The giveaway from the Aloha Friday Blog Hop (which is still going and will be active through Monday), was shared on our YouTube yesterday. I just had some things to add about the giveaway. The giveaway is for the United States AND International!  If someone that is outside the US wins, they will get $200 US sent to them via Paypal which will convert it into whatever relevant currency needed for the country. I wouldn't leave out our international friends!! You can enter below through June 30th. The contest winner will be announced July 3rd!

There are several entries you can do daily to increase your chances. :) May the odds be ever in your favor!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also share any blog hops you are hosting by linking your blog hop post in our linky below! I love to join new blog hops, so please share them!  We had over 400+ link ups!! Each name gets clicked on average 5-50 times so link up, get some followers!!  

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As a parent, you never want your children to suffer or hurt. I was editing the usual vlog footage last night and saw a clip Alaka'i had taken while I was doing something with Arielle and he was talking about how he gets bullied every day. I watched and my heart broke. I know he had been bullied in the past and I had no idea that he was still being bullied at school. Some of the bullying he experiences is from kids who say they are "Christians". Proof that anyone can say they're anything but it means nothing if you don't LIVE it! I didn't want to share it but when I spoke with Alaka'i, he INSISTED that I put it in our vlogs because he felt led to share it which is why he recorded himself. He said that "if anyone else is feeling alone or bullied, I want them to know they're not alone".

So, am I the only chick out there that is not a big fan of the pokey facial hair? I am just not a fan of a beard on my man. Other men.. well they can rock beards all they want but I like the smooth feel of a shaved manly face to kiss up to. That's just my preference. Anyway, should I Nair Andrew's facial hair off since he doesn't want to shave it? ;) It's a funny video. I worked out. Nuff said! LOL.

Getting back into the health and weight loss groove is TOUGH after baby. Especially because I'm still breast feeding and I need a certain amount of calories for baby. Dieting doesn't suffice because I'm always hungry. Sigh.... so it's working out, cutting carbs down and cutting calories. Increasing healthy fats like nuts and veggies and lean proteins. It's not fun or easy, but it is so worth it!! Day 2 of my weight loss journey and I'm exhausted. I'll get more into it in a post I have scheduled for later today!

Is mommy elmo? A fun video of my family where at one point, I do my Elmo voiceover. Gosh it was such a hot day!

Arielle fancies herself a big girl, even though she's only 7 months old, she thinks she's a big girl like her cousins and her brother. She watches them running around and playing and wishes she could join them. Such is life as an infant. Although she's crawling (mostly) and able to do a lot of big girl baby things, she is still too little to get out there in the muck with her cousins and brother. Soon baby girl, all too soon you will be joining them and running around. Seriously, it feels like she's growing up so quickly that the time just flies by!  She is 7 months old already and wearing size 12-18 months because well, she's a big baby and big for her age...  I get excited with the new milestones she's experiencing, getting her first two teeth is the most recent of milestones but with every new milestone is a bittersweet feeling of knowing that my baby girl will all too soon be running around, then going to school... and it goes by in a blink. Alaka'i is 13 years old. That FLEW by for me. I can still remember the way his fat cheeks felt when he cuddled up close to me as a baby, the way his sweet baby sweat smelled after he napped, the way I'd hold him when he cried after he fell. Now my little baby boy is a little man, looking towards growing up and going through puberty and all the changes that are part of that process.  It flies by in a blink. Take your time babies!!


My Arielle really enjoys any little perks we give her where she feels like a big girl. Andrew got new headphones for listening to videos on his laptop and she wanted desperately to try them for herself so he unplugged the cable that connects to the headphones to let her try them on. She absolutely loved it. She smiled and let me take pictures. She's such a dolly. I asked her "who's a big girl now?, say it Ari, It's me mama!" and she laughed and smiled. It truly was a precious moment that I will remember forever. I wrote it in her baby book last night to preserve that memory in time for her even though when she's old enough to read it, she will have long since forgotten that moment at 7 months old.

If you have children, hold them close and cuddle tight. Breathe them in and enjoy all the precious moments, the smiles, the seconds of peace and the adventures to come because all to soon, those moments will pass and your baby will grow up into a teenager and then into an adult and you'll yearn for those sweet moments burned into your memory. Being a parent is a true gift. Thank you Jesus for blessing me with two sweet babies whom I love so much!