From the category archives:

personal

For most of Stellar’s young life, she wasn’t into dresses. Then one day, she decided it was the better wardrobe choice and that was it. I blame it on the following ladies: Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Disney wins, yet again. Recently, she’s been advising me that gloves would make her outfit even more beautiful. Gloves?!?? Obviously, she and I have lots to talk about:P This yellow number is by far her fave.

Well, the dress wasn’t bought by me. It was given by my dad’s new partner. I can’t even say the ‘w’ word even though they are now legally married. She literally came and overloaded my daughters with gifts along with a big 2lb bag of candy. I would say it’s been over a year since my parents separation, but the awkwardness and healing is far from over. Some days I try to see things from her point of view, but it’s nearly impossible. It’s okay if the awkwardness continues with me. Though as a mom, I instinctively want my daughters to be sheltered from all forms of brokenness. I know however, this can’t be done. The journey to discover beauty in brokenness continues…

posted in kids,personal on June 12, 2011 | 2 comments

yes people, I’m now one.So it’s officially been a year since my little Gem Gem, Gemiqua, Gemmy, Gemmifer, Gemalicious, Gemster, Gemalaya came into this crazy world. She’s been such a huge blessing to Lon, myself and especially Stellar. Generally, she’s been super chill & relaxed like Lon. Stellar’s intense & passionate about what she wants, just like her mommy:P We’ve described Gem’s look as Beiber-ish, a little Donald Trump & homeless. Her hair has quite the personality if you’ve seen it up close and personal. Even so, she has the most beautiful smile and can hold her own against her sister when she needs to with hand swats & super shrieks.

I know you’re not supposed to compare children, but I’m guessing most parents have and still do:P We’ve noticed that Gem’s taken her time with most of her development compared to Stellar. It took her most of the year to associate the word ‘mama’ directly with me, she hasn’t started to walk yet (would rather scoot on her bum), plus her first teeth took about a year to come through. But with that said, she does live up to her name, even at the ripe old age of 1. My lil’ Gem is a gem.

posted in kids,personal on May 13, 2011 | 1 comment

I came home one day after running some errands to find Lon passed out in the corner and Stellar as is. As you can see, I really don’t have to do much planning to get quirky pictures of Stellar, simply because of her natural sense of imaginary play. It’s truly amazing to watch kids create elaborate stories with very little to work with. All they really need is a cardboard box. I’ve witnessed some pretty cool cardboard box ‘houses’ set up at other homes. Most of the time, I feel that my money and efforts are wasted on gimmicky type of toys. The ones that require little to no use of imagination.

This particular day, Stellar decided to have twins. She explained to me how it was hard work carrying her babies (she’s listened in to many mommy conversations):P In addition to her twins she also had 2 other children grabbing for her attention. I tried to empathize, but I’m only a mother of 2—hehee. Miraculously, she delivered both healthy stuffed baby pandas in about two whole seconds! Yes, mommy and pandas are all doing well:) Congrats Stellar! OMG, does this mean I’m a grandma??

posted in kids,personal on May 11, 2011 | 2 comments

Bath time ritual: take out crazy knots out of Gem’s hairrub the lucky belly:)“rubber duck’s peeing mom!”Gem enjoys the companyI believe it was at Stellar’s request to bathe together with Gem. We haven’t done it before because Gem couldn’t sit on her own for a while, and I really didn’t think the both of them would fit in the little blue Ikea bathtub. Well, surprisingly, they did. I guess that’s one of the perks of having two petite girls (totally from Lon’s gene pool) Hehee. Needless to say, they both had a blast. Plus we saved water. Bath time is now a high priority on Stellar’s ‘to do’ list.

posted in kids,personal on April 12, 2011 | 1 comment

It’s not uncommon for Lon to pass out anytime, anywhere in the house. Usually, Stellar’s early mommy instincts kicks in and she covers him with a blanket. This particular day, I walked into the living room and saw this. I immediately recognized it being the work of Stellar, then I smiled like a proud mama:) Most parents wish their child to be super smart or some sort of child prodigy. I on the other hand can settle for stunts like these–lol. Of course I have big hopes and dreams for my little girl, like being some sort of teacher like mommy, or even my little second shooter:P Whatever path she chooses, I hope she doesn’t lose this creative mind to make daddy look fab-u-lous! Simply genius.

posted in family,personal on April 7, 2011 | leave a comment

second attempt at making a snowman this wintervery rare calmly posed picture of Stellarmajor giggles after snowman’s head falls offOur very first attempt at making a snowman was very sad, it was at most 10 cm in height. This winter’s snow, though abundant, wasn’t sticky enough to make a huge snowman. But it was definitely great for ‘Bath-tubogganing‘! Being from Ottawa, I’m used to TONS of snow. So having it snow in March & April isn’t out of the ordinary for me. I miss the seeing the gigantic snow & ice sculptures featured during the winter festival. Don’t get me wrong, I’m also in great anticipation for spring to actually come to stay–I have kids who are in need of outdoor activities that don’t require snow suits!! Plus I’m itching to have outdoor BBQ parties ASAP…mmMMmm…the smell of blackened meat & veggies awaits.

posted in kids,personal on March 27, 2011 | leave a comment

Inspired by posed wedding shoes…like those fancy Christian Louboutin’s.But do the Louboutin’s heel flash with lights? I think not.Every trip we take to the Disney Store consists of Stellar trying on ALL of the different variations of ‘princess shoes’. Plastic sandals with heels, made for girls as young as 1 yr old. She then attempts to walk around the store, bound to trip and fall on her face with every step she takes. She doesn’t even bother to try on the flats…”I like heels mommy”. I don’t even know where she gets this idea from, I rarely wear heels myself, but I guess her knowing that I own them is good enough for her.

I’ve delayed buying her a pair as long as I could. My thought was that she could just play with them at the Disney Store and that would be it. Then the Disney Store by our house closed down. Darn it. One random day our family decides to scout for another one for her entertainment. I saw a pair on clearance for under $4.00. I don’t know what possessed me to buy it…actually I do know…it was cheap and I wanted to make her happy. Yes, I had a weak moment and was suckered, yet again. Disney Store: 10+pts vs Mommy: 0.

posted in personal on March 20, 2011 | 7 comments