First Day of Preschool

Aloha!

I am happy to report Blake had his first day of preschool today at St. George's Episcopilian Church here in Honolulu, Hawaii. We originally had him on the list for a baptist church right down the street from us. After being on a waiting list for over a year (no joke) a friend called me to tell me about this preschool and that they had openings now. I immediately began talking to Eric. I felt like maybe this was God's way of us getting him into something. If you know me I've been worrying about it and wondering if we were ever going to get in before we even left the island. Blake is a social kid. He loves other kids and loves to stay busy. I felt like pre-school was the way to go. I want him to be comfortable in a school setting LONG before he starts kindergarden. I figure lets get his ants out of his pants now. And maybe get him used to structure and doing what the teacher tells him. So that when he finally does start kindergarden it won't be such a shock for him.

I dropped him off this morning around 8:24. He knew where we were and got very excited. Of course he wanted to play outside but the kids in his room were all inside. I left thinking ok. We can do this.

I came home and the house was eerily quiet. I really don't think its been this quiet in a long time. I was sitting here thinking ok.... I need some noise like STAT. haha. I ended up making phone calls and watching Army Wives and playing on facebook. I literally just didn't know what to do with myself without my kid. That tells you how much time we've spent together over the last almost 4 years.

Anyway I left the house around noon to pick him up. I couldn't sit still anymore. I had to find out how it went. I get to the preschool and the first thing I noticed is a big red sign. It says something like kids who've soiled pants or something a long those lines. And there's Blake's name in big letters. I'm thinking oh great. I see him and I say did you have an accident? The teacher finds me at this point. Was she waiting on me.... Probably... Thats my luck Haha. She tells me he had an accident on the playground. And that they had a hard time keeping him in. She basically gave me a rundown of stuff. I guess when he got mad he told her so and started pointing at her. So I have to work on him not pointing at people when he was angry. She did tell me he had a kind/soft spirit about him that she loved. So bascially the first day of preschool was kinda poopy with a little kindness mixed in. I know its only the first day. And I know that I have to work with him about staying inside while he is in school. I just hope the teachers work with me in return. Its hard to work on stuff when you don't see it yourself. So my goal is to talk to him repeatedly about staying inside, telling people when he has to use the bathroom and to not to point at people when he is angry. I want him to keep being nice to people though.

So this is what happened in a nutshell. I'm sure this new adventure will bring more blogs so stay tuned. You never know what my crazy kid will be up to next week.

So until next time.......

Here are a few pictures I took from Orientation and the first day. The two on top are the ones from the first day and everything else below is orientation. This picture with the balloons has all the birthday's for October I just thought it was kind of neat they did that.

Below Blake is actually sitting still and reading a book! Oh my heck! Alert somebody!

BIG DECISIONS.

Hi!

Today I write a happy blog. We have discovered a preschool close to us that has openings for Blake's age group. We are happy to announce we have decided to do it. Pending the phone call monday morning that is LOL. We were called today by a friend and told they still had openings. I I figure I will call Monday and try to get him signed up. It starts August 4th so he could be starting as early as a week or so! I am very excited about this. He is ready. He tells me all the time how much he wants to go to school. Its time for him to get those social skills he needs to start kindergarden and to hopefully grow into a good student and adult as the years pass. So thats my good news :) Hope all is well with everyone.

Much Aloha,

Amber, Eric and Blake

Gearing up.

Aloha,

Well we are gearing up for the big deployment of the year. I will not post dates because of OPSEC but I will just say its soon. Am I ready? No. I am not ready to be mommy and daddy and I'm not ready to be responsible for everything. I realize I married the guy in the military and that its inevitable that he will leave. I know that. But gone is gone and I'm still going to miss him. At least I have lots of friends to keep me busy. My goal is to do something fun with Blake at least once a week. Whether its a beach day or going to an art class. Something to keep him occupied and to keep me sane. The blogs will probably be more frequent then too. Anyway its time for Blake's game he wants on his computer so I will bid you all aloha.

Best,

Amber

The Fertility Rock

Aloha Friends,

Most of you will find this silly and that's OK. But I wanted to share my story with you. A long time ago. Probably back in Feb/March. Around the time I was moving into my new house. I got to talking to some locals. They found out we would be visiting Kauai and told us this story about this fertility rock. And how all the women who sat on it got pregnant. They said that and of course I became interested. I am one who tends to believe that miracles can happen and that things like a fertility rock do exist. But only if it is the right time and place. I know that sounds totally quacked out but I think its good to believe that all things are possible. Anyway I told Eric at the beginning when I started planning our trip I wanted to find this rock and sit on it. Of course we brushed it aside and thought nothing else of it. We left for our trip and made it to Kauai. We loved it there so much! It was beautiful and really had this country feel to it. I mean the biggest area was Li hue and they just got a COSTCO! Chickens run wild and they are EVERYWHERE. Anyway probably our second day into our trip we were driving around the North Shore and made our way down east. We stopped at a lighthouse and found out about a lighthouse that not a lot of people knew about. It was kind of hard to get to but we were in a rental car so we were like lets just do it! Anyway we pull up and there is a group of locals just having a good time. We began to talk to them and they tell us they all met up to honor a classmate that had passed away. Sharing memories and just having fun together. I was like how awesome that in the light of something sad they are doing something so happy! We got to talking with them you know we were talking story! They asked us where we lived and where we were from. It was so cool! They had a ton of boys so Blake was in heaven because he had new "friends" to run around with. And they were all boys. Not a girl in sight. Because of these people we knew to go to the canyon on a clear day and not a cloudy. If we had gone on a cloudy day we wouldn't have seen the views we saw and things wouldn't have been as clear. We talked about different places and what places we were going to see and what we had already seen. Then I asked them about the fertility rock that the locals here had told me about. They didn't even hesitate they gave us directions and told us how to get there. The guys were super funny because they looked at me and said "Don't sit on that rock! You'll get pregnant!" The women were like hey now what if she wants to get pregnant ha ha! Anyway we bid them goodbye. They were super nice people. I hope we run into them again one day. It is such a small world. If its meant to happen it will. So Eric and I went off on an adventure. And of course Blake went a long for the ride! We drove around and at first thought oh great we aren't going to find this place. Well off to the left of us we see a BUNCH of rocks stacked up. So we stop. Come to find out we had pretty much run right into the birthing rock and fertility rock! WE FOUND IT! I was nervous approaching it. I mean what if I sat on this rock and I really did get pregnant. Not that it would be a bad thing because we do want at least 1 more kid. So I sat on the rock. And let me tell you it was a rush. I was like OMG I am sitting on the fertility rock! Staring across from me was the birthing rock. And the whole time I'm thinking yeah. So not having a baby on that thing! Gosh totally uncomfortable! Wow look at the bird poop on it. Ew gross. I got up thinking OK I did it. I accomplished this goal that I set out to do. I just found it so amazing that women from all over have probably sat on that rock and people from years back sat on that rock. How many now have babies? Or had a baby after sitting on that rock? Do they think the rock has magic powers or something that helped them? I think about how women from 100's of years ago would lay on the birthing rock and give birth. And how lucky we are now that we have hospitals and houses to give birth in. Anyway we drove away and I felt a new sense of astonishment and pride for the ancestors of the past. Will I get pregnant? Who knows. Only time and God know. But the experience I had was awesome and what an awesome story I could tell if I did get pregnant.
Much Aloha,
Amber

RANTS FROM TTC LAND.

Ok I haven't ranted in a good while. I figure I'm due one. I know of several people including myself who are hoping to expand their family. Several of us have been trying for years and months. Every month hoping that aunt flo doesn't rear her ugly head and that the test comes back positive. But month after month its the same ole same ole. Aunt flo rears her ugly head making us moody, sad and just depressed. I know we have been trying since December of 2008. Eric has been in and out A LOT so that doesn't help us. I try to remain positive and try to reassure myself that it will happen when its meant to and that I shouldn't beat myself up. But you know what. If I hear of one more person getting pregnant their first try or "we weren't trying it just happened" I think I might scream. Good for them and their awesome fertility. Sucks for us down here when they brag on EVERY facebook post at how happy and fantastic they are for getting pregnant. Some people just don't have it so lucky. So because our time in Hawaii is coming to an end. Eric and I will be stopping TTC for at least a few months so it doesn't interfere with PCSing. Wherever that may be. To my friends who have been pregnant recently or just had a baby I am not refering to you. Just some new events have really irked me and I need to get it off my chest. To those of you who have been trying for a long time and finally get pregnant CONGRATS! I know personally how long and hard the TTC journey can be. And for those of us still trying BABYDUST. I'm not a bitch really. And I do think that people who get pregnant have every right to be happy about it. There is just a time and place for everything. Don't call me bragging about it and telling me how excited you are AFTER I told you that we were still trying. And you can obviously tell it isn't fun for me to talk about. No I am not going for drugs right now. And I don't plan on it at this time. Maybe later on who knows.

And that is my rant. Have a fantabulous day.
Amber

Farewell

First thing this morning I was doing my morning search through facebook. I get on to check what is new with everyone as well as to check my farms and cafes. You know basic stuff. When the first thing I see is "Corey Haim found dead of an apparent drug overdose" I am taken aback! Did I read that right? The 80s heartthrob? So I clicked on Popeater (yes I'm a fan) and there it was. I was astonished. I couldn't believe it. I actually felt kind of numb. I remember watching movies like "Lucas" and "Lost Boys"and thinking wow he is a hottie! I was young though probably 8-9 New Kids on the Block were big as well as Kirk Cameron. Just name a couple. What are hollywood actors thinking these days? They think they can do drugs and are invincible! What about River Phoenix? I found out he had died YEARS after it had happened. I honestly think he died the year I was born and it still bothered me. Not because I knew him but because here is the public figure in a movie I adore and he's gone. Stand By Me was one of my favorite movies and I watched it over and over again. I actually own the DVD now. A couple of years ago we lost Brad Renfro who was big during my Jr. High years. He played along side Jonathon Taylor Thomas in Huckleberry Finn. He died of a drug overdose. And in the early 2000's we lost Jonathon Brandis to suicide. That crushed me. This was the boy I was going to marry darnit! Well as soon as he broke up with Tatiyana Ali! And discovered me. Jonathon Brandis played in a movie called Ladybugs with Rodney Dangerfield. I'm pretty sure I wore out that tape. He was also on Seaquest and was a success for a while. He killed himself I believe because nobody wanted a washed up child actor. I could be wrong though but I remember reading in a magazine he battled depression. Life is short. We can either embrace our hardships and trials and learn from them or we can escape into another world that includes drugs and alcohol. I grew up around drugs and alcohol. My mom and dad suffered from an addiction that could only be cured by getting a hit of Heroin. Most people will read my blog and will wonder why I am writing this. I am writing to say its not too late! Get help! Whether you are depressed or are an alcoholic or addicted to drugs there are treatments and programs to help you over come them! It won't be easy! The road will be long and difficult but I have faith! So here is my farewell to all the great and promising actors who have passed before their time. I hope wherever they end up they are at peace! And also my farewell to the uncle and two aunts I have lost to addictions.
Much Aloha,
Amber

ode to technology

Aloha!

We will consider this my silly blog of the month. I am so thankful for having the technology we have today. Can you imagine being a wife during WW2 and not being able to talk to your loved one but through letters which could take months to get to you? We are so extremely blessed as a society to have the advantages we do. For instance I have a facebook. (Who doesn't these days right?) Classmates I thought who I would never see again let alone talk to are getting their own facebook and I am able to catch up with them after years! Just yesterday I talked to like 3 classmates that I hadn't spoken to since before the year 2000! How wonderful that I can keep up with my old chums now as they live their lives and I find out what is going on and new with them. I am so thankful to be able to email my hubby back and forth especially with our upcoming move. He is in the middle of the ocean but I can email him and let him know whats going down on the home front. Now he feels included and kinda knows what to expect when he finally does get to come home. It is also nice to have email to send pictures and things to family members who live far away. Hawaii sometimes feels like another country or planet because we are so far. Anyway those are my thoughts for the day.
Much Aloha,
Amber