Loosing it.

So, before we moved to Hawaii, my husband basically left for a year of training. He was home maybe every other weekend (just to mess up my system and make my daughter miss him more). But for a year, I was raising and maintaining my sanity with a 6month old and a 2.5 year old. They grew over the year, obviously, to an 18 month old and a 3.5 year old. Still, I maintained. I had a few issues but I maintained my sanity. I was able to handle bringing the kids to the hospital for an allergic reaction with the baby. Again to the hospital a few months later with a broken collar bone on baby. Fast forward: my girls are now 3&5. Each has their own personality and they know how to push my and each other's buttons. Husband has been gone for 2 weeks (2 more to go), I have showered maybe 5 times in these two weeks. I am running a low grade fever for the third day. I get maybe 5 hours of sleep a night. I can't see straight, and it is taking all my energy to not yell at my beautiful sweet girls for asking me for the 10th time in the last 3 mins "What is for snack?" I never thought that the year of single parenting a baby and a preschooler would be so easy compared to what I am dealing with now. I think the maggots yesterday were the last straw. Obviously, I am not able to maintain a clean house. I try to get the sink cleaned out at least once a day, but it is so difficult to do that when you have kids tearing at each other's throats or screaming "you don't love me anymore!" I have lost my sofa to loads of laundry that I have not had a chance to fold yet. Toys are everywhere as are dirty clothes from the 3 year old that needs to change her wardrobe 3 times daily. Oh, did I mention that the 3yo might be working on an UTI and the 5 year old has some strange rash on her eye? Ok.... I am done complaining for now. I just needed to get this off of my chest. If you have read through this rant.... THANKS.

Room Parent Work

Next week is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Day and our class will try to celebrate all week.  I had some great ideas on what to do for the door decorations.  I took a photo of each of the children and I had plans to ask each and every one of them what they like most about their teacher.  Of course, I never had a chance to talk to the kids.  Never. So, here I have all of these photos but no idea what to do with them.  Pinterest to the rescue.  Well, actually it is Google to the rescue.  But either way, I got some even better ideas that I adapted to my skills.  Here is my concept drawing.  A long time I ago I had done a craft with the kids that used coffee filters and food coloring. I had about 100 of these tie dyed filters left.  I thought they would be a beautiful and easy flower.  I was right!

 I did not have any help until I was just walking up to school and the grandmother of one of my daughter's classmates was there.  "Do you need any help?"  YES!!! I wanted to scream. But, I calmly told her what my plan was and if she could help me out that would be fantastic. So, we got to the teachers' lounge and examined our materials.  Big rolls of colored paper.  Die (or is that dye) cut machine to make flower and letters. We started cutting the flowers.  I might have to use this again to make some paper flower leis on Wednesday. After we were all done cutting we figured the layout for the door cover.  Here it is before we glued.  My helper did the grass.  She is awesome.   Apparently, she used to be a class parent and a volunteer at the school for many years.  Everyone knew who she was.  I felt a bit small, but she was teaching me well.

Here we are in the gluing process.  We tried to make sure that everything was tacked down properly.

Our final product placed on the door.  I think it looks awesome. Of course, I have nothing to compare it to.  I think the teachers will be pleasantly surprised when they arrive at school on Monday morning.  You think?

A Brave Princess Birthday Party for a 5 year old.

This is what happens when I put Daddy in charge of the activities for a 5 year old's birthday party.  I was in charge of the food and he was in charge of all outdoor activities. The little girls made "ruins" to wear out of polymer clay.  They shot paper arrows with homemade bows.  They searched for Merdu (sp?) and found him hiding in the mango tree.  Then, they tossed coconuts at him to make sure he would not hurt anyone any more.    

Rainbow (Dash) Party for a 3 year old.

Well, Evelyn's party was quite a success. Even though it had to be cancelled and rescheduled due to illness, it was a nice and casual Hawaii party.  And. being that it was really Evelyn's first birthday party, she was so happy.  It is a month and a half later (writing this in mid January) and she is still talking about it!  This makes me happy.

Taste a Rainbow

 It was an awesome rainbow theme.  About 10 friends came by with their parents and some with their siblings.  We had rainbow fruit skewers, rainbow deviled eggs, rainbow veggie tray --yes this rainbow was a bit abbreviated as I could not find fresh blue and purple veggies that I could easily serve cold.  Cupcakes were tie-dye rainbow and each looked different.  I used Fruity Pebbles to create rainbow colored marshmallow treats.  My husband spent a long while separating out two bags of Skittles only for me to put them all in a single bowl in ROYGP order.  He was not happy.

Wow!

We had rainbow crafts available.  Pasta necklaces and rainbow crowns were on the agenda but only a few people did them.

We also made our own hobby horses to race...as Rainbow Dash likes to race.  That was loads of fun until Evelyn's big sister decided that it was a perfect time to break down and cry b/c it was not her party.  This behavior lasted for a few days. I think it was too much sugar.

But, the highlight of the party was the cake.  It was a blue cake that looked pretty normal until we cut into it.  Yes, seven layers of colors.  Bright colors. The awe on everyone's face was worth the work that it took to make it. It tasted very good too!

Table of rainbows.  

Rainbow Veggie Tray

Rainbow Deviled Eggs.

We had planned on this being a "pin the cloud on the rainbow" game, but most of her friends did not show up until an hour after the party was scheduled to begin.

Pony Races!

The cake looks pretty ugly on the outside!

Happy Birthday!

I love her sister's (on the left) reaction to the cake!

The cupcakes were pretty too.

I have not written in a while.  Kids are doing great.  Little One starts Junior Kindergarden on Monday and Wee One starts preschool next month.  I am not sure how I will handle having all the time to myself.  I know, I have lists and lists of things that I want to do.  I plan on using the paddle board two times a week.  I plan on riding the bike twice a week.  The house needs to be FINALLY kept clean.  Maybe I will catch up on laundry.  I hope to travel the island more and take some photographs.  I really want to shoot, print, and sell my work.  I am good enough.  I really am.

I have thousands of photographs that I need to scan in.  My goal is to scan 25 images a day.  I think I can do it.  That is about an hour of work.

Other things that I plan starting this school year is get my Tang Soo Do studio going.  Joint Forces is just a breeze right now.  I want it to be a force that people notice.  I know, I don't know how long I will be here in Kailua, but while I am here, I will do my best to make it work.  Here is my plan.

Session 1:  Teach a class for grades 4, 5, and 6.  This will be an 8 week session.  Starting January, in Session 2, I will add grades K, 1, 2, and 3.  I hope to get one or two of the older kids to help with the younger kids.  I hope this plan works.

Hugs,
Leslie

My kids are UTD on all their shots!

My kids are UTD on all their shots!

So, for the most part, I am an attachment parent.  Yes, I used an epidural during both births.  I my defense, I did feel the pain of labor.  I got to 7cm with DD1 and 9.5 cm with DD1, but that was enough for me. Epidural made me more comfortable and there were no complications.

I am m part of an AP group and many of them are anti-vax and intactavists (anti circumcision).  It is strange, b/c many of these moms are Navy wives and G-d only knows what types of bugs their husbands will bring home after their deployment.

Anyway, one mom who's son has FPIES wants to find a sick kid to infect her 10 month old infant.  She says "because of his allergies, he cannot get the vax" and she wants him to get the "natural immunity"  GAH!  I just want to scream.  I am usually very quiet and I do not post my opinion on the touchy subjects, but when they started talking about a Pox Party, I had to step in.
Here is my comment:

"I totally understand why you would not want to give your son the vax right now. Evelyn was delayed withe several of her shots because of her allergies (not nearly as severe as his). But this is what goes on my my head. Is there any other childhood illness that we deliberately infect our children with? Why do we do this with chicken pox? Also, I would not want to infect a small child that does not understand what is going on and why they feel like poo and why they are so itchy and yet they can't scratch. By getting infected, you have no idea what the severity of the virus they will get. Will they have complications? Will they get the pox in their eyes, in their mouth, on their penis, in their vagina, in their anus ? Yes, 90% of kids are exposed to this virus before the age of 10, but, personally, I think it is cruel and actually 'anti-AP' to deliberately infect our children with any disease."

Did I say to much.  I mean, I AM pro-vax.  I like the Sears delayed schedule, but still, all vax by age 2.  I want my kids to go to a public school. We might end up in China or Guam or somewhere else that I cannot even think of.  We are already in Hawaii and there are so many people here from Asia that I have no idea what my kids are being exposed to.  

Remind me again how this works. If I make no changes to my diet/exercise routine I will have no changes.   If I add exercise and make no other changes, I should, eventually see a weight loss, right?  If, after exercise is established, change my diet, my weight loss should be greater.  Is this correct?