Truly Madly Deeply

Have I mentioned lately how much I love being a mom? I LOVE IT!

I am madly in love with my son. There are certain things he does; a look, an expression, a sound, that just make my heart melt. He is so precious! Even the tough times are fun because I know that I am learning from every decision I make. Every choice is important and that is exciting. When my mom used to declare that her children were her greatest accomplishment I would roll my eyes and think 'geez mom, how sad'
...but now I think ' AMEN SISTER!'

Of course no amount of self serving fulfillment could possibly rival the satisfaction I feel just looking at his face - his adorable little face! His happy, content little face just fills me to the brim with joy. I love being a mom.

Portrait

Mr A's brother made this amazing pencil drawing of Ikaika! I love it! Thanks, Uncle Danny!

Sunshine & Diapers & a New Haircut

I love Hawaii because I can hang my diapers (and all my laundry for that matter) in the sunshine year-round! It gets them whiter than white and is a non-chemical way to sanitize. They always smell fresh and clean, too! Best part is that this is an entire weeks worth of dipes - Yay for the potty!


I don't love Hawaii because the same sunshine that is sanitizing my son's diapers is turning my skin into a piebald mess! No amount of SPF is able to keep my epidermis white. Endless frustration. But check out my new haircut - Bangs! I still can't decide if my hair is any grayer than normal (Ive always had ashy hair) but coloring my hair here would be a waste of time - between the sun and the surf, the color would only last for a week or two tops. So my big change for now is the bangs. I think I'm going to grow the rest out long - easier to cut myself :)

16 & Pregnant Season 2

I have a few guilty pleasures of the audio-visual variety. Mtv's 16 & Pregnant and the follow-up series, Teen Mom definitely make the cut. I just watched the trailer for the new season of 16 & Pregnant (starts Feb 16th) and I CRIED!

I'm not sure why I cried, but I think that means it's going to be a good season of reality TV watching! Quick Beth, program your Tivo - 16&Preggo is back!

Today We...

Today we slept in past 8am, even though we were all in the same bed after 7am.

Today we went to the beach. Ikaika is becoming interested in swimming and he took a nap on the sand. Mr A boogie-boarded until his skin came off and I reviewed vocab in the shade.

Today we started our taxes, took the drivers test, and were reminded that I still need to get my name changed!

Today we got haircuts.

Today we are going to eat some chicken long rice and watch Project Runway.

Today we celebrated no school!!!

Ikaika Talks Story

Here we have Ikaika sharing his vocabulary (more or less)

For those who can't watch this but would sure like to - Granny - I'll summarize by letting you know that on the video he says (more or less) "please", "mama", "dada", "beach" (thanks Beth), and "elephant".

FYI: he is capable of saying about a dozen other words that either Mr A or myself understands.

Finding Inner Peace at Starbucks

  I made the decision to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) and have a 3 month window of time to prepare, which means I need every second available to me.  Yesterday I was able to spend an hour and a half studying while the boys hit balls at the driving range.  For a change of scenery I hit the local Starbucks with my laptop in tow.

Although Starbucks is noisy, crowded, and overpriced, I found some kind of inner solace while there and hit another gear as far as productivity goes.  Maybe I am like the dog who hears the bell and drools, except when I hear the whir of an espresso machine I learn.  During college, I spent a considerable amount of time in coffee shops.  How many countless hours were spent reading or doing homework in the Gizmo (Knox College coffee shop) - on the patio in the spring and fall or snuggled next to the fireplace when the snow was falling?   

No place was my coffee shop predilection more apparent than Tokyo, where cafes are all the rage.  It was nearly impossible to walk half a block without running into some kind of caffine peddling establishment.  Even when I was with company, we would be reading in tandem or discussing that day's assignment.  It was a place where ideas ran free, a place of quiet reflection, a place for thoughts to flourish.

Now it seems that the din of the crowd and the smell of the roast are exactly what I need to prepare my brain for storing mass amounts of information.  That, and a babysitter.