Bargain Hunting

My dad is a garage sale JUNKIE.

And I LOVED waking up bright and early Saturday morning to go with him.

So naturally, I still enjoy going out and looking at other peoples junk to find treasures.

Too bad the other half HATES it...

Anyways the past couple of weeks I've found some great deals...n i thought I'd brag about it for just a second.

8 books for $1 at the local library annual book sale

Elmo and Lightning McQueen for 25c each at a yard sale.

Brand new $16 bought from the thrift store for $2. 

Brand new $5 snow pants for Hyrum at a children store sidewalk sale.

25c at a yard sale 

I wanna learn to crochet so this 10c yarn from a yard sale was perfect to practice on

Cars wall decals for 25c at a yard sale

Brand new diaper genie for $5 at a yard sale. Normally $40.

On a really tight family budget, yard sales (or any type of sales) is the way to go.

I enjoy it! and I get such a thrill coming home with cheap treasures...

18 Months

A little behind on this post.

My little Hyrum turned 18 months in July and I just wanted to do a little update.

He is 33.5" tall and 29.8 lbs heavy.

The little boy isnt quite so little anymore.

He is quite a character.


Always moving!

Never a dull moment as he is always up to something (but its not always a good thing).

Under the fort with daddy

I am truly blessed (though exhausted) to be witnessing the developments of this child. Each day is a different day and everyday is an adventure.

He is talking a lot more now and can usually express his wants and needs, which is great!

The doctor said that at this age 12-15 words is where they normally are at. So I sat down and listed the words that he uses frequently and I know he understands and he has over 80 words. He even has a few sentences like 'daddy at work', 'no more juice/snack/milk/etc', 'oh no broke'. Some of my favorite words are clock (cwock), helicopter (ahahter), milk (mack), remote (meemot), thank you (teetam), rubbish/bubbles (babish), donut (totak), and of coarse, MOMMY!

 

He learned to sign milk, please, thank you, food, open, and water but barely uses them now since he's been saying it instead. He is very smart and can mimic things really well. He knows the actions to wheels on the bus, twinkle twinkle little star, popcorn popping, monkeys on the bed, itsy bitsy spider, pat-a-cake, and little piggies. He is very good at making animal noises too.

He RUNS EVERYWHERE! Walking doesnt exists in his book.

He HATES clothes! Since its summer right now and usually very very hot, he runs around in his diaper at home. But of coarse to look civilized, we put clothes on him when we go out and he DESPISES it! We have to hold him down to put clothes on then he spend a few minutes afterwards crying about it and trying to pull it off.

He loves Barney, Elmo, Blues Clues and Lightning McQueen. We only let him watch about an hour of TV per day. Just when im cooking or cleaning and I need him to stay put.

Bedtime is STILL a problem! He wakes up 2-4 times a night crying bloody murder and stops quickly as soon as I enter the room and hold his feet. He's worst now with sleeping than when he was a newborn. But he still takes a 2-3hr nap a day which is heavenly for me.

He is truly a BOY. Loves conquering the playground up to the very top which sometimes makes me nervous. He loves trains, cars, trucks, but his absolute favourite are planes and helicopters. We would YouTube planes taking off and helicopters and the likes, which will occupy him for a while. Any stick that he picks up is a sword and he likes to throw things (balls, rocks, grass, toys) which is sometimes not good as well.

He likes to throw away his diapers after being changed and take dishes back to the sink. He "helps" out with sweeping, wiping the table, vacuuming, moping the floor and tidying up his room. But he is also VERY stubborn and enjoys doing naughty things like pull DVDs out of the cabinet, pull on cords, mess up mommys cds and flushing the toilet.

He eats like a champ (most of the time) and shows off his Asianess because his favorite things to eat are rice and noodles (besides noses).

Playing with cousins Elizabeth and Naiella

He has a beautiful smile and a contagious laugh. I love it when his eyes disappears when he laughs or smiles.

And lastly, hes a little bit LOT weird...

Maverick and I laugh and do the 'hes your child' glare whenever he shows off his weird side (which is pretty often).

For example, he runs at full speed then runs into the fridge/door/couch on purpose. Pretends to give you kiss but gives a lick instead. Climbs on the couch and slides off to the floor head first. Does a happy feet dance and have the funniest facials while doing it. Blows raspberries on peoples tummies even if they are standing up. Spreads his leg far apart as to go on a splits then says 'ow wo wo wo'.  He also HAS to say goodnight to the vacuum every night after saying family prayers.

But, despite being a BIG ball of ENERGY, he is also a very sweet very cuddly little boy that we just cant imagine life without. Everyday we are grateful to have him in our lives. His presence makes our life more exciting and meaningful.

Watching a child grow from a helpless little fragile newborn to an indestructible hyperactive toddler is truly a miracle. It is not always easy, but it is DEFINITELY worth it!

Water Fun Tuesday

So the weather has been at least 90 degrees during the day right now.

So it gets pretty warm inside the house since we only have one fan.

So Hyrum and I need other activities to help us get through our warm sunny days.

So sometimes we go to Mavericks work to hang out coz they have A/C.

But most of the time, its too hot to walk on over there.

So Hyrum LOVES water.

So I thought I would do some free easy outdoor entertainment.

So I put on his swim shorts and slapped on some sunscreen.

So I gathered some random things around and off we went outside.

So here is our water fun that we did today.

So we had a lot of fun.

So its safe to say that we are going to do it again.

Sleep Solution...ANYONE???

Alright blogger world...

I NEED HELP!!!

The boy is NOT sleeping and we have have ENOUGH!

We have been in our house for about 2 months now and I have NEVER spent the night on my bed.

We are pretty consistent with our bedtime routine. 

Dinner, bathtime, stories with milk, brush teeth, prayers then night night.

Most of the time he goes down without a problem and by 7:30-8:00 (as long as I am in the room with him).

Then I leave and he is good for a while (3-4 hours)

Then he wakes up and wont go back to sleep unless I go back in the room. 

I dont have to do anything though, I just sit there. 

If I have enough energy I go back to our room.

This usually happens twice then I am too tired so I end up sleeping in his room for the rest of the night.

SOOOOO...

Any ideas how we can change this? 

Crying it out DOES NOT work! 

We tried it when he was 4 months, 6 months and right when we moved in. This boy has STAMINA!!! He would cry for 30mins stop and fall asleep for about 5mins then repeat the process. 

We are honestly not believers of the crying it out method...At least not for Hyrum. He could and would cry for 3 hours (or more) straight. And we dont want that.

My theory is that he has major separation anxiety.

He was sleeping in the same room as us up until 2 months ago.

When he was an infant, I would put him in our bed and nurse him back to sleep.

When he got a bit older, I would just put him straight back to our bed whenever he would wake up.

The 4 months that we were in NZ he was on the same bed as me every night.

It just seemed easier that way.

So how do I break it?

Moving On

We FINALLY have internet! Its amazing how much we rely on technology nowadays.

Although it was a nice break, we were both itching to get connected again.

Sooo I have somewhat caught up with life.

Key word - SOMEWHAT

But as life goes on now matter how behind you are, here is what we have been up to.

After my one week stint of being deathly sick with major vertigo and loss of hearing on my left ear, Maverick and I went on a house hunting frenzy.

It took us two weeks to find out humble abode.

A little two bedroom apartment just slightly bigger than TVA but $200 cheaper.

I think that it is perfect for what we need right now.  Hyrum has his own bedroom (which he is still getting used to) and the washer, dryer, fridge and stove comes with.

The day we signed the lease they gave us our keys and we had our first dinner there. We moved in the next day.

10 mins walk from Mavs work, 3 mins to the church, 10 mins walk to our doctor, 5 mins to the city center, 15 mins to the grocery store and 10 mins to the hospital.  Walking distance things are pretty important to me since driving isnt any use to me.  We are also pretty close to the library, the dollar store, post office, city hall, our bank, number of parks and about 10 mins drive to WalMart, DI, and fast food places.

So we were pretty stoked when we found it, and signed the least right away. Then moved the next day. hehe.

Right now, we are still pretty much a mess. We are still missing a couple of dressers, a Hyrum bed (he is on a futon on the floor at the moment), and just more organization. But, im ok with it.

As for other news, Maverick works for Impact Athletic as a personal trainer. Burley (where we are currently living) is a pretty small town so I was shocked when I first saw the size of the gym that he works at. 

The best thing about it (at least for me) is that we get FREE gym memberships! 

Which means free access to an indoor pool, cardio room, weights room, basketball courts, racquetball courts, volleyball courts, sauna/steam room, walking/running track, spinning studio, and massage therapy.  They also have a few group fitness classes but I am only interested in zumba and aqua zumba. Best part is, they also have CHILD CARE services! Well we have only dropped Hyrum off once and it didnt go very good since he saw Maverick out on one of the windows. So no perks with that one just yet but we'll keep trying and one of these days we'll be able to take advantage of it.

So yah, dats about it...

This has been a rambling post. I think its been too long since I last posted so ive forgotten how to blog. 

Maybe i'll try harder next time...

Moving In

We moved into an apartment 2 days ago.

Its all very exciting!

But, it is a MESS right now.

We still need a lot of things like dressers and dining table and such.

Its a lot different than moving into TVA. We didnt seem to need to worry about little things like can opener and spatulas and such because of the freebie bin.

We dont have internet yet (and wont have one for a while) so I will only be able to update when we go over to my in-laws. 

So yah, ill do updates later.

Traveling Adventures with my Little Sidekick

For my own sake, I want to record my great accomplishment of traveling alone with Hyrum. So bear with me, this may get a little boring.

PS. This post is a little delayed since I was out of commission for a week. 

Thurday 28 April (NZ time) 11ish am

Last moments with doda, dodo and toti 

Left New Zealand on an 8 1/2 hr flight to Hawaii.

In Auckland airport there this viewing place where people can do their last goodbye .

Got a special assistance from an AirNZ crew which was nice since we buzzed through security, got to pre board before any of the pre boarding was called and got a whole row (3 seats) all to ourselves.

Hy fell asleep while we were taking off so right away, I was confident that it was going to be a good flight.

I only slept for an hour of the 2 hours that he did.

Then, as soon as he woke up, it was PLAYTIME!

Hyrum watched TV, played games on the TV, played with toys, played with the seatbelt, played with the people sitting behind us, played with stickers, paced the aisle, bugged the stewardess, admired the clouds, had lots of snacks, read books, peed on a seat (coz he took his diaper off and I didnt notice), and smiled and waved at everyone that payed attention.

I brought 4 books

Playing with the tv remote

Never ending snacks

Playing with stickers

This one kept him entertained for a while

The flight actually went surprisingly fast. Except for the last hour, where he had just had enough.  And this is the time when we needed to just be seated coz the plane was descending.  So he kicked and screamed and refused anything that I was giving him.  This was also the time that I was tempted to bust out my secret weapon (benadryl). But I didnt since he stopped squirming once he started to feel the pressure on his ears. Then he started to whine because he felt the pressure on his ears but since he didnt want to drink, he just slept it off.

Then, it was the moment of truth. Facing immigration.

If we wouldve risked it 4 month ago, this was the stage that I was scared for.

I was still pretty nervous. Especially after they sent me to another place and got me to sit down on a couch after checking my passport for about 30mins. Good thing Hyrum was asleep during this time.

After all the paperwork was done, I got finger printed, briefed on policies then sent off my merry way. 

Kealani Makaiwi with her husband Josh and twins Jordan and Jayden came to pick us up and welcome us back to Hawaii. 

Jordan and Jaydon with Hyrum making mischief

Thursday April 28 (Hawaii time)

NZ is a day ahead so we had a Thursday redo.

We headed off to Laie with Kealani and the twins at about 6am and dropped off our luggage at the Ke Alakai office for safe keeping during the day.

We stayed there for a little bit till I got the day all planned out.

Then we went to TVA to say hi and goodbye to old neighbors then off to the beach.

Hitomi and Amy with baby Tae and baby Marcus

A quick photo shoot with Marianna to remember our Hawaii then it was me and Hyrum time with the beach.

My phone camera doesnt give Temple Beach any justice

I sat there with Hyrum on my lap feeling the sand and the waves.  It was really nice. I talked to Heavenly Father then said my Aloha O'e.

Went back to TVA and had a shower at the Gomez's then met up with Leahi and Alex to do a quick geocaching run. Then picked up Bro. Crowell's truck so we could use it to go to the airport.

My first geocache out of NZ

Then off we go. Security was a hassle. Hyrum was active. Waiting was a pain. Then we get slapped with a..."This flight is full, stand-by passengers will now be put on the next flight." Did I mention we were flying stand-by for the first time... The next flight (and last flight out of Oahu to the mainland) was to San Francisco which was also full. Turns out, an earlier flight with 300 people got cancelled so all those people had to be on another flight. Which means all stand-bys had no chance of getting out of the island. After much confusion, stress, anxiety and calls to Maverick, we decided to just purchase a ticket for the next night to secure a seat. I called Ckaz who lives in town then caught a taxi to crash at her house for the night.

Honolulu Airport at 1AM, shot while waiting for the taxi

My poor Hyrum was so exhausted. Im sure he would be cursing me for putting him through this ordeal if he could talk. I was so mad at myself.

Regardless, we had a good night sleep and woke up ready to play.

Friday 29 April

Just chilled at Ckaz's house. Took naps, played with baby Kalen, last minute Walmart trip to top-up the snacks. then off to the airport again.

It was great to spend the day to catch up with these two

Security was still horrendous, waiting on the gate was long, the flight was super full, but, as soon as the plane engine started the boy was OUT! 

and he didnt wake up until we landed in Pheonix, Arizona.

Thank goodness for red-eye flights!

Saturday 30 April

LAST LEG OF THE TRAVEL!

Ive done so much traveling already that a little hour and a half plane ride to Boise, Idaho was nothing.

I can finally see the end!

Thank you jetlag and time difference since it was still only 4am in Hyrums body clock.

He slept right through this flight too, which made it so easy!

We landed. Turned phone on. Walk (jogged) towards baggage claim. AND

THE END WAS THERE!

Mr. Maverick Mitton in his reggae color shirt and shorts with a smile beaming from ear to ear.

16 weeks and 4 days has come down to this very moment. 

TOGETHER AGAIN!

And as a bonus, Hyrum recognized his daddy and would push me whenever I would lean in to hug him.

I CAN BREATHE AGAIN!
(Until I got deathly sick a day later)

DIZZY dizzy DIZZY

Too much traveling has gotten me all DIZZY dizzy!

Like literally.

I havent been able to get up without stumbling since Monday.

Which means looking after the little one has been everybody elses responsibility.

Kinda sucky!

BUT, im getting better.