I'm still here!

I haven't forgotten about you! I'm still here and I apologize for being late on the next photography assignment! We've been taking advantage of the local zoo and aquarium (yes, there is an aquarium in the middle of this desert! And it's pretty cool, if I may say so myself!), the pool, and the opportunities that knock! I have been keeping busy with my Mary Kay business (did I tell ya'll I'm a Beauty Consultant now?), and I LOVE it! I have learned lots about myself and can feel the growth of doing things I didn't think I could do! I've just been busy busy busy! Which is new for me. Yes, so busy in fact, I have very very little time to blog! I KNOW! I'm telling you! This is new for me too! lol. I've been spending a lot more "quality" time with my sweet boys. They are growing up too quickly, and even though I am home with them everyday, I feel like I am missing it! I know you understand!

I have some pictures to share from the zoo... a one day old giraffe, and baby snow leopard! A.DOR.A.BLE!

But now I need to get to bed. So have a FABULOUS weekend! And I will get working on some good stuff to share with you!

Sweet faces.

Have you had enough of my boys? Well, too bad! hahaha... :) I love these images because it really shows their little personalities!!

Drinking from the hose

Oh summertime!  These pictures say it all!

 

I love this kid.

Movie Reviews...

Watched a bunch of movies I haven't seen yet. Mind you, these are not particularly new releases, but I'm curious what you all thought of these as well!

The Other Boleyn Girl

Interesting, but it got really weird at the end. I didn't read the book, but I can only imagine it was a lot better than the movie.

Vanity Fair

Over all, I liked the lightheartedness of it. I am a fan of Reese, which is really the only reason I watched it, and thought she did alright. I thought it was very sad though. I didn't really "get the message" but the costumes were stunning. I generally enjoy movies from this era.

Bedtime Stories


This movies is probably my favorite Adam Sandler performance. I love Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison.... but I particularly enjoy that I can now watch his goofiness with my children and not have to cover ears or skip scenes. It's Brilliant and well done! Thank you, Disney!

Confessions of a Shopaholic
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I really couldn't get into it! Even with Hugh Dancy! I KNOW! And Isla is darling. But yah, maybe it's because I could relate...?! I've never owned anything Prada in my life. Nor do I have intentions to.

Happily N'ever After 2

I have to tell you, my son is next to me, watching me blog and when he saw this picture he pointed at it and told me "Mommy, I hate that one." Really. He said that. And that pretty much sums it up. It was painful. PAINFUL! Eventually I just left the room to make dinner and had a hard time LISTENING to it! It was cheap. So very, very cheap.

There is something to be said for only watching the blockbuster hits. If it did well in the theater it's probably alright. If it didn't even make it to the theater, it might not be worth my 2 hours. I'd rather watch The Bachelorette or So You Think You Can Dance - because thats real life, yo!

Seen any good movies lately?!

Meet the Family...

You probably feel "like this" with my boys. You probably know them as well as anyone! Monkey, Turtle and DH are my life.

But before that life, I was (/am) part of another family. My parents and sibling are some of my favorite people in the world! BUT I don't get to see them often because they all still live in HAWAII! So it's not like I can meet them half way or drive 12 hours to see them. It kinds sucks. But my dad has a facebook account now, and so do my brothers and they update their pictures fairly often - and I love it even though it makes me miss them! Anyway, I stole some to share with you!

May I introduce you to the people who raised me, and my (younger) siblings that I  wish I were a bigger part of their lives!  They're a lot more like me than they know!

Meet: My DAD. He's an easy-going guy who swims with fish for a living. Island life suits him well. Visit his company's website, Snuba Tours of Kauai.

Meet: My Mom! She's spunky and wise. She's so much cooler now than she was when I was a kid (and I mean that with all the love of my heart!) I look forward to the time that I am where she is now (basically, not changing diapers anymore and back in school! YES!)

Meet: Princess Megan (and friend). Yes, I am using her real name because I can't find myself changing it. That's who she is! She's a freaking doll. It's been a rough road for us as sisters, being 4 years apart and her always taking my stuff... (you know!)... but now she's one of my favorite people to be around! And she can't move out here soon enough!!

Meet: Surfer Boy. Haha... he might laugh when he reads that because it's such a small wave, but look at him!  He's a stud. I'm so very proud of this one. He's like the male me. I feel this kid and know that he will be successful.

Meet:  Haole Boy. The very friendly social bug. Don't be fooled by the nickname, this kid's pidgin is thicker than teriyaki sauce!  An island boy with ambition (is that an oxymoron?) and talent!He's, like, the coolest 14 year old I know!

Meet: Baby Girl. The youngest of the group, she's had to thicken her skin a little to survive. She's a trooper and is up for pretty much any adventure! She loves the outdoors and being around her family! She doesn't know it yet, but she needs me! We'll be best friends one day... :D

That's my (first) Family!

Can you see why I miss them all so much?!

Let's just put this out there...

So here is some randomness from my brain...

We went to the pool last week and I got toasted. I was very excited about the color I was going to have after the red healed up - now my right shoulder is peeling, which defeats the purpose. Guess we need to go again! (I had a low SPF block on, and we were in the sun for a looong time. The boys were fine. smothered in spf 50.)

I need to go through the boys clothes and organize them all by size.

I have recently discovered "YoVille" on Facebook... it's like a way simplified version of Sims.

I really like Sims. I haven't played it since Turtle was born.

I am 3/4 ways done with Harry Potter, and the Half-Blood Prince. I wanted to read it again to refresh my memory before watching the movie. Plus it's my way of savoring the anticipation of the movie.

DH has been working out every morning for the last 2 weeks. It's been good for him. And I think he's hott.

Today, I have resolved not to yell at or spank Monkey. I'm curious how he will respond. He's been a little rebel lately.

It's a beautiful day. Right now the weather is perfect, but it's going to get mighty hot later on.

I had a dream that I was swimming in the ocean. It was heavenly!

I watched a few episodes of "In the Motherhood" and was very, very disappointed. It was really stupid, and was borderline offensive for me. Some funny parts, yes. But they could have done a lot more with it.

I'm (always)  trying to balance out my life. Currently, I'm working/focusing on: time spent on the computer, spending quality time with my boys, having a "real" social life, trying new things and pushing myself to do things that are hard and usually out of my comfort zone, being a better friend.

I really want to visit my family and friends back home.

I am grateful to finally be settled in our home.

Vacuum my brains out...

okay, so that's a little bit of an exaggeration... but can I just say that

I Am Sick Of Cleaning!

It wouldn't be bad if I were just cleaning up after myself, but of course not. I have two sweet, active, curious, messy, easily distracted boys... well, make that three. DH is almost as bad, except that he doesn't spill his breakfast all over and then splash in the milk - I'll give him that much. But seriously! Am I the only who really sees all the messes that are made and left..?! Why, yes. I am.  (As I yell to Monkey to pick up his cars before he gets out all of the balls... who am I kidding?!)

Someone, anyone! Tell me I'm not the only one. (Because if everyone else's two year old don't make messes and actually cleans up after themselves, I might sink into the abyss of depression... okay, not really, but I'd think about it!)

It's so bad that I see a big ol' mess of cereal under the table and don't want to sweep it up, because after the next meal I'll just have to do it again. I usually wait for the days worth of messes and clean up after the last meal... to do it all over again tomorrow.

You know what I'm talking about?

It doesn't help that our dryer is out of commission until DH figures out which bolt/screw/THING he needs to fix it... (he's tried a few different sizes and none are the right one so far), so the laundry is piling up and I have to do a few over-flowing loads at my in-laws. Don't even get me started on LAUNDRY!

Anywho. I pick my battles. I'm not going to vacuum right now, because I might scream.

You know, it's all about balance. Gatta have it.

It'll still be there later!

Standing in the Rain...

Today it started raining... so Monkey and I stood out in the droplets falling on our arms and face... but it never really came down. Which was a disappointment because I was absolutely ready to be drenched and wanted to play in the rain with my son. It would have been a great memory.

Maybe next time.

Summer Time

I love summer time. Even though it's ridiculously hot. I especially love that there is a City Rec center with a pool not too far from us. And my mother in law has ALL the kids (and in-law kids) on her family pass... SCORE!

We should be hitting said pool later today.

Hopefully I can even out these funky tan lines I got a few days ago...

It's going to be a great day!

Delirious is an understatement.

Today I had another migraine. I'm guessing my 25 minute work out triggered it. Which really sucks because now I'm a little hesitant to work out. This one was bad. Not the pain part, the delirium part. Seriously, for about an hour I felt like I was on an acid trip and I was losing my mind. Does anyone else experience this "phase" in a migraine. Nothing makes sense. My brother in law came over to drop the boys off, and told me something, and all I could say was "nothing you just said makes any sense". Nothing DH was telling me sounded right, so I asked him if he was okay... I thought for a little while maybe everyone was going crazy...

You guys. It really really sucks. All I can do is pray and keep telling myself everything is going to be alright. And of course, once it's passed and I'm thinking straight, I know I was overreacting and that everything was fine except me.

This is particularly disturbing for me because I have always been sharp, very logical and exceptionally in control of my thoughts. I have never taken any sort of mind-altering substance because I fear losing control of my mind. And yet, when these migraines hit, which seems to be happening often as of late, I go through a phase of completely delirium. I even feel embarrassed when I think about it and how nutty I must sound and act.

I am going to schedule an appointment with a chiropractor and hopefully that will help. There has got to be something I can do to fix the problem! I went for 9 years without a migraine... and I don't know what has triggered them again. I'm pretty sure it's my spinal alignment or something of the like. So I guess that's a first step...

Wish me Luck!