Kauai 2010 Part 1 Of Many

As some of you know, we recently went on a 5 day trip to Kauai.  It is the third island that I've seen now and is by far the most beautiful.  I love how each of the islands has its own unique characteristics.  Kauai was more laid back and peaceful.  For those of you wondering, yes we had all 3 kids with us!  I know....kids and peaceful don't really go together do they?  Despite being surrounded by vacationers, it felt more low key and less busy than Maui or even home.  We apparently missed out on seeing Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler. Oh, and someone from Survivor got married while we were there.  Instead I spent a bit of time on a lounge chair and "talked story" (as the locals would say) with some folks from LA and another couple from NY.  Both sets were in the filming industry - the one lady worked behind the camera and the other guy was a real live actor.  Funny, the people you meet...turns out they had 2 girls the same age as Dayton and Saige.  They left their kids at home, and while they commented several times on how cute and well behaved mine were, I'm quite sure they weren't missing their own.  This trip we decided to take Miss Katie (our 2 day a week nanny - also known as my 2 day a week get your sanity in check to deal with the other 5 days).  It was great to have the extra hands and the kids loved having her there - it meant more time in the pool and at the beach.  I'm blessed to have her.  She loves the kids as if they were her own and my kids love them as much as they love me...perhaps even more on some days!  She has endless energy and patience and it was nice to be able to spend some alone time with Scott.  We had a couples massage at the Spa, went out for dinner and drinks to watch the sun setting and even went on part of the Na Pali Coast hike.  Okay, before I get too lost in my stories (which just might take me a year to complete!) let me get a few pictures posted.  Stay tuned (but not too tuned) for more...

Conversations With A 4 Year Old

Entertaining to say the least.  Sometimes frustrating.  Complex.  Can I say scary too?  Since sometimes they include questions I'm just not ready to answer.  I really need to do a better job of writing these things down because one day I won't be able to remember all of them and I really want the kids to be able to laugh about it and share it with their own families.

It's only 8am here and this is how it went...

Dayton was sticking his hands in the back of my hair (I recently got almost 5 inches of hair cut off)... "Mom, I don't see your special eyes."  "Oh they're there dear...they are magic so you can't see them."  "But mom, I don't feel them either."  "Do your special eyes only come out when I'm doing something bad?"  I'm still laughing about it.  I wonder how long I can get away with having these special eyes.

Dayton was making himself waffles this morning and offered to make some for me too.  I had already poured a bowl of cereal so I told him if I was still hungry after finishing that I would let him know.  He said, "Eat your cereal and if you're still hungry then remember in your mind I will make two waffles." "Don't freeget (forget) okay mom?"  "Remember that in your mind."  "If you don't know, your mind is in your forehead."

Mother's Day 2010

Some people think that Mother's Day is a day to celebrate family...spending time with those you love, honoring thy mother, making special trinkets to be saved for years yet to come, recognizing how special the role of "mama" is, a special meal or whatnot.  I like to celebrate mine alone.  Every day is "Mother's Day".  To me, every normal day is a day to celebrate with loved ones.  My children tell me they love me every single day...they also tell me why.  That alone is plenty reason to make me feel special in my job...caretaker, nurturer, nurse, doctor, teacher and all other shoes I often find myself wearing.  (some more comfortable than others)  So, I like to celebrate by taking time to myself...not to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a mother, nor to think about my children....time to just do things for me to recharge my batteries.  And that is exactly what I did this year.  I started the day off with crepes on the beach....my toes in the sand, the morning sun on my back, the salt breeze against my face...pure bliss.  I took my camera and spent 3 hours capturing the beauty around me.  4 hours of peace and quiet.  Then I went home and "celebrated" with my loved ones.  Scott had spent some time with the kids making me a card.  Each of them put their footprint on paper and colored it in and then drew one special thing.  Dayton drew a heart and printed the word "heart" under it.  Saige drew a picture of me.  It will be a card that I will treasure, that I will look at when I'm old and think "wow, where did all the years go?"

I recall making gifts and cards for my own mother when I was younger.  I'm pretty sure she kept most things - I wonder what she thinks of when she looks at all those memories and years gone by.  I hope that she always felt loved by her children the way I feel loved by mine.  I'd like to think that she is proud of who I've become and where I've gone in my life yet also feel proud of herself for bringing me into this world, loving me, guiding me, teaching me..for I am today, a mother.  And while I am learning as I go, I take all that great wisdom she shared with me to be the best mother that I can be.  I am thankful for her role in my life and all that she has given me and taught me.

Time To Post But No Time To Title

So, I was about to give a nice update since Addley is napping and Saige is busy eating lunch (a late lunch as it is already 2pm here) and here I am on the second line and I've already been interrupted twice.  "Mom, look at my legs..they're shore."  Short?  "No, shore."  Cold?  "No, shore."  Ah...shore.  And now Saige is finished her pizza and strawberries.  Didn't get much accomplished did I?  Followed up by a conversation about not putting your teeth on cabinet handles so that they don't get chipped and whether or not her feet and legs will fall off when her teeth fall out.  As I was saying....
Dayton is in tune with Spring right now and seems to be blossoming developmentally - his artwork has progressed from scribbles and potato people (circles with sticks for limbs and big features) to alphabet designs and houses with flowers.  It is now more than one color as well!  He finally has figured out all the uppercase and lowercase letters, how to write them and the sounds they make and is now starting to spell and sound out words when reading.  It is all very impressive to me.  Perhaps most 4 year olds can do this but I certainly don't recall being able to do this when I was 4.  Regardless, I am so proud of him and at the same time, so sad that he is growing so fast.  The big K next year...I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with homework and the seriousness of establishing good educational routines.  Why can't they be little and innocent for just a little longer these days?  He is also playing soccer now and he absolutely LOVES it!  He is so cute in his little shin guards and cleats and out of nowhere has developed this running slide kick.  I need to video it - looks as though he's done this before.  It has been nice to spend our Friday evenings together as a family and supporting his talents/interests.  Dad keeps him focused and warms up with him and us girls sit on the sidelines cheering him on.  Okay, I'm the one cheering...Saige and Addley eat.  It is the only way to keep Saige contained and prevent Addley from putting everything in her mouth (like grass, sticks, seeds, dirt, rocks bugs etc).
Saige is still Saige...fiercely independent, strong willed and challenging to raise!  She is emerging as the dreamy, creative one - very interested in tea parties, picnics, school lessons and such.  Lest I not forget her need to always tell others what to do and how to do it.  She is so funny and I really must do a better job of writing down all her silliness.  Last week after bedtime she apparently got out of bed and put in every single hair clip that she owns.  Daddy found her sleeping on the floor with 20 clippies in her hair.  Occasionally I will find her asleep on her belly on the floor wearing a backpack or wearing a second set of PJ's on top of the ones she already has on; including double sets of socks.  One day she will read this and not believe it...fortunately I try and take pictures!  She still refuses to fall asleep in her bed!  She will be starting preschool (with her big brother; though he will be in a different class) at the end of August.  I am tempted to keep her home, but she needs the structure, exposure to rules and the socialization.  She needs someone else to boss her around a bit.  My beautiful sassy diva.
Wow, I can't believe I've gotten this far in my post....and onto Addley...sweet little Addley.  She is 9 months old now and I am starting to really see her personality.  Quarky, loves attention, quick to learn and will let you know if she is upset!  She's either talking or crying.  She pulls up on anything and will push around anything that moves.  Another mama's girl...always climbing my pant legs and cries if I walk by her without picking her up.  She adores her big brother and is a little scared of her overbearing sister.  She has 3 teeth now and is working on a fourth and FINALLY is eating some solid food...along with anything else she can shove in her mouth.  I do the scoop and sweep routine several times a day.  I vacuum daily, hoping to suck up anything her little fingers might find.  A pointless and time consuming task since she still manages to find so much.  A magnet, a clove of garlic, paper, dog hair, crumbs, sticks, bugs...you get the point?  And now my update must come to a close...I know there is more to say, but duty calls.  Dayton is home from school and is running around in his underwear, Saige is half naked running around scooping the air with my wooden spoons and Addley is emptying the DVD cabinet.  Just enough time for a small update....

Retro-blogging

Is there such a thing as retro-blogging?  Several people have pointed out that I haven't posted anything since January.  Really?  I could swear I wrote something in February...hmmm, perhaps not.  Well, now it's March...where to start, what to say?  I'm not really sure what actually happened in the month of February.  I know Valentines Day was in there.  Most of the month was ridden with illness that got passed from child to child to parent to parent.  It was a pretty sick month.  Fortunately nothing serious...just back to back upper respiratory virus type stuff.  You know, that stuff that makes both parents and children somewhat miserable...and most of you also know, that being a mommy means that you aren't allowed the luxury of getting sick...and if you do, you don't get to take time off from motherhood.
What else happened?  Scott went away for a week.  Actually, he just got back from another week away too.  Those weeks are never fun.  It always amazes me to think about how all those single parents survive.  Or rather, how all those children of single parents survive.   I mean, it's no wonder some species eat their young!  Seriously.  The highlight of my week came on my last night of flying solo.  Dayton and Saige were watching a show before bedtime while I got Addley fed and ready for bed.  I told them I was going to put her to sleep and that when I got back I would read them their bedtime story.  I was gone less than 3 minutes; which is apparently A LOT of time for a 4 year old and 2.5 year old to be up to no good.  During those 3 minutes, Dayton doused himself with Scott's cologne and Saige squirted hand sanitizer all over my bedside table (which is less than a year old I might add).  They then wiped it around with a kleenex (to clean it up they say), spreading it over half the table and then decided they might experiment with cleaning the rest of it off with my nail file!  The sanitizer nicely removed the finish off the wood and the nail file nicely damaged it with pretty scratchy designs.  Well, I pointed to their bedroom and said nothing because I was more than a little mad.  Saige said, "I guess no bedtime story?"  A double point from me.  On the way to their bedroom she asked me I still loved her (my head said no, but my heart said yes) and my finger kept pointing towards their bedroom.  Dayton didn't say a word.  He just climbed in his bed and pulled the covers up...I might have heard him say sorry, but I'm not certain.  They both stayed in bed (a rarity) the whole night.  I was thankful Scott was returning the following day.  The morning of that day I discovered several presents in my closet...compliments of the dogs.  Need I say more?  And that folks, is what you all have been missing out on...
Perhaps my next post will focus a little more on the good and cute things my kids have been up to...

December 2009 - Birthdays, Christmas, Milestones And All That...

I celebrated my 35th birthday with the greatest gifts:  my children, my husband and some chocolate cake.  Logical Dayton of course wanted to know why there were only 3 candles on my cake!

We went to a The Ching Family's yearly gingerbread house decorating party.  This was Dayton's creation.  Saige started eating the pieces of hers before it got built.  Scott melted it and the tray in the oven a few days later.

Addley started to sit up.  The girls were "playing" (Saige was trying to "make" Addley take a pacifer) together on a beautiful sunny day.  Hard to see from this shot, but they are on Saige's new beautiful quilt made by a family friend.  Tula, the guardian.

Addley tried rice cereal for the first time.  She's never eaten it since.  Or oatmeal, or carrots, or sweet potatoes, or peas, or apples, or apple juice.... She's just not the least bit interested in eating anything solid right now.

Dayton's first tap performance.

Dayton's first hip hop performance.  I discovered that I have forgotten everything I learned in my sewing class in high school.  I really did hem his pants...

Sitting with the girls waiting for his number.

Where's Dayton??!

Dayton's Christmas program at the church.  He sang "Thula Thula".  Apparently it is a traditional Zulu song.  No wonder I never understood him when he was practicing singing it at home!  It wasn't even in English!

My sweet boy...all grown up.

A picture of me with the kiddos after the Christmas program.

Addley learned how to get into the crawl position.  She isn't crawling but she kind of gets around a little on her side.

Saige was the Christmas cookie helper this year.  Dayton apparently had better things to do and only wanted to partake in eating them.

She obviously needs a little more practice!

Caught on film stealing bites of raw cookies.  Gross!  But she sure is beautiful.

This year Santa got "pieces" of cookies (I used too small of a cookie pan and the dozen cookies sort of became one cookie) and some chocolate milk.  Dayton thought Santa might enjoy the one with the most sprinkles.

Our traditional Christmas Eve PJ picture!  Addley's first Christmas.  She isn't sure what to think about all the excitement.

The West side of the tree on Christmas morning.

The East side of the tree on Christmas morning.

My favorite part...stockings.  Often the most played with gift is found in the stocking.  This year umbrellas were a big hit.  The kids always want to play with them and Dayton took his to school for show and tell!  He was a little disappointed they wouldn't let him open it in class and demonstrate.

This year Santa left bags for the kids with their gift inside.

Santa brought Dayton a scooter and a sleeping bag.  I'm still amazed that Santa was thinking of me when he brought the kids their own sleeping bags...now they can sleep in them on my floor rather than flip and kick me in my own bed!

No idea what Santa brought for Saige - she was more interested in playing with some coins she found.

The day after Christmas we all enjoyed some leftover turkey sandwiches at the beach.  Addley enjoyed her hat strap.

After turkey sandwiches, the kids played in the water.  It was a beautiful and relaxing day after Christmas.

Dayton enjoys torturing the dogs by ringing the doorbell and making them nutty.  I thought the picture was cute because his crocs match the pointsetta.

Happy New Year - Welcome 2010

It's that time of year that one reflects back on the year behind and looks forward to what is yet to come.  I can't recall the last time I actually made some New Years Resolutions...but that's okay because I also can't recall the last time I actually stayed awake until the New Year.  I'm not certain why people insist on making such a big deal out of the changing of the year...more intriguing was the "blue moon" last night.  Truly beautiful.  I hope you all took a moment to look at it.  I've been told (by my mother...whose wisdom I don't question) that the next one isn't until 2028.  18 more years....I wonder if I'll still be blogging?  If I sit and think about it, I'm sure I can conjure up quite a few resolutions, but seriously, why put extra pressure on myself?  Instead I am enjoying those things that are meant to be enjoyed.  Happy New Year all....Thought I'd give my doglets some airtime and offer some relief to those that may be tired of always seeing pictures of my angels!

I'm always impressed at how photogenic a dog becomes when you mention the word treat!

Not sure why Shey insists on drinking dirty plant water when she has a perfectly good bowl of nice fresh water.

Gotta wonder exactly what that expression means in words.

The Best Gift Of All

I will be the first to admit that I am spoiled by my husband.  I need nothing.  I have everything..and more.  Yet, despite this, he continues to spoil me and surprise me when I least expect it.  Prior to my birthday he surprised me with a new camera.  I didn't need one and truthfully, I wasn't even wanting one.  He has been so supportive of my interest in photography.  One of the many reasons I love him.  I call this one of my greatest gifts because it allows me not only to practice something I love, but to document memories and moments with those I love.  Here are some of my practice pictures.

Maui Wowie

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Novosel family (YaYa, Sir & Auntie Jess Jess) by going on vacation to Maui together the week prior to Thanksgiving.  It was a beautiful week spent together and came to an end far too quickly.  Daddy and Sir went on a helicopter tour of the island.  YaYa, Auntie Jess Jess and I  spent some time at the spa.  The children enjoyed their beach and pool time and for the most part were well behaved.  It seemed meltdowns happened in the evening while out at dinner.  I didn't really get to enjoy any dinners because Addley turns into a little Gremlin about 4pm every single day.  While I was able to eat a few meals one handed, it was a challenge eating something like spaghetti and meatballs!  Our sleeping situation was much to be desired as well, but how can you complain when you woke up to the shining sun each morning, someone else cooking all the meals and cleaning your room?  We stayed at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort in Wailea, Maui...where you truly do get pampered.  Facial spritzs and cool cucumbers by the pool for your tired eyes, fresh baked muffins and pineapple brought right to your chair...fresh ice water brought to your chair on the beach.  Here are some of the pictures from our time spent together.  Wonderful memories.  Miss you all!

Beautiful Auntie Jess Jess - Dayton & Saige miss you!

Dayton & Saige playing on the beach.

Sir & Dayton looking for sea turtles.  Lord only knows what kind of stories Sir is telling him, but you can tell he is passing along some type of wisdom.

Auntie Jess Jess, Sir & YaYa having a family picture before a nice evening stroll along the beach.

Dayton enjoying a sunset stroll.

One of the only opportunities we had for a family picture.  Turned out great didn't it?  Wait, who's missing?  Ah yes, my non-compliant 4 year old.  It seems even the nice lady who offered to take our picture couldn't convince him.

Auntie Jess Jess and Dayton doing some beach exploring.

Dayton & Saige building sand castles.

The Novosel & Szczekocki Families.

YaYa & Sir with the grandkids...or as YaYa refers to them, "her precious angels".

Auntie Jess Jess with Dayton, Saige & Addley.

Auntie Jess Jess & Dayton on a drifted in tree trunk.

One of many horrible attempts at a family picture.  Dayton REFUSED to be in pictures and threw quite the fit about it all.  The reason why you can't really tell is because I'm tickling him.  Scott is just plain aggravated, Addley won't look up and Saige was plain ole tired.

Two beautiful sisters!  Again, Dayton refusing to be in the picture.  One day he'll wonder why he was never in any of the pictures!

Saige & Addley...sans Dayton.  My two beautiful girls.

Saige enjoying pool time with Auntie Jess Jess.

Dayton enjoying pool time with Auntie Jess Jess.

Saige attempts the waterslide.  No fear - what a big girl!

Dayton attempting to "stop" himself on the waterslide.