quiet, peaceful times

Ryan has been crying and screeching in the middle of the night recently and then waking up so early. It's been so frustrating and so irritating. I can feel myself getting angry when I know I should be more patient and understanding. God please help me through this.

Reliable patients

USC Football

IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!!

Family

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- Cher

Target gift cards

It's buy 2 diaper boxes and get a $10 gift card a Target!

GrubHub

Food delivered to work! Yes please!

quick baking times

I planned on making fig tarts for the pharmacy for Friday but Alex had a meeting today and wanted to bring some. In the morning I assembled and baked them in time for him to bring to the meeting. It took longer to assemble than I anticipated so I'm glad it only took 15 minutes to bake.

online workout videos

I'm trying to better myself and my health so I've been doing workout videos on YouTube and it's been very good. Tiring but good.

good patients

It's a nice feeling when you have a good patient who listens to what you say and what your recommend.

Audio books

DocuSign

YouTube

Sometimes words and handouts don't explain exercise movements very well. YouTube has been very useful in visualizing those movements.

Family time

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- Cher

Protein bars

Kaiser family

ELA restaurants

SO GOOD!!

flexible schedule

Great vacation

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- Cher

Decent drive

The kids were pretty good on the drive up to Monterey. That's the best we can ask for. 

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- Cher

lots of work

it definitely passes the time

wednesday lunch

there are a few trainings in the next few weeks and they happen to fall on a Wednesday so i'm miraculously able to make it!

light schedule

quick service

We went to lunch today and called in our order in advance. It was ready when we got there and overall their service was very quick! We were very pleasantly surprised with the restaurant. Good work Meme's Texas BBQ in East LA!

Errands day

Somehow I always pile up errands to do on my day off. At least I got it all done!

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- Cher

The grace of God

I survived putting my 2 kids to sleep by myself with ZERO tears! I don't know how but I'm just thankful that we made it through. 

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- Cher

busy days

Time goes by SO much faster when it's busy.

cloth seats

It's been SO hot recently and whenever I get in my car I'm very thankful for my cloth seats. They get warm but never burn-your-legs-hot.

yeh-yeh

We very abruptly took away Ryan's bottles from him and last night was rough. He was up, asking for milk, not wanting to drink it from a cup and just being a total terror. We knew this would happen but it was still hard to listen to. Yeh-yeh was up each time, dealing with him and saying no and reasoning with him. It's such hard work and we're so lucky that we have yeh-yeh to help us through it all.

gift cards

I ordered some clothes online and then used a gift card so it felt like I got a lot of the clothes for free!

financial options

we're debating the best option for our solar panel loan and it's such a 1st world, 1% problem. I have to remember that it's a good problem to have and that I'm lucky to be in this situation.

3 day weekends

I'm very fortunate to have 3 day weekends, every other week. I end up having 1 day weekends on the opposite weeks but it doesn't take away from the luxury of a 3 day weekend.

DVR

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- Cher

knowledgeable coworkers

a cold

Ryan had a small fever yesterday and has been coughing for a few days now. We brought him to the doctor today and thankfully it was just a cold. No ear infection!

good students

It is so helpful when there is a good student to help you with your work.

MSL

We called the Lilly company to ask about insulin pens that jam and the MSL taught us so much! A few minutes later I was able to use that information and educated a patient as well! It was an eventful 30 minutes with lots of education.

Friends aka Sibs

Always so great catching up with old friends. 

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Caring teachers

It was Ryan's first day of preschool today and I was very relieved to see that he wasn't bawling when I picked him up. 

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Alex

Target

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payday

I was feeling a little broke and then I realized today was payday!  HOORAY!!

Family

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Exciting news

Happy Birthday Brandon!!!

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- Cher

Spanish

I'm not sure when it happened but now, at work I think in English and Spanish. Some instances after I say something, I'm not sure if I said it in English or in Spanish.

Day dates

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Butterfly kisses

Alex played that song for Chloe and now she wants to learn the lyrics. We end up playing it over and over so she can hear it. 

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Good TV

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My mom

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Time and rest

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Taking turns

Chloe started having Alex & I 'take turns' in terms of who lies down next to her at bedtime. It's nice bc now I get some time to myself a few nights a week. 

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- Cher

Extra help

Alex cooked a feast for his pharmacy interns tonight so it was very hectic in the kitchen. I'm glad my mom was here to help me watch the kids and keep them occupied (ie. Out of the kitchen). 

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- Cher

Warm weather

The kids are outside playing with buckets of water and I'm sitting here drinking wine. Yup. Pretty awesome. 

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- Cher

Mommy & me

I'm so thankful I was able to attend Chloe's Mommy & Me day. She was so happy I was there and I really did enjoy the event. 

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- Cher

Stores that close at 9pm

At 8:30 tonight I realized the piece I needed for my project was to small! Luckily Michael's closes at 9pm and when I checked online they had a 60% off coupon! Win win! 

Look at the personalized keychains I made for Chloe's teachers!

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- Cher

God

I almost got in a car crash today and I personally would've taken the brunt of the hit. I firmly believe that God was watching over me and kept me safe.

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- Cher

Extra help

I drove my mom to her eye appointment but they were running behind and I wouldn't have been able to pick up Chloe on time if I stayed for the whole appointment. Luckily my sister was able to come and pick up my mom and bring her home safely. 

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- Cher

Annual passes

We had a rough day at Disneyland today. I'm very thankful that we have annual passes so I didn't have to feel bad when we left after 4 hours. 

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- Cher

Date night

It was awesome watching a movie with Alex on opening night. I'm glad we were able to have a date night. 

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- Cher

Busy schedule

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- Cher

Good days

Today felt like a really good day. Other than the slight stomach ache I had earlier, lots of good things happened today. 

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- Cher

Unroll me

I love this website and this service. Their ad space isn't annoying either. 

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- Cher

short days

6 hours of work sounds like a long time but when you start early and finish early it feels relatively short.

Quality time with Ryan

For one reason or another I feel like it's hard to find quality time to spend with Ryan. Today I brought him to Kids Love Play indoor playground and it was so much fun just hanging out with him. I'm amazed each day when I watch my kids grow and play but some days are just extra special. 

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- Cher

Quick dry top coat

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- Cher

Honesty

Open honest communication. Then time to think and collect your thoughts. 

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- Cher

Chloes singing

Chloe loves to make up songs or make up words to different songs. It's so fun to hear what she's going to say and see how she puts her surroundings into her songs. 

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- Cher

Half fails

Throughout the day I felt like I kept failing but in retrospect they were just small half fails. Nothing so big that my day was ruined but annoying nonetheless. It still gives me perspective in thinking about the good things that happened to be today. 

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- Cher

Indoor controlled climate

Bc it was 96 degrees today

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- Cher

My mom

We spent the afternoon at my moms house. We brought the kids to the park and let them run around for 2 hours. I'm so lucky that my mom is so awesome. 

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- Cher

Yeh-yeh

I can't express enough how thankful I am for Alex's dad. He is Ryan's primary caregiver during the week and even at night. This morning Ryan woke up around 5am but he was able to get him to go back to sleep (I think).

Jungle gym

We use the jungle gym that Alex bought for the backyard almost every day. It was a great investment!

Extra crayons

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- Cher

Playing together

After dinner Chloe and Ryan were reading books together. Eventually Chloe was 'reading' the book to Ryan and he would push the button or find the picture she was asking about. I'm so glad they're finally playing together in a real way!

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- Cher

Impromptu date night

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- Cher

Extra time for a meeting

It's hard to rush through meetings since things get cut short due to time constraint. It's nice when you have more leeway to fully discuss items on the agenda. 

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- Cher

Automatic transfers

The easiest way to save money is for me to have it automatically transfer into a different account. 

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- Cher

Small signs of faith

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Family time

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Time to do chores

Sadly I often feel like I don't have enough time to do chores around the house on a regular basis. I obviously do laundry but that's out of necessity most of the time. But today I was able to tidy up and clean the house without a time crunch. 

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- Cher

Long evenings after work

Other people’s insight

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- Cher

Chloe

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- Cher

Efficiency

I'm in awe of how efficient things are at Disneyland. The sheer number of people visiting is mind boggling. 

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- Cher

Friends and family

Thank you for celebrating Chloe's birthday today! It was a chill day with lots of friends and family and babies.

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- Cher

Party stores nearby

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- Cher

3/14: daylight

I left work at 7pm today and there was still daylight!! So awesome!!

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- Cher

Ball ball

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- Cher

Daylight

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- Cher

Attached garage

Alex moved the patio toys into the garage before the rain hit so they were able to play and run around all afternoon. 

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- Cher

3/9: Sharing

Today Ryan and Chloe were arguing over a toy. I calmed them down and told Ryan to share which left Chloe looking very skeptical. Thankfully when he was done with the toy he willingly gave it to her to play with! Thank You for not making me look like a liar Ryan!

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- Cher

Lots of food

I try to eat dinner in the last 15 minutes of my work day on the Wednesday's that I work late. It helps when everything is already packed and I just have to heat it up. 

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- Cher

Unexpected results

I was very pleased to see the Microsoft Home Use code on the KP myhr website.

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- Cher

Singing together

On the way home today Chloe and Ryan were singing along to Moana and my heart melted. 

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- Cher

Family time

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BFFs and future BFFs

I love getting together with my best friends. It's even better that they have kids the same age as mine so they can play together. 

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Old friends

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Tien chi tea

It helps with healing and blood flow. Apparently it makes you sleepy too. Win win win. 

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- Cher

Sunrises

Seeing the sun rise always fills me with hope and awe for the day to come.

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- Cher

Chloe’s curiosity

I explained to Chloe this morning that her feet were hurting bc she's growing bigger. She listened and absorbed the information and a few minutes later asked me again. I could see in her face that she was trying understand what I was saying. 

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- Cher

New toys

The kids and I were getting a little stir crazy in our house and I wanted them to spend time with Lola so we went to Cerritos this afternoon. 'New' toys and 'new' books helped pass the time very quickly

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- Cher

Team effort

It was my future sister in law's first time wedding dress shopping and she found her dress!! Her bridesmaids and the consultant were very helpful in finding the right style and fit for Thuy. I'm so glad she had a good time and was able to find the dress! One more thing to check off the list! ☑️ 

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- Cher

Eating in a restaurant

We were able to successfully eat breakfast in a restaurant today! I was very proud of how Ryan and Chloe acted. 

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food delivery

Thank you DoorDash for delivering our sushi lunch today!

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Online ordering

Ordered our pizza online. It was ready when we got there and we got to spend more time talking and eating and less time waiting for food. I love pre-ordering my food. 

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My village

They always say it takes a village. I'm so immensely grateful for my village and all the people in my life that help me and care for my children. 

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- Cher

Fast recipes

I made a chocolate lava cake in a mug from start to finish in about 5 minutes. It was so tasty Alex called it witchcraft. 😋 

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- Cher

Family

Alex's family came over for an early Chinese New Year celebration and it's always nice having family come over. 

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- Cher

2/10 my children’s joy

Tonight before bed Chloe & Ryan we're jumping around, dancing, chasing each other And the whole time they were laughing. The joy in their laughter, the happiness on their faces was a memory i hope to treasure forever. 

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- Cher

money smarts

Managing money & managing retirement money is difficult. I'm glad that I understand a little but also that I have Alex to help me.

Fruit & vegetable intake

I'm glad that my children eat their fruit & vegetables. Many times they've asked for and chosen fruit/vegetables over other foods. Not all the time, but I'm still impressed with what they eat. Let's hope it continues...

Hair clippers

I gave Ryan a haircut today! It's not perfect but it doesn't look too bad and he's 21 months old so oh well!  But I was happy with what it looked like for the most part and he didn't cry and it wasn't traumatic for him at all.  All in all it's a win.

7-8am

I start at 7am every other Saturday and I'm usually the only person here at that time. It's a nice quiet time that allows me to work on data, documentation and other things without being interrupted.

Friday traffic

I will be forever grateful for the (lack of) traffic on Fridays.

Perspective

One of our doctors at work as 4 kids, ages 7, 5, 3 and 20 months. I was impressed to say the least. I asked her how they decided to have 4 and what was the hardest transition, 1-2, 2-3 or 3-4. She said what I've heard time and time again that 3-4 is easy but for her 1-2 was the hardest. She said it was hard splitting the attention between the 2 children after being focused on 1 for so long. She was saying that they were very fortunate to have easy going kids who were all sleep-trained so they were all great sleepers too.  SO JEALOUS! But all in all, it gave me great perspective on my life, my kids and what life is like with more than 2.

iPhone games

Ryan was napping and we were tired but Chloe was still awake. I gave her my phone to play a few kids games and it kept her entertained for a while so i could lay down and rest for a few minutes. 

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- Cher

imagination

I got the kids these play scarves which are just nice pieces of colored fabric that they can play around with. It's great seeing what they come up with and the different things they want me to try to make with them. They have a lot of fun just running around and it's a super simple, non-electronic way to expend their energy.

#moments

One of the best things about watching my kids get older is their ability to play together, love each other and express themselves. The things Chloe says in reference to Ryan are (usually) so adorable. Last night, Ryan was in the garage and kept closing the door to the house. I walked away and when I was in my room I asked Chloe to go open the door so Ryan wouldn't get scared being in the garage. Off she went, running to open the door and she said "I have to go help my brother!!" My heart was ready to melt. I love these 2 kids so much.

Children

This morning, as Chloe was drinking her milk, I was looking at her and thought, "I still can't believe you're my child. I grew you inside of me!" It's amazing. It's an amazing thing to think about. These past few days I've been more grateful for the time I get to spend with my children.

gratitude blog

I recently added my gratitude blog to my bookmarks bar so that I see it and remember to write something at least once a day. Some days I get too busy and I'll forget but overall I've been more consistent.  The consistency has made me more thankful for everything in my life. It makes me notice the small things and appreciate the world around me. It's a great feeling to have and one that I've missed.

Proximity

It was raining today and it only took me 45 minutes to get to work! I was amazed. I'm very thankful that I work significantly closer to my home.  Thank you Kaiser East LA.

DVR

We just binge watched the current 6 season of SHIELD. It's so useful having DVR and just skipping through the 3-4 minutes of commercials. 

Side note: What happened to 2 minute commercial breaks from when we were kids? 

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- Cher

Dinner & new challenges

We took the kids to Olive Garden tonight, one of a very few number of times we've gone out to eat with them alone. I'm grateful that Alex was up for the challenge and at least we took one step forward. 

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- Cher

actual conversation

This morning Ryan was hanging out with me in the bathroom as I got ready for work. He was trying to brush his teeth and then rinse & spit with the cup of water. After I finished getting ready I realized that we had an actual conversation with back-and-forth and he understood what I was saying and I understood him! It made me realize how fast he's growing up and how much he's grown in the past few months.  He's a happy little boy most of the time and he really just wants to play with everyone and be included. My little boy is growing up!!

no traffic

Without traffic I can leave my house & get to work in 20 minutes.  It's amazing. These past 2 weeks have been great bc there's no traffic and I can spend a little more time at home with the kids.

late starts

Most Wednesdays I start work at 10:30am so I get to 'sleep in' and spend the morning with my monsters. It makes me grateful for the time I get to spend with them and also how small, sweet & innocent they are. I love my children so much and I love it when they get along and play together. I am always grateful for my kids and the joy and laughter they bring to my life.