Thankful Reminder #1

I decided tonight that I'm going to try to post one thing.  Just one thing as often as I can about something I'm thankful for.  Not the usual, I'm thankful for my family, etc., though that might be thrown in from time-to-time depending on how I feel.  I want to reflect on small things.  Small things we all take for granted and need to remind ourselves to be thankful for.  We all find ourselves in the wo is me mood from time-to-time and this is something I do to help myself during those times anyways.  So, no matter what it is your thankful for, big or small, find something almost daily to be thankful for and remind yourself that life is good.

Today, I'm thankful that Brian has uniforms for work so that we can a) cut down on laundry and b) cut down on clothing costs.  I was reminded of this as I threw in 2 more loads tonight.....it's a daily fight here.

Lisa

Crystal Ball

I think at some point in most of our lives we sort of wish we had a crystal ball to see a glimpse of our future to know what choice to make or just for a second to know the choices already made were right for us.  I also think it's human nature to be curious of the lives of others.  Why else would reality tv be so popular?  I watch very little, but not because I'm not curious, but because I just don't have time.

I belong to various support groups between adoption and broken hearts and can't help but wonder what's behind the screen....really?  I mean, what someone shows us on screen is not really them....I would think not anyways.  I mean, do you really think this is the real me?  Here I may look perfect from time-to-time.  No one sees my failures or the times I just plain lose it.  Heck, the folks at work see me all the time and they don't see a lot of that.  My family, however, does.  The ones in the house who are with me on a day-to-day basis and the ones I'm most comfortable with.  I do think this is normal.  That's why I think I sometimes wonder when I see a mom totally lose it at the store thinking they're toning it down there, is it that much worse at home?

I also wonder about myself.  I see other families adding to their family through adoption.  I'm happy for them, but is a tinge of me really a little jealous?  Sometimes, I think maybe.  No, I don't want more.  I'm doing good with the 5 I have.  But, what if I'm jealous of how some can handle 5 little ones (I mean barely school age and under) while I'm treading sometimes with a 13 year old on down to 2?  But, then another part of me thinks maybe that's easier.  I used to think things would be easier as the kids got older, even though wiser moms told me otherwise.  But, yeah, now that we have 3 kids in school, and almost 4 in school, it's getting SO busy.  Not bad busy, sort of fun busy, but definitely crazy busy.  So, yeah a part of me wonders how hard it's going to be for these moms when the kids are all going to school, almost at once.  What if you had 5 then?  Wow!  In then end, I'm glad I heeded some of the warnings and at least kept a little spacing between our 5.  I think that helps a bit.  It eases you into it a little.  I can't imagine all of the kids one by one turning those magical ages each year when they begin school and therefore you have homework, school events and eventually extracurricular activities.  What about the magical age when suddenly you're paying to go somewhere or eat something....or worse yet.  Cole has hit the magical age where he costs what an adult costs.  Of course, for us that 'can' be good sometimes.  If it's to get a free kids meal with the purchase of an adult we end getting all the little kids free and only paying for an adult.

I don't know.  Just some random things I think about on occasion.  Maybe I just needed to write it down to get it out of my head?  Things are never what you think.  A lot of people look happy on the outside or perfect on screen, but life is not perfect.  The one thing I've learned.

Happy Hallow's Eve!!

So, my kids weren't so scary.  The girls, were fairy witches....they're own invention after Chelsi couldn't decide between a witch or fairy.  So, her Godparents found her a costume, for her birthday, that fit the bill just perfectly.  We added some soot to Jaemin's face to go with his fireman's costume and Chase got dressed as a zombie football player.  I'm sure we'll have a ton of candy by nights end, but some will last until almost Easter.  The newness wears off after a bit.  But, the kids will pay us our dues in chocolate for being mom and dad.  How evil....huh?

This one's great.  They were waiting for Jaemin to look at the camera.  Never happened.  :)

Worn out shoes

Me selling shoes at a rummage sale or donating them to anyone is such a rarity.  We cleaned the garages out where the kids keep their shoes that have started to wear and we had to toss a lot of them.  And I mean A LOT.  Most of them are getting tossed because they look like the ones below.   Literally, they are missing parts of them.  So, no....we do NOT waste our wears.  We wear and wear and wear them some more.

We went to a local event for Halloween, just me and the 4 youngest, while Brian took Cole deer hunting.  The kids had a great time and came home with a boat load of candy.  Jaemin and Chelsi got to ride barrels around and then Kaelin, Chase and Chelsi walked through a haunted house all by themselves.  Please excuse the awful pictures at the end.  They were taken with the camera I keep in the car that's over 10 years old.  We had fun, but they're all tired and grouchy now.  More candy tomorrow, right?!

Sorry about the tongue.

 

 Jaemin the firefighter on a real fire truck!

Aahhhh....kimchi

Since I'd been craving kimchi I thought we'd make a night of it since our closest Asian market is about an hour from us.  So, we stopped by the market and Bass Pro.  Had some great pizza buffet too.  The kids really enjoyed the nights as the big boys decided on how to spend the gift cards they'd been saving.  Jaemin was in an extra great mood and quite the little character tonight.  We looked through their kimchi selections, at the market, and since the cucumber kimchi was only in tiny jars I got white kimchi instead.  It's not quite as spicy and I'm really NOT a fan of cabbage kimchi and neither is anyone else in the house.  Kaelin and I are about the only ones that will eat it anyways, unless Jaemin does.  He's never had it so I guess we'll be finding out.  He did hear us say it was kimchi and yelled "Iunt kimchi" at the store.  Brian even got an extra large jar for someone he knows that loves kimchi.....but he eats the cabbage one.

And since kimchi always has a way of leaking out on the way home, it managed to leak through the two bags they put it in and onto my mats.  Everytime we got back in the van we opened the windows (cold air and all) to air out the car a bit.  My garage will smell like it by morning I'm afraid.  I think it was turning Brian's very full stomach after supper.  Kaelin and I still thought it smelled good.

So, yep, we'll be having some for lunch tomorrow.  I'll make another quick batch of sticky rice to go with.   And another enjoyable family night.  Yum!

New dish invention

The other night, literally, while I was lying in bed trying to sleep I thought of a food concoction.  So, today I decided to try it out for real and see if it was as good as what I was craving in my head.  It was AWESOME.  The kids....all 5.....LOVED it and asked for it to be in the weekly rotation.  How cool is that.  It's totally an Asian inspired dish, since that's mostly what I crave 24/7.

Super easy.  All you have to do is make Asian coleslaw, but I substitute the vinegar for rice vinegar and put a dash of sesame seed oil and soy sauce in it.  Cut up about 3 or 4 pork chops into small bite size pieces.  Mix a tablespoon of sugar in with about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.  After the sugar is mixed in and dissolved poor over the pork chop bites and add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and some sliced mushrooms (to your liking).  Marinate this in the fridge for an hour (minimum).  Fry the refrigerated mixture until it's browned and slightly crisp.  Get the Asian coleslaw out of the refrigerator and mix the pork chop bites in.  Heat in the microwave until just warm if the pork chop bites are cool or you can eat cold.  Serve with a side of sticky rice.  If you need the Asian coleslaw recipe comment on the blog and I'll post it as a response.  For now I'm going to save myself the time if no one cares.  :)

Sooooo healthy and sooooo yummy!  Glad I made a ton because I get to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!