Family Update

Dad is doing great...he gets his stitches out of his shoulder tomorrow. Carole, Todd's mom, is home already and recovering well. Lucky lady can't lift anything (ie a dust cloth, vacuum cleaner, toilet bowl brush) for 2 weeks. She must be waited on hand and foot:) Todd is in Florida for the PGA conference and to give a training on the golf program he developed. The weather was horrible here so he left, in a whirlwind that only Todd can create when he is getting ready for something, for Harrisburg early. I got him a real nice deal in a 1 star hotel....I thought MAYBE he wouldn't notice it was a 1 star but he did. Oh well, we have to cut money somewhere!! The girls and I are on our own until Sunday....if the weather stays good, Mom will be joining us for some fun:)

Bella was walking down the stairs yesterday morning, yet another snow day, and I said, "Good morning, princess!" She replied with, "I'm not a princess. I'm Bella. I don't have my princess dress on!" Got it. I will have to let all royalty know that unless they are dressed in their best, they are just ordinary people.

A girl and her shades...

Chúc mừng năm mới!

Happy New Year!!!! We celebrated Tet this year at a Chinese restaurant....one, because it is MUCH cheaper than the Vietnamese restaurant in town and two, because we have no dining room table (long story but we sold ours and our new one hasn't arrived yet).

Here are a few interesting facts about Tet:)

Tết Nguyên Đán pronunciation (help·info), more commonly known by its shortened name Tết, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year based on the Lunar calendar, a lunisolar calendar. The name Tết Nguyên Đán is Sino-Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning, derived from the Hán nôm characters 節元旦.

Tết is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year though exceptions arise due to the one-hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tết shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tết by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. There are a lot of customs practiced during Tết, like visiting a person's house on the first day of the new year (xông nhà), ancestral worshipping, wishing New Year's greetings, giving lucky money to children and elderly people, and opening a shop.

Tết is also an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. During Tết, Vietnamese visit their relatives and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. They consider Tết to be the first day of spring and the festival is often called Hội xuân (spring festival)

Dos

• One should give people lucky presents to enhance the relationship between themselves and others: new clothes, peach branches (for expelling evil), cocks (wishing for good manners), new rice (wishing for being well-fed), rice wine in a gourd (wishing for a rich and comfortable life), bánh chưng (or bánh tét) and bánh dày which symbolize sky and earth (for worshipping the ancestors), red things (red symbolizes happiness, luckiness, advantages) like watermelon, dogs (the bark – gâu gâu – sounds like the word giàu - richness in Vietnamese language), medicated oil (dầu in Vietnamese, also sounds similar to giàu).
• One should give lucky Dong Ho Paintings such as: "Gà đàn" (wishing for having many children), or "Vinh hoa", but should not give unlucky Dong Ho paintings like "Đánh ghen" related to legal proceedings.
• One should buy a lot of water for Tết, because people wish for money to flow like water currents in a stream (proverb: "Tiền vô như nước").
• One should sprinkle lime powder around the house to expel evil.
• One should return all things borrowed, and pay debts before Tết.
• Go gambling after you are done with the festivities.

Don'ts

• One shouldn't say or do bad things during Tết.
• One shouldn't hurt or kill animals or plants but should set them free. The reason for this originates from Buddhism's causality.
• One shouldn't sweep the house or empty out the rubbish to avoid luck and benefits going with it, especially on the first day of the new year. One shouldn't let the broom in confusion if people don't want it to be stolen.
• One shouldn't give these presents to others: clock or watch (the recipient's time is going to pass), cats (mèo in Vietnamese language pronounced like nghèo, poverty), medicine (the receiver will get ill), cuttle fish (its ink is black, an unlucky colour), writing ink (for the same reason), scissors or knives (they bring incompatibility).
• One shouldn't have duck meat because it brings unluckiness.
• One shouldn't have shrimp in case one would move backwards like shrimp, in other words, one would not succeed.
• One shouldn't buy or wear white clothes because white is the colour of funerals in Vietnam.
• One shouldn't let the rice-hulling mill go empty because it symbolizes failed crops.
• One shouldn't refuse anything others give or wish you during Tết.

Snow on the horizon...

I freakin' love it when I hear that little WeatherBug start chirping on my computer. It always means that a storm is coming (AKA NO SCHOOL).....eventhough we have to make it up at the end of the school year. I really could care less! The ONLY problem with this storm, though, is that Todd is supposed to be flying to Florida for a conference AND my mom is supposed to be driving down from NY to play with the girls:) Hopefully, his flight won't be delayed and she will make it here safely.

Please keep Todd's mom in your thoughts and prayers-she is going in for surgery tomorrow. By the way, my dad's arm is healing well:)

New ice skates!

Ever since Elisabeth went ice skating on our tennis courts, Bella has been obsessed with skating. She wants to 'skate' everywhere!! Mom and I took her to a sports store and found her the CUTEST (aka most EXPENSIVE) pair of ice skates. They are a few sizes too big so they will hopefully fit her for a few years. And now do you know what she wants?? A princess hockey stick! The kid scan barely stand up on the things on the kitchen floor and now she wants to whack a puck around the rink, too??

Naked Butts and Mother-in-Laws

Todd is going to KILL me for writing this but it is too funny to not pass on to others who might be having a down day....it also might teach him to SHUT and LOCK the door when he is taking a shower at my mom's house.

This morning, Todd decided to get a jump start on the day and went into the bathroom to shower. He did not have his implant or hearing aid on and more importantly, did not shut the door tightly. Isabella, after drinking 2 cups of juice, decides she needs to use the potty. She pushes on the door of the bathroom and at that moment I hear my mother scream, "Catherine!!" I knew, without a doubt, what she was staring at...my husband's naked butt bending over the tub turning the water on.

He didn't care and she got a good laugh out of it. I am going to chuckle about this one for awhile. I would have had a picture of it but I lost my camera:(

Poor, poor Pap Pap

My Dad, lovingly known as "Pap Pap" to Elisabeth and Isabella (don't ask-it is a Pennsylvania thing), is going in for shoulder surgery today. When I told Isabella what was happening, in very simple terms, she said, "I love Pap Pap. He is my best friend." She also promised to make his boo boo disappear with her magic wand when we go see him this weekend. When I told him that, he thought about cancelling his surgery and just going with the magic wand option. Nice try, Dad.

Time for an Elisabeth update

Before I get yelled at from my sister and mother for publicly ignoring my favorite 11 year old daughter, I will update you all on my darling Elisabeth. The thing is-IF I shared all the cute, funny, hilarious things she does and says throughout the day- SHE WOULD KILL ME!! She literally says to me, "Do NOT put that on your blog!!" every time I giggle at her. She had something on her face waxed this week for the very first time, but do you think I could get permission to put before and after pictures up? Nope.

I will say she is THE best 11 year old I have ever raised:) VERY helpful, sweet, kind, considerate, loving, hard-working, and so much more.....one minute she will be taunting the crap out of Isabella (praying that the kid will get in trouble for slapping her when she intentionally put her face in the direct path of Bella's swinging fist) and the next minute, she will be taking her upstairs for a bath, book, and bed. She keeps her room clean, works hard in school, and always gets her homework done on time (sometimes with a little help/pushing from me:) I love her with all my heart and can't imagine sharing the title of 'first born' with anyone else!

The 2 Loves of Bella's Life....

Her rocking elephant fondly named "Ellie"....

I bought this elephant for her, on sale, at Pottery Barn Kids. It was the floor model so we scrubbed it good and it is the only thing she sits on while she watches tv - backwards, forwards, standing on it, flipping over the top of it when she rocks it too hard. It is her favorite.

And playing outside in the snow.....

You would think being born in Vietnam, a country where the average temperature is probably close to 90 degrees, Isabella would HATE the cold weather. Not. The kid can't get enough of the snow and cold. She fights us when we try to put on her coat and will willingly go out in 20 degree weather in just her t-shirt and not complain-no matter how many times we ask her if she is cold! She also finds a million reasons to take her damn gloves off-over and over and over. She must go through 10 pairs in 30 minutes. It is all worth it, though, when she is one with the snow:)

Prince Daddy

I cannot convince Isabella that any of the princess' boyfriends/husbands (Prince Charming, Aladdin, the Beast) are called PRINCES. She assures me that they are their daddy's. So tonight, I STUPIDLY let her wear her princess outfit to bed. D U M B I D E A. AND, to top it off, I let her sleep with her magic wand. I did say 'no' to the purple princess shoes. Anyway, as I watched her on the monitor, she went from being tucked in her bed to standing on it, jumping so that her dress would fly up. I stomped upstairs, threatening her and reached her bedroom to find her laying down and covered up. As I kissed her cute little face, she said, "I want to dance with Prince Daddy." I will always cherish secretly watching Prince Daddy dance with his Princess :)

Happy Monday!

I LOVE it when we don't have to go to school on Mondays! It was Martin Luther King day and instead of listening to 'blah-blah-blah' for 3 hours and then watch a movie on diversity for another 2 hours, I decided I had a little sniffle and HAD to stay home with the kids. Oh darn. The basement got cleaned, the bills were sorted, the dishes were done 500 times, the laundry was washed, the floor was vacuumed AND washed, and the kids were played with:) Life is good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARAH CATHERINE!

Sarah, also lovingly known as Sadie, turns 2 today!!! WOW!!! It is also a very monumental day for her as she just had surgery on Monday to reverse her colostomy!! She returned home yesterday very sore and grumpy but pooping in her diaper! I told Jacqueline that she should frame the first poop....she didn't think it was such a good idea. Nanny (my mom) is there celebrating with her...we wish we could be there too! Happy Birthday, sweet girl!!

My Little Meat-Eater

We had a late start school today...not sure if it was the wind chill or the .08 inches of snow we got. Either way, I could care less!! I decided to NOT go into school until noon so I took Isabella to lunch at Wendy's (Elisabeth left at 9:30). She wanted a hamburger, which she has never ordered before with me. We are sitting there, enjoying eachother's company, when she looked up at me and said, "This is delicious!". This is very bad news for Aunt Rebekah, the animal-lovin' vegan, but very good news for me, the everything-lovin' mama!

Sleepy times are here AGAIN!

Three nights in a row! Isabella climbs into bed, listens to books, says her prayers, and then lays down. No crying. No whining. No screaming "MAMA MAMA". The day she did not have nap, she went to sleep right away. The other nights, when she has had a nap, she will lay in bed for a few hours talking and singing to herself-BUT SHE DOESN'T SCREAM FOR ME!!!! Have we finally reached the point where I don't dread bed time?? I hope so :)

"Not me!" Monday

I have read about this on one of my favorite blogs but haven't tried it until now.... "Not Me! " Monday which is a list of all the things that there is no way in I would EVER do and ADMIT it. And if anyone says that they saw me doing any of these things, they are totally lying. This was cleverly created by MckMama at My Charming Kids.

I did NOT sit and stare (and silently laugh) at my 2 year old when she spit soda in my face TWICE because I told her NOT to play with her straw. Nope, not me!

I did NOT re-wash a load of laundry this week because I forgot about it was in the washing machine for more than 24 hours.

I did NOT let my 2 year old stay up until 11:30 on Thursday night because she just wouldn't fall asleep! And I did NOT finally bring her into by bed and threaten her with everything in my power if she did not close HER DAMN EYES!

I did NOT laugh my butt off when my daughter and husband called me to tell me that the van's car alarm was going off and they had no clue how to stop it and they were in the middle of a busy parking lot. I would never do that. Especially when I was at lunch with a girlfriend and I could hear the alarm loud and clear through the phone.

Things I learned this Christmas....

1. If one adult in the house gets the flu - all others WILL follow.
2. Just because the adults are puking, it doesn't mean the kids will follow...YEAH for that one!
3. It is better to leave a sleeping toddler asleep on Christmas morning so that you don't have to listen to her cry and whine about not wanting to open her presents.
4. Christmas dinner of ham and Grandma Doris' recipe can be fun with just you, your children, and your parents :)
5. Your dream of having all your siblings at home at one time was not as fun as you thought-it is much more fun to see them at all different times because it makes Christmas last that much longer!
6. Buying clothes for an 11 year old girl is a waste of time. Something will always be too big, too small, too itchy, or not the right color.
7. Buying clothes for your 25 year old brother is way more fun! Anything from Gap or Old Navy makes a cute, single man VERY happy.
8. Hearing the sounds of 4 toddlers laughing and chasing and playing with eachother is what Christmas is all about.
9. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if it wasn't for Mom and the amount of time she spent getting ready for her 5 adult children AND their families AND their dogs:)

Skating on the tennis court

How cool is that?? The last time it rained, it froze and made a beautiful skating rink on the tennis courts and sidewalks in our neighborhood. I got the brilliant idea to get on my skates and trying it out. I thought better after realizing that I hadn't skated in years and made Elisabeth do it:)

Most expensive haircut in the US.....

would have to be Isabella's haircut today. TWENTY-FIVE dollars, people. The big 2-5. For a 2 year old!!!! I almost choked when they said that Elisabeth's haircut was 25.00 dollars (you've seen from pictures how short her hair is!) but then when the lady said I owed 25 for Isabella's too...UGH! I almost fainted! I asked why and she said it was because THEY WASHED AND DRIED IT!! Are you kidding me???? Had I known that shampoo and a little hot hair would cost me 15 bucks, I would have said NO! It is like Dairy Queen asking you if you want a few nuts and whip cream on the top of your sundae and then realizing it doesn't actually COME with those toppings! Plus, the hairdresser soaked the back of Bella's shirt so much that I could wring the water out. AND...it doesn't even look good!!! The sides whip out and the back is uneven. OMG. I told my neighbor that I might be forced to take her to one of those "Crispy Cut" places (aka Super Cuts). When you think about it....Isabella needs a haircut every two months which equals 6 times a year which equals 108 haircuts by the time she is 18 which equals $2700.00 dollars!! I am either shaving her head OR letting her hair grow.

At this rate, we are going to have to go to school until August....

We had, yet, another snow day! Fourth day this year! Every day we take off, we add it on to the end of the year. If we continue going at this rate, they will start taking away our spring break. I remember them doing that one year and I had to prove I had plane tickets to CO to see my sister and brother. I honestly enjoy every day off we have:) We are finally getting settled after our trip back home. The van was filled to the brim and that has all been unloaded and put away, the Christmas decorations are down (I thanked God AGAIN that I didn't put up that frickin' tree), and I even found time to clean the downstairs! Now if I can just get my 'laundry butt' in gear! I hate laundry. I wish my mom was here-it is her passion:)

On the Isabella front, I have finally come to the conclusion that she is a strong willed child. That kid can push my every button - especially at 2 am. I could handle the sleep issues if she was a good girl during the day. She is now bitch-slapping (for use of a better word) all the smaller kids at Bonnie's. She walks right in and yanks their hair, pushes them over, steals their toys, and even tries to take a bite out of their little arms. She was so bad the other day at lunch, she had to eat the rest of her food on the floor! And she decided to take a nip when a NEW mother was there interviewing Bonnie. OMG! I have decided to take a calm approach to this new side of my sweet baby girl. The minute she starts screaming or hitting or scratching, I pick her up and put her in her room. I tell her she can come down when she calms down. Day 1....I am winning:) Lucky for her, she has more stamina than her mama. I'll let you know how it goes!

More pictures from our Christmas vacation....

Shane and the kids in Nanny's outdoor hot tub.

Lucy and Elisabeth

Lucy and Nanny

Aunt Alison and Bella dancing

Bella, Sadie, and Lucy watching Dora

More hugs....

Two Vietnamese beauties in the matching princess nightgowns from Uncle Aaron





Liam

Lucy

Aunt Alison and Bella

Singing for Bella on her half birthday:)

Isabella and Aunt Alison at IHOP while they were singing to her-she didn't know what to think!

Bella, Aunt Alison, and Uncle Blake-looking less than thrilled to be with the family.

Uncle Aaron and Bella...it takes a pretty secure uncle to walk under a princess umbrella!

Sadie playing the drums

My Mom's Christmas tree:)

7 Days of Puking

You got it right-our entire household, minus the kids (and who knows how that happened????), got the stomach flu starting Christmas Day....Aaron then Dad then Jenn then Mom then me then Blake then Shane. It was absolutely HORRIBLE. I felt the worst for Blake...he and Ali came for a visit for 2 days, stayed in a hotel, and barely saw us and got it. On top of being sick, he was recovering from having shingles. Poor baby.

Anyway, we are headed home tomorrow!! It is unbelievable that we have been away for 2 weeks. I am always sad at this time of year-no more siblings, no more Christmas music, no more waiting for Santa:( So depressing.