The Bean Bin.

What to do with a bored two year old on a lazy afternoon?

Give her some beans and a bucket!

And maybe even some measuring cups!

And let her go to town!


It might get a little messy...

which is why this giant bin came in handy. :0)
Everybody fit quite nicely in there!

Bag of dry pinto beans=built in babysitter!

Happy Birthday Shiloh!

After finally realizing what the date was on this incredibly crazy, busy day, I remembered our sweet and fiesty little Shiloh turned one today!

She's gone from this:





To this:


She's crazy, hyper, in your face and jumpy, but she is the sweetest, most lovable little bagle (half beagle, half basset!) we know!

And yes, to those non-dog lovers...I really did just type an entire post to celebrate a dog's birthday. :0)

Some big news. No pun intended.

Well, I think it's big anyway.

You may not! Maybe it's just news!

You might remember me mentioning in a previous post that my dad and I started our New Year's diet two weeks ago and we have a bet going to see who can lose the largest percentage of weight by the end of June.

After two weeks, I am proud to say I am down 10 pounds! (and several inches)

I have a lot more to go, but truth be told, we are eating better now then we did before the diet! As in, better tasting and more of a variety and quality of food!

We drink two protein shakes a day, plus two protein bars as snacks and then eat super healthy, low carb, low fat for dinner. My dad is down 16 pounds!

We are using the same program that everyone in my family has probably used at least once, if not more! And it's also the program that everyone used to slim down for my wedding, where mostly everyone in my family was at their healthiest weight! (Well, except for me anyway, I was waaaaay too thin at my wedding! I had a size 4 dress that had to be altered! I'm not bragging, I'm just wishing I had that problem instead of my current one!)

Without getting too personal, because this is a bit of a touchy subject for me, my weight is something that I am super self conscious about. And have been for the past several years since having my son. Before that, I never had a weight issue. Ever. So this is all very new to me and I am still learning how to adjust. I know that I will never be the size 2 I was, but I actually don't really want to be. I know that sounds dumb, but now being both extremes in my life (too skinny and too heavy) I realize there is such a thing as too thin, and well, I was.

I must say that I don't really have a number in mind of where I would like to be or how much weight I want to actually lose. I throw numbers around sometimes, thinking it would be nice to be such and such, but really, I just want to be healthy, and feel good about myself. If I never fit into my wedding dress again, that's okay. (I don't need to, I'm already married!)

And maybe one of these days I'll start posting more pictures of myself on this blog!

So, there you have it. Some big news. Big to me anyway!

I'm still brainstorming on what the bet will be when I win in June! Any thoughts?!?!?

The Ever Popular DS.

Braedan got a N*intendo DS for Christmas and I tell you, this thing is pretty darn popular around our house!

Yes, I have been known on occassion to be playing it all by myself while the kids are napping or asleep, and yes, there was one night, that in all fairness, I couldn't sleep anyway, so I played DS till 4am.

And yes, I just admitted that!

Every time it gets turned on, Zoey is so interested, but she's the one person in the house we won't allow to play with it!

(This girl can break anything, even when you think it's unbreakable, so we've learned our lesson!)

She was particularly interested the other night when Braedan was playing and I just had to pull out my camera and capture her arm around her brother, watching ever so closely!

Big brother was not thrilled and according to him, she not only caused him to 'die' several times, she also licked his ear!

Yes, I believe it!





Let's just say he finally got fed up with it!!

A Couple of Koreans.

Right after Christmas, we got to see our friends, James and Mary and their adorable son, (my future son-in-law if I have it my way!) Henry.

We also had the chance to meet another member of our adoption forum, Ashley and her super duper cutie, Evan!

SO glad they put us in the back party room at our favorite Korean restaurant so the kids could be free and just play! Three active toddlers makes for some fun times!

But Ashley is a genius and happened to have a lollipop for everyone, which made snapping pics of them a little bit easier!!





I absolutely adore these kiddos and their parents and am so happy that we have the opportunity to make connections like this, hopefully for life!

And can I just say that I can barely contain my excitement that Henry is getting a sister?!?!?! I am already planning the double wedding between Henry and Zoey and Braedan and Baby Girl! (she hasn't been named yet, but I've offered to allow them to call her Mrs. Braedan _____ for now!)

I've seen pictures and wowsa! She is one beautiful baby and I hope they have her home from South Korea very, very soon!!

New Bike.

Braedan got a new bike for Christmas and I never posted any pics of how awesome he can ride it!

Transformers all the way at our house and bikes are no exception!

He'll have those training wheels off in no time!




And anything brother does, Zoey does too!
(with her eyes closed! it was the only shot I had of her!)

Yes, my birthday was last week...

but the celebration continued this week too!

And look at this fabulous cake my niece 'Bird' (no, that's not her actual name, just her nickname!) made with her brand new Cricut Cake Maker she got for Christmas!

Our dream is to open a bakery some day together. :0) I adore this girl!

And an FYI...you can never go wrong with a red velvet cake and homemade cream cheese frosting!

Asian Stereotypes.

This clip just says it all. :0)

Wordless Wednesday {It's cold outside!}

Last year in my 20's! 1-11-11

Happy birthday to me!

I can hardly believe I'm 29 today.

I'm not one who really cares about age (well, we'll see about that next year when I'm 30!) so it's not a huge deal, but definitely feels weird to be 29!

I am also not one of those people who set goals to be such and such by the time I'm 29, etc...but there are definitely things I would love to accomplish in the next year! Hopefully I'll be able to share some of those things with you along the way!

And how adorable are these gift boxes my presents came in?!?!
(Gift certificates from my hubby and kids for a pedicure and facial, my favorites!)

My brother-in-law shares a birthday with me, so we usually get several parties throughout the week!

He's 17 today, by the way! Happy birthday D!

So...a little off topic.

WARNING: Movie spoilers and a long, sappy, dramatic post ahead!

Tangled. Have you seen it?

We took the kids last weekend and I must say, it did not disappoint!

But I must also admit that I broke down crying during the movie.

Several times.

And those thoughts brought me to today.

First, let me start by saying, that I don't get sad every time I think about my birthmother...or Zoey's.

In fact, most of the time, when I think about them, it's related to something happy.

And even if I become sad, depending on the situation, I am still very confident that the decision would be the same every time because Zoey and I are right where we're meant to be.

In the movie, the princess (Rapunzel) is kidnapped by the wicked old witch.

So, every year, on Rapunzel's birthday, the king and queen release thousands and thousands of paper lanterns into the sky to honor and remember her.

They are, of course, reunited after 18 years (it is a Disney movie after all!) so finally, the king and queen are at peace once getting her back.

Rapunzel sees the paper lanterns each and every year on her birthday, and wonders if they are somehow related to her birth, so she escapes from the tower to get a closer look.

As she sits in the boat outside the castle and watchs as the thousands and thousands of lanterns float into the sky, tears started streaming down my face. (though I tried really hard not to!)

No matter what the circumstance, no matter your place in life, do you ever really forget losing a child?

I have a hard time believing that you do.

In this case, I am referring to 'losing a child' as 'giving up a child for adoption'.

I can't imagine that you could carry someone in your womb, who has your DNA, who gave you morning sickness and heartburn and kicked you while you were trying to sleep, and then forget them.

Sure, I think you could move on with your life.

Sure, I think everyone would handle it differently, especially given all the possible scenarios.

Sure, I think the pain of it would lessen over time.

But, I just don't believe that you ever forget.

When I watched the reunion between Rapunzel and her parents, it of course, turned me into another blubbering mess!

My thoughts turned to all those birthparents and adopted children out there wondering if they will ever have that chance in this lifetime. (for those that want that opportunity, of course)

And as young as I still feel at 29, with a life very fulfilled, for at least one person, hopefully still on this earth, 29 years must feel like a lifetime without their child.

And that is something very hard for me not to think about on my birthday today.

In my imagination (and because, frankly, I couldn't pull it off in real life!)
I released thousands and thousands of paper lanterns into the night sky.

Hoping that that person across the world might see them and know that I am honoring and remembering them today.

My birthday wish this year is for that person to know that I am thinking of her today,

and I will never, ever forget.

I lost five pounds and went on a date.

I didn't know what else to title this post. :0)

So to explain...

I lost five pounds this week...of hair.

For the third time, I cut off my hair and donated it to Locks of Love.

I was long overdue for a haircut and it ended up much shorter than I had hoped, but its for a good cause and it's just hair, right?

It'll grow back.

The recipient of my hair is in far more need of it than I, so I would cut more if they asked.

13" to be exact, and I swear to you, it feels like it weighs five pounds!

I have no idea how I've been carrying that around for so long! So much easier to manage and wash, that's for sure!

And in all seriousness, it would have been nice to lose an actual five pounds.

And hopefully, I will.

My dad and I are starting our diet tomorrow and have a bet going for the most percentage of weight lost, winner to be determined in June.

So stay tuned! No, I will not be posting 'before' pictures of myself! Maybe after! See me in June. :0)

And on to the date...

this past Tuesday my husband and I celebrated eight years of marriage!

We didn't do anything on the actual date,
but did get out together this past Friday.

Sad, but true, this was our first date in at least two years, if not longer.
No joke!

We enjoyed dinner and conversation with no interruptions
and a nice adult movie
(as in one that is not animated, not the other one! Eeewww!).

And a double date with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie isn't too shabby!
(we saw The Tourist)

This is us eight years ago on our honeymoon in Cancun.

This is what I'm hoping my 'after' picture will look more like!

If anything, it's proof that I once looked like this. :0)

And just because, here's my little munchkin rockin' her sumo wrestler hair!

The Autobots.

Every time I see a minivan with the little stick people decals on the back windshield representing each member of their family, sometimes including their dog, cat, bird and fish (yes, I have seen this!), I say to myself...

"Self, that is so not something I would do!"

(That is, drive a minivan or put stick people decals on my back windshield!)

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people who drive minivans!

And frankly, if people wanna represent their family members by putting a stick person decal on the their back windshield, power to them!

I guess it gives bored drivers like me something to look at when we're stopped behind them at a red light!

But now, I must keep my mouth shut.

No, I didn't buy a minivan.

No, I didn't paste stick people on the back of my SUV.

But, I did put Autobot faces.

As in, Transformers (the good ones, of course!).

And this might be worse than driving a minivan or pasting the stick people!

Yes, my family of four is now represented on the back of my SUV with Autobot heads.

And yes, they did have dog Autobots I could have purchased too.

But that's where I draw the line!

We are big Transformer fans at our house, in fact, I am seriously contemplating selling them after Braedan graduates from high school to pay for his college!

That's how many we have!

(And for the record, my husband and I only play with them some of the time.):0)

And so, now, I guess we are the Autobots.

But don't expect us all to be in full costume when you look inside our car as we're driving down the street next to you....

or at least not every time, anyway. :0)