our monarch

This month is bug month at Gordy's online school.  He's been learning the difference between insects and arachnids, he's been told to investigate around our house to see what kinds of bugs we have at our home (we have lots), and he learned more about the process that caterpillars go through to change into a butterfly.  His teacher even offered for the kids to pick up a monarch caterpillar from her garden to keep and watch the transition.  And, while we've cared for a few other types of caterpillars, we've never done a monarch - so we picked up a little guy and brought it home.  After two weeks of feeding, watching, and waiting, our butterfly finally arrived!  And, the best part was that it hung around with us for about 8 hours before finally deciding to fly away.

At one point, the butterfly was hanging out on Gordy's belly watching cartoons with him, and it decided to climb up towards his neck - Gordy was less than thrilled because the feet actually do grab your skin quite a bit.

All in all, it was a great experience.  So great, in fact, that we got a small milkweed plant from his teacher that we will plant in our yard to attract/feed future monarchs.  Yay for bug month!

aloha Oscar

I’m so sad to write these words, but… Oscar has died.  On Thursday, he was hit by a car on Waialua Beach Road and was left by the side of the road right outside our house.  Todd and I found him in the early afternoon, we told my mom, and the three of us spent the rest of the day/night grieving.  Gordy didn’t ask about him until the next morning, so we waited until then to give him the news.  We decided to go with the honest approach and to tell him the truth about what happened.  And, while we still think that was the best way to go, Gordy has definitely taken it hard.  At times he puts on this weird smiling face to try to be brave and act like he isn’t sad, and then the next moment his emotions overcome him and tears fill his sad eyes.  

To help us all to cope with our loss, we buried Oscar under our Christmas tree that we’ve had since Gordy was born.  

We planted him/the tree near the dog park at my moms’ house where the tree will have plenty room to grow.  And, while I’m certain that the burial gave us all a little closure, it does not change the fact that we are sad.  Oscar didn’t deserve to have such a short life.  He was a great, happy, fun kitty.  He would chase Gordy around in the yard while Gordy giggled uncontrollably.  He would come into the house at night and cuddle each of us until it was time to go to bed.  He would follow me around in the house no matter where I went.  He loved to sleep under Gordy’s bed.  He loved boxes – jumping in them, hiding in them, laying in/on them.  

Oscar was a great cat and he will very much be missed and remembered.  We loved you my friend.  

Aloha.

free-styling man

Being that I didn't learn to swim free-style until my 20's, it's so cool to watch my 4.5 year old crank out a (short-length) lap of it without hesitation.  I'm a proud mama :)

Oscar Kitty

Gordy has been asking to go to Nana's house nearly every day so that he can go play with the kitties.  So, since we aren't planning on traveling anytime soon, we decided to borrow one of Nana's kitties for awhile.  We settled on Oscar as the best candidate as he's always been pretty happy to be outside, he's very friendly, and he comes when you call his name.

The first day we brought him home, Oscar asked to go outside, so I let him out.  He then disappeared for 24 hours.  When he came back the following night, we kept him inside so that Gordy could see him in the morning - very bad idea.  He played and jumped around and kept me and Todd up nearly all night.  Since then, we've all found our groove a little bit.  Oscar sleeps outside and only whines about it for a few minutes as long as the lights are off.  He comes back in the morning for some breakfast and cuddles and then he's out for the rest of the day chasing lizards and eating lemon grass.  When he does come home, he comes inside for a few hours which is Gordy's favorite time of the day! 

We aren't sure how long Oscar will be staying with us, but Gordy is happy, Todd is tolerant, and we are all enjoying him in some way or another for the time being.

Merry Chrissy COVID -19 style

With a new strain of the virus now in the US and cases on the rise, we are doing our best to keep to ourselves and stay as safe as possible.  So, our holiday was a very mellow and small celebration.  Keeping with tradition (we miss you Granny Goodwitch) we made painted sugar cookies that we then handed out to our mail lady (Ivonne), our rubbish man, our neighbors, tenants, and a few close friends.

We brought in our living tree and decorated it with lights and ornaments.

We did an advent calendar for Gordy and, while it was a big hit, it was a lot of work.  We went to the stadium for the Christmas lights show and had a picnic in the back of the truck - thanks Nana!

We had Nana over for a salmon Christmas Eve dinner complete with tickly drink and a sunset on the lanai.

We left a cookie and vino out for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

And, then we opened our stockings and presents.

All in all, we had a wonderful holiday.  Mele Kalikimaka!

happy halloween

Happy Halloween - covid style: trick-or-treating at a neighbors and our tenants houses with pre-packaged (by us) safe and healthy treats, cookie making, and a black-light backyard treasure hunt after dark.  All in all, we are calling the day a success!

Gordy has actually really been loving the spooky holiday this year.  He had a great time decorating the house with spiderwebs and pumpkin lights and he chased us both around the house almost every night for the last month with his scary eyes and his green teeth calling himself a gruffalo.

Holidays just seem to get more and more fun as our tiny human grows older.  And now, he's counting down the days till Christmas!

that is not a bug

Now that Gordy is "a big kid" he frequently helps me out with the compost.  We sift through it to separate out the stuff that needs a bit more time to decompose from the composted material which we load into buckets and then distribute on the garden.  Gloves are mandatory for me, but Gordy always ends up taking his off so that can "use his hands better".  And, while playing in the muck is fun, we have to be very mindful of what's in our hands because almost every time we compost, we come across at least one centipede.  Our best plan of attack is usually for me to watch the thing while Gordy grabs the snippers.  We find it, snip it, toss it in the driveway, and then Gordy gets to have a turn with the snippers to make sure it's life is over.  The whole thing is very exciting for him and he always ends up showing off the centipede remains to our neighbors, Todd, and anyone else who will listen to him.