Legoland!

Honestly, I was just tired of seeing Heather's old post from October 2012, so I figured I will just put up the most readily available picture I could find that was taken recently.  So here it is! :)

Legoland, California - June 6, 2014

Something Different

This post is going to stray a little from the norm.  It isn't about our cute kids, or happenings around the Tang home.  It is something that I cared little about until recently.  It is about politics.

I'm not sure where to start.  A lot has been swirling around in my head recently, especially with the elections just around the corner.  Facebook "friends" ranting and raving about this side or the other has caused me to ask "why?".  One recently wrote "People that would vote for Republican candidates are seriously unintelligent mindless cattle waiting to be slaughtered..."

I am naturally very conservative, in my dress, demeanor, decor, you name it.  Does that make me mindless? Unable to think for myself?  It got me thinking though.  Why so much left vs right, democrat vs republican, liberal vs conservative?  Shouldn't we all be on the same team?  Aren't we all working towards a better America?

And then it got me thinking to how the Democrats almost have it right.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  They seem to want to help the poor and needy. The problem is that they don't seem to want to put their OWN money where their mouth is.  (Just google republican vs democrat charitable donations).  If you want to help, get out there and help.  Give locally, volunteer at a shelter or food bank. Don't just raise taxes and hope that a trickle of it will end up helping the truly needy.   The government run welfare system is out of control.  Don't get me wrong, it definitely is helpful.  I have been on the receiving end.  It just seems to me that it encourages dependence.  Instead of a helping hand towards self-sufficiency, it makes it too easy to take the hand-out.  When Jason was unemployed, he received unemployment insurance benefits.  I have to admit, it was great.  He got a paycheck every 2 weeks, and he never even had to leave the house. I had him home with me all day, and if we ever wanted to go anywhere, he wouldn't have to put in for vacation time, or worry about what needed to be done back at the office. Our kids were on Medi-Cal health insurance, and we received WIC.  We didn't qualify for food stamps, however, because we have actually been somewhat monetarily responsible, so we had too many assets (car, and retirement accounts).  Now had we been up to our elbows in debt, and not put a penny away for the future, then the government would have given us a few hundred dollars per month to spend on whatever "food items" we wanted (including fast food, candy, soda, just to name a few).  I have never personally been given food stamps, but from everyone I have talked to that has, they give WAY more than you need.  I've heard people say they have never eaten better than when they were on food stamps.  How is this encouraging self sufficiency?  How are people supposed to make a better life for themselves when the government-run programs make it so easy to just keep taking?  And who is going to WANT to keep giving?  It's going to end at some point, and these people who feel that they are entitled to all the hand outs aren't going to know what to do with themselves when they are taken away.

I'm still trying to figure out how wanting to let the market do its thing without the government bailing everyone out makes me mindless.  How does wanting to protect my family and have a say in what my children are taught make me a cow?  How does not wanting to pay for someone's abortion make me unintelligent?  I don't understand.  They say women's rights are being taken away if planned parenthood is defunded.  I don't see it that way.  No one is denying anyone access to the services planned parenthood provides.  They are just changing who pays for them.  Just for argument's sake, let's say I want some plastic surgery.  Maybe a tummy tuck.  Who doesn't want nice abs, right?  I NEED a tummy tuck.  If I don't get one then my self-esteem will diminish as will my mental health and quality of life.  I am demanding that there be a program where free tummy tucks are provided for all.  And by free, I mean payed for by hard-working American's tax dollars...just free to me.  But what if you don't want to pay for my tummy tuck?  You are taking away my rights to have one, because I couldn't possibly pay for it out of my own pocket.  Sounds a little ridiculous, right?

Which leads me to my next point.  Agency and accountability.  And, just to warn you, I am about to get religious.  Because all of us right-wingers are religious.  Before we came to this earth, we fought a war in Heaven.  Not a blood spilling war, but a war of words and ideas.  There emerged two sides.  Jesus Christ's side, and Lucifer's side.  They both had the same end-goal, but two very different ways of getting there.  With Lucifer's side, he proposed a way for us all to get back to Heaven after our trial here on Earth.  He would FORCE us to make the right choices.  There would be no sin, because we would be unable to make the choice to sin. We would have no agency.  The other side of this was Jesus' way.  He proposed a plan where we would be tempted and tested and we would have to CHOOSE to do good or not.  We would get to exercise free will and make our own decisions and learn and grow and make mistakes.  And at the end, after we have done all we could do to make the right choices, and repent from the bad ones we would inevitably make, He would make up the difference.  The people who came to Earth are inherently good.  By our very nature, when we are feeling forced or coerced to do something, there will be resistance.  But, if given the chance, I believe that most people will help their fellow man.  They will lift up the weak and down-trod, because it is the right thing to do, not because some government program makes them.  Just look at the response from average Americans after a natural disaster, or for someone in need.  When asked nicely,  their generosity is astounding.  Wouldn't you help a friend or neighbor or family member if he genuinely needed it?  I think most would.

The Story of the Gopher and the Beans

Here are Heather's beans.

Here is the gopher that lives next to Heather's beans.

One day two of Heather's bean plants were missing without a trace.

 The next day they were all gone.  Heather was not happy.

Heather put a bounty on the gopher's head.

Jason delivered.

This gopher won't mess with Heather's beans anymore. 

Moral of the story:  Don't mess with Heather's stuff.  The end.

Here's to 2012!

This may be our one and only post of 2012, so here's a picture of the fam (sans Jason) on May 13, 2012 (Mother's Day).

Oh baby baby...

Now that our newest addition is nearly 3 weeks old, I guess it's time to update this thing again.  

On September 9, I went in for my 39 week check-up.  I was really hoping that this baby's birthday would be 9-10-11.  So we do the routine, do some membrane sweepage, told I'm dilated 1 cm, get an ultrasound to make sure my boy is big enough (this happens every pregnancy.  Jason and I are small people.  We aren't going to have monster-sized babies!), and then we walked the mall for 5 hours hoping to get things going.  Nothing.

Friday, September 16.  One day passed my due date.  Still pregnant.  Another check-up.  Do the normal routine, some more sweepage, told I'm now 3 cm.  Schedule an induction for Monday morning at 5 am.  Bummed it's not going to happen on the weekend, but glad the end is in sight.

Monday, September 19.  Call the hospital at 3:30am, told there is no room for me and they will call me when there is.  We waited until 8 am, and decided to head down there to see if it would speed up the process if we were close by (the hospital is an hour away).  Our proximity did not help.  We did get to spend the day with some friends, so the day was not a total waste.

Tuesday and Wednesday.  Still waiting for the hospital to call.  Although we still called every few hours to see what our chances were.  I think the staff was pretty tired of us.  Finally on Wednesday afternoon that blessed phone call arrived.  "be here at 7:30".  Yay! I was starting to  think it was never going to happen.  I'm pretty sure my body doesn't know how to go into labor on its own.  Besides, I really didn't want to make that drive in full-blown labor anyway.  

We get to the hospital and the nurse took us right to our room.  We were all checked in and the pitocin was hooked up by 9:30.  I started having some mild contractions, and so we just hung out and watched some "Restaurant Impossible" and "Property Brothers" for the next few hours.  Around 2:30 am, the anesthesiologist was out of surgery, so they offered the epidural.  I still wasn't in much pain, but I didn't want to be, so I gladly accepted.  Everything was in and working a little after 3, and I was still dilated only 3cm, so I went to sleep.  About 6:30 my nurse came in to see if I was feeling any pressure "down there" because the baby was acting like something was going on.  I was, sort of, so she checked.  He was right there!  The doctor came in a few minutes later, got all set up, and this kid was out within 10 minutes.  A vacuum was used though because his heart rate was dropping and staying low, so she had  to get him out fast.  His cord was wrapped super tight around his little neck, so Jason was off cord-cutting duty (much to his relief.  He hasn't cut any.  Too squeamish).  

We just got to the hospital.  This is the one and only belly shot taken this whole pregnancy.  Yep.  Looks ready to pop. 40 weeks, 6 days.

Here he is!

Tyson Marshall Tang

6 pounds 12 ounces

19 1/2 inches

September 22, 2011

6:54 am

Tyson and Daddy

Family photo.  I still can't believe we have 3!

Big sister.  She can't get enough!

Proud big brother.

We sure love this sweet little guy!

Stems

So, for those of you that don't know, or who don't look at all of Jason's facebook status updates, we are in fact having another boy. Jason "put the stem on the apple", as he puts it, for a second time. We found out the end of April, and have just been major blog slackers. I like this picture because he has his feet up and his arms behind his head real chill like. Hopefully that means he will be calm (yeah right!) Now we just have to solidify the manly man's name!

Wish Granted

Ever since Jax was born, Heather and I made a pact that she would make the decisions for Ashlyn's hair and I would make the decisions for Jaxon's hair. I think she regretted that when I began refusing to cut his hair. However, today Heather got her wish, but she can thank Jax for it. He finally told me multiple times he wanted his hair cut, so I finally gave in.

Ash and Jax right after church and eating a ring pop for lunch?

(Heather's doing, not mine...)

After dinner it was to the powder room to start snipping

Jax was actually saying he didn't want his picture taken after the hair cut, but as it turns out he looks like he's posing... what a poser... haha!

He likes his new doo!... so does Ash and of course Mom!

Stair Jumping and Moto-Jax

While looking through some older photos, I saw these ones we never posted so in an effort to rekindle our blogging spirit, here they are. They're from December 2010, but our kids love jumping, and especially off the stairs onto pillows. I thought these were pretty funny shots, so here you go! The video is more recent, it's Jax riding his trike with a helmet he found in a closet from who knows when! Silly kiddos...

Parasites

I contracted a parasite sometime in the last few months that has made me nauseous, tired, fatigued, and tired. However, this is one little bug we can't wait to kiss and cuddle come September!

A real Chinese boy!!!

Let me take you back in time for a moment. It was June of 2002. Heather and I were at P.F. Chang's in Orem, Utah on our 2nd date ever. Heather, in years past, had tried to use chopsticks to eat but was never successful. Enter Jason Tang. I showed her the right way to use them, and that evening she had what she calls, "the most successful chopstick attempt" of her short 18 years. (YIKES! She was young!!!) Heather ate an entire meal for the first time with chopsticks! No fork necessary! That summer, after returning home to Yucaipa, she told her family that "A real Chinese boy" taught her how to use chopsticks....

Now fast forward 8 1/2 years and check out the up-and-coming "real Chinese boy":

Watch out ladies...

Me get it out!

This morning my sweet little boy came into my room saying that his nose hurt. He sneezed a few times, so I told him to go get a tissue and I would help him blow his nose. He came back a few seconds later and our conversation went like this:

Jax - "Me get it out"

Me - "Oh, did you get your booger?"

Jax - "No. No booger. Geen ting"

Me - "huh?"

Then he showed me. It was a little green foam sticker. Yikes! I just hope he doesn't make a habit of sticking things up his nose!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Blogging is so 2007....

I'm not gonna lie, I really don't like blogging. Takes too long, there's too many steps involved in getting pictures on, and you can't add that many at a time. However, it's also a good way to keep in touch with family and friends in a deeper way than facebook or twitter etc...

So here you go, three pictures of a family shoot we had with Matt and Melissa McIntosh. They're pretty awesome photographers and wanted some more urban lookin' shots for their portfolio, and you can't go wrong with us if you're looking for photogenic peeps.

The end.

(I know, pretty lame, but at least we have a post for December!)

Nearly a month ago we went to Utah for Nancy's wedding. YAY! We had so much fun visiting family and friends! Here is just a small sampling of pictures chronicling our adventures...

First off we stayed with Nate and Mandy. Here are Ashlyn and Edie making silly faces for me.

Jaxon got over his fear of dogs. He even shared his fruit loops!

Michelle and Nancy and some pre-wedding silliness

Awwee...so cute! Congrats to Adam and Nancy! And check out that bouquet! I made that!

My little sweeties. I don't know why, but I seriously love this picture!

Princess Lilly always perfectly posed. Annie did an amazing job on these skirts, huh?

Jaxon. Steve. James

I know you wanted to see a close-up of Nancy's flowers. Not gonna lie, I was pretty proud of myself. I had never made a bridal bouquet before!

After all the Tang's parted ways, we went and spent a few days with Adam. Look at how he has the kids mesmerized with his sweet helicopter.

On the drive home we stopped in Cedar City to see Kim and Phil and their sweet little baby. He was born 2 months early, so at 6 weeks, he was still less than 6 pounds! Such a cutie!

Then we went to St. George to see Ben, Jena and their beautiful baby girl. Check out that awesome playroom! I could not keep my kids out of it. I don't blame them!

Phew! Now that my September post is done, we'll see you next month....maybe....

First Day of School

Yesterday was Ashlyn's first day of preschool. She was so excited. She actually woke up and got herself dressed first thing in the morning. What was more impressive is that her outfit didn't look like someone threw up paint all over it like it usually does when she picks her own clothes. She even tried to fix her own hair. I love that she was so excited to go to school! My little girl is growing up way too fast. When we dropped her off she gave me a hug and a kiss and ran off to play. When did she get so big?

JUNE

Here is a recap of what fun June brought us....

I actually got Ashlyn to wear the dress we bought in China, and if I may say so, I think she looks super cute. She just needed to be putting up peace signs instead of the one finger to really get the look right...

Bubbles! We bought these bubble guns in China, too! The kiddos LOVE them! And they actually work! Bonus!

Scrub-a-dub-dub. There were some cave-man drawings in the hallway by the kid's room so I put them to work cleaning them off. A couple of magic erasers and a spray bottle of water did the trick quite nicely. They even cleaned a few of the door jams!

POOL TIME!! Ashlyn was finally brave enough to go down the water slide all by herself (with the floaty ring). Fun times at Grandma's!

Ryan. Amber. Staci. Tami. Kira

SHOOTS! We took Mike's shotgun out for a spin. I hadn't been shooting for a couple years. I forgot how fun it was! Here is Amber. You can see the little orange clay pigeon in the distance.

Jason. Mike. Spencer running away.

YUM! We went blueberry picking. We took Jet along with us. The kids had so much fun filling up their baskets!

Amber and her gang were there too. And some random kid who thought our group was fun.

Spencer. Trevor. Staci. Jason. Ashlyn. Jet. Brooklyn. Brinley. Allie. Amber. Heather. Jaxon. Kid in Red

Happy Father's Day! A few days before Father's day we were in Cost Plus, and we entered a drawing. They took Jason's picture with Ash and Jax, and put in on display with the other dads. the day before Father's day we got a phone call that Jason won a basket full of goodies!

On June 25, Jason turned 30! Look at all those candles! We had a little party, and even Nancy and Adam came to help celebrate! (oh, and to plan their wedding, too)

BEACH! After Nancy and Adam left, Andrew and Liew came to visit. We went to the beach on of the days and the kids had so much fun digging in the sand...and the dad's did too! But I think Jaxon had the most fun watching the sea gulls. This is right before he took off after one.

And a trip to Balboa is not complete without riding a ride in the "fun zone". Those kids sure love carousels!

And that's it! Phew! I feel like we are almost caught up. Good thing we aren't too far into July yet!