Pearl Harbor

As part of our list of things to do before we leave Hawaii, Jeff and I took Matthew to the Pearl Harbor Memorial last week. It's hard to believe that we've been here five years and never visited, but it's easier to believe when you know how much we hate crowds, tourists, and boats. But we couldn't leave without paying our respects, so we fought for parking (lots of spaces are open at the end of the day on Easter Sunday), weaved through the crowds (about 10 other people had the same idea) and braved the open ocean (a 2 minute boat ride in the harbor). It was a very special place, and I'm so glad we made it there before leaving.

Egg Hunt

Today we went to the nicest Easter egg hunt. Part of the deal was that all the kids would wear bunny ears and a poofy bunny tail. There was no way I was going to get Matthew to wear his ears, but I did manage to tuck his tail into his pants without him noticing, which was the only way he would have left it alone. Later he caught sight of these little dogs and he was off. Unfortunately, so was his bunny tail after one of those dogs caught sight of it. The worst part was that the dog's owner got the tail out of the dogs mouth and handed it back to me covered with doggie slobber. Gee, thanks.Next it was on to egg-hunting. Matthew was very good at egg hunting. He had watched the older kids during their hunt, and he's so observant, that he knew exactly what to do when his time came. The only part I had to help with was to encourage him to keep looking for eggs without checking out what was inside each new egg he found. Later we dumped out all the eggs and went through each one. His favorite was the egg itself, but we got some tatoos to try later and I have a feeling that they'll be a big hit! I was so thankful to Arlene of the Moms Club of East Honolulu for putting the whole thing together. She made it a great day for this little boy and so many other kids that came out for the hunt!

Little Boys

Have you ever seen a sweeter set of little boys in your whole life? These two are not usually so chummy, but they put on a sweet show the other day at the zoo. You'd never guess that the two of them can push their mommas' buttons like nobody's business. I don't know if it's the pregnancy, or the big move, or being on my own again with Buster Brown while Jeff is on the mainland, but I am really struggling to keep my cool these days. I like to think that I know what I'm doing in the mommy department most of the time, but I'm beginning to think that Matthew's just playing along and will someday soon decide that he doesn't like the role of "Angel". Instead, he's trying on the roles of "Mr. No-nap", "The Screamer", and "Whiney Whinerson" in an unpredictable round that's got me wondering whether adding another little one to the mix was really a good idea. It's too late to change anything now, so I sometimes feel like I'm tick-tick-ticking up to the top of the steepest rollercoaster hill with Matthew in the backseat whining and me holding on for dear life because I have no idea what's on the other side.

Lucky for me, this little blond boy's mama understands. Yesterday, I dropped Matthew off to stay with her for a little while so that I could have a couple of hours alone. Before she even opened the door, I could hear her little one crying, and when he laid eyes on Buster Brown he made it clear that the sight of BB had just made things much, much worse. So Matthew started crying because no one likes to be despised, but I just hugged him quickly and shoved him in the door. Bless my friend's heart, she didn't stop smiling during the whole exchange and I returned to two happy boys and dinner on the table. Of course, as soon as I walked in, the whining began again, but I was just happy to know that she had successfully managed the two of them. If she can do it, maybe I'll be able to, as well. Wish me luck.