A Whole New World: Part 2

Everyone seems to think we are brave (or crazy) for taking three kids on a 5 1/2 hour flight to Disneyworld...especially considering we live about 30 minutes away from Disneyland. It was a good trip and I would say it was worth the trouble and expense. But by the last day, we were all ready to go home. Seven straight days of Disney magic was exhausting, even for the girls.

And now, I see a HUGE difference in boys vs. girls. I am sure it has something to do with Sam's age too, but at the same time, the girls were never this hyperactive. The girls were able to sit quietly on the plane and work on coloring books, artsy activities, and stickers. They only got out of their seats once to go to the bathroom--both ways. Sam, on the other hand, could not stay still for five seconds, let alone five hours. We should have gotten the extra seat and strapped him in. He was also suffering from a head cold so there was a lot of crying and screaming on the descent into Orlando.

We used a credit card privilege to get into the VIP airport lounge for free. It was awesome. There was a kiddie room with computers, a TV and snacks. While I was getting the free coffee, muffins and fruit in the lounge area, I sneezed and Smokey Robinson blessed me!

We used all the complimentary shuttle services that Disneyworld provides, including the Magical Express airport shuttle. They are supposed to pick up your bags from baggage claim for you and deliver it to your room within a few hours. We didn't get our bags until the next morning. Luckily I was prepared for worst case scenario with our carry-on so it wasn't too much of a hassle. When we finally got our bags the next morning, it had these priority tags on them which was amusing.

The Finding Nemo show at Animal Kingdom was amazing. The costumes were done by the same designer as the Broadway Lion King show. We managed to get reserved seating so we didn't wait in line at all and were able to get the best seats in the house. We also utilized the fast pass system extensively so we never waited more than 20 minutes for any ride.

Our little monkeys...
Sam understands what a camera is now and will smile when I take his photo. Cutie patootie, huh?
After Magic Kingdom closed, we bought the kids a souvenir each and let them run around for an hour while we let the crowd die down. Sam is getting to the age where he can interact with them more. It's very sweet to see all three of them play together.

Chang and I celebrated our seventh year anniversary while there. What a romantic way to spend the day, huh? Love you babe. I can honestly say I love you more than ever.


Our resort was right on the water. The cool thing was we could take a 10 minute boat ride to Downtown Disney.

I have no idea where they learned to pose for pictures. Look at how they both cock their heads to the side!

Sam looks more and more like "da-da" everyday. He was also super clingy to Chang during the whole trip.

We treated the girls to a Bibbity-Bobbity Boutique trip. Hair, make-up, nails, tiara and "fairy dust" sprinkled all over for the cost of a king's ransom. Yes we are suckers but it was cute and the girls loved it. Plus, we held it over their heads the whole trip in order to extract good behavior.

The Beauty and the Beast show at Hollywood Studios was a lot of fun too. The amphitheater is a mini Hollywood Bowl.
In front of the famous "Spaceship Earth" Epcot icon.


By the end of the trip, everyone was tired. Yes, that is Elysha inside the Ergo carrier.


The weather was perfect the whole time we were there. All in all, a wonderful trip. But eight days of family vacation was enough for all of us. We were all ready to get back home and out of each other's hair.

A Whole New World

We got back last night from Disneyworld and happy to be back. It wasn't as painful as our Seattle vacation but we all breathed a sigh of relief upon entering our home...especially Sam. He ran into the play room and grabbed his guitar and played for a while.

I'll share more of our trip soon. Just wanted to say that there really is no place like home (and the luxury of preschool).

Scaredy Cat vs. Copy Cat

We were invited to a birthday party the other day. It was at a movie theatre and they were going to show Monsters vs. Aliens for all the party goers. It was a cute idea but the moment Joey saw the invitation, she started to freak out. (If I haven't mentioned it before, Joey is the biggest scaredy cat.) I tried to help her see how silly the monsters looked and convinced her it would be fun to go. She started to laugh and agreed that it would fun. I don't know why I thought that would be the end of it.

So the day of the party, the girls and I go to the theatre. They are both so excited to be in the theatre and to see their friends. Once it is time to start the movie, they all get their little bags of popcorn and don their 3D glasses. Joey is sitting between her two closest friends and Elysha is sitting next to me. My little Elysha is such a beanpole that she kept slipping through the back of the seat. So she had to sit up straight and not lean back. But as long as she had her bag of popcorn, she was good.

Everyone was watching the movie, having a great time. I thought the scene where the president tries to greet the aliens with the synthesizer was hilarious. But suddenly, I heard loud whimpering. I hoped that if I ignored it, it would go away. Unfortunately, Joey's little friends started to whisper loudly, "Joey's scared." Darn, other people noticed too. So I tried to be a good parent and motioned Joey to me. She was sitting on my lap, whimpering and whispering that she was scared. Elysha appeared to be unfazed by Joey's crying and continued eating her popcorn and watching the movie through her 3D glasses. I wanted to finish the movie so I tried to reason with Joey, but then the aliens started shooting at the humans. Joey freaked out even more and I realized that she was done. So I turned to perfectly content Elysha and whispered that her sister was scared so I needed to take her out. I gave her two options, to either stay and finish the movie, or come out with us. When Elysha saw Joey crying, suddenly, Elysha decided she was freaked out too and started crying as well. "I'm scared! I'm scared!" (If I haven't mentioned it before, Elsyha is the biggest copy cat.)

Rock Star

As I mentioned before, Sam is SO into his instruments. Daily, he picks up his little guitar and totally rocks out on it. He holds it correctly, strums in tempo and sings. I recently bought him a drum and he loves it too. But I think he is a guitarist more than a drummer (thank God).

Here Sam is mad because the girls are trying to play his drum.

Look at the expression on his face. He's really jamming and feeling it.

Here is Sam on a ukulele. So tiny and cute like him. I think he noticed that it sounded brighter than our acoustic guitar at home. He kept plucking the strings.

In Celebration of Earth Day...

Here is a post I wrote for Savvy. I really feel strongly about this so I thought I would share with y'all too.

This week we are going to continue to focus on Earth Day. I am excited that we can raise a generation of eco-conscience people whose personal mantra is "reduce, reuse, recycle." I remember growing up with water shortages, and smog so terrible that it hurt my lungs. Now, thanks to major efforts to clean up our air and reduce our water usage, we can literally breath easier. Today, I wanted to share some things that I have been doing in our home to do our part to save mother earth.

1) No ziplock bags--We pack lunch for our daughters almost every school day and we used to go through boxes and boxes of ziplock bags. According to salon.com, "every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they've been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It's equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil." It is causing an epidemic so I felt that we needed to be part of the solution. We bought containers that can accommodate sandwiches, cut veggies and fruit, and other lunch favorites. It is more dishes every night to clean, but so worth it.

I also take reusable tote bags with me to the store so that I don't bring home 20 plastic bags from my weekly grocery store trips. If I go shopping for other items and I forget to bring a tote bag with me, I'll either throw it into the bottom of my stroller or stick it inside my purse or diaper bag.

2) Cloth napkins--I just made the switch recently and it has been easier than I expected it to be. At first, I thought I would be doing more laundry (but is it possible to do more than 5-6 loads of laundry a week? I hope not...). Just don't expect my linens to be pressed and spotless when you come over for dinner. It is a bit of an investment but I bought four at a time and now, I have enough to get us through the week. Plus, my daughters love using them. It makes them feel fancy.

3) No paper towels--I bought some microfiber cloths to use in place of paper towels. I have two big ones designated for the floor and the rest for the counters. I also have hand towels for the kitchen and dish cloths. Again, an easier transition that I initially expected. If you are not ready to make the switch, consider buying recycled paper products. According to Ideal Bite, for every ton of 100% recycled paper that is bought, about 4000kWh of energy and 7,000 gallons of water are saved. It also avoids releasing 60 lbs of pollutants into the air.

4) Green cleansers--This switch was probably the easiest of all. I did have to try out a couple different brands to get the same results that I was getting with petroleum-based cleaners, but I think I found the best ones for our family. I like Method products for dish soap, hand soap, and all-purpose cleaners, Mrs Meyer's for biodegradable dryer sheets, and Costco's Kirkland brand for laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent. Unexpected perks from using green cleaners: my dishwashing sponge doesn't smell after a few weeks of use, my hands don't dry out as much from countless hand washing throughout the day, and the laundry detergent is gentler on our skin (thus less eczema problems). Another important reason to getting toxic cleaners out of your home? According to worldwatch.org, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 percent of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers in 2000, accounting for 206,636 calls. Of these, nearly two-thirds involved children under six, who swallowed or spilled cleaners stored or left open inside the home.

5) Energy efficient light bulbs/appliances--When my husband and I bought our first home, we were finally able to get our own washer and dryer (hallelujah!). I made sure we purchased a front-loading washer and energy efficient dryer. We haven't purchased too many more appliances but whenever we do have to buy one, we always make sure it is an energy star appliance. A great plus to being green are the rebates and tax credits. If you have to purchase an appliance in the near future or have bought one this year, be sure to look into the rebates offered by either the federal government or the electric company. We were able to get a $200 tax credit for the installation of our tankless water heater (wohoo!). Whatever bulbs could be replaced by compact fluorescent bulbs (CFBs), we have done that in our house. I really think it makes a difference since our gas and DWP bill is very low.

Sam is 17 months

Sam still seems like such a baby to me. He has been talking more these days, though I keep thinking he is just babbling. Then I realize he just said, "no on" (he LOVES tv and always runs over to it and asks, "on?"). Today at music class he said bubbles. I'm so shocked that he is talking, as if he just came from my womb. But that is how I feel. It literally feels like just yesterday.

But what weirds me out even more is that Joey was only 17 months when I gave birth to Elysha. Whenever I look at Sam now I just wonder what I was thinking? Of course, I wouldn't change a thing. Tonight, when I put the girls to bed, as I left the room, they started to cuddle together and Joey brushed Elysha's hair away from her eyes. It was so sweet. I love that they have each other. It would be nice if I could have another boy for Sam but maybe a dog will have to do.

And the Winner of the Brown Award is...

I was hanging out with some moms last night and of course, we were talking about poopie diapers. Texture, frequency, all the juicy details (pardon the pun). I really would love to use cloth diapers but Sam poops five times a day. And they are not poops that can be easily dumped into a toilet. There would be scraping involved. Gross, TMI, I know.

Anyhow, one of my friend's sons started pooping in the potty so she was very excited. I remarked that for over five years straight, I have been changing diapers on at least one kid. For 10 months and then eight months, it was two kids. FIVE YEARS!!!

I think I am going to use a diaper service when Sam turns two, in the hopes of getting him potty trained faster. I hope that by June 2010, I will be done with diapers. FOREVER! Amen.

In Case You are Curious

Sorry for all the weight loss stuff but if you are curious, I am happy to share what I did. I went hardcore with the intention of doing it for two weeks only. I knew I couldn't sustain it but at the same time, I wanted results fast.

I think five pounds was just from eating until I busted my pants for four days straight recently. So the first week, 5-7 lbs came off easily with the daily runs (about 3 miles on a very hilly terrain while pushing Sam in the jogging stroller). Two of those days, I also worked out on the circuit training machines (about 30 reps on about 6-7 machines) plus another 50 crunches on the floor mat. The second week I ran four days, the same 3 mile trek but didn't have time to go to the Y so no circuit training.

Diet wise, you have to keep in mind that I am a full-fat loving person. So I am sure my body went into shock. I used to have some form of dessert every night after dinner, which is why I had to at least treat myself to the fun size plain M&Ms every night.

Mornings: decaf coffee with soy creamer and then went for my run (I cramp easily so my stomach can't be too full when I exercise). Then some fruit after I was done.
Lunch: Two eggs made into egg salad with no bread and fruit, or a can of soup with two Trader Joe's veggie samosas and fruit, or an omelette with ham and cheese and fruit.
Snacks: I only ate if I really felt hungry at which point I would eat candied walnuts and/or fruit.
Dinner--asian chicken salad or taco salad with tri tip. If I made pasta or korean food (a meal in which I knew I could consume carbs), I really limited my carb intake. I would say that my carb intake used to be 50% of my meal, but I limited it to 25% or less.
Dessert: fun size plain M&Ms and Arbonne detox tea

I stuck to this on the weekdays, and weekends I let myself eat more junk and carbs, but was still more conscientious.

Sorry if this is TMI but I thought I would share. I had to make drastic changes but I also gave myself a time limit so that I wouldn't give up after a few days. Knowing that I was only going to do it for two weeks made it easier for me to do those daily runs and eat those salads. Now I haven't been running and am eating a normal amount (yes, dessert has come back) but my clothes are fitting better. I am getting older and something about having a third child made getting back to my old self much harder. So I came to this realization that I would have to work at it, and I finally made the decision to "just do it." I'm glad that I did!

I would have so won...

biggest loser! I went jogging Monday through Friday one week and then Monday through Thursday the following week. I also REALLY limited my normal intake. If I craved McDonald's, I went for the grilled chicken snack wrap, as opposed to the crispy chicken that I usually get. I made a lot of salads for dinner and only had pasta twice a week. I tried to replace my usual carb fest with protein, and my potato chips with nuts. Instead of snacking on chocolate, I would eat fruit, but I would eat one fun size bag of M&M's every night so I didn't totally deprive myself (I could never completely give up chocolate).

Well, it worked...I think I lost 12 lbs! The original scale that started it all is on its way back to Australia so I am basing this weight loss calculation on a scale at the YMCA. I am almost back down to my pre-Sam weight which is my goal.

One thing I realized during these last two weeks is I make really bad food choices. I always think, oh, it's just one little cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake...how bad can it be? But it adds up...hopefully, I'll never go back. And as the summer approaches, I'll probably be outside a lot more gardening which means fresh fruits and veggies from my garden.

And the best thing out of all this? Getting hit on at the gym...he he...that's right baby, still got it!

Biggest Loser

I am finally doing it. All that talk or blogging of me wanting to get back into shape were just empty words...until now.

I have gone running with Sam in the jogging stroller every weekday last week and I am on track to do it again this week. I have been eating MUCH healthier (bye bye to my nightly fix of Ben and Jerry's) and eating more normal portions (you know it's bad when you eat "all-you-can-eat" four days in a row and think it is perfectly fine). I guess all that McDonald's was going to catch up with me sooner or later.

I am determined to lose these last 10 lbs. I have never had a tight stomach or ripped arms so I have no expectation to "regain" something that I NEVER had before. I also don't expect to get back to my wedding weight or even my pre-Joey weight. I just want to be a healthy and not have to tuck my stomachs into my jeans before I sit down.

Wile E Sam

Sam is beginning to show his devious ways. It's amazing how someone so small could have the capacity to do the things he has already done in his short 16 months of life.

About a month ago, the girls were bouncing around the house on their hippity hops. They were hopping and laughing, and poor Sam was watching them have the time of their lives. He was chasing them around but was unable to catch up until they stopped in the middle of the kitchen.

Then he sized up his competition. Which sister is bigger? Against which sister could I hold my own? He looked at Joey and then Elysha and then Joey again. Next thing I know, he just lunges after Elysha, trying to take away the hippity hop. Mind you, Elysha is 41" and Sam is 32". But apparently, that nearly one foot height difference is minuscule in Sam's eyes.

Sam attacked Elysha again this past week to grab something from her hand. I know Chang and I shouldn't laugh but it really is funny. Where does he learn these things? He was literally on top of her, grabbing her hair with one hand, and reaching for the object of his desire with the other. Elysha is so good because she won't retaliate physically against Sam, but she will scream at the top of her lungs, "Sam! No! Get off me!"

Also, the other day, Sam was in our bedroom, trying to get Chang's wallet from the night stand. (Chang's side of the bed is on the opposite side of the door, so if someone was lying on the floor on Chang's side of the bed, then I wouldn't be able to see him or her from the door.) When Sam heard me come into the room, he suddenly dropped to the floor. I was confused at first and wondered if he lost his balance. But when I looked over the bed to check on Sam, he was lying down commando style, on his elbows and stomach. He really thought he could hide from me and get away with it! He had done this once before but I thought the same thing, he had just lost his balance. Where did he learn this? It makes me laugh when I think about it, but it is also just so frightening!

Little Kid, Big World

My little baby is growing up so fast. I am amazed at how much he comprehends, that he already has his independent thoughts. These days if I tell him I'm going to turn on the TV, he'll run to the TV and giggle with glee, even before I turn it on. The anticipation alone makes him giddy. I wish he would stay captivated for longer than 2 minutes so I can actually accomplish something significant while he is watching TV, like brush my teeth.

I love this picture because it reminds me how tiny he still is. He has a big personality but he is still a baby...my baby. Oh and the playroom actually looks immaculate for once.