My Very Own Miracle

Because he's grown so tall and surpassed his big brother in weight, height, clothes AND shoe size, I often forget how my sweet Joshy made his entrance into this world.

At almost 8 months pregnant I left for work in the city with Siua around 7:30AM. I didn't feel all that great, but that was the usual during ALL of my pregnancies. I just got used to feeling sick all the time. We parked 6 blocks from work because it was the cheapest lot we could find in the city and we began to walk. About half way there I started to feel REALLY sick. Not just nauseous but extreme discomfort started to kick in. I didn't think it was "time" but I knew work was out of the question. Since Siua had to drive, we both called in and made our way back home.

Stuck in early morning traffic on 101 south, I started to feel the pains that I knew meant it WAS time, and I was scared. Not just a little spooked but heart shattering, mind numbing fear. Why was I going into labor when I wasn't even full term yet? Why did we have to be stuck in rush hour traffic and why is getting to the hospital going to take at least 45 minutes? I called Kaiser and let them know I was on my way. Talked to the advice nurse for a few minutes while she tried to keep me calm and ended up climbing into the back seat of our car so that I could lay down and try to surpress the pain. It was bad and it didn't look like it was going to get any better.

We made our way to Kaiser and immediately got rushed into labor and delivery. After a quick checkup I was being put to sleep so that they could do an emergency C-section. Joshua was breach and trying to make his way out. After what felt like hours later, I came to and asked if he was okay. Siua said he was but the problem was that he was just okay. He was in the NICU (NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit) basically ICU for babies. His lungs weren't strong enough for him to breath on his own and they had to keep him connected in order for him to survive. He was a little over 4 pounds. It was the most tramatic thing I've ever been through.

After 2 weeks of countless trips back and forth from home to Kaiser, meds to help his lungs develop on their own, tons of babysitting arangements so that Papa was taken care of while we tended to Joshy and AMAZING nurses who helped make life easier in the NICU, Joshy was strong enough to come home.

Since then he's grown to be such an amazing blessing in our family. He single handedly caused me to search deeper than I've ever had to find the faith I wasn't sure existed. He is my very own little miracle and I couldn't be more grateful for his sweet spirit and boyish charm. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHY! 7 years ago today, I was faced with the scariest most challenging obstacle of my life but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in this world because it's the dramatic and tramatic way you entered into my life. I love you Jayjua!!

Sometimes...things DO run smoothly!

Everyone is up and ready to go, school is a breeze, dinner is good, things are clean and kids are bathed and happy. Don't ya just LOVE smooth days? When things just fall into place without too much effort. I LIVE for days like that!

Yesterday just happened to be one of those days and I took full advantage of the mellow mood and had a little kitchen fun with my kiddoes. They made a fruit "pizza" and we loved every minute of it!

I enjoy doing fun things with them when we get the chance but even more I LOVE the idea of creating these fun little memories with my babies.

Fruit Pizza Recipe
-Sugar Cookie Dough *I usually make it at home because it's cheaper but I've used one tube of Pillsbury cookie dough and it works just as well.
-Cream Cheese Frosting *I'll include the recipe for that as well, never tried it with store bought but it's probably good and easier!
-All of the fruit your heart desires! My kids love sliced kiwi, strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple, bananas and grapes.

With wet hands, press the cookie dough into the bottom of an ungreased sheet pan or cookie sheet until it's evenly spread out. It's going to look really thin, but it'll cook up to a thicker crust. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. I keep mine on the light side so that the crust doesn't get too crunchy. Just when the edges start to look brown. Take it out and let it cool completely for at least an hour. After it's cooled, spread the frosting on as thick as you like. I do just enough for the fruit to stick. After that it's completely up to you to decide how you want to layer the fruit. Once the fruit is layered it's ready to cut and enjoy! Have fun!!!

Cream Cheese Frosting -
1 part Cream Cheese
1/2 part butter
2 parts powdered sugar
splash of vanilla

I do the recipe in parts because depending on how much you want to make, measurments are going to change. :-)

Update

Oh how quickly time flies! I say it all the time and yet it becomes increasingly difficult to really savor each passing moment. My babies started 2nd grade this year and we've made huge changes already. They're no longer at the age where I have to walk them into and out of class. It might sound like a small accomplishment, but after 3 years of parking and fighting through the crowds to get to their classrooms in time it feels so much easier.

Joshua is in Mr. Torres' class and he thinks he got the short end of the stick because apparently Mr. Torres doesn't have a hard time raising his voice. LOL Papa is in Ms. Yee's class and he's so excited about being in the 2nd grade. Joshy, though 9 months younger is a full 2 inches taller than Papa at this point. He uses it against his big brother all the time and I can only imagine how much worse it's going to get over the years. LOL He's so excited about soccer and has always been really good at sports. While they are both super helpful I've noticed that Papa has acquired the skill that most "oldests" have in that he looks out for his siblings and helps out without being asked. It's so funny to watch their personalities grow and change. I just have to be sure to "stop and smell the roses" so that I don't miss out on special moments that are sure to fade once they're "big boys".

Mommy Tough Times

I just had one of the moments I dread. We've all heard the expression "spare the rod, spoil the child". But I like to make sure it's the absolute last resort and that we talk more than "bark". I'm not the disciplinarian with our kids. Well, not with the boys anyway. I'm forced to be hard on Luvie because she has her dad wrapped around her finger. But my boys are MY boys and their dad is usually the one who keeps them in line. Unfortunately for us all, they are starting to catch wind of the fact that when daddy is gone they get away with more. So I have to force myself to be harder on them just to keep them in line. That's especially hard because of Siua's graveyard shift.

Tonight was a tough night. It's the third day of school and my boys haven't really caught on to the whole "bed time" thing. It's after midnight and they're still up. Not just up but WIDE awake and playing. After several attempts at trying to get them to bed and major talking back I had to lay it down on them the hard way. I remember getting hard core discipline. My dad DID NOT play. But why am I so sad now? :-(

Summer Time!!!

It's been a long time since I got to have a real summer break and this year summer is off to a great (suppper busy, but still great) start. I love having my boys at home during the day and we've managed to squeeze in a few fun activities here and there. Next week we're off to girls camp and they don't have a clue! I can't tell them ahead of time because then I'll be dealing with a million questions until we leave. LOL It's been YEARS since I've been to girls camp and while I'm not the outdoorsy type I'm still excited to do something fun.

Tons of things have happened over the past couple of weeks and unfortunately I haven't been taking as many pictures as I would have liked. Joshua lost his very first tooth just last week. He's a late bloomer but he was so STOKED about it and woke up in the middle of the night checking for the toothfairy before crying REAL tears when he thought he lost the tooth under his pillow. LOL Oh how FUN is life when you're 6?

Papa is getting more and more excited about getting baptized soon. He is constantly reminding me that he's turning 8 this year. His vocabulary is a bit much for my liking at his age. LOL That kid and talking back! Gotta love the fact that he's vocal and opinionated though. Wonder where he gets that from? ;-)

My Luvie is really starting to speak full sentences and her baby talk is something I know I'll miss one day. Every once in a while I ask her what her name is because I love the way she responds with "Tenzie" instead of "Kenzie". My baby is a little bossy one too!

Here are a few summer snapshots from June '11. There are going to be TONS of more fun things to come! Stay cool everyone!!!!

Fathers day cards for her FAVE such a Daddies girl.
Joshy being a good big brother and pushing Luvie
Homemade playdough and cookie cutters=hours of fun!
My Papaman posing with his playdough creation.
Luvie getting her face painted at Carmine's circus bash
Papa after the jello eating contest.
Joshy smiling after a freshly pulled tooth.
All you need is the sun and a hose. LOL
Sugar cookie decorating. It's not Christmas regardless of what color the sprinkles are. LOL
Visiting Gpa on Fathers day.

I'm lovin' it!

I'm officially a stay at home mom and believe it or not...I'm LOVIN' it! I really enjoy the extra time I have with my kids and hubby. We've been able to do things that I didn't have the time to do before and I'm so happy that these special moments will make amazing memories for my babies.

One of the first things that I was able to do was chaperon a field trip with my Joshy's class. We went to the Academy of Science which was perfect because I absolutely LOVE museums and nerdy stuff like that. :-)

My baby so was excited that I was going to attend and after a minor snafu (his teacher Ms. Salomeh mixed up dates and we got all ready for the field trip arriving at school early Tuesday morning only to find out that the field trip was actually on Thursday) we were on our way. There were 21 kids total and I got to meet all of my Joshy's 1st grade buddies.

After a 30 minute bus ride were there and ready to have fun! I felt like I was more excited than the students. There were so many amazing exhibits and interactive displays.

Here is Joshy's whole class in front of the Academy of Science
He and his "cousins" you know all Tongans are family at school. :-)
Joshy was amazed while we went through all three layers of the ocean in the underwater exhibit. Here is the tour guide giving us a quick explanation before we took our "dive" underwater.
The group on the "bottom layer" of the ocean.
They got to touch real living starfish.
My Joshy posing with the big old fish.
After our quick "dive" we made the trek up into the rain forest. It was hot and muggy just like the real thing. The bottom layer had all the plant life and as you traveled up you got to see how the different animals live and survive. The top was my favorite as you walked around gorgeous jumbo butterflies were everywhere. It was so pretty.

Here is Ms. Salomeh and the class making their way up.
Here am I with Joshy. I had to pull my mommy card and take at least one picture with him there. This is just before the butterflies.
Joshua in the rain forest
After the "rain forest" the kids started to say they were hungry so we made our way outdoors so that they could have lunch. Once all of the kids ate, Ms. Salomeh played a few games to tire them out. It was so cute to see Joshua interact with his classmates.
Game Time!
The last exhibit we went to was Joshua's favorite. It was the reptile exhibit and he was so excited to see the snakes and lizards up close. I'm a typical girly girl, I coulda done without the creepy crawlers but watching his face was priceless and I'd do it all over again just for him. :-)

Joshua with a big old fat python. He was amazed at how big it was!
An albino lizard. The tongue on this thing was crazy long!
Of course in all of the amazing wildlife and the cool interactive exhibits, Joshy and his friends would find the closest thing to a video game.

Lucky Girl

It's been CRAZY for me lately! You can tell by my lack of blogging. ;-) We were lucky enough to have a whole lotta family join us for Mark's farewell program last Sunday. It turned out really nice! I'll post pictures soon. I also have a back-up of recipes that I need to post. Geez it's sucky trying to play catch up!

I've been busy at work especially. It gets hard to be away from everyone for most of the day. I'm not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom, but oh how I miss everyone while I'm at work.

Siua has made it a routine to send me camera phone snapshots every once in a while when I'm at work. They help me maintain my sanity when things are tough and it's a subtle reminder of why I'm here in the first place. More likely than not, they are pictures of Luvie doing whatever task he has planned for the day. I must say, I am one lucky mama. He's AMAZING with the kids! They have been blessed with an incredibly patient hands on Dad. Most times I don't even know what he has planned for the day with his baby girl. But sure enough, I get a picture of Luvie at the park, the store, the two of them out to lunch or going for a walk. He does the same when he is on field trips with the boys. He went on one with Joshua recently and my Joshy couldn't have been more excited for his Dad to go.

It's the little things that help my babies feel special and loved. He does such a good job with those special little things. I once read "The best thing you can give children, next to good habits, are good memories." I'm so glad that so many of my children's good memories are shared with their Daddy.

Here are a few of the cell phone snapshots along with Siua's subject heading in his emails -

"This guy is lovin' it. All hecka juiced to brush a goat.lol"
"She's ready to shop."
"Lunch on the go. She's feelin' her Lunchables. lol"
"Someone wants her own bowl of cereal. Straight throwin' a fit."
"Lunch at Round Table with Rich and Marky Bo"

Noooo not yet!!!!

It's about that time! Well, it's actually the week of Halloween. I got a move on things a little late this year because for some reason October 2010 has been EXTRA busy. I usually try to get costumes taken care of during the first week of the month. This year they got picked out just a week before trick or treating. Not cool! Would you like to know what I think is even less cool? My Joshy doesn't want to dress up! There was no spooky character he longed to portray, he had no super hero in mind that he imagined mimicking for just one day, and he even mentioned the fact that he didn't care for the candy either. Not yet Joshy!!! You're not old enough to want to give up on one of the biggest KIDS holidays of the year. It made me sad to think that he could no longer find excitement in something that he used to LOVE.

I started doing what I find myself doing WAY too often, over-analyzing. The thoughts started to pour in. Is my Joshy lacking one of the biggest childlike characteristics - an active imagination? Did one super scary haunted house traumatize him last year? Maybe we shouldn't have taken the kids to the "Halloween Haunt" at Great America (BTW I really didn't realize how SCARY that was going to be!). I just kept trying to think of reasons why he would lose interest so soon.

Then, out of no where, he changed his mind! He asked about pumpkin carving (something we haven't done this year YET yikes!) and then decided he'd be a ninja. What? That was it? Pumpkin carving? WHEW! Looks like someones mama has enough imagination for ALL three of her babies!

This reminds me of how easy it was when I could just pick cute coordinating costumes for them without any worrying or fussing! Don't grow up yet boys!