Road Trip開車旅行

When I didn't have children, road trips were SO much fun.  There is something really fun about driving, seeing new scenery, eating junk food, and talking with your friends the whole way.  It's not the destination that was exciting, it was the journey.

在我還沒有孩子的時候，我覺得開車去旅行是一件非常好玩的事。在車上可以看窗外的風景，吃零食，還可以沿途跟朋友聊天。開車旅行的好玩不在目的地而是在旅程中。

On Sunday evening, I went on the LONGEST ROAD TRIP EVER.  At six pm we started our crazy road trip.  The two kids were still good and happy, not really understanding what we really meant when we explained to them that we'd be in the car for a while.  Good thing we had extra help.  My father-in-law came with us and also two of our friends.  We thought to make it easier on the kids, we'd drive through the night so they could sleep.

 

上星期日晚，我經歷了生平最長最長的"開車旅行"。晚上6:00，我們開始了這一段瘋狂的旅程。這時，兩個孩子還蠻乖的，完全不懂我們向他們解釋"我們大家將在車子裡一段時間”的意義。還好有救兵相助，我們請了我的公公和另外兩個朋友來幫忙。我們想讓孩子舒服些，所以才計畫在晚上開車，好讓他們在車上睡覺而不會覺得路途遙遠。

The kids were so confused, because every 3 hours or so we would stop to get gas for the U-haul, and for some fresh air.  It was good too because being pregnant, it was good for me to get out and stretch my legs (to avoid blood clots) and use the restroom.  

 

結果反而讓孩子們很困惑，因為每三個小時我們需要停下來為裝家具行李的貨車加一次油，順便呼吸一下新鮮空氣。對我來說是一件好事，因為孕婦需要下車活動一下筋骨，順便上洗手間。

Finally around 10am, we arrived at our new place.  

 

好不容易，終於在早上十點到達目的地。

I have requests to write about flying in a plane with my kids, so I'll do that in another entry. 

 

有人希望我能分享帶著孩子在長途的飛行中的經驗，我會另外寫一篇。

Here are some tips that I would give if i were to do that again with young toddlers.

現在，我想分享一些如果日後還有這種帶著年幼孩子的長途旅行的機會，我會用的一些小方法。

1. Arrange the car seats so the kids are next to each other.  They entertain each other.

如果有兩個孩子，把他們的安全椅放在一起，這樣他們可以玩在一起。
2. Make sure there are lots of snacks.

記得準備足夠的零食。
3. Don't worry about the mess they are making in the car.  A small confined space is not the place where you want your kids screaming.

不要在乎車裡被孩子弄髒;在這麼狹窄的空間裡誰也不想聽到孩子被罵後的哭鬧聲。
4. Have plenty of books, stickers and activities, and switch them from one activity to the other rapidly.

準備足夠的書，貼紙和適合在車內玩的遊戲，並且要快速的從一個活動換到另外一個。
5.  Don't stress.  Things are NOT going to go the way you plan, and you HAVE to learn to be flexible.

不可有壓力。事情絕對不會照著計畫進行，一定要學習有彈性。

Now we are here in our new place and excited to start our new journey here. 

現在，我們到了我們的新家，興奮的準備開始我們的新生活。

 
Just like a road trip, my new attitude here while we start a new life is that the best part is not the destination, but the journey!

就像開車旅行一樣，來到這裡我的新態度是:

開始一個新生活最好的部分不是在目的地，而是在旅程中。

See You Soon....

Well, we are in the process of moving our whole lives into this:

And on Sunday we are moving to our new destination.

I may be missing from the blog for about a week. My mom will be back at home from her business trip soon, but I'll be off organizing our new place.

I have been really emotional. I went to spend some time with one of my best friends, who very wisely told me that I need to make sure I don't cry in front of my kids, no matter how sad I am about this move. She knows I'm the kind of person that will do anything for my kids so she told me that I needed to be brave for my kids, so they understand that moving is not a sad thing, but that it's an exciting chance for us grow.  What wise friends I have.

ALSO!  I've been meaning to tell you all.  I failed my first glucose test of this pregnancy.  I was surprised because I consider myself pretty healthy.  But because of that, I am COMPLETELY NOT EATING:

Anything with white sugar

Anything with white flour (white bread, pasta, etc.)

This does not mean that I have gestational diabetes, but I'm still gonna be careful.

Usually I keep those two to a minimum, but now I'm NOT eating ANY of that at all......

I'll let you know how it goes.  It's gonna be hard, but I'm doing it for my baby! 

Well, next time I write I'll be in a brand new state! Take care until then!

WHAT?!

Unfortunately, mom the translator is going out of town on business....so it will be another week before we'll have a proper post.  Sorry....

So Fast!

Well, no translator again today.  Mom's still recovering.

I wanted to just post some pictures, and when I went to upload them, I clicked on an August 2009 album instead of 2011.  In this album I found a picture of me the day I found out I was pregnant with #2.

It really just seems like yesterday that I was at the hospital giving birth to Eli...

And here I am, NINE weeks away from having yet another baby.  You probably think I'm crazy. 

It's because I am.

Here's a picture from last week, at 30 weeks pregnant.  My hair was bad, but I'm feeling good! 

See you Friday for a better post ;)

Ouch.

No Chinese translation today.  Unfortunately, my beautiful mother who is my fabulous translator has a swollen hand and can't type.  I don't know how bad it is, but the the way she described it to me, I imagine it looks something like this....

Feel better, mom!  We love you!


Look for a new post next Tuesday!

Raising Boys教養兒子

Lately I've been finding lots of pictures that Malakai takes with the camera when I'm not around.  Like this.... 

最近，我發現我的相機裡有許多趁我不注意時凱凱拍的相片…..

My first reaction is always to get mad.  He hasn't broken this camera yet, but since he's been born we've gone through 3 cameras because he would find them and then drop them while playing with them.  But yesterday as I was uploading pictures, I found these ones that he took of himself, and couldn't help but smile.  What a funny kid!  My favorite thing about these pictures is that he made a different face in each picture.

我的第一個反應通常是生氣。雖然這個相機還沒被他弄壞，但是從他出生到現在已經有三個相機，因為他拿出來玩掉在地上報銷了。

但是昨天，我拿出相機準備上載相片時，我發現了這些他自拍的相片，

實在是忍不住的笑翻了。真是一個搞笑的孩子!

我最愛的就是他在照每張時都做了不同的怪臉…

Then I remembered a quote I came across a long time ago:

 

這讓我我記起以前看到的一段話:

“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass"; "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys";”- Harmon Killebrew

 

「小時候，我爸爸跟我及哥哥常在院子裡玩。

我媽媽會出來說”你們在摧毀我的草地”，

我爸爸則會回答說”我們不是在養育草地””我們是在養育兒子” 」

                                      - Harmon Killebrew

I always loved this quote because it reminds that even though sometimes we can't help but be mad, we need to take a step back and put things into perspective.  Our relationship with our children and our desire for them to be happy and healthy should be our utmost priority.  I know that doesn't mean we should just let them run around and break cameras, but I often have to remind myself that things are just things.  Also, kids are just kids. And sometimes, accidents happen.  

 

我真的很喜歡這句話，雖然我們常常不可控制的生氣，但是這句話會提醒我，我們要退一步，更全面的來看事情。對我們來說最重要的是我們跟孩子的關係和希望他們能快樂健康。

當然這不表示我們可以讓他們隨便跑來跑去，順便弄壞相機…

但是很多時候，我需要提醒自己:

”東西只是東西…”

“孩子只是孩子…”

有時候，意外難免發生。

Romantic Comedy 愛情喜劇片

 Last night my friend and I went to have dinner and watch a movie.  I really needed some time to relax from the everyday craziness of being mom!  She also has two young kids so we usually call each other when we need a break.

昨天晚上和朋友去吃晚餐，看了一場電影。我真的需要從每天當媽媽的瘋狂生活中找時間"休息"一下。我的朋友也有兩個小小孩，所以當我們需要”休息”時，我們會打電話給對方。

After our yummy dinner we went to watch a romantic comedy.  I love watching romantic comedies!  After the movie was done I was thinking about how many people don't like romantic comedies because of how unrealistic they are.  I know parents disprove their daughters watching movies like that, because then they have a false idea of what "love" is supposed to be, and expect their lives to be like fairy tales.

 

吃完了一頓美味的晚餐後，我們去看了一場愛情喜劇片。我喜歡愛情喜劇片!

看完電影後我在想，很多人都不喜歡愛情喜劇片，因為它太不實際。我知道很多父母不喜歡他們的女兒看這類的電影，因為怕他們對愛情有錯誤的認知而去期待自己也有一個童話般的愛情故事。

Of course, romance and love in real life isn't perfectly planned out like in movies, and I would never want my daughter to think that romance is just a few bumps in the road, and then a magical fairy tale ending, but what is wrong with wanting the ideal person to marry?

我當然知道現實生活中浪漫和愛情不可能像電影裡演的那樣完美，而我也絕對不希望自己的女兒相信浪漫的愛情會神奇的出現一個"公主王子永遠幸福的生活在一起”的大結局。不過，有一個想找一個理想的人結婚的願望有甚麼錯呢?

Okay, don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying we should all be waiting around for the perfect Prince Charming to come along before we actually decide to date, or get married.  I'll tell you what I AM saying though..

但是，請不要曲解我的意思。我的意思不是我們都不要約會，不要結婚，除非等到白馬王子出現…讓我來分享我的想法。

 

I find that too many girls settle for men that have less-than-good qualities and use the excuse that "nobody is perfect".  These less-than-good qualities range from somebody who is not completely trust-worthy, to somebody who doesn't look you in the eyes when he talks to you.  What about somebody who tells you he loves you but you are not a priority in his life?  What about somebody who tells you he will be there for you, but only when it's convenient for him?  What about somebody who only seems to pay attention to you when you're alone, but ignores you when there are other people around?  

 

我發現很多女孩子用”世界上沒有完美的男人”來當藉口，將就於”品質不是那麼好”的男生。

舉幾個這所謂的”品質不是那麼好”的例子…

比如說這個男生不是完全的忠實可靠，跟你講話時眼神閃爍，不看著妳的眼睛。

又比如說這個男生跟你說好愛妳，但是他考慮事情或安排事情時卻常常把別的放在妳前面。

再比如說這個人跟妳說，不管甚麼情況只要妳需要，他一定會在妳身邊。

但是….都只有在他方便的時候

有些人跟妳當獨相處時會重視妳，但是當有其他人在場時就忽視妳…

There is no "perfect man" out there, but I feel there are certain things that we can't just "look past" because we are settling, or because we are afraid there is going to be nobody else.  Every girl and every woman deserves at least a man they can trust, a man that is reliable, a man that will make us a priority, and a selfless man who is willing to put our needs before his own.

這個世界上沒有"完美的男人"，但我覺得有幾個觀察指標我們不能忽視。不能為了想抓住一個人或怕自己會碰不到其他的人而將就。每個女生都應當找到一個具有某些重要基本特質的男生，一個可靠，我們能信任，不自私，能永遠把我們的需要放在前面考量的男生。

Jordan and I have known each other since 2005, and of those six years, we have been married for five.  It's not a perfect marriage without disagreements, but one thing I knew for sure when I said "yes" when he proposed, is that he is somebody I can trust, and he loves me, and is willing to put me first in his life.  There were many unknowns when we got married (will we have enough money?  what will we do for school and our jobs?) because we were young, but he had the qualities that I knew that he would always stand by my side as we faced any trial or challenge that life would bring.  Sure enough, he was also my best friend and to this day still makes me laugh and makes me happy.  

 

喬登和我在2005年認識，在這六年裡，有五年我們是結婚的狀態。不用說也知道我們的婚姻也不是完美的。但是有一件事我非常確定，那就是當我說"我願意"時，我知道他是值得我信賴的，我知道他愛我，也知道他願意把我放在他生命中最重要的位子上。

我們很年輕就結了婚，當時我們對未來有很多的不確定(我們的錢夠嗎?我們該繼續讀書還是開始工作?)但是，我先生的特質讓我確信他會跟我永遠在一起，一起去面對人生中的挑戰。不用質疑，他也是我最好的朋友，到今天他仍然帶給我許多歡笑和快樂。

So no, I'm not telling you to look for perfection.  Because it doesn't exist.  But just remember there are some things you don't sacrifice.  Especially your own happiness.  Find a good man with a good heart.   

所以。我不是在告訴妳要找一個完美的人。因為這種人根本不存在。但是不要忘記，有些事是不能犧牲的。特別是妳的快樂。

找一個好男人，一個良善的男人，拍一部屬於自己的愛情喜劇片。