Happiness Journal

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T16:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was M's very first Valentine's exchange at school. She's been loving doing all the fun things, just like her big brother gets to do in school. So, she was really really excited to make her valentine's (She says "Balemtimes Day"). I covered pretzels with white chocolate, M sprinkled the heart-shaped sprinkles. I cut the paper and wrote "To:" and "From:", she wrote all her classmates' names and her names (with help of the class list). I gave her heart-shaped stickers, she decorated the bags and the tag (girls had a lot of stickers, but boys got only one because they were boys). And, she hand-picked each special pretzel for her friends. She was very proud.

This is her "pink day" outfit. Pink shirt, light khaki pants with pink ribbon, pink socks, and pink hair. I must say, yes, I am enjoying having a little girl, my own baby doll. :)

This is J's. Being a 1st grader and a boy, he wanted to do as little work as he could for his classmate. I cut heart-shaped papers, punched holes. He wrote his names and put Dum Dum suckers through the holes. Above picture shows them kind of shoved in the corner.

But for his teacher, it was another story...(the fancy card above)

He used A LOT of stickers and decorated a card very carefully....

And it says,

Yes, she is a really really good teacher and because of her, his reading and writing skills have improved dramatically this year.

And this was for me. I told my husband that he doesn't have to get anything for me, but of course he did.

I got chocolate, really really good chocolate! - Ghirardelli dark chocolate series, hazel nuts, camel, and one of my favorites, orange filling. He loves me so much.

Last night, I was instructed to sit and play piano while they had some secret activity going on, so that they'd know where I was for sure. Now, that's just brilliant!

I love J's "you are the best MoMMy ever!" I hope he will tell me the same when he is 16.

Oh, and this? It's just for fun. K groovin' and dancin' in the kitchen with his big sister's heart-shaped sunglasses. I love this child.

Letter M

2012-02-02T14:41:00.000-05:00

Instead of doing other things that I'm supposed to be doing (we call it housekeeping strike), I decided to make this: Letter M.
Now it's hung on a dining room along with family photos (one next to M is my grandmother).

It's 8x8 paper, outlined with letter M, tacky glued with small pearls, mounted on a frame I found at Goodwill for $1.99. Very happy about the result. Maybe I should have used different paper as background, but it's good enough now.

Speaking of family, here is our recent family picture, drawn by my daughter M. Yes, there are 2 of her - one below is real her and the all pink one is her baby doll (18"doll she got for Christmas) named M as well.

Random pictures

2012-01-27T15:24:00.000-05:00

Now my wrists (I have carpel tunnel, but it seems to be doing better since I stopped wearing braces...interesting...) are doing better I can update.

An ornament I made for annual (?) ornament exchange at work. I was too cheap and lazy to go to store to buy an ornament the night before at 10 am, I decided to make one. It took longer than I planned...but the recipient seemed to be very happy, so that made me happy.

My daughter having a tea party with her animal friends day after family Christmas celebration. It was her first tea party with her own tea sets she got for Christmas. Somehow you see carrots and corn on the cake stand and the tea is accompanied with a bottle of mustard.

I'm just throwing this - the morning of Christmas, the gifts still intact.

Now, this was in October. Gingerbread skeletons for my son's 7th birthday treats for his class.

And speaking of birthdays, these are the kids' birthday cakes...

J wanted a army tank cake, of course. Flat Stanley was a special guest to the party.

M's request was my little pony. I must have been really tired by the time I finished. I wrote 6, instead of 5. She turned 5, not 6... Oh well.

This was K's. The whole just evolved as I started decorating. And it worked. Vroom vroom!

Now it's full blown winter here and I miss this place and her fresh beautiful produce

(Natalie's place, we call)

Lastly, this was a sign I made from a free cabinet door I got at Re-Store. It was originally $1, but the gentleman gave me for free. Maybe I looked horrible on that Saturday morning... Painted, scrap book stickers added, and ribbon to the hardware holes. Not the original quote, but this one suits better for me and my kitchen.

Silence

2011-10-03T15:05:00.000-04:00

My oldest J is now in 1st grade. My daughter M is in afternoon preschool 3 days a week. My baby K is taking a nap. I have about 15 more minutes of silence to enjoy. The only noise I can hear is our dog snoring.
I could have been productive, but I decided not to be. I just sat in front of my laptop and did absolutely nothing productive. It was my 2 hour vacation.
I like it.

Eating good

2011-09-19T14:04:00.003-04:00

Summer is over, school has started, and I have a little bit of breathing time on Monday afternoon. So I decided to post something....then I realized how many photos of food I have taken this past month or so....Well, I love food. What can I say?

My dear husband found a treasure over this summer. We call it "Natalie's place". She sells beautiful fruits and vegetables from her garden or nearby Amish farm. No pesticides. She is not "certified" organic farmer, but she grows them pretty much organically. And they taste like, well, what fruits and vegetable should taste, that you know they grew up with sunshine, not some fertilizer. You know they are picked by her hands with much care, not by...okay, I won't say anything more than that.

Anyway, we have been eating good, I mean GOOD, local food.

Here is very meaty "Stripe Roma Tomatoes" waiting to be canned.
Yes, they are from Natalie's place. Just gorgeous. And they are yummy!

Here is our dinner one night.
Menu:
- Japanese style hamburger steak (made with grass fed beef from my co-worker's farm) with Teriyaki sauce,
- Sauteed zucchini with bacon
- Steamed corn
- Steamed potatoes (blue, red, and white!) with home grown parsley and chives

Locally famous "Buttermilk Pie" with melons from Natalie's place as dessert.

Okay, this was random. But they are cute, aren't they?
This, nothing local. Just yellow cake cupcake (though I did made it from scratch only because I didn't have boxed cake mix) with baby face on top. They are just vanilla wafers decorated with royal icing. Specially made for my friend.

Army of canned peaches ready for winter,

and they remind me of this poster.
{Photo source here}

I really think I can eat this kid.

Mmmm!

Blueberry picking with cousins

2011-08-03T19:36:00.004-04:00

Growing up in rural Japan, I had not heard of such thing as blueberries. Then one day, I saw some "made with blueberry" stuff at a supermarket in a rather big city when I was in high school. They grew only in Hokkaido, the northern island in Japan, and were very much exotic fruit to me.

Then, I moved to Michigan over a decade ago. Here we are living in berry heaven. Blueberry picking became one of our summer ritual. Pick them, eat them, freeze them, and even dream about them.

This year, we went with my sisters-in-law and their kids to a berry patch that was new to me. Kids in boots and with little buckets, off we went. Weather was perfect. I came home with 23 lb. of blueberries. The amount in kids' tummies will be a forever mystery. They really should weigh kids before and after. M, as a picky eater as she can be, did not eat them at all, but she did pick. She enjoyed picking so much that she by herself picked a half pound in very short period time (as she finally decided to start picking when I was ready to leave).

J's wish list with these blueberries - smoothie, jam, pie, blueberry muffins, etc.
We did make smoothie after we came home. The rest, well, I need to get some rest first, then I'll think about it.

Sleepover

2011-08-01T22:52:00.004-04:00

I'm a scout-camp widow again. My husband is up in camping with boy scouts for a few nights. Because of that and my kidney stone situation, my sister-in-law felt sorry for me and offered me to take a couple of kids from me. Well, J was the only one took the proposal. M wanted to be with Mommy. And there was almost no hope for K to go.

So, off he went to cousins' last night. It was his first real sleepover all by himself, no Mom and Dad or even his siblings. Just J. He was excited about this special occasion, according to my sister-in-law, which is good and made me feel better.

Now the top bunk being empty, M didn't want to sleep in her bed last night. Oh, great. I sighed.
Then, I came up with an idea!

Why not having our version of sleepover!? Just us girls. (Sorry, K, you need to sleep in your crib.)

I made a bed for M next my bed (to maintain quality of my sleep, I proposed her to have "a special bed just for M"). We stayed up and read books and talked. She told me that now her pink bunny has a name and that is Joey, but this little bear here doesn't have a name yet and she would tell me in the morning. And she did. The little bear's name is Boo-Boo.

After she fell sleep tonight, I quietly snuck out of the room for a little bed-time snack. Now my tummy is happy, I think I can sleep good tonight.

Summer check list

2011-07-30T22:16:00.008-04:00

Just a few of items here....

Going to a family camping trip to a lake - check

Fishing at a lake (well, pretend fishing for kids to be exact) - check

Chilling by camp fire - check

Taking a nap at a beach - check

Going to a ball game - check

Bonus: M got to give a hug to the team mascot and J caught a ball!

Loving every bit of summer here - check

Daily dose of summer goodness

2011-07-20T21:54:00.003-04:00

We've been harvesting raspberries from our garden. The picture above is today's crop. As our raspberry bush has grown so much this year, I was hoping that, maybe, possibly, I could make some jam out of our own raspberries, but the chances are very slim. Every time I come in with bowl full of raspberries, they disappear. Our super picky eater M loves them. Yup. That good.

My little artists

2011-07-06T21:44:00.004-04:00

My house is getting filled with kids' drawings, a lot of it. I love to see their progress - evolution of scribbles to circles, then the faces...eventually legs start coming out of head...

But, I didn't want those nice drawings to be just taped up on my newly painted wall. So, here is the solution: frames and fabric covered cork board. I tried to keep both kids happy with fairness. Showcase! I really like M's family portraits. Well, actually, I really like all of them.

M's latest favorite princess movie "Tangled" inspired drawing. She was very clear, although she also has really really long hair (never had haircut in her life of almost 5 years), that Rapunzel has "yellow hair" and M has "black hair", and Rapunzel's hair is really really long and M's hair is just long.

MeNU FOR MAMA

2011-07-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

I had breakfast room service yesterday by J - in living room, on the couch.

He even had menu for me.

"Today's Menu is..." said J,
FOOD
MY MAGiC
(store brand rice crispy with Nesquick powder - we call it "mama's magic")

SEREOL [Cereal]

JREINK [DRINK]

hcOKLiT MelK [Chocolate Milk]
POP (yes, he did offered me soda pop for breakfast!)
JOUC [Juice]

Very nice.

Beach!

2011-07-02T22:08:00.004-04:00

We went to a beach the first time this summer today. It was just a perfect day for a beach day - not too hot but hot enough in upper 80s (I think), light breeze, overcast but mostly sunny... This makes all worth it to live in Michigan. Love it. Yay to summer!Here is a picture of K really, really, NOT wanting to touch the sand!

A date with J

2011-06-29T18:28:00.002-04:00

J was invited to a birthday party this morning. To get a gift, J and I went to a store last night. But J thought it was a date - when he gets out of house only with Mommy, that's a date. Why not? We made it a date. We went to pick up a toy for his friend, ran a couple of errands, then we head out for donuts (it was a bit windy and cool to eat ice cream outside, otherwise we would have headed to our favorite local ice cream stand).

source: timhortons.com

We made a couple of more stops after donuts to library and a nearby school playground. He just kept extending the date! (Hmmm, maybe that came from his dad...)
So, it was a good date.

Thank you, teachers!

2011-06-22T13:45:00.004-04:00

It's been officially over a week now since J finished kindergarten, but this is what we made for his teachers as thank-you gifts. The notes read, "ThNK [Thank] YOU FOR TETEN [teaching] Me MRS ..." The teachers were so proud of J being a confident writer (i.e. not being scared of making mistakes). J told teachers that he designed the earrings and his mommy made them according to his design (not really, but I thought that was cute).

Strawberries!!

2011-06-18T22:35:00.002-04:00

We harvested a bowl full of strawberries from our garden. Because of this year's (relatively speaking) cool weather, they were so sweet and delicious. Out of this heaping bowl, I got to eat only a few. J and K ate the rest. I don't think Daddy get to eat at all. Well, maybe the next batch.

A gift from a friend

2011-06-14T09:10:00.003-04:00

A beautiful bouquet of Peony from her garden (She had 3 huge ones in her living room and they were just gorgeous!). It fills wonderful aroma in my house. Thanks, V!

Take me out to the ball game!

2011-06-11T21:18:00.003-04:00

My hubby and J are out watching Fireworks tonight at a park right now (too late for the younger kids). Just Daddy and J.
Last week, they went to a ball game, again just Daddy and J. They are like best friends. Love it.
I wish he could take me out to the ball game....it's one of my wish items for this summer - watching a ball game with family. That would be fun.

Bad idea

2011-06-10T14:53:00.004-04:00

Q. Whose idea was to give a 18 months-old a graham cracker with chocolate frosting on top?
A. Me, supposedly a responsible adult in this household and a registered dietitian, or something like that. Instead of wiping the face, I grabbed my camera. Oh, it was messy. It went to his forehead and to his hair to down the neck. I like this motion picture the best though. He was moving his head so fast to lick the chocolate.

One of the many benefits of decluttering

2011-06-03T18:55:00.003-04:00

I paid only 34 cents for 2 ink cartridges.

I needed to get new ink cartridges for our printer. so I dropped a box full of empty cartridges at our little neighborhood ink store O-ink to "recycle (i.e. getting some money back)". About an hour later, I went back to the store to pick up my newly filled cartridges.

The store guy: "I have a good news and a bad news for you."
Me: "Uh-oh."
The store guy: "Well, the bad news is your color cartridge is dead. That's why it didn't work."
"But the good news is....because of all the empty cartridges you turned in, after all the money back, for 2 cartridges you have to pay....let's see....yep, 34 cents."
Me: "THIRTY-FOUR CENTS???"
The store guy: "Yep, 34 cents."
Me: "Reallly? Only 34 cents?"
The store guy: "Yep."
Me: "Oh, I love you. You made my day."
"But, why 34 cents?"
The store guy: "Well, that's Michigan tax for ya."

So I handed a thing of Quarter and a thing of Dime, and told him to keep the Penny. I am so easy to please.

One silly monkey jumping on the bed (a.k.a. crib)

2011-05-31T23:00:00.003-04:00

I read one of those "Eight silly monkeys jumping on the bed" books the other night to baby K. He liked it so much that he requested for more with sign. Then, he decided to try on his own. I heard him holding onto the rail and jumping in his crib. At 3:39 am!! He was laughing, giggling, bouncing and just having a blast! This silly monkey, however, didn't fall off or bump his head, so mama didn't have to call the doctor. And it was cute to hear him having fun. But please, baby, not in the middle of the night. So, I did what a good mom would do - put ear plugs in and went back to sleep.

K at his favorite spot in the house

His favorite past time is to line up all the cars on the window sill, looking out the window, and to play with his big brother's cars on the coffee table there.

From there, he has fallen off multiple times AND bumped his head multiple times including one occasion when he got a bruise on his cheek. But he just keeps going back there...I don't think the line "No more monkey jumping on the..." means anything to this little silly monkey.

No cavity!

2011-05-26T21:11:00.002-04:00

I had a dentist appointment today, not because of supposed-to-be-every-6-months cleaning, but because of a hurting tooth. It turns out that root of the tooth may have an infection (which is not a good news, but it can be treated with antibiotics. No drilling! Yay!!). After at least 4 years of not going to dentist, I had no cavity! Yahoo!!

Sprout!

2011-05-24T12:59:00.002-04:00

I did it! The first time!! Alfalfa sprouts!!! They are growing in my kitchen. I've always wanted to try. Then a few days ago, I decided to give a try. It was easier than I thought. Sprout People website has very clear instruction and that's what I followed. Only 2 Tbsp of seeds became this beautiful quart jar full of sprouts! We haven't tasted yet, but I think we will have some tonight.

Just me and my baby

2011-05-11T09:49:00.004-04:00

(Photo taken by Kristin this past winter)

My daughter M is in preschool now for 4 weeks before school year ends. First time in my motherhood life, I am home just with my baby. Just me and baby K. We made smoothie for breakfast. He loved it so much that he had half of mine. How can I say no to his cute smiley demand for more? "Mmmm!" he says. No fighting over attentions. He calls me "Ma-Ma". He brings his shoes to me when we are ready to leave house. Just precious. No TV. I'm listening to Harry Connick Jr. on Pandora. Spring is (finally!) here. It's sunny and beautiful outside.
I love it.
Life is good.

Best Mother's Day Ever

2011-05-08T22:04:00.002-04:00

It was more like a Mother's Day weekend. Yesterday, my dear husband made a wonderful breakfast, took care of kids for me most of the day, AND worked cleaning up our backyard. Last night, my daughter was up many times, and poor Daddy passed out on the couch.

When I came downstairs, he was still sleeping on the couch (poor thing...he had a plan, but didn't happen because of our sweet innocent little girl who somehow can't stay in the bed at night sometimes), J was drawing up an over-sized greeting card, which I was told that it was secret.

So I quickly went to kitchen to hide. I was told to stay in the kitchen for a few minutes, because there was possibly something special was going on in the living room and Mommy was not supposed to see it.

A few minutes later, J and M came in the kitchen and told me to close my eyes. They took my hands (Oh my gosh, this was SO cute! I almost cried!! Two little hands and their giggles over the excitement of surprise for their mom!!) and lead me to the living room.

There I found, 2 flower planters (they built at Home Depot yesterday), a bird feeder and a bag of bird food, a necklace, and this beautiful corsage.

(It was really tricky to take this picture without capturing my double chin)

My husband didn't just grabbed this out of refrigerator section of flower shop. He had it made just for me. I got so many comments about it at church today. And yes, he loves me. My family loves me. It was the best Mother's Day Ever.

MOM DO NOT ENTER

2011-05-07T23:13:00.003-04:00

This is what I see in my fridge right now.... It's fun to see my kindergartner's writing everywhere in my house. He told me that there is a surprise inside so I can't open it till tomorrow...
Happy Mother's Day!

Crossing fingers for a good auction sale

2011-05-04T12:18:00.007-04:00

I am just having fun with beads and wires! This set below was just created last night at craft night with my artist friend. I made the necklace, and she made the other. (Well, actually she provided the wire, beads, and made the hooks and ear wires.) The gold color of brass and the almost aqua blue color of beads are such a good compliment to each other. I hope a good auction price for this set.

And here are more pictures of other jewelry going for the auction...

Simple drop earrings

Bracelets with crocheted wire

Green cluster earrings

Like the shoe box backdrop? ;)

More good excuses for me to play with beads

2011-05-02T21:08:00.006-04:00

My friend asked me to make some jewelry for a fundraiser event (silent auction). When she came by to drop off some of her beads, my face just lit up. She said, "Oh, I can see your tail wiggling!" Yes, I felt like a little puppy excited to play with a new toy!
So, here is the set going for the auction. (not a good photo)
For this bracelet, I used a new technique called wire that I learned today via internet. What a convenient world we live in.... Can you see my tail wiggling? :)Oh, by the way, my sisters-in-law and I may open our own Etsy shop soon. More excuses for me to play with beads! Yippee!!

More Easter eggs...

2011-04-26T09:21:00.003-04:00

Yes, I did decorate more eggs, now with my family. And this year, I decided to skip all the vinegar/dye thing and stick with just markers. It was less mess with kids and took longer time for kids to decorate one or two eggs! M was very concerned when she dropped her egg and got cracked (the very front left one in the pic below), she said "It'll hatch! Hurry!" She thought a chick would come out of the egg! In her mind (as a very picky eater, she never eats boiled eggs or in any visible form of eggs), there is only thing inside the egg shell - chicks! I guess I need to have her help in the kitchen more often....
My hubby did the camo one, of course, for J. I added my lace covered ones from Eggstravaganza for this photo.

This is not a good one, but here is the pic of sugar cookies I made for the family Easter dinner. See the difference from the top left to the top right. As the day progress, the details faded.... Somehow we had 1 piece of cookie left, so lucky J took it with his lunch the next day. I think I'm done decorating sugar cookies in the while...

Eggstravaganza

2011-04-22T21:58:00.005-04:00

I was invited to an egg decorating party today by a friend who is an artist. And it was serious. I mean, her house full of people with creativity was so inspiring!
Just simple combination of electric tapes and rubber bands made such beautiful intricate designs. And I learned that fresh eggs wrapped in fabric with onion skins and barley grains then boiled make such beautiful marble looking piece of art. That was such a fun time!
So, here are some of the pics...

Beautiful bowl of eggs.

The funky looking egg covered with googly eyes is my creation. Shows my personality!?Also, I made a couple of lace covered ones that you can see the instruction here.

Someone made this elegant piece. So I decided to make this.Meet my Ms. Elegant Egg with her proper Easter outfit even with Sunday Bonnet.

Kids were so excited to see them and wanted to decorate their eggs right away. Well, let's do that tomorrow, and let's keep it simple. The serious decoration is only for the grown-ups, or at least those who don't require my intense supervision.

Housekeeping strike

2011-04-05T13:03:00.004-04:00

or maybe I'm turning to be an old lady who wants to just sit and crochet. I can totally ignore my surrounding. I like it (thought my family may say otherwise). Dishes and laundry are piling up, but crafting is so much more fun...

A baby hat for our friend's new baby boy (girl stuff is easier for me to come up with...)

My daughter M's pajama bag
(the idea is that she'd put her pajamas in this instead of spreading out everywhere)
And what is she wearing in this pic? Her pajamas. This is what happens when Mommy refuses to do housekeeping (she was nagging me to finish her bunny).
She was playing "Duck Duck Goose" with her friends.

My latest passion

2011-03-26T22:23:00.002-04:00

Crochet. I've done some in the past, but was never into it. Recently I inherited a crochet book from my friend, and thought I'd give a try. Oh boy, it's fun! I now understand those ladies with balls of yarn and needles stitching away! Yes, my house may have been neglected a bit lately because of it, but I've been having so much fun!

Baby beanie with flower for our new niece M.
(Model: my daughter's 18 inch baby doll who happened to have similar size head)
It was my own creation, and of course I didn't write down what I did. It's truly one of the kind!

And the monkey. You've got to have a amigurumi monkey, right?
Yes, this one I followed an instruction.

Now I know how to break the codes such as "2 sc in next 2 ch" and "tog2sc" stuff in those American version of crochet books, it opened up a whole new world of crafting to me.

You know he is up to something when he is quiet...

2011-02-23T22:23:00.005-05:00

Then, all of a sudden, you hear "slop, slurrrp, he he, slop, slop..."

Yap. That was my baby K. Eating food off the floor.
Menu: Cajun-spiced baked tilapia with alfredo sauce, green beans, and rice pilaf.
Yummy.

Okay, that didn't sound good...let me try again.

There was a leftover on the dining table packed and ready for my hubby's lunch. Hubby was out with older kids. Baby K was happily playing, while I was in kitchen doing dishes.
I guess, he was happily playing and eating. I guess my baby is now tall enough to reach stuff on the table. I thought I fed him good. I mean, he ate the whole fillet of tilapia, a good portion of rice pilaf, milk, etc., way more than his big sister consumed for the day.
I thought he was full.
I was wrong.
Sorry, baby, you don't have lunch tomorrow, because K and Leo (our dog) decided to share it instead. I know you were looking forward to it. Maybe K felt bad that Leo didn't have enough food of his own. He is such a lucky dog.

Getting pretty close to perfect

2011-02-08T14:52:00.004-05:00

About a few weeks ago, J decided he doesn't like store-bought bread (when kids are hungry at bedtime, they get only bread-and-butter). He likes "Mama's jam on Mama's bread" for breakfast more than Coco Puffs. Mama's secret? Bread machine "dough" setting. Less work for me, but it does good kneading job for me. Then bake the bread in oven. Oh, the smell of freshly baked bread! I have a feeling that it's going to be a bread baking day.

Early Valentine's Day date

2011-02-07T22:28:00.003-05:00

I went to a date with a very special person on Saturday - my son, J.
It was more like running errands, but it was only J and me, and I'd call it a date.

We went to Home Depot for free kids workshop (they offer every 1st Saturday). This month's craft was of course, Valentine's Day gift - a heart shape shelf. Right away, J knew that shelf was going to become "a perfect gift" for M. He glued, hammered, and put stickers to decorate a one-of-the-kind heart shape shelf, just for his sister M. (I thought I was his date, but obviously he had the other girl in his mind...)

While we were at another place, he saw a box of frozen donuts and was drooling over it. So I suggested, instead of the stale looking frozen donuts, to go get fresh one at our local bakery. To last this Mommy-and-J only time, he requested us to eat our lunch there (i.e., cream-filled donuts and chocolate milk). While we were eating, glancing over my shoulder, he found another perfect gift for his sister (again, I was his date here. But it's okay, I guess. He is a very thoughtful boy) - a brownie with Hello Kitty decoration on the top. So we bought that brownie and a donuts to take home.
It was a good date, he said, but maybe it was more like a trip to get his Valentine's Day gifts....oh well, it was for his sister. And M just loved the gifts so much (not so much of the brownie itself, but, oh yes, the Hello Kitty!).

By the way, the original purpose of me wanting to go Home Depot was to find some paint samples. After living in this house for almost 7 years, I finally got an idea of color theme for our glossy everything beige dining room with antique mahogany dining set (picture below). My husband thinks I'm crazy to even think about painting our house, but I'm ready for some change. We shall see....

I'm a mom.

2011-01-07T10:41:00.003-05:00

The other day, I called my work to discuss with my co-worker about something. As she answered the phone, she asked me "How are you? What's you doing today?" Of course any emergency in M's life happens when Mommy is on the phone. So she was yelling my name for help. My co-worker said, "Ah, you are being Mom today! Good for you!"
Yep. I'm a mom. Full-blown. And I like it when people value the importance of motherhood as I do.

It's not even noon, and I think I already had an event of the day. And I just had to share with my hubby. So I e-mail him:

Do you wanna hear how I spent last 3 minutes?
It all started from changing K's poop, which he was wiggling and did not want to stay still. While I was cleaning that, M called for help that she needed "something white and round and round" (i.e. toilet paper). So I told her to wait while I finally managed to button up K's onesie. Then I realized that the dog was right by the gate making the puking noise. Great. So I hurried up to open the gate...well, I didn't make it. There was a big yellow paddle with a chuck (I think it was dent-a-bone he didn't digest from last night). So I grabbed bunch of paper towel to clean the mess. While I was doing that, of course, K decided to go visit M in the bathroom. I picked him up and move him in the living room, went back to finish cleaning, and then finally gave M a fresh new roll of TP.
All of which, I believe, took me about grand 3 minutes. (typing took longer than that!)

Of course, my hubby shared the story with his co-workers in surrounding cubicles. And his sympathetic co-workers said that they wanted to take me out for a drink. Ha ha.
Well, it's okay. I don't drink. Plus, my hubby is taking me out for a date tonight.

This photo was captured by my dear friend Kristin who is a wonderful photographer. This is one of many favorite photos she took for us. I feel beautiful. And I'm a mom.

"The greatest work we will ever do will be within the walls of our home"

~David O. McKay

Project photo archive

2011-01-06T08:25:00.006-05:00

Now Christmas is over, I can post (and show off!) some of my recent projects - of course, Christmas gifts. The best part was to see all those recipients' faces the moment they opened. That's why I can't stop making gifts. It is so rewarding to see those faces!

Since my husband has many siblings and many many kids (total 25, I think. I've lost count...), we each rotate one family gift every year. It is nice to know who is coming next year, and I have been thinking about their gifts for a long time. Really, it gets challenging when a family has 4 girls ranged from age 11 to 16.

A necklace for my niece K.
This was a fun one to make.

Another floral/pearl necklace for my niece L.
Not a great pic, but she loved the actual item.

A purse for my niece E.This was a challenge one as she said she is not a jewelry or flower accessory type of girl. So, I asked her what she wanted. She told me a small purse with long strap, like a messenger bag. When I saw this fabric in the remnant section, I knew what I wanted to do. Still, I was worried to see this hard-to-read 16-year-old's reaction to this. The answer? "Awesome!"

And this for their parents, Red Envelope inspired family tree frame.

A photo from my floral shoppe (well, not really, but my friend wanted to purchase)
small floral hair pins for my friend's girl.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T23:39:00.000-05:00

Santa House

2010-12-21T10:24:00.003-05:00

We finally went to see Santa last night. We thought Monday night won't be that bad. Wrong! The line was so long and we waited more than an hour to see him. But it was well worth it. J and M each wrote a letter with printed pictures of toy they want for Christmas. Baby K was just in awe of the sight of all kind of lights and toys inside the Santa House. Best of all, we did the trip with cousins and had pizzas afterward. The only problem (forget the 20 degree weather and the hour-long waiting line and the 23 lb. baby on my hip wanting to move) that my sister-in-law's camera didn't have the memory stick and I ran out of battery for our camera! Luckily, thank goodness to technology and those smart phones, her husband's phone had a memory stick which can hold 2 pictures and my hubby took videos with his cell phone. Lesson learned? Check batteries (including back-up ones) and memory stick for your camera before you leave for a special trip, like, say, Santa House. For now, I just hope kids' little hearts will do better job than memory sticks.

Jotting down little things

2010-12-03T00:51:00.002-05:00

I need to write things down before I forget...the things that I don't want to forget. It is a journal after all....(I may add some picture later)

Today was my first parent-teacher conference at J's kindergarten. J is just thriving in school, loving being there, and just enjoying everything about it. The teacher told us that J tells his teacher everyday, "Hi, Mrs. M. I like School." "Hi, Mrs. M. I like you. I'm glad you are my teacher." His teacher reminded us how fortunate he is to have both parents who love him and teach him. Yes, we are blessed to be together.
And my husband said to me, "You can do a lot of things, but I don't think you can be a kindergarten teacher." Yap, he is right. I am thankful for public school education!

Baby K turned a year-old. Always smiling, happy child. He had his first black eye yesterday by falling from a high chair at a friend's house. He was poked 6 times at the doctor's office the hour before (oh, poor thing). But my happy baby came back after the first taste of lollipop.

While my husband was driving with just M the other day, they saw a flock of turkeys. M said, "Mmmm, turkeys! I ate turkey at Thanksgiving. They are yummy. Mmmm, I want to eat turkey!" Yap. My kind of girl. She'll never be a vegetarian. Though I don't remember seeing her eating any turkey at Thanksgiving....

Today I made some reindeer (with a Moose-shaped cookie cutter) cookies with leftover gingerbread cookie dough with kids. We sang "Rudolph the red-nose reindeer" as we decorated.

Because of parent-teacher conference, J was home today. It was fun to have him home. He made funny faces and made K giggle so much that we all started giggling. K's smile is contagious, and his giggle is really contagious. I should video-tape next time.

J and I had our own cuddle time as I read books to him tonight. He told me many times that he loves me, and he loves being with me.
Yes, love is spoken here.

Birthday gifts for my niece

2010-11-05T23:21:00.003-04:00

I know I have not posted Halloween pictures yet, and it is on my to-do list. But for now, I'm posting the pictures of "the products of the day". Yes, it was another one of those housekeeping strike days. And yes, I am making more flowers...

A pair of $1.00 gloves turned out pretty with beads embellishment.

I hope she'll like them.

I didn't know gingerbread man had bones...

2010-10-26T20:41:00.002-04:00

Halloween-theme snack for J's class: "Ginger-Skeletons" (that's what J calls). The idea came from Family Fun magazine, and the recipe was from Allrecipes.com. This was my first time trying this recipe, but it was really good. I baked for 8 minutes just like the reviews, and they turned soft and delicious. It's definitely a keeper recipe.
The first thing J told me after he got off the bus today? "Mom! Everyone LOVED the ginger-skeletons!" Yay!

Obsession with flowers

2010-10-20T20:57:00.007-04:00

It started as just to make gifts for little girls. But now, I like flowers on me. Me, the same girl as her wardrobe used to be consisted of pretty much black, white, gray, and khaki - the super basic, kind of boring, but the one you can wear for years (oh, maybe that's my problem...). I don't have the guts to wear these flowers on my hair, but I like them as brooches. Since I made the shirt with flower, I became okay with flowers. So here are the showcase of the week.

2 1/2 inch silky ribbon + candle light + glue gun = scarlet beauty

Inspiration from Etsy + pretty fabric from my friend = Christmas gift for a niece

I think this will look fabulous on my new $4 red sweater from Goodwill

Pretty vintage looking lace from a friend's "ribbons and stuff" box for a shabby look?

My mom would be so happy to see her daughter started wearing pink and flower again, because when I was 10-year-old I decided that I didn't like red or pink, or flower or lace or that line of stuff on me.
Well, maybe I'm maturing a bit.

Birthday Bash

2010-10-14T19:27:00.007-04:00

We celebrated J and M's birthdays this weekend. It was a grand 5-day event!

We went to a zoo on Friday,
(kids being Rino - isn't that cute?)

and went to a children's museum on Saturday.

Then we had a family birthday party.
Here is J's cake - he requested a skate board.

Of course, M's request was a princess Barbie cake.
What 4-year-old girl doesn't want a princess cake?

And opening gifts, lots of gifts.

I think I took a break on Monday....I don't remember.

Then, of course, the cupcakes for J to share with his 20 some classmates on his birthday.

My husband picked up J from school at lunch time and they went for a special Daddy-and-son lunch. We had J's favorite dinner, home-made hamburger, in picnic style in our front yard enjoying cool fall air and colored leaves flowing by. And to complete, we received a box full of goodies and birthday gifts from Japan. What an event!

Bento faces

2010-10-07T09:01:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine inspired me to make my son's lunch more fun - making Bento (lunch box) faces. I remember my mom making Bento faces for me. It was fun to open my Bento box to find faces. I can feel her love. Now as I do it every morning, I really appreciate all the time and effort she put into my Bento for many, I mean many, years. Thanks, Mom! And thanks to my friend for inspiration. I'm sure it's more fun for J to see these faces than just cookie cutter cut-out sandwiches (though I change cutters everyday from a car-shape to an airplane-shape to a train-shape).

So, here is some faces for this week.

"Hmm?"
(bread crust and craisins glued with beanut butter)

"Missing Teeth" - just like J, missing teeth, and has one wiggly tooth
(Ham & cheese sandwich, top piece of bread with a hole cut out to make mouth.
Decorated with cut out cheese - kitchen scissors does the wonder)

My absolute favorite:
"Blowing Raspberries"
(the orange color of Muester cheese edge inspired tongue,
sliced into the bread for the 3D action!)

I can only hope J enjoys his lunch.

$5 shirt makeover

2010-09-25T22:59:00.003-04:00

It was almost like gamble to buy a T-shirt (granted it was only $5 on sale) only to cut. And because I was not so sure how it would turn out, I didn't even take a "before" picture. But it turned out super cute! And I'm showing off. This is what I made today, instead of cleaning a house full of mess.
J was very disappointed when he came home hungrily just to find his mom sewing instead of cooking. "I thought you were cooking something good...."
Well, sorry son. We are having pizza tonight.

Thanks to many bloggers out there nice enough to share their talents and post tutorials. I liked the style of this t-shirt with the idea of using one T-shirt.

I was very very cranky this morning. Frustrated, frizzled, stressed out...it was not my day. But after I finished this beauty, I felt so much better. I felt beautiful in it. Maybe I discovered joy in a whole new world of sewing. And it's pretty therapeutic.

"Hate it" to "Like it" to "Love it"

2010-09-19T22:13:00.002-04:00

One morning, a few days ago, I had a moment thinking, "I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom!"
When I became one almost 4 years ago, actually, I struggled. I hated it. I was all of sudden a mother of 2 kids (I worked full-time till 2nd child was 3 months old). I had no idea what to do, what I was doing, or what I was supposed to do. I felt lost.
A friend of mine shared with me one day, "You know, when I first became a stay-at-home mom I hated it. The first 18 months was horrible. Then I started liking it, and now I love it. I hope you'll get to love it in a few years."
About a year ago or so, I told her that I started liking it. She was happy to hear my progress.
Then a few days ago, I thought, "Hey, I love being a mom, a stay-at-home mom!"
I love being able to take J to kindergarten every morning without rush, with a baby on my hip and 2 kids in tow (Yes, it is crazy in the morning). I love being able to make 22 pieces of rice crispy treats for J's kindergarten class as a snack. And I absolutely love seeing my son thriving in his new world - kindergarten. And, honestly, I enjoy a little quiet time I get during the day.
Yay for me - to be able to say, finally, "I love it."

The sense of accomplishment this week

2010-09-16T23:46:00.009-04:00

I know I'm kind of slow in following trends, and I usually don't care much about trends. But I decided to make some girls floral headbands. I wanted to see how I can create something cute really cheap. Flowers, spool of ribbons, sets of simple black headbands are all under $1.00 each - either from a dollar store or clearance rack. It's another easy, fun, quick project. Some went to my friends' girls, some are going to an auction at J's school, and some are going to be birthday gifts for my friends' little girls (yes, some of you may see these soon...).

And this, a flag with an eagle on, was more like a homework kind of project, well, originally for my hubby. Starting today he is off to Wood Badge, a leadership training for boyscout leaders. Isn't it a very sharp looking eagle?? I love it.

He and several other people are in a troop named Eagle, and they needed to make a flag. Well, he needed to make a flag as one of his homework. He came home with this image below.I said, "Ummmm, you want me to help you make a flag with this?" Nope, I like the other one better. Courtesy of Google image - the image was traced.

J's first day of school

2010-09-07T23:06:00.003-04:00

My first child started kindergarten today.
(J waiting in line somewhat nervously)

I expected J to be up early and ready to go, but it was not the case. After 3 nights of sleep over at cousins over Labor Day weekend, I guess he was tired and comfortably snoozing in his bed. So here I went to wake him up.
Me: "Hey, J."
I gently touch his head.
J: "What?"
His eyes still closed.
Me: "Do you want to go to school?"
He gestured with his index finger pointing up. He rolled and sat up. Within 10 seconds, he was awake and smiling.
J: "Are we going to school tomorrow?"
Me: "No. You are going to school today."
J: "Today? Really?"
Big grin.
Me: "Yes. Today. Come on out!"
He hopped out of bed.
Wow. I wish I could be that quick.

He was able to eat only half bowl of cereal this morning. He must have been a bit nervous.
I was able to force myself to eat only a banana. Yes, I was pretty nervous.

My husband took a morning off to be with the younger two, while I took J to school.
Today is a special day. He carried his new backpack. I took pictures. He fiddled with the backpack straps. I took more pictures. We lined up as bell rang. J holding onto my hand, not too tight, but just to make sure I'm still there. After his teacher took attendance, we proceeded to the class - his own locker, his name tag with assigned seat, and so many new kids. I gave him a kiss, and he gave me a hug. We said our good-byes. I took more pictures.

I went home. And I cried. I couldn't help worrying about him.
I was very sure that he would do fine. But I was not so sure if I would do fine.

A few hour later, J came home in a bus, all smiling, holding his water bottle. Wait. He forgot his backpack already on the first day?? There was no one sitting next to him in the bus, so his backpack was "sitting" next to him, J told me. From there, he couldn't stop talking about what he did at school and how much he loved it. He inhaled 2 sandwiches and a glass of milk, while he talked. I found myself smiling while listening to him. Love it.

Then he asked me, "Can I go to school again tomorrow?"

Before J was born, I promised myself that I would raise my child in Japanese, and, if all possible, that I would never place him in a daycare. And I did. Here he is all ready to start his new life. I have no regret at this point of my life. That's a good thing.

Handful of summer goodness

2010-08-25T20:49:00.003-04:00

Beautiful and absolutely delicious tomatoes

and the biggest raspberries I have ever seen

All from my garden! Ymm!!

Call-in sick today

2010-08-20T17:07:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure if it's from some kind of bug or just exhaustion from good-old playing hard without enough sleep. My 2 older kids had mild fever today. My body doesn't produce much of fever, but I have had this headache and absolutely no energy to do anything. So, I decided to call-in sick today as...me. Kids are fed and changed. I think that's about all I have done today. I guess it's a benefit of being stay-at-home mom, because I don't have any certain number of sick-days to begin with. Although I have a son who constantly calling me "Mama!" for help and asked me to finish his $1.00 wooden model helicopter (which I did finish), I don't have to be yelled at by my boss (my former boss, that is). Although I have a lot of housework needed to be done, I don't have to feel unnecessarily guilty about leaving that job for my nagging co-workers (again, my former co-workers), because those housework will still be there without much complain, or maybe my sweet dear husband will help do graciously.
So, today, kids and I just snuggled up in a couch and watched movies (kids) or read a book (me), and got some very needed rest all together.

Definition of happiness

2010-08-13T14:32:00.005-04:00

I started reading a book Bluebird a few days ago. In there, it read "Canadian positive psychologist Paul T.P. Wong defines happiness as 'the capacity to rejoice in the midst of suffering.' I like that definition. Happiness isn't the absence of suffering, then. Happiness doesn't have to be about denial."

I like that. Maybe I should post more often here...

Best baby-sitter in town!

2010-07-28T23:00:00.002-04:00

I had my friend's girl as a baby-sitter this afternoon while I was at work. I have never hired a baby-sitter with a theme! A theme!! The theme was "fishing". She brought: a movie "Ponyo" as an entertainment; stuff to make jellyfish (paper plates and tissue papers - genius!) for the craft time; and "fishing theme snack" - long pretzel rods with spoonful of peanut butter to "fish" the fish-shaped cheese crackers! When I showed up at the door, they were playing "Go Fishin' " game. Wow!! I was just amazed. Kids LOVED it. They had such a fun time! Thanks, MJ!

Healing power of camping

2010-07-26T22:21:00.005-04:00

Last weekend, we went camping to heal my exhausted soul. We went to my favorite beach and just floated in the warm water. The sun, the wave, the sand....it was so relaxing. Something about me born and raised in a fisherman town, whenever I'm down I crave the sound of waves. I can just sit at beach doing absolutely nothing, nothing but watching and listening to the waves, for a very long time. At night, after kids went to bed, my husband and I just sat by camp fire and talked. Under clear starry sky in the woods, with back ground sound of campfire popping, we admired the beauty of the fire. With slight breeze, there was no mosquitoes to be annoying us. Just perfect. Then I realized that I was surrounded by all the 4 elements, Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Hmmm.....interesting.
Of course, kids love it, including baby K. There is nothing better than roasted marshmallow over campfire, early morning fishing trip with Daddy, and playing at the beach without caring about what time it is. No TV. No computer. No phone. Just us. We needed it. And, most of all, I needed it.

Backyard Jungle

2010-07-20T22:30:00.010-04:00

My backyard vegetable garden looked like this a few weeks ago....

Now, it looks like this....

Tomato Jungle!! And I'm loving it!
My first trial of cantaloupe plants have a lot of flowers.

Beautiful Peas!

First harvest

Just cute, aren't they? Oh, they were so yummy, too!

Hello, beautiful.

2010-07-16T09:17:00.004-04:00

The look of it, the smell of it, and the taste of it, you are just beautiful. Sorry, your twin sister disappeared pretty quickly at dinner table, and later as a bed time snack. I'm sure you miss her, but don't worry, you'll soon join her, in our stomachs. It's part of the deal you signed up; we have to eat you. So, here is the proof you were here. You look beautiful! Oh, I won't forget your grand entrance to this world from the oven. It was just gorgeous. The butter on the top helped you really glow, literally.
So, PBJ, or turkey club? Or maybe just good-ol'-bread-and-butter? A glass of chocolate milk might make a good compliment. Yeah, that sounds good. Let's do that.

Playing hard

2010-07-08T22:01:00.007-04:00

We had such fun days with cousins last week. One day, we went to LEGO exhibit (pics below). The next day, we went to a beach (no pics).

We saw amazing stuff

and cool stuff made with LEGO blocks

and we played with regular sized LEGO blocks

and gigantic LEGO blocks

and had a lots and lots of fun time with cousins. After many many hours of playing, J was so sad that he played with his cousins only till 5 pm, not 9 pm (he is learning how to read clock). Um, did I mention that we'd been playing since 11 am?

But yesterday, after he played with his friends all day till almost 9 pm (one family in the afternoon, and the other in the evening as we were invited to a dinner), he said, "It was such a fun day. I had a lot of fun with my friends. Thank you, Mama." I'm glad he was finally satisfied. Whew! But does he really wants to play till 9 pm? Maybe that's why he has to come out of bed at 10 pm saying "I'm hungry." Playing hard, eating good, and life is good for a 5-year-old. Happy Summer time!

A birthday gift to my little friend

2010-06-26T09:44:00.002-04:00

A set of origami crane earrings. It was fun to see her exciting face when she opened the box. Happy birthday to my little friend, C.

Twenty-five pound of goodness

2010-06-16T21:58:00.004-04:00

Strawberries, that is. We went strawberry picking yesterday evening to our local strawberry patch. U-pick for $1.40/lb. Did we carry away? Maybe. Bless his heart, my husband took stems off of all the strawberries. Yes, 25 lb. of them. Here is just a handful of the 25 lb. Picture taken by my 3-year-old. This was her breakfast today.

Here is a picture of freshly harvested strawberries from our garden this morning! Mmm!

Second generation bed-time story

2010-06-14T20:18:00.003-04:00

Bidily Bump is the name of the main character in this second generation bed-time story that originally my father-in-law started, and now my husband is telling our kids almost every night. The story is about this cat, named Bidily Bump (correct spelling unknown), going out and about. Kids get to come up with where he goes and what happens. In tonight's story, Bidily Bump went to a park. Then Bidily Bump would encounter an alligator (no name) at some point. Story goes on. At the very end, Bidily Bump would always say, "I may not be very smart, but there is one thing I know..." then tell kids it's just a made-up story, so no matter what happens to Bidily Bump he is okay and kids don't have to worry about him all night.
My husband has fun memories with the story told by his Dad. I hope our kids will cherish through their lives.

Mini Me

2010-06-11T22:54:00.003-04:00

I guess, M has always been a "Mommy's girl", but she has been wanting to be doing whatever I do lately - doing dishes, laundry, sweeping, and even nursing. I sit on my glider to nurse baby K; M sits on her little rocking chair across the room to "nurse" her baby (tuck her baby doll under her shirt). I change side, so does she. I rock the baby and pat on the back, so does she. I put a burp clothes under his chin and pat his back to have him burp, well, so does she. After it's all done, she'd check her diaper to make sure it's clean (I sure hope it is!), put her baby in her little bed, tuck her in under a blanket, and tell her "Nite, nite". Then she tells me "Shhhh. Baby is sleep." It's pretty sweet.

My "I want to make something" bug

2010-06-09T10:43:00.002-04:00

Last night, a piled of rinsed dishes were looking at me saying, "Are you going to load us up in the dishwasher to make us clean?" I said, "No." Instead, I played with my beads to take care of my "I want to make something" bug. Not the best pics, as usual because of my skill or camera or lighting or whatever reasons, but I'm very satisfied by the look of these ladies. And because I took care of my itching bug, I was able to sleep well, till my baby woke up with a diaper full of poop in 4 am.

Happy Saturday

2010-06-05T21:59:00.002-04:00

It was a good day for everyone (or is that mostly me?). My husband took older 2 kids out, and I was able to take care of things I have been wanting to.
Here is why it was a Happy Saturday for all of us:
Me - went to a nursery to buy plants for garden, took a nap, and cleaned and organized piles of stuff, and feel so much better!
Hubby - Went fishing with kids and had a good time
J - Went fishing with Daddy
M - Went fishing with J and Daddy with brand-new Barbie fishing pole!
K - Well, he is just a happy chillin' kind baby

When Mommy is happy, everyone is happy. I was singing along with The Beatles while doing dishes! Thanks to my sweetest dear husband for taking care of all of us. He is the BEST!

A conversation of 5-year-olds

2010-06-04T16:51:00.003-04:00

Here is a conversation between my son and his, also a 5-year-old, cousin A.

J: I'm going to Kindergarten next year.
A: Me, too!
J: But I'm going to Kindergarten that people are speaking Japanese. (He meant his Japanese friends who speak Japanese are going to the same school.)
A: Oh.
*Silence*
A: I'm going to just regular Kindergarten. You know, people speak regular.
J: Regular?
A: Yeah. Like, you know? We say "Hi" and stuff.
J: Oh.

I didn't know two 5-year-olds could carry such a conversation - actually listen to the other person and think through responses. It was so cute to see two of them being excited to go kindergarten next year and talking about it.

Sweaty Saturday

2010-05-29T22:18:00.002-04:00

It has become our family tradition to work on our vegetable garden every Memorial Day weekend. This year, I'm trying something new. Instead of not-so-organized farmer style in a very small yard, I will try French Intensive Garden style. It's more known as a square-foot-garden. But I'm not a kind of girl who follows direction precisely (ahem, maybe that's my problem...), so, of course I'm making some adjustment. The bottom line is that I want to maximize yields from our small some 12'x14' section of our backyard. I simply want to do the best I could.
Growing up, I watched both of my grandmothers growing vegetable gardens, serious ones. One was on terrace, and other in her small backyard. Both of them had many many kinds of vegetables and flowers. And my mom, who has big fat Green Thumbs (well, not literally, but she has dozens of orchid which I hear is very difficult to take care of), has her own vegetable garden in her small backyard as well. One year, her tomato plants were taller than my mom!
So, I want to have a good variety of vegetables growing in my garden, but yet looks organized and tidy and easy on eyes - something like this.

Image borrowed from http://localfoodsandusky.wordpress.com/

We worked almost all day today digging, tilling, measuring, and cutting, but something about having 3 small children, we ran out of time. So no picture yet. But one raised bed looks pretty good as it is now. I can't wait!

Friday night

2010-05-28T21:36:00.003-04:00

It's 9:30 pm on Friday night. Everyone is sleep. EVERYONE. Kids are all in bed. My husband passed out on the couch after a long week of work. And the dog is snoring to make harmony with his master. Hmmm. I thought my hubby wanted to watch a movie or something...but I hate to wake him up as he is catching up on his very much needed sleep. I think I'm going to curl up in bed and read my book under soft breeze. That sounds like a plan.

How can I get mad at this??

2010-05-24T13:13:00.002-04:00

I heard kitchen covers and fridge door being slammed shut and kids screaming, while I was putting baby K for a nap. I came down stairs wondering what kind of mess they are creating. And this is what I discovered - J and M sharing a cup of apple juice together, happily with giggles.

Silence, Calmness, and Serenity

2010-05-22T12:47:00.002-04:00

The only noise I can hear right now is...I was going to write as "our dog sleeping", but actually, it is "me typing". I don't know when was the last time I had this quiet moment in my home in the middle of the day. Baby is sleep. Dog is sleep. My husband is out with the older kids. Wow. Quiet. Love it. I love my family so much, but it is nice to have alone time sometimes. Well, kind of, since I'm not totally alone here. I am able to clear my head (hopefully it will help me to think more clearly), take deep breath without a little face attached over my head, and actually listen to my music instead of a theme song for Curious George.

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-05-17T20:46:00.004-04:00

I feel so loved. So many birthday wishes from my family and friends. Kids kept saying "Happy Birthday, Mama!" all day long. I might have aged 100 years today! And I got a lot of birthday gifts which have been given to me throughout this weekend:
- A truck full of horse manure for my garden
- Cleaning garage and yard by my husband (It's beautiful!!!)
- "Garden" theme cake by my hubby and J, which I wish I had taken some pictures
- A shopping spree to JoAnn (by my husband)
- Yummy baked ziti dinner from my friend (Thank you, Kristin!)
- The best Coconut Cream Pie in town (My husband and kids went out to buy "a secret" dessert for Mommy) for dessert
- A frozen lasagna dinner for later use by another friend
- A gift card to JoAnn from my sister-in-law who knows me very well
- birthday cards and many many birthday wishes via phone, e-mail, and facebook.
I am so loved. My heart is full.
And here a birthday gift for me from myself - a coordinated denim skirts for M and me.
Happy Birthday to Me.

There is "Before" and there is "After"

2010-05-15T23:32:00.006-04:00

Ever since I learned that one of my sisters-in-law sews her skirts, I've been wanting to make one. And one of my friends sews hers, too. She even alters to fit better for her figure! Plus, I thought "It would be fun to make matching skirts with M (my 3-year-old daughter)". So, I have been cooking this idea for a while. I even borrowed skirt patterns from my friend. She told me to use elastic waist to make it easy. True. But I wanted to make something nice enough that I can enjoy wearing, if I invest in some time cutting and tracing the pattern, and cut and sew the fabric....not to mention that I haven't mastered sewing a zipper with sewing machine!
As part of "my decluttering my life project", I made my husband clear his part of closet a few weeks ago. My husband, being strong and sturdy (I got this from a children's book author's biography, and I love it), and maybe, just maybe, getting a little stronger and sturdier than when we got married, he got rid of several pairs of nice dress pants. Good quality ones. Good fabric, no wear or tear, too good to just donate. Then, came an idea. Use those pants as material! Being called "resourceful" "frugal" and "thrifty" (oh, no, I'm not cheap.) many times in my life, I decided to live up to the title.

"Before"

And, "After" (not the best pic)

I thought it turned out really cute. I was very very happy about the result. Well, there is one spot. Oops. This is what happens when you don't exactly cut along the pattern, measure as directed, and sew without following instruction. Lesson learned. I'll try to follow the steps a little bit closer next time. But, hey, once you put a cute shirt on the top, nobody notice that, right? I'm happy, so that's all that matters here. Next plan: matching/coordinated skirts with M. We'll see....

Story of my life in the bottom of my feet

2010-05-13T18:58:00.002-04:00

Purposefully, I have no picture for this post....
After dinner, I realized that my socks, especially the one on the right, were sticky. Flipped my feet to see what's on: play dough, angel pasta piece from dinner, dog hair, a piece of sticker, cookie crumbs, sands, dirt, etc. I'm pretty sure I put white socks on, and vacuumed this morning. Hmmm.

A day off, well, sort of.

2010-05-12T22:24:00.003-04:00

Maybe because of the weather, or maybe something else. Whatever it was, something was causing me being cranky. And I just needed a day off. I needed "me time", a time to take care of myself, by doing things I wanted to do without being interrupted or yelled at "Ma-Ma-!" every 30 seconds. So I took a day off. A day off from work, both inside and outside of home (Wednesday is my only work day). A friend of mine watched the older 2 kids for me, and off I went with baby. Dropping a box full of clothes to donate at Goodwill, dropping another box full of clothes for my friend's little girl, returning things at stores, dropping a form to be signed at Pediatrician's office, etc. Some may say, "That doesn't sound like a day off." But, to me, it was. Having "me time" helped me to clear my head. Clearing out my clutter out of my house cleared my mind. Cheating on dinner by buying a rotisserie chicken and making mashed potatoes out of potato pearls lifted pressure off my shoulder. Kids went to bed before 8 pm and I was able to enjoy a nice quiet time alone.
Oh, my baby is calling me. I think I can take a nice cuddle with my sweet chubby baby.

Stress relief of the day

2010-04-28T22:26:00.001-04:00

Care package from Japan

2010-04-28T20:31:00.002-04:00

I had one of those days - feeling tired, stressed, mopey, blue - not a good day. But I got another box of care package from my parents today, an "express" version of care package which means the box contained some good Japanese breads. The box was filled with goodies, treats for kids, clothes for kids, some easy-to-make Japanese meal stuff, of course, the good Japanese breads, and most of all, a lot of love from my parents. It's funny I felt so much better after I opened the box and ate a few of those yummy sweet bread sticks made with molasses. Thanks, Mom!

Big brother and Little sister

2010-04-27T22:04:00.003-04:00

This picture has nothing to do with post, but captures their loving relationship as big brother and little sister.

This evening, I had a work meeting. I made Tacos for dinner and left home as soon as my husband walked in. And this is a story he told me when I came home.
As usual, I asked "How were kids? Were they good for you? Did they eat dinner?" kind of questions. He told me that baby K was mostly happy, but he became inconsolable (is baby K teething? We are not sure, but he has been cranky during the day this past few days). So, he put the baby down in his crib before they started eating dinner. As he came down stairs, he realized that kids were very quiet. He peeked around the corner, he found J saying a prayer. J carried all the food, dishes and everything out from kitchen, made tacos for him and his sister, and blessed the food, while Mommy was out and Daddy was taking care of baby. What a big brother!!! I was very proud of him. It kind of reminded me of my childhood with my big brothers.

Good food, good company, and a good time

2010-04-22T23:01:00.004-04:00

We had dinner with our family friends. Kids played outside while my friend and I cooked in the kitchen. My hubby was in his grilling duty while sitting under the sun and reading a good book (her hubby was still on the way home from work). My friend brought marinaded chicken and potato salad (with smoked paprika. Yum!). After I thought what I could do, I decided to try on a couple of new things - homemade pita bread and roasted red pepper hummus. Oh my goodness. The pita bread was DELICIOUS! I could not believe they just came out of my oven!! I made with half whole wheat flour, cooked a little longer than the recipe called. Out of 10 good size pita breads, I have about 1/3 piece left. Four adults and 4 little kids, counting those kids didn't eat much. So, yeah, that good! Homemade pita bread with grilled chicken, homemade hummus, and alfalfa sprouts. Oh, it was so good. Just plain pita with honey butter was also a hit too. To top it off, we had a double chocolate cookie topped with whipped cream and strawberries (sorry, no picture. I didn't have enough patience to take ones before I ate). Mmmm! Mmmm!! Mmmm!!! Good food, good company, and a good time.

Housekeeping strike

2010-04-20T16:55:00.003-04:00

Instead of doing housework, I decided to make more pot holders this afternoon. I call it housekeeping strike. Sometimes I just need to escape from the reality of my life - a piled up dishes, dog hair balls and dust bunnies, smeared muddy foot prints on the kitchen floor, just to name a few.
But, aren't they cute? Or are they crazy!? Or am I crazy? I thought they are fun. Thanks to Aimee for letting me scavenge her scrap fabric. They gave me a few hours of non-housework time.

Addendum: my husband just walked in. I told him that I'm on housekeeping strike. He said, "Then I won't be a scab. I won't cross the picket line." Maybe, we'll have macaroni & cheese for dinner tonight...

I love this man

2010-04-18T20:27:00.003-04:00

My hubby and J - summer 2009

Yesterday, I woke up with a noise of kids screaming, a good kind. Then I heard my husband saying "Here I come, ready or not!" Hide-and-go-seek was my alarm yesterday morning. What a good husband and father.
Today, after dinner, he yelled at me, in a very loving way, for touching dishes. He cleared the table and rinsed dishes for me. He helped kids picking up toys and changing to their pajamas. He He read books to kids. He even had some discipline talk with kids, firm but yet very lovingly.
When I was sick last week, he came home during lunch break to feed kids lunch so that I didn't have to. He gave me a phone by my bedside table so that I can call him in his cell phone if I needed anything. He told me that I was not allowed to come downstairs at all, again, in a very loving way. I slept, and slept, and slept.
He loves me so much. How lucky I am. I love this man.

Mommy and daughter time

2010-04-17T21:28:00.005-04:00

I went out for a Mommy-and-daughter time tonight. Having 3 kids, one being a baby, and one being a very curious 5-year-old who just can't wait for school to start, my 3-year-old daughter who is now a middle child has been needing a little more attention. She never complains, but I noticed that she tends to spend time quietly alone, while her older brother talks like a machine gun and tries to get Mommy's attention every second of the day, and the baby brother, well, being a baby. But us going out alone this evening was my husband's idea. "Why don't you two go out and have fun? Don't worry about time. I'll take care of the other two." (Have I mentioned enough that he is a wonderful man?) So, off we went. Where? Shopping, of course. Well, not like fancy dress shopping spree type of thing. It was more like getting some milk and checking out a craft store. Still, it was our special time together. We found some good looking strawberries, and she decided to buckle the container of strawberries so that she can keep an eye on them. She enjoyed looking at pretty beads at a craft store, and told me that she wanted to wear pretty beads earrings like Mommy. To finish out evening, we went to our local diner for some milkshakes. I asked her, "Strawberry shake, or chocolate shake?" She said, "Chocolate!" Yes, she loves chocolate, but also she loves pink, so I got one of each to see which one she picks. Sure enough, she decided to drink PINK shake. I guess color matters more than taste in her case. After we came home, she was happily telling Daddy how fun it was. It was really fun. Thanks, honey. You are such a wonderful Daddy and a husband.

Me and my daughter - Summer 2009

My latest creation and not-so-latest creation

2010-04-16T12:43:00.003-04:00

This is my latest creation - pot holders. I was invited to a bridal shower. But no gift registry yet. I heard that she doesn't have much, and also she likes blue, green, and brown. Hmmm... So I decided to make pot holders out of scrap fabrics. These fabrics look familiar?

That's probably because of this.

This is my not-so-latest creation - a baby quilt for our baby K. I had perfect number and size of squares left from this quilt to make those pot holders. I am very happy about the results. I hope the bride doesn't mind they match to my baby's quilt.

In sickness and health

2010-04-12T23:20:00.004-04:00

Today was my first day up and moving after being sick for several days from a suspected food poisoning (from funny tasted apple juice, I believe). How grateful I was this morning to be able to eat and not feeling pain! How wonderful it was (but also kind of painful, but in a very good way) to feel the hunger! I could not believe how happy I was to be able to just eat food and taste without feeling pain! It was almost like after the first step I took after weeks of recovery from a knee surgery many years ago. Showering, packing kids up in a car, and other rather dragging routine seemed like a joyful privilege. Taking kids to a park and sitting in a sun was such a treat. Visiting friends and watching kids playing joyfully was delightful. Being able to stand in the kitchen to make dinner...oh my! I can't even describe. And the food tasted so good!! I didn't know how the flavor of garlic and olive oil and asparagus and bacon and Parmesan cheese would taste that good. I am very very thankful for my health. Sometimes we take granted too much. Life is good.

Oh, by the way, I love my husband. He did so much for me. But I probably should make whole another post about just about that. It shouldn't start by "oh, by the way..."

Creation of the day

2010-04-06T23:45:00.004-04:00

Not the best picture, but I am very happy about the look. I'm going to try them on tomorrow (my work day) with my recent purchase of $2.67 short-sleeve turtle-neck sweater from Goodwill.

A whole new world of cooking

2010-04-03T22:15:00.003-04:00

I made Tabouli for the first time this week. While I was taking a break from chopping vegetables (I was making for 60 servings), I wrote an e-mail to a friend saying, "I am making Tabouli. I have no idea what I'm doing, but you are going to eat it tomorrow." I guess she got a good laugh out of my comment. It turned out it was a hit (or at least those girls were nice to me). So I decided to post my version of Tabouli recipe on my food blog (which has not been so active. Shhh.). This is based on 2 different recipes with some adjustments and tweaking. Oh, and the measurement there is totally "guestimated" amount. My husband tells me that he never gets tired of my cooking because it tastes different every time even if it's a same dish.
Now I want to try making pita bread and humus. I was really tempted to start making something, but I realized that it's past 10 pm. I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow. Pita and humus can be part of Easter dinner, right? Happy Easter.

Big brother and Little brother

2010-03-30T13:46:00.004-04:00

Happy Nappy

2010-03-29T17:41:00.002-04:00

This afternoon, I lied down on the couch for just a little bit. Before you know I was asleep. Something about middle-of-the-night-feeding (not so much of sleep deprivation as it used to be, but still not a long stretch as I want to) and juggling 3 kids plus housework, it seems like I can sleep anywhere if I get to close my eyes for more than 10 seconds.
I remember J and M playing Thomas the tank engine train set in the middle of the living room floor. The movie "Curious George" was on the TV. It was nice and sunny outside. Not the perfect sleeping condition in my standard, but the warmth of a blanket overpowered me to doze off. When I woke up, I found M falling sleep on baby K's play mat, J curling up on the couch, and our dog Leo snoozing under sunlight in the middle of kids' room. Baby K was the only one in his own bed. But it didn't matter where and how, we all took a Happy Nappy - that's what we call here. A nap makes us all happy.

Spending all day to accomplish nothing

2010-03-24T21:54:00.002-04:00

The title doesn't sound much of "happy moment" as I try to focus on here. And, not it isn't. There is nothing "happy" about me spending all day to accomplish nothing. I was in fact very frustrated this morning wanting to accomplish just one thing. One. Not ten, or even two. Just one. So I mentioned that to an e-mail to my hubby at work, and here is his response;
In regard to your ‘I’ll try to accomplish one thing this morning….’ You are accomplishing a TON just being a Mommy with the kids. So thank you for doing that much!
How sweet! Here I was unloading dishes from dishwasher, which I attempted this morning, at 10 pm, thinking "What did I even accomplish today???" Then, I remembered what he told me. Just to make me feel better here is the list of things I did this morning; I fed kids breakfast, got recycle bin out, made toast for my breakfast, had a piece of Reese's Puffs cereal from M and agreed that was tasty, cleaned up baby's spit-ups, got Leo (our dog) a bowl of water, took a bite of toast, helped J starting computer, had half cup of chocolate milk to wash down the toast, picked up a crying baby, finished the rest of the toast, attempted M's potty training with much bribing, drew a dog, failed potty training fight, spelled LOG, got in shower, helped J spelling BUG, washed my hair, helped J spelling COW, got out of shower, picked up crying baby, had a chat with a happy smiley baby, nursed him and put him down for a nap for the second time, explained to J what a blowfish is like, tried to unload dishwasher, got a princess sticker on my shirt....and on and on.
Looking back, my day was full. I did accomplish a TON. Nothing like the "one thing" I had in my mind, but a lot of little things. And I think I did pretty good. I have frustrating moments, but I have no regret on the choice I made to be home with kids. One day I'll probably miss these crazy mornings. Thanks honey for your encouraging words.

Pixie stix and milk shake

2010-03-11T20:23:00.002-05:00

Originally, it was going to be a Mommy's time out. It turned out to be a Mommy and J's date. I announced at the dinner table that I was going out for a while. Next thing you know, J was getting ready to go out with me. Well, okay, maybe we can make this a date. How is that? We went to T.J.Max and JoAnn (Mommy's stores), then headed to a local diner PIXIE for some milk shake. Of course, they have Pixie stix at the counter. Yeah, why not? It's a date. So we each got milk shake, and shared one giant Pixie stix. Now J knows what "date" is all about.

Moments

2010-03-01T17:05:00.010-05:00

My son J is out with my husband, and the younger two are napping. The only noise I hear is our washer and dryer doing my laundry. It's so quiet. A moments like this reminds me to take a deep breath and helps me to rethink who I am. It is nice to have a little break like this. And I realized how much I love my family. I know I started this blog to remind me. So here are some of those moments I don't want to forget.

In winter, especially with a new baby, I tend to stay inside wishing for a nice weather. But this day, I decided to bundle up with kids and went outside while baby K was taking a nap. Here my angels having fun making snow angels.

"Look, Mom! 'You are under arrest!"
This is what I got before I got "Good morning" one morning. A house got on fire and those 2 little people are surrounded by police and army.

My helpers in kitchen

Define "help"....well, that's another story

My 3-months old K

He coos as if he wants to tell me a story, and smiles as if he wants to say "I love you, Mommy."

Dear Thumb,

2010-02-23T12:49:00.004-05:00

Thank you for all you do. You are so useful and such a hard worker. I cannot imagine my life without you. I mean, how do I press this space-bar thing without you?? I don't do much of texting, but I know a lot of people enjoy your company. For our family, J enjoyed you so much, well, a little too much and too long, I think. You helped him soothe himself when he was a baby. I did enjoyed longer sleep at night because of your help. I have to thank you for that. I don't think M cares much about you though. She seems to prefer "pointer" and "tall man." No offense. It was not my call, you know? She still adores you and calls you "thumbkin" though, especially when she wears mittens. And you are the almost only one she plays with when singing "where is thumbkin" song.
Now, as much as I appreciated soothing J in his earlier years, it was really hard to separate two of you. You are not so nice to teeth. Unfortunately, cutting you off is not an option. So, I really want our baby K to take his binky instead of you. Oh, don't get me wrong. I still like you. But I don't want him to get attached to you too much. This morning he had both you and "pointer" at the same time. Yeah, I know you are good at sneaking in like that. But K has binky usually attached to his clothes. So, unless, for some reason, Mr. binky is not available, will you leave K alone please? Or don't make it taste so good, will you? Oh, by the way, Mr. binky looks like this.
Thank you,
Mom

Back to cooking!?

2010-02-08T22:34:00.003-05:00

This setting up and declaring menu for the week actually got me motivated. I did make Tator Tots casserole for dinner tonight. It was a hit. No leftover. My super-picky-eater M even ate a lot of it. It's a keeper.
After I came home from grocery shopping, I made some meatballs and cooked ground beef to freeze. Now I have a freezer bag full of meatballs and 2 containers full of cooked ground beef ready to go. I'm excited! Knowing good stuff (instead of cheap card-board frozen pizzas, which is love of my hubby) is in my freezer just makes me smile. Also, it gives me somewhat sense of comfort security that one of those night in the next couple of weeks, when I'm just exhausted and have no energy to cook, those guys will be there for me to provide an easy quick meal, like spaghetti meatball (which is one of J's favorites). I have a feeling I can sleep good tonight.

Menu for the week

2010-02-07T20:15:00.002-05:00

Somehow I have been very demotivated to cook meals, not just dinners, all meals. I think we had PB&J, oh, and last of breads from Japan. No, I didn't cook last night. And tonight, using Super Bowl as an excuse, we are eating snacks - cheese ball and crackers, chips, chocolate milk, etc. I don't know why, but I'm not in a mood of cooking. Who is a dietitian here? Hehehe.
Last night I cleared my kitchen. Decluttered. Not only I can see my counter tops, but also I can see the back splash wall! I have a lot of space to work on!! So, I decided to make a menu plan for the week. I normally don't do this, but I have a feeling that I might slack again if I don't plan ahead.

Here is the menu for the week:
Monday - Tator tots casserole
Tuesday - Chicken Alfredo
Wednesday - Pot roast cooked in crockpot as it is my work day
Thursday - Valentine's day dinner at church (anyone is welcomed)
Friday - Tuna melt

They all should be pretty quick meals. See if I'll follow....but at least I have a hope for my family eating pretty descent this week, instead of PB&J. Yes, Kristin, I'm copying yours - thanks for the inspiration!
By the way, thanks to my sister-in-law for an inspiration. She cooks bunch of ground beef, drain the grease, and freeze cooked one in freezer bags in 2 cups portions. So when she wants to cook ground beef, it's already cooked. It shortens the cooking time as you can skip the thawing time and cooking time. How cleaver! I'm so doing it!

Care package and Skype

2010-02-06T12:27:00.002-05:00

We got another care package from Japan. As soon as I opened the box, the contents were emptied out on our living room floor for the search of toys and goodies. It's Christmas all over again. Kids had Japanese bread for breakfast, and all kinds of goodies (mostly candies) for their snack today so far. I see tiny marshmallow wrappers (yes, in Japan they wrap chocolate-filled marshmallows individually) everywhere throughout my house. Oh well. They are loving it. To thank my parents, we talked via Skype. It was fun. They got to see our 3 little monkeys all together in one screen. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

McDonald's and friends

2010-02-01T21:55:00.002-05:00

I have never been a big fan of McDonald's. Unless we were traveling, we almost never ate. But winter here in Michigan is long, I mean, really long. And it's pretty cold out. You can do only so much of entertaining for kids, especially for 5-year-old boy with a lot of energy. My 3-year-old girl can be content inside with princess movies and baby dolls, but oh boy, J is another story. "Who is coming today to play with me today?" "Where are we going today?" "What are we doing today?" These are the questions sometimes I get before "Good morning!" So, I called my friends and see if they wanted to get together, this case, at McDonald's. Not for the foods, nor toys. But for the playland. Five hours of playing (i.e. getting energy out), making new friends, and obtaining a cheap plastic toy (this time, a Spiderman figure) along with who-knows-what-it's-made-from-burger for $10 is actually not a bad deal. "I don't do it often enough" is my justification of feeding the junk to my kids. More so, I enjoyed chatting with my friends. Food might not be healthy, but it sure was good for my mental health. A bonus point of that is those friends are Japanese. Good practice time for me and kids. Kids had a good time, and I had a good time. That makes it today a good day.

2-hour vacation

2010-01-28T18:27:00.002-05:00

So, last week went well. I survived the week with 8 kids and 2 dogs. By Friday, though, my stress level was going up pretty high. I just needed a break, from kids, dogs, housework...all of them. I called my father-in-law and see if he could watch my kids for a little while. He graciously accepted my request.
He said, "One time I came from work. Mom (his wife)'s hair was about to be on fire. So I gave her a checkbook and told her not to come home for at least 3 hours. I told her that I won't let her come in unless she was gone for at least 3 hours. I know you love your kids, but sometimes you need a break. I'll be more than happy to watch your kids. Take your time. "
So, off I went. Time away from everything, all by myself. I don't even remember that I ever talked to anyone unless I had to at check-out counter. I enjoyed the silence and slow pace. I went to a couple of stores and just looked around and around without feeling any pressure. I stopped by at a thrift store to see if I could find anything good. Oh, my! I found 1 skirt, 2 jackets, 3 pairs of jeans/pants, 4 shirts, a pair of boots, all under $3.50 each. What a bonus!! It was a very good 2-hour vacation.
After I came home, I cleaned up my closet to make up rooms for those new (well, not really new, but new enough for me) items. And I said good-bye to those clothes I hadn't worn for a while. It was a good therapy.
It is so nice to have a very understanding father-in-law living near by. And kids all behaved well for Papa. Mommy got her sanity back!

A week with 8 kids

2010-01-19T22:50:00.003-05:00

This week, I'm staying with my sister-in-law's kids while she and her husband are out of town for a conference. They have 5 kids. 5 + 3 = 8. Eight kids. Hers are 10, 12, 13, 15, 17 (or something like that), and pretty self sufficient. And actually it's been quite fun. This is our second year doing it.
My kids are having fun - playing with new toys, learning new things from cousins, watching cartoons on cable, etc. Oh, and they have a big backyard and a trampoline. They put their snowsuits on and jump on the trampoline. J played probably close to 1.5 hours with his 10-year-old cousin outside - making fort out of snowbank. They were so tired tonight, but they just did not want to go to bed. When I was reading books laying down between them, they were fighting with their sleepy eyes. It was really cute.
And for myself...I am enjoying 5 extra sets of hands doing all the chores. 5 kids = 5 meals assigned! So I don't have to cook dinner at all this week! Love it.
Do I want 8 kids? No. I don't think I can do that. But it's a fun experience. It kind of gives me an idea of what it will be like to have school age kids, who leaves house at what time, who has what lesson on what day, etc. And, I have to say, I appreciate my life with little kids, because I can take a nap when I need it, especially the day after baby K was up all night.

A very successful milk cow

2010-01-15T09:53:00.002-05:00

No, we don't have cow farm. The very successful milk cow is me. That's my sweet dear husband calls me. My baby was 12 lb at 6 weeks. Twelve pounds!! My daughter was almost 4 months old when she hit the number. This 1 month old baby is up to 3-6 months old clothes. I like the sound of "successful" part of that title. I'm not so sure about the "milk cow" part of it....but, I'm happy that my baby is growing, and I am able to provide.

Magic number 5!

2010-01-14T22:30:00.003-05:00

Ever since J turned 5 in October, his things is "Now because I am 5-year-old, I can do *blank*." All the things he couldn't do or didn't know when he was 4-year-old are now piece of cake. Poof! A whole new world. I shared that with my friend the other day. And she said her girls were the same way too. Hmm, I didn't know that. But that's pretty cool, isn't it? Magic number 5!

Photo taken by Kristin

Happy Baby - Happy Mom

2010-01-12T21:54:00.002-05:00

My baby has a lot of baby acne right now, so I'm using this beautiful picture my friend took a couple of weeks ago (picture courtesy of my dear friend, Kristin). But this is how he has been looking since yesterday afternoon, not a screaming little monster. I decided to start sleep training yesterday. As much as I enjoyed watching him sleeping next to me at night, sleep deprivation/exhaustion/tension headache was over-powering, and I was turning to be a monster, not a cute little one. So far, he has been an angel! I change him, nurse him, cuddle with him in a comfortable glider with a soft soothing music. And he slept! I had free hands! I even baked bread!! At first, I had a mix feeling of happiness and sadness, like sending a child away to school or something (which I have not yet experienced). He woke up crying. But when I picked him up, he stopped crying. Then, he looked at me in my eyes and smiled. He smiled and cooed. What a precious baby! I am so in love with this baby. Who said that "when mom is happy, everyone is happy"? So true. Happy sleeping baby makes happy Mommy, which make everyone else in the house happy. A chain reaction, in a very good way.

Surrounded by love

2010-01-12T21:37:00.002-05:00

I have been feeling so much love from my family and friends, so I needed to write them down.

Last Saturday, I needed a day off. A day off from kids duty. I wanted to declutter my house and my life. Decluttering, that's what I do when my stress level goes up. It's like my therapy. So, my sweet dear husband took care of kids, all of them. I vacuumed, packed bags of trashes to be taken out of the house, packed "stuff" to be donated, drop the "stuff" at Salvation Army, got totes from Walmart to organized kids' clothes, packed more "stuff" to be donated, etc. In a meantime, my sweet dear husband played with kids outside in the snow while he shoveled snow, took trash out, cleaned garage, fed kids, put kids for naps, made dinner, gave kids a bath, etc. Oh, I felt so so much better!!!

Yesterday, I had one of those days - pounding headache, exhaustion, screaming children, etc. Finally, I was able to take a nap. After I woke up from a nap, I had a message from my friend who wanted to drop off a meal for me. Then this morning, she showed up with a bag full of goodies - lasagna, a loaf of french bread, salad, and paper plates/cups/napkins and plastic forks, so I didn't even have to do dishes!! What a friend!

Also, this morning, another friend of mine called me to take the older 2 kids out to a playgroup this morning. I originally planned to go, but my car had problems and went to a shop last night. I thought I was going to be stuck in the house. Instead, she took the older kids out for me. I put baby to bed. And myself, too. It was so quiet. The best nap ever! I also enjoyed a short visit with her when she dropped them off this afternoon.

I am so lucky to be surrounded by so much love!

9th anniversary

2010-01-04T23:18:00.001-05:00

Nine years ago today, I married to my best friend. We have had ups and downs, but I love him dearly. He is a wonderful husband and father. Three kids and a house and a dog. I am so lucky to have this wonderful family. Happy Anniversary, honey!

Help from my mother

2009-12-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

My mom just left to go back to Japan. She came all the way from Japan to here just to help me after the baby was born, all by herself. I'm so proud of her. She stayed with us for 3 weeks. Older 2 kids had a lot of fun with their grandma. I got a lot of rest. She cooked a lot of yummy Japanese meals for us. She cleaned the house and did all the dishes. I mean, all. I don't remember touching any dirty dishes this past 3 weeks. I'm so spoiled. It was like having a magic wand. We put dirty dishes in the sink, and Poof! They were gone! When I woke up from naps, there were nice hot meals ready on the table with wonderful aroma. Oh, it was so nice! I think kids' Japanese skill improved too.
It is so brave of her to travel this far all alone. But she is a world traveler now - a petite Japanese grandma in First Class with a lap-top. Pretty cool, huh? She told me today right before her departure that she determined when I was born (30 some years ago) that she would come help her daughter when grand-babies were born. Well, I don't think she was counting on traveling this far. Should I make that promise to my daughter? Maybe. I'll think about it.
Thank you so much, Mom!