So much that when Maverick asked my dad if he could marry me, my dads first response was,
"You know she can't cook right?" HA!
The kitchen and I didnt have a relationship seeing as I burned everything that I attempted to make.
I always had the mindset of 'my poor kids will not know what a genuine home cooked meal taste like'.
BOOOYAAHHHH!!!
Enter my new HOMEMAKER title.
(Im sooo sorry! Blog post about being a stay-at-home mom will be a frequent topic for a while.)
I am now proud to say that my family has a home cooked meal for the majority of the time.
I do have my 'lazy' moments where I would go back to my old ways and succumbed to serving $5 Papa Johns Pizzas instead. But I honestly dont feel good after it.
It could be the whole pregnancy thing, but I just feel icky after eating fast food.
But, I guess thats a good thing. Since I now demand that we have a frequent stock of fruits, veggies, meat and other ingredients in our fridge and pantry.
Oh, my mother would be sooooo proud!
Here are some of the big hits that ive cooked recently. Not my pictures since I was so hungry to stop and take a pic. hehe! But they all tasted pretty good. And I know I've done a good job when the toddler and the picky eater husband goes back for seconds.
Potato and corn chowder with bacon.
Cabbage beef casserole
Shepard's pie
Eggplant parmesan
Chicken pasta bake
Lemon and rosemary chicken bake
Kumara (sweet potato) soup
Cream of broccoli soup
Chicken adobo
Peppered Steak
Spinach pasta with asparagus
Stir fry with my own teriyaki sauce
Although, I am not IN LOVE with cooking, its not such a chore to do anymore.
And it makes me feel good inside and accomplished knowing what was exactly in the food that we are eating. We even had organic ingredients since my mother-in-law has a huge garden with all sort of fruits and veggies.
I cant remember the last time that I had spent this little time on Blogspot and Facebook.
(Hence, the lack of blog updates).
A new 'time-waster' has taken over my life.
PINTEREST.
But I say this 'time-waster' is a little bit more productive than all the others in ways that I actually do something productive because of it.
Couldn't have come at a more perfect time since I was in search of something to keep me sane.
and not feel like a lazy bum watching life go by in front of the computer screen and TV.
This whole 'I am a HOMEMAKER' card is new to me and was very hard to swallow in the beginning.
But I am starting to get the hang of it now and finding a lot of joy at it.
So with that, here are some examples of what's been keeping my sanity in check.
Slippers
Beanie and bootie for baby girl
Baby earflap beanie
Headband with interchangeable flowers
First attempt on an adult size beanie. Sorry for the blurry photo
Butterfly baby beanie for my cousins baby
Earflap beanie for baby (I forgot to finish it off)
Baby booties and earflap beanie for Auna baby boy (i ran out of the multi colored yarn so I had to improvise)
Hair clips - Ok this isnt crochet but I made it during a Relief Society activity
It really is quite exciting seeing a ball of yarn turn into a wonderful creation.
Its very addictive.
Also, what's GREAT is that one of my best friend is in this journey with me of finding the homemaker within us. So its been fun to compare and share our creations with each other. See her blog here.
I just realized that besides the 'announcement' post, I havent really blogged about my second pregnancy.
Soooo, here is me now at 23 weeks
I think I look a lot different from 23 weeks with Hyrum
Im a lot pointier this time which is great coz I didnt like my squareness last time.
Being pregnant with a crazy toddler around is a lot different from being pregnant with nothing to do.
For one thing, I am more motivated to go on walks since its hard to keep Hyrum indoors.
Which is great coz that means I will most probly not gain anywhere near the 60 lbs. that I gained with Hyrum. I have been trying to pay good attention to my weight gain this time around coz I worked really hard to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight last time. Plus, it really isnt very healthy to gain that much that fast. So far im at 11 lbs!
Anyways, I had a fairly easy pregnancy with Hyrum and so far, this one has lived up to the same expectations (knock on wood). Besides the usual 'I gotta eat every 2 hours', I havent really had any sort of cravings. Well, I guess except for that one time that I saw someone eating mint chocolate chip ice cream on Desperate Housewife.
I have noticed a BIG difference on movement though. By this time with Hyrum, I was feeling somersaults a la Cirque du Soleil circus happening in my tummy. I guess that is probably why Hyrum is a GREAT big ball of energy! This one is very timid. I only feel her 2-4 times a day and are usually very very light taps. Maybe its coz its a girl but hopefully its coz she is going to be a timid baby who will be satisfied just sitting there observing her crazy brother run around like a mad dog. Well, one can hope right...
As for names, I THINK we have one picked out. Still not 100% sure about it though. We havent told anyone yet (even parents) but I am am pretty happy about it because it has a great meaning which is really near and dear to me.
We are still very much STRESSED and WORRIED about our financial situations with this baby seeing that I dont have any insurance BUT we are happy that we are all healthy and we are happy that we are all HAPPY! Which is the most important thing. Besides, its only fitting that the girl is already costing us sooooo much. (First pregnancy was under 'government insurance Quest' so we didnt see any bills).
I think i've someone grown out of it now...SOMEWHAT...
I don't actually mind cooking now,
Maybe coz I am at home all day with no husband to cook for me and a son who has a bottomless appetite.
BUT,
Thinking of WHAT to cook for meals or even just for snacks is STRESSFUL!
So im asking for HELP...
All you veterans (or not) mommies out there,
What are your favorite, tried and tested meals???
Also for munchies?
The little boy LOVES to eat! But sometimes we miss the target and buy something that is not acceptable. Then it ends up being left alone for weeks and thrown away coz its stale.
He loves fruits and other fruity stuff like raisins. Not very into candy cept for fruit snacks and gummi stuff. Likes crackers like wheat thins but not ritz.
Sooo what snacks do you have on your cupboard at all times? Id like to try more stuff and see what works and what doesnt.
the one that I waited an answer for for two months...
Its just a "test proctor" for College of Southern Idaho.
So a testing center person who checks people in to do their test.
Sooo nothing special....
I felt pretty proud that I got the job though...
so I went to training on Wed.
Looks pretty manageable.
No hard labor or long time standing up.
And its not minimum wage.
So we are GOOD!
Then Maverick and I sat down that night to work out our schedules.
We did the math, made a daily schedule and day care expences for Hyrum and came to the conclusions that we would only have a $60 profit.
NOT WORTH IT!
Sooo, I quit on Thurs morning...
Anyway, the whole point of this post is to share what I realized during this whole process.
Maverick voiced out during our discussion that it is very important for him to not have Hyrum (or any of our future kids) to be bounced around all over the place or in day care for long periods of time.
Which I totally agree on, BUT staying at home ALL DAYEVERYDAY can get pretty old.
Maybe I would feel a lot better about staying at home if I can drive, or if I was better at keeping the house clean, or if we had more money,
or if I had friends.
But the past few weeks I was feeling really down about myself. like there was something missing...
I felt like I really really needed a job because we are NEEDING the extra income to not only pay for everyday necessities but also to prepare for the new baby.
I also felt like I needed a job so that I can have a break from Hyrum. My 'lack of adult interaction' has led me to become easily frustrated and its rubbing on to Hyrum. I felt like it would do both of us good if I left him in someone else care for 3-4 hours a day. Its not that long after all...
I grew up with my mum ALWAYS having a job. So I NEVER imagined myself being a stay-at-home mom. Actually, i've always known that I will have a career despite my wants to have lots of kids. And MAYBE I will...
BUT, I realized that right now the BEST THING for our family is for me to be with my son 24/7.
So with that, im still unemployed. And have been since December 2010. I havent been unemployed for this long since I was 15 years old!
But im ok with it because now I choose to see it from a different perspective.
Because, I am in fact, EMPLOYED.
My job is to teach, to nurture, to discipline a child of God.
And come to think of it, THAT IS A PRETTY IMPORTANT JOB. If not the most important!
Yes! I scream at him, and get angry, and send him to timeout and sometimes I just wantNEED timeout myself.
BUT, in all reality, He makes me laugh, and love life, and BE HAPPY more than he makes me cringe.
So here's to declaring that I AM A MOTHER.
I dont get financial security, medical benefits, and company meetings. INSTEAD, I get wet kisses, soft cuddles, "abb oo" (love you), and "tee tum" (thank you).
Much more 'Eternally Beneficial', if I say so myself.
My little Hyrum turned 18 months in July and I just wanted to do a little update.
He is 33.5" tall and 29.8 lbs heavy.
The little boy isnt quite so little anymore.
He is quite a character.
Always moving!
Never a dull moment as he is always up to something (but its not always a good thing).
Under the fort with daddy
I am truly blessed (though exhausted) to be witnessing the developments of this child. Each day is a different day and everyday is an adventure.
He is talking a lot more now and can usually express his wants and needs, which is great!
The doctor said that at this age 12-15 words is where they normally are at. So I sat down and listed the words that he uses frequently and I know he understands and he has over 80 words. He even has a few sentences like 'daddy at work', 'no more juice/snack/milk/etc', 'oh no broke'. Some of my favorite words are clock (cwock), helicopter (ahahter), milk (mack), remote (meemot), thank you (teetam), rubbish/bubbles (babish), donut (totak), and of coarse, MOMMY!
He learned to sign milk, please, thank you, food, open, and water but barely uses them now since he's been saying it instead. He is very smart and can mimic things really well. He knows the actions to wheels on the bus, twinkle twinkle little star, popcorn popping, monkeys on the bed, itsy bitsy spider, pat-a-cake, and little piggies. He is very good at making animal noises too.
He RUNS EVERYWHERE! Walking doesnt exists in his book.
He HATES clothes! Since its summer right now and usually very very hot, he runs around in his diaper at home. But of coarse to look civilized, we put clothes on him when we go out and he DESPISES it! We have to hold him down to put clothes on then he spend a few minutes afterwards crying about it and trying to pull it off.
He loves Barney, Elmo, Blues Clues and Lightning McQueen. We only let him watch about an hour of TV per day. Just when im cooking or cleaning and I need him to stay put.
Bedtime is STILL a problem! He wakes up 2-4 times a night crying bloody murder and stops quickly as soon as I enter the room and hold his feet. He's worst now with sleeping than when he was a newborn. But he still takes a 2-3hr nap a day which is heavenly for me.
He is truly a BOY. Loves conquering the playground up to the very top which sometimes makes me nervous. He loves trains, cars, trucks, but his absolute favourite are planes and helicopters. We would YouTube planes taking off and helicopters and the likes, which will occupy him for a while. Any stick that he picks up is a sword and he likes to throw things (balls, rocks, grass, toys) which is sometimes not good as well.
He likes to throw away his diapers after being changed and take dishes back to the sink. He "helps" out with sweeping, wiping the table, vacuuming, moping the floor and tidying up his room. But he is also VERY stubborn and enjoys doing naughty things like pull DVDs out of the cabinet, pull on cords, mess up mommys cds and flushing the toilet.
He eats like a champ (most of the time) and shows off his Asianess because his favorite things to eat are rice and noodles (besides noses).
Playing with cousins Elizabeth and Naiella
He has a beautiful smile and a contagious laugh. I love it when his eyes disappears when he laughs or smiles.
And lastly, hes a little bit LOT weird...
Maverick and I laugh and do the 'hes your child' glare whenever he shows off his weird side (which is pretty often).
For example, he runs at full speed then runs into the fridge/door/couch on purpose. Pretends to give you kiss but gives a lick instead. Climbs on the couch and slides off to the floor head first. Does a happy feet dance and have the funniest facials while doing it. Blows raspberries on peoples tummies even if they are standing up. Spreads his leg far apart as to go on a splits then says 'ow wo wo wo'. He also HAS to say goodnight to the vacuum every night after saying family prayers.
But, despite being a BIG ball of ENERGY, he is also a very sweet very cuddly little boy that we just cant imagine life without. Everyday we are grateful to have him in our lives. His presence makes our life more exciting and meaningful.
Watching a child grow from a helpless little fragile newborn to an indestructible hyperactive toddler is truly a miracle. It is not always easy, but it is DEFINITELY worth it!
