My son and I had a fun filled weekend with my nieces Alohilani and Kaliko.  Those two spicy girls are kind of wild but all adorable.  We love having fun with them.  My son's an only child so he really looks forward to any and all quality time he can get with his cousins.

We had a lot of fun and they ate really well when they were with us.  My son is kind of adjusted to my newfound vegetarianism although I still allow him to eat organic beef and lamb and I still eat chicken and fish on occasion (which is allowed for vegetarians but not vegans).


I made them eggs in a frame (quick fried organic egg in a piece of bread that I made a hole in).  My son Alaka'i helped me cut up fresh strawberries and place them and some rasberries and blackberries on a plate.  This particular plate was Alaka'is.  He's getting so big and so has his appetite.  He starts basketball camp today because he's on his spring break from school.  Excited!


It looked so delicious.  My nieces are much like their grandma (they love eggs in a frame) and gobbled it up!!  I had my juice and I gave them all small glasses of it. Alaka'i is finally used to my juicing so he doesn't get all grossed out when I hand him a glass of green.  My nieces still need time to get used to it although the eldest (Kaliko) is really savvy, she knows how to make my day. She drank her entire juice and said with a loud, bellowing voice, "YUUUUM".  Won me over.

Last week was hectic and nightmarish. I worked so much and I was up until the wee hours of the morning editing photos and blogging.  I'm up now at 3:23 am finishing up some posts for the week and working on the Aloha Friday Blog Hop code and giveaway for next week to get out to my co-hosts on Tuesday.. I think that I'll finish the coding after work later because I need some sleep!!

As you can see, I had a lot of tea and coffee going on last week.  Redesigning a blog design (which I just finished, do you like?) and editing pictures takes a lot of coffee and tea to get through!! See my old blog layout in the background of the coffee pic?  So glad the blog is all updated and the design is done!!  So far I'm getting faster loading times so winning!

Are you on instagram? I am! Follow me, I follow back always: @WhatJeanLikes

Whats some of your favorite food that you cook for your littles? 

Am I the only one going through headaches after over eating sugary treats during Christmas?  Oh, the agony...  It hasn't seemed to affect my son Alaka'i or my nieces much... although... they were quite rowdy yesterday after all the sweets they consumed from Alaka'i's birthday and Christmas.

It's been a crazy, fun couple of days here in our home though... I didn't take many photos because I was so busy prepping for the birthday and for Christmas.  I literally stayed up 24 hours straight wrapping everything and putting together all of the bikes for the kids and a Disney car I bought my nieces to drive around in.  Perhaps that contributed to my "holiday hangover" more than anything else.  I was lucky enough to catch some sleep after the morning presents were all opened and boy oh boy did I need it!!


I miss the days where I had an endless supply of energy like my silly son and nieces do.  Up and down the run and fall and recover so quickly.  Meanwhile, merely watching them play seems exhausting to me! haha.  


Here are some photos from Alaka'i's birthday celebration at home.  He got to spend the day at Dave & Buster's with some friends playing games but we had a quiet family night at home with cake and ice cream.  What a wonderful day.  My boy is growing up before my eyes so quickly I can barely keep up!

E L E V E N.... yeah.... eleven years ago today at 11:29 PM, the greatest gift from God I've ever gotten came into this world after 3 long days of agonizing labor.  Alaka'i, my son, my inspiration, my love was born a half hour before Christmas eve, a whopping 10 lb 4.8 oz 25 in long little boy came into my life and changed it forever.  There is not a day that goes by that this boy doesn't bring me joy and love.  He truly is a gift from God, the perfect Christmas gift that I get to enjoy 365 days a year.  My smart, sweet, talented, strong, and amazing boy has always been a giving soul and even now, inspires me with his kindness and generosity towards others.

As I go off to church this morning to celebrate the birth of Jesus and then go to a little party to celebrate the birth of my son Alaka'i, I just wanted to make a short and sweet little post to my little man.  Once so small is now so tall that he is catching up to me and soon will surpass me and be looking down at me from above.  Take care, my love.  I am so thankful and happy and honored to have you as a son.

Hau`oli lā hānau Me ka aloha pumehana,  (that means "Happy Birthday with all my love and warm regards" in Hawaiian)

Mommy

Did you and your kids bake anything?  Share your posts about what you baked in the comments below and link to it!! I have to come by and check it out.

I hope you all have the loveliest of weekends!  Come link up with our Aloha Friday (all weekend long) Blog Hop + Giveaway {Here} if you haven't already!!

Aloha,

Where did the time go?  What happened to my little guy?  It was just me and him against the world and in 7 short years he will be venturing out into the world on his own finding his way (though I'll always be right there in the wings when he needs me).   This bright light, this beautiful gift from the Lord is going to leave me in yet another wink, another dash of time that will fly by too quickly.  How lucky I am to have this light, this love, this pure source of joy in my life.  I don't deserve such a wonderful son but boy oh boy, am I thankful that I got him.  It hasn't always been the easiest ride for him or for me, but it's the one thing in my life I would never change, not for all the money in the world.

Alaka'i, if you ever read this when you're older and on the web, know that I love you more than words can say... I always have and I always will.  I am so proud of you, you are the greatest source of joy and love that I have ever known and I just want you to know how amazing you are and how thankful I am to be your mommy.  I believe in you, you have the potential to realize all your dreams and more.  Stay strong, persevere and always trust in the Lord.  I love you my Alaka'i.

Love always,

Mommy

 Although the winter months are upon us, the warm Hawaiian Islands are still basking in the summer sun (well, for the most part anyway)! Whether your children are going to the beach, surfing or just out for a nice day in the sun, keeping them protected from the sun’s harmful rays is important. Without compromising on style, Snapper Rock (www.snapperrock.com) brings a stylish collection of UV50+ protective children’s wear which includes styles from hats to kaftans, board shorts and 3-piece swim sets.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Awana via HNN

xoxo,

I don't know about you, but I've been feeling utterly drained of all energy lately.  I don't know if it's just because the holidays are approaching and preparing for it is both stressful and time consuming, or if it's the fact that I've been working the equivalent of 5 jobs pretty much every single day.  Let me switch gears here and go in reverse a bit to explain a bit..

Ok so I know all you moms out there (and dads too) can empathize with me on how exhausting it is to be a parent. I found the graphic above on Pinterest and found it both funny and true.  Children have this endless supply of energy that I wish I could tap in to.  As I sit here and yawn while I drink my second cup of coffee, just thinking about the plans for the day involving my son makes me want to run to my bed and curl up and sleep.


I've found there are several levels of being tired and drained and then you reach a level of utter exhaustion where you just feel completely wiped out.  That's where I'm at right now as I type this blog post.  Exhausted.  The dictionary defines it as:

ex·haus·tion

noun /igˈzôsCHən/  exhaustions, plural A state of extreme physical or mental fatigue - he was pale with exhaustion

Can I just say that I miss having all the energy I used to have?  I'm 30 now and I can feel the energy progressively becoming less and less available.  Perhaps it's because I don't get enough rest lately but I think with age, comes further energy depletion which is why it's so important to eat healthy and exercise to try to retain as much energy as possible.

So about the 5 jobs thing...whether you're a working parent or not, you have one main job...being a parent.  Job #1....parenthood, is the hardest and most important job you'll ever have.  How you parent your child greatly affects the outcome of a human beings life and the world so you wanna make sure you do your best.  Being a single mom is my #1 job because I do it alone with my boy and I wouldn't trade him for anything.  I think it's easier now that he's older because he can clean up after himself and he can help with chores.  He's almost 11 and he's been a great help to me.

Job #2 is my "day job" in which I work as the Assistant Vice President to a corporation and though it is both stressful and time consuming, it pays my bills and my awesome bosses allow me the flexibility to still be there for my son and retazin gainful employment. The fact that I can leave the office at 2 pm to pick up my son and continue my reports and paperwork from my home office is such a blessing. The only downside to that is because I leave work at that time, I have a ton of catch up work to do at my home office which keeps me up late but it's so worth it.

Job #3 is being an aunt/babysitter to my two nieces, 2 years old and 5 years old, respectively. I pick the 5 year old up from school before I get my son and I watch all three of them until around 7 pm when my brother and his wife get off of work. I've been doing that for about a month now and boy oh boy did I forget how high maintenance a toddler is!!  They are like walking tornadoes creating messes as they go and she and her big sister are always taking each other's toys so I have to diplomatically help them resolve their issues all while cleaning up after them, helping my son and oldest niece do homework, taking them out for some fresh air, feeding them dinner and bathing them.  Man, even writing about it exhausts me!! Keep in mind all this is done while getting work calls and doing emails and sending proposals on my laptop.

Job #4 is running this wonderful website.  For quite awhile, jobs #1-3 monopolized so much of my time that I was neglecting What Jean Likes and just doing the Aloha Friday Blog Hop.  I've been working super hard and not only redesigning my page (to speed up loading time and make it look pretty) but also to provide content and share all the things I like, love and enjoy with all of you!!

Job #5 is kind of like two additional jobs in one but I'll just list it in the same category.  That's being a photographer. I spend my weekends when I'm not doing the "day job" stuff taking photos and then editing them.  Keep in mind that I primarily am a landscape photographer so I "chase the light" and drive all over the beautiful island of O'ahu to find something new and gorgeous to photograph.  I'm so lucky to live in a place with summer year round because there's always something to photograph.  I must confess that I sometimes long for cold winters or the rich reds and oranges that fall leaves bring.  So with photography comes the taking photos and the editing photos. I think though taking photos is challenging because you want to get it right in camera, the editing is much more time consuming.  I have to admit that I should be photographing my son and nieces more although when I watch them I get so caught up in everything else that photographing them slips my mind.

You know what though? I wouldn't trade the stress, multi-tasking and exhaustion for all the money or quiet time in the world.  I am so blessed and thankful for all that I do have.  It's wonderful to have the job, opportunity and family to cause my exhaustion. My life would be dreadful and dull without all those little energy suckers.  So if you wondered what I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving, it's all the blessings that God has given me in the forms of the jobs, people and tasks that leave me utterly exhausted. :)

When it comes to kid's, whether it's toys, candy or birthdays, two is almost always better than one!  My darling niece and Goddaughter Alohilani celebrated her 2nd birthday a couple of weeks ago and we all celebrated by going to Sea Life Park!  While I'm on the topic of two being better than one, my lucky niece got 2 cakes that day...one at the party and one at my parents' house.  Yeah....she's loved!!

We all had a fun, albeit very hot time at Sea Life Park. Even though the previous days were a little rainy, the weather managed to stay clear and sunny for Alohi's birthday celebration.


A group of Alohi's cousins got together with a few adults to enjoy a fun day at Sea Life Park!!! Most of the children are from my sister-in-law's family. [My son is the one wearing the Angry Bird shirt (much to my dismay..kind of sick of Angry Birds..haha)].  My brother and I were never that close to any of our cousins growing up because we didn't see them very often. As a result, our kids aren't very close with their cousins who are around the same age. That's why we make it a point to get my son and nieces together as much as possible so they can have a close relationship and someday their kids will be close like my sister-in-law Kellie's family is.


Needless to say, my niece Alohi was super excited about her birthday celebration!!! It was full of fun times and laughs. Happy Birthday Alohilani!!! We all love you!!!

There are more photos after the jump!

Would still suck!!!  I have been as sick as I've been in years the last few days. At one point I had a fever of 104.8 but since I'm normally about 1 degree less than 98.6 on a normal day, it was more like 103.8 which still sucks. Chills, shakes, sick stomach, headache, exhaustion, dizzyness...not so fun.

And where did I get this wonderful cold? From my lovely niece and goddaughter whom I love so much words alone cannot express it. Poor Alohilani had this cold last week and my son Alaka'i and I got it. I'm so thankful it's over though and now I can get back to life as usual and play catch up with the things I missed while sleeping with a fever.

At least today had some beautiful clouds as the sun was rising. Hope you all have a wonderful day and stay healthy!! 

My grandma Jean and grandpa Peter (my father's parents) on their wedding day.

My grandpa Henry and my grandma Endoline (my mom's parents) not long after he came home from WWII in the Navy.

My grandma Jean.  I love this pic of her in a bathing suit back in the day!!

It's Thursday and I'm exhausted from a grueling and long day yesterday to why not post old pictures of me from way back in the day?  :o)

When I was little, there were a few things I loved other than my parents and my brother:  glitter, Barbies, dolls, toys, Rainbow Brite, and princesses.  I was obsessed with pink and purple and even had my mom paint my room bright Easter egg purple.  It actually was a pretty shade and even now my love for purple remains as my room is a very pale shade of lavender.

 As I look at these old photos I can remember the moments that they were taken for pretty much every single photo.  Not that impressive since I have a photographic memory but nonetheless, the memories are fond ones.  I think the only photos I don't remember taking are the ones where I'm a baby with my parents and with my great grandmother (obviously I couldn't remember being a baby!! haha).

I hope you all have made it over the mid-week hump in one piece and are looking forward to the weekend as much as I am.  My son's last day of 4th grade is today and he is so excited as am I to get his summer vacation started!!

These photos captured wonderful days and moments in my life and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoy sharing them.  Share your old photos with me!!! Write a post and link it to me in the comments below!  I'd love to see your old Throwback Thursday photos!!

Don't forget to enter my $50 VISA Gift Card Giveaway!!! It's free to enter and who couldn't use an extra $50 bucks?!

Me, my Dad and my Mom.  I think I was about 8 months here.

Just looking at old pictures of me and my son Alaka'i when he was a baby.  I can't believe he's 10 and about to end 4th grade already!!! Time flies.  The photo above was from his first visit to the zoo when he was about 9 months old and I had just chopped off all my hair.  Wow, I do not look good in short hair!! haha

I hope my son grows to be a Godly, good man.  Lord knows that I have my flaws but I try so hard to teach him to be honest and to always do what is right, no matter how hard it is.  God protect him and keep him close to you!!!  I am so thankful that I am blessed with such an amazing son.  I just pray that he stays strong in his faith and allows Jesus to lead him in his life.

Even on my worst day, even when he's grumpy or bratty, he lights my life up with pure joy.  This picture is of my boy just a week ago.  Love my son!!



He looks so much like my little brother Peter and my dad.  He even acts like them. It's so cute to watch them all interact.  My brother and I had a blast growing up.  Love this picture with him and my mama!!!