First Experience Ever!!!

Our neighbor had three girls, and Jeannie was asked to babysit them for a good four hours last Thursday. Knowing my teen never enjoy playing girly stuff, I asked her to take some games over to our neighbor's house so as to entertain the girls. When she came home, I asked:

Me: So, how's your evening?
Jeannie: Great! Mom, the girls are so good and well behaved! Even the little one, Jessie would go to bed by herself when she is tired!!!
Me: Wow... that's great! Did you help pick up the toys when they are done?
Jeannie: Hm.... I forgot!
Me: Did you play games with the girls?
Jeannie: No... unfortunately!
Me: Then, what did you guys do the whole evening?
Jeannie: (Shaking her head as if she did not want to tell) Well, we played Barbies...
Me: Hahahahahah..... Yeah, my child is finally playing Barbies!!!

Sorry, honey. Mom is such a tease! :)

Galette des Rois (King Cake)

I don't like baking!!! But after taking the first bite of the Galette des Rois, I've a change of mind. :)

It all begins when Johnny got me a slice of pie (don't know why they call it cake when it looks more like a pie to me) from work about two weeks ago...

One of his French co-workers ordered a Galette des Rois, or King Cake from a local French bakery store in celebration of the Epiphany. Here is the website to the origin of the cake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake

I never am a big fan of dessert, but this pie is so yummy that I would skip the main course and go right into it. In fact, Johnny and I like it so much that we ordered one when the Cheungs was over; and they, as well predicted, also fell in love with it.

Everything is good about this pie except that the store would only make it in January. :(

Since Johnny and I both like it, I was determined to give it a try!

Well, an hour after when I was done baking the pie. My husband called and told me that he just ordered the King Cake for me, and we are to pick up on Sat. Yeah... Thanks hun!

Anyway... my pie turns out ok., the sweetness and taste are pretty close except the filling is a little stiff I I told Johnny that I am going to keep trying until I get the right consistancy!!! :)

No School Today!

School is cancelled today becasue of bad weather, and the kids don't seem to miss it at all. Neither do I!!! :)

Someone is having fun sledding with Evan, or may be not...

One, two, three... nice pose for mommy!!!

Ready, set, go.... competition is on FIRE??

Oh what fun, it is to ride in a...

Who let the dog out???? Who, who, who, who...

New Year Dinner

Tradition!

Jeannie: So mom, now that we are done cleaning... we should go shopping!

Me: Why?

Jeannie: Cause we need new clothes... Remember what you said about the Chinese New Year? E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G has to be new?

Me: Hmm.... good memory, girl! But, we just got you a few sweaters last month! :)

Jeannie: Yeah, but... they are not new anymore, and you mentioned of going clothes shopping with grandma EVERY NEW YEAR! (I finally realized she was playing jokes on me when I saw her giggling.)

Me: (Knowing my teen would hide new clothes in the closet for the Spring.) I suggested, "Why don't you check into your closet and look for all the new clothing items and put them on?"

Jeannie: Hahahaa.... that's different!!!

We were both laughing.

**May be I should move some of our Christmas budget to the Chinese New Year... :)

Happy Chinese New Year!

I must be getting old and losing my head! All along this past week, I've been telling the kids of the upcoming Chinese New Year falling on 1/28 (Wed), but to find out from Tracy C. that it's actually on 1/26 (Mon). Thank goodness that her family came over last night or else I would be calling my parents a few days late, and that would be terrible.

I love Chinese New Year. It reminds me of my mom. Mom is a traditional Chinese woman. She likes making authentic Chinese dishes for special occassion - such as turnip pudding, red bean pudding, "tong yuen" and vegetable dishes (tsai) for Chinese New Year; and of course her famous rice dumpling for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Mom not only make delicious Chinese dishes, she is also the "BEST cleaning person", or a clean freak (Haha... a name my brother and dad call her, and I hate to disagree more!). When I was young, mom and I would do a deep cleaning around the house as the New Year approached. This is absolutely not just a regular chores, it's an intense workout for the both of us! What I mean by that? Imagine cleaning all the cabinets, refrigerator, bathroom, bedrooms, windows, and doors inside out, from dusting to mopping, from ceiling to the floor. Then, the changing of bedsheets and a fresh coat of paint to the front door etc... To make my point, the house has to be spotless before the first day of the Chinese New Year.

As a kid, I often felt dragged by all these cleaning chores. But, now that I am older and have my own children; I realize how lucky I am to have a loving mom who taught me all these wonderful traditions, and how important it is for me to carry these traditions to my children.

So, what have we done in the past few days?? Having a Chinese New Year feast and the elbow grease cleaning, of course!!! Oh yeah, I love this festival and the fact that I could have a clean house is definitely a PLUS! Thanks, mom! :)

The Result

Here's the end result of my one week project.

I forgot to take a before picture of the couches in the current home, so I am pulling an ancient picture from our previous home. Both of the couches and the coffee table were stained in the same color. Looks all good to me... even my two-yr-old was impressed! :)

Picture Editing

I have always use Picasa to edit pictures; like the one in the middle. But, Jeannie told me tonight that the following website had more editing functions, and I had a lot of fun playing with it! See picture #3. Kids know so much nowadays that makes me feel dated! :)

http://www.picnik.com/app#/out/download



1) Original 2) Picasa, Sepia 3) Picnik, Black & White

Never Ending Errands

Draft saved on Jan 17 (Fri)

Something is really bothering me...

1) I still have not finished the staining project.
2) The house is a mess.
3) I am kind of stuck with the YW lesson that I am going to teach this Sunday. I've read it three times this week and haven't had an idea the best way to present it.
4) There are still a gazillion things in mind that I want to get done before Sunday. :(

I guess I am a little overwhelmed with the jobs ahead of me. Time to make a card...

Jan 18 (Sat)

OK... I'm feeling much better today.

With the help of my husband and the kids, I did get a few things done.

1) I sanded and stained the couch. It's a little tough this time since the couch is bigger in size and I replaced four gloves during the process. For some reason, the gloves kept breaking on me. Guess it might be the chemicals are just too strong for latex.
2) I vacuumed all the bedrooms and bathrooms.
3) We went to the bank and got our errands done.
4) I organized the YW folder/calander.
5) The kids did all the laundry and folded them too! :)
6) Had a nice nap for about 2 hours. Jady woke up 7ish this morning and I was really tired after staining the couch.
7) No cooking today! What a TREAT!!!! :)
8) And I made a "Thank You" card to Johnny's co-worker who bought the kids gifts for the Christmas.



I love making homemade cards - it's the perfect stress releaser for me. It only takes about 15-20 mins to make one if I had a design.

The Experiment

I did an experiment and confirmed that there is absolutely "NO SANDING BETWEEN STAINING". The only time I can do the sanding is between the finishing coat after staining. The material used are called fininsh, varnish or polyurethane. They, in fact, all serve the same purpose - giving a protective coat on furniture. There are a variety of choice when it comes to finish: oil based, water based, satin, semi gloss, and gloss. If I have known all these from the beginning, I would have picked the water based wood STAIN and FINISH becasue it takes less time to dry. Oh, well... that's the fun part of it - learning from mistakes! :)

Oops!!!

The biggest mistake ever!

I put the first coat of stain on the coffee table two night's ago and waited for about 8 hour. Touch and felt the table yesterday morning and thought it was dry enough to put the second coat on. Came home from dropping off Jeannie to the seminary and struggled whether I should read my scripture first or to stain the table, and I chose the latter.

As I was trying to get myself ready, I discovered some unwanted particles (possibly dust) sticking on top of the table. Of course, it's unavoidable to have dust in the air, but under my imaginary magnifying glasses, these minute particles look humngous and so annoying that I decided to get rid of them by lightly sanding the table down -a trick I learned from a friend who is very experienced in woodworking.

But, what about the instructions I've read from the label? It reads clearly, "no sanding between staining!" Up in my head... "Well, I can sand it when it's dry!" So, I ignored the instruction totally, worked on the table with my sandpaper, and thought to myself, "In just a few minutes, I will have a nice, shiny and smooth... Hum, what's that on the table?"

Some eraser like residue appeared ALL over the table, and yes indeed they showed up in JUST A FEW MINUTES... Oh, my world!!! What did I do and how do I fix it? I knew there was nothing I could do to revive the situation except heavy sanding. So, instead of a 15mins. job, I made it to an hour. Nice huh! :P

Well, what have I learned?

1) Read my scripture first thing in the morning, and when prompted.
2) Read the instructions, and most importantly FOLLOW THROUGH!
3) No sanding between staining!

(It still bothers me that I could not figure out the cause of the mess. I wondered if the outcome might be different had I waited a few more hours before sanding or it's just an absolute "NO" sanding between staining? I will do an experiment to find out!)

Refinishing the Couch

Jeannie had Stake YW basketball tournament from 9:00am til noon last Sat. My girl made two baskets in the first game and she was very proud of herself. :) Well, I have to say she did really well and so as Jesse and Sarah. The most important thing is to help the girls feel comfortable with each other, particapate in the game and have fun.

Then we came home, had lunch, did laundry, and I was crazy enough to pick up yet another project before our date (Johnny and I went out to dinner that evening), staining the love seat. The couch and the love seat were given to us by the Smiths, a family from Lewisville, TX ward when we first moved to Dallas. Since I loved the details of the frame and the oriental look of the set, I decided to refinish them instead of buying another set.

Before (Walnut color) After (Ebony)

Thanks to the internet. I was able to get good tips before the start of the project. I spent about one and a half hour on the first day in sanding, cleaning and staining. Then, waited overnight, about 8-9 hours before putting the second coat. It looks exactly what I want!!! :)

Tips: Use a rag for staining instead of a brush can produce a better, more even look on the furniture!

Since Johnny is in New York, I did the same thing with the coffee table... hahaha... he gets surprise (if not heart attack) from me everytime he is gone! :) Will need to work on the couch next Sat.

Jeannie's Birthday Party (Jan 9, Fri)

Jeannie's friends from Conestoga High came to celebrate her birthday last Friday. They had pizza, ice-cream, cake, soda, and movie. Fun, and low maintenance!!!

Guess where Jady's big tummy comes from? Thank goodness it is lite cool wipe, and the left over from Jeannie's cake! :)

2009 Interior Color Trend

I just checked on the 2009 interior color trend. Hum... may be I should repaint the dining room again... Johnny will go nuts if I do! :) We have painted the dining room three times since we moved in. I love that "bran" color! It looks like the color of our kitchen.

http://www.colourlovers.com/wallPaper/1024x768/p/444315/COLOURlovers.com-2009_interior_trends.png

Purple, pink and red are in this year if anyone wants to add an oriental touch in your home. Yikes... Should have kept my purple couch...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.whoartnow.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/1-784551.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.whoartnow.co.uk/blog/2008/07/2009-interior-trends-oriental-sweetness.html&usg=__yv0GLpPH18qi9kTiOgdIZ8gecps=&h=234&w=320&sz=14&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=idOhFy7GTKVLpM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3D2009%2Binterior%2Bcolor%2Btrend%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

Who Hurts More?

Jady had her two year old check yesterday and of course the unavoidable scheduled shots.

Stop faking, daddy! :(

Happy Birthday Jeannie!!!

Can't believe our teen is 15!!! Happy Birthday, Jeannie!


Haha... I bet you all love the ice-cream cake, hah!
Hope you like the journal, mom's famous dumplings :) and b-day card!

New Year Resolution

Our Family Home Evening (FHE) lesson on Monday was to set goals for the New Year. We kind of limit ourselves to make only one important goal this year since we are not good in following thru. :P

Here is our list:

Johnny: Set aside personal reading time - 15 mins or more (church/personal improvement material)

Pauline: Read Sunday school assignment! This has always been a challenge, and hopefully I can stay put! I also add one more project for myself - organize EVERY single cabinet/drawer/closet and finish updating the whole house - which kind of take forever! :)

Jeannie: "I am ambitious.... and will try to finish Young Women (YW) personal progress." There are seven values my girl has to work on and each of them is attached with a 10 hour project. She has already accomplished a few in the past and is now trying to finish up this year!

Evan: Finish his Faith in God requirement. Many of these requirements are done thru the cub scout program. So, he should have no problem fulfilling his goal.

Jady: Has to be potty trained!!! Hopefully knowing her ABC and 123. (Mom is getting greedy!) :)

Our "Obedient" Child

I was trying to clean up my unattended mail :) and saw this notecard from Evan's teacher. This is a cute reminder to show how my 4th grader did in Fall 2008.

Mrs. O'Neil and I had a parent teacher conference back in Nov and she told me something about Evan... Whenever he was asked to write a sentence or two MORE by the teacher, Evan would "obediently" did it... NO MORE, NO LESS!

Of course, we are actually expecting more from our big guy! So, we talked about it and tried to monitor his work at home and at school. This is a note sent home from Mrs. O'Neil in Dec, and I am sure she is happy with Evan's progress so far! We shall see. :)

Stay Away or Not?

I love powdered sugar donut. I know they are very fattening yet so moist and yummy that I had to grab a box while at the store yesterday. It's been about three months since the last time I had them. As I said they are so delicious that I would eat two or more than a few each time.... like last night right before bed. Yeap, it's a terrible habit, but I just couldn't resist their "COME & EAT ME" look! :)

Then, I woke up this morning feeling stuffed and tried to figure out what I've ate the night before. Ah, it's the donut! So, I took a quick look at the nutritional label at the back of the box. My goodnesss! Three mini donuts would put 200 calories on me, no wonder I was stuffed. And I hate to mention these are mini ones, they are about 1/3 the size of my hand. That leads me to another question... how could these little donuts filled up my hugry kids or other people's children in the morning? They simply don't! My bet is that most kids except children under two would still be hungry after emptying half of the box.

I sent the message to Jeannie right away and she limited her intake of three this morning. :) Good job, girl! I also put a restriction on Evan and Jady. Evan has a limit of three, but Jady could only get one per day. It's almost impossible to stay away from junk food since they make us feel good. And I won't go to the extreme because I, myself am weak; and am afriad od my children going to a different direction - craved and stuffed themselves when the junks are available. It's more effective to help my kids to choose (hopefully the right one) when facts were presented. :) Eat in moderation, sparingly and wisely is the key and it works for our family!

Imagination!

We were at Jady's room and just finished reading our scripture.

Jeannie: Yeah, I wish I can dress up at night so I don't have to change in the morning.
Evan: I know... can I do that too?
Me: No, you guys are not to wear outdoor clothes to bed!
Jeannie: (smiling) But, it's really cold in the morning!
Me: Hum... you can change your clothes inside your blanket.
Jeannie: Inside my blanket? It's kind of wierd..,
Me: (a little off subject, but trying to tell the kids Chinese traditions and story)...In fact, Chinese children in the olden days (thousands years ago), would lay in their parent's bed, and warm it up for them to show how much they love their parents.
Johnny: (Nodding his head.) Yeah... but now you can warm up our bed with the blow dryer.
*** We don't quite need their help because we have an electric bedding on top of the mattress, but it's always fun to watch how the kids react!)
We found Jeannie laughing uncontrollably at her spot...
Jeannie: Hahaha... it will be like... "Hey, Jeannie! Wake up and warm up my toilet seat!
We're all laughing HARD... then it comes Evan...
Evan: Mom, I would never be able to warm up your bed.
Me: Why?
Evan: (with his mischievous smile) Because I am too short to warm up the rest of your bed!!!
.......Hahahahahahaha....
Our kids are wild!!!

Why Need a Phone?

One night as we were eating ice-cream I asked Jeannie:

Me: Oh, did daddy get you a phone card yet?
(We have not signed her up for a family plan since we need to make sure she had control over the usage of her phone... meaning no text messages, only call if there is an emergency, no long hours call or unnecessary chats... she can use home phone to do it though. So, Johnny came up with the idea of getting her a phone card instead!)
Jeannie: Yeah!
Me: How many minutes do you get this time?
Jeannie: 30mins!
Me: (laughing hard...) What? 30 mins only? Again? (Well, we did that for the last quarter and our teen use all the mintues in less than a month as we predicted!) For how long?
Jeannie: (laughing...) Yeah, I was like... I need more minutes, but daddy said I've to do it for a few more quarters and prove him that I can handle better with my calls before adding me to the family plan.
Me: haha... that's your dad... he always stick to his rules. Well, I hope you will better control of your minutes this time! Remember, it's only for emergency!
Evan: Yeah, I want a phone too!
Me: Evan, I don't think you need a phone until you're in high school!
Evan: True, coz I will lose it anyway! Well, I can always ask my friends to borrow their phone.
Me: (my eyes light up instantly... ) Yeah, that's right! You guys don't really need a phone. You can always borrow from a friend... that way we don't have to buy you a phone, we don't need to get you minutes, and we don't have to replace one if you lose it!!! Isn't that great?

The kids were rolling their eyes, but laughing and calling me crazy! :) I just love teasing my kids!

Mommy's Love "Bug"

Moms never get rest... and even if we do... someone will jump on us while we're sleeping!

Guess this is why it takes me so long to recover from my flu.

Just LOVE my "bug"!!! :)

Winter Break

Wonder what the kids did during their winter break?

Dec 31 -

Take a look at this sparkling white kitchen floor! The kids spent at least an hour or two scrubbing the tiles and grout. Thanks, kids!!! You both had earned your full allowance for the month. :)

**Kwan's rule: kids have to go extra miles in every job assignment to earn their full allowance**


Because of their good influence.... I did our master bathroom floor later that day. Haha... Someone is very impressed with my work! Time for a raise, Master Kwan??? :)

My Song

I think I am almost done with my song after spending more than 10 hours working on it. Really looking forward to having it published!!!

Happy New Year!

Jeannie make sure I record this in my blog!

Jeannie, Jady, Johnny and I were in our bedroom watching the New York Time Square count down for the New Year. Don't recall what Evan was doing in his room... :P

As we were hugging and wishing everyone, "Happy New Year!"

Ms. Jady Kwan spoke out loud with her wishing words,

"Happy Halloween"

We all burst out laughing!!!!

"Happy Halloween" to all of our friends!