Christmas Week, in Pictures (and YY's 10 month chalkboard, REALLY late)

It is just after 11 pm on Christmas Eve. As Ming Wai was heading to bed, a few hours ago, she said, "Mom? You aren't going to stay up late are you? And watch scary movies?" She knows that Santa can't come if she is awake, and she was taking no chances. Covering all her bases. She's smart like that. 

So, since I'm only keeping half of my promise (I am up late, but I'm not watching scary movies!), let's catch up, shall we? 

Last Thursday, I had my annual Christmas Baking Day. By the time I was done, I had a batch of Ginger Cookies cooling on the counter, four logs of slice n' bake peppermint sables in the freezer, a small pan of brownies cooling on the counter, and an enormous fruitcake waiting to be divided up and wrapped. 

Ginger cookies, waiting to be baked

Clockwise from top left: brownies, fruitcake, ginger cookies, and peppermint sables. The sables were my underdog - everybody ignored the homely little vanilla cookie, until I told them it was a mint sable. Then they all magically disappeared!

Rich, buttery, sticky fruitcake. Yum! 

On Thursday night, we all tucked into bed, ready for Friday - the last day before Winter Break! 

At 4 am on Friday morning, it started snowing. I know, because I was up feeding the baby. At 6 am, I got a text that school was delayed 2 hours. At 6:45 am, I got a text that said school was cancelled, and  to have a Happy Holiday! No, it was not a lot of snow, but a good portion of our school district is criss-crossed with incredibly steep and winding roads. By 11 am, the road from my house to the bottom of the mountain was littered with vehicles that had slipped off the road and come to rest in obliging lawns along the way. So, even if you are the best driver in the world..it's difficult to keep yourself safe from all of the 2-whee-drive sedans that will also be on the road. It's impossible for busses full of children to safely navigate the roads. Better safe than sorry. The neighborhood children made the most of it! My kids were outside with the horde at 9am, and didn't come back until 12:30. It started with a snowball fight between my two kids, in my driveway, and ended with the older kids from down the street organizing a massive snow-fort-defending snowball fight. My kids came back flushed, starving, and enchanted. 

After a fortifying lunch of macaroni and cheese with chocolate milk, I bundled them back up and sent them out to deliver a few holiday plates to our neighbors. 

My happy little elves!

 I had one more elf, of course, who couldn't play in the snow...but she was more than happy to assist me in the sorting of my holiday bows. Such a helpful little thing...

Gah. That face. THAT FACE. I can't even. 

Saturday was Winter Solstice. The day following Winter Solstice (Sunday, 12/22, this year), is a really popular and important holiday in China (Jou Dung). (Umm, guys? That is pronounced like Joe Doe-ng. Not dung, as in animal poo. Jou and dung have the same vowel sound. Alright? Moving on. Gah.) Jou Dung is a day of thanksgiving, plenty, and family. It is celebrated by having a feast. Just like most other Chinese holidays. (Which is why I love being Chinese, by marriage. I really, really like feasts.) 

Anyhow, Sunday was my mother's birthday dinner with all of the family, so we had our festival dinner on Saturday night. Hotpot! 

It was pretty epic. Spring onions, lobster balls, marinated chicken thighs, oyster mushrooms, lettuce, enoki mushrooms, fried fish ball cakes, tofu, button mushrooms, mushroom fish balls, baby squid, and yau choi. All cooked table side in a simmering broth, heavy on garlic, ginger, white pepper and Chinese herbs (like goji berries). Yum! 

A selfie. Just 'cause. Three generations of Lo ladies. I'm such a lucky girl to have married into this family! (Does anyone else thing Ying Ying looks pretty non-plussed?) 

Sunday was church - we had to be there at 8 am to practice with the choir. At 9, we performed with the choir. At 10, I went to the Primary room to help Ming Wai give a little talk and SJ give the prayer. At 11, I met with the class of girls I teach. We talked about how to use our talents to build the Kingdom of God. Not one of my better lessons, but we ended with a short video about the real meaning of Christmas, and everyone got a candy cane, so it wasn't a total bust. 

Sunday afternoon, Lo Gung and I got to go and visit some people, and hand out some more holiday plates. Sunday night was my Mom's birthday dinner - Shake n' bake chicken, Aunt Myrnie's biscuits, and vinegar cole slaw. Delicious! 

Monday was the first real day of Winter Break. I took all my kids to the gym with me. SJ and Ying Ying played upstairs while Ming Wai and I sweated our way through a Zumba class. After class, we snagged SJ and I took the two big kids into the pool to practice their skills. 

The highlight of the morning for them? Realizing they could fit, easily, into the lockers. " But Mom?? Don't shut the door, ok?????!"

At least now I know where to stick them when they get squirrelly! 

And then it was Tuesday. Christmas Eve. The kids spent the morning playing Skylanders with their Dad. Around noon, he announced that if he didn't get out of the house...well, it just wouldn't be good. We called up my in-laws and headed downtown to try out a dim sum place that has changed management since we were there last. It was pretty tasty! (If you are local, check out Joi's, in downtown Bellevue. Some of the best cha siu bau and cheong fun I've ever had! The only blemish on the otherwise perfect lunch was the tea. We ordered chrysanthemum tea - a tisane made of chrysanthemum blossoms and nothing else. I poured myself a cup, waited a moment for it to cool, and took a sip. It was delicious! Then I realized why - I was sipping green tea. *sigh* This Mormon girl is bound by a religious promise to not drink tea, at least not the stuff made with actual tea leaves. Unfortunately, through errors like this, I've realized why everyone else drinks it. Oh well. Keeping a promise is much more important than a cup of water and leaves! For whatever reason, they had brought us the wrong pot. We requested a new pot, with just hot water, and all was well.) 

(A quick selfie with my cutie pie this morning.) 

(Oh, and this. UGH. Baby will be 11 months in about 5 days, but I FINALLY got her 10 month tidbits written up and snapped a picture today. It's been a busy month!) 

After lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen. My favorite place to be on a holiday! I was in charge of the ham for tonight's dinner, along with rolls and the dessert. 

My sister, the only sibling with kids, ended up spending Christmas Eve with her husband's relations. That left me and the rest of the siblings! There are 5 of us altogether, and we are all in town this year. Hooray for big family holiday dinners! Since I was in charge, I figured I was qualified to disband the Kids Table for this meal. I really didn't want to sit in the kitchen while all my (single) brothers and sisters sat in the dining room with my parents. Where is the fun in that?! I asked Lo Gung to add a leaf to our (insanely huge) dining room table, and from there it was easy to fit 11 of us around the table. (There is one more leaf in the closet. If I use benches, and get creative, I think I can fit 16 people around this table. It's seriously monstrous.) Then, just to get really crazy, since we were all sitting at the same table, I decided we would serve everything family style (instead of from a buffet on the kitchen counter). My kids got a kick out of eating at the dining room table...for the first time in their lives. I loved that they were sandwiched between my parents, who kept them on their best behavior. 

Dessert was this apple cranberry bundt cake, adapted from a recipe handed down from my great grandmother. 

After dinner, the kids opened their traditional Christmas Eve gift of new PJ's. Once they had changed and brushed their teeth, we added the wise men and sheep to our advent nativity, read from Luke 2, and finished off with a few Christmas books they chose from our stash. Finally, it was time to put out some cookies and milk for santa, top off the cups of water for the kids, say prayers, and jump into bed! All three kids were out by 9:30. Santa arrived shortly after that, and had finished his work by 10:30. It's now nearly midnight, and this mama is ready for bed. 

Merry Christmas, everybody! 

(I promise I do have 3 kids! We're still in that stage where it feels like I have 2 kids, plus a baby. She was off playing with MaMa, having wandered away after opening her Christmas Eve gift.) 

Traditions and Trees

A few weeks ago, I picked up a huge carton of heavy cream of Costco. No, wait. Let me back up. Two weeks before THAT, I had a homemade caramel apple at my friend's house. It. Was. Amazing. I never knew that caramel apples could be edible. When I was a kid, it was just sticky caramel that got all over your face, slid off the apple...and then you were left with a nasty Granny Smith on a stick that you didn't want to eat. Weird. My friend's apples, though, were delicious. And they showed me the light: cut up the apple. They pulled the stick out, sliced and cored the apple, and served it on a plate with toothpicks. GENIUS. So. I bought me some cream, thought about it for a few weeks, and then finally got out a pot, put on my big girl britches, and gave it a go. 

An hour and a half later, I was ready to dip apples. (I must have done something wrong, right?! Even though I used a candy thermometer, and followed the recipe exactly, my caramel came out just under the "crack" stage. It is tough, man! Real tough. Oh well.) We dipped our five apples (because the recipe said five, and only make a half a batch, and I made a full batch, because i wanted a pan of caramels to eat. So. Five.) and then I poured the rest into a buttered pan to cool. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our apples that night for dessert! We polished off two, and left the rest for later. 

The wrapped up caramels. I just sort of whacked at them with a chef's knife, and they broke off into chunks. You had to whack at them - cutting did no good. But a sharp tap with a big knife, and they cracked off in clean lines. Weird.

In any case, Ming Wai has requested that we add Making Caramels to our list of Christmas Traditions. Baby, as long as I only need to do this once a year...sure. Why not? I love me some caramel. 

This morning, my twin sister and I kept up with another tradition - our second annual Movie Date. The two of us skipped out on our husbands and kids, and went to the movie theater. Today's movie? Frozen. It was absolutely delightful. Lo Gung took the kids to see it yesterday, and I heard absolutely glowing reviews from all three of them, as well. (If you see it...and if you are a fan of Wicked...check out the "Let It Go" ballad. It's sung by the same woman who was the original witch in Wicked, Idina Menzel. And, just like her ballad in Wicked, it's about a witch who comes into her power and then runs off to the woods to "be herself." Just sort of fun.) 

After I returned home, Lo Gung had to get out - he grabbed something that had (apparently urgently) to be returned to the store. He got in some retail therapy, picking up a few Christmas gifts, and I knuckled down and tried to get the house decorated for Christmas. (Setting up our huge artificial Christmas tree is no joke!) With help from the two big kids, and a well-timed nap for the baby, we got it done. 

I call this last one...All I Want For Christmas is My Mithing Fwont Toof.

(Lo Gung brought home this crazy singing hat from a White Elephant gift exchange at work. The top waggles around and the whole thing sings and lights up. The kids think it's hilarious.) 

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving started out quietly this year. My two big kids were invited for an impromptu sleepover with their cousins on Wednesday night. Lo Gung and I dropped them off, then took advantage of the dinner-hour lull to stroll through Costco with the baby and pick up a few Christmas gifts away from prying eyes. After our walk through Costco, we fed my hankering for pancakes with a trip to IHOP. Kids eat free! Pumpkin pancakes for me, eggnog pancakes for Lo Gung, and a bowl of mac n' cheese for the little lady. By the time we got home, it was time to settle down for the night with a good movie and a snuggly blanket. I put the baby to sleep while we watched Planes. (Excellent movie, by the way. I really loved it! Very age-appropriate humor for the 8 and under set.) 

Baby YY woke up twice last night, but had the good grace to go back to sleep until about 7:45. I think. I didn't get up until 8:15, and she was already downstairs chilling with Daddy at that point. I fed her some breakfast, and then I ran out the door. Zumba was calling me, and that is a tough call to resist. Our local YMCA is staffed by some angels who agreed to come in and teach a few group classes to help offset the damage from the turkey that would come later in the day. LOVE THEM. 

By the time I got home, I found Ying Ying and her Daddy enjoying some fabulous one on one snuggles. 

Lo Gung and I had a light lunch - udon in miso soup. 

Ying Ying enjoyed it as well. 

Lo Gung and I hosted this year's Thanksgiving dinner. In my family, that means you provide table and chairs, and a place to park your keister after dinner. Everything else is potluck. Our group should have been over 20 strong, but...well, life happens. My two little brothers decided to spend the weekend in NYC (first ones in our family to see Macy's parade live!). My grandfather was unable to join us this evening, and so his oldest daughter (plus her husband, two daughters, and their significant others) all cobbled together a dinner at his place. That left me with my family (2 adults, 3 kids), Myrnie's family (2 adults, 3 kids), my parents (2 adults), and my baby sister (1 adult). That's 7 adults and 6 kids...to eat the sides and bird intended to feed twice that many. We will be eating stuffing forever. 

(Hello, pretty potatoes. Into the pot with you!)

My super tall brother in law...stood on a chair to get this picture. Our spread, in all its glory. Green beans, stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy, turkey, chips & salsa, blue jello, cranberries, green salad, brie, stuffing from inside the bird, mashed potatoes, and french bread. 

Hi, Myrnie! Lookin' fancy. (Nearly everything was gluten free tonight. My gluten sensitive sister was a little excited.) (She's also an incredibly good sport, not to mention remarkably gorgeous.) 

Today, I am grateful for health. I am grateful for home. I am grateful plenty and for God for his grace and mercy in allowing me to be steward of these blessings. I am grateful for my husband, my family, and especially my babies. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. God bless. 

The Anniversary Post - 8 years!

Creme brûlée, ready to go into the oven. Because nothing says CELEBRATE like baked heavy cream. 

SJ has been asking me for weeks how cars are built. I finally had a chance to get on YouTube and find him some answers! The video is in four parts, and now SJ is our resident expert on how to build a 1994 Ford Mustang GT. Vroom Vroom! (Part 1 is here.) 

A quiet dinner at home, made even more so by Baby Ying Ying's unexpected 6 pm nap. Lo Gung saw how fussy she was, and scooped her up. He disappeared for about three minutes, and came back with the baby passed out in his arms. What a guy! She was working on some teeth, and the accompanying cold that always seems to come with new chompers. 

Our anniversary fell on a Tuesday this year. We had already gone out on the town the previous Saturday and so, even though my awesome sister offered to babysit for us, we decided to have a nice relaxing evening at home with the kids. I carefully planned out a menu that would feel a little bit fancy, but could still be pulled off while taking care of a fussy 9 month old. I went with this yummy (and slightly healthy) version of fettuccine alfredo, and some roasted broccoli. Simple, but really yummy. For dessert, we had creme brûlée that I had made during YY's afternoon nap. Nothing healthy about that! It was AMAZING. It's all about compromise my friends. 

8 years. 8 years of waking up and going to sleep next to my best friend. 8 years of laughs, trips, trials, kids, moves, new jobs, shopping trips, eating out, video games (well, he plays - I just keep him company)...8 years of heaven. 

Honey, here's to our 8 years, and here's to many, many more. 

Halloween 2013

 (LaLaLoopsy Doll, Batman and Sherlock Holmes as played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Yes, he does love me a lot, why do you ask?!) (At the church Halloween party)

Our dragon baby with Grandpa (at the church Halloween party)

Only the brightest and best for my Halloween breakfast! 

Carving pumpkins is hard work! 

At Daddy's office party in the spooooooky hallway. 

SJ, dreaming big - Halloween candy, an office with a window, and a spinney chair. Hey, why do they even bother calling this "work"?! Looks pretty easy to him! 

On Halloween, I sent Ming Wai off to school in her costume, sans makeup. While she was at school, soaking up the knowledge, SJ and I carved some pumpkins. After lunch, it was time to help set up Ming Wai's class party. But...Baby Ying Ying had other plans. She was SUPPOSED to wake up and go to her Aunt's house while I helped with set up. What actually happened? She woke up just in the nick of time for me to cart both kids with me to the school to set up. (What is this "no siblings" rule of which you speak?) Most people didn't even know Ying Ying was there - I had her strapped to my back in the Ergo and she was silently grinning for an hour. SJ...well, come on. We were setting up in the lunch room. A room that big is just BEGGING to be run around in, right? We got things set up with no injuries to person or property, so I'll call that a win. We ran home, gathered what we needed for costumes, and then scooted back over to the school to pick Ming Wai up after the party ended. I painted up her face in the trunk of the car, and then we were off to Daddy's office!

The campus is huge, and each team/floor/building hosts their own little trick or treating shindig. Lo Gung's floor is...a little lacking in enthusiasm, but the kids had fun getting their little tour! BUT! What is this?! There's another building who sent out a memo - their staff would be dressed up as Disney Princesses! Their halls were festooned with elaborate decorations! Candy for all! Games! What are you waiting for?!

Traffic. That is what we were waiting for. At 4, we called for a shuttle. At 4:30, the shuttle arrived. At 5:15, we pulled up close enough to our destination to beg the driver to let us off so we could walk the rest of the way. (Total distance traveled by car? 1.5 miles.) Baby Ying Ying was beyond tired, may have had a dirty diaper, and all of her snacks and toys were in my car back at Lo Gung's building. She screamed for the last 20 minutes of the ride. Umm...Happy Halloween, fellow shuttle riders! *blush*

The second we disembarked, Ying Ying calmed right down and nodded off in her father's arms. Oh, and did I mention? The princesses were only staying until 5pm. So. Um. Yeah. Luckily, the kids are fairly easily impressed. There were still decorations everywhere, and there were stations scattered around where you could collect stamps on a passport map. Of course, all the maps were gone, but I just told the kids, "Hey! Look! You can stamp your hands!"

The kids? Had a blast. The adults just kind of wanted to lay down and take a nap. Even though the princesses were long gone, we could still see police directing traffic in front of the building, and absolute gridlock in the streets and parking lots.

After the kids collected all their stamps, we hopped onto another shuttle and made the 10 minute trip back to our cars. Lo Gung drove straight home and I followed a few minutes later, after I'd fed the baby. 

We were home just in time to shove some rice and eggs into the big kids' mouths before the boy child said, "Bye, Mom! I'm going trick or treating with the big kids!". 

And he was gone. 

Ming Wai sort of looked at me, rice hanging out of her mouth. "Uhh....Mom? Should I go with him??! I'm still hungry!" She wolfed down the rest of her bowl of rice, and ran out the door. I threw my own bowl of rice into the microwave with some leftover curry. When it finished, I pulled the hot bowl out, grabbed a spoon, and yelled over my shoulder, "Bye, honey! Have fun with Ying Ying!" 

The kids tore around our little street with the local horde, and then did the next street over. When Ming Wai's bucket looked like it was breaking, and SJ had convinced me to carry everything on him except his mask...it was time to go home. 

Happy Halloween, y'all! 

The Christmas Post!

Yes, y’all. Don’t worry. Christmas did, in fact, come to LoLo Castle. (And no, this post isn’t “late” or “overdue.” Why would you even suggest such a thing?!)

My children, blessedly, don’t understand that most children in the world 1) wake up early on Christmas and 2) tear downstairs to see what Santa has brought them. We woke up the same way we do every morning – Siu Jeun woke up, cried until I woke up, and then watched cartoons until Ming Wai woke up. At 8:30. (Yes, you may hate me if you like!) Then, it was time for breakfast. THEN I reminded the kids that they MIGHT have stockings in the front room, and there MIGHT be things in them from Santa and it MIGHT be time to look at the presents under the tree and see if any of them were…for them!

 

I was a good Mommy and got out the camera. However, because of the low light, I couldn’t zoom much…and Siu Jeun seems to have developed an innate ability to PHOTOBOMB. (If you’ve never heard of photo bombing, it’s something like this: You know that shot from that last party you went to…where you and your boss are posing for a nice picture, and some weird drunk pops up behind you, unbeknownst to you, and flashes the peace sign just as the camera clicks? My friend, you’ve been Photo Bombed.)

 

It started off innocently enough. Ming Wai was, of course, an angel. Waiting her turn, cooing over each gift. She was in her element. Siu Jeun….well, he quickly bored of “waiting his turn”. And, for that matter, he quickly tired of the idea of “mine” and “yours.” Anything still wrapped was considered fair game…it sped up the process considerably, as we all raced to open our presents before he could snatch them, unwrap them, and hide them before we even had time to blink. Since my Important Job was to capture each angelic coo and smile for posterity, Lo Gung’s job was…to sit on the floor and referee. Heh.

Oh look! A Ball! (He scored at least 9 balls on Christmas morning. He was in heaven.) (Notice Ming Wai? Looking on? Patient? Appreciative? That girl can turn on the charm when she wants to!)

Now it’s Ming Wai’s turn. Oh! Joy! Rapture! I got a…something! But, I would like to direct your attention to Siu Jeun. Is it just me, or is he…zooming off. To do some mischief? No? Maybe it’s just me then. Zoooom.

These next few shots are really just of Siu Jeun. I would like you to imagine what might be going through his head. When he opened up his package of four little trucks, he hopped up and down squeaking until I had prized them all loose of their plastic and wire bonds and presented them to him. He promptly clumped them all together, got down low behind them…and pushed the entire convoy across the carpet. Vroom. That’s pretty much what’s going through his head right now.

This picture was supposed to be of Ming Wai…but she got photo bombed. See those lips? Right now he’s thinking, Choo choo!!

(Oh, and Santa came through for the little ones. Ming Wai has been asking for a Pillow Pet for MONTHS. She saw a commercial, I think, back in the summer. And then they appeared in Fred Meyers – a huge CRATE of them at the end of each check out line. Each visit to Fred Meyers was a fresh reminder to ask! Santa! for! a! Pillow Pet! We went back to Freddies a few days after Christmas. Every single Pillow Pet display was, shockingly, gone. Moved. Stocked back on the shelves, where pillows OUGHT to be. Those dirty stinkin’ rascals…)

Finally it was time for Siu Jeun to open his gift from Santa. Can anyone guess what’s going through his head right now?

 

Anyone?

Pi’ow Peeeet!!!!!!!!!!

 

He learns quick, that one.