Respectful times two, deja vu

When we got the call from Pacheco elementary Thursday night that both Kawai and Mana were getting awards at the award assembly, I had to laugh.  Last year they both got awards at the 1st assembly of the year.  It was serious deja vu.  So I was able to take some time off work to go to the 9:45 one and see Kawai and Robb got to go see both (he had gotten sent home from work that day - when UPS is overstaffed in robots, they get to choose who goes home).

I laughed even harder when they announced what the virtue of the month was: Respect.  That is exactly what they both got last year.  Different teachers all around however.

By the way, we are still so happy with the school they are attending, Pacheco Elementary.  They love their teachers so much and also they are doing so many fun things as well as learning.  Kawai said the other day (as she listened to me practicing Spanish from a CD) "I don't remember how I learned Spanish".  Silly girl, she's been learning it since Kindergarten, but it's just immersion, so you don't really have to try, the way us adults have to.  It's kind of embarassing doing the lessons in front of her, but after I drop her off at school, and continue the CD on my way to work, I miss having her there next to me in the car, because she corrects me along the way.

Saturday surprise

Saturday morning it was hard to get up.  Not because I was necessarily that tired, or that I wasn't looking forward to my weekend.  It was because there were a lot of things we had to do that day, and I was too hungry to think about making breakfast. Not that I usually make breakfast on the weekends, anyway, since Robb is our head chef.  But I feel guilty that he does all the cooking, so when I am home on a lazy Saturday morning, I feel like I SHOULD be the one making breakfast.

So we lounged around in bed, my hubby and the 4 kids that were home.  We were just enjoying not having to be anywhere immediately, and noticing we had over an hour before we had to pick up our oldest from a little campout with her Girl Scout Troop.

I finally decided not to dilly dally any longer, and got up, hastily inquiring of the kids if they wanted eggs and sausage and rice or were they just ok with cereal.  I would feel guilty if they said cereal, knowing that that's what they eat every morning during the week. I honestly don't even remember what they said, because my stomach was busy talking to me very loudly and next thing I know, I am telling my husband "I want to eat at Margie's Diner".  Since money's tight, I wasn't really implying that we should all go out and eat at our favorite breakfast joint, but the thought of those potatoes and veggie omelet made me say it aloud.

Before I had the chance to even leave the bedroom to investigate how dirty the kitchen counter was, Robb tells me that I am going out to eat at Margie's Diner with my friend.  "What?" I look at him quizzically, as he finishes up a text to my friend and neighbor. "She'll be ready in 5 minutes, she's driving".

It's not my birthday today, it's not even mother's day.  How do I deserve to skip out on feeding the family and go enjoy a delicious meal?

My friend and I speed off, she leaving 4 kids at home as well, and her other was also at the Girl  Scout campout with Kawai.  I tried not to harbor any guilt as I thought about what I was leaving behind. The baby was getting cranky, meaning time for him to fall back asleep, so how was he going to manage cooking breakfast while getting the baby down, and our oldest helper being gone from the house (darn those campouts!  They interfere with child labor!)

I returned from my delicious meal to an empty house, and checked in with the family who were no where to be seen.  After cooking a good breakfast for the kids while the baby sat patiently in the high chair, Robb had picked up the 2 girls from the campout and headed straight for our church where we were signed up to clean the chapel before sunday services.  Somehow he managed to do his part and then some, getting the cleaning done along with the other families that were helping.

They arrived home after I had folded a pile of laundry.  The first words out of my little 3 year old's mouth were "Mom, it was awesomes!  We got to wipe the floor".

All I can say is, thank you honey, you are the greatest.  What would I do without you?  I have no idea!  What would you do without me?  Apparently a lot!

Brothers

One is 3, one is 6 months.  They love each other so much.  We love our 2 guys!!!!

Anu does a good job trying to hold Koa before he slips down. Maybe one day Koa will be holding Anu?

Both boy look like daddy in different ways

Our big guy turned 3

Our big dude is 3 now.  He has been waiting a long time for a spiderman mask and glove.  And he was extra excited to get some good avengers toys from dad.  We found out later that he threw the glove away because it was too big for him.  It made cool spiderman sounds and stuff.  Silly guy!!!!  We love you anyway, Anu boy.  He turned 3 and potty-trained just in time for the beginning of the school year and to start up at the Tiny Tiger preschool.  Yee-haw!!

Anu wearing the "new birthday hat" for the birthday child.   The fringe looked like his hair in a certain angle, it was hilarious.  He made his sisters sing the spiderman theme song for him. 

A little guy

We love our little guy Keanu.  He's such a hoot.  He's a good caretaker of his little brother Koa too.

Koa is an ergo baby.  Too heavy for the Bjorn, which was always my preference when they are little.  At least he seems pretty happy in this one, I just wish they could be front facing in it like the Bjorn.

One minute late

There's nothing like watching your hubby wake up late to make you appreciate your job.  My job is not a punch-in time card type of job, and although we all have our start times, and we do swipe into the office with computer fobs (keeping you aware that management can track your ins and outs anytime they choose),  I am grateful.  For example this morning I was waking up to feed my sweet chubby Koa baby, and the clock read 5:45.  Ahhh, I thought, my alarm won't go off for 30 more minutes, this is great.  And then I heard the snore, not from one of the 3 children that usually sleep in our room, but from a larger, older sounding person. That was when I realized my hubby was fast asleep in the bed, and his start time was 6 am this morning.  Oops, I should have woken him up at 4:30 when I last looked at the clock.  Funny thing is, that is a later start time for UPS. Usually his start times vary from the 4 am to 5:30 range.

Another reason to love my job.  My start time is the same every day.  His varies constantly. Monday it might be 5:30.  Then Tuesday it could be 5:35.  Then Wednesday it might be 5:20.  How on earth does he remember these things!

So I remembered that last night he did set his alarm to give him enough time to get to work without being tardy, but here he was fast asleep 15 minutes before the bell.  Alarm must have gotten turned off.  So, realizing the seriousness of the situation, I jumped out of bed, shook him rather madly , not sure if I should calmly, or alarmingly wake him up.  His eyes cracked just enough to realize it was morning and I delivered the bad news: "Honey it's 5:45". That was all that was said before panic set in. He checked his trusty Ipod alarm, discovering the problem. The ringer was set to vibrate instead of set on high.

 Then I had the luxury of climbing back in bed with my chubby koala bear, and listening to the sounds of an accelerated plan.  I was amazed how fast he could get his clean work clothes from the garage (easier to just keep his work clothes in the garage, because they get washed constantly, and they don't need nice folding jobs), use the bathroom, get on work boots, find the keys, cell phone off the charger, grab whatever snacks for work he needs to keep him going for 4 hours of top speed truck-loading work.

Within minutes I saw the dining room lights flash off, and heard the door quietly slam.  I honestly don't know how he can do things that fast yet that calm.  And big bummer for him...this whole week the cul-de-sac and surrounding street that we live on got torn up and re-layered with a nice black a/c overlay.  The only problem is that there is nowhere to park in our entire complex with 2 full cul-de-sacs displaced for a week.  Cars were parked in all kinds of red zones, making it like a silent traffic jam when you are trying to get out of the complex.  Luckily for us, some very nice neighbors up the hill who aren't yet impacted by the new pavement job, allowed us to park Happy (the volvo) and Optimus Prime (the green van) in their driveways for the week.  So, my speeding hubby had to bolt his way up the drying road, slip through the baracades in the dark, and run at top speed up the hill, bag and water in tow, to the van, and get that car in gear as fast as he could.  Luckily the streets of SLO are pretty quiet before about 7:30 am, and he doesn't encounter much traffic.  But speeding isn't a good idea when there is low traffic, because the cops are much more likely to pop out and surprise you.  It's about a ten-minute drive to the UPS center, and when you are the last one to arrive, there is no parking within sight of the entrance.  So he had to find a spot far down the road and then sprint to the warehouse, making sure all his gear was grabbed in the rush.  He zips inside, runs to one of the computer stations, logs in, types in the employee ID and password, hits enter, and then clicks "Punch In".  All that effort, with such precision, and what does the computer read?  6:01.  Late.

What's the big deal about being one minute late, you might wonder.  Well, you can only be late 3 times in a year or you suffer a consequence.  I think he deserves a medal for going from dreamtime to becoming part of the UPS machine, in 16 minutes.

Hauoli La Hanau e Kawailani

 We got to host our first pool party at our complex.  Kawai's parties have always been held at the beach because August is always beach weather.  But this time we thought it would be fun for Kawai to have her friends to the pool.  boy did we pick at hot day, mid to high 80s probably.  But the girls seemed to have a blast swimming in the cool pool and making bracelets.  It was definitely an all-girl party.  The only boys were her brothers, both of whom crashed out as soon as the party started, so we didn't have to worry about them at all!

Good ol Costco cake!  I love that they offer the lei pattern as a seasonal design.  And a cake that feeds 40 for only $18.00 is hard to beat.  Quite a few of the girls actually asked me if I made it!  Haha, they don't know me well.  I only bake a few things: cookies, brownies, and banana bread.

Kawai was so happy to get some awesome presents from her wonderful friends.  She got awesome things like a foil bead maker, a beach towel, a girl scout set that she had been eyeing, and some other awesome things.

They looked like they were having a lot of fun. The pool games they play are way cooler than the things I remember playing as a kid.

They did a "diving" wave, which looked really cool.

They all jumped in at the same time too.