Sunday, 30 November 2008

My high school/college friend/roommate Chris and his wife Ali, along with kids Adam and Claire visited Hawai'i this past weekend. I hadn't seen Adam since he was 1, and this was the first time we met 6 month old Claire. I was laughing because here was a 6 month old 21 pounder, and then there was Chase, a 17 month old 21 pounder. She's solid, that Claire. Chase enjoyed "parallel playing" with the sand and toys, alongside the big kids. Claire enjoyed using Chase to pull herself up. While eating some Thanksgiving leftovers, Ali and I compared baby stories and were amazed that Chase and Adam had very similar sleeping, nursing, and temperament patterns as babies. She said that if I have a second one, it should be much easier. That would be nice!

Our visit was so short, but hopefully we'll get to see the Hendersons again if we make it to Seattle this spring.

33 Years and Counting...

Saturday, 29 November 2008

Started off the birthday with a great yoga class this morning. It's always nice to do hot yoga when it's cold and wet out.
When I got out of class, there was a message on my cell phone. I never get phone calls at 7 in the morning. Checked my messages and it was Chris and Chase singing "Happy Birthday" to me, although Chase didn't really sing at all. I think I could hear him breathing on the phone though.

It turned out to be a day of eating. Chris made my usual scrambled eggs for breakfast. We met friends for dim sum for lunch. Miya had done a wonderful job of assembling people last minute to go eat dim sum. The 5 boys were there. The thing I love about dim sum is that the food just comes right out. You pick what you want and they just pile all the little tasty morsels on the table. It was faster than a fast food drive inn! We ate to our hearts' content, then Miya brought out a cake that said "Happy Birthday, Tanya" (When did she get this all done in the last couple of hours?) She brought candles and plates. The boys had fun helping me blow out the candles, though I REALLY blew them out because no one wants spit all over the cake. Chase was mesmerized by Aiden and his dinosaur toys. It was nice to get together and enjoy lunch with some friends.

We headed to the mall, and I shopped and got waxing done while Chris and Chase went to go wish Popsicle a "Happy Birthday" (Chris' dad has the same birthday as me.). It's always fun to have great conversations with your esthetician, as we gabbed about Halloween costumes and ex-boyfriends. Hairstylists and estheticians find out all the gossip, and then you return every month or so to continue the stories.

They picked me up, and off we went to dinner. We went to a nice Japanese restaurant recommended by my friend. We were the second table seated and we were there for a couple of hours. Chase only wanted to be seated for about 10 minutes. Then, Chris had to clean off all the sticky rice molded all over Chase's clothes and fingers. We took turns entertaining him because he just wanted to be loose. Chris did most of the entertaining (after all, it is my birthday), and I kept sending Chris out in the rain to go get wipes, go get a book, go take Chase for a walk, and go get this and that for Chase. It would have been better if we had someone watch Chase, but our other sitter option, Aunti Stevi had her birthday today too. Kinda hard when everyone has the same birthday. At least Chase wasn't fussy. He was just super active. But, the chanko nabe we ordered was delicious. Fresh veggies, tofu, chicken, shrimp, clams, crab, salmon, and mochi in a savory, simmering broth. We had a few of our favorite morsels of sushi (unagi for me and ume for Chris), and finished off with some udon noodles at the end.

Well, not quite...We actually finished off the night with Bubbies ice cream in sugar cones....Mmmm!!!...Got Chase home, bathed, and to bed. Took a couple more phone calls from friends, then watched a movie with Chris.

One of my friends in Seattle sent me a card and said, "I hope you have a terrific birthday - maybe Chase will be sweet and easy, you'll get some fun "me" time and dinner will be waiting for you on the table....a girl can dream right?!" Well, my dream must have come true because it was a full day of eating and fun with my friends and the family...a pretty terrific way to spend my 33rd birthday.

Black Friday

Friday, 28 November 2008

I survived Black Friday shopping with a 17 month old toddler. Starting at 8:30 am, I left the house with a mission to get only the things on my post-it note. Bikram yoga studio was the first stop. Chase was super clingy to me, probably overwhelmed by the regular yogis trying to visit with him. My friend's daughter (a few months younger than him) tried to shove Scooby Doo graham crackers in his mouth, which he took of course. But, he just wanted to hang by me while I tried on clothes. I managed to find out that Chris had visited the studio before work and bought some items for me already, but somehow I still managed to get some things for myself as well. After all, it is my birthday tomorrow.

Spent the next few hours at Ala Moana Shopping Center braving the crowds. Again, stuck with my list. Went only to the places where I had a birthday coupon to use or a store that had a crazy % off deal. Made out with some Christmas gifts, a cardigan, and some sandals that I needed, all on sale of course.

Chase had one meltdown (too much time in the stroller). He wanted to swim with the koi, and those fish entertained him a bit while I ran into Stacy and her sister. I tried to hold him back from leaning too far over the wall, and he kept pushing my hand/arm away. He just wanted to get a really close up look at those fish, Mr. Independent! Chris met us at the food court for lunch, but was not crazy about the crowds, so he just watched Chase while I got and ate my lunch. By afternoon, Chase just wanted to be free. He tried to run all over the mall, but of course, I couldn't let him do that in such a crowded, big mall.

So, I let him run all over the shoe area in Nordstroms (which I'm sure they just loved, him making circles around the cashier area and jumping on their nice leather couches). At one point, I told Chase, "Okay, Mommy's going to go bye bye." And, of course, what did he do? He just waved bye to me.

He crashed on the way home. But he still had plenty of energy to run around at home the rest of the afternoon.

Chase is 17 Months Old!

Thursday, 27 November 2008



Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday to Chase! Hope all of you are spending quality time and giving thanks for good health, good family, and good friends. We will be heading to the Halsalls' soon (and then to the Hyatt to "hunt and gather" our turkey dinner...The boys will go of course. They only have one bullet, so they better know what they're doing. Ready to go meals that are loaded into the car are hard to come by these days.). Here's Chase playing with Daddy's favorite G.I. Joe toy. He likes putting the guy on the stand and putting the gun in the guy's hand.

Things He's Into These Days:

* Drinking whole milk from a bottle! (He enjoys milk more than water these days. Last week he went through one whole gallon jug of milk from Costco...in just 7 days!)

* Putting things into containers (wow, maybe he'll be organized and anal-retentive!). He gets really frustrated if he can't take all the crayons out and put them all back into the box. He'd much rather do this than actually color with the crayons. He also still likes putting rocks into bowls, putting lids on their appropriate containers, and trying to fit containers into other containers, putting shoes in their shelves, etc.

* Reading, reading, reading (We have books in his crib, books all over the house, books in the car, & books in his stroller.)

* Finding the littlest things: He'll always find the tiniest piece of lint on the ground, or the littlest rock, or the tiniest bug or truck in a picture of a book and point to it. He's very observant and has attention to detail, that's for sure.

* Pointing (He points to things when he wants something, and usually says, "Yes?".)

* Running and jumping and climbing and sliding (He now climbs up and down all our furniture without help, and he can climb the stairs without holding onto a railing or holding onto someone's hand. He also loves going down slides on his tummy.)

* Spinning round and round in circles (He loves "Ring Around The Rosy.")

* Building towers and stacking blocks, then trying to carry them around while balancing them

* Dancing (The boy's got rhythm. He'll start dancing if he hears music, whether it be music from a book or the radio. The boy likes to move!)

* Putting things behind things. He loves putting his toys behind the gate (and then asking me to get them for him) or putting things behind the couch.

* When I ask him, "Where's your nose?" or "Where's your head?", he points to the correct body part. He knows his eyes, head, ears, nose, mouth, hands, and toes. He also likes singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" with Mommy and Daddy.

* Mimicking what we say and our sounds. Every time I open the sticky front door, he grunts like I do and laughs. I even said "Oh damn!" the other day when I dropped something, and he copied what I said. Gotta watch what comes out of our mouths!

His Favorite Books:

* Five Little Monkeys: When I read, "Five little monkeys jumped on the bed..." he'll make a jumping, bouncing motion with his body. Then, I'll say, "One fell off and bumped his head" and he'll hit his head gently with his hand. I'll get to the part where Mama calls the doctor and the doctor says, then he'll go "No, no, no, no, no". It's really cute to see him interact with the book and understand what we're reading.

* Pop-up Books

* Little People books. These books have a lot going on, but he enjoys all the action. He likes looking at details. He'll find the tiniest bug or smiley face on the spine of the book and point to the same one on the back of the book. Or he'll find the little tractor in the background of the page. He likes finding the little things in the pictures.

Things He HATES:

* Having stuff on his hands. If he gets rice on his hands, he'll go, "Eh, eh, eh" and motion for you to clean his hands. The other day, he had a strand of hair stuck to his hand. He'll get sand stuck to his hands. He'll fuss until you clean his hands. Since when did he turn OCD?

Words He Says:

* This
* Daddy (with the emphasis on the second syllable...."Da-deeee")
* Yes?
* Down
* Done
* No
* Wow! (with inflection and expression)
* Whoa! (I think I must say this a lot.)
* Bark (when he sees a dog in a book or in person, he always says, "Bark, Bark")
* Moo (when he sees a cow in a book - though it sounds just like "Mmmm"/And if I ask, "What animal says "Moo"?, he points to a cow.)
* Hooray! (He says it when we're singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and raises his arms towards the ceiling.)

Sounds He Repeats In His Babbling/Talking:

* Dugga, Dugga, Dugga (He must just like playing with his tongue.)

This is a really fun age. Chase understands everything and is so much fun! Plus, now that he sleeps through the night for 12 hours at a time, we can enjoy our dinner and a Blockbuster movie night uninterrupted (most of the time). On this day, we give thanks for having a healthy, funny, and very happy boy. My Uncle Jimmy called this morning to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving, and he remarked on how Chase looks like my father when he was a baby. That makes me smile, and I hope my dad is smiling down on us as well.


Here's the Thanksgiving dinner spread (compliments of the ready -to-meal from the Hyatt hotel, Chase playing with his vintage McDonald's plate (a.k.a. Chris' old plate), Chase frustrated because I'm taking a photo rather than reading his favorite drawing book, and Chase taking a bath after Thanksgiving dinner).

Visiting Lisa

Monday, 24 November 2008

Picked up Divina this afternoon, and we went to visit Lisa. Living in the house she grew up in, down the street from where she went to high school, the young school teacher is now bedridden and incapacitated. But her mind is fully functioning, which is the hardest thing about ALS or Lou Gherig's Disease. It was a sad visit with Lisa. My dad always had a soft spot in his heart for dear Lisa. She always had a connection with him, as she looked up to him for advice when she was first diagnosed with the disease.

http://lisa.oceanit.com/mambo454/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Diagnosed with ALS in her late 30's, Lisa got hit hard and has been progressing fast. Unfortunately, she got the bulbar ALS, which affects the speech/respiratory first. She must be only 40, if that, and this horrible disease has taken her body almost completely. Her face is droopy, like Peggy's was. She has a feeding tube and a trach, totally dependent on the ventilator 24/7 to breathe. Her stomach is bloated like my dad's was (she joked that she is expecting). She can only move her eyes. It was frustrating for her to move her head to use the signal to beep. Her mom spells everything for her on a pad of paper, and goes "First half...A, B, C..." until she gets to Lisa's desired letter. She knows it's the letter when Lisa looks up with her eyes for "yes". If she looks to the side with her eyes, it means "no". It took about 5 minutes for her to spell out "He is adorable," referring to Chase, whom she met for the first time today. I apologized for having not visited her the past couple of years. It's been a busy time with baby.

Lisa still has her sense of humor though, even though the muscles in her face has atrophied so she can no longer form a smile. Her mom told us that she's smiling inside her heart.

I feel really sad for her. Her dad talked to me. He asked me how long my dad lived with ALS, how we knew he was dying, and the events that led up to his death. I told him about the oxygen, the respiratory failure, the morphine we administered, how we were all by his bedside when he passed. Lisa's dad expressed how he wishes it was him. Why does he have to see his young daughter go through this? It should be him, he said. He's ready to go. "Take me," he said. It must be so hard for her parents, to know that they will outlive their daughter.

Though Divina was at her bedside most of the time, I was chasing around my little guy, making sure he wasn't destroying the house. He took their white board pens and tried to throw them away in the garbage can, threw the coasters behind the couch, ran up and down the hallway, etc. When I wasn't chasing Chase, we were sharing with Lisa and her mother Jane about Peggy's condition before she passed. She also asked about Divina's husband Britt, who's been slowly progressing with ALS for almost a few decades now. I could tell by the questions that Lisa was asking, that she's trying to figure out what to expect for herself, when she will be able to tell it's her time.

Lisa shed a lot of tears. I think she knows her time is coming up. She's finding it harder to communicate. She doesn't want to be a burden to her family. She actually wrote a letter to her parents this past June and asked them to take her off the ventilator, but they convinced her not to. Now, she's holding on, hoping to see her niece graduate from high school next June. Her mom told me that an ex-boyfriend of hers (whom she dated for 14 years), recently found out she's sick and has been visiting her. You can tell from the photographs and letters around the room that she has a lot of friends who have been there to support her along the way. But, if she can no longer communicate, she would like to go.

She has made her own "bucket list" of things she would like to do. One she did a couple of weeks ago, when her family took her to see Cirque du Soleil. Next, she wants to drive around the island. She also wants to go in the ocean.

Before we left, her mom told us that she wanted to thank us for coming, that she wanted us to hold hands with Lisa, as we listened to Na Leo Pilimehana's song "Friends". As the local group sang the words "Friends are friends forever..." Lisa cried. In fact, it was hard for all of us to hold back the tears. I wiped the tears away from Lisa's cheeks, gave her a hug, and kiss. I know my dad would want to send a hug to her too.

A Day at the Beach House

Sunday, 23 November 2008

Spent the day hanging out at the Waianae beach house with the Keane's, the Halsalls' Irish friends. Loved the stories spanning their 40 year friendship, the Irish accents, and the good food. Chase ran around like a wild child from the moment we got out of the car until we left. He literally ran around for 6 hours straight, barely sitting down to eat lunch or dinner. We took a nice walk down the beach as the sun set, stopping to visit with a local guy playing guitar on the rock wall. Chase loved picking up sticks and things. His favorite find (besides the feel of sand between his toes, which he loved more than playing in the ocean) was drinking from the spout from the outdoor shower. He thought it was so much fun! We dined on grilled steaks, potatoes, corn, salad, and macadamia nut brownies outside on a picnic table by the beach house. It's a good thing we bathed and changed Chase into his pj's before we left because he was out like a light on our 45 minute drive home.

...And it was completely dry today! So much for the flash flood/storm.

The Oceanarium

Saturday, 22 November 2008

After a day of blustery, rainy, wet weather, and flash flood warnings statewide, we decided we should stay in no more. We went to dinner with the Halsalls at the Oceanarium, a restaurant at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki. This restaurant has a two story tall aquarium. They joked that it was my birthday dinner (both my father-in-law and I have the same birthday on the 29th). I'm totally fine with that. I stuffed my face with about 3-4 plates of food, and then topped it off with a plate of desserts. Chase liked watching the fish, though he wasn't quite phased when the man inside feeding the fish waved at him. This is the 2nd year in a row Chris and his mom have missed their opportunity to make a birthday sign for us in the aquarium. Chase had the most fun going up and down the stairs leading down to the restaurant. He played peek-a-boo with us from above.

Farewell, Peggy...

Thursday, 20 November 2008

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081120/NEWS01/811200367/1001

Read the beautiful article written by Honolulu Advertiser's Lee Cataluna, a dear friend of Peggy Chun's. Peggy lost her 6 year battle to ALS last night. With deepest sympathy to the Peggy Chun Ohana.

No Running!!!

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

After work, I picked Chase up at the sitter's and went back to school for a staff meeting. I don't usually attend staff meetings (since they're after my work hours and I don't get paid to go) but they said this one was an important one. I missed half of the meeting, but found out later that our principal (who has been on sick leave since the second week of school) is no longer going to be our principal. He was going to retire, and now he took a job as the director of Human Resources or something. So, now we're still on the hunt for a principal. The rest of the meeting was filled with less-than-encouraging discussions on budget cuts for next school year.

A few of us teachers went to the mall to hang out and talk outside Jamba Juice. We managed to just talk about personal stuff rather than school stuff, though my friend and I spent a lot of the time preventing Chase from running towards the parking lot (since we were outside) and throwing his ball into the bushes. He had fun running away from me, throwing his ball into mall-goers' paths, and jumping into the pretty bushes to fetch his ball. My friends quickly figured out why his "Kolohe" shirt he was wearing seemed more appropriate now. We noshed on pretzel bites and a Groovy Guava Jamba Juice. He drank about 11 ounces of milk prior to all this running and activity. So, when we went into Whole Foods later, he started coughing and threw up all over me and himself. It was nasty. He has never puked like that before.

I quickly called Chris (who was going to meet us at the mall because we were going to go visit friends with their new baby) and told him that we would need to come home first to bathe. I undressed Chase out of his puky shirt and shorts before putting him in his carseat. I tried to lay the dry parts on my shirt, so I wouldn't get puke all over the seatbelt. Then, we quickly drove home so we could get refreshed.

Once we were all cleaned up, we headed to Jared and Korin's house to visit baby Noah, who is only a couple weeks old. It was so neat to hold a tiny baby again. I forgot how little and light they are! And, so calm. This baby just slept while I held him and we all talked baby stuff. Chase wanted to climb all over the place to see him, but was more interested in Baby Noah's exersaucer and toys (which he won't be using for awhile, I informed the new parents.) It was fun. We took lots of pictures and went home to feed Chase and put him to bed.

Lesson learned: Don't let Chase run and play all crazy wild after he downs 11 ounces of milk and eats a whole cup full of pretzels. He HAD a really full tummy!

A Cranky, Crazy, Wet Monday

Monday, 17 November 2008

Gotta have a crazy Monday to start off the week. It has just been one of those days. We started training Brenda to replace the almost 37 week pregnant Christina, my part-time teaching assistant for the ELL program. Though I'm sad to see Christina go, I know she's checking out about now, and needs some R&R before her baby boy arrives. Usually I finish work at 1 pm and take my time prepping stuff for the next day and picking up Chase. But, I forgot I was going to go visit another elementary school to check out their computer programs for a 17 page grant I recently wrote. So, off we went. We stopped at Zippy's for a 20 minute lunch, then I had to head home to meet Divina from the ALS Support Group. She just posted a new blog for our group (www.hawaiials.blogspot.com), but was having some technical layout issues, so she came over to the house to get some quick tips. We struggled through some of our own technical issues a bit, then finally got a few things figured out within an hour or so. Next, it was off in the rain to pick up Chase, trying to beat the clock so I would get there before 4 pm. I probably got there at 3:59 pm, the last parent to pick up her child.

It's a good thing I brought Chase a bottle of milk because he tanked it before we even pulled out of the driveway. I had to head to Costco in the rain to get groceries. We ran into the Halsalls, which was a pleasant surprise. Of course, they had to stop and read to him between carts (and we ended up purchasing a few books, because those are always good distractions for Chase). I was worried about toting Chase and the groceries down 80 stairs in the pouring rain by myself, so I tried to load the car quickly. As soon as I got everything loaded, then shook him clean of the layers of cracker crumbs and noodles and apple crisps (thanks to free samples from Costco!), we were off....

Well, almost. He started screaming and pointing to his empty bottle of milk. So, with the engine running, I had to look for the gallon jug of milk I just purchased and fill his bottle up (and of course, the jug was at the BOTTOM of all the groceries.) Chase tanked it down before we got to the second stoplight (but at least we got out the driveway this time). So, we're heading down Kalanianaole Highway, with a screaming baby. I told him he'd have to wait because we're almost home. Of course, "we're almost home" is kind of a lie because now it's commute traffic hour and it's raining, so the roads are quite busy. A few more traffic lights, and I just pull into a 7-Eleven so that I can pour him another bottle of milk (Thank goodness there's a whole gallon jug.) I told him that after this bottle, he has to wait until we get home. Yet again, he drinks that bottle, and starts screaming again. What does he do this time? Chase throws his bottle. I scold him and tell him "Oh well. No more milk because you threw your bottle." But then I get visions of spilled milk all over the car. So I pull on the side of the highway, where there's not much of a shoulder, and put my hazards on, to look for the bottle. Of course the bottle is upside down dripping on stuff. But, I think he drank most of it. (And yes, I've learned that I need to start carrying a bigger bottle now that Chase is into drinking from a bottle. This is all still new to me, this bottle/cup stuff.)

So, after cleaning everything up, I put that bottle away and offer him water. But, no. He screams. So, I tell him. "Well you're just going to have to scream all the way home." And, he did. (He was also tired though because he didn't have a second nap, so I figured part of this "tantrum" was from being cranky, and soon enough, he would fall asleep.) And wouldn't you know it? Just as we pull into the driveway at home, he STARTS to fall asleep.

But this is not good because it's pouring out. I have to figure out how to put a sleepy baby into my carrier in the rain. Then gather all the perishable groceries (Chris can get the rest when he gets home tonight), and attempt to carry them down 80 plus slippery stairs. Of course... Chase wakes up during all of this.

We walked in the door close to 6 pm. The next hour was filled with more screaming and tantrums. Chase didn't want to eat. As I tried to put groceries away, cook, and feed Chase at the same time, Chase proceeded to throw most of his food on the ground. I let him play for a little bit. That helped, until he realized that I was still cooking and not playing with him. So, he started bringing all of his toys and books and pillows into the kitchen, which was just not going to work. He tried to eat again in his highchair. I sat his crazy orange guy near him so he could be near him. Chase was eating noodles and started to feed orange guy the noodles. He started to get frustrated because this orange stuffed animal was not responding to his offer. I told him, "Chase, the orange guy does not want noodles." He threw noodles on the floor, and hit crazy orange guy on the floor, at which point crazy orange guy started breaking out into hysteric laughter as he does when you bonk him (I'll have to put a video of him on here one day...He really is a crazy orange stuffed thing.)

Finally, when dinner was ready (because I was famished and beginning to lose it myself), I sat down to eat with him. He was still more interested in playing. I gave him crayons to play with. He was content for about 5 minutes, until he realized that he could not fit 2 big crayons into the already full crayon box. He started getting really frustrated and impatient. He didn't want my help, and he was determined to fit those crayons in the box. He screamed and cried and grit his teeth. Stubborn child I tell you. I know my dad is smiling because this is just the sweetest revenge. (I used to have horrible tantrums when I was younger, and both Chris and I are stubborn.)

Soon enough, both crayons and food were all over the floor. So now the dining room and kitchen were a mess. I told him, that's it. We're done. Straight to the bath. But, first he had to pee all over the changing table, once I took his diaper off, and started laughing. Troublemaker, I tell you.

He thoroughly enjoyed his bath time. We sang our ABC's, "If You're Happy and You Know It" (and he really enjoyed stomping and raising his arms and saying "Oo ay!" (Hooray), and read books. He also tried to climb up the bath walls, stretching his legs into some pretty funny positions. He tried chewing on the bath faucet as well. He was happy and smiling, and near the end, gave me three big hugs. I think he just missed me all day (and he's REALLY tired).

I lay him down in his crib, told him "Goodnight. I love you," and he sucked on his blanket and went straight to bed. No wimper. No nothing. Out.

Which will be me in about half an hour (Oh, and did I mention that Aunty Flo stopped by for a visit today?). It was just one of those days..... just a cranky, crazy, wet Monday. I just told Chris the story of my day, and he gave me a big hug and laughed. Yeah, have fun cleaning up the mess, buddy.

Peggy's Early Thanksgiving

Sunday, 16 November 2008

Chase and I are on our own today, since Daddy has to work with Keora again today at the park helping her do raku. He works at the park (where we met) a few times a year doing the hard labor for her. Today, he'll come home all stinky and sweaty after pulling hot ceramic pieces out of a garbage can.

This afternoon, Chase and I went to Peggy Chun's early Thanksgiving party at her house. Though we weren't close, Peggy is a well-known local artist who has been such an inspiration to others. She was gracious enough to "talk" to my dad when he was struggling with ALS, and now, close family and friends and others from the ALS support group, as well as many whose lives she has touched, will be thanking Peggy for being such a wonderful artist, friend, wife, mother, and grandmother. Over 130 RSVPs were sent in. Tents were ordered for the front lawn. A hospital bed was rented for her to join the activities outside. They rented a bouncer for the kids. We crossed our fingers that we wouldn't get drenched in the already wet neighborhood of Nu'uanu. It was a potluck. So everyone brought food and drinks to share. We brought chow mein noodles and got there at the start of the party, at 2 pm.

Over the next few hours, people came and went. I kept commenting on how I never saw that dish or that dessert. I guess the best thing would have been to wait till the end, but then again, you took a risk of food being gone. I described the day to Chris as being a celebration of life. It was almost like a funeral, except the person (Peggy) was lying there on her hospital bed under the tent, with her ventilator on and nurses close by. A friend gave a blessing. Other local celebrities, like Wally Amos, from Famous Amos cookies, was there. Her husband Elroy did a "eulogy". One friend got on his guitar and sang a song for her, the song that had inspired her to paint a cover. People went up to Peggy to say a few words to her. One little girl got on the microphone and told Peggy that she was her biggest fan and that she was so sad that she had ALS, such a terrible disease. I talked to Peggy's husband, son Eric, and daughter-in-law Kimi. Kimi said Peggy is loving today. This is exactly what she wanted, to be surrounded by the friends and family (many of whom, including her new granddaughter, flew in from the mainland to pay their respects) and have fun. Prayer flags hung from the awning of the house. People sang and played guitar. Kids jumped like crazy in the bounce house. Once Chase woke up from his nap, he thoroughly enjoyed petting Peggy's dog Maka, going up and down the slide, riding the swing, and dancing to the live music. He even got to go fishing for mud (since he missed all the crayfish) in the pond.

Though Peggy has had a huge support network of friends and family (often referred to as Peg's Legs) that have been by her side over the past 6 years she's had ALS, members of the ALS support group came by to visit and bid her farewell as well. Even Vi Jones-Medusky brought all her kids, including her eldest daugher, model/surfer Malia Jones. I had fun talking to Malia's husband about my baby carrier and baby stuff, since they're expecting their first baby in a few months. Vi, who recently had a fun run/adventure trek to raise money for ALS (check it out on the support group's new 'work-in-progress' blog: www.hawaiials.blogspot.com), still can feed herself, but is in a wheelchair. It's always so heartbreaking to see these healthy athletes afflicted with such a debilitating disease.

Today was a big day for Peggy and her family and friends. It was a bittersweet day filled with lots of music, kids, art (We got to take away her 2008 calendar filled with her paintings.), love, and laughter. I'm fortunate to have been able to spend some time with her. As I told her before we left, she has been such an inspiration to everyone, through her love of art, life, and laughter. Even though I never knew her pre-ALS, I can tell from today's celebration what a wonderful person she is. Happy Thanksgiving, Peggy, and to the rest of the Chun Ohana!

"Yes?"

Saturday, 15 November 2008

Chase has been sleeping so good, that I successfully snuck out of the house at 6:45 am so that I could get to 7 am yoga on time without him realizing I was gone. It was a productive rest of the day around the house, which was fine since it turned out to be a wet day. I wanted to take Chase to a couple of school fairs around town, but once we got working on our house chores, time just flew by. While I did load after load of laundry (I think I did about 5 altogether), Chris took Chase to Home Depot to get a new sprinkler system for the yard and those ring things and dishes for the stove burners. While Chris was cleaning the bathrooms, I took Chase up to Auntie Stevi's so he wouldn't be in the way. He had fun playing with trucks and blocks and his car ride-on toy. He also had fun trying to run away from me as I tried to take out the piece of lint he was sucking on in his mouth.

Speaking of sucking, he's been doing less of the boob this week. Much less. I think he tried once today, but only for a couple of seconds each side, before he returned to playing. So, I think he's weaning himself, and I'm drying up. He's been wanting more and more milk from his 4 oz. Dr. Brown's bottle. He drank about 5 bottles today. His favorite word these days is "Yes?" He'll point to something or just look at me and nod his head repeatedly and say, "Yes?" in that cute little voice with his high inflection. He'll say "Yes?" to just about anything, whether it be a book he wants me to read to him, a drink he wants, or a food he wants. He says it before I even ask him a question! Guess he knows that if I ask if he wants food, something to drink, or if he wants to read, he'll most likely answer "Yes?".

Nordstrom's Cafe

Friday, 14 November 2008

Chase and I met Daddy after work for an early dinner at Nordstrom's Cafe, which is just a walk from his office. Chris pushed Chase around in the stroller after dinner, so that I could do a little shopping (for sale things of course!). Of course Chase had the most fun taking crayons in and out of the box during dinner (He would point towards the floor when one fell out and keep grunting and pointing until we picked it up for him. You know, you can't have only 3 crayons in the box, when there is space for 4.) After dinner, he had the most fun playing with the foot measuring tools when Daddy was window shopping for shoes.

Round and Round We Go

Thursday, 13 November 2008

Chris took Chase to the doctor's this morning because we were worried that his screaming in the middle of the night meant he might have an ear infection. But, turns out he just has a cold. His ears and lungs are fine. So, I cancelled the afternoon "Madagascar" movie with Miya and Taiga, and picked Chase up at the Halsalls.

They were sitting eating lunch when I got there, so I finished mine as well. I taught Chase how to do "Ring Around the Rosy". He loved it. We would fall down, then he would come over to me and grab my hand and say "Yes?", indicating that he wanted to play again. We spun round and round about ten more times....

That is, until he threw up his lunch.

Ha! Guess we shouldn't have spun around so many times after eating.

Went to yoga tonight, and it just about kicked my butt. I mean come on now... when there's humidity in the air from all the vog outside, there really is no need to turn on the new ceiling heaters along with all the floor heaters!. It was so hot in there that I thought I was going to pass out. And from looks of everyone else after class, I know others were suffering too. I swore under my breath the whole time for the teacher to open a darn window or door! And, Alexis, the owner, told me afterwards, "But don't you feel like a rock star when it's that hot?"...

Yeah.....NO.

Chase wasn't the only one going round and round today. I felt like I was going to get sick as well tonight.

Running Non-Stop

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Now that Chase is at a daycare where I can pick him up as late as 4 pm, sometimes I get errands done (like grocery shopping, cleaning, getting work done at school, or cooking) before I pick him up. Other times, like today, I pick him up around 2 pm so we can spend time together.

This afternoon, I took him to Kahala Mall. One of his favorite things to eat there is plain pretzel bites from PretzelMaker. He can eat about 15 of them in one sitting! He started running circles around the table we were at. Then, he ran away towards the bright kiosk in the mall. He didn't even look back for me. I had to chase after him. People were probably wondering where this baby's mother was.

He ran circles and circles around the kiosk, laughing hysterically as I played hide and go seek with him.

It's a good thing all those pretzel bites and running around tired him out for an afternoon nap.

When we got home, my brother Jason was watching TV in the house. Once Chase woke up, he was a bit groggy to say hi to Uncle Jay, but he perked up once we headed upstairs and saw the dogs. They visited the dogs, and then Chase ran more circles around the driveway.

People had told me that I better watch out if I name him "Chase" because that's exactly what I'll be doing. Sure enough, it's true.

It's Snowing!

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

It's snowing near our house! Well, kind of. I can pretend anyway. I've had to close the windows on one side of the house, but always end up sneezing and scratching the upper side of my mouth anyway, when the wind blows. When we walk up the first flight of stairs, it's like we're walking on snow, as the stairs and the ground surrounding the stairs, are covered in white. The bees are buzzing overhead, and the fragrance of the white flowers are so strong. It's that time of year again when the mock orange tree flowers are blooming.

Yoga wiped me out this morning. We're just hanging out at home with Chase. We may go out and get some yogurt at my yoga friend's new yogurt shop. Then, we'll drop the kid off at the Halsalls, and the rest of the evening is ours. Looking forward to seeing Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco tonight!

Box Car Racing!

Saturday, 8 November 2008

What do you get with a dozen kids, a race car track, and one-wing and two-wing box cars? A lot of fun riding and friendly competition. Today, after a great yoga class and a quick stop at a neighborhood craft fair, we headed out to Kunia for Box Car Racing for Taiga's 3rd Birthday. We enjoyed good food and a couple hours of riding. I teased Chris for bringing his full face bike helmet, but then I wore it when it was my turn to ride. Chris had fun doing rides with Chase (and I tried it out a few times as well), but Chase is a little too young to really get into it. Half the time, his helmet was falling over his eyes during the rides. Chase had fun laying on the cool concrete, playing with sticks, and pouring cupfuls of ice cold water over himself.

We went to visit Vince. Again, Chase had fun playing with weeds and running up and down his driveway. We went to Waikele Outlet Mall, since we were in the area. I bought a pair of $10 shoes and a cute dress for work. Vince joined us for dinner at Chili's. Chase had fun taking crayons in and out of the box they gave him. It was a long day. We didn't get home to put Chase to bed until after 9 pm! Boy was he tired!

What Do You Say?

Friday, 7 November 2008

What do you say when you know someone is dying? She has definitely lived and fought a strong battle. After 6 years of being afflicted with the horrible disease (and hers a familial one - as she lost her twin sister, mother, and grandfather to ALS), Peggy Chun has decided to move ahead with her "end-of-life plan". I remember when my dad first was diagnosed with ALS. We arranged to visit her. She graciously met with us, and started giving us advice on everything my dad should do and check out. Since my dad had already lost his fine motor movements in his hands, I frantically took notes on everything she had said. Two and a half pages later, we had walked out with lots of helpful information, from a veteran if you will. She told us everything from who the best doctors were to the best foot massager to help the circulation in the legs. The spellboard she used back then and her ERICA computer system (where she moved the mouse with her eyes to type the letters) is no longer operable. In recent months, she has lost her ability to control her eye movement, the only movement she's had in years. Since her ability to communicate is failing, she has decided to start the weaning process from the ventilator.

Chase and I met a few others from the ALS Support Group as we visited Peggy in her colorful, eclectic Nuuanu home this afternoon. An artist with a flair for drama and a love of color, Peggy's room has always been full of photos, paintings, lights, funky decor, and now, a decorated Christmas tree. After the nurse fixed her eyes and strapped her chin so her mouth would close, we stood around Peggy's bed and talked to her. Divina rubbed her cold hands, which were wrapped in socks to keep the heat in. Chase warmed up (after waking from his car ride nap) and was interested in her cat and all the angels hanging from the ceiling, the Christmas decor, and of course Peggy. I held him in front of her so she could see him. I really didn't know what to say, but she moved her eyes a bit to where Chase was, so I knew that she was interested in him.

We chatted a bit about ALS support group stuff, the Christmas caroling, donating a turkey for Peggy's early Thanksgiving celebration, and visiting another friend Lisa, who apparently is also losing the battle with ALS (which is so disheartening to hear as my dad always had a special kinship with Lisa). Peggy's family and friends are surrounding her with love these days, and they're trying to fulfill her "bucket" list of things to do by partying it up. Coming soon, they're taking her on the Superferry to Maui, and having a pajama party at her place so they can roast smores (since she's always wanted to go camping, but will have to camp "in" this time.).

I showed Chase Peggy's book, The Watercolor Cat, which covers the story of her battle with ALS, along with her colorful watercolor paintings. It was a nice distraction while we were in traffic with a fussy Chase. I am grateful for meeting Peggy and knowing her, even if it was for such a short time. She was an inspiration to me when my dad had been first diagnosed with ALS. Her courageous and positive attitude has always been so wonderful to see (as it was to see her dressed up in costumes for almost any occasion!). Her team of "Peg's Legs" and family have been so united in supporting her 24-7 through this journey. Her lively spirit will be missed, but she has touched the hearts of many, and so I know her spirit will live on.

Sportin' A New Do

Thursday, 6 November 2008

This afternoon I spent three hours in a salon getting a new do: short hair with layers, highlights, AND bangs! It's a cute do. I really like it.

Chase saw me blowdrying my hair and looked up at me with endearing eyes and said, "Wow!"

It was really cute.

Obama!!!

Such an exciting time, and history-making for sure, as I watch Obama's moving victory speech and hear fireworks in the neighborhood....Obama has just been declared the President elect, proving that it is possible. America has its first African American president. Though our votes cancelled each other out in our household, I have always been an Obama supporter. Too bad they didn't have the right size t-shirt for Chase that said "Obama 'Ohana" (Obama Family)...It's a bittersweet victory for Obama tonight since his beloved "toot" ("tutu", or grandmother, in Hawaiian) passed away yesterday (and they said they WILL count her vote even though she passed away). Who would've predicted that an African American man raised in Hawai'i (and who graduated from the same high school as my brother and husband) would become our next president?

As Barack Obama said in his speech,

"America can change. Our union can be perfected....

...Yes, we can."

Well, it's about time change has come to America.

Election Day

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

I was regretting not turning in my absentee application so that I could have voted already. But, it's really not that big of a deal since Hawai'i made today a state holiday. So, I didn't have to work anyway and find time to vote. It was nice to not have to rush and get ready this morning. I actually had time to eat breakfast (not that I slept in or anything), and Chris took Chase to his parents' on his way to work (yeah, poor guy still has to work). I went to 9 am yoga, came home and ate lunch, then headed out to vote. I could have walked the several loops up the hill, but I decided to drive (after all, I sweated enough already this morning). Then I worried about finding parking at the small little park, but luckily one of the three stalls was free. To make it even better, there were no lines to vote. My friends working there said I chose a great time to vote because it was slow.

Half an hour later, I'm back home, deciding what to do with my day. Chase is at the Halsalls, and geez, I could go shopping or clean the house. Shopping it is. I hear I can get free coffee at Starbucks (not that I really drink coffee) and get free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's this afternoon, just for voting. Wow, life is rough.

So, who did you vote for to be the future president?

Who Has Time Anyway?

Sunday, 2 November 2008

While Chris worked for Keora today and went hunting and gathering for things up trees (an annual thing he does to help out the Parks & Rec's class for wreath making), I went to yoga in the morning (though my neck and shoulders are still so stiff - thanks to carrying a toddler - that I can't quite get into my backbends as easily as before) and then came home to do 5 loads of laundry. I remember a time, when Chase was an infant and I was home on maternity leave, when I used to be able to clean the house, do load after load of laundry, cook, and even have some "me" time. But, now, with an active toddler, time just seems to pass on by.

So, it's not often that I have the whole house to myself (Chris had dropped off Chase at his parents before he went to "work"). Usually the dust piles up as much as the laundry. When you juggle tasks of cleaning, cooking, and watching a toddler, piles just end up being moved around the house. After all, our house is really just littered with Chase's toys and things. So, it was nice to finally put all those piles of things away in their appropriate places. It's a start.

By the time I picked Chase up at noon, he had eaten two breakfasts. He had 2 eggs, oatmeal, honeydew melon, and pancakes. Then he slept for an hour and a half. My goodness! The boy definitely has my appetite. He was so active this afternoon, playing in the dirt in the yard while I hung up clothes, reading books, throwing golf balls (yeah we stopped that one real quick after he threw them directly at me and laughed), and climbing all over furniture. My attempt to put him down for an afternoon nap was unsuccessful. By the time we met the Halsalls for dinner at Big City Diner, he had fallen asleep. He slept halfway through dinner. But woke up just in time to finish my salmon and brown rice entree. With a full tummy, he should sleep good tonight. And perhaps I can carve out some "me" time.

Check out Chase's stash of Halloween goodies. Not bad for a 1 year old. But, guess who gets to eat all the candy...he he he...Chase helped carve a pumpkin the day after Halloween. I wanted him to feel the pulp on the inside and help me take out the seeds. He had a lot of fun putting the seeds back into the pumpkin and would just laugh. Chris talked to him through the pumpkin head, and Chase was quite curious about that. He must have thought Daddy turned into a big pumpkin head or something. We enjoyed eating the pumpkin seeds afterwards (well what was left of them since Chase discovered, during the washing procedure, that it was much more fun to throw seeds all over the kitchen.)

Celebrate Kaimuki

Saturday, 1 November 2008

Growing up in Kaimuki was nice. It's always been a neighborhood full of mom n pop shops and the main thoroughfare for buses. Now, the mom n pop shops are disappearing. More trendy shops and restaurants are appearing, with my yoga studio and a few others in the vicinity. I don't really spend too much time walking around the neighborhood. But, this afternoon, we walked down the hill (about ten minutes to get down and about 20 minutes to get up). It was my idea. I must have had a spurt of energy from yoga class this morning. But Chris ended up pushing Chase in the stroller each way! (and now our shins are paying for it) HA! The main street was closed for a fair/block party. Stores had set up camp on the street. Restaurants were selling food outside. I enjoyed dim sum from Happy Days Restaurant, strawberry tapioca from Cafe Laufer, and Korean food bento from Kim Chee 2. There was live entertainment. Chris found his favorite G.I. Joe toy (I'm assuming it will be a collectible) at Toys & Joys. We checked out the craft fair at Kaimuki Park, where Chris' mom was selling her ceramic coasters. It was nice to park the stroller and Chase at their booth so that we could stay out of the sun when we wanted (while spraying a few coasters for customers of course). We window shopped. Actually, I got to shop for a necklace since the vendor wanted to trade for some coasters (and Audrey didn't want anything). We spent the whole afternoon there. Chase was super active, running all over the place, playing on the playground, and he loved the water fountain. Auntie Stevi and Lauren came down. They ended up buying Chase a couple of cute local t-shirts. My favorite: "My name is Kolohe." (Kolohe means "rascal" in Hawaiian) . Rented a movie tonight..."The Bank Job". An interesting movie full of surprises.