Things have been changing quite a lot lately. We finally got our new closet installed at the end of July.
There's still a mirror, drawer front, and hamper that needs to be installed/fixed, but it came together rather quickly. I need to get my life organized now, no excuses.
When Jenny and her mom came to visit recently, we took them to Ethan's daycare's open house. All of my pictures from that day are on my dslr, so I still have to upload those. It was a good time though. They had little farm animals and a pony outside to pet and ride. Ethan was both scared and fascinated with the pony because he has a thing for horses lately and can pronounce "HORSE" very well. He didn't want to touch any of the animals actually, which I guess is a good thing in terms of hygiene. He's more of a look from afar kinda guy.
Unfortunately, we had to pay full price for them since we he needed them yesterday and I couldn't find any used ones in his size on totspot or threadup. He wears them everyday though and they should last a few months. Getting him to try on new shoes and wear new shoes was a struggle though. He seems to have an aversion to all new things and really clings to what he's familiar with. I know that attachment behavior is normal for toddlers his age, but I wonder sometimes if our big move increased his level of anxiety overall.
I wonder sometimes if our big move was really worth it. I believed the move would be really good for us because we would be able to have that perfect single family house, live in a nice neighborhood, and fully enjoy the benefits of a dual-income household. The people are genuinely nice here, and there are far more opportunities for both of our careers here. However, what looked good on paper (or in my head really) hasn't been all I thought it would be. The commute to work is no joke here. It's a bit like as if I had to drive into SF everyday from where we used to live, which is reason to not drive at all. I have to drive double the amount of distance/time than I had to before just to get on a bus to take me the other half of the way into work. Getting too much sun from driving in the car and sitting/mostly standing on the bus, mimicking a can of packed sardines (stench and all) aren't the worst parts. The worst part of having this commute is having at least 2 hours of my every day, essentially, wasted. That time is taken away from spending time with my family, which is the whole reason why I do all and any of this. The timezone difference of 2 hours is a lot in reality, and further separates us from all of our friends and family. We don't have any real friends here, and haven't made any new ones yet. That is a bigger blow than I thought it would be. Although, I do think we have seen both of our moms a lot more than we used to when we used to live in the same state - despite having to fly a lot farther now. Strangely, I believe we have gotten closer to both of our families because of this move. There are so many pros and cons to any major life change I suppose. Only time will tell, and hindsight will always be 20/20. All I can do, and have been doing, is try to make a better life for us here despite the circumstances. I don't think distance from friends and family reflects the type of relationship we have with them. It's what we do to stay connected that matters.
Something else that I've gotten into lately is essential oils. Specifically, Doterra essential oils. I had always thought of essential oils more as a means of doing aromatherapy, but realized recently that there are applications for them in food, skincare, and even sickness prevention. I've been addicted to adding a few drops of lemon essential oil into my water, so it's made it really easy for me to get my daily recommended 80oz. of water in. I've been using melaleuca (tea tree) and coriander on my face for acne, and lavender on my wool dryer balls for a pleasant fragrance to my laundry. I've even diffused doterra's breathe and onguard essential oil blends for Ethan to help keep his pathways clear. I've heard frankincense is also good for cuts and scrapes he might get from roughhousing, and their digestzen essential oil blend might help him when he gets constipated from eating too many bananas. I'm eager to learn more about essential oils and how I can incorporate them into a more natural and effective means of maintaining our household.
This weekend we're going to try Little Gym for the first time and see if Ethan likes it or not. We also plan on getting some passport pictures for him from Costco. We're in the motions of planning a Taiwan trip next year so that Ethan can meet Lucas' family, and I can get some papaya milk, haha! Hopefully it works out, but we'll see!
I hope all of you are doing well. I miss all of you, like, fo realz. <3
There's still a mirror, drawer front, and hamper that needs to be installed/fixed, but it came together rather quickly. I need to get my life organized now, no excuses.
When Jenny and her mom came to visit recently, we took them to Ethan's daycare's open house. All of my pictures from that day are on my dslr, so I still have to upload those. It was a good time though. They had little farm animals and a pony outside to pet and ride. Ethan was both scared and fascinated with the pony because he has a thing for horses lately and can pronounce "HORSE" very well. He didn't want to touch any of the animals actually, which I guess is a good thing in terms of hygiene. He's more of a look from afar kinda guy.
I started a new workout series called 21 day fix, which is a part of the beach body franchise. I haven't been following the meal restrictions as strictly, but have tried to increase my veggie intake and lower my carb-loading. My daily lunches at work have been chick fil-a salads. They're so good!
I have been diligent about the workouts though. I'm not a fan of the instructor, and some of the moves can cause injury to my knees and lower back, so I plan on using their money-back guarantee and pick up the Piyo DVDs instead. However, I do have to give credit to the workouts for easing me back into a workout routine and sticking to it. I always forget how beneficial working out really is. First of all, I have way more energy and don't seem to be on the brink of sickness like I usually have been. The hot weather probably helps with less germs floating around too. Next up, my skin has started clearing up. Yay detox properties of an intense workout! Lastly, and most awesomely really because I am superficially human, is that I've lost a lot of my smushiness and gained some serious strength in my core. I haven't done my final weigh-in and measuring yet (that'll be this weekend) but I'm pretty happy with my results over the course of just 21 days. My only downside that I see with this new lifestyle change is that I don't get to spend much time with Lucas at night, which means not any time at all during the week. Although, prior to this regime, I can't say I had lots of QT with him either. That'll have to be something I work on. Maybe I can convince him to join me and do some push ups or something ;-). Hear that Hunnies?? Haha...
This past weekend, we had one goal: buy Ethan some new nikes. His feet have been growing like crazy. He basically was at the top of his size 5.5 shoes, and while he did have some shoes in his closet that are 6 and 6.5, I feel like they're more for fall/winter. I wanted to get something that was ultra lightweight and breathable to endure our ridiculous summer weather. If you have an amazing memory, you might remember me posting about some new blue nike frees I had ordered him previously. Unfortunately, I had to return those because neither of the sizes fit. I think sneakers must require a larger size because they're more tight-fitting around the foot. Ethan's feet are still a little chubby up top, so we ended getting the size 7 Nike frees in a bright coral color:
I wonder sometimes if our big move was really worth it. I believed the move would be really good for us because we would be able to have that perfect single family house, live in a nice neighborhood, and fully enjoy the benefits of a dual-income household. The people are genuinely nice here, and there are far more opportunities for both of our careers here. However, what looked good on paper (or in my head really) hasn't been all I thought it would be. The commute to work is no joke here. It's a bit like as if I had to drive into SF everyday from where we used to live, which is reason to not drive at all. I have to drive double the amount of distance/time than I had to before just to get on a bus to take me the other half of the way into work. Getting too much sun from driving in the car and sitting/mostly standing on the bus, mimicking a can of packed sardines (stench and all) aren't the worst parts. The worst part of having this commute is having at least 2 hours of my every day, essentially, wasted. That time is taken away from spending time with my family, which is the whole reason why I do all and any of this. The timezone difference of 2 hours is a lot in reality, and further separates us from all of our friends and family. We don't have any real friends here, and haven't made any new ones yet. That is a bigger blow than I thought it would be. Although, I do think we have seen both of our moms a lot more than we used to when we used to live in the same state - despite having to fly a lot farther now. Strangely, I believe we have gotten closer to both of our families because of this move. There are so many pros and cons to any major life change I suppose. Only time will tell, and hindsight will always be 20/20. All I can do, and have been doing, is try to make a better life for us here despite the circumstances. I don't think distance from friends and family reflects the type of relationship we have with them. It's what we do to stay connected that matters.
Something else that I've gotten into lately is essential oils. Specifically, Doterra essential oils. I had always thought of essential oils more as a means of doing aromatherapy, but realized recently that there are applications for them in food, skincare, and even sickness prevention. I've been addicted to adding a few drops of lemon essential oil into my water, so it's made it really easy for me to get my daily recommended 80oz. of water in. I've been using melaleuca (tea tree) and coriander on my face for acne, and lavender on my wool dryer balls for a pleasant fragrance to my laundry. I've even diffused doterra's breathe and onguard essential oil blends for Ethan to help keep his pathways clear. I've heard frankincense is also good for cuts and scrapes he might get from roughhousing, and their digestzen essential oil blend might help him when he gets constipated from eating too many bananas. I'm eager to learn more about essential oils and how I can incorporate them into a more natural and effective means of maintaining our household.
This weekend we're going to try Little Gym for the first time and see if Ethan likes it or not. We also plan on getting some passport pictures for him from Costco. We're in the motions of planning a Taiwan trip next year so that Ethan can meet Lucas' family, and I can get some papaya milk, haha! Hopefully it works out, but we'll see!
I hope all of you are doing well. I miss all of you, like, fo realz. <3
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