Constant Beginnings

After 2 1/2 years, Mya finally got her first haircut. It was a MAJOR cut. She had over 8 inches cut. Mya's hair grew in so nicely. She had natural layers that would thrill any adult, but as it grew, the ends lacked uniformity. It needed to be trimmed, but I decided to take a giant leap for shorter hair. Her new do is super cute, although it makes her look so much older, which is definitely bittersweet for Chris and I. To top off this transformation is her language development. She has definitely made some huge strides in her language acquisition lately. She looked at me yesterday and said, "What happened, Momma?" She doesn't so much sound like a 2 year old anymore. In fact, in many ways, she is getting more inline with Claire who talks more like she is 7 than 4. My babies are growing up..... Before: After: 

An awesome package arrived yesterday in the mail from my parents. Yippee!! I love packages so much more living in Korea than I even did stateside. A huge appreciation. Anyway, I opened the box and left it in the kitchen. Not long after, I catch Mya (the girl who is all about fun) running over to the box, grabbing an overflowing handful of filler. Shredded paper. Um. Yeah. Bad news. I stopped her, but it didn't seem to phase her. She simply turned around and returned to the living to enjoy the rewards of her previous reaping. Yep. Snow. All. over. the. floor. She and Claire were in heaven. Me...not so much. :) On an aside...my family has been checking in daily on the status of clothing in our house, so I'll let you in on a little secret. Mya almost always, but quite often Claire as well, for the last two weeks that we have been hanging at home have preferred to run around in their undies. Sometimes with shirts, sometimes without. There. The cat is out of the bag. I ...

2012 will bring some major changes in our lives. We'll be moving in 6 months--YIPPEE! and who knows what that will mean for me in terms of work, our lifestyle, etc. Chris is a HUGE goal setter, me not so much, but I'll try once again. 2012 is going to be a great year. I feel as though my last 4 years have focused entirely on my children, so this year is going to be different. It is going to be about me. That sounds a bit selfish, but I've finally got the message that I am a better Mom to our girls when I put myself first sometimes. Here it goes. Drumroll please.... 1. Finish my Autism Specialist certification. 2. Build my invitation business. 3. Maintain a healthy lifestyle for 5 months!! 4. Eat out less than 1 time per week. 5. Reduce my online shopping to less than 1 purchase per month (this one will be hard especially if we stay overseas because I love getting packages :) 6. Get totally out of debt--no car payment, student loans, credit cards, etc. 7. Finish Clair...

Who put a quarter in this kid? Really. She's always been very outgoing and very much a daredevil, but lately, she's become very comical. She says funny things, does even funnier things and is simply adorable. I'd love to bottle it ALL up and keep it close to my heart forever. Right now she is sitting beside me listening to EMINEM's "Love the Way You Lie." Really. Not exactly my choice, but this is what she turns on EVERY SINGLE TIME!  Oiy!  Mya doesn't like going to sleep anymore. This wasn't always the case. She used to be pretty easy. Now she lays in bed and comes up with every excuse under the sun to get up. She often yells out in irritation at Chris and I, saying things like "No Daddy, you go to timeout!" Chris and I just look at each other and shake our heads. Really.  Despite Mya's outgoingness, she is pretty sensitive. She often hides behind me or looks at us with sad eyes if she is reprimanded for something. Mya is such a...

Mya and Claire helping me make sugar cookies. Yummy! We were graced with our first real snowfall on Christmas Eve morning. The girls were thrilled and itching to get outside.  Mya was a little less thrilled when her mitten fell off and she was stranded. Crazy Claire modeling her hat which is on backwards. Getting ready to run, realizing I also have a snowball in my hand! Mya helping to keep me supplied with snow! Claire a little less impressed with my surprise attack! Mya opening her Christmas present from Auntie Jessica and Uncle Nate. She is in love with baby Gia! Love at first sight! Jessica did a great job picking out this baby. Her hair is nearly identical to Mya's! So cute. All Claire wanted for Christmas was Barbie's. Needless to say, she now has plenty and she is thrilled! Mya loves to mess with my hair. She gets this quality from school. The teachers love to do her hair so she shares the love at home. ...

1. Learn how to make sushi. 2. Manage/organize our family photos. DONE! 3. Adopt a healthier lifestyle for 30 days. (thinking small and realistic ;) COMPLETED! 4. Learn how to shoot in Manual Mode--well. DONE--NOT WELL, but DONE! 5. Teach our children aobut "charity." DONE, although Ongoing! 6. Travel to Thailand, China, Japan and perhaps the USA (only kidding---definitely the USA!!) Made it to the USA and China! 7. Volunteer.  FAILED! 8. Become a dedicated recycler. DONE! 9. Limit my daily at home computer usage during the work week to 30 minutes. UMM, BIG FAILURE! 10. Live in the moment. WORK IN PROGRESS! 11. Read one book per month. DONE! 12. Go on one Korean adventure per month. PARTIAL FAILURE?? So 2011 is quickly coming to a close. I decided to revisit my goal list (hesitantly, as I was thinking I'd be documenting my failures) and update on what I've accomplished this year. It ended up going pretty well. I've reached most of them or at least partially rea...

I was really on the ball this time...or so I thought. I designed and ordered our Christmas cards well before Thanksgiving. Problem was, that I sent them to an erroneous address. My lovely sister, Jessica, agreed to address and mail them for us since the mail service from here can be painstakingly long this time of year. Anyway, I kept asking and asking if she'd received the cards to which she replied, no, no, no. I discovered some time later that I entered her address incorrectly, but the company was so kind as to reroute them at no additional cost! Additionally, they actually emailed to say the cards had been returned to them. Talk about great service! The cards have been addressed and mailed thanks to Jess, but in case they don't reach you by the weekend--Merry Christmas! We are keeping the celebration small and simple this year. I want to keep it as stress free as possible ;) Hopefully next year we will be celebrating with my family! A girl can wish! Family truly brings ...

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love summer too, but that is a season and so much longer that it is hard to choose between the two. Growing up, my family had traditions. We decorated the tree, baked cookies, played in the snow, sang songs before opening presents, went to church (as we did every Sunday), Christmas programs at school and church, etc. Now that our kiddos are a bit older, Chris and I are trying to more firmly establish some traditions of our own. We've always made gingerbread houses, done the parties, made cookies, etc., but the newest tradition is our "12 Days of Christmas." I brainstormed 12 family activities of fun, writing them on slips of paper, putting them in a bag. Each day, Claire or Mya choose a slip and we do that activity. Here is a review of our previous 12 days: Day 1: we all played wii Day 2: We watched a Mickey Mouse Christmas while snuggled in our bed. Day 3: Chris and I had his work Christmas party, so ...

Our China trip was definitely a turning point on this potty training train. Mya got the knack of what she needed to do and consistency was achieved. My Mom was a great help maintaining the success when we returned to Korea. I am thrilled to so that Mya has moved from pull-ups to thick training undies to DORA!! Yippee! This picture is so fitting for Mya. She is full of life and has a cute, feisty personality. I am so in love with this kid and proud of her!

My Mom promised she'd come visit us in Korea. We've lived here almost 1.5 years with no out of country visitors! (I know, it shocks me too that Korea isn't on most people's "must see" lists!) Anyway, my Mom held to her promise. She visited for THREE weeks! We all thought we may want to kill each other after 3 weeks, but that was far from the case. I wish it were longer. It was so nice having her here. The kids enjoyed chatting, laughing and playing with her. She brought them all sorts of little goodies, brought me some favorites from home and we all tried to soak up each minute we had. Chris and I worked during much of her visit, which was too bad. I tried to space out some days off in between to take her to some local attractions. That seemed to work well. She accompanied us to China which was incredible. She and I went to Happy Quilt where she was in heaven! We actually ended up making 2 trips to that place. $3/yard for name brand fabric. Amazing! My Mom is ...