Saturday, January 31, 2009

In My Next Life

I love this cute thing, my cousin Tracey sent me by email.




Check out Cheryl & Co for these delectable fresh baked gifts. Are you thinking of your Valentine? You can use the link below to save $10!

Cheryl & Co.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Vietnamese Zodiac


Since we are talking about the Vietnamese Lunar calendar the the Vietnamese Zodiac, I figured this is a good time to document that Chianna is born the Year of the Monkey!

Here is what they say about those born in 2004:

People born in the Year of the Monkey are the erratic geniuses of the cycle. Clever, skillful, and flexible, they are remarkably inventive and original and can solve the most difficult problems with ease. There are few fields in which Monkey people wouldn't be successful but they have a disconcerting habit of being too agreeable. They want to do things now, and if they cannot get started immediately, they become discouraged and sometimes leave their projects. Although good at making decisions, they tend to look down on others. Having common sense, Monkey people have a deep desire for knowledge and have excellent memories. Monkey people are strong willed but their anger cools quickly. They are most compatible with the Dragon and Rat.

Myke is a Rooster:

People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people¡¦s emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave. They are most compatible with Ox, Snake, and Dragon.

And I am a Rat (hopefully not a dirty one!)

People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Happy Tet! It's Vietnamese New Year!


Tết is the Vietnamese New Year, marked by the Lunar calendar. It is a very special holiday in Vietnam, the traditions are to make certain foods, clean house and give gifts of money. For more details, see the Wikipedia entry all about Tết.



We celebrated Tết and Chinese New Year Monday night with our friends in the FCC. We had a Chinese dinner at Miss Yip's restaurant on South Beach and we were entertained with a really great dragon dance and firecrackers!

We welcome in the Year of the Buffalo!


Here are pics from our Chinese New Year Dinner at Miss Yip's




















Here are videos of the Dragon Dance at Miss Yips:



Sunday, January 18, 2009

Pryscilla's Baby Shower!



I am going to be an Auntie X2! I am so excited to be an Auntie and super excited for my brother and Pryscilla, they are going to have a boy! Dee Dee is about to be a big sister! I helped Pryscilla's sister throw a baby shower for Pryscilla and here are some of the pics!


This awesome balloon stork is from our friend Rich, who is a balloon master! Notice the basket and the baby inside!




The happy big sister - to - be!


Papa is about to have 3 grand babies!


Me & my Sis! : )


Pryscilla, her mom and Dee Dee


Me with my bro and my best friend, Christy


Pryscilla's sister Vanessa cuts the cake.





Look at all the awesome gifts and cute little boy outfits!

'Twas the Month After Christmas

I know I have not been blogging like I should, just catching up from my trip, so enjoy this poem and I promise to post something soon!

TWAS THE MONTH AFTER CHRISTMAS


Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me,

not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled,
the chocolate I'd taste
At the holiday parties
had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales
there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber),

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt...
I said to myself, as I only can,
"You can't spend a winter, disguised as a man!"


So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie, not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie.
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore...
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet.


Saturday, January 10, 2009

Need Your Input, Please!

Hi All!

I am at a costume convention buying show. That's right, we have to make our decisions for Halloween now - this early! Well the reason why I am calling on my mom friends, especially those in the Asian adoption community is because they have come out with Ni Hao Kai Lan costumes!

However, I am not sure about the material, so I would like your opinions on the costumes and most importantly, then kids' opinions and if they would wear them!

Newborn and Infant size jumpsuit, I don't think we would get unless you all think differently:


And then there is a deluxe and regular costume for toddler, small and medium:


Deluxe would probably sell for about $35


The regular would probably sell for about $25

The deluxe has a slightly nicer headpiece for the wig. Here is a close up of the material, it is a poly flannel material, kind of like pajamas.


And I am not sure if the headpiece is the the wig (not hair, just a foam material) or it it is the whole Kai Lan face as well as pictured above. It is probably still in production.

And there is also a wig that looks cute and would be sold separately:


The point of me checking on all this is that it is still early enough for me to ask or suggest to change some designs or add new ones. Like maybe the red Chinese outfit she wears sometimes? Just let me know what you think!

I know that Ni Hao Kai Lan is spelled wrong on the slides I too these pics of, it was already corrected.

Pear Tree Greetings

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happy Birthday Dee Dee!


Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday, Dear Dee Dee!

Happy Birthday To You!


And Many More!

I can't believe my niece is 6! Where does the time go?


1st trip to Disney World about 18 months old


At our wedding April 2006.


Flower Girl 2007


Dee Dee's 5th Birthday 2008


Dee Dee Turns 6 in 2009!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

A Poem for Chianna!

As a new day and a new week starts tonight in Vietnam, I am hoping and praying that some people in Hanoi are working on our case and doing whatever paperwork needs to be done to get us there to be with our baby girl!

I hope she knows how her Mommy and Daddy are thinking about her and loving her so much every minute of everyday! And we are not the only ones! So many of our family and friends are waiting for Chianna to come home too so that they can love her and show her our world!

Our amazing friend Brenda wrote a poem for Chianna! We are so thankful for her loving poem, it goes beyond words, but these words sure are awesome!

CHIANNA'S SMILE

Open arms of love waiting.
A daughters heart anticipating.
Strength divine that held to hope,
and conquered every uphill slope.

A mother’s love that never wavered.
A father’s fervent prayer is favored.
Chianna's smile growing ever nearer.
Mom and dad's hearts already hear her.

Packing and planning always seeing her face.
A mad rush of travel....she's in your embrace!!!

We will all treasure this poem forever and ever! Thank you so much, Brenda, your words are sweet and you are even sweeter!


Today's "catch up" post is Ara & Janet's Wedding

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Dee Dee's Birthday Party!

Dyansty turns 6! I can't believe she is getting so big already! Dee Dee's b-day party was at Sparez Bowling Lanes in Davie. The kids had a blast and Dee Dee had a lot of fun despite having the flu all week. Here are some pics from today:


The Brithday Princess!


Daddy helping her bowl (with some assistance from the rail and gutter guards! LOL


Dee Dee with her cousin Elijah. They are best buds!


Bowling Fun!


Pizza, soda, chicken finger, and cake! What a well rounded Birthday meal!



Dee Dee & Elijah "gettin' down" dance video!



Please note the score! I was winning - beating, Myke, my brother, and my dad all the way up until the last frame when I blew it! But, not bad for someone who has not bowled in years! Unless you count online bowling, maybe all of the Pogo Bowl games have sharpened my real life bowling skills!??!! *Har - dee Har Har*


Nice pic of me and Myke and my dad! Notice my dad's FLY bowling shirt!


Her "Bolt" B-Day cake!


My camera battery was running low so I didn't get to many shots, but I will post more when I get them from my brother - he took a lot more photos and I took a lot of photos with his camera.


And now that all the fun stuff is over, on to my rant about Sparez Bowling Alley! Now the kids had fun, which is the MOST important part, BUT no thanks to the unorganized fashion and extremely unprofessional way that Sparez runs a birthday party! There were several there today, and I am sure they run many birthday parties, but today I would have thought they had no experience with this and had no idea what they were doing!

The party started at 4pm with bowling. The bowling was scheduled to stop at a certain time and then the food was supposed to arrive. Well, they turned off the lanes (with little notice whether you were done with your game or not) , and then the food did not show up for over 20 minutes! Luckily Jack's friend Rich, the Balloon Man, was there to entertain the kids with his fabulous balloon art and give all the kids balloons. The food finally came, Jack complained to our attendant that 'this was kind of messed up', the food was so late, we still wanted to bowl, and it was now nearing 6pm (end of the party). Plus, the "DJ" had not come over to do his announcements and dance songs for the kids like we had heard done for the other birthday party. I guess the DJ was told that Jack complained, at which point he said OVER THE MICROPHONE something to the effect of, "Oh, I didn't think I needed to go down there since the balloon guy took over the party." WHAT??!!?? At that point the adults tempers started to escalate because that was just rude and unnecessary, and did I mention unprofessional?! About 10 minutes later, he mosied on down to the end of the bowling alley we were at to do the birthday "schtick" at which point he acknowledges Dynasty, then asks all the kids in her party to come forward. [Now, I have to interject something here: Jack & Pryscilla had 10 kids invited and RSVP'd to the party and for whatever reasons, only 4 kids had shown up. Dynasty was a little upset, had mentioned it, but didn't seem too upset. That is until, you guessed it. . . ] The DJ then says in the most dissapointed voice, "there's only four of you?". Pauses, says "wait a minute" and then turns to the party next to us and tries to start involving those kids in the birthday songs and dances. OMG!!! At this point, I feel like I am helplessly watching a train wreck in progress. Helpess because this is Jack and Pryscilla's place to start freaking out, which is probably not a good idea anyhow because the kids are still pretty oblivous to all the crap going on. And helpless because Myke had a headache and was asking me to leave for over 10 minutes already. The lights and loud music and escalating situation were just making things worse on him, so I tossed my bowling shoes to the side and took off! As of now, I have not spoke to my brother since the party, but I did speak to my dad who said that the DJ eventually came over and Dynasty got her birthday dances and attention that she deserved AND they did get some money back after complaining. But why should they have to go through this crap? A birthday is supposed to be a happy occasion and one of the reasons for having it someplace like Sparez is to have everything taken care of for you and for it to be stress free.

SO, their punishment from me, is me letting my blog readers know not to go there, not for a birthday party, not for anything! My brother said they used to go there often and now they have lost their business. All I can say is that they are lucky that Dee Dee did not recognize they were screwing up her party OR ELSE, there would be much more hell to pay!

SPAREZ BOWLING ALLEY IN DAVIE SUCKS!

Remember, my shirt and my bag both say: