We are all sitting here waiting for Daddy to come home from work. I texted him and told him to bring homeKentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. We had ice skating today from 3-4 and I am TOO TIRED to make dinner- Plus the yummy lunch I ate decided it wanted to come back up (thanks baby thoretta) so I am also feeling a little ill right now.

Oh a happier note, the kids all did GREAT at ice skating- I have a new video of Vangie skating- so click on the RIGHT to see----  she is skating her warm up in the video.  I would have gotten video of the other kids but they were on the other side of the rink which made it impossible. Also, here is a pic of ME, 22 weeks pregnant with baby Thoretta.   Joey is my "picture taker" and he does a pretty impressive job of it.  

This past weekend was great. Chis had off BOTH Saturday and Sunday so we had a lot of family time together. On Friday night we got the kids a babysitter (which they love to have) so we could go to a "Hail and Farewell" for the boat.  The kids had a great time watching movies and playing with their sitter. And Chris and I had a great time not watching kids!

Saturday we all went to the beach! We took stuff to stay all afternoon- chairs, an umbrella in case it got too hot, a cooler with lunch and snacks, and I even brought our little kiddie pool for vangie to play in. Chris thought this was a dumb idea at first but I brought it anyway and it worked out really well and gave Vangie a place to play and cool off- she doesn't go into the ocean unless Chris and I take her. Joey was a little dolphin all day and played in the ocean with his boogie board.  Sophie also had a floatie and spent most of her time in the ocean too- they met up with a couple friends and had a great time.  I brought a good book and Chris spent some time building an awesome sand castle- which attracted a lot of kids on the beach and we unfortunately had to tell them that the castle was for Vangie and Sophia to play with - these other kids wanted to push the girls out of the way and take over our sand castle!

Sunday was spent relaxing at home- we played Super Mario on the Wii (4 players can play at once so we have a really fun time) and that afternoon we rode our bikes to the mini mart to get slushies and to the park. At the part the kids found a piece of cardboard that had been abandoned and had fun sliding down the hill.  So click on the link to the RIGHT to see some video of the kids sliding down the hill.

I want to write this down while the memory is still fresh in my mind. Last night I had the most amazing dream about my mom. When people dream about those who have passed away I know a lot of the times those dreams are hazy. Perhaps you see the person, but in a crowd. Maybe its a quick hello, or you find yourself in a scene from how your everyday life used to be. Maybe you can't actually talk to that person, or tell them how you feel now that they are gone. Sometimes you NEVER dream of someone who is gone, no matter how much you want too.

 Last night in my dream,  Sophia and I were laying on the couch. I hear my moms voice- and it shocked me because I haven't heard it for almost 9 months. She said something like "how is my little Sophie doing?" and I sat up, and was shocked to see my mom standing right in front of me. She came over to me and wrapped her arms around me and gave me a very strong hug. My mom was the strongest woman I have ever known- she was never frail or sickly until the two weeks before her death. This was a "healthy" hug. And I could SMELL her- the shampoo that she used- it was HER. She told me that she loved me very much. I buried my face in her shoulder and told her how much I missed her and loved her.  It was a good, solid, wonderful hug and then she was gone, and I lay awake in my room- her memory fresh in my mind, thanking God for the wonderful gift that I just received.

A couple days ago I had my "big" ultrasound at TAMC (trippler army medical center). First I will mention the parking- or lack or parking. It really isn't the "lack" of parking, more like an overabundance of cars. Chris and I made sure to get there 30 min early JUST to find a parking spot. We drove all the way up the 4 story parking garage and then all the way back down because it was completely full. Then we drove by the valet- also completely full. So Chris dropped me off so I could go check in for my apt and he and Vangie went and found parking-  I told Chris if I go into labor during the morning hours I will probably have the baby while he is out parking the car.

The ultrasound was really amazing, as they always are. Even though this is baby #4 it is still such a wonderful, magical thing to see the little baby moving around- at one point she was sucking her thumb! And yes, she is still a girl - Chris says he was still holding out hope for a boy but I know he is very excited for another little girl-  Another little girl with her pigtails and lip gloss and emotional meltdons is going to fit right in.   The kids talk all the time about the baby, they give the baby kisses and when I am laying on the couch Vangie will cover the baby up with her blankie so she "doesn't get cold".

Last night I had a dream about the new baby- and in my dream she had dark brown eyes and black hair just like Chris- it is going to be exciting to see what she will look like- will she have blond or brown hair? Will she have blue, grey or brown eyes? Wil her hair be curly or straight?  It doesn't matter what she looks like because the minuete we see her we are going to say she is the most beautiful baby in the world. 

We have this dog, her name is Stella. She is about 10lbs of white shedding fur all over my couches; which forces me to vacuum them frequently. We adopted her from the Animal Shelter in Goose Creek, SC. At first I wanted to get rid of her because she would poop all over her crate at night (DIARREAH!) which meant for some fun mornings cleaning it up.  She would also just WAIT for someone to open the front door so she could zoom out and run.... far, far away with me running after her, screaming obscenities.  She is (we think) half jack Russell and half Chihuahua. 

We have had stella for  a little over a year now and she has grown on me. She is a very sweet dog and lets Vangie push her around in the toy shopping cart and carry her all over the place. She no longer has a "bowel" problem nor does she run away.  She DOES have a few bad habits still- for one, if we leave her out of her crate at night she will pee on the stairs. I have no idea why... but she will, every-time. SO, she sleeps in her crate. Also, she has a bad habit of waiting until everyone has left the house and then she will get up on the counter and eat whatever she can get her paws on- left over cereal, blueberry muffins, pot roast in the crock pot..... so we solve this problem by putting her in her crate when ever we leave. Well, today for some reason I forgot. Vangie and I went to gymnastics and then to the grocery store. I arrived home two hours later and began putting groceries away. I noticed an empty candy bar wrapper......

I had a 70% dark chocolate candy bar in a basket by the coffee pot. Stella walked over the whole counter to find this candy bar and eat it. The WHOLE 2.5 oz thing!  Now, I KNOW chocolate is not good for dogs. I googled it and turns out that dark chocolate is especially not good for dogs- stella ate about 400mg of theobromine-  that is what is deadly to dogs. And 400mg is a lethal does to a 10lb dog.

In lue of an emergency vet trip with 3 kids and blowing $400.00 on whatever the vet could do I decided to take matters into my own hands. This was actually pretty simple. The only "treatment" was to get her to vomit the chocolate out before she could digest it and it could harm her internal organs. Google told me to give her a cap full  of hydrogen peroxide and she would vomit. So I did. And so SHE did. A ton of nasty dark chocolate was evacuated from her stomach. Whew, the death of Stella has been averted.  You can bet I won't forget to put her in her crate from now on!!!

If you have read any of my lasts posts , I am sure you all know my true feelings regarding the cuisine here in Hawaii. It is time to quit my complaining and I am taking matters into my own hands..... Yesterday on our day at the mall I wandered into Williams Sanoma and bought the mother of all cook books.

The JOY OF COOKING. All 1,132 pages of it.  This thing is equally part cook book and part weapon.  This book has EVERYTHING. Perhaps I want to make beef stew, or french beef stew or belgian beef stew... Maybe I will find myself in the mood for crown of pork roast of pork loin or pulled pork.  There are recipes for rabbit and venison and mountain goat and BEAR. (which we won't be needing here in Hawaii, but back in Michigan you never know!!)  And there is MUCH more than meat. There are recipes for stuffings and chowders and sauces and marmalades. There are Breads  and pretzels recipes, muffins and crescents.  Any appetizer or main course you can THINK of lays in the pages of THE JOY OF COOKING. And yes, even my much lusted after Coconut Cream Pie can be found.  And there is much more- information on cuts of meats, and how to properly set your table.... how to sharpen your knives correctly, a whole LESSON on various herbs and spices.  So now you will no longer here me cry and complain that I cannot find something here in Hawaii- I will make it myself. (If I can find all the ingredients!) I figure if I am going to gain numerous pounds to bring a child into this world I might as well do it eating food that is oh so yummy.  And so what is on the menu for tonight you ask? Homemade corn chowder and Popcorn shrimp (for chris, he really likes popcorn shrimp!)

Dear Hawaii Food Establishments,

Your food sucks. I am very disappointed and grossed out every time I eat anything in your restaurants. I hate to break it to you, but its a really heartbreaking thing to be UNABLE to find a decent deli around here.  Have you ever heard of a chicken salad sand-which or any soup besides Pho???  The smells  that waft from your food establishments have me literally gagging.   Maybe its because I am with child and therefore crave certain things- but why it is everything I crave I am UNABLE to get on this rock of an island??? I admit when I fist moved here it was kind of "charming" to have a Korean or Vietnamese restaurant on every corner and perhaps a bit funny that the 7-11 sells spam instead of soft pretzels, but that charmingness has quickly turned to irritation.  
 
And also I am throughly disappointed in your bakery, Napoleon's bakery. I understand this is perhaps one of the only bakery's on the island so there is no competition, but GEEZE, your pies are horrible!!! On my way home today I visited you and bought a cheesecake AND a chocolate cream pie (yes, the whole pie) I could not decide which one I wanted ,,, well they were BOTH u ndelectable and nothing special. Napoleon's, I recommend you write to Beardslees restaurant in Edmore, MI and get there pie recipes.  But if you did that you would probably BLOW your taste-buds away and kill yourself because it would  taste SOOOOO much better than anything any of your so called "bakers" are able to come  up with. OR, I could let my 7 year old bake a pie and I am sure it would also taste better.

Sincerely, Laura Schmitt and baby Thoretta.

I can't believe that I haven't posted in a week! I guess that I have been really busy. Chris returned home from his New York trip last Saturday so it has been nice to have him home. He actually has today AND tomorrow off so I will more to report in a couple days. We are getting ready to go check out a new out door mall , the Ala Moana Shopping Center- which is one of the biggest outdoor shopping centers in the United States, with one of the largest food courts... SO here's HOPING they have something other than Asian food. You see, Baby Thoretta HATES Asian food right now and would really, really LOVE some Panera Bread or Olive Garden. I guess she will have to do without because neither of them are on this rock.

Grandma Tuy's box of clothes from Aunt Lin  finally made it here after two trips across the ocean- I guess the first time the address was ripped off so it got sent all the way BACK... there is a picture of Sophia on the right, wearing of the dresses from Aunt Lin- so THANK YOU Aunt Lin for thinking of my girls when you were going through your clothes.  My girls LOVE, LOVE , LOVE clothes- especially Sophia. 

Sophia's Kindergarten class had a field trip to the Honolulu Zoo on Friday and Vangie and I were able to go and help chaperon, it was fun except it was cold and rainy! It was the  coolest day that I have experienced here in Hawaii. I was in shots and and T-shirt and would have LOVED a pair of jeans or a sweat shirt.  I came home and made us some homemade broccoli potato soup to warm us all up.

As I am sitting here eating 2nd-lunch (which is what pregnant women eat between 1st-lunch and dinner) let me recount to you my latest story.....

Yesterday Joey pulled out one of his tooth. He said that he didn't tell me it was loose because he didn't want me to rip it out.  (Me??? rip it out?? Obviously he knows me too well. ) SO, he was all excited for a visit from the Tooth-fairy.   I on the other hand was not so excited. You see, the Tooth-fairy is usually Chris's job. Because she needs to come in the middle of the night, or at least very late when the kids are sleeping. What am I doing in the middle of the night or really late when the kids are sleeping?? I am fast asleep. Since being pregnant, once 8pm hits I am in A COMA. I NEED at LEAST 10 hours of sleep or I cannot function.  I wish it wasn't like this, but I have no choice in the matter.

  So of course the Tooth-fairy didn't come last night, she was sleeping. Her PLAN was that she would wake up EARLY, before the kids and plant the money under the pillow.  WELL, my plan was on course to work-- I woke up and walked into Joey's room to find him slumped over his pillow, half asleep. 'What are you doing?" I asked him  "I woke up and couldn't find my money!" He told me. With my super quick, cat like reflexes I planted a dollar bill and said "Oh, Is THAT it??" All innocently. "There it is!" He exclaimed, "It must have gotten stuck on the pillow!"    So the Tooth-fairy was SAVED.

I bought Vangie a tiny kiddy pool yesterday- she  had been talking about getting one for weeks, so when we saw them at the store sh was SOOO excited. The kids played in it this morning- their picture is to the right. And also Sophia helped me by decorating cupcakes today- picture also to the right.

Joey came home with a special note in his backpack yesterday: He was chosen as his class's "Positive Action Kid of the 3rd Quarter". Yeah Joey, way to go!  The kids also got new school photos taken ( I find it odd they do that twice a year here) I have posted them on the MEET THE SCHMITTS page, so head on over there and take a look!

(I did not write this, but I think it is hilarious!, although the highlighted parts  are my doing and are highlighted for a reason. )

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk. ( And it does NOT matter what number child they are having, 1st or 4th!!!)

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won’t be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,

All the Pregnant Women in the World

I had to wait a couple days to post about my telephone pole encounter, only because I wanted to tell Chris first in person  and I really didn't want him to read about it on our website. And, by the way he really wasn't phased by the story I told him, as he is well aware of the "wild telephone poles" that roam freely all over Oahu. You never know when one is going to jump out in front of you!! He took it very well and only shook his head a couple times. (Very good for him, I think 9 years of being married to me has mellowed him out some.)  HOWEVER, had I been driving his Acura when this happened I believe his reaction would have been a bit different.

It was Friday and the kids and I went on a really great hike. We were done hiking and all piled our muddy, tired bodies into the Van. We were discussing the yummy pizza we were going to devour for lunch!  I pulled out of the tiny parking lot and onto the even tinier street... (parking spaces and roads are so small here on Oahu, All the roads were built waaayyyy back when, when there wern't that many cars- or minivans!!)  So JUST as I pulled onto the tiny, narrow street I see this car driving toward me so I try to get over as much as I can, while turning... and I slowly sideswiped a wild telephone pole. SCCRRRRREEEEEEAAAACCCCCHHHHHH.  "Oh NO! Dangit! Shoot! Darn-it-all!" (okay, maybe not those exact words escaped my mouth as I backed up to remove us from the pole's grasp). Sophia and Evangeline seemed ambivalent to our narrow escape from the deadly pole. Only Joey spoke up from the back of the van.  

"Mommy...... did you hit that pole?" came his squeaky voice. 
"Yes, Joey, I did." I sighed.
"Well, at least the Van still works!" Was his optimistic answer. I HAD to burst out laughing. Yes, at least the Van still works, it could definitely be a LOT worse! 

A few minutes later came Joey from the back again. " I wonder what the side of the Van looks like....." He wondered. "I don't even want to KNOW!" I told him. We drove to get our pizza. (and parked into another  ridiculously small parking space... and I was able to assess the damage. ....  this is what I saw....  Upon getting home I attempted to wash the brown streaks off. They would NOT come off! But you know what worked??? A Magic Eraser!

No kidding, that thing will clean  anything off anything!  So after the brown streaks came off it really doesn't look too bad. In fact, I would say it is almost unnoticeable. Chris of course disagrees with me and says that the huge scratch and dent can be clearly seen.  I think he may be right, when my friend Jennifer came over today to borrow the van to pick up some rugs from Home Depot one of the first things she said is " That wasn't on your van before, was it?"  Of course, Jennifer is a very perceptive person, so my theory cannot be proved or disproved through her. I am sure the average person would hardly notice.   

Do you have your volume up?? I hope you do so you can listen to the beautiful voice of Don Francisco singing "He's Alive". This song is the song of Easter, the song of Christianity to me. The first time I heard this song I felt such emotion, my heart just felt  the sadness of Jesus dying... and the elation of Jesus rising from the dead. I can almost feel like I am back with Peter, Mary and John.   I cry every time I hear this song- I don't have much of a voice but I ALWAYS find myself singing along with it and twirling the kids around the room.

This song also brings back a special memory of my Mom. Last year when I was living in Edmore with my parents is when I purchased the CD and I first heard this song. My mom and I were driving to Mt. Pleasant to go shopping. "Mom, you just HAVE to hear this song!" I told her, and turned the volume up. We both sat, silent, listening and totally absorbed in the music- tears running down both our faces--  Now she is in Heaven celebrating with the angles. I love you, Mom! Happy Easter.

I have some pictures on my phone that I want to share with you. First, I have a couple pictures of Vangie getting ready for her Triathlon from last week:   The pic on the left is all the kids lined up and ready to run.
                                                          
 The next picture is Vangie with her race number looking so very excited. 

Yesterday  the kids and I left around 8:30am for a hike. We did a semi-challenging 3 miles. The first mile is completely UP the mountain. A very steep incline and with me carrying Vangie on my back was a VERY good workout. I was dripping sweat by the time we got to the top. The last two miles Vangie was able to walk on her own  because it was mostly downhill.  Here are some pictures that I took:

This first picture is when we were a little more than half way. There are some awesom looking trees and vegetation here in Hawaii. I know when it the time comes for us to move again I will miss all the greenery. That small white thing is Stella- she also hiked with us.  This nest picture on the right is very small but I hope you can make out the Honolulu skyline and the ocean in the background.  The trail we hiked is located near "Hawaii Nature Center" there are lots of different trails and a garden that I someone keeps up-  I am not sure if it is the city or state. So the the mountain it is very beautiful to see the huge buildings next to the ocean, and also very neat because there are miles and miles of trails to hike!

With Chris working so much in the ship yard we do a lot of our
communicating through notes. If he wants to know what has
 been going on with the family, he checks our website. If He wants me to know something he will leave me a note on our dry erase board when he leaves for work. This morning his note made me laugh out loud:  In case you can't read Chris's writing, the bottom portion says "P.s. Sophia came down at 0500 and wanted to watch TV. I sent her back to bed disgruntled".  Ha ha ha!!  I know Sophia gets her "early birdness from me. I love getting up early. My favorite part of the day is the dawn, when the sun is rising.  What makes this even more laughable is just last night I told all the kids that tomorrow they WILL sleep in on Friday! (which is today) they do not have school since it is Good Friday and I have been existing in a permanent state of exhaustion thanks to baby thoretta who is hell bent on making this pregnancy one that I will never forget due to feeling constantly nauseated and exhausted all the time.   I needed a day to sleep in. And honestly this is not asking too much from them. Remember, I am  a morning person so "sleeping in" to me is getting up between 0630-0700. Just that extra 30-60 min  is enough to really make a difference in how I feel getting out of bed.  Joey can usually sleep in the longest- though never longer than 0830-0900. Then Vangie usually wakes up around 0700 if I tell her to sleep in. Sophia is my wild card, I just really don't know with her!

Yesterday I was able to get a babysitter for Vangie (thanks, Alison!) and go be a "parent helper" with Joey's 1st grade class. They made bunny cupcakes and had an Easter egg hunt at school. It was fun to be able to help out and see him interact with his classmates.  Early yesterday evening was the kids 2nd skate lesson. Chris made it home in time to go with us and watch the kids in action on the ice. Joey and Sophia are making real progress. Vangie cried about 30% of the time, BUT she stayed on the ice with her teacher and just being out there with the other kids was a real accomplishment.

Chris has duty all day and night. He will come home tomorrow morning around 0830. We will be taking him to the airport for his fun week in New York around 1430.  So today (and all next week) it will just be the kids and I. I am going to start thinking of some fun activites for us to do to stay busy and help the time go by.

Yesterday Vangie participated in her very first Triathlon! It was for kids ages 3-5 and consisted of a run, a tricycle ride and an obstacle course. I WISH, WISH WISH that I had video of the beginning of the race. You would seriously fall out of your chair laughing! So I am going to try to tell you the story in a way that you can see in your mind what happened.

About 25 small children showed up for the triathlon. They were all lined up at the start. Each was wearing their own race number. Vangie was number 31. She stood at the start line- crying. The ONLY child who did not want to participate. I gave her a pep talk and went to stand by the other moms.  I thought that once the horn went off and all the kids took off in a run, she would follow and start to have fun.  The race coordinator was speaking through a bull horn and explaining to the kids that they would run down the field, and then take turns to get on the tricycles and peddle to the building and then go into the building and do the obstacle course- this sounded pretty confusing to ME, let alone 3 year olds!  Vangie cried the whole time the race director was speaking. At one point the RD looked at me. "Is she crying because I am scaring her with the bull horn?" she asked. "No, she is crying just because!" I answered. Just because she is a Vangie! 
At exactly 9am the horn went off and the race started!! All the little kids rushed forward in a sprint. All except Vangie. When the debris cleared all that was left on the start line was my Evangeline. Wailing. I ran up to her, took her hand and we ran together down the field. Then I put her on the tricycle and helped her through the obstacle course. When it was all said and done she finished! (mostly in last place). After the race she got to eat a sno-cone and jump in the bounce house.  I think she needs to work on her competitive spirit.

Easter in only 3 days away. We got some packages in the Mail! Thank you Nana and Grandpa for your Easter Package! And thank you Papa Perkins for your Easter Package(s)!! I am not giving anything to the kids until Easter when I will set up a easter egg hunt for them and have their Easter baskets full of the things you sent to them. They are very excited about Easter and keep asking me "How many more days" until it is here.

Today Joey and Sophia have Easter Parties and an egg hunt at school. I am going into Joey's class today to help him decorate easter cupcakes.  The only bummer is that Chris will not be here to celebrate Easter. He leaves on Saturday for a week of training in New York. He is not terribly upset about not being here because he is hoping he will be able to catch up on his sleep.