Heather's Zombie Bachelorette Party

My friend Heather is getting married and she asked me to be her maid of honor (Hawai'i version anyway). I was so flattered that she asked me and so excited for her, but also a little intimidated since all of my knowledge of maid of honor duties actually comes from the movies. When you're LDS and get married in the temple, you have little use for such, um, "positions", although many people still have those "positions" I guess at their receptions/celebrations afterward. 

So. One thing I did know was bachelorette party. Also gleaned from movies. So since I didn't think Heather would actually want/enjoy that kind of bachelorette party, I went out on a limb and went a little more creative. 

Like zombie creative. She & her fiance have a thing for zombies and she & I love dressing up and Halloween was shortly before her wedding... well, it just made the most sense of course.

So we dressed up. Went for more sexy zombie than gross zombie, though.

Zombies also need snacks while they're dressing to go out on the town, so everyone brought potluck body parts. I brought the brain and the eyeballs.

We also had mice, fingers and other eyeballs.

I'm the type of zombie who's not necessarily wanting to share germs with the other zombies, so rather than diving in face first I hacked that brain with a knife. 

The appetizers weren't quite enough though. We were all still a bit hungry.

The Bride and her Bridesmaids.

After dressing all up we obviously had to go out and be seen. Unfortunately the costume party I'd been aiming for was earlier than we could make it. So we wandered lamely around Waikiki looking for something to do. We landed at some club with a costume party and a couple of us (Heather & me. And later Diane) got up and danced for a while. It was pretty fun. We agreed that we'd have to go out dancing again another time. 

In retrospect I wish I'd planned something else fun for the after dress-up party. Like a photo scavenger hunt or something. That would have been fun and cool and could have started and ended whenever. Ah well. Next time, eh? The dressing up was the best part of the night, though, and super fun.

Congrats Heather! I love you, babe!

GQ

I don't know why it took us so long to figure out that when wet and slathered with gel, Roman's hair not only becomes manageable, but absolutely adorable. I mean, seriously. Look at this kid.

Fortunately, he has a smart dad who understands the miraculous properties of hair gel. I seriously can't get enough of this! 

Babies Sleep. A Lot.

Roman's happy to have a brother. 

We tried out the Bumbo. It's hard work sitting upright, holding that giant head up!

Tummy time on the Boppy... again with the giant head.

Bath Time!

We've gone from bathing this squalling red creature in the sink for the first time:

to bathing this cherubic little angel in the sink for the last time:

Hi guys, what's up?

He was so cute smiling up at his daddy, I hurried to snap a pic. Guess he liked getting all his chins cleaned out. He didn't even squeak once during his bath. Seems he's gotten the hang of it. 

So-- onto bigger and better things then! Like the tub.

Dia de los Muertos

So my friend Natalie asked my advice on doing a sugar skull face for Dia de los Muertos/Halloween. 

Good friend that I am, I did some extensive research on YouTube and experimented myself with some cheap Halloween makeup and then reported my findings. 

It took me about 3 hours. 

We were an hour late for the ward trunk or treat.

I discovered a new found love for makeup.

Gifts From the Heart

With a big characteristically cheesy smile, Xandri handed me a bulky white envelope. 

Inside the envelope was a red envelope with Chinese  (I think?) writing and designs. 

Inside the red envelope was a used white eraser, a Santa Claus eraser and an unruffled Fauna fairy sticker with the stickiness all used up. 

Thank you, Xandri-- you give wonderful gifts!

Report Card: F for Fabulous

Dear Mom,

I want you to know that you have earned a grade of fabulous. And I again fully love you. You a very very fabulous mom.

Yours in thunder,
Avril

opposite page: You're truly beautiful and NICE!


Oh, I love you, too, Avril. You are a fabulous daughter-- and I ALWAYS fully love you.

To Every Thing There Is A Season

Ecclesiastes 3 
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;... a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;.... a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;... a time to keep silence, and a time to speak...

 Lately this scripture keeps running through my mind (although admittedly with a little more of The Byrds flair to it... turn! turn! turn!). I think it's my subconscious reminding me to chill out. There are so many things I want to do, to learn, to try-- and for many (ok, most) there is just not enough time.

 My day starts feeding Max, getting the kids up and ready for school, cleaning the house, feeding Max, doing the dishes, maybe getting a project OR a workout OR an extra chore done before feeding Max and doing lunch, cleaning up after, spending time with Roman, picking the girls up from school, feeding Max, helping with homework, tidying the house before Derek gets home, feeding Max, making dinner, doing bathtime OR working out, bedtime routine, cleaning up after dinner, feeding Max, relaxing with Derek, going to bed and starting it all again the next day. In between that, it's kissing booboos, cleaning up spilt milkcerealapplesauceketchupjuice, changing diapers, refereeing, etc.

As a mom with four young kids, everything just takes longer. There was a point that that chafed a bit. It seemed like I had multiple friends (who also have kids) who were doing cool craftfoodbookphotography blogs or starting etsy shops or businesses or whatever. It felt like everyone else was somehow able to do it all but me. Over time I've realized how silly it is to compare myself and the way I spend my time with others. Sometimes I didn't take into account that some had fewer kids- or older kids- or a husband with more time available to be picking up slack- or local family that could watch the kids. Furthermore, I think there's a lot you don't see in other peoples' lives. Stuff that you wouldn't know about unless you were a fly on the wall. How messy their house is- daily, when no guests are expected. How often dinner is take-out.

The fact is, just like money, we all have a finite amount of time. And we all have different priorities and different ways to manage it. We usually choose what we want most to afford and let go of those things that we care less about. So for those of you who really are in my situation with your kids and still manage to do it all... please let me go on in blissful ignorance and enjoy the rationalizations I've come up with for why I'm not doing everything you are. Because I've come to the conclusion that this season of my life is for raising my kids. Not learning three languages, starting a business, training to be an instructor, or any of the million other things that I get excited about. Everything else will just have to wait for a while... or at least progress at a much slower pace. It's only a few short years before they're all in school and my day opens up... and a few short years after that that they are moving out and on with their lives. The front of ten, twenty years looks a lot longer, a lot bigger, than the back.

Thoughtful Avril

We got home from school on a particularly hot day last week to find our handyman hard at work touching up the chipped paint on the carport. Avril was immediately fascinated and hung out watching him on the shaded side of the house, asking him questions and just generally observing the work. 

I went on inside and helped Xandri get started on her homework and started puttering around tidying or doing whatever thing needed doing when Avril came back inside. I glanced out and saw that the handyman had moved around to the non-shaded side of the house. A moment later Avril slipped back outside, new umbrella in hand. I watched as she opened it up and wandered around the rock garden for a minute. She seemed to be trying to move around to stand on the wall near him, but I wasn't certain. She wasn't satisfied with her position and soon came back out of the rock garden. I had my suspicions about what she had up her sweet little sleeve, but I waited and watched it play out. 

Sure enough, she moved down and stood right next to him:

As he moved, so did she to accommodate his work and tried her hardest to give him the most shade possible. She stood there with him the entire time he worked and helped him by showing him around as well. Before he left, he thanked me for my daughter's help.

You know, as far as working as a stay-at-home-mom goes, I might not make much. (Anything.) But the benefits are worth far more than any salary I could be earning elsewhere. 

And the paydays are far sweeter.

I am so grateful to have this thoughtful, sweet little girl in my life, innocently teaching me what service really is. I love you, Avril.