New pictures for grandma

Fun with pictures.  They're all edited and complete.  Here are a few.

She's changing her habits

I don't know if it's because she's now going to my mom's some of the week and she does the same things with her with how she raised me, staying home more, just growing up or a combination, but it's great.  Chelsi is finally eating better foods.  Of course, this after eating the same supper for 3 nights.  I made goulash Monday and she did NOT like it at all.  The rest of us thought it was pretty good.  She agreed to finish it Tuesday and on Tuesday she decided to finish it Wednesday.  It was only one scoop.   Seriously.  She didn't get the meals we had those nights since she still had to finish her goulash and Tuesday we had pancakes and egg casserole for brinner, so I think that made an impact.  She loves that. 

Wednesday, Chelsi decided she really did want to eat whatever we were having.  Especially since Thursday I had planned to make chapjae and sigeumchi nameul.  Last night she was pretty happy she finished her goulash and she ate a ton of chapjae and rice.  But, the shock was when yesterday for lunch she decided to try Jaemin's yogurt.  She liked it...but she's said that before and never tried that food again.  Today, I had a package of chocolate donuts I was using as a reward, so I asked her if she wanted a donut after she ate her chapjae for lunch.  She said she'd rather have a whole yogurt to herself.  We've tried to get her to realize yogurt is good for years!  For breakfast I thought for sure she'd pick out the chocolate peanut butter cereal since we didn't have anymore pancakes, but no, she picked out the grain cereal. 

So proud of her and her new healthy habits.  On top of that she's finally stayed dry for 2 nights in a row.  It's been months since that's happened.  I told her if she started staying dry we'd sign her back up for gymnastics.  I gotta get one of these kids out of diapers/pullups now that our budget is tighter.  Oy!

Spa night at my house

Oh, you think I didn't invite you?  Well, it was a private party.

I sat on the floor with my knees propped up while Jaemin, occasionally, rubbed my toes (after a shower, don't get grossed out) and Kaelin and Chelsi put makeup on me and fixed my hair.  Kaelin said I had lovely highlights, but then I informed her I actually have white hair now.  Apparently, instead of going gray, I think I'm going white.  Then, Kaelin and Chelsi both informed me I should dye my hair black to look like them.  I told them I'll just leave mine be so I can be me and they can be them.  I'm not big on coloring or highlighting.   Just too much maintenance.  Kaelin decided she needed to make me look younger then.  So now not only do I need black hair to not look like me I look old.  They put on powder and blush and gave me lopsided pigtails and said I looked much younger.  I'd post a picture, but trust me.....I didn't look younger.  I looked like someone my age trying to look a little younger.  It didn't help.  I'm beyond help.  :)

But, it was nice of the girls to spend 45 minutes or so doing this for me. 

A temporary new life

for us.

Temporarily, like I said, I get to work part time.  I don't know how long, so really, I'm just soaking it all up while I can.  I only have to work 2-3 days/week depending on what's going on at work and I can work around what I need for the kids.  This is the first time in my life as a mother I've been able to do this and it is WONDERFUL!

I've asked to do this for years.  I've wanted and prayed for this since Chase was born 10 years ago.  Last week was my first week and it was great driving the big kids to school and then running errands or just going home to play outside with Chelsi and Jaemin.  We got to do fingerpainting, go to the library, cook together and just enjoy each other.  We even squeeze in reading time.  It's everything I ever wanted.  It's a perfect balance for a mother to still work to carry health insurance yet have time to get everything done in a busy household of 5 kids and 2 adults.  Finally, Brian can rest a bit.  He finally gets to come home to supper and then sit down instead of running for yet another load of laundry for the night.  We no longer feel like we're chasing our tales.  We can finally relax and it is the best feeling every.  It's truly perfect for me.

Now, the money...that's another thing.  But, hey, money isn't everything.  When I found out my paycheck would be dropping a whopping $220/month in January due to our insurance changes I realized I was truly working to pay insurance and daycare.  I won't make this about my rants on how my employer penalizes employees with children for working and caring for their children and basically being responsible...which should be the nature of my employer.  This decrease in pay left no money to do anything with the kids with what little time we had to do it.  We're planning to barely squeak by with the decrease.  So, I looked at our budget with a microscope.  We realized we could refinance the house yet again and get a lower payment and forgo some minor things, get rid of daycare (thanks to the Grandmas and a Grandpa) and I could work part time and survive.  It's going to truly be a balancing act with the money, but it was going to be anyways, so it made sense to make the best of it and be with the kids more.

And for now, they're letting me do it.  Hopefully, at least until Chelsi gets out of daycare so it's not quite so high.  I'd love to make it stretch to Cole's surgery and appointments in another 1 or so.  But, I'm learning to find a new definition of happiness.  That's not to constantly worry about tomorrow and the things you can't control.  It's to love what you got while you got it.  And I know God knows my heart and when I say I want happiness it will be by his definition of knowing me and not mine.  So when I pray or wish for anything I just say "I want to be happy".  Happy's a very wide meaning and God knows this of me.  It's keeping my kids and husband healthy and with me and keeping us together.  And getting us where we need to go when we need to go in our lives.


So, this is my happy.  This is me getting to live how the other half live.  Being a part time, stay-at-home mom while providing for her family to help put food on the table.  Thank God for this opportunity!  This is the best job ever and it makes me actually like my paying job a little more knowing they appreciated me enough to see the struggle we were in financially and otherwise.

Here's what we do when we're home.

My birthday babies

채민 과 젤시 생일 축하함니다

My two babies are growing up.  Jaemin is officially 2!  Chelsi will be 5 tomorrow.  We've had wonderful celebrations; a party for Chelsi's 5th last night and just the 7 of us for Jaemin's 2nd tonight.  But, last night in bed I started to think about their Korean mother.  What must she be thinking this weekend?  What a rough weekend with 2 times the hurt?  I'm fortunate that I get them in my everyday life.  I wonder if the green heart balloon Jaemin let go of last night could possibly make it all the way to Korea and somehow she could the very balloon her son was holding last night?  The 3 of us said a short little prayer for her tonight before dinner.  I don't think Chelsi even gets it and keeps asking about her foster mother.  It's typical to confuse them and she is still young enough to.  So I don't push.  We just say our prayer and go on.

The rest of the weekend was very nice.  We spent all yesterday getting ready for the party and then we had 4 little girls ages 3-5 screaming through our garage last night.  The neighbors must have wondered what we were doing to them?  :)  This morning was a HOT football game.  Poor Chase didn't get to play much since the offense were hardly off the field.  He's cornerback.  He did get some tackles in when he played.  I think he just likes hearing his name from the announcer.  :)

Tomorrow should be Korean lessons again.  YEAH!  We all 3 look so forward to that and what's better for Chelsi than lessons ON her birthday?

Signing off and wishing my babies the very best throughout their lives.  Hoping and praying for everything their hearts truly want and need and to know that richness isn't really having an abundance of money, but love and happiness.

Besties

$2 worth of balloons

Chelsi's 5 shirt Anita made

Tomorrow or Monday I'll post a better picture of my birthday kids together and you can see Jae's big boy haircut.  He sat so nice and loved having it buzzed off.

Thank you!

I've heard this a million times this morning from Chelsi.  I sure hope her party's as great as she's has envisioned.

We dropped the big kids at school, went to get Jaemin's albuterol, went to get Chelsi's balloons inflated, then the library and then Target.  Chelsi was shocked when we got the balloons blown up.  I'll try to get pics later.  I found Tinkerbell balloons in a 5 pack on clearance at Walmart for $2!  They were $10.  The main one is heart shaped with a huge Tink on it and it's probably 2 1/2 foot tall.  She LOVED them!  She was so surprised since she's having a fairy party.  Last year we managed to snatch a few fairiesh decorations and gift bag treats at the $1 store so it worked out perfect for them to clearance those off just a week before her party.

I put out the pink table cloth...had to rig that up.  The package says 54x108.  It might be 24x108.  Too late to take it back though.  Decorated her cake and it's pretty cute for a home baked cake and a mom who is not that artistic.  Got all the chairs cleaned up and ready outside. 

I baked the cakes (1 for Jaemin for his birthday tomorrow) yesterday.  I had planned to take the 9x13 out of the pan, but it wouldn't come out even though I did everything I've done before.  Oh well, I left it in the pan and when Chelsi found out it would still have Tinkerbell on it she was still happy.  Or so she said.  Kaelin and Chelsi were sitting at the table last night waiting for everyone to come in for dinner and as they were talking Chelsi says "somebody messed up my cake".  Kaelin asked who and Chelsi kind of moves her eyes towards me, tries to subtly point and says "you know who".  What a stink!

This morning I put icing on the cake and cut the bag that my coworker brought me to work and put Tinkerbell on it.  She LOVED it!  She watched as I set up the garage for the party and put out he pink plates and napkins and made punch and got the bucket ready for the kid drinks.  She kept telling me how great it was and kept drawing her breath because she was so excited to even say it.

Boy I hope it's what she's thinking.