Celebrating

Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary. In reality, we are celebrating 28 1/2 years of being together...that is crazy and awesome at the same time! We have come a very long way from when we were 14 years old, a lot of hard work and determination to reach our goals. We grew up together, matured together, and have prioritized together. We truly are the best of friends.

We aren't very 'showy' with our gifts to one another because they have ranged thru/out the years according to what we could afford. Our first anniversary, we bought ourselves a rice cooker and we still use it to this day and love it! But we will celebrate this year's anniversary with a very momentous gift to one another. What is it? I won't say, (sorry) but it is something we have worked very hard towards. We both know we have been blessed but we know it wasn't by accident, marriage is a lot of work!

And to finish off the celebration of our anniversary, we will both go to the airport tonight to welcome a baby home to his forever family...now THAT is the best gift of all!

Success for our children

The pressure in today's society for our children is to succeed in everything. Does the pressure come from society and parents? Yes, but I like to think of myself as a parent that doesn't pressure my children. I view myself as wanting the success for my children so they won't feel the disappointment of all their hard work.

To succeed in the high school my two older children attend, the hard work must come from the individual, so as parents, we tell our children to give it 110%. That way, they know they gave it their all no matter what the outcome. When my hubby and I attended this same high school, anything we wanted to get involved in, we tried out and pretty much made the team if we showed some of the skills needed. Nowadays, kids have to start after they are potty trained in order to be competitive and have a chance.

My son has been playing soccer since he was five years old, now he is 15 years old and time for high school soccer. Tryouts were three days and the results were given right after the last tryout. I made sure my son knew to let me know when he was waiting for the results so I would have some idea, but no call, no text, no nothing!

Nervous as can be, I continued with making dinner and sat down with the rest of the family to eat. With my cell phone by my plate, we ate and talked as usual. Then my phone rang...caller ID stated it was my son. I was so nervous, I couldn't answer it so I handed it to my hubby. My daughters both covered their ears and I tried to eavesdrop the best I could. I heard my son say, "I'm done". Nothing more. My hubby said, "And..." My son's response, "Can you come pick me up"...goodness the kid is killing me! My son is not one to be real conversational on the phone, but does he not realize we are all dying to know??!! My hubby asked him if he made a team and I hear my son's voice say, "Yep". That's my son, even keel, no big deal, one word answers.

I knew he made a team and I yelled out a yahoooooo!! I was literally sweating being so nervous and I then started to cry. Yep, that's me, crying for everything and anything. I was so relieved and happy for my son, what a huge accomplishment and it finally paid off. I did not want another disappointment for my son, but with his easy going personality, reminds me that really, in the big scheme of things, it's no big deal one way or the other. But the mom in me is so so proud of him and so happy for him.

Why No Sympathy?

With the way the stock market has been lately, I've been in a huge panic. Not that we are desperate for money. I've always talked about how blessed I am with my great family and the hard work my hubby puts in at his job, therefore, we've been blessed with many opportunities. So why is it then I never get any sympathy from people when I tell them how the stock market is really affecting us? Just because we have money and now we are losing money, no sympathy, except comments like, 'Everyone is suffering' (I already know that) 'You are still young', 'You are in it for the long haul', 'The market will go back up'. I know ALL of this but really, just because we've been smart with our money, haven't gotten over our heads with debt, saved our money wisely and spent our money wisely...why can't anyone give me sympathy with losing our hard earned money?? Really pissing me off, because I am not one to just spend money, just ask my hubby. I have always put my family first and that was the reason for being smart with our money so we could enjoy it as a family. I think people would literally pee their pants if they knew how bad the market has affected us, but no, no sympathy for me....

The Birds and the Bees...at the dinner table!

Who woulda thought, but heck, when we get the chance to sit down to dinner during the week, we all catch up but really...the birds and the bees talk at dinner? It was really quite funny, we all had a good laugh! And it was in-depth too and it started off with my 10yr old asking what a slang word meant and it went from there because there are a heck of a lot of slang words out there! I think even my soon to be 15yr old son learned some new things!

My hubby and I made sure to encourage our 10yr old to keep asking US questions regarding anything 'sex' because we want to make sure she learns the correct meaning of things. I had to tell my hubby to stop gestering with his hands...it was funny and if he had access to a white board, I'm sure he would have used it!

What a funny conversation but also great knowing we could talk so openly. This wasn't your mama's birds and the bees talk! We were all ROFLOL!!

Super Bowl Bound!

What an exciting weekend coming up and to think I will be right in the middle of it, in person. I am in no way a huge football fan, but I am a huge fan of experiencing it! I hope it's a great game and that it will be a nail biter. I will feel like a queen as I am being spoiled the whole weekend and my all time favorite thing, eating, eating and more eating! Go Steelers...or Go Cardinals? Not sure yet.

Being Older and Wiser, Part II

That is my husband today, for he is celebrating the day of his birth! Now starts the day where I can tease him, he says incessantly, which I do, for four months that he is so much older than I am! He just rolls his eyes and goes onto to tell me that since I am Korean, I am actually older than he is(um, wish I never told him that part of being Korean)! Anyway, he takes my teasing in stride-he really doesn't have a choice...

So this morning, as I was talking to my ten year old daughter about jobs and tried to explain what her daddy does at his job, it made me think of what he truly does. He impresses me, he is older but he is really wise, as in smart! He took on a new role in his company a year ago and with a horrendous rough start, he hung in there and has turned his business around.

I have so much respect for him for all that he has to do five days a week, working hard, yet makes sure he is available to help out with our kids and their schedules after school. But that is the type of person he is and the type of father he always wanted to be. He makes time for his kids and can leave work at work and focus on his family.

Of course, he always thanks me for all that I do for our family, but today, I want to thank him publicly for all that he does for our family. He is a keeper! And honey, Happy Birthday!!

Being Older and Wiser

Is how I felt last night talking to my soon to be 18yr old daughter. It was weird seeing myself in her shoes with her relationship with her boyfriend. The way she is so outspoken and so matter of fact and not afraid to speak her mind. But last night, I told her that sometimes in life, you have to keep your mouth shut and let things go.

She has a tremendous future ahead of her; starting college and trying to determine what she wants to do with her life. Does that include this boyfriend? If that is what she wants, then she has to learn to keep her mouth shut when it comes to her boyfriend and his parents..they could become her in-laws!

I was trying to explain that when it comes to a disagreement between her boyfriend and his parents, it is between them and she has to stay out of it. He is torn and her 'role' is to be his safe spot, his soft spot where he knows he doesn't have to feel like he's disappointing her too. This is very tough, I know because I went thru this with my husband, who was my boyfriend since the age of 14 and I didn't agree with what his parents were saying to him at times.

I just hope my daughter takes my advice to heart and knows that I mean well and truly care about her feelings, both in regards to her as my daughter and her relationship with her boyfriend.