update 17 June 2012

Happy Father’s Day to all of our wonderful dads!

This week was full of exciting moments. I met with Carlos and Arianna’s teachers for end-of-year conferences. Carlos’s teachers said that he is ready for first grade, and his next English teacher is excited to have him. Arianna’s teachers reported that her interpersonal skills improved during the school year and then shared the surprising results of her Stanford 10 standardized exams: Arianna scored “Past High School” in Word Study Skills, Language Expression, and Spelling. (She makes her Liberal Arts mama proud!) I was especially glad to see that her reading comprehension shot up; it’s an area that tends to challenge Aspies, which is why I’ve committed so much time to reading and decoding stories with Arianna (ex: the whole Harry Potter series).

On Tuesday, I attended a second interview at Saugus High School. Later that afternoon, the department chair of “world languages” (read: Spanish, French, and Chinese) offered me a fulltime job! It is in an excellent and stable school district very close to where we used to live in Valencia. It is also a job that allows me a lot of creative freedom and career longevity. I spent five hours at the school on Wednesday going through materials with the retiring French teacher, who happily taught at the school for some 30 years. She has been super supportive and helpful, as has the department chair. I was abruptly reminded of the “little Utah” effect in Santa Clarita Valley when I learned that, of a department of seven teachers, I am the fifth Mormon and the fourth to have attended BYU, LOL. I feel so grateful for this wonderful opportunity—for a job that will further my interests and talents while still allowing me family time. Thank you to the many people who fasted, prayed, and commiserated with me throughout these tedious six months of job hunting.

On Thursday, I chaperoned Carlos’s kindergarten class to the LILA-Los Feliz campus for a pirate-themed science fair. The teachers from the various LILA campuses did a great job of collaborating, which allowed them to turn each activity into an exciting, appealing adventure for the kindergarteners. 

The kids used magnets to search for buried treasure; weighed different amounts of pirate treasure; constructed a lookout tower; purified water; and built storm-worthy pirate ships. They learned a lot while having a great time! After lunch, the kids had an hour to play together as the future Class of 2024. What a great gathering!

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5754322458216656561?authkey=CJWhsb3m8Jfd3wE

Friday marked the end of our two-week-long elimination diet. We discovered that we all become highly irritable without dairy and yeast, but we did not see any difference in Arianna’s general health. As a result, I plan to campaign heavily against the diet in Arianna’s follow up appointment on Thursday.

that's right -- a zebra striped shirt and guitar

We hosted Arianna’s 10^th birthday party on Saturday. The kids dressed as rock stars and sang along to Disney’s Sing It: Party Hits. They also doped up on the Fanta soda and Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake; the combination made them uncontrollable by the end of the party, LOL. We were so pleased that Arianna's first “boum” (girl-boy preteen party) was such a success, and we are a bit dazed by the prospect of soon having a child in the double digits.

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5755164030769923201?authkey=CNfeqp2k9-6GgwE

Our goal for Father's Day was recuperation. The ladies at church hosted the men to a brunch and the kids sang their traditional Father's Day tunes. 

Later, at home, Kirk unwrapped a few gifts before enjoying a nap and ESPN. We are so blessed to have a loving daddy in our home!

update 10 June 2012

Tomorrow marks the 1 year date of our move to Encino! We have been surprised to find ourselves so happy in "The Valley" and hope for many more years here.

May's eclipse lit up our house and made crescent patterns through the tree's leaves

Week 1 of the no-yeast, no-dairy diet was harsh. We discovered even more foods that contain yeast (things with citric acid, for example), and our range of options dwindled alarmingly. Rice. Vegetables. Some meats. Some fruits. We exhausted the possibilities within those four categories and yet spent the week feeling empty. One more week to go before Arianna’s 10th birthday, and then we intend to celebrate through pure gluttony. Arianna has not noticed any changes as a result of the allergen-free diet, so we are all hoping that her doctor will allow us some wiggle room with diet’s restrictions after the coming week of suffering. 

come back to me, my love!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5Oqp7ge1kfMNGdFaS1OM0JRWnc

On Thursday, Carlos's kindergarten class went to LACMA. His teacher wrote about their experience at http://grandesectionwv.over-blog.com/article-le-lacma-106618915.html.


Carlos played his last soccer game of the school year on Saturday. His team had to forfeit a couple of games during spring break, but they went undefeated for the rest of the season (April-June). Kirk has really enjoyed helping coach the LILA lions; we hope that his transition into a domestic role at Medtronic will allow him to enjoy more father-son-soccer time. Carlos is an enthusiastic fan of Coach Dad. 

Kirk joined us for only a few days this week before leaving on another business trip, this time to Philadelphia. He gets to drop in on some old MBA buddies before returning to us on Tuesday.

This week, I helped host the Scholastic Book Fair at LILA. It’s probably not a surprise that I can’t keep myself away from the combination of a French school + English books, but a real surprise came in our end-of-week earnings: our tiny campus of roughly 130 students netted $870 (gross $2175) in sales!  I love making LILA a better place for my kids!

On Saturday night, I was back with the LILA crowd for an end-of-the-year sendoff party: our principal is moving up to direct LILA’s new secondary campus in Burbank, and a few of the teachers are moving to other states and countries (but not because of the change in leadership). Parents and teachers “gambled” with funny money to earn raffle tickets towards class art projects and other prizes. Since I led the effort for the 4th grade art project, I was glad to see it sell well. 

We are so lucky to have a tightknit family of parents and teachers at LILA; I couldn’t wish for a better education for my kids or a better group of friends!

Tonight, we finished reading the Harry Potter series. It has been such a joy to share these imaginative stories with my kids and to watch their minds light up with curiosity. It's my second time reading the series, and I discovered that I enjoyed the books even more than before--maybe because I had the luxury of savoring each bit instead of rushing to the resolution. When I wonder if our world is full of redundancies, people like J.K. Rowling remind me that creativity has no limits.

only the British version would do, of course!

Update 3 June 2012

Notice the toothpick flags, stolen from Allan's party last Sunday, LOL

For the third year in a row, we celebrated Memorial Day at Zuma Beach. We spent most of the time with some church friends, Kent & Deanna Johnson. They have one adopted daughter from Liberia and two adopted daughters from Ethiopia. The younger two have only been in the States for about 9 months, so it was their first time to the beach; we had a lot of fun playing together!

3 girls under 3? Don't try it!

I also ran into my friend Julianna at the beach. We haven’t seen each other since living in Michigan (9 years), but it felt like we were meeting up again after only a brief absence. Julianna is a true treasure! I am so grateful for social media like facebook, which has allowed us to remain friends and be part of each other’s lives despite so many years apart.
https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5747996698042985649

Unfortunately, neither of us looks like we did in Michigan.

On Wednesday, Arianna had an Activity Days event at church. The leaders separated the girls with an accordion-style room divider and taped a Battleship grid on the floor of each “room.” Then the girls used their bodies as ships and tried to sink their opponents. It was a super creative, fun activity.

I joined LILA-WV’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders on a fieldtrip to LACMA on Thursday. Having chaperoned the same field trip a year ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the teachers’ decision to study a new-to-us section of the museum. The main exhibit was Chris Burden’s “Metropolis II” – a futuristic cityscape. The skyscrapers are made from a variety of building materials, including Legos and (what looked like) Lincoln Logs. The exhibit also features a massively complex freeway system with about 100 Matchbox cars! 
https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5749967545740965761

Metropolis II

On Friday, Arianna’s class went on another field trip, this time a guided ecology tour of Leo Carillo State Park. Each year, LILA-WV centers its curriculum on some grand educational theme, and this year’s “projet d’école” focused on sustainable development within the earth’s fragile ecosphere. Our principal referred us to the following advertisement when explaining the reason for this trip. (Sadly, I have no pictures of my own, since parent chaperones were not needed.)

“Students will be amazed to discover the watershed, Native American history, kelp forest, sea birds, and marine animals. A visit to the sea tunnel to discuss geology (if the tide permits), a sticky experience with kelp, and a visit to the coastal bluffs culminates into an awesome and educational field trip.”

Do you recognize Leo Carillo Beach from the movie "Inception?"
pic courtesy of Wikipedia 

Meanwhile on Friday, I met with Arianna’s pediatric allergist to get the final results of May’s two rounds of allergy testing. Arianna scored 3s (allergic: avoid substance) for milk, yeast, almonds, and cherries.  This is something of a life-shattering revelation, since dairy and grain-based carbs dominate our eating habits. Kirk returned from Kazahkstan later that day, and we broke the news to Arianna together. As you might expect, she was devastated. We worked together to create a list of foods that she can no longer enjoy and then we listed foods that are still safe for her. The results are not fun.

The NO List

• MILK/DAIRY
• yogurt, butter, cream cheese, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate, cheese, cream sauces (Alfredo), goldfish crackers, mac-n-cheese, “favorite pasta,” chicken noodle soup
• YEAST
• bread, croissants, cake, pizza, stuffing, bagels, rolls, processed meats (hot dogs, deli meats, sausage, ham with edging), grapes & grape juice, some pastas, some crackers
• ALMONDS
• granola

The YES List

• salad (oil-based dressings), some soups, water, fruit (without skin), vegetables, rice, unprocessed meat, suishi, beans, popsicles, some pastas, some crackers, graham crackers, egg noodles, pancakes & waffles (made with soy milk & butter), coconut milk, soy milk, rice milk

For someone who already loathes the culinary arts (sole exceptions: breakfast foods and desserts), I am really struggling with making allergen-free meals that taste good. We have eaten a lot of rice these past few days and are all feeling rather dissatisfied with the new diet. To make matters worse, Carlos shares my opinion that rice is not a satisfying food, so mutiny is surely on the horizon. The one bright spot on that horizon right now comes from the deal I brokered with the doctor: we can have as much cake and ice cream as we want on Arianna’s 10th birthday. (People might also point out the fact that this new diet may finally allow me to shed some stubborn cheesy carb pounds, but I just can’t see that as a “bright spot” yet.)

Also on Friday I had an interview with a high school in Santa Clarita. I think it went well and did my best to be bubbly despite the allergy news. And I was not above begging for a job at the end of the interview, so I am confident that the principal, department chair, and former teacher know how very interested I am, LOL. Pray for me, because I need the work experience, the money, and the sanity (all of which elude me at home)!

Arianna and I spent Saturday with friends at Hurricane Harbor. We helped Olivia celebrate her 11th birthday by splishing and splashing throughout the waterpark. Not only did the kids have a blast, but we grown-up chaperones had a great time, too. After many perfectly sun-warmed hours at the park, we wrapped up the day with a birthday dinner at Marie Callender’s. (If you are ever looking for a dairy- and yeast-free meal, they offer a great “Tropical Mahi” dish.) We have been so blessed to find friends in Olivia’s family and look forward to many more visits to HH together. 
https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5749974113581495809

Carlos and Kirk spent part of Saturday on the YMCA’s soccer field, where the LILA Lions continued their winning streak. They may even make the playoffs later this month! What a great father-son bonding experience.

Wish us lots of luck this week as we try to become experts in yeast-free bread products, and feel free to pass on any foodie suggestions. Finally, eat well for us, please.

Update 27 May 2012

Happy birthday today to our FOUR family members who share a Memorial Day birthday!

Kirk flew to Kazahkstan on Tuesday and Wednesday. An extended layover in Rome allowed him to attend a mass administered by the Pope at St. Peter’s Basilica. It was very impressive!

Arianna underwent her second round of allergy testing. The previous one focused on foods, and this one tested environmental allergens. No surprise here—“trees” came up as problematic for her. (Remember that I nearly died last year due to allergy therapy shots: the trigger shot was tree serum.) On the other hand, I was shocked to learn that Arianna is only minimally allergic (“2”) to cats and other furry animals. She takes after Kirk in so many ways that we had assumed she would score a “4” for cat dander. Hmmm. This news may allow us to change the pet:people ratio in our home.

Allergy Scoring

1 – no reaction

2 – minimal reaction (no need for avoidance or treatment)

3 – noticeable reaction (avoid substance)

4 – extreme reaction (avoid substance and seek treatment)

We were also relieved to find that Arianna tested negative for celiac disease, as that would put a big damper on our family’s obsession with gluten-laden products! Unfortunately, she did score a “3” for cow’s milk.  Dairy products are pretty much our family’s mascot, so there could be some sad alterations in our future. (Gluten + dairy = now you see why I have a paunch, LOL!)

On Wednesday I interviewed with a local Catholic high school. It’s a great school and is super close to our home, but they can only offer me—get this—one class on a block schedule. That adds up to maybe 4.5 hours in a whole week! The principal reassured me that she started out teaching just two classes, but that’s not doing a lot of console me. I also heard from my professional references that a high school in Santa Clarita is doing their due diligence on me for a French position; keep your fingers crossed!

Yesterday we visited the California Science Center, which just opened a new exhibit on Cleopatra. Apparently, archeologists believe that they are close to discovering the tomb of the last pharaoh (Cleopatra), so they are trying to generate lots of public interest in “The Woman Who Ruled the Men Who Ruled the World.” The exhibit featured impressive stone and metal (esp. gold) artifacts from Cleopatra’s now-submerged cities.

I'm as tall as the statues' ankles, LOL

After the exhibit, we enjoyed some of the museum’s permanent displays, including its two-story fish tank. We happened to arrive at feeding time, and the kids got to talk with one of the scuba divers in the tank. By the way, that huge fish is a 3-year-old baby who will live another 60+ years and will grow to the size of a VW bug!

Yesterday was also the baby shower of my sister-in-law Heidi. Although I couldn't get there in person, I got to share the fun by designing the invitations. Arianna is so excited to have a little girl cousin joining her on the Bayles side of our family! 

 

After church today, we drove to Santa Clarita to celebrate the birthday of Allan, one of my credential cohort buddies. We hadn’t seen each other in over a year, so it was fun to catch up and commiserate on the job market. 

the candle reads "0"

Allan is my parents’ age and formerly worked as a Muppeteer (now just a part-time thing). He is also the former producer of the “Dinosaurs” TV series and the current producer of “Sid the Science Kid.” On the side, he teaches improvisation and comedy with the hope of someday getting a full-time job teaching physics! Allan is one of those rare beasts who has both book smarts and street smarts; best of all (and most importantly), he’s simply a blast to be with. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871209/

Tomorrow we are off to the beach (3 years in a row—it must be a tradition).  It’s great to return to summertime and its many fun outdoor activities! 

update 20 May 2012

This week, I had an interview on Wednesday and an immediate callback teaching interview on Thursday. We’ll see what happens there. 

Also on Wednesday, Arianna went on a field trip to Knott’s Berry Farm. The students spent the day panning for gold in the (re-created) Wild West. However, what Arianna reported at home was that they went shopping at a souvenir shop and took a plunge down the log flume!

On Friday, Arianna presented a poem that’s written from the point of view of a moth. I don’t have the video, but you can watch it from my facebook page (thanks to fellow 4^th-grade mom Coralie).

Arianna, Carlos, and I spent Friday evening at a super fun birthday party at the Sky High Trampoline Park. Carlos expended so much energy that he could have swam home in his own sweat!

On Saturday, Arianna and I attended a baby shower for Lorna, who is both a church friend of mine and the mother of one of Arianna’s classmates. Lorna is from Tahiti, so we enjoyed a wide array of yummy and exotic foods. While I pigged out on the coconut rice, Arianna loaded up on crevettes (ceviche). Lorna’s in utero daughter is just one data point in a larger baby boom phenomenon happening at church; I have been in heaven with so many newborns to adore! I can’t wait to snuggle Lorna’s baby, too.

Carlos’s soccer team scored another victory for LILA on Saturday. It’s so fun to have a boy who is *so boy* and *so talented.* However, Kirk’s postgame excitement over the LILA victory was quickly deflated when Chelsea (read: Evil Empire) won the Champions League in soccer. For such a usually mellow guy, sports certainly do have a manic-depressive effect on Kirk!

Tonight, we caught an incomplete glimpse of the eclipse. From our vantage point, the moon crossed over the son from the right and then looped upwards in an “L,” exiting through the top. So, instead of experiencing sudden darkness, we had blinding sunlight pouring over us throughout the moon’s movements. I enjoyed the rare occasion, but it was lost on the kids—who instead focused on the fact that their nerdy mom was the only one in the street wearing sunglasses and snapping pictures, LOL.

this picture is also on CNN's iReport (yay me)

This coming week, Kirk is off to Kazahkstan as he wraps up his international role. Although he’s received many sad responses to this change from his international contacts, the most touching came from a Russian who, at a loss for words, simply repeated, “Oh Kirk.” 

Happy Mother's Day!

This week started out with really hot weather, and I found myself, like Pedro (“Napoleon Dynamite”), blaming my hair. Not only was my hair thick, but it was approaching a length close to the ever skanky classification of “butt hair” (hair that passes your waistline). Ten inches of it went to Locks of Love, and here is the happy result. LOL, Maren got the same haircut this week, and we didn't even coordinate!

 

Maren, you're so hot!

Kirk, once an ashamed parent of LILA’s losing Lions, led the newly able team to another landslide win in the capacity of co-coach. Once again, Carlos made us proud with both his goal scoring and keeping abilities.

Arianna enjoyed a pleasant week free of doctor’s appointments (see last week’s entry) and full of Harry Potter. We have almost finished Book 6.

the British version, of course!

The highlight of this week was The Best Mother’s Day Weekend Ever. Unbeknownst to me, Kirk arranged for a girls’ day out on Saturday. I woke up to a beaming Kirk and a mysterious list of addresses and appointment times. Two fun girlfriends joined me on an all-day pampering session that included breakfast, mani-pedis, a 90-minute massage, and lunch. I had never experienced such a wonderful, indulgent day!

Today at church, the kids treated their moms to the traditional, not-to-be-missed chorus of Mother’s Day songs. The men also sang a lovely tribute to their mothers. 

In every church meeting, I was given more and more Mother’s Day plants. By the end of church, we had a ready-to-plant garden.

that's 5 potted plants!

But my favorite part of the day came when Carlos read me his love notes from the jar of confiture de mots doux that he made at school. I got a kiss or hug with every “I love you!”