Two kids + Thousands of rubber bands = 1 Boy Bands

Boy Bands' Rainbow Loom Headbands

Boy Bands include my two boys who create fun and colorful accessories, including bracelets, necklaces, headbands, chokers and more. Join in on the latest craze and start your collection!

Check out their latest headbands that will give you multiple looks. Wear them without bows or scrunchies for a casual or sporty look, or dress them up with the bows for a special occasion or dance recitals. These headbands with the scrunchies will look adorable for a newborn baby. The ideas are limitless. Check out Boy Bands on Facebook and click "Like," share, or comment if you like the new headbands!

 

A mother's wishful thinking

(Originally posted on June 13, 2012.)

A mother’s wish

I hope you smile and laugh each day,
And your sense of wonder never fades.
I hope God guides you from above 
And your heart is filled with joy and love,
I hope and pray you grow to be old;
And all your dreams and wishes unfold.
It’s my wishful thinking, I suppose —
That you’re happy and healthy as you grow.

I vow to keep you safe and sound,
And not let others pull you down.
I vow to help you learn from your mistakes,
And leave this world a better place.
I vow to listen when you’re sad or mad,
And love you to the moon and back
It’s a mother’s wish, I suppose —
That you’re happy and healthy as you grow.

The day will come when you’re all grown 
You’ll leave home and be on your own 
When you want advice on what to do, 
Remember my mother’s wish to you

I wish the world is more than it seems,
And peace is not an impossible dream.
I wish all children love their self-worth,
And we care for each other on earth.
I wish that greed is something we ignore;
It’s better to help each other more.
It’s a mother’s wish, I know —
That you’re happy and healthy as you grow.
— Mimi Hoang Kuehn

While my dad is my hero, my mom is my idol. She has always been an inspiration to me and that inspiration has crossed over to how I strive to parent my own children. No matter how hard I will ever try, I can never reach the same level of sacrifice that my mom has shown. 

My mom's only wish in life was for her children to be happy and healthy at all costs. She and my dad risked their lives and gave up all that they had known to escape from Vietnam in order for me and my siblings to have a better life in America. Their selflessness extended to how they raised us, including our humble beginnings in the US as a homeless family living in the church that sponsored us. I remember my parents  working tirelessly – my mom would hold multiple jobs as a restaurant kitchen staffer, babysitter, and factory worker whereas in Vietnam she was a teacher and lived an upper middle-class life prior to the war. 

First and foremost, I can't imagine being pregnant and also having to protect and care for four other young kids during the Vietnam War. I idolize that mom. Life was hard on the Vietnamese civilians, especially those with kids, because of the daily bombings and daily fixtures of soldiers manning the streets. That mom protected her family during a civil war. Imagine trying to make ends meet as a mom while the government was embarking on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. The war resulted in an economic collapse, causing millions of people, many of whom had children, to flee the country in crudely built boats. While helping her family escape from a country that she now fears, that mom comforted her children and set her own fears aside.

I idolize that mom – my mom. My mom is a protector, a survivor, a provider, and a comforter. I am a mother of three and struggling (umm, I mean balancing) to put my kids first while also working, and I am in awe of how my mom did it with five children! If anyone figured how to clone themselves, I think my mom did. I remember my mom always being there for me and my siblings. Growing up we had little money. Shopping for clothes and household items at Goodwilll was a treat and a field trip that my siblings and I looked forward to with her. I marveled at how she was able to bargain down prices. I have fond memories of my mom or my dad, and often both, would make it to my basketball games, marching band practices, cheerleading events, and Cross Country and Track meets. It's easy to see why mom is my idol. During my childhood, my parents made sure that one of them was always home and there for us, including supporting us with school and our activities, and encouraging our interests.

As an adult, I continue to appreciate and listen to my mom. She is my inner voice when making decisions. When I want to hear her voice, she is just a phone call away. My mom is my role model as I strive to make my own voice in this world. Thank you, Mom!

How has your mom inspired you? I would love to hear!

Turning my hobby into helping others

When I was twelve, my grandmother started teaching me how to crochet and knit. Since my first stitch, every visit to see Grandma Ama was an opportunity for me to get hooked on this amazing skill. Twenty-six years later, I still have the first sweater that my grandmother and I knitted together -- that's how special I felt about our time together. As I began to participate in more school sports and activities, I didn't have time to crochet or knit and had forgotten it for awhile. Here and there I would pick up crocheting and knitting out of the blue, like knitting a blanket for a wooden cradle that I made for my Big sorority sister, knitting an Indians blanket for my husband as part of his wedding day present, or crocheting an item or two a year for my kids.

It wasn't until a few months ago when I volunteered to participate in a Crafts Bazaar at Ernst & Young (E&Y), where I worked, to help raise money for its holiday gift giving that my hobby turned into an opportunity to help others. E&Y usually gives a large amount of money to the local community, and it also gives its employees an opportunity to directly help in those efforts. For the Crafts Bazaar, E&Y was going to double what you were willing to donate. I quickly jumped at the chance to do it because with three kids and a full-time job, I rarely had the chance to volunteer in the community. Plus, I just came off from making three Angry Bird hats for my kids and they loved it, so I thought why not making more of these to sell at the bazaar. Most importantly, my grandmother passed away from cancer about five years ago and I knew since then that I wanted to do something special to honor her, and how ironic that crocheting would be that avenue to honor her by.

Since EY's Crafts Bazaar was my first crafts show and with only having two and a half months to make enough things to sell, I started to get nervous, not so much so that I didn't think I'd get the things done in time, but more so because I wasn't sure if I would be able to sell enough things to donate to charity. I was prepared to buy back some of my things if no one bought anything, but that would "knot" have been fun, pun intended. I loved the encouragement from my kids, and would help when they can. I will always remember my oldest son calling the preparation for the crafts bazaar as "yarning for charity. "For my kids, it was a win-win situation. If I sold a lot of things, they would be happy for me. If I didn't, they would be owning extra hats and scarves to add in their closets.

Thankfully, I sold enough to donate $100 to EY's holiday gift giving ($200 with firm's mtach). It felt so wonderful to have participated in such an event that buys toys for the struggling families in our communities. Since then I've been trying to think of ways that I can do something similar, while not taking away the important time that I have with my family, and not compromise my job. Fast forward two months to the present, I've decided to revisit my hobby business, Just Image-on, and really spend more time on it (up until that point, I had done nothing with it for over a year). I started promoting some of the things I had made from the Crafts Bazaar and had gotten a lot of positive feedback from it. (While you're at Just Image-on, don't forget to "Like" and share my page with your friends. Sorry for the shameless plug.)

Now, I am dedicating my weekends and late nights to my new charitable hobby. I hope to make and sell enough of the items to continue to do what I love doing while helping my community, while also make extra cash to support my three kids' hobbies as they grow up. I know there will be a lot of hard work and lost sleep in seeing this through but as my grandmother always said, "You need to have patience and discipline in whatever you do, and create opportunities to give to others whenever you can."

So I began brainstorming ideas and even got insomnia because of all the ideas that I had and that is where we arrive to what you see below. Visit my blog again soon to learn more about "Care to crochet," how my grandmother and children are the inspiration behind it, and how you can also get hooked on helping your community, too.