Monday, December 31st, 2007
A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.
There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
“Jack, did you hear me?” !
“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.
“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him. “I loved that t old house he lived in,” Jack said.
“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.
“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important…Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through s pace and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture….Jack stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.
“The box is gone,” he said
“What box?” Mom asked.
“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most,’” Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser” it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.
“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:
“Jack, Thanks for your time! - Harold Belser.”
“The thing he valued most was…my time”
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his! appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant asked.
“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.
“Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”
x x x x x
The above was a fwd from a friend, and I wanted to share it with you.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing the ups and downs of 2007 with me. Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful 2008 and I look forward to hanging out with y’all.
Tuesday, December 25th, 2007
Santa made his round at our preschool last week.
The other day I asked the kids if they told Santa what they wanted for Christmas.
Sebastian beamed and said, “YES I did!”
“Did you sit on Santa’s lap?” “Yes,” came the excited reply.
“Fiona, did you sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what you want for Christmas?” “NO, I’m scared of Santa.”
o_0 If I was 2 years old and some dude with long white hair and a big belly wanted to carry me, I’d be scared to death too. Further examples that Santa can be very scary for 2-yr olds: just look here, here, and here. (Also? Remind me to tell you the story of how this guy insisted on giving me a hug so I locked myself in the bathroom for hours until he left)
“Yes he’s kind of scary isn’t he. He has a lot of white hair.”
Sebastian asked, “Why does he have so much hair? On his face too.”
“That’s called a beard. Some people have hair on their faces, like Baba does sometimes. And Santa always have a very long beard.”
Deep in thought, Sebastian asked, “Why does he have so much hair?”
Nanoseconds later, “WHERE is his mouth, and HOW does he eat?”
Good questions son. He eats when no one is looking, consuming mostly cookies and milk and then rushes away to other faraway places in his sleigh.
x x x x x
Merry Christmas everyone. May you always believe in the magic, even if Santa isn’t part of it.
Monday, December 24th, 2007
‘Tis the season to share.
Tonight I made this Christmas garland (as usual, the kids helped). I wish some of you were here to share it. Not just because it would be cool to chat over coffee, but also because this garland is really big. The hole in the center? A ramkin fits nicely inside it.
Hope you are enjoying a jolly mug of eggnog or something 
and there are no crazy uncles around.
p.s. If you’d like to get the recipe, let me know. It’s fabulously yummy. I modify the fruit fillings a little bit myself.
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
As a parent to two kids, 2 and 4.5 yrs olds, I think I’m now a little bit more seasoned than I was 4.5 years ago. There are some things that one can only learn through experience, while there are other things where one could benefit from previous veteran moms. I didn’t have a lot of mom-friends who had young kids and therefore I was armed only with what I read on the internet and books. As such, one would only find what they’re looking for, if they knew what to look for.
Or maybe other moms did pass advices to me, I just didn’t take a lot of them to heart. If that were the case, I either can’t remember it or refuse to believe it.
In any event, there are some things that I wish I knew much earlier.
- The mesh crib thing you see in the pictures in this post? The white thing around the bottom perimeter? It’s called a Mesh Bumper and it’s wonderful. If the baby is sleeping in the crib, get it. It wraps all the way around a crib and prevents the baby’s arms and legs being pushed through between the slats, and since it is mesh, it’s breathable.
- It’s OK to let the baby fuss a little bit while they are trying to settle down / fall asleep. There’s no need to pick them up at every fuss and whimper, especially when all their needs are met (fed, burped, changed, not hot, not cold, etc.)
- Introduce a white noise / sound machine. It not only soothes baby to some degree, it also help drown out noises outside of the baby’s room so that while baby is sleeping, other people can continue to carry on conversation and normal activities in other parts of the house. It is especially helpful if the living quarter is small.
- Let them feed themselves as soon as they are able.
- Keep them in a high chair / booster seat for as long as possible. Always insist to sit down* if any eating is involved.
I’m sure there are other things which I can’t remember right now. If you’d like to add anything, please do so. It is already overwhelming as it is for any new mom preparing to enter parenthood, any and all advice ahem, experience from those before her would be extremely beneficial. Even if she thinks to herself, Ha, *I* will never do that.
* An ex-colleague always insisted that her daughter be sitting down if she were to consume any sort of drink or food. They are able to be consistent each and every time. As far as I know, this little girl has never ever ran around or not able to sit still or sulk while eating meals / snacks. Sigh.
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
Even today she still sleeps with froggy-legged sometimes.
I may be biased, but she is the prettiest 2-year old on earth.
June 2006
July 2007
Monday, December 17th, 2007
Almost everyone knows about Sophie the Giraffe (natural rubber, phthalate-free, food quality paint), a very popular teething toy by French company Vulli. Sophie has been and continues to be very popular in Europe for the last several decades and getting increasingly noticed in America, and among celebrity-parents.
What is little known is the new line of teethers and toys offered by the same great company who’s made Sophie since 1961. Chan Pie Gnon is a cute little word-play with the French word “champignon” which means mushroom. Chan (blue) Pie (pink) Gnon (yellow) are actually three siblings who are adorably shaped like mushrooms. They possess qualities that Sophie has — handmade, natural rubber, pthalate-free and use food quality paint. They also make a fun little squeaking noise when squeezed and each has their name written on their tummy.
Chan Pie Gnon
Perfectly safe, great for grabbing, squeezing, and even chewing!!! And they look so darn cute!
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Hi there all the wordpress pros out there, I’d like to ask for some advice.
Forever now, anytime I want to post a picture on my blog, I would upload it to my flickr account and then paste the image URL here. You know, the old < img src thing. Since I don’t have a flickr pro account, and I really don’t feel like going through multiple steps if there’s a simpler way. With all these talents out there, there must be some kind of widget out there that allows me to upload it directly to my wordpress account / files / wherever it is and let me show the pictures that way. I’ll probably find it if I spend the next day or two exploring the internet, reading, learning yadda yadda. I thought I would ask you smart bloggers first!
What kind of picture uploading widget /method do you use? Is it hard to install / learn?
What other cool apps would you have used, or are using that you would recommend?? I want to join the Cool Kids Club too.
Please be as detailed as possible. Imagine you are explaining it to a cow if you will. (Not that I’m a cow, or cows are stupid, but you know..)
Thanks in advance!!!
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
Getting to know your friends.
I got this in an email. I thought I’d spread the love to my blogging friends too 
Are you getting sick of hearing about me yet?
1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:05 a.m.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, but really it depending on the piece of jewelry.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Uhh the 3rd Born movie, whatever the name was.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Heroes
5. What did you have for breakfast? Freshly made Belgian banana nut waffles.
6. What is your middle name? Don’t have one.
7. What is your favorite food? Sushi
8. What food do you dislike? Onions. Peppers.
9. What are your favorite chips? Pringles Sour Cream & Onion (this onion is merely flavor. I can’t taste any onion in the chips)
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Don’t have one
11. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Sienna (yep it’s a van and I love it)
12. Favorite sandwich? Anything with avocado in it.
13. What are characteristics you can’t stand? unreliability, narrow-minded
14. What are your favorite clothes? long sleeve t shirt and jeans (shorts in the summer time)
15. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be? Somewhere WARM. Or Europe, I’ve never been to anywhere in Europe.
16. Favorite brand of clothing? I’m not particular about the brand, so long as it’s comfortable and decent quality
17. Where would you want to retire? Tahiti. Or Hawaii. Or anywhere that’s warm and by the ocean.
18. Favorite time of day? Nighttime
19. Where were you born? China, PRC
20. What is your favorite sport to watch? I don’t watch sports. If I must, I’d prefer basketball, though I don’t understand any of the rules.
21. Who do you think will not send this back? Umm I’m not sure.
22. Person you expect to send it back first? Umm I’m not sure.
23. Coke or Pepsi? Coke!
24. Yankees or Mets? Neither - see above about sports.
25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl.
26. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with anyone? Hmm.
27. Best childhood memory (ies)? Climbing trees and running about in the countryside in China.
28. Ever been toilet papering? No.
30. Favorite day of the week? Weekends.
31. Favorite restaurant? Any good sushi place.
32. Favorite flower? Daisy.
33. Favorite ice-cream? Haagen Dazs.
34. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? TWICE on the written, TWICE on the driving. Yikes.
35. From whom did you get your last e-mail? I can’t remember… but I have a ton of emails to go through…..
36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Who owns the credit card?!
37. Bedtime? 12-2a.m.
38. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Everyone!!
39. Last person you went to dinner with? Hubby & the kids.
40. What are you listening to right now? Silence is golden (that’s not a song btw)
41. How many tattoos do you have? THREE (little tiny dots that I had to get for radiation therapy…)
42. How many are you sending this email to? Uh how many of you are reading my blog?
43. What time did you finish this e-mail? 3:05p.m.
44. Favorite magazine? Parents. Child. Pregnancy. Readers Digest. Times. But I hardly get to read them…
45. What’s your favorite color? Yellow (but it depends on what the item/thing is).
There were 44 questions, but since I don’t particular care for 4’s, I made up the last question.
Feel free to grab it and write over the answers 
Sunday, December 9th, 2007
Last week I received a set of appointment schedules in the mail. The appointments are for January next year, and the hospital is 3.5 hours away. (I don’t live in the boonies but this is a world renowned clinic and I prefer going there, also, my oncologist is there).
I’m due for my annual checkup, which includes a whole-body CT scan, several gigantic tubes of blood draw to test thyroid levels and whatever other things they’re suppose to check, physical examination by the oncologist. I’ve done this umpteen times so I’m not overly stressed. I just don’t like the required fasting, the barium sulfate crap, and the needles. OMG the needles. Did I tell you about the countless times where more than 2 people have to access my veins, because they can’t find it? Or it rolls? Or it’s been so busted that there aren’t any good ones left? Once both my arm veins were collapsed and I couldn’t bend my arms pain-free for over a week, and I had a 27 lb 1-yr old boy that needed carrying. Needles and I don’t get along very well at all. I digress.
There was a surprise appointment in there. A mammogram! I’m not kidding. I’m very flat. I’m 31. I’m still a long ways from the “required mammogram” age group. I don’t want to get my none-existent boobs squished between cold glass plates. I’m not ready. I’m too young for this. Sigh.
The reason why I need to do the mammogram is because I had Mantle Field radiation after chemotherapy, as an “insurance” thing (it’s very typical protocol). And because of the radiation, there is an increased risk of developing breast cancer. It’s a good thing that they’re keeping an eye on stuff, but yikes, I really don’t want to get squished.
I’m also suppose to see my GI doctor there (which I have to call and add on this request), so I can refill my prescription. This GI problem of mine is very embarrassing and I’m too ashamed to talk about it openly with anyone. It’s a chronic condition, which means there is no cure for it, and I’m required to take daily medication for the rest of my life. Let’s leave it at that okay? (I feel as if I’m 85, having all these medical problems…)
SO. It will be a very fun field trip day for me. I’m not looking really forward to it and I’m slightly anxious; I’m grateful nonetheless. Let’s just hope the weather cooperates and I wouldn’t have to drive in a snowstorm. Several more weeks of blissful ignorance before the onslaught of yucky barium sulfate drinks, iodine injection, and SHARP pointy needles. And squished boobies.
Saturday, December 8th, 2007
Nablopomo 2007 - I loved it. I’m overwhelmed with the 6 thousand plus blogs that I have not had time to wade through. Heck, I haven’t even made it around to everyone in my “friend” list yet - SORRY! When the holiday season is over, I’ll likely be able to go around and check out more blogs. Whee!
Broadband provider - The price is going up. By about 55%. I’ll have to look around and see what else is out there. Any ideas?!
Blogger - You suck. Now I can’t do a direct link to my own blog when commenting on any of the Blogger blogs. I have to do a roundabout thing, indirect linking, blah blah blah. Can you fix it please? Yes you’re still better than some out there, who REFUSES to let you comment if you’re not signed up or registered with them. But comparing with the bad ones does not necessarily make you better. It’s like lesser of the two evils… Ugh.
Scrunchies - You know, the thing that Carrie so despises on one of the episodes in Sex in the City? I use them, and I like them.
#####.com - I randomly came across a website the other day, which I cannot link here because of me being a business owner and need to maintain a certain level of professionalism etc yadda yadda, but I NEARLY DIED LAUGHING when I saw the URL!!! I’ll probably be able to share it if you asked privately. OMG I still can’t believe it. It’s REALLY bad, and it’s really silly..
Coming soon - I’m typing up a post about vacationing, tropics, spelunking, and jungles (where we had our brief honeymoon, with Hubby’s sister and a friend tagging along…). I thought honeymoons are supposed to be the married couple only, apparently I was wrong…
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
I probably would be a millionaire by now, or close to it, if I got a penny for every time our kids don’t finish their meals. I would be sufficiently wealthy if they finish even just half of what I put in front of them.
We have one Very Picky Eater, and one Semi-Picky Eater. Almost every meal I have to repeatedly say phrases such as sit down please, eat your food please, NO JUMPING on your chair, please DON’T BOTHER YOUR sister/brother, eating time is not playing time, don’t play with your food….
Not much luck at all.
Although they are not malnourished (and you can see they are not, from the Halloween pictures a couple of posts below this one), they aren’t getting all the basic food groups into their bodies most meals.
Many people have told me that when they were younger, their parents used to tell them something along the lines of “there are little children starving in China / Africa, you’re lucky to have food on the table,” and that usually worked to get them to straighten up.
I haven’t tried that yet, even so, I’m pretty sure they will just giggle and look at me like I’m a crazy mama.
When I was growing up (in rural China), having enough food on the table was a problem. So needless to say, we devoured any and all foods during mealtime without any persuasion from our parents.
Do (did) you have a picky eater or eaters at your home? How do you get them to eat without bribing them? Or is the adage that, they’ll eat what they need…?
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
In the last week or so, we’ve gotten some blog buzz.
So I made a page where I list all the blogs that have posted mentions of KangarooBoo. I truly appreciate the kindness and sincerity. I thought I’d share with all of you too. The page will sit permanently on my sidebar to the right, immediately below the “calendar” there (or maybe I’ll move it to the header? not sure yet).
Linky Love Page
My little token of thank you.
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
I’ve been busy. Will be busy for a long while, which is a good thing!
Before they go into the Digital Black Hole which is the iPhoto* archives, here are the Halloween pictures from this year. Seb was a doctor (he was a doctor last year, too), and Fiona was a Tigger (Seb’s costume from 2 years ago). What that meant was, NO costume shopping or sewing was needed. Yay!
My happy cheery models:
Seb even checks our ears, eyes, and heart, and then “writes” prescriptions for us. He’s a great doctor!
Fiona loves showing off her tail. She requests this pants frequently even weeks after Halloween is over. It is difficult to refuse when she’s having so much fun, and the giggles that ensues makes it impossible to resist.
* I LOVE my Mac. LOVE love it.
** It seems digitizing pictures have become a way of shoving everything into some byte form and not many makes it into print. Do your pictures get printed out often? How do you manage 2 gazillion+ pictures.. ?
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
19 years ago tonight, after what seemed like a never ending flight (more than 20 some hours), 8 of us landed in Chicago O’Hare Airport. Jet-lagged, hungry, cold, shivering, and shocked to the core from culture-shock, we headed to our relatives house to stay for the night before going to Iowa and reunite with my grandparents.
Dragging along 16 bags of our life-belongings (two per person, containing mostly clothes), my aunts family of 4 and our family of 4 were like deers in the headlight. We had no idea where to go or what to do. We followed my great-uncle closely, fearing he might lose us in the massive sea of people.
I was 12. Bewildered by the scenes and people that we passed by, I was speechless. I couldn’t even cry.
All I wanted was to go home, where everything was familiar and not scary and where I knew practically everyone in my surroundings.
Tonight, 19 years later, I can’t imagine any other place I would rather be but right here. Right here in Iowa with my husband and two kids.
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
Grab some tissues before proceeding if your tears run easily like mine.
- - -
A lot of times I don’t believe things happen for a reason, but if I allow myself to take a closer look to dissect and analyze events and sequences in which they happen, I often end up with the conclusion that indeed, things do happen for a reason.
I “met” Sandy because of this year’s Nablopomo. Her blog is Momisodes. She’s funny, witty, talented, beautiful inside and out, and our two-year-old daughters are exactly 6 days apart. From reading her blog, she’s also likely to have the same taste in food choices as I do. I wonder how often we would hit the noodle joints and dimsum places together if we lived closer and close to good ethnic foods.
Unbeknownst to me, Sandy is also a co-founder of ConnectingMoms, and she wanted to interviewed me! I was very excited at the opportunity and said yes. Here’s the interview link, in which you’ll read about some of the things in my past and where I talked a little about our store KangarooBoo as well. Little did I know she also wrote a very moving post about me yesterday on her blog. I cried when I read her post. I broke down and wads of tissues ensued wiping my eyes and nose.
Thank you Sandy for everything. I am so glad to have met you online and hope we will meet in person some day. I’m sure our girls will enjoy each other’s company as well.
