holidays are upon us!

whew, i am pooped! a whirlwind week end of reconnecting with squirrel's friends--we met z. and parents on friday night at Kikuya's (YUM--best little restaurant in Kaneohe)--they moved to kaneohe a few months before us. and then squirrel's friend e. and family stopped over for a visit on saturday. baby brother k. is the cutest baby EVER. here's some fun pics, which show our move-in progress, too! the walls are still pretty blank, but we are so happy that the house is at least in order enough to have some holiday fun! and we got our little christmas tree...the squirrel had a fab time decorating it saturday morning! today, aunty leah and uncle rich stopped by for a quick visit, the squirrel was in heaven showing them around, especially her room upstairs, lol. and tonight i made a big batch of drake's fried chicken (thank you maggie for sending it to me!!!) and fed the entire family, including uncle greg, grandma jan, and uncle stephen. it's so nice to have a house full of people--such fun. oh, but i am sleepy now, and need to go to bed, lol! we are super excited about our first christmas in kaneohe. !!

settling in

a pic from our new neighborhood park...not sure how often we'll come here, but it's been good the last two week ends for some twirly slide action. poor squirrel keeps asking if she will see her friend "e." at the park? so sad! luckily the whole e. family will be coming for a visit next week.

the house is slowly coming together and i am getting bigger and bigger. i hate to say it, but i've actually lost count of the 'weeks.' i'm too busy to sit down with the calendar and start counting from where i left off. all i know is that i have three more months of waddling, and i'm okay with that. i've had several conversations with baby-sister-to-be to please stay in there until feb. 19th! she seems to be okay with that. the squirrel was three days late, so at least there's some precedence, lol.

whew, sleepy, sleepy. time to go to bed soon--a new work week awaits!

impromptu beach break...

the f-cubed family took a break from the unpacking, shifting, moving, and headed for the beach! it was a blustery day, but still filled with sun, surf, and laughter. we are still living in semi-disaster land, but i promise to post pics when we're settled in, lol.

soooo thankful for our new house...i think b.d. and i are both in a bit of a dream--that this is really happening and this is really our lives! and now it just hit me, christmas is just around the corner! can't wait to have everything cleaned up and our first christmas tree in our new home...oh wow!

tomorrow back to reality--cleaning up the old palolo house (ok, i totally hired cleaners, there's no way my gigantic belly is squatting down to clean the cupboards), picking up supplies, other errands to run. however it is also uncle's birthday, so we are going to bbq at grandma jan's house, and that will be so fun!

patio view...

woo hoo, internet access! here's some pics pre-move in (before my dear friend moved out)...we're still a bit of a disaster area in the living room, but all of our stuff is now in!! :) love my new kitchen and patio--actually love it all, lol! didn't get a good view in the pic, but we can see the koolau's above the patio gate and from our living room. *happy sigh* :) ooh, and a bonus pic of the squirrel in front of grandma's house, lol.

the move :)

we are officially in our new home and i love it! moving was crazy, but we survived (barely!). at the end of each day i could barely walk, but i was so so so happy to be moving. the big move in day was on saturday, with a u-haul and three pick up trucks--and somehow we still weren't able to get it all in one trip, the poor guys worked so hard! once the majority of the stuff was over, i was determined to unpack my kitchen. the boys were trying to get the 6 month pregnant lady to quit unpacking, but i just couldn't stop! at least i had one room done by the end of the day!!!

but poor b.d., the squirrel's bed was stuck in palolo for the first night--with all the rails to prevent her from falling out of bed, they couldn't get it out of her room, so he and his brother went back on sunday to disassemble and bring it back to kaneohe to reassemble in her room.

the squirrel has adapted great so far: she *loves* the stairs and is up and down them all the time. sometimes she climbs them normally. sometimes she uses her hands to go up--i'll race you, mommy!. sometimes she goes down them on her butt: feet first, sit down, feet first, sit down. she's been going to bed on time and waking up great, even though half her room is unpacked! lol. what a trooper, so patient with mommy and daddy. when i'm doing dishes or after dinner, she sings the "ABCD song" and manages to play amidst the disaster area of our living room--boxes, boxes, boxes, lol.

i can't wait to go home at the end of each day. we are making slow progress and i don't have internet at home yet, so will try and update with pictures soon. oh, where is that darn camera??!! we feel so blessed and thankful that we are in our new home!!!

belated halloween

actually, my computer crashed and i've been unable to get to my pictures...but i picked up my little laptop from the computer dr. the other day. the squirrel was invited to the twin's two-year old pool party on halloween, and then some fun with trick-or-treating at kahala mall in her full regalia as tinkerbell, with her green slippers, lol! actually, once we started trick-or-treating, she ditched the tiara (courtesy of grandma jan and the disney store), and then the wings...but it's the thought that counts! she has told me she wants to be tinkerbell next year, too.

we are in the beginnings of moving mania--helping my sweet friend move out some stuff tomorrow, then scheduled the cleaners/carpet/pet cleaning for next week end, then our move in day: the 21st! omg!!!!!!! :)

not saying goodbye...

we are not saying goodbye. we were simply throwing a party for a dear friend (...who is moving). it was amazing fun, more than 25 people showed up to celebrate her. b.d. grilled 12 lbs of chicken, hotdogs, and hamburgers, and everyone else filled up the picnic table with tons of food. after the cooking was over, the cake was brought out, and then the kids headed to the water for some frolicking in the sun. i can't decide if the squirrel is happier playing in the water or eating ice cream--it is a serious toss up. the smile and squeal of pure delight is the same in either venue, ha ha ha! and when we had to pack up and take the kids home, my friend stayed at the beach for another hour with the remaining guests, relaxing and breathing in everything she loves about hawaii--the sweet, salty air, the sound of the waves breaking on the shore, the quiet trade winds rustling through the pine needles offering shade on a lazy sunday afternoon. but, we are not saying good-bye, not yet.

a secret; or, how sometimes a dream will come true...

okay i am going to come clean. i haven't completely lost my weird, secretive part of myself about certain big events...although I think i've made some progress over the years...or maybe not! lol.

we are moving. in three weeks. we are buying a sweet, cozy, perfect little townhouse. OMG!!! i think i haven't written about it because it is such a tremendous step for us, and it couldn't have happened without the help of my good friend and our families. let me tell you a story...

once upon a time, this wonderful lady came into my life, about ten years ago. I say "lady" in the sense of the word that means dignified, respected, eloquent, and wise. she was more than a friend, she was a colleague, a mentor, sometimes even my mom-away-from-mom figure. she was there when i was hired at my first real librarian job. she was there when i got married. and when i got divorced. in fact, she needed to get divorced, too, so i figured out the court system and filed for both of us. she was there when saddam hussein was hired as our boss, and she and i and another dear friend, along with a group of us banded together to get him ousted after he bullied his way through the workplace and cheated money from our company (among other crimes against humanity that i can't describe and still have a happy blog entry). and when i got pregnant with the squirrel, she was delighted, and when the squirrel was born, she came to the hospital. and she was also there at squirrel's christening. and when i got married again, she was standing up rooting for us. and in fact, she helped me secure our little cottage that our family has been living in for the last four years.

well...also for the last four years, my friend was thinking of moving back to the mainland, and often joked that she would sell her townhouse to us. and we always laughed, because b.d. and i knew we would never, ever, ever be able to afford it. it was just way out of our price range.

but that didn't stop us from dreaming about it. because it is really the perfect little home for us. 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths. a view of the mountains. little outside areas for the kid(s) to play in. just up the street from grandma jan...quiet neighborhood...so sweet...nothing huge and palatial, just a perfect, cozy, humble place where we could live forever.

suddenly, my friend was offered a job this summer that she wasn't sure she could refuse. it would get her out of nightmare-ville which was my old job. it was all very fuzzy because we weren't certain she was going to move until september. and then suddenly she IS moving. and so now, with the help of my mom, and the help of my dad who is watching us from heaven, and some help from grandma jan, (and the significant decrease in mortgage rates), but most definitely, with the help of my friend who decided to sell us her beautiful, cozy townhouse at an unbelievable price, like a miracle, once-in-a-lifetime unheard of price in hawaii...

we are in escrow. we move in three weeks. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i *heart* bo & family

i'm not sure if it's the pregnancy hormones or what, but i wanted to sniffle on numerous occasions when the kids got together. see, bo, is this amazing miracle baby boy, who pitched a tent in all of our hearts when he was born. i was never sure when i would get to meet him, and to have him and his family in our house, and for the kids to meet, was above and beyond my wildest dreams! and these parents, they are amazing, too. i did have some sniffles giving bo's mom a hug--she is strong and caring and loving and everything you would ever want in a mom and in a friend. over the years she has taught me the meaning of courage and tenacity. and laughter, too. and the same goes for uncle j. :) i better go work on my chocolate-chip waffles!! ha ha ha!

halloween preview...

happy swimming day for mommy, i hope i can keep this up! the tide was going out, so getting to the flag was no problem, but coming back in took forever. I usually do make it a point to stare at the lifeguard when i enter the water, hopeful that s/he will keep an eye on the pregnant lady swimming at the beach. lol. i guess the 'drag' might have something to do with the lag in the free-style back to shore, ha ha ha!
and in other news: someone is going to be tinkerbell for halloween...and seems mighty happy about it. !! lol.

a whirlwind week end, and my stamina is starting to fade. oh wait, have i had any stamina this pregnancy? bed time, 9:30, oh so sweet...

of rainbows and swims and rainy days

saturday found me at the beach again, belly and all, for my weekly swim. i swam all the way out to the flag again, and saw people surfing at "old man's" just outside (see last week's pic) so there must have been a bump this week end, it normally doesn't break there. feeling a little wistful that i'm not on my board, but it was good to get in the water and get some exercise. it is weirdly amazing how as soon as i get out of the ocean, the speed in which gravity affects the belly and the bladder, and suddenly i'm sneaking into the hotel bathroom, lol. aww, the joys of the 2nd trimester. on the way home, i stopped at my favorite look out at diamond head to capture a look-see.
we were hoping for beach day with the squirrel today, but the weather took another turn for the rainy, and we ended up doing indoor activities instead--that included frozen yogurt for the squirrel, yum! don't think she missed out on the beach, lol. after nap time, a bright rainbow in the back of the valley captured our attention; the squirrel and our little neighbor who was visiting climbed up on chairs to peek out the back door. love the rainbows!

and these are just some random fun shots of family and silliness. b.d. brought home a lei on friday and someone wanted to share; the tent is from last week...and as i'm getting bigger and bigger, it is more difficult to get down to the ground and back up again, sigh!

cloudy day

october is here and with it brings the rain and clouds. i think it's nice to have some rain and clouds once in a while, things can't be smiles and sunshine all the time.

my belly is enormous! and unlike being pregnant with the squirrel, where i was happily surfing up to my fifth month, i have been sick, tired, and otherwise occupied (i.e. chasing after the squirrel) to exercise regularly and be any where near the physical shape that i was before. today i was hit with a burst of energy, though, and went to one of my swimming spots, at kaimana hotel. i swam to the flag and back, and haven't done that in ages! it felt really good to be in the water, i love the weightlessness, the buoyancy of saltwater a boon to the belly. afterwards, i tried to capture the flag with this photo, it's next to the little speck that's a sailboat, but the sailboat is much farther away than the flag!