Another bright idea

Lulu is not a sleeping princess. In fact, she can not sleep and still be a happy little girl. I, however, cannot be a happy girl without my sleep. But, I decided that if she wasn't going to sleep anyway, I would switch her to a big girl bed and let her cry it out. Bed rail, child-proof door knob, purple nightlight, and all.

This bed was supposed to be the answer to my prayers. HA!!!

We lasted 4 nights of not sleeping and the crib was resurrected. When I was putting it back together and I put her in the crib, she asked for the other bed. The big bed that she said she wanted to --"Throw it away. I don't like flowers."

We did 2 hrs of screaming last night. She pulled off the special door knob 3x. I don't know how she did it. I had a hard time taking it off when I wanted to. She finally fell asleep, but I slept with her. Bad, I know. She didn't ever wake up, but she was rolling all over the place and whining a bunch in her sleep.

So, tonight we are doing the crib-cry it out and hoping for the best. Poor Mimi does not like hearing her sister cry. I think I have one more sleepless night in me and then I might crack. Went to the urgent care and got some anti-biotics. I think that they might work better with sleep.

The other issue is she knows I will take her to the bathroom when she says, "PeePee potty." So she uses that to get out of the bed or to get a diaper change. We have gone through 3-5 diapers per night. She is going frequently on the potty, but not #2. She is the master manipulator and I am the sucker.

Glowing report

I don't like going to teacher conferences, but it is hard not to beam when you hear so many nice things about your child.

Mimi's teacher said she was going to get the 3rd grade to send her work down to 2nd grade so she could keep her for another year. Mimi "is so sweet, so nice, so smart, independent, helps others, everyone likes her, she is a leader, she is a good girl. You are doing a good job." The truth is, it is her. We might be able to take some credit, but not too much. She is a good girl. She tries hard and wants to do well.

I hope she still likes school as she gets older and never loses her desire to help others. She is a special girl. We are so grateful she is our daughter.

Boogers

view from our hotel room--imagining it is my current view

It started last Monday and has been almost continuous. Little feet running across the floor and yelling, "BOOGER!" In the middle of the night (4-6x) yelling, "BOOGER!" She is not in a foul mood, she just can't wipe her own nose very well. Mimi also has this issue. Her nose blowing is not as cute as a 2-year-old's.

I have been stuck for a week. I need to get out and do something fun. ALONE. While I wait for the babysitter to come home from work, I'll just stare out my window and pretend it looks like this.

Maybe I need a trip to Yakima--it is the "Palm Springs" of Washington.

Shopping spree

It has been a little over 4 months since I bought my last pair of running shoes, but my knees were beginning to hurt and I wasn't feeling much cushion anymore so I bought some new ones. I took Lulu to Runner's Soul and we ran around the store for at least 20 minutes. She chased me and I chased her and in the end I came home with a pair of Brooks Glycerin shoes. I took them to the gym last night and did a test run--clean run--so I could return them if they felt wrong.

Shoes make a huge difference. Mr. said some girls buy heels and you buy running shoes. I can tell when they are dead and need to be replaced, but I usually push an extra month or more and end up with soreness.

We went to Payless and got the girls matching sandals and Lulu a pair of princess tennis shoes. She had been wearing skechers that I knew were too small for her, but they still went on without a fight. Her old shoes were 7 1/2 and her new ones are 9s. Swimsuits jumped in our cart at Costco. They have some cute ones this year. Cinnamon rolls jumped in too, but they weren't as good as Cinnabon or even Rhode's rolls. However, the strawberries and raspberries did not disappoint.

The girls are still fighting the sickness. We are staying home today and hoping for the best. I love being home. Thanks to Mr., I get to do it.

Breaking out of the post-vacation funk

Mimi 4th Bday

All it took was a great deal on my shower cleaner and some toothpaste to ignite my semi-clean- freak fire. I am working to get out of this vacation funk and it has taken a whole week. Real life is a lot harder than vacation life. I am happy to be home and back together as a family.

Last week, I only did dishes, dinner (barely), and laundry. I was so tired and unmotivated. Today is the start of a better week. Phew! Washed dishes, cleaned the shower, mopped the floor, put away more laundry, ran a few miles, visited a sister, played with my girls, made dinner, contemplating FHE and treats. Things are looking up.

The Spring Cold

We all have a touch of it. Lulu is hacking, Mimi is sniffing, Mr. has a sore throat, my nose tickles. It's not bad enough to go to the Dr, but I think it is one of those things that will just hang on for weeks.

We had a lesson on prayer in primary. I sure love those kids. They are so cute and they even listen most of the time. We have grown from 6 kids to 8 that come regularly. We play this matching game with paper plates and they love it. It is so fun to watch them cheer each other on and give each other hints. We took turns telling things we could thank Heavenly Father for in our prayers. They each had one turn and then they wanted to keep sharing ideas. They are grateful for so many things. I am grateful that I get to teach these kids and enjoy their sweet, simple testimonies.

The Food

I didn't take any food pictures, except for these by the fruit stand.

He chose the backdrop.

We shared a coconut milk, some bananas, lychee, mango, pineapple, coconut and papaya.
The fresh mango was delicious.

We ate a few times at Ted's bakery--coconut cake, coconut turnover, carrot cake, omelets.

Killer Tacos--kalua pig tacos and fish tacos. Kind of like Tacos del Mar.

Konos--Wendy's breakfast burrito and Portuguese sausage (not so good) and rice. The sausage was like spicy spam. Mr. informed me that his was delicious and didn't offer to share.

Uncle Bobo's--Combo plate with pork shoulder, brisket, and ribs. Fresh, local greens salad.
This plate could have fed 3.

L&L Drive-in--we asked a lady at Kmart where a good "local" restaurant was and she suggested Chili's. So we drove around and found one that had pictures of Hawaiian meals on their windows. They serve everything with rice and macaroni salad. BBQ chicken, pork lau lau, kalua pig.

We never went anywhere fancy. We spent $30-40 on food and snacks each day(we could have gotten away with $25 and not been hungry or eating McD's). We shared a lot of meals because the portions were so huge. We usually only ate 2x a day and then had fruit. We kept a case of water and some pop in the fridge to take with us so we didn't break the bank with beverages.

Diamond Head Crater

at the top
the crater

We didn't go workout before we did our Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head Crater excursion. We didn't go on purpose because we knew we'd be doing a lot of walking and that it would make up for not exercising. On our way to the Crater, he asked me if I wanted to race. Of course, I said no, but he raced me anyway.

The trail starts at this little parking lot with a shaved ice truck and some musical bathrooms. For some reason it was really funny to have Hawaiian music playing in a rest area bathroom. A sign tells you to make sure you have sunscreen, water, and good shoes. I think I saw more people doing this hike in flip flops than tennis shoes. The first part of the trail was a cement sidewalk, then it turned to dirt, then it started switching back on some rock, then some big stairs, then a narrow tunnel, then a set of spiral stairs, then climbing through a hole, then more switchbacks, stairs, and an overlook platform.


It really was a good hike. The book we had said it should take 1.5 hours--up, viewing, down. We did it in 40 minutes. Actually, I did it in 40 minutes. Mr. probably did it in 35. The view was beautiful. I thought we had some good shots, but we really only had 2 okay ones.

Mermaid Man and Surfer Dude

Snorkeling at Ko Olina Resort.
This place was gorgeous.

Learning the rules and actions of a surfer.

His teacher's name was Lucky. Hale'iwa.

Paddling out. He was told he would be tired after an hour.
And He was. I stood on that rock point watching and taking pictures for 1.5 hours. This was our longest day on the beach.

But he rode quite a few waves and went for a whole 2 hours

He was glad to have a rash guard. Forgot to put sunscreen on his calves. They were red. Still waiting for them to start peeling.

All done. We were walking back to the surf truck and I spotted Bethany Hamilton. The teenage surfer whose arm was bitten off by a shark. They were filming a movie about her at our hotel and she was taking a break and hanging out with some friends. We didn't take a picture of her. I don't know what protocol for that kind of stuff is.

With Pineapple on Top

On the recommendation of many, we went to the Dole Plantation.
We fed the crazy koi

Ate the Dole whip (this picture is post dessert, Heath still has hair on top even though it doesn't look like it in this shot). This ice cream is also available by the Tiki Room at Disneyland.

When we entered the gift shop, we were given a coupon and "won" some discounted jewelry. It was still a little pricey. Hopefully, our mothers will like it.

I had heard that pineapple grows on top of the plant like a flower, but it was still crazy to see.

Lost in Oahu

We filed our taxes on Saturday night, booked a flight to Hawaii on Wednesday, and flew out early Monday morning.

This is Heath doing his best Jack impression on the "Lost" beach near Hale'iwa.
This is me looking sad and lost on the beach. I think I just look pregnant.

We found the airplane!!!