Josh and Korey

Birthday party fun!

Posted on February 3, 2016 by joshandkorey

Posted in Baby O2, Jacob stories | Tagged apron, baby, Birthday, cake, chef hat, cupcakes, fun, jackson, jacob, O2, party, playland cafe | Leave a comment

Do you think he knows?

Posted on February 2, 2016 by joshandkorey

Do you think that this boy knows how much he is loved? How special he is? That I would do anything for him?

Because, as a parent, it’s not something you’re allowed to say. You need to keep a stiff upper lip. You need to maintain an illusion of control and superiority.

But sometimes I just have to take his face in my hands and say “I love you so!”

He makes me so proud.

Sometimes he makes me crazy, or angry, or sad, but then he does something so purely wonderful, and I can’t be anything but proud.

Parenthood is weird. It has these moments that are intolerable. You think you’ll go crazy. You worry that you might run away and check into a hotel under a strange name because you just need to breathe for five minutes…and think…and then the scene shifts, and suddenly you want to call every childless person you know and convince them to have children. It’s this insanity that I really love. I think that my heart might explode. I have a stupid grin on my face. And weirdly, everything is sweeter. When I do get time to myself it is amazing. The most relaxing time ever. And then it’s lonely, and I can’t wait to get my hands on those crazy monkeys. I realize that I have never, ever, smiled so much. I’ve never felt a handful of feelings I can’t describe. I don’t even know what they are.

I guess that what I’m trying to say is that I love it. Parenthood. Motherhood. Sure, you could make a laundry list of reasons to avoid it. The hours are ridiculous. You’re always on call. Being responsible for human lives is pretty scary. Things get broken, clothes get stained, life is messier and less predictable than it has been before. I may never see the Eiffel Tower in person, or the Pyramids at Giza. But I can see them on TV or in a picture. What I can’t imagine now is not to experience the little everyday moments that no one else gets. You can’t put a price on them. You can’t replicate them, or experience them vicariously. When that voice in your head says to you, as it does, “what if this is this all there is?” and you look at your unglamorous shoes and your stretch-marked stomach and you hear feel the familiar smile curving at the corners of your lips. You know the truth. You never could have inagined this kind of happiness.

Posted in Jacob stories, motherhood, Parenting, stories, Writing | Tagged beautiful, child, children, climb, dimples, experience, four, jacob, life, love, motherhood, preschool, smile, son, special, tree | 2 Comments

The preschool post office

Posted on February 1, 2016 by joshandkorey

Jacob’s school is so wonderful. They opened their post office for the Valentine season: each class day until February 18 the kids will bring three Valentines from their list. They are supposed to be in envelopes (no candy) with the recipient’s name on the front. They “buy” a 1 cent stamp at the post office for each letter, and then place their stamped letters in the mailbox. The post office workers for that day will then cancel the stamp and the mail gets delivered. I loved hearing Jacob tell me that his friend Owen (postal worker on the left, below) was in charge of “canceling stamps.” Because he’s four and talking about canceling stamps!

Posted in Jacob stories | Tagged awesome, California, Education, emilia, ideas, jacob, kids, orange county, play, post office, preschool, pretend, real, reggio, school, st. paul's, Tustin, Valentine's Day, world | Leave a comment

Spectrum fun

Posted on January 31, 2016 by joshandkorey

Jackson really likes to eat Bop’s hat.

Posted in Baby O2, Jacob stories, Uncategorized | Tagged baby, bop, boys, brothers, cute, family, four years, fun, irvine, jackson, jacob, jax, joovy caboose ultralight, kids, O2, old, play, six months, sons, spectrum, stroller, wrestling | Leave a comment

A day in the life: Friday edition

Posted on January 30, 2016 by joshandkorey

For many stay at home moms, weekends are not much different from weekdays. Some moms have additional help from husbands who are off of work, but their work doesn’t really end or lessen. I still get that “Friday feeling” when Josh can be home before the sun goes down. Even though he will probably work tomorrow, I still feel like Friday is special.

Today started around 5:30. I sent Jacob back to bed. A little after 6:00 he reemerged to shine his “okay to wake” clock in my eyes. 🙂

Brother was sleepy, so we snuck away to make breakfast and work on his Valentines!

Baby eventually woke up and played with us for a while. When he got cranky, Jacob needed to entertain himself while I got jackson back to sleep. Jacob was great about playing in his room with his Paw Patrol toys until I could resume work on the Valentines.

Bath time! This is the second bath together for these two, at Jacob’s request. Jackson just loves to see everything that Jacob does, and I can get ready while they are in there.

Dressed and off to the park. Jacob rode his bike there.

He rides really well, but does occasionally stop to pick flowers. While he rode, we talked about how Jesus keeps his people safe. 🙂

I spread a blanket in the shade of a tree for baby to explore while Jacob played with the other children at the park.

I didn’t just take pictures of Jackson; I also worked on my BsF homework. What a beautiful day to read outdoors!

Then we headed back home.

And we read three Bible chapters before nap time:

Nap time! Both boys slept (Jackson only briefly) at the same time!! I started picking up, putting away dishes, and sweeping the floor. I also do whatever I can with one hand while Jackson is awake to keep him quiet so he doesn’t wake his brother.

Then both were awake and I worked with Jacob on his jobs. He was really doing a great job and earned quite a few stars.
Soon after daddy was home. We changed shoes, Grammie and OT came over, and we went for a hike at Peter’s Canyon.

Once home, I cut Josh’s hair and then Jacob’s (although he complained and wiggled so I really only cut the sides). Then we headed out for sushi with Mimi and Bop. Jacob had gotten to pick dinner since he had warned ten stars, and he wanted sushi. He says he loves sushi because they know his favorite recipe (white rice with soy sauce poured on it.) hehe. After eating, he ran around the grassy area outside and even got to “drive” Bop’s car.

What a day.

Posted in Baby O2, family, Jacob stories, motherhood, Parenting, self, stories | Tagged Bible, bike, bop, Ca, chores, day, day in the life, friday, grammie, hike, jackson, jacob, jobs, kids, life, mimi, mom, ot, park, peters canyon, photos, play, Stay at home mom, sushi | 2 Comments

Making Valentines

Posted on January 30, 2016 by joshandkorey

Jacob’s class will be setting up a post office, and his classmates will be receiving handmade Valentine’s cards from him! He’s really doing some creative stuff!