Constant Beginnings

My poor blog has become such a mish mash of randomness. I suppose it echoes life in many ways. We are pretty random. ;) The flu came and left 4 days later. Yes, FOUR, bloody days, later. Ugh. Claire did end up getting sick--on Monday night no less. I had somehow protected the duvet on my bed through all of Mya's frequent "bursts," but Claire saw to it that every blanket, sheet, piece of fabric, had been tainted! She was pretty much normal by mid morning Tuesday, so the disinfecting began. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. I went to my monthly book club date Thursday evening. I had a great time visiting with the crew. I am not much for contributing/large group socialization, but I enjoy listening to other points on the book. We read "Homeless Bird." The book is about a 12 year old girl who undergoes an arranged marriage, telling about her trials/tribulations with her new life. I thought it was quite good. It certainly made me appreciate my life/cultu...

Meet my cleaning ladies... I mentioned earlier that I cancelled our cleaning lady, Ms. Irene, this week. Well, look who showed up in my living room. Ha! The two cutest cleaning ladies I've ever laid eyes on ;) They love to play together and I can't help but smile when Claire says, "Mya let's play Miss Irene." So sweet.  Claire is a funny kiddo. Daily we go through the routine of telling her, "You don't have to take a nap/go to sleep. Just lay quietly." Within ten minutes, she's fast asleep. The same is true at school. The kiddo needs a nap given the early mornings that we share, so skipping naps is not an option at this point. However, I also do not want the battles. Therefore, we trick her into sleeping. That being said, no trickery was necessary for these pictures. We got up, Claire picked out her little morning snack (yes, I know...not a healthy choice), I jumped in the shower, and ten minutes later, we have this: There is nothi...

there is nothing like some hometown reading courtesy of my Mom! Claire after she mastered one puzzle from Grammy and Papa. My poor baby. Love the snuggling, though. Our little naked babies. They looked like this most of the day and today wore their jammies all day. Claire was quite confused ;) Wow. Ever have one of those weeks where you can only say, "thank goodness this week is OVER?"!! This has been one of those for us. It has been crazy! The base conducted another exercise, which means long hours for Chris, consisting of early mornings, late evenings and few hours of family time. I really hate these weeks. Chris is not able to do anything other than work, which leaves the errands to me. The service engine light came on in my car, which also means that I get to add car mechanic to my to do list! Ha. (I pulled out the manual and completed two of the suggestions--hasn't returned. Keeping my fingers crossed.) The health plan has slipped a...

I love creativity. I admire those who have the natural ability to create and inspire those of us who, well, don't necessarily have it. I love holidays and reasons to do something a bit out of the ordinary. After scouring the internet, I've found tons and tons of fantastic ideas to make Valentine's Day a bit more special. We started out by making our own Valentines for Claire's class and the girls' teachers at school. They are super cute and quite easy too. Chris was the cutting guy. He perfected the technique of the slits, which my patience wouldn't allow.  Next up was a treasure hunt, which was a huge hit. I again, cannot take credit. Found this little gem online. It was perfect for our girls. Claire is already asking to do another one ;) The very first clue. Chris reading the starting clue to begin the treasure hunt. Claire finding the first clue. Mya double checking the clues. There's the loot! Love th...

 After numerous boring posts, I'll leave you with a snapshot of my lovelies. They are little delights. Mya is still into the potty and sitting for long amounts of time, and Claire is not patient, so she jumps on as well. You wouldn't know by this picture, but we do have 3 toilets in our house....

We officially made it ONE month on this little health adventure of ours. Phew! It has had challenges, but we've made it! I haven't had any sugar for an entire month, no bread either!! Those are two huge milestones by themselves. Amazing feat if I do say so myself. We will be sticking to this little plan, but just wanted to take a minute to bask in the deliciousness of a small success. I haven't lost anymore weight as far as the scale is concerned. Sticking at a flat 8 pounds. However, some large changes have taken place in terms of my body. I measured on day one and yesterday. I have lost 3 inches around my waist, 2 inches around each thigh. I even wore a size smaller pants to work this week and they looked great! I am working out at least 4 times per week and sticking to the diet with small moments of cheating (2 meals with rice this month). I am so pleased with our successes thus far and even more pleased that I have no desire to jump ship...YET!! So with that, here's...

Claire has some issues. I was first alerted to this particular issue this weekend at the Mustang Club, which houses a couple of restaurants, barber shop, coffee shop, club, and slot machines--an eclectic mix, yes, but very fitting for Korea. We had been eating dinner when Claire announced that she had to go to the bathroom. I took her, opened the door to the stall, she took one look at the  black toilet seat and said, "I don't have to go. I'll go at home." Great. Whatever. Flash forward to Monday at school. I get a call saying that Claire had been holding herself (my words not theirs, I cleaned it up a bit) and that she had peed herself. Panic set in. This kid hasn't had an accident for a good year. Seriously. What is going on??!! I call Chris and he doesn't know what to do either. I decide to go to talk to Claire at school over my lunch hour, although I prepared to take the rest of the day off--just in case. Immediately upon opening the door, Claire runs ov...

It isn't often that I blog about my husband. Although I think he's pretty great, I have two little ones who captivate me in everyway imaginable. Between them and my randomness, there is little time to brag about Chris. However, yesterday I brought Claire home from school early. Chris came home and looked at the blog and muttered something about all my free time and not having written a new post. So, I'll take his comment with the positivity and support that I am certain was intended and write a little something about HIM! I've loved Chris for so long. It is odd to think we've been together almost 14 years?!! Wow! Married nearly 7! He can make me laugh like no other, make me feel like no other, embarrass the heck out of me like nearly no other and has made me prouder than nearly no other (my kids have a pretty natural knack for this as well). I don't know how he does what he does. The guy is amazing. He works 12 hour days, yet still makes time for his kiddos/...