School is in Session ~A Mother's Thoughts~

The first day of school went so well. We were actually on an “End-of- summer-mini-vacation" over the weekend, and came home on Sunday afternoon. I made sure everything was ready for school before we left town, so there was no hassle.

Guess what... my youngest started going to school full time now. I cannot believe it. I will not lie, there were times I dreamed for this day. To have more time for myself and the things that I want to do. This morning, I woke up and thought, "Wow, today is THE day".

If someone asked me how I feel right now, I actually don't know. I went out on a lunch date with my husband, and it was really nice! Although, I can't imagine not having all of my kids until I need to pick them up at 3:30. It hasn't sunk in yet... no noisy cartoons, no sounds of someone running around the house, no nagging or fighting, and no one is calling for me saying "Mommy!” Ok, I guess part of me misses having them home already.

Some of you might think that I am being a bit melodramatic, but in a way this is a growing process for me too. As they get older and spend less and less time with me, I need to gradually get use to that. So, when they leave the nest completely, I don't have a HUGE gaping hole in my heart, I will slowly start filling that with other wonderful things.

For me that would be more sewing and designing time. Time to organize and clean my house better, I could actually try a new recipe or two. More lunch dates with Mr. TRH or my girlfriends. Most of all, celebrating the milestones and accomplishments of my children.

I know many of you who read my blog have little ones at home. One piece of advice I that I can pass on to you is that you "enjoy the little ones while you can". Many people gave me that advice when I had babies and toddlers, and I don't think I quite got it that back then (it is hard to enjoy them when they are the ones who are giving you reasons to pull your hair out).
But now, I want to say the same thing to you. Enjoy them! Cuddle them, kiss them and read them books, do whatever you and your children enjoy, they grow up SO fast!

We went on a picnic during the summer, Christopher was talking to me and when I was talking to someone and turned around to talk to him again (not even a minute), he was gone. He said "Mom!", when I looked around; he was already climbing a tree and smiling at me. I think parenting is kind of like that. They are there and while we are distracted for little bit, they are gone. So, enjoy the moments with them. :)



Now, I also know many of you already have teens, or grown-ups who’ve already left home. What did you do? Did you do anything special to make the transition easier? Any words of advice you can share? I am curious to learn about the next phase I am entering.

Hello My Name is...

Whew...I am back! Thanks to my sweet husband, he was able to save all the pictures, and everything up and running. Yea!


A few weeks ago, I was asked to sew a bunch of parts for sock monkeys. There is a summer camp for young women in our church, and this is a craft activity that they are going to do. All I needed to do was to cut and sew the parts, so they can stuff and put them together. The person asked me to do this got the idea from Sock & Glove there are a very easy to follow instructions in the book.

Near the end of it, I was getting very fast at sewing them. Then, I remembered the socks I bought a while ago were intended to make Rachel's leg warmers. I decided to make a sock monkey for her instead.

Since this monkey is for her, I thought it would be a good idea to include her in some of the decision making.

For example, I asked her what kind of eyes we should give the monkey, and we went through my button case. Here are my picks...




Cute, but predictable right? Here are the Rachel's picks...




Cute and unpredictable. The combination of different shapes and it is hard for you to tell by these pictures, but the red and aqua colored buttons are SO HUGE, that they would cover half the face of the monkey. She will look like an alien.

Every time she found new buttons for the eyes, she would hold them up to the monkey's face and laugh real hard. The laugh was so contagious that I started laughing too! I quickly realized that she was enjoying this but not serious about picking the eyes to give the monkey a pretty face.

So I said (imagine that I am using my "nice voice" and acting that I just discovered something amazing) "oh, look, there are these buttons that are perfect for her!" and picked the eyes and sewed them on.

Then, I was going back and forth about what to do with the nose. No nose? or this and that, there were a few options but I couldn't decide.
I asked Rachel, "What about her nose?"

She exclaimed, "NO nose!” followed by a giggle.

So, I said "Oh, look, if I do this, she can breathe better!" and quickly sewed two lines for the nose. Luckily she liked it too.

At last, the monkey was complete, except her name. I was talking to myself (loudly), "hmm...what should I name her..."

Then Rachel said, "Chef Boyardee!!" (Yes, I feed my kids chef Boyardee sometimes, don't judge me...) she was laughing so hard, she almost fell off the couch.

I said, "No, I want a different name... (the pause is for giving her the opportunity to come up with a different name)"

Again, she said "Chef Boyardee! hahahah". She was just so fond of her brilliant idea of coming up with such a name; she didn't let it go.

We repeated the same conversation a more few times, then, my son Michael who was watching TV there had enough. He said, "How about Lulu or Lala."

Ha! I liked the sounds of it, so did Rachel.

So, her name is....



Thanks to Michael, she didn't end up with the name "Chef Boyardee".
Rachel was just so pleased that she was in the important decision making process (even though they weren't the final picks. :) ) She held Lulu in her arms and went to play.

A Letter For Future Rachel--Modesty & Fashion--

Dear Future Rachel,

I can't deny that I like clothes; I love them. I am not being materialistic or vein. Every morning I think about the possibilities; color combinations, mix and match, and stuff. It is one of the thing that makes me happy and I always have enjoyed this since I was a little girl. I enjoy the clothing in the same manner that I enjoy quilt making. It's another way to express myself.

Ever since you were born, the enjoyment has more than doubled. I love to dress you and I alike. We don't wear the same thing, but I pick out the same color theme or if I wear a brooch you wear the same flower hair bow. (Your brothers are forever thankful that you came along, because I did that with them too.) I am going to have fun with this until you enter the teenage years and tell me "Oh, mom, please!"

Speaking of the teenage years, I often wonder what kind of young lady you will become. There are many aspect of this, but I will write about modesty and fashion.

There are few things I know:
1. More skin doesn't mean more attractive.

2. Well if more skin get lots of attention from the opposite sex, that is the wrong kind of attention. Trust me you don't want that!

3. Just as important as 2, Don't sell yourself short.

4. Most of the time, people assume who you are with how you are dressed. If you are a nice, decent young lady, why would you make your life harder by wearing something that makes you look less than who you really are?

5. Treat yourself with respect. Dress accordingly.

6. There are many ways to be modest and at the same time accomplish a modern, cute, and stylish look.

I hope you will keep those things in mind as some advice from your mommy. Also, there is a story I want you to read, here goes...

Your daddy was talking to a friend at work, and he told daddy a true story about his friend that happened a while ago.(so, this is fourth hand story telling, details might be little off)
One day, he received a phone call from his neighbor telling him that his teenage daughter would leave the house in modest appropriate clothing and then change into immodest clothing at school. She would then change back before coming home.

He felt some embarrassment and anger but he decided wait a little while. A few days later, his daugther came home with a report card, and it was a good report card. So, to celebrate and reward her for her efforts he took his daughter to a populer hang out spot for her school. She was all excited. All the popular kids were there.

They were talking and having a good time and the father said, "Oh, this place is so hot! I'm sweating." Then he took off his shirt. Now picture this, an overweight hairy chested man wearing a wife-beater shirt a couple sizes too small.

The daughter was shocked and embarrassed and shouted under her breath, " Dad! What are you doing! You are embarrassing me!!"

Then, the father's face turned all serious and he leaned over to his daugther and said, "That's how your mother and I feel when you change at school!"

Wow... what a story... now Rachel, your father is the kind of man that if he really has to go all that way to teach you guys something, he would. Such a self sacrificing and humiliating method, but an effective way to teach. And, trust me on this I am the kind of mother that will support him 100%. I will be behind him.

I hope you will make the right choices. I will always be there for you if you need help on this. We will have a mother and daughter day out and go shopping or go through my closet and be creative so that you can accomplish number 6 on the list. It will be so much fun!!

You don't want a dark spot on your teenage memories do you?

Love,

Mom

Father's Day Gifts

On Sunday morning, I was still in bed snoozing, my husband woke me up and said, "Hey, do you want to see what I got from Michael?" It is still pretty early in the morning, I guess Michael couldn't wait to give his gift to his daddy.

"Sure." I got up. There were three presents. I thought it was so cute and generous of him to give those up. Because I knew, how much they meant to him. I will share them with you all.

First, a gift card fot wal-mart. He receved it for Christmas from his Grandma and already spent it, but the card still had 26 cents left. To Michael, using the card and shopping made him feel like such a grown up. I knew he was looking forward to using it again.



Another gift was a small sea shell. We took a vacation last summer to San Diego. We went to Sea World, Lego Land and the beach. That was thier first time at the beach, we had a blast. The sea shell was something he collected and it held special memories.



The last one was a "Star Wars Catalog". When he recieved a Star Wars toy, for some occacion a while ago, it came with a small catalog. He obviously kept the catalog for future reference. I know it was one of his important things.



My husband was happy and we smiled at each other. How cute and such a nice gesture to show how much he loves his daddy. He gave three present to his daddy. What he doesn't realize is, he gave much more then he thinks, a very sweet and special memory that my husband and I will talk about for years to come.

One Fine Day

Today was a bit of a slow day for me. My oldest had a really bad cough so he stayed home from school. I took him to the doctor in the morning, I only had to go to school once to pick up my middle son after the doctor. After that we picked up the medicine and came home and stayed home the rest of the day.

After they finished their homework, they played quietly (well, for me it was quieter than nomal eventhough I heard them jump from their bed to the floor several times.)

You know what? That was nice! I actually had some time DURING THE DAY to sew. Usually I am always on the go; it is hard to find the time to sew during the day. I finished making my mom's secnd apron and another handbag!





After dinner we watched a movie as a family and had a blast. We talked, laughed and enjoyed each others company.

There was no big event or anything.

Eventhough my oldest was sick, it was just a very nice and calm pleasent day.

I loved it.