Dec 20

Between gifts to deliver, holiday programs at school, errands, last minute shopping, wrapping gifts, kiddies, and keeping house, I have not found the time to give last weekend’s update. Now, as we approach another weekend, I decided to just post a short blurb (since I’m still short on time).

branlivia I
birthday girl & boy

Last Saturday, with a group of our close friends, we celebrated Brandon and Olivia’s 5th birthday at Legoland. With twelve adults and thirteen kids, we made the most of our time at the park and had a blast! Last time we went (2 years ago), Ashlyn and Summer only rode a few rides and mostly played in the playground area. Now they are able to ride all the rides! :mrgreen:

Branlivia II
making a wish

After the park, we headed back to Olivia’s house for dinner, cupcakes, and more fun!
Click here for more birthday pictures.

Sunday was spent at our in-laws. We had dimsum with Aric’s grandma, then took the kiddies to browse Santa Anita Mall (sheer madness over there), then dinner at Din Tai Fung in Arcadia for dinner.

All in all, it was a funfilled weekend. But I was very disappointed to have missed out on my girlfriend -Emily’s, baby shower and the annual FAB holiday dinner/gathering. But my kiddies come first and they couldn’t wait to go to Legoland. Too bad we can’t have more weekends in December. :wink:

Okay….gotta start some laundry, clean up the kitchen, pick up Ashlyn, start packing, wrap more gifts, and figure out dinner before Emily and Ann come over tonight.

1 more day till our NorCal trip
5 more days till Christmas
*bite nails*

Tags: , ,

Dec 18

Yikes!…7 more days till Christmas!!! December has turned into a stressful month for me. Needless to say, I’ve been swamped…holiday shopping, online shopping, mailing out cards, wrapping gifts, school stuff, birthday parties, and my clingy Summer with cough/runny nose. I NEED MORE TIME! MORE TIME! MORE TIME!

I’m happy to say that I’m about 95% done with everything. Now if the UPS/FedEX/postman can get here with the last of my packages, I should be all good. *cross fingers*

I’ll post my “weekend update” later…hopefully. :neutral:

Dec 10

girlfriends

I flew up to NorCal over the weekend to celebrate my darling Sarah’s birthday. We spent a beautiful Saturday cruising around Napa Valley in a limo, indulging in spa treatments at Mount View Hotel & Spa, visiting a few lovely vineyards, wine-tasting, shopping at V.Sattui’s and Dean & Deluca’s, and enjoying dinner at Napa Vally Grille.

With everyones’ busy schedules, times like this is infinitely priceless. Even though it wasn’t my birthday, I felt like it was. :wink: I loved the limo ride the best…being surrounded by my closest girlfriends, talking, sipping champagne and noshing on smoked duck, varieties of soft cheeses, homemade crostinis, fruit, and blood orange juice, taking tons of pictures, and laughing till my face hurt. Pure happiness!!!

birthday girl
Happy 30th Birthday, girl! I love you!

Click here for Sarah’s Napa Getaway pictures.

The rest of my weekend was spent with my parents, Sis, nieces, Eva, and Curtis. I did a bit of Christmas shopping on Sunday at Santana Row and crashed a Christmas party thrown by temple friends.
Click here for misc family pictures.

I flew back Sunday night to big smiles and warm hugs from the hubby and Summer. Ashlyn had fallen asleep in the car enroute to the airport and was out for the night. :mrgreen:

Tags: , , , , ,

Dec 05

A conversation with my lil’ one a couple of weeks ago (after picking her up from preschool):

Summer: “Mommy, did you bring me a surprise?”
Peg: “a surprise?”
Summer: “yeah, like Daddy.”
Peg: *tsk* and *roll eyes*
Peg: “your surprise is ME picking you up…*pause*…SURPRISE!”
Summer: :neutral:
HAHAHAHAHA!

Aric gives Summer surprises everyday when he picks her up from school. Treats from the vending machine at his work. He did it with Ashlyn, now he does it with Summer. I jokingly *tsk* because he makes me look bad….but in all seriousness, I think it’s really awesome.

aric and ashlyn

Ashlyn and Summer adore their dad…and why shouldn’t they?! Aric’s like the coolest, funnest, most loving dad around. Aric has a great relationship with his kids. I love the ties that bind them, and even find myself envious of what they share. Aric loves hanging out with the girls - playing games/toys with them, reading them books, watching TV, playing Wii, or computer games together, making them breakfast, packing Ashlyn’s lunches, driving them to school, shopping with them, and playing jokes on them…and when he’s not with them, he’s always thinking of them. On any given day, the girls will get something in the mail (toys, games, books, magazine subscriptions, or free stuff Aric finds online). Just the other day, Ashlyn and Summer both got letters from Santa in the mail (another thing Aric found online). You should have seen the look on Ashlyn’s face when she read the personalized letter…sheer awe and excitement. So cool. :grin:

aric and summer

When Aric and I got married, I got the sense that he wasn’t much of a “kid” person. Like, he doesn’t really engage with children, nor does it come naturally…but with his own, he’s naturally a great father and friend. He’s also good with teaching and discipline. Usually his quiet words of displeasure weighs far more than my banshee-like rants.

I have been meaning to write this post years ago…especially around the time we were training Ashlyn to sleep in her own big-girl-bed, in her own room. Aric slept on Ashlyn’s floor for a little over 6 months….SIX MONTHS! Man, if that’s not love-sacrifice-good dad-bad back, I don’t know what is! :shock: :lol:

…and that’s the man of our house. We totally love him!

Tags: , ,

Dec 04

lil’ models

My girls participated in a fashion show over the weekend for Nordstrom at The Irvine Spectrum. The word-of-mouth production was not widely publicized… it was just a way for local kids and employees’ children to have some fun. In exchange for our participation, we recieved an additional 15% off the childrens’ apparel and shoe sale. I scored on a pair of Van’s for Ashlyn for $13 (nothing in Summer’s size), and some other great deals. I thought it was a clever way for Nordstrom to draw in shoppers bright and early. :wink:

But what I was most excited about was the fact that Summer wanted to be in the Fashion Show too!!! Unlike Ashlyn, Summer doesn’t like to draw attention to herself. Simple requests, like asking her to sing a song for the grandparents, requires a lot of pleading and bribery. HAHA! So imagine my surprise when I took Ashlyn in for the clothes fitting and Summer said she wanted to try on clothes too! :shock: By Saturday morning, Summer started looking like she had changed her mind (which I kinda anticipated)….but then we had her walk with Olivia & Erin, and it was all good. Summer smiled brightly, walked confidently, and had a really good time. Ashlyn is currently going through a self-concious phase. She looked scared and shy, even though we all knew she was soooo excited to be a part of the show. :lol:

Lauren, Taylor, Erin, Olivia, and Shelby also strutted their stuff in the Fashion show, and they were all so cute! :mrgreen:
Click here for fashion show pics.

karis the birthday girl

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent celebrating Karis’ 5th Birthday at Sam and Patti’s. I love parties at Sam and Patti’s…lots of good food and company, and the kids have so much fun running and playing in the spacious home and back garden.
Click here for Karis’ birthday pictures.

getting festive

Sunday was a lax day. We met up with my father-in-law and some relatives for a late lunch in Rowland Heights. Aric, the kiddies, and I did some shopping at 99 Ranch, then came home to decorate our front yard and put up our Christmas tree. We finally upgraded our small faux tree (that we got for $6 when living in Taiwan) to a 7.5 foot faux cashmere pine (we purchased last year for 50% off after the holiday season…yeah, I’m all about bargains. hehehe).
Like last year, the girls had so much fun decorating the tree. Because they’re both older now, they are better at spreading out the ornaments on the tree…sometimes standing on the arm of the couch to hang some toward the top. hehehe
I used all the little plush toys my kids have gotten from their McDonald’s Happy Meals, or the keychain thingies they get from the dollar gumball machines, as tree ornaments. HAHAHA! I’m not just cheap, but creative, too. HAHAHA!
I ordered my Christmas cards and compiled my shopping list…and it’s really starting to feel like the holiday season is upon us now. :mrgreen:
Click for more pictures.

Monday was a really busy and long day for me. Aric had a department dinner to attend, so I picked up Summer from preschool. By the time we got back home, it was nearly 4:30pm. Ashlyn had homework and I was up to my neck in laundry.

Lately, Summer’s been having a lot of “accidents”….at school, at home, and in Aric’s car (hence, the laundry). Yesterday, when I picked her up, she was wearing someone else’s spare clothes again (because she had already gone through her spare outfits last week). This time, she had also soiled her naptime blanket. :sad: Summer’s teacher asked if there was anything wrong. Which I replied, “no…everything’s fine”. Does “accidents” mean that something’s wrong? I always figured that laziness is the cause. Whatever the case, I talked with Summer last night and stressed the importance of going immediately when her body tells her to go. Hopefully that helped.

The girls and I ate an early dinner, Ashlyn finished her homework by 7:30pm, the kiddies changed into pjs, and watched “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas” while waiting for Aric to come home. :mrgreen:

Tags: , , , ,