David was invited last Saturday to Sam's (his classmate) birthday party. It was his first time being invited to a friend's party and it would be in a bowling alley. We had never taken him bowling before, so I wondered how he would have liked it.
So off we went, leaving Liz and James at home last Saturday. It was a decent size party, about 12 kids including their parents. It was actually a combined birthday party for Sam (4) and his older brother, Andrew (6). They reserved 3 lanes for the kids to bowl. So David joined Sam's team in the 4 year-old group. They had the rails up for the kids to play. They all used this bright orange ball, the lightest of all.
I was worried because I didn't think I would be able to show David how to bowl but then my worry proved unnecessary. The kids just had so much fun. They did everything they wanted pretty much. They rolled the ball, tossed it, pushed it down the lane, anything to set it in motion. It was just hilarious. The ball never went gutter. And you would wonder when in the world would the ball hit the pins because it took FOREVER!!! The returning ball went so much faster compared to the kids' throws. But it was just so funny. I couldn't stop laughing for 2 hours.
David loved it. I went with him a few times to stand beside him and explain. Then afterwards he told me to sit and watch him do it himself. It was a fun experience.
So off we went, leaving Liz and James at home last Saturday. It was a decent size party, about 12 kids including their parents. It was actually a combined birthday party for Sam (4) and his older brother, Andrew (6). They reserved 3 lanes for the kids to bowl. So David joined Sam's team in the 4 year-old group. They had the rails up for the kids to play. They all used this bright orange ball, the lightest of all.
I was worried because I didn't think I would be able to show David how to bowl but then my worry proved unnecessary. The kids just had so much fun. They did everything they wanted pretty much. They rolled the ball, tossed it, pushed it down the lane, anything to set it in motion. It was just hilarious. The ball never went gutter. And you would wonder when in the world would the ball hit the pins because it took FOREVER!!! The returning ball went so much faster compared to the kids' throws. But it was just so funny. I couldn't stop laughing for 2 hours.
David loved it. I went with him a few times to stand beside him and explain. Then afterwards he told me to sit and watch him do it himself. It was a fun experience.
Can you believe that I actually tried to make some homemade soy milk? I guess that's how desperate I want to drink some fresh soy milk. The only kind that I can find here in the market is the Silk Soy Milk, which is a bit too thick and sweet for me. So after making some calls back home and doing some research online, I decided to give it a shot.
I soaked 4 cups of soy beans over night. They puffed up considerably.
Then, the part that took the longest time for me... removing the soy bean skin. It just seemed to take forever!
When that's done, it's ready to be pureed.
Then I poured the pureed mixture into a big pot covered with cheesecloth. Then squeezed out the liquid.
I repeated that for the rest of the soy beans and set the pulp aside.
When it was done, I started to boil it. Then, I skimmed the foam. I left it simmer for 30 minutes, then I put sugar to taste.
When it's cooled, I'll be able to refrigerate it.
The kids had fun watching me experiment. My mother-in-law just laughed. She probably thought that I was out of my mind! haha.. just watch, next time she comes, she'll bring a soy milk machine with her.
Now it's all chilled. It's ready to be served!
I soaked 4 cups of soy beans over night. They puffed up considerably.
Then, the part that took the longest time for me... removing the soy bean skin. It just seemed to take forever!
When that's done, it's ready to be pureed.
Then I poured the pureed mixture into a big pot covered with cheesecloth. Then squeezed out the liquid.
I repeated that for the rest of the soy beans and set the pulp aside.
When it was done, I started to boil it. Then, I skimmed the foam. I left it simmer for 30 minutes, then I put sugar to taste.
When it's cooled, I'll be able to refrigerate it.
The kids had fun watching me experiment. My mother-in-law just laughed. She probably thought that I was out of my mind! haha.. just watch, next time she comes, she'll bring a soy milk machine with her.
Now it's all chilled. It's ready to be served!
It hasn't been easy with Liz lately. I guess you can call it the terrible 2 period... and she is not even 2 yet! Sigh* Well at least she communicates well with us. She can say a lot of things in Chinese and Korean and some English. She uses her vocabulary and she can count. If I say, "1, 2" with her, she'll continue on her own, "3, 4, 5". In Chinese, she knows after 5 is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. I am very proud of her. But then, if she doesn't get what she wants, she starts crying and smacking me. And if she can't hit anyone, she'll bang her head on the floor. Speaking of bad temper, she sure has one.
Then, she doesn't want to sleep on her own now. She figures that if she cries loud and long enough, some one will come for her. It worked especially, when Po Po was visiting. It wasn't because Po Po would go pick her up at night, but it was because I didn't want her to wake Po Po up every other hour at night. She was tough. Now that Po Po has gone back to LA, she is not as bad anymore.
Even though David and Liz still fight from time to time, they seemed to be getting along better, at least for today. :) They were playing quite peacefully in the morning. David sort of set up a small classroom for Liz. And he took out all his Thomas and friends learning cards to show her. He even made her learn the names of the trains. I caught him teaching her how to say Gordon and that was hilarious. He was so well behaved today that he even helped feeding Liz during lunch. The funny thing was she actually listened to what he said. Kids can surprise you all the time I guess.
Then, she doesn't want to sleep on her own now. She figures that if she cries loud and long enough, some one will come for her. It worked especially, when Po Po was visiting. It wasn't because Po Po would go pick her up at night, but it was because I didn't want her to wake Po Po up every other hour at night. She was tough. Now that Po Po has gone back to LA, she is not as bad anymore.
Even though David and Liz still fight from time to time, they seemed to be getting along better, at least for today. :) They were playing quite peacefully in the morning. David sort of set up a small classroom for Liz. And he took out all his Thomas and friends learning cards to show her. He even made her learn the names of the trains. I caught him teaching her how to say Gordon and that was hilarious. He was so well behaved today that he even helped feeding Liz during lunch. The funny thing was she actually listened to what he said. Kids can surprise you all the time I guess.
I can't believe David is already 4! Time just flies by so fast. I'll so sad when he is going off to college... *WEEP*. He was a happy boy that day. I actually did something for him this time around. Before we only celebrated his birthday with early presents and a cake. No surprises. This time, since my mom is here, I had the time to shop around and planned a fun birthday for him. Since he has school now, he actually has friends and teachers to celebrate birthday with him. I brought in balloons and treats and goody bags for the kids. Unfortunately I couldn't stay and see what they did at school together. But I heard from the teacher that the kids went crazy after eating all the candies. And when I went to pick him up, I saw a kid crying grabbing a couple of balloons wanting to take them home all for himself. I feel bad for the teachers. :D At least I didn't have to deal with that.
So yeah, David had a good time at school. They made him a crown for his birthday. He was wearing it for the rest of the day at home. He was easier to please than I thought. He was so busy running around the house with his balloons and crown to care for anything else. Even Liz went wild over the balloons. I guess it's the kid thing.
Then at night, we surprised him with a very colorful cake. He was very happy to see it. But as usual, he likes the frosting more than the cake. Then, it was time for him to open his presents. He got Legos and more LEGOs. I hope he had a great time for his birthday. We love him very much~!
So yeah, David had a good time at school. They made him a crown for his birthday. He was wearing it for the rest of the day at home. He was easier to please than I thought. He was so busy running around the house with his balloons and crown to care for anything else. Even Liz went wild over the balloons. I guess it's the kid thing.
Then at night, we surprised him with a very colorful cake. He was very happy to see it. But as usual, he likes the frosting more than the cake. Then, it was time for him to open his presents. He got Legos and more LEGOs. I hope he had a great time for his birthday. We love him very much~!
We did not do much during Christmas this year either. We stayed home and kept each other warm. Being lazy pretty much. David is happy now that he is on Christmas break. Elizabeth is happy too to have his company, even though they fight sometimes. But lately they have been sweet to each other. They'll give each other food. David has been trying to feed Liz yogurt. It's fun to watch though he makes a big mess afterwards. I caught some funny conversation between them two in Chinese. David was trying to get Liz to finish her yogurt. And Liz kept saying that she didn't want to. That went on for over 5 minutes.
We have been getting some lake effect snow since last night. So the snow has been piling up again in our backyard. When the sun decided to show up for an hour today, I hauled them out of the house and took some photos. It was our first photos in the snow this year.
We have been getting some lake effect snow since last night. So the snow has been piling up again in our backyard. When the sun decided to show up for an hour today, I hauled them out of the house and took some photos. It was our first photos in the snow this year.
Today was my very first parent teacher conference. Honestly, I was a little surprised when I found out that David's nursery school was scheduling a PT conference. It was a preschool after all and it seemed to prep me for the real school already. I was glad that we had it though. I was clueless of what to expect when I went. We were asked to fill out a chart prior to the conference, stating David's strengths, challenges, likes and dislikes. Then during the meeting, the teacher, Ms. Katie, told me what David has been doing at school, how he is doing with his classmates, his achievements and what they are working on as of now. I was glad to get the information because David doesn't tell me anything about school or his friends!
So yeah, Ms. Katie said that David is advance for his class since he draws and writes. He is the only one in his class who can write his own name, full name. So the teachers are trying to keep his interests up in class, giving him more specific tasks, even grouping him in the 4 year-old class.
Then, the bad thing is, he doesn't really use his English in school though he tries to communicate. He has been playing with other kids well (thank goodness). So when the teachers are giving him instructions of what to do, sometimes he doesn't follow them. Either he is being stubborn or not getting it. So I guess they'll be working on that.
Next is... he doesn't sing at all. He never likes singing, which is funny. Liz likes singing a lot more than he does.
So I guess mostly good feedback. I'm a proud Momma no matter what they say.
So yeah, Ms. Katie said that David is advance for his class since he draws and writes. He is the only one in his class who can write his own name, full name. So the teachers are trying to keep his interests up in class, giving him more specific tasks, even grouping him in the 4 year-old class.
Then, the bad thing is, he doesn't really use his English in school though he tries to communicate. He has been playing with other kids well (thank goodness). So when the teachers are giving him instructions of what to do, sometimes he doesn't follow them. Either he is being stubborn or not getting it. So I guess they'll be working on that.
Next is... he doesn't sing at all. He never likes singing, which is funny. Liz likes singing a lot more than he does.
So I guess mostly good feedback. I'm a proud Momma no matter what they say.
I'm finally back. It had been awfully overwhelming the past few weeks. It started off with David getting sick. He was down with a fever for 4 days. Then, he started coughing with phlegm and having runny nose. As he was recovering, Elizabeth got sick too! I was so stressed out, worn out and sleepless. She got it worse. She had high fever for over 6 days, very weak with pretty much the same symptoms as David. And she was very clingy and irritable. Both of them lost weight, poor things.
Glad to say that they are fine now. Eating and playing well again. It was crazy how so many people got sick lately. We are worried about the flu season, especially for the kids. Hopefully we'll get them all vaccinated by next month. Sigh*
It's funny how I'm able to have some sort of conversation with Liz now. She makes me laugh so much. Last night when it was time for Liz to go to bed, she got on our bed and pointed to her dad's pillow.
Liz: "zhe li" (here)
Me: "mei-mei shui zhe li?" (liz sleeps here?)
Liz nodded, pulled up her blanket and made herself comfortable. Then, she pointed at my pillow...
Liz: "mama, mama" (telling me to lay down)
Me: "dui, mama shui zhe li" (That's right, mommy sleeps here) "na, mei-mei shui na li?" (Then, where do you sleep?)
Liz pointed at her dad's pillow.
Me: "na shi baba shui de di fang! baba shui na li ne?" (That's daddy's spot! then where's daddy going to sleep?)
Liz was thinking for a second.
Liz: "chu qu" (out side) She pointed at the bedroom door.
I laughed really loud and went to tell her dad what she said.
Isn't she funny?
Glad to say that they are fine now. Eating and playing well again. It was crazy how so many people got sick lately. We are worried about the flu season, especially for the kids. Hopefully we'll get them all vaccinated by next month. Sigh*
It's funny how I'm able to have some sort of conversation with Liz now. She makes me laugh so much. Last night when it was time for Liz to go to bed, she got on our bed and pointed to her dad's pillow.
Liz: "zhe li" (here)
Me: "mei-mei shui zhe li?" (liz sleeps here?)
Liz nodded, pulled up her blanket and made herself comfortable. Then, she pointed at my pillow...
Liz: "mama, mama" (telling me to lay down)
Me: "dui, mama shui zhe li" (That's right, mommy sleeps here) "na, mei-mei shui na li?" (Then, where do you sleep?)
Liz pointed at her dad's pillow.
Me: "na shi baba shui de di fang! baba shui na li ne?" (That's daddy's spot! then where's daddy going to sleep?)
Liz was thinking for a second.
Liz: "chu qu" (out side) She pointed at the bedroom door.
I laughed really loud and went to tell her dad what she said.
Isn't she funny?