a little bit of everything

tap, tap... is this thing on???

Hello out there in blogland!!  Wow, I am posting after a really, really, really long time of SILENCE.  Typepad has made some good money of me the last year - $70 - of me not posting one single thing.  It has been so long that I have posted here that I couldn't even remember how to log in!  Thank goodness I had an email from typepad to steer me in the right direction.

So why today? Why post now?

Well, the credit card that I was billing typepad with had some fradulent charges so we had to cancel it last month.  Of course, I forgot that typepad was on the list of companies who needed the new cc.  So I get an email from them saying you have 15 days to get us your credit card and we'll be a-ok.  Those 15 days past and I get another email saying I'm on hold.  Then I realize, if I don't act, my blog will get deleted... forever... and with it, will be the year+ worth of memories that I did blog.  Cayla's first year milestones (which weren't recorded anywhere but here), random things about Collin, our trips, etc.  My plan for awhile has been to cancel the blog, make a blurb book and be done.  So tonight, when I got to download blurbs software, it freezes on me... twice.  A sign? Maybe.  So I ended up paying another $4.95 to typepad, which will buy me a month to figure out what to do.. maybe I'll continue to blog or maybe I'll just continue microblogging on facebook.

We'll see... I have another 30 days decide.  

the gymnist

This morning, we went on a little field trip with Cayla's Mommy and Me class to Olympic Gymnastics in Laguna Hills for a private class.  The class was an hour long and we rotated to four different areas - the trampolines, an obstacle course, the parachute, and their junior gym room which had slides, balls, and mini gymnastics eqiuptment.  Cayla really enjoyed herself and now I want to enroll her in a gymnastics class! :)

Here are a few pictures of her fun day!  The pictures are less than optimal quality and blurry (she was moving all over the place).  I used my small point and shoot today - didn't want to be the mom who was fumbling with her big camera and not fully watching her toddler on gym equiptment LOL .  Note to self: just use the little camera for outdoor shots because you are never happy when you use the thing indoors without flash... just bust out the SLR.

   

a good read

Since I haven't been blogging the last couple of months, I haven't had the chance to talk about the book club that I am in...  some of you might remember that I joined a book club started up by some women who live in my neighborhood about six months ago.  This book club has been such a good thing!  I used to love reading but I stopped making time for it (magazine articles are so much faster to read).  I would make time to read pregnancy/parenting related books and of course, books for the kids, but I stopped making time to read for my enjoyment.  This book club has changed that.  We've read so many great books (some I enjoyed more than others but none ever really bad) and it's also nice to get to know new people. 

We read one book a month and take turns hosting at our homes.   It's has been fun because whoever is hosting usually tries to theme our snacks to fit the book.  At our meeting today, we discussed the latest book,  Water for Elephants, which is about life in the circus during the 1930s (a great book by the way, something I would have never picked on my own).  Anyway, our hostess made caramel popcorn and had cute little popcorn bags, licorice, candy in boxes (like you can get at the movies and also the circus).  Another person brought peanuts, and one even brought caramel apples!  My contribution was a little less themed... those yummy cupcake cookies with frosting - but they were pink with sprinkes which felt circusy to me! 

Last month, we read The Other Boleyn Girl to coincide with the release of the movie.  We met at the theater to watch the movie and then had coffee afterwards to discuss the book and movie.  The book was sooo much better (as is usually the case when there is a book and a movie) but the story in movie was so so different than what happened in the book.   It's interesting because when we voted to read this book next I was thinking I wouldn't really like historical fiction but it was soooo good that I want to read all the books in the series by Phillipa Gregory!  Another book we read was The Time Travelers Wife which comes out in the theaters this fall, which means another trip to the movies for our book club!

So our next read is The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.  One of the girls in the club has already read it and said it is really good.  I'm looking forward to another good read! 

cayla... the science girl

  At Cayla's Mommy and Me class, her teachers call her their science girl.  Each week, Cayla is always a big fan of whatever they have planned at the science table.  Of all the kids, she is usually there for the longest amount of time.  For her age group, "science" consists more of tactile exploration (learning through touch).  So far, they have had fake snow (the powder that you add water to and it makes snow), shaving cream, uncooked rice, and lots of easter grass with small toys to dig out.   I wonder if she'll end up as a bio major like Mommy or an engineer like Daddy. :)

I guess I can say that so far so good with her Mommy and Me preschool class.  She really enjoys art (probably as much as science).  Every week, she plays at the playdoh table and plays with all the babies and the kitchen (she tried to feed them playdoh) and the small indoor slide during the open playtime.  She loves playing on the kinder playground when they go outside.  Of all the activities they have outdoors, she loves to blow bubbles.  She is getting pretty good at it too.  The biggest challenge we have in class right now is getting her to sit and pay attention during the 20 minute circle time.  She sits on my lap but it seems that after we sing the first three songs/dances, she's over it and wants to go back to play in the kitchen.  This is a new challenge for me because Collin was always so good at sitting and paying attention during circle.  Once I stand up with her in the back, she is better (stops complaining).  Some moms take their kids outside but since Cayla isn't being disruptive, I'd rather keep her somewhat invovled in circle so she doesn't think that crying is her way out.  I hope by the end of the semester, she will sit through an entire circle time without me having to stand in the back.

This weeks class should be fun... we are going on a field trip to Olympic Gymnastics.  They are doing a special session that is age appropriate for our class.  I hope that Cayla will be into it since she loved Gymboree so much!

a boquet of roses

Collin, Mommy, and a boquet of baby roses.

Think they are for me?  Nope.  They are for her.

Dorothy the Dinosaur!  If you don't know who Dorothy is, then you aren't a fan of the Wiggles.  The Wiggles were in town on their Pop Goes the Wiggles tour so we took the kids to the concert at the new Nokia Theater in downtown LA.  This is our third Wiggles concert and I realized that we have gone three times in the last three years... I think that makes us big Wiggles fans!

The kids had a great time (and I'm not gonna lie, I did too).  The Wiggles never fail to disappoint... they are always so full of energy.   With each concert, Collin is getting more and more into it.  Usually, he's really quiet and reserved (at least he was the last time, the first time we went, he was completely star struck).  This time, he danced in the aisle with the other kids, played his guitar, and even did some of the moves for the songs (Point your fingers and do the twist).  The biggest shocker for us was during the finale, they shot out confetti and streamers and when that happened, Collin just booked down the aisle to the front!  Didn't even look back to see if we were watching him or following him.  And on our way home, he was talking about  all his favorite parts of the show, which were mostly the acts involving Captain Feathersword.

And since I haven't mentioned Cayla, I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the show too.  She danced a little on our laps and was probably most excited when Dorothy came on stage.  It's fun because she recognized her and just kept saying "Dor tee, Dor tee" and waving hi.

I think that as long as our kids are fans, we'll try to go to see the Wiggles whenever they come to town.  So until the next time Wiggles!!

the great debate

Should I continue to blog or not?

When I first started blogging in August of 2006, I was pretty good about it.  My goal then was to have three entries per week... some weeks there were more, some weeks less but it pretty much averaged out.  In the last four months, I really haven't blogged at all.  I just looked at my archive and I have four posts in December, three in January, two in February, and just three (including this one) so far for March.  Part of the reason I started the blog was to document my family's happenings and to record little things so I would have a place to look back when I finally had the time to sit down and scrapbook... use it as a reference.  Well now, I'm not really blogging and I'm not really scrapping either so what should I do?  I'd love to be able to keep up with blogging... I don't just want to record the milestones and birthdays/holidays either, I really wanted to record little moments too.  I just can't seem to find the time to sit in front of the computer to type it out, add pictures, etc.  I guess my time is just over committed.  Well it's that and my time management must suck.  Between shuttling Collin to school and his afterschool program, volunteering in his classroom two days a week, taking Cayla to Mommy and me, keeping up with my book club reading, and the all the other duties that accompany being a mom and housewife, I just can't do it all.  I don't know how you other blogging  and working mom's can do it. :)

I guess I'll see how it goes through my next billing cycle.  Give it one last try... and if I can't get it together, I guess it will be bye bye blog.

an easter egg hunt

An easter egg hunt.... that pretty much was the extent of the Easter festivities in the Chen household this year.  Very simple... no big dinner... just bbq'd steaks like we would any other day of the week.  The dust is finally settling and we're getting back into the routine of life after getting back from vacation.

We actually came home on Wednesday night at almost midnight (so I guess I can say we got home 5 minutes before it was Thursday).  I don't know exactly what I was thinking when I planned to have both kids at school Thursday morning.  My alarm clock went off at the usual 7:10am and my body felt like it was only 4:10 (Hawaii time).  I am not a morning person and was just too tired so I ended up turning off the clock and sleeping in until 8.  Got myself ready, then Collin and got him to school - half an hour late but he still made it.  Then took Cayla to Mommy and Me.  On Friday, the lack of sleep and food caught up with me and gave me a major migrane headache for most of the day.  It was my Dad's birthday so we headed to my parents house to celebrate with a Good Friday dinner of fish and chips and a chocolate snickers cake.  Saturday, we took the kids the Lowe's for another kid's project.... it was cute, a little miniature golf windmill with a little club and ball.  Then I headed to Target to get some Easter stuff for the kids.  Lesson learned.... I will not wait until the day before Easter to buy Easter egg goodies.   The store was soooo picked over and I had to search and search to find a few decent things.  That's what I get for waiting until the last minute.  Then I had a little me time and went to Oasis to pick up some new scrappy supplies since they got so much new stuff in while I was gone.  Bought a bunch of things I plan to use for the Hawaii pics I haven't even gone through yet LOL.

And now we are at Sunday... hope you all had a happy Easter!  After the kids did there little egg hunt, I spent the day folding six loads of laundry and cleaning the house.  Total tornado after unpacking from vacation, going through all the newspapers and the mail... I think I can finally say things are getting back to normal, although the kids sleeping schedules are still slightly off.

Here are a few pictures from today's egg hunt. 

aloha from hawaii!

We have been here on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii since Monday and today, I discovered that we have internet access!  I wish I had realized it sooner because I would have updated my blog!  I am planning to do a day by day run down of our trip but since that will take awhile and we are off to the farmers market and the beach in a bit, I just wanted say a quick aloha!

We've had a great 5 days so far.  Seen alot but realized that we won't be able to see it all... The Big Island is, in fact, big and our days are shorter with two kids who don't want to be in the car all day who need frequent stops, and have to be in bed at a decent hour.  We've managed to have some interesting (and one pretty scary) adventures and this is a vacation we won't soon forget.

I'll leave you with one picture before we head out for the day.  I took this one on one of our adventures... wish I had my tripod with me but I had to carry Collin and a backpack for a mile walk accross a cracked lava field.  We are so lucky to have gotten to seen Pele's work in action, a real lava flow making it's way to the ocean.

Hoping to give another update later tonight!  Aloha!

a birthday wish for the hubs

33... that's how old Charles is today.  My lucky husband is celebrating his birthday on a business trip... but before you start to feel like that's a crappy way to spend your birthday, it's not.  His business trip is actually the annual ski/snowboard trip that he's been going on for years (although he missed the last two trips) with various associates in his industry.  So today, Charles spent his big day snowboarding the slopes of Mt. Bachelor in Oregon.  He actually left yesterday morning and won't be back until Sunday... so he's got two more full days of boarding ahead of him.

Here are a few pics he sent via iPhone today.  He sent one from the plane yesterday and Collin loved it so I asked him to send more so I could show them to the kids.  Little does he know that I am now sharing them on my blog.

   

So happy birthday dear husband (and Daddy).... we love you!  Collin has decided that we will go to Disneyland once you get back to celebrate! 

mommy and me preschool... take 2!

So if you have been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember that when Collin was 2 .5, we took a Mommy and Me Preschool class through the school district.  The district also has a toddler version (for 18-23 month olds) of the same class and Cayla and I are now attending!

Valentine's Day was our 1st day of school.  The class is about 2.5 hours which is 3 times what she is used to at Gymboree (read: a way longer activity than what she is used to).  It was cute because when first got there and were walking up to the school, she kept saying "Ca-wee" (Collin) so I think either she wanted her big brother there or she thought we were at his school.  :)  Cayla was really eager to do everything and took part in all the activities... she played with toys, play doh, did the art project, circle time.   There were a few times when Cayla got upset because of transitions (changing activities) and when I instisted on her sharing certain toys but that is typical for her age.   She was also getting a little cranky during circle but I think it was because she was getting hungry.  It was rainy so the kids didn't get to go out on the playground like they usually would.... but she loved the rice table (like a sand table, same toys too, just rice instead of sand).   All and all, I think she did really well for her 1st day.

I told Collin that Cayla would be going to Miss Dawn's school (there are two teachers in the class and Miss Dawn was also Collin's teacher when he did Mommy and Me), and when we were all home afterwards, he asked her "You have fun at Miss Dawn's school, E"... oh so cute, especially because I didn't prompt him to ask her, he did it all on his own!  And speaking of Collin, since I also took this class with him, I can see similarities but more so differences between them though the experience.  I had to really push  and convince Collin to do the art project back then and that's the 1st thing Cayla wants to do when we walk into class.  Cayla is way more opinionated if someone takes a toy from her... she'll fight for what she wants while Collin never cared and would just move on to another thing.  They both love the ball/hammer toy and the stacking pegs... the kitchen too.

And so I don't forget (future scrappy reference), here is the class schedule:
9:10 -10:10  Free Play (also includes art project, playdoh, science, easel painting) and clean-up
10:10 - 10:30  Circle Time (includes age appropriate songs, movement, stories and props)
10:30 - 10:50  Snack Time (I provide for her)
10:50 - 11:00  Reading Time
11:00 - 11:20   Playground Time (in addition to the playground, they also have sand toys, riding toys, bubbles and other activities)
11:20 - 11:35  Closing Circle and Dismissal

Stay tuned!  Pictures to follow

he's a megastar

Tonight, Collin got some one-on-one time with Mom and Dad... we took him to see the Blue Man Group perform live in concert at the Honda Center.  Since he was a toddler, Collin has always enjoyed banging on drums (what kid doesn't).  When we went to Vegas last August, he was introduced to the Blue Man group via the Venetians in-house tv channel and totally loved watching the "drum guys" whenever we were in our room.   Charles and I had already been to a few other BMG concerts so when we found out they were coming back to Anaheim, we decided to get tickets and this time, we decided to bring the little "drum guy" fan to his first real rock concert.

He loved it.  He rocked out and was totally having fun and smiling when we helped him do the rock concert movements during the show.  And when we got home, which was after 11pm, he went upstairs to get his little toy drum and asked to watch the Blue Man DVD we have and drummed along like he was a blue man himself.  Knowing that he really really had fun makes the ticket price worth it since when he's older, I'm certain he won't remember going to this concert.  I guess that is what photos are for!  (And I didn't get many because I forgot to charge my little camera's battery and of course it died on me.)   

happy friday!

TGIF!  Looks like we survived the first week back to school after Christmas vacation.  It's always hard to get back into the routine, especially the whole going to bed at a decent time and waking up early (more so me than my preschooler).  Collin was actually looking forward to being back at school again and only really protested one day midweek about having to leave the house.  Oh the appeal of all those Christmas toys just sitting at home with no one to play with them but your baby sister!

I didn't take Cayla to Gymboree as much as I usually do over the break.  I think she only went once or twice in a two week period compared to her usual 3 times a week.  This week, I managed to go twice and conviced Charles to take her this afternoon so she went three times this week.  Yay!

And for the 1st time ever, I decided to put Cayla's hair in pig tails today.  I've always thought pig tails were cute but I didn't think her hair was long enough because I couldn't pull all of it up (including the back).  I guess for baby pig tails, you don't really have to!  Makes me happy that I am sticking with growing out her bangs, even though some days she looks pretty shaggy when she won't leave her hairclips in.

So back to the pig tails, doesn't she look like a total toddler and just adorably (is that a word) cute? :)  I must say, it's very fun to have a little girl.

   I am feeling pretty productive today.  I made a quick trip to the grocery store at 8:30 in the morning (after dropping on Collin) to buy breakfast and ingredients for dinner.  Then got a break (and used to to take the above pics of Cayla) when Charles picked up Collin from school today and took him to get my car a much needed wash.  And when Charles came home, he took Cayla to her Gymboree class which gave me an hour to prep dinner and get it in the oven.  We are having the Pioneer Woman Pot Roast tonight which I saw on Linda's blog.  I'm not much of a cook and to my surprise, it wasn't hard to prepare at all.  I hope it tastes as good as the Pioneer Woman's pictures look!  Right now, Cayla is napping and Collin is with Daddy at Blockbuster picking out a movie.  Maybe I should try to be even more productive and get started on the Paper Adventure 08.  I have been wanting to start this little yearlong project and have yet to find the time.

Enjoy the weekend!

"oooooh peetee"

"Oooooh peetee" (translation: ooooh pretty), a direct quote from little Miss Cayla this afternoon.  It's what she said when she looked at her arm after getting a flower bracelet painted on her at her friend Jaylee's 2nd birthday party.  I didn't have my camera at the party so I took a few pictures of her and her first face painting experience (actually, I guess it's an arm painting) when we got home.  She loved it and whenever I asked her, "where is your pretty flower", she would pull up her sleeve and admire her flower bracelet.  She will probably be sad tomorrow when she realizes that it's gone (it washed off in tonights bath).

the red ring of death

I don't know if I should be sad for him or happy for myself (just kidding) that Charles' Xbox 360 has gone kaput.  If you aren't familiar with the Xbox ring, usually, it's is  green, but when it goes to red, trouble is a brewin'.  His beloved game console decided it's time was done... not before he was able to log at least 1 day and 17 hours (not in one straight sitting, total game time which is still ALOT) playing Call of Duty 4. 

Talk about dedication, as soon as his Xbox died, Charles went straight downstairs to look for his warranty and then got on the phone with Microsoft customer service.  If only I could get him to do the things I asked with that kind of quickness!  After going through whatever needed to be done to try to reset it, looks like he is going to have to send out his Xbox and get a new one due to what customer service guy called a "hardware failure".

Now what should I do with the time I'll have with my husband back... :)