The Toys Are Alive!

I love the Toy Story Trilogy! Well, as the mom of two small kids, I have to love it or I'd go insane since they love to watch it every day...and every toy section of every store is currently bursting with the latest TS3 characters in addition to the old favorites.

But I do actually love the movie for myself...my grown-up, supposedly mature self. I mentioned this on a Facebook status recently and it's a true confession from my heart; I also believe that toys are alive when humans are not around.

I was always a BIG lover of stuffed animals and baby dolls, including paper dolls and Barbies. These were the main source of my conviction about the alive toys belief. I would carefully line them up on my bed in the morning and when I returned from school, I could tell that they had all moved around during the day and were pretending to be put back into the exact places where I'd left them. I'd look deep into their eyes and whisper secrets and I KNEW they were listening.

So by watching Toy Story, it's like confirming my long-held beliefs. The little girl hidden away in my heart whispers; "See, I knew it!"

And as a grown-up parent, it thrills me to see my kids watching these movies because during and afterwards, they want to play with their own toys in a way that is excellent for little imaginations. I can tell that their little brains are hard at work creating exciting adventures with their trains or stuffed animals.

Here's Samuel and Olivia last night, playing "Toy Story" as Samuel calls it. You can see that some key characters are missing, but are being played by excellent stand-ins that Samuel has chosen...

If you are familiar with the third Toy Story, you'll understand the Care Bear substitute; Samuel told us that he was "the mean bear".

Woody is riding a zebra and Evil Dr. Porkchop is Samuel's piggy bank; he made absolutely sure that there are actually coins in it that he can shake out when being forced to by Mr. Potato Head.

A twist to the usual plot is that Samuel has Slinky actually 'eat' the train and all the train pieces end up inside Slinky's coils. And the Rex stand-in tried to eat Olivia's Polly Pocket dolly but I think Buzz saved her later in the evening, so all is well.

Just look at those toys! You know they love being played with. And sometimes when I get up at night and have to come in for a drink of water, I glance around the living room and see some of them scattered on the floor. I get the distinct feeling I've just interrupted something and am always quick to assure them to feel free to carry on as soon as I've returned to bed.

I know they can hear me.

9 Years Milestone

I love Norman Rockwell paintings, and this one always brings a smile to my face:

And I actually have alot in common with the sailor, if you made him a girl and instead of the tattoos being of women's names, make them places I've lived.

I was thinking about it the other day when I realized, much to my honest amazement, that I've lived in Hawaii almost 9 years! You see, 9 years is the maximum I've ever lived in a state. To briefly recap:

Born in Missouri, moved from there to Louisiana when I was 9 yrs old.

Lived in Louisiana until high school graduation, moved to California when I was 18.

Lived in Stockton CA until age 21, moved to North Carolina.

Lived in North Carolina for about 2 yrs, moved to Texas.

Lived in Texas for about 6 months, moved back to California.

Lived in California for 3 more years, moved to Hawaii.

I won't even go into how many times I moved WITHIN each state; to/from various towns or homes.

WHY all the moving, one may (legitimately) ask. No, we weren't on the run from the law or a military family (my dad got out of the Navy before he married my mom). There were always good reasons. My dad's retirement. Moving to a town with better schools and opportunities. Moving to help a family member. Moving for college. It was always something and my parents often joked that we had Gypsy blood, or that we were really hippies at heart. And the funny thing was, we liked moving so much. It's addicting to start over in a new place, although sad to say good-bye to friends. Thankfully Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with friends I made all over the country!

We are expert packers. We can pack up at house and move in 2 weeks (yes I've done that!). We know how to get settled and make new friends without constantly comparing the new place to the old place. We got used to moving to the point that one summer, I got back from youth camp and exhausted, slept in late the next day. When I woke up and stumbled into the living room, the first thing I saw was a new collection of boxes and after a big yawn, the first thing out of my mouth was; "Ooo, where are we moving to now?" My parents laughed about that reaction for awhile.

So anyway, the thing about all this moving around is that sometimes, we get restless. Very restless. The house starts to close in and smell funny....well, maybe the smell part is my imagination. But we get tired of the same old routines. The best way I can describe it is to remember this scene from the movie Chocolate, where the heroine goes out to the river and is just standing there, contemplating. Suddenly the North Wind starts to blow and you see her lift her head and take a deep breath while a strange light begins to burn in her eyes. In her soul, she answers the North Wind and knows....it's time to move on.

If you've ever felt it, you understand. If you haven't, you never can.

It's a joke in my family; we'll call someone up and in the course of the conversation, tell the other person that we feel the North Wind. They always understand and sometimes, agree. If my sister tells me she feels the North Wind, we are so connected that I feel it in my soul too.

So I said all of this to just say....nine years is a long time.

I love Hawaii and could live here for the rest of my life, but this little house is closing in on me.

It's starting to smell, and if I close my eyes and open my heart,

I feel the North Wind on my face.

The Scatterbrain-ed-ness of Pregnancy Thoughts

Our computer is in the shop...somewhere on the mainland....BOO HOO! It's hard to live without it! Thankfully I have my nifty handheld device with which I can access FB, email, online news, etc. And when my husband steps away from the house (like now), I can jump on his work laptop.

Anyway, although I can't blog as often as I originally imagined I would, I still have amazing thoughts all day, believe me. Sometimes I mentally write out huge awesome blogs that would be interesting and life-changing...ha...but I never get the chance to sit down and put those thoughts onto paper. Well, not paper, but onto Blogger.

Here's a glimpse into my thoughts yesterday, maybe something will make you laugh or inspire you!

I've discovered that I can get the housework done SUPER FAST if I wait until my husband is off work. He entertains the kids! Fills their sippy cups! Starts a movie for them! Makes them pick up toys! While they are busy with him, I can clean the bathroom, start a load of laundry, sweep and mop all the floors, vacuum, and start dinner. To do this during the day would take triple the time because of course, I have to stop a billion times to tend to the kids. PLUS it's much cooler in the evening so I'm not dripping with sweat the whole time. Nice to make this discovery.

It's the middle of the year and I feel like I'm at the top of a hill, headed down to the end of the year. And actually I'm trying to find ways to make the ride downhill go faster! It's like this when I'm pregnant. Pregnancy is just so long and after awhile it's like....are we done yet?!? Ha...so here's my mental schedule for the rest of the year:

July is our church 10th Anniversary service and I'm busy organizing a Coffee Bar for the celebrations. Then we are having a huge family BBQ at the horse ranch later this month. I promise not to ride this time; last time I WAS sore in the abdomen afterwards and a bit concerned about the pregnancy.

August is Samuel's 4th birthday and we want to plan a little party since there are a million kids at church for him to have fun with....plus his second year of preschool starts. I'm already buying school supplies...yikes!

September has nothing planned. Please, someone give me ideas...

October is Olivia's 2nd birthday and I have no idea what to do for her. My mom is coming around the end of the month and she'll help me complete my famous TO DO lists that HAVE to be done before the Baby comes.

November is BABY TIME and luckily, that throws me right into Thanksgiving. And since I'll be recently post-partum the family doesn't expect me to cook ANYTHING. Yay! I get to stuff my face and remain seated the whole time.

December is CHRISTMAS, with all the decorating, parties, and shopping. AND my mom will still be here to help me with everything! Fun!

Other random thoughts in my head....I am thankful for my family's health. A good friend recently went through a huge cancer scare and is OK but painfully recovering at home after spinal cord surgery. Seriously, nothing like THAT to make you look around and take stock in your own life and BE THANKFUL.

I wonder if the recession really does cause more marriages to break up? I have a bunch of friends going through divorce right now. My prayin' knees are NOT getting lazy, that's for sure.

Having a friend like Amy who sews tremendously and makes money doing so makes me feel like I shouldn't even bother sewing anything....ha...she'll kill me for saying this. But I remind myself that I sew for FUN and that's all that matters. She's amazing though and I totally cheer for her business.

Olivia says about 40-50 words now, including a dozen 2 or 3-word phrases. I can't believe it. Elton and I constantly shake our heads in amazement at her vocabulary. She'll hear a word and repeat it several times, working hard to say it right and memorize it. I went through Samuel's flash cards with her and she knows at least 18-20 of the words, even some I had NO idea she even knew what they were! She gets those cards down and sorts through them, quietly repeating the words she knows and trying to say new ones. I keep reminding myself though....not to get too proud....she is probably considered totally normal for a girl her age. It's Samuel who is speech delayed and we were accustomed to his delay, which makes her speech abilities seem incredible.

WHEW long blog! But fun to sift through my thoughts and get them all out there. Now to log off and get this FRIDAY started :)

I Don't Know What To Call This Blog Post

This is a ranting blog of pure disbelief; are you ready?

Yesterday I was at a 7-11 with Samuel, and there were several people ahead of us in the two lines. I heard a woman buying $80 worth of something and for a second, I assumed it was for gas or some of the liquor or cigarettes stored behind the counter since she wasn't holding anything in her hand to purchase. But then I realized she was buying one of those pre-paid Farmville Cash cards! $80 in cash to play with fake money on a virtual game!

I couldn't even begin to assimilate all the swirling thoughts in my disbelieving brain....about a minute passed and the line moved forward slightly. And then I saw another woman paying $60 cash and pointing to the selection of Zynga virtual game cash cards, as well! "Umm, that one....oh wait, no, THAT one right there," she directed the store clerk. I'm certain this was one of those rare moments in my life time when I was truly speechless.

I fumed all the way home.

I've been known to play Farmville. There, I admit it. It used to be a fun way to enjoy my morning coffee and sort of click around, gathering my thoughts for the day. Once the coffee was done, that was it. DISCLAIMER: I never, ever, ever, once used a credit card or any other means to purchase 'cash' or 'coins' to use in the game. Also, the game got too complicated and began taking up more time than it took for me to finish my morning coffee. I simply quit playing it. Done.

I just do NOT understand how some people can spend REAL cash on ludicrous things like this! I mean seriously people....you don't get ANYTHING in return! You are paying for a pixelated image that exists in cyberspace! I am not an advocate for the lottery, which is another waste of time, but AT LEAST with a lottery ticket you could possibly win SOMETHING, right? I don't play the lottery but from what I understand, besides the huge jackpot there are smaller prizes; you can play scratch-off something-or-other and win anything from a couple of dollars to maybe a few thousand. At least in this case you are likely to win real legal tender....unlike the virtual world where you are buying...what?!? Faster growing crops? More horses to go into your virtual barn?

This is the thing that really gets to me: Hawaii is suffering greatly in this recession. It has already impacted me because as a way to save money, our brilliant leaders decided to shorten our school years and introduced "Furlough Fridays". Kids stay home and go untaught except for the efforts of parents like me, who are fortunate to stay home and try to homeschool our kids. State workers have been furloughed, meaning that on those Fridays, state offices such as the DMV, etc. are closed. Many of my friends are state employees and these unpaid days are hurting them. And then recently, they announced that Police officers would now have rotating furlough days, as well! So we are sacrificing not only our educational system, but now our protective and security forces.

I know about the crime and all the other negative aspects of allowing legal gambling in a state, and so far Hawaii has voted down allowing everything from the lottery to casinos. I have agreed and will continue to hope that we keep that element out of our state. However for the sake of honesty, I will admit that the thought crossed my mind: if dumb heads are willing to throw their money away for computer-generated avatars that only benefit a company like Zynga, wouldn't it be better to have a way for those people to throw their money away in a way that will at least benefit our own state economy?

Bottom line: we are struggling, people. So many of my friends are scraping by, depending on hand-outs from our church food bank supply or public welfare programs. There are people even in my church without a home; they live in a tented-off area of a family members' carport. The whole state is deeply in debt.

And yet, here I find myself trying to understand how there can be IDIOTS out there who spend so much money on....nothing.

OK, end of rant. Sorry for the negative and raging blog post but I seriously needed to get this out of my system!

No Longer A Surprise

It's been so long, but I have to offer up the excuse that life has been CRAZY in the last month or so. Friends going through amazingly difficult trials; marital problems, the death of loved ones, financial disasters, life-threatening illnesses...that old saying about life being a roller-coaster has been painfully relevant. The truth is; I'm sick to my stomach from this roller-coaster ride and it's only by the grace of God that I am still sane.

LUCKILY in my own little personal life there are no major dramas. My husband still has his job. We have a roof over our heads. My husband and I, and the kids, are in good health. The one good thing that comes from this roller-coaster ride is that I am daily aware of, and immensely grateful for, the simple blessings in my own life. Well, one more thing; my prayer life is vibrantly alive and my trust in Him constant!

Anyway, the whole point of this blog is just this rambling notification to those who might care; Elton and I have decided that we want to find out the sex of this baby, after all. We had originally thought we'd like to wait until it's born in November, but we've been having mixed feelings about it and today had a talk.

There are several reasons. We feel like we'll bond better with the baby if we know what "it" is ahead of time. This week I've been organizing and packing away the kids' outgrown clothing and as I did so, I pulled out all the 'generic' sex (green, white, yellow) newborn items to store separately. I feel strangely disconnected as I did so; as if I were just putting clothes together for a friends' baby instead of my own. Later I thought about how excited I was before Samuel was born, seeing all the tiny blue clothes...and how thrilling it was before Olivia was born to fondle all the pink girlie things in giddy anticipation. It's hard to feel excited or giddy over green, yellow, or white baby things, let me tell you!

Plus, there is always an element of disappointment when you find out what the baby is NOT. Well, for us there is anyway. We thought Samuel might be a girl (the needle test said it was!) and when we found out he wasn't, we were thrilled, but it took a couple of days to mentally give up the idea of a sweet girl. Of course we were profoundly happy to have our firstborn son! With Olivia we were excited beyond measure to know we were having our sweet girl but admittedly, slightly sad that Samuel wouldn't have a brother....yet. Maybe we're just sentimental weirdos but I'm just being honest.

We REALLY want a boy this time so Samuel will have a brother, Elton especially so. But we REALLY want a girl to make sure that Olivia has a sister, and I have such a close relationship with my sisters that I would be fine, too, if all the rest of my children were girls! So see....when we find out what "it" is there will still be slight feelings of disappointment one way or another. And I'd MUCH rather deal with that now, months before the baby arrives, so that when we are in the delivery room we'll be 100% ready and excited!

Last reason, and this one is more personal; I've been holding in feelings of excitement about this baby because of my fear of losing it. I guess having had a miscarriage will do this to you. I feel like if I find out what "it" is, I'll be able to relax some more and allow myself to bond even more with this one. I'm almost 20 weeks; halfway, and surely by now I can let myself revel in this blessing a bit more.

AND SO....next week is our ultrasound and it will be a fun family event; the four of us peering at the grainy, fuzzy black and white ultrasound images, anxiously trying to see what "it" is that we expecting!

Ending on a funny note; Samuel is totally into the "I got your nose" game, except that he's taken it one step further by pretending to grab your nose, pop it into his mouth, chew and swallow it with a very exaggerated gulp that produces a burp. Well yesterday the kids were watching me dress and Olivia did her sweet smile and wave with a "Hi baby!", and Samuel put his hands on either side to gently squeeze while he kissed my tummy. Then he hesitated, and quickly grabbed at my belly and held up his hand; "Mommy, I got the baby's nose!" he squealed, and then of course "ate" it.

Poor "it"; not even born yet and already missing "it's" nose. Just a small sign of the years to come with an older brother and sister....

Another Evy's Tree Giveaway

I really do have a blog of my own, I promise I do not get paid to just blog or advertise about my friend Amy and her Evy's Tree creations! But yeah, I've kinda got SO MUCH other stuff in my head about life right now that I CANNOT share YET that I am not blogging about my own life much. Does this make sense? Believe me, I'll blog tons later, when the time is right. MEANWHILE.....

yeah, Amy is doing a giveaway. I think she does these to MAKE me update my blog...haha....

Aren't these pretty though? She's deconstructed a hoodie and turned it into an adorable hoodie/tee hybrid with fantastic ruffles on one side. Seriously, this is the stuff I see in the mall and can't afford because the price tag is hovering too close to triple digits AFTER the dollar sign. But she does stuff that is not only gorgeous but durable. Trust me. I have one of her original hoodies (the Whimsey, love it!) and it gets worn (even here in Hawaii) on rainy, cool nights. And washed alot. And it looks gorgeous still and yes, I get envious green-tinged looks when I wear it. Heehee...

Here is the black one that I COVET:

And the brown one that I would wear because yeah, chocolate brown does look good with my coloring and my husband likes brown....

So click on over to: http://evystree.blogspot.com/ and enter to win this giveaway. Good luck!

Evy's Tree Giveaway to Celebrate 100

Wow, I am a loser when it comes to keeping this blog current! And I have a secret; there is alot going on in my life right now and since I find it hard to keep a secret I just know that I'll say too much on my blog, so to avoid saying too much right now I am simply not blogging very much! Haha how's that for an excuse like you've never heard before about a lack of blogging?

HOWEVER, my dearest and awesomest friend in the whole wide world is doing a giveaway on her blog and this is enough to cause me to remember my blogger log-in and pull up the "New Post" tab again. I would support anything that she does and these Tees are so beautiful. I want one for when I have this baby and want to feel cute again. I will never look as skinny and cute as Kate, the model, but I can always suck in my tummy and TRY to have that same glow that she has, right?

Here are the tees:

SEE? Aren't they great? So to enter the giveaway go to: http://evystree.blogspot.com/