Christmas Day

A Christmas funny:  Christmas Eve night I followed the boys up to tuck them in and they were super fast about getting in bed.  They already had the lights out and their Christmas lights on.  Their eyes were closed.  Max stated that they were pretending to be asleep so that they could stay up and see Santa.  Lol, they ended up pretending themselves into real sleep after only a short time.  

They actually slept till their normal wake up time, but when they got up they wanted to head straight to the presents.  Here is our video of them coming down the stairs and seeing their Santa gifts as well as opening something from each other:

Max opening a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Clemens.  Grandma Clemens always wraps their gifts in their own paper so they know whose is whose.

Jackson got a soft Superman guy from Grandma and Papa Watts.  Definitely a new favorite.  

They both got a set of Lord of the Rings Legos from Mom and Dad, which they opened yesterday.  Today, they got a set of Ninja Turtle Legos to share.  They are both super into Legos and do really well with them.  On a set like these, Jackson needs almost no help and Max needs minimal.  

This year, when opening my Christmas decorations I found a serving set from Celebrating Home as well as this coffee mug.  I have been drinking out of it all month.  My friend Stephanee got me the serving set and when we were moving in I thought it must have gotten broken or lost in our move because I remembered it being an every day set, with every day colors.  When I found it in the Christmas stuff I was so happy.  It has the same colors/pattern as the coffee mug.  

Yahtzee with Daddy using the new score cards.

Captain Hook's Adventure Rock from Auntie Harmony, Uncle Eli and cousin Lili

video of the boys opening Captain Hook's Adventure Rock

Angry birds helmet that came with the balance bike from Santa

Max pumping up the bike tires Santa forgot.  

Later in the day, after some bike riding and relaxing together we joined our good friends, the Berrios family for dinner and fellowship.  Sonia did not want me to have to do too much.  We were both hoping a baby might have joined us for Christmas!  We both had similar ideas about celebrating together though and we celebrated the birth of our Savior with party hats and those blow toys for the kids, as well as candles in the pumpkin pie and a song of "Happy Birthday to You" for Jesus.  

This year during the Advent season I read Ann Voskamp's devotional "The Greatest Gift."  She wrote on the verses from the Bible in Luke 2: 19  

"All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often."  

These are the memories I will cherish and I hope I can think about often through the year.  My wonderful husband making a garden box for our family.  My kids seeing what Santa brought them and Jackson still saying that the best part of Christmas is that it is Jesus' birthday.  Max wanting to get right out there and ride the balance bike, which he seems to really be into.  But most of all, I hope I will remember what Mary remembers:  the angels rejoicing over a baby being born, a baby born to die for the redemption of our sin.  A baby born so that, if we choose to trust in Him, we can one day be in Heaven forever with God the Father.  I hope I can live my daily life like I know and remember the reason Jesus was born.  I hope I will live my life like I know the reason was His LOVE for us. 

Merry Christmas to you all, from the Clemens Fam!!  

Christmas Eve, 37 weeks 3 days

We have sporadically baked through the holiday season, by no means making every cookie or goody that I consider a holiday treat.  But we did not have any cookies suitable for Santa when Christmas Eve came around.  So, we set to baking some traditional chocolate chip cookies.  This might have been the best batch we have ever made too:)  Later, we attended Christmas Eve service at a new church we are trying out.  Jackson and Max really seemed to like it and they came home with an ornament they made for the tree, which they were both super proud of.  

I feel like I look HUGE in this picture.  It was the end of the day though and I feel like I look bigger at that time.  Or maybe it is the dress.  Or maybe I really am just. that. big.

Mike's Aunt Carol sent presents for the boys, as she usually does:)  She even sent something for the new baby, which Jackson is opening here.  I did not get a picture, but it was a very cute outfit in dark blue and white, with elephants and giraffes.  

Putting out cookies for Santa.  And you all get a glimpse of the real Max, lol.  I could not get him to smile and look at the camera.  We put out 9 carrots as well, one for each of Santa's reindeer. 

More on gardening science

We planted on 12/15/13.  And this is what our egg carton looked like on 12/23/13.  Really fun for the boys.  We had two little tomato plants sprout, two squashes and two green beans.  

This is the little tomato plant.  I am amazed at how small they begin.

On 12/23/13 Mike decided to get the ball rolling and build me an unexpected Christmas present:  a raised-bed garden box!  We had talked about making one at some point, but the seed growing spurred things on.

The next day Mike went back to the store and got soil as well as some kind of hot pepper plant.  He worked hard filling the box.  He needed some rest after all that work.

Finished product.  The plants are a little hard to see, but I put the pepper plant in the right upper corner and then transplanted the things out of the egg carton that looked hearty enough to make it.  Three squashes and two green beans.  We also replanted into the box a few new seeds:  two peas and three sunflowers.  

Two days after Christmas we decided to really go for it with some bigger plants.  We got two kinds of tomatoes, two more peppers, red lettuce, arugula, swiss chard, some strawberries...  Going for the gold.  

We'll keep you posted.  Don't our little squash plants look great?  You can actually see them in the picture (bottom right corner) just a couple days after the transplant!

And this is how our garden box looks as of January 23rd, 2014.  Overflowing!!  The butternut squash plants have taken over!  But, we think there will be enough room for the other stuff to keep growing.  The better bush tomato plant has one big and two little tomatoes.  The butternut squash has a ton of little squashes all over the place.  We have cut and eaten the red leaf lettuce twice.  There is one tiny pepper on the pepper plant.  Super exciting!

Baby 3 and Mommy have a shower:)

I am just going to start by saying I have really amazing friends (and my sister:).  We moved to Hawaii when I was 24 weeks pregnant.  We were in the hotel for 2 weeks before moving into our house and then the moving in took a bit of time.  Regardless of how pregnant I was/am, it takes time to meet people and make new friends in a new place.  Too long to make friends who want to throw you a baby shower, not that I really needed one anyhow.  Baby 3 and another boy means we can use all the same old stuff.  We did decide to cloth diaper, so I have bought some things for him in the diaper department.  I also bought him some things that will be just his own, like an adorable swim shirt and swimsuit that I found on sale.  I am not sure Jackson and Max ever made it into a pool when they were as young as this baby will be his first time at the beach:)  

Anyhow, I was not too overly sad about not having a party for this baby, except maybe in the mourning of showers in general.  I have lived away from most of my family and friends when each of the first two boys were born, so I never got to celebrate their up and coming lives with those I love from my family and friends in Michigan.  They all spoiled us immensely from a distance, but I am sure having an actual "baby shower" with them in person would have been something I would have enjoyed.  

Baby 3 really does not need much.  I bought him a few things, just so he would have a few things bought specially for him.  The first two had that, and I felt he should too:)  Despite our not needing much, a special group of friends came together to let us know we are loved.  I now have friends in a number of states and more than a few in another country.  Apparently, one of them had an idea to do a long distance shower, with my friend Sonia (who also came from the Azores) being the point person here in Hawaii.  

They facebooked and emailed and got money together.  They got me way more than the baby, lol!  They are treating me to some kind of service at a spa, before or after baby...  I will probably want a massage and I need this belly out of the way, so I will be waiting on that.  And then they got me all kinds of new clothes and nursing stuff for after the baby is here, which is just so nice.  I think it would have been harder to put together without Sonia, who did a fabulous job of shopping for me.  Some of these awesome friends also sent videos of themselves with personal messages for baby and me (and the boys too).  

Sonia had asked me about going out to dinner for a girls' night before the baby gets here, something I was not at all suspicious about because it is something we might just get together and do.  So, the night we planned to go out, Sonia enters the house with all these bags in hand and her Iphone held up in front of her pointed at me.  Took me a minute to realize something more than dinner out was going on.  She videoed my reaction to realizing they had been up to something.  We watched the videos that friends sent and then headed out to dinner, which they also took care of.  

We came back to open gifts, which was fun, because, well, presents are fun right?  We joked about how we don't understand how Targets in Hawaii stock winter stuff, even though barely goes below 80 degrees in the daytime here.  Even people who live here have to shop for summer clothes only in the summer, at least if they are shopping at Target.

This was dessert at the restaurant, Paradise Pie.  Oreo cookie crust Kona ice cream pie with whipped cream and hot fudge.  OMGoodness.  I would go back to the restaurant just for this pie, but the food was amazing too.

Presents from the girls

Watching one of the videos...  Can you tell my nose is a little red from the tears that kept welling up? These girls are so good to me and I miss each one of them so much.  

Not sure how quality this will be, but this is a video I made to say thank you to the friends who contributed to this special night and all the gifts.  You all rock!! Thank you for being such a special part of my life and for loving me and this baby!!

Honolulu Zoo and a Birthday

We have great friends that came to Hawaii from the Azores about a month before we did.  Sonia is my friend and she was the first person to welcome me to the Azores and make me feel like I could handle such a big move and lifestyle change.  We met just playing with our kids at the park one day.  She was pregnant with her daughter, Alexa, and Nathaniel was about 2 years old at the time.  

Fast forward two years and here we are, invited to celebrate Nathaniel's 4th birthday.  Sonia and her husband David invited us to come to the zoo with them for the afternoon and then join them back at the house for decorating and of course, eating cupcakes.

First stop:  flamingos.  These guys had really great color on them.  We also got to see our first black swan, but I could not get a good picture.

Little friends

Little friends on big cement hippos

Jackson and Max love to pose on any and all animal statues around the zoo.

Indian, also known as Asian, elephants.  There were two, but I just got a good picture of one of them.

Trying to get in some pictures with my boys.  This trip to the zoo happened at 36.5 weeks pregnant.  Come on out Baby Clemens 3!!

Berrios Family on the cement hippos.  Trying to capture a usable picture for their Christmas card:)

My guys starting to work on decorating their own cupcake creations.  Jackson does not care for frosting, but the allure of decorating one using the spray out frosting won over.  After he was all done, he handed me the cupcake and said, "I don't care for the frosting.  Can I have a plain one?"  So, I ate his and he ate a plain one.  You know I really do have picky kids when one of them does not care for frosting.

The birthday boy!!

Playing soccer after cupcakes

Christmas cards from the Clemens Family this year...

There will not be one.  

Just thought I would let you all know.

My rationale is this:  Baby Clemens 3 will be here before I know it.  Apparently not before Christmas, to my great dismay.  Nonetheless, I thought it would be just as nice to send a card when the baby arrives, so all our loved ones can see him as well as the other Clemenses, rather than my big 'ole belly.  Hopefully, he will come out soon, so I can have said cards printed!!

I was hoping to have a chance to get a family picture to post on here...  Not sure about that yet.  I have not had a reason to put on makeup in the last few days, which is a valid reason not to take a picture, lol.  

Much love to you all.  Merry Christmas.  Cheers to the celebration of the Savior baby Jesus entrance into the world!!

First presents

 This has been the most difficult year to shop for the boys.  They have not had a long list of things they want, although Max will see just about anything in a commercial and say he wants "that."  Mike and I came up with things we thought they would like though.  We have a tradition that we buy them each three gifts, like the Wise Men brought Jesus three gifts.  No real theme to the gifts, but I don't like them all to be toys.

This year we decided to let them open their three gifts from us in the three days before Christmas, so they got to open the first one last night.  Talk about excitement!  Mike and I wanted to enjoy them opening gifts a little more slowly this year and specifically enjoy seeing their reaction to what we got them.  I know, selfish parents we are!  They are so blessed by all our friends and family and they have plenty more to open on Christmas morning, not to mention whatever Santa brings them.  

Getting ready!

Jackson got Superman's lair with a Lex Luthor robot, which he has been wanting since he saw it at Sam's Club.

Max got some more pieces to his Thor costume, which is one of the favorites of his.  He also got a set up superheroes to go with the Batcave they got last year, to include Robin, who they have been pining for since we lost the original.  

Challah bread and baking boys

My boys love to be in the kitchen with me.  Max more than Jackson, but they both love to be there.  One of the Christmas traditions we have started is to make some sort of scrumptious breakfast on Christmas morning.  This year I am thinking I will keep it simple, but with a twist.  Plain French toast, but made with Challah bread, a recipe courtesy of my friend Kat.  We have had a lot of fun making it in the past and the best part is, I am not sure kids can mess it up, lol.  Jackson and Max "kneaded" their small portions with so much flour last time I thought for sure they would taste awful or not rise or something like that.  But, they were fine!  

This time, we just made two large loaves.  I gave them each a small portion to knead, but then, rolled them in with my big dough ball with about 5 minutes of kneading left.  The braiding of the bread is definitely the hardest part.  The first load I did turned out perfect.  Not so much on the second.  

When Kat gave me the recipe, she put some great pictures with it to show how to braid.  Did I keep that?  Nope.  Not me.  Because, of course I will remember since I have had practice before.  Not so much.  But, the bread still tastes the same despite not looking as pretty as it might with the right braiding.

Jackson helping me with braiding the first loaf.

Max wanted to help too.

Finished product.  We shall see if all we do with it is French toast or if I end up with some sort of baked version, which also sounds appealing.  Right now, anything sweet is sounding so good.  I think Baby 3 has a sweet tooth already!

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens

One thing I am liking about Hawaii so far is that there seems to be a lot of kid friendly places to visit and things to do.  We were invited by a new friend to join them at the Botanical Gardens for a program for kids they were hosting about spices.  We decided to go along and the boys learned a bit about cinnamon and ginger.  They tasted some foods that had each spice and were able to see the real thing.  

A craft was involved and they made these gingerbread men visors.  

The scenery was beautiful.   The gardens are on a small lake of some kind.  The ladies who did the kids' program took us down to the lake after to feed the ducks.  Of course, the boys had a great time with this; I think Max came back for a refill on duck food about 10 times.  Jackson was way less liberal than Max.  

There were also some crazy fish in the lake.  They mostly looked like goldfish, but there were some dark brown ones and also some orange and white striped ones.  When the boys tossed bread into the water the fish would literally jump up and squabble with one another to get it.  

This is a Hawaiian Coot, a duck that is endemic to Hawaii, or naturally from here and apparently not found other places.  They have a different kind of beak and weird, cool-looking feet.  

View looking up at the mountains, away from the lake.  

View walking through the gardens.

Gardening Science at Home

I have been trying for a while to figure out some simple science projects for us to do at home for school.  The boys had actually been asking about planting some seeds, so I figured we could just try it and see what happens.  We decided to try out the egg carton planting method.  Beans, two squashes, tomatoes, pea pods and now we are waiting to see what happens.