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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Aloha Day 18

Monday bloody Monday.

All the kids got a haircut today. Even babyM! First it was J. He was in need of some cleaning up, so I took the clippers and cleaned his hair up a bit. Next was babyM, her hair was all sorts of uneven and we had never cut her hair since she was born, so I asked my mom to even her out a bit. I put all the cuttings in a plastic bag to keep. I did it with the other kids too, only thing is don’t ask me where their clippings are. D’oh! Next up was lilmiss. Her hair is pretty but really uneven as well and I figured she could use a cut to stimulate some growth in her hair. It was down to her waist almost and Mama trimmed off about 5 inches. YEAH! That’s a lot I know, but her hair grows fast so it’s okay.

What should have been a trip into town turned into a trip to Salt Lake and Pearl City.

We went to check out the other Target, and ooh wee found some good deals! I spied a 75% off end cap and found a bunch of “summer” line stuff that was on clearance. Got Mom a bunch of things for the house and nothing was over $1.50. Lol. Score. Picture frames, placemats, knives, and the like. The kids even managed to get a little something.

Then it was off to Kmart by the stadium to pick up some shampoo for the girls b/c it was on sale.

Then to Sam’s Club to have lunch and pick up some necessities.

Just a lot of errand running and mundane stuffs.

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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 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 10- PAR-TAY

PAR-TAY day!

Woke up early-ish and did some last minute prep then the birthday girl and I headed out to pick up ice, soda, and the ice cream cake. Came home and all she wanted to do was eat her cake already. Hello, party not for another 2 hours.

Slowly but surely the guests started to trickle in. The appetizers were a big hit and my Auntie A brought over some poke, just for ME . Finally!!! and it was YUM-TASTIC! The kolohe neighbor kids were over early and wreckin havoc. Man I honestly don’t know how their family deals with so many kids. There are 6 of them ranging in age from 12years old to 18 months.

All that matters is N had fun, which she did. She got a lot of good/cute stuff that she was very happy with as well as a bunch of $ that will be spent on replenishing her wardrobe, just in time for school.

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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 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 3

Another day in paradise.

So I did wake early and apparently so did the girls. My mom said once again babyM was scratching at her shirt but managed to get her back to sleep. The nice thing is that babyM doesn’t “bother” me with the scratching. The magic word hasn’t been said since we departed the plane!

I made it to the market only to once again NOT buy any chxn bc damnit I needed to get a raincheck. Got some other things tho and found that mom had some chicken in the freezer. BBQ was on.

Didn’t do much of anything, went to Walmart and Sam’s Club. Sad to see that there aren’t any new books out. So yeah it was a nothing sort of Sunday.

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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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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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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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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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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.

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13 days til Christmas

Holy Mother of GAH!!! 13 days until Christmas. And we have no tree! Still don’t know if we’re getting one. I like to use the excuse that it’s b/c the baby is into EVERYTHING and will just bring the tree down and put everything in her mouth. There’s also another reason why I don’t want to get a tree, I’m the one to put it up and guess what? I’m the one to put it away. Pfft! It’s babyM’s 1st Christmas and all but still. 3 kids don’t exactly allow me to get a lot done unless it’s at night and by that time I just want to veg and bring my brain to further mush with senseless television watching! So that’s the situation with the Christmas decor round these parts.

As for Christmas cards? Yeah! Uhm… well those might just be “Happy New Year” cards. No pictures in any kind of outfits have been taken. No visits to Santa. Nothing. I did however schedule an appointment for next week to have their photos taken. Go me! Outfits are all chosen and put together, all we need is for N’s booger nose to clear up, for M to not catch the booger nose, and for J to not have the “Chandler smile”. And since we’ll be at the mall anyhow, we’ll make an effort to visit Santa too. Hopefully M doesn’t freak out and have one of “those” Santa pictures. Although her siblings NEVER had them. In J’s 1st Christmas Santa pic he’s actually smiling.

Gifts… *sigh* well for the most part the gifts that need to go to other people outside our 5 have been bought. Wrapped is another story. I have 5 more on the list: a 4 month old baby that is bigger in size AND weight than M, a 6 year old who has everything under the moon, and my sister’s 3 kids. As for our kids N is taken care of, by not much but at least we have gifts. S is in charge of J’s gifts and so far as I know there is NOTHING. I am in charge of M’s gifts and there is NOTHING. S I do have something for but nothing for him to get excited for.

So that is our current update. J has 3 days of school next week and 2 of them are half days. WOo hoo! Why they aren’t consecutive half days is beyond me. LAME.

Happy Aloha Friday peeps!

Posted in babbles, keiki, lil man, lil miss, shopping, ohana, work, celebration, complaints, big mister, out&about, baby M | 2 Comments »

*yawn*

I’m tired, seems I’m always tired as of late. I blame the baby b/c despite having a full tummy, taking consistent naps, sleeping at the right time… she still wakes and OFTEN through the night as well as having her internal clock wake anywhere between 630 and 7AM. UGH. I’m not even going to ask what’s wrong with her not sleeping through the night yet. Her siblings didn’t do it, so why should she, right? It would be a nice thing, but I’ve accepted it!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was a good one. Being with the ones that matter the most and most importantly Mama wasn’t all the way across the ocean. Tummies were satisfied. Food was good! Now to figure out what to make for Christmas . I made piggies in blankies, lumpia, and pumpkin cheesecake. More than likely I will make lumpia and piggies again, but will do something different for dessert.

As in past years I braved the crowds with Mama Toots and did midnight madness. This year I didn’t. I just couldn’t fathom bringing the baby out at that hour of the night. I can’t leave her with anyone, especially not at night b/c I am her human pacifier, lest I be gone, sure as hell no one will sleep. Instead I woke at 530 and got ready and headed to Tarjey. Picked up a bunch of good loot for gifts and then headed back home to pick up lilman. For some reason the lilmiss had already been awake and was aware that I was heading out, she wanted to come too. Funny thing is she thought it was still night, b/c it was dark. And of course, had to bring baby along. They did very well. Then it was off to my mom’s to p/up mom and SIL. We headed down the peninsula and they went to town at both Old Navy and Guess. Crowds surprisingly weren’t bad at all the whole day. Thank goodness.

26 more days til Christmas!

Posted in babbles, keiki, cooking, eating, lil man, lil miss, shopping, ohana, celebration, big mister, out&about, baby M | No Comments »

Ramblings

For the life of me, I can’t remember where I put the Sleeping Beauty DVD!?!? Bought it at Target last month and I have not seen it since. OY!

I need to go through the girls’ clothes and put some away and give back or donate the smalleys from babyM. Been stocking up on some stuffs for her b/c there was a gap in the 6-18 handmedowns. And for some reason I need to go thru some things b/c onesies seem to be lacking. Where the hell did they go? Lilmiss was wearing stuff from when lilman was a baby, so where did those go?

Today I finally got J an appt for his flu shot. Thankfully it went fast. When we arrived at the office it was packed. Not a seat in the house. As soon as a seat opened up they called him in and I also made an appt for babyM’s 2nd dose for next month. Then we were off to the lab to get her blood drawn. OY! I can’t believe she even put a tourniquet on her. She’s so itty bitty. I had to hold her and she didn’t like that one bit. She let out a teensy cry from the poke and was more irritated that she couldn’t move.

Thanksgiving is next week. Weeee!!! I’m so excited. I’m appetizers and half of desserts. I’ve gotta roll lumpia next week and I need to think of another appetizer I forgot about the pigs in blankets those always go well at family gatherings. My mom ordered kutsinta and maja blanca and I’m making a pumpkin praline cheesecake. Mom’s is making the turkeys, yes 2 and the mashed ‘taters. My sister has side items. I’m wondering if anyone else is coming to Thanksgiving?

I want to watch Twilight, of course! But I think I’ll have to wait til AFTER the holiday weekend. So I can watch it in the middle of the day when all the screaming FANatic tweens are in school. I had to go back thru my archives to see when I read the stinkin thing. Over a year ago. And to think I was encouraging my niece to read it back then, did she heed my calls? Of course not, and guess who’s reading all 4 of my books now? HA! I told my sister she should read them now. She’s gonna try. Or so she says.

Posted in babbles, cooking, eating, lil man, shopping, ohana, baby M | 2 Comments »

Mine eyes

I finally had my appt with the optometrist! He was soooooooo nice! My glasses broke while in Hawaii and I need to replace them asap b/c the super glue will only last so long. I also noticed a bit of a change in my prescription anyhow. I”ve had these frames for a loooooong time too so it’s time for a change, and I need to refill my contact prescription too.

Which reminds me, I need to set up an appt for the boys. J has been complaining about not being able to see. Most of the kids in his class wear glasses already. It’s probably from all the gaming and computering.

After my appt we headed to Sp.ortmart to get J some cleats and shin guards and socks. He has his first soccer practice tomorrow! Was looking for red socks b/c his uniform is red, but they didn’t have ‘em. Daddy of course picked out the shoes b/c he has to look cool. Ahahaha. $76. AUWE! That’s not including the fee we had to pay in order for him to play. And then it’s basketball after this, gotta get him shoes for this sport too. Damn this kid is expen$ive, but I suppose we’re saving a bit from not putting him in karate, right?

Posted in babbles, lil man, shopping, ohana, big mister, out&about | 1 Comment »

School supplies are geared toward GIRLS!

Yesterday the boy was sent home with two books to cover. I’ve always wanted those stretchable book covers, so off I went in search of them. Why did Tar-jey only have florals and pinks left? I dug through the bin and there happened to be two really ugly brown, orange,and yellow with footballs and helmets on ‘em? UG-LAY! I picked them up anyhow. Then I went to Rite Aid and came across some Pokemon ones by chance and an ugly plain orange one. I figured he would have more books to cover as the days go by.

So I get home and guess what? NONE OF THEM FIT! Ugh! Too small! So if I have time today I’ve gotta return them all, save for the orange b/c the packaging didn’t hold up well when I opened it.

So I had to forage for paper bags. I was hoping to come across some shopping bags from Nordy’s or Old Navy b/c I like the whites, but that would require shopping there and that hasn’t happened in a great while. So good old brown paper bags is what it was.

Back to school supplies… so while I was looking for those book covers I was also looking for a solution for his pencil pouch. Saw a whole bunch at Tar-jey. But… they were all for girls. ALL. OF. THEM. Florals. Pink stripes. Purple dots. WTF? And if it wasn’t those it was High School Musical or Camp Rock. Then the same at Rite Aid with the all pinks, Bratz, and the like. Did all the boys buy out the pencil pouches I doubt it.

I looked around the house for some sort of pouch for him to use, and all of mine are rather girly. *scratches head*

Posted in babbles, lil man, shopping, work, complaints, out&about | 6 Comments »

4th Grade.

Seriously?!?!

I was sitting on the pot today thinking about how much we spent on the lilman’s uniforms. My mom bought him a bunch of the white standard polos for $4.80 each when we were in Hawaii from Old Navy. We scored on those b/c they were 2/$12 and mom got an additional 20% off. The uniform place wanted $16.75 EACH for stinkin white polos. Sheesh. 3 pairs of grey corduroy pants, 2 button up cardigan sweaters in red (yuck!), and 1 oxford shirt (for mass days). Total= $185. AUWE!!! And we still haven’t bought his shoes or school supplies yet. His shoes have to be ALL black, no colored logos, no hightops.

4th grade. I can’t believe I am the mother of a 4th grader. HOLY SH!T! Seriously? I refuse to believe it. He just turned 9 for goodness sakes.

4th grade I was the star of our volleyball team. I knew nothing of the sport, I just figured “What the heck! all my classmates are signing up too.” And since then I’ve always loved volleyball but only played from 4th to 8th grade. We’re hoping that lilman signs up for soccer and at his own request basketball. CYO here we come.

Lilman is starting a new school again. Catholic school this time around. We know a handful of kids at the school already so his transition shouldn’t be too bad. *crossing fingers* For K-2nd he went to a private school that we absolutely loved. It was nice and small, he got the attention he needed as well as being challenged. Shootz he was learning Spanish, music, PE, History, and Science in Kindergarten! Yes! In addition to the other stuff, it was amazing. But the owners of the school sucked. Majorly. And they raised the tuition, so there was no way we would able to keep him in there and survive. He did 3rd grade in our neighborhood public school and he wasn’t challenged. It seemed he was repeating a lot of the work that he had done in 2nd grade and they refused to advance him b/c of age. Lame. B/c there are always so many budget cuts there weren’t any extra curricular activities or classes. So hopefully he’ll be challenged again this year.

I’m dreading the mandatory service hours though. OY! With 2 little ones at home, I’m kinda limited with the sorts of help I can give them, unless they don’t mind me bringing them along to help. Which I’m sure they’re not. Pfft!

1 more week of summer for all of us. *sigh*

Posted in babbles, lil man, shopping, work, out&about | 2 Comments »

Birthday

Now that the lilmissy’s birthday is over with for this year. My mom’s is fast approaching, then mine, and then the boy’s. I planned our trip so that we’d be with my mom on her birthday! YAY . And then we’d leave before mine and the boy’s. Although, maybe I should have stayed and been with the one that birthed me for my birthday?!?!?!

I’m sure it will be plenty low key being that we fly home the night before. Jet leg. Unpacking. Being home after not being home for nearly 2 months. Blah!

Someone asked me what I wanted for my birthday. Not that I get gifts anymore. And not that I really expect to anyhow. My mom is funny and while we’re out and about, if she sees me eyeing something, she’ll say “You want it? I’ll get it for you for your birthday.” So I often tease her about it and pick up random things.

Of course if I could have anything in the world and money was no object, jewelry would be on that list, as well as my dream car, and another trip somewhere.

What have I been coveting as of late?

Blame it on the child in me. I’ve always loved Hello Kitty and never could understand the girls who didn’t. Yeah yeah I’m brainwashing my kids to love her too! So what

I loved it from the beginning. Yeah I’m a bopper at heart. Guess where I’ll hopefully be on October 10th. LMAO. But yeah I loved this show and would love to add this one to the collection.

B/c my other point and shoot went on the fritz before this trip I’ve been lacking on a small compact camera. And one that shoots video too. Been missing all the baby’s moments on film, but I’ve got them in my memory. Right? Pfft.

My “gear” is so lacking when it comes to the 40. I like to take pictures as much as I can, but I’m not so much into the fancy gear. Something that won’t break the bank, and I can still use on a daily basis. Mama Toots has this 18-135mm and I quite like it.

Not so much needs but I can have wants on my birthday right? I would say that I need clothes as of late b/c my wardrobe is quite dated. It could use some sprucing up. But after losing the weight and then some, then gaining a bit of it back again, I am in no mood to look at myself in the mirror.

Posted in babbles, shopping, celebration, addictions | 1 Comment »

We have landed

We’re back in the islands and it feels good. But I’m missing the mister something awful. We were s’posed to have an iChat date, right now actually but he had to do something for work and has rescheduled for 10PM HST, which is 1AM PST. Don’t think I’ll be awake then b/c I slept late last night, woke early this morning, and didn’t get any kind of sleep on the plane. But, I’m actually not tired now. The crappy thing is that the wireless is acting wonky right now so I’m restricted to sitting in the “office” wired. Pfft. This sux. I can’t watch my k dramas in bed.

The plane ride wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. Thank the powers that be! Woo! I gave lilmiss her dosage of Benadryl while we were still at the airport and she fell asleep before the plane ever left the gate. The baby fell asleep on and off too, so my flight was awesome, here’s hoping that my return flight is just as nice. Lilmiss woke up just in time for lunch, but the crappy thing about sitting in the way back is that they ran out of certain lunches. We were all hoping for sammiches but ended up with pasta. Pfft. I didn’t even eat any of it. Sux and I didn’t get much of a breakfast to begin with. So surprise, surprise the first thing I wanted to do when we hooked up with my mom was to eat. She had some Nanding’s Spanish Rolls that she had picked up before getting us. So we just munched on those and headed home for some of her homecooking. Managed to take a nap with the baby but it was interrupted a number of times by the boy.

We’ve already managed a trip to Walmart and Times . Baby needed some diaper rash cream and I actually need to get a flat iron for here. I decided that bringing one back and forth is lame and that I’m better off getting one for here. They didn’t have the one I was looking for. Grrr!!!

Baby is having issues with the heat, but other than that it seems the kids have already slipped back into their usual routine here. They even went out to play with the neighbors. Heh.

Alooooooooooooooooooooooooha!

Posted in babbles, keiki, eating, shopping, ohana, out&about, baby M | 4 Comments »

Coooooooooookies

Funny how I had a “craving” of sorts for White Choco Chip and MacNut Cookies all b/c of that teaser I had from Subway. And so I was on a mission to make my own. My mom brought back HELLA macnuts from the Big Island. And of the baking variety too. Woot! B/c them suckahs is expensive. I just needed to buy butter and white choco chips! And then while out with my brother and his gf today they bought some at Mrs. Field’s! I told him I was going to make some and he said he wanted them right then and there. LoL. The recipe I used yielded like 6 dozen, and they’re NOT nibblers either. I’ll definitely be sharing these.

White Chocolate Chip MacNut Cookies

1 cup butter softened, 2 sticks
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 cups chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Beat well. Blend in flour and baking soda. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes! Remove immediately and put on wire rack for slightly crispy slighty chewy cookies.

Nomnomnom.

Posted in babbles, cooking, eating, shopping, out&about | 4 Comments »

On the search

I saw this Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream @ Lucky’s the other day but had no desire for ice cream. What with the hot weather and all… I’ve been on the hunt. And so far no luck! And what more, I’ve got a coupon for $1 off purchase of 2. Hmmph!

I’m a sucker for cheesecake. Oh for the love of cheesecake. And brownies aren’t too bad either, I prefer them with nuts though, but plain with ice cream is yummy.

You get the best of both worlds….. lmao, in one bite.

The weather has certainly cooled down but the fan is still running and it’s nearly 10:30PM.

Posted in babbles, eating, shopping, complaints | No Comments »

Change of plans

Mama is leaving! Geez. My brother is scheduled for surgery on the 10th. She’s going back to check on the house, start up the truck. Tie up some loose ends. And probably just get away and take a breather from everyone. So she leaves this Tuesday as originally planned and she might come back on the 8th or 9th. So right now OUR flight plans are on hold b/c if she comes back she doesn’t know how long, and if, my brother will need her. OY!

Today was the first day of the heat wave. It wasn’t so bad but tomorrow is definitely going to be hotter. I can already feel myself melting away.

BabyM got her ears pierced today. We went last week and they told us she had to be 3 months, she turned 3 months yesterday so we got ‘em done. Now there’s no questioning if she’s a boy or girl anymore, I hope! Despite her wearing pinks and such, people would still ask boy? girl? I think it’s her hair that throws people off. There’s just so much of it! I was trying to record her with the p&s and still get some shots with the d40 but I couldn’t handle both. And then N nearly knocked me unconscious. She dropped the pass through door of the kiosk on my head. It still frickin hurts! But yeah M did better, to my recollection than her sister. Her scream wasn’t as bad as N’s but she did milk the sympathy. So cute! Heh. Despite her not knowing where her ears are or how to touch them, here’s hoping nothing goes wrong with ‘em. I told my mom that her eyes seem to sparkle more with her added bling. Yay!

I seriously need to take pix and post to the shopping blog. Pfft!

Got the candy bars for the favors! Need to finish the birthday gift for Mama Toots. Ordered the cake for Sunday. Selling my laptop to my brother for $625 so I need to get this one emptied out for him.

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