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Archive for June, 2008

Today is my mom’s birthday so we took her out to dinner at our local East Side Mario’s, which is an EXCELLENT italian restaurant out on Candlewood in Lakewood.  Always amazing food there.  Their parmigiana of any kind (chicken, veal, eggplant) is to die for, and there is enough for a full lunch the next day, too.  Big Mochi always fills up on their garlic bread, caesar salads and appetizers so by the time her spaghetti meal comes, she’ll take a couple of bites and  Baby Mochi will polish off the rest happily.  We’re talking HAPPY with huge grins every 10 seconds as she put her noodles on her fork with one hand and then ate it off her fork like a big girl.  Sooooooooo cute!!!

After putting the mochis to bed, I took my 11-year old nephew out walking to the video kiosk at our local Pavilions.  About halfway there, I realized I didn’t have my debit card.  I figured maybe we could go to Blockbuster and pay cash instead, but was politely informed that I’d need a credit card for that, too.  So instead, we walked all the way back home, jumped in the car, and drove back.  Hahahaha.  So sad.

Jumpers got bad reviews, but in my opinion… great movie!!!

23) It’s okay to have your own opinion.   Just don’t make the other guy feel like an idiot for not agreeing with your point of view.  Who’s to say you’re right?

• 6:30 am Get up
• 7:30 am Head out with double-stroller to the doughnut store to pick up breakfast and 7-11 for the Sunday paper
• 9:15 am Carpet cleaner shows up 15 minutes early while we are still moving furniture around
• 9:20 am We head to Robek’s for drinks and to Sam’s Club for food
• 11:00 am Naptime for everyone while me and Mom head out to Bath & Body Works for the end of their semi-annual sale and to Cinnabon to pick up dessert
• 2:00 pm I wake up realizing I had taken a nap and that the mochis are outside in the inflatable pool with Mom washing the car.  I run out to put sunscreen and bathing suits on everyone

• 4:00 pm Everyone’s back in and bathed and I am cooking panko/parmesan cheese-battered asparagus to go with the salmon and chicken for dinner tonight
• 6:30 pm Baby Mochi is fed and about to be put in her crib for the night while the rest of us eat (Mayedas are here)
• 8:30 pm Dinner is done, Big Mochi goes to bed, the rest of us are full and happy
• 9:30 pm House is quiet.  The weekend is over.  Exhausted!

Today was absolutely jam-packed with activities!  I started off the day with making some banana pancakes and bacon.  Yum!  Resulting from the empty plates in the end, I can conclude they were a hit!  We fed everyone hard and heavy so they’d nap well for the activities ahead.

We had two birthday parties to go to at the exact same time very far apart so we made the decision to split up the mochis and hit both.  It’s one of those things where we couldn’t NOT show up at either, and I think it turned out really well.  I took Baby Mochi to an Elmo-themed 1st birthday party, complete with kids beating the Elmo pinata with a very large stick, a beautiful homemade Elmo cake (that face is solid chocolate, baby!), the best chicken ever, and 16-ounce cups of mustard and mayo! 

Baby Mochi had a blast running after balloons like crazy with another cute little boy who was very social, introducing himself to everyone with a handshake!  Birthday Boy had his own little cake and umm… well, you can see what happened there!

Meanwhile, Big Mochi was at a princess pool party for one of her daycare buddies and came back with lots of fun stories and a tan (I had the camera so no pictures of that one, sorry). 

After that, we met up at home real quick, only to speed off to Medieval Times for a night of horses, hay and more food.  The chicken couldn’t even come close to tasting like the one at our previous Elmo party, and while our green guy was the evil one who lost in the end, it was fun.  Sadly, by the time we left, G could barely breathe.  Whether it was the horses or the hay all being in an enclosed arena, he was not doing well until we got home and he double dosed himself with some allergy meds.  But still, it was fun.  Here were the court people and our evil green guy.

Big Mochi returned home after being gone for a whole week.  She had an absolute blast and is happy to be home.  My family is once again complete and G isn’t moping around anymore.  We went to Tofu House in Cerritos, the one right behind Sam Woo, one of our favorite places to eat when family comes over.  I have a very busy weekend ahead of me so I’m going to cut this short before I pass out…

This ticket from the Nokia Theater parking lot has me perplexed.  It has a place to write in your parking section so you don’t forget where you parked, yet it instructs you to leave the ticket on your dashboard.  So if you write it in and leave it in your car, how does that help you?  Do you tear it in half, thereby making the ticket void?  It does not have a perforation.

Just thought I’d share.  Feel my pain for poorly-constructed items.

Supposedly Einstein said 98% of the population couldn’t figure it out but it’s probably a myth – or if it’s true, I’m wondering if he meant without a pencil and paper. 

Poor G.  He’s hurting without Big Mochi around.  At least took his mind off missing her for a little while…

I got this brainteaser at work today.  It’s a famous on so I’m sure you can find the answer online, but it’s not that difficult if you have a pen and paper.  I’m posting it solely for the purpose of showing you what I married.  I will give you time to figure it out and post G’s elaborate thought-process tomorrow.  It just screams, “I’M AN ENGINEER!”

There are 5 houses in 5 different colors, each situated in a certain position (5 in a row).  In each house lives a person of a different nationality.  The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet.  Using the clues below, can you determine who owns the fish?

·   The Brit lives in a red house.

·   The Swede keeps dogs as pets.

·   The Dane drinks tea.

·   The green house is on the immediate left of the white house.

·   The green house owner drinks coffee.

·   The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.

·   The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.

·   The man living in the house right in the middle drinks milk.

·   The Norwegian lives in the first house.

·   The man who smokes Blend lives next door to the one who keeps cats.

·   The man who keeps horses lives next door to the man who smokes Dunhill.

·   The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.

·   The German smokes Prince.

·   The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

·   The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.

Long day today.  The entire household got up at 4 am, no doubt from G making so much noise as he was getting ready for work.  No one seemed to notice the time except me and my grumpiness.

C&K are helping to run Vacation Bible School for their church up in Santa Clarita so I signed up Big Mochi and my nephew (he starts tomorrow).  I packed up the mochis and we headed up to their valley.  While Big Mochi was at VBS making cool crafts, listening to bible stories and learning new cool dances, Baby Mochi and I sought shelter indoors at a few nearby mini-malls keeping out of the 98-degree heat.  $100+ later (damn you, Target!) we met up with everyone, had lunch and got some Robek’s smoothies.  While we all napped for hours, mom and my nephew flew in from Hawaii and we had a late dinner at Black Angus.  I left Big Mochi and my nephew with C&K for the whole week and took mom and Baby Mochi home.  I fear Baby Mochi will give mom a hard time tomorrow due to lack of sleep and no one to play with.

*Robek’s is offering a free kids’ (12oz, I think) Robek’s smoothie with each purchase of a regular smoothie – restrictions apply, but not much.  Not sure how long the offer is, but take advantage while you can!

Man, it’s hot.  We put up the mini pool in the back yard and slathered sunscreen on the mochis and let ‘em run loose!  Big Mochi kept pouring water on her little sister’s head.  I was worried it would start a fight, because she each time she looked like she was mortified… until she’d yell, “AGAIN!” over and over and over. 

My mom and nephew come in tomorrow so we’ve been trying to eat up all the food in the fridge so mom can get all the stuff she wants to cook.  Just so you know, we don’t make her cook; in fact we ask her NOT to since she’s on vacation.  But that’s like asking someone to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun – it’ll rage on anyway, just like mom in a kitchen.  So anyway, until we take her marketing, we’ve been eating out  a lot lately – allowing us to get out of the house, which the mochis love, and then we can take advantage of someone else’s air conditioning. 

Big Mochi gets busted for  jumping on the bed in the guest room.  I tell her to stop and she trudges out.  When I turn around, Baby Mochi has now taken her place after pulling a stool over to the side of the bed so she can climb up on it and start jumping.

I chase her out and shut the bedroom door.

I tell them both to please behave while I finish the dishes.  When I peek out, Big Mochi is on the couch; Baby Mochi is in her tent playing with her Busy Basics Pop Up Ball toy.  I do more dishes.  I peek out again.  Baby Mochi is climbing up on the couch to give Big Mochi a hug.  Aww.    I finish the dishes.  This time when I peek out, Baby Mochi is taking Big Mochi by the hand, leading her.  I stay hidden and watch as she takes her big sister down to the end of the short hallway.  They stop in front of the guest bedroom door and she tells Big Mochi in her quiet low voice, “Open it.” 

The attached picture has nothing to do with this post, but it shows off their new jammies.  Big Mochis has Disney princesses on the front and Baby Mochi’s has Dora the Explorer.  So cute!!!

Today was Bring Your Mochi to Work Day! 

Okay, not officially, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. 

See, the morning started off like normal, I got everyone dressed and snacked and headed out to Aunty’s house.  Joe’s mom was out there dropping off Joe - or so I thought.  She said to me, “Oh, it looks like you did what we did!  Aunty’s vacation starts TODAY and not Monday.”   NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! 

G couldn’t get off work early and even though I could clear a few things off my desk with help from my trusty pals at work, I needed to get a couple of things done myself, so I set up a conference room in a pretty secluded corner, packed up lots of snacks and crayons and decided to go in late in the afternoon after the mochi’s naps – WITH THEM IN TOW.  Fortunately, lots of trainings were going on and big bosses were traveling so it was pretty deserted. 

How could I make this mistake?  Well, we had this discussion at home and I had G ask Aunty if their vacation did, indeed, start on Friday or Monday.  So how does he ask?  On Thursday afternoon as he picks up the mochis, he says, “See you tomorrow!” and since no one corrected him, he figured all was normal. 

I’ve got a month to plan Baby Mochi’s 2nd birthday party.  Dora the Explorer is her favorite, so the theme has been chosen (much to my dismay).  I haven’t started anything yet, but I know there will be a pinata.  I was trying to have the party at our local park, but the pavilion has already been reserved, so I’m bummed.  I may have to change the date to a Sunday instead of a Saturday.  Then again, if the heat keeps up, I’m not sure we even want to have it outdoors! 

Anyway, back to the pinata.  Did you know that pinatas now come in non-violent forms?  Yeah, instead of beating it with a stick, there are these hanging strings that the kids take turns pulling, and one of the strings releases the hatch.  I don’t really understand the theory, because I don’t think a bunch of criminals were influenced by pinata-beating as a kid…  Personally, seems as though string-pulling makes it kinda anti-climactic, no?  My friend suggested we tuck all the strings in and have the kids beat it anyway.  *sigh* I guess we’ll just have to see.  2-year olds aren’t that strong so it might take a while to bust it.

22) Use sunscreen, always buckle your seatbelts and don’t jaywalk.  These are some of the simplest forms of less-than-30-second safety precautions that could save your life. 

Throw a bunch of strangers together and, whether it’s in a classroom, a work meeting or a training session, there will always be one know-it-all who just doesn’t shut up.  This person a) volunteers useless trivia at all times, b) adds on to whatever information is being given, usually involving an experience they had, c) asks a question that was already answered 20 seconds before, and sometimes if you’re lucky d) all of the above.  To make things interesting, I usually start a tally on how many times this person repeats the word “I” or common phrases such as, “Right, I read that, and did you know…” or “Yeah, that happened to me once, when…” or “…and did you know that…”

It’s inevitable.  Yet we’re always surprised and annoyed when we pick him out.*  He makes the meeting last longer than it has to be and tests your patience in so many ways.  How much effort does it take to stop rolling up your eyeballs, or to refrain from throwing something at him, or sighing heavily each time he opens his mouth. 

I was talking to my boss about this today.  He proposed an idiocy vaccine with fatal side-effects for those carrying the dominant gene.  I thought that was a bit harsh and suggested sterilization instead.  Either way, it’s a fabulous idea.  I’m going to preen my mochis to be the founders of this vaccine! 

*If you can’t pick him out or have no idea what I’m talking about, that annoying person is YOU.

Me:  Do you know how to play bocce ball?

Mom:  Where is the game?  Send the site.

Me: It’s not an online game!  You go outside and play with balls on the lawn!

Mom: Oh.  Then no.

My mom will be 63 in less than 2 weeks.  She emails me several times a week while babysitting my nephews (ages 12 and soon to be 1).  She chats with me on Yahoo IM a few days a week here and there and has finally upgraded her cell phone to something that doesn’t resemble a walkie talkie.  She keeps up with technology pretty well and can play Spider solitaire and those free computer games like Jewel Quest, etc.  Even old people don’t go outside and play anymore!  The same complaint about being stuck indoors in front of games on a screen isn’t generational after all…

21) Be nice to old people.  You will be in their shoes one day.  And without them, you wouldn’t be who you are.

It was another beautiful day so we headed out to another beach!  There was a street fair going on at Huntington so we headed down there since that’s Papa Tom’s (godfather) hood.  Sadly, I didn’t even pay attention to what the street fair was celebrating, but it didn’t matter.  Was a great day to stroll and have a nice dinner overlooking the beach.  Big Mochi apparently got over her fear of big slides and had a blast (see pic).  She also spent her designated 4 minutes in a jumper non-stop until she was dripping with sweat, huge grin never leaving her face.  It was no wonder both girls sat in complete silence with concentration eating their gourmet cheese and macaroni dinner.  Another perfect day ending a perfect weekend with my perfect family.

Happy Father’s Day, G!!! 

20) When you find that person who you don’t get tired of, who makes you laugh, who challenges you without being mean about it, but most importantly, respects you, marry it!

It was a beautiful day.  I’m talking clear blue skies, light breeze, well-rested mochis and plans for the beach.  But - first things first – we had brunch at our local Chinese restaurant.  The mochis chowed down a bunch of dim sum and then we all went back home for a long food coma.  When we got up, we headed out to Laguna. 

Big Mochi had a blast. 

Baby Mochi had some issues.  The sand, for one.  She couldn’t deal.  The water was another.  Kind of difficult for one when you’re um… at the… BEACH! 

To end the torture, she ended up safely in G’s or my arms until the end of the walk down the beach and back.  After, we rinsed off and took a stroll through the town, discovering an awesome little hidden gelato shop where a strawberries and cream gelato in a waffle cone ended Baby Mochi’s ice cream aversion once and for all!  On the way home, we ended up at the District in Irvine for a pot pie dinner at the Cravery and Big Mochi romped in the fountain for a bit.  Again, Baby Mochi just sat back and wondered what was up with her big sister’s fascination with getting wet with ice cold water. 

The day could not have been better.  Utter perfection.

What we say vs. what they hear 

1. Come on, let’s go. = Run so I can catch you!
2. No! = Busted!
3. Shh! = Giggle
4. Bocha* time! = Get naked and run
5. Oh no! = Something yummy must’ve fallen. Find it quick!

Played bocce ball for the first time today.  So fun!  I totally want to go get a set now for the mochis!  I think our little backyard would be perfect as they are little and won’t be able to fling the balls too far.  Definitely going to look for that this weekend…

Dinner was at East Side Mario’s in Lakewood.  Baby Mochi was wearing a white t-shirt with tiny flowers all over it.  I had forgotten to bring a bib and her plastic toddler fork.  2 heaping servings of spaghetti with marinara sauce and chicken parmigiana later armed with a metal fork and an open hand as a pasta scoop, there was not ONE drop of sauce on her!  *proud*  I wish I could say the same about Big Mochi but hey, I’ll take it! 

*Bocha means bath in Japanese

Wow.  Where did the time go?  It seems like just yesterday I was chasing after my big brothers hoping they’d let me play with them.  See, I didn’t want them to play with ME, I wanted to play with THEM.  Their games always seemed more fun!  Chips was big back then; John and Ponch?  Cops and robbers looked like fun.  Cowboys and indians was much more exciting than playing House or coloring.  Besides, these were the days when Mom said Go Outside and Play and you did.  All the neighborhood kids were boys and Mom always added the dreadful instructions, “Watch your sister!” 

Once in a while, I got to play hide and seek with them.  Of course, once I hid, no one came looking for me.  Or I’d finish counting and search high and low in the house, only to discover they were down the block with the neighbors.  Or there was that one time they’d recruit me to play a trick on the other that involved me sitting in a bathtub until I got “the signal.”  You know what that was, right?  A slam of the door resulting in another successful ditch-the-little-sister.  Now they weren’t bad ALL the time.  Sometimes they were worse.  There was that one time where I was the cowboy being tied to a chair threatened by an unlit lighter and told not to scream while they went outside to play.  Of course, no sooner were they out of sight, I cried MOM!! and it was a race to see if they could untie me before Mom came out of the kitchen.

Hmm.  I just realized why I have such a high degree of tolerance for most things.  It was all in the training…

June 11 is King Kamehameha Day in Hawaii.  Did I ever mention how great it is to grow up in Hawaii?  I bet the state has the most holidays in the whole country, this being one of them that no other state can (or would) share.  Anyway, I only retain this date because my brother (Uncle C) missed it by a day.  I would love to dedicate this entry to giving a rundown of the great things the first King of Hawaii did, but honestly, I can only remember a few things, and probably some are incorrect.  I know he’s supposed to be an offspring of the gods and his full name was like a block long.  We had to copy it down in 4th grade Hawaiian history class and it took us all like a full hour and almost a full sheet of paper for most of us.  I remember he showed mercy on guys who attacked him with a stick – and that act instigated a very famous law (so famous, I don’t remember what it was called – something in regards to the stick that broke when it hit him) that involved kids and women to stay out of battles, or was it old people?  I think he allowed foreigners in to live with them in exchange for keeping Hawaiian lands to the Hawaiian people, and then that was messed up by subsequent kings.  I know they have the most beautiful leis hung on his statue during this time that are yards long.  There is a big parade on Oahu.   My apologies, Mrs. Hong, for misinformation I may be spewing. 

The latest car games have been pretty exciting for us all.  It involves coming up with an answer during your turn as fast as possible.  Of course, if you can’t come up with anything, the other players can give you clues as to help you come up with an answer.  There never seems to be a loser and even Baby Mochi jumps in – or at the very least, she repeats everything in case someone didn’t catch it the first time around.

1. Name things that start with the letter __
2. I spy with my little eye, something that starts with the letter __
3. What rhymes with ____?
4. Can we get to our destination before Big Mochi counts to 100 without help?  (No speeding)
5. Name 5 things that are (color), then move on to the next color
6. Guess which song Big Mochi is humming?
7. Or our personal favorite, let’s see who can be quiet the longest 

1. You can re-roll toilet paper and ribbon, but not scotch tape.
2. You can restack post-its, but not kleenex and wipes.
3. Petrified cheerios shrivel over time, but goldfish do not.
4. Babies cannot distinguish between fresh and petrified cheerios.
5. Babies develop superspeed when they feel their petrified cheerios are in danger of being taken from them.
6. Fake cell phones and camera toys do not fool babies.
7. Mommy purses contain built-in irresistable baby beacons.
8. Baby hands have built-in magnets that attract new lipsticks, gum and feminine products from all Mommy purses - the last of which gets extracted only during group events.
9. The climbability of an object is directly proportional to its height times the exact distance it takes a panicked mommy to cover to catch a falling baby. 
10. The time it takes for a panicked mommy to cover the exact distance to catch a falling baby never allows for an intake of breath or the release of a scream.  This results in an instantaneous 4.2% increase in white hair growth.

No matter how many fires you put out or how many idiots you come across in a workday, you can’t help but leave it all behind you once you walk in the door and are attacked by running footsteps and screams of Mommy.  I hear the rundown of what snacks were served, what games were played, who had a bad day, how high everyone at Aunty’s house can jump or how fast they run… it’s the best news report ever.  It’s a trip hearing about what matters most to you when you’re 4.  It usually involves the upcoming 3 birthday parties and what the next Halloween costume will be.  Today, it was Little Bo Peep and Baby Mochi would be her lamb. 

After the perfect breakfast at Mimi’s, Lisa flew back to Boston.  The mochis went to their last tumbling/gymnastics class until the next one starts at August.  We were asked to bring snacks/cookies for the kids so I grabbed those little cheddar-flavored Pepperidge Farm goldfish that all kids love.  I got the rainbow ones and the new mini ones and threw them in cupcake cups.  Did anyone ever think about how that came about?  I mean, if you think about it, how do you mix crackers with fish and cheese, and then make them red, green, orange, etc?  Does no one find that odd except me?!

19) When you can’t make up your mind, choose the seasonal desserts.  The other stuff will be there next time.

Starting with a stroll to meet G playing basketball, we ended up at the local doughnut shop.  We decided to eat light because we headed out to Gardena to eat at Bruddah’s, the best place to get some Hawaiian food!  Had to stop in at Sakura-ya for fresh mochi, then came home and all lapsed into food comas for something like 3 hours.  Let the girls run around at Heritage Park, which actually is a mini historic Boston-town complete with Medford Bridge (guess who lives in Medford?) until they were tired and worked up an appetite and finished off the night at El Torito.  Stuffed into a state of paralysis left us at home for the last evening of Lisa’s trip and we ended it watching Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. 

Big Mochi ran around so fast we could barely keep up with her as she ran up ladders and flew down slides repeatedly.  Baby Mochi did the same but in a slightly smaller calmer capacity, but she cracked us up by saying a very soft “Whee” before she would go down a slide.  Then at the bottom, she’d jump off and yell AGAIN! as she scampered back up into our arms to be lifted to the top of the slide.  And you bet I got it all on 50 pictures and a few great digital videos!!!