A Great Reason for a Headache?

I think I've mentioned before that I am the social director (along with two of my buds) for our HOA (Home Owner's Association). There are 400+ homes in our neighborhood and they are all filled with awesome people that we can't wait to meet!

Today was our first summer social. It was a hit. The main reason was because it was simple. No frills, just playing at the pool and free popsicles and ice cream bars. We (the directors) enjoyed every minute because we just got to socialize, meet loads of new families in the neighborhood, and only had to referee a bit to make sure certain kids didn't inhale all the treats before everyone got one. We also got to eat as many treats as we wanted... and we got some names/numbers of new babysitters :) 

Our poster was destroyed about 5 minutes into the event. It took me 3 minutes to make, so I didn't feel too bad about it. Like I said... simple was the goal. This poster will not be featured on pinterest.

Andrew was like a crazy pool maniac the whole time. He is getting more and more water safe, so I actually could watch him from outside of the pool when I was socializing... Unfortunately, Catie was determined to spend the entire afternoon in the pool... hence my headache. The adorable little fish is completely unhappy and ecstatic in the pool. She can't make up her mind how she feels about the water and me having to hold her... She wants to be like the other kids who don't need to be held... but she can't stand me not being glued to her side either. For a blissful minute or two she loved wearing a friend's water wings, but then was done with that and yelling, "no mama, no mama." She kept me moving the whole 2 hour event. I think I am counting that as my workout for the day.

Meanwhile, other than occasionally jumping too close to the wall, Andrew was an angel... until they found this darn plastic snake on the bathroom floor (which I found out about from Julie as Andrew was sucking on it- ICK!).

Once the snake came into the picture Andrew could not handle having to share it with his friend. This turned into a lovely tantrum that ended our pool party fun.

The thing I love about Andrew is that even when he is throwing a massive tantrum and people are staring at us (and usually smiling at me giving me that, "I've been there, you're a good mom" smile)... he still does exactly what I say to do.

He could be yelling like a maniac that he hates me and he's not going home and he wants to stay at the pool... but when I start walking to the car or packing up the stroller he will follow me all the way to the car yelling... but he still comes. Thank goodness! His level of tantrum had gotten to the point that I thought I was going to have to jump in the pool, pull him out, and carry him to the car.

By the time I strapped my kids in the car (watching a movie while a friend watched them), cleaned up the clubhouse from the party and rearmed the alarm, I had the most massive headache ever.

Leftover pizza take-out and some episodes of Busytown cartoons while I sat on the couch in a daze helped clear it up a bit though... and so did putting the kids to bed super early.

Can't wait till our next popsicle/ice cream pool party!

The New Busy

I always get depressed after vacation, so I like to get busy asap. To be honest, I have no memory of what we did last week with Kevin home other than I know we did a family drive-thru trip to Cheesecake Factory. It involved Kevin and I eating take-out in the car while the kids blissfully watched a movie in the back and we occasionally tossed them a french fry.

Other than that, it was all a blur. There was too much to do to get back in the swing of life... none of which included unpacking, cleaning, or laundry. 

This week we've been busy with what I sometimes call my "virtual" life. It doesn't feel real... since it is on the computer, but I have work deadlines and stuff in order to get paid. We spent several days working on different projects with sticks for a few different blog posts. Kevin and Andrew had a grand time hunting for them.

You can check out one of the cool things we created here

(but if you have a daughter named Maddie or your name is Grandpa Kim... don't look yet ;))

We also worked on a blog post for one of my favorite toy companies- Melissa and Doug. It will get posted sometime next week. It was fun to discover my face on their website the other day. 

Catie liked eating the project more than doing it. I love her guilty face right before she starts stuffing our project in our mouth :)

Most of this week I have spent free time working on handouts for girls camp or actually "cleaning" my house... which basically means moving piles from one room to another. I need a solid week all by myself alone in my house to make a dent on the disaster that currently lies behind cupboards. (The 5 hours Kevin gave me on Saturday only helped me get one load of laundry done. I work at a slow pace right now.)

We've also had several park playdates with friends and even went jogging with my neighbor the other day. The kids thought it was so fun and Stefanie and I enjoyed chatting while we jogged and pushed... though I mostly breathed heavily and gasped bc I was dying pushing the double jogger uphill.

It has been hot, so we've also spent some quality time eating popsicles in our baby pool. After being a mean mom for most of the day the other day, we did do a cool project. My creativity goes in waves though... and when it is hot I'd rather just sit and attempt to referee my kids from my spot in the shade.

A friend and I decided to do a weekly "kid's camp" with a theme. This week I was in charge and so we had bug camp today. Catie hates when my attention isn't solely devoted to her... so she struggles with my parties, but I press on. Partying is in my genes and this girl needs to learn that having lots of friends at our house is fun!

The highlight of camp was the bug hunt. They were way into it. My proudest moment was when everyone else was done and Andrew wasn't and he had to get every last bug checked off. Love it that he cared.

Other fun happenings this week... 

• one of my favorite friends had her new baby girl. Baby Torri is going to be my little guy's BFF. I got to visit her at the hospital today and accidentally took a detour through some places I wasn't supposed to go when my friend and I got lost on our way out... so we visited with all the nurses in Labor and Delivery and told them I'd be coming to see them again in a few months!
• I had my first really long preschool board meeting. I'm the new Curriculum Chair on the Executive Board. Any free time I thought I was going to have next year will be gone once mid August hits... so I'm extra motivated to be lazy now. Our meeting was from 7-10pm tonight. I forgot to bring a diet coke and just about passed out around 9pm. Excited to be working with such awesome ladies though!
• Girls Night out at a new-to-me Thai restaurant with my friend Melissa last night. I ate so much curry and pineapple fried rice that I was in a food coma until about 11:30pm last night and then realized I actually had a huge long "to do" list I needed to get cracking on.
• Finally used the laminator that Shari gave me for Christmas. I sense a new addiction coming on. 
• Catie now says "NO" to us constantly. It is so funny that Andrew and I have a hard time keeping a straight face. She actually uses it in correct contexts and is pairing it with lots of other words. My favorite now is that instead of hearing her screaming when Andrew isn't being nice to her  and wondering what happened... I can hear her yelling, "no Babboo, no Babboo" :) Then at least I know the culprit quicker. Baboo = Andrew

Lastly, Baby #3 has been on my mind a lot. At least in the 5 minutes a day when I have down time... or when I start crying for dumb reasons (like how it was soooo hard to scoop out my own ice cream tonight). He isn't much of a presence because he is hiding behind the placenta... which means I don't get too many jabs yet (thank goodness!). 

I am seriously trying to figure out how to get this poor kid some attention. He doesn't get a new room (unless I get busy doing some serious remodeling... which I just can't picture happening bc I have been lazy lately and then sporadically busy), so I don't have anything to decorate...

I'm not really motivated to buy him anything yet... though he did get a super cute sleeper from Sarah when we were in NC (so adorable and itty bitty!). 

And because he's such a non-presence, half the time I don't remember that I am pregnant... unless I'm walking by super unflattering mirrors (like I did earlier today) and then it is rudely apparent that I am pregnant and huge. 

So, for now the little guy will just have to settle for some extra love via an end of the day bowl of ice cream... and hopefully Kevin is nearby to scoop it because apparently that is too hard of a job for me after a 3 hour preschool meeting!

An East Coast Road Trip to North Carolina!

Whenever we get on the East Coast I started realizing how close all of my favorite people and places are... and try and fit in seeing all of them.

We've been trying to get to North Carolina on a trip for about two years. One day on our Virginia Beach trip we decided that since we were only 6 hours away from our NC friends, we should try and change our flights and extend our trip a bit.

Etta was gone on family vacation, but the Warners were around, so after our weeklong trip to VA we jumped in the car headed to the Charlotte area where they live! The road trip was pretty good (other than the car chargers not working... so the last two hours of the drive we didn't have any shows to watch on the iPad because it was dead :(). 

Once we arrived, we settled in, put the kids down to bed, said goodbye to the babysitter, and headed off for a night out with Chris & Sarah (Andrew was babysat by the iPad for a little bit until he chose to go to bed)!

I can't remember the name of the BBQ place they took us to in Charlotte, but the cheesy bread was awesome, loaded baked potatoes were delicious, and chocolate pie was heavenly! It was the best meal I'd eaten all week!

On Sunday we went to Chris & Sarah's ward and we dropped off all the kids in primary so that we could relax in Sunday School without them. Lovely! Catie even managed to stay happy in nursery with strange new people and toys for almost 2 hours.

Then we spent the afternoon playing in the Warner's beautiful playroom, watching movies, chatting, and eating. Sarah made a delicious lunch for us and then Chris BBQ ribs for dinner that Kevin loved. Andrew and Izzie played together upstairs in the playroom without any problems for like three hours while Sarah and I chatted and Kevin and Chris did random techy things.

Later we snuck outside to get some energy out. It was 100+ degrees, so the kiddos didn't last long.

Catie was so confused as to why her crazy buddies thought being outside and running races was fun!

After dinner, Sarah and I left the guys and kids and went on a nice leisurely walk... until it started thundering and lightning and then we ran home. We put the crazy kiddos to bed. Andrew and Izzie had a sleepover in the playroom. We didn't think they would fall asleep, but they passed out within 5-10 minutes. Probably from all the racing in the hot weather.

We knew the sleepover wouldn't last... but it was fun trying it anyway. Andrew woke up screaming bloody murder around 12:30am, freaked Izzie out, and everyone went back to their beds (or their parent's beds) for actual sleeping.

The next morning Sarah and I woke up before it got really hot and went for a 3 mile jog. Kevin "watched" the kiddos from his bed. :) Then we played in Sarah's pool for awhile until it was time to get ready and packed up to head to the airport.

There was an amazing spider in the pool that walked on water. Andrew and Kevin thought it was cool. Sarah and I did not.

I love Andrew's terrified face here.

Before we got in the car we managed to snap a few pictures. I finally got one of me to prove that I actually was on the trip. Izzie and Andrew crack me up.

... and they had to be in our picture too.

Thanks Warners for such a fun spur of the moment trip! You were exceptional hosts! Let's do it again soon!

Maui- in pictures

We went to Maui with my parents and siblings (plus kids) about three or four weeks ago. It was heaven. We stayed in the Kaanapali Royal timeshares right up the hill from Whalers Village and lounged and enjoyed every minute of the week.

I tried to take a lot of pictures at the beginning of the week... because by the end I got lazy.

Most days went like this...

• Elise, mom, Jess, and I went running 
• Everyone went to the beach 
• We ate lunch (usually down at Whalers village) 
• The kids napped 
• Sometimes we went to the pool 
• We hit up an early dinner (so the kids wouldn't be too crazy)
• Then we grabbed dessert (usually shave ice or sundaes in downtown Lahaina)
• Then we got the kids to bed at a semi-decent time and relaxed all evening

Andrew and Catie both love boogie boarding.

Andrew's favorite buddy all week long was Grandpa. He is counting down the days until we go to Utah for Grandpa's birthday and see him again (seriously talks about it multiple times a day).

We are big fans of yummy meals. We made sure to hit all of our favorite restaurants when we were in town. Cheeseburger in Paradise, Lahaina Pizza Company, Longhis, The Hula Grill, CJs, etc.

I think this is the one picture I got of the whole gang.

We had tons of fun roaming around the Banyon Tree park while I snapped photos of these cheeseballs.

This is the only pic I took at the beach the next day (see... starting to feel lazy)

Shave ice is Kevin's favorite. He was ok going there every night. The kids didn't disagree.

I still need to gather pictures from Scott, Kevin, Cat, and Jess... on Wednesday they drove the Road to Hana. They took Andrew with them. No one got sick and they had a great time.

Meanwhile, Elise, Dan, me and my parents (plus Catie and the other kids) spent the day at Baby Beach in Lahaina (Catie is crazy at the beach, so I could barely take any pictures that day).

We also went out to lunch and had dinner at The Hula Grill in the outdoor bar area which was like a big sandbox. Catie loved it... other people didn't love her loving it... so we spent a lot of time wandering around outside of the restaurant.

The girls loved goofing around with Grandpa while we waited for our table.

The next day we headed off to Kapalua. I love the beach there... mainly because they sell Mrs. Fields ice cream sandwiches in close proximity to the water.

That evening we went to our longstanding favorite restaurant- Longhis. The service was slow but the food was delicious and our kids actually cooperated somewhat (thank you iPad and the fact that Catie really liked the spaghetti).

Thursday was another day spent lounging at the beach. In the evening we went to the Luau at the Hyatt. Love it. Especially the yummy juice.

I grabbed lots of pics while we waited for everything to start.

It is always so hot and sunny for the first hour or so. This is what Scott ends up doing every time.

I think this may be the one picture I have of Kevin and I from the whole week. I'm looking nice and sweaty :)

My delicious luau meal. Yum! Especially the pineapple. Catie and Andrew loved the pork!

Catie loved cuddling and giggling with Grandpa.

We tried a G&G with the grandkids photo shoot. They were good sports. I am not a professional photographer and have no patience with myself when I am taking pictures... so I have no patience with anyone else either.

On Friday we did our usual beach thing again, had a pizza party dinner with everyone at the pool, and then ended the trip with one last trip for shave ice.

Kevin and I also managed to get a date night in on the trip (thanks Mom and Dad for watching our kids!) and my mom, Elise and I had a girls night out shopping trip too. Kevin also got to spend two mornings scuba diving with Jess and Scott. He went to Molokini and Turtle Reef. He had a great time and was happy his scuba certification came in handy.

Kevin and I agree that out of all of the trips we've been on this entire year, we totally would've been ok with extending this one for another week or two. Maui feels like home, I love our routine there, and this post is making me want to go back right now.

Thanks Mom and Dad for such an awesome trip! It was so nice to have so much down time to just hang out with my siblings and parents and the little cousins and spend time together.