Special visit with a quilt and some Cheesecake!

A few days ago i had the privilage to attend a dear friends' baby shower. She is due only a few weeks before me! :)
The shower was nice filled with lots of people and laughter, not to mention the food and dessert- i was in heaven! lol

the mommy-to-be and I

the proud parents-to-be and grandma

Isn't she a beautiful mommy-to-be? I think so!

can't wait to see our babies!

 I had wanted to make something special for her baby shower and asked Lien one day if i should make something. He thought it would be better if i just bought what was on the registery and maybe make something for the baby when he/she comes in January.
So i said ok.....but i gave in and made something. Simply because i really wanted it to be a personal gift and i knew that she would be getting lots and lots of presents from every one else anyways.

I'm so glad that i decided to go with my choice and make something.........the outcome was great and i love it! I must admit i had to pat myself on the back for doing such a great job. Bragging moment i know, but hey i don't do it too often. At least i don't think i do! :)

here's what i made! I'm pretty proud of myself too.....no measurement {can you tell?}

 

I was a little nervous, i didn't know if she would like it or not......but i didn't mind, because i really wanted to make her it.
She did like it though! :)

We had a special visitor to our home this pass weekend for the baby shower. Our close friend, Latsamy came in from Texas to visit for the baby shower.

I was so happy to see her.....So glad i could spend some extra days with her and play catch up and eat our faces off. And that's exactly what we did! We ate and ate............fun times i tell ya! It sure was an interesting adventure!

And then to top off her visit we had a girl's night at Cheesecake Factory. Didn't i mention we love to eat? :)
Always stuffing our faces i swear............such pigs! lol
The night was great and a great way to end Latsamy's visit.
I am glad she could make it....until next time!

I know i look pretty big here! lol
I love these two girls, they have made my life interesting and wonderful. Wouldn't/couldn't ask for better girlfriends. I'm a lucky girl. Too bad we were missing one more lovely girl, Miss Margie! We miss you!

It was also Tina's birthday week!

I am truly blessed with some wonderful and amazing friends in my life. There's always an adventure! I am also blessed to have a best friend who's been with me since 3rd grade. How lucky can a girl get right? :)
I truly am blessed and i love them all.

Mushrooms anyone?

A few weeks ago we headed out to Michigan to visit Lien's uncle who isn't feeling well. He is very ill. We also got the chance to go mushroom picking with his cousin and her husband too! I like being out door and in the woods- stuff like that. But this time my allergies got the best of me and i am also pregnant too so it made it extra hard to walk around the woods and stuff.

Plus i had packed pants for naree but they ended up being too small. So she had to wear her capris and that wasn't a good idea. She was getting scratched up real bad so we didn't get to do much mushroom picking. Just Nilun and the others got to do  it. It was still fun though!

Every few minutes you would hear someone shouting out names and someone else from another direction answering back. That's how you do it there, gotta call each other once in a while so you don't get lost. It's in the woods and all the woods look alike, you might think you only looked down for a minute but in a minute your direction might have changed. But we try to stay close to the group as much as we can.

This year it rained a lot so we weren't able to get a lot like the other years. Most of em' had rot from the rain or the others that live there had already picked them during the week days. But we got enough to bring back home to share with some family members who weren't able to make it.

On a different note; his uncle is doing well. Better than we last saw him. He is able to hold his neck up on his own and his talking sounds a lot better.
Last time we went to see him in July, he was having a hard time breathing and talking and his neck was pretty weak. Hopefully he'll continue to improve. He use to be such a strong and sociable man, now all he does is stay in his room. He comes out to see us but can't stay too long.
We will keep on praying that he improves and gets healthy again.

We enjoyed the trip. It was a short one but we always love our little family road trips! Too bad it is getting a little harder and harder to do that now....since i'm getting big now and it's more exhausting for me. But i still enjoy it, i won't give it up! :)

Fall Academic Awards!

Today the middle school had an award for the kids who are in the honor roll and have high GPAs. Nilun and Jasmine were among the kids who were honored at the award! Can you tell i'm a proud mommy and aunt right now?

I am so very proud of what these two have accomplish. They worked hard and it's great that they are being recognized and rewarded for it.They will grow to be wonderful and successful adults! I am beyond proud. They have kept up their grades all through middle school and I hope {I KNOW that they will} continue to be bright kids. I couldn't ask for better.
I took them shopping to reward them for such a job well done. And to let them know that their hard work is appreciated. We haven't been to the mall in months so it was well deserved for all. :)

Lien was able to come out and join me at the award ceremony so we can both be there to support them. We are both very proud and beaming parents!

14th anniversary

Our wedding 9/20/97

Wow! Has it been this long? Seems just like yesterday I was this little 17 year old and now I'm 31 and on my third child. How did that happen? Okay don't answer that, I already know HOW that happen! lol

It's sad to say that the years have just gone passed us so quickly....in fact, it goes too quickly. My oldest is now 13 and almost a high school-er and my second - my baby- is now 10 and almost a middle school-er!
I kinda wish the years would go slowly. I want to keep them with me forever, if that's even possible. I can't think of college right now but i know it's coming around the corner.

It's been 14 years of tears, laughter, and love and i wouldn't have it any other way. We have our ups and downs but at the end of the day we always make sure to say "sorry"! No one said it was easy........and LORD knows it wasn't easy for us. But we've come out on top against all the odds. I'm so glad I found such a man who cares so much for us.

I love him! :))

Lien:
I love that you work extra hard for your family.
We love that after such a hard day at work, you still come home and spend time with us.
We love that you get down and play with us.
We love that you would do anything for us.
Most of all, we love you for being you!

I never knew that one day my life would be like this. But i'm glad it turned out this way. I have such wonderful people in my life. I am truly blessed.

The card Lien bought me. Now do you see why I love this man? He is the sweetest. Card came with a purple Orchid, my fave!

We had a busy year this year. We had Naree's soccer game and Nilun's soccer game going on at the same time. Plus Naree had band practice but soccer went a little later than we expected so we weren't able to go. After getting every one home Lien asked if I wanted to go out for dinner. I had the kids decide and of course they wanted to go out. It's what they love to do! :)
So we couldn't decide on a place so I thought okay i'm in the mood for calamari and since i have not been to Bahama Breeze in such a long time i'll go again.
Needless to say, it was a poor judgement on my side. Our food was not great. The salmon linguine i had was flavorless and way too creamy. The lobster and shrimp linguine Lien had was dry and way too creamy. Plus it was way over priced. My niece's steak was dry and had no flavor what-so-ever. My daughter had chicken fingers and the lady didn't even have bbq sauce for her. And yes we did ask. Her service wasn't great either. She dropped one of our plates down hard on the table, one plate was slide down to us and one almost slipped out of her hand. Now i don't know if it was her or if she had a bad day but that was not right. She didn't really come by to see how we are doing and it took her forever to refill our drinks.
I must say, our experience there really sucked. This is one restaurant that we are crossing off our list FOREVER!
Oh and to top it off they stopped serving calamari! THAT was a disappointment.....And the prices have definitely went up. The kids didn't even enjoy it. We all agreed we will not be going back.
Our dinner was expensive but the time i spent with my family is still priceless to me, even if it wasn't the best experience. At least we experienced it together.

There's not much to say here, except for that every year. I fall much more in love with my husband! And every year he surprises me by being such an incredible dad and husband. We are truly blessed to have him in our lives.

Happy 14th anniversary my love! You are the best decision i made in my life and I am looking forward to more wonderful crazy years with you!

Love always!

Noy

zzzzzz's

Naree caught this guy zonked out after a day of hard work! He sure sleeps funny huh? :)
My hard working man!

First day of school

My babies are all grown now, just look at them. :) Naree still wanted me to stand with all the parents at the line with her. But those other two? I offered to take a picture at their line and their reply? "Um no thank you." Gotta love these teens. LOL

I can't believe these three are all grown now. Where has the time gone? No i'm all alone at home....oh wait i have the fur ball with me! hahaha i love my Yuki. He keeps me company.

{from right} Nilun 8th grade 13 yrs old.
Jasmine 8th grade 13 yrs old.
Naree 5th grade 10 yrs old.

Feelings and such....

It's been a while since i've updated. Guess i was caught up with everything...or maybe it was i wasn't that sure of what i wanted to say. It's not that i've been at a lose for words. Trust me.....i've got plenty to say. :)

I guess I just haven't really had the time to think about everything that's been going on around me? Being pregnant kinda leaves you in a 'blah' kind of sense huh? Or is that just me? lol

I've been a little different with this pregnancy. I'm a bit scared at times but always excited. I just can't wait for my stomach to show already! I've been pregnant 2 other times but this time it's a bit different. I actually am more into it, as in like, I am totally digging it!!! I want to dress up and show people that "yeah I am pregnant, see my belly?" It's like i want to show it off where as my other two I didn't care. I wasn't hiding it nor showing it. And i simply didn't really pay attention to it at all.

With this one, i am paying way more attention to it. We are hoping for a boy - long story. Well the short of it is, there is plenty of girls roaming around our family - PLENTY! So Nilun is pretty much always the boy out of the group, so we'd like for him to have a little 'dude' walking around with him.
I've always thought to myself that if i become pregnant again, I definitely want to dress up nice and make myself look good. But the first time i wore a dress while pregnant a few weeks ago. My friends were saying "oh it's definitely a girl, she's wearing a dress." So i've opted to not wear dresses, simply because i want the aura of having a boy. Makes sense? It's not that i don't want a girl, any would be fine or both! Yes i said it, both is fine too.

But a boy would really be great. Also because i think Naree would probably be better off as the only girl. I grew up with 3 older sister and although i love them dearly....some days i wish i was the only girl. And i've always wished i had a brother.
We always wish for things we don't have right?

All i'm hoping for is a healthy baby. I've been too focused on this baby that my mind is racing with thoughts and i get lots of nightmares this time around. Well not like i don't get nightmares but you get the drift?
My mind is thinking of things i shouldn't be thinking of. I really hope it goes away soon. Really it's starting to get annoying. I just want to enjoy being pregnant not paranoid.

On a brighter note. Everyone is elastic about our little bundle of joy to come. Mom is totally over the moon. My sister is already talking of taking my baby away to live with her if it's a boy. Naree is talking about dressing 'her' up and playing house. Can you tell what 'kind' she wants?
Nilun is already giving an ultimatum....."if it's a girl, you guys OWE me BIG!"
Lien? Well he claims still to this day that "i had nothing to do with it, i was asleep the whole time, she did it all on her own!". Yeah- no one really believes him but we'll let him think that. :)
Just like when i was in labor, he adamantly said "i was pushing the whole time, all you did was lay there!"
Of course you all know, Lien is a big jokester right?
Me? I'm at a lost for words. Words can't describe how i feel right now. I've been wanting this for a very long time. I guess Lien might have been right on a few things. I might have conspired to get pregnant.....can you blame me?

Totally kidding people.

We didn't even plan on it, it just happened and we are excited about it. We can't wait for this little one to come out and say 'hello'.
For now, let me enjoy this and maybe i can wear a dress like those mega movie stars who are pregnant and looking hot in their dresses. That's all i want, to feel pretty and hott while pregnant because being pregnant is already a beautiful thing. I just want to add a little more to it.

This pregnancy has really been kicking my butt. Totally different from my last two. Last two? Was a breeze. I ate like a 'pig' with Nilun, gained over 55 pounds. Yes i was pretty fat and happy! But i was also 17 and really still trying to adjust to being married and living in a new place without my family.
With Naree i only gained 20 pounds but i did still eat like a pig. Wonder why i didn't gain as much? With Naree i notice i get notice by guys a lot, i actually got a few free stuff. I was looking very pretty with Naree, nice clear skin. Now? Not so much......
With this one? Well lets just say I'm surprised...this is really kicking my butt - like Jackie Chan came by and kicked my a**.
I'm so tired ALL THE TIME. I can't sleep at night {okay so i was a night owl before but it's gotten worst}. It's uncomfortable to sleep on my nice new soft bed....i'm sleeping on the sofa most days. And i lack a lot of energy. I get a lot of headaches now, major. I get sick a lot now {which never happened with my last two}. And the list goes on.
Not to mention i'm afraid of how labor will be now. Now that i'm older, will it be tougher? I've heard stories that when you're older it'll be harder and stuff. So it's got me on edge. I hope i can still do it naturally...

There is one thing that i've noticed that has changed a bit and i'm not quite sure if it's the pregnancy hormones or just me...but i've noticed that i'm a little more out spoken now. I will actually speak what's on my mind, well i still hold it back a bit but sometimes i just tell you like it is. I guess it could be a good and bad thing right?
It's a bad timing right now though, i'm a little more emotional then most. My close close friend who will eventually become our child's' godmother has moved away. It's a bad transaction for me right now with all these hormones going haywire.
So now i'm left with not much to go by. She is the one i go out to dinner with and do stuff with, now who will be my pregnant buddy? Who'll take me out to dinner?
I wish my best friends were here, Bori and Brandy or John...I truly miss them a lot. Not just because my close friend here has moved away. I've always missed them. I just want them to be here with me with this pregnancy. I feel like I need a friend with me now more than ever to experience my joy with me.

So if i look totally awful and looking like i need some sleep or a new face all together lets just tell me i look ok. I'm loving being pregnant and i'm enjoying every moment.

Here's to a few more months of pure bliss and ragging hormones!

This rides' gonna be fun!!!

Photo challenge #6

A picture of the person you'd love to trade places with for one day.

I just need one day to live her life. One day to stand up on that stage and feel the adrenaline and excitement of performing in front of dozens of people. I love Celine, she is my all time favorite. I'd love to feel what she feels every time she is up on that stage. 

Big brother

Every one always tell me that they love Nilun and his personality! And I agree with them. He is an awesome kid. He is so good with little kids. And they flock to him like birds....seriously. They just love him. Must be his goofy self or something.
I can always depend on him to entertain the little ones and he loves spending time with them.
Here he is in Naree's room with Skylar and Elizabeth drawing with them. I came up to check on them from entertaining some of our guest from out of town ( we had a wedding that day- hence the nicely dressed boys) and i found them drawing. How sweet is this? He'll be a great role model one day! He's already getting there.
I sure love my boy....well i guess he's not much of a boy anymore. His voice is already so low and he is...ahem... taller than i am. Okay don't laugh, one day your kid will tower over you. Or not! :)

He is Findlay right now hanging out with his cousins and it's only been 3 days but I already miss him. I can't wait to see him in a bout a week when we head out there ourselves.

Walk for Breast Cancer

A few weeks ago a few friends of mine and I did the Walk for Cancer. I was a little nervous about doing it, because well - it was to be 5 miles and i hadn't exercise or wasn't even active for years. So i was a little hesitant but i'm glad i did it. It turned out to be only 3 miles! Yay!!!

And it was really fun... I wasn't even tired at all. I still got it in  me! lol
After our walk we headed out to lunch and it totally had slipped my mind that they had the Asian Festival going on downtown too. So after lunch we walked around the festival a bit, wheeling and dealing with a few merchants....Yep that's how us Asians do it. :)
It was fun to spend some time with dear friends....especially eating and shopping!
Got home and took Naree to our town's carnival. I know, i did a lot of walking that day, but i had a blast. And to be honest it wasn't even that bad. My feet hurt a bit later when i was ready to go to bed but not as bad as i had thought it would be.
Yep it proves it...... I STILL GOT IT IN ME! Now who says I'm an old lady? lol

We saw this guy and had to stop to take pictures with him. :)

Yay Tina you made it! This girl is a tough cookie. She wasn't feeling well that day, shes actually wasn't feeling well for a few days prior to that but she still went AND finished the walk. Okay so she cheated and cut through a street but she wasn't feeling good. We'll give her that excuse! lol

What a fun and great way to spend the day with some friends!

Happy 13th!

Nilun celebrated his 13th birthday just a few weeks ago. I know i'm a little late on posting, been super busy.

I'm so happy I have a wonderful and caring son {most of the time! : ) } I kid......
He is the goofiest kid you'll know! I promise...
I love him with all my heart and I'm so happy that i get him as a son....

My little man is a teen now! Yikes, time sure flies doesn't it? I just hope that no matter how old he is. He'll stay give this old lady a hug and tell her he loves her once in a while. And for him to always be the kind, gentle, goofy, and wonderful kid that he is always.

Love mom!

Mother's Day

I woken up to find a sweet girl standing by my bed with a tray of a bowl of beef soup and a nice cold glass of my fave Guava Mango juice. Once i opened my sleepy eyes wide enough, she said "Happy Mother's Day mommy!"

What a way to wake up huh? Don't I have the best daughter ever? We were suppose to go to church but we woke up kinda late. That's what happens when we go out to a wedding the night before! Slept pretty late.
My son was still sleeping when Naree was in my room. He's just like his mommy! :)
If Naree hadn't woke me up, I'd still be asleep.......
She is such a wonderful and thoughtful girl. How did i get so lucky?

I had some of the soup, even though i hadn't washed my face or brush my teeth yet. It was actually pretty good, considering it was a canned soup. :) I'm not in love with canned soup.
So i had a bit and then shared some with Naree. When Nilun got up he said "happy mother's day mom"......
My boy is just like his daddy, he doesn't think too much of these things.....maybe because he knows I am special to him anyways, not just on Mother's Day.
You know, us girls, we are just more sentimental than the boys. :)

My mom picked us up and the kids and I went grocery shopping with her and then went back to her place and my sister and her daughter joined us. We had a little BBQ with mom and just spent the day with her.
Where was dad and hubby? Welll.....they went golfing. I did say boys are not as sentimental as we are right?
As long as i got to spend it with my mom i'm fine.

Lien did give me a kiss and wished me "happy mother's day" before he headed off for Golf. Guess gotta give him credit for that.

I am so thankful for such a wonderful mother. My mom is always thoughtful, and mindful of people's feeling. She is always there for us when ever we need her. She has sacrificed so much for us girls.
I remember one time, back when i was pretty young. Mom was really really sick...... She had the worst Flu ever. Chills and body aches. She was literally on the couch shivering and had blankets covering her. But mom still got up to cook for us, making sure we had something to eat. She still got up every morning - even when her body felt like it was falling apart - just so she could make the money to buy us the food. She never quit, never gave up and never once said she had had enough. She pushed herself to her limits. We really wish she didn't have to do that. But I now understand why she did. She did all that because she LOVE us, she wanted the best for us. She sacrificed her own health just so her kids could have food. She worked two jobs just to raised us.
I always loved and cherished my mom. I appreciated everything she did for us and i know and understand my mother's love, even way before i married. But now that I'm a mother myself.......... I now KNOW and UNDERSTAND her sacrifices she made for us.
Being a mother is the best job and present in the world. Nothing in this life is better than being a mother. I am so glad that I am a mother to two wonderful caring kids. I only hope that one day when my daughter is ready, that she will grow up to be a wonderful and caring mother just like her grandmother. And I hope that when my son is ready, that he will find a wonderful and caring wife just like his mom and grandmother.

I will forever cherish every moment i spend with my mom. Because she is the ONLY woman who will love me unconditionally. She is and will be the only one who will be here for me when I'm down. She will pick me up when i fall. She will guide me when i'm lost. She will love me when I'm sad. She is the one who has mold me to be who i am today and who i will continue to be tomorrow. She has taught me about sacrifice. She will cure me when I'm sick. She is the only woman who will forever be in my heart.

I hope that i will/can be just a great of a mom to my kids as she is to me. 

I love you mom!

Photo Challenge

A picture of your favorite memory.

The day Nilun was born! The day my first child was born. The day my life would change forever....5/16/98
This was the day I became a mother. Someone a little child would depend on for the rest of his life. Being a mother has really made me realize how much love i could give and need in return.

 Second memory is the day my second child was born. The day a little girl made our family complete! 1/2/01...

I just can not pick one good memory. I have many but these two would be my most memorable memory that i will carry to my grave and beyond.

Photo Challenge

A picture of your typical night.

Well my 'typical' night doesn't have a picture. It's usually me trying to figure out what to cook and then cooking and getting the kids and Lien to sit down to eat, get the kids to bed and then getting Lien to bed. Then i get some 'me' time to do whatever and it's usually on the net. I spend a few hours on it, depending on how tired i am.

Some days it's more hectic than usual, what with the kids soccer and/or basketball. Depending on which season we are on. :)
Fall and Spring is Soccer for Nilun and Naree. Winter is Basketball for Nilun.

No more wallpaper!

Well it's been way long overdue. {2 years to be exact!} That's mainly my fault. I kept on saying "I'm going to do it" and then just never get to. Or maybe i was just a little scared to start this project. Because it really looked like a HUGE project.
Tearing wallpaper is a big ordeal to me. I'd rather paint, or say, put make-up on dead people - rather than tear out wallpaper. :)
To make it worst my sister-in-law - who used to live with us and stayed in this room - decided it'd be so fun to make my work more miserable one day and put wallpaper on top of each other. So there is like 2 layers of wallpaper on some and some are just one layer. What? I don't know, don't ask me. I'm just the in-law!

I should have taken a 'before' picture but didn't think of it at the time. This is as close as you get to picturing what it looked like before. A lot of wallpaper and A LOT of flowers. It wasn't all just one pattern, it was 3 patterns all together.

I just i had to put my butt into gear. Lien's nephew is getting married in like literally like 3 weeks! Yikes.........I'm such a procrastinator! BIG TIME!
So now I'm scrambling...like always. What's new?
Good thing when i finally decided to get my butt into gear, it was Spring Break and the kids were home. So yes, i did what any mother would do - put my child to work. Hey you know it's not called 'child labor' if they are working on their rooms! It's called...hmmm....it's called 'helping'!
Besides what else could they have done? It rained most of the week. Plus we got 2 more extra help one day. Thanks to some friends who came over.

One side all cleared!

 So room is almost done! Wallpaper is almost gone. Kids are back in school. So now i can finally get my work done and not have kids getting in my way.....geeesh these kids. Always in my way. Don't they know I have work to do? :) j/k

I can't wait to paint the room. {first i have to sand down some of the old paint that chipped when i took out wallpaper....bummer!}
This room used to be our room back when Nilun was younger. Then we moved downstairs when i had Naree - more room/space. We moved up and down a few more times. I know...CRAZY RIGHT? Now it is Naree's room! It is the biggest room in the house! She wants it purple! And she wants wood floors so lets hope that our floor is still looking good when the carpet comes out.

Big project. And it must be done in 2 1/2 weeks! Plus my hallway too. Repaint and carpet is coming out. I'm making myself do this on my own, so lets see if i can. This might just be what i need to get my butt into gear! A deadline!