Frozen Soundtrack for my Daughter

Posted on 2016/11/23 by circuskitchen

2016

Nope not sick of FROZEN!

Never O.D’d on it.  It’s SO GREAT anyway and we love winter!

This playlist on Youtube has a bunch of outtake songs we’ve never heard as well.

ClaraJane I love you and hope we always enjoy all things Frozen!

 

Posted in love, music | Leave a comment

Tobin Turkey Trot 2016

Posted on 2016/11/23 by circuskitchen

Wednesday, November 23rd 2016

2016-11-23 Tobin Turkey Trot 2016 [1:39]:

 

This year’s Tobin Turkey Trot was highlighted by the Baba/Bubble Wow cheering section.

 

For the anatomical breakdown of Turkey Trot, please see 2014 Turkey Trot where Miles placed 3rd Fastest in First Grade, winning a jug of cider.  Last year we missed for driving to Ohio.  And this year he placed 2nd Fastest in Third Grade, therefore winning a pie.

 

Another highlight was the boys angling their way out of class in order to see ClaraJane’s race, which wasn’t so much a race but a forlorn recovery walk from having taken an early spill.  Somehow the boys were the perfect formula to turn her frown upside down, and thus SAVED THE DAY.

As Phys. Ed. Teacher Ms. Spencer says; “IF YOU HAD FUN, YOU WON!”

So apparently I am a winner too.

(o:

 

Posted in childhood, education, family, grandparenthood, health, school | Leave a comment

Author Celebration with Miles and Gavin

Posted on 2016/11/22 by circuskitchen

Tuesday, November 22nd 2016

On this much anticipated day of celebrating the lower elementary authors of Tobin Montessori, who should I find in my son’s classroom?

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This Guy (o: 

 

What did he write?

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A very well received work with an impressively wide readership:

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Uncle Lou

 

 

 

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Chef Daddy

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Aunt Amanda, Auntie Oxy & Baby Cousin Mary

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Bubble Wow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Considering the Boy has never shown enthusiasm for writing before, and was so eager for us to come read his story today, I for one am thrilled.  ♥

 

 

 

 

We also got to enjoy an incredible work by Zaida:

“She loves the color indigo and glittery sparkly stuff.”  She was so engrossed in reading I wanted to put a sign by her that says, “Author.  Do Not Disturb.”  Meanwhile her *story* was an exceptional piece of writing about an exceptional event (gymnastics competition).

 

And over here turns out our friend and neighbor Ayyan is downright prolific:

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Chef Paul listens to Ayyan read about his seventh birthday party.

 

And finally, the piece de resistance over in Room 211:  MILES!

 

His presentation even included a multi-media component on a tablet playing the audio of him narrating along with a visual highlighting different aspects of his illustrations.

I think I speak for all his adult guests when I say:  “HUH!?”

He says the app is called “Explain Everything.”  Which is a coincidence because I have just explained everything I know about that.

But as for the STORY… please see “Plum Island Boys.”  You are in for a treat.

And speaking of treat; in recognition of the wonderful work by these young authors -some of whom have recently received their very own dictionary & thesaurus-  I humbly offer this:

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Posted in childhood, education, family, love, making art, school, work | Leave a comment

Standing Rock – “Do Something Do It Today”

Posted on 2016/11/21 by circuskitchen

Monday, November 21st 2016

#NoDAPL

💥🔴 Do something. Do it today. 🔴💥

Call the White House: 202-456-1414
WH Situation Room, 202-456-9431
Call the North Dakota Governor’s Office: 701-328-2200
Call the Morton County Sheriff’s Office: 701-667-3330

 

Morton County Sheriff 701-328-8188
ND National Guard 701-333-2000
US Department of Justice 202-353-1555
Call the ACLU: 212-549-2500

Call your senator: In CA Barbara Boxer, 202-224-3553.
Army Corps Bismarck Office 701-255-0015
Demand that they reverse the permit: (202) 761-5903
(Dakota Access doesn’t have a permit to drill,
“Army Corps’s Omaha office said it was “concerned” that the company plans to continue building despite the Corps’s request.” -Nov 10, 2016
http://www.argusmedia.com/news/article/?id=1347694)

Tell President Obama to rescind the Army Corps of Engineers’ Permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The DAPL would cross unceded Indigenous territory, a direct violation of the sovereign rights and culture of the Standing Rock Sioux. The fast-track process of approval disregarded key US legislation.

How to Help from Food and Water Watch
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/…/stopping-dakota-access-p…
Solidarity website
https://nodaplsolidarity.org
Solidarity with NoDAPL Action Map: https://actionnetwork.org/…/nodapl-solidarity-week-of-actio…

Call the executives of the companies building the pipeline:
(Background:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/…/whos-digging-dakota-acce…
Report: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/…/who’s-banking-dakota-acc…)

a. Lee Hanse Executive Vice President Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.
800 E Sonterra Blvd #400
San Antonio, Texas 78258
Telephone: (210) 403-6455
Lee.Hanse@energytransfer.com

b. Glenn Emery Vice President Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.
800 E Sonterra Blvd #400
San Antonio, Texas 78258
Telephone: (210) 403-6762
Glenn.Emery@energytransfer.com

c. Michael (Cliff) Waters Lead Analyst Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.
1300 Main St. Houston, Texas 77002
Telephone: (713) 989-2404
Michael.Waters@energytransfer.com

Contact The 17 Banks Funding The Pipeline/#Divest:
http://www.commondreams.org/…/how-contact-17-banks-funding-…

Close out your bank account if you do business with any of the banks below:
Wells Fargo
TD Securities (TD Bank)
Citibank (Citigroup)
SunTrust
ING Bank
Mizuho Bank
The Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFJ
BNP Paribas
Societe General
SMBC Nikko Securities
ICBC London
DNB First Bank
BBVA Securities
Bayern LB
Natixis
Intesa SanPaolo
Credit Agricole

Sign petitions
To the White House to Stop DAPL: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/…/stop-construction-dakota…
Credo
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/NoDAPL

Donate to support the Standing Rock Sioux at http://standingrock.org/

Donate items from the Sacred Stone Camp Supply List: http://sacredstonecamp.org/supply-list/

Contribute to the Sacred Stone Camp Legal Defense Fund: https://fundrazr.com/d19fAf

Contribute to the Sacred Stone Camp gofundme account: https://www.gofundme.com/sacredstonecamp

Boycott gasoline.
Send letters to your local newspaper.
Make sure your friends, family and neighbors know what’s going on.

“Oh, and hug your kids. Let them know you love them. Look into their eyes and imagine the future they will have, if you do nothing.”
-Lee Burkett

Posted in fight, nature, politics | Leave a comment

Bernie Sanders in Boston

Posted on 2016/11/21 by circuskitchen

Monday, November 21st 2016

From WBUR:

In this Jan. 21, 2016, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign stop in Peterborough, N.H. (Matt Rourke/AP)

Bernie Sanders, In Boston: Democratic Party Needs To Focus On Working Class

November 21, 2016 
By Simón Rios

In Boston on Sunday night, former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders asked Democrats to pay close attention to the lessons of the election, arguing that the party needs to have a reckoning about why it lost.

“The working class of this country is being decimated — that’s why Donald Trump won,” Sanders said. “And what we need now are candidates who stand with those working people, who understand that real median family income has gone down.”

The Vermont senator spoke to a sold-out crowd of more than 1,000 mostly young people at the Berklee Performance Center, promoting his book, “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In.”

Asked by a questioner how she could become the second Latina senator in U.S. history, Sanders said a candidate’s gender or race isn’t enough.

“I have to know whether that Latina is going to stand up with the working class of this country and is going to take on big money interests,” Sanders said.

He added:

[H]ere is my point — and this is where there is going to be a division within the Democratic Party. It is not good enough for somebody to say, ‘I’m a woman, vote for me.’ No, that’s not good enough. What we need is a woman who has the guts to stand up to Wall Street, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies, to the fossil fuel industry.

In other words, one of the struggles that you’re going to be seeing in the Democratic Party is whether we go beyond identity politics. I think it’s a step forward in America if you have an African-American CEO of some major corporation. But you know what, if that guy is going to be shipping jobs out of this country, and exploiting his workers, it doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot whether he’s black or white or Latino.

Sanders was recently added to Senate Democrats’ leadership team, taking on the position of head of outreach for the caucus.

 

http://www.wbur.org/politicker/2016/11/21/bernie-sanders-berklee

Posted in Bernie Sanders, education, faith, fight, politics | 3 Comments

Feeling the Bern in Boston with Bernie Sanders

Posted on 2016/11/20 by circuskitchen

Sunday, November 20th 2016

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“Twinsie” Berners

 

My hero’s book -mantra and raison d’être- is called Our Revolution, a Future to Believe In.  A copy of the book was to be included in the modest $33 ticket fee to see him speak at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.  But when I walked in the Performance Center, got my ticket scanned and was handed a copy of the book right then and there, I fell to pieces.  (Aka: “completely lost it,” but not the book itself.)  I just broke down crying like a little baby… while my kind husband magnanimously stood guard.

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Senator Sanders took his presidential campaign experiences AND his action plan for the future and put it into a book.  Here he is in my town and does he care about book sales?  No.  He cares about the ISSUES and making sure we each bring home a written copy of his credo.  WHO DOES THAT!?!

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I am Overwhelmed

 

 

 

 

 

 

HE DOES.   ==>  

 

 

 

 

Yes it brings me to tears and no I don’t apologize for how much I admire him; his work, his words, his efforts, his tirelessness, his crystal sharp view for truth and justice, his humility, his remarkable public speaking skills and humor.

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Bernie Sanders at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston

 

Seeing him taking the stage in person for the first time after all this time also chokes me up, though I’m to hold it together a little better in the theatre than I had in the lobby.

Anyway this is not about me.  And as the good senator would be first to point out, it’s not about him either.  #NotMeUS

From WBUR:  http://www.wbur.org/politicker/2016/11/21/bernie-sanders-berklee

And here’s one of my local elected officials, State Representative Mike Connolly, one of the first “Our Revolution” candidates to get elected since Bernie founded the organization.

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Mike Connolly and Bernie Sanders

 

Here’s the Boston Globe’s coverage FWIW: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/11/20/bernie-sanders-speaks-berklee/lk3mkNUtqYssYqC3mQEGTK/story.html

I expect to post later with my own notes from his talk, and book, and and and.

But for now STANDING ROCK is under siege… AND I gotta get to work.

Click here to petition President Obama to declare Standing Rock a National Monument!

 

To Be Continued…

Posted in Bernie Sanders, education, faith, love, politics | 1 Comment

Bernie Sanders Forever

Posted on 2016/11/20 by circuskitchen

Sunday, November 20th 2016

SOOOO excited to see Bernie Sanders THE MAN HIMSELF on tour with his new book, Our Revolution, A Future to Believe In TONIGHT at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston!!!

 

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Babysitter’s here, kids can’t wait for us to get out of here.  We’re off!

Posted in Bernie Sanders, education, faith, fight, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Julia Julia Julia

Posted on 2016/11/20 by circuskitchen

Sunday, November 20th 2016

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Julia gets a tattoo, CJ wonders why we’re still here

By a turn of fate I neither understand nor question, Dear Hubsand and I procured babysitting for both Saturday AND Sunday night this weekend, which is most notable for the fact that is exactly two more times than we have gone out so far this ENTIRE YEAR.

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omg we’re on a date?!?

You might think the kids would have resisted or something, but when they found out it was *Julia* from SCHOOL they could not WAIT for us to leave.  And apparently they had an amazing time Saturday night because Sunday morning they were BUMMED they still had to wait several hours ’til it was time for their new favorite person on earth to come back again.

Here is how ClaraJane passed much of her time waiting.

2016-11-20 Julia Julia Julia [35 seconds]:

Thank you Julia.

I mean Juuulia! Juuulia! Juuulia!

♥♥♥

Posted in childhood, comedy, faith, family, love, parenthood, work-life balance | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Child Test – Gavin

Posted on 2016/11/20 by circuskitchen

November 20th 2016

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1. What is your name?   Gavin

2. How old are you?  Eight.

3. When is your birthday?   May *st 20**

4. How old is Mommy?  45

5. What is your favorite color?  Um, magenta with a hint of hot pink.

6. What is your favorite food?   Sushi rolls.

7. Who is your best friend?   Arrian and Ayian.

8. What is your favorite animal?   Hm well that’s a tough one.  I have a lot of favorite animals, but right now?  I think I’ll settle for a viper.

9. What are you scared of?    One Night at Frumpty’s and Five Nights at Freddy’s.

10. What is your favorite show?   Naruto.  N-a-r-u-t-o.

11. What makes you sad?    The thought of what happened on the date of 11-9-2016.

12. What makes you happy?   The thought of our new president being blown up.  And also his vice president.

13. Where is your favorite place to go?   Jump-on-In, Launch Trampoline Park, Target and Chuck E. Cheese and Texas Roadhouse.

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?    That’s a tough one, but I think a video game tester.

15. What does love really mean?   Love means compassion for others; like your mom would be a loved one; a relative that you are very close with and you have a lot of compassion for.

 

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Posted in childhood, domestic life, family, love, parenthood | 1 Comment

Child Test – ClaraJane

Posted on 2016/11/20 by circuskitchen

November 18th 2016

“Child test. No coaching. Just write down exactly what they say.”

 

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1. What is your name?  ClaraJane

2. How old are you?  5

3. When is your birthday?    Eleven seven eleven.

4. How old is Mommy?  45

5. What is your favorite color?    I have a lot of favorite colors, I’ll tell you all my favorite colors, I literally WILL!  Um, turquoise, red, and pink, mmm purple, GOLDEN.  Basically EVERY color is my favorite color except for brown and black and dark blue… and yellow.  Yup those are all my favorite colors.

6. What is your favorite food?   Um I have a lot of favorite foods I’ll tell you them all; macaroni & cheese, peas, and pasta, cheese, and crackers. PERIOD.

7. Who is your best friend?   I have a lot of friends; Abigail, Maddie, Afomia, Miriam, Areeba, Leela and … I basically play by myself but I just squeeze into games.  Um, Henry, and Chloe.

8. What is your favorite animal?   Bunny and doggie and cats!

9. What are you scared of?    Monsters

10. What is your favorite show?   Sophia the First and Nurato.

11. What makes you sad?    If I don’t watch TV for a month.  Want to know what happens if I don’t watch TV for a month?  I just don’t smile for that month (pulls lips into frown shape).

12. What makes you happy?   Watching TV.  And eating candy.  And hugging your FACE.  And planting things.   And playing with my friends.

13. Where is your favorite place to go?  McDonald’s. And the Boharts.

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?    Um I’ll tell you a few things I might be; I might be a SCIENTIST, and I might be a Taekwondo Teacher.

15. What does love really mean?   For an example, a bunny that you really love, like PONDIE (the frog), or like, um, like KITTEN, or like for example Fluff & Nutter.  I really love Fluff!  Or in Nurato when some sensei died and he was super sad and the sensei that died was named Osuma.  And that person really loved his sensei.

Editor’s Note:  I’m *sure* “McDonald’s” is so alluring because we hardly ever go there except amidst some wonderfully wholesome and extenuating circumstance like on a road trip out of town to go camping.  Quite.

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Under the Table and Dreaming

Posted in childhood, comedy, domestic life, faith, family, food, forgiveness, love, parenthood | 1 Comment