Life of Siew Gin, Alan and the 2 kids - Tyler and Cody

The bickering starts

2012-02-11T00:05:00.001-07:00

Cody's speech has improved tremendously in the last 6 months and he is speaking in full sentences with some prepositions missing. So that means he can argue back now.
These are the kinds of things we hear constantly:

Me: Tyler, don't do that.
Cody : Tyler, don't do that!!
Tyler : Cody, u are not an adult! Don't tell me what to do!!!
Cody : don't shout, Tyler. Only daddy shouts!!!
Me : ( tee..hee)

Cody : me big boy!!
Tyler : but I am taller than you.
Cody : me big boy now, Tyler!
Tyler : you are fatter than me, but I am still taller than you!!
Me : ?????

Funny hats

2012-02-10T00:03:00.003-07:00

The kids likes to wear hats(which is a good thing). But they would put almost anything on their heads at times.

He's had this hat since he was 6 months old!

Elmo easter basket

A favorite for Tyler too!

Flowers and Cake Decorating - Lesson 1

2012-02-08T22:31:00.001-07:00

So, after a fun Class 1 of cake decorating, i decided to take the 2nd class to learn more and hone in my skills.

Today we learned about gum paste and fondant. We learned how to mix colors, handle them and roll them and make them into flowers. It was pretty fun though i think i like piping better!!

Anyways, here are the flowers we made in class.

We made a pansy and 2 button flowers(kinda lame, i thought). Next week.. royal icing!!

Tyler completes his swim class level 1

2012-02-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Tyler completed his swim class level 1 today. Not sure what that really means as he still needs a lot more work on his swimming, but all in all he now seems to be enjoying his swim classes and is prepared to venture into the deep end..

Tyler can swim in deep water (official)

Badminton at Westview

2012-02-08T11:19:00.002-07:00

Last night we opened our new badminton location at westview rec center. Alas only Steffen and myself turned up which is surprising given that everyone complains that Thursdays are busy.

We will have to generate more interest to ensure people turn up for sure !!!

Tyler and Cody did come with me and enjoyed having a chance to run around the courts and play in the playground

Watch out Cody !!

My 36th birthday

2012-02-07T23:36:00.000-07:00

My 36th birthday came and went during midweek but it was a nice little birthday. Alan made surprise dinner for my on Monday and it was a 3 course meal. Yumms....

And then today, the children woke me up with birthday wishes and gave me their pressies before i went to work. At lunch Alan came to take me to lunch which was also really lovely.

After cake decorating class, the boys sang me my birthday song with the cake i made!! hehe!! How nice!!

Alan's home cook dinner

Birthday wishes from the boys, pardon our sleepy faces!!!

Tyler and I

Cody and I

Blow Cody!!

Lovely roses from Alan

Cutting the cake

Yummy cake actually!!

All in all, a nice happy day for me!!

Lesson 4 - Final lesson

2012-02-07T23:22:00.002-07:00

So, for our final lesson, we were supposed to work on our final cake. We were going to learn to pipe a rose and some letters and use all that we've learned in the last month for the grand finale.

We were supposed to bring in a frosted cake and work on it in class, but knowing how the class would go, i decided to work on some of the border ahead of time(because that's what A+ students do!!)

This is what i started with

Anyways, since i couldn't decide what icing i was going to use, i ended up using all 3 icings that i know. I filled it with chocolate cream cheese, frosted and bordered it with Italian merengue buttercream(with some lemon zest) and did most decoration in class with the class icing.

After practicing a few times with writing and roses, in class, we spent the rest of the class working on our cake. Here's my cake!!

Ta-da!!

Tyler said it's really pretty and he wants to eat it!!

Some details - though i think i went a little overboard!! ha!!

The inner layers!

Anyways, and since it was my birthday, it did work out well. The kids sang birthday song with me and it was a sweet ending to my lovely day! :)

p.s. i was for sure the best student in the class. I think i redeemed the Asian image!!

Big cook little cook

2012-02-06T00:47:00.001-07:00

Since i was left with the kids while preparing for the Super Bowl party, i thought i'd get them involved. Tyler was more than happy to wear his apron but Cody refused(dunno why). Anyways, i thought they would be more interested in cooking but i think they like the idea, but not the actual work. So, here's a conversation i had..

Me : Tyler, you want to help Mommy make this? You can put the cheese inside and put a drop of jam.
Tyler : No..
Me : Really? I thought you really wanted to be Big Cook little Cook.. i'm the big cook, you're the little cook.
Tyler : Mommy, little Cook never cooks. He only goes and get stuff and eats the jam..
Me : Realllyyyy??

And the rest of them time, he keeps trying to fetch me all different kinds of things that i didn't need!! And Cody just wanted to play with the egg...

Tyler "painting"

Finally i told him to "paint" the pastry, so, he thought.. OK, it's not cooking, i can do that!!!

Raclette Night with Lutz-Millers

2012-02-06T00:37:00.001-07:00

Steffen has talked about Raclette for years and while we were gone, he finally got his Raclette set. And of course we missed the experience. So, i requested that he hosted a raclette night. And in his efficient manner, he did!

After a few changes to the plan(people canceling, postponing, reinstating etc), we did have a quiet raclette night with Steffen and Anne.

Rachette turned out to be really good and i overate by 3 times!! We had a nice relaxing night chit chatting over yummy food and wine. The kids for once were super well behaved too which was a bonus!! :)

Tyler directing traffic with raclette burner

My melted raclette.. yummy..

With Steffen and Anne

Taping The Lines

2012-02-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have been working on an additional location for badminton and this Sunday before the superbowl we managed to tape the lines with help from Steffen and Pavel.

Pavel Super Taper

Go Brady!!

2012-02-05T03:28:00.000-07:00

It's Super Bowl tomorrow and i am holding a small gathering for a few friends to watch it together. And of course that's a perfect opportunity for me to make a cake.. hehe!!

Since i was more interested in practicing my decorating skills i acquired from the class, i just broke down and used a box cake. Most people don't seem to mind it so much. So, works for me!!

Anyways, I am trying to find the best icing/frosting recipe and since i don't like things too sweet, i usually have to half the sugar in most icing.

But i digress, i present you my Brady cake!!(he's only the hottest quarterback today)

Go Brady Go!!!

Failed sledding attempt

2012-02-04T23:35:00.001-07:00

We woke up to about 18 inches of snow this morning and Tyler said, "let's go sledding, mommy!!". I was so proud by that suggestion! Just like a real boy.

So, anyways, as Cody was still not 100%, only Tyler and I decided to blaze the trail to the sledding park.

However, we didn't get too far before it got too high for Mr. Whiny Pants, so we didn't get to sled. As you can see from the pics, you can still see our house. That's how far we got!!!

Pull me on the sled, mommy.. yeah right...

It's too high mommy!!

As wasn't it typical, that 5 mins after we got home, Tyler ran to me to say, "Mummy, the man plowed the pathway!! We can go sledding now!!!"

King of the ice !!

2012-02-04T16:47:00.003-07:00

Eighteen inches of snow fell on Friday, so the kids got a snow day and Daddy got to dig out the driveway..

Lot of snow

Friday night there was more snow, but it was easier to clear this time..

Tyler put on his snowshoes and climbed to the top of the snow mountain...

King of the mountain

New Shoes

2012-02-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Tyler has been wearing his old strideright shoes from the Philippines for a long time now and even though there is an old Chinese tradition to keep the feet small we thought it was time to get him some new ones.

We took a trip to Nordstrom as they have a large selection of fancy shoes and kids shoes.

Tyler liked the Keen Alamosa shoes after guidance by Siew Gin and he liked them so much he gave up wearing his snow boots and wore them home.

Nice shoes Tyler

Luxury

2012-02-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Tyler very rarely had water as a baby, so he still thinks of it as a luxury item. Today he wanted to 'lick the snow' and it reminded me of the four Yorkshire men sketch which reminds me of my own upbringing..

Snow, Luxury !! when Daddy was a lad
there wasnt such a thing as snow

Extreme Jenga

2012-02-02T21:15:00.003-07:00

Not content with regular Jenga, Tyler has proceeded to move on to Extreme Jenga !!

Check out my tower !!

Cake Decorating Lesson 3

2012-02-01T00:34:00.002-07:00

Lesson 3 is by the most exciting lesson in this course. We got to learn all kinds of piping technique including shell, rosettes, drop flowers and all kinds. And i found that being prepared for the class really made the difference. I can safely say i was the most prepared in this lesson.. yay!!!

Anyways, we practiced a lot on our practice board and only some on actual cupcakes. I managed to do 3 in the class and the rest i did them at home just for the sake of using up all the icing i made.

I think i have to work on my icing as it looks a little rough and i also have to make my colors prettier. Next week, we'll have a final project for the class.. :)

Again, here's some of initial work. I hope one day i will look back at these horrible work and laugh really hard!!!

I've also signed up for the next class!!

Date night at Tutti

2012-01-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

We had a quick meal at Tutti for our date night tonight. We arrived late for lafayette - 8:30 ish and we were one of only a few people in the restaurant itself.

Food was okay for me, Siew Gin liked it, service was so-so...

Good to have a few hours away from the kids, next time we may even bring them to this place..

Bring on the beets !!

Conversations with Tyler

2012-01-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

I've recently swapped kids dropping duties with Alan so i get to take Tyler to school. Because of the school bell, i'm usually a little more motivated to get out of the house on time. Now, why can't they have a bell at my work??

Anyways, now, i get about 10 mins worth of conversation with him everyday like his excuse for me not to tell him off..

Out of the blue...
Tyler : Mommy, you don't have to tell me that i can't do something.
Me : why?
Tyler : because if you tell me not to do it, Cody is going to hear it and HE's going to do it..
Me : really? usually mommy and daddy tell you to not do something it's because it's dangerous. If we don't tell you, what if you get hurt??
Tyler : hmmm...

Siobhan's little guardian

2012-01-31T00:41:00.000-07:00

Damith and Sabrina dropped Siobhan off at ours to go to a concert. All the kids were sick in some ways and Cody was in a particularly pesky mood and Siobhan didn't actually leave him alone. So, after separating both of them several times while i was eating, i gave Tyler the duty of looking after Siobhan.

I said, Tyler, can you look after Siobhan for me? He sighed and said.. O...K... and i put Siobhan in his care. I turned back to my food and saw all three of them actually behaving themselves for once!

Had to take a picture of this cute sight.

Tyler holding up his hand so that little Siobhan has somewhere to place her dainty hands

Our usual barrier separating the monsters..

Kaboom

2012-01-30T14:08:00.004-07:00

Tyler has been watching the Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas caper and often asks to watch it over and over again.. Cody also watches the show and he asks for 'kaboom Daddy'..

When he sees the penguin lighting the dynamite stick he launches into a crazy laughing fit repeating the words kaboom over and over again..

Kaboom Daddy

Kaboom !!

Sunday Dinner - Braised Beef with Polenta

2012-01-29T23:51:00.002-07:00

I was just thinking today that it's quite nice when people talk about Sunday dinners. Like it's something to look forward to and an end/beginning to the week and when the family finally sits down to have a meal. I quite fancy that.

So, i told Alan that i would like to start a new tradition. Sunday dinner. :) But i thought every Sunday might be a little pushing, so i think maybe i'll do every other Sunday, or any Sunday i can manage.

So, today i did a little braised beef and potatoes just to start it with a traditional feel. As i was cooking it, the beef wafted its aroma and said to me.. "polenta!!!" It really was the perfect accompaniment.. so, i did a quick search for the recipe and finally combined a few recipe to what i think would work.

Polenta was a new thing to me, never even heard of it till a few years ago. And since the first time, i've had it, it was something i seek out if i see it on the menu. It's not always nice.. so, i was kinda apprehensive about it.

Anyways, the meal turned out quite well. The short ribs were better with bones in. I tried it with bone-in and boneless. Polenta was crispy outside and creamy inside. And my roasted fingerling potatoes were OK. Tyler protested to all these new food but he ate it eventually. :)

Crispy Polenta... not that hard to make after all.. i think it's going to be on our table more often. Even Alan liked it!!!

Red Wine Braised beef with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Fingerling potatoes.

Chinese New Year Banquet

2012-01-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Chinese New Year, i organized a Chinese New Year Banquet for about 20 friends. We had as usual way too much food. But it's Chinese New Year, got to splurge a little!

Diana and I

Alan and I

My Ipad keeping the kids entertained

Lobster

Anyways, food was good but i think i'll do my own banquet next year!!! hehe... I better get practicing this year!!!

Cake decorating lesson 2

2012-01-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

So, for my 2nd lesson, i managed to arrive nearly on time and was definitely not the last one. I had a cake ready, icing ready and all my tools available. I did forget about my cake filling, but who needs more calories?

Anyways, this class was more exciting than the first as we got to ice our cakes and play with different tips and colors etc. and actual decorating!!!

Here's what i finished at class:

I know the color is sorta uninspiring, but it was what i had.. it did look prettier than i thought it would!

I didn't have time to decorate the middle as we ran out of time. But i did get home and practice a little. It's a little ugly but it's my first attempt, so don't laugh!

Caterpillar and Mr Pig.

Ok the pig was initially supposed to be a bear! But i thought it looked like a fine pig!!

iComputer

2012-01-24T13:22:00.001-07:00

Tyler and Cody are really familiar with the iPhone and iPad, but this week they kept talking about Daddy's iComputer and Tyler regularly plays with his iComputer.

What does an iComputer look like if you are 4 years old..

iComputer - Faster than a netbook?

Getting ready for Decorating lesson 2

2012-01-24T01:06:00.001-07:00

After being mocked by my friend Didi about bringing down the Asian clan, i was determined to be the best student in my next cake decorating class.

For the next class, we're supposed to bring a baked cake and also some prepared icing. So, here they are!

Did some trick taught in the class and made this really flat cake!

And with additional batter, i even have next week's cupcakes ready! hehehe... and i have to say that this is my first ever cupcake after my disastrous first. Never quite got the courage to retry them! But don't be too impressed, it's from a box cake mix! heheehe.. The icing from the class is horribly sweet, so, it's almost inedible, why waste it on good cake??

Next weeks cup cakes

Anyways, wish me luck in my next class and let's hope i make the Asian clan proud this time. Will take picture of the icing we do in class!

Happy Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

I read on my friends Facebook status that she is doing quite a few things for Chinese New Year with her family which includes buying new clothes, making CNY cookies, tea ceremony etc which makes me sorta feel ashamed that I'm not doing anything.

Then it occured to me, i celebrate all holidays with aplomb, why not Chinese New Year? I am organizing a Chinese New Year banquet but i don't have any Chinese New Year traditions in my home. Hmm.. maybe i'll start next year! :)

So, at the last minute, after talking to my parents and coming back from quite a funny party at a Chinese Restaurant with Addy, i did finally pushed on and made my pineapple tarts! Nothing says Chinese New Year like pineapple tarts!!!

And besides i still have 15 days to do something, right?? ;)

Happy New Year!!!

May the year of the Dragon bring you happiness, prosperity and health !!!

100 Days of School Homework

2012-01-22T16:38:00.004-07:00

Tyler hasn't been at his new school for a 100 days, but they will reach a 100 days this week, so Tyler was given homework to take a 100 of something and bring it in for show and tell.

Looking around the house, we settled for a 100 Legos and we first counted out a 100 pieces by putting them into 10's and making 10 piles, then building a house..

Daddy also built something as well, but Tyler's design won out.

Perfect pattern but not very interesting

Winning Lego house design

Dinner with Rose-mary and Armen

2012-01-21T23:42:00.001-07:00

Armen's mom had hurt her arm recently. And i thought it'd be nice to either visit them or have them over for dinner. But with the boys, we thought it'd be easier for them to come. Less stuff to break!! hehehehee..

Anyways, so, they came and we had a nice time catching up and they are the nicest people to feed. Always full of compliments and asking for seconds. :)

And i had the chance to try a few more new dishes. Yay!!! As there were a few new dishes i wanted to try, i decided to make my Greek Stifado. I felt it was a good meal to tie all these dishes together.

Rose-mary and I eyeing for my mushroom pastry..

Roasted Eggplants with thyme, served with a squeeze of lemon

3-mushroom camembert thyme pastry

Grape cake with ginger honey sauce

All the new dishes turned out pretty good and are all going into my own trusted recipe book. The eggplant was a real surprise. But I like eggplant, so i might be a little biased! ;)

Grand opening of Markers Bar

2012-01-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Marker family unveiled their new bar tonight and as we are VIP's we got a red carpet invite.

The bar is very impressive and well worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood. If you go ask for the Millser special..

Tom Cruise pouring drinks

Christmas Greetings and gifts from Julius

2012-01-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

When we were in the Philippines, Siew Gin met a great friend Poppy and her son Julius and Tyler got on really well..

Shortly after we left the Philippines, Poppy, Julius and Holger went back to Germany and this week we received a Christmas parcel from them..

Thanks Julius

It was partially wrapped in a ministop bag which reminded me so much of the Philippines and also the time that Tyler met the ministop man and was afraid of him..

Ministop Man

The day the snowman died

2012-01-19T12:50:00.002-07:00

Tyler, Cody and Daddy built a snowman on the deck during the last big snow fall on December 22nd and today it finally melted after nearly a month..

Not sure when we will get our next snowfall, but we will get Siew Gin to build the next one !!

All that is left of the snowman..

Shuffle to the beat

2012-01-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

After steaks we listened to music from iPad's and iPhones through appleTV and one of our crowd was desperate to play a black eyed peas song, so I finally relented and connected her iPhone to the network. In order to do this I needed the mac address and while checking I noticed that she only had '4' songs on her phone.

Looking further this was even more hilarious on seeing that the 'shuffle option'..

Shuffle those 4 songs !!

Steak au Poivre

2012-01-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

I've been making steaks for the group for quite sometime now(Damith has since got his own grill and does half the steak nights) but we've always been quite conservative with our choice of marinade. I did try out a tamari-cumin sauce on the group and i'm not sure they noticed.

This week for our routine steak nights, i thought i'd just go for a different steak(ok, still the same cut). Steak au Poivre or simply pepper steak looked particularly tempting to me and it involved a different way of cooking which excited me. What? Variety is the spice of life.. tee hee..

So, out of 5 people i got 3 adventurous people to join me on this new adventure! And i have to admit, i had fun doing it. Here are some pics:

Steak not grilled but fried in butter...

Flambed with brandy

Topped up with cream

Meat, alcohol and fire!! What can go wrong and it is definitely my current favorite steak and all that tried it agreed! Yummm....

Cody Winter Concert Review

2012-01-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

The kids from Glee are safe for the moment !! We got the DVD back from Cody's Winter concert today and he did make it to the stage, but spent most of the time facing the wrong direction and looking aimlessly in the sky..

Here are a couple of screen captures from the DVD..

What is going on?

Is that a bird?

The class idiot

2012-01-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

As part of my new years resolution, i would like to get better at cake decorating. So, i decided to take a cake decorating class at the local hobby shop.

So, on Tuesday i headed over there after work planning to register just before the class start but of course i came late and had the teacher glaring at me with evil eyes and snide comments. But i was determined and sat down.

Class was quite informative and after about what felt like an hour, i thought "the class must be wrapping up soon". That's when the teacher say, "OK, if you would like to take out your tips and icing, we can do a little practice."

I was like "huh??.. What??.. what tips? " And sure enough everybody whips out their fancy packets of decorating tips and icing and i sat there stuttering like an idiot and saw that i did come into the class with a blue sheet that had a list of things to bring for the first day of class! Doh!!!

She told me maybe i can watch.. so i said ok.. since the class is going to end anyways. Then the went around tinkering with their tips and bags and icing while i watched and after a while she said, "now, that you are ready, you can practice on your cookies!". I was like "what??? what cookies??!!"

At this point, i said to her, i'll just got get the stuff since the class is in the shop!! She said OK but my classmates, sweet ladies, told me i could just share theirs. I was like.. OK.. that'd be nice..

So, i got to practice some stars.. which i already knew how to make and the class turned out ok in the end.

Of course, at the end of the class, after i missed 2 of Alan's calls, i decided to check the time and found that the class had extended by an hour. And i had to open my mouth.. "Is this class one hour or 2?? And the teacher looked sadly at me and sad.. "It's 2 hrs, dear.."

Now, i know what it feels to be the slacker and idiot in class.. *sigh*

Eats & Sweets

2012-01-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Tyler finished his Kumon reading quickly today, so we took a quick detour to Eats & Sweets to check out their ice cream and cakes.

Cody wasn't interested in the ice cream, Tyler tried the choc pudding icecream and Daddy got the chocolate mousse...

The boys then found the play area and rode the airplane until it was time to go home...

Chocks away

Tyler Skiing at Eldora

2012-01-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tyler had the day off from school for MLK so Alan took Tyler to Eldora for a ski lesson. We signed him up for the yellow class, but when the report card came back it looked more like he was in the red class !!

Skiing lessons are quite expensive, around $120, and when I got the report card back I saw that he could

1. Know which skis are his
2. Walk around on his skies
3. Get up by himself
4. Make a wedge.

We didn't see ticks for

1. Turn using a wedge
2. Stop by turning
3. Stop by using a wedge
4. Ride surface lifts.

Which is all quite strange, as when I saw him he could at least stop using a wedge, ride the surface lift, and was doing some of the wedge turns !!

All in all, I did see some skiing from Tyler..

These Skis are heavy !!

Practicing my turns

Riding the magic carpet

On the big slope

Yes I can ski !!

Tyler managed to last all day skiing and seems to enjoy it, so we will continue to work on his skiing. There was 5 inches of snowfall while we were there so the journey home was pretty tough and Tyler slept through most of it.

Winking challenged

2012-01-15T22:50:00.001-07:00

On our drive home today, Tyler suddenly said, "Look, mommy. I don't have to hold my eye anymore!". I was like.. WHAT??!!

I turned around and saw him straining this entire face to try to wink! Ha!!! But he was right, he didn't need his finger to shut one of his eyes. It was a valiant effort but unfortunately, he may have his daddy's winking challenged genes!!

I had retake this picture a few times to show him he was doing a good job!

This is his Daddy's best effort!

Party Time

2012-01-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tyler got invited to his first US birthday party this week for his school friend Sarah and it was hosted at the little gym in Westminster.

Tyler really got into jumping and climbing on the gym equipment, and even ate some of the cake..

None of the small children managed to smash the piñata, but it did eventually break and Tyler managed to grab some candy.

Who is that monkey?

Balance beams are easy !!

Everybody Conga

Ready for presents

Whack it Tyler

Baking baking and more baking

2012-01-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Alan had wanted to eat meat pie and it took all of my effort to not cave in to not buy the store bought ready made pie crust. So, Saturday morning, I woke up and started making my virgin pie crust! And since i was baking, i thought i'd make something for the kids too. Evelyn's cheese straw came to mind. So, i put that together too! :)

Oooh, i also got to use my new pastry cloth and rolling pin sock which made it super easy!!

So, the verdict:

Pie crust turned out perfect. Crumbly and not soggy.

I only did make the short crust. Not sure i'm ready to take on puff pastry yet!!!

Crumbly and cheesy. Kids didn't like it at all but Alan loved it!!

Then on Sunday, I also made some corn bread to use it to accompany my chili. Texture was great though it was a little bland. Turned out the recipe was made for a special homemade cream of corn. Next time, i'll try that. I'll have to get rid of this at work tomorrow with a bit of butter and honey! :)

Creamed Corn Bread

My first pie crust!

2012-01-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

Though i've been experimenting a lot of with different cakes and frosting, i've always been intimidated by crusts due to initial crust failures. So, this year, one of my resolutions was to take on crusts! So, when Richard Juday from badminton invited me over for a pecan pie making lunch, i was more than happy to jump to the opportunity.

And it turned out to be pretty simple. Nothing complicated and even easy!! :) But of course the crust veteran was standing right next to me, telling me, nope, too thick, too thin.. a little more.. Next stop, my own pie crust! I also discovered this nifty little thing called pastry cloth and sock. Ordered one right away. Just in time for rolling out my pineapple tarts that i'll hopefully be making in time for Chinese New Year!

My first pie crust

As you can see, my face has ballooned to match the roundness of my pie crust, so, time to do some exercise, me thinks!!! Or less food!!

Date Night at Aji Restaurant

2012-01-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

We went out to Aji Restaurant in Boulder for our date night, thanks to Damith and Sabrina looking after the kids...

The restaurant only had a couple of tables occupied and food came out really quickly so it was more of a date hour, but never the less we enjoyed some time away from the kids.

For main course Alan had the Parrillada Cielo Mar y Tierra - Rib eye, chicken breast & Tiger shrimp, potatoes, grilled vegetables, spicy tomato sauce and Siew Gin had the Moqueca do Frutas del Mar -
Brazilian seafood stew, clams, shrimp, mussels, tilapia, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes
fried kale, jasmine rice, spiced coconut broth

The food was good and quite large quantities so we didn't even manage dessert..

Next week we return the favor for the Chandrasomethings...

Ready to eat our food..

DQ Icecream Treat

2012-01-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Tyler enjoying his small DQ ice cream after school

More icecream please !!

UK chocolate is so good, banned from export

2012-01-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

It was confirmed today that English chocolate is super yummy and will remain inside UK borders for the forseeable future.

Official - UK chocolate is great

Old Blog Entries

2012-01-09T12:26:00.001-07:00

Siew Gin used to keep her website on geocities.com. When it died then many of her original links died with it,so we took the opportunity to put some of the old links on our blog for 2005 and 2006.

As a reminder this is what her website frontpage looked like.

Welcome back

Snow Ploughs

2012-01-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

We had a small amount of snowfall this weekend, and late Sunday night Tyler decided that he wanted to see if his toy snow plough actually worked.

Rather than send him outside, we improvised with flour and Cody joined in the fun of 'messy play' with the flour.

How hard can it be to get two boys to smile

Ideas at Ikea

2012-01-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Ikea today as Siew Gin really wanted to eat meatballs..

A dream realized?

We managed to pick up some bookcase units amongst other things and now we get to spend the next few days putting them all together..

When we checked out we found the perfect chair for our friend Steffen, pity that the Swedes cant spell correctly..

What a chair !!

The Wave Carwash

2012-01-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the wave carwash today to get Siew Gin's car cleaned and we took Tyler with us.

He seemed interested in how it all worked and was eager to 'tip' the guys who worked on the car..

lets hope it doesn't rain

Asian Dinner

2012-01-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

Siew Gin invited Uyen and Sienna over for dinner, and last minute added Sabrina, Damith and Siobhan to the list for asian dinner surprise.

Then at the very last minute, Hish also arrived to complete the Chandrasomething tribe

A combination of soup, squid, pork and greens was served and it was so good that someone had three bowls !!

Tyler and Cody enjoyed the soup, and it was a rare treat to see them sitting at the table demanding soup.

Food, glorious food

A visit to the dentist for Tyler and Cody

2012-01-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

Last time the boys visited the dentist was in the Philippines, so as we have been back 6 months, it was time to get the boys signed up to visit a US dentist..

The process didn't seem to scary for them, and they both allowed the staff to look in their mouths, take measurements and clean their teeth.

It looks like they have the correct number of teeth and they are in good health so we don't revisit for another 6 months.

I don't like xrays..

Good job Cody

Nearly finished

Tyler skis

2012-01-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

I wanted Tyler to ski this year and so when we went Winter Park and after prepping him for days, he was ready for his first ski day!

The thing that excited him more than anything else is the helmet strangely enough. He kept asking, are we getting the helmet, mummy?? when are we getting the helmet, mummy?

Tyler finally getting his helmet

All ready for his class

Tyler just meeting his teacher

Testing out ski on one foot

After a few hours, i went to pick up Tyler expecting a cranky moody kid. This is what he looked like when he got off the snowmobile trailer.

Still smiling

Check out my antlers, mummy!! I am trying to be invisible to animals!

I can carry my own skis!!

All in all, i think it was a good experience and he is excited for more classes. Will try to do a few more before the end of this season!

Fireworks and Sledding

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

Very close to where we stayed in Winter Park was Hideaway Park We had gone here earlier in the week to go sledding and on new years eve they offered sledding and fireworks at night.

This was a winning combination for Tyler and Siew Gin, Cody preferred to watch the action from the sidelines.

Here we go

The fireworks were okay, and the kids enjoyed them. Cody wanted to reach up into the sky and touch them..

Wow

Rosy cheeks

2011-12-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

We were out on New Years eve watching the fireworks and when we finally walked back to the apartment, we saw that Cody had a serious case of rosy cheeks! It was so bright red i was actually worried that he had gotten them frost bitten!

My little rosy cheeks

Coke Bear

2011-12-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

What are the odd's of meeting the coke bear on our trip to Winter Park. Turns out pretty good as we managed to catch the following picture on our trip

Look Daddy, your favorite drink

Carriage Ride in Winter Park

2011-12-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Downtown Winter Park has a few shops called copper creek square and we were able to take a ride on their 'free' horse-drawn carriage.

The kids enjoyed it and it wasnt as cold our last ride in steamboat springs !!

All Aboard !!

One out of three posing for the camera

Sledding in Winter Park

2011-12-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

When we were in Winter Park, there was sledding hill within a block of where were staying. So, one of the activities that we did was of course sledding! Tyler was particularly excited about sledding.

Tyler and his sled

I am ready

Tyler and mommy

Tyler on his own sled

Walking back to the top of the hill

So, what was Cody doing while Tyler was sledding down the hill?

He was sitting on the side pouting.. !!!

The Millsers take on snow shoeing

2011-12-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

One of the other activities we did while were in Winter Park was snow shoeing. It was a crazy windy day with a sprinkling of snow and with that combination, it felt like we were walking in a blizzard! But Tyler didn't seem to be bothered by it and was quite happy to be stomping around the snow and goofing about.

We only did a short walk as it was freezing cold and we were worried about poor Cody who was strapped in the carrier getting frozen to bits!

All ready to go

At the start of the trail

Tyler stomped up the hill

It's coooolllldddd.. says Cody!

Tyler wearing daddy's mask to keep his face from freezing

Victory pose with mommy!

On the way down

We were both really impressed with Tyler's attitude and deemed him worthy to be called a Millser and looks potentially ready to go on crazy adventures with his mommy and daddy!

20 Marathons in 2011

2011-12-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Early in December I looked at the total miles I had run this year and realized that I was very close to my 2010 total mileage of 486 miles and if I put in a lot of miles I could complete the equivilant of 20 marathons or put another way 524.4 miles.

So in December I had to complete 79 miles of running and slot it around Christmas celebrations..

I completed the last few miles today, so can take the rest of the year off from running (all 2 days of it).

Over the year, I ran 524 miles, in just over 69 hours, with an average pace of 7:54 minutes per mile, burning 70,716 calories (505 cokes) with an average heart rate of 146 bpm.

Here are the stats for the year...

A lot of miles in 2011

Photoshoot

2011-12-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you get what you pay for. Siew Gin got a great deal on a photoshoot so we took one happy child (bribed) and one sad child (couldn't be bribed) for a family photoshoot.

In terms of a good deal it sure was, but in terms of the photographic style and end results - not so good.

We have to wait until January 7th for the official pictures, but I have a feeling they will be in the 'its okay category'.

The first picture was taken with my iPhone as the photographer was setting up the shot, the second picture was taken in our makeshift home studio.

If only I had an iPhone 4s !!

Home Studio Picture

A trip to the Zoo

2011-12-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

We had a family 1/2 day out to the Zoo today. It wasn't as busy a you would expect, but due to the time of year there weren't a lot of animals to see.

Tyler really wanted to see the monkeys, Cody really wanted to push the stroller (and feed Giraffes) so we managed two out of the three on this trip.

Is that a lion?

Let me push the stroller !!

Christmas lights - Crazy

2011-12-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

Each Christmas we do a tour of houses that have great lights and this year Tyler and Cody were old enough to appreciate the lights for the first time.

We visited 6 different houses, but only two houses Tincup Circle and Clubhouse drive were out of this world. When we turned into Tincup Circle, Tyler's reaction was priceless. 'Crazy lights' which about sums up these two light displays.

Tyler liked Tincup so much that he made us go back a second time

Here are a few sample pictures of the light show..

Tincup Circle

Not just one train, but two in the garden alone !!

Clubhouse drive - It even has a Ferris wheel

More lights please

Boxing Day Lamb

2011-12-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Siew Gin had originally intended to serve lamb as well as turkey on Christmas day, but due to time constraints and space on the table it was held over until boxing day.

The lamb was great and appreciated by the capacity crowd asking for more and I am sure we will be eating it again soon.

Yes, I think its ready

Tastes good to me !!

Tyler and Cody try out as Firemen

2011-12-26T19:15:00.002-07:00

Tyler received a fireman poncho for Christmas and both he and Cody enjoyed putting it on and showing us how cool they looked ..

Crazy Firemen !!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Christmas was so busy this year that it came and went in a flash! We hosted Christmas this year and were lucky to have so many friends with us.

We started the day with unwrapping presents

Tyler and Cody opening their presents.. ok, me too!! :)

Tyler and Cody checking out Cody's new book

Then the crazy cooking begins!!

Check out that bird!! The turkey's cute too!!

Addy came to my rescue when i needed an extra hand

Let the feast begin

Here's everybody seated

Shashank was given the honor to carve the turkey

Alan and i sharing a cracker

Desserts time

Sienna looking all pretty in her Sparkle outfit

And no good party goes without any good games. And i recruited Games mistress, Hish, to help me think of some funny games. And funny games they were! The Egg Laying game had us cracking for so long!

The very funny egg laying game!

All in all, i think it was a wonderful Christmas with our close friends. It was so exciting i forgot to do my annual wishing balls activity!!

Christmas Presents gone wild

2011-12-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

We don't buy many gifts for the kids, as we have crazy relatives and friends who 'keep buying stuff'. But this year the kids really seemed to enjoy the gifts they got and some of them kept the adults entertained as well.

Will the gifts ever end?

Christmas cakes

2011-12-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

As i have been doing more baking this year, i think i got a little ahead of myself when i decided i was going to do 2 cakes for Christmas. One was a Yule Log and the other was Italian Cream Cake. Even though i had done a Yule Log before, this was a real Yule Log with real pastry cream and butter cream. Eeek... no wonder i was up till 5:30 am in the morning making them!!

Anyways, i was lucky that everything came together on Christmas Day.. :)

Yule Log with Chocolate pastry cream and Chocolate buttercream

Italian Cream Cake

Ta-da!!

Milk and Cookies

2011-12-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

It was Christmas eve and the boys were hoping that Santa Claus was going to deliver some presents for the 'nice' boys.

The boys made sure that Santa Claus and the reindeer had something to eat and drink and they checked next day to make sure that the cookies and milk were gone.

Everything is ready for Santa's visit

Touchdown

2011-12-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Denver Broncos have had a mixed season this year, starting terribly, amazing wins, and a chance to make the playoffs.

Broncos played a Saturday game this week, and while Mummy and Tyler went shopping, Cody and Tyler watched the Broncos and we taught Cody how to signal a touchdown..

Touchdown Broncos !!

Dinner with the Contos Family

2011-12-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

After many years of eating at the Contos house, we finally took the opportunity to invite them over for dinner and to exchange some pre-Christmas gifts.

There were two dishes on the menu, Chicken Bouillabaisse and Beef Stifado. After much discussion amongst the crowd it was the Beef Stifado that seemed to win the day in terms of 'having seconds'.

Show me the beef !!

Can we open them now?

Icicles

2011-12-23T13:13:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot of snow in the last few days, and it left a few icicles on the house. Luckily they are not going to drop down on our heads !!

Watch out above

Pink Panther Strikes again

2011-12-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Tyler for some strange reason wanted to wear his Pink Panther outfit tonight. Not sure who he takes his fashion sense from..

Nice socks !!

Sledding is for all ages

2011-12-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

We had a large snowfall Wednesday night, which turned into a Thursday snow day, and after pestering Mummy all day we finally got her out late afternoon to go sledding.

We have a hill near our lake. It isn't as big as some other tubing hills but it is just right for the kids.

Tyler took to the tubing very well, and after riding the sled with Mummy and Daddy he even went down the slope on his own.

Cody stood for a long time deciding if he wanted to sled, but eventually he was persuaded to go for a ride.

This is fun Mummy !!

We finished the day putting both the kids and Daddy on the sled and it held together long enough for us to have a big ride down the hill..

Go Daddy, Go !!

Digging out the Neighbours

2011-12-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of snow overnight, and as one of my favorite things to do is to shovel snow, I woke up early and cleared the driveway, pavement and some of the road, as the road wasn't cleared by Broomfield city yet.

Our neighbour Eiko took her car out and made it from her drive only to get stuck in front of ours, after watching her try for a few minutes to get the car free, I went out and helped dig her out so that Siew Gin could drive Eiko's car out of our front drive, so that I could go out later that day.

Get me out of here !!

Hammond Candy

2011-12-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

A little over a month ago I visited Hammond Candies, and as it was on the way home from the Dentist I thought we would give Tyler the chance to see how candy is made as he has been asking a lot about candy canes..

What a difference a month makes. Last time there was very few people on the tour, and lots of samples, today we had to queue for the tour and only 1 small sample.

Tyler liked seeing how it was made, managed to snag a broken candy cane sample and got a hat for Cody and himself.

Show me the cane !!

Bacon Breakfast

2011-12-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

Tyler came with me to the Dentist and as a reward we went to have a bacon breakfast at Denny's.

He was really impressed with the ice-cream drink cup and did a good job of eating his bacon and hash browns.

Where is my bacon?

Lunch date at Santiagos

2011-12-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

As Tyler was off school we took a trip to meet her for lunch at Santiagos in Longmont. Most of the meal was spent discussing what the 'beaver/mouse' was in the corner as we ate a lot of chips and salsa.

More Chips please

Murder Mystery Night

2011-12-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hish hosted a murder mystery night on Saturday night and everyone got into character as we tried to work out who the killer was.

Tyler and Cody got into the act by dressing up as well

Is there a part for a Giraffe

Pink Panther is a great detective

The award for best costume went to Jim and the killer was one of the people below.....

Chek Nicolson and Betty Berger

Foghorn Fowler and Electron Watts

The kids and Fiona Collins

Sandy Sommers

Chef

Lacey kringel

Christmas cookies 2011

2011-12-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

Every year right about Christmas time, i make a mad scramble to make some cookies as gifts to colleagues and friends and to serve at Christmas. This year is no different. I was persuaded to have a cookie party and so i did. But in the end, i had a party but no cookies!!! OK, i did manage to make some shortbread.

So, in the next few days, i did manage to rustle some other cookies up in time before Christmas. This year i made some new and old cookies.

And i also managed to get Tyler to help me with making cookies. He was in charge of decoration but i suspect he was just trying to eat the sprinkles!!

Chef Tyler and his sprinkles

If he was decorating, why is it all over his face??

And here are some of the cookies i made - ginger cookies, shortbread, raspberry and apricot thumbprints and russian teacakes

Tyler makes the advanced Honor Roll

2011-12-16T19:10:00.003-07:00

Tyler made it to the advanced honor roll at Kumon. I think that means we can get a bumper sticker or something..

Tyler is officially advanced

The Advanced Student Honor Roll recognizes Kumon Students working ahead of their school grade level. Ambitious students remain in the program in order to stay above their grade level. These students study more challenging material than they are receiving at school in pursuit of their academic aspirations.

Tyler Xmas Party

2011-12-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

Tyler's school had an end of term party and as the 'new kid' his parents didn't have to contribute anything apart from turning up to help celebrate..

We got to meet Tyler's school friends and parents and see some of the work Tyler had done..

Tyler eating cake

Cody and Tyler write to Santa

2011-12-14T18:50:00.001-07:00

We were out shopping tonight and happened to pass a place where you could write a letter and post it to Santa. Tyler's wishlist changes on a daily basis, luckily Cody hasn't started demanding toys yet.

Here they are writing and posting their letters.

All I want for Christmas is ....

Look Daddy, we posted them

Tyler swims like a fish

2011-12-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well maybe not like a fish yet, but he is getting better and more confident in the water. He now has weekly swim class at school in a super warm pool and seems to enjoy it.

Here he is swimming underwater.

Tyler underwater

Tyler makes his own gingerbread house

2011-12-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Tyler has been at his new school for a couple of weeks, and he has a variety of different classes. As Christmas approaches Tyler had a project to make his own gingerbread house and parents were invited to help out.

Tyler really seemed to enjoy eating the frosting as opposed to making his house, but in the end it did turn out quite nicely.

More frosting please

Tyler and Cody go Shopping

2011-12-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Cody went shopping on Saturday. They quickly spotted some cases and decided that rather than look for presents they would rather pretend to be trapped inside.

Tyler took the opportunity to count all the numbers he could see, luckily nearly everything was '99'

Let us out Daddy,
we have been good

Toy story 3 - now on ice !!

2011-12-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

The family went to see Toy Story 3 at the Pepsi Center. Last time we took Cody to the circus he didn't see much of the show preferring to be outside, so as we had to pay for a ticket we hoped that he would be interested in the show.

When does it start?

Can I have some chips!!

Surprisingly Cody seemed interested in Toy story, and was excited when Mickey Mouse and crew came out to start the show.

All their favorites from Toy story were on the ice, apart from Stinky Pete and the show was actually quite good although there was too much Ken and Barbie for my liking.

Main Characters

Why is Buzz so small?

Tyler and Cody both sat through all of the show, even ate their food and went down to the ice at the conclusion of the show.

Can I jump on the ice?

I want to go home now !!

Cold Snaps and Snow Flakes

2011-12-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Tyler had his winter concert on Thursday. He has just moved to the school, so didn't have a lot of time to practice so I was pleasantly surprised that he could 'sit on a stage' for 10 minutes prior to his performance and then actually sing and dance along with the two songs he did.

The performance as a whole was pretty well coordinated and although not as 'crazy' as his Philippines concert still good.

Tyler is on the left jumping

Singing along to flakes

Ready to do the can can

I am Angry Bird!!

2011-12-07T01:48:00.001-07:00

Despite many people laughing at my idea of me buying an Ipad for me and the kids, i still went ahead with the purchase. And it's been a great gadget and Tyler enjoys using it and now knows who Angry Bird is!

Today i asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween next year and he said "I want to be Angry Bird!"

Tyler and his Angry Bird face

However, to be fair, when Alan drew some buttons on a piece of foam and call it the Ipad, the kids were equally happy walking around with it. Even Cody goes around and says, "My Ipad.. my ipad..!!" Hilarious!!!

Upside down pear cake

2011-12-07T01:29:00.001-07:00

I've been getting inspiration to bake from my friend from work who's a great baker. Here's one she recommended i try. Will have to see if she approves. I think it's supposed to to look a little more uniform.

My first upside down any cake!

Garden Wildlife

2011-12-05T09:43:00.001-07:00

For the last few months or so we have often had multiple rabbits in the garden, but since Winter has arrived and the snow has started to fall we haven't seen any rabbits recently. Today there was one solitary rabbit in the garden, and a lot of birds in the trees including starlings and robins.

Where has the grass gone?

Starling and Robin eating fruit

Tyler Homework

2011-12-05T09:41:00.001-07:00

Tyler now has homework assignments, this month the theme at school is honesty so Tyler wrote some words and drew a picture all about it..

Done my homework,
can I go and play?

Early signs of kia-su parents?

2011-12-05T01:10:00.001-07:00

In Malaysia and Singapore, there is a famous word "kia-su" that means "scared of losing". So, these people with such characteristics are always working extra hard and doing whatever it takes to make sure they never lose! And when it comes to kids' education, the kids are sent to the best school and usually with very big bags!

I just thought about it and laughed when we bought Tyler his new bag for his new school!

Tyler is thrilled with his big bag

hehehe...

Anyways, since i'm on the topic of kia-su schools, this school also has a strict dress codes which is a shopping disaster for me. It kills me that i can only buy Tyler plain boring blue, white and green clothes. Yuck.. So, the first of his school, i put on his new clothes on and he looked down at his plain white shirt and had this most confused look on his face and said, "Mommy, there's nothing on it!!!" hehehee... i thought was so funny!!!

Gingerbread House Party at the Markers

2011-12-05T00:40:00.001-07:00

Another good reminder that Christmas is just around the corner is the Markers' annual Gingerbread Party. By some weird chance, Damith and I ended up with the same design ideas(call it what you want, i didn't copy your idea, Damith!!). So, we decided to just do one design between us. A Chandra-millsers team. Between Damith's ingenuity and my crazy enthusiasm, we were the dream team. Some may call it a nightmare. But we sure egged each other on and stayed up wayyyy late preparing for this house!

The day has arrived. Look at his crazy face!!!

Damith was in charge of building stuff

The rest of us that night

So, once Damith was done building, Sabrina, Hish and I started decorated and putting on the pretty bits. And hours and hours later, here's the fruit of our crazy ideas!

The house has "glass windows" made of carameled sugar and planters in the window!

Lights from within the house with home made garlands. And Damith did make the prettiest chimney and awesome fence.

Anyways, we were mightly pleased with the outcome, here are the rest of the competition which were pretty awesome too!

Stef-Anne's true model of their house..

The Marker's incomplete house(if they had a support team it would be done)

Chad and July's house(they won)

Julie and Ben's house

The neighbourhood

The support team - so that I can work in peace

I just thought this looked like an awesome picture.. just like a dream team! :)

Anyways, i think most people really up'ed their game this year and all the designs were pretty spectacular and definitely is a fruit of hard labour and dedication.

p.s. i think the Heide's presense and competition were definitely missed this year!!!

Is it really nearly Christmas?

2011-12-05T00:26:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas and Alan was in full gung-ho and brought up the Christmas trees and all the decorations. We managed to get the tree decorated while the kids were sleeping so when Cody woke up, he was quite fascinated with the tree and kept pointing to all the decorations! Cute!!

Cody enjoying the tree!

I guess let the Christmas craziness begin!!!

New bear in the family

2011-12-04T23:59:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of Tyler with his newest bear. He saw that we put up the tree and he wanted to take a picture of Fluffy Mills, which he named(with grandma's help) because Fluffy had a Christmas hat on.

Tyler and Fluffy with matching hats

Where did Fluffy Mills come from? So apparently Tyler shares the same love for soft toys with his Grandma. So, when Grandma was in town, i suggested that they go build a bear together. I suspect they both enjoyed it! Cody was not interested in the bear but had a good time just watching.

Since i didn't blog about it then, here's a sneaky blog of it!

Here's Tyler filling up his bear

Here's Tyler kissing the heart to be put inside the bear

Giving the bear his first bath

Tyler and Grandma and Fluffy!

I have to say i was quite impressed with the whole make believe. And Tyler was even fully cooperating and did everything he was told to do like jump up and down, kiss the heart etc. And now Tyler and Grandma share a special bear! :)

First day at Broomfield Academy for Tyler

2011-11-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone got up bright and early this morning as it was Tyler's first day at his new school. Broomfield Academy.

The school is more like a real school in that they meet on playground, have structured lessons and have a uniform/dress code.

We think that Tyler will enjoy it, he did look like a 'real boy' on his first day.

Check out my uniform Mummy !!

Terry and Shane visit Colorado

2011-11-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends Terry came to visit us over the long weekend of Thanksgiving. He even brought his son Shane with him which was a treat as i have not seen him since he was born.

It was a nice relaxing 3 days. We spent it mainly doing things with the kids. Shane and Tyler got along pretty well and Shane was showing Tyler the ropes on how to conquer the Ipad. He's an Ipad whiz.

The kids break the ice playing with Thomas

Shane showing Tyler how to play the Ipad like a pro

They spent many hours huddled over the Ipad

We played with play-doh

Went to expend some energy at Jumping Jordy's

They pretend to fight

Tyler showed Shane the way round the tunnels at the play area

More computer games

The one time we get to go out for a meal at a restaurant

One quiet morning when Tyler and Cody were in school

Shane and Tyler played really well the entire time they were together as Shane was a very pleasant and mellow kid. And Tyler must have liked him a lot because when he found out that Shane had left while he was still in school, he burst into tears. This is what i call affection. Never seen it before! :) And the next morning, he even told me he dreamt of him. Wow!! Unbelievable...

In fact, i shall record the conversation we had just for remembrance:

While we were driving home..
Me : Tyler, Shane has gone home to Chicago, OK?
Tyler : (looking a little sad).. Why?
Me : because his plane has arrived to take him home.

When we got home,
Tyler : Mommy, Shane is just sleeping upstairs, right? He's taking a nap.. right? Mommy??
Me : No, Tyler.. Shane has gone home..
Tyler : No...
Me : Yes, Tyler.. look at his shoes, they are not there anymore..
Tyler : wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........

Anyways, it was definitely a treat for me to have them for a few days. We promise to visit the next time around!!

Tyler completes a stickman

2011-11-25T11:42:00.001-07:00

Tyler is advanced in many things, but he has never really got the concept, or drawn a stickman. We have been working for the last few weeks with him on his stickman and he finally seems to get it.

Here is his best effort to date.

Stickman with Stickman?

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was hosted by the Chandrasekaras. We each brought a dish to contribute to the feast and everybody gave their best this year and everything was super yummy!

As part of a short entertainment, Addy and I had a "who wears it better" event where we both wore our "shar pei" boots. I think those are the coolest looking boots ever!

Louisville Turkey Trot 5k

2011-11-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

My second turkey trot of the year, this one is actually on Thanksgiving day. I wasn't planning on racing today, but this event was free with a donation, so I signed up and luckily the weather was really pleasant for November.

I finished in 20 minutes 28 seconds finishing 52 out of 594 finishers and was back home by 10:30, so now I can eat turkey and roasties without worrying about it.