Some book reviews :)

There are some things that we've tried and really liked lately, so I thought I'd share my thoughts here. :)

THE SNEAKY CHEF by Missy Chase Lapine
I'm sure a lot of you have heard lots about this book. Its premise is to sneak healthy ingredients into comfort foods to up the nutritional value. So, you'll find spinach in brownies, beans in cookies and avocadoes in milkshakes, for example. Even though our kids love vegetables for the most part [I feel so blessed!], I still would like to increase their fiber, protein and vitamin/mineral intake. [That's the dietitian in me speaking. Hehe.] Anyhow, I was a bit skeptical but decided to try it out since our library had a copy. Wow, was I in for a big surprise! So far, we've tried 3 recipes and LOVED them all! We made a scumptious breakfast cookie, a decadent chocolate chip cookie and a super fluffy pancake. The best thing was that the kids could have these treats and I felt good giving it to them. No one (not even dear hubby) could tell there was all this added goodness in there. So, I highly recommend you check this out!

Lately, Ms. Lapine was criticized for trying to hide these nutritious ingredients instead of making them more apparent. Her critics were concerned that this was not teaching kids to each a more balanced diet. However, if you continue to encourage your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables (and more fiber) ON TOP of serving them nutritious treats, you can't lose. :) Just my 2 cents.

BOOK CORNER
We go the library at least once a week and since Aidan and Jana love books, we usually end up carrying a bagful home each time. Here are some books Aidan has been pouring over recently:
The Red Book by Barbara Lehman - A wordless book that has an interesting twist to it. :)
What Do You Do With Tail Like This by Robert Page, Steve Jenkins - A wonderfully educational book that introduces fun animal parts to little ones. Awesome cut-out illustrations!
Flotsam by David Weisner - Another wordless book about being at the beach with an interesting twist.
Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman - [I guess we're on a roll with these wordless books, eh? I guess we've been picking them because I've been trying to speak more Chinese to the kids and it's easier not to translate, if you know what I mean. Also, Jana just likes looking at the pictures sometimes, so it helps her to stay interested. :) I also have Aidan tell me the story sometimes and without the words, he feels like he can tell it back to me more readily. :)] I love the surprise ending to this book! And Aidan likes to help the boy finish the maze. :)
The Adventures of Polo by Regis Faller - Polo has such an adventure in this book and it keeps you guessing - a real page turner for Aidan.
Fish Faces by Norbert Wu - Aidan liked it so much we bought it for him! But great pictures of various kids of fish with a guide in the back. Kev actually wrote in all the names right next to the picture of the fish so we didn't have to keep flipping back and forth. One of the first books Aidan memorized. ;)
My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki - This book helped Aidan relive his aquarium trips. Sometimes when he asks to go the the awuarium and we're unable to, I try to whip out this book so he can go there in his mind, at least. :) Great illustrations!
Follow the Line Through the House by Laura Ljunkvist - A really fun book that has you literally following the lines through the house to explore all the rooms. There are also activities on each page to keep it educational. :) Jana just liked looking at all the stylistic pictures and bright colors.

Jana has been picking:
Where's Spot by Eric Hill - What can I say, a true classic! But I think what really drew Jana to this book was the fact that she got to say her favorite word of the moment at each page - "NO!". :)
Spot's First Walk by Eric Hill - I think she's loving the flip-the-flap books. :)
The Nose Book by Al Perkins - Aidan had really liked this one, too. But Jana loves this book and likes to point at all the noses she can find when we're reading it [though her finger sometimes ends up in your nose sometimes...haha!].
The Eye Book by Theodore Lesieg - She's also fascinated with eyes - maybe she's revelling in the fact that she knows her body parts and can point to them when asked?
Chicka Chicka ABC by Bill Martin, Jr, John Archambault, Lois Ehlert - A fun book similar to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Bright, fun colors, too! :)

Alrighty, more later! G'night!

...all that grey matter

You know what I'm talking about - the stuff that is not black and white. :) J/K! I've been thinking a lot about how difficult it is to be a Christian sometimes. There are those things that the Bible explicitly tells us to do: spread the Word, love others, get to know Christ as the number one thing, etc. There are also the things that the Bible explicitly tells us NOT to do: kill, lie, covet, be jealous, etc.. Then there is everything in between: what I call, the grey stuff. And, sheesh, there is a whole lot of it. When I became a parent, there is even more of it I have to deal with because, I guess, there are more parties involved. Sometimes, talking about that stuff makes me a bit tense, and I have to go back to what God has taught me about them.

[For those that care to know what some of those 'grey matter' can be in my life:
-Homeschool vs Public School
-Whether or not to use Birth Control
-How to discipline kids (ie spanking or not)
-How to raise kids (ie attachment parenting, etc)
-Staying at home or work
and blah, blah, blah....they carry so much emotion for me as I think or talk about them, so I know that making decisions about these things mean a lot to me. ]

So, what have I learned? Honestly, for me, there is no one correct answer for everyone. Yes, I've read articles and had discussions on the biblical basis for homeschooling or attachment parenting. But the thing is, it's a lot how you interpret scripture and how far you want to extrapolate the meaning. I really feel that the Bible remains 'grey' about these issues because there is no universal answer that applies to everyone. So, where does that leave me? It leaves me with the fact that God has given me certain personalities and traits that make me who I am and how I'm prone to handle things. So, that might skew me towards one way or the other or a mix of the 2 extremes. I do believe that God gave me those traits for a reason and that it's ok to go my own path, if I choose. I'm also left with the fact that God will tell me if he wants us to choose a certain path for our family, which reminds me that the prerequisite for hearing his voice is to stay close to Him. Still working on that. :) But at least I do tell Him that I value His opinion and want to please Him with what I do. :D And when He stays silent, I feel the ok to go with what I want. [At least that's what I got out of a certain Graham Cooke tape and man, that revelation was soo freeing for me!!]

The hard part for me is that I'm a people person [read: people pleaser] for the most part. I find myself oftentimes being very emphathetic towards others and then see how both sides could work for me. And that leaves me right back where I usually start, in the middle. ;) In the past, I also try to please others first, esp my parents, but now I realized I can (and should) please God and still honor others. The flip side is that I feel badly when I feel strongly about an issue because I feel like I can't see the opposing view at all and fear I will end up judging them. That is something I'm still working on. Life is to short to judge other or be mean, that's what I figure. Anyhow, I wanted to leave this post with something totally irrevelant but light-hearted and happy....

We had ordered something from Gap online a while ago and I had kinda forgotten about it. [Yeah, it's true, it wasn't something we NEEDED. ::sheepish::] Anyhow, I remembered to check on the shipment status today and saw that it was delivered on the 27th. But, wait, it's the 28th and I didn't get a pkg!? So, I investigate and found out that it was delivered to our old place in NEW JERSEY!!! Doh! What to do? I decided to call my old real estate agent to see if she can figure out a way for us to contact the new owner. After a very nice conversation, she assures me that she will go by the house [she lives very close to it] to leave a note for the owner to call her and will also call the owner's agent in the morning. A few hours later, I get a call from the agent and she said that she had the owner on the phone b/c he happened to be home when she knocked on his door. He kindly asked for our Florida address and told me that he would ship it there tomorrow, no problem, since he works for UPS anyways. And, get this, he wanted to pay for shipping!?!?!! That was such a blessing for me! He even went on to ask about the kids [he had come over a few times while checking out the house and had met the kiddies - Jana, esp., took a liking to him.]. Anyhow, it was just a reminder to me that there are still lots of nice people out there. I'm sure you knew that already but sometimes I forget. :) And re: shipping stuff, I had ordered a pair of shoes from Zappos.com around 10:30pm on Friday night and got a package Saturday morning at 9am?!?! I know they offer free overnight shipping but, man, do they not sleep? Haha! Anyways, I'm super impressed! Alrighty, storytime is over - I'm going to bed. G'night!

...the stuff of life...

With a title like that, you know that this post will be random, don't you? :)

Updates
Kev will be finishing up his Spine Fellowship at the end of June 2008, so he's currently on a hunt for a new job. And, most likely, we'll be moving again. Yes, we are a member of the 'Frequent Movers Club'. :) But honestly, now that I look back on our almost 5 short years of marriage and having moved 4 times already, I wouldn't have it any other way. More on that later. The kiddies are doing well - Aidan is very much the helpful 3 y.o. lately, wanting to do almost everything himself. And, hey, I'm not stopping him! :D I am definitely there to supervise, however, making sure that his shirt is on the right way, that his underwear is all the way up before he attempts the pants and that only the garbage goes into the trash, not the bowl that was holding the goods. It's been more fun lately and I feel like he's so grown up. Gotta take hold of the years where they want to hang out with you, I'm saying to myself already! Jana is getting more verbal and active. She's very much the people person and loves to engage others, whether they want to engage with her or not! Ha! [She'll basically stare someone down until they look back at her....hehe. No, she did not get that from me. ;)] She's full of cute sayings (lots of Chinglish) and fun antics. She's also well-known for climbing up things we don't think she can climb and all the while being super quiet about it, so she can accomplish her task uninterrupted. Ahem. But thank goodness for the "Little Enforcer" in our house (AKA Big Bro Aidan), she's always discovered. The 2 kiddies are also starting to play better together - hallelujah! For me, I'm still meeting new moms all over the place and getting to know more people from church, which is so nice. God's also teaching me new things about my relationship with Him but more on at a later date. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we have nothing planned at all. How did that happen? Our grand plan was to invite some international students over for a traditional American Thanksgiving meal but by the time I had located the correct coordinators for the local Friends of Internationals, it was too late and all the students had been matched up. A good problem, I suppose. :) Then we thought about running/jogging/walking the Turkey Trot with the kids but it was too late to register online and if you wanted to register the day of, you had to get there at an ungodly hour. Welp, both Kev and I wanted to sleep in, if possible, on his only day off, so we're just going to play it by ear tomorrow. Maybe a nice hike somewhere - it IS going to be in the low 80s tomorrow. [Mwwwaahaha to you Northerners!] So, we'll see what we end up doing.

Facebook
This darn thing...it's so fun yet sucks so much of my time away. But recently, a whole slew of old highschool friends popped up on there and all of a sudden, I'm having a virtual HS reunion on facebook! And it's been so fun seeing what everyone's been up to, where they're located now and what they look like. :) I'll hafta admit that I keep expecting everyone to look the same as they did in HS b/c I definitely still do (NOT!). Haha! Anyhow, if only I could write programs, I would write a little program called "The Last 10 Years" so ppl can read about it on my profile (since that's all I've been writing about for the past week). :)

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
[Can this post get more random?] I've been on the hunt for cool kids' music lately b/c Wiggles and the like can get old really fast. I wanted something that I don't mind listening to and that can hopefully teach them something, too. Last night at the library, I found this CD that took Mr. Rogers' songs and remade them. Honestly, some of them were kinda cheesy (to me, at least) but there was a DVD about the people who were on this project and their thoughts on Mr. Rogers. Can I tell you, I was balling through most of this DVD. I've never watched his show consistently and when I would happen upon it sometimes, I would think it was kinda boring. But when I actually took the time to listen to the lyrics of his songs, they really touched me. The messages are the ones that we all needed to hear as kids - that you are liked b/c of you and not because of what you do (unconditional love), that it's ok to be mad or have negative feelings, etc. Plus, he is so genuine and so REAL - kids can always tell if you're trying to fake something. It's kinda uncanny but true. Anyhow, Kev tells me he watched half an hour of Mr. Rogers everyday when he grew up and he really like it. He said it made him feel loved, important and he got Mr. Rogers' full attention everyday for 30 minutes. Anyhow, thank you so much, Mr. Rogers - thanks for being so humble, loving and caring. I appreciate you. :)

Not By Accident
I'm a firm believer that nothing happens by accident. There is always a purpose behind it that we might just never find out about. Sometimes, it the midst of something bad happening, I catch myself saying, "This is really awful, why is this happening?" but then afterwards realize the greater purpose. [I think back on the countless stories of ppl missing their morning train into the city due to some traffic on 9/11 and being mad about it, only to find out this caused them to miss being in the WTC when the planes hit.] Though sometimes I never find out. And I guess at those moments I just choose to be positive because living on the other side, which I have before, really stinks. Being negative really sucks the energy out of you and it's just no fun to live that way. Anyhow, since we've moved a lot, I've always felt a twinge of sadness that we'd had to leave friends and/or family behind. But you know, if we didn't leave, we would never have met all these other wonderful friends that we now have in IL, NY, DE or FL. And we would never have the oppportunities that we did have. Therefore, we're so thankful for the friends that we have over the long haul and those we have for a season. :)

Anyhow, I always have so much stuff in my head to blog about but this post has been random enough. So, have a great Thanksgiving 2007!

...thoughts on mothering

Having been a mom for over 3 years now, I've come to a realization about a few things that I would like to get down on "paper". So, here goes. :)

Motherhood is all about change, and it never stops. From the moment you're preggers, your life is not the same. [Not that life, non-preggers, ever stands still or anything - but being pregnant is a HUGE change!] We're talking fluctuating emotions, fluctuating hormones , the ever-expanding waistline [the one time I didn't love shopping b/c I had to do it so often!], and sometimes the swollen feet and on it goes. And from the moment that baby is born, life is REALLY never the same - not to mention the changes that goes on with your body just to get the baby out - but I'm not going to go there with this post. ;) Then after you get over those initial sleepless nights and feel like you've gotten some sort of routine down, the baby goes through a growth spurt or something else and it all changes up again. Then there are the discipline issues and then the worrying about school/homeschool and the blah, blah, blah. But in the midst of this, there is God who grants us so much grace. I've become so reliant on it these days, asking for enough grace to get through the day with the kids, to enjoy them and to enjoy the people around me, even if they don't seem to enjoy me. :) And through this change, we grow and mature and sometimes when I take a moment to look at where I was when Aidan was first born, I am definitely not who I was and that's a good thing. :)

Now that the kiddies are older, the issue of discipline crops up mulitple times everyday. ;P After reading lots about it and asking older moms about it, I've come to realize this one thing: tt's all about the heart attitude. I can say the same thing and possibly in the same tone, but if I'm truly angry inside, the kids can tell. And now that Aidan is articulate enough, he sometimes asks me "Are you annoyed?" Doh! How could he tell? All I said was "Please take your fork from between your toes and put it into your bowl." I even tried to say it without much emotion! Anyhow, so that's another area that I've been praying into - my heart attitude. And after praying more, I realize that there is still a lot of healing that needs to take place. We had gone to a marriage conference way back [more here] that spoke of how our past (from when we might be even too little to have much cognitive memory about it) can still affect you today, causing you to have strong negative emotions about situations that shouldn't cause you to react that strongly. So, praise God for being able to fix us up, even when we don't always know what's wrong!

I had spoken to other moms about this before and we all agree that motherhood is a refining process. Through the sleepness nights, transitions, discipline issues and such, we find out who we are. I thought I was a pretty patient person. I thought I was good at giving grace. I thought I was good at giving without expecting in return. I thought I loved cooking. ;) Well, you get the idea. But I would say that I discovered some positive things about myself, too. I mean, after you give birth, or even just carried your baby for 9 months, you feel like Super Woman. [And you ARE for doing so!] So, praise God for allowing us these experiences to help us become the person that He wants us to be: free, loving, compassionate, wise, strong and fully reliant on Him. :)

I am so humbled that God chose me to be my kiddies' mom - I do feel so inadequate sometimes but I remember that God calls us to do impossible things b/c He wants us to rely on Him and have peace through it all. Sometimes, it's hard not to compare to those SuperMoms out there who seem to do everything so well. But God reminded me not to compare but to bless them and do my best, giving the hard areas to Him and have PEACE. More peace, Jesus! :)

There's more that I've learned but I haven't digested it all yet. But if anyone has anything else to share, please do!

...yikes, all these toy recalls!!

I'm sure a lot of you have been reading or at least heard about all these toy recalls in recent months due to excessive levels of lead in the paint for toys. Not that toy recalls are uncommon but there has just been so many of them lately, it's disheartening. And after reading about the stories behind it [and who knows who has the REAL story], it's kinda confusing. The basic schpiel [from what I've gathered] is that some European company had tested some of the toys that they had made in China and found unacceptable levels of lead in them, which caused American companies to test their products, as well. Unfortunately, the more they tested, the more lead-laced toys they found, which started the massive recalls. Some companies even started recalling toys that were "suspected" to have lead in them, causing more panic in already alarmed parents. So, that frustrated me - not knowing which toys were safe for the kiddies since J still chews on them sometimes. Then it was reading all the articles in newspapers and blogs simply blaming the Chinese for this entire fiasco which also really frustrated me. In my opinion, in life, nothing is that cut and dry, black and white. There are so many sides to this story and I'm finding out even more as I read. So, in short, I'm not defending the Chinese goverment or trying to shift the blame onto someone else. And, along with the authors of the aforementioned articles, I do not agree with the Chinese government for their lack of Human Rights policies nor do I think that their government does not need better policies in terms of lead paint, etc.. OK, just wanted to cover that. :) But what I want to point out is that blaming any one party does not get us anywhere. And if you want to talk blame, this woman says it well:

"While China and the underfunded CPSC are partly to blame, so are American importers, retailers, investors and consumers, who variously demand lower prices, higher sales and increased growth - all at the expense of quality, said Mary Teagarden, a Thunderbird School of Global Management expert in offshoring. Downward price pressure exerted by big-box retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. squeezes suppliers all the way down the supply chain, Teagarden said." (article)

It makes me think: What about the American companies who are supposed to be checking up on these factories? [A side note to applaud Mattel for taking responsibility (article) for their part in this and to applaud the Melissa & Doug company for showing that it's possible to make quality, lead-free toys in China (blog entry).] Is my demand for cheaper toys contributing to this whole mess? Should I start making my own toys from organic materials grown in my backyard in organic soil? J/K! Anyhow, I'm getting off the soapbox now. I just wanted to share another perspective on this situation. Phew! :)

...toothpaste and stuff....

Just some random things to chat about...

NATURAL PRODUCTS
We recently switch to an "all natural" toothpaste because we've been trying to decrease the unnecessary exposure to different chemicals. We have the Tom's of Maine anticavity in a Spearmint flavor currently and it's very yummy! We even had a bunch of our visitors give it a test drive and they all liked it. "D What Tom's of Maine lack is all the artificial ingredients, like saccharin and dyes, that is so common in big name brands. At first taste, it was so weird because it's not sweet at all and the spearmint oils definitely pack a punch! But after a while, it felt so refreshing and there's none of that funny aftertaste - your breath truly feels fresh and your teeth feel so clean. We also started using Tom's mouthwash [no alcohol, dyes or sweetners] and when we got over the sour taste from the witch hazel, we found it a good companion to the toothpaste. :) So, there you have it - our review of our new toothpaste. :D

BARBER
After many years in hiatus because we lived close to Kiley, I was summoned to cut Kevin's hair. I was really hesitant because: a)it's been 3 years since my last stint as his 'barber', b)he's actually working now [don't want his patients to think he's unprofessional because his hair looks like Aidan cut it], and c)I want him to look good, too. But it turned out a-ok. I wish I had pics to prove it but I don't - so you'll just have to believe me. :) He did help me with the front sections and the sections close to the ears, I'll admit. :P Anyhow, I'm sure it turned out well because I had prayed beforehand.

PHILANTHROPY
Through that wonderful website: Facebook, I've gotten in touch with so many of my friends from High School, College and pretty much all over the place. [More on that another day.] One really neat thing that I found out was that my friend, Michael Maltese, started up this non-profit organization - Global Medical Knowledge, Inc. - to "bridge the medical knowledge gap between developed and developing nations. GMK uses technology to improve access to current, actionable medical information in developing countries and to build collaborative partnerships among medical educators around the world". [Taken from his website] In short, he's trying to help get the medical knowledge that developing countries have over to the underdeveloped countries, where it's very needed. Maybe Iris Ministries can utilize this organization?! Definitely check out his website and read all about it! Check out Iris Ministries, too, if you don't know who they are - it's all about God doing His thing: caring for the poor and changing lives! Simply awesome!

MAMA GUILT
Ever since I had kids, I've struggled with this. This guilt about all sorts of things, from small to big. For instance, I had felt guilty when I was spending time with Jana because I wasn't there to focus on Aidan. And the same when I was helping Aidan out and couldn't get to Jana, though she was wanting my attention. I felt better when J grew older but now it's guilt about other things. Am I being too strict about things? Too relaxed about others? Not teaching them enough Bible? Not modelling the lifestyle I want them to emulate? Not making the days fun enough for them? Not teaching them what they need to know? Not being patient, loving, and kind enough? Yikes! As I was praying about things that I felt guilty for, the list just grew longer and longer. :( I knew I had to spend more time at His feet to get recharged and get into the Word for the truth more often. I knew that this guilt was not really from Him but I took some things to heart because I really needed to change what I was doing. I needed to plan more and be a bit more organized, esp with my free time. I probably need to spend less time on the internet [though it is so fun and one of my ways of keeping in touch]. Anyhow, I feel that as long as I can separate conviction [good] from guilt [bad] and make the changes I needed to, I was ok. Plus, I need just so much more grace and revelation in parenting, too. Thank God He has an abudant supply. :)

FLORIDA AQUARIUM MEMBERSHIP
Getting this membership has been great! Not only have we taken our visitors there for free, most of the time, we've gone to several other venues for free during certain months. For example, this month, we've gone to the Lowry Park Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry both for free! There are other places that have discounted admission tickets and free admission months all for FL Aquarium members. How fun is that? For all you parents: Maybe check out our local aquarium/zoo to see if a membership there can give you a discount? If not, maybe ask for a membership somewhere for Christmas?! :)

I have lots more to say but it's getting late - my bed and a free massage is calling. G'night!

...what's new with the Hsu's :) (I almost rhymed!)

Anyhow, it's been a while since I've last written and here's some stuff that's happened during the interim:

COUNTRYSIDE CHRISTIAN CENTER
We're currently in the midst of a 28 day fast called by our Pastor Lloyd. This is to seek God's fact about the vision that God has given the church. Even though we've only been there for less than 2 months, we really feel, in the Spirit, that the vision he got is so right on track! PL shared that God has given him a vision for the Youth because that is where our future holds and our generation is called to minister to the future so that they can fulfill their purposes to usher in God's presence here on Earth. With the astouding statistics about how few of the new generation (forgot what generation they're called) know Him and anything about Him, it's really quite alarming. Instead of God, they are constantly filled with junk from the Media, Internet, and Video Games. :( So sad. So, PL felt called to build a new building and then let the Youth take over the entire old building (which is already huge) and some parts of the new one - to create a Youth Center. They are also devoting more time, money and energy to the Children's Program (they already have a great one!) to make it even better. I just felt so blessed by this vision. Kev and I talked a lot about this the night we heard the vision shared and we realized what a great role the Youth Group (and having friends in it) played when we were young. I feel a big part of why I even sought the Lord in college was due to having such a tremendous support when I was trying to figure out who I was and who I want to be. [Though having Christian parents also played a key role - didn't want to downplay that - but I really didn't care about their opinion as much as I did my friends' when I hit a certain age...you know what I mean! :P] So, we are now praying into it and sowing into it financially. I'm so excited for the fruit that will be reaped!!

On a side note: If you happen to read this, please pray for me. I'm teaching a Junior High/Senior High Sunday School after our service ends on Sundays for another church. I need wisdom and revelation about what to teach on Sundays. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to teach the Youth but I need all the help I can get! Thanks bunches!

SWIMMING
So, there's a whole lot of water everywhere in Florida, be it beaches or pools. They are truly everywhere! That's a good and bad thing - let me explain why. It's good because Aidan (and now Jana) love ocean creatures and playing with sand, so there are lots of opportunities to do that here. And since we go a lot after dinner so it's cooler, we get to see a lot of spectacular sunsets. It's really amazing! However, since the kids can't swim and I can't tread water well [I know, I need to work on it....doh!], there's an increased chance for there to be an accident. So, we're looking into swimming lessons for them and happened upon this. ISR is mainly a drown prevention program and it states that it helps even infants as young as 6 months to learn how to float and not panic in the water on the off-chance that they fall in. They learn to respect and be comfortable in water. It sounds great and I heard so many good things about it...BUT, it's a huge chunk of change. [Not sure if that's everywhere or just in FL.] Anyhow, I'm looking to see if they have any scholarship programs and will let you all know if the kids do end up taking it and how it goes.[And in case you're wondering, yes, I can float. ;)]

VISITORS
Yay for visitors! We love them, we really do! At the beginning of Aug, we had Joe Lee come thru for for fellowship interviews. The kids had such a great time with him that they still talk about him sometime! :) Plus, he was the first to test out our pillowtop queen-sized Aerobed and he gives it 2 thumbs up. Haha! Then we had Will Zhou and Ken Chan over for Labor Day weekend. Kiley Hsu and Ray Hwang showed up that same Friday and stayed for a week. And, man, those guys know how to make the most of a weekend. WZ and KC went scuba diving, deep sea fishing, biking parts of the Pinellas Trail and visited the Floida Aquarium all within the span of 3 days! There were lots of good eats in between. :) Will even caught us a barracuda that we promptly had for lunch at Crabby Bill's that day - thanks again! The other guys caught Mackerels and Bonitas. Fun stuff! We even got to fish at the Chang's [those distant relatives of ours that live in the area that are SUPER, SUPER nice!] and I learned how to cast and reel. Fun stuff! Anyhow, more visitors to come and we're excited! Hope to see more of you before we leave this sunny state - AND, it's gonna get super nice soon!! (Hint!Hint!)

SOME 'ONE-LINERS'
Finally found a Pediatrician for the kids, though I'm not sure we're a good fit yet.

Jana got 3 shots today, that poor girl.

Jana speaks a lot of Chinese now - it's pretty fun.

Check out these videos of the kids in action. They're a riot!

We've been doing some 'homeschooling' for Aidan and he likes it quite a bit. Good ol' Aidan and praise God for this site. Still need some inspiration, though. Feel free to chime in, moms. :)

And, that's all, folks. :)

...yay for updates!

Welp, where to begin? Hmm....how about with fire ants? ;)

ANTS: These unwanted house guests are no longer around - yippee!! Our rule is, if we didn't invite you and you aren't paying rent, you're outta here, esp. if you might terrorize our kids! Anyhow, despite all our efforts with setting out baits and spraying with Bac-out, we had to call the "ant people" (that's what Aidan affectionately calls them!) to come and spray. The spray that they use has definitely come a long way - they are micro-encapsulated and are pretty safe for kids when dry. What a relief! [Aidan did enjoy having the 2 ant guys around for the 10 minutes they were in our house to check out how bad the situation was and to ascertain the kind of ant we were blessed with. He was so excited that he couldn't stop jumping up and down the WHOLE TIME and made them laugh. They kept asking me if I was sure I didn't just give him any sugar - haha! If only they knew: Aidan doesn't need any of that to have an abundance of energy!!] Anyhow, we found out we had fire ants in the house, which is a rare thing, because most of the time, they prefer to be outdoors. Also, it was strange that they showed up in my upstairs closet first. And what is even more strange but when I told my immediate family, I found out we all had some sort of an ant problem this month. Do ants symbolize something spiritually? Seriously. If anyone knows anything about this, please email me.

VBS: Aidan went to VBS for the first time last week and did a good job. He was placed in the Pre-K3 class, though we had just turned 3 the Friday before the VBS began. He was pretty ambivalent about whether he liked it - maybe it was the more rigid structure that he wasn't used to. We have a more flexible schedule at home everyday but it's nothing like "school". We wanted him to go beucase we thought it would be a good opportunity for him to hang out with other kids and get a bit of Jesus stories from someone other than us. It was interesting having just 1 child all those mornings after I had dropped Aidan off. I had some quality one-on-one time with Jana and I remember thinking to myself, "Man, after having 2 kids all the time, having just one is super easy!" Then I thought, "We do want more kids, so I better get to thinking that having 2 is really easy." Though it's so hard to have that perspective beforehand. Maybe I hafta borrow someone's kid for practice! Haha!

POTTYTRAINING: It's going remarkably well for Aidan. For a few weeks now, he's been wearing underwear all day and a diaper at night. There have been a few accidents here and there but mostly from him forgetting when he's so excited to be out and about. He also still has a bit of trouble timing #2 but, oh well. Cloth diapering has prepared me to be upclose and personal with poop. ;) He hasn't kept a diaper dry overnight yet, so I'm not going to worry about training him overnight yet. But I now understand what ppl mean when they say it'll be so much easier to train when they're ready. I'm just glad that he's ready now vs 18 y.o. - hehe! He has also gotten so much better in telling me when he has to go, which is such a big step!!! Alrighty, enough potty-talk....

JANA-JANA: Jana has been talking a lot (mostly in Chinese - yay!) and walking around with some alacrity. After Aidan learned to walk, sometimes he would still crawl since he was such an efficient crawler but not our little Jana. Once she walked, that's almost all she did. Plus, she always looked so satisfied with herself and has even attempted speed-walking to catch up with Aidan sometimes. Her attempts come with some hilarious results. :) I should really take a video of it one of these days. Jana doesn't sign half as much as Aidan did but she is picking up speaking so quickly. It's really so fun and rewarding to see them learn stuff!!

CHURCH: I think we have finally settled on a church! :) For a while, we were debating between 2 but when the Pastor preached again on something we had both read in the Word during the week, we felt like this was a confirmation. Plus, it also came down to one factor: how easy it was to know what's going on and get involved. In the beginning, we did our search online since we didn't really know anyone to ask about Spirit-filled churches with small groups. So, having a clear, informative website was really key - we were able to check out what they believed in and what ministries they emphasized before even stepping into their building. Plus it helped us narrow down our list - there are so many churches around here!! Finally, we picked a few in our area to visit. When we went to visit a few churches, it became clear what really drew us to a church. We appreciated a good, organized nursery that our kids would like (at least eventually) and maybe learn something from. We also appreciated people who welcomed us, showed us where things were and gave us information about the church and how to get involved. We didn't have to try too hard to find out about small groups or get someone to contact us about it. It was nice. Plus, at one church, some random guy was nice enough to say hi and then introduce us to his enture family and hung out with us for a good half an hour after church! It was hard going into a church where everyone seemed to already have a group and already engaged in conversation, so that was very refreshing!! Anyhow, after trying a few churches to get a feel for things [we wanted to settle in fairly quickly since we might only be here for 1 year], we decided on Countryside Christian Center. We're also getting involved in a small group there but have only been there 2x, so more on that at a later date.

SOBERING THOUGHTS: We just found out that a family that we have known for some time just lost their little son this last week in a pool accident. It was so sad to hear about it because we can't imagine what we would do if that had happened to us. It just reminded us what a gift our children are and to not take for granted our times together, even when they're acting up and to really enjoy this time we have with them, esp. when they want to hang out with us at this young age. We were also reminded to let the little things (that they do that annoy us or make us mad) remain the little things - and not let them crowd out the big things, the important things in life. Some days, Kev and I find ourselves getting mad so frequently over those little things that it was hard to enjoy our kids. But we are now more aware of this and trying to find things to enjoy about them, even when they're trying our patience. :)

Anyhow, we hope all of you are doing well. I'm sure all of us are learning lots from God each week. Feel free to shoot us an email about it, we'd love to hear from you!! Cheers!

new pics...

Some of you have asked about pictures of our adventures here, so far. So, here are some; just click on the different albums - enjoy! :)

Cheerio! ;)

...things we love currently

I thought to mix things up a bit, we'll talk about how things are going by talking about things we currently love:

1)Bi-O-Kleen Bac-Out: It's this natural enzyme spray cleaner that is good for so many things. It takes (organic) stains out of clothing, cloth diapers, carpets and such with no problem. What's even more amazing, ants hate them so we've been able to use this friendly-around-kids spray to quarantine the ants we've had in the house. People tell me it's a Florida thing but it was no fun to find ants in the house, esp. since we've working so hard to keeping it so clean to prevent roach problems. :( The ants were coming in thru the cracks in the base boards looking for water [at least that's what people have been telling me they do and yes, it's been fairly dry here.]. But with the baits we've put out and the Bac-out to quarantine them, they're pretty much gone. How annoying, though. I'm just glad they're not spiders. But a large mass of anything buggy gives me the heebee jeebees (or however you spell it). Blech!

2)Talc-free baby powder: We've never actually used it on the kiddies' bottoms but we've been using it incessantly to take sand off their bodies after our many beach trips to try and keep the car clean. Seriously, this stuff works like magic! You just sprinkle some on and then brush it off - voila! No more sand! This really helps with the post-beach trip diaper changes. :) Plus, someone gave us the Jasmine-scented one, so we're all a nice-smelling, slightly white bunch after a trip to the beach. :)

3) DEET-free bug spray: Because it's so warm all the time, I think Florida is home to a lot of bugs! Mosquitoes, no see-ums, you name it! So everytime we've gone out, we've had to remember to spray ourselves down from head to head. However, those no see-ums still seem to get Kev and I - I'm thinking even though we can't see them, they can still see where we've not sprayed! Doh! [The kids have not been bitten as much as us, praise the Lord!] Anyhow, we heard it gets better when it's not so hot - we're looking forward to it. But anyhow, the spray has been one of our best friends lately. :)

4) The extensive Pinellas County Library system: I think there are about 5 librares that are pretty close to us - we've been to 4 of them already. Not only are there programs galore (puppet shows, dog shows, storytime, etc), there's a ton of kiddie and non-kiddie DVDs to rent out and lots of fish books. [Trust us, we know; we've taken about 30 of them home already!!] One of the library even has an entire floor devoted to kids - we're impressed. Plus, we can borrow books from any of these libraries and return them all to the closest one. Needless to say, we go there a lot and the kids don't complain! :)

5) Forums: The main way I've been meeting moms is through these 2 forums - Mamasource and Mothering. It's definitely a different age these days, I guess. I've tried going to play areas and library to chat with people but it seems as if they're already in a group or don't have too much time to chat b/c they're running around chasing after their kids, too. But thru these forums, I've gotten to know these moms a bit and have even met up for playgroups and such. It feels a bit funny sometimes to meet up with perfect strangers but it's been working out great. :) I do miss all of you mommies I used to hang out with, though! Much love to ya!!

6)Our little Weber grill, meat thermometer & Cooks Illustrated: We've been grilling lots since it's been so hot and it's been great! :) Kev, the master griller, has been reading up on how to make the juiciest, tenderest meats (thanks to Cooks Illustrated!) and we've been reaping the benefits. No more tough chicken, dry steak or charred hotdogs. Yay!

7) Joovy Caboose Ultralight Double Stroller: So, we finally jumped on the bandwagon and got ourselves a double stroller. It was a tough, agonizing decision because I wanted something light, yet sturdy. Something that fits in the Camry's trunk when folded. Something that's fits through doorways and not hard to steer. Something that can accomodate an infant car seat when we have another. So, after lots of research, we decided to try this double first. The next one on our list was the Baby Planet Unity Double - a side by side double. Anyhow, praise the Lord b/c this stroller ended up working out great. Aidan doesn't mind sitting on the bench facing me, though he does do contortionist moves to see the front sometimes. There is a lap belt for the little guy, so at least he can't pop off at whim. It only weighs 21 lbs, so not too hard to manage and fits in our trunk! It steers great and fits thru aisles just fine (we took it outlet shopping without a problem). I like the big sunshade and the parent organizer but don't like how hard the basket is to get at, though. When Aidan prefers to walk, I don't feel like I'm pushing a train (it's not that long) and it's much better than pushing those shopping carts with a car in the front! Anyways, the long and short of it is, we do like it and anticipate using it a lot. :)

8) Cloth trainers & Thomas/Sesame Street underwear - Yuppers, Aidan is now formally pottytraining! It took a long while to find the right time to do it, from selling the house to moving, but we're finally settled somewhere. Plus, we wanted to make sure Aidan was pretty ready so it wouldn't take a bazillion years and lots of accidents. ;) Welp, we started about 3 weeks ago and for 2 weeks he's been in underwear during the day and a diapers at night. Yay! Thanks to all the moms that gave me great advice about training and for praying for us. :) Having Thomas & friends and various Sesame Street characters on your butt seems to be a big thing for a 2 y.o. boy. :) I also invested in cloth trainers for long outings where bathrooms might be hard to find (though we stashed a new little potty from freecycle that's in our trunk right now for places with no potties), which has been a God-send. Thanks Auntie Jen for lending us some from cousins' stash. [Sshhh! We won't tell them they shared!] We're also getting to know where the bathrooms are at the places we frequent and who has the nicest, cleanest ones. :)

9) And the last one is just for the ladies - Nordstrom's free bra fitting: After you have a baby (or two or three) and esp. after breastfeeding, your body is just not quite the same, esp. in the chest area (at least that's how it is for me). Since I have finally weaned Jana, I decided to go for a bra fitting. They do a great job and really know what they're doing. Actually, a lot of times, you end up being surprised at what size you actually are. And have a great fitting undergarment is an awesome feeling b/c your clothes will fit better, too. Plus, they are currently having their famous Anniversary sale, so it's very likely that your bra will be on sale!

Anyways, long post, eh? Before signing off, we just wanted to welcome Baby Lucas Foung and Baby Boy Naran into the world! We love you guys!! Alrighty, over and out.