Cartoon Show

I am not a big fan of cartoon shows, but I have to monitor what Jady is watching on a regular basis. There are plenty of good shows for kids nowadays, but I particularly like shows broadcasted by PBS. They have the best shows for children I believe. Shows like "Sid the Science Kids", teaches children basic science; "Barney" and "Cailou" are shows about good characters, and of course, the classic, "Sesame Street" has a little bit of everything from letter to counting, good character to reasoning.

So, I was watching a new show called "Word World" with Jady the other day, and I was really impressed with it. The episode was on how the main charaters (buggies) tried to solve problems. The whole show repeatedly saying and singing, "No problem is too big to solve if we can stay calm and think things through."

It was pretty silly, but how truthful is that? It is a simple, yet powerful reminder of how we should act when we're facing challenges. I don't think such a message is only for kids as I know how often I rush into decisions and make bad choices. It's good to be reminded! :)

Spring Break

Can't believe it's April 11 already! The kids started their spring break on April 3, and we spent a few days at the Chengs home in New York. We had a blast!!!

April 4 (Sat)

Arrived at the Chengs... a visit to the Afrian art museum. We were thrilled to watch a ceremony of drumming and dancing by the African people. According to the tour guide, this is the kind of ceremony one would present to their ancentors for guidance and blessings. She told me that it was the first time ever they had the presentation at the museum, so whoever watched the ceremony that day should bestow with good fortune. :) We shall see!!!

We had a really good dinner that evening. Juliana made the most delicious Tandori (Indian) chicken and we all fell in love with it. She gave me and Tracy a few bags of spices to take home, and hopefully we are able to make it as good as hers. Ben went to pick up his mom at the airport. I felt bad for staying overnight since Ben's mom probably needed some rest after getting off from the plane; and obviously, we were not a group of quiet people :)

Alan and Johnny went to the priesthood session. Tracy had a mild asthma attack while Alan was gone. I was terrified since she left the medicine in the van , and we were unable to reach the guys. Ben's car was blocked by ours, and for some strange reason Johnny took the keys with him even though he wasn't driving. Both Alan and Johnny had their cell phones turned off, and no one was picking up the phone at the chapel. Juliana was giving Tracy some massage on her hands, while Ben offered Tracy with some warm water. Thank goodness... Liz was able to reach Aaron through text messaging, and Alan got home right away. We were glad that Tracy was fine afterall... What an evening!

April 5 (Sun)

We watched the first part of the General Conference, and went to the museum/park for a picnic. The park was beautifully landscaped with a big pond filled with fishes and a few ducks. I guess Jady and Ethan had the most wonderful time watching the fishes swimming to and fro. There are also many gorgeous pieces of sculptures found inside the park.

April 6 (Mon)

We went to downtown Flushing for Dim Sum, and then to the outlet mall since we couldn't do much outside because of the rain. We separated into three groups once we got to the mall: the guys went to a movie, the girls went shopping, and the "elderly" (Me, Johnny, Alan and Tracy) stayed behind with Ethan and Jady, and went for a drink! :)

We had many different kinds of dessert after dinner that evening. Tracy made sweet steam eggs, Juliana made "tong yuen", and I made the ginger milk. They all turned out good except mine... will have to practice more before showing off next time. :D

April 7 (Tue)

Packed and leave. We swapped Christian with Jeannie on our way home. Then Johnny and I headed to Chinatown to pick up some dumplings and groceries. Well, we bought some very "costly" groceries because we got a fine of $95 for parking violation. In fact, Johnny was in the car while waiting for me, but the police was careless of his explanation, and asked him to talk to the judge. I guess that's how people treat each other in the city... no mercy!

Anyhow... the Cheungs stopped by that evening. We ordered the kids some pizza and went out to a Korean restaurant for a double date. We enjoyed the adult conversation and the food, which make up the rest of my day. We went home and ended our day with a movie.

Life is good!

Evan's Pal Project

Evan's spent the last two weeks working on his pal project. It's a big research for the fourth graders where they learned to collect information, put them on a poster board, and present it to all parents and students. Evan picked the topic on Bermuda Triangle, and he had a lot of fun researching on the subject. I am very proud of him doing most of the project by himself except the typing - the only thing a parent is allowed to help.


April 1, 2009 was the big day for the kids. Johnny and I went to the school that evening, and were really impressed with all the work the kids had put in. There were projects from earthquakes, heart disease, police dog, lego land, money, gemstone, knitting to famous people like Einstein etc. The kids were knowledgable about their subject and some even set up their table with a power point presentation. It was a fun evening!

While Johnny Was Gone

Another trial and error... Just had a chance to upload a picture of the highlights I did on my own hair while Johnny went to Florida. I don't know where I had the gut to do it myself... just couldn't stand being bored I guess. In fact, it was quite a fun, interesting and challenging process I had to say. I fairly enjoyed it even though it did not turn out the way I wanted.

My conclusion???

May be a lighter shade would help so that I don't look stupid. Yes, his trip is coming up in June! HAHA...

*** I need to keep myself occupied and stay away from these craziness. :D

My Dad

A phone coversation with my dad:

Me: Johnny is out of a business trip for a few days.
Dad: Again? I thought he supposed to leave in Jun.
Me: Yes, he still needs to go to the conference in Canada in Jun.
Dad: Are you going?
Me: I thought about it, but you guys would just be here for a day (mom and dad are coming on Jun 13, and Johnny is leaving on Jun 14) The ticket costs me $400, and I worry about Jady causing you and mom a hard time on top of jetlag.
Dad: (giggling) No, you just worry about me punishing your child.
Me: Haha... I didn't even get punished much by you when I was young... you would only spoil her rotten.
Dad: Why don't I pay for your ticket?
Me: No.... I have the money. (I was speechless....)

Why is dad still think about me more than himself? How blessed I am to have such wonderful dad who loves me more than I can comprehend! Dad will be retiring in lesss than a month, and I know he would be using a big part of his retirement money to pay off the mortgage for his other apartment, and my parent's trip to Europe. I know there would not be much money left after paying off all the expenses, yet he still think of putting my happiness first. I am thrill that he and mom would stay with us for three months.

Dad is funny... Mom told me that he has been signing up cooking and magic lessons just to learn to cook and entertain us. Our kids love roast duck, roast pork, soy sauce chicken, and BBQ pork, and so dad signed up those cooking lessons to please his grandchildren.

Dad is handy man and has to be constantly onto something. He asked me for a list of things that I would like him to fix. Of course, I will take advantage of his request. :) My lists are: replacing the kid's toilet, possibly retile the bathroom also. Retile the guest bathroom floor, and the basement. I am sure dad won't have any problem with these projects since he was a carpenter by training, and he loves to be challenged. I will have him help me out with the wood floor if he still bored.

Dad is a serious learner and an active member of the community. He was the finance chairperson (volunteer work) for our apartment complex for over 15 years, and has been taking courses on and off since I left home. In fact, he just fininshed CPR and a nutrition course a few weeks ago. Sometimes, he has such a busy schedule that drives mom nuts. :)

Dad is trustworthy and honest with his dealings. When we were young, dad would encourage me and my brother to study as much as we could, and that he would take care of our tuition until he turns 50. He kept his promise and paid for all my tuition and expenses while I attended BYUH and Texas Tech U. Dad never take advantage of others. Mom told me that some of the volunteers he worked with at the apartment complex were mad at him since dad wouldn't claim the traveling and other expenses from the fund. That cause a lot of conflicts because it means the rest of the volunteering team are not allowed to do so either.

Dad is a great man with a good heart. I asked him one day what he would like to do when he retires. Without a doubt, he said he want to do volunteer work with teenagers particularly being an advocate of drug prevention, or working with elderly. That doesn't surprise me since he completed a psychology class and the drug prevention courses about a year ago. As a matter of fact, he asked me if there is any hair cutting/training classes he could take in the US. He was preparing himself to help some of the elderies at the nursing home.

Dad is quiet but fun to be with. I remembered him teaching me how to swim, taking us to BBQ, and to the beach almost every week. There was a time that I was infected with "red eye", and it was so bad that I couldn't even had my eyes opened. Dad would wake me up in the middle of the night and put eye drops in my eyes. Another time, I was running with a high fever and had a bad cough for a long time- to the point that I did not even want to wake up to eat. He somehow got me the rasins bread and managed to feed me on the bed. Yet another time, I had a swelling gland on the side of my cheek and dad went to ask the Chinese Dr. for medicine. The Dr. gave him dry seahorses and a bunch of other stuff, and told dad to make soup for me. I refused to drink the soup because I felt terrible about those cute seahorses. But dad got me drinking those soup and I did feel better after a day or two.

Dad is persistant. I was in elementary school when I started taking piano lessons. My teacher lived far away, so dad would pick me up after school every Monday... got me my favorite snacks (BBQ stuff, cupcakes, or buns, mango or soy bean drinks) and waited for me in the car until I was done with my lessons. This went on for several years until the time I was able to take public transportation to my teacher's home. There was also a time in my life that I wanted quit taking lessons and my dad was so smart that he went ahead and got me another piano.... that kept me playing for another 2-3 years. :)

I have a good life because of my loving parents, and my wish is to apply them to stay with us once I got my citizenship. Hopefully, in a year or two.

This is the piano I grow up with. Esther's sister helped replacing most of the strings, refinished the outside, and shipped it over to me! Dad said it's the biggest gift that he could give me. I think he underestimate everything he has done for me.

"Siu Mai" Dinner and "Ma Dou Ko"

I forgot about my second, and SUCCESSFUL attempt on the "Ma Dou Ko". They turned out very nicely, and I even asked Johnny to take some to work on St. Patrick's Day (with the added green food coloring). Unfortunately, Johnny's co-workers were not too impressed with it because of the coconut taste. Hum...



We also had a "Siu Mai" dinner. Yes, "Siu Mai" for dinner... only a crazy mom would have such a strange combination. We had rice, vegatable with "Siu Mai". Well, this is to fulfil Jeannie's appetite since she has been craving for "Siu Mai" for awhile. I might not be able to please my kids in other areas, but I can so do it when it comes to food!

Johnny looked funny when he came home and saw me making "Siu Mai" for dinner, but he loved them as much as the rest of the kids. Haha... who ask him to marry a crazy woman. :)

"Smart" Sunday Plan

I was trying to outsmart our Sunday schedule since we have our church meetings between 11:30am to 2:00pm. Our family like this new schedule because we are able to sleep in except Johnny, who is the executive secretary to the Bishop. He still has to be at the chaple two hours early.

Because of the awkward timing, we've not been able to figure out our lunch/dinner plan. So, the Saturday before last Sunday, I had my meal plan ready and set for the next day. My plan was to come home and fix dinner right away so that the kids were not fed with junks, and we can have something light and healthy, like fruits, treats or snacks around 7:30pm. Then the kids can go to bed by 9:30pm.

How did it turn out? Hah...

We did had dinner at 3:30pm, then we took a nap... a really long nap until 7:00pm. When Johnny and I woke up, the kids were hungry again!!! Did I mentioned about treats? I went to the kitchen, rolled up my sleeves and make Mochi! :) It took me another half an hour to do it. Not bad for a first timer. But, my crew was still not full after some 10-15 plus of Mochi. So, they grabbed a bag of chips and gobbled down until it's completely gone. I laughed at myself... what's my original intention again? Will have think about Plan B now. :D