busy busy..

Man, I feel like its so hard for me to find the time(alone) to sit down and blog.

I don't like to do it when Hallie is awake, as it is much harder to get done.

I have been so busy lately.

First and fore most, taking care of Hallie Rosebud.

We are on the go a lot, either taking walks/runs in the morning, going to the Mothersongs classes at Princeville Community Center(they sing songs and play with instruments), or to playdates of which are in abundance on the island. Not to mention the every day stuff like going to the grocery store, feeding her, changing her, laundry, cleaning, taking baths, ya get my drift....

Joe has been in a class Monday-Friday, preparing to take the test to become a licensed real estate agent.

So, he is gone from 6:40 am till around 6:30 pm.

I have been working on a Christmas gift to all of our friends and family back home in Kansas, which has been a pretty lengthy process.

Then, I am working on the letter "G", that I volunteered (happily) to make for a little girls "alphabet" room.

I am verrrry limited on supplies, because Wal-mart is the only place we have that sells any "crafty" stuff, and its an hour away!

I made it work with crayola paints, and dirt from outside...didn't even have glue. I just used brown pain, then sprinkled dirt on it while it was wet.

I am a little concerned (well ok, alot) that it is not going to look like this when it arrives, going from Hawaii to Canada.

I am trying to think of different ways to package it, but as of now, have not come up with anything I'm completely sure about.

My "G" stands for GARDEN...

Last night was a long one.

Jalen had his first ever choir concert at Island School.

Hallie and I went down towards Lihue a little early, so that we could make a pit stop at Wal-mart, since they are right by each other.

His concert started at 7, but the kids had to be there at 5:30.

Totally not convenient for the parents who live on the North Shore.

I stopped before I left the north shore and got us burritos from a place called Fredrico's for dinner.

Beans, cheese, rice, and avocado.

Joe met Hallie and I at Wal-mart after his class, and we drove to the school together.

We backed up to some grass, opened up the back of the Xterra and ate our food, while running around after little Sugar Bear.

She would come in for a bite, then run off, and one of us would have to chase after her.

Turned out Jalen couldnt come outside, so he did not get to eat until after the concert.

His teacher is kind of "obcessive" about his choir.

Its his baby, so everything had to be perfect.

He sent numerous e-mails out to the parents prior to the concert, reiterating what the dress code was, proper procedures, times, no food or drink,  etc..

They sang a lot of cool Christmas songs, some with a Hawaiian twist.

Jalen got the part of the "bell ringer" in one of the songs.

He did it perfect.

Hallie was not very interested, and so we had to keep walking out of the auditorium with her.

I actually left at one point and tried to get her to fall asleep by driving around, when that didnt work I tried the Ergo baby carrier.

She wasnt having it..so I went back in.

The concert was over, and we handed Jalen his lei.

It is customary over here to give the kids a lei after a performance, or graduation, or any special occassion.

Jalen was a little shy about it, so he would only put it on outside for me to snap a pic.

I am so proud of him!

He did a great job.

He is a very talented and unique boy.

She finally fell asleep on the way home, but not before a good cry..

Stomach bug in the new house..

It seems a stomach bug has invaded our home this week.

Jalen got home from a robotics competition on Ohau, where he got to go with some kids from school, and teachers as well.

They got to fly over, stay in a hotel, and even rented a party bus to chauffeur them around in.

It was his first time away from us, other than summer camp.

He got to eat pizza, watch robots compete, meet new friends, and stay up late.

That being said, he came home exhausted!

They left on a Thursday morning, having to be at the airport at 5:50am! (don't forget, its an hour away)

They got back to Kauai Saturday night at 10:30pm, which brought him home by around 11:30pm.

He went straight to bed, but woke up around 1 am and was vomiting all over.

He felt better afterwards, but slept all day the next day (Sunday)..

Then, by Monday he was fine and went to school.

Joe started real estate school this week.

It is a class which preps him to take the state exam to become a licensed real estate agent.

The days are long, and there is a lot of information being thrown his way at a very fast pace.

Monday, after lunch, he didn't feel so good.

He struggled to get through the next few hours, then came home and laid on the couch.

Later that evening, he was in the bathroom, you guessed it, puking!

He did not sleep well that night, but knew he had to get up and go back to his class if he was going to stay committed and succeed.

I'm so proud of him.

He had to drag himself there, and finish out the day, feeling pretty crappy.

Later that evening (Tuesday), he was better.

Then, after eating a banana, out of the blue, I started feeling a little sick to my stomach.

I told myself "just go to sleep, and it will wear off, and you will wake up fine"..

Not how it happened.

I woke up around 2 am, actually Hallie woke me up wanting her milky, and I could feel it coming on.

I told Joe he was going to have to watch Hallie, and I headed for the toilet.

The next morning, I knew I was done getting sick, but the body aches were horrible.

We decided it would be best for Jalen to stay home from school and help me take care of Hallie.

I have to say, he completely amazed me, and I could not have made it through the day without him.

At around 7:30am, Hallie and I woke up, and I needed Jalen right then and there.

He came and got Hallie, and took her to his room.

They played for a while, then he checked in on me.

I explained what to do with her, so he put her in the high chair, gave her some mango, cereal, and her milky.

I could hear him talking so sweetly to her, and explaining things to her so diligently.

Later that morning, he took her on a walk in our new jogging stroller (which she likes a lot, but only for about 30-45 min)..side note: A few days ago was Hallie's first time in a stroller of any kind, because we have always carried her in a sling.

As the day progressed I felt a little better, so I was able to take Hallie and give Jalen a break.

Her and I laid in the bed together, read books, snuggled, and laid on the hammock.

Eventually she fell asleep. And so did I..

So, after 3 of us getting sick, we thought it was over.

Our hope is that since I still pump breast milk for Hallie, that her immune system is so strong, and that the antibodies my body produced to fight off the bug, she would receive, and be ok.

Time is yet to tell..

So, last night we all went to bed with the hopes that Mom would feel better in the morning, and Jalen would be able to go back to school.

Well, at around 3 am, Jalen came in and woke his Dad up and said he was sick again.

He threw up numerous times throughout the night and even into the morning.

He couldn't keep anything down, not even water, but handled it like a champ.

At one point he weighed himself, and had lost a few pounds.

He joked, "now I know why those super models make themselves throw up, because it makes you lose weight"..hehe

After sleeping all day, sipping on chicken noodle soup, and having his Mom take care of him, he is better this evening.

I am better, Joe is great, and Hallie is sleeping soundly.

I guess we should of got our flu shot....haha NOT!!

I would take a 24 hour bug any day-- over the freaky flu shot!!!



Other than the sickness, we have moved into our new home.

We LOVE it!

It sits on 1 acre, has many fruit trees, such as lilikoi, lemon, banana, orange, guava, and much more.

The street is quiet, and up top over looking Hanalei Bay.

From the end of our long driveway, you can see the ocean.

Mountains surround us.

Our lanai out back is huge, with a hammock sitting right outside the master bedroom sliding glass doors.

The view is amazing, it's so peaceful, and we could not be more pleased with our living situation.

Hallie loves to play in the garage and driveway.

We even had a play date the other day with a little girl maned Graciella.

We blew up the pool, they played in the water, and on her little trikes.

Jalen has his own room, and bathroom which he likes a lot.

The house is up to date, and totally our style.

We feel blessed to be living here, and are excited to spend the next 6-8 months here.