Some of this, some of that

So, as usual, for A-Dog's birthday, I took him shopping for clothes. It's a win-win, since really he will be needing warmer clothes soon and it's his birthday...see how that works?

This year, he bought his stuff in one place. Seriously a miracle.

Not to mention, he didn't need shoes.

That saved 5 hours of my life.

Want to know what I'm doing today? 

Trying to order more jeans...that are longer...because the others look like they are on the verge of becoming high waters. 

Unbelievable.


I make partial grocery lists...and fill in the rest with things I think that I "need" once I get to the grocery store....with 3 in tow.

I currently have 60 soft corn tortilla shells.

And 77 crunchy tortilla shells.

Because apparently I love tacos...A LOT.  And while that is true, it seems excessive.

I want to say it is because our local grocery store has gone thru a major renovation and moved exactly every single item I buy, so now I have no idea where anything is. That is likely a lie, or at least a partial one.

There is a new St@rbucks though....


Every year I get my Christmas cards by the beginning of December.

Explain why they don't get mailed? They are sitting there. Taunting me. Daring me to mail them. I even have stamps. *sigh*.


Today I gave my kids a bath...since it had been 5 days.  Monkey has very itchy skin (and we think is allergies)...his pediatrician says "does he bathe every day (because that strips natural oils...)?"  I could barely catch my breath laughing so hard...ya right, does he bathe every day???  There have been times my sweet husband and I look at each other wondering when the last time we showered them WAS!

We are good parents like that.

Hank keeps leaving the yard and going next door. The other day it was 5 times in 30 minutes. He has a shock collar on, and apparently is not as impacted by it as I feel he should be. Our neighbor has blood-meal in her plants. He knows it. He just can't control himself and the thought of it must make him immune to the tastiness of what is to come. 


I have a lot more to say, just can't think of it.  I started this post a week ago, lol! Obviously I'm behind on nearly everything! 

I will be putting together the final finale of Maui...4 months after our return.  Who knew it would take me that long? Plus I have Thanksgiving and Christmas :)

Cheers!

Surviving the Road to H@na

So, one day while we were grabbing lunch in Maui, after a long morning sitting around on the beach..taking walks on the beach, snorkeling, enjoying the wonderful beach sand (you get the idea, right?)...we ran into a very interesting couple (in their 40s or so) carrying around a plastic toy doll about 15 inches long. And I just want to put out there, it was naked.

She holds up the baby and says to her husband "take my picture right here, so the menu is in the background". You know, like a Fl@t Stanley - that you take with you and do pictures with on a trip or whatever.

She sat near us and proceeded to laugh out loud telling us that they were doing this and sending the photos to their kids. ALL. DAY. LONG. Because they left their kids at home (they had a teenager or two and a 9 year old).

AT HOME.

At first I thought she was a genius. Seriously. A vacation without the kids.

Then I thought 'Lady - you are in SO MUCH TROUBLE when you get home'. 'Did you think this all the way thru?????'

If I thought for ONE moment, that I could escape for a week to the islands and no one would banish me from their lives, don't you think I would have already done that? 

Anyway, that has little to do with anything at all. As usual.

But I want to tell you about the Road to H@na.  It is said to be in the top 10 things to do if you are in Maui. I do agree. My sweet husband and I have done it 3 times now. Our favorite beach is at the end...and we try to get there early afternoon so the waves aren't too rough. Bear with me, I hope I don't get too long winded and over share pictures. It was a long and amazing day.

They say that there are 600 hair pin turns (I think I lost track at 7), 56 one-lane bridges, lots of waterfalls and many scenic places to pull over. Holy cow it was a day (bwahahaha...sorry, you'll understand when you get to then end...)

Yup. It's real.

Waterfall and pools - can you see the peeps down by the water?

Black Sand Beach

We made a bunch of stops. My mom wanted to make sure she saw waterfalls and that she did. Black sand beach is just that - black. Lots of rocks from lava formations, and the swimming isn't easy due to the river rock type rocks at wave break.  

We stopped for lunch at a place that sold banana bread, with local bananas we are told. When we stopped later for a snack, I got another loaf, that would come in handy later!  At the snack stop we had some kahlua pork and rice and everyone drank water straight from a coconut (um, yuck) and tried some coconut chips.  

Finally we got to H@moa Beach. It was overcast most of the day. Apparently the day before it rained so bad you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. Glad that wasn't the day we went!!

A-Dog boogie boarded almost 2 straight hours!

Twins

I know you can't really see it, but Mini P has beach sand plastered ALL OVER HER. Top to bottom. She was fearless in the water, tho with it overcast and the water a little chillier here, she didn't get in at H@moa.  However, when she did get in, she didn't care if waves took her under and muddled her with sand, she wore it proud.  We even had to leave one of her suits in Maui...in the garbage...it was so ridden with sand it was never going to recover. Even after we got her home and washed her hair 5 times, we were still picking sand off her. Of course, Monkey...well, he hated it. Really did NOT like the sand sticking to him. Barely tolerated all our excursions to the beach. Sad really. All he wanted to do was come home to Hank.

BUT, after we left the beach, we needed to decide how to go back home.  Route A: Back the way we came (600 hairpin turns). Route B: Continue on the back roads, some not maintained roads and no food, water, stops, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  What do you think we smart adults chose??? Yup. B.

SO, off we went.

It was not too bad in the beginning. It wasn't dark (yet) and we weren't hungry (yet).  We ended up seeing some really amazing waterfalls.

waterfall

driving thru the trees

1 of 4 cars we saw that night, and no, I don't think that is my parents...

So, we are cruising along this stretch of road. At one point, I am very uncomfortable because we are very close to the edge. I am not good in those situations.  My sweet husband is getting uncomfortable because the other side is a steep rocky cliff, and he doesn't like how they look - not as safe as he would have recommended. It was a bad mile.

But come around the corner and we are at a full and complete stop because there are about 400 of these (this is where holy cow comes in :) ):

This went on for a while. At least 30 minutes. Just when you think they would be gone, another few hundred were around the bend.  We rolled the windows down and literally they could have stuck their heads in. They kept moo'ing and we laughed so hard - they kids thought it was HILARIOUS! And it was. 

I have to tell you the rest of the ride really, well, sucked. I'm sorry for the language faux paux, or however you spell that.

But it was awful.

I knew sort of where we were on the map. It's not like we could get lost. But I really needed to know how much longer!  The sun went down. So far down it was pitch black. We stopped at one point and split our mini loaf of banana bread among the 8 of us, hoping to make it to dinner.

About 6:30 or 7pm or so, the kids fell asleep, thank goodness. it had been a long day and I was whiny enough.

At almost 8pm (a near 12 hour day) we finally got back into Kihei, and stopped to eat dinner. I have never considered buying one of the shirts that said "I survived the Road to H@na"...until then. I'm pretty sure we ALL agreed on that.

Cheers!

The Big 5...times 2 (does that make it 10?)

It is hard to believe that I would have all 4 of my kids near a major holiday - or major for us. Mother's Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving.  These two loves were born 3 days before Thanksgiving and this year their birthday fell 2 days before. One would think I would have planned that better.

And Thanksgiving at my house means getting prepared to host 40-50 people at my house, all whilst having some sort of birthday party. At 5, they know they are supposed to have a party, or think they are. 

I've decided to start calling Thanksgiving their birthday party until further notice.

BUT, this year - we used a local pizza joint that has 6,000 games to make them feel like I just did it up big :). It worked. I even remembered candles!

Because they didn't really care that the other 742 people there were NOT there for them. It seemed like a huge party, and really we only invited the grandparents, the godparents and the 16 year old son of the godparents. 

So, Happy Birthday Twins!!!

Monkey oh Monkey...the boy soothes my heart. He is so genuine and true, and let's be honest, he loves on me more than his sister..so there's that.  He is the hardest child to photograph. He makes a silly looking smile and usually looks somewhere else (as shown above-haha) He is his very own person who refuses to be rushed into anything. He is the child that keeps us from being most places on time.

The boy has distinct ideas about what he should wear. He is not concerned with matching. Ever.  He would like to wear basketball shorts, his 3 favorite t-shirts and flops. Every. Single. Day. He HATES any other clothes. Period.

You can imagine how hard it is when we go to church...the one place I require something a little nicer than basketball shorts. a shirt that in no way matches anything and flops.  There are a lot of tears..from both of us.

But he is a sweet and funny boy who loves trucks of all kinds. Dump trucks, semis, 4 X 4, fire trucks..you name it, he will love it.  He really loves Leg0s. He is finally learning how to read and it is a slow process. He loves to do math, which helps balance out his school stuff.  He loves music and singing, especially silly songs that make him laugh.

Mad because we wouldn't let her in the rip current at the beach.

My little Mini P...I think we should change her nickname to Miss Mama With Attitude. Oh that girl fits that name so well. She makes sure that we know everything that is going on and has no issues spouting off orders to all the brothers, even if we are standing right there. And when she is mad...we all know it.  The rule is "you break you take"...so if you 'break' her, you get her for the day. It's really a fun game. 

She is absolutely NOT generous with her affections (which I'm hoping will serve us well in the teenage years). If you get her first thing in the morning, she will let you hold her. If you try to get a hug later (10 minutes after she gets up), no dice. If you get a hug from her every other day, you need to count your blessings. If you get a kiss, well, I would ingrain it in your brain because you do NOT know when the next one will be.

Mini P is smart. She loves to read and many books she reads are well above her grade level. Even if she doesn't know the full meaning of the words, she can say them and she will ask what they mean.  She has good understanding of what she reads. Her favorites are the Fairy series by Daisy Me@dows - right now we have 10 from the library.

They are both playing soccer and one loves it more than the other. One (Monkey) can't stand the shirt (surprise) and says he never has fun (not true), Mini P is hard core. Sometimes Monkey is just kind of standing around watching. We have always said that he is more of a spectator than a participant, but he chose to play.

We are so lucky that we have this kind of entertainment in our life, without them it would be very dull. For 2 people raised near identically, they could not be farther from that. It amazes me each day how different they really are! 

Cheers!

Back to it - Part 3

So, I'm afraid from here it is going to be a jumbled mess of vacay. No real order. Like my life...

It isn't intentional that I procrastinate, but sometimes my Scr@mble takes precedence (you understand that if you play it...) and other random things like school. Laundry. Sleep.

Plus, I do have very few hours in a day...and um, well, there is Thanksgiving and 2 more birthdays coming up. So, I need to get a move on here.

We snorkled:

and looked good doing it.

A-Dog got to go surfing:

It was something that we had talked about with him and what he wanted to do while he was there. The waves weren't very difficult, but it's all about learning to get your balance on a board before hitting the North Shore :)

We went to as many beaches as we could:

 We even attempted to bury our kids and run for the hills.

But, since people saw us do it, we had to go back and rescue her :)

Of course no trip to Maui is complete without a Luau. Of course, now that all my people have been, I don't have to go again. I mean, I think it is fun, once, but...not necessary.

My hula girl!

I will leave you with one last bit of part 3...the Banyon Tree. This tree is amazing and I couldn't get it all in a photo if I tried.

The second picture here is the actual tree trunk, it grows up and then drops down a branch like appendage that then roots itself into the ground. Or that's the gist of it anyway.  This one is one of the world's largest - spanning 1 city block and extending 60 feet high.  Apparently it wasn't actually planted here originally - it was brought from India in 1873. There's some useless information you can mull around your head. I'll be the first to admit I just looked all that up - I knew most of it, but didn't want you all fact checking me. That would be awkward.

Ok, so before next week when I have some little people turning 5, I will try to get in my post about our trip on the Road to Hana...never did I realize that the shirt that says "I survived the Road to Hana" was a true reward, because after that day - I seriously almost bought it.

15

15 Already. My kids seem to grow up so fast....I can hardly keep up.

I realize that you were hoping for more pictures of Maui. Me too. It's really hard to sort thru the photos without pulling up flights to just go back. It's a fine balance, so I am proceeding cautiously.

So, A-Dog is 15. As of yesterday. 15 years and 29 hours ago I held that sweet boy in my arms for the first time. I tried to relive the moment before he went to bed Sunday night, but it was awkward. And uncomfortable. And frankly, not as sweet. Sweet, but not as sweet.

I am so proud of this kid and thank God everyday for allowing me - ME - to be his mom. How did God decide that I should get such a loving spirit?  Certainly I've done nothing to deserve him or anything else I have, but I have been entrusted to bring him up the best we know how.

A-Dog is generous with his love, he is kind and unassuming. He is a great brother and friend.  He is funny and witty. He loves food. Certain foods are loved more than others, but in general, he just likes to eat (like all good teenagers).  

He is nearly as tall as I am, so he begs me not to wear shoes that will diminish the closing gap if we will be in public. I oblige. I can't help it. I am a sucker.

So, A-Dog - Dad and I love you - but you already know that :). We are proud of you - but you know that too!  We love watching your grow up into the amazing young man you are becoming and finding your way in this crazy life! 

Never let your dreams be squashed, never let anyone sway you from your Faith and always keep God front and center.

Happy Birthday!

Vacay - Part 2

So, we are currently at whatever day of vacation it is. For us, it was Thursday.

It was Thursday for you also, but if on any given day you asked me the actual date, I had no clue. That would be how I messed up our living arrangements when it was time to switch from our timeshare to a condo...but that is not part of this post. 

Thursday.

Snorkel Cruise. From Ma'alaea Harbor to Molokini (which is a crescent shaped, partially submerged crater. Great for snorkeling).

Headed to Molokini aboard Ali'i Nu'i

Grandma took it for the team and stayed back with the little kids. 

I was gonna bring her - but her pocket book said 'thanks', since she would only be a passenger, not a snorkeler.

Dad (Grandpa) and my sweet husband

Before we left harbor on our huge catamaran, we had a wonderful breakfast. More food than we could possibly eat. Lots of great drinks, even homemade ginger ale. Which came in handy. 

Boat view

It was the perfect day, with a bit more wave action than Grandpa and I would have preferred. Luckily, my sweet husband was a bit paranoid (due to news of some large swells predicted for that morning) and bought some sea sick medicine. Boy am I sorry that I mocked him because my dad and I were the ones that ended up needing it.  Truthfully, the waves really weren't that bad...I am not sure why we were green..

But, the day was amazing and the water was warm. Agent P did a great job in the water and then when he was cold (trust me, the water was not cold...) he went on the boat and was spoiled by the crew. He was the only kid that day and they took special care of him!

Side of Molokini

Back side of Molokini

  

On the way back there was kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, salads, many adult beverages. After my don't-get-sick-on-the-boat medicine kicked in, I had some adult beverages (because I'm on a boat with free adult beverages...duh...). They were kind enough to let my dad and I pack up as much food as we wanted in some bags, to enjoy later :).  

That afternoon after showers and naps (because at this point, we are all a bit jet lagged with the 3 hour time change) we hung out... and then...geez. What did we do?  

Oh, I remember I didn't eat dinner. I did eat my food from the boat...that afternoon. They all went for a walk after dinner and I stayed in with twins and got them to bed (and me too). Because what do you do at the end of a stressful day? You walk across the street and watch the sunset on the beach, what else?

I know you are wondering - "am I going to have to sit here thru each day of vacation???"  Well, remember this is my online journal so that I don't forget what happens in my life too...so, ya, you do ;) Or you can just check back regularly to see if I'm done yet!

Let's all just be thankful I'm not posting the 700+ photos....and I'm just picking some....

Here is a random one...

One day we were driving to the beach (weird I know..) and it was rainy in a section of the drive. This rainbow was right across the bridge of the mountain. Truly amazing. Notice it is not all green and lush. Maui is a very unique island and has desert type dry areas.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can get the idea.

Cheers!

Vacay part 1 of 645

Well, I hope it doesn't take me 645 posts to get the gist of our vacation in, but let's just take it one post at a time.

So, yup, we took the family to Maui. Yup, on a plane. It is a sacrifice  but truly, Maui is my absolute favorite destination. And since I'm the designated vacation planner, we go where I want to go. It's like dinner...if I make it, it is because I like it and you get to eat it. Hey, I don't make the rules, I just follow them.

However, due to the beauty of frequent flyer miles we only had to pay for 2 seats. Mine and Mini P's. 

Because I'm willing to take it for the team, I let all the boys fly together. Had I gotten first pick, A-Dog would have flown with me. That apparently was not how that was going down - some new rule I guess. I thought I got my pick...

Then of course, because so often flyer miles..well...suck...their flight was not as pretty as one would hope.

The quick of the long of it is that the airlines that we have miles with, had a computer hiccup and the original not as ugly flights didn't get recorded, so we only had our flights 10 months in advance and because of that the boys spent nearly 19 hours in route (on a Monday). Not to mention getting a car, getting food upon arrival and checking in. Pretty sure they were all up for almost 24 hours straight.

10 months. You'd think we would have something decent. Yes, our vacation was planned that far in advance - longer actually. I'm actually ready to start planning my next trip to HI in 3 years. No kidding. Don't tell my husband...shhhhh.

Mini P and I had better flights, THE NEXT DAY and arrived the mid afternoon after only 8-9 hours of travel (Tuesday).

Once Mini P and I got there, we found out that my sweet husband had car trouble and had to head back to the airport to exchange the vehicle...we met somewhere in the middle and switched a few kids and off to the grocery store I went.  Let's face it, after being up since 4am, two days in a row, the LAST place I wanted to be was the grocery store.  Well, that's the last place I ever want to be so, I guess my analogy isn't warranted, but still.

So - without further delay:

Kahekili Beach

A-Dog, happy as can be on the beach!

Kahekili Beach was our first beach. It has a combination of beach sand and grass and palm trees.  I didn't realize how amazing the snorkeling was here until the last day we snorkeled and were getting ready to leave the island. A shame, because it was superb! There is a coral reef literally feet off the shore. So close you have to be careful getting in. Lots of amazing fish!

Then later in the afternoon, I went to the airport to pick up these 2 amazing people!

So, there you go.

That gives you the first 3 days, even if 2 of them were travel days.

Just wait, it gets better. Way better. Just need to gather all the pictures from all the phones, cameras and video camera (which has video and photo...)

Cheers!

9 things you couldn't live without knowing...

1. I don't appreciate that the Lego men can have their arms and hands removed. There is no logical reason for this. Whoever decided that the Lego people should be able to have interchangeable heads, arms, hands and tops/bottoms have never actually OWNED Legos. They do not understand that a 4 year old cannot process the fact that I CAN'T FIND THE ARM... among a pile of 3 million other pieces.

2. I put someone in timeout. Then forgot they were in timeout. Then had to figure out where they were. And why It was just so quiet. And peaceful. And act like I remembered they were there when I found them. And hadn't been forgotten.

3. I can make my dog drool buckets by simply saying the word "hungry". It is gross.

4. The inability to to match clothing is a genetic disorder. I wish I had a pic of the little boys on Sunday. Oh, it was red on green and not in a pretty "Christmasy" kind of way and the other brother was 2 shades of not even close to matching green. Luckily, it wasn't the week for plaid on plaid. We've gone to church like that. True story. Ask Agent P - he'll tell you they both had blue in them, so they MUST match!

5. The person who invented smelly markers should have put more thought into how that would go down....  At least they are washable. Mostly. But still.

6. Chips and salsa should be a food group of its own. 

7.  I hide things I don't want to share. For instance, the caramel popcorn/cheese popcorn mix. I know it sounds like an odd combination to have in the same bag, but trust me when I say EVERYONE HERE LOVES IT. So...I'm forced to hide the bag.  It's not hard really. No one here will search for A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. that is not in front of them screaming "grab ME".

8. I take my kids to Cost-co during the week when I know they will have all the snacks out.  Don't judge. You do it too.

9. You should never wait until the end of the day to clean up the kitchen because people might randomly stop by. Not that this has happened to me or anything. Twice. I was saving the breakfast dishes and just loading them all up at lunch. Until this week.  Think I will be better or rumors might be started.

The long long days...

I've hardly seen A-Dog in the last week or 6 I guess for that matter. Pretty sure I've mentioned it.

He's just too busy. Oh the life of a teenager...wait until he starts driving! 13.5 months...

He had his first CC meet last Wed and he was a rock star!  I figure anyone who runs 5k straight thru is a rock star...cuz it takes a lot for me to talk myself into NOT stopping, if even for just 10 paces of walking. I'm resilient like that.

Coming towards the finish line!

Post Race

Then on Friday night he did a 'lock in' at school over night (lock in means stay up all night and don't sleep), Saturday he had another CC meet out of town leaving at 6am from school. He needed someone to come get his 'lock in' stuff and bring him breakfast...at 5:45. IN THE MORNING. I don't 'pop' out of bed. Ever. So, the obvious choice was not ME. My sweet husband popped out of bed and took him breakfast.

We all packed up and made the 1 hour drive to the meet...to sit outside in 95 degree heat to watch runners start and finish...and in between...we wait.  Glad we brought our own shade. I can't complain out loud when I'm sitting on a hard bench in the shade watching kids run their hearts out in the middle of the desert in the extreme heat...

coming around last bend

the last stretch

Since he had been awake for 30 before he ran, once we got home he slept for almost 17 hours...straight (minus 1 hour he got up and fed the dog). 

I did see him on Sunday, but he had homework.

Then Monday he went hunting.

Tuesday school and CC

Wednesday school and CC meet out of town and got home at 9pm

I think he should call in sick to school tomorrow to hang with his mama. 

Just sayin'.

But these lovlies. They have been here...all day every day :)

Yup. Finger in his nose. He thought it would be a funny photo :)

making their mama crazy!

Cheers!