One

Jarah has had one official year around the sun, and I as a mama.

We have had great highs...standing on mountains in montana, watching the sun disappear behind the ocean, quiet morning cuddles, hugs and kisses, belly laughs, stamped passports

and the occasional low...ridiculous lack of sleep (months of getting less than 5 hours a night), separation anxieties, grumpy days, hot long frustrating days where I've understood clearly how some people drink at 9am

But we've gotten through it warts and all...with a kind of bewildered optimism and a healthy dose of humour

Here's to the next year going round!

Bloggy Vacation

so it's a bit rich to say i'm going to take a blogging vacation when i am a pretty intermittent blogger at the best of times. i have a one year old (pictures will go up this week though i promise), a master's that is THIS close to handing in, and a harebrained idea to take part in National Novel Writing Month where I am currently 12,306 words into my 50,000 word novel due November 3rd at midnight.

so i need to use my time wisely and conservatively. but i have been (in typical fashion) dreaming up some fun ideas for this space which i hope to start putting into motion mid-December. Until then I will be here, but sometimes. So please don't get annoyed if I am not here much, like Arnold the Governator, I VILL BE BACK.

Resonating with this today...

“Most people don’t recognize opportunity when it comes, because it’s usually dressed in overalls and looks a lot like work.” ~Thomas Edison

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

What's Hot

Hanalei: Currently up on Kauai's stupendous (yes, stupendous) North Shore for two nights in a little flat in Hanalei. It's rained that whole time and even that's hot. We counted 16 waterfalls today, collected pocketfuls of (free!) butter avocados and now are vicariously grooving to the surf guitar rock emanating from the bar down the street. Yeah for STAYcations (vacationing in our own backyard).

Kolea Cabin: Our STAYcation kicked off last weekend with a trip up to Kokee. Some friends didn't finish a reservation they had so we scored the weekend in the snugly Kolea Cabin complete with a woodfire, nights in sleeping bags and sock wearing. Shoots, I felt like I was living in a temperate climate again. Even roasted a marshmallow for heaven's sakes.

Vampires: Chum was a blood-thirty succubus for Halloween and was cute enough to raise the dead (I know, gag-o-mom alert).

3572: Words I've logged so far for NaNoWriMo.

Thesis: Hearing back from my supervisor and only having to make some easy formatting corrections, almost there!

What's Not Hot:

Sneaky Evangelicals: (Disclaimer: I am pro-God/Great Spirit so don't infer I have some sort of religious hater thing going on please!) We took Jarah to what was billed as a Halloween Puppet Show at a local theater.
Problem 1: No Halloween Story Lines in sight, I was picturing friendly pumpkins, maybe a friendly ghost or two.
Problem 2: The puppets only wanted to sing "Don't be ashamed of the Gospel," (I wasn't??), and get us to go to their wackadoo church which was advertised about 35 times in first 3 minutes. I think we lasted >5 minutes before bailing out the side door and blinking in the daylight wondering "What the $*(& was that?"

Procrastinating my writing: So got to go log 1,665 words asap.

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

What's Hot

Chum's most favorite words: nana (food), uh-oh (anything dropped on floor, he is way into throwing stuff on ground), dada (apparently covers daddy AND mama)

Kokee State Park: Getting ready to spend tomorrow night up at 5,000 feet...super exciting when we spend most days at around 10ft above sea level. Bring on the wool socks and beanies.

Beets: Made great chum-approved beet dip tonight

Libraries: Time to make Gramma Holmes happy, chum is now well and truly into the library. Or at least the kids at the library, made 4 wee pals today and mama traded numbers with one family for future play dates.

What's Not Hot

Sprains: I spent this morning in ER for bad foot sprain. Jumped outta bad at around 1am last night to a phantom chum cry and jammed foot into dresser. Seriously, think that whole episode was more painful than the c-section. Yowza.

Food Fights: Chum loves to throw breakfast, lunch and dinner onto ground. Uh-oh says Chum while (insert Mama tooth grinding here).

Hot Dogs: For some reason we ate hot dogs yesterday. Why God. I think we were tired, hot and somehow deluded they would be delicious. Which they were most assuredly not.

Square Eyes

Thanks to the lovely Miss Maddie who captured this dubious shot sometime during the early morning hours she and my sister Auntie Bridget were supposed to be babysitting. I pictured Chum getting lovingly nurtured with some organic oats, a light massage and perhaps a walk around the block. Instead I now have disturbing evidence that The Real World, Rock of Love and The Game Show Network were more the order of the day.

Just kidding ya guys, look at the love (and family resemblance) of these two soul mates...



Jarah and his best mate Bridgy.

Speaking of Bridget, we just booked out tickets to Arizona, the annual Taddonio family (and our own tiny Taddonio-Holmes Southwest adventure to Utah and/or Southern Sonaran Desert) will commence on lucky 13, December 13th. Bring on the cactus, the mojitos and killer sunsets...

What's that...ah, the heat of the evening is breaking as rain starts to fall on the banana trees outside. Lovely.

What's Hot, What's Not Wednesday

What's Hot

A'o (Newell's Shearwaters). It's fallout season for the birds Nick studies, which means the young chicks leaving their burrows high up on the mountains are ending up confused by the light, and subsequently crash onto the ground where they are easy prey for cats, dogs or car strikes. Today was the Shearwater release, this (now annual) event is where some of the fallen birds who have been rehabilitated get released by local school children with a Hawaiian blessing for their future. We watched 6 of these endangered chicks successfully release from Lydgate Beach park this morning. A Chum approved event, he lifted his hand and hooted after each one took flight.

Pumpkin Bread. A pal in California sent us a lovely fall care package complete with the most freaking-delicious-cinnamon-spice-pumpkin bread mix in the whole entire world. We baked it for dinner two nights ago and I think it lasted less than 12 hours before being reduced to a crumby pile.

Teeth. Chum is finally sprouting a wee upper tooth.

Running. Chum doesn't walk, he runs. It is a haphazard, face-planting exercise executed with great gusto many times a day.

Hair cuts. Nick's mullet is gone...hurray.

What's Not Hot

Orange seeds on the carpet. Choking hazard dad!

Furloughs. State government now laying off more people, grrr.

Sleep deprivation. Spending many late nights up this week. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...