Island Hopping and Home-hunting

On Friday evening, we said "goodbye" to our little ones and headed to the airport. 

It was our first trip without kiddos... since the first kiddo was born!

But it wasn't just a second honeymoon to the Hilo side of the Big Island...

It was also a  reconnaissance mission, scouting towns and locations and properties to find out some things. Namely - do we want to move to the Big Island?

strawberry guava, freshly picked... delicious!!!

The short answer is a resounding YES. We spent two glorious days driving around the east side of the island, exploring, checking out properties and houses, trying restaurants, and meeting people. We're in love. Are we moving? Again - short answer is YES. Long answer - we have financial logistics to work out, and we don't have a specific time frame (beyond ASAP, haha) but... yes. Whether we purchase a home that is already built, or try our hands at homesteading (raw land, tiny house) we're moving. I'm so excited, and I can't wait :)

The kids are excited too - they had a fun weekend with their grandparents and they know we were "finding a new house". Molly has a list of requests for when we move (bunk beds, a kitten, and her own clock top her list) already.  More soon!

Just One of My Favorite Photos...

Riikka and Tuija photographed by Juha-Pekka Inkinen, 1985
(source)

Tomorrow my Beloved and I leave for the Big Island... see you in this space next week!!

✏️ Preschool at Home ✏️

Recently my Beloved and I have made some pretty big decisions for our family's future. And one of the things we've decided is that, unless something changes, we'll be home educating our keiki.

 

In case you didn't know - I was actually homeschooled by my mom from preschool all the way up to when I graduated from high school (and then I proceeded to create my own post-secondary education program focusing on vocal music but... we'll stop there).  I loved being homeschooled. I love that I was homeschooled. I love talking with my mom about how she is homeschooling my youngest brothers!  So for me, it's not a big jump to decide to homeschool my own children. (also, my Beloved is a teacher, so)

Obviously, since M is just barely 5 years old and Z is just two, we're in preschool mode anyway around here and "school" mostly consists of directed play, learning opportunities, and a little bit of workbook-style stuff. Even in the preschool program that Molly and I did last year (and really enjoyed!), that's what it was.

Wherever we end up (did I mention that one of the big decisions has to do with not living in Honolulu anymore? It does, and we're excited), I definitely want to be involved in programs like the one we did last year - community classes, etc. Because they are fun and because everyone needs a social circle and community.

I'm so happy with this decision we've made, and I'm loving having "school time" with my babies. Reading stories, drawing pictures and painting, talking about things in the world around us...

 

Today was the first time someone has asked Molly, "so when does your school start?"  And she said "Um.. hmm... um... Mama? *whispered - what is my school called*?"  I replied quietly, "You can say you are home schooled" and she lit up and called out "I am HOME SCHOOLED!" :D :D :D And then she talked about how she practiced writing today and about the seed pods we're watching when we go for walks and it was adorable.

So yeah... raising another generation of weird wonderful home-educated keiki! ✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️ Until next time...

Free Range (ish)

I'm that mom.  The one who watches her kids roll around with the dog on the floor and laughs, because they're having a great time. 

The one who, when she sees what a great time her toddler is having playing in the drips from the roof as it's raining...

finds him a cup to make the play even better!

And the one who, after making sure the kids are playing nicely at the playground...

goes and sits at the picnic table and watches from there. We were the only people at the park today, and it was AWESOME to watch my kids play. Sometimes they played together, sometimes they each had a little world in their heads, but it was great. I love watching their imaginations let loose.

I'm proud to be That Mom. And excited for the possibility of letting their imaginations loose on our own property in the near future... more on that soon.
Until next time,

For Sylvie

40 Questions That Sylvie Posted And Asked Others to Answer Too orrrrr HollyElise likes answering questions. orrrrr The Blog Comes Off Of Hiatus Randomly For a Questionnaire

1. Are you named after anyone? Nope! But I gave my daughter my middle name. 2. When was the last time you cried? As I finished reading "A Hat Full Of Sky" by Sir Terry Pratchett last night. I always cry at the end of that book. 3. Do you like your handwriting? Yep! It looks like a cross between my dad's (sharp, messy) handwriting and my mom's (smooth, well-shaped) handwriting. 4. What is your favourite lunch meat? Oven-roasted turkey :) 5. Do you have any kids? I have two hilarious children, ages 5 and 2.

6. If you were another person, would you be friends? Probably. 7. Do you use sarcasm? Definitely.

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Never had them removed, so yep. 9. Would you bungee jump? No. Noooo. Uh-uh. No way. 10. What is your favourite cereal? French Toast Crunch. 

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No... I untie them while muttering to myself about how I should have untied them when I took them off, as I am about to put them on. 12. Do you think you're strong? I have birthed two babies without pain relief. I'm Wonder Woman. And so are you :)

13. What is your favourite ice cream flavour? Coffee. 14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Their expression. 15. Red or pink? Pink, please! 16. What is the least favourite thing you like about yourself? I don't really like my upper arms. Except that they help me lift my babies and carry things so I guess I like them okay. 17. What colour pants and shoes are you wearing right now? I'm barefoot and wearing grey and black leggings. 18. What was the last thing you ate? I tasted the peanut butter cookies I made for the kids' snack. 19. What are you listening to right now? My son watching his current favorite movie (Wall-E).

actual footage of me in the morning before coffee.

20. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? Black and purple marble.  21. Favourite smell? Vanilla and nag champa. 22. Who was the last person you talked to? My son... 23. Favourite sport to watch? If I have to watch a sport - hockey. #stereotypical 24. Hair colour that's real? My natural hair is light brown with blonde high lights. I have it at my roots right now, it's okay (the rest of my hair is purple. Or shaved off.) 25. Do you wear contacts? No, I'd like to try the fancy colored ones some day. I do wear glasses though.

26. Favourite food? Mexican food. Or avocados.  27. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings. 28. Last movie you watched? What We Do In The Shadows. Hilarious. 

29. What colour shirt are you wearing? Grey t-shirt that says "but first, COFFEE" on it.

this shirt. but this wasn't taken today.

30. Summer or winter? Summer. Which is why I live in Hawaii. 31. Hugs or kisses? Hugs, in general. Kisses from my Beloved. 32. Favourite sweet food? Brownies. And ice cream.  33. What book are you currently reading? I just finished "A Hat Full Of Sky" last night and haven't started anything else yet. 34. What is on your mouse pad? I don't have one. 35. What did you last watch on TV? Most of an episode of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell on Netflix.

36. Favourite sound? I don't think I have one particular favorite sound. 37. Rolling Stones or Beatles? The Stones. 38. What is the farthest you have traveled? Here, I suppose. (Honolulu, Hawaii) 39. Do you have a special talent? I can remember all kinds of random weird facts. 40. Where were you born? Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.