Wordless Wednesday {Gaga Mary's Birthday}

Happy Birthday, Gaga Mary!!

Today is my wonderful Mother's birthday! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

My family isn't one to be very verbal with our feelings. 

{hello, we are Scandinavian-raised!!}

But... I am a big time birthday celebrator.

I love birthdays and I think they are SO important to recognize.

Hello!!! Today is the day you were born!!!

What better reason to rejoice and be happy?!

Anyway, moving on to the subject!

My Mother is downright amazing.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

She physically manages to accomplish MANY things, on a daily basis.

I do not know how she does it, honestly.

She also emotionally manages our family and their ... "complications".

{what family doesn't have those?}

She is a very capable woman.

She does it all!

She has raised 3 strong women while maintaining beauty & strength within herself!

She puts up with my Dad {quite a handful at times!}on a daily basis!

Haha.... and all of the rest of us also. As we, too, are a handful at times. Who isn't, right?

Has become the BEST "Gaga" Bennett could have dreamed of.

Still has that beautiful, round face that she had when she popped out of the womb.

{little joke I carry with my Mom}

The relationship between Bennett and my Mother is fantastic.

They truly have a very special bond.

The other day we were having brats "hot dogs" for dinner and B came to the conclusion that he love Gaga more than Mommy but Mommy a little more than the hot dog. ☺

Hey, at least I beat out the dog. So... on this day, only 64 graceful years ago, this earth was blessed with Gaga Mary! We're all pretty lucky to have her in our life!!!  Enjoy your special day, Mom - you totally deserve it & more! We may not say it enough...but... WE LOVE YOU ALL THE TIME GAGA MARY!!!

Dirty Thirty Party [downtown Minneapolis}

Ready to party!

Our Suite

Me and D - the other birthday girl!
{no, we didn't plan to match hahaha}

we ate at Hell's Kitchen {which i give like a 6/10}
here we are showing how we wanted to eat...the sign lol

playing games :)

good peeps

part of our group ... + some random chick's hair

Here's my birthday party post. We went downtown Minneapolis, stayed at the W Hotel, ate dinner at Hell's Kitchen, and went to a couple clubs - mainly Wellman's. It was a great night with LOTS of drinks and LOTS of fun. I was happy with the group that came out ... you all rock!!! I will say, I cannot party like that very often anymore... dare I say? 

I am getting too old for this! 

Birthday.

I am 30 today. Technically. Maybe.
You see, I was adopted when I was 3 months old from South Korea.They weren't told my actual birth date, so they deducted it on their own.This is the earliest picture my Parents have of me. 

This is actually the picture they sent them to make sure that I was OK enough for them to adopt me. Haha.

My Mom said it was to show that I had 10 fingers & 10 toes.

I was left on the doorstep of a police station around 3 days old, so the story goes.

I had a note from my {assumed} birth Mother stating my name.

My birth name was In Hye Chae.

My Mother included the Chae in my middle name that I carry around with me today.

 {I have 3 official ones nowadays!}

I was transferred to an orphanage and adopted to the US from there.

And here I am today.

Young {still}

Happy

Healthy

Blessed

Loved

I do wonder sometimes about my birth parents and all that story entails...

but I am so at home here in the States, here in Minnesota.

And my family is my family and I don't need anyone or anything more.

Did I accomplish everything that I had hoped and dreamed of doing by the time I hit the 30 mark?

Yes, I am all of the above.

How do I feel?

I feel great. I feel the same. I feel young.

What am I doing to celebrate?

I already had a big night out with friends so tonight we are just going to do a low-key grill-out at my Parents house. And then this weekend, we will celebrate it with Auntie L and Uncle M in GL. Perfecto!!!

What's next?

The rest of my life.

I can't wait for the journey to continue and look forward to everything else life has in store for me.

Take it from me, life is definitely not over at 30. ☺

Tooth Update

Over Memorial Day weekend, my teeth started hurting really badly. I switched dentist offices {for financial reasons} and went in 2 afternoons last week. I was told that I needed a root canal. Joy.

Haha, check me out after walking out of the dentist's office for the 1st time last Friday afternoon. I left the office at 1230 and went to lunch with a couple of co-workers then headed to the dentist at 130. Got in the chair, got shot up with novocaine {my least favorite part!} and they began their digging. After taking out the filling in the tooth that they thought needed a root canal, she discovered the filling wasn't near the nerve so most likely not the tooth that was causing me so much pain. She got a 2nd opinion from another dentist there and they decided it was not the tooth and decided to take the filling out of the one next to it. The 2nd tooth they cleared out was the one that needed the root canal. But... my 1st dentist I saw evidently didn't do that type of root canal {more complicated somehow i guess..}, so I had to leave and then return at 4pm for the other dentist to do it. They filled the 1st one back up and put a temp filling in the one that required the root canal. I went to the park to pass the time and headed back in at 4. I didn't leave until about 530. The root canal itself wasn't entirely pleasant, although I have never had a 'pleasant' time in the dentist's chair. But having your mouth stretched to its max limits and having to have novocaine shot into your nerve mid-work... just not pleasant one bit! I still have to go back for a filling and a crown, then to have the crown placed, and also I am due for a 6 month checkup, including x-rays. Triple joy.

But, I am not in super pain anymore!! I am a little sore but didn't have to fill or take the vicodin prescription at all. Props to me. I'm not a fan of Rx painkillers. Ibuprofen is my friend right now. 

AND... 

pre-curling iron- ready to party!

I was back to "normal" on Saturday and ready to party for my 30th birthday party {for my friend and myself}. I haven't had a chance to check out the pics that we took on the 'party cam' {our little canon that we don't care if it gets handled a little more roughly ;)} 

Pictures to follow. :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

I have 2 sick boys at home and it's going to be 2 late nights as we are needing to prep for a garage sale on Wednesday!!!! 

*sigh*

Happy Monday !

Worldess Wednesday - belated [2nd Birthday Edition]

Happy 2nd Birthday to my little Angel.... [that's B's new thing to call people]

Happy Choo-Choo to you!

Bennett turned TWO yesterday. I'm still in shock!
It was a great day for all... we sort of had a train theme but nothing extravagant, not a lot of decorations this year. B did a wonderful job and didn't cry once [i thought maybe the loud singing and lots of people might trigger it like last year]. Mommy didn't cry either. :)
He got lots of great presents and our big gift to him was a train table & set. Pictures to come!!!
It was great that everyone was able to make it... there were GaGa's and Papa's everywhere!!!

I can't believe B is 2! He has become a little chatterbox and he spouts out words I didn't think he even knew anything about them. We gave him a set of wall decals to use in his room and it's amazing how many of the Thomas trains that he knows the names of... and how he can differentiate one from another!!!!! I get confused myself!!!

He is now wearing 24 month-2T clothing, depending on the brand, of course. He is ALWAYS moving and the only time I can get in some cuddle time is right before bedtime, usually. This also makes it quite a challenge to capture any photos of him. The bad combo of poor lighting in the house/Mommy hating flash/constantly moving kid makes it quite the challenge to capture as many pics of little B but I've learned to go with the not-so-perfect ones.

B is a pretty good eater these days... but he definitely has a favorite food [which we of course had at his birthday party!] - Kraft Mac & Cheese!!!! What kid doesn't love that stuff? Yum! He isn't a fan of veggies and will not eat much fruit either.... this is something we will talk to the ped about at his 2 year well-child visit!!!! He used to eat the fruit/veggie combo pureed packets but has kind of turned away from that so we'll see what the doc says. I definitely want him to get his vitamins that he needs!!! Speaking of vitamins, what kind of vitamins do your LO's like to take???

Sometimes I think the "Terrible 2's" have begun but for the most part, B is a good little boy. He has started to squeal from time to time when he doesn't get what he wants but I try to ignore it as best that I can! He really dislikes it when Daddy disciplines him... and sometimes lashes out and hits P. We are trying to deal with that with Time Outs. I'm curious as to what you other Mommies using as discipline? Spakings? Time Outs? Straight up ignorance? B's little feelings are still a little sensitive and sometimes a simple "No" turns on the tears and that's tough. I never knew how hard disciplining would be!!!!

We will be revisiting potty training soon after the new year hits and I'm hoping that B shows more interest in that like he did before, but that was a while ago.... I think we will have to be more encouraging, there just hasn't been too much time to devote our efforts to that so I didn't even want to worry about it since B didn't seem too interested anyway. I would like to not have to battle him every time we need to change his diaper, he hates it!!!!!

So, my baby is 2. People have made comments that it's time for a sibling.... I had a short bout of baby fever a few months ago but I have since recovered from that. No Baby #2 for a while for us! We are having too much fun enjoying B and his antics for now!!!!

My Dear Bennett,
You have grown so much in the past 2 years! We can hardly believe the changes. You are so smart and such a polite little boy, you make us so very proud. No matter what the day brings, your sweet little smile always makes everything better. We feel so blessed to have you and the utter joy you bring to our lives. We love you to the moon and back... and then some!
Love Mommy & Daddy

Hi folks. I need to blog more.. and I need to read more blogs. My apologies!!!!! Once I get my life back in order, I will definitely set aside some time EACH day to do this. This is a New Years Resolution for 2012. Lame? No, I don't think so. I love to blog and I do really love to read my typical blogroll to catch up on you other wonderful ladies' lives!!!! Time has been tight lately, but that is to be expected around the holiday season. We don't have a weekend available until 2012 and that is bittersweet to me!!! What is also SUPER bittersweet is my little boy turning TWO. 2! Dos! Zwei! Agh..... I want to watch him grow and learn more and more... but at the same time, I want him to stay the little Momma's boy that he has been. Such a sweet little morsel....!!!!

Anyway... I needed to document today before I forgot... which I do, too much.

My Mom is at home with B today and I called her to ask her a question about something and she said that she was going to call me to tell me that... she was going onto the computer quick to check something in her email and B pointed to it and said "pictures, Mommy, Miss her". Melted my heart. That kid totally has me wrapped around his pinky finger... but can you blame me???? It's also hard to hear him say he wants to stay home with Mommy in the mornings. My kid is a total heart-breaker. In a good way, of course. :)

Tonight my wonderful Mother & I begin baking a couple of things for the family Christmas party on Saturday. L&M will be back in town [hooray!] and we will be having an intimate pre-birthday celebration for B with them and enjoying awesome eats and company on Saturday. Sunday, we will be visiting Santa!!!! Wish us luck!!!!! I have a feeling this year won't be pleasant.. we got lucky last year. :)

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas is coming people...

Christmas is coming!!! AGHHHHHH!!!! Yes, I installed a beautiful little countdown aka. anxiety-maker on my desktop yesterday here at work. Was it the best idea? Probably not. Is it totally cute and shimmery on my desktop at all times? Yes! Well, it reads 50 days, 6 Hours, 45 Min. and XX seconds to go. I'm not joking, people. It's coming, and it's coming FAST. And with Christmas comes Bennett's birthday... those two little buggers go hand in hand now and that doubles Momma's anxiety! Am I freaking out? Yeah, maybe a little. Should I just relax and roll with the punches? OH yes, absolutely.  Is that going to actually happen? F no. :)

Anyway, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and I drew names for our family of gift-givers. We used to get gifts for everyone in our family [my side of the family, that is], but that ended up being WAY too many gifts and way too much money excessively spent. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to buy presents for people but in this economy... there is no justifying it. Sooooooooooooo, I think either a year or two ago we started drawing names for each other. It worked out beautifully and now we're going to do it again this year. Of course B is excluded as I'm pretty sure everyone wants to buy him his very own gift without expecting one in return. Lucky little guy!!!!! He will make a haul, I know it. Birthday AND Christmas. Atta boy. Soooooooo now that the names have been drawn, the shopping will begin!!!! I like having extra thinking/shopping time especially considering the 2nd part of our gift-giving rules. The 2nd gift must be a clearance item of 75% off or more OR a handmade gift of some sort. I love seeing what people come up with for that part!!! My family, love them dearly, are not the most creative people I've ever met... but this little addition to our present-giving process at Christmas-time has really fueled that creative fire!!! :)

Now I need to work on getting my little Christmas list together. I will admit that I am super tough to buy for without said list. :-P

What's on your Christmas list this year????

Happy Thursday everyone!!!! Hope y'all are doing well. I'm out of here !

Update. Lotsa stuff!

I haven't posted for a while, I know. If anyone is still reading ... thanks!!!! You can always go back and re-read my old posts. I know they're super exciting. ;)

If you are my friend on FB, you will know little B has been a busy boy. He showed interest in his little potty ... for a day... and he decided he was done with his crib. He climbed out of it 3x in one day .. and might I add, he did it like an absolute pro! Stinker!!!!

Since the scaling of his crib, we have converted his crib into a "toddler bed", the front railing is gone, with the addition of a crib rail, of course. We had his mattress directly on the floor for a little bit but that was not the best thing as we would find poor little guy sprawled 5 feet away from the thing.

We have had 2 nights in his big boy bed and the room temperature has been, well... temperamental. At first it was too cold and then it was too hot. Poor little B has to suffer while Mommy and Daddy try to figure out the stupid thermostat and vent positions. :-P Hopefully we can do that for little guy tonight.

He has had a runny nose for over a week now and he has a slight temperature at night but he is still the fun-loving comedian that everyone adores.

Last Friday I threw a Halloween/30th Birthday party for Daddy P. It was a good time and I was pleased with the turnout and that everyone arrived in costume!!!! Check out the cake!

We could not find our little camera so we had to pull out an ancient one which resulted in a small amount of pictures, plus it's always hard to socialize with everyone and take pictures. I know everyone knows this !!! At any rate, his actual birthday isn't until 11/4, but with it being deer opener on the 5th, he will be heading up north late on the 4th so obvs no parties could be had. Another party checked off the list!!! Yay!

Yesterday was Halloween and we spent the evening at my Parents' house "trick of treating" and celebrating family-style with my Parents, Pat's Mom & his Dad & Stepmom. It was an evening filled with loud talking, good food and more cake!!!! I didn't get the pics of B's costume [short-lived!] uploaded to the computer yet, but I plan on doing that tonight... and hopefully getting home before it's much too dark to take any pictures of him outside with the 'pumps' that GaGa & PaPa grew in their very own garden this year...special just for B! It gets super dark here super early though so I am going to be driving against the clock. I wish I didn't get home so late.... !!!!

Anyway.... this weekend is Rifle Opener for Deer in Minnesota and that means another weekend without Daddy P. I will be happy when this weekend is over and hopefully the hunting will subside until next year... but you never know... I guess there are always animals to be hunted. :sigh: I can't say I didn't know what I was signing up for when I married P, it's just I much prefer having him around. I am working on my problem of being that nagging wife but it's tough for me. I'm a work in progress. :)

I have lots of pictures to go through but haven't had a chance to do them. I also made a Halloween yarn wreath that I found on Pinterest [LOVE that site!!!] that I want to post a picture of ... especially since it will now be making its way down into our basement not to be seen by eyes for another year!!!! boo... it was barely on our door for more than a week. I love to throw parties and to make a big deal out of Birthdays for people I love, but man... it's hard work!!!!

I was looking forward in my calendar and I started getting some anxiety about the rest of the year. And about how little time there is between now and Thanksgiving... and then Christmas, which now goes hand in hand with B's Birthday. Just typing this now is making me get a little cooky in the head and therefore, I will stop.

I will be leaving here shortly to rush home in hopes there is enough light for my camera to grab a few shots of a hopefully somewhat happy baby in his adorable little costume. Wish me luck, I'm definitely going to need it!!!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Birthday Auntie Sarah!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR AUNTIE SARAH!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We shall see you tonight for kisses & good food!