Waimanalo Beach Park

What an incredible Saturday we have just had! This morning Todd was able to wake up bright and early and do his five mile jog while the kids and I slept. Then Connor and I went to the grocery store to get some much needed milk. Once we returned it was time to pack up our things and get ready for a day at the beach.

We weren't heading to just any beach over on our side of the island, we were going to the one and only Waimanalo Beach. There is the softest sand, nicest breeze and perfect Boogie Boarding waves! Other great things about Waimanalo is that the beach is a good distance from the parking lot, and to get to the beach you have to walk through the trees with prickly small pine cones that act as deterrents for tiny little wandering bare feet! A natural babysitter/fence. There is so much sand that you can sit a comfortable distance from the waves and yet close enough to chase a child that might decide to take a dip.

This is the first time since we have returned that Todd was able to go Boogie Boarding. It was everything he remembered. The water was that perfect shade of green-blue and it wasn't too cold at all. There was a threat of "blue bubbles" but no one in our group was attacked.

Connor LOVED the waves and kept trying to get back in the water without adult supervision. Thankfully there were lots of doting adults to help take care of him. Abi wasn't too sure at first, but she eventually warmed up, refusing to take a nap the entire time we were there.


I relished sitting in my beach chair listening to the waves, feeling the slight breeze and not being too hot. It was perfect. We were surrounded by great friends with the only expectation to have a good time. I bet all had a good time (including Heather who just a few weeks from delivery made an attempt to Boogie Board...she must really want this little girl to come early!)

I am most proud of our return home. Connor fell asleep in the car. As soon as we walked in the door I laid him in his bed, threw all of the towels and suits in the washing machine and put away all of the beach gear. Then I got Abi bathed and ready for her bedtime (which is where she is sleeping now). Connor woke up when he smelled his daddy's pizza cooking. We bathed him, fed him and he is also back in bed! It is only 7pm!!! How lucky are we. So now that Todd is through watching his "manly" movie, I am going to close this perfect day by cuddling on the couch with my love and watching a movie we can both agree on!

Personal Insights

Do you ever have one of those weeks where something kicks you in the side and says "uh..maybe it's YOU!" I have had one of those weeks. Where can I start? Maybe where the first realization came into account...bear with me while I right this all down for my own sake, so that when I make this same mistake again (which I will) I can come back and read this and try to do better.

At the start of this week, we received our monthly Ensign magazine. I look so forward to getting it, because often times I find it easier to quickly sit on the toilet (yup....I just admitted that) and read an article than sitting in my room at my desk during a quiet moment (ha...okay, I do get quiet moments, but that is for a different realization) to be spiritually edified.

This particular month there is a great article entitled Crossing Thresholds & Becoming Eq2ual Partners. I loved it before I read it. There was a photograph on the front that depicted a mom with a baby on her hip, one at the counter doodling and a look of complete exhaustion on her face. The husband is standing at the doorway as though he had just come home from work and the mom is handing him a box of Macaroni & Cheese needing his help. I was so excited to leave it "accidentally" sitting open to this page on the dining table for Todd to read...I just knew it would help him to be a "better' husband.

I read the article and my feelings changed a little. Okay, I was humbled. Which is exactly where my heart needed to be in order to realize what changes I need to make personally in my life if the remainder of it is going to be harmonious.

Tuesday came and I still had my lame expectations of Todd coming home from work and giving ME a "break" from the hectic trials of my day. I excitedly looked forward to the opportunity to drive alone in the car to the hospital twice this week to visit a friend. Wednesday came and I had a visit with my friend Ashley. Do you all have a friend that you complain to? She's one of the ones that I always lay it out for. Poor girl. She must think that I am a nut. Anyway, she gave her great advice and (AHA!) told me to work on my communication with Todd.

Please understand, Todd and I are getting along great...my "problems" that I am complaining about are really all centered around me...I have been blessed with an incredible husband whom I have taken many things forgranted.

I loved her advice (mom & dad...whatever, you are married...you've heard this all before). "Sometimes it is easier to talk about things when you are naked. So, when the kids are asleep get naked, sit on the bed and ask Todd to listen to you for a while and to look at your face. Things will go much better." Well, that didn't happen. He went to sleep Wednesday night totally exhausted while watching "The Importance of Being Earnest" with me. No talking took place at all, except for the following morning when he asked what the show was about.

Thursday morning was when I believe my heart was softened enough to finally feel a bit of what Todd is going through and come to realize what a sissy I have been and how over the top my expectations have been...you know the old saying "give and inch and then they want more." That's how I have been.

I sat down for breakfast with Todd and he just let it all out. All of the burdens that he has been carrying. I am sure that all husbands feel these same burdens. Todd expressed his financial frustrations (who doesn't have those), school obligations, stresses at work. He never once complained about his life here at home. I felt so bad for him. I wanted to give him a vacation.

Sidenote: Tuesday, I told him when he came home from work that I needed a vacation...you know, hard stay-at-home mommy life. He responded with "So do I." I thought that was so selfish of HIM, didn't he realize what I had dealt with all day?

For some reason my daily problems seemed nothing compared to his REAL needs and concerns. To have to feel like you are the sole financial provider for a family of four (with one on the way) while trying to complete a degree cannot be easy.

Anyway...to conclude this whole thing...I was the one who really needed to read that article in the Ensign and I am so grateful that I did. Todd's problems aren't solved. But hopefully I can be more sympathetic to his needs and mindful of just how blessed I am to be able to sit here at the computer while BOTH of my little ones are asleep. A vacation...I'm taking one right now! I get a break each day from life, even if it is just two hours, that's two hours more than my Toddy does.

FOR ME...WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF (readers, A.K.A Mom...I am not being hard on myself, I'm totally okay with these things, just stuff I gotta work on):

I am a procrastinator Here I have had an entire week to revise the preschool lessons and get going. But knowing that it's pushed back a few weeks, I am in no rush. Instead of making coloring pages, I did a scrapbook page for Abi. I'll do a few lessons this weekend...when we get back from the beach.

I have it good I am not expected, nor does Todd want me to work outside the home. My day involves watching Connor explore and try new things. I get to see him make funny faces and say weird things and practice his manners. I am the first to grab Abi when she wakes up from a nap and waves "Hi". Every day I am guaranteed a few hours of solitude while Connor and Abi nap at the same time. Time to do whatever I want. No one to watch over my shoulder and no one depending on me.

I have a husband who helps Todd is an excellent cook. The other day he made us these super delicious oven roasted sandwiches. I was craving them for lunch, and when I called and asked him to come home from work to make one for me...he actually did! If the laundry is piling up, he is the first to start a load and get me into the swing of things. If he sees that there are dishes in the sink, he usually does the load.

I am not a good listener I am sometimes too self-absorbed to actually listen to what people say (Todd mostly). This is going to be the toughest one to work on, but "Now I know, and knowing is half the battle."

Great...got it written down! Now it's time to make some changes. Where to start?

Wiffle Ball

I am not good at sports, never have been. Some friends suggested we play wiffle ball and I agreed it was a great idea Connor has just picked up on the idea of baseball, so he was sure to have a great time.

We had a little bit of rain in and out of the game, but it was so much fun. There were the Johnson's and their three little boys and daughter. Imagine trying to come into the base that Jodie was on...you have to get around her and her three sons!

We had divided up girls against guys...mind you one of the girls is 8 months pregnant (Heather). She was smart and played the role of babysitter to little Serene and camera man.

The three other girls on our team were all teeny tiny little twigs who seemed to know what they were doing (with the exception of Olga...she had never played baseball before, but she did a great job).

Then there was me...pregnant. I dove for a ball, got it and threw it to Miwa. I looked like a dork. And I think I pulled a muscle on the left side...so now I am dumb dork.

The guys rocked, like they always do...even when they had a child on their shoulders or in their arms as they were rounding bases.

It was a great evening...if you need a fun activity, give Wiffle ball a try!

One of Those...Moments?

Sometimes I do not react to certain situation the way I would like to imagine myself reacting. Mostly as a mom. This week has definitely been one of those. You know...is it too much to ask to use the toilet without Connor standing right next to me saying in his cute little voice "mommy go pee-pee"? What if I want to send myself to time-out and not have a child follow me? Can't I have a time-out?

I love being a mom and I love my little kids. But holy cow...there are days when they (mostly Connor at this stage) refuse to "use their words" or "use your inside voice" or "please stop throwing toys in the house." I try to use my nice mommy voice as much as possible, but this week, the terrible voice of Miss Hannigan has come spewing out.

After those horrible outrages where Miss Hannigan (not me...I swear) says "I'm going Connor...when you are ready to talk, then find me." or "cry this one out on your bed..'cause we aren't getting anywhere." The worst came at 3am this morning when Connor just kept crying and crying and had been off and on since 10:30pm. I can't believe I am actually going to admit to saying this (please understand, it did come after a few cuddles, songs, ibuprofen, drink of water and change of diaper...and a rub of the legs thinking he was acting this way because of growing pains). I said to Connor, "This is just dumb, this is so stupid. If you are going to keep crying...you are going to have to do it yourself because I am going to bed." I used two NAUGHTY words!!!

I laid down in my bed and fell asleep, Connor came to my side of the bed and crawled in. I was too angry (and childlike) to want to be around him that I left and slept in his bed. Lame, I know. Can I blame it on the pregnancy?

Anyhow, during a nice long LONELY shower this morning (Heavenly Father had pitty on me and Connor sat on the couch and watched Thomas the Train the whole time) I remembered some advice I gave to my friend Heather at her baby shower:
"It's not how many times life takes your breath away,
but how often you make your kids laugh each day."

I know...I ruined the real meaning of that nice thought (I first read it on my friend Heidi's Blog.).

Laughter triumphs all. When I got out of the shower the two of us had a good tickle fest. I think he's forgiven me...now I just need to forgive myself.

For Posterity

I once was great at writing down every teeny tiny detail of Connor's pregnancy and life...and then it was all lost when the hard drive crashed.

I was once great at writing down every detail of Abi's pregnancy and birth...and then it was all lost when the laptop crashed.

So for the last little while I have rummaged through old notes, medical records and everything else I could find and started re-writing their histories and starting one for Carly.

I know this will most likely not interest any of you, however, I think the grandparents and a few of the aunties will like to see it.

I especially like it and have LOVED re-discovering my beautiful children's births, set-backs, firsts and every other cute thing they do! Now the trick will be remembering to back these up!

Here are their links:
Connor
Abi
Carly

Lazy Day

Or not so lazy, I guess. This morning I got up and got all of us ready and had great intentions of folding the three loads of laundry I washed yesterday, but there was a pile of Duplo blocks and one cute little boy calling my name.

So I spent most of the morning building towers and Connor would knock them down (in between watching bits of Tarzan).

There was a knock at the door and unexpectedly Chelsea came over and brought little Matthew and Jonathan. So the boys began playing "baseball" in the living room while I enjoyed an hour of speaking grown-up with another mommy!

Then it was off to playgroup, it was just Chelsea and I and all the homeless people living in the park and the bus load of school kids. Both Connor and Matthew were intimidated by the older kids, so playgroup was cut short.

I called Todd, the kids and I walked to McDonald's and met him for lunch (thank heaven's for a dollar menu). After lunch the kids went down for their naps (in separate rooms...Funny Side Story...For Abi's morning nap she went down and didn't cry at all. When Abi woke up, I heard her playing and talking so I left her and waited for her to cry for me. When she wailed, I went in to rescue her and found toilet paper shredded up all over in her crib as though a dog had been in there! She had little bits of T.P. hanging out of her mouth and scattered in her hair. The playpen takes up so much space and is squished into the bathroom so tight, she could reach the T.P. roller and I had forgotten to remove it! She's so dang cute...now back to the real story) I had a decision to make:

1)Fold and Put away the laundry
2)Do the dishes (okay, there are only 5 in the sink...but I could have taken 3 seconds to do them)
3)Work on preschool lessons (Hey, I did two yesterday, okay!)
4)Study my scriptures and prepare my VT lesson for this month
5)Scrapbook

Of course, being the wise and productive mother I am, I chose option #5. Here are the fruits of my labor:

So Blessed

I know, I go on about these two all the time, but I cannot believe how well they get along. Connor has got to be the most adoring brother on earth.

I had lain Abi down on the ground to take her bottle one afternoon and Connor came bounding in. He saw her laying on the floor, ran back out and returned a few moments later with his blankies (yes one of them is pink...it was Abi's but he has taken it for his own, so he has two blankies).

He laid one blanket on top of Abi (the pink one that is supposed to be hers), and then laid down right next to her and covered himself up with the other one! Of course, he had to have a comfy pillow to rest his head on.

Another Connor thing that just cracked me up yesterday:

He LOVES Tarzan the movie. Whenever we watch that show he has to grab his plastic elephant and tiger and re-enact certain parts. We were watching it together yesterday and it came to the part where Tarzan kills Sabor (the cheetah). He grabbed the tiger, lifted it above his head and did the Tarzan yell, then placed it on the ground and walked away...just like Tarzan does in the movie. Yes, that's cute...but the funniest part was the facial expressions he was making. You know how in cartoons the characters teeth are almost always showing, well he clenched his teeth together and kept his lips open to show his teeth. It looked really nasty, like Esqueleto on Nacho Libre.

I have got to get this on video, you'll never believe how funny it is until you see it.

Moved Bed

So, after the last post, I moved Abi's bed into our bathroom (it is so nice having two bathrooms). I was really nervous as to how she would adjust to her first night in a cramped quarter, but she did so well! It was wonderful.

Connor, on the other hand, had a harder time adjusting to not having "ladybug" in his room last night. I read him "Dumbo" and Todd sang him a cuople of songs and they stood at the window and said good-night to everything.

Abi went down for her morning nap smoothly and it was fun to let Connor play in his bedroom while she slept and not worry about how much noise he was making. Which leads me to the next portion of our morning, it was so cute I just had to write about it.

Connor and I were playing with stickers and putting them on the "potty chart" that isn't really being used for potty any more. He'd tell me what was on the sticker and put it on the chart. One particular sticker was of a "bike". I peeled it off of the backing for him to place on the paper. Instead he put it on the ground, squatted down and tried to ride the bike. Needless to say, it smashed under his weight and out of frustration he ripped it in two.

I quickly diverted his mind from the bike to a train sticker, that he tried to drive on the ground. Then, like a lightbulb went on in his head, he yelled "All Aboard!" and ran to the TV. He wanted to watch his Thomas movie...which is where he is now.

NOT Napping

For the longest time, I have been sooooo blessed that Connor and Abi would nap at the same time in the same room each day. This is changing much more quickly than I would like. It used to be that I could lie Connor down for a nap, wait a few minutes, then lay Abi down and she'd whine for a few minutes, but Connor would never wake. Now if he hears her whine, he wakes up and either:

A) Jumps out of his bed to play with her, hence neither of them taking a nap.
B) Wakes up crankily and refuses to take a nap the rest of the day.

So the remedy has been for them to not nap at the same time any more or to nap in separate rooms. This means that Connor falls asleep on the couch in the living room (while Anastasia plays on the DVD), while Abi sleeps in her crib. When she wakes up, I take her out of the room and transfer Connor into his own bed.

I am so tempted to put Abi's playpen into one of the bathrooms (like the Brady's did) and make that her own bedroom. This is now affecting our bedtime routines too! Abi hears the door open and wakes up and wants to play with Connor, even though it is 9pm.

I count my blessings that the two of them get along as well as they do, but this not napping stuff is for the birds.

This video clip was taken about a week ago, when they would still sleep at the same time in the same room. I heard Abi talking and knew that she would be waking up her brother soon, so I quickly grabbed the camera and stuck it through the door to catch the action. I apologize that it is so blurry, but I couldn't get it to focus...mostly because I didn't want to let them know I was taking the video.

Helicopter Ride

Our really great friend Brian is in flight school right now and we begged him to take us up with him. So, we got to go up yesterday morning (while his wife, Ashley, watched our kids) and flew around our little island. If you only get a few hours on Oahu, this is the best way to see the island.

Catchin' Up

I've got lots of catching up to do. So be prepared for a very long post with a few cute pics. I've been busy socializing (which I love), preschooling, mommying and such.

Todd is out hiking Koko Head Crater this 4th of July morning, so I am taking advantage of this moment to recap some of the great events that have taken place in the last week.

LAUNDRY! Such a never ending process. I am, however, so very grateful to have a washer and dryer in my home. While folding laundry one Sunday morning (I know, not the greatest Sunday activity, but it needed to be done), Connor decided to "help." All mother's know what that type of help entails (unfolding and throwing the laundry around). He found my bathing suit top, took of his own shirt and put my swimming top on.Later that morning he had a bath and changed his clothes for church. Doesn't he clean up well? He loves to wear his Sunday "Boots" and especially loves to look up at the ceiling to have his top button done up.We have invested in a life-jacket for Connor (thanks for the tip Ashley & Heather). It has been so great to see him willing to swim on his own (almost frightening) and actually doing it without sinking! Abi & I don't usually get in the water (all the way) we just hang out on the steps and splash about.



For over a month now I have been trying to get the kids room into some type of "theme." With a budget of...NOTHING, I have tried my best to create a cute little cozy area for them (like they even care). Todd and I used to have this Americana quilt on our bed. I figured it was friendly to both genders and began with that as my "theme." Then I created these cute little 2-d stars to hang on the walls. I used my friend Lindsay's Cricut to cut out the letters to go above the stars. Then I used leftover wood blocks from the demolition and added the kids names to them. Then cut out a few stars and other paper things and stuck them into some baskets I had and placed those on top of the kids wardrobes. Connor asks to have the stars on the sticks...he likes to carry them around the house and direct things with them. It worked out perfect because Connor LOVES stars. Abi has yet to give me her opinion.