[day 175] constant state of sprinting

i'm constantly taking pictures with my iphone now and post a few on instagram daily. yeah, it's doesn't create the best quality images, but good enough to capture the memory. there's something about this image that captivates me. it reminds me that everything that matters to me is wonderful. i have a wonderful family even though we have our share of bad days. it reminds me that we're healthy. we have a home, food, and each other. and you know, it couldn't get any better. life moves quite fast. sometimes, i just wished i could freeze time. 

So, lan lan doesn't sleep with us, he was just hanging out (you know the usual cooing, tummy time) when he knocked out with papa dang and eventually got moved back into his crib. He has been sleeping through the night since he was approx 2 months old. 

gawd, i've been lucky with all four boys. I don't know how i used to survive their nightly party (i'm talking night feeding and pumping milk). how i forwent sleep is part of sacrifice and love i have for them. then again, i'm quite used to it. my life since i had aiden in 2008 has been dedicated to being the best mom possible. i wouldn't have babies if i knew i couldn't take care of them.

love my boys. xoxo.

[day 174] out and about

people always wonder how i do it with four kids. well, one of things i encourage and make sure we do is eat together. while i was out on maternity leave, i wouldn't have survived at home alone with four boys if this was never enforce. but, just like work, i'll have a plan. i don't let our boys select what they want to eat. OK, maybe they can select what type of cereal. i always remind them that they should be thankful they have food to devour while others in the world or country may not have what they have. they're old enough to understand. you'll be surprise. kids truly understand and i constantly remind and teach them how to be appreciative. it's important to me. i also enforce that they pray and bless their food and family. they've been pretty good at it when we're alone together. they get shy when others are around. 

tonight, we had dinner at boudins. i was craving clam chowder and salad. sometimes, we don't have to pay for our kid's dinner here. every time they ride the carousel at the mall, they receive a coupon to different stores and if we're lucky, they'll get the free kids meal coupon with an entree purchase at boudins. also, don't be fooled by this image - our boys can behave at a restaurant setting as long as we are up and out within an hour or less. otherwise, my stress level would have gone to code red. they will not sit still. they'll get bored. what kid wouldn't?

afterwards. we picked up legos for aiden and dylan. aiden has been building legos for ages 7-12 since he was 4 years old. i personally think he's a genius. i taught him once how to follow the manual and he remembers. sometimes, he'll get stuck, but for the most part, he builds all his legos on his own. i'm glad he helps out his brother, dylan. they make a good team as long as they're behaving. yes, they have their moments.

love my boys. xoxo.

[day 173] too sexy for sports with clothes

one loves to do flips underneath the water while the other one is not as bold and daring. it was nice to see them together in the pool at their swim school. i love that they're close in age. they have each other back. i love that one won't go without the other. aside from getting on each other nerves occasionally, they have grown to be like peanut butter and jelly. they couldn't live without the other. aside from this, i am going to truly miss their instructor who has moved on to new opportunities. he gave his heart to our boys and now we're hoping the new instructor would do the same.

love my boys. xoxo.

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video 2 of 4. have a wonderful weekend. i'll be back to blog later.

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1 of 4 videos. enjoy this one for now.

[day 161] all you need is love

I wished I lived in Canada. I would have the privilege to be out on maternity leave for a full year.  In a few weeks, I’ll be returning back to work. The transition will be emotionally difficult for me. I’ll miss my babies so much!  But, I hope to one day be a full-time housewife and stay-at-home mom. Because life is short and it’s not only our dreams and money that makes us happy, it’s the little and big people in our life.  I’ve decided to work part-time for two weeks to help me ease back. I also plan to save a month of bonding time to use throughout the year.

Lately, I’ve been taking more pictures with my iPhone (like the one you see below). It’s nice to remember things and so easy with a click of a button. Well, today, I tried to play catch up with my laundry. I swear, laundry never stops in our house. I guess, that’s because (1) we take two showers (2) we go through 2-3 outfits per day and (3) blankets/sheets get washed weekly. I’m glad that I only have one more load to fold before I'm all caught up. This will only last for tonight though. It feels so good. I feel like a spankin' new person! Papa D says I think about cleaning too much. NOT!

Here’s a pic of my little cutie lan lan and evan watching me fold laundry while they watch baby Einstein earlier this morning. I’m definitely going to miss seeing their faces every single morning in a few weeks. Wah!

Love my boys. XOXO.

[day 160] skateboarding is his life.

I love my Dilly. Yes, he gets into trouble for not listening sometimes, but he truly has a heart that cares. One of his passions besides cooking and baking is riding his skateboard. He just loves it. I swear, he would ask me every single day to take him to the park so he could go down the steep sidewalk with his skateboard.  He likes the speed. Can I say cray cray to the tenth power? I want to close my eyes sometimes, but the one thing I learn as a parent is that I don’t want to interfere with what our boys loves, but rather use it as an opportunity to spend quality time with them. Because the best moments of a child life is their early interactions with their parents. Hence, why I spend SO much time with them.

We spend most weekday evenings at "our" park - We all benefit from it, while dilly continues to live his dream. He loves it so much that he crashed straight into my left leg at full speed. He has to concentrate, otherwise, he'll crash and that's what he did. I screamed, but didn't yell at him. When he asked me if I was OK and told me it was an accident, it made my boo-boo go away.

If you're wondering, he received his first skateboard for christmas last year from my parents. He fell in love with skateboarding when he watched skateboarders at the VAN store and asked for a board. I give credit to my younger sister for teaching him the basic foundation of skateboarding.

Who knows - he might make it to the X-games one day. I'll definitely close my eyes if he's flying in the air with his board.

Love my boys. XOXO.