Thank you, and goodbye!

Upon reconsideration of priorities, I've decided to cut out blogging from my life.

SO SAD!

I just wanted to honestly THANK YOU faithful checkers, readers, and even skim-through-ers of my dinky thoughts and life.

Thanks to those who gave me comfort, and words of warmth and encouragement. I will miss them!

I still have my facebook and yahoo account though, so feel free to stalk me there! ;) hahaha

Honestly,

thank you.

and goodbye.

Monika

The X-factor

We've all seen it, those sing off television shows where ordinary people hop on stage and sing their hearts out for a chance to be a star in Hollywood.

Tonight, I was watching one of those shows with nothing else I wanted to do but unwind from the day with the kids in front of the tele.

A man dressed in dark heavy coat appeared after the commercials with scruffy facial hair and untidy hair, hand in hand with his mom. HIS MOM!

His mother had driven him 7 hours to get him on this show.

First impression?

Not so hot.

He was asked what he did for a living, to which he answered "I fling burritos."

Alright, second impression?

Still not hot.

The greasy looking man who looked like he just reappeared from the cave announced his song of choice.

The crowd snickered, and even the judges had looks of incredulous in their voice.

In the mean time, the man's mother was backstage literally freaking out about how amazing her son was and how he was going to blow the world away, tears and all.

Nothing was going for this man.

Then the soft music of "At last" began and the grizzly man opened his mouth.

at the same time, all the judge's yackers dropped open, the crowd went dead silent.

MY eyes were wide open too, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

The man finished his song and the audience went wild.

The judges ate him up, complimenting him to bits.

My eyes were wet.

I must admit that I do get emotional quite easily, but I was grateful for this little episode on a dinky tv show.

How are we perceived by the world?

Better yet, how am I perceived by the world?

...probably like a worthless person just raising little children.

My hair's not always the tidiest, usually thrown up in a bun. Heck, if I showered that day, that's what I call ACCOMPLISHMENT! My face is a washout (no makeup) on most days, I have no real skills, I contribute little to the world as far as its concerned. The world probably mocks me, or better yet, probably doesn't even know that I exist. If I even tried to go out and do anything "great," they'd probably laugh at my attempt or karate chop me to pieces. (lol)

but.

there is one person--maybe even two...

they know exactly who I am, and what I'm capable of.

Just like the crying mother who knew without a doubt what her scrubby son was capable of, that he would crush everyone's expectations, I too, have Heavenly parents who love me with no end. They know exactly what my worth is, and they will stand by me 100%, yes, even on days I don't believe I can do much.

The audience may see me as they did the man in the beginning, a scrubby wore-out mom flipping pancakes every morning and wiping snotty little kids all day, and they may not even change their minds about me in the end cheering me on, but I know, just like that mother who believed in her son, that to my Heavenly Parents, I am a somebody.

updates on the Family

{costumes are a courtesy of the boy's aunt and Uncle Sampert-THANK YOU!}

I figured since this blog is more like my own journal, I better put in an update or two about my family! :)

Nothing too big is happening, but here's what I can think of right off the top of my head.

1. We recently received a list containing 115 places to choose from to move next year. (?)

We will be given a 1.5 months to put a list together of about 10 top choices of where we want to go next. Finding out where we will go will have to wait until next Feb. or March, and the move is next Summer.

Our top picks so far are: Seattle, Portland, and anywhere in CA.

2. Jaiden: he's definitely talking more. "Huh?" he will ask you after EVERYTHING YOU SAY. Oh, not just once, but a million times!!! DRIVES ME UP THE WALL. He IS, however, becoming MUCH easier to handle. He's potty trained, although he still wets himself if he's playing too hard and is too lazy to go potty and he still has a diaper on in bed. Other than that, he's a gosh darn cute little thing, and there's not a day that I don't remember that behind this bright smile and stinker attitude was a war fought to live.

3. Kai: He's enjoying his last week of Preschool by Miss Annie this week. He's done well and has learned so much. He still likes bugs, but has moved onto things like robots and monsters. He LOVES to color and draw. He's starting to show me more sides like getting upset if he's not the party's attention when with his friends. Ay ay ay. (that's the Latin side of me coming out)

He's still that 99% of the time-obedient little child who loves to ask questions non-stop and is always thinking...just thinking....wheels always turning in his head.

4. We've decided to homeschool the kids. "Homeschool," is a silly word with preschoolers, but well, I guess it is. I'm going to be teaching them both, and in Japanese. I figured that next year since they'll both be in school, I better cherish one last year with both my boys home. I also figured I better get more serious about them learning Japanese before they head off to English schools. It will be good.

Ronny: he's here and he's wonderful. :) He got called out all day last Saturday to a huge oil spill. It's been a rough weekend (and week while he was on call), but he just surprised me this morning with a day off. :)

Me: I have fallen deeper and deeper in love with Cooking. I think I've really narrowed down my passion in life to it and have been spending more and more time in the kitchen or in books reading and studying about the hows and whys of it all. So far, these are my favorite sites:

youtube. (i love watching HOW to cook.)

America's Test Kitchen (books and DVDs from the library

http://www.ourbestbites.com/

I think that's about it!

Sis. F

We asked one of our new converts to teach the RS lesson this last Sunday.

She's an older lady and let me tell ya, is so cute.

She's in a wheel chair type thing and has diabetes, but is so "high" spiritually since she was baptized back in April of 2011, that she never can contain her smile and willingness to serve when she's at church or we talk to her on the phone.

She's a dynamite!

When we asked her to teach a RS lesson, she was so tickled. "Me?!" She'd say.

Saturday when I spoke to her and helped her through her lesson one last time, she was ecstatic for this opportunity to teach the following day. Of course, she was nervous too, but she was grateful that "you would trust me, sister Sampert!"

"Are you going to be okay now?" I asked her, making sure she felt comfortable to teach now.

"Oh yes," sis. F said.

"Good, you'll do great." I reassured her.

"Well, that is, after I go practice this several times in the mirror. I'm gonna go line up all my stuffed animals in the mirror and practice!" She said, laughing shyly.

I'm grateful I have the opportunity to work with such willing sisters. They're an example to me that although we might be uncomfortable being taken out of our comfort zone at times, being willing to serve the Lord is number one. The rest will follow.

Sister W.

Today's post is a bitter sweet post.

I went and visited sister W. today. My sweet counselor and a few other sisters in our branch put together a "friendship quilt"--basically, blocks of fabric sewn together to make a quilt, and had everyone sign it.

I was honored to deliver the heart felt gift to her with a few of sis. W's close friends from the branch.

Sis. W. has had terminal breast cancer for several years now. She recently had a double mastectomy in an attempt to rid her of this disease. Unfortunately, the cancer has spread beyond what most would believe "curable."

The last time I saw her was back in June, before she went in for the surgery. Although she was in considerable amount of pain back then, she still looked somewhat well.

Not today when I saw her.

Withered away just sitting in her wheel chair (mind you, she's only about in her early 40's) she was half the size she used to be. She complained of "freezing" and so had multiple blankets over her now frail body. She couldn't move much, she just sat there listening to everyone talk around her.

As I sat in the dark lit room of the W. home surrounded by a few other sisters, I thought about life. I thought about her life, I thought about my life, I thought about LIFE.

Now usually when we see people, we don't see them as "dying," and we certainly don't say "we're watching them die," but I couldn't shake off a strange dark feeling that I was in fact, watching a person slowly move towards the end of this life. I was watching sis. W. die.

Now please, don't think I'm a dark or cruel person. I'm not trying to be. I love this lady so much. She's taught me many valuable lessons, but if you've ever watched a person die, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's an odd feeling...

So back to the dark lit room where I wondered about life...

I wondered if she wished she could wash dirty dishes again.

I wondered if she would complain to have to play with her now 8 month old grandson who was lying on the floor, babbling happily as he raised his head up high to look at the adults in the room.

I wondered if she ever wished she could mop the floors and if she'd love folding warm clean clothes fresh out of the laundromat (most people have to go to a laundromat around here).

I wondered if she ever thought the sun was too bright and too hot.

I wondered so many things.

I don't downplay annoying things in life, nor do I remotely suggest venting or complaining is evil. Heck, you're reading the blog of the QUEEN of complaining! :)

What I did wonder though, was if I took a bit too much for granted.

Naturally.

But maybe I shouldn't.

Maybe I needed to "live like I was dying," as Tim McGraw so famously put it.

Maybe it was a blessing to hear the kids scream and run.

Maybe it was a blessing to have dirty dishes piled high to the ceiling and so much laundry to fold my eyes would pop out.

You know why? Because I CAN DO IT, I CAN DO IT, and I CAN DO IT!

Isn't life BEAUTIFUL?!

Thank you sis. W. for all that you've taught me--

may there be many more lessons shared by you!!!

He just smiles

Have you ever struggled in life?

Have you ever sat there praying to receive comfort or an answer, but wondering why you weren't receiving any of that from the Heavens right at that moment?

I had an experience the other day that made me think, A-HA! I think I understand now, just a glimpse of what our Heavenly Father does and how he operates when WE are struggling.

Here it goes.

I have been reading my mission president's son's emails to his family who just left on his mission about 2 weeks ago. His mother has been forwarding them to me because he's being sent to serve in Japan. Anyway, their son, who is a real fine and sweet young man was writing in his last email that things were hard. He says,

"Missions are weird. Even though I'm only in the MTC, you can go up and down SO much within the same day. It's crazy. Well, last Friday and Saturday I was feeling kind of down because I felt like I would never learn Japanese. I still don't think I will :) It's frustrating, too, because the new MTC program is all about how you need to meet the needs of your investigator and everything you do should be focused on them and how you need to teach by the spirit and ask questions and interact with them, but I just can't do it in Japanese. From my journal: "Why couldn't I have been speaking Spanish or English? California, Texas, those places all sound pretty good right now. Why did God send me to Japan?" I was also down because I felt like I wouldn't be good enough. Everyone told me what a great missionary I would be but I was feeling like, "What if I'm not?"

If you thought you were reading your own thoughts, you're not alone.

As I read his email, the strangest thing was happening to me. I just couldn't help but SMILE. I was smiling SO big that my face hurt. I felt like I wanted to fly down to the MTC and give him a big hug--or just tell him "it's going to be okay, I PROMISE!!"

I knew 100% that he was going to live, that he was going to come out of this strong, I KNEW without a doubt that he IS indeed going to be one of the best missionaries out there, and that the Japanese would come to him. Somehow, I just knew all of this.

I wrote my response to my mission president's sweet sweet wife.

"I will write him later." still smiling as big as ever.

That's all.

Not because I thought David's trials were funny, but because I had been there, I knew EXACTLY what he was feeling--all the frustration, all the craziness-you name it, I knew exactly what he was going through.

What's more, I was surprised at my decision to write him "later." Why not NOW? Wouldn't he benefit from hearing from someone who had been through the exact thing he had been, RIGHT NOW?!

Here comes the first "A-HA" moment.

I just thought that nothing I say could give him comfort at the moment.

He and he alone needed to get through this trial and then I could speak with him.

Not because he wouldn't want to hear what I had to say (that "everything will be okay,") but that he COULDN'T understand it right now. I remembered MY mission and time in the MTC when learning Spanish was one of the most frustrating thing I had ever done and I had felt like I'd never speak it, NEVER!

I thought my life was over.

It was a very hard time.

But looking back now, I marveled at how I got through it, how the language came to me in such a short time (relatively speaking), how everything worked out and now I look back with such fond memories of it all. Well what do you know, here I am, almost 10 years later, alive and thriving!

I just couldn't help but smile-BIG. Ready for another A-HA???

....this must be how Heavenly Father is, listening to us whine in our prayers or earnestly seek comfort---or just watching us struggle. He just smiles. Not to be rude or mean, but smiling to say

"I KNOW you can and WILL get through this. I know it's rough right now, but you have no idea how fast this will all past, and you have even less idea of the joys you will feel after getting past this stage." etc. I just felt like I understood just a glimpse of the eternal perspective.

When we're struggling, that's all we can see and we're just stuck. Afterwards though, we can look back and say "I did it!" and they turn out to be one of the most treasured times...just as I struggle with motherhood or the lack of self-esteem right now and searching for my "personal worth," I feel Heavenly Father must sometimes sit back and just let me squirm. Although he wants to give me a big hug, fly down here and tell me "everything's going to be okay," sometimes it's just best to leave me/us alone and he just smiles big--knowing that we will get through this and be happy--happier than before, having been polished and strengthened. Nothing He could say will help us in the moment, because most of the time, we're not even listening, we're too busy being frustrated and unwilling to trust Him in some cases. We get into a rut and don't want to see beyond it. So interesting! I'm glad I had that experience because I am now convinced that that's what Heavenly Father does---and I smiled.

I'm gonna be ok.

This is what I made last night.

Mouth watering. It was AMAZING.

(ourbestbites.com)

Pork Tacos with Chili Verde

(unfortunately, the recipe was only in their cookbooks I think, and not on their website)

Job Description: Occasional Toilet Scooper

Jaiden dropped his LEGOS in the toilet today. A man, a few pieces and tires.....both him and Kai were STARING into it trying to decide what to do when I came in. "ready to go? did you go peepee?" I asked, hurriedly, wanting to get some errands run in the morning.

"Mama!!! You have to get the legos out of the toilet!!" Kai said. Jaiden looked up at me with TEARS in his eyes.

"MY LEGOSS!!!" he burst into tears.

You know me, I HAD to play with his emotions... JUST A LITTLE BIT!

"Well, that's it then. say goodbye to your legos!"

I carefully jiggled the toilet handle.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

a scream heard around the block from both boys.

I looked into the basin. I guess I should be thankful it was only YELLOW, not brown....

I chased the boys out of the bathroom (wouldn't want them to get any ideas!) and fished the pieces of legos out of there.

What I wouldn't do for these boys is amazing.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

There were REALLY YUMMY!!! I didn't have the "hazelnut extract" so I just used vanilla as it instructs. I also just used just regular "toll house cocoa", not the fancy stuff this recipe calls for. I think my oven might be SUPER oven because my cookies also came out PERFECT after only 8 minutes, but at 10-12, it was BURNT. (I have dark cookie sheets)

they should be GOOEY when you take them out guys! They firm up quite nicely!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/08/chocolate-nutella-cookies/

Busy Activity 5

One last one for today.

Here's another activity I had the kids do.

Needed: Paper, pen and scissors

Age 3: I drew a straight line on paper and had Jaiden cut the black line with scissors (couldn't do it, but it's good practice)

Age 4: I drew "zig zag" and even a flower for Kai to cut out. (did the zig zag but not the flower)

All you need to do is draw on the paper (thicker line is better for kids I think, so use markers, wider crayons, etc.--in the end, I guess it might not matter that much) and have the child cut along the lines.

Busy Activity 4

Are you loving me for these posts yet, or what? lol

Here's something we did today that had the kids BUSTING UP LAUGHING. Ok, me too.

Need: paper, pen and scissors

Age: whenever they start to understand what is SILLY.

What to do: you draw silly face parts on paper, then cut out (doesn't have to be neatly cut or anything)

Objective: hand the child a round piece of paper, representing the FACE. Then, let them create SILLY FACES with the face parts you drew and cut out for them.

They will laugh.

You will laugh.

Laughter is medicine for the soul.

I'm no artist...but here are my "silly" face parts drawn and cut out, ready to assemble.
Jaiden's creation.
Kai's creation.

Kai's busily making his "so silly" face.

I take it back. For younger children who still don't understand "silly", just draw face/body parts and have the child place the cutouts to where it corresponds.

Busy Activity 3

Boy, I'm on a roll!

Here's what we've done several times.

Need: Beads and string or ribbon. Anything thin enough that the kids can thread beads through.

Objective: have the kids string the beads through yarn, thicker thread, ribbon, etc.

They can make necklaces, bracelets, or just string things to practice using their fingers.

Time engaged: at least 30 minutes.

It's great!

Such a simple, inexpensive activity, but it works every time! For older kids, I'd suggest challenging them a bit---"can you make a pattern?" "Can you rotate from blue, green, yellow and red all throughout it?" etc.

Fun Activity 1

Not so much a "busy activity," but it's REALLY FUN way to spend time with your kids, switch things up a bit from the mundane routine and heck, it's CHEAP (if you already have some face paint or finger paints around). If not, it's well worth the $5-7 to spend to get some kid friendly finger paints (is there even an "adult friendly" finger paints? lol)

What got me to do this crazy thing?

We like to explore the library often. We go once a week, or every two weeks if we can wait that long. We check out like 30 books at a time, no joke (a good tip here is to RESERVE books ONLINE folks! It makes life a LOT easier if you have no time and kids running in different directions :)

Anyway....I randomly picked up a "face painting" book from the kid's section and thought it'd be fun. The kids got to choose what they wanted on their face, and I have to admit....

I HAD SO MUCH FUN! LOL

The kids? Well, they were STOKED. They were SO GIDDY and SO happy and SO excited and SO amused! They had fun playing their accompanying roles and well, we had a great day.

So cheap.

So fun.

So together.

Success.

(ps. Kai's a vampire and Jaiden's a skeleton--I never said I painted well) :)

Busy Activity 2

it gets pretty intense around here, sitting on top of the table and all. lol

Kai: (age 4-5)

PUZZLES

Again, I found these awesome 100piece puzzles at Target's dollar section. Trust me, a buck for puzzles are a stinkin' catch of a deal. I snagged ALL of them.

It keeps the child busy.

That's all I care.

No but really, puzzles are GREAT for kids and their brains.

Heck, it's a GREAT way for parents to spend quality time with the kids too. Talk with them while you help them find pieces.

They love it! I will find Kai spend HOURS just sitting doing puzzles after puzzles. I literally have to tell him "that's enough, you crazy puzzle head!" but, it's bought me time to SLEEP IN in the mornings :)

for a younger child like Jaiden, I've found that less and bigger pieces are better. We have puzzles ranging anywhere from 10-25 pieces of which Jaiden LOVES to put together. I do have to help him with the 25 pieces, but again, this is a GREAT time to spend quality time with your kids. Jaiden loves to sit on my lap and be told what puzzle piece goes where, and I let him place it in the right spot. He absolutely loves it.

Busy activities 1

I've been into finding "busy bag" ideas or "busy activities" for kids.

Here's one I did the other day.

Jaiden: (3 years old)

needed: beads and bowls or something to separate them into

Objective:

separate beads into bowls according to different colors

Busy time:

more than 30 minutes

Mission accomplished?

YOU BET YOUR SWEET BUNS IT DID.

Halfway into it, I had to put up this awesome box that had sides to it to contain the little suckers, but it all worked just fine. Jaiden had a blast, learned about colors, and enabled me to do my things.

PS. I'd like to add that I found these beads at Target's dollar section...marked down 75% to a whopping .25 cents. Bowls=free from around the house. Score! You could also use diff. colored pastas or really, anything that's small and colorful!

You can also have them spoon them around to practice measuring and not spilling!

Dear Abby. Why are men and women so different?

Ok, so this is a bit more candid than I usually am--about marriage and relationships, but I felt like I needed to write, and I'm pretty sure a lot of you out there would be able to relate to me. I needed someone to understand me and say "that happens to me too," or "I totally understand!"

So here's the scenario. Your husband (in my case, since I'm a woman) comes home from work. You've been home all day with the little ones, and gosh darn it you love them to death, but as soon as that man of yours walks in, you just want to CLING to him and blabber at him about your whole day! You feel happy to see him and want to follow him around like a puppy. "So, what do you think about this?" "Isn't it so cute?" "How was your day?" "What should we do about this?!" It's not anything BAD that I'm reporting to him or that I'm asking, I simply just vomit on him about all the things that happened, the things I want to get done, and well, I am just so darn happy to see him and maybe even more so, I am just thrilled to talk to an ADULT.

On the other hand, your spouse smiles at you, gives you a hug and a kiss and then suddenly you realize....he's done it again. He's disappeared into the abyss. You can see it in his eyes that he's no longer roaming this planet earth. Your words don't reach his ears at all; the blank stare tells all. Maybe he's even a great actor that day in which case he smiles, nods, even grunts on occasion, but you realize; there's no body home! It's still just me and the kids!!

Ahh, you may say, the typicalness of it all. The universal struggle indeed. I see the challenge here, I really do. Men are out all day, bowing down to superiors and being around adults. When they come home, they want peace and quiet, go away and hideout from all human being. Women on the other hand? Especially for those stay at home mommies struggling to keep her sanity in tact, all she wants to do is cling on to dear life...I mean, cling to her dear husband and yack away to ease the pains of loneliness, or simply to stimulate her brain cells once more, reassuring herself that she's in fact NOT going crazy from listening to kid's wild absurd stories all day and talking with little people who require detailed instructions to EVERYTHING they undertake.

So what do you do? The common mistake I see women (okay, myself) making is that when the spouse goes into "shut down mode," I take it as he's "mad" at me, or "doesn't want to be with me," or I so wisely think; "he's in his cave"--I will be the good wife and leave him alone. But before you know it, HOURS have passed and they're still in their "cave"...I don't know when he'll come out. I've heard men say "that's not it; I'm not mad, I love you, and I'm not in my cave." I'm no doctor Laura and I'm not a gender expert. I simply want to know that I'm not crazy. I still find myself, after six years--wanting to be with my husband every second that he's home. Fine, call me crazy. I love that guy! But alas, I feel the magnitude of this universal controversy that have been known to men and women everywhere and feel like I need some answers. Do I leave him alone completely? (I've tried that) Does he succumb to my neediness? (he's tried that) Do we find a middle ground? (that'd be nice--although we thought we had found that-time and time again...) Is there even an answer?? Or do we get mad, get hurt, and try again and again?

Whatever the case, it's been nice to share my honest thoughts and feelings and would even be nicer to get some positive feedback. I'm not looking for lectures, I'm wanting to hear what you've done cuz I know I ain't the first and only one to have this challenge in a marriage!

Yours truly,

me

Moments that matter most

Is it just me, or do these make you cry too!??! So beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l70e1TfN34w&feature=relmfu

Hello, it's me and my testimony again.

Btw, an old friend of mine wrote me out of the blue today.

Long story short, she asked me if her husband could use an entry from my recent blabberings called "my testimony" (or something like that) in her husband's upcoming Sunday lesson at church.

1. I was super flattered that anyone would be reading my blog

(I know for sure you guys read it, Dayna, Norma and Dee :)

2. I thought. hmm, maybe I need to repent. lol

Repent wouldn't be quite the right word, but point was, that I was reminded that no matter how "simple and of no importance" people think their testimonies are of what they believe in, they--I-- should be sharing it wherever, whenever, with whomever.

I always think; my testimony's of no worth, I have nothing important to say, it's the same old, same old.

so what? I think sometimes we LIKE to feel that we're normal. I think we sometimes NEED to feel that we're okay--that our mediocre testimony--the non-flashy--not wordy--"I believe" testimony is what 99.9% of the people can relate to--but we don't hear it--almost never. Maybe that's why so many of us feel less important a lot of times? Because all we hear up at the podium at fast Sundays, while great, are how people came to know the gospel was true by means of powerfully answered prayers and okay, just plain amazing experiences of which, I'm so far from. (again, those are great stories, thanks for sharing, but I'm just talking about normal people like myself here--I've never experienced such hard core earth shattering witnesses for my testimony)

I just feel it's the right thing.

I just think I don't have anything to lose by believing.

I just...well, I know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me because whenever I think about it, my heart quiets all other doubts and fears.

That is why I believe.

Thanks Mindee for waking me up. :)

(art by Greg Olsen)

Just me and the kids

I wished I was better at posting pictures along with my entries...'cuz I've got some cuute pics of the kids and what we've been up to these days...but alas, I'm not that person and I'm definitely not posting any pics tonight. {Too lazy.}

Anyway, I'm happy to announce that I've LOVED this week.

Odd, because Ronny's been gone.

Or is it odd?

LOL

Jk!!

No, but I really have been enjoying this week. Yes, I'm ready for Ronny to be home, and YES! I'm very excited to see him manana, but I've enjoyed almost every single second of the time I had alone with the boys.

...I've noticed how much Kai's grown up. He helps better and listens better. He's even been speaking NON-STOP Japanese to me. Which, to me is HUGE. It's what I grew up with, it's where my heart is-it's what I relate to, and so even if no one else speaks it around us and I'll admit that I really wonder what "good" it's doing to teach my kids this foreign language, it makes me immensely happy.

I've especially been enjoying watching Kai COLOR. He spent FOUR HOURS just coloring today! I couldn't believe it! Picture after picture, he just kept coloring!!

Maybe that's why, but I've also been more tolerant of little Jaiden. He also seems to have calmed down a bit more lately (can we say FINALLY?), becoming more willing, shall I say to be on my good side by being "good".

The other day, I saw something on TV (I think) that said there was a study done that showed that multitasking wasn't such a good idea anymore. The study further noted that those who were "in the moment" more, seemed to be "happier."

My dad once told me--"be 100% where you're at." or something like that (see dad? I don't always know what exactly you said, but I get the point and it sticks :) Point was, that I should always be not only physically, but mentally and emotionally where I was, all the time.

I was noticing that this week, somehow I was more laid back.

I didn't think about the next meal (well, I did but not as much as when Ronny's home :), or where I was going, or what I was going to do next.

As I spent countless hours of "floor time" with the kids and really delved into being with them during our "play" or "together" times, I noticed that the kids were different. I can't pin point exactly what it was, but it was sure different. They seemed more obedient, and I for sure felt more patience and LOVE.

Even super nanny said once; "give them 15 minutes of your time, and you'll be surprised that they'll leave you alone for a good while."

Anyway, my point was that I've been truly happy with my kids this week. I don't expect it to last forever, but I just wanted to record it so that I could remember it later on.

I enjoyed sitting with the kids and doing puzzles with them. I enjoyed seeing Kai's improvements and how he colored strictly in the lines. I enjoyed listening to him improve his vocabulary in Japanese. I enjoyed having Jaiden sitting on my lap and wanting me to tell him which puzzle pieces fit together, then putting them together himself.

I enjoyed cooking with them.

I enjoyed swimming at the local pool with them, going to the zoo and seeing the animals-teaching them what they were and talking about everything! Holding hands. Cuddling at night after reading them books. Eating with them and even watching "America's test kitchen" together while they repeated words that were new to them, like "transfer" and "150 degrees."

So maybe I've found the secret to it all, or maybe I've just finally understood what people have been telling me; "be where you're at" and "enjoy it while you can."

I've even been sad this week to think they'll soon be grown up and gone...

What is happening to me?! LOL

Just don't ask how my house looks. LOL

Hey, I've got one more day to clean before Ronny gets home! ;)

ps. I actually played tons with them, AND THEN asked them to help me clean a few times this week--they did A LOT BETTER when I did it this way--again, it could be the age that Kai's hitting (5) that he's growing up to be a big helper, but I want to believe that it's my attitude and how I changed to spending more quality time with them that's changed them too. Who really knows.