Peg’s Journal

The holidays are over and we’re back to school. Our winter-break, surprisingly, felt longer than it was. We had spent the first four days of our break with my family in NorCal (driving back on Christmas night)….four gloriously fun, relaxing, and gluttonous days that went by much too quickly. Had we stayed longer, I’m sure the remainder of our winter-break would have flown by.

The last two weeks have been filled with time with my family, my in-laws, relatives, friends, lots of food, and tons of gifts!!! Needless to say, my kiddies were spoiled with an over-abundance of clothing and toys this Christmas. Ashlyn must have told everyone in the world that she wanted a guitar, because she got 4! hahaha Summer, who rarely asks for anything, got so much stuff that she’ll never have to ask for anything ever again.

I wonder if I’m the only one who does this, but I only let my kids open up and play with some of the toys they got. The rest, I’ll store away to open up at a later date. They lack excitement, desire, and appreciation when they get to open up everything. I remember after Ashlyn opened up ALL her gifts at her 2nd birthday, she had that look of: “that’s it?…what else can I open?” So now after they unwrap all their gifts, I let them select some and put the rest away. With the amount they both get at Christmases and birthdays, my storage space is turning into one huge toy store and I’m quickly running out of room. I’m not even kidding.
I’m trying my hardest not to raise spoiled children, but the truth is…they are spoiled. Aric and I give them what we never had as children, and our parents give them what they couldn’t give us as children. *sigh*

Anyhow, Ashlyn is lovin’ her guitars, Hannah Montana Concert Stage, her MP3 player, and Jonas Brothers CD. Summer’s having a blast with her Fisher Price digital camera, Gymnastics Divas Barbies, Disney Princess Dollhouse, and Crayola Color Explosion Board. Spoiled, I tell ya!

Click here for more holiday pictures.

As much as I love the holidays, I’m relieved it’s over. We rang in the New Year with our usual group at James and Grace’s. My poor hubby was sick (possible food poisoning from Taco Hell from lunch) that night and spent the whole evening sleeping it off on the couch. New Years Day was spent taking down our tree and decorations, cleaning up, and hanging out with my niece and her bf.

Aric and I have been watching movies lately - “I am Legend” and “No country for old men”, and “The Water Horse” with the kiddies. I love it!

The kiddies are getting back into the swing of things at school…as am I.

Tags: Aric, Ashlyn, family, friends, NorCal, pictures, Summer

2007 was a blessed year…full of laughter, love, growth, and amazing memories. After struggling with depression for the past few years, and the pain of my grandmother’s passing (in early 2007), I have found some healing, happiness, and peace within. I finally feel emotionally and mentally strong, healthy, and whole again. My outlook has been brighter than it has been in a long time. And if that wasn’t enough, physically, I had lost some weight and feel more energetic! *YAY!*
My husband, children, family, and friends have all contributed to getting me where I am today. *sniff* I am really lucky.

Highlights of 2007:
- my kiddies first visit to the snow
- a much needed hiatus
- Amanda & Christel’s return from Iraq
- Summer’s 3rd birthday
- Ashlyn’s Kindergarten promotion
- John & Angela’s wedding
- summer-break in NorCal
- an unforgettable Japan/Taiwan vacation with family
- Summer starts preschool
- Ashlyn starts 1st Grade
- getting a paycheck again (after all these years!)
- Cookie joins our family
- Ashlyn’s 5th birthday
- Sarah’s 30th Birthday in Napa
- 2 engagements
- 3 other weddings
- 15 births (9 boys, 6 girls)!!!
- 6 pregnancies announced (so far)

My top 10 resolutions for 2008
1. keeping in better touch with friends via phone
2. spend less/save $$$
3. exercise
4. blog more
5. blog more about Summer
6. respond to emails promptly
7. take more pictures
8. go to bed earlier
9. take my vitamins
10. nag the kiddies and hubby less (haha!)

Wishing you all the very best for a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2008!

Tags: Aric, Ashlyn, baby, family, friends, girlfriends, kiddies, Summer, vacation, Weddings

A conversation with my lil’ one a couple of weeks ago (after picking her up from preschool):

Summer: “Mommy, did you bring me a surprise?”
Peg: “a surprise?”
Summer: “yeah, like Daddy.”
Peg: *tsk* and *roll eyes*
Peg: “your surprise is ME picking you up…*pause*…SURPRISE!”
Summer:
HAHAHAHAHA!

Aric gives Summer surprises everyday when he picks her up from school. Treats from the vending machine at his work. He did it with Ashlyn, now he does it with Summer. I jokingly *tsk* because he makes me look bad….but in all seriousness, I think it’s really awesome.

Ashlyn and Summer adore their dad…and why shouldn’t they?! Aric’s like the coolest, funnest, most loving dad around. Aric has a great relationship with his kids. I love the ties that bind them, and even find myself envious of what they share. Aric loves hanging out with the girls - playing games/toys with them, reading them books, watching TV, playing Wii, or computer games together, making them breakfast, packing Ashlyn’s lunches, driving them to school, shopping with them, and playing jokes on them…and when he’s not with them, he’s always thinking of them. On any given day, the girls will get something in the mail (toys, games, books, magazine subscriptions, or free stuff Aric finds online). Just the other day, Ashlyn and Summer both got letters from Santa in the mail (another thing Aric found online). You should have seen the look on Ashlyn’s face when she read the personalized letter…sheer awe and excitement. So cool.

When Aric and I got married, I got the sense that he wasn’t much of a “kid” person. Like, he doesn’t really engage with children, nor does it come naturally…but with his own, he’s naturally a great father and friend. He’s also good with teaching and discipline. Usually his quiet words of displeasure weighs far more than my banshee-like rants.

I have been meaning to write this post years ago…especially around the time we were training Ashlyn to sleep in her own big-girl-bed, in her own room. Aric slept on Ashlyn’s floor for a little over 6 months….SIX MONTHS! Man, if that’s not love-sacrifice-good dad-bad back, I don’t know what is!

…and that’s the man of our house. We totally love him!

Tags: Aric, kiddies, Summer

My girls participated in a fashion show over the weekend for Nordstrom at The Irvine Spectrum. The word-of-mouth production was not widely publicized… it was just a way for local kids and employees’ children to have some fun. In exchange for our participation, we recieved an additional 15% off the childrens’ apparel and shoe sale. I scored on a pair of Van’s for Ashlyn for $13 (nothing in Summer’s size), and some other great deals. I thought it was a clever way for Nordstrom to draw in shoppers bright and early.

But what I was most excited about was the fact that Summer wanted to be in the Fashion Show too!!! Unlike Ashlyn, Summer doesn’t like to draw attention to herself. Simple requests, like asking her to sing a song for the grandparents, requires a lot of pleading and bribery. HAHA! So imagine my surprise when I took Ashlyn in for the clothes fitting and Summer said she wanted to try on clothes too! By Saturday morning, Summer started looking like she had changed her mind (which I kinda anticipated)….but then we had her walk with Olivia & Erin, and it was all good. Summer smiled brightly, walked confidently, and had a really good time. Ashlyn is currently going through a self-concious phase. She looked scared and shy, even though we all knew she was soooo excited to be a part of the show.

Lauren, Taylor, Erin, Olivia, and Shelby also strutted their stuff in the Fashion show, and they were all so cute!
Click here for fashion show pics.

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent celebrating Karis’ 5th Birthday at Sam and Patti’s. I love parties at Sam and Patti’s…lots of good food and company, and the kids have so much fun running and playing in the spacious home and back garden.
Click here for Karis’ birthday pictures.

Sunday was a lax day. We met up with my father-in-law and some relatives for a late lunch in Rowland Heights. Aric, the kiddies, and I did some shopping at 99 Ranch, then came home to decorate our front yard and put up our Christmas tree. We finally upgraded our small faux tree (that we got for $6 when living in Taiwan) to a 7.5 foot faux cashmere pine (we purchased last year for 50% off after the holiday season…yeah, I’m all about bargains. hehehe).
Like last year, the girls had so much fun decorating the tree. Because they’re both older now, they are better at spreading out the ornaments on the tree…sometimes standing on the arm of the couch to hang some toward the top. hehehe
I used all the little plush toys my kids have gotten from their McDonald’s Happy Meals, or the keychain thingies they get from the dollar gumball machines, as tree ornaments. HAHAHA! I’m not just cheap, but creative, too. HAHAHA!
I ordered my Christmas cards and compiled my shopping list…and it’s really starting to feel like the holiday season is upon us now.
Click for more pictures.

Monday was a really busy and long day for me. Aric had a department dinner to attend, so I picked up Summer from preschool. By the time we got back home, it was nearly 4:30pm. Ashlyn had homework and I was up to my neck in laundry.

Lately, Summer’s been having a lot of “accidents”….at school, at home, and in Aric’s car (hence, the laundry). Yesterday, when I picked her up, she was wearing someone else’s spare clothes again (because she had already gone through her spare outfits last week). This time, she had also soiled her naptime blanket. Summer’s teacher asked if there was anything wrong. Which I replied, “no…everything’s fine”. Does “accidents” mean that something’s wrong? I always figured that laziness is the cause. Whatever the case, I talked with Summer last night and stressed the importance of going immediately when her body tells her to go. Hopefully that helped.

The girls and I ate an early dinner, Ashlyn finished her homework by 7:30pm, the kiddies changed into pjs, and watched “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas” while waiting for Aric to come home.

Tags: birthday party, kiddies, pictures, Summer, weekend

Happy Friday! Everyone who knows me has all heard me gripe about not having enough time to myself….but now with both girls at school, I find myself moping around and missing them like crazy. Not that I’m complaining now…it’s just going to take some getting used to. hehehe Wow…it sure is quiet.

I’m happy to say that we’ve survived our first week of school. Actually it’s only been a few of days. hehehe
Ashlyn’s enjoying first grade. She’s making new friends, getting to know her teacher, getting adjusted to the longer school schedule, and gaining more independence (buying lunch). I always worry that she won’t eat enough at school. Ashlyn has always placed playing as a priority over everything else. The first day she bought school lunch, she told me she didn’t get a chance to eat it because she ran out of time. After that, I started packing her a lunch so she wouldn’t have to line up for food. But her lunches come home only half eaten. *sigh* What can I do?…she’s just going to have to learn to take care of herself and manage her own time.

Summer’s transition to preschool has been heart-wrenching (as I anticipated). Unlike her sister, who barely looks back to say goodbye, Summer has been crying every morning…begging to stay home, kicking and screaming as Aric buckles her in the car. She eventually calms down after Aric drops her off (even apologizing to the teacher for crying). The rest of the day goes smoothly though and she comes home happy. But yeah, the mornings are tough.

I’ve been puttering around the house. Cleaning up here and there, but a bit apprehensive to start any BIG cleaning project like organizing the girls’ closets or clearing up Aric’s office, etc… I’m proud to say that the TV is never on when I’m at home. I’m enjoying the silence….the sweet sweet silence.

Anyhow, what’s a pegpower post without pictures? We had such an incredible summer. We spent most of it in NorCal with my family and two weeks touring Japan and Taiwan. I finally uploaded our vacation pictures (ALL 2,188 of ‘em!), and I picked out some to share with y’all.

—-> Highlights of our summer break (warning, it’s still a hefty album). Enjoy!

Tags: Ashlyn, NorCal, pictures, school, Summer, vacation