Shadow Play

Now that Miles is on his winter break from preschool, it's time to whip out more activities to keep this kid stimulated. Here's some fun and simple activities we'll do and you can too, with your child and the kids in your family:

(via http://www.chroniclebooks.com)

Veggie Tales: The Food Fight

Eating veggies has been both successful at times, as well as unsuccessful with Miles. When he's up for it, he will eat a carrot with hummus, eat a few bites of potatoes and bokchoy from soup, and even have a few bites of tomato. Other times, he will sit at the table and not touch his food or dread it when we ask him to eat. Sometimes it becomes a power struggle. And I don't wanna go there. So instead of giving him all the reasons why to eat veggies, trying to persuade him like a lawyer presenting to the jury, I will just practice being as patient as possible.

Meal time is suppose to be a happy, joyous, nourishing thing, not a frustrating, never ending battle. So from here on out, if any frustration kicks in, I'll remember to be thankful that he is eating more veggies than he has. And that's a big deal. I can't expect Miles to be a veggie lover over-night. This is the time for Jus and I to be as patient as possible with Miles. Well, every time is the time to be patient when dealing with kids, period. I would like for Miles to be more open to trying new foods--especially when it comes to trying veggies. I don't want to traumatize him with eating. I still remember being forced to eat by adults when I was a kid. My uncle would say some harsh things to get me to clean the plate. I'm unlearning those ways. 

It's like what Bambu said on that dope MIXTAPE with DJ Muggs, "Parent through understanding, and not fear." The food fight stops here. I will not give up on Miles and his taste buds. With great patience, I will keep supplying the veggies, praise him when he does eat them, and not make a big deal when he doesn't.

Montibello Pizzaria!

On most Friday nights, we like to stay home, rent a family movie and have a pizza. This past Friday, we thought it would be more fun for the boys to make their own pizzas, with veggies, so hopefully--they'd be inclined to eat their personal creations.

They had fun with each step, spreading tomato sauce, adding herbs, and sprinkling monterey & mozzarella cheese.

As much as Miles loves looking at mushrooms, he was hesitant about sprinkling them on top--but after I chopped them up into tiny bits, they were ok with it.

They even added some green bell peppers. It's a start!

Then they added purple onions, also diced to bits.

But to mask the taste of veggies, they wanted to cover it up with plenty pepperoni and even more cheese. Sneaky guys.

The boys were proud of their personal pizzas.

The fun part for them, was grinding fresh black pepper.

Darrien went to town with the pepper!

And so did Miles! 

After 5 minutes of pepper grinding, the pizzas were ready for the oven.

And 10 minutes later, they were happy to see how their pizzas turned out!

Mmmm!

Dengs needed water to wash down all that pepper!

Then they shared some pizza with us while we waited for our "grown-up" pizzas.

Darrien was happy to share!

Sharing with Vietnam & buggin out!

It was a successful Friday Pizza night!

Our grown-up pizzas were even more delicious with some Blue Moon beer! Thanks for documenting Aunty Erica!

Give Back!

Dec. 18th:

THE MIGHTY DELROKZ PRESENTS

BREAK 4 TOTS IS AN ANNUAL TOY DRIVE THAT BEGAN IN 2005 TO HELP THOSE IN NEED DURING THE HOLIDAYS.

THIS YEARS TOY DRIVE WILL BE THE 5TH OF OUR ANNUAL BREAK 4 TOTS. SINCE 2005 OUR EVENT HAS GROWN LARGER AND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL EVERY YEAR, COLLECTING A LARGE AMOUNT OF DONATIONS AND INCREASING IN POPULARITY WITH THE BBOY AND BGIRL COMMUNITY.
…
ALTHOUGH THIS IS NOT AN ORDINARY TOY DRIVE. BREAK 4 TOTS IS A NATIONAL BREAKING COMPETITION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER THE NATIONS BEST DANCERS TO COMPETE FOR A CASH PRIZE.

BREAK 4 TOTS MISSION IS TO PROVIDE A HIGH QUALITY BBOY AND BGIRL EVENT THAT DANCERS CAN COME TOO AND GET DOWN, WHILE SERVING CHILDREN WHO ARE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE TO GET THROUGH THE HOLIDAY SEASON. BREAK 4 TOTS MISSION IS TO ALSO LEAD BY EXAMPLE IN SHOWING THE WORLD THAT HIP HOP AND IT’S ELEMENTS CAN MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR ALL.
-Location-
Lincoln Community Center
901 Brunswick Ave
Daly City, CA

-Date-
December 18, 2010

-Time-
3 – 9:30 pm (Battles Start @ 4:30pm)

-Judges-
Hollywood Ken (Flex Flave | Supreme Soul)
Noel Rokswell
TBA

-DJ’s-
Jus Jones (Horse Power)
Chicken Skratch
Mighty Delrokz
more tba

-Host-
Noi (Cloud 9 Tribe | Academy Of Villians)

-Format-
2 on 2 B-Boy/B-Girl Battle

-Prize-
TBA

-Performances-
La Femme Deadly Venoms (KatO1O, Celskiii, Deeandroid, Lady Fingaz)
***2010 DMC WEST COAST USA TEAM BATTLE FINALIST***

-Cost-
$10 with out donation
$ 5 with packaged toy or canned food
$ 5 for high school students w/ school I.D.
No Cost for Kids under 12 with paid adult

ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

*HIP HOP HISTORY EXHIBIT presented by ALL TRIBES SF ZULU CHAPTER*

Check out some fresh Hip Hop memorabilia and photos that will be on display at the event

*FREE YOUTH HIP HOP WORKSHOPS*

Bring the kids. We will have a youth corner strictly for teaching the youth the elements of Hip Hop.

***No outside food allowed (Water is OK)
***No pens allowed
***POSITIVE VIBES ONLY

-Supported by-
Daly City Parks & Recreation Department
North County Youth Collective
All Tribes SF Zulu Chapter
Operation Santa
Cloud 9 Tribe
All Mighty Family
Distortion 2 Static
Mighty 4
Universal BBOY Clothing
Inner Circle Clothing Company

Questions:

Want to be a vendor?
Want to register your crew?

Email: gdelacruz@dalycity.org or mightydelrokz@gmail.com

Lincoln Community Center

901 Brunswick Ave

Daly City, CA

*************************************************************

SKRATCHPAD

Tuesday, Dec.21st, is the last Skratchpad of 2010, final session/showcase! Inspired by the late 90s Beat Lounge at Deco, since 2003, we have been holding this free monthly Hip Hop party in SF in an effort to preserve Hip Hop culture & push the art of DJing by having a space to build with other artists and just get down! We started doing this for the love of Hip Hop and still do it out of strength today. Skratchpad has expanded and there is now a Sacramento chapter! It's a beautiful thing to see Skratchpad grow!
Click the link below:

December Skratchpad

It's About That Time Again...

...to bring out the Christmas tree!

Time to play in the Christmas tree's box...

....time to decorate the tree...

...time for Miles to wear his Santa hat & put on the stockings! 

We haven't gotten started on our home made ornaments yet but would like to make our version of these per Miles' request:

What are some fun holiday craft art projects you do this time of the year?

Giving Thanks

Grub!

My first son, Homie, came over.

Old man, Snupe was also an honorary guest.

And earlier in the week, Miles had a harvest party at school.

And in his classroom, we saw Miles' family picture.

He included Homie & Snupe!

When things get rough, it's important to take time to think about the things we do have in life. Love, family, friends, a warm home, food, water, clothes--never taking anything for granted. Give thanks everyday.

PSA: Mara Hruby

"Introducing the new and fast rising twenty-two year old artist, Mara Hruby, from Oakland, CA. She burst onto the scene in the beginning of 2010 playing shows all around the Bay Area and is now releasing her debut EP “From Her Eyes”. This is her first release of music to the world and it will say a lot about her character and vision as an artist. Mara Hruby worked on this album for a total of nine months and even went as far as recording and arranging/engineering her own vocals. As a true artist, she jumps right into her dreams and doesn’t emerge until a full, final, conceptualized, and complete project has risen. “From Her Eyes” is an EP of cover songs originally recorded by male artists, and each song has represented a moment in her life. She is covering artists such and Mos Def, Andre 3000, Jamiroquai, even D’Angelo and a few others. She is a mesmerizing artist that puts on a show with poise and grace, and she’ll bring you into her heart like no other."--http://marahruby.tumblr.com/

Download her EP: From Her Eyes

After The Rain

(a soundtrack for this entry)

There's something beautiful about how the sky looks after it rains.

We were in search of puddles, train tracks, and decided to get...

Donuts!

Veggie Tales

Vegetables are one of the things in life that Miles detested.

He literally gagged when we would ask him to try some. It's been a struggle to get greens into his mouth since he turned three. I read somewhere that kids develop taste buds for veggies a little later in life and kinda accepted that...myth. But then, I realized (oh what an epiphany) that we just haven't been eating enough veggies and encouraging him enough to eat veggies regularly. One of the problems has been that it's been all too convenient for us to rely on the staples Miles has a palate for--such as Mac n' cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, etc---things you find on a kids menu at restaurant. You get the picture. We've basically been playing restaurant and catering to this kids requests for the sake of ease. We avoided the battle over getting him to eat by making him these convenient meals. The good things is at least he loves fruits. That's kinda what I told myself, making up for his lack of veggies. Anyway, to make a long story short, putting Miles up on veggies and different types of food period--has been the area that we are lacking in as parents. Change is long overdue.

So what are the things we can change? We'll start by going to farmers markets again, so he can see the fresh produce in season and even choose the ones he wants to try. Maybe take him to the local farm with Nanay since she goes to one of them every now and then. Miles is not going to eat veggies if we do not provide enough veggies for him to eat on a more frequent basis. I think it would be cool for him to see where veggies come from or see the farmers who grow them--besides just picking them up in plastic containers at Trader Joe's. Another important thing for us to do, is simply to make sure we have veggies at every meal--not just dinner (what we usually do)--so that it can be the staple in our diet. Justin and I both have to eat more veggies ourselves. We'll do this more as a family, a family effort. 

Second of all, Jus and I have made an oath to stop making Miles his side meals. At thanksgiving, after 3 hours of cooking different dishes, when it was time to eat, Miles looked at the table of food and said, "Can you please make me a jelly sandwich?" The nerve of this kid! That did it. We haven't been consistent in putting our foot down to his side meal requests but never again will we go that route. Our main concern was that we didn't want him to feel hungry ever or starve him. But hey, it's either eat-this-food-or-go-to-bed-hungry-time (wise words I learned from my mom). I totally understand why my mom did what she did when we were picky kids at the table. 

Over the weekend, this issue with food was just reiterated in my conversation with friends and from mom-to-mom. She was descibing her nephew's eating habits and her sisters choices as a parent. As she detailed the situation, I thought--her nephew sounds like Miles and I sound like her sister, having a hand in the picky monsters we've created.

Just over the span of a few days, Miles has already turned his taste buds around but with great effort! Over the weekend, I made soup with the veggies Aunty Xtina gave us. Before I made it, Miles spent some time just observing the way they felt, the colors, the shapes and I explained to him what each veggie provided--as far as vitamins. He even asked to take pictures of them before I chopped them to bits. And for the first time since he was three, he ate a bowl full of nothing but veggies. It was a good moment. He was so proud of himself too. 

And for dinner this evening, he ate Nanay's comfort food, tinola. Now, he doesn't really have a taste for chicken (unless they are in nugget form) but he did eat the green papaya and malungay with rice. And that's all I ask of him really. Just eat the veggies son. It also helps to tell him that "This is Pacquiao's favorite. It will make you strong!" So in between each bite, he is flexing his 4 year old bi-ceps.

Oh I should have stuck to my veggie guns earlier but you know what, better late than never. So far, so good. The veggie tales continue...

November Days

During a sleep over with Darrien at our house, the boys spent 2 hours dressing up. Miles has this basket full of costumes that he's collected from past Halloweens as well as gifts from his Uncle Mikey.

It's pretty fun watching them play in these costumes, being consumed by their imagination, getting into character!

The next day, it was their baby cousin, Jasmine's 1st birthday, so we all went to Uncle Patrick & Aunty Nara's house. 

Indoors, outdoors--these boys always find ways to have fun. 

I don't advise having Pinatas indoors but when does a Pinata not bring excitement for the kids?

We've been having Indian summers in the bay. On nice sunny days, we usually go to the park to play. Miles enjoys playing soccer with Jus.

He makes it his mission to keep his dad from making goals. He's pretty fierce!

I think he can outrun Justin. Miles is pretty fast.

Having a kid makes us feel like kids again. 

He teaches us to live in the present.

He also keeps us on our toes, being ready for anything.

But mostly, he reminds of all the simple things that are fun to do--like flying a kite and looking up at the sky.

He also shows us how important it is to challenge yourself and try to do things you've never done before.

And have fun while you're doing it. Never take ourselves too seriously.

He shows us determination and balance.

Thank you Miles, my youngest teacher.