Week On Fire

last week was ON FIRE, literally. PCC threw its annual World Fire knife Competition, and our marketing department was in charge of covering, shooting, facebooking, tweeting EVERYTHING Media. There was live coverage for the first time, so people around the world could watch, so that was cool. I was assigned to "TWEET", which was VERY new to me. I don't even own a Twitter account. What's the proper way to tweet professionally? Basically, to be as corny as possible. I was laughing at the tweets I was publishing, "Contestant #2 is on fire tonight!" lol, get it?

2012 Winner from Tahiti, aka "Larie's crush" :)

Larie tweeting on her ipad

It was a long week, turned weekend, and as exciting as sticks on fire can be, especially when not only 3 but FOUR are linked together......I was HAPPY to see the competition come to its end. By the way, Larie and I cheered for the contestant from Papeete, Tahiti & he WON!

I got a little break in between the festival to help out with PCC's Mother's Day Dinner and Concert. THAT was fun, especially since the majority of guests were Samoan and old people. But no matter that they were all over 40, those old grandma's and grandpa's were getting down. No shame, and they kept telling me to take tons of photos of them, haha. The couple below was my favorite of the night. They were the only ones dancing where he led and she followed, you know OLD OLD school, lol. Too old that I don't even know what to call that style, hahaha. It was beautiful and very classy. You could tell they were in love. So I told Uncle Steve Laulu, who was the mc, to give them a prize lol, and he did.

go to PCC's facebook page for more photos

And before I got a good night's rest, I was back clocking in for the high school We Are Samoa Festival the following morning. I felt like I was back in Samoa....because it was a HOT day, there were crafts vendor booths everywhere, samoan's everywhere, puletasi's everywhere....it was cool listening to the tulafale's that spoke, because I was like, hey I remember learning about those words or metaphors in my language class.

Yes, it was a long, long week. Especially since baby#2's sickness returned, in the morning AND while I was at work. My insides fertilized the back of Hale Aloha many of times that week, at least I lost a few pounds. And I developed some kind of sickness that no one knows what it could be. It first started off as the heartburn from hell, then I showed signs of gallbladder infection/gallstones, and then I couldn't keep anything down but bread, and then my chest tightened up and I couldn't breath....and now all of that is gone and I'm stuck with a bad cough, where you cough non stop and nothing comes out. My whole body feels normal, its just this annoying cough. Dr. Shlacter gave me an inhaler, which I've never had before, but I'm pretty sure he didn't even know whats wrong with me because the dumb inhaler is doing nothing. So hopefully whatever I have leaves, and leaves soon.

Mama: for love is spoken here

2 little babies and "Mama" off to church, i left my roses home lol

Mother's day is always a very sweet, special and spiritual day. I think of my Mom and how grateful my siblings are to have been raised by a loving individual who has always put us first. From putting off college to stay home with us, to putting off sleep to hunt us down in the middle of the night during high school days, we never doubted our Mother's love and affection. And now that I am a Mommy too, or like Mahie says, "Mama", I hope to follow in her footsteps.

How wonderful it feels, that no matter how much my parents, or siblings or friends spoil Mahie, as soon as I come into the room from work or open my arms to her, those almond shaped eyes light up and she runs to me screaming for joy. All my stress from the day disappears as soon as my baby girl hugs me back. I'm still TRYING at being a good mother, not anywhere close to my own Mother's perfectness, but being a mother period.......so when my baby walks over and kisses me randomly and pats my knee softly, I know I'm doing something right.

I think nothing can describe a mother better, than Primary songs. If you aren't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or didn't grow up as a child in Primary, I encourage you to google the LDS Primary Hymn book, and just listen to these songs directed to teaching children about the gospel. After I went through the temple and was sealed to James, I realized that these songs and their purpose to educate our little ones, are soo true. Everything I sang about since a little girl and when I was baptized made sense. Little children really are the kingdom of heaven.

*When I think of my Mom raising us kids:
Lyrics to, "Love is Spoken Here" by Janice Kapp Perry
           (click here to listen: loveisspokenhereMP3 )

1. (Girls) I see my mother kneeling with our family each day.

I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.
Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears,
And I am thankful love is spoken here.

2. (Boys) Mine is a home where ev’ry hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood pow’r,
With father and mother leading the way,
Teaching me how to trust and obey;
And the things they teach are crystal clear,
For love is spoken here.

[3rd ending] I can often feel the Savior near
When love is spoken here.

Mosiah 4:15 "But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another."

*What I hope my children think of me:

Lyrics to "Mother Dear" by Maud B Kimball

           (Click here to listen: motherdearMP3 )

1. Mother dear, I love you so.
Your happy, smiling face
Is such a joy to look at;
It makes home a lovely place.

2. Mother dear, I love you so.
Your lovely, shining eyes
Are just like stars that twinkle
Way up in the bright blue skies.

3. Mother dear, I love you so.
I’ll try the whole day through
To please our Heav’nly Father.
I’m so glad he gave me you.

*When I sing Mahie to sleep:

Lyrics to, "I Often Go Walking" by Phyllis Luch

        (Click here to listen: ioftengowalking )

1. I often go walking in meadows of clover,
And I gather armfuls of blossoms of blue.
I gather the blossoms the whole meadow over;
Dear mother, all flowers remind me of you.

2. O mother, I give you my love with each flower
To give forth sweet fragrance a whole lifetime through;
For if I love blossoms and meadows and walking,
I learn how to love them, dear mother, from you.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, my Mother-in-law, to my Sister & all my Sister-in-laws & Friends (because we are all mother's), and to.....MYSELF!!! 

Operation No Bottle/Formula

Today was Mahie's 1 year old re-registration at WIC. And the topic that came up was "Out with the formula and in the with whole milk". Which shouldn't be too difficult, seeing as we've already been feeding Mahie all sorts of food and drink. So the month of May has officially been declared *Operation: No Bottle, No Formula.

We know the formula won't be too hard, she already shows an interest in our regular 2% milk, but we've turned to whole milk as suggested by WIC. The bottle on the other hand, will be hard. We've already started limiting her bottle use down to two specific times. In the morning, because James and I are both too lazy and dead tired to do anything but fix a quick easy bottle and she's satisfied. And at night, because it helps her to calm down and get ready for bed. In fact, she'll reach out and point at a bottle and will cry if she doesn't get one before bed. I know night time will be the harder of the two.

She's good drinking with a straw or directly out of her plastic baby cups throughout the day.....so hmm, a new challenge/milestone to reach for with this little girl.

Here's a picture from yesterday. She got 3 shots and blood drawn. She was really fussy afterwards, so James brought her to pick me up at work....and where Larie surprised her with a birthday present from Manuhealii. (Thank you Aunty Larie!!!) We treated our brave girl with her very own McDonald's ice cream cone. (With help from us to catch those drips)

Tomorrow we hope to take a dip in the ocean, the weather has been hot and sunny. I love clear sparkly ocean water......and then it'll be a long night at work with the Fire Knife Competition beginning.

*FYI any tips for the bottle battle?? :) lmk

Baby Luau

Chantilly cake, yum!

Today was Mahie's 1st Birthday Baby Luau. 

Months & weeks of creativity, planning & budgeting was put into her birthday, so that everyone could enjoy the celebration. We hope everyone did. We had it at the back Laie North Stake chapel, next to the temple. 

*Mahalo to the Logan Ohana for the yummy local buffet menu. It was so yummy & fulfilling, I was starving and looking forward to eating. And I love that we have leftovers too!

We put in a lot of thought in entertaining our guests, especially the kiddies. Because if the kids are having a good time, the parents will be too. We hand candy everywhere, balloons everywhere, a cotton candy machine, shave ice machine and a jumper. Good thing the rental company brought their own people so we didn't have to run anything. Sharay Brown painted all the kiddie's AND adults faces and did glitter tattoos. She was awesome and a lot of people inquired about her. We covered the tables in white butcher paper, and provided crayons in baby food jars for the kids to color. I'm surprised at how crazy both the kids AND adults got with their artistic skills. We got all kinds of drawings and happy birthday notes, lol. Costco had a sales on bubble machines "hurricane million bubbles"....and it really did shoot out a million bubbles a second. It was a hit because the kids went nuts. 

My Mom and I handmade all the centerpieces and hula girl inspired goodie bags. They came out so cute and it feels good when your guests and aunties applaud your work, lol. My brother Isaac also brought pineapple so we added it to the decor & then gave it away to friends after. Another thing everyone enjoyed, was that my Dad made a genealogy pedigree chart, showing three cultural family branches that extended from Mahie: 1) Hawaiian/German, 2) Navajo, 3) Samoan, with accompanying pictures of grand, great grand & great great grand parents. A lot of these pictures were taken while still setting up.

We're so glad to blessed with wonderful friends and family members. A lot of my Ka'ahanui Ohana came, which is rare since they have to drive out from Kapolei, Ewa and on. They were so fun, as they usually are, and truly set the tone for the party when my Aunt and cousins kept requesting the electric slide. No shame those ladies, everyone cracked up and enjoyed watching them.

We're very grateful for my parents and siblings for being very cooperative and helpful in planning and making the party a success. And for being the mc's and pinata rope holders cause James and I were too shame, lol.  

It was a busy week, day...a lot of work, but it sure paid off with a lot of fun. Thank you everyone who came and those who helped us clean up afterwards. That chapel was spotless in like 10minutes. 

We love you Mahie, Happy Birthday sleepyhead. 

MAHIE is ONE

Today, we have a ONE YEAR OLD bouncing around our house and getting into everything.

Exactly a year ago at 10:50am, little Mahie came popping out with a full head of hair and already blinking at the world around her. I remember the nurse placing her in my arms, and this tiny little bundle looked up at me with the most curious face. She even scared/shocked the doctor and my Mom when she raised her head up, already not needing support and very alert!! And of course, making the doctor laugh at how much she can eat. She has since been VERY interested in all things surrounding her, especially food. She has become one of my greatest teachers ever and continues to introduce new things to me everyday.

At ONE, she is a rascal. Seriously. Sometime we all wonder if I had a boy because this girl is for sure heading down the tom-boy path. The only time she cries is when her grandparents come home because SHE KNOWS she can get away with anything from them. Other than trying to be very independent (as in we call her name & she keeps walking away) now that she is an official walker, James and I are grateful to have been blessed with a healthy, smart and VERY happy baby.

A trip down memory lane. I'm glad I always had a camera near for these perfect shots!

Also, a BIG Mahalo to both local news channels: KITV4 News and KHON2 Wake-up Today. They both gave a birthday shout out to Mahie, which made me a very proud mama.

KITV4's Website

KHON2: Olena Perry below! The producer emailed us & said to watch at 5:20am & 6:50am.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MAHIE KAU'IPUAONALANI FONOFILI ASPINALL. 

You are our first born and we will probably expect a lot from you as the oldest. But you have taught us and will continue to teach us how to be patient, loving & forgiving parents. We work hard to provide the world for you, we look forward to every milestone you make, you will always be our baby girl. We are so glad to have you in our lives, in our home and in our arms to hug you good-morning and to kiss you good-night.

How lucky we are to have been blessed and entrusted by our Heavenly Father to care for and love such a sweet little spirit that we can call our own.  

We love you our Hawaiian-Navajo-Samoan "ONE YEAR-OLD!!"

xo, Mom & Dad

Aspinall Mommy Update

So now that EVERYONE has caught up with our "BIDNESS", and ALLL THE PEOPLE who kept asking when the next baby is coming....AND after almost two weeks of our move (down the street), our things are still scattered everywhere. Mahie loves the space to run around, my parents love that Mahie is constantly running around them :) This girl loves to walk, she can't keep still, even while we feed her. She does however sit quietly for one thing only, which is when we have family prayer. My Mom taught her how to sit down and fold her arms, which is basically putting her two hands on her chest, lol. But she understands what "say prayer" means. We are amazed at how smart she has become and how quickly she understands new words. "Toys, baby, hug, kiss, drink, juice, food, go sleep, aua, sasa, brush your hair, dance, daddy, mama, grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunty hillary, puppies, cooper"...the list goes on. I crack up the most when our dog barks and she runs to the window, points her finger, and scolds Cooper with angry baby words. AND if you haven't seen my latest status update, for about a month and a half she has learned how to take off her diaper. The first time it happened, I came back from my morning class, scooped her up on my arms and felt bare okole! Looked in her crib, saw the diaper, saw 'it' smeared all over, looked down at my arm, and screamed at James to get up, hahaha. I'm sorry, but baby poo will always disgust me, even if I have a million kids. Anyways, that hasn't happened since, but we've figured out that if we take too long to change Mahie....well, she'll begin to change herself. Which is weird, because when we do lay her down for a change, she screams and kicks until she's free, eh.

With the addition of a new baby on our minds, our future game plan has changed since we've decided to have our little one here in the islands. We're not at all disappointed in putting a hold on Australia, especially with soooo many people giving us their "2cents" about Australia. (I never ask, but people give it to me anyways as soon as they hear or read 'Australia') But whatever, you know why? Because I am grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with a healthy body that CAN HAVE BABIES. A lot of women don't have it that easy. We're happy to have another little one (minus the post-labor recovery, ugh). And NO, to answer a friend's question. I haven't turned into a diehard exercise & soy milk drinking pregnant woman. If anything, my usual schedule has kept me 'maintained' so far, lol. As in I throw up every morning from 6:30-7:15a.m. And then I go to work and keep really busy from 8am-2pm and when we have private events at night. Not to mention I didn't realize I was already pregnant during my 2nd block of my jogging class. So...so far so good. But a little exercise doesn't hurt the heart right? I am thirsty though.

Having a job since high school, through college, pregnancy and with a baby, has made me realize that I enjoy working. I'm one of those Moms who enjoys being a mom and in the office. My husband knows that. My parent's know that. & Heavenly Father sure knows that too. A lot of things in my patriarchal blessing are beginning to make sense. And I'm slowly feeling the need to be back in school learning something new. Is that weird or no? Not really the papers, but the learning.
Sleep tight.

Temple Marriage, Baby, DEGREE!!!

Saturday morning of April 14th, 2012 was both a dream come true and a nightmare. The last of my assignments were turned in, all of my credits approved, college life was at its end. It could've, would've, SHOULD'VE been a perfect celebration...but my world was turned upside down as I suffered the worst "morning sickness" I've ever experienced. It hit at 5a.m., in between trying to curl my hair & put on makeup, when dropping Mahie off at my Parents and when waiting for the commencement to begin and end. I didn't want to get out of bed at all that morning. James had to keep warning me, "Remember you need time to do your hair" lol. You can't tell by any of the pictures, but I was so nauseous that I wanted to just go home. It felt like time was going by so slowly and it did, because we started almost an hour late. I was dizzy, hungry and had the worst tension headache. All I really wished for, was to roll up my gown, use it as a pillow and take a quick nap on the floor where all the graduates waited. Then we started to march out, and for a couple minutes I felt fine because a girl tripped and fell and I didn't want to fall either, haha.

Can you spot my shaka??

Commencement was loooooong. I listened to only one talk, by Sis. Elaine S. Dalton, YW President. I'm glad I did, she was a very wonderful and inspirational speaker and made me forget about being sick for a bit, as I reflected on her counsel:

1. Remember who you are

 "You must never be like the world. You have been uniquely prepared to be unique. You are sons and daughters of God, and because of that knowledge, your response will not be the same as the world's response to any situation. You not only know who you are, but whose you are. That knowledge alone is now, and will continue to be, reflected in all your actions, reactions and associations."

2. Work hard

 "It is the secret of all great accomplishments. It is to learn to, and love to, work hard. It is to find satisfaction in going the distance and in completing a task and to love the labor of it all."

3. Train for adversity

 "Never, never, never give up."

4. Dream big

 "Don't lose sight of your dreams and when you dream — dream big. And remember attitude is everything. So, keep a positive outlook. Look for the silver lining. Don't get discouraged. Don't focus all your energy on negative situations — or people for that matter. Keep going. Put one foot in front of the other."

5. Winners do not always finish first

Sister Dalton shared a story of a group of youth who trained for and entered the Special Olympics. At the sound of the starter, one of the participants fell and began to cry. All of the other participants looked back and saw what was happening, turned around and helped the boy up. They linked arms and walked together to the finish line. "What matters in life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing course."

 "You are not ordinary. You are extraordinary and you have been reserved to be here on the earth when the challenges and also the opportunities are the greatest. ...

"Today, I see kings and queens in the audience of this commencement gathering. You will be blessed by the King of kings as you remember who you are and live what you know, as you continue to work hard and train for adversity, as you never give up, as you dream big and as you remember that winners do not always finish first.

"Now, run into your marathon of faith and life. Don't get discouraged by the hills, but see the opportunity in adversity. Go with a sure foot and a sure knowledge that you are never alone."

It was a beautiful morning. I'm grateful for my parents, who've been there near and far as I persevered as a college student. My siblings for keeping me open-minded, patient and simply doing things for me when I ask. (And I ask a lot). And my incredibly hot husband, for always encouraging me that I can do anything, that I am smart, that I am special and that he loves me no matter what. I am grateful to have had a wonderful support system that got me to my educational accomplishment. I completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in ICS: Communications with a minor in Political Science. My internship at PCC's Marketing Department hired me, so I work all day everyday with the best boss ever, Larie Manutai. I felt very loved by Sis. Dalton's counsel, by the numerous family and friends who congratulated me online & via text message (lol), and who pulled me here and there throughout the crowd to lei me. I know I missed a ton of friends because I left a little early due to feeling even more sick with the heaviness of the leis, the hot sun and wanting to throw up, but everyone made it a special day for me. 

I'm especially grateful to stand as an example for my children, that if we follow the Lord's and our Church Leader's counsel, we will truly find happiness in discovering hidden strengths and talents that we can stand back and smile upon.  

"A woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly. She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations who follow her."--Julie B. Beck, "A 'Mother Heart,' " Ensign, May 2004, 75

Temple Marriage [CHECK]

Baby(ies) [CHECK]

Education [CHECK]

........and many more things to come! Why stop here?? 

midnight cheerios

right now our tva home looks exactly like it did almost two years ago as newlyweds: empty, quiet, unorganized, food-less....except now we have a cute little baby snoring in the back room. It's bittersweet. We'll finally be escaping the list of pet-peeves we've been accumulating that's ONLY known in TVA. Inconsiderate neighbors, messed up tv, messed up water heating....and on and on....but then it's a little sad. We are leaving our first HOME. Our OWN private escape. The place where we first walked in as Mr. & Mrs. Aspinall. And where we returned one early morning, dark circles under our tired eyes with a precious newborn cuddled warm in my arms.

It's crazy how a one bedroom apartment, can accumulate so much STUFF over a short period of time. I guess I've been very good at organizing things into every little space we had, because it seemed like no matter what, our house was NOT emptying, haha. Eventually, after many trips to our car, back and forth to my parents (our next temporary bungalow before Down Under), to the dumpster, and to the donation bin....our home has a bed, tv, laptop and enough cheerios and milk to eat out of a cup we forgot behind. My back hurts, James' entire body aches...and yet we still have the fridge, bathroom & floor to get at, not to mention our tv. It's 12:38am, and basically our mood is "ahh freck it all" lol. We're on our break, we're almost pau, by 11:30am tomorrow we'll officially be checked out. I smell like lemon clorox wipes, James has bleach stains all over his red shirt, and we both have matching wrinkly but chapped hands from scrubbing everything. I'm pretty sure our apartment is way cleaner than when we moved in.

After we're out & the new bedroom is organized & we catch up on our sleep & when I can find time before returning to work.....then I'll update on the craziness of the past week. Like I GRADUATED, yay me....anyways, I hope we don't get fined for anything. TVA loves to collect money I hear, :)

TVA L110, it took me forever to memorize your address and now we're out of here. Goodbye gecko's and bogus ant traps....and the karaoke neighbors who belch until 1:30a.m.!!! But we'll miss you walls, who've seen James & I grow as a family....and have kept us sane from the world outside. Goodbye to all our friends who have definitely touched our hearts in some way....until we meet again!