project 52, week 22

the vast majority of my mornings begin the same way:

around 4 or 5 am, a  little person by the name of lauren makes her way up the stairs and slips into our room.  clutching her favorite memory foam pillow, she pads over in the dark to my side of the bed, plops the pillow next to my head and urgently whispers, "I HAVE TO PEE."  she then goes into our bathroom, does her business, then calls out, "i'm done, can you help me?"  which is then my cue to stumble over with eyes pretty much still closed to assist her.  afterward, she returns to my side of the bed, slips under the covers, sighs a happy sigh, and is fast asleep.

i am usually wide awake by now and have about a 4-inch sliver to bed left to lie down on.

i finally fall asleep at just about the same time phil's alarm clock goes off at 6 am.

it's not easy being a light sleeper, man.

but this is us on the mornings when daddy doesn't have to go in to work.  (the above and the following pictures are going to be yucko quality phone pics).


then, around 8 am, i hear another pair of not-as-little feet coming up the stairs.  we have very creaky wooden stairs.  and i can tell by the speed of those creaks whether or not it's the big brother coming up alone, or if it's him carrying up his little brother with him.  it all depends on if the little brother has woken up yet.  and they usually do wake around the same time.

so then, we look like this.

and as for the big sister?  well, she's our glorious sleeper and 99% of the time sleeps well past all this morning action warm and snug in her own bed.  and there she stays until the rest of us come down and are sitting down to breakfast.  it's going to be interesting to see how she's going to deal with early school mornings in the fall.  (more on that later).

my morning crew.  not so bad waking up to these cheery faces, right?

but we most definitely need to upgrade our queen size bed to a king and pronto.  that 4-inch sliver of bed is doing very bad things to my back.  and this morning crew only keep getting bigger!

edited to add (to answer esther's question)- allie has been part of this morning crew a time or two but i don't know if she's aware that it happens pretty much every morning.  but, her own little morning ritual after she wakes is to get up, come find her mama for a long good-morning hug, which she's always sure to get.  my morning isn't complete until i get my allie-hug.  :)

backyard picnic

one of the definite highlights of our new home is having a backyard again.  the kids love being able to run in and out as they please and i love being able to shoo them outside whenever they get a bit too rambunctious inside.

of course, they all come screaming back inside as soon as one of them spots a spider, or a mosquito, or a moth, or a roly poly, or a bee, or a fly, or any other small black spot that sort of resembles an insect.

it does not appear that entomology is in any of our kids' futures.

ok, if i'm being really honest, that comes as a huge relief to me.  one time as kids, my cousin and i stayed up most of a night roaming the house and being completely freaked out because we saw a daddy-long-legs in the room we had planned on sleeping in and couldn't decide on which other room to take our chances in.  so now i inwardly scream anytime i see a bug that should not be in the house in the house.  then i arm myself heavily to rid the house of the offending bug and pretend to be brave in front of my kids and deal with it with a stoicism even a spartan would envy. 

and if i'm being completely honest, phil deals with bugs in the house the exact same way when he's home and i defer all bug duties to him.  i know this because i have actually heard him scream (in a manly way, of course) when caught off guard and confronted with a particularly largish specimen.

you could say we tsais are not what you'd call bug enthusiasts.

ooookay, so that was completely off-topic but something i felt the need to share.  whew, i'm glad we had this talk.  ;)

so anyway, one fine day, mikey asked me if the kids could eat lunch in the backyard.

i did him one better and made it a picnic lunch with individually wrapped sandwiches and snack containers for each kid.  when you're one of a bunch, having your own personal lunch instead of eating everything out of communal containers is a pretty exciting discovery around here.

praying before their meal.

our backyard is rather jungle-y.  we would like to change it up to make it more kid-friendly, but that project is going to have a wait kind of a long while.  mainly because we have no idea how to do a backyard reno.  or any kind of reno for that matter.  but that's ok though, the kids seem to enjoy it as it is for now too.

"i'm going to squish you like this grape!"

this one in particular enjoyed having her very own lunch wrapped up for her.

my mikey boy.  so many ways to describe him...

typical 8-year-old boy being one of the ways.

looking for cloud shapes while digesting.

oh and this guy?  he joined in the fun after he woke from his nap.

this is how he talks on the phone.  you know, the way everyone does- by placing it on the back of his neck.

big sister gave him bites of her lunch.

but then he swiped one of their goldfish cracker containers and decided to feed his own self.

he really, really wants to be considered one of the big kids.  but i'm afraid that's just not going to be possible with this one though.

and oh yeah, remember our dog daisy?  she was there too.

big sis trying to pull little sis like on a sled.  turns out brick floor is not the same as snow.

then they decided the plants needed some watering.

jonah liked supervising.

and pruning, too.  :)

project 52, week 21

yes, i am still unpacking.  woe to the mutha.  (that would be me).

four things: 1) most of the unpacking can only really get done in spurts during jonah's naps.  2) i'm still aiming towards getting every single box unpacked.  3) i'm unearthing things i haven't seen in several years and completely forgot we had.  multiples of the same items, actually.  4) i think this job is looking to last me a few decades.  at least.

but look what i found in the midst of unpacking?

a complete boxed set!

hmm.  i wonder how much these are going for on ebay?  ;)

have a great weekend!

project 52, week 20

i know i've posted pics of the house on the blog before, but it seemed right to include it in this project too.  and so begin the adventures in our new-to-us home!  :)

project 52, week 19

mikey has asked me many, many times to take a picture of him with his lego creations so that we can send it in to the lego magazine people so that they can put it in their next issue.  i don't think he realizes how many submissions get sent in or how most are never printed or how many of the creations that are printed are likely built by adults and i just don't have the heart to disappoint him like that.  so, most of the time i just do what every good parent does (ahem) and evade his requests.  but i realized recently that he hasn't been asking me to take pictures of him with his lego creations anymore.  this last one i took of him was over two months ago.  and seeing this picture now makes me a little sad.  have i put him off one too many times?  has he gotten the feeling that he's bothering me with his requests?  am i sending him the message that what's important to him is not important to me?

gulp.

so i think i shall remedy this tomorrow (he's in bed as i type this so i can't do it right now).  i'll ask him to build a creation so that i can take a picture of him with it.  and then we WILL send it in to the lego people, for better or worse.  it matters to him, therefore it matters to me.

and isn't that what's most important at the end of the day?  i think so.

ps- the creation above is his version of the eiffel tower with the bustling city streets way below it.  note: not built to scale. ;)

a day in the life...

of jonah tsai!

hey!  wanna see what i've been up to while mommy's been busy unpacking?

first, i like to start off my day with stolen sips from my sister's smoothie cup.

good thing she doesn't mind sharing with me.  i even let her kiss my cheek because it buys me more time with her smoothie cup.

and when she wants her smoothie cup back?  well, no matter because then my big brother swoops in and hands me his smoothie cup.  i love having lots of siblings!

i find this round window very fascinating.  i could watch it go round and round all day long...

hmm, what else?  oh yes, i love to push buttons.  mommy says literally and figuratively.  but i don't know what that means.  anyhow, there's this one button under the kitchen counter that is placed at just my level.  whoever did that was so thoughtful!  it makes a loud BEEP! when i push it.  even though mommy says, "jonah, no touch," when i go under there, i. can't. resist.

uh oh, busted!

hmm, i better lay low for a little bit until she forgets that i'm in trouble.  sitting in daddy's big chair always makes her laugh (especially when i use my whole body to try and make it rock) and makes her forget that much faster.

ok good, i think i'm in the clear.  now what's this my big brother left on the ground?  his toys are so fascinating.

aw, but she never seems to forget when it's naptime.  that's ok though, i've got my blankie and could use a little shut-eye.  keeping these big people on their toes sure is tiring.  see ya in a couple!  hours, that is.

ok, back in action!  what's this mommy's set up now?  mommy and daddy keep laughing.  something about me and the whale.  parents.  who can figure them out?  besides, i think this is a shark, not a whale.  sheesh.

did i mention i love having lots of siblings?  yeah, it's good cuz it's never boring around here.

thanks for hanging out with me today!

project 52, week 18

and then a blink and a wink later, it was this boy's 8th birthday.  birthday season comes fast and furious in our house with five of our six birthdays in seven weeks of each other.  it's a whirlwind and i have to mentally gear up for it every year.  it's also one of the reasons why i decided to do parties for each of the kids every other year.  if that.  :p

but birthdays are the perfect time to express my thankfulness for each of our children, to reflect on who they are and what they're currently in to, and to marvel at how God created each one to be so wonderfully unique and yet fit so perfectly into our family.

it's been simply fascinating watching them grow and develop into the people God made them to be.  what a privilege.

and so my boy turned 8 this year.  his golden birthday.  which i had never heard of until we lived in minnesota.  how can time have flown so fast?  on the one hand, i look at him and still see the tiny peanut of a baby clutching his favorite bear (which we've always just called "bear") and sucking on the two middle fingers of his left hand.  on the other hand, i look again and see this rapidly growing boy, full of life and laughter and silliness and questions and the need to tell me every single thing on his mind.  i see him and can see glimpses of the man he's growing up to become and am just so very proud of him.

he's just such a likeable kid.  and eight years later, i am still amazed that i get to be his mom.

project 52, week 17

my poor, long-neglected photo project!  i haven't given up on it though and so will pick it up where i left off.  rewind a bit with me, if you will...

we celebrated daddy's 37th birthday with homemade brownie sundaes.  jonah thought that was pretty awesome.  he ended up eating daddy's whole dessert!  that's the thing about daddy though, he never hesitates to give the kiddos anything he's eating and doesn't mind if they end up eating the whole thing.  that doesn't quite apply to daddy's stash of toys though (and i mean literal toys.  he has been known to buy some little figures for the kids and then gets one for himself!  he likes to stash them away still intact in their packaging.  "mint condition" he calls it).  the kids know to ask permission to touch them and often the answer then is no!  their daddy...  still such a kid at heart himself.  drives me crazy sometimes.  but something we all love about him, too.

home

this is the post i have been waiting a very, very long time to write.

we bought a house, survived the escrow drama, signed our lives away, got the keys, and moving day was finally here!

this is the day i have been waiting for since i was seven.  that was the last time i lived in an actual, honest-to-goodness home.  not bouncing around every year or two.  not in an apartment, not a motel, not a shelter, not student housing, not a temporary rental unit, all of which i have lived in one time or another, but a home.  our own home.

and while it is but a pale shadow compared to the heavenly home that awaits us, i can't seem to come up with the words that go deep enough to express my gratitude for this earthly home God has provided for our family.  or my gratitude to phil for how hard he's worked to make this happen for us.

it's still sinking in.

so while words are failing me, here are some breathtakingly unawesome camera phone pictures from moving day and the first few days in our new place.

we've used these movers for our last three moves and let me tell ya, soooo much easier than trying to do it ourselves.  probably is also the reason why we still have friends.

it was all very surreal.  even more so because my dad had taken the kids to his place so it was just phil and i the first few days.  the first night we were there, phil asked me if it felt like our house yet.  i quickly responded, "no, it feels like we're just crashing at carl's house."

funny little side story-- the former owner of this house lived here for over fifty years with his wife.  his name is carl.  his wife passed away two years ago.  her name was eileen.  carl and eileen...  carl and ellie... we live in the UP house!!

the kids soon rejoined us and the house instantly filled up with life and laughter and quickly began to feel like home.  despite the decidedly southwestern feel of the house which i would like to change sooner than later.  see that grand canyon stained glass window up there?  yeah, not exactly something i would have chosen.

enjoying our first meal in our new home.  peach pork chops, corn on the cob with garlic butter, and caprese salad.  on a table built to have guests join us.  so who's coming over?  :)  (heh heh, i'll make sure phil is not quite so casual in his attire.)

while the kids were away, we had their rooms painted and i hastily put up a few decorations so that we could surprise them with a very pink room for the girls.

and a blue room for the boys.  both rooms are works in progress, as is pretty much the rest of the house.  but now we can take our sweet time working on it to make it our very own.

because we're home now.

and always ready for friends to come visit!  just ask mikey, he'll hook you up.  :)

disney, revisited

back in march, we got to spend a weekend at disneyland, thanks to the conference phil attended for work.  at the time, the hotel offered a special deal for us to visit the park again sometime by the end of june.  a hundred bucks for the whole family to come again.  it was a good deal and we figured we had tons of time to use it.  three whole months!  who wouldn't have time for disneyland?!

but we failed to factor in the whole packing/moving thing we're so fond of doing this time of year.

and the whole daddy works eighty to ninety hours a week thing.

and the whole four kids and just keeping them fed and alive thing.

and so the disneyland passes kinda slid to the back burner of life until i woke up and remembered it in the middle of the night one night.  and woke phil up to ask if they had expired or not.  he said he'd check in the morning.

turned out we had a whole four days left to make good on 'em.  so we picked the day that worked best and off we went.  which coincidentally was three days before our move date.

we tsais like to live on the edge.

of sanity.

anyhoo, like i said, who doesn't have time for disneyland?!

the girls decided it was a pink frilly skirt kind of day.  (it's a pink frilly skirt kind of day everyday around here so really, not a big shocker there).

this guy gets away with a whole lot.  a whole lot.

i think it has something to do with his face.

it's very distracting.

the lines were longer than usual for their favorite kiddie rides so we had lots of time for silly pictures.

this is when i told him there was a giant worm right behind him.

man, i love this kid.

finally we made it on to the ride!  mikey and i even got to be in the very front.

making the rounds to the kids' favorite rides.

daddy decided this was the year to start the kids on pin collecting.  this one in particular was all on board with that idea.

ahh, the "sit down and rest ride".  with food.  mommy's favorite.

another version of the "sit down and rest ride".  i woulda climbed in there and joined them if i coulda.

it is a new day folks- the little sister is now big enough to be in the driver's seat.

the view was blocked by too many people during the princess parade so their daddy did what he had to do so they could see.  what a good daddy.  also, he likes to make exaggerated faces to make me laugh.  added bonus.

another sign of a new day- 3 of the 4 tsai kids are now big enough to ride without needing a parent right beside them.  er, make that 2.5.  lauren scrambled over the seat midway through the ride to sit next to us.  but don't let the disney police know that.  no telling what would happen to us then.  wouldn't want to end up in some mickey mouse prison or anything.

little guy was fascinated.

and the last ride of the day!

feeling all lit up inside.  love how this place never gets old no matter how many times we come to visit.

and nope, they couldn't get that sword out of the stone.

second strength!  still nope.  maybe next year, kids!