some random pics. tyler shopping for his kindergarten backpack.

chase celebrated his 3rd birthday with family. man, gotta love costco cakes. it's so huge!

aunties with their babies.

wish daddy would smile! tyler's first day of school.

with grandpa before a soccer game.

chase got a graduation cap at newsong church for being promoted to the next age group.

this is what tyler's cooking class looks like for those who might have been curious. mostly boys in the class!

visiting baby lauren at the hospital.

this is how the boys use the bathroom together. they talk, play games, and read books together to pass the time. ;)

practicing soccer with daddy.

uncle david with cousin katie and sara.

with mommy (i'm rocking some hot pink lipstick! :)

tyler with his star of the week poster. only took me a whole day to put together!

on a ferris wheel.

ferris wheel.

laughing together in the car.

tyler and nicole, the cute lovebirds. :)

regrettably, i haven't been taking too many pictures lately, but i did have my camera with me when we went to a pumpkin patch in october! (just uploaded today :)

waiting for the train.

still waiting.

on the train.

saying hi to a pony.

tyler looks like a big boy here. looking for the perfect pumpkin.

i made the boys carry their pumpkins back to the car. chase kept dropping his and picking it up. it was so cute.

i was talking to someone the other day and she said, "i had a friend  like you in high school." "oh really?" i replied. i was very curious to know what she thought about me since we know each other but not very well. she didn't have much time to explain herself, but she started off with, "well, my friend in high school was very passive...." and the first words out of my mouth, "i'm not passive!" this is how i see myself: i give everyone the benefit of the doubt. if someone "wrongs" me, i will tell myself that it was not meant to hurt me and i won't bring it up since i believe in the goodness of people and i also make mistakes. i am also very patient and give people way too much time to change their behavior, thus avoiding any tense conversations. there is one area of my life where i am "passive" and that is when finances come up. i HATE asking people for money, even if i am rightfully owed it and feel so petty asking for it. however, i am not passive. if i feel the need to bring up a subject with someone, i definitely will- when the time is right and i am clear thinking. i am NOT the person who will hold things in forever and be bitter about it....if that's what passive means. yes, i have had my share of not so comfortable conversations. my mom taught me to be nice and forgiving, but not stupid. she ALWAYS told me to say what i need to say and get things off my chest, and she also SHOWED me by doing the same.

just a fun, friendly post this monday morning! :)

i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. you know when you have so much to do that you don't even know where to start? that's how i feel right now. just to get everything done, i will need at least five hours to myself...which i know i will never get!

some random facts/thoughts about me...

1. i have pretty sweaty hands. so don't ever hold my hand. :)

2. i met bill clinton once but didn't shake his hand because of my sweaty hand "problem."

3. i have regrets about that!

4. i hate going to the dentist.

5. i am totally ok with plastic surgery. i've never had any surgical procedures done but i know about 60% of my asian friends have gotten their eyes done. in the korean culture, getting your eyes done is like going to get your hair done- absolutely no big deal whatsoever. anyways, if it makes someone feel better about themselves and more confident, i think it's totally worth the money. i said that out loud one day, and someone said, "wow.." like she was amazed that i would think that or maybe she thought i was vain or something, but that's how i feel about it. if someone feels like surgery will make themselves feel happier or more confident, i say go for it!

6. someone cracked me up the other day. i told him that i was at home "surfing the web." he said that "1980's called and they want their phrase back. isn't it called 'on the internet' now?'" haha... is that true? need to work on keeping myself current! :)

7. i wish i could/would be more "green." i want to do more to save the planet and be more of a role model for my boys in that area. but, unfortunately, i drive a SUV, sometimes use paper plates, and use paper towels like nothing else. one day.

8. today, we were a tad bit late to drop tyler off and he had to run to his class to make it on time. i was walking behind him holding chase and seeing tyler from behind running to his class with his oversized backpack put a huge smile on my face.

9. tyler is currently in cooking class. please don't be like jason and ask, "oh god, WHY!?" well, i think cooking is a life skill and i want him to have some interest in it, it involves reading, math and other subjects...even geography!, and most of all, my answer to jason: "do you think he will really find someone as nice as ME to marry when he gets older?" haha... really, i need to end this crazy korean culture of "men don't do shit" in my boys' generation...the cycle must end here. :)

10. i really wish i could work out more. i used to LOVE working out. it actually feels so good to make your body move and push yourself to physical limits that you didn't think you were capable. what happened to me? well, let me tell you what happened.... i had kids, and i totally have "mommy" syndrome, where i think they must always come first. if i have some time here and there, i can't spend time at the gym and if i do, i feel guilty about it. isn't motherhood the damn best EXCUSE not to work out? :)

11. i'm not hosting thanksgiving dinner this year and i feel good about it! yay!

12. i'm still not feeling very festive about the holidays coming up. bah humbug.

13. i like the song "like a g6" but whenever i bop my head up and down in the car when the song comes on, i feel so damn silly and old. hehe.

14. tomorrow, my neighbor is hosting a neighborhood thanksgiving party. he hosts two parties every year. isn't that so cute and so "white?" haha.... i love it.

gotta run to moms group! for your listening pleasure... get up and dance, y'all...it's friday!

hello, how YA doing? ah man, someone was suppose to come over right now and help me with something and i was looking forward to it, like, ALL week but she just canceled on me...damn! hate when that happens. not that i'm mad at the person- i mean, shit happens, right? but, i'm just bummed! some random thoughts...

1. someone was telling me the other day that stains on her childrens' clothes drive her crazy and i was thinking that stains don't really bug me at all. i mean, they are kids right, and kids spill and drop things on their clothes all the time. talking to this mom triggered a very early memory of mine. i had a friend when i was in 3rd grade who would get so upset when she stained her clothes with anything. i mean, she would literally cry and tell me that her mom would get really mad at her. i remember feeling so sorry for her and at the same time thinking that i was so thankful that my mom didn't get mad at me when i stained my clothes. i think subconsciously, i made a decision then and there never to get mad my future children about stains on clothes.

2. that conversation made me think of other things that might bug other parents that doesn't bug me and i realized one thing this morning. i don't mind at all when my boys jump on our beds at home as long as they are being safe and i think their feet are fairly clean. they look so carefree, laughing and having the time of their lives, and they look like.....well, kids!

more thoughts to come later! i'm kind of, sort of in the mood to write today and i know exactly what i want to write about! :)

can someone tell me how to get this chorus part out of my head? omg, it's in my head all day long and it make me want to whip my hair back and forth! :)

hello. random thoughts this morning.

1. yesterday, my in laws came over, and jason and i were able to go to a restaurant on our own. even though i wasn't hungry at all, i went and ate because i hate it when i go to eat with someone and they don't eat....that's no fun at all! jason wanted to try out a new restaurant but i wanted to go to one that we always go to. i realize that in a lot of ways, i'm like a old grandma- i like going to places that i am familiar with and have very little desire to try new places. anyways, since jason was the one who was really hungry, we went to the new place and i ended up ordering lamb. never again. all i could imagine is a little lamb cooing and bleating at me while i ate the whole plate. i'm not a vegetarian by any means, but a little baby lamb is way too cute to be eaten.

2. i just found out that a student who came to my school all last year was tested in kindergarten last week and tested at the end of first grade level. i am so proud of her! neela, i am and will always be proud of all your accomplishments!

3. one place i don't mind taking the children to eat- chik fil a! what a deal if you go on kids night (usually when jason is working late and i don't feel like cooking!). i order an 8 piece chicken nugget meal with cole slaw and milk to share with chase, then i get a free children meal for tyler. they get to do a fun free art activity hosted by an employee, they get a free educational toy in their kids meal (usually an awesome book!) and they get to play to at the playground for a bit....all for under $7! what a deal! ;)

gotta get ready for school! have a great monday!

some random thoughts this morning....

1. holidays are great, huh? it's just a little treat to not have to rush around the house in the morning and to lounge around in your pjs a little longer. veterans, thank you for serving our country. i couldn't do it, so my hats off to you for having the balls to do so.

2. the other week, i was talking to rich on the phone and he had to get off abruptly. when we talked later on, he apologized for getting off the phone so quickly and explained that a car had driven up to pick him up for carpool. i asked him some more questions about this and found out that he just waits in a line with complete strangers to be picked up by strangers to get to work! OMG! i was so shocked! i've never heard of anything like this and couldn't believe that he actually gets into cars of complete strangers. isn't this called hitch hiking?!!! couldn't a mass murderer dress himself up in a suit and pick up my little brother? i don't know. i think this is really dangerous and can't believe that rich take such risks to get into work.

3. chase loves giraffes. don't know why but it's really cute. i was telling tyler the other day that some religions think that you come back to life as an animal after you die. he looked at chase and said, "i know that you want to come back as a giraffe." made me smile.

4. i just found out that some mom in our community will be the new lady on the next season of the real housewives of oc! i was really surprised because, trust me, the community that i live in is NOT that posh like what i'm used to seeing on that show, but i'm really excited! that was one of my favorite shows when we had cable. i told jason the other night that i want cable again just to watch this show when it airs and he told me that i was crazy.

5. i finally got the clarisonic the other day. i used it twice now and i think it really does make a difference! i'll give you another update in about a month but so far so good. for some reason, i was absolutely giddy about this purchase..... probably because it's been ages since i bought something so, so frivolous. but hey, if my girlfriend oprah likes it, i do too.

6. we live in near this big street that has a main bike path and we see bikers on it all the time. every time i see a group of bikers, i think how awesome it would to be a biker one day- a true, true biker who knows the ins and outs of biking and has all the right gear. but then, i think about all the sun damage and all the dangers of being so close to traffic and i quickly change my mind. oh, you didn't know i am a very fickle girl?

7. oh which reminds me, when i see people running outside on the streets, i think, "good for your body now, bad for your skin later." :) oh, i wish i knew the dangers of the sun when i was little. i used to lay out under the sun and even went to a couple of tanning salons back in the day...my goodness...what in the world was i thinking!? i'm not too crazy about it with the boys but i know that if i had a little girl, i would be slathering on that sunscreen on her all the time!

8. speaking of boys, man, are they just....boys! everything becomes a weapon, they always want to play "power rangers," they scream and yell fighting noises, they jump off of couches, they want to throw things and break things. it's so opposite of me when i was growing up, that it's actually humorous to watch them sometimes because i don't know where this extra "energy" comes from. tyler recently wrote a "book" (a couple of pages just stapled together) and titled it "how to fight." he just put some stuff in a brown bag right now and wrote on the bag "tyler's fighting supplies." !!!! oh, and he woke up the other night and said he had a "great dream." when I asked him what his great dream was about, he said, "i was in fighting class and got a power axe and fought with the evil guys." oh my! tyler used to by my calm and mild mannered boy so to see him morph into this crazy fighting boy is so weird to me!

9. do you know where i like to shop? the 99 cents only store! something about being in there makes me feel so rich!  i like going there to get things for the school and once in a while, i will find some great deals and buying that ONE item pays for all the other items. for example, i find a great book that i would have paid $15 for at a book store and now i feel like i have $14 dollars to waste on other things! haha... don't knock it people. sometimes, they have some great things, especially for teachers.

10. can't believe the holidays are around the corner. sadly, i'm not really feeling very festive yet.

11. aren't births so exciting? it's like witnessing a miracle. if you don't believe in miracles, just see a mom holding a baby that was in her tummy a week before. it's so beautiful. christine, congrats on the birth of avery. i can't wait to meet her. renu, don't know if you read this, but i can't wait to see you baby girl....any day now!

hope you have a great long weekend to relax and be merry with the ones that you love! ttys (talk to you soon!)

Two things I like to do/say to the boys.

1. I tell one of the boys that they are in big trouble and they better come and see me right away. I use my sternest voice and wait for them to find me. When they come to me, they often look confused and then I say very nonchalantly, "It's nothing. I just want a hug." and raise up my arms and give them the biggest bear hug. I love seeing their faces when they realized that I've "tricked" them.

2. I tell them to come up and get their medicine that the doctor prescribed for their illness. They come up to me very confused and I tell them to open their mouths and plop chocolate chips in them. I love seeing their eyes light up when they realize their medicine is chocolate.

Tyler and Chase, remember when mommy used to do this to you when you were little? I love, love, love joking around with you, seeing you smile, watching you grow up, and being your mommy.

I shouldn't lie to my boys.
A couple of nights ago, I lied to the boys. They were hiding in Tyler's closet and wouldn't get out to go to sleep so I told them that there was a ghost in there with them. They quickly opened the door and came out, but as Chase was coming out, he accidentally turned on a toy piano that was in the closet with them and it started playing on its own. That freaked them out so bad, they were shaking. Then, for some unknown reason (maybe because it's running out of batteries), it abruptly stopped. I couldn't stop myself and I said, "The ghost is done playing the piano so he turned it off." OMG! Tyler's face turned white and TEARS started rolling down his face. Chase was wide eyed and sweat beads were coming down his forehead as he hugged me for his dear life. The whole time, I was laughing on the inside
Tyler and Chase, I love you so much. I love laughing WITH you (sometimes AT you...hehe) more than anything.