A Trip to the Strawberry Patch

Last week we had a little fun picking strawberries and even more fun filling our bellies. Our trip was not without toddler tantrums and strawberry stained clothes, but we still left happy with lots of strawberries.

Winsley ate half her weight in strawberries right there in the field. That's the real  reason to pick your own strawberries, right?

We ended up with a few bruised strawberries and I will definitely go earlier in the season next time to get the best of the batch (This is the last week for strawberry picking in our area).

It is truly a joy to share this experience with my little ladies and I am so happy that we live so close to so many farms. We even discovered that this very farm (Page Farms) will be growing blackberries soon.

My tummy is already growling with anticipation.

What grows in abundance where you live? I am so eager to check out other farms in our area after discovering that blueberry season starts next month!

Busy Bee + Design Updates

Between kiddos, house chores, and making endless future plans with everything, I can't seem to keep my blogging hat on long enough to form a proper post. This weekend was a great refresher. No big relaxing trip or reflection time, just quality time with my mom and little sister and watching my own two little ones grow their own little sister friendship.

A few hours walking around a local art festival was enough to inspire creativity and enliven passion. All while observing the world through little eyes. A sand pit becomes a castle construction site, a public piano becomes a grand piano on center stage, and climbing an art sculpture translates to conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro (which my mom actually did in real life a few months back).

And now a few fun blogs I've designed over the past couple of weeks. Check out these amazing ladies and their awesome blogs.

Abbey at Everyday Champagne has always let do as I please with her blog. She recently decided to branch off from solely food blogging to blogging more about fashion and beauty, so a subtle redesign was in order.

Laura from Sweet Cheeks Photography has a great eye for photography! She captures incredible moments in time during her everyday shenanigans with her two blonde haired cuties.

Sarah from The Baum Squad is a fellow momma with a hilarious daughter and a deliciously chunky baby boy (seriously, this kid puts my daughters' baby rolls to shame). She, like me, blogs about everyday life except she succeeds in her scheduling and consistency far better than I could ever even attempt.

Snowpocalypse!

Okay, it wasn't that dramatic here. Just a couple inches of snow and some fun with the kids. We so rarely get snow that I didn't even have snow gear for my (almost) 3 year old and the baby had to make do with rain boots that were a size too big. Maybe next year I'll break down and buy both girls some snow gear for our one-time-a-season snow event.

Winsley really enjoyed the snow for the first little bit. She kept taking off her mittens to touch the snow and try to eat it - that's my girl! Did anybody else ski down the mountain as a child, scooping up snow to eat on the way down? No? Just me, huh? Well, this is awkward…
No more awkward than this next picture though.

Sure, it's all fun and games until Daddy throws a snowball in your face. And then Mom stops to take a picture of your agony instead of rushing to comfort you.
Don't judge! You probably would have done the same thing (at least, that's what I'm telling myself). She was fine. The only way we got her to calm down was to let her throw a snowball at Daddy's face. Gotta be fair.
The snow has pretty much melted by now, but it was fun while it lasted.

Waiting on the snow...

I'm taking a snow day today. We are expecting at least an inch or snow in NC. May not sound like much to my northern friends, but it is a massive amount here in the South.
Seriously, the whole city usually shuts down for a few flurries. An inch? An inch could mean closings for days! I'm clearly exaggerating, but not really.
In my blogging absence, I'll leave you with cute baby picture. 

On the left is Ellington's first snow (February 2012). On the right is Winsley's first snow just last week (January 2014).
I rarely compare my two girls because they are so different, but I just couldn't resist this cute side-by-side of their first snow experiences. Adorableness.

Southern Snow Day

We don't get a lot of snow in the south, but when we do… the entire city usually shuts down. Seriously. For just ½ an inch of snow. Northerners think we're crazy. Maybe we are.
Anywho. It snowed on Tuesday night and the snow stayed around yesterday (it usually melts by noon). It was so cold that we only stayed out for a sad 20 minute or so. I blamed it on the baby, but truthfully I was the one who was freezing and wanted to go home.

The babies were bundled up in their big winter coats. Can I still call my (almost) 3 year old my baby? I vote Yes. Does it make sense to buy myself some new winter gear for the maybe 2 times we see snow in North Carolina? 
Poor Ellington wanted to make a snowman with the half ice / half snow… I tried to explain why it probably wouldn't work, but she insisted. And it didn't work, so we moved on to explore our tiny neighborhood playground. 

She wanted to slide down the snow covered slide. Unfortunately, it too was covered with ice. Not to worry. Ellington quickly recruited Winsley to help remove the ice and snow from the slides. That's my girl! Tricking your sister into working for you is rule numero uno of sisterhood. Okay, maybe it's not the number one rule, but it's in the handbook somewhere.
Hope everyone else stayed warm and enjoyed the snow (if you got any).

Doggonit

So, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything… life has gotten in the way once again. For the past month, my 6 month old seems to think that she should wake up every hour to play and practice standing. If it weren't for the gloriousness of a good cup of coffee (or five) and Winsley's late night giggles as she amazes herself with her new skills, I might have puled all of my hair out already. Winsley is a big trickster - It's hard to get frustrated with a little girl who smiles and giggles so much. Anywho, I'm back! Lots of updates to come, but for now I'll leave you with some cuteness from this past weekend.

We were dog sitting for my little sister and Ellington loved every minute of it. After the first few hours, she acted as if Birdie (the dog) had always lived with us. 

Winsley didn't really notice that Birdie was there most of the weekend. Whenever she did catch Birdie in her eyesight, she giggled and smiled like crazy.

Birdie was rescued from the local animal shelter and I don't think my sister could have found a better dog. She is the sweetest! And she could not have been more gentle around my girls. We spent lots of time outside and I just let her roam around with out a leash on most of the time… well, she didn't really roam. Birdie is the type of dog that would rather stay glued to your side than run off to explore.

Such a blessing to have this sweet little lady join our family for the weekend. I cannot image why anybody would have abandoned her at the shelter, but I'm glad that they did and she found a home with my sister. :)

Weekend Recap

1. Lots of block building was included in our weekend happenings. This masterpiece was created when I had to run upstairs to change the baby. I came back down to find an incredibly tall block tower and an incredibly proud little architect. 

2. Another moment in mommyhood where I was focusing on the baby and the toddler took the moment to sneak away. When I finally found the key to unlock the toddler locked door, I found one mischievous little lady who was covered head to toe in aquaphor (if you have no idea what that is, think vaseline). It took THREE shampoos + TWO shampoos with dish soap to get all of that greasy stuff our of her hair. 

3. I had to do it. I caved into the trend of 'cupping'. And I'm not sorry in the least bit. I'm not guaranteeing that this will be the last 'baby cupping' you will see in my instagram (@kimchisweettea) feed. 

4. Exciting happenings in the neighborhood! We were apart of our very first block party in our new neighborhood. It was glorious! Plenty of kids for my girls to play with and we met all of our neighbors.  Ellington was so worn out that she passed out right in the stroller. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me -  knowing that there will be many many more of these community events in our sweet little neighborhood. 

5. Unfortunately, our weekend ended + our week has started with rain. Lightning, flooding, and more rain to come. 

How was your weekend? I hope all of my East Coast friends had some fun before the rain came and all of my West Coast friends found some way to beat the heat.

Linking up with Sami and Rachel today. 

Summer Bucket List 2013

With the weather warming up and two little ladies to entertain, it is evident that summer is quickly approaching. To make things fun for my 2 year old and remind myself that there is more to do in this great city than going to the playground, I created some cards with ideas we can do each day. The plan is to let Ellington pick out one or two cards each week. Of course, some things are already decided like our family beach trip and watching fireworks + some things are not really for her like the mommy - daddy date. This is such a great idea that you can easily replicate in your own home. Older kids can participate by thinking of ideas or even decorating their own cards with markers / glitter / paint / paper.

Currently, we have these cards hanging on our kitchen chalkboard and Ellington loves looking at it everyday. Next year I might have to make more cards or repeats of the same ideas because she seems to think that we need to pick a card out every morning.

Some things are generic like visiting a museum + having a picnic, but other things are customized for our family - like potty training! Yep, that's right - this is what life is like with kids, people. What's unique on your summer bucket list?

Building a Community

Growing up, I knew nearly every single one of my neighbors. The family with three girls, a few houses down, who my sisters and I played with daily + The neighbors up the hill that everyone knew to avoid at Halloween because they handed out toothbrushes instead of candy + The older woman next door with no kids, who kept mostly to herself, so all of the kids in the neighborhood swore she was a witch + The friendly older woman across the street, who was like a grandma to all of the neighborhood kids + The one family on the street that let their kids run wild and seemed to never be home to supervise.  My point is, we all remember that one neighborhood growing up where everybody knew each other. 

For me, it was a cozy neighborhood in Charlotte with an elementary school nearby and an abundance of families with kids my age. I want this same type of neighborhood for my daughters. The thing is, how do you connect with your neighbors if all they do is commute to and from work, spending free time behind their tall backyard fences or closed up inside their homes. When did our neighborhoods become more of individuals and their separate houses and less of a community?

Ironically, I was hiding out in my own home just waiting for these neighbors that I have never met to spontaneously start a community when I read this article. It talks about the community that just one family created by simply playing and hanging out in the 'front yard' of an apartment complex. It's so simple. 

Looking back, my parents spent endless summer nights hanging out on our front porch. Neighbors taking their nightly walk would occasionally stop by while neighborhood kids ran around to the backyard to play in our treehouse. 

It's up to us to create our own community. So, my goal for the summer is to spend as much time as possible in our front yard getting to know our neighbors. I'd love to be the people in the neighborhood that everyone has a connection to and everyone knows our name. 

Go outside!  Spend the rest of the weekend in your front yard and create a community!

Did St. Patrick's Day already happen?

To quote my husband 'This was the lamest St. Patrick's day ever!'... and he was totally right.  While pregnant, I had already planned our day.  It was to include a green-themed breakfast and a trip to Raleigh to see the parade.  The weather was perfect for watching a parade too!  Unfortunately, taking a 1 week old out in a big crowd is not the best thing to do, so we stayed home instead.

I feel like this holiday snuck up on us a bit anyway as I jumped out of bed to try to find something green in my closet that fit me right now.  The girls and I wore green all day and that's about as festive as we got.  Since I have not been to the grocery store in weeks, there was nothing green on our breakfast plates and sleep deprivation meant that my mind couldn't even come up with a St. Patrick's day craft.

Oh well.  There's always next year! :)

Winsley's (Late) Arrival

The newest addition to our family joined us just one week ago.  She was born one week and 3 days past her due date and I never actually went into labor.  I was holding out hope that Winsley would decide to enter this world on her own and I got really excited when I started to have contractions on Tuesday night.  Unfortunately, we showed up to the hospital for my scheduled c-section on Wednesday morning and my now painful contractions were doing nothing to make this birth happen.  Rather than go through labor pains and tiring myself out (possibly resulting in another c-section anyway), I made the decision to go through with the c-section.

My only concern going into surgery (other than a little fear of the needle they were putting into my back) was a big fear of the recovery!  With Ellington, recovery was awful.  I was in pain for weeks and it didn't help that nursing was horribly painful for the first 2 weeks.  Everyone that I had asked and all of the blogs that I had read said that recovery from a planned c-section was easy peasy.  And you know what?  They were 100% correct!

Recovery this go round was ten thousand times better than last time.  If it weren't for the powerful drugs that numbed my legs for half a day, I would have been walking around like nothing happened.  Seriously, my 2 birth experiences were like night and day.  Even now (one week postpartum), I have to keep reminding myself that venturing out or planning activities is not a good idea when I have to bring along a still-adjusting one week old.  Ellington was much older when I felt like I would be okay outside of the comfort of my own home.

Speaking of Ellington, she has made this transition to a family of four incredibly easy.  She visited me and the her new baby sister less than an hour after I was out of the operating room and acted as if she was never an only child.  I was never worried about Ellington and the new addition, but I am glad to see that Winsley has become such a joy in her little life.  She constantly asks, "Where baby go?" if Winsley is not in her sight and "What happened?" if Winsley makes the slightest little peep.  It's also adorable to see her try to comfort the baby if she's crying and I am not immediately available.  She'll run up to her and give her a big kiss then sing to her until I swoop in to soothe Winsley and, of course, thank a wonderful big sister for helping out.

While I was in the hospital, Ellington spent lots and LOTS of time with my mom.  I seriously don't know what we would have done without my mom's help.  It was such a relief to know that Ellington was getting tons of attention from Mommo while John and I were bonding with baby Winsley.  I highly recommend a week long visit from grandma when a second child enters the picture!  Thanks MOM!!

Ellington's Birthday Weekend

Last weekend, my sisters and mom were supposed to come celebrate Ellington's 2nd birthday.  A train themed day at Pullen Park was planned and Ellington was super excited to ride on the train as many times as her little heart desired.  Unfortunately, my older sister couldn't make it at the last minute because a friend had a greater need for her presence.  No problem.  We'll just push it back a week (to this past weekend) or so I thought.

With 60 degree weather all week, it looked like the weekend would be just as pretty.  Nope.  64 degrees on Friday and then snow was the forecast for Saturday... ummm, what?!  Well, it did in fact snow on Saturday.  The plan to ride the train at the park was a goner, but we made a back-up plan to meet at Marbles Kids Museum and have some fun indoors.  Once we arrived at the museum, we realized that every other parent in the area had the same idea to entertain their kiddos on this yucky day.  An hour waiting in line meant only an hour of crowded playtime at the museum before heading to lunch, so this plan was also scrapped.

The celebration didn't quite turn out as planned, but I know Ellington still had lots of fun hanging out with her aunts and grandma.  Of course, the opening of gifts and cupcakes for breakfast didn't hurt.

She even got to see a real train because my older sister rode the train in from Charlotte.  So, I guess we sort of accomplished a train themed birthday weekend.  The good news is that I can save this party idea for next year!  I already have to start planning Ellington's sister's Dol (Korean 1st birthday), so a pre-planned and relatively easy park party will be the perfect birthday celebration for Ellington next year.  And the back up plan for next year?  A short ride on the real train and back to Durham for cake.

A Little Snow Day

We had a surprise snow after a week of rain, so we ventured outside early Friday morning to experience the snow before it all melted away.  Ellington loved the snow and wanted to stay outside longer, but I was freezing and I had not had my coffee yet... Me without coffee in the morning = one grumpy momma.  The snow in our yard actually stayed around for a while, so we got another chance to hangout outside and play with the snow a little later in the day.

By Saturday, almost all of the snow had melted away.  We still had a fulfilled weekend because Mommo (my mom) came to visit for the weekend.  A short visit to the museum to visit the animals, some projects around the house (it's always easier to get things done when Mommo is here to entertain Elli), great food, and our first trip to the Nasher Museum at Duke to see the Cone Sisters' Exhibit filled our time.

A funny little side note about our weekend activities:  While looking at all of the artwork collected by the Cone Sisters, we entered a room filled with pieces by Matisse where the subjects were nude.  Ellington's reaction, "No jacket on".  She was partially asking why they weren't wearing clothes and partially stating that we should all go without clothes.  She is going through a phase right now where she never wants to wear clothes... At least we hope it's a phase. :)

Home Decor Dilemma

We are moving into our new home in about 2 weeks and I have been trying to get things organized and ordered before we move in... the keyword here is trying.  Unfortunately, I have have been failing miserably.

You see, I love color!  Mainly, jewel tones with lots of blues and greens.  I thought that I knew my home decor style, but everything I create in my little idea book looks more like a college dorm and less like a comfy casual adult home.  :-/  Pinterest has also led to this design dilemma.  I looked at some of my home decor Pinterest boards to get a little inspiration and realized that almost everything I pinned was neutral.  Previously, I thought of an all neutral room as boring or dull, but according to Pinterest... neutral is what I like.

So, What's a girl to do?  In this case, I've decided to live with what we've got for a while and just buy a few simple pieces until I can really figure out what I want in this new home.  This means... no painting walls, no tossing old furniture, no buy trendy chevron rugs.  Just purchasing a few fun accessories and working with what I've got.  And what I've got is this...

Any ideas of what direction to pursue first would be greatly appreciated!

A Disney Princess

another low-quality iPhone photo, but she sure looks cute :)

Last night, we went to Disney on Ice and Ellington had a blast!  The only character that she really knows is Minnie Mouse because one of her friends has a slight obsession with Minnie.  Still, we knew she would have plenty of fun.  Why?  Well, this little girl loves (and I mean LOVES) music!  She had never heard any of the songs, but she was clapping and bouncing just like everyone else in the arena.

It was a 2 hour show and had me a little worried, but Ellington sat still and stared in awe at the lights and the brightly dressed skaters.  We might have to get seats a little closer to the action next time because she became very fidgety and upset whenever somebody stood up or got in her way.  She really wanted to stand in the aisle and dance to the music by herself, but the aisle consisted of a bunch of stairs so this was not a possibility.

It was also John's first experience with the little girl / Disney princess obsession that one of our little ones is sure to have.  As soon as we walked into the princess filled arena with giddy girlies dressed like their favorite princess begging their parents for sparkly souvenirs, John said "So this is what I'm in for".  I don't ever remember being obsessed with Disney princesses (I was more of a He-Man & GI Joe kind of girl), but John will have to get used to all of this girlie stuff with 2 little girls of his own. :)  Hopefully, one of our girls will be a tom-boy like I was to balance out the household.  Plus - I love little girlie things, but I don't think I could stand that much pink in my house.

NC Zoo Review

This past weekend we visited the NC Zoo in Asheboro.  One word sums up our visit: disappointment.

Yes, we saw cute animals and I give the zoo credit for making the exhibits very animal friendly.  However, the zoo was not very kid friendly.  Half of the exhibits and the playground were closed for renovations.  Shouldn't they have advertised this or, at least, discounted our entry price because of this?

Another disappointment was all of the walking involved.  I knew the park was large and I was prepared for a lot of walking, but the walking got exhausting when we came upon closed exhibit after closed exhibit.  They had a handful of 'resting spaces' where children could play for a bit, but those spaces were small and crowded with older kids (not a space for toddlers).

Maybe I was spoiled by the Birmingham Zoo (which is INCREDIBLE!) or maybe I had high expectations because of our own little Museum of Life and Science here in Durham.  Regardless, the NC Zoo was just a big disappointment.  There were no zookeepers around to answer questions from inquisitive kids or training programs to help teach kids (and adults) the importance of preserving animal habitats and saving these great animals.

Needless to say, we will probably not be taking a trip back to the NC Zoo.  We'll stick to the museum in Durham and I think it might even be worth it to fly back to Birmingham just for a visit to the zoo.

A Dream Home Revised

Since moving to Durham 2 years ago, I have been on the hunt for a permanent home to buy.  We didn't want to buy anything until we sold our condo and John was sure that he would stay at Duke after his fellowship ended.

Well, that day has finally come.  We officially sold our Alabama condo in October and John is very confident that Duke is where he wants to continue his research career.  AND I am happy to announce that we have purchased a home in Durham and we will be moving in December.

Before letting you know what we have chosen, let me first go over how we came to this decision.

You see, John and I have very different tastes in homes.  He likes brand new everything and I am in love with hundred year old homes with a little history.  While John's home preferences have changed over the years, mine have changed - a lot.  I still like hundred year old homes, but having kids has really changed my views on many things I thought I wanted.

Like many people (I think), I have always wanted a home that somewhat resembled the home where I grew up.  In my case, this included a large backyard with no backyard neighbors - a basement - 3 stories - hardwood floors - no garage - just to name a few.  And then I had a kid... and the option of a single story home became very very appealing!  Many things in my dream home stayed the same, but a few things were quickly revised.  Large Backyard?  No thank you - who has time to cut the grass when your daughter refuses to nap?!  No Garage?  Ummm, I still don't love the look of a garage, but where are you suppose to store all of your outdoor stuff without one?

With revisions in place, I found a one story house that I loved.  Unfortunately, it needed a lot of remodeling.  I am always up for a redesign project, but timing could not have been worse.  A toddler + a new baby + a busy daddy = a momma who would not complete another house project in the near future.

I gave up on my dream of an older home and embraced the idea of a brand new - project free - home that John would love.  In the end, I am very happy with our choice.  An older home and many remodeling projects can always come later when the kids are older.  This is my dream home for now. :)

Has your idea of a dream home been revised as you have moved on to different phases of your life?