around Kaida and says, "Ohhh Kaida!!!! We can share it!!!"

Emi opens some chocolate that has a Santa and 4 bunnies (I think) pulling his sleigh and says, "Cute Choc-a-liki, choc-a-liki"( pronounced leaky)

I am busy trying to take pictures of them opening their presents and Emi had one she wanted to play with, a Tupperware baking set. She put her hands on her hips and said "Mommy stop clicking the camera, we gotta to the the bakery kitchen."

Now our Kaida!!

Kaida had a small toy cell phone that had the hole like one would use to take pix, she says "I'm take a picture like 你 (meaning "you" in Chinese)

Kaida while unwrapping a present was checking out the wrapping paper and very excitedly exclaimed "look it's a snowman, 跟我的一样 (meaning "the same as mine") while looking down at her pajamas.

Both the girls were given an M&M candy figurine with mini M&M's inside. Kaida opened hers and while inspecting and eating them said "这是一个small M＆M 跟我的一样small" (this is a small M&M, small like me)

Aunty Mindy gave each of the girls a dress up fairy kind of outfit, a tutu type thing with a wand and a tiara. Kaida while trying to hand it to me says "Here you go. Stretch your hand."

There were also many "Wow this is gorgeous, I love it. This is beautiful. Thank you_____."

I love the simplicity of the kids especially mine. No huge fancy gifts and grateful just the same.

A fun morning!!!

We had a fun filled morning!! We went and saw Santa, rode the Carousel at the mall, saw Despereaux and went to the park!! Kaida was very proud of herself for not crying with Santa. In fact she started to cry because she didn't get to say good bye so I took her back to say bye!
I highly recommend seeing Santa and going to the movies the day before Christmas as there isn't hardly any line!!! We tried on Monday and it was a NIGHTMARE. I will have to post that experience sometime this week!! In the meantime enjoy your holidays and this cute pic of my kiddos!!!

You can click on the picture to make it bigger so you can see the kiddos a little better.

Toothache

So I have notoriously bad teeth (and I think Kaida has gotten my gene on that one, sorry Kaida). Anyhow my teeth have bothered me forever and even though I had numerous trips to my one up North nothing seemed to be resolved. We thought it was due to him changing out some of my old silver fillings for the ones that are more of your teeth's color. He even got me a mouth guard specially made because he thought that my nighttime grinding was making it so the nerve was sensitive. This was all almost a year ago and lasted for a few months. I have just dealt with the pain. Forward to now....about 4 nights ago my tooth started aching like a mo'fo'. So bad it kept me from sleeping. Being pregnant doesn't help cause you are limited to taking Tylenol. Well I finally said forget this mess and on Wednesday morn called the dentist. They gave me a same day appt for that afternoon. I waited around for authorization to do an X-Ray from my OB doctor. They were smart enough to say let's just do an oral exam and go from there. Well the Dentist got in there and tapped around on a few teeth and on the #2 tooth I nearly came flying out of the seat it hurt so bad. He said he was pretty sure I needed to have a root canal done. They sent me on my way telling me they would get a referral for an Endodontist and would follow up with the OB regarding the X-Ray permission. Well first thing in the morning as promised I got a call saying they had approval for the X-Ray and the referral and to come by to have the X-Ray taken. I immediately called the Endodontist and scheduled and appt for Tuesday. I went by the general dentist in the afternoon and had the X-Ray taken. They had all the paperwork ready for me to take to the Endodontist along with prescription for antibiotics and Tylenol with Codeine!! I took them to Target to fill them and began taking them right when I got home. Finally some relief!!!! I didn't sleep well and felt even worse throughout the morning. My kids come at 7:30 so I was already a grouch by the time they got there because the meds weren't helping that much!! I called the Endodontist right at they opened to see if they could get me in before Tuesday. I didn't think I would last that long. I couldn't even swallow without pain as my tongue would bump up against my tooth. So I haven't eatne for a while. Bless their hearts or the doctor who said he would take me!!! They were able to get me in today. I would have ended up in the ER over the weekend I just know it. So he did the procedure and noted that not only was the root a problem but the infection had spread to the tooth AND had abcessed. He said he couldnt believe I lasted this long. Anyhow by the time I left the office about an hour later the numbing meds were wearing off and by the time I got home I was almost in tears. I tried to lay down and that made it worse so there I was crying in pain. I got up and drank some cup of soup so I could take my pain meds and not have it upset my stomach. Once that finally kicked it I felt like a new person. It is tender but not excrutiating anymore. I am going to keep myself doped up, every 4 hours Tylenol with Codeine baby!! Good thing Jason is a night owl, he can wake me up and keep me on schedule! I just can't take the chance of putting myself over the edge and having everyone else suffer cuz of it. I also don't want to ruin our weekend. I am hoping to pull out the Christmas decorations as well as go get a tree. I would hate to put that off or jip the kids. Most of all I would hate to miss church. I love my ward down here. If we get things all set up this weekend I will try and post pix in the near future!!

Thanksgiving

A few things I am thankful for......

my wonderful husband who is supportive, creative, silly, funny, helpful, kind, thoughtful, patient, tolerant, super smart and much much more

my children who are each their own fun little person and keep me laughing, are creative, are loving, play well together, are helpful, get jazzed about the little things, are enthusiastic, happy, smart and the list can go on

a home to live in

being able to learn new things (such as bowling!!)

having a good steady job with great aides

living in an area that is culturally rich

good food

being able to go home for Thanksgiving and share such a good time with my family!!!!

(even though it took us 11 hours to get home with each kid puking once on the way!)

Slacker, Lagger, etc

Well whatever you wanna call it that's what I am. I am one of those people who do things in spurts. I get all gung ho over certain things and then life happens and I don't keep up. That is with most things except languages. Anyhow, here are some interesting happenings from us.

*We have moved (okay so it was like 3 months ago but since I haven't posted...) drop me an email if you'd like our new contact info we would love to keep in contact.

*We lost Emi's favorite chicken Goldie. We think it may have been due to the heat and her not being able to tolerate it. Emi was very sad. We buried her in the backyard.

*I love my new job!!! I have fantastic aides who keep things fun. There are so many great things with this district. I do share the classroom and I teach the morning class. My job is form 7:30-2 so I really like those hours as well. Sharing a room is not easy but is "do"able.

*Alayna came down and visited us for her birthday and we had a blast!!! We took her to a Lobster Festival and to the LA County Fair. We hope she will come down again sometime!!

*Emi and Kaida are staying home with (drum roll please...) Daddy at least until about January. He has been doing a great job taking care of them. My SIL Mindy has also been a great help and fun to have around. (She lives with us)

* My parents came to visit and boy were Emi and Kaida happy to spend time with Maca and Paca. We even had a little party at the motel!!! The might of the party while walking back to the car I bit it with Kaida on my back. Luckily neither of us got hurt too bad. Kaida was perfectly fine and I ripped my favorite pair of maternity pants and got a nasty scrape/cut. It was not a pretty sight my big ol' fat body on the ground!!!

*Jason made Emi's Halloween Costume. I had bought both the girls patterns to make their costumes but then just said forget it as I was too lazy. I then ordered both online. On Tuesday I got an email from the company with whom I ordered Emi's and they told me it was out. I about lost it. My sweet husband then went through our HUGE recycling bin and found the pattern I had tossed. He finished cutting it outand then continued on to sew it to completion. Huge note-He had NEVER touched a sewing machine before!!!! IT came out Fabulous and boy was Emi excited. She was a penguin and Kaida was a duck (their favorite animals).

*On Halloween Emi got a hold of a pair of scissors and cut Kaida's hair!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!! Jason cleaned it up and it looks very cute. (Both his grandma and grandpa were in the haircutting/styling business but that ain't genetic!!) Hence Jason is becoming a Jason of all Trades!!!

*Not due to Halloween candy (or any fault of her own really), Kaida had to have (gulp) 6 cavities taken care of (I can't believe I am admitted this on my blog publicly!!) She was a trooper and the dentist said she was the first 2 year old she has treated that HASN'T had to be put out completely to have the work done. She had conscious sedation. To top it off the night before she was puking and mean me wouldn't cancel the appt, we just went ahead and naughty me didn't mention anything. She also couldn't eat of drink anything for at least 6 hours before and her appt time was for 8:30am so she was starving. Poor thing. The doctor suggested milkshakes and/or ice cream. I was a little nerbous due to the bug she had the night before. Afterwards I did end up taking her to Baskin Robbins and let her pick 2 things of ice cream.

*We will be have baby #3 in March (as of now and by coincidence the Dr has scheduled me for 3/13 which is Grandma Burke's birthday!!) We don't know if it will be a boy or a girl and NO I don't want to know and no this will most likely NOT be our last baby!!

*The girls are obsessed with me being pregnant especially Emi. She talks about it nonstop and loves to draw pictures of the baby including pictures of the baby "in your uterus." If you ask either of them they will tell you they want a baby brother.

* I will try and post some recent pix of the girls this weekend although don't hold your breath!!

Luv to all!!!!!



*Update-Ok so I didn't get pictures posted that weekend but I did today even after getting a root canal!! Not bad if you ask me!!

Sleep Over

Well Owen is over for a sleep over tonight!!! We are excited. So far we are lounging on the couch watching Diego and eating string cheese. Whoo Hoo, can it get any better than this?!!!

Will post more in the morning!!!


***************************** UPDATE **********************************
OK so what if my update is 4 months late!!!

I had set up a little bed for him on the floor (I know poor guy) and put a huge Diego in it for him (to make it silly and a little more appealing).
Emi and Kaida decided they would join Owen on the floor to sleep. They had great fun, as you can see. Pimp daddy Owen-we're going to have to watch that boy!!

In the morning we got up and went for donuts at our favorite donut place-Donut Time in El Cerrito. They each ordered what they wanted, does it get any cuter than this pic?????Owen enjoyed his donut and his time with us....I think.....I hope!!!!!!


We hope we have many more fun experiences like this with all our cousins!!!!
Love ya Owen!!
Thanks for making our very last days up north happy ones!!!!!

A Chorus Line

Today Karley and I went and saw A Chorus Line at the Curran Theatre. We had an adventure. We took BART over and we had to make a stop my SFSU's lil satellite office which was close by. It was a busy, absolutely gorgeous day in Frisco. The weather couldn't have been better. We got to nearby buildings and noticed there were signs saying there was a power outage. When we arrived at SFSU's building there was a sign saying the elevators were in use-good thing cause it's on the 6th floor. Well I sure wasn't seeing any elevators. Then this guy came in we ended up following him in and made it. Their office usuals closes at 1pm. I had totally forgotten. The lady said that due to the power outage things were a little off and they stayed open later. Thank heavens for divine intervention. Anyhow we made it over to the Theatre in plenty of time. There was a GRUMPY old lady who stood at the end of our aisle giving us some nasty looks and shining her flashlight at us telling Karley like 20x to "turn it off" "turn off your cell phone." I just stared at her blankly as she was making herself look like a fool. When she left and continued on her rampage an older gay couple behind us made a few hilarious comments like "dang grump old lady." I laughed and then did a hissing cat noise while using my hands as cat nails to scratch. We all were busting a gut laughing. The show was good but nothing compared to Hairspray-that is one hard act to follow. We had our a lady take our picture outside-another story-couldn't even push the button-come on how hard is it?! The BART ride home was another story-dang ghetto a** loud obnoxious middle school aged kids. Anyhow a good time was had. Maybe I can get Karley to send me the pic to post on here and it will have my fabulous do as well.

Officially Done

Today was the last day of summer school which means.....my last day in the district!! Yipee!!! I am officially done!!!! I am sad to think of all my lil chillins but 9/10 of them are moving on to Kindergarten with 3 moving out of district so it makes leaving a little less heartwrenching. I just hope my favorite families will keep in touch!!

The last official day also means crunch time! Rita, one of my most fabulous aides' daughter came and helped me out on Wednesday and today with the house. She also organized and packed ALL of my belonging at school. I seriously don't know what I woulda done had I not had her help. She is a very efficient, thorough and organized worker. I'm sure nothing would've gotten done as I woulda been so overwhelmed I wouldn't have even known where to start. Now that a good chunk has been taken care of I can stress a little less but still be motivated to finish the rest of it. Luckily the girls can still go to the sitters house and I can work my behind off here at home and put the finishing touches on my classroom (and get all my stuff in boxes). That will be great since the day hours are when I have the energy to do it not after work, swimming lessons and all that good jazz!

Hair

My favorite place to get my haircut is Festoon. Unless you get a student to cut it it is extremely expensive (at least I think so) but they ALWAYS do a fantabulous job. Well I have been wanting to get my haircut so I got online and put in to be one of their "models." You aren't really a model you just get a GREAT cut by student for a great price! Anyhow, on my way to Bridge Camp (oh yeah gotta post about that! check out July 12th Video to see me and my guy) I got a phone call to asking if I was still interested. I was ecstatic to say the least. I was able to schedule and appointment for the Saturday after camp was done (so only a little more than a week away and BEFORE I move). Well good ole Jason happened to come back so he graciously watched the girls for a LONG chunk of time (I left at 10:40 and didn't get back til after 3:30)!! It was a nice treat! The cut is very drastic and I LOVE IT! It is short and super curly especially in the back. I am so excited not to get the brows threaded and I will be a new woman-it's about time!!! (I'll post pix later)Thanks Jason for watching the girls, you're the best!

Moving

Hey all. It has been a while and I am horrible at this blog thing. I am procrastinating starting on my big project that I am left to do on my own due to some crazy circumstances so that is what you can thank for this post!!!

Anyhow for all my fans out there-the Sakamoto crew will be heading back down South at the end of July. We hate to leave Northern California-our family and beautiful mild weather. It will be nice to start to set down some permanent roots in a nice area. I will be excited that my kids will be able to grow up in an area where there are lots of people who speak Chinese and Spanish, have excellent local public schools-with the elementary being across the street about 4 house down and to have a new start with a new school district that I get to teach the kind of class I have been wanting to for YEARS now and that on top of pays well and has great benefits. Jason graduated from CSU East Bay (still Hayward to me!) in June (I am SO proud of him) and would like to continue on for a MA/MS so we'll see what transpires. Could be any following: work, school, or work and school. I am also excited to be fairly near some old friends, Stephanie in Huntington Beach area and Amanda in Santa Clarita area. I hope I will be able to get together with them every couple months. I even have a cousin down there somewhere I just might have to look up! Oh yeah can't forget about my Uncle Bill and Aunt Stephanie in Ramona. I am also looking forward to seeing if there are some of my old acquaintances in the ward I used to attend and to make new friends as well.

I know things are going to be difficult and trying in the next week or so with me trying to still work, hold down the fort while packing it up and all that good stuff. I just pray the good Lord gives me extra patience and energy to get everything done-I know if I ask He will....He always does.

Grandma Nakata

Today unexpectedly we lost our dear Great Grandma Flo. She was 90. We will miss her dearly.

No Desire

Well I love surfing the web aimlessly and I love looking at others blogs but I sure have no desire to keep this one up. Surprise surprise. Like most things in my life I am interested for a short time and when realize they are too much work or I am so far behind (and not I hate leaving gaps so just starting all over doesn't work) I scrap everything! So if sometime soon you see my blog gone don't be surprised.