Goodbye 2008... Welcome 2009

We celebrated New Year's Eve at our house with Sharon, Tracey and Terri with families. We decided to have hotpot. I was afraid that Tracey and Terri won't like it but turned out they liked it. That's good.
We did the east coast countdown and then everyone left and we slept.. woohoo.. :)

Turtle man

I found a turtle man sitting on my couch

Smiley Pancake

Simon made pancake for me this morning. What a treat!!


Then the kids were playing with Dora. Colin LOVES Dora.. :)

Another try at Xmas

Since we're not able to make it to Serene's on xmas day, she postponed the party for us and today's the day. We're so excited to go since the kids were better and the snow has stopped. We dressed nicely and warmly and all headed to the car. I also marinated my salmon and put in the trunk. When we open the garage door, we saw our neighbour, Mr. Sit, shovelling around his car that was stuck in front of our driveway. According to him, he had tried getting out 3 times and each times he failed. So, he was trying to dig his way back into his garage, but the road was just too icy for the car to move. He told us that he's pretty sure we won't be able to make it, but if we're brave enough to try, we could go ahead.... and we did. And.. we're stuck.

We couldn't even get out of our driveway. We're stuck in a limbo between the road and our driveway. Simon tried to shovel while I tried to drive. He finally told me to stop because I almost burned the tire. DANG IT!!!.. we've been stuck in the house for almost a week and now we still couldn't go out. We finally abandoned the little car outside (on the bottom of our driveway but cleared from the road). We walked back in and I had to call Serene and Sharon and told them the bad news. This xmas sucked!!!

Are you stuck???

Simon made breakfast for all of us. And Ava was ok in the beginning and then suddenly she threw her tantrum and slipped between the chair. She was stuck and Simon was worried that she would break her legs or something so he kept yelling at her to come out. He's so funny, he yelled at her at weird situation. I told him to stop yelling and just let her be. She would ask for help eventually and voila.. I was right. I got her out.

Btw, Ava loves the pajamas wei. She wore it the night before and then the whole day today and still didn't want to take it off. Thanks san yi!!!!

Merry Xmas?? really???

Weather: 30 cm of snow!!!!

We're supposed to go to Port Moody and spent a merry xmas with our friends there. But since the kids were sick and we're carless and the roads were bad, we couldn't make it. Serene was so nice to postpone the party till Saturday. Hopefully we'll make it then.

We got a toyota Corolla from the body shop for our courtesy car. It was too low and the road was just too icy.
We ended up not going anywhere. We did go and get some grocery for dinner. Simon cooked our dinner party and Ava and Colin got some presents from Annabelle, Wei and HL and Jenny.

We played Taboo after the kids went to sleep.
I WON!!! haha

Pink Eye???

Weather: Crazy snowing

Ava's right eye was red in the morning, we saw it but since we didn't have our car we didn't know how to take her to the doctor. I called our family doctor and nobody answered the phone. So, finally I called the doctor who delivered my kids and finally got an appointment with him. We made the appt for 3:30pm but then realized that Jenny's not off work till 4pm. I called to change the appointment time and decided to call for a taxi. I couldn't believe it when I heard we needed to wait for 30 min to 1 hour. The snow was crazy and there was a car that's actually stuck on our cul-de-sac. I was so worry that the taxi will have a problem getting into our cul-de-sac.
I called the doctor's office again to try to see if i can change the appointment. The doctor's office closed at 5pm and the receptionist (Agnes) told me that she will try to ask the doctor to stay a little bit later so we could make it on time. Luckily Jenny called and said she would be able to make it here by 4:30pm. We're soooo stressed out by this time. Simon brought Ava with him and I stayed home with Colin.

Doctor said Ava had a mild case of pink eye, but it's not contagious. I was so relieved. At first I thought I would have to wash her sheets everyday. He said she would be fine in a couple of days. Thank GOD!!

Poor Sick Babies

The kids were still sick. Since we're stuck in the house because of sickness and carless-ness, I just went crazy again with the camera.

Dress Fitting and Downtown Sight Seeing

Weather: Brrrr...

HL asked me to go with her to look and try on wedding dress. We went to West Van to a store called "Blush". On our way there, Simon called and said that we needed to claim ICBC for our Volvo because it's costing more than the estimated. The auto guy found a hidden crack in the suspension. He said the parts were expensive. So I was on the phone the whole time HL was trying on her dresses. Finally I was done and saw a couple of those pretty dresses. There's one Vera Wang that looked absolutely stunning on her. But the price was also very stunning.. haha

After this store, we stopped by a store on Broadway called "Clara Couture". It's a very nice little store. They also do custom made dresses. She tried on a couple of dresses but I was told not to put the pictures in my blog.. so .. sorry guys. hahaha

Then we drove back to Richmond and saw a lot of snow piling along the way. I took some pictures so you guys can witness the amount of snow we got this time. Incredible!!!

Crepes ala Elly

Weather: snowing

I made banana and dark chocolate Crepes for breakfast.
I think they tasted good.

The recipe is:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 TBS butter, melted

I might try it again next time.. when we got snowed in again.. haha

Volvo's skidding away..

Weather: Icy road

We skidded and hit the curb on our way to dimsum. The tire on the passenger side bumped the curb and then the steering wheel felt weird. It was out of alignment. We dropped the car at the shop for it to be looked at. The guy said they won't be able to do anything until Monday. So we left the car there. What a bummer!!!

The barbers in the family

The kids are sick. Ava has runny nose and Colin has cough. So we've been home bound. Yep, we're in house arrest. Ava still has energy to play even though she's sick. We're supposed to have a babysitter today but b/c they are not feeling well, we canceled.

So, we played barber instead in the house. Ava started by saying she wanted to cut her daddy's hair. Then, Simon cut Ava's hair and then Ava cut Colin's hair. hahahaha
So funny..

But poor babies, both are sick..

The Oval

So, I was running errand after putting the kids to nap. I passed through the oval on my way to Superstore and then I kept thinking that I should stop by. So I did. After I finished my errand, I stopped by the oval to check out the place. It was so beautiful.. too bad I don't know how to skate. :) I'm probably too old to learn anyways. It's weird because I live in this place where skating and skiing or snowboarding are like everyday meals. I wish I could learn. Maybe I'll try when my kids started learning. :)

It's so beautiful out...

We went to BK for dinner and all of us were acting goofy. I saw from TV that BK has come out with a fragrance called "the flame". Supposedly smells like Burger.. HAHAHAHA

Lulu Ladies Holiday Party

We went to the Lulu Ladies Holiday Party. It was snowing a lot and I was driving so slow. Ava was soon playing with the boys. Colin was just walking around by himself, playing with balls or asking for food. He was just doing his own thing and Ava was the same. I bought some agoo's shirt for Ava and Colin. Then, made a reindeer craft. It was a very nice day indeed.. :)

Ava's preschool Xmas Party

Ava had her xmas party this morning. We arrived a little bit late because she was so picky on her outfits (girls!!!). Then I had to put Colin to nap before I left. The classroom was festively decorated and all the kids were busy doing crafts. I helped Ava with her crafts, she made a paper hat and decorated her red sock and then stringing her fruitloops necklace. They ate snacks and then gathered for their circle time.

I noticed that Ava faked-laugh A LOT in the class. The whole time she was there, she laughed a lot but they sounded so fake (so unlike her regular laughs at home). Then, I also noticed that she's like those goodie two-shoes type. When they finished reading their books and the teacher took out a container for the kids to return the books in, Ava raised her hands up high and kept yelling "Ava, Ava" because she wanted to be the one collecting the books. I bet she's done this before. Then, everyone was singing in the circle and suddenly, we saw SANTA walking into the classroom. All the kids went crazy. They kept saying "santa, santa, santa".

Each kid got to sit on santa's lap and they all received a candy cane afterwards. I took a bunch of picture of Ava and Santa. She was so shy that when Santa asked her if she has a brother or a sister, she just kept quiet. It was a pretty successful xmas party. I think all the kids had fun and even the parents. I definitely had fun eating. :)

A little update on Colin:
-He recently said "Dora" a lot. He said it like this "do dora" It was so funny. I showed nemo to him and told him the fish is called Nemo. He said "do dora". So now he kept calling nemo Dora.
-He likes to play "come chase me". He will look at you and then run, when you didn't chase him, he will wait for you to chase him. He will laugh when you chase him and then in turn running to chase you back. so very cute.. :)
-He loves playing in the bouncy castle. He will raise his arms high and then throw himself down (that's his version of jumping). Then he will lay his head onto your lap and laugh (this is another version of his jumping). Again.. very very cute.. hahaha
-He will walk over to me while holding out his hands and crying if Ava pushed him. He will say "bao bao" (hug hug) while doing that. (aaawwww...)
-He still likes to play with his penis everytime I changed his diapers and smiled when I made faces at his gesture.
-He knows how to ask for cookies and then he will bring his cookie and sit on the fireplace and eat his cookie there.
-He says "ball, ball" and goes everywhere with his balls every chance he gets and he dunks them a lot too.
-He knows how to say "jie jie" (sister) and will go to Ava's room everytime I asked him where's jie jie.

Blue Canoe with the Girls

Christy invited me to a girls night out at Blue Canoe. So I asked Simon and he said it was ok. I went around 7pm and Amy was there already. We chatted for awhile and then Herjit got there. I already checked out the menu before I went so I know that I wanted to get the crab cakes. But it seemed not a lot. But I ate a little bit already before I left, so I was actually pretty full. Then, Sheila L got there followed by Christy, Kathy, Nicky, Andrea and then Laurie, Lynda and Becky. I ordered the crab cakes and a yam fries and a perfect sunset (a cocktail).

It was so much fun eating, drinking and chatting with the girls. Time flew. Cash, Ashwin and Ruby were so quiet. They were such perfect babies. I was so busy talking and listening and laughing that I completely forgot to take pictures. So I won't be posting any today. :)

Long line at Coast

I was doing the payroll for Nomis and man the line at Richmond Center's Coast Capital was soooooo long. I waited for at least 30 min just to get to the teller, then I drove to Pacific Currency exchange and then back to Coast. The whole thing took me almost 1 1/2 hours compared to the usual in and out that I did at the Terra Nova's Coast (they close on Monday).

Bacon, Pancake and New haircuts

We're invited for pancake and bacon breakfast at Lynda's house. We got there almost 11pm and Ava was so excited to see Quinn. She was whining at Simon before she saw Quinn but when she spotted him, she ignored Simon and went to play with the boys. There're quite a lot of people there. Lynda's so brave to open her house to so many people and cook for all of us hungry parents and kids. Colin loved the pancakes. He was loitering around the pancake table and tried to look at what's on the table but alas, he's too short. :)

I had some coffee with baileys and it was heavenly. We saw Ruby.... she was just so gorgeous. Becky, Christy and I were discussing on who Cash looks like. Becky said he looks like a white version of Christy. I can see that esp his chin and lips. Eric thinks he looks like his neighbour.. hahahahaha.. funny guy.. :)

After nap, we took the kids out for their overdued haircuts. Ava had been saying that she wanted to cut her hair like Mermaid Dora. So, I had to tell the stylist that's what she wanted and then whispered that she can cut whatever style she wanted as long as it's neat and has some style. After Ava was done.. it was time to cut Colin's. He was a bit of a challenge because he didn't want to sit still. Luckily we have Ava. He was looking at her to whole time while she fake laughing at him. He laughed with her. :) The stylist laughed at them. She said Ava can be an actress because she was just laughing for no reason.

I loved their new haircuts. Looked so much more presentable than before. hahaha

Gym time at TCC

It's Ava last day in Sportsball. We finished breakfast, then I went for a little haircut (only my bangs). Then went to TCC. While Ava was playing with daddy next door, Colin was playing at the gym time with Annabelle.

Weather: It's sooo cold today... Brrrrrrr

Scarf for Colin

After I finished Ava's scarf, I continued making one for Colin. Took me 2 days to finish it. I was so pleased. He looked so cute wearing the scarf. He made me want to make more for him.. hahahahaha.. what a funny little guy.. :)

Weather: It rained the whole day.. sucks!!!

Scarf for Ava

Since my laptop got infected and wiped out a bunch of my stuff, I've been unable to update my blog. I didn't have my photoshop so I couldn't upload my pictures. Therefore, I have been spending my time knitting. I knitted a scarf for Ava. Her favorite purple color (well, it's kinda maroon, but she called it purple). I still have to learn how to crochet a flower to complete it. So I asked Simon to model it for me for now.

Playdate with Viola

Finally, Elisa came to Richmond with her mom and mother in law and of course her daughters. Ava wanted to play with Viola and she was really happy that Viola came. We went for dim sum first at Fisherman's Terrace and then, we came home and right away, the girls were playing with heels. So funny... girls will be girls..

Adelia's 1 month celebration and Lulu's Parents Night Out

We went to Pomo for Adelia's 1 month old celebration. She's such a beautiful baby and everyone was in good spirits. Ava was playing with KK right away after she got there. There were so much food there... and all were soooo good. DELICIOUS as Ava said it.

We had to leave around 3pm because we had to prepare to go out tonight to lulu's parents night out. Jenny babysat for us so we could go out. It was so much fun. I had 3 martinis and simon had 2 bottles of corona (and he was drunk). Simon got me a hype hawaiian, then Tracey and Jeff got me a soho seabreeze and then Sharon got me a purple people. I won a melissa and doug music band set (woohoo!!). We left around midnight and after sending Tracey, Jeff and Sharon home, Simon and I hit the Superstore!!! hahahahha.. i got my $7.99's the tales of the beedle bard by JK Rowling and a couple of gifts. I had to drive home because Simon was drunk.. he was driving in the middle of the line on our way to Superstore, luckily it was midnight and there're not so many cars around. He's so lame!!!

Stupid Virus

My laptop got infected by this virus sent through facebook. I was so mad. Simon basically had to wipe my laptop clean and I lost EVERYTHING. I got so pissed off. I lost my pictures and my music.. I had tons of music in my laptop.. :(

To take my mind off, luckily I went to Candy's Open House tupperware party and got myself something something. I went home happy at least, but was sad again when my eyes fell upon my laptop...
I'm so freakin sad.. :(

Boy Twins???

This morning I put on Colin's shirt and pants and then realized that Simon was wearing the almost identical outfit, so i took their pictures.. they looked so cute..
the boy twins.. hahahahaha

Aberdeen Tantrum

I've been feeling really lazy recently. Have no inspiration to cook AT ALL. Therefore.. we're eating at Aberdeen Center. Ava and Colin took a lot of pictures at the Santa display and then we went to food court to eat.

Colin was very hard to control. He kept crying and crying and refusing to eat his porridge. Simon's face was changing from dark to darker.. I was glad that the food court area didn't have a lot of people. Simon's spirit was lifted a little bit because he saw 4 of the vancouver chinese pageant contestants.

Wei left Vancouver :(

Today's last day of swim class and Wei went with us to the swimming pool. Both kids received their report card. We're going to take the same class again on January.
After class, we ate lunch at e-canteen. Then, we took Wei to the airport. I really hope that she will come here soon. I think it'll be better to actually be present for job interviews and since the job in US is not that great anyways.. :)

I'll be waiting for you here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Middle Eastern Night

We ate at Kingspark this morning and actually saw "yuan biao" left. We sat behind him one time at this restaurant and I wanted to take pic with him, but he told the waiter (who relayed our request) that he's eating. Afterwards, I lost my nerves to ask him again.

Afterwards, we went to Ava's sportsball class. This was my first time seeing her in this class because she usually went with Simon. Since we're out already this morning, I just decided to stay and watch her. She was so happy running around and playing balls. Then, Colin got restless sitting in his stroller, so we went next door to the open gym and let him walked around with a ball in his hands. I rode the plasma car with him (I love this car.. I wanted to get it for myself.. haha). After awhile, I saw Lynda came in with Ainsley and Herjit also followed with Ronan and Ashwin. Chit-chatted for awhile and then off to lunch at a hotpot restaurant that served dimsum. Not that great because Ava was throwing tantrum.. (sigh........)

After lunch, Simon took Wei to see some houses while I stayed in the house and prepare my dishes. We're going to Sheila's house for Middle Eastern Night. I opted to make an egg dish (egg kebab) and a fish dish (with tahini).

I was not so sure about my dishes, but i believed they turned out pretty nice. Patrick outdid himself again this time. The dishes he made was soo good. He made a couple of dips, couscous, feta cheese rolls and also mint tea. The mint tea was soooo good. Sharon made a chicken dish (I felt like I've had it before but didn't remember when and where), and also greek salad.

The kids were having fun as well especially when Sheila whipped out the ice cream. We also had a little bit of ouzo and arabian coffee (with cardamon). It was delicious!!!!

After a long day, finally went home and slept.