Easter

I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock beeep beeeeeping at around 8:15. Time to rise and shine! Don't know quite what I was thinking. Church started at 9:30 and I somehow thought that gave me enough time? Ordinarily, it would have. 

But you see, I was very distracted this morning.

As every boy woke up, I rushed in to the kitchen to see their little face light up as they saw their Easter basket.

These tumblers? Big hit. Go get some at Target. They are the playtex insulated tumblers. 

Of course the McQueen pj's were the hit of all hits. The boys were THRILLED beyond belief. 

I predicted that Ollie would be most interested in his wooden ball and the green Easter grass.

I was right.

Finn kept asking a million questions about where everything came from. When I half-seriously told him the Easter bunny brought it he instantly said, "No, the Easter bunny just wears a costume". He does not believe any of that, so if your kid still believes in Santa or the Bunny, steer them clear of Finn. He will just burst their bubble. 

He then wanted to know if mommy or daddy bought it. I said, daddy made the money and mommy went shopping.

"How did you know what we would like?", Finn inquired. "Do you just know what to buy us because you pay attention to us and know what we like?" and "you must love us because you bought us McQueen pj's".

Not sure how to respond to all that. I want him to know I would love him just the same even if I had no money and could not buy him anything. Maybe I'll save that speech for a rainy day.

We then scurried off to church and enjoyed a wonderful service.

We were a smidge late and so the building was jam-packed. The second I entered, a nice young man in the back instantly jumped out of his seat and offered it to me. I knew then, at was at that point of the pregnancy. Where you look like a ticking time bomb. 

I thanked him, and told him I was fine. Another guy carried my seat (John was still dropping off boys) so I could sit by Lorie. Tick-tock, tick-tock. I must have looked huge. It made me a little distracted and every now and then I would nervously look at all the people I would have to pass if my water unexpectedly broke during the service.

When we got home, I snapped some shots of the boys in their Easter clothes.

smiling one minute

crying the next.

peephole Gege

Ollie was giddy with excitement for reasons unknown to the the rest of us.

The first shot I've ever taken where all 3 boys look happy.

We then spent the loveliest day ever at John's parents house. Brothers Mark and Pete + their families spent the day with us. 9 kids.

Stuffing our faces.

Doing the whole egg hunt.

Stuffing our faces.

Resting and talking.

It was perfect.

Is it normal...

...to be this ridiculously excited while preparing the boys' Easter baskets?

I am having so much fun playing with the boys' Easter loot. Let me show you what they will wake up to tomorrow!

Calvin and Finn have similar baskets.

The main attraction?

McQueen pj's. They are going to be so excited, I can hardly stand it. Just today Finn was talking about some kid at church who had a McQueen shirt. 

"Did you ask this boy his name?", John asked.

"No", Finn said. 

Of course not. Finn rarely initiates an actual conversation with a stranger.

And here is little Oollie Boollie's basket.

I finally get to give him the little bowling ball set I bought him last month.

They all get these insulated thermos-tumblers. Summer's quickly approaching!  I was super stoked to find them all in a different color.
Trying out my new tilt-shift lens...haha.

Mmmmmmm. Sixlets. Remember those? 

I found these cute McQueen candy cases at Kmart, of all places, today.

Well, that was fun.

Happy Easter everyone!

look who's learning to ride!

Our very own residential GeGe is learning to ride his twerp-mobile!


With a little help from daddy to start...

and a little bit of this

and a little bit of McQueen-style-show-boating(tongue out is a strict requirement)

but mostly just a whole LOT of this.

Our whole pit crew is out to support him.(Ollie still in his pj's)

"i am my kid's mom"

And that is how she opens her famous radio talk show every single time.

photo taken by Loriloo when I was just 17 weeks along. And to think... I thought I was huge then.

When John told me he heard Dr. Dobson interview Dr. Laura on Focus On The Family yesterday, I knew instantly that it was going to be riveting.

Though I rarely listen to her show anymore, I have always been amused and somewhat fascinated by her blunt, sometimes brutal, advice.

So last night, when John replayed the interview for me via podcast, I was all ears. I seriously hung onto every single word. And when John was being a bit too noisy in the background, I made him rewind on 2 separate occasions, because I missed the all important words "and" or "the".

Dobson kicked off the interview by commenting on how Dr. Laura did not even want kids until she was 35 years old. She had believed the feminist movement that had deemed husbands and kids as "barriers". So she got a PhD in physiology and other degrees from USC. 

But she felt "empty".

At this point of the interview she is close to tears as she reminisces on how "she almost missed it". 

Almost missed having a child. All in the name of feminism.

This was a very uncharacteristic side, that is rarely seen on her show. Her brazen and bold mannerisms practically define her. Yet here she is, on Focus on the Family, all choked up talking about the pride and joy of her life, her son Derrick.

And near the latter part of the interview, she comments on how frequently she is asked by students and understudies, "Why do you always open your show with 'I am my kid's mom' when you have so many more prestigious degrees?"

And her simple reply, "because it's the most important job I've ever done in my life". And there she is crying again.

Causing Dr. Dobson to confess that he cried for 3 days when his youngest went to college. It was truly one of the sweetest interviews I have ever heard.

I may not agree with everything Dr. Laura says, but I agree 100% that being a mom is the most important job I've ever had as well.

Even though tonight was HARD. And I was juggling just to survive.

Lorie named this shot "juggling".

John was in bed with a migraine.

I was deliriously exhausted from napping too long.

The boys were simultaneously wild and cranky.

Nobody liked my supper, except Ollie.

There was crying and fussing and ridiculous demands.

At one point I thought I was going to pull my hair out.

Not to mention all the braxton-hicks and tightening.

And there is no job I'd rather have.

John took this photo of us Sunday night. We all look atrocious, but I was so stinkin' happy with all of my boys sitting with me that I just had to document.

i could stay here all day

I know, I know. Been a bit poky over here.

Poky indeed. 

But you would be poky too, if you had a whole new room to play in all day long. Between my outdoor deck and my new front living room, I could wile my days away forever. All the lounging and embroidering makes me giddy with joy.

So here is my new favorite hang-out folks. 

Almost everything I bought for this new room came from the proceeds of my garage sale, where I sold practically everything in this front room. And though I love this room, I must say, it was a difficult project. 

When your husband's topic of conversation at the dinner table is "so, let's count all the mistakes you made while decorating that room", you know the toll is high. You already heard about all my painting catastrophes...

Problem #1) wrong grey paint on walls

Problem #2) wrong orange paint/brushes for tree branch

Problem #3)big orange paint spill

Backing up a bit though, this whole living room started with the blue couch. When I saw it on Craig's list for just $150, my little heart skipped a beat. I could scarcely sleep that night...not knowing whether or not it already sold. Then I went to church the next morning, and got pounded by a sermon on materialism. So, I eased up a bit on my obsessing... Still, I called when I got home, of course.

"I need that couch", I blurted out instantly on the phone to a girl named Amanda (John in background, rolling eyes at me for not playing it cool at all). I see no point in playing silly mind games.

"Another lady is interested and I need to honor her first...", said Amanda.

Such integrity. I was bummed.

However, the next day Amanda told me that the other lady backed out and it was all mine! It was spotless and in absolute pristine condition. Yip!

I couldn't wait to start sewing pillows.

Problem #4) I made this orange throw from scraps of fabric laying around. I backed it with some grey fabric. The project was a bear. I was pulling my hair out. The orange/rust fabric was so stretchy, it stretched right off the other fabric. Fortunately, I was patient and eventually it all worked out. 

Problem#5) I ordered the green curtains from urban outfitters. I initially ordered 63" panels. When they got here, I was bummed at how short they were. The 84" panels were allegedly back-ordered til June. However, with a few phone calls to customer service, they found some more 84" curtains and shipped them off to me.

Problem #6) This orange wing-back chair was also a Craig's list purchase. Only $20. Unfortunately, a kind stranger offered to load it into my car and dropped it. And snapped one of the chair legs:( Thankfully, John was able to fix it. 

Problem #7) I made a little "branch" pillow for this chair. Methinks it's ugly. I can say that, since I made it. I think I will make another pillow that is cuter one day.

I already had this black hutch. It contains all of my fabrics.

Some new knobs were in order.

And here is my sewing box and new orange tray for my thread.


I think my FAVORITE PURCHASE OF ALL was this vintage metal desk. I'm not gonna lie, it was the most pricey thing on my list of purchases. It was well over $200 from an antique store, but WORTH EVERY PENNY.

It is in constant use. Between me and the boys, we pretty much live at this work station. We fight over it all day long. They color at it constantly. And leave their crayons and papers everywhere. We are still working out the rules. 

The minute we brought the desk into the house, Finn scampered off and brought his paper trays, trash can and chair to the desk and set up camp. He kept saying to me "I can't stop talking about this desk!"

The inside of the desk contains ALL of my scrapping papers and supplies. And my camera bag with all of my camera paraphernalia. It's pretty much awesome. I can sit at my desk and make an entire card without moving an inch. In my former days, my stuff was scattered everywhere and I was always on the floor. Ollie would grab everything. It was terrible. 

The top of my desk has my sewing machine on it. Although this makes things a bit unsightly, it MUST stay there. It is just too convenient. In my former days, John used to cart my machine back and forth to the kitchen table for me. 

Now, I sew almost every day, because my machine is so accessible. I even hemmed my favorite pj pants that were dragging on the floor and tripping me for the past year. 

And what's a desk without some fun stuff?

Problem #8) I had problems recovering my piano bench. After slaving away for over 3 hours, I realized I made the top part WAY TOO small. Arg. I wanted to cry. The green velvet fabric was so thick and unruly. 

So, the next day, John and I stapled some green velvet to the bench in 5 minutes flat. That is my kind of project. I think it shall suffice for now. 

These were the window frames I told you about a while ago. Enters problem #9). The glass from Finn's frame cracked last night while John was screwing in the metal sawtooth hanger. Lowe's saved the day. They custom-cut the piece of replacement glass for just $6.

So, in the end, all's well that ends well. Before remodeling, we rarely used this room. But now we live in it.

However, you can understand if I am a tad burnt out on decorating for now!

pans out?

"I'll let you know if this whole project pans out".

Famous last words. I believe that is where we left off from my previous post.

Well, you could say it panned out, alright. Right out of the pan and onto my living room carpet.

When the paint container jumped out of my hands and fell face down, I screamed so loud, John thought my water broke. 

Happy Anniversary honey!(We went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary that night).

For better or for worse, right?

John's exact words were, "It doesn't surprise me that this happened". 

???? On hindsight, I wonder what he meant by that. 

He was actually very gracious and understanding about my little spill. 

I cannot say the same for Finn.

"Mommy, you need to be more careful", he said.

And pointing at the seams on my shorts, "Mommy your shorts are inside-out".

No mercy, I tell you! Thank you, my first-born.

Where was my drop cloth, you wonder? In the garage. I have learned my lesson. I used it for the remainder of the project. But I am partially blaming gravity for this accident. If it weren't for gravity, my paint container would still be levitating somewhere. Any pregnant person can hopefully attest to that one.

And aside from the paint, I really did enjoy my painting project. If that makes any sense. 

And even though my project killed a patch of my carpet, the couch will cover it up.

My husband and kids may not agree with me, but I think the project was worth it. 

It is late and dark and my living room furniture is completely out of place. John is fast asleep and I dare not move furniture on my own. I will hopefully get the room in order soon so I can show you some pictures. Sorry that I don't have a photo for you tonight. 

Do you still want to hire me *CPA* Su? Ha.

foiled again

Paint hates me. 

I don't know why I thought it would be different this time.

I thought it would be feasible for me to paint a branch on my living room wall(my front room). I really did. I somehow convinced myself that it would be easy enough.

And at first things seemed to go ok.

I found an image of a branch and printed it onto a transparency sheet. I borrowed a projector.

Here is the image projected onto the wall, above my couch.

And here I am, tracing the branch with my favorite mechanical pencil. I was so happy and optimistic.

And then comes the paint.

I bought some paint brushes and acrylic paint at Michaels. I thought I was going to outsmart the paint. I was just going to buy a tube of paint, that was the perfect color and be done with it.

I bought some burnt sienna.

And a lighter shade of sienna. Just in case.

Right there I should have had my brain checked. Mixing paints=nightmare.

But the first nightmare was the cheapo brushes I bought. They mercilessly dragged the paint across the walls in clumps and lines.

DON'T SKIMP ON BRUSHES. I knew this. So I am not sure why I bought them. Thankfully, I was able to return them tonight and buy better brushes.

Back at the home front, I mixed the two acrylic paints. 

Bad news. Wrong color. Too brown. And still too gloppy.

Doesn't that look just ghastly?????

I went to the garage and found some regular orange wall paint.

The color was still off. It didn't have enough red. Looks too desert-like and makes me thirsty.

But the good news? It went on smoothly.

Unfortunately Home Depot is closed for the night. I really wanted to cry. I have to wait till tomorrow to buy the proper color. I will just color match to something I already have that I think is the right color. 

We shall see if this project ends in disaster or success. The suspense is killing me. Sometimes doing things yourself is NOT better. 

So here I am, blogging instead of painting. I'll let you know if this whole project pans out.