Four-legged Fun

The week before last week was such a "lame" one for us with my gimpy wrist holding us back and all, that I decided we needed to get out of the house a bit more this week.

First we met up with some friends at the mall to enjoy a bug display and Safari train that was set up, and the they definitely didn't disappoint. Here are the kids doing their best bug impressions . . .

Notice that Charley has perfected the Princess wave . . . .

Cormac's birthday, and even though mommy couldn't get wet, the kids managed to get wet and sandy enough for all of us. Then we started the weekend with another beach birthday party (Happy 5th Birthday Liam!), followed by an evening at the "Dive 'n Movie" at the local waterpark. They set up an enormous floating movie screen in the wave pool every Friday night and show popular movies, new and old. You can either watch the movie from the pool itself, or you can opt to stay dry and sit on the hillside . . . we chose the latter this time around. This week they were showing Madagascar 2, so the kids were in heaven, for about an hour anyway, until they literally passed out from exhaustion on Brian. We decided to head home at that point, which ended up being a blessing in disguise because the waterpark started on fire and was evacuated only a couple minutes after we left thanks to some fireworks. Apparently fireworks on dry grass is not a good combination.

On Saturday I managed to talk Heather into letting me borrow Sawyer for a couple hours while she took her boys to swimming lessons, and as you can see, she's changed quite a bit in her short six weeks of life. Absolutely beautiful . . .

We ended the week on a high note by going to an amateur polo match on the North Shore with three other families (8 adults and 10 kids) . . . and let me tell you, this is definitely one of my favorite things we've done so far on the island. Tailgating is encouraged, so we took the spots with a view . . . although in all reality, there is no "bad" view when you are talking about the North Shore of Oahu.

Not a bad week if you ask me.

I finally got my stitches taken out today, and even though I've lost a little bit of mobility in my wrist, the doctor thinks I will not need physical therapy (thank goodness) and will heal fine by doing my own exercises at home. While I'm very relieved to have the arm wrap off and the stitches out, I was disappointed when he told me that I still couldn't submerge my hand in water AT ALL for two more weeks, with the exception of taking showers. And while I'm relieved to be able to take showers again (I was really starting to stink ;)), do you know how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mom in Hawaii that can't do dishes, bathe the kids, or go to the beach, waterpark, or pool? Okay, so maybe I can deal with no dishes and baths . . . but the beach? Woe is me . . . :(

Coming to you live from THE FOUR PALMS blog . . .

About a year and a half ago, when it became fairly apparent that I wouldn't be reentering the work force any time in the immediate future, I started this blog to share our lives with friends and family that are a million miles away . . . which is pretty much all of you. I think I started with the intention of mostly sharing the kids' lives and documenting all their major/minor milestones, but I guess it has warped into a whole family thing, where I pretty much talk about what we've been doing and if I'm really ambitious, I will post some pictures. So that's how it's been, just me and my loyal viewers occasionally checking out THE FOUR PALMS blog at http://the4palms.blogspot.com/.

Since then, the wondrous world of Facebook emerged, bringing us in touch with even more people than ever before, most of whom probably didn't even realize I have a separate blog. In fact, I don't even have much of a clue of how many people even read this blog, as I can only count out a handful of people who I KNOW check back consistently (hi Amanda, Charlotte, and Bev!). Half the time I thought I might just be talking to myself and constructing all these blog posts for my own pleasure down the road.

But now the two have officially merged. A couple weeks ago one of my friends (blog and Facebook friend, Amanda) mentioned how one can link their blog to Facebook so that every time I write a blog entry, it shows up on Facebook as a "Note." So now my potential audience has greatly increased, which may (or may not) be an incentive to keep up on this thing more consistently . . . we'll see (I make no promises:)).

So to all you blog friends, "Yea, I might be a more diligent blogger!" . . . and to all you Facebook friends, "I'm not a psycho who just LOVES to post Facebook 'Notes' for the heck of it" . . . and to those that are both, "One read is more than enough." :)

Discovering Manhood

Zander: "Hey Mom, come in here!!!!"

Danielle: "I'm not coming in there until you are all done going poop in the potty."

Zander: "But Moommm, I want to show you something!"

Danielle: "Alright Zander . . . hold on a sec . . . okay, what is it?"

Zander: (looking down between his legs as he "flexes" his groin muscles) "LOOK MOM!!! My peanut is getting BIGGER!!!!!!!"

Danielle: (thinking to myself) "Uh-oh, here we go . . ."

No Pain, No Gain?

This past week has definitely been a painful one, even in the literal sense. I don't think I was quite prepared, information-wise, for the aftermath of this MINOR wrist surgery and what exactly the recovery would entail. Or maybe I'm just being a wimp.

I had the surgery early on Tuesday morning and was home by early afternoon. During that time, the surgery only took 15 minutes or so, but I was knocked out for almost two hours. At no point did the doctor come to see me or Brian, and the discharge instructions were handed to us on a printout by a medical assistant. Needless to say, the service at the Army hospital wasn't exactly stellar.

When I got home, I took the pain meds as instructed. Since I don't have a lot of experience with pain medication, I was surprised by severity of the side effects of the Oxycodone that they gave me . . . loopy, tired, and just plain out of it. They gave me several days worth, but after only two days of that stuff, I could no longer handle being so dopey. Ibuprofen just didn't do much for the pain, so for the past few days I've just been powering through it. I also didn't realize ahead of time the extent to which I would be gimpy . . . I mean, I knew I couldn't go swimming for a couple weeks until the stitches came out, but I also can't bathe the kids, do dishes, push or lift anything heavy (including my kids), and I can barely write or use my utensils to eat (since I'm right-handed and of course it's my right hand). I mentioned to two different doctors at my initial appointments that I had two small children and inquired about the recovery process, but neither of them mentioned that it would be this debilitating and painful. In fact, they didn't even think it was necessary for Brian to take the day after my surgery off of work. Thank goodness he did.

And thankfully, I have my Dr. Heather (as always) to help me limp along, watch my kids, drive me around, bring me supplies, and use her magical powers to get the doctors to actually CALL ME BACK when I have questions (because otherwise it's impossible). And thankfully my husband is also very helpful and understanding . . . otherwise my kids would be really dirty and hungry by now. ;)

So, it's been a long week, but the kids have been great and hung in there, despite my lameness. Yesterday we hung out with some new friends that I met at Charley's preschool, and tonight we are heading over to Heather's for a Father's Day BBQ . . . again, thankfully Heather is such a great friend, because initially I had offered to do Father's Day at my house with all her family invited, but thanks to my gimpyness, I wasn't able to follow through on that plan and she offered to host instead. What a good friend.

As you can see, my kids found some time to keep me entertained. . . Charley in her "Rock Star" diva pose and Zander doing his best Elton John impression (that's what Brian says anyway). I'm so lucky to be surrounded by so many fabulous people. :)

Did I say I was in a lull? Nevermind.

Yesterday: Hawaiian Adventures Water Park (a.m.)
Heather's house for ice cream and bike riding (p.m.)

Today: Ko Olina beach (a.m.)
house cleaning (early p.m.)
dinner guests (p.m.)

Tomorrow: pre-op appointment (early a.m.)
grocery shopping (late a.m.)
finish cleaning & start cooking (early p.m.)
more dinner guests (p.m.)

Tuesday: hand surgery

So much for keeping my schedule open. :)

Lost

Last week's events really threw me into a lull.

On Monday, my good friend Kathy moved away from Hawaii for good, my Mom left on Thursday after visiting for a month, Charley also had her last day of school on Thursday, and on Friday I was shocked to learn that my other good friend, Marian, would also be leaving the island within the very near future. Oh, and Brian was gone that weekend, so I didn't have anybody to whine to. :)

When the following week rolled around, I almost felt lost. For so many months I have been functioning on a routine that involved Charley's school, spending a lot of time with these very friends, and integrating our frequent house guests into that schedule. But all at once, all of that changed, at least for the next couple months anyway. So I found myself almost unsure what to do with our days, as I'm not used to having so much freedom with my schedule.

As life would have it, though, things started to fill up my schedule pretty quickly, such as doctor's appointments, coffee dates, play dates, errands, etc. So now I'm adjusting to a different sort of routine, one that involves different activities, different people, and a different mindset . . . a mindset that allows me to think, I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TODAY IF I DON'T WANT TO.

Do you know how liberating that is?

Under the Knife

I just found out yesterday that I will getting minor wrist surgery one week from today thanks to a ganglion cyst that developed on my wrist, exactly like the one pictured here.

As most of you probably know, these types of cysts are common and generally benign, and are simply areas that have filled with fluid from your joints. One option is to just leave it there, but they can become very painful and/or cause hand numbness if they begin to press on nerves, and besides, it's pretty stinkin' ugly . . . looks like a big tumor on my wrist.

It sort of just developed overnight a couple months ago, so after seeing an orthopedic hand surgeon, I decided to get it cut out so that it hopefully will not reoccur (if you just get it drained, the process is supposedly very uncomfortable and there is a 50% chance it will come back). The surgery itself will only take about 15 minutes, and they will at least partially knock me out with anesthesia . . . but I should be in and out in just a couple hours. Then I get to wear a lovely splint for four days, followed by a few more days of stitches. Woo hoo.

Unfortunately the surgery also means tons of appointments in a short period of time . . . two pre-op appointments between now and next week, surgery Wednesday, and at least one (if not two) post-op appointments. This may not seem like a big deal, but for a stay-at-home mom who has to find childcare for all these said appointments, it is a pain in the rear. All I can say is thank goodness for good friends!

Whew . . . .

I made it! And boy, May did NOT disappoint . . . in fact, the latter part of the month was perhaps even more fun than the beginning.

I just sent ALL my pictures to date out this morning, so you should have received them via email . . . if not, let me know and I will send them to you. I wanted to mention this because I am going to refrain from posting these same pictures here today simply because it takes quite a bit of time and I just want to get caught up . . . because I feel so far behind. However, I couldn't help but post these ones because Charley is just so stinkin' cute in my biased opinion . . . these are her spring preschool pictures.



So after you heard from me last, Mom and I decided to check out the Bishop Museum, where we met up with Kathy and her girls for a bit of Hawaiian history and other interesting info. The next day we hit Waimea Valley for a hike up to the infamous waterfalls. When we got there, it was open for swimming but we had forgotten our suits. But being the tough Montana women we are (ha ha), we decided to go swimming anyway in our regular clothes. The water was pretty refreshing, and it was my first time swimming in a waterfall . . . pretty cool if I do say so myself. I took each of the kids out to the waterfall on boogie boards, and they had a blast too. They were a little nervous at first, but they toughed it out.

When we got home from hiking the waterfall, I tossed a suitcase at my Mom and told her to pack her bags. She probably thought I was kicking her out until I explained to her that I was surprising her with a trip to Maui and we were leaving in the morning. I have to admit, it was all Brian's idea that my Mom and I take this little two-day girls' trip, while he stayed at home with the kids. What a good guy.

So the next morning, bright and early, my Mom and I headed for the island of Maui. Thanks to Expedia and good travel deals, we got to stay at the beautiful four-start Sheraton Resort on Kaanapali Beach in western Maui. There we spent the next 48 hours hanging by the pool sharing beach drinks, snorkeling at Black Rock, eating, sleeping, reading, exploring the cute beach town of Lahaina, and just RELAXING sans kids. I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful the trip was and how much girly bonding my Mom and I got to do. It was definitely one of those weekends that I will never forget.

We got back to Oahu on Monday, and on Tuesday we headed to the Barber's Point beach cabins, which I had reserved several months ago. The kids and I spent two nights there with my Mom (Brian enjoyed the peace and quiet of home), and we had a good time swimming, boogie boarding, catching grabs, and grilling out with friends. Gotta love the beach cabins.

On Friday I ended the fabulous week with a long-planned girls' night at the Hawaiian Hilton on Waikiki. Our friend Kathy is moving from Hawaii to D.C., so to celebrate two years of wonderful friendship and memories, we decided to surprise her with a night downtown. A couple months of scheming, which obviously included her husband (who watched their kids while we stole Kathy), ended up with us kidnapping Kathy at the Hilton pool, staying at one of the best rooms in the hotel (thanks to dumb luck and good fortune . . . but a long story), and a fun-filled night of food, laughs, and NO KIDS. It was a great way to send her off.

We spent the remainder of last week getting in a couple more beach days and some shopping before my Mom headed back to Montana on Thursday. It was pretty tough to say goodbye to Kathy on Monday, and then say goodbye to Mom just a couple days later . . . but I had to hold it together, as Brian is gone this weekend in L.A. for a guys' golf weekend. However, my "keeping it together" didn't last too long when I found out yesterday that our other good friends, the Roethlers, are all of the sudden moving to D.C. in the next couple months too. It's hard to lose so many good friends in such a short period of time, especially when you are stuck on an island (even though it IS Hawaii). I guess this is one of the downfalls of military life.

So here we are, Brian in L.A., the kids and I just hanging out and taking it easy this weekend. Brian just started his 6th class towards his Master's (over half-way done!), and Charley just finished school for the year. We have less than a two month break, and then BOTH kids will be heading to preschool in early August. I can already tell that this summer is going to fly by. For now we have no more guests scheduled until Andrea, Seth, and Max come at the end of July, so maybe I'll have a chance to get caught up on a few things . . . and hopefully I won't be such a slacker in the blog department. :)