Engagement Party Cake

Today, we went to celebrate our very dear friend's engagement party. Our almost four year old kept on asking us who's birthday it was. We told him that his uncle Dan and future auntie Rebecca are getting married soon and that's what we are celebrating.

Me: "When family and friends are excited for two people who are about to get married and are attending a party before the wedding, we call that an engagement party".

Liam: "What does getting married mean?"

Me: "When those two people get married, on that day, they will make a promise to love each other forever in front of all their family and friends."

Liam: "What does promise mean?"

Me: "They will work very hard at taking care of each other, when they are happy or mad. They will learn how to share, listen to each other, take good care of each other and love each other so much. They will think about ways to make the other person happy every day. And they will promise to never give up trying. It is not always easy, but they will try and will promise to try. "

This was an acceptable answer enough to him. He remained quiet the entire car ride after that...As you can see, I didn't want to feed him the "Happy ever after" fairy tales lies and disillusions. I really wanted him to understand that it doesn't guarantee happiness but that it was a promise and that it required hard work to reach it. I hope that will give him solid foundation for his relationships later on. And I hope he asks me that question often so I can keep on telling him.... :)

Surviving off mushrooms and cultivating our own corny hope...

Every time we watch a Korean or Japanese movie, I have the urge to stuff my face with some deluxe instant Ramen noodles. It is almost midnight and I am craving for some instant black bean Ramen noodles. I never had these before, but thanks to this multiple award-winning Korean movie Castaway on the Moon, these little radioactive noodles have a total new meaning to my taste buds.

Komar asked me what I wanted to watch tonight, and here was my response: "I feel like watching something that will restore my amazement in humanity. Something that will showcase our brilliance, as humans. A movie that is grand, a masterpiece, in the same lines as Amelie, Forrest Gump, or The Matrix. Something new. Something wow. Something that will change my perspective on the world."
And Komar responded: "Just that, huh...". And there he was, flipping through our Netflix, when he selected this one. "Ask and you shall receive" he would tell me, if he could predict the future and the outcome of the movie. I was blown away. There was nothing cheesy or cliché about this film. It was a true gem and a subtle love story that respected the audience's intelligence and did not need to hammer every single line to us. I love movie revelations like these.

This is the story of this sad guy who failed a suicide attempt and turned castaway in the Han River and a girl who is addicted to the Cyberworld and hasn't gone out of her house for years. They both give hope to each other and overcome their restraints. This movie treats the common ways we fall in love in a non-common way.

 It made me think of the Little Prince quote that says "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince. 

New home, new kitchen :)

Here we are, finally all moved into our new house . Sold our townhouse after eight days on the market and we were lucky enough to be able to rent back for about three months, while we waited until our new house was built. Our three year old had a great experience, learning each step of the process of building a house, and watching it evolve, from breaking ground to the finishing touches. The move went smoothly, and we got help from our family. Once we finally moved, it barely took us one day to already feel right at home. On our very first day, we were greeted by neighbors with scrumptious cupcakes and created new friendships in the blink of the eye. We invited them in, and they hung out at our place and the spark was instant. I fell in love, once again, and not only with my husband and kids, but with this new love nest, our new home that we built and selected from start to finish.

This will be the second house we have built and completely catered to our taste and needs. A brand new house, like a blank canvas, allowing us the selection of all our features and design. I couldn't ask for more. I really believe this is our dream house and the one where our family will settle in for a very long time. I cannot wait to watch my boys grow in it and build so many new memories in this house. But what is the most amazing is that even though we were able to select everything, from picking our lot to each little cabinet knob, we never would have been able to predict who would live next door to us.

I have to say, my mind is blown by how friendly everyone is in our new neighborhood. We landed on a gold mine filled with stimulating and fun people with interesting hobbies, talents and interests. We already hung out several times, went shopping and spent quality family times all together. Everyone is young, friendly, and with same age kids. I couldn't have dreamed it better. :D