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This journal is about raising identical twins.Forty Fifth Month
Previous entriesNote: This page may contain Chinese text in Big5 encoding.
Friday, Apr 6, 2001 (3y+8m)
The twins are 44 months old today.Mommy took the twins to visit Rachel at her other preschool. Rachel attends the same school as our twins on Tuesday and Thursday. She attends another school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The other school focuses more on arts and crafts than in academics. Mommy was interested to sign up the twins for summer school. Unfortunately, the school was all booked up for the summer.
They went to Sweet Tomatoes for salad buffet lunch. The twins got in for free even though they ate a lot. They cleaned up all dishes mommy served them. When added together, they probably ate more than mommy did. It was a good sign that they loved vegetables and fruits.
Saturday, Apr 7, 2001 (3y+8m+1d)
We went to the farmer's market in the morning. We also visited the library and read a couple of books to the twins. Mommy bought some fresh fruit and vegetable and fish for dinner. We stayed home the rest of the day.
Sunday, Apr 8, 2001 (3y+8m+2d)
It is a Chinese tradition to visit ancestors' grave on the day of ChingMing. ChingMing would be a public holiday in Hong Kong. But we don't get a holiday in the US, so we picked a weekend around this time.We got up early and headed to the cemetery to visit great grandpa. This year the twins asked about who great grandpa was. Since the twins know their own grandpa and grandma, it was not too difficult to explain he was mommy's grandpa, or grandma's daddy. They also asked why they had not met great grandpa. We explained that he died before they were born. I am not sure if the twins understand what death really means yet although they use the word often in expression such as "scared to death". Mommy's uncles and their families were at the cemetery too. We brought our offering such as fruits, flowers and incenses etc.
We then went to a dimsum restaurant for lunch. We occupied three big tables.
After lunch, we went visit mommy's Cousin Kay and her three months old baby girl Megan. When mommy picked up the baby girl, she cried. Looks like mommy already lost her touch in handling babies. Afterwards, mommy, Auntie Jun and Jennifer went directly to shopping. Daddy took the twins, grandma and great grandma back for their afternoon nap.
We went to the family reunion dinner in the evening. Again, we filled three large tables with almost 30 people.
On our way home, it was drizzling and there was a traffic jam on the highway. We later learned that it was due to a fatal car accident ahead. While our car moved through the stop and go traffic, the engine suddenly shut down. We couldn't get the car started again. Daddy got out and pushed the car to the right shoulder of the highway while other cars were moving around us. It was scary because the road was slippery and dark; we might be hit from behind when the car stopped on the highway. Fortunately, everyone was moving very slowly due to the traffic jam. The twins were not helping when they complained why we were not going home.
Mommy called the tow truck service on the mobile phone while daddy recuperated from the exhaustion after pushing a few thousand pounds of metal, flesh and blood (mommy and twins stayed in the car). A California Highway Patrol (CHiP) arrived only a few minutes later. I told the policeman that we had two small kids in the car and the tow truck wouldn't have room for them. Since the highway is a dangerous place to stop, he'd rather not have our family come to the rescue on the highway. He offered to take mommy and the twins back to grandma's place, which was just a few miles away.
When I moved the twins from our car to the police car, they giggled and laughed. They said it was fun to be moved around while they stayed in the car seat. Later when grandma asked if they were scared, they said no because mommy was with them.
Daddy rode with the tow truck when the car was towed to a dealership 12 miles away. It was late at night, so we just dropped the car in front of the service department and left the key and a note explaining the problem. Mommy and grandpa came out to the dealership to pick me up. We stayed over at grandma's place for the night.
Monday, Apr 9, 2001 (3y+8m+3d)
Daddy called the office to take a half-day off work to get the car fixed. We called the dealership to ask about the car. They said they were so booked up with appointments that they wouldn't have time to inspect the car before noon. We figured that we would be stranded for a long time, so we started making arrangements.Great grandma came to look after the twins. After lunch, daddy and mommy took the BART (subway) back to the south bay. Lillian came to the BART station to give us a ride back home. Daddy returned to work in the afternoon. Mommy drove the minivan back to grandma's place. Mommy also went to the dealership to retrieve the twins' school bags from the car. The dealer had not found the cause of the engine shutdown yet. Mommy brought back the kids after dinner.
Tuesday, Apr 10, 2001 (3y+8m+4d)
The twins went to school as usual. The twins each got a cup of soil and grass seeds from school couple of weeks ago. They had been quite diligent in watering the cup each morning. Now the grass is almost four inch tall.The dealer called in the afternoon. They found that the engine ceased because a camshaft speed sensor malfunctioned. The onboard computer thought the engine jammed and it shut down the engine when the car stopped. Of course the computer didn't know we were still in the middle of the highway when we stopped. I complained to the dealer that such design put the car owner and passengers in hazardous condition. Lighting up a warning signal is one thing, but cutting off power to a vehicle can be fatal. Instead of fighting the rush hour traffic to get the car, we chose to wait till tomorrow.
Wednesday, Apr 11, 2001 (3y+8m+5d)
Daddy took a long lunch break to retrieve the car. The repair cost us nothing because the car was still under factory warranty, even though we spent $40 in towing. On the way, the twins asked why we were going to grandma's place. They remembered the route, but they forgot that we left our car the other day.We originally planned a trip to LEGOLAND this weekend with the twins' two classmates. Sebastian and Rachel's family would join us in LEGOLAND on Sunday. Rachel's little brother got rashes all over his face, Grace decided to cancel their trip. It is uncertain if Daisy would still want to go. We decide to stay with the original plan.
Debbie called in the evening. She gave birth to a big baby boy at over 8.5 pounds. The delivery was unplanned. She had a check up at the hospital and she developed an allergic reaction to the latex gloves the nurses wore. She got rashes all over her body. She was in the emergency room for her allergy when the baby came out after two hours of labor.
Thursday, Apr 12, 2001 (3y+8m+6d)
The twins went to school as usual.The twins got back the school pictures. Joanne was not too happy about her picture because one of her piggy tails was hidden behind her head.
Jasmine got a sore throat. We could hear the difference in her voice. She had no fever or other symptoms.
Friday, Apr 13, 2001 (3y+8m+7d)
Today is Good Friday, but it is also Friday the thirteen. I don't know if that makes the Friday bad.Daddy had lunch with Ronald. Mommy and the twins joined us too.
We headed south immediately after daddy got off work. We were stuck in Friday afternoon traffic. It was actually not as bad as we thought because many people left early on the Easter weekend. The twins had been looking forward to see my friend Rick's pug named ET. They kept asking why it took so long to see ET even before we reached the highway. We told the twins that it would take many hours to get there. I suggested that we would arrive when they woke up from their nap. It took us two hours before reaching Interstate Highway 5.
The twins took a nap on the way. When they woke up, they asked why we weren't there yet. They complained that their butts were sore from sitting too long. When we took the same trip last year, the twins slept through almost the entire trip, so they didn't complain last time.
Daddy took the second shift of driving when we passed Bakersfield. We arrived at Irvine around midnight. The 388 miles trip took seven and a half hour including traffic jam. The twins were excited to see ET. When she jumped on them, they were scared for a while. But it didn't take long before Joanne approached ET again. Jasmine kept a distance from the dog until the next day. We prepared the twins for bed as fast as possible because both mommy and daddy were exhausted from the driving.
Saturday, Apr 14, 2001 (3y+8m+8d)
In the morning, we went to IHOP for breakfast. Kathy and Rick took us to the Farmer's market in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center for some fresh fruits and vegetables. The shopping center had setup some material for kids to build their Easter baskets for candies. The candies were all out when the twins finished. They received some Easter stickers in their decorated baskets instead.After we returned to Rick's place, the twins played with ET for awhile. We then went out to lunch with Rick's family. After lunch, mommy and Kathy went shopping in the afternoon. Rick and daddy took the twins and ET to the park nearby. The twins had a big fight on who got to hold ET's leash. After the play in the park, the twins took their afternoon nap until mommy returned.
We went out with Rick's family for dinner. When we returned, the twins played with ET again. I took some pictures and video footage of them before we all went to bed.
Sunday, Apr 15, 2001 (3y+8m+9d)
It is Easter Sunday. Since we don't go to church, it is just a regular day for us.We ate breakfast and said goodbye to Rick and Kathy before their kids Ray and Derek were out of bed. We headed further south to LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, CA. We arrived before 10am. The twins were excited. The first ride they wanted was the one that they were rejected last time because of their inadequate height. Even though it was almost a year ago, they still remembered the ride they missed last time. They were very disappointed last year when we were turned away right in front of the ride after we stood in line for half an hour. When we told the twins they had to eat more to grow taller to get in the rides, they made their effort for a few weeks.
The twins' classmate Sebastian and his parents Daisy, Michael were late. They didn't arrive until 12:30pm. We took the same rides in the beginning. The rides in LEGOLAND are divided into four categories for kids below 35", 35-40", 40-48", and above 48" tall. Since Sebastian is in the 40-48" height range, he had a wider choice of rides than our twins did. After awhile, we went separate ways because it didn't make sense to watch Sebastian play while our twins could not. Towards the end of the day, we got together again to take the same rides. We said goodbye to them at around 5pm.
When we were on the way to the exit, the twins saw the water park and wanted to play for a while. They had fun in front of the squirters and sprinklers. Jasmine was very careful to avoid the spraying water. She only got her hair wet. Joanne enjoyed getting her pants and clothes all wet. When mommy said it was time to go, Joanne refused and cried. When mommy walked away, Joanne had no choice but followed. Jasmine wasn't too crazy about getting wet, so she had no objection to leaving.
When I asked the twins which ride they liked the most, Jasmine said the one she screamed "Ha, Ha, Ha" in. What an answer!
It was a cool but sunny day. It was cool enough to wear long sleeves so we wouldn't get sunburn on our arms. However, mommy was wearing a V-neck and she got a slight sunburn under her throat. The twins were fine because they were well covered.
The twins got a change of clothes and some snacks before we departed around 5:30pm. The park closes at 5:45pm, so we didn't miss much. We were stuck in traffic for a short time when we passed through Los Angeles. The twins took their nap in the car between 6pm and 8pm.
When they woke up, they played with each other in the dark. After a while, Jasmine complained to us that Joanne was not nice to her. I told them that they had to resolve conflicts on their own, they could not ask for a judgment from us each time. I told Jasmine that she should demand an apology from Joanne. If Joanne didn't apologize, then she could boycott Joanne by not playing with her. There was a stalemate for a while. Joanne then complained that she was bored because Jasmine didn't play with her. I told them that they should go back to sleep instead of complaining. They slept from 10pm until we arrived home at half past midnight. Both daddy and mommy were exhausted from driving 440 miles in seven hours. We all got a good night sleep.
Monday, Apr 16, 2001 (3y+8m+10d)
Jasmine's sore throat has not recovered yet. She spoke with a hoarse voice.Joanne always welcomes a kiss from daddy. Jasmine sometimes refuses my kiss depending on her mood. She might cry if I kissed her regardless of her objection. When she cried because of my forced kiss, I had an easy fix. I just told her that I could take off the previous kiss by kissing her one more time at the same spot. It worked every time. Kids are so gullible. :-)
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2001 (3y+8m+11d)
The twins are on Easter break, so they have no school this week. Because Jasmine was not feeling well, they stayed home all day.The twins had watched the Disney movie "The Little Mermaid II, return to the sea" over and over again. I bet they have seen it 30 to 50 times by now. They have not seen the original "The Little Mermaid" until today. I asked them whom they like best. Jasmine said she liked Melody (daughter of the original little mermaid Ariel) better. Joanne said she liked Ariel instead.
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2001 (3y+8m+12d)
The first thing the twins asked for this morning was not their usual glass of milk. They asked for "ChaSiuBao (BBQ Pork Bun)". Actually, it was the last thing they asked for before bed last night. Since mommy said it was too late to eat a ChaSiuBao, they waited till the morning. The twins are very good at remembering what we said the night before. Their sleep never interrupts their memory. On the contrary, daddy often forgets many things after a night of sleep.
Thursday, Apr 19, 2001 (3y+8m+13d)
Daddy went to work early today. Jasmine woke up crying because she did not send daddy to work with a kiss. To fix the problem, mommy and twins joined daddy for lunch.Mommy dropped off the twins at Grandma Ling's for the next two weeks. She stayed for dinner before returning home. Daddy and mommy are traveling to the Far East.
Friday, Apr 20, 2001 (3y+8m+14d)
Daddy and mommy started a two-week vacation today. We called the twins in the morning to say goodbye. We took off for Tokyo, Japan at noon.
Saturday, Apr 21, 2001 (3y+8m+15d)
Due to the time zone difference, we lost a day on the plane. We arrived at Narita Airport, Tokyo in the afternoon. It took another two hour of bus ride to get to the hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Mommy were very hungry and insisted we had our dinner at the hotel. The dinner cost us a fortune. We later found out that we paid over 5 times the street price. And worst of all, the street price in Tokyo is already higher than the US price we are used to.Ronald and Evon also traveled to Tokyo a day ahead of our schedule. We met them at the hotel.
Sunday, Apr 22, 2001 (3y+8m+16d)
We went shopping together in Harajuku and Shinjuku with Ronald and Evon. Joseanna, a friend of ours, was on an extended business trip in Tokyo. She got to know many places in the city for the past four months. She rendezvoused with us in the afternoon and served as our tourist guide for half a day. We spent the afternoon in Omotesando, the fashion designer district. For dinner, Joesanna took us to an all-you-can-eat Shabu-shabu place in Shinjuku. We ate ten times as much, but paid only one tenth the price compared to our dinner last night.
Monday, Apr 23, 2001 (3y+8m+17d)
We visited some of the big department stores such as Takashimaya and Isedan.
Tuesday, Apr 24, 2001 (3y+8m+18d)
We visited Ueno and Ginza. We returned to Shinjuku for an all crab dinner. Every course of the meal was made of crab in different method of preparation. It was quite special but expensive.We called the twins from Tokyo. They have been behaving well and they enjoyed going to the park with great grandma. Though we dared not ask, we could sense that they didn't miss us a bit. Mommy had talked to the twins many times about this trip. We promised to buy them many things. So they are behaving in anticipation of many rewards.
Wednesday, Apr 25, 2001 (3y+8m+19d)
We visited the huge Keio Department store in the morning near our hotel before we departed for Hong Kong. It was a 2-hour bus ride to the airport, 5-hour flight, minus 1-hour time zone difference. It was quite late when we arrived.
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2001 (3y+8m+20d)
Mommy's Cousin Rowena treated us for dinner.We repacked our luggage. We packed one suitcase for the Thailand trip. We left one piece at the hotel storage room. We left another piece with valuables at Rowena's home.
Friday, Apr 27, 2001 (3y+8m+21d)
We joined a tour to Bangkok, Thailand. We had to get up at 4:30 in the morning. We reported to the tour leader at the airport at 6am. We left Hong Kong at 8am.
Monday, Apr 30, 2001 (3y+8m+24d)
The Thailand trip came to an end after 4 days. It was hot in Thailand at above 36°C. The tour guide told us Bangkok was named the biggest parking lot in the world because the roads are always jammed with stop and go traffic. The tour we took was just so so. The only memorable part was the ancient Thai style massage. For 400 baht (less than US $15), we got two hours worth of relaxing massage. We had tried Swedish and Deep Tissue massage before, we liked Thai massage the most.
Tuesday, May 1, 2001 (3y+8m+25d)
We got up at 4:30 in the morning and "fled" the hotel after breakfast. We returned to Hong Kong at around noon. It was the Labor Day holiday. We paid a visit to my brother Ronnie and his wife Michelle. We had dinner with mommy's Cousin Rowena and Carol in the evening. We paid a visit to Rowena's family and we retrieved our luggage from her home. When we got back to the hotel, we called the twins. They were quite happy with grandma and didn't seem to miss us at all.Evon, Ronald, SiuLing and Lillian from the US were also in Hong Kong this week.
Wednesday, May 2, 2001 (3y+8m+26d)
In the morning, we paid a visit to my uncle in Shatin. We had lunch together before we parted. While mommy went shopping with Aunt Michelle in the afternoon, I went to the Immigration Office to apply for a replacement Hong Kong ID card. I lost mine a few years ago. We get back together in the evening and had Taiwanese cuisine for dinner. We then took the Star Ferry across the Victoria Harbor to get a good view of the beautiful night scene of Hong Kong.
Thursday, May 3, 2001 (3y+8m+27d)
We rendezvoused with Ronnie, Michelle and my aunt in the morning. We visited my father's shrine at the crematory. We had vegetarian Buddhist lunch before parted with my aunt.We spent the rest of the day shopping for a pair of Hello Kitty suitcases for the twins, but at no avail. We had a late dinner at the food court of the Jusco Department Store at TaiKoo. The store was closed before we finished our meal.
Friday, May 4, 2001 (3y+8m+28d)
Mommy went shopping with Lillian in the morning. Daddy went looking for some traditional Chinese playing cards. They are nearly extinct and very hard to find. We rendezvoused at the Landmark building for lunch. Mommy and Lillian continued shopping. Daddy took their "loots" back to the hotel and gave my feet a little rest. We rendezvoused again at the ChoiHung subway station and headed to SaiKung for a seafood dinner. Seven people from the US including Evon, Ronald, Lillian, SiuLing, and her sister Joanne and two of us were at the dinner. We picked live seafood from the tanks. The seafood was prepared fresh. We ordered too much food and left a third of the big 4+ lb. Australian lobster untouched. It was wasteful, but we were really stuffed. We were surprised when the bill was only HK$2100 (below US $300.) We would pay probably three times as much if we had the same dinner in the US.
Saturday, May 5, 2001 (3y+8m+29d)
We joined Rowena and took the tram to the famous Victoria Peak. We arrived before sunset. We first made a reservation at the restaurant with a good view of the harbor. Then we took a stroll around the peak for an hour. By the time we got back, we had dinner in front of the gorgeous Hong Kong night scene.
Sunday, May 6, 2001 (3y+9m)
The twins are 45 months old today.We checked out of the hotel early in the morning. We arrived at the airport sometime after 9am. We checked in our luggage and had a breakfast with Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Michelle before taking off at around noon. The flight took eleven hours. We landed before 9am. Due to the time zone difference, we landed in the US a few hours before the time we took off from Hong Kong. This concluded our two-week vacation in the Far East.
Aunt Tina gave us a ride back home. We called the twins on the way. The twins didn't sound too excited, but they were happy that we brought them a lot of stuffs. We unloaded the luggage and drove our car to Grandma Ling's place to meet the twins. We took a side trip to buy a pair of Hello Kitty suitcases that we promised the twins.
Mommy and daddy had a serious case of jet lag. We all took a long afternoon nap. We returned home after dinner. The twins wanted to play the computer game as soon as they got home. They have not played with the computer for over two weeks.
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started on May 10, 2001