What?! It's 2011?!

Sadly, it's been six months since my last blog post.  FAIL!  I could give a lot of excuses, but, I won't.  I will just update with what has happened in the last six months.

October 2010.  One of my besties, Jodi, came to Hawai'i for a visit.  We went to the swap meet at Aloha Stadium, Dole Plantation, the USS Arizona Memorial, the Shack in Mililani, Waimea, North Shore and a luau at Paradise Cove.  My baby shower for Baby M was held in October as well.  It was a fun but exhausting month.

November 2010.  I hit 36 weeks in the pregnancy.  Let me tell you, I was so ready to be done!  My SIL was due the same day that I was, 04 Dec 2010, and she delivered my nephew Kannen on 31 October.  I wanted to cry.  I am thankful that he was a healthy baby!  But, I was slightly jealous that she was done and I was not.  And, I tried everything that I could to get that little girl out.  I walked walked walked walked walked everywhere! Loralai McKenna M***** finally made her appearance in the wee small hours of the morning on 30 November.

December 2010.  I learned what life with a newborn and a seven-year-old is like.  I learned that my schedule is no longer my own.  Big sister, A, has been amazing.  So helpful!  My stepchildren came for Christmas.  This is the first family Christmas we've had all of the kids together.  We visited the Pacific Aviation Museum with the kiddos and enjoyed a very rainy Winter Break.

January 2011.  With the other kiddos back to the mainland, the house became very quiet again. Lo hit 6 weeks and I had my PP appointment.  I shed all of my pregnancy weight and then some.  A went back to school and Travis was back to work on eves.  Sheer exhaustion set in.

February 2011.  Lo hit 8 weeks and was weighing in at 9 lbs 8 oz.  Lil peanut!  A had a field trip to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebration and another at the end of the month to the recycling and waste management plant for their unit on conservation.

And, now, we've hit March 2011.  Currently A is on Spring Break!  Yay!  And we're still learning how to schedule, but, loving life!  In light of the recent tsunami warning and the tragedy that hit Japan, I understand now more than ever how much life truly is a gift.

Someday soon, I'll post my labor story.  And, I'll post some pictures of the fun things we did/do here on the island.  

A hui hou! (until we meet again)

30 weeks down, 10 to go (and so much in between)

The last thirty weeks have been a whirlwind.  It's sad that I took such a long break from blogging.  In June, we took a family vacation/road trip (cross country).  That was an adventure.  It was good to get off of the island.  I think that we were all getting island fever.

I guess that I should probably start with an update.  But, if you're a FB follower you know what's going on. On March 31, 2010, I had a positive pregnancy test.  Shocked?  Absolutely.  It was not something that we were expecting, though, definitely not avoiding.  We had discussed whether or not to start trying to conceive.  In February, I had a ruptured hemorrhagic ovarian cyst.  And, what do you know?  The next month, we're pregnant!

We are overjoyed.  After the initial shock hit, excitement set in.  The kids are ecstatic too.  The first twelve weeks were uneventful, for the most part.  I had nausea and food aversion.  And exhaustion.  Lots and lots of exhaustion.  Add to that, a trip.  

Our trip to the mainland was full of activities and visiting family and friends (some that I had not seen in over 10 years).  It was a great way to bond with the kids and see the countryside.  I don't know that I want to do another month-long trip like that anytime soon!

Summer was filled with craziness with pool trips, library trips, visits to the aquarium and catching movies.  But, overall it was fun.

On July 30th, we found out that the baby we are expecting is a girl!  So, that makes three girls and one boy for us.  This will be fun!

August 2nd, Princess Cranky Pants started school and now we're in September.  Almost two months of school down and getting ready for the arrival of Miller Lite.  Just ten weeks left.  It's gone so quickly.


And, hopefully I won't wait so long for the next blog post. :)

What we've been up to...

There is no excuse for my lack of posting.  So, I'm just going to move forward.

February and March were busy, as life often gets.  I spent some time in the ER at Tripler Army Medical Center in February for a ruptured ovarian cyst.  Thankfully there has not been any other issue with it.  In March, we moved from Mililani to Honolulu.  We decided to move on base for the remainder of our time here in Hawaii.  It reduces our expenses.  It was a stressful move.  I am thankful that it is over!

The move down to joint base Pearl Harbor-Hickam meant a move in school districts for Annika.  We decided, though, that we would let her choose whether she wanted to complete her school year at the current elementary school or move over to the new one.  She chose to stay at the old school.  She has already built up a rapport with her teacher and she absolutely loves her!  Mrs. K was so excited to have Annika for the rest of the year.  This will be good for Annika as she won't have to change curriculum and build up new relationships.

We are celebrating a few birthdays this month.  Good times, good times!

Not much longer until we're back to the mainland for a visit with family and friends!  Yay!  I know this is a boring update, but, there isn't much going on.  I'm fighting fatigue and nausea, but overall enjoying life!

Mahalo nui loa for reading my blog!

Super Bowl Sunday

It's been almost two months since I blogged last?  Wow.  Where does the time go?  Life has been crazy busy.  But fun-filled!  January was a packed month.  School, fun activities, etc.  The Lt. Dan Band was at Freedom Tower on 30 January, so we went to the free concert in the park.  It was great fun.  We were babysitting for some friends of ours and the girls had a blast!  Yesterday's F3 event was shopping, eating and haircuts.  Nothing new to report on this end.  Just keeping on keeping on.  Had some vog last week.  The temps have been mild and it's been rainy.  Overall, just right for the season.

I'll write more later... off to update Annika's school blog :-)

Mahalo nui loa!

Mele Kalikimaka!

We've been in Minnesota for eight days.  And the days have been jam-packed!

Annika and I left the island on 16 December 2009.  After all the travel preparations, nothing prepared me for the news that my father had possibly suffered another heart attack.  This news came just hours before we were to leave the island.  I made a few phone calls, had a bit of a panic, then came to the realization that there was nothing good to come from worrying.  And I left it at that. 

The flight was long and arduous.  Both travelers fared well, though.  Annika was of course very excited to be heading into the winter wonderland!

We had a safe arrival.  And were given the news that my dad had indeed suffered a heart attack and had blockage in one of his previously bypassed arteries.  A blockage that clearing out would do more harm than good.

It's been a whirlwind of a week with my family, and we're coming down to the final week.  I had dreamed of a white Christmas, and it snowed!  The weather was horrid and reminded of some of the things that I do not like about Minnesota.  How wonderful to be experiencing it! 

Santa was good to us this year.  He gave us a trip to visit my family.  The only thing that would have made it better would be my husband joining us.  But, that will come at another time.

Happy holidays!

Much love!

::aloha::

Winter weather advisory?!

It's no shock that rainy season is here.  But, it's also brought some cooler temperatures, which is awesome.  Yesterday felt like a fall day!  Sunny, windy and cool.  Granted, the "cool" was a balmy 73 degrees.  I was joking with Travis that it seems sad that we find 73 to be cool.

A winter weather watch is in effect for Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island for those summits because of the chance of heavy snow, strong winds, lightning and bitterly cold winds.  There is a flash flood advisory for the entire state.  Whew!

Yesterday we celebrated Veteran's day.  I very thankful for all of the Veterans: past, present and future.  I am honored that my husband has chosen to serve.

I'm finalizing the Christmas shopping.  I have a few things to get for my nieces and nephew, but I have the kidlets done and gifts wrapped! Last Christmas, we didn't have the money for any gifts and I'm thankful that we are in a place where we aren't struggling for the everyday things anymore.  It seems so silly and trite, but you often take those things for granted.  The price of goods is slightly higher here.  For example, a gallon of milk is approximately $9.00.  Yikes!

I'm counting the days until I get to see my family!  And I'm hoping that there is some snow while I'm there.

Thanksgiving is coming and we will spending it with our "military" family.  It's wonderful to have great friends and good times when I feel so homesick!

A big mahalo to those who read my blog!

::aloha::

Return of the Trade Winds, carnivals and Halloween. Oh my!

The vog has lifted and the trade winds are back.  We had a high of 85 yesterday and the mountains were still covered with some clouds, but it was a beautiful day!

Yesterday was another furlough Friday, so Annika worked on her handwriting booklet and a few pages in her grade 1 workbook.  On Thursday, I had a parent/teacher conference for the closure of quarter one.  She is doing very well in math and science, but is having some troubles with writing/reading/phonics.  With help, she is getting better.

For Halloween we will be heading down to Hickam AFB to go trick-or-treating with friends.  Annika will be Tinkerbell.  This will be her first t-or-t experience.  Tomorrow we will be going to a carnival, also on Hickam.

For now, we are laying low.  I've got a migraine and Annika's tired from running around playing with the girls.  They had a slumber party last night.  It was a fun time.  Pizza, popcorn and The Wizard of Oz.  What a perfect way to spend the evening.

Have a safe Halloween!

::aloha::