Let's try this again

With a lot of encouragement from friends and coworkers, and I mean a lot, I'm going to give this blog another try. This time I came a little more prepared. Researched a few things, took photos, soul searched a little and maybe, just maybe, I might be ready this time.

I remember like 12 years ago we were all blogging but we didn't call it that. It was called online journals. Granted that totally just aged me and hey I am ALMOST 30 so I grew up when the internet was introduced to the general population. Yes, we've come a long way. In my early years I was quite ambitious and did everything from scratch. Now not so much. But I'm okay with that. Because at least I'm trying. I'm going to call this step 1. Who know's how many steps I'll need to take but I'll take it one at a time.

I started to read my previous posts and it was a sweet trip down memory lane. Time to bring this blog into present time folks.

What purpose is this blog? Well you'll just have to keep following to see!

Time for a summer bucket list

Are you a list maker? Making a list + checking it off = satisfaction

I am not always a list maker but when it comes to important things I know I've got a mental list going on. It's like that scene in the movie "How does she do it" and Sarah Jessica Parker is laying in bed with a list a mile long. Yup, that's how I feel some nights. Point is sometimes these lists help remind us what it is we wanted to get done.

Since we're already in April here goes my bucket list for Summer 2013

1. Continue working out (getting fit and healthy)
2. Do a canvas and cocktails outing (ALWAYS wanted to do this)
3. Karaoke night (hmm maybe for my birthday??)
4. Go hiking (location TBD)
5. A second 5K Run (Check this off this weekend)
6. Volunteer projects (already done one, will do a second event at the end of June)
7. Take kids to the Cheyenne Mtn Zoo again.
8. Take the kids to a pottery paint class.
9. Go to a concert (preferably a BSB one)
10. Train for a relay half marathon.


Errr that's all I have. I want more things with the kids but that's a given!

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2013 the year of clean and organize

I started this year off a lot like everyone else with goals that I am going to make this year healthy, clean, and all that other good stuff. I am proud to say that I have done a great job keeping this up, uh minus giving up diet soda, mostly because I absolutely failed at that (I will keep trying though!) 

At the beginning of this year instead of worrying about tackling the WHOLE entire house at once I read up on re-organizing and tackled one room at a time. The problem being that since I work full time, have two children, and a life-ish, I could not devote every waking minute to this project. But with my husbands help every weekend since the new year began we went through each room and got things accomplished. 

We got the family room and living room re-done. I now have a better office space located right next to DH's office space. I know I have not done well in the whole "keeping up with my blog" but now with a desktop computer plus office space away from the kids I have no more excuses!

Of course as we moved on to the next room I SWEAR the last room we just cleaned got messed up again. *sigh* it's a never ending battle. Because we live in constant change. The kids are growing, our needs are changing, and of course the house doesn't grow, just the mess inside. I won't dwell on this not so positive side. Instead I will tell you our future plans. 

As it starts to get warmer but snowier (hey we live in Colorado, that's how it works here) we have picked out new light fixtures for the outside of our home, I have picked out the design for the re-do on our stairs, and today we are testing out a closet system for the kids. Last spring we focused on the back yard and got a patio umbrella etc, but somehow we neglected the front of our house. Again you can't change the whole house at once. We're realistic and focus our energy on one part at a time. However as amazing as Pinterest is (thanks to all the thousands of views to my blog because of it) sometimes it makes me think that I can change everything in my house in one day. Ah the first world problem, instant gratification. 

That my friends is for another blog day :) Happy projects everyone. We're tackling lunch, a nap for the kiddos, and then the closet re-do!

Happy Holidays 2012

Happy Holidays, from the Tran Family 2012

 

 

Wishing you and your family the best this holiday season and for the most amazing 2013. We send our love and prayers to the families in Newport, CT. We can't imagine the pain and suffering they are going through. I hugged my family even tighter everyday thankful that I have them.

 

We attempted to visit Santa the other day. Ayden was estactic as normal but that little Chinese girl...forget it she screamed bloody murder. You'd think we were trying to ditch her at the north pole or something. She loves to wave "hi" to people but if you dare say it back she runs and hides. Very diva like if you ask me...I have no idea where she gets it from haha (yeah, yeah it's from me.)

 

Our family portraits came out better then ever and we got cards out in a flash. I say it every year but the year truly did go by in a heartbeat. Our lives are busy every day and I cherish every day I have with my family. Proud of my little sister Stephanie for graduating college and getting into her first choice of pharmacy school. Proud of my brother Jason for surviving his first semster of college. And proud of my kids for every single one of their milestones. They say enjoy this age and I do. Ayden's a chatter monkey and is pretty smart. Aria is picking up more Chinese and it's always fun when and where she chooses to use Chinese or Vietnamese. This is what happens when your kids are tri-lingual.

 

It's supposed to snow a ton tomorrow so here's to safe drive into work tomorrow.

 



One year later

It's truly disgracefull that I have neglected my blog for an entire year. And as cliche as it sounds, my how time flies. Motivated by some new blog followers (you know who you are!) I hope to update my blog more often.

This time last year new and exciting adventures waited for the Tran family. Our family has been through a lot this last year, so many milestones, lots of fun, and of course lots of things that helped us grow. I've learned a lot about MYSELF this last year as well. I've always been pretty motivated and goal oriented. That's my drive. I simply can't be less than par. Question was this year where is par. I don't do bare minimum, wasn't raised or taught that way. Probably part of the whole immigrant parents and first generation American heritage in me.

That was the boring stuff. Let's get to the good stuff.

I have not been able to be as crafty as I was in 2011 but some crafts still managed to get done.
Maybe a recap of some highlights of 2012....

+ Aria turned 1, learned to walk and talk (currently in her "parrot" phase) plus no more binky!
+ Ayden completly being potty trained, going on his first big boy vacation sans mom and dad
+ 5 year wedding anniversary
+ 10 year high school reunion
+ Another year older but celebrated with Magic Mike (<~yes that's a highlight)
+ Girls trip to Vegas (front row seats to Chippendales holla)
+ First 5k done (Color Me Rad Run)
+ Booking my BSB 2013 cruise
+ Starting personal training workout sessions
+ Made it to the 2 year mark at work
+ Lots of new friends
+ Least amount of family drama ever

Yup that's my year in a nutshell.

Will post pictures next time!

Seasons Greetings

Seasons greetings to all of our friends and family.

It has been awhile since my last family posting. You wouldn't believe all the amazing things that have happened in our lives since my last post. Time flies when you're having fun!!

This was our family photo for the holiday season. Last year we were 3.5 now our family is complete at 4. Four is a good round number and we're stickin with it :) Aria is such a sweet girl and she loves her big brother. He's never been jealous of her and loves her to pieces. Lucky mommy I am!!! 

After we came home from Texas it was like our family schedule went full force. I was busy launching my jewelry business, applying for a promotion at my day job, going to play date events for my kids, crafting, and oh yes couponing too. People think just my awesome sister coupons but the story behind that is our parents are always looking for the good deal. Its in our genes. When I started tweeting about my awesome savings at clothes and such my sister wanted in on the action and she's gone full force with it! I love it when our family saves!

Oh yeah back to updating...so it was the busiest time of year for us. I was offered the promotion I wanted, my Stella & Dot was a success, and the kids were growing fast.

We have been so blessed and I am thankful each and every day. Not by the material things in our lives but the fact that my husband and I have each other and our healthy children. A supportive family that helps us in every way makes that all possible. We couldn't do it all without them. And of course a two full time income household....makes every day life a little bit easier to breathe. 

Some highlights - Aria and Aydens first time at Boo at the Zoo she was a baby giraffe and he was super man again. My first time cooking turkey for thanksgiving (I'll also be making prime rib for Christmas.) A traded car for me. Tons of FREE jewelry for me!!! Aria falling asleep right before she met Santa. And last but not least all the family time with the four of us. 

This isn't a "oh she's bragging" type of post. This is truly what has been going on in our lives. We deserve to be happy so that is what we are. I feel bad for people who let drama ruin and rule their lives. Time to see the sunshine folks, the world will still move on and so should you. So here's to another amazing year!!! We wish the best this holiday season for everyone. 

Our mini vacay to Texas

For my younger sisters birthday instead of a plain ol boring card as a gift we showed up at her doorstep instead! Just kidding it wasn't a surprise but it was "last minute". We rented a mini van, loaded up the kids and dvds, and drove the 11+ hours to Texas, YeeHaw! I will admit this was the very first road trip with 2 kids and the thought was scary. But we drove through the night and they both slept most of the way. When Ayden was awake that dvd player came in handy! He watched Cars on DVD and loved it. He had never really been into movies before this trip but now he's hooked on Cars. That's Ayden and his uncle Tom. He currently is serving his country in the AirForce. We're very proud of him and clearly so is Ayden lol!



Silly boys
We were only there a few days but it went fast and we had a lot of fun! We always love visiting my sisters family and we wish they lived closer. But I am thankful at least they live somewhere we can easily visit and I know it could be worse. Aria was so good the whole time and Ayden loved playing with his cousin Lexi aka the Crab...you'll see why.....you'll see. We went to Chuck e Cheeses for my sisters birthday..not her first choice I'm sure but the kids loved it haha. We ate so much food while we were in town but that's what vacations are for. Before we left we tried to take cute "blogging" pics but alas that crab chick just ruins it all.



See that's my two kids being good and cute....



see that right there was a bad crab trying to escape. Mind you this was right before we left she was already "used" to us.



This is why her name is Crab...NOT miniboss we don't call her that.



Ugh here she is picking her nose! How rude! LMAO!!!



Well the last shot she looks decent in...only cause her mom is holding the both of them. I cut her head off on purpose lol. 
All in all a great trip. We needed to just get away and not think about everyday things. I wish we could have stayed longer.

Throwback bench re-do

Summer times as a kid was always fun. No school, running around with my mom, and being kids. One of my favorite things to do with my mom and aunts were GARAGE SALES! Other peoples old toys were my new toys and it was always a surprise! I needed things to decorate my house with and so I set off one summer for the deals. I figure I have a garage and friends with power tools I can fix it up. I started off with no tools of my own. Lucky for me I have friends so much like my other projects they love to help! That bench I found at a Garage sale across the street from me for $5. I saw it and saw potential. 

I spent a few afternoons removing the pieces of wood and sanding all the ugly red color off. 

When my husband put the bench back together we got some help from a small helper :) Yes he has his own Black and Decker tools, he loves to fix his "car".

The Monogram I ordered from a local gal that had a Vinyl machine. I designed the monogram myself and sent it to her. It was easy to apply and fit perfectly! Look at the great details on the sides of the bench. For five bucks and a bucket of paint and some sand paper. What a great investment!

Ayden - 2 1/2 years old

This is how I know this kid is mines! 
Yes that part of me giving birth to him shoulda tipped me off but from the minute he was born he looked like his Dad exactly! To this day people, by that I mean RANDOM strangers, all say "Wow ayden is Will's mini me!" True, in fact if we were at a store and he got lost if people saw Will they'd know oh it must be that kids dad haha! Back to the picture. We were at Will's friend's wedding and Ayden and I weren't even trying to smile the same it just happened. He's got this bubbly personality like his mom but the shy reserved personality for the first five minutes-like his Dad . He's now two and a half and talking a mile a minute. Asking tons of questions and answering questions even if they aren't directed towards him. What's funny is that even if you try to "trick" him and say it in another language he'll STILL answer hahaha. He's on four languages right now. English being the main, Teochew being second, third Vietnamese, and fourth is Cantonese. He'll answer in the first three languages the most but he hears Cantonese the most when he's out with my in-laws. 
My sister loves talking to him and when he visited her in Texas I think he talked her ear off. She got stuck riding next to him in the car and he kept showing her all the bells and whistles of the rental van as if he were some hot shot or something. He still amazes me every day. He's a great big brother and is very helpful... or at least he tries to be. I'm proud of both my kids. I'm thankful to have two kids, one of each, one "mini-me" of each I really couldn't ask for more. As long as our kids are happy - WE are happy. Our family has grown so much and as our story is being written each chapter gets better and better. 

Aria's first time eating

This is a belated post on Aria's first time eating since she technically started eating a couple of weeks ago. I forget when we started her brother on food but she had recently really been interested in food. Once in a rare time she sits on our laps while we eat food. She started to use her own hands to try to guide our hands with our spoons into her own mouth! We took that as a sign, so we got out the baby food! First up was sweet potatoes.
















She is such a sweet girl and so happy all the time. She rarely gets upset or fussy and we are so blessed at that. When she is upset her crying isn't even that loud...well thats what other people tell us haha. She's now six month old and we cannot believe that much time has passed. I swear some days I its like "wasn't I just pregnant?" Aria is my "mini-me" she loves to talk, looooves jewelry, sings in the car, and pays attention to detail (i.e. she correlates people with glasses to not be nice aka like her Aunt Stephanie -yeah you know its true steph!)

Aria still hasn't gotten the whole "using your tongue during food eating" thing down yet. We'll try more food soon and good thing her aunt Sam gave us a ton of free baby food score! I love her reactions she's so funny. We're happy that she's happy, and well you can tell in the pictures :)