The Frisky Five

Mulehead

2011-10-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

The little one is 3 now. Where has time gone?

I've often referred to her as the exclamation point at the end of our family sentence and never has this been more true.

She had our hearts at day one when she came into this family in a hurry.

She has captured the hearts of many.

...and the funny bones.

She's not afraid of much.

She makes us gasp,

and hide our eyes....

but this is Leilea's world and we're all just living in it.

We're just here to keep her grounded.

Happy birthday, little one. My, how time flies.

Dirty Thirty

2011-07-25T09:50:00.005-05:00

I always post on here for everyone else's birthdays. This year, I thought I'd post one for me.
I'm 30.

Do you remember when that was old? Maybe it still is. The truth is, I still feel the same that I did when I was 17. My life is different, with different and hopefully more evolved hopes, fears, dreams... but I'm still me.

I guess I always thought that when I was 30, I'd be magically transformed into a woman with a perm, a pantsuit, and pumps who doesn't think poop is funny.

No pantsuit, no perm, no pumps, and poop is definitely still funny.

I don't even realize I'm getting older until I'm slapped in the face with reality. I went to the doctor several months ago for a spot on my face. Being fair-skinned and having a love/hate relationship with the sun, I try to keep an eye on things so I went to the dermatologist. She took one look at it and said, "It's not cancer. You're just getting older. It's an age thing." What?!?! When I go to the doctor to get something checked out, the reason is usually, "Well, you've had 3 kids." I knew this particular problem wasn't the result of any postnatal mishap but it's never been age.

It's not that I mind getting older. It's better than the alternative. I won't even mind going gray or getting wrinkles. I've always admired the silver hair of a well-aged woman. I used to wish I had the laugh lines I saw in the faces of my relatives. I thought crow's feet were cool- like a badge of honor.

I don't want to be in high school again. Age seems to dull the drama of the teenage life, and that was very welcome. At 30, I have more confidence (or lack of concern for acceptance), I'm more organized (I know- it was worse), and I really do know more. I like where I am and I'm glad for every minute that has carried me here.

What would my teenage self say about me now?

I always wanted to be an art teacher, and here I am.

I never thought I'd have kids and now I'm crawling with them.If I'd known my kids and how cool they'd be, I would have planned on them years ago. I'd be surprised but excited.

I never thought I'd marry John, but, again, back then, I didn't know the John I married. He's perfect for me.
Do people really make lists like on the movies of things they "have" to accomplish by the time they're 30, or 40, or whenever? I've always been a come-what-may kind of person but if I had made a list then it would have been drastically different. I just would have re-written it a million times along the way so that I would end up exactly where I am today. Yup, I'm 30. I've lost the ability to pull an all-nighter and I have looked at a group of teenagers and uttered the phrase "Kids these days...." I sign report cards, and file claims with my homeowners insurance. I think some music on the radio us just noise, and most teenage boys need haircuts. I may wear sunscreen every day and pass up clothes at the store that I like because it looks "too young" but mark my words: I will never own a pantsuit, pumps, or get a perm- even when I earn my grey hair and crow's feet.

Kawika's 4!

2011-07-25T09:14:00.004-05:00

Blogging has been way down on my list of things to do lately. Honestly, we've been so cought up in living life lately that I haven't had time to write about it. Whatever the reason, I can't let Kawika's birthday post pass me by.

Yeah, Kawika turned 4 in May. I'm happy to report that this little boy is still the kindest, softest, squishiest, most cuddly kid I've ever met. Here's a breakdown of a few of my favorite things about this boy at this point:

*The kid seriously has the softest skin I've ever touched. Always has.*Of all the kids, he's always the first in line for hugs and kisses.*His ears are squishy and movable. They flop when he runs, and even flap in strong wind. When he gets tired, he plays with them and folds them into his head and pops them out.*He tells me when I make his heart happy. (unfortunately for my heart, he also tells me when I make his heart sad)*He really loves his mommy. That's my favorite.
*His idea of the ideal meal always starts and sometimes ends with peanut butter and jelly.*He maintains his own in this house of strong-willed sisters. ...and loves them very much.*He's my artist. The girls like to make art, but Kawika goes about it differently and looks at things in a way that amazes me.Whatever life has in store for Kawika, my biggest hope for him is that he stays just the way he has been for the past 4 years. Happy birthday sweet boy.

Reality Check

2011-03-16T09:04:00.002-05:00

My kids undoubtedly believe in the healing power of kisses. No one in this house under 5 feet can leave a boo boo unattended until you kiss the exact spot of pain. I love it.

They also believe that as a part of daddy's regular chores he kills any monster that might come from their closets or from under their beds.

This is why I'm a little surprised sometimes when I get a dose of reality from my kids.

Yesterday, I was joking around with Iwa and told her that we needed to move to Mercury for some reason or another. She said, "No, mommy. That's to close to the sun. It would be way too hot for us there."

Iwa: 1
Mommy: 0

What made me sad was a few days before that she was wanting something. She said, "I would wish on a star, but they're just balls of fire in space. They don't come true."

I've been thinking about that ever since.

I told her that we don't have to wish on stars because we have prayer and all of that, but a part of me is sad that one piece of childhood is taken away from her by reality. Sheesh. Education.

I realized all was not lost, though, when she helped me hunt leprechauns. John and I were on our way somewhere with the kids. We were talking about where to go or something and, of course, she was trying to be in our conversation.

Iwalani: Mommy, where are we going?

Me: (jokingly) I don't know about you guys but I'm looking for leprechauns. I hear he has some really good Lucky Charms.

Iwalani: (in an "Whatever, Mommy" kinda laugh and tone) Okay mommy..

**long silence**

Iwalani: So, Mommy... what do leprechauns look like?

Of course I told her where we were actually going, but if she was going to believe that, she's still a kid.

I'd rather not think about what it says about me.

Math

2011-03-05T19:28:00.003-06:00

For all of you who know how much I love math, here's a little equation for you:

This:+ this:= this:
and this:and when you add 6 years (what?!?) = this:Happy 6th birthday, test child. You've been a good sport. Here's to many, many more.

(years people..... more years.)

Wockets and pockets

2011-02-27T17:12:00.003-06:00

I cannot get Dr.Seuss off my mind lately. His birthday is Wednesday and my classes are doing projects inspired by his work. Because of this, and because it's just plain good stuff, I've been reading a lot of Dr.Seuss both to my kids at home and my kids at school.

In preparation for this, I did a lot of internet research on Dr.Seuss and discovered that (not surprisingly) he had a lot of good stuff to say.

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

When people express their amazement about how alike my kids look, and how much they look like me, I jokingly call myself a human Xerox. I mean really- three chances for genetic variations and this is what we get?
While the four of us do look alike (sorry John), they all have their distinct personalities. If they learn nothing else from me, I hope they learn to be themselves because you should...

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Here are two more I love:

"Adults are just obsolete children and to Hell with them."

"If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good."

...and one final one that I would love to have cross-stitched and framed in my house:

"I've heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me."

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss. Thanks.

Hot-lanta

2011-02-21T20:29:00.004-06:00

Last week I went to Atlanta for school. I looked out my hotel room to see this:I was sent to visit this man:Who co-founded this school:The school visit started in the library with stuff like this painted on the ceiling:
...and this jumpy thing as a permanent fixture in the middle (yes, of the library):
The classrooms all had fun stuff like this in them:
We learned (and sang and danced and laughed) a lot and at the end of the day, the only way out was to go down this slide:
What an amazing place! You can go here and read more about him/his school.

The house was even still standing when I got home.

Happy (early) Valentine's

2011-02-08T18:22:00.001-06:00

Valentine's Day was always my favorite holiday as a kid.

Not for the romance aspect. Bleh! No, I love Valentine's Day because of the crafting possibilities. There's just something about heart shaped doilies that makes me pause and think, "what could a grown woman do with these?"

The answer, is nothing.

This is why I had kids.

As I said in an earlier post, I made the kids' Valentines this year. I ran into a post on the blog I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. This also introduced me to the photo editing website called Picnik. I see many more projects like this in my future.

Here is Iwa's:
For the treat, I upcycled a bunch of broken crayons (I'm an art teacher who can't throw anything away in a school of 900+ kids. I have plenty of these) into heart-shaped crayons. I put them in a snack-sized ziploc bag and stapled the picture on top.

For Kawika's, I stuck more closely to the idea I saw on the blog:
...mostly because he has THE BEST kissy face in the world. I filled a snack-sized ziploc with Hershey's Kisses.

I still couldn't find a way to incorporate doilies. Maybe next year.

Spoiler alert

2011-02-07T11:26:00.004-06:00

This year, I made the kids' class Valentines. I'll post them when I'm done but here's a sneak peek of Kawika's:

...just makes me smile every time!

Happy birthday, daddy!

2011-02-06T23:41:00.002-06:00

...John warming his hands by the fire.

We know you've only spent the last 8 1/2 years with us, but we love you forever.

Here's to many, many more.

Show and tell

2011-02-02T21:12:00.004-06:00

For those of you who were curious, here's what Kawika took for show and tell at school today:
Of course, at school, he was wearing pants.

Ever since Aunt Krissy sent him and his sisters glow in the dark "bone jammies" for Halloween and we explained what bones were, this kid has been obsessed.

This incident has just put fuel on the fire.

He now sleeps with his x-rays and an issue of the American Journal of Orthopedics which is complete with more x-rays and candid photos from various surgeries.

I just hope that football scholarship can take him all the way through med school.

3 for 3 makes a Turkey!!

2011-02-01T19:36:00.003-06:00

I can't see it, my family can't see it, but medical professionals tell me that somewhere in there is a hairline fracture.

In my baby boy's foot.

Let me rewind:

Lots of times, Kawika walks into his room for awhile. Minutes later he comes running full speed into the living room. Sometimes he is running right for you and you hope that someday all this abuse you take will pay off in the form of a football scholarship. Sometimes he falls down and plays dead and you have to perform a fake autopsy or CSI investigation (yeah, mommy has an odd sense of humor. uh, have you met me?). This time, however, he fell down, landed with his left knee on top of his right foot, and laid there and cried.

He broke his own foot and now he's sporting a knee-high blue weapon of mass destruction. Heaven help his sisters if he finds out how useful that thing could be.

He is very excited about the x-rays we got to take home on a CD, and the American Journal of Orthopedics he also took as a souvenir.

First we had the stitches, then, two days later, Leilea dislocated her elbow (again). Not even a week after that, Kawika breaks his foot.

That- in bowling- is what we call a Turkey. (3 strikes in a row)

At home we call it a hell of a week.

I think the Department of Child Services might have a name for it, too, but from now on the kids are going to be wrapped in packing foam and bubble wrap so we never have to find out.

You should see the other guy...

2011-01-26T13:44:00.002-06:00

In the blue corner, wearing the pink princess footie jammies, weighing in at a squishy 34lbs, with a record of 3 and 0, hailing from Millington, TN, we have Leilea "The Berserker" Frisky.

Don't let her rosy cheeks fool you, ladies and gentlemen. This one takes no prisoners.

This one is going to give me a heart attack.

Saturday night, we took Leilea to get the Frisky Five's first set of stitches.

(in the words of the kids at school) You see, what had happen was... I put up a big girl bed in her room. I was putting stuff away not more than two feet away from her when she rolled off the bed. Her fall was broken by her face and the corner of the armrest of the glider.

Seeing it all in slow motion, I was almost able to catch her. She cried for just a little bit but when I got a chance to look at it, my insides flinched. I'm sure if I had had the stomach to look closer I might have seen skull.

I got toilet paper on it and, speechless, I showed it to John. Sometimes we can't decide whether or not things are bad enough to go to the ER. This was not one of those times. Without question or hesitation, John got the other kids dressed and we were off to drop them off and go see what the damage was.

She never cried or fussed after that initial minute or two right after the fall but I knew what lay ahead. The little girl before us had her chin stitched up and I cried for her in the waiting room while we heard her cries (blood curdling screams) from the procedure room. She had to be bound to the table. My tears were for her but also in fear of what I knew was coming for Leilea. I don't think I could handle that. I planned on bailing.

She was checked for concussion, we were asked probing questions about how the fall happened, and then after a few hours (near 9pm) it was our turn to be sewn up.

She recognized the nurse from when he came and poked at her wound to see what kind of treatment it would need. When she saw him she kind of whimpered and hesitated and clung to me. He told her, "Don't worry, baby. Mommy's not going anywhere, I promise." Thanks, cause mommy fully intended to ask, plead, beg the nurses to hold her down so that John and I wouldn't have to.

We laid her on the table, gave her the usual set of comforts that go with bedtime and she fell asleep... he put on the topical numbing stuff... still sleeping... he prodded with a syringe of lidocaine in the wound to numb her a little deeper... sleeping... Finally he sewed her up with four stitches. Thank God for little miracles because she slept through the whole thing. It was bedtime and she'd had a big weekend, not to mention how tired she probably was from the incident itself.

Bless her crazy little heart.

Trick or treat?

2010-12-08T14:15:00.001-06:00

Parade 2010

2010-12-07T09:34:00.006-06:00

Iwa rode in the Millington Christmas Parade with Grandpa Tony again this year.This year, Kawika rode with Uncle Buck and Aunt M&M rode too! (Kawika's in the orange coat)Last night when John and I were cooking dinner, I heard maniacal laughter coming from more than one person. This is never a good sign. I came in the front room to find:
I think Santa's just going to get more storage bins for these kids for Christmas. They were entertained for over an hour.

Wrong number

2010-11-20T19:36:00.005-06:00

Dear Kelly,

I don't know who you are, but I feel the need to tell you a few things:

First of all, thanks a lot for giving your ever-so-persistent mother an incorrect cell phone number. Did you not stop to think that maybe this number belongs to someone? While she is a nice lady, and I have somewhat enjoyed speaking with her over the last year, I'm sure you can find better ways to avoid your mother than giving her the cell phone number I've had since 2003.

Second of all, this sweet lady who is your mother is concerned about you and has tried vigilantly to reach you. Call her.

Having said that, I feel I must give you a warning: I woke up this morning and checked my messages and heard your mother's voice. She's not happy with you.

It was not nice of you to disable her car and otherwise vandalize it. You've pushed her to the edge. She's resorted to name-calling (which, from my impression is not in her character) and she's very very disappointed in you.

Oh yeah, and she's pressing charges.

Hopefully you'll learn your lesson.

Hopefully the police have the correct phone number.

Sincerely,
The lady whose phone number you gave your mom instead of your own.

Love it.

2010-11-19T10:08:00.001-06:00

"I always loved art teachers because they were so bizarre. They were like the homeless people of the faculty -- all disheveled, wearing smocks, covered in paint, always digging through the garbage, looking for bottles and egg cartons and things." -Ted Alexandro

Some pictures

2010-11-14T14:45:00.001-06:00

More Kindergarten events..

Farm breakfast:
and Clown Day:

.... and one "Diesel is huge" picture:
Random, I know, but I was about to take him running (he's SO not ready for that, by the way) and I thought I'd get a picture.

That is all.

FIELD TRIP!!!

2010-11-03T22:03:00.002-05:00

I know Iwa is enjoying Kindergaten but I'm LOVING it!
Last week, I got to take the day off and go with Iwa on her first field trip to the zoo. It was so much fun!! She got to take a long ride on the school bus, something she's wanted to do for years.
She insisted on taking this picture. Silly girl.

As an art teacher, I don't ever get to go on field trips so it was a first for me too.

Good sport

2010-11-01T12:57:00.005-05:00

Over Fall Break we had the "class pet" Rocky.
Iwa was star of the week the week before and the culminating activity of your week is getting to take care of Rocky and take him everywhere you go for the weekend. You're supposed to document your adventures and each child enters a page in his journal writing down what they did.

Since her weekend was over a holiday, Rocky did a lot!

We attended a bridal shower for Mary Margaret at Paint A Piece. Rocky and Iwa painted a square plate for Uncle Buck and Aunt M.... with Iwa's name on it.... and a picture of her painted on the front. Truly a selfless giver.Of course Iwa had to take Rocky to meet all of her animals.

We never got a picture of the animals that actually live in our house. It just figures.

We also picked pumpkins with Rocky.
For a long time, I thought we left Rocky at a Mexican Restaurant so he missed out on a lot. It turned out he was just hiding under the dining room table in a chair. in the fetal position. No one knows how he got there but I could swear I heard him give a sigh of relief when I told Iwa it was time take him back to school.

Fall Break fail....ish

2010-10-21T22:08:00.003-05:00

We've had the past week off for Fall Break. We've really enjoyed our time at home in this beautiful, beautiful weather... except...

...Tuesday we had big plans for Mud Island. It's fun, it's free and the kids have never been there, that they remember.

Well... they still haven't.Of course, the day we plan to do something outside is the only day this week it rains. We have plans to do something outside tomorrow. We'll see if that works out.

Nani, the kids, and I packed the car with a picnic lunch and headed all the way downtown and wouldn't ya know, it started raining half way there.

We made the best of it and enjoyed a car picnic at Riverside Park. We admired the houses on the Bluff, talked about the mighty Mississippi with it's barges and tow boats, and we dodged homeless people in the parking lot.I think all in all, the trip was an unexpected success.
Actually, the best part was the long, long naps we all got when we went home. THAT's how to spend a rainy day out of school.

Speaking of quotes I love...

2010-10-19T09:56:00.003-05:00

Your Children are not Your Children

They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

-

Kahlil Gibran

Sweet lady

2010-10-17T20:55:00.004-05:00

When I was in middle school, I became friends with a girl. She had a great family and I was always welcomed by them. I called her aunt, "Aunt", her grandma, "Grandma". They were all great people.

Several years later, when I was about 15, I started going to church at the same church as this family. Aunt Lorna was my Young Women's leader, and Grandma was too. One day, in the mail, I received a card- maybe for Valentine's Day, or as some Girl's Camp project. Grandma had written a letter to me about how much she loved me. She said that she thought a lot of me and felt like I was a part of her family.

Many years later, Aunt Lorna would become my mother-in-law: I would marry Grandma's oldest grandson and give birth to three of her great-grandchildren.

Grandma Bonnie passed away this July and it's taken me a while to want to blog about it, but I ran across that card again today and some pictures on my computer and my heart is feeling full.
I hope that when I pass, I will have loved as much as she did. I hope my posterity will have as many crazy, funny, heart-felt stories and feelings to share about me. I hope when I move on in years, I will be as full of life as she was. I hope I still think as rationally, giggle at dirty jokes when I think no one is looking, yet have as much class as that lady did.

She wasn't perfect by any means, but Grandma Bonnie touched the hearts of more people than anyone will ever realize.

I'm not a person who naturally dwells on the sadness of death. I know I will see these people later and there is enough to do right here and right now to keep our minds on things in the present. Instead, I like to think about the lives of the ones who pass and what can be learned from their experiences and thoughts and such.

I love quotes. I have collected hundreds of quotes that mean something to me over the years and I have a habit of applying a quote to every feeling or situation in my life, or in the lives of others. For Grandma's life, I think of a favorite quote by Mother Teresa:

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless."

#3 is 2!

2010-10-17T20:06:00.004-05:00

(We're just going to ignore the fact that this post is almost a month late)

Sometimes I imagine that before God sent Leilea to us he did an Emeril: "Let's kick this up a notch. BAM!" Maybe even followed by a little snicker.Leilea has the quickest smile, the heartiest laugh, the shrillest scream and the quickest temper. This girl has been doing nothing but l-i-v-i-n' for the last two years and we love her for it.
It's amazing to me how different each child can be when they come from the same two people.
I've said before that when I was pregnant with her, it was easy to forget that I was even pregnant. Boy, we'll never forget about her now. She makes sure of that. She's grown up the fastest... sort of a survival skill, I suppose, but she'll always be our baby girl. The exclamation point at the end of our family sentence.We're still taking donations for her bail fund.
Happy birthday, Boo Boo.

Walmart Fail

2010-09-17T06:28:00.003-05:00

I have lots of things to post. In fact, I have a Post-it on my laptop keyboard with a list of things but right now I want to vent.

Last night I went to Wal-mart looking for a shirt for Iwalani. Usually, Walmart doesn't let me down. In fact, I usually say that if Walmart doesn't have it, I don't need it.

Not today, my friends.

Tomorrow is University of Memphis day for the Kindergarteners at school. They're learning the letter "M" and everyone is encouraged to wear their U of M gear. Of course, we don't have anything like that in this house (actually, thanks to Uncle Matt we have a U of M sweatsuit but it's 2T). I just knew Walmart wouldn't let me down.

I looked at the little girl's section and what did I find? Lots of Justin Bieber. Lots of High School Musical and Hannah Montana, but NO SPORTS apparel. Not even clothes for made-up sports like NASCAR (haha).

I HAD TO GO TO THE LITTLE BOYS DEPARTMENT.

Wow, this bugs me.

Thanks for setting us back a few decades, Walmart. I can always count on you. I did leave with a $3 dress that happened to be U of M blue. The boy's shirts were all in sizes too big and I was just too annoyed anyway.

Root beer

2010-09-08T21:34:00.002-05:00

John and Iwa and Special K made homemade root beer last week.

I don't know what is involved with making root beer, but I guessed it involved smiles, giggles, lots of sugar...

...a funnel...
...and lots of shaking.The hardest part of it all was the 4-5 day wait. After the wait was over, we decided to leave root beer making to the professionals.

Dog park

2010-09-07T11:24:00.005-05:00

I still have more catching up to do from this summer but I felt like I needed to say something about the gorgeous weekend we just had. Not only was it perfect as far as weather was concerned, it was 3 days long!!

Saturday, we cooked out at Grandma and Grandpa's. Good food. The pool is getting a bit chilly but I'm pretty sure I saw some upper 90's in the forecast. Like the kids care...

Sunday, we took the kids to the dog park at Shelby Farms. They always want to go but last time we went, we had one dog and Leilea was in the Moby. I am positive the kids, as excited as they were, had the wrong idea about what it was.

When we got there and the kids saw that it was pretty much just a big field with some ponds and trees, they were confused. No one fessed up to it, but I think they all thought there would be a playground for dogs or something more interesting.
The dogs thought it was plenty interesting....and after the shock wore off, the kids had a great time playing in the dirt/mud, throwing rocks.

These dogs of ours are so laid-back that they really don't do much. When we throw something, trying to teach them how to play fetch, they just look at us like, "What did you do that for?" Incidentally, they are very good at herding children (which is a great skill for anyone who spends much time with the Frisky Five).

We really lucked out in the dog department when it comes to dogs that are good to kids. They listen when our kids tell them to sit, get in the kennel, and go outside and they are much more patient than any creature should be with the kids' shenanigans.

This next picture was taken at the end of our journey. We were on our way back to the car and had to walk down this gravel road to get there. Leilea had taken her shoes off as soon as we got to the park so I was carrying her over the gravel. She insisted on walking. I wondered why until she started begging us to let her ride Diesel. We have never put anyone on Diesel's back, even though I'm sure he could take it, so she must have come up with this solution on her own.

Of course, we didn't let her. There's only so much patience a dog can have.

The Deli

2010-09-02T23:00:00.001-05:00

As a sort of a farewell to summer, the kids and I visited Grandpa Steve at work and ate lunch with him back in July.

We went to one of our favorite places to eat. Seriously. Best. Fries. Ever. That's not just a Frisky opinion, either. USA Today agrees.

Iwalani had the camera and did a pretty good job!

Leilea was feeling a little camera shy:

So, it's generally acceptable to take your cup home from this place, but no one ever explicitly says so, so if we take some home, we try to lay low. I promise, we're not the only ones.

Anyway, when the waitress brought these cups out, Iwa said, "Wow , Mommy!! They have the same cups we use at home." Way to lay low, Iwa.

Back to school

2010-08-25T06:33:00.003-05:00

Wow! What a short, unproductive Summer. We had fun wearing jammies all day, visiting the library, getting tonsils removed, seeing family, swimming... but before we knew it, it came time for us to emerge from the comfort of the Love Sac and face the next 180 days.

This year, I'm not on my own on my drive to school. I can't believe my first baby is a big Kindergartener. Her first day wasn't a day of tears (at least for some of us... ahem... daddy). No, for me it was a day I've looked forward to for the last five years. She was with me almost my entire first year here at Rivercrest and I'm so glad it's finally hers (this time outside the womb).

She LOVES it, of course.
We took one last picture in my classroom before we walked her to class.

She's a sucker for structure and learning. Monday night, she had homework. She was SO excited about it. We just had to go over some letters and her lunch number and she had a worksheet with dotted shapes on it that she had to trace and practice to draw. I let her trace the shapes with glitter glue (hey- she's the art teacher's kid!). Then we studied her letters.

It's a key ring with a bunch of strips of paper. On each strip is a capital letter. When she recognizes all of those, the teacher gives us a set of lower case. Then will be combinations and eventually words.

She wanted to do them over and over and over... after dinner... after bath... before bed... The next morning I woke up and opened my bedroom door. Usually, General is asleep there. That morning Iwa was sitting in front of him with the key ring and her lunch number, drilling him on both.

I have always loved school. I think my kids will too.

Sheering the sheep

2010-07-26T08:18:00.003-05:00

All of the kids were born with heads full of hair. Iwa's grew like crazy into a thick mane by the time she was 1 1/2. Kawika's grew so fast too, that he had his first haircut around a year. Leilea's hair... well, she's been rockin' a mullet for a while now. I've waited patiently, putting it up and what-not, but she's the third baby, so I wasn't too sentimental about cutting it.

Nani came over one night and trimmed us all up.

Before:

After:
It's not much different- just straight across the back.

I wish we could let Iwa's hair grow out but I'm not willing to do that until she has a tougher scalp or is willing to take care of it herself. Her hair is CRAZY thick and no matter how straight and brushed we get it before bed...

...this is what it looks like when she wakes up:

Kawika also got sheered but boy haircuts are same ol' same ol'.

Pink Palace and sibling ridicule

2010-07-21T16:03:00.004-05:00

We went to the Pink Palace Museum a few weeks ago. I have to say, I'm glad it was a free trial membership. While everyone thought the museum was pretty darn cool, I think a repeat visit wouldn't be quite as enthusiastically received.

On a side note, Iwa chose her own outfit for the day. Apparently the dress was supposed to be business casual and no one else got the memo. She looked very nice.

In the background you can see a Triceratops. It didn't move or anything, but the kids still thought it was neat.

Iwa loved the stuffed baby deer.
This is Kawika looking down on a giant Velociraptor or something. Too bad you can't see it. Pretty sure this was his favorite part.
Most of the stuff was over their heads, but enough stuff flashed and moved and looked interesting for them to occupy themselves.Afterwards, Nani bought the kids ice cream and we drove home. Kawika didn't quite make it. He fell asleep with his unfinished ice cream cone melting in his hand. We didn't know he had fallen asleep, as everyone was so intent on their ice cream cones at the time.

We only knew when we heard Leilea's guttural laughter. Nani looked back (because L was obviously up to no good) and Leilea was laughing and pointing at Kawika while getting Iwa's attention. He was so fast asleep, had white ice cream drool dripping from his mouth onto his seat belt. She's not even two years old and she knows when to point and laugh?! Poor Kawika.

Random favorites

2010-07-14T22:25:00.003-05:00

Here is a random smattering of my favorite photos from the summer, in no particular order:

...yet another picture of Leilea eating. She's lovin' the Mexican cheese dip.

Iwalani loves these kitties. This is Jack. I like this photo for two reasons: 1- Obviously, it's a sweet picture. 2- Catching Iwa asleep during the day is a rare occurrence. This photo is as good as catching Big Foot in a family photo.This is truly what we've been doing all summer.

This happened on May 1st, but I never posted it. It's what our front yard looked like during the Great Millington Flood. Nani's car along with the neighbor's blue car across the street were totaled out. That was John going to inspect. You can see it was still raining. Crazy. Before the water reached the front porch, they receded. We were lucky.

This is just so typical Leilea. Iwa gave her a princess crown to wear and pretend they were princesses. She turned it into a mask. Leilea: warrior princess.

Happy 5th of July!!

2010-07-14T08:08:00.005-05:00

The end of June/beginning of July was a pretty busy/weird/sad time around the Frisky house but there's a bright side to everything. To us, the bright side of losing a much loved family member was being able to visit with other loved family members from out of town who we almost never see.

This day, the 5th of July, was the day I found my camera. It was also the day we spent with Lani and Nani and Nani's house.

Tim bought ice cream just for Leilea (or at least he might as well have).
Iwalani was excited about her two piece swimsuit. Can you tell she recovered from her Tonsillectomy nicely? This was a week post-op. The surgeon said to let her engage in activities as she felt like it. She took more naps than usual but except for a few days of laying around sprinkled in, she was up and running in no time. This summer, they've gotten much more comfortable in the water. They've never been scared to swim- they've always loved it- but none of them would put their heads under the water. now.... Someday Leilea's going to kill me for taking so many pictures of her eating but really... the girl can eat! I just pray she inherits her metabolism from some far of distant thin relative. (I try to keep it healthy, though)

We slept. (I kept looking at this picture trying to figure out what was so weird about his feet- I let him put his own shoes on and they're on the wrong feet. If it doesn't bother him, it doesn't bother me.)
Our big reason for getting together on the 5th was to do some heavily discounted fireworks. We didn't get around to a fireworks display this year. Lani lives in California and hasn't been able to do fireworks for years. This way, the kids could see some fireworks and Lani could set some stuff on fire without being responsible for torching the southern portion of an entire state. Way to be green, Lani!

Oh happy days

2010-07-13T09:57:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share this one. We went to an outdoor concert and Leilea was really frustrated because she wanted the camera. She's so excitable but it's kinda cute.
Iwa got invited to a Princess party by one of my co-workers' daughters. I am not a Princess party kinda mom so I thought we'd take advantage of the experience while someone else was offering. The experience was complete with cupcake scented hairspray, plenty of glitter and feathers, and lessons on how to curtsey, use a wand and wear a crown.

I think I've developed a cavity from the nauseating sweetness of it all. It was sorta cute.
Yes, Iwalani graduated... from Preschool. It was a sweet ceremony. This is her teacher, Ms.Latashia, and Grandma Martha in the background announcing the graduates. Martha was sad to see her go, but I keep telling her there's two more where she came from.
Iwa said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Christian Flag at the beginning of the ceremony.
...and this is my favorite part. They sang a bunch of songs but I love this one the most. It's that song the nuns sung in Sister Act, Oh, Happy Day! It's a great, great song and made even better by this gaggle of enthusiastic four and five year olds. Enjoy!

Swimmin' pools and birthday cake

2010-07-08T09:45:00.001-05:00

I think for the next few posts, I will just take you on a visual journey through our summer. This is Kawika's birthday party at Grandma Ann's.

Typical Leilea.
Blowin' out the candles.

Ketchup

2010-06-23T22:24:00.005-05:00

Papa tomato and baby tomato were walking down the street. The baby tomato started lagging behind so the papa tomato stepped on the baby tomato and said:

Ketchup.

I have started a million posts but could never follow through without pictures. I still haven't found my stone-aged battery sucking camera but I pirated some photos from my parents' computer today. I have some catching up to do myself.

During the month of May, Iwa was tearing up the T-ball field. One of the teachers at the tiny private church school where she attended Preschool had a moment of insanity and decided to start a T-ball team for 4 to 6 year olds.It was a hit and they had enough of a turnout to have a boy's team and a girl's team.
I learned that there is no hustle in this child whatsoever. She moseys to the bases.
I also learned that Kawika is really ready to play something organized. He really really wanted to be the one who had the T-ball game. (but he can be temporarily distracted by blue suckers)It was crazy trying to get to games with everyone fed and hydrated and present but we did it and I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a wild ride with these three but bring it on.

Splinters

2010-05-25T21:47:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, once I get an idea, I've got to get it out. A lot of times I learn a new craft and I go nuts with it until it gets out of my system.

Here are some results of that process:

I made this for K. Hapa means "portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapa)
A onesie. I love octopi. Don't know why.
This one was for Leilea. I thought a Lucha Libre was appropriate because... well.. she's kinda crazy. If you know her, you get it.
The positive of the first octopus shirt. I usually make two because I don't want to waste a stencil. This one's for K, too.
I pity the fool... This one was to not waste a stencil. I don't have a photo of the shirt I made for K but rest assured, it's pretty cool.
Any ideas of something that would make a cool shirt? Leave a comment.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

2010-05-21T12:30:00.003-05:00

I found out today after making a t-shirt with a picture of Mr.T on it that today is Mr.T's birthday. It also happens to be my big man's birthday, too. Since I don't have baby photos of Mr.T, I'll just have to keep this post about Kawika.
Three years ago today, I was in labor with Kawika watching Coyote Ugly and pushing during the commercials. Isn't that the sweetest birth story ever?
We finally turned it off, and when baby Kawika was born, John cried. I don't think he'll mind me sharing this because it was one of the single sweetest moments of my life. Daddy loves his girls, but this boy is special. To know him is to love him. I definitely do.
Happy birthday, Kawika.

Hotttt pink

2010-05-20T21:51:00.003-05:00

I have had a lot of requests for pictures of the dresses I made last weekend for the girls for Kaylani's wedding. Of course, my ancient battery draining camera was dead so I wasn't able to take pictures myself. Fortunately, she had an awesome photographer and she just posted some pics on her blog (Shannon Payne Photography) so here you go:

Of course, Kaylani looked beautiful. This is the wedding party:
My first pair of heels. Hot pink and shiny. Ignore the fact that my legs are the same color as K's dress. There's no such thing as a healthy tan... unless you're born with one like everyone else in the picture. I was the tolken white girl.

Herding cats

2010-05-20T11:25:00.004-05:00

Every year for Mother's Day, we try to think of a meaningful gift for our moms. Usually, that involves the kids.

This year we decided to take photos of the kids with signs.

Someone needed a nap. I'll let you guess who....

The pictures turned out fine with plenty of... uh... character, but all three grandmas loved them.

This picture was my favorite. I like to pretend it was for me:

Sadie, Sadie married lady

2010-05-14T09:52:00.004-05:00

John's little sister got married yesterday. Wow, time flies and that flight is making me feel old.

Last weekend I had a shower for her at the house. I made cupcakes with toppers (everything is an excuse to get crafty).
We witnessed the moment in every girl's life when you start getting excited about bake ware and household appliances. Congratulations Kaylani and Matt.

School days

2010-05-13T10:21:00.003-05:00

I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again: I love my job.

When I was in high school, junior or senior year, I decided I wanted to be an Art Teacher. I never changed my major in college. I have always been sure. I never thought I'd love being an elementary art teacher, but this is where I was offered a job, so I took it. Someone else knew better than me what was best for me because I can't imagine teaching anyone else.

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week. I love, love, love the cards kids give me- especially the ones they make. Last year I got one from a third grader that said, "Thank you so much for getting me past that awkward stick figure drawing stage."

Girl, you haven't been to middle school. You ain't seen awkward yet.

One card, from a very, very intelligent 1st grader had what looked like a yellow "1", a plus sign, then a blue "1" equals a green "1". When I read it, I immediately thought, "Wow. I'm glad I don't teach him math." ...it took me a few moments to realize that those weren't numbers but just the colors: yellow plus blue equals green.

I like to teach art history to the kids because so few of them know the stories behind the pictures we look at. When we discuss an artist's life, they are always most interested in when they died, how old were they when it happened, and how did it happen (which I have to gloss over for this age group for quite a few artists- rough crowd).

So, one day I wrote the problem out on the board to figure out how old an artist was when he died and how old he'd be if he were still alive today. When I started writing on the board I noticed an awed silence and heard whispers around the crowd, "oh my gosh. mrs.f can do math..."

What's best are the stories I come home with. John loves to hear what happened at school that day. Some stories are happy, too many will break your heart, but my favorites are the funny ones.

I was walking by a first grade class in the hallway on my way to my room and I noticed a cute shirt... then I looked again. It worn by a sweet, quiet little girl who gives hugs and says thank you. The background was a giant rainbow (think gay pride rainbow), in the foreground were two female silhouettes (like the kind on the door of public restrooms) and they were holding hands. The words on the shirt said, "Lez B Friendz".

This girl had no idea and I'd bet money whoever bought her that shirt and let her wear it to school had no idea either. It WAS cute.

During Field Day I had a Kindergarten class right after their time at Field Day. They were hot, sweaty and exhausted. We had a laid-back lesson that day. When we lined up, a little boy who can be quite a handful, raised his hand. When I called on him, he said, "Mrs. F... I smell like... I smell like... I smell like HOT CHICKEN!" He was bewildered and I was doing my best at suppressing laughter.

I know I can't change the world, and honestly, I don't think I'd want to- but if I can change their worlds for the better, I've lived a good life. Because they sure have brightened mine.

Good point.

2010-05-09T19:24:00.003-05:00

Things said by Iwalani in the last few months:

One morning she wanted cake for breakfast. I let her know there was no way I was letting her have cake for breakfast, let alone any meal of the day. The next morning on one of my more productive morning walks (haha) Nani and I got doughnuts for the family for breakfast. When I put that round, pepto-bismol pink iced, sprinkled monstrosity in front of her she says, "So, I can't have cake for breakfast but I can have this?" Mama got schooled.

The other day I was showing her how to do something more effectively. She was doing it one way but it wasn't what I considered the best or easiest way so I showed her my way and told her to try it like that. She said, "Well, I would do it your way, but I don't want to be wrong." The worst part is, she was sincere.

SOOO looking forward to the teenage years.

Catching up

2010-04-23T22:33:00.005-05:00

There are a few things I have forgot to mention (post pictures of) here so the next few posts will be dedicated to just that.

Here are some pictures of the kids from Easter. Like other holidays, it was one busy day for the Friskys. First we went to the Turner's to hunt eggs there:

and play in the fountain.
Cheese!

Then we visited Uncle Buck's house for another awesome egg hunt.
Good times.

Triumph!

2010-04-23T10:01:00.004-05:00

I don't have much time in my day to be crafty, but when I get an idea, it's like a splinter: I've got to get it out or it may get infected.

That being said, I have been trying my hand at freezer paper stenciling. So far, I've made three attempts.

The first one, a bunny for a shirt for Iwa, didn't turn out so well as a result of me not understanding the directions on the ink I used.

The second attempt did turn out well and ended up being t-shirts for the ladies I work with.

Since I don't have pictures of the first two on my computer now, here's a photo of attempt 3:
It's a play on the old logo of the Triumph motorcycles- the kind my dad has been messing with for years. I was going to replace his name in a patent plate like this:
...but those numbers are a booger to cut out with an Xacto knife, so I saw this version:
...gave it the old school font and swoosh going into the "h" from behind and called it done.

I have many more plans for customizing clothes for the kids (and a few ideas for adults) and now with a Goodwill even closer to home and two months without school, there's no stopping me!! (slowing me down, however, is very very likely)

Xerox

2010-04-13T21:27:00.002-05:00

Wow, these kids really do look like me.

It's the magic number

2010-04-08T09:57:00.003-05:00

What a week THIS has been! They say things happen in 3's. Here's our three:

1. Leilea's elbow dislocation. (see post below)

2. I accidentally gave myself a paper cut in the eye. I was alphabetizing large pieces of artwork for our upcoming Art Show and one piece caught the wind right and ended up in my eyeball. I went to the optometrist and the small town office just gave me my overdue yearly eye exam at the same time. I got some eye drops and killed two birds with one stone.

3. Kawika came home from school that day with a scraped up eyelid and face. He had an accident at school when someone threw a book and his face got in the way. John's telling people things like he was injured sword fighting or that it's a skateboard injury. (I can just hear John now..."He was totally just minding his own business when a Sith Lord's light saber nicked his face in their duel. It's cool, though. He's using the Force to heal himself.")

If things like this happen in 3's, we can be done, right?

Elbow noodles

2010-04-05T09:40:00.002-05:00

As a brand new parent, you treat your new baby like glass. You cringe as you watch the seasoned nurse scrubbing the gunk out of that china doll's hair like it's motor oil in her fingernails. You take as much time as you need when you transfer that new bundle of joy to the arms of someone probably just as careful.

Meanwhile, that baby's older siblings are holding that baby doll- you lovingly bought to help prepare them for their new little addition- by the ankle, as it's head bumps and scrapes every inch of the path they walk... probably butt-naked... with marker on it's face... and a fresh hair cut.

That new parent slowly learns that their baby isn't quite so fragile. As for big brother or sister learning to take more care? Yeah..... that's gonna take some time.

Saturday evening Iwa was trying to help Leilea onto the Love Sac and hurt her arm. Leilea stopped crying but held that arm, elbow bent 90 degrees, still at her side. We thought maybe it was the shoulder but she lifted it without pain and even extended her arm.

We knew something was wrong when she sat on John's lap for over half an hour.

Leilea's not a spectator.

(meanwhile, Iwa felt so bad she got a pillow and hid under the dining room table. I had to crawl under there and talk to her to get her out. After that, Leilea kept saying, "Eba... eba" and giving her hugs and Iwa sat with her and petted her head. It was so sweet, I wanted to cry.)

We called the nurse, took her in and it was just a dislocated elbow. I mean, "just" to us. I know it hurt like crazy- especially when they corrected it, but it was a quick easy fix with no follow up or recovery. The doctor even showed me the maneuver if it ever happens again.

When we got home, I, being the person I am, Googled "toddler dislocated elbow" and found out all about it.

If websites like BabyCenter, WebMd, and Wikipedia gave medical degrees, I'd be one of the first in line.

As it turns out, a dislocated elbow, also called nursemaid's elbow, is most common in the left arms of girls ages 1-3. I thought about what data they had to collect to get a statistic so specific and wondered why that's what they found. Then I read the part where it happens a lot when someone is holding the hand of the child and the child tries to get away or throw themselves on the floor in a tantrum... and it made more sense.

...but I also wondered about the cases they studied for the statistic. I wondered that if they went back to the cases and looked at the causes, how many older siblings there were that caused the injury.

And of THOSE cases, I wondered just how many of those older siblings had somewhere buried in their closet a 1-3 year old baby doll, scalped, butt-naked, with road rash on it's forehead, marker on it's face, and more love than any toy had ever known.

Spring forward

2010-03-31T12:57:00.006-05:00

Spring break has come and gone and here's what we know now:

After child number three, it's very easy to forget what it was like with just one. The two big kids didn't have Spring Break so for a few days they went to school. Iwa's really into T-ball and she didn't want to miss practices, which are during school hours, and Kawika was excited about show and tell. Far be it from me to get between the kids and their learnin'.

Leilea and I had a small adjustment period where she wandered the house looking for "Iba" and "Deeta" and I caught myself watching, singing along with, and answering questions asked by Super Why and the guys on Word World by myself, but we did adjust. We both really enjoyed one on one time with each other and I enjoyed a break from my role as a constant referee.Apparently "Plus 4" means "freakishly large" in ENT. Because I have such a great relationship with our pediatrician, I just thought it wouldn't be a school break without a visit to her office. Apparently, Kawika and Iwa did, too, because K had a spiking fever all weekend right before Spring Break and Iwa woke up the day of his appointment with a weird swollen gland in her neck. If they wanted to go so bad, they could have just asked! That appointment resulted in meds for K (sinus infection) and a referral to the ENT for Iwa. At least it wasn't strep, which is what we thought for both.

It took the ENT one glance into her throat at her tonsils (after he immediately told the nurse "Plus 4, at least") to decide that she needs them out. We're going to do that this summer, which leads me to the next lesson learned (hopefully by John)....

Just because I get lots of "breaks" (summer, fall, spring, christmas, thanksgiving...) with my job, doesn't really mean I actually get a break. Yes, I do love being a teacher. Yes, I do get a lot of time off that most people don't get, but as I always tell John, it ain't all it's cracked up to be. Wondering when I'll be able to take a shower without any kids intentionally or unintentionally inflicting bodily harm to themselves or each other, and getting most of my social interaction from medical care professionals isn't exactly like romping in the beach or sitting at home eating bon bons. Teaching is my second job. My easier job.

I did have fun on Spring Break this year, got A TON of things accomplished (sadly, none of them were crafty), and even squeezed in a trip to the zoo with the kids and a bunch of family.
Iwa, Brock, Max and Kawika in the obligatory picture nook in the Northwest Passage of the zoo. With Leilea and P's nephew, the adults were outnumbered 4 to 6 but it was good times with great kids.
All I can say is this kid is secure... and he'll do anything for a chuckle. Which kinda makes me concerned for his college years....The zoo opened a new exhibit in the fall called Teton Trek. It has wolves, swans, elk, and adorable bears that wrestle in the water. I like this picture because you can't have enough pictures of Kawika in front of water tanks full of bears.

5 going on 30

2010-03-09T09:06:00.003-06:00

With three sets of grandparents, Iwa had a few birthday celebrations. This is the one I actually remembered to bring my camera. We went to Chuck E Cheese with my folks, Uncle Jere, Aunt Amy, and Hannah. We went at 10 a.m. (they open at 9) and let me tell you, pizza for brunch was so worth it to avoid the crowds and work around naps.

(my friend Laura made the hat. Iwa thought it was cute but didn't want to wear it to her party because she was afraid other people would laugh at her. So weird that she cares now.)

Kawika ran the overhead tunnels like a hamster. Towards the end, he was asking me to lay down with him because he was sleepy, then he disappeared into a tunnel. I was so afraid he was going to lay down in there and go to sleep!

After the party she even let me take a picture of her wearing the birthday hat!

One time we went to the mall

2010-03-09T08:51:00.003-06:00

That's a cart load o' crazy if I ever seen one.

Streptococcus for all!!!

2010-03-03T14:21:00.003-06:00

Antibiotics are a wonderful thing.

Prednesone is even better.

Sharing..... just might be over rated.

You're how old?!?!

2010-02-28T14:31:00.007-06:00

Wow how time flies! The original Frisky addition is five today.

Iwalani Morgan.

Wow.
I love music of all kinds and sometimes I feel like my life could have a playlist. There are certain times that I relate certain songs to and certain songs that just kind of remind me of moments, people, and feelings in my life.
Iwalani would have her own branch of the playlist.
I so wanted her to be my Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison).
I wanted to sing it to her all of her life. No such luck with that one.
The first time I ever felt her move while I was pregnant, I was blasting Easy Like Sunday Morning (Lionel Richie) in my car on the way home from school one day.
Sometimes I hear Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses) and think of her.
...I'm Bossy by Kelis
It wasn't until one day in the car while listening to James Taylor that I found "our song".
So I'll just let ol' JT finish the post for me.Whenever I see your smiling face
I have to smile myself
Because I love you (Yes, I do)
And when you give me that pretty little pout
It turns me inside out
There's something about you, baby (I don't know)
Isn't it amazing a man like me
Can feel this way
Tell me how much longer
It will grow stronger every day
Oh, how much longer
I thought I was in love
A couple of times before
With the girl next door
But that was long before I met you
Now I'm sure that I won't forget you
And I thank my lucky stars
That you are who you are
And not just another lovely lady
Sent down to break my heart
Isn't it amazing a man like me
Can feel this way
Tell me how much longer
It can grow stronger every day
How much longerNo one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today
Whenever I see you smile at me

No one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today

Whenever I see your smiling face my way

Happy Birthday.

Another video

2010-02-19T11:11:00.003-06:00

I just can't resist posting one last video from the kids' little session.

This is one he's going to see several times in his life (along with buddies, first dates...).

This is just a fraction of what he has to deal with. Poor kid.

Road trip

2010-02-18T06:59:00.002-06:00

For school, I was asked to drive a four or five hours into Mississippi and attend a conference. I LOVE road trips, and I am excited about what the conference is about and I WAS excited about getting out by myself. I realized I haven't really been away from John and the kids completely on my own.

Instead of relishing all the things I CAN do without them around, I keep thinking about the stuff I can't:

1. I can't finish an entire meal. I eat until I'm full and have all this left over. I never thought about it before, but I probably haven't finished a meal for 4 or 5 years on my own- without six chubby little hands eagerly "helping me out" with those fries or tater tots or whatever.

2. Pointing out cool stuff- Driving through Mississippi isn't the most exciting, but every time I came upon a herd of some kind of livestock, I instantly thought about pointing it out to everyone in the car--- which was me.

3. I keep having a hard time just getting in the car, buckling myself up, and driving away. I have to fight the urge to buckle someone else in and keep wanting to check the back seat to make sure I've done it properly. It just doesn't seem right when it only takes two seconds to get in and go. It's quite a process at home.

4. Hotel pools aren't as cool. I was so excited about getting in last night and swimming- and I did and it was alright, but I was done after ten or fifteen minutes. It was kinda boring without a monkey of my own making holding on to my back. It was nice, though, to sit in a hot tub.

5. I can't sleep the same. If I ever go to bed alone at home, I will probably wake up with three more people than before. Today, I woke up and it was still just me.

I'm enjoying my trip but I can't wait to get home to all the things I CAN do.

"He was a may-yes."

2010-02-15T20:54:00.005-06:00

*scroll down and pause the music first so you can hear this.*

I just couldn't not share this- especially for those of you who read this and forget or don't know what a little Southern girl sounds like, or have never seen Kawika's reaction when a t.v. is turned on.

I thought it was so much funny.

p.s. This video was taken in an attempt to share a photo of their haircuts. She's been begging me to cut her hair for a while now so today we did it. Actually Nani did it but I made a few cuts before I chickened out.

Brrrrrr...

2010-02-08T12:40:00.006-06:00

We've had some really legitimate winter weather over here and while I will welcome Spring with dry, pasty, open arms, I have to admit that it's been fun.

Thirty and flirty

2010-02-01T21:59:00.003-06:00

Happy birthday my love.

One man's trash...

2010-01-15T08:44:00.003-06:00

Several folks have been asking for an update on our newest addition, Diesel. We rescued him (he was abandoned with his sisters) this fall because we just didn't have enough living things in our house. Good thing he's a great dog.

He's 9 months old now and at last weigh-in about 85 lbs. Half-way to full grown. His shoulder blades come up to my hip when he leans on me, which is something he loves to do.

I've been trying to get good pictures of him for a while, but he loves his people and doesn't know the word "stay" when he'd rather be in your lap. He also likes to spoon, so if you ever take a nap in the living room and wake up with a warm body behind you and a bony arm around you, it's probably not human. probably.

He and Leilea are good buddies and they're both scavengers. They were on the hunt for the rest of the marshmallows we had for snack that day.
Leilea found them and I gave her one. I gave him a doggy treat but he wanted that marshmallow so bad....

Christmas recap

2010-01-14T09:45:00.004-06:00

Two posts in one week. I'm steppin' it up a bit, eh?

I misplaced my camera sometime during the great confusion that is Christmas in the Frisky Family. Now that things are getting back to normal, I found it. I hope it's not too late to post this, but here are some good ones from Christmas Eve.

Iwa was a little excited- Leilea... well... she's always excited.
This next one was the last of a bunch of group shots I tried to get. It's also the best by conventional standards. Everyone's being good, smiling, and looking straight ahead. Truly a Kodak moment.
These next three, however, are the kids I recognize.
Cheese! By the way, that's not a safe word to say in my house unless you have a fridge full of it. They don't take it lightly. I had to pass some out after we took this picture. It was like telling an alcoholic to say "Burbon!" before taking a picture. (they come by it honestly)

Do unto others

2010-01-11T14:28:00.003-06:00

My father is a very loving man. When I was younger, and even today, he is very good at being a dad and being affectionate. I love that about him. What a good example for a daughter to see a man hugging and kissing us and telling us how much he loves us. Not everyone gets that and he definitely set a standard for my choice for a husband and father of my kids.

I remember specifically when he'd have the task of waking me up for school in the morning, I'd wake up with him talking to me and touching my face or hair or something. I wasn't a parent, and I wasn't keen on being awakened at all, but today I cherish the memory and find the urge irresistible with my own kids as they're sleeping.

I love to watch them sleep. I love to touch their soft angelic faces and wonder what they're dreaming and if they can possibly know how much I love them. If I tried to do this during their consciousness, at least the older ones would say, "Oh, mommy!!" in embarrassment.

Kawika and Iwalani have been sneaking in bed with us. John and I are both sound sleepers so it's not unusual to wake up with two extra people in the bed (thank goodness we upgraded to the king size last year).

Last week I woke up and Iwa was four inches from my face, wide awake. She only spoke to say, "I just love you mommy," and went back to sleep. I woke up this morning at about 3a.m. for whatever reason and found that Kawika was awake, looking at me, stroking my face from temple to jaw and playing with my hair.

I know that over the years they will pick up many traits and habits from us- some good, some bad- but for what it's worth, I wouldn't trade this one for the world.

Merry Winter Solstice

2009-12-18T09:26:00.003-06:00

As I spend my last day at work before Christmas break, listening to some random guy on the intercom singing Oh Holy Night, I'm thinking about all of the things I need to do. Updating this blog is not one of them so it seemed like a fitting way to procrastinate the rest. Seriously, it's been a while. We haven't done much "blog worthy" stuff, and if we did I haven't taken pictures.

Iwa rode with Grandpa Tony in the Millington Christmas parade. Now that she has her riding helmet and child-saddle, she's been riding quite a bit. After Thanksgiving (like the day after), we went on a trail ride at Village Creek for the weekend. We all did quite a bit of riding and manure shoveling that weekend and it was awesome. I have pictures of the parade, not on this computer, and I took one picture on the weekend of the ride. Fail.

We have been getting ready for Christmas! Once I get home tonight and leave work far behind me, I can focus on REALLY getting ready for Christmas but for now, I'm mega-multitasking and only about half present anywhere I am.

Until then, I'd like to leave you with a picture one of my Kindergartners made. It's a great example of why I love my job so much: kids are awesome and even more so when they have no idea.
(she originally had the largest circle as the head and I told her to turn it around and make the smallest one the head. Instead of taking the carrot off an gluing it on his face, she left the carrot and just drew her own nose)

My parents ARE awesome

2009-11-24T09:08:00.003-06:00

I have this weird fascination (nosiness) with other peoples' family albums and this website has just what I crave. My Parents Were Awesome is a great place to park it and waste a bunch of time indulging your voyeuristic side.... or maybe it's just me.

It's crazy to think that these people are someones parents and to think about what kinds of pictures my kids would post in 10 to 20 years. Yikes.

Busted!!

2009-11-23T09:40:00.005-06:00

Nani has been taking pictures of our family so we can give out family photos for Christmas this year. The Blog header is one of hers. Getting these kids to cooperate for photos must be much like nailing jello to the wall but the quirky outtakes are my favorite pictures by far.

I was dumping her memory stick onto our computer and looking at the pictures. It's neat because her shutter speed is set so fast so it takes pictures really quickly on the off-chance there was a split second to be captured where everyone had normal faces pointed in a relatively similar direction. As a result, when you flip through the pictures quickly, it plays like a movie.

Here's what I found (check out Kawika):Keepin' it classy.

Here's some other good ones:

Happy Halloween

2009-11-13T20:55:00.004-06:00

Okay, okay... so it's been a while since Halloween, but at least the pictures are up before Thanksgiving and they've been on Facebook since Halloween so....

Nani always goes all-out for Halloween and this year she took us with her- only to stay behind. We all dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland (with the exception of the inmate and cop in this pic). Nani was going to be the Queen of Hearts but her last minute preparations didn't work out so we were on our own. This is a crumby picture of John but a great one of the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit.

You've gotta love a man who will wear a purple women's sweatsuit and pink cat ears. I do.

A better picture of John and a good example of why he doesn't normally smile in pictures.
Nani- no costume. :(
The kids getting ready to go out trick-or-treating. Iwa, Tessa (Megan's daughter- my college roommate), Kawika, and Leilea
My two big kids. We had to hide Kawika's costume from him after he got it. He wore it EVERYWHERE one day. He loves Woody!
Iwa and Tessa were so cute trick or treating. Who would have thought that our daughters would be such good friends. So cute!
...and this is how the night ended. Iwa passed out, Kawika in a self-induced coma. This is Halloween in it's truest form.

Baby instructions

2009-11-04T09:36:00.004-06:00

I got these here. Great blog to check in on, by the way.

Poem

2009-10-27T14:40:00.002-05:00

It may sound crazy, but as I'm wading knee-deep in a sea of diapers, crackers, and dirty laundry I really do stop and with a sad heart think of the days when I won't have any of this anymore. I guess I've always been that way. I've always felt like my life is meant for me to live, so I'd better do my best to pay attention every second and make the best of a great situation.

That being said, I'm posting this poem that brought tears to my eyes this morning:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down, cobwebs
Dust, go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
-Anon

I also want to carve this in my front door so that all of my guests can keep it in mind as they're also wading through the diapers, crackers, and dirty laundry.

AH-mazing

2009-10-21T12:45:00.005-05:00

Jackson Falls, Illinois.

Seriously, this place is amazing. No bathrooms, no electricity, and the only running water is the stream and waterfalls that run through the park. John has been coming here about once a year to climb for quite some time but I've never wanted to encroach on his "man trip", with the image of war paint and loin cloths forefront in my decision.

No one else's wives/girlfriends cared to go and I'm not much of a climber.

This year we planned a trip and invited Buck and Mary Margaret. They were down for it so off we went.

This is the north falls. You can either rappel to get down here or hike several miles around. We hiked it the first day and rappelled the second.

During the hike. This is me rappelling for the first time.
John climbing up the rope harness-free.
Mary Margaret giving it a whirl, Buck helping.
Looking down into the north falls. This is from the top of the cliff from the first picture. You can see the top of the waterfall in the bottom left corner.
The night hike. After rappelling and hiking around here, I have a new fitness goal: now that I can run, I want to climb. I really stink at it now, so I have some work ahead but I'd love to go back next year and tackle some of those rocks.

Teton Trek

2009-10-20T08:11:00.005-05:00

This was a few weeks back but I'm just getting around to putting the pics on my computer. We went to the zoo to see a sneak preview of the new exhibit the Teton Trek. It was really cool!

There's an Ol' Faithful geyser type thing in the front of it all that's really fun. The enthusiasm in this photo just overwhelms me.Kawika was very interested in the chickens- the one thing at the farm exhibit we can't see at Grandpa Tony's (yet) .I only wish they were hatched out of eggs- would've saved me a bunch of trouble. This is how Leilea enjoyed most of this zoo trip:The rest of the time she roamed wherever allowed and was her usual vibrant self. She has started making this fishy face. I don't know why, but it's usually when she's just walking around. I'm glad I caught it on camera.

Holidays!!

2009-10-15T10:40:00.004-05:00

I realize it's not even Halloween yet, but I count it as a holiday. It's like the introduction to the official "Holidays". Here's what I'm excited about:

Halloween is almost here and the temptation to watch a scary movie is almost too much to resist. I do not do well with scary movies, but once a year I succumb... and regret it.

I always look forward to Thanksgiving, but can't quite put my finger on the reason. It's probably the fact that family comes in town but there's something else about it that's just... comforting. The meal isn't my favorite, but the people are good. Yes, that must be it.

I'm still in charge of Secret Santa for my school. It's a large task, and one I look forward to from the first day of school. I had to be told the other day that it's too early to have everyone draw names.

The Frisky Holiday sweatshop is officially open for business. I love making stuff. I love giving gifts. It's perfect.

(on a side note) In order to open the sweatshop, I had to finish a project I've been kinda (not) working on. A friend of mine had a baby girl and asked for some paintings for her nursery. Here they are finally done and in the nursery:Elsie Tate is 5 months old now, but better late than never, right Laura?

So, needless to say, I'm really looking forward to the holidays this year. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the kids are getting more and more into stuff. Seeing these times through their eyes has sort of rejuvenated my childhood excitement for all things festive.

Sprechen Sie Kawika?

2009-10-09T15:20:00.002-05:00

Last week Kawika was sick with a crazy high fever. We took him to the pediatrician and then to the urgent care center. The urgent care center was down the road from Best Buy, and Nani being who she is came by with snacks after she got off work. Not only did she bring snacks, but she brought Kawika the movie Monsters Vs. Aliens. He was thrilled.

We NEVER let the kids watch DVD's in the car unless we're on a road trip... and apparently unless they've had a 105 fever. Sick kids get special treatment. Anyway, we let him watch the movie on the way home from urgent care. (it was just a wicked sinus infection, by the way, he's fine now)

It was late at night and Iwa was at Grandma Ann's. Before I went in to get her, we hid the movie and all traces of it so that she wouldn't want to watch it before she went to bed. I don't mind saying no, but I'll avoid a conflict if I can.

So, with the Monsters paraphenalia well hidden, Iwa gets in the car and greets everyone. Immediately, Kawika starts spouting his regular jibberish excitedly at Iwa. She's listening intently to what John and I can only interpret as, "blah, be dada me la... " Jibberish. There's a pause and Iwa says:

"What's this about a monster movie?"

Party like a rock star

2009-09-29T17:15:00.003-05:00

To commemorate Leilea's first birthday we had a "small" gathering of some family. Yeah... small with John's family automatically includes 25-30 people. It was fun and I thought I'd share some pictures of the merriment.

Grandma Lorna strikes again. Another beautiful birthday cake.

My boys.

Leilea's wondering why her tray is empty.

She had no confusion what so ever about what to do with that cake. She picked up the plate and began to try to pour it directly into her mouth.

So, the weeks before the party, I wasn't feeling the party mood and I joked about staging pictures to make it look like we had a party so Leilea wouldn't feel like she was shorted. This picture is to prove that there were people at our house. I realized the other pictures I posted on here didn't include other people. I also love this one because Auntie Kaylani is in the background being ...well... Auntie Kaylani.

Happy Birthday Leilea

2009-09-27T17:15:00.005-05:00

John says, "You know, this is the one we'll be bailing out of jail someday," and if you know Leilea, you know what he means.

This girl was a surprise from day one. Today, the only surprise is how we ever lived without her in our family. She's hilarious, and vivacious. Tenacious and determined. I can very easily see her being our comic relief, as well as our dramatic entertainment. Everything Leilea does, she does it with gusto.

When I was pregnant with her, Iwa was just turning three and Kawika was about 7 months old. Understandably, I didn't have much time to focus on me, on her.. put my feet up, anything. I would forget I was pregnant until someone would ask me about it. It was an easy pregnancy, and the easiest birth ever. This girl was determined to come into our family and has not let anyone forget her since.

She added a little more chaos to our crazy family but that is definitely overshadowed by the amount of laughter, cuddles, and love she's added to us all.

Happy birthday, girl. We'll post bail for you anytime.

Oh my gosh

2009-09-14T12:08:00.002-05:00

I'm looking at that last post a few days after and I want to say that her hairdo is proof that God has a sense of humor. He gave me two girls- and three kids with heads full of hair at birth. Most normal moms long for hair on their little ones and would do better than these Sha-nay-nay-esque pigtails.

We usually keep her clothed, too. This was right before jammies came on.

Just felt like I should explain. Yeesh! It's a good thing she's cute on her own.

Leilea walking

2009-09-12T18:36:00.002-05:00

okay, this is so 3rd kid syndrome but... when Kawika started walking I videoed one of his first attempts and put it on the blog. Leilea has been taking steps for a while, but she's just now mastered it and actually walks across rooms unprovoked. Of course, we wondered if Kawika would EVER walk, because doing so would be a feat over gravity. Either way, here's Leilea walking. in our messy house.

.... to catch you up a little, we've been a little under the weather at the Frisky house. First, Iwa got Strep. Then, of course, Kawika got strep almost the next day. Who would be third? Nurse Mommy, of course. I don't remember being that sick since I had chicken pox in the 5th grade and I had to take a nap on the floor on the 10 foot walk to the bathroom to take a shower.

A week later I was still feeling bad and Kawika starts with a fever and Leilea is acting not well. I take them in (with my mom, thank you) to find out that Leilea has a sinus infection and Kawika still has strep.

Of course, shortly after that, Iwalani starts getting feverish and she's still got it too. The next day, I go in myself because I'm still fatigued and feeling feverish and looking up my symptoms on webmd.com, seeing things like "Scarlett Fever" and "Mono". Nope, just still have strep. This time they gave me a different antibiotic and Prednesone.

.....which brings me back to my messy house. I have had two doses of that Prednesone and I am feeling better than I have in 3 weeks. All of a sudden, the house needs a total overhaul, toys need to be gone through, laundry needs to be done, and I'm just the girl for the job!

Good foward

2009-09-03T10:40:00.005-05:00

I got this email from a friend a few days ago and I just can't get over the fact that I could have written it. I mean- some of these thoughts are word for word things I've wondered before. The actual email had a bunch more but here are a few of my favorites.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem.....

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room.'

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it..

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

I wonder if cops ever get annoyed at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat kid before dinner.

Yuck, yuck, YUCK!!

2009-08-30T18:49:00.002-05:00

Iwa and Kawika had strep throat about two weeks ago. Apparently, it's my turn now. I haven't felt like this since I had chicken pox in the 5th grade. I just don't get sick often. I don't think I got it from the kids, though. Whenever I tell doctors I work at an elementary school, they take a step back and say, "oh. Well, there you go." It's a petri dish.

Anyway, it's really hard to be a mommy and be sick. John is doing a great job of taking care of things for me so it's not that. I just don't like having to be careful with them and worrying that they might get it. They don't really get it when I don't feel good that I can't get down and play with them.

Iwa was so sweet yesterday when she said, "Mommy, if I danced crazy and sang a goofy song, would it make you feel better?" Of course, it did.

Diesel

2009-08-26T06:24:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of the new boy:

We're not sure if he's totally a Dane but, like I mentioned earlier, we don't care. He's cute, pretty calmn, and hasn't had an accident in his kennel so far. All those are pretty good to me.

General is taking very well to him. When we brought him home there was no agression, just a lot of sniffing. It's like General was expecting him. It's cute, too, because you can tell General is helping him learn the way we do things around here. He herds him in when it's time to come inside.

Iwa's on her knees in this picture so he's not THAT huge, but I still can't believe they think he's only 4 months old.

When I told Iwa that we got a new puppy, she shrieked, "Is she a girl?!" to which I had to tell her, "No." Then she got excited and said, "Is he little? Can me and Kawika pick him up and cuddle like Grandma's new kitties?" And... well... "No." She loves him anyway.

It's a boy!

2009-08-25T06:39:00.003-05:00

We've been casually looking here and there for a buddy for General that would be about his size. We really love Great Danes, but we never wanted to pay the hundreds of dollars for them as we found them.

Once I talked to a breeder about an ad he put out that mentioned less than perfect Danes being sold for less than the "show quality" ones. I told him we didn't want a show dog, just one that would look kinda like a Dane and have the temperament, but he'd be a family dog. He told me that after he put that ad out he decided he didn't want his name associated with less than perfect dogs and drowned the inferior puppies. That turned me off to breeders completely.

That brought me to the Arkansas Great Dane Rescue. The few times they had puppies we were interested in, they were difficult to deal with and still wanted hundreds of dollars for them. I realize it costs a lot to neuter and vet these animals but surely there's going to be one out there for the Friskys: practically free.

Our patience paid off.

We kept in touch with the lady from the place we got General. She was a mail lady who fostered him with her Pomeranians and Chihuahuas and fell in love with him. She told us that if we ever wanted to get rid of him to call her first. I'd like to say that's why I kept in touch with her but really, he's an awesome dog and I just felt sorry for her and knew she would love to know how loved he is.

One day on her mail route, she found an abandoned house with four grey puppies pinned in the back. Two brothers, two sisters.

They're all vetted and ready for adoption. His brother and sisters were adopted out this weekend and someone wanted him- they were holding him for us- so we made the quick decision to bring him home yesterday.

He's what they call a blue merle- dark grayish with black spots all over. He's almost as big as General, although I forget just how big (and handsome) General is until there's another dog around to compare. He looks very muscular and graceful next to this awkward, gangly puppy. He seems to be a sweet relatively calm boy- cuddly- and so far knows the meaning of "no".

I'll post pictures once he gets comfortable.

Mommy's a girl, Daddy's a human.

2009-08-24T14:32:00.003-05:00

For a few weeks Iwalani was convinced that girls are to be referred to as "girls" and boys are referred to as "humans".

I think I straightened her out, but sometimes I'd say she's more insightful than a 4 year old should be.

I birthed a cowgirl?

2009-08-22T16:31:00.003-05:00

Somehow it happened- no one would believe it (including me) but my oldest child says "ya'll", loves grits, and is happiest on the back of a horse. Yesterday, Iwalani became the 4th generation of Friskillos to ride in the Woodstock Saddle Club Horse Show.

This summer I planned on signing Iwa up for some activity and never did. Soccer, little league, dance.. something. I felt kinda bad. Then I realized that she's already signed up for an activity just by being in the family. Kinda like she signed herself up.

I was really surprised how serious she is about this. I mean, she's still a four year old girl, but when it comes to riding horses she's all business.

Here she is before we left the house in her western gear. We're definitely going to have to get her a cowgirl hat. a

Here are Iwa and Uncle Buck getting Savannah ready to ride. She normally rides a 2 year old colt named Snooky but he was just broke and has never been ridden in a crowd. It didn't matter to her, though, because according to her, all the animals at Grandpa's house are hers- she just shares.

She borrowed one of Tootie's hats. All the other kids were matching their lead-in partners but Buck didn't have a pink western shirt with glittery stars. We'll work on that, too.

Iwa and Savannah and the pink halter she "bought" for her (or got Buck to buy for her) because "everything has to match me" and of course that means everything needs to be pink.

Iwa and Buck in the arena:

Iwa and Grandpa Tony and a beautiful sky. We stayed later and rode around and watched the barrel racing. She's looking forward to doing that.

She got 4th place (out of four) but she really had no idea it was a competition. The other girls were on ponys and were all dolled up. She was just happy to be out there...

...and that's how a true cowgirl should be.

Finally- Dallas pics

2009-08-18T12:25:00.003-05:00

In no particular order, here are photos from our trip to Dallas to seem Sam and James:

Here is a ginormous painting of one of our hosts, James, and his horse, Cadillac. He designed the ALR center, seen in following pictures. It's even more amazing in person.

Here's a view of the building from the back of the pool.
The fastest water slide in the world.
More ALR center
Here's the pool from the building side. There's a mosaic in the bottom and a rock wall with water running down it on the far side of the pool.
Gearing up to step outside the Romper Stomper (the big truck they use to get around off-road- by the way, it's all off-road down there).
This is what I was gearing up for. Beautiful skies.
I got to drive the Romper Stomper.
The view from the back porch at the house.
The white vehicle is the Romper Stomper. Sam and John were fishing in that pond. This was taken with a zoom lense from the back porch.

Good morning starshine. The earth says hello

2009-08-14T09:28:00.002-05:00

Imagine.... it's 5a.m. Everyone in the Frisky house is asleep as I put on my shoes. Leilea is cuddled in a chubby pile in the corner of her crib, Kawika- a mass on the floor behind the door of his room, and that sneaky little Iwalani and John in my bed, sleeping hard, and loud, congested heads, mouths open.

Since school has started, I have been getting up at 5 and either walking with Nani or running the neighborhood and let me tell you- the world is an interesting place right before the sun comes up.

Nani and I are both pretty scared when it comes to creepy things. We're not a good team because we really freak each other out. One of the first days we went out at our new time we saw someone- a figure- moving in a way that can only be described as loping- towards us. He's a tall and thin older man.

We were like rats in a sinking ship. We scrambled to find the nearest side street and hauled it out. We evaded him for a few more days until one day we had to face him. There was nowhere to run- no side streets. As it turns out, he's a nice old man who now says hello from blocks away because he probably knows we're scared. It made me think of Home Alone when everyone thinks the old man who shovels his snow is a murderer but is really a nice old man. He really should correct his posture, though.

We've also noticed, for the past week, that the people in one of the houses near Grandma's street consistently steal the newspaper from their neighbor's driveway. This happens closer to 6a.m. I wonder what would happen if we got there before them and replaced the newspaper with a note that said, "WE KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING."

Finally, here's a hit to the people of the neighborhoods we walk/run through: your curtains aren't as closed as you think they are. 'Nuff said about that one.

**On a side note, I have made it to 28 minutes of straight running (my program considers 30 min to be about 3.2 miles). I am planning on doing the Race for the Cure 5K on Halloween. I may not be the fastest but it's a heck of a lot better than I could have done last year or any other year in my life for that matter.

We're grrrrrrrreat!

2009-08-13T06:34:00.003-05:00

Last night was faculty meeting night and I forgot to thaw something so we went to Lenny's for family night. I love Lenny's but we haven't been eating out so we haven't eaten there lately. Still, every time Iwa passes that place she tells people, "If my mommy could, she'd live there." I don't know where she gets these things, but she's probably right.

I've heard of family night at Lenny's before from a friend who didn't have kids at the time. It wasn't a flattering description: kids everywhere (they eat free), food everywhere, and a pushy balloon artist who works for tips. Total chaos.

We got there early so it wasn't packed but let's just say we weren't the rowdiest crowd in the place this time. Also, instead of a pushy balloon blower there was a guy painting faces for tips. We had a dollar and this is what Iwa got (after waiting patiently- which was a visible struggle for her- till we finished eating):

Update: I found my camera. I still didn't have it when I needed it (this picture is from Auntie Kaylani's Facebook page) but I know where it is. One step forward.

Bum

2009-08-11T10:07:00.003-05:00

I've been the biggest Blogging bum lately, haven't I? Here are my top three excuses:

1- I have three kids under 5. That's my excuse for everything.

2- School has started back. This is the first week with the kids, but the teachers have been back for a week. Only 178 more days left! (I joke, but I do love my job and this is one of the most exciting times of the year.)

3- I haven't found the camera yet. I mean, I guess I haven't really started a full-on recovery mission for it yet, but it hasn't magically appeared in my hand when I needed it so pictures have not been taken. Leilea's 10th month of life went undocumented. Parents of the year strike again.

Of course, there's much more but those are the main ones. The recovery mission for the camera will begin tonight.

Good one.

2009-07-30T15:07:00.003-05:00

While re-doing our photo wall to include Leilea, I ran across a new favorite pic from Tootie's wedding. It's Kawika and Grandpa Steve.

Don't mess with Texas

2009-07-28T11:55:00.003-05:00

This is my last week of summer and I can't believe the summer has gone by so quickly!

John and I got back last week from our farthest, longest trip without any children. We went to Sam and James' house about 2 hours outside of Dallas. It was a great trip- we did a whole lot of nothin' at one of the most beautiful places I've ever been able to stay.

I guess when the kids aren't involved, I subconsciously assume I won't want to take pictures- I forgot the camera. We took some photos with James' camera and loaded them onto John's ipod only now we can't figure out how to get them on our computer.

...anyway, I have nothing visual to share from the trip.

I do, however, have some highlights I'd like to share:

-Hard 8. Where else do you pick your meal starting with the meat, have it dipped in butter, and pay by the pound and (if you're into this sort of thing) have all you can drink beer? Only in Texas, my friends.

-The cows were taunting. Their huge black eyes were full of malice and I think I narrowly escaped with my life.

-The stars at night ARE big and bright (clap, clap, clap, clap) deep in the heart of Texas. I think we used to sing that song before the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance when I was in elementary school in Texas, but I saw that it is so true. I think we were somehow closer to them.

-Everything sounds better on vinyl.

-When I'm away from my kids for any amount of time, everything reminds me of them (but it was still a priceless break for all of us, I think).

-The Ikea store was designed by the devil.

Great trip, fabulous hosts, good times.

The lake

2009-07-07T09:26:00.004-05:00

I don't know if this is becoming a tradition or what but this is the second year we have been to the lake for the 4th of July with the Friskillos. It's a nice tradition if you ask me. We always have lots of fun, and it gets even more fun as the kids get older. Kawika got some sunglasses and enjoyed them on his head more than on his face.
One night John caught a toad for Kawika and put it in his critter cage (which don't stay vacant for long in this house). The next morning we were getting stuff ready to go out on the lake and the kids were in the camper with Grandpa Tony and Grandma Martha. John poked his head in, gave Kawika the cage with the toad in it, and shut the door. Next thing we hear is Martha saying, "Aw... what is that? (pause) AW!! WHAT IS THAT THING?! NO! DON"T LET IT OUT!!!" That's when the toad moved back outside. Kawika was letting him out on the table in the camper. We still haven't located the toad or the critter cage. I hope he's not in my car somewhere. Yeesh.
Leilea enjoyed herself in her new camping chair, and the many stroller walks she went on around the campgrounds...
...and Iwalani found out that she likes beef jerky. a lot.
We played a lot on the beach and I think that was the kids' favorite part of the whole weekend. Iwa kept calling the lake the ocean. The last day we went out, the water was very choppy and when we got to the beach, there were lots of waves almost like the ocean. Kawika would stand knee deep in the water and crack up every time a wave knocked him over. We really do need to get these kids to a real beach.

Here's John and Iwa and Uncle Buck and Kawika swimming. This was our last trip out on the water. These kids have always fallen asleep within minutes of the boat running but I'm sure he was just exhausted. He refused to lay down but he couldn't help himself from falling asleep. The day after we got home we all went took a nap at noon and didn't wake up till it was almost time for John to come home. The Friskys were pooped but it was a good time for everyone.

The last KC post

2009-07-06T11:42:00.002-05:00

On our way home from Kansas City, we went through Springfield, MO and stopped therefor lunch. I remembered that they had a pretty huge Bass Pro- which turns out to be their headquarters or something. We went there for the kids to stretch their legs for a bit.

While most of the displays were under construction and the huge museum next door was closed for renovations, we had LOTS to do and ended up staying around much longer than we planned. It was so worth it.
They have lots of cool stuff for sale to look at- three floors of it- but I'm not even sure the kids realized that it was a store. They were too busy looking at all of the animials and fish they have around. We definitely recommend it if you're in the area.

*actually overheard at this Bass Pro near the giant real stuffed bear*

Wife: "Smile for the picture, Dale!"
Guy named Dale: "Why I gotta smile? I ain't got no teef!"

Stats

2009-07-02T08:04:00.004-05:00

I haven't mentioned, but Leilea is crawling now! Now I have 3 mess makers in the house, emptying bookshelves, spreading shoes around the house, and generally wreaking havoc. She's so much happier now and screams a lot less.The quality of this picture is not the greatest but it's the only picture I've taken of her crawling. It reminds me of photos of Big Foot in the wild- like we were hiding behind the bed in the hotel room to capture this moment.

She also has two bottom teeth and smiles frequently to show them off. (although you can't see them in this picture- I just like it)She waves bye-bye (and says it sometimes), says mama and dada and uh ohhh.

Lately Kawika has not really been himself (or so I thought). He hasn't been sleeping too well at night without someone with him, his appetite is low, and he's been a bit clingy and uh... challenging. I've noticed this is how he gets when he has had ear infections in the past, with no other symptoms, so I took him to the doctor.Usually, we go in for a well child check-up and end up with an ear infection, but this time it was the opposite. We went in for an ear infection and ended up having his 2 year old well child check up. No infections, perfectly healthy. Just a 2 year old boy.He's 37lbs and 34? inches. I don't quite remember the height but I do remember the doctor not believing what the nurse told her because he was only a little above average height on the percentile chart.

Let's catch up..

2009-07-01T22:14:00.003-05:00

Part 3

With all of this catching up, I've created quite a "to do" list of blog material. I'm going to make this short and sweet. Picture dump, here we come!

We also went to a shopping center in KC called Zona Rosa. It has a little sprinkler park where you can bring your kids to play. Also, there is an indoor play area for the smaller ones. A little something for everyone. Great idea!
Iwa and Kawika are enjoying the water here. She calls this swimsuit her "kini" bottoms and "boobie thangs".
Remember the "Parent of the Year" award John and I sarcastically award ourselves from time to time? This was one of those moments. This particular sprinkler hadn't gone off in a while so I guess Kawika wanted to get down and get in for a closer look. That was when it erupted. All I could think was how I needed to get a picture of this moment. He was okay, of course. Leilea loved the indoor play area while the big kids played in the water. It was filled with these huge hard-looking soft sculptures to play on. They were subtly creepy for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's the 70's style air brushed look? So maybe this was a hint but this photo was taken at Pac Sun while John was browsing. Kawika was walking around and totally bonded with this mannequin. He rubbed her legs briefly, planted his feet and held her hand for quite a while. I have no idea what the deal was but he was very sad to leave her. I just like this picture I made Iwa pose for in a bathroom hand dryer.

Not many pictures were taken on the way home. There weren't many Kodak moments.

Trust me.

Let's catch up..

2009-06-30T00:40:00.003-05:00

Part 2

This was our first serious vacation as a family of 5. We had good times!

Of course it was stressful going new places with 3 small children who haven't had naps or regular bedtimes for a few days but Kansas City is a special place to me and it holds a lot of memories. It was priceless to be able to make new memories with them.

At the end of each day, when we finally got them all to sleep, I would think John had had it. I wish I could know what his blood pressure was sometimes (or maybe not). I've seen many days on this battlefield but he mostly gets glimpses. Honestly, I didn't know if he could handle it.

However, at the end of each day, we'd hide in the light of the bathroom of our hotel room and whisper about the day. He would actually tell me- without even a hint of sarcasm- that he was having a wonderful time. We always sarcastically proclaim ourselves Parents of the Year when we see one of the kids doing something like eating food off the floor, spraying themselves in the eyeballs, with sunscreen.... you know, events that good parenting usually prevents. Well, to me,
he is Father of the Year. Maybe even the last 4.

Back to the vacation! Here are some pics:

This is the main reason we made the trip. We had a family reunion of my dad's side of the family. This picture is everyone from my grandma and grandpa. It's been years since we've all been together and for some of the kids, the first time ever. It was nice to see everyone, however difficult it was while tending to the wee ones. Could have used more time.

Sunday we went to Crown Plaza and a chocolate store that was in there. Also in Crown Plaza, there is a restaurant called Fritz. Behind Kawika's head you can see rails. You order your meal over a phone and a train delivers your food to your table. It's one of our favorite places.
Hannah and Leilea enjoying each other at Fritz's.

There was a free exhibit of sculptures made of Legos by one artist. I forgot his name but this stuff was amazing.

Foreword

2009-06-30T00:18:00.003-05:00

On this trip, John and I did a lot of talking about our kids- discipline, eating habits, funny quirks- just the kids in general. We got to talking about what things would be like 10- even 5 years from now.

We're not wishing for these days to come faster. I think we do a pretty good job of enjoying each stage with them as they pass trough, realizing that someday even this won't be enough. No- we don't dream of these days, but we don't dread them, either. We wonder what our days will be like when we're not wiping kids down from face to feet, cleaning off some unidentified sticky substance. What will their hands look like when their chubby dimple-filled fingers grow and learn to tie shoes, drive a car, write a check?

I'm sure they will move on to great phases of development and we'll have a whole new treasure box of memories to savor but I can't imagine anything more bittersweet than watching these babies become people.

Let's catch up..

2009-06-25T20:11:00.003-05:00

Part 1

A bit has happened since I last blogged. Honestly it's partly because I've felt short on words, and guilty about just dumping a bunch of photos on here, and partly because this month is FLYING by.

Here are some highlights:

*My oldest brother and his wife and their two adorable sons came to visit us for a while the beginning of the month. We had a great time getting to know the boys. I think Kawika was pleased to have other boys to play with, since normally he is surrounded by girls.

*On the 12th, Nani (John's cousin who I've been friends with since I was in 6th grade), the kids and I went out for the day. We came home and put the kids down for a nap. Leilea woke up around 4:30 and I started to feed her dinner. About that time, we were hit with some seriously gnarly storms. I was so glad that I was not alone with the kids when the tornado sirens started going off!

We had to retreat to our not so sizable bathroom. Leilea just continued dinner in there. Kawika was taken from his bed in the middle of a much needed nap so he was pretty whiny. Iwa, my hardest sleeper, was sleeping so soundly that we put her in the tub, pillow, blanket and all, and she continued to sleep even an hour after the storms cleared and we left the bathroom.
(Don't you just love our harvest gold shower? We sure do.) When she woke up, she stumbled out of the bathroom and John, Nani, and I were messing with her, asking her how she got there- why she was sleeping in the tub. She had no idea so we really had to explain it to her. I don't THINK anyone has told her about black market organ harvesting but she was pretty freaked out that she fell asleep in her bed and woke up in a bathtub.

*The 14th of this month marked 6 years of marriage for John and me. Wow.

*I have been training for a 5K. I know, I know.... you're probably looking at the blog title again to make sure this is really me. Well, during soccer practice I found that running isn't too bad.

Also, my gym teacher friends introduced me to a podcast called Podrunner. It's basically techno music that you're supposed to keep up with- you run to the beat. I think it's a great idea because I find myself doing this when I just walk with music in my ears.

Podrunner has a 9 week running program that is designed to take you from not running at all to being able to run a 5K (3.2 miles). It's been pretty fun because I can tell a noticeable difference but even after 5 weeks I can feel my muscles wondering why the hell we have to move so fast.

I hope to find a real live 5K to run when I'm done. I'll let you know how that goes sometime in July or August.

*Finally, we just got back from our first road trip vacation as a family of 5. We went to Kansas City for a family reunion. That's more or less what the next few posts will be about.

to be continued.....

Spoke too soon

2009-06-11T16:35:00.002-05:00

Alright, so I spoke too soon. This past week was my first totally home for the summer.

It's Thursday and we're so bored.

This morning after breakfast, Iwa disappeared to her room, only to re-appear totally dressed, shoes and all. She began putting her raincoat on. As she was readying her umbrella, she told me she was going to Kiko's house (that's John's old dog that now lives with Grandma Lorna) to see Hercules (Uncle Keoki's dog).

We have great plans but leaving the house with three small children isn't the easiest thing in the world. We'll get around to it, I promise.

Anything but bored

2009-06-02T16:25:00.007-05:00

Last weekend was the All-American weekend for the Friskys.

Friday we went to a free concert on the base golf course and had a picnic dinner. It was the Depseys, a local pretty well-known Rockabilly band. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday we did yard work all day and cleaned up everything for the summer season. The kids were lots of help, as you can see. How tall do you have to be to run the lawn mower by yourself?

Saturday night we went to Tony's company picnic. John and I look forward to this every year. They have it catered with good food and there's always fireworks after. Leilea was not up for the fireworks so the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa to watch while we went home.

Leilea was passed out two minutes after I put her in the wrap. John and I were saying that Leilea is quite a mommy's girl- pretty attached. Grandpa Tony, in all his eloquence said, "Hell, I'd be pretty attached to someone who carried me around like that too!"

Out like a fat kid in dodgeball.

2009-05-26T09:11:00.003-05:00

For Kawika's birthday, we had some family over to Grandma and Grandpa Steinbrink's house for a cook-out and cake. Grandma Lorna made this wonderful Sponge Bob cake.
He loves to blow candles out. I think he blew out all of the candles at the wedding last week. This time he was actually allowed to!

It was a great party with good food, nice people and good loot for the birthday boy. He enjoyed it for sure!

Monday, John and Grandpa Steve went shooting and took Kawika to play at the Compound. The girls had plans to go shopping with Nani. This is what we came home to:
AH-dorable.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Now it's back to work (only for two more days for me!!!)

Happy Birthday Kawika!

2009-05-21T08:23:00.005-05:00

Before Kawika, I didn't know
...just how much my skin could stretch.
...my own strength
...how fast a child could grow.
...how much the joy multiplies with each child.
...how much little boys love their mommys.
...exactly what mischief looks like sparkling in the eyes of a child.

The Weekend of Tootie (Part 2)

2009-05-19T13:44:00.005-05:00

Here's Iwa waiting for her queue to go on. Can you find Kawika in this picture? He's supposed to be standing with Iwa.
Yup, there he is in the maid of honor's arms. Bless his heart, it was a LOOONNNGGG day.
There's a famous story about John as a 3 or 4 year old at Tootie's parent's wedding. Basically, John was supposed to be the ring bearer and it turned out similarly. Family tradition, I guess.

Iwa, however, performed her duties flawlessly. She even stood patiently through the whole ceremony.
Meanwhile, Leilea was all gums. THIS is what my kids look like when they're rested.
The bride and her father, Uncle Phillip.The wedding party. It was a nice wedding and a really fun reception. It's been a long time since I've gotten to boogie, but we took full advantage. The kids even got in the middle of the dance floor and danced their hearts out. I didn't get pictures, but I hope someone did. It was awesome.

Sunday we just said goodbye to Uncle Sam and tried to spend as much time as we could with Krissy before she goes back to the OC.

Good times.

The Weekend of Tootie (Part 1)

2009-05-19T08:27:00.008-05:00

What a weekend!! John's cousin, Tootie's (whose real name is Elise) wedding was this past Saturday and the kids were in the wedding. Because of this, we got to see some of our favorite people who live far away. Also because of all of this, it was the most chaotic weekend we've had in a long, long time.

Friday was the rehearsal soon after John and I got home from work, with the rehearsal dinner following. The kids were troopers for that but we didn't get to stay for the dinner because it hadn't started when we left at 8 (that's past their bedtimes and trust me- these Frisky kids will let you know when it's past their bedtimes).

Saturday morning I went to help everyone decorate. They got married out in the forest they live just down the street from. It was a really nice place and beautifully decorated, thanks to James and Sam. Here's Uncle Sam helping the photographers with the bridesmaid's bouquets. I never got a picture of James that day. It probably would have been a blur, anyway. He was all over the place.
John brought the older kids to the park around 2 and they played and we waited around for when it was time for Iwa to get her hair done and for the kids to get dressed for pictures. My mom graciously offered to keep Leilea during this time and just bring her up to the wedding. Keep in mind, though, that these other two hadn't had naps. Sleep is important to these kids- or more accurately, everyone around them.

We got dressed, took pictures and were ready (as we could be) for the wedding at 6:30. Here's Iwa with the bride and bridesmaids waiting for pictures. She was very excited to be with the big girls and have a fancy dress and such an important job. I am so proud of her.
It was a long day.

Actually, while all of this was going on, Kawika was passed out in some man's truck cab while Grandpa Tony was talking to some friends. When John and I went around to check on him, the men assured me they hadn't given him THAT much wine. Nice.Kawika doesn't do well with cat naps and tends to wake up in a worse mood than he went down in. More to follow........