Happy Easter! (a day late!)

I hope everyone had an awesome Easter! This year was great, because we actually did 3 Easter Egg hunts. The first one was somewhat disasterous, but by the second one, they both cleaned up! The third one was at my parent's house, and although Abigail was sleeping, Caleb cleaned house! He was a pro by that point! :)

The Easter bunny did visit our house this year, but Caleb called him the "pretend" Easter bunny. He had learned in school that Easter was not about a bunny but about Jesus coming alive again and going to heaven. He has been asking a ton of questions about this, and his matter of fact approach is amazing. The "pretend" Easter bunny left a trail of "pretend" eggs to their baskets, which contained small toys for each of them and that oh so wonderful 99 cent chocolate bunny. Caleb has officially gotten his appetite back after last week, and he has already devoured his wonderful bunny. Abby on the other hand, is confused as to why she is eating a bunny, and loves to play with it verses eating it.

Each year Holidays get better and better as they get older. Each year is another memory that will live on in the Yi Family traditions...I love it! :)

A Day in the Life...

Some people may question what it is like to be a stay at home mom…I have had a day today where I have questioned my decision of staying at home. I would gladly pay someone to do what I have done today. Before you judge me for that statement, please keep reading.

It all started yesterday, when my vibrant four year old boy was sitting quietly on the couch at grandma and papa’s house. This was out of character…but he perked up when his cousin walked in and he played for about an hour before I brought him home. He had a slight temperature and had been complaining of his ears hurting. Of course…one more trip to the doctor’s office. So, we put him to bed, and are awakened at 3am by a sniffling boy complaining of his tummy aching. Being the kind parents that we are, we tell him he can only stay in our bed if he stops snorting and sniffing and whining. The snorting is soon replaced by sounds I cannot repeat through writing, but in my sleepy mind, I realize…those sounds are not good. I immediately yell for Dae-Sung to get him out of our bed, and in his sleepy mind, the four year old gets tossed up out of bed and onto the floor. I soon realize, he can’t stay there, so I jump out of bed and pull him by his arm (I wasn’t going to get any closer to him than that) to the bathroom—just in time.

In the morning, the four year old acts as if nothing happened the night before. He is up chatting with daddy while daddy gets ready for work. I come down the stairs (sleepy from my very interrupted sleep), and he is dressed and ready for the day. Was I dreaming last night? He tells me his ear still hurts, but he is okay. I call the doctor, and get an appointment right away. I get the kids fed, dressed, brushed and rush out the door, just in time to realize I have not eaten breakfast. Oh well…it will have to wait. I know when I start shaking from my very caffeinated coffee, at least I will be in a doctor’s office.

The doctor takes one look at his ears and throat and tells me that he has strep throat. She also looks at the one year old’s ears and tell me that she has ear infections. Great. Should I start begging for money now or later for all the prescriptions? I walk out of the doctor’s office with a notebook full of medications to fill, and hope that cold and flu season is almost over. On the way home, the one year old and four year old pass out, and I enjoy the chance to turn off the kid music and turn on some music of my own. I sing at the top of my lungs, knowing that they won’t wake up. I drop off the prescriptions and ask if I can transfer the money straight from their college funds to Walgreens. I think that is a fair trade.




Upon returning home, both children are out and I actually enjoy some peace and quiet. Okay, so peace and quiet meant getting laundry done and prepping dinner. But, I felt good because my kitchen was clean, dinner was prepped, and kids were soon to be drugged back to healthiness. Daddy came in as a night in shining armor with all of the medications in tow. We wake the four year old up to give him his medicine, as his fever is now pushing 103.5. He, in his very cooperative manner, spits the medicine back in our faces. Awesome. I now have strep throat. After threatening his life (okay, maybe just the life of some toys) we finally manage to get the medicine in him. Thankfully, things are looking up now, as he begins to perk up and get an appetite. I make him my classic strawberry shake, with yogurt (good for the tummy, right?) About an hour later, I am browsing recipes (my new exciting stay at home mom hobby), and the one year old comes in and says, “Caleb, uhoh, uhoh, spit” (this was accompanied by spitting noises). I immediately jump up and run into the family room to find the most disgusting sight I have ever seen. I gag. I picked up the phone and told daddy to come right back home. I gag some more. I take the one year old upstairs and lock her up…only to realize that she sat right in his throw up. I gag some more. I run back downstairs, start the bath, and take the four year old straight to the bathtub. I really gag as I take off the soaking wet clothes. Yogurt doesn’t smell so good the second time around. Daddy walks in just in time to catch the diaper of the one year old, who has decided to take this exact moment in time to soil it. I really didn’t think I would make it through this, but I did. With lots of gagging.

I called the doctor and told the nurse what happened, and the first words out of her mouth were, “Did you give him dairy?” Me…nooooo…that was that other mom that thought yogurt would help. Ooops.

The four year old fell asleep on the couch again, and the one year old was left to play by herself. As I was getting a load of laundry out of the dryer, I hear something that sounds an awful like drinking. I run to see what has happened, and sure enough she is drinking his sprite. She gets a big grin, “Caleb’s”. That is all she has to say for herself. Awesome. Now she has strep throat.

Now, Caleb is awake and must carry his bowl with him wherever he goes. He seems to like his bowl. His bowl and him are friends.




Two hours until Daddy comes home for the night…and two hours until I get to leave. Where? I don’t know…but somewhere far away from children.

Five Years Together!!

On March 15th, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary! I cannot believe it has been five years already! We had an amazing day spent together without children...thank you mom and dad for taking them off our hands for the day. It was amazing to have such a great time and know that our kids were safe and happy.

As we went throughout our day together, we just kept saying over and over how blessed we were. In five years, we have had 2 babies, 3 houses, moved out of state and back, taken several vacations, had job changes, yet...we feel that all of it has been an incredible experience and the blessings overflow. That isn't to say that we haven't had some tough times, we definitely have, and we acknowledge those times and how we grew from them. Truth is, there isn't anyone else I could ever imagine doing life with. Dae-Sung is a loyal, loving, trustworthy, hilarious, and witty person, and he is the best partner in life. I love you so much!

Here is a recap of our day...

We took the kids to grandma and papa's house, and headed out to the desert to do some horseback riding. Dae-Sung was reluctant at first, but the weather was perfect, the scenery was gorgeous, and the ride was relaxing. Of course, I got the horse that wanted to stop and eat every few feet.


Next, we headed on to get some amazing massages. This was perfect planning (although, we both wished we could have taken a quick shower after leaving the stables). After riding horses for an hour, a couples massage was just what the doctor ordered. We then headed on to get a light lunch and a quick stop at the mall. We actually accomplished a TON at the mall that we could never have accomplished with the children around.


We ran home and quickly got ready for our nice dinner at an amazing restaurant at a gorgeous resort. My husband called ahead and reserved the table by the fireplace on the outdoor patio. He had ordered my favorite wine to be chilled and waiting for us upon arrival. They had lit candles all over the table and the bottom of our menus said, "Happy 5th Anniversary". Even our desserts said "Happy Anniversary". It had to be one of the most romantic nights of my life.

To my wonderful husband...I love you. Thank you for one of the best days of my life.

I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged! I am suppose to write 7 random facts about myself…so here goes! I am tagging Stephanie, Angela, and Kelly!

1. I have a mouth aversion…okay, so I know this sounds totally bizarre…but I absolutely cannot stand to share a drink with people, touch someone else’s saliva (including my kids), and think the worst possible job in the world would be dentistry (no offense Stephanie and Blake). I literally buy my kids new toothbrushes every couple of weeks because I am disgusted by them. I buy my hubby and I new toothbrushes quite often…and when I have to clean the toothbrush holder, I gag through the whole thing.
2. I HATE cats…sounds harsh, I know. But, I really do…I am so allergic to them that my eyes puff up and I can’t stop sneezing. I can’t stand the fact that people let their cats walk around in my yard and do their business in my kids’ sandbox. I wouldn’t let my dog go and do his business in their yard…not sure why it is okay the other way around.
3. I love photography…I love taking pictures and looking at pictures. Even in high school, I always took the camera and took pictures. It doesn’t mean I am good at it, but I love pictures. I feel like pictures are all we have when life is over to preserve our memories. I really want a good camera and for one of my MANY friends who do photography to teach me their secrets. Even if it never becomes a major talent of mine, I just absolutely LOVE it.
4. I LOVE to talk…no secret there! Get me on the phone at the right time, and you may be stuck for an hour!  Believe it or not, I do get tired of talking sometimes…but good conversation with a good friend is what makes life good for me!
5. My Life Long Dream…is to help young moms. I have a dream of being a house for teenager mothers to come, learn about being a mother, educate them on their choices, give them medical health, and then if they choose to keep their baby, help them finish their education and teach them skills for success. It is ultimately the baby who suffers from uneducated mothers. If they chose adoption, then I would want to help place the baby for little money…since adoption is sooooo expensive.
6. I LOVE to travel…I spent a semester in Florence, Italy and traveled all over Europe every weekend. This was incredible to me. I am fascinated by people and the way that they interact (hence the sociology minor in my degree), so I LOVED seeing how others lived. I would love to go to Austraila, Ireland/Scottland, Greece, South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Israel, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, and many many other places.
7. My Largest Fear…is something happening to my children, husband, or a close family member or friend. I live in fear of my children having to be hospitalized or something happening out of my control. I feel like it is my job to protect them, and the idea that they may get a disease out of my control is almost paralyzing to me. I also have a fear of them falling from tall heights…like the second story of the mall, or from bridges over water, things like that.

trains trains and more trains...

On Saturday, we spent the day going to the great train expo...and then we headed on over to the train park nearby. The kids had so much fun and were such a joy to be with...Caleb loved the train expo, but truth be told, he probably loved the park a whole lot more! They both crashed out in the car on the way home, but it was such a wonderful day spent as a family!

Say CHEESE!!

This is our new saying with Abby..."say cheese"...she takes this job very seriously! She will then go on to pose for the camera and say "cheese" numerous times in a row. It really is too cute to watch! Oh, the difference between boys and girls...when Caleb was 19 months old, I couldn't even get him to look a camera, much less stop and say, "cheese". She is such a goofball!