Baby Making Time!!!

Well, here we go!

Ovulation came early this month. I was planning on starting testing Monday, but yesterday I started having ovulation pains; I tested, and it said low. 

So... This morning when I woke up, I tested again, and it's a High Peak day (blinking smiley)!!! That means in 3-5 days it's baby making time!

Wish us luck! <3

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's almost Christmas! Christmas Eve is always spent in our matching pjs (it's a Wong tradition) watching Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman (our tradition).

Miah was so excited she couldn't sleep! Finally she dosed off around 1:30 and even though going to bed so late, she was up and at 'em again at 4:30. :/

Jackie and I told her she couldn't wake us up until 8:00, but luckily I was too excited to sleep, too!

I decided to let Jack sleep, so Miah and I watched a few episodes of Raising Hope before getting her up. 

If you've never seen Raising Hope, it's a "laugh out loud" type program so you should definitely check it!

Jack finally rolls out of bed at 7:02 and we did gifts. Right after I reminded Miah what Christmas is really all about. ;)

Miah got some clothes, books, board games, a Sonicare toothbrush, Jewlery, makeup and crafts. She's not much into toys anymore; it's kind of sad, only because she's growing up so quickly. 

Jack got some custom designed Reebok lifting shoes, jewlery, cologne, workout clothes, a watch, and some cookie cutters. Miah apparently wants her to make her some cookies.

I got spoiled this year with jewelry, Express work pants, shirts, a new woobie (yes I said woobie - Jack made it herself and it's a much more grown up version than my last one), workout clothes, and perfume.

Next on the agenda was Clue. Miah doesn't know how much Jackie hates games, but she kindly participated and won (she likes those kind of games - when she wins). 

Next up was visiting our dear friend Daisy in the hospital. She just got a new hip! She and her hubby usually join our family at my Moms, but not this year. So we had to go wish them a Merry Christmas.

Finally off to Moms! Every year Christmas is spent here and I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, minus the years we go to SF to spend Chistmas with Jacks family of course. Holidays that we don't visit are really hard on Jack, so we have to make it extra special for her. 

We had a great dinner, some drinks and opened gifts. I even got to see my Auntie from California. 

Well, that was it for us. Though Christmas is my favorite holiday, I'm glad it's over. Until next year <3

Elf on the Shelf... Or is it?

Oh Elf on the Shelf. Cutest idea I've seen in a while but quite the test for good parenting.

So there's this Elf in a box that your child adopts, names, then is filled with magic so she can fly back and forth to the North Pole each night telling Santa who's been naughty or nice. 

She then perches up in a new place each morning leading up to Christmas watching over all the kids. 

It's amazing what we use to get our kids to behave these days.

Well trickery or not, of course I wanted one. So I went out to try and find one of those little shits and it was too late, all sold out! 

*FAIL*

What to do now? How would I convince my child she has someone watching over her and reporting to Santa all through Christmas? 

Improvisation my friends. Meet Elfette, courtesy of Quilted Bear:

Luckily Miah doesn't question why her Elf is so different from all the other kids elves. Or why she didn't come in a box. 

I wonder why these supposedly cute, yet creepy things - including my improvised version - seem to be anything but cute and welcoming. 

Aren't they supposed to look fun and loving? Not like something out of some scary toy movie? Or in Elfette's case, Chuckie?

My cousin Lena posted this pic on FB and I thought it was perfect!

So... Christmas 2012 comes and goes, I successfully improvise, move her nightly, and make sure she heads back to the North Pole with Santa come Christmas day. Or not... 

Miah comes in one day and says: "Mom, I saw Elfette in your closet," my response "uh.... Yeah, she's only filled with magic come December." 

*FAIL -Strike two*

December 21st 2013, Elfette made it out of the closet and into the front room along with the rest of the Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving. 

Remember it's now the 21st and Miah says: "Mom why hasn't Elfette moved all December?" 

Oh my, I am a bad parent. I forgot to move her and didn't think twice about it until she mentioned it. 

It's like that time the Tooth Fairy forgot to show up because I didn't hear my alarm to wake me up. 

*FAIL -Strike three*

Of course we had to make up something,   thus the post it note apologizing. Elfette just so happened to be too busy helping Santa. 

Luckily she finally showed up the night Miah had a sleepover and built a fort in her room,  Elfette was not going to miss that! (*nod of disappointment*)

The next day was Christmas Eve, she showed up one last time with Rudolph in hand. She knows it's our tradition to get in our matchy pajamas and watch Rudolph on Christmas Eve. 

It's funny... you'd think the simple movement of a tiny Elf wouldn't be such a chore, but it is! I can't help but wonder if I fail as a parent? Am I alone?

Alone or not, Elfette has successfully made it back to the North Pole this time (aka hidden in the holiday bin). Lets hope next year brings better luck for all of us. <3

'Tis the Season

Another busy week, Christmas is almost here.... Two more days!!! "I'm too exxxcciiiitttteeeeddd to sleep!" I absolutely LOVE Christmas.

Let's see how the week went:

I got a promotion to Business Area Supervisor at work... Whoop! I'm excited to see what this opportunity brings. 

I "started..." aka "Shark Week..." (<-- ewe!) aka "Aunt Flow's in town..."  aka What I'm REALLY trying to say is it's baby makin' time in T-Minus two weeks!!!!! 

Utah passed gay marriage! Well, a Federal Judge forced Utah to pass gay marriage. AND polygamy! I mean to each their own, right? As long as they aren't marrying children. Love is love. 

Kind of a big deal... Not because we want to run out and be the first Utahn's to get hitched, but knowing you are treated as equally as the rest of the US of As population, means a lot.

With the new baby coming I've been a little worried about what rights we can get Jackie. What if something happened to me? What if something happened to the baby? What if...? There's a lot of those thoughts. We should be able to give life and be treated the same as straight couples who do, right? 

I still have some research to do, being we're not married, we need to make sure our family is protected and Jackie has full rights against all 'what if's.'

We went to the Timpsons annual Christmas party Friday, it was nice. Always good to see everyone and spend time with the bfs! Jackie get to participate in the boys and girls pics, you know. ;)

Baby Tayte and Brody visited. They are SO cute!!! 

We attended Glennete's 1st annual Christmas party Saturday. We had a formal sit down dinner, cocktails and a white elephant gift exchange. 

Glenette is seriously THE BEST party planner alive! Maybe she can help us with the launch party for Ample Wellness. ;)

She's also really thoughtful and always recognizes her guests for their accomplishments. Jack received a certificate for starting our business. #GetAmpd

We attended church and celebrated brothers birthday today. He's 36! When did we become adults? So weird! We went to te Spaghettii Favtory, it's a family fav. Even Miah now considers it her favorite restaurant.

It snowed lots and lots this week!!! We played on the wheelers and Miah made an igloo.

Then Miah and I spent the rest of the night making fudge, yuuuuuuum!

Two more days!!! <3

Ch-Ch-Changes!!!!

We can ride in the front of the bus!!!!

Sounds silly when you put it like that, but that's how it has felt. 

Amazing day for Utah. I thought for sure we would be the 48-50th State to pass Gay Marriage. Nope, 18th!

Love really is love and whatever Christ you believe in, He feels the same.

Thank you impetus Shelby!

Get.it.Utah.

❤️❤️❤️

Busy... Busy... Busy...

Like the title suggests this week has been a busy one! 

December, well Christmas, is my favorite time of year. It's seriously saddens me when people say they hate Christmas. I understand the fact that it's surrounded by gifts... ok... But it is so beautiful, warm and fuzzy. 

For me it's about family, friends, party's, fancy dinners, drunkin' eggnog, chaos and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the birth of Christ. 

I went to church today and was kindly reminded why Christ came. For us. Available. As a child - An approachable child - Made of pure love. To save us from ourselves. For ALL of us.

Have you accepted his gift?

We started a new tradition with Miah last year, she gets to ask for five things: something to wear, something to play with, something she wants, something she needs, and something to read. She's getting old enough where a) she doesn't need much and b) I don't want Christmas to be only about gifts. 

We went to an event for Utah Women's Alliance for Building Community where we all donated Bras and Panties, drank wine and ate Lebanese food - it was delish! We had a chance to meet some really great women and it was a great opportunity for us to market the business. 

Speaking of the business, Jackie and I started the journey July 2013. Thanks to our hard work and the support of our great friends Daisy (Lawyer) and Shirelle (CPA) everything was official in September. It's been very exciting! 

We opened up a wellness company with hopes to expand out, focusing not only on physical fitness but mental and emotional as well - thus the name Ample Wellness. 

We want to build programs that help people start focusing internally before externally. Lets face it, you can have a rockin' body and still not be where you need to be when it comes to good health. 

On top of that we want to focus on the mind. We all have that voice - our worse critic - in our head who need his (yes it's a man) butt kicked into gear to send only love and positivity. For more information, check it out --> www.AmpdWellness.com.

To start, we have a gym set up in the basement where Jackie runs three classes a night with the ability to train three clients each class. Her forte is cross-over training. A mix of Boot Camp and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

Long-term we plan to get a location and quit our jobs to run that full-time. Currently we only have a few clients due to the fact we've been waiting for our logo so we could move forward with marketing. The logos are in:

Now let the marketing begin!

Next on the agenda was lunch with the Sister. No not Nikki, but the sister from the same mister. Her name is Sandy and I love her. We finally met about 3 years ago. My other sister Nikki found her on Facebook. It was a little awkward at first, but we have come some way since then. I def look forward to knowing more about her and strengthening our relationship.

For those of you who don't know, my dad left when I was real small; so small I don't remember any of them. I'm not sure why or what happened, but at the end of the day all that matters is now. Meet Sandy everyone:

I also attended an all girls Bunco night this week. A bunch of girls I know hold a monthly Bunco night where each player pays 10$, the host provides dinner, and we all bring our own drinks. It's fun to get saucy and have girl talk! Tho I didn't win, I look forward to many more months of Bunco.

Friday night Jackie and I went dancing for a friends birthday. Jackie got to see her long-time friend AK, she's adorable!

Next on the list was Baby Girl's soccer game. They won! She has been playing soccer since she was 6, but now they are getting good! I love seeing her grow and I can't wait to see what blossoms. This is her current coach, Coach Forrest - he rocks!

Finally, it's Momma's birthday. Technically it's not until the 17 but we celebrated it Saturday. She turned the big 65! Can you believe it? She's an amazing women, BEAUTIFUL and I am proud to call her Mom. <3

Forgiveness and Letting Go

So many times we find ourselves having to either forgive ourselves, or others, but what exactly is forgiveness?

Some say it's letting go of the hurt; Jesus said to forgive like the Lord has forgiven us. Others say forgiveness isn't necessarily letting go, or actually accepting behaviors, but being aware and making a conscious decision to forgive.

I find myself often struggling with this question and what it should "look or feel" like.

I've been doing some reading and seem to come across the same following beliefs: when we are hurt, saddened or angered by others, it's usually us projecting attributes about ourselves - or our Ego - that are actually doing the damage.

For example, if someone is a liar or a cheat and we react to their actions in a judging/negative way; most times it's because we know there is something in ourselves that mirrors those characteristics. Or... if we have friends who are super successful and we try to negate their success by judgements; it's really because we are upset with ourselves and the fact that we have not created those successes in our lives, too.

It seems like an interesting theory - projection. It makes sense that we would be upset by things we believe to be true for ourselves, yet we have failed to realize, or acknowledge, those thoughts about ourselves. 

The Ego also makes sense. We have this voice of knowledge in our head that says things all the time, not realizing all it's doing it trying to protect itself and stay alive.

We tend to associate our self with this Ego and believe it to be true, even at times of extreme disassociation.

Are we our Ego?

Many say we think we are, but we are not!

Is it our Ego that holds us back in humanity? Quite possibly.

I also hear once you've finally forgiven, letting go comes easier. Letting go seems to be one of the most difficult actions for me.

Is it difficult because I have believed this to be true for so many years and it has now become a reality; or is it because I really care?

I believe letting go involves forgiveness but where I struggle is with my loyalty - or my once loyalty to the person I'm letting go of.

I consider my friends my family. My best friends helped raise me - we helped raise each other. All coming from similar backgrounds - single working mothers - all we had was each other.

I think that is where my loyalty not only to my maternal family, but my friend family as well, stems from.

I truly believe we come into and out of people's life for a reason. So why is it so hard letting go when that duty is fulfilled? Or that loyalty is no longer there?

I find myself needing to let go lately, but it remains a struggle.

I got a tattoo a while ago of 1 John 4:19 "We love because he first loved us..." to remind me to love others, and myself, just as - and right where - they are. I have found that is much easier said than done.

The "myself" idea comes into play because I too make mistakes (SHOCKER), or don't perform to par of my own expectations and I seem to be my worst critic. Instead of forgiving and loving myself in those instances, I beat myself up to sometimes an unreasonable place.

At the end of the day it's all about love. Love for myself and love for others, and that's what I need to remember. Setting the Ego aside and realizing when it's the Ego being hurt rather than my true-self.

That realization is amazing, powerful and hard.

I wish all of my family and friends nothing but the best, ALWAYS! Even those who are no longer on my path.

2014 will be filled with even more change and I want to walk into that with a healthy perspective.

To those of you still with me, thank you. To those of you not, still... Thank you and good luck. <3

Birthdays, Letters to Santa and Fun

It was Jaba's 30th birthday this week (far left), we went to HuHot and it was so aaaaammmmmaaaaazzzzing - Yum! I have not been somewhere like that in a long time. It's a Mongolian grill and you get to pick all your food; meats, noodles, veggies and sauce then they cook it in front of you. Then we had some s'mores.

 

Miah also got to send her "official" letter to Santa. She's such a diva! She covered the letter the whole time so I wouldn't know what she asked for. I'm pretty sure it said a new bed set, stuff for her room (what kid wants decorations for their room? My daughter.) a new phone case and anything else He thinks she needs. I think she'll be quite happy this Christmas. 

We spent the rest of the day shopping and had lunch at Chili's for a Mother/Daughter day! 

We had another storm come through, so we went sledding. 

We finished the weekend in Wendover, my Mom and Sister had a great time and so did we! I won 150$ on the Roulette table. Overall good week. <3

Brrrrrr!

Brr! It is officially winter. We had our first snowfall yesterday and though it's beautiful, it's cold! Luckily, we had a pretty decent Fall. Utah usually gets short changed and we have short falls and long winters (lame).

I can't believe it's already December, another year has passed; it's crazy how time flies when you have kids.

Thanksgiving was last week, we put up the Christmas tree and Miah participated in her very first attempt at giving back on Thanksgiving. We were in charge of a table at the Greek Orthodox Church in an effort to feed some less fortunate families. We took their orders, brought them food, drinks and dessert. Miah loved helping! 

It's amazing how thankful the people were that we were there to make Thanksgiving that much better for them. It makes you think twice about how lucky you are. I am so thankful for God's many blessings in my life. 

Jackie and I also started the process of Artifcial Insemination and we found a donor!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

He is 5' 9", Chinese, and speaks Cantonese. He has O+ blood type, brown eyes, and seems pretty smart. (Masters studying in Biochemistry, Medicine, and Public Health - of course, Asians!) 

He was asked to express himself and he drew this picture:

For being such a smarty I would have expected a little more. ;) 

He says he is optimistic, funny and happy. He talks about how close he is with his family and how he used to fall asleep while eating and loved carrying around a gallon of milk as a baby. 

He went to College on a full scholarship and is very proud of that. He thinks highly of Bill Clinton, and says he would like to pass on to his children the importance of being happy and sharing your happiness with others. 

His medical history looks ok. Minus lung cancer running in his Mum and Dads side (Gma and Gpa, both were heavy smokers). He has a little acne, his Mom was diagnosed at 54 with hypothyroidism, there also was a diagnosis at 72 for Ovarian Cancer in Gma. 

Other than that it's pretty clean. He played club sports in High School, and he loves sushi and pizza. He's nearsighted, right handed, and has no allergies. 

Here are some of his baby photos:

We haven't told Miah the big news yet cause we want to make sure it sticks before she finds out so we don't get her hopes up. But trust me we've had plenty of conversations about how she would feel about having a baby brother or sister. She wants a baby sis! <3