Mothers Helper

We were meeting with the bishop today for tithing settlement (which indicates to me the start of tax season!) and noticing her energy rearranging boxes and things in his office he asked her if she liked to help mom around the house and she answered "oh yes, I like to vacuum and clean up my toys and I help hold mom on the potty so she doesn't fall in..."

Not true. But what do you say? It might as well be true because I'm not sure of the last time I had any privacy, but I assure you, balance is not an issue.

Holiday Beauty Tips

To look your holiday best, make sure you get a cold sore* on your mouth, a fiery red subterranean zit between your nose and cheek, then have a doctor zap a spider vein** on your face (which she forgot to mention will scab over) for good measure. Oh yeah, and covering it up with makeup will only make it look worse. Happy Holidays!



* I am going to start calling it my "Christmas" Cold Sore because it shows up every year.

**I went to a derm. to have a lesion removed on my lower leg, which she did and left me with about 6 stitches. She was in a big hurry but I wanted to ask her about this broken capillary I have had under my eye for about 12 years now and she just grabbed her laser and started blasting my face with it (mmm, nothing quite like the smell of burning flesh in the morning) and said, "well that should take care of it". I guess that's what I ultimately wanted, but I was expecting more of a conversation.

Surprisingly Delicious!

I got this for my sister's stocking and she couldn't take it back with her so I guess I have to drink it. And guess what...it's good! Even for someone (myself) who doesn't like soy milk, so for those who do like it or have to drink it, this would be a real treat!

It's begining to look a lot like Kelikimaka.

And sound like it too. Ben made us a good Christmas CD (inclusive of other winter holidays, thanks to Adam Sandler's Chanakuh classic). The CD includes The Carpenters, his personal favorite, and some of my holiday favorites - Mary Did you Know? by Clay Aiken, O Holy Night by Josh Groban, Santa Baby and my toe-tapping favorite by Mariah Carey, All I Want for Christmas is You.



We lit the tree and set to work on constructing the gingerbread house that our "secret santa" from church left us. Which I don't know how they knew but it just wasn't going to be Christmas for Avery without decorating one, so phew, I don't know if they were her or my prayers that were answered on that one.



Miles spent the evening hopped up on gumdrops, keeping all five of us adults (gparents & aunt britt) busy, climbing on furniture and riding his shiny trike around with the kids first gifts (a pair of cozy bears compliments of Aunt Nancy) in the trunk. Avery named the bears Shawn and Darcy. :)

I can't believe how much restraint the kids have shown by not getting into the gifts that are wrapped and under the tree. I can hardly wait and I know what is in most all of them.

Avery's Christmas Mu'umu'u

Away in a Manger

Avery got a nativity set from gma that she sets up in various places in the house and I think it is cute to come across the scenes she has constructed. My nativity set, which I got from a from a different gma a few years ago is up high and I like being able to have it at eye level in the kitchen where I spend a lot of time.

House for Sale

As this time of year weren't busy enough, the owners of our house put it on the market. Now that we know we're not staying (more on that later) I wish them the best in selling it, even if it is currently overpriced by $100,000 (that's a professional opinion). Even so, someone wanted to come see it a few days ago which means the obvious - every bed made to perfection, kitchen sink shining, toilets flushed (you'd be surprised how often this gets overlooked, especially with little kids in a house) but it goes beyond what you would usually do for visitors because these guests are poking around everywhere so not only do we have to hide valuables (luckily we don't have many) but also empty the dishwasher and straighten closets and declutter drawers to make small spaces look larger. We just got done with this process 6 months ago with our own house and now I feel obligated to put forth a similar effort for strangers we've never met. I just wish it could wait until January.

Mississippi Cat Takes the Stage

(Warning: contains video content only a mother, or close blood relative, can enjoy)

The moment I've been waiting for since the day she was born (or at least since she was 3 and I could put her in a class that I didn't have to participate in. I refuse to pay for mommy and me anything)- Avery's first dance recital. So, without further ado...

For only $160 you too can learn how to skip!! Actually, that achievement was completely worth it, she is so proud of it.


Some slightly blurry still shots:

This young man wins the prize for best hair and best Singing in the Rain:

At the end there was a Mambo exhibition (to Japanese pop/techno of course) and Abes was selected to be the first in this "progressive" dance:

Revised Christmas List

Dear Santa -


swimsuit raincoat

flip flops galoshes

jack johnson cd pearl jam cd

sunscreen light box

jamba juice giftcard starbucks g.c.


p.s. next year we will be living in the pacific northwest. we will make sure we have a chimney for you to come down. this year you can just slide out our jalousies and come right in.

Ants among us

Living in Hawaii, it is understood that we must cohabit with four, six and one-hundred-legged creatures. And generally I don't mind the reptiles, arachnids or insects (except for mosquitoes) but today we got quite the surprise. When I went to make a copy I found this:

Our very own ant farm.

With Miles' fascination with the creatures, I had actually considered getting him an ant farm for Christmas but I think he would have a hard time not being able to touch and/or crush them so I decided against it. But this is an interesting alternative. It is disgusting and shocking but at the same time very cool to be able to watch the army of ants and their larvae.

A few hours after I took this picture I came back to check and they had cleared out, only to reappear later that evening. The printer function still works but if you try to scan or copy, it is a jumbled mess because of the ants. They weren't there two days ago. I can't get to them to exterminate them because they are under the glass. And, although I'm not the biggest animal lover, I feel bad disrupting their kingdom. What do I do?

I looked it up and I found someone else who had the same problem in Hawaii in 2002 and posted a picture here.

3 YR OLDS - Word of the Day

UP·SET · ER· ATE /v., n., adj. ʌpˈsɛtŏp'ə-rāt'/ Pronunciation Key [uhp-set-uh-reyt]

1. The act of upsetting or the condition of being upset.
2. A disturbance, disorder, or state of agitation.
3. Angrified

Use in sentence: "Mom, you're not upseterated with me anymore are you?"

M.P.D.

Avery continues her reign as the Modesty Police. Today she told her grandmother, "I'm glad I'm small so that my clothes fit me".


Grandma was wearing this:



Later I caught the sheriff wearing this number:

I'm not sure that wearing a skirt as a shirt counts as modest. But at least her skirt is below her knees! With justifications like that we could have some challenging teenage years ahead.

And still later, I saw her wearing only an apron.

A week of adventure...including the $700 mistake

Where to begin... It's late for me and I know everyone is too busy to be reading long blog posts this time of year so I'll try to make it brief (there are pictures in the slide show and most can speak for themselves) but for record keeping and as a safety precaution for anyone planning on visiting us and trusting us to take you on any adventures I have to jot down a few words. My parents were our second group of visitors here and due to Theresa's "delicate condition" (if there was a keyboard function to indicate sarcasm, I would use it here because I've never seen a 7 months pregnant woman body board quite like she did, and she and I went on a shark hunting snorkel trip after Ben and Brady reported seeing one) we kept the high adventure to a minimum medium when they were here.

So on day one of adventures with parents, Ben had the day off so we decided to rent kayaks and head for the Mokulua's, a pair of islands about a mile and a half from Kailua Beach where we took off from. I had gone in a few days prior and asked them about going out there and they had said, yeah, it was a great thing to do and that they had a suggested path to take out there so we were all set. Unfortunately, no one told us about "the board" that changed daily based on the weather conditions and listed the boundaries for the novice kayakers like ourselves. I declined the safety instruction video, because, well, we have a kayak and we had left Miles with a friend and had limited time to paddle. I also thought for sure that when Ben and my dad got the kayaks that they would give them any instruction they needed. The waves around the island were approaching 10 feet and as we got nearer, it was fun but not unmanageable so we were charging along. An expert kayaker saw Avery in our kayak and told us that it was very difficult to land on the island with the current conditions so we stayed back, but my parents were already too far ahead to call to...or even see except between swells. They looked like they were going to make it just fine and I really wanted to go too but Ben was smarter (that day) and insisted we hang back and wait. And wait, and wait. By this time we have rung row row row your boat for about 30 minutes and we could see my parents (or at least my dad's bright yellow shirt) on the island. But then we realize that their boat is being tossed with every wave. Later we found out that they got caught in a nasty cross current and capsized, losing everything and nearly drowning them. A combination of shallow reef, quicksand and a strong undertow made it impossible to get back to the boat. There wasn't anything we could do having Avery with us but a surfer went out and towed their boat to them and collected all of the lost items...flip flops, paddles, life vests (oops), dry bag w/ the camera and my parents and ultimately got them out of danger. They looked like professional kayakers to me as they rode the waves out. Avery, who caught on to our distress and heard us talking about the many options of what might have happened, said "I wish they didn't have to drown, but they did. I want to go home" so she was most excited when we realized that they were headed back toward us. The only thing the kind surfer couldn't locate for them...their prescription (over $700 between the two) sunglasses. They found my mom's later when they turned the kayak in. A little beat up, but we say that Avery prayed them back, and I'm going to make sure and bear my testimony about that next month (it'll go nicely among the stories of how Heavenly father loves Hawaii the most because they won their last football game).

So that was the long story. We also went on some fun hikes. The Lanikai bunkers which has an incredible view (of the Mokulua's no less) and Manoa Falls, which is a pretty easy hike to a stunning waterfall (easy, but humid. in the pictures my shirt is soaked from sweat, not the falls). We ate good food and Miles got his first bike...with dimples like those you don't have to wait for Christmas for gifts. We only had one other near disaster during their trip and that was when we went to the Leeward side in the midst of an island-wide blackout (didn't you notice that I ceased to blog for a few days?) and got stuck in traffic with no gas and no functioning gas stations for miles (yet another little prayer saved the day). Really, we're all just lucky to be alive.

Our first tree.

It's our seventh married (and merried :)) Christmas and this is the first year we have put up a tree and I love it! When I walk in the door the smell reminds me of my Aunt Robin's. It must be the combination of pine and fresh sea air that produces an especially sweet fragrance but I'm going to have a hard time taking it down. It also reinforces that we made the right choice by springing for the live tree. Although the artificial can be stunning and afford perfection, I like our short fat tree that is slightly lopsided. Picking it out was a family affair, with my parents, the kids and Ben making the trek to the Marine base to choose our prize. We went down every aisle with Ben spotting "the one".

I'm not the best decorator, for holidays or in general, so it's good that our tree had some character of it's own. Although we have never had a tree I have collected some ornaments that I really treasure over the years including a spider made by Amy T., a sassy and sparkly fish from Gma Maggie and gold-plated Aspen leaves from Ben's mom to name a few. My mom also brought a cool red star that I am excited to add to the collection.

So how to you marry the hope of a constant color-theme with the desire to keep it familiar and meaningful? I'm not sure but that's what I was going for. After driving myself nuts longing for this and that department store tree - from cool blues to purple and gold to "under-the-sea" or nautical motifs, I found these sparkly "things" and went from there. And although we need a few more ornaments and apparently "a lot" more lights (Ben's input - even though I got the BIG box, I didn't know I needed more than one, like I said, our first tree. I just hope they can be added without so much as moving an ornament because I spent minutes trying to get the light to shine through the Aspen leaf just so), I really like the way it turned out.

Sweater Weather

I couldn’t understand why a month ago the stores here started carrying actual fall clothing. I thought for sure that summer styles, colors and patterns would be “in” year round here. I went to Pac Sun a few weeks ago to say hi to our neighbor that works there and they were actually selling thermals and fur-lined quilted jackets! Had I known I would have stocked up on some items, especially for the kids, because I doubt they want to be wearing fleece when it’s 82 F with 70% humidity. We don’t have central A/C so we can’t even simulate frigid conditions indoors if we wanted to. Well, imagine my surprise when I woke up last night FREEZING. I had to get up to turn off the ceiling fan and find our down-filled duvet that has been relegated to floor-duty since we moved here. Even closely flanked by two little warm bodies I was cold. I squinted (even though I was only 6 inches away) from the thermostat to see what the actual temp was. 76. The coldest 76 degrees I’ve ever felt. And it still felt cold when we got up to go to church the next morning. I had to search the closets for something with long-sleeves/pants for Miles and I almost let Avery wear her fur cape (but her cow was wearing it)! I, for the first time since we’ve been here thought I could get away with wearing black. So what has caused this tremendous drop in temperature? Rain. Hard, steady, torrential rain-storms*. Rain like this for 30 minutes causes San Antonio to have 4 foot flooding and knocks down shallow-rooted trees in Maryland. Here, we get waterfalls. It gets soaked up by the ground, makes everything green and feeds the hundreds of waterfalls.

*At church people pray for the rain to stop (I guess that’s okay, and probably better than publicly praying for UH to win it’s football games). Maybe so they can get back to the beach and so their pools don’t overflow, but I bet some other parts of the country would love some of our moisture. 15 inches in one night.

November Recap

Ben - Working in the E.R., and although not as glamorous as the TV show, he has seen a few surfing injuries and a shark bite amid the persistent first-time parent "my baby has a fever" visits (hey, we've all been there. i'm not judging, just reporting.) Even though they are regular, predictable 12-hour shifts, this has been the most painful of rotations yet. What's not to love about having a spouse work all night, sleep all day and then do the same again and again and then once their internal clock gets used to that, we'll make them do the complete opposite schedule just for fun. They must be doing a study on fatigue in the workplace.

Miles - When he's not busy tracking and killing large ants (with his patented pinch and release method) and then bringing his prize to mom, he spends his time eating clementines (up to 5 a day. we're going to have to send him over to orangebooth soon), pressing buttons on the remote, speed dialing old friends and, of course, dancing. When we are out and about and he sees a fellow two-footer of the opposite-sex he has been putting the moves on them, hugging, patting on the back and if they don't resist he'll go in for the smooch. In sad news- he got 15 mosquito bites, primarily on the right side of the face and as many on his right leg and foot. It looked like the chicken pox and put a crimp in his game with the ladies for a few days since he looked rather contagious.

Avery - Participated in her first primary program at church and said her three lines loud and clear. Luckily I had heard Dr. Phil say a few days beforehand that "every child has a price, and you just need to find out what it is" and so I threatened bribed her by telling her I would erase Dora Saves the Mermaids off the DVR if she didn't say her part clearly.

Avery also told Ben she wants him to grow his hair long "like Dog the Bounty Hunter".
I'll get the crimping iron ready.

Me- Another month has snuck up on me. Christmas shopping, holiday functions and preparing for vistors (which we are excited to have most all of next month) and watching Iron Chef America: Battle Sugar, has kept me on the move and away from the computer, then when I get on I would rather check out what everyone else has been up to than write myself, luckily (for who, I'm not sure) I write down a few snippets here and there which I can turn into a real post when I get in the mood.

Christmas cards won't be happening again this year, because chances of us getting a cute family picture in the next two weeks are slim (it's hard to get four people looking good all at once y'all (in my head that sounded like a Britney Spears impression)) because last year we even had a good picture (thank you Terese) and I still didn't send any out. By the way, what do I do with 50 copies of last years picture?












David Hockney would do something like this...













Anyhow, I can't believe my next monthly recap will be in 2008.

Novemeber Poll Results:

(Instead of deleting them into oblivion, I decided that I better start recording the poll results somewhere in a post because otherwise how can I look back and know, that carmel apples was the favorite halloween treat and that 6 out of 10 people would exercise if they had an extra hour in theday and that most voters would choose the energy boost for their jamba juice? Your vote does count)

This months poll was a test of sorts (Joke - If a quizzical is a small quiz then what do you call a small test? haha, that's one for all of you who had Mr. Barnes' logic classes...at least that's where I heard it :)) but everyone who voted failed. I know that because there were two votes for the right answer and I voted twice - correctly.

The question was What Scripture is NOT printed on an IN-N-OUT cup or wrapper?

Choices: John 3:16, Hebrews 5:7, Proverbs 3:5, Revelation 3:20 or Nahum 1:7

The answer is Hebrews 5:7. See here for verification. Those who got it wrong, your punishment is to immediately go to In-N-Out and order everything with a wrapper (or maybe just order this). And then go home and read your Bible. And yes, Nahum is an actual book in there.

In other news:
Congrats to the Honeycutts on their handsome new baby boy, James David Honeycutt III. He looks very excited (or tired from his journey) to be joining us here on earth. Don't worry buddy, you have extremely fun parents!

Just for fun: Some of us Westbrook gals launched a blog to share and exchange recipes and food info. We don't have a whole lot posted yet but we're having a good time testing recipes for it.

http://www.westbrookgirlsdinein.blogspot.com/