it was brought up that it’s not a good idea to leave a blog post about how one of my kids had LICE

up for more then 2 days.

It’s been 28 days.

sheet

So thank you Jamie.

We have had a very busy last few weeks around here….

and i feel like i should apologize for not keeping up with my blog…..but i live a different life now…

and getting up first thing to post a blog is long gone…..i’m sorry my faithful friends.

I will try and get a post out when i can……but with my phone with me 24-7….it’s just so much easier

to instagram my daily photos and such then to put it all down here on the blog.

So much is happening and has happened though…that i will do my best to get everyone all up to speed.

First and foremost…..my MIL is on Facebook now…..

she sent me the email yesterday and asked me to be her friend…..so i gladly accepted her request.

There goes my facade as a wonderful mother to her grandchildren and bend- over backward wife to her

amazing son.

I have a feeling she finally joined facebook because she got tired of waiting around for me to blog;-)

Anyhoo…..

Let’s get some cocktails going around here….

are we good?

Yes. good.

Lola was in her first ever musical/play.

even though the play/musical was last month….it’s never to late to show off some of the photos….

sort of like the late show with David Letterman but not really.

Speaking about late night shows…..

has anyone seen the movie ‘Life at 40′?

I’m not 40 yet…..i’m still 38…..but it’s right around the corner and as far as i know my husband doesn’t 

take viagra…..but speaking about Viagra…..it brought up a moment from my past that needs to be written

down because it’s one of those things that shouldn’t be forgotten in the little details.

Once upon a time i lived in Vail Colorado and worked as a back office nurse for a family practice

doctor who still works there but i will call her Jen to protect both of us.

{let me set the scene}

Since Jen was a family practice doctor….she had to be on call every once in a while.

One night when she was on call…….and i mean had to return phone calls that the answering service relayed to her…

and also this is the time that Viagra had just made it’s name on the circuit……

where i think every male in town had made an appointment with their doctor to get this new miracle pill.

Anyhoo…..being the fun and energetic nurse that i was to Doctor Jen…..

i called the answering service that night and spoke with operator who answered the phone.

She asked me my name:

Eileen

She asked me my husbands name who i was calling about:

Ben

She asked me our last name:

Dover

{She might have choked back her phlegm at that point….but i forged ahead with the convo……}

and in 15 minutes Dr. Jen called the number she was given and i answered the phone.

Needless to say……no Doctor wants to take a phone call from a patient that has just enjoyed the medicinal effect

of a new pill 8 hours later.

Obviously this post has nothing to do with Viagra……nor does it have to  do with turning 40 but 

what i wanted to tell you is that i will be 40 in less then 2 years and I told Bryan that i want to go to France

for my 40th…..

but i also told him that i don’t have to be 40…..i can be 39 if he really wanted to surprise me.

Damn girlfriends…..that cocktail needs a refill and i feel like i’m been blubbering on and on.

……..

Back to Lola…………

{She was part of the drama club at school and was cast as uncle Duke in the Little Mermaid…..

{the only girl cast as a boy……}

she played the part of Uncle …..the Hawaiian version of little mermaid was a bit different then the movie

version….but non the less…..it was pretty amazing to see all these 5th and 6th graders acting and singing.

Then a few days after the play/musical…..

Bryan scored a free day with Princeville Ranch Adventures and we did a little zip -lining.

It was really a whole lot of fun……

i might have pee’d my pants a little bit but i think it was worth it.

I also didn’t realize you were not allowed to bring a box of wine with you in your backpack…..

i mean….

who makes up these type of rules is what i would like to know.

{i swear that they named that zip line above King Kong because that was the type of SHEET someone

had when they jumped off and flew through the air for 1200 feet}

…………….

This is Katie in the green buckling me in the photo below…….she’s one of the guides at the Ranch….but

she doubles as our sitter when we need one.

My kids love her and if Bryan and i should die ….we decided that Katie will get our kids.…..

we obviously have not told her this yet….

and maybe she won’t answer her phone anymore when i call…..

but we already decided and i’m calling my lawyer tomorrow.

I don’t really have a lawyer….

but we have a friend that is a real estate lawyer…..so that counts right.

In case i die before Bryan does…..

i found this book that he will need:

It wasn’t till i started back at work a few days a week…….

getting home late and after the kids were already in bed…..that it came to the realization

that SHEET does not get done on those 2 days.

*finishing homework in the car on the way to school 

*laundry that is still wet and now moldy sitting in the washing machine

wait a minute…..

that laundry might have been me……i don’t remember exactly.

anyhoo……got off subject at some point ……

it might be because …….

never mind.

We love Katie……she has a boyfriend that is a lifeguard…..and this summer they are taking us and a small

group to kayak up the napali coast so that i can cross that off our bucket list.

I promise i won’t be swimming this time….

but throw me in a kayak and put a life preserver on me…..

i will be good to go.

Katie doesn’t know they are taking us up the coast yet…..

and she doesn’t know if we die that she will inherit our kids….

but sometimes no news is good news.

check check

My bucket list is getting things crossed off like crazy……

and our 2nd year here is closing in on us.

The kids only have less than 3.5  weeks of school left and we have some big decisions to make.

wait a minute….

i had to double check my calendar….

and yes…it is definitely 3.5 weeks left.

Got some good hiking in the last month now that the weather is drying up around here…..

 got to do some shell searching…….

not to be confused with soul searching…..

sheet

We had our 2nd annual Easter egg hunt and pot luck dinner at the beach with friends this year…..

One day Fin will look back on this photo and appreciate that i snapped this early one morning….

and then this last Sunday i was sitting around perusing my instagram and noticed that one of my fav

photographers happened to be here on Kauai for a visit.

I first started following Bryce when i saw him featured on Style me Pretty

so

I took a chance and emailed him to see what his schedule was like while here…..

but low and behold….he got back to me and said he just happened to be heading to the north shore that evening.

Did i have new clothes picked out for everyone….

no

were the kids well behaved and snot wiped from their noses….

no

but we were able to pull it together last minute and we even crashed a wedding reception

trespassed onto private property to get the photos we wanted.

{totally Bryce’s fault……we were just good  bystanders through the whole process}

FYI: no one was injured in the process and maybe…just maybe the caretaker showed up but i will tell you

all about that story when i get the photos back.

good times tan lines

These are just photos from my phone…..but you get the idea…..

some kids had shoes…some didn’t…..

Did i mention that i was able to get Hanalei Don out of the shop for an afternoon of catching up with the girls

a few weeks ago?

No??

oops….wrong photo…..

this is the one i was looking for

adorable really

{does anyone remember when he won BEST IN HAIR??}

especially when he crawls into bed with me in the morning for a snuggle before heading out to

the kitchen and demands his breakfast be made.

I always oblige.

Third child syndrome does that to some of us.

{except when you are doing jumping jacks in bootcamp…..because that is a whole different level of third

child syndrome that doesn’t need to be explained}

word

Anyhoo……

i realize that today marks exactly one month since i’ve last blogged and i thought this post

would be a great way to reintroduce myself to you.

Hello my name is Kasey

and my third child came home with LICE last week.

So apparently they really do attack the poor and under-hygened kids after all.

Fin and his bestie and one other boy from the class all had LICE ……

except here we don’t call them LICE

we call them UKUS.

it’s a big bad four letter word that in fact does not start with the letter *F*

but sounds just as bad when you say it aloud.

UKUS

pronounced: oohkoos

or you can just stick with the word LICE and everyone kind of looks at you weird anyway.

The school nurse pretty much said the boys were all high-fiving each other like it was some sort of 

tribal pact that they all three had UKUS.

I would secretly like to think they were happy only because they had been out on Spring Break for the last 

week and a half and on their 

one day back to school before the weekend

that they were actually happy about being able to go home at noon.

but no…… they were going home with LICE.

sheet.

Now….if you have experienced lice….then i applaud you.

If you have not….then i have nothing to say other then the fact that one day your child might come home with

little black bugs that have invaded their hair.

The worst part was not the fact that we had to deal with the whole treatment of the hair….

it’s the fact that you pretty much have to wash 

every

single

thing

in

the

entire

house

but because i’m a freak….i washed everything three times….

and just when you think you are done…..

you start itching like crazy because obviously the whole family is infected.

Didn’t said child crawl in bed with you that very morning?

They weren’t….but still…..i treated everyone including myself and Bryan….

and then i re-washed everything….

threw away all hair brushes and combs….

all stuffed animals and small pillows were stuffed into plastic bags for the next few weeks…

every single corner of the house was vacuumed and washed.

I actually bought all new sheets because i’m that person that just doesn’t deal well with this kind of thing.

then i got out the clippers and buzzed Fin’s hair down to the nub

all by myself

it was a home hack job at it’s best because the charger ran out….but we dealt….

gone

adios

buh-bye

beautiful beach boy hair……till we meet again.

I’m sure this is not quite the post that my mom and MIL were looking for when they called and wanted me

to update the good ole blog….

but SHEET

Fin came home with LICE last week and i just want you to know life is life….and

life goes on around here.

over and out

check check

 Can i tell you what i love?

I love that my kids love life.

I remember when the movie for Soul Surfer came out and we went straight to the movie theater

…..large popcorn with butter please……

…..junior mints……..

{we were in Illinois at that time when the movie premiered  ….April 2011….

but we had spent three weeks the previous summer in Kauai...July-Aug 2010}

and because we had been in Kauai and knew that they had been filming bits and pieces of the movie

while we were there……

you better believe we took the kids to see that movie opening night.

We were one of about 4 families in the theater.

I remember looking around and wondering where the hoards of people were that wanted to see this

movie about a girl who gets her arm bitten off by a shark.

hmmmm

I guess the movie grew as it stayed in the theater….buy anyhoo……back to that night…….

we loved it.

I walked out of the theater that night and i knew…..i just knew……Kauai had a place in our heart

and it wasn’t long after that Bryan lost his job and here we are full circle.

We moved here thinking our kids were going to be the

best surfers ever

but guess what……

none of the kids wanted to be surfers.

Lola tried it…..

{damn it if i didn’t absolutely  love her surfboard…..LOVED IT….do you hear me….LOVE}

but she sold that amazing gorgeous board….

and bought two mice with the money she made.

Unfortunately only one of the mice gets photographed……

{if you follow me on Instagram then you know which one it is…}

and apparently he looks like he might have an “IN” with Cirque du Soleil in his future.

And when i show some of her girls heading out to surf…..

Lola is not one of them…..because she would much rather be boogie boarding…..

even though she was the one that seemed like the most excited to meet Sebastian Zietz

who was the triple crown winner…..

it was us momma’s who were even more excited.

{i almost licked him…..but there were children around and i didn’t want to set a bad example}

Anyhoo……

back to my surf story.

Lola’s out.

done.

i don’t lose sleep over it.

she will never be a surfer.

….

Mason on the other hand…..

actually enjoys it……

but i’m not losing sleep over it either.

 He’s up for entering any available contests here………

even if it means he is competing with kids that are sponsored and have been surfing for years.

{i like to think that those first few years of having him watch baby Einstein videos was the key…}

Is Mason any good……

no

he’s really not.

does he want to join the surf team …..

no…..

he does not.

Does he beg to go surfing every day…….

no….

he does not.

Was last Saturday the worst surf contest ever…..

no…..

alright…

yes……

because there were really good kids surfing…..

and i mean….

really good.

But the best part of it was…….he just wants to give it a try.

It’s about having fun for him…….it’s not about the competition……even though the last contest…

he made it to the 2nd heat which was a big deal for him……

it truly is about perspective.

I sit and watch these parents of kids who’s life is surfing…….

{think toddlers and tiara’s but on a beach}

because if my kids life was all about surfing i would be writing all about how awesome my kid can surf….

but they don’t…..and can’t.

and i’m okay with it.

But damn it…..i still dream about that surfboard that Lola used to own.

{did i mention we have mice instead now?}

Anyhoo…….Surfing is a way of life here……

so is boogie boarding and swimming and being in the water.

I am getting really close to actually putting a surfboard in the water……

but till then….

i’m still holding out hope for Fin.

but no matter what….….

 we bottle these little moments up ….they are fleeting…..and turn into memories…

and we celebrate each of these moments. 

{celebrating the non-win in the surf contest…..because that’s how we roll….}

Its this thing called life.….and we love every minute of it.

{you can follow me under kaseybuick}

I love taking photos and i love how in one click on IG…..you can make anything look good…..

even if it’s really not good.

Do you understand ?

With one click…..i can make Living in Kauai look like there are no worries at all because of the rainbow i

just showed off over Hanalei bay but in reality……the house is a disaster…there are 2347293487 loads of laundry

to catch up on and your daughter had to sit on a bench at school during recess because she wasn’t

being nice to someone.

Anyhoo…………

i don’t know if any of you have printed your IG photos but right before Christmas i finally got on the bandwagon

and ordered a bunch to use as cards to gifts…..and i also ordered a sheet load of them to start some sort of

photo gallery wall of our time in Kauai.

{even though we still don’t know what our plan is going to be come this summer….}

I know there are a bunch of companies right now printing IG photos….so i’m sure you could use any of them….

i happened to use Prinstagrm {here}.

I love them…..

The little squares are sized  2.5 x 2.5

and i knew i wanted to make a few calling {business} cards with them because duh….

1.  I don’t have a business

2. You never know when you might need to hand out a calling card

{not to be confused with calling girl……because that is not what i’m advertising…}

unless you need a roadside massage.

check check

Sorry….no roadside massages being given here.

I found really cute washi tape at our ONE AND ONLY CRAFT STORE HERE ON KAUAI

{don’t cry for me Argentina….}

and because i probably could have printed up some cute labels to slap on the backs…..

but i can’t because i have a printer that pretty much prints out dirt…..

and there is no money to invest in a real life can do everything in one sitting printer….

i had to rely on the good ole handwriting by yours truly.

I slapped a few different pieces on the back and then hand wrote out my info.

why does looking at stripes on a computer make my eyes roll back in my head and

instantly bring on a migraine?

Sorry.
the investment was small….

I paid $12 for 48 of these mini squares….

and the shipping is a flat $7 so for me it was more economical to order a bunch of photos at one time.

The washi tape was $4 a roll…..

{i know you can find it for less online…..but my craft store had a great assortment and so i was able to

just pick up a few rolls and save on shipping.

I don’t know who i plan on giving them out to…..

or for what fashion….

but i did decide Fin needed some of his own cards to give out to the girls……

I mean….really…….the kid is going to be 8 next week and so far he keeps on getting bigger

even though i told him at 5 years old that he was forbidden to have another birthday.

and go meet my new baby nephew…..

celebrate Mason’s birthday…..

and celebrate my moms one year follow up following her double mastectomy.

Now that i have a job where i work 2 days a week….and Bryan has a hard time getting time away during

any busy season…..we felt like the weekend over Presidents weekend would work out best.

We booked a red eye out on the 14th and a return on the 19th…..which means the kids would only miss

2 days of school…..and Bryan would only miss 3 days of work.

Apparently my job really doesn’t count…so missing two days didn’t factor into the equation.

hmmmph

whatevs.

On Thursday night…..right around the time we were about to hop in the car and head to the airport….

we got a call telling us our flight had been cancelled.

Right away Bryan got on the phone and tried to figure out our best case scenario because let me tell you…..

we don’t live where you can pick and choose how to best get out of here.

{think island …..and middle of the night….}

We found out there was only one flight left that night and it had a connection through LAX and it was

on a completely different airline. The airline we had booked with got us on that flight…which meant we had

to scramble to the airport and try and make it.

Oh….we got there in time……but there was no plane there.

It had been delayed leaving the mainland and now the estimated time for departure was going to be at 2:30 in

the morning.

My kids were thrilled………

We finally made it on board…..and the kids slept the entire 5 hour flight to LA.

{we fly so much that i have it down to a science …..}

We arrived in LA….but missed our connecting flight due to being delayed out of Kauai…..

so we had about 6 hours to kill at LAX……

so we jumped on the Parking Spot shuttle that happens to be right next to an In & Out…..so we could

get our burger fix.

{gotta love the free parking lot shuttle……just make sure to tip the shuttle driver well}

While we were there……Bryan ran into an old friend from  his college days….who was visiting with his daughter 

touring colleges for the weekend.

{i’m still trying to get over the fact that some of your friends have college age kids….}

Apparently…..the In & Out on Sepulveda is the place to run into old friends.

We finally made it to Albuquerque at a little past 7 pm ……but my parents actually live up in Angel fire……

which is a 3 hour drive from the airport.

Which means…..we wasted a whole day because of the flights…..and really only have three whole days

in front of us to spend because it’s really an entire travel day to get back to Kauai.

Oh well…..sheet happens.

Two sheets if you must know the truth.

sheet sheet sheet

……….

The kids woke up at the butt sheet crack of dawn the next morning and before you could say

two sheet

Lola and Fin had their snow clothes on and were ready to go outside and play in the snow.

Thank goodness for kids that have not seen snow for 1.5 years…because it’s like magic i tell you….

just like magic mike for us girls….

snow is like magic mike for kids.

good clean fun

but with gloves and thick pants on.

{thank goodness}

Bryan and Mason went skiing together that first morning….all day.

They had so much fun together and it was also Mason’s birthday that day…..

but i just wanted to hang out with the family that first day…..

and get my baby fix.

I introduce you to baby Carter…..

{even though i really think he should have been named Bueller…}

I think he looks like he could easily be one of my kids….and in fact……

since i want another baby…..

{but not going to have one thanks to someone having a vasectomy  minutes after Fin was born….

and of course being the sleep deprived mother to to three kids….i must have somehow signed that

permission slip}

i thought my best allotment of time would be to spend it with the baby and the rest of the family.

Lola even thinks we should keep baby Bueller Carter…..

but she decided that she enjoyed playing with cousin Preston even more.

{i think it‘s because he listens to her….}

Anyhoo anyway……

i thought i would touch on the subject of two sheet since it’s in the blog title and all.

Ever since i was a little kid my parents have had an unhealthy relationship with using toooooo

many squares of toilet paper when you go to wipe and flush.

weird ……for sure

awkward…..yes.

The minute my dad picks us up at the airport…..he has a chat with the kids about how you can only

use two sheets of toilet paper because the house is on a septic tank so anymore then 2 sheet

might not only be disastrous……but downright ugly.

Point noted.

{i’m not stating that this photo of baby Mason had anything to do with this conversation…..}

{did i mention he is 12 now?! gah!}

We review this over and over with the kids because there is nothing worse then having Grandpa

in a bad mood and having to go out to the septic tank in the middle of winter because someone

{no one came clean…….no pun intended either }

had used maybe three sheets and not two sheets when they wiped their sheet or maybe

some little 7 year old boy sharted and was so scared to use more then two sheets that he hid his 

soiled pants in his suitcase.

true story

Well….someone did use one too many sheets and in the middle of winter on a cold morning….

Grandpa had to go out and work on the clogged septic tank.

I won’t lie when i tell you we all hid in different rooms because we were all afraid of the consequences .

……

Back track 6 years…….

My brother and his wife were married in this backyard ………

so think of the movie “meet the parents” with Ben Stiller……

that was our family that day with the septic tank because some guest used more than 2 sheets.

Anyhoo……

back to the rest of our weekend.

Have i ever mentioned that my mom owns the toy shop in Angel Fire?

It makes for some happy kids when Grandma takes them to the shop and lets them pick something out…..

beautiful abandoned place on the side of the road…..

Bryan and mason skied for all three days……

My brother Spencer has a few snow mobiles so he took bryan and the kids out on an adventure…..

more skiing…..

i did not ski.

i do

{honest….i do}

but this trip i did not……

i did wait for them at the base of the mountain in the warm bar though….

that counts.

{i did check the best wife in the universe book and it states it right there in chapter 6}

on our last day…..

which was day three 

{hard to think we were really only there for three whole days….}

my dad wanted to get us all together for a family photo….

so i give to you ……

The Hill Family photo:

the little kid on the right ……we think he saw a mountain lion.

{unconfirmed at this point…}

every night we sat around after dinner and played games……

i would have won the card game….

if Bryan didn’t shuffle the cards mid game…..

which is sooo against any card rules ever in the history of the world……

but he did….

and so therefore i lost.

and then this little guy…..

beautiful……adorable…..and i really did almost eat him he was so delicious…..

but instead tried to find a way to sneak him home.

We had such a wonderful long weekend away…..

and it was so good to be around my family for 3 whole days. We love them.

It’s short for Anyhoo Alright.

I went four days without grapefruit juice and vodka and to tell you the truth my blood pressure

shot out the roof and my grey roots popped out faster then you can say Shart.

Which means i’m back on the sippy cup.

I could go on and on about how beneficial grapefruit juice is for you and the medicinal qualities…

but my therapist 

aka: bryan

thinks i write way to much about vodka so i thought i would just quit therapy all together

and so far its going great on my own.

Alrighty……..Anyhoo…….

{see……there it is….good ole AA}

Some photos and a re-cap from the last few weeks……and i’m going to try and be better about giving a

good ole Kauai Daily Dose to you.

1. The girls heading out surfing a few weekends ago… 

2. my little red table is holding up well …..and Friday evenings are pretty holy around here.

3. Lola loves animals…..so we have to stop at the horse pasture every once in a while to

take it all in.

4. drinks with a friend after work one night a few weeks ago…

{i swear that gecko on the wall sharted on her dessert…..but i’m not saying one word…not one word}

5. Hanalei Don working the register at work….

unfortunately…..it was a slow night so he thought it would be funny to surprise me with my fav cocktail.

{if i get fired after this post……i’m still holding Hanalei Don responsible….}

6. I had to buy Lola  a new mouse cage because part of the downfalls of living near the ocean

is that anything with metal rusts pretty easily.

And it was starting to stink.

stink bad.

I had Lola run the old cage out to the condo complex garbage and throw it away……

and the next morning we found it at the neighbors yard sale.

They were selling it for $2

I don’t know what was more funny…..the fact that they dumpster dived for the foul smelling mice

cage and tried to sell it at their yard sale or the fact that another neighbor actually bought it and i see

it sitting on their front porch like it’s a fine piece of art or something.

7. Birthday parties around here are normally at the beach.

8. Fin and some of his friends keeping themselves busy while i was photographing a family….

9. Pretty finds along the beach……

10. Mason turned 12 over the weekend.

This is the cruiser i think he needs……

except since he won’t be driving for 4 more years….

i think i should be the sole driver till he can take it over.

Bryan is still not returning my daily texts about this proposal.

11. This is what 12 looks like.

{we just got home from a long weekend in New Mexico…..so i’ll be posting about that later this week}

12. Hanalei Don called shot gun and rode to school with us.

{i still don’t understand how this happened…..}

13. Dinner with friends for valentines on our back lanai…..

14. it’s even better when you can serve fine boxed wine.

p.s. the word Shart is what happens when you mix the two words together:  Sheet and Fart.

Boys…..namely 7 year old boys….

think it’s funny to leave a shart in their pants especially since said child does not wear underpants.

It’s not funny.

So…in response to sharts left in pants…..i will leave plastic roaches on said child’s bed now.

Because it’s valentines day and a day to love on the ones we love most….i thought i would re-share this

photo shoot of Fin and one of his first little girlfriends.

……………………………..

It’s okay to have a first love….and it’s okay to cry when you lose it.

I wanted to capture a story for these two…….because you see….this is one of Fin’s best friends…

and she will be moving away shortly. I wanted to be able to put something together..

so that when these two are older…that they have something to look back on…and remember when.

I wasn’t planning on showing these yet…but the more i look at the photos …the more i know how

much she’s going to be missed. Her momma is a dear friend and reads my blog……

so i know she will be surprised when she sees these photos and hopefully knows….how very much we love them.

I hope these images captured the sweetness that only a pair of five year olds could have.

See that book on top of the pile in the wagon…..it is one of our all time favorite books EVER…

it’s called ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’…..by Kate DiCamillo.

It’s the story about a rabbit…who is loved…then lost…and…well…i guess you just

need to read it now to find out what happens in the end.

The small grey felt hearts are from Ikea…as is the heart bucket. I found the branch in my yard..

and now it resides in my home. The child silhouette banner and hand held hearts were made

by my friend Vana at Le Papier.

p.s. No children were hurt or mistreated at any time during the making of this love story.

p.p.s. Children might have been given candy for their cooperation.

So…..we’ve been here for a year and a half…..

and after living here for that amount of time without our stuff since it’s all sitting in a storage unit

back home that we pay a monthly rent on in order for it all to be secured and safe while we are living here

i am at that point where even though we absolutely LOVE it here but living without our things is

probably the hardest part.

I love style.

I love pretty things.

I love making my home look good and part of that is i love being creative in my home space.

That is why i decided it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission……

because as much as most of the peeps on this island are just fine living with rattan and bamboo style

furniture…..mix matched living is just not happening for me.

The condo we live in has three bedrooms…..two of the bedrooms are upstairs and the kids are in those.

Lola and Fin had been sharing a room up until this point and Mason had his own room.

Lola is at the age now where she really needs her own space and the boys are back to sharing a room

just like they did back in Illinois. The bedrooms are painted a lime green.

There is nothing good about lime green bedrooms unless you have a new baby and it’s called a nursery…..

so throw in our lime green bedroom walls…..bamboo and rattan furniture and warped and old wooden blinds

on the windows….it’s not a pretty look and i was starting to feel my blood pressure rise and my tourette’s syndrome

come out every time i had to go into one of the rooms.

The room that we moved lola into for her own is also the guest bedroom for when we have guests….

it’s a king bed where as the other bedroom has 2 twin beds….so the optional room for Lola and when

we have guests is the bedroom with the king bed.

This is the only before photo i took…..and it was taken with my phone……but it’s pretty spot on with 

the look i was describing….

So……i decided i would paint the room and because i did not ask permission to paint….

i am asking for forgiveness now.

But in our defense…..i truly believe that the new color adds so much.

I moved the two rattan nightstands and the tall bamboo dresser into the closet……

and we stored the one rattan floor lamp and the blinds into the loft for storage so that the owner won’t freak out

when and if we decide to leave…….all the original stuff is still here.

{just out of sight out of mind}

After pouring myself a cocktail….i went to work on painting the room……

{cottage white}

I also needed to be thrifty and creative because i can’t afford a headboard

{there was a rattan mirror above the bed before makeover}

and due to the fact that there is an abundance of free and beautiful driftwood all over the place

i decided to create a driftwood headboard.

I have to say that i love how it turned out.

I found this amazing corded light fixture at a local boutique here on Kauai…..

i’ve seen them at Anthropologie and i remember thinking how much i loved it….just not the price tag.

I paid $50 for it.

Score.

Jump.

Love.

Let’s have a cocktail to celebrate!


Like i mentioned before we took down the blinds that wouldn’t even open anymore because

i think they were original to the place.

There is not much here in the way of shopping for window treatments……

and because Walmart and Kmart were out of the question…..i decided to see if Home Depot had anything.

Score again.

I needed 6 panels and these Martha Stewart white ones were priced right at just over $15 per panel.

I also couldn’t find the right curtain rods that i wanted so here i am being creative again…..

with driftwood.

{free and if and when the owner wants them down….off they go because the driftwood is being held

on large curtain tie backs}

I used some white rope i found to string through the curtain loops because as hard as i tried…..

i just couldn’t find long and skinny pieces of driftwood. They were all pretty thick for the length i wanted.

But i love how they turned out.

The chair is one of a pair i had been eyeing at a local furniture liquidation store…..

they were part of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Oahu.

The hotel went through major renovations in 2009 and these were the last of the 50′s style chairs

that the furniture liquidators had.

I had been eyeing them for about 6 months…….

and since no one really loves this style like i do…..i finally caved and bought both of them for $80.

Total.

Not each.

Score again.

I bought them a few months ago and decided that one of them needed to go into Lola’s room.

The pillow was hand made and gifted to me from a friend…….so i decided to let Lola’s chair

borrow it for now till i can find a pretty place for it.
My next amazing find was at a thrift shop……

i just happened in it last week and it was hidden in the back.

The price tag was $8.

When i went to check out……the cashier asked me if i wanted to donate $1 to their charity

and then the price of the lamp drops 50%.

So i got the lamp for $5.

It just needed some spray paint to cover up the brass stand……

Every girl needs some mermaid love and because lola is not a surfer…..

{she would rather be boogie boarding}

i didn’t want to go with the whole surfer girl look.

And it’s the guest bedroom for when we have guests…..so the room needs to have that welcoming look

as well.

The artwork is from a local artist and is done on and old part of a door.

The bedding i found at Macy’s on clearance…..

It’s called Henna by Bar 111.

Lola’s not a girly girl so this print fit her perfectly.

 As time moves on….i would like to find some baskets to add to the old bookcase…..

but for right now i’m out of money and part of the thrill of decorating is the thrill of the find.

For right now the shelves will stay open.

I love how the room turned out……and right now Bryan is just trying to talk me down because

i would love to tackle our bedroom as well.

But for right now at least Lola has a sweet coastal bedroom and i can sneak up there and pretend like it’s mine

every once in a while…….and all the original furniture is nicely tucked away.

I am getting calls from my mom and dad some worried people wondering if i have fallen off the face of the planet……

but do not despair…..

if you are still checking in to read this here blog…..good news.

This is a new post.

Note to self: Call mom and mother-in-law and inform them that there is updated blog post.

I will admit….i’ve taken a breather…….and sitting here to write has not been at the top of my priority list….

i want you to know that sometimes i sit down to write out a post….but my mind goes blank…..

and i lost my thoughts into jumped up sentences that don’t flow here or there…..so i leave it unpublished…

and for that i apologize.

I know our time here is short…..and i have this overwhelming urge to write it all down so that not a moment is forgotten

but then when i do sit down….i know that this goes worldwide and for some odd reason or another…..

our story seems to be just that.

just a story

but one thing i know for sure is that our story is pretty awesome and i wouldn’t change it for the world.

So…..if you are still here reading…..i thank you.

Sometimes i just need breathers like everyone else……..

Note to self: don’t drink vodka then write…..breathers means breather…..

my home needs to be cleaned……i still work a part time job……

the kids still need to get to places and there is the beach that we have a date with every other day.

Let me get you all caught up on these last few weeks.

check check

First of all……grapefruit juice and vodka with just a teeeeny tiny bit of ginger is still really good….

and i would just like to say it’s healthy and because of the medicinal effects of what is in the grapefruit….

with the added benefit of a dash {or more} of vodka because as we all know….

vodka keeps the germs away.

You know the old saying……

an apple a day…….

a little bit of vodka a day keeps the doctor away

Note to self: Out of vodka…..buy more.

Sorry….back to our regularly scheduled program.

How was your Holiday?

good?

Is it really almost the end of January….for crying out loud?!?

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is now 3rd weed of January.

Sorry….i didn’t mean WEED….i meant week.

It must be the freshly squeezed ginger talking…..

but anyhoo.

Christmas eve the kids and i hopped on a red eye flight to Florida to see the grandparents.

It was their gift from Nanna and Poppy….and seeing that they couldn’t really fly 11 hours solo….i decided to

tag along with them.

Thank you Nanna and Poppy.

We boarded a red eye flight Christmas night and the entire flight was empty.….

as in….

there were a grand total of 45 people on a flight that normally holds over 150…..so as you can imagine….

a red eye flight and three tired kids…..

they each claimed their own row….laid down and slept the entire flight to Phoenix.

I stayed up and had 2 glasses of wine and watched the movie.

I sorta figured i could catch up on sleep at another time…..because how often am i by myself

with a movie and the beverage cart not far from row 26.

that’s right….

i fell asleep about an hour from landing and let me just say the next flight from Phoenix to Florida was a little rough.

rough

hard

i will never do that again.

ever

in the history of the world

thankyouverymuch

but we will…..because we had an amazing time.

We didn’t land till early evening on the 26th…..and needless to say….i might have crawled right into bed.

The next morning we all slept in…..

{can i get an AMEN to the 5 hour time change going EAST}

and once we got up and dressed……Bryan’s dad loaded us up and wanted to take us out on the boat.

We also knew that we probably only had one or two days of sunshine before weather was supposed to hit

the area…..so we soaked up the sunshine…..

in our sweaters and hats.

Note to self:  Remember to tell mom that those are not beer cans in the above photo, just coke cans.

on one of the days we hit the farmers market……

and needless to say……

i was introduced to my very first ever red velvet donut.

I still wake up at night thinking about those things………

they were in fact the best thing i’ve ever had since the introduction to the Hanalei.

trust me

We also did things like visit the Loggerhead marine center in Juno where we saw a bunch of rescued Loggerhead turtles…

we took a diva duck tour around Palm Beach…..

i even snuck out one evening and met a friend for drinks and then went to the movies

all

by

myself

and i saw Les Mis.

It was wonderful.

And on our very last night in Florida……….

{let me remind you we were only there for 5 whole days…..and not a single minute longer……}

my friend turned soul sister who would be my sister wife if we ever moved to Florida

invited the kids and i over for an evening at the Farm.

{you might remember my original post about Fig & Fauna from last summer}

anyhoo……Megan had us over and this time i brought the kids with me.

Note to self: must buy a farm in near future.

that is Megan above with her inspiration wall.

She doesn’t know it yet…..but i stole a few of those photos from the wall…..so if you are reading this post

Megan then i am sorry but i’m not giving them back.

well….i might give them back…..but i will need fresh eggs in return.

no pressure or anything

The best part about the farm were the rabbits……

who knew that kids could stay occupied for hours just playing with rabbits….

carrying them around like babies and loving on them.

Note to self: get a few rabbits

This photo below is what my family would look like it i had one more child……

note to self: Talk bryan into having a vasectomy reversal

but i don’t……

except i do know one thing……

Fin left the farm that night thinking he had a new girlfriend.

Little Dane might not know it yet……but Fin has her photo on his inspiration wall;-)

wink wink

just kidding mom……he does not have an inspiration wall.

{he keeps all his photos in his underwear drawer and the kid doesn’t even wear underwear so this is awkward}

Note to self: Have Fin start wearing underwear

Note to self again: Check and see if any kids are wearing underwear

I don’t know if i have ever mentioned the fact that Lola does not eat pork.

She tried to go vegetarian last summer but realized that in the event that we would ever go to McDonalds

again that she would never be able to have chicken nuggets she traded in that option and instead 

declared herself a Pork free eater.

It’s because of her love of pigs.

Megan had 2 pigs……huge ones……Wallace and Gromit……

and at Megan’s farm…..they do in fact….eat the chickens and pigs and whatnot.

One of the first questions out of Lola’s mouth the minute we started hanging with the pigs was

“you don’t eat the pigs do you”?????????

Megan looked at me…..

i looked at Megan……

and i had my friend tell a lie.

I still feel horrible about that.

because you know…..people do eat pigs…..the pigs that they raise and it is a farm for crying out loud……

so thank you Megan…..because one little white lie helped keep Lola from crying right then and there and the whole

farm visit would have gone down hill fast.

I didn’t get many photos this last trip of the inside of her house…..

it was getting dark fast and the light was fading……

plus the fact that Megan had served us up some cocktails and those needed tending to.

Anyhoosier………..

back home here on Kauai…..life is going on as normal for the Buick family…..

these photos pretty much sum up our life ……

which is always how i’ve imagined it would.

Happy kids…..that are thriving and enjoying life to the fullest…….

{of course report cards just came home …….so there might not be good times for one child……}

Note to self: Life is good

we’ve made the best of what we can and are grateful and thankful that we have a happy,

healthy and thriving family.

for that my heart is full.

Two years ago when we were living in Illinois….we bundled up the kids one day……hopped on the train and

headed into Chicago to spread some love.

You can read all about here {here}.

It’s been two years since we’ve done something like that and my heart was pulling at me to do something

this year with the kids here on Kauai. The homeless population is different here….no real downtown to do something

like what we had done but that didn’t stop me from trying to think outside the box.

plus we didn’t have one single extra dollar to spend 

that is till last Tuesday when i got home from work and there was an envelope from my godfather.

I haven’t seen him or his wife since our wedding but every year we still send a Christmas card to them…

so i opened up the envelope and in it was a check for $150.

Then on Wednesday Mason was outside playing and our neighbor handed him $10 and wished

him a Merry Christmas as he was getting in his car to head to the airport and out of the country for a month.

Two different acts of kindness in two days.

How could we not think of something to do….and with what happened a week ago Friday….there was a whole lot

of random acts of kindness floating around lately….because so many of us were affected by that horrible shooting.

Later that afternoon i went into work to grab my paycheck and in it was almost like getting a bonus

because so far we had the kids Christmas gifts all paid for…..and sort of felt like we were right on track….

 even though our parents and siblings didn’t get much more than some Kauai love for Christmas this year….

we knew that they would understand and know that what we were going to do with this extra money

would mean so much more to them then something wrapped up in paper.

This time of year it’s also hard to hear my kids talk about what they want…..

what they think they should be getting.

It’ certainly takes the joy out of Christmas and the meaning of giving is lost.

That is why i felt so compelled to go forth and bless others who really could use the help

much more than we need it.

So this last Thursday…..we got up in the morning….and piled in the mini {van not cooper}

and headed to town.

{we call going to town….going to the big city…which is Lihue and it’s not really a city…but you get the gist}

First stop was to Super-cuts.

Fin wanted a haircut and so when i walked in to inquire about the wait…..

i was told it was going to be about 30 minutes because there were 3 sisters getting their hair cut.

I saw the mom in the back standing next to the youngest girl who was probably around 5 years old

and i knew that this would be a family that would appreciate a blessing today.

I asked the cashier if maybe we could pay for the three girls haircuts….and her eyes got wide

and then she smiled really big.

We paid for the cuts and then we left a really nice tip for each of the stylists.

We also told the cashier that we wanted to do this anonymously ….

so when they checked out….the cashier told them that some elves had paid…and to have a Merry Christmas.

The mom smiled the biggest smile i’ve ever seen and my kids and i looked at each other with silent smiles

because it felt so good.

Once Fin had his haircut……we were starving and headed to our favorite Brick oven pizza place.

Our favorite server was working …….so once again….our minds started playing overtime.

At first we were thinking we would just pay for someone else’s bill that was also dining in the restaurant

but it was just us and another couple who looked like they were visiting.

Because we know how much servers rely on their tips

we knew our server would appreciate a little love today.

Plus i had a glass of wine with lunch so i was starting to feel real good.

oh….you might notice Fin’s new haircut in the photo below……

I’m still trying to figure out how the cut went from

asking for a trim to a full on cut that now has him looking like Jim Carey from the movie 

Dumb and Dumber.

Anyhoo……

check check…..

after lunch we had one more stop.

This was to be our biggest stop yet…..

We headed into Kmart.

Kmart does Layaway…..and i’ve heard here and there that on occasion people will go in and help

to pay off people’s purchases and so i stored that into the back of my brain for a day like this.

The kids and i walked in to Kmart…..found out that the layaway was in the back of the store

then headed back and got into the line that was 30 minutes deep.

The kids were getting restless when we finally made our way to the front of the line and the cashier

asked us for our receipt and if we wanted to make a payment.

I casually mentioned that we were actually here to see if it would be possible to maybe

make some payments on some others lay-aways and if so….would she be able to help us out with it.

She immediately got on the phone and called the manager back.

I kept thinking sheet…….uh oh.

The last thing i wanted was for someone to get on the overhead speaker system and say aloud

“attention Kmart shoppers…..”

but she didn’t..……

what she did do was get the manager to come back to help her because no one had ever done this before

at their Kmart. I asked the manager if it was possible that we help pay for families that only have toys 

left or on hold for their layaway.

She pulled up 5 families for us….and then told us she would call each of these 5 families and let them know

some elves came in and helped pay off their balances.

The first family only had a balance of around $8.

$8!!

I think this is what made me feel all warm and fuzzy all day…..

because if someone is having a hard time just paying off $8

then this is someone who needed it the most.

We paid it off. 

The second family had a balance of around $60.

We paid it off.

For the third, fourth and fifth families…..they had a lot higher balances…so we decided to pay $25 each

towards their balance.

5 families that were blessed because we decided to pay it forward with the generosity of a few people

that didn’t even know what their money was going to do.

3 kids that had a wonderful day blessing others….

{well…the youngest wasn’t too sure about it….but i blame it on the haircut}

and one momma who wanted to show her kids that by doing selfless acts of kindness will take you further

in life than anything else ever will.