Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Wow! It's been several weeks even a full month since the last time I blogged. Soooooooo much has changed but we'll get to that later. More importantly, today is Valentines Day!!! Oh how I LOVE an entire day dedicated to LOVE! I've said it before and if you know me it's pretty obvious that I'm not a PDA kinda gal. I keep my love and affection behind closed doors. ;-) My poor hubby is super sensitive and affectionate so sometimes he says I'm "cold" for my lack of mushy-ness. But today is valentines day and I have been lucky enough to be married to my hubby for 10 years this year. So I think it's about time he gets a special shot out.

One of my little sisters asked me recently how it's possible to be with someone for so long and still continue to be interested in one another. I felt like it was a question that I couldn't answer because I have no clue! 10 years seems long, but in the grand scheme of things it's just the tip of the iceberg. What I do know is that I couldn't have been blessed with a more perfect match.

This past weekend Siua had the opportunity to go to Vegas for the Rugby 7's with his brother and cousins. I had no interest in going and since he's never really gotten the chance to have a "Guys Getaway" I thought it was a good idea for him to go. My poor babies cried real tears the night their dad left. He was only going to be gone for 3 full days but since he had never really gone anywhere for an extended period of time they took it extra hard. It was bittersweet to watch them get teary eyed when they said their goodbyes. It took forever to convince them that we had a fun weekend planned and dad would be home in no time.

I tried to entertain my babies over the weekend with fun things to keep their mind off of the fact that their dad was out of town. I had the hardest time! No matter what fun activity we did, they continued to ask "how many more days?" and "can we call daddy?". Man that guy has some hard shoes to fill! From the day each of our kids were born, Siua has managed to build a strong bond with them individually. Thanks to his sweet surprises and the time that he dedicates to making them happy, all three of our kids are majorly attached to their dad. Needless to say, they made it through the weekend and Siua was home by Sunday night.

After reflecting on the days we spent apart, I realized exactly how lucky I am. Not only is he an amazing and inspiring Dad, Siua is endlessly supportive of all of the things that I take on. While he isn't Mormon himself and has his own reasons for why he hasn't converted, he still continues to allow me to take our children to church and even joins because he believes that as a family, we should be at church together on Sundays. I'm constantly volunteering to help with different tasks at home, work and church without thinking twice about how I'm going to juggle it all because I know I have his help. Whether I'm on the move with a random project or trying out something new he's never once complained about having to deal with my random things. In the entire time that we've been married he's called me the same thing, no matter how much weight I gained or lost, whether I was all dressed and ready to go out or just waking up in the morning, while the hospital bed for whatever reason or just hanging out at home, Siua has always called me "Beautiful". He's never used any other mushy name or loving phrase and over time I've grown used to it. So much so, that I forget how simply sweet it is.

I'm not an easy person to live with, I admit it. At times my mom asks Siua how he could possibly deal with my strong personality, neat freakyness, loud mouth and strong will for so long. LOL I'm lucky. I realize that and I couldn't be more grateful for the loving husband, best friend and patient father that is the head of our family.

Happy Valentines Day cool guy. Enjoy your shot out for now, it's back to private business tomorrow. <3

Oh how lucky am I?!?!

I turned 29 this year. YES my very last year in my twenties. I'll admit it, I'm an old soul and I spent my birthday with my gma and Aunty Tala running little errands that they wanted. I actually enjoyed it. I also got to hang out with Nola, Ginger, Laura and Kris while doing some crazy girl things. LOL I had a blast.

I didn't get home until super late and felt really bad because I hadn't seen all of my siblings, hubby or kids all day. I had fun, but my birthday didn't feel complete without celebrating with everyone.

I felt even worse when I walked in to this.


My sweet sisters tried to wait for me to get home and surprise me but I got back so late that they just placed it on me bed. I can't imagine life without with big old loving family! I can't say how greatful I am for them because there aren't words to express that. Birthday 2011 was amazing and I can't wait to spend many more with those who I love dearly.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Since Mark left RIGHT before Valentines Day he asked us to help him with something for Hannah. He had most of the plans set but he wanted to make sure she felt EXTRA special. So us sisters got together and surprised her by decorating her room on Sunday afternoon and leaving the gift and letter that Mark left behind for her. Those of you who are married or have children (or just woman in general! LOL) know how sweet it is to have amazing sister in laws! Hannah and Mark aren't married BUT she can still get an idea of what kind of sister in laws we'd be. LOL So with the help of her mom Tofi, we made it a point to go together and share a little love with Hannah and Iga. We had fun throwing Hershey kisses all over her floor! LOL

Siua and I usually do the typical dinner and a movie on Valentines day. Nothing too crazy because it's always so busy everywhere. This year, after talking with my sisters, we all decided that we were going to do something fun for the kids. So we forfeited our yearly dinner plans and started party planning.

Valentines day morning started off amazingly well! When I got up for work the first thing I saw was a huge card from my three youngest sisters. Tasha, Lani and Jigz stayed up late the night before making cards and writing letters for each one of us older sisters. They made one for Madre as well. I LOVE kind gestures like that! Who needs expensive gifts when someone is willing to spend TIME on you? It was so sweet and I was humbled by their kind words and thoughtful deed.

I made my way into work and got completely caught off guard when I got an Edible Arrangements delivery. I'm not one to sugar coat things, I would tell you if I was kinda hoping for or expecting something. But I REALLY didn't think that was happening this year. We just got back from Utah and our funds were runnin' low so I thought a Valentines Day surprise was out of the question. I thought WRONG! Gotta love the way my hubby always comes through especially when I least expect it.

My two sweet surprises set the tone for the entire day. Our kiddies Valentines day party was so much fun! My sisters and I all came together with something for the kids. When there are 7 of us with the addition of Mark's girlfriend Hannah, it's feels easy to pull together a last minute bash for our babies.

Tasha took care of decorations covering the garage with hearts and cupids, Hannah put together a Valentines day card craft and a cute drink idea, Salomay made a big old tray of yummy brownines, Kris got a bunch of goodies to decorate the heart shaped mini cakes I made and youngest sissies Lani and Jigz put together sweet goody bags for each of their nieces and nephews. We had a blast!

After the kids made their Valentine pouches, decorated cakes, made their drinks and had a dance contest (I have to post a clip of the dancing!) they were given their goody bags and it was time for bed...NOT! They were wired! It was after 11pm and they were still runnin' around on a sugar fueled rampage. We didn't mind it much since Hannah brought her Glee Wii game and we got super happy singing our favorite tunes. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering what kind of crazy people sang THAT loud and let their kids stay up THAT late on a school night.

In the end, we ALL had fun. It's memories like these that I love creating. I'm so lucky to be blessed with each one of my sisters, including Hannah. I love how we can come together for our babies and make it happen on short notice. Gotta LOVE big families!

Success!!!

Christmas 2010 is officially over! While I had a difficult day at work (hence the last post) I allowed myself to vent, move on and get over it before it affected anything at home. Whew! I even toyed with the idea of erasing the post all together because I was such a Debbie Downer (LOL) but I changed my mind once I thought about how I wanted to make sure this was REAL...good, bad and ugly! I'll post pictures and such from Christmas soon since my hubby got me a new CAMERA!!! Turns out the cool guy actually reads this blog! HA! THANK YOU Babes!

So here's to the last week of 2010...no more Debbie Downer here!

"Yup, just one gift."

A conversation I overheard between Papa and Joshua this weekend -

Joshua: "Papa guess what mommy said, we're only getting ONE Christmas gift on Christmas."

Papa: "I know she told me already."

Joshua: "That sucks huh, I want a lotta gifts."

Papa: "Yeah but that's not what Christmas is about, it's about giving."

I kid you not, that is EXACTLY what Papa said. Lome can tell you cause he told her the same thing yesterday! LOL But seriously, that made me want to switch the original plan and buy the boy whatever his heart desired.

In previous years we've had MOUNTAINS of gifts for all of the kids. One from all the aunts/uncles, grandparents, parents, friends etc. Here is a picture from Christmas 2008-


This year we (as in the whole Washington St. clan) decided to scale back A LOT. I couldn't help but feel ashamed after realizing how unnecessary it was becoming. We were focusing too much on the materialistic things and not enough on the "reason for the season". Obviously I wanted my kids and siblings to have the best Christmas possible. I wanted these amazing Christmas mornings to be embedded in their memories forever. After a couple of years of breaking my back (and our bank!) trying to fulfill my own idea of what Christmas should be, I realized that we were doing everyone a huge disservice. I didn't have huge piles of gifts growing up, I never got the latest or greatest. One year I remember getting a Sega game system. THAT was the best Christmas ever but there was a catch. The Sega was the only gift for all of us siblings that year. Just the one Sega system and the Sonic the Hedgehog game. But we weren't complaining! It still sticks out as one of the best Christmas's ever!

So why was I trying to overdo it as an adult? As hard as it is, I'm sticking to the rule and just getting gifts for the two kids I picked this year. I would LOVE to get something for my younger sisters to show my appreciation and it's so hard to resist the cute outfit on sale for Kylee or the hat that I know Bruh Bruh Hati would love. But it's the idea of them being humble, down to earth, truly appreciative kids that sticks out to me now more than before. Not that they aren't all amazingly appreciative, humble and down to earth. But with a few more years of gift mountains, that could easily change. They don't need everything on their wish list. I couldn't get it all if I tried. What they really need is to learn the most basic lesson that Papa loves to repeat. It's not about what you get, it's more about what you give.

So when Joshy called me to confirm one more time that it was really true, I happily answered "Yup, just one gift Joshy". One material gift that is. He still has no idea about the lifelong gift that he is getting in the form of a lesson this year. He can stare long and hard at the pictures from Christmas' before, that'll be the last mountain of gifts he'll ever see on Christmas morning.

Back to that list...

Okay, just a little less than 2 weeks until 2010 is over. Can you believe it? I can't believe how quickly this year flew past! It was super busy, incredible trying but amazingly rewarding. Now I just need to make an attempt at a few improvements for next year. This is the list I've come up with.

-Make more time for family. I always manage to overload my schedule!
-Go on at least one family activity a month.
-Have one "date night" a month & each time must be different than previous dates. Dinner and a movie gets old after 3 in a row! LOL
-Cut all cursing out of my lingo. I have such a potty mouth sometimes!
-Get to work on time. Every day. Period.
-Work at least 3 months without a single sick day or vacation day.
-Do one random good deed a month.
-Lose 20 lbs. Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't add anything that has to do with weight loss BUT 20 lbs is doable.
-Tone down my natural overbearing nature. I can take an idea and RUN with it!
-Send missionary care packages once a month.
-Be nicer to my sister. Gotta stop clowning that girl! Y'all know! LOL
-Attend SAC mtg more often. I skip sometimes and make it in time for Sunday School. ---Last but not least...stop being so SHY! Urgh! It's hard to believe BUT I have a hard time approaching people that I don't know which leads them believe I'm stuck up. I had such a hard time with this when I was younger! It's getting better...slowly but surely. :-)

So that's it! Let's see if I can make this happen next year!

Bucket List 2011

Yup, I've decided I'm going to create a bucket list. I'm not sure if that's even accurate considering I don't plan on "kickin' the bucket" but I don't like saying resolutions because in the past, those haven't worked out as well as I would have liked. Hello, have you seen me in a size 14 this year? Yeah, that was last years resolution. LOL But more importantly I'd like to focus on what I am doing instead of knocking myself for what I don't do.

Last Sunday night I was up a little late making goodies to send off to Elders Faaumu and Tuihalangingie. It was then that I decided I should make it a more regular thing to give goodies to good people. It doesn't have to be just the elders! Everyone should get a care package every once in a while. Those of you who are lucky enough to be in my contacts (LOL @ lucky!) know that several times a month you get a "giveaway" text. This month I have been the buziest baking beezy (LOL) so there are more than just the occasional giveaways. I bake TONS of things TOO OFTEN and no one in my house needs, wants or should finish it all! So I simply give it away. Sometimes it's to the first person who replies. Other times it's to the one who can answer a question or list whatever random thing I've asked. Whatever the case, it's the act of giving that I enjoy. So regular GIVING is for sure going to be on next years list. (Side note-If you're not on my contacts, send me your number!)

In March of this year I decided I was going to "Pay it Forward" to people randomly each month. It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped but I managed to get a few things out. I'm going to continue that in 2011 and see if I can do a better job at meeting my deadlines. I'm not going to reveal all of my plans just yet. Instead I'll save it and go for a dramatic effect in the end. ;-)

I'll think more about what to put on next years bucket list and post it before this month is up. I'm open for suggestions too! I SOOO need some self improvement! I'm excited to dive in and shake things up. Once I think more about a list I'll post it. Until then - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

My FAVE holiday card to date-

Sweet November

It's hard to imagine that the entire month is over! It was so BUSY! Just nuts! But I'm sure that's what added to the fleeting feeling of November 2010. I picked up a 2nd job at Old Navy as part of one of my "Always wanted to try that" things. Let's just say it's a lot harder than it looks! I'm only on the roster until the end of the holiday season so I'm going to ride it out until then.

The early weeks were jam packed with YW in Excellence for Jigz and Audrey's birthday planning. Then came this years Thanksgiving pie sales and the actual Thanksgiving holiday. Whew! Now that it's reflection time, I'm pretty proud of everyone for the way things came together at EVERY event! As with most things, not one person could do it alone. I wish I could've blogged about each event individually. But since I couldn't, I'll lay it all out right here. LOL To spare you a weeks worth of reading, I'll give you more pictures than descriptions. :-)

First things first - YW in Excellence

This is one of the value display tables. They all looked so nice!Some of the girlsJigz family tree chartHer actual TreeThe pot for her "tree" it was nice!
I enjoyed the program and I'm sure it was a boost to get the girls working on their personal progress.

That very weekend was Audrey's party. What a "SWEET" get together that was! I'll spare you all of the millions of pictures because you can view them on FB. But here are just a few so you get the overall idea. I LOVED the theme and thanks to sissy Salomay and good company from Tasha and Sia (who were working on the candy decorations) the cake ended up looking pretty good! Of course it was a team effort lead by Audrey's mama Tasha to get everything up and ready so kudos to all the sissy's who worked together to make it happen for our Audrey Love.

Lollipop and Gumdrop centerpiecesAudrey's "Sweet Factory" Candy TableAudrey and her Mama TashaGumball Machine FavorsBirthday Cake

Then came the pie making for the Elders and their pie sale. It was some work! Thank goodness the boys were actually really helpful! Maybe a little more than I expected. LOL Eric and Hola came to help so with 4 guys total we were able to get all 90 pies cooked in just under 20 hours. We started Tuesday morning at 10am and topped our last pie at 4:30am. They're some GOOFBALLS! But what do you expect with that many dorky guys? LOL I'll add a few extra pics here because they asked me not to upload to FB. LOL They raised over $700!!! Not bad!

Prepping banana cream pieOnly GUYS would think to do an egg shotGROSS!Peach Cobbler before bakingBanana CreamAll wrapped and ready to go!Cook that puddingChocolate, Coconut and Banana CreamEven Luvie HelpedAssembly Line Time!Their very first pickups! Thanks Ni and Kalo!!!Cool guys got me a gift to show their appreciation! Sweet right? Well Osi is the one who actually got it before heading over the day they delivered all their pies. It was lipgloss and a cute bag - they know me too well!

After all that baking came the random shots. LOL They were such dorks BUT it helped to keep things lively at 4am.

Hola doing the pose that he says girls do all the time. LOL
They're re-enacting a pose we did with the girls like 10 years ago.CHEEZY!!Osi showing off his apronPeace signs and pucker lipsEric showing off his heart.I joined the fun every once in a whileHola scaring the turtle pie LOLMarky Bo is a cool guy What time is it?!?!What are you guys teaching my baby!?!?!

And FINALLY it was Thanksgiving day! Original plans to combine with the entire Unga clan fell through because of just how DEEP everyone is. So instead of a HUGE thanksgiving we had our regular BIG one with the tradition of lighting xmas lights after dinner. Food was good, company was good and sleep was the BEST! LOL Nia and her little family came by too but we didn't get any fliccs! Here are a couple Thanksgiving day shots no descriptions needed.:-)

Overall this November was jam packed with FUN! I enjoyed every minute of it and most importantly I'm THANKFUL for those who make life exciting and worth all of the struggles that come. I couldn't imagine things any other way.