esskayelle

perfect :: not by a LONG shot

an old high school friend posted a most appropriate entry about her feelings in keeping up with the blog world.  to quote from k: 

HOW DOES SHE DO IT ALL?  I ask that a lot, about many of the women I encounter – both online and in real life. Sometimes, I am happy for them and their accomplishments. Other times, I can get a bit down. Envious. Sad. Even resentful. Bitter.

i can totally relate.  and then, i started thinking...maybe people have a misconception of me and my world, believing it is pretty perfect, with a life that is all put together. 

uh oh.  not my intention.  and totally NOT true.

my life is far from perfect.  at the end of the day, if you look at the floors of my little home, you will see any or all of the following:

toys
toys
laundry that needs to be folded
random projects
toys
dishes that need to be cleaned
toys

did i mention toys?  :) 

i have a giant list of things i would like to accomplish, but completely fail to undertake, as the responsibilities of the real world come into play.  namely one, being a mom who is responsible for three, well four, including myself. 

i have to daily remind myself that i am the CEO of this home, responsible for making it a healthy environment, both physically and mentally.  which means, i need to prepare healthy food, that won't taste half-bad at a price that won't ruin our budget.  keep a home that won't grow little creatures to infest my family's immune systems.  and provide enjoyable experiences for my kids, that do not require a remote control or a crazy freak of a mom that will not lash out in frustration.  it is a battle.  and i often feel defeated by my own expectations.  this is where my creativity and imagination ruin me. 

i begin to create this false reality of what my home should be.  that the design aesthetic could be so much more, if i just did...  my kids would be better at... if i just spent more time doing...

and the thoughts keep going on and on.

i completely empathize with k, when she says that she can get a bit down, envious, sad, or bitter.  sometimes, when i see/read what the bloggers or friends accomplish, i see my expectations become real in someone else's life.  little do i realize, that what i see from them, is mostly just the good...and not the real. 

it is when i sit down, look into God's word, and pray, that i do realize something.  i am reminded that this is where God has placed me.  that God has equipped me with every capacity to do what is necessary to bring up my family in His truth, enabling me to provide the most healthy home that i am physically capable of providing.  and that if i fail to meet my own expectations, it is okay, because God's grace will never fail me. 

in the end, i just wanted to remind you, in the case that you haven't met me, that i am broken and imperfect. but for all of us that are, isn't it good to know that there's always room to grow and grace to give you rest?

wisdom teeth :: without them, you're kinda silly

f had all four of his wisdom teeth pulled = knocked out for the process = loopy behavior.

i had to take d to preschool, and pick up something while he was in surgery.  so our neighbor was gracious enough to drop f off to the oral surgeon.  f texted to let me know that i could pick him up.

the following are his texts i received, one right after the other.

"i can be pick up now"

"pick me up please"

"i eat cold oatmeal
all day long.
it better
Be goods"

upon getting him, f was trying to act put together, but he was acting a bit goofier than normal.  he tried to do all of these drunk driver tests, like walking along a line, which he was determined to do...it took him a while, with both arms stretched out wide.  he pointed his finger outwards and then touched his nose, followed by his response, "BAM!  See, I'm fine!". 

he was acting pretty goofy until the drugs wore off and pain set in.  :(  it was pretty funny while it lasted. 

those youtube videos of "post anaesthesia" dental visits are hilarious.  anyone else have a funny post dental visit story to share?

family feud :: is funnier with steve harvey

last night, i was doing some work on the computer and then i hear laughter...the kind of laughter that you want a dose of.  it was my hubs.  sitting in bed, tears in his eyes, as he's trying to stay focused on the youtube video on his little phone.

i had to see what was so funny.  and i do admit, i had a laugh too, not as much as my man, but it was nice to experience some good clean laughter.

i have always enjoyed watching the kings of comedy...steve harvey's facial expressions are priceless.  he was a very wise choice to amp the volume up on an already fun game show.

i especially liked this one

after watching these, i then started the conversation with f about who would be in my family for the feud.  so i said, "oh, i'd choose anny, even though she's not part of our family, she's a lee, no one would know."  my friend anny is the master of game shows.  *sigh*  being on family feud would be so much fun. 

fun.

seeing appah, even when he's gone :: facetime

appah was out of town on business.  all the way in boston...man, how i wish we could have joined him.  boston must be so beautiful at this time of year.

the kids didn't realize appah was gone, until it got dark, and there was no other face to play with than mom's.  we took full advantage of the facetime feature on our iphone 4's.  and boy, did the kids get a kick out of it!

at one point, appah was really making all three of us laugh.  he was making funny faces and pretending he was slipping on and off the screen.  funny.  {if you don't know by now, i am easily amused}

what appah saw on his screen.

what we saw on our screen

another cool feature is the ability to flip the view, there are two lenses on the phone, so flipping the view allows the user to use the lens on the back of the phone.  by doing this, appah was able to show us what his hotel room was like, and still see our reactions on the screen.  hard to explain...but this helped the kids a lot, just knowing where appah was and where he was staying {and the goodies he accumulated}.

at some points of our conversation, i felt like we were in an iphone commercial.  seriously, it was so cute, it was almost gross.

speaking of iphone commercials, fred's cousin was the star in a korean one.  we love our caros, she is such a beautiful person inside and out.  we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw her in the commercial.  she's so good, i started to believe she was a mother and wife, and i completely missed her wedding and birth story.  :)

needless to say, i highly recommend getting the iphone4.  if you have any older version of the iphone, you can easily sell it on ebay.  we sold my 3GS and appah's 3 at a profit!!!  we also sold my OLD first generation phone!  so sell it on ebay and use the money to get the 4! :) 

wow :: made by joel

i just discovered this guy's site. 

made by joel

holy guacamole.

i want everything he makes.  i want to make everything he makes.  i want to be a female joel.

dang, all these things are so simple, yet so sophisticated + thoughtful.

i'm definitely going to try my hand at making these pull toys.

who wouldn't want this compact mod paper house?   made out of magazine covers!

that fits in an altoid container?  {i'd say that's a great alternative to the i-phone at restaurants}

definitely making this cute little guy

these were made out of cardboard and paperclips!!!! 

a modern twist on a barrel of monkeys :: made with paperclips!  how do-able is this? 

needless to say, i'm exhausted from inspiration.  check out his site to get more crazy coolness.

makin' it work

i love what i do, outside of my mommy roles.  making designs for invitations and cards is such an honor and privilege.  that is why i try very hard to make whatever i make, something the client immediately will fall in love with.  sometimes, it's a work in progress, that the client helps to make even better.  i love every step of the process. 

i will just sit at my desk, and stare at my drafting notebook, and stare.  sketch something, and then start over, and then start over...until it just comes to me. 

i love when that light comes on, because 10 times out of 10, it works (or at least my clients lead me to believe it does).

here's a little peek into what i just worked on...

pretty, ain't it? 

iPhone 4 :: week one

fred recently got the iPhone 4 through work, and thought it would be a good idea for me to upgrade to the 4 for the purpose of video and pictures.  for those of you that don't know, the 4 has HD vid and a 5 megapixel camera.  i usually used my point and shoot for video, so the upgrade will be handy.

today, i decided to take advantage of the facetime feature.  there are two cameras on either side of the phone, so that you can take vid of yourself OR video chat {have facetime} with another iPhone 4 user via wi-fi.  before dillan's nap, cozy in her bed, we call fred...the face he sees when he accepts our facetime request is his lovely dilly bean.  fred continues to take us on a tour of his office, showing us the outdated pictures of his family in their frames, and the view out of his downtown office window {woah! appah's in a skyscraper!}.  once finished, we say good-night, and end the conversation. 

immediately, dillan looks at me with the cutest look of wonder and says:  "Mommy!  That was so amazing!  I got to see Appah's work!...Remember when you said that I can go see Appah's work someday?  I didn't even have to go there!  His office is pretty neat, and I got to see pictures of winter!"  {pictures of his family in the winter of 08, note to self: give new pictures to husband}

i can get used to this facetime stuff.  now if only all my family members would get the iPhone 4...i'll settle with one of my family members getting their video chat on their computer to work {you know who you are}.

now wouldn't seeing this face in the middle of a work day make all things brighter?

-taken with the iPhone 3GS-

a good video

the hubs sent this over for me to see.  enjoy.

http://structurallysoundtreehouse.com/embrace-life-always-wear-your-seat-belt-9

re-post for the sake of laughter..."ds lite brain age" circa 12.26.2006

for christmas i got fred the nintendo ds lite.

i also purchased "brain age" which is a game that claims to "exercise" your mind to the peak brain age of 20.

when you add your profile, you are asked to do a series of tests to find your current brain age.

one of them asks you to draw a series of pictures from memory alone.

before i show you our stunning results for you to judge whose is better...

try it out:

draw:

a koala

next, draw:

a kangaroo

okay, i would like to have shown you the pictures on blog directly, but xanga is having issues downloading files, and i simply do not have the patience for it...

so here are our results:  *warning: unexplained laughter may result*

the koala

the kangaroo

umm, so who do you think is more accurate?   hmm...

what he drew as the koala, we have discovered looks like a burglar disguised as a koala.
what he drew as the kangaroo, i think looks like a crocodile carrying a purse...he claims that the purse is a pouch with a baby kangaroo inside.

oh, and i would also like to mention how fred wrote his first and last name in the entry like a ten year old...

needless to say, we laughed until we couldn't breathe.

here is what "brain age" showed as the actual pictures:

 

i'm yours

easter post will have to wait.  too much to post about.  

to tide you over, here is my favorite song of the moment.  

i love jason mraz.  i think he's super cool.  lately, i've been considering "i'm yours" to be my and fred's song {like we're in highschool again}.

well, fred "is so hot that i melted".  hee hee {giggling like a teenage girl}.

yubs found this and posted it on his site:  click here