who?

Recognize this old man?
It's Punk.






The asian girl is Kooka.
They've both been morphed. Punk was aged aged about 70 years on my new favorite website: face of the future.

You can also turn yourself into a drunk, an ape, a baby, a cartoon, a teenager - it's amazing! Punk as a teenager made me more than a little sad - but I am happy to report that he is a handsome dude. Kooka looked pretty good in everything - except the old lady get-up. Go check it out for yourself.

dew

Thanks to Grandma - we have a visual of the character Punk will be voicing. Dew is the mascot for water conservation in Dallas - sort of like a wetter version of Woodsy Owl, or Smokey the Bear.

If you want to read his biography - check it out here.

punk's dream

He has always wanted to be a cartoon, and now he will get his chance.

Punk got a call today that he will be featured as "Dew" the cartoon raindrop who is the spokesperson for the water conservation project in Dallas, Texas.

The agent and client said such nice things about him, and he can't wait to get back into the foley booth.

our new cousin

Meet Baby G - our brand new cousin. He was born June 17th and is soooooooo cute.

girl camp

With the boys away at cub scout camp, Kooka and I decided to have some girly time.

We started with grocery shopping, so we could make a meal that Kooka loves - spaghetti and meatballs. I will not reveal the recipe here - it's top secret, but suffice it to say, that neither of us had ever had such good Italian food. We just sat at the table looking at each other, our eyes wide, not really believing we had pulled this off. The whole house still smells like fresh garlic and warm parmesan.

After that it was spa time. Kooka got a facial mask, a special candlelit bath, a rainbow pedicure and manicure, while she ate tiny chocolates and sipped cool milk from the rosebud china cup.

She was so grateful for the whole day - kept saying, "I can't believe somebody would do all of this, just for me - just so I would have a good day."

I would do it every day if I could.

hurry up

Not sure how long this link will work - but if you are quick - you might get a chance to see Punk and Kooka's TV commercial online.

Take this LINK. You have to listen to the little speech first. Then hit the button on the left that says, "Event Previews" - and hit the link that says "All Star Kick Off." If you see a white SUV starting it out - you've hit the right commercial.

cow and boy

Nobody can ever replace our favorite trouble-makers Calvin and Hobbes. But there is a new kid in town and there is something incredibly familiar about him. Billy is a blonde-haired, homeschooled animal lover, whose best friend is a cow. They are the main characters in Cow and Boy, a comic strip by Minnesota artist Mark Leiknes. Punk an I found it quite by accident in Barnes and Noble. Here is a strip from Punk's new book.

sometimes

Sometimes I cannot keep up.
I would like to write something wonderful about Punk's birthday weekend - but I cannot possibly fit it all in - so here it is in a nutshell - and pictures.

Birthday breakfast; too many presents; overnight trip to Waterpark of America - with flyboy and sport girl; giant keg of rootbeer; peanut butter brownies; arcade; dry corn pops for breakfast; buying hermit crabs; Walking with Dinosaurs at the Excell Center (thanks Grandma and Grandpa); Father's Day presents.

It looked something like this:

suckers

I am an easy target - at least I must look like one. And apparently - it's genetic.

We can't walk 10 yards through the Mall of America without getting pounced. Kooka and I both get hit. "You like pretty jewelry?" Of course she does. "Miss, miss - I make you smell soooo good." She likes to smell good. "Are you a model? I am going to make you a Supermodel." Give me a break.

But the guy at "Magic Hair" has refined his technique. He kneels down to Kooka as we walk by. His eyebrows raise, and in a thick accent he tells her, "You such a pretty girl." Much to my horror - she smiles. She should be running away - she should be grabbing my leg and shouting "stranger danger". But noooooooooooo. She grins, hypnotized by the stranger who says, "I make you even prettier with curls - you like that?" Her eyes glaze over and she nods, hopping into his chair like a migrating lemming.

"What is your name?" he asks.

"Kooka."

"Beautiful name. I, Tony - and if you wonder of my accent - I Israeli. I work hard here and we have no dental insurance, so I make you good deal." Actually - his teeth look fine - not like he's a pirate or anything. I steel myself for the pitch.

He begins to curl her hair. "Now, Kooka's mom. This is space age hair curler. One hundred percent ceramic - not just coated with ceramic - one HUNDRED percent."

I nod.

"This not ordinary curler. It can straighten and curl, and it uses far - infrared technology."

"Really? Infrared?"

"NO! FAR-infrared - much better than infrared."

"Like robot eyes?"

"Yes just like robot eyes. Sends waves deep into hair. Made of same stuff as Space shuttle." I watch Tony spin her golden locks into perfect spirals. They will all fall out by the time he's finished.

"You see this?" Kooka's hair is starting to smoke and sizzle - it's pretty hard to miss.

"Yeah - I see it."

"That not steam - that natural oils, that protect hair. Natural oils are soo good, they keep hair shiny. That not steam - that natural oil."

"Well - where is it all going? I mean doesn't she want to keep that natural oil? Sorta looks like it's all escaping."

"What is escaping? Nothing is escaping!"

"That - that vapor - her natural oils."

"Oh - that stuff not natural oils - that just steam." I do not even know what to say to that. Luckily I don't have to say anything, because Tony keeps right on going. "Now - normally we sell this for 220 dollars, but just for you - and because I have no dental insurance - I sell for sixty-five dollars."

"Ooooh," Kooka pipes in, "That is a good deal."

"Yessssss," he purrs, "Now you try Kooka's mom. It sooo easy."

It not so easy. In order to make it curl, you have to hold it at the base - and the top, and the infrared technology burns my fingers - not once - but twice.
"Ouch!"

Tony takes it back and scowls. "It not so hot," he says. His fingers are calloused. Looks like he's been herding wild dragons for the past 6 months - no wonder he can't feel anything.

Needless to say, we don't splurge on the space-age hair curler. But Kooka leaves feeling fabulous - and for that, I leave a tip. Not enough for dental insurance - but maybe enough for some burn ointment.

birthdays

We celebrate birthdays like Mardi Gras around here . . . Kooka's first, then family party, Mom's half birthday - which we don't celebrate but seems to excite both kids, Punk's party, and somewhere in there will be the new cousin's b-day too. We eat leftover cake for weeks.

Anyway here are a few highlights from this year's shindig: Kooka performing a magic show (she's surprisingly good), Punk in his element - hanging with the uncles playing with his new catapult from Uncle Psuedonym, and the cake that Punk decorated - a toad for him and butterflies for his sister (one of which is being devoured). Enjoy.

was i wrong?

Read the earlier post . . .it is still true. And if you think I was exaggerating - check out this reunion video:



Anybody wanna tell me why they hired 18 year-old models to drape themselves over 40 year old men? Furthermore, it doesn't even look like the guys are happy about it. They all have this polite "get off me" grin and one of them is actually running away.

Like I said before - poor marketing strategy. The 38 year old women who are pulling out their painter hats and and high tops, do not want to see that crap. These guys have KIDS that old.

And I really cannot believe that they pulled out the old "Hanging Tough" moves at the end . . . who choreographed this? And more importantly why didn't anybody ask me?

Having said that - I have listened to this song like 50 times. It's like the one LFO tune that makes no sense, but that I cannot wash out of my brain.

At least the BeeGees have some street cred. I should just stick to them.

six - by Kooka

Today was my sixth birthday.

When I woke up, I found some balloons and decorations in my room. Then I went to get Punk and we found one of my presents - it was a barnyard for my dollhouse people. Punk gave me a Leapster chip and some new earrings. I also got a ping pong paddle, a new watch, a magic kit, some cherry earrings and nail polish that changes color in the sun, a poncho for Maia and some dollhouse people.

It was a lot of stuff to get for my birthday - I wasn't expecting all of it.

I got to be the Queen for the whole day! For breakfast we had some french toast - and some of it was shaped like mini stars!
Then I listened to my favorite music and watched "Charlottes Web".

Mommy made my special dinner - macaroni and cheese, plus "corn on the hob" plus broccoli, plus chicken, plus garlic croissants, plus strawberry banana yo-j.

After that we painted my nails and mom taught me some magic tricks from my kit so I could show them to Punk and Daddy. Now I am going to have some birthday brownies with rainbow sprinkles. I am going to blow out my candles and make a wish - but I can't tell you what my wish is because then it will not come true.

I think I liked being five more - it was just so fun. But six will be good because I think I will be bigger and can be in more things. I think I will go measure myself to see if I am bigger - I think I am a tiny bit.

completely inappropriate

We had such a long day - good but long. So many pictures - so many stories - but too many to write.

So instead, from the files of the completely inappropriate - I am giving you this link. Do not watch it if you get offended easily. Won't even embed it here, because I do not want my kids watching this - but we saw these puppets at MOA today, and every time I look at them - I think of this: Policeman Perry (there are at least 7 - and the more I watch - the funnier it gets)

field of study

Call me crazy - but part of what we do as homeschoolers - is let our kids choose their own course of study. Back in the day, when I first had this crazy thought, I assumed that any child of mine would want to devote his time to penning their first historical novel, composing a sonata on one of the four instruments she is proficient with, or really delving into Latin, as to better understand all of the medical terms in the college level anatomy book laying on his nightstand.

I was mistaken.

Granted - they have picked some amazing stuff to study: paleontology, the effect of pollution on plants, robotics, theater, Spanish - but this year, I felt slightly nauseated when Kooka told me she wanted to study . . . of ALL things. . . .cooking.

On top of it - Punk did not choose to continue with his science/biology fetish . . . instead he chose . . . you can probably guess . . . cartoons.

So here I am, theater-dance-writer girl with one kid who wants to watch cartoon network for his assignment and a Martha Stewart wannabee. Doesn't take a genius to see - that this won't go well.

Miraculously - I was wrong.



Despite the fact that all I am qualified to teach is which button to push to heat your hot pocket, and to count to 5 before you pull the pop tart out of the toaster . . . the kid did manage to learn something. Today she made this cherry cheesecake. She knew which measuring utensils to use - read the instructions - poured the milk, found the mixer (even I didn't know where it was), put the beaters in, timed everything herself. . . wow. It must be that chef's hat she insists on wearing.

As for Punk - he actually learned something too. He studied Jim Henson, started writing his own screenplay and figured out how he and Kooka could make these sock puppets. (Thankfully it's sandal season - we'll be running out of socks soon.)


Maybe this homeschooling thing works. Maybe not - maybe this plan is going to backfire on me and they will both be living in my basement for the rest of their lives. Oh well - at least I will be entertained and well-fed.

punk's math

Punk begged to do his math today. Not only that he said it was the best part of the day. And check this out - when he got a problem wrong, he got slapped upside the head - and he LOVED it. Granted, he was being slapped by a ginormous robot - but he sat there and took it like a man for almost two hours.

This is the coolest math game ever. We started out with the free version - but within 20 minutes he was hooked - so we bought the whole thing. Check it out: Timez Attack