You've Done It Again, Pixar!

I'm not a sappy person.  Really, it's true.  I can count on one finger the number of times I actually cried.  I'm just not one to shed tears much.

But man, the creative minds at Pixar are the only ones that can make me bawl like a baby.  Before you continue to read this, there's a major SPOILER ALERT for the movie Inside Out, so if you're haven't seen it, and are planning on doing so, don't read this post just yet.

You're like, "Seriously, Lin?  A child's movie?"  But you all know how Pixar can make any of you cry.  Toy Story 3 had grown men cry.  Why not this one?  The thing about this movie was that I was not expecting it to be so emotional.  I should've known though, all Pixar movies tug at your heartstrings.  For me, the moment happened when Bing Bong said his last few words, "Take her to the moon for me, will ya?" I held it together for about a minute, then completely lost it when the little girl next to me asked her mother what happened, and her mother couldn't answer her because she was a ball of emotions herself.

It was so sad.  Yes, sad for the obvious reasons, that Bing Bong vanished because Riley had grown up and forgotten him, so he's gone (I'm getting emotional even as I'm typing this).  But for me it was also sad because he wanted to save Riley so badly that he sacrificed himself, and even as he was vanishing, he was still rooting for Riley, the very person who is forgetting him.

This specifically tugs at my heartstrings because I now have a little girl of my own.  And she's at the age where she's happy every day, goofy, wacky, curious, and has a big heart filled with wonder and love.  No complicated emotions, just pure and simple joy.  Ever since I watched that movie yesterday, every time I look at my daughter, and how beautiful and wonderful and yummy she is, I feel sad.  Sad that she's growing up, that every day she gets a little older.  All that childhood naïveté will be chipped away little by little, as each year, day, or even seconds go by.

Everyone says, cherish each moment.  You can't get your children's childhood back.  And in the hustle and bustle of our every day lives, we ignore this advice.  There are so many memes that say things like, "Cherish every moment, they say...but can I just get one moment of peace?!?"  I mean, we all feel that way, but man, that piece of advice has never hit me so hard as it had this weekend.  I literally just sat on the couch today and watched my beautiful little girl play with her stickers then sing and dance to Let It Go for the millionth time. I found her so darn cute, I realized I hadn't sat down with her like this for so long and just watched her do her thing.  It was like, I wanted to take it all in, observe and breath in every piece of her, and preserve that innocence for as long as I can, even if it's in my own mind.

So, cherish every moment with your children!  They really do grow up too fast.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry my eyes raw at Bing Bong's demise.

xoxo,
Lin

Products I Love

Happy Thursday evening, everyone!

My kids are on summer break, and I might regret saying this in a couple of months, but I'm loving this whole 3-months-off-school thing!  Woo hoo!  No more rushing in the morning trying to get them ready, no more rushing in the afternoon trying to get to after school activities, no more rushing in the evening to eat dinner and do homework before bed.  Most importantly, NO school stuff that I have to deal with!  Ahhh...

But since they're home, I have been busy trying to make lunch daily and finding activities for them to do.  But here I am, writing another post.  I've been wanting to blog about products I've tried and have practically fallen in love with.  I am a very practical person.  Everything I buy must have a purpose.  Every room in my house serves a purpose.  We have a formal living room and a family room, so when my kids were old enough to play the piano, we put a piano in the living room.  Now it's a piano room!  My formal dining room wasn't being used, so I started having the kids do their homework there.  Now it serves as their homework room!

So without further ado, here are the products I've been finding really useful.

1) The Pikibu Rearview Mirror
How many times have you had to turn your head around while driving, just so you can see if little Johnny really is being punched by his older brother, as he claimed he was?  Or if little Susie stopped picking her nose like you asked her to?  Our rearview mirrors are so small that we can't see anything below the hairline of our small children.  So we have to crank our necks and turn around, risking the lives of everyone in the car!  You KNOW you've done it!   In comes the Pikibu.  This thing is so wide, so long, that it has saved my neck muscles from cramping!  I can see everything my kids are doing.  They try to tell me that they've finished their breakfasts; then I check to see there's still half of a waffle left.  Ha!  Caught ya!  Or if they're secretly reading in the backseat when I've specifically told them not to (esp. at dusk, when they can barely see).  Caught ya again!  It's super useful.  it might take a little while to get used to, but trust me, it's worth every effort and every penny, especially if you're a mom of small children!  You can find it on Amazon here.

2) Glare Visor
If you're tall, then this might not appeal to you.  But to the rest of us average American women, I'm sure you can relate.  The sun shade on your car is just not long enough to shield that afternoon sun.  It's beaming into your car through your window, trying to darken your sunspots, making them appear even more obvious.  As if I need another reason to look older!  For someone that's nearing her 40's, no thank you, I don't need more sun spots on my left cheek.  A friend of mine recently showed me her glare visor,  I was curious if it really worked, so I bought one on Amazon too.  Lo and behold, I'm no longer dodging the sun!  It works!  I can notice a difference too! The sun spots on my left cheek isn't popping up as enthusiastically anymore!  Sun: 0, Mom: 1!  You can find it on Amazon here.

3) Sing In Chinese Bilingual Audio Books
As you must know, Chinese is a very difficult language to learn.  If it wasn't because I was schooled up to 2nd grade in Taiwan, if I hadn't kept up reading Chinese books because I'm just a nerd like that, and if my parents hand't insisted that we speak Chinese to them, I wouldn't be as fluent in Chinese as I still am.   As difficult as it is to learn, Chinese has become such an important language.  Trying to get my kids to learn Chinese has been a struggle ever since they started school.  My husband doesn't speak Chinese, so we're an English-speaking family  School, media, friends, etc, my kids live in the United States; they're exposed to English all day long.  Yeah, we do Chinese school, but that's only once a week.  Recently, I've come across this product that actually makes learning Chinese fun!    Each book includes a CD, the song lyrics, and beautiful, fun pictures.  The songs are upbeat, adorable, and sang in both Chinese and English.  The theory behind this product is that we learn faster through music.  And remember songs like The Itsy Bitsy Spider?  We still remember all the words.  You're singing it right now, aren't you?  Because that's stored in our long term memory.  Same idea here with these books.  There are even apps that go with the books.  Check them out here.  If you want your little wants to learn Chinese in a fun way, you can't go wrong with these books.

Although it's only 3 products, I think I've written enough words for you to need a break from me for a while.  :)  So, when I spend more money and when my hubby feels like he's been robbed again, I'll update my products' post.  ;)

xoxo,
Lin

F.R.E.E.D.O.M.

I've been waiting for this day for almost a month.  And it's finally here...it was like anticipating to go on a vacation, or waiting for a treat.  Yes.  My kids are finally all back at school.

And of course, this naturally calls for a blog post to celebrate my freedom.  Of course I love my kids. Of course I'll miss the constant noises (albeit maybe only a little bit).  But oh, any parent would understand.  Taking twin boys and one little girl anywhere is just absolute chaos.  A 15 minute trip to the grocery store will take 45 minutes.  And if I forgot to get something?  Well, forget it.  It'll have to wait until the next day.  I'm not taking 3 kids back to the market!   It's constantly going, "stop running!"  "don't push your brother!"  "stop screaming!"  "be nice to your sister!"  "I'm the mom, and I'll tell her what to do!"  "No, you can't buy that."  "No, you can't buy that either."  "Where are you guys going?"  "Don't run away w/o me!"  "STOP fighting!"  "Do you want a time-out?"  "No TV if you do xyz."  "I'm serious now!"  O.M.G.  I mean, how many times can one person repeat the above orders until your voice becomes hoarse?  Every single day this week, I go to bed almost without a voice, because I've yelled so much during the day.

Since my daughter is too young for most camps, and her school offered no summer session this year, for 3 months, I've had her joined at the hips with me.  I mean, I can't go to the bathroom w/o her calling for me, can't check my emails, can't cut my toenails, can't do anything w/o her calling, "Mama?"  Who knew that the one word I was so eager to hear, before my children could talk, would be the one word that is now driving me UP the wall?!?!  It got to the point where I just snap, "WHAT?!"  To which she'll reply, "Boo!"  Goodness gracious.  Like, seriously, WHY is summer vacation SO LONG?  When I finally get the chance to go to sleep at night, I find myself so wound up that I actually can't fall asleep.  And I literally have to check to see if I was still frowning.  Yup.  I was.  RE...LAX.

I was counting down, literally, counting down the hours yesterday.  I contemplated going to sleep earlier so I could pass the day earlier!  But seriously, 8pm would've been way too early.  When I woke this morning, I was giddy.  I mean, actually giddy.  I kept thinking of all the errands I could run w/o having 3 little bodies to herd.   I can actually stop by the florist and order flowers!  I can run to the market for milk!  I can send out emails w/o being interrupted!  Oh, the joy!

And now, this is what I'm doing.  Blogging while watching my new favorite obsession, Sherlock.  Oh, Benedict Cumbernatch, you more than qualify as a prize for finishing my 3-month-long confinement.

To all you moms (and dads) out there with children going back to school today.  Hooray!!!!  Go open up a bottle of champagne and celebrate!  We made it through the summer!  :)

Xoxo,
Lin

Mommy Life Hacks

So we've all seen those "Life Hacks" on Pinterest that gives you tips on how to make your life easier. I've got a few up my sleeves as well.  I must say these have helped me in one way or another.  You gotta give it to a mom of twins to figure out how to do things easier.  So...drumroll, please!

1) Tickle them awake - You know those mornings when you have to wake your kids up for school?  Maybe you don't, because your kids actually fall asleep at a decent hour.  But I have my twins in one room, and even though I put them in bed no later then 8:30pm, who knows what time they actually fall asleep.  Once I leave the room, I think they stay up and chit chat for another 30 minutes about Legos or Clash of Clans.  So naturally, they can't wake up in the mornings for school!  I used to have to yell and threaten and give time-outs.  But I finally got smart and thought I'd just tickle them until they physically get out of bed.  I mean, it's genius!  What else can make you wake up faster than loud, insane laughter?  It works SO well.  They're wide awake after a couple of minutes of incessant tickling, and I go my merry way downstairs to prepare breakfast.  No fights, no anger; everyone is happy.  :)

2)  Unloading the dishwasher - You don't need to be a mom to use this trick.  I read this somewhere but can't remember where.  We have two dishwashers at home.  But with 5 people in the house, sometimes I feel like I need 10 dishwashers.  I don't mind loading them, but it's the unloading that drives me crazy.  So now after one load of dishes are done, when I need clean ones, I just go directly to the clean dishes that are still in the dishwasher.  That way, as time goes by, there are less dishes in the dishwasher to unload, and less dishes to load into the dishwashers.  Love this tip.  Even if you have just one, or two, or even more, this trick works.

3) Kids sleep in traveling clothes - Maybe you already do this, but I recently just learned this trick from a dear friend (you know who you are).  I was telling her one day how much trouble it would be to get my kids ready in the morning to catch a 6am flight.  She told me to dress the kids in the clothes they'd be traveling in when they go to bed.  You know, just sweatpants and t-shirts and stuff.  That way, you at least eliminate one thing you need to do.  I was like, "why didn't I think of that?!"  And we've been doing that ever since.  It doesn't sound like a lot of time saved for those of you w/o children, but those of you that do have kids, you know what I mean!

4) Save plastic "kids" cups from restaurants - Those plastic "kids" cups that we get from restaurants when we order the kids meals really come in handy.  On those mornings when we're running late for school (which is like, every morning), I make the kids breakfast and take them with me, then pour their milk in those kids cups with lids, and there you go!  Breakfast in the car.  It's nice because those cups already have lids.  And it's the perfect portion for a meal.  No more having to buy sippy cups at Target, and you get to help Mother Nature by re-using those restaurant cups more than once.

5) Do a potluck picnic instead of a sit-down meal - I thought of this when the boys were still very little.  A bunch of our friends decided that we were going to go to the aquarium together with all our little ones.  And we wanted to have lunch before we went.  We were going to find a restaurant that would accommodate us all.  I suggested that it might be better if each family brought some food to share, and just have a picnic at a nearby park.  That way, the kids can eat and play at the same time, and we wouldn't be driving ourselves crazy trying to keep them in their seats, which is what we would've had to do had we been in a restaurant.  This went well, except we were late and the picnic was over by the time we got there!  Ha!

6) Go to dress rehearsals - For those of you with children who have school performances.  If the school holds dress rehearsals and the school allows parents to go to those, because they want to accommodate everyone's schedule, then GO TO THOSE.  Seriously.  It's the same as the actual performance, only with significantly LESS PEOPLE.  We just experienced that this week.  My husband couldn't go to the actual performance today, so he went to the dress rehearsal yesterday.  I went to both.  And let me tell you, there were only maybe 10 parents there at most yesterday, with plenty of parking, as opposed to today, where it was almost impossible to find parking, and a mob of people fighting to get the "best" spot so they can see their own children perform and get good pictures.  My husband got beautiful pictures yesterday of our daughter.  It's a no brainer.  Every year we're attending the dress rehearsals.

Our beautiful and silly little munchkin

That's about all I can think of right now off the top of my head.   When I think of more, of course I'll post them and share them with you.  TGIF!

xoxo,
Lin

A Typical Day in My Life

Ahh...the beauty of being a mother.  All mothers know what this post is like, and can totally relate.  Whether you have one child, three like me, or more, we all have similar days.  Ah, the joy of motherhood...

6:30am - I wake up, brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed, then walk over to my boys' room to wake them up.
7:00am - If I'm lucky, they're awake.  If not, I spend the next 15 minutes trying to wake them with a combination of these methods - tickling, yelling, and when they were younger, dressing them while they were in bed.
7:15am - I go downstairs, I prepare breakfast, I pack the lunch/snacks of the day for 3 people.  All the while trying to mix the food up, trying to remember what I served the day before so my children will eat what's served today, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or snack.  But wait, only to be met with, "Whyyyyyyy?  Why are we eating THAT?"
7:25am - I bring the bottle of milk that I heated up for my daughter, and carries her 35 lb body downstairs with it from our bed.  She sleeps so late and has a later starting time at school that I try to let her sleep as much as I can.  But unfortunately we have to take the boys to school, so she needs to come in the car too.
7:30am - I put my daughter in the car.  I go back inside the house, only to find the boys, still not dressed, naked, playing some kind of battle game with each other in their closet.
7::45am - after FINALLY getting the boys downstairs, have their socks put on, their shoes on, their jackets on, and their backpacks on  (which takes several "HURRY UP!!!" before all that can be accomplished), we finally get in the car.
7:45-8:01am - I'm battling through morning school traffic, all the while listening to kids screaming in the car, and all the while telling them repeatedly, "EAT your breakfast!"  And having to break up arguments, and deciding who's right or wrong.  I have to make sure the Kids' music channel is on so they can pay attention to the music instead of finding opportunities to argue.  I weave, drive like a maniac, because I know it takes at least 20 minutes to get to school, and we'll definitely be late if we don't hurry.
8:01am - Whew!  We finally make it to school!  I have to remember to kiss my boys goodbye from the car window since we're not allowed to get off the car, and remember to stop on the side after pulling off the drop off lane, so that I can wave bye to my boys.  One always waves back, and the other walks on.  Oh well.
8:05am - I drive home to get my daughter ready for school
8:15am - I get home, get my daughter dressed, get her hair done, put my own makeup on, make a cup of coffee for myself, eat a cup of yogurt, and get my daughter back in the car so she can attend school.
9:09am - We get to school, I kiss her goodbye, and I'm rushing off to the gym for my class that starts at 9:15am.
10:15am - I get out of the gym, drives home
10:20am - I take a shower and get ready to run maybe one errand before I have to pick up my daughter from school at noon.
11:00am - I go to the grocery store to get food for the week.
11:45am - Should I go home to drop off the groceries?  Or should I just take this moment to wait maybe 5 minutes in the car before picking up my daughter?  I decide to take the rare 5 minutes I get to myself.
12:00pm - I pick up my daughter, taking at least 10 minutes to get off school campus because she never wants to leave school
12:15pm - we get home, I put on her Chinese DVD for her so she gets her Chinese "lesson" of the day.  Heats up her remaining lunch and feeds that to her, all the while, I'm STARVING because I had just done a rigorous workout and need to eat.  But I have to wait until she's fed first.  God forbid her show is over before I can get her to finish eating. 
12:45pm - I finally finished feeding her.  I look through the fridge to find leftovers from the night before to fill my stomach.  No fancy salads. It's "oh, there's one drumstick"  and "oh, there's some veggies left."  and "I guess I can put together a plate."
1:15pm - After taking off her school clothes, and untying the hair, and many, many "lets go to bed now," I finally get my daughter in bed for a nap.  By this point, I'm already exhausted.  I lay down with her, and make sure to set the alarm to 2:45pm so I can pick up the boys.  But wait, did I defrost the stuff I need to make dinner with?
2:50pm - oh crap!  I overslept!  I rush to pack snacks for the boys to eat on their way to an after school lesson, and of course I have to pack one for K too.  I have to pack materials for the after school activity, jacket for K, shoes for K, and something to hold K's hair back.  Then I rush to put everything I can put in the car first, and the go upstairs, pick up K, and strap her to her baby seat.  She's still asleep, and usually is.
3:15pm - I wait in the pick up lane.  I'm already too late because they get out at 3:15pm.  I'm met with, "mom, what TOOK you so long?!"
4:00pm - I arrive at their after school activity.  I have an hour to kill before I have to pick them up.  I take K to the park. 
4:30pm - I'm FREEZING at the park.  But K won't leave.  But she has to use the bathroom.  Thank goodness I brought the portable potty, and some extra plastic bags.  And wipes.
5:00pm - I pick up the boys.  Driving home and thinking how I should go about making them do their homework and getting them done on time before dinner starts.
5:30pm - I get home, take all the backpacks, the snack boxes, the trash out of the car, unstrap K, then tell the kids they can watch 30 minutes of cartoon before starting homework.  They fight over who gets to choose the show.  I have to break up the fight.
5:45pm - I start making dinner.  Very aware of the time because once the show is over, I have to make the boys do their homework.
6:00pm - show is over.  Takes several threats of time-outs and no more TVs to get the boys to sit down and do homework.  I go into their backpacks and get everything out for them.  Then I have to sit down with them to make sure HW is done.  Otherwise it's more bickering and chit-chatting.  My food is cooking on the stove and I have to be very aware that it doesn't get overcooked.
6:30pm - all homework done.  Hallelujah!  Dinner is done.  I set the table for 5 people, everyone needs a little something different to use as utensils, to drink, to eat.  One wants rice and the other doesn't.  Two want milk and the third doesn't.  While K tries to negotiate which utensil she wants to use for tonight.  She usually wins.  I'm just too tired to argue with her.
6:45pm - "Daddy is home!"  Thank GOD.  We start eating.  The whole time I get, "why do I have to eat that?"  and I'm like, "Hurry up!  You don't have much time before you have to go shower!"
7:15pm - dinner is finally done.  Daddy takes the boys up to shower and get ready for bed.  When Daddy isn't home, I have to wash 3 bodies, brush 3 teeth, and tuck them all in.  It usually takes at least 10 threats following enforcing the threats to get the 3 bodies and mouths clean.  Oh, don't forget the good night kisses and the "I Love Yous."
8:15pm - Boys are asleep.  If Daddy is home, if he did the washing then I was cleaning the kitchen downstairs.  Packing snacks and lunches for 3 kids.  Wiping down the stove, counter, dinner table.  Washing the 3 ginormous pots by hand and finding room in the dishwasher for the rest.
9:15pm - I take K upstairs to take a bath, when she's done, I brush her teeth, then I get ready for bed.
9:30pm - I take K in bed with me.  She talks and talks because she's not tired yet.  "Mommy, I need to go pee pee."  "....huh?  What?  Oh, ok."  I wake up my groggy, fallen-asleep-already self, and take her to the bathroom.
10:00pm - K finally falls asleep.  The.Day.Is.Done.

This is an easy day.  A hard day involves taking kids out of classes mid-morning, driving to doctor's/dentist's appointments.  Why does the dog seem off?  Gotta schedule a visit to the vet.  With 3 kids in tow.  Is that the dishwasher making noises?  Argh!  It's malfunctioning AGAIN!  Gotta remember to call for service.  What is going on at school tomorrow?  Do I need to provide snacks for any event, dress the kids for any special occasions?  Did I buy the birthday presents for the weekend birthday parties?  Nope.  Gotta find time for that before I pick up K at noon.  And dealing with sick kids.  Oh God.  Don't even go there.  I definitely can't afford to get sick.  There was this one time I was preparing dinner and accidentally cut my finger.  It looked deep enough to require a trip to urgent care.  It was pouring cats and dogs outside, and there was no one to watch the kids.  So I wrapped up my bloody finger in a napkin, and drove all 3 kids with me to urgent care.  Thank goodness there's one not too far from my house, and my husband was able to leave work earlier and pick up the kids there while I got treated.  Goodness gracious.  Then on top of all this mumbo jumble, the extra curricular stuff like the school meetings, scheduling for the kids, scheduling for myself, signing up this and that for the kids, updating the calendars.  I try to limit scheduling stuff for myself for these reasons.  Too much goes on the calendar!  I get a panic attack just looking at it everyday. Blah.

Well, that's the typical day of a mom.  Of me.  And I do it day after day, without complaint, like every mom does.  We love our job because we love our children.  And we wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Xoxo,
Lin