Chrysalis or Cacoon

I was going to put this in the quotes but when I decided to include a WikiAnswer I decided to make it a post.

Daddy: "Look, Keahi, I made a chrysalis around myself."
Keahi: "No that is not a chrysalis. It's a cacoon."
Daddy: "Chrysalis. Cacoon. What's the difference?"
Keahi: I can't write exactly what he said but it was something to the effect that chrysalis is for a specific butterfly but inside a cacoon could be other things.

So I looked it up and he was right. Here's something from WikiAnswers:

From WikiAnswers:

A cocoon is a covering made of silk that encloses a pupa, and a chrysalis is the pupa of a butterfly. The chrysalis is covered in a hard, chitnous shell.

Note the difference: A cocoon is a covering of a pupa, and a chrysalis is a particular kind of pupa, usually with no enclosing cocoon.

Inside a cocoon, you will often find a pupa of a moth or other insect with an inner chitinous shell, but it is not called a chrysalis unless it is the pupa of a butterfly. The pupae of some insects have visible external body structures, such as wings and legs, as they develop, while others (such as moths) have a smooth outer shell that encloses the developing structures.

When we asked him where he learned this he said from a show on Noggin: Little Bill. And he proceeded to describe exactly what happened in the episode. Wow. He really is a sponge.

Sisters in the Great Outdoors

This past weekend I attended something I think every ward should do: a relief society camp out. No men, no kids, just sisters in the great outdoors (I always hate when a movie's title gets used in the movie but if you can't beat 'em...). Not that I don't love my husband or the kids, but it was such a crazy change from my usual life it was refreshing and unexpectedly calming. It is true that women need other women. As much fun as we're having here in NY I miss the familiar unspoken bond of long term friends back home or the necessary bond of wives-of-medical-students-living-in-a-foreign-country in Grenada. So it was comforting to be thrown out of my comfort zone and into a 2 hour car ride with four sisters from the ward that I knew to varying degrees, a tent with an awesome girl I had only had a couple of conversations with previously, and into canoes on a freezing cold lake with 10 women, a majority of which decided to jump in--only one of us had a swim suit on (I had on a turtle neck sweater). The mountain were breathtaking, the lake invigorating, and the campfire soothing. I felt renewed and peacefully happy. I think I'd like to live on a lake someday--in the case of not living by the beach due to crazy Hawaii prices.

Some highlights of the trip:

-Scout's homemade oreos in the car. Gotta get that recipe from her or Mariko (and since Mighty reads this blog I'm hoping this not so subtle hint hits home).

-Susan's waterspout hairstyle courtesy of Nadiya who brushed aside Scout's feeble attempts on account of Scout and I only having boys. Susan had just previously applied her make-up in the car going to the campsite. Patricia, the driver, had reserved the front seat for Su specifically because she was expecting some primping. So the little girl, whalespout hairdo was classic.

-Bringing only a bookbag with one change of clothes, a first aid kit, a GPS and a pillow and ending up being toasty warm in my borrowed sleeping bags and tent. I felt really bad for Jen who was the only cold one in our tent.

-Driving back and forth for half an hour because both the driver and navigator who really know the area well and have been to the camp many times couldn't figure out where it was. Then when finally giving in and accepting the GPS, they inputed the wrong address. 18 Route 272 is quite a ways away from 1800 Route 272.

-Learning about the Roller Derby from some of the girls. I totally want to go to one for a date night. I think it'd be so surreal and a rowdy good time. Okay, just checked the website and there's a doubleheader this Saturday. Wish me luck getting a babysitter.

-Staring at the fire, thinking deep thoughts. No, I will not share them with you. Go find a fire of your own.

-Our one and only campfire game--telling about one of our scars (either physical or emotional, personal or one we inflicted--not that it started out that way but people started stretching "scar). I won't share the emotional scar even though it was hilarious (well, years later anyway) but here's one memorable physical scar inflicted upon someone else. When ___ was a little girl in elementary school she was playing with a friend in the school yard when a stray dog wandered in and bit her friend on her hand. It really clamped on so _____grabbed a rock to throw at the dog. And missed. Nope, she didn't hit her friend instead. The rock bounced off the ground and hit a nearby boy in the forehead, knocking him unconscious. An ambulance had to come for both the friend and the boy. And ___ was called into the principal office where I'm sure she got to explain that she hadn't deliberately knocked out some poor kid and didn't have violent tendencies. Then years later she and the boy had a class together and he still had the scar. She told him it was she who had inflicted it on him and they became friends. I wondered if maybe the boy had concocted some more manly reason why he had a scar on his forehead to tell his friends in high school and maybe wasn't too happy to be outed as being the boy who got knocked out by a girl.

-Getting to pee at 7:30am the next morning after holding it since midnight when I couldn't bring myself to leave the warmth of the tent for the icy death that lay just beyond the zipper door. Not my best idea ever. Or the best night's sleep.

-The morning fire. Not made by me. Oo, oo, and morning s'mores. Nice. The breakfast was also great with yogurt, granola, and fresh peaches and strawberries.

-The morning spiritual thought. It began with a bundle of sticks that shouldn't have been broken but due to Cami's inhuman strength was broken not once but twice (even the already shortened bundle couldn't survive her brawn), thereby nullifying the intended message that through unity we are invincible. Apparently the Adversary had better think twice before taking on Cami. But I suppose we could also take away from the botched object lesson that we can't simply rely on the group to sustain us. We have to try to work on our own strength so that we're contributing to the whole. But watch out for that Cami chick.

-Canoeing in the lake. Suvi (spelling?) and I had to go and choose the leaky one so we really got a good arm workout. It kept getting heavier and heavier on the way back and we had water past our ankles. I tried bailing with my sneaker but to no effect. I'm so glad I decided to jump on the bandwagon and swim despite the cold and my lack of appropriate attire. It. Was. Awesome. Totally worth it. The freezing in wet clothes on the way back to the dock or the walk back to camp was less fun. But still awesome.

-Discussing Caribbean versus Hawaiian cuisine with Pat who then actually made some bakes for me on Sunday but couldn't find me. Can't wait till next Sunday.

-Lunch: wraps with hummus, tri-colored peppers, avocado, smoky ham, havarti cheese, sprouts and tomatoes. The perfect outdoor lunch spread.

And more than individual events, I really enjoyed talking with so many different women and getting glimpses into other worlds of life beyond my own narrow one. Women who work in the financial district (totally a foreign world for me), women who have lived in Africa, Germany, Trinidad, and more, women who have just started college playing water polo or have kids all grown up and in colleges of their own. I met a girl whose husband is the grandson of Brother Zakimi from Manoa ward back home. So the world is both larger and smaller than you'd think.

Keahi can't wait for the snow

I just picked up this adorable outfit from a craigslist woman I had recently purchased other winter clothes from and when Keahi tried it all on my heart swelled a bit. This is just the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jarom

Our little boys is growing up so fast. It's true what they say about life speeding up once you have kids. Now that Jarom has been in our family for 2 years, I have a hard time imaging what life was like before him. I love his big, round cheeks and tiny smile. His shaggy hair and especially his dainty and oddly about-to-run-over-the-edge-of-the-world run. I love the smell of his sweaty hair and his unbrushed teeth. He is my child, my flesh and blood, and I love him dearly. Even when he poops in the bathroom sink.

Surprised you with that one, huh? He's only done it once, yesterday on his birthday and I surely hope it's the last time. He said he wanted to poop in the potty so I sat him down on his little one. He generally likes his privacy so I left him to do the dishes when I heard him crying. When I opened the door I was greeted by an unexpected image: Jarom sitting in the sink covered in poop. He had climbed up onto the sink to turn on the night light, sat down (probably to play with things in the medicine cabinet as he'd done in the past), and proceeded to have a rather impressive bowel movement in the sink. A thorough scrubbing of both child and sink was a perfect ending to his birthday. Anyway, I jumped ahead of myself. Here's some pics from the more upbeat part of the day.

I usually lay in bed after Iz leaves and wait till I hear the boys get up before facing the reality that it's time to wake up. This day the boys were sitting in the dark on the couch when I came out. Jarom's first words were "Keahi woke up first" probably because Keahi usually informs me which of them got up first and woke up the other. Keahi and I sang two versions of happy birthday to Jarom and the boys ate blueberry muffins for breakfast--courtesy of Costco because I don't bake in the morning...or much at all. Keahi sweetly gave Jarom a piece of his muffin and Jarom returned the favor. Off to a good start.


Our friend Nicole and her 2 year old son, Caleb, picked us up to go to the Bronx Zoo. Nicole bravely (though possibly a rash decision) decided to trust Keahi's directions to go on Tillary st to go over the Brooklyn Bridge even though her GPS had a different route in mind. While the GPS determinedly directed us to go back, we plowed ahead and got there just fine. In retrospect, since on the way back we followed the GPS instructions and had to pay a $5 toll, it was probably a wise decision to go with Keahi's directions.

Three boys in the back seat is a zoo in itself. I wish I had snapped some pictures of them reading books, squealing just barely within audible pitch, and swapping toys smoothly--after a rough start of the gimmies. I ended up counting to 20 and then switching them around like musical chairs.

At the zoo, the boys ran around like crazy animals themselves and enjoyed every minute of it. I think the highlights were the carousel, the Bangali Express Monorail (on which the driver gave a couple of shout outs for Jarom's birthday), Jungle World and, of course, the Skyfari.

That night for dinner we had one of Jarom's favorites: dinosaur nuggets and saimen. I love how easily he's pleased. Then when daddy came home we had cupcakes and ice cream and opened his mountain of presents. I got him the wagon of blocks from Ikea and the awesome Melissa and Doug puzzles (for 50cents each!) and the rest is from his very indulgent popo.

The next day we got to watch our friend Caleb for the morning and we had a blast. Singing time and book time were quickly passed over for puzzle and truck time and Jarom and Caleb did pretty well with sharing. After we got Keahi from school we headed over to Prospect Park for some fun. I love how much energy these boys have.

My New Favorite Thing

is definitely Greek style yogurt. I just shared one with Jarom and decided that it was play time for him so I could blog about this amazing food. Yeah, it's that good. I didn't bother with the nonfat selection or the 2% compromise and instead went straight for the whole shabang. I figured, it's my first taste and I want it to be the real thing. I don't know brands or quality levels but I'd have to say that this all natural strained Greek yogurt with strawberries was an incredible 12-grams-of-fatty-goodness experience. I loved the thick creaminess with just a hint of tartness to increase salivation. It just slid down my throat with a sense of Now This is Yogurt. After the first bite, Jarom excitedly said, "Cream. Cream." I asked if he wanted more yogurt and he shook his head and said, "More cream please."

Now I really have to try out that frozen yogurt place down the road. I'm not usually a big fan but if it starts out this good then freezing it and adding toppings can only be ambrosia.

Can You Play?

I saw this on Bettina Grange's blog and thought it was fun.

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Butterflies, Trucks and Whales....Oh My!

So I know that last post about the weekend with Arron was both long and yet sadly lacking in details and extra pics so here's some visual tidbits to satisfy.

We loved the butterfly garden--even though it was insanely crowded. Keahi also liked informing those sadly uneducated kids that the fish in the pond were actually called koi. We took a million pictures of the butterflies but here are a few favorites.





And here's a couple of the kids watching the koi. Isn't it supposed to me meditative? Maybe Keahi missed the memo.



And here are some fun things to see at the Museum of Natural History.

And besides going to all these places, we also hung out at home. Here are some highlights.






And we can't forget the yummy Japanese food from The Oshima Restaurant or Arron's tasty chicken enchiladas. Sorry the pics aren't prettier. But I know you're all still jealous.

Hero Worship

Jarom's got it bad. You might even call it idolatry. For Jarom, Keahi is a god. He's the coolest thing on two legs and everything he does must be emulated: from saying the same made-up gibberish phrase of the moment to wearing his clothes whenever allowed, Jarom tries his best to be just like his big brother. He threw a fit when Keahi wore his Dr. Seuss backpack to church and he was left with nothing. Luckily I remembered the monkey pack I had gotten for the airport layovers on our way here. Now every time we take Keahi to school, they both have packs on their backs. Of course, Jarom's has a tail which Keahi loves to hold onto as he takes him for a walk.


If Keahi wears his boots, Jarom must wear his boots. If Keahi wears sunglasses, Jarom must follow suit.



And if Keahi likes lying on his back in the bathwater, it must be fun and not as scary as originally supposed.


Sometimes it works in my favor to have Keahi hold so much power over Jarom. Other times, not so much. But no matter what, I know that my boys love each other very much.

First day of PreK

My family has been so blessed these last few months with finding places to live and making new friends and now with Keahi's preschool. Apparently moving in the summer time--even the beginning of summer--is like committing preschool suicide. I was told that public preschool applications were done by lottery months ago. I stressed about it and called people from so many schools or higher up the ladder and was told I was pretty much out of the game. Then one woman from the school next to us was intrigued by my idea of getting Keahi registered in Prek somewhere-anywhere, have him tested and bumped up to kindergarten (because, honestly, why wouldn't he qualify), and then transfer into the one we live by. But months and stressful phone calls and visits later yielded nothing. And the transfer idea went out the door because there is no test to determine if he's ready for kindergarten. Oh, did you know that a lease is not a valid form of proof of address? Yeah, so I've had to have welcome letters--not bills because I've only lived here for a week--from both the gas and electric company sent over to the school.
But all's well that ends well and at 7:30pm on the first day of school I received a call from the school saying that there was a spot open for the morning half-day class and Keahi could have it as long as I promised to send in those welcome letters to prove I live in the correct zone. Really, I could have had them walk over and see the place cause we do live that close. Anyhow, Keahi was so excited. He had told me he wanted to go to "the jungle gym" school with the big kids where he could learn lots of new things. He was a little disappointed that it wasn't for the whole day and that he wouldn't be eating lunch there, but I think Jarom was even more disappointed that he didn't get to stay with Keahi.
With both kids in backpacks and a late start (since it takes about 5 minutes to get there at Jarom's pace) we headed off for school. Keahi wanted me to leave but that first day was only 1 hour with parents to acclimate the kids. But the next day I left him there with a hug and kiss that I had to ask for as I dragged Jarom out of circle time on the rug. For 2 hours Jarom kept talking to himself saying, "Seahi....Seahi... Where's Seahi..." Poor thing was stuck with me.
I'm so grateful Keahi has this chance to be social with kids his own age and be imaginative and creative. He said his favorite part was playing pirates with the other boys on the playground. One turned into a shark and chased them around and the went down the ship-slide. These are things he can't do with Jarom and I'm a poor substitute for 5 or 6 enthusiastic little boys. Plus now maybe I can work on Jarom and get him to focus on something for more than 3 minutes at a time. Wish me luck.

Mostly Ready

Lest any of you are thinking "man, it's been two weeks and no after pictures...that Cailin is one lazy chick" let me assure you that the apartment is MOSTLY ready for after shots. It's just our bedroom really that still needs work. I think I left the screws for the bed frame at the old place and have yet to be able to get in touch with the family to arrange a time to come pick up some odds and ends--including the car charger for the GPS, Doh!--which means that the bed's still on the floor and there's wood pieces everywhere and the end tables and the dresser haven't been put into final positions and an unrelated-to-my-forgetfulness detail is that our mirror closet doors have yet to be replaced. So I guess I could give you some after shots of the rest of the place. Hmmm.....Okay, I'll do it right now.

So here's our living room. Up until this weekend we didn't have a tv but thanks to Arron we can veg out on about 10 channels. The boys love to play on the corner sofa--our free sofa (that can sleep 2), I might add. I also love having a rug because the boys can play on it and muffle some of the sound. Oh, and we can't actually sit on that bench looking thing yet because I haven't bought the right size crosspiece from Ikea.


This is the view from the couch. It's a railroad style house so it's long and narrow but there's really good cabinet space in the kitchen as well as good counter room. I love our free table--it seats 8. And the previous renters left their beat up kitchen chairs which the boys are allowed to sit on so our nicer ones can look decent for company.



I also love our little bar area which is now our computer area since we've got a tv on that stand now. As soon as I saw in the Darger's apt upstairs that there was a bar I kept an eye out on craigslist and purchased these beauties.


And here's the boys art easel from Ikea--chalkboard on one side, white board on the other and a roll of paper that goes up and over in a never-ending (basically) supply of crayon/paint space. Keahi drew a bunch of spaceships and had daddy close his eyes before seeing his "surprise."


And this is pretty silly, but I love our charger organizer because I hated all those loose wires and cell phones and whatnot getting pushed all around the desk at the old place. Now it's all neat and tucked away. I didn't take a picture of it but I LOVE our really deep sink. No more jostling pots around to wash them properly.


Here's our long hallway. Yes, I change Jarom on top of that shoe cubby. Where else is there. Have you seen the tiny NY bathroom? Here it is: your basic sink, toilet, bath combo, minimalist on the floor plan. But at least there was room for Jarom's potty--yes, he's used it several times now. Sweet!




Here's the boys' room--it's the half room but I figured they only needed room for the bunk bed. The extra chair and the wardrobe were left overs from the previous family. Score. The wardrobe is the perfect spot for extra storage on top.



This is our hallway closet. We got all our furniture without having seen the place so I tried my best to find a home for this shelf unit and this was the best I could do. It's annoying to open and close, but I'm the only one who does it and I can live with it.


Okay, so you can't see the bedroom but here's our 8in memory foam mattress that we adore on the floor. I got the comforter for free and I chose the lavender sheets to go with it. I mean, as far as lavender goes I could have gone a lot more girly.


And here's the end of the house--the play room. I got a foam topper for the black couch so when it's flat it makes a perfect bed for anyone who wants to visit. The boys love this art desk and it's nice to finally be somewhere for a while and be able to put up things like Keahi's dinosaur poster. And thank you Auntie Debbie for the hanging toy organizers. She really is their hanai grandma.




So that's the place. It's less than half the size of the other place but I think we've utilized the space well. Feel free to come visit us.