I’ll be the first to admit I don’t post very often, more so now because I can’t type for too long anymore. But geez, how did I lose all the previous comments from Lynn and Lika and others?

Update on my life:

A few of us “wahine-types” in our little town decided to start a book club. Most of the members have ties to the islands (that includes Guam, Saipan and any other island that might be floating in the ocean). We decided to do this mostly as a way to get together without our kids or hubbies; it gives us something to look forward to once a month. We didn’t care if any member didn’t really want to read, we just wanted to hang out away from home and have adult conversations. The fact that we can have discussions about a book is an added bonus. The non-reader of the group turned out to be the most enthusiastic reader. She was feeling like one with the chi … or something.

Last night was our discussion night so we met at Applebees and we chatted about our daily routines, kids, money, each other and we brought up a topic or two about the book.

I’m stressing because I still haven’t decided what to do for Kamalani’s birthday. Chuck E Cheese would’ve been the obvious choice but so much of her classmates have had their parties there, it just doesn’t seem all that special anymore (and I think people might not want to drive out 35 miles to get there). Then I thought of having it at the local bowling alley. This past Saturday, a friend held her son’s birthday party there so I went to drop Kamalani off and check out the set up and was immediately turned off by the place. I was dying to get some air, it was so congested that I felt claustophobic within minutes. I checked out another place today but they’re booked and the facility didn’t look that great either. I still have a few places to look at but time is a-ticking just way too fast for me. Anyway, wish me luck in finding someplace before her birthday passes.

I got the call today that my insurance has approved carpal tunnel surgery. That will take care of the numbness in my fingertips, so they say. Then I’ll just need to get them to work on my neck and shoulders and I’ll be almost in perfect shape. (That would be ROUND)

Kamalani was here on Saturday while her mother went to work. I had planned to go grocery shopping in the morning but had some difficulty getting motivated to move my ass. By the time I was ready to leave, it was nearly 4:00 in the evening.

I think I’ve become addicted to the coffee beans they sell at the commissary therefore it was a neccessity for me to do my shopping that day. I was all out of coffee beans. Oh, and I guess I needed food too. ~L~

Anyway, we first ran to do some errands, like pick up my brother’s prescription at the pharmacy that’s located in one of the grocery stores in town. When we walked toward the entrance, Kamalani shook her head at all the Valentine ’s Day display and asked why everyone has so much Valentine’s stuff at the stores. It sounded as though she were complaining about it. Of course that was until we walked into the store and she spotted a Disney Princess Valentine balloon. Her face lit up and she turned to me wearing her “I promise I’ll be good if you buy that for me” smile. Then she asked if I’d buy that for her. I was on a mission so I told her it isn’t Valentine’s day yet. She said she knows that but could I still buy it for her ON Valentine’s day. I told her I’d think about it. Well, she was determined to leave the store with more than my brother’s pills so she asked if we could buy something for Papa. I told her Papa likes when I don’t spend his money on him. She doesn’t get that. Anyway, we ended up leaving with just the meds.
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Since the beginning of the new year a few of Kamalani’s classmates have had birthdays. Now, she can’t wait until it’s her birthday. She’s already planning who she’ll be inviting to her party which somewhat puts pressure on me to plan a party for her. She tells everyone that she’ll soon be 6 years old, then I chime in with, “so when are you going to start sleeping in your own room?” She said she’d start when she turns 6. She said she’d start sleeping in her own bed last year too. She lied.

When it was our night to have her again, she woke us up the next morning and told us that we were squishing her. Then she complained that we were trying to kill her and that she almost died. I told her she should start sleeping on her own bed. She said no way.

Later that day, I took my brother shopping at Ace Hardware because they had a dollar sale going on. We were in the lightbulb section and Kamalani spotted some really pretty nightlights. She asked if I’d buy one for her but then I replied that she didn’t need one since she still slept in our bed between us. Then she said, “Grams, if you buy me that shell nightlight, I promise I’ll sleep in my own room.” Part of me warned myself that she lies but $10.00 later, we were the new owners of a shell nightlight.

After her bath and dinner, we read a few books then I told her to go brush her teeth and give us kisses goodnight because she has to go to bed in her own room on her own bed. She was excited to use her nightlight so she did as she was told (shocking!). She went to her room and switched on her nightlight, then she got under her blanket and a few minutes later, she was snoring. I thought for sure she’d wake up in a few hours when she feels for a body in her sleep then realize she’s on her own. Well, she eventually did wake up two hours later and came to my bedroom, but I told her she needed to go back to her room and she did without a fuss. The next morning she woke up bright and early and climbed into our bed to “wake us up”.

She slept in her room again the next night. If I had known all it was going to take was a shell nightlight to get her to sleep in her own bed, I’d have bought it ages ago. I guess when you’re turning 6 it means that you’re grown up.