The Important Things

Some of you have seen this picture if you're one of my Facebook friends (and thank you for all of the compliments). I could go into detail about how this picture almost didn't happen or the frustration I felt when the portrait place told me they were "down" for a few hours and couldn't take our photos (this mommy almost had a meltdown), but I'm going to keep this post simple...

Family is a gift and I have been blessed beyond measure!

Year of the Dragon

 It's Chinese New Year so we celebrated like we always do, at our favorite Chinese food place. And I'm talking real Chinese food - not that Orange Chicken and Kung Pao that you get at Pick Up Stix.
This dinner is full of things you'd look at and never think of eating like seaweed that looks like little black worms and sea cucumber (you've seen one at an aquarium).Yep, if your mind is picturing that gelatinous log at the bottom of a touch pool, you've accurately identified it and, yes, it tastes just as bad as it looks. It's the one thing I leave alone on meals like this. The rest is pretty stellar. The scallops are cooked to perfection, the hoisin and chili oil sauces go well on everything and the shark fin soup is, well, a controversial staple. I guess next year they're outlawing shark fin so I'm taking advantage of the traditional Chinese dish until they take it away. I completely understand why it's being outlawed- I actually think it should have been done before now. It is, however, one of Tyler's favorites. Here he is, downing his second bowl.

For the next little segment, I'm including some pics that I had Will take of me with some family members so I apologize if it looks like I monopolized the evening and jumped in front of the camera at every moment. I don't often get pictures with my mother-in-law so I wanted to make sure I took one this time. Another is of me and my girls. Black and white looked better than color of mommy at an odd angle with wrinkles. Just think of it as me being artistic. =) The 3rd is a picture of me and my oldest niece, Candace, under the absolutely stunning florescent lightbulbs. What's with the lighting? Anyway, isn't she beautiful? I don't see her a lot since she's in college so it's always good to catch up with her and hear about her exciting life.

 See? So many pictures of me. I'll give you a breather and put in a picture of the family around the kid's table.
We actually do kind of have a kid's table when it comes to dinners like these. As much as everyone loves the kids, we usually don't want to sit at a table with them because they are like vacuum cleaners when it comes to food. There isn't much left after they're done...and they also tend to like the dishes that I like so it's an even bigger competition. Of course, after course 3, the other 7 courses are the "even-though-I'm-full-I-guess-I-can-fit-more-in-so-I-don't-feel-rude" courses. Anyone who has ever been at one of these dinners can whole-heartedly agree with me on that one. I'd probably have to run another half marathon just to burn off half of the calories.

It was a fun night celebrating the year of the dragon (my year!!) and it's already looking like a year full of blessings and fun! My kids are loving the red envelopes as well. A little extra cash never hurt anyone...

My morning

As a mom, sometimes it's hard to feel beautiful. We really don't have time to get ourselves ready in the morning between getting breakfast for the kids, getting lunches packed, and making sure all of our kid's homework is in the folder (because, really, half of the work is ours and we want to get some credit, darnit!).

So, most mornings, I drag myself out of bed (if I haven't gone to the gym, which makes me look even more appealing!...ok, you know I'm joking. A sweaty, red face and hair in a ponytail won't get me any modeling jobs), and I let my skin go "au natural" for a while. That's what I call "natural beauty"..It's good to be low maintenance once in a while. I'm sure my hair is usually adding to that "justgotoutofbed" look as well.

This morning was no different. I had had a busy day the day before (wake up at 6am, take care of/drop off/ pick up kids all day, cook dinner by 5, run off to work until 11, then finally fall into bed at midnight). So, I wasn't suprised that my face showed it, quite evidently to everyone, after this little conversation with my kids.

Mikayla: "Mom, did you put makeup on this morning?" (she's always so sweet with her compliments...I think I love her best today.)
Me: "Aw, you're so sweet, baby! No, mommy didn't put any makeup on..but I... (trying to figure out if I should put myself down and wonder how in the world she could think that, or just go with the compliment)
Tyler: "...were you going to say 'but your eyes are puffy still?'"
Me: (after a moment's pause, wondering if he deserved a time out) "um...are they puffy, Tyler?"
Tyler: "yes"
Obviously, I could offer no reply. I just kind of looked at him, with my puffy eyes, and went on about the business of serving breakfast. I'm feeling all kinds of beautiful today!

Thus begins my Tuesday morning...with puffy eyes and the honesty of my children. I guess that's a good thing to glean from this situation. He wasn't afraid to state the obvious. But, tonight, I'm going to double up on that "anti-puff" eye cream because I'm certainly not going to get more sleep tonight...

Making every moment count.

I'm warning you now, I'm going to start this post out on a sad note. It's not usual that something so bad happens that it's all I can think about for a week but that's exactly what happened this past weekend. I concluded that I have to include it in this blog because it has affected me to the point of changing the way I see things. At least for a time.

This past week I heard some heartbreaking news. An old friend of mine from High School was killed in a motorcycle accident at an intersection not far from my home. When I read about it, I couldn't get it out of my mind for days. I thought about the loss at work, at home, and especially when I drove my kids around town. Caring, considerate, respectful Mike...the guy who took my sister to the Spring banquet her senior year just to make sure she wouldn't miss it, the same guy who would walk my sister and me to our car to keep us safe and who randomly stopped by to say "hi" to my parents if he drove past their street. I had lost touch with Mike for a long time. To have the memories and the loss come back all at once, in one fell swoop, I was shaken into realizing, once again, how short this life on earth really is. So, the action I took to this realization was small, but resolute. I would take advantage of every moment, putting aside those "have to get done" things...only for a while...and spend time doing things, albeit small things, to make the most of those  moments that are fleeting, yet oh, so important.

I will tell you about one specific moment, not because I was the perfect mom or make the perfect choices all the time (I'm definitely a disappointment to myself at times) but, with this loss fresh in my mind, I made one choice that created a wonderful memory.

The Tuesday after the accident, I was walking Mikayla to school and she mentioned to me that she really needed a sweater. It was cold! Of course, the 2 minutes before we left to walk to school, she could have grabbed one but the 30 minutes before those 2 minutes were so full of procrastinating that she just didn't remember or have time (can you just see me rolling my eyes? It's a common occurrence that is getting to be routine). So, I promised to bring her one when I came to drop Tyler off at Kindergarten. Later that morning, I ended up having to bring her sweater, myself, to the room since they had no one to deliver it and I caught her and her friends coming out of their room to go to an assembly. She asked me, pleadingly, if I could join them for lunch. Everything in me wanted to say, "no, after working 27 hours this weekend and having to take care of your little sister, I really don't want to come and sit on a bleacher with 100's of screaming children" but I stopped to think about the "moment" that I would miss. I didn't want to miss it. So I came to lunch..and I laughed with the girls, and I ate lunch with them, and I watched them play soccer. At the end of recess,  do you know what I regretted? Nothing. Not a single thing. Not a single moment. Now, I know it can't be done every day due to rules and all that stuff, but, for that day, it was satisfying to my soul.

After the school visit, I took a few photos of the "little things" that make me laugh: those things that cause me to admire and appreciate my children and their creativity, the uniqueness that makes them who they are. Here are the moments I captured instead of washing the continuous stream of dirty dishes or picking up the millionth toy...

Tyler and Lynnea playing "bat & dragon" - apparently they got tired and had to take a nap.

Mikayla dancing to the music from the movie, "Rio." Trust me, there were many more dance moves. It was hard to choose just 4.

Then it rained and they were so excited to go outside and use their umbrellas that Nana gave them for Christmas. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of another day...even when it rains.

Creature art

I just love the fact that my kids love to draw. Fairies, dragons, people with no legs, sharks, you name it, my kids have probably drawn it (or tried to). So, when my son brought this lovely masterpiece my way, I probably got a little too excited and quite hastily exclaimed, "what a nice octopus, Tyler! You did such a great job on that drawing!" My motherly remarks were quickly shot down when he looked at me and said, "MOM, it's not an octopus, it's a squid, see the little things on the head??" Oh, of COURSE! How could I have missed them (whatever they are)? Now that I take a better look at it, it IS a squid...as anatomically correct as they come.

His excitement to draw said squid was so strong that it even ended up in the water with the poor fishermen in Sunday School. Now, let's be realistic. I'm sure the fishermen came across a few creepy fish in their time, but after all that wind, rain, and commotion on the seas, I sure wouldn't want to fall in the water laden with jellyfish, giant squid and some kind of funky spider/crab. That guy walking on the water better hurry to that boat before he gets taken down!! Ah, but I do think it adds a little bit of my Tyler into the Sunday School art. What is a project without a few creatures milling about? Gotta love it...

Well there goes that resolution

I never make resolutions. Ok, I kind of do. On New Year's Day I usually find myself thinking, "it would still be nice to lose that extra 10 pounds" or "I'm going to make an effort to play with my kids more" but I feel like I'm always working towards the goal, not actually accomplishing it (last time I looked at myself in the mirror, I can see the extra 10 pounds getting pretty comfy on my hips).

However, this year, there was one resolution I vowed I would make...and succeed at (well, besides the ever-present "work out more and lose a few pounds" resolution). See, the thing is, I yell...sometimes. I don't like it. It usually comes out when I'm stressed or the kids have pushed every button I have so I finally just short circuit. Not a pretty trait. Definitely didn't inherit it from my parents. In fact, I really can't remember my mom ever yelling.. I just wish I could say the same about myself.

That brings about the events of today...and the destruction of my resolution, actually both of them.

Oh, but first, I must say that I've had a good start on my first resolution (the 10 pounds). This morning, I got reacquainted with Jillian Michaels and her promise to "shred" my body in 30 days. Needless to say, every flabby muscle I possess was screaming, "stop!" halfway through and I vowed that if I worked that hard, I wouldn't put another coffee, oops, I mean sugar with coffee in it, down my throat ever again. I was pretty proud of myself throughout the day when I'd pass on a sugary treat. Ok, I did get a frozen yogurt this afternoon, but overall I did a great job saying no...that is, until the failure of resolution number 2 sent resolution #1 into a spiral downward.

Here's how it happened:

A while ago I saved up some money and got all new couch covers. Remember those? Ya, the ones that Lynnea colored all over? Well, she did it again. Time and time again I've told all children to keep anything that writes or stains off of the couches. Apparently, she thought the rules didn't apply to her and left an open green marker on my beige slipcovers. I'm sure when I mention the word, "bleeding" as it relates to markers, you'll know exactly what my cushion looked like. Saturated, green, and downright ugly. Honestly, I think it's been there for a little while (being that I haven't even used the couch since the new year because I never get a chance to sit down) so it wasn't just a stain, it was a STAIN. I grabbed the magic eraser and went to work, shedding a few tears as I cleaned. Then I yelled...just a little. I'm not proud of it. Of course I apologized soon after and all was well but I can't help feeling that I've already failed at my big goal and it's only January 5th!!

I think, in this moment, I must add some background to the scenario. First, Will is gone today, tomorrow and next week. Second, Lynnea is notorious for her "curiosity" causing messes. The other day, she drew on the white children's table with a marker. She didn't just color it, she drew pictures all over it. Then, as I'm finishing up with the bleach to make the table sparkling clean, I hear some water play going on in the bathroom. All I can do is sigh when I realize that Lynnea has filled the sink with soapy water and is using her sister's battery-operated toothbrush to "stir" the "soup." So, perhaps you can understand why I lost my temper just a little...it's becoming a common occurance to find evidence of Lynnea's curiosity all over the house.

So, on with the story. After 15 minutes of scrubbing, dabbing, and sponging, the stain was somewhat gone and I felt like eating a few animal crackers to celebrate. Jillian Michaels, who? As I'm blatantly crushing my first resolution to pieces with several servings of animal crackers, I had quite the discussion with Tyler and Lynnea about, "this is the reason why we don't eat or write on things on the couch. You can make a mess that is very hard to clean." If anyone else doesn't quite catch the irony of the moment, Tyler was quick to point it out. He looked at me with a quizzical look and said, "then, mommy, why are YOU eating on the couch?" Yep, on the same couch I told you not to eat on...I really had nothing to say to that.

So now you can add "inconsistent mothering" to the list of things I'm not doing very well at in the year 2012. I told him that crackers were ok because they didn't leave stains (as long as he didn't eat them like a chipmunk and leave crumbs everywhere) and we all ate to our heart's content. I think Jillian is going to yell at me in the morning...