Love God, Love People and Love Disney
I got to hang out with my best friends since FIRST grade!!! It’s amazing we’ve kept in touch thanks to social media, and more awesome that we’re all moms of multiples!
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I became a Texan right after elementary school. The mama in the blue dress lives with her family in Silicon Valley. The one in white shirt went to Singapore as a teenager, and the last one studied and worked in Norway! It’s always so fun to be in the same city again for a brief second, and meet up for dim sum and catch up.
I’m another year older!! 🥂 Every year on my birthday I become extra reflective, and feel some level of existential crisis as well. I realize it’s the never ending chasing of something that robs my joy. So my resolution for the 33rd year is to count my blessings every morning when I wake up, and to thank God every night before I sleep! What better way to fight for joy than to stay grateful?
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To be honest I felt kind of negative all day. For whatever reason I was reflecting over the failures I had in life – the times I lost my temper as a mom, the times I was misunderstood by a friend and lost a friendship, the times I felt betrayed by someone I trusted, the times I felt I wasn’t good enough just being me, or worried about people’s opinions more than God’s approval.
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I know I am blessed beyond measures – a fairytale marriage, 3 beautiful and healthy children, amazing family and friends, the privilege to stay home etc, so I shouldn’t dwell on those negative experiences, but rather focus on the blessings, and learn from my difficult experiences. It takes conscious effort to stay present and choose joy, and I want to do just that! 😊
I need my alone time Every. Single. Day! I no longer feel any mommy guilt after 3 kids, because I know I simply function better and have a lot more patience when I’ve had my alone time. .
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Even at the most magical place on earth recently, my patience by the end of day was at a minimum, having carried around a sleeping baby and whiny middle child (you would think kids don’t whine at Disneyland heh? Lol what did I say about expectations? 😂), having to step in when the girls fought over stickers and who got to sit in the stroller, I was exhausted.
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The kids were at the beach with grandparents this afternoon, and I chose not to go for my sanity. Not exercising for a month is already driving me a bit nuts (I need you in life @lorifraze!), I had to get some peace and quiet so I could be a better mom!
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Needless to say, the kids were so excited to see me after being separated for 2.5 hours, and vice versa when they got back – “mommy look at the hermit crab we got! And the seashells!” 🦀🌴☀️ I gave them my full attention for the rest of the night! As a stay at home mom, it is so important to find this balance 💕 If you’re a #stayathomemom may you find some quiet and alone time to recharge today, and every day!
Disney World Florida ✅
Disneyland Anaheim ✅
Disney Cruise ✅
Disneyland Shanghai ✅
Disneyland Hong Kong ✅
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Bye Disney Hong Kong! We will miss this view waking up in the morning! This hotel reminds me of the Grand Floridian ✨Hong Kong is surrounded by oceans and beautiful mountains covered in lush green trees, just beautiful! Next stop, visiting the grandparents in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 .
I will share about our Shanghai Disneyland trip soon for comparisons (spoiler alert: BEST, biggest and most beautiful Disney castle ever!) 💕 .
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Today was our last day in Hong Kong Disneyland, presenting you the beautiful but castle-less…Aurora’s Castle 😆😱😔 .
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Though slightly bummed about no castle, my girls still really enjoyed the park, met princesses and talked to every one of them enthusiastically (sang with Moana, asked Snow White how she felt when she ate the apple etc), did their favorite Small World and Toy Story rides, ate Mickey shaped everything, and my oldest who is tall enough, got to experience the Hyperspace Mountain the Grizzly Gulch rollercoasters too! .
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I must say though, I loved Shanghai Disneyland more despite the much shorter lines in Hong Kong. This was a fun experience overall! Will share more later! 😉
One of the coolest things about becoming a parent is becoming a kid again!!! I had only been to Disneyland once before I became a mom, Disney just wasn’t a big deal for my parents. As a mom however, I got to go on Disney vacations 5 times already! 🥰🥰🥰
Guess what? There is no castle at Hong Kong Disneyland until 2020! 🤦🏻♀️ I totally didn’t expect that, and was kinda bummed not to have a family photo in front of each Disney Castle around the world now. Hubby joked we should get one in front of the sad wrapped up castle under construction anyways, since it would be recording Disney history in the making! 😆
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Our experience so far – Not only is Hong Kong Disneyland the smallest Disney theme park we’ve visited, it’s the least crowded one, which is awesome!!! Most of the rides have a 10-15 minute wait, the Cinderella Carousel was only a 5 minute wait, and my kids’ favorite Small World ride was 30 minutes due to it being hot in the afternoon and people wanting to go indoors. That was considered the longest wait! We didn’t even bother using our fast passes! 😱
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We got to watch the amazing Lion King show, did lots of fun rides with kids with minimal wait, and ended the night with delicious food and Disney parade. 20,000 steps easy, and another magical day with my littles in the books! 🥰
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The beautiful red polka dot dresses my girls are wearing are by the talented mama from @peyperkids!!!
All kids settled down, waiting for our plane to take off, and thinking back to our very first trip as a family of 5. I attempted to copy @thebucketlistfamily because it was also their first public family of 5 photo! I remember one of the podcasts I listened to talked about how no kids are born good travelers, they get better the more they travel! It’s so true. Now after so many adventures with them, I definitely have better expectations – EXPECT NOTHING and appreciate everything!!! 😆 Traveling is definitely more joyful this way!
Milk tea has been on my mind all day, ok probably for the past 3 weeks now since we came to visit Asia 😆 Have you ever wondered what these drinks are? Why they are so popular? And why sometimes you could hear something negative about it too?
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As a self dubbed milk tea addict and expert, here are some stuff about milk tea that I know of –
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1. They originated from Taiwan, are very popular all over Taiwan and China, and slowly but surely spreading its popularity to other countries as well.
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2. The quality of the drink does matter, so as much as I love to drink them, I choose good brands, and always ask for fresh milk, or half and half. The good places naturally use fresh milk, but the average milk tea bars will use “nondairy creamer”, a powdered nondairy milk substitute, which makes a difference in the quality of drink.
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3. Some people think these drinks are high calorie thus unhealthy and will make you gain weight. But I can tell you that’s not true, especially if you are careful with what you ask to be in it. I almost always ask for half sugar and light ice, and if you’re really calorie conscious you can get tea instead of milk tea! But honestly walking around China soooooo many people have a cold and refreshing milk tea drink in their hand, and people here are much skinnier and more fit than in America! So I really don’t think enjoying these boba drinks makes a difference. I have been drinking these for a few years now, even when I was pregnant with my 2nd, and she came out perfectly healthy. And I haven’t gained (nor lost) any weight since high school, minus the pregnancies.
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4. There were these unconfirmed news about this girl and man who drank boba and had stomach ache because of undigested whole bobas. Ummmm they probably got them from really really shady places and didn’t know how to chew?! There are always extreme news out there, if they really made people sick then there wouldn’t be long lines and such popularity! They are made of – milk, tea, sugar, boba and ice! Simple ingredients!
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Since I’m just a little nobody, writing all these of course doesn’t not mean I’m advertising for any companies 😆 I just really like boba milk teas, the end.
No they aren’t always this nice to each other! But when they are, I feel like the best mom in the world! We have really enjoyed traveling with our 3 littles this summer. When traveling gets difficult – long flights, jet lag, being out of routine, convincing them to try new food (that part has been ok thank God, everything here is so delicious 😋) etc, I think about how @thebucketlistfamily would handle it, and feel more encouraged. Tomorrow we fly to Hong Kong! Can’t wait to check off our 4th Disney park around the world, and enjoy the beautiful beach and more delicious food! ✈️🏖🎠