POTPOURRI

So...i think "POTPOURRI" is the best title to describe this blog. I don't know...that's what Jeopardy uses as one of their categories when the answers don't have any one specific thing in common. And since I'm backtracking and filling in on what I've been doing since my last blog, I guess it goes.

Let's see. A week ago I took my 3 youngest with me to go shopping for winter clothes for all my children. Things started out great...well maybe not great...umm, good...good is the word. I had the double stroller with Puka (2 1/2yr. old) and Sunni (now 1 yr. old) in it, and Leila (4 yr. old) walking next to us. I hit up the boys section first and found awesome deals and a tone of clothes for them. I spent about 30 minutes in the boys section making sure I got enough warm outfits for Puka and the twins (Apolo is well stocked with winter clothes so that was a relief). Next section was the baby girl's for Sunni and a few gifts for nieces. By this time, Puka was cleaning the nasty floors with his tummy. He was doing the "penguin" (that's what my kids call it) everywhere. I counted to 3, made the mean mommy face, and even pinched him after he penguined right into someone else's stroller causing their baby to cry. After about 20 minutes in that section, Puka starts whining about how hungry he was. But I still needed to shop for the girls. So I started singing songs to him and tried to get him to stop thinking about how hungry he was, and that worked for about 5 minutes. I grabbed a couple more things for Sunni and then headed off to the big girls section for Silia and Leila. Not even 2 minutes there, Puka starts bawling. The poor guy, it was the I'M HUNGRY cry and he was past the point of no return. I had to at least get long sleeved tops for the girls and so as quick as I could started grabbing clothes off the racks. By now, Leila is playing "hide-n-seek" in the clothes racks and there were a couple times where she didn't come out when I called for her. I reminded her of a little exercise I had shared with her a couple days earlier (next paragraph) and it scared her to pieces, but she stayed right next to me for the remainder of our shopping trip. I looked at the time and realized I had 12 minutes to get home before the older 2 got out of school. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but I was clear across town and hadn't left the door unlocked for them, and the lines were LONG. I made it through the line, paid for our stuff and headed to McD's drive through to fee my hungry child. SWEET, now I had 2 minutes to drive 15 miles. When I got home, they still hadn't arrived yet...so it was all G. I did however promise myself that unless absolutely necessary, I will not ever take all 3 youngens shopping again. Maybe just Sunni, because she was the only one that didn't give me grief.


So, that little exercise I did with Leila was something that I felt necessary especially with all the shopping trips during this time of year. A couple days prior to the shopping experience above, I had a strong urge to teach Leila what to do if she were to ever get lost in a store while we were shopping and/or taken by a stranger. You must first know that Leila is very quiet! She talks to Fas and I and of course her siblings, but when it comes to others she pretty much smiles and nods her head, if even that. I know, I know...how did I ever get a quiet child right? hehehe! Anyway, it is my fear that if anyone were to ever just grab her, she would not scream!! IT SCARES ME TO DEATH!! So, I made her practice. I gave her different scenarios and with each one I made her practice screaming out loud. The poor thing didn't want any part of it and a few times would start to cry but I explained to her that practicing it now will help her know what to do IF something like that ever happened. During this exercise I also told her to always look for a lady at the cash register and ask for help, practiced her parent's names as well as grandma and grandpa's names and her aunties and uncle's as well so that she can tell the cashier who she came to the store with, and also running away from someone that says they will help her but actually start walking out of the store. I realize this may sound unnecessary and cruel to some of you ,but twice when I was younger I went through similar experiences. And because I had a big mouth and wasn't shy and quiet I was able to draw attention towards me and avoided being taken by someone that wasn't related to me. After we were done Leila turned to me and said with tears in her eyes "Mommy I don't want to go to the store anymore." Yes, I felt bad but I also felt that she absolutely learned from those exercises and HEAVEN FORBID, if anything of that nature happens she'll be prepared.


On a lighter note...my baby girl turned 1 last week. We kept it simple and had just the fam over with cake and ice cream. Fas and I were a bit sad because she is our first child to NOT have a big 1st birthday. If you're Samoan you'd understand, if you aren't... 1st birthdays are a huge deal. They usually involve a huge bbq, food for days, family and friends and neighbors and bishops, and blow up things, and entertainment and all of the above. I knew however, when I gave birth to my only Winter baby that she most likely wouldn't have huge bashes for her birthdays. Seriously, who in this world ever has money this time of year? I am happy to report though that Sunni girl is happy and healthy and is in the 98 percentile for weight in her age group (HAHAHAHA...she's just like her mama:)). Sunni walks whenever she feels like it. She still climbs all over everything and has actually only fallen once from one of her climbing acts. She says "MOM" really loud and obnoxiously but we all love it and tease her about it every once in a while. Sunni loves her brothers! She always has a kiss for them whether she's half asleep, crying, eating or whatever...if one of her brothers passes by she will always lean towards them and pucker up. I have a feeling that she and Puka will be best friends!! They play together so well, and despite the fact that he used to slap her and bite her when she was a tiny infant, they show so much love for each other. Sunni loves music and when she hears it she will start bobbing her head and smiling. If someone sings to her or around her she will sing with them. You should hear her at church. I'm so thankful for her and for the love she gives me. There's nothing like a helpless, innocent baby to make a mommy feel so loved. HAPPY 1st SUNNI-GIRL!!!


Sunni blowing out her candle

Sunni playing with her favorite gift that night, a baby stoller!

Since it's been almost 2 hours since I've been writing this blog I'm cutting it short here. Since the last post I attended Activity Days with my 9 yr. old, Silia. We had a soup dinner and made gingerbread houses. A couple days after that I invited a friend of mine as well as my Mom and Sister to my ward's Progressive dinner. That turned out really well, and the food was so yummy. Fasi and I attended a party for a friend that just graduated from the Police Academy over the weekend, and we also kept with another Taase family tradition and took the kids to see Christmas lights. Every year we go to look at this neighborhood that my family and I would visit when I was in high school. Almost every house is decorated, and they're huge beautiful homes and sometimes they even have Santa out in a chair to take pictures with everyone. It also helps in that, during my High School years a ton of my friends and classmates lived in this neighborhood and so as we pass certain houses I'll say who lived there and what fun thing we did at this persons house, etc. My kids love to hear those stories, and by now actually have some of them memorized. I didn't have my camera for all the events listed above only for some. So enjoy the pics that I do have!!

Silia and I at her Activity Days, showing off our little gingerbread house.

One of the huge lit homes

Our favorite house this year. It had numerous blow ups all over the yard, and a Santa going up and down a chimney, and also in the left upstairs window they had a simulated Santa. It looked so real as if he was looking out the window and then going about stacking presents and stuff.


Check out Puka's reaction to the lights. It's so fun to see them enjoy Christmas!!