Cruze Ohana Olelo

Leile had a close incounter with a Dog

2010-04-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

A little too close. As horrified as we were we can't help but feel it could have been worse. When a dog decides to bite sometimes it doesn't stop. I wasn't ready for the world to makes it's mark on her perfect face. I know it was bound to happen. We all have battle wound from our youth but not Leile, not yet. It's like the first time you drop a new cell phone or getting a stain on an expensive dress, but worse, because she's not a phone or a dress she's my baby girl and she's perfectly beautiful. And now she has three Stitches in her cheek.

Undesirable #1

Feel free to give this dog a swift kick in the rump the nest time you see it.

What is going on?

2010-01-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks Giving, Christmas, even a birthday. We've been busy. And now sweet little Leile is three

Did I mention it's been a long cold winter. If you haven't heard my "bathroom pipes freezing" story ask me sometime...it's a good one.

The Bat Mask

2009-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

I wasn't looking forward to our first superhero Halloween. I've always enjoyed Koa's creativity when it came to Halloween. He really gets into the spirit of it, picking something spooky like a mummy king or a ghost and really getting into character. Showing up in the same superhero costume every other little boy will be wearing just doesn't capture the spirit of Halloween to me. But I can understand the appeal to a four year old. So I was going to swallow my pride take Koa to Walmart and let him pick out the most generic superhero costume he could find. Until the Bat Mask....

Just in time to save Koa from falling prey to big business marketing schemes ( I mean lets face it there making a killing off of those flimsy costumes) he found and fell in love with what he endearingly refers to as "The Bat Mask". He now wants to be a real bat, not Bat Man, just a bat. "All black with a black neck and black chin and wings that fly through the night."... His Mother couldn't be more proud.... I even walked him down the costume isle at Target to make sure he wasn't going to be disappointed.

He has only taken The Bat Mask off once since we bought it and that was at school. I didn't think his teachers would appreciate having a bat in class (some people are squeamish about bats) so The Bat Mask had to stay in his locker but he wore it all the way to school, and down the hall to his locker where he lovingly placed it, then put it right back on as soon as school was over and wore it back out to the car. I kept forgetting that he had it on at the store and assumed that people where staring and smiling because I have such lovely, adorable children until I looked at Koa and realized, they're laughing at The Bat Mask. So here's to another spooky Halloween and thanks to The Bat Mask I'm ready (did I mention The Bat Mask only cost a dollar).

Good Times

2009-08-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Being only 3 hours from Atlanta is one of the top 3 things that I like about Knoxville (and so for there are only three things on that list). The other 2: being close to family and the mountains. Atlanta probably ranks 2nd considering how much I like my family and if I'm really honest I'd rather live at the beach than near the mountains. Anyway I'm not trying to complain and now I feel like this post has taken on a horribly negative vibe so back to the point, we had a really great time in Atlanta this week. Eldon went down Sunday night, on Business. The kids and I joined him Monday. Kekoa was so excited when he woke up and saw all the big buildings. "Look Mom it's New York city where Calvin lives" he shouted, waking his sister up. It was hard to break the news that it was in fact a different city and Calvin's house was still far away. But he took it well and the momentary disappointment melted away in the lights of Atlanta. He has had an affection for big cities since our trip to New York. Even when we go down town Knoxville he gets excited and he loves a good city festival. Leile doesn't remember New York she was barley a year old but I think she'll remember Atlanta. There's nothing like the city streets to energize and inspire. Eldon worked while we played in the city parks and visited the Giant pandas at the Zoo. When he was done working we shopped and we ate.

My favorite thing about visiting other cities is the food. We had lunch at The Varsity, just a few blocks from our hotel in midtown. It touts itself as the worlds largest drive through and was packed at lunch time with locals and tourist alike. The service was fast and the food was greasy. Just what I wanted from a burger joint. The next day we went for a lighter fair before hitting the zoo. Ria's Blue Bird Cafe in the Grant park area of Atlanta was excellent eating. The New York Times named Ria's pancakes as the best in the world. I talked Leile into getting the pancakes so that I could help her eat them, very good.

Good times.

Family Pictures

2009-07-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

We had the best time taking family pictures. Andrea was great with the kids. I was a little worried, Leile had been in the worst mood all week, but really there where no tears, no fussing, no forcing them to do anything they didn't want to just letting us be ourselves. Thanks Andrea you are amazing. And thanks Lindsay eveything was perfect.

House Update

2009-06-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well, bad news. We finally got the listing agent to return our phone calls. They accepted someone else's offer. But just to string me along and get my hopes up one more time before crushing all of my home ownership dreams, he did say that things weren't going exactly smoothly with the offer they had accepted and the buyer had until end of business day today to get her stuff in order. If that contract falls through he'll call us. We're the back up. I don't like being the back up. So that is the latest as of 3:00 this afternoon. Did I mention the back yard is perfect.

The House Hunt Continues

2009-06-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Okay we've been looking for a house for months now. We've look at too many houses to recount them all and have finally found one that we feel suits our family. We put in an offer and are waiting to hear back. I know there was more than one offer so we might not get it. The suspense is killing me. We were supposed to hear back yesterday. Still nothing. Not a good sign.

What's Old Made New

2009-02-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

This is my Great Grandmothers Quilt. Totally cute, right. It's called a crazy quilt. You don't need a sowing machine or fancy tools. Knowing Mamaw there probably wasn't a lot of thought put into the fabrics or the design. It was made out of necessity, to keep warm. Homemade from scraps not because it was trendy but because it was all she had. Being a home maker was so different then than it is now. But if you really think about it the fundamentals are the same; keep them feed, keep them well, keep them safe, keep them together, teach them good.

So along with this quilt my mom also had the beginnings of another, made from the same scraps and a box of the remaining scraps. My talented and ambitious sister decided she would undertake finishing what her Great Grandmother had started.

As you can see it's coming along quite nicely. I think I might try one with what ever is left of the scraps.

Retta Cobb
February 1913-April 2007

Wall-E's Birthday

2009-02-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

OK so it's was Koa's birthday this past week or as we have all come to know him Wall-E. Kekoa has refused to be called Koa for almost a month now insisting instead that he is Wall-E. So what better way to celebrate Wall-E's birthday than with a Wall-E birthday. His only guest, Joey. Mostly because I didn't have time to have a big party but also because dear sweet Joey is one of the only kids who has not gotten sick of Koa asking if he can be Wall-E at 30 second intervals. So we invited Joey to Chucky Cheese and then meet up with the rest of the cousins later for cake and ice cream. Notice the number 10 candle on the cake. Kekoa is nothing if not unique and methodical. Everything that calls for a quantity is done in tens these days. Anything that requires a color be chosen is White. This cake is the culmination of all things Koa right now. A white cake, white frosting, with Wall-E and the number 10 on top. I love being his mom.

squirt gun racing

I couldn't find anyone that had Wall-E balloons, so I improvised. Koa thought it was so cool he requested Eve and Mo too.

"foreign contaminant". have you seen the movie? It's really pretty cute.

Happy Birthday...

2009-01-09T11:27:00.001-08:00

Leile

We had such a good time celebrating Leile's 2nd birthday yesterday.

Christmas

2009-01-08T13:28:00.001-08:00

The Kids cried this morning when they woke up to find the Christmas tree gone.

Leile on a Christmas morning stroll.

Koa tried his hand at big boy bike riding (we're still working on it).

The little girls all got baby dolls from Grandma.

And I tried my hand at making a gingerbread house.

It was a good Christmas.

Reading Cally's blog...

2008-12-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

has made me reflect on how much I miss my friend Merilee and her always up for anything, always in the mood to host a party, can't have too many art supplies self.

Bueatify Your Things

2008-11-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

I enjoy Crafting. I don't know that I'm particularly good at it. I'm probably of average crafting ability. I'm not a Cally but who is? ( sorry if that embarrasses you Cally, it was a sincere compliment). Anyway I have fun doing it. I thought this looked like a simple way to add some cuteness to things. I'm always looking for personalized gift ideas. All of these crafts are based around the concept of using bias tape to spruce things up

Inspiring?

Cute.

This is where I start to doubt myself.

Think of the possibilities.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/bias-toward-the-pretty ?

My Bike

2008-11-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

I had a birthday last month, October 2. This supper cute bike was my birthday present.
The basket on the front is just big enough to fit little miss. I love my new bike.

Holloween Fun

2008-11-02T10:36:00.001-08:00

Spooky was the word at our house this year. Koa was a ghost (that shoots webs) and Leile was a monkey (with two baby monkeys). We had Fun.