IKEA

We were at Ikea today, getting pillows and more Christmas ornaments. I’m so scared about the Christmas crowds that I showed up right at 10am when the store opened. The cab driver actually made fun of me going shopping so early.

They have a ball playroom which Vince has been shunning ever since his traumatic experience with Learning Ladder, the bbaaaddd preschool experience. But today (becuase of his extra confidence from Appletree), he went right in and I was at a loss for what to do for the whole hour I was without him. I got my shopping done in 12 minutes and then I had to do laps around the store so that I could take advantage of the 1 hour free babysitting.

Then we went to eat swedish meatballs.

My little soybean.

Today we went to the doctor to have Edda checked out. I’m a little worried that she isn’t walking and she’s not really talking yet… She should know a few words by now, like mama or pointing out things that she wants, but she’s not doing either of those things. The doctor did say that she’s rather late for both these things, but the walking he isn’t really concerned about and I’m not either, I’m sure she’ll walk someday, but the language aquisition is something I consider more indicative of her cognative abilities. The doc referred us to someone who’ll be able to do a hearing screening on Monday… I’m pretty sure she can hear, but we’ll do the screening to rule that out.

Funky chicken.

Quiet today around the house. It’s pretty frustrating, these mood swings around my period. Some months it’s pretty easy and I don’t get moody at all and other times, like the past 4-5 days have been really difficult. I get angry at people for saying things that normally I would brush off earlier in the month. I’m more anxious around people and I get distracted easily. I have a harder time sleeping well and the kids get on my nerves easier and I get on their nerves more easily. During this weird hormonal time, it feels like a bird is sitting on my head and I just want to stay in bed. But like a miracle, this afternoon, I could feel the mood lift and now I’m back to my normal self again. Bet my period comes tomorrow.

Ready for vacation

We put most our stuff into a storage place. My computer was packed into the original boxes. This computer traveled with me a lot. From Huntsville to Richland, from Richland to Denver. It will go to Maryland and SC. Eventually, this one will end at Washougal home.

I am not use to dad’s laptop. He will bring his laptop with him on the trip. However, I have my cell phone with me all the time.

We are leaving from Denver on Friday 12/15 to LA. Leaving from LA to Hawaii on 12/16. Cruise Hawaii islands for week and be back to LA on 12/24. On 12/28, from LA to Ft Lauderdale. ON 1/3 from Ft Lauderdale to LA and from LA to Portland. We will drive from Portland to Vancouver. Be back to Portland on 1/9 and back to Denver on evening, 1/9.

Sunday..

On Sunday we made sheperd’s pie for Kate and her family and brought it over for them in the afternoon. Sunday night we had a wonderful time with Raymond, Yvonne and their kids Jared and Ryan. They brought over chilli crab and other take-out stuff. The kids played and played together. It was amazing because Jared and Ryan go to sleep at 10pm which is normal for Singapore, our kids go to bed at 7:30. They didn’t show up with dinner until 7:30. Vince stayed up three hours past his bedtime. Crazy.

Spousal allowance.

Each year, I get a spousal allowance which I can spend towards taking classes or joining clubs, etc. It’s one of those things which if I don’t spend, I don’t get in cash. So I’ve been taking piano and music theory and I took a knitting class and now I’m taking rowing lessons. Today I went out to the Pandang Resevoir where I learned how to capsize my shell and then get myself out of the shoes which are tied into the boat and then bring myself and the boat back to shore. I do like to row, it’s really nice being out on the water, but I think joining this club might mean that I get the chance to row single scull by myself. The boathouse is actually pretty far from the water and I’m not really sure I can carry a single scull from the boathouse to the water. At MIT there was the boathouse and 20 feet later, there was the dock. Here it’s about 250 feet, a flight of stairs, a left turn and a steep ramp down to the dock.