Buying a house!

We have been looking for a house for the past 2 years but home prices have been crazy. Finally we have offered on a place and the seller has accepted our offer. Yeah!! Here are some pictures of the house and what we need to work before moving in. 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bath.

Celebrating Sarah's 3rd Birthday in May!

Sarah is turning 3 on May 22. I took her to a portrait studio for some professional pictures. Her hair has grew out so she's more girly this year. Sarah is a natural poser, very cooperative. Always be happy, Sarah!

Springtime!

My younger sister won a 2 night stay at Palm Springs Las Palmas Resort from KOST 103.5FM. We had breakfast buffet with the morning hosts Mark and Kristin. They were really friendly, signing autographs and chatting with us.
The kids enjoyed the Splashtopia (lazy river, water slide and a man made beach for the little ones). It was a 96 degrees, which the locals feel is "ok" weather.

(Photo credit to Francine)

It was the first time Darren saw tumbleweed, which he commented as "a ball of circles". On the way home, we saw 2 full rainbows as we crossed over to rainy Los Angeles. We left Palm Springs in shorts and T-shirts...boy, it was cold and windy in L.A. We stopped at Cabazon for quick shopping. I bought a new pair of Stride Rite shoes for Sarah(8M) and Darren (size 12.5W). And of course, Doug complained about Sarah's shoes being more expensive $29 vs $19. He better get used to it soon.

With warmer weather, there were many gatherings with family and friends. Grandma's birthday was 3/24 so we had a small family dinner. Here is a picture of the 5 granddaughters and a semi-complete family portrait. Some would say Sarah looks like Jodi when she was younger.


We were invited to Edward's 5th birthday party. Darren was hesitant to join in the games at first but I told him when time's up, he will have to leave. That's when he joined in the fun with the others. Sarah was her usual self, interacting with the other kids. She was dancing to "I like to move it" from Madagascar 2 soundtrack....look at that expression!

March Madness

(Photo credits to Norman Lau)

Can't believe it's March already...a quarter 2009 has passed. Daylight savings was on March 8 so I feel we lost 1 hr of time. I never understood much of this daylight savings thing. China which is roughly the same size as U.S has only 1 time zone. Why make time so complex? This month has its ups and downs. Due to the recession, work had been very slow. Layoff rumors were circulating at work, everyone was worried. Then life was put in different perspective, my co-worker's wife was diagnosed with Leukemia. She's around my age with a 2 yr old daughter and now she's fighting for her life. Therefore, we should appreciate the time we spend with our family, friends and loved ones everyday.

From now on, I will try to re-cap some of Darren and Sarah's childhood memories:

Sarah has matured a lot after attending preschool. The teachers love her because she is a social bee...maybe too friendly. She kisses little boys quite often. A parent of her classmate said to me one day"My son, Lawrence, loves Sarah. More than his mommy" Her teachers say Sarah is very independent, always wanting to do things herself. Lately she wakes up to go to the bathroom on her own, without assistance. When Doug was on a business trip, she would say to me "Leave some food for Daddy" even though she knows Daddy was working. Her thoughtfulness is so sweet.

Darren is still an active kid. Even with his nose bleeds, bumps and bruises, nothing deters this kid. He cut his chin on the dining table while jumping from one chair to another. Sure he cried but only for a little bit. We worry more about the scarring. Darren's ego is pretty big. He wants confirmation that he is right. At school, when his excellent work is posted on the wall, he will point it out to me. During semester review, the teachers made some comments: "Darren is a very smart boy. He is confident about his academic abilities. However, he is very outgoing and sometimes he does not like to follow directions and we need to remind him of the class rules." Just because of slightly negative comment, Darren had a temper fit with us. He feels he had been wronged. Darren does have a gentler side, he has a crush with a classmate (Madison). He would draw pictures for her. For Valentine's Day, he gave a special card to her and his face totally lit up when she said she would show her parents. Darren's energy is boundless so sometimes it's hard for us to calm him down. Hopefully a sport might help when he's older.

Darren's Baby Photo Book #2

View Project at Shutterfly

Sarah Baby Photo Book

View Project at Shutterfly

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!
We celebrated Valentine's Day at Buca Di Beppo for dinner. The kids enjoyed the pepperoni pizza, linguine, green beans and free dessert (chocolate dipped strawberries). Thank goodness I made reservations early because the wait time for walk in was 1 and half hour long. We did well in polishing off the food now that Buca has "Small" sized dishes. We even saved $$ because we used a $10 coupon when I signed up for their Eclub online.

Saving every bit counts nowadays. News of layoffs have been very depressing. At my current workplace, they have started to lay off some people. I don't know when and if I will be the next to go. Thank goodness we haven't bought a house or else financial pressures would be heavier. We decided to keep Darren at Lily's Garden for Kindergarten next year. We feel Lily's Garden is a good place where Darren can learn more for the future. The extra year at Lily's Garden will be costly but the benefits will hopefully show in his future.

Here are some pictures from our Disneyland trip: