Seven Years Ago

This post was written about a month and a half ago. It's been about 3 weeks since we moved. These were my thoughts then.

It was about seven years ago when we moved in, our quaint 2-bedroom apartment that we figured would be temporary. When we first moved in, our wonderful friends helped us move things in. A couple weeks later, we were married and our humble abode was starting to take shape.

Being newlyweds and both starting new careers as well, we had few things furnishing our home. Our coffee table was a cardboard television box. Matt's work area was a folding table. There didn't seem to be a need to unpack too much either, so many of our belongings remained boxed up in the second bedroom.

Even when Bear was born about 14 months later, the boxes remained, just push aside a bit in order to fit her bassinet. We figured, "how much space could a newborn take up?" We soon learned the answer to that question as I was forced to go through the unpacked boxes and weed out items for donation or trash. The boxes were soon replaced with a crib & a changing table.

As the next year passed we soon learned that the nice coffee table we purchased to replace the cardboard television box wasn't kid-friendly. Instead, it got pushed to the side to make space for little Bear to roam around and play without fear of bumping her noggin.

Matt and I soon noticed that Bear's things were starting to become rather prolific. Not only did she outgrow clothes every couple of months, but every time we saw the relatives they always had something new for her. Sometimes it was small like a snack, but sometimes it was large like a five-foot pink stuffed pony.

Then my local family slowly started moving away and leaving behind things for Matt, Bear and me to keep...just the remainder of my items from my childhood that hadn't been moved, although one of those items happened to be a piano.

As I was nesting once again, I attacked our closets and corners and purged our home of more unnecessary items, hoping once again for simplicity in our home. I sadly tossed out many of my old memories, but I kept telling myself that it was all for the better and those old memories should remain in my head and not in my closets.

Simplicity remained an ideal once again as chaos erupted from the moment Chipmunk graced us with his presence. All of our furniture was soon pushed to the sides as he grew to be a climber, a runner, a curious destroyer. And he seemed to grow even faster than Bear had, leaving behind piles of outgrown clothes and shoes. Now with two kids, there were twice as many items coming into our home. Twice as many snacks...twice as many five-foot pink ponies (well, metaphorical pink ponies).

Our quaint two-bedroom apartment that started with a cardboard coffee table was now being invaded by Thomas the Tank Engine and ballerina outfits. A midnight run to the kitchen for a glass of water was an obstacle course of blocks, cars and toys that would wail out eerily happy songs upon sensing motion.

All the nice things were put away. Glassware was put away to make room for plasticware. Nice books were put on higher shelves and lower shelves were stocked with coloring books and toy boxes. Organized rows of DVDs were soon disorganized after Chipmunk made sure to toss them around each day. Our once new apartment with clean carpets and white walls became a place that I looked at everyday wondering how in the world I was ever going to clean it up.

And now as I'm slowly packing up all of our things into moving boxes, I can't help but feel sad, because despite the chaos, it's been a good seven years here. Our rent was never raised and despite the many problems here and there, it's hard to let go of all the memories that we have had here. As I walk around and see the marks on the walls and the traces of stickers still stuck to the doors, I can still remember the little hands coloring the walls or placing those beloved stickers ever so carefully.

In our next home, we'll be starting all over again... while the old marks will get left behind and have to stay here 400 miles away, only to be erased with a new carpet and fresh coat of paint, as if we were never there to begin with.

In a word, it's...bittersweet. It'll be nice to be in a place where we can create new adventures and memories, but it'll be sad to leave a place where we feel so invested, embedded rather deeply in a community of friends.

Change? I've never dealt well with it. In my mind and heart I know that change can be a good thing, but it takes me so long to allow the change to become an accepted part of my life. I keep crying when I think about how my kids are going to feel once the reality hits them. Right now, Bear is excited about moving, and doesn't even seem to mind that she'll have to start at a new school, but every once in a while, she'll ask me things that clue me to the fact that she doesn't quite get what it entails. Chipmunk, is like me, and I know he will show some adverse effects to change when it actually happens, perhaps not so much beforehand.

"Are you excited about the move, Carina?"

I'll get there. Trust me, I'll get there, although right now I'm just a bit saddened by it and need some time to let it all sink in.

Tricky Vowels

I thought my daughter was getting oddly theological in her drawings...and then it dawned upon me. It wasn't "son" and "hell" she was depicting, but rather "sun" and "hill."

Those vowels sure are tricky.

Chipmunk's Art

Here's our happy little artist. Sometimes I wonder what is going on in his little head. Okay, so I often wonder what is going on in his little head. After seeing some of his artwork and hearing his explanations, I'm scratching my head even more at what kinds of thoughts are firing across his little neurons.

"Is this a spider?" I asked.

"No! It's a octopus that walks on its legs!"

"Okay, then what's this?" I pointed to the next picture.



"I drawed a ghost and a sign that says 'No Ghosts Allowed' on it..."

"No ghosts?" I asked.

"Yeah...the ghosts can't go because I drawed a sign with a circle and a line in it."

"Ah, well too bad for that ghost," I responded.

Kindergarten Begins...

So it's begun...my little girl has now entered compulsory education. She's a kindergartener. Sigh.

It's been three days in, but each day I've been asking her the same questions:

How was your day?
What did you do today?
Did you make any new friends?

Today while walking home we chatted again.

"Mommy, I did make a new friend today! But he spends everyday sitting in the 'thinking chair' for a long time."

"The thinking chair?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's the chair you sit in when you do bad things and you have to think about what you did wrong."

"Oh really?"

"Uh huh...my friend sits there everyday."

"Oh really..." I say rather hesitantly. "Have you ever sat in the thinking chair?"

"No," she giggles. "I don't do anything bad...just my friend."

Heh heh...perhaps I need to meet this "friend."

Aquarium Summer

We've been visiting a lot of aquariums recently. We really have...

Our summer started with a trip to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.



The kids hatched grunion and are still talking about it to this day. Mommy, remember those eggs that we shook and little fish came out?





Can you see the baby grunion?

Then it was off to the Aquarium of the Pacific.



One time with grandma...



And another time with friends...

Then after a wedding in Carmel, we made our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium



Chipmunk declared the penguins as his favorite.



I preferred the sea dragons myself...



Bear?



She liked the gift shop.

Four aquarium trips in one summer? Perhaps we should visit one more for an even five before school starts. More pics here.

Sorry!

While the kids are playing in their room, I hear a lot of interesting conversations between them..."

*Crash!*

Bear: HEY! You knocked it over on purpose! Say sorry a lot!

Chipmunk: (while laughing) Sorry!

Bear: More!

Chipmunk: Sorry!

Bear: More!

Chipmunk: Sorry!

Bear: More!

Chipmunk: Sorry! Sorry! Sooooorrry!

Bear: Okay. Now FIX IT!

Frowns

After a friend's birthday party...

"Bear! Chipmunk! It's time to go home!"





"You can give me all the dirty looks you like...it's still time to go home."

Thoughtful Gifts

At the end of VBS week at our church, the kids can redeem the tickets they've earned during the week for little knick knacks and toys. When my kids returned from redeeming their tickets, they had bright smiles on their faces and their arms full of toys.

Bear excitedly showed me her arm full of pink dolls, a pink cheerleading set and a foam sword. I asked, "a sword, huh?" "It's for my brother," she explained.

Chipmunk ran back with his arms full of cars and trucks. He then pulled out a little yellow ring with a princess on it and said, "it's for my sister!"

I was surprised. With younger kids, I expect them to adopt an "all-for-me" type of attitude, but no, they each on their own chose a toy for their sibling...and not just any toy, they actually put thought into it and found something they thought the other would like.

What can I say? I was impressed. Again, they continue to teach me more than I teach them.

Quiet Blog

It's been quiet here at this blog. If you ask Matt, he'll say it's because of this. Me? I'd say it's because I've been giving myself some extra needed downtime.

With naps phasing out of our home, my introverted need to retreat has been suffering without those precious two or three hours of quiet in the afternoon. Less time to myself...less time to reflect...therefore, less thoughts crossing my mind spurring me to write.

Instead there's just been more chaos. More metaphorical fires to put out, more times I collapse on the couch with a big sigh, more moments I wonder what goes on in those little heads that belong to my ever-busy children...

Noisy life = Quiet blog.

Looking for new members to join SGFMWLTWTKD

S = Support
G = Group
F = For
M = Men
W = Who
L = Lost
T = Their
W = Wives (sig. others)
T = To
K = Korean
D = Dramas

I know you are out there.

Bargaining for 3-year-olds

At lunchtime, Chipmunk bargaining with his dad for more pickles.

Chipmunk: I'm 3 years old, so I get three pickles!

Dad: Um, that's not the way it works. How about two pickles?

Chipmunk: How 'bout one?

Dad: Are you sure about that?

Chipmunk: I want one pickle!



Silly kid.

Apologies

I was surprised when Chipmunk didn't fight naptime today. He happily bundled up in his blankets and closed his eyes. Bear on the other hand had a case of the "grumpies" and showed her rebellion by tossing her beloved Sonja to the ground.

"I don't want her," she said with a pout and a hmmph.

"That's fine," I said and picked up the doll. "Would you like to take care of Sonja?" I asked Chipmunk after he sat up to see what was upsetting his sister.

He nodded and I handed him the doll. He pulled her into a hug with his teddy bear and then laid them both on his mattress beside him, tucking them under his blanket.

"Are you sure you don't want her?" I asked Bear again.

"I don't want her!" she repeated gruffly.

"Okay, but if you do, I'm sure your brother will be happy to give her back to you." I closed the door and left them to their naps.

About five minutes later I heard a few whimpers and sniffles and I knew Bear had started crying. I thought perhaps she wanted her doll back, but when I entered her room, I found she was already clutching her beloved friend.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

With tears rolling down her cheeks she said, "I was saying sorry to Sonja for throwing her and I just started crying as I was saying it."

Sigh. Gotta love that kid.

Waiting Room

Today we visited the doctor's office for our annual check-ups for the kids. Despite the impending shots and the feel of a cold stethoscope on their back, the kids were generally happy. We had to wait a while, but the kids kept themselves busy.

Me: (watching Chipmunk move his arms in a circle) What are you doing?

Chipmunk: I baking a cake. Come help me (shouts to his sister)!

Bear: Okay. I'll cut the cake. (picks up imaginary object and cuts the cake)

Chipmunk: NOOOOOOOO! Don't take the knife! (Grabs imaginary object back from sister and puts it on the floor)

Bear: ( Grabs imaginary object off floor) I'm just going to cut it into a rectangle.

Chipmunk: NOOOO! (Grabs imaginary object back and puts it in his pocket) Stop cutting my cake! That's my knife!

Bear: (Reaches for Chipmunk's pocket) Stop taking it away!

Chipmunk: (Pushes Bear's hand away)NOOOOO! YOU STOOOOOP!!!

Me: Uh, you know that you two are fighting over something that isn't really there, right?

I'll Never Forget that Tuesday

Yup, it was a Tuesday when you were born. I'll never forget it. Neither will your dad, since it was his birthday. Suddenly, sometime after noon it became your birthday as well. My little boy...who came out with a bottom lip in a pout and a whimpering cry (which you still do to this day)...



Oh, my silly little boy. I can't ever get you to sit still, and you always make me laugh, even when I'm trying hard not to. You're carefree and you're super stubborn, but you've got a light-hearted joy that makes other people want to be joyous with you.

Three years old. Sigh.

Happy Third Birthday, Chipmunk! And happy (fill-in-the-blank) birthday, Matt!

Snow Day - California Style

To all of my friends who suffered through Snowmageddon...this post will seem cruelly unfair. So please forgive me and our temperate California weather, and the fact we sought out snow...by choice.



Yup, that it a picture of Chipmunk having the time of his life.



Here he is, all bundled up, waiting to ride down the hill again and again...and again. He quit only when he realized he was hungry and needed sustenance.

Bear? She opted out. You see the pony ride scarred her for life, and now she fears trying anything that has the potential of going "too fast."



Instead she worked on her snowball rolling...



...and attempted a snow angel, only to figure out that crunchy man-made snow isn't really the best for it.

Meanwhile, Chipmunk was on his fifth run...

Germs

I'm quite sure we all got the same germs.

Bear had a runny nose and a cough for a couple of days.

Chipmunk had a runny nose from one nostril and was a bit irritable for a day.

Matt slept for a day and seemed to be over the worst of it by the second day.

I'm on my third day and I've got fever, chills and aches. My head is congested and I feel like I'm hacking out a lung.

How fair is that?

My family all seems to have super human healing powers... Chipmunk the most super of them all...perhaps it's the fact that he eats his boogers that he's so healthy.

Yup. He's that kid. The one who eats his boogers in class.

Lovely.

Conversations in the Car

Chipmunk: Mommy, my tummy hurts!

Me: Why does your tummy hurt?

Chipmunk: The monster got me!

Me: Uh...okay.

All About Hair

Chipmunk's stint as a hair stylist was a short one...here's his handy work.



We think he was going for the layered look.

Speaking of hair...I'm always amazed at how Chipmunk's hair can defy gravity when it wants to.



I even sent him to preschool with this hair. So far his cowlick is going on 8 hours.

An Unintended Haircut

Me: Why are there strands of hair all over the carpet?

Chipmunk: (proudly) I cut my sister's hair!

Me: Bear, why did you let your brother cut your hair?

Bear: I didn't. He just cut it.

Me: (shakes head and mentally tells self to hide all scissors)

I Can't Believe You're Five

Five. I can't believe you're five years old.



It behooves me that you've already reached half of a decade. When did that happen?

It feels like just yesterday you were four years old and so proud of your birthday cupcakes.



And a moment before that, you were three.



I still remember when you were two and you were so excited to blow out your birthday candles...



...and even when you turned one and didn't know what a birthday was.



Five.

Please don't grow up too fast. I don't know if my heart can take it.