Random Rambles of a Quaratined Mind

It's been a little bit more than a month since we were encouraged to stay home and self-quarantine, social-distance, and/or social-isolate ourselves from the outside world. It hasn't been an easy, by far, and sometimes I wonder if this all is necessary. Then, I talk to a family/friend who is an essential worker...the amazing, self-sacrificing frontliner, and I think, yes, it really is necessary. It's hard, no joke, it really is hard, but I just tell myself apart, we are together.

I am blessed to have a place to stay at night. I have blessed to have a home to go to...a home to stay at; a place to call my own. I live in an amazing place that is gated and is beautiful...a horse ranch, and I can't complain that I am "stuck" in quarantine in this beautiful island of Oahu. My only gripe is the fact that I have next to no internet/cell reception...and that I am alone. I live alone. I am not quarantined with anyone, so I am alone. And with no reception...well, with very little reception, it is so hard to stay focused on what matters. I find myself starting to look at myself and feeling sorry for myself because somehow, along the way of these trying times, I had lost my self-motivation, self-determination, and self-worth.

I am a teacher with no classroom, no students. I am an Auntie, with no littles to love on. I am a friend, with limited ways to communicate to see if they are okay. I am a sister, with limited and short communication to my sister and brother. I am a daughter, with no way to be near my parents since they are high-risk. I am me, with no purpose. Or so it seemed. I tell myself...it is NOT like that and it is my choice to see it like that.

Or I can say, I am a teacher/auntie/friend/sister/daughter trying my best to do what I can do to help them...by staying home and not adding to the problem. I write letters, postcards, post videos up for my preschool keiki to watch. I call/text my family and friends whenever I can. I send little care package "letters" to random people. I cook and bake yummy experiments for my neighbors. I try to do my best to spread love and cheer in the midst of this horrible moment in time. And that is all that I can do.

I want so bad for things to go back to "normal" and then I ask myself, do I really? Do I really want things to go back to normal when "normal" was not the healthiest? I mean, come on, it took something like THIS to finally get people to understand that you have to WASH YOUR HANDS, and COVER YOUR MOUTH?! If normal means not doing those things as much, no, I don't want things to get back to normal. I pray that when this is all over, people will learn and take into consideration what they had to go through to get back into society.

I think what I want mainly is to not live in fear. I hate having to second-guess everything I do, and everywhere I go. As of right now, I have deemed my place, my school, and two of my friends houses as a "safe place" My place, because it will always be my safe place, my school because since we have closed our doors, no one goes there, except for us teachers who just stay in our own room. I go there to create videos for my little ones to watch. And two of my friends who are just as careful as I am, and who I trust that they will tell me if I can't come over for whatever reason. Since this all started I have only gone to the grocery store once; it helps that I am living by myself and I don't have to worry about taking care of anyone else. I do have to worry, though, about remembering to eat. I have found out that with no real schedule in my life at the moment, I tend to forget to eat.

But yes, I want to not live in fear. In fear that I might run into someone and want to badly give them a hug, but I can't. In fear that I might catch the dreaded COVID-19 virus and not be able to get ahold of anyone since I have limited connection to the outside world from my house. In fear that I won't get to be with my family any more. In fear to just make a "quick stop" at the store to grab some ice-cream. In fear of going to the beach and getting a fine because we aren't allowed on the beach anymore...much less hiking trails and public parks. I hate how limited human connection is now. I believe that we are built to have human connection and that without, life can get really hard. It is hard.

I always said that I loved my job. I am a 2-3 year old preschool teacher. Everyday I would come to school to unlimited hugs, unlimited stories, unlimited cuddles and love. Cold turkey I went from all of that to nothing. It has been more than a month since I received a hug. It was only just recently that I was even comfortable to get out and see people again. I live in a place that I lovingly call the "deadzone." It really is like the "deadzone"...so way off-the-grid. I get no mail, no tv service, no internet, no cell reception. Okay, the reality of it all, I do get service, but so minimal that it's hardly worth the mention. And it's hard. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my kids. And I miss just being around people and knowing what is going on in the world. But I try to tell myself that I need to concentrate on myself and by staying limited in the places that I go, and by staying home for days on end, I am helping.

What have I been doing to stay sane? Read. Paint. Write. Lots and lots of writing. Do my nails (which is my guilty pleasure in this time of craziness). Sing. Play the piano. Play the ukulele. Sing. Work out. Lots and lots of working out.

Before all “this” happened, I used to wake up at the crack of dawn…4:30AM, text my good friend that I actually got up (love my accountability friend) and do some kind of work out. I try real hard to stay with that schedule. But now with long days that seem to last triple the actual “normal” day, I find myself unable to motivate myself to get up to work out. I mean, I USED to have to be at work at 7:00AM (Although, I would always get there at around 6:45AM), so I had to wake up at 4:30 to work out if I wanted to take a shower afterwards and put my face on (side story: love putting on makeup and doing my hair all cute—sometimes!) and drink my coffee, eat some kind of breakfast…and have my morning devotional! That is a lot of stuff to get done in just a little over 2 hours. I swear I am not a morning person! (Sunrise chaser, yes, but morning person, no.) But now that the days are soooo looonnnngggg….I don’t feel that need to wake up so early any longer. I keep my alarm at 4:30AM…blah, who am I kidding at 4:31AM (you KNOW that one minute is means SO MUCH that early in the morning! Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean!), so I do wake up…but that does not mean I get up.

I did have a pep talk to myself though. One thing about living by yourself is that you are you own pep talk person. No one else is there to get you up and showing up…only you. When I first started living on my own, I would get the occasional parental call or big sister call…or even the brother call to see if I am okay…but now, who cares, right? Out of sight, out of mind…but it’s my responsibility to myself to be my own motivator. So, yes, I did give myself that pep talk and told myself to SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP! Storms don’t last forever…so get up and show up. And so now, yes, in the morning (very vague here) I get up and do some time of kickboxing and then in the evening (again, very vague time frame here) I do Insanity by Shaun T. Have you heard of it?! Oh days, look it up…it’s something else. No joke. I am currently doing the Cardio Max…and it really is no joke. You want to sweat and feel like blacking out, but feel good about a good work out…check it out. And now that the beaches are open, I try to go to the beach and swim.

That’s another thing. I wish I were a mermaid. My mom said that I could be anything that I put my mind to and if I work real hard at it…I can do it; I can be it. I want to be a mermaid. Are mermaids real, you ask? Well, the ocean is huge, and we haven’t yet explored the who thing…and even if somehow we did, there is more that is left unexplored. That is all I am saying there.  

Well, enough of me rambling about anything and everything. Enjoy your life! Aloha!

"We are all in this together" I created this while holed up in "the deadzone". A good reminder, that even though we are apart, we are still together in this mess that the world is in. Together, healing together, far apart, but together. 

A Ramble of Randoms

When December first started, I thought I had prepared myself for all the busy-ness that was going to happen. Well, I learned one thing [again...every year! I guess it's something I will never really "learn"!] you can't really plan out your end-of-the-year months! The only thing that you can really plan for these months is...crazy. I should just put that in my planner..."Today: Crazy"...*laughs* But no joke, it's been one hell of a ride this month. And it's not even over yet...but I have a few moments to write. I seriously have been meaning to write more in my blog...keep it more up-to-date, but it's more of, "when I get the chance to write, I'll write!"

I don't even know where to start. One person that is on my mind right now is Legend. I know I'm going to cry writing about this, but writing has always been therapeutic for me and I don't ever want him to be forgotten. And "they" say if you write about something/someone they will be immortalized forever. And Legend, you will never be forgotten...like that can even happen in my lifetime, at least.

Legend lived a few short wonderful 3 years. He was a child at my preschool and he was more a quiet one. He loved his skateboard, his shark backpack, his giraffe and his teacher, Mrs. A. He would nap in my classroom at times and he had "his spot" where he would want his bed to be and he was very particular about how it was set up. He had the tiniest shark backpack (which had to face him while he napped) that somehow his mom would miraculously fit 2+ blankets in with a random assortment of special things (one time it was blue party napkins another time his finger skateboards...it was a surprise every time). After nap time he would asked me to help him put his blanket away and as hard as we would try we rarely could fit his blankets in his tiny backpack the way his mom did. He was his teacher's opihi, always having an eye on her and/or always holding onto her somehow...holding her hand, her shirt, her leg.

He would come in my room and dance. His classroom is right next to mine and we have a "secret door" (that isn't so secret since Mrs. A and I like to keep it open during class hours)...and whenever we had music playing (which is all the time) and my class had another of it's many impromptu dance parties, Mrs. A's students would hear and poke their head in my class and join us. At first he would be hesitant to dance, and then he would warm up and you can see him jumping, spinning, holding hands, and twirling with the other kids.

Every morning he would call out, "Hello Ms. Charity" and give me a huge smile all the while clinging onto Mrs. A and whatever toy (most times his giraffe) he had brought with him that day. He was a beautiful boy with a beautiful soul...who unfortunately was born with a rare birth defect that went unnoticed until it was too late. Less than a week ago on December 23 his mom wrote, "Legend was born with a rare birth defect none of us knew about. He had a tangle of arteries and veins in his brain stem which caused his brain to hemorrhage. There was no surgery they could do because of the location so they tried their very, very best to stabilize him, unfortunately they were unsuccessful and he went to fly up to heaven." He was and is very much loved by his family. His sisters doted on him and his family is so close knit.

Legend, you will be very much missed by all those you touched. I will miss you.

Wow, that was hard to write.



I am glad that I am on winter break. More time at the beach for me! I still value my early mornings at the shoreline just watching the sunrise. Since it is winter break, there are a lot more people at the beach when I go. A lot more people with their cameras set up to catch the sun rising over the horizon. And I go pretty early as well. It's always confusing though...it's like the sun has a mind of it's own...there are times where I'll go to the beach at 6:30 and it's still super dark...and other times I'll go at that time and the sun is already up...well, not fully up, but up enough!

It's been too cold to swim in the water, but I will still walk the shoreline with my feet in the water...the ocean water is so healing! I can read all day at the beach...but like I said, since it's winter break, more people...so it's not as calming. But that's okay...everyday is still a beach day to me!



Christmas this year was HOT HOT HOT! We all went to my brother's house to celebrate and one of the first things I said to them was "My days, it's hot!" But the next day, it rained like the ocean was falling out of the sky! You can't really see here, but this is what it looked like right outside my front door. And it was like a waterfall coming down the roof...and I am right by the drain cannal to the sea...and it was like a river rushing by! I love the sound...and if you ever want the beach to yourself...this is the time to go. Not as much people there...and the ocean is a different kind of beautiful! I am so glad that the power didn't go out though! (Although I do enjoy lighting a scented candle when I'm home!)

Well, I decided to change up my fish tank: TankTown. For the longest time I wanted everything (as much everything as I can) to be natural. TankTown (my 35 gallon fish tank) had blue and green marble as "gravel" and treated coral with small kine live plants on them. I wanted it to be a more natural look with driftwood and more plants...so I redid the tank...and I feel like my fish are much more happier!



I had to use a rubber band to hold the plants down until they settle and take roots...should be in a few weeks. But I can't wait until I can remove them! I still like the coral in the tank...but I added a few pieces of drift wood. Changed out the marble completely with a more finer, natural looking gravel and added more plants.



My favorite aquarium plant is the anubias...even though they are slow growing...I like the look of it and once they are established...they look real nice! Plus, when they get bigger you can propagate it! I also added some java fern and water ferns. More bubblers as well and, of course, lots of marimo moss balls (which I also love and have them in all my tanks!) It looks as though my fish are more active and I love watching them explore around the tank and swim up and down and through the bubblers that I placed around the tank. (You can't see the bubblers that I added in the tank since I took this picture before I added the bubblers.)

Oh, and I can't forget! I added another betta fish to my growing fish family!



Meet Mr.Glorious. I met and adopted him while at my favorite LFS. I was there to buy more Zebra Danios for TankTown and I saw him there...and I was thought to myself "what glorious fish!" and I couldn't pass him up! I was meaning to get another betta anyways...and so I did. No, this is not the tank that I have him in anymore. I just put him in there as I prepared his home tank. I wanted him out of his tiny little container that I got him in; he is currently my most active betta fish! I can see him swimming around happily in his tank and exploring his cave and other live plants that I placed in there with him. You can't really tell in the picture but he has a gorgeous, iridescent blue body with transparent black fins and tail. And I think he's quite glorious.

I also brought Mr. Blueberry home from school since he wasn't looking too hot there. Plus, three other betta fish died in different classrooms within two days at the school...and I am not chancing anything with Mr. Blueberry. He was starting to become real lethargic and unmoving while in the classroom...and since he's been home with me he has been swimming around like his old self again. I'm not quite sure what happened in school...but he's going to stay with me for the time being.

On to some exciting baby news! My cousin had her baby, my (sister's) sis-in-law had her baby, and my best friend had her baby! All on the mainland, so I'm super bummed about that...but I'm so excited for them! My cousin and my (sister's) sis-in-law had their baby on my mom's birthday (December 19)...so that was a wonderful birthday surprise and my bestie had her baby a few days ago on the 26th!



My sis-in-law is beautifully pregnant and I get a wonderful happy feeling when I feel Baby PeachNectarine (DollGirl nicknamed her!) kick and move! She had her very successful baby shower and since we all love our tea time, the theme was a "Tea for 3" theme. After our Christmas celebration at their house, all the men got together and cleared out the baby room and put together their baby crib...and I am getting SUPER excited!

And, of course, my adorable baby niece, RocketGirl (who makes 6 months this month) has everyone's attention for the moment! I think that it's so cool that her and her cousin will less than a year apart! And oh my goodness, look at her, she has discovered her toes!

This year for my preschool children's Christmas present for their parents, I decided to do something "easier and faster"...since I knew that a good portion of the children in my class would only be here for a few days before traveling for the holidays. I showed them several projects and the one that they chose to do was the mistle-"toes" feet painting!



I laugh at this because we had just did a paint activity where we went outside and allowed my children to paint their feet and dance on the bike path and grass. And now they think it's the coolest thing to do...paint with your feet! So, of course, they had to choose the painting feet project! I loved hearing them giggle as I painted their feet! We added glitter and laminated it so that it would last longer (and be easier to frame)!



And every year as gift tags I always do the hand print Christmas mitten. I'm real big on saving those tiny handprints and footprint of the children and so I'm glad that they chose the feet mistletoe project. I hope the parents liked it as much as the children did when they saw the final product. They even decorated their own wrapping/envelope for their parents!

Oh, and how can I possible forget?! I went to the Nutcracker ballet this year with two of my friends!



It was a lot of fun to dress up and go with friends. I remember seeing the Nutcracker when I was younger and this one was a little bit different from the one that I remember when I was younger since the one that went to had a Hawai'ian take to it! I should have paid more attention to that because I was quite confused when the turtles and clownfish came out to dance!



But it was beautifully done and I feared to blink my eyes else I might miss something! The Cavalier in Act II: A Lush Tropical Garden was amazing...but everyone EVERYONE did such a breath-taking job! One of the persons that I went with happens to also be my school boss and classroom aid...and then next day in school during our impromptu dance parties you can bet your bottom dollar we were doing our various of ballet dancing with the children! It was an amazing event and I am so glad that I went this year!

Well, enough ramblings for now...I must go and do some productive things today! But here is one more beautiful picture of my favorite beach...doesn't it make you just want to lay down on the powder soft sand and cloud watch to nature's musical sound of the waves bubbling on the shore?!

A Day of Thanks.

On this day of Thanksgiving, I am sitting here thinking of the many things that I am thankful for today and every day.

I also can't help but think about how amazing my breakfast smells right now! My sister had a craft/small business party this last weekend, and at her party her baked goods where a HUGE hit (if you have not had the opportunity to try one of her delicious creations, I am sorry to say, but you are SO missing out!). One of the perks of having such an amazing baker as a sister, is that I get freebies! She know that I live in a tiny space with a tiny toaster over, so she makes my breads custom made to fit just perfectly in my toaster oven. Here is the result of my last stash from her. Her Wheatie Oat Cinnamon Swirl Bread with a healthly spread of coconut butter. So very ono!

It's safe to say that up there on my thankful list this year (and every day/year) is family. I am incredibly blessed to have such a close-knit, loving (most times!) family. No matter where I go in the world, no matter how much I sometimes want to just shut myself out from everything...my family is and will always be there for me. I have no doubt. My parents are here this year, and that is something that fills me heart with happiness every day I see them. (They are currently staying with my sister.) My family is growing. I am thankful for all my nieces and nephews...here with me, and those who are far from me. But I am so in-love with the new addition to our family, my RocketGirl and I am already in-love with my unborn niece (due in February!). Yep, my family is growing and I couldn't be more happier. There was a few years where I had to live without my family physically there for me, and was a lot harder than I care to admit. So, with the family that I have close to me, I am so thankful for. With the family that aren't so close to me, I am so thankful for technology that allows me to stay connected with them. I love my family.

I also love my friends. The quote that comes to mind is, "You will never be completely at home again, because part of you heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place." Not only do I have family that live all over the world, but my friends do to. And I am at that point in my life, where my friends are like my family as well. I am blessed to have made some friends here on the island that I consider my family. We may not always hang out, but I have no doubt that when I need them, or when they need me, or if we happen upon that chance where we are both free, that I can always turn to them. My friends are a necessity in my life. And I am ever so thankful to have them and call them mine.

I am SO extremely blessed to have found a career and job that I love so much. I am a preschool teacher and I love what I do. I have the amazing privilege to go to work 5 days a week to unlimited hugs and honis. I get cuddles to! Not only that, but we play all day...we do art...we paint nearly everything, from our hands and feet...and face painting...to leaves, and rocks, and even our door! We go outside for nature walks and run after butterflies...and go exploring for bugs, pretty flowers, and dance under the showering trees! We fly on the swings and zip down the slides. We practice our bird calls and pretend we are the garden growing sunflowers. We have spontaneous marching bands and dance parties...and we sing, oh my days, we sing and dance, and dance and sing. And then we lay down on the carpet, the grass, the sidewalk to read stories, have an impromptu snack picnic, trace our bodies with chalk or just watch the clouds and birds go by...sometimes we'll even see a helicopter fly by! I get to come up with fun games to learn our colors, numbers, and shapes...all through play. And at the end of the day, I get hugs and honis from every single one of my kids with farewell words of  I'll miss you, I can't wait to come back tomorrow, I had fun today, lets do that again! I'm not saying that working with the younger generation is always fun and laughter...easy, but I am saying that the happy moments will always outweigh the hardships (at least for me). And I am thankful for each one of the little bodies that come through my door. Not only for them, but for their whole family as well. 

And my co-workers. I get to work with an amazing group of people. I have a boss that cares for the well-being of myself and those who work with me. I am blessed that I not only can call my co-workers, co-workers...but friends. We may not always see eye-to-eye...but we respect each other...and every single one of them will willingly jump in to help another whenever one of us needs help...with work, or in our personal lives as well. We are there for each other. I have come to realize that finding a job where you can get along with every single on of your co-workers is rare...and I am blessed that I work in a place that I can count on my co-workers to help me, support me, encourage me, and just be friends with. Yes, I love my job.

And there are million other "small" things that are "big" things that make my life so worth living. I am blessed to be able to realize that I have such an awesome life...and I can find the silver lining when things get rough. My life is far...super far...from perfect (and I know this all sounds cliché), but it's because my life isn't perfect I can see the "perfect" little things that make my life SO worth be here for. And for that, I am thankful for.



Just a quick list of only SOME of the things that I am thankful for. I know that I am going to leave SO MUCH out...but still...

• mornings
• by the water
• sunrise
• stickers
• subscription boxes/packages
• Amazon and Target (free shipping to Hawai'i!!)
• rainbows
• washi tape
• stationary paper
• pens
• my fish
• elephants
• candy
• chocolate
• gummy candies
• sour candies
• jellybeans
• my car
• slippers
• summer dress (year round if I really wanted too!)
• living in "Paradise"
• my "corner of the world" (my studio)
• clear skies
• stars
• clouds
• chai tea/latte
• wintermelon boba drink (Taste Tea!)
• postcards 
• so VERY thankful for the postcrossing program!
• post-its/stickies
• make-up 
• lipsense
• nailpolish (is that considered make-up?!)
• Lovely smelling bath gel
• Dragon Fruit
• Envy Apples
• Blueberries
• scented candles
• planners
• warm rain
• music
• lots and lots and lots more and more and more!!

But most importantly, I am thankful for my God, who loves me more than I can even fathom-no matter what I do, no matter how far I stray, no matter what happens...He will ALWAYS have my back and I trust He will never give up on me. And I am so thankful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving EVERYONE, I pray you have a beautiful day filled with family, love, happy moments and YUMMY FOOD! 

(Okay, now, f'realz, I have to get ready to go to my sisters house to be bombarded with hugs and kisses from my niece and nephew! Can't really complain!)

My Dollgirl, her elephant.

My DollGirl went on a trip and she didn't want me to be lonely, so she gave me one of her stuffed animals to stay with me. I am very picky with the stuffed animals that I keep with me...and I couldn't say no to her. I was going to miss her too, and so I decided to keep this cute elephant with me while she was gone.

She gave me specific instructions to make sure I cuddle with it when I go to sleep so that I won't be lonely.

Of course, when she comes back from her trip, I will return it to her and tell her that when I come over to her house, I will sleep with it when I take a nap with her! *laughs* I miss this little girl so much. I love her.

Tiny Feet.

Today my DollGirl came out of her classroom and showed me this beautiful creature that hatched in her room. I'm not sure of what the technical term is when a caterpillar emerges as a butterfly from it's chrysalis...is it called hatching?! Well, anyway, my DollGirl's classroom is blessed to have a lot of chrysalis' that are on the verge of hatching and this little guy came out while they were in the classroom and so when it was time to come outside to play, my DollGirl very carefully let it walk on her finger to let her take it outside.

Here is her little cutenss giving me a "loud" smile as she shows me the beautiful butterfly that she was able to hold for just a moment before it took off to the skies! I'm so glad that I was able to take this really quick picture of her holding the gorgeous butterfly.

After the butterfly flew off, for some reason DollGirl wanted me take a picture of her socks. She rarely wears socks, but it has been kind of cold lately and so she decided to for whatever reason to wear these cute mismatched socks.

When her classmates saw that I was taking a picture of her socks, they thought I was taking a picture of their feet and wanted me to take pictures of their feet to. It was super cute coz I told them that I would take a picture of their feet if their feet smiled for me. This is their feet smiling for me.

More "smiling" feet! I just love how these children think. I love how they LOVE to go around barefoot, and I appreciate living in a place where that is allowed. When I first started to work in a preschool setting and saw how they would do this, I would get upset that they might step on something that might hurt them, but the longer that I worked here the more that I saw that this is the way of life here. I even have parents who remove their shoes when they walk into my classroom! Now, that is respect!

This reminds me how careful we have to be around children. They will mimic you. They will follow in your footsteps whether you wan them ore not. They are innocent. I have to remember this and this makes me smile because I realize because of them, I am always striving to be a person worthy to be followed in her footsteps. :)

Just because gifts.

Yesterday I complimented a preschool parent on their outfit and how much I really love the kimono that they were wearing. Today, she walks in with her daughter who hands me a similar kimono to what her mom was wearing yesterday! I was surprised with the lovely gift! The mom told me that she had a new one that she had just gotten and it was her 4th kimono that she had gotten and it would make her feel less guilty for buying so much if I would accept the gift! She is super sweet!

And I love it so much! I feel like I will be looking for more styles! :) I love the kimono and I love surprise just because gifts! :) I will say this over and over again and again, I appreciate the parents that we have at the preschool and I love how thoughtful they are. I am so lucky to be working were I work where work doesn't always feel like I'm working. :)

Happy 2nd Birthday, KaiBoy!

Today is my KaiBoy's birthday! I love this little guy so much and even though he has only been in this world for two years, I feel like since he arrived here the world is a little bit more brighter and happier when he is around. He is one of the most happiest little guy ever! He doesn't really walk because he loves to jump, gallop, or run...it's so funny to watch! He is always just so happy and he loves to make other people smile! I can't get enough of my KaiBoy and I love him, love him, love him so much! :)

I didn't get much pictures of our little family/friends gathering for his birthday because between this little guys activeness and his older sister's rascal-ness, you have to always be your toes with them! :) But always in a good way! But I did get a few...

My amazing sister with her baby boy! I will forever be thankful for my sister for giving me an amazing nephew! :)

Life dealt him a difficult hand when we found out he was allergic to nearly everything that you can think of...(and when I say allergic...I mean DEATHLY allergic)) but my sister, being the amazing mother she is, researches and comes up with her own recipes to make things that are safe enough for KaiBoy to eat and today was no exception. She found a recipe that was allergy-free to make him cupcake for his birthday! And you know what!? It didn't taste all too bad!

I forgot to mention that we had a make-yourself pizza party for KaiBoy with tater-tots and (allergy-meat-free) pigs-in-a-blanket (since those two are KaiBoys absolute favorite!) and so I was STUFFED from the pizza alone!

But in saying that, if I wasn't already filled up, I would have devoured another cupcake...as it was, I could only down one and I already knew that these were going to be a yummy treat for KaiBoy in the future! He loved it too! :)

It was so hard to get a clear shot, both these little rug-rats move TOO MUCH! *laughs* But this is him opening his presents! I wish that I was able to take more pictures of the amazing gifts that he got...but I was too busy laughing from him expression from everything! DollGirl was so proud because she had gone to the store with her dad to pick out a gift for her brother and he loved it so much he didn't want to open anything else! I love he loving chemistry between these two! These two love each other so much! DollGirl knows everything that KaiBoy is allergic to and she makes sure that he will stay safe. You know how I mentioned that we had make-yourself pizzas?! Well, we had cheese that we could have on our pizza as long as you didn't touch KaiBoy or kiss him without washing up and gargling after you eat. (Think DEATHLY/anaphylactic shock quicker than you can say cheese). And DollGirl LOVES cheese, but she knows that she can't eat it when he is around. Her mom said that she could have some cheese on her pizza but she didn't want to because she said that it was KaiBoy's birthday and she wanted to play with him and she knew that if she had some cheese she might accidentally miss some cheese somewhere on her and then uh-oh. KaiBoy, too, gets so excited to see his sister when she comes home from school or when he sees her at all. I love how they love each other! :)

I had fun with friends and family celebrating the 2nd year of our little KaiBoy! :)

Send Kids The World.

While surfing the Postcrossing site, I came across a fellow postcrosser who had this website added in his profile. Curiosity overcame me and I decided to look it up and I am so glad that I did. Send Kids the World is a website dedicated to helping you connect with kids who live with life threatening illnesses. As you can probably already guess, I love sending postcards. I still love writing letters, however I feel with postcards, it's a fast easy way to send a smile across the miles. Since there is a limit of what you can write on a postcard, it helps me focus on a short message thus getting it in the mail faster than it would with a letter...in which I end up writing pages and pages, because that is just how I am. :) I was super happy to find Postcrossing...and now that I was introduced to this site, I know that I will be sending these kids who need that piece of sunshine in their lives. They are fighters and I want them to know, that even though that I don't know them, I am 200% rooting for them. So, if you have the time and a few postcards (cards can work too!) please take a moment and check out this site and send a child something that can make them smile.

DIY Advent Calendar.

I think that it is a well-know fact that I love love love stickers and so I decided to make an Advent Calendar using stickers from my sticker collection and also some Christmas stickers that I bought from Target (I just LOVE LOVE the dollar section of Target! You can get some awesome stuff from there, you know! :))

Things needed (to make 1 Advent Calendar--I made two in this post)
3-whole sheets of construction paper (you can choose whatever color you want)
25-5"x3" burlap pockets
ribbon
as many stickers as you want (to fill up the burlap pockets)
tape
a pen
a ruler
scissors 

I first took 3 regular construction paper and cut them in half lengthwise and on one half sheet I marked two inch boxes and then on all of the half sheets I drew a line 1/2 inch from the bottom. (I only need 2 1/2 sheets of construction papers though)

So it ends up looking like this when you are done.

I did the same thing to the green.

So when you are finished with all the measuring, I had them out like this, then I put this part to the side.

Then with any colored ribbon, I put tape on the end and then I....

started lacing the one set of 25 burlap pockets with the color green.

Yay! I'm finally done! I might be easier if you had one of those large craft needles, but I didn't and so the tape on the end helped.

Then I started lacing the other set of 25 burlap pockets.

I continued this until I was done with all the lacing!

Here are the two sets of 25 burlap pockets all laced with their ribbons. Then I put that aside

and brought back the stack of half construction sheets and cut out the rectangles.

Fold where the bottom line is. (For a faster folding experience, use a ruler)

Here are all my green squares all cut and folded.

Then I tested it out to make sure that the rectangular fit in the pocket! It does! :)

The I started to write the countdown on each sheet of paper started with "24 days until Christmas!"

All the way down to Christmas day! :)

So here is another reminder...START at 24 days of Christmas and end at Merry Christmas.

Then you do it all over again with your other set (if you are making two, like I am!)

I then went through my sticker collection and chose stickers that I thought that my niece and nephew might like...

And then placed each sticker where they should go in each pile. (in this case, my nephew had the red cards and my niece has the green cards.)

For me, I paired the red cards with the green ribbon...you can choose whatever colors that you want...

Then stick them in the burlap pockets! Remember to start in the correct side, depending on what side you want the ribbon, on the front or the back...I chose to have the ribbon on the back.

Did that with both sets...

And I thought that I was all done with that part! But....

But I ended up going to Target the next day and saw this adorable Christmas stickers that I HAD To add to the Advent Calendar! :)

Put pieces of the sheets out for the stickers...and

divided the pieces among the two piles so that they had a Christmas themed sticker in each pocket.

(optional) Then I made a count down chart for the keikis to place whichever sticker they wanted on the countdown day. I laminated it so that I can use it again next year and for years to come...

And there it is...my DollGirl's and KaiBoy's Advent/Count Down Calendar for Christmas! I hope that they will like it! I love those two so much...and I love doing things like this for them! :)