2014 Annual Update

Friends and Family,

Fasten your seat-belts; 2014 was a completely average year for the Kanaks, but fasten your seat-belts anyway--it's the law, and they save lives.

Geno Update

This was the year of Michael Jackson for Geno. He not only knows all of Jackson's songs, but he also has learned his dances and life story.  You see, Geno has moved past Brown Bear Brown Bear and skipped to adult biographies.  Though I was afraid he wouldn't understand the thick journalistic Jackson bios procured from local libraries, Geno appeared glued to each word and can comment on just about any stage of Jackson's life. While checking out several MJ books from the Bourbonnais Library, he calmly climbed the stool at the circulation desk, looked the reference librarian in the eye, and proudly proclaimed, "I love Michael Jackson so much...I'm not even gonna lie about it."  An unusually hip librarian with dreads matched Geno's gaze and responded, "You go, little dude; I love him too.  I was raised on his music.  Let's get you some books." Solidifying, yet again, why I love libraries!

Sometime this past summer, Geno also showed interest in dressing up like the King of Pop.  He and his sister found materials around the house for a make-shift costume, which was made complete when Grandma surprised him with a "Smooth Criminal" hat.   Though it was only his sister's black satin shirt, an old Micky Mouse glove, and some junk drawer sunglasses, Geno saw Michael Jackson. For Halloween, Gene and I surprised him with a wig and "Beat It" jacket to complete the ensemble.

An unexpected element of loving Jackson was that Geno also acquired a love of dance.  When studying his moves, Geno learned that he was a classically-trained dancer and asked to be signed up for tap.  This was a hard call for me to make, seeing as I had placed a moratorium on all organized sports/activities since the soccer melt-down of 2013. However, his interest seemed so sincere, I caved.  He has been taking tap at Paula Aubry's Studio since September, and for the first time in Geno's life, he actually likes an extracurricular activity! He's a tapping fool!

Oh, yeah, Geno also started kindergarten this year and is doing great...reading and all that stuff.

There's Something About Mary

I could spend a lot of time coming up with cute and creative ways to describe the various ways that Mary has grown and changed since last year, but sometimes it's best to just keep it simple. Simply put, Mary continues to grow, amaze, and impress.

She is still the cute and petite little Mary we've all known and loved for years, but she seems to be getting taller by the day. This may have gone unnoticed by the folks at the Guiness Book of Records and to casual observers, but as the beast of burden responsible for providing piggy-back rides and carrying sleepy Mary into the house from the car, I can tell you that this girl is now all legs and arms! She's like a 44 long with a 16 waist. Seriously, it's freakish!

In school, Mary continues to be one of the brightest in her grade. She is still as sharp as a tack. I do my best to discuss world events with her, and I'm continually amazed at her ability to
comprehend and connect to the complex topics we discuss. If Mary can align her intelligence and her work ethic, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in this world!

Gene

In an effort to stay young and hip, I've decided to do this year's update using one of the staples of modern communication, the hashtag! Here is this year's top 10:

#another_year_older
#still_great_looking
#still_brilliant_still_hillarious
#big_muscles_bigger_belly
#a_few_gray_hairs
#new_school
#Comets_rule_Warriors_drool
#bowling_geek_Softball_freak
#career_path_principal_or_truck_driver?
#waiting_on_the_world_to_change!

I think that pretty much wraps it up. All in all, I'm doing fine. I am still living life, appreciating liberty, and pursuing happiness. Some days are better than others, but I have far more good than bad in my life, so I can't complain. I hope all of you feel the same about your lives at this point!

Angie

For my update, I will be speaking the language of my students. Please grab any nearby adolescent for  a translation.



Also, in more recent news, according to Geno, I'm "the worst mommy in the world" and he "doesn't even care if that hurts" my "feelings!" The AP wire has not picked up this story yet, so folks, you heard it here first. WORLD BREAKING NEWS! WORST MOMMY EVER FOUND IN BONFIELD, IL.

Happy Holidays!

Love,
The Kanaks
(Notice the lack of apostrophe, which is never needed when making a last name plural--really...trust me.)

2013 Family Update

Hello Friends and Family,

Thanks for visiting our blog, your viewing brings our total number of views to 3, so thank you.  So without further hesitation, here are all things Kanak.

Geno

Geno is a larger than life 4-year-old.  He has incredibly unique interests, such as Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers.  He also loves being read to.  So far he has stuck to the canonical literature, such as If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and The Cat in the Hat, but we’re hoping he spreads his interest to post modernist authors, such as Kurt Vonnegut, by the time he enters school.  We don’t want him to be the only kindergartner who hasn't read Slaughterhouse Five.  Currently Geno’s favorite activities include gymnastics class, pissing off his sister, making messes he refuses to clean-up, and eating small amounts of his meals so he can request various food items all day long.

Mary

Mary is a smart, sassy, and insufferably shy young lady.  Her love of the macabre makes her especially interesting.  I am confident that her obsession with skulls, mustaches, and wearing Halloween themed shirts all year round will create the perfect fodder with which to solidify a healthy bond with her future therapist.  Mary is a reserved young lady with a firm grasp on her priorities often saving her strongest emotional reactions for truly traumatic events, such as the mixing of Play-doh colors, her brother’s mildly threatening glances, and an empty chocolate chip waffle box.  Gene and I are proud to report that Mary is a great reader.  We discovered the depths of her reading ability when she started correcting us while reading Harry Potter to her.  There is nothing more rewarding as a parent than being corrected by your 7-year-old while reading a 900 page book to her. Mary recently moved up to level 4 in her gymnastics class, but that’s not her only activity—she’s also very busy growing out her bangs.

Gene

Gene is still working at Watseka High School; however, he is always on the lookout for new career opportunities. Right now, he’s researching the merits of over-the-road trucking or establishing his own meth lab in his father-in-law’s new shed out back. In the meantime, he still enjoys spending his free time honing his skills as an aging recreational softball player and an insufferably average league bowler.

Angie

I am in my third year teaching at Kankakee High School.  Thank you for your concern, but I have not been shot, hit, initiated into a gang, or offered drugs. In all seriousness though, despite its reputation, KHS has become a home to me. There are a lot of good teachers and students in that building, and I feel happy to be a part of it. I can see myself staying here for many years…which is great because due to recent pension cutbacks, I apparently have to teach until I’m 85! As such, if you see any good Craigslist deals on walkers, shower safety bars, or Rascals, please feel free to forward me the link. It’s never too early to grab a bargain!

So, with that, we’ll bring another Kanak Christmas blog to a close. We hope all of you are doing as well as we are. Actually, we hope you’re doing much, much better than we are; we’re a whole lot of hot mess up in here! Whatever. At least we still have our delusions. Until we meet again, remember the inspirational words of Conan O’Brien. I don’t remember any off the top of my head, but he’s been on TV for a long time and given many speeches, so he’s bound to have said something worth remembering. Look it up, and go with it! Merry Christmas!

Take Care,

The Kanaks (notice the lack of an apostrophe as nothing belongs to us)

As hard as it is to believe, we are just a few short days away from Thanksgiving 2012. It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating our first holiday season back in Illinois; nevertheless, now that the holidays are upon us once again it seems appropriate to reach out and let the world know how things are progressing in the Realm of Kanak.

Since we believe the children are our future, we continue to teach them well and let them lead the way. Do you see what I did there? In any event, Mary and Geno continue to grow, develop, and amaze.

Mary is a straight-A first grader who continues to exceed expectations on every benchmark assessment her school can throw at her. She has become a proficient reader at this point. As such, it's not uncommon to see her walking around the house at any given time toting a dozen books or more. She either reads them aloud to herself, or she reads them to Geno, which is a particularly cute scene to witness. Despite her sweet, girly nature, she has an interest in the macabre; dressing up in scary costumes in order to creep out family members is among her favorite activities. She loves snakes, spiders, zombies, mummies, skeletons, and grim reapers--yup, that's our girl! All in all, she's still the same sweet, smart, caring little girl we've all grown to know and love.

Geno, on the other hand, has a bit more spit and vinegar in him! This isn't to say that he isn't a sweet and polite little man. Much of the time he is; however, the pendulum swings just as far to the other side for him, so it's also not uncommon to hear him voicing - or bellowing - his displeasure with various goings on in his surroundings. One of Angie's and my favorite stories was earlier this year at preschool when he told his teacher, "You didn't give me a warning before you gave me a time-out; that's unacceptable!" Now, as teachers, Angie and I don't condone our little boy back-talking, but it's hard not to chuckle at that one. I mean, honestly, what 3-year-old says "unacceptable"? Thankfully, such outbursts are few and far between at school. In fact, his teachers report that he is well-behaved, and they genuinely seem to love having him around due to his pleasant nature and inquisitive mind. Toward that end, they even moved him out of the 3-year-old room and up with the older group. We're not exactly sure how a 3-year-old can be "gifted", but apparently Geno is. Here's hoping!

Moving along, Angie is doing just fine as well. She is still happy at Kankakaee High School. She had a bit of a scare at the end of last year when the seniority-based system put her on the budget-fueled RIF - Reduction In Force - list. Thankfully, the brass at KHS knew that they would be losing an amazing teacher if they let her go, so once some budget corrections were made, she was reinstated. Since then, she has continued to work tirelessly to help her students along the road to success both inside and outside of the classroom. She's even increased her contributions to the school, helping serve as Assistant Director during this year's fall play and musical revue. Thanks to Deena Cassady's (the new drama director at KHS--who is REALLY good at her job) and Angie's hard work, the show was one of the most profitable fall KHS productions in quite some time. She will be helping with the spring musical as well, and that is sure to be awesome as well.

Lastly, there is me. I am nearly half way through my second hear as an English Teacher at Watseka High School. I'm nowhere near the amazing teacher that Angie is, but very few teachers are! Nevertheless, I feel I'm doing a good job preparing my students for what they'll face in college and/or the working world. One of my seniors from last year made a point of coming back to tell me that she got the highest grade of anyone in her freshman composition course. One of this year's seniors told me that he thinks I'm by far the best teacher he's had at WCHS. Now, the first student was a solid writer before coming to me, and the second may just have been trying to suck up; nevertheless, I'll take their compliments and run with them. Teaching is a very tough profession, not one for the faint of heart. As such, it feels good any time a student has something nice to say about you. That's especially important since this is my first year of teaching sans power goatee. That's right; in case you hadn't seen or heard, I shaved off my mega-goatee this past summer. There are times when I miss the coolness-cred. it gave me with my students, but it's nice to not have to turn my head to the side to avoid stabbing the wife and kids in the eye with beard hair every time I give a kiss! Suffice it to say that I am happy.

Well, that's the long and long of it from the World of Kanak. To our friends and relatives from Illinois who will read this, we love you all very much, and we're sure to see you soon now that the holiday train is beginning to pick up steam. To all of the wonderful people we had the privilege to get to know in Texas, we miss you more than words can express. We'd say that absence has made our hearts grow fonder of you all, but we were already damned fond of all of you before we left! Please accept our sincerest best wishes to you and your families. We wish you nothing but the very best, and we hope to have the opportunity to see you again soon!

Warmest regards,

The Kanaks

Home for the holidays!

Pics from our trip to the Dells on Dec. 10-11.

Season’s greetings from the Kanaks! With the holiday season upon us once again, we felt it was time to give our families and dear friends the yearly update. Here goes. We’ve been back in Illinois for nearly four months now. We often speak of how much we miss all that we left behind in Texas – wonderful friends, a beautiful home, and gorgeous weather; nevertheless, being back in the midst of family and friends has reaffirmed that this is home and we’re back where we belong. Mary is nearly halfway finished with kindergarten and, despite feeling like she already knows all of that stuff – her words – she is doing very well. She has met or exceeded expectations on all of the benchmark assessments she’s taken up to this point, and her teacher has reported a great deal of growth in her social development as well. But most importantly, she simply loves being able to see her grandparents and cousins whenever she pleases! Likewise, Geno is flourishing. He is the only native Texan in the Kanak Family, so we weren’t exactly sure how he’d adapt to life in Illinois. Well, he simply loves it! He plays in the wide-open spaces of our 20-acre backyard, he watches poppa complete all sorts of fascinating chores and projects, and he follows his big sister around day and night to make sure he doesn’t miss any of the super cool things she does. Last but not least, Angie and I are doing very well also. Angie has found a wonderful niche for herself at Kankakee High School, and I have found a home at Watseka High School. Both of us are getting used to our new surroundings, and we are optimistic that the future will bring a great deal of happiness and success. As the holiday season progresses, we hope that health, happiness, and countless blessings rain down upon you and your loved ones no matter where they may be. Until we meet again, know that you are always on our minds and in our hearts. Be well, The Kanaks

P.S. Be sure to watch our Christmas video below!

Mary's Impromptu Illinois B-day Party.

Since we had to cancel Mary's birthday party due to our unexpected trip to Illinois, we quickly threw together a small get-together with family and Gene's hetero-lifemate's, Joe Strejc, family. It was a nice evening for all:) Click to view pictures.

The moving truck will be rolling out of Texas on July 29 for my permanent move to Illinois. Gene will return to finish up odds and ends; he will be joining us in Illinois the weekend of August 12.

Headed Back to Illinois

Well, after nearly 3 years as Texans, the Kanaks are headed back to Illinois. When we moved to Texas, it was for Gene's dream job--a chance to work with the brightest and the best in the bowling industry; however, since Gene was part of a large corporate downsize back in February 2010, staying in Texas lost its purpose. Though we have enjoyed our time here and will treasure the friends we have made, it's time to return our children to Illinois, where they can be raised around our large, supportive extended families. The moving truck is scheduled to arrive at my parents' house in Bonfield sometime around July 30. We will be staying at the Schafer Homestead until more permanent arrangements are made (or until they kick us out).

Mary could not be happier. It seems as though her heart never left Illinois, and she is anxious to return. On the other hand, Geno has permanently etched Texas in our hearts since he is the only true Texan Kanak. This will be a new adventure for him.

This was a hard decision for me as I truly loved my job, my fellow teachers, and the friends I have made along the way, but in the end, it came down to what was best for our children. Looking back on my childhood, the memories of family meals, huge holiday get-togethers, and sleep overs at grandma's are among the most potent, wonderful recollections. Taking the same opportunities away from my children because I like my house and job seemed petty in our situation.

So...Thank you for the memories, Texas.