Um...

So has it really been nearly a year since I've posted here?! Ack. Apologies. So many things to say, so much to update...its all on my to do list. For real. I'm trying to come up with some creative idea to allow myself to attempt a post once a week. Maybe twice. We shall see what happens. I do plan on making my return to the blog-o-sphere, though. Stay tuned...

House Building

Have I ever mentioned that we're currently in the process of building our "dream home?" What began as this...

...in July of 2009 has rapidly evolved into this...

...in March 2010.

Its quite an adventure--this whole homebuilding process. Who knew there were so many things involved? So many hoops to jump through. Its a wonder we get any sleep at night.

Nevertheless, we're looking forward to an awesome home to raise our family in.

Let us know if you're visiting and need a place to stay!

Fever...in the EARLY morning.

Why is it that children never spike fevers in the middle of the day? I have never had Kaytin come to me in the middle of the afternoon burning up and wanting to throw up. Instead, it has always been in the middle of the night that we're either woken up by crying and whimpering and found a little girl lying in a pool of her own barf. Now that she's older, its gotten a little better. Last night at 3 a.m. she called out, "Daaaaaddddyyy! I have to throw up!" and had a 102 temp. Luckily, she made it to the toilet, but was still in that general state of misery for a while. (Don't forget...3 a.m.) Of course she woke up this morning feeling absolutely fabulous...mommy and daddy, on the other hand, are still half asleep.

Happy Birthday Granny!

This past Sunday we had brunch at Casablanca in Poipu to celebrate Granny Taba's 94th birthday.

94!!

Can you imagine the wisdom gained after living on this earth for ninety-four years?

She is amazing.

Truly.

A phenomenal woman of God.

Her faith...

I cannot even begin to describe it.

She is a prayer warrior.

Prays for her family daily.

By name.

All 29 of us.

Not to mention countless others.

I can only hope to grow up to be half the woman she is.

We love you, Granny!

It's That Time Of Year Again...

Our first family cold of 2010 has begun to make its rounds. Here's hoping we can kick it after just one round. The kids are almost over it, but Wes and I are still holding strong to sore throats, coughs, stuffy noses, and just general gross-ness. Keeping my fingers crossed for a short run this time!

Just An Accident Waiting To Happen

So. It looks as if I'm rapidly losing any chance at being awarded Mother of the Year. Let me show you why...

See the cute band-aid right up there? That's to coverup the nasty, huge, in

fected thing on Caleb's little leg. I noticed what looked to be a bug bite on a Friday and the following Monday I saw that it was still there...only red, hard, and warm to the touch. Got a little alarmed when Caleb started pulling his leg away from me when I tried to touch it and took him in to see Dr. Carolan....who then informed me that it was infected and he needed to "pop" it to get all the nastiness out. SO gross. Poor little man cried and cried, but we got all the pus out, although it looked to be a pretty painful task. A round of antibiotics later...his leg is as good as new.

Until this...

Little man came running out of Kaytin's room, tripped, and hit his head on a chair on the way down. It started swelling up right away and my heart sunk into my toes.

Poor kiddo.

If he doesn't give me a heart attack by the time he's 10 I'll be lucky.

Be Mine...

Its funny how Valentine's Day evolves over time. I remember when it was just two of us and Wes and I could make reservations to a fancy shmancy restaurant, get dressed up, and have a lovely dinner. Now that its four of us...V-Day is pretty different. Here's how we spent it this year...at the beach! It was a beautiful day and the kids loved it. (once Caleb woke up) For dinner, we hit up none other than the golden arches with the rest of the Taba fam. Oh Valentine's Day...so awesome.

Apparently I Am A Chronic Liar...

So here we are...one month later...and no posts from the Taba's. Yeah yeah yeah...I heard you the first time.

Moving right along.

Don't Call It A Comeback...

Yes, yes, friends...I have been noticeably absent from the blogging world. Was my last post really back in August? Oops. I do have excuses that I'm sure none of you want to hear. :) The biggest being that I'm officially back in school...well, online school. In September I decided to take the leap and enroll in the University of Phoenix online to complete my Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. This may not have been the smartest move considering I constantly have 1 1/2 year-old underfoot, but I figured now is as good a time as any. I suppose I could try to recount the past 5 months or so, but that would just take too long. Let me just say this: the holidays were crazy, as usual, with two kids, but we're all still alive and kicking here in 2010! Heres hoping for a better blogging year!

Summer's Over...Already?!

Apparently I am just one of those people who was not made to be a blogger. I like to fall off the face of the web for months on end and then suddenly reappear. Sorry. Here's some pics to catch you up to date.

Camping at Kekaha Beach for the Fourth of July = way too much fun!

This guy turned ONE! (and finally got his first haircut!)

And this chickadee started PRESCHOOL!! yahoo!

Crazy stuff...can't believe my baby's one and my little girl is in SCHOOL! Preschool has already been some pretty entertaining stuff...lots of stories to come.

School Is Out And Its Sort Of A Buzz...

Summer is here! Hooray! We've recently found a new spot to beach it at. :) So much fun!!

Good thing I have kids who love the beach. Caleb was a little wary at first, but quickly warmed up to the fun. Kaytin has been a beach baby from day one...we were there yesterday evening and she played (even by herself) in the water pretty much the whole time. How lucky we are to live here!

Playing Catch Up

Okay, now that you have all been thoroughly deprived of watching my children grow over the past few months, here are some snippets of what we've been up to.

So you know the saying "a picture's worth a thousand words?" I think this picture is worth a few thousand. You have to look a bit closely to understand, but what Mr. Caleb has there under his hand is a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. I love the "what? Me?" look on his face...especially since what you can't see is that directly under his hand he has chewed a hole in the cover of the magazine. Apparently no milk came out of that one.

How lucky are we that we live on Kauai?! Wes has decided recently that he wants to start fishing again and Kaytin has decided that she wants to learn how, too! So one Friday evening after work, we packed everyone up and headed down to the harbor...so much fun! We had dinner and watched a beautiful sunset and Kaytin had a GREAT time (even though all we caught were a few nibbles that day).

Caleb gearing up for his future football career. Don't you love this age when you can do whatever you want to your kids just for the photo op? hahahah....Little Miss Katy celebrated her big F-O-U-R with a "party pool" as she liked to call it. Fun times...I still can't believe my baby girl is four. and will be in preschool. Excuse me while I go wipe away my tears.

This little jokester is going to be TEN months old this weekend!! Crazy. Seriously. Where does the time go?!

Caleb also celebrated his first Boy's Day! Thank you again Papa Harry and Grandma Barbara for his awesome doll! Love it!

And finally, this is how they "play" together. Good thing Katy is still smiling...better get used to it, I guess. I hear this is how little brothers are. :)

Hey Look! It's ME!

Many many apologies cyber world...has it really been over three months since I last posted? Yipes. Remember back in February when I said that there was a cold making its rounds through our home? Well, yeah, it continued to make its rounds for quite some time. Just about a week or two ago we ALL finally felt better...that is, until this past Friday when Caleb started sniffling and coughing again. Looks like we've picked up another bug and the weather lately is NOT helping at all. :( Here's hoping that it will be short lived this time and I'll really be back to update you on what's been happening with the Taba's!

ABDC

Please tell me you are all watching this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYz4tUl183o

If you aren't, you are TOTALLY missing out.

Sick Sick Sickies

Sorry for the absence...we are currently dealing with colds and more colds. Went through round one and lovely enough, all have relapsed. Hoping for everyone to feel better by next week since we are headed off to Honolulu for a weekend getaway! Be back soon...

SUCCESS!!

I have been putting off blogging about this until I knew it wasn't just a fluke, but we are proud to announce that little miss Kaytin has FINALLY decided that it was high time all her poop went in the pooper. Hallelujah! You don't know how much I have prayed for this day to arrive (or maybe you do since I know I've written about it a time or two in here). She's been good on the shi-shi aspect of it all for awhile now, but number two has eluded her...or eluded just her parents. ;) We think this all ties in to her getting a new "big girl" bed because one day she just up and decided that she was ready to go on the toilet. (color me stupid...all it took was a bed?!) And since then she has been virtually accident free for close to two weeks now! Oh happy happy day...I can now register her for preschool with a free conscience. Hooray! Yipee! Yay! Yahoo! (yes, I am SO excited) Now off to the pet store to get her that fish in a fishbowl we promised to get her when she was fully potty trained. (we made that promise over a year ago) :)

Bringing Home Baby

(So before I begin, let me just point out that I did watch [some of] the inauguration the other day. I mean, it was quite the history making kind, first black president and all...not to mention the fact that I DID receive a degree in Education with an emphasis on History. Regardless of who you voted for, you have to admit that this one's going in the history books. My kids will have been born in a time where it seems like our country has finally become color blind. It makes me laugh how fanatical some are about having Barack Obama as president, though. Seems like everyone and their mama has jumped on the time for a change train. Imagine the immense pressure weighing on Mr. Prez's shoulders right now. My faith in God leads me to know that this is something ordained by Him and I rest assured every day that He is still in charge. It worries me that there are a lot of VERY liberal groups out there in support of B.O. thinking that he is the answer to THEIR prayers with his "change" agenda and I hope that if/when one of them is disappointed [since you can't please EVERYONE] they don't take their anger out in an extreme manner. End rant.)Back to my real reason for posting. You all know about my TV addiction so I'm not even going to talk about that, but I just finished watching this show "Bringing Home Baby" on TLC. Every now and again I'll turn this show on and reminisce about those first few days at home with my new baby. (who is now 6 months old!) Its been awhile and while I was looking through the guide today, I noticed the synopsis of this episode which included the baby's father who was on HOUSE ARREST. hello! Flipped right on over to the show already in progress. That's right, folks, the episode featured a teenager who had a little baby girl with her "boyfriend" who was on house arrest. (not in her house) Apparently he got into a little "trouble" with the law and had to be home by 3pm everyday lest the 5-0 come looking for him. Seriously?! She was all disappointed that he wasn't coming by to see his little girl...um, maybe something you should have thought about BEFORE having a child with him? Sad. On the bright side she did have a very supportive mom that she lived with and did seem to be doing a good job as a mother. When they followed up with her a couple of months later, she was no longer with said "boyfriend" which in the long run is probably better for her and her baby girl.

Are there no other couples out there for TLC to showcase? I mean, I can see how you'd want to show people from all walks of life, but still. And homie actually signed a consent form that he could be shown on this show? And let all of America know that he was on house arrest? Poor kid...I hope this doesn't come back to bite her in the booty later in life. I can just hear it now, "hey! you were on tv when you were just a baby? is your dad outta jail?"

I can't make this stuff up.

American Idol

I'll go ahead and admit it right now...I watch way too much TV. With the invention of the DVR, I am like the recording queen. Seriously. It can be quite insane. I often wait for my kids to go down for naps so that I can quickly run through some of previously recorded shows. But that, my friends, is beside the point of this post.

So American Idol...when the show first started way back when I was totally into it. I watched the first season religiously (before the DVR came into my possession). And although my favorite was Tamyra Gray, it really was okay with me when Kelly Clarkson won over that fool Justin whatever his name was. "Reality TV" usually tends to lose its luster after the initial season (anyone remember the very first Survivor? Remember any seasons after that? Exactly.), but I took a shot with season 2 of AI and become a fan of the Velvet Teddybear like everyone else. :) Season 3 came along and featured not just one, but TWO!, girls from Hawaii. Too bad neither of them was all that great. Who won that year? I hardly remember since I stopped watching mid-season. (btw, it was Fantasia)

Season 4 irritated me (why did I continue to torment myself with this show?!) when Bo Bice lost to Carrie Underwood. Ugh. Then came the Season 5 Daughtry Debacle. Are you kidding me?! How in the world did he not win? I was REALLY losing any tiny bit of interest at all. The last couple of seasons all sort of run together for me...especially since we discovered...wait for it...Bulgarian Idol. Yes, friends, not only Americans are looking for their next musical Idol. How I wish they showed this on American television!! Sit back, relax, don't drink anything for the next few minutes as I present to you...Bulgarian Idol!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQt-h753jHI

I laugh every single time I watch that. I told you not to drink anything beforehand...

America's Best Dance Crew!!

Does everyone remember last year when all the TV writers went on strike? Yeah, it wasn't fun...repeats all the time and just sadness for TV freaks like me. I needed to find something to appease myself during that sad, sad time, and what did I happen upon? America's Best Dance Crew. Yes, I know its on MTV. I can rarely sit through anything on MTV these days, but ABDC is different. I was completely sucked in! It is great stuff...dance "crews" from around the country compete against one another to be the last one standing and win like 100 grand or something. Its great stuff. Maybe its the Filipino in me or something, but I eat this crap up!!

First season winner was the Jabbawockeez...

Asian Persuasion, baby!

Then the second season, Super CR3W came along...

You'll notice more of the Asian Persuasion up in there!

This season I'm pulling for Quest...

Asians can dance, yo! Apparently some of these guys were on So You Think You Can Dance. I don't know, don't watch it, but these fools are good!

Go watch it!

Storm Of The Century? Not Really.

So the other day I'm chilling with the kids "at the pavillion" here on the compound when I'm informed of another impending winter storm here on Kauai. I admit, a storm here on Kauai is nothing compared to what's gone on in the rest of the country, but a storm is a storm and this one was predicted to be pretty large. Lots of rain & wind with gusts up to 60 mph. As a Hurricane Iniki "survivor" hearing 60 mph winds makes you stop in your tracks. Hurricanes are classified hurricanes when gusts reach 75 mph, so we weren't going to be too far off. The storm was scheduled to arrive early this morning.

Therefore, we spent yesterday afternoon prepping for these high winds...especially after we found out school was being cancelled here as well as on Oahu, Maui and Molokai. Then Wes got the call that HE didn't have to go to work either. Hmm....starting to look even worse than we thought. Nothing to do but sit and wait for the wind and rain to arrive...

And wait....and wait...and...you guessed it...WAIT.

Its now 3:11 pm and although its been raining on and off, its just been your typical rainy day weather. I suppose I should be thankful that it wasn't as bad as expected, but I can see a whole lot of heat coming down on the governor for this one. Cancelling school, giving all the state workers admin leave for the day. Oooo wee! :/