A year to catch up

Seriously I told myself a year ago I would update only once a month our family blog. A year later I can't believe how much I have missed blogging and telling our family stories. Well it's now set in my calendar to do a monthly blog in order to catch the world up on the happenings of the Luka familia. There's been alot that has happened in a year: - Carlita finished first grade. - Luke is fully potty trained ( since May 2013) - Karl just started a new job All other happenings this past year has been family trips to museums, to Oregon, to Sesame Place, to the library, and to numerous free family events in the area. I must say I am grateful and thankful to the wonderful friends and family we have. It's been a rough 2013 but the summer sunshine is helping me get out of a cloud. So that's it. A short posting of our years adventures. And now on more updates to share the world on the amazing and hilarious adventures of the Luka family.

Staying on top of things

So this blog was meant for me to let everyone in our lives know the happenings in the Luka family. As you all know this past year has been an adventure with renting, buying a house ,new job, new schools, and Househunters. I'm trying to be more on top of things but it has been hard. So I'm allowing myself to just let it be. Don't try to catch up to past events, just move on. If I get to tell the whole on this blog what's happening, then do it. Otherwise move on.

So here we are in Feb. 2012. Kids recovered from the travels to Oregon for thr holidays and parents got right back into the swing of things. For me, this is my crazy time with training and selection of new staff members. I'm off here and there to conferences and long weekends and nights from the kids. What I'm trying to do is take a day off each month so I can volunteer at Carlita's school and get things done at the house.

for Jan. I got to paint Carlita's gym and make a valentine bulletin board for her school. Very cute.vin Feb. I took time off for Luke's IEP meeting ( he gets speech therapy twice a week) and spent the day with the kids on their day off on President's day. Didn't realize how many Mondays these kids have off.

Karl has been a great home daddy, taking care of the house and kids. We have been lucky with little or no snow ( thought I miss it). Our basement windows finally got replaced and it feels so much warmer down there. We were also lucky to have my sister, brother in law, and niece come up to visit this pat weekend. Haven't seen them since Nov. My brother in law and Karl worked for 20 hours to install our dream of a media room in the basement. It was amazing to actually hear things in movies and watch movies on a big screen. We got a 8' screen, projector, surround sound ,and a new receiver. We are experiencing movies to a whole new level. So far, we've seen Tangled, Cars2, and Rio. Can't wait to go through all our movies!!! My not so little but heavy 32" tube tv got moved upstairs to our bedroom. I've had that since 1996 when I bought it on clearance at Walmart in Pittsburgh, PA and had to rent a pick up truck to get it into my apartment at Chatham College. It's been around the block for a while.

With all the kids together and the boys hard at work, we worn them out going to museums, summer camp fairs, and gymnastics. I love my niece and will be missing her 4th birthday party in March due to NASPA. Really can't miss these birthday parties! So much fun and they grow up too fast.

So there you have it. The month in review and the guilt is gone for not being always on top of it. It is hard to live up to expectations as a working mom. I don't know as much as I like what's going on at school. I don't communicate with all my friends like I want to and I don't work out like I want to. But it's still a wonderful live and I have wonderful friends and family. Thanks for the support and more luka family stories will be on their way.

Thanksgiving - Henry trip 2011

Usually every year we travel out to Henry, Il which is where's Karl's dad side of the family lives. Last year with the new job and everything happening we didn't travel out there. This year we decided to drive to the mid-west. Flying was too much especially since we were going out to Oregon for Xmas. We knew it would be a bit rough, but we thought we could do it now with the kids.

The adventure started very early on the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. We were up and out by 4:30am. Unfortunately the kids woke up and stayed awake. so we got Dunkin' Donuts and were on our way. The plan was to stop in Columbus, OH and stay overnight at a hotel and then continue on. As we drove through the day, stopping twice at McDonald's, the kids fell asleep around Columbus, OH, and so I decided to keep driving. 4 hours later we were already past Indianapolis and only 3 hours away from our arrival point of Eureka, IL, so we kept on driving. We got to Farmer City to see Aunt Cindy and Uncle John. The kids were wired and I was worn out from all the driving (I drove most of the 14 hours). Karl got us to Aunt gwen's house and we all passed out once there.

The next days were spent resting and recovering from the one day travel. Still can't believe we did it in one day! We got to spend time with Grandma Joannie and Gwen's family. We went to the Coffee cup and the local thrift stores (got great deals on tacky Xmas sweaters). Carlita was in heaven with her cousin Hannah, playing all types of games and pretend plays. And there were no injuries this trip (last time we were here Carlita broke her arm!). We played games, went swimming at the local community center, and went to the Peoria Children's Museum (which was wonderful).

Thanksgiving was spent at Grandma Joannie's house. We had all the family there and all the traditions (i.e. ping pong tournament and football game). We started a new tradition of writing down our thanks on leaves and made a leaf garland for the fireplace. What great fun we had! The young cousins beat the "older" men (which included Karl) in the football game and Karl did not win the ping pong tournament (he's getting rusty!).

The next day we went to the Peoria Community Center and out for dinner. And then Sat. we left early to head back home. This time we stopped right in WV for the evening and finished our travels the next day. We were done with the one day marathon driving! We love visiting the Kalihers of Illinois and can't wait to go back again. 

Early Thanksgiving Celebration

We had a wonderful weekend of early celebration. My sister and her family came and surprised us with a visit. We also had our dear friends (and Carlita's godparents), Tara and Mike, with their baby Emma come visit. I thought why not have an early Thanksgiving feast  !! so I got a ham, sweet potatoes, and hawaiian bread (and soda) and started to cook. It was a great feast with friends around the table. The kids had a great weekend of fun. It's so nice to have Sofia and Carlita playing with each other. Luke follows along and tries to copy everything they do.

I finally feel like at home here. The house just seems to fit our lifestyle and our personalities. It just feels nature. We took a walk around the neighborhood and introduced my sister to many of the neighbors. It was then when I realized "I'm at home". Even though when I asked Carlita where she lives "Ray St", this is our home and where new memories are being created and made. I love our family and we are lucky to have great friends. What a year it has been.

Birthday Parties Galore

We are such lucky parents!! Not only did our kids were born during the most craziest time of year (for my work), they have birthdays one month apart. With all transitions of moving into our new house, new schools for the kids, and training at Temple, we decided that we would not have our usually backyard pool /house parties but instead do a combine birthday party for the kids at Pump it up (an indoor inflatable party place).

Luke's birthday came right in the beginning of my crazy training schedule. With no break between the weeks (and only two weeks at our new place) there was no formal party for Luke.  During the day we took the kids over to Pump it up for some fun and then back home we decorated the house fast and lucky for me my sister and niece, Sofia, came down to celebrate Luke turning 3. Of course his godmother, Samanta, was there and our new neighbors came over. Since Luke's birthday was on a Friday, we needed to come up with an idea to do something together - SESAME PLACE!!! So on Saturday off we all went to Sesame Place. Instantly we knew we would love this place and purchased season passes. We had a blast there! there's great rides for every age and a relaxing water park. We worn the kids out!!!!! It was just a great way to celebrate Luke's birthday. He even got to ride a roller-coaster for the first time. Amazing!!! Our littler boy is now 3 - what a journey it has been for him and our familia.



Luke's birthday


Next up: Carlita's birthday (Sept. 9th). This was the weekend we planned the big party at Pump it up. Everyone arrived for the fun double party - friends from Carlita's old school (Early Learning Center), family (Sandra and Sofai, Aunt Fran, and Samanta) my University of delaware friends, and neighborhood moms and kids from Newark, Landsberg, and Wilmington. What can I say? It was HUGE!! Over 30 parents and kids and what a blast they all had. It was a 2 hour party and it never slowed down. Lots of sliding and bouncing! Finally it was pizza time and the cake. I personally make the kids' cake this year. Since the theme was fairies and dragons, I made cupcakes with different color frosting and added some "pixie dust". I got flower shapes cupcake holders and purchased little fairy and dragon figurines to put on top of the cake. A blue river ran through the middle of the cake. Everyone was blown away by the cake - especially me since I had never done this before. Glad it all came out great!

After the party was done, it was nap time back at home. Once all kids were awake the massive gift opening process occurred. Wrapping paper was everywhere and the kids loved each present they got. That evening we made a grand dinner and served it out on our porch (that was the first time we got to use the porch like that!). O it was so much fun!!!

Everyone was in bed early because the next day we were heading to Sesame Place. Again loving those season passes. We got to ride all the rides and had a blast with the kids. No water rides this time but it didn't matter - it was FUN!!!! Then it was time for everyone to leave and the celebration for Carlita (who turned 6) and Luke (who turned 3) was over. We love our kids! they bring us tons of joy, happiness, craziness, and keep us humble! We love you Carlita and Luke.


Carlita's birthday

Halloween 2011 - the Incredibles

October came so fast this year. With everything going on, I wasn't able to work on our costumes until the weekend prior to Halloween. Lucky for me, the idea was simple - be the Incredibles! This was easily done by getting red long-sleeve sheets and red pants for each one of us (Karl ended up wearing black pants). then I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get the other materials like the black for the collar, orange for the belt, the masks, and felt for the logo (I used black felt with a sticky back to stick to the shirt - the other felt colors were glue gun on). the black gloves for the kids were a $1 from Target. So each costume came out to be roughly $10-15. (adults clothing cost me). My gloves were my prom gloves from the '90s (they always come in useful), and long black socks since I couldn't wear boots due to my broken toe. The hardest part of the costume (which wasn't that hard) was sewing on the black collars.

We looked great in our costumes and we went trick-n-treating in our new neighborhood with other kids we knew. We started at 6pm and ended by 7:30pm. the kids got a load of candy - 100 pieces which Luke ate more of it in one sitting. He was ready to fall over with a sugar high. Once we got back from the evening, Luke went to bed and the rest of us actually watched the Incredibles movie. It was a great way to end a wonderful night.

MACUHO Conference '11

It is conference season and MACUHO (Mid-Atlantic College and University Housing Officials) had its annual conference in Reading, PA. Over the years I have slowly gotten more involved in the organization. Since 2004 I have served on the programming committee, presented on various topics, and won awards here and there for my presentations. This past year I got more involved with planning the first ever Summer Summit and had a desire to serve on the executive board. MACUHO went through some strategic planning and we discovered we had a huge E.B. and needed to re-configure our organization. At this year's event the vote was casted and a new organization structure was put in place. As a result, I have been appointed to the first ever Director of Learning and Development position. I am very excited for this position and what I can contribute to MACUHO.

But the conference wasn't only about the restructuring of MACUHO. It had the best programs, keynote, and CIR (Consultant in Residence). We had a large number of CHO (Chief Housing Officers) presenting on great topics such as moving up in the field from their lenses, behavior care campus teams, and mold/bed bugs (I know not the most exciting stuff but it's an issue on campus and how you handle it dictates students' satisfaction). Our keynote was Matt Glowacski, who spoke on being happy and how to do that everyday. Our CIRs were Dr. Janet Walbert from Arcadia University, and Khadish Franklin, who both were excellent consultants to those at the conference. We had wonderful vendors who shared with us the newest products and how they can support our work. At night we had great events like mask making, henna tattoos, and palm readers. The last night we had "office olympics" hosted in the bar. But the highlight of the conference (I think) is the basket raffle. Every year baskets are donated by universities for a cause. This year's cause was Operation Smile. What a great cause and we raised over $2000 for it. I of course won something during the vendor raffle (a kindle and $100 supplies from Imprints!). NICE!!! So a basket I didn't win but others did. It's a great way to end a great conference and I'm looking forward to a great year in taking MACUHO to the next level.