Monday, June 27, 2011

jeans, pants and weighing in

Here are 2 unrelated conversations I had with Josh on 2 separate occasions:

(After we've taken him to bed, Josh comes back downstairs to find me on the phone.)
J: Mommy, who are you talking to?
Y: My friend, Jean.
(Josh looks puzzled.)
Y: You would call her "Miss Jean".
(Still a puzzled, contemplative look.)
Y: Josh, you don't know Miss Jean. She's my friend from work.
J: Mommy, since I don't know her, I'm going to call her Miss Pants!

(In the bathroom, Josh is getting ready to brush his teeth; I step on the scale.)
J: Mommy, can I see how big you are?
(As he pushes me a bit so he can see the numbers on the scale.)
Y: How big am I?
J: You are 60 lbs!
Y: Wow! 60 lbs?!
(Josh pauses for a bit.)
J: Mommy, I know you are 1-x-x (the EXACT numbers on the scale!) but I'm going to say that you are 60 lbs!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

something to talk about...finally

It's been awhile.  I haven't felt like saying much lately.  This year started out quite sad when my grandmother died.  It left me feeling melancholy for longer than I expected.  I guess that contemplating mortality is not something I do often.

I started seeing glimpses of my former self as Aves birthday approached.  It was definitely the highlight of those first few months for me!

But then, sadly, my colleague and friend, Derek Miller, lost his battle with cancer and passed away on May 3rd.  Devastating.  Derek was only 41 years old.

So, I've sort of retreated this spring and tried to spend alot of quality time with my family.  I think I've really needed this time to reflect and appreciate what I have around me.  Especially on the eve of my 40th birthday.

Little did I know late in 2010, when I got together with my friends from UW and we decided to celebrate our 40th birthdays together in Vegas in June - that it would be so perfectly timed!
Honestly, I thought I would use this "vacation" to get some RnR.  I was pleasantly mistaken!  We spent a few days lighting it up in Vegas and, man, did it ever feel like old times.  I didn't think I had it in me to go out drinking and dancing anymore and I guess I was wrong!
It was a blast.  From our luxurious accommodations at the Venetian (thanks for organizing, Rav!) to shopping sprees with Em (pina coladas and Christian Louboutin...sigh...) to a perfect meal with French food, good friends and great memories (thanks for organizing, Jen!), I really can't think of a bad moment all weekend!

I'm not going to get into details about the weekend because, quite frankly, it's true that what goes on in Vegas needs to stay in Vegas!  All I know is that I have come home feeling re-energized.  It's weird to think 15 hours of sleep over 4 nights wouldn't make me feel like a zombie (reminiscent of having a newborn!).  But there is something that needs to be said about re-connecting with friends of 20 years and finding that you can pick up right where you left off 20 years ago!
So, thanks Em, Jen, Steve and Rav.  I love you guys.  I will remember our trip for a long time to come (at least longer than I remembered where I spent the night after IRS!).  And I can't wait for Fifty in Fiji!

Oh, and I need to mention that when I arrived home, Bri gave me an early birthday present.  My husband is the best - first, a Vegas trip all to myself and then an iPad 2!  Seriously?!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

ipod

I'm not prepared for this post, so I will follow it up after we do Aves "real" birthday celebration this weekend!

Today Avery turned 2.  I can't even believe it!  The time just keeps passing by faster and faster.  I will reflect on Aves' past year in my follow-up.  I just have 3 thoughts to put in this post along with the photos from her mini-birthday celebration at dinner tonight:

1. It truly is a sign of the times when one of your child's first 100 words is "iPod".

2. Thanks to Grammy and Kong for the Disney Princess ride-on toy.  Aves (and Josh!) loved it!

3. Even with all this digital gadgetry, I still fail to capture a good photo of my 2 kids!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Aves!  You are such a blessing to us and we have had a blast watching you grow this past year.  We love you!



Sunday, February 6, 2011

oei hiang nio liem (1919 - 2011)

My grandmother died yesterday.  She was 91 years old.  She brought so much familial love to our lives everyday.  We love you and we will miss you, Emak.  Rest in Peace.


Clockwise from top left: Aunt Irene, Dad, Mom, Uncle George, Aunt Eve, DD, Kong, Jon, Me and Emak.

From left: Kong, Jon, Larry, DD, Lenny, Me, Mom and Emak.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

new addition

My brother sent this birth announcement and I thought it was so fabulous that I wanted to post it as is.  Congrats to Larry, San and family! 

Video games... makes a dad proud.

 
Beauty sleep... makes a mom proud.

One big happy family... makes any parent proud.

Introducing the first Liem boy, JC Liem.
Born: xxxx
Weight: xxxx
Height: xxxx

target

To say I like to shop is an understatement.  To say I like this news, well...that goes without saying...

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

21 questions, take 1

My girlfriend, Mon, posted this on her blog and I loved it!  So, I asked Josh the same questions and here are Josh's answers this time around:
1. What is something mommy always says to you?
Yes

2. What makes you happy?
Hugs

3. What makes you sad?
Daddy

4. What makes you laugh?
Mommy

5. How old are you?
Four

6. How old is Mommy?
Five

7. How old is Daddy?
Fifty

8. What is your favourite thing to do?
Play with my skateboards and this [flicking a box with his finger]

9. Who is your best friend?
Elijah

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Daddy

11. What are you really good at?
Brooming the floor

12. What are you not very good at?
Cleaning up

13. What did you do today?
Played on the monkey bars across to the school and...(it was a very LONG story and I couldn't keep up!)

14. What is your favourite food?
Sushi

15. What is your favourite song?
The monkey song [and he went on to sing a song he totally made about about a monkey that climbed up a tree and swung on a vine!]

16. What do you want for (holiday or birthday) this year?
A yellow mini-van car

17. What is your favourite animal?
Monkey

18. What is love?
Hugs

19. What does mommy/daddy do for work?
(Mommy) - Talk at the office [while pretending to peck on a keyboard with his fingers]; (Daddy) - Build houses

20. Where do you live?
Toronto...no...Vancouver

21. Where is your favourite place to go?
Josh: The toy store...no...what is that store with all the toys?
Dad: Toys'r'Us?!
Josh: Yeah!  Toys'r'Us.  Mommy, I want to go to Toys'r'Us and pick a toy that I want, OK?