So behind!

Holy heck I need to get a move on updating!

I have a bunch saved on my drafts but I can't seem to finish any...

So maybe, maybe not, I will get to actually publish them. Like my traveling with two kids story... MAYBE!

EN ZED Here We Come!!!

The kids and I are leaving in a few hours and heading to the Land of the Long White Cloud!

20+ hours of travel time ahead of us.

Did I mention it's just me against the 2 kids...

A little nervous...

But my eye is on the prize at the end. A nice vacation with my family.

WISH ME LUCK! or rather pray that the kids behave themselves.

Big News!

It's been a long time coming...

TOO LONG!!!

Way way way past overdue!

But here it is...

This is just the temporary license.
I get my real one in the mail within 10 days.

I am now officially licensed to DRIVE!!!

It's taken 10 years after I got my learners permit in New Zealand. 

Kinda lame but BOOOYAAAHHH!!!

So to all those who thought I would never leave the passenger seat... 

Miracles do happen!!!

Insanity Part 2

Man the second half of Insanity is more insaner than the first.

Initially, I was terrified to start it coz the first half killed me but lo and behold, I finished (with a few missed days here and there from kids sicknesses or travelling to Utah). 

I lost a total of 20 lbs. I still have 20 more lbs to go till pre preggo weight but I fit into my pre preggo clothes already so I'm not too fussed about the rest now. It is just a number after all right?

I might repeat the whole 60 days again since it is the most practical way for me to get some exercise in with my two crazy munchkins. But I probly wont be as strict as I was the first time round.

All in all, I think that Insanity is a great workout program for anyone that cant or dont want to go to a  gym. It's convenient and it is a fairly quick workout which fits in perfectly when there are little demanding kids occupying every waking moment. Plus it works! If you DIG DEEPER!!!

I actually finished it a couple of weeks ago but has been pretty busy to blog about it. So here is my picture at the end of my 60 day Insanity program.

LIFE

Life is precious.

Life is short.

Life is unfair.

Life is unpredictable.

Just a few descriptions that came at the top of my head when I thought about LIFE.

Life is a very complex concept. I can't think of how I would answer the 'what does life mean' question if ever Hyrum asks it.

This past week has got me thinking about LIFE...

A LOT...

And how I take it for granted...

While I was living my life here in Idaho stressing over what to cook for dinner, how messy my house is all the time and feeling sorry for myself for not being supermom...

My Tita (auntie) Hansen is in Australia was battling cancer...

Which got me thinking, I am in NO position to complain about my life.

I am dedicating this post to my dear Tita Hansen. To me she was a great teacher, an example, a strong woman, a DAUGHTER OF GOD.

Who lost her battle this morning...

We are in this world, in what we call LIFE, temporarily. Here we are tried and tested to see if we are faithful enough, humble enough, worthy enough and basically good enough to live with our Heavenly Father once again.

I am very grateful that I have this knowledge that I attained through my church. I know that there is 'life' after life. I know that there is a plan for us to be in eternal happiness if we choose to live righteously now. I believe that families can be together forever and anyone who has passed on will be waiting on the other side.

My Mommy (grandma) will be there. My Dada Puti and Dada Bingi will be there too. I will also see my sister there and now my Tita Hansen will be there, happily living with our Heavenly Father.

I take comfort in this knowledge. And so very grateful that I have it to rely upon when trials like this occur.

Regardless, I am sad...

I wish more than anything right now to be in Australia. To hug Arnn, my 'first baby', who has grown into an amazing young woman. To comfort Arianne, a clever little lady who has always had a lot to say. To play with Aireen, who's full of surprises literally ever since she was born and smart little Izaac with his irresistible smile and big personality.

And my uncle, a man with many talents. Strong, faithful, hardworking, fun and a great father.

I LOVE THEM!

We don't say it out loud in my family, but let it be known...I love them all!

It is ssssooooo hard to be thousands of miles (and dollars) away from family.

Yet, I am extremely grateful to be together with Maverick and our kids. We don't, by any means, have a perfect life. But together, our lives are perfect.

Cherish every moment. Count your many blessings. Enjoy the little things. Play often. Hold hands. Love life.

Life is precious.

Life is short.

Life is unfair.

Life is unpredictable.

Don't take it for granted.

Thanks for all the good times Tita Hansen. Lots of cherished memories will forever live in my heart. We will truly miss you but I am glad that your hardship is over and you are now in the presence of Greatness. 

Till we meet again. Aloha o`e!

Half-a-Birthday!

NOTE: This was written 3 weeks ago. And a lot has changed in 3 weeks.

This little tootie patoots is now half a year old!

Shes measuring 25" in length and weighs 17.3lbs Growing nicely and developing to speed.

It's fun to see her new antics everyday as she plays her part in our little family and shows her personality.

She is now starting to get the courage to go up on her knees to crawl. But she can army crawl pretty fast and can get into anything that she can reach (esp the bottom bookshelf, under the couch, bottom drawers). We have to be really careful now coz she's in the stage where she can find and pick up the littlest tiniest thing on the ground, which of course, goes straight in her mouth.

She can sit up pretty well which makes me happy coz somehow things get easier when babies can sit up already. She is also starting to pull up on things like the couch, laundry baskets and her crib. So we had to lower her crib already before she has a chance to jump off of it like Hyrum once did.

No teeth has showed up yet but I feel that they are close coz EVERYTHING that she gets her hand on gets eaten. And she eats them savagely! Like really eager and she makes a gggrrrrr kinda face in the process. It's pretty funny. Then, once you take whatever she has away she bawls like there's no tomorrow.

I started feeding her 'solid' baby food a little after 4 months so she is quite a pro at eating now. I havent fed her anything that I didnt make so far which I am quite proud of. I have made green peas, broccoli, sweet potatoes, lentils with gravy, carrots, cucumber, zucchini, squash, spinach, cantaloupe, watermelon, pears, banana, papaya, peaches, and apples. 

Cantaloupe

Asparagus

Then when we are eating something, she begs! And it usually works. So shes had a taste of big people food and LOVES it! 

She sleeps through the night most nights but still has to be held to sleep. I know I'm setting myself up for another bad sleeper but I've tried other methods and none seems to work.

Like Hyrum, she has stamina. And can cry for hours on end. We experienced this during a recent trip to Utah while on the freeway. She absolutely HATES her carseat and with no rest stop for miles, she cried and cried and cried and cried. Until we took her out and she fell asleep within a minute. Then as soon as she woke up, she cried and cried and cried again. So crying it out sleep training method is, yet again, not an option.

She is very sensitive about her face and is very good at swatting things that comes close it. Wash cloths, mommys fingers, spoon, binky, bottles, nose sucker, Hyrum. If she doesn't want it, you have to really fight to get on there. I think she learned it coz I had to suck her nose a lot and she absolutely hated it! Plus, she has to protect herself somehow from the crazy brother.

She's a little sweetheart who has a special infatuation for daddy. Sometimes I catch her just staring at him. So I tell Maverick then she gives the biggest warmest smile when he acknowledges her. Daddy spends a lot of time at work so when he's home, she (and Hyrum) loves it! And I love it too coz I get a nice little break.

Although, when she is upset, sometimes she only wants mommy. Which makes me feel kinda good coz even though I had to stop breastfeeding, we still have that special bond that only I can give her.

So happy half-a-birthday to my bebe girly! Please stay sweet and cuddly and loving and perfect as you are.

To make her half-a-birthday somewhat special, I made banana bread muffins and delivered it to my RS VT people in her honor...

and got her some bling!!!

And here's some more pictures...

Hyrum's Photo Book

I finished Hyrum's first year photo book. FINALLY!!!

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterflys award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Insanity

Insanity is a 60 day workout program that my ex-personal trainer husband recommend for me to do to loose my baby weight quickly and safely.

I was sick of my flabbies and I complained everyday that my clothes don't fit and I don't feel like I'm me yadda yadda yadda. And I refused to succumb by buying new clothes! Soooo...

I tried it out... And boy does it live up to it's name!

The first week literally my whole body except my eyeballs were hurting! It was crazzzyyy! But I pushed through and LOVED the much needed Sunday rest day.

Come Monday of my second week, I was thinking how insane I was to be continuing on with this stupid insane work out! But I still pushed through and made it!

I was getting the hang of things by week three but the good thing about Insanity is that there is always ways to push yourself. So although I was doing the same workout videos, I saw the improvements as I was able to push myself harder and last longer on each intervals.

This is me at the end of week four. Half way through the program and feeling good bout myself that I've lasted this long.

This was me before I started Insanity.

I kinda wish I did an actual face-on kinda photo to get a good before and after photo but ow wells. I've lost a total of 10 lbs and have really toned up on my calves, love handles and tummy. My stretched out saggy post pregnancy skin has also improved. Still a long way to go till my goal weight but getting there. 

This week is "Recovery week", so I'm pretty excited about that. Then another four weeks of insane Insanity!

Wish me luck!

Sick Leave for Mommies

I petition that all stay-at-home mothers out there also get a sick leave!

If you concur, say I.

This is the first time that I have been sick while watching my two little munchkins. And it SUCKS!!!

My whole body aches, my throat is raw, stuffy nose, watery eyes, 102 - 103 temperature. The whole shebang! And yes, i am speaking present tense. Yet I still have to put on a brave face at 8am and do my "job".

It's amazing what can happen to your house with two tornado messer upper and all you can do is lay on the couch, lay on the bean bag, or lay on the floor. My house is a disaster zone right now and I don't have the energy to really care. At least Halia is enjoying climbing the Mt Everest of clothes that is on the floor. Don't worry, they're clean...

I know I'm not the only one facing this ordeal right now. So to all mommies out there who just want to crawl into bed and die, I feel your pain! This too shall pass...

Mom and Dad

Hyrum often calls us mom and dad now.

Just all of a sudden and all in his own accord. On occasion we still get mommy and daddy, but only once in a while.

Yet another reason why my little buddy is not so little anymore...

Lesson Learned

Potty training Hyrum 2 1/2 weeks after i gave birth to Halia was no easy task. It was frustrating, disgusting (poop accidents), time-consuming and just all around annoying.

But he was pretty much potty trained within a week and it made life A LOT easier not having to worry about his diapers.

Until about a two months ago (after 4months of already been officially potty trained) when he regressed. And he regressed BIG TIME! From having zero to two accidents a day to accidents after accidents after accidents.

I was LIVID!!!

And after a month of no improvements, I have had enough! I decided that back to diapers he shall go coz I am not cleaning another accident and repeating myself again on where pees and poops go.

I know that he understands me and I know that he knows where he is suppose to do his thing BUT I think he was doing it for attention and such.

So we went out to buy diapers the next day and realized how expensive they are. So we decided to finish up his pull-ups (it's like an underwear but with diaper like absorbency, for those that don't know) first since we have those at home already.

So the next day I got him in his pull-ups first thing in the morning instead of just normal underwear and a few minutes later I heard him rushing to his potty. I peaked in and sure enough he was in there peeing.

I thought, "what a fluke!" but NNNOOOO. He didn't have any poop accident and maybe only a couple of pees that day. And same goes for the days after that.

So with that I learned my lesson on how to parent my stubborn little soldier...

Nagging will get us no where. I need to trust him that he knows what he is meant to do and if I give him some independence (rather than breathing down his throat every 20 minutes) he will obey.

Let's all hope I remember to apply this lesson every day.

What's Going On?

Well that was quite a long break now wasn't it.

I wish I could say that I did something incredulous over my period of blog absence, but, sadly I was just probably wasting time doing something else.

Anyways, what's new?

Wellllll...Nothing really. I'm just pretty much living each day cherishing my babies little lives.

I can't believe I've been doing this stay-at-home mom thing for over a year now. It has been quite a roller coaster ride! I can even declare it as the happiest time of my life as well as the most depressing where I've felt more vulnerable and insecure than I have ever felt before.

But, I wouldn't have it any other way.

My kids drive me nuts! And they probably will forevermore. But that is why I had them, to keep life interesting. To witness God's miracles every day. I love them for driving me nuts! And I will probably miss these terrible twos and clingy baby years when they're all grown up (say teenager years) when it's gone.

It is a privilege in which I am eternally grateful for to have been entrusted with two beautiful children of God (plus a few more hopefully NOT anytime soon).

As for life in general, we have done a few minor changes.

With two gallbladder stones attacks a couple of months ago, we decided that we needed to make some changes to improve our health, esp food wise. Both Maverick and I do not having insurance right now so any medical emergencies would be paid out of pocket. Which would deeply hurt our budget and our very little savings. Healthy eating should decrease our chances of getting any sicknesses, so we have been filling our tummies with more fruits (which I don't mind at all), veggies, healthy homecooked meals and less fast foods. The occasional dinner out still happens but at least we are becoming more aware of our food intake. Which is always a good trait.

We were also called as Nursery leaders in our church (lds.org) which I must admit is both good and bad. Good because it is quite an enjoyable calling but bad coz it's hard looking after 11 toddlers! Plus Hyrum is in there too and he is the naughtiest one.

Maverick is chugging along with his studies and still working full-time at the hospital. He will finally be applying for grad schools starting in August so it's all very nerve wracking. We should hopefully know our next home by January. And it's all very exciting and scary coz the array of schools that he has picked out are all very very foreign to me (well I am a foreigner after all). From the 'ok I can see it' (Arizona, Nevada, Washington DC, Georgia), to the 'hmm ok I guess' (Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania), to the 'are you serious?!?' (Alaska, Israel!).

So I guess we will see what the future holds. I am up for anything as long as we are safe, together, happy and taking steps forward.

Whats Up with Hyrum

A lot has happened with little big boy since I last posted. It is impossible to catch up, but for my own sake, I'm going to try at least a lil bit.

Of course, Hyrum is as crazy , hyper and mischievous as ever. He is the epitome of "The Terrible Twos". He lives and breathes naughtiness every single minute that he is awake. 

It's getting a lot harder for him to listen and follow directions because he wants to always be so independent. I pray all the time that I get more patient with how I deal with him coz I HATE the feeling that I get after yelling or smacking or telling him off.

On the other hand, he is also a very sweet boy who still makes my heart melt with every huggas (dats was he calls hugs) and kisses and never ending cuteness.

He is a wonderful big brother (most of the time) and also gives Halia plenty of hugs and kisses. He is very protective of her specially when other kids are around. But sometimes he can be over protective and end up hurting her like when he sees her putting something (like paper) in her mouth and he snatches it from her saying "Heeya! Don't play with that!)

His imagination is as big as sun! Maybe even bigger. He loves to play pretend fishing, pretend rocket/airplane/helicopter, pretend blow candle and eat cake, pretend baseball/football/basketball, and when he encounters a problem he often calls "Oh Tootles!" to get a mousekatool to help him out. Like Mickey Mouse from the show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which he loves). It's pretty fun to watch it unless we are included then our own imaginations are challenged.

He LOVES to sing! And he adds his own little tune to it and makes it his own. I think a career as a singer is very slim though.

Thats an exercise band that Mav put on him and he proudly wore making faces.

This child can also be soooo funny! I need to make more of an effort to record the funny things he says and do. It will be pretty cool to look back on it later. For example, right now he loves the word LOVE.

Hy: Mommy whats that?

Me: A freezer

Hy: I LOVE freezers.

Me: Really? Why?

Hy: Coz I LOVE pothicles (popsicles)

Me: OK, I gotta change Heeya's bumbum coz she pooped.

Hy: Can I see?

Me: Why do you wanna see Heeya's poop?

Hy: Coz I love it!

Me eating a piece of toast with avocado.

Hy: You love that?

Me: Uh Huh. You want some?

Hy: No. I dont love it. Its yucky.

Me: No its not. Its yummy. Try it.

Hyrum gags.

Ok those weren't really funny but as I said, Ill try harder.

Hyrum's second EVER haircut. And theyre looky likeys!

Alright, that's all for now...

Doesnt he look so grown up in this pic?

What's Up with Halia

Well this little lady is a month shy of her half-birthday. In simpler words, she is now 5 months old!!! 

Ooooiiii! Its going by too fast!

She is a pro at:

- being cute.

- holding her own bottle.

- scooting and rolling over and over and getting stuck under the couch, under her swing, under her jumper gym thingy, or against the tv cabinet.

- eating mommys yummy homemade baby food.

- giggling.

- bathtime.

- sucking her toes.

- drooling and soaking everything that comes near her mouth.

- getting everyone's attention by crying, laughing or squealing.

- wrapping daddy around her little finger.

She is doing good at:

- army crawling.

- putting her binky in her mouth.

- getting those two front bottom teeth to come out.

- grabbing and scrunching our face, especially the nose.

She needs to work at:

- sleeping on her own.

- sleeping through the night.

- taking naps without being held.

- sitting.

- loving (or even just liking) her car seat.

- saying mama (Hyrums said "dada" first so she needs to say "mama" first so Mav and I are even).

- telling mommy EXACTLY what she wants instead of just crying about it.

Although it may take 21 years for her to be a pro on that last one, maybe even more.

According to our house scale she is 17 lbs 4 oz! What a chunksters!

She has a special loving look for Hyrum and it is pretty sweet. She is starting to really interact with him and it is really great to see.

Her official nickname is Heeya or Heeya Mia since that is what Hyrum calls her. She can be quite a handful sometimes but I think I am just destined to have wild children.

Comparisons

I know people say never to compare you children...

But I think it's fun...