07.06.09
Beach Trip 2009
We had a lovely time with the Chao family at Carolina Beach the past week. Thanks to KC#1 who swims like a fish since she was three, Maddy learned how to breathe.
05.31.09
Kindergarten Year
It’s been a wonderful kindergarten year for Madison. The journey is everything I had envisioned (and better), and I couldn’t be more grateful of how this school year went.
A few things that are important to me
1. Experienced teachers who know all the education ‘theories’ AND love kids. Mrs. Buckner and Mrs. McCarthy are two teachers I wish I can HOG for the rest of Maddy’s learning years. Their activities are child-centered, thought provoking, purposeful, and consistent. They can turn every minute into a learning moment and their patience is beyond human understanding.
2. High parental involvement. I can’t say enough about how much I believe a successful education environment is built on committed teachers and parents. It’s been a fun year getting to know other parents during center time as well as on the field trips.
3. I am more than grateful to have a job that gives me the flexibility to be able to volunteer in Maddy’s class. It’s wonderful to have gotten to know each of them (all 23 of them. Well, maybe just 21, but that is another story and why I should not be a teacher)
This year has flown by so fast. First grade, here we come!!
05.22.09
A lesson on sharing
Staring at daddy’s green onion pancake wrap-
daddy: Do you want more
Livy: yea.
Daddy cut his wrap into two and about to give one to the little girl-
Livy: Why you have the big one?
me: Daddy is bigger. Let him have the big one.
Livy: no. I want it.
And so life goes on with one daddy being hungry this morning. Next time, daddy will be smart to cut his pancake in equal halves!
05.21.09
In God we trust
The weather was gorgeous outside, and I decided to take the girls on a ‘treasure hunt’. Instead of walking home by the regular sidewalk, we ventured off to the buffer zone behind the houses. We were set to hunt for caterpillars, ladybugs, and bunnies if we get lucky.
We had to cross this little creek area filled with retaining stones. I carried Livy because I didn’t think she’ll be able to make it across without getting her shoes wet (which is not a terrible thing by itself. However, if she gets her shoes wet, she’ll whine and whine and request to be carried for the rest of the way home, and that is not good for me). I was a bit slow simply because the little girl is no longer the lightest thing in the world, and I didn’t want to drop the new camera.
Maddy, already crossed over by this time, thought that I was having trouble and screamed on the top of her lungs:
“Mommy, don’t be afraid. Jesus is with you. You will be ok. Remember Jesus is with you!!”
She yelled so loud I felt slightly embarrassed. Not because I thought she said anything wrong, but I was really hoping God didn’t really think I needed help there. I suppose He knows that, and I think He is delighted to know that one little girl in this household knows where to put her trust!!
Incomplete deal
Livy has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming for me. At first I thought she is coming down with something since she usually sleeps through night, but last night I realized that I am just her midnight transportation to the potty.
When she turned three last month, I had to compromise and made a deal with her-
Livy: I can’ wear a pull-up.
Me: Why not?
Livy: I am three.
Me: If you don’t wear a pull up at night, you have to wake up and pee pee in the toilet. If you pee pee in bed, then you have to go back to wear pull up.
Livy: ok.
I need to have a talk with that child who repeatedly outwits me and clarify that in the process of her going potty in the middle of the night, mommy does not want to be notified.
04.08.09
On different frequencies
On the way to school, the radio lady announced “President Obama… the Iraqis..”
Livy: Why did she say Iraqis?
me: Iraq is a country, like China is a country and USA is a country.
Livy: huh?
me: Iraqis are people of Iraq
Livy: and they fly to the sky?
me: ????
me: oh.. no Livy. Not ROCKET. I-RAQIS 
03.25.09
Family Vacation
Joe turned 40 years old this year, and we decided to take a big family trip down to Disney World. I suppose a Disney trip is not exactly the best gift for a man turning 40, but he’s always a good sport about things I want, so off we went.
The townhome we rented was luxurious!! It is only one exit off the Magic Kingdom. The three bedrooms/three bathrooms and its beautiful playground and pool made it such a dream vacation home for us. It is so spacious I didn’t mind doing the laundry very day.
We got the 6 day pass staying in Disney Parks. It was the most economical choice and frankly we wouldn’t have done it any other way. We spent a few hours each morning in one park, went home in the afternoon to hang out by the pool, took naps and either played in the playground or went to Downtown Disney.
There was this DJ who is by far the best DJ I’ve seen. He got Maddy to go up and danced up a storm. The introvert girl would not try anything un-familiar in public, asked to go back to Downtown Disney so she can join the show.
Despite the spring break crowd and one hot day, we had a lovely week!! We even got to watch the launch of Discovery, although it didn’t really impress the girls that much.
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01.01.09
Goodbye 2008
2008 had been an incredible year of experiencing God’s provision in our household. From us (well, mostly me) frankly searching/reseaching/deciding the type of school we want Maddy to be in, to building a new townhome which got delayed twice by the builder (and resulted in this exact timing of when we actually needed the place PLUS top of the line frig, washer and dryer the builder gave us for free.. oh, and they finished the garage last minute too), to my parents selling their 20 yr old house in a small town of TN in two weeks (It might seem nothing if the house is in CA and the year is 1998, but this house was in TN in the year of 2008), to ah-ma getting a job offer within a week of moving to NC.
When everything just lined up in such an amazing order, we know that God has His hands on them. We are definitely not THAT lucky. We closed the year of 2008 with thankfulness, and pray that God will in return use us for blessings to others in 2009.
Happy New Year!!
12.19.08
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
From the Chen household to our dear family and friends:
11.27.08
Fruits are better
During the Thanksgiving break, I decided to get into the holiday mode and bake some cookies for the girls to decorate. Besides, I wanted to try out the cookie cutters again. I’m not sure why, but the cookies did not bake according to the cutter shapes the first time we did it. They simply just melted into pretty much round cookies. I’m sure it’s obvious to most people who can bake/cook, but I was quite disappointed about the results.
Again, they just turned into blah round cookies, but the girls had a good time decorating them. My proudest moment as a mom came after they had a few bites of their first cookie: Both of the girls pushed away their cookie plates and asked “Can I have an orange now?”
11.24.08
Safety Patrol Southern Style
Last Friday I had to drop by the grocery store to pick up some berries for Maddy’s kindergarten class project, and I ended up dropping the girl off at school as a car rider. It was my first time going through the drop-off circle, and quite honest a bit apprehensive. I pulled up to my spot:
Safety Patrol boy: [opened the door for Maddy] Good morning ma’am
me: How are you?
Safety Patrol boy; [help Maddy out] Have a great day ma’am [close the door for me]
He was super sweet, polite and professional (as professional as a safety patrol can be). I was quite impressed with how organized they are. Six cars park at the same time; they help the kids out; all the cars leave at the same time, and the cycle begins again. It put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. I guess a little bit of southern hospitality goes a long way!
10.28.08
Beach Retreat
I was skeptical about having to spend with 6 other families (that is a grand total of 14 kids) under the same roof for a entire weekend, but it turned out lovely thanks to our beautiful beach house which boasts 10 bed rooms and 10 bathrooms with an ocean front view.
The kids were similar in age and most of them no longer require constant supervision. The worst battle we fought was that all the girls wanted to sleep in the bunk bed room and they (at least the younger ones) were pulled out one by one by their respective parents while they screamed and complained… It was 2:00am and they were not even close to be sleeping.
It’s off season and frankly a bit cold for a ‘beach retreat’, but we had the whole VA beach to ourselves:
