noise complaint

so.  my neighbors are against me.

I come home to find a noise complaint from the office on my door.  I go down there and say "WTF?!"  no, not exactly, I used nicer words than that, but that's what I wanted to say.
I was told multiple neighbors have complained about the noise coming from my apartment.  specifically crying.

so I say, "Listen, I will not give in to my child just so he'll be quiet and not have a tantrum.  I'm not that kind of parent."
"well, you need to be respectful of those around you."
"yea, I get that.  its tight quarters; we all have to deal with each other.  but isn't this a family community?!"

and back and forth we went.  sigh.

I know who it was too.  I am neighbors with a borderline crazy cat lady.  you should hear her talk to these cats ... which btw, this complex does not allow pets.  just saying.

my complaint also mentioned one of my children running around naked outside.
c'mon people!
inappropriate is if I did that, not my 3 year old.

why couldn't she/they come to me first?  I got no "neighborly" warnings, not even dirty looks to my face.
I hate the word hate ... but I strongly dislike people who have nothing better to do than to find something to complain about.

boo on you crazy cat lady.

the end.

inspiration

When I woke up this morning, I asked myself, "What is life about?"


I found the answer in my room ...


the fan said, "be cool"


the roof said, "aim high"


the window said, "see the world"


the clock said, "every minute is precious"


the mirror said, "reflect before you act"


the calendar said "be up to date"


the door said, "push hard for your goals"


the floor said, "kneel down and pray"

a new day ... yesterday

I did a few new things yesterday, so it keeps kind of a special feeling with me.
well not exactly new new, but things I haven't done in what seems like forever!!  For example -

• I held a 10 day old baby girl.  she was beautiful, and I could've cried because of it.  It took me by surprise that I sort of forgot hold to hold a squishy baby.  She was alert, watching me.  Even though she knew I wasn't mama, she was content.
• I filed my DBA and paid for the publication saying my business has officially arrived and I'm legit.  that is scary ... mostly because if someone called me to do actual work, I'd freak, but I will try to just stay excited about it.  ps.  check out my other blog www.renewtheview.blogspot.com ... that's what I do.
• I bought a dress.  I stopped by Ross on my way home, and ladies if you are in the market, summer items are on the clearance racks.  I suppose most stores will be doing that now, making room for sweaters, jeans, and winter jackets.  I got a dress that is dark denim blue (but NOT denim, because that would be along the lines of hideous).  If I actually wear it, I may or may not post it ... wearing it will be another exceptional day because dresses aren't exactly my thing.

and today ...

• someone gave me a bed in GREAT condition, along with head/foot board.  that same someone also gave me a dinning table & 4 chairs.  AND delivered it all to me.
• my neighbor gave me a perfect all-in-one tool box; a perfect tool set for a girl.  basic, not complicated :)

its easy to feel like I'm doing something right when all these blessings come my way ... I hope thats the truth.  I have no doubts whatsoever, and that feels good too.


how was your day?

2nd grade

school started today.  yes, on a Wednesday.
not sure if its an effort to help everyone get used to the schedule without all 5 days dragging on, or ..... ???

last year we homeschooled.  this year is the exact opposite; off to public school.
he's always asked to go to school, so he was very excited this day has finally come.

he was nervous and practically skipped breakfast, which he NEVER does.  I tried not to make a big deal out that, and just keep him excited about the day.

I took another picture of him next to the school sign out front of the office.

(he's in 2nd grade; next year I might not get so lucky with the pictures! )

but I told him to meet me here - at the sign - after school.  "ok mom."

so 2:10 comes around and I wait.  and wait.  and wait.

there is a large crowd as soon as the bell rings, and soon enough, everyone finds where they need to be.

the after school program in the cafeteria begins.  the buses leave.  teachers are closing their doors.

where is Sam?

not at the sign.  not in his classroom.  not on the playground.  not in the office.  not in the cafeteria.

so I'm doing laps around school property and can't find him anywhere.

my stress has been high lately, and I'm doing my best to stay calm; keeping the tears back.

I decide to get some help at the main office.  I start talking and instantly my voice shakes and the tears roll.  

all along I knew in my gut that wherever Sam was, he wasn't freaking out.  I knew he was not kidnapped or anything ... but don'tcha HATE that little voice that tries to tell you you just might be?

so I get the help of a few staff members.  it took another good 10 minutes, and finally, he appears.
we was (technically) off school property.  waiting in a spot that we never even suggested, but somehow, his brain reasoned this was the spot.

he saw I was/had been crying, and gave me a big hug.  the staff had a few words for him, but really, they handled it all very well.  not sure if because it was the first day of school, or that they are always like that, but I was pleased they didn't assume the role of lecturing parent.

I've been saying to my family, friends, and to myself, that once we get on this new school schedule, a lot of things will work itself out.  that has been my focus for awhile, but I never thought there would be THIS kind of work to get there.

sigh.

the worst is over.  today is a new day.
and now, Sam definitely knows to meet me at the sign.

pets

since before moving in, my boys have wanted a pet.  we've had dogs in the past, and once we had a bird, but long story short, we've been pet-less for some time now.
I'm still convinced a dog is just like having another kid, so no thank you on that.  plus, I can't have *real* pets in this apartment anyway.


I've been wanting to get the boys a hamster.  I had one as a kid, and loved it ... *cough* until it bit me *cough* ...  I love the tunnels you can set up for them, and especially the ball they can roll around on the floor in.  they're not too big to be a *real* pet ... shhhhhhhh, don't tell, ok?


my other not *real* pet I said we could get is a beta fish.  I have a tall glass vase and some blue/green glass pebble thingys already, so all we needed was the fish and some food.  easy.
so it took the boys forever to pick one out.  they were all SO COOL to them.  they would have bought them all if they could ... Sam knows that you can only have one, otherwise they will fight till the death, so of course he wanted to buy them all and begin the beta-WWI.


we finally decide on one; he's blue with some red on those pretty fins.  Sam wanted to name him "Big Fins."  he's so funny.  I liked it, but told him we ought to wait a day or two to officially decide.


so we get home and I fill the vase with water and add him in his jar to acclimate to the temperature before just dumping in.  after a few minutes, in his goes.  
well, I had added a bit too much water.  it was a balancing act; the water was right at the top.  and since beta's are not so excitable fish and like to sit and do next to nothing, I tip the vase ever so slightly to get rid of some of that extra water, and wouldn'tcha know it?!  that fish was right at the top and went flying down the water slide into the kitchen sink.


where the garbage disposal is.


GREAT.


I screamed.  and the boys come running.
"Mom, what did you do?!"


as much as it gives me the heebie-geebies, I knew I had to reach in there and try to get him out.  I HAD TO ... especially after the traumatizing cat incident.  there was no way we could go through another pet death, in any fashion!


so I'm digging in there.  and its gross.  and have you seen Final Destination?  yea, I'm thinking of that.  and suddenly I feel the fish, and he jumps in there, and he's slimy, and I scream, and I could not grasp him, and so I have to feel around some more since I KNOW he's close and still alive.


minutes and minutes and minutes go by.  I thought he was a goner.  I thought I'd have to put him out of his misery and flip that garbage disposal switch. the boys were crying and my heart is breaking for them - sorry fish, I felt bad for my kids, not you.


Sam gets control of himself and I ask him to stick his hand in there since its smaller and sure enough, he got out that little fish in about 30 seconds.  I cannot believe he was alive!


stupid fish.  what were you thinking?!


so back in the vase he goes.  swimming just fine.  he hasn't eaten much today yet, so maybe he's still a bit freaked out, but alive none-the-less.


"Sam, I think we should name him LUCKY"
"good idea Mom!"


meet Lucky -

meow

say you are cat-sitting for a friend who is out of town for 3 short days ... what would you say the absolute worst thing could happen is?


yep, that happened to me.  the cat is now dead.


this may be news to some BUT cats do not have 9 lives.
at least a 2 month old kitten doesn't.
so little.  and so cute.  and so innocent.  and was in the wrong place at the wrong mili-second.


I am ... [indirectly] ... a cat killer.


my 2 kids were with me, because they looooooooove animals.  they have met this kitten before, with me and the owner present, and have been taught how to handle it, take turns with it, etc.  if they didn't have that "practice time" with the adults present, they are definitely the type of kids to love it too much ... and kill it that way instead.


they were playing with the kitten and someone *cough my 3 year old Elliott, cough* knocked into a tall speaker.  this speaker was not actually attached to anything, which is why it toppled easily.  the poor kitten was playing too and was more worried about where the boys were than anything, and just didn't see the speaker coming down on him.  compared to that kitten, the speaker was about 100x the size and it just crushed him.  literally.


I will spare you the details ... but once he lost control of his bladder/bowels, I knew the end was near.  he was alive when we got to the ER clinic, but it took just 2 seconds of the vets time to know it was best to put him to sleep.  the speaker had crushed his head.


it was an accident.  a freak accident.
but still ...


the kids saw the whole thing (obviously) and they both cried themselves to sleep that night.  me too for that matter.


what a week.

a curve-setting day

my day started out with someone telling me "you don't know what you're doing.  you're walking in darkness.  you're this.  you're that.  just wait and see what is going to happen."  as you can imagine, my day did not start out well.
after that lovely conversation, I was running late.  so I got everyone dressed and ready to go on our commute (right now its 1 1/2 hrs one way).  well what do you know, my oldest has to go to the bathroom 45 or so minutes into it.  so we stop.  for me, he's not quite old enough to just run in somewhere (he's 6 1/2yrs) so I unload us all for a 10 second pee.  grrrrrrrrrrr.  I come back to the car and guess what could make my morning better ... it doesn't start.  lovely.


yesterday - literally yesterday - the battery light came on.  once I started driving it for 10 or so minutes, it went off.  I let it go forgot.  today no warning, but apparently it still wasn't happy and decided not to tell me ... well, until it died of course.
so I approach a friendly "grandpa" type in a truck, batted my eyes for him, and ask for a jump.  luckily I had cables & the spot next to my car was open.  easy peasy, started right up.  ok, this day is starting to get better.


driving again, and about 5 mintues later the car dies.  as I'm driving it!  although I have only driven about 5 minutes from where I was, I was in the middle of no where.  that's just how NorCal is in some spots.  couldn't walk anywhere.  didn't have a wireless signal for my laptop.  had the boys with me.  scratch that whole thing about the day getting better.
as I was figuring out what to do, CalTrans shows up to cut some of the overhanging trees.  as you know, it takes like 5 CalTrans guys to stand around "supervising" while 1 works, so I had lots of guys available telling me what they thought the problem was.  luckily they had a phone that worked, knew the local towing company who was also a mechanic garage, and got me hooked up.


turned out to be the alternator.  boo.  expensive.


by total surprise my day did get better ... the mechanics that took care of me, really did take care of me.  looking back on the day, its good news to me that I was able to see the positive aspect of it all and be able to receive the blessing.  if you're in darkness, you can't do that ... just sayin'.
they looked at my car right away.  order the part to show up that day AND it actually did AND came in on time!  gave my kids lollipops.  gave us directions to the park & gave us cold water to take with us.  once the part came, they installed it and I was out the door in less than an hour.
If you live in the area, I give 2 HUGE thumbs up to the crew at Phil's Towing in Corning, CA.  Earl, you are my hero.


with the drama of this morning running throughout this day + the car issues + running after my kids = I am completely exhausted, and at the same time, grateful.
for a minute (ok, an hour) I thought "is this a sign of that darkness?"  but in the end, its been a blessing.  it was so great to work with a company (a mechanic shop no less) who is so good to their customers, all  without even knowing what else I've been walking through this season.  usually these stories don't have a happy ending.  but mine does.


I said lucky a few times, but in times such as these, there is no luck to it.  *thanks for sending angels to watch over me & my kids today*


ps.  how old is old enough to run in a pee somewhere?

I luv Starbucks

I was headed to Starbucks the other day ... coffee, wifi, and time alone is the perfect afternoon for me. hey, I never claimed to be glamorous.

so I went to order my drink (grande skinny vanilla latte, hot, no foam ... its seems like a mouth-full, doesn't it?) and she's ringing it up, all is normal.

and then she asks, "so how are you today?"

and I know all sales people do this, as well as, uppity people in coffee shops ... I'm not insulting her, but usually those that work in a coffee shop are "on" coffee, so they are extra happy, you know?

anyway, I told her the truth.  I didn't begin venting and tell her my drama, but I said, "you know, I've been better.  but thanks for asking."

and she stopped what she was doing and said, "you know what?  the drink is on us."

me - "what?  really?  you don't have to do that."

her - "yep.  we want your day to get better, starting right now."

and I looked at the barista there, and all he could do was smile and agree with her.

WOW Starbucks, thanks!

now if you're the stingy type, you can go and try this, however, I'm not saying it guarantees a free drink, but ...

I was just honest.  and I somehow got the message that being honest is a valuable thing and still worth something.

that day, it was a latte.  hey, works for me.

a sad side to Hawaii

I live on the "rough-er" side of the island.  this is where you find people in REAL poverty.  the homeless have been kicked out of countless areas on the island, but they seemed to be left alone here.  we live away from tourism, where the streets aren't "so pretty."


we originally came way out here because we'd MUCH rather live among the locals than living where the tourists often visit.  people who come here to visit, have a tendency to use it like an Mtv Spring Break Party type place, or maybe, like Vegas.  why come to Hawaii to get wasted?!  do that at home!
the rental prices out here are less too.  so when we first got here, we had money to live wherever, but we wanted to make it stretch.  good thing we did ... but that's another story for another day.


you drive by the residential areas, and you can plainly see how people have a tendency to hoard here - its an island, things are expensive, so when you come across something of worth (or not so much), and can think of a possibility when you might need it (or not so much), you keep it.

and as the stereotypes go, this is also an area where a lot of "users" live.  meth is popular out here.  I've seen a few deals go down, but with so much "aloha" no one cares, its all very mellow ... if that even makes sense.  aloha is a real thing, more than just a perspective. I'm sure many don't necessarily approve of using (the me now does, not so much the me of 15 years ago) but people here let people do whatever it is they're gonna do.

aren't these pictures awful?  these posters are up in various places in the community.  I realize they are to "scare people straight" but, I feel for my kids, its a tad too far out of the shelter that I'd take them.  they are 6 and 2.  I know some would say, it's never too early, and so, we've been forced to talk about it a little bit.


we rode the bus to the zoo last week, and there was one of these pictures up.  I was sitting with Elliott and he saw it right away, the one with just the teeth.  I told him "that girl is sick" and "she needs to brush her teeth, doesn't she?"  he repeats everything I say, as to assure me that he heard what I said.  its cute.  I'm glad he does that.


what would you have told your kids?
when will you have the drug talk?
something to think about.


we have never had any trouble living over here.  but we also live in a gated community and rarely go out a night.  whenever I take the kids to the beach for a sunset, as soon as it sets, I don't mess around and I pack them up to head home.  that saying "the freaks come out at night" is true!


I also have never heard so many sirens in my life.  we're not too far from the local fire station, but even so, we were hearing sirens every single day for awhile.  like living near train tracks, it takes awhile to get used to it.  but whenever I hear those ambulance sirens, I always wonder what kind of incident those EMT's are about to see.  and with those posters around town, I bet they see a lot of that, and worse.


I suppose my point to this post ... don't do meth.

its been too long ...

... since all 4 of us were healthy.


Sam got it first.  more than a minor cold, but not the flu.  put him out (aka. he sat in front of the tv) for 4 days.  that means napping on and off all day, movies, and video games.


hubs got it next.  his turned into a major sinus infection that kept him in bed for 4 days straight.


Eli got it next.  he got a fever and a lingering cough.  sleeping at night was rough since his coughing would wake him up, despite the meds we gave him.  which left me a bit sleep-deprived - flashbacks of those newborn days.  Eli has been sick for a week, with that lingering cough.


I really really really thought I was going to get skipped on this one.  I was feeling invincible for these last 2 weeks.  however, it is impossible for me to not love on my kids when they're sick.  that whole nurturing thing takes over like nothing else; it helps them, but it helps me too.


sore throat hit me for a few days.  then comes the congestion.  don't know about you, but I cannot sleep while breathing through my mouth.  if my nose is not working, I'm up all night.  if I fall asleep, I usually wake up gagging from the desert in my mouth.  its awful.  this has been my last 4 days.
I've been coughing for a couple of days, and now I've lost my voice.  my abs - wherever they are in my belly - are sore from doing so much of it ... but its nice to know I have abs at all I suppose.  
and now its been a week.  ugh.

this is me ... only I pour my own coffee. even when mom is sick, she's still mom.

no executive assistant.  no maid.  no days off.

the tv has been on for the majority of our days lately because of all this sickness.  no one has the energy, patience, or even a desire to do anything else.  and now, even though the kids are well, I am not ... and so the tv marathon is not quite over.  what do you do when everyone is sick?  or when mama is sick?

we're watching -

kid movies - our favorites are Finding Nemo and Kung Fu Panda

reality tv - we all love Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, and Bizzare Foods ... courtesy of Netflix

documentaries - any and all the nature documentaries ... we use our instant streaming Netflix A LOT!

and just to add ... it always amazes me how much snot the human body makes.  not just how much it makes, but how much comes out of you.  right now, I can't seem to have enough kleenex.


and with that lovely thought ... happy tuesday!

lost and found

seconds after I put the kids to bed (830ish) I get in my jammies too.  I never ever ever go out or have anyone over, so why be dressed right?  I get into my bed and watch a movie, do some work, and/or maybe write a blog.
last night at about midnight I heard a kid crying outside.  being a mom, I'm sensitive to that sound.  anyone's child, not just mine.  it sounded as if someone had to come home late and the parent(s) had to do the car-to-bed transfer with their kid, and this one wasn't going smoothly.  I hear this from time to time, since there are a lot of families around here.  you could hear how exhausted he was in his cry ... its a mommy gift I tell you.
I was waiting for an adult voice to "shhhh" him, or say something comforting.  but nothing, it was just a cry.  it got me out of bed to check and see what was going on.


I see this kid running down the street, crying, calling for dad.  he was running aimlessly in the parking lot, clearly not knowing where he was.  OMG!
so I run out to find him.  luckily I did; he ran clear across our parking area to another in the complex.  he was cold, confused, practically hyperventilating, and very scared.  I finally caught up to him and calmed him as best I could.  after just a few seconds of holding my hand, he calmed down and I was able to ask him what happened.  I'm so glad he was old enough to talk!
there was a car double parked in the lot, and luckily he knew that was the car he was just inside.  I think what happened is that his dad left him asleep in the car, but the boy woke up scared not knowing where he was or where his dad was.  I started knocking on doors near where he was parked, and thankfully, we found dad.
dad wasn't too upset, and didn't really seemed surprised.  maybe this IS the same cry I here from time to time late at night.  that makes me sad.  I'm relieved we found dad, and if there is a next time, I'll know where to find him.

most winter days in Hawaii is still the perfect summer day ... and you would think it is summer until you go to the beach.  it is the rhythm of the ocean that will tell you what season it is.  the waves are rockin'!!  there are lots of surfing competitions, which are so fun to watch.  on Oahu, they're all (or mostly) done on the North Shore ... add that to your to-do this if you come out during the winter time.


but when I say rockin' I don't mean its so awesome and I had a great time.  NO.  I mean, those waves are HUGE and get ready to be thrown around ... if you can handle it.


I am not a strong swimmer.  I know how to swim but I don't have much experience, especially in the ocean.  my swimming lessons were done in a lake, where its caaaaaaaalm.  the only think I worried about what was possibly swimming in there with me - think river monster.


there is usually a spot on the beach where its calmer; a place where its still ok to take the kids to chase the waves around.  today there was a calmer entry point, but still, not for kids.  I was with a new-to-Hawaii neighbor, and of course she wanted to go in.  so we did.

the first few set of waves, we did good.  Sam even came in, but he got tossed around a little too much and left.   then the big ones came ... I don't know how big, but from my perspective, they were huge.


I thought if I went under deep enough, I wouldn't get slammed hardly at all ... SO. NOT. TRUE.


look at these pictures.  can you imagine being in that?!  try to image this wave coming down on you.

so glad I made it out alive.  writing this, 6 hours later, I can still feel it.  I didn't get physically hurt - thank you God - but I feel that crashing wave on/in my body the same way I can feel those nicer, softer, just-hang-out-swimming waves that are during the summer.  you know what I mean?

it only takes one wave ... I am so much smaller than the power of that water.  it demands respect.


lesson learned.

the good samaritan

I've been driving 1985 Mazda GLC ... you know you want one!

hubby paid $240 for it.  for real.

I have to say, I do miss having a clean, non-rusted car with leather seats, along with a working air conditioning, and also a working CD player.  sigh. 

its FAR from pretty but it works, and that's what really matters.  

its actually been a great car to us, until today.

we've been driving it for a couple of months now.  we typically don't drive it all over the island, but then again, we don't typically do that.  its been a stay-in-town/beach car.

but today we did drive it to downtown Honolulu; about an hour drive from where we live.  its all freeway so nothing crazy, but today on even the small hills, it was struggling.  I was pushing through.  none of the dashboard lights were coming on and the temp stayed in the normal range, so I pressed on.

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNN .... 

(feel the drama?)

all of a sudden, the car slowed way down and white smoke billowed out from under the hood.  the car died as I was pulling over.

and I was so close to getting there.  

now I'm your typical girl; I know nothing about cars ... aaaaaaaand I've seen too many movies where cars just randomly blow up from something like that, so I grabbed my stuff fast and practically ran away.  I was really glad that hubby had the kids and not me.  what a headache that would have been.  so I found a spot in the shade (like 50 yards away!) and I was waiting for hubby to come get me on the side of the freeway.

about 5 minutes later, I'm hearing a fire truck.  it past me, then it past the car, but then backed up to the car ... it was kind of funny.  they thought it was already abandoned at first and didn't see me since I was so far away.

there were never any flames, and the fire fighters seemed kind of bummed it was all so uneventful.  sorry guys!!  but they checked out the car and said they think its an oil leak or a blown gasket.  it might be time for this car to officially die, but hey whatever, we've definitely gotten our money's worth out of it.

someone driving by must have called the fire department; that's how much smoke there was.  THANK YOU whoever you are!!

 I was unnecessarily rescued ... it all could have been much worse and that phone call could have saved my life.

lesson of the day: be a good samaritan.  it will make a difference!