There's blessing in the craziness!

Welcome to the first series of our monthly personal blog!

Back in December, Sunjoyo (or Sun) and I had a conversation about what we want the year of 2020 to be. We didn’t want to make any new year resolutions because I believed that there has to be more in the year than a single, short-lived resolution. We talked about the kids, the house, our financing, business, etc. There’s some deep thoughts and serious conversations there. I wouldn’t lie, it felt a bit overwhelming with everything we had in mind, what we want to do and need to do.

So, we decided to break our big plan into smaller, micro steps, with monthly goals (or lists of things) that we will try to achieve. We categorize them in family, business and financial. At the end of each month, we’ll go back and review our achievements and decide what our next goals are going to be. In this monthly blog series, I will be sharing with you what we set, achieve, and everything in between, hence life.

January was a HARD month. With my mom going back home (to Vietnam), we lost a helping hand. That means I am taking back ALL the work besides kids and business. It was a huge adjustment for us. We struggled hard for the first 2 weeks. One Sunday, we didn’t have dinner until 8:30pm. The kitchen was a crazy mess, dirty dishes, uncooked food, cooked food, Zachary wanted attention. Wesley didn’t sleep. That night, I didn’t go to bed until 1am. I was tired, angry and frustrated. And so was Sun. Poor the man, he tried his best to help, but I think he lost too. We both did. But one thing that saved us from breaking down is the reminder that this is only for NOW. Sun kept telling me, it’s only a few weeks since my mom left, we will get used to it. It will get better. And that, that helps me!

Here are our goals for the first month of the year. We will share the financial part later on, as we’re working toward a bigger dream, but for now, I’ll share with you what we set for family and business.

Family:

Purge and organize our home (40% DONE). We started with my mom’s bedroom, which is now Zachary’s. Finally, we transitioned Zachary out of our bedroom into his own. He LOVES it. Been sleeping in his new bed ever since. Some nights, he slept by himself. Some nights, Sun slept with him and that is okay.
One plant-based meal a day (80% ACHIEVED ). We are meat lover. Both Sun and I grow up eating meat. No shame! However, I am aware of what is going on with the meat industry. Deforestation, factory farming, health-related issues, to name a few. While I know it will not be possible to give up meat entirely, I do want to make some conscious change and reduce the intake amount. Gladly, Sun agreed with me! So we’re making this year the beginning of our (very first) diet change. One plant-based meal a day. Sun doesn’t eat meat for breakfast. I usually don’t have breakfast at all (not very possible with 2 kids, LOL). So lunch is our choice. We missed about 5 days because again, it was an adjustment for us in term of portion and meal planning. At one point, there was so much leftover food that we needed to finish, or they’d end up wasted.
Replace plastic straws with reusable ones (DONE).
A date with Zachary (NOT DONE). The saddest part for me. Balancing between two kids is no joke. I am struggling. REAL HARD. I never feel so sorry toward Zachary as I have been recently. “Not right now, Zachary”, or “Mommy is feeding Wesley now”, or “Mommy is busy”, the reasons go on and on. We do have weekly playdate, which he loves so much. I also did bath time and alternate bedtime routine with Sun. But I know it’s not enough. SO clearly, this is my priority for February.

Business:

Create a new welcome package for both family/lifestyle and wedding (DONE). January was the slowest month in business for me, and I’m happy with that. I had a very busy Holiday season, which I am so thankful for, but it did take my time away from family and the kids. I was really looking forward to January to slow down, to adjust and renew. And I did. The downtime also helped me think and re-evaluate my business from last year, what worked and what didn’t. And the first thing that I am changing is our packages and pricing. Our pricing hasn’t changed for 2 years, but it wasn’t the point. I wanted to create new packages that are more streamlined, simpler and easier to navigate for you, my clients. If you have emailed me to inquire about your 2020 sessions, you already had the new package (which I hope you like). Otherwise, I will be announcing our new changes along with the Orchard Blossom Session, which is coming soon.

Overall, it was a hard, busy, but also a good month. Despite the bad days, we did have many good days and beautiful moments together. Wesley turned 5 months, which is still unreal to me. He and Zachary bonded so well and just as I wanted them to. There were times I would hear “mommy, Wesley is touching me, I don’t like it”, or “mommy, Wesley is eating my toys”. But there were also times when I spotted Zachary caressing Wesley’s hair and whispering “it’s okay baby, I’m here”, My heart melted. Zachary, my first born, is growing up full of personality, sweet, wild, funny, and kind. So, while time keeps on passing, and life gets a whole lot crazier, there are some blessings in that craziness. And I am grateful, thankful and would cherish it all. After all, life is short and I no longer want to take things for granted.

Before I conclude this post, let me tell you a bit about this in-home photoshoot that I did for us. I am SO SO happy about it and really want to share a few words.

It’s a long-waited session that I want to do for me and the kids. Since Sun is taking this week off to help me with all the purging and organizing, I decided it’s the best time to do it. On Saturday, I cleaned up the area, put on some decent clothes (aka jeans) and set up the shots. Then, I gave Sun the camera and GOT IN the pictures. It felt SO good.
If you look closely, you would see stuff on my kitchen counter, my thin hairline (postpartum hair loss is crazy!), a messy bun, and un-done eyebrows. There are more than one colour, and not just white (LOL). These photos are definitely NOT social media or instagram favoured. But I love them, love them and love them so much. They are proof that I am here, I am present and I am with them. They are for my mother soul to look back when these boys grow up and move away. They are photographs, memories of my motherhood. My heart is just so happy. Therefore, I’d like to encourage you to do the same with your children. Set a day, clean an area of your house where you’d play with them, hang over the camera to your partner, and jump in the photos. I promise you will not regret it.