Hi Everyone, just wanted to say a quick hello and share some new things going on so that I don’t end up feeling so behind again on keeping everyone up-to-date on my life.

These days, life is good as I’m learning to be much more faithful in honoring my heart and following my convictions in terms of where to be focusing my time and energy (besides the non-negotiable taking-care-of-my-children bit of course)–but life has also not in any way shape or form slowed down… =)  No surprise there (anymore).  And also no expectations for that happening in the near future either, especially with CHRISTMAS just around the corner now too…

One aspect of this task that was very annoying and trying for me was the fact that all throughout the process, the rooms where all the clothes were being kept and sorted and stores etc. looked like such a big mess, even though each step was so super time-consuming and “productive”… However, the commitment I had made to myself this time around (and asked for patience and grace for from my husband and mother-in-law to also endure) was that I would not give up in the middle of the process and just haphazardly throw everything back into boxes to be shoved back into a closet so that the mess could be out of sight, out of mind.

The challenge for me in this really was to mentally discipline myself to focus each day (or at least at the start and end of each day?) on what was done, over and above all that was still so obviously NOT done…so as to maintain a positive outlook and mood, which increases my likelihood of sustaining momentum (and which also has direct consequences for how I relate then to my family, which in turn noticeably influences how my kids behave and function). Somehow, I feel like this will be helpful mental discipline training for me in the long run, as I seek to push myself to grow and take on new and potentially bigger challenges in life….

Good news is I am now in a reasonably good place where all the clothes in my kids’ dresser drawers and closets actually fit them, and all the clothes which do not fit are now nicely sorted and labelled in boxes on my dining room table, for moms of other toddlers younger than my son to look through (had a few go through them today =)!) before I send the rest off (hopefully by next week?) in one go to the nearby clothing donation box.

Which brings me to another significant “thing” I’ve long deliberated but finally started which is a weekly playdate for the mommies of babies and toddlers from my Church and local community to come and play with my toddler on the one day of the week where we are now consistently free — today was our 2nd weekly playdate.

So far, it has been a lot of fun for me to see my not-so-little-anymore-almost-3-year-old son play with his buddies (and a lot of fun for him too, I believe).  It has also been gratifying to see all these toys which I accumulated over the years and have yet to part with (many collected through craigslist with my first baby!) get played with so happily and appreciatively again.  (Oh, how quickly a house-full of toys and activity supplies becomes “There’s nothing fun to do, and we’re soooo bored” after our toddlers become kids…)

Only struggle I have now is figuring out if/when/what de-cluttering I should attempt of the toys once I’m finally finished with the clothes, i.e. for/before Christmas?…or shall I wait one or two more seasons when there’s really no more crowds of babies and toddlers in my immediate community to invite over to play? Anyhow…

Another “fun” social project I’ve started to undertake is looking up old high school and classmates on Facebook.  I know I’m probably a bit late in the game, but for whatever reason it just occurred to me that even though I regrettably had to miss my 5- and 10- year reunions due to work many years ago, it’s actually fairly easy to look people up and see what everyone is up to now, all these years after high school….  (Perhaps hopefully someone will arrange a 20-year which I will be able to attend?).

I also just found out (yesterday) that our second investment home which we closed on today, will actually be coming into our full possession this Saturday whereas I had originally expected to be waiting another one to three months (because we agreed to an up to 3 month rent-back clause with the seller)….meaning, the renovation project will start next week… So, we will see how that goes =)  Thankfully, I am feeling excited and eager to get started, even if a bit caught off-guard and unprepared.

Besides all this, there is my bi-weekly Chinese American Families column I committed to write, and also my ongoing “Clean with Water” Norwex business with which I’m hoping to find a good rhythm as I switch it to a “side project” status versus the focus I had been giving it previously.

Well, husband returned today from a last-minute business trip which started on Monday, and he just got home from an evening meeting, so…I’m gonna wrap up for the night =)