Summer School

Hello, I'm "blogging" from Kamehameha Schools, Maui Campus. Im in the middle school health room for this and next week. So far, I've had a sty, a sore stomach , and a rash. It reaks of tea tree oil. Its not very exciting, and though i don't want to complain, its a little boring. I have a computer that I can watch videos on. Anyone have any suggestions for a TV show I can get myself hooked on between customers in the health room?
I'll try to think of something exciting for the next entry =)
Happy Monday to all and to all a good week!

The happening

                                      

Wahlberg as Elliot Moore in "The Happening."" title="Mark Wahlberg as Elliot Moore in "The Happening."">

So, I'm being very spoiled lately:  two nights in a row of movies (and yes of course, popcorn) just for carrying around baby girl gibson. Its not like i have much of a choice, seeing as she has a way of clinging on where ever I go, so i'm not sure i can take full credit. --she weighs over a pound this week, by the way! Feels like a tissue...

Anyway, the movie we saw last night was M. Night Shamalamadingdong's most recent, "The Happening".  I like mr night guy, but I've noticed that everything has gone down hill from signs and the sixth sense.  He's reaching, or I guess you can say, he can't reach.  As you can see from the picture above, the movie starts and we are to believe that Marky Mark Whalberg is a high school science teacher.  The unbelievability grows from there.  Brooks and I were talking about it afterward, and during the movie we were both wondering if we were seeing the characters turn to zombies as part of a plot twist and purposefully, or if it was just really bad acting. Unfortunately, we figured out it was the latter.  Cool idea, but you were left, not so much, "hanging" at the end, but waiting for whatever was after the "comma".

Eat your heart out Gene Shallot.

If you'd like to watch the preview, you can fore go seeing the whole movie and do something productive with your time and money. If you're like me though, we can fully know that its going to be lame and go anyway, sitting unladylike, feet up, belly out, and greasy fingered in (as linda fleming would say) "Hawg heaven".  

If you want to go the movies and be entertained, I would recommend our choice for the night before last-- Get Smart.  Funny and stupid and great =).

The garden is calling....

A whole now Honu, sortof

as anyone checked out honu photography lately?  We have moved up the professional ladder slightly.  We can now get orders online.  Very cool, cause now anyone who wants to view the wedding/event pictures can also order them right there =).  I don't know that it actually works yet as we haven't done a test run, but it looks like it works, and for now, thats good enough for me =).

Stop by if you like =) www.honuphotography.com

Yes Please, extra butter in fact

Sorry this is so big and obnoxious--I'm still figuring out this blog stuff, and the thought of popcorn is presently "big" in my head anyway.   

I think we're going to the movies tonight to see Get Smart.  It looks stupid and funny and perfect, AND I can take care of a large popcorn by myself.  I share with Brooks, but he gets a separate container.

MANGOS MADE MY TUESDAY (imagine the alliteration if this happened a day ago)

Oh I love Maui.  

Yes, I complain.  Who wouldn't?  The gas in 4.63/gallon and we have no target!!  But there must be a lot of magic if we are pregnant and not moving home to be with family we dearly miss or to let a line form for free baby sitting. We will move home at some point soon, but right now, we are enjoying what we have here, namely weather, beauty, mostly peaceful surroundings and little events like this:

I was in Foodland (thats the actual name of our Grocery chain)  today, looking for some...food when a hawaiian lady with a toddler "stroll"ed up to me and smiled.  We were both staring at the box cakes for a moment, then she smiled again and said something very pigeon-y like "sorry no mean to stare, you have baby coming, yeah?"  

We talked a little about having a baby, how far along.  She asked FIRST and I gladly let her feel my belly.  She somehow  asked  questions without being at all intrusive, and we had a nice conversation, talking about eating healthy with box cake supplements.   Long story short, she had a dozen mangos in the bottom of her stroller from tutu's (mom's) house (not a surprising find in maui) and loaded me up with as many as would fit into my purse.  "you need make belly happy and little wahine strong".  So sweet.  After some alohas, and mahalos, and a hug, I lugged my body, cake, and almost ripping purse away.

A little 2 minute experience but it left a smile on my face for a while.  And now we have lots and lots of mangos.

As Requested

Here's a recent picture-- I don't want to talk about it.  I love you all, pass the pasta.

Alright, here's the playing-hard-to-get DIVA

Greenley in all her glory

One of the best things about being "out of town" for a little, to me, is coming back to my plants.  This of course is only because I have a Brooks, who follows directions with watering and things so nicely.  Otherwise I'd worry.

(its also REALLY great to see Chester too.  I take advantage of his snuggling sometimes, and this reminds me not too).

Anyway, so I get home and go out on the porch to checks on my ladies (orchids) and like a great friend, Greenley had been preparing for my arrival.

...about 20 minutes later...

RATS. For some reason, the pictures aren't uploading. Will try again.  If the suspense is killing you, I apologize. She is, however, worth waiting for.

Ho'olauna Program- Kamehameha Schools

Ok, so, I'd like to talk about this little summer camp thing I just did.  ho'olauna means "discovery" and the week long field trip thing is for kids to learn a little culture- as in hawaiian (language, history, values).  They learn chants and songs in hawaiian, go on excursions to historic sites, and get worked (ie; planting and harvesting taro all day, weaving lau hala, etc). 

As the nurse, i'm pretty set.  i'm there for registration to talk to the moms about their ADD and asthma kids and meds and so on.  Then, from the next day on, i show up for two hours in the morning and night (breakfast and dinner) to give meds, sun protection stuff (but they are all native hawaiian so they don't really know what that is), and fix the occasional bumps and bruises.  I am "on call" from dinner until breakfast and they rarely called me (by "calling" I mean knocking on the adjoining hotel room door).  Between breakfast and dinner, I'm on my own and they give me my own hotel room for the week.  NOT BAD.  I would actually hang around sometimes and listen to what the kids were doing that particular day.  Its so interesting and hearing kids sing prayers and things in hawaiian is really pretty.

The only problems:  (1) Its about an hour and a half from home, so I was sort of stuck and (2) for some reason, as soon as i got there, those pregnancy migraines woke up in full force.  It actually worked out though cause with that hotel room, i just treated every hour as if it was night. Curtains closed, lights out, TV on, sometimes on mute.  AND Brooks was awesome, coming to visit me a bunch, bringing munchies, crossword puzzle books, and all that fun stuff.

Here's the funny part, and the reason for this picture.  This is the name tag the staff wore all week.  In hawaii, kids call basically any "elders" aunty (not aunt) or uncle.  Our friend's kids call us aunty whitney and uncle brooks.  It's cute.  I really like it and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.  So, anytime a kid, whether i know him or not, calls me aunty, i smile. Its also a bit of a respect thing.  These hawaiians respect their elders--I'll be!!  So walking around the hotel, a little boy in the program would say, "aunty, good morning.  can i please have another bandaid for my foot?"  Adorable.

So the first or second day of this camp thing, we're in the cafeteria and I hear a little female voice say, "come on aunty whitney, lets go eat". I turn around, and what do you know, its a staff member.  I have never had anything close to this happen, not even in hawaii where aunty/uncle are as common as ma'am, miss, hey you...  

I'm just getting over waiters looking at me, obviously trying to decide if they should give me a kids menu or not.  I'm little, right? WRONG.  And I always look young, right?  Apparently not anymore. 

I thought it might've been a slip so i just smiled and went with her to eat (i wouldn't want to offend). But then, every time she talked to me as with some of the other staff, i was "Aunty Whitney".  I come to find out most of the staff either just graduated from high school (as in last month) or are in college.  That made me feel a little better. I just thought this aging process would be a lot more gradual.  I go from people assuming I'm a little sister, to being on the verge of them offering to help me cross the street.  A little alarming.  

I'M BaaaaAAAACK!!

I should've alerted my loyal readers prior to the fact, and i'm sorry about that.  

Don't take me out of your favorites, don't forget to tune in.  i'll be here all week, and hopefully thereafter to keep you in touch with life on the rock.

I got home last night from a week in Ka'anapali Beach.  It was a Kamehameha (old king dude) School's field trip of sorts and i was the nurse for some 6th  and 7th grade kids.  A lot of little moments i'd like to share (either that or nothing is really going on in my life these days, so i'm going to spread my ka'anapali beach stories out thin for the sake of the blog) so tune in tomorrow, same time, same place... whatever your particular time and place happen to be =).

Oh, yeah, and the CELTICS WON!!  Now I have to go shopping online to find Brooxie some bragging apparel. 

Have lovely Saturdays.

WHEW!!

OK, i've done it again.  I've gotten myself hooked on another sport, during the playoffs no less. I became an overnight Celtics fan a couple of months ago and my heart has been racing ever since.  Tonight was maybe a little too exciting.  I'm still catching my breath.

A link I have placed below will give you the wrap up (very short) of the game this evening. Basically, unbelievable.  At one point, the Celtics were down 24 points to the Lakers, and came back and won.  It was crazy.  So now the series is 3-1 Celtics.  Ha Ha Kobe.

Now, before anyone worries about my stress level or heart rhythm, , I told my doctor about this basketball situation, cause I actually was worried (I AM my mother's daughter and take my sports events very seriously).  She said it was OK.  She also said as long as I don't exceed the maximum, these were OK:

So, I've been enjoying these.  And actually, i really DO enjoy these.  Not only for the games, but I have a small fire near that middle of my sternum that is competing with the olympic torch.  Water does NOT put it out. 

You may notice from the picture that Tums has come out with new "flavors".  They don't tell you what fruits they're trying to mock, but they are a berry variety and they are delicious!  Also, they're a lot less chalky than the originals.  Erica, you listening?

I'm thinking of this Tums business as a perk to pregnancy.  Little victories are very exciting.  There are so many things on the "no" list...  My main issue THIS week:

Why on God's good earth can't I lay on my back?  

I understand the physiology of it, but think about this.  For a REALLY long time, women have carried and delivered babies.  Way before modern technology, there was nothing on the "no list" except pike positions I assume. Advances are great, but can't they stop the pregnancy studies already?  What I don't know probably really won't hurt me.  But since I know it, I can't have it, any of it.  

Anyway, thanks to modern medicine, I can't have soft cheeses, sushi, or even ibuprofen (I'm not kidding:  I was told by my doctor to limit my tuna intake to two servings a week--WHAT?).  And, now as of the 2nd trimester, which I'm about halfway through, sleeping on my back is dangerous.  

It has not been going well.  When I DO sleep well, I wake up in the middle of the night on my back and feel horrible guilt about constricting baby girl's blood flow.  The I get on my left side ("preferable") and lay awake thinking I'm already a bad mom.  I guess this is the beginning of motherhood...worrying about tiny circulatory systems,  whether or not I'm doing a good job, and tossing and turning, trying to sleep.  

That's OK. I say bring it on.  I'll sleep when I'm dead and I can't wait for more of it!

Excuse me and my tangent.  I began this blog to celebrate the celtics.  Lets get back to that.

YAY!  i can sleep easy tonight. 

well, you know..

So anyway, if you're interested, let this link fill you in on the game.  You'll get the idea, without the worry of gastric ulcers or the need for supplemental calcium.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videold=3440983&n8pe6c=3

P.S. Chester is asleep on the couch.  The game wore him out too =). (thank you) 

Arg

Is it Thursday already??  I see that I last posted something on Monday.  If it was a pet, it would be dead.  So much for my daily routine.

Its nice and rainy and grey here.  Maybe thats why I've been lazy.  I'm going to have to cut this short chester is trying, successfully, to walk on the keyboard and editing as you goo is really annoying, and i dont want to curse in front of the bBY.

SORRY. WILL BE BETTER later when he's asleep.

Greenley

WHO'S EXCITED??

this chick!

So a while ago, I found an orchid abused and left for dead in my neighbor's bushes (that may sound weird, but she was out of town and I was taking care of her plants and stuff). She was on her belly, without a pot to, anything, in. Mostly dried up roots and a few green leaves.
I took her in and named her, as I do all my orchids. Her name is Greenley. That's a soap character's name (from the night shift days) and I thought it might encourage the color green. That, and I was running out of girl names--I have a lot of orchids, you see, and they're all female.
I've been taking care of her, setting up her living quarters with other orchies and saying hello to her every morning. I dont know how she crept up on my like she did, but I can't say I saw this spurt from its onset. I CAN say, I'm very proud.
So, I'm VERY excited about this. The especially cool part is that since I found her on her death flower bed, she obviously wasn't blooming. I have no idea what the flowers will look like!
I think it goes without saying that I'll keep my loyal readers posted.

Jealous?

We went to CostCo yesterday. We hate it, but as with many things in a maui, it is sortof a necessary evil. AND... sometimes we even find gems. This purchase was totally worth the all chaos, florescent lights, and lines of the factory store. i thought I'd share the excitement with you.

I got us a box of Cinnamon Life a couple weeks ago, hesitantly because we don't really eat cereal at all. It was a grocery store impulse and I went with it. Those sweet toasted treats only lasted a few days. So on our way to big old CostCo yesterday we planned to look in the cereal aisle (or cereal street, whatever you want to call it). We didn't talk about it, but I assumed we'd be in the market for something boasting bran, grains, or general "roughage"ness. (Very lucky for me, i dont think i'm really having cravings, yet at least, but i'm definitely leaning in the direction of healthy stuff, more than ever in my life--granola bars, yogart, juice, salads mostly--and Brooks is always up for healthy, especially in the morning).

We saw this box of dreams and there was no debate. Brooks started his Sunday with Cookie Crisp, and I with Lucky Charms. I think lunch might involve Trix. I wouldn't want to leave anyone out.

This is a combo pack of some of my favorite crap cereal that brings back memories of childhood (at camp of course, and at friends houses, not at home. Actually, I think it was provided on campING trips by mom, who realized all of us kids deserved some junk sometimes.)

Never wanting to hear my daughter complain that i didn't let her "live a little", a took one for the team and wrestled it down for her. Its baby's first sugar rush! "forsted lucky charms, marshmellowy delicious" wil not get out of my head.

Chester Update

Chester will not be mentioned in this blog for a little while. I think he read what I wrote, mistook which parts were cute, and overly exaggerated them. It was a rough night.
We still love him.

My son, Chester

Chester Cheetah Fleming doesn't get enough credit. Sure, if you turn the corner where he's pretending to sleep, he's goes for the calf with his perfectly sharpened scissor hands. Many of our friends (but not US) have actual scars on their wrists and hands from surprise attack bites during purring, nuzzling moments of giving pets, scratches, and love to the little chester man. These moments of viciousness are still a mystery.
As I always say, I didn't raise him to act that way. 97.2% of the time, he is loving, sweet, and a downright precious little guy who would only harm wild rodents, bugs, birds, and silly neighborhood cats and dogs who believe they are entitled to outings and fresh air in their own back yards.
He knows something is "up" with me. Maybe its the swollen belly, the increasing time at home, or just that amazing sense cats have, but he has become my sidekick and my shadow. He gets stepped on, kicked, and knocked over at least daily (not anyone's fault but his as he has taken to walking between my feet).
Tossing and turning at night has become something of a sport for me and he's always being disturbed just as he gets comfortable, requiring him to have to pace and "knead bread" on me (real pleasant at 3 am) until he finds just the right position and then the cycle continues. The alternative of my disturbing him is when sweet Brooks hears a yelp from me as Chester pounces on my stomach in the wee hours and has developed an automatic reaction of grabbing chester, and pulling him over to his side at 2 minute intervals. Between all this, I'm feeling very loved and taken care of, if not well rested.
And even with all this, combined with less attention than he's used, Chester has not complained once. He only gets cuter and sweeter (I can't say that for those who visit the house). I wish he understood English so I could tell him how much I appreciate his companionship and how much HE is loved.
So anyway, I thought I'd update friends and family with some recent Chester-isms.


Chester loves water, but of course only if its his choice. After noticing that he loves to splash the bath water when one of us is in, or that when we jump out and pull the drain, he jumps in and plays frantically until the water runs out, we have taken to giving him his own bath time. 2 inches of water and he is in heaven. He'll drink, splash, sit, and soak, followed by long grooming sessions. He loves it, and we definitely get a kick out of it.



This is Chester dozing. He's pretty funny. He actually sleeps like this, and in other strange positions. The only downside: When he's this cute, and obviously comfortable, it would be a crime to bother him. Poor Brooks has to have everything brought to him in times like these. Water refills, beer (which smells great to a pregger), the phone, dinner, etc.
With me its a little different. When I'm awake, I visit the bathroom about every 20 minutes and Chester has noticed, and modifying sleeping patterns accordingly.

My gift to Chester: In the red, Cat Nip. In the orange, some nutritious cat grass.
This is his little set-up on the porch (i tried to get him to pose--he basks in the sun on the open space of the table--but he is, you guessed it, napping).
Chester, in his wildest dreams, never imagined free reign of cat nip. He's a spoiled, happy dude. I just can't get the nip to grow as fast as the demand. I might need to have some "potted" treats in every room to keep up with life style.

I am rambling and I apologize. He's my first born. But as a mother to my first biological child, I will make an effort to REALLY not allow biting and scratching, to encourage an active lifestyle, and to provide food on plates and bowls as opposed to dirt.

I must go. Hes awake and ready for some "fancy feast".

Here Goes

 Ok, so I've been putting off posting THESE kinds of pictures.  Its hard to feel cute these days.  I'm feeling, and I even hate the word, THICK.  

Some people say they can't even tell, I'm not even showing, I'm tiny, etc.  Give me a break.  At least when people lie and say they cant see that pimple in the middle of your nose, you might be able to justify it with the makeup, or lighting, or blindness.  I think you can hear me thundering through the house and there are lots of clothes put away in boxes being replaced with the latest circus tents on sale at "motherhood" my new only-place-that-fits-store.

Oh yeah, and here would also be my new haircut.  Its not really new anymore, a few weeks old.  But with these pregnancy hormones doing the million man march through my system, its already grown a lot.  Already in that in between phase, I'm feeling rather schleppy.

Yes, mom, i know, I look so "healthy and great and cute", but thank you in advance.  I will feel that way eventually when i look more "pregnant", but for now, I'm sulking a little and I like it that way.  The pimple is there.