Life of Larisa or LOL

I wish I could say seven was heaven...but it was filled with many challenges. Among them potty humor, lying, and sassy talk. But we came out okay and I have high hopes for eight. It rhymes with great, it must be a good age right? Yesterday we celebrated Gabe's last birthday as an only child. I must admit, I was a little sad. Good thing he was just goofy enough to distract me from tearing up too much. In this house, each birthday somehow gets a theme. This year was all about Star Wars. He was excited to wear his Star Wars t-shirt and Jeidi birthday badge. If I was the least bit creative, I would have turned his waffles (the homemade pancakes were a fail) into some sort of Jeidi ship. Instead, I made his smiley face look like a flower. Gabe was gracious about it. On the eight year olds birthday eve I made him Star Wars cupcakes (peanut butter and chocolate with Nutella). Isom took the day off and we drove to Gabe's favorite beach---Waimea. If it weren't raining al

...otherwise, I'd totally get this for him! I got a really good laugh out of this when I was reading Rolling Stone today at the beach. Is this what rock stars pee in? A regular chair might be cute. But something about a guitar toilet... This is a whole new meaning to musical toots.

...on a budget...in survival mode? I don't know how to describe it except I was impressed yet again with the math, measurement, and baking skills...of a 9 year old. Gabe and I shared the company of Sarah's girls yesterday. They played outside, jumped on the trampoline, ran errands with me...and decided they wanted to bake cupcakes...from scratch. This would be perfectly acceptable behavior...in the confines of my own kitchen, with my own baking supplies, and some prep time. I wasn't sure I could bake on the fly at someone else's house in someone else's kitchen. We managed however. Thanks to the iPhone---I looked up a vanilla cupcake recipe on joyofbaking.com . And miraculously enough, Sarah had all the ingredients necessary for whipping up the batch of cupcakes. You might be hard pressed to find coordinating ingredients to anything, if you were to just pop over with the kids and expect to bake at my house (despite or in spite of all the baking I've been

I don't know how I'm going to contain myself from only posting pictures of cute baby boy outfits from now on. This morning Gabe and I have been putzing around the house, taking care of little odds and ends...you know all the important things that have to happen in order for baby to arrive and be okay in our house? Things such as all the white dishes being properly organized on one shelf, the freezer organized according to food groups...it's insanity around here. One of the tasks was also de-tagging (word?) the adorable new clothes Zachary received at the baby shower. I made sure all the size tags, hangers, plastic thingamabobs were all gone and ready for the clothes to be washed. And of course as this task was taking place, lots of oohing and ahhing and picturing a mini me Gabe wearing the hundreds of rocker onesies we apparently now own. It was a fun morning...but, here is the one I had to take a picture of immediately...it's a monkey face...on the butt of the

...and this week the feet. I promise not to make iPhone pictures of my pregnant feet a regular occurrence. I must be breaking all sorts of social norms and what should probably be laws with this one. No one needs to see my feet, let alone the swollen pregnant feet...BUT, the rock star pedicure had to be displayed. Since I couldn't reach to paint my toes to match the theme of my baby shower, I paid to have them done professionally. Yes, this means I stood on my swollen pregnant feet for four hours in the fitting room of Old Navy in order to then turn around and use that money earned for my rock pedicure. Makes perfect sense right? I am super pleased with them. I had the idea that I could make my fingernails look equally cute...big Family Feud X (input sound effects here). At least I didn't have to stand on my swollen pregnant hands to earn money for this manicure I gave myself.

This is what I walked into Julie's house and saw. AMAZING. There were so many hands in making sure my shower for baby Zachary went smoothly. The cupcake part? Lehua. This post will probably be more pictures than text, but I'll just say now that I had a rockin time. I knew I was happy with the rock star theme before, but the shower reinforced it... Baby Z might be mistaken for Axl Rose or Slash with this onesie. And even though Clifford isn't playing the guitar, he definitely fits with the color scheme. One of the many beautiful, plush baby blankets Zachary was so lucky to have hand made for him. Now you know what I look like at a concert. I made my shirt...altered a man's concert tee with cutting at the neckline and adding fun safety pin embellishments on the side. Nothing gets by Gabe in this house. His quote as I was leaving, "Did you have to cut the shirt to make room for that belly?!". No Gabe, but thanks for asking. Zebra pillow for Zach&#

...I better get a picture of the pregnant belly posted. Funny how last pregnancy, I had a running chronology of each month, practically each week, of pictures of the expanding belly. This time it just didn't seem like a fun thing to photograph. But, here it is, week 34. Almost in the home stretch...pardon the pun. Good thing Isom took the picture a few days ago...the belly looks ENORMOUS to me today...not picture worthy, more like gawk worthy.

I guess you are never too old for some "hunny" and a cute snugly bear. I was worried that Gabe (other than me as his escort) might be the oldest kid in the theater. But, no. The couple, as in man and woman in their thirties, sitting in front of us had no kids...they were on a Pooh date. Pretty cute. But not as cute as me and my date. This movie is more like an episode on t.v. By normal movie standards, this one is pretty short, but it wasn't lacking in wonderful animation, songs, and classic story telling. The real kids in the theater were laughing and giggling non-stop. A whole new generation of loyal Pooh fans began in that theater today. It's hard to believe that a movie starring an owl, a pig, a tiger, and a sad, sad donkey makes for the perfect date movie with your spouse, your kid, or a friend. Guess, that's why we all love Pooh. I recommend all ages seeing this movie...and bringing some "hunny" with you...you're gonna crave it by the

...was a bad movie. I was suckered. By the previews anyway. There were some seriously funny commercials associated with this movie. Too bad all those hilarious commercials were the only good parts of the movie. It was weird seeing Justin Timberlake as a nerd. How can the guy who "brought sexy back" play a weirdo nerd successfully? And Jason Segel, we get it...you are habitually the underdog who gets the girl. Move on. The movie had potential to be Hangover good, but it missed the mark due to poor casting---despite marketable stars such as Cameron Diaz. The only thing worse than Bad Teacher will be Bad Teacher Two. If you just need a cool place to sit for two hours though, I guess this movie will do, but you could always just go see Ryan Reynolds suited up in his Green Lantern outfit.

Right? I mean you don't turn the t.v. off when that old episode of "I Love Lucy" comes on...or it's the fifteenth time you've seen the episode of Friends---the one where "they were on a break". So, it can't hurt to return to favorite island spots. Repeat. Besides, this was the first time going to Regal Bakery with Danica and Mia. And this time I remembered to take a picture of the kids inside the donut. It had to be done. If there's a hole, gotta stick the kids in it. Our next stop was the Byodo Temple in Kaneohe. Again, been there done that, but this time we saw more black swans (picture omitted) and the biggest gathering of Koi fish...maybe ever. It was bordering on ridiculous...and disgusting. The kids fed the fish, got bitten by mosquitoes (a summer rite of passage), and discovered wasps. Science education! Our tiniest companion had fun too. Looking forward to repeating this repeat.

...you just need a $6 milkshake, a free ride on the trolley, a few hours to yourself, to watch a bad movie, to scream at the top of your lungs. Okay, so three out of five...better than zero out of five. Math camp for Gabe has been the best (almost) three days of the summer. Gabe, who was dreading going has been enjoying himself...and math, the subject he is great at but supposedly hates. After camp each day we have been trying to do something fun and refreshing. Refreshing because summer in Hawaii is hot...not Phoenix hot (I know you are suffering too Grandma!), but summer in Hawaii, 34 weeks pregnant...is EXTRA hot. I was very happy for the wind whipping through my hair and sticky clothes on the trolley yesterday. I was even happier for the deluxe strawberry chocolate shake that Gabe and I shared after riding the trolley. Fun and refreshing mission accomplished. I'm so happy Gabe isn't "too big" to go on my dorky adventures. I guess you're never too big

If B list celebrities can get away with a camera from MTV following them around their "crib" while they display the contents of their fridge on national television, then I can continuously post weird angled iPhone pictures of the progress on baby Z's room..."crib". Here it is. The "crib". The room he will hopefully love. The room he will poop the most in. The room he will cry out in the middle of the night in. The room we will rock him to sleep in. The room we will read stories and listen to music with him in. A few finishing touches are all it needs...that and a baby.

I know I'm not "original", but I did NOT consult a recipe for this festive fourth of July treat. I thought of the colors red, white, and blue and how I had yet to use my Pampered Chef Trifle bowl. And here we have it. Red Velvet cake, White Cool Whip, and Blue Blueberries. It was a good mix of deluxe dense cake and light airy cream with a dose of healthy antioxidant fruit to top it off. It's also really quick and easy to whip up...especially when your husband takes pity on your lazy pregnant state and helps by mixing up the batter. So, maybe the title to the post should be amended to "our messy trifle". Either way, it was a delicious messy trifle showcased at our friends kick back holiday BBQ.

I have to showcase the nails now while I can. Before I know it, baby Z will be here and the nails will have to go. So, like my many trips to the movie theater, I am enjoying it while it lasts. I recently purchased the OPI shatter in turquoise (okay, busted, Isom purchased it for me) and I had to try it with my current favorite under coat color---silver. As that novelty wore off (the tips chipped from work) I decided on another new color from OPI---the sparkle purple from the new Serena Williams line. It's hard to even say which is my favorite. It's like trying to decide what slice of pizza is the best. What cupcake is sweetest. What book to read next. It is a toss up since it's all good.

These girls are future bakers. I'm pretty impressed with how well their first Hello Kitty cake turned out. I was only there for guidance (and pulling the big Hello Kitty cake face out of the oven). They did an amazing job of helping their "auntie" decorate Hello Kitty's face. Gabe gave a valiant effort, but was preoccupied with Lego men and Lego battles to be too much help when it came to creating this Hello Kitty masterpiece. He was sure to be around when it came time to eat her face though. It was a fun Friday afternoon activity. I hadn't baked anything in awhile and I knew the seven and nine year old girls would appreciate baking and Hello Kitty as much as me. Next time, we are excited to try out my Hello Kitty cupcake stencils...

...and if you believe that, well... I tried anyway. My version of unplugged. I did not turn my computer on once this past week and I didn't break out into hives or anything. So, it is possible to somewhat take technology out of my life. The trouble is, I have this cool thing called the iPhone...and iPad... But, I did no blogging, no Moms In Hawaii posting, limited Facebook posting, and no responding to emails. What did I learn? That people probably think I'm a jerk for not replying to them this past week! I'm not, I just could not muster the energy to open my laptop and do the extremely hard task of pushing the button to turn it on. Instead, I've been spending the days floating in the pool, reading my Sookie Stackhouse series, looking longingly at my laptop, and painting my nails. Not much different huh? And here I thought I was really doing something.

...was no substitute for Transformers 3. We spent all day trying to decide if it would be appropriate to take Gabe to see the third installment of the movie based on one of his favorite toys. We finally decide to go...and oops, I forgot it was opening weekend. A holiday weekend. There was a line around the outside of the building. No problem, they must be waiting for something else. We made our way to the trusty Fandango ticket dispenser and proceeded to get our tickets. SOLD OUT! And the only thing left? Monte Carlo. I didn't mind too much but I did feel bad for Isom and Gabe...it was deja vu from dragging them to see Prom all over again. They were the other two guys in the theater. It wasn't a bad movie...or a good movie. It was a Selena Gomez version of Parent Trap---two of her, some tricky camera work, some European cities mayhem (and by mayhem, I mean a botched Polo match, a few fallen mopeds...). It's a perfect pre-teen movie. Little girls twelve and un

...Hello Kitty to be unisex or at least a little more masculine. I really want this poster in baby Z's room...but... since it was strongly suggested I should not buy these cute HK shoes for baby Z, I'm thinking the HK rocker poster is a no go too. But it's so cute!

...it's a patriotic themed weekend. I can't partake in my typical Red, White, and BREW (of either the coffee or beer variety) so, I have to show my patriotism through food creations and nail creations. The idea for the sprinkles on the donuts came from my trip earlier in the week to Regal Bakery...they are professionals, so of course mine was a little less, how shall we put it...beautiful than theirs. The taste was still sweet and there were no complaints from the kids. I had not contemplated how much the Karo Syrup (used to let the blue and red sprinkles stick) would "melt"...the plate looked like an art project after we gobbled up the donuts. As for the nails, I didn't expect to be doing my nails so shortly after having had them done professionally two weeks ago, but, I was excited to try my hand at blending three colors and using my new OPI sparkle (not to be confused with the OPI shatter). The re-created nails turned out better than the donut re-creation.