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Jim’s cousin, Shelley, invited us to her farmhouse for lunch today. Shelley has 2 boys, 2 and 3 years old. They were adorable, and the kids were playing with them. They even showed us their chickens and roasters at the farm, and they were just so cute. We also met two sweet and wonderful teenage girls (13 and 16), the daughters of Jim’s cousin Shane. Sicily and Beth were so little when we last met them, and now they are taller than me. They love Max and Arie, and they were really sweet to them. Max and Arie felt so comfortable with them that they didn’t even cry when Jim and I weren’t near them. Everyone was so warm and loving; we really had a great time there. We can’t wait till our next family get together. Maybe, thanksgiving…
Posted by Winnie 11:00 PM

Yeah, we got to stay home and relaxed today. I caught my first fish at the pond by the house this afternoon. Jim and I spent a lot of time outside with the kids watching us fishing. Max and Arie had a lot of fun playing and crawling on the grass. I have been feeling a little better, but I could not stop coughing at night time. Mom gave me some kind of magic coughing syrup (Jim inserts: the magic was codeine!), and I took that before going to bed. It worked like wonder, and it prevented me from waking the kids at night.
Posted by Winnie 1:43 PM

Tonight, it was grandpa Castor who invited us, his step-kids, and his step-grand children, for dinner. It was pizza again, two nights in a row. The kids had so much fun playing with their little cousins, and relatives.
Posted by Winnie 7:14 PM

Aunt Carol invited us to her house for pizza this evening with other family members. It was the first time Max and Arie met with their cousins from Dorcia’s side of the family. The kids behaved quite well, not shy at all. Arie smiled to everyone who said hi to her, she was so friendly. Max was crawling everywhere to places where he shouldn’t be, like the wine rack on the floor. Overall, it was a wonderful night with family and friends.

Posted by Winnie 9:00 PM

We took the kids out into the city today, and we went to Keystone Fashion mall. The last time I went to this mall was probably before Jim and I got married, so a long time. We dined at Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and the food was great. However, Max had an accident where his big toe was caught in between my booth’s chair and mat. Poor guy, it took us sometime before we figured out why he was crying so loud. Even the manager of the restaurant came over and made sure he was ok. He promised that they would get the booth’s mat fixed, but no discount was offered because of the accident : (. On the bright side, Max’s toe is okay.
We found some great deals at ‘Gap kids’, and we got tons of new clothes for them. Grandma Dorcia got a lot for them too. Thank you!!!

Posted by Winnie 8:40 PM

The kids slept much better last night, and so did I. The medicine helped a lot, and I felt much better today. We all got more rest, and we slept past 6am. Jim had a great idea to make the bedroom really, really dark. By using aluminum foil to cover the windows in our bedroom, the kids didn’t get waken up by the sunlight through the window. So, they slept much longer than yesterday.

We visited grandpa Castor’s house in the afternoon. The weather was so nice, so we all sat and chatted outside under their big tree in the backyard. Max had so much fun crawling and picking the grass. Arie was having great fun riding on Jim’s shoulder, and she didn’t want to get off. The kids were a little shy and afraid of grandpa and grandma Castor, but they warmed up quite a bit after they played with them in the backyard for a while.

Dinner was already prepared and ready by the time we got home. Grandpa Chuck is such a good cook, and we were fed well here.

Posted by Winnie 12:38 PM

Jim and I slept separately with one of the babies in the bedroom. I slept with Arie, and he slept with Max. I thought the flight yesterday would make them so tired that they wouldn’t be fussing much. To our surprise, they got a little uneasy with this new arrangement – both babies in the same room. One baby would cry and it would make the other cry. They were doing it all night. Max would cry when the pacifier fell out of his mouth, and then Arie would cry immediately and vice versa. The first half of the evening was tough, and then Max had to get up at 6am, and it woke Arie up as well. So, we all got up at 6am, but I got too tired to stay up, so I took a nap after grandma got up to help us in the morning. We didn’t go anywhere, except walking around the house, yard, and the pond. It’s been nice to be here, so relaxing. We just need to get more rest tonight, and hopefully we will feel better soon. But, my throat started to bother me later this evening, and I had to take Nyquil before going to bed.
Posted by Winnie 5:00 PM

We’ve been packing for a week, so we made sure that all the kids’ stuffs are brought with us for our trip to Indiana. We got up at 4:30am to get ready for our 7:30am flight. The kids were still sleeping when we woke up and ready to go, and we didn’t have to struggle too much to change their clothes, as they were both half asleep. We picked up Auntie Jenny on our way to the airport, so she could accompany my mom to drive our van home safely. Actually, there wasn’t much traffic at all for her to worry. On our way to the airport, the kids were a little confused and probably curious to find out where their final destination would be. The ride to the airport wasn’t long, and we got there over an hour before the flight. The airport wasn’t too crowded, so we got our tickets without having to wait too long. I think the hardest thing about bringing the kids to the airport is carrying them through security with our luggage and strollers. It was required that all strollers must be folded, and we got 2 strollers and 2 small carry-on bags. We ran out of hands to hold the kids, fold the strollers, unfold the strollers, carry the bags, and show our tickets to the security agent. We were glad to get passed the security and be at the gate. The flight to Indiana was 3.5 hours, and the kids took an hour nap once we got on the plane. They didn’t complain or cry much as long as we kept them occupied. We fed the kids solids and bottles, then some of our snacks on the plane. There were enough distractions or entertainment during the flight to fill up the entire 3.5 hours.

The flight landed at 1pm, and the grandparents were already waiting for us outside the gate. We were all happy and excited to see them. The kids took a long nap in Aunt Carol’s van throughout the drive to grandparents’ home in Elwood. A big thank you to Carol for letting us borrowing her van for the week we were there. Yeah…we made it, and we are finally here.

Posted by Winnie 12:33 AM

Finally, here are the pictures.
Posted by Winnie 8:31 PM

Well, it's only couple of short (very short) days left before we leave for Indiana. I am making a list of all the kids stuff we need to bring. Winnie is checking the list twice. We already know that Max is naughty and Arie is nice. So, I guess we are about ready to zoom out into the wild blue yonder and down into that lush green garden called Indiana. It will be nice to be back home for a while. Hopefully we can keep Max off the floor of the airplane and from banging his head around too much. I think as long as we have some snacks Arie should be fine...but we'll see...

Kids are doing great. Arie is crawling more now and Max is able to stand up a little. They are eating pretty good and getting bigger.
Posted by Max 9:45 AM

Posted by Winnie 10:04 AM

Well, it turns out that Max's fever was actually part of a whole series of symptoms. Apparently he just got his first official virus. The virus is called Roseola. It starts with fever somewhere between 100 and 106. That lasts for about 2 to 4 days. Then when the fever goes away, you get this red bumpy rash all over your tummy and back. Fortunately for us it wasn't an itchy rash. As a matter of fact, it didn't seem to bother him all that much except he was a little extra fussy. It is contagious, but Arie hasn't shown any symptoms yet. However, Roseola has a 9 to 10 day incubation period. So it may come up later. Hopefully not before or during our trip to Indiana though. We are planning to leave this Saturday. I am getting excited since I haven't been home for almost 3 years. It should be quite an experience traveling with the kids. I am sure you will find all about it.
Posted by Max 10:06 PM

Jim is right about the 405, and I have to take that everyday to work. We had fun on Saturday really except the traffic, and it felt good to be able to go out without having to worry too much about the kids. They got to nap in the car the whole way there and back home, but maybe the weekend was too hectic for them. Last night, Max got a little fussy, and that's according to Jim. You know me, I usually sleep through anything, and I found that out from Jim this morning. Not until later this afternoon when Jim got home, he took Max's temperature and found out that he had a fever of 101. Jim immediately gave him some Tylenol and called the doctor. We followed the doctor's order by giving him more Tylenol before his bedtime. He is sleeping now, and hopefully he will feel better by tomorrow morning.
Posted by Winnie 9:56 PM

Well, it was a great weekend with the kids...except for that part where we were stuck in traffic. Yeah the 405 screwed us again. We have been so good the 405. Always courteous not to speed (too much) down her long straight, wide thoroughfare. Careful not to scratch her hardened cement lane dividers, or plunge headlong into those yellow garbage pales filled with something that is supposed to cushion your blow if you hit them. Going somewhere on the 405 is like having a craving for twinkies, but only finding Little Debbies poor imitation of a twinkie. You eat it to satisfy that craving, but you feel sick afterwards. Unless you want to go wildly out of your way, you just have to take the 405 when you live in LA. I guess some of the blame can be put on our friends, Jeff and Lyndie, that just moved to Sherman Oaks. They are the real reason we were on the 405 on a Saturday :) The kids handled it bravely though. The slept most of the way up there, with only minor fussing. We met Lyndie, Jeff's wife, on Saturday to welcome them to LA, and to introduce them to the horrifying traffic that is LA. Well...I guess it isn't that bad, but I have been working only 8 miles from home for the last 6 months so I am a little spoiled. Anyway, back to the kids. We all went to our old favorite restaurant, Blue Marlin in Santa Monica. It was great and the kids liked it too. Max, who is a notorious flirter, had a great time making eyes at all of the waitresses. Arie had fun checking out the baby at the next table. Lyndie was a big hit with the kids too. Max even let her hold him, which is pretty unusual. That is of course unless you factor in the fact that she is young, blond and extremely friendly...remember Max...yeah...well he is a notorious flirter...in case I didn't already mention that. After lunch we took Lyndie to the 3rd street Promenade for a walk and some window shopping. It was fun, and the kids certainly saw some interesting people. After that, we spent about 45 minutes driving Lyndie about 7 miles back to her apartment, and another hour driving home. The kids slept most of the way back home...lucky for us. All-in-all it was a great Saturday...fun, family, friends, and the 405.
Posted by Max 10:00 AM

Grandma and grandpa took off early this morning and started the second part of their trip back to Indiana. Jim and I got up early to have breakfast with them before their long journey home. They are heading to Bakersfield, then Utah, and Colorado. We can't wait to see all the pictures when we go to Indiana late June. Tickets are booked for the last week of June, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone there. It's been a long time, at least 4 years since I've been back to Indiana. fpr Jim is it has been almost 3. The trip will definitely be interesting and very challenging for us - first time flying with the kids. Any tips or suggestions on what we need to bring (besides everything and the kitchen sink) or do would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by Winnie 9:26 PM

Sometimes, when we have time, Jim and I like to make baby food for the kids. So far, we tried to make carrots, sweet potatoes, and green beans using the streamer and the food mill. I also tried to make pork rice congee or porridge - rice cereal like, but the kids didn't like it. The other day, my mom made a pot of congee for the kids, and they seemed to like it. The trick was that my mom took the pork and carrots out, and grounded them with the food mill, and she then mixed them with the congee. It really makes it easy for them to eat, plus they can feel the texture of the pork and carrot. So, my mom has been cooking her famous congee for the kids, and it's been a hit. We have been using this food mill a lot, especially for fruit like bananas and pears. It also works well with cooked meat, but it needs a lot of muscle.
Posted by Winnie 10:06 PM