Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

SPRING FEVER SHOPPING

~ Etc., SHOP

 

Here are some things I’ve bought rececently(not sponsored) or am debating on getting.

 

 

 

 

Debating which suit to get, they’re so cheap I was skeptical but I have a few friends who have bought from this store and they recommended it so I am excited to find out about this new swimsuit store at such a good price!

 

 

 

And these are a new swimsuit brand I found during the Shopbop sale, they’re so cute! I am debating on pulling the plug for the bottom left red swimsuit combo.

 

THE FIRSTS AS A MOTHER

~ Etc., MOTHERHOOD

 

 

 

This post is sponsored by Kindercare. Thank you for supporting this blog!

 

 

We got our photos from our family shoot in Hawaii and I love them! I thought it would be fun to compare the before and the after of me and my son. Look how tiny he is!

 

4 YEARS AGO

 

4 YEARS LATER

Isn’t he such a big boy now? Ugly tears! More photos from our family shoot will be posted soon!

 

I remember the first time I got ANGRY as a mother towards my child. It was in the middle of the night around 4 a.m, because my child would magically sleep all day long but then 10 p.m rolled around and she’d be magically wide awake until 6 a.m! This went on for weeks. Around week 3, I lost it. I plunged down onto the floor in her bedroom and cried and cried and cried. For hours. I felt so angry towards her that I was shocked at how this cute, tiny and innocent baby that I loved so much could make me SO angry.

I remember the first time each of my babies giggled. Not just a smile, but a full on giggle. There is nothing else in this world that is a happier sound to my ears than a baby’s giggle. I remember the happiness I felt was so powerful that it seemed to surge through my whole body like a rocket, all the way up to the sky.

I remember the first time I worried for each of my child. It was when I dropped them off on the first day of preschool, my youngest only several months ago. ‘All that time when I wished I’d finally get some alone time is finally here. But why is my heart breaking?’, “Is the teacher going to love my child? Take care of my child and be kind?’, ‘Will my child like preschool? Will their classmates be kind? Will my child be kind?’ There are so many mixed emotions. And always tears. I remember with my first child tears just started rolling down my face and as I sheepishly wiped them away, I saw all the other mothers wiping their tears as well. We all looked at each other and laughed. Relieved that we weren’t the only ones, relieved that we are all in this together, in this thing called motherhood.

We are all in this together. We all want what’s best for our child. We all try to do the best we know how. For some, that’s staying at home with the kids. For some, that’s sending the kids to daycare like Kindercare. For some, it’s having their husbands be a stay at home dad. That would be my dream actually! And for some, their nanny/grandparent/friend/neighbor watches their children. But we are all in this together. A village raising each child. No matter which route you take.

 

I have been debating on what I should do with my son this coming Fall. We decided to push him back 1 year and send him to preschool one more year so he’ll start kindergarten in 2019. Right now he goes to preschool 4 days a week for 2.5 hours but I want him to do more. His personality is a type where I need to be very attentive to him so I can’t get much work done around the house, whether it be my personal work, or house work. So we are thinking we will either send him to 2 different preschools, morning and afternoon for 2.5 hours each for a total of 5 hours or send him to Kindercare. It was funny when I was contacted to work with them, because I was just looking at their site a week prior and thinking about sending my son there! So I’m taking it as a sign! They have a Transitional kindergarten program for a child who has mastered prekindergarten but did not meet the cutoff date for kindergarten which sounds like a perfect program for my son, with his birthday being the end of Summer. We went to parent teacher conference just earlier today and the teacher recommended that he doesn’t repeat preschool but more of a transitional kindergarten if we decide not to send him to kindergarten. That he’d be very bored in preschool again and he’d be socially and academically way above. Kindercare offers an enhanced whole-group activities and project-related learning activities to help children in such areas as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. So it’s studying and academics but also fun and creative play. I also like that they provide nutritious meals that are grouped by 3 age groups; infant to 2, 3-5 and 5 – 12 years old, and I’m not sure about the other centers but the one nearest to me cooks all their food in center and are fresh. To me, food is a huge deal!

So if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Send your child to 2 preschools morning and the afternoon, or to an all day daycare/school for 2-3 days a week? Which one do you think would be better for a child?

SLEEPOVER IN SLC

~ Etc.

 

 

I went to an overnight sleepover in SLC with 9 other UT bloggers a couple weeks ago and it was so fun! I didn’t know most of these bloggers and they were a breathe of fresh air and so fun to be around. We first went to Christopher’s for dinner. Can you tell we are a bunch of bloggers by the photo below?

you know you’re at a blogger event when…

 

I got lobster! It was only $12 more expensive than their steak so I thought why not? All their food was so delicious. My favorite was their roasted brussels sprouts.

Then we went to City Creek Center for some shopping. I got this sweater from Anthropologie for $16! Score!

It reminded me of one of my very first refashions I’ve done, inspired by Anthropologie, see it in this post.

 

We then went to Live Game Escape. To be honest, I didn’t know what it was going to be like so I wasn’t that excited. But it ended up being SO MUCH fun. I loved it way more than I thought I would! It’ll be great for team work between families, group dates of singles and marrieds, church activities, co-workers! It’s a must do. I plan on going again with my husband because he’s so confident he can solve their hardest one that had 5% escape rate(without getting any hints from the employees).

Harmon’s provided us with wonderful variety of treats and snacks for our late night hang out and also a gift bag to take home. They were so generous with a bunch of delicious snacks in the gift bag!

We finished the sleepover with a brunch at Pigs & a Jelly Jar. It was at their new location in Holladay so afterwards, me and a blogger I was giving a ride home to drove around and looked at all the gorgeous houses  in Holladay. They have amazing houses like this newly built colonial home!

I loved this house so I took a photo and posted it on my everything-home Instagram account @inmydreamhome and turns out, it’s a house built by my friends Tom & Cara from the Fox Group Construction! Which is no surprise since I love every single house that they have built, it’s perfection. Cara has been helping me with our new house designs and has been so patient and helpful with my incessant questions. I trust her way more than my own taste so whatever she says has been like the Bible for me haha. So if you are looking to build a custom home, they are your people!

 

Then right after the sleepover, I met up with my family and Jay’s little brother and his family for some dim sum for my brother-in-law’s birthday. So I ate really good those 2 days! Too much!

 

While we were not paid, we did get comped hotel stay + food + Live game escape. Thank you to Mediavine for covering our hotel stay, thank you to Christopopher’s for dinner, thank you to Live Game Escape for the fun time, Harmon’s for providing the snacks, and Pigs & a Jelly Jar for the brunch.

 

 

Swag bag was provided by:

 

STOCKING STUFFER IDEAS FOR THE FAMILY

~ Etc.

 

 

This post is sponsored by Hanes. I only support brands I love and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting this blog!

 


 

One thing that I am not the best at is giving gifts. I think it’s because gifts are not my love language so I don’t really care about receiving gifts either. Jay is really good at thinking of very meaningful and thoughtful gifts because it is one of his love languages. Which means I need to get my act together and do better at giving him thoughtful gifts because it’s how he feels loved! But the Holidays roll around and life gets so busy that I end up giving him gifts that I buy him a few days before on a 2-day shipping. But I am determined to buy him and everyone else gifts all by this month in November so I am not frantically looking for gifts and end up buying things that are more expensive but out of desperation justify it.

So let’s start with the stockings, shall we?

 

 

  • Beef jerky- my son’s favorite is the Slim Jim kind.
  • Play-doh
  • Colorblast- an invisible marker coloring book, our go-to for church
  • Silly straws
  • Hanes Toddler boys’ boxer briefs –  he prefers boxer briefs over briefs because he says they don’t go up his butt 😀
  • Bubble gum – he just learned how to chew gum without swallowing it and thinks gums are the coolest thing since it doesn’t disappear
  • Ring pop
  • Bubble wands
  • Pomegranate – instead of the typical apples or oranges, I thought a not so typical fruit would be fun
  • Training chopsticks – because he’s an Asian after all
  • Hanes toddler boys’ ankle socks – they’re soft and comfy on the toes, non-skid bottoms helps him move around with ease and the EZ Sort® sock matching system with size on bottom sole makes sorting socks so much easier!

 

 

 

STOCKING STUFFER IDEAS

for girls ages 8-12

  • Insta-snow powder – have you ever tried these? You just add water and it is soooo cool! It looks just like snow and feels cold too.
  • Origami paper – love taking these to church
  • Hanes Girls’ Ankle Socks – super soft and stays up, non-cushioned foot so it’s not bulky, hint of spandex for a better fit
  • Pokemon trading cards – our girls love going to a trading card party
  • Chapstick – it is so dry here in Utah that I am putting chapstick on them everyday!
  • A book- my oldest’s favorite is The Diary of a Wimpy Kid
  • Hanes Girls’ Hipsters – comfortable waistband, tag-free so it doesn’t itch, and no ride up leg bands, my girls love these!
  • Snowball maker
  • Fruity breath mints
  • Oreos – my daughter is obsessed and everyone that knows her knows it!
  • Persimmons – I used to eat these all the time in Korea, so delicious
  • Sewing kit – since I’ve been teaching my girls how to sew, they want their own little sewing kit

 

 

 

STOCKING STUFFER IDEAS

for the mom

This is literally all the things I would love to have in my stockings, hint hint husband!

  • Fabric cutter wheel – if you don’t own one, you are truly missing out. So much easier and faster to cut fabric!
  • Dove dark chocolate
  • Caramello – my favorite candy bar
  • Compact mirror- I am always using my phone on a selfie mode to apply make-up on so a mirror would be nice
  • Cute aprons – I collect aprons and own about 8 of them but I want more!
  • Hanes Women’s No-Show Socks- not bulky, blended with spandex for a better fit, wicks away moisture, and extra durable on the heel and toe areas
  • Wallet – so I can carry my 50 different coupons and gift cards. My current one is wearing out.
  • Gift cards, any card! I really think mom’s favorite things are gift cards. At least mine is. Jay used to buy me flowers all the time in the beginning of our marriage and I asked him if he could give me gift cards instead.
  • Candle – Capri Blues are my favorite, they smell divine

 

 

 

 

STOCKING STUFFER IDEAS

for the dad

  • Hanes Crewneck Undershirt – if you get a feel of these undershirts, you will be sold. They are soooo soft! It has a FreshIQ™ advanced odor protection so he doesn’t get smelly, wicks away moisture, tag-free and Lay Flat Collar is designed to keeps its shape.
  • Deodorant. Because men really, really need it.
  • One brownie wrapped fancy. It has to be the edge, Jay’s favorite
  • A few bow-ties. That’s all he wears to work everyday!
  • Sunglasses
  • Hanes Men’s Assorted Dress Socks – FreshIQ™ advanced odor protection, trendy and fun patterns, soft and durable, reinforced heel and toe and better fitting with spandex.
  • Hair clay – holds hair SO much better than a hair gel/hair spray/pomade! We use it on our son too, our favorite brand is the Boogie’s.
  • Reese’s peanut butter cups- Jay’s favorite candy bar
  • Nerf gun – one time when I was in a bad mood and Jay shot it and it hit right on my face, I broke the pellet in half and threw it at him. Not my proudest moment.
  • Asian pears – so juicy and so yummy!

 

If you have any other great stocking stuffer ideas, let me know! Besides their stockings, we plan on giving our kids just one gift and then gifting our whole family with a family experience instead. Because even with us giving them one gift, they receive so many gifts from all their uncles and aunts, cousins and grandparents on both sides of the family. So happy shopping and may you not procrastinate on gift-buying! 😉

 

 

 

And hey! Guess who was featured on their website!

 

MY SANITY TIME

~ Etc.

 

 




my kids pretending to drink fairlife milk but in reality it’s empty, ha! I bought the milk just a couple days prior and they had drank most of it by the time I needed to take photos, they love the taste of this milk!

 

 

My one hour “sanity time” as I call it that I enjoy every week is while my kids are all in gymnastics at the same time. Do you know how glorious that is? All three kids in one place at the same exact time and only having to drive to one location? It’s glorious, I tell you.

However on down-side to this schedule is their gymnastics is from 5-6 pm which is an awkward time since it’s right around dinner time or the time I start to make dinner. So when we get home, they’re hungry from jumping and running around for an hour and want to eat something but I don’t want them to eat since it’s right before dinner! But they still have to wait 30-60 mins. for me to make dinner. So what’s my perfect solution? Serve them a glass of fairlife ultra-filtered milk, their favorite.

We’ve tried many brands of milk but this one is my kids’ favorite. I feel good serving them this milk because it has 50% more protein, 30% more calcium but 50% less sugar than regular milk. They’re lactose free so even my mom can drink it! There are never any artificial growth hormones in the milk and I know from first-hand experience of visiting their farm that they really care about the earth, the environment and their cows. I was so impressed and it made me love the company even more! And their chocolate milk? SO good.

Comment with your snack idea and I’ll send a $20 PayPal/Venmo to one winner so you can try out the fairlife milk!