This morning the whole family was hanging out in Willy's and my room. A typical Saturday lazy morning.  Molly disappeared to the vanity area in the bathroom and came back presenting Willy with a treasure she'd found under my bathroom sink... a box of Tampons!  Willy sighed and said "Thanks Molly.  I don't want tampons right now."  I chuckled and Toby started laughing like it was the funniest joke he'd ever heard so I told him "Stop laughing you goof.  You don't know what that means!"  Ben piped up "Oh I know what tampons are for.  They're for cleaning up your bum after you have a baby, right?"

Um.  No.  Nice try...

He decided to try again.  "Okay.  Are they for covering up your boobs so they don't bleed through?" 

Bleed through?  HAHAHAHAHA.  Sweety my boobs don't bleed from breastfeeding.  Okay in fairness I might have shed a drop or two when Molly first got teeth and was feeling rather chompy, but that's the exception not the rule.  In general, the term is "leak" not "bleed through".  And my boobs don't even do that any more.  So no, I don't use tampons for protecting my shirts from bloody leaky boobs.

Fortunately the cackling from mommy and daddy diverted everyone's attention away from the original question, and no explanation of a tampon's true purpose was required.  Phew.

Last year around this time the Kween of the Queens writing challenge was to write about something I'd learned from my father.  For some reason or another, despite having jotted down my thoughts and notes on the topic, I never formulated the blog entry and never did get to share some of the things I've learned from my dad.  That little scrap of paper with my scribbled notes managed to make it through the move from California to Hawaii and turned up in my "stuff" recently.  I figured that meant it was time to share a few of the life lessons I've learned from my Daddy!  So Happy Father's Day, Dad, and thank you for all you've taught me!  (And Mom... I know Dad wouldn't be the parent he is without you by his side.  You two are a team through and through. Thank you, too!)

My dad taught me that you don't always have to say "no" to your kids and that spontaneous vacations are more exciting and less stressful than thoroughly planned out ones.  When I was in 6th or 7th grade, I got home from school one Friday just a bit earlier than my elementary school-aged siblings.  My dad asked "What do you want to do this weekend?"  I jokingly responded "Let's go to Disneyland!" And the next thing I knew we were throwing a mattress in the back of the work truck, packing some snacks, meeting the kids at the busstop and hitting the road as a family and making the trip from Sandy, Utah to Disneyland!  I remember sleeping in the back of the truck while we drove, parking in a McDonald's parking lot when we got to Anaheim, "bathing" in the McDonald's restroom sink in the morning, hitting the park for the day and then driving home through the night!  It was a whirlwind adventure and one that taught me that spontaneity can be exhilarating, and a fun family vacation doesn't require months of planning, thousands of dollars or packing visits to six amusement park into seven days of vacation.  Thanks for the lesson (and memory!) Dad.

My dad taught me that you support the ones you love, even if it means participating in something that's a little (or a lot) out of your comfort zone.  My dad is the consummate athlete.   I'm pretty sure he did a little of every sport growing up and was good at them all.  He was a bona fide jock.  He played college football.  He's trained for a marathon but a knee injury threw a (literal) kink into his marathon plans.  He's a great sports spectator and knows the ins and outs of all the sports he enjoys watching.  He raised five very athletic children.  And me.  I'm sure deep down in me somewhere there's an athlete begging to get out... but I've managed to repress and hide her my whole life, opting rather to act and sing and perform.  Musical theater was my favorite in high school, and my dear dad, despite his struggle to hear and understand the lyrics being sung by high school musical theater students and despite being completely out of his element, showed up for EVERY play I was in.  Multiple times!  I'm pretty sure he was in the audience for every performance of Oklahoma!  He was so proud and so supportive, even though it was something that wasn't necessarily up his alley.  I've learned to try to be supportive of the things my kids are passionate about because I know how fabulous it felt to have my parents support me in my passions growing up.  (Please PLEASE someone tell me that Pokemon is a passing passion though.  I really don't know if I can even feign interest in this one.  Sigh.)  Thanks for the lesson Dad!

My dad taught me that to be the "cool parent" means doing things like driving your 10 year old daughter's whole group of New Year's Eve/birthday party guests around the neighborhood at midnight, laying on the horn and letting those squealy giggly girls toss confetti as you go.  It means dropping your kid off at school on her 15th birthday with the stereo blaring and driving up on the curb to drop her off with some door-to-door service and shouting "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANG!" as you drive off.  It means letting your 16 year old daughter have the birthday party to remember including a live band (Xingdu baby!!! Oh Kevin and Jesse please serenade me with REM's "Superman" just one more time please!), well over a hundred teenagers coming and going all night long, and one ornery neighbor that you KNEW would be ornery about the noise, but you let your daughter have the party anyway.  Cool parents for sure!  Thanks for showing me the way, Dad!


My dad taught me that it's okay to let your kids stay home from school every now and then even if they're not gravely ill.  And he taught me that sometimes it's okay as a grown-up to skip work to stay home with your not-really-sick child, just to spend some quality time together in front of the Nintendo playing Tetris.  Thanks Dad.  I'm not sure if you remember that afternoon, but I definitely do.  And someday I suspect I'll make similar memories with my own kids.  I can only hope they'll think I'm as cool as I thought you were that day!


My dad taught me it's okay to take a little time and make some extra effort to get the perfect shot.  I remember him making me feel like the most beautiful little girl in the world, posing me on this rock!  Thanks Dad.




My dad taught me the value of a dollar.  Particularly in the sense of stretching it.  For example:  If you pay $10 for an all you can eat buffet and you fill your plate five times, you can get your cost down to just $2 per plate!  Likewise, when you go to an amusement park and pay $30 for an all day pass, if you hurry to the rides with shorter lines, ride as many rides as humanly possible, and take few (or no!) breaks between rides, you may be able to get your per ride cost down to 50 cents or a dollar!  (This math and money logic can also be applied to things like number of slope runs on a skiing trip and number of allowable popcorn refills at movie theaters.)  Love you Dad!

My dad taught me that anticipating something is half the fun.  And that counting down to that thing you anticipate makes the thing TWICE the fun!  For example... we are currently on the three month, one week, three day, fifteen hour, twenty-three minute countdown until my parents arrive here in O'ahu for their first Hawaiian vacation (and our first time seeing each other in one year, two months, one week, six days and a few hours...)  My dad has a real knack for making the anticipation of a thing extra exciting with his countdowns.  Thanks Dad!

My dad taught me to value a sense of humor.  Thank goodness, because have you met my husband?!



My dad taught me that you're never too grown-up to jump off a tower and soar through the air for no reason other than you've just watched your teenage kids bungee jump for the first time and you think "Hey that looks fun!  Maybe I should try it too!"  Another one of those spontaneous moments that produced an amazing memory for me and my brother (and surely an exhiliarting memory for my parents, as well.  Both Mom and Dad jumped that day!)  Again, I can only hope I'm as cool a parent as my own parents were!



My dad taught me that regular communication makes it feel like you've never been apart.  When I was an LDS missionary in Belgium and France for a year and a half and had to rely solely on written correspondence and letters from home, I was able to count on a weekly letter from my dad the whole time I was gone.  When I got home I felt like I knew him as well, if not better, than when I'd left.  I could hear his voice in the letters, and when I got to hear his voice for real at the end of my mission experience, it didn't feel like we'd been apart at all.  I'll remember that lesson when my own boys leave home and serve missions and go away to school and such!

Thanks for all the lessons Dad!  This doesn't even begin to touch on all that I've learned from you.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Keep the lessons a-comin'! 

This story requires a bit of setting up.

1) My boys find it incredibly difficult, I'd daresay impossible, to actually put their dirty laundry into the laundry bag in their bathroom.  They remove their clothing in the bathroom and promptly drop it to the ground.  Apparently they'd rather have a nice and cushion-y (albeit often damp... they are boys with imperfect aim, after all) surface to walk upon when doing their business in the john.  It doesn't matter that the bag is right there.  They will not be bothered.

2)  I do their laundry when they bring me their full laundry bag. 

3)  The laundry bag seldom fills because of the dirty laundry rug mentioned in point #1.

4)  They rarely bring me the laundry bag because of point #3.

5)  My boys often find themselves sniffing clothes and checking for stains* and wearing already-worn-not-yet-washed clothing because of their imperfect-for-mom-but-acceptable-to-them routine above. (* Unless you're Brady.  If you're Brady you can't be bothered to sniff and CERTAINLY not check for stains.  You simply don't care.  You wear the first thing you find.)

Understanding the points above will help you understand how we found ourselves dressing Toby in...ahem... JEANS last night. 

Jeans? you wonder.  What's the big deal about jeans?

Toby hasn't worn jeans in months.  None of the jeans he had in California even fit him any more.  The only reason we had a pair was that a friend gave us a bag of her boys' outgrown clothing and there happened to be a pair in the bag.  (When winter temps dip to a "chilly" 69 here, we contentedly sigh and enjoy the refreshing closest-thing-to-spring weather, but the locals are bundling up for the cold spell.) So when Toby refused to stop what he was doing last night to run to the bathroom and take care of business, we ended up with a pair of soggy shorts... and no clean ones to take their place.  Hence, the jeans.

On went the jeans and out came this classic Toby comment full of confusion and even a wee bit of contempt: 

"But they go all the way to my feet!?!"

Yes, sweetheart, they do.  They're called pants.  And someday in the future you may be required to wear them on a daily basis.  But if you'll just put your dang dirty shorts in the laundry bag, I promise I'll never torture you with the dreaded pants here again. 

What a lovely Sunday!  It started a little early for my taste when Brady shook my shoulder to present me with my breakfast in bed:  a bowl of yogurt and Grape Nuts cereal, just as I'd "ordered" the night before.  I didn't, however, order it to be delivered before the crack of dawn, so I thanked Brady with big smooches and snuggles and told him I'd eat it when I was ready to be awake (figuring Molly would wake soon anyway.)  Molly's gift to me was sleeping till nearly 7:30 though!  Yippeeee!  By the time she woke up and I was ready for breakfast in bed, the hour old bowl of certainly mushy Grape Nuts wasn't appealing to me (and I'd learned that Brady had used plain yogurt, not fruit yogurt) so I asked Brady if he'd mind trying again.  He happily obliged and headed downstairs for take two.  I heard some commotion as the boys tried to decide who got the soggy cereal and through the mayhem I learned that Brady had made my second bowl with ... you guessed it... plain yogurt.  So I just hollered downstairs and asked him to add a teaspoon of Splenda to it and it would be just fine.  When he came upstairs he'd managed to pawn off the second bowl of plain yogurt to a brother and was proud to present me with my bowl of pineapple yogurt and crispy crunchy Grape Nuts!  With a teaspoon (or so?) of Splenda.  D'oh.  Go Brady go!  Third time was the super sweet charm.  (Brady also gave me a very cute "MOM" keychain and card that he made at school.)

Willy convinced the boys to entertain and look after Molly so "Mommy" could get some extra rest.  How thoughtful of him, right?  Oh and look at that!  Willy got some extra sleep too!  What an unexpected benefit for him!  Ben came up and knocked on our door twice just as we were falling back to sleep.  The first time was to give me the gift he'd made at school, but the door was locked and Willy told him to wait to give it to me a bit later.  Then he came back a few minutes later and asked something that I couldn't understand because of our ridiculously loud bedroom fan.  Willy answered "Yes" to Ben so I asked Willy what Ben had asked for and Willy replied "I don't know.  All I heard was 'mmm hmm ummm hmmm"  I laughed REALLY hard.  A good laugh is always a welcome addition to a Mother's Day!  (Turns out Ben was just asking if they could watch a movie.  Fortunately for us, that's all he was asking for!)

When I rolled out of bed around 10:30 (!!!!!!)  I asked Ben if he wanted to give me his gift but he was zoned out in front of the t.v. and completely oblivious to my presence.  (Note to self:  time to do something about the t.v. zombies in our home.)  I headed to Ward Council meeting, only to find that it had been canceled due to Mother's Day.  D'oh.  Back home for some yummy nachos (that I didn't have to make!) for lunch.  Yay for Willy treating me to a no-cooking day!  Ben did finally present me with his gift... a personalized poem using the letters of my name for inspiration.  SUCH a fun gift!  Check it out.



My favorites are "Inflorescence Mom" which he said means something to do with gardening (?!), "Pashinate Primary President" (just because I love the spelling and alliteration) and "Monsterous Cleaner" which I can only assume means I turn into a beast when I'm cleaning...  Well played Ben.  Well played.

Then off to church we went where, thanks to a tip from our good friends, I blended right in with the other mothers decked out in beautiful Hawaiian floral leis.  Our friends let us know that mothers are given flower leis for Mother's Day and that at church all the mothers would be wearing them.  Willy headed to Walmart late last night to get me a lei so he wouldn't be the only one to have neglected the mother of his children.  Willy actually got TWO leis so I could choose my favorite.  One had my favorite color (purple) and one had my favorite flower (carnation).  Because Brady routinely asks us all "What's your favorite color?" (peppered in among other favorites like "What's your favorite animal?" and "What's your favorite food?" and "What's your favorite 'what's your favorite?' question that I ask?") the fact that Willy knows my favorite color is not surprising.  But the fact that he remembers my favorite flower tipped the scale for me and I chose to wear the red carnation lei (and I gave the other to my good friend who is on a plane right now headed back to the mainland because of her husband's next assignment. )  I felt so special wearing my fresh flower lei today and it was SO cool to walk into the chapel and smell all the flowers being worn!  Sure enough, all the women had leis!  It was a beautiful sight!  Church went well, and despite having to cover for two no-show teachers in Primary, Primary went well also.  The kids had a lot of fun during music time when the music leader let them help write a new song for the moms to the tune of Popcorn Popping.  The lyrics they came up with went like this: 

I woke up this morning and what did I see?
My mom making yummy breakfast for me.
Mom had made me such a nice surprise,
Toast, eggs and bacon right before my eyes.
I can give my mom a great big hug
And a kiss on her cheek so she feels so loved.
Today's a special day, so I want to say,
I love you!  Happy Mother's Day!

How adorable is that?!  The kids did well and got to go sing it to their moms at the very end of Primary in the Relief Society room.  The song was VERY well received (the moms burst into applause when the kids were done singing!  Not entirely appropriate, but the kids were pleased as could be hehehe.)

After church I busted out the tripod to get a pic of me with the kids (and me and my lei) since Willy had to stay after church for some clerk business.  (We'd been home for 8.2 seconds and they were all already stripped of their church clothes and dressed in PJs for the night by the time I got the camera out!)  I had a long and wonderful chat with my own Mommy, and then we had a nice relaxing evening at home as a family.  Willy made a yummy pork loin dinner with Nana's Potatoes and salad and I got to just chow down with no effort involved with preparation!  Loved it!  Happy, happy day!

Hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day!

It was so fun when we got to meet up with Teresa and her family on Saturday at the Polynesian Cultural Center!  They'd gotten in really late Friday night so we had to wait till Saturday to see each other.  I'm not very patient... but neither is Teresa apparently.  As soon as they pulled into the parking lot of the PCC and saw us walking she jumped out of her car and ran to us for hugs.  :)  (Reminded me of my sister Mindy sprinting across the street to be the first Auntie to hold Molly when we got to Utah last summer... but I digress...)  We had an AWESOME day at the PCC and as expected, Ashlyn and Toby (who are just 6 days apart in age) had a wonderful time together.   Alyssa was a ball of fire and almost impossible to catch on the camera because she was always on the go.  Adorable! We had a fun day and evening with them and all enjoyed the night show together.  They came to church with us on Sunday and came for dinner that night.  Monday was Hanauma and Teddy's before Sarah and her family left.  I've already forgotten the order of our activities together the rest of the week... but I'll try LOL. I think it was Tuesday that Teresa and I took the kids to the Honolulu Zoo together and loved that.  Teresa and I had an AWESOME girls night out and enjoyed the fun flick 17 Again (which made me feel very old and pathetic when I realized I was wanting to see it because of Matthew Perry, not Zac Efron.  D'oh.)  One night Teresa came and played with my kids so Willy and I could go out on a date.  Heaven!  One day Toby, Molly and I went with T, Chase and the girls to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and then showed them the way to Lani'akea Beach (Turtle Beach) so they could hopefully see some turtles... which they did!  We got to see one come up out of the water onto the beach while we were there AND we got to see one head back out.  It was awesome.  They continued on to Waimea Falls and we headed home.  But then that night we went to their resort with them and had a fun barbecue and relaxing evening all together before I had to take them to the airport the next day.  Again with the major letdown when we had to say goodbye :(  It had been such a fun time reconnecting and letting the cousins all play together and just plain relaxing and enjoying our time together.  Wish it could have lasted even longer! 

I'll toss in our family pics at the PCC here, too! 

This guy has been performing at the PCC for years.  Willy saw him perform 15 years ago when he came here with his mom!  We ended up buying one of his painting prints for our house!


This guy was so sweet and gentle with Molly.  He loved her hair... I think she was just crushing on the buff boy holding her in his arms...


Hanging out in Aotearoa...


 
Ashlyn and Toby were HYSTERICAL doing the Maori stick game!  They'd just randomly chuck their sticks at each other whenever the impulse struck.  SO funny!

Hula and games in Hawaii (I'm pretty sure Willy was just taking a picture of the old lady dancing and inadvertantly got Teresa and I in the shot... ;) )

 

I'm not the only Romig with a competitive edge... look at her gloating her win over my SEVEN year old... LOL

 

The boys' favorite part of the night show was the fire knife dance done by the guy we bought our painting from :)
 

Honolulu Zoo
 

Hanging out in their MANSION of a hotel suite.  We seriously could live in that place with our whole family!  It was amazing.



Saying goodbyes :(


A GREAT visit from a great family.  I know if I could stay in that resort environment I wouldn't ever pick my sister's futon couch when I come to visit... but Teresa and Chase I hope you know you're ALWAYS welcome to crash on our couch if you want!

April Visitor Invasion Footnote:  We didn't have a single cockroach or gecko episode in our house while family and visitors were here!  For those of you who've been nervous to stay at our house when you come to visit (cough cough... DAD... cough cough) we've now got a pretty good track record going with no live* critter sightings in the house while visitors are here!  So save a few bucks and bunk on our couch when you come to visit!

*In an act of full disclosure, I feel I must admit that we did find one DEAD cockroach, legs up, in our bathroom while Karen was here.  But it was dead!  That's the way we like 'em!  Three cheers for our exterminator whose magic keeps working and working and working!