Where do babies come from?

Ahh it's probably not what you're thinking by the title but it's a funny story anyway. I've been the Kronos Workforce Central timekeeping system manager for my company for the past 11 years. I maintain the servers, run the software updates & patches, install and maintain timeclock hardware, database interfaces to and from PeopleSoft where all our HR & Payroll is housed, administer user accounts, do system troubleshooting and training of end users. I'm affectionately known by my co-workers as the "Krono Queen" (S was intentionally omitted for cultural purposes).

So anyway, yesterday one of our timeclocks stopped working so I went to investigate. I opened the clock up and started performing the routine exam (turn your head and cough...no that's not the one). After a few seconds I noticed something moving around and suddenly a lizard jumps out at me from behind the circuit board. I chased it out of there and it scurried away but in my shaking of the clock, I heard a new noise I didn't recognize. So I completely dismantle the clock and locate the source of the rattling inside the barcode reader cover. Gecko eggs.

I've dismantled and done hardware repairs on over 50 timeclocks over the past decade. (Notice the missing "1" button on the background - that's the Achilles heel of our hardware - a flimsy flexible rubber ring is all that holds the buttons on and they wear out faster than the clock requiring a complete dismantling of the circuit boards inside to replace the faceplate which costs a whopping $45! but I digress) This is not the first time a lizard has infiltrated and used one of my timeclocks as their personal love nest and somehow destroyed a $3,000 machine, but it is the first time one actually laid eggs inside the equipment. After doing an autopsy on one to verify that there were infact viable embryos inside, I gave the remaining 6 eggs to a co-worker with a cockroach problem at home to see if they will hatch into a roach killing brigade.
So where do babies come from? Well, sometimes they come from the inside of a timeclock.

Mangolicious

My sweet twin sista KP (3-weeks younger and more Tongan looking than I) just brought me a sack-o-love today. She said it's because it's Wednesday. I love Wednesdays.
I feel like grabbing a knife, sitting down under a tree on a grassy lawn and making a gigantic orange sticky mess of myself. This is the best season of the year. Mango season that is.

Sucker for Sweetheart

I'm such a sucker for my kids. Zana graduated from kindergarten last week and received an award for earning above average grades in every category all year. She's a smart cookie with a good head. Now, when I say she graduated, it's no joke. People in my community take a small thing and make it into a huge celebration. It's usually a lot of overkill but if you don't at least show up with something like a balloon, you're definately going to be on the biggest LOSER list and your kid just may be humiliated. I'm glad Zana's teachers provided each kid with a lei. What a cute group.

Zana with her good friend Angie

She also had her gymnastics "Spring Olympics" two weeks ago and is coming along with her strength and agility skills. Admittedly while watching her gymnastics classes throughout the year, I sometimes wondered if they were pushing her hard enough. It looked like just a lot of goofing off most of the time but now I see the wisdom in easing the Level 1-3 kids into the program and give them confidence as they develop the muscle and coordination required to move on to more challenging skills and technical abilities. She may not be the most flexible or naturally gifted gymnast but she loves working at it so it's all worth it.



It seems most of Zana's friends are now mastering games on their Nintendo DS systems. I kept telling Zana we'd put it on her birthday wish-list but after several months of that stalling tactic (her birthday is in December!), I started rationalizing what a great travelling aid (entertaining time killer) it'll be for our upcoming vacation in Tahiti next month and she did excel in kindergarten and has been the best big sister Zeth could ever ask for and I didn't want it to become one of those things she longed for until it was obsolete like the letterman's jacket I got just before graduating from HS after swimming varsity for 4-years which I never wore because what's the point of a high-school jacket when you're a college girl away on a tropical island? But I digress.

So as a result of much prodding and begging, I caved to the pressure and bought Zana her own pink DS as a kindergarten graduation present. (I know, I'm pitiful. What can I say?) She couldn't be more thrilled. Now she's mastering Cooking with Mama 2 and learning French. That's the great thing about the DS, there are some cool educational games that are really fun to play. I'm hoping Zana can get a real basic grasp of some French before we get to Tahiti and she's totally lost when it comes to playing with all her cousins. This will be Zana's 3rd trip to Tahiti but this time, I suspect the language barrier will become an issue since kids play a lot differently at age-5 than they did at age 1 or 3 like on our last visits.

Zana started practicing with a Tahitian dance school recently had her first real performances (two of them) last weekend. She danced a solo at one of the events and loved the thrill of being on stage. She's quite the little performer.

Nine-Months

Zeth tipped the scale today at 19 lbs on his 9-months-old milestone. He seems to be on a growth spurt and has gotten noticeably longer this week. Yesterday he stood up on his own for the first time and repeated the feat several times for us. He has learned how to clap his hands and is working on blowing kisses. As for dexterity - the kid gets plenty of practice picking up Cheerios, banana bits, rice, noodles and anything else he can put in his mouth. He loves to help me keep the floors clean; of course he usually tries to eat anything he picks up.

He loves to laugh and giggles incessantly when watching himself on video. He babbles about DaDa & MaMa regularly and in several octives. He's got a deep voice but hits way up high pretty regularly. His weakness is hair. He just can't stop himself from pulling hair. Even better if he gets to suck on a fistful of hair either attached to a head or yanked from the root, he's not picky about that. And of course the drooling, ah the drooling...he is such a luscious little honey. Still no teeth but he's working on it. He's such a people person - I've only seen him fuss about someone else holding him once. As long as he's being held, he's happy. Thankfully, no drama when leaving him at the sitter's still. He's just loves to be around people.