i did an impulsive thing today and purchased our stroller. i still feel it is way too early to buy this, even though we were set on which one to get. But i found a deal and I didn't want to pass up the chance. 10% off plus free ship plus no tax. I probably saved about $125 buying it this way than in-store. I dont know if thats good or not. The only thing I can say is that I paid the same price for the 2010 model that I would have paid for the 2009 in store so I'm fairly happy with that since we struggled back and forth on whether or not the extra money was worth buying the new model or not.
i can't believe I just spent 600 bucks on a stroller. not about the money...because i fully believe i will use this till its dying day as well as for future kids... but because i actually made a real big purchase for the baby. its almost like a wake up call.. i think i will feel this way when i buy the crib too, or when my nursery is actually up and decorated.
these are things WE like...but will the baby? what if the stroller is just not functional for our needs after the babys here (even though we did try to think this through when deciding). since the 2010 just came out last month, are there going to be future recalls? i guess its just one of those days where i feel like i know nothing and going into something blindly, hoping for the best. its probably a stupid way to think too since jae is 100% on board and doesnt even question one thing about it. its probably just me.
anyway, i just can't help but to think, am i going to be constantly questioning my decisions for this baby... even after the baby is born? yikes!
*sidenote* someone asked me why i didnt put the stroller on my registry. i didn't for a few reasons.
1. too expensive an item to even put on there. i'd be embarrassed. its not like its an umbrella stroller or snap and go, which i could understand.
2. i wouldnt want someone to pay full price when i can get it cheaper.
3. lets say i put it on and no one bought it, which is most likely the case. even though i get 10% discount on all my items unbought, it still would have cost us more than the deal i found today.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Week 21
Today my baby is the size of....
A carrot!
this week's symptoms:
1. ice cream ice cream ice cream! yum. still on my ice cream kick. moved from weight watchers to the full out full fat ice cream.
2. sweet tooth came back. some goodies jae brought home. rainbow cookies are my fave!
3. GAS, GAS, GAS. i am the human gas machine. its gross. one time i was singing in the car and burped in between words. jae gave me the "dude, thats gross" look. most times i cant even hold anything in... so i have to let it out. its really gross. this is the part of pregnancy that is not pretty. at all.
4. Incontinence - man. i can't hold my pee in for shit. the other day, i woke up for the first time in the middle of the night to pee.
oh so i'd like to document how wonderful my husband is. we are at buy buy baby on sunday....we pull into the parking lot and right in front of the store...FIRST SPOT...what jae would call "rock star parking", there is an open space. It is labeled "for expecting mothers and parents with children".
Me: "go park there!".
Jae: "its not a spot.."
Me: Yes it is, see the lines on the floor. and look at the sign. thats me!
Jae: hmm im not sure.
He proceeds to drive by the perfect spot and park ACROSS The parking lot making our walk to the store fairly far
Jess: *stunned*
Jae: What? what if someone is like 9 months pregnant and really needs the spot?
Jess: *super stunned*
So we continue to walk to the store, past the perfect spot, which has now, of course been taken.
Jess: I bet the person who took that spot is only like 2 months pregnant. I can't believe you would rather give up that spot for some random 9 month pregnant lady you dont even know instead of your pregnant wife!
Jae: I wasn't sure if that was a spot or not. the snow was covering the floor.
Jess: Well, I told you it was a spot. So now just admit you were wrong.
Jae: What? I wasn't wrong.
Jess: you said it wasn't a spot, but now you see it is. so admit it.
Jae: (laughing) No.
so when i get to his sisters house i proceed to tell her the story. shes laughing and yelling at Jae.
of course her husband says "Well in Jae's defense..maybe he thought..."
Me: Stop right there Paul. Save it.
everyone starts laughing. Men!
A carrot!
this week's symptoms:
1. ice cream ice cream ice cream! yum. still on my ice cream kick. moved from weight watchers to the full out full fat ice cream.
2. sweet tooth came back. some goodies jae brought home. rainbow cookies are my fave!
3. GAS, GAS, GAS. i am the human gas machine. its gross. one time i was singing in the car and burped in between words. jae gave me the "dude, thats gross" look. most times i cant even hold anything in... so i have to let it out. its really gross. this is the part of pregnancy that is not pretty. at all.
4. Incontinence - man. i can't hold my pee in for shit. the other day, i woke up for the first time in the middle of the night to pee.
oh so i'd like to document how wonderful my husband is. we are at buy buy baby on sunday....we pull into the parking lot and right in front of the store...FIRST SPOT...what jae would call "rock star parking", there is an open space. It is labeled "for expecting mothers and parents with children".
Me: "go park there!".
Jae: "its not a spot.."
Me: Yes it is, see the lines on the floor. and look at the sign. thats me!
Jae: hmm im not sure.
He proceeds to drive by the perfect spot and park ACROSS The parking lot making our walk to the store fairly far
Jess: *stunned*
Jae: What? what if someone is like 9 months pregnant and really needs the spot?
Jess: *super stunned*
So we continue to walk to the store, past the perfect spot, which has now, of course been taken.
Jess: I bet the person who took that spot is only like 2 months pregnant. I can't believe you would rather give up that spot for some random 9 month pregnant lady you dont even know instead of your pregnant wife!
Jae: I wasn't sure if that was a spot or not. the snow was covering the floor.
Jess: Well, I told you it was a spot. So now just admit you were wrong.
Jae: What? I wasn't wrong.
Jess: you said it wasn't a spot, but now you see it is. so admit it.
Jae: (laughing) No.
so when i get to his sisters house i proceed to tell her the story. shes laughing and yelling at Jae.
of course her husband says "Well in Jae's defense..maybe he thought..."
Me: Stop right there Paul. Save it.
everyone starts laughing. Men!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Getting ready
How we've been getting ready for the baby:
1. ive been trying to exercise more. I go to the park on the weekends and walk around the trail. I love this. i can't wait until the weather gets warmer. I also purchased 2 DVD's. A denise austin one, and a prenatal yoga one. I did the Denise Austin one and its low impact but still fun. I dont think its much of a workout though, honestly. On days when I can manage the strength, I will get on my gazelle and do about 45 mins of low impact movement. Again, not much of a workout since I am not even sweating or breathing heavy after im done. have not even touched the yoga one yet.
2. thinking about paint colors for the nursery. We want it to be somewhat gender neutral. My choices are up top and jaes is below that. help!
me: you want that color? show me your mood board.
jae: whats a mood board?
me: your plan. how you want the room to look with that color on the walls.
jae: i figured we just put the color up on the walls and take it from there.
me: you don't know me at all =(
3. moving furniture out of the babys room. currently we have a desk, a twin bed and a huge dresser from our co-op. we plan to throw out the dresser and put the desk down in the basement. i think ill keep the twin bed in there. still want to get a glider, crib and new dresser in. i also want to add a closet system. but i love our babys room. its soooo warm in there, bc it gets so much sunlight. when i go downstairs in the mornings to leave for work, i peek in and the sun is just bright and beaming. can't wait for my baby to wake up to that.
4. Crib - we picked one! we had gone to a few baby stores, weren't really sure what we were looking for. every crib looked the same to us, but certainly quality was the main difference. we ended up going out of the box for this one. surprisingly, i came home, showed jae the info and he said "better buy it now before it gets sold out". wow, he never says that. he always wants to wait... but he told me to buy it now! anything for his baby. i never got that treatment! anyhow, im planning to purchase next month when i save more money. I will update more on this once we figure out the nursery
5. reading lots of books. i dont have that much spare time, but when i do i am constantly reading everything baby related. all very fascinating stuff. here's what i've managed to read already:
-What to Expect
-Mayo Clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy
-pregnancy week by week
-Supernanny, confident baby care
-breastfeeding made simple
-the complete book of breastfeeding
-healthy sleep habits, happy baby
-happiest baby on the block
-baby bargains
i still have tons of books to read thanks to my cousin and MeeJin's sister. yay! i love reading about this stuff.
as for Jae, on November 7th, he was reading this baby book:
this is also the last day he touched the book. he was all amped up at first but i think it wore off and he has not picked up a book since. haha.
just about 4 more months to go!
1. ive been trying to exercise more. I go to the park on the weekends and walk around the trail. I love this. i can't wait until the weather gets warmer. I also purchased 2 DVD's. A denise austin one, and a prenatal yoga one. I did the Denise Austin one and its low impact but still fun. I dont think its much of a workout though, honestly. On days when I can manage the strength, I will get on my gazelle and do about 45 mins of low impact movement. Again, not much of a workout since I am not even sweating or breathing heavy after im done. have not even touched the yoga one yet.
2. thinking about paint colors for the nursery. We want it to be somewhat gender neutral. My choices are up top and jaes is below that. help!
me: you want that color? show me your mood board.
jae: whats a mood board?
me: your plan. how you want the room to look with that color on the walls.
jae: i figured we just put the color up on the walls and take it from there.
me: you don't know me at all =(
3. moving furniture out of the babys room. currently we have a desk, a twin bed and a huge dresser from our co-op. we plan to throw out the dresser and put the desk down in the basement. i think ill keep the twin bed in there. still want to get a glider, crib and new dresser in. i also want to add a closet system. but i love our babys room. its soooo warm in there, bc it gets so much sunlight. when i go downstairs in the mornings to leave for work, i peek in and the sun is just bright and beaming. can't wait for my baby to wake up to that.
4. Crib - we picked one! we had gone to a few baby stores, weren't really sure what we were looking for. every crib looked the same to us, but certainly quality was the main difference. we ended up going out of the box for this one. surprisingly, i came home, showed jae the info and he said "better buy it now before it gets sold out". wow, he never says that. he always wants to wait... but he told me to buy it now! anything for his baby. i never got that treatment! anyhow, im planning to purchase next month when i save more money. I will update more on this once we figure out the nursery
5. reading lots of books. i dont have that much spare time, but when i do i am constantly reading everything baby related. all very fascinating stuff. here's what i've managed to read already:
-What to Expect
-Mayo Clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy
-pregnancy week by week
-Supernanny, confident baby care
-breastfeeding made simple
-the complete book of breastfeeding
-healthy sleep habits, happy baby
-happiest baby on the block
-baby bargains
i still have tons of books to read thanks to my cousin and MeeJin's sister. yay! i love reading about this stuff.
as for Jae, on November 7th, he was reading this baby book:
this is also the last day he touched the book. he was all amped up at first but i think it wore off and he has not picked up a book since. haha.
just about 4 more months to go!
Monday, February 22, 2010
the baby has been moving a lot lately. well, it was probably moving this much but i couldn't feel it. its pretty cool. most night i just want to sit there and do nothing just so i can feel it move.
i had 2 nephews put their ears up to my belly at separate times and they both described the sound as "popping". i think thats such a coincidence bc to me, it FEELS like popping. like popcorn popping or bubbles popping. but i didnt know you could HEAR it popping. most times when someone listens to a belly, they describe it as gurgling, rumbling etc. but both kids described it as popping. interesting.
Ryan said "its popping. its trying to come out!". hes really cute. he also said i got pregnant bc i ate too much haha.
anyway, i cant wait for the baby to really start moving... so other people can feel it. i cant wait for the kids to feel it, i think they will be really freaked out. i love sharing this with them and i love that they are interested and always want to listen to my belly or rub my belly.
anyway, much to catch up on.
at my last sonogram, we got to see baby oh again. the baby is doing well and measuring right on track.
the glowly thing in this picture is the baby's arm bone
heres the brain looking from the top down. if you look closely, you can see all the different brain areas:
spine. reminds me of a dinosaur
hello baby! (the baby definetely has jae's nose)
heres a video of the heart beating. you can see all 4 chambers. wow! (you have to go to about the 30 second mark before she finds the heart)
so what else is there..oh, i have a new hobby... scrapbooking. im horrible at it but i still find it fun. i did a mini scrap book for jae's dad with pictures from his party. this is obviously toned down for him. but i will do one of the pregnancy and for the baby that is more customized.
front of the book:
it can be quite a messy project...so i think i need a scrapbooking room or table station. haha.
lastly, look what jae's mom made us...wow. (this is just folded paper, no glue or anything)
i had 2 nephews put their ears up to my belly at separate times and they both described the sound as "popping". i think thats such a coincidence bc to me, it FEELS like popping. like popcorn popping or bubbles popping. but i didnt know you could HEAR it popping. most times when someone listens to a belly, they describe it as gurgling, rumbling etc. but both kids described it as popping. interesting.
Ryan said "its popping. its trying to come out!". hes really cute. he also said i got pregnant bc i ate too much haha.
anyway, i cant wait for the baby to really start moving... so other people can feel it. i cant wait for the kids to feel it, i think they will be really freaked out. i love sharing this with them and i love that they are interested and always want to listen to my belly or rub my belly.
anyway, much to catch up on.
at my last sonogram, we got to see baby oh again. the baby is doing well and measuring right on track.
the glowly thing in this picture is the baby's arm bone
heres the brain looking from the top down. if you look closely, you can see all the different brain areas:
spine. reminds me of a dinosaur
hello baby! (the baby definetely has jae's nose)
heres a video of the heart beating. you can see all 4 chambers. wow! (you have to go to about the 30 second mark before she finds the heart)
so what else is there..oh, i have a new hobby... scrapbooking. im horrible at it but i still find it fun. i did a mini scrap book for jae's dad with pictures from his party. this is obviously toned down for him. but i will do one of the pregnancy and for the baby that is more customized.
front of the book:
it can be quite a messy project...so i think i need a scrapbooking room or table station. haha.
lastly, look what jae's mom made us...wow. (this is just folded paper, no glue or anything)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Dear Mom
Dear Mom:
I am 20 weeks today. Halfway there. My baby is the size of a banana.
But you're not here to see or know any of this. The other day as I was driving, I had a thought for the first time:
How am I going to do this without you?
I am trying to learn more about pregnancy, but as I do all I can find are articles of girls saying "thank God for my mom!" or "my mom really helped me through this all". I went to my dentists office and the receptionist just gave birth and was telling me how her mom stepped in and allowed her to get back to work and how her baby had to be hospitalized and thank God for her mom because she was able to be there for the baby when she couldn't.
So where does that leave me? Alone and missing you.
I live on with the stupid comments here and there... someone joking "i wish i was dead". or a conversation including "lots of people die in the hospital". i ignore these....but when it comes to your grandchild, it hurts. it hurts you wont be here to see he/she grow. my child will be missing a grandparent.... and its so hard bc i can't imagine life without my own grandparents. they were such an integral part of my childhood and continue to be in my adult life. my baby will miss this because i know you would have been the same for them.
But I did figure out something else your passing could teach me. I know what struggles you went through your last month on this earth. I was right by your side, sleeping next to you for weeks straight. I woke up in the middle of the night when you called me to help you. I fed you and cooked for you. It was hard for both of us because you had been a strong, independent, fierce, vibrant person. But there you were, lying in bed, more helpless than you have ever been. It was a change for both of us.
At times, I even thought to myself, why doesn't she just give up. At one point, i told myself that it's ok if you want to go. All I wanted for you was peace. The very sheer heavenly gift of peace.
But you were not one to give up. Throughout it all, you continued to write down notes, even in the middle of the night, of your symptoms and how you were feeling. We wrote down things we could do to help you. You continued to fight the fight. You told work you would be back to work in November, pending your condition. You never discussed a will, or what would happen because i truly believe you thought you would fight through it. You accepted all help possible, including agreeing to a home nurse, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. You wanted all the help you could get to get better.
The day you passed away, the day i knew something wasn't right, was the day you slept all day long. I am now not even sure if you were sleeping that whole time. Anytime I spoke to you, you responded. Your eyes were closed though. I knew it couldn't be good. At 4PM, I remember telling both Judy and Jae something was not right. I was so scared. No one was there but me and my grandparents so I knew i had to take charge. We rode the awful, bumpy ride to the hospital. I will never forget the face of the EMT who was so rough with you. He didnt' care about you....he just wanted to get his job over with. I wanted to scream at him, punch him in the face but I was too silent. We got to the ER and they already knew it was bad. They asked me "Does she want everything done to save her life?". I felt like I was 2 years old. Such a huge question for such a small person in this grand scheme called life. I was alone, no one to turn to for advice. It was me and you... so I asked you this question....
though you must have known you were headed downhill....you nodded your head yes with your eyes closed. I asked you this one more time to make sure you understood and you nodded again. I have to admit I was surprised.... I think my own answer would have been no. I couldn't bare to see you like this....it wasn't the mom i knew you to be. But shit, you freaking wanted it all done. You wanted to live and survive, no matter what condition you were in. 15 minutes later when i would ask you this question again, it would be too late and you would no longer respond to me. I grew up fast in that half hour time span.
Now that its been 3 months since, I think back and admire your courage. Your fight. Your will and determination. January was a bad month for Jae and me. It seemed money was pouring out our pockets this month. $600 oil bill, $1500 in general taxes, $1500 for jae's dads birthday. January is the worst month for the store and we broke even so we made no profit. The lease for the flushing store was delayed. and wah wah wah. Complain complain complain. The truth is, what am i complaining about? You lied there suffering for months without one complaint out of your mouth. And though you knew you were battling a fierce monster, you continued to push on. you didnt care what stood in your way....you wanted to win.
So, i guess my January wasn't so bad compared to your October. And if you could push on with your head held high, then so can I. Thank you mom, for continuing to teach me though you are no longer here. I will always remember that when times get tough, there is always fight left in me to push on. Thank you for showing me what I should be teaching others. There is always strength...and it's never over... not even after death.
Love,
Jessie
I am 20 weeks today. Halfway there. My baby is the size of a banana.
But you're not here to see or know any of this. The other day as I was driving, I had a thought for the first time:
How am I going to do this without you?
I am trying to learn more about pregnancy, but as I do all I can find are articles of girls saying "thank God for my mom!" or "my mom really helped me through this all". I went to my dentists office and the receptionist just gave birth and was telling me how her mom stepped in and allowed her to get back to work and how her baby had to be hospitalized and thank God for her mom because she was able to be there for the baby when she couldn't.
So where does that leave me? Alone and missing you.
I live on with the stupid comments here and there... someone joking "i wish i was dead". or a conversation including "lots of people die in the hospital". i ignore these....but when it comes to your grandchild, it hurts. it hurts you wont be here to see he/she grow. my child will be missing a grandparent.... and its so hard bc i can't imagine life without my own grandparents. they were such an integral part of my childhood and continue to be in my adult life. my baby will miss this because i know you would have been the same for them.
But I did figure out something else your passing could teach me. I know what struggles you went through your last month on this earth. I was right by your side, sleeping next to you for weeks straight. I woke up in the middle of the night when you called me to help you. I fed you and cooked for you. It was hard for both of us because you had been a strong, independent, fierce, vibrant person. But there you were, lying in bed, more helpless than you have ever been. It was a change for both of us.
At times, I even thought to myself, why doesn't she just give up. At one point, i told myself that it's ok if you want to go. All I wanted for you was peace. The very sheer heavenly gift of peace.
But you were not one to give up. Throughout it all, you continued to write down notes, even in the middle of the night, of your symptoms and how you were feeling. We wrote down things we could do to help you. You continued to fight the fight. You told work you would be back to work in November, pending your condition. You never discussed a will, or what would happen because i truly believe you thought you would fight through it. You accepted all help possible, including agreeing to a home nurse, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. You wanted all the help you could get to get better.
The day you passed away, the day i knew something wasn't right, was the day you slept all day long. I am now not even sure if you were sleeping that whole time. Anytime I spoke to you, you responded. Your eyes were closed though. I knew it couldn't be good. At 4PM, I remember telling both Judy and Jae something was not right. I was so scared. No one was there but me and my grandparents so I knew i had to take charge. We rode the awful, bumpy ride to the hospital. I will never forget the face of the EMT who was so rough with you. He didnt' care about you....he just wanted to get his job over with. I wanted to scream at him, punch him in the face but I was too silent. We got to the ER and they already knew it was bad. They asked me "Does she want everything done to save her life?". I felt like I was 2 years old. Such a huge question for such a small person in this grand scheme called life. I was alone, no one to turn to for advice. It was me and you... so I asked you this question....
though you must have known you were headed downhill....you nodded your head yes with your eyes closed. I asked you this one more time to make sure you understood and you nodded again. I have to admit I was surprised.... I think my own answer would have been no. I couldn't bare to see you like this....it wasn't the mom i knew you to be. But shit, you freaking wanted it all done. You wanted to live and survive, no matter what condition you were in. 15 minutes later when i would ask you this question again, it would be too late and you would no longer respond to me. I grew up fast in that half hour time span.
Now that its been 3 months since, I think back and admire your courage. Your fight. Your will and determination. January was a bad month for Jae and me. It seemed money was pouring out our pockets this month. $600 oil bill, $1500 in general taxes, $1500 for jae's dads birthday. January is the worst month for the store and we broke even so we made no profit. The lease for the flushing store was delayed. and wah wah wah. Complain complain complain. The truth is, what am i complaining about? You lied there suffering for months without one complaint out of your mouth. And though you knew you were battling a fierce monster, you continued to push on. you didnt care what stood in your way....you wanted to win.
So, i guess my January wasn't so bad compared to your October. And if you could push on with your head held high, then so can I. Thank you mom, for continuing to teach me though you are no longer here. I will always remember that when times get tough, there is always fight left in me to push on. Thank you for showing me what I should be teaching others. There is always strength...and it's never over... not even after death.
Love,
Jessie
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
What a weekend!
Happy New Year!
Happy Valentines Day!
Happy Birthday Dad!
so much going on, where to start. Oh yes, food.
Thursday 2/12 jae and i went out to dinner to celebrate Vday. every year for, i dont know, 6 or 7 years we have been to ruth chris in weehawken. we only like this location. this year being our first Vday in Long Island, Jersey just seemed too far. But in order to keep tradition alive, we did manage to head to a steakhouse. Mortons. Let me tell you what i ate...(just bc i like to talk about food)
I started off with an iceberg wedge salad with bacon, egg, tomatoes and thousand island dressing. i could have made out with this salad. Jae had lobster bisque which i thought was also good.
I had the filet mignon. I could only order this medium well but surprisingly it wasnt all too bad. the meat was still juicy. towards the middle, it did become a little too rare so i had to stop. but this was good. our side dish was mashed potatoes.
for dessert, creme brulee, as always.
i was in hog heaven. first of all, we have not been out in a real restaurant in so long. by real restaurant, i mean one where they refold the napkins for you when you leave the table, or where if your check in on the table waiting to be paid, someone besides your waiter will sweep it up and charge it so you dont have to wait.
the bad thing was, the dinner was close to $200 bucks. in the past we used to eat like this all the time. but we stopped since moving into our co-op and suddenly its not as fun anymore.
ok anyway... continuing on with the food, Friday I had a chance to meet my girls in the city for dinner. I, of course, suggested Ktown bc I have been craving soondubu. not homemade. One with MSG and lots of it. afterwards, we went to Pinkberry...while we were sitting there, julie and jully show up. they hadn't eaten yet so we all follow them to Baden where we sit down again. I did have some fries and noodles. i ate way too much!
Saturday - wake up and head to my sister in laws to arrive at 7:30AM. yes, thats early but i need to babysit due to some last minute circumstances. I was so tired...I tried to nap but the kids kept yelling "Why are you sleeping Aunt Jessica?". oh wells, there goes that idea. Instead, I Was entertained by things like this:
we ordered papa johns... yummy. at 12:3o my other sister in law comes with her 2 kids to relieve me, but I don't actually leave till 3PM.
Head to supermarket quickly, then go home to clean up what i can, and then to grandmas for new years dinner. What a feast! I can't believe my grandma cooked everything...she usually buys.
AS I'm leaving grandmas, I call jae to see if he wants any help. he tells me theres a huge issue with strawberries....the cases he got today were rotten and he had already made 80 orders with them. he was so busy he didnt QA the fruit as it came in. Soooo, head over there and see what happened. Its about 9:30 or 10 by now and all 8 workers are still there. The strawberries dont seem too bad, i taste one. Its too late to change everything, so they have to go out the next day. I leave at 10:30 and go home and continue to clean the house. The house should be clean before new years to start the year off fresh! I'm tired, but i chug on. I open jaes closet and its a wreck. i manage to get 2 loads of laundry in before i sleep. I did 2 more the next morning.
Sunday - Happy Birthday Dad! We have a 70th Birthday party for my father in law in flushing. at my sister in laws at 9:30am so she can do my hair and dress me in my hanbok. We head to take studio pictures...then head to the restaurant for lunch.
this was a great party! dad was soooo happy all day long. all his old friends came and it was crazy korean men singing karaoke. we had lots of dancing. It was literally like a wedding. The parents did a cake cutting, where they fed each other cake and had to give each other a kiss. It was cute. The siblings and I all got introduced and we had to walk out to strobe lights and dance music. We also did something formal which was bowing and handing tea to the parents. we gave out favors and ate a lot. It was fun.
and the kids even performed. Philip played happy birthday on his violin, but Kristen stole the show with her dance to "Nobody". check it out! look at jae's dads expression (in blue hanbok) to her. he loved this and after she was done, he ran out on the floor and picked her up so high! he was so proud! hehe
heres another video of the oldies getting down:
heres a few pics i did manage to take (will upload on facebook later)
me and kristen
sign in board, my sister in law made:
philip's violin notes. he just learned the song the night before!
After the party...we all head back to my sister in laws where we hung out and ordered in chinese food. this was fun too....non-stop laughing! we left after dinner and went home to rest up. we started to watch some DVDs but fell asleep soon after. Poor Jae, he was exhausted. He napped most of the time we were at his sisters house.
Monday - a morning full of shopping - 2 supermarkets, BJs and michaels. wasnt feeling so hot, so went home, made lunch and then napped for a few hours. Hubby was nice and since he knew i wasnt feeling well, went out and bought stuff to make soup for me. It was good.... we ate that with some leftovers from the party.
and then bedtime.
what a weekend! baby was active this weekend as well.... but i think i wore myself out. I really need to be weary now... the last time i had a weekend like this, i was also comatose the monday following. must. relax.
oh heres my vday card i got from the nephews... the kids are taking over my fridge!
Happy Valentines Day!
Happy Birthday Dad!
so much going on, where to start. Oh yes, food.
Thursday 2/12 jae and i went out to dinner to celebrate Vday. every year for, i dont know, 6 or 7 years we have been to ruth chris in weehawken. we only like this location. this year being our first Vday in Long Island, Jersey just seemed too far. But in order to keep tradition alive, we did manage to head to a steakhouse. Mortons. Let me tell you what i ate...(just bc i like to talk about food)
I started off with an iceberg wedge salad with bacon, egg, tomatoes and thousand island dressing. i could have made out with this salad. Jae had lobster bisque which i thought was also good.
I had the filet mignon. I could only order this medium well but surprisingly it wasnt all too bad. the meat was still juicy. towards the middle, it did become a little too rare so i had to stop. but this was good. our side dish was mashed potatoes.
for dessert, creme brulee, as always.
i was in hog heaven. first of all, we have not been out in a real restaurant in so long. by real restaurant, i mean one where they refold the napkins for you when you leave the table, or where if your check in on the table waiting to be paid, someone besides your waiter will sweep it up and charge it so you dont have to wait.
the bad thing was, the dinner was close to $200 bucks. in the past we used to eat like this all the time. but we stopped since moving into our co-op and suddenly its not as fun anymore.
ok anyway... continuing on with the food, Friday I had a chance to meet my girls in the city for dinner. I, of course, suggested Ktown bc I have been craving soondubu. not homemade. One with MSG and lots of it. afterwards, we went to Pinkberry...while we were sitting there, julie and jully show up. they hadn't eaten yet so we all follow them to Baden where we sit down again. I did have some fries and noodles. i ate way too much!
Saturday - wake up and head to my sister in laws to arrive at 7:30AM. yes, thats early but i need to babysit due to some last minute circumstances. I was so tired...I tried to nap but the kids kept yelling "Why are you sleeping Aunt Jessica?". oh wells, there goes that idea. Instead, I Was entertained by things like this:
we ordered papa johns... yummy. at 12:3o my other sister in law comes with her 2 kids to relieve me, but I don't actually leave till 3PM.
Head to supermarket quickly, then go home to clean up what i can, and then to grandmas for new years dinner. What a feast! I can't believe my grandma cooked everything...she usually buys.
AS I'm leaving grandmas, I call jae to see if he wants any help. he tells me theres a huge issue with strawberries....the cases he got today were rotten and he had already made 80 orders with them. he was so busy he didnt QA the fruit as it came in. Soooo, head over there and see what happened. Its about 9:30 or 10 by now and all 8 workers are still there. The strawberries dont seem too bad, i taste one. Its too late to change everything, so they have to go out the next day. I leave at 10:30 and go home and continue to clean the house. The house should be clean before new years to start the year off fresh! I'm tired, but i chug on. I open jaes closet and its a wreck. i manage to get 2 loads of laundry in before i sleep. I did 2 more the next morning.
Sunday - Happy Birthday Dad! We have a 70th Birthday party for my father in law in flushing. at my sister in laws at 9:30am so she can do my hair and dress me in my hanbok. We head to take studio pictures...then head to the restaurant for lunch.
this was a great party! dad was soooo happy all day long. all his old friends came and it was crazy korean men singing karaoke. we had lots of dancing. It was literally like a wedding. The parents did a cake cutting, where they fed each other cake and had to give each other a kiss. It was cute. The siblings and I all got introduced and we had to walk out to strobe lights and dance music. We also did something formal which was bowing and handing tea to the parents. we gave out favors and ate a lot. It was fun.
and the kids even performed. Philip played happy birthday on his violin, but Kristen stole the show with her dance to "Nobody". check it out! look at jae's dads expression (in blue hanbok) to her. he loved this and after she was done, he ran out on the floor and picked her up so high! he was so proud! hehe
heres another video of the oldies getting down:
heres a few pics i did manage to take (will upload on facebook later)
me and kristen
sign in board, my sister in law made:
philip's violin notes. he just learned the song the night before!
After the party...we all head back to my sister in laws where we hung out and ordered in chinese food. this was fun too....non-stop laughing! we left after dinner and went home to rest up. we started to watch some DVDs but fell asleep soon after. Poor Jae, he was exhausted. He napped most of the time we were at his sisters house.
Monday - a morning full of shopping - 2 supermarkets, BJs and michaels. wasnt feeling so hot, so went home, made lunch and then napped for a few hours. Hubby was nice and since he knew i wasnt feeling well, went out and bought stuff to make soup for me. It was good.... we ate that with some leftovers from the party.
and then bedtime.
what a weekend! baby was active this weekend as well.... but i think i wore myself out. I really need to be weary now... the last time i had a weekend like this, i was also comatose the monday following. must. relax.
oh heres my vday card i got from the nephews... the kids are taking over my fridge!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Dear Baby:
So, yesterday at exactly 19 weeks, I really felt you kick for the first time. Prior to this, they had just been bubbles and tiny pops. I had just eaten cheese doodles (baked, of course) and I was sitting there, with my hand over you. I felt 3 separate "bumps" inside my belly. On the 4th, my hand actually went up a bit! I called over your father and he put his hand on and he felt it too! He's never been able to feel anything from the outside before. He was super excited. OMG, talk about something becoming reality. It was amazing and fun and all I wanted to do was sit there and feel you all night long.
So many hopes and dreams for you. Life changed the day we were made aware of your presence. I want to give you all you ever wanted or hoped for. I want to make things easy for you and readily available. I want you to be an up standing citizen, a role model, someone our entire family is and will always be proud of. The pressure to help you along in life and make sure you are ok is almost too much to bare. I now have weight on my shoulders that I probably will never get rid of. My knees buckle in the breadth of this weight and yet I can still stare it in its face, ready to face the challenge. I will hold this weight for as long as I shall live.
I hope you have soul bearing eyes. I love eyes. I can't wait to look into them day and night and think about all the world has to offer you.
I hope you have your daddy's little dimple. No one really notices his, but sometimes when he smiles a certain way, there it is. It's really cute. I think his big old korean face hides the dimple most of the time but maybe you will have one too that everyone can see and coo at.
I hope you have daddy's brain. He's smart. But we can do without the obnoxiousness of knowing so.
I hope you are considerate and appreciative. Generous and loving. I hope you will learn to love vegetables and fruits. I hope you will have straight hair because I don't want you to have to go through what I went through.
I hope you will grow to have a loving family.
I hope you will make this world a better place.
Everyday I try to sing or hum to you. I know you can hear me, and I know you know my voice. And by the time you come out into this world, you will be comforted by the very same voice. You poor thing, since I can't sing a note to save my life. Oh yes, and I hope you can sing too! It's terrible going through this world constantly singing off-key.
I am thinking about you all the time, wondering what you're doing. How are you breathing (as daddy says "you're a fish!"? Are you swimming? Are you getting tangled in the umbilical cord? Is that you, or is that gas?
Daddy kisses you every night and rubs you to let you know he is there. He says hi and good night to you. He falls asleep touching you. You can tell hes so excited, he can almost giggle like a school girl now. He's already so proud of you.
My most favorite times are the times when daddy plays piano and you and me just lie there in the formal living room. who knew this room would ever get used. but its become one of my favorite rooms. the sun shines in so bright mid afternoon. daddy plays, and i read while you bubble away in there, clearly stimulated by the music. right above the piano is the collage i made of your grandma. i like when all 4 of us are together.
As you can see, we are so excited to meet you, some days I can hardly contain myself. It is truly amazing how you became to be from a bunch of cells. The miracle of life. I can't even understand it all myself. All I know is, its exciting and refreshing, challenging and risky. I love all of it. and I love you.
Tonight your daddy and I are going out to celebrate Valentines Day and I'm sure you will be the topic of our conversation yet again. Slowly, you are becoming our entire world.
Love,
your mommy
P.S. one more hope....i hope you look like my mom, your grandma.
So many hopes and dreams for you. Life changed the day we were made aware of your presence. I want to give you all you ever wanted or hoped for. I want to make things easy for you and readily available. I want you to be an up standing citizen, a role model, someone our entire family is and will always be proud of. The pressure to help you along in life and make sure you are ok is almost too much to bare. I now have weight on my shoulders that I probably will never get rid of. My knees buckle in the breadth of this weight and yet I can still stare it in its face, ready to face the challenge. I will hold this weight for as long as I shall live.
I hope you have soul bearing eyes. I love eyes. I can't wait to look into them day and night and think about all the world has to offer you.
I hope you have your daddy's little dimple. No one really notices his, but sometimes when he smiles a certain way, there it is. It's really cute. I think his big old korean face hides the dimple most of the time but maybe you will have one too that everyone can see and coo at.
I hope you have daddy's brain. He's smart. But we can do without the obnoxiousness of knowing so.
I hope you are considerate and appreciative. Generous and loving. I hope you will learn to love vegetables and fruits. I hope you will have straight hair because I don't want you to have to go through what I went through.
I hope you will grow to have a loving family.
I hope you will make this world a better place.
Everyday I try to sing or hum to you. I know you can hear me, and I know you know my voice. And by the time you come out into this world, you will be comforted by the very same voice. You poor thing, since I can't sing a note to save my life. Oh yes, and I hope you can sing too! It's terrible going through this world constantly singing off-key.
I am thinking about you all the time, wondering what you're doing. How are you breathing (as daddy says "you're a fish!"? Are you swimming? Are you getting tangled in the umbilical cord? Is that you, or is that gas?
Daddy kisses you every night and rubs you to let you know he is there. He says hi and good night to you. He falls asleep touching you. You can tell hes so excited, he can almost giggle like a school girl now. He's already so proud of you.
My most favorite times are the times when daddy plays piano and you and me just lie there in the formal living room. who knew this room would ever get used. but its become one of my favorite rooms. the sun shines in so bright mid afternoon. daddy plays, and i read while you bubble away in there, clearly stimulated by the music. right above the piano is the collage i made of your grandma. i like when all 4 of us are together.
As you can see, we are so excited to meet you, some days I can hardly contain myself. It is truly amazing how you became to be from a bunch of cells. The miracle of life. I can't even understand it all myself. All I know is, its exciting and refreshing, challenging and risky. I love all of it. and I love you.
Tonight your daddy and I are going out to celebrate Valentines Day and I'm sure you will be the topic of our conversation yet again. Slowly, you are becoming our entire world.
Love,
your mommy
P.S. one more hope....i hope you look like my mom, your grandma.
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