Christmas Wish

Christmas is my favorite holiday and always has been. But now that I'm experiencing it through my children, it has taken on a whole new level of enchantment. This year was Kai's first time really understanding (or at least starting to understand) what Christmas is all about. And, for Evan's first Christmas, he was mesmerized by all the Christmas lights and sparkly ornaments wherever we went. It truly was a magical time!

Our Christmas season started out with an early visit to Santa. Evan didn't know what the heck was going on yet, but this now being Kai's 3rd Santa visit, he was ready to tell him his Christmas wish. He asked Santa for a real humpback whale and said he would keep him in our fish tank. From that day in late November, Kai was very skeptical about Santa's powers.  He wasn't impressed at the mini candy cane that Santa gave to him and reminded me several times that he specifically asked for a whale.

Thanks to Facebook and my ability to overshare my life experiences, I learned about the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, which accepts donations to adopt real whales and dolphins. One day, I put the site up on my laptop and showed Kai all of the different whale pictures.  He kept pointing to the same whale, Coral, so I knew that was the whale Santa had to adopt for him.

Coral is a male humpback whale born in 1988. He is identified by the black rake marks on his tail, which are a result of an attack by killer whales when he was just a calf.

Kai and his Certificate of Adoption for Coral.

Thank you, WCDS and Santa for making my little boy's Christmas wish come true.

Wellements Gripe Water = Happy Baby

Wellements Gripe Water

Wow! This stuff really lives up to the hype. 

My darling baby Evan is just precious. We love him dearly. But, he is a cryer like no other baby I've ever been around. We would try everything to get him to stop, but none of the tricks we used with his big bro were working.  Swaddling, which was always successful with Kai, only works for a few minutes with Evan - he can Houdini himself out of even the tightest burrito wraps. 

He's a gassy boy and no matter what I eat, he can belch and toot as much as a group of frat boys after a night of beers and bean burritos. I burp him often and even help him push his smelly tooters out by doing the bicycle thing (this works great, btw, but still wasn't enough to stop his crying). Nothing was working. Until I discovered Wellements Gripe Water.  

I'm not a fan of medication. I don't like taking it myself, and I certainly don't like giving it to my babies, unless it's absolutely necessary. But we were at a loss as to what to do for our poor little crybaby. I really wanted to find a natural remedy to calm my crying baby. I came across Wellements and moms all over the internet were raving about their gripe water. The organic ingredients include ginger extract, fennel extract, chamomile, and agave. Sidebar: I have to laugh at one of the moms online who claimed that those giving products with agave to their children were essentially feeding their kids tequila. She's probably also naive enough to believe that high fructose corn syrup is all natural because it comes from corn. Some people are so ridiculous. Anyway, I digress. 

So, I've been using this gripe water for a few days now and it has made a tremendous difference in Evan. His crying is very minimal and I've been getting more sleep. I don't use as much as they recommend nor do I use it as often as they suggest. The bottle suggests using it up to six times a day, but so far Evan's been fine with just one dose at night. 

There are a lot of other gripe waters on the market, but they're not all organic and some have a black color that stains everything. This one is clear in color and won't ruin all those cute baby outfits. It is sold at most natural food stores and also at drug stores, but I found it at the best price on Amazon.com.

Oh, and if you "like" them on Facebook, you can enter to win an UPPAbaby Vista stroller until 12/6/11.

This has been our miracle serum. Thank you, Wellements. 

Happy 5th Anniversary to Us

Today marks five years since Rich and I said "I do" in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. We have so many amazing memories from our time in Kauai with family and friends to celebrate our wedding. 

The rain today in SoCal reminds me of the torrential downpour in Kauai the days leading up to our wedding. It was so bad that the bridge going from Hanelei (the location of the church) to Princeville (where our reception was and where we and most of our guests were staying) was closed due to flooding. I was worried that it would ruin our wedding day and, especially, that it would ruin people's vacations that they so graciously chose to use for our wedding. Thankfully, the weather cleared up just in time and it was so beautiful on the day of our wedding. Everything was so fresh and clean from the rain and all of the gorgeous waterfalls were flowing throughout the island, with a cluster of them directly behind our church. And there were rainbows - I love rainbows. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. 

The location of our ceremony
Wai`oli Hui`ia Church (aka The Green Church)

Fast forward to today and I am more in love with my husband than I was back then, and that love just keeps growing. He is so sweet and caring, he makes me laugh every day, and he is such a wonderful father to our boys. As the cliche phrase goes - no one is perfect, but there is someone perfect for everyone. Or something like that. And it's so true. I really don't know how I got so lucky. Okay, let's be fair - he's super lucky too. :)

Sure, we have our bad days, just like anyone. We know each other so well, so of course we know how to push each other's buttons. Plus, we're both passionate with our emotions, so we've had some explosive arguments in our day. But, we always have fun making up. And really, if the some of the worst things I have to worry about are him not remembering to take out the trash and leaving his dirty socks and underwear all over the place, then I really am a lucky gal. 

Five wonderful years, two awesome kids, and a lifetime of memories to create. Happy Anniversary to my amazing hubby!

Happy Halloween

Halloween is such a fun day, but it is especially fun now that I have kids and can see how excited they get (well, Kai anyway...I think Evan is probably annoyed that he can't get in on the candy action).  

This year, we all dressed up as a family for Kai's school Halloween Carnival: Kai = Popeye, Evan = Swee' Pea, Rich = Brutus, and me = Olive Oyl. Tonight, we'll reprise our roles to take the kiddos around the neighborhood for Kai's first official night of trick-or-treating. They took a picture of us at Kai's school, so I hope to get a copy of that. It's nearly impossible getting family photos of all of us together. I know I can grab the tripod and set the timer on the camera, but really, that's just too much effort. Maybe I'll give it a try tonight. Maybe.

I'm pretty sure Rich will insist on "inspecting" Kai's candy and it will mysteriously disappear. Just like the stash of candy I bought ahead of time and hid in the garage, only to discover that all the bags had been opened. I hope I don't run out of candy for the kids who come by. I really don't know what to expect in our new neighborhood. When we lived in our last place, we got zero trick-or-treaters that last two years and maybe one or two kids the year before that.  

Rich got into his costumes for work this year, wearing a bolt through his head or an extra eyeball with lots of fake blood. He dressed up for work on various days - his offices were getting into the Halloween spirit early and I think he had fun dressing up, especially for his young patients. Kai was really freaked out when he saw the bolt the first time. He cried and yelled, "Daddy, I don't like your face." When we explained to him that it was just a costume, he insisted that Daddy take off his costume. But, by the fourth time seeing Rich with some sort of foreign object on his face, Kai didn't flinch and would just say, "Daddy's wearing another costume to work."

We also enjoyed decorating the house this year. We have a skeleton hanging from one of our outdoor lights and Kai likes to say hello to him whenever he sees him. Next year will be better because I plan on hitting up the after-Halloween sales now that I have room to store decorations.  

What I really enjoyed this year was making fun Halloween treats for Kai's school and Rich's work. Here are some of the things I made.  Notice the "teeth" made for a dental office - aren't I funny?  ;)

Apple Marshmallow Teeth
Idea from family.go.co

Witch Finger & Mummy Pretzel Rods
Idea from friends (Jill & Maria)
Instructions on Wilton candy mold packaging

Spider Krispies
Idea from cookiesandcups.com

I've included where you can find instructions for these treats (plus, you can see the way they're supposed to look - although, I am proud of my first attempt at making these things).  Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspirations and ideas.  Btw, if you don't already know about Pinterest, I recently learned about it from my BFF and have been absolutely addicted!  So many fun things on there! 

I hope you all have a very Happy Halloween and enjoy lots of yummy candy.  

Happy Half Birthday

Today is Kai's half birthday. He's now the ripe age of two and a HALF. It's a big deal.

Half birthdays are important in our family. I celebrated my half birthday every year growing up (and still do). Nothing fancy, but I usually got to pick out a special meal and have a real dessert after dinner. Plus, the joy of saying that I was now, [insert age] and a half years old! That extra half helps kids sound so much more mature, don't you think?

For Kai's entry into age 2.5, he asked for his red gummy vitamin, to watch Shark Tale when he gets home from school, and to have fish for dinner. I'm sure he'll also ask for cake. He always wants cake.

Two has been a fun age so far, but of course it comes with its moments of us wanting to pull our hair out. The hitting, the tantrums, the insane number of time outs. We hope those days will be behind us soon (I know, I know, I won't hold my breath).

But for now, we are going to cherish these next six months before he turns three and remember all the little things he does that puts smiles on our faces and warmth in our hearts . . .

• The sound of his little munchkin voice. 
• The way he says "ma" when giving kisses (he means "mwah").
• His insistence on reading the same books, watching the same movies, and listening to the same songs over and over again. 
• Hearing him sing to himself, to us, and to his baby brother.
• Saying his prayers before meals and bedtime.
• How he turns on his light every night after we tuck him in (then we go back after a half hour to turn it off).
• That he still sleeps on his tummy with his butt up in the air.
• His strong opinion about the outfits he wears, all the way down to his socks.
• Him sharing all the things he learns and the fun he has at school.
• His love of all ocean-related items, especially whales (specifically humpback whales). 
• The way he answers with his first, middle, and last name when anyone asks him what his name is.
• How he has to put his foot on Rich's leg under the table while eating.
• His obsession with cheese.
• Hearing him say, "I love you, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Baby Evan."

Happy Half Birthday to my sweet baby boy!

Feel Your Boobies

It's National Feel Your Boobies Week (October 14-21).  Feel yours and remind your friends to feel theirs too.

Learn more at http://www.feelyourboobies.com/.

Buy Pink

If you're looking for a way to fight breast cancer, or if you just love pink, check out these fun products & deals. Hurry, most of these are only available for a limited time.

Real Simple put together a great list of products: 13 Gifts That Help Fight Breast Cancer

I especially love OPI's Pink Shatter nail polish. And as if I needed another reason to love OPI, they make an annual donation of $25,000 to Komen for the Cure. 

Ellen Degeneres' shop also sells a selection of Breast Cancer Awareness Items: www.ellenshop.com

I have her hoodie and it is so soft and comfy.

ModernMom compiled a list of their favorite Breast Cancer Awareness beauty products: www.modernmom.com

There are a few repeats from the Real Simple list, but you'll find a bunch of new items too.

Another company I love, Pure Barre, is offering FREE classes for the entire month of October (at the Newport Beach and Mission Viejo locations) to survivors. Check out their October newsletter for more details.

So many fun ways to think & buy pink this month! Happy shopping . . .

Think Pink

Today is my mom’s birthday, and I’ve always thought it was fitting that Breast Cancer Awareness month is also in October. She has been a survivor for over 25 years, so this topic has been near and dear to our hearts for most of my life.

We all know someone who has been affected by this awful disease, and the month of October gives us a good reminder to do what we can to support the cause. Whether it be sporting the pink ribbon, wearing pink, purchasing products from companies that donate proceeds to charities benefiting breast cancer awareness, or simply spreading the word, we can all do our part.

Most importantly, don’t forget your monthly self-exams. It could save your life—it saved my mom’s.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!

My First Blog

Hello, blog world. I actually started this blog almost a year ago, but never got around to posting anything. In true procrastination form, I waited, thought about it, wondered what I would blog about, who would want to read it, when I would have time to do it…blah blah blah.

Last week, I got a bit of a kick in the pants with the death of Steve Jobs. One of his famous quotes was stuck in my head . . . 

Now, I don’t hate my job by any means, but I wouldn’t say that I love it either. You know, it’s not as if I was a little girl dreaming that one day I would be marketing annuities and mutual funds. But, even though it’s not my passion, it helps put food on the table and pay the bills to support my family. And I love them, so that counts, right? 

This got me to thinking about the blog and that it doesn’t matter if no one else is interested in it. It is for me and is something that I will enjoy doing. I used to be an avid journal writer, but like so many other things, that got bumped out of my daily routine to make room for my wifely and motherly duties. This is my way of bringing it back. Without all of the embarrassing secrets, of course. 

I don’t know how often I’ll post things, but my goal is to write about anything that makes me happy—whether it be a new delicious treat I just tried, a product that makes my life easier, or the TV shows that take up way too much of my time. If you’re looking for gravitas, I assure you, you won’t find it here. But, if you want to share in the little things that make me happy, then come join me here at Happy Spot.