i'm going blind!!

Ok, probably not really going blind, but this is what happened to me today at the Optometrist today. The doc notices a small hemorrhage on the optic nerve of my right eye. He says this can be an early sign of Glaucoma! And, me being an Asian female, puts me at a higher risk for this (I guess)...even though I don't fit any of the other criteria for this non-curable degenerative disease! (ie, diabetes, high blood pressure, family history, etc.) Anyway, I have to go see a specialist tomorrow morning to "document" this event and make sure my doc monitors it to make sure it doesn't come back or get worse...otherwise in like 30 years or so, I may go BLIND! I know, I'm being dramatic, but I'm actually not too worried. Besides, sight is overrated anyway, right? :) But seriously, I doubt it's anything to worry about--probably just broke a capillary. We'll see, I guess! I mostly thought it'd be a "big" and shocking title for my blog entry. :)

And on a side note, I'm sure all have heard the news about Aloha Airlines shutting down. It's an unfortunate and sad day for all those in the Airline industry here in Hawaii. Especially since we have many ties and friends in the company. Mitch has been on the phone non-stop since the news broke Sunday afternoon (he actually heard earlier, but the news broke on Sunday). Thankfully, Mitch's Island Air is no longer affiliated with Aloha Airlines and is therefore unaffected by this news...except for maybe the increase in loads and shifts since this will undoubtedly make all other airlines here busier. From last year until just a few months ago, Mitch had been approached by several (and I'm talking well over 10 friends) Aloha workers to join the company. He even considered it last Summer at the height of their "boom" in hiring, but he never felt right about putting in his resume. After much back and forth, we decided to stay at Island Air and we're so blessed and glad that we did. To think of the predicament we could be in had he joined Aloha is such a scary thought. I'm so grateful that he "listened" to the promptings and warnings of the Spirit, but our hearts go out to our friends who are affected by this.

My first baby

Thanks Janee for this one...I thought it was cute. And me, feeling overwhelmingly "motherly" lately, felt the urge to do it.

1. Were you married at the time?
-Yes, 9 months after we got married, I got preggo. Right about when we had planned. I don't seem to have too much trouble conceiving...(hence, my #3 in less than 5 years)

2. What were your reactions?
-We were both expecting it and anticipating it...so we were excited! The fear and nervousness of going through labor and delivery and the impending stress of raising a child didn't hit us until waaay later.

3. How old were you?
-27.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant?
-Crazy thing, I knew the night we conceived. hee hee...and knew with my second and third too...mother's intuition, I guess. But, the preggo test 3 weeks later confirmed it.

5. Who did you tell first?
-My Mom. 'Cause if I had told my sister Airi first, everyone would have found out before I got the chance to call my mom...

6. Did you want to find out the sex?
-No.

7. Due date?
-July 3, 2004

8. Did you deliver early or late?
-6 Long and tiring days late.

9. Did you have morning sickness?
-Some...but very mild. Just got a bit queasy, but still ate like a cow.

10. What did you crave?
-Silk Chocolate Soy Milk--and I've been craving it every day since...

11. Who irritated you the most?
-Like most bad experiences related to pregnancy and child birth...I've completely forgotten any hormonal rages from 4 years ago. But, Mitch would probably say that he got the brunt of the "abuse".

12. What was your child's sex?
-Female--even though I was SURE she'd be a boy.

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy?
-About 30. And most of it in my 7th month. The most I gained was 8 lbs in 2 weeks. My doc threatened to put me on a diet...people thought I was due any day, when I still had 2 months to go! People can be so cruel...but, yea, I was huge.

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
-Nope. Just huge.

15.Where did you give birth?
-Kaiser Permanente, Honolulu, Hawaii

16. How many hours were you in labor?
-About 15 from start to finish. But I pushed for 3 hours...crazy, I know!

17. Who drove you to the hospital?
- Mitch (Baby Daddy)

18.Who watched?
-Not that I had an audience, but Mitch (of course) and my Mom were there helping-hold my legs and give me encouragement. And while my Mom fell asleep for a while, Mitch rubbed my back and fed me ice chips the entire time. Awesome birth coach.
Oh, and only 1 nurse, until delivery when my doc came in. That's it. Kaiser really adhered to my birth plan.

19.Was it natural or c-section?
-Natural

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain?
-Nope. Seriously considered it half way through...but toughed it out and stuck to my original plan.

21.How much did your child weigh?
-8lbs. 13oz. I know, huge.

22.Did your child have any complications?
-Nope. Perfectly pink and plump with very little vernix (she was 6 days late). Did I mention plump?

23. What did you name baby?
-Kela Miai

24. How old is your first born today?
-3 1/2 My how time flies!

Okay Mommies, feel free to repost this as "My first baby"

a tag?

So, Jenny tagged me & it's my very first! Is that cause for celebration? Do people really care? Anyway, in case you have an inquiring mind (or are simply nosy and want to know...) here it is :)



1. Favorite shoes right now?

Right now, I'm in the process of finding
"THE ONE." Time and financial constraints have kept me searching for over 6 months, but for now, these are probably it. They're a size too big, but I wear them anyway 'cause I think they're so cute. I feel "pretty" wearing them...and few things in my closet do that for me.

2. New Year's Resolution:

I was checking my journal & realized that I had forgotten to make resolutions for this year...can I use the one from last year? Or maybe I should think up of one now...(5 minutes later...) probably get more organized. In life and my home. I'm used to living in dissaray and I think I would be a much calmer and happier person if I got more organized. But not so organized that I stress about it and lose sight of more important things like letting my kids be kids, or allowing my husband the opportunity to help out with the cleaning :) Just kidding...he'd probably argue that he cleans more than me. Hence, my resolution.

3. Am I listening to music right now?

No, the kiddies (and husband) are asleep. The kind of music I enjoy listening to isn't what you would call "relaxing music"

4. If I had $200 to spend on myself...

A new Lesportsac bag (love those!) and probably my favorite pair of shoes (see #1)

5. Favorite place in the city I live in.

Ice Garden--a tiny little Shave Ice place that 2 little Taiwanese sisters operate. They know me and my entire family & are the sweetest ladies. They make the BEST shave ice on the island in my book. If you ever come to Hawaii (or are from here and come to Aiea) check it out and get the #16-with chocolate syrup, milk, tapioca & mochi balls. Super sweet and soooo good.

6. Just finished reading?

Atonement by Ian McEwan. Great book. Read it in less than a week. Very sad, but I'm a very sappy person. I love the dramas and tear-jerkers. They made a movie (which is "R" but I saw it anyway...terrible, I know!) which I must say was excellent.


I think I'm supposed to tag someone else...but I think I'll leave it at that. Don't want to pressure anyone, and besides, most people I blog with have probably already been tagged. So, if you'd like to, by all means, tag yourself. :)

spring break, part 2

So, we've pretty much exhausted all our "Spring Break" activities options by now. Today was Zoo day. After a tiresome search for some parking (it was a Holiday here -Prince Kuhio Day- so everywhere was crazy crowded), we hit the usual "hot spots." We have an annual pass so they're regulars there. It was sunny, but windy, so perfect weather for trekking around the zoo. They've been there a b'gazillion times, but still seem to enjoy looking at all the animals and running around the playground. We usually breeze through the elephants, monkeys, skip over the reptiles because Mitch hates them (weeny, right?), check out the "African Safari" and then spend most of the time at the Keiki Zoo (Kiddie petting zoo). Anna likes to pet the goats and today, Kela just played with the legos in the toy shed.

Now I have to rack my brain for something fun for the kids to do tomorrow....any ideas?

spring break

It's still Spring Break for all of Kela's cousins, and with little else to do on a hot and sunny day, we hit the beach. Silly me forgot to take any pictures while there (I have waaaay too many pictures of the girls at the beach anyway) but after the beach, we treated ourselves to some 'ono (yummy) shave ice at Waiola (one of our favorites) Shave Ice.

The kiddies got messy, but isn't that what Spring Break is all about?

pretty nails..and easter eggs!

Every year, Grandma and Grandpa Seavey send the girls a little Easter basket of goodies. This year, they got bunny ears. Mitch wanted to throw them away as soon as we opened up the box, but once the girls got a hold of it...it's seemed to have become a permanent fixture in our girl's toy chest-much to my husband's dismay.

Aren't they just the cutest Easter Bunnies? I should have gotten a video of Anna "hopping" around our house like a bunny rabbit.

Come Easter Morning...Kela and Anna got a small bottle of fingernail polish in her Easter Basket this year. (Sadly, Kela is 3 1/2 and this was her VERY FIRST Easter Basket from the Easter Bunny...I mean, it's not like she missed it at 2, right?)

Since she's been asking me to paint her nails for weeks now...Mitch stepped in (like the GREAT Daddy he is) and painted the girls' toenails this morning. I thought it was so cute...

And the girls thought they looked "very pretty" all day today. :)

For Easter Sunday, we drove out to Mililani to Uncle Atau's for some good food and fun egg-hunting. Atau has a great yard for Easter Egg hunting...for little ones since it is small and completely enclosed ;)

Plus, they have an Easter Bunny right in the yard too! Well, her name is Maddy and she just hopped around while the kiddo's ran amuck hunting for plastic eggs. So lucky, the girls got to have 2 Easter Egg hunts this year!

i can't stop!

Once I start sewing something....I usually can't stop at just one thing. I keep going and going. I think it's compulsive.

Anyway, I decided to sew something I LOVE. (not to copy you, Kim...but) I love aprons. I love them. I think they are great--and use them everyday almost. Whenever I cook, I have to wear one. Maybe it's because I'm lazy and don't want to have to change clothes after cooking (I tend to be messy when I cook...) or maybe I just fell in love with them when I lived in Japan. Housewives in Japan (for those who've served missions there, or who've lived there should know!) wear aprons out in public--to the store. All the time. It's like their "trademark" or something. I'm not that obsessed...but I usually wear them from cooking to clean-up. Most of the time, I just forget to take it off after I'm done cooking. But also, when you have kids, it's like a handy napkin right there in front of you! ;)

So anyway, Airi got an apron as a gift and it was super cute. It reminded me that I'm in need (or want) of a new one & I've been meaning to make one for quite a while but needed a nudge--here's what I made today. The front & back...if you can't tell, the back is made so that you don't need to tie anything! It slips over your head & you button the back. It's the "Japanese" style of apron that I love so much, because you don't have strings dangling everywhere! I copied the pattern from an apron that I bought in Japan on my mission that I still wear to this day.
Yes, I know the pockets are uneven, but the fabric is what I fell in love with! So cute! And despite the pockets, it's actually reversible, too!

Kela saw me take out the sewing machine last week and has been asking me to sew her something everyday since. With the remnant fabric I had laying around, I made this apron for her. She loved it & even used it to help me cook dinner tonight! I'm extremely happy to have finally gotten rid of this fabric! I've made 2 throw pillows and 4 diaper pouches with this fabric & frankly was getting tired of seeing it in my closet! It is really cute fabric, though. So, here's Kela sporting her new "bacon"-which is what she calls it because she keeps forgetting the word "apron."

I think next week, I'm making a shopping cart/high chair cover for my sister-in-law. The germ-a-phobe in me can't stand the though of a little baby drooling over a dirty, "don't-know-what's-been-on-this-seat" shopping cart or high chair. So, after that project, I will most likely be giving my ol' sewing machine a rest for another few months until I get the itch to sew again...after baby is born. :)

Secretly, I'm aspiring to be half as good a seamstress as my Mom-who I think is the best seamstress alive! She would make all of our dresses growing up-even making her own patterns and creating amazing designs. From suits to wedding gowns, to even kimonos, I don't think there's anything she can't sew. She even sewed my cabbage patch doll when I cried wanting one (like everyone had in elementary school...).

If there were such thing as a black belt in sewing, she'd absolutely have it, 3 or 4 times over.

easter egg-a-huntin'

I can't believe it's Easter already! In March! When I was putting together my 2008 calendar in December (it was for a gift-which is the only reason why I looked ahead) I had to re-check and google it 3 or 4 times to make sure...Why the heck is Easter in March? Anyway, so it seems Easter is already upon us and that means candy season. Shucks, just when I'm trying so hard to be good and not overindulge & become a gestational diabetic...

Our local library hosted an Easter Egg hunt for the little ones and we decided to take the girls. Horray that Mitch was off from work to help out--otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take nearly as much pictures! Especially since this was Anna's first time experiencing an Easter Egg Hunt. But, as you can see by how many eggs are in her basket...she had NO problem figuring out what to do. More Eggs = More Goodies.

Rachel showed me how to do this collage thing, so I thought I'd try it out. Neat! Definitely less uploading. Thanks for the tip!

They sure had fun...which was a good thing because they've been looking forward to this day for weeks! And look, Mitch got them both "Dora the Explorer" Easter Baskets. They both LOVE Dora, even though I don't have the heart to tell them that they're Japanese...not Latino. Oh well, right?

too much...i know...

I realize that I'm probably blogging too much about nothing...but that's what this whole thing is about, right? I promise, after today, I'll take a break and wait for something actually exciting to post about.
But, I just found out via a friend's blog (that's you, Kim) that March is National craft month...who knew of such a thing?! So, my sewing skills are mediocre at best and nothing to toot my horn about, but decided to bust out my sewing machine anyway and put it to some good use (especially since I got it last year for $50 on craigslist -- a STEAL, if you ask me since it's a Kenmore). Ok, so this is what I stayed up until 3 a.m making...tada~!

What's that, you ask? Well, they're diaper/wipes pouches. I know, useless, right? But I made one for my sister last year (which she lost, so the top one's for you, Elika) and I also made one for me & I actually use it quite a bit. It's pretty convenient and holds a wipes case and 2 or 3 diapers. So, everything's all in one place --even inside your diaper bag, which if you had a conventional diaper bag (which I shun completely--refuse to buy) they're HUGE, right?
See? And they're quilted so can double as a pillow when changing baby-which comes in handy when changing out in public. Anyway, I said it wasn't anything to toot about, but it's about the jist of my sewing skills...
I have 2 sister-in-laws that are expecting & a sister that just had a baby so I figured it was an easy way to kill 3 gifts in one night. (oh, and if you're one of the recipients and are reading this blog...act surprised when you get it ;) )

And on a side note: I recently discovered another great invention...it's called the Bella Band! It's probably not that new to some people but it's new to me. It has saved me from having to bust out any of my maternity pants as of yet...and believe me when I say, I'm pretty big! I told my sister in law about it and she bought some, too. I love it & can wear all of my regular pants...and even some pants that I couldn't wear comfortably before I got preggo (ok, you try getting pregnant 3 times in less than 5 years!) Look it up if you're pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant... =)

hmmm...I should get an endorsement! :0

a day at the park

In case you're wondering (those who don't know Japanese...which is probably most of the people I know that read this blog), in my last blog entry I refer to myself as an "oyabaka." (FYI: "oya" means parent, "baka" means idiot). But, loosely translated, this refers to those parents who oogle over their kids and think their kids are the cutest, smartest, most talented, etc., etc... Basically, any parent, I assume...but yea, that's probably me. Which is ultimately the main reason for starting up this blog-thing. 'cause really...how often do I post pics of myself? Especially now that I have a huge growth on my abdomen....that's slowly making its way elsewhere as well *sigh*
Anyway, the post below is a slideshow of pictures I took of the girls at the park this afternoon/evening. It was windy and chilly! For Hawaii standards, anyway. I mean, look! The girls are wearing jeans! You can't see, but I was decked out in winter clothes-jeans, sweatshirt and all. (you can actually see a smidgin' of my sweatshirt in one of the pics--well, my belly, anyway). And the girls played "house" around the jungle gym...I cringe everytime I hear Kela say, "Mommy" or "daughter, I need to go to work" to her cousins like they're some weird family role-playing going on. I don't like "house" and wish they would stop. But, unfortunately, I don't see an end of that anywhere in the near future...(eyes rolling)

"oyabaka" na watashi...desu.

Hai, Hai...hansei shimasu. Watashiwa kekkou "oyabaka"desu. Demo, aruteido, daredatte soudewanaika? Iikagenni kodomono shashinwo torisugitari, shikamo tsuneni kono BLOG ni sorewo post surunowo yametara? to omoinagara, yacchau watashidesu.

Maaa...iideshou. Korewa kyou kinjyouno kouen de totta shashin desu. Hawaiini shitewa kazega tsuyokute, kekkou samukattadesu. Hawaii ni shitewane. :)

genious!

A little bit ago, I walked into the girls room and noticed a strange smell. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was--until I realized that we had put too strong a wattage bulb into our nightlight & the plastic around the bulb had started to burn & melt. Needless to say, I freaked out thinking of "what could have happened" and decided to get a safer nightlight for our girls' room. Enter the Mobi Tykelight. If you've never seen or heard about this ingenious invention, look it up here. The girls love to play with it and carry it around everywhere. Mitch is thinking of getting another one so they can each have one near their beds. GENIOUS! I love this thing!

Here's a "brighter" shot of what it looks like. I swear, if you have little kids (or even big kids, I imagine) this is a great night light.

Several months ago, Anna strangely started "prentending" to be sleeping. For the first few times that she did it, I was completely fooled--because she'd do it while in her carseat. We'd arrive somewhere and I'd ask Kela if Anna was sleeping, and she'd look completely knocked out asleep. Then when I looked closely, she's start smirking and quickly wake up. It was pretty hilarious and I was actually surprised she could do that at around 18 months or so. I should have taken a video of it at the time, because it was actually much more convincing at the time! But, lately, she's thought of it more like a joke and will only close her eyes for a quick second or two. But what's funny is she'll do it on cue, no matter what she's doing at the time--whether she's eating, walking, jumping around or whatever.

kela reading to anna....sort of

Our bedtime ritual usually consists of us reading a book or two to Kela and Anna...then Kela usually likes to take that book and read it to Anna--all by herself. So, she can't quite read yet, but she loves to pretend she can & is pretty good at memorizing the "jist" of the story on each page. She asks us to read the words and then she repeats it, until she can (try to) recite it all by herself. I posted a video of her reading a bunny book to Anna--which has recently become part of our bedtime routine as well.

You may need to pause the music at the bottom if you want to hear her talking...it's pretty quiet because it's with my "old" camera which is not the best in terms of quality.

After reading a book, it's family prayer time which Kela has actually been doing for several months now. I'm not quite sure if I should take a video of her praying...the girls might get distracted and forget to be reverent. But, I'm sure one day, I'll record it for posterity. It's very cute...until you're in a hurry and she keeps blessing us to be "safety" and mentioning EVERYTHING from the day's events.

auto show pictures...found!

Well, patience is a virtue that apparently I am lacking in. Mitch told me to wait a few days to make sure that our camera was really lost--I ignored his suggestion and went and bought another camera. Although in my own defense, I got a GREAT deal! Then last night, we got a call from the convention center saying they found my camera and were holding it for me. Shucks. Now I have 2 cameras! Mitch wasn't too thrilled...but I'm not too disappointed. I got the camera upgrade I've been wanting, and plus, we got our pictures back from the show!! I say, it's a win-win! ; )

So, here's a couple of pictures from the auto show. Mitch was in heaven.

Here's Mitch posing with Kela and Anna in front of his "dream truck" the Ford F-350 diesel truck. It was a monster... there's NO way it would fit on the roads here in Hawaii! I told Mitch he could keep on dreamin'. Unless I get my dream car which is :

The Mercedes GL 550 SUV. And you can't see the car because that's how Mitch takes pictures. But believe me when I say, it was niiiice.

Anna hanging onto the front lights of the new "stretch" Mini Cooper Clubman--which had a little swing-out door on one side...it was pretty neat looking. Like this!

Neat-o huh? We thought so.

So, I say, it's a lesson learned for me. I not only need to be more patient and less "spontaneous" with my purchases...I also need to trust in my husband more. I know, I must sound like a terrible wife! I shall strive to be better.

In the mean time, look forward to some better quality pictures from the Seavey's! : ) Yea!

lost...for good.

Mitch has been counting down the days to the Auto Show coming to town since we went last year. So, with tonight being the opening day, we dragged the girls out to the annual show and made an evening of it. After a fanciful dinner at Ala Moana Mall..ramen for the girls : ) we went and checked out all the new '08 model cars. It's pretty fun, I must admit...I probably don't enjoy it as much as Mitch, but we have a good time & the girls especially like climbing around in all the luxury cars. Despite the googling eyes of the security guards making sure the girls didn't hang on the car handles (which Anna did) and climb all over the consoles and leather seats with their dirty little feet all the while getting thier sticky paw prints all over the freshly buffed cars (which they both did!), we had a great time. Mitch got to oogle over his "dream car" the FORD superduty F-350 Diesel truck, and I over the new Mercedes GL 550 SUV. It's such a beautiful automobile~! AND, they even have it in Diesel! Probably won't ever happen...but a girl can dream, right?
So, what was lost for good tonight (as stated in the title of this entry)? Well, you'll notice I have no proof of our fun evening because towards the end of the show, we realized that Mitch had lost our camera--he had it in his (very small board short pocket) and didn't think to check it now and again while getting in and out of all the cars we looked at.

Oh well...surprisingly I'm actually not too heartbroken. Ever since I almost lost my camera in Vegas this past January (thanks to my bro-in-law Takuya, we miraculously got it back!!), I've made it a habit of emptying out my pictures every time I use it. So, the only pictures lost were the few pics I snapped at the auto show. And it's a bummer, because we got some real cute pics of Anna hanging off the bumper of a Mini Cooper and Mitch drooling over his future diesel truck...and me wishing of the day the kids are grown up & I can finally have my "toy" Audi...(oh, I'm starting to get sad about the pictures...) *sigh*
Mitch is hoping someone will find it & turn it into lost & found...but I think he's just hoping he won't have to shell out the couple hundred dollars it's gonna cost him to replace it! The pessimist in me doesn't think that will likely happen. It's sort of a dinosaur in terms of digital cameras, but it's still a nice looking camera with a really neat case ( I loved that custom leather case!!) I mean, who turns down an opportunity for a decent camera, right? Arggh, it's quite a sad and empty feeling losing something...but I guess to look on the bright side of things, I finally get the new camera I've been wanting for a LONG time! I've really been in need of a camera upgrade, and now I get the chance!! Horray! Maybe I'm not so much of a pessimist after all! : )

pretty, pretty!

Today, we hit the park so I could get some exercise in-I walked around and pushed the girls in our big double-jogger. I even squeezed a little bit of light joggin in, which I later got scoldings from Mitch for...so from now on, I'm grounded-which means only walking. But, it was a nice and hot day, and as you can see from Kela's hair, it was a very dry day as well. No, it's not the wind, that's pure static electricity...which we don't see too often here in Hawaii.

If anyone tells you that having kids close together is tough...they're right. But, it's also great because Kela and Anna are seriously best friends. As much as they fight and push eachother's buttons, they play wonderfully together. Anna follows Kela around nearly everywhere...and Kela will (usually) take her by the hand and under her wings. It's the cutest thing-watching them play together.

And, since they are girls...I finally allowed them to put some "pretty pretty" touches to their bedroom. I bought these wall stickers at a baby boutique store today (my absolute pitfall...I love those boutique stores!) and let the girls place them around the room. Okay, so I helped with most of them, but they absolutely loved doing this...they are girls, after all! And if you didn't know already, kids love stickers...it's like better than candy to them-they go crazy with them! Or, atleast mine do.

Kela, looking so proud of her room now! She couldn't wait for Daddy to come home to show him her new room decor.

And, Anna was posing under these stickers, too...but she's too short to fit into the camera shot. Sorry, Anna! It sure was a cute smile, though...

And, yes, the white animals do sort of blend into the wall...but our wall is a very light green (somewhat of a minty green...which wasn't my first choice, but that was another drama that occured when we first moved into our place 2 years ago, so I will leave it at that) and so anyway, the stickers do stand out better in person, just gets a little "lost" in the photo shot.

yanked!

So, yesterday morning, as Kela was quietly watching her "playhouse disney" cartoons while I slept soundly...I was rudely woken up by a loud ripping sound. After looking outside (and the snowstorm on the T.V, along with the sad expression on my daughter's face) I realized that a large tree-cutting truck (with those ladder buckets on top) had driven by and yanked out the cable cord from my house! And then kept on driving away as though nothing had happened! I was quite upset...but wasn't about to run out after the truck in my pj's, so I called the cable company and told them my sad tale and they promised they'd fix it by that afternoon. The price we pay for living in a small (in every way, but in this instance, height) house on a private road with low hanging wires everywhere...not pretty.

The cable cord that's supposed to be attached to my house...

Needless to say, I wasn't about to stick around in my tiny little house on a beautiful day watching Dora and Wiggles DVD's so we decided to drive out to my sister's in Hau'ula (which is about an hour's drive away...here in Hawaii, that's the other side of the island) and we spent the day out there. And when we came home 6 hours later, voilla! Our internet and cable were back on. Surprising...especially for Hawaii. Things here tend to take waaay longer than people say because, we'll, I shouldn't go into details as to why, they just do.

a princess tea party!

Rumi's birthday was this past week (the same day as me!) And so she wanted a "Princess Tea Party" for her birthday bash. Rumi and all the girls (including Kela) dressed up for the occasion and they had their princess luncheon, with Rumi's older sister & her friends as servers (they volunteered!). I made the chocolate chocolate-chip cupcakes, and the girls got to decorate their very own with pink frosting & all the sprinkles they wanted. Kela really doesn't care for cakes, so hers got prettily decorated & then basically tossed aside. Kela also doesn't like to wear tiaras or the frilly princess dress-up clothes either since she says they are too itchy (horray! no complaints from me!), but she does love those princess shoes! And boy does she have PLENTY of them since her Aunty Collette and Uncle Brian bought her a ginoromous pack of like 10 for Christmas! Thanks a lot guys! ^~^

But the girls had fun dressing up, playing house, and afterwards a karaoke and dance party! To think I have so many more of these to come...*sigh* The "joys" of having girls, I guess.

horray for presents!

It feels like my birthday all over again! Takuya and Lynn gave me a gift card from Anthropologie (there isn't one here...and they have such cute stuff!) for my bday and I decided to use it to buy this jewelry box on-line. I didn't get to buy anything from the store while I was there this past January, so was feeling a little down...but, Yea! Now I'm happy.
So, I rarely wear jewelry, but recently decided to dress a bit more "feminine" lately and acquired a few pieces of silver-earrings, necklaces, etc. But since I never wear any jewelry, had no where to put it! Now, thanks to Takuya and Lynn, I now have a very cute and secure place to keep my (very few) pieces of "bling."

Isn't it so cute? Thanks again Lynn and Tak!

(even though technically, you weren't supposed to get me anything...you know, the new family rule?)