Taking Pleasure in the Small Things

May was sick yesterday and had to stay home from church. I am sick today and had to stay home from my busy life.

It's been wonderful!

• I skipped an hour with Heidi the Trainer and went back to sleep for a couple hours.
• May and I lounged in bed watching David and Goliath - a Liken movie that if you don't own, it's a MUST.
• Kitty brought me water bottles all day - and an Oreo from her Lunchable.
• I sent out a text to a group of girls and everyone got back to me right away.
• May and I read a President Monson story that had us laughing out loud for a long time!
• I ordered pizza for dinner (i.e. no cooking).
• I finished a book I've been nursing forever!
• Baden is now playing in the bathtub, talking to me under water and asking me to figure out what he's saying. Earlier I got to watch him fill his mouth with water and spit a water fountain.
• Mr. Chinn just called and is on his way home.
• And as I write, the girls are dancing and singing in the family room.

There's a Method to my Madness

The Chinn's had a sloooow start this morning. Which led to Baden missing the bus. Which led to me helping him get comfy on the couch and go back to sleep for a few minutes. And then a few more minutes.

Until he was late for school.

He was exceptionally tired this morning, and I just couldn't help letting him rest. And he's awfully cute when he's sleeping.

You should have seen Mr. Chinn though. His face read, "my wife is nuts." In his world, one is not late to school. School is sacred.

Mr. Chinn has an interesting motto: "If your head hurts at school, it's gonna hurt at home too, so you might as well be at school."

In my world, a morning power nap for my child [with untreated sleep apnea] makes perfect sense. Growing up, my mom-the-hippie (we had beads hanging in the doorway, no lie) would have let me sleep for hours and skip school. One time when I was in 4th grade my brother was staying home from school, for a very good reason I'm sure, so my mom let me stay home as well. This might, however, explain why grown-up Amy can't help May May with her 5th grade math. But I digress.

I'm pretty hung up on a lot of things, so I'm grateful for the part of me that is a free spirit. I don't care that Kat still sucks her thumb. If she wanted a pacifier I'd give it to her! I'm not concerned with my kids giving up their sippy cup or their special blanket. It doesn't bother me if your 3 year old wears a diaper and drinks from a bottle. I just can't get worked up over those kind of things.

I need and appreciate the balance Mr. Chinn brings to my life. I hope I help him fly. And I thank him for his tether.

xoxo

Thursday Three

#1) A few weeks ago Mr. Chinn and May May were invited by wonderful friends to accompany them front and center at the Mavs game. Mrs. Wonderful Friend and I were soo very envious!

#2) Baden had his school open house this week. He was suppose to show us how he could work out this math tile problem. But Mr. Chinn and I totally took over and worked it out ourselves absolutely ignoring the man cub. As soon as we finished I realized what we had done and I stood there in the middle of his second grade classroom laughing out loud at Baden's parents!
#3) Here's what BFF Melanie is up to when Heidi the Trainer isn't looking....

Wordless Wednesday

Thursday Three

1. In Sharing Time (think Sunday School) on Sunday I taught the kids about resurrection. At home the rest of the afternoon Kat kept throwing herself down and then springing back up saying, "I'm dead - I'm ALIIIIVVE!! I'm dead - I'm ALIIIVVE!! I'm dead - I'm ALIIIVVE!!!"

2. In February Kat went on a date with Daddy to the Father/Daughter dance.
3. I found these towels on my bathroom floor all folded and stacked up. I asked Kat why they were there. She said because she couldn't reach to put them back (in the cabinet). So I followed up with, "why were they OUT of the cabinet?? (young lady!)"

"Cuz I wuz playin' hopscotch."

Heart Melting...

Celebrations

Bill Chinn Graduates - Again!May 16th was a great day for the Chinn's. Granny and Grandpa were visiting - always a treat!
Bill graduated from SMU with an Executive MBA

He also won the EMBA Program's Leadership Award!

AND, his Business Plan won first place in the program's Entrepreneurial Project. There were 60 Business Plans proposed. #1, that's my husband!

He set a great example to our children about the importance of education. Thank you, Sweetie.

It was ALSO Kitty's Birthday! She turned 4 and was thrilled to sit in the number 4 seat at the graduation ceremony.

Hello Kitty Jammies, Lippies, and Presents...

Big Brother Buggin'

But he's SO cute!

Changing of the Guard

For the last decade and a half I've paid our bills. Some time ago, Bill graciously offered to take that task over. Of course I agreed. It's been wonderful to have that off my plate. I love not having to worry about window mail! However, there is no free lunch and my reputation has suffered. I received this email a couple weeks ago from Kat's dance instructor (keep in mind, I didn't write the check!)...

"Amy,

I received your tuition check for December. You made it payable to "dancing." I will try to put my name on it and cash it, but am not sure if the bank will allow it. Please make the check payable to [name omitted] in the future.

Also, the monthly tuition rate is $50.00. Please add this to your next payment, or if I can't cash your check you can re-submit it with the correct amount."

Ha Ha Ha! She must think I'm crazy! But really it's my husband, who was just trying to get the lessons paid for on time. He means no harm. Bill and I have had a good laugh over this one.

Luvs!

A Latin New Year's Eve

The Ross Family invited us over for a Latin New Year's Eve Party. We had so much fun! They had traditional Latin food and tons of Karaoke. They asked each couple to sing a song together and we drew numbers to see what order we would [be forced to] sing. Bill and I sang Bon Jovi, "I'll Be There For You." We were expecting to score the lowest, but shockingly we got 3rd place! It had to be because we know the words to the song, cuz we can't carry a tune in a bucket.
Originally I only sang because I was trying to be a good party guest, but within an hour everyone was picking songs and grabbing the microphone - including me and Bill! Who knew??! By 4:00 (AM!) I was like, "Bill, I've got to get home!" We were amongst the first to leave.

At midnight they lit some fireworks into the air. Then we each got a bag of 12 grapes, representing the 12 months of the year. Someone tapped a glass each second and we were suppose to eat a grape keeping up with each tap. If you eat all 12, you'll have good luck throughout the year. I didn't know what the grapes were for and ate mine before the tapping started. I wonder what kind of luck that brings??

After the grapes there was something about women running about the house with a suitcase and that meant she would travel that year, but I missed most of that. Anyway, it was a fabulous time had by all and there might be a Karaoke Machine in our future...

Kat took this picture of us before we went out. Not bad.

Our wonderful hosts.

Boys Will Be Boys...

"Can I put this in fire?" -Baden, holding a frozen water bottle.

(Baden staring at cookies in the oven)
Bill: "What are you doing, little man?"
Baden: "Making Cookies."
Bill: "The oven's not on. What temperature do you want it at?"
Baden: "Dudn't matter."
Bill: "How long?"
Baden: "You pick."

*FYI, this is totally how Bill cooks! Trust me, it is. When he wants to bake dinner rolls he turns the oven on, throws them in, and then comes back when the meat is done. They could be burnt or raw, doesn't matter - that's all the time they get. Further proof:

Bill proceeds to set the oven to 350, and then leaves the cookies in (while it preheats). However, Bill doesn't believe in preheating. Okay, so when the oven beeps a few minutes later Baden insists they're done and I need to take them out or they'll "roast too long." I tried telling him the beep was for the preheat, but he was having none of it.

Half baked cookies, I enjoy. Half baked bread, not so much. Half baked Chinn's, love them!

Darcy Who?

I celebrated my sisters birthday with her last weekend (cue picture to the left). Well it was more like a three day weekend because we started on Friday and took it all the way to Sunday. That girly knows how to have a good time!

On the third day we lounged on the overstuffed family room chairs and popped in the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice. This is by far one of my favorite books ever (!) and I've even read the books from Mr. Darcy's perspective. However, I don't stand on the side of love and admiration for this dark, brooding, and frankly never handsome Jane Austen Gentleman. I understand this puts me at odds with the rest of the female population. But don't hate - to each his own. More Mr. Darcy for you!

My ideal Austen Gentleman is Emma's Mr. Knightley. In one word: Chivalrous. Throughout the story he shines as a beacon of moral goodness. He's honest, kind, understanding, thoughtful, gentlemanly, and socially aware. Goodness of character marks this hero, but wait, there's more - - he also has a "tall, firm, upright figure . . . [and he moves in so] gentleman like a manner, with what natural grace." He also gets cuter actors!

Mr. Knightley is intrinsically kind-hearted and good natured; he always seeks to think of and do good for those around him. It may appear that I've given him a lot of thought, but I assure you that I haven't. His qualities are easy for me to appreciate because he shares them with my husband. I might as well be describing Bill.

I don't care for a Mr. Darcy. My Mr. Knightley has loved and cherished me from the beginning ~ flaws and all. And for this I am eternally grateful.

Mr. Knightley: "Whom are you going to dance with?"
Emma: "With you, if you will ask me."
Mr. Knightley: "Will you?"
Emma: "Indeed I will."

Thursday Three

1. Home Teacher: "Dear HF....and we're grateful for thy son, Jesus Christ-"
BFF Marina: "Amen."
Me: One eye peeked open and stifling a chuckle.
Home Teacher: "who died for us..."

2. Me: "This is the second time I found this in Kat's pre-school cubby."
Bill: "That's not a blanket then?"
Me: "It's a bath towel."
Bill: "Is this going on the blog??"

3. May: "Do dog's have a penis?"
Baden: "No, but dinosaurs do."

You Be The Judge!

Which is Worse??

#1: The Sitch: Last night Bill put on a DVD he just received from Netflix (a tv show from Britain, MI5, something like that). The opening scene ran on and on and on without any changes, just some bad guy receiving bad guy instructions through a headset while he creeped around a darkened office building and rifled through paperwork, snapping pictures. Nothing seemed to change throughout the scene for like 10 minutes! Bill was saying, "This is so lame...What a weird show...How does it hold anyones interest??"

The Truth: After 10 minutes (and I'm being generous!) Bill realized that the DVD was stuck and kept replaying the same 45 second scene over and over and over... (pardon me while I LOL).

The Excuse: Bill: "I was working on my laptop at the time and was therefore distracted." And he had spent the entire day at (MBA) school, which uses up the mind - that's my attempt to explain the ditsy, being the supportive wife that I am.

#2: The Sitch: Yesterday Baden had a get-to-know-you 1st grade class party at my friends house. She had a whole big carnival going on; lots of fun. Well, I had a hair appointment (with Lovely Jonathyn) and would have to be late, so I dropped off my contributions early, May walked Baden over at party time, and I showed up with fab hair about an hour late.

The Truth: Upon arrival I found May May working the ticket booth and stood talking to her. A little girl walked up to me and said, "Where do you get your hair done?" Me: "Oh you're so sweet! I go to Glen Alan." 1st Grader: "No, I mean where do I get the purple in my hair??" Through my tear filled laughter-eyes I noticed purple headed kids running around.

The Excuse: Um, I've been distracted lately?? Okay, and I really did wonder why she would ask me that. OH, and I dye my hair darker and I'm actually a natural blond. And really, I'm just crazy . . .

Which is Worse, #1 or #2?? You may cast your vote (by clicking the word "comments" just below)!

Like Father Like Son

Picture this: I'm lying in bed with Baden as he's falling asleep. The room is dark, we're still whispering stories. We hear Bill get home and walk through the quiet house. He comes upstairs and finds us in Baden's room. As he sits on the edge of the bed I ask him, "how did it go?" He says, "good, good." (Such a sweet scene) Then -

Baden: Where were you?

Daddy: Scouts. You'll go with me someday, buddy.

Baden: Yeah, when you have a stick!

("A stick?" I ask. "Cane," Bill replies.)

Baden: You'll be so old...

Daddy: Oh, I could hit you with it.

Baden: And I could stick it in your nose.

Daddy: You couldn't stick it in my nose 'cause I would...



Seriously?

Everyone Had Umbrellas....

Except for us!!





Okay, so Bill and I are taking a class on Aristotle (Why Ari?? Cuz Bill wants to and I'm a fabulous wife! Can I get a woot woot?). We go once a week for an hour and a half. Before class we like to try out new restaurants. We haven't found one we're going back to, but we've tasted a lot of new foods. So this week we had dinner in Up-Town and then it started to sprinkle on the drive to class. By the time we parked, it was pouring down rain and we had a five minute jog to our classroom. At least I had my notebook to put over my head, so I wasn't completely soaked, but my arms and legs were dripping wet.

Unfortunately we showed up late for class and came in dripping and sloshing our way to our seats. I had to take my shoes off to dry out my feet, and for the next 15 minutes I felt rain water sliding down my legs. If we weren't conspicuous enough, I ended up with the loudest chair on earth. It made noise every time I breathed! As I finally began to dry off, I felt my clothes bit by bit unattach from my skin.

All this was pretty distracting, so I looked around at my surroundings and noticed that every single person had an umbrella with them. Hello, how did the two of us miss that there was going to be a downpour??

Call Of The Wild

My three Chinn’s survived the elements and arrived home safely Thursday night. I’ve never seen May May quite so filthy! I spared us all, and passed on taking photographic evidence of the dirt buildup. Their 2nd Annual Big Bear Adventure was a rounding success! Both M & B have expanded their food repertoire to include hamburgers (if they were absolutely starving) and smores. Yes my children are Americans … Unfortunately I can’t explain their lack of epcurious patriotism. Nor does it make sense that every New Years our family celebrates by making smores and only Bill, me, and Kat eat them. But I digress – Each morning my three sweeties hiked up a huge mountain for 3 hours - earning May her first blister. Their goal was to make it to the top, but each morning they tried they had to turn back before reaching the peak. Bill was impressed with the little Chinn’s stamina, but apparently towards the top you practically need to be on all fours to keep climbing. Finally on the last day, with Baden on daddy’s shoulders for much of the way, the mountain was conquered by three very tired, very thirsty, and very proud Chinn’s! I’m told the mountain was so tall that everyone they encountered on the way down congratulated them for making it to the top. Way to go!!





Joe Awe, my brother, was a great host and executive chef. I credit his mad culinary skills (along with Bill’s “Special Camp Consumption Rules”) with May and Baden’s newly found eating achievements. More of the new foods include an eggs, sausage, and potato mixture (shown below) and potato wedges (which are “NOT french fries, thank you very much!”). Great job, Joe!





Random stories I’ve heard: The whole group went kayaking (no pictures cuz of the wet camera thing) and the girls, Ashley and May, were in their own kayak! Girl power! Also, Uncle Joe rode Baden around the lake on his handlebars, which was quite the treat. And the Awe family could often be found reading books. Yes, this is how I grew up. Everyone in the family reading, and I mean everyone! I didn’t start reading for fun until after college. All that wasted time…what a pity. Some of us are late bloomers I guess.









Well we hope to see the Awe family here in Texas soon. It will be our pleasure to host them – and great for me because it will be indoors!

Guys Weekend

Last weekend Bill and Baden went to Lego Land
in CA with their friends Tony and Josh. Tony
brought these Romo jerseys for the boys. Darling!



Could they BE any cuter??



Baden had the camera for a bit and took pictures of what he liked. I found it interesting that he enjoyed his lunch so much that he thought a photo was in order. I also found it interesting that his lunch consisted of Doritos, Ketchup, and Chocolate Milk. Ahhh, guys weekend....

Run Like Forrest

This last Saturday Bill and May May ran (and walked) in their first 5K. Way to go!

Red, White, and Chinn - Our Melting Pot Story

Bill was born in Nottingham, England. His family immigrated to the United States in 1977 when he was 9 years old. Bill wanted to assimilate, so he quickly learned to dress and speak like his American classmates. Cute side note: Before his family decided to move they voted and Bill was the only one to vote no. Lucky for me he lost!

Hmm, what to say about myself. That's tricky. I'm very American. I look at life from an American perspective. But my ancestors hail from Germany, both my mom's side and my baby daddy's - he was straight off the boat. My mom's family is also part Native American (Cherokee).

May is tres international. She's the All-American girl-next-door with a wicked English Accent. She's been working on it for a while now and visits from Granny and Grandpa really help! She aspires to live in London one day and can't wait to see Big Ben for herself. She chose a world map to decorate her bedroom with - it covers an entire wall!

Baden brings authinticity to the Chinns' Texas House as he is our only Texas Native. We found Baden's name while Bill was reading a military history book. The book mentioned Lord Baden-Powell (who also was the founder of the Boy Scouts) and we loved the name. That was about 10 years before he was born!

Katerina was born in Vlademir, Russia. Before living with her family here in America she lived in the Vlademir Baby House for 9 months. Kat has what I call her "Russian Attitude." By way of explaination let's just say that her classmates shouldn't take her ball away. She has an American girl sense of style, though - tons of bows, jewlery, and PINK!