Cal's First Haircut

Saturday we took Cal to get his first haircut. For the most part he was awesome. All of the guys at the Barbershop kept commenting on how great he was doing. And he now looks like such a daper little man, I just can't believe it! I just love him so much but in moments like these it saddens me that he is growing up so quickly! So goodbye baby look and hello little boy look!

Day 1 of Being a Home Maker

In an effort to keep myself completely organized, I thought I would plan out my meals and post them on here so ya'll can keep me accountable. And plus then you'll know when you want to stop in for dinner! ;) Here goes:
Monday: Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday: Creamed Ham and Asparagus on Toast
Wednesday: Taco night
Thursday: Ham and Beans with Jalapeno Cornbread
Friday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread and salad
Saturday: Steak, Baked Potatoes, and Buttered Peas
Sunday: Panko crusted Chicken with Butter Noodles and Green Beans

Things here are going well so far. The children were impossible this weekend which certainly took a toll on Nicholas and myself. But so far, so good. I woke up at about 4:30 to exercise, have some quiet time with God and get ready before the chidren awoke.

That is it for now...have a wonderful day in the Lord! :)

The Children

Here are a couple of pictures from every day life with the children. Calvin is playing with Imaginext and Emma is in her robe after a bath. They seem to be having so much fun these days. Cal and Emma seem to be getting along well except for the fact that Calvin has become a boy who is definitely in his Terrible Two's! Ahhh! Hair pulling, hitting, kicking, biting, smacking, rubbing tuna on his sister, he does all of those things and more!

Errr! I am the mother of two children who apparently need some strong discipline right now. But you know what? Iwouldn't trade it for the world! I love them and we are having so much fun together!

A Day

I am working until noon today and then I am going to have the day to myself! I am going to be going to the mall to return some shoes and do a little shoping for the children. After that I am going to go to Target to hopefully purchase an Easter dress and some yummy sushi for lunch. I will eat said lunch at home while I let the dog out to do her thing. After that I will be going to the outlet mall to try to find some shoes for myself, some cute Valentine's Boxers for the love of my life, and possibly some easter outfits for the children.

How can I do this you ask? Because I have the best in-laws in the world (mother and father that is...I don't know about the rest of you yet! j/k :) ) They are taking the kids today. Nick is picking them up after work and will eat dinner down there, thus meaning that I have a day to myself and I also do not have to make dinner. Woot, woot!

I am so super excited because quite frankly, I just need a day! I need time to myself. And if I am super productive I will come home from errands and shopping and have time to get cleaning done so I can enjoy the weekend with the children. Hooray!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and are relaxed and refreshed come Monday!

Thrilling Thursday!

Well we have made it to Thursday! Isn't God just amazing? Every day should be viewed as a gift.

This morning those little blessings of mine were awake at 4 am. I must admit that when it feels like the middle of the night and everyone is awake, it is very difficult for me to treat my little blessings, like, well, little blessings. But when I left for work they were still awake, and they were happy. Happy little ones is all a Mommy can ask for.

Nicholas is hard at work today too. I was thinking of that last night. A few months ago I would have given anything for him to be back to work, and then when he is I feel lonely and sad that he's not there. What in the world is wrong with me? Why am I always so discontent about everything? Take this weekend for an example. Nicholas has worked all weekend and of course I am busy making plans. He thinks he may have an opportunity to work overtime this weekend which he must do to provide for us (that is our plan at least!). No sooner do I hear this then I am upset and sad that we can't do the things we were talking about. Seriously, what is wrong with me?

So here is what I am doing. I am going to change. I know, shocking, right?

I am going to be joyful and happy in all things! That is something I want my children to pick up and those are traits I want them to carry with them all through life. Plus the Bible tells us to be joyful! How can I talk about how God has so richly blessed us and how AWESOME He is if I am down in the dumps about everything?

1 Thessalonians 5:15-17 tells us:

"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
Be joyful always; pray continually;"

And so this will be my new life. How can I be grumpy or mad or sad if I am making it a point to be happy and joyful?

Will you jump on the joyful train with me? Will you make that promise to always try to find the good in every situation? To be happy when your old self probably wouldn't have been?

Love Them!

Here's the latest picture of our absolutely adorable children...don't you just want to eat their faces off? They are just so cute! I love them so much and I am so lucky to be their Mommy! They don't want anyone but me to be their Mommy and that is an amazing feeling!

How are things going on your end? Things here are going well. I was really proud of myself because I got my to-do list done yesterday! I am trying to make our home office upstairs on the third floor rather than where it is now which is in our guest room. So I think I have that almost all put together which is nice. I am excited about it because it is light and cute and cheery. I think I will be really happy up there. I am also excited with how it is set up that I have a somewhat L-Shaped set up with a desk that holds everything on one side with the printer and everything else, and on the other side is a big table for my workspace. I like that I can do officey kind of stuff on it or scrapbooking, gift wrapping, organizing, and what not. That was what I wanted was a big space I could do anything on and then have somewhere to put the stuff away and have the space clear again.

Laundry I have decided is an on-going process. I think I may have lost the battle. But I got some done and some folding done which to me is progress.

I got everyone called I needed to and the children and I had a lot of fun yesterday.

Today Emma is going with her Grandma down to her house and I think they are going to be doing a little bit of scrapbooking! How fun does that sound? Cal and I will have time alone together and I am hoping he will take a good nap for me (please note that I am not counting on this. at all. )

Have a good day!

Tuesday

In case you have lost track I now have to go to work only 8 more times! How exciting is that? We are slllloooowwwwllllyyyy closing in on the end of the week and before we know it I will be in the last week of working! The children are still getting up every morning between 4:30 and 5:00, crying that I am leaving. That makes for some very sleepy children and a very guilt-ridden Mommy. I cannot wait for that cycle to end. My little darlings need their rest.

Emma is also having a hard time going to sleep. Last night she cried herself to sleep and when I asked her what was wrong the poor dear said "I'm just so sad you have to go to work tomorrow". That is such a hard thing to hear. To know that I am the reason my poor Angel's heart is breaking.

I only work until 10 today which is super exciting for me because I have a to-do list that is about a mile long waiting for me at home. Nothing that HAS to be done, just things I am wanting to concentrate on. What are you working on today?

Here's my list:
Return telephone call from my Grandma
Call the ladies for the Valentine's Day party
Laundry
Clean 3rd floor and get tidy!
workout during naptime!

Have a great day!

YAWN

So I am at work and am so bored. Did I mention I only have to go to work 9 more times? How exciting is that? We are in the single digits!

I thought I would just use this blog entry to just randomly write about whatever comes to mind. Its my blog so I can do that!

We had such a great weekend! I truly in love with my husband! He is such an amazing man who actually loves me and wants me to be happy. I don't think there is anything better than having someone like that in your life. This weekend we went out with friends and we all had such an amazing time. Nick makes everyone laugh and I feel so blessed to be his wife when I can look around the table and everyone is laughing so hard they can't breathe because of something he said. I am just so stinkin' lucky! He honestly still give me butterflies and we have been married for almost seven years.

I am thinking of painting my dressing room with red and pink stripes. Do you think that would look too much like the inside of a circus tent?

Our remodel in the living room has starte and oh my goodness how excited I am to see the finished product! It is just going to look amazing! Nick has patched some of the areas in the walls and then this next weekend we are drywalling some areas. After that it will be a matter of sanding and then we can paint! I think I am going with a sage green for the entire room except for the alcove where the tv and fireplace are. In there I think I am going to make it a darker green. Don't worry...I'll take pictures to show you our progress!

I usually am not one of those people who gets tired of winter but I AM SO TIRED OF WINTER!

My son is the most handsome little boy. I want to eat his face off.

Alright, I think that's it for now.

Winding Down

Well as the kids are well aware, I only go to work 9 more times! How exciting is that? Things here are going well. We FINALLY got Nick's first paycheck this last Friday and once again were shown how truly great is our God! We should be just fine! Yahoo! I have noticed lately that one of my huge stressors lately has been money. I am always worried if we will have enough, are we contributing enough into savings? Retirement? College funds? Ugh, sometimes the stress can be overwhelming. So I am going to try to let it go.

When I want something I think of if I REALLY need it. Most of the time the answer is no. I was at TJ Maxx and saw Mrs. Meyers in the baby scent. I wanted it...bad. Do I need more cleaning products? That would be a huge n to the o. So I passed. Old Navy had huge clearance on sweaters. Do I need more sweaters? N to the o again! So I passed and it felt invigorating!

I did need new sneakers. So I made sure to not just run out and buy the first pair I wanted. I reseached what I wanted and then I searched and searched for the best price. I actually found the best price for my new New Balance 720's to be on NewBalance.com! Just a tip! I would have guessed the best price would have been on some deep discount website or at a bargain bin type of store, not the company's website but alas I was wrong so I am so, so happy that I tried all venues.

When researching I have been thinking on Proverbs 31. Verse 11 tells us that the noble wife's husband has full confidence in her. I want Nick to have full confidence in me and to know that I make the best decisions. Verse 16 tells us that "she considers a field and buys it"...okay I know I am not investing in real estate or anything but I guess my thinking here is that whatever decisions deal with our money...I need to be prayerfully considering them and making good investments...not just throwing money away.

Another thing I have been doing to help me not to be so stressed about money is to avoid things that make me feel like we don't have any money. What am I talking about? Well for one example, jewelry ads that come in the mail around this time. All those things do is to make me want things I don't need and that we can't afford. They also tend to make me a little mad at old-what's-his-face, who happens to not really be the jewelry giving guy. And you know what? I am okay with that (as of right now!). Another thing that makes me covet is when I web surf...gap, vickie's...they call my name. And before long I have convinced myself that I need ALL of this stuff...and when I can't have it I get upset and look around uncontentedly at what I do have. That's not what God calls us to do.

So as I wind down working I am also hoping to wind down my attachment to consumerism. I think I will always secretly want a new Coach Bag, or new Choos, but I am hoping to squelch those things and be able to focus on what really matters...my precious darlings I get to take care of and my amazing husband who (with God's help of course!) is making that happen!

My Baby!

Since I posted a Baby Emma photo I thought it only fitting to post some of Calvin. How cute was this kid? Is this kid? I have the most beautiful children, honestly. Nick read somewhere and I have heard it too, that kids born with one parent of Asian descent are the most adorable. And see? My children are living proof of that!

Calvin was just such a peeny little guy and I just want to eat him up in these pictures. I think this was Cal's first time at the zoo.

I miss those days! I am so excited that I will be staying home so hopefully I will be able to savor them even more!

I'm a Proud Mommy

Look at this chubby little bunny of mine! I can barely remember Emma being this small! But she was and was the best. I love her so much and now she is an adorable 3 year old who I could not be prouder of!

We had her parent-teacher conference at her school and she is in the top of her class! She knows all of her uppercase letters, almost all of her lower case letters, and can count to 13. I love her so much! I especially enjoyed hearing how much the teachers like her. They just went on and on about what a joy she is and how funny she is and how she gets so excited when telling stories.

I just love Em so much and am so proud of her and how smart she is! I am so lucky to be her Mommy!

For the Love of God Just Trust in the Lord

When I gave my notice at work (13 more days to work by the way) I felt confident and had faith in God that we are going to be okay. We really feel I am supposed to be at home. The timing really fits within our family and other aspects.

Yet here I am having doubt. To be honest I have had doubt almost every day. I think of something I hadn't thought of before (or to be honest HAD thought of when planning all of this but haven't thought of it in a while so forgot I had thought of it...yes I know I'm pathetic) and start having a mini-panic attack. I think "has Nick thought of this? If he hasn't, does he still want me to quit work? Could I get my job back? What are we going to do if this doesn't work, what, what?" Yes please try to keep the giggling to a minimum at what a GIGANTIC spaz I am.

I know that God is watching out for us. We have savings and we should be okay. My little sidenote here is that I think us having savings at this point is somewhat incredible after the last 5 months we've been through. Still I fail to see the big picture of how God provides. Seriously, what is wrong with me?

So I get out my excel budget and I type away on the numbers. Have I mentioned we still have not gotten a Nick pay check? Yes I did in fact quit my job without knowing the exact amount of take home pay my husband will have. Maybe that is a stressor here. Because this is SOOOO not like me. I think once I see that paycheck and can do the math and figure it out, then I will feel better.

But why don't I feel at least settled now? Why can't I see that God has had His hand in this thing the whole time? Why do I rely on things like "if I could just talk to Nick about this RIGHT this second" or "if I can just plug in the numbers and see that we are going to be okay"? Why do I do that? Why don't I rely on this HUGE God who loves me, who created the universe, who has storehouses of snow, yet knows how many hairs I have on my head (and how many of those have gone gray)? Why don't I?

Because I am human. Because I like having control. Even if its the power over my emotions. I can choose to freak out if I don't have faith.

So I am putting the freaking-out-pack on the shelf. School's out and I just don't need it anymore. I've got God watching my back. After all He gave me two ovaries so if things get really bad we've got SOMETHING to sell on the black market! :)

Summoning my Housewife Energies

Today I am needing to summon all of my housewife energies. I have been so sick these past few days and am finally starting to feel that I am on the mend. Before this Nick was asking me if I needed him to take me to the hospital because I was just not improving at all!

So today I am needing to play some catch up. I am determined to get our house back into order and get us all feeling like we are back up and running. I am making green beans, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes for dinner. We are going to be on a schedule all day, and by golly I am going to get the laundry done and put away.

What are you trying to accomplish today?

Beautiful Girl

I don't know what happened but somehow my chubby, adorable little baby has turned into this adorable little girl. Isn't she just the cutest little thing you've ever seen? Oh my goodness I want to just eat her up. She is so cute. and smart. and funny. Lately everything is her motto. I don't think she knows what motto means but everything is one to her. I'll say "can you please get up at the table for dinner?" and she'll say "get up to the table, that's my motto!" So stinking cute. I am loving being the Mommy to this little girl. She is funny and quirky and just perfect! Mommy loves you baby girl!