Day 4... Still in paradise

Sunday in Oahu, woke before 7. Hubby took K to the pool and then we hit the beach by our condo. Nice calm lagoon for snorkeling. K kinda freaked out, and pulled hubby, and he got a nice gash on some rocks. I relaxed and watched the waves, and later went shell and coral hunting with K.

We washed up, and went to brunch at Monkeypod Kitchen, near our condo. I had an egg white frittata, which was yummy and healthy.

Then we headed to Pearlridge Mall. In search of the Sanrio store and Cafe. Too cute. My daughter could spend all day, and all our money in there. I picked up some fresh strawberry mochi at Kansai Yamato for later.

We stopped for shaved ice at Baldwin's Shaved Ice & Snack Shop, just before they closed. And picked up manapua (pork buns) at Chun Wah Kam next door. Both located in the Waimalu Shopping Center, with several other eateries.

Leonard's malasadas was on the original plan, but enough carbs/sweets for today!

That is, until dinner at Curry House CoCo Ichibanya! Careful, warning on the front door alerted us their curry contains peanut, our daughter is allergic.

And back to the condo, just in time to catch another Hawaiian sunset at the beach.

Day 3....in Paradise

Woke up this morning at 6 am. Ugh. So far, not getting much sleep. But today, we are heading to Hawaii, so it's all good!

Caught a flight to Honolulu, and after a long and bumpy flight, finally landed. My daughter recognized the parents of one of her schoolmates getting off the plane, and we saw them later, and chatted at the rental car place. Small world. She is always recognizing people in funny places, like her classmate at Legoland, 100s of miles from home!

We got our car, and grabbed some grub. By this time, it was after 2 pm local time, 5 pm for us! I have a food list that's five pages long. Gotta get busy! After a late lunch at Like Like Drive Inn (I had saimin, which isn't worth posting about), we headed to Waiola Store for some authentic Hawaiian shave ice! Here we are, cool and happy!

And we are staying in paradise... Nothing like a Hawaiian sunset.

For dinner, some musubi from Foodland. Chicken (bottom) and spam (top)

Day 2...

7 am. I am asleep in my bed, no alarm is set. My daughter is out of school for the Summer, and I have quit my job. I am awakened from sound sleep by my 7 year old, bouncing on my bed. I groan... "It's too early!" and roll over. My daughter replies that she has been awake for hours... sigh. Eventually I get out of bed, and get ready for the gym. I was debating on skipping Zumba today, but need the jump start. I drop my kid at the childcare for the first time. She stands at the counter, refusing to enter. "I'm going to stand right here." She states. "Ummm, you need to go in the gate" I respond. A bit of dialog ensues, and she is now standing just inside the gate. OK then. A whole lot of Zumba later, I return. She is standing in the same place. We head home, and chat in the car. Turns out, she did leave that spot. She slid down the slide, once. She didn't look at the book she brought. She watched Disney Jr on the TV.

When we pull into the garage, K spots the huge cardboard box I brought home from work. It was to be one of our "Summer Home School Camp" projects. When I decided to quit my job, we made a long list of things to occupy our time during the Summer. Because I wasn't about to spend my first free Summer in forever just sleeping in, and watching TV on the sofa, temping though it may be. Anyway, she wanted to do the cardboard box craft right away, naturally. I told her I needed to shower first.

Later...
"What should we make?"

First Day of the Rest of My Life

Well, I did it. I quit my job of 9 years, and career of 20 plus years. Sorta. Maybe temporarily. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life. I went to college, got my Master's degree, worked for the largest library system in the country, the New York Public Library, and loved my job for the most part. After 4.5 years, I moved back to California, and worked for a couple more libraries. Then I got married, and had a kid. So I downsized... leaned out, went part time. Technically, I was essentially sharing my full time job with another librarian, but then she quit, and I kept doing the job... the whole job. And after a couple years of this, and being a wife and mom, I realized I wasn't enjoying life as much. I was tired. I was stressed. The time I did spend with my daughter, I wasn't always present. I struggled internally for months. I went to school for this! I know a lot of stuff! I help people, I like doing storytime. But still, something wasn't sitting right. My daughter is finishing up first grade, she isn't going to want to hang out with me forever. Those teen years are right around the corner!

So yeah, I quit.

Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life!

Day 1...
7 am. My daughter walks in on me in the bathroom. She laments, "Oh WHY does it have to be the last day of school?!" (sigh...)
We get ready. My last time for a while rushing out the door, making sure she has her backpack, her jacket. I drop her off at school, and hit the gym. I give myself a long, intense (for me) workout. Go home and shower, and take my time... I decide to go get a pedicure. Because I can. I'm in the relaxation zone. My cell phone rings. It's my mom asking where I am. She is at my house, and I am not there. Because I'm getting a pedicure. We were supposed to meet a half an hour later. She got the time wrong. We meet up, and go to pick up K from school. And the three of us have a nice leisurely lunch. Sushi (daughter's choice). K gobbles up her food and asks, "Can we go now?" My mom and I stare at her blankly. "We haven't gotten our food yet." I calmly reply. After lunch, K wants frozen yogurt next door. Then we peruse the comic book store. We drop off my mom, hit Costco, make salad for dinner, and I take K to karate class. Home to pack for upcoming trip, and bedtime for the little one.

That's Day 1 of being a full time stay at home mom. I wasn't home much. I think I will be OK.