Mrs. Ribbit

Meet Mrs. Ribbit and her baby who has not been named as of yet.  She joined our family last night after a shopping trip to WalMart.  The best part, she was a late Valentine's gift from my 8-year-old who used her own Valentine's money from grandparents to buy this for me.  Her favorite mom.  Ever.

Four years ago, we made a WalMart trip and saw some great stuffed animal/pillows.  I immediately gave my kids money and instructions since it was getting close to Valentine's Day.

"Take your dad to WalMart and buy me either the ladybug or frog.  I also want a bag of Dove dark chocolate pieces.  Here's some money and a coupon for the chocolates.  The coupon is for two bags so pick out a bag for you girls.  Ready?  Go!"

That Valentine's Day four years ago I got home from work and walked into the house.  The girls were bouncing off the walls with excitement and as soon as they heard the key in the door, they ran at me almost in a full line football tackle!  They dragged me to my room and were squealing with delight the whole way there.  All of 15 steps.  Which is about all I can take with squealing.  I opened the door and saw the bag of chocolates, a rose, a beautiful card full of declarations of love from my daughters and husband, and not one but TWO stuffed animals/pillows.  My husband, the non-romantic that he is, bought the frog AND the ladybug.  I promptly (with urging/nagging from my youngest who was 4-years-old at the time) named them. Mr. Frog and Miss Ladybug.  I know.  Not very creative but when you're a mother of four children, you have to go down the list just trying to call ONE child.  (Ka-An-Pu-Nana!  Whichever kid you are! You know I'm talking to you cuz I'm looking right at you!!!)  How the heck will I remember the stuffed animals' names, too?

About a year after I received my lovely gifts, my youngest began to have bad dreams.  And wake me up at all hours of the night.  Which created a very grouchy, tired mom.  I tried everything.  Reading happy, non-scary stories at night.  Singing lullabies.  Praying.  Using Spock-like mind controls.  Telling her to dream of ice cream and cake.  Dream of eating candy all day long.  Dream of mom karate chopping the monster.  My husband even suggested giving her one of my night shirts so she could feel like I was beside her.  Because at this point, we were absolutely exhausted.  My husband and I can barely fit in our bed let alone having another body sleeping with us and ending up with black eyes every morning from the legs and arms flopping all night long.  Enter Mr. Frog and Miss Ladybug.

"Would you like to sleep with Mr. Frog and Miss Ladybug?  Do you think that will help with your bad dreams?"  I asked one sleepless night.  She nodded and basically took over my stuffed animals/pillows.  To my husband's delight.  He hated the things.  But I'm a sucker for stuffed animals and I was sad to let them go. Growing up in American Samoa, I had my collection of stuffed animals and even had a special shelf for them. I've always loved them.  I still have a stuffed panda bear I bought when I was 6-years-old on a rare family vacation in the great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina visiting my mom's family.  It's not always about the toy but the memories they carry.  When it came to these newer stuffed animals, I was happy to give them up if it helped my daughter with her bad dreams and kept her in her own bed all night (and save me from looking like the sleepy, frazzled, crazed mom at work).

Fast forward four years, Mr. Frog and Miss Ladybug have been constant companions in my daughter's bed along with the ten plus other stuffed animals she has acquired throughout the years.  So here we are at WalMart, four years later, after Valentine's Day and the store is prepping for Easter.  She sees this frog/frog baby combo.  And guess what?  She offers to give back Mr. Frog. Now that he's flat, smooshed, smells like bad breath, and is in sorry shape.  Really?  I give her "the look" and continue with my shopping.  That's when she gets a bright idea.  And she goes and grabs ANOTHER frog/frog baby set.

"One for me and one for you, mom.  A late Valentine's present."  She says this with a look of satisfaction and joy.  Because now we have a matching set.  And I'll be honest, I was very excited!  So she purchases the frogs and we get home to place them in their rightful places on our beds.  My baby girl comes in to see that the frog is being treated properly and to make sure her dad hasn't tossed it across the room then asks, "What are you going to name it?"

I had to think for a minute.  We already have Mr. Frog and Miss Ladybug.  This one is holding a little one. What matches with a frog?  The lightbulb turns on (sometimes it works!) and I replied, "Her name is Mrs. Ribbit and her baby."  My daughter smiled and said it was a great name.  And of course, everything was right with the world.

As I drifted off to sleep last night hugging Mrs. Ribbit and baby, I felt happy and content.  Not because of the stuffed animal in my arms or even the fact that my baby girl bought me a gift.  Life was, no, life IS good. And now I have Mrs. Ribbit and baby to create new memories!

Memories of Christmas Past

I have fond memories of Christmas. Sadly, I can't really remember one specific Christmas that stands out to me. What I DO remember is the feeling of the Christmas season.

*Every Christmas we would have a baking fest at least a few days before Christmas Eve. The house would be filled with the aroma of pies, cakes, and cookies. Christmas music would be playing on the radio and we would be busy decorating. On Christmas Eve (and sometimes Christmas Day) we would deliver all of the goodies to family and friends spreading holiday cheer. We kids would sit in the back of the truck, singing carols, counting all of the Christmas trees, and saying HI to the police officers at the different sobriety check points. Even the policemen would get cookies!

*Decorating the Christmas tree was always a fun ritual. We grew up with a fake tree but my mom grew mini pine trees and those would be decorated with mini Christmas ornaments and set outside. The main tree would usually be set up on my sister's birthday in early December and taken down on my brother's birthday in early January. Perfect timing for the holiday season.

*Christmas in the Pacific falls during the summer season so I grew up with green, warm Christmases. The day would be celebrated with either a barbeque, an 'umu, or going to the beach. When someone received a bike or some outdoor sports equipment, they could actually use it on Christmas day instead of waiting for warmer weather.

*Some years we would have special visitors from off island like family members coming home for the holidays. Those were especially fun because there would be a lot of visiting, excitement, and more swimming!

*The anticipation of Christmas funneled into Christmas morning. My mom's tradition of setting up chairs for each child with their gifts on them is something I have continued with my own children. Those chairs were not set up until Christmas Eve night after everyone was asleep because Santa had to deliver the gifts. When we woke up in the morning, we weren't allowed out of our rooms until Dad and Mom were in the living room. Only then could we come in and start opening presents. The excitement of Christmas morning is still with me today with my own kids. The look on their faces is priceless as they see what Santa brought.

Christmas memories are truly special! With my own children, I'm hoping to carry on the tradition of making those memories.

*Baking cookies for family and Santa. Santa gets his cookies with a Pepsi because these days, Santa is lactose intolerant.

*Setting up chairs for each girl on Christmas Eve night. A couple of Christmases ago we were staying at my mother-in-law's house and we were having a hard time not having our own home. I thought of how I could make Christmas special for my girls and decided to create a treasure hunt. When they woke up Christmas morning and went into the living room, they didn't see the chairs but saw a note from Santa. He sent them on this treasure hunt and by the time they returned to the living room, their gifts had appeared.

The similarities with all of the Christmases, both past and present, are that they are filled with family! No matter how difficult times are, there is always family to help make the day special. Add good food, laughter, and games, and that's what Christmas memories are all about!

My Brother...

On April 3, 1973, a baby boy was born. He was the youngest of several children to Samoan parents who lived in San Diego, California. When he was only three months old and in true Samoan fashion, his great-aunt and uncle took him to American Samoa to live with his extended family. He lived by another name for many years. He was part of the family. He was the younger brother who loved to play outside, climb trees, throw rocks at the neighbor's kids, and laugh with the best of them. Even when people questioned whether he was a real sibling, the answer was always the same. Of course he's our brother! Even when he found out he was adopted and met his real siblings, he was still part of our family. He was still our brother. We were all with him when he passed away; ALL of his brothers and sisters. Whether physically or over the phone, we were all able to say our goodbyes, tell him how much we loved him and how much we would miss him, and hold onto him until the end. He will always be remembered as the hero who wanted to keep everyone safe, the teddy bear uncle who loved and spoiled all of the nieces and nephews, the brother who always made sure everyone was okay, the son who called in the middle of the night just to say HI. We will always miss him. His smile, his laugh, his stories. His memory lives on. RIP, Lino!