Back to School Part 2

(Clearly, Mi Na's excited for his first day too.)

Stephen had his first day of pre-k yesterday.  He was pretty grumpy the whole morning.  He had expressed before that he didn't want to go to preschool, so I wondered how this day would go.   We did some morning errands, ate lunch, and then off we went to drop him off.  

He gave me a hug and a kiss and walked into his classroom like a champ.  I was so relieved.  Stephen likes stability, and he's been concerned about having a new teacher and new classmates.  I'm grateful that he felt comfortable there.

When I picked him up, he was smiling.  His teacher told me, "Smart as a whip, that boy," in her New York accent.  I really like her.  

Thinking about him walking onto a school bus next fall makes me grateful that he's still in preschool and that he's still my buddy at home.  I'm sure I'll be even more grateful that when he turns 18, he'll still have almost his whole senior year ahead of him instead of his freshman year of college.  

I'm not sure what that says about me.  I do love this stage of my life, even with (or especially because of) all the craziness and noise.  I know I'm not doing it perfectly, and perhaps I want to slow things down so I can have more time to get it right, whatever "right" is.  But I know that twenty years from now I will not be able to think back on this stage of life without smiling or laughing.  Life is good and relatively simple right now.  

On a side note, it's fall tax season!  Only six more days left!  I was wicked today and complained quite a bit to my hard-working husband.  I think it's worth noting, though, that I held back the complaints until six days before the end.  Maybe I'll be able to make it through all of spring busy season without any complaining.  I'm working on it.

Thank goodness April is here.

I just reread my last post about March getting off to a great start.  I find it a little funny how positive I sounded.  March turned out to be one of the most dismal months I've ever lived through.


But before I get into that, my friend, Leanna, and her daughter, Azaleia, came to visit me in early March.  The highlights included a trip to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, our Anne of Green Gables marathon, and our visit to Jessica T., a mutual friend of ours. Thank you for coming, Leanna.  We had so much fun with you!


Also, I went to traffic court with my brother-in-law, Ken, as my lawyer.  He did such a good job proving my innocence in the pre-trial discussions with the prosecutor, that we didn't even have to go to trial!  I loved it when the judge said, "you are free to go."   Thank you, Ken, for lightening my burden. 


Things started to go downhill when Ie Ling came up with other plans for employment.  Mi Na and Mei Li caught a stomach bug, I had a urinary tract infection and really bad allergies.  Steve was busy at work.  But most of all, I was overcome by a deep sadness, which source thankfully lies outside of my husband and children.  But the sadness devoured me.  And all the rest just made it really difficult for me to function.  


I guess the story isn't complete without me announcing, probably a bit too early, that I'm nine weeks pregnant.  I am really, truly happy about it, but it is weird how much of a burden such happy news is for the first few months when you consider the vomiting and exhaustion.  


One of my dearest friends, Heather S., once said that she could picture her unborn children rooting for her to pull through hard times and make good choices.  I believe their exact words were, "Come on, Mom! We need you!"


So yesterday afternoon, while my children watched TV and I rested on the couch, I felt something stir within me.  It was certainly too early for me to feel this baby move, but it was a reminder that this little one is counting on me to pull through the sadness and sickness.  And so were my three little couch potatoes.  I felt this overwhelming love for these little people and started to cry.  I knew I needed to close my sad chapter, especially when the circumstances are completely out of my control.


I woke up before my kids this morning and took a shower for the first time in four days.  I put on some makeup and got dressed.  I didn't do my hair, but I'm taking baby steps here.


I took the kids to the mall for some shopping.  I purchased two knit maxi skirts and a pair of lounge pants for comfort.  I purchased an Easter dress for Mei because sewing something is out of the question at this point.  Mi Na's Easter dress will come from the pile of new hand-me-downs.  Stephen said he didn't want new clothes for Easter.  I purchased $7 sunglasses for me so I could feel like a new woman.  I bought Mei Li the fedora just because she asked me to, and I didn't see a reason not to.  


We bought lunch at the food court, went on a carousel ride, and ended our trip with cupcakes.  It wasn't a totally smooth outing, but I'll count getting out of the house as a victory.  

I still feel like junk physically, but I know it is temporary, and I have never, even through March 2012, lost sight of how truly blessed I am.  

March is here! Spring is near!

It looks like I'm on a once-a-week blogging schedule these days.  I'm okay with that.  March is off to a good start.  The kids started chore charts on Monday.  I know it's long overdue, but even if my kids were ready for them, I wasn't.  It's hard work to keep children on task, much harder than just doing everything myself.  But we all know that can't last.  I love how the kids' rooms and the basement are always vacuumed and tidy nowadays.

I'm participating in the March photo-a-day challenge on Instagram (Are you on Instagram?  Can I follow you?).  Yesterday's theme was "up":

Not a cloud in the sky, buds on the pear tree, and sixty-something degrees.  It was a beautiful day.

Today's theme is "fruit":

Stephen is a fruit lover like his mother.  Most recently, he has found joy in eating grapefruit with a spoon (no sugar) and then squeezing the juice into his bowl for drinking.  Rachel tells me this is a favorite of Grandpa Z.'s too.

Stephen is doing pretty well with his chore chart.  He drags his feet sometimes and sometimes I raise my voice (I hate when I do that), but the kid is four.  I think he'll get used to it.  It just takes fourteen days to start a habit, right?

Mei Li is doing well with her chore chart.  She just goes down the list, checking off each one until she's done.  It's pretty remarkable to me because I am not like that at all.  I wish I was.

Mei Li told me the other day that she wanted to be a mom, a fabric store lady, an artist, and a musician. Of course, the fabric store lady idea came to her as I was cutting fabric for some bunting.  I wonder how her dreams will change.

Mei Li has become quite the little mother.  The other day, she gave Mi Na the incentive of a bumpy ride if she would hold still while I got her dressed and did her hair.  When Mi Na did hold still, she exclaimed, "Yay, Mi Na!  You earned a bumpy ride!"  Mi Na knew the drill and toddled over to sit on Mei's tummy for the bumpy ride. 

Mi Na is talking up a storm.  Her knock-knock jokes have evolved.  Blankie, orange, cheese, and others now knock on the door.  The punchlines range from silence to a huge cheesy smile to a big, fake "ha ha ha!" said in her deepest voice to sound like her dad. 

She asks me probably five times each day, "Where's daddy?"  When I respond that he is at work, she just says, "oh" and then smiles.  I love the stage she is at.  I love her little toddle, smile, voice, and laugh.

Just in the last couple of days, Mi Na started saying "yes."  Well, it's more like "yeth," which means we might have yet another lisper in the family!  I can't wait.  It think lisps are so cute for little kids.

Steve is busy with tax season, but at night we get to be together after the kids are in bed.  Top Chef just ended (I'm so glad Paul won), and so now we just have Parenthood.  Steve usually comes home earlier on Mondays (for Family Home Evening) and Fridays (just because) and then we have him all day Sunday.  So far, it's been very doable, but then again, what choice do we have but to just do it?  I don't complain like I used to, so I guess that means I'm growing up a little.  Isn't that great?

Thursday

We were on time to preschool for the first time in 2012.  But I was late for visiting teaching.  I'm not punctual, and I'm ashamed of it.  So far 2012 looks like my least punctual year yet, though I hope to improve.

I took my girls back home for snacks and some last minute before-school prep.  I drove, rather quickly, to Mei Li's school to avoid another tardy slip.  We were on time, barely.

When I arrived at Stephen's classroom to pick him up, he was in the middle of singing "five little monkeys swinging in the tree."  His back was slightly turned to me so he couldn't see me.  I could see his right cheek that exposed a dimple every now and again, particularly when the alligator "snapped that monkey right out of that tree."  I waited there, holding Mi Na, loving every second of his happy performance.  It struck me then how very little he still is.  How could I possibly be frustrated at his occasional disobedience when he still loves to sing such songs?

When the song ended, his teacher told him that I was there.  He turned and gave me a big, dimply smile.  He ran to me and hugged me.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly.  We ate lunch, I put Mi Na down for her nap, Stephen and I did a reading lesson together, and he watched a show while I cleaned the house and listened to Cutting for Stone.

The last couple of days, Stephen has wanted to wear his Christmas fuzzy pajamas in the afternoon, which is so funny and a little inconvenient because it means that he has to change into his normal clothes before we pick up Mei Li from the bus stop.  So when it was time to go, he changed into his street clothes, put on his shoes, motorcycle gloves, motorcycle helmet, and "spaceman" jacket, which reminds him of a motorcycle jacket.  It was quite the process.  We walked/rode to the bus stop.  The moms at the bus stop think Stephen is cute.

Mei Li got off the bus and, as usual, said that school was great.  Mei Li and Stephen rode their bikes to the library, while I pushed Mi Na in the stroller behind them.  I checked out a lot of readers for Mei and a few others that the kids randomly chose and piled on top of my stroller.  The journey home was much colder and more exhausting than the journey to the library.  The kids almost gave up one block from our house, which is always the risk when riding instead of driving.  Thankfully, they listened when I told them they'd be warmer sooner if they would ride faster.

The kids went inside the house while I put the stroller back into our car.  I told Mei Li to help Mi Na get her hat and jacket off.  I was so pleased when I heard Mei Li say, "Stephen, you get her hat and I'll get her jacket."  I looked, and sure enough, they were working as a little team.  I love my little team.

I made spaghetti for dinner, and some bacon.  My kids like bacon A LOT.  Mei Li and Stephen exchanged jokes during dinner, which reminds me of my favorite new trick of Mi Na's.  She can tell a knock-knock joke, thanks to her older siblings.  

Mi Na: Knock knock!

Me: Who's there?

Mi Na: Boo!

Me: Boo who?

And that's as far as she gets.  But she expects laughing and applause every time, and you better believe that we all enthusiastically give it to her.

I put Stephen and Mi Na to bed, and then read with Mei Li from her readers.  After a couple of readers, we practiced sight words.  She hates practicing sight words, but tonight I gave her the incentive of one Little Women chapter for each time she reviewed a list.  Tonight she earned three chapters.  We read about the girls first becoming friends with Laurie.  Then I sobbed through the chapter where Mr. Laurence gives his thanks to Beth for his slippers in the form of a piano.  Mei Li told me not to cry, but I just can't help it during that part!  Then we read about Amy's shame with the pickled limes.  Poor girl.

I found a very condensed picture-book version of Little Women at a thrift store several months ago and I brought it home to read to Mei.  After that, of course, she was eager to know all about the March girls.  When I started reading the real version to her this week, she said, "Mom, I'm making the pictures in my head," which of course everyone does, but I imagine hers are particularly colorful.  

Anyway, I put her to bed just before Steve arrived, which meant that she did not go to bed for a little while longer.  It's tax season, so I don't really mind if Mei stays up until 10 PM to spend a little time with her dad.  

I need to go spend some time with Steve now.  It was a wonderful day and I wanted to remember it in detail.  Good night.

4 more days

Tomorrow is April 15. Too bad this year's tax deadline is April 18. Steve still has quite a bit of work to do. Poor guy. This has probably been his hardest tax season.

I hesitate to write about how it's been quite hard for us at home because I'm not the one doing all of the taxes, but it has been. I think up until this week, I remained pretty calm. But last night with my 2AM weepiness, I may or may not have told Steve that I never ever ever ever ever ever want to go through another busy season again. EVER.

It's just an empty threat. April 18 will come and then I'll just feel great and say, "hey, that wasn't so bad! Let's do it again!" You know, kind of like how I think I want to have another natural birth. I can totally see all that is good and positive about it after it's all over. But when I'm in it, it stinks. Bad.

This post sounds very complain-y and not very do-your-duty-with-a-heart-full-of-song-ish, but we're all friends here, right? So anyway, that's where I'm at. I might regret this post in the morning. Just remember that I'm your friend and you're mine too.

Monday

On Monday morning, we met our friends at the farm. It was a beautiful day. I think the high was around 85 degrees. We got to see the baby lambs and pigs and they were very cute, from a distance of course.

Our kids touched so many animals. I came prepared with my own pump of antibacterial hand gel.

As always, Stephen wanted to play on these little tractors the most, which meant a lot of waiting and taking turns with the other twelve kids wanting to play on them too.

Mi Na, oh my sweet precious Mi Na. She didn't cry or complain once. She just sat in her car seat in the stroller and smiled at me.

We ate lunch with our friends by the playground. We left a little before noon, which gave me plenty of time to bathe the kids before Mei Li went to preschool.

Stephen napped while Mei Li was at school, but Mi Na wasn't tired after her car nap. I gave her some play time in her bed so I could clean up a bit.


I peeked into her room to see what she was doing. She was sitting and gazing out the window. I wonder if she was admiring the beautiful blossoms on our tree. What was she thinking about? I ran to get my camera so I could take a picture of my little dreamer, but of course she was not doing it anymore.

Stephen tried a mango for the first time in his life and he loves them. Mei Li does not. Mei Li doesn't seem to like anything anymore. It's frustrating to watch my girl, who as a baby loved to eat almost anything, narrow her diet to PB&J and cereal. Arggh. I am grateful that she will still eat many vegetables. Suggestions anyone?

Steve came home early for dinner and family home evening. I made katsu curry. Stephen and Mei ate the katsu (chicken tenders) without the curry. At least they had some carrots too.

We talked about honesty for Family Home Evening. Last Saturday, Stephen opened a chocolate bunny at the grocery store and started eating it. Steve was not happy. Steve bought it and then threw it in the trash. Stephen seemed to understand that he shouldn't do that anymore.

Steve worked more after the kids were in bed and will be working late for the rest of the week. We're almost done with tax season!

And speaking of honesty, let's end with some wisdom from Alfonso Ribeiro:




P.S. The Z sister update is on Christine's blog this week. It was on Rachel's blog last week.

Highlights and lowlights

1. Patty came over for lunch last Friday. She told me not to fuss, though she's definitely worth fussing over. We at PB&Js at her suggestion. After the prayer, Stephen confessed, "I wasn't reverent." She laughed. She can do that now that her kids are all grown. I think I should laugh more. Thanks for the fun, Patty.

2. Last Friday night, we met Steve at Tysons for dinner. It was a fun family event.

3. Last Saturday, two Beehive girls came over to watch our kids as a service while we went to stake temple day. We dropped Mi Na off with Ken and Rachel so we wouldn't be separated for quite as long from her. We had a wonderful time, although I think Mi Na cried the whole time. Sorry, guys.

4. I completely forgot about two appointments this week, one doctor's appointment and one visiting teaching appointment! Where is my mind, people? I'm losing it!

5. I can feel the top of Mi Na's lower left front tooth. She seems much happier these days now that it has broken through. She sometimes makes this funny face that looks like she's getting used to braces. So cute.

6. Busy season is starting to get bad. I had this idea that I should go somewhere warm and rent a beach house for the next couple of months with a patio that goes right to the sand. Mi Na could take her naps in the house and Mei Li and Stephen could build sand castles. I could make sure all my babies were safe and happy. Perfect, right?

7. Sleep is just not happening for Mi Na and me. It seems like it's getting worse each night. It's hard when you wake up in the morning already feeling like you've had a long bad day. She was such a great newborn sleeper, but I knew it had to end some time. Too good to be true, you know? What to do, what to do? The answer was once obvious to me. It's not anymore.

8. Our workout routine is going down the drain. On Monday, we start anew. We're going to do this!

9. Stephen is happy to spend time outside in the cold practicing his glider biking skills. He once showed me how he could balance for a second or two.

10. My soul feels good in the middle of the winter/tax/no sleep season. Sometimes I look at it this way:

I can't believe I've managed to stay this happy.

Sometimes I look at it this way:

It is no wonder I am this happy. I am so blessed.

I hope I can maintain this through April 15.

It was a sunny day.

Not pictured: Steve. It's tax season and my accountant husband is also the Elders Quorum president (as of last October).

Not pictured: me. It's a good thing too because I'm all worn out. I'm on a quest for a good night's sleep.

This and that

Since next week is Easter and General Conference, we had our Easter program today. Steve told the Easter story from the scriptures while the kids FREAKED OUT that he wasn't sitting by them. That is, until an angel named Heidi came to sit by us with an empty spice jar and some straws for the kids to put through the holes.

She doesn't have any kids, but just keeps this homemade contraption in her purse to help entertain screaming children. It worked amazingly well, and I was able to listen to Steve, who helped me feel the spirit of Easter so well. Thank you, angel Heidi.

Mei Li is done with gymnastics and ballet. Stephen was very patient about doing nothing while Mei Li had the time of her life.

After each class, Mei Li and Stephen would yell each others names and then embrace. It always melted my heart.

Since it's tax season, Steve has been spending the mornings with us and getting home very late. Mei Li always wants him to play "hello animals." It's a game Mei Li made up where she is the talking sheep, Steve is the talking horse, and Stephen is the talking pig. I've witnessed Steve play this game for TWO HOURS on a Sunday afternoon.

I taught joy school last week. Stephen has become very difficult to have around during joy school. So as busy as Steve is, he took Stephen to his last art class on Tuesday, and brought home Chick-fil-a for lunch. Jenny, Stephen's new favorite friend, watched him on Thursday.

Two Sundays ago, Mei Li brought home some beans to plant from her Sunbeam class. They are sprouting beautifully. She has been obsessed with growing things since. Last week, I meant to put marigold seeds on the shopping list I gave to Steve, but forgot. I didn't even mention it to him, but miraculously, he brought home some marigold seeds with Mei Li in mind. They planted them the next day.


Sadly, a few days later, the gardeners came and messed with the dirt. We'll have to try again.

We are exhausted! April 15 seems like forever away, but when it comes we are going to PARTAY!

Tuesday

It was a beautiful day today. I took Mei Li to joy school this morning, and then went to Stephen's art class. I love having this one on one time with Stephen. The class is much to messy for my taste, but still fun.

Today, Stephen made a clown. Actually, WE made a clown. Stephen painted on the glue while I stuck on the eyes, pom-pom nose, and scrunched up tissue for the hair, mouth, bow tie, and hat. He wanted nothing to do with that tissue, just the messy glue.

We picked Mei Li up, dropped off a UPS package, and ate our lunch on the front steps. It didn't end up being a very sanitary option, but we all soaked up the sun and I shot some cute pictures.




These kids have been cracking me up with how they pose for pictures. Stephen or Mei Li puts his/her arm around the other when I'm taking a picture of them. It's very sweet.

Mei Li watched Strawberry Shortcake while Stephen napped. I took a break and talked to my sisters on the phone. When Stephen woke up, we headed over to the mall by Steve's work so we could have dinner together.

On days when Steve gets to work before the kids get up and doesn't plan to be home until they're asleep, we meet for lunch or dinner. The kids got so excited and yelled, "Daddy!" as soon as they saw him.

After dinner, Steve took the kids on the little train that rides around the food court. I watched and they all waved to me with big smiles each time they passed.



To top it all off, Daddy bought ice cream for all of us. What a treat. The kids weren't too happy when we had to go back home. Only a month left of tax season. At least spring is here and at least we get a meal each day with him.

Here's a video for your enjoyment from last night's Family Home Evening. I swear that shirt fit him two weeks ago.

Tuesday

Tonight, Stephen peed in Mei Li's old potty. Then with socks on his feet, he stepped in it. Gross.

The froggy potty was meant to be his at some point, but today was not the day I had in mind. I was thinking some time in 2011.

It's probably just a fluke, and I'm grateful for that.


I'm grateful that each night, I get to hold this huge sleeping baby and carry him to his crib to be with his sister.

The poor guy sometimes has to sleep with girlie quilts, as his mother has yet to complete the quilt she started for him.

Tax season and sewing season do not overlap. In fact, sewing season may not return until children start going to school, unless Mei Li decides that she wants to take naps and go to bed at a decent hour. Sorry Stephen, you may never get your quilt.

My other Stephen is at work. Our season of joy begins in one week. I'm so grateful that I can see an end to his busyness, and that it won't start up again until January.

Counting down.

Mei Li talked to Steve on the phone this evening. I don't have to prompt her in phone conversations like I used to. She has plenty to say.

I was busy tending to baby guy's tantrum, but I did hear her ask him, "are you coming home soon?" I couldn't hear Steve's response, but when he finally did come home around 8:45 PM, he told me that it was pretty heart-breaking to hear his almost 3-year old daughter ask him when he was coming home and to know that he couldn't be home before bedtime.

When he heard her crying (the childproof knob was on the door), he jumped at the chance to soothe her and put her back in bed. He reported this conversation:

Mei Li: Mama painted my fingernails all by herself! She spilled nail polish (remover) on her pants and had to change her pants. Did nail polish get on your pants?

Steve: No, nail polish did not get on my pants.

Mei Li: Yeah, I can't spill nail polish on my gingerbread jammas, but when I wake up, we can draw monsters.

Steve: Yeah, we can do that tomorrow.

And then she went to sleep happily.

I'm not complaining about tax season because it really hasn't been that bad. Every once in a while, he has a really long day. Overall, he does work longer days, but he usually gets home before bedtime. It's almost over, and I think we've fared pretty well. We are very busy, but we're very happy too. Eight more days.