Tired yet? Another childhood photo.

Today is our last day on the cruise, and it's a sea day. It's been a blast. I'm writing this and scheduling it to post before the cruise has even started, so hopefully that prophecy comes true. Now that you've been playing with me on the cruise all week, it's time to go home and get some rest :-)

And another childhood photo

Love you, dear!

Snorkeling

We should be in Cozumel snorkling right now if all goes according to plan! I'm glad that you're fun and adventuresome and I can go out and play with you!

Ushmal ruins

If all goes according to plan, we should be touring the Mayan Ushmal ruins right now! I love that you are fun and adventuresome and we can go out and do things together!

And another cute childhood photo

You really were a cute little kid.

Another cute childhood photo

You were a beautiful little kid! So excited to be with you on our cruise today. 

Edit: Sorry it didnt happen... Hopefully we will leave tomorrow! Although it's truly disappointing, at least we got to endure the disappointment together. That's a memory that will never fade!

Rest now, because we're going on vacation soon

Tomorrow is the first day of our cruise! It's our first time on a cruise, and we're excited to do and experience everything that's offered. A few days ago Sharon sort of half seriously joked that we could take a nap on the cruise. I joked with her and said she should know better, that since she married me vacation is a time to play, not to rest. Of course, since Sharon is feeling a bit under the weather right now, we might indeed do some good resting, and that's fine. But I love that she's willing to go on along right beside me and play hard.

Ready to go

We are really excited to go on our cruise. And we're so thankful that my mom can come out and watch the kids for us. It's a a big and not an easy thing for her to come out and watch all of them all week. I've been impressed with how Sharon is preparing for it all. She's made detailed schedules and tips about how to handle Peter, made sure there's tons of diapers and baby food, made sure the fridge is stocked with food, and even made several frozen meals that my mom can use if she wants. She also made a schedule of activities that my mom can take the kids to. I'm not sure if this is going above and beyond, because it just seems right to do everything you can to make things easier for someone who is doing you a big favor, especially when it's family. Nonetheless, I'm glad Sharon is being so thoughtful and trying to prepare well. Not everyone would do that!

My lunch box

Took my big test today. Not sure how I did. Sharon packed my a top-notch lunch for it. Granola bars, sliced apples, celery and peanut butter, soda, fancy ham sandwich, M&M's. It was way too much for me, but it was a comforting thought during my day of testing that a lunch box full of goods was always there for me, prepared by my dear wife.

Studying

Lately I haven't been helping around the house as much as usual. I have felt the need to study and get other school stuff done. I know Sharon can tell the difference and feels the extra burden, but she has been taking it on well. Even though my big test is tomorrow and I am stressed, I know it's also Sharon who is stressed too. I am grateful for all of her support.

Pinata

Sharon is planning for Enoch's birthday party in three weeks. I am impressed! I am so glad she takes time and initiative to do this kind of stuff because right now it's probably something I wouldn't get done, at least not very well.

She went to the party store and saw a TMNT pinata, but it was expensive so she is making her own. Good job!

A beautiful baby

There's a picture that I can't find of Sharon when she was a baby on her hands and knees, and this picture of Peter reminds me of it. I think they look a lot a like. Sharon was a beautiful baby, and she makes beautiful babies, too! Hopefully I can't find it someday to compare.

Tiring play

The other day Sharon took the kids to the children's museum. She was gone for almost 5 hours! When she got home, she said Enoch and Michael wanted to stay even longer. The thought of taking all three kids out by myself for 3 hours makes me tired, let alone doing it 3 or so times a week. Whew! Super mom.

Swaifish chive pot pie

Sharon made Swaifish chive pot pie today for dinner. Sounds weird and gross but it was exceptional. Not going to say more now because I have a headache and feeling nauseous.

Our kids' valentine

Yesterday, Sharon made these little boxes out of paper and filled them with chocolate. It reminded me of when I was little and would get Valentine's Day gifts from my parents. It's funny how I wouldn't have even remembered to do anything special for the kids, and Sharon did even though she didn't grow up with that custom. I'm glad she's a tender, sweet mom!

My Valentine

We were originally going to go out on a lunch date while Enoch and Michael were at their preschool today. Last night it got canceled last minute, though. Sharon found a friend to watch the kids for us anyway, though, and we went out to Five Guys for a lunch break with just us and Peter. Nothing fancy, but we don't have fancy taste. It was so nice to have a leisurely lunch together and to talk and relax. The hamburgers and peanuts were good too, of course.

I love Sharon and I'm glad she is still in love with me after these five years!  I am in love with her, and that's what I wanted to say tonight. Not really a compliment, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want! ;-)

Bring me home ice cream

If the Houston Rockets win, there's a place in town that gives out free frozen yogurt. Sharon found out about this today and took the kids there after visiting teaching. She called me, asked what flavors and toppings I wanted, and brought me home a cup. I was glad she did! I don't think everyone would have asked if they could have another free cup to bring someone who wasn't there. I am glad Sharon thinks more about me than she does her inhibitions or fear of embarrassment.

Cat card

I was trying to log into the UofA website today to check something for my CV. It's been almost three years since I was a student there and I needed my cat card to log in. I asked Sharon if she knew where it was, knowing that I probably lost it long long ago. 20 seconds later she put it on the table in front of me. Wow! I am glad she is super organized.

Valentine's boxes

Sharon used some Kleenex boxes and turned them into Valentine boxes for the kids today. Then she decorated them together with the kids. Tomorrow there will be a playgroup valentines party where they will use them. I think they look great and the kids had a good time decorating them. Much better than I would have done.

Going places

Sharon is really good about taking the kids to do stuff. Last Saturday she took the kids to a Chinese New Year festival while I studied. Today she took the kids to Peter's doctor's appointment, and when there was a fiasco with the car she went home instead of going to the zoo. She felt frustrated about the whole thing and was disappointed she couldn't take the kids to go anywhere. I think she's doing great, though. The fact that she takes all the kids somewhere at all on most days says a lot.

Idea bouncer

I'm working on an essay that I hope to get published. There's some abstract ideas involved, and I was hoping to come up with analogy. I asked Sharon for help, and we discussed what I was trying to write about. After indirectly incorporating some of the things she said, I reread the paragraphs I wrote and was impressed how good they were. I'm glad I can talk to her and that she can help me put words to my ideas, even offering up her own contributions.

Happy barf

Luckily, Peter seems to be on the upswing and didn't barf today or yesterday. He barfed like this once or twice every day for the past week. Of course, it wasn't just barfing, but fussiness, crying, not sleeping well, etc. Looking back on the past week, Sharon was pretty cheerful and productive despite it all. I know being a mom is hard, and always having a good attitude is impossible, but she did a good job this week.

More dumplings

Today Sharon made about 180 dumplings! It took her a long time. They were good and now we have several meals in the freezer. Super mom.

Flexible

Sharon is about 1000x more flexible than I have ever been or ever will be. Sounds silly but I've always admired her for that.

Buoy

I don't often like to admit when I'm feeling stressed. When I do, I know I can count on Sharon to buoy me up. And that means a lot.

Chinese family cookbook

Sharon is putting together a cookbook of Chinese recipes. She is doing this partially for herself, but I know she is also doing it for our kids. She wants them to have something she never had, while also ensuring that our kids keep part of their Chinese legacy and heritage. That is something that is especially hard to do here in America, far from family. It would be so easy to just forget about Chinese culture and language. That's not what we want to do, and Sharon's family recipe book is a nice way of bridging our cultures. The idea of a family recipe book is inherently western and has long been supported by my parent's families. I am glad Sharon thought of using this western idea, however, to give our kids a taste of her culture, and glad she is thinking so far ahead.

Beautiful Skin

Sharon has great skin. She's had such perfect skin for her whole life that I can understand the idea of worrying when new blemishes come along. It's not like pimple-face-me who is used to it by now. So if the day comes when she gets a wrinkle, she'll stress about it and lament that she's old and ugly. But it won't be true. The fact is that her skin is remarkably young, vibrant, and smooth. I'll indulge a little bit of vanity and even say I think it will always be true she will have less wrinkles than a good majority of women her age.

And when the wrinkles do start coming, it won't change the fact that she's beautiful.

Chinese Food

In the spirit of Chinese New Year Sharon has been making a lot of Chinese food recently. She made a good beef dish today, made and froze some more dumplings, and made a tasty soup with the leftover dumpling filling. Peter barfed all over her for the third day in a row today, and she made all that food despite having a fussy baby. She didn't cook at all growing up, but she has learned how to make some great Chinese food. Yummy in my tummy.

Beautiful Lunch

Sharon still makes me lunch every day when I stay home and study. Not only is she supportive, but just look at how pretty and well rounded the lunch is and you'll quickly see she's a super-mom.