Update

If you've emailed me about adding you to my list, I have already sent you an invitation under the user name KHMama. Please check your junk mail folder if you have not received that email. You'll have to accept that invitation and log on to read the new blog. I will start blogging there on Friday Oct 8.

Secured Blog

Hello hello!

So, this is my one and only no picture blog entry. I will be blogging at a new location starting this Friday. If you would like to come with me and join this new community, please shoot me an email. In you email, I will need your gmail account name. If you don't have gmail, I think the deal is you will have to sign up for one. Otherwise, I can still invite you but it's only good for a couple months.

Once I have your gmail address, I will email you back with my new blog address.

I know it's a hassle but as the kids get older, I feel that it is more important to only share their life stories with family and friends. If you've been a lurker of langlangcreations, now's a good time to "come out". :-) It's not like a have a selection process for who gets to read this new blog and who doesn't. I just want to keep track of who has access.

Thank you!

Belated (by a lot)

I've been swamped lately. This video was taken last week... maybe the week before on the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival. See, I've been so busy that I've lost tract of time.

Anyhoo, thank you so much, Emily for making my kids so so so happy. Of course, the Boy meant "emily" instead of "enemy". He had this little girlfriend a long time ago that he also called "Enemy".







I am still looking into ways to "privatize" this blog. Coming soon...

Red Light Green Light

Noteworthy things in this clip:

1. The Boy can be bossy, too, sometimes.
2. The Boy is understanding rules and game playing. Yay!
3. The Girl can listen to the Boy when she really really wants to play!



Other random thoughts:

1. We've been insanely busy and sick in the past week. No time to think, no time to blog, no time to play! :-(
2. I am thinking of going "private". Most of my entries now will be family oriented and will not be interesting to people who don't want to know about the going-ons of our little foursome. So, I am going to investigate what it all entails for us to become a "password access only" blog. Are you in?
3. Why is there only 24 hours in a day and why do I need so many hours of sleep? See #1. :-(
4. Just finished reading two books. One was very uplifting and the other one sad as can be. I am caught in between these two worlds in my head. I am feeling a little schizophrenic. (The two books are Calligrapher's Daughter and The Blue Notebook if you are interested in some happy and sad reading.)

That's it for now. Happy Monday!

When Mommy Asks For A Nap...

this happens.

Not Too Photogenic

I've been really wanting professional family portraits for a long time. Last May, we finally won a session at the Girl's school silent auction. A couple weekends ago, we headed out and had these pictures done. The result was ok at best. Predictably, the only person who had good photos taken was the Girl. So not fair.

Here is arguably the best picture of the four of us.


Here is a random picture of the Girl.

The Pear

The Girl was never a fruit fan, so seeing her eat a whole pear all on her own made me very very happy.


She actually finished that whole pear by herself. She even ate the peel, something I am not too fond of. She is, however, very picky with her fruits. Even though she'd claim to love pears, there are only certain kinds she would eat and if she takes a bite and decides it's not sweet enough, she will make up crazy things like "it's too spicy" or "it doesn't feel good to my tongue" to get out of eating anymore.


The Boy, who is usually pretty good about eating his fruits took one bite out of the pear and gave me this face. Don't be fooled. This is a pear-is-yucky face. He wouldn't go anywhere near that pear after one bite. Why don't my children like the same foods?

Still Crazy

So the kids wake up after I do during the week now and that means they get to change and get ready with Hubby. Hubby lets them pick out their clothes not because he is one of those hippie my-children-should-be-given-free-will dads, but because he couldn't care less what they wear. The outcome is often, shall I say, eccentric?

For instance, this is what the girl chose one day. A long sleeved shirt (because a good Chinese mommy always told her children that they are never warm enough and my Girl took it to heart), layered under a apple patterned Hawaiian shirt, paired with gray bubble skirt with a blue flower and owl pants underneath (yes, it's always cold outside).


The Boy chose a more elegant look. Firetruck t-shirt layered under a blazer with drawstring khaki length pants and bright blue socks. His diaper is peeking out slightly so you can see the "huggies" that printed on the edge. I am sure as he get potty trained, he'd be one of those dudes who shows off their Calvin Klein waistbands. Yes, it's a new surprise every afternoon when I pick them up!


This was a particularly dressy day and it put them in a particularly crazy mood. Once we got home, the Boy started to wear this bucket over his head and running into the kitchen and asked us to look. The Girl totally egged him on.


When your audience laughs like this, how can you not give 110%?!


So the Boy gets back inside the bucket and continued to bang around the kitchen hitting walls and such to make the Girl laugh. That in turn makes him laugh and the cycle continued... for an hour!


Yep, going to full time care did not mellow them out. I am glad to say that it looks like I am not to blame for their craziness.

New Understanding

After 4.5 years of living with children, Hubby and I were still not really understanding each other. I couldn't understand why he was never too enthusiastic about the millions of events that I planned for our weekends and he didn't get why I had can't seem to enjoy the simple pleasure of being at home.

That changed after 2 weeks of both of us working full time. Hubby now understand why I used to be so grumpy in the morning when I couldn't get the kids out of the house and I now definitely know why he wanted to chill and stay home on the weekends. Man, I am pooped after a whole week of work and I don't want to drag the kids around town to play. So, it took us a long time but we've finally come to an understanding and I sure have a new respect and appreciation for everything Hubby did and does.

While I am on the topic, I really should point out that Hubby has been stepping it up in the past two weeks. He's been so sweet, helpful and supportive. Thanks Hub!

So last weekend, the only thing we managed to do with the kids was a short visit to the playground.

This Girl LOVES flowers!


The Boy was in a really weird mood. He's been super clingy and though he made it very clear that he wanted to go to a playground, he refused to play once we got there. What is going on with him?


Oh, and our big accomplishment the previous weekend was to get everyone a haircut! Look at their funny facial expressions.


Finally, the kids just couldn't leave without helping nature along a little.

Elephant Dress

I made this dress before we left for our big vacation early August. It was a lot of fun to make. I took this picture 5 minutes before we left for the airport because I wanted to bring this dress as a gift to a special little girl.


Here is a close up of the elephants.


I bought this fabric a long long time ago and thought I was going to make a blouse for Kira. That so did not happen and this fabric got stashed away. I am glad it is now being worn by the cutest baby girl. Happy birthday, Em!

Lucky Girl

I've been told I am a pretty lucky girl. I've never won the lottery or anything like that but things have been pretty smooth for me most of the time.

I've been working for a week now and though a little hectic, things have gone well. The kids are adjusting. It's probably harder for the Boy than it is for the Girl. He's never been away from me so much. I did feel bad the first couple of days after drop off and I still feel guilty sometimes, especially when he comes up to me to volunteer a kiss or a hug in the evening. However, I know he is well cared for and that the ladies who plays with him during the day totally love him to bits.

From what the teachers told me, the Girl is doing great. She's napping with all the other kids during the day and she's usually very busy playing when I go to pick her up. She's happy to see me but there are days when she begs for just a few more minutes of play. That's a good sign, right?

As far as work goes, I really have been lucky. I have a really great teaching load. I also get to teach all my classes in one classroom - arguably the best in the department. (Other people in my department are teaching in 2-4 different rooms.) I have a lot of space in the office and best of all, I have a fantastic view. Hubby's been asking for a room with a window for 5 years and still doesn't have one!



Classes will begin officially tomorrow. A month ago, I'd tell you I would dread this day but after a week of really thoughtful and meaningful meetings and various chances to know the school and the people I will be working with, I am quite excited to start the school year.

I am going to be greedy and ask you to wish me more luck for the next 10 months! Here I come, full time job!

Water Park

This is my last vacation post. On our last day in K-Town, we took the kids to the water park.

As usual, the Girl was all for it.


The Boy was much more cautious. It took a lot of hand holding before he would even go near the water. At one point, he was convinced that he'd just sit in the stroller and wait while the Girl splashed and sploshed.


Then, I showed the Boy he could control the water, and he eventually got into it.


They had so much fun.




At the end, the Girl basically refused to leave. She went back to say good bye to the water jets and her good byes involved hugging and kissing each jet of water. It was hilarious.

Parties

Once we got back to the city, we had party after party with other friends and family in K-Town.

While we were still rolling out of bed, getting breakfast, feeding and changing the kids, my MIL magically produced this spread for brunch.


Oh, and there were desserts. Yep, plural. DessertSSS!


Everyone had fun. Some were a little scared...


The big kids participated in dinner party preparation the next night.


After the guests were gone, the kids went back to the usual routine of running around making messes. While most people were outside, the Boy was very quiet and hidden in one room. I went to check him out and found that he had covered the room - furniture, pillows, our luggage, etc with stickers.


He was insanely proud of himself. His finest work was to plaster stickers all over his little cousin.


Strangely, this one activity was what truly brought them together. Now, the Boy has become the center of the foursome and it's just so cool to be covered in stickers. They consult him for the "rules of engagement" and what stickers should go on whom/where, etc. It was pretty funny. The next day, we went to the dollar store for some essentials and my brother-in-law bought a big box of stickers. That afternoon...


And...


Yep, she even put one on her forehead. The funny thing was the Boy started it all but he didn't have any stickers on his body. I'd have to say he's pretty smart because getting the stickers off was a little painful. He just directed and told people where to put the stickers and helped get the stickers on their bodies. Isn't it interesting what fascinates the kids?

Last Night and Day at the Cottage

We are back to our regularly scheduled programming after that short break about sibling love. More pictures from our trip.

On the last evening we had at the cottage, our dedicated chefs served us yet another fabulous meal.


Meanwhile, my brother in law took care of all the kids.


That gave me time to enjoy this amazing sunset! This picture totally does not do the view justice. The sky was endless and there were so many different shades of pink everywhere. Truly gorgeous.


After dinner, we had a bonfire!


Can't you just imagine how excited the kids were?


Most of us stayed out to enjoy the fire. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it as much because I was attacked by bugs. I still have plenty of scars and bruises on my body to show for the little time I spent outside. What I did get to do was star gazing. I am not a country girl and don't get many chances to see the stars without the city lights. I was so impressed - I saw the Milky Way with my own two eyes! I also caught a couple of shooting stars. Yes, wishes were made and they are between me and the stars.

The next day, we drove back to my in-laws' house. The Girl was very excited about the ferry ride.


What a fun week we had!

More Sibling Love

We've had a very busy month and life has been super crazy since we came back from our trip. The kids were both in full time care and we had various engagements each night. Today is the first time we slowed down to catch a breath. I think the kids really miss each other. Sure they were together during our trip but they had so much going on and the cousins to play with that they didn't have any alone time with each other. Then we came home and they were at different places during the day. By the time they were home together, they were tired and cranky so they didn't really enjoy each other's company. This morning, they slept in, were well fed and were in good moods. While Hubby and I ran around taking care of things around the house, they kept each other happy. At one point, the Boy soothed the Girl by reading a book to her. It was so adorable.



Back to doing things. Maybe I will find time to put up more pictures from our trip later in the week.

Have a good weekend.

Beach

We spent a lot of time in the water and on the beach. I don't have a lot of pictures because I didn't want to carry my camera when I could get wet. Here are the few that I have.

Throwing some rocks in the water in order to warm up to the idea of swimming in the lake.


The Girl pretty much dove right in. The Boy was a lot more hesitant.


We gave it another try when we went to the beach but he was still mostly interested in hunting for ladybugs (there were lots!) and making them go through his "tunnel".


The kids were so involved with what they were doing that in order to take a family shot, we had to ask our photographer to get ready. Once all the adults got into position, we just each grabbed a kid. You can see that they were not happy about being disturbed.


Here is a group shot of the three brothers and their wives and kids.

Thrity Years

We celebrated my in-laws thirty year anniversary while we were there.


We all went out to town and had a fine lunch. One of the criteria when choosing a restaurant was to find some place that could accommodate all of us and that noise level wouldn't be a problem. We found this little cafe with a patio area. As soon as we got in, the Girl and the Older Cousin claimed this table as their own. These two were so cute together.

The Boy sat with the adults. He had a pretty good lunch, too. Yummy pizza and chips and a tall cool glass of chocolate milk. Pure heaven!

Bossy

This picture sums up how bossy the Girl is and her amazing ability to make people listen to her.

"Why didn't you arrange this huge pile of rocks the way I instructed you to?"

Grass

Since the kids don't always bring toys outside, they played with what nature provided. One thing in particular that made them very happy many evening was cut grass.

One evening, the Girl came up with this ludicrous idea of decorating a flower plant with some cut grass.


She roped her cousin into helping.


In no time at all, it turned into a game of decorating each other with cut grass. There were four little grass people running around. I couldn't get a picture of everyone because they were moving very fast and the light was not very good. Eventually, we cornered one.


You really have to see it in person to appreciate the mess that was made. They were COVERED in grass. That night, the bath tub was filled with grass after their bath. Now, why didn't the neat freak in me put a stop to this madness? 1. They don't get to do this often. 2. I was too busy eating chocolate cheesecake.