WTF! What the FREAK!

So I am giving you a warning disclaimer right now.... this is definitely a therapy post. I just can not get this off my mind tonight and I have some intense venting to get out so I can sleep. My intentions are not to offend anyone. I'm not trying to personally attack anyone with what I am about to say, but I need to say this in defense for myself, my friends, and other mothers who don't have the "LUXURY" of being a stay at home mother, or who "CHOOSE" to work for their own sanity and health. Some of you may already know why I am venting about this topic. If this makes you uncomfortable then please do not read on... but please still be my friend. :) Anyone is welcome to post a dispute if you choose too but I am confident that I may say what everyone else is feeling already but too afraid of saying anything. I do want to make sure I clarify and say that those mothers who do stay home are great people and good mothers too. Please note that these are my thoughts and feelings.



As most of you know I am very strong in my religious beliefs. Those of you who are not too familiar with LDS religion, there is some guidelines that mothers should stay home with their children. I agree with this guideline. But, this is not always the case that this is possible for every mother to do. For my family, and many others, that is ultimately the goal one day. There are many reasons that a mother may not stay home with their kids. And sometimes when the mother does stay home, she still feels the need to contribute to the finances and relieve some burdens off the husband. So, there is moms that work from home. I do not need to go into all of the reasons why a mother may not stay home. I personally, am working only part time. This situation is working for my family the best it can right now. And I enjoy what I do. Of course I miss my little girl when I am gone, but when I am home with her, I appreciate her and the time we spend together more. It was said that we are "COMMANDED" to stay home with our children. There is no where in the Ten Commandments that says, Thou shalt stay home with your children. I could go on and on and on. All I can say is that I am going to continue to be the best mom I can be right now. Fortunately, neither my husband or I were, or are, fed with a silver spoon. For that we are grateful. We are hard working parents that have learned to work for everything our family needs and wants. We both had to pay for our own education as do many. We strive everyday to teach our child how to become a person that can function in this world today and make a difference. We want to give her everything, but we will try to teach her how to work and struggle to get the things she desires. She will be a better person for this. Some who have never had the opportunity to know how it feels to struggle or to wonder how ends will meet the next week, most definitely do not have the right to make such ignorant statements. Right now I do not have the "LUXURY" of staying home everyday of the week. I could stay home, we would struggle even more, and we would still be fine, but for our family that is not going to work for us right now. My husband is such a hard worker and is doing his very best to take care of his girls. He is trying to set us up for a great future with no worries. But who isn't?

Isn't it also taught to live within your means? Yes we are taught to multiply and replenish the earth. It is also taught to make smart choices. It is not smart to have 8 children and counting if you will be living off the system and bishop's storehouse the rest of your life. Please make note that I understand that small or big families will sometimes need welfare assistance to get back on their feet, and I do not judge that. It's not free to raise a human. Everyones situation is different. I do my best to teach my daughter everything she needs to know, and I keep her healthy. I choose to spend my free time with her and my husband. To me, it is OK if the dust on the baseboard sits for another week, or if I let the jelly dry on the floor before I get to cleaning it. I would not want to miss precious moments with my baby and husband so that my house can be immaculate and my closet can be color coordinated consistently. Even though my clothes in my closet may have a few holes in it or may get out of their color coordination, it is OK. Because, I got to have precious time with my little one and teach her a new word today. To some you would see or feel as if that is not such a condition where the spirit can reside. Well, you are mistaken. You can come into my home and see my family and feel the love and joy that we have. You will see the legacy we are trying to build. I will do my best to keep our home a healthy home, but I know that if the jelly dries on the table for 1 more minute that it should, we will still be OK and alive, we will still be happy, and I will not have missed my baby saying to me a new word. I know the lord knows me personally and know every ones situation. He never asked me to Clorox Halia's toys every other day, or wipe the counters every hour. He has asked to love and guide my little girl. He chose me to be her mom. I am going to do just that and only that. I am not going to make such judgments of others who choose to stay home or who choose to work. Aren't all mothers just trying to do the same thing here? Aren't we all just trying to love and raise good kids? Lets keep that in mind and support each other and help those who may not have such luxuries to stay home at this moment in time. To those who do stay home...please be mindful of how you express your reasons for staying home. It can sound very hurtful and judgmental if you are not taking care in the words and tone you choose to use. Remember, a mother is a mother whether they get to change every single diaper in a day or not, we still love our kids just the same. :)

Thank goodness for blogger therapy!

Halia's 1st Birthday Party Pictures!

I posted her party pictures. But, since I'm a slacker, I started the post over 2 months ago, and just finished it. For some reason blogger won't let me rearrange the order of the posts. So it is below the last 2 posts if you want to peek!

I couldn't choose just a few to show off.... forgive me!

9/25/08-4:30am-8lbs 10oz-20.5in.

Happy 1st birthday to our little AlohiLani! (the brightness of heaven) I know everyone always says..."I can't believe its been a year?" but, it's so true how quickly time has gone this year. Our baby girl is now a little girl. :( She has brought so much joy to everyone in our family. I just can't imagine life without seeing her cute little brown eyes everyday.

I don't think Halia will ever know how much I love her until she becomes a mother herself one day. Until then, I will try to tell her how much she is loved by everyone who meets her. Maybe one day she will see this and can understand a little about a mothers love.

Halia, it has only been one year and.....I have smiled, cried, laughed, screamed, and cried some more. You have taught me a lot this past year. I learned that there is not such a thing as a "perfect mother." I always make mistakes, but I will always learn from them. You taught me that not "everything" matters. YOU matter. I want you to know that I will never be the "perfect mother" but, I will do my very best for you. I can only dream about what our future will bring with the peace and serenity you carry with you everywhere. I love every minute we have together. You bring the brightness of heaven to our life. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for making the sacrifice to send us such a beautiful and loving little piece of sunshine. I love you baby girl. :) Happy 1st Birthday!

Halia's 1st Birthday Party!

Since Halia has turned one my extra time has become shorter and shorter. So here I am 2 months later finally posting pics of her birthday party that I seriously planned for 3 months! I made everything myself except for the paper lanterns and the hibiscus flowers. I was so proud of myself and how frugal I was with her party. It was such a great turnout and so much fun! We had a barbecue at the park, with cupcakes and strawberries and cream Zeppes for dessert. Yum! Thank you to everyone who helped and contributed food. She got spoiled with so many gifts, including some air jordans, a Chargers uniform (#21 of course for her daddy's fav. player), clothes, toys, money, and the cutest pink and white dollhouse/bookshelf from her grandparents. Halia is so loved and thanks everyone for the best 1st year a girl could have! :)

P.S. If anyone would like to borrow the cupcake pans or decorations I would love to lend them to you!

Brand New Uggs for Sale!

****Size 5 tall black suede and shearling Uggs.**** These are still in the box and I am trying to sell them. They have never been worn! I got the wrong size and I need to sell them before I can get some new ones. If you wear a size 6 or 6.5 regularly, then you would fit into a size 5 in Uggs. They run big. If you have never tried the "true Uggs" in the winter time, then you have no idea what your feet are missing. Uggs are worn without socks and they keep your feet sooooo warm during the cold snowy months. Because of the the natural shearling liner, they keep the temperature of your feet regulated no matter what time of year it is! The outside is black suede, with a cream shearling liner, and black lacing up the sides. You can tuck your pants in them so they don't get wet! So cute! The sole is a hard sole so they are more waterproof than traditional uggs. The style is called "Upside" if you want to look them up. I'm selling them for $150.00 If you try to get them on Amazon they are about $170.00 + shipping and handling. They are normally $230.00 in the retail stores, so its about a $80.00 savings. If you are interested you may contact me. I will try to take a better, bigger picture with my camera and post it soon. :)

What?!... Already?!

So where in the world did this last year go?! Halia will be 1 in 2 weeks on September 25th. Due to Sale having such a humongous family...trying to work around everyones schedules, we finally agreed on having her 1st birthday party this Saturday. The 1st birthday is a big deal in the Polynesian culture so we had to do it big of course. (would you expect any less from the Fonotisatele's?) With Sale's siblings and their children there is 42 people! That's just the ones that actually live in Utah! So....it will be quite the party. Unfortunately my sis and one of his sisters won't be able to make it. :( I will be sure to update you on her party pictures after this weekend. Here is her cute invite that Jessi at announcementstoponder made for me. (for all you party goers, the info was changed for safety)

Just one less thing...

Some of you may have already checked out this site since I've always had it under my list of fav. sites. http://www.announcementstoponder.blogspot.com/ My friend Jessi Pond makes the most adorable invitations, announcements, cards, etc. She is so very talented and she has done our Christmas/Birth announcement, and Valentine cards for us. It's so nice to send a quick email to her and let her take care of just one less thing that I have to do. Its so easy, I send her the pics, she makes it, she emails me the draft, I take the CD to Costco, and there you have it! If you are in the market for any kind of personalized cards, definitely check her stuff out. Also, if you put her button on the side bar of your blog, she will take 5$ off your order! Be ready Jessi, I will be contacting you this week for Halia's birthday invitations!


P.S. For all you pregos out there, if your interested in taking childbirth classes, Jessi also teaches the Bradley Method Husband Coached Childbirth. http://www.bradleybirth.com/ndweb.asp?ID=P341 It was the best thing me and my husband did to prepare us for the arrival of our little girl. We highly recommend it even if you don't want a natural birth. Jessi is so accommodating to your schedule too!

10 months of MORE and MORE energy

So Halia turned 10 months on July 25th. She is so full of life. She never never never stops moving. Not even in her sleep! She always manages to scratch herself somehow and it always seems to be on her eyes. This is how I found her in her crib when she woke up from a nap. So sad! It looks worse than it really was. She just had picked a scab from a previous scratch. So it bled into her eye. She seemed as if she had no idea she was bleeding so I guess she was ok.
Halia is learning so fast. She learns new things everyday. Some of the things she does are...

Waving Hi and bye, Says... momma, Dada, ball, hi, owa, (Samoan for no)and she talks to herself in her own language or possibly Samoan since I can't speak it. She loves to clap after performances on So You Think You Can Dance. She will start clapping when you sing, patty cake, or If your Happy and You Know It. She loves to jump when you hold her hands and say Jump, Jump, Jump, or dance, dance, dance. She now has 4 teeth which hurt even more when she bites. (Any suggestions on the biting thing would be appreciated. I think she is quickly losing her friends.)

Blog Slacker!

Ok, so I finally updated the blog. There is a few posts of the last few months but obviously I still have more updating to do since my Mom's Birthday was like over a month ago, and Halia is now 10 months. I'm tryin, I'm tryin! She just never stops!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

For my mom's birthday I made her this GIANT cupcake. It was so fun to make and so yummy! We decided we would take pictures of all her grand kids together for her present. It was quite a task to get Charlee Jo, Max, Halia and Addy to sit for a good pic. A friend from high school took these and they turned out so cute. Her name is Cathy Wall and her website is http://www.cwallphotography.blogspot.com/

Isn't she pretty!

Definitely her daddy's girl with those angry eyebrows.

Addy and Halia love each other. Halia wants to be a big girl like her one day.

Aren't these the cutest sisters you have ever seen!

People say Addy looks like me...what do you think?

Charlee Jo is such a good little princess.

Addy Lee needs a little more bribery.

Mischievous Max! Look at those big brown eyes.

What are you lookin at? Do you have any fish crackers for me?

I love my Grandma!

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

4th of July

1st parade! Halia got to be in the North Ogden 4th of July children's parade. My friend Aspen made her and Cienna matching tutus and flowers, with cute little leggings. My cute niece Jessi and nephew Tafa pulled them in the wagon. All the family saved their seats on the lawn in front of our neighborhood the day before, so they could see them in the parade. It was so fun!
Then we went to my brothers house for a BBQ with my family and cousins that were here from Ohio. Halia couldn't get enough of the swing.

After that we went to Sale's brothers house for a BBQ and to swim. Halia's other bff Ava and her parents came too. They loved the pool until Halia pulled Ava's hair. She is such a bully!

SuMmEr FuN!

So many new adventures! Halia took swimming lessons this summer. She is a natural fish! She loved it! She loved it so much that we did a second session with her friends from church. I think she is really gettin the hang of it. As soon as she is in the water she never stops kicking. Its so funny to see. It kinda makes me nervous how she is so comfortable in the water. She will keep crawling right into the deep end and it doesn't even phase her!
Halia and her Dad showin off their skills at her uncles pool on Founders Day.

We've been to the splash pad in South Ogden a few times. She's Obsessed with the water spouts.

Halia found her cousins Charlee and Addy at the splash pad one day. Soooo fun!

We've had a few BBQ's with Halia's bff Laney and her parents. They were tryin to encourage each other to climb the stairs in this picture. Those girls are always up to somethin.

Halia's friend Ellie invited her and Laney over for a BBQ and pajama party. Her parents really know how to cook! :)

This is Aisa and Halia at another summer BBQ. (he is 4 months younger than her! Fatty!) Halia is upset because she thinks he wants her bottle. I always tell her that just because he is fat doesn't mean he always wants her bottle. J/K Natatlie! :)

So far we have had a pretty good summer. Halia makes us actually get out and do stuff together which has been so great.