This and that.

So I feel like I haven't been at my computer much.  Well, except for yesterday when I checked facebook and found out that my SIL, Annee, is having yet another set of twins!  Crazy, huh?

Mi Na has been sick for the last ten days with a urinary tract infection.  My mom knew what it was right away, based on her experience raising me.  Unfortunately, I trusted my pediatrician who initially didn't really have any idea of what it was and thought it might just go away, but then figured it out on our second visit.  My mother is basically right about everything, and I'm still getting used to it.

Today was the first day that Mi Na showed signs of her normal self.  I saw some smiles and she was less clingy, though not much less.  Her favorite place is still in her mother or father's arms.

It was in the sixties today.  Stephen rode his bike outside while Mi Na napped and Ie Ling watched him.  I tackled the laundry.  Ie Ling reported a funny story from the tot lot.  He got a little bored there, and asked Ie Ling, "Now what can I do?"  Ie Ling suggested that they play a different game or just talk about life.  He responded, "Let's talk about the old days."  Ha!

Mei Li has been going crazy writing notes to everyone.  My favorite note was this one:  "Dear too my bruthr.  You like (to play) hous and I do too."

We had a nice time this evening playing outside with neighbor friends.  I am so excited for SPRING!  I need to start thinking about sprouting some seeds inside soon.  I need to figure out what type of garden boxes to buy or build.  I need to purge my house of stuff!

I'm going to get ready for bed so Steve and I can watch Top Chef and eat Girl Scout cookies.  Good night!

Oh Wednesday, what happened?

I had an off day. It's too bad because today was supposed to be awesome. There were a few awesome things about today.

It got up to 63 degrees! The windows were open and the sun was shining.


I had smooth, second-day hair. I'd hate to think of what kind of day it would have been without it! I'm kidding.

The kids did a lot of playing (and one did some peeing) outside.

Stephen's friend came over to play.

We saw that our cucumber, tomato, and sweet pepper seeds had sprouted. We're still waiting on the green beans. I love having our sunny kitchen windows for this purpose.

And now for the not so awesome. We were all kind of grumpy and tired for most of the day. My mind was everywhere that didn't matter (like my second-day hair?).

Stephen wouldn't fall asleep for his nap, and Mi Na for some reason didn't take her second nap.

Stephen reported, with a smile on his face, that he peed in four different places while he was in the bathroom (why oh why?!). Thankfully one of those places was in the toilet. I'm still not sure where the fourth place is.

Stephen also tore up some pages from our beloved "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book.

Mei Li whined a lot about this and that. The kids were not kind to each other. By 3 PM, I was done.

So I turned on The Sound of Music and the four of us sat on the couch and watched some of it. Mei Li and Stephen had so many questions about nuns. Oh, and when Rolf and Leisl kissed, I said "oh no!" I looked at Mei Li. She had a very wide grin, but then she remembered what I taught her, "they're not supposed to kiss!" Let's hope she remembers this rule until she's twenty-one.

Steve called in the middle of the movie and said that he was coming home. Somehow, he had checked of all items on his to-do list for the day and was able to leave the office around 5:30. He didn't get to work early this morning, and as of yesterday, he was completely swamped. It was a miracle.

We ate dinner together and put the kids to bed together. My favorite moment of the day was when all five of us sat together on Stephen's bed to read. As I read Mi Na's book "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," there was a very tangible feeling of love between us all and it kind of made up for all the love we missed out on today.

When the old moon asked, "Where are you going, and what do you wish?" I wished for love, patience, and peace to abide in our home tomorrow.

P.S. We did our arm and ab workouts tonight. Owie.

It's warm!

This week's weather has been amazing. Sunshine everyday and already two really warm days. Tomorrow will be warm as well.

I was kind of sad that today had so many scheduled things like swimming and preschool or else we would have done more things outside.

While Mei Li was at preschool, I put Stephen and Mi Na in the stroller and went for a run. It's been a long time. It felt so good.

I hoped that Stephen would fall asleep in the stroller like the good old days in New York, but he didn't. Instead he asked me a question every five seconds. I really didn't know the answer to some. Like when he asks me what something means and then asks me what my answer means and why it means that.

The run was completely lovely. I think Mi Na thought so too. It was her first. She just looked around and chewed on her straps and made no sound at all. Mi Na is awesome.

Yesterday, we bought some vegetable seeds to start inside and we're hoping that we will eat something this year that we've grown ourselves.

While we were buying our seeds, Stephen threw a major tantrum about me not buying something he wanted. It was awful. Whatever. Moving on. We are definitely in the "throw-down threes" as Alisha calls them.

Steve and I did yoga tonight. I love yoga. It hurts so good. Steve's not a huge fan, which is too bad because his push-ups before and after upward dog look really good. Mine are junk. Steve likes the cardio workouts more.

This was kind of a jumbled, random post wasn't it? My.eye.is.twitching.must.go.to.bed.

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.

Dreaming of warmer days

I'm looking out of my window and Snowmageddon is upon us. I'm doing my best to love life as it is, but my heart is yearning for warmer days like July 24, 2009.

You know what I mean?

A Unique Sunday 12/20

The day after the blizzard, church was canceled. So our friends, who live within walking distance, invited us over to their house for church and lunch. Our neighbor, Melinda, came with us. It was a sunny day and the walk over was pleasant and only slightly treacherous at times.

Church was short and sweet, and most importantly, we took the sacrament. Then we ate hot soup for lunch. Is there anything more comforting than hot soup on a cold day? It was perfect.

Steve spent the next two hours digging out his car. All of our neighbors were out digging their cars out as well. It was fun to see everyone out of their homes. I don't usually see our neighbors out and about.


While Stephen slept, Mei Li and I did our best to help out, but Mei didn't last too long.

Blizzard 2009 12/19

Steve and Mei Li went out to play in the snow that morning, while Stephen had the melt-down of the century.

Steve later spent over an hour digging out his car to deliver dinner to the missionaries. What a guy.

First Snow 12/05

We couldn't believe that it actually snowed before Christmas this year. It was a happy sight. It was a blessing that it came on a Saturday so that Steve could enjoy the snow with all of us.

Happy Winter!