Let's Play House!

What little girl doesn't love playing house? Indeed it was one of my all-time favorite games and though I was without a play kitchen or any of the super neat commercialized kitchen gadgets of my time, I would improvise with what I had - many times, only my imagination. So it only makes sense that I would love living - not playing - in my house these days!

For many reasons, I actually do really enjoy the time I spend on Saturday mornings cleaning, cooking, planning, budgeting, doing laundry, running errands, working out, and organizing. My accountant, very anal and semi Type A personality comes out most when I am enjoying my post-its of tasks for the day, and I can go about my day without any interruptions - no husband (he has been on call until at least 3:30 every Saturday for the last 5 weeks), no child, absolutely nobody. I think of ways I can improve my multi-tasking, can I pop the laundry in, wash the dishes, fold the laundry and watch an episode of Community all within the next 25 minutes? What can I rearrange in order to maximize my efficiency and effectiveness? Like a mini-consultant, I analyze each week's mishaps and consider all approaches at improving my next run of Saturday morning tasks. It's challenging, but also rewarding when I am able to do better than the prior week. And regardless of the dull monotony of it all, I am surprisingly fascinated each week (though it hasn't been that long).

It reminds me of my job in more ways than I'd like to admit. We do the same thing.. we face the same challenges (no matter what the PCAOB or SEC may come out with), and with each new team, we find ways to bond and make it through the audit. And no matter how hard it seems, we always get through it,look back, reflect and feel really good about the progress we made. We laugh at the pile of wholesale junk food (intertwined with some wannabe healthy snacks to make us feel a bit better), the kill file of papers, the whiteboard of tasks crossed out and the remnants of every team member getting sick while on the job (it's really gross actually). But in the end, we feel good about it because we made it as a team and soon after, we get a pat on the back and a team celebration (often at an overpriced restaurant I would never go to without Uncle P footing the bill).

Such are so many things in life that will continue to be that way. Challenging... yes. Repetitive... maybe. Rewarding... definitely.

I know playing house won't always be fun. I know having Baby P around will make it difficult for me to go about my normal routine. I know sleep will not be an option anymore. I know playing house everyday might not be as fun as once a week.

But I also know that just like audit and just like playing house.... living home will be tough, frustrating, unbelievable, and insane! .. but always bearable, doable, and rewarding.

I just have to remember that when I'm dying for sleep, when I'm sick of poopy diapers, when the baby is crying and I have no clue what to do, when multitasking is not an option, when separating my laundry by whites and colors is a thing of the past, when getting ready for Church means more than 15 minutes, when life is more than just Andy and me.

But just like audit... the work always gets done. But in audit, we are all dispensable... even playing house.. anyone can do it. But with my baby.. I am the only one who will be his mother ...and that is so exciting! Isn't it?!

Gong Xi Fa Tsai: Hong Bao Na Lai!

Wishing you prosperity, now gimme my red envelope!

As kids, this was our go to phrase every Chinese New Year because the holiday meant red envelope$ (bonus that it rhymes). Now that it's my first year not eligible for a red envelope on New Year's (marriage disqualifies you... and I'm sure at some point old age might as well...), I've been missing the unofficial traditions I grew up with. Red and gold fu (luck) hung upside down all over our houses to remind us of the new lunar year, lu buo gao (turnip cake) for breakfast, shark fin soup, a plethora of homemade Chinese delicacies, eight treasure sticky rice, and my favorite, fried nian gao (sticky glutinous rice breaded and fried and a homonym for yearly height or every year higher and higher).

To celebrate our first Chinese New Year's as a married couple, we had our own version of Chinese New Year with frozen delicacies - dumplings and onion pancake with homemade dipping sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped garlic, and ground fresh chili paste - I use the Sambal Oelek brand). Of course, it wasn't the same (though traditionally in China, New Year's is always celebrated with dumplings) but Andy sensed my disappointment (plus I pouted and told him my mom had lu buo gao for breakfast and we didn't!) and he offered the blessing of the food. It took me about five seconds to realize he was saying the prayer in Mandarin which brought a smile to my face and behold, a new tradition among our family was established!

Looking forward to next year, I am already resolving (though not a Lunar year celebration tradition) to make my lil rabbit's first Chinese New Year super special. Planning and preparing will aid me in accomplishing this goal (along with three authentic Chinese recipe books from my brother for Christmas) as well the nearby Chinatown, Little Tapei and Arcasia. I can already picture it - he'll be in a mini mian ao with a little cap and a fake braid.

Xing Nian Kuai Le! Happy New Year! And here's to the year of the rabbit which is what our lil one will be! Do we think he really will be peaceful, sympathetic, calm, private, classy and trendy? ... Only time will tell!

Here's to new traditions for our family with the new lunar year!

Prego Brain: Fact or Fiction?

According to my nurse, pregnancy hormones would affect my brain's ability to function properly and I would begin to forget simple things. I was advised to keep my keys in the same place, a practice already instituted in our home. In an effort to heed her warning, I began to take notes more often than not. Anytime a thought came into my head about tasks to complete, I would jot it down.

With time, the habit slowly deteriorated and I found myself blaming my prego brain time and time again. Most of the times, however, they were not in seriousness....

And then on Sunday, Andy asked me to remind him to bring his blood pressure kit to our friend's who had generously invited us over for Sunday dinner. Our friend wanted to check his blood pressure so Andy was going to help him out by bringing his handy dandy doctor kit. But try as I might, remember I could not. Fail as I would, I did too... because without a note, no reminder, nothing, my prego brain succeeded in dominating my ability to remember!

And yet, I just knew there was something to remember. I scoured my brain for a clue, retraced the day's events, hoping some inkling of remembrance would grace my thoughts. I even asked Andy what I was supposed to remind him, what I was supposed to recall, what I was supposed to do....No such luck.

I would only remember late Sunday night, that we forgot to bring the blood pressure kit, but not that it was the item I forgot to remind him of from earlier. Somehow, my brain's capacity was not able to connect the two.

And then just last night, I would all of a sudden remember I had an appointment with the DMV that completely slipped my mind. At this point, my frustration turned to anger. How could I forget such a thing? Didn't I write it down? I quickly looked at my blackberry calendar, hoping I had indeed written it down but just ignored it... no such luck again. I couldn't believe it. I was forgetting everything! What would I forget next? My next doctor's appointment? My baby at the grocery store?

I sat there.. fuming with utter disappointment at my own dumb prego brain. And then I pouted some more while Andy reminded me it was time for FHE. I knew that one.. I wasn't getting that bad yet.. but I was still unhappy. I thought to myself, I hope we sing a short opening hymn because I am feeling terse in my every action and thought process right this moment!

He skipped over to the organ while I dragged my feet over there, reluctant to sing a hymn and have FHE, still unhappy about my dumb prego brain. He started to play Love At Home and as I sang, I was reminded of how a hymn is simply another way for us to converse with our Heavenly Father through song. I was instantaneously uplifted and in my broken sing song voice, accompanied Andy happily with the song.

Later, I thought... time to repent. It was so humbling to think that even the littlest things can bring out the worst in us. So what if I forgot one thing.... when I accessed the DMV website, the next available appointment was for the upcoming Monday... not too much time would lapse before I could get a new ID (finally... after having a new name since August and not making 5 scheduled DMV appointments in the past). And yet the only way I was able to figure that out was through our FHE because even as Andy tried to console me earlier, I just pouted some more.

I'm glad we have FHE every week, even when I am doubtful of our lessons because FHE with two people seems silly. And, I'm glad we are practicing to be better and instilling a routine that will only become harder when it's more than just us two. Lastly, I'm glad FHE cheered me up last night and that my husband is always a pocket full of sunshine even when I am a big drop of rainy prego brain!

Change It Up!

One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is the Mighty Ducks series with Emilio Estevez (who Paula Abdul proposed to with her song Will You Marry Me Boy?....bet you didn't know that!) and one of my favorite lines from the movie is in the second one, when Michele, the team's teacher, is passing as the Coach since Coach Bombay fails to show up. Unaware of how to switch players who look fatigued, she finally figures it out and screams, "Change it up!"

That's precisely what I was thinking to myself this afternoon as I washed the dishes with our tattered scrub and sponge in one. I'll admit, I don't boil the sponges as much as I should (maybe twice in the last 5 months?) and I just learned you can microwave it for a minute after ringing it as dry as possible for the same objective of disposing bacteria in it. But really, like toothbrushes that are recommended to be changed once every three months, I should change it up.

This made me think about other things we should change up to keep 'em so fresh and so clean. I thought about my scripture study lately, which has been surprisingly attentive and uplifting. Part of it is because I'm over the first trimester constant exhaustion, but more importantly, I've devised a way to keep myself interested in what I'm actually studying! I am actually seeking to study more than to read, which unfortunately, is what I used to do. While reading before, I would often nod off and forget what I was reading and read until I got to my time goal, but now that I'm more focused on the end goal of what I'm studying for or trying to figure out, I have been more positive and always left feeling like I learned something.

Another example is cooking! Okay, okay, truth be told, I'm not exactly the best wife when it comes to cooking (and I only just you tubed how to properly dice an onion...and have yet to try it out!) . But with so many examples all around me, how could I not try to be better? So inspired by everyone who does cook and does plan their weekly menu (you know who you are), I have begun doing so myself. As I do that, I have noticed it's important to change it up from week to week. We can't just have the same food Monday through Friday every week, as tempting and easy as that makes my life, I have to strive for more so we keep it fresh. That doesn't mean we don't visit our favorites often... because truth be told, we love our sloppy Joe's and pizza...and whenever Cafe Rio is in the house (hehe), we eat it all week long!!

I guess changing it up is good if we do it with the intention of keeping ourselves on our toes, remembering to change it to help ourselves. On the flipside, I won't stop going to my favorite Thai restaurant just because I want to change it up, but I might be more open to trying some new places from time to time. However, if they all pale in comparison, I know where to go for some good Thai food. Can you tell I'm hungry? I guess it's time to change it up, from the couch to the kitchen for some snacks before dinner. Miam! (that's yum in French in case you didn't already know).

Changing it up!

Things That Matter Most

When I was single, my weekdays were filled with important decision making. I could either go out with friends for dinner on the town or go work out and grab dinner on my own. I would entertain the former every now and then (definitely for birthdays or other special celebratory occasions) but I was drawn to the latter for what it offered me. Endorphins from working out and a healthier meal which overall, made me feel better.

While in San Jose, though only 45 minutes from the BFF, we always hung out on weekends which normally included a trip to Trader Joe's for some flaxseed veggie chips and hummus, a sleepover watching crime drama shows, talking about life in general, falling asleep around 11, and then waking up to a Dailey Method class, a trip to the nearby (20 minutes away) Equinox for some cardio, a shower in the uber classy and clean gym facilities followed by lunch at Santana Row and some shopping! It was wonderful. Very simple, routine and fulfilling. We began to feel more adult like as our conversations turned away from that which was happening in Us Weekly and we abandoned our former ways of standing in a grocery store's magazine aisle for hours reading Entertainment trash and instead browsed the stores beyond our means (though we didn't buy, the store personnel actually greeted us as if we were real potential buyers!). We talked about how we barely had time to follow the Media these days, and bonded on our search for the perfect job and what that would be, and how we would depart from our Corporate America jobs which we had been doing since graduating from college. At night, Grace would return to the City to see her boyfriend and I would retreat to my humble Corporate apartment to eat dinner alone and watch some TV. On occasion, I would go out with the co-workers but I never had as much fun as I did with Grace, and fatigued from the day's events, I soon began politely declining invitations to go out with other friends.

Such is life now that I'm married. We have things that we prioritize each week such as eating dinner together every night possible (outside of Andy's call days or late work nights for me), Monday family home evening, Church meetings every Tuesday, a Friday date night that includes dinner out and a trip to the Westside, Church on Sundays, near daily working out, daily scripture study and a daily early retreat to bed (except for the weekend, we sometimes stay up until 12 AM on those days!) which means there isn't really time for anything else. We make exceptions (for BYU basketball games, work related recruiting events, visits, family dinners out, etc.) but usually, only if they happen to fall on the two days we don't have regularly set plans or if we can squeeze 'em into our existing planned days.

That being said, our schedule makes it difficult to plan for anything else and lately I've been mulling on it. True, our schedule includes things that matters most and I have seen nothing but good come from it as I am consistently fulfilled by the simple and important things, even if it is routine and lends little to no room for alternative options BUT, life will change when Baby J joins us... and then what?! I mean, if Andy isn't around, who will watch the baby while I shower or wash the dishes or work out? My daily reminders from my subscriptions to the What to Expect, Daily Kick, and The Bump newsletters do not speak to such things! I've been asking other moms of their experiences, and it all varies. Everybody does it a bit differently, so as it turns out, we must be flexible in adapting, not be so set in our ways that we stubbornly fail to see the joy and simplicity of changing up a routine for the better. I suppose as long as the things that matter most are still the foundation of our lives, it won't be so bad. Still, my paranoid self likes to "plan" and sometimes you just can't plan for everything. You can only hope that the things that matter most are so embedded in your lives that they are the support you need to shield you from whatever comes your way. So until then, I guess I can only stick to that and have faith that the Lord will take care of the rest.

Does That Make Me a Bad Mother?

Everyone gets really excited about a nursery. I am so excited for our baby, for our future family and for the countless hours of sleep I will soon be missing but swear it matters not because my life without the baby is unimaginable.... but a nursery??... that I am not! Instead, I dream about a work out room, complete with a mirrored wall, an elliptical machine, a treadmill, some colorful yoga balls, exercise balls, a bosu ball, a ballet bar, and some free weights, maybe even a television in the corner to keep me company as I work out. Pure bliss.

I know it's part of preparing for the baby.. but besides a changing table, a crib, some cute LIGHTWEIGHT stuff to hang on the wall (because earthquakes and dropping frames in the baby room are no bueno), and some storage bins for the clothing (because I like to put things inside of boxes and those boxes inside of more boxes and I'm not a fan of clutter), my thoughts turn to directing that energy towards decorating a cute young boy's room when he's old enough to enjoy it. Will he like cars, motorcycles, trains, sports or comic books enough to decide that is the theme his bedsheets, rugs, and posters will be? Will there be a "I want to go on a mission someday" framed on the wall along with photos of our family? Or will there be clay imprints of his hand and a wall marking how tall he is every year? Those are the exciting thoughts I have when it comes to decorating his room.... but a nursery... bleh. Double bleh.

We had thought about painting the walls (because white is so dull), but now I'm over it because we'd have to figure out when I could be out of the house, etc. and I want to do it myself! Plus, the current framed Sports Illustrated magazine covers look pretty nice on the wall for a boy, right? Maybe we'll change one of 'em to the feature that will be done on Jimmer! Our first real obstacle is to move the current desks and bookshelves into the guest room (we are sooo lucky for the extra space we have in our very subsidized living space) and we have a couch that someone can chill on while they feed the baby (that would be me!) that would go perfectly with dark wooded furniture. The other obstacle is getting it. My mom has offered to cover the costs but I still have to find time to go pick it out myself and get reimbursed for it... and that sounds like a lot of work I'd rather put off. But then... when I get too large... I'll be in trouble. Nursery, you are my enemy today. Fitness room, you are my dream for tomorrow. I hope that doesn't make me a bad mother before my baby even arrives!

Something Other Than Gas

As of today, I am officially 24 weeks and 1 day prego.

Update: I can still see my toes, I can still work out (with modifications for any exercises on my back) and I can still say the nausea has not returned! My legs are swollen, normal pants are now uncomfortable to sport (I have one pair of prego jeans, a lot of dresses and make use of my stretchy gym pants often), I have gotten one bad calve cramp (hopefully not more!) overnight, my bathroom trips are down to two during the night (at one point it was three or four!), and it is increasingly harder to get out of bed using my abs - instead I just roll over to my left (sad story).

I'm beginning to feel the baby's kicks more and more, and Andy's felt it from the outside too! His first kick was on Christmas morning but since I hadn't felt it before, I wasn't confident it was him. It feels like little spurts of gas or as my sister-in-law analogized from someone she once heard, as if you were in a pool and someone swam or walked by you leaving you ripples in the water, only inside of you! It's crazy that there is a form of life inside of me... something other than gas. Just plain crazy!

Here's a photo update of the bump - part deux!


The baby is definitely getting larger! Photos don't really say much, just take my word that everyone is telling me, "Ohhhhh you're pregnant?!" or... "When are you due?!"....