We made it: Taiwan/CA Edition!

The City of Taipei

Welp, we did it - made it to Taiwan/CA and back with our toddler, preschooler and bun. :) Overall it was a great trip, we got to see grandparents, friends, and other relatives that we haven't seen in a long time, ate great food, and saw some awesome sights of Taiwan that people normally don't get to see. I wish I had written down the names of those places in English - but we were in the mountain regions where they grew tea and various veggies and a sheep farm! The weather up there was beautiful - a breezy mid-70s most of the time. Anyhow, the grandparents were so happy and that made us so glad we went. More on CA later...

The kids did relatively well, though the 12 hour time change really did a number on all of us. We also took turns getting strange fevers, which didn't help. The multiple layovers also made getting there and back a bit tedious. But thank God for some super helpful relatives that took care of the kids when we were too exhausted to!! A big thanks, also, to all the moms that gave great advice for traveling!! Anyhow, here's what we learned with pics to come soon. :)

Gear

-We brought a single stroller and the Ergo baby carrier. Man, those were lifesavers! If the kids wanted to walk, our lugagge went in the stroller. Plus, since the stroller was gate-checked, so it made the long walks from gate to gate a breeze. Aidan also fell asleep in it a lot, which helped so much. Now that we think back, a double would have been fine, as well, since we didn't end up schlepping it too much, though we did use the stroller some in Taiwan and those narrow streets and throngs of people wouldn't have been as forgiving as in airports. But having a single is definitely good enough. The Ergo was also a lifesaver and allow little Jana to take naps whenever we went. I just felt bad for Kev who had to carry her in the front, his backpack in the back and pull the luggage along with him at the airport. I tried carrying her in the back but it wasn't very comfortable anymore at this stage of the pregnancy.

-Babylegs were great in helping Jana transition from really hot and humid (FL, Taiwan) to cold and dry (plane, San Fran) - we love them!

-We also brought them their jackets and favorite blankets to help them sleep wherever we were at the moment.

-Klipiis bib clips were a lifesaver - they converted any napkin into a bib, so I didn't have to carry around wet, foody bibs. :)

-Avon's bug repellant was another lifesaver. Those mosquitoes in Taiwan were persistent, everywhere and huge! Just thinking about them makes me itchy! Since I have been known to be the moquito magnet, I found Avon's sunscreen and repellant in one lotion (DEET free) and their unscented Expedition repellant and suncreen spray which can be sprayed upside down (also DEET free) and they worked wonders to keep the bites to a minimum. So I only came back with about 15 bites. ;)

Boredom Busters

We had a lot of traveling to do - on the plane and on the tour bus - so it was imperative that we had a lot of boredom busters for the kiddies. The kids liked:

-sticker books and new paperbacks we got from Sort Floor Books (an online outlet with free shipping over $14.99)

-DVD player with some new DVDs (Taiwan has the same voltage)

-pipe cleaners to make things

-Dinosaur play scene from Mudpuppy

-little tubs of playdoh

-Under the Sea lacing cards from eeBoo

-lots and lots of snacks!! I bought some 100 calorie snack packs so it would be easy to pack and that worked out pretty well. On the way back, we bought some fun snacks at I-Mei and they loved those!! Taiwan definitely reigns in terms of snack assortment. Hehe.

-Aidan and Jana also took to a lot of the aunties and uncles, so they helped a lot in keeping the kiddies occupied. :)

-We even resorted to buying a Leapster on sale for Aidan but that never even got used. Can we say birthday gift? ;)

For next time

There were some things that we wish we would have done but didn't get to do.

-Show the kids pictures of all their relatives, distant and close, even if we weren't going to go on the trip. We feel that seeing those picture often and maybe knowing some of their names would be key in helping them feel more comfortable in meeting these people they haven't seen in a while. A friend of mine (Hi Leah!) has a deck of pictures in a ring for her kiddies. Will definitely have to make one soon!!

-Pack in less activities. Because we were in Taiwan and CA for such a short amount of time, we were busy visiting people. We also embarked on a tour of Taiwan for 5 days in hopes of spending time with Kev's grandparents, which was great but a bit hectic. If possible, we would have loved to have more time to do all this leisurely.

-Less layovers. We had 2 layovers because of the ticket we could afford but the kids kept falling asleep toward the end of the flight and had to wake up again to catch the next. And all that going up and down also woke them up a bit. We tried dum dums to help alleviate the ear discomfort but it was such a mess, I ended up getting gummies as a substitute for the way back.

-Nix the kids' backpacks. I think having them carry some of their toys, snacks and blanket would help lighten the load and give them some responsibility but since they kept falling asleep everywhere or was being really cranky from being woken up all the time, I ended up carrying them or putting them on the stroller. I would have rather have it all in one place, esp for security checks and for sanity of mind as I strove to keep track of all of our bags everywhere we went. 2 bags is easier to keep track of than 4. :)

I'm sure there is more but that's all my brain can unpack right now. Pun intended. :)

The Berkeley part of our trip was very refreshing and enjoyable. Our lovely hosts: Stephen, Hanna and Mayah did a great job helping us readjust back to life in the States. :) We got to visit Berkeley University, see some of our hosts favorite spots, and enjoy many delicious home-cooked meals (thanks, Hanna!). We even got to see a bunch of people from our old Youth Group - what a treat! Anyhow, we all must get together again!

Anyhow, I'm sure you're mostly here for the pictures. ;) However, we haven't had time to put them up just yet but when they're up, they'll be on this new site here since we ran out of room on our old site.

Cheers!

We're back! (What we've been up to...)

Hi all: We made it back from our Taiwan trip in one piece!!!! Hallelujah! We'll definitely post about that later - we learned a lot about international travel and wanted to share with you guys how it all went, what worked, what didn't, etc. :) Anyhow, we've been back home getting over jetlag, decluttering, packing furiously and enjoying our last few days here. Also, we just got back from Bonefish Grill (thanks to Kev's generous bosses!!) and had a super delish dish [I know, that rhymes, eh?!] that we wanted to share with you guys. It's their 'Dynamic Icelandic Duo' with Wolf Fish and Icelandish Charr. Super super yummy I tell ya! Aidan simply ate it up and asked for more - haha! I suspect it's because the Charr looks very much like a salmon but was somehow more tender and flaky. Anyhow, needless to say, there were no leftovers. :)

Yesterday, we hit the movie theatres with the kids for the second time for a matinee showing of Wall-E (thanks to the generous Chi parents!) and it was really great! I like the not-so-subtle environmenal message mixed in with some really funny bits that kept the kids (and adults) entertained. This movie really makes you think about the implications of the things we buy, the trash we produce and the impact our decisions have on the environment. Yay for Pixar! Anyhow, on the way home, before the kids fell asleep, they were yelling back and forth "Wall-E!" "Evaaa". Really cute. :) What more can we say? Go see it! :D

Beautiful books!

Ever since we've started reading to the kids, we've come across some children's books that are a feast for the eyes! We can't imagine the amount of work it took to create such great illustrations - what a feat! Anyhow, Aidan and I call them 'beautiful books' and here are some of them:

Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes

One Night in the Coral Sea by Sneed B. Collard

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

One Lonely Seahorse by Joost Elffers [Yes, our kids love sea creatures! LOL!]

Fast Food by Joost Elffers

Oh, and here's a really funny one... I Am Invited to a Party by Mo Willems - really, read it with gusto and have your kid(s) participate and it'll be a blast! The cool thing is that at anytime, I can start chanting 'party, party, party..." and one of the kids will inevitably say "Wait!" Haha! Enjoy!

Random tibdits for today

1) If you have a little one who has a small tushie or who is pottytraining early, Fruit of the Loom makes the smallest undies (their 2-3T size) to fit that petite frame. Carter's, it seems, is cut for wider babies. [Jana update: She's doing really well at pottytraining with some accident-free days, even as we've phased out the raisinettes. Shhh...she usually forgets to ask. Ahem. But still being in a crib has its drawbacks in that she can't come out at night or during naps to go pee unless she hollers for me, which she seldom does. So, she's in her trainers for naps (love those Imse Vimse and Little Beetles!) and diapers at night. She even did well at Sea World!]

2) We're finding out that shipping a car cross-country is not cheap! And finding a reputable company is not easy, either. We're getting some quotes via recommendations from movingscam.com (love them!) and will report back. :)

3) If you have a Publix Supermarket by you - definitely try their cakes for special occasions. They are reasonably priced and have so many options for decorations and the cake itself. For Jana's 2nd birthday, we got her a Pooh bear one with marbled cake and fresh strawberries on the inside and freshly whipped topping on the outside. Yummers! I cannot wait! Anyhow, I had a taste of one of their cakes at A & J's friends' bday party this weekend, which gave me the idea. I was going to get another Costco one but decided to try this instead. Yay!

How's that for random? ;)

Carseat dilemma update...

Thanks to all those that replied to my last post about whether there is a fuel-efficient minivan out there and what my other options are with 3 kiddies in car seats. After doing LOTs of research these past few nights (though I don't mind, I kinda like that stuff), we've decided to keep my Camry for now (though the check engine light is STILL on...sigh....don't get me started on that! ;)), and continue to explore having 3 carseats in the back of it. I didn't see it as much of a problem but some mom did remind me that kids like to explore other kids' faces a lot, esp when in such a close proximity. Then I was imagining the new baby sleeping peacefully and then *zing* Jana pokes an eye or Aidan squeezes a cheek. Doh! But I guess I'll see how it goes, eh? :)

Kev and I have been spending way to much time on this website and realized that there is really a forum for EVERYTHING!! But we learned a lot as we explored the whole 3 carseats in a row situation. Check out this post! [Some woman even managed to squeeze 3 in the back of her 2 door Honda Civic! I really had no idea this could be done! ]Anyhow, there's lots to read on there re: installation, purchase, etc. Fun stuff! Eventually, we figured out that there is no way to do it with the car seats we have: Evenflo Triumph, Graco Snugride, and a Graco booster. The Triumph is way too wide and would likely hit the Snugride, which we wanted to put in the middle for safety reasons but also because since it will be rear-facing, will need lots of room. If we do put the Snugride on the side, Kev would be super cramped if ever in the passenger side. Plus, then we have to deal with how hard it is to buckle Aidan in with the Snugride riding up next to the buckle stem. Aiyah!

So, anyhow, we decided to get a new convertible carseat for Aidan and settled on the Sunshine Kids Radian 65, because it is one of the narrowest carseats out there (you can squeeze 3 of those babies forward-facing in most cars!) and can accomodate kids up to 65 pounds. They also sell the Radian 80 but with my beanpole kiddies, I doubt they will reach past 65 lbs before exceeding the height limit. The Radian is one of the narrowest carseat available but looks like a big kid seat. Plus, since it's still a convertible, the buckles are in the front, so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to buckle him in on the side. And after reading so many different posts, we were reminded that is a good idea to keep them in a 5-point harness for as long as possible. But Aidan's had the freedom of a booster for a bit now, so we'll see what he thinks. We'll just have to play it up, I suppose. :) The Radian is a darn heavy car seat, which can be annoying, but the seat can fold up to about 6 inches for easy travel, so that's a plus. We'll just have to see when we get it. We found it on Target with free shipping and free returns to the store, so at least we can play with it to see if it'll work out without being out any money. Hehe! If it's a-go with Aidan, we'll buy one for Jana once it gets closer to the due date and see how it goes from there. It poking becomes a problem, maybe I'll put Aidan in the middle since he listens better? Haha!

Anyhow, I wish we had thought about this before we bought all those car seats so we could have saved ourselves some money. Alas. But if anyone is in the market for car seats, take a look at the Radian, too, in case you might come across a similar problem a few kiddies later. :) The Mazda 5 is still in contention, however, but we figure the longer we can hold out on buying a new car for me (and Kev's car is not doing so hot, either), the more options we'll have. :) What do you all think? Any thought?

A minivan that's NOT a gas guzzler?

So, with the impending arrival of #3, we need to think about a bigger car. Doh! I've been dreading this because I really disliked driving (and parking, esp) big cars. [My dream car is the Prius with a bigger rear window!] But we need a car that can accomodate a family of five and can afford us some type of trunk space. So, we're thinking the minivans are it because most of the SUVs that we've looked at have barely any trunk space and I'll definitely need some room to tote my double stroller around. Anyhow, after doing some research on the matter, it seems like the minivans are gas guzzlers for the most part. And with gas prices creeping (or rapid climbing, really) towards the $4 mark this summer here in FL, this is disheartening. Filling up my Camry already makes me sad, so we're looking for a fuel efficient model. Kev is investigating the Mazda 5 right now because it seems to be a bit more wallet-friendly at the pump. But does anyone have any suggestions for a minivan (or even an SUV) that is NOT a gas guzzler? Maybe we overlooked some? (A vehicle that also has great safety ratings would be great!)

[We are also reading up on if we can get 3 carseats in a row in the back of my Camry, so stay tuned!]

Our Orlando vacation

It's funny to think that we've been in Florida over almost a year now and have just now ventured east to Orlando for a mini-vacation over the Memorial Day weekend. Alas, it was when we've just about run out of weekends here that we think of this...but oh well. :) Anyhow, we're back to report that it was a really fun, relaxing vacation!

We took off Friday afternoon, right after the kids woke up from their naps. The traffic was not horrible and we make it to our Residence Inn (the one closest to Sea World) at around 7pm. Thank goodness we had lots of snacks to tide ourselves over because we decided not to make a stop til we got to our hotel. We had gotten a reasonable rate on Travelocity and was just glad we got a room at Residence Inn. [I'm going to digress a bit and say we LOVE LOVE LOVE Residence Inns. We love that they offer 1 bedroom suites at a reasonable rate so that after the kids go down, we can still watch TV, play games, read, and enjoy ourselves. We love that they offer free HOT breakfast - read: eggs, freshly made pancakes & waffles, sausages, ham, and the regular cold stuff - cereal, fruit, yadda yadda. We basically made it our breakfast plus snack and didn't have to buy too much for lunch. Haha! We're so Chinese, I know. ;) They also have a kitchenette with all the utensils and cookware for those that want to cook themselves. And it's always super clean and neat. Yay!] Anyhow, after a quick dinner at McDs, we just played at the hotel (they had a playarea in the back) and checked out all the amenities they offered. It was nice to get settled in a bit earlier and get some downtime to read and relax before bed. The kids did take a while to get settled since they normally sleep in separate rooms but after chatting for a while (we were trying to figure out what they were talking about but to no avail), they finally dozed off. Phew!

Saturday, the kiddies woke up a bit early around 8am and we head off downstairs to our nice, big breakfast. Yummers! Then it was off to Sea World! We had gotten the FL resident special tickets online when we were home, so it was nice to skip the lines. While Kev headed for the Kraken, the kiddies and I went to Shamu's Playland. It was nice not to wait in any lines for the kiddie rides and to be able to take pics with the cool Orca statues without anyone rushing you. Haha! Anyhow, the double stroller came in super handy here - Aidan can hop on and off at will and it was streamlined enough to get through the crowds no problem. The canopy was also pretty good at covering both kids if Aidan leaned back a bit. And I guess it was pretty comfy since Jana fell asleep in it - LOL! We had slather ourselves and the kiddies with sunscreen, so no one got burnt - yay! The new snacks I bought helped to fill in the gaps, so we didn't have to spend a ton of money at each meal. But I would have to say that the food at Sea World (and Busch Gardens, for that matter) is way better than the food at other amusement parks, in my opinion. The meat was usually juicy, the fruit sweet, and the bread moist. :) The cool thing that happened to us that day was this: it started to pour right when we were about to look for some lunch. So every place that offered lunch with some sort of covering was totally packed. We ended up going to this grill place and was wondering how we were going to get seats since people were already standing around eating their food and others are patrolling the place like hawks to get seats. But Kev and I decided not to worry about it until we paid. And just right before we finished paying, some couple finished up and "psstt'ed" me, telling me that they were getting ready to leave and wondered if I was ready to jump into the seat to save it. God totally provided! Thank you, Lord! :) Anyhow, after lunch we headed home for a nap break but Jana was too excited to sleep and got a bit cranky. Oh well. We ended up meeting Kev's high school friend (that he found via facebook) for dinner at the City Walk at Universal and had Bubba Gump for the first time. It was nice - never knew they could do shrimp that many ways! Haha!

Sunday, we started a day a bit later and ended up at Sea World again. There is truly so much to see and do, that a 2nd day was definitely warranted. Thank God for SW's current special where anyone can come back for free a 2nd day. :) Aidan really wanted to feed the dolphins today but the line was super long. :( Maybe next time? We spent most of our time around the Shamu area where they had a good sized spray park - the kids can spend hours there! We also decided to go back after dinner since they have different shows at night and we are so glad that we did! We went to the Shamu Rocks show and it was so fun! It's definitely more rock-n-roll than 'Believe" and the kids loves clapping to the music and seeing the crowds. The kiddies learned to do the wave that night. :) There were other shows that we caught parts of, including their fireworks - it was really neat and the kids didn't want to leave! :) The only bad thing was while we were exiting the Shamu Show that night, Jana's shoe was squeezed off, leaving her with only one shoe for the remainder of the night - doh! Here's a pic from the Shamu Rocks Show:

Monday, we really took it easy and slowly packed and got ready for the day. Then it was breakfast time again - yay! :) After checking out, we headed off to the outlets to buy Jana new shoes because she actually only has one pair of shoes for warm weather, which means she really needed new shoes. The sales person looked at us a bit funny when we declined a bag or even a box for our shoe purchase - I had to explain that my daughter lost a shoe at SW last night. Then he just laughed and said that he actually hears that a lot. [Note to self: make sure the kiddies' shoes cannot be easily pulled off, esp when going to amusement parks.] Then we headed off to Downtown Disney. It's funny because we had been to all these places when we came to vacation in Orlando back in 2005 but it was still fun! We had also gone to Downtown Disney on a date (since my in-laws were with us last time and could babysit) so this time was very different with kids. We were in awe of the lego sculptures back in '05 but to see the kids ooh and aah at it was really neat! Plus, Kev and I only spent a few minutes making things out of legos at the lego station but spent almost 30 minutes there with the kiddies. ;) It was also a nice walk around the place since the weather was beautiful that day. Then after lunch, we finally headed home. What a great trip!

Aidan's Lego creation

And we leave you with Jana and her new shoes. :)

Quick updates

Kiddies on our trip back up north - nice PJs dontcha think? :)

1) We went up to PA to find housing 2 weekends ago and we're currently working on a lease! This is a nice townhome in Nazareth, near Bath. Hehe - all these funny names over there!

2)We are taking a trip to Taiwan from mid-June to the end of June with a quick stop in San Fran right before we head back to FL. Yes, and that's with our 2 kiddies in tow. The main impetus is to visit the grandparents and for them to see their great-grandkiddies. :) We've been reading up on tips to travel internationally with 2 little ones but if anyone has any experience or tips, we'll take it! Email me!!

3) We are pleased to announce that we have some Novemberish news! ;) If you remember, please pray for us!

4) We are still moving early to mid-July so I'm currently working on getting estimates from movers (again). Therefore, we hope to get most of our packing done before we head abroad. This will definitely be a whirlwind summer!

5) Last but not least, Kev is taking his oral boards this weekend - please pray for him!

Alrighty, hope all is well with you and yours!

Potty thoughts...the clean kind...

So, it's been quite a few weeks that Aidan has been dry all through the night without having to wake us up to take him potty in hte middle of the night. Hallelujah! With this new milestone under his belt, Aidan has been so different. And, I mean, different. This is how it happened: So after a few nights of dry diapers, we decided that we would put him in underwear overnite as a test run. Then he continue to keep his underwear dry, for the most part. And since then, he's been saying things like "Yes, I will" [to requests like it's time to take a bath - normally there will be pleas and bargaining], "Ok, I will do it" [let's stop playing and go have lunch - usually there will be hiding or bargaining], and "That's ok, I can do it by myself" [where he has been stubbornly wanting us to do things for him that he can clearly do himself]. Kev and I could scarely believe our ears. Everytime we heard that we kept staring at each other as if to say "Did I just hear that correctly" or "Did that just come out of his mouth?". I mean, Aidan is a very pleasant and generally obedient boy...but he really is just 3 and a half and has a tendency to want his own way and do his own thing on his timeline. But who knew that keeping dry at night would empower him in such a way?! Maybe someone has already written about this observation in a book or something but I thought I would share our experience in case no one had. ;)

And now, Jana. I had already written in the past about how Jana wants to go and can go #2 on the potty for a while now because of her great desire to emulate Aidan in everyway. So, I thought, let's see if she's ready to potty-train totally. So this morning, I decided to give it ago. Wowzers. Let's just say - only 1 tiny accident all day today and she was in underwear almost the entire day [just not naps and bedtime]!! AND, she told me she had to go without prompting! She is getting raisinettes for each deposit into the potty and for keeping her underwear dry - maybe she really likes raisinettes?! :) And here's hoping that this is not just a fluke but that I'll really be diaper-free for a while!! Will keep y'all posted!

Kumon Love?!

Yep, it's true. We love Kumon at this house. Nah, not the classes (at least not yet) but the workbooks they've put out for little ones. I had no idea they had them but saw them when I was browsing around for gifts at Target a few months back. Then I saw them at Barnes & Noble. Then I read great reviews on Amazon. So, I thought, let's give 'em a try. And the results are great! Here's a few pics of Aidan after some sessions of "school":




As you can see, there's a bunch of crafty things for them to do to develop some basic skills like cutting, gluing, stickering, drawing straight lines, etc. We really like the "First Steps" workbooks for that reason. And because they use the same Kumon philosophy of the projects getting slightly harder with each page, it makes learning something new almost effortless as each page builds on the skill learned in the previous pages. Another thing that is great about them is the quality - not only is each page printed on high-quality paper, the colors are vibrant, the pictures are cute and well-drawn and the projects are creative! My only complaints are that it can get a bit pricey (hard to reuse) and the books are bound in a way that it's a bit hard to hold it open and write at the same time (I end up holding it open while Aidan works on each page). I know I'm sounding like an ad for them right now but no, I'm not being paid by them for this post. [I wish I were, though! ;)]

We have these workbooks for Aidan (he's about 3.5 y.o. currently):
Let's Color
Let's Cut Paper
Let's Sticker & Paste
My First Book of Tracing
My Book of Numbers 1-30
My Book of Easy Mazes

Combined with some great workbooks from Costco and the dollar store, he's been learning lots! It just makes me feel good that I can actually teach him something, you know? Thanks for reading!!