Month: November 2010

  • Great Toys & Simple Thanks

    Great Toys

    I’m sure you have a gazillion toys in your home but some are more enduring than others.  I wanted to share a few things that Evan loves…things he has consistently played with for the past 6 months or longer. 

    Ikea Mula bead roller coaster

    Evan plays with this at least once a day.  Something about the way the beads move along the pathways is fascinating to him.

    PROS:  builds fine motor skills and logical thinking, small so it doesn’t take up much space

    CONS:  nothing!

    Ikea Latt children’s table & 2 chairs

    Everybody can benefit from a space to call their own~ even babies.  Kid-sized tables/chairs are so popular because kids love being able to eat/play/draw at their very own table.  There are so many different kinds of children’s furniture sets but I opted to start with a cheap one.  I didn’t want to worry about it getting ruined or Evan not liking it.  Luckily this super cheap $19.99 set worked out great for us! 

    PROS:  kids love having their own space, the low price, made of wood, love the clean colors

    CONS:  because of the cheap price I don’t think this is as sturdy as the other pricier ones on the market (but it’s still pretty sturdy, see below)

    Schylling ABC nesting cubes

    This toy is one of Evan’s favorites!  I ordered it after I saw it featured in a parenting magazine.  This isn’t just a “toy” but also a great learning tool.  It really helps with developing hand-eye coordination and honing fine motor skills as the kids learn to stack and nest the cubes.  Evan loves stacking them up and then calling out all the letters/images he knows~ dog, A, B, horse, juggle.  I think this would make a great gift for a 1, 2 or even 3 year old. 

    PROS:  builds fine motor skills, lightweight, kids can learn their numbers/alphabet/colors/animals, so many different games you can play with it, beautiful vintage drawings

    CONS:  won’t last forever because it isn’t as sturdy as wood/plastic

    Since we love these nesting cubes so much we’d like to share one with you!  Just leave a comment in the next few days and I’ll randomly pick someone to send this to.  happy  [sandelion23!  I'll message you for your address!]

    Simple Thanks

    I’m so thankful for…

    * a baby who loves me unconditionally even when there are many days I know I could’ve done better.

    * amazing in-laws who love me just like a real daughter and will babysit my baby and my friend’s baby just so we can have a morning out on the town with other mommies.

    * my parents who worked so hard all of their lives to provide a better life for me & my brother and yet still feel bad they couldn’t do more for us.

    * a wonderful husband who says I look pretty even when I’m in my old pjs with my glasses on first thing in the morning and who actually likes my silliness. 

    * a dog who warms my heart and hands whenever I need something to smile about.

    * friends and family who lift me up when I’m feeling blue, make me laugh and inspire me to be a better person.

    * friends like you who take the time to leave comments even though I know how very busy you must all be!  heart

    What are the things you’re thankful for?  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  happy

     

  • Korea: The Movie!

    I’m so excited to share our Korea movie with you!  Andy did a fabulous job capturing a real life glimpse into our wonderful trip to visit our family and friends.  heart

    Korea 2010 from Jenny on Vimeo.

    Apologies to those who use Internet Explorer~ it might be choppy for you!  I highly recommend turning your vacation photos/videos into a mini-movie.  It’s priceless being able to relive precious moments.  I’ve already watched it more than 20 times and each time I still laugh and get teary-eyed. 

    I don’t have a lot of family in the U.S. so it was heartwarming to be surrounded by my family and all their love.  I feel so lucky to have been able to spend time with them…especially my grandparents.  They are both such amazing people.  They raised me when I was little and my parents were in the U.S.  My grandpa said that even years after I left he would still turn around every time he heard a child yelling harabuji.   

    It was incredibly hard saying good-bye to my grandparents.  I cried so much because I didn’t know when I’d be able to see them again.  As we stood at the bus stop saying our final farewells…I hugged my grandma tightly as she wiped the tears from eyes, smiled and told me a few bits of advice. 

    * Pray every single day for those you love and for those who are less fortunate than you. 

    * Always wear blush.

    * Don’t forget to eat vegetables and exercise.

    * Always live with a thankful heart.

    We missed Evan so much but we talked to him every day on Skype and knew he was having a blast back home with his grandparents! 

    This wasn’t our typical resort/lounging type of vacation but it was even better. Some of my fondest memories will be…

    * Walking aimlessly through the streets of Seoul in the rain and eating fried chicken & ice cream at 3 in the morning.

    * Eating the best Korean food ever.

    * Being on a Korean TV show, hehe.

    * People watching in the subway at rush hour.

    * Relaxing in our room’s plunge pool & reminiscing about the olden days with my law school buddies.

    * All the laughter and love…those are the moments I’ll never forget.

    happy

  • Photo Book Party + Giveaway + BBQ

    Photo Book Party 

    Hi hi!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  I threw a photo book party!  I had a few of my mommy friends come over so we could share ideas about photo books and products.  I have so many photos but never seem to have the time to make photo books or even print them out!  We talked about what kinds of things we could make with our photos and about what we thought of different photo companies. 

    I made folders for the mommies with photos of their kiddos that I had taken.  I even made one for Evan, hehe.      

    I’m hoping to do more in-depth research on photo books/prints/canvases and share the results with you…when I have time!  For now, here are a few tips/ideas that we talked about at our party: 

    * Canvases:  A few of the companies we liked are Simply Canvas, White House Custom Colour (for pros?) and Canvas on Demand

    * Prints:  We like Costco and Shutterfly for prints.  I actually think they use the same Fujifilm paper.  Even though it’s hard to tell by looking at a photo of a photo…take a look below and see if you can tell which one is the Costco or Snapfish one.  The original photo was taken by Youkeun Oh from Evan’s one year photo session last year.

    The left one is from Snapfish and the right one is from Costco.  Snapfish does something to the photos to make them look a bit overprocessed.  Plus, the paper is thinner than both Costco and Shutterfly.

    * Calendars:  Caroline had a really cool idea~ she makes a photo calendar each year and fills in her activities with her kids throughout the year.

    * Photo books:  One really awesome idea Connie suggested was to make a storybook out of photos of your baby!  You could just make up the words or base it off of a favorite book.  Other great ideas include~ a book of your kid’s artwork, a book of just the simple moments in your life (where you eat breakfast together, your baby’s favorite toy, etc.) and a book that has photos of each of your family members and close friends.

    * Memory boxes:  Helen was so sweet to lug her big memory box frame all the way to my place to share with us.  It’s so beautiful and it looks even better in person!

    * Groupon for Blurb:  Groupon (my favorite daily deal site) has a deal on photo books for Blurb today.  $20 for $60 at Blurb.  Here’s the LINK.  I bought a few so I’ll share the results when I finish my books!  

    Please share your best photo product ideas, tips and tricks!  happy

     

    Giveaway

    I was so excited that Shutterfly generously offered a free photo book and holiday cards to my guests.  I also have four gift sets to share with you!  Each set will include one 8×8 photo book and ten holiday cards.  I’ll send the codes to the first four people who say they’re interested!

     

    BBQ

    Gina and her brand new husband set up a BBQ at the park for Andy since they weren’t able to make it to his actual party.  It was so much fun just relaxing and chowing down on the yummy food they prepared, especially the mussels!  I even told my dentist and she wants the recipe for the mussels~ lol!

    Evan learned how to say “Hershey” and kept calling for his buddy. 

    We’re so thankful to have such wonderful friends!  

    heart

  • Haute Dog Parade

    I’m a huge dog lover so imagine how happy I was to be surrounded by hundreds of dogs at the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade!  This parade is the world’s largest pet Halloween event.

    Of course, Connie’s giant angel (a Great Pyrenees puppy named Jack) was a huge hit and we couldn’t even make it a couple of feet before people stopped us again and again.  Bella (the mixed breed) and Akira (the Akita) also got some love but were in Jack’s shadow (literally)~ LOL!

    Connie & Sarah~ I’m so happy I got to spend time with you girls!


    All of the girls below are gorgeous! 

    Oh Bella, you are truly a haute dog!

    Two people who always make my world seem a lot brighter and sunnier.  


    happy