Mama On The Move

Well, maybe this isn't my first moving rant.  Ben says my first moving rant was along the lines of, "What the %#$*& do you mean our orders have been changed to Illinois?!?!?" But this is a bigger rant against a big company and I usually don't do this, but darn it, it has to be said. When we moved to Hawaii, getting the dogs here was our biggest stress.  Dogs can not be flown when the temperature is too high or too low because they are shipped as cargo in the hold where the pressure and the temperature are not regulated the way they are in the passenger cabin.  I was paranoid that we would get to the airport and they would tell us that it was too cold to board the dogs.  As it was, we were only a few degrees away from being told no.  There was still snow on the ground when we left Kansas although the temperature in Hawaii was fabulous. So in moving from Hawaii, we knew we might have to ship the dogs in April or May in order to get them off the island while

While Ben and Emily were at camp, Kerry and I took Katie to Waikiki and rented an aqua-cycle.   That is Diamond Head in the background.  We hope to hike it soon. We are pairing down our list of things we want to do before we move. Aqua-cycle.  CHECK.

We ate at a new restaurant in Wahiawa this week.  Once you place your order the servers hand you a square box that lights up when your order is ready so you know to head back up to the counter and get your food. As we sat at the table, Katie placed the indicator on the table and stared at it as though mentally willing it to light up. "That won't help," I told her.  "Don't you know a watched pot never boils?" "No, Mama.  It's 'a watched page never loads '," Emily informed me. Ben chimed in, "And who would want to boil something in a pot when you've got a microwave ??"

My girls rock!

I had to go to the ENT this week.  My hearing hasn't been great since I was a young'un and it has gotten to the point where everyone has to repeat what they are saying to me a couple of times before I actually get it.  Or, I just smile and nod when everyone else is smiling and nodding. I had a hearing test done at the military clinic near me.  They confirmed that I have a hearing loss and that it's worse in my left ear than in my right ear (all of which I informed them when I arrived, and they re-informed me after the test). Then I was referred to Tripler to the ENT department which sometimes takes over an hour to get to becaue of traffic.  It took a month to get this appointment and I went early, because parking is a booger at Tripler.  Amazingly, I got a parking spot really quickly and wound up being thirty minutes early for my appointment. I went ahead and checked in, then happily settled down in the waiting room.  I had a book with me and because I was so early, I

I was in the restroom of the Old Spaghetti Factory tonight and although I never saw them, I could hear a young mother earnestly urging her little daughter to go potty in the toilet. "No, I don't need to!" the little girl whined. "You should at least try ." "Don't want to!" "Why won't you try ?" "NOooooooo!" "Well, I'm going in the potty because that's what princesses do." The youngster was still not swayed to give it a go. Finally, in exasperation the mother declared, " Do you think Snow White goes pee-pee in her pull-ups!!??"

We were supposed to get Kerry's orders on Monday.  Without orders, we can not make arrangements with transportation to send packers and movers to our home.  Without orders, we can not make reservations to fly off this island. "But wait", you say.  "Don't you have orders?  You know you're moving to Illinois, right?  You've been told the date that you have to report for duty, right?  You've been ordered to go, therefore you have orders ." Yes, dear duckies, but let me explain.  Being given your marching orders is not the same as actually having your ORDERS.  Your ORDERS are on paper and they are officially signed and notarized under the full moon and mailed with a stamp that has been licked twice and stuck on the envelope upside down.  All t's must be crossed and i's must be dotted and you must hold them in your hands for you to really have ORDERS.  No one will see you, or help you, or make one reservation for you without them. When

Ben went on the Stairway to Heaven Hike (again!) and one of his friends made a timelapse of their hike.  The scenery is gorgeous!  Ben is in the gray tank top.

Mostly of my kids..........  Peter Piper, Jill, Pig, Village Girl, Humpty Dumpty Jill, Miss Muffett, Pig, Village Girl  Rapunzel with the giggles Cast photo Goldilocks Boogie Solid vs. Roll On Check out that fountain in the background! E.V.I.L. Ben upsets Goldilocks Picketing Princesses Sunburned Snow White and her disillusioned prince Rapunzel The wolf is at the door! Town Meeting The three little pigs Last Ditch Effort Working things out! Happily Singing Happily Dancing Epic Final Dance Number Sharing A Laugh

The students in our homeschool co-op have written a play each year for the past four years. This year's play was a lot of fun! Ben was the Big Bad Wolf.   Katie was the little pig who built a house out of straw. And Emily was Rapunzel.   In the play, the evil queen and the two wicked stepsisters teamed up with the big, bad wolf to try to convince everyone in Story Land to change their stories.  The wolf talked to Goldilocks..... ....and the queen talked to Little Red Riding Hood.  Goldilocks went Goth and became "Gothilocks"  and Little Red became a rap singer known as "Little Red from the Hood". The wolf tried to eat the little pig in the house of straw but she escaped to the house of sticks. The cow wouldn't jump over the moon and the dish and spoon didn't want to run away together. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty picketed the Prince's ball. The wolf tried to get to the two pigs in the h

 1st Birthday 18th Birthday Bacon wrapping paper made the day better.