Refreshed by Mother Ocean

We've been in the ocean every day since we arrived. The kids would sleep at the beach if we'd let them. When we arrived Sunday evening, we dropped our backpacks in the room and walked down to the ocean to see Nana and Papa. Before I knew it the kids were in the water, clothes and all.

Papa taught Gavin how to boogie board and he's been having fun with his new skills. The kids also met a friend from Arizona (Nick) and spent a good deal of time digging in the sand with him. I was out in the water when a big wave washed up on their sand structure and a HUGE sand crab (the size of my fist) surfaced and ran toward the water, right toward me. Tristan's killer instinct kicked in and he picked up the boggie board and chased after it, beating it half to death.

The ocean here is much warmer than San Diego, the surf is more gentile (at least where we are) and you're easily burned by the sun. Dan gave me an astronomy lesson this morning to explain why, using our fists as models of the Earth and sun. (basically, Hawaii is on a latitude closer to the equator so it gets more direct sunlight as the Earth rotates). If you're not interested in the scientific explanation, just remember to use your sunscreen liberally if you ever come here. There's much whining and knashing of teeth when I pull it out of my bag but we've sucessfully avoided sunburns to this point of the vacation.

Yesterday Nana and Papa took us to one of their favorite spots at Napili Bay where we had lunch and swam in the bay. The water was beautiful. I've never seen such clear, blue water. The architecture was very Frank Lloyd Wright (don't know that he designed it but it reminded me of him.) I kept thinking about a book I read a few months ago, Loving Frank. We also drove through Kapalua where we saw bright orange bouganvilla, Cook pines, immaculately stacked stone walls (now I have a model for the stone wall I want to build along the flower bed on the side of our house- Dan's thrilled about that), hibiscus, a beautiful tree with tons of bright orange blossoms (need to figure out what that one is), and my new favorite, plumeria. The plumeria are so fragrant, you can smell them as you walk around. There's a picture of a plumeria blossom on the wall of our villa.

Can We Move to Maui?

What better time to bring back the blog than during our two weeks in Hawaii? Don't get your hopes up (yes, I'm talking to you, Grandmas). The only reason I have the time to do this is because there are no toilets to clean or weeds to pull here in Maui. At least not for tourists.

We arrived Sunday evening after a long, arduous journey by airplane. It was an entertaining journey for some, Delta treated us all to our own flat-screen entertainment devices. There was an assortment of movies, games, music, flight maps, etc. to keep us busy during the long flight. Some of us (a.k.a Dan) even read 40 or so pages of our book. Others of us wrestled with a 17-month old and 4 year old who were easily bored by other means of entertainment. When we finally landed, we transferred our luggage to another air terminal (forgot to check it all the way as we were on two different airlines) and flew over to Maui. By the time we'd secured our rental car and packed ourselves and our brood in, the stress was running high.

There's something about driving through paradise that calms the spirit (even the pesky spirit of a grumpy, tired child... or 2 or 4 of them). The drive from the airport in Kahului to Ka'anapali (near Lahaina) was gorgeous. Maui is a lot different than I expected. It's not built up or commercialized at all. There are some large resorts in the area where we're staying, but you don't see any of that from the road. It feels very small-town and pristine. We've only seen a very small area of the island, but so far it's breathtaking.

I'd only been here 12 hours before I was trying to figure out how we could live here permanently. What sort of jobs could we get that would support us here? What kind of place would we live in? It probably wouldn't be a 4500 sf / 5 bedroom place like we have now, but living in paradise would make the close quarters tolerable. I even pictured the kids in a Hawaiian school by day and walking barefoot and surfing in their spare time.

A girl can dream anyway...

Blog Burn-Out

I'm sure the world has been waiting with baited breath, wondering why I haven't blogged since December 16th.

The year 2009 for me has been all about re-examining my priorities. I've taken a break from the blog to look at where I spend my time. With each addition of my children, the time I have to myself, to do what I want to do, has been whittled down to almost nothing. So while I've been holding onto that little bit of time for dear life, I've been thinking about what I want to do with it. My conclusion? I'm only going to do things that are fulfilling to me; that bring joy to my heart.

There are so many things in my life on the "to do" list. The laundry, driving kids here and there, homework, school projects, the grocery shopping, cleaning up messes. I don't like the fact that my blog is often another item on that list: "I haven't updated my blog for x number of days, I better do that."

I think blogging has made it way too easy for people to keep up with each other without making much of an effort. Rather than calling my sister, sending her a note or even an email, I can check in on her goings-on, become a voyeur of her life, at the click of a mouse. Why bother giving her a call? I have my update. Sometimes we're too shy even to post a comment on a blog. What's up with that? The person has put themself out there, exposed themself, and we're too intimidated to see our comment in black and white?

I've also asked myself who I'm blogging for. Myself? Others? Probably both. I love the fact that I can look back 2 1/2 years and see photos of Gavin as a two year old on the beach in Monterey. I've documented things on this blog that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. That's a great gift. On the other hand, I feel like blogging has become a fad. Everyone has one and they're often superficial. A bragfest. They're a way for us to show our good side. How many people blog about the other side of life? Not many. But that's not real. I'm at a point where I want my history to be complete. That's why I'm going to continue blogging, journalling, whatever you want to call it; but I'm going to do it for myself in private.

Several years ago I read through the personal history of an ancestor. One of his decendants had printed and bound the information in his journals. I was amazed at how much this man had written but how little he'd said. Through hundreds of pages of this history, I read about what time he'd risen from bed; the chores he'd completed and even when he'd retired to bed. But I knew nothing of his feelings, his thoughts or aspirations. Really, it was the mundane stuff of daily life that he'd documented. It was disappointing to read through one of the few personal histories in my family and feel that after doing so, I knew nothing about him. I guess that's what I've thought of as I've pondered the fate of my blog. I want to spend my time documenting that which will be meaningful to myself or others down the road. So that's what I'm going to focus on for now.

P.S. Now just to decide whether joining Facebook is something that will be fulfilling or just another huge distraction?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Is it just me or is Christmas coming particularly fast this year?

I've spent the last several days working on some projects I'm giving some very special people. I wish I could post photos but I don't want to spoil any surprises. Let's just say that as usual, I had big ideas and not nearly enough spare time to pull it off gracefullly. Come to think of it, I have absolutely NO spare time right now. What was I thinking?

My family has been eating such delicacies as hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and the like. I haven't worn makeup for almost a week. Over the weekend I even had the kids eating breakfast one at a time because our kitchen table AND counter were covered with partially-completed projects. The Sunday before last we ate dinner on the back patio because it was the only place we could sit down together (Hey, it was Sunday, afterall. It would have been sacrilege to eat off paper plates on our laps.) I think my long-suffering husband will be glad when all the crafting tools and supplies are shut happily away upstairs.

In other news, today we got round two of four big storms headed our way. It's nice to have some snow to get us in the Christmas spirit. I'm just glad I have four-wheel drive because there's a lot of it.

Mia at Eleven Months

Ok, it's the last day of November so I better do this...

Mia learned how to wave. We've known it's been coming but now she can hold up her hand and open and close her fingers. Every time Grandma comes by we walk her out on the porch and wave goodbye. For the past couple months I've seen the wheels turning in Mia's head but no wave yet. A couple weeks ago she was playing with the dishes in the dishwasher and when I pulled her away and closed the door, I said "bye bye dishes". Mia held up her hand. Now she can do the full wave.

She's not saying many words but she's understanding a LOT. While I'm feeding her, we play a game in which I ask her where my nose, my eyes, my hair, etc. are and she touches them. She also watches and imitates us. One day I found her with Jolie's hairbrush and she was trying to brush her hair.

Another of Mia's favorite games is peek-a-boo. It amazes me how excited she gets when I hide my face or go around the corner and pop out at her. You'd think it was the first time we'd ever played. Sometimes she gets my attention and then turns her head, looks away and then back again. She's definitely developed a sense of humor and playfulness these past few months.

This is such a fun age! This weekend I was going through the photos I've taken of the kids during the year and I realized how each new stage that Mia enters is better than the last.

Martha Would Be So Proud

Especially of the pecan. The pumpkin, I'm not so sure. It has a little extra "love". That's what I call the shrunken crust and the black marks on the pumpkin filling. Still can't figure out how to keep my pastry from shrinking, even though I used the foil/dried beans trick. I guarantee that it's golden brown and very, very flaky, though.

The feast is here tomorrow at 2:00. My floor is mopped, cranberry sauce and pies are made. That just leaves the bird, potatoes, gravy, rolls, green beans (I'm making a new recipe using fresh ones with prociutto and toasted pine nuts), cleaning the bathroom, picking up and vacuuming, ironing my tablecloth and setting the table.

No problem, right?

Gavin's Latest Adventure

There's nothing like snorkelling in November. This morning I talked Gavin into taking his adventure to the bathtub after I broke the news that we couldn't go outside and fill our new blow-up swimming pool which he found in my closet. First, our irrigation water has been turned off, and second, it's fifty degrees out there. He wasn't deterred. He said we could fill up cups at the sink and carry them outside until the pool was all the way to the top. To a four year old, you snorkel in July, in November, whenever!

I guess he's a San Diego boy at heart. Nana and Papa will be happy to hear that.

Mia at Ten Months

I've been procrastinating documenting Mia's latest developments, maybe because I want to stay in denial about her getting bigger. She's been doing so many exciting things this month!

1. She's cruising around with flair: she loves to be down on the floor, crawling, standing, walking around the furniture, and getting into mischief. She often finds tasty little gems on the floor to snack on. Fortunately, most of the time it's just a leaf, a dehydrated vegetable or crumb from Gavin's plate the night before, or a clod of dirt (we consider them carbohydrates).

2. She's making more sounds that resemble words. Her first expression was "Uh oh!" and now she's saying "da da" when she sees Dan as well as another word that sounds like her name "Eeee-ah!". She also says "ma ma" quite regularly, but it's mosly when she's crying or upset. Last week she started to say goodbye, except that she says "da da" instead of "bye bye". I know that she's trying to say goodbye because she uses the same intonation as my "bye-bye".

3. Did I mention that Mia is an active baby? She insists on standing in nearly every situation: while she's playing, while she's nursing, in her high chair, in the grocery cart, in the tub, everywhere. And those seat belts that you find in the grocery cart or the high chair? Useless. Somehow my babies always seem to get out of them. There's really only one place that Mia doesn't like stand: in her $80 virtually-unused-Rainforest-Jumparoo. Despite its five stars and hundreds of positive reviews detailing the fabulous toys, the lights, the sounds, the 360 degree mobility... Mia hates it. She won't stand in it more than three minutes before demanding to be taken out. My mom finally cued me into the fact that Mia's too active for this kind of toy. She wants to move around and explore (great, another hyperactive kid).

4. Mia is extremely social. Today I took her to Jolie's school because Jolie's been begging me to bring Mia in. She wanted to show her off to her classmates. Mia loved the attention and performed superbly. Studying and admiring other kids is one of her favorite past times.

We love our MiMi!

We're Thinking of Moving to Arizona

I only have one thing to say this morning: I HATE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS! I know a lot of people are feeling refreshed and at peace with the universe because they got an extra hour of sleep this weekend. I am not one of those people.

Are mine the only kids who were up at five a.m. this morning? Are mine the only kids who are incapable of allowing others to sleep when they're awake? Apparently so, because we contine to practice daylight savings in this country.

Does anyone know what happens to a four year old after he gets up at five a.m. for a couple of days (or even one for that matter)? He becomes overstimulated, grumpy, and basically a mess. The only way Gavin or any of my three older kids would take a nap, by the way, is if I put them in a dark closet in a straight jacket and sat on them. In some places they consider that child abuse, so I doubt that I'll be doing that. Putting them to bed an hour early is out of the question because tomorrow morning they'd be up at four a.m. instead of five a.m.

Does anyone know who will end up paying for this? You guessed it: ME. That's why I'm thinking of moving to Arizona where they don't practice this stupid thing.

The Boo Crew

We had such a fun Halloween! Thursday night we attended Tristan's school Halloween carnival, and ofcourse, Friday night was the main event. Tristan and Jolie were very specific about what they wanted to dress up as. Gavin wanted to be just about everything I mentioned. We finally found this amazing knight costume and he was sold. Thursday evening I took Mia on a walk in the stroller and Gavin came along, dressed to the nines. We had several honks and waves from passers-by, including a biker who came up behind him as he was prancing around, waving his sword bravely in the air, and said "Trick or Treat!".

Our sumo wrestler went trick or treating with three other boys. It was quite a taste of freedom for him to be on his own between 6:30 and 9:00, covering as much ground as possible. My mom and dad came over to answer the door and when they left at around 8:30 to go home, I suggested they drive by some of the houses up the hill from us that were decorated to the hilt. My mom called a few minutes later to tell us that she saw Tristan and his friends sitting in the rain watching a movie and eating their candy in the driveway of a home that had a scary movie projected on their garage door. Dan and I had actually ran into him near there when we were out with Gavin and Mia (couldn't miss him, even in the dark). He came home right at 9:00 with an impressive haul of candy.

Our little vampiress also chose to trick or treat with a friend. We didn't go last year because we were in Orlando, so the kids have made a big jump between hanging with us and wanting to experience the excitement with their friends. Jolie went with her friend Julia and Julia's dad who was going to "walk behind them, just to make sure they were safe" (Julia's description). We also ran into Jolie while we were out. It was dark and difficult to identify people, but we recognized Jolie by a certain tell-tale scream (Jolie said they were being hyper). They were coming up the hill in the dark, on the opposite side of the street and in the opposite direction. I'm amazed that I recognized her by her scream, but then again, I've heard that scream many, many times before(keep in mind that Jolie is sandwiched by two mischievous brothers).

Thank goodness for our knight in shining armor who still wanted to hang out with Dan and I. Gavin was a delight and the highlight of Halloween. He was so excited and in awe of every bit of the whole experience. He stopped to look at every decoration, he wanted to know who lived at every house, he admired all of the other costumes... he savored the whole experience. Dan and I took Gavin on foot and our little caterpillar in my jogging stroller. Whenever someone complimented Gavin on his costume he pointed out Mia who was behind him in the stroller and he was sure to explain that she was dressed up as a caterpillar. He even asked some for an extra piece of candy "for his baby sister".

Needless to say, we have quite a boat load of candy around here. Dan and I have been rationing it over the past two days and somehow, I'm the only one who's complained of a stomach ache.

The Patch

Last night we finally made it to the pumpkin patch. We didn't want to go without Dan and he's been working long hours. He made it home early last night and we had a great time picking out our very favorite of all the hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins. We went to a new place this year, no hay ride but it was closer. We were also pleased to discover that they had a maze made out of straw bales. The kids had fun running around the maze and playing hide and seek with each other.

Now just to carve six pumpkins. Any takers??? I wish carving were as much fun as picking them out.

"I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush..."

Today is the first Saturday since July that we'll not be going to a soccer and/or football game. The "Orange Crush" has been a great team for Jolie. They've had a lot of fun and they've also won most of their games (all but one?). I'm learning that this isn't always an easy combination.

And yes, those are the tell-tale cottonwood trees. Anyone who pays attention to my photography will recognize them. I took the Orange Crush team photos. We decided to boycott the generic team photos this time around.

What's Valuable to a 4th Grader?

Today is the big fourth grade Mountain Man Rendezvous. I had to get a photo of Tristan before he left for school. He was especially stoked about the stuff he was taking to barter with the other kids.

A while back Dan gave him a pen that has apparently been quite popular among the kids in his class. It's the type that allows you to change from pencil to three different colors of ink by pressing a button. Tristan came home from school yesterday and begain gathering miscellaneous pen parts (we've had a couple others that have broken) in order to have a working one that he could barter at the rendezvous. Dan saved the day by fixing TWO pens. Tristan was very optomistic about his prospects at the rendezvous because he felt he had some very in-demand items.

Between his excitement over dressing up and the rendezvous, his adrenaline was so high that he couldn't eat breakfast (he said he wasn't hungry). I'm excited to hear how it all turned out, which I'm sure to hear all about when I pick him up in 45 minutes.

I Know it's a Ski Resort but This is Ridiculous

We're spending the weekend in Park City. When we booked this get away we envisioned ourselves ejoying the crisp mornings and warm afternoons of autumn. We figured we'd be swimming in the pool, walking through the leaves, and other "fall-like" activities.

Mother Nature had another idea. It's been in the low 30's and snowing! Unbelieveable. We've still managed to have a good time, including swimming and hot tubbing (I used Mia as an excuse to get out of that one). It goes to show that kids don't care what the weather is, they're always up for a swim.

We've also been taking advantage of the activities at our resort. We've carved pumpkins, gone on a scavenger hunt (which the kids and I won), done karaoke, and Jolie and Tristan participated in today's Guitar Hero tournament. Tristan was crowned champion of that one. Who knew that he was so good at Guitar Hero? I'm usually busily doing something else when the kids and their friends are playing.

We're going to head home after dinner and then the kids and I will return with our friends, the McKees, mid-week for the UEA holiday.

A New (Old) Trick

Alas, it happened... Mia figured out the toilet paper trick. Last night I walked into our hall bathroom and found her sitting in the middle of an unrolled mass of paper.

Did I mention in my last post that she's into EVERYTHING?

The strangest part is that it doesn't seem to have been that long since I was re-rolling toilet paper after Gavin learned this trick. He's four, though. I guess it's been longer than I thought.

Mia at Nine Months

At last, a moment to write about Mia. Life has bee so busy, I haven't documented her recent developments but I've noticed them with excitement every day. Mia has gone from scooting around on her stomach to crawling and now she's doing so with speed and efficiency. She's gone from pulling herself up to walking along the furniture. She's after everything in sight. I've given up on wearing jewelry for the moment.

Also, Mia can finally sit! She was crawling and standing long before she could hold herself in a sitting position (it was very puzzling). At first I thought it was the Bumbo seat that delayed her ablility to sit. Honestly, I think it was her constant need to be on the move that was responsible. She was seldom still enough to learn to sit. Now that she can do so, I love being able to sit her down on the floor.

Mia's single solitary word at nine months is "uh oh!" She repeats it many, many times each day. When she wants to show off she says it. She says it when she plays her favorite game (I drop it and you pick it up). She does a lot of babbling and repeats sing-songy noises. A few days ago I called "Jo....lie!" from upstairs and Mia immediately repeated a similar-sounding noise.

I'm afraid that Mia is also venturing into the first phase of seperation anxiety. She doesn't like me walking past her or (heaven forbid) out of the room. Last weekend Dan built a contraption that serves as our baby gate for the top of the stairs. I've been less able to carry her from room to room due to my incisions on the left side. She just falls apart when I walk past her. She takes it very personally, as though I'm intentionally rejecting her. I've also noticed that she looks at less-familiar faces with uncertainty. Dr. Kramer was examining her last week and she watched him very carefully and with a bit of suspicion.

Mia loves her family! Upon seeing Dan or one of the kids, she pounds her hand, kicks, throws her head back and forward... She also yells. I think she's trying to say "hi" (comes out as "ahhh!") She has to have a looky-look whenever she's nursing. She gulps it down and then twists and turns until she can see what it is that's going on around her.

A few days ago I was out with Mia, running from here to there. Mia had been dragged from one obligation to the next. She managed to get a 20-minute cat nap in the car and some finger snacks along the way. She was still pleasant and happy to be along for the ride. I gave her a kiss and said a prayer of thanks that our Mia is such a happy easy-going soul. A delight.

Happy First Day of Autumn

Did you know that today is the first day of autumn? It's also my very favorite time of year and (at least where I live) the shortest season of the year. If you're not careful you can blink your eyes and the beautiful reds and golds, the warm afternoons and cool nights have turned to snow and gray skies everywhere.

So here's to all of us enjoying autumn as much as we possibly can. My goal is to get my autumn decorations up and spend more time outdoors, even if it means letting the laundry pile up for another day. Something tells me there will be plenty of frigid winter days to stay indoors and do laundry.

Before I charge forward into the new season, though, allow me to take one last look back at summer. This morning I asked the kids to tell me about their three favorite memories of our summer together. This is what they said:

Gavin:
1. Cherry Hill: Jolie collected all of her wrist bands and by the day the water park closed we discovered we'd been 12 or 13 times (If I've ever done anything to qualify for Mother of the Year, this would be it).
2. Picking cherries. (see below)
3. Our trip to the cabin with Grandma and Grandpa.

Jolie:
1. Swimming. (Cherry Hill)
2. Being home and playing with Mia and I (I didn't expect her to say that but it sure put a smile on my face).
3. The cabin.

Tristan:
1. Our cherry business: the kids and I spent a morning in a Farmington orchard picking cherries and then came home and washed, sorted and weighed them and divided them into one pound bags. Then Dan helped Tristan set up a little roadside stand and he sold them to afternoon commuters. He did so well the first day that we went back and did it again. The kids made enough money after paying their tithing to buy Rock Band for the Wii (close to $200). It also turned out to be a great learning experience for all of them.

2. Arts in the Park: this was our fourth year participating in this recreation program. We did a session in June and another in July.

3. Going to yard sales: another one of my attempts to encourage industriousness. The kids worked for allowance money and if they had any to spend on Saturday morning, they got to come with me.

As much fun as we had, I'm still glad it's autumn...

Cruel and Unusual

Well, I think I'm on my way back into the life of the living. Tonight my parents and sister were here and with them they brought food and hair styling equipment.

I was finally able to take a shower this morning and I asked Lisa to work her magic with the blow dryer and flat iron while she was here. I'm not allowed to raise my left arm for three weeks. No ofense to my sweet Dan but the flat top hasn't allowed him much experience with round brushes and flat irons. I'm sure he would have obliged it I asked, though. He's willingly done everything else for me.

So, it's official: I'm a human being again!

I came home from the hospital on Thursday and it's been a rough couple of days. I was in surgery for four hours and I swear, they put me through the torture chamber. Friday morning I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Every muscle from the tip of my scalp to my waist hurt like you-know-what. My throat has been swollen and sore, probably because they put an echocardiogram device of some kind down my esophogus along with the breathing tube. I also have a pretty large burn on my chest and I was told that was from their use of the external de-fib pads (ever seen E.R.?) which they had to use when testing my ICD and getting the paramaters set correctly. I'm still trying to figure out why my tail bone is bruised???

So, the deed is done. Let's hope that I don't have to set foot in h-e-double-toothpick again for a long time.

Back under the Knife

For those who haven't heard: I'm headed back in for surgery this Wednesday because my routine cardiology appointment revealed that the lead going from my ICD into my heart has pulled loose.

Is it just me or has this all been a long string of bad luck? I still have a lot of sciatic nerve pain from my back surgery (six months ago). My recovery has been ten times harder than the first one, probably because I'd just had a baby and the nerve was re-injured. I've just recently been feeling like I was becoming a functioning person again. This was the last thing I was planning for.

Everyone keeps reminding me that I can't do anything about this so I may as well accept that it has to be done and think of the positive side. I've been dreading going back into the cath lab since I got my ICD. To be honest, it's my idea of what hell must be like. But I'm trying really hard to think of the positive!

Une Rite de Passage

My little buddy started preschool today! Another rite of passage. A friend asked me if I cried, I didn't because he was so ready and so excited!

Ofcourse he's been waiting for his big day since the other kids went back to school. Yesterday a package was delivered from Old Navy with some jeans that I'd bought for all the kids. When Gavin found out it contained his new "preschool jeans" he ripped the box open and tried them on. He modelled them for me and jumped around in them. I gave him a bath last night and we talked about preschool. At bedtime he even listened to some preschool songs on his CD player, a CD that I normally can't get him to listen to (he prefers the "Cars" soundtrack and "Inside Out Primary Music").

This morning I awoke to Jolie and Gavin at the top of the stairs whispering. Gavin was wearing his new jeans and getting ready for school (even though preschool didn't start until 1:00).

His day seemed to go well. He had no problem separating from me and when Mia and I returned to pick him up, we watched through the two-way mirror and he was sitting in the circle with a big smile on his face. As we were getting in the car Gavin looked at Mia and asked whether she had cried for him while he was gone. (She hadn't but I told him that she missed him very much =).