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

Papa-Dapa-Lous

-We turned 21!
-Attended my very first concert, Siua had gone to one before.
-Found out that I had gall stones.
-Siua and I actually saved and bought a car with ONLY our money.
-Went in and out of the emergency room 27 times because of Gall Bladder pains.
-I had an emergency Gall Bladder removal surgery which was my very first surgery.
-My brother Rich left for his mission.
-My cousins Ginger and Harold returned from theirs.
-Siua lost his father. (10/19/03 R.I.P. Kineleti Nisa)

Yup, ALL of these major events occurred between the time I found out I was pregnant with Papa and the time he was born. Needless to say, my pregnancy was a stressful and difficult one. Most especially after the loss of Siua's dad. After having emergency surgery at just 4 months pregnant and suffering through my entire first tri-mester because of gall bladder pains, the sudden passing of the head of Siua's family made me feel as if all of my past months troubles were a breeze. Kineleti had a major stroke and passed away suddenly on the morning of October 13th, just 6 days before Siuas 21st birthday. I was 7 months pregnant.

Two months later, my sweet baby boy was born. Siua's Auntie Meta was in town because of Leti's funeral and she was due to leave at the end of that week. Our Papa came 2 weeks early on December 13th. EXACTLY two months to the day that Siua's dad passed. He was due Christmas Eve and Siua's auntie was convinced that he was born on that day for a reason. She named him Kineleti Mt. Eden Nisa, after his grandfather and his final resting place. He got his nickname "Papa" after Isabel (Gos and Isa's daughter who was the only grandchild before Papa) asked Siua what the babies name was. Siua replied with "Kineleti" and Isabel said "That's Papa!" meaning her Grandpa's name. Her innocent 2 year old response stuck. :-) Papa must have known that his parents were tired and drained because after 9 long hard months, he made his grand entrance into this world after a short 52 minutes of labor. We couldn't have been more in love and he couldn't have come at a more perfect time. It was the hardest most trying time for his dad and he couldn't possibly know it, but we needed him more than he needed us. I'm convinced that my short and sweet labor was a small indication of what a sweet tempered, mild mannered boy we were blessed with. He was such a mild tempered, easy baby and he has proven to be just as easy through his childhood so far. He never hesitates to help and he's always anxious to learn new things. He and I happen to share a love of baking and cooking which is so exciting for me. My Papa man couldn't be any more perfectly built to be the oldest of my children and I can't believe he turned 8 this week. It's crazy how time flies!

Happy Birthday Papadapalous. I love you more than you know Papa man! Endlessly and Unconditionally. <3

Bloggers Block

Geez it's been a while! I promise I'm not intentionally staying away! Those who are FB friends or twitter followers know that I haven't been keeping up with that much either. It's just been CRAZY busy for some reason! A lot has been going on and I hope to play bloggers catch up real soon. We all know we're fast approaching my favorite time of the year so hopefully I'll have some fun things to share real soon. I wish I could commit to doing a "Thankful" list which has become popular this month. Maybe I'll do one long blog soon to list all of the many things I am so grateful for. It just wouldn't be right to let November pass without giving (and documenting) the many things I am so truly thankful for. So stay tuned...I know I'm dropping the ball but I promise I'll start juggling again real soon. ;-)

Pillow Talk...

Gone are the days when EVERYTHING was lovey dovey and super sweet. While Siua and I still do small things to show love and affection, it's definitely a different spin on what we started out with when we got married almost 10 years ago.

Last night, after a long (and sometimes frustrating) day I finally laid down and told Siua "you were annoying today". We're often brutally honest that way. He didn't do anything particularly irritating but I was so caught up in my own frustration that any little random thing could translate into something big. Imagine my surprise when his response was "really? For the WHOLE day? You're never THAT annoying to me". I felt bad. In his own little sweet ways, Siua continues to make me feel so special. YES I realize that all he said was that I'm "not THAT annoying" but after 3 kids and so many years, that's a big deal! Especially because I know how truly annoying I can be. LOL

I've been lucky enough to be blessed with the most amazing husband. He allows me to be my (annoying) self and embraces me anyway. I couldn't do half of what I enjoy doing without his support. Often times it calls for me to be away from him and the kids during week long trips to girls camp or youth conference and he still continues to remain positive. I'm completely against PDA because I think it can be super cheeeeeezzzyyy but I have to give credit where it's due and he deserves ALL of the credit. <3

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. :-)

Hello Dr. Parker!

This past week I had the pleasure of taking all three of my kids to appointments with their new doc. We recently switched over to Foster City Pediatrics and so far I.LOVE.IT. It may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but finding a good doctor is a huge deal to me. Being a Kaiser baby myself, I always stuck to that with my kids. Imagine my surprise when I found a place that I love more!

Three separate appointments scheduled on 3 separate days, 12 shots (total)and one finger prick test later, we're all settled in with our new doc! He's already memorized the kids names, nick names and ages. To my surprise, he somehow managed to get Luvie to say a few words to him. Either that girl is really coming out of her shell or he's a true pro. Whatever the case, Dr. Parker is a perfect fit for this family and I'm excited to continue down the path to happy HEALTHY kiddoes!