Having Fun at the Library

I used to go to the library quite a bit growing up. Especially for school. I guess it is because not everyone had a computer at home then. Nowadays, you’re considered “weird” if you don’t have a computer at home. I loved the library. When I had to write a paper or had to study for an exam, that’s where you will find me. Sometimes, I’ll even visit the UCI library even though I was only a junior in high school. There’s just something about it. The smell. The quietness. The books. I felt like I was among the elite - the nerds of the world. And I loved it.

But that was over 10 years ago. I don’t think the word “library” even exists in the kid’s dictionary these days. In a world of computer games, who has time to go to the library, right? I think we as parents need to start exposing our kids to the library at a younger age.

This past Saturday, I brought Little Mochi to the Lakewood library for the very first time. He loved it. I let him run around the children’s section of the library. It’s got a colorful mat in the center where the librarians do their weekly reading program (they’ll read to the kids). Along one side of the wall, there is also a big shelf full of developmental toys. You can guess that is where Little Mochi headed! He grabbed a toy and ran all over the library, giggling and laughing. It was the cutest sight. Along another wall there are CD’s upon CD’s that we can borrow. Parenting CD’s, Lamaze CD’s, children’s CD’s from Einstein, Playskool, Sesame Street, and even good old Barney the Purple Dinosaur! I was amazed.

But it wasn’t as amazing as meeting this little girl who was about 10 years old. Little Mochi ran straight to her, stared at her for 30 seconds, and stuck his hand inside her bag to grab something. She had a few books, some toys, and some putty looking thing in small buckets. Little Mochi was holding one when I got to him (he runs around fast - it’s hard to keep up with him sometimes!). I apologized to the little girl and told Little Mochi to return the putty. He did, but the little girl said that Little Mochi could keep it because she has so many. I was touched. It’s great that she was so willing to share. Perhaps those reading programs teach your kids how to share?

But what strike me even more than her sharing characteristic is that she said she loves the library because there are so many things she can do there. I was darn impressed.

So parents, start bringing your kids to the library when they are young. There are many things your kids can do at the library. It’s especially nice if the kids are on summer break and have a little more time to enjoy their summer vacation. Here are 8 ideas to help get you started:

  1. What are other kids reading at school? Perhaps he can pick up that book too.
  2. Pick up his favorite magazine and curl up in a corner of the library.
  3. Look up new and unfamiliar places of the world with a map or encyclopedia.
  4. Find videos and music CD’s to borrow.
  5. Learn more about your favorite baseball player or animal.
  6. Do research for his homework with all the available resources.
  7. Become a better reader by joining their summer reading program.
  8. Listen to storytellers / authors read their books to other children.

I’m inspired. I am going to make sure we bring Little Mochi to the library more often now.

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Traveling Abroad? 3 Traveling Tips for Going Overseas

I just returned from a one week trip to Taiwan.  It wasn’t a vacation, although some may call it that.  I went back with my husband’s family for Grandpa’s funeral.  The last time we went back (two years ago), he spent the entire week in the hospital to be with him.  Back then, the doctor said he had 6 months to live.  He lived another 2 years.  So in mid July, we made arrangements to attend the funeral.  Several things happened during this short one week “vacation” that I wish we had prepared for.

1. Tickets to Taiwan in July are truly expensive!  It costed us $1400 per person.  PER PERSON!  Normally, when we go in October, it’s only around $600 - $700.  AND, the weather is much nicer then.  But I suppose everyone is on summer vacation in July.  Before you decide to travel abroad, find out when their peak season is.  It’s best to go when it’s not in their peak season.  You’ll end up paying twice as much for airfare.

2. The weather in July is extremely hot and humid.  You literally in drenched in your own sweat from just sitting there.  Your neck is constantly feeling sticky.  And constantly are washing your face.  The first few days of our stay there, Taiwan was hit with a typhoon.  In retrospect, I really appreciated the typhoon.  In fact, I wished for it to return after a day or two of hot and humid air.  The rain and winds actually made it cooler for us.  In addition, there was mosquitos everywhere!  I brought back a leg full of mosquito bites.  If I had known it was mosquito season, I would have brought bug spray, although my sweat might have washed it off!  Therefore, before you go abroad, be sure you find out how the local weather is so you can bring the necessary gear and clothing.

3. The night before our departure, my husband looked at his passport and laughed at the expiration date.  “Look honey!  I’ve got only one month before my passport expires!  I barely made it!”  I quickly double checked mine.  I was relieved to see that it expires in December of 2008.  Five more months.  No problem, right?  Wrong!  At the check in line, the attendant said we are not able to fly to Taiwan without Taiwan’s permission.  With 2 hours before take off, the lady told us they had to ask Taiwan if we can be admitted with what they call a “standing” visa.  That’s a one-time 30-day visa.  I had a better chance because my passport expires in five months.  My husband’s however, may be questionable since his expires in a month.  I guess they don’t your passport to expire while you’re overseas.  In any case, after an hour of waiting, we got an answer from Taiwan.  We’re both able to go.  However, we had to go directly to the VISA office at the airport to purchase our standing Visas.  I thought it was $30 US.  But it ended up being $160 US per person!  That’s pretty much the spending money that we brought.  *sigh*  So lesson learned.  Make sure your passport is not within 6 months of the expiration date when you travel overseas or you may not be able to go at all.  I blame this part on our incompetent travel agent who helped us book our air fare.  Aren’t they supposed to know the passport regulations? 

Happy traveling and be safe!

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Happy First Birthday, Little Mochi!

Little Mochi had his first birthday two weeks ago!  We had a big party last Saturday (July 6) - the turn out was good and the guests seemed to have enjoyed themselves. 

For those of you looking for birthday party ideas for your kid’s first birthday - themes, food, decorations, etc - here is what we did for Little Mochi.

Time of the party:

First of all, the time of the party seem to be the most important.  You have to schedule the party around his nap time.  Little Mochi usually naps around noon time and then again around 4 or 5 pm.  So I scheduled the party from 1 pm - 5 pm.  You don’t want him looking cranky in his pictures or camcorder because he’s tired.

Theme of the party:

We picked a Hawaiian theme.  We wanted something fun, laid back, and comfortable for our guests.  We could have done a western theme but I didn’t think having him wear a Western outfit would have been comfortable for him, especially in July when the weather is hot.  Having Little Mochi wear a Hawaiian shirt is not only comfortable for him, but is also easy to put on and take off.

Attire and decorations:

Most of our guests came in their Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts.  We had Hawaiian music playing in the background.  The music was nice because the tunes are relaxing and laid back. We purchased a box of 50 plastic lei’s for $10 from Party City and had one of my cousins lei’d the guests as they arrived.  Although they were just cheap plastic lei’s, it surprised the guests.  And besides, it help create the “Hawaiian” atmosphere.

We also purchased a big blow up coconut tree that holds the drinks at the bottom.  We just filled the bottom with ice and put the drinks on top.  It also makes a nice decoration and adds to the whole Hawaiian theme.

We also purchased some plastic Hibiscus and taped them all over the room.  That didn’t do much since our clubhouse (where we had the party) was so big and I had only 50 flowers. 

The only thing that I didn’t do was get a tiki bar because I decided not to serve any alcohol (too many kids - bad influence).

Food and Drinks:

We almost catered from L&L’s Hawaiian BBQ but decided to serve ribs instead.  The ribs were purchased from Costco.  To make it easier on the guests, we cut up the ribs before we served them so you can grab one, two or three ribs instead of grabbing the entire rack of ribs.  Also, that way, it won’t be the only thing the guests eat (those ribs get expensive!).

My mom made Pineapple, Bacon and Ham fried rice.  I think I would have asked her to use Spam instead of the Bacon and Ham since everyone seems to associate Spam with Hawaii, but Spam gets expensive.  Who would have noticed the difference anyway?

I also had lasgna.  That went quick.  At first, I thought I should have made another plate of lasgna, but towards the end of the party, there was still a lot of left over food.

There was a lot of desserts.  My mother in law made a Chinese green bean dessert.  My mom made carrot cake.  We didn’t buy a birthday cake (thought the carrot cake was enough).  And I had fruit for the guests. 

We also had chips and salsa and egg rolls as snacks.

As for drinks, I made sure we had Hawaiian Fruit Punch!  Lots of it.  Root beer is always a favorite in our family.  As I mentioned before, I didn’t serve any alcohol because there was going to be a lot of young kids at the party.  I didn’t think it was appropriate.

Presents:

Little Mochi got a lot of presents.  We opened them after the guests left because I didn’t want the kids to feel bad.  I didn’t wrap “gifts” (party favors) for them so thought it was best to just open the presents later instead.

Party Favors:

I bought bubble blowers for the kids to keep them busy.  It’s also inexpensive.   But for the adults, I purchased a small box of Hawaiian cookies and a small bag of chocolate covered coffee beans for them to take home.

What I regret:

I didn’t take enough pictures or videos.

We didn’t play any games.  I really wanted to do the limbo, but the day passed by so quickly that I didn’t realize how late it was.  Everyone was either too tired or already running around.

I couldn’t get Little Mochi to take his nap any earlier than 12:30 so I didn’t make it to the clubhouse until nearly 2 pm!

I didn’t bring my cell phone with me so one friend got lost and couldn’t get a hold of me.  It took her 2 hours to finally find us.  And my cousinn tried to call to get directions, but couldn’t get a hold of me.  They ended up not showing up.  Their baby is only 2 weeks older than Little Mochi so it would have been great to see them interact.

What I’m thankful for:

My mom for helping me make the food and carrot cake.

My mother in law for bringing the dessert.

My husband and two brothers for entertaining the guests at the poker table.  Especially my husband since he made them happy since he lost all his money to them!!!!  :-)

My sister for helping out before the party because I was recovering from food poisioning (I almost had to cancel the party because I almost rushed myself to ER early, really early that morning).

All my cousins that stayed behind to help clean up.

My father in law for taking the 5 video clips that I otherwise would not have taken because I barely took any pictures to begin with.

And most importantly, all the guests for showing up in their Hawaiian gear!

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More Baby Shower Games

Before I went to the wrong wedding this past Saturday, my hubby, Little Mochi, and I went to LL’s baby shower. She’s got another 9 weeks to go and is having a baby girl. It’s their first child so it’ll be exciting for them.

Her shower was a small and cozy shower, unlike mine. She had only a few close friends and her parents. Her husband’s family is still in Australia so they weren’t there. Despite the small size, we all had fun. They played a few games. Here are some of the games that they played:

1. The Pin Game: Everyone gets a pin with a ribbon tied to it. If you hear someone say the word “Baby,” you can take their pin from them. Likewise, if someone hears you say the word “Baby,” you have to give them your pin. At the end of the day, who ever has the most pins win. I lost my pin to a little boy while playing the Baby Food Game.

2. The Baby Food Game: 7 baby food jars, with the labels torn off, are labeled 1 - 7. On a sheet of paper, we write down what flavor we think the food in the jar is. I swear I thought I had this one, but I switched the Apple and Pear - they so similar! Hint: Look at the consistency of it.

3. The How Many Diapers Game: Diapers are stuffed into a see through container. We have to guess how many diapers are in there. The person closest to the actual number of diapers in the container wins. I was totally off!

4. The Baby Picture Game: Everyone brings in a baby picture and we all have to write down who we think the baby is. This is actually a rather difficult game, especially if you don’t know the other guests. I didn’t play this game because a) I didn’t submit a picture and b) I don’t know anyone at the party except for the mom-to-be.

5. The Yarn Game: With the yarn, you try to figure out the size of the soon-to-be Mom’s belly by cutting out a piece of yarn. Many of the men just tied the yarn around their waist and consider that the size of the Mom because they have such a big belly already. I was close, but lost to the same little boy that I lost my pin to!

We left early. We couldn’t stay long enough to enjoy their cake and to watch her open her presents. We had to run back home and get ready for my cousin’s wedding later that night.

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Oops, the Wrong Wedding!

This past Saturday, June 28th was my cousin’s wedding.  The reception was at Crowne Plaza in Anaheim.  Being a summer bride, she chose the color green as her wedding color.  Great choice.  I love the color green. 

I entered the hotel through the back.  I saw 4 girls dressed in green dresses taking pictures.  Surely, this was the wedding.  I walked towards the door and started to stared into the reception room.  Suddenly, one of the girls wearing green, obviously a bride’s maid, came running to me.  I thought it was one of my cousin’s bridesmaid rushing over to see Little Mochi. 

Nope, it was a friend from high school.  I wasn’t wearing my glasses so it was hard for me to see.  I couldn’t tell that it was my high school friend.  The second my friend hugged me, the wedding planner from that wedding came out said hi to me.  I was utterly confused.  I could have sworn I knew who my cousin’s bride’s maids were.  And I know we don’t usually hire wedding planners for our weddings.  So what were these two girls from my past doing here?  My high school friend, the one wearing the beautfiul green dress, asked if I was going to this wedding?

I answered her question with my question:  “How do you know my cousin CL?  I didn’t know you’re her bride’s maid!”

Now I confused her.  “No, this is P and P’s wedding.”

So I’m feeling really stupid by now.  At least I knew two people from the wedding and at least I was stopped from entering the room.  Because then, I’d be really stupid walking out of the wedding 2 minutes later.

Of course, I found the right wedding and sat down with familiar faces.  Small world.

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Confessions of a Bad Mom

Look! Aren’t I cute? You can win me!!!
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If only Little Mochi was a girl…

When our child grows up and becomes a rug rat, a really bad rug rat, or joins a gang, or does drugs, or gets into other kinds of trouble, many of us moms tend to think it’s our parenting. Are we really bad parents? Or are they the byproduct of a bad surrounding? But then again, we can argue that it’s the parent’s responsibility to remove the child from the bad surrounding and the bad situation. We are supposed to be aware of everything that goes on with our kids, right?

Who in the hell has the time to keep watch on their kids 24/7? I sure don’t - and I’ve only got one kid. It’s not like I’m fortunate enough to be a SAHM! Some of us just can’t afford it. So don’t give me a hard time for not raising my kid “correctly” when you have the luxury to stay at home with your kid all while we have to work overtime!

Hey, if that sounds familiar, come vent with me.

Gagazine.com is running yet another giveaway. This week’s theme: Bad Parenting Confessions. Go on, pour your guts out and let them know what you did wrong as a parent for a chance to win that cute dress pictured at the beginning of this post.

As I read through a few of the confessions, I laugh. I laugh not because they are funny. I laugh because most of them seem so trivial. But it’s amazing how much we focus on trying to be a perfect parent. But then we slip because we are too tired, too lazy or whatever excuse we can come up with. And when the kid grows up to do drugs, join gangs, talks back, etc, we blame it on that one incident: “When Jr. was 6 months old and on, I didn’t spend enough time with him so now he’s in a gang. And it’s all my fault.”

We should as parents not be so hard on ourselves - I may be hypocritical because I’m pretty hard on myself as well. But perhaps we should learn to relax a little bit and let your little ones find their identity instead of us trying to mold them into who they really aren’t.

PS. I might just change my mind later on this thought! It’s just how I am feeling at this moment in time. :-)

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Free $50 Gift Card to Amazon.com

Gagazine is giving away One (1) $50 Gift Card to Amazon.com

For more details of the giveaway, visit http://gagazine.com/50-amazon-gift-card-giveaway/

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Who Else Wants a Free Lullaby CD?

I’m hosting a giveaway on my new parenting tips site.

Share your tips on how you soothe your baby to sleep for a chance to win the One Dozen Baby Lullabies CD.

Click here or visit http://gagazine.com/one-dozen-baby-lullabies/ for details.

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An Update to Gagazine.com

An update to Gagazine.com

In an earlier post, I stated that we were holding monthly writing contests and the winner will be awarded a $100 gift card to Babies R Us. We decided to not to run this contest. We are still holding weekly drawings, but you have to be an active blogger to win.

In addition, we have implemented a referral program. In your blog, there is a referral link that you can forward to your friends and family. If they sign up under you, become an active blogger, and is randomly picked to be the week’s winner, you will also win the $10! If you are interested in creating your own blog, here is my referral link: http://gagazine.com/join/?refer=8

You might ask yourself why you should create a blog, right?

Not only is the blogging platorm the only service we are providing. In the future, we will be holding a “Cute Kid’s Contest.” More details to come on this. It’s going to be exciting so come back for more details!

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A Family Gathering

The following people were at a family gathering: a grandfather, a grandmother, two fathers, two mothers, four children, three grandchildren, one brother, two sisters, two sons, two daughters, one father-in-law, one mother-in-law, and one daughter-in-law. What is the smallest number of people who could have been at the gathering?

Here are two hints:

  1. The answer is not 23.
  2. Draw a family tree or diagram to get a more concrete picture.
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