At least I didn't yell.

You know, I'm not a big yeller. Maybe it's because my family didn't really yell growing up, maybe it's because being with Peter has made me eerily calm in times of frustration, maybe it's because I'm remarkably patient with my children. But today, I really wanted to yell. I didn't, because I'm not a yeller. But I wanted to.

We dropped off my car at the dealership yesterday to take care of a bunch of random weird things. Note: don't get a Volkswagen. They suck. I told Peter to call ahead and tell them we were coming in. He didn't, so when we got there, they told us that there was no way they'd get to it today, but that we could leave it overnight. Peter said that'd be fine, then we listed our grievances (five), and Peter said he only wanted things fixed that were under the seven-year warranty we'd foolishly purchased (which I'm sure will end up being NOTHING, as has been our experience in the past... well, six years). They guy said he'd call with an estimate. He has yet to call.

So with one car, we decided today would go as follows: The kids wake up at 8, as usual. We feed them, clothe them, brush their teeth, get them out the door at 8:45. Drop Peter off at work, then go visit Lynette in the hospital, then go back to Peter's office at 10:00 so Ellie could give Hailey emotional support at her appointment. Then go to Grandma's so Matthew could take his morning nap, and Ellie and I would go to Costco to shop for house church tomorrow. Eat lunch with Grandma and Grandpa, then have Ellie fall asleep on the way home for her nap, and put Matthew down an hour or so later for his afternoon nap. By the time they wake up, it'd be 4:00, then we could play with the grandparents until time to pick up Peter around 5:30 or 6:00. Come home, eat dinner, hang out with Joe, HaYoung and the girls (in town for Gene's wedding), put the kids to bed, watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Here's what happened: We wake up at 8:25, completely startled that neither child is awake. Ellie wakes up at 8:35, goes in Matthew's room, wakes him up, turns off his nightlight, leaves the room, and scares him so that he's screaming bloody murder. 8:45 only Peter is dressed, Ellie has taken a giant dump in her overnight Pull-Ups, Matthew is inhaling his 8 oz. of warm milk. 8:55 Ellie is dressed, I'm brushing my teeth, Matthew is crying because I'm not holding him, Peter is attempting to load the children into the car. 9:10 we drop off Peter late, then drive around in multiple circles to find a parking spot. 9:20 we get to Lynette's room, where Matthew insists on eating a cookie I brought for the boys. Then another. Then he proceeds to throw several pieces of dduk on the floor. 10:00 we get to Peter's office, where Ellie successfully convinces Hailey to not only get measured (she refused to do so at her 3-year exam), but get a physical exam as well (Peter had them both lying on the exam table together).

10:40 we get to Grandma's. Grandpa is home, so Matthew is ridiculously excited to see him. After 5 minutes, I put him in his pack and play, and he screams at the top of his lungs for 15 minutes. I give up and let him play. 12:00 Grandma returns home, we decide to go out for lunch. Ellie is already whining and complaining due to tiredness and general crankiness. 12:45 We get to Santong snacks, where Ellie announces she does not like the food and will not eat. Matthew takes the filling out of two giant dumplings, throws them on the floor, and smooshes up the rest of the pieces all over himself. 1:45 we leave, Matthew falls asleep on the way home. 2:00 I drive Ellie around to make her fall asleep (and to pick up a latte). 2:10 Ellie wakes up as I move her to a bed at Grandma's. She stays in bed for half an hour, but sings and talks to herself the entire time. 2:40 Matthew wakes up, due to Ellie's loudness.

3:15 I take Ellie to Costco while Matthew stays with Grandma (who feeds him constantly for the next hour and a half). We end up buying ridiculous amounts of food. 4:15 we get back to discover Matthew nearly delirious, but extremely hyper. I spend the next hour entertaining them and keeping them out of Grandpa's hair, as he is trying to get some work done. 5:15 I call Peter to discover he will not be done for another hour or so. 6:15 I call Peter to discover he will not be done for another hour or so. 6:16 I angrily lament not putting Matthew down for a nap, but decide the children will fall asleep in the car on the way home.

6:30 tired Grandma kicks us out of the house, saying she will give Peter a ride so I should just take the children home. Ellie has a fit, saying she wants to pick up Daddy. 6:45 I begin driving around, trying to get the kids to fall asleep. Ellie insists on talking the entire time, despite my threats, and keeps both of them awake. 7:15 we pick up Peter, then drive home with both children awake and ready to play. 7:30 Matthew is placed as lovingly as possible in his crib, after which he proceeds to scream bloody murder for 15 minutes. Ellie is playing to her heart's content. 7:45 I warm up some milk for Matthew, feed him, put him to bed, then announce to Peter that if I have to put Ellie to bed, I will lose it. Ellie overhears and starts freaking out that she wants Mommy to put her to bed. I calmly threaten to go on a trip and not come back for a week if she continues such behavior. 8:00 Peter takes her to get some food and theoretically drive her to sleep. 8:59 (now) he comes home with a finally sleeping child.

Not a good day. I still haven't eaten dinner. I just keep thinking of all the things I have to do... Not a good day. At least I didn't yell. That was the highlight of my day. Argh.

Video updates

I haven't uploaded any videos lately, so here are a handful for the enjoyment of a select few...

I said before that Matthew loves Ellie the bestest. He also thinks she's the funniest. (3/28)


Here we are celebrating Matthew's actual birthday at Grandma's house (4/25)


Matthew loves corn. A lot. (5/12)


Thanks to a year of ballet, Ellie can do the conga. (5/15)


Also- HOORAY! Matthew took 3 steps in a row today, while holding a cup, nonetheless. Of course, I tried to recreate it on video, but someone would not cooperate. Fortunately, our house church witnessed it so I won't be accused of "guji mal." Relief! I guess he won't be crawling through kindergarten after all!

A story about Matthew and Daddy

Once upon a time there were two boys named Matthew and Daddy. One day they decided to look for Mommy. They couldn't find her anywhere because she went to Target. So they decided to go to Target. But they went the wrong way. They went left, and Mommy went right. So they went right. But Mommy wasn't there. She was doing laundry. So they went to the laundry room. Mommy wasn't there, either. Mommy wasn't ANYWHERE.

Where was you in the story, Mommy?

I don't know, Ellie. Where was I?

Oh! Mommy was getting a cake for Matthew. Matthew decided to look for his big sister. He said, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! I found her!" And Daddy comed. And I said, "Oh! I'm celebrating my birthday today. It's March and I'm celebrating my birthday at school. At school I celebrate my birthday." The end.

Another reason Houston sucks

So it's officially summer here, and I'm dreading the next six months or so. Last week, I got sweaty from putting the kids in the car IN OUR GARAGE AT 11 IN THE MORNING. People say Houston's a great place because you can golf year-round, but really, summer is so hot it's nearly intolerable to be outside. We've already gone swimming three times, and Ellie has already gotten dark. It's going to be a long next few months (especially with school out after Tuesday).

I've actually been keeping up with my One Year Bible reading this time around. Like, I'm on May 14. I'm pretty proud. Anyway, I was reading a couple of weeks ago and came across this passage that I really liked. I think growing up in California, I was a lot more exposed to nature. I forget where I heard about this, but I remember hearing at some retreat or something different ways you experience God. Some through other people, some through the Bible, through prayer, etc. One way was through nature. I think I heard it at a retreat in Texas, so I think I was the only one who felt that I experienced God through nature. I feel so sad for my kids who will think mountains look like small hills with faces like in Dora. Boo.

But Psalms 104:5-22 reads:
He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.
They give wayer to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate- bringing forth food from the earth;
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees.
The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys.
The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.

I think I commune with God well when I'm in the midst of His creation. There's such an overwhelming sense of his omnipotence and sovreignty, you know? I don't mean to sound hokey, but nature really is amazing. I wish there were better ways of experiencing nature here, but alas - it's Houston. We go to the indoor playground at the mall and swimming pools with sand around the edges. Like Peter always says, it makes us appreciate our vacations more. Sad. Houston stinks. Sometimes literally.

Ellie is the favoritest

Although he is only one year and one and a half weeks old, Matthew is already full-swing into wanting to do everything big sister does. I got them matching sippy cups, but he will only drink out of Ellie's. He MUST have Horizon chocolate milk from the box, he CANNOT live without a lick of popsicle, and if he doesn't get a taste of cotton candy, he WILL die.

Tangential story: We went to Amazon Grill with Chris and Fay plus kiddos on Friday in lieu of house church because everyone else was out of town. We let Matthew eat whatever we were eating (Ellie's pizza, plantain chips, tortilla, etc.), as he has done since he was pretty much 8 months old. Then the girls got free cotton candy with their kids' meals. Seriously, Matthew was throwing a fit because he didn't get some. So of course, being the lax parents that we are, we gave him a little. Surprise! He liked it.

Anyway, there was a family sitting next to us. A snooty-looking couple with their son who looked like he was about 18 months old was quietly and calmly eating. Their son was being spoon-fed Earth's Best jarred puree and Yo Baby yogurt. (Matthew, in the meantime, was joyfully throwing bits of french fries all over the table and ground.) I could FEEL their judgment on us. Serious glares in our direction. Peter happened to be wearing his Blue Fish Pediatrics shirt, and was hoping that they weren't patients of the practice. Whatever. Our kids are super happy, as anyone can attain to. :)

So Matthew is currently on hunger strike. He is eating about 10% of what he normally does. I discovered, however, that he will eat anything he feeds himself with a spoon or anything that Ellie feeds him. This is bad in many ways. First of all, he is completely lacking the ability to eat with any utensils whatsoever, so getting him to scoop out rice and soup with a spoon and put it in his mouth leads mostly to mushed soggy rice all over Mommy. Secondly, it takes Ellie FOREVER to eat when she's only feeding herself. Now it's triple the time because she wants to feed Matthew, too. Then she ends up not eating her own food. Argh.

Matthew will obey whatever commands Ellie gives. I tell him to say please, he starts yelling demandingly. Ellie tells him, he immediately does it. She tells him to say ah so she can shine a penlight in his mouth, he obeys. He comes when she calls, he does Happy and You Know It motions, he laughs on command. For Mommy? Sometimes a high five. If he's in a good mood.

The other day, Peter was leaving for work. Ellie was sitting in my lap, getting her hair done. Matthew was sitting across from us. Peter gave everyone kisses and left. Matthew puckers up and goes, "mmm mmm" to Ellie. She kisses him. He laughs, then does it again. I say, "Aw, Ellie. Matthew wants kisses from his big sister! Isn't that sweet?" She kisses him again, he laughs. I go, "Kisses for Mommy!" and pucker up. He smiles, puts his arm around my neck and gives me a head butt. BOO.

I guess I should be happy that he loves Ellie so much, but you know what? I'm MOMMY, gosh darn it! Isn't there a rule that Mommy is the favorite? I'm sort of starting to suspect that Matty will not be a mama's boy after all. I'm glad about that, because I don't want a wussy for a son, but sort of sad, too. He was all rebellious towards me this week, which was a little emotionally trying. Hope it's just a phase.

But really, I am glad that he loves his sister. It's so amazing to see their interaction, her complete nurturing of him, and his adoration of her. I'm really grateful to have such loving kids. They're the best. :)

My latest random obsession

There's this show on TLC called Jon and Kate Plus 8. It's a story of a family with two six-year olds and six two-year olds. Yes, that's right. A set of twins and a set of sextuplets. The dad is Asian, which makes it more interesting to me. The show was actually originally on Discovery Health, so most episodes were filmed last year. I guess two seven-year olds and six 3-year olds is not nearly as interesting, nor catchy.

Anyway, they are pretty interesting. The mom is this super anal clean-freaky nag monster. The dad was only 29 at the time, and he was always bickering with his wife. Honestly, watching the show you can't help but swear they hated each other. But it's almost in an endearing way. Hard to explain.

So since I'm all into this family, I of course went and looked up as much as I could find on them online. Unfortunately, there is very little available. I think all the info is from 2004, when the show aired. What I DID glean was that the family was very strong in their faith. In fact, it's their faith that holds them all together, amidst the chaos and craziness. They actually went to speak at a church in Fresno on the last episode, which I thought was random until I discovered they were actually Christian.

If you go to their website, you see how their faith led them through most of their decisions, especially the decision to not go the "reduction" route and abort several of the vital fetuses. Their faith keeps them afloat when they discover she has PCOS and has to undergo infertility treatments and when they have 6 newborns that require constant feeding, changing and holding. Now, especially more than ever, their faith keeps their marriage intact when they almost never get to be alone, at least not when they have any energy left over.

They show a shot of the mom when she was almost at the end of her 2nd pregnancy (she didn't make it full term, of course). I think she was bed-ridden because she was only able to lie on her back for a few seconds. Her tummy was so protruded, she couldn't reach the end of it. Sick. She actually ended up getting a tummy tuck that some plastic surgeon donated to her or something.

This family is very intriguing to me. Partly because of the mixed race thing, partly because of the ridiculous number of children, partly because of the constant nagging/bickering in the parents' relationship, partly because of their faith. One thing I read that the wife had said kinda bothered me, though. She said it was God's will for us to be fruitful and multiply, so infertility obviously wasn't the plan for their lives, therefore justifying the route they took. As much as I respect their faith and the role it plays in their lives, I totally disagree with that. There are so many examples of God purposefully making women barren for whatever reasons in the Bible. Whether it was to later glorify Him through a miracle, or punishment for sin, or a trial to make the woman turn to Him in faith, infertility definitely has a place in God's plan. Not that I'm saying I disagree with their decisions or anything, but that statement in particular sort of rubbed me the wrong way.

Anyway. I really like this family. I want to meet them and take care of them. I'm all attached to the children and want to, like, cuddle them or buy them presents. I feel emotionally involved in their lives. Isn't that weird? A little too much? I find them very likable, especially because of the bickering. So much more realistic to be that way. There are those crazy cultish Christian families with the 16 children who make up their own church in their house and stuff who are so, "La dee dah! We love having this many children! We are completely organized and no one ever fights or doesn't get along!" This family is more like, "The children will probably be the death of us," and "Aiden, did you bite Colin?" and "Mommy is boring and Daddy is fun."

It's on Monday nights on TLC. Watch it. I like it.