Brain Puking Blog Post

Sorry for the long silence. I'm not sure why I haven't been writing. Probably because I am still tired. The kids have been sleeping better though we still get the occasional early morning cry from Sam. I've taught Joey how to tell time so she knows to not come into our room before 7am. Elysha continues to sleep blissfully until she gets woken up. I don't know what it is but I am exhausted.

I've decided to keep the kids home with me for five weeks. If I put the kids in school all summer, it would cost over $6000 for two months. So it makes fiscal sense to have them home with me. I think I can handle it (I think I can, I think I can). I have already devised a daily morning and afternoon schedule for those five weeks in order to keep myself from freaking out. It consists of hikes, beach trips, museum trips, library trips, as well as cooking classes from Chef Mommy and Korean classes from Uhmma (just the alphabet and basic words would be awesome). If the kids and I come out of July alive but absolutely nothing accomplished, I will still consider it a success. If you hear a sudden burst of song August 2nd in the morning, it will be me singing hallelujah, the kids are all in school!

Another part of my fatigue is probably all the playdates I have been hosting. I still feel like Joey has yet to really find her groove with her friends at school. I am getting the sense that the person Joey likes the most in her class doesn't feel the same way about her. So I am trying to help Joey build stronger connections with other classmates but that means hosting two to three playdates a week. Of course, if I host one playdate for Joey, then I feel obliged to do the same for Elysha. It's such a foreign concept to me that I have to work this hard for my kids to have friends. Growing up, all of the families in our little cul-de-sac had kids around the same age. After school, we would all hang out on our street and play kick ball or ride bikes. Or I would just go over to my best friend's house who lived a couple doors down from me. There was no organization for playdates. Everyday was a playdate.

I'm sure I had homework in elementary school but I don't remember ever doing any. But everyday there is the stress of getting Joey's homework done and then practicing piano and hopefully reading a little bit. All this while trying to not completely ignore Elysha and Sam, as well as do the dishes from the day and then cook a dinner that would make Jamie Oliver proud. I think I just feel worn down from the daily routine. Not to mention Chang's upcoming birthday, and converting our office to a guest room, and an impending visit from my sister in law, and errands for my mom, and dealing with my dad.

I hope I don't sound depressed because I am not...though after writing all this I think I should be! As much as my life drives me insane, I know that I am still blessed. I have a good life and my complaints are trivial in the grand scheme of things. But I am still counting down the days until August 2! I will finally get a break and (gasp!) be on my own for the first time in almost seven years. I can't even wrap my head around the idea of it but I am sure I will get used to it really quick!

Sam's Haircut...

This isn't the first haircut Sam has gotten, but it is the first time I was there to witness. Before I would be too sad to actually watch the shears snip away at Sam's baby hair. Chang and I have a deal that no clippers will touch Sam's head. As I keep saying, I want to keep him my little baby as long as possible, and when his hair is shaved on the sides, he looks too grown up.

How many people does it take to cut one kid's hair? Answer: Three!

Looking at Daddy helps Sam keep his cool...

Ta-da! The finished product and his just reward.

Zombieland and Other Dead Things

Chang and I are looking and acting scary these days. For the last week or two (feels like forever), the kids have been waking up in the middle of the night. Not sure what is up but all I know is that we are miserably tired.

We also had a mysterious smell coming from Sam's room. We thought it was a runaway diaper so we were looking everywhere. I washed everything inside the room. Chang steam cleaned the carpets and the bathroom floor in the kids' bathroom. We were sure it was one too many potty accidents or a mystery diaper. But the smell persisted. Finally I began to wonder if something died under our house. We just put up screens on all crawl space access points under our house. Sure enough, a possum breathed its last vermin breath under our house and nature was taking its course. So gross!

So sorry for the long absence but I have been functioning on very little brain cells as lack of sleep and the toxic fumes have been killing the already limited quantity on hand.