A Sticky Situation

Today got off to a rocky start.

I was in the downstairs bathroom when Gabe tried to push his way in. 

“Gabey, go out!  I’ll be done in a minute!”  I said shoving the door closed and locking it this time.

“Mom, I need to teo you someting!”

(Me through the door)

HONEY!  Mommy is going potty!  Leave me alone for a minute!  I’ll talk to you when I come out!

We went back and forth like that a few times until finally Gabe gave up.  I read a page of my book (just to prove a point) and then came out.

Gabe was standing in the hall.

“Mommy, Gway-Gway is making a mess with da peanut butto.

Ahh.

Okay, so maybe today wasn’t the day to take a stand for quiet bathroom time.

This is what greeted me in the kitchen:

I personally don’t think it would be very comfortable having Peanut Butter packed into all my face holes, but Gray was enjoying himself immensely. 

Just in case you’re wondering if you ever find yourself with a similar mess on your hands (and on your table and floor and child…)

Plain water doesn’t work. 

Adding baby soap only makes the peanut butter soapy, but doesn’t do anything to move or remove it.

A fingernail brush, however, proved most effective at scouring the peanut butter off the surface of Gray's head. 

Just so you know for future reference.

P.S.  A few hours after these photos were taken, we took a spontaneous road trip.  We're in Utah!

Office Progress and Shopping Spree! Yipee!

So, we're shooting for mid-October to open Doug's practice.

The paint is on the walls and the new carpet is on the floor.  The equipment is arriving and being installed and the security system is secure.

The couch and chairs are on the way and should be here late next week.  And although I've gotten some art, I need to order a few more things and put things on walls.  (I want the couches and all equipment in before we hang anything.)

We've hired an office manager and are (just now) looking for two dental assistants.

Oh, and I've subscribed to a bunch of magazines using YOUR suggestions;

Highlights for Children
The Children's Friend
Family Fun
National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic (not for kids)  (Doug picked the N.G.'s!)
Newsweek (for me)
People
Entertainment Weekly
and maybe a few more I can't remember.
Vegetarian Weekly perhaps?  No, probably not.

(And now I see I need to add Reader's Digest to this list.  Yes, it may be a tiny bit nerdy, but I love it and I've loved it since reading it at Kristen Atkins house in high school!)

Yesterday, we had a meeting with our super hip web designer about Marketing.  (He tells me we don't say "hip" any more.  That's how hip he is.  He knows stuff like that.)  We're going to put new (awesome) signs on the building.  Possibly do a one-time mailer announcing our "Grand Opening", plan some contests and campaigns, and give away some cool stuff.  (Like a Wii or something.)

Things are coming together and it's getting exciting!  Hopefully, it wont be too long before Doug has a full schedule and enough income to pay the lease!  (Without accruing more debt.  Which seems to be a specialty of ours.  Dave Ramsey not withstanding.)

So anyway, today I realized:  We've ordered a bunch of different stuff.  But we haven't purchased a single  TOY for the kid waiting room!  So I went on a little shopping spree.

Since we have a vintage/retro theme going, the first thing I thought of was the old school Fisher-Price toys they've re-released at Target.  Target doesn't seem to have any currently so I checked Amazon.  Unfortunately, when I started reading reviews, it seems that the new versions have replaced wood with plastic, now require batteries, and are basically junk.
So I went to e-bay and bought this:

A vintage (used) Fisher-Price record player and a vintage (used) Fisher-Price "Let's Go Fly a Kite" music radio. (The exact one I had as a kid.)
And, it's possible that I have a bid in for the Fisher-Price Music Box T.V.

Yes, my nostalgia got the better of me, but I'm pretty sure the little kiddies will like them as much as I did.  (I would have gotten the F.P. Tick-Tock Music Box Clock, but didn't want the Office Manager to hate me.)

Of course, I bought some new stuff too.  (Mostly from Amazon.)
2 different Schylling retro style wind up robots:

and wooden nesting blocks from Educo.  (I like that they're not cardboard (slobber resistant) and not plastic (more vintage feel):

I WANTED to buy the Embossed wooden blocks;

 and the Radio Flyer push wagon but didn't buy them.

I think the blocks would just be dumped out and left out and the wagon is $99 so I have to run it by Doug.

I'd ALSO like some wooden animals with wheels (I've found some on Etsy) but they're expensive and I haven't seen any I LOVE yet so I need to keep looking.

Now for the older kids, I think it would be super cool to get an old school Pac-Man arcade game.  And maybe we will when we're rolling in dough.  But for now, we're getting two Play Station 2's and some games.
(There will also be a T.V. playing Phineas and Ferb in the kid area.)

So now please tell me--what do we still NEED??!?  
What am I missing?
What should I send back?
And is it an unwritten LAW that all dental offices have a wire/bead/maze thingy?  Should I buy one immediately???

7 Hours of 72 Hour Stress

Of course moving is stressful.  Everyone knows that.  I just never thought that 72-hour-kit location and placement would be at the top of my list of stressors.

And yet Thursday the 8th I went to a friends house for a play date and told her I was stressed that my garage wasn't yet unpacked and organized.

New Friend:  "But if all you have left is the garage, you're doing pretty well..."

Me:  "It's because I don't know where my 72-hour-kits are.  I know they're somewhere in there, it's just too crowded and disorganized so I can't find them quickly.  I told myself that would be the first thing I'd do when we got here--put the 72-hour-kits next to the garage door..."

The same day, a few short hours later, the dryer turned off suddenly.  I went outside and flipped the circuit breaker for the laundry room.  It didn't work.  Then I  noticed the power was off in the whole house.  I went outside and flipped all the breakers.

Nothing.

I figured we (Doug) missed a bill in the chaos of moving.

But that wasn't the problem:  The whole neighborhood was turned off.

Later, I learned it wasn't just the neighborhood.  The blackout extended into Mexico, over to Arizona, and up to Orange County California.

I may OR MAY NOT have had several minor panic attacks after acquiring this knowledge.

I will say that I pulled all the wet clothes out of the dryer and spread them through the house to dry as well as hand washed all the dishes due to lack of faith that power would ever, EVER be restored.

(And it's possible I started scheming up ways to go completely "off grid" and turn all pioneer-y.)

Clearly, moderate action needed to be taken to prevent major craziness.  SO...

Last week, we cleaned and organized our entire garage.  72-hour-kits have been located and placed in an easy to grab spot.  Online orders have been placed for additional needed supplies.  (I'm replacing our 72-hour backpacks with rolling backpacks, getting a few more lanterns, and adding a box of MRE's to our food storage.)  Soon, Doug will be purchasing one or two 55-gallon water tanks to fill and stick on the side of the house.  The under-stairs space has been cleaned and filled with shelves which will gradually be filled with cans of food.  (And hot chocolate mix.)  The can safe has been located and will soon be refilled with cash.  (It was removed for safer travel.)

And once again, we are--mostly/sorta/a little bit--prepared.  And I can go back to stressing about whether or not this new dental practice will bankrupt us.


How about you?  Do YOU know where your 72-hour kit is?
Had any blackouts or earthquakes in YOUR neck of the woods???

(I feel like much of this applies to my feelings after 3/11/11 as well...!  Really great article from The Washington Post)

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson
The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow.  Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts.  It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world.  This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.


The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

No Sore Bums. Got it!!!

Okay, okay.  You do NOT want the "Modern" red couch if it's uncomfortable.  And I'm guessing (don't know for sure, mind you) that it's uncomfortable.
And the second couch was evidently hideously ugly.  (Who knew?)

So.

We found another one!
See, the Wes/Tami family were here for Labor Day weekend.

You may remember them as "the family who moved in with us after the earthquake and then left Japan way before us and broke my heart".  (I REALLY need to think of a good pseudonym for you guys, H's!)

While we were driving home from PIPES* one day, Doug had what you might call a gastro-intestinal emergency brought on by too much candy at the previous day's Padres game.  (Or maybe by the Padres performance?)  Anyway, he needed to use the little boys room a.s.a.p.  (Is this T.M.I.?  I'm notorious for over-sharing!)

We pulled into a random shopping center and parked directly in front of a random furniture store.  It just happened to be A MODERN furniture store called "Grounded".  While D was, eh-hem, busy, I ran inside with Tami.  I started sitting on couches.  Too hard.  Too low.  Too silly.  Too incredibly rock-like as to not even resemble a couch-like.

I did a circuit around the room and tried them all.  When I got to the last one, I let out a startled cry!
My bum sunk into the cushion!
I leaned back and gasped!
My back was comfortably supported!

Could it be?  A comfortable Modern couch?

Yes.  Yes, it is indeed true.  Tami agreed.  Doug joined us and he gave it two thumbs up.
Now for the final test...

What do YOU think?
(crossing my fingers that at least two of you like it so I don't have to keep shopping...)

This couch...

but probably this color.

And three or four of these chairs.

Yes, I know most of you did NOT want to share a couch with a stranger.  The individual chairs are for you.  The couch is for the mom with the baby, and toddler, and purse, and diaper bag/backpack/random jacket/book/grocery bag and child on her arm.  Plenty of room to sprawl comfortably.

Anyway, assuming the entire readership of this blog doesn't boo the above, we'll be ordering them shortly.

Last night I bought some of the Land of Nod wall art and two book shelves from P.B. Kids.
The paint is up and the carpet is in.  Things are coming together slowly but surely!

More pictures soon, but in the mean time, COMMENT and let me know what you think!  Unless what you think is that I'm an empty headed animal food trough wiper who's mother was a hamster.  Just keep that to yourself.



*Yes, this IS intended to make your mouth water and make you want to come visit.

Pediatric Dental Office Decor

We're working on decorating Doug's office.  It's being painted this week.  After that, new carpet will go in.  Then we'll need actual furniture.

Green is really tricky!!!

The theme that we've come up with is...
*drumroll*

vintage modern.

Vintage because I love it.  Modern because it's "in".
(This part has all been decided, so don't try to change the theme.  It's TOO LATE!)


So, here you have our logo.  Very modernish, right?  Say right.

(And no, you still don't get to know my last name, Creepy Stalker.)

Then we have the following as options:
THIS is where I need your input.  Let me know what you think about the following items:

1.  Super modern couch by Herman Miller.

2.  or this Ballard Design more classic couch.  (Comes in many colors.)
--or something else entirely...???--

3.  Wall Art from Land of Nod.  I really love these but they're $89 each!  (But that includes the frame.)

4.  Also from LoN.  $129 on stretched canvas.  (I really love this...it includes so many places I love.)

5.  What about a giant bouncy ball machine?  Is this a need or a want???

What do you think?  Which couch would you choose?  Which art would you want to see as a parent?  What magazines do you want to read and what would make YOUR dental experience better???
What are your thoughts?
HELP!!!

(For my full "wish list" see my Emily Dub Pinterest board titled "Office Decor Wish List")

Exercise-Schmexercise

I'm skinny.
Tall and skinny.

Always have been.  Can't help it.  Born that way.

So much so that I was regularly asked at medical appointments if I had an eating disorder.
Addiction to sugar, junk food and laziness an eating disorder?  Then yes.  I had (have) one.

Throughout my whole life, I've been despised by females who actually exercise and eat right.

Except, not so much these days.
Without doing a dang thing differently, I've gained weight!  What the...?!?!

See, I hit my 30's, had my fourth baby, lived through an earthquake, and then changed countries.
And somewhere in there, my metabolism slowed down and my general sluggishness wasn't rewarded with continued skininess!  I put on weight!!!  The nerve!

Instead of being underweight for my height (5' 9.75") I'm now (probably...no scale) somewhere in the upper "normal" range.  At least 20 pounds up from my previous "normal".

No, I'm not really whining.  It's no biggie, except my clothes are getting super tight and my energy level isn't exactly increasing.

So for a good two years now I've been contemplating exercise.  (These things can't be rushed in to.)

It had to happen sometime.  Can't put off health forever.

With that in mind, Doug bought me a nice road bike for Christmas last year.  (50% off after Thanksgiving.)  I rode it twice in Misawa always planning to REALLY get into biking once we were settled here.

I just got my bike last week and today I went on my first ride.

Yes, I wore shoes and a helmet and yes, I'm scowling.

It was hard.

But the reason I picked biking is because it inevitably includes periods of time when you can stop pedaling and coast.  And heaven knows I like me a good exercise where I just sit still with the wind rushing through my helmet.  (Running, obviously, is not for me.)

Hopefully there will be more rides to come.  Because my clothing budget is $0 right now so I can't afford a bunch of new pants and loose, flowy shirts.

Wish me luck!

And now a bonus blog post courtesy of Healthy Friend Janeen who now resides (and rides) in Germany!  (Lucky Duck!!!)

-----

From Janeen's blog  
Bikers and Cars Beware!
April 2, 2011


A huge success in my life is convincing someone else that bicycle riding is the best sport in the world!  (darn tootin!) You are outside, you get to go fast, you can socialize and you are working out!  I just can't see it getting any better than that.  Our friends, the infamous Doug and Em, have seen the light (well, kind of).  I have to give a little background.  

Emily does not exercise at all!  And never has. (Sometimes I think it's amazing we are friends, really, but we married opposites, too, she is a lot like Merrill and I am like Doug, it's scary - I digress, back to my story:).  She says she's allergic to exercise because her body starts to itch.  [This is completely true.  I AM allergic to exercise.  Itchy Leg Syndrome is a real malady!  There are literally dozens of us!]  


I remember going on a walk with her last spring on a beautiful day and she belly ached the whole time about everything I liked about it.  hahaha  So Doug started riding last year on my old De Bernardi bike.  He's about the same build as Merrill so it was pretty funny seeing him on my little bike, but he was hooked so he didn't complain too much about the bike size.  Doug thought it would be awesome to go for rides with Emily (which it will be!)  So Emily got a bike on a sweet sale weekend around Thanksgiving last year.  

It was a gorgeous day outside and she took it on it's maiden voyage around the block!!!!  With her jeans on and lovely Ugg boots!  Rockin biker outfit, Em!  I hope your bum wasn't too sore today from your jean seam.  :)

When I ran into get my camera this is what I came out to!  What a goof!

Anyway... here she is!  We are all so proud of her! I called her later in the day and I told her she needed to start going to Pam's spin class M, W @ 11:30am.  By then, she will be up and ready to tackle the workout!

She's going so fast she's a blur!

---


(I never did make that spin class.)

Paradigm = SHIFTED!

Once, my friend Lyana told me she lets her kids fold and put away their own clothes, and then my brain popped, because WOAH!  I hate folding laundry!  Who knew I could shove it off on to them?!?!  That little bit of information changed my life!!!

So now I'll share something with you:
While sister Bethy was here, school lunches came up.  I mentioned that Max makes his own lunch and has since 1st grade.  Last year, he made Sam's too.  This year, both boys will make their own.  My job is to make sure we have ingredients on hand.  The rest is up to them.  And then Beth's brain popped a little because SHE hates making lunches and her kids are 6th and 4th graders!  So now maybe she'll make them make their own lunches and her life will be changed!  For the better!  And she'll forever praise my name like I praise Lyana!  And so will YOU!  Aren't you all glad I'm a blogger?!?

You can thank me later.

P.S.  (She also noticed my stash of plastic grocery bags all tied in loose knots and laughed at me.  But it's not just for the sake of my OCD!  It's so little kids don't pull them over their heads and suffocate!  Which my boys inevitably try to do when confronted with a bag of any kind--plastic or otherwise!!!)
---
And yes, we had a great time with Doug's big sister.  She brought her best friend Steph (basically a member of the family) and her two kids and we LOVED having them!  The boys LOVE getting to know their cousins after a three year drought.  We went to the beach every day, rinsed off with a swim in the pool, and then feasted on half healthy/half unhealthy food every night.  It was fabulous and we want them to come quarterly!

(So if you're planning a visit, better book the guest room STAT!  It's filling up fast.  And don't forget the cost of admission is a PICTURE for my WALL!)
---
Pictures will be posted...eventually.

Umm...Kashi!

One great thing about being back in the states?  More selection.  My first trip to Target, I grabbed every single Kashi item I hadn't tried yet.  (We had VERY FEW healthy grocery options at the Misawa Commissary.)

 I may have grabbed a few other things while I was there.

(And now I really must stop spending money because Doug hasn't started working yet.  So ya know...no income and all that...)

A Few (a lot of) Little (back in America) Things

aka:  17 blog posts combined into one!

*When we got to town, we were greeted by all four of my siblings and my mom!  We got to have a mini-family reunion and the boys got to see lots of cousins they haven't seen in three years.  It was typical of all our Call-kid reunions: full of drama but highly entertaining.  (My dad and his wife Claudia also came down for a visit so we got to see them also.)

Faezer and Jay-bird: Caught mid silliness.

*Costco and Target are all that I hoped they'd be.  And more.  I love them.  I want to marry them.
They're also exactly what Doug expected they'd be:  Places I spend too much money.
Poor Doug.

Call Girls with Dale-bud

*I may have gained some weight since my arrival.  Not sure why...?

Best Picture Ever?  Yes.

*We have super cute kids in our neighborhood.  They brought these over the first day we were here:

*After being in Japan, where the HIGHEST freeway speed we encountered was 70 KPH (43.5MPH), driving the speed limit here feel like reckless driving.  People keep racing past and around me and I realize it's because I'm going 20 under.  It's terrifying.

*I can't for the life of me remember which side the drivers side is when I need to get in the car, or how to turn on the blinker not the windshield wipers.  And yes, sometimes I forget which side of the road I'm supposed to drive on.

*Sam had to be dragged (yes, literally) to school kicking and screaming the first two days.  Last night he cried himself to sleep.  He said "I DON'T want to live in California!  I HATE school, I DID NOT want to move to the states, and I WANT TO GO BACK TO JAPAN!!!"  Poor kid.  Have I mentioned he doesn't like change?  (*Note to self:  Inform neighbors that we don't beat our children.  Sam just screams really loud when he's upset.  Which is a lot.)

*Yesterday was our 11 year wedding anniversary and we got to spend part of it in the temple we were married in.  (Followed by lunch at Rubio's and a cupcake from Sprinkles.  It doesn't get much better than that.)  And I decided that, yes, I would marry Doug again even now that I know he has the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.

*After three years of NO visitors (aside from the H family's post earthquake stay), we've already had one overnight guest!  My high school friend Naomi came down from L.A.!  I had a great time blabbing with her by the (community) pool and the boys loved her.  Her visit was made even better when we went to the beach and dinner with two other awesome high school friends.

Felix, Nome, Me, Wahine

*My friend Kristen, shown on the right, helped us house hunt.  She is amazing and deserves to be sainted.  I'm so happy we're neighbors!!!

*We took a trip up to Monterey, CA to visit the afore mentioned H family.  Camille got baptized and we were thrilled to be able to be there.  It was a quick trip, (not the driving part--that part was long) but we had a blast and were so happy to see Tami, Wes, and Kiddos again.  It was, as Wes said, "EPIC!"

I told Doug to fix my wonky bangs, but he DIDN'T

*San Diego is paradise.  Every morning is foggy.  Then the fog burns off and it's pleasantly warm the rest of the day.  If it gets too hot, open all the windows and let the breeze in.  Things are blooming all over the place.  Colorful hot air balloons pretty up the sky.  We have hibiscus and jasmine and roses and rosemary and lavender and all sorts of smell-good stuff in our yard.  (And I'm going to start some veggies in pots soon, and when our ship comes in, I'll buy some dwarf citrus trees!!!)
Paradise I tell you!!  (And NO EARTHQUAKES!*)

*And I love our house.  It feels like a mansion compared to our Misawa 4-plex.  (Though the base housing had more storage.)  Cute, no?  The boys each have their own room (Gray gets a closet) but have to share when guests come.  It hasn't cut down on fights, but I'm still hopeful.

Box monsters

*Favorite part for the boys?  Garage door, hands down.  They fight over who gets to push the button to open and close it.

*Oh, and did I mention?  NO MOSQUITOS!  You can go outside at dusk and not get eaten alive!  (I don't know what they're spraying around here, but Misawa needs to get some.)

*But wait--San Diego isn't totally perfect.  It does have crows.  Not the monster mutant crows of Misawa, but I've seen 'em.  (Even the Garden of Eden had a snake in it...)

*And speaking of visitors,  (weren't we?) we have a batch coming tomorrow.  Two aunties (D's seesters) and two cousins are en route from Utah even as we...blog.  Yay!


Yep, it's good to be home.

*Yes, I know California is earthquake prone.  And it'll probably have a huge one now that I've moved here.  But I don't care.  All that matters is we haven't had one here yet!  Days and days with NO TREMORS!  That's huge, people!

Here's the Dealio...

Many moons ago, Doug found a practice "For Sale" in the San Diego area.
(My dream locale.  Where I finished high school.  Where we got married.  Where I've been wanting to move back ever since I left as a 20ish year-old.)

He contacted the seller/Dr.
She interviewed him via Skype.
He flew to California and met her in person.
After weeks and weeks of waiting (and an earthquake), she finally offered to sell him the practice.
We started making all necessary (extensive) preparations to buy the practice.
(lawyers, lenders, accountants...)
It would have cost a LOT of money to buy the practice.  (Turns out they don't give these things away.)
BUT it would come with equipment, staff, and patients!
We planned our move here.
We signed a one-year lease on a home.
We researched local schools and local church congregations.
I mapped all nearby Libraries, Costcos and Targets.
We directed our "Household Goods" to be shipped to the port of San Diego.

And then...

three weeks before we left Japan...

the seller changed her mind.

She backed out of the deal.

We don't know why.  (But we have our suspicions.)


Then Doug's heart stopped and his brain exploded a little, and his stomach turned into a giant bleeding ulcer.
      I took the immediate role of therapist/counsellor/cheerleader.
("It's going to be okay!!!  You're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggoneit, little kids like you!!!")

Luckily, on his last trip to the states, just for kicks, he'd looked over an available office space for lease in the area.  It's next door to a General dentist and is all set up for a Pediatric dentist.  It's in a great location on a busy, high-visibility street.

The same day we got the mind-exploding news, Doug called about the empty office space.  It was still available.  He asked for the lease paperwork.
We decided to lease it and start a practice from scratch.

With three weeks to go before unemployment and no pay check and no benefits and no security and no anything.  Except a house and office we couldn't pay for once our emergency fund ran out.  
(Yes, thanks to stupid Dave Ramsey, we have a hefty emergency fund.  Or at least, it seemed hefty until we moved to expensive here and had to spend a bunch of it!)

So yeah, it's been a stressful few weeks.

Since we've been back, Doug has done the following:
Filled out mountains of paperwork
Met with a bazillion lenders
     and vendors
         and Doctors
Hogged the laptop  (The desktop is still in transit, hence my spotty blogging.)
Gotten 58 new gray hairs
Secured financing to start a practice
Purchased us a second car (our mini van has been in storage for three years)
Made a bazillion phone calls
Eaten numerous "business" breakfasts

And a million other tedious things.

He's also gotten a part time job at an office about an hour away.
It's only three days a week, but it will see us through until his practice takes off.

Which it will.
Because he's Doug and he's awesome and little kids love him.

As for me, I'm keeping busy unpacking, organizing, donating, hanging, and throwing away a whole bunch of stuff. 

While also feeding, clothing, cuddling, chasing, disciplining, kissing, hugging, refereeing, supervising, separating, and time-outing four {extremely noisy} boys.

Oh, and I'm working on the colors/theme/feel/decor/accessories/"brand" for the future office and website.

Um hmm.

And it turns out, having your husband home 24/7 in these circumstances, doesn't actually feel like an extended vacation.  (Maybe an extended hellcation.  But forget I said that last part 'cause we don't say the "h" word.)  Not that I don't love having him around.  It's just we're not dealing with optimal circumstances here!


But despite all of the afore mentioned stress, we're happy to finally be "home".  We're happy to be back in America. We're really happy that the whole dang country isn't shaking every five minutes.  We're thrilled we don't have to move anywhere ever again if we darn well don't want to.  And we're extremely glad things are progressing in the job department.

We've even managed to have some fun!
All of my siblings and my mom were here to welcome us home.
Visits to the pool and beach have been squeezed in.
The weather has been perfectly beautiful.
Breakfast out has been eaten.
Friends and new neighbors have been good to us.

So life is good.
Prayers are heard.
Prayers are answered.
And life goes on.

And that's the dealio.

Friday and Saturday in Hawaii

Friday was an especially fun day for Sammy and I.  Since Doug and Max got to swim with Manta Rays, Sam and I got to swim with dolphins.  You'll pardon my 80's if I say it was "totally rad".

The deal is, you get on a boat, they provide snorkel stuff, and then the boat drives(?) to where they know there are usually pods of dolphins.  When they spot a pod, they let you hop off the boat so you can swim with them.  (or near them.  Or actually usually quite far away from them because shockingly, dolphins tend to keep moving.)

Anyway, I've never seen a dolphin up close, so I thought it was extremely cool.

So here's what happened.  The boat went to the first stop.  There were dolphins everywhere.  We were all suited up and ready.  We jumped in the water.  Sammy, who has been practicing with a mask and snorkel for a few weeks, looks down, can't see the "bottom" and freaks out.  He did not like swimming with fins, and a noodle (instead of a life jacket) and he did not like the depth of the ocean.

It took some persuasion to get him to try again, but he did it.  We swapped out the noodle for a life jacket, ditched the fins, and went to an area where you could see the ocean floor.  (It was super clear water.)  Sam jumped in, stuck his face in, and popped right back up.  "I SAW ONE!  I SAW A DOLPHIN MOMMY!!!"  It was, again, totally rad.

During one stop, our "driver" spotted a pod and stopped.   Everyone (there were about 11 of us) jumped in and started swimming away from the boat.

I looked in the opposite direction and saw a dolphin jumping in front of the boat and headed towards it.  When I started swimming, I realized I was surrounded by dolphins...they were just all below the surface.  That's when I saw the mommy and baby swimming together in the distance.  Very very cool.  I wish I could have gotten closer but they were a bit ahead and swimming away from me.  

For the last stop, we left the dolphins behind us and went to snorkel a reef near the shore.  Since this area was relatively shallow, this is where Sam did the majority of his snorkeling for the day.  He actually got pretty far away from the boat and looked at the reef and tropical fish with me.  For a little while, he let me hold his hand and swim with him.  It was fantastic day and that was the icing on the cake!

(And now I really need to wrap this up...)
Saturday:  We did some stuff.
We took a red-eye "home" through L.A.
It was a horrible flight.
It was delayed.  Children were cranky. Bags were lost.  Then found.
We finally made it HOME to San Diego on Sunday morning.

HOORAY!

(More tomorrow.  Or the next day or day after that...)

Thursday in Hawaii

So much to blog, so little time...

Gotta finish up Hawaii so I can talk about my NEW HOUSE!

So, Thursday was our VOLCANO day.  Since we stayed in Kona, the volcano was a ways away.  Therefore, trying to get the boys excited was next to impossible.
"We have to drive for TWO HOURS?  Why can't we just go to the POOL?!?!?"
Little ingrates!
But we shoved 'em all in the car and set off anyway.
To break up the trip, we made two stops along the way.  First, to the southern most bakery in the United States for some Hawaiian sweet bread.  (YUM!):

Handsome group!

 Next, to a volcanic black sand beach:

Neato!

Why yes, I did take a smidge for my sand collection!

Turtles chillaxing

(Aside:  So, we're standing around oohing and ahhing over the sea turtles, and a Japanese gentleman gets really excited to see them, walks over, and happily smacks one on the face to get it to move.  The Americans gasp and say "NO!", and my arms automatically come up and cross in front of me making an "X"; the universal Japanese sign for 'no' or 'stop'.  He didn't touch the turtles after that.) 

"I know I'm adorable!"

Yes, I did buy my shirt at Costco, and yes, Gray did eat more sand.

Playin' in the waves.

Finally, we arrived at the volcano visitor center.  They gave us maps and told us what the "must-see" attractions were for single-day visitors.  Here are a few:

In a lava tube tunnel.

The boys walked across this caldera.  I stayed in the car with sleeping Gray.

Barren landscape cleared by flowing lava.

Cute buzz boys.

Smoking volcano!

Smoking volcano after dark.  Sweet!

We stayed for quite awhile but only managed to see a little bit of the "park".  It was really amazing.  The boys were disappointed they didn't get to see an actual eruption, but seemed to think it was cool anyway.  The glowing crater was pretty close, so that got high marks.

We'd definitely recommend a trip to the volcano if you're ever in the area.

More tomorrow.  Hopefully I can wrap this trip up!