no longer a baby

What to do when you get your first official haircut:

1) Get up on the high stool thingy with your Hummer and Lolly in hand.

2) Concentrate on eating that Lolly really hard if you get nervous.

3) Whimper a little bit.

4) Show off how long it is.

5) Admire all those curls.

6) Again, devour that Lolly.

7) Whimper just a little more, for dramatic emphasis.

8) Have a little drink of milk if you like.

9) Tell Jessica 'Thank You!' because she's our favorite. (She cuts all of my family's hair)

10) All done! Whew. Did it.


Just for fun after dinner, take more after shots because you can. I'm so handsome!


I'm so proud of Carter! He never once threw a fit and didn't make any noise other than a couple whimpers. He sat still for 40 minutes! He never smiled, and was nervous but after a while, he got comfortable and was just fine! What a sweet boy. I can't stop giggling when I see him. He's no longer a baby. He's a good lookin' kid.

will the real ryanna please stand up

It was Shakesphere that said:

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

I don't know about that.

Ryanna has been bringing her papers home from school with just one incorrect thing on it. Her NAME! She has decided that she no longer wants to go by 'Ryanna' and has requested all to call her 'Ryenna' and has labeled her papers so.

This is stemming from years and years of others not pronouncing her name correctly. I understand it is an interesting name and she would kindly correct them, and we're used to doing that. The most common mispronunciation is "Ray-enna" and she wants to be called that now. There's also "Ree-ahna" among other ones. Kudos to those who get it right on the first try. And even if someone gets it wrong, after corrected, they usually get it correct from then on.

I'm not expecting everyone to get her name right all of the time. I do, however, expect her to get it right...since it belongs to her. She has plenty of nicknames, so I'm not sure what to do.

We've had several conversations about her name, that we named her after Daddy, and how important names are because they're ours. We don't have to share with anyone! Not convinced, but is compromising, she wants to simply be named Anna. That's a beautiful name, but it's not HERS!

Now she's signing her letter to Santa and other Christmas cards to her friends, "Ryanna/Anna."

Yeah, that's not confusing at all.

stress dreams and antibiotics

What I thought was pink eye turned out to be bronchitis and ear infections for the kids. This are the meds that they're on right now!
They've been home this week and I've had to cancel all my music lessons, which has thrown my routine off! As Ryan has been studying long hours for his finals, I've been trying to get ready for this big trip.
I've been getting to bed way too late and then getting up way too early. As little sleep as I've been getting, I have dreams. WEIRD dreams.
For the last few nights straight, I've woken up very frustrated. The dreams that I conjure up in my head always start the same: I'm packing and trying to board the plane that will take me over to my parent's apartment in China. Either I miss the flight (due to Ryan's lack of packing) or I get on the plane and then an announcement is made saying that the airplane is suddenly glued to the ground. (one dream it was actually broken in two pieces) WEIRD.
This morning, I woke up absolutely FURIOUS at Ryan. For what he did in my dream! Of course I wouldn't ever hold him accountable for what he does in real life for his behavior in my dreams the night before, but as I'm waking up, I'm still working through those emotions that were involved as I was asleep. However IRRATIONAL as they can be! I told him this morning that he didn't pack and actually wanted to take a nap before we boarded our plane. And we ended up missing our flight and we didn't end up going to China for Christmas!
So, I'm having stress dreams trying to get ready. Not sure why. I guess I'm nervous about being away from the kids for 10 straight days, worried about Ryan and how he'll do in his finals and concerned about flying in the air for 16 hours straight. I'll go stir crazy! I've never just sat and done nothing for that long, I need to bring a load of laundry to fold while I just sit!
I am very relieved that they'll be in good hands, people that love them will care for them and I'm not concerned about that. Thank you to my wonderful in laws, my dear friends and my sister and her husband for watching out for them while we're absent. I can't imagine leaving them in better hands!
Tonight I'd rather dream about vampires or something. I'll give it a shot.

delicious, thy name is candy!

American Candy!!

For Mom:
-30 oz (1.9 lb) Sour Patch kids
-32 oz (2 lb) Strawberry Twizzlers
-16 oz (1 lb) Hot Tamales
-28 oz (1.8 lb) Swedish Fish

For Dad:
-16 oz (1 lb) Cherry Twizzler Bites

For Aaron:
-box of Bottle Caps
-box of Rainbow Nerds
-box of Red Hots

Now that's a lot of high-fructose-corn-syrupy goodness! Can't wait to give it to you in a couple weeks!

r.i.p. santa

*WARNING*--a spoiler picture below. May cause some spontaneous tears.

We got a kick out of this poor guy crying over Santa's grave. As if being a kid is hard enough, having to face this kind of reality is tough!

today I miss...

My kid brother!

He's taller than me, can speak Mandarin as well as any other chinese student in his class, got me listening to Linkin Park and Plain White T's, and he brings flowers home to my mom as a surprise, "Just Because!"

He goes to an international school, gets good grades and just finishing applying to colleges. I can't wait to see him and spend Christmas with him!

Love you, Aaron-Boy!