Our 1st Annual Tacky Christmas Party

One of my favorite parts about college was dressing up for crazy parties.  Coincidentally, that was also my favorite part about drinking before I became Momo.  So when people ask me if it was hard to give up alcohol, it's pretty easy to understand why it wasn't.  On the one hand, I had a source of strength from Heavenly Father that is indescribable and unlike any capability of my own.  On the other hand, I still get to dress in costume for parties (and my husband does not object and so far we have dressed up for Halloween, Christmas parties and we like to match for Church a lot).  Once dressed up, we have enjoyed the company of other friends of like minds and together, we have played wacky games and enjoyed Costco appetizers, bubbly Martinelli's and yummy desserts.

Enter....our 1st Annual Phillips' Tacky Christmas Party (the annual implies we will be doing this every year going forward now...)  This was the photo we used on our invite, our sweaters from 2009 which have been used 3 times but were never washed since everything was glue gunned on.  Hahaha... we can't find them, we think we threw them away.

Did I ever tell you I go to the largest ward (church meeting group we are demographically bound to) with so many young couples, that hosting a party actually becomes difficult to figure out how many people our tiny apartment can fit?!  There were so many people I've talked with a few times or gone to baby showers for who I wanted so badly to invite, but sensibly so, my husband advised me to keep the guest list to 50 (excluding kids).  Even though there is never 100% attendance, it was hard and I finally imposed an invite of couples and friends who had come to our apartment or hosted us at theirs at least once, or couples we had hung out with more than twice.  It sounds silly that we even have to do that, but seriously.. the friends we've made from our ward are many and our ward is hip, young, fun, hot, neat, and cool.  If I knew how small of a group would have actually showed up since a lot of people had left for the holidays, I would have invited way more people!  Okay, that's my sad rant for those who I love and have met and was not able to extend an invite to.

So apparently ugly Christmas sweater parties are so popular now, one cannot find anything good at Goodwill or Salvation Army.  The trick these days is to stop by K-Mart or Wal-Mart for a cheap and festive sweater or holiday outfit.  I made ours again (that seems to be the easiest way) so our outfits were under $5 for all three (used what I had).

 Blair and Tyler 

Jill and Sean 

Al, Alex and Whitney

Andy, Jordan and me

Mike and Cassy

Dan and Tori

Ryan and Diane

Jeff and Passelly

Gabby, Paselly, and me

 

Jordan loving that Cassy is feeding him instead of Daddy or Mommy

Whitney and me with our babies 

Jill and Whitney

We had a white elephant gift exchange with some hilarious gifts including a tall wicker giraffe that now sits in our living room.  

We also played Minute to Win-It and had so much fun, I failed to take any photos except for this one game which was hilarious... they had to use the banana to get the apple to the finish line.

And that's a wrap.  Hope your Christmas parties were as tacky as ours.  

Clean Me Please

I had been eyeing the refrigerator for quite some time now, in disgust and pity, but also more indifference above all.  It taunted me to clean it.  I had better things to do.  It taunted me to clean it.  I had other plans.  It taunted me to clean it.  I told it to go away.  It taunted me to clean it.  I told it to try someone else.  Much like a helpless teenage girl who can't give up her high school crush, the fridge again told me to clean it.  I ignored it.  Until I saw a piece of my long black hair in the fridge.  Yuck.  Guilty as charged.  Okay.  I guess I will clean you now.

I've been mistaken for a neat freak by many people but in reality, I'm dirty masked by organized.  HAHAHAHAAAA.... muhahahahahahaha.  That aside, I do find pure joy in cleaning, which for me, is loosely used to describe organizing.  In fact, when I was in middle school, one of my closest friends would always invite me over to her house to hang out, just long enough so she could "get Daisy to clean" her room.  I didn't mind it at all and actually looked forward to it each time!  But cleaning the toilet or the fridge are not my favorite things and unlike the toilet, which I have learned to clean more often than not in order to avoid one HUGE attempt at cleaning it.... the fridge just doesn't seem to make its way up that chain of must do.  Until today that is....

Today, I decided to clean the fridge.  Not just throw out the rotten stuff (give me some credit, I actually do that regularly), but clean .... take out all the pieces, wash it with mild soap and warm water (as instructed on the bottom of the plastic bins I had never seen until today).  The last time I cleaned the fridge was when we first got married, but I didn't do a thorough job like today.. at the time, I only clorox wiped the bottoms a bit and called it a day.

I cleaned for half an hour before a 9 AM call with my company's website developer.  I then cleaned for about an hour... fed Jordan... put him to bed... cleaned for another hour while sending e-mails and making phone calls (personal and business)  in between and rocking to a Christmas pandora station.... did some laundry, took out the trash (gross... I usually let Andy do this but it was a little out of control and I couldn't wait until he got home), cleaned some more once Jordan was awake and distracted by some toys... and well... I would say it took me somewhere between 3-4 hours to clean the fridge.


But man did it feel good when I was done.


I wish I had gotten a photo of the before fridge but it's probably better that I didn't.

 all the bins out and clean... !

The left side... all done!

The right side...all done!

some of the food waiting to go back in...

 Oh my goodness... I actually did it!... three... maybe four hours later...

 Jordan playing nice while I clean.  Whenever he dropped a toy, I'd go and play with him for 10 seconds before returning.  He was pleased by this.  

I know all I did was clean a dirty fridge, but the sense of accomplishment I was left with was simply priceless.  Cleaning the fridge, another simple joy of life, who would have thought?!

Pray.. not Play.

It's common knowledge that native Chinese speakers attempting to speak English confuse their Rs for Ls.

So English becomes EngRish.

Hello becomes Herro.

And then we joke about it and flip it the other way...

Sorry becomes sollie.

Very becomes Vely.

Why do we do such things?

My brother's English name is Ray and I swear my parents didn't do it intentionally, but his Chinese name is Lay-Lay.  One friend who found out Lay-Lay was his actual name, not just a nickname I had come up with to poke fun at the R-L and L-R confusion, pointed that out to me... and we laughed for days.

So tonight, when Jordan again refused to sleep... laying on his stomach in the pack n play, he bumped his head towards the mesh to see if he could break through, giggling with increased volume, hoping we'd get him.  It was a funny and cute sight and we both held back our smile, forcing a frown as I advised Jordan it was time to pray, not play.  At the sound of my own R-L comment, Andy and I both laughed.  To which Jordan joined as he continually shoved his head towards the mesh, as if to show us the true round shape of his head and simultaneously see if he could indeed get closer to us.  He then decided to use his hands to do the same thing... his hands opened to give us five, he pressed against the mesh, looking out at us with his eyes wide and hopeful.

Yet again, we told him it was time to pRay not pLay.

pRay!  Not pLay!

It has neLer stopped being funny foL me.  At Reast not yet.

What Would You Do?

Checked into our Columbus Ohio hotel. Disappointed that parking costs $23 per night.  Devastated more like it.  Guess that $40 meal comped in Chicago was a tender mercy for the outrageous cost of parking Ohio would bring us.

Unloaded all our stuff into the hotel room.  Found ESPN2 on our huge flat screen TV.  Headed to Goodwill where we didn't find anything "as is" tack enough for our upcoming Christmas party.  Bought Jordan a cute zip up hoodie and items to bedazzle with tackiness.  Ventured to Ray Ray's BBQ truck which we found on Yelp!  Discovered it was serendipitously a block from Goodwill.  Imagined ourselves living in Columbus.  Noticed the candles in every window on some houses.  Admired the large colonial style homes.  

Returned back to our hotel.  Gave Jordan a bath.  Worked on company's financials while Andy watched the BYU vs. Hawaii game.  Ate an apple.  Fed Jordan.  Put Jordan to sleep.

And then..... it happened.  

He's still crying it out.  

Give up?  Us?  No way!  

He was crying.  He was wailing.  He was yelling.  He was so... so... sad.  

A knock on our door.  

"Is everything all right?"  In the background, our child is still crying.  

"Yes, he's just teething," says my husband.

"Is there anything we can do?" they ask.  

"No, he's just teething, we're sorry.... there's nothing we can do," my husband responds. 

They leave.  

"Who was it?" I ask (I had not moved from where I was working).  

"The people from downstairs front desk," Andy says.  

At first... I thought, great... we can never train him to cry it out since our neighbors are complaining.  But then... after I mulled about it a bit, I got angry.  He hadn't even been crying for more than ten minutes, and they called downstairs to complain?  To express concern?  To say we're bad parents?!  It's 10:30 PM on a Saturday night... it's not like we're throwing a party, destroying the furniture or being that loud.  Right?  ....  

As I muttered in my state of confusion and anger, Andy rocked Jordan to sleep as he watched the rest of the game and I continued working but now I can't help but think... have we started a really bad trend?  Maybe we should stop traveling with Jordan and start giving him a better routine.  

What would you have done?  

A Simpler Life... and Adventures in Chicago

This past Tuesday, Andy, Jordan and I left for the windy city of Chicago, Illinois for the 2011 Radiological Society of North America Annual Scientific Meeting.  Okay, more like Andy came for the conference to present some research while we came along for the ride (one of the many reasons I love my other part-time job which goes where I go!), to meet up with friends, eat and shop.  After just three days in the heart of downtown, there doesn't seem to be much else to do (besides what we've been doing) and we'll be off to Ohio tomorrow to accompany Andy on another interview Monday.

The irony is our departure for the windy city coincided with the wind greeting our hometown as the Santa Ana winds raged up to 85 mph Wednesday night, assaulting our hometown and leaving fallen trees too old and fragile to survive, and the entire area of Pasadena it in a state of emergency with no electricity for days.  My own parents, who are nestled in the comfort of Arcasia, have been lucky to have gas and water, but electricity is still pending after two days.

As I called my mom yesterday to give her an update on our happenings here in Chi-Town (more on that later), I asked her how everything was back home.  She told me they'd returned to a simpler life.  No internet for my pops.  No television for my mom.  They ate dinner by candlelight, my mom worked out at home, they conversed and then they got ready for bed, thinking it must be 10 PM.  When she realized it was only 8 PM, she told me this must be how people used to have a ton of kids.  Yes, she knows I want 5 kids and is entirely supportive, but sometimes I think she doubts we will get there after 1... 2... or 3.  Truth be told, I have no idea what the future will bring either, but we're open to the idea (shoot for the sun right?)  It was a funny observation but also very keen.  Having a ton of kids is not really that insane as long as you keep it simple which is quite hard to do, but hey - maybe they'll create an app for that.

Chicago has been SO. MUCH. FUN.  Having been here more times than I can count or keep straight for trainings in the past with the Firm, I wasn't horrifically excited at first.  What I failed to overlook was that I'd be coming with my family, making it an entirely new, exciting and fun-filled experience.

Given my past hoity toity spoiled rotten days of free luxurious hotels sponsored by the Firm, I didn't expect much from our Best Western, so I was surprisingly shocked when I realized our hotel was nicely tucked in downtown, near a ton of great restaurants, within walking distance to a bunch of shopping and that the inside of our room is actually beautifully decorated and quite nice with a California King and a flat screen television.

Our first day - Jordan playing  after he ate while I work and Andy was checking out the conference.

Justin, Andy's college roommate and one of his partners in crime during their single dating days (and stalking random girls in person or on facebook) and his wife, Jessica and their 2 month old son, Jaxson, were on their way through Chicago to southern Illinois for an interview (he's also a fourth year in medical school), so they came to visit and stayed with us one night - it was so much fun to see them and we got photos for free with Santa, ate at Portillo's, grabbed hot chocolate at 7-Eleven, popcorn at Garrett's and then a snack at Chic-Filet (that's how we roll).  

Jaxson  and Jordan - best buddies and so happy!  Jessica got them these cute matching outfits (thanks Jessica!) and they actually came with a penguin hat too but both boys weren't fans.

on a more serious note....they kind of look like the penguins.. one taller than the other... lol

 

Contrary to popular belief, not all Asian babies look the same, and this is actually Jaxson, not Jordan.  Jordan had the same outfit when he was smaller which reminded us of his tiny baby days...... we loved holding Jaxson and him cuddling with us especially since Jordan won't have it anymore but we'll have another baby soon enough.

The bean at night.  The mirror underneath the bean is way trippy.  I was on the right in real life.. but on the left on the bean... woah!!!

Last night, we thought we'd go see the Zoo lights, but then we realized it started tonight... so instead we walked all around downtown in a big loop, ate at Giordano's (I still am not a fan of deep dish but Andy loved it) and Jordan got to meet Marcy, one of my best friends from college.

Today for lunch, we went to Xoco for lunch, a place with 4 stars on Yelp! (of course I"m a yelper, I'm Asian and I love to eat) and we got seated in 5 minutes because we had a baby in a stroller (the line was out the door long and the wait was estimated at 30 minutes), but then they forgot our food... and after 45 minutes, they realized (guess they thought we were just chilling?) and apologized profusely, gave us another thing of guacamole and comped our meal.  Win win!

 

Reason number 101 why I love my husband.  We finally got him a pair of sunglasses (his old ones broke and I just haven't gotten around to fixing them yet... oh and they were a gift from an ex, but I swear that's not why...) from Niketown and he loved 'em so much, he couldn't stop doing this when we got back.  

 Too bad he also kindly reminded me to fix his other pair so he could have a variety of sunglasses.  It's on my list hubs.

Having grown up in California my entire life, I really did not know how to dress my son for the cold.  Luckily, my mom saved the day with this ridiculous but super cute and very warm blanket cover-up.  He has two!  

 And I think he loves it so far. And even more exciting - Jordan just got his first two teeth (we saw one before but then the gums grew over it.. these are the real deal - sharp and everything!)... which is why he's still "crying it out" right now.  *sigh.  

Crying It Out

Jordan's been crying for 45 minutes.  I got him and fed him but then he wanted to play.  Then his eyes fluttered and you could tell he was struggling to stay awake, a laugh came out at the same time that his fists went towards his eyes....his red, red ... very red eyes.  Oh my.... what have I done?!  Back to the crib son!  45 painful heart wrenching crying minutes later.... he has finally fallen asleep...

Jordan is on the verge of crawling and is too excited for sleep.  Sleep is overrated.  I agree son!  Unfortunately, I need him to nap so he can be happy, rested and ready to work at crawling when it's playtime later (and I can finish everything on my list for the day!).

I hate letting Jordan cry it out and I'm probably the reason he has been pushing the buttons lately.  With every daytime "crying it out" session, I have been getting him, prolonging his next "crying it out" session because hey, it worked last time he did it!... Meanwhile, my heart is breaking at his lurching cries and gasping for breath whimpers, and how I long to just cradle him safely in my arms instead of making him sleep.  But wait... NO!  Because then he rubs his eyes and I KNOW he is tired, but refusing to sleep.  It's just more fun NOT sleeping.  Alas, I return him to his crib.  I let him cry.  I sit and listen and long to get him.  I tell myself no.  And then I try to distract myself but man, is it painful.

 Why would I sleep when I can eat pandas?!

 Or pillows?

 Crying it out - the most agonizing thing a parent can endure.  After 45 minutes, this is how I found him (I put the blanket on after I found him asleep).

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but after that "crying it out experience," my lonely lunch by myself didn't make it any better.  Except for my lunch dates with my mom and brother (who just left for Taiwan for six months ... sad face), lunch normally consists of leftovers, lunch meat straight from the bag shoved into my mouth or inhaled (whatever is quicker), a yogurt, and maybe some fruit.  I try to remember to breathe but really my goal is to eat quickly so I can get other stuff done.  

Today, I decided to be adventurous and made myself a salad and well.. we don't really have salad bowls so here I am.  And well, the lonely lunch was made funny by my big blue ghetto bowl.  

I know, I'm so posh but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do to get stuff done.  

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving has never been very American in my family.  My understanding was always that the traditional celebration involved a grand meal of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, mashed potatoes, yams and rolls, with some sort of fancy decorated centerpiece (a cornucopia of autumn colors, pumpkins and fall leaves right?) while my own experience was drastically different (except for the couple of years my brother and I decided to do a "white Thanksgiving" which KFC and Boston Market partially provided for us).  For all the other years that I can recall, Thanksgiving always meant a lot of food with family and friends, but our turkeys were always stuffed with Chinese glutinous sticky rice while our sides included shrimp, bok choy, duck, BBQ pork, fruit salad and eight treasure rice.

Since I became a part of the Phillips family a year and a half ago, I've experienced the traditional "American Thanksgiving" complete with family, food and football and boy, does it intimidate me to think of one day hosting Thanksgiving (probably not anytime in the next decade), but more than intimidation, the experience of new Thanksgiving traditions have reminded me of the gratitude during this time which is emphasized more as part of the "American Thanksgiving" than my own "Chinese Thanksgivings."

Gratitude is an ongoing thing so my hope in jotting some down is to consistently be grateful for it and not just while I blog about it.

Ongoing hope.  Happy laughter.  Uncontrollable laughter.  Undeniable faith.  Smiling silliness.  Joyful grins.  The Gospel.  Modern revelation.  Prayer.  My testimony.  My savior.  The convenants I've made.  My eternal family.  Andy's laughter.  Andy's encouragement.  Andy's priesthood.   Jordan's squeals.  Jordan's giggles.  Jordan's poops.  Love from family.  Support from family.  My job.  My co-workers.  Andy's interviews.  Andy's schooling.  Our home.

Technology. Cell phones.  The internet.  Blogging.  Taking photos.  Boardgames.  Dancing.  Jumping. Farting.  Skipping.  The gym.  Kettlebells.  Exercise balls.  Lululemon pants.  Sequins.  Bling.  Ruffles. Charm bracelets.  Sunglasses.  Fluffy socks.  Ice cream.  Fro-yo.  Chinese food.  Chinese cake.  Pad Thai.  Sushi.  Curry.  Hawaiian Rolls.  Rice.  Fruit Tarts.  Watermelon.  Pineapple.  Beef Jerky.  Almonds.  Blue Cheese.  Tomatoes.  Celery.  Nutella.  Beans.  Tapatio.  Sour straws.  High heels.  Books.  Movies.  Music.  Candles.  Symmetry.  Rhythm.