A rollercoaster ride

Up:
Our passports came back...finally.
Down:
Two of the three passports came back with incorrect information.

Up:
I went to Bradford Woods last week.
Down:
It rained and was freezing cold the whole time.

Up:
We sold a lot of our big items already.
Down:
I miss our stuff. Now this move seems even more real.

Up:
Mike's visa got denied (yeah, that's an up in my book because that means he's still in Bloomington a while longer).
Down:
Mike's visa got denied (okay, it's a down too because we still aren't getting a paycheck until Mike starts work which he can't do without a work visa).

Up:
We sold our truck.
Down:
We lost money on the truck.

Up:
I got RIF-ed last week (reduction in force - aka layed off) so I don't feel as guilty about leaving after only one year.
Down:
It never feels good to lose a job, even one I would soon be quitting.

Happy Easter

Easter at our house has changed a lot over the years. Part of that has to do with the fact that the kids are getting older. This year I asked Jonathan and Sammy if the Easter Bunny still needed to visit our house. Jonathan didn't answer right away, but Sammy piped right up. "Of course, Mommy!" she said. So once again the Easter Bunny hid plastic eggs around the house. This year he hid some on every floor of the house. It took a little while for the kids to find all 92 eggs! But they enjoyed the hunt.

This makes me smile

Ok.
With life as crazy as it's been lately, I have to find joy in little things.
I did in this TV commercial for Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal (one of my favorites).
It makes me laugh every time I see it!


I just saw this one for the first time today. It's pretty cute as well.

Fears

I am not an adventurous person.
I do not deal well with change.
I have lived in Bloomington for 21 years.
I have never left the USA except to visit Canada briefly as a child.
And now I am moving to England.

I am scared that I will get lost.
I am scared that I will get in an accident because I will have driven on the "right" side of the road instead of the "correct" side of the road.
I am scared that I won't make new friends.
I am scared that I will get bored not working.
I am scared that I will lose touch with my friends and family.
I am scared that we won't sell our house.
I am scared that we won't sell our cars.
I am scared that I won't be happy.
I am scared of the unknown.

I need to have faith.
I need to trust Heavenly Father to help our family.
I need to do my best to stay positive.

But I'm moving to England and I'm terrified.

I had forgotten...

It's been a while since we've had a toddler in the house. It wasn't until April and Pete brought Kate to visit for the weekend that I remembered what it was like. I love watching little kids amuse themselves with the simplest things. Last night, Kate spend a long time simply scooting herself across the hardwood floors.
Today I was reminded of another thing I had forgotten about - toys. Lots and lots of toys. All over the place. Dumped out on the floor. Strewn across the family room. Played with and discarded. It's funny, I remember it driving me nuts when my kids were little but it didn't bother me nearly as much when it was my sweet niece, Kate, doing the dumping.

He did it!

Tonight Jonathan tested for his black belt. He was pretty nervous ahead of time, but it was an excellent test. Since he was the only one testing, Mr. Scott really flew through it. He completed the test in less than an hour. (Usually it takes closer to two hours.) His kicks were fabulous. (I could hardly get a good photo since he was moving so fast.)

His forms were precise. You could hear his uniform snapping as he performed each technique. Even Mr. Scott pointed out what a great job he was doing. Watch the video below of his final form, Neppujin Chodan.

At the completion of his test, Jonathan got a special plaque and a brand new black belt with his name embroidered on it in both English and Korean. He looked pretty great with it on.

After the test, we headed over to Pizza Hut with all of the family and friends to celebrate. I love how the cake turned out. It's Jonathan with a black belt!

We are so proud of his hard work and dedication. It took many years of training to get to this point, but he stuck with it! He's even started being an assistant instructor in some of the beginner classes at the YMCA.

Black Belt in Training

Jonathan tests for his black belt in Tae Kwon Do on Saturday.

His test requirements consist of the following:

hand techniques:

Horse stance-triple punching,Low block,High block,Inside block,Outside block,Palm heel,Ridge hand,Inside knife hand,Outside knife hand,Double middle knife hands,High double knife hand,Low double knife hand,Tiger claw,Uppercut,Back fist,Outside hammer fist,Spear hand,Roundhouse elbow,Elbow thrust,Leopard paw,Ox jaw,Eagle claw,Tiger mouth,Bear paw,Underpunch,Downward elbow,Upward elbow,Back elbow,Outside elbow,Two finger spear, and "Bam Jumok"

kicks:

Front, Half-moon, Roundhouse, Side, Inside crescent, Outside crescent, Backside, Jump front, Back crescent, Tornado, Thunder, Backspin, Jump roundhouse, Jump reverse roundhouse, Hook, Axe, Jump backside, Drop backspin, Jump tornado, Jump outside crescent, Jump 360, Jump reverse front, Jump inside axe, Jump outside axe, Double round, Twist, Flying side, Drop backside, Drop roundhouse, and Free style combination kicking and punching (five floor lengths)

falling:

Front, Kickback front, Back, Side, Front rollout, and Back rollout

forms:

Palgue 1, Palgue 2, Palgue 3, Palgue 4, Palgue 5, Palgue 6, Palgue 7, Palgue 8, Koryo, and Neppujin Chodan

sparring:

two 3-minute rounds

Whew! I'm tired just typing all of that!

In preparation, he has been going to lots of martial arts classes as well as practicing at home. Tonight he asked Mike to help him practice by sparring with him. They looked so cute out in the front yard that I had to snap a couple pictures...

Stay tuned for pictures from his test this weekend...

For Sale

Well, it's official.
Our house in on the market.
Our realtor, Sue Elkins, came by today and put a sign in our yard. Our house and a detailed description (including photos) has been added to the Homefinder database. There's no turning back now! I just hope that whoever decides to purchase our house loves it as much as we have.

Attachments

Tonight we finished our room-by-room cleaning and purging. Mike and I have spent the past several days doing some serious cleansing in our house. It is amazing how many things we have come across that we haven't seen or used in years. It certainly made it easier to get rid of some of those things. Items like picture frames, old dishes, plastic cups, too small clothes, and toddler toys were simple to part with. It makes the house look so much nicer to have less "stuff" stored all over the place.

The tough part was when I had to part with all of my kitchen gadgets. I love them. I have a salsa maker, a smoothie maker, a yogurt maker, an ice cream maker, a bread maker, a milk shake machine, a toaster oven, a mini food processer, and a KitchenAid mixer. Since they all run on electricity, I cannot take them to England with me. And that makes me super sad.

The thing I will miss the most is my red KitchenAid mixer. It has been such a wonderful addition to my many kitchen appliances. I have used it to make birthday cakes, christmas cookies, brownies, pizza dough, banana bread, and much much more. Mike bought it for me as a gift and I have loved it ever since.

Mike thinks I'm silly for getting so upset over having to sell it. Luckily my good friend, Melissa, understands my situation. She told me, "Kim. It's alright to be attached to your appliances." Thanks for your support, Melissa. I am attached.

Today's accomplishments

It took some prompting from Mike, but I actually got a few things done today.
(1) Paint touch-ups around the house
(2) Sweeping the floors
(3) Got rid of two boxes worth of stuff in the garage
(4) Straightened up the kitchen
(5) Fed my kids breakfast and lunch
(6) Blogged
(7) Washed the windows
(8) Fixed the plumbing leak downstairs (okay, Mike did this one)
Nevermind the fact that I never took a shower or got dressed today.
It was still a day that I could check things off "the list".

Updates

So, we're moving to England in two months.
Yeah, that's right. England.
As in across the ocean and far away.
Exciting?
We'll see.

In the meantime, we are frantically trying to do the following:
(1) Put our house up for sale
(2) Clean the house so it can be put up for sale
(3) Sell both our cars (interested?)
(4) Sell many of our belongings that will not fit in our place overseas

Do see a pattern here?
Sell, sell, sell!

(5) Arrange for time off work so I can help Mike find us a place to live
(6) Get our passports
(7) Get our visas
(8) Figure out which school(s) will be best for our kids in England
(9) De-clutter and reorganize
(10) Plan to see family before we leave

Hmmmm.
When I put it in list form it doesn't seem too overwhelming. NOT!
I am freaking out here.
Mike keeps telling me he needs me to function.
Well, I'm not functioning right now.

Every time I think about everything we have to do and everything we need to sell and everything we need to store and everything I still have left to do at school - I get more than a little overwhelmed. My latest solution has been to go back to bed and cry my eyes out. (Hence Mike's comments about me not functioning.) A better solution would be to get going and attack the list a little at a time.

I'll try that...tomorrow.

Wii Fit Parody

Our family bought the Nintendo Wii game system about a year ago. It was close to impossible to find one in the stores. After looking for several months, some friends of ours called us one night to announce that they had "picked one up" at Best Buy for us. How sweet of them to remember we were looking for one.

For anyone who is not familiar with the Wii or it's unique characteristics, what makes this game system different is that it uses wireless remotes and a sensor to transmit information to the game system console to make your game very interactive. For example, if you are playing a game of bowling, you actually have to hold the remote and act as though you are bowling. The sensor picks up any twists and turns and the speed at which you "throw the ball" and this determines how many pins you knock down on your turn.

There are tons of games for the Wii. We have about ten. There are also a ridiculous amount of accessories. One of the things you can purchase for the Wii is a "game" called Wii Fit. The idea behind it is that people can use their video game to get in shape. Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, take a look at the video below that the kids and I found one day on You Tube. It's hilarious!

Saying goodbye

Before they left for Wisconsin, Sammy wanted to have her picture taken with Grandpa and Christie. Here is the result...

While they were visiting, Sammy found a new friend in Christie. She discovered that Christie was willing to play games with her, play house, and sit beside her at dinner, in the car and at church. Sammy was so sad to see Grandpa and Christie go, but she looks forward to their next visit in a couple weeks.

Grillmaster

Whether it's hamburgers, hot dogs, brauts, or chicken...
Mike is definately the master of the grill.

That's not to say that everything he cooks turns out wonderfully. We have had our fair share of overseasoned hamburgers and raw meat. But he is getting pretty good at tossing something on the grill and wowing us with the results.

My personal favorite is his grilled chicken. Very tasty.

Entertaining guests

When Dad and Christie came to visit, I wasn't sure what we would do the whole time. Our family isn't really that exciting. We spend a lot of time running errands and playing video games in the weekend. So we really lucked out that the weather cooperated while they were here.

One of the best things we did was go on a couple walks together. Once we wandered through our neighborhood and the one next to ours. Today we headed over to the Clear Creek Trail.

When we used to live in town, I spent so many mornings over at the trail rollerblading, running, and walking. Somehow, since we live further away now, we don't go there as often anymore. So it was nice to have an excuse to use the trail again.

It took some work to get Sammy's big bike there, but it was worth the effort. Mike and Jonathan opted to rollerblade. It was a fun walk for me, Dad, and Christie even though we were behind everyone else for the majority of the walk.

Bounce, bounce, bounce

One of the kids' favorite things to do when my dad comes to visit is to bounce on the trampoline with him. We were so lucky this trip that it was warm enough to be outside. Today was a beautiful 70+ degrees out and they all jumped for a while as they waited for dinner to be prepared. We love our trampoline and will really miss it when we move to England.

And we're off

For those of you who don't know, Mike has been job hunting for the past couple months.

Last week he went to England to interview with a company called Reckitt Benckiser. I hate to give too many details about the company as I am not clear on everything myself. It is a consumer products company based in Europe. Mike interviewed for three days, meeting with various people in the company. We kept in touch though email as it was very expensive to call home.

Fast forward to today...
Mike received an official written offer to work for the company. What does this mean for our family? Well, we're moving to England! That's right, folks. Our family is taking off and heading to a foreign country.

In case this isn't strange enough...
It's all happening in the next couple months! Mike will start his new job sometime in April and the kids and I will follow him with all of our belongings in June. I know, you are wondering "how crazy is she?" The answer is "completely". I never in my life thought I would live outside the USA. But life happens and I have to learn to roll with it. This is a great opportunity for Mike and the kids and I are excited to be a part of it.

Wish us luck, and plan to visit us!
Such fun!

An interesting encounter

This week Mike has been in England interviewing for a job. Today he had the opportunity to see the Queen of England. She was visiting Hull (the city he was staying in) to dedicate a new train and part of a children's hospital. He took several pictures, but this one is the best.

He was so close! I think she just looks like a sweet old lady wearing a yellow hat. I guess I was expecting a crown and purple robes. Ha ha. He joked that he was able to "kiss the queen" while he was in England.

So Sammy

When I walked into Sammy's room today, I found her playing on the computer. I wasn't surprised. Afterall, it's Saturday - translation: "computer and video game day".

What I love about this moment was how she was playing.
With several of her little stuffed dogs (and a bunny) sitting around watching her play the game.

Too cute.
And soooooo Sammy.

14 things I love...

I love it when...

(1) Jonathan and Sammy play nicely together
(2) I get to spend time scrapbooking
(3) a lesson goes well at school
(4) Mike helps around the house
(5) the scale reads less than the day before
(6) the sun shines and the weather is warm
(7) all of my fingernails are the same length
(8) my kids say "I love you" before going to sleep at night
(9) I get to take an afternoon nap
(10) I discover a new, tasty, and easy to prepare dinner recipe
(11) the kitchen is clean and the dishes are put away
(12) the lighting is perfect and the kids cooperate for a photo shoot
(13) I get to catch up on blogging
(14) I complete a project and can check it off my to-do list

Happy Valentine's Day!

ISSMA Competition

A good portion of our day today was devoted to supporting Jonathan. With the encouragement of his choir teacher, Mr. Upchurch, he entered the Indiana State School Music Association Competition.

He decided to enter two events.
Both a solo and an ensemble.

His ensemble consisted of about ten boys and girls singing the song, Ma Bella Binda, a song sung completely in Italian. The group received a gold for their performance. For his solo, Jonathan sang the song, Where is the Love, from the musical, Oliver. He did an amazing job and got a gold for this performance as well!

I can't believe how much courage it took for him to stand up in front of strangers and sing his heart out. We are all very proud of him. Congratulations, Jonathan!

winter wonderland?

Day two.
Big blizzard.
More snow than we usually have all winter.
It came down in two clumps...
Separated by a thick sheet of ice.
Mike made snow angels.

Sammy took her stuffed dog, Spot, everywhere with her. She even buried him in the snow a couple of times.

Jonathan kept attacking Mike with perfectly formed snowballs...only to have Mike retaliate by rolling him face first in the snow.

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon since we were snowbound, stuck in our house with no way out. The snow plows didn't even come until late this evening.

My favorite...

Seeing one of our neighbors pulling his kids on a sled behind his ATV.

Wheeee!

Happy Birthday, Sammy!

This year Sammy had a cooking themed birthday party. The results were cuter than the pictures suggest, but I was so busy keeping the party going that I didn't have tons of opportunities for great pictures.

The details:
The invitation was a recipe card for a birthday party. Ingredients, directions, etc. It turned out pretty cute.
Each girl got a personalized apron and a chef's hat (hand made by me) to wear during the festivities.
The cake was a girl (Sammy - complete with pigtails) wearing a chef's hat.
The kids created their own pizzas and decorated sugar cookies.
They also played an impromptu game of air hockey.
The take home goodies included an oven mitt, a wooden spoon, and a chocolate chip cookie mix.

Sammy's favorite gift was a "snuggie" blanket that I made for her. Essentially it is a blanket with sleeves. She had seen them advertised on TV and written down the phone number so I could order one for her. She was so excited when she opened her very own snuggie!

Our January Picture

Sammy dressed herself.
Jonathan just got back from martial arts.
I am 20 pounds overweight.
Mike hasn't shaved in weeks.
But this is us. Right now.
A family.

Alter Ego

I stumbled across a funny personality quiz online today. It asks a series of questions that help to determine what superhero you are most similar to. My results are below. Apparently I am most like Supergirl. Who knew?

You are Supergirl
Supergirl 80%
Superman 75%
Wonder Woman 70%
The Flash 65%
Spider-Man 60%
Robin 50%
Hulk 50%
Batman 45%
Iron Man 40%
Green Lantern 30%
Catwoman 20%
Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

To take this quiz yourself, go to the following website.
http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/
Which superhero are you most like?