second attempt at making a snowman this winter
very rare calmly posed picture of Stellar
major giggles after snowman’s head falls off
Our 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.
From the category archives:
personal
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.
This musical box was a Christmas gift given to Stellar from Poh-Poh(chinese, for grandma). Stellar loved it because it allowed her to store ‘secret treasures’ aka: random stuff lying around the house. For example, those little white balls from the Hungry Hippo game were once found there…not sure of their whereabouts now. Stellar then introduced this new collectors item to lil’ Gem & she was hooked! She was totally mesmerized by the spinning ballerina along with its music. Gem then discovered the best part: flicking the ballerina & watching it vibrate back and forth on its spring:P Or I could be wrong, she probably just loves looking at her fine baby self.
before:
after:
Brunch has got to be one of my favourite meals of the day. Eggs of all styles, baconnn, sausages, waffles, french toast…mmMMmm. Yes, all of these goodies are also seen eaten at breakfast…but let’s be real…I usually don’t get up that early to whip up a morning feast…I’m still on mat. leave with a loving husband who is much better at being an early bird:P With that being said, having time to savor breakfast at lunch is where it’s at!
The tantalizing eggy images above were taken at a ‘mommy group’ that happened to be my turn to host. Thank God for mommy groups! It’s a blissful time of having your kids play with others while the moms indulge in a feast fit for Queens and engage in adult conversations–what is better than that…beats me. The second image down wasn’t even taken on the same day…Gem was sick on that day so I didn’t have time to take the after shot. Solution: make another batch for family:) This easy recipe is SO simple. Put ham of choice in muffin tin, crack egg, salt & pepper, add mini cherry tomatoes + green onions. Bake in oven for about 10-15 min.(depending on how runny you like your yokes) and VOILA! Did I mention a mom brought home cooked creme brulee french toast?!? Heaven is here.
Now that Chinese New Year is over, Stellar insists on wearing her special new year’s outfit almost every day and announcing to others that she is Chinese. Did she voluntarily wear it for pictures on the actual New Year day?? Nope. Not surprising. I went on Youtube to show her various lion dance performances thinking that she would be to scared to actually view it live in person. After a few clips, she insisted on going to see a live lion dance. After I warned her many times that it would be very LOUD, I found a public performance that was happening the very next day at Markville mall.
We headed there right after church service that Sunday and it was of course, packed with a sea of black heads. Stellar and I wiggled our way in through the crowd to find a spot where we could see…something. Then an old dude in a Money God costume came out to give all the kids in the crowd a red pocket containing a chocolate coin. I was surprised at how ‘orderly’ the kids…uhh…I mean, the parents were while waiting to get their ‘lucky money’. Stellar seemed to be okay with the loud drumming and the lion dances…until I asked her to stand beside the lion performer for a photo…”MOmmmmyyyyy…..tOOooo scarrryyyy.” Even after looking into the mouth of the lion to see the people inside wasn’t enough of a sell. Well, looks like baby Gabriel was up for the challenge: no fear.
I’ve been to the Museum of Civilization many times as a kid growing up in Ottawa. Listening to the French speaking public has always been the norm for me. Now that I’ve spent the last 9 years working and living in T.O., going back to visit and not seeing a sea of multi-ethnic people gives me a little culture shock every time:P Yes, I was usually the only asian girl in elementary school. My classmates would always suggest that I ‘get-together’ with the other only asian boy in class. Problem: he was at least 2 feet shorter than me.
We took Stellar & Gem to the Children’s Museum during our stay in Ottawa for the Christmas holidays. It’s a really weird feeling bringing my kids to places where I’ve spent time as a child. Bonus: teacher’s get in free:D It’s been so long since I’ve been back. Some parts looked familiar, but most of it looked completely new. Either they’ve made renovations or my case of ‘mommy brain’ is sUPer severe. Speaking of having no memory, I recently mentioned to Lon about posting up shots from this trip to the Museum. He replied, “What Museum??”. This is yet another reason for my new camera purchase…to record the story of our lives in preparation for an early onset of Alzheimer’s—no joke. Lon.needs.more.brain.food. I’m envisioning ‘The Notebook’ movie, except, the other way around.
Today, I dropped some major change! For the past year, I’ve been yearning, wanting, ‘needing’ a full frame DSLR. I currently own a Canon Rebel Xsi with the kit lens, and no others. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with owning the Canon Rebel, I’ve just slowly grown a real interest for the prime lenses to compliment my style of shooting. Yes, I know it’s also quite alright to use prime lenses on existing crop sensored bodies. The recalibration didn’t really work for me, I guess I’m just drawn to the simplicity of A+B=C line of thought.
Why the switch to Nikon? I guess you can say that I haven’t really invested much into one brand up to this point. So I felt I could go either way and be happy. It was a personal choice influenced by other respected photographers, websites, and maybe a ‘heads or tails’ toss:P In the end, I’m just SO excited with this new purchase, and totally scared at the same time. The fear comes from this being a little step closer to building my own editorial children+family focused photography business. Ohh boy, I declared it publicly…writing that last sentence has literally made my heart race a lot faster. What’s next? Maybe taking the camera out of the box and charging the battery:D A big thank you to Lon, my hubby, who has continually encouraged me to take these steps towards committing to and doing what I love: photography.
10 months old and no teeth to show for it. Our lil’ Gem has been teething for …umm…let me see…the past 6 months?!? I think we’ve seen ‘something’ trying to come out for a while now, but so far, no action. In the big scheme of things, this is a very teeny tiny issue. But it’s just been no fun for Gem in terms of this slow & painful process, with a side of itchy rashes. She must go through at least 3 to 4, if not more, drooling bibs a day. If she keeps this up, she just might beat her sister Stellar’s drooling record of 2 full years:P Seen any deals on bibs lately?
Stellar loves reading. Actually, she prefers mommy and daddy reading while she asks a ton of questions…about each page. “Why does that guy have an angry face?” “Why are her legs red, is she wearing tights?” “Where is his/her mommy and daddy?” The last question is asked almost every time she sees a character on a page without any parents around–yes, she’s a little attached. Her favourite read is Pinkalicious, it has become one of those books in which I can recite word for word. Another fave is the Paper Bag Princess. At end of the story, the princess calls the prince a “bum” for obvious reasons. I then added that Stellar should never marry a bum. She replied, “I don’t want to marry a bum, I’m going to marry Gem.” I’m sure if Stellar and Gem got married, it would solve all of Daddy’s worst fears.