The Time We Got COVID-19

Dear Kiddos, 

Literally, days after I wrote my last post, we realized that our family was hit by COVID. We avoided it for almost 2 years and as an afterthought, I felt like we were very fortunate to have gotten it when we did. 

On the 6th, I started feeling a bit more tired than normal and my throat started to feel a little bit scratchy. I chalked it up to seasonal cedar allergies (which were very bad at that time) but to be safe, I took a home test and it turned out negative. 

Friday morning, I woke up with a slightly sore throat, convinced that I administered the test wrong, I took another one that morning and was again surprised that it was negative. That day, a neighbor who we had a play date with let me know that her kid was running a fever. The kids came home and were fine. 

Saturday morning, right before we headed out to martial arts, I get a text from the neighbor to let us know that her son tested positive. As another precaution, I used our last test on Nathan and he tested positive. (Thinking back, we probably caught COVID on the plane, transmitted it to our neighbor, and you kids remained asymptomatic, while your friend developed a fever. Who knows.) 

Immediately, I thought of Hailey. How long has she been exposed, does she have it? I started to be a little anxious because of your heart condition. Would we have to quarantine Nathan in a room by himeself? Make everyone wear masks at home? If we could just know if you also had COVID, we would know what we need to do. Luckily,  another friend in the neighborhood offered us a test and I gladly accepted. It turned out that Hailey, you tested positive too. 

So, then started our week of quarantine. 

I took Hannah to get tested at our school district's testing hub on Monday morning and she was negative, which was a complete surprise. On Thursday I took her in to be tested again and she still tested negative. She went to school the next day. 

Nathan went back to school the following Monday. And Hailey, being unvaccinated didn't start school until 10 days after she tested positive. 

All 3 kids were completely asymptomatic and were completely normal (as normal as you three can be). 

So, this time, we basically fully quarantined for a week. With cedar pollen levels off the charts outside, we spent almost all of it indoors. This time around we were home, which made it pretty nice. 

We had groceries delivered and spent the whole week making gourmet meals to pass the time.  

I pulled out all the old pantry items and let you guys iron chef it to use up things like 2 year old boxes of pudding mix. 

After a good rain and at least 5 days of quarantine, we went outside for a short hike. Already then I started to feel short of breath just walking. 

We also did all sorts of weird science experiments and art projects. 

And we baked some more. 

Thinking back, our quarantine came at the perfect time. Things had been pretty hectic and it was nice to have a reset, to slow down and just spend time with each other at home without having the pressure of a bunch of school work. I felt pretty crummy with cold symptoms for about 3 days and basically was back to normal, with the exception of getting out of breath easier and a slightly elevated resting heart rate. This lasted for about a month. 

After our quarantine was over you big kids went back to school and Hailey we resumed our weekly playdate with our friend. That week we explored the Wildflower center's children's garden. 

Hailey, you wanted to create a recipe with all the things. 2 times I let you go nuts in the kitchen: The first creation was pretty good, palatable. The second one you took a bite, half- convincingly proclaimed that it was delicious, but quickly followed with an "I'm not hungry right now" disclaimer. 

Your princess drawing skills have become quite impressive. 

You are not a big fan of feeding animals from your hands. You are ok with serving them the food from the safety of your coat sleeve. 

Nathan, I took down the baby nursery decor (I made one of my first posts about setting up that nursery for you) and refreshed things to Pokemon theme. You drew some of the artwork and I colored them in with paint. 

Nathan you went to your first birthday party in 2 years a few weeks ago. While you were there, we had your friend's little brother come over to play. Essentially, we traded sons for the night. Hailey loves playing hide-and-go-seek with this friend and we played that for about an hour or so. Hannah, the next day, you admitted that entertaining little kids is very hard work. 

The Lunar New year also came and went. On the night before Lunar New Year, we made some dumplings. Hailey, you helped wet the dough to make it sticky. 

Hannah and Maddie helped wrap the dumplings. 

And the boys did a great job in inhaling down the dumplings. 

Nathan and Hailey, you two have become closer after being stuck at home with COVID. Here, you  two are making a story together. 

AISD has started to give their teachers a day off each month for the rest of the year. That day Daddy also happened to have a big presentation, so we booked last minute tickets on Austin's duck adventure tour. It was fun to be tourists in the city that you live in. 

We even stopped by Voodoo doughnuts and everyone got to pick out a doughnut. We love going there also because they have vegan doughnuts that Hailey can have. 

 Nathan and Hannah have their best testing this week in martial arts. They are looking forward to it. 

Hannah started taking tennis lessons once a week and Nathan will start spring baseball soon. Nathan, you just had tryouts this past weekend so we look forward to seeing who from last year is on your team again this year. 

I am pursuing a path down children's book writing and illustrating. I'm still working on my first book, so we will see where that goes. I have also started a job at Hailey's preschool. I will start out as an assistant teacher, and we will see where this opportunity takes me. I just had my first day today and it fills my heart to be back in the classroom. 

Things are looking good for us right now. Until next time, 

Love, 

Mommy 

Lessons Learned as a Mom

Dear Kiddos, 

Christmas time seems to always sneak up on us. Maybe it's the mild weather we tend to have here in Texas, but seems like we just shut the book for Thanksgiving and bam, now Christmas is over too. After almost 10 years of being a mom, I realized that mom life has taught be a lot of good life lessons. 

A large meal before laughing gas is not a good idea.
Nathan, you finally had your tongue tie release right before Christmas. You did well, but I made the mistake of getting you a chick-fil-a breakfast before your procedure because after the nitrous oxide wore off, it all came back out. Sorry bud. 

Let the kids get messy in the kitchen. 
While you big kids were at school, Hailey and I were working hard to get ready for the annual gingerbread house party. Hailey, you are getting really good at using measuring spoons, but you sometimes have trouble keeping track of how many spoonfuls you've put in. (It's ok, I do too.) 

Sometimes you just have to treat yourself for no reason.
Hannah, you asked if you could get your ears pierced. After I said yes, you kind of did a double take. I guess you were expecting me to say "no." I even up'ed the shock factor by telling you that you don't have to do anything to earn it. I recently learned that I care too much about what other people think. I literally live my life to earn others' approval and respect. I wanted to give you the message that you are loved for being simply you and you don't have to do anything for me to want to show love to you. And I also want you to know that buying you stuff is not the only way we show love to each other. (We had a talk about this later in the month)

Friendships are the anchors in life. 

After self-isolating during COVID for over a year, I was reminded how important friendships are for the soul. High tech zoom meetings are no substitute for a good old fashioned hug. We have a special group of friends who simply exist because of you guys. You kids brought us together. 

The first time you all met as babies. 

In the early days, we walked miles as we carried/pushed you. On our walks, we shared our souls, our frustrations and joys. We survived the early days of parenthood together. 

First gingerbread house Party (circa 2014)

And along the way, we added more children to our collection. 

Focus on the process, not perfection. 

When I put my mind to something, I usually go all out. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best [insert role here] that I could be. And sometimes that leads to me fixing my attention on the end, causing me to me miss out on the moment. 

This year I let the kids design their own gingerbread house. They submitted their drawings to me on paper and in turn I gave them the cookie pieces that they would need to create their final masterpiece. I assisted some with assembly, but the rest of the time it was all you guys decorating. You all were the proudest you've ever been with your houses and Hailey even won 2nd place in the neighborhood gingerbread house contest! 

And if one of you happens to over dose on frosting one day, oh well. 

When taking group selfies, just let everyone get themselves in the picture. 

Most people want to be seen in the picture that they are posing for, right? So instead of adjusting my phone angle to get everyone, I've been just announcing, if you want to get in the picture, make sure your face can be seen. 

                                       

Magic. 

The joys in life are found in the simple things. 

We took one last advantage of our Sea World season tickets this year and I made sure I got to ride all the roller coasters that I have not yet ridden. Despite riding world class roller coasters all day, my favorite moments were of watching you guys' face full of delight. 

Life with mischief and magic is just more fun. 

I probably failed teaching you guys the critical thinking lessons that you should probably have for your age, but a part of me still equates the magic that comes with Santa with innocence. Our dollar store Christmas elf has brought a lot of mischief into the household during the Christmas season and I hope to continue the tradition for as long as possible. 

Follow your heart and do what you love. 

I feel like I've lived most of my life doing what I think others expect of me. To tell you the truth, this year has been a really productive year of self-discovery for me and I'm excited to see where my newfound passions and motivations will take me in life. 

Hannah, you have been loving gymnastics. You have been working hard to prepare for your winter show and have goals of joining a team next season. 

Hannah, you and I hosted a booth at our church's Christmas around the world event. We represented Taiwan and shared tidbits about what we love about the culture along with some of our favorite traditional delicacies. 

Fostering family relationships is worth the time and effort. 

Looking back, I feel like the people that I treated the worse were the people who I loved the most. I think that is the case for most people...I think. We simply take them for granted or we expect them to be flawless, when they are just like you an me, imperfect people, stumbling along life, learning lessons along the way. We were so thankful for Auntie momo to make a surprise visit. She actually called me the morning she was planning to arrive to let me know that she was coming. When the bell rang at dinner time, you guys ran to the door, thinking that it was our neighbor, but were kind of stunned when you saw Auntie Momo instead. 

Leave judgement at the door. 

I found this especially true during my early days as a mom. Man, thinking back, I feel so embarrassed about how judge-y I was, but truthfully, judgement comes from insecurity. When I felt insecure about my competency I would feel the need to judge someone else to paint this image in my head that I was doing ok (at least better than said person). Everyone is running their own race and so when I feel thoughts of judgement creep in, I now know to start to examine where in my life I feel inadequate. 

Ok, well, that's most of the lessons that I can think of so far (at least ones that the pictures remind me of). The next few pictures are shots that I captured from our trip to see family in the Chicago area. 

Hiking in the forest preserve behind grandma and grandpa's house. 

Visiting great-grandma for lunch. 

Great-grandma crocheting custom bracelets on the spot. 

More hiking with the family on Christmas eve. 

Reluctant walker? Nothing works better than to offer them a walking stick.

It made me so happy to see all the cousins be able to spend time together. 

On Christmas day we had the annual family Christmas party to attend. Great-Grandpa Fred always kicks the event off with a grand reminder about why we celebrate Christmas, and then after the prayer, we all dig in on some delicious food. This year, 2 hams made it to the party. 

Presents, white elephant gift exchange and family pictures followed suit. 

Another tradition that happens on the day after Christmas is broomball. This was Hannah's debut game and Nathan's second game played. As we left the rink, Nathan, you exclaimed that it was one of the best days of your life. 

Watching the Zamboni was a pretty big highlight.  

You guys couldn't get enough ice, so the next day, we drove to Rosemont to go ice skating. 

Hannah and Nathan, you guys did so well! You guys even were able to skate faster than me! 

Hailey, you and Daddy skated for about half an hour before calling it quits. 

The next day it snowed. You guys couldn't wait for the snow to accumulate, so I let you two play with the snow on the deck. I was thinking that the cold would bring you guys in pretty quickly, 

but you guys stayed out for like an hour before we called you in for lunch. 

After lunch I made you guys wait a bit longer so that we could let the snow build up to the point where we could build a snow man or go sledding. 

Hailey, you were pretty interested in eating the snow. After multiple times of asking you to stop eating the snow, we just gave up. A little dust won't kill ya. 

Sledding happened. 

Snowmen were built. 

Driveways were shoveled. 

Hee hee. This was too cute to not capture.

Snow angels were created. 

We got our snow fix for sure. 

You three showcased your specialty dessert to bring to the great grandparents one day: rose apples.

There, we did some more sledding and built more snowmen. 

We played a lot of games with the family, and a lot of jackbox games too. 

                                       

Hailey's (4) milk and cookies drawing.

On the last few days that we were there, you guys decided to get into grandma's fabric stash and sewed a bunch of random things. You guys even designed a dress for Hailey and sewed it yourself! 

The flight home went smoothly. Cranberry juice and movies made the trip easy peasy for the parents. 

When we got back from our trip, we cleaned the house (only for it to return to a messy state less than 24 hours later) and started to work on Hannah's science fair project: What tools help make scrambled eggs more fluffy? 

Well, I believe we are all caught up for now. School started today and cedar allergies are affecting us pretty badly. 

Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy