T'was the night before Christmas, and the carnage after.

On Christmas eve, after much last minute shopping...we finally got the kids ready for bed. They were determined to meet Santa this year. So...we allowed them to camp out in our family room.

The eldest would not let me buy cookies for Santa, because in her words "He needs to go on a diet." I almost died laughing in the grocery store. Yet candy canes, and a small piece of Ghirardelli chocolate is okay.

The little jingle bell was for the reindeer...just in case they lose one of theirs.

Not much sleep happening.

Too excited to sleep.

Finally, around 11pm, we realized that the kids were asleep. My husband had to sneak into the garage (I bought a few more toys on Christmas eve at 7pm...yes, I know, I was asking for trouble, but seeing the mass of humanity at Toys R Us...I didn't feel like such a chump). Our garage door is right next to couch, and the door creaks. I was cringing when he slid the door open. Let's just say that my husband will never make the cut for the C.I.A.

As we were wrapping the last few presents, we heard little feet come down the stairs. We flung the presents, scissors, tape, and wrapping paper in the back room just in time to see our son ask us if Santa arrived yet.

We finally got everything wrapped and underneath the tree around 2am. The kids woke us up at 6:30am.

The eldest with her most requested gift.

The male progeny with his most requested gift.

She wasted no time getting the Nintendo DS open.

Neither did he.

The irony of Christmas morning? The son took all the discarded boxes, and started playing with those instead of his new presents. I could have saved a ton of money my child!

Ah, but look at that smile.

Daddy Hu bought Momma Hu this for Christmas. Hmm...I really appreciate this, but I'm starting to wonder if it's a hint about my current physical condition. Thanks babe!

Daddy had the unfortunate task of trying to put a Lego set together.


Daddy Hu also received a gift from Santa...he got an iPOD nano.

L, Thanks for hosting Christmas lunch/dinner! C, Daddy Hu had a great time hanging out with your hubby, and we'll try to have you guys over for dinner soon. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Why I can never be a chef...

I set my alarm to wake up at 6am. My office party is today. For some reason, I thought that making two quiches FRESH this morning was a good idea. So, I spent about 30 minutes cutting, dicing, slicing, etc....put the two quiches in the oven around 6:30am, made a cup of coffee, and figured that I had plenty of time to relax. Well, the timer just went off....I went to check on the quiches, and they were.....uncooked.

I'm not sure how I turned off the oven, but I apparently did. I have at least another hour before I have to get the kids on the bus, but damn...it's not my morning!

Holiday Gifts for teachers

I am one of three room parents for my son's kindergarten class. Since we are in a Chinese Immersion Program, we have two teachers. Both the kindergarten and1st grade class (my daughter is in the 1st grade Chinese Immersion Program) share the same two teachers.

This year, the 1st grade room parents and I decided to combine our respective classes holiday contributions and get gift cards for the teachers.

Guess how much we collected? $600! That's $300 per teacher. I am really excited, because we all know that teachers are sorely underpaid. There is one teacher in particular who is always at our school. I remember seeing her after a PTA meeting (and it was way after 8:30pm) at school. I am amazed at how much time teachers actually spend at their jobs.

What amazes me more is the incredible generosity from the parents. I didn't ask for a particular amount, but left it up to each family to donate as little or as much as they'd like.

One family in particular has fallen on hard times, but the mom came up to me and gave me a contribution. I can tell that she was embarrassed by the amount that she gave me (a bag of 7 quarters), and actually started to tear up and said that she wished she could have given more. I told her that her donation was incredibly generous and gave her a smile (I really was trying to keep from tearing up in front of her).

I know that Christmas can be an incredibly commercialized and materialistic time, but it's people like that particular mom that has restored my faith in the season.

We're going to Cancun!!!!

We finally booked our trip last night. I'm exhausted after researching all the different places that we wanted to visit. Seriously...I booked our trip at 1:31am last night.

First, we started with the Dominican Republic, then we moved to Hawaii, but was told by family members that it's the rainy season and since we only wanted to take a week off from work....the 12 hour flight (with layovers) did not seem too appealing.

We even thought about going to Europe, but the Euro is still so strong, and it's cold there....

We decided that we definitely want to go some where warm, where we wouldn't feel guilty just sitting and reading.

This will be our fourth time there, but we've never taken the kids. Because we are cheap...we are taking the kids out of school the first week of January....yeah, I know...I should feel guilty about the truancy issue, huh? But it'll save us $800!

We hopefully will be able to take them to a Sea Turtle Sanctuary and a dolphin discovery program while we are there.

Both Mama and Papa Hu sorely need a vacation. So, we're off to "ME-HE-CO" January 7th!

Voting with a child

I just got back from voting. I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up with a source of nervous energy. The interesting thing....my daughter actually woke up before I did.

For the last few weeks, she's been keenly aware of the elections. In fact, her classmates were discussing "who" they were voting for. I thought this was interesting. I'm not sure if it's due to our proximity to D.C. or if children every where are keen about the elections.

Since our daughter seemed so interested, we agreed that she could come with one of us to go vote. While driving to the polling station, there was a radio ad for Barack Obama, and my daughter said "That sounds like Barack." Again, I am so surprised how much she can differentiate between the candidates.

We discussed that once we were in line, we probably shouldn't voice who we are voting for. I told her that voting is a very personal matter, and other people may not be voting for the same person. She totally got that.

We passed cars with McCain bumper stickers, and she counted them along the way. She also counted Obama bumper stickers as well.

The line wasn't horribly long, but we did end up waiting for 30 minutes (and I got there around 6:55am). The person in front of us is originally from Trinidad, and the person behind us is originally from Honduras, and I'm originally from Vietnam. My daughter asked us why we were allowed to vote since none of us were born in the U.S. I told her even if we were not born in the U.S., we all became U.S. citizens and are priviledged enough to vote. It was an interesting history lesson, and my daughter really enjoyed talking to our fellow voters.

When we finally got to our poll booth, my daughter quietly watched me vote. I had a flashback of my own childhood...going to vote with my parents. That left an impression on me. The importance of a vote, and I hope today left an impression on my daughter as well.

I guess it has....she asked me when she can start voting. I told her when she turned 18 years old.

We left hand in hand, but not before buying $10 worth of baked goods and coffee.

The weekend getaway sans childrens

We were only gone for less than 24 hours, but what a difference it made! We dropped the kids off at our friend's house, and took the metro into D.C.

My husband takes the metro every day to work, but for some reason, he was positively giddy taking the metro a mere 8 stops away from home (and don't think that I didn't take advantage of his good mood, but more on this later).

We ran to the hotel, and dropped off our bag, and had lunch at Lebanese Taverna. The weather was gorgeous, and we ended up staying at the restaurant for two hours.

TWO HOURS! Normally, we'd speed eat to get out of a restaurant quickly due to the kids.

After lunch, we walked from Woodley Park all the way past Farragut North. I know it's probably not that long of a walk (30 minutes), but we'd never get past two blocks with the kids.

Before the kids, when we were just dating/newly married, we'd go to Dupont Circle alot. "Kramer's Bookstore" was our haunt, and we were pretty nostalgic walking into the store. Granted, it's not a mega store like "Borders" or "Barnes and Noble," but I have a soft spot for the non-chain book stores. They're more intimate, and most times I can find books that are not to be found at the chain stores.

Every corner of D.C. is gearing up for the election (and if you read this before November 4th....Rock the Vote tomorrow people!). We saw tons of Obama t-shirts and buttons, but strangely no McCain stuff....hmmm....

Going back to the husband's generous mood. We passed both Ann Taylor and Filene's Basement, and he encouraged me to go in both shops. I left with a new purse, dress, and sweater. Come to think of it, why didn't I drop more money on clothes? He got off cheap.

We decided to scrap the movies. There was nothing playing at the theaters that we had to see. I thought the new Bond movie was coming out this weekend, but it's next weekend.

So, what do we do? We ended up watching "Hell Boy 2" in our room. I got to pick out new clothes, he gets to pick out the movie...it's only fair. Still, $15 for on-demand! Geez...

By 11pm we realized that we totally forgot about dinner. We ended up going to "Open City" and then taking a long walk around town. We didn't get back to our room until 3am.

We seriously didn't want the night to end. I love my kids, but sometimes, well...most of the time...we are in "mommy and daddy mode", and you'd tend to forget that you are a couple and friends. This past weekend, it was nice to just focus on us for a little bit.

Did we miss the kids though? You bet.

Catching up with the Hu's

Goodness, it's been awhile since I posted. And since I have an audience of maybe five.....you must all be waiting with bated breath!

The J.O.B. is okay. Work is completely overrated, and I already have mommy guilt. I haven't been volunteering nearly as much as I use to at their school, and it's hard to get home from work (totally exhausted most days, because...well now I have to actually use my brain) and have to help the kids with their homework, after school activities (swimming and gymnastics...who was the genius that scheduled that...oh, it was me.), and Chinese homework. Most nights I'm so tired, and fall asleep around 9:30pm.

But who do you think is getting the short end of the stick? The husband. I put so much effort trying to make sure that the kids are getting adjusted to me going back to work, that I forget it's a bit of a strain for PaPa Hu. I barely have the energy to talk to him at the end of the day.

So....since he still doesn't know that this blog exists....it's safe to share that I'm going to whisk him away for a weekend of fun in two weeks in D.C. (I know...lame right? We're basically staying in the same town, but at least it's in the "city.").

Our friends are going to watch the little Hu's, and I booked a room at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in D.C. (which is oddly enough located right next door to his office....on second thought...maybe the Mandarin Oriental isn't such a great idea).

I have already booked reservations for his very favorite restaurant, and figured we can go see the new James Bond movie that night (a win-win for the both of us. He gets to watch his action flick, and I can watch the hotness that is Daniel Craig).

Of course, with all this planning...how much do you want to bet that one of the little Hu's will get sick, and I'll have to cancel everything?

"But I don't like Chinese Food."

This weekend was a "cooking free" weekend for Momma Hu. We spent so much of our weekend outside, and I was honestly too tired to lift a wok...just kidding my Asian friends!

On satuday, we were in Bethesda all afternoon. Bethesda has a plethora of restaurants. Seriously, you can find any kind of cuisine in that area. Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Americana, etc....So, we are walking from restaurant to restaurant and getting vetoes from the kids. "How about pizza?" No..."What about Mexican?" No...."Okay Chinese?" "But I don't like Chinese food." What? Seriously dudes....you ARE Chinese!

We continued on to "La Madeleine." My eldest liked none of the soups (which we all tried in their tiny little tasting cups). I swear, the restaurant worker could have killed us with her eyes as we walked out of the restaurant.

And we're off to "Chipotle." Again, nothing the kids wanted to eat! I was so desperate at this point for food, and the husband was just plain tired. So, what do we do? We head home for leftovers.

Ironically, yesterday after leaving Chinese school....we went to eat Chinese food...which the kids ate!

Getting a big girl's job....

I think I'm going to finally do it. I'm going to get a big girl's job. It's been over six years since I've been in the corporate environment, and honestly...I didn't love it, but I miss having the income.

I have a very dear friend who has offered me a very generous and flexible job, and I'd be crazy not to take it. It's only for 20 hours/week, and I should be done just in time to pick the kids up from school.

So, my carefree days of a woman of leisure is coming to an end. I'm going to miss having my mornings free to volunteer, and doing various errands, but it'll be a nice change. I think....

Racial Teasing is never okay.

I'm so mad right now, and probably need to just vent. So, if you want to bypass this post, by all means....

Both my children are in the Chinese Immersion Program in their elementary school. Half of the day is taught in Chinese, and the other half in English. This is a very good school, and I feel that there is a huge cultural make-up which is an asset. I grew up in a very small town, and went to private school. I was one of the only two minorities in my whole entire high school. So, I really wanted my kids to go to a diverse school, and live in a diverse community. I think for the majority of the time, we do.

Well, tonight, during dinner, my son mentioned that a little boy in his class keeps teasing him at lunchtime. I asked him what he did. My son said that he's speaking to me in a funny way. I asked him what did it sound like..."well, he sounded like he's trying to speak Chinese, but he's not."

The irony? My son doesn't speak a lick of Chinese, and this boy is in the Chinese Immersion Program. I would like to think that this kid is so prolific in Chinese that my son just doesn't understand him. Coincidentally, I volunteered in the classroom today, and this kid was out of control. He wouldn't sit to do his work, and talked back to the teacher. So, I'm guessing this kid does not speak Chinese fluently, but just a bad egg.

My question is...do I speak up to the teacher or ride it out and see if it improves? I'm very touchy about this, because I was teased alot in school, and gave me all sorts of self-esteem problems. My parents pretty much told me to suck it up, but I don't think that my son has to deal with this. At the same time, I don't want to step in all the time, and seem like an overbearing mom.

I've never had to deal with this with my daughter or at our previous school. I also want my kids to be proud of their heritage and not be embarrassed that we are Asian. It just broke my heart when my son said that he wishes he was Caucasian. Can you believe that? I better stop or I will never stop typing....

90210 has got nothing on 21401

I've just recently joined Facebook...yes...I know that I was born before 1980! But it's been a really great way of hooking up with old high school friends.

So much so that a few of us decided to meet in our home town of Annapolis, MD last night.. Granted, some of us didn't stray far from Annapolis...but there were a few who moved to Puerto Rico, Delaware (again..I know not that far), and South Africa. It just worked out that all of us were in town at the same time.

The hubby and I were going to make a weekend out of it....had a friend willing to take the kids over night, and booked a hotel in Annpolis....but what happens? The son gets a fever!

I ended up driving to Annapolis (sans husband) with my friend from Puerto Rico, and she spent the night with me at the hotel. So much for that romantic weekend, eh D?

It was nice to see so many old friends, and actually stay out beyond 10pm. In fact, we left the bar around 2am, and since my friend and I were sharing the hotel room...we stayed up til 4am gossiping. Ah...high school.....

Saint Mary's Class of 1991

Kindergarten is fun! At least for now....

My how a week can change things! My son is now exclaiming how wonderful kindergarten is. He found the one friend that has changed everything.

He's known little "E" for two years, but has never really paid that much attention to her....until now. Last week when he was having one of his many breakdowns (he cried every day like clockwork...after recess last week), she gave him a hug and handed him a tissue. Thus starts the love-fest.

I also noticed that they sat next to each other during circle time (yes, I'm the nosy mom that peaked in the window).

I'm just thrilled that he feels more comfortable, because...I have to tell you...I was sweating bullets over this past week with worry.

It really goes to show how life can be much easier if you just had that one friend....

Successful First Day of Kindergarten....sort of....

I don't think that I slept a wink last night. AT.ALL. I could not get over the fact that my baby is starting elementary school. I mean, wasn't it yesterday that I took him home from the hospital?

We arrived at school and there was literally a mass of humanity there. We were swimming through children, parents, and teachers just to get to the kids' classrooms.

My daughter waved us off, and headed right into her classroom. Okay, we knew she'd be fine.

We walked into the son's classroom, and every single child in that room looked frightened. No one talked to each other, and they all sat at their little desks with a blank sheet of paper and crayons. Not one child would even draw. I asked my son to write his name and he obliged. He then turned around and whispered "Mommy...I'm scared. Can you stay with me?" My husband knew that I was going to lose it and said to him "Mommy can't stay, but she'll be here to pick you up at the end of the day."

We walked out of the classroom, and I lost my SHIT! Literally just bawled. I think that I scared the crap out of my husband. He ushered me to a corner and tried to calm me down. When I looked up...I started a chain reaction, because several other moms were just bawling along with me. The poor husbands looked so stunned and confused.

My husband asked me if he should take the rest of the day off, but I told him I'd be fine. I had a doctor's appointment and planned to meet my friend L for lunch. Both of these events were a much needed distractions.

At dismissal, I was wondering which child would come out first. The kindergarteners get dismissed separately from the rest of the school, but I saw that both walked out hand in hand. I asked the eldest how they managed to get dismissed at the same time...she responded "I told Ms. S that I needed to get my little brother." Gold stars for the eldest.

I thought all was well until one of the other moms cornered me and said that my son started crying at lunchtime. Apparently, I packed him too much food, and he had a stomach ache. So, they sent him to the health room for recess.

It was more nerves than anything else, but it kills me that the first day of school resulted in some tears for Lumpy.

I saw his teacher and asked if he was fine otherwise...she said he was fine for the rest of the day.

I would volunteer at lunch and recess, but I think that the son needs some time away from me before I start volunteering. I don't want him to think that I will always be at school.

Let's hope tomorrow brings less tears....

First day of Kindergarten is here!

You'd think that since I've been through this (the eldest just finished kindergarten this past school year) before, that I'd be prepared for the youngest to start kindergarten. You'd be wrong....

I struggled with the decision to send him to kindergarten this year. I prefer to wait for another year, while my husband believes that he's ready. I do think he's ready, but he's just not quite as mature as I'd like him to be for school. I also view him as "the baby" and maybe it's more of an emotional feeling for me.

We went to open house today, and by sheer luck...both my kids have exactly the same two teachers (the kids are in a Chinese Immersion program...half the day is taught in English, the other half in Chinese).

My son seems excited, but nervous. He talked about bullies, and asked me if I will stay at school with him. It almost broke my heart to hear him talk about bullies already. It's as if he's gearing himself for the worse case scenario. At the same time, he knows at least six kids in his class already, and I can only hope that eases his anxiety a bit.

We plan to take the kids to school together, and I will be an empty nester for the first time. I will probably keep my eye on the clock until 3:30.

I'm not that nervous for my daughter. She seemed so excited to see her friends, and has already told me that she'll look after her little brother. I had to swallow a huge lump in my throat when she held his hand and pointed to the different rooms in school, and leaned over to him and said "Don't be scared. I'll be here." I have to say, I felt really proud at that moment.

I know that school is going to be a positive experience for both my children, but letting go is so hard. I have a feeling that I won't be sleeping well tonight.

I SURVIVED TEXAS....LAND OF THE DIAL UP!!!!!

Details to come.....

Chincoteague (or where the Mosquitoes vacation)

Our friend, M, graciously invited me (along with the little Hu's) and another friend (also with two kids) to stay at her family's camper for a few days in Chincoteague. Now, I've lived in Maryland all my life, and have never been to Chincoteague. I've been to Ocean City, Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, and Assateague, but never Chincoteague. So, I was intrigued....

It would be 2.5 days with the kids sans husband. I smelled trouble a brewing, but I figured that there will be a few other moms there, so no "permanent" damage can befall on my kids.

We planned to carpool with my friend, C, up to (or down to or across to...I don't know my geography) the beach. I told my friend that I will try my best to get to her place around 8:30am, but I also knew that the husband is so not a morning person....we didn't get to their place until 9am. What did I tell you C? I managed to get up early, go grocery shopping, feed and dress the kids, but the husband could not manage to get up before 8:15am....UGH!!!!!

3.5 hours later, we are in Chincoteague. We crossed a bridge littered with dead birds. C asked "why are there so many dead birds?" I said...."all I know is....we are so not eating the fish in this town!"

We arrived at the camp site, and met up with M....who is so dark from being there for the last two weeks. Is it possible to be a redhead and tan? I envy thee!

The beach is really nice, and miraculously no one got sunburned. The kids were all well behaved and had fun collecting sand crabs, and cocinas (the little clam thingies that are the size of a rice kernel)?

The little Hu's and friends on the beach.

We took the kids to play miniature golf, and probably annoyed the crap out of the people behind us...because there were nine of us...and we were slow....

Miniature golf

The moment we stepped out of the car (returning from the beach) we were attacked by mosquitoes. I mean, not just a little bit, but ALOT! I was a little shocked at how fierce the mosquitoes were there. I mean, when I woke up in the morning, I had a welt on my face. Apparently, I was bitten while sleeping. I also woke up to planes spraying the area with bug spray, and they also have a truck that drives by and spray the area as well.

We all had our bathing suits out on the clothes line to dry overnight. C wondered if we should rinsed them since the area was sprayed....well that would be the smart thing to do right? To rinse the clothes....but I was too lazy to...so me and the little Hu's will probably come down with some funky illness because my ass was too lazy to run our suits under water or something.....

Second day at the beach...utterly gorgeous. We spent like four hours or something there, and again no sunburn....We left the beach to get ice cream. Now...how much do you think ice cream cost? I mean we bought three small scoops, and two large ones with the fancy waffle cones.....$14! Apparently, Chincoteague has a 9% tax rate. 9%! M forgot to tell us that if you ask for the "kid size" cones, you'd save alot of money. She bought two cones for like $2.50.

Had dinner, sprayed the kids down with OFF! and then headed back to the beach for a beach fire. We planned on roasting marshmellows for s'mores. My kids (along with the others) were so looking forward to this event. I bought two bags of marshmellows, two boxes of graham crackers, and two trays of chocolates bars. Needless to say, we were prepared to put our kids in a sugar coma. But as we were driving to the beach, we noticed that there were alot of cars driving away from the beach. And now I know why....I think the whole Mosquitoes species descended on the beach. We didn't last ten minutes there. We stayed for the ghost story, and as soon as the fire opened up to everyone...I let each child roast just one marshmellow....I didn't even break into the chocolate before I bellowed that we needed to get the heck out of there (I used a slightly different word though....).

We are so afraid of getting bittened, that getting out of the car was like a military exercise. We unhooked all the kids, made sure everyone was positioned right near the exit, threw the doors opened, and screamed "Run, run, run!" Our kids high tailed it out of the mini-van and into the camper in like five seconds flat. It was hilarious!

That night, determined not to get bittened again...I slept with the covers totally over my head (except for my nose...I will sacrifice my nose for oxygen).

On the last day that we were there, we took the kids fishing. I'm going to give my woman M props for this. For she is a WOMAN, and I am merely a girl in the fishing department. Girlfriend single handedly baited six fishing rods with live minnows, and also sliced frozen squid for bait. Surprisingly, the four out of the six kids caught a fish! M was good about unhooking them and throwing them back in the water. Of course, when my daughter caught one...M was not in the area. C and I kind of looking at each other...realizing that neither of us were willing to touch the thing...so I screamed at a teenager nearby if they can help. Nice, huh? "Hey, I've never met you, but could you pull this stinking, writhing, slimy thing off my hook? Thanks man!"

The female Hu progeny caught a fish!

Heck, I tried fishing too! At one point, I thought I caught something....I'm reeling and reeling and it just never let up. I had M try to reel it in...she said "If you caught something...this is the mother of all fish!" I was getting so excited, because damn...I am a WOMAN afterall. But this is what I caught.....

Catching a crabbing net with weights attached....

So after all of this camping, isn't it time the Hu's get to go on a luxurious vacation some where?

We are leaving in a couple of days to go to Houston....where we will be staying at a ridiculously trendy and luxurious boutique hotel....my pay off for visiting the in-laws. Will must try to weasle out a massage and facial from the hubby while I'm there as well.....

How dieting has ruined my life....

I've posted about joining WW. I've lost a whopping 3lbs. Well, let me tell you...I went to my weigh in on saturday......and it wasn't pretty.....We went out to dinner three times this week.

We went to Burger King last tuesday. I had my first hamburger since the summer started (it was only a Whopper Jr!), oh...and French fries....small French fries....and I had a diet soda!

We went to Baltimore to visit my brother-in-law (who's in town for business) on wednesday and ate at Phillips' Seafood Restaurant. I rarely get to have a decent crab cake...so...I had one. But forgot to ask for a broiled crab cake...so I got a fried one.

On friday, I went to California Pizza Kitchen with a friend of mine (and three kids in tow). That was the day before my weigh in. I knew better, but I rarely get to go out to eat.

I have to say, I was totally prepared to have lost like maybe .5 lb, because I have been working my a$$ off for a whole month. I've been running five miles a day, and lifting! I literally have not missed a day of exercise in a month. I've been crazy exercising! But when I stepped on that scale, I actually gained a damn pound!

I've been sweating and killing myself on that damn treadmill!!!! For naught!

Now, I have back to back vacations, and parties this month. I'm going to Acadia for dinner next week (L, J, and E...totally looking forward to it). It's a "high brow" Cajun food restaurant. My husband, who grew up in Baton Rouge, LA, says there is no such thing as "high brow" Cajun food. If you know anything about Cajun food, it's literally cooked in fat. Think bacon grease as butter. Rice and beans are the staple. Try finding anything diet friendly there.

Diet or rather "lifestyle" change is killing me! My friend that joined WW with me....she's lost 7 lbs already......without exercise....bitch....

Over scheduling

Do you ever have one of those weeks when you are just overscheduled? I'm going to have one of those months....

I leave on Tuesday to go to the beach with three girlfriends and a total of seven kids. All of us are staying in a camper. This ought to be interesting! I'm trying not to overpack, but knowing me...I probably will.

We get back on thursday after noon.

Friday, we're going to the MC Agricultural fair. This is the last year they are holding it near our house, and I've been meaning to take the kids.

Saturday, we're throwing a friend a going away party. That will take all day, and probably all night.

Sunday, we have a birthday party to go to.

Monday...playdate in the morning and we're going out to dinner that night(It's Restaurant Week in D.C.).

Tuesday...I get to pack for our trip to Texas.

We're in Texas for 10 days. We're planning to take the kids to Sea World while we are there.

We're coming back August 23rd. On the 24th, we're going to a Pot Luck for the families in my eldest's class.

And...the kids are going back to school August 26th.

Now, normally this type of schedule doesn't phase me, but the travel and the timing of the beginning of school is really throwing me off.

Let's hope I survive this month!

Middle Age has arrived!

I woke up with a tingling in my arm. Just really sore. I freak out, and flip on the computer to google the symptoms. Panicked, I wake my husband up to inform him that I may be having a "minor heart attack." He calmly looks at me, and says "Didn't you lift with weights yesterday?"

Oh....

Camping....Part Deux!

Who says camping isn't fun? The Hu's are here to prove the naysayers wrong!

This time my fearless crew and I tried some camping fun at Cape Henlopen, DE. It's about two miles from Rehoboth Beach. We get there to find that our site is still occupied. Annoyed, I dialed the park ranger, and he promptly arrives to correct the situation. Well, it turns out that our site wasn't occupied. It's just tiny. We were literally on top of another site. So, we placed our tent as far as possible from the other campers...which put us near the road.

After much cursing, we managed to not kill each other and pitch our tent and screen house (hell yeah we needed a screen house...the mosquitoes are Cape Henlopen's mascot). The kids were so excited about going to the beach so...we tried to walk there...and got lost. I swear, the beach was taunting us...we could hear the tide...we...just...couldn't...find...it. So, we truck back to our car, and drove there. Ahhh....much better! We found it in five minutes.

First night there...HUMID AND HOT! No one slept in their sleeping bags. Children and husband are getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, but I surprisingly am left alone. To spray or not to spray the children....that is the question. It's DEET vs. West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus wins...I spray.

Second day....we DRIVE to the beach (not doing the walking thing). Step over suntanned bodies to find a decent spot. Stay for four hours. Husband gets sunburned, and like the caring wife that I am...I laugh, because he has a hat line. After the beach, we go outlet shopping and spend way too much money. Looking at our new purchases and camping equipment...my husband looks at me and says..."Maybe we should be thinking of getting a bigger car?" You think? I've been begging him for a mini-van, but he's not ready to go down that route yet.

The little Hu's enjoying the beach.

Second night...HUMID AND HOT! And bonus!....Our neighbors left one day early! I would like to think that we had nothing to do with it, but I guess it's not too romantic to have a family of four camping right next to you, and having a 5 year old boy keep asking his parents if he can "pee in the bushes." I'm sure we had nothing to do with them leaving early....

Third day....we decided to take the kids to Cape May, NJ on the ferry. We rush out of our tent, and arrive at 8:00am to catch the first ferry. Only to find out that the first ferry doesn't run until 9:30 and the terminal wasn't even open yet.

The ferry ride was fantastic. We had good weather, and saw dolphins frolicking in the water. We get to Cape May, and decide to take the "Victorian trolley tour." We walked to the trolley a whole 10 minutes early, but every single seat next to the windows were taken. We are stuck in the back of the trolley with no air. The youngest child was not thrilled, and really...what is worse than a whiny 5 year old? He promptly falls asleep on top of me for the whole entire tour...sweating up a storm. By the time that we got off the trolley, I had a sweat imprint the shape of my son on my shirt and pants. Yeah, I looked attractive.

Cape May!

We get back to Rehoboth and go outlet shopping yet again...and this time...come back with two new hermit crabs. "Goldine" and "Pikachu." We take the kids to "Funland" (if you are a parent you must take your kids to Funland in Rehoboth...it's like a mini-amusement park), and drop like $40 on food, rides, games, etc...

Third night there....HUMID AND HOT!

Fourth and last day of camping....we stay on the beach for four hours yet again...and guess who got sunburned...me...damn it! The husband looked at me as I got into the car for the ride home and howled, because I had just given him a lecture that morning on the benefits of sunblock. Whatever! The sun is strong there!

I forgot to mention that we had a school of dolphins (is that what you call them? Schools of dolphin?...I digress...)fishing around in a circle in front of us for about 30 minutes. This is tres cool people! You can see them at Sea World, but it's completely different when they are out in the wild.

Can you spot the dolphins? Yeah, I know my camera sucks, but they are there! Promise!

Shit! We left the hermit crabs in the car while we were on the beach. Pikachu isn't moving...at all. The eldest held up the cage and asked "Mom, why is Pikachu missing a leg?" OMG, his missing leg is right next to the other hermit crab. I'm sure we killed Pikachu by leaving him in the car, but damn...Goldine got all "Silence of the Lambs" on us! I told the hubby to make a slight detour to purchase another hermit crab.

Our ride home was uneventful until we neared the Bay Bridge. The rain came out of no where, and all of a sudden...my car stalled. We were able to start it back up and drove all the way home without a problem, but the next morning...it almost died when I ran an errand. Turns out it had "electrical" problems. I blame the HUMID AND HOT weather of Delaware.

Summer Interruptus...

It started with the oldest last week. She woke up coughing and her nose was dripping non-stop. Within three days, she recovered. Then the younger one woke up on tuesday coughing. With him, a cough sends me right to CODE RED.

He has asthma, and has been hospitalized six times. The last time was this past December. Five long days at the hospital. He came home on December 23 just in time for Christmas.

Part of me feels like a paranoid mom whenver he catches a cold, but each and every time he goes to the hospital it puts us in mental torture. Seeing him hooked up to IVs, Pulse/OX monitor, and an oxygen tank is more than I can stand. We worry that he's not getting better....we worry that no one is spending time with the elder child when he's sick...we worry that this condition will never go away.

Since my mother passed away from an asthma attack, I think that I'm especially more paranoid. His specialist took him off his meds a few weeks ago, and I'm wondering if it was the right decision. Especially since his cough sounded if it ended with an intake of breath. So, what do I do? I put him right back on the meds. He seems to be doing better.

Enough to go hunt fireflies last night. Summer resumes....

Weight Watchers and me....

I finally joined Weight Watchers yesterday with a friend. The first thing the receptionist asked me is why I wanted to join, because I looked fine. That was really sweet of her, but when I look at myself....I look at a woman that is 15 lbs heavier before her children were born....

I tried on my business suits (that are about 7 years out of style), but I can only focus on the "muffin tops" that emerge once I managed to zip on the pants. It's just plain depressing.

I have a very schizophrenic relationship with food and exercise. I run every other day, and lift on the days that I don't run. As much as a exercise...I will eat my weight in food. I eat as much as my husband and he's about 10 inches taller than me.

So, I joined WW hoping that they will teach me portion control, etc...

Except....I couldn't start last night since we were headed to Annapolis to a BBQ in honor of my friend's and my birthday.

I went on to consume two glasses of wine, two chicken legs w/skin on, chips, dip, a hot dog, a huge slice of chocolate mousse cake, and tons of sweetened iced tea....

Today is a new day in the dieting world though!

The End of the Pre-school Era

Today is the last day of summer camp. It is also the last day that all the little Hu's in Hu-ville will ever be at the pre-school on an official capacity.

I've been driving to our pre-school daily for almost five years, and it's a little sad knowing that I will no longer drive my little toddlers/pre-schoolers to our lovely school. I truly believe that my kids' pre-school is the best in our area. I've met some really nice families (some who have become lifelong friends), and the sense of community that we have at our school is something that I've never experience anywhere else. This is the place where my children first learned how to make friends, and learned their ABC's. This is a place where I've also learned how to become a better mom.

We started at our pre-school on my daughter's 2nd birthday. My son was only 8 months old. I remember my daughter, shy but determined, jumped right into her 2 year old class. She may have been shy, but she was thrilled to be around children her own age.

I also remember my son's first day of pre-school. The look that he gave me as I backed out of the classroom would have broken your heart. He had this look as if saying "Why are you abandoning me? Are you going to come back?" My reassurances didn't seem to help, and in hindsight...it probably was just as hard on me.

In my mind, I have plenty of time before my last born (okay, I'm being a little melodramatic) goes off to kindergarten. But it's only six weeks away. Time has a way of sneaking up on you.

Last year, my daughter started kindergarten. Since she has a late birthday, she benefited from an extra year of pre-school. She was ready, and this past year, she did well socially and academically. Again, she was shy, but determined.

My son is a bit less prepared, less academic, and less independent. I worry about him, but I have to keep in mind that part of the "growing up" experience is to let go. I can't shield him from every negative experience (although I wish I could), and although there will be some...that we are here for him. Although he may give me the same "Why are you abandoning me? Are you coming back?" look on his first day of kindergarten...I know he'll be fine. He was in pre-school.

Hard help is good to find or how a restaurant almost ruined a couples' wedding!!!!!

My friend and I are trying to start up an event planning business. While it's slow going, I'm proud to say that we're doing about three to four weddings coming up. I really take each wedding to heart and treat them as if they are my own.

We have a wedding coming up next week, and I called to confirm with the restaurant (where the vows will be held). Here is how the conversation went:


Momma Hu: Hi, I'm calling to confirm the wedding party for the 20th at 10:45am.

Hostess: Oh....um....we have nothing on the books.

Momma Hu: I've been working with B.A., and she knows all the details. I also have several emails confirming what we've discussed.

Hostess: Oh...I'm not sure. B.A. is only here about twice a week, but there are no parties booked at all for that day.

Momma Hu: Could you have her call me as soon as possible?

Hostess: Sure....

As I was about to have a coronary, the phone rings...it's "S." She is the NEW manager of the restaurant, and has told me that B.A. no longer works at the restaurant. She left two months (okay, why did the hostess seem to think that B.A. is still there?). B.A. failed to make any notes or book our party (even though I have started email exchanges and phone calls as early as March).

While everything worked out fine, I'm a bit perturbed that had I not called....or if another party made reservations in my place...my couple would not have a place to get married.

At another venue...I've asked to make changes to the contract, and I've had to email the contract editor five times!!!! Five times before anything was changed. Now, I'm not sure how most businesses operate, but isn't attention to detail important?

Or maybe it's my type A personality coming out....sorry...had to vent....

Decluttering Hu-ville

My alarm woke me up around 6am. I usually run every other day, and I even put on my running clothes and shoes and did myself proud, because as soon as I hit the basement (where the treadmill is located).....I decided to watch tv instead.

I flipped on the Style channel and watched "Clean House." As I sat there watching the show, I can hear Niecy Nash screaming at me..."do you need all this crap?" Hell's no girl! I don't!

The show inspired me to face my secret shame....my storage room in the basement. The fact that I break out in a sweat just climbing over boxes and bags to get to the treadmill should have given me a clue that I needed to get rid of stuff long ago. This room alone should make me a candidate for "Clean House." I wish I had a picture of the room before getting rid of the thousands of boxes and bags....

I would say about 80% of my clutter is kid related. We kept all of our baby/toddler stuff "just in case." The chances of us having another baby is like .001%.

My husband is seriously attached to anything baby related, and giving away even Baby Einstein videos just about kills him. I guess in a way I'm kind of attached to the baby stuff as well. In the off .001% chance that we'd have another baby I don't want to spend the money to buy all that stuff again.

Nevertheless, around 7am in the morning, I listed two potty chairs, an exo-saucer, booster seat, bibs, sippy cups, bottles, videos, toys, bath chairs, maternity clothes, etc (and there's still plenty more to go).... on Freecycle. Within minutes, every single item has been spoken for! And....I can actually see the floor in my storage space now. I did this all before 8am people!

In my search for things to give away, I happened upon a bikini that I wore in high school. I was a size 0 back in the day. A size 0! Yeah...you have my permission to laugh now. I'm not sure how I'm going to even list that on Freecycle.

Now that I'm on a roll getting rid of baby/toddler paraphenelia, I'm going to get pregnant....just watch....

How rain can ruin your camping trip....

This is us....right before packing up and leaving.... see our smiles?

For months now...scratch that...years.....my husband wanted to take us camping. He is an outdoors aficionado. Well before we were married, he was a hike leader for the Howard County chapter Sierra Club.

Still to this day, whenever he gets a copy of the Campmor or Sierra Trading Post catalogs he salivates over the camping/hiking equipment. This past Christmas his main gifts to us as a family were sleeping bags, tents, and other camping paraphenelia. When he was convalescing at home from sinus surgery, he ordered tons of more equipment. Needless to say, we were taking a camping trip this summer.

Our friends, D and J are also keen outdoors folks, and their kids love camping. We thought the long 4th of July weekend was the perfect opportunity to break in the camping equipment, and quickly booked a three night stay at Rocky Gap State Park in Cumberland, MD. We spent weeks preparing for this trip. We powwowed together by emails and dinners figuring out who was taking what, and what kind of food to prepare, etc....I bought the largest watermelon I could humanly possibly carry to my car.

The week before our trip, I checked the weather and there was a 40-60% chance of scattered thunderstorms for the weekend (thursday-sunday), but that didn't deter us from having some outdoor fun. We started our journey around 5pm on thursday night. Not a cloud in site as we leave the D.C. metro area. Made it to the camp in 2 hours, and as we drive up to our camp site the heavens opened up. Thinking that the rain can't get any worse, my husband and I try in vain to set up our tent (we only practiced once before). Swearing to each other as we try. Meanwhile our friends (who started to set up their tent well after we started) finished putting up their huge 8 person tent. Sadly, we were still trying to set up our tent feeling really incompetent.

Everything was wet. Our tent was wet, our sleeping bags were wet, the kids were wet, but we kept telling ourselves it'll get better. We ran out of dry towels sopping up the water in our tent (and we brought six towels). That night, we drank three bottles of wine to cheer us up. My husband told me he saw a skunk, but I just thought that was the wine talking.

Because of the wine, around 3am I had to use the bathroom. While the bath house was only a short distance from our site, I stumbled all the way down the hill with my fancy LED lantern (which my husband swears is the brightest and best money can buy). Let me tell you...you can't see much regardless of how bright your damn lamp is, and walking uphill with flipflops on...not a smart move on my part (especially in the rain).

Friday morning....4th of July! Woo hoo, camping is gonna be fun! The park itself is gorgeous with so many activities (canoeing, fishing, kayaking, animal exhibition shows, an aviary, beach, etc...). All throughout breakfast there wasn't a drop of rain. But as I was washing up, the drops were the size of a water balloon hitting you. None of us slept and were bone tired (having drunk wine hours before didn't help), but we were so desperate to do something that we decided to take a drive through "downtown" Cumberland.

We drove through town forgetting that nothing was open due to the 4th. But wait, there's a bowling alley and it's open! The bright neon sign was like a beacon to us....but by the time we arrived at the bowling alley all the kids were sleeping. So, we drove around some more and found a creamery that was open. How I spent $75 on some sandwiches and ice cream, I have no idea. I did learn (from reading a laminated newspaper clipping) that Willam H. Macy (the actor) is a native of Cumberland, MD though!

We returned to our camp site and went to the beach. I thought "hey, if we're getting wet...we might as well swim." That lasted all of ten minutes. All the kids were freezing and complaining so we went back to our sad little site.

After a quick shower (guess what...no dry towels!) and dinner...we were able to start a camp fire and roasted marshmellows. The one year old almost fell in the fire ring, but was saved in the nick of time. After the sugar rush kicked in, the kids ran around the woods catching fireflies. STILL RAINING!

And guess what? The skunk came to visit! The kids delighted in seeing some wildlife while us parents are holding sticks trying to fend it off. Skunks...they aren't afraid of humans as it turns out.

The husbands and I really wanted to pack it up and head home. The fireworks were cancelled and both husbands checked the weather on their Blackberries (yes folks...you can get reception in the woods), and it showed to be the same for the next day. J really wanted to stay though...so like suckers...we stayed.

All of us slept that night, but as we were on an incline...we all (meaning the kids and I) rolled off our mats and towarded my husband. I woke up realizing that we only occupied 1/4 of our tent, and my husband somehow survived the night, and slept with all of us practically on top of him.

We had breakfast...and hey...is that the sun?

My watermelon was on the ground next to our picnic table for the last two days, but was nowhere to be found that morning. We all looked around, and here is what we found about 50 yards downhill.....

Apparently, the watermelon rolled downhill in the middle of the night, hit a tree, and split in half. The guys thought we could still eat it...the girls...not so much. It was tossed.

We all made unanimous decisions to leave the area for good after we take a 3 hour circuit train ride (Cumberland is home to the Western Maryland Railroad). The train ride, itself, was fun. The train stops in Frostburg, MD for about an hour. Just enough to see the train engine turn around in the turnabout. The kids were thrilled to ride in a real steam locomotive. The town of Frostburg is anything, but fun. It was eerily quiet, and the only people we saw were our fellow train riders. We stepped into this small pizzeria, but quickly realized that we probably didn't belong there.

Watching the train "turnabout"

All of us...repeat...all of us fell asleep on the ride back to Cumberland (that's two sets of parents, with two sets of kids). I'm sure some of us were even snoring.

J tried to convince us to stay for an early dinner, but I was done. Ironically, it stayed moderately dry all day, but there was a 60% chance of rain so we were out of there. As we approach civilization, we realized that despite the rain, we're already planning for our next camping trip.

Cape Henlopen, DE here we come!

As for our friends....they actually end up staying one more night. Brave, very brave....

First time blogger

Well, here I am in Blogs-ville! I have to admit...I reserved this blog name about a month ago, but was afraid to start. I just really didn't think my life would be really interesting to blog about, and the extent of my writing nowadays is really just responding to emails.

Yet, here I am! I haven't even told my husband that I've started a blog yet.

To give you a little background, I am a mommy of two. My daughter and son are only 16 months apart (I'm still not sure how that happened), and the youngest is about to embark to the wonderful world of elementary school. Having just done that with my oldest (she just completed kindergarten), you'd think that I wouldn't have any anxieties with my son starting school. Well, I have lots!

With two children in school, I will have tons of time on my hands, and am considering working part-time.

In a former life, I worked at NIH. I retired from the job when I was about 5 months pregnant with my son, and never regretted it. I have no interest in going back to the "tech" world.

My friend and I are trying to start an event planning business, but if I had to live on what I'm making thus far...I'd probably starve. So, I'm off to find a fulfilling part-time job in the fall.

Whoever is reading this, thanks for coming to visit. I'll try not to be too boring and get to some real posting soon.