Future careers

Every once in awhile, I wonder what kind of occupation God will call my children to. Based on their personalities and skills now, here's what I predict.

#1 - teacher, children's minister, writer, and/or mom. She loves to learn about Jesus, hang out at church, and read lots of books. She's also a great helper for her brothers/sister and enjoys bossing them around. When you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she will reply, "a mommy."

#2 - lawyer, wrestler, archaeologist, lion tamer, President of the United States. The lawyer and wrestler is easy to figure out; he loves to argue, stretch the law, and pin his sisters to the ground. He also loves mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and dinosaurs (the first two thanks to the Ice Age franchise). His favorite non-extinct animal is the lion but only the boy lion, as he would put it. Lastly, he tells fibs, says "it is not my fault" frequently, and is very persistent.

#3 - background dancer and singer, pet veterinarian, dog groomer. She loves to spin around the room and sing, but only when she thinks no one is watching her. Also, she's obsessed with dogs and cats, whether they be real live ones or on her t-shirt or shoes or a sticker, etc.

#4 - professional athlete, race car driver. He's only 15 months old but is already kicking the soccer ball, standing with the basketball waiting for someone to lift him to the hoop, jumping, throwing, and chasing balls. He is also quite adept at running cars over the floor, walls, your body, all the while making vroom sounds.

Whatever they become, it will be a fun revelation.

Wedding dress

A couple of weeks ago, I went wedding dress shopping with my sister, who is getting married in a month. It will be exactly 6 years ago from their wedding day that they started dating; therefore the wedding theme is "about time." In accordance with this theme, my parents are getting my sister and her fiance matching watches as gifts. Their wedding will be held at a Las Vegas chapel. The chapel really ought to do a better job of advertisement because if I had known about it, I would've done my wedding there. It's a one stop place for the ceremony, pictures, flowers, limo service, all for just a few hundred bucks. My sister is always complaining about being the third-born, ie. me and my other sister sucked all the good health out of my mom which is why she's got a zillion health problems, at least in her mind. She's lucky in this case, though, because my parents would have had a cow if I as the first-born had done it in a Vegas chapel. We (me and my other sister) have mellowed them out so much that they don't care if there are no centerpieces or party favors or bridesmaids or cake or guests besides ourselves.

Anyway, while we were waiting for my sister to try on her dresses, we looked around at the other brides-to-be. Actually I walked around mentally cringing at certain dresses and staring at other dresses. One of the brides-to-be that I walked by 3 times in an effort to not stare at had her mom and grandmother there. It hit me that one day, that will be me as the mom sitting there watching one daughter, then another try on wedding dresses. That thought made me inexplicably sad. In fact, weddings in general make me sad now because I always think, one day it will be my little girl or boy up there. And my oldest just turned 7 so it won't be that long.

When that time comes, I am not going to make them wear my wedding dress. Every bride-to-be deserves to try on a bunch of beautiful dresses until she finds The One and not to wear an old one that looked better on her mother or grandmother. I will jot down some reminders for that time, as I suspect this will be my last wedding dress shopping foray until then.

(1) Bring a book to read
(2) Bring a decent camera, not just the cellphone camera
(3) Stand up to take the pictures
(4) Sneak in food and drinks
(5) Bring tissues to wipe tears

Hard times

The recession has officially hit us. Awhile back, the husband, who manages our finances, gave me a directive to "be careful" with our spending. Upon questioning, he suggested that we hold off on the girls' dance class. This meant things were bad, very bad. Cutting back on the kids' expenditures is always our last resort. Although I tried hard not to worry (after all, we are more precious to Him than the lilies of the field or the birds of the air), I have to admit I did in the beginning. Now that we've settled into our new lifestyle, I am glad for this season. It has taught me some enormously valuable lessons: (1) to trust Him, really really trust Him from the depths of my gut, (2) to weed out unnecessary garbage and prioritize better, (3) to be thankful because even during these times we have way more than we need, (4) to resist temptation, particularly during shopping trips.

As a result of our budget cutbacks, my hubby is enjoying my longest hair ever look (each trip to the salon is about $30!), the kids are enjoying helping out with cooking & baking, and I am finally selling all the old stuff that I've been meaning to but never got around to. Here in the OC, there is a strong, strong pressure to conform, to wear and own what everyone else has. I'm glad that temptation has been taken away for us. Meanwhile, does anyone want to buy a portable air conditioner?

Hello howdy hi hey yo

I'm thinking of which topic to tackle for my first post. Granted, I'm joining the game late because everyone and their mother is blogging these days, even my husband, whose emails read something like this:

John,
Yes, it's been awhile. I have four kids now.
Kevin

This man's got THREE running blogs now. In my defense, though, even before all the blogging, internet, and email, I was one of those people who would send out handwritten letters in actual envelopes with real stamps. But I was only 6 years old at the time, so you know, I'm really not that old.

Once I decided to blog, I stumbled onto a major obstacle, which was what to name the blog. I tried a few names; guess what - they were taken. I tried more names - they were also taken. I tried pretty much all combinations with "mom" but no go. Finally I typed in "kill me now." Yup, it was taken too (I am not kidding). As I was sitting there, it occurred to me that all the titles which would describe me now were all gone and that maybe I should pick a title I could aspire to be. Sort of like "The Secret," where you just think and believe it, and voila, you're there. There, I just saved you $20 and umpteen hours from having to buy the book and read it. This blog is nothing if not helpful.

So here I am, previously chickenmom but now and forevermore FEARLESSMOM (it deserves caps, no?). I personally think it's a sign that such a cool name like FEARLESSMOM was up for grabs right when I was looking. Perhaps someone higher up wanted me to blog? Why not - He cares enough and is powerful enough to make the small things work out too.

My time to blog is up, as signaled by my baby boy who is simultaneously trying to crawl in my lap and push the keyboard away. Be thankful for him; otherwise who knows how long I would blather on. So here's to me! May I have a fun and rewarding time jotting down all my thoughts before my brain cells are completely depleted!