Christmas at the Watsons, with the Watsons. Lots of em.

So Christmas came and went, and it has left a fury of toys, boxes, and great memories in its wake. We had an amazing time this year. Christmas eve was kinda nuts, as it well should be. I went to church to serve at 5, and then sat in at the service at 6:30. Chris LIED to me and told me that if I went up on stage when they asked for volunteers, I would win a prize. I am a sucker for prizes, so up I went. Chris had gone to the 5:00 service with our friends so he already knew that the going-up-to-volunteer situation did not involve any kind of prize, in fact it just involved making a fool out of yourself in front of a multitude of folks dressed in their Christmas Eve Best singing a verse of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. If it hadn't been for a very sweet high school student who 'sang' with me (I did NOT sing, only read my verse) I surely woulda punched my husband as soon as I got off the stage.

After church, we came home, fed ourselves and the kids, bathed everyone, and put the babies to bed. And then that's when craziness showed up. We were expecting about 50 people the next day (mostly all Watsons, of all ages ranging from 9 months old to 76ish) and the house was not that clean. Plus we hadn't wrapped any presents or anything yet. Not that we had too many presents to wrap (thanks again Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University...) After we wrapped the presents, and went around the house (at Lily and Sungu's grubby hands level) with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (Amazing by the way!) We ended up being in bed by 12:30am, tired, but excited for the next day.

The fun started at about 5am, when Topher woke me up (he still wakes up anytime between 2 and 5am. I can't fight him anymore!). Fortunately we went back to bed, only to be woken up by Lily at about 6:30sh. Awesome. After a little more downtime on the living room floor, I decided it was time to get the day rolling, by making the turkey. Actually, it was my first turkey ever. And it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself! It was not burned, and it was not dry. Thank you Reynolds Oven Bags! Four hours in the oven, and I never had to check on it, or baste it or anything. So great.

We opened our presents and stockings with the kids at 8am. Then Wes and Kim came by at 9am, as did Robert and Lindsay and Gabe, so that we could have our 'private' gift exchange. The 40 other Watsons showed up at 10am. People started clearing out at about 12pm. Then we had our intimate lunch for 18 at 1pm. And our last guests left at about 4pm.

A great day full of fun, family, and food. And all to celebrate the birth of Jesus! It doesn't get any better than that! Oh yeah, and our Christmas miracle for this year was that we got a 'new' (for us) washing machine from Chris' cousin who is moving to Payson for the year! Ours really sucks cause it doesn't drain or spin properly, but our dryer is amazing. Chris' cousin had been stressed about where to store their washer and dryer and when we heard their complaint, all our prayers were answered! Thank you Jesus for showing up and giving us gifts on your birthday.

Quick Times

Here's a little update on life in the Watson/Malloy household:

-Topher is sleeping! Pretty well. Thanks to all those who have prayed- that was the difference maker I'm pretty sure! He slept 8 hours one night. Then 9 the next. And eventually 10! Last night was the first time he woke up at 4am in quite awhile! Hopefully that won't suddenly become a habit again though... I'll let you know

-We are having the giant Watson Family Christmas party at our house this year. That's about 30+ adults and 15 kids. Pure insanity. But a joyous occassion since it's obviously not very easy to get all the Watsons together under one roof on the same day at the same time. So this has been my inspiration/kick in the butt to get the house together- that means cleaning and decorating. And the major decoration has come in the form of hanging up pictures! So that's what I am taking a break from right now, I have been working on it for the last two hours, and probably still have one more hour to go!...

-Barb and Jerry bought Lily some furniture for her room at a garage sale, then Barb refinished it all, doing a distressed white look, complete with little pink jeweled knobs. Chris brought it home today and it looks AMAZING! One day when Chris and I decide it's safe to spend money again, we will have to go garage sale-ing with Barb and Jerry!

-Speaking of Jerry- please pray for him! He is stuck in Portland! He was supposed to fly in yesterday, but due to terrible conditions, he is STILL waiting to fly out. Pessimistically speaking- it looks like the weather will let up on Wednesday, which is kinda when Barb is expecting to see him. Very optimistically speaking- he is booked on a flight that leaves Portland tomorrow at 6am. Time to pray again! Yesterday he slept in the airport, and tonight he is in a hotel. Tomorrow, we are hoping he gets to sleep in his bed, in Mesa, with his wife, and his two crazy dogs!!!!

That's it for now. So much to do. So little time.... But thanks all for the continued prayers! We need em! Blessings to you all this awesome holiday season.

A Mother's Purse

I am not an organized person. In fact, I am a disgusting mess. I never know where anything is, especially my check book when it's time to tithe. This Saturday at church, I really came face-to-face with the person I have become- a mother. And this epiphany came to me as I was looking through my purse.

Actually, to call it a purse is an understatement. It's basically a glorified gym bag. It often doubles as a diaper bag (especially if I am just going out with one child. Not quite enough room for stuff for three kids). But if I needed to, I could even put an extra pair of my shoes in it. Oh wait, I have. When I get 'fancy' and wear heels, I usually put a pair of flat shoes in this 'pursething' when I am ready to call it quits and come to grips with how short I really am. Which is somewhere in the 5'3 range. (I am tall for my family.)

So, I was sitting at church beside my sister, and friend Lanie. Robert and Lindsay were sitting behind. I opened up my purse just to make absolute sure that I did NOT have a checkbook inside. Yup. Definitely did not have one. Then I came across a peppermint taffy candy, my new drug of choice. I fortunately had more than one, so I shared with Lanie and Robert. Jeehon was disinterested in the candy, so I looked for something else that might interest her. No joke, these are all things I pulled out:
-half of a rice cake, with bag fuzzies appropriately stuck to it (which means it was wet at one point, which means one of the kids ate it and put it back in my bag)
-three pens. And I only found these pens cause I didn't need one at that second. Had I been looking for a pen, all three would have miraculously vanished into thin air
-three lip gloss/balm things. Same magical properties as the pens (as listed above)
-hand lotion. I cannot function without hand lotion
-a little My Little Pony figurine from a Happy Meal
-an empty travel size bottle of Aspirin. I am pretty sure that is Chris's doing, but the fact that it was in my purse was perfect.
-a grocery list from who knows when
-a granola bar wrapper
and the piece de resistance- A Sock. Not a cute little stray baby sock, but one of mine or Jeehon's. I don't know how or when it got into my purse, but there it was. With a piece of granola stuck to it. (I don't know if the sock had been wet at one point, or the piece of granola. Both being wet from being sucked on by a child of mine is Very Likely.)
So that's how I role- almost ready for everything, yet not ready for anything (especially tithing) all at once. If you have one foot that gets cold sometime when you are out with me, look into my purse, you may just find what you need.

Night Terrors- Mine, Not the Baby's...

Hey, first of all I would like to thank all the ladies for the sympathy and concern from my last post! I appreciate all the support and words of encouragement!
Here's what happened after my dillusional post from a couple days ago:
-Topher cried for a total of 50 minutes before I went to get him.
-When I gotin there, he was standing in his crib, crying his heart out. So cute! Even at 4am.
-I went in with his bottle, filled with water. He was not happy about it. It took everything in me to not whip out my boob to shut him up (oh my goodness. Did I just sound like a stripper just now or what?)
-He drank some water and proceeded to cry, but it looked like he might fall back asleep, so I laid him back down, which is when he decided to scream and cry even more fervently than before.
-I left the room and tried to lie down in my bed. That lasted for about 10 minutes and then I went back to Topher's room.
-Picked him back up. Offered him the water again. Was rejected again. Tried rocking him, which did not soothe him even a little bit, I changed his diaper which was superfull from all of his screaming (I don't know if this is a legit correlation, but I feel like it is) and then I sat with him for a bit.
-He looked at me and I at him, and he appeared to be wide awake, which completely terrified me, so I literally busted out ol' faithful (read: the milk maker) and Topher was asleep within two minutes.
-I think he woke up again at 6am, then went back to sleep, and then again at 7am. MUCH coffee was consumed that day.
So, Topher won that battle. But has he won the war? Yep. For now. I tried puttin ghim to bed later in hopes that he would sleep for longer, but that didn't help. He would still just wake up after being asleep for eight hours. And though I felt better when he woke up at 5am instead of 3, it was a lot harder letting him cry for too long because I would be afraid that Topher would wake up the other kids.
Topher and I 'battled' it out for three nights, and I know some would say "keep going, you're already almost there! just a few more nights of crying and you'll be home free!.." But here's the thing- I just can't do it. Physically, or mentally. My nerves were like glass for the last three days. I was a zombie during the day and a frightened mess at night. Not good.
I've tried so many different combinations of things that I am convinced for now that Topher just can't sleep for more than eight hours. I think that if Topher was an only child, then I would keep on keepin on, but he's not. And I know I was diligent with Lily in the 'Napping Wars' (past history: Lily would not nap and I had to train her almost a year ago. Many tears were shed, on her part as well as mine.) But the Napping War and this Sleeping Through the Night War is very different as it is being fought at an entirely more inconvenient time of day, and there are so many extra players to consider here.
So I not only have lost the battle, but I have also lost the war. My white flag is up for now, but I will take it down some time. I don't know when, but I will surely keep you posted.

Silent NIght? Not here...

it's 3:20. sorry for any grammatical errors or typing mistakes. i am writing in the dark. i am awake but don't want to fully admit that i am awake by turning on the lights. the main reason i am writing is to pass the time while i listen to my eight and a half month old cry and cry and cry- aka. while i teach him to sleep through the night. oh how this sucks.
life's been pretty hectic lately which is why it's been so long since i have written. but there have been many posts i have thought of writing, that never had a second to be written. although had i written every time topher woke me up in the middle of the night, my blog would be busting at the seams.
i always have so many excuses as to why topher is awake at 3, or 1, or even 12am. the most common one being that he's hungry. so i did the whole 'stuff him like a fattened calf ready for the kill' before bed, which included cereal, vegetables, and then a bottle of formula in him room. i am still breastfeeding, but i thought he wasn't getting enough before going to sleep 'for the night'. but then he would still wake up at 3ish, with a sopping wet diaper. so then i would have to get him cause he was so wet and i needed to change his diaper and feed him again.
sometimes this led him to sleep till 7. or even 8. but sometimes only till 5. which is NOT ok.
every mom i have talked to says that he should be able to sleep through the night and that i should let him cry it out, or at least not feed him at all through the night. so yesterday i let him cry for about 15 t o 20 minutes and then i gave him a bottle with water. he drank that puppy down! i rocked him for a while, then set him down as gently as all get out- but of course he woke up and started screaming as i was bolting out the room. he fortunately only cried for three more minutes, but at 3am, 3 minutes feels like an eternity.
so now topher's been crying for about thirty minutes. should i get him? should i not? i am so tired- of listening to him cry that is. no pain no gain, right? just a couple of really bad nights = a lifetime of peaceful nights?... i'll let you know

Now, Complain!

Oh my goodness. December in Arizona stinks!... When the stomach flu is out to get you... And get me it did! It also has gotten a hold of Lily, Sungu, and Chris (kinda). Chris was not feeling well during the beginning of the week, but has since gotten his second wind. This morning I was awoken at 1am, and 6am, by my beautiful son, who was in need of some tlc. He fortunately just has a cold. But then Lily woke up at 6:15 and she really really need some tlc.

Before it was even 8am, Lily had thrown up twice (on herself, and me too!) and we were both alredy on our third outfit for the day! I called the doctor and made an appointment for 9ish. Stomach Flu. That's what I figured. Then Chris called me to tell me to get double the remedy that the doctor prescribed- cause Sungu was sick too. And being the overachiever that he is- he threw up four times and had already had 2 baths within a 2 hour span of being awake.

I also threw up, and as much as I hate doing it, I felt so much better! Lots of naps were taken on my part- only because my sister is awesome and let me sleep a bunch, and because we shipped 'healthy' little Topher off to hang out with his Nana, so as not to join the nasty-puky group.

So, that's it. One minute everything is peachy, and the next- there is throw up everywhere. Time to bust out the carpet shampooer...

No Complaints

It's December, and I live in Arizona. Things are not bad at all. The weather is perfect- still sunny during the day, and chilly at night. If we were not doing this whole 'Financial Peace University' stuff, Chris and I would be doing more golfing (read:we would golf at least once. Right now, no golfing, or extra-money spending is happening at all!) I'll have to write more about the whole FPU experience. Maybe next week. It's a 13 week course, and next week is the last one. It's been a very interesting journey, and something that I recommend to anyone who has a credit card, or any debt.

Jeehon and Sungu are back from Canada, which we are all happy about, especially as Christmas is drawing nearer and nearer! It seriously amazes me that Jeehon and I have been able to spend almost every Christmas together for the last four years, even with our living in different states/countries. (Maybe the more amazing thing is that Jeehon has lived in Texas, Arizona, Korea, Missouri, and Arizona again in the last four years!)

Lily is still not speaking English or Korean, but her own language seems to have developed! She cracks herself, as well as anyone else within earshot, up having pretty long conversations in giberish. Topher is a pooping and scooting machine. Eight months old and still no teeth. Since I am still breastfeeding- I can't complain about that! Sungu is on the road to being potty trained! (He is 17 months old) He dropped a deuce on the little potty the other day without breaking a sweat. It was pretty awesome.

Chris is absolutely loving his job. Everyday is a new day with new assignments and new bad guys to catch. He is very fulfilled in his day job, and loving being at home with the little ones too. Lily continues to dote on her dad whenever she can. The greatest sadness in Chris' life is that I beat him in fantasy basketball last week. Which made it the second time this year- since we are in two different leagues with each other. I am actually in first place in one of the leagues (which means I am beating my 3 brothers, my husband, 2 brother-in-laws, an uncle-in-law, and one of Chris' friends from the Marines.) Seriously- life is good!

Thanksgiving was great. We just finished the last of our leftovers. So sad. I am already counting down the days till we eat crazyhuge meals again for Christmas! I promise- I am not pregnant. I just love me some holiday fixings! And enjoying the chowdown time with family. Of course.

The next couple weeks will be full of busyness, what with parties, and cookies, and shopping. But we will be sure to sprinkle in lots of time for Jesus, cause He is the reason for the season. I know this is a boring post, but nothing new or crazy is going on right now. And that's not a bad thing!

Thanksgiving Days

I just got home awhile ago from my wonderful mother-in-law's place. We have had serious communication break-down today! Jerry came in from Oregon last night at about 9ish. He was supposed to come in around 8:30, and then come to our place for coffee and some face time with Chris, because Chris couldn't make it to dinner tonight due to work. But the half hour delay in his landing cause us to have to reschedule for another day entirely. So we chose Saturday at 10am, cause Chris is working later on in the day and would be home at that time.

So you can imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang this morning at 10am, and I opened the door to a Barb, a Jerry, and a home-made plate of Monkey Bread (you make me SICK BARBARA!) Fortunately for everyone, Chris was just coming downstairs, and didn't have to leave for work for another hour and a half; Chris was also very lucky his mom came cause I was going to make him eat cereal again. This whole not-having-to-make-dinner thing has made me super-lazy and made me not want to make any meals at all for anyone, ever. I have obliged my children with a few meals here and there, cause as their mother, I guess that's what I am supposed to do. Anyway, I don't know if Barb was just feeling bad about the mistake or what, but she offered to come for breakfast tomorrow 'as planned' and bring food tomorrow also! Score! I just can't say no to free, yummy food. It's a weakness of mine. My kryptonite if you will.

Then dinner was supposed to be at 5pm, but I thought Barb had said 6pm, so the kids and I were literally just farting around the house, killing time. Then we went to the grocery store to get milk, bread, and bananas (the only things we need to physically survive in this house) and on our way home we got a call from Jerry asking where we were. Oops! Made everyone, Chris' grandparents, Robert, Lindsay, Barb and Jerry wait to eat dinner. Really big oops. One of these days I am going to try this new thing I have heard so much about, it's called 'paying attention'...

Anyway, our three-day Thanksgiving celebration-extravaganza marathon has come to an end, and I realize how much I have to be thankful for. Really and truly. My kids are so awesome. Really. I have gotten them all dolled up for three days in a row, and they just sit there and let me have my fun. They've gone to bed late, and in different houses because of different sporting events, and they've just been so great about it all. I so enjoyed just hanging out at home with them today. Chris and I have had plenty of hanging out time too, which never gets old. It's too bad that he missed dinner at his mom's, but I am pretty dang thankful for his awesome job that he loves and is able to thrive at. Everyone who cooked and slaved and sweat so that I could eat like a dirty fat pig- I am so thankful for you all! God has truly blessed the crap right out of our family and friends, and to Him, I am forever thankful.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I used to not be a big fan of 'Christmas Time'. I think I was a grumpy old man in my youth. I didn't like seeing all the lights on the trees lining the busy streets of Toronto, I hated hearing Christmas Carols on the radio, I hated the extra millions of people in the malls (ok, that's legit. no one likes that.) I was an all out little Asian Ebenezer Scrooge. I don't know why. Christmas was always nice, but not a very big deal at our house growing up. We got math books from my dad while we were in grade school. Then when we got older, if you asked for something at the right time when shopping with our mother, you would get it. But if you didn't ask for anything, you didn't really get anything. Not a big deal cause if my parents didn't really ask for anything, then they kinda wouldn't get anything either. We'd go to church for Christmas, which is only right cause that's the reason for the season! But it would always be a joint service for the Korean and English congregations, which meant you had to come early (read:on time) to church to find a seat, and then you would have to listen to a super-long sermon because it would be in Korean with someone translating it in English. The worst sermon was by this one pastor who was American, but he lived in Korea for a couple years, so he not only did the sermon in English, but in Korean too. I could feel my dad's eyes of judgment on me and my siblings the whole time. "That guy is not Korean and he speaks your language way better than you do..." Really, Christmas time- not that great for me. But my mom did always make an amazingly lavishly, delicious feast for us and all of our friends. That was probably the best part of Christmas.

Anyhoo, my perspective on the Christmas Season all took a drastic turn for the better when I met Chris Watson. First of all, the whole Thanksgiving turns into Christmas Season is amazing! Though Chris did not invent this phenomenon, my being Canadian and celebrating Thanksgiving in October in the days of yore was very different. So now I celebrate Thanksgiving with a ton of people every year and eat a ton of amazing food too. I am planning on being in a turkey-induced coma for the next three days which is why I am blogging at 12:30am. (I am awake and alert and non of the kids are. Perfect).

My first Chris-Watson-Christmas was amazing. Actually, no, my first American Christmas was amazing. My first official Chris-Watson-Christmas was in Korea, and technically it was just December, and Chris was about to go back to America for good, so we were 'celebrating' Christmas together at a Starbucks on base just a day or two before he was about to leave. That Christmas kinda really sucked. But my first real American Christmas was in Oregon the year after. I was there with Chris, and Robert and Lindsay, who had just gotten engaged on that trip. So awesome. But we had awesome food, and awesome presents, and I 'opened' my first ever stocking from 'Santa'. I felt like I was five years old. It was so great!

I think that since then holidays have been so fun and exciting! (How lucky am I to have a husband who has breathed joy into every part of my life?) We just put up our Christmas tree yesterday, we are going to our first of three serious Thanksgiving feasts tomorrow night, and I had my first guilt-free egg nog latte two days ago. (Apparently you are not supposed to have those when you are pregnant and seeing as how I have been pregnant for two Christmases in a row, I have not been able to enjoy this amazing once-a-year Starbucks offering. I had one last year, and didn't finish it cause I was riddled with guilt.)

Last year was Lily and Sungu's first Christmas, and this year it's Topher and Gabe's. Being innundated by food and family is probably what makes this the most wonderful time of the year. It also helps to be out of my angst-ridden teen years when I was too cool for the holidays, and all that extra joy that was floating around.

Hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving with all those who are near and dear to you.

On My Heart: Mommies galore

I am not sure as to why, but God has placed moms on my heart in such a huge way over the lst two years. I don't know if it's because that's when I became one, or what, but nothing makes me happier than seeing a new mommy with her baby, and nothing breaks my heart more than when a mommy-to-be, can't-be all of a sudden, or when a mommy-who-wants-to-be, can't be- YET.

If you are bored, or you just love to pray- then here are some women/families you can pray for with me:

The Vs: Have been trying to get pregnant for over three years! Due to some very serendipitous circumstances, they just found out Mr. V has some slow swimmers and are now working in that direction to fix that issue. (Back story: Mr. V had tests done over a year ago and the lab guys read the results incorrectly and said there wasn't an issue there, even though there really was.)

The Bs: Have been trying to get pregnant for almost two years. God has such a special plan for them, and they have been waiting so patiently it makes you want to throw up because you are looking at such faithful followers of the Lord.

The Ts: Just lost their baby after being pregnant for 17 weeks. Mrs. T is hopefully getting out of the hospital today after a pretty intense surgical procedure on Monday. Molar pregnancy. Never heard of it before this, hope to never hear of another one again...

The Zach: I've mentioned this munchkin before. Please check out his blog for more details on the sidebar under "The Brantons". Again, another family that is so good, and so trusting in the Lord. Just knowing them makes your faith stronger. It's kinda gross actually.

and for some praise-

The Ls: Just welcomed their little boy into the world last week! Everyone is healthy and doing well. Now if only they could get some sleep...

The Bs: (a different family) Are expecting their first in two and a half more months! They are trying to bank up as much sleep as they can now...

And those are the families that have been on my heart for a long time now. Thanks for checking in and caring for those that we in the Watson home care about.

Baby Passport: Shoot Me Now

So I am trying to get Topher a passport. I think it would be easier for me to get my Ph.D...

My sister and Sungu are in Toronto right now. Jeehon got a cheap ticket from a friend of her's that still works at US Airways (Jeehon used to work there.) The friend thought Jeehon needed two tickets, and so that's what she got her, though Jeehon only needed one (cause even though Sungu may look like a two year old, he is still considered a lap-child). All of a sudden the possibility of me and a child going to Toronto came up.

My dad still has not seen Topher yet, so he was my number one choice (plus he is lighter, still breast-feeding, and less fussy than Lily... but that's besides the point). But he doesn't have a passport yet. So I started looking into getting him one...

Last year we got a passport quite easily for Lily. Her birth certificate was mailed to us, so that was easy. The only sucky thing was that both Chris and I had to be at the passport-getting appointment together, but that wasn't too bad. It was kinda the same scenario where I was going to go to Toronto kinda soon, but it all depended on the availability of a cheap ticket from a friend of Jeehon's, and of course when the passport for Lily would arrive. The passport is already kinda expensive- over $80. But there are a extra fees you can pay if you want the service expedited. They told me that if I did it at a 'normal speed' then it would come out in about three to four MONTHS. But if I paid an arm and a leg and my appendix, I might be so lucky as to get it in two weeks. We decided it wasn't worth amputating most of my extremities for a passport, so we decided to pay the base price and wait it out. The passport came in about two weeks.

And now my little Tophman needs a passport too. We do not have his birth certificate for some reason. I looked in our safe where all our important documents are, and I came up short. In fact I came up super-short because I noticed my passport wasn't in there either. Hysteria ensued. Then I looked all over the place for mine, and it was in the junk drawer in the kitchen. Oh that blasted/blessed junk drawer. But now I have to drive up to Phoenix one day and get this missing birth certificate. (Bless Barb's heart, she is going to watch the baby's one day so I can make the trip solo.) Then I made an appointment for us to go apply for this pain-in-the-butt passport, and the earliest date I got was for Wednesday next week, but of course Chris is working, so I have to get this other document notarized saying that Chris consents to his son getting a passport. And then I have to pay about $100 when everything is said and done. Boo.

A word to the wise who may need to get a passport at some point in the distant future for their baby: do it now while you have no pressure to do it. Get everything ready at a nice and leisurely pace so that you don't give yourself a heart attack. And whatever you do, do NOT pay the extra fees, or give them your kidney, or the right pinky on your left foot (even though you are pretty sure you aren't going to miss it). It's not worth it.

That Darn Apple...

What is it about apples that get such a terrible rep? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the fruit that Adam and Eve ate was an apple, but everyone just assumes it was. And then there's the saying about the apple not falling far from the tree. I guess people could use that expression for positive things- ex. "Wow, your daughter's toots are pretty explosive" "Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" (that would be Chris' response, with a giant grin.)

Well, my post today is a painful one. I have been wrestling about whether or not I would even post it, but this is supposed to be a look inside my journey as a parent. So here it is: I have anger issues. Or a hitting issue.

The other day ago, Lily kicked Topher in the head. Intentionally. All morning she just did not like having him around. She is usually quite sweet to him, but lately she has been extra needy when he is around. When he is in his room taking a nap, Lily doesn't care if she is on my lap, or in another room playing by herself. But when Topher's on my lap, she needs to be on there too. Even if that means being on top of him. So anyway, I was already getting annoyed with her, but when she kicked him that was the last straw. I didn't even take the time to grab her chubby little hand to smack it. I smacked her in the face! What kind of a disgusting person am I? FORTUNATELY for everyone I did not connect 'properly' so my fingers ended up grazing her face. She didn't flinch or cry or anything. BUT STILL. The unintentional intention was to hurt her for hurting Topher. Yikes. (I hope CPS isn't reading this.) I then put her in time out and this is where her punishment is always felt. But it really should be the only place it's felt. For the most part.

Chris and I always talk about the difference between punishment and discipline. We are all about disciplining by spanking, time outs, and rational conversations. We try hard to simply discipline and never punish our kids out of anger. Chris and I were punished by our dads BIG TIME. My dad was particularly big on drawing out the punishment. Report Card time was always a tense season in our house. All the sticks, and sporting gear would have to be hidden. When we got in trouble though, my dad always asked us to get a stick, then bring it to him, kneel before him while he lectured us for about an hour, all the while holding the stick in front of him and us. Oh it was not nice. Sometimes he wouldn't even hit us with the stick, but holding it in front of you for an hour is pretty rough stuff. But, my dad also had a nasty temper when we were growin up, and I can recall a small handful of times when he lost it and would hit one of us kids in pure anger and frustration.

And that's what I did to my little girl! What is wrong with me? And it's not the first time either! I smacked her in her belly once too. Chris just looked at me like "who hits a person on the belly?" Well, it was the first thing that I saw. It was just sticking out there, waiting to be smacked. Anyway, I clearly have a problem. And this is something I need to work on asap-styles. Counting to five before acting on anything is a good suggestion. Not spanking at all for now is probably also another good one till I get myself in check. I could blame all this on all those bad apples out there, or the Power Rangers and how I watched them when I was younger, but I will take this one upon myself and come to grips with the fact that sometimes I am a very undisciplined parent trying to discipline my kids.

Parenting is amazing. There are moments of excruciating difficulty, like when both my kids are crying cause they equally need and deserve my attention simultaneously. And of course there are priceless moments that you would not trade for all the precious metals in the world. I realize that the painful moments should just be painful for me though, and not physically painful one for my kids. I hope you haven't judged me too harshly today reader. Just wanted to give you a truthful dose of my life.

Vegas Baby!-less...

That would be- 'Vegas Baby!"/"Babyless!"
Chris and I just got back from Vegas today. It was kind of an early anniversary getaway slash free vacation for going to a seriously stupid timeshare presentation. The thing was only supposed to be for two hours but we were there for two and a half, but it really felt like seven. Fortunately for us, being trapped there meant we were not in a casino losing our money.

We drove up on Tuesday morning, leaving the babies with Jeehon and Barb, aka angels from the Lord! They did such a great job keeping my kids alive and well over the last three days! I have to admit I felt absolutely horrible about leaving them with the kids overnight, mostly cause Topher had been waking up two to four times in the night, but fortunately he was better for my sister than he normally is for me- can't complain about that!

The weather was so perfect for driving. Windows down, sun roof open, no a.c. running, listening to the soundtracks of R.E.N.T and Les Miserables, or Christmas carols (two of Chris' favorite muscial genres. No he is not gay. But man does he walk the line sometimes...) We checked into our hotel room at the timeshare place- very nice and comfy. And close to the strip too! Then we ventured out into the heart of sin city. We were on a pretty strict budget for everything- food, gas, gambling, so we had to be very careful about everything. Driving the Sonanta was perfect cause we only spent $40 on gas going there and back. Eating however, proved to be a much more expensive beast of burden. Even when we tried to eat cheaply- it was still kinda expensive. We drank lots of free coffee and water at the casinos though!

For me, the name of the game was 'do stuff I can't normally do when I am at home.' So I ate at Chipotle's one night for dinner. Sure we have plenty of Chipotle's here in Arizona, but I never go to them cause that means getting the kids out of the car and ordering and eating, etc. I also wore earrings, which I can't normally do cause Topher is quite the curious little monkey and he LOVES to grab and tug and tug and tug at stuff. Namely earrings. And I also wore high heels, which I refuse to do if there is even a remote possibility that I have to carry another human being which would add to the weight on the balls of my feet. (Which by the way are still sore even now as I am sitting here barefoot at home. Why do we women torture themselves for fashion's sake?) The craziest thing I did without my kids- swimming. I swam for the first time in two years! No kid hanging off of me, no one to watch as a potential drowning victim. It was so dang fun!

Anyway, Chris and I gambled together (won and lost), shopped together, ate together, watched the Suns lose on tv together, did everything together. It was a blast. I am so very fortunate to have such an incredible husband who I absolutely LOVE hanging out with. It was a great anniversary trip- a first on a few different fronts: our first anniversary trip where we went somewhere. And our first anniversary not pregnant! It's our third anniversary, but our first one not pregnant. Isn't that crazy? Sure our anniversary is actually next month on December 19th, but I can assure you that it will still be new-baby-free!

No Pain, No Gain

It's been an interesting time of growth and development in the Mallotson house these days. Topher has been sleeping better for the most part, which is both good and bad for the both of us. Good cause we are getting more uninterrupted sleep. Bad because I think it has been messing up my breastmilk supply. I know that in all God's wisdom he made women so amazing that their bodies just simply understand the economic principles of supply and demand. The more your baby eats, the more milk your body makes; the less your baby eats the less it makes. The only problem is that Topher is still wanting to eat like a champ during the days, but more often than not I feel unable to satiate the little guy.
Anyway, Topher seems to have taken it upon himself to get as much milk as he needs by sucking so hard that he now has blisters on his lips, and my milk-makers are supersore! No pain no gain, right?
Then the other day ago, I was vaccuuming the downstairs, and I had to unplug a lamp to get to a conveniently located outlet. Of course, after I was done, I forgot to replug the lamp. So, Lily being the helpful little girl that she is decided to try to do it herself. FORTUNATELY for all of us, nothing fatal or dramatic happened. But Chris was the first one to get to her and he gave her his stern-est 'NO!', and smacked her hand, AND put her in time out. Tears ensued. For both daughter and daddy. Ok. Chris didn't cry. But he said he felt 'sick to his stomach.' Mostly because he had to hit his precious little girl, but also because he could see a tiny little red mark on her hand from where he had disciplined her. I told him he did a great job, because he did! It was an important lesson that she had to learn.
Chris got Lily some juice, and played and played and played with her upstairs. Jeehon asked me why the prune juice was out on the office desk, and I told her I didn't take it out of the fridge. Then it occured to me that Chris must have given Lily prune juice. Lots and lots of prune juice. You know how you're only supposed to give kids half juice, half water? Well, Chris' mixture is usually more like 80% juice, 20% water. And you know how you are only supposed to put a splash of prune juice in with apple juice and water when your kid is clogged up? Imagine what happens when your not-clogged-up kid has 80% prune juice and 20% water. It ain't pretty. So Lily has had some insane diaper rash for the last two days because her dad felt so terrible about disciplining her. But hopefully, the only thing that will go through Lily's young mind the next time she wants to play with an electric socket is that she will get a smack on the hand, time out, and two days of overactive bowel movements. No pain, no gain, right?

More Pics

Here are a few more pictures from our Halloween Party...


Here is Topher and his Uncle Robert's udder. A very disturbing picture for so many different reasons. It's like my little guy has died and gone to milky heaven...

Here are our wonderful friends, the Dezagos. Erin was 'Fruit' and Dan is still 'Loops'. Check out Erin's blog on the sidebar. She is one gifted photographer!

Cambry's first Halloween! What a cute monster!

Found one! My nephew Gabe as KungFu Panda. He even kept that head piece on for a long time! Very impressed by all the babies this year.

Anti-Climactic Halloween

Remember what I said about bragging and how it gets you nowhere fast? Well, we had our annual small group Halloween Chili Party. It was a great night filled with INCREDIBLE costumes. I thought our family was pretty dang cute, but Jeehon bragged about our secret costumes and so everyone stepped it up a notch or two. We were not even recognized in the group votes! At least Chris got three votes in the individual category. Thinking of what we are going to do next year already...


Mike and Drew as the 'Ambiguously Gay Duo'. They won the 'Group Costume'

The 'gay duo's real life wives- Christin and Cindy as Tina Fey and Sarah Palin. Amazing! My favorite costumes of the night. My favorite moment of the night was when high schoolers came trick or treating and asked if they were stewardesses... Maverick stewardesses maybe...

Lindsay and Robert came as the Kungfu Family. Gabe was Kungfu panda. So cute (I don't have a good pic of him though. I will have to get one and post it later). Lindsay was Kungfu Miss Piggy and Robert was Kungfu Cow.

Lily and Sungu as Dorothy and The Tin Man. This was from the Borders Costume Contest we won.

Our Wizard of Oz family pic. Topher was the Cowardly Lion, Jeehon is the Scarecrow, Chris is Glinda the Good Witch, and I am the Wicked Witch. Jeehon and I proudly made CHris' dress by hand. It looks like crap up-close, but we are proud of all the ghetto hand-made costumes.

Lovin October

I know it's a pagan holiday and all that stuff- but man do i love halloween! We have been having a blast this month doing all this halloweeny stuff. Jeehon and I even went to Borders bookstore with the kids on Saturday for a costume contest and won! It helps that our kids were wearing home-made costumes, and they were a 'set', or a 'package deal' if you will. They got a halloween book and a $5 gift card. Very exciting stuff. Anyway, here are some pics from our adventures this month... but no pics of the kids in their costumes yet because we have a SERIOUS contest on Friday with our Small Group and no one can know what we are going as just yet...


Here we are at Schneps Farm in the Pumpkin Patch. We were all very tired, dirty, and hot by this point in the day. It's amazing that we were even able to get the kids to sit still enough for this shot.

Lily loving the little pumpkins. Just her size!

Sungu and a sheep. Neither of them really know which way to look.

We went to Schnpf Farms with a serious caravan of folks- Lindsay and Gabe, Paige and Morgan and Mary Beth, Barb, Barb's sister Susie and her hubs Glenn, and their daughter Katie, and her hubs Joey, and their daughter Brooklyn, and of course Jeehon, Sungu, Lils and the Toph. A great day!

Topher at Barktober with our lovely friend Lanie and her two dogs. They made it into the top 5 for the costume contest! So cute.

Karaoke Night

I know I complain a whole lot when I am blogging, and I would just like to take a moment and apologize for that. There is a lot to complain about, but there is also so much to be thankful for. I am thankful that our kids just love music. Sungu really really loves music. When we are being stereotypical (which is very very often) we say it is because he is 1/4 african american.
Anyhow, tonight we went to another high school football game to watch Chris' step-brother kick. Though the game was fun, the ride to the game was even funner still. It started off pretty rough- Topher was crying. The car used to be Lily's automatic mouth-shutter. She might be upset about something in the world, but once she was in her car seat and the car was a rolling down the street, all her troubles and fears would disappear. Not so much for Topher. In fact, the opposite seems true more often than not.
So we decided to blast the radio to see if Topher would stop. Bette Midler's "The Rose" was on, so I decided to sing that as loudly as I could to entertain the non-crying kids, and hopefully quiet down the one that was crying. And it worked! So then we decided to make a game out of this singing-along-with-the-radio business: Karaoke Funtimes!
The next song was for Chris and it was John Mayer's "Say What You Need to Say". Easy enough because most of the words to the song are in the title. Only Chris thought it was "say what you mean to say" and sang that for the entirety of the song, and that was pretty hilarious. But it was made all the more ridiculous cause Chris is a very intense singer. When he gets into a song, he puts his hand up close to his face, not so much pretending that he is holding up a mike, but more like he is just trying to caress his own face. He also kinda closes his eyes, which is superdangerous when he is driving.
Then it was Jeehon's turn. Blondie's "Heart of Glass" came on. We've all heard that song a million times before. But not one of us had any idea what any of the words were. I only know the name of the song because we have a little screen that tells us the time, the radio station, the singer and the song that is being sung. Needless to say, Jeehon was the big loser for Karaoke Night, and Chris was the big winner. And I know I complain a lot about our kids not being very smart. But at least they are happy and they live in a house (and drive in a car) that is full of laughs. And very poor singing.

Jinxed

I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus and that He came and died for our sins. I know that things happen for a reason (for His glory) and that superstition and all that is counter-thought to my religious beliefs. HOWEVER, I am superstitous by accident, as I believe lots of people tend to be without realizing it. This 'accident' occurs most frequently during the months of November and April. That's right- the regular season of the NBA. Things only get worse if we (The Suns) make it into the post-season.
Anyhoo, as of late, my superstition has been kicked into full swing because of my kids. About a week or two ago, Lily really seemed to turn the corner with her crying/tantrums. She was a positive angel! I even dropped her off at the nursery at chuch and she did not cry! She always stops crying within about five minutes of my dropping her off, but I always feel so bad for the ladies at church when I drop her off and she just bursts into tears as they tear her off of me. But last week she was a totally different girl. It was amazing. She also went down for her naps with a smile. So glorious. Then I had the audacity to mention it to my sister. I think my exact words were: "I think Lily is growing up. I hope those were her terrible twos and now they are over." Next day- lots of tears, especially before her nap, and even before bed at night. BOO for bragging.
Then last night Chris and I were doing our nightly devotional. It talked about the Proverbs 31 woman and how she does it all, but how she also needs help from her spouse in the midst of child rearing, home cleaning, etc. Chris was asking how he could help out more (good boy!) I told him that things have been so great lately because I have been getting more sleep. Lily had been sleeping for about 12 to 13 hours a night, and Topher was only getting up at about 4 or 5, and still going back down easily till about 8. Not bad at all! And as certain as death and taxes, Topher woke up at 1:30, then 5:30, and would NOT go back to sleep. Which means I did not go back to sleep.
So am I jinxed? Is this all random coincidence? Or should I just stop bragging about my kids and let others brag about them first. I believe there's something about that in the Bible. I better go look it up. And then maybe squeeze in a nap or two...

A Little Introspection

i just had an interesting and depleting evening. here is an e-mail i just sent to one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world. the friend is a lovely lady named Jenn. we met in high school, went to university together, and then our paths took seriously different ways. i went to korea, then got married, and had kids, etc. jenn kept on with the schooling stuff. she was in architecture at the university of toronto (where i went to school with her). then she applied to M.I.T. for her masters in architecture, and GOT IN. she just graduated from there in the spring and is now in beijing working at an architectural firm. hello? amazing. she is vietnamese-canadian, and her parents love her dearly, but are waiting for her to leave beijing and go to harvard for law school. why? because ALL asian parents want their kids to go to harvard for law school. (side note, jenn and i have a beautiful african-canadian friend who also went to high school and university with us. she is presently in law school at harvard. my parents know nothing of this for so many different reasons...)

"as i was logging on to my e-mail, i was thinking about you and how i was going to write you a meaningful e-mail since all the kids are asleep and i haven't written to you in so long, and i just had a pretty poopy night. LITERALLY. jeehon is at bible study and it's chris' late night working night, so i am alone with the three kids every monday night. usually it's not bad at all.
but tonight sucked.
my nephew sungu is slowly saying more and more stuff. not necessarily words, but he is trying to repeat what other people (namely jeehon and i) are saying. lily... not so much. i cannot tell you how much it vexes me that lily is older and not necessarily smarter than sungu. sometimes she is better behaved, but that's cause she is a girl. BUT she is not always better behaved. i need her to either ALWAYS be better behaved and dumber, or just smarter and occassionally well behaved. who the crap am i kidding?? it kills me that she is not better behaved all the time and smarter than sungu! there. it's all out there. jeehon doesn't rub it in my face or anything. but just the fact that she knows that sungu is starting to get more words than lily makes her kinda happy. the way it makes her kinda happy when i am pregnant, cause it means i weigh more than her. it's petty stuff. but the stuff that makes women happy. very happy. me included.
anyhoo, so we were all hanging out, having a gay old time. i put on a korean dvd of kids singing and dancing. lily and sungu LOVE IT. it's so cute cause they often dance about too. topher was also loving watching everything and everyone. he's such a sweet little guy.
the kids were also playing with stacking blocks and rings to promote motor skill development whilst watching this dvd that was supposed to be making them better singers, dancers, and korean speakers.
then i gave them their milk which is a sign that it is almost time for bed. lily and sungu were getting milk all over the dang place which always happens, but today it was killing me. and of course there was more milk spilled than usual. and no one likes milk in the carpet or on the furniture. it makes stuff smell bad. and so i kinda yelled. mostly at lily. partly cause of the milk. but mostly cause she is not smarter and better behaved than sungu. am i a crap mother or what?!!?
so then i cooled down and took lily and sungu upstairs for their bath. that went off without a glitch. i got them out and brought them into sungu's room. i opened the drawer that has diapers in it, and of course there is only one left. so as i was trying to decide who i should put it on first, i look at lily and she is peeing on the carpet. not a whole lot, but still, it's pee. in the carpet. no one likes pee in the carpet. it really smells.
so i decided that lily should get the diaper since it didn't look like she finished peeing. so rational, right? after i got her sealed up, i grabbed some pjs for sungu, opened the door, getting ready to move the party into lily's room where more diapers were to be found. but i stepped in something. it kinda looked like avocado, and it felt like avocado on my foot, but let me tell you honey- it was not avocado. at least, not JUST avocado. so sungu dropped a deuce in his room, and i stepped in it, so now it's REALLY in the carpet. and NO ONE LIKES POO IN THE CARPET.
so now the kids are all asleep. somehow they are also all alive and well. and i just wanted to write to you and say hi and tell you that i missed you too and i cannot tell you how amazing it is that you wrote to me at just the time that i needed to hear from you.
the sucky thing about your timing is that i was going to reply to what you were saying about your family waiting for you to go to law school and i think that is so absurd considering you graduated from MIT. hello??? ridiculous expectations asian parents! but as i was writing/venting about lily, i thought that maybe i am a ridiculous asian parent myself.
boo introspection!..."

Best Vacation Ever!

Sunday night, Chris was talking to his mommy in Oregon on the phone. Tuesday was the day he, his bro Robert, and sister Andi were supposed to fly out to get their mom and bring her HOME to Arizona! But, as Barb was packing, she discovered she had A LOT OF STUFF and had to get another moving truck, and therefore needed two more drivers to come and make the trek. So they enlisted myself and a fine young gentleman names Jesse to join the caravan.

Fortunately, I have the best sister in the world, so she offered to (willingly, not on drugs or anything) watch both Lily and Topher for the next two or three days (however long this journey was going to take.)

We left on Tuesday morning at about 5:30am. We were on two seperate flights, which worked out just fine for me cause I was able to read the Bible and sleep and just be BY MYSELF! It was awesome. Don't get me wrong folks, I missed the poop right outta my kids. As soon as I landed in Oregon, I busted out my phone just so I could look at the pics of my babies in my album. It was nice to get an opportunity to miss the little boogers! Anyhoo, we got into Portland at abour 11am, and proceeded to eat lunch, and say bye to a lot of very sad friends of Barb's. It finally occured to me that moving to Arizona wasn't just a huge blessing for our family, but a sad occassion for everyone she was leaving behind in Oregon. And even a sad occassion for Barb herself. I was once again reminded that my mother-in-law is amazing. (And my step-father-in-law too! We love you Jerry and can't wait for you to be out here with us!)

It was very nice meeting Barb's friends (and my three Blog-reading fans! ok... so two of the three are Barb and Jerry. and I have technically met them before...) and seeing where she worked and just being in Oregon again. Chris and I were last in Oregon four Christmases ago and we had a blast. Until Chris got food poisoning and we almost broke up (again) at the airport. Loooooong story. I'll get back to it some other day. But part of me wanted to come back to Oregon for the amazing weather (read: anything lower than 90 degrees) and to say Hi and Bye to Jerry and to see if my relationship with Chris was stronger now than it was four years ago... just joking. But it is!

Anyhoo, we left Oregon at 8pm on Tuesday night and did not make it back home till 10pm on Wednesday night. The trip was full of driving, bathroom breaks (for us, and the two english bulldogs), junk food, bad coffee, and great fellowship! Sure there were times of excruciating pain (sitting and driving and trying to stay awake on long stretches of boring road is not as fun as it sounds) but there were times of funfunfun. And quite frankly, as the mother of two young babies, this was the best vacation I've had in a long time! I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

A Week In Pictures

Here is a look at our lives this past week. Enjoy!

Sunday- Topher finally gets to meet his hero Zach Branton! Looking good boys.

Monday and Tuesday- Hanging out with the Vogt girls for our first sleepover! We played outside, inside, watched tv, ate, and ate, and ate!

Wednesday- Lily's first haircut!!!!!!!!!!! She did so great. As did her Aunt Christin, who cut her hair.Thursday- Celebration! Lily turned 18 months on the 19th, Sungu turned 15 months on Monday, and Topher turned 6 months on Saturday. Plus Jeehon got this cake on sale, and cheap desserts are always worth celebrating!

Friday- Uncle Josh is the kicker for his high school football team, so we got dressed (some of us identically. Check out Chris getting Topher dressed. So cute!) and went to support the Highland Hawks. This was Topher's first football game! This is Topher and his beautiful Aunt Bre

Saturday- our intense little boy turns 6 months! he is now crawling-ish (using all his upper body strength and one leg) and eating solids and pooping everyday!

Bittersweet

Tuesday night was not the best night. Topher woke up every two hours again. And Lily joined in on the fun at 4:30 am. Awesome. Then the next night God knew that I would surely not make it if I didn't get more sleep, so Topher woke up at 3am, ate, went back to sleep, then woke up at 7:30. Lily didn't wake up until 6:58am, which used to be very early for her (and me), but now I suddenly consider that 'sleeping in'.

Then last night Topher woke up at 3:30am, ate and slept. Then Lily woke up at 3:50am screaming. It'd be one thing if she were just waking up in the early morning crying. I would just let her cry it out and fall back asleep. But this is no I'm-sad-and-kinda-lonly-do-you-want-to-cuddle-with-me crying. This is I'm-seriously-vexed- something- is-terribly-wrong crying. So I got up and picked my poor baby up.

I walked around her room with her. Then we went into the playroom where there's a couch. So we sat on the couch for awhile. We were both in and out of sleep, unfortunately we were both out more than in. Then I changed her diaper and went back into her room. There we laid on the floor and did the on again off again sleeping thing. Lily was all over the place! She would find a position she liked, would fall asleep for a few moments, then wake up, talk and play, move and fall asleep again. I too was trying to find a position that was good for me without waking my little monkey girl up.

In the midst of this sleepy tango, I woke up to find Lily sleeping on my head. If you can imagine this, her body was a tent and my head was the not-so-happy camper inside. But as tiring and ridiculous as it all was, I have to admit it is still making me laugh to remember waking up with Lily's belly on the side of my head. These are the best of times and the most tiring of times...

Birth Control!

I still have to do the dishes and go to bed before Topher wakes up to get fed. But I just wanted to send out another shout out to my parents.

How did you raise five kids???!?!

Our friends from California- Jeff, Sandy, and their kids Ellie, 3, and Ian, 1, were at our house from Wednesday till today. We had a GREAT time. Their kids are so sweet, and speak Korean better than me. (Well, the three year old does. It really sucks)

Anyway, on Wednesday we went to Tempe Marketplace to hang out, just the ten of us. It was man-on-man, one kid per adult. But then Chris had to work everyday since and so we were playing zone defense the rest of the week. But still, four adults should be ok with five kids. It was and it wasn't. Again- how did my parents do it???

We really had a great time, but man am I pooped! Not recommended to have five kids under the age of three in one house for any given time longer than two hours. Check out the pics. Absolutely amazing insanity. Everyday since Wednesday. Good night all.

Bath Time

I just had a pretty rough evening with the kids. I had very little patience left for anything or anyone, and of course both of my babies needed A LOT of attention from me. Simultaneously. And because I have been doing double-time breastfeeding this last week and a bit, I have been ravenously hungry. Patience and hunger are much like oil and water...



I didn't want to give Lily a bath after dinner. My plan was to feed her, give her some milk, change her into her jammies, and send her off to bed then get topher fed and in bed so that I could eat some real food! But of course Lily got most of her dinner in her hair, and meat in hair is never a good thing. So now I had to give her a bath. So I set Topher up in front of the tv so that I could give the Lilster a quick bath and get her to bed. Topher cried the whole time Lily bathed, which made for a short bath, which is unfortunate cause Lily sure loves being in the tub. I almost literally threw her down and ran to get Topher. I imagined that I would find him in some horribly awkward and uncomfortable position which would explain the tears and screams, but alas he was jsut fine. Just needing some lovin.

So I stomped upstairs with baby in arms, ready to pass out from hunger. We walked by Lily's room and I could hear that she was still crying. Nothing I could do about that. I turned on the bath water, undressed the Toph, and put him in front of the mirror. Boy does my boy love seeing himself in the old looking glass. It brings an automatic smile to both our faces. I put him in the tub and proceeded to wash him and my bad feelings away. How can you be mad while washing a cute, chubby baby in the tub? You can't. It's impossible. Then I wrapped him in his towel and admired my baby wrapped up in his towel. How can you resist a baby that smells like Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo, wrapped up in a towel? You can't. It's impossible. And then I put my little Tophy in his pjs and smiled at my son, wondering how I could be mad at such a cute little kid. It is impossible to resist a cute, clean baby in his pjs. I dare you to try.

So now I know why they tell you to have a bedtime routine that includes taking a bath. Sure the kids need to be cleaned up after a hard day of playing and such. But the parents need it more just so they can fall in love with their kids again. Especially before having to go down to the kitchen to clean up the insane mess from the day.

And I would just like to add that I really miss my sister and Sungu, and Chris when he works at night. And I realize that I was alone for one difficult evening, but single parents do this all the time. So my hat goes off to those amazing men and women.

Date Night

I know that it is recommended that couples have a date night once a week, but Chris and I do not have one. We don't even have date nights once a month. I don't remember the last time we had a legitimate date night. Partially cause we moved, partially cause we have so many dang children, partially cause Jeehon lives with us, and partially cause Chris' work schedule has been all over the place. Actually, it's a miracle that we had a date night at all!



It couldn't have happened without the help of the lovely Jennifer and Justin Watson, Chris' brother and sister-in-law. Man, we love them! And fortunately our kids love them too. So we really needed to have as cheap a date night as possible, and how! We had a gift card to eith Chili's, Macaroni Grill, or On the Border. I prepared myself all day for eating at On the Border (or is it Over the Border? ...) because Chris is very fond of Mexican food. As am I, jst not as much as Chris. Interestingly enough, Chris prepared himself all day for eating at Macaroni Grill cause he thought for sure that I would not want Mexican. What a good hubby. Anyway, we went to On/Over/Beyond the Border, cause I wanted to make my husband happy, and cause I amped myself up to eat a chimichanga all day. Win Win.

Then we went to Dunkin Donuts where we both ordered decaf coffees at the drive-thru window. The guy said they had to brew a new pot and asked if we could wait two minutes. Business was real slow for them and there was no one behind us. And we were on a date with no kids in the back seat so all we had was time. And as we waited the guy offered us a free donut, and when my coffee came out, they also gave us a voucher for a free coffee for next time. This was the best part of the date yet!

Then we drove to our neighborhood and drank our coffees at the park near our house. I had been eyeing the monkey bars when I had gone to the park earlier that day with the kids. So I put my coffee down and went over to the 5 seemingly unthreatening bars, that used to be my favorite when I was a kid. I was always a real skinny kid. But pretty strong too. I swam a bunch, and did gymnastics for a bit, and played softball too. I know my body has changed some over the last couple years, but I am at the same weight I was in high school, and I am constantly carrying one child, and maneuvering my double stroller is a full body workout! So I got on the monkey bars and I just hung there. For about five seconds. And I could not move to save my life! Part of me fell off because I wasn't strong enough to hold myself up any longer, and the other part of me fell off cause Chris was laughing so hard, so I couldn't help but laugh too. Chris of course dominated the stupid bars. And then he made me try again. After numerous embarrassing attempts I finally moved two more rungs up. Didn't finish the course though. Oh well. I told you I had issues with finishing what I start. Anyway, that was probably the worst, though funniest part of our date.

We ended the night with 'The Music Man' musical which Chris had borrowed from his friend Jeff (did I tell you this was a cheap date or what?) Of course with the lights off I started to fall asleep much to Chris' chagrin. He really wanted me to fully experience the wonderment that was this musical. So I got up, got some laundry and started folding it. Then Chris sat next to me and helped. Could this date get any better?!?! Yes it could. Chris started falling asleep about fifteen minutes later and so we both called it a night. Oh wonderful, glorious sleep! And that was my awesome date with my awesome husband.

Concerned Neighbor

We got an anonomous letter from 'a concerned neighbor' last week on Friday. It was a newspaper clipping about dogs. The article talked about how there is no such thing as 'outdoor dogs' in Arizona, cause it is too dang hot. It went on about how if your dog barks at firetrucks, birds, or anything that annoys them or gets their attention, it is because they are bored and need to be inside the house with the family.

Interesting. I know lots of people who have their dogs outside during the day. Whether it's because they are at work all day, or just cause their dogs like being outside all day. Meeklo barks because he is alive. He seems to think that it is his duty to bark. We had a bark collar on him for awhile, it emitted this high pitched noise every time he barked loudly. At first it startled him, but then he got used to it and probably thought it was a heart monitor or something telling him that he was still alive and well. He barks when he is outside, he also barked when we had him in the house many moons ago (read: prechild era)

I got the mail and saw the article and saved it for Chris. Big mistake. He actually read the whole darn thing and was saddened cause he agreed with it. To a degree. He really wants the dogs in the house with us. I do not. I don't want another thing/person to clean up after. My sister REALLY doesn't want the dogs in the house because 1. she is slightly afraid of them (what? Mally is pushing 150lbs. What's to be scared of?...) 2. she thinks they are the filthiest beasts in the world and cannot even entertain the notion of living in the same house as them. Especially while she has a child that insists on licking EVERYTHING.

So this article really ruffled quite a few feathers. My mom was afraid we were going to get arrested by the police. Jeehon mentioned in passing that she didn't mind if the dogs moved into the house, cause then she would just move to Toronto. I told Chris that if my sister moved to Toronto because of the dogs I would be ashamed and sad and mad, etc. Chris wants the dogs in the house, but he also wants to meet this concerned neighbor who didn't even have the common decency to come and meet us face to face. Had they come and voiced their opinion, Chris would have 'politely' told them that the main reason our dogs are outside is because Jeehon is living with us because her husband is in Iraq fighting for the freedom of idiots like this new neighbor of ours.

The dogs are getting a lot more loving now in this house than they did when we lived in Gilbert. I hated our backyard in the other house, so I never went outside. They were entirely Chris' responsibility. Now that we live here, Lily loves going outside and so we hang out with the dogs at least once a day, change their water, and spray down the patio to cool it down. Don't they look like happy pups from their pics? Mally just loves giving the kids pony rides.

Anyway, so I mentioned all this to my friend Mary Beth when she came over for coffee and cake on Wednesday (one of my favorite times of the week!) I started off with 'Oh yeah, Chris and I almost got divorced this week...' When I finished telling her all of the above, she calmly asked if I knew who our concerned neighbor was, and I told her I didn't. She then very slowly said 'It was Jeff.' Her husband. It was a joke. Apparently he has a few articles that he was going to mail to us, well, really Chris, and he started off with this one. He probably should have sent the one about weeds first. Anyway, after I processed everything, I realized it was the funniest, and not funniest jokes anyone has ever played on us. Jeff felt really bad about it all when Mary Beth told him what our reaction was. But then we all remembered that we had forgotten Jeff's birthday earlier this month, so now we are all even.

Habits

Some time last week Topher went to bed at 8ish, as usual, and then woke up at midnight, 3am, 5am, and 7am. That night really really sucked. I woke up and fed Topher each time, cause I thought for sure that something must be wrong. He was sounding a bit nasaly and congested, so I figured the best thing for him was breast milk. Right? Right?...



The next night was more of the same. Then the night after when he woke up at midnight squealing like a baby pig, I decided to medicate him. I am NOT fond of medication, for myself, and even less for my babies, so it took me a while to come to this decision. I figured it must be his gums/teeth again so we gave the little man some meds, more breastmilk, and then he was off to Snoozeville. Till 5am. Praise the Lord!



Then the next night we were back to square one. Now I know you are supposed to let the babies learn to soothe themselves. And to get them to sleep through the night you shouldn't touch them a whole bunch and you should never feed them. Blahblahblah. That's fine when you have one baby. But two is a totally different story. A few times already we have had different combos of babies waking other babies up- Sungu woke Lily up once, Lily woke Topher up another time, Topher has woken up Lily, and Jeehon, and Sungu, etc... There are too many people living here right now for me to just let Topher cry it out.

Until now. Jeehon is in Cali with Sungu and my mom left yesterday. So I should be letting Topher learn how to soothe himself by crying and crying and crying. Easier said than done. My number one fear is Lily. If he wakes her up, will she stay awake? That is unacceptable. Whether it's 4am or 7am. I do not like for Lily to wake up a second earlier than she is ready to wake up for numerous reasons. And there's always 'The Tired Policeman' who needs his sleep, and I definitely do not want Topher waking Chris up, especially since he has been working the night shift the last two days.

But here's a question for the ages- why did this horrible 'waking up 20 times a night' thing become a pattern? Topher slept for about eleven hours straight three days in a row a few weeks ago. Why didn't THAT become a pattern?!?

So I guess I am hurting myself now and in the long run by not letting Topher cry his guts out. Whereas if he learns this lesson now, and wakes people up a few times this week, he shouldn't do it ever again. Right? Right???!? Well, it's hard to see 'the long run' at 3am. Or at 5. Or 7 if you had to get up at 3, and 5...

Mama Ham

My mommy is in town. She got in last Saturday. It's been a pretty darn good week! For those who don't know, she lives in Toronto with my dad and three brothers. It is costumary for Korean kids to live at home with their parents till they get married. My bros are 27 and 25. The 25 year olds are twins. Anyway, so she is here till the 11th, which will be a sad day in the Watson/Malloy household.

Before Saturday of last week I hadn't seen my mom since September of 2007, when I went to Toronto with Lily. Craziness. I have to admit, my relationship with my parents is the best when we don't live in the same city/country. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. (Side note, you know when I was younger I thought the saying was 'abstinence makes the heart grow fonder.' I guess that is true too though.) My parents drive me crazy with talk of getting my Ph. D (don't have a Masters yet folks) and I drive them crazy with not getting my Masters. But other than that, we are all good in the hood. There have been numerous times this week that I have wished my parents and I lived in the same zip code though.

My mom is like Santa- kids just love her. Topher has been cracking up at everything she does. When he hears her voice he can't focus on what he's doing, mostly eating. Which is never a good thing for me. Lots of milk has gone squirting in his eyes this week. (Is that too graphic? My apologies.) Lily gets really excited when my mom gets her when she wakes up in the mornings. But no one is more excited than me!

Anyway, my mom has been cooking non-stop and we are all loving it. Topher has pooed four times, my psoriasis (a skin thing. it sucks) has been getting better, and I Chris has been stuffing himself silly with kimchi and whatever meat concoction my mom comes up with. We are excited for the day when my parents are retired and living here in the Valley- because by the time that day comes, Barb and Jerry will already be nice and settled here and we will have six grandparents living in the same time zone. Glorious!

(So the picture is of my mom in her natural habitat- in the kitchen with a child strapped to her back. That's a traditional korean blanket that has two straps that you just tie around your body. Way better than a Snuggli, and way better and cheaper than an Ergo Baby.)

Finished! Or Refinished?

So we finally did it! We finished a project! Chris and I are not good at finishing what we start. Or I am really not good at finishing what I start, and Chris is better at finishing stuff, but not the best. Actually, I think one of my New Year's Resolutions was to start finishing what I started. Over the past year, here are some things that have yet to be done:

-My Masters. I started a master's program online doing Biblical Counseling. I was very glad that I was accepted in the program, but it was not for me. I got through one course. Pathetic.
-Wedding Thank You Cards. Probably finished 20 of em. Had about another 30 or so to go. Maybe more. I don't know. I bought the stamps and the stationary and everything. Maybe I will get arounf to them later. Probably not. (Is that tacky to send out thank you cards three years after you've gotten married?)
-Wedding Album/Scrapbook. You know what? I had a bunch of kids in the last two year. They really don't aid in my affliction of not being able to finish stuff. I shall continue to use them as my scape goat probably for the rest of my life...

Anyhoo, we got this awesome desk on Craig's List for $25. But man was it ugly! Just dinged up and a light oak color. We planned on sanding, then staining it. Chris got the sanding part down two weeks ago. We got around to putting the first coat of stain on it on Tuesday (or whenever I mentioned it last) and it still looked pretty ugly. Then we got a stain plus polyeurethin (oh my gosh. that's not how you spell it. i can't figure it out!) and that was money in the bank! Two coats of that was awesome. So now it's in our library/office/front room, and we couldn't be happier.

Chris and I had a great time working on this together. One valuable lesson we learned while working on the desk was to take the plank out of your eye before removing the spec out of your brother's (or your spouse's) eye. As we were putting on the first coat of the second stain, we looked at the others' work and immediately went to even out the drips and uneven brush strokes. We actually hit our brushes together as went crossed over to fix the others' mistakes, even though our own mistakes were the exact same. How quick we are to judge others!

Anyway, this project would not have been possible without the help of our kids, Amy, and Jeff. Our kids, for napping at the same time as each other. Amy, for her helpful hints and suggestions. And Jeff, for his muscles. This was one heavy piece of furniture. Thanks guys! And now we can actually park one car in our three-car garage. One down, two to go. We'll have to see if we ever get around to cleaning out/organizing the garage...

Ode to GGpa

Today is/was Chris' grandfather's birthday. He turned 78. His name is Robert Thorold Watson, he is a retired accountant, though he still does tax returns. Last year he did a bunch of 'elderly folks' tax returns at his church for free cause he wanted to make sure they got their stimulus checks from the goverenment. That's the kind of guy he is- thoughtful and generous. He has four sons, ten grandkids, two step-grandkids, eight grandkids-in-law, and eleven great-grandkids who know him as GGpa. And he loves each and every one of the 33 aforementioned people and dotes on them whenever he gets the chance. But the 34th person he dotes on the most is his lovely wife Jaye, and they make the most wonderfullest couple that ever did live on this side of real life 'Once Upon A Time'. Chris and I were fortunate enough to do our premarital counseling with them which was awesome cause they have been happily married for... a really long time. (Yes, we even talked about ... gulp, sex. But it was biblically based, which took the weirdness factor away. For the most part.) I wanna say they have been married for over fifty years, but I will write a correction to that later if I am wrong.

When Chris and I were dating and we were still in the ever fun and exciting 'getting to know you' stage, I asked him which man in his life he looked up to the most. After some serious deliberation, he said 'my grandpa'. And after finally meeting his grandfather, and then getting to know him, and now getting to be his neighbor (seven minutes away! I love our new house!) I can see why he answered that question the way he did. Thanks for being an awesome man of God, an amazing patriarch for the gigantic Watson clan, and just a great guy to be around. We love you grandpa, and if my kids could speak, they would tell you that they love you GGpa!

Kids Do the Darndest Things

I wrote in my last post that we have been busy and crazy, but that we have also been laughing, but then I didn't have time to expand on that. So here are a couple things that have made us chuckle in the midst of insanity:

-I really can't remember what Jeehon and I were doing, but we left the big kids unattended for a few moments in the living room. Maybe we were breaking down boxes in the garage. I don't know. But there's no need to call CPS folks, at least one of us was always in the house! So I was walking towards the living room and all I could hear was crinkling and crackling. I peeked in and saw Sungu with a box of cookies. He had one of his chubby paws in there but could not get a cookie out to save his life! It was one of those packages where the cookies come in a plastic tray with 4 sleeves of five cookies. Jeehon and I had 'fortunately' eaten all the cookies in the first two sleeves which is why Sungu was having such a hard time getting one out! Lily was behind Sungu looking over his shoulder, egging him on. She had such hope and expectation in her eyes. Poor thing. When I busted the pair, they stopped only for a moment to look at who had caught them, and then they went right back to trying to get their prize until I snatched the cookies and put them in the pantry where they belong.

-Lily's new 'thing to do' is she puts on some shoes (usually not hers), picks up anything resembling a purse, (a bucket serves the same purpose because it has a handle) then she saunters over to the door and waves and says 'bye'. So cute. The other day as she was 'coming home' I handed Jun-Lee over to her and told her that her baby missed her while she was gone. Lily hugged her baby and then dropped her on the floor. (She did NOT learn that from me!) She then lifted up her dress to her chin, picked her baby back up, and started 'breast feeding'.

I do not know why I don't have a video camera running at all times in this house! Wish you coulda been here to see even just one of these episodes.

M.I.A

we have not had any internet access for a week. again. man, this whole 'getting settled' thing is taking far too long for my liking! earlier this week we had a leaky shower head and toilet (both in the master bathroom. i don't know what chris does when he is in the bathroom...) we've finally got baby gates up on our stairs (as opposed to a bunch of boxes). i am 95% done hanging up my clothes in the closet. the rule of 'if you haven't worn it in a year then throw it out' does not apply to me- having been pregnant for two years straight. so i actually had a lot of fun looking at clothes i haven't worn since 2006. we went on a temporary spending freeze cause we were buying so much random stuff for the house- like baby gates and clothes hangers. that lasted about 24 hours. but we are definitely slowing down on the amount of stuff that we 'need' for the new house now. chris and i are in the midst of trying to stain a ginormous desk. we have one coat of stain on. you're supposed to wait 4-6 hours to put on the second coat. well, it's been about 26 hours now. obviously the makers of the stain we are using do not have one infant and two toddlers! but hopefully that project will be done soon and hopefully it will look good. fingers crossed. my mom is coming into town on saturday and i cannot wait! i haven't seen her since september of last year i think. almost a whole year! one of the kids are awake so i gotta go. just wanted to check in and let you know that we are all alive and well! actually, lily, sungu and jeehon all caught colds. topher and lily have teeth coming in. so there's been lots of cranky crying. BUT there has also been lots of laughs. so yeah, we are doing well.

Neverending To-Do Lists

My mother is the most incredible woman alive. I have no idea how she and all her five children are alive. I think if I had been in her shoes back in the day, I woulda killed someone, or 'accidentally' left a kid or three at a far-off McDonalds or something. She moved from Seoul to Edmonton with three kids under the age of 4. Then she moved from Edmonton to Toronto with five kids under the age of 7. And while in Toronto we moved from Scarborough, to St. Clair and Christie, to another apartment a block away from the first apartment, then to East York, and finally back to Scarborough which is where my parents live now. How did she do it??!?!? Here I am, with two kids, my hubby (my dad was around too, and also bore quite the heavy burden!), and my sister and her son. And I have already sworn off ever moving ever again. There are still boxes here and there. Most unpacked, lots only half unpacked. We are still looking for some key items that I am sure we will find in a year or two. We go to Walmart almost every day cause we keep finding out we NEED just one more thing. Yesterday it was another pack of hangers (I have probably bought seven 10-packs already...) Today it was floor lamps since most of the rooms do not have lights in them.

But seriously- how did my parents do this? There is so little time in the day for everything that needs to get done! Both of my parents worked all the time. Fortunately my mom had a store tht we lived on top of. So we saw her lots. And fortauntely she had Asian kids, so working and helping out the 'family business' from an early age was to be expected :) Jeehon started working the cash register when she was in third grade I think. She was always such a smart little geek. But with all the times we moved- I don't have any memories of packing boxes. Which means my parents did it all when we were asleep (read: when they were supposed to be asleep too.)

I think I will call them to tell them I love them and think they are amazing. Dang it. It's past midnight in Toronto already. Just as well. I have dishes to do, dinner to eat (the kids just went to bed. Jeehon's at Bible Study and Chris is still at work), toys to pick up, lamps to assemble, clothes to hang (I found my old jeans that I have been looking for over the last two months!) and I have some boxes I should unpack. But first thing on my To-Do list tomorrow- call my parents. (And after that maybe I will go to Dunkin Donuts for a free coffee. Has anyone else been enjoying their week of free coffees or is it just me and Jeehon?)