Bento Bento

Now that Emilia is in school, I've had several discussions with co-workers about the little details that I never thought about. Apparently every single item that Emilia brings to school needs to be labeled if we want to ensure that we get it back. Yes, EVERYTHING. Socks, shoes, eating utensils, undies, hair clips, etc. The other thing that I've learned is that if I pack too much food with too many choices, she will not eat. Also, kids don't want to be different and she has been asking for the types of food that the other kids are eating - sandwiches. Yikes! What's a health-nut mom suppose to do?! And hence my new obsession... bento-ing. In fact, it's so darn cute I may just have to bento for myself too. Yup.. this parenting thing introduces me to a whole new world of activities to try in my not-so-free-time.

OKay, so my creations are not as good as the book.. but not bad for starting out...

This is a caterpillar (in case you couldn't tell.. =P )

On a side note, I came across this recent article in the Washington Post that analyzes school lunches in the US in comparison to that of Japan.

*** Heart ***

Emilia, the Tickle Monster

One of Emilia and Liam's favorite books is The Tickle Monster. If you don't know it, it's a fun, interactive book where the "Tickle Monster" tickles you at every turn of the page! Here Emilia is reading her own version of the Tickle Monster to Liam. Liam loves being read to.

Creative Entertainment

We visited family and friends over the holidays and brought limited toys for the kids to play with. Luckily toys are not needed for their entertainment. (We've come to realize that everything that is a non-toy is more fun for them.) While visiting Roger, the kids were thoroughly entertained by his AC/Heating system.

Pirate Play

Lately we have been limiting the toys that the kiddies have to play with at one time.. mainly to reduce our headaches of trying to get the kiddies to clean up. In fact, the toys they have are a bare minimum now and they find a way to still have tons of fun. Here's Emilia playing with a swimsuit atop her head, acting as a pirate, with her little, stuff-animal friends.

Apparently, Emilia and Liam have lately also found socks to be rather entertaining. Both of them like to go sockless on one foot while the other sock ends up being a game of hide-and-seek for Ryan and I.

Handstand Push-Ups... Not Quite

(Note: This is an old post that I never got a chance to finish. So here it is.)

What we do (rare occasionally) in our not-so-spare-time... You know, we do what we can to help influence our kiddies to have fun and maintain an active life. Doesn't every family have family time with wall climbs and handstand push-ups?

Emilia


Connie


Ryan


Well... at least we have one in the family that can represent if we ever needed to do handstand push-ups.

Booger Monster

Apparently the Booger Monster got to Liam...

Ah.. just a normal day in the life with kiddies...

Higher Education

Emilia's first day of school, and my new routine... this was the view this morning at 5:45am, in-between waiting for my STRONG cup of coffee to brew and a quick 15 minute wake-up stretch, then getting my work stuff, workout clothes, packed and ready to go.

My early morning continued with getting her breakfast warmed and ready, ensuring all her school gear was ready (blankie for naptime, extra clothes for emergencies, sweater for outdoor play, and paperwork to turn in), and packing her backpack with a Thermos-insulated lunch of rice, veggies, and meat, with a small snack of Cheerios, and eating utensils. All ready to go prior to waking her up.

Then I wake her up, help get her dressed, and comb out the tangles in her hair and style it with the hair clips that she likes. A quick breakfast and she's ready to go! First day of school is a milestone. We were both excited for the start of the day.

She excitedly wore her new backpack (Thank you Johnsons! She LOVES the backpack!)

Along with our new schedule, we've worked out carpool arrangements with neighborhood friends that benefit both our families in juggling schedules. This was great because Emilia already has a friend in school to help her transition into her first day. In fact, the two kiddies were having a blast sitting side by side and holding their own conversation all the way to school.

There was no tears, no trepidation or anxiety. Emilia dove right into the school playground with her buddy and started having fun right away... of course, driving the blue car. She loves the blue car.

I was planning on staying a little bit just to make sure she was doing okay, but there was no need. In fact, I had to wrangle a hug and a kiss from her before I headed out for work! Indeed, the first day experience solidified that it is the right time for her to start school. My little girl is growing up!

2013 Is Under Way

With the new year comes new changes that we knew would be coming. The kiddies are growing fast as evident by the cycling of old/new clothes to find the right ones that fit them and I swear, they get heavier by the day! Both kiddies are explorative and playful, with a side of mischievous and have reached a point where new learning and experiences are needed for both of them. Liam is at a point where more one-on-one attention to focus on his needs and develop an independence (from his sis) will be good for him. Emilia is at a point where structured development will be good for her. She has been asking to go to school for the past several months. So, a big change this new year is that Emilia starts pre-school. Emilia will have a whole new world of experience ahead of her and Liam will now get more one-on-one time with the nanny, while Ryan and I with have a more complex parent schedule shuffle.

Now with pre-school added to the routine, early morning wake-up is mandatory and not a choice anymore. Finding time for exercise is more constraint and I find myself doing whatever I can in the in-between time. A quick set of push-ups or sit-ups in-between getting things done, like while waiting for the wok pan to heat up to cook dinner. Or going for a run during lunch time or quick set of squats in the women's locker room for a quick work break. Yup. I have to get the exercise in where ever and when ever now.

Work for both Ryan and I is extremely busy. Ryan has a deadline imposed by the economy to get the deck done. And my work is ramping up exponentially. The FPGA design work I have been doing the past year is in functional debug and verification. Lots of stress on whether it will be 100% successful in all aspects and ready for the upcoming testchip that is due to arrive very soon in the lab. This blog may be non-existent when that time comes. I anticipate I will be in the work lab 24/7 at that time and Ryan will be a single parent for a short while. Another reason why he needs to get the deck done soon.

So... hopefully we can get some more time stability vs these bursts of time-crunch busy at some point later in 2013. We realize our time spent with family and friends have dwindled down to practically non-existent in 2012, so hopefully we'll have more quality time in 2013!

Food Allergies Alert!

A recent post on getallergywise.blogspot.com reminded me again of how important it is to stay on top of Liam's food allergies. Yes. Is it confirmed. Liam does have some significant allergies that we need to be cautious of.

A while back, I wrote a post about food allergies as I pondered Liam's averse response to eating rice. His rice reaction remained consistent over numerous occasions of trying to feed my Asian boy some rice with no success. Over the course of the past 8 months, I cautiously introduced the standard mild, low allergic foods - peas, carrots, yams, green beans, bananas, apples, chicken, etc. Even then, Liam displayed signs of random sensitivity related to foods with a delayed 24-hour period reaction.

For his first birthday, he had a pumpkin muffin, and right after his face turned red. I didn't think much of it, but the next day, he had his first taste of cake. This time, his face swelled red immediately and a rash of red dots formed. Both instances screamed "egg". So, sure enough, when we saw the pediatrician, a suspicion of egg allergy was enough to warrant a visit to the allergist.

Ah.. the allergist... secretly, I was hoping we would get the referral. It has been difficult figuring out what to feed Liam because he would keep having reactions to foods. He has been living off of yams, bananas, and milk for most his 1+ year life as those were the only foods I could confidently deem safe.

So... the results... my little, sweet boy is pretty much allergic to EVERYTHING. Okay.. I'm exaggerating, but he is allergic to a lot of things and has sensitivities to a lot of things.

1) Peanuts
2) Eggs
3) Fish
4) Shrimp
5) Peas
6) Carrots
7) Green Beans
8) Kale
9) Avocado
10) Rice

He is allergic to items 1-4, and he is sensitive to items 5-10. 8-10 have not gone through allergy testing, but Liam's reactions/symptoms indicate a sensitivity. Anyhow, my boy cannot be vegetarian. He is a-okay, no reactions to meat, but seriously.. carrots, peas, and green beans! Carrots are in EVERYTHING. I realize now why his reactions in the past were seemingly random. I would cook things in vegetable broth.

2012 has been challenging to provide healthy and nutritious meals for the whole family. I spend way too much time trying to plan and figure out what to buy, what to cook, and then cook different dishes to accommodate everyone's eating habits. Between all of us whether it be allergies, or diet, or simply likes/dislikes of food, there is always one dish that someone can eat, as well as one dish that someone cannot eat. Hopefully now with an idea of Liam's allergies, 2013 will be easier in planning meals for the family!