Mommy Brain

Sometimes I feel like I lose out on a lot of intellectual stimulation being a stay at home mom. I mean, seriously, playing blocks and tickling kids doesn't amount to a whole lot of smarts. The fact that I can rattle off the tv schedule for PBS in the morning is not something that I am proud of, nor the fact that the majority of my education these days is confined to learning bits of Spanish and Mandarin from Nickelodeon.

I like learning. I love the fact that you can open a book and learn something new each time. I love libraries and bookstores and places of education. I love that the internet is brimming over with knowledge just waiting to be gleaned from. I get excited about the prospect of taking my kids to museums and aquariums. I peruse the adult school catalogs each season looking for classes I could potentially take when the opportunity arises.

Funny thing though...I wasn't a very good student. I usually do better when the learning comes of my own volition rather than on a forced schedule. So in my classes I always averaged out because I couldn't keep up with the school work or mentally handle that timeline on my syllabi. So time was never my thing, but in all honesty, I still have most of my college textbooks, and I still use them. I like to read them every once in a while for no other reason than the information fascinates me. Yup, kind of nerdy, huh?

Perhaps that's why I liked teaching. It was an opportunity to always learn, to find new things to pass on to my students. It was an opportunity to study up on teaching theories and child development. It gave me an excuse to read odd books just to have a wealth of knowledge to entertain my students.

So that explains my need to read half of the parenting books in existence when I found out we were expecting the first time around. It also explains why I reread some of the more pertinent ones the second time around. There's also the horrendous pile of books by my bedside and the hundreds of feeds flying into my Google Reader each day. It makes me feel like I'm not letting my brain turn to mush as I pretend I have no idea how to put together that 5-piece puzzle my daughter wants me to help her with.

Then again, I do love that look of accomplishment on Bear's face after she figures out that puzzle, and I'll take that over being smart any day.

Clean Up Time

Bear, it's time to clean up! Pick up your toys off the floor!

Okaaaaaay, mommy!

I guess I should have been more specific.



Oh well, at least she did pick her toys off the floor. Although I guess now I have to clean off the couch.

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today...Happy Birthday, Chipmunk!



...And thanks for sharing your birthday with your son, Matt...Happy birthday to you, too!

It's a first!

First birthday, that is.

Our little Bubba (er...Chipmunk) is turning one this week...So of course, being that he's half-Korean, he got his very own celebration of life.



Here he is all decked out in Korean garb taking part in his dohl jabi. He picked up a pencil and proceeded to stir the rice with it. Apparently that means something really good...(Remember what Bear picked up?)





Besides the cute kids in Korean clothes, I think this was one of the highlights...



Yum! Gotta love that cheesecake.

One already. Wow.

Stay Tuned

For some reason we've been utterly busy, but not with anything I'd consider bloggable. So stay tuned...

Meanwhile here's a little pic that I'll leave you with...



Gotta love that silly smile...