So-niele

Halloween Festivities

4 costume parties this year. Trick or treating. 2 different school events. Pixi.eland’s 1st ever pumpkin patch. Our usual pumpkin patch. A kid friendly event in the city tonight. DAAAAAAAAANG!

Lilman, who didn’t seem very enthusiastic about dressing up this year, is going to be a zombie. An easy peasy costume. We found these shirt/ bandana combos at Wa.lmart the other week and it was either the zombie or the vampire. He was leaning towards the vampire but I didn’t think it looked as cool as the zombie… and well the zombie is easier to outfit than the vampire anyhow. I had him dig up an old pair of his jeans and I took some scissors to them and shredded them. $6 costume. Woot!

Lilmiss is where the money was spent. Of course right? When we were in Hawai’i for the SUMMER Cost.co busted out their costumes and automatically she wanted to be sTinkerbell. I opted NOT to buy it there tho and waited til we got home to pick up the costume. But I didn’t wait long either. We’ve had her costume since late August and since then she’s been trying to get OUT of being sTinkerbell. Good thing we got it when we did tho, b/c by September they were already out. I think it was around $21, way cheaper than the D-store and the party/costume stores. Buuuuuuuuut we also picked up some sparkly shoes $12 @ Target and some glittery tights $2, Target.

babyM has 3 choices for costumes. I dug up N’s old mermaid dress up thing that we picked up a long time ago for like $2. My cousin also “loaned” us their daughter’s old lady bug costume. And I also happened to be looking in the girls’ closet and found a Chinese outfit that N never wore. I picked up M some sparkly shoes when I got N’s, M’s are red and can go with either the lady bug or Chinese ‘fit.

I don’t dress up for Halloween and I’m not quite sure what S is going to be. He has to “work” that night and he needs a costume.

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Kitchen sink fried rice

This meal is a common occurrence in our house maybe every other week and sometimes every week. The kids really like it and it’s so easy to make. I like repurposing leftovers too which is always nice. Good for any time of the day even, especially if you come from an Asian household and rice is always available.

Sorry no exact measurements:
leftover cold rice
chopped garlic
chopped onion
eggs
meat of your choice (Spam, bacon, chicken, steak, hot dogs- whatever you have on hand)
frozen mixed veggies
salt
oyster sauce (optional)
soy sauce

If the rice is a little hard and clumped together I sprinkle a little water on it and mash it up so it separates a little bit, and then set aside. This is a one pot/pan method so… I normally cook and scramble the egg first and then set it aside. Depending on which meat you choose I throw that in the pan next. Of course bacon is going to take the longest to cook, unless you already have some cooked up. I normally cut up the meat into small pieces so you get a little in every bite. If using bacon, there will be some fat/oil rendered from that. KEEP THAT IN THE PAN, it gives you good flavor. Once your meat has been cooked or heated through, remove it from the pan. Add a little oil (unless you’re using bacon then you don’t need any). And throw in your chopped garlic and onion. Let that brown up a bit and then throw in your rice. Mix and stir, mix and stir. Then add your veggies. FROZEN. Straight from your freezer. It’s up to you how much you put in. And then again mix and stir, mix and stir. Season with salt and cook through until veggies are no longer frozen. Add your meat and eggs and mix and stir, mix and stir. At this point you’ll want to season with your choosing. Sometimes I use soy sauce and sometimes oyster sauce. The oyster sauce goes a long way tho in flavoring so be wary. Depending on how “crispy” you like your fried rice is up to you, so leave it on the heat for however long you like.

In this household it’s normally a one dish meal. The kids love the stuff and I can count on clean bowls/ plates EVERYTIME. And the veggies are in there too. YAY! Lately the baby has been hard to please when it comes to food. She only ever really asks for rice and it’s really hard to get her to eat any meat. Veggies are hit or miss these days and even eggs can even be a chore. She refuses to eat pasta. So it’s nice that she’ll eat EVERYTHING when it comes to this fried rice.

“Throw everything in there but the kitchen sink” Have you ever heard that phrase. It’s kind of the concept with this dish and that’s why it’s called “Kitchen Sink Fried Rice”!

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babyM is speaking in sentences

She has actually been speaking in “sentences” for 2 weeks now. Her first put together was “More milk please, mommy.” Everytime the garage opens or closes, “Daddy’s home”, regardless of he’s coming or going

She’s such a puppet sometimes it’s hilarious. Lilman is constantly telling her to say stuff and for the most part it comes out sounding right with a lil splash of babeinese. One thing which boggles me tho is that she won’t say “Thank you” after given something where she has said “please” over and over and over again for. So instead I’m teaching her to say “mahalo” and it comes out more like “ma-lo-lo” but better than nothing I say.

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Playing catch up

So Hawai’i was good as it always is. Celebrated Ma’s 75th bday, my bday, and lilman’s 10th bday while we were out there.

Came home only a few days before Lilman started 5th grade. Yikes! Soon he’ll be in middle school.

Lilmiss followed suit the following week and started preschool. 2 days a week for 4 hours w Lil Toots. Her first day went well… her 2nd day? Not so well… Lil Toots wasn’t there . I felt so bad leaving her and never really expected her to react that way. She acts like that when he’s not there before her *sigh*

babyM is getting into everything and anything and drives me nuts and is so adventurous. One nice thing is that I get 1-on-1 time with her when N is at school. It’s funny she doesn’t seem to know what to do with herself when the 2 big kids are at school, but I’m sure relishes in the fact that no one is yelling at her or taking things from her.

The 2 big kids went on their annual Dr’s visits too as well as babyM for her 18 month check up. Lilman is huge-ish. I won’t say how much he weighs b/c he’s quite embarrassed about it, but the Dr did say that it’s nothing to worry about after summer time and once he gets back into his “activities” he should be fine. The Dr also said that by the time he’s 18, he should be well over 6 feet. Possibly 6′2″. WOWSERS!

Everyone has been mentioning how lean N has gotten. She’s sprouted in height quite a bit and has lost a bit of her chub… but her cheeks still remain. At her appt she weighed in at 37 lbs, which is the 50th %. I can’t recall her height. A few days after her appt, I had to rush her to the ER… b/c she stuck a bead in her nose and there was no way to get it out. UGH! The triage nurse told me that I could probably get it out myself by plugging up the unobstructed nostril and covering her mouth with mine and blowing. SUCCESS. The bead shot out at my face as well as some boogers. Oh joy of joys… at least now she knows NOT to put things in her nose.

babyM is also in the 50th percentile for weight, 21 lbs. WOO HOO!! A long way coming from her eensy teensy self when she was born. I’m contributing this to all the good food she ate in Hawai’i. Lol. Her height has her in the 20th or 30th percentiles I think.

I’ve been working on purging and donating. It’s a slow process. Like molasses slow… but it’s happening. I’m so proud of finally purging all the junk that we’ve accumulated. And I’m happy that it’s going to people who need it instead of collecting dust here in the house and just taking up space.

Tomorrow S tackles the backyard… small steps. I am really hoping to have the girls’ bedroom set up before Christmas *crossing fingers* It’s been almost a whole year since we bought that super kitchen, and sadly it’s been sitting in my sister’s garage. Lol.

Posted in babbles, keiki, lil man, lil miss, ohana, celebration, weekend, big mister, baby M | 2 Comments »

Aloha Day 17

Today started off on a better foot…. until my laptop decided to crap out on me. I was ready to cry all over again. First for some reason my Firefox went into safe mode. So I decided to quit that and then something else happened so I just said F it and restart the damned thing. Then it went even more downhill from there. Upon start up instead of the Apple it showed my hard drive ( or a picture of it anyhow) so I clicked on that and it led me to my usual log in page to enter my password. BUT… everytime I tried to enter my password certain letters were NOT working. I kept trying over and over again. Had my Mac Genius try to help me and nothing could be done. So I made an appointment over at Ala Moana to have it checked out.

So we made plans to head to Ala Moana. No biggie.

We stayed home the majority of the day and thankfully the tradewinds were in full effect so we spent a lot of time on the lanai.

We ate a late lunch. And when that was done, we headed out to Target.

When we got home I decided to try the computer one more time before my appt tomorrow. Low and behold it was back to normal! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So I been trying to cancel my appointment and their stupid concierge is down. But damn my computer is back!

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Aloha Day 15

Woke up bright and early and headed off to the open market (aka Farmer’s Market) in Ewa. When my dad was still alive, we used to make the trek all the way out to his old stomping grounds in Wahiawa. Thank goodness we found the one in Ewa b/c Wahiawa is a bit of a trek and once the horn sounds at 9am, by 915am everything is pretty much gone.

It was HOT that day w no tradewind to speak of, so the 2 big kids and I headed down to the library to soak up some free a/c. Mama wasn’t in the mood to go and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with babyM. The kids got a handful of books and we spent a good hour in there reading random things and such.

And that was Friday!

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Aloha Day 14

Beach Day! Mom wasn’t too keen on going as the skies were gray and it appeared to be showering in some areas.

Me and the kids weren’t having any of that though and packed up the things, made a lunch, and headed out to lagoon #4.

As we were driving through the parking lot, it seemed crowded, but luckily we have the little blue pass that can normally guarantee us a spot. We found a nice spot under the usual tree and set up shop. babyM already knew what the beach was all about and set off on her own, until she remembered sand and that she didn’t like walking in it much. So I carried her out to the shoreline and she did her thing. As we were there, the beach started to fill up.

After awhile of playing in the sand and water with the kids, it was time to head up to Mama and have a bite to eat, and from there we really realized that the beach had filled up.

Did the beach thing and then headed home.

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Aloha Day 12

We had no set plans today, only to head out of the house. So as we were driving on the freeway we decided to do some walking over at Waikele Outlets.

I wanted to get N some clothes with her birthday money that she got. Found the best deals at Children’s Place and Gymbo Outlet. Woo hoo and she still has plenty of money to still spend, which I’ll save for the Gap/ Old Navy F&F that’s coming up.

J treated us for lunch and then I bought some malasadas. FINALLY! Those things are little pillows of heaven. Yum!

Made a stop at Times for a few more Capri Suns and then headed home and hung out.

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Aloha Day 11

Recovery from party day.

Just a bit of tidying up needed to be done and a little bit of loafy-ness.

We finally headed to the local library and got Mama and J library cards. Damn that place is BEE-YOO-TI-FULL! 2 stories. Lots of space. Lots of Hawaiiana. Lots of books. Found Mom her essential areas of the library and J found a handful of books and so did the girls. I took out some DVDs too. The only thing that sucks is that “rentals” are $1, whereas back home DVD “rentals” are FREE.

Anyhow came home, to find the DVDs so scratched up that we weren’t able to watch them. It was 430PM, library closed at 5PM. So J and I hauled butt back to the library and explained what happened. She tried them out on their equipment and 1 of the discs out of 4 was able to play but she gave us the refund back anyhow. Woo hoo.

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Aloha Day 9

Saturday like I said is really rather nothing day. We prepped the house for tomorrow’s party and did any food prep that could be done.

Went to church, and stated that we (the girls and me) would not be attending next week, it’s a longer mass b/c of baptisms and the girls are just out of hand naughty some times.

Came home had dinner and then babyM and I stole some time away together and went to Target for some necessities. The heat has been wreckin havoc on her and I forgot to get some diaper rash cream. Also got some anti itch cream for the kids b/c the mosquitoes are still feasting on us. Also got some crackers for J and popcorn for N. And some small bowls for the party tomorrow. Mom realized she didn’t have any cake plates.

Tomorrow… we PAR-TAY!

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Aloha Day 8

We have been here 1 week now and it all feels so natural. Like we’ve always been here. Lol.

Today we just ran errands for Sunday’s upcoming party.

First a trip to the Open Market in Ewa Beach. Fresh veggies, fresh fruits, and fresh from the mornings catch seafood. Oh yeah and even baked Pilipino goodies. I love going b/c I hear all the Manongs and Manangs speaking Ilokano (my family’s dialect). Something you don’t hear all too often back home in the mainland b/c everyone speaks Tagalog. Brings me back to the past at old family parties with my grandma or even when I would go to her house. I would hear her talking on the phone to someone. LOVE IT!

Then it was off to Foodland to pick up some water for the 3 day sale. Remember sticker shock here.

Back home we went to unload and teeter around the house for a bit and then we were off to Pearlridge. I wanted to hit up Price Busters for goodie bag things for the kids that are coming. I decided NOT to get a pinata this year, well b/c funds are low.

Also hit up the babyGap. Dang I always find good stuff here that the kids can wear. I guess things that they don’t necessarily wear here b/c of the weather. Found a cute sweater for the lilmiss, originally $29.50, marked down to $12.99 +25% off. When I got to the register, it was actually $7.99 +25% off, so it was a whopping $5.99 with only a 4.??% tax. Unlike back home it’s 9.5%.

There is a bug exhibit @ Pearlridge and it’s pretty neat. The bugs are huge.

We parked by Macy’s and so on our way out I hit up the kids section there too. Deals upon deals. AGAIN! Finished off babyM’s gift cert. Found her some Hurley stuff. So cute. A sweatshirt that was originally $36 for only $7.99 and a tshirt that was originally $14, for $4.99. And a really pretty Guess blouse that was originally $21.50, $4.99. I’m telling you. I always find such good stuff for the kids in Hawaii.

Then it was off to Costco for some finishing stuff for the party.

Came home, had dinner and then it was to work I went. Rolled lumpia and made spinach dip. Whew!

My toes and fingers feel like sausages. I hate the water retention and the heat. It does things like that to me here. I feel so swollen.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and as you know it’s clean up and church day… so we won’t be doing much of anything.

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Aloha Day 7- Hau’oli la hanau lilmiss

Big old 4 years old! She will embark to preschool in the fall *sigh* Where does the time go?

Today she woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and yet still with much attitude. Her daddy called and wanted to talk to her and she wanted NOTHING to do with the phone. My sister called. Same thing. UGH!

Packed up the truck and headed to Ko’olina. YAY! The kids have been dying to get out there. And as soon as we plunked down and found a spot they were gone for the water. Last year babyM was much to small to even care about the beach, but this year she was on the shore playing in the sand and water. And then when I brought her out in the inflatable honu, she wanted nothing to do with it. She kept trying to get out and get MORE in the water. Lol.

Had a small picnic lunch at the beach, rested up a bit, and headed back into the water. For some reason the sunblock didn’t work on the 2 big kids, despite lathering them up again. They’re both sporting lobster backs. Pwahahahaha.

Came home and Mama fired up the stove and cooked up some pancit (long life). Then we headed out to buy her a pink cake. Guava cake from Napoleon’s Yummy.

All in all I think she had a good birthday. She just needs to work on her grumpiness factor. UGHs!

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Aloha Day 6

B/c of Mama’s decision to have a party for N afterall, today I made a few small errands and got out of mom’s hair for a little bit.

We were out and about early today and got so much accomplished. Lol

Headed out to Walmart to make a return and look for some invitations to give to the neighbors. I was afraid that it would be too late to send out invites, but hey the neighbors sometimes just tell us to come over day of, so what then? Lol. There were Princess invites (been there done that), Hannah invites (no), and Tinkerbell invites. So then I went in search of something non-commercial. Why on earth were those so much more? $3 more. So we settled on the Tinkerbell invites.

Then it was done to Times to buy some Capri Sun’s for our beach trip tomorrow. It’s always good to have portable/straw drinks for the kids when we’re out and about anyhow. They were on sale for $1.99. Which to me isn’t really a sale back home, but I’m not back home and sometimes just have to suck up the inflated prices that they pay out here for living out in the middle of the ocean.

Then it was off to Cost.co. I needed to get ground pork for the lumpia that I have to roll up for the party as well as some paper plates and ended up picking up a book and a case of water and some other snacks for the kids. Lol. But I do like the new Co.stco that is closer to mom’s house. Nice, new, and empty! But I’m sure that’s a different story on the weekends. Picked up some hot dogs and made our way back home and it was still only 11AM.

Came home, had lunch, and then took a nap with babyM. Only to wake up and have the neighbor kids running amuck in the house. Had dinner and then lilmiss and I made a trip to order her ice cream cake at BR.

Went to Rad.io Shack first in search of a case for “beloved”. But came up empty handed. When we got to BR, we flipped thru the book only to find NO Tinkerbell cake decor. ARGH!!!!!! How ghey is that? So lilmiss picked Litt.le Mer.maid. I’m a bit peeved that the invites do NOT match the cake, but pfft lilmiss don’t care so it shouldn’t matter right?

Tomorrow she turns 4. *sigh* They’re growing too fast. We have plans for a beach day. YAY!

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Aloha Day 5

What started off to be a nothing day evolved into a trip into town.

Before we left, S gave me a giftcard to upgrade my 1st gen iP.hone for the new 3gs. Everywhere in our area they were out of the white 16gb. So I had been checking online the stock out here. All weekend no one had them. Low and behold this morning I went to check and there was stock. So with no coaxing at all, what was supposed to be a Friday trip to Ala Moana, we made it a Tuesday trip.

We waited for the traffic to die down to make the trek out there as well as time it right so that our trip back home we wouldn’t be sitting in traffic either. Been there, done that, and it’s no fun. There’s only 1 way home, unlike back in the mainland there are varying ways to get home. Not here.

First stop. Apple Store. Was crazy like a madhouse in there but it seemed everyone was just playing with the merchandise and feeding off the free internet. Finally flagged someone down only to have him tell me that they were out of my beloved white 16gb 3gs. BULLSHIT! I told him that I checked that morning online and they had them in stock. With much relunctance he decided to check the stock room for me. I told S this very story, and he told me I should have asked for the manager. Anyhow he comes walking out with my beloved. Lol. The process took awhile and he was annoying me b/c he wasn’t a very good salesman. He cared nothing for what I had to say, not even a smidgen of small talk. I know for certain they don’t work on commission but bitch PLEASE! Appease me, I’m plunking down funds here not chump change. After all was said and done I walked out with my beloved and her new Hawaiian style air jacket.

Next stop was just a few steps away at Macy’s, mom’s little indulgence store. I actually still had some gift card left to spend on babyM so we hit that up and successfully found some deals. Then to Shirokiya for their White Taiyaki event. Yum.

We walked the mall some more just seeing what’s new and what not and then headed to Don Quixote Daiei for dinner first and then a bit of grocery shopping. I saw my DVDs that I want. Buttttttt….. not at $105. AUWE. I saw someone selling them online on craigslist for $65 so I might have to try that route.

Hit up Nordstrom Rack on the way out of town. Found some shoes for the kids and saw that Marukai had closed . And finally headed back home.

A very successful trip into town. And I am in absolute love with my new phone, especially the video. I think I’ve been sending S far more videos of the kids than photos as of late.

When we got home, my mom played catch up on the phone with my auntie and in turn ended up deciding that we would have a party for N afterall. So there is a birthday party scheduled for Sunday.

Happy 15th birthday to JWS!!!

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Aloha Day 4

Bear with me, it’s not my fault that blogsome has been down. I’ve been itching to post just for memories sake, but they wouldn’t let me. And now I can’t even remember what we did on Monday….

Mom was forcing me out to get the truck washed, for free. When they bought the truck they got a book of free carwashes. They’ve barely made a dent in that book, but that’s b/c the carwash place is all the way out in Waipio by the Cost.co. But I made a day trip out there for all of us. I dropped her and lilman over to Cos.tco first so they could get the new coupon book and the girls and I headed to the carwash. babyM fell fast asleep before we even made it in. Lilmiss always gets a kick out of the conveyor belt style and sitting in the truck whilst it gets washed. By the time we got out and it was time for the boys to spiffy it up, mom and lilman were sitting there waiting on us.

From there we put some juice in the truck, since we were in the area and then headed to lunch at Zippy’s! Finally. Had the chili and of course picked up an apple napple and a long john for later. YUM!

Then it was off to Waikele to hit up Kmart. Mom needed some candles and I wanted a few things from the ad. Remember when things are on sale here, you have to jump. Lol. The spaghetti sauce that I wanted was almost gone. WHew for picking up 2 cans. Then it was off to Border’s to let the lilmiss spend her hard earned gift card that she got at the “study” we did a couple of weeks back. She ended up finding 3 books and I had to spend $4 out of my pocket for them.

Then it was back home for the usual monotony.

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Aloha day 2

As with all Saturdays with my mom we don’t really do much other than church. Today is normally clean the house day. People always rag on me or ask me what we’re doing today? This is essentially our 2nd home and had we been home, if there are no parties or functions to attend then we stay home.

Lilman pleaded to go to the pool but I’m just not in that mode yet. And that would have required toting the lilmiss along and she’s a pain in the butt at the pool b/c they don’t allow any sort of flotation device.

After dinner we took a trip down to Safeway b/c there were a few things in the ad that I wanted to get. Yeah. There weren’t anymore. And the stupid man who works the counter, who is supposed to work the poke counter was NO help whatsoever. And holy hot damn did I have some sticker shock. I was jonesin for some chips but I guess with these prices it’s best that I don’t have any. Lol. 2 bags of Lay’s for $9 and normally back home sometimes it’s 2/$3 OH HELL!

I’m going to try and sleep early tonight and hit up the market early in the morning, I have big plans to bbq up some chicken *crossing fingers*

Operation “weenie” is going well. My mom managed to keep her in bed with her all night. She said babyM woke up scratching at her shirt around 4:30am, so she got her a cup of milk and a little tossing and turning and she was back to sleep. I actually miss her, but I’ll let her sleep with my mom until full weaning is ensured.

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Aloha from Hawaii

It’s already the 11th on the mainland but here on Oahu I’ve still got 3 hours to go. I’m seriously surprised that I am not knocked out like the girls are b/c I only got 3 hours of sleep last night, and any hope of catching any winks on the plane did NOT happen.

Back to last night. The concert was awesome sauce and our seats were the BEST EVAR! We went from nosebleed seats, to okay seats, to the best seats EVAR. Thanks to BM and his radio connections. We met the boys, held the boys, took pics with the boys, and I even got a private little conversation with MR DW himself. Seriously I was a giddy little high school girl all over again. And back then my seats WERE in nosebleed. Heh. But last night, we were closer than you could possibly get!

As for the plane ride, ugh! Both girls were bad. Lilmiss was taking everything and anything away from babyM which in turn pissed her off. Which in turn pissed me off b/c I was afraid what other people were thinking of a screaming unruly child. Lilmiss refused to nap when babyM napped. Then she had to use the bathroom, luckily baby was sleeping but I was afraid of leaving there alone. What if she woke up? What if she fell off the seats? babyM was a wriggly little worm and couldn’t really be confined. But when I let her out onto the aisle all she wanted to do was crawl around on that nasty ass floor and pick things up to eat *gag* At one point they were being so unruly that I spilled water on the boy in front of us. Of course the drop down trays were a lovely “new” attraction to babyM and felt bad for the people in front of us. I think the mom just wanted to sleep and if babyM wasn’t putting up and dropping the tray she was pushing and kicking the back of the seat *sigh*. She also wanted to nurse and make sure everyone could see it too. Ughs. I’m not about letting people see my bits, that’s just me. I’m okay with public nursing but I need to cover my shit up. We made it safely to Mama and lilman tho.

Speaking of lilman… as much as I missed him, he has been annoying me to no avail. AIYAH! All up in my grill.

Back to the nursing thing. So…. tonight we are in full attempt mode at weaning. She is in another bed in a whole ‘nother room from me. I told lilmiss that she would sleep with me and she wasn’t having it. She said her place was in bed next to Mama. So we let her fall asleep there but moved her stealthily back next to me, I’m wondering what kind of shit fit she’ll have in the morning and hopefully not in the middle of the night.

I always forget how hot and tropical it is here. I had to take a shower tonight to get that sticky ickiness off me. I’m really hoping the mosquitoes stay AWAY from me. Lilman has enough bites for all of us so hopefully I can get away unscathed this summer.

Was hoping for some tako poke but a las I settled for some home cooking. Made it out to the new Tarjey already and DAMN that ish is HUGE! Funny the things I take for granted, I forgot a toothbrush and deodorant so I made a run out that way.

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The final countdown.

We are in the home stretch. Today is the 5th of July and NKOTB is in 4 days and we leave for Hawaii in 5. HOLY MOLY Batman I am so not ready for this.

Yesterday we spent our freedom at a picnic in the East Bay with my sister and her friends/family. S and the girls swam while I sat around. Food was good and plentiful and everyone seemed to have a good time. We were s’posed to stay and watch the fireworks out there until my niece said we would be walking up some hill that wasn’t very child friendly, so we decided to make the trek back home. Lilmiss was none to happy about it b/c she made a friend and was hoping to watch the festivities with her. I already knew she was beyond tired though and making that trek up and back would not have been a fun one. We caught a few random fireworks on the drive home though and she missed them ALL b/c she was knocked the heck out!

So guess what? BOTH girls are sick and so am I. Ughz. I have that achy all over feeling and congestion and gala galas. Ick! babyM has the faucet nose and cough and lilmiss has a cough. Fun, fun, fun! NOT! Just what I need huh? The house is in shambles and all I really want to do right now is flush my system with a steaming hot shower just so my head can feel clear.

Hope your 4th was nice and you enjoyed your day.

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Summer

Summer is in full swing over here but we haven’t been up to much of interest to y’all.

I think I need a countdown for NKOTB and then the following day we depart for our Hawaiian Hiatus. Lilman is leaving next week with my mom though, to keep her company and so forth. I am so not ready for the concert or to leave for that matter. Ughz. And I am NOT looking forward to being on the plane with the 2 girls by my lonesome. At least if I had to go to the bathroom I could leave babyM with J. Guess I’ll just have to haul her to the bathroom w me. YUCK. And knowing N, she’ll want to come too. I am in need of a getaway though and as much as getting away seems selfish I really wish the mister could come with, or at least come for a few days and kick his feet up. I think the last time we went away as a family was before lilmiss turned 1 and we went to Disneyl.and.

In about a month, lilmiss turns 4. FOUR! And plans are for her to go to preschool in the fall…. and I am so lagging on getting on the ball with that. Pffft. So many things to do. So many other things to do.

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We gonna party

Sunday is the day! PAR-TAY! Man this week has been hectic and thankfully everything is falling into place. YAY!

Food has been ordered. Cake is ordered. Whatever requisite things I told myself that I would make they’re made and marinating. Moms got a few things to make tomorrow herself and she’ll do that free of any kidlet interruptions. I just need to pick up a few more things tomorrow and we’re good to go. I’m just hoping this all goes smoothly.

I’m quite excited about the favors. YAY! I didn’t bother doing kiddie favors this time around. I’m just tired of all the lil toys and stuff and didn’t want to bother everyone else with the toys.

We are supposed to expect rain on Sunday *le sigh* But at least we’re in a hall. Only thing is that hall has a max capacity of about 50 ppl. And the guest list, according to the Evite, is in the 70s which isn’t including the peeps that weren’t on the Evite. I am still hoping that it will clear up at least of the rain and the kids will spill out to the playground *crossing fingers and toes*

So that’s where I’ve been. I’ve been neglecting this space as well as many other places as of late. Oh well at least the kids are taken care of tho, right?

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Dude, what is wrong with me?

BabyM’s birthday party is gearing up. I’m not quite stressing just yet, just wait til the week of I’ll be a frantic MESS! SO how I explain that picture? LMAO!

I had a bunch of errands to run today. The rain was pouring out there like cats and dogs. All of our shoes, with the exception of babyM, are downstairs. So before I put my shoes on, babyM gets strapped in her car. Then it’s back to make sure N has her shoes and then I get to put mine on. So M is strapped and N is sitting at the bottom of the stairs with one rain boot on waiting on her other. I grabbed 1 shoe for myself and put it on and couldn’t find the other, so I put N in her carseat. Then opened the garage and warmed up the Lex. I opened the trunk for my umbrella, and then reached back in there to grab the Ergo. And then I went back to grab the mate of my shoe.. or so I thought . I get back in my chair and then N groans that I promised to grab her a snack when we were upstairs. *ughz* So I even ran back upstairs and still didn’t even notice the shoes.

I’m at one of my many destinations for the day, run out in the rain, and as I’m getting back in the car, I realize… I’M WEARING 2 DIFFERENT PAIRS OF SHOES!!! WTF??? And of course, as I’m laughing at myself, my phone rings and it’s Mama Toots. I tell her everything and then I sit there wondering if I could get away with running my errands with 2 different shoes on. The spaz that I am though, I trekked back home and changed them. Lol.

Too many things on my mind I s’pose!

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Happy Birthday babyM

I am in disbelief that my little mouse is a year old already! She arrived on a Wednesday at 6:54PM after being in labor for 3 days. I swear she really didn’t want to come out, being only 36 weeks and all, but it was a health issue and it was for the better. I actually remember seeing her literally “pop out” like a little ball after pushing. She was so teensy. I swear I was going to break her. And then those 2 scares where she aspirated and turned purple on me in the hospital. But she’s a thriving little thing with a personality all of her own.

She’s been walking now for a good solid month. Her mouth has 7 teeth in it thus far, 4 on the top and 3 on the bottom. She has her 1 year WBC next week but I swear she’s still under 20lbs. She wears anywhere from 3-6month pants to 12 month tops and is in size 3 diapers. Her shoe size is probably a 2.5/3. Her vocabulary consists of these words: “Hai”, “da”, “mumumum”, “ghey”, and lots of grunting. She waves hello or goodbye, throws kisses, and claps. Her favorite toys are still ones that aren’t really toys, paper and remotes. She delights in “playing” with her siblings even though most of the time they’re telling her no or getting her out of situations she shouldn’t be in. She loves to eat anything and everything and when she’s hungry will use “mumumum”. If there’s something you’re eating and she wants it she’ll grunt in your face til you give it to her. And yes she’s still nursing, whenever she wants. She always has some sort of smile on her face and has been dubbed “Smiley” by many. She’s a little more affectionate than her siblings and is so cuddly.

For her birthday we went to Kuya’s playoff game, they won and they’re going to the championships. Then we had noo-noos at Happy Palace T&T and enjoyed cake later with the fams & Uncle Rich and Tita A. She had a free little cake all to herself and smushed the heck out of it! YAY!!!

We’re holding her big birthday shindig next month when Mama returns from Hawaii.

babyM was definitely a surprise, but to me, she definitely completes our family. I know she won’t remember her day but it was special indeed b/c we were celebrating HER!!!!

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A grown woman’s dream

Hello Kitty has been my BFF since way back when! I ain’t even gonna lie to you! I still buy things, for myself. Hell I’ll eat some Happy Meals just for the toys right now! And yes, I am guilty of brainwashing my own daughters to like the stuff.

So why have I been tryin to get on the damned Mac (makeup not computer goods ) site and have been denied, a number of times… b/c I am not the only grown woman trying to get some of this Limited Edition stuff. No I’m not buying everything under the sun. I can’t even put makeup on properly. PUHLEASE! I do have my sites on some lipglass tubes and a keychain though, just so that I have something from this collaboration.

So go to bed bishes… I need to get some Hello Kitty! Thanks and good nite! lol

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Cooking for 3.5

I’ve been cooking more which is good on the pocketbooks. Less eating out. Although we did eat out as a family on Saturday and made it a two meal outing anyhow. And then we went to a baptism on Sunday and got food there, those are always nice.

Whole chickens are 79 cents a pound at Safeway right now and we’ve got 2. One is in the freezer and the other has been purposed for 2 meals. The breasts were ripped from it for today’s meal. I’m really rather excited. I started it late though so it’s not quite ready yet. I’ve got hungry babies. Lilman is not into it much so I repurposed the torta from last week with some old rice and WALA, fried rice. Big hit with him. Good! It’s annoying how much of a picky eater he is!!! The rest of the chicken is in the reefer. I’m not sure what I might do with it just yet, thinking maybe this. I’m on kick with using the Crock Pot again. I like 1 dish meals sometimes. Less clean up is nice!!!

I have some ground turkey in the freezer. Bought 4 packs the other day. On sale, $2.49 a pack. Not bad eh? Think spaghetti is in order. Haven’t made that in awhile!

I’ve been itching for baked goodies lately too. I’ve gotta do bakesale Wednesday cuppies tomorrow. Haven’t done that in awhile and surprisingly we’re only 16 points away from our 50 pt goal. Woo hoo!!! So it actually wasn’t as bad as I had complained about. But I’ve been wanting some peach crumble. Or some bread pudding. Things are rather hard sell in this house though if they’re not cookies, brownies, or cuppies. UGH! No fun!

Only 15 more minutes to go… let’s hope it’s as good as it smells up in hurrrrrrrrr!!!

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Back to being mom

Mama left yesterday *sigh* Only 2 months she’ll be gone and I’m sure they’ll go by fast too.

Yesterday was the first day in a long while that I’ve had to cook dinner for the kidlets. I didn’t really “cook” per se though. Lilman had bball practice and we were running around the majority of the day. So J and I had grilled cheese sammies with a side of cantaloupe. Lilmiss and babyM had Ichiban noodles. Which I totally forgot to look for when I was at Costco last. UGH! Good thing mama gave us her extra stash she had around the house.

Been stocking up on healthy snacks for the kidlets too. We’ve got bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe, and blueberries. If they ask for a snack it’s normally one of those or a cheese stick.

I went grocery shopping today so I could actually cook. We have some leftover mashed taters that ma made and the ground turkey is on sale at Safeway for $2.49 with the coupon. So I decided to make Shepherd’s Pie! We had some other leftover things in the fridge like ham and gravy so I threw those in too along with the frozen veggies. I think it’ll be good. But knowing the kids and their love of rice, they won’t eat it, so I made them something else. I made them tortang again b/c it was such a big hit. I figure if they don’t eat it all I can make some lumpia with it too.

Yeah so dinner is made just needed to turn on the rice and pop the “pie” in the oven.

The whole chickens were on sale too, 79 cents a lb. I picked up one of those too and I’ll have to think of a recipe for that.

My whacked out sleep schedule finally hit me last night. As I was fast asleep before 10PM. I managed to fail at my kidlets 365 and didn’t even get a picture of the lilman. That and I didn’t even post until this morning. FAIL!

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At the stroke of midnight!

The lights were ALL on. The money was ready for throwing and instead… Man down! Or rather, lilmiss was down *sigh*. Lilman had the job of throwing the loose change into the mancave. Which happens to be downstairs. I’m running down the hall with babyM in my arms and I turn around to find lilmiss on the floor screaming and crying, but nothing coming out of her mouth. Lilman was halfway down the stairs and I’m yelling, “What’s wrong with you?”

To which lilman responded, “She fell and hit the wall.”

And he did not include the fact that HE was the one who knocked her into the wall.

OY!!!

What a way to start the New Year!!!

My mom even told lilman before we departed from her house, “Do NOT make your sister cry. We don’t want her crying throughout the New Year.”

Please let THAT premonition NOT be true. B/c sadly, she was crying as the clock struck midnight and well past it too.

And what else do we not want? That b/c I was yelling hardcore at my kids that I won’t be yelling at them throughout the year either. I’m sure my neighbors would appreciate that as well.

Happy New Year to me, huh? *sigh*

Posted in babbles, keiki, lil man, lil miss, ohana, celebration, complaints, baby M | 1 Comment »

good Bye 2008

In a matter of hours it will be 2009! Holy Moly!!!

As per usual we are without the Bm b/c he is working the clubs. No bother though b/c I’m so used to it already! He actually didn’t have something but I encouraged him to find something, b/c it’s really good money.

So right now we’re at my mom’s stuffing our faces. Gotta get it all in b/c she departs back to Hawaii on Wednesday *cries*. I made some binbingkang malagkit. Stopped off at the dim sum spot for buchi (sesame balls), sweet rice cakes, and char siu bao. Round round round= long life. Mom is making pancit as I’m typing, another long life wish. My brother made some carnitas for tacos and we’ve also got some tri tip. Grindz fo’shua. Tomorrow we have prime rib and mashed taters. Yeah you’ll certainly have to stick a fork in me later. But I swear, once Mama goes no more eating!

The year has been an eventful one, especially with the addition of babyM. Lilman started a new school and has participated in basketball and soccer. Lilmiss is growing like a weed and learning at leaps and bounds. The BM started a new job quit it while we were on our summerlong hiatus to the islands, and picked up another job; all in addition to his still holding strong at the station and clubs.

May 2009 be even more eventful for us as a family as well as you. May health and wealth be yours as well. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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4 days til a New Year

More or less the toys and what not have found their places in the house if they’re not already being played with. As I type, lilmiss is enjoying her Hello Kitty tent that she so specifically asked of Santa. This Christmas was rather modest compared to those of Christmas past, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The kids received gifts from people whose children were NOT on my list. OY! SO I need to think of what to get those kids as well as my kris kringle gift for the exchange on the 3rd. Thankfully we put out “wish lists” so hopefully my Kk doesn’t stray from the list. All my Christmas cards are officially out. Albeit later than I had expected this year, but they made out of here before New Year like I had been anticipating. Heh.

Now time to work stress on babyM’s 1st bday party.

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2 more sleeps

Still doesn’t feel like Christmas much around here, probably b/c of the lack of decor. I just realized I never even put up my wreath. No stockings to be filled this year b/c they never made their way out of the boxes. But I managed to wrap all the gifts that needed immediate wrapping. All that’s left are the Santa gifts. Wrapping gifts came at a price last night though as there was lots of yelling on my part, a lot scolding of children, and the baby. Oy! If she wasn’t trying to climb on boxes and get to me then she was putting something in her mouth that wasn’t supposed to be and if it wasn’t that, then she was crying and screaming bloody murder at her siblings. Fun, I tell ya. The holidays are supposed to be Happy, aren’t they?

Today we do the grocery shopping with my mom. My list is rather short, thankfully. Lumpia was rolled last night and I think I managed to roll a supply for New Year’s too. I just realized, I am in fact NOT done with shopping. I’ve still got my Kris Kringle to buy for. But that exchange isn’t until the 3rd so hopefully I can snag some good stuff during the AFTER Christmas sales.

My Christmas cards are in print at the moment hopefully I can pick them up sometime today. Envelopes were addressed yesterday and I realized that I don’t have a lot of addresses. Remember a couple months ago when the iPhone-Macbook sync went awry? Yeah well I emailed everyone and some people just wanted to be b!tches about it, hence they will be receiving GREEN cards this year, digital email ones! HA! Question- What do you do with your Christmas cards once the season is over? All the photo ones I save, of course. They’re compiled in a photo album. All the other ones are recycled. I like to go thru the photos later and see how everyone has progressed/ grown over the years.

Okay 2 more sleeps til Santa makes his visit. Have you been good? What are you hoping to get this year? Either way Merry Holiday to you again hopefully you’ll make it through the season. I’ve already got a few battle scars. Lol.

Posted in babbles, keiki, lil man, lil miss, shopping, ohana, celebration, out&about, baby M | 1 Comment »

4 days and counting

4 more sleeps and Santa will be merrily on his way. All the gifts that needed to be wrapped have been wrapped, but I still have the next round.

So glad we didn’t get a tree, b/c guess who’s climbing now? Yeah! Climbing! WTF? The corralling her shall only last much longer b/c she’ll climb up a “road block” and know how to maneuver herself down… hello back that ass up. Srsly WTF? 10 months old. I swear the others weren’t this advanced. Then again J was walking at 10 months without even crawling.

Speaking of blasts from the past, went through some photos in the harddrive archives and I forgot how chubba wubba lilmiss was. DAMN she had some cheeks on her!

Managed to do some cookie baking too and I have no clue what the hell I’m going to do with them either. We sooooooo do not need to be eating that many cookies. Lol. Tomorrow I roll lumpia.

Gifts are taken care of save for the Mister, and I’m feeling guilty and bad that I don’t have anything for him. What’s worse is that he’s like a little kid when it comes to Christmas and expects something to open. But funds are low, and my brain has been inactive thinking of something to get him. He gets everything and anything he wants for himself on a daily basis.

Okay my free time has winded down. BabyM crawled into a laundry basket full of toy goodness and was occupied for a good 45 minutes. Yeah! I know! 45 minutes. But the whining and crying is now calling me. Happy Holidays…

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