Sunday, December 28, 2008

A Santa Visit

The week before Christmas Santa came to Hawaii...he visited a little cafe in Waimea and we drove up to see him. Jillian was very excited until we arrived, I tried to pry her little arms from around me...but her death grip was just too strong. :) Santa said we should all sit on his lap and Jeremy was not terribly excited about this idea...but what could he say? Hee hee. :)

I have a friend who invites Santa to their home and has an annual party for her kids and their friends. After our day, I'm thinking...what a smart lady!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Jillian participated in her school's Christmas Program last Friday. The girls in her room were sheep, they sang and danced to "Do You Hear What I Hear?" It was very cute! In this picture, Jillian is the second from the end on the right.

Our little lamb in front of the Christmas trees.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Chores

When Jillian turned 3 this year, we decided it was time for her to have household chores. She has three jobs...she helps me feed Athena, she helps me with folding and putting away the laundry (especially her clothes) and she puts the soap in and starts the dishwasher.


Athena is eagerly watching Jillian prepare her dinner. Yum-O!

This week before school and work, Jillian was sleeping in and I did not not to wake her until the last possible moment. So, I tried to do everything I could do without her to get us ready...I made lunches, packed the car, and had her outfit ready. Then I decided to feed Athena on my own...I filled her bowl up with food and started getting her vitamins and pills ready (she takes 5 pills with each meal). Jillian heard the pill bottles from her sleep and came running into the kitchen...."I'll do the vitamins!" :)


Jillian is folding her clothes...great job! :)


Our Costco sells the Cascade packs in bulk...it makes Jillian's job easier to grab a packet and hit the "start" button.
We try to make her jobs as fun as possible. When I'm ready for her help I'll call, "Who wants to help me feed Athena, start the dishes, or fold clothes" And I try to sound super excited. If Jeremy happens to be home at the same time, he'll yell back "I do!" and run to try to do the job before Jillian. There is something about Daddy "wanting" to do the job that makes Jillian want to do it even more!

Friday, December 05, 2008

Wind Storm


Last week we had a massive wind storm. It blew our outdoor table across the lanai where the glass top shattered into a zillion tiny pieces. We spent hours picking tiny bits of glass out of the cinder gravel planter that runs along the edge of the lanai....using needle nose pliers....filling a wheelbarrow and a bucket. Jeremy used the shop-vac to vacuum the grass...the glass was in the yard and we didn't know how else to clean it up. Oh my heavens, if we ever get a table with a glass-top again (and right now the chances of that happening are almost nil), but if we do - we'll have it coated with the hurricane film. Thank God, Athena was OK. Jillian and I got home and Athena met us at the door with an apologetic look that seemed to say "I just dug up the whole yard and I am soooooo sorry. Please remember you love me!" I can't imagine how frightened she must have been. The glass covered every inch of our lanai, most of the cinder planter and even into the yard....we are grateful that somehow Athena's paws managed to escape injury.
On the bright side, Jillian has learned of something to blame when she does something ornery. "It was the wind" she has told me several times when asked "Did you do this?"

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Countdown to Christmas


My original thought was to skip decorating for Christmas this year. It is very hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it is 80 degrees outside....it feels like summer! I thought, we'll get a nice poinsettia from Costco and that will be good enough. However, there are lots of houses in our neighborhood that go all out decorating for the holidays. Jillian watched all the lights and things go up and said "Mama, I want Christmas at our house too!" :) As you can imagine...the tree is now up in our home. Jeremy will be surprised when he returns tomorrow after spending a week in Honolulu. I was in scrooge mode before he left.
Since the tree was up, I wrapped a few of the things we had already bought for Jillian and put them under the tree. This temptation has been torture! Jillian REALLY wants to open them...she asks "Is it Christmas yet?" "Its dark out, does that mean its time for Christmas?" "Its morning-time now, is it time for Christmas?" "When Daddy comes home will it be Christmas?"
So, we hung up her fish bowl...that I found at the best school supply store that is now sadly going out of business. We put one fish in the bowl for every day until Christmas. Each morning (or evening - her choice) she may remove one fish. When she removes the last fish, it will be Christmas! Yeah! Here is a picture of her removing the first fish. Later, she brought me a second fish and said here mama, I'm ready for Christmas - let's take all the fish down!