Ben got sit on an ATV on the beach!

So I had kind-of a funny day today involving truck mechanics. Our clutch decided to go (the VW was repaired just a few months ago for the same thing) so we are not too excited about doing another clutch repair. Got an estimate from the dealer ($2100, 10 days to do it), then from another mechanic we pass on our route to school (a lot cheaper, after-market parts, but sounded like two weeks to do it). So I stopped in at our friendly VW mechanic just to confirm that after-market parts are ok to use (I have to report in to Dave on all my research) and turns out Barry says he can do it, on Tuesday, with OEM parts, for the same price. Wow. So I decide that is the way to go, and call the first mechanic who is a super nice guy with good recommendations (Rocky’s Auto). I apologize profusely, say it’s OEM parts vs after-market and can be done sooner. He explains he could do that as well and calls back with an estimate that is exactly the same as Barry! Oy! Didn’t mean to have two mechanics bidding on my one truck! Poor guys 🙁 But the part was already on order to Barry and so I am going to go drop something nice off at Rocky’s tomorrow on our way to school. I thought about maybe having them arm-wrestle for it…Honestly I never thought Barry could fix anything other than VWs. Not even sure the Xterra wants to hang out with a bunch of VWs while getting fixed.

So then I get home, think it’s all resolved after multiple phone calls to each of them, and notice in the Nissan receipt that they list my truck as 2WD…huh? I thought sure that extra stick thing I try not to touch meant it was 4WD? I was very confused. So I called Barry back (keep in mind he’s a tall 6’5″ guy who reminds me a lot of Chevy Chase with dark-rimmed glasses and a funny sense of humor) and said I felt like the most stupid woman in the world…but (and I explained my consternation). He said to drive it down and he’d tell me. So I figured the 5 min to drive 1 mi down and back was worth it to make sure the right part was on its way here from the mainland. After confirming it IS a 4WD, Barry is leaning on my passenger door going “You are killin’ me today!” I’m SURE! I am so sorry! I told him it was so disturbing to see 2WD listed – like finding out your husband doesn’t have all his parts or something. Just odd – you think you have a 4WD, but what if all this time…??? So hopefully I’m done tormenting the local mechanics for a while…

After a very busy afternoon editing a manuscript on deadline, creating graphics and graphs, conference call to troubleshoot some box and whisker plots, etc. the boys say they are hankering for dinner out at Zia’s. “We haven’t been there in SUCH a long time and we just LOVE the spaghetti and meatballs.” Dave is working late again so we are on our own (poor guy is working 15 hr days writing a 30 page report which he got behind on while away in Japan). So I ordered a Caesar salad with the fish of the day – opakapaka. It is an odd fish – kinda gamey, strong tasting, very fleshy/muscley. The boys were going “Something smells FISHY!” all during dinner thanks to their love of Madagascar (the movie). It didn’t taste like a fish, didn’t smell like a fish. In fact, it smelled more like a goat. Dave informed me tonight that I was thinking of alpaca. I am really confused today, huh? Is that a fish, or a mammal on my salad? Someone please tell me!

Huh? Yes…I am that uninteresting. I brought some flashcards to the table so we could have some fun in case we ran out of good stuff to talk about. Then we of course ended up doing some silly games whenever Sam got one right. I told him I’d fall out of my chair and…(insert gross boy noise here). Here’s a movie of the fun we had any time Sam got a hard one: fun with fractions

March reading log (Kainalu Pride).

Lest you think we are all nonsense, here’s a little picture of the monthly reading log, transformed into a calendar so it is actually useful to the whole family. The school asks us to record what we are reading daily, and also to make note of any family, fitness or healthy foods we’ve worked into the day. The idea is to raise awareness that it takes more than just the school or academics to help each child reach his or her potential. We all work better when our environment is in a healthy balance. Of course finding that balance is hard for some of us ;0 but hey at least we try!

The boys are going a little nuts now – wonder if the neighbors can hear us???!!!

Sam spotted this fig tree on Bellows and identified it correctly. So we took a picture of it and measured how many Sams tall it was. Over 6 Sams! That's more than...24 feet! We had fun FIGurin' that one out! ha ha!

So I have been cracking myself up lately with puns! I was on the phone with Dwayne at the Big Factory talking about how to replace my stroller wheel since I completely rusted out the bearings, nuts and skewer with beach jogs. It finally just wouldn’t work anymore. So we talked through options, including that I really need a quick-release so we can change tires on the fly if we get a blowout off-roading. When we were done arranging things, I said “Thanks for BEARing with me! Ha ha!” I liked this FIGuring one, too for the FIG tree. And using a Reese’s peanut butter cup was great for teaching fractions – I took a “tax” hit on Sam’s and told him that’s about how much the government takes from Daddy’s income. Then I took a small tax from Sam’s shortbread cookie (also round) and he guessed it was about 15%. Cookies are very good math aids I think.

We went to church this morning and saw some neat friends, then to the North Beach tide pools and hooked up with Giji and her gang despite some text-messaging mishaps. (By the way, while I was praying for peace and being a good mommy, Ben leaped sideways off the little kneeling cushion thing and landed in the middle of the aisle on his nose or something. His legs were flailing behind him like a donkey bucking. My prayer was answered because I got a case of the giggles along with the boys instead of getting really irritated at continued flagrant disregard for my church behavior admonishments. Ben is VERY quiet in church, but he is usually halfway or all the way in the aisle doing all manner of things he shouldn’t, oogling at people, etc. But he is QUIET, so he is not actually breaking too many rules. He brings a red cat along that we found in a geocache box – we call him Mr. Purrrfect because he is supposed to be Perfect in Church. Ben is responsible for educating Purrrfect. Crazy guy. I find it easier to take the two kids to church alone because I think it is a very unnerving time for my otherwise completely unflappable husband. Dave’s stomach gets in a knot wondering when Ben will erupt. That’s what I imagine he is feeling like anyway. I have not had a chance to ask him in a while.)

Anyway, after Taco Bell we headed home to gear up for the week ahead fixing tires and such. A family came through to look at the house as a comp for another one in the association (so I was quickly stashing my Scotch and bandaids and laundry!). As a matter of fact, one of the many reasons I will miss Hawaii is this. When a damsel is in distress, she can walk out her driveway and in a matter of seconds find a knight to help her. I found a strong man to get the rest of the new, tight tire on the stroller wheel when I couldn’t muscle it. It’s like camping here. People are all around. Usually that is a fine thing! Here’s hoping you all had a great weekend and have a good week ahead. Aloha!

Preparing for a little science lesson for Sam's class on viruses. Motivated by hearing that kids are continuing to spit in class. Needless to say I have the boys' colds now 😉

Sam did his homework in this thatched fort we built, and read a bit of the Dangerous Book for Boys. Love the world of boys! So over dinner just now we were doing some math in our heads for fun and something to talk about (I am not very interesting when I have a cold). So after 100×100 and such, I decided to stump Sam with 20×20, figuring he’d never get it and maybe I would if I used our white board which is right near the table. So he said “2000?” Nah…I said “What is 20×5?” Sam: “100” Mom: “So what is 20 times 20 then?” Sam: (12 seconds later) “400!” I asked him how he figured that out and he said “I’m not gonna tell youuuu!” I honestly think he pictures math, doesn’t have a system exactly. I have to use a system to ladder myself to an answer. He doesn’t. I think maybe that is related to good spatial relations? And music? That’s what I’ve read anyway. Whatever it is, it’s a gift that will come in handy when he’s out to dinner on a blind date that dead ends. At least he can do some mental math 🙂

At the Waikiki Aquarium for Marine Munchies - a private tour of the aquarium during feeding time!

I was afraid I’d forget this entire chat on the way home from an aquarium tour – a private tour! – we’d arranged for some friends on a day off from school. So I jotted things down immediately.  The tour was at 4:30-6pm, for 7 boys age 7 and under. What were we thinking? It’s happy hour at that time for boys. Just wild-making time. But they did really well overall and it was a great tour for all…especially the octopus opening a jar! We loved seeing the fish eat and learning so many things from the guides, Mary and Kanako. So here’s the chat about boys…

“Wild?”

“Yeah. Why when we arrived at the aquarium were you all jumping off anything you could find, twirling around and yelling?”

“That’s just how boys are. We are wild”

“Is that just how you are? What else do I need to know about boys?”

“Well, we are big. And we eat a lot. And so we have a lot of energy. The highest maintenance age is 1. When you are 1 you can’t do anything, you don’t know all the rules. You just eat. When you are 6 or 7 you’re not as high maintenance, it gets lower, then when you are much older, like 99, you are very high maintenance again like a brown a dwarf, or any star – you have a lot of fuel to burn.”

“OK. Thank you Sam. That clears it up.”

Ben: “Our dad is in uh…JAPAN! Yeah. Now you listen here young man!”

Cute boys - Ben, Henry and Camden - on a "palm motorcycle" while out on a hiker hui outing this morning.

Sam remarked about the earth treadmill tonight while we were reading up on fever and how the body manages homeostasis unless challenged. The challenge might be an infection – the fever denatures the viral capsid coating so it can’t take over your cell’s machinery to churn out more viruses. This was particularly relevant because Sam had a fever today so was home from school, lounging. I love sick days, except I feel bad for the kiddos if they are really feeling awful. Thankfully it’s just another low fever so hopefully it will be a short course for them.

Back to the treadmill. While reading the Biology book tonight about homeostasis and fever, we saw a picture of a ghost crab on a treadmill! The ghost crabs are our little beach friends so we were curious to see what he was doing in a tank on a treadmill. The scientists were measuring metabolic output. So I explained what a treadmill is – a sheet covering two cylinders that spin around and you have to keep up on it or you fall off (like I did in ancient times past while enrolled in a running study – I closed my eyes while running on a treadmill hooked up to all kinds of equipment because I was bored  – apparently that is not a good idea on a treadmill!). Sam says “The earth is like a big treadmill, except going really fast.” I agree. Earth is spinning extra fast I think right now. I just can’t seem to keep up! Thank goodness for my mom running out for emergency supplies of all sorts – she is expecting a call around 7pm every night I think 🙂

Boys reading favorite books after dessert. On Sam's lap is a college biology book (he studies the pictures, picks a good one, then we take turns reading the captions - tonight was on lipids and their hydrophilic heads/hydrophobic tails, followed by mixing oil and water to see it in action). Ben's book is the words to their favorite CD from Eddie and Myrna Kamae.

It was the first day back to school for Sam and we were actually even on time (just barely). Ben and I enjoyed our usual jog down the beach and rendezvous with mom, followed by running errands in town, studying an FJ Cruiser going through a car wash, a digger tearing up the road, and finally home to help finish up the landscaping out front. Got it all done, Ben in bed (thanks to Mom’s help), work done, dinner made/done, dessert done, and cute boys curled up reading as above. Thinking that although I am tired, I’m really a rock star of a mom and doing just fine. Then I realized that I only had no nighttime pull-ups for Ben! Poor Mom and Richard ran out to get more and managed to come back with baby diapers (???) because mom’s cell phone with specific instructions somehow landed in Richard’s pocket…anyway poor things rescued me as  best they could. As mom walked in I was finishing up Sam’s bath – used the shower to clean off all the bubbles (the boys and I go a bit wild with bubbles – decorating each other with hats, stegosaurus plates, beards, lattes, etc.) and little black things ended up on him! Then they started moving!!! Horror! What were they? I realized they were tiny little ants literally raining down from the shower head! Time to call my knights in shining armor at Kilauea Pest to figure out where these pesky guys are hiding out and get rid of them! Otherwise I have really seen an improvement in the invaders despite the rain, which often drives unwanted guests inside. I am grateful for countless blessings, including the people I meet on a daily basis here. I hope when we move to WA I stumble across equally amazing people…

A happy end to the day - relaxing in bath with cookies and light sabers!

UPDATE: clicking on the above picture will take you to all of the March pictures…finally ;0

We started with breakfast at Moke’s, then uke lesson, then Aikahi playground in the intermittent rain with the ever-game Tamara and company, then pool party/hot dog fest in the pouring rain, then UBERMOON with the gang, followed by lightsaber cookie bath. Whew! I will try to update the album tomorrow with all the pictures from the past week of spring break.

PB&J to the MAX! On Texas Toast, with fresh strawberries, and chocolate dunking sauce?!

It’s Wednesday of Spring Break and I am absolutely loving having these two boys all to myself! No naughty school jamming up our morning. We did have to go to the doctor this morning for an 0825/0845 checkup for both boys. Sam is proportionately off the growth curve for ht and wt (50 1/2″ and 68 lbs) and Ben is at about 95% on both (40″ and 37 lbs). They both behaved pretty well in there considering all the stuff going on. I enjoyed when the doc asked what Sam puts on before riding his bike and he said sunscreen I think… then she asked if he played any sports, like tball or football, and Sam thought for a minute then said “uh, not so much.” I had to fill in that we hike, mountain bike, snorkel, boogie board, jog, swim, scoot, play frisbee and football, chase on the playground, etc. I know she was asking about organized sports and her bias is that kids be in preschool or some kind of daycare when they are Ben’s age, and for Sam’s age it is clearly her preference for organized sports over lots of active time playing. I really wished I could have said something snotty just for kicks, like “we do (name all the above activities), but you probably mean those teams that hog two days a week and every Saturday during the hottest part of the day which caused heat exhaustion for a friend of mine’s kid…nah, we don’t do those just yet.” So I have to go back to medical records because they wrote down Sam’s PPD test as “not read” when it most definitely was. You know from previous posts how much Sam enjoys shots, so I will have to get that rectified or we will most definitely be doing another hallway chase for a PPD ;0

After a fun morning of doctor appt, then run around the fish ponds checking on our friends, a romp in the playground (the one that has rubber shavings and turns your feet black), then lunch at the bowling alley (as pictured above), I set to work on some outstanding projects which had gotten delayed from the tsunami evac last week. At about 5:30pm our night got a bit wild rounding up free boxes from a Craigslist connection (he had to fend off two other people to hold my boxes for me!) so we can clear some clutter for house pictures to list in the next couple weeks. I have to get Dave to help clean the garage first so we have somewhere to put boxes…but he has been working a lot so I am not pushing the timeline. Back from Kaneohe Craigslist box hunt, we went to Taco Bell for dinner, then finally home. Dave came home late, but in time to do some more informal hearing tests on Ben (who the doc referred to audiology on the chance that he is hard of hearing and that is why he talks so loudly). Mom and I had done some hearing tests on Ben in the backyard – with Sam’s help – and it seemed like his left ear was a bit hard of hearing. Really weird. Can you picture Ben hiding behind a planter while we had Sam hide across the yard and make noises, then Ben was supposed to point to where Sam was? It was funny. Then Sam would dart to another corner of the yard and make noises…that’s when Ben didn’t seem to hear him with one ear. So mom and I tried to do our own, the way they did on Mom when she was a kid. The same ear failed our very rigorous second level of testing. So we gave it a rest for a bit and then Ben was lying down with his “good” ear on a big pillow, so we tried whispering into the other other, and a few inches from the other ear. I would whisper to mom what to ask him and she’d be like “uh…huh? what was that?” because she is growing hard of hearing herself! It was all hysterical. Not so much to Dave, who was a little worried…and me, too…but we have an audiology referral and in the meantime Ben’s hearing seems fine. He is a wily dude. Would not surprise me at all if he was messing with us. Lastly…and there’s no gracious way to put this, after Dave did more daddy-style hearing tests, he had to locate a missing boy part (which starts with “t”) while doing bath. The doc had trouble finding one on Ben, so she said just check him out in bath. Dave goes to me “Did she TRY? Did she LOOK for it? I mean he was born with both?” I was laughing, like of course she tried! He goes “Did she get some warm water?” I’m laughing again trying to picture her running for warm water with Ben naked on the exam table and just what that might trigger. Nah, she didn’t do that. Meanwhile as I’m asking Dave to locate the other said part, both boys are on our two potties at the same time, it’s well past bathtime, and Dave is running from bathroom to bathroom with wipes in hand…it was all entropy tonight and thankfully I found it all really funny. We did end up finding the missing boy part, and we think Ben’s ears are fine. Just a touch of selective hearing but we’ll find out in early April.

Waiting to get back home...police not letting anyone into Kailua, even into the areas outside the evacuation zones. I guess they were trying to prevent looting. The boys are snoozing, finally, to the soft sounds of cars running periodically and rain falling. Really was quite relaxing if you don't try to fight the whole process and just go with it.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those in Japan. The images of that wall of water forging 6 miles inland, and the trucker trying to outrun it are just gut-wrenching. I can only imagine the fear of parents wondering about their kids, just getting out of school. Thankfully it was a very mild impact here. For posterity’s sake, here is what our night went like. . .

Dave went to the command center at Pearl last night around 9pm just as all the warnings started coming in. (He gets messages from his work, and I have signed up with USGS for earthquake notices as well as with the PTWC for tsunami warnings.) I stayed up with mom and Richard (who had to evacuate their cottage as it’s in an inundation zone). When the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center chief didn’t come back out with an update for the press after the wave passed Wake Island and Midway Island (the two islands in line before us), I decided I didn’t like all the uncertainty of the “models” and their lack of specificity re offshore topography. So while Dave said to stay put, and all the data indicated we were in no danger, I went with my gut and decided to head for high ground. There are a few things in life I am totally ok with being wrong about. And evacuating is one of them if I feel it is warranted. So I packed a bag, jackets, blankets and I woke the boys up at 2am, an hour and 21 min before the wave was supposed to hit. We went for a little drive to one of our favorite trailheads which happens to be at mom’s church. There we waited. I couldn’t call or text anyone – my smartphone must have gone into a panic and became a dumbphone. I found a wifi connection and was able to check the PTWC website, but they weren’t updating past 2:30am. With no real news I decided to start heading back at 3:57am. I realized I might not be able to get home as they were worried about people roaming around and looting. So I parked on the side of the road along with hundreds of other people in line to get back into Kailua. The boys snoozed a bit (as did I) after I sprayed them with bug spray (mosquitoes sneaking in to eat us alive). I had plenty of snacks and water for a 24 hour adventure, blankets, jackets, gas. (Dad, I had half a tank as you always say to have!) We finally were allowed back into Kailua at about 6am. They handled everything so well – I was quite impressed. They really go with the flow and just hunkered down in the truck for 4 1/2 hours in their seats while we chatted and ultimately dozed for a bit. All their travel and camping makes them pretty easy going I guess. We just called it our truck tent. There were people literally camped out in the median before you get onto H3 – a huge sun shelter erected, cars all around on the grass, lanterns on, beach chairs out. So interesting to see what everyone does. When we finally got home I gave the boys milk and a granola bar and sneaked them back into bed just as dawn was breaking. I hoped that they’d fall asleep before they realized the birds were up. They slept until 9am. So, thankfully I got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Ha! Dave arrived home at 0630 after a long night in the command center (still not sure exactly where he hunkers down) and slept until noon. I am about to go nap now if I can. When I took Ben out for a jog at 1130 am, I noticed that the water was still receding and surging. Very spooky. Ben got some nice new sand toys out of the deal – the tsunami washed them up on the sand. Oddly, one of them was an Asian soup spoon.

Thanks to all of you who checked in via email and text, avoiding the phone lines. Everything was calm here, and very well run. I am thankful that the surge was isolated really to harbor areas and seems to not have caused a lot of damage. Glad to live well outside an inundation zone, just wish the wave had come during daylight so we could have hiked up to see it like last time. This one definitely had more energy and did surge further inland than the one last year.

Aloha to all…