Hubby, Come Home!

My dear, dear, dear husband will be coming home late tomorrow! *Squeel!* I don't think I can convey to you how excited I am. Or how long today has been. Or how long tomorrow will be. He's coming home!

I have a few projects underfoot to keep myself busy. Besides the kids. They are two bundles of projects themselves. ;-)

I'm working on their costumes for the homeschooling group's All Saints party. I'm very excited. We've never been to one and I'm really looking forward to it. Especially since my hubby will be there.

So, the costumes. At Joann today, I found some simple brown fabric for Fritter's costume, along with other fabric for Ladybug. While standing in line to checkout, I looked down at my receipt and saw *gasp* that simple brown fabric was going to cost me $50! I had accidentally picked up brown suit wool, without really looking at it. Thankfully the nice lady that helped me cut the fabric took it back and directed me to the $1/yard brown felt. Otherwise Fritter would have been one rich St. Francis. ;-)

I'll post pictures of the kids in their costumes maybe Saturday or Sunday...or tomorrow. Who knows. My hubby is coming home!

A Google Search

For the person who found me by searching "story of mothers pooping there pants", I'm curious. Why? And did you find what you were looking for? ;-)

My Little (Big) Boy

Why is it that I miss my little boy and want to go wake him up just so I can snuggle him? An hour ago I was looking forward to him going to bed. This isn't a rare feeling for me either. It happens most nights.

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Perhaps it's because Fritter has (almost) become a big boy. You know what that means, right? It means that he doesn't want hugs and kisses and snuggles when I want to give them to him. He wants to sit in the chair instead of on the couch with mom. He wants to play with his cars instead of snuggle on my lap for a book. And he would rather try to run as fast as he can at me and throw his whole body weight into me and squeeze my leg as hard as he can, instead of giving me sweet little hugs.

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He's all boy, that one. He tries my patience a lot. He's loud, he's stubborn, and he fusses. But he's also very funny. He's strong willed and independent. And he surprises me with his gentleness. He's incredibly smart and I'm amazed at the things he remembers and the things he knows. There are times when I wonder when he's going to start listening to me, and then there are days when I'm amazed at how well behaved he is.

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He is not the same little boy we brought home from the hospital. And yet he is. He changed a lot after his sister was born. In some ways he became more challenging and in other ways he became more independent. He's grown up. And while I know he still has so much growing to do, I can't imagine him being any bigger than he is. He's my good boy. And he's almost three.

Kauai Trip - Part 2

Part 1 is here

The rest of our trip was spent mostly sight seeing. The kids did very well in the car, and because it takes awhile to get from one part of the island to the other, they were in the car a lot.

One of our many "road" pictures.

One of the first things we went to see was the Kilauea Lighthouse. Fritter has been fascinated with lighthouses since we did a short unit on them from the Brightly Beaming Preparatory Curriculum. A common phrase for him is, "A beacon is a signal." So we couldn't miss this. It was worth the drive, and the view was awesome.

The unused lighthouse.

The now used boring beacon.

On some of the days that my dear husband had to work in paradise, we went shopping. Outside the Hawaiian Trading Post was one of those touristy photo ops. Hey, we were tourists, and I wasn't going to miss our chance. ;-)

Hang ten, Fritter!

Hmmm....what's in there?

Probably the coolest playground I've ever seen was at Lydgate Park on the East side of the island. That's where we first met up with my husband's friend, from when he was in the Navy, and his family (The "A" Family). They are currently stationed on Oahu, so it was a short flight over for them and they stayed for a few days. Fritter loved playing with their kids and did his best to follow them around. ;-)


The only issue we had in the car was when we decided to go to Waimea Canyon. Waimea Canyon is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and is truly spectacular. To get there, though, you have to drive up winding mountain roads. And Fritter gets carsick. So about every 10 minutes or so, we had to pull over and let him have fresh air and walk around a bit. We actually went there twice. Once when the "A" family was visiting.

Waimea Canyon.

There are helicopter rides that will take you through the Canyon, but I wouldn't be caught on one. ;-)

The second time we went further up the canyon, because my hubby wanted to give me a great surprise. After a small hike, we were able to see part of the Na Pali coast. The only way to see the whole coast is either by boat or by helicopter. There is not a road that goes completely around the island. As such, it is a truly untouched piece of Earth. And an amazing one at that.

The last trip we made was to the very lush North side of the island to Hanalei Bay. This was perhaps the prettiest spot I'd ever seen, and maybe the best beach as well. The sand is soft powder, and the beach slopes very gradually into the ocean. Out beyond the bay, we could make out some surfers and some very big waves.

If you could see the picture above bigger, you would see about five waterfalls coming off the mountains. When it rains there are many more. I could have stayed at that beach forever.

Our camera batteries were basically dead by this point, so I'm amazed we even got this picture. We had to turn the camera on and point and click as fast as we could. The picture below is the result of that. I did bring the docking charger, but for some reason it's not working. ;-(

If you ever get a chance to visit Kauai, I highly recommend buying The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook.* It was such a help to us, and fun to read as well. You will be happy you spent the money on it.

*I did not get reimbursement of any kind for recommending this book.*

Kauai Trip - Part 1

As nervous as I was about such a long flight with the kids by myself, it went fine. And my reward was waiting for me at the baggage claim, so any discomfort was well worth it. I followed my hubby from the airport to his condo, and though it was dark, I could tell immediately that I was someplace magical. When we got to my dear husband's condo, I asked how close we were to the ocean. He told me that if I stand on the balcony and squint a little, I could see it. So imagine my surprise when I woke up the next morning to this:

Cheeky hubby, isn't he?

The next day was spent napping mostly, but I did have to go out to get food in that house. Isn't it funny how quickly guys revert to bachelorism when it comes to food? ;-) While at Costco (The cheapest place on the island. Did you know that milk can be $8 a gallon there?!) I was charmed by these guys in the parking lot....

It seems that after a hurricane, a bunch of roosters were released and have become local pests. I think they're cute. Fritter enjoyed cock-a-doodling at them.

The next day, all I could think about was the beach. So that's where we went. Fritter played in the waves...

Ladybug did her best to eat all the sand on the beach...

And I did this...

What?! ;-)

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Later that evening, when my wonderful-spoils-me-rotten-husband got home, we played in the grassy knoll and I got great pictures.

Awww...Are those for me?

Guess not. ;-)

Stop eating stuff you little monkey!

Loving on Daddy.

Did I mention that Ladybug took her first steps the second day we were there? I say steps because it was three, not just one. I think I know where that's going to take us.

Dad and Fritter enjoying the waves.

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And I'll leave you with this picture and pick up where I left off next time...

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Travel Poop Story

I'm still not ready to expand on our trip, but I do have a small story to share.

The plane that took us from LA home was a small express plane with two seats on either side. While Fritter slept the whole trip (yay!) Ladybug was awake and enjoying waving at everyone behind her. About 30 minutes before we landed, her face started turning red and got very serious. That's when I realized that while I had put on the kids' overnight diapers before our first flight, I hadn't changed them yet. Hey, it was still nighttime for us, and I was running off of 30 minutes of sleep.

So, Ladybug is straining and all of a sudden there is an AWFUL smell radiating from her. So bad, in fact, that the older lady sitting behind and across the aisle from us said, "Someone is a little stinky". Yep, that's my kid.

The seat belt sign is on, we are about to land, and I can't get up to change my very smelly baby. That's when I notice something wet on Ladybug's pants. Her diaper was starting to leak. No big deal, right? I wrapped a blanket around her, more for stench control than anything, and kept her standing up. And then...I looked down at my lap. That's right. Poop. On. My. Lap. So not only was my baby smelly, but I was too.

I then had to endure the plane unloading and all the people Ladybug had formally entertained walking past us. I'm sure they smelled her...um, us. They had to.

After we landed, I went to unbuckle Fritter to shuffle him out of the plane and noticed his pants were soaked. Another leaky diaper. That's what I get. Do I hear a Mother of the Year award coming my way?

Sandy Bliss

Just a small teaser. I will be posting about our trip soon. As soon as I catch up on some sleep.