GREAT TIPS

I'm sure you have heard these before, but always good to hear ideas again.

1. Reheat Pizza - Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the
stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.
No soggy, micropizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really
works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs - Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal , mash
till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients , reseal , keep
mashing it up mixing thoroughly , cut the tip off the baggy , squeeze
mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done. Easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting - When you buy a container of cake frosting from the
store , whip, it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in
size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat
less sugar and calories per serving.

4. Reheating refrigerated bread - To warm biscuits , pancakes , or muffins
that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The
increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

5. Newspaper weeds away - Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients
in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as
you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some
gardening plastic but they will not get through wet newspapers.

6 Broken Glass - Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards
of glass you can't see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes - Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the
mosquitoes away.

8. Squirrel Away! - To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your
plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and
the squirrels won't come near it.

9. Flexible vacuum - To get something out of a heat register or under the
fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum.
It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling - Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip
and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks
that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta
da! -- static is gone.

11. Measuring Cups - Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup,
fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add
your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
out.

12. Foggy Windshield? - Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and
keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the
eraser! Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening envelope - If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot
to include something inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer
for an hour or two.Viola! It unseals easily.

14. Conditioner - Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot
cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a
great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you
tried it in your hair...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies - To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small
glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing
liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone
forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants - Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They
eat it, take it "home", can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week
or so, especially if it rains , but it works & you don't have the worry
about pets or small children being harmed!

(Not my story, but I did do the test with the water on the lint thingy and it's true!)

17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS - The heating unit went out on my dryer! The
gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show

us something.

He went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. I
always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes. He told us
again that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the
sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material -
I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot
water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told
us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out
the heating unit. You can't SEE the film but it's there. It's what is in the
dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance
too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well
this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also
what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down
with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long
time & to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash
it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every
six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know
dryer sheets would do that.

Life is Good

Here's a great picture of the kiddies. They are my pride and joy. We have a ton of fun together and I love to be with them. When I have my moments of needing time to myself, I go off and all I do is think about them. I'm sure when they are older and have moved out of the house I will miss these times. Hanging on mommy, pulling on my clothes, crying at my feet, begging to be carried around on my back, wanting to play with me, jumping on me when I least expect it.....and all the others times, I'm sure I will miss.

I am trying to enjoy every moment....even like the one today where Ellie asked to take her crackers (cheese-its) into the living room and I told her no, she asked a couple more times and after I said no again she proceeded to throw them on the floor. It took me a little time out, but I enjoyed it.

Jack is 5 months and already scooting ALL over. My whole view of my home has changed. Nothing is safe anymore. I see the changes that need to be made for a crawling/walking baby. Oh, the changes.

Ellie is my little fireball, as you can tell from the earlier story. She knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. She loves to change her clothes 10 times a day and she loves to eat. She wont eat bread and wont even sit by you if you are eating it, but she loves EVERYTHING else. She is very smart and pays attention to things that are said and done around her. She is quick to understand things that are said and quick to ask questions when she doesn't. She and I are very much alike and a lot of the time it makes me crazy, but I'm getting better at understanding her. I've forgotten that 3 year olds are very strange, still babies, but not really.

Lucy loves school and I think is doing more than I did in the 4th or 5th grade. She is easily thrown off track, (I like to say air-heady, but the other sounds nicer), but is easily put back on track with bribes. She likes to do "quality work" and will spend her time staying in at recess or snack time (I've never missed a snack time in my life, she doesn't get that from me). She had learned how to ride a two-wheeler in 20 minutes , in spite of my yelling and threatening. She is a kind hearted girl and gets more enjoyable as she gets older.

I need to be good to my children. When I am old I don't want them tying me up in the corner and throwing food at me.

Don't Call Me Shrimp

I did it, I got my kids a pet.

I said I would never do it, but I have been wanting one myself.

Lately Lucy has been saying that she wants a dog....

(yeah right, like I need another kid to take of)

So, this is what I bought them.

Alexa, JJ, Ellie, Lucy, Elizabeth, and Trisha. (Well, I couldn't get all of them in the picture at the same time and not sure who's who, but here's 3 of them.)

Aren't they so cute?

I have been wanting these for a long time.

OPAE'ULA

They are the easiest pets in the world and the smallest.

We had to go to the mall and I decided to take the girls to the pet store. I don't really like animals (for myself and/or family), mainly because I'm allergic to everything and I can't imagine taking care of something else....like my kids would actually take car of a dog....and most animals aren't 99cents. When I told them that we were going to buy these, Lucy got all excited and saying (really loudly), "We are going to get a pet, I' m so excited, I can't believe we are getting a pet." I was almost embarrassed because I got her so warped she thinks of these as "pets". Well, I guess I do to, but walking by all the dogs, kittens, turtles, birds, etc and she's excited for her "pets". I guess she realizes she'll take what she can get.

Look them up they're pretty cool.

Our Christmas Card

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Learning

I always thought I loved Halloween....

then I had children.

You'd think I'd like it more, but I didn't

and you want to know why?

Because I would make myself crazy (and everyone else) trying to MAKE my kids have fun.

(you know that saying, Momma aint happy, aint nobody happy....it's SOOOOO true!)

I thought if I made them look cute and wear great costumes and drag them to the right houses (to get great candy because it's for them...right) and, and, and....then they would love me more and think I'm a great mom and be SO happy...........

WRONG!

I was a crazy lady! Yelling at them to stand still so I could do their hair or makeup or whatever. And they always seemed to hate the costume because it was itchy, uncomfortable, not what they want. I was psycho!

Then after I forced them to do want I thought would make them happy, I would force them to smile for the camera and again stand still.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I would always try to get (okay....force) my hubby to dress up or decorate the back of the truck...let's say that would never go off well.

I'VE CHANGED! (Well, for now.)

I let my girls do whatever they wanted. If they asked for makeup or for their hair to be done I would do it, but if they didn't....no big deal! I didn't even take the camera to the trunk or treat. And guess what....we all had a great time. All of us. My girls, Julius, and...

ME.

I really hope I remember this for the next holiday when I'm going crazy and trying to force people to do things I want...which I'm sure will.

(I need to save forcing for the things that I really need to enforce.)

Here's a pic of Lucy at school. They got to dress up in the morning and have a parade. I did take pics here, but there was no forcing going on at all.

ellie.three from julius ludovico on Vimeo.

Seriously? Really? What?

So I'm asking for you help. I might not like what I hear, but I want your opinion.

I'm going to tell you a little story.

In Dick and Jane style.

Someone let me borrow a breastpump. 

She offered, I didn't ask.

She moved away.

To a different country.

She didn't take breastpump with her.

She came back to visit.

Asked me to meet up with her.

She never called.

She came back to visit, again.

Asked me to meet up with her, again.

She never called.

Again

She came back to visit.
Asked me to meet up with her, again.
I was going off island.
I left breastpump at mutual friend's home.
She never picked it up.
She asked me to send it to her.
It cost a buttload to send. 
Told her I would keep it here until she came to visit again.
Emails started to get ugly.
Jamie started to get pissed.
She is blaming.
Is this my responsibility?
The End.
But not really.  Read the latest e-mail she sent to me.  Names have been changed to protect...I'm not going to say innocent, they are just changed.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Hi,

To say the least, I am rather miffed with this entire breast-pump-
return fiasco. Quite frankly, regardless of the fact that we never
seemed to "meet" whilst I was in Hawaii, I am going to point out that
in my opinion, YOU should have been coming to me, not vice versa.
After all, I was doing you the favor, NOT you doing me a favor.

So, when Dick (named changed) arrives in Hawaii next month I expect you to drive out
to where ever he is staying and return the pump to him in immaculate
condition. I hardly got to use my pump, so I would appreciate it's
condition being near new.


Jane (Named changed) 

________________________________________________________________________________

Am I wrong for being pissed and feeling like it's not my responsibility to get this thing to her?  Now I'm even more pissed (after this last e-mail) and want to write her and tell her off.  It's as if I am keeping this damn breastpump away from her. What the hell? Really? Over a freakin' breastpump.  I'm not going to pay to ship it to her (though I should have to get her off my back), but that was the whole point of borrowing (might I remind it was she who offered!) I am a cheap son-of-a-gun.  I borrow so I don't have to pay for something.  And when I let people borrow things I don't expect them to be at my beck-and-call with whatever item it is. 

So please tell me exactly what you think.  I need a sanity check here.

Oh, by-the-way I've had the breast pump since Lucy was born.....almost 5 years ago.

Still Simple. Now Stable.

4 + 1 = 5

We are now the Ludovico 5. I can't believe I have

3 children.

I don't know how people do it. I am still trying to get used to school for Lucy and early risings with Jack and remembering to get breakfast, lunch and dinner ready at appropriate times. My parents were here for 10 days and I thought I was doing great; my house was always clean, food was always on the table, everything was really easy................................

Then they left.

Well, I am slowly but surely getting my crap together. I am still trying to keep life as simple as possible and Yes,

I am stable. (Although Ellie still likes to tell me I'm not).

I enjoy not being pregnant. And I enjoy even more having this

wonderful little person

in our home.

Jack is a sweet boy. He loves to pee on Daddy and Mommy and anyone else who takes too long changing his diaper. Lucy and Ellie are great big sisters and love their Jack Jack. Ellie has turned out to be a great little babysitter. She doesn't give up even if he's crying.

Jack is gaining an ounce a day. He is already 9lbs 13oz (born 8lbs 9oz) and grown an inch....all in 3 weeks.

More pics to come, but I have found that I took a million of Lucy when she was this age and I forget with Jack....will try to get better!

I'm Not Stable!

A few weeks ago my girls were trying to crawl all over me when I was kneeling down. And being pregnant I don't have good balance. So I told the girls,

"Mommy's not stable..."

Well, that just started a whole conversation (almost daily) about how

mommy's not stable.

(Yes, I put this on my facebook update, so if it looks familiar...that's why.) Wow, if I had known that I would have to eat those words I would have never said them.

I could have said something about balance, maintaining equilibrium, staying upright, keeping steady, being wobbly....oh the options are endless.....

But noooooooooo, I had to say,

"Mommy's not stable..."

I hear the girls saying it all the time.

One day they were outside playing with the neighbor girl (who's mom was close enough to hear) and I heard them mention,

"my momma's not stable."

Then last night Ellie (she's 2) was laying in bed ready to go to sleep and here's how the conversation went:

Ele: "You're not stable, right?"

Mommy: "Well, only because I'm having a baby and it's hard for mommy sometimes when I'm kneeling down or bending down."

Ele: "But, you're not stable, right?"

Mommy: "Only because my tummy big and it's hard for me...." (she didn't let me finish).

Ele: "But, you're not stable right?"

Mommy: ".....right..."

Ele: "Cause you're so big, right?"

Mommy: "...right..."

Ele: "But, Daddy's stable, right?"

Mommy: "...right..."

A few minutes later she was asleep.

So, I've learned a few things:

Watch what you say to your children, even if you think it's safe.....nothing is safe!

And

When having a conversation with a 2 year old, stop trying to explain, because they don't care about long explanations (does anyone really?), they just need a one word answer.

Simple and to the point.

I'm sure I will have to explain about why I'm not stable to a few people, but I'm sure the damage will have already been done.

This is my husband and his obsession

Surf from julius ludovico on Vimeo.

The Simple Life

Nothing to write about.

My life is pretty simple. I don't have my kids involved in tons of daily activities.

Geez, we don't even have cable.

How boring!

I love my simple life.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Isn't this a great photo. It's of our cute little house (with the black truck in the carport).

It has been raining everyday, but as I remind my children (and they remind me back if I ever say anything negative about it) that rain makes everything beautiful. Gotta love rainbows!

(Thanks to my neighbor, Author Cheryl Okimoto, for the the fab pic. www.cherylokimoto.com)

Bag Lady

Yep, this is my little bag lady. She carries around 5+ purses, bags, backbacks, etc. on her little stroller. You wouldn't believe what's she got in each bag, it's filled to the brim with anything and everything. Underwear, socks, jewelry, books, little tiny princess shoes, knik knacks...etc. She just takes it around the house and pretends to go to work or to school or shopping or wherever else little girls pretend to "go". She wont let anyone touch any of the bags or the stroller. I have tried many times to put things away, but I'm not very sly and it never works.

Gotta respect a girl and her bag.

Here's her stroller when she's not carrying it around. Too much stuff for the little thing to handle.

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. (Coco Chanel)

Lucy is both!

Happy Everything!

Wow, I have neglected the blogging world for toooooo long.

Here are a few of the things we have been doing.

The girls and I went to the Discovery Center. I wont go on about the price, but man, if I'd known...let's just say it was only kinda worth it.

I don't know how many square feet there are to this place, but everything there is for children and the size of children. Guess what my girls played with almost the entire time....

The freakin' kitchen play stuff. Guess who has tons of kitchen play stuff at their own home? Lucy was totally obsessed with the plastic pink frosting donut.....she has asked for it numerous times for her birthday. So easy to please.

There are little rooms with places from around the world with something to do from that country. The girls had fun trying to use the chopsticks on the fake food in Japan.

There is a little store, with little carts and a little cash register. Guess what my girls filled their carts with...hmmmm....can you say ice cream? (I would do it, too.) They also loved the bubble blowing area. Mommy doesn't like blowing bubbles or being a part of anything to do with bubbles, so they were loving this and so was the little boy they were blowing them for..yuck, I hate bubbles.

This is just a sweet pic of Ele Bell. Isn't she cute. Gotta love them when they are asleep!

We went to Kauai with Julius and had a great 2 weeks. Here is Lucy on a tree swing outside of the place we were staying in Kohala.

We stayed with some friends at the Marriott in Waikiki for New Year's Eve. It was so great. I think we might make it a tradition....It's a little crazy in Hawaii on New Year's Eve. Staying at the hotel made it not so bad.

We were able to go and visit my family in California. We had so much fun! Playing games with the fam, eating with the fam, playing Wii with the fam....it was a blast.

I can't believe it's already March. The time goes quickly. We are safe a happy and enjoying life. Hope you are, too!

Oh, by the way we are having another baby, due September 11, 2010.

Merry Christmas

And the WINNER is...

KATRINA TAKAHASHI...
Didnʻt you win the last time Katrina?

It cost: 18.81

Just heard on the news about HUGE rats in China Town and closures to some of the stores...Hmmm, that doesnʻt sound all that inviting....Should I still go?

We are in Kohala (Big Island) for a couple of weeks, so I guess I have time to forget about the rat situation and will go again.

Guessing Time Again

Had so much fun in China Town today....
a little bit too much.

I don't know what it is about it, I can't stop. I passed by some

Mint
and decided that I needed to make some spring rolls as it smelled too good to pass up. (I don't really know what else to do with mint.) I also bought:
Broccoli
Thai Basil
Bananas
Apples
Ginger
Zucchini
Red Pepper
Chives
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Carrot
Rice Wraps

How much did I spend?

Go Ahead, GUESS!

Just Being Honest

I was going to go

on and on
about how I HATED Halloween and the candy and the dressing up and, and, and...
But, I decided that I was being really negative and people don't really want to hear me go
on and on
about my expectations and how they get SHOT DOWN...
So, I digress.

I will go on and on about something else.

Do you ever feel like a horrible mom?

Well, I do

ALL THE TIME!

Every night I go to bed and think, "What in the heck was I thinking when I did.....this or that?"
I am usually praying for forgiveness and asking to be a better mom tomorrow.

But then,
I was looking at some pictures and thinking.....wow, my girls have a pretty good life and are

very lucky

to have a mom like me.

(Good thing the pictures don't show me yelling or scolding them.)

I am hoping that these pictures will help the girls remember the good times we have together and not all the times I am the mother from
H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!

Being a parent is freakin' hard, but there are good times and fun times and funny times and happy times and great times and silly times and...I could go on forever. You get the drift.

I just need to enjoy the moment and remember to relax and
stop expecting things
to go a certain way.

Here are some moments I've enjoyed with my girls.


We were playing hide and go seek. Kids, you gotta love 'em!

At the beach. I love it when the girls sit together. I hope they continue to stay close.

Ellie's 2nd birthday. She was so excited to see the balloons and asked all day if she could eat her
"happy birthday cake".

You get to do anything on your birthday....that means all the band-aids you want and you don't even have to have any blood!

Some of her presents! Isn't she so cute?!

The girls love to have their toes painted. Though as soon as we are done Ellie wants to take it off because she HATES to sit there until they are dry. (Not some of my greatest mommy moments with this activity!)

Halloween. We only let them go to 10 or so houses. They were pouring candy into their bags...I kept saying "only 1 please"...they didn't really listen. We have finished all the chocolate and now I regret not letting people put tons in their bag and going to more houses....sure could use some more chocolate!

Leftovers

Here we are AGAIN. At the BEACH. I'm sure you are not surprised. Hey, it's free and we all love it. The surf is starting to get good on the North Shore so this will be our new home for a while.

The girls wouldn't look at me or smile while I was trying to take pics, but I think these are almost as good as getting their cheesy little faces.


Leftovers is one of our favorite beaches. No people to bother us and the girls have the run of the place and can scream and yell as much as they want.

The tide was out and we could explore.

The girls wanted to catch some fish....I don't do that...That's Julius' thing and he was out surfing so I let them do it themselves! (Just so you know....I was just running something back to the tent...I wouldn't just leave my girls there in the water by themselves!) The girls decided catching fish wasn't any fun and started to make pancakes. I can do sand pancakes!


“My life is like a stroll on the beach...as near to the edge as I can go.” Thoreau

Water Babies

Here are my girls. They are my little water babies. Always asking to go to the beach or as Ellie calls it the "BEE".

Here are the girls playing at Ala Moana. Ellie is getting pretty brave my herself. And Lucy likes to swim out as far as we will let her...she would go further, but I'm not ready for that, yet!