Kuliouou Beach Park

I used to live on a street called Summer Street and the beach park to go to there was Kuliouou Beach Park. I remember as a pre teen girl, coming here and finding it as a place to rebel and stay away from home. It was a depressing and confusing place to say the least. It was the furthest place I could go at that point and it felt so far and almost too far from home when it was actually only a 30 second walk away. Now skip forward 12 years, I realized I hadn't been there since I moved away from Summer Street 11 years ago. Kuliouou was no longer a place of interest unless I was picking up my grommet brother at the Moniz House. Today for the first time in a while we visited Kuliouou Beach Park where Phe picked up nuts off the grass, played in the sand and ran around aimlessly having the best time. It felt so nostalgic and so surreal to think I was here with my husband and son and merely there to veer my son away from stepping on the pokies. It's funny how life pans out..to think that one place can feel and mean so differently at one stage than the other, but at the same time so utterly nostalgic and stagnant. I wonder what I would have done then as a little girl, if I could have seen myself now on the same exact bench.

Chinatown How Bout It!

Today we went Downtown to Chinatown to have some lunch and to people watch. Honolulu’s Chinatown is pretty ghetto in the day and at night it becomes “the art district” which is possibly a euphemism for ghetto anyway. It’s pretty fun people watching a dude on the side of the street unclear of what he’s selling himself but he just screams the entire day “How bout it! You want some? I got some! How bout it!” I honestly don’t think he’s selling drugs I think he’s trying to make an honest living selling his few sunglasses and hats…maybe to pay for drugs. There’s also a few people passed out on the streets that you have to inconveniently go around them and yes they smell pretty bad too. Hey but who saids this is not art in the grimmest form. To be able to sleep past 2 o’clock on a busy street in downtown where people are about to step on you is pretty amazing. Now you might ask why the hell I would ever expose a baby to a place like this. 1. I was ready to Karate chop any hand, any limb that came in 5 feet radius of the stroller..I couldn’t help the smell. 2. My husband had to visit a skate shop there 3. There are some great cafes and restaurants in downtown especially Soul de Cuba and for the price and flavor, it’s just ALLLL worth it!

Honolulu on Dwellable

Royal Hawaiian Ocean Lawn

Speaking of grass, I have never seen a better maintained lawn than the Royal Hawaiian Ocean Lawn. It is certainly fit for royalty and has provided backdrop for movie kissing scenes for decades (most recently, Punch Drunk Love with Adam Sandler.) These were shot from our phones and don't do justice to this beautiful and soft baby inviting grass. Phe has been coming here since he learned to crawl. The best part about it is that since the Royal doesn't accommodate pets, it's poop free! If you have a keiki and you happen to be in Waikiki, treat yourself to a cocktail while you treat your little one to a royal crawl or a run =)

Kamehame Ridge Park

When you become a parent, I think things you never would have guessed start to fascinate you. Grass gets me so excited now that when I see a big green lawn of fluffiness, I just start jumping up and down with joy. I also start analyzing, how much dog poop has been on that grass, how many bugs how much mud is on it and if the grass consists of itchy thorns and if there's pokies on it it's a big NO-NO. This is just some prep work to get your hands free for 20 minutes of liberation while your baby can run and crawl around freely while you can sit down and relax. Kamehame Ridge Park has a beautiful view and the grass would be perfect if it wasn't for the mud and the itchy thorns. We still love coming here regardless..Occasionally you'll see a dog or two but most of the time it's really empty and serene... Today Phe had his first kiddie sub and almost ate the entire thing untill Mochi the dog came over and finished it off for him. Phe eating a kiddie sub was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. It was like watching a little possum eat with his hands and I could not help but tear..

Oba-chan's Home Cooked Meal Part 1.

For people who have not yet met my mom or tasted her cooking, I highly suggest you make that on to your bucket list. My mother Hiromi is the hardest working human being I know and always pleasing people around her and making them gain weight. She hails from a family of all restaurateurs and chefs, and I have never met another woman more passionate about cooking. She is hilarious and often can be heard at home reciting her own theories like how you shouldn't swim in a populated pool because you can get impregnated , how Tom Cruise killed his wife and how Katie Holmes is in fact dead, and how her own heart is so big she can't exercise. She is a true entertainer at heart and if you give her a beer, she will pirouette til the moon goes down. Anyway, my mother is so cute in her Japanese domestic ways and as long as you are not on a diet, she will love you and feed you until you are sick. Phe is a lucky boy with Grandma cooking him amazing udon, soba, okayuu, and zousui among his favorite Japanese meals. Tonight was just a typical night of great grinds and laughs at the Wiggins/Rose residence ;) More of Hiromi-chan's meals to be continued..

Girls Outrun Boys!

It seems to me that after about 3 months after you’ve given birth, people start asking “Are you gonna have another one?” “When’s the next one?” I'm just like Christ, people chill out.. My sister and I are a year apart and that worked great for us, but I don’t understand how my mom did it! Phe is almost a year old and although we definitely do want more children, I just don’t think it will be anytime soon..I love that my first baby is a boy and I kind of think another boy would be fun but I have to admit, there is nothing cuter in life than a little baby girl struttin her stuff down the beach in a BIKINI. I know I have played some borderline torture dress up on Phe but a bikini wouldn’t be nice. I mean maybe for a few minutes but I wouldn’t dare let it be photographed. He already only responds to Phe Phe and someday it will have to stop but if it doesn’t, a photograph of him as a cross dresser in the archives will not help..
However, I just thought I should share a 3 most popular tips my coworkers, and friends have been giving me (without holding back) on how to conceive a girl with a high success rate.. Enjoy!

1. Eat Acidic stuff (or douche with vinegar and water)
2. Shallow Penetration
3. Do it 3 days before your ovulation day (the female sperm outruns the male)

Family Day at the Honolulu Zoo!

I am so lucky to have a brother and sister young enough to call my own who are the best Uncle Davy and Auntie Jo to my little baby. They are more like siblings to him and we love having them around. My sister Georgia was actually in labor with me (great birth control for her) watching the entire R rated procedure so she feels this immense connection to Phe.. Today we took a little trip to the Honolulu Zoo. I have to admit, it's not the best zoo if you compare it to Sydney or San Diego but I hear it's in the middle of construction. However, here you will find the horniest turtles and chimps known to man. Is it the weather? Is it the thriving tourism?!? Who knows, maybe the same happens in every zoo but the dullness of Honolulu Zoo leaves us with glorifying the chimps and the turtles. Davy was thrilled to watch it. Again, I think nothing fazes a little girl once you watch vaginal delivery. There is a nice petting zoo there...and when I say nice I mean it's just goats. Phe had a blast petting them and running after them. Did I mention he runs?? Let alone walks?!! I saw these darn kids with their Crocs at the zoo today light on their feet running like a fairy and we had these chunky Nike's on him and poor little Phe could not get around fast enough..So I took back everything I said about Crocs EVER in my entire life and bought him one shortly after the Zoo. That my friend, will be a blog post on it's own. After the zoo, we went to Bogart's in walking distance on Monsaratt and had their incredible chicken avocado salad, tuscan chicken sandwich and strawberry milkshake. YUM.