"Baby Rogs"

One evening last week as we were taking a neighborhood walk, we came across a puddle of water. As we walked by it, I saw these moving forms so I leaned over to take a closer look. They were tadpoles. I went back home to get some cups to scoop with and with my sister's help, we captured six tadpoles and brought them home where we placed them in a pie dish. Adele then proceeded to find insructions on raising tadpoles on-line. So we are now raising "baby rogs" as Ethan likes to call them. He loves to look at them, and he helps feed them. Already, they are starting to grow their legs (these two long stringy things floating behind them), but their tails are still quite long. I know, at almost two, Ethan doesn't really understand that they will soon be frogs/toads, but he is excited about them anyway. Seeing the world through his eyes is quite an experience!

Mommy's Little Helper

"Ethan helping Mommy. Ethan helping Mommy." How many times a day do I hear that phrase? Not only does Ethan parrot what comes out of my mouth, he imitates the actions I do. He loves to "help" me do laundry, cook, sweep, vacuum, wash dishes. Hopefully, he will take over the housework soon. And my future daughter-in-law will thank me over and over for encouraging him to help out around the house. Of course, he's not quite two and he may just outgrow this stage. So for now, even though it takes me twice as long to get things done, I will enjoy having my "Little Helper" by my side.

Legacy of a Vanilla Plant

Being in Hawaii always brings memories of my dad. Many memories, unfortunately are of his sickness, the cancer that took his life. But there are many good memories, as well, found in old photo albums, recollections of Grandma, and a Vanilla Plant.

Growing up, Dad and Mom always had some sort of garden. Of course, I never paid too much attention to who planted and weeded and watered. I guess they both did. In retirement, Dad took a class on the Vanilla Plant at the Lyons Arboretum. Here they started a slip of the plant and learned how to care for it. It seems that the Vanilla Plant is high maintenance, requiring frequent fertilization to maintain its health. Also, because the wasp that pollinated the Vanilla Flower is not found in Hawaii, the Vanilla Plant must be pollinated by hand. Dad never did get to see the Vanilla Flower, as this is the first year it has blossomed, but Mom has continued to care for the plant, reading Dad's notes and making calls to the Arboretum. Mom and I have been carefully pollinating the new flowers every morning. The Vanilla Flower opens in morning and only has one day of life before it withers and falls. After downloading pictures from the internet and tweaking our technique a bit, we now have the beginnings of Vanilla Beans! It has been a fun experience and I am anxious to watch these Beans develop (although I think they have a nine month growing period). We have a few more days of buds left to pollinate and every morning, I think of Dad and thank God for the wonderful man that he was.

Life in Hawaii

I can't believe that we have been in Hawaii for almost one week already. I can tell already that our two months here will fly. We survived the 71/2 hour flight with our wiggly 18 month old and I am glad that our return flight is two months away. Maybe it will be enough time to forget the horror. In reality, Ethan was as well-behaved as can be expected of a ball of energy confined to two laps and what little leg room is available in the economy section of a plane these days.

I plan to try to keep him busy here, otherwise he just looks for trouble. We've been to the beach twice, started swim lessons and have attended several family functions. I wonder if he misses the uneventfulness of our "normal" life.

I'm glad that he has been able to spend so much of his first two years with his Grandma. He calls her "mama" and when I ask him who I am, he replies "mom." Is he really 18 months?

The Love of Learning

Today, we watched my brother-in-law march across stage to receive his Masters of Theology degree. Next, he goes on to Princeton for ThM #2, and then he hopes to pursue his PhD. My heart surges with pride to be related to this lover of wisdom and knowledge. I also feel a twinge of envy and thoughts of my unobtained Masters degree fleetingly cross my mind. Then as we drive home, I sing "Pop goes the Weasel" with my 18 month old and he inserts "POP" as I pause after "the monkey thought was all in fun..." and I realize that my decision to quit grad school mid-way through to watch this wonder grow and develop was so, so worth it. As we go through our day-to-day routines and I see the world through his eyes, I learn so much. Things that cannot be taught from a text book. We pause to smell the flowers, to touch the grass, to watch a bug crawl across the steps. We rejoice in every new word learned (well, with the exception of "NO") and every milestone surpassed. At the end of the day, when I tuck Ethan into bed, I am thankful that I sacrificed formal learning for a chance to learn the art of motherhood, a course that will provide challenges and rewards for a life-time.

A Whole New World

Today I am stepping out of my comfort zone (that of sending and receiving e-mails and browsing the net) and entering the world of blogging. My younger sister is leading the way and I am cautiously following. I know I will spend more time reading and browsing than actually posting, but I will take the first step by writing and publishing this post.

This will be a good time in my life to start journaling since we are also in the process of moving. Houston is our destination and although the unknown is intimidating, I am ready for the explorations of a new city.