Grades have been submitted. Let the baking begin! Strawberry Chiffon Cupcakes and Apple Streudel Cinnamon Rolls. All Gluten-free and Dairy-free, but you'd never know it!
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#glutenfreebaking #dairyfreebaking #summerbaking #professorlife
I finally got my Lod Chong! (Or what my mom calls "Jalot."). It tastes like Southeast Asia ❤️😋. It's pandan flavored jelly noodles made from rice flour and mung beans inside of icy coconut milk. It's light and refreshing. This was my favorite dessert when I was serving in the Peace Corps in Thailand. It also makes me think of visiting my mom's home village in Sibu, Malaysia. We went to a Jalot shop and this woman kept staring at her. It turns out she was a friend from childhood who now ran the shop. 40 years later, she still recognized her! I only know a couple of places on island to get this, and they seem to always be out. (This one is at @olays_thai_lao_cuisine ) Do you know any others?
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#lodchong #jalot #southeastasia #southeastasianfood
The best way to spend Mother's Day morning--beach and swim time with my boys. Do you see the smile on Charlie's face as he swims towards me? I love it ❤️. I also love the crazy antics of Sidney and Ben in the background. Oh my boys.
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#mothersday #momofboys #beachtime #oahu
No matter how many students come through my classroom, I always feel like a proud professor mom when I see them walk across that stage 😭. I never tire of seeing my students grow and watching the lifelong relationships they forge along the way. Congratulations. You should be proud of what you have accomplished.
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#graduation #hawaiipacificuniversity #professorlife #professormom #hpu
We finally had a free weekend without extra events, so we filled it with swimming in the ocean and hiking in the forest. I was so absorbed in our activities that I only managed to capture this moment during one of our rainy and muddy hikes. It's honestly such a weird video of our family 😂. Do you know what hike this is on?
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#hikehawaii #hikingwithkids #momlife #momofboys #oahu
Of all the beautiful places on this island, this has to be my favorite spot. Charlie comes up here almost everyday after school. Yesterday was hectic with end of semester thesis defenses, but at 1:30 pm, I still had to stop what I was doing to pick him up from school and head up to Ualaka'a for a hike. We both need it...even if sometimes I don't want to do it. Usually, on Wednesdays, I take Charlie on a hike, then pick up Sidney and Ben, take a quick shower and head back to work for my evening class. However, traffic was so bad that I told Ben just to drop me off back at work. I put my work clothes back on...mud, sweat and all and made it to 8 pm. On days like this, i'm thankful that Charlie and I had some time out in nature...even if I so badly needed a shower 😂.
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#momlife #professorlife #autismmom #ualakaa #oahu
It was a very long day of Ben's book event at Bishop Museum, Sidney's piano recital, gymnastics practice, and the HPU choir/orchestra concert. This is the only picture I managed to take near 10 pm with sleeping kids who almost made it to the end of the concert. I'm wiped out.
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#momlife #theweekend #musiclife #professorlife
I'm a day late on my earth day post, but Earth Day is Every Day! I'm grateful to be able to play with my boys in the forest and in the ocean every day. ❤️ Mahalo ʻĀina.
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#earthdayeveryday #earthday #malamaaina
Mahalo @bnalamoana for a great book event today. And Mahalo to the families who stopped by to listen to music, hear a story, and make an instrument! It's going to be a busy next couple of weeks, but it's wonderful to see all of @benjamin.fairfield 's efforts come together! Tomorrow, he'll be at Honolulu Museum of Art!
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#localauthors #barnesandnoble #kanikaopala
Charlie does not fake smile for pictures. He can't. So when you see him smiling in these pics, it's because he's genuinely happy to be back on the trail after days of rain. Trying to find things to do with him while it's been raining has been a struggle because most indoor places are over-stimulating...full of people and noises. I find that as I get older, I can't handle this kind of stimulation either! On the trail, you can listen to the birds, the wind, and the sound of the earth beneath your feet.
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#hike #hikehawaii #autismacceptance #autism #autismmom
April is Autism Acceptance Month, but in our house, it's every single day. We've come a long long way since Charlie was diagnosed a few years ago. A few years ago, we started in a place of fear. Of not knowing if his speech would ever develop, if he'd ever be able to be with his peers in a classroom, if he'd run away the second we let go of his hand. I'm extremely grateful for the support of his teachers, his aid, and his classmates for loving him just the way he is. He's been thriving in Kindergarten, and his classroom is so loving. We've leaned into what is described negatively as "eloping" on his IEP, and let him run it out on the trails everyday after school. He's seriously kept us in shape. The kids puts in about 5 miles of walking/running a day! (Do you know any other kindergartener who does this?). There are still days when everything is a huge struggle. But, usually, as soon as we get into the forest, everything is fine. I'm grateful to live in a place where we can be on the trail or in the ocean just 10 to 15 minutes after picking him up from school. All autism looks different. This is how Charlie does his.
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#autism #audhd #autismacceptance #autismmom #oahu
