Mother's Day

This was the BEST Mother's Day EVER. In the previous years...

2005: I picked up Burger King while Hubby supervised our carpet removal. We advertised our our first floor carpet FREE to any takers online from our three year old house, but it had to be removed by the recipients. A family came and took several hours carefully cutting our carpet and carpet pad in the dimensions of the rooms in their home with an exacto knife. Mother's Day came and went.

2006: Hubby was not in Hawaii. Our church had an enormous Mother's Day brunch outside. On the spur of the moment, a friend invited Son1 and me to a Mother's Day dinner with her family. I was so grateful not to be alone!

2007: I spent the day nursing a newborn , exhausted. I don't remember Mother's Day.

Which brings me to 2008!!!!

The night before, Hubby offered to get up with the kids on Mother's Day. I made out on the deal, for sure! Ohhh those little guys peeped their eyes open at 5:30AM. That's because I put them to bed so early the night before, but that is an entirely different blog post for later.

I slept awhile longer. My eyes popped open, and I stretched and savored my bed another few minutes, drinking in the quiet of my bedroom. This is a huge treat because Hubby leaves at 5:30 every morning. Extra minutes in bed don't usually happen for me. I headed downstairs, and Son1 ran toward me with his Mother's Day gift. He had been so patient waiting for Mother's Day. He wanted me to open his gift since Friday, when he brought it home from preschool, but I insisted he wait until Mother's Day. Secretly, I have waited three years for my first homemade Mother's Day gift, with great anticipation! The card read, "My love for you grows and grows." The folded card grew into a long stemmed flower. The teacher mounted a picture into a plastic picture frame . In case you can't tell, it's a post it note holder.I loved the box; it was so Hawaii. It was a recycled sushi container.A cookbook was slid under the pink ribbon, composed of the kids' favorite food mom cooks. This is a picture of him with a recipe for pasta below: "She puts it in a pot and cooks it really fast."Then came the gift from Hubby. He took Son1 to pick out my gift. Here is why I love it:

Since missing a member of our family, our floors aren't as clean as often. But my new third child cleans without falsely advertising he is free to good home. (You know who cost me BIG BUCKS.) This one does not bark, poop, or chew. He will not throw a fit if he is contained in a separate room when company comes. All that and he does his job!

While we were unpacking him, Son1 grabbed a filter, stood it on my head, and exclaimed, "YOU'RE THE QUEEN, MOMMY! HERE IS YOUR CROWN!" That melted me!
We went to church, and afterward, all of the ladies in the church, mothers or not, were served lunch by the men. Son1 ran toward me with a decorated Chinese take-out box. I laughed to myself....so Hawaii. Inside was a cupcake he decorated, just like Rachel's!! He is either a cupcake decorating prodigy, or someone helped steady his three year old hands!Finally, Hubby cooked a celebratory meal. My kids melt my heart, and my husband romances it!

No Consolation

Son1 gaped over my shoulder at the image on my computer screen.

"Who is that, Mommy?" he asked, in a very bothered voice. "Why is she so sad?"

He didn't even look at me to answer. He stared at the screen. I turned from the computer and looked down at his clouded little face, stifled a laugh and said, "That's Hillary Clinton."

"Mommy, why is Hillary sad? Hillary is SO SAD, Mommy."

No answer from me. It could be a lot of things.

The article is titled The 5 Mistakes Clinton Made.

Celebrations in May

May 1, Lei Day

Lei Day is a celebration of spring with leis and flowers.

May 5 Boys Day
With a significant Japanese population in Hawaii, the islands also celebrate Tango-no-sekku, or Boys Day. Families display carp banners outside of their homes, called koi-nobori. The largest carp represents the father and is traditionally black. This is my neighbor's flag. Usually, the smallest fish represents the youngest son. My neighbors have twin boys, so theirs are the same size. Koi (carp) demonstrate fervor, endurance, and power to swim upstream against strong currents. They are also robust, and live about 50 years in the wild, and sometimes longer in captivity. So the qualities of the koi fish are all desirable qualities for young men. (Yes, we have Girls Day. I wrote about that here.)Well those koi fish are about $45 per fish. Hubby is not a fan of flags and windsocks. I would like to get the flags eventually, but for now, we will settle for the fish kites that Son1 brings us from preschool for Boys Day.

In celebration of Boys Day we took the boys out for ice cream. It is common to give treats for Boys Day, too. I ordered Prailines and Cream. This baby sure can shovel with a teeny trial size spoon. He nearly ate half my ice cream! He was pretty serious!Son1 just wanted green ice cream. We talked him out of green tea ice cream and into Mint Chocolate Chip. Now he is usually good about sharing food with his brother when the baby's arm start flailing everywhere and his legs are a-kicking, but not today. When I asked him to share his ice cream with his brother, he didn't look up from licking, and firmly said N-O. We just raised our eyebrows at one another because that is so unlike him. Hubby had Love Potion 31 which was really, really good with white chocolate and dark chocolate shaped hearts and raspberry something, something. Mmmm!!!!

May 5-9, Teacher Appreciation Week

The first full week of May is Teacher Appreciation Week. It is a national program throughout schools. So as room mom, it is my job to coordinate the whole week. It has been eventful. The first day, all classes at our school do the same thing. We all host a Flower Shower. Each child brings in a flower, home grown or store bought, to place in a vase. Tuesday our class hosted Pamper Day, Wednesday was Breakfast and Thank You Card day, tomorrow is Macy's gift card day, and Friday the PTO is taking care of the teachers!

Here is some Boys Day kite flying action for your enjoyment!!

Yee Haw!

Son1 never rode a pony until a friend's pony party. He refused a pony riding opportunity in California last summer, and big surprise, insisted on a train ride, instead. On our island we pass horse ranches on the drive to the North Shore and Windward side of the island. This time, seeing a pony up close and personal through his three year old eyes was a real kick in the pants! Son1 was raring to go and ready to ride! This little video clip shows what happens when ponies ride up into a suburban Oahu neighborhood!



Son1 was so eager to ride the pony that he was oblivious to the pushing kids and anxious parents. He patiently waited his turn and was content to walk alongside the pony while other kids rode. Oh to be a child and look past it all! I definitely could have taken a lesson. I was quiet but took note of the disorganization. Shame on me! I did feel a little vindicated when the female handler told the other parents and children the NEXT child to ride was Son1 and that they all had to wait their turn. She even made another dad take his daughter off the pony and let Son1 on. I know I shouldn't have been smiling on the inside, but I am sinful and need Jesus. I was BEAMING. He rode the ponies a few times and shouted , "Giddy Up! Yee haw!" This time he rode Fire, a male pony. Other times he rode Pua, the female pony. Pua means flower in Hawaiian.After some time, the handlers declared pony brushing time. I am sure this was to give the ponies a little break. These ponies are from the Philippines. They have a colored marking that travels down their back all the way to the tip of their tail hair.
Now here is a little problem with preschoolers being so close to the ground, and having a relaxed male pony. This pony had talent. The kids cracked up watching him show his parts and then retract them over and over. No matter how much the handlers and parents pleaded for them to stand up, they were too busy enjoying the show. I happened to take a picture of my child watching, but they all watched.All of the "paniolos" (Hawaiian word for cowboys).
Son2 was also an invited guest. In Hawaii people often offer to hold your baby. I had to get over my germaphobiness since living here, and my tendency to quarantine my small infants. When anyone sees a mother struggling with a baby it is common to offer help. I don't worry so much now with Son2 getting older. But here is where I caught Son2.

On top of the bounce house

Mounted on a pony

Here is my Hawaiian paniolo being guided by the handler and another mother.

Even to an Outsider

During worship time on Sunday Son2 leaned into his brother, looked to him, and was soothed. Our church has a greeting time after the opening worship. The worship team leader greeted our family. His immediate comment was that he noticed how my youngest prefers his brother to his parents. Sometimes that is the truth! We all see how much he admires his big brother. When we eat our meals, they sit side by side. I hope this closeness is for always.

First Dental Visit

Hubby and I knew Son1's first trip to the dentist would require one parent's full attention. The discussion became which parent was going to subject themselves, um, I mean, be so honored, to accompany our precious first born to the dentist. After a lot of persuasion up until the hour before the appointment, Hubby convinced me that I was the better choice. After all, he had gone to the last pediatrician visit. Right. And the child was an absolute angel for the doctor. But teeth are a whole different story. As passionate as I am about dental hygiene, you think I would have been jumping at the chance. But let's just say until that point Son1 didn't share my enthusiasm for clean teeth at bedtime. I thought about buying him some books about going to the dentist before his appointment to prevent any potential meltdowns at the dentist. We found one, but we had to eliminate others that started with the child not wanting to go to the dentist. Why put any ideas in his head?

My neighbor is part of an elite skin diving club in Hawaii. Another diver in the club is a well known pediatric dentist. He doesn't participate with my insurance, so only part of the visit was covered. He was worth every out-of-pocket penny we paid. I wish I would have taken more pictures of his office, but I was too nervous for the exam and teeth cleaning to slide the camera from my purse. We were first met with an entire floor to ceiling mural of an underwater ocean scene. It wasn't cartoon-ey like Nemo, or the kind you roll on the wall with adhesive. It was a painted underwater scene with giant honus (Hawaiian word for turtles) and life sized fish. Along the top of the ceiling around the entire waiting room he had art sculptures of life sized fish, two to three feet long. Then, he had these mounted fish paintings by this local artist that uses real caught fish, in all of the other empty spots on the wall. We were sitting in front of the door to the dental exam rooms. I could see through the glass window that there was a pile of jumbo stuffed sea creatures, and that as children went into their exam rooms, they got to pick a big stuffed creature to go with them. After some time, it was finally our turn. They called Son1's name, and he nearly bounded through the door to where all of the other big kids had gone. The hygienist ate up his enthusiasm. She just kept telling me how cute he was. Uh huh, she didn't know what was coming.

The hygienist introduced herself as Ms. Margie. She went through a barrage of questions, asking me about how much juice the child drinks to what kind of candy he prefers. Well, he has always preferred milk to juice, so he hardly drinks much juice. I can't stand the thought of sticky candy around my house so I just don't buy it. Besides, Hubby has me so paranoid about cockroaches on the island (they are generally a huge problem, but our paranoia keeps them away from our house) that I just don't buy candy except for special occasions. My pediatrician prescribes vitamins with fluoride since my children were six months old, and insists they are on fluoride tablets until they graduate from high school. Hawaii is one of two states that does not have fluoride in their tap water, except on military bases. This is because the opponents to fluoride insist that Hawaiian water be kept "pure". Therefore, the children in Hawaii have one of the highest rates of tooth decay in the nation. So, I covered most bases to skip Ms. Margie's prepared lecture. I looked really tense, and she asked gently if I was ok. I confessed my fear of Son1 having any cavities, and let her know that I am very passionate about clean teeth, and that I brush his teeth a second time if his insists on doing it himself the first time. I told her I felt like a failure several weeks ago when I got my second adult cavity. "Really?" she asked. No, no, no, only two cavities was not a good thing.

Ms. Margie had the dental exam down to a science. First, she assured Son1 all she was going to do was count his teeth with her pointer. To the rest of us, that is her tooth scraper with the hook on it. While she was counting, she was also looking at the grooves in his teeth. Next, she paraded out her tickly toothbrush (polisher) and buzzed it on his finger. Then she flaunted her special long straw (suction) and touched it to his hand. Finally she whipped out her polish ring and had him smell the toothpaste she was going to use, which was strawberry flavor.
Next she asked him to strut his alligator mouth so she could use her pointer, all the while giving him compliments. Now whose child was this? I sure did not recognize such a compliant child when it comes to teeth.
Afterward, Ms. Margie looked up at me sitting tensely sitting in the mommy chair. She announced she was pretty sure he didn't have any cavities, but the doctor would let me know for sure. She asked Son1 what flavor fluoride he would like, and he chose strawberry. She slapped a big Lilo and Stitch sticker on his shirt that reminded us what time he would be able to eat something. Lastly, she let him choose a prize from her prize box and he chose a little motorcycle.
The doctor came in, and Ms. Margie gave him a quick briefing on my strategies for keeping cavities away. He read his chart, checked out his teeth, and said, "Well R. I am so sorry but he has some cavities." My eyes nearly fell out of my head and rolled across the floor. He immediately realized my disappointment and laughed. "I am just kidding!"
Ms. Margie insisted the doctor take one more picture with us. Son1 screamed CHEESE at the top of him lungs and by the time I gave him a warning look for being so boisterous and tried to take the picture, here is what I ended up with:
Before we left, Son1 played with all of the fun toys one more time, with his dental samples and treasures clutched in one hand.
The best part about our visit to the dentist is his newfound enthusiasm for dental flossers and love for his pretty white teeth at bedtime.

Brother Bond

I never had brothers, so a brother bond was completely foreign to me until I had two little boys. Son2 follows Son1 everywhere. He admires the way he eats, the way he plays, how he turns pages of a book, and the way he uses the potty, in the most precious and sincere way. He follows him to every corner of our home and insists he be included in all activities. His big brother settles for my explanation that Son2 wants to be just like him. Well, at least the times he isn't bothered by sharing toys or wanting some privacy!!
But Son2 is perceptive. When his big brother is napping, he finds the perfect opportunity to play with some of the cars his brother has declared off limits. But that's just between us!!

Srping Break with Grandma T. and GG

Grandma T. and GG planned their trip to Hawaii during Son1's break from preschool. Here is a little more about the visit.

One of our favorite things to do is go to Waikiki on a Friday night and swim at the Hale Koa. We usually have dinner at Bibas, and then watch the fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Grandma T. loves to swim, so this suited her perfectly!

Now this is what I love about Hubby. He sat with Son2 and helped him with a roast beef sandwich, just so I could get in and swim, too. We had just one little problem. There was a little confusion and Grandma T. and GG did not bring a change of clothes. Thank goodness for swimsuit cover ups because the Farmer Family had plans. We were going to dinner, and were going to watch the fireworks! Let's just say they eventually came around! You know what we say when there's a problem? We just flash the shaka (hang loose sign) and blurt out, "Hang loose!"
Another day we went to the North Shore to the Turtle Bay lagoons. This is a different resort than I have previously written about, that also has lagoons open to the public. People do snorkel, and do see turtles. We did not see any that day, though. Hubby and GG sat up on the beach while Grandma T., Son1, Son2, and I swam in the ocean. Now, it just wasn't a four generation kind of a swim without GG. She thought about how her great grand kids were in the water without her. So she sprang up and decided it was time to get in.
We were kind of all over the place, so this was one of the only pictures to prove we had a four generation swim. Clicking on the picture will make us bigger.
At the beach we watched this dog be trained to retrieve a boogie board alone, over and over , far past the water break. He is a Newfoundland, and he was big! The sun started to set, and we headed home. GG and Grandma T. were tired! They relaxed at home, and gave Hubby and I a chance to have dinner out, without children! Imagine that!Another day we rode the The Hawaiian Railway in Ewa Beach. Since they were encountering some construction on the railway, the trip was only 45 minutes. We went a different route than the time we had ridden the train before. One of the engineers punched the tickets with an old fashioned railway ticket punch.
The train headed eastbound rather than ewa bound. (Ewa is pronounced eh-vah. The w in the Hawaiian language makes the "v" sound. The word means westbound.) We saw one of the original sugar cane plantations on the island. See the tree in the upper right corner? It is called a Golden Tree. The blossoms are always golden. They make me smile because they oddly remind me of Fall on the East Coast, with the vibrant and deep gold color. My favorite part of the train ride was watching the old fashioned railway switch signs that tell the trains in which direction to travel. They are original from when the Oahu Railway and Land Company used to operate the narrow gauge common carrier railroad, until 1947. They could be in full use, but are not, since the only train riding was the one we were on. At the halfway point of the trip, the engineer that was the narrator asked if anyone had celebrated a birthday recently. The entire train, consisting of several open passenger cars of people, sang Happy Birthday to Son2. GG was so proud!

Well, all good visits must come to an end. On Grandma T. and GG's last day in Hawaii, they got to visit Son1's preschool class. Their last day in Hawaii was the first day back from Spring Break. GG was so impressed she was moved to tears. But the teachers were also impressed with her. Being a senior member of a family in Hawaii is a huge honor. So, the preschool teacher and teacher's aide asked how old GG was. They were so honored to have Son1's great grandmother in class they took our picture and offered hugs. It was a very sweet moment.

Once Son1 was home from preschool, we spent our last hours together on the North Shore. From the time we left our house to the time we got to our first stop, the Dole Plantation, the rain was pouring down. We were afraid the rain wasn't going to let up. We rode the Pineapple Express, and both boys loved the minutes on the train with GG and Grandma T.

We rounded a bend and the rain came to an abrupt stop. I looked out across the pineapple fields and saw this rainbow. If you look above it you can faintly make out the second double rainbow. One day I just may tell you why I think God made these for me. But right then, we all looked out at those rainbows in awe. We arrived at the train platform and headed for the big Dole store. Hubby met us there shortly after work.Our last stop on the North Shore was historic Haleiwa Town. This is the largest commercial center on the North Shore, with a residential population of just over 2,000. This is also where our family favorite, the Grass Skirt Grill, is located. GG loves coconut, so of course we ordered a plate of coconut shrimp. They served it with two sauces, an orange and a more spicy sauce. This is one of their specialties.

More importantly, they serve the best teriyaki cheese fries. To the Farmers, these are the best fries on the island. We just giggled and giggled watching Son2 devour these. Once he got a taste, he just couldn't help himself, probably because I have him on such a fresh diet. Mmmm, saturated fat!

Their burgers are also our favorites. By request, they also come with a half an avocado as a topping. To die for!

The owner of the Grass Skirt Grill also owns the Surf shops next door, called Strong Current. This is his Woody.

This was a great way to end the visit, with full bellies and wide smiles. The boys were sad to say goodbye to Grandma T. and GG. But we have this saying in Hawaii...A Hui Ho! Until we meet again!

She Has To Go Now

I dropped Son1 off at preschool. He turned to his teacher and said, "My mommy has to go now. She has to go to work." My heart sang out the door. He got it! When he got home I asked him if he knew where I worked. "You work at home, on the computer." Well, some of the time!

The "End" of the Easter Tale

We had some sickies on Easter. The kids were both on prescriptions, one for congestion, and the other for a sinus infection. There was one more "end" to the day. Son1 and GG both were constipated. What those two had or had not been eating the last day or so, I had really not paid close attention. But I had a great answer for their problems. In the past, Asian pears have worked amazingly well for Son1. So I sat these two outside for some fresh air, relaxation, and hopefully a natural laxative.

Asian pears resemble an apple, and are golden in color. They crunch like an apple, but do not soften like other pear varieties. They are juicy and sweet, but not too sweet. They are Son1's favorite fruit, and were my potty training friends.

In between cutting pears, I looked down to find Son2 on an Easter hunt of his own.

Shiny Black Eyes Tell Mommy the Way it Is

Night before last I was shaken from my sleep by screams from Son1. I stumbled down the hallway and found him bawling in his doorway. I will spare you the details, but he had an intense case of stomach flu. After his bath, after the clean up in his room and his bathroom, after starting the laundry, and after my hero husband came to our rescue, we put him back to bed with one more story and prayers. He seemed uneasy about us leaving him. In the dim light I waved Hubby off to bed, and assured Son1 I would sit on the edge of his bed a few more minutes.
In the dark, a little hand reached for my mine and squeezed hard. My stomach fluttered, knowing that he felt comforted I was there. I sighed. Even though he is into being the big boy and being the big brother he still needs his mommy. Soon his hand relaxed. I tried to make his face out in the dark to see if he had drifted off to sleep. I smiled to myself when all I could see were his shiny black eyes, like black glass marbles. His eyes are particularly black and bright. When he was a newborn I remember rocking and rocking him in the dark, opening and shutting my own eyes, willing those teeny bright black eyes to close and go to sleep. And that night, sitting on his bed, they were wide awake.
I sat a little straighter, and whispered that I loved him SO much. He sprang up, threw his arms around me and told me he loved me SO much. Then he went on to say, "Mommy, you need to go to your bed! It's ok. Go to sleep!" Wow. I didn't know whether to giggle or be offended. I slid off the bed, shook my head, and found my way to back to bed.

Preschool Morning

I am totally leaving out the part how we got to school and they had four foot long pieces of sugar cane out, and how I munched and crunched down on some sugar cane in preschool this morning. I wanted to pull my camera out, but Son1 wasn't even into the sugar cane. So how in the world was I going to have them take my picture? For another time...

Son1 packed two diesel semi trucks in his backpack for Share and Tell at preschool. We arrived, and he pulled the trucks out and handed them to the teacher. Next, he spit out three sentences about trucks. The teacher's eyes almost rolled out of her head and her jaw dropped. "Did you hear what he said?" Ummm, something about trucks...no I really hadn't heard what he said. I produced a puzzled look. "He just recited three lines from the truck book I read for the very first time ever, yesterday! His trucks he brought to share are exactly the same color as in the book, doing the very same thing! See, look!" She grabbed the book, fumbled to find the right pages, and showed me. Son1 cocked his head to one side, and repeated the lines again. I knew what she was getting at. I smiled, masking my enthusiasm. Yes, I totally got it. Hubby and I have been totally getting it for some time, now. He has this incredible memory. Even tonight he got home and told me all about Peter and the Wolf that he saw produced at the symphony on his field trip. He told me all about the instruments, the different characters they represented, how the music went really fast, and then it slowed down. I didn't even know they were going to see Peter and the Wolf. But I totally got what the teacher was saying this morning. The kid has a memory. Ask him to tell you about George Washington or Martin Luther King, or more importantly, his Bible verses for Awanas or Cubbies. But I nodded and smiled, and turned away.

On second thought, I didn't want her to think I didn't share her enthusiasm. I turned back toward her, and asked her if I could tell her something without her thinking I was sick and twisted. She looked at me intently and was totally intrigued. I gave her a little story, totally not what she was expecting, but totally FARMER. I told her how Hubby's family is a card family. He started playing cards when he was four years old. When we were seriously dating he told me we couldn't get engaged until I learned to play cards. So I learned to play, learning the rules, learning basic strategy. But I didn't just want to be a warm body at the card table my soon to be in-laws could just trounce over. Nooo. Not me. I figured very quickly the art of counting cards, counting odds, memorizing 52 cards over and over in Hearts and Spades, and Poker. Eventually I learned Pinochle after we married. The only way for me to compete with my in-laws was with my memory. I also have a thing for numbers. They have always fascinated me since I could tell anyone that asked that I was 3 and 3/4 old. I love different algorithms, game theory, and speed of computation. I didn't babble all of that. No, I stopped at telling her that I had to learn to play cards to get engaged, and that my husband calls me Rain Woman because of my thing for numbers. I looked the teacher square in the eye and told her we hope our son can become a professional poker player with his memory. That stopped her in her tracks. Who says that stuff besides the Farmers? Now you would only get what I am talking about if you ever came to one of our tournaments in Virginia.

There was a pregnant pause. I smiled again, and started toward the door of the classroom. It took the teacher a minute. She caught me and said, "You mean like the movie that is out? The 21 movie?" Frightening isn't it? That is exactly what I meant, going to MIT and being a Black Jack player. "Yes!" I beamed. Now you know we will be perfectly happy with him going to a school of his choice, as long as he can beat his inlaws at cards. You folks with little girls that we knew from Teammates....we will inevitably move back to the Cold Coast, I mean East Coast. If you haven't started your girls playing cards....well, this mommy is making a rule. No dating unless they know how to play cards!

Leveling the Grass

When we first moved to Hawaii we ripped out all of the grass in our front and back yards. The grass was rooted poorly, needed replacement, and a sprinkler system needed installation. We hired a sprinkler man that is also a FEMA contractor, in the summer of 2005. K. only works with FEMA when a natural disaster occurs. K. earns what some people make in a year in just a few months when working with a natural disaster. K. has to be available at any time to fly any place in the country, all year. The rest of the time K. works doing lawn care in Hawaii. He installed our sprinkler system and arranged for fill dirt to be dropped in our front and back yards, so that when the grass was installed it would be perfectly level. The ground was beautifully flat in the front and back yards after the top soil dumps and K.'s hard work to level all of it. K. just had one more day of work to complete the sprinkler hook up in the back yard when Hurricane Katrina hit and K. was called to the mainland immediately. He imagined he might be flown back in a week or two for a weekend to see his family. We waited nearly six weeks without his return and decided to hire someone else to finish the sprinklers. K. refunded us part of our money. We hired a company to hydroseed the front and back yards some weeks back. Grass seed with some muscle man grass steroids was going to be sprayed in two days. (Most people either use hydroseed or use grass plugs because sod is SO expensive in Hawaii! Three years ago it was $5 a square foot and didn't include labor costs!) I called three companies for three estimates to finish our sprinklers in the next two days. Each company came out and told me the same thing. I had 3/4 inch pipe laid in my yard, and they could not guarantee their work unless I replaced all of the piping with 1 inch pipe, since that is what their company used. We settled on who to hire, and they ripped up our perfectly flat back yard, dug trenches, and replaced the piping the day before the hydroseed folks showed up. We had waited weeks for the hydroseed company to give us an appointment since they are the only company on the island. Needless to say, when they sprayed our lawn with seed it wasn't flat. We knew we could level the yard with sand. A little over a year later when the grass was strong and healthy, we attempted to level our yard with sand. We had one little problem.It was hard to explain to our then 2 year old that YES you can play with sand at the beach, but NO you may not play with sand when it is in our back yard. He insisted that the sand was for his trucks. In a flash he would be outside in the sand with his trucks. Try as we might it was a huge battle to keep him and his trucks out of the sand. It is amazing how quickly one two year old can unlevel sand.

A year later, we are back at leveling the yard again with sand. Son1 is proving to be more helpful. He helped lay the sand, rake it into place, and finally water the sandy areas.
He did try to pull his trucks into the sand once. One reminder and he hasn't tried any more.

Easter in Hawaii

We had a good amount of Easter celebration in Hawaii. And you know what I love about Hawaii? There is none of this PC stuff about not celebrating Christian holidays. Hawaii is a pretty spiritual place in general, so faith is a common practice. However, Hawaii is the third most unchurched state in the union, with less than ten percent of folks attending a Bible believing church. Given all of this, no one blinks an eye about celebrating Christian holidays in the work place or in public. I love it! Plus, you can talk about your faith and people do not absolutely flip out, because that just wouldn't be showing aloha. People are willing to listen, even if they don't agree.

So, the first part of the Easter celebration started with goody bags at school. In celebration of Easter, the kids exchange little cellophane bags with treats with every kid in the class. Think Easter basket in a bag. That meant tons of Easter candy. And good candy, too. One other thing about Hawaii. You give good stuff or it is goes noticed! No, there was no Jesus in the bag. But it was in celebration of Easter, not "Welcome Spring."Next, we were invited to an Easter egg hunt up the street. Now this is what I mean. This is truly local style, and I loved it. We were invited to an Easter party. This was not a Just For Christians kind of a thing, even though the party was focused on Jesus and His resurrection. There were about fifty kids there, and they were broken up by age group. Son1 was in the under 5 group. It started out that kids no older than three went first to collect Easter eggs with treats. I got funny looks because Son1 is tall and in the youngest group. He was taller than some of the 4 and 5 year olds. I explained he wouldn't be 4 until August, and he was a real three year old. After his group started, then the 4 and 5 year olds ran and picked up the eggs. There were two bounce houses that were each about 2 stories tall going around back. Then, there were Christian Easter crafts offered in the garage and in the driveway under the easy up tent. (That is a heavy duty tarp to all of you on the mainland. They are called easy ups here.) Also, a Christian drama skit was performed. Delicious local food was prepared for everyone there. Later that day we went to another Easter party for Hubby's work. Son2 had his first cotton candy. He chomped it right down. There was an Easter egg hunt, bounce houses, egg coloring, and several other keiki (Hawaiian word for children) activities. We did concede and torture our children by asking them to sit with the Easter bunny. They hated him, and I can see why. He is scary looking, isn't he?

Easter Sunday we went to church. Brunch was served local style. Buffets here are described as served local style. Now, I learned from a group of local friends early on that when you serve local style in Hawaii you always have too much food or it is considered rude not to have enough. Also, you should have enough left over if people want to take some food home. Well, the brunch line was several tables long and then four tables of desserts, pastries, and fruits. This brunch at our church is one of my favorite Easter in Hawaii memories. We are sitting under an easy up tent. The boys were dressed in matching shirts, and people commented on how cute they were. Something I have learned with having boys is that they too can be cute! I am wearing a green top that matches the stripe in their shirt. This goes back to us dressing like a team! It was special to have GG join us. She enjoyed watching Hubby play the bongos for worship, too.

The end of our Easter story is that everyone in our family was really sick. We didn't stay after church for the children's program, with the empty Easter egg hunt, praying for those that don't know Jesus yet, decorating shirts for children in Uganda, or getting the real Easter candy with the craft project. Nope! The boys were both on prescription medicine. We spent the rest of the afternoon at home sleeping.

The Easter Message Retold by Son1

See the cave? It's empty.
Jesus is not there.
See the cross? It's still in the dirt.
Jesus is not there.
He died for my sins.
He lives in heaven now!
Jesus is the King!

And it is so precious to hear his voice tell it like this. We have been working on the Easter story for a few days, but this is how he summed it up.

GG is here!

Monday night GG flew in from Phoenix just to see her great grandsons in Hawaii. She is Hubby's grandmother, but her five great grandchildren call her GG, short for Great Grandma. She jumped right in with my two boys. She loves reading Son1 tons of stories, and he insists on sitting on top of her.
She treated us to a train ride on the Pineapple Express and we fed the carp at the Dole Plantation. If you haven't done that, and you have kids, that is a MUST DO. Ew...those fish are big and fat and slither up out of the water like hungry crocodiles for fish food. Ew! We stopped in Haleiwa afterward and GG spoiled us at our favorite homemade ice cream shop. Son2 had his very first ice cream...it was called Tahiti something. It was a vanilla ice cream. Oh that was so comical! Son2 cried, screamed, and squirmed each time the spoon was out of his mouth. He LOVED ice cream!Another day we headed out to the Ko'Olina lagoons for a swim and a beach picnic. We took turns hanging onto Son2 in the water.
GG and Son1 floated out in the calm water, and sometimes the gentle waves would push them onto the shore.
We had a bungie cord that was tied around the float to corral Son1 toward us. He loved every minute of the water, just like his big brother did when he was a baby. It was so nice that GG, the two boys, and I could all be in the water at the same time! GG is pretty active, but we just had to get her one thing, a walking stick. Now, GG refuses to use a cane, because she really doesn't need one. She had her knee replaced, and a walking stick just gives her better leverage every now and then on longer walks or hikes. Hubby just wanted me to go out and get an aluminum cane, and GG about came unglued. So Son1 and I ran around looking for a walking stick. GG has several of these in different states. She keeps one in California at her daughter's house, one in Colorado at another daughter's house, and one in Arizona where she lives, so she doesn't have to fly with a walking stick. She doesn't even use it every day, just on longer walks. Finally, the lady in the garden shop at Wal Mart suggested going to our local Hawaiian hardware store chain, City Mill. I explained to the man that my husband's grandmother needed a walking stick, and I needed a rounded piece of wood. He escorted Son1 and me to the back of the store, and waved us to a bin of bamboo sticks. He gave me this freaky look that suggested I might not actually want these sticks. PERFECT! Now, I ended up with a bamboo stick over six feet tall, but I figured Hubby could always cut it. I grabbed the stick for $3.69 and headed back toward the center of the store, where I asked another associate if they knew where I explained the project with the bamboo stick. I explained I needed a rubber bottom next. He looked at me with a cross between a puzzled look and an intrigued look. He led me to a section of rubber feet, and handed me a package. We squeezed a rubber foot over the bamboo, and it fit! Success for an additional $3.99! Once we got home, Hubby used his saw to cut down the stick, and wrapped the top with some duct tape. Now GG is set for some longer distances!

She will be here through the end of the month. Son1 is on Spring Break so we are able to spend all day together exploring the island this coming week, too!

Lesson From My Three Year Old in Church

Son1 started attending church nursery at 5 months. I was relieved that he was well cared for and we could attend the service without baby noise. Our church in VA had a great nursery with plenty of volunteers and staff. Then we moved to Hawaii where he continued attending nursery. Our current church has a 0 to 3 nursery during the service, and a preschool Sunday School class the other hour. Up until recently, he attended both.

Hubby and I started transitioning Son1 to the adult service about 1 month ago. We expected Son1 to stay with us through worship time, participate in the children's sermon, and then return to the 0 to 3 nursery during the big people sermon. We felt encouraged that he might be ready for the 4 to 6 class during service, even though he won't turn 4 until August. Last week Hubby tried the 4 to 6 class with Son1. He just didn't feel Son1 was ready for the class, but knew the 0 to 3 nursery wasn't the right place for him anymore, either. Since we are in between stages, we decided to keep Son1 in the service with us. He loves to watch all of the instruments, see his Sunday School teacher sing, watch the power point slides, and point to people he knows. He understands that his money he places in the offering plate goes to Jesus. But his favorite part is the children's sermon. It's Hubby's favorite part of the service, too.

Our church in Hawaii is great and allows each individual family to decide where their kids should be during service. Childcare is available, or you can choose to keep your children in service. The church provides gallon sized ziplock bags full of crayons, markers, stencils, and note pads for each child that chooses to stay in the service. Now, I never thought I would be one of those moms that keeps all my children in the service with me, but it works for now. Son2 will be 1 this Friday, and I have never left him in the nursery. He has had several sinus and ear infections, and I don't see the need to expose him to other children when