Un-WINE-ding

The other night I met up with a few mommy friends at Intermezzo. What a nice way to relax with great gals, champagne, cocktails, wine and superb food. So looking forward to making this a habit!

Tammy, Talina and Laurie

Cheers!

Margerum Rose'

(Perfect to un-WINE-d the day)

Girls Gone Wild

Road Trip

I never thought I would take the girls out of town by myself but I did it! We went on a little road trip to see family. The girls did a great job in the car. Not one whine or tantrum during the 4 hour car ride and one pitstop. Pretty good for a kid who has nothing to look at but the back seat and for the other who doesn't really like to watch DVDs for very long. We sang a lot of songs, including all Disney, Top 40 and GLEE. Okay, now get ready for a lot of pictures!

The snow covered mountains on the Grapevine were beautiful.

 Just The Girls 

(The one in pink is my niece, Caroline)

A little pick-me-up at Tuttimelon 

after an exhausting trip to Build-A-Bear.

Guess who had to carry the bags? 

 Very intently watching "How to Train Your Dragon."

 Funny how the kids & Uncle Mark have the same reaction
in this picture as well as the one above it.

 Sophia passed out during nap time

Happy Little Kalista and her bear

Following photos taken at John's Incredible Pizza

(just a step up from Chuck E. Cheese)

 Auntie Karen showing Sophia 

how to shoot baskets.

 They even had a toddler play area for Kalista.

Flash forward about 12 more years...or not. : )

 I love this picture of Sophia & Caroline

Girls Rule!

Beautiful Butterfly

I will admit, as shameful as it may be, I do not save every piece of artwork Sophia brings home from school. Seriously, she saves every scrap of paper (art or not) in her cubby. I would need a storage unit to keep everything she brought home. However, I just absolutely loved this butterfly she painted. Her teachers laminated it and I decided it definitely deserved a frame.

Sophia's Masterpeice

Battle Hymn...

A book review? This is an odd post for me since I hardly get the chance to start a book let alone actually finish one. But this book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua truly caught my attention; mainly because of all the negative publicity and reviews the author received.

Although I am not Chinese, I can relate to how Sophia & Lulu were raised; I think a lot of 1st or 2nd generation Asians can too. But THANK GOD I cannot relate to the extent of their upbringing by their Tiger Mother. There are a lot of things I could say about the book, but then this post would be pages long. So I'm going to keep it short...

I don't think you can or should pass judgement on the author's parenting style (Chinese way versus the Western way) unless you have had the opportunity to experience the dynamics of both and not necessarily in its' entirety. I understand the Tiger Mother's intentions. I DO NOT agree with all of her craziness. I do believe there is a difference between traditional Asian parenting and non-Asian parenting (the term Western bothers me). Which one is better? IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE CHILD. So with that being said, thank you Mom & Dad for knowing when to apply the differences. I am eternally grateful.

Bird Nest

Sophia made this cute, edible bird nest at school. Sophia was very excited to let me know she was giving me the entire nest to eat by myself. But like any good mommy...I shared. : )

Simple yet creative.

Just Chinese noodles, chocolate and candy eggs.

Kind of gives me the hankering to make haystacks...hmmmm.

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho...It's Off to Ojai We Go!

This post would have never been possible if weren't for my generous and loving husband. David, I love you!


What an amazing, blissful and relaxing weekend I just experienced at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Marcy, Melike and I had been looking forward to this trip for weeks! It's not an easy task trying to coordinate a weekend that works for 3 mommies and 3 daddies who would be taking care of 7 kids (all under the age of 4). But we found THE magical dates and it was off to Heaven on Earth for 3 days of girly time!

 The perfect way to start off the weekend!

 Posing in front of Marcy's bubbly : )

 Cocktails with my favorite mommies!

I'm going to request this set-up at my next house. : )

 Nothing like a morning workout at OUR leisurely time!
It was so nice not having to wake-up at the
crack of dawn to go for my normal morning run.

 Refreshing lunch after our spa treatments.

YES...We ate lunch in our robes. 

And YES...we ate in the resort restaurant. 

And YES again...there were others dining as well. 

And NO...no one looked at us like we were nuts.

 Melike caught me with her iPhone and

snapped this l-o-v-e-l-y pic. 

(I'll be posting about this book later)

Bathing Beauty Marcy

 Friendly Melike
Seriously, when I woke up from my catnap
she had made about 4 new friends.

Suite 718

If only walls could talk ; )

Marcy & Melike,

Thank you for a fun-fabulous girly weekend. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect getaway. You are TRUE & GENUINE FRIENDS! ; ) xo

Kalista - 15 Months

I think Kalista's shirt pretty much sums up her 15 month check-up. ; )

Height = 28 1/2" (MINUS 5 percentile) - SERIOUSLY?!
Weight = 19 lbs 8 oz (10th percentile)

A growth of only half an inch and a gain
of almost 2 pounds from her one year check-up.
I swear this child eats like there is no tomorrow! Where is it all going?
I mean, I understand the definition of petite, but come on!

Sophia at 15 months

Height = 31 1/4" (75th percentile)

Weight = 22 lbs (30th percentile)

Happy Birthday - Vegas Style

I know, I know. Yes, yes. Las Vegas twice in one month?! No, we don't have a gambling problem. We've just been living the rock star life the last couple of weeks. : ) This last trip to Vegas was to celebrate our friend, Lloyd's, 40th birthday. Friends from all over came out to take part in the festivities. A weekend filled with friends (new & old), good food, wine, cocktails, shopping, craps...well I can't list everything! ; )

Kid-less photo op.

I loved all the bright, bold colors in the Encore.

Of course, I had to have that caramel sundae.

from Serendipity.

Just a "little" birthday donut from Serendipity.
That thing was as big as his face!

If you are ever in Vegas, I highly recommend
dining at Switch. This swanking restaurant's
decor switches ever 20 minutes! From ceiling
to walls - it's a fabulous dining experience.

Ceiling before

Ceiling after the Switch

One of the walls of the restaurant

Same wall 20 minutes later - notice how it has not
come down all the way yet

A nice smooth pear-vodka shot to
start out the evening

Cheers to Lloyd!

I am pretty sure all the guys ordered some type of steak.

David ordered this bone-in rib eye. Um, can I

just say outstanding!

And all the gals ordered some type of fish. 

This was my Chilean Sea Bass. Oh but wait...

I had to have the lobster risotto as well!

Happy 40th Birthday Lloyd!

Like I said at the beginning of this post...
I can't list everything!