The Overstated Walking Milestone

Most parents get really excited about their kid's first time walking.  To me, those first steps mean nothing.   If I could jot down the meaningful milestone, it would be the day Jordan took more than four steps, fell, got right back up and continued to keep walking.  Over and over.  Step by step.  Up and down.  Unafraid.  Excited. Determined. The day he said farewell to crawling.  The day he laughed at his naive exploration pre-walking.  The day he made conscious and committed steps towards everything within his reach.  Now that was the day it really meant something.  His first steps?  Those were just experimentally unintentional.

And lucky for Jordan that his exploration would be in Washington D.C. where we were lucky enough to visit with family for an entire week!   Already having mastered more than four steps, he was well on his way to bigger and better things.

 Natural History Museum

 White House

 Air and Space Museum

 WWII Memorial

 U.S. Postage Museum

 Nationals Game

 Home already?!  

And since he's become more mobile, the world has been his oyster....

New toy - so much easier to crawl in when you can walk into it! 

 Light fixtures on the floor mom?

 Still taller than you buppy!

 My own straw too?

 Mom finally got the guts to take me to the beach again!

 With lots of other babies and mommies too

 And I got a popsicle for the first time ever!

 And a chance to lounge with the homies.

 And a view of the ocean

And then we went to Americana Brand to walk some more!!!

It's been a walking dream.  

Who Wears The Pants in This Family?

Since being married, we have watched three chick flicks at home together (Morning Glory, From Prada to Nada and Prom)  I only recommend Morning Glory, the other two were bad.  We then watched Footloose together and it was painfully stupid (in my honest opinion).  Of course, with 75% of the ones we've watched together being so hopelessly bad, there's no wondering Andy won't entertain more in our home.  

How many action films have we seen, you ask?  I've lost count.

I always hear about men who have resorted to watching too many chick flicks because of their wives.   Somehow we're a bit reversed.

Washington D.C., May 2012

So it's safe to say I'll be watching Think Like a Man without my hubs.  And he's okay with that too.

Of course, I made sure to ask him first.  Yup, he wears the pants.  Most definitely.

On Talents

Today at Church, there was a lesson on talents by one of my favorite people ever, Allison, who just got called to be Relief Society president!  Ahhh!  So for non-members or those unfamiliar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (more Momo information overload), that is the group of women 18 and over unless you are called to help out in Primary (kids ages 3 to 12 and Nursery with 18 month to 3 year olds) or Young Women or Men's (the teenagers ages 12 to 18).  I haven't ever been a huge fan of Relief Society after graduating to the family ward, and in fact always missed the friendships, lessons, and girls from the old Singles Ward days where I never felt like the only convert.  But boy was Relief Society amazing today, especially with Allison teaching.

She is such a sweet and lovely lady, one who I have gotten to know quite well despite the different places in life we are (she's got two teenage girls and I'm just starting), and though it'd be really fun to run off to play dates with all the other cool moms, the reality is I'm often stuck at home working or out running errands, so realizing I know Allison and can count her as one of my closest friends here in South Pasadena (despite her probably not saying the same) feels really good.  I've found myself hanging out with her and talking, not aware of the time that's passed, and I am guilty of having thought, on more than one occasion, how unfortunate it is that we're not closer in place of life so that we could be closer.  I really am going to miss her and am so excited for this new and very busy calling of Relief Society President, especially since I've witnessed firsthand how much work it can be with my mother-in-law being called right when Jordan was born and my sister-in-law being called to be Young Women's President around that same time too.  It's. a. LOT. of. work.

I digress.  Allison's lesson today was on the Parable of the Talents (summarized quickly the Lord gives three different people talents in quantities of five, two, and one.  The person with five doubles his talents, the same with two.... while one buries it and the Lord is not pleased with the latter).  I love this Parable as it always get me thinking I should work on my own skillsets, no matter how little they may be in comparison to others (as in I'm the two talents receiving person but I should still double it because four is better than two though still little compared to the five who is now ten).  The lesson also got me thinking about my own lack of talent and how I should capitalize and derive the most value I can out of those crappy talents by working on them.  As much as I may feign dislike for cooking, it is somewhat enjoyable and I am definitely better than I was pre-marriage (though probably not accounting for much being I only knew how to make salads, sandwiches, and tell you which frozen food from Trader Joe's were the best).

A lot of times, talents are ones we don't think much of.  Allison asked us during her lesson today, "how many good listeners do you know?"  Nobody responded and she continued with, "not many, because how hard is it not to speak up when talking to someone?" and I laughed, thinking - yeah, guilty as charged.  I'd like to be a better listener, maybe by first shutting up and focusing on what others have to say instead of hearing my own voice babble on and on.  I also find it extremely hard not to want to be just as crafty and cute as everyone else in the blogosphere or on facebook.  In fact, I do often have to remind myself that not throwing Jordan a cute first birthday party was a decision I made with Andy's support for both financial and logistical reasons, ones that I am still very happy with, except that is not apparent when I see all the ridiculously cute parties other moms have thrown for their first childs.  Fail.  Especially when my inherent competitive nature screams at me, you could have done that too you slothful sad excuse of a mother.  


And then there are husbands who remind you of the talents you do have but don't seem to recognize.  So I'm a lousy listener (am working on it), am a lousy do cute stuff for my kid (am also working on it), and am not as good of a cook as anyone else in my family (including my brother)... at least I know all the shortcuts in excel on a PC and a mac and how to wrap text, create filters, vlookup, and pivot tables (I think...).  I didn't think that was much but apparently, it impresses my husband oodles.

I don't think Heavenly Father cares what we can't do.  He only care that we use what we were given and double that.  It might not be a lot compared to others, but the Parable didn't say the ten talented person was loved more compared to the four talented one.  If only I could remember that.

Off Again... for his one year

We're off to the capital of the nation, where we'll also visit the Capitol (confusing right?) and celebrate Jordan's first birthday with Andy's immediate family!  As cliche as every first time mother says at the one year mark, I cannot believe it's been a year.  Though it definitely does NOT seem like yesterday when we were off to the hospital when I miraculously made it to 7 cm dilated with no pain (thank you genes), from the photos over the course of a year, it doesn't seem like Andy and I have aged much.  That's the beauty of right now.  Though Jordan has transformed from alien wrinkly and puffy baby to cute walking meddling monster, we have stayed our effervescent young selves (though sleep we are definitely lacking despite his 11-12 hour sleeping schedule, the weekends will get you).  I'm hoping we won't start to see significant changes until another ten years.. as for Jordan, he will only continue to transform into a toddler!  *sniff sniff  How has my little barely can hold his head bopping up and down, then rolling over, crawling, standing, and now walking (and quite well!) baby changed and grown so fast?!

Happy early birthday Jordan!  For those of you who actually follow the blog and are wondering, he picked the ten-key and then a dollar bill for his Chinese zhua zhou.  So he will either be an accountant, or as I'd prefer - a banker or just money savvy.  Thata boy!

I forgot to take his 11 month photo, life was just too much fun and I was too lazy.  Here's his 12 month photo, 3 days early.

Happy Birthday Sis!

I only have one sister (for now) and it's her big 3-0 today!  Happy Birthday Tammy!  Can you believe you're SO OLD and WISE BEYOND YOUR YEARS?  HAHAHA.  Just kidding, I'm right behind you girl.

In all seriousness, I'm so glad marrying Andy meant the bonus of becoming Tammy's sister (though I'm not her one and only, she is my one and only).  Tammy is the most creative, fun, loving, honest, and great example big sis I could ever have wished for.  She's an awesome listener (I'm a talker guys...) and she easily has become the top of my people to call during the week.  I'm so grateful for her and will be in withdrawal when she leaves for Angola for three years *gulp.  Upon writing this post, I realized I do not have enough photos of Tammy.  Tammy - sorry your eyes are slightly on their way to being closed (I can swap it out later!).

Do You Know?

How much do you spend on gas each month?

Groceries?

Entertainment?

Dining out?

Shopping?

Most people know how much they spend on rent (fixed), utilities, cell phones, insurance, loan repayments, tithing, and cable/internet.... but past that, much is not meticulously analyzed.  Unless you're me that is.  Or probably my accountant buddies.  

Gas - $400
Groceries - $400
Entertainment - < $10 (our entertainment is mostly RedBox with exceptions of when people come to visit us or sporting events)
Dining Out - $150
Shopping - $200

And here's the scary part, we're pretty frugal.  Last night, I had an epiphany while I was sitting at the Dodger Game admiring this view.

Los Angeles is an expensive city to live in. As much as local residents boast of all its amazing benefits, the weather, the things to do, and the people to see... it all adds up.  Though I'm deeply saddened by the approaching prospect of moving to Spokane, into the bitter cold where much of my time will be spent in doors, it's not much of a difference from my current lifestyle as as working mom.  Moreover, with my parents living in the suburbs of Los Angeles, every trip back to visit will now include everything fun about LA (which our current budget does not allow nor do my frugal ways).  This means trips to Disneyland, Universal (Harry Potter world will be coming soon!), the westside, hoity toity trips to dine at fancy places read about in magazines and seen on reality television via the cable we will have in Spokane!, lots of shopping at all the major nearby outlets and large outdoor and high-end malls, and a lot of Chinese food crammed into every other meal.  That means LA will be much more fun once we're only coming to visit on vacation versus living here and seeing the tab add up.

I am pretty dang psyched about that.  Having been around the San Gabriel Valley my whole life, gone to college just forty minutes east of LA and having worked in downtown and everywhere from the Valley to the Westside to the South Bay to the Inland Empire, I simply hope I don't forget the freeways and how they all intermingle as we make our way around when we come back to visit in the future.  Oh how fun it will be!

A 90's Type of Gal

As I near the big dirty thirty, I found this through a friend's facebook link and just had to share my favorite 90's items. To commemorate my soon to be 3-0, here are just 30.  The full list, which can be found here, has 241!

1. Glitter gel- roll on.  And of course, also glitter eyeliner, glitter hair spray, glitter nail polish... just you wait, glitter tattoos just came back, make-up is next (good thing I hoarded all my old Tony and Tina glitter)
2. Butterfly clipsHigh school staple in my hair. 
3. 
    Umm, 90's?  Please, I still go here. 
4.  Slap braclets - always in.
5.  Scrunchies - yes yes, the easiest way to put a bun on your head!  I have been looking for these lately!
6.  Had way too many of these, and mood ones, triple BFFs, and also bracelets and rings. 
7. My mom would never let me get any of these, I was so jealous of all the white girls who had 'em.  "They'll destroy your feet!" she told me.  And no, I still have never gotten any. 
8. Gel pens - used these in much of my high school career for scrapbooking and yearbook signing and heck, everything else in between!  I might have been politely asked by a teacher to use blue or black pen. 
9.  After smelling them for a while, you would get a headache, but it was worth it!
10. Lisa Frank - seriously, just look at the vibrant colors!  Funny story, in fifth grade I got Lisa Frank Valentine cards, then realized they were TOO lovy dovy and couldn't figure out who to give which cards (in case they thought I liked them!) so I destroyed 'em all and used my dad's copy machine to make Aladdin copyright infringed paper Valentine's.  Apparently, I made quite the impression... years later, classmates would still be commenting on my cheap ghetto cards.
11. Had about two or three purple ones, one in high school and then one to bring with me to college.  I think they all eventually popped, but they were hip man.   
12. Yes, I had this phone. 
13.  My cousins started me on this. 
14.  and this... I always loved the name Wakefield!
15.  these were so dumb...
16.  but these were no better, just felt more mature than Goosebumps
17. Disney Adventures - the magazine, the Us Weekly for kids.  It was so fun to read! See photo here. 
18.  Friday nights... going out?  Heck no, let's stay home and watch TGIF!
19.  I didn't have cable growing up but my cousins did and I loved Doug!  
20.  Dawson's Creek - the show came out my freshman year and I recorded it on VCR (because I wasn't allowed to watch TV from Mon-Friday) and for some strange reason, I really liked the show! 
21.  Who doesn't watch Friends?
22. It was great until they got to college... and I always wondered why his brother got so dumb throughout the show. 
23.  I get to watch these again because my nieces have it!  So much fun! Love Webby. 
24. Sailor Moon (the photo won't work, see it here).  Never actually watched the show, just loved everything about it and we carried around little cards of the characters.  
25. I miss my boom box. but I guess the ipod is lighter. 
26.  Junior year of high school... watched this with my first boyfriend and my baby brother, who my mom made me bring along wherever I went. I don't think we even held hands during the movie, good idea mom. 
27.  So fun to find these in your lunch bags, too bad mom didn't think they were good and stopped letting us get 'em after a while. 
28.  Why these were funny?  I'm not sure, but they still are. 
29. Doc Martens, except I OWN those - same exact pair.  Andy made fun of me for 'em, said they were bulky.  
30. Why did everyone wear these?  They are so ugly!  They are like the TOMS of the 90's, evidence that one day, we'll look back and say ugh, Chinaman shoes!...yes, even though they are horrifically comfortable.  I accidentally wore a pair of these to the ESPYs in 2001 because I forgot to bring shoes to change into after we raced out of Claremont towards downtown LA to sit as seat fillers.