Yesterday was another slam-packed day.  We went to the early service at Church- here is a picture of the kids in front of the house dressed in their Sunday best-   After church we went out for Pizza. We had planned to take Sophia  to Pizza hut so she could get her "Personal Pan Pizza" She had been hanging onto  
her Pizza Hut coupon ALL WEEKEND. Well, wouldn't you know it (and I am not at all surprized by this) she lost her coupon. We searched high and low and it has just dissapeared. This wasn't the worst thing that could have happened, in face, it actually saved me from Pizza Hut- which sounds so gross to me. Instead we went to "Bostons Pizza" which is this really plain pizza place- no frills! We ate in the restaurant and the pizza was great!  We had enough to bring home and eat for dinner too.

After lunch we came home for about an hour and prepared for our family hike! Nobody else seemed very excited about this hike but me. However, since I am the Mom I can tell all my minions what to do, so off we went. We hiked the "Aiea Loop Trail", which we have done two times before. The last time was actually on Thanksgiving. It is about 5 miles and took us 2.5 hours.  I posted pictures on the right of our hike.  After the hike we came home for baths, dinner and homework! I fell into a coma at 8pm on the couch so it was a good thing Chris was there to put the kids in bed!

( I copied this from Iampregnant.com)

The Story of Baby Thoretta:
Your baby's weight has doubled in two weeks and now weighs about 3.5 ounces! The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. If you spread your hand out opened wide, you can see about how big your baby is.

Your uterus is moving up and is now approximately 1.5 to 2 inches below your navel. You are showing more now and there is a noticeable swelling in your abdomen. At this point in your pregnancy, a 5 to 10 pound weight gain is normal. Other people can probably feel the difference in your lower abdomen if they were to rub your tummy. To be the most comfortable, you should be wearing maternity clothes or clothing that is too large for you. You may have felt your baby move already. However, you might not feel it move every day at this point. As your pregnancy progresses, movements become stronger and more frequent. Feeling your baby move can help reassure you that your baby is doing well. You might also notice that your gums or nose bleed occasionally. This is from the increased blood volume that puts pressure on small blood vessels and capillaries.

Huge changes continue to take place within your developing baby. This week fat begins to form and will continue to do so until he is born. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. Right now, at 17 weeks, water makes up about 3 ounces and fat 0.018 ounces of your baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds. The placenta is continuing to grow at an amazing rate. The placenta will continue to develop in tandem with the fetus and it will weigh more than a pound at birth! By this week, the placenta is large and well established with a network of blood vessels that exchange nutrients and waste.

The eyes are facing more forward. The ears are now close to their final position.

Your baby is more flexible with ability to move head, mouth, lips, arms, wrists, hands, legs, feet, and toes.

Fingerprints are forming now.


I will try  not to complain much here because I know growing life is a miracle and privilege, but I am still feeling nauseated every.single.day. Night time (starting at around 4pm- bed) is the worst.  I spend my evenings laying on the couch. Thank God for Zofran!  At night while I am trying to sleep I wake up every couple hours nauseated and trying not to get sick. I thought by 17 weeks I would be over this but now who knows!  I know the end result will be worth all the sickness. (Only 23 more weeks to go!)

Vangie has also discovered her passion for red lipstick! (See pic on the right- ) Chris had to actually confiscate it from her and put it on top of the refrigerator. She would put it on and then come back 5 min later for more- "But I missed a spot!" She would say in her defense as she slathered on a fifth layer of bright red.  In her defense she looks really great in red lipstick! (as I type this Vangie is searching the drawers for her trusty tube of red.)

I love having my girls! Sometimes I look around at all the different hair accessories, makeup and nail polish around here ( not to mention the tights, tu-tu's and high heels!) and think how different it would be without all my girls (you included, thoretta, you're a part of this family too!)  I know that Joey will make an excellent husband one day (a long, long time from now!) Because he will be so familiar will all things feminine, nothing will shock him.

Did you know that today is Prince Kuhio day?? Unless you live in Hawaii, probably not! This is what I got off Wikipedia:

"  Prince Kūhiō Day is an official holiday in the state of Hawaiʻi in the United States. It is celebrated annually on March 26, to mark the birth of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole — heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, prince of the House of Kalākaua, and later territorial delegate to the United States Congress. It is one of only two holidays in the United States dedicated to royalty, the other being Hawaiʻi's King Kamehameha Day June 11."  

Very interesting! The kids got the day off school because of it. (wow, another Friday off, I'm shocked!!)  This morning Joey and Sophia rode their bikes while I jogged pushing Vangie in the stroller with Stella on the leash. We did a 3 mile loop- I am taking the kids to the movies in a bit to see "How to Train Your Dragon" and we needed to get our exercise first!

Tomorrow Chris has duty but if gets "singled up" Or able to come home in the evening we are planning on going to church together.  Sophia got a free personal pan pizza coupon for all the reading she has been doing so I would also like to take her to pizza hut.

I recently bought Joey the whole 7 book set of Harry Potter. I am planning on reading him the whole thing. We are currently on Book 1, chapter 4. We read a chapter a night, and it is starting to get really interesting!
 

Today was an exciting day for the kids- it was there first ice skate lesson! We arrived at the ice rink at 2:30- I checked the kids in and got them into there ice skates. Then we went around the rink a couple times to warm up. Then the Zamboni came out to clean and freshen the ice- very exciting. While we were waiting for classes to begin I got the kids nachos and hot chocolate (the snack of champions!)

Class was from 3:14-3:45. Vangie and Sophia are in the "tots" class. Joey is in "Pre-Alpha". Thankfully they are at the same time. Joey's class on one side of the rink and the girls on the other. I was a little apprehensive at first about how much attention the kids would get from the instructors- there seemed to be an awful lot of kids per instructor. But it actually worked out very well. Joey had about 8  kids in his little "group",  the instructor worked with them on proper skating form, crossing there feet and walking "sideways" on the ice and even skating backwards! During this backward skating towards the end of class Joey fell and bumped his head. They brought him off the ice and I had to fill out my first accident report. (certainly not my last, with three kids taking lessons!) He was absolutely fine after 3 min and didn't even have a bump on his head, I think the fall shook him up more than anything.

Sophia was in a group of about 10 kids (all her age) and two instructors. They woked on skating across the rink (short ways) proper form, keeping there arms out and some other drills. I was so impressed with Sophia! When I brought the kids to the rink for the very first time over spring break she couldn't even stand on the ice by herself and now she can skate across unattended!

Vangie was in a group of 4 little kids and a really great instructor. She started them off hanging onto the wall and practicing lifting there legs up and down (like they were marching) and then had them stand on the ice and practice the correct way to fall down (on your butt!) and by the end of class Vangie was skating unattended! What MOST impressed me was that Vangie was out the ice, with other kids and her instructor and without  ME! Usually she is too scared to do things on her own, but she did great the whole class! With about 3 min left in class I waved to her and smiled at her and she broke down crying! I think she realized that she had been without me the whole time! It was so cute. 

Chris had last Saturday off- his only day off this week so we crammed all of our weekend activities into one day. We started off with a hike. I took the family to the Pali Lookout- which is a beautiful scenic lookout, and from there we hiked the Old Pali Highway- Here is a view from the Pali lookout-
It is very beautiful and you can see for miles. The kids really loved it and so did Chris. It was SOOOO windy and cold at the top of the lookout- When we left home it was sunny and 80 degrees and suddenly it was overcast and 65! Thankfully I told the kids to bring a sweatshirt so they were fine.  The hike begins by going down hill, on a paved trail. There are lots of sheer cliffs to look at, trees and huge flowering plants. Its very pretty. The kids had fun running ahead and exploring. 



Chris carried Vangie on his back and I carried the water bottles. We hiked for about 20 min and then came to a fork in the trail- unless you know what to do you will go the wrong way and miss the old Pali Highway. I led the way- which meant climbing UNDER a busy overpass(which the kids thought was tons of fun), and going lower and lower into the valley. Now the trees are getting a lot taller and the birds a lot louder. It felt like we were in the rain-forest!

Soon we came to the place that in out "Trail Guide" Says that there is supposed  to be a waterfall- we looked everywhere but couldn't find it. Then Chris found a dirt trail that led away from the Old Pali Highway. This must be it!! We started following this new trail that clearly led up the mountain. It had us going up and up and up!








See the picture on the left? The incline was probably about 70%! Chris asked me- do we keep going? Of COUSE! I answered, this is amazing! We were grabbing onto tree branches and roots to help us up the mountain. At one point there were even ropes to help us up!
 






 See how great Joey and Sophia use the ropes?? Towards the very top the trail was a very steep dirt slope. Joey made it to the top first. I was behind Sophia helping her by telling her what to grab and pushing her up by her booty. Chris and Vangie were in the back. I have to admit, towards the very top when the trail was its most steep I was a tiny bit scared that one of us would fall off the mountain.  We eventually made it to the top- part of the reason we went this way was because we were thinking it may be a shortcut back to the van- but once we reached the top- which was a nice grassy field right next  to the highway we realized it was NOT a short cut and there wasn't even a waterfall!!! So THEN we had to hike all the way back down. Once we got down the super steep dirt slope we were fine. It was quite the adventure, one we will never forget!

Here is a picture of the highway that we ended up next too-  See how HIGH up it seems? He hiked all the way up there. This picture was taken once we got back down to the bottom. And once we were at the bottom we had to hike all the way back to the van- this time the right way! 

After our hike we went to a soccer game where the USS Chicago was playing another boat. Chris played and made there only goal. The kids and I brought snacks and a blanket and hung out on the sidelines, cheering.  It was perfect weather- sunny and breezy. I can tell it is starting to warm up, however, and soon it will be HOT.  

I have a quick funny story about Vangie- the other day I was on the phone with Papa Perkins and I told Sophia to go run her bathwater. Sophia is leaning to wash herself and does a great job. I come in at the end to make sure everything is squeaky clean. Well, I was on the phone and Sophia AND Vangie ended up getting in the tub. Soon Vangie comes down dressed in her Pajamas,  but still dripping wet.

I was off the phone now and I said "Wow, Vangie, did you take your own bath?" "Yes" she answered all proud of herself. "Did you wash your self really good?" I asked. This is how she answered me: " I did not wash my girl parts, my butt OR my hair."  Oh really?? What DID you wash then??" I asked her!  It was pretty comical.

Wow, how time flies! It seems like just yesterday (okay, maybe a year or two ago) that my little Joey was born. He has been such a blessing to our lives! From day one he has been my "little daddy" hand has taken care of me when Chris was deployed. And then he started taking care of me and Sophia, then me, Sophia and Vangie- and pretty soon he  will take care of me, Sophia, Vangie and Thoretta. He does such a great job. When Chris as duty overnight Joey makes sure the doors are locked and the garage door is shut.  He keeps me company because I usually let him stay up later than the girls so it is just him and me.



I can still remember the day Joey was born- Chris was deployed on the USS Harry Truman, he left when I was about 6 months pregnant- so he missed the whole 3rd trimester. I was staying at my parents house in Edmore, and my hospital was about a 45 min drive away (hey, they live in the sticks!) I started having contractions at around 11pm on the 18th. It was a full moon that night and I was 3 days overdue. I remember our pastor at the time, Connie, telling me I would go into labor that night because of the full moon.
 
I was SO EXCITED to start feeling the contractions. I was three days late and going crazy waiting!  They were vveerryyy light but still about 7-10 min apart. Since the hospital was so far away the nurse told us to go ahead and come in . We got to the hospital at about 12:30am. They hooked me up to the monitors and sure enough, I was in labor. BUT, I was not that far along to STAY in the hospital so they sent me all the way HOME. We got home at about 4am. I slept fitfully until about 8am and then got up, took a shower, ate breakfast- all while my contractions kept coming. By 11am they were quite intense so my mom and I headed back to Big Rapids. THIS time they let me stay! I think I was about 3 cm dilated, but really I don't remember. I DO remember walking the halls with my mom all day- up and down, up and down. Each time I had a contraction I would lean against the wall or my mom- she was there for me the whole time.

I also got ahold of Chris on the USS Truman. I was able to send him an email before I left for the hospital. Its a miracle he got that email because that was the day the war started (Operation Iraqi Freedom?) The jets were loading up from the Truman and flying bombs over Iraq. They shut down the email and phone system. Since Chris was Aircrew he got to call me at the hospital- It was so great to hear his voice! He called me every few hours that day and I talked to him up until the point where my water broke (about 5pm) and by that time I was in so much pain I couldn't talk at all so my mom had to talk to him.

After Dr. Vanderhill broke my water at 5pm I endured the crazy pain for abotu an hour and then asked for SOMETHING! (but not an epidural, I always knew I could give birth without one) I got a shot of staydol which really did nothing for the pain but it did space me out a little bit. Around 7pm I was ready to push.

Dr. Vanderhill asked if a resident Dr. could deliver the baby. I said sure. Dr. Vanderhill had his hands free so he was able to video tape the entire birth. I realize now how rare this is-  at none of my other deliveries was I able to have the video tape running. So, somewhere in this house is a full, unedited version of Joey entering the world. Complete with screams. (Of pain and then of joy) When Chris got home from deployment when Joey was 8 weeks old I made him watch the video so he KNEW exactly what I went through.

Joey was born at 7:14pm on 3/19/03. He was perfect. He had black hair and a scowl. We went home from the hospital 24 hours later. I always leave the hospital as soon as a I can, since I find I get exactly "0" rest there. Driving home was a bit scary because it was foggy and Icy. My mom drove and we made it fine.  When he was 7 weeks old my mom drove with me to Jacksonville Florida where Joey and I picked out an apartment and had our stuff moved in. Mom was such a help, I could NOT have done that all alone! One of the happiest days of my life was when Chris came home from Deployment and we were able to be a family.

Vangie and I are watching Pocahontas,or as Vangie calls her "Mocohontus". It's ner favorite movie and I think we have watched it 5 times over spring break so far. She can tell me all about it. "Mommy, that's Mocohonuts Dad..." "Mommy, Mocohontus goes in the water and has looonnnngggg hair down her body."  She is so cute.

Spring break has been a blast so far.  Monday my friend Jennifer took us out for lunch for my birthday (ALL of us!) It was so much fun, thanks Jennifer! And then we dropped Grandma Tuy off at the airport. We were so happy that she could come and stay a whole week. The kids missed her a lot once she left, but I told them she will be back in September so I think they are okay.

Tuesday we went to the beach! Monday evening we went to Target and bought new water and sand toys. Tuesday they played in the sand and water for a few hours while I got to catch up on some reading. We packed up when we noticed the sky turning dark in the distance and I am glad we left when we did because on the way home it started pouring!

Wednesday was sort of a "lost" day. I woke up and stayed nauseated all day. (Thanks, Thoretta!) But the kids did get to have there neighbor friend  Laria over for a sleep over so they had fun. Sophia and Laria talked in their bedroom until about 11pm! I was worried that Sophia wouldn't get enough sleep and would be grouchy all day but honestly we don't have too many "bad" days anymore. I think maybe  Sophia is finally out of the terrible two's? I think I have survived the worst!  Vangie tries  to be in her terrible two's stage but she forgets I survived Sophia so nothing phases me anymore.

Today we have gotten a lot done. We had our bible study friends over this morning, then the kids and I went to the Library where they all picked out some books. Joey picked out a 400 page chapter book that he has begun reading all by himself! he is so proud that he is on page 10 already. Sophia picked out books on Gymnastics and Ice Skating. Vangie picked out books on Christmas, lol.

After the library we braved Costco.  I actually like going to Costso and there HUGE grocery carts are a bonus because Vangie AND Sophia sit in the front so I don't have to worry about them being run over by any angry elderly people (and you KNOW there are a lot of them at Costco!)  We stocked up on 8,000 coffee filters and a 10 pound bag of frozen berries- which seriously I will have eaten in 2 weeks.

When we got home and got the mail the kids were super excited to get a "Papa Perkins Package" in the mail. The swarmed around until I opened it and they each tore into their gifts;  they have been playing with them ever since. Papa always sends the best packages- complete with chocolate for ME. ( I may share a little bit. )

This past weekend was really great. Chris got home from work Saturday morning. I left for a 10 mile run and left a note for him telling him my route and told him to meet me on the way back! He got home about 20 min after I left and met me about 1/2 way through my run.  I joked with him that not many wives leave a note for their husbands to start running when they get home from work!  We love to run together, it is fun for us and we get to spend that time talking and getting a good workout. 

After our run we went for our Ultrasound, which was exciting. Saturday night I made waffles and bacon for dinner and we all hung out and relaxed at home.

Sunday morning Grandma  Tuy watched the kids while Chris and I hiked Koko head. Chris had never hiked it and I wanted him to see the amazing views. It was a workout climbing all 1,100 stairs!  After our hike we took Grandma out for lunch for her birthday- which is later this week. After lunch we all went Ice Skating at the Ice Palace here in Honolulu. We were all so excited.  We got ice skates on all the kids and at first none of them could skate without lots of help, but by the end of the day they could ALL skate a bit on their own! I enrolled them all in "Skate School" and starting next Wednesday they will have one class a week for 8 weeks.

Today I had an apt for a 3D/4D ultrasound. I have never done this with any of the kids decided that this time we would do it. I am 15wks today and they were able to tell us that Thor is now Thoretta- A GIRL!  We are so excited and happy, especially Sophia who wanted to go buy the baby some new clothes RIGHT. NOW. Vangie also cannot wait to be a big sister. Joey was the only one to show disappointment- he was holding out hope for a little brother to even out the score.  We assured him that now since he was the only boy he would never have to share his room or toys. That cheered him up a little bit. I am posting the 3D pics on the right-  And also a link to my ultrasound slideshow!!!

Monday is my 31st birthday and Chris said he was taking me out tonight. It's 4pm right now and he just feel asleep on the couch after working like crazy all week. I am NOT going to wake him up, I would rather he get some much needed rest. 

Tomorrow we are taking Joey out for pizza and Ice skating for his birthday. Yes, they have ice skating here- actually its called the "Ice Palace".  If the kids really like it I am planning on signing them up for lessons. What better place to take ice skating lessons than Hawaii??

First I'd like to say Grandma Tuy made it on island last night safe and sound. We picked her up from the airport last night and the kids were SUPER excited. They gave her the tour of the house, showed them their bedrooms and played with her until bedtime. And then they got up super early this morning because they knew she was here.

I also got up early- I ran the Kapi'olani Womans 10k(6.2miles)  in Waikiki. It was for women only and a great time. I beat my goal and finished in 56 min. The run was around Diamond Head crater and by the ocean- it was so beautiful!  To get an aeriel view of my run click on the link to the right.  I ran it a lot faster than I thought I would and passed tons of people because I started out it back. I just have this competitive streak that comes out in races!

When I got dressed this morning for my run I thought to myself how my black running skirt and black tank top did a good job to hide my baby bump,- but then I saw myself from the side in a car window reflection as I was running--- yeah, I definitely have a belly- but not an obvious "pregnant" belly. A "gee, that girl needs to get on a diet" type of belly. I am thinking about running another 10k next month and if I do I will have to get a shirt that says "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant."

On friday I took all three kids white trash style to the hair salon. I needed  a hair cut. And with Chris working so much and the kids hardly in school (thanks, Hawaii school system) then came with me. I made sure to dress nice and put the kids in something descent (no swimsuits, at least) and I threatened them to within an inch of their lives. It went something like this:
 
"DO you SEE my hair? I NEED a haircut. You are all going to come with me and you will SIT in your chairs and BE QUIET. You will keep your hands to YOURSELVES. If you need to move you will ASK ME FIRST. If you do not comply there will be NO Christmas, birthdays or food for the REST of the DAY!" 

They were actually really good in the hair salon. Only one minor meltdown that I quickly resolved with one of my many "mom- threats". It was a successfully trip- my hair cut was great AND the stylist even said my kids were really well behaved.

Well, Chris is home today (Yippee!) So I am pretty sure we are going to go out and have some family fun.  I will post pictures later.

My house is a mess. Why of course you are all thinking, you do  have 3 children. But no, it is not due to the fact I have 3 children. It is do to this....

There are "Vagie debris" all over the house. Random article of clothing (she  changes 3 times a day!) Toys littering the stairs, in the kitchen, in the hallway. And not just TOYS. Vangie also gets entertainment out of things like getting all the toilet paper rolls out and so now I have 5 rolls of toilet paper in random places around the house. The other two schmittlings know  to pick up after themselves or risk the wrath of mommy. Vangie just doesn't care. She knows I am full of empty threats. She knows her cuteness can get her out of pretty much anything. Its gonna be a long, messy 15 more years of this kid.



Another Mess Maker is THIS thing....  See all the little food particles all over the floor? Stella takes her food all over the house. I am constantly vacuuming up her FOOD and her little white hairs. I am warning you, do not wear black here. I can wash her and I can brush her but she has hair that keep on shedding. She is lucky she occupies Vangie so much or she would have a first class ticket to dogpoundsville.

Another factor to my rapidly deteriorating house is my tub. The chaulking was starting to mildew so I told Chris I was going to re-chaulk it. It sounded so easy! Well, i spent at least two hours and countless tools- a razor, screwdrive, plilers, butter knife... trying to remove the old caulk. It was so hard. I got about 1/6th of it off- enough to not be able to quit but still such a long way to go. I gave up. I told Chris when he got home last night that I was just going to re-caulk the tiny bit that I got off and forget about it. He told me that he would take care of it. "You won't be able too, its too hard!" I called after him as he took a screwdriver and went upstairs. And your screwdriver is too big, It'll never work!" (I wasthe expert, having already tried everything all afternoon!) Well, Imagine my surprise (and delight) when Chris had ALL the caulk off in under one hour! His secret??? Elbow grease. (Which I was just fresh out of) It is obviously a mans job. Or I am obviously a spoiled woman. (probably a bit of both.)  But Chris looked so HOT removing the caulk I had to take a picture. (I do have the hottest husband in the world. Why else would we have 3.5 kids?? I tried to get him to take his shirt off but he wouldn't.)

So today I was going to RE-caulk the tub. Until I read on the label that touching it or inhaling it has been proven in California to cause birth defects. Okay , I know this is not California but Thor doesn't need any help srouting a few extra toes.  Chris can re-caulk when he gets home from work in 28 hours. (Isn't it funny how MY job turned into HIS job? Ha ha ha. )

I haven't been posting as many awesome pictures of Hawaii lately as I used too- being tired and sick on the couch has cut into my hiking/picture taking. So today I decided to take some pictures of some things that I see everyday. First, there is the view from my back sliding glass door...We are lucky in that we get a pretty



Unobstructed view. In the morning the sunshine glows behind them and it is very beautiful. Then I walk the kids to school and one of our favorite trees is this one:

It is a reaaaalllyyyyy tall palm tree. Then On the way back from school I began noticing all the different colors of flowers on the trees. First I noticed Yellow:
 

Then right across the street from our house is this beautiful tree with orange blossoms:  This orange tree is one of my favorites, it is so beautiful and tall. It peeks out over the tops of the houses. And lastly, on the sidewalk right outside is these white flowers which smell AMAZING. :So there you go, a little taste of Hawaii for all of you!

Well friends and family, we are still here. The tsunami fortunately did not materialize into anything dangerous or threatening. There was no flooding or damage at all. I have added a really cool time lapse video of Hilo Bay  ( on the Big Island) on the RIGHT. So click to see the water receding and then coming back in.