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This journal is about raising identical twins.Thirty Seventh Month
Previous entriesNote: This page may contain Chinese text in Big5 encoding.
Sunday, Aug 6, 2000 (36m)
The twins are three years old today.We threw a birthday party at the community clubhouse. Many friends brought gifts to the twins.
Monday, Aug 7, 2000 (3y+1d)
Auntie Tina dropped off Cousin Natalie on the way to work. Natalie played with the twins until her mom picked her up after work.Elizabeth brought the twins a PowerWheel Tricycle as their birthday gift. The tricycle is still too big that the twins' feet could not reach the pedals yet.
Tuesday, Aug 8, 2000 (3y+2d)
Aunt Tina dropped off Cousin Natalie with us again today. We had lunch with Debbie and Kendrick at Banana Leaf restaurant. Later in the evening, the twin went swimming with Cousin Natalie.
Wednesday, Aug 9, 2000 (3y+3d)
Mom and twins went to Great Mall with Cousin Natalie.
Thursday, Aug 10, 2000 (3y+4d)
Cousin Natalie stopped coming to the twins perhaps we could not keep her busy enough.
Friday, Aug 11, 2000 (3y+5d)
We had lunch with Evon and Ronald at Banana Leaf restaurant. Mom, twins and Evon went shopping at Stanford Shopping Center after lunch. We also had dinner with them at Milpitas Square.
Saturday, Aug 12, 2000 (3y+6d)
We dropped off the twins with Grandma Ling. We went to see the movie Hollowman (DVD|VHS). The computer-generated special effect in the movie is quite amazing.
Sunday, Aug 13, 2000 (3y+7d)
Joanne had a nosebleed in the morning. She must have broken the skin again when she picked her nose.We went shopping at Costco before the twins took their afternoon nap. While they were sleeping in the car, daddy went for a haircut. The day passed without much happening.
Monday, Aug 14, 2000 (3y+8d)
The Challenger School the twins went to in the summer is full for fall term. Mommy drove the twins around to look for another school for the fall term.They went to the toy store in the afternoon.
Wednesday, Aug 16, 2000 (3y+10d)
Mommy took the twins to Sharleen's neighbor, Sonja's place. Sonja has a weekly party at their pool. Sharleen & Claire, Jane & Jonathan were there too. However, they didn't go into the water. Our twins haven't seen Sonja for a while. They were scared of her when she laughed loudly. The twins were too busy crying and screaming; they refused to swim.The twins stayed up all day and didn't take their afternoon nap. They were quite awake and energetic throughout the evening.
It has been over a week since the twin got their sage iMac computer. Joanne has been hogging over it ever since. Jasmine fought back today, she hit Joanne and took over the mouse. Though we don't encourage them fighting, but I am glad to see Jasmine becoming more assertive.
Thursday, Aug 17, 2000 (3y+11d)
We had lunch with Connie with Cynthia at Milpitas Square. They went to the restaurant early to get the table first. I joined them later but was looping in the parking lot for over half an hour just to get a parking space. Fortunately, I didn't have a meeting in the afternoon. That place is no longer a suitable place for lunch if parking alone takes half an hour because most people will be late for work after lunch. The Cisco new campus across the road will make the place jam-packed when it opens soon.The twins didn't take their afternoon nap again.
Friday, Aug 18, 2000 (3y+12d)
Mom took the twins to Cupertino Village to have lunch with Debbie, Melinda et al. Melinda had to leave Alan with Debbie and mommy when she took her new baby back to the car to change the stroller for a baby carrier. Both mommy and Debbie were so embarrassed when Alan cried like he was being kidnapped.Jenny wanted to join them but was unable to find a parking space after half an hour of circling around, so she gave up. The Bay Area is getting so crowded that even taking a lunch break is not an easy task.
The twins didn't take their afternoon nap again.
Saturday, Aug 19, 2000 (3y+13d)
We had lunch at Grandma Ling's place. We then hurried across the bay to the SONY Metreon. We thought the twins would love to see the 3-D IMAX movie, Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box. The traffic on the bay bridge was slow. The parking lot across the street was full, and we had to circle around to find another parking garage. By the time we parked our car, it had already past show time. The twins were so hyped up to see the tigers that they were disappointed when we had to cancel our movie plan.Wil'n'Lil tried to join us but were also late for the show. So we ended up spending some time walking around the Metreon. We tried to go to dinner at Koi's Palace Restaurant in Daly City. We arrived at 5:30pm and we were told the restaurant was fully booked until 9:30pm. Yet again, we had to change plan and went to King's China Bistro in Daly City. The restaurant was reserved for a wedding banquet and we were lucky to get a table at the back. After dinner, we went to Sunset district in SF for dessert.
Again, today is another example to fact that the Bay Area is getting too crowded, even a day out in the weekends is not easy anymore.
Sunday, Aug 20, 2000 (3y+14d)
Sonja invited us to her daughter Lorren's two-year-old birthday party. We arrived late, and many other guests had already finished lunch and enjoyed themselves in the pool. The twins were not scared of Sonja today, but still they refused to give her a big hug.Sonja hired a clown to perform a magic show to the kids. The twins sat way back up the stairs and refused to participate in the magic acts. After the show, the clown changed into her Elmo costume and danced with Lorren and other kids. The twins loved Elmo on TV, but they feared this Elmo personator so much that they trembled. After Elmo helped Lorren cut the birthday cake, our twins went in the pool.
Lorren and Claire joined our twins in the pool later. It was quite a sight because all four kids were wearing the same swim sweaters. They looked like kids wearing uniform in a swimming school.
After the party, we had dinner at Miyaki Restaurant in Cupertino. Joanne was so tired that she slept in daddy's lap throughout the dinner. Jasmine didn't eat much and she fell asleep as soon as she got back in the car.
The twins had not taken their afternoon nap since Wednesday. Looks like they don't need that anymore, today is just an exception after an exhausting party.
Mommy cooked some udon noodle for the twins after the twins woke up. Joanne fetched a couple of candies despite the dinner was almost ready. Jasmine refused and scolded Joanne for offering her a candy before dinner. Joanne does not care much about our teaching, but Jasmine obeys very well. Jasmine is a more righteous kid than Joanne is.
We watched a DVD movie after the twins went to bed.
Monday, Aug 21, 2000 (3y+15d)
The twins are 1111 days old today.
Wednesday, Aug 23, 2000 (3y+17d)
Mommy was not feeling well. The twins didn't go out since Monday. But they asked "�R���D�h���h�H" (Where will we go after the shower?) everyday when mommy took her shower in the morning. The twins had inherited the wanderlust gene from mommy. They just wanted to go out.Jenny came to visit mommy.
Thursday, Aug 24, 2000 (3y+18d)
We had dinner with Hing and Lucy at Golden Island restaurant. The twins got to get out after being stranded at home for several days.The twins watched the Wizard of Oz, (DVD|VHS) movie on their iMac's DVD drive. They have watched the movie many times by now, but so far they were mostly interested to see the Lion. Today, they kept asking what was happening to Dorothy. Daddy told them that the bad guy (witch) had kidnapped Dorothy. She could not go home. And I took the opportunity to teach them to stay close to mommy and daddy whenever there are strangers around.
When the movie reached the part where Glinda was sending Dorothy home and Dorothy was having an emotional farewell with her friends, the twins broke into tears. They ran to us and bawled in our embrace. They felt sad for Dorothy because she was crying. We had to rewind the movie to show them that Dorothy was going home and they should be happy for her. The twins didn't believe at first. They requested to repeat how Dorothy went home by clicking her ruby slippers. They had to see it several times before they stopped crying.
Friday, Aug 25, 2000 (3y+19d)
For the past week or so, Joanne had been running to us crying from time to time. She told us Jasmine hit her. We explained to her that Jasmine was taking revenge because Joanne used to hit Jasmine a lot. It was the consequence of being mean to Jasmine. We told her that Jasmine would feel the same when she was hit, so they'd better stop fighting. And Jasmine added "�A���n���ڡA�ڦӮa�n�c" (Don't bully me, I am very mean now).From time to time, the twins would switch their personality. Though we don't encourage fighting, we are glad that Jasmine breaks out of the submissive mode for a change.
Saturday, Aug 26, 2000 (3y+20d)
We went to Elk Grove near Sacramento to visit Kenny and Betsy in their new home. Their house is on the shore of an artificial lake. They can launch a pedal boat from their backyard. The twins enjoyed feeding the ducks in the lake off the backyard.Despite the beautiful neighborhood, they bought their house for about $200,000. The same house would have cost two to three times more if it were in the Bay Area. One of their neighbors works for Adobe Systems, which is over two hours away in off-rush-hour driving. However, he does not worry about distance and traffic because he telecommutes. As more and more companies support telecommuting, living far away becomes a viable alternative to the outrageous housing market in the Silicon Valley.
Denis, Jane and fourteen-month-old Jonathan joined us in the visit. Jonathan just started walking and his movement is still quite jerky. When he reached for the twins, he would slam with his palm or dive into them. The twins thought he wanted to hit them. The twins ran around in the house to avoid contact with Jonathan. But Jonathan enthusiastically chased after the twins.
We went looking at model homes in the neighborhood after lunch. The price already went up a lot since Kenny moved in a few months ago. We spent some time in the community swimming pool in the late afternoon. We had to take the twins out of the water when they started shivering. The twins ate too little during lunch and they basically were running out of energy.
Kenny and Betsy treated us a Japanese dinner before we headed home. Denis' family stayed over because Jane is pregnant and the long trip home would be too tiring for her. The twins refused to take a nap and sang most of the way home. They eventually fell asleep fifteen minutes before we reached home. Then we had to wake them up for their milk and bath before sending them to bed.
Sunday, Aug 27, 2000 (3y+21d)
It was our fifth wedding anniversary yesterday. We postponed the celebration until today. We dropped off the twins with Aunt Tina. We went to Watercourse Way in Palo Alto and pampered ourselves with a two-hour hot tub and massage session. While we were enjoying ourselves, Uncle Ivan and Aunt Tina took the twins and Cousin Natalie to Toys R Us. They were happy because Uncle Ivan bought them some bubble toys. The twins always have a good time at toy stores even if we buy them nothing. We had dinner at Cattlemen's Restaurant in Fremont after picking up the twins.On our way home, we asked the twins to take a nap. But they told us they already took a nap at Aunt Tina's place. Both of them fell asleep before reaching home. Obviously they were not telling the truth or they were very tired. We transferred them from the car to their bed directly. Joanne woke up later asking for milk. Jasmine slept till the morning.
Monday, Aug 28, 2000 (3y+22d)
The twins got up at 7am and jumped into our bed asking for milk. It was as expected, when they went to bed early, they would wake us up early.In the evening, the twins jumped up and down on our bed and Joanne fell to the floor facedown. She got up laughing hysterically despite her nose was red from the fall. Seconds later, before we could stopped their wild play, Jasmine fell to the floor landing on her butt. She laughed too. Both of them found it funny to fall off bed.
Tuesday, Aug 29, 2000 (3y+23d)
The twins got up at 5am in the morning and jumped into our bed. Mommy took them back to their room and they were restless for two hours before getting back to sleep.Mommy took the twins to have lunch with Connie and Jenny in Oakland. They returned home at around 4:30pm.
In the evening, while mommy went to answer the phone, Joanne was hopping and jumping on our bed. She fell to the floor again, this time headfirst. She got up and laughed like crazy. Mommy checked her out and found no problem except that the unstoppable laugh may result from a short-circuit due to the blow to the head. :-) The twins were banned from jumping on bed from now on.
Daddy worked overtime in the office and missed the whole ordeal.
Wednesday, Aug 30, 2000 (3y+24d)
Mommy took the twins to Oakland to meet Connie, Jenny et al. They then went to Jungle Fun and Adventure in San Francisco. The twins loved the place and played with a big grin on their face. They were exhausted and fell asleep in the car on the return trip. Mommy bought take-out dinner on the way.
Friday, Sept 1, 2000 (3y+26d)
Mommy got a phone call from the Challenger School. The twins were admitted for the fall term, which starts next Tuesday. Mommy hurried to the school to get the paperwork done. Of course the twins recognized the place but were disappointed to learn that they could not play in the playground.Before bedtime, Joanne was not brushing her teeth. Mommy sarcastically told her that if she did not use her toothbrush, she should throw it in the garbage. Joanne didn't even think twice, she just threw the brush in the trashcan immediately. The twins understand sarcasm very well. They often yelled back NO! when mommy's sarcastic remarks did not please them. Joanne followed mommy's instruction with no objection at all because she was not in her teeth-brushing mood.
Saturday, Sept 2, 2000 (3y+27d)
We got up early in the morning and left home at 8:30am. There was a storm last night and it was still drizzling in the morning. We headed to Southern California for the long Labor Day weekend.We arrived at Monterey Park before 2pm. We had lunch first and shopped in a Chinese bookstore for some Cantonese Children Songs on CD and VCD. We then paid a visit to my Cousin Alex's house in Monterey Park. Aunt Eriko and Cousin Alisa and Amily are all in Japan. Uncle Alex just came back yesterday from a training trip in Hong Kong. Uncle Allen's family went to Las Vegas for the weekend. So we missed everyone in LA except Alex.
After saying goodbye to Alex, we went further south to Irvine to visit Rick, Kathy and their kids Ray and Derick. We visited them back in May. They bought a new house since then. Hence the sole mission of this trip was to see their new home.
One thing that the twins looked forward to was to see E.T. the pug again. They keep asking about her on the way, and they kept referring to our destination as E.T.'s home. However, they hid behind our back at the moment they saw E.T. They want to see and touch her, but they are scared of her. They have that love/hate relationship with the dog.
Our jaws dropped to the floor when we saw their luxurious home. It used to be a 5-bedroom house. The previous owner converted two of the bedrooms into a huge playroom with a pool table. So now it only has 3 roomy bedrooms, but with living room, family room and a big office downstairs. They have plenty of space.
The most impressive is the backyard. It was professionally landscaped with a pool and a hot spa. The spa and the swimming pool are arranged in such a way that an artificial waterfall sends water into the spa and the water spills over to the pool below as another waterfall. The waterfalls can be shut off when the spa is in use. It looks just like a garden in a Las Vegas hotel.
After dinner, we spent the evening dipping in their spa and swimming in the pool. The twins ran up and down between the spa and the pool as they found the spa too hot and the pool too cold.
We got a taste of the rich people's lifestyle.
Sunday, Sept 3, 2000 (3y+28d)
Jasmine woke up with a runny nose. Perhaps the running between the hot and cold water last night weaken her immune system.Mommy went out shopping with Kathy at the South Coast Plaza. The twins stayed with the men and boys. We went out and had pizza for lunch. We came back to the house to play some video game and pool. Then I sent the twins to have an afternoon nap. When they woke up, we all jumped in the pool and spa to have a swim. The twins played in the water until mommy came back from the shopping trip.
Mommy and Kathy came back with some meat and veggie for BBQ. Ricky served us a nice BBQ dinner by the poolside. After dinner, we watched some TV in the family room. They bought the whole home theater system from the previous owner because the expensive system is all hooked up to a built-in entertainment center attached to the wall. They negotiated a deal to buy all the stereo equipment and the pool table and some other furniture too.
While we were watching TV, Joanne played with E.T. very closely. Ever since we arrived, I have taken all the opportunity to encourage the kids to play with the dog. Joanne had already gotten used to E.T. and E.T. loved to get a behind-the-ear-rub from Joanne. Jasmine did not like E.T., she said she hated E.T. licking her face.
Monday, Sept 4, 2000 (3y+29d)
We had breakfast at McDonald's. The twins went into the PlayPlace while we said goodbye to Rick's family. We then went shopping at the Mitsuwa store (used to be Yaohan before it folded) nearby. There is a Mitsuwa store in San Jose that mommy goes to. Mommy likes to compare these stores at different locations. To me, a chain store is a chain store. I see no difference. We had lunch at the food-court inside the store before we hit the road at around 2:15pm.Jasmine pooped in her pants and we had to stop at a restaurant next to the highway to use the restroom. When we switched from highway I-5 to highway 152 at around 7pm, we got stuck in stop-n-go traffic. Apparently, all the long-weekend travelers were trying to get home at the same time. We stopped on the shoulder of the highway to let the twins use the potty. We were stuck for almost an hour before resuming highway speed again. We arrived home at around 9pm. On the way, the twins told us they like to sleep in their own beds.
Tuesday, Sept 5, 2000 (3y+30d)
Daddy is back to work and attend a conference in San Jose for the rest of the week. School starts today. The twins went to school for the orientation session. Joanne complained that she could not go to the playground. Jasmine's runny nose recovered.
Wednesday, Sept 6, 2000 (3y+1m)
The twins are 37 months old today.
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started on Oct 18, 2000