”Tradition”

We have some strange “traditions” in our family it seems. In December of 2017, before our daughter was born, we discovered a leak in the bathroom we renovated two years prior. Luckily, we could go through the wall from behind to take a look at the pipes instead of having to tear down the tile from the front. We could only conclude that the pipe to the shower head was not screwed on tightly or had somehow come loose. That was the end of that leak and after a few days of repatching the drywall and retexturing, life resumed.

“Turns white when dry” isn’t just for
elementary gluesticks!

This DIY fix was easily completed by my husband as we did not have to monitor a toddler on the move and keep her from touching the construction materials or getting paint on her clothes.

Two days before she was born, which also happened to be Easter Sunday, we found a leak in our water heater. We did not DIY the water heater. Paying for installation was well worth the cost because a.) it had to be done fast. Like within two days fast. And b.) our water heater sits in a closet in our garage about 3 feet up from the ground. Hoisting a 50 gallon water heater up into the closet and properly connecting the gas line, AND with drainage up to code under a time constraint was just too much to process mentally when a new baby was coming.

In the last two years, things around the house have been quiet when it came to construction. We replaced some windows here and there but no unplanned home maintenance to undertake.



We call it “tradition” because lo and behold, the same bathroom leaked again recently, and what do you know...we have another little one coming soon. But this time we did not DIY it. We called a plumber and he came out three hours later, and another three hours after that, the leak was gone, and our valve was straightened. That was not part of the leak but it was a nice positive benefit.

That evening my husband had replaced the drywall and the next day he started to mud.

Thankfully, besides the cost of the plumber, no extra repair costs were incurred because over the last five years, we’ve done enough construction to accrue a good selection of wood scraps, drywall pieces, plumbing supplies, tools, and paint to cover a good number of household maintenance around here. Great hint for keeping drywall mud from drying out: put plastic wrap directly on top of the mud, touching the top layer, before putting the lid back on. 

After this repair gets wrapped up and put behind us, we’ll have to start thinking about putting together a bedroom for our second child. Oh, and did I mention all this leak-fixing was in his future room? Yea, poor kid. The stories we will tell him later...

Here’s to hoping “tradition” doesn’t hold up too true and our water heater doesn’t die again in a few months. But it is under warranty this time!

Or we need to be done having babies. 😝

For the Love of Penguins

Friends celebrated its 25th anniversary last summer and there was huge hype over a reunion. They made a special Central Perk Lego set to commemorate this milestone and had an orange couch tour across the world. No, I didn't go visit the orange couch, but yes, I did buy the Lego set.

It really wasn't a bad price for genuine Legos with that many pieces.

The Friends anniversary didn't mean much to me because I'm not the biggest fan out there, but all the hype and video clips being circulated online made me curious to look up some facts about each of the six main actors in real life. A couple facts I learned:

1. Lisa Kudrow is the only actor to be married and stay married to the same person.
2. Lisa Kudrow was actually pregnant when her character was pregnant.
3. Courteney Cox was pregnant in the end of the last season but it was not written into the script.
4. They served really good food on set.

Coincidentally, I've proved an aspect of Friends to be accurate to real life, which most of the show is not in all honesty. 

In season 9, Joey's beloved penguin, Hugsy, makes his appearance again when Emma finds him and enjoys playing with him. Joey becomes jealous and wants his penguin back. He buys a second Hugsy in an attempt to give the newer penguin to Emma and take his original one back. Emma doesn't want the new Hugsy and Joey is left disappointedly taking the new Hugsy.

Hugsy

If you've watched the show or just simply read the quick synopsis, you might have wondered, can children really tell the difference between two identical stuffed animals?

The answer is yes. I've proved it. 

After my brother got married, he returned from his honeymoon and gifted me a stuffed penguin. It was a very cute stuffed penguin and he has received lots of love from me over the last 6 years. 

Meet Chilly Willy!

After my daughter was born, and even when we were preparing for kids and her arrival, I knew there were special stuffed animals I didn't want my children to mess with because they were special to me and I wanted them to last as long as they possibly could. If you know children and stuffed animals, there's a lot of abuse to be had: drool, food residue, puke, dirt, and overall abusive love. It's just simply how they play with them. I did not want Chilly Willy to experience any of this, so he stayed out of reach on our bed or hidden under the blankets.

Well...babies grow up and become mobile and get smart, and before you knew it she could climb onto our bed and locate Chilly Willy. So I did the best thing I could. I went online, located an identical version of my penguin, and bought it.

She was pretty excited when we got Chilly Billy...but I think I was more excited.

She definitely likes her penguin and holds onto him tightly. But you know what? If she ever catches a glimpse of Chilly Willy, she wants him. Put the two side by side? Chilly Billy is left behind every time.

I'm not sure why this is, but they know. Oh, they know.

Two Zero Two Zero

14 years ago on New Year's Eve, I started writing predictions. It was what I thought the next year would bring in my life and some notes on teenage thoughts regarding those around me. Mostly who was dating whom and the drama of high school. The following year on New Year's Eve, I would read what I had written the year before and then write a new one for the next year.

Props if you know what television series I got this idea from.

I kept up this tradition for the next 9 years and then stopped after that. I stopped partly because I simply forgot to write a new one on NYE and partly because it lost its meaning and purpose. As I reread ones from the early years, they mostly sound like a teenage girl writing about high school drama. Later, I became more sophisticated and they were more appropriately categorized as "predictions".

In the last few years, especially since having children, I've found myself being envious of others for their accomplishments, successes, and adventures. I see my friends with their doctorate degrees, friends who travel the world whether alone or with significant others, friends who design and execute their own DIY projects, and friends who simply just look like they have it all together. I know social media tends to glamorize only the positive aspects and paints an extremely skewed image of real life, but this is just how I feel.

Is anyone out there envious of me in my part-time working full-time motherhood lifestyle of craziness? I count a day when there's food to eat, clean laundry, a presentable house to teach out of, and keeping my daughter alive as a huge success for a day's work.

I don't make predictions anymore and I don't really have resolutions, but there are things I'd like to get done and accomplish without trying to be too ambitious or unrealistic.

1. Finish my cross stitch.

Now if you've kept up with my blog, you may remember a post from 3 years ago about a different cross stitch which I completed. This is another one I started a few months after completing that one. The image is the silhouettes of two children blowing bubbles between two trees. I bought it before I left China in the summer of 2013...and well, here we are nearly 7 years later. I've made some progress on it but the time to sit and focus on my cross stitch is few and far between now. Ironically, the two children pictured are a girl and a boy, and how appropriate it would be if I could have this completed and hung up in my house....soon.

2. Find a new work life balance.

When I career changed 3.5 years ago, it was the scariest and best decision I'd ever made in my life. Yes, people must've thought I was crazy, and even I thought I was crazy. There was a lot of learning in the beginning and finding my way, but I've been incredibly blessed in being able to build up my own business from nothing. I'll never forget that first month when I made less than $300. It was terrifying, exciting, and humbling.

After having my daughter, I thought I'd have to reset and start over to some extent. To my surprise, I was busier than even before I had her. This last year and a half of work has been the busiest and most enjoyable. Having to take another maternity leave really stresses me out to think about. And I haven't wrapped my head around how continuing to work untraditional hours with two kids will be feasible.

3. Keep my sanity.

When I think about last year, I don't remember a lot. It's not that I didn't do anything or that I didn't keep my sanity, but it was a tough year.

• we took an international trip with a 1 year old
• I mentored a college freshman for a summer
• morning sickness round 2
• lots of sleepless nights with the toddler
• new retaining wall and fence (not DIY, thank goodness)
• new windows for the house (not DIY either)
• 2 road trips

Kids change daily so much when they're young so you never truly feel like you have things figured out for more than about a week or two before something changes again. And my daughter, as cute as she is, is a handful. Keeping my sanity? Not easy.

But there are still moments when she'll actually cuddle next to me and stay calm and not squirm, and her face is of peaceful wonder, and I just watch her and think to myself, wow, you're beautiful. I can't believe you're mine, even for just a little while. 

So if you've got it all together and things are going great, maybe stop once in a while to help me keep things partially together? Taped? A little?

I'll go put a few stitches into my cross stitch now.