Chris got the call this morning on our next duty station.... TENNESSEE! Right next to Memphis.  Chris will be working for the Navy Personnel and Manpower Command in Millington, Tennessee.  

The kids and I will move to Michigan in January for an extended vacation while Chris goes with the boat to Guam when it changes homeports. Chris will detach from the boat sometime in the first half of next year and we will move to Memphis.  Our life is so exciting. I have always wanted to live in Tennessee and am very excited to live in a part of the country that I haven't yet!

It looks like a LOT Of gifts... most of the big boxes were WINTER CLOTHES I bought for the kids for when we go to Michigan. They were not as excited to open the clothing boxes... especially Joey.



Chris is irritated because I am making him pose for pictures.



Everyone is excited about Vangie's toy.



Getting some footage of Lucy opening up a present.



Lucy had so much fun ripping open her gifts!












































Above are the kids posing with some of their favorite things. Sent with Love from Michigan to them.

It was a really great day. I was glad that we were all together.

On Thursday I contacted a man on Craigslist to buy his extremely overpriced Leapfrog Tablets.... He seemed a bit shady on the phone, had two different phone numbers that he would contact me from and wouldnt answer his phone when I tried to call him a few times... He said to call him back later that day to set up a time to meet. Chris and the kids and I were out running errands when I finally got through to him. He said he was at the downtown Mall....  and I could meet him there and to call when we got there. SO, all of us headed to the Mall.... which was so crowded, as you can probably imagine being it was December 22nd!!

Once at the Mall we I call him back... no answer. So we walked around for a bit... I texted him... no response... I called again... nothing! I was so furious!!! We walked around for about 45 min and then headed back home. Which by now was almost stand-still traffic. On the way home I called every store on the island, stopped at Office Max and K-mart along the way and of of course NO ONE had it.

I told Chris that I would just have to get them another toy from Santa.... although I didn't know WHAT! We are moving in a few weeks and everything that we can take with us to Michigan must fit into our suitcases, so the toys this year are fewer and smaller.
The next morning the Craigslist guy texted me at 9am and asked if I still wanted them. I was so torn ... I wanted to tell him so badly NO!,  and have nothing to do with him... but the other side of me wanted my girls to have this awesome gift and I wanted my shopping to be done!! I texted him back and said that id he delivered them to my door, I would buy them. He actually drove over! He arrived and was honestly very pleasant. I looked at the Tablets... each brand new and in the original packaging.  I asked him If I could opne one up and make sure it worked before I bought it, and he had no problems with that. So  we came inside (don't worry, I had a friend with me too... ) opened it and it looked great . He said if I had problems with them I could call him... and I reminded him that Yesterday I tried to call him several times and he didn't show up!! Which, he actually apologized. So, I felt better about everything. AND, my girls are getting a FABULOUS gift!!!

The Tablet is really cool... I opened them and got them all set up so when the girls open them on Christmas morning they are ready to go. They are really like a miniature I-pad... they come with an "art studio", a game and a couple other apps. You can also download many other games, videos, music... it's so cool. They can play educational games that will help their reading and math, and that is what I am really excited about!

And as for Joey... don't worry, he is getting a great Santa gift too... . his own small laptop computer.  I know he will be very excited!! He is very mature for his age and has been using our dilapidated old laptop for a while now.

Chris had duty last night and I will go pick him up this morning.... we will have waffles and bacon for brunch. I know Chris needs to go Christmas shopping today (for ME, he has had NO TIME to do it anytime before this.)  I am really looking forward to relaxing and enjoying today and tomorrow together as a family.

Joey and Sophia are still (thankfully) sleeping upstairs. They were up very late last night (1030 is super late for my kids!!) Our neighbor Eric took them to the movies along with his own three children and they had a really, really great time! I will miss our great neighbors when we move from here.

THIS is the one of the HOTTEST toys this year... It's like an I-pad, but for KIDS. totally awesome, with games,stylus, a built in camera.... I NEED THIS TOY for my girls.




















Problem is... It's sold out EVERYWHERE! And I can't get it shipped here in time for Christmas. Thank God for Craigs list. I *may* have procured one, and I am texting a few other people to see if I can find another. Waiting for people to get back with me. CALL ME BACK, PEOPLE!  I need to get this gift for my girls!


****UPDATE**** Thank you Craigs List!! Looks like Santa will be bringing the Learning Tablet After All!!!!

How to Successfully pull a Tooth out of your Grade-schooler.

 Yesterday Sophia lost another tooth. Her second top front. Now she can REALLY Sing “all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”! She looks so cute.  Yesterday she asked me to pull it out for her. I was shocked. “You want me to PULL? It OUT OF YOUR HEAD??”  

This was very exciting to me. I LOVE to pull out teeth!! This is often an under-appreciated quality.  It is a very unique talent to be able to wrap the tooth JUST SO in dental floss and pull with enough force that the tooth is immediate dislodged with as little pain as possible. Too LITTLE force and you just yank really hard and the tooth goes nowhere. This causes unnecessary pain and the appearance of blood… which is a much feared substance in children.  It will also imbed  fear into the child,  essentially they will never let you attempt to yank a tooth out again.  Too MUCH force, and the tooth goes flying, blood spurting …. Again a fearful scenario for the Child. 

To successfully yank a tooth you need the Childs FULL (okay, at least 80%) cooperation. It is too difficult to HOLD DOWN the child AND correctly wrap and pull. (unless another adult is present to help).  If the Child WILLINGLY allows you to pull the tooth, this goes much more smoothly… and a LOT faster. A child who is only 80% cooperative needs many words of encouragement  and coddling, taking lots of time and vast amounts of patience (Patience is a prized commodity in a mom of 4… unnecessary draining of patience must be avoided at all costs to ensure a happy household)

I wrapped the floss around and made sure it was secure. Then I YANKED… and the tooth came out! Sophia stood there with eyes as big as saucers . Soon a huge smile appeared on her face and she raced to the bathroom to check out her new smile.

We located the tooth and she put it into a plastic baggie. She wanted to leave it on the kitchen counter. I TOLD her to put the tooth in her room. She did not listen, and unfortunately I accidentally threw away the baggie that held the tooth sometime over the course of the day. I didn’t realize this until that evening before bedtime when Sophia was searching the kitchen for it. By this time the trash had already been bagged and put outside.
 
Oh, the tears!!! The SOBBING!!! I felt SOOO bad. Even Evangline… who has the empathy of a fruit fly said to me “I am feeling sad too!” .
 
I hugged Sophia and told her how sorry I was. Write a letter to the Tooth Fairy and tell her what happened…  I suggested. And she did.

Dear Tooth Fairy, I am Sorry, my Mom throo AwaY my Toothe.   :,(      (yes, she actually drew a crying face)  

The letter went under her pillow in place of the tooth.  The tooth fairy came, accepted the letter and left 2$. Everyone was happy!

The other day I saw a commercial where the mom and kids were having so much fun building a Log Cabin House out of pretzle rods... a spin off of the Gingerbread house... which is MUCH to average and boring for me and MY kids, besides... it looked SO easy. Obviously anyone could do it.

Yesterday morning I raced to the store and bought all out supplies. Thankfully the Hawaiian grocery sotre carried pretzled rods (I was wondering.... )  I raced home and the kids and I got to assembeling....  It quickly became VERY obvious to me that making a Pretzle Rod Log Cabin was MUCH harder than that commercial made it out to be.  Why wern't my pretzle rods sticking??? Why was it falling down in a big puddle of frosting???

I would NOT be discouraged. Our Log Cabin metamorphisized into a Pretzle rod STRUCTURE. It transformed before our eyes into a beautiful piece of art work!

Below... what we started out TRYING to Build, and what we ACTUALLY built.





























They look similar... RIGHT??? Okay, maybe not! But it is the EFFORT that counts and my kids put in the effort. Here are the girls building away...


(Below are the Boys building.. Joey and his buddy Alex.

A fun way to start the day.  Today I am dragging everyone to the grocery store. We have no fruit and Chris is supposed to be home in a couple days so I want to make sure there is fruit for him to eat.

Chris will be on Christmas Stand-down starting next week and will only have to go into work every 3 days to stand duty. I am VERY ready to have him home so we can all spend time together and celebrate our last Christmas on Oahu.

I bought the girls some Jeggings... if you don't know what these are, you are REALLY missing out! They are a cross between JEANS and LEGGINGS... stretchy, comfy, jean looking leggings. Totally awesome! Sophia and Vangie had a pair to begin with and they always wear them on the same day and I call them the "Jeggings Sisters".  I recently found and bought a pair for Lucy. Now they are really the JEGGINGS SISTERS, all three of them.  Introducing... the THREE Jeggings Sisters:

You're a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up and dust yourself off And back in the saddle
You're on the frontline Everyone's watching You know it's serious,
 we're getting closer
This isn't over
The pressure is on
 You feel it  But you've got it all   Believe it!

 This is the song (waka waka, by Shikira)  That was in my head all night and all morning.  Today was the day I had been thinking about for the past 3 months…. The Honolulu Marathon!!  I had decided that I really wanted to run the Marathon while we lived here on Oahu… and our time on this beautiful island is coming to an end, so it was NOW or NEVER!   I had run marathons before…8 to be exact,    but none since the birth of Lucy last year.
 
I had a little medical setback after she was born…  a pelvic floor prolapse. It was enough of an issue to cause me some serious mental anguish in the months after her birth.  I had the same questions running through my head “would I ever be able to run again???” Would I ever feel NORMAL again?”  Running has been my passion for so many years, I couldn’t imagine giving it up, and when I thought I MAY have too… I got depressed.  My Dr. said I could still run (yeah!) and honestly running is not as “high impact” as you may think, especially if you have the right “form”. 

At first I could only run about 5-7 miles without pain from the prolapse. In June I had a small procedure to fix everything and I was off from doing ANY physical activity for 8 weeks. I have NEVER been away from working out for 8 weeks…. Even after the birth of each of my children I was back at it within 4 weeks at the latest! The procedure was successful and once I got the green light from my Dr. I started running again.
 
At first I was frustrated because even 3 miles seemed arduous. Where was my endurance?? Slowly it came back to me. 3 miles turned into 5, which turned into 9, then 12.  I decided to run the Marathon when my friend Elizabeth said she really wanted to, she had never done it before. I quickly said “I’ll do it if you do it!” I knew we could motivate each other.   I started running more miles and more often, but I really never followed a set “training schedule”.  I just did what felt good that day.

I ran a couple long runs with Elizabeth… 12 miles, 15 miler and an 18 miler. She ran FAST! On our 18 miler, our average pace as 8:46!  I could keep up, but was really burnt out afterwards. I started running ALL my runs faster and thought maybe I could run the marathon in 3:45!  But slowly the stress I put on myself to “run FAST” was sucking all the joy out of my runs. I not having fun anymore!  I realized this was silly and started slowing down…. This was much more enjoyable. I changed my goal from finishing in 3:45 to finishing under 4 hours. Now I was excited again! 

The longest run I did for this marathon was 18 miles… I SHOULD have done at least a 20 miler, and preferably a 22 miler. I know this “time on my feet” would have helped my knee joints to not as painful as they were on race day.  But, I did what I could do… what I could fit in with 4 kids , a husband who is never home and all my other mom/wife duties!

Race day arrived… I ran a 13 miler and 8 miler in the days leading up to the race and I was feeling good. I actually slept really well the night before. ( I DID set 3 alarms to make sure I got up on time!)  The race started at 5am, so I set the alarm for 2am… our taxi would be here at 3am.  Up at 2, two cups of strong coffee. Dress. Chip timer on shoe… number pinned… body glide applied to areas prone to chafing… (so glad I did this, even with body glide my thighs still took a beating!)   I packed a throw-away bag with oatmeal, a banana and peanut butter.
 
The taxi came and picked up Me, Elizabeth and our friend Anna who was also running. We arrived right by the start near Ala Moana Park. It was windy and threatening rain. We arrived at 3:30… so we had time to kill! We sat down and  I ate my breakfast. Around 4:15 we got up and got in line for the port-a-potty. It seemed like there was no one there… and suddenly it was pretty packed!  The line was long and we finished with that at 4:50… perfect timing!!

If you ever run a big marathon, I suggest you leave EARLY!!!  At all my other Marathons I was always rushing around at the last second, this time I felt like it all ran smoothly and I never felt rushed before the start.  Anna went to meet a friend she was pacing and Elizabeth and me jumped into the crowd as near to the start line as we could get. At 5am they shot the gun off and immediately there were tons of fireworks… so awesome!!
 
I told Elizabeth up front that I was running my own race and she needed to run her race too.. I knew she was faster than me and I didn’t want to hold her back. I was wearing my garmin so I knew my “average pace” at all times. I knew to get 4 hours my average pace would need to be less than 9 min miles. I felt really good at the start besides my legs feeling a bit heavy… but hey, it WAS 5am! 

Marathon running is a very “mental” sport. The miles can seem ENDLESS if you think about them all at once. 26.2 MILES?  You can talk yourself out of it before you even start! Right from the beginning I was chopping the race up into smaller, more manageable bits. “I will run the first 6 miles as a warm up… “  The when I got to 6 miles I told myself “only 4 more miles until mile 10… then I am in the double digits…”  Then at mile 10 I told myself  “only 3 more miles and I am half-way!!”
 
The whole first half I was trying to run smooth… not too fast, good form. In my head  I was saying “ the first 13 is the WARM UP… THEN the REAL race begins!”    In the past I have gone out WAY too fast during the first half, and believe me, if you do this- (which is easy to do… your adrenaline is pumping and EVERYONE seems to be going SO fast, you just want to KEEP UP!)  you WILL pay for it later in the race.  I have paid for this mistake before and I was NOT going to pay again. 

I hit the 13 mile marker at 1:54.. that felt good to me. My average pace was around 8:29.   Miles 13-17 felt good. I was still in my zone, my body had no pains. At mile 18 a couple things happened that could have really rattled me… 1) my head-phones quit working!! I hadn’t really listening to my music at all yet because I was saving it for when I would need the extra push… like at mile 18!! I tried to figure out WHY they weren’t working…. Messing with my phone,  the headphones, while trying to also hold a water bottle while running a race is not fun. I got really ANGRY!  I had JUST bought these headphones at the Expo… the guy TOLD me they would work! Oh well, I couldn’t let it get me down. I ripped them out of my ears and tucked them away.

  Around this point my knees also started to feel tight and painful. This always happens to me… my knees just start to hurt… but EVERYONE Is hurting SOMEWHERE! I was just glad it wasn’t a side-stitch, I wasn’t cramping and I wasn’t nauseous! I focused on my form and running “loose”. I pictured myself as a river… as water flowing effortlessly.  I pictured myself applying oil to my knee to “lube it up”. You may laugh at this… but mental imagery can help you SO MUCH. I kept chanting “I feel good, I feel good, I feel good” . All this definitely helped. I was able to keep running … a little slower… but still running.
 
At mile 20 I was in agony. I only had 6 miles to go, but 6 miles on a knee that is screaming in pain feels like 100 miles. I stopped at tried to stretch it out.  Then I started doing the exact OPPOSITE of what my brain was telling me…. My BRAIN was telling me to fun with my feet barely lifting off the ground… barely bending my knee. But of course it was still bending a little bit… and it hurt SO BAD.

I started limping.  This was not good. Limping would turn my form into a puddle of poo… and then other joints would start to ache and soon I would need to walk!  Something in me said “ bend your knee 90 degrees.  “ I started bending it a lot more… and lifting it high in the front, over-exaggerating the movement. It hurt at lot at first, but then it started to feel better! I think this new larger range of motion was allowing the lactic acid to flow out!  Then I passed some people spraying something onto peoples trouble zones… numbing  spray? Sign me up for that !! I stopped and they quickly sprayed the front and back of both knees. I continued running.
 
I was WILLING the numbing spray to take effect.  After about 7 min I could feel it… it felt like Icy-hot . The pain was still there… but the spray along with over-exaggerating my knee bending was helping the situation a lot! Plus I kept trying to mental play down the pain. I told myself “everyone here is in pain!!, I am not special at all with what I am going through”    And” I had NATURAL CHILDBIRTH, this is NOTHING!”  along with “THIS RIGHT HERE.. this pain at mile 20 is what will make or break me… it is what will make or break ANYONE who attempts to run 26.2 miles. It will hit you. You WILL feel it, and what you do with that pain, what you say to yourself in the moment will determine how well you do.

Mile 21….. so much pain, can hardly run…. Mile 22…. Feeling better! Thank God! Mile 23… UPHILL. Urgghh. Keep going, keep going! Mile 24… DOWN HILL! Praise the Lord! My knee is feeling so much better, I pick up the pace. 

My friend Anna, who I have seen several times through the race… I passed her, she passed me , I passed her, she passed me… is there with the friend she is pacing. Motivating him, and also motivating me!
 
Mile 25. SO CLOSE…. Yet SO FAR AWAY! My knee is starting to hurt again. I will the pain to go away. I can tough it out for a mile…   Mile 25.8…   “You gonna sprint the end?” Anna wants to know.  I grunt. (that’s all the energy I had!)  She takes off… I watch her go… I try to “pick up the pace..” It is like I am in molasses!

The whole marathon I kept glancing at my watch. The first 13 miles my average pace was 8:29ish.  The second 13 was of course … HARDER… and so the average pace was moving up. 8:32, 8:36, 8:40, 8:42.  I needed to have an average pace of UNDER 9 min. I had to keep pushing until the end. I hit the straight-away at the end. Mile 26…. .2 miles left….
 People on either side… screaming, cheering, yelling… I find whatever is left inside of me, way down deep… I pull it out… and I SPRINT.
 
I cross the finish line in 3:54:35. I am elated. I am exhausted. I have spent everything that I have inside me. And it was worth it. All the training runs, all the early mornings.  Worth it. I  have accomplished my goal of under 4 hours.  Especially when I thought I may not be able to run again. This finish means more to me than any others. 

  Side note… Anna sprinted to the finish in front of me, I am unsure of her time. Elizabeth finished in 3:46… Her first marathon, I am so proud of her!
 
Another side note- I ran the marathon on water and Gatorade, and 2 SPARKS only. I don’t use GU’s or energy gels. I felt a little hungry at mile 17 and was hoping I didn’t make the wrong decision to not to bring something.. but I felt great the whole time. I never hit a “Wall”, but my knees sure did!

 SOMEONE is ready for the cold Michigan Winter!! Check out those BOOTS! Okay, they are a Christmas present for Lucy but I could NOT resist putting them on her and seeing how cute she looked! She really liked them too, and was upset with me when I made her take them off. Walking in them was a little hard for her at first.... remember, this girl hardly wears shoes! But soon she was a boot-wearing professional.

Here is a picture of the fridge from yesterday. That's right.  I feed my kids pasta and milk and that's it. Not really. I went grocery shopping. The fact is I really hate grocery shopping so I try to go as little as possible. Plus we are moving in about 5 weeks... now starts the game "using up what's in the pantry and freezer."  It's a very fun game and the bigger your imagination, the better you do.

I took the kids to see Santa today. And this was the FIRST year that Vangie did not scream her head off. I kind of miss that.... Lucy didn't cry either. Nobody did. Everyone was happy.  Sigh. And in case you are wondering, Yes, Santa is Hawaiian.

Saturday Morning.  When Chris is gone it never feels like the weekend... but like just another day. The only difference is I do not have to wake the kids up so they can sleep in.  Sophia and Lucy are my "early birds"..


Here they are eating (and spilling ) cereal. I have already had to vaccuum twice.

Here is a picture of Lucy trying on her "cold weather gear"...

We sold our Van!!!.... goodbye Van, may you make another family happy. I wasn't as sad to see her go as I thought I would be....(I'm dreaming of a NEW vehicle!)  now I am giving Chris a ride to work and home.  This is not hard because he will be underway most of the days until Christmas.

Chris put in for Leave January 9th-23rd. It looks like we will be arriving in January 10th!  I ordered the kids snow-suits and boots for Christmas, I am so excited to see how cute they will look. As soon as I Chris has his leave chit 100% approved I will be buying our plane tickets.