March 12, 2010
1. When Matthew burps loudly after finishing his bottle, I laugh and then he laughs with a look of embarrassment, clearly he knows that I’m laughing at his burp
2. When he says “no, no, no” with his index finger waving from left to right, such an accurate reenactment of Yo Gaba Gaba episode
3. When his eyes lit up with excitement as I show him a piece of M&M candy in my hand
4. When he gives me a big hug and cling to my body as I arrive at the daycare to pick him up
5. When he talks non-stop right before bed time: “An An, Ida, Yei Yei, Ma Ma, Mommy, Daddy…”
6. When he pretends to drink water while playing with his toy kitchen cup
7. When he kisses us on the cheek when we ask him to kiss us
8. When he is being a social butterfly by blowing kisses and saying hi to people
9. When he points to his butt and say “cho cho” which means smelly in Chinese during potty training
10. When he gives big smiles in the morning when he wakes up in the morning, clearly he had a good night sleep which means we did, too
March 10, 2010
[PINCHOS] is the name of certain snacks typically eaten in bars, traditional in northern Spain, a small snack while hanging out with friends or relatives
1. Aceitunas 橄榄 $4 – Marinated olives in bay leaf 即“香叶”, lemon and spices
2. Foie Gras con Chutney de Pera 鹅肝和梨酱 $8 – Foie gras with pear and bacon chutney
3. Almendras Marcona $5 – Marcona almonds
4. Datiles con Jamon 枣和火腿 $6 Medjool dates filled with Marcona almonds and Cabrales blue cheese, wrapped in Jamon Serrano
5. Queso 奶酪 Mahon $5 – Marinated cow’s milk cheese from Menorca
6. Jamon de Pato 鸭 $8 House cured duck ham
7. Corazon a la Plancha grilled on a metal plate $4 Grass-fed beef heart with romesco
8. Pimientos del Padron $7 Hot green peppers with sea salt
9. Pate de Conejo 兔子 $6 Rabbit pate with chestnuts and whole grain mustard
(more…)
February 22, 2010
We finally decided to join the Boston Children’s Museum membership for $125. It’s nice that they let you bring up to 6 people including friends and family. This time we went by ourselves but I invited friends to come so they can enjoy a free day. Needless to say, we’ll be back soon. It was a fun-filled day for Matthew. He can walk around now so he was able to explore on his own but unfortunately for us that we had to chase him every step. For lunch, we went to Kebab Factory. Matthew had some chicken and naan, but he liked mango lasi the best. He had a hard time falling asleep for nap but as soon as he passed out, it turned into a nice long 3 hour nap. I only wish things can end perfectly but it doesn’t. The next day he had a cold. Boy, I’m so used to it. Click here for more photos.
February 18, 2010
Matthew has been attending Buds and Blossoms for a little over a month now and he is doing great! Everyday I get a detailed report on his daily activities, paintings and art work to take home, and his teachers also tell me how he interacts with other kids. Since enrollment is still low at the moment, he hangs out mostly with Isabella, a cute Italian and Taiwanese mix girl. I’m told that they would hold hands, play kitchen together, Isabella would feed Matthew animal crackers…how cute. Isn’t it strange that not too long ago, he was getting sick all the time at his previous daycare but now thriving at the new place. Can change of daycare really makes such big difference? While I can’t conclusively say of all things being equal that it’s the new place that has made all the difference, but I can say I’m thankful for it is working out well so far. Here are the things people say about Matthew:
smart, quick learner, observant, cautious, stubborn, outgoing, sweet, talkative, playful, loud
February 12, 2010
Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. Our “psychological immune system” lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned – Synthetic Happiness.
Natural Happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted.
Synthetic Happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we wanted.
More on What Make Us Happy from TED
February 8, 2010
It’s been more than 2 years since I last did snowboarding. I had some reservations about it when Ed brought it up last week. We ended up going on Saturday joining some friends. On the way, I kept saying to myself this could be bad. I felt unfit physically and weak mentally. I thought I probably had forgotten everything I learned back in 2007. Keep in mind that I wasn’t even good at that time. I got on the slopes, skipping the bunny because that would’ve been embarrassing, with fear and nervousness. I was so tense on the first run down, my feet and legs felt like they were burning. I probably used all the wrong muscles and positioned my body incorrectly. The second ride was better and each time after, it got better. I can honestly say it was fun and it felt nice. I miss snowboarding.
January 27, 2010
Matthew started a new daycare center called Buds and Blossoms this week. It is operated under Asian American Civic Association. I really like the new space and the lead teacher An Chen. An and I clicked right away and I knew she is someone I could be friends with. However, I can’t seem to warm up to the center’s director just yet. The director is a nice lady but she seems a bit overly by the books, even when it comes to billing matters. Since accounting is typically done on a monthly basis, she decided that each month the cost be calculated by taking 4.3 weeks (52 weeks / 12 months) X $ weekly rate. Since 12 doesn’t divide evenly into 52, 4.3 means 51.6 weeks. She is giving us 0.4 weeks X 7 days = 2.8 days for free each year. At $70 per day, that’s about $210. I know it’s not a lot but it still seems silly to me. Since she insists that this is the way to do it, then by all means. I don’t mind making use of $210 for diapers or anything.
January 7, 2010
Benjamin Disraeli said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Harvard President Lawrence Lowell wrote in 1909 that statistics, “…like veal pies, are good if you know the person that made them, and are sure of the ingredients.”
I can live with doubt, and uncertainty, and not knowing. I think it’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I have approximate answers, and possible beliefs, and different degrees of certainty about different things, but I’m not absolutely sure of anything, and in many things I don’t know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask why we’re here, and what the question might mean. I might think about a little, but if I can’t figure it out, then I go to something else. But I don’t have to know an answer. I don’t feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without having any purpose, which is the way it really is, as far as I can tell, possibly. It doesn’t frighten me.
January 4, 2010
Can’t wait to meet her soon. See you in Feb.
January 2, 2010
Weighing in at 5th percentile, Matthew’s new diet will now include PediaSure. We’ll see how he does in one month.
December 30, 2009
“Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue – to the end, we should hear and see more than we speak.” – Socrates
December 28, 2009
My sister-in-law is getting close to the finish line. I can’t wait to meet my little sweet niece.
December 22, 2009
Every year around this time, I don’t give it much thought as it’s just another year gone by. However, this year made me think a lot about life, and it’s not because the troubled economy has affected our lives. Perhaps that’s a catalyst. It’s more about how I have come to know what I want and more importantly, what I don’t want in life.
As a mother – Matthew has taught me a lot even though he’s only 18 months old. He started talking a lot recently and he can’t say anything better than that clear sounding word “no!” Oh boy. I’ve always known that when it comes to being a parent, I’m not going to be in the driver’s seat. I just didn’t know that it can start so early. I know I don’t want to be controlling and forcing him to do things that I want. I will learn from him, his likes/dislikes, and learn to be a supporter for the little guy at the same time teach not preach, ask not impose, appreciate and not blame. (more…)
November 10, 2009
Wow! My god! Jeez! When will I see the light at the end of the tunnel?
I keep a detailed cash-flow statement of our household finances for budgeting and planning purpose. This is not an exact breakout but should be very close to actual. When I have the time, I might get down to the more granular level but for now this is fine. I rounded it up to $30k which roughly breaks down to:
1. Hospital labor and delivery: ($2,000) my company does not cover 100%
2. Initial setup including bed, car seat, stroller, etc.: ($2,000)
3. Food: ($1,300)
4. Clothing, toys, medical expenses, etc.: ($4,700)
5. Formula: ($2,400)
6. Diapers: ($900)
7. Childcare center: ($15,600)
October 20, 2009
Recently I heard it from my mother-in-law that there is a Chinese saying: “wear clothes from 100 families, keep the sickness away”. Anyway, this relates to the fact that though it never crossed my mind to ask or receive hand-me-downs from Matthew’s 2 older boy cousins but come this winter, he will be wearing some. In fact, he has recently put on his cousin Connor’s down jacket as we welcomed some snow fall on Saturday. I must admit that I have spent generously on Matthew’s clothing needs or I should say overly spent. It becomes easily hundreds of dollars on things that he either wears for a few times or not wear at all. This alone is the reason to give hand-me-downs a vote of yes. I want to try to reduce the waste because frankly, it’s just not necessary to buy EVERYTHING new.
September 21, 2009
This was our first major trip since Matthew was born. We took a 7-day cruise to Bermuda on NCL. As a cruise skeptic, I have always pictured cruise ships with retirees and people who play Bingo and eat buffet. I guess cruise ships have started tailoring to the needs of young adults and families with children. Overall, we are happy to report a wonderful first cruise experience. It truly is a great way to travel with young babies and older parents. We also lucked out with the weather. Each of the 3 days at Bermuda turned out to be sunny days though a bit on the hot side. We enjoyed Horseshoe bay the most. It is just simply beautiful there. I thank my parents for babysitting Matthew and sponsoring a portion of the trip cost. They are too nice to us.
August 17, 2009
Despite Matthew getting sick again just a week ago, we had some fun with family and friends over the past months. We had lobsters at Dr. Foster’s awesome clambake party, enjoyed a nice sunny day at DeCordova Sculpture Park, attended Derek’s 2nd birthday party and spent a weekend in New York visiting relatives. Linda and John are expecting a little girl. I can’t wait to meet her in Dec/Jan. Needless to say that time flies, especially with a baby. I’m scared and excited to move beyond the word “baby” as Matthew will soon enter toddler phase. He will officially be a toddler on Sept 22 (15 months) though we don’t know if he’ll actually get to graduate according to his daycare center. He needs to be able to walk very well before they can enroll him. The more I think about how much I would like to control how Matthew develops, the more I realize that he has a mind of his own. I keep reminding myself that I’m not in the driver’s seat any more. Perhaps I never was. Our family trip is coming up in a few weeks. I can only pray we get some luck this time.
