Days of our Laives

Kira's school has a new headmaster.  She started making changes in the last few months of the previous school year, and this September marked the beginning of her first full year.  The changes have been a little unnerving (change is hard for everyone), but overall, I really like her ideas and passion.  One of the many new things she created is monthly meetings.  All parents are invited and we talk about her ideas and progress on important changes/projects.  We had a meeting today, and she invited a speaker to talk about preschooler behavior and healthy ways of dealing with family conflict.  The speaker is actually an RN, and her experience in child behavior comes from raising her own three children and working with clients for whatever whatever years (I don't remember).  At first, I was skeptical of her expertise and found her examples very anecdotal.  But after some reflection, I have to admit she made some good points. First, she had us talk a...

They just recovered, and now they're sick again.  At least this time it doesn't involve fever (KNOCK ON WOOD).  Both are congested and coughing in their sleep.  The poor things.  I hate winter.  I can't wait until we grow out of this weak-immune-system phase.  So many people say to me, "cherish these moments because it goes by so quickly."  Honestly, I can't wait to get past this stage.  Not only do both kids constantly fall sick, but they are prone to temper tantrums and sibling rivalry.  They also are keen on making huge messes which eventually leads to lots of dirty laundry.  I'm buried in laundry.  It gets dirty and clean and dirty again before I even get a chance to get it out of sight. I know a few families who are in the same boat as we are, and I can honestly say, we all struggle and none of us are completely happy and content.  I know that might sound selfish to some people who are not in the thick of it, and even wh...

Taking a sick day and waiting for Vickie to come back after dropping off Kira at school... 3 weeks ago Kira was sick, 2 Renee, last week Vickie, and now me And another one...

Janey and I caught up last night on the phone, and I was telling her about some of the interesting conversations Kira and I have had lately.  She reminded me that I should document them on the blog!  She's right because these conversations are pretty funny.  It's surprising to find out how a 3-year-old mind works  =) Setting: we're reading the story of Cinderella and Kira is admiring the illustrations. K: Cinderella looks like a bride.  Can I have a dress like hers? V: When you are a bride, yes, you can have a dress like hers. K: But, when can I be a bride? V: When you are a big girl, like Nat-Nat. K: Who will I marry? V: You will meet a boy and if he's good to you, you can marry him. K: (after some thought) Can I marry Daddy? V: No, Daddy is married to me, you can't marry him. K: I need a boy. V: Yes, don't worry, you'll meet him someday when you're a big girl. K: When I was in Dai Bak's wedding I walked with a boy.  But...did I marry ...

Two:

I think Renee is slowly coming out of her shell.  She has always been more clingy to me than Kira ever was.  Kira had stranger anxiety at age 4 months, but that eventually went away, at the very latest by 9 months (probably as early at 6 months)!  Renee is now 18 months and she still clamors up my leg in the presence of other people. Renee is taking two classes this fall.  The first is a music class in Wellesley.  Wellesley is a bit far from where we live, but the reason why we go there is because it's more or less halfway between my house and my mom's house.  We meet there at the start of class.  I hand over Renee, and go home.  After class, my mom takes Renee back to her house for the afternoon.  In the evening, we meet for dinner somewhere, and I take Renee back home.  I attended the first class with Renee and my mom.  Renee was super shy and her expression was clear: she didn't want to participate.  By the second class, m...

Now that Renee is one and a half years old, things are starting to get more manageable with the kids. When they're awake life is still crazy and hectic, but the main difference is both kids go to bed at 8pm and will usually sleep uninterrupted through the rest of the night. Before the kids Vickie and I would take turns cooking after work and since Vickie is now in control of the household activities, I haven't actively cooked for almost 4 years. There are a few things that bother me about this...first, I no longer know where anything in the kitchen goes. Sometimes I unpack the dishwasher and just place the items in the drying rack. Secondly, I am not longer efficient nor can I multi task. It takes me forever to find what I need whether its a spice in the cupboard, or a bottle of sauce in the fridge. Also, I have no idea what is stocked in both fridges and freezers. I've been following some food blogs and building up a list of recipes to try. Since I've started eating he...

Kira does new things as well:  - helps w the cooking: snaps the ends off of green beans, scoops and washes the rice, whisks marinade  - sets the table  - keeps Logan out of certain rooms by shouting him  - "does" her hair  - picks out her own clothes and gets dressed in the morning

Ok, it is really hard taking care of two little kids.  There is no time to address top priorities, such as going to the dentist, getting a much-needed haircut, or changing the oil in my car, let alone blogging.  And, in a previous entry I thought I would blog every day, but that was unrealistic, and then I would just be blogging to blog.  The top reason why I take time to write down stories is so that we can come back to them and remember things we otherwise would not remember.  So, I'll just try to blog when there are good stories. I have a few stories about Renee.  Poor girl doesn't have many memories documented here.  No better time than the present. Singing - Very recently, I've heard Renee try to sing!  While driving in the car, I will put on the kids music when either child starts getting cranky.  And, today, Renee was trying to sing along!  It was pretty cute. Other things that Renee does or has been doing for a while: ...

I love the look of stilettos and skinny jeans/tights/crops. It's a step up from casual but it's still relaxed; sophisticated but not trying to hard. I just love it, but it's near impossible to carry Renee in one arm, diaper bag in the other and holding Kira's little hand while keeping balance wearing those things. It's shoe-acide (as Fabolous would say) . So, next best thing is the wedge. Most are clunky, but with a discerning eye, you can find ones that are more dainty and give the same look as a stiletto. Source: payless.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pinterest Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Vickie on Pin...

I have the radio playing in the background and I was reading a headline about some dinner party that Gwyneth Paltrow hosted with Michael Stipe as one of the guests. Hi name sounded familiar but I couldn't put a face to it. I googled him and realized it was the lead singer of REM...whose song at the moment was currently playing on the radio in the background. Random

Bloomingdales

There's nothing exciting going on in this video. It's just Renee being her typical self and Kira going on and on in the back ground. The video was shot at the end of Feb.

This is basically a bad and good list. The bad is annoying to say the least, hence "vexing." And the good is "such a joy" (using the words of a fellow mommy), hence "delightful." First the vexing: 1. Complain crying. Renee does this annoying cry where is not really crying. It's just a loud "aaahhh" over and over and over again. No tears, just "ahh ahhh ahhhh" really loud. She does this when she wants to be picked up. 2. Bathtime = Wrestlingtime. I haven't given Renee a bath by myself since she was 4 months old. Ever since then we've had to do 2 against 1 with her. She enjoys her bath, but she can be really rough and wiggly, and will literally crawl away wet and naked if you let her. Every bath is an exhausting undertaking. 3. Drooling...still! Renee drools so much she goes through about 10 bibs per day. And, the drool gets everywhere. All over me, all over the furniture, all over the floor. Don't worry, I...

Trevor beat me to the punch! I was just about to write a post about Renee. It's about 2.5 weeks to her first birthday, making her about 11.5 months old. Just this week, I've seen signs that confirm she understands the things we say and what is going on around her. This will provide additional detail to what Trevor has already blogged. Clapping Hands As Trevor mentioned, Renee can clap her hands. But the cool thing is that she can clap her hands when you say, "clap your hands!" She will even do it if you say it in Chinese! I can't take credit for that one. I think Renee caught on to the Chinese words thanks to my mom. You should know that Renee is *very* consistent producing the behavior when given the prompt. Saying "hi" and "bye" Renee has been doing the wave for a few weeks already. But now she does it at the appropriate times: on Mondays and Wednesday nights, after a day of helping out, my mom gathers her things and puts on her co...

This weekend Renee seemed to have learned a lot of new things. Here is terse list, if I don't write it down quickly, it'll never get done. - Claps her hands - Shakes her head to indicate "No" - Eating baby cookies - Attempting to walk away from the couch - She's been doing it for a while, but now w/ out fear she uses anything to get in to standing position. This includes couches, sidetables, chairs, doors, toys, boxes, you name it! Its tiring watching her because she is a hazard to herself. - She says "Hiiiii" when she is holding a real of fake telephone - She puts the phone to her and my head

I love this ring: maxandchloe.com

http://nicolerichiefashion.blogspot.com Totally loving Nicole Richie's lippie in this photo.

This was a conversation we had in the car on the way home from school. Kira: Mommy, what's that smell? Me: What smell? Kira: It smells like a skunk. Me: I don't smell it. Kira: It's not a skunk? Me: No, I don't think so. Kira: Maybe it's a hippo going poo in the woods. (Looks out the window.) See, there are the woods! Active imagination? Yes. I just hope she doesn't talk about poo so freely in front of her teachers.

Renee is now 4 weeks in to the 10th month. She can now - Crawl with different speeds and navigates nicely - Pick herself up from a crawl and stand while holding on to the couch - Balance for a short while by herself on her knees - Slightly more precision when eating finger foods - Dances by shaking one or both hands in the air when music she likes is playing - Understands when I try to chase her - she crawls away excitedly in anticipation of me grabbing her from behind - Says mama and dada at the appropriate times - Has been weened from drinking milk at nights so she goes from her last night bottle between 7-8pm till 8am the next morning - Really hates when we have to wipe her nose or face with a cloth - clawing and batting away our hands when we get near - She waves hi and bye with her hand now! In some ways she is a bit tougher to deal with because if she doesn't want to be put down to sleep she will now get up from a lying position and pick herself up. We realized tha...

I guess I should laugh at the typical conversations Kira and I share these days. But, in fact, I don't because they are so full of nonsense and I'm usually in the middle of changing a diaper, wiping a nose, lugging a heavy baby, bending down to pick something up, or something like that which makes me not want to have a nonsensical conversation. Furthermore, it doesn't help that I don't have much adult conversation on a daily basis, so interestingly, that leaves very little patience for nonsensical conversation. I know I'm taking it for granted. Maybe I just need a vacation. Anyways, here is a typical conversation we had yesterday: Kira: I'm HOT! Me: Yes, I know. I've already turned off the heat. Kira: What? Me: I've already turned off the heat. Kira: Huh? Me: I've already turned off the heat. Kira: What Mommy? I can't hear you. Me: I've. Already. Turned. Off. The. Heat. Kira. Oh....why?

I was really disappointed with the new Pottery Barn catalog. I had high hopes that there would be lots of Easter-themed rooms and that I could use them as inspiration for Renee's first birthday party. I wouldn't go so far as to pull out the bunnies and eggs, but I would take some neutral springtime images and translate them into party decorations. Sadly the Pottery Barn catalog only had 19 pages of Easter, and they were all meh. It's too bad. They usually have an amazing spread. So, I went to the Martha Stewart website for some inspiration instead. I'll bet not all of these images are new, but they are inspiring nonetheless.

For my hubby from design*sponge .

While having my morning cup of coffee, I flipped through the new West Elm catalog that just came in the mail. Thankfully, Kira was coloring and Renee was sleeping. I didn't expect much from the catalog thinking it would have a lot of rooms I've already seen in previous WE catalogs, which it was. But the nice thing about the new catalog was that in the middle section, they laid out the majority or the most popular big ticket items, like rugs, beds, side tables, coffee tables, chairs, dining tables, buffets, and so on. It was nice to see everything listed in grid style. Sometimes when you see an item arranged in a room, it looks awesome, but you don't see them item separately. For example, look at this room, and look at the rug on it's own. Maybe they've done that before in previous catalogs, but seeing it this time was very eye opening. Maybe it was the graph paper background they used, or the numbering system, or the size of the items. Sometimes the middle s...

Without kids..easiest is bed time because sleep feels so good. Hardest - is dragging myself out of bed in the mornings. With Renee kids it seems to be the exact opposite. As far as the mornings go, this has always been the smoothest part of the day with kids. Mornings generally start around the same time, and kids that have had enough sleep are full of energy, in great spirits, and ready to play. The usual morning routine starts with Kira waking up between 7 and 7:30am, opening her door, running down the hall, and then coming in to our room. There was a time, probably before Renee was around, when I would be able to wake up and get ready for work before Kira busted in to our bedroom. Since Renee has been around, with the lack of sleep, this has not been possible so Kira either plays for a while in our room or climbs in to bed with us and naps or entertains herself until she gets bored. The routine is simple and consistent, which helps make things flow since we all know what we're d...

I feel guilty saying this, but I think Renee is so cute when she cries. Sometimes I just watch her cry. She's so sad...it's cute!! I never thought the same about Kira, and I'm not sure why. Maybe Kira had a more intense cry? Maybe it was more high-pitched? I don't remember. When Renee cries, she looks soooo sad, and she makes a lot of eye contact with me. I don't think Kira did that. She would just scream with her eyes shut. And sometimes Renee throws her head back a little...because she's soooo sad! Or, maybe it's because I'm a more experienced parent, and I don't worry so much if she cries a little. So that allows me to appreciate the cuteness in her crying. Renee crawls so fast now. She can even crawl while wearing the sleep sack! And, she has two more teeth coming out of the top. She'll be 1 year old in about 6 weeks. A friend of mine who had her first baby a few months ago was asking me how to transition solids into her baby...

Renee is almost 1 year old, and I haven't spoken much chinese with her. Even when she was first born, it was mostly English with Kira and everyone else in the house. It's too bad because I remember a time when Kira knew more Chinese words than English words. Here's my resolution to speak more Chinese to Renee. And, I'll make it Cantonese, too...even though my Cantonese sucks really badly. But, I figure, if this gwai loh can do it, then I can too! Here are some ideas I have for keeping us motivated: 1. During mealtimes, we must speak Cantonese 2. Take videos of conversations and new vocab 3. Watching cartoons in Cantonese Wish us LUCK

Kira-isms. Only when I stop to think about it do I realize that Kira's language development has grown so much over the past year. Here are some phrases she likes to use: 1. After explaining something that involves many steps, or has high complexity, she says, "you know what I mean?" 2. After listing several things, she says, "and stuff like that" 3. While we were in FL last month, I asked her if she was enjoying the trip. She said yes. I decided to tease her and asked her if she wanted to stay in FL. She nodded and said "forever". Then I asked her what about Poh poh and Gung Gung, and she replied, "they can visit". 4. A different day while we were in FL, Kira told every one in a matter-of-fact tone that she wanted Mah Mah to go to the market. We all asked why and she replied, so that Mah Mah can make dinner at home and we don't need to go to the restaurant. (That story was much better in person.) 5. She can make jokes. For exampl...

In four days, Renee will be 10 months old. Then it will be two more months (8 weeks) until her first birthday. That is the fastest year I have ever experienced! I'm astounded. Anyways, seeing that time has just been flying by, I figured I should jot down some of the things Renee is doing right now. She can crawl. Marc caught it on video. She's not very proficient. She uses her elbows to heave herself forward. She doesn't really elevate herself with her hands, and she doesn't coordinate her legs to help with movement. She is getting better day by day. We lowered her crib mattress. Yesterday while Trevor was at work, I was freaking out every few hours because after putting Renee down for a nap, upon her waking, I would find her peeking over with both hands gripping the edge. If she would just pull a little more getting her shoulders up and look over the edge to the ground, the sheer weight of her head would just take her down. Scary! So, yesterday, while I bat...

I just did the bedtime routine by myself. It was short, but painful. Here's how it went down: 6:00 - Kira and I eat dinner The most difficult aspect of this part of the night was that Renee was still awake. Usually around this time, she takes a 20-30 minute power nap. But, she didn't, I let her cry for 20 minutes and she still wouldn't rest. So Renee sat in her highchair somewhat well-behaved while Kira and I ate. 6:30 - Feed and change Renee; read Kira a book; start cleaning dinner dishes Renee had just had a bottle at 5, so I didn't want to feed her right away as she probably would not eat without at least a little bit of hunger. Thus, my decision to hold off feeding Renee until both Kira and I had finished. I'll rate the feeding at "B-". Because she had not napped, she was cranky and impatient with eating her solid foods. She ate about 2/3 of what I had prepared, and she got it everywhere. Nothing unusual, but not fun to deal with on my own. ...

We got a bread machine. We've been wanting one for a while, but the cost of the nice ones kept us in thinking mode. Finally I saw one on GILT , and we went for it. It's a Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker, and it has many many features. So far, I've made 3 loaves of bread: 1 challah loaf and 2 whole wheat loaves. The challah bread was ok...the texture was there, but I was not wow-ed by the taste. I think I'm a bit biased when it comes to challah bread because I grew up in Brookline and my mom bought fresh challah bread every week. (Brookline has many many Jewish residents.) The first whole wheat loaf was a bit dry and I think it was because I accidentally used too much honey. For the size loaf I was making, the recipe called for 1.5 T honey, but I looked in the wrong column, i.e., the column for the larger loaf, and added 2 T. So, that made me want to try the whole wheat loaf again. This time I went for the large loaf because the first loaf was eaten up pretty ...

Quick list before anything is forgotten: 1. Raspberries. ALL. THE. TIME! 2. Head-bob dancing. Will try to catch this on video! 3. Crawling...well, sort of, but it's a start 4. Opening cabinets and pulling out the contents 5. Random blurting and talking We went to the doctor on Monday for her 9-month check up. Here are the specs: weight - 19.5 lbs height - don't remember, but the doc said taller than average head - "a good size" and "overall, very proportional in general"

Just last week, Renee started sleeping through the night for the first time!!! I feel like a whole new person and very quickly we're falling into a nice groove. This is good news for blogging. I'm looking forward to telling more stories about the family so that people reading can keep up with what's going on in our lives and so that we will have documented memories to look back on in the future. The latest news is that both girls are sick. Nothing earth-shattering, but sick nonetheless, both with the same set of symptoms: raspy cough (even while sleeping during the night), runny nose, and intermittent low-grade fever. One of my FB friends mentioned that RSV is going around. I don't know if RSV is what Kira and Renee have; regardless they need to get through it on their own. There are so few drugs for children. Even antibiotics are given very cautiously. The best I can do for my girls is too keep the humidifiers running, give them plenty of fluids, and plenty of...