Happy birthday, d-saur

Every day, for the last week, Apollo has told me how much he wants a birthday party. And a birthday cake. And birthday presents. And every day I have told him he "only" has to wait four months. 

Feeling bad for him and remembering fondly of my own dolls' birthday "parties", I told him we could celebrate his dinosaur's birthday! He was so excited! And so was Adonis who gladly tagged along :)

They went over the "list" of things usually used to celebrate a birthday (cake, balloons, cupcake, presents) and I explained we didn't have everything but that we could still have a "party". Here's how it turned out:

Shaving cream cupcake, anyone?

Valentine's Day leftover sprinkles (btw notice the purple nails? The only way I can get my own purple nails... Lol)

And toothpicks for candles!

We have a garden

Since the last two jackfruits were either stolen or overripe, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Well, into the boys' brooms and my arms specifically. 

12 hours later the itchiness has finally subsided :)

Can't wait to try some green jackfruit recipes!

I have mono

So, after 7 days of neglecting most of my motherhood and graduate student responsibilities by being in bed, it was nice to get some sun, sand and surf. My chin is sore though :)

Preschool - week #3

Here they are beginning week #3 of preschool and we - and I do mean ALL of us - are sooo happy!

The twice-a-week routine has worked well for us as they transition to first-time outside-of-home care. They love their teachers and know them by their names. They are now independent potty goers. They are new taste bud explorers. And we are better parents :)

Feliz Dia dos Avós

We celebrated it by spending the morning at the Kahala Hotel - a local, favorite spot of ours where we can watch dolphins and stingrays, enjoy the beach, and fill our tummies without having to shower.

Water play day

In celebration of Uncle Wayne's birthday, UHMCC Director, today was water play day. 

I made - for the first time! - bibingka (a Filipino dessert) for the potluck and it was all gone within 20min! Huge success thanks to my dearest local half Filipino half Japanese friend Marissa's recipe. 

We had fun at the main campus, and Adonis made a new friend - Jack. I quickly realized Jack was part of the pack when I found myself applying sunscreen on him along with the boys.

Reasons I love Hawaii (cont)

Going to wal-mart and finding a dedicated aisle to rice cookers. 

But "who needs a rice cooker?", you might ask. Well, anyone who loves the convenience of a crockpot and wishes they could also use it to steam veggies, simmer meat, and bake cakes!

Say hello to our newest family addition :)

De volta a Abaetetuba

Atrás, o prédio onde vou dar aula. Eu sentada almoçando embaixo da sombra de uma mangueira, com galinha e pintinhos piando perto de mim. 

Nostalgia :)

Summer as a PhD student

is not really like most people's idea of summer. Yes there are no classes but boy do I keep busy between research and publishing. Here's my reading list as I work on a project on language teaching and social change. 

I have an office

Or I partially have one - to which I'm very grateful for I have the most awesome office mates (including Professor Tiger, pictured below). 

My temporary desk (above)

Moanalua Valley

I enjoy hiking and sadly I haven't done as many since Ka left. Yesterday late in the afternoon we took the kids to Moanalua Valley Park - it has a playground and restroom at the head of the trail. 

The boys loved the "jungle/mountain" walk and our encounters with the wild. 

Breakfast of choice

Here's what happened on this very Saturday morning when I told the boys they could choose anything they wanted for breakfast :)

First day of preschool

They loved it so much they didn't want to come home at the end of the day!

Saturday's activities

We spent the morning at the Primary's mid-year activity in the church's gym. Apollo in his PJs of course, otherwise we'd have never left the house. The boys had a blast between structured play and free play. We were happy Milena and Nainoa - our Brazilian friends - and Tre and Shina - our friends from China - came :) Eles se esbaldaram correndo atras da(s) bola(s)!

After nap, we celebrated Kasey's and Takeshi's graduation with amazing pupus at Public's. Again, the boys had a blast playing at the warm ocean by sunset.

Preschool prep

I woke up a little under the weather, and spent the morning running errands such as going to the doctor's office and picking up their preschool health forms, going to the preschool and dropping off such forms, shopping for their school supplies which include a napmap and a family picture frame.
I've been inclined in including a family picture of everyone - not just parents and siblings, but EVERYONE in their family (although it's difficult to get everyone in one pic, so I'd have to do a little collage - which I don't mind). Would the teacher appreciate it, I wonder... :)

 

How we spend most of our mornings

Yes, there's a 6-month gap between the last post and this one. No, I won't try to catch the reader(s?) up otherwise I'll need catch up to the right now - life's present. So without further ado...

The night before my throat started bothering me, so we had a nice, easy morning just hanging out at our backyard driveway. As if knowing how low on energy I was, the boys were awesome and we took turns playing with sidewalk chalk, having popsicles, body painting (that's right - finger painting is for the weak lol), and "washing" the car. Then it was lunch, bath, tv and milk, and nap. Peace scores again at the Leal Bluth household!