Keeks...this one's for you

Taking a look at my blog (without taking a look at my entire blog) and you can guess that a high percentage of pics are of my Lali Pop. And by default there will be a number of pics of the baby's mama. And then several of Kajla because she is my own baby. and maybe a smathering here and there of other family members. But not too many of my Kika, the beauty and photogenic one that she is. But I don't see her too often and I am sure she would not approve of some of the pics I could put up on this blog. She is most critical of herself. But she is a beauty and I think this picture shows that. LOVE YOU KEEKS!

Let's go for a ride, Uncle Kalena style!

Everyone needs to have an Uncle Kalena in their lives.

FEED ME!

My joy this Christmas consisted of time with family and friends, especially the company of one little Hulali. The girl is a chomper. Eater Extraordinaire. Connoisseur of good food. Such a joy to watch a child enjoy the simple forms of food. And so we fed her. every meal available. And we spent time making (wait. let me rephrase that. I SPENT TIME MAKING...) baby food. Carrots. Sweet Peas. Okinawan Sweet Potatoes. Poi ala Hilo Taro. Banana ala skin too brown for anyone else to eat. It was great. We froze the food (yes, we...thank you, baby mama) in ice cube trays then bagged the results in ziplocs. What a wonderful idea. Gerber is not good enough for my little bundle of poi. I mean joy.

A big mahalo to all the baby hogs this past week: Aunty Keeks and the Baby Whisperer.'

Back to reality...

Merry Christmas!

Goats Climb Trees, Too

We now have a family of four in our goat clan, complete with: mommy, daddy, first born Sally and second born Timmy (just made up the names for storytelling purposes). The mom has taken to teaching her "kids" how to climb our tree, aided by "steps" that Kalena put up years and years ago, in his own tree climbing days.

Out in the country we take our entertainment as it comes.

Our New Visitor

Yesterday morning, up at 4 am and enjoying a leisurely pre-dawn cup of coffee, we were disturbed by the dogs barking (when all 6 are barking you tend to take notice). We went outside to discover that we had an early morning visitor--the neighbor's pregnant ewe. Yup. After Glen tried to lure her close to put a leash on her (I knew those dog leashes were versatile...they have become goat leashes, pig leashes and ALMOST sheep leashes!), we resorted to calling her owners, our neighbors, who were not very pleased as they had to get out of bed, jump in their truck and try to lure her home...last I saw, Keoki was trying to lasso her with his rodeo rope after failed attempts at luring her with grain. Females are smart no matter what breed, I guess.

Hulali "talking" to her brother

Hulali saw a picture of Ku, her big brother, on my office cabinet door and just could NOT contain her excitement.

iChat, my new best friend

Welcome to my new best friend, video iChat. Well worth the $129 to purchase an external camera. Now my Lali-pop is but a click away, despite residing on a different island. Now as soon as I can get DSL in Pa'auilo we'll be cookin' with gas and I won't have to steal time at work to see my baby girl! Tis a Merry Christmas, indeed!

Christmas in Hawai'i...Waimea, Hawai'i

By far, my most favorite event during Christmas is the Waimea Christmas parade, held in beautiful Waimea town. I'm telling you, people come out of the woodwork for this one. It starts right at dusk and by the time the trucks (40+this year) begin their trek, it is pitch black, kids are hyped up on all the sugar from the candies being tossed, and everyone is in high spirits. Alcohol free! And if we're really lucky, like we were this year, it is COLD COLD COLD (look at the attire). We pile on the sweaters, jackets, hats, socks and all! Last year's parade, people were stripping off clothes, it was so warm. This year, Kajla finally joined in on my screaming to truck occupants to throw candy or glow sticks or little toys. It was an unbelievably joyous occasion and all for free. Next year, won't you join us?

Thank God I'm a Country Girl!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cowgirl in the making. This weekend, Hulali-pop was introduced to Mary Souza (light one) and Matisyahu, our calves. And you can certainly tell that there is NO FEAR in our little one, but it appears as if Matis is wondering who the HEY this kid is! As soon as she saw the calves come her way, she started reaching for them, pulling their fur and all. NO FEAR. Of course this thrilled her Uncle Kalena to no end and ensured subsequent animal petting zoo sort of opportunities on our "ranch". What will it be next? A ride on Tammy? Goat milking? Her very own piglet? I'm voting CHICKENS! Chickens with eggs so my baby can have organic eggs! And fertilizer for our garden! Oh, the thrill of it all :-)

Where I've Been

My daughters can attest to the fact that, as a mother, I have been missing in action. It's been a crazy week of planning and implementation but finally today was the last day of a literacy conference I co-chaired (my blogger friends are going to have to teach me how to insert webpage links here...). It was attended by 602 attendees, each paying $175 - $215 to attend and listen to the best professionals in the field of literacy instruction. Not too exciting unless you are a teacher.

These are just some pics from the opening session and special guests. The first pic is one of me and Georgia Heard, author and educator, poet and mother. She was fantastic. (http://books.heinemann.com/authors/410.aspx). I had to give an opening speech and BOY WAS I NERVOUS! When was the last time you stood on a stage in front of 600 TEACHERS! Yikes.

It's a crazy world out there for teachers (and students!). So many challenges, federal mandates, dysfunctional family issues (students AND teachers), and so on and so forth. But I have to hand it to each and every educator who flew from as far away as Canada and New York and everyone else (thankfully more than half of the attendees were our own teachers in Hawai'i!) to partake of professional development.

I sit here with a glass of red wine, thankful it's over, glad it was successful, and anxious to be with my family (and dogs) again.

Hotties

Just some of the hotties in my life.

My Truck has a Boo-Boo

I am so sad. The last time I dented a vehicle was when I was 17. Or so. And forgot to hit the brakes approaching the car in front of me. But I learn my lessons well. And I haven't really had any car accidents since. Until two weeks ago, when a short yellow pole, hidden by a car that was parked in a totally UNPARKABLE location, blocked my view of said pole when I turned right. It was painful for me. My truck is in pain as you can see. Needless to say, I went straight to the auto body repair shop to fix the damage, which I might add, is costing me far more than I think it should. GEEZ! It was just on that wheel well as you can see. $1,200+. I am going to take advantage of my auto insurance and I hope it doesn't cause it to go up. That just wouldn't seem right. Pay them EVERY SINGLE YEAR with no claim. If they penalize me I am going public (more public than this). Do you feel my pain?

25 YEARS...then and now...

...nuff said

Preparing for School

I can recall sticking my tongue out many a time during my childhood. What other way to retaliate against the evil forces? I was never so brave as to "flip the bird" or utter vulgar words. No no no. I thought sticking your tongue out was about as nasty as one could get. And so it goes that my little mo'o is perfecting the art as we speak. Good girl! And in a pink shirt, too! So fem!

My How They Grow

Everytime I travel to O'ahu and I have time to stop in and see the mo'opuna (Ku included) they change. Ku decided he wanted to shave his head so, as he says, "I can look just like my daddy." And he said it like it was a good thing :-) and it is. Gotta enjoy those moments while they last because chances are...

And our little Lali-pop is growing by leaps and bounds. Now a full fledged four month old, she is getting a little chubs and has the giggles to go with it. Soon she will be eating rice cereal. Then crawling. Then walking. And running. And hopefully asking to go to Puna's house. And hopefully her mommy will let her as any good mommy would. Right?

Let's follow up that MASSIVE earthquake w/ some RAIN!

As if Sunday's event wasn't enough, it was followed up with a great lightning storm yesterday afternoon through this morning and lots of rain. rain. rain. This rain, apparently, was enough to give the earth that extra added nudge it needed to release itself. Quite a few mini landslides on my in to work but being that we were traveling at a high rate of speed (as high as Glen gets on the highway which is generally below the speedlimit) AND it was 4:30 am (we didnt have any electricity at home and since the road had a huge HOLE in it from the earthquake and a L O N G bypass was created that adds many more minutes to our already 60 minutes+ drive) the pictures do not quite tell the story...

Merry Maids, WHERE ARE YOU??????

Take a look at my mom's humble abode. You like? I learned two critical things while at my mom's trying to "pick up the pieces."

1. NEVER put your bed, head side, towards a book case, AND don't put glass bottles on the window ledge lengthwise of your bed lest you be knocked out left for you know what when an earthquake hits (but thank goodness my mom gets up with the worms every morning. She wasn't even at home at 7:07 am!)

2. I get my cookbook purchasing obsession from my mother. What was she saddest about? One of her bread cookbooks got destroyed in the kitchen when a bottle of some sort of 25 year old whiskey broke on it, along with flour (whisky bread, anyone?) and some other powdery substance. Bet THAT recipe wasn't in the book!

What's in YOUR bathroom cabinet?

And what do YOU have in your bathroom cabinet? I have an assortment of sweaters and sweatshirts that I am having a hard time parting with even though I haven't worn some things in there for over 15 years. I also have some lotions, feminine hygiene products, and lauhala products. Good news? Toilet stayed intact, unlike the toilet of my friend's parents...YUCK-O!

I SPY...

Thought this photo would make a great page in an "I SPY" book...
*I spy a bottle of Skye
*I spy five cans of Spam
*I spy an Ala Moana Hotel coffee cup someone borrowed :-)

Hulali, are you sleeping?

We were blessed to have Hulali with us for a brief 6 days and nights this past week. Here is what we learned:
*Hulali loves the outdoors. She can be screaming crying put me to sleep feed me change my diaper screaming but once you step outside it's all over. A miracle of sorts.

*Hulali sleeps during the day ONLY ON A LIVE HUMAN BEING. As evidenced by the pics. There was ONE time that she actually went in her crib and slept for an extended time during the day BUT ONLY ONCE! I REPEAT...ONLY ONCE. I had the magic touch. But apparently it was a one time magic touch thing. Each subsequent time was met with a scream only a mother could love.

*At night, once our Lali-pop falls asleep, you can change her clothes, put on a fresh diaper (complete with butt wipe with a cold cloth and A&D ointment), AND wave her arm to and fro because you're in such amazement that she isn't waking up, and SHE WILL NOT WAKE UP.

*She loves her tutu man:



And she loves, apparently, sleeping being held by her tutu man as is evidenced by the REAL smile on her sleeping face:

Rainy Days and Thursdays...

Something about a rainy days makes me ponder life as I know it. And in that reflective state I want to be near those I love...which does not include my desk at work and the varied assortment of office employees. Though I do love a few of them, they are in meetings. Or busy. Which I should be. But I do think about the fragility of life and how short it can be and how you do need to make the most of it, etc., etc., etc. This is NOTHING like the days I contemplate building myself a cottage where no one else is allowed to reside. Just me and my books and my huge-butt kitchen with all the gadgets I love and admire. But I digress. WHERE IS MY MOOPUNA AND WHY ISNT SHE WITH ME WHERE SHE BELONGS????????? If my children only thought about how much they admire their OWN grandma they would realize that my granddaughter should be with me!!!!!! thats all.

A Series of Events...Life as a 3 month old

"Hmmm...what shall I do? I better work on my flipping skills!"

Kuku Bear & Hulali Pop

Sibling rivalry is common practice for all of us who have brothers and sisters ... it is an almost inevitable fact of life that if you have a sibling, you will have rivalry. So I just had to include these pictures in here as evidence of a bond that will disappear way too soon and then resurface once they get their senses back, hopefully in their 20s.

Having said that, however, let it be known that Ku is a special young boy and may prove my theory wrong!

BTW, did I tell you that Hulali woke up like 3x last night and STAYED up at the 4 am wake up to entertain her Puna. She must have known I was staying over and wanted to maximize bonding time (though I was not able to assist during the feeding frenzy). Now I sit here at my desk ready to fall over from exhaustion. And it is only 9 am! Ah, but they do grow up quickly...