In Our World: Egypt

Mubarak Leaves and Egypt Celebrates

February 11th, 2011 @ 4:18pm

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI and SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) - One Egyptian kissed the ground. Another rolled in ecstasy in the grass outside a presidential palace. People wept, jumped, screamed and hugged each other with a shared joy they had never known. Cairo erupted in a cacophony of celebration: fireworks and car horns and gunshots in the air.
President Hosni Mubarak resigned and handed power to the military on Friday, and Egypt held its biggest party in decades.
"The people have toppled the regime," chanted protesters, whose 18 days of swelling protests tipped Egypt into a crisis that the autocratic government could not undo.
"This is the happiest day in my generation," said Ali al-Tayab, a demonstrator who paid tribute to those who died in clashes with police and Mubarak supporters. "To the martyrs, this is your day."
At a presidential palace in Cairo, where demonstrators had gathered in the thousands, people flashed the V-for-victory sign and shouted, "Be happy, Egyptians, today is a feast" and "He stepped down."
They handed out candy. Many prayed and declared: "God is great."
Crowds packed Tahrir Square, the scene of massive protests against Mubarak that began on Jan. 25. The celebrations continued early Saturday, with throngs of people milling around in downtown Cairo.
A huge poster hanging in the square read, "Breaking news: The people have brought down the regime."
"Egypt is free," shouted Mahmoud Elhetta, a protest organizer. "We are a great people and we did something great. This is the expected end for every dictator."

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My main goal in doing a blog is to keep a record of not only what is happening in our family but also what kind of a world we live in at this time.
I will occassionally be posting news articles or stories if I feel they are relevant.

What has happened in Egypt is truly amazing and proves the strength of  a determined people.
Mubarack was an evil, oppressive dictator and in my view the people of Egypt had every right to begin their revolution.  I am very concerned about what kind of government will be established in Egypt now.
I hope that the people can take this chance to put righteous people above them and form a true demoracy.
Unfortunantly I worry that this might not happen.  I am concerned about a militant Islamic radical influence taking control and inforcing Sharia Law in Egypt.  I hope that for the sake of the Egyptians, the people of Isreal, and the rest of the world that this does not happen.

And that is my 2 cents on this bit of history on the making.

Valentines Exchange

Today we went to a Valentine's exchange for Isabelle.

It was a big group of other homeschoolers.

Just doing my part to make sure my child doesn't end up as

some weird, non socialized homeschooler!

I hope all my homeschooling friends pick up on my dripping sarcasm!

She needed to add some finishing touches to her box.

Here's the girlified finished product.

Then she had to take a quick break and sugar load.

Just in case the candies she got in her box weren't going to be enough,

she had suckers, cookies and good ol' cinnamon hearts.

William needed his fair share of sugar intake too.

By the time he finished this sucker I don't know who was stickier,

him or me.

It didn't take long for the sugar weirdness to kick in.

Now she was all geared up to pass out -

candy that is!

When we got home she had to re-evaluate her stash.

I think she was pleased.

I remember loving Valentines Day.

It seems most of my favorite childhood memories revolve

around heaps and heaps of candy.

I wonder if I need therapy for that?

Chocolate therapy...

Funny Face

Isabelle and I got a little bored/goofy this afternoon.

I blame it all on the Valentines candy.

Ah, yes, the always classy fishy lips.

Your face could get stuck this way if you do this too much.

Quite frightening.

Pucker up Valentine.

My middle initial is M.

Do you think it stands for mischievous?

Diva Dishwasher

Every mom looks forward to the day her children can

 take over the household chores.

That means I never have to do them anymore...right?

Today Isabelle was begging me to let her do the dishes.

So I thought...why not?  It's not as if I am going to do them!

She was so excited.

It took her about 10 minutes to wash each spoon.

She was also trying to wash the dishes

without actually touching them.

That's quite hard to do.

She was such a Diva and kept saying "eeewwww, gross" frequently.

She enthusiastically said "I can't believe I get to wash the
dishes for the 1st time in my whole life!!!"

Don't worry Isabelle, as your mom I promise to let you have many,

many more chances in the future.

I will also let you clean bathrooms and fold laundry, but only if you beg.

I just wish I had the same enthusiasm in regards to dishes that she does.

I also hope that she can keep that enthusiasm until she moves out!

BOOK REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Written By: J.K. Rowling
Number of Pages: 309
Number of stars I'm giving it: 3.5


Have you ever read a book out of sheer peer pressure?
That's the exact reason why I started this one.
It wasn't a bad book.  It was written for children and it clearly shows.  The plot lacked depth, but it was still entertaining.
This book is exactly like the movie - which made it a little boring.  In fact the only reason why I finished it was because it is due back at the library today.  I am planning on reading the whole series this year.  I realize this first book just introduces you to the characters, so I hope in the future books there can be a little more depth.  I think it's a great book for kids...but as for me I am off to try to finish something a little more challenging!
Happy reading everyone!

Games with Grandma

I have memories with both of my Grandmas playing games.

With my Grandma Cain we would play Dominos and Uno.

She would pretend to be forgetful and cheat. 

Well we never actually figured out if she was

cheating or truly forgetful of the rules.

Either way you had to keep a pretty close eye on her.

With Grandma Nielson we would play Aggravation.

Now we don't play the wimpy store version of this game.

Our family has a more brutal version - its WAY more fun.

Sometimes you love each other after...no not really,

 but somehow you still grow closer!

Grandma would always say

"Oh sweetie, I have to kill your person. I feel just terrible." 

And she did, but she would go ahead and kill you anyways.

My mom is a Grandma of the 21st century. 

My kids like to play Nintendo with Grandma.

She is getting William started out at a very early age.

I hope my kids will remember these times with my mom

when they have their own kids!

Korean New Year

Last year on Korean New Year we didn't eat our "Duk Guk".

Duk Guk is rice cake soup.  Koreans eat it every year on

New Years to bring them good luck.

Last year we missed it, and we had kindof a crappy year! 

This year we didn't want to take any chances so we invited

 Soung Jo and Jee Hoon over and ate lots and lots of good luck soup.

Of course we had to have lots and lots of other food as well!

Yummy! We were all stuffed. I am looking forward to a really

lucky year now.  You better not fail me little rice cakes!

My Little Man

My little man Liam makes sure that I never have a boring day.

Actually he makes sure I don't ever have a boring moment.

Here are some things he has been up to this week.

There are some perks to being very small.

One of them is that a 1x1x1 foot box is not too small to play in.

He was in there for a long time just having a blast.

If you weigh the same as a 4 month old, then I guess you

should be able to play in the baby swing too.

The funny part is watching him climb in there!

Here he is taking a brief nap.

He looks OH SO comfortable.

Much to my dismay he is trying to cut out his naps.

I went into his room this afternoon

when he should have been sleeping.

He had pulled every stuffed animal off of his shelf and

all of his clothes/diapers out of the changing table, and he was

dancing in circles with his stuffed dog in the middle of the room.

Everyday after his "nap" he goes to

Grandma's house to eat a banana.

This tradition is one that we cannot miss for any reason!

A banana a day keeps the monkeys at bay.

There is no rule that says you have to use hands to eat a banana.

If you eat bananas with Liam's method it frees

up your hands for more playing.

*Please note the completely shaved head.  I did not do that to him,

I put that all on his father.  Soungsik loves it, I am not so sure,

and my parents hate it.  My mom thinks it looks like we did it because

he had lice in his hair.  I had to explain to her that it wasn't a lice

problem, but a rice problem!*

Liam wants the best of both worlds.

He wants to be a small enough for the baby swing,

yet big enough for the "big kid" table.

He is starting to rebel against tippy cups and the high chair.

He was mad here because Isabelle has frosting on her sweet rolls,

and his didn't have any.  We aren't going

to be able to pull things like that over on him anymore!

Even though he never stops moving

I wouldn't change a minute of it!

We love you Liam!

Mommy Meltdown

Many blogs you may read are probably filled with

perfect stories about perfect children and their perfect mommies.

If you are looking for any such stories here today,
you may want to click away now. 

You have been warned...

Some days your kids push your buttons, and you just let it roll off your back.

Some days you may be cranky for no reasons.

Once in a blue moon elements will collide and create a perfect storm.

Today was such a day at our house.

I woke up slightly angry this morning.  I blame this on the fact that it's freezing outside and my house is a mess. Hope as I might I have come to the dismal conclusion that no one is coming to clean it for me.

Not that I enjoy complaining about my hubby, but how many times do I have to be fired/quit before I don't have to do anymore taekwondo paperwork?  I have more than enough work to keep me drowning without TKD stuff.

Keep in mind my bad attitude and I will tell you all of the gory details of how the meltdown came about.

I was heading upstairs to get Isabelle ready for taekwondo.  She hasn't been in a week, so Soungsik was insisting she go today.  As I pass William's room and realize that he is rebelling against his nap my patience level goes down about 25 points (on a scale of 100).  By this point in the afternoon my I only at about 30 patience points left - 5 more left to.  As I am getting Isabelle ready she's starts going on and on about how she doesn't want to go.  Then she tells me "I shouldn't have told you my leg feels better after my shots." WHAT? 
Are you saying you are premeditating lies to your mommy right now?

There goes the last 5 patience points.  Whatever you do Isabelle - don't push anymore buttons!  Then she goes over to her closet and says in a most frumpy and complaining voice "I have a really bad life!"

At this point I feel like I just got slapped in the face.  I am staring around the room looking at piles of stuffed animals and toys.  I begin thinking "yes, yes, you have spoiled her rotten!"  That's when I had my complete meltdown.  All patience was gone - in fact we are now in the negative numbers on our point scale.  That is when I inform Isabelle that there are children who actually have hard lives, and she isn't one of them.  I also declare that I will be taking away ALL of the toys in her room and giving them to truly needy children.

After a  few garbage bags...

And much much weeping and wailing,

my point has been made.

I am feeling better - but I don't think Isabelle is.

She came and apologized profusely.

Since she was so sincere I told her I wouldn't give all of her stuff away,

but she still isn't getting it back yet.

I hope I am not creating any major psychological damage in my daughter,

but I think it's very unhealthy to let that kind of attitude

be acknowledged as truth and grow.

Isabelle has actually been a very sweet girl today,

so I probably should have cut her some more slack.

I am really hoping that by tomorrow I will be in a better state of mind,

my family will be in a better state of mind,

and my blog will be on a more optimistic note!

Small but Mighty

Today both of the kids had their well child checks at the doctor's office.

William for his 18 month and Isabelle for her 5 year check.

I let Isabelle know a few days ago that she would be getting some vaccines.

She was well prepared before we went in that they would "pinch" a little,

but that it was worth it so she wouldn't get a serious illness later.

When we got to the office we were escorted into a forest themed room.

Isabelle quickly amused herself with the chair you can spin around in circles.

William went straight to growling at the bears, moose, and bunnies.

When he got bored with the growling he moved onto opening and

closing drawers in the room at a break neck pace.

Isabelle was whisked away to her get her
blood pressure taken and a quick eye exam.

She weighed in at a massive 33 pounds which places

her at the 10th percentile for weight.

Her height was 40 inches, which is also the 10th percentile.

She just can't seem to get above that 10th percentile.

William weighed in at just 19 pounds putting him in the 2nd percentile.

I was actually a little surprised that he had gained that much
 weight since his last visit.

His height was 31.4 inches which put him in the 25th percentile.

I was shocked.  One of my children was above the 10th percentile - finally!

I did a little mommy party dance (in my head of course)! 

Boo Yay - Oh Yeah - Take that you
24 shorter little boys some where out there! 

It may not last, but at least there is a glimmer of hope that

my son won't be shorter than all of the girls he dates.

I realize that's a very shallow view point to have,

I guess at times I can be a very shallow person.

After all of the weighing in and other routine checks
it was time for Isabelle's shots.

She got 3 today.  She laid down on the table and she held my hand.

When they gave her the shots she didn't even grimace or whine.

She was SO brave, and I was SO proud of her!

I think the nurses were amazed too. 

This act of bravery needed to be rewarded...

Even though it was only about 14 degrees today,

sometimes ice cream just calls out to a girl.

My kids may be below the 10th percentile in size,

but in strength and courage they are at the top!

Battle For The Bouncy Chair

We purchased a bouncy chair for William before he was born.

It turns out we almost never used it when he was a baby.

I took it down to storage and thought to myself

"What a waste of money".

Fortunately we have a new little nephew who can use it now.

I fetched it out of storage for him a few weeks ago.

Liam noticed how much "fun" the baby was having in the

chair and thought he'd try it our too.

He loves it!  It turns out Caspian loves it too!

They have an ongoing battle for who's territory this chair belongs to.

Liam likes to turn the vibrating feature on and

then sit in the chair and just laugh.

Liam also like to bring snacks, blankets, pillows and toys

to the chair and have a little party.

He stole this pillow from Grandma's house.

Caspian will spend the entire day in the chair if William doesn't

come and toss him out.

Sometimes William just pulls the cat out and drops him on the floor.

Sometimes the chair tries to become Switzerland and

both parties can stay.

I find it strange that the cat doesn't mind when Liam sits on him.

Sometimes I catch Isabelle in the bouncy chair.

That's when I have to remind her yet again that she isn't a baby

or a cat and therefore cannot be permitted to stay.

In the battle of the bouncy chair there can only be 1 ultimate champion.

My money is on William.

Refridgerator Art

There was a time in my life not too long ago when

I swore that my fridge would NEVER look like this...

I used to think,

"That makes houses look so trashy,

what would posses someone to put all of

their kids' pictures on their fridge?!? 

 Weird people."

I don't know when it started, but somehow

works of art just keep appearing on the fridge.

1 or 2 new art pieces appear almost daily.

I have a love/hate relationship with this art phenomenon.

It's fun to see what Isabelle will come up with next.

I'm amazed at how engrossed she gets when she is being creative.

I love having little reminders of her after she's gone to bed when

I am trying to sneak some ice cream out of the freezer.

On the flip side there is still that voice in the back of my mind that says

"Tsk, tsk, tsk.  That is so unorganized.

A fridge should be sparkly clean and free from any debree.

Honestly what if Martha Stewart suddenly drops by for a surprise inspection?

Or worse what if the Bishopric just pops in?"

I have a history with the Bishopric and Relief Society presidency. 

Every time they just stop by, my house is

the most dirty it has been for an entire year.

I shouldn't acknowledge this to the public, but last time they came

not only was there a stinky diaper on my living room floor

 (among a mountain of toys),

there was also an almost black banana peal on my couch.

I bet they left and said

"Mental note, never eat anything from her house!"

Okay now I am running off track.

To finish making a short story long, I have decided that

since I have sacrificed other things for my children,

such as my hips and sleep,

what is one more thing going to hurt?

I am turning the fridge over to the kids for at least the next 15 years.

May it always be covered with fairies, sparkles, and glam!

It's going to look just fantabulous!

1st Day Of Nursery

Today William is exactly 18 months old.

(This picture looks a little too much like a mug shot - 

 with the stripes and wall behind him- oops)

It is a little hard to believe that time could go by so quickly.

It marks a monumental and long awaited for day. Anyone who is a

 member of our church understands this well.

18 months is when you can toss your little one in nursery

and just leave them there for 2 hours.

They get to play with toys, eat snacks, and have books read to them.

You get to go blissfully off to your class without

 someone hanging off of your arm.

That's the idea anyways.  That's the way it happened with Isabelle.

I knew that William would be a little different.

He is my shy little guy.  He's not much of a momma's boy at home,

but when we get around strangers he turns into Super Glue Boy

(the newest superhero, watch for him at a theater near you).

I took him into class and he immediately stuck on my leg. 

 I sat down with him and started to play with a toy. 

He was doing pretty good. Right up until I decided to leave him there.

He completely lost it.  I could hear him screaming all of the way down the hall in the library.

I went back into nursery and he sat on my lap for the next hour. 

If I even thought about leaving he would cry. 
If anyone looked at him, he would cry. 

If a kid walked by him, he would cry.

I had to teach class the 3rd hour so Soung Sik came and rescued him.

We will continue to try and hopefully he will warm up to the idea.

If there were a bunch of dads in there he would be fine.

He'll go up to strange men with no problems.

It's the strange women he has a problem with.

Not that the women in nursery are strange,

they are all incredibly nice women.

He really doesn't know what he's missing.

Youth really is wasted on the young!

Congratulations on making it to a another

big milestone in your life William.

I know you won't be in nursery very long,

so I hope you will learn to love it while you have the chance!

Glorified Errand Run

I wasn't really looking forward to today last night.

We had game night and stayed up way too late.

I had received a call earlier reminding me that I had signed up to help clean the church.

It wasn't the idea of cleaning that bothered me, it was the idea of being to the church by 8:00.

Have I every mentioned that I am not a morning person?

At any rate I had to pry myself out of bed at 7:00 and Isabelle out of bed at 7:50.

We got the job of cleaning all of the blackboards in the building.

It's probably the easiest job. 

Once we were there working I quickly became thankful for the opportunity.

Isabelle said "We are cleaning Jesus' house.  That means we are giving him service, huh?"

It 's a good lesson for kids to learn to be respectful of our church building, but it was an even better lesson for me to learn not to be so selfish with the time that Heavenly Father has graciously given to me.

After cleaning Isabelle and I had to rush off to our Korean class.

Today's class was pretty fun all things considered.  I understood a good portion of what we were talking about and I think I only got laughed at twice!  That is a huge improvement!

Once we got home mom was kind enough to watch the kids so that Soung Sik and I could go out on a date.  I remember when dates with Soung Sik were actually dates and not just glorified errand runs.

I guess that is what happens when you get older.  But even the glorified errand runs have been few and far between for us.  We are making an effort to get back into a dating schedule.

Today we ran to some banks and then Soung Sik bought a gun. 

I honestly have no idea how many guns we own now. Some people would say "wow, you people are gun crazy" while others might say "your gun stash is pathetic".

After we got the gun thing taken care of we went to Fashion Place mall and walked around.

Again I started thinking about our pre-kid phase of life. 

I remember walking around the mall and actually buying something. 

It's much funner that way.

There also seemed to be a lot of strange people there. I felt like such an old foggie. 

I don't know when I became an old foggie, but we decided to celebrate this transition by going to dinner at 4:00.  We didn't split a meal - I mean we aren't  super old foggie's yet.  Dinner was great and my company was even better.  Date night is definitely going to have to become a permanent fixture in our marriage again!

Imaginary Friends vs. My Self Esteem

Isabelle has a few imaginary friends right now.

These are not the first, and I doubt they will be the last.

Her first imaginary friend was Kennedy from "South Jordan, Florida".

Kennedy gave me the creeps.

Isabelle would say things like
" Mom, she is standing right behind you.
Can't you see her?  She looks mad". 

I would then hear the "Jaws" theme in my mind.

Luckily Kennedy hasn't shown up for a few months.

I understand that children have imaginary friends - I guess.  I never had one.

Last night as I was tucking Isabelle into bed she told me

"Guess what? I have friends that you can't see.  McKinnley is 15 and her brother Jake is 17.  Jake is sooo nice to me.  They have an older sister named Sarah. Sarah is so beautiful! 
She has long blond hair, wears makeup on her eyes,
and has long eyelashes and rose red cheeks. 
She also has the prettiest pink gown.

Oh I wish you could be that beautiful mom!"

It's amazing how quickly a child can deflate any
self-esteem you may have left at 9:00 at night.

Feeling resentful I just flatly said "Go to sleep or I will close your door."

She responded enthusiastically "Sure thing mom!"

I don't like looking at real women and
comparing myself to them only to fall short.
Falling short happens a lot when you are 5'2".

Yes, I may be a mom but I think I still qualify as a
woman at least 20% of the time, so comparisons are bound to happen.

It is very unfair to have to be compared to a 19 year old imaginary girl! 

At the very least it should be the 19 year old me and not the
31 year old me that has to compete.

Here's to hoping that Isabelle's next imaginary friend is a
wart covered troll named Imgren.